July Favourites

My blog is in its third month so now I feel I can do my first monthly favourites as I think I've reviewed enough products to choose from.  July has been a good month for many reasons, I got my first staff nurse job secured for September when I finish university, my 4 year old son (yes I know I don't look old enough ha!) finished nursery and starts big boy school in Septemer which I'm excited about but also sad of the realisation he's growing up and he's not my baby anymore! I also won a 100 follower giveaway and won a MAC lipstick! So here's my July favourites and the products I've been loving this month...

 

So I think the product I've been loving the most is this Collection (Previously named Collection 2000) Lasting Perfection concealer in the shade medium. I haven't done a review about it as I'm pretty sure unless you have been living under a rock everybody in the beauty and blogging world would have at some point raved about this. I started blogging 3 months ago but actually only bought this 2 weeks ago as I was waiting until all the hype had died down, plus I still had a lot of my beloved Touche Éclat concealer left and I'm consciously trying to save money. So basically I have been using this everyday since I bought it, it's amazing for under your eyes in reducing dark lines and just generally brightening under your eyes, it doesn't leave the under eye area cakey or dry and at just £4.19 it is a beauty steal. I hope Collection never discontinue it!

 

I bought this Bourjois cream blusher in shade Healthy Glow 02 back in June and I have literally used it every time I have applied makeup.  You can read my full review of it here.  I find you can apply this with fingers and blend it in or I have been using my Real Techniques stippling brush with gives a lovely finish and I find I can blend it in much better, but be careful not to put too much on the stippling brush! I had to include this in my July favourites as it has been my only cream blush I have been reaching for throughout June and July, and still find it a gorgeous coral colour for the summer.

I absolutely love this spring water and have mentioned it a few times in the odd post I have done and again I just had to include it as last week after having two of the mini Avene bottles of this I had run out of it again so decided to buy the bigger bottle as I love it so much.  Basically this product is useful for all sorts of things including to calm down skin after shaving, sunburn, to use on cuts, after tweezing, to set makeup after application to make it last longer.  In fact, the one thing I do use it for mostly is not on their list ha, I use it as a sort of toner, I spray it onto a cotton wool pad and after doing my morning and evening face cleanse I apply this as a sort of cooling toner, which helps remove any makeup traces that the cleanser hasn't been able to remove.  It's fabulous.

One thing I'm guilty of as a blogger is not having enough make up brushes (I actually only have four, oops!) But this Ecotools brush and the real techniques stippling brush are the two brushes I reach for every time I apply makeup, and are really my go-to brushes.  I got this quite a while ago, it's a brand that's sold in Boots and is reasonably cheap.  This is actually supposed to be a blusher brush but I have quite small features on my face so I find this way too big for blusher.  If I used this to apply blusher I think I would end up looking very patchy and not blended.  I actually use this brush to apply my finishing powder and it works great when applying either my Rimmel Stay Matte powder or my MAC Fix powder.

Ok...I have something to confess.  I did a review back in June on this Bourjois foundation and lots of bloggers were raving about how brilliant it was, I went and bought it and did a full review on it which I stated lots of pros about it but also stated how I didn't like how it seemed to cling to every dry bit of my face and blemishes and make it stand out.  But this month I thought I will give it another try and this time it was much better and wasn't clinging to every blemish making it look dry and flaky, no where near as bad as when I wrote that review.  Both times I was putting on primer too, so all I can think of was that at the time of the review in June my skin must have been worse than now as I do have combination skin.  Who knows, maybe the lovely summer weather we have been having has made my skin better? So I actually really like this foundation now and use this on a day to day basis and keep my MAC and other higher end foundations for just nights outs and more special occasions.

For days when I haven't needed to wear foundation this product has been my holy grail yes that's right my HOLY GRAIL BB cream.  It looks smooth and flawless on, the colour adapts to you skin tone, it feels light and refreshing on the skin, and has SPF This is the first BB cream I actually own, to be honest I never thought I would like them as I'm a sort of full coverage kind of girl as my skin fluctuates.  Nspa products can be bought from Asda and all their products are cheap and affordable.  Definitely recommend it.  You can read my full review of this and the Nspa Hair Elixir Oil here.

I'm not going to give too much away about this product as I have been using it for the last two weeks and making sure I get a good time span to be able to write a full review of it properly which I will be putting up in the next 1-2 weeks, but I just had to include it as I have noticed a big difference in my skin from using it and my pores reduced. 

                       So there's my monthly favourites, this year is really flying by don't you think?!

