August Favourites

I can't believe September has already arrived, where has the rest of the year went. I'm already seeing Winter bits and bobs in shop which is crazy and a bit too early I think, the weathers been brilliant out. I love this time of year as I love seeing all the different Autumn/Winter Makeup Collections from different brands, they are always so pretty. I also love this time of the month as I get to show you what I've been loving recently. I actually have quite a few favourites this month and most of them are new too. I seriously need to stop spending money on products, a ban will come in soon or I may have a big blog sale, if I can get Paypal sorted. Without any more nattering on I'm going to start showing you all my favourites.

I'm going to start off with haircare, I've fallen in love with TRESemme's Keratin Smooth Treatment Masque this month, it seriously leaves my hair looking amazing. I was expecting it to weigh my hair down as it contains keratin but that wasn't the case at all, so I'm very pleased with this product. I've bought the heat protectant from the range recently so I'm hoping to get similar results with that. I'd love to know what the shampoo and conditioner are like, I'm probably going to wait until Boots have an offer on haircare to fork out for them. A product you've probably seen already in my Summer Series and past favorites is John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Anytime Volume Refresher*. This is a product that isn't talked about enough, when I want to give my hair that extra boost this is what I grab for. It's the only dry shampoo that I've used that hasn't irritated my scalp, which Batiste unfortunately does. I can see myself repurchasing this when I use out, I just hope the people at John Frieda bring this out in a bigger can. My fragrance favourite this month is a upcoming release from The Body Shop. From their Scents of the World collection, Madagascan Vanilla Flower* has been the fragrance I've been reaching for quite a bit recently. It doesn't have that horrible artificial vanilla scent but a lovely light smell that vanilla lovers like myself will indeed love. I also love the little swing tag that comes attached to the fragrance, it tells you the story behind it. Another favourite of mine that I really should of featured last month is the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover. If your in a rush for a work and rocking the chipped nail look this is the perfect product to have beside your desk. I haven't used any other nail polish remover since I bought this almost two months ago now, it's truly brilliant. I wouldn't say it's ideal for removing glitter polish but that's the only fault I have with it and for the price you can't go wrong. Don't leave this open on your desk though, that's my only warning as the polish remover inside will spill everywhere. Boots also have Bourjois special offers so when I'm in there again, I'm going to pick up another.

Now onto a couple of my makeup favourites and some other bits. First I'll start with Lipocils Expert Eye Lash Gel, I picked this up when I got back from Manchester last month. After using it for over four weeks I can definitely see the different with my lashes. I wouldn't say they're massively longer now but I can notice the difference in the length. I want to repurchase another one of these for review purposes, as always I think these sort of products take. I can safely say so far I've been very happy with the results from this. Expect a full review in the next couple of weeks. Another product that has been floating around my bag this month is the Vichy Aqualia Thermal Soothing & Repairing Lip Balm*. With the horrible air con in work, this has been great as my lips can get horribly dry. At €4 or so, it's also inexpensive so if I was to mislay I could easily get a new one. Another lip product I've been loving during August is Clarin's Instant Light Lip Perfector in #3. It's one of those my lips but better shades and I can't get enough of it. I got this miniature in a Clarins Christmas set last year so I'm surprised it's kept going til now. My favourite eyeshadow over the last little while has been MUA's Undressed palette*, I love this brand as not only are their products affordable, their also great quality. This was the palette I brought away with me to Manchester last month and it had all the shades I needed. I usually just go for neutrals so this is perfect for me. I actually did a review on this a few posts back which you can check out here, you'll also be able to see a eye look I created using it. My last favourite of August is Urban Decay's Naked Skin Foundation. I was contemplating buying this for ages after trying out a sample. I finally took the plunge and snapped it up, I'm glad I did. It was on the expensive side of things at about €33 euro or so, but the bottles huge so I'm sure it will last for a good while. If you were wondering I use the shade 2.0 and it is the perfect match for my skin tone. This has a light but buildable coverage, I'd say this is more for daytime as I have a different foundation for night. I'm thinking of investing in the Good Karma brush to go with this so if you've bought it yourself let me know what you think.

What products have you been loving during the month of August?

