January Favorites

Monthly Favorites - Angelica Nail Polish, Lancome Mascara, Juicy Couture Perfume, Elf blush and bronzing duo, Rimmel Wake me up foundation, Simple Cleanser, Topshop Innocence, Mac Angel, Naked 2 and Mac MSF natural.

Hi! Today I thought i'd share with you all my January Favorites, this is just a round up off all the products i've been loving in January. I can't believe January is over already! It doesn't seem like 5 minutes since Christmas - crazy times. Anyway before I get on with it I just wanted to say thank you for all the support this month, I hope my blog can continue with this success next month too.
First for my favorites this month is the gorgeous blue Angelica glitter nail polish, they are a nail varnish brand that sell their polishes at Primark for £2.50 or on their website, I won't ramble too much about it because you can read a whole post dedicated to it here but it's just a really gorgeous nail polish which gives pretty opaque coverage and is great quality for the small price tag.
Secondly we have the Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara, I reviewed this in the last post on my blog after falling in love with it when I received it for Christmas. It creates a huge amount of length and holds the curl of my lashes and really does make them look like 'hollywood lashes' which was the idea behind the ad campaign, you can read more information here.
The third thing I've been loving this month is the Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Perfume, (more information here) I recieved this as a gift at the very start of December for my birthday and i've been loving wearing it, it is a very strong scent and therefore a little bit goes a long way. I love that it's a sweet and strong perfume because that's my preference and the bottle is sooo cute too! It's just a really good perfume and it's become my signature scent!
The next thing I have been loving this month was a rediscovery, I have owned the Elf Blush and Bronzing Kit for well over 6 months and I found it in my blush drawer the other week when I was looking for something a bit different and I've really been enjoying it. It comes with a bronzer and a light pink blush with subtle shimmer running through it. I just really love it, both the bronzer and blush are really pigmented and blend well, and it's perfect for travelling because it's a duo in a good compact with a massive mirror so you can just chuck it in your bag if you like to top your makeup up through the day. Also this was a massive bargain, at the time I picked it up I think it was like £3.50? Which is pretty crazy for the quality, I've heard some people even compare this to the Nars Laguna & Orgasm blush and bronzing duo!
The next thing I've been loving this month and will probably love for many months in the future is the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation, I've been buying and using this foundation for over a year now and every time it runs out i don't even think about it but i just go and pick up a new one. I use it every single day and I actually don't think there is a better alternative on the high street in terms of a cheaper foundation, I even prefer this to higher end alternatives which is crazy considering you can pick this up for under £10.00, this product has had a huge amount of coverage on my blog and I can bet you're sick of hearing about it but if you want too you can find a full review here.
Simple Skincare has been the next thing I've been loving this month, my skin has become really sensitive recently which is strange because before I could pretty much slap anything on my face and it would work out fine for me. But anyway the savoir for my face over the last few months has been simple skin care, in particular the cleanser that helps remove my makeup every day as well as the toner. They are just brilliant products that do the job well and don't irritate, or sting or dry the skin out in anyway. I know that I've mentioned these on my blog before so I won't go into too much detail but there is more information here.
Next are two lipsticks, you may have seen me raving about Mac Angel here, when I say it is the best lipstick I've ever tried i'm really not lying, I really do love it so much, it's gorgeous and the perfect color for every single day, I received this for Christmas and you can see I've really used it, I don't actually think there's been a day this month where this hasn't been on my lips. Next is the Topshop Lipstick in Innocence, I've had this for a while and at first I just couldn't get on with it, but recently I've tried it again and it's so creamy and nice that I've been enjoying it, it's a similar sort of color to Angel just without the glaze formula and I like applying this on days where I need a bit of extra moisture on my lips, in all fairness I pretty much wear Innocence and Angel together as an everyday combination and I find it works really well.
The next product was probably hands down the most favorite products of my favorites this month, I loveeee it! It's the Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay, I love Urban Decay and this and the Vice Palette have been my go to eyeshadow Palettes for the month. I love this one so much because it's so easy to wear, I can't believe after owning this for about 6 months I've only given it the time of day this month, it's amazing! I love it, it provides a really nice selection of neutral eye colors and I've been loving creating looks with it! It's seriously so good and i'll be popping up reviews of this and the Vice Palette over the next month for you.
Lastly is my beloved Mac MSF natural, I did a review on this not along ago and I would definitely say that it wins my award for my holy grail powder, it's perfect in every single way, gives you great coverage without making you look powdery, it doesn't make you look matte but holds your oil really well and is just such a natural powder that makes your skin glow! I love it, you can read more about it here here.
Anyway, I hope you liked this post, let me know the products you've been loving this month! xx