 

Empties Post #1

Ahh I just want to say sorry for my lack of posts the past few weeks as things have been pretty hectic for me lately! Unfortunately my uni course doesn't finish in May like the majority, mine runs right through until September...but today is the first day of a lovely four weeks holiday! So...the past few weeks have been pretty crazy...I have been working on a busy hospital ward doing 13 hour shifts and having a 4 year old and lots of essays due in (hence the lack of blogging). I found out I passed my dissertation (yay!) and also got my first staff nurse job secured for when I finish in September....Woohoo! Finally, these last three hard, sweat, blood and tears have paid off and I could not be happier.  So here's the beginning of a lovely four weeks off with only my FINAL EVER essay to hand in next week, then from august my final 7 weeks as a student nurse before I'm in my blue nurse uniform...scary!  The flowers you can see in the photo are from my lovely fiancé for getting my first staff nurse job :)

So...I've got lots of posts scheduled but wanted to try this one first as I have seen lots of people write these kinda posts and find myself obsessed with reading everyone else's.  I also thought I would never be able to collect lots of empty products as I'm forever buying new stuff...but quite impressed with what I have used up (if not a little proud feeling ha)  Sorry about the quality of pictures, I cannot wait until September when I ask the other half to buy me a DSLR camera for my graduation present! So here's my first empties post..

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo Light & Blonde

I used to use the normal batiste dry shampoos with no hint of colour in like the cherry one but this is my second time using the hint of light blonde colour and I really like it.  Unfortunately it doesn't have the same lovely scent that comes with the other ones but for when my hair needs a little extra pick me up/volume or if I have been lazy after a 13 hour shift and cant be bothered to wash my hair..I find this is great to use especially behind my ears, for my fringe and on the roots.  I prefer using this one because as I have my hair coloured blonde the roots do show quite quick so sometimes this disguises my awful roots when it's time for the hairdressers again.  Definitely a repurchase product.

 

Rimmell Fix & Protect Primer

 I know this is a cheap high street product but for me the packaging is a little boring and not very appealing...Unfortunately I won't be repurchasing this just because for me the consistency was too much of a runny liquid.  By that I mean I usually like primers to be a thick consistency what you can feel literally drink up the shine on your face, but I felt this one just glided over.  And because of this I found my makeup didn't stay on that long as it would have with previous primers I have used.  I would definitely prefer spending a bit more money on a thicker consistency.

 

Aussie Colour Mate Shampoo

 Ahh how amazing is the peach smell of this shampoo? I could literally just soak in the stuff!  I bought this and the 3 minute mask (but that's not empty yet) and I really like them both.  Only little negative thing is I find this one states for coloured hair but I find it doesn't actually make my colour any better/shinier which is fine as I just put a mask for coloured hair on after.  But this definitely rinses all the product build up out my hair and I always feel it cleans it well.  Definitely repurchase....if not just for the smell!

 

Sheer Blonde Conditioning Treatment

 I've actually repurchased this for years now as I find it leaves my hair silky smooth, lasts much longer than the Lee Stafford masks, has a nice smell, and helps to calm the frizz down.  Firm favourite of mine!

 

Avene Eau Thermale Spring Water

 This is the second small tube of this spring water I have tried and I couldn't be without it now....next purchase I make will be the much bigger bottle you can get.  I find this is perfect for me as it is for sensitive and irritated skin.  It's a very versatile product and can be used for many things including nappy rash, razor burn, after hair removal, sunburn, to calm down facial redness, after exercise, in summer, during travel, or to set makeup.  Personally I have been using it as more of a toner after I have cleansed my face I use this then put on my moisturiser.  It's great for making you skin feel soothing and clean, great for removing all traces of my makeup, and also for setting my makeup for special occasions (a bit like MAC Fix + spray).  Firm favourite of mine :)

 

Lee Stafford Hot Shots 4 Blondes

 I think I have said in a previous hair post these are great for toning your blonde hair to a more ashy blonde...I bought these in a 3 for 2 offer in boots, they are good and make my hair a lovely colour and gets rid of all the orangey tones, but have found cheaper alternative blonde toning products.

 

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment

 I really love this hair mask as I find it leaves my hair in great condition, super soft and silky...only down side is the small tub for the price.  This is the best mask I have used so far but think I am going to try the Macadamia one next!

 

Sudocrem Tube

 And finally, I tend to use sudocrem on my face when I feel a spot coming on (lovely, I know) and it really helps take the redness away and calms it down.  I used to use the little tubs of this but when these tubes came out I prefer to use these as I find them much more hygienic then sticking your hand in a tub, especially when its being applied on my face. A definite repurchase.

 

Hope you enjoyed my first empties post, it was fun doing it :)

Let me know what you think