I would have usually have called this my ‘Monthly Favourites’ but let’s but this is more of a cumulation of favourites from the last few months. I’m not organised enough to do these posts monthly any more and especially when I’m still half living life out of brown boxes!
Here’s a bunch of good beauty products I’ve been enjoying lately ; mainly new but a few golden oldies.
Makeup.
I can’t not include any of the new Bobbi Brown collection I was talking about here. It’s so festive and pretty and as always great quality. One of the stand-outs for me is the ‘Ruby Slippers‘ glittery lipstick which is not only a super seasonal shade but this is a proper collector’s item lipstick….so pretty! Also in the lip line-up are the lovely and nourishing Rosie by Autograph Tinted Lip Sheen. These are really handy for this time of year when you want a slick of colour with balm as well. They definitely feel kind and nourishing when you apply them onto the lips ; you don’t get that tacky, sticky feel with them and the shade ‘Rose Shine ‘ is a perfect berry pink that amps up the colour of my natural lips.
I have been loving the Barminerals Bounce & Blur collection as the formulas are SUPER soft and buttery and this Bounce & Blur Blusher in shade ‘Mauve Sunrise’ is my perfect autumnal-coming-into-winter tone. When I am tanned I love a coral but when my skin is paler I tend to like a cool pink tone and this is really flattering on me. Gives a beautiful flush of colour and gives a healthy sheen as well.
Two oldies-but-goodies. First up the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. This is a mascara that gets better with age and it’s honestly the key to the hype around this mascara. When I first used this mascara many years ago, I couldn’t get on with it, it was doing NOTHING for my lashes, but when I came back round to it a few weeks later it just seemed to work. The formula thickened up and i loved it. This is now my 4th tube and I’m loving it! The next ‘oldie’ is the Perricone MD No Makeup Foundation. I have used this for so many years and it’s one of my favourite bases for everyday, polished skin. They recently changed the formula slightly and extended the colour range but it’s just as good as I remember.
The Nudestix Magnetic Eye Pencils are some of the best ‘quick makeup’ shadow sticks I have used. I love their colour ranges and they stay on SO well. I have used the shade ‘Immortal’ for so many years which is a burnished bronze and have just found it’s perfect partner in shade ‘Gilt’ which is a pretty, shimmering gold which pairs so well with Immortal.
I am loving my new spangly tweezers from Rubis. They are limited edition slanted ones with the star design and they are perfect for a Christmas gift too (IF you can still get them!). True story : my mum had her Rubis tweezers for over 10 years and I now have them and they are still perfect – they really are the best tweezers on the market, hands down.
Skincare.
A bit of a slow burner for me is my skincare. I am trying really hard to use up products rather than change it up weekly/fortnightly as I get send new stuff. I have a big pile I am slowly working my way through and I’m just in the middle of transitioning into my autumn-winter regime. My skin tends to get a little more sensitive and dry in the winter so needs a little more care and attention!
One of my favourite new discoveries and I’ve actually just finished it is the Alpha-H Hyaluronic 8 serum. I LOVE THIS so much and it’s such a good just pure hydration and soothing serum. One of the best I have used and I will be buying another when I get through a few of my others. Alpha H is a brand I’ve recently got back into and I have really liked all of their products I have tried and I can’t wait to discover more. Another treat that has been boosting the hydration levels in my skin is the ARK Skincare Hydration Injection Masque. This is also a hyaluronic acid based treat that is also packed full of vitamins to really give your skin a boost and rejuvenation. I have been slathering this on a few times a week for at least 10 minutes but you can also use this as an overnight mask.
For brightening and radiance I’ve been using a combination of two masks which seem to be really effective on my skin.
First up ; the Samaya Renewing Exfoliant. This potent enzyme exfoliant is a liquid formula that you simply massage onto your face and leave on for 20 mins. No ‘scrubby bits’ or rubbing, the ingredients including pineapple enzyme, gotu kola and tumeric do all the work for you. I will be talking more about this in depth very soon but it’s my first taste of this range and I can’t wait to try more! It leaves me looking and feeling refreshed, smooth and glowing.
