Monthly Favourites: July 2014

1) Super Facialist by Una Brennan Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask

Wow, what a mouthful.... The interesting thing about this mask is that I didn't really get on with it at first. After using it for the first time I woke up the next morning with the biggest. spot. ever. The really painful kind that takes half a ton of concealer to make it look slightly less angry. I almost decided to pass up on the mask afterwards, but somehow I persevered and now I absolutely love it. I guess it's just kind of proof that it really does draw out impurities and now after using it regularly once a week it's keeping my skin clean, but still nicely moisturised. I don't want to be without it anymore!

2) Bourjois Cream Blush in 02 Healthy Glow

I already have this in another shade, but this one is a very welcome addition to my collection. It's a peachy apricot shade which might look a tad orange against my normally pale skin, but in the summer it just adds the most beautiful natural glow to tanned skin. The formula is absolutely amazing and blends out to look insanely natural and also lasts pretty much all day. All I need to do now is get my hands on the remaining two shades, as well as the two new cream bronzers!

3) The Body Shop Papaya Body Butter

There used to be a time where I wouldn't use any other lotion or butter on my body apart from various Body Shop variations. Then I got bored and it turns out I hadn't bought another one for years! What else can I say other than: It's good to have it back. I love the way the smooth, buttery texture allows it to just sink straight into my skin and leave it soft and hydrated. Not to mention the smell is amazing and lasts for ages as well. Maybe not so great if you don't want your lotions to clash with your perfume, but personally, I'm quite happy to smell of delicious papayas all day.

4) Rimmel Instant Tan BB Skin Perfector

Never in a million years did I think my favourites would ever feature a fake tan - it might be an odd thing to say as a beauty blogger, but I'm absolutely terrified of false tan! Then I got this in my Glamour Latest In Beauty box and thought that as it's a wash-off tan, I might as well give it a go. Turns out it's an absolute breeze to use, doesn't leave skin at all patchy and offers a very natural result that doesn't look orange at all. It's the perfect little pick me up on days where I want to wear skirts or shorts and my legs are just a bit too pasty. A great product for every tan-o-phobe like me out there.

Monthly Favourites: June 2013

Last month has been absolutely brilliant for discovering new products that I really, really like, so it was about time to whack em all into one neat little post just in time for the monthly favourites!

1) Neal & Wolf Intensive Care Treatment

For months I was absolutely obsessed with Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle and while I still think it's an absolutely amazing product, I've now found something that's just as good (or perhaps even better?) for my frazzled tresses. It leaves hair silky smooth, soft and easy to work with without making it all sticky or weighed down by heavy ingredients. What's not to love?

2) Bourjois Cream Blush in 03 Rose Tender

For years I used to avoid cream blushes, as they'd leave a shiny, slobby film on my cheeks that would slide off after about half an hour tops. Oh, how times have changed and the latest cream-to-powder formulations cannot be beaten for longevity and workability. On the high street, this new Bourjois formula is my new favourite alongside my beloved Topshop blushes. I'd say the Topshop ones are better for bright, heavily pigmented colour, while those that are after a more natural and easy-to-use colour are best off with Bourjois. You can read my full review here.

3) Models Own Nail Polish in Pink Punch

I bought this shade back in December, but now that the sun's finally out it really comes into its own. I am absolutely obsessed with neons at the moment and this colour just glows in the sun light like there's no tomorrow. It also looks brilliant against tanned skin and makes me happy every time I look at my finger tips. Lasting power is about average and depends heavily on the top coat you use with it.

4) Palmers Cocoa Butter Body Scrub

I'm not a massive fan of the Palmers Body Butter and to be completely honest I only picked up this scrub because that's the only one that wasn't sold out in my local Superdrug. And I'm completely blown away. It's like a rich body butter that dissolves into creamy, gooey deliciousness once on the skin, with loads of little scrubby particles suspended within. It smells absolutely amazing and satisfies my need for proper mechanical exfoliation all the while being soft and gentle on the skin. Cannot possibly recommend this enough.

5) Amie New Leaf Exfoliating Polish

Anyone else notice that face and body scrubs pop up quite a lot on my monthly favourites lists? Admittedly, I do love that stuff quite a lot. This one came in last month's Beautecobox and I loved it from the moment I opened the little tube. It smells like Solero ice cream and really gets my skin squeaky clean, but without causing any irritation. A perfect product for in-the-shower scrubbers who need something a little stronger that won't wash off straight away.

Bourjois Cream Blush Review - Shade 03, Rose Tender

There's been a bit of a hype around this launch, so I feel like I'm a little late with my actual review of the Bourjois Cream Blush - apologies if you're fed up of them popping up all over your dashboard, haha!

One of my very first blushes was actually from Bourjois, which at the time was a brand that was difficult to get hold of for me. Unfortunately I no longer own it and I don't even remember what happened to it in the end. Anyway, I now have a new one to play with, so I'm not too sad about it.

The packaging of these is very similar to the "little round pot" packaging that is so inherent to Bourjois as a brand. However, the cream blushes are a little wider, thinner, lighter and just overall sleeker. They also house a magnifying mirror in the lid, which is a bit small to do your make-up in, but will do the job in a pinch.
Out of the four shades that have launched I got 03, Rose Tender to review.