Laura<3

August Empties

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the first of September, I don't know where the year has gone. I'm hopefully starting a college course next month which is super exciting. I've had bad experiences in the past with my courses, they all get cancelled before they even start, what's up with that? It's going to be so weird starting at the same time as my little brother who is like three years younger than me. We are both doing Business related courses just in different colleges so it should be a interesting month ahead for both of us indeed. Another thing I want to do during September is my theory test and finally learn how to drive for once. You guys have to hold me to this one, I always put it off for some ridiculous reason unknown to me. Well enough about what I'm getting up to during the coming month, this post is my August Empties. When I started looking through them I didn't realise that I finished so much. Does that only happen to me?

You may be wondering how I store all my empties without people in my house thinking I'm weird hoarding bottles. I use this bag I got in Forever 21 about a year ago, it was a impulse buy on my half as it's tiny and there's no way I'd use it for anything else. It's cute though and the perfect size to hide away all my empty products. This month I've finished quite a few micellar solutions, they were all a quarter full last month so it was about time I finished them. Some I've loved and others are good but not worth the excessive price tag, you'll see what I mean further down.

First I'm going to start with body products, the odd one of the group is the funny monster head. This is actually a Bath & Body Works Hand Sanitiser, that the lovely Chie sent me last year. It smells amazing like sour apple sweets. I really like it and if we had one of these stores in Ireland I'd certainly pick up some more. I have another Bath and Body Works empty in this post and that's the travel size Pink Chiffon fragrance. Oh my I adore this scent it's like nothing I've ever smelled before. Again it was a gift from Chie for my birthday back in February, I was so disappointed when I was nearly out of it. Luckily Chie offered to pick me up some products in this particular scent. I got the package in the post last week and wow I can't wait to try everything. There will be a post up very soon. I went through two more of my favourite body products during August, Kiehl's    and Soap & Glory's Breakfast Scrub. The latter is amazing and if you haven't smelled it yet, go and do it the next time your in Boots. This is like my fourth tub of this and I can't get enough of it, definitely my favourite scrub out of their range. The label melted away in the shower so that's way your currently looking at a plain white tub, it's not like this in the shops. I've had this small bottle of Creme de Corps Body Moisturiser for a while, it was pretty expensive (€19) and would of been much better value if I had of bought the bigger size. It's a heavy cream which works wonders on dry patches, leaving my skin lovely and soft. I recently bought the Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter and I probably will use that up before I buy this. Out of the two I'd probably prefer my newer purchase from the brand  as it smells absolutely amazing, I featured it in my Summer series not too long ago.

Here's two not too exciting empties but I thought I'd include them anyway. On the left we have Garnier's Mineral Anti-Perspirant which I actually really liked, I don't know if it leaves your underarms feeling fresh for 48hrs as I usually use it before then but it's good. I also finished this La Senza Discover Me purse spray, I bought this years ago and it smells really beautiful. We don't have this store in Ireland anymore so I more than likely won't be getting Discover Me again for obvious reasons.

I finished up only one makeup product this month and that's Rimmel's Stay Matte powder. I've been using this so much lately, I even favour it over alot of my high end bits, it's super affordable and gives a nice finish. I actually hit pan on this a week ago and unfortunately I was out at my friend's leaving party last week and it shattered in my bag. I already bought a backup so it's all good. I've had the Kerastase Ciment Thermique for nearly a year and it worked wonders on my hair, it's a heat activated reconstructor and I used it before blow drying. I did notice my hair looking healthier after using this a few times, I'd love to repurchase it but pricewise it's a bit out of my budget at the moment. When I was in Manchester last month I picked up a Philip Kingsley Travel set which included the Elasticizer and Moisture Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner. I thought the set was pricey at £20, but then I seen this size Elasticizer retails for around €18 so I guess I did get it in the end for a decent price. I always fly through shampoos super quick so it was no wonder I finished this so soon. I can't really comment on how I felt about this product as it came in such a small tube. I'd be interested in getting the full sized just to try it out and see.