The L’Occitane Radiance Scrub is a really effective hybrid scrub-mask treatment that contains both a dose of fruit enzymes AND gentle seeds to give you that instant feel of exfoliating which I know some people prefer. It has a jelly-like texture and smells good enough to eat and is a nice, quick massage on, leave for a few minutes then rinse off treatment.
I’ve been SUPER lazy with eye creams ever since we moved and I have to admit, I missed eye cream out totally for a good month or so. I’ve just slowly eased back in with the Odacite Eye Contour Serum Concentrate. This is a range that I have dipped in and out of over the last couple of years. Their serums are SUPER concentrated (hence the small 5ml YIKES sizes!) and are quite pricey but are with the splurge when you can. I think of them as skincare/serum ‘boosters’ that you add in when your skin is really in need of something. This Eye Contour serum is really nice and nourishing and a few drops of this a day has almost made it look like I having been neglecting my skin for months.
Another new eye treat that I am SO late to trying after all the hype is the Space Masks. I just assumed these were eye patches….WHO KNEW?!
So these are actually kind of the opposite of a normal eye treatment (that will often be cooling / wet and all about enlivening the skin), the Space Masks are all about relaxation, soothing and calming you before bed. HELLO. They are an eye mask that you put over your eyes and they heat up gentle and give off a soft scent of jasmine to help relax and calm you.
Haircare & body.
Collection Haute is a new haircare range for me, and the ‘Be Bold’ range has been created to give volume to fine hair types. I sometimes struggle with volume ranges as they sometimes don’t give me enough hydration as they ten to be super lightweight but this duo seems to give me the perfect balance of weightlessness and hydration. I really like the packaging and I think I’ll definitely be exploring more of their ranges soon.
A haircare brand that is definitely not new to me, but one I haven’t used for SO many years, is the Umberto Giannini range..
I’ve just been sent a bundle of products to try out and I’m super impressed with what I’ve been dipping into and the top of the pile is the Flowerology Coco and Rose hair mask. It’s a perfect once a week treat for give an extra boost of hydration and a bit of TLC to my coloured hair. I love everything about it from the look, the smell, the pretty packaging and it’s super affordable too.
I seem to go through dry shampoo like orange twirls at the moment. For one, I feel like I’m just too busy for too much self-care. Leaving my hair an extra day (or 2!) for longer than I should seems to be the norm and dry shampoo helps me through these days! Spray in, whack the hair up, job done. I also have really fine hair so if I do get round to a blow dry / straighten then I will even spritz a bit of dry shampoo into my freshly washed hair to give it a bit of oomph and grip. Batiste is THE original and one of the best dry shampoo’s. It always works really well for me, plus I love the limited edition scents and bottles they do like this Edgy & Romantic Tempt.
Both me and Margot have been suffering from a bout of patchy dry skin at the moment. I think it’s the drop in temperature?
For myself I have been slathering on the Egg Mousse Body Oil as it’s just so quick and not as messy or greasy-feeling as a lot of body oils can be. It is a really unique formula that comes out as a mousse and once applied onto the skin transforms into a beautiful, deeply nourishing dry oil. Really quick and easy to apply and does the job. Yes is does contain a bit of egg extract but I promise you it doesn’t smell and you really wouldn’t know ; it also contains shea butter, various oils to nourish, honey and milk extracts.
Bath, Body, Lifestyle.
Not a lot to report on this front, aside from my new candle OBSESSION, from The Botanical Candle Company. The Christmas Eve scent is the best Christmas candle I have ever smelt and I have been through most of the high to low end candles. I discovered them as they are made in a town near me in Dorset and they are soy wax, hand poured and produced in small batches above the (beautiful) shop.
Scent-wise, again I’ve been pretty low maintenance/lazy. I am loving the Byredo Bal Da’Afrique fragrance and only have it in the hair perfume at the moment but it works perfectly as a light mist to give you a subtle scent AND they are a fraction of the price of the eau de parfum.
Wow ok, that was a lot to get through ; perhaps I SHOULD try and go back to monthly round-ups so it won’t be *quite* so many products to get through! I hope you enjoyed reading what I’ve been discovering and loving lately in the beauty world.
Can you spot any of your go-to’s from this bunch or anything that perhaps has caught you eye?
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