August Favourites

I really haven't had many favourites this month as i've not been buying too many new products or searching for many! I've found a couple of things at the end of the month that i adore but i haven't used them for long enough to class them as an 'August Favourite' so look forward to reading about some new things in September! 

Sally Hansen Double Duty Base & Top Coat - Boots £5.25 

I only use this as a base coat as my beloved O.P.I Base Coat is running out and i'd rather keep that for super special occasions! It glides onto my nails really nicely and makes a very sleek base coat for my polishes to go onto. I find my nail polishes stick really nicely to this and look so much smoother so i definitely recommend this! I am always on the hunt for a new base coat as i think it's one of the most important parts of a manicure (well to me anyway!)

MAC Trace Gold Blush - MAC £14.50

I am still loving cream blush (see last months favourites!) but i've been loving using this as well! I use this as an outer cheek blush and then a pinkier tone nearer the middle of my face. I love the way this actually sparkles on your cheeks and the glitter really does show. If you don't like glitter this may not be the blush for you but it's got the perfect balance of bronze & gold with the added bonus of a sprinkle of glitter! 

MAC Blush - Now don't hate me but i am no aware of the name of this ... My sister de-potted this and forgot to put the name on it and then i bought it off her and i just don't know the name! If you think you do i'd love to know! - MAC £14.50

I absolutely adore using this colour with Trace Gold it's so bright and extremely pigmented and again has glitter running all the way through it so it's almost as though a fairy has exploded on my cheeks when i wear this combination. I love pinky tones on pale skin tones but i also think this would look lovely on darker skin tones too! It's such a lovely product and due to it's amazing pigmentation you only need the tiniest bit so i feel this is going to last me a really long time!

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Debenhams £36

Pretty much everyone in the world loves this palette and i definitely do too! I've been sticking to pretty much the same eyeshadow look these past few months! My favourite colours (at the moment) being Sin (second in from the left) and Toasted (ninth in from the left) - together they look amazing! There's not a lot more i can say about this palette that people haven't said before but i am another person that highly recommends this product! 

So that's my very small 'August Favourites' what have you been loving this month? XO

review - REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream

I'm afraid this wont be a massively positive post sadly, it's not completely negative but it wont be full of happiness either!

When i purchased this i was so excited! I had completely revamped my skin care routine and bought 'day cream' 'serum' and a 'cleansing balm' and i thought it would make my skin perfect. Well my hopes were a bit higher than the outcome! 

Obviously this being day cream i apply it as soon as i've cleansed my face and my hopes were for it to sink in and leave my face feeling fresh but hydrated and ready for my make up but it does the complete opposite.

When i bought it i was recommended to only use 1-2 pumps as that should but enough but it wasn't really. 

Initially when i put this on my skin feels great and revamped and just silky soft but about 10 minutes later this completely changes. I do get hot quite quickly and (sorry for tmi) i do have a tendency to perspire  - not a lot but a bit of a glimmer on my skin! - and if i'm wearing this the minute i get a bit too hot it literally drips off of me.

Obviously when you're hot you wipe your face if it's a tad damp but with this on my face was actually watery. It didn't leave me hydrated after it had sweated off of my face.

I don't know if i'm using this wrong but it says on the back 'Gently massage onto clean face and neck until absorbed' - and that's exactly what i did but it really didn't work for me.

I don't think you should get put off by this quick review but they really are just my thoughts ... to round it up:

• Not hydrating
• Literally dripped off of my face 
• Had to apply to layers to make it slightly work
• Expensive and i feel as though i didn't get what i paid for

If you've tried this i would love to hear what you think of it! Sadly i wont be repurchasing but i will use it all up and then move onto the next thing! XO

a few products from elf that i love

You either love of hate E.L.F and i have hated a few things in the past but on the whole i think it's a really good website with some actually fantastic products! You've got to do a bit of trial and error with E.L.F - because you can't see proper swatches of things you're taking a chance but because none of their products are ridiculously expensive you're not really wasting any money and could potentially find a holy grail product!

Granted, i don't own a mass amount of things from E.L.F as i've either used them up, thrown them away or lost them along the way but these are a few of my favourite things i own!

E.L.F Powder Brush - E.L.F £3.75

This brush has been spoken about many a time but then the Real Techniques brushes came out and it got pushed to the side slightly... not in my eyes though! Of course when i first purchased the Core Collection from Real Techniques i was quite blown away by their buffing brush but soon i got bored of that and came back to this beauty. Since then i've repurchased it twice (once for me and once for my sister) and now i really can't be without it. It applies my foundation and powder so perfectly i'm sometimes shocked. It spreads the foundation so evenly over my face and takes minimal time to apply and is so cheap! Granted there probably are loads of better brushes out there but i'm yet to come across any! I will definitely repurchase another one of these when it gets a bit tatty!