Monthly Favourites

Hi everyone,

Can’t believe its nearly October, I seriously think that this year has absolutely flown by, it doesn’t seem 2 minutes since I turned 18 last December and this year just seems to have been one big blur of partying haha. Anyway, today my post is going to simply be some monthly favourites, I quite like reading these on other blogs, probably because I’m really nosey but I like seeing products that people enjoy using. Actually before I get on to the post I just wanted to say sorry for being missing from my blog for the last week, if I’m honest I kind of had a bit of blogger writing block and couldn’t really think of anything worth posting about, I sometimes think that some bloggers blog for the sake of blogging and I want my blog posts to be quality over quantity, and secondly I’ve had a bit of a mad week, it seems to have gone so quick that I haven’t really had a second to sit down and write, but as I’m watching X - factor now and I’m not up to much I thought this would be the perfect time to buckle on down and do some writing (sorry for the massive ramble there!)

Anyway my monthly favourites this month are a fix of some new products that I’ve been trying out over the last few weeks and a few old staples that could probably feature in my monthly favourites for ever and ever.

1) Simple Rich Moisturiser 2) Rimmel Fix and Perfect Pro Primer 3) MUA pressed powder – shade 1 4) Simple soothing facial toner 5) Simple clarifying cleansing lotion 6) Bourjois Bronzer 7) Soap and Glory love at first blush blusher 8) Real Techniques Powder Brush  9) Natural Collection Mascara 10) Revlon Colourstay Foundation

Simple Skincare

The first 3 products I’m going to be talking about are these Simple products, this has changed my skincare routine completely and really cheaply as well, I recently picked up the Simple Rich Moisturiser, the Simple soothing facial toner and the Simple clarifying cleansing lotion as there was a deal in my local Tesco’s store that you could purchase any 3 simple products for £5.00! what a bargain, I decided to stick to what I know and buy products that allowed me to stick to my faithful cleanse, tone, moisturise steps. And wow, do these deliver. The problem I have with some skincare is that I actually feel it is too harsh for my skin, I feel that I’m buying a toner that is literally burning off the top layer of my skin and I don’t like it. Which is probably why I love simple products so much, they have the best ethics of any skincare brand I know, they want to be kind to the skin and they create products that are fragrance and cruelty free so that you’re skin just feels nicer and doesn’t get damaged by using these products, these are also fantastic products for anyone with sensitive skin. Firstly the cleansing lotion is great for making sure your skin is really clean and feels super nice, but I would say that if you’re looking for a product that is going to get rid of all your makeup then this is not really it, I love this product but I have to take my makeup off with a face wipe first and then just use this to deep down clean my face as I feel like it’s not the best at getting rid of tough eye makeup and I’d be using a lot of excess product. The next of the products is the soothing toner and I think this could possibly be my favourite, this product doesn’t dry out your skin or sting like any other toners I’ve ever tried it just cleans and refreshes the skin and I would definitely say it has soothing effects although I don’t know how or why I think this. The last of the Simple products is the rich moisturiser, it goes on to your face completely clear and dries really quickly but lasts such a long time, it claims on the box that it will keep your skin moisturised for up  to 12 hours and I don’t know if I’d agree with that but it definitely keeps my skin moisturised for much longer than other moisturisers I’ve tried and for the price I would say that all of these 3 products are a steal – even when they’re not on offer.

Rimmel Fix and Protect Pro Primer

I’ve spoke about this primer in my last blog post which you can see below so I’m not going to go into huge amounts of detail, but this is a fantastic high street primer, it mattes the skin and makes it smooth and really does work and keep your makeup on for a lot longer. Probably the best primer I’ve ever tried and a primer I will continue to repurchase for a very long time.

