Wednesday 9 May 2012

April Favourites



Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover
I saw this product on quite a few blogs so I obviously couldn't resist trying it out for myself. Its basically a little pot that you put your finger into for a couple of seconds and it will take all of your nail polish off for you. I think this concept has existed in other forms before but this is only one that actually works and doesn't smell like death. Its acetone & paraben-free and is enriched with sweet almond oil to make your fingers feel & smell lovely. I was amazed at how quickly it took off my nail polish, it wasn't quite the 1 second it says on the pot but it was near enough. I really love this product and its so nice to be able to change my nail polish several times a week without removing the previous colour being a horrible chore.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir
Is there a beauty blogger around that hasn't featured this in their favourites this month?! As you can see I've nearly finished this 30ml bottle already so I just had to invest in the 100ml one when it was on BuyaPowa. I've been using this as a toner and it really is the most refreshing thing I've tried on my skin. The herbal scent is amazing and its great at perking me up when I'm feeling tired. I find that it has helped to tighten my pores & I've not had as many blemishes this month. You can also use it over your makeup to stop it from looking cakey so its excellent if you use powder foundations. At £30 for the big bottle I can tell that this is going to be an expensive addiction...

MAC Soft And Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish
I really do not understand how I didn't own this product before now! I just couldn't stop myself from buying more highlighters in my never-ending quest for glowing skin but I think I may have finally found what I've been looking for all this time. This highlighting powder has a really high sheen that gives your cheeks the best glow ever. I tend to use Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation most days of the week but the finish can be a bit too matte for my liking. It needs something extra to make my face look alive. As a super pale person I can't really wear bronzer without looking like I've not washed for a month so to perk up my skin I need to use highlighters instead. I find that this product makes my face look healthy and glowing and it looks fantastic when photographed using flash. I can't see myself buying any more highlighters after this one (although I did buy two others on the same day!) and I'm really glad about that because it was becoming stupidly expensive.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush
I bought all three of the new Real Techniques brushes last month but the expert face brush is definitely my favourite one. Its a smaller version of the buffing brush from the Core Collection set but I think it works even better than that one. Its the perfect size & shape for foundation application and it just makes my skin look flawless. A lot of people want to try buffing brush but don't want to purchase that whole set so I'd recommend getting this one instead. Its only £10 and its the best foundation brush I've ever tried. If you want to know more about the other new brushes have a look at my review.

SUQQU Eyebrow Liquid Pen
Ever since I plucked my eyebrows into oblivion as a teenager I've been obsessed with getting the perfect shape. After years of growing them back I started filling them in to make them look as good as possible. I normally use powder and an angled brush to fill them in but sometimes I find that I can put too much powder on leaving them looking a bit too dark & heavy for my platinum hair. Last month I went to the Selfridges beauty hall in Manchester for a quick browse and one of the counters that caught my eye was the SUQQU one. I'd never really heard of this brand before but I liked the look of their products so I let the sales assistant try out some things on me. Their eyelash curlers are bloody amazing, they're used horizontally and they make your eyelashes look mahoosive, even better than with the Shu Uemura ones. But the only thing I decided to buy was this eyebrow pen. I'd wanted to try some of the GOSH eyebrow pens but none of the colours suited me & I think that colour match is one of the most important things to consider when filling in your brows. The pen cost me £20 and the shade 02 brown is a perfect match. The super fine tip of this brush means you can really control the shape of your eyebrows. It leaves my brows looking full but natural. It can also be layered up depending on how dark your natural hairs are. The pen is water & oil-resistant so it lasts all day long without any smudging. I totally recommend this if you're looking for an excellent eyebrow product.




Fitbit Ultra
I'm a bit of a gadget freak and I'm obsessed with calorie counting via MyFitnessPal. One of the things that always niggled me about that app is that its hard to tell exactly how many calories you're burning every day. I'm someone who walks everywhere so I just had to estimate how many calories I had burned from how long my walk had taken. I saw this little gadget on BuyaPowa and was immediately intrigued by the concept. Its basically a very cool pedometer with a calorie counter built into it. It is shaped like a clip so that it can hook onto your belt, your pocket or the middle of your bra. It wirelessly syncs with your laptop to give you an overview of how much exercise you've done each day. It can link up with MyFitnessPal and will automatically add your exercise entries so you know exactly how many more calories you can eat for the day. One of its most interesting features is that it can be used to track your sleep. Its so cool being able to see exactly how many minutes it took me to fall asleep, how many times I woke up in the night and how much sleep I've gotten over a week. Its really been helping me to keep track of my calorie intake and it has encouraged me to do more walking and exercise. Mine has been practically surgically attached to me since I got it. It almost pained me to take it off for this photo. At £79 they are pretty pricey for what is essentially a glorified pedometer but I really love mine & because I got it off BuyaPowa it was £10 cheaper.