E.L.F Blush 'Gotta Glow' - E.L.F £3.75

I'm not sure why this is classed as a blush as it's definitely a highlighter and a highlighter that i love! It's rather chalky when first applied but as soon as it's blended out it leaves a lovely white gold highlight. It's cheap and cheerful and perfect for a first time highlight user - i don't know if i'd repurchase this as i've got a lot of highlighters but i do love it and i think for the price you can't go wrong!

E.L.F Blush (I've actually forgotten the name and it's not on the back but it's either ...) 'Peachy Keen' or 'Candid Coral' but i think it's the latter! - E.LF £3.75

I adore this blush! It's a really lovely blendable formula and looks perfect on my rather pale skin. It's not massively pigmented but you're getting what you pay for in that sense. I do recommend these blushes and i'd love to try some more as i think they're actually really worth it and i'd pay more than what they're charging. Granted, i'm not saying they should up their prices ;)

E.L.F Single Eyeshadow 'Pebble' - E.L.F £3.75

I love their single eyeshadows because you're getting a lot for a little! They're really pigmented and don't crease on the eyelids and leave such a nice finish. I know this is called pebble but i really can't explain the colour any other way than a pebble colour. It's very creamy to the touch and applies like a dream - i don't use this all too much so i probably wont ever need to repurchase it but if it does run out you can't bet your bottom dollar i will!

So they're just a few things i love from E.L.F - have you ever tried any of these/anything from E.L.F ... I love hearing what people think about it! XO

inspired by essie (again) products i've hit pan on

I can imagine after Essie Buttons post on 'products i've hit pan on' was broadcast everyone will be doing these posts but i just couldn't help it! I've not been massively inspired recently but this post definitely seemed like a fun one to do!

p.s hitting pan is when you reach the bottom of a product that's in a 'pan' form (basically the worst thing ever - apart from actually finishing a product)

Benefit Hello Flawless Powder 'Gee, i'm swell! Shell' - John Lewis £24.50

I've mentioned this a lot of times before and i do absolutely love this but i just can't afford it at the moment! I bought some but had to send it back because by the time it had come i'd completely run out of money and it was heart breaking but i sent it back!

It's a really good powder and i do recommend it - it's also got a SPF of 15 which is always good! It might be a bit pricey but i'd rather pay a lot of money for something i love than keep forking out a fiver every few weeks.

Benefit Get Even Pressed Powder 02 Medium - John Lewis £22.50

I've had this since March but also thought it was too dark for me so i rejected it for my newer Benefit powder, however since i've been running out of my beloved Hello Flawless i thought i'd go back to this and save the other one for special occasions. Well i've actually fallen back in love with it! It gives such good coverage and doesn't seem so dark anymore. It's also cheaper and there is more product (8.9g in Get Even and 7g in Hello Flawless) so i think if i were to repurchase a Benefit powder again it would definitely be this one! Maybe i'd get it in 01 Light though!

MAC Eyeshadow 'Gleam' - MAC £10.00

I've had this for quite a while now and i've just hit pan - you can see why though! It's such a gorgeous colour. A gold-y pink-y colour that just looks amazing on the lids! This will definitely be repurchased as i deem it as a staple eyeshadow in my collection. It looks amazing swept all over the lids and is my go to shadow for a lazy day!

MAC Eyeshadow 'Woodwinked' - MAC £12.00

An eyeshadow everyone and their mummy uses. It's such a gorgeous antique-bronze colour that looks amazing with all eye colours. I am so gutted that i've hit pan on this as i'll have to repurchase soon. I think this is a colour that everyone should have in their make up collection!

MAC Eyeshadow 'Honey Lust' - MAC £12.00

I fell in love with this peachy gold colour as soon as i set my eyes on it. For a few months it really was the only eyeshadow i would wear (as you can probably tell) and it just looks amazing. I will definitely repurchase this without a shadow of a doubt.

MAC Eyeshadow 'Retrospeck' - MAC £12.00

I'll admit i haven't used this colour too much - it was my sisters and i bought it off of her. It's a really pretty 'beached blonde' as MAC say. It's quite a pretty brow bone highlight. I probably wouldn't repurchase this as it's not been my favourite - but it's not a horrible colour!

So that's all my products - that i actually use still - that have hit pan! Have you hit pan recently? XO

insta-berry

~ The amazing Rhubarb and Custard drink from M&S - and obviously i had to drink it out of a London 2012 glass don't be too jealous ~

 

~ My lovely Dior brow brush - i know it seems a bit ridiculous but i love this brush so much and it really is so nice to use ~

~ Henry being an absolute dude - i came out of the house in the morning to walk to work and this is how i found him ~

~ Last Sunday my mummy sister and brother went to London to soak up some Olympic spirit and i couldn't make it as i was having a lovely day with my friend Antonia but they bought me back these Laduree macaroons! SO yummy ~

~ My lovely new TV - seriously my TV is my best friend and when it was broken for over 2 weeks my heart felt a little raw ~

