I can't tell you how happy I am that August is over and done with, not because anything bad happened, simply because it's now September and that means that autumn is just around the corner. I can soon welcome back my favourite nail polish and lipstick shades as well as my favourite clothes. All in all August has been a pretty good month for me; nothing major has gone wrong and I've done pretty well at sticking to my Monthly Goals. Before I continue to ramble let's jump right into last month's favourites.
GOSH CC Cream - £8.99
If you read my review of this product you were probably expecting to see it in this post. I don't know what else I can say that I didn't say just a few days ago, but I love it so much that I couldn't leave it out. I've worn nothing else since I picked this up 5 or 6 weeks ago, it's so light it barely feels as if you're wearing anything but it has decent coverage, far more than I was expecting for a cc cream.
Soap and Glory Love At First Blush - £11
This is another product that I haven't been able to put down all month long. While I am loyal to eyeshadow and bases, I'm usually quite fickle when it comes to blush and use whatever grabs my attention that day, but I've worn this every single day this month. It gives the perfect healthy glow and the mauve, pink and champagne shimmer, once swirled together, creates a beautiful natural pink blush. I like to apply this with a big fluffy brush onto the backs of the apples of my cheeks and with my skin being so fair it just looks so healthy and radiant.
China Glaze Smoke and Ashes - £3.99
I featured this nail polish in my Manicure Monday a few weeks ago, where I proclaimed it to be my new favourite nail polish, and I haven't changed my mind. I've been in a rush to leave the house a couple of times in the last few weeks and have only had minutes to do my nails, each time I have used this as it only requires 1 coat, no top coat and dries quickly. With the price being so low from Nail Polish Direct I think I'll be getting another bottle very soon.
B. Vivid Eyeshadow in Porcelain - £4.99
I can't believe I've hit pan on this eyeshadow but haven't mentioned it yet! I bought this hoping that it would be a good blending shade for me, and it's just that. It's a tad lighter than my skin tone so works brilliantly as a brow bone highlight, blending shade and all over lid colour when I just want some definition in my crease. I use this the same way a lot of guru's use MAC Blanc Type or Brule, the shade sits right in between the two. For an everyday look I'll apply this all over my lid and up to my brown bone then define my crease with a matte medium brown on a fluffy brush. I like to apply this first as it helps everything blend seamlessly. It doesn't crease and looks just as good after 12+ hours as it did when I applied it.
Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Face Mask - £6.25
Thankfully the skin care routine that I have at the moment has really helped clear up my skin, but a few days a month I will get the odd ugly looking spot on my chin. I use this face mask when that happens and it really helps calm it down and heal it faster than if left alone. Packed full of ingredients to help soothe and calm your skin, it's a treat that I like to indulge in when I feel that I haven't been as kind to my skin as I should have been. After I wash this off my face feels baby soft and ready to face another week.
Lush Tea Tree Water - from £3.95
As I've said a couple of times in the past, I never really understood the point of using a toner. I've never found one that really did anything for me other than dry my skin out or make it feel tight and uncomfortable, until I tried this one from Lush. Over the last 5 or 6 weeks my skin has been so much better, my blemish scars are reduced, my redness isn't as obvious and I'm getting less spots, and I credit this for most of that. I try not to introduce more than 1 new skin care product at a time so I know what works and what doesn't, so I think I have to thank this toner for the great condition my skin is currently in. I have combination skin with occasional dry patches but also am prone to break outs, and although this product isn't designed for my skin type, I really would recommend it to anyone facing the same issues as myself.
ELF Mist and Set - £3.95
It was only a few weeks ago that I was talking to a fellow blogger saying how I don't understand setting sprays and that they were over-hyped, and here I am putting one in my favourites. I'm not too proud to eat humble pie when it's needed. With the weather being so warm I was having problems with my make-up fading very quickly, less than an hour after finishing my face you couldn't see a trace of blusher or bronzer, so I had to do something about it. When ELF had one of their frequent sales I decided to pick this up and give it a go. I totally get it now! A few squirts of this over my completed make-up and it doesn't budge. I don't know how it works, looking through the ingredients list it doesn't look as if it should, but it does. I can't wait for the next sale so I can stock up on this stuff.
Great British Bake Off
This is the most quintessentially British show I've ever watched, but I love it. Who'd have thought a TV show about amateur bakers would be so popular? After last year's 'custard gate' I was really surprised to see 'bin gate' last week, you've probably seen 1000's of tweets about it, it was quite the scandal.
He's my favourite male singer and I've listened to him loads this month. I have both of his albums and can happily play them over and over again and never get bored. I find his voice so relaxing and soothing and the music that accompanies it is just beautiful. I've been making a conscious effort to try and wind down in the evenings, and his voice has really helped me do that. You might know the song above from the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
I Won - AGAIN!
In last month's favourites I told you that I won a blog giveaway, I've since posted my prizes (which you can see here), well this month I won another competition. This time it was held by Superdrug on their Instagram account. I won't bore you with the details because I've already posted my prizes (here), I'm just so happy about it that I couldn't not mention it in my favourites. It just goes to show that it's always worth giving a competition a go, someone has to win, why not you?
That's it for summer, not long and we'll be in our socks and fluffy jumpers and I, for one, can't wait.
