Once again sorry for the lateness of this post! August just seems to have flown by and I can’t quite believe we are into September already so without further ado I’m going to get cracking with my August favourites.
I’ll kickstart with the Simple Soothing Facial Toner. Toning is a step I have often neglected in my beauty routine but at the start of August I made a conscious effort to be good to my skin so whilst perusing the skin care aisles in Boots I came across this. I love Simple as a brand and when I was trying to find a ‘suitable’ toner I decided to go for this one. I knew I’d love it and I certainly do. It does exactly what it says on the tin (or bottle) “…a perfect blend of multi-vitamins and skin loving ingredients” including chamomile and witch hazel which are both extremely soothing to the skin. I love slathering this onto a cotton pad and smoothing over my face in the evening after cleansing and in the morning before I apply moisturiser and it makes my skin feel so fresh. At around £5 a bottle I don’t have any complaints.
Xen Moroccan Oil Tan – I’ve been quite the social butterfly the past month and have been loving using this to top up my tan. I think this tops the Xen tan Absolute Luxe (review here), in that it is a lot darker, absorbs faster and I only need the smallest amount which blends out so easily. The only downside here is that the bottle isn’t that big (5oz) and it’s quite pricey but I just luuurve it. I have been sticking to the Absolute Luxe for more weekly tan top ups and using the morroccan oil when I have a special occasion because I just love the colour on me – a slightly darker olive colour than the Luxe. If any of you have tried this and know of a dupe I’d love to hear about it!!
I’ve been a bit of a foundation hussy and lately have been loving using the Mac Studio Fix Fluid. Now I’m not the biggest fan of Mac foundation and I have heard a lot of mixed reviews about this foundation but Nars Sheer Glow (review here) hasn’t quite been cutting it lately on the ‘long lasting’ front so I decided to give the Studio fix fluid a go. Whilst out shopping I bought this on a whim and I have been really loving using it. I’d say this is a medium to full coverage foundation but I have been swaying towards lighter coverage lately so I like to apply this by giving my face a couple of good sprays of Max Fix+ before using less than a full pump all over my face with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and the results are amazing! It applies like a dream and photographs so beautifully, giving me a lovely matte (but still glowy) look. Purrrrfect.
Another thing I have been experimenting with lately is concealer and I have been blown away by the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Bobbi Brown Corrector. There has always been a hype around the Creamy Concealer, but I don’t hear so much about the corrector and I have no idea why as it is amazing! It instantly brightens and lifts the eye and makes me look so much more…alive ha. I’m going to do a full review of this soon so watch out for this!
Onto hair…now I know you might be looking thinking why is there a tub of cooking oil also known as Coconoil Organic Virgin Coconut Oil in these photos but I have fallen in love with this stuff and don’t think I could do without using it on my hair now. I’ve always been a fan of coconut oil for dry skin and the lips (old post on getting plump lips here) but I’ve always been a bit afraid to use it on my hair because it’s “something you cook with?!”. I guess I always just thought I wouldn’t be able to get it out of my hair and would have horrible greasy locks…FOREVER haha. I can however assure you with the proper shampoo and conditioning routine this stuff works wonders and leaves my hair soooo incredibly soft. How to: spoon out a good sized dollop (you can heat it in the microwave but I just like to rub it between my hands and it melts so quicly), massage into hair, throw hair up into a pineapple, leave for 20 minutes then wash out. Voila. Soft, shiny and healthy hair get over here.
The last of my favourites is a trio of hair styling products which have been my ‘go to’ hair products throughout the month. First up is the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hairspray. I actually got this free with a magazine and I have been loving using it so much that I think I might have to buy the full size version when it runs out. I love spritzing this in the roots of my hair before blow drying with my head upside down for great root volume and lift. Once my hair is dry, I’ve been using the Lee Stafford Big Fat Texturised Super Spray. I think this stuff is reasonably new and costs around £9 (which isn’t cheap for the size) but I really don’t need to use a lot of this. I use it on dry hair (for added volume in the roots) and it is a kinda gel/wax/sea salt hybrid spray that sets in the bottle like a wax but then you shake it up and the formula goes really liquidy. It’s a weird one to explain because it does give great lift and doesn’t leave a tacky feeling which I expected so I really like this.
Lastly, I’ve been using the V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray to give the lengths of my hair a bit more volume and in between washes to stop it from going flat. There has been a lot of hype around the Oribe Dry Texturising Spray recently but at £38 I’ve been desperately trying to find something that might be similar, and at a fraction of the price I think this might be a good alternative. If you’ve tried the Oribe Dry Texturising Spray I’d love to hear your thoughts on it because I really am itching to try it!!
…and that’s the end of my August Favourites! I hope you’ve found this post useful if you’re thinking of trying out any of these products 🙂
Are any of these products a favourite of yours or are you planning to try any of them out? I’d love to hear of any recommendations you might have too! 🙂
Chantelle xx
I love MAC Studio Fix Fluid, but I’m afraid that it’s starting to break me out 🙁
Sarah
Eyeshadow Addicts Anonymous
Oh no! It hasn’t broken me out yet so fingers crossed!! I really love it 🙁 xx
Have considered trying the Bobbi Brown concealer and corrector for ages but have never got round to buying it, looking forward to your review! xx
Heels Forever – Enter my Giveaway!
I plan on reviewing it very soon, it’s unlike any other concealer I’ve used! Look forward to sharing my thoughts 🙂 xx
Great favourites! I love the Bobbi Brown Corrector/Conealor
Stevie | Stevie Hearts Makeup
xxx
Thanks Stevie! Same here, I’m regretting not buying it sooner! xx
I have to try the Bobbi Brown concealer and corrector! I’m always looking for something that would be the perfect under-eye coverup, but I just simply CAN’T find one that hides the tiredness completely!
http://www.kristianavasarina.com
The corrector is amazing at immediately brightening and lifting the eye! I’m going to do a review soon so look out for it 🙂 xx