July Favourites

Alpha-H Daily Essential Moisturiser SPF 50+
Alpha-H's Liquid Gold is my ultimate skincare product. But when you use glycolic acid on your skin you need to wear SPF on a daily basis which is something I've always struggled to find good products for. I really wanted a moisturiser with a high SPF built in to save piling on SPF and moisturiser separately. The team at BuyaPowa very kindly used my suggestion of this moisturiser as one of their 'blue skies' co-buys and I immediately snapped it up. I'm so glad I did because its the best product with SPF I've ever used. It doesn't smell, it doesn't leave a white cast, it doesn't make my skin look greasy, it hydrates my skin perfectly and it sits well underneath my makeup. Its pretty much a dream product.

REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask
This has been a bit of a life saver this month! I was so eager to try out that new YSL Touché Éclat foundation and I was totally loving my little sample bottle because it looks so beautiful on the skin. But it gave me one of the worst breakouts I've had in my entire life! The entire bottom half of my face was just covered in spots and it looked horrible. This mask really helped to save my skin. Its a fab clay based mask and its so good at clearing up spots. When it dries you can see where all your pores are around your face which is kinda freaky and cool at the same time. It tightens large pores and leaves my face feeling so clean and smooth. My breakout from hell was gone within a couple of days and I really think that this was the reason why they went away so quickly.

REN ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser
I've become a bit of a REN convert this month. I got fed up of buying cheap crappy cleansers that were doing nothing for my skin and purchased two REN ones instead. This cleanser is different to any others I've tried in that it contains clay so its almost as if you're getting the effects of applying a clay mask but in a gentle daily dose. Its so calming on the skin and effective at getting rid of spots without drying out your skin whatsoever. Perfect for combination blemish prone skin like mine.

V05 Hot Oil Moisture Soak Elixir
I go swimming with my daughter every week and my heavily bleached barnet is not a big fan of chlorine. It started to take it toll and was really drying out my hair. I saw this recommended on a few blogs and decided to purchase a tube. This really helps to restore the condition of my hair and apparently it helps to get rid of 75% more chlorine than shampooing alone. Its so much easier to use than the hot oil tubes that you have to warm up before applying but with just as good effects. It only lasts me three shampoos though. I've already repurchased this twice because I love it so much.

Illamasqua Naked Rose Blusher
I've not actually been buying much makeup lately, shock horror! My focus is definitely on skincare at the moment because I feel like yet another pink lipstick isn't really what I need or want to spend money on. The only new collection that I've actually been excited by was Illamasqua Naked Strangers. The colours in this collection are all gorgeous nudes and I was instantly drawn to this beautiful blusher. Its a lovely beigey pink colour that is super flattering and unlike any other blusher I own. Like all Illamasqua blushers it is soft, easily blendable, highly pigmented and long lasting. Its pretty much all I've worn on my cheeks this month.

Breaking Bad
This is a show that for some reason I ignored for years. I'd always heard good things about it but it was only a few weeks ago that I decided to watch it for the first time. I'm so glad I did because it is one of the best television shows I've ever seen. The show revolves around the life of Walter White, a middle aged chemistry teacher turned meth cook/general badass upon discovering that he has lung cancer. He wants to raise money for his family before he kicks the bucket but, of course, the world of drug dealing is pretty crazy so its a bit of a bumpy ride. We've been marathoning the whole show and have just started watching season 4 now. Walter becomes more badass as each season passes and its insane watching the lengths he'll go to provide for his kids. Definitely check this out if you haven't already, you won't regret it!

June Favourites

Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Coral Reef
I recently bought a load of these True Colour lipsticks off the Sleek website but Coral Reef is definitely the best of the bunch. Its such a beautiful coral which is very red in tone. As this is one of the sheen formula lipsticks it is very moisturising and gives your lips a very slight gloss. The colour payoff on all these lipsticks is so impressive. They're dead cheap too, whats not to love? Heres a pic of me with Coral Reef on because the picture above gives you absolutely no indication of the lipstick's colour. Whoops, my bad.



Burt's Bees Beeswax & Banana Hand Cream
One of the best smelling hand creams ever! Theres some real treasures amongst the Burt's Bees range. I always keep this tub in my handbag because it is uber-softening and makes my hands smell delicious. The cream is quite thick but it really sinks into the skin very quickly. The only other hand cream that comes anywhere close to my love for this is Soap & Glory's Hand Food.

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Ultra-Softening Lotion
This product has gotten a lot of love from bloggers recently, I have to admit I love it too. My skin doesn't feel soft 7 days after applying this lotion like it claims but it does feel very soft for at least a day afterwards. This is really great on your legs to give them a bit of a healthy shine in Summer.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime
I first got to try this out when I had my hair dyed blonde back in November as its one of the staple products used at my hairdressers. This is basically the most amazing hair serum. Its very similar to Moroccanoil but I just prefer this one. I run this through my ends throughout the week to keep them looking glossy and healthy. It makes my hair feel really soft and helps to seal my split ends. It contains maize, argan, camellia and pracaxi oils and you can use it before washing your hair as a pre-conditioning treatment as well as before & after blow drying. Its a pricey product but it lasts for absolutely ages so its well worth the investment.

V05 Give Me Texture Instant Oomph Powder
One of the few products that actually does give you tons and tons of volume in your hair. My hair is quite fine and limp so I find it hard to get it to do anything other than lay flat against my head. This powder poofs it up and keeps it up until you wash it out. Its dead cheap as well, I got 2 pots for about 4 quid in Superdrug. This stuff is essential for a night out.



Babyliss Big Hair Rotating Styler
This is hands down the best thing I have ever bought for my hair. I know I've featured a lot of hair products this month but this is the ultimate. My hair undergoes a lot of bleaching & general abuse to get it this colour meaning that it is incredibly damaged. It also means that its requires a lot of hard work to give it some shape and stop it looking like a scraggly mess. This does it in an instant. I tend to use it on my ends to give them shape rather than for volume at the roots. I do dry my hair with a normal hairdryer first and then just use this to finish. If you were to dry your whole head with this I imagine it would take a little while. It can be used in so many different ways to do exactly what needs doing to your hair. It would be difficult to use this and not end up with beautiful locks afterward. Seriously everyone needs to go and buy one of these. I cannot praise it enough.