Monthy Favourites - May 2012

Time for the monthy favourites (I'm a bit late again), these are products that I have been using all month/rediscovered or have stood out for me.

1. Paco Robanne Lady Million EDP

This is one of my favourite perfumes, I just love it but I hadn't worn it in a while. I got it out again and I still adore it. It is sweet with some floral notes and makes me feel special. I'm not overly fond of the bottle design but I do kind of like how the spray works. I just wish I could figure out how to decant it into a travello.

2. Lush Rehab Shampoo

I have used this shampoo before but stopped using it when I started colouring my hair. Now that my hair is it's natural shade again, I can use it. I went to Lush to get some toner but decided to find out if they sold a shampoo that will reduce build up from dry shampoo - which I use a lot and end up with quite a bit of build up. This stuff is great. It clears my scalp of all the crap left on it after a couple of days using dry shampoo and leaves it so much fresher. 

3. MAC Lovecloud Blush

This has been my go to blush this month. I'm not sure if it is still available as it was a limited edition colour. I really love it, it is so easy to wear and can be applied sheerly or built up. It is a pink with some coral in there to warm it up and works really nicely on my skintone. I also love the satin finish because it is so soft and natural looking.

4. Origins Vitazing SPF 15

This is basically a really sheer tinted moisturiser with SPF in it. I took this on holiday with me in case it was hot and I didn't want to be wearing foundation. Plus foundation wasn't really needed. It has these little greyish dots in the moisturiser which burst as you rub it into your skin and release a tint. This tint is supposed to be suited to all skin tones but I think very fair skins and dark skins might find it either too dark or light. Light to medium skin tones should be okay and it might even be okay for skin that is a bit darker. You don't get a lot of coverage with it but it does help to even the skin out somewhat and then a bit of concealer will cover the rest if needed.

5. SensatioNail Starter Kit (I have the red) - review to be posted soon.

Now this is a little gem! I love this piece of kit! I wont go into it too much because I will be doing a full review on it with lots of photos of it freshly applied and then two weeks later. If you don't know what it is, it is an at home soak off gel polish kit which includes everything you need to get started, including the lamp and one colour (either red or raspberry). It was quite dear when I got mine but the price has gone down a lot now so if you are interested, it is worth a go. I applied this for my holiday so that I didn't need to polish my nails while away and hopefully protect them better than regular polish would from working the locks and narrowboat. It held out brilliantly, as you will see in the upcoming review :D

Jennifer xx

September 2011 Favourites

Here are my favourites for September, there was quite a variety of brands in there.

First up, a new perfume. One of my favourite bloggers, Vivianna from viviannadoesmakeup.com is a big perfume fan. I have noticed that we have quite similar taste in perfumes and when she said that this was her favourite perfume I decided to give it a go. It is Lady Million by Paco Robane. I would never have picked this up, the packaging isn't something that would have drawn me in, probably due to being a mega shiny golden diamond shape which doesn't really look very classy, although I do like it now for being a bit different. The perfume inside is gorgeous though, a typical 'me' type fragrance, floral and fruity with a bit of sweetness thrown in there for good measure. It isn't a headdy sweet or floral fragrance, I think it has a good balance. Top notes of Neroli, Lemon and Raspberry. Middle notes of Jasmine, Orange Flower and Gardenia. Bottom notes of Patchouli and White Honey. Yum!

Next there is VO5's Miracle Concentrate. I've seen this doing a little bit of the blog rounds with people saying that it helps with frizzy hair and keeping it looking glossy and healthy. I needed this. I use this after towel drying my hair then apply a few drops from the pipette into my hand and rub them together before running it down my hair. I focus it in the ends to stop them from flying away and then do the lengths and finally the top to smooth it all down. Then I blow dry my hair. It makes my hair dry quicker and always gives it a sleek finish.

I also ran out of my foundation, Chanel Vitalumire so needed to get a replacement but wasn't anywhere near a Chanel counter. I'd wanted to try Bourjous Healthy Mix after hearing a lot of good reviews so this was a good opportunity. Off I went to Superdrug and picked this up for £9.99, over £20 cheaper than my Chanel foundation! I found a really good match in Healthy Mix, better than the Chanel shade. It is a teeny bit lighter in colour and not as yellow. I really like this one, the coverage is a bit more than the Chanel one and it sets more so doesn't appear as dewy but still gives me a fresh complexion. I've been applying it with a MAC 187 and I get a really nice finish. I would definitely buy this again, I much prefer it.

