SO MANY NEW MAKEUP LAUNCHES.
All the spring summer collections are now onto the shelves and I’ve had so many lovely new products to play with ; so lots of makeup in my February favourites.
I’ve tried something a little different with this post ; you can choose between a blog post/ read OR I have also filmed this for my You Tube channel if you prefer to watch and listen – that vid is right at the bottom of this post.
Let’s jump straight to it.
It was London Fashion Week mid Feb and lots of lugging my kit around and I had SUCH a sore back = long steamy soaks in the bath with a combination of the MIO Liquid Yoga (posh Radox) & my current favourite Aromatherapy Associate bath & shower oil ‘Support Equilibrium‘ : A great combination for when you are feeling under the weather, achey, tired and just generally run down. To make it all the more relaxing, I’ve been lighting the Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax candle which basically makes my bathroom (& entire house!) like a spa. If you have read my blog for some time you will know I am a huge AA fan and I have been buying their products for around 8 years now and I absolutely SWEAR by these bath oils.
To combat my dry hands and cuticles the Crabtree & Evelyn Pear & Magnolia overnight hand therapy has been my go-to in the PM for a really deep and nourishing treat. It smells wonderful and does not leave my hands feeling greasy which is a must for me.
Skincare-wise there was two favourites : Kat Burki Revitalising Serum combined with the Dr Jackson 01 Skin Cream was a perfect combination for me. The KB serum is high antioxidant, vitamin C and has cold-pressed rose hip seed oil which is great for a breakout skin. I have recently really got into little-know Dr.Jackson skincare and use both his 01 & 02 skin creams with 01 being my preferred when i want something a little lighter, plus it has SFF20 protection.
Makeup Time.
Bareminerals Complexion Rescue : A tinted moisturiser-esque base that is a lightweight gel texture and is great for a sheer, glowy base. I have shade ‘tan’ which is way too dark for me at the moment, but I’m trying to eek it into my routine as I love it so much so I am adding a little touch of lighter foundation in with it to make it work. A new base product for me is the Benefit Stay Don’t Stray. I am absolutely LOVING this product and one of my favourite discoveries of the year thus far. I was introduced to it by the wonderful Lisa Potter-Dixon from Benefit and It’s gone straight into my daily makeup staples. I love the fact you can wear it 360 around your eye area and I often don’t need anything else over it for a simple, clean looking eye. The makeup brush that comes hand in hand with this is the Crownbrush Rose Gold Contour (small one). I LOVE THIS BRUSH and have pretty much featured it everywhere I can. A great dupe for the Artis Oval 4 brush and I have written more about that in my post >here.
Colour makeup-wise I have been absolutely ALL OVER my Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar again. This I have owned for a couple of years but I am using it again pretty much daily. I love *that* peanut butter shade so much which is a matte orange. Perfect for my blue eyes. This in combo with the NYX slide on eyeliner in shade ‘Golden Bronze’ is my absolute dream combo ; it’s cheap, the colour is great and they are super soft and apply perfectly in the inner waterline and everywhere else around the eye.
Another re-discovery was the Stila Convertible Colors ; these easy-to-wear cream colours have always been on the backburner in my kit, I have used them for like 10 years and I just packed them into my kit again after a bit of a break = love them and they do such great shades with ‘Peony’ being one of my most-used. Lip love came in another form of the brand spanking new GOSH Liquid Matte Lips ; these are a wonderful and creamy liquid lipstick and my favourite shade has been 01 Candyfloss. (I’m wearing this in my You Tube vid).
Last up in my February favourites is the DHC Blotting papers. Perfect for daytime touch-ups for the oily-skinned crew and better than heaping on powder on powder that can break up your foundation and go patchy. These small blotting papers are great in the handbag and they suck up oil disgustingly well (just check my vid yeah..)..
Ok and the Fails….
Maybelline Push Up Angel Mascara. Gah. Wanted this to work. Had high hopes. Did not work for me. It has a very thin wand which sometimes does work for me (haaay Kevyn Aucoin Volume mascara) but I just couldn’t get good seperation OR volume with this. A shame as one of my favourite high street mascaras is the Maybelline Lash Sensational.
The Balm Mary Lou Manizer highlighter. I purchased this *so* long ago, and had never got around to opening/using it until recently. I was disappointed. It’s such a talked-about and hyped up product I think I was just expecting it to be a little more wow-factor. It turns out it’s just like 3000 highlighters currently out there, and lots now, are cheaper. It’s not bad ; it has a nice texture and it’s a pretty highlighter, but it’s just VERY subtle which isn’t my preference, I prefer a Becca-type payoff with my highlighters. It won’t be wasted though as I will still use this in my kit.
What were you favourites this months? Have you used any of the above products? Maybe you loved my fails?
PSSSSSSST…and here, if you are interested, is my accompanying You Tube video! Please watch if you have the time & subscribe. You also get to see lots of Herman.
