Monthy Favourites: July 2011

Hello all! It's that time again so let's get started. These are the products I've been using a lot during July.

First up, my newest perfume, Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb. It is a lovely perfume, floral, hence the name but with a good amount of sweetness to it but not so that it is cloying. It is a bit powdery and has a hint of fruit. I've got the EDT version, it is quite a strong perfume so you don't need a lot.

Next, MAC Semi Precious Goldstone MSF. I need to get my reviews up for this collection still. I'm a big fan of mineralize skinfinishes from MAC, I have a few different ones and enjoy using them a lot. I love the glow they give and their ability to highlight, blush and contour all in one (if it is a colour which isn't too light) The MSFs in the Semi Precious collection are quite special because they come with a splodge in the middle of a different colour. Goldstone allows you to use the middle to highlight and the outside to contour or use as a bronzer. Or you can mix them together and get a soft warmth to your skin. I love using this mixed on my cheeks and into my temples. It gives me a little bit more colour and makes me look like I've been on holiday.

Sleek's Monaco iDivine palette is next, if you have seen my Sleek look posts you will know that I have been getting good use out of it. It is a really fun, summery palette and has some gorgeous well pigmented shades in it. It has converted me to Sleek and I'm really looking forward to whatever future releases bring.

In the bottom row, the first product is Crazy Colour in Fire Red. I've had my hair coloured red at my hairdressers a while ago and she recommended using this when I washed my hair to prevent fading. For every other hair wash, I mix some of this with my conditioner and leave it on my hair for 10 minutes then wash out well. It boosts the vibrancy of my hair so that it doesn't look faded. Definitely something to try if you have coloured red hair as it tends to fade quite quickly. There are a large range of colours from Crazy Colour, blues, violets, greens etc so whatever colour your hair has been dyed, you colour probably find a suitable shade to use to 'top it up'. No peroxide is needed so it is easy to use.

Next to that are two L'Occitane products, one is a hand cream - this one is the Cherry Blossom one and the other is the Shea Butter lip balm. I always use L'Occitane hand creams, they are my favourite and work so well. The only one I dislike is the honey version because I don't like the smell of honey. They do have different consistencies but they are all lovely and moisturising. The Shea Butter one is the thickest and the Verbena is the most gel like. If you have dry skin or eczema, like me, try these out because I really find they work. The tube pictured is just a 15ml mini size but they do 30ml and larger sizes. I have a 100ml tube of the Shea Butter one for when my hands are horrendous.

The lipbalm is a really good product, the one I have is a trial size, it only has about 1cm of product in it but it is enough to realise how good this is for my lips. I tend to have dry lips but this deals with them so well, I will be repurchasing this when I'm out of it.

The lipstick is MAC Gem of Roses, another product from the Semi Precious collection. This is my perfect 'my lips but better' shade. It has a lustre finish so I find it quite moisturising although they never last very long on lips. It never looks bad when it fades though because it merges in with my natural lip colour anyway. I like this for days when I either can't be bothered to put much on my face or when I have a lot on my eyes.

Lastly is Benefit Benetint. This is a fantastic product for summer, once it is on, it just does not budge. It gives a perfect healthy flush to cheeks and looks so natural. You can use it on lips as well but I'm not really a fan of it on me because I find it quite runny so takes a while to get it looking even and it does fade unevenly from my lips throughout the day as I'm eating. For my cheeks though, I love it.

So there we go, has anyone else tried these products? What do you think of them?

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Jennifer x

February Favourites!

Hi all! Another month gone so it is that time again. February seemed to go so quickly and yet it seems like it was ages since this year began... wierd. Anyway, these are the things that I've been liking this month, my concealer and corrector from Bobbi Brown are still firm favourites for me but I wanted to show some other things instead.

MAC Stereo Rose MSF, MAC Dalliance Mega Metal Eyeshadow,
Lush Smitten, Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat, Benefit So Hooked on Camella Eau de Toilette

Firstly, MAC Stereo Rose MSF (Mineralise Skin Finish). This was one of the first products I bought from MAC when I started buying from them last year. I thought the swatch picture on MAC's site looked quite nice and then I did a little google to see what it looked like on. This was before I was aware of the beauty blogging world so only had google pictures to go on but ended up going for it as so many people were saying it was nice. I thought it was really pretty in the pan at first but it just didn't seem to show up on me. When I bought my MAC 129 brush I realised that it wouldn't show up due to the crappy brush I was using before. It got shoved away because I still wasn't in love with it and then I thought I'd try it again last month and found have been reaching for it loads now. It just gives me a nice glow and adds a lovely colour. It is shimmery so it isn't something for everyone but I do love it now and I'm glad I purchased it.