The two eyeshadows are from MAC's MAC Me Over collection, I reviewed them here. The colours are Carbonized (the brown) and Mythical (the coppery colour). I've been using these a lot during September, they are so flattering and fit so well with Autumn. They go with a lot of my clothes too and are great for work. I've put them together in a few different ways and they always come out looking nice.

Underneath is MAC's Superslick Liquid Liner in On The Hunt. This is black and was in my favourites last month too. I've been using this pretty much every day. It is such a good glossy black and lasts really well.

Lastly, Blistex Intensive Moisturiser Lip Cream. My lips get ridiculously dry and chapped. I needed something intensive that was going to work. I saw this on Rachel's blog allthingsrachy.blogspot.com ages ago when she said that she gets very chapped lips when she has a cold and this is what she uses. I'd been meaning to give it a go and saw it in Boots one day and remembered her blog post so bought it. She was so right, it is amazing stuff! Seriously, if you get chapped lips and nothing else seems to be giving you the desired effect, go get this. It was relatively cheap at £2.59. It has a plastic slanted applicator so you can apply it straight from the tube. I tend to put a little on my finger and apply it like that so I don't put too much on, you don't need a lot.

Jennifer xx

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

April Favourites!

I am soooo soo soooooo sorry for not posting in so long, I just haven't been in the mood for blogging (in other words, just plain lazy) and I had a cold so didn't want to post pictures of my awful blotchy face and crusty nose haha. Anyway, I'm back now and I have attempted to organise myself a bit better, I had a tonne of photos in my Photobucket account and I was getting confused as to where to start with them so I cleared it all up so it makes more sense to me so hopefully I will be able to get through them and finally post them here. So today I have a belated April favourites and later on I will be posting a review of some Bobbi Brown lipsticks. Tomorrow I have the latest OPI Today's Special Value from QVC that I recieved today. I will also post a review of the Illamasqua Toxic Nature nail polishes (old news now but they are permanent) and next week I will post a review of the cream pigments. Also the new MAC collection - Surf Baby which I had planned to do this weekend but it hasn't arrived yet. Let's get started!

This month I have been using all sorts of things, just playing around and trying to use some of my older products which have been neglected a bit. Therefore, there hasn't been much makeup that I have repeatedly used. These are the things I have really enjoyed using.

Firstly, Philosophy's Hope in a Jar moisturiser. I got this in a Philosophy gift set for Christmas and have been using it quite often along with a couple of other moisturisers. This month I have really noticed how nice my skin has been since I started using it both day and night every day. It is such a gorgeous product and I have hardly used any. It sinks into my skin really well, no oily residue at all. I don't get flaky skin like I used to and my skin tone has been getting more and more even where I barely use any foundation now. It also leaves my skin feeling soooo soft and plump and dewy and smooth... ahhh I love this stuff. I have a small size but the full size is £34 for 56.7g which I am willing to pay because it works so well for me.

Next is my MAC MSF in Stereo Rose which I have featured before. I really love this and it works so nicely in the summer, the perfect corally golden sheen to my cheeks.

Miss Dior Cherie EDP. This is my favourite perfume, I love it and wear it most days. It is so sophisticated and girly and feminine at the same time. The bottle is so pretty too. It just makes me feel pretty wearing it. I will do a full review on this soon.

Chanel Imitable Intense Mascara. This is a new product for me and quite frankly, the best mascara I have ever used. I had these awkward lashes that just would not curl up even using eyelash curlers but this has made them right. It doesn't flake or smudge and the brush is fab. It makes my eyelashes really defined and voluminous, a definite repurchase for me.

Lastly, another Chanel product. Rouge Coco Shine in Romance. This has become one of my favourite lipsticks and I really want to get a couple more colours from the range. They are so moisturising on my dry lips and they look so sophisticated. I like that they are sheer and glossy. The colour range is great too, something for every skintone. Expensive, yes, but I think they are worth it because I really enjoy wearing this.

- Jennifer