Bourjois Cream Blush 03 Rose Tender Swatch

Rose Tender is a dark, dusky pink shot through with little flecks of shimmer in the pan. It applies a little sheerer and therefore lighter than it looks in the packaging, though I have no doubt that you could easily build it up to its true pan colour if you ever wished to do that.
Personally, I prefer to have a lighter flush on the cheeks and that's easily done applying it just with my fingers. The pigmentation is pretty much spot on in my opinion and while it's not ultra-bright and pigmented, that means that it's much easier to apply even for someone who might be a tad heavy-handed.

The blush applies as a cream and then dries down to a powder finish, just as advertised. Thankfully, the bits of shimmer translate into a healthy, flushed glow, rather than into glitter face.
There's just one negative with this blush and that is its staying power. It lasts about 4 hours on my face and then simply melts off and as it's a cream product it's not very convenient to reapply it on the go.

Is it worth the hype then? Yeeee...almost. It ticks pretty much every box apart from longevity, which I feel could be vastly improved. At £7.99 per pot though, I feel like it's a very welcome addition to the high street cream blusher department.

Bourjois Cream Blusher Launch - Are you excited?

I have to admit it's been a while since I got excited about a new product launch, but there's a few summer collections that have got me written all over them.

One of those exciting new things is the Bourjois cream blush. Now, Bourjois blushes have been around for a while - almost 150 years actually. Yeah, 150. One-five-oh. I had to do a double take when I first saw that number. Either way, Bourjois are now bringing out four new cream blushes and I cannot wait to get my mitts on them.

They describe them as a cream-to-powder formula, which is my preferred texture when it comes to blushers and the reason why I'm loving my Topshop blushers so much. Bourjois blushes actually seem to uphold a pretty good reputation in the blogging world, so I'm quite surprised I don't own any more than I do.

The four shades available are:

01 Nude Velvet
02 Healthy Glow
03 Rose Tender
04 Sweet Cherry

I personally can't wait to get my mitts on 03 and 01!
These launch next week on May 15 in Boots, Superdrug and on Asos.com and they seem very reasonably priced at £7.99 each. If you can't wait that long, Selfridges already have them in stock now.

And if you'd like to see some sneaky preview swatches, why not check out this post on Do Not Freeze?

Will you be heading out to pick up a Bourjois cream blush?

Inglot AMC Cream Blush in Shade 90 Review

Apologies for my absence from the blogging world again lately. The reason is not necessarily the usual life mess, but me and my boyfriend have actually moved into our first own flat not too long ago as well as starting new jobs, so we've been kept busy with settling, deep cleaning and buying exciting things like hoovers, washing machines and chopping boards.

A bit more exciting than chopping boards is the product I'd like to talk about today. It was purchased during an unscheduled visit to Poland (don't even ask) and even though I wasn't meant to spend any money I just couldn't help myself when I saw all those Inglot stand-alone stores and Sephoras.

Most of you will probably know Inglot from their affordable and supposedly great quality pick-your-own eye shadow palettes, but I felt like trying something a little different and as my blush selection isn't particularly big (yet!), I opted for a cream blush.

The packaging of the AMC cream blush is nothing special. The flat little pot is light and screws shut tightly, so it's great for travelling or even just carrying in your handbag for little top ups. It looks neither cheap nor luxurious, but it can be a little bit of a pain to unscrew the lid if you've got slippy fingers (for example because you've just applied a moisturiser). The pot looks tiny, but I was told by the sales assistant that it's extremely pigmented, so a little goes a long way.

And I have to admit, when she said it's pigmented, she really meant it! The first time I tried it I used my fingers and thought I applied light pressure onto the cream, yet ended up picking up way too much product and looked like a clown! All the while I had barely made a mark in the actual pot. Using a duo-fibre brush made getting the right amount out much, much easier.

As great as the pigmentation of this blush is, blending is a little bit of a nightmare. Again, a duo-fibre work made things a lot easier and fairly easily manageable, but blending this with bare fingers is nigh on impossible. It doesn't sink into the skin whatsoever, so whichever intensity you get upon first application is going to stay there. It wore for a good 8 hours on average before beginning to fade, but it did so evenly and without leaving any patches.

Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 90 swatch in day light

Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 90 swatch with flash

The shade I picked is called 90 - such a shame that Inglot couldn't come up with something slightly more imaginative. It's a mid-toned dusky pink which I would imagine would suit a wide variety of skin tones. Paler types like me just need to make sure to go easy on it and not layer it up too much. The colour reminds me a lot of a stronger version of one of my all-time favourite MAC blushers, Mocha.

At £9.00 a pop, these blushers are a steal for a good quality product which is long-wearing and insanely pigmented. I wish Inglot were a little easier to get hold of in the UK and their blusher colour selection is nowhere near as impressive as that of their eye shadows. If, however, I found a shade that really caught my eye and that I was desperate to get, I wouldn't rule out another sneaky little purchase.

Have you tried any Inglot products yet?