June Favourites/ Items of the Month

I really enjoy reading 'favourites' posts and watching ones on Youtube, so I thought it was about time I shared my favourite products of the month with you! I might have had a few of these for over a month, but only just really used them properly, and I can't seem to get enough of them :)

Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask, Boots Coconut & Almond Hair Mask, Mac Melba blusher, Natural Collection lipstick in Raspberry, Mac Strobe Cream, Essie Sand Tropez, Benefit The Porefessional.

 This is the sample of the Porefessional I got in last months Glamour magazine, I had wanted to try out this for ages, so I was happy to see it in the miniatures offered by Benefit to Glamour readers. This is a flesh-coloured primer which blends into your skintone (I don't think it really gives any coverage), leaving my skin feeling smoother and ready for my foundation. Since using this my makeup has lasted longer and my skin has felt less oily throughout the day. I like everything about this primer, including the light fruity scent, and I can see myself buying the full size of this when this little one has run out. Thumbs up!

I'm a sucker for a mac product, I'll happily jump on any mac product bandwagon if I see it raved about enough. So when I saw this talked about on blog posts/videos, I knew I had to try it. I got the smaller 30ml version to see if I liked it. And I do! It's lovely to mix in with my foundation and it gives the skin a glow. You also don't need much, this little tube will last a long time. It's full of nice stuff like antioxidants and green tea, so it's good for your skin and I can confirm it hasn't made my acne any worse. It also makes my skin feel soft and moisturised, dry skin sufferers would benefit from this I feel. I can see this becoming a staple in my makeup bag and routine. Well worth parting with some cash for this if you haven't tried it.

 Loving this treatment mask at the moment, another great product from Liz Earle (yes, I am obsessed!). I got this as the free product when I bought the monthly skin care offer a while ago. It's a rich cream that you slather on and take off with a muslin cloth run under warm water. I apply this before showering and leave it on until just before I get out. It makes my face soft and feeling smoother, and also helps with any redness from my spots. I only use this once or twice a week, but my skin thanks me for it. Worth investing in, and I believe any skin type can use and benefit from this.

 Yay for Essie! I've got a little collection of this brand going on, but so far this shade is my favourite- a light nude that can be built up into a sophisticated shade. It's similar to Models Own Utopia, but less purple. The longevity of this is fantastic (a week with no chips and without a top coat) and I am hooked. It also looks good under some nail art. Love it.

 When I bought this I was initially disappointed, but then I discovered I was using the wrong brush to apply it, and now I adore this shade. Melba is a popular one, and for good reasons. It warms the face up without being orange and lasts very very well, even without powder on my skin. I love it and really recommend it! I'm keen to invest in some more mac powder blushes (purchased Posey cream blusher last week, which is lovely), so I'll keep my eyes out for some shade inspiration.

 This smells amazing! I can't eat coconut due to some weird intolerance, but I love the smell and also using products with it in as it really makes my skin/hair feel lovely. This is a great hair mask and helps with my dry ends where any bleaching and heat appliances fry them. You get a huge tub for... £1.89! Bargain! Find this in Boots.

 A lipstick for £1.99?! It must be crap! Umm nope, it's actually very nice, moisturising and sheer, but buildable! And in quite a few different shades too, thanks Natural Collection (Boots). This was the last Raspberry shade left in store so I snapped it up, and I'm very glad I did. I like finding cheap-but-good products that work and don't cause too much damage to my bank balance ;)

 What are your monthly favourites? Found anything worth trying out?

X.

Liz Earle Colour

*I am only reviewing the Sheer Skin Tint and the Cream Blush, there are a lot more products in the range from Lip gloss to Bronzer, but I have not yet come across those/bought any. I paid for the blush with my own money, and the Skin Tint samples came with it. I am basing my review on these after trialing them for over two weeks.

 These products are my first experiences of the new makeup collection recently launched by Liz Earle, and after the success of their skincare range, I had very high hopes. Perhaps too high... I had been keen to try out a cream blusher for a while, so I went for a Liz Earle one. Usually I read how much product you receive for your cash, but on this occasion I failed to. For your money you get 2 grams of product, compared to 6 grams from mac for a very very similar price. I do feel a little cheated in that respect, but I'll admit it was something I should have checked beforehand. Lesson learned.
 The colour I chose was 04 (Rose), a very beautiful dark, dusky pink. I am impressed with the actual product, it applies well and I can build up the intensity of it easily. The formula is very creamy and lasts well on my skin, it can also be used as a matte lip colour which looks very pretty (dry lip sufferers beware! Use some lip balm beforehand!). Overall I love this blush, but I think I will look for a cheaper alternative in a similar shade when I use it up. If this was even £5 cheaper then I would give it top marks, but the pricing and quantity for money really lets it down for me.  

 Onto the Sheer Skin Tint. I was really excited to hear about this launch, finally a foundation from my favourite skincare company! Liz Earle are sending out quite generously sized samples of every shade with orders, you can try the samples out at home to find the best match for you, minimising disappointment if you buy online. Genius! I wish more companies offered this service. They also send you a colour chart with every single shade pictured for every product (see top picture).
 There are currently four shades available: Fair skin tones, Medium, Medium to Dark and Dark. In the pictures I have swatched them from fairest to darkest, in natural daylight. The keyword surrounding this product is in the name...Sheer. From the product information I gathered that you could achieve a reasonable amount of coverage, not so. If you have good skin or are in the search of a nice tinted moisturiser then this will be for you. However, even the dark didn't really look... dark, it came out rather orange. I tried the lightest shade, and then had to apply the medium as the light one sank into my skin and disappeared, it didn't correct any uneven skintone, it simply vanished! The medium was a little better, but no way would this cover blemishes. As an acne sufferer I want coverage, and lots of it!
 I was hoping this would be the answer to my foundation issues, light but buildable coverage for the warmer months, moisturising, and able to even out any redness. But for me, it just doesn't work, I'll be sticking to my mac Studio Fix fluid for now. I think this really is aimed at people with good skin, who require the minimum amount of coverage possible. Don't get me wrong, it is a lovely product but for the right person, and that sadly isn't me.

 I am keen to try more of this range, the bronzer looks promising and the lip products have some lovely shades. Hopefully Liz Earle might in the future make a foundation? Please?!

 Have you tried any of the Colour range? What are your thoughts?

X.

Relics to Ruins

L-R: Shroom, Espresso, Beauty Marked, All That Glitters

Melba

This awaited my arrive home from work yesterday, made my day. I'm aiming to build up a 15 palette, but a quad will do for now- LOVE all the colours. Don't let Beauty Marked fool you- it's actually more of a charcoal on the skin with hardly any shimmer, but still beautiful- much easier to wear than an all over black lid. Zoom Lash is something I want to own in full size- separates my lashes perfectly and doesn't end up down my lower lid at the end of the day- totally recommend! Melba is for me, a less coral version of Benefit's Coralista, it stays amazingly well on my skin and doesn't wear off easily, something that I found Coralista does.
Went Christmas shopping on Monday- spent an obscene amount of cash and only bought two presents- the rest for myself...OOPS. Will show everything I got on here soon I expect. I didn't buy anything at Urban Outfitters, wayyyyy too pricey although I could have happily bought the whole shop- might have to beg for a few things for Xmas, including the Diana Lomography camera- amazing.

It's my brother's birthday tonight, so I've been making one of my infamous chocolate cakes, complete with wonky smartie writing haha! Time to get fat!

X.