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Peaux Bronzer

The next product I’m going to be talking about is the Bourjois Bronzer, I can’t actually say enough good things about this, this could be in my monthly favorites forever, I absolutely adore it. I’ve had this exact same product for years, I think I brought it when I was in year 10?! To aid my foundation and make me look even more orange than I was haha, but I always loved how amazing this product was and I still use it today, it smells gorgeous, almost has a chocolately smell and it gives you such a nice bronzed glow but you never look over the top, it’s just a gentle sun kissed glow, it’s just such a beautiful product, it’s light but gives you just enough product to make a slight difference, it has an almost sheen to it which means that it makes your skin look absolutely divine. Ahhh I’m in love with it, this product is so affordable and is the best bronzer I’ve ever tried, in actual fact I haven’t really tried that many more because I don’t feel the need too. It’s ace and it’s lasted me literally for years with every day use, it’s actually lasted me a good 3 years?! What the hell! So affordable and so ace, I haven’t hit pan after all this time and I do love the sunkissed glow, perfect for all seasons and for all skin tones, it’s just great! Seriously all time favorite product right here.

Soap and Glory – Love at First Blush

This is a product that I’ve had for quite a while now, I’ve kind of had a love/hate relationship with it but now I’ve got used to it and found the best way to use it, it gets a massive thumbs up for me. This blusher has quite a lot of sheen to it, but the color is gorgeous, you have to swirl your brush in all of the colors and this then leaves you with a  pretty pink color that is just to die for, but when the color hits the light it has quite a lot of sheen to it and a tad too much shine for me, I have quite oily skin and large pores on my cheeks and too much of this product just seemed to exaggerate this but now I use this on good skin days or I use it to highlight the top of my cheekbones or use it over my bronzer and it works amazingly as that. I love how individual the colour is and how pretty this looks in the packaging.

Real Techniques Powder Brush

I also recently did a review on this powder brush about 2 posts ago so you can go and check that out below so I’m not going to go into massive amount of details but one of the best brushes I’ve ever used in my life. It’s big, it’s fluffy and it’s soooo soft, it’s ace, It really does work for me and I can’t imagine ever needing another powder brush after using this one. My only nig would be that it is slightly big for powder, but then again that’s probably what makes my powder look more natural and helps me get such a light dusting.

Natural Collection Lash Curl Mascara

This is another bargain find which is great for those people on a budget, I picked this mascara up on a whim a few months ago and I actually really enjoy it, I think the reason for this is simply due to the fact that it’s a really nice color, I picked it up in brown/black by accident and I love it! I have brown eyes and therefore this shade actually really suits them and brings them out, I like the fact that this holds a great curl within my lashes, lengthens them and is also quite a wet formula so therefore doesn’t ever get clumpy no matter how much I put on. Such a great product and for so cheap too.

MUA pressed powder

The next thing that I have been loving for quite a while now actually is the MUA pressed powder in shade one, I think this is such a great product, I’ve tried quite a few powders in my time some high end and some drug store and to be honest this is one of the best I’ve tried and it’s only £1.00?! crazy, the shade selection is quite rubbish though I think there’s only 3 or 4 shades but for the price what can you expect, I love this, it keeps my makeup in place but doesn’t go cakey and always looks super natural, the packaging is fairly good too and perfect for on the go touch up’s. Seriously ace product and so cheap it’s almost unbelievable!

Revlon Colorstay Foundation

This is another product I’ve had my up’s and down’s with, when I had quite clear skin when I first brought this foundation I really didn’t like it, it looked cakey and over the top and it didn’t make my skin look flawless at all, but now that my skins got drier as it’s colder outside and I’ve needed more coverage I actually really like this foundation, this is a foundation that really needs to be buffed into the skin so I find the Real Techniques Stippling Brush does a great job of blending this in and making it look less cakey. I love how this foundation covers blemishes when built up and also lasts a really long time. Great foundation for the winter months.

Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading

What are your monthly favourites?

Lots of Love - Gem xxx