Last but not least the skincare empties as you can see I've finished quite a few products over the past month. As I said above I've been trying alot of micellar solutions, I chucked out the wipes and gone for these. I forked out the money for This Works Clean Skin 5-in-1 Water and though I was impressed this was certainly not worth €26. I don't think any cleansing water in its right mind would to be honest. There are so many cheaper alternatives out there and yes this is a lovely one but it could do with being that little affordable. Another two micellar solutions which are a bit on the cheaper side of things are the offerings from Caudalie and No7 which I both love. I've already repurchased the Caudalie Cleansing Water, it just takes my makeup off like a dream and it's not too pricey which is a plus. A product that I'm not too fussed about is the No7 Eye Makeup Remover. I use to like it a while back but it leaves my eye lids so greasy which is a nightmare if I want to apply my eyeshadow right away. I'm much prefering Vichy's Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover which I'm nearly all out of, I need to repurchase it tomorrow when I finish work. You'll probably hear about it again in my September Empties next month. Another eye makeup remover I finished this month is from Garnier, I'm a big fan of this one and it removes my eye makeup really well. If I'm running low on funds I usually pop this in my trolley but if I want to treat myself I go for Vichy's offering. I also finished two products from Liz Earle, their Deep Cleansing Mask and Gentle Exfoliator. The latter is a repurchase and even though it's not my favourite exfoliator at the moment, it gets the job done which is all you can really ask for. On the other hand I love their Deep Cleansing Mask, I've had this for ages now as I only use it on my tzone. The product itself contains manuka honey and concentrated clay which removes all nasty impurities and oil in the skin. I can vouch for this working amazingly, I see myself repurchasing it the next time I'm in Wilde & Green, I need to take a visit soon. Lastly one of the products I've been using alot over the Summer months has been refreshing sprays like Avene Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water. These are amazing on those hot stuffy days which if I'm being honest we haven't had enough of in Ireland this Summer. Anywho I always have one of these in my bag just to refresh my skin and my makeup throughout the day. You can get them in large sizes in most stores but I think this particular size is hand bag friendly. They also last ages so there's no need for the full sized unless you want one for the house or office.

What have you finished up this month? Any products I should try?

Laura<3

August Favourites

Wow Summer is finally over. Surprised how fast this one went, pity I was working for most of it. I have quite a few favourites from August so let's get started!!

Hollister Laguna Beach Body Spray
This product has a gorgeous peach scent which smells amazing. I love it. This will be a definite repurchase when I'm done. There is a deal on in Hollister were you can get two of their products from this range for €18. It beats paying €12 for one.

Garnier 2-in-1 Tinted Eye Roll-On 
I find this very refreshing on my eyes and It also doubles up as a undereye concealer. The shade I chose is the one for fair skin tones. The size of this product is good as you can chuck it in your bag for touch ups throughout the day.

EOS Lip Balm in Honeysuckle Honeydew
I got two of these lipbalms in a beauty swap with Chie (MakeupLand2011).  EOS Lip Balms aren't available in Ireland at present so I was happy to get the chance to try them out. They are very moisturising, Honeysuckle Honeydew is my favourite one. I've been using mine daily and they seem to be lasting forever. I also think the packaging is unusual which makes me love it even more.

Smashbox Blush Rush in Everlasting

I've been using this peachy pink blush quite a lot over the Summer months. It gives you a really nice soft matte finish. I got this blush in the Smashbox Limitless Collection. This was one of my favourite products from the set along with the eyeshadow palette. It's a Limited Edition collection so get it while you still can.

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
I use this as an eyeshadow base everyday before I put my eye makeup on. As you can see I'm almost out of it. I got this for my 21st birthday back in February so it's lasted a very long time. What paint pot should I get next?

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzer in Medium Matte

I bought this product three weeks ago, it's a part of The Body Shop's Honey Bronze range. It has become a firm favourite of mine and is always in my makeup bag. This matte bronzer is not only great for contouring but it also gives you a natural glow. You can also see my mini pink camera in this photo!

MAC Fix+

This is a part of the MAC Sized To Go Collection. I made two purchases from it, the other product being the Cleanse Off Oil. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed by the Cleanse Oil but I love Fix+. Not only does it set my makeup but it is also very refreshing. At 30ml in size it's also perfect for travelling.

Korres Shea Butter & Vitamins Hair Mask

I straighten my hair daily for work so I like nothing more than to give my hair some R&R. I've been using this product for about two months now and I love it. It leaves my hair moisturised and also looking great. A little goes a long way with this product. I like the way the packaging is simple, so it lets the product do the talking.

Radox Shower Smoothies in Island Indulgence

I love Radox Shower Smoothies. Island Indulgence is the newest product in their range. It has a nice fruity scent that anyone would like. It's amazing.

Hope you enjoyed this post. If there are any products you'd like to see a reviewed, please leave a comment below.

What have been your favourite products throughout August??

Laura<3