~ Cute little vanilla cupcakes that i bought to put around my boyfriends mummys birthday cake but completely forgot to take them to his house - uhoh! ~

~ Just looking at my beautiful Dior Shimmer Powders - aren't they lovely! ~

~ I waited a couple of hours at my boyfriends work for him to finish and bought myself a £3.00 house vodka and coke and it really was disgusting and i was drinking alone - it was a sad few hours ~

 ~ My lovely boyfriend on our date night at Prezzo ~

~ Alex and his brother Jamie on a little boat we rented for their mums 60th birthday! I was super nervous at first of Alex driving but he was fabulous and i can't wait to go on a little boat again soon! It was really lovely and romantic and so hot! ~

~ Alex, Jamie and their mum Jacqui having a good one on the boat ~

products i love this week!

I like doing these posts because i tend to get really addicted to a few products for a few days and then forget about them for another few days and so on and so for (and and and) so without further ado ...

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge - John Lewis £18.00

(Left to right)

Fresh Melon & Pale Pink

I absolutely adore these - i really can't tell you enough how much i love these! I think i mentioned these in my July Favourties - they're really just so gorgeous! I used to use my fingers to apply these and i never actually loved the outcome but i loved the product however recently i've started using my Real Techniques Contour Brush to apply and the outcome is amazing! They sweep over my cheeks so nicely and add a lovely gleam and a gorgeous colour. I absolutely love using these colours together with the pink colour on the apples of my cheeks & the melon colour going further out to my ears (not on my ears - just in that direction)

10/10 for sure! I really do recommend trying out Bobbi Brown Pot Rouges as they're for cheeks and lips and they are just such a lovely pigmented product and definitely worth all the money.

Dior Shimmer Powder - John Lewis £32

(Left to right)

Amber Diamonds & Rose Diamond

I've recently spoken about Amber Diamonds in my previous post and i am in love with it but i haven't forgotten about the ever so gorgeous Rose Diamond. These really are two of the most luxurious products that i own and it's such a pleasure to use them. The instant glow you get as soon as these are applied to the high points of your face is just so wonderful. I tend to just apply these on the top of my cheek bones and when the light hits them they look incredible. There is something so lovely about having a little shimmery gleam on the top of your cheeks. It might sound silly but my mood really is lifted as soon as i apply these - i'm not sure if it's because they're so luxurious that it makes me feel quite glam or the fact that the product is so gorgeous or maybe both but i really do just LOVE these.

You might be put off by the price tag but i personally don't think they're expensive and i know these are both going to last me a very long time. I've had Rose Diamond since March now and it's not even made any kind of dent in the Dior pattern, and i use it ALL the time. They're such glorious products!

Balance Me - Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve £8.00

I got this lovely product as a magazine freebie and i've loved it ever since! I keep it on my desk and apply it every few hours just for a bit of hydration! It lasts such a long time and if i forget to take it to work with me it's not a problem because application does last all day. It smells glorious and gives such a lovely sheen to the lips that glows in the light. The only thing i don't LOVE about this product is the taste - it's rather intense and lingers for about an hour but after that everything is fine. I do recommend this product if you've got very dry lips as it keeps them hydrated and moisturized for an extremely long time! If you got it as a freebie - go you! If you didn't then i really do think that £8.00 is a bargain for this lovely product!

So these are a few things i'm loving at the moment - are you loving any of these? If not what ARE you loving!? XO

dior amber diamonds - first look!

I am the extremely lucky owner of the lovely Dior Shimmer Powder - Amber Diamond. My lovely boyfriend treated me to this when we popped into John Lewis yesterday and i couldn't believe it!

I'd heard through the grape vine that it was being discontinued and in March when i went a BIT crazy in John Lewis the lady behind the till had never heard of it and then another lady mentioned that it was being discontinued - sad face - i still got the Rose Diamond though!

However when Alex and i were in John Lewis and he said i could find myself a little treat i thought - well i may as well ask if they've got Amber Diamonds - and sure enough they did! The lady behind the counter told me that they're discontinuing it everywhere apart from England because apparently it wasn't selling anywhere apart from England. Yey for us!

IT'S GORGEOUS BY THE WAY...

Dior - Amber Diamonds (Shimmer Powder) - John Lewis £32

So i am aware these aren't the greatest pictures but i thought i'd just show you what this gorgeous highlighter looks like!

♡ I love it

♡ It blends into my skin so nicely

♡ ALL of the colours are gorgeous - perfect for eyeshadow, perfect for full blown shimmery blusher & obviously perfect for highlighting!

♡ I can safely say that i've had my Rose Diamond for months now and i've used it A LOT and it hasn't made a dent at all SO i know it's going to last me a long time!

So that was my really short little 'first look' of Amber Diamond - but i really do recommend it! I already love it and look forward to waking up to be able to apply it! 

Have you tried either Rose Diamond or Amber Diamond? XO