MAC Dalliance Mega Metal Eyeshadow - You can see my review for these, including this shade here. This colour is lovely and works so well as just a wash over the lid area when you just want a bit of subtle colour. It is quite a versatile shade and would work with a nice range of colours. I've used it with green, cranberry, brown and turquoise so far (all mega metals). It also has a great texture.

Lush Smitten - This handcream is a funny one for me as I actually dislike the smell. It smells of almonds but more towards the marzipan side but not all the way there (if it did smell exactly like marzipan, I wouldn't use it... bleugh!). I suffer from ezcema and have done for years. It isn't terrible but it can get bad at times, especially in cold weather where my skin can become so dry and end up cracking so it bleeds. I got this product in a Lush hatbox and thought I'd try it out before giving it away as I didn't like the smell and found that it is actually a pretty decent hand cream. At the moment my hands aren't their best due to the cold weather we have had in London over the past few days and it takes a lot for a moisturiser to keep up. However, my skin is better than it would usually be. They are still sore but they are soft except for around my knuckles and between my fingers. Hopefully they continue to get better :D

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat - I am rubbish at keeping my nails looking nice after painting them. I always seem to bump them on something and smudge them. They always seem to take forever to dry and I'm just unpatient and sods law I need the loo or something straight after! I'm so glad to have read about this product and decided to buy it. It is just brilliant and dries my nails in 5 minutes. It penetrates through each layer of lacquer to dry and seal them. It also gives an amazing glass like shine finish.

Lastly, So Hooked on Camella Eau de Toilette from Benefit. I am rubbish at describing perfume but I really love this. I do smell vanilla and coconut in it and it is a sweet creamy sort of smell. Benefit have the base notes listed as Vanilla, Sandalwood and Amber (I often choose these for my perfume as I love how they smell on me) the middle notes as cyclamen, peony and tiare flower and the top notes as grapefruit, lemon and rhubard. Wierd how I smell coconut... I don't even like coconut but I do love this perfume. I think some people may say it is cloying but I don't find it to be, there is something there taking the edge off the sweetness for me, might be the florals or the zingy fruits cutting through it. This perfume lasts and lasts and lasts on my skin, something that rarely happens. I can still smell it on my scarf/coat a few days later when I haven't worn it. Also, the packaging is gorgeous, it is like a cocktail shaker which I think is really fun and the box is made of a thick cardboard and designed like a house with the front flipping down to reveal the interior. This is definately a repurchase for me and I'd like to try the other Benefit perfumes to see how they fare.

- Jennifer

Benefit Powder Time Lover

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Benefit. I tend to buy things from them and then get them home and go 'meh' but for some reason they manage to lure me back again and again. This time it was because Debenhams had a sale on and this was included. The day before I had visited a Benefit counter in Brighton and had a quick look at some of the things but was pestered by one of the counter girls because I was touching things and she asked me if I was actually going to buy anything. I told her I was browsing and then picked up a catalogue and left. Silly girl, I would have probably bought something had she left me to it. I hate being pressurised in stores, if sales assistants do it, I'm off. I just like to browse before asking for help but anyway, rant over.

The catalogue had this amazing smell coming out of it from one of the perfume scratch and sniff pages and it got me a bit addicted to the catalogue so I decided to go online shopping for this perfume but couldn't find it on Benefit's website and then ended up seeing the Debenhams sale and spotted this mini collection of boxed powders - one of the things I'd been playing with the day before.

It was just over £16 I think and was originally about £10 more so I thought it would be good to try out. I'm glad I did, they're really nice and one of the few Benefit products I've fallen for.

January Favourites

My first favourites post! These are some products that I've really liked through January. I tend to mix and match a lot of things because I like to try out different products but these things I've used quite a lot.

At the top we have Benefit's Powder Time Lover. This was a Christmas product which I got in the Debenhams January sale. It contains 3 mini versions of Benefit's boxed powders in Dandelion, Dallas and Coralista. I think they are really nice powders and have enjoyed using them and trying out some of the colours Benefit has to offer.

Next, in the bottom left is MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study. It is a really pretty colour, a kind of pale gold. I like this to use for days when I can't be bothered or don't have time to do eyeshadow so just quickly apply this instead. You can't really get it wrong and it is lovely to brighten tired eyes.

The two skin toned products are Bobbi Brown Corrector (pinky colour) and Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer (yellower colour). I adore these products, the best products I've tried for concealing my dark circles and I am really glad I've tried them. I use the corrector to neutralise the dark circles and then the concealer to cover them up and blend them into my skintone.

Lastly, MAC Fluidline in Dark Diversion. This is a great colour, I like it as an alternative to black and it really flatters my green eyes as they seem to look greener against the plum colour.

I will be doing full reviews for the Benefit powders and the Bobbi Brown Corrector and Concealer soon with swatches etc. Swatches for the two MAC products can be found in my Cham-Pale paint pot comparison and my Stylishly Yours purchases.

- Jennifer