Girls
My number one TV show of last month is obvs Game Of Thrones but on Sunday nights in America HBO also air this show called Girls. It follows the lives of four twenty-something girls living in Brooklyn. In terms of age group its almost the middle ground between Gossip Girl and Sex & The City. The show focuses on loads of different issues from trying to get your foot on the career ladder after finishing uni to relationships with shitty boyfriends but pretty much all of it is hilarious. I can definitely identify with the character of Hannah which is probably a bad thing haha. I think that one of the main strengths of the show is the fact that these are girls and situations that normal people can empathise with. Their characters are definitely not aspirational but they're enjoyable all the same and I just can't get enough of this show.

23 comments:

  1. Oh I'm so disappointed to hear that the magic nail varnish remover has almond oil in it :( I'm allergic to nuts so I'm glad I read this! xo

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  2. Oh almond oil in nail vanish remover? haven´t seen that before!:)

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  3. Great picks! I'm really keen to try the FitBit Ultra now x

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  4. Woah that fitbit gadget sounds amazing, that's kinda thing I would get way too into haha. I really want to pick up the expert face brush too, did you buy it online? I look for it in boots the other day and couldn't see it so not sure if they're out in boots yet :/ x

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  5. Need to get the RT brush! Lovely post <3 xx

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  6. LOVING the sound of the new brush, need that in my life. I really want to try the nail polish remover, heard some great things.

    http://thefashiondistrictnlc.blogspot.co.uk/

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  7. Girls sounds amazing! Off to download it now :) x

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  8. The brush sounds perfect, i've been eyeing up real techniques for a while now but never wanted to buy the whole set so this has made me feel a whole lot better.

    Ria x
    miniinstilettos.blogspot.com

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  9. great favs :) i think I should have a look on that mac soft&gentle. it sounds amazing and looks perfect *_*

    xoxo FlirtingwithFashion

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  10. So many of your favourites are on my wishlist at the minute, especially the soft and gentle mineralize skinfinish, definitely convinced me even further that I need it! Love the sound of the fitbit, obsessed with stuff like that!

    wishfulsinfulyou.blogspot.com

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  11. I wish you hadn't posted about that pedometer thing cos now I really want one and I don't think I can justify that much on one!! It looks fantastic!! Going to pick up one of the nail varnish removers tomorrow when I go shopping, and I remember reading about that Suqqu pen ages ago and wanting one. xxx

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  12. I still need to get myself some Real Techniques brushes! XO.

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  13. Been umming and aahing over the MAC MSF... I feel you on the being too pale for bronzer situation! May have to invest now :)

    Emma :)
    www.emschwardrobe.blogspot.com
    X

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  14. I really want a Real Techniques brush so your review is proving very helpful in helping me decide!
    I love the sound of Girls - any idea if it'll be aired in the UK? Xo

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    1. i'm not sure actually. it seems like the kind of thing that channel 4 or sky atlantic would pick up but i've not heard anything. i just download it xx

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  15. Never even heard of Girls, need to get involved with this. I loved the real techniques blush brush you recommended and I may get some more, they are so soft! x

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  16. nearly bought the MAC bronzer the other day it looks gorgeous!

    sculpturedmess.blogspot.com

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  17. Never heard of my fitness pal, looks great - thanks for the heads up! That device looks addictive too but don't think I can justify the $$$ at present :-( x

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  18. Really lusting over that RT brush! xo

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  19. Oh my god, I absolutely LOVE game of thrones, so I'll have to check out Girls, as any lover of GOT, must have good taste!

    Kate x
    memoirsofawardrobe.com

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  20. Really must try the polish remover, taking nail varnish off is such a pain! I feel the same way about Caudalie, it's really helped my skin this month. I've been attempting to ration it as I don't want to repurchase so soon but it's inevitable! x

    ug-lily.blogspot.com

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  21. I'm going to have to try the Bourjois polish remover, the only problem being that I always have loads of tiny cuts all over my hands from opening boxes at my work and I think it might sting like a bitch!
    I am really looking forward to Girls starting on Sky Atlantic. It looks really good.

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  22. I absolutely cannot wait to try the nailpolish remover! Sounds absolutely perfect. As for the pedometer thing I am so excited by the prospect of this it's ridiculous - I walk near enough 4 miles a day but my pace completely varies so I never know what I'm burning this sounds so perfect. As for 'Girls' I might just have to go hunt this down sounds like it might fill my TV void!

    Thanks so much for this post Caroline, lots and lots of 'food' for thought :)

    Sarah
    http://fashionismyh2o.blogspot.co.uk/
    xx

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