November Favourites

Illamasqua Broken Gold
Illamasqua are forever inventing exciting new products that you can't find anywhere else on the market. They recently launched their Equinox collection & for me the star of the show was their Broken Gold eye gel. Broken Gold features tiny gold leaf particles that sparkle in the light & really add some oomph to your eye makeup. It gives a shattered metal effect that looks beautiful when layered over neutral eyeshadows. I love glittery eye looks but real glitter can be a nightmare to remove. I can get this stuff off with a quick swipe of micellar water on a cotton pad. It looks absolutely stunning & is utterly perfect for the festive season.

Isehan Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume & Curl Mascara
I've been testing out quite a few different Asian beauty products lately & it's like a whole new world to explore! The products are so innovative & feature cutting edge ingredients that we tend not to have over here. I decided to buy a couple of the Isehan Kiss Me Heroine Make mascaras as Japanese cosmetics have an amazing rep. I've completely fallen in love with the Volume & Curl one. The formula is extremely waterproof. In fact I had to buy their special makeup remover in order to get it off properly! The curl it gives my lashes is unrivalled & helps make them look even longer. The volume is decent but I like to layer it with other mascaras to achieve my preferred lash look. Seriously this mascara is incredible & you won't find anything better if you want super curly lashes.

Bravura London Salicylic Acid 2%
Bravura London have been on my radar for quite some time now. They specialise in at-home chemical peels which are like the next step up from everyday exfoliating toners. As my Paula's Choice BHA was running out I decided to buy the Bravura 2% Salicylic Acid peel. Salicylic acid works wonders on spots, blackheads & closed comedones. I find that my skin responds better to BHAs than AHAs so it's a must-have ingredient in my skincare routine. The application process of this peel is slightly different to many BHA & AHA treatments. First you need to wash your face & then wait 30 minutes for your skin to return to it's normal pH level. Next you put some of the acid into a glass & apply it with a fan brush. After two minutes you can wash it off & carry on with the rest of your skincare routine. Peels are bit stronger than toners so the effects are a lot more immediate & this stuff has totally blown me away. It has improved the texture of my skin so much & my face is entirely blemish-free at the minute. I was so impressed with this product that I ended up buying a few more items from them on Black Friday & I cannot wait to try them out!

Bee Good Youth Enhancing Hydrate, Smooth & Prime Serum*
The weather has been horrific lately & my skin has been suffering as a result. It needs all the moisture it can get so I've been slathering on this lovely hydrating serum from Bee Good. This product is part of their new Youth Enhancing range but it's suitable for all skin types, not just mature skin. It's a light creamy serum with a gorgeous herbal scent. It features a slew of potent natural ingredients including Bee Good's signature British wildflower honey, propolis & beeswax. There's also collagen stimulating peptides, firming blackcurrant seed oil & moisture boosting larch extract. I love using this on my skin because it's really calming & soothing and delivers instant hydration. My skin is left looking plumper & feeling much softer. This serum slots in nicely with the rest of my routine for a happier, healthier complexion & it certainly banishes those Winter skin blues!

MESAUDA Milano Diamond Baked Blush in Mariah*
I was recently sent a few products from an Italian cosmetics brand called MESAUDA Milano & I am freaking obsessed with them! All of the products are such good quality & the colours are simply divine. I'm a sucker for pretty blushers so I practically swooned when I first applied this one. The texture of the Diamond Baked Blush is exquisite. The ultra-fine powder feels silky to the touch & almost melts into the skin for a truly flawless finish. It has a luminescent sheen to it which gives the skin a fresh & radiant glow. Mariah is obviously named after everyone's favourite 90's diva, Mariah Carey. The blusher is a deep plummy pink shade with gold shimmer running through it. The powder is intensely pigmented, one tap with a brush is literally all you need. Mariah is such a stunning colour & it would be ideal for any Autumn/Winter makeup look.

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September Favourites

Bee Good Raspberry & White Chocolate Lip Balm*
One of Bee Good's latest releases is this delectable lip balm & I can't get enough of it! Raspberry & white chocolate is such a classic flavour combination. The velvety sweetness of white chocolate complements the flavour of fresh fruity raspberries so very well. To me it tastes a bit like artic roll which is one of my favourite desserts! It feels like such an indulgent treat to pop this on my lips. It instantly soothes & hydrates dry chapped lips with a clear glossy finish. The formula includes many natural ingredients along with Bee Good's signature beeswax & honey which are well known for their healing properties. It really is good enough to eat!

Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum
Superdrug have some amazing own brand skincare products that should not be ignored. You might think that something costing only £2.69 would be a load of rubbish but their Simply Pure Hydrating Serum is one of the best things I have ever put on my face! This silky serum features a wonderful blend of hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, ceramides & Soothex®. Together these ingredients help to nourish, soften, exfoliate & calm the skin. It's very gentle but can make a huge difference to the texture of your skin. Most people suffer from dehydrated skin without realising it so it's important to include something like this in your skincare routine. As long as you know what ingredients to look out for, good skincare products needn't cost you the earth & this serum is a great place to start.

Claudia Louch Mint Exfoliating Facial Polish*
I still maintain that chemical exfoliants are better than physical ones but if your skin is intolerant of acids then you can't go wrong with this lovely facial polish from Claudia Louch. This is a gentle sugar-based scrub with a whole host of plant extracts to nourish your skin naturally. The inclusion of apricot oil allows the scrub to smooth & cleanse the skin without drying it out. It sloughs off any dead skin to create a flawless base for makeup. You can use it directly on dry skin or mixed in with your regular cleanser. I prefer to mix it with my gel cleanser as it gets cleansing & exfoliating out of the way in one fell swoop. It has a gorgeous minty scent & really makes your skin feel tingly fresh. After washing it off my skin is left feeling velvety smooth & my complexion looks much brighter. It's a great way to improve your overall skin texture without the use of acids. The Mint Exfoliating Facial Polish is yet another truly brilliant product from the Claudia Louch Natural Skin Clinic.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation
Ever since trying her Light Wonder foundation I've been waiting for Charlotte Tilbury to come out with a fuller coverage option. Magic Foundation has been five years in the making & believe me, it was well worth waiting for. First off Magic Foundation comes in many more shades than Light Wonder with lighter lights, darker darks & plenty of others in between. I bought Shade 1 which is a neutral beige for very fair skin with cool undertones. The coverage is very buildable & no matter how much of it I slap on, it never looks cakey. The texture is quite thick but it feels weightless on the skin & perfects my complexion all day long. It immediately gives the appearance of smoother skin & contains several skincare ingredients to improve the condition of your skin in the long run. I much prefer this foundation to Light Wonder so kudos to CT for finally bringing us a high coverage base product. Magic Foundation is a fab addition to Charlotte Tilbury's ever expanding line up. It's not quite 'magic' but it certainly comes very close.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator in So Hollywood
Highlighters are totally my thing. I'm obsessed with the way they make my skin look & I cannot apply my makeup without sweeping a bit of shimmer across the high points of my face. I just don't feel right without it! Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of my favourite makeup brands so when they recently launched their powder Illuminators, I was all over it. Starlight is the shade recommended for pale skin but for some reason I really dislike white highlighters. I decided to get So Hollywood as the colour looked pretty similar to my bae, theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer. Despite what others have said I think that this shade is perfectly suitable for fair skin. It looks incredible & gives me the most beautiful golden glow without being too yellow toned. I love this product so much! The Illuminators are supposed to be limited edition in the UK so make sure you don't miss out!

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Bee Good Honey & Propolis 2-In-1 Cream Cleanser

Bee Good Honey & Propolis 2-in-1 Cream Cleanser* - £11.50

At this time of year my skin always goes a little bit haywire. As a result I have to change up a few of the products I normally swear by for richer formulas that can keep my skin hydrated through the colder months. When it comes to cleansers I'm firmly an oil followed by a gel kinda gal but this product from British skincare brand Bee Good has reminded me of just how lovely cream cleansers can be. I'm sure most people have tried Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish or something similar by now but this has to be my favourite of that cleanser category. Thanks to my recent wasp infested house trauma I have a rather large aversion to any stripy flying insects. I just try to ignore the packaging design when I'm applying it! Of course bees are a whole lot more useful than wasps as they help to pollinate flowers & produce lots of delicious honey. Bee products have also long been regarded as potent skincare ingredients. That's why Bee Good have harnessed the healing powers of British honey, propolis & beeswax to create an effective, all natural range of skincare products.

The Honey & Propolis 2-in-1 Cream Cleanser has an incredibly thick & luxurious creamy texture which is more akin to a mask than a cleanser. It feels very comforting on the skin & has a beautiful fresh natural scent with just a hint of honey. In terms of ingredients this product features super-moisturising British wild flower honey, nourishing British crambe oil & British propolis which is renowned for it's antibacterial properties. It is also rich in vitamins B, C & E to promote skin healing. Each tube comes with it's very own muslin cloth. After massaging the cleanser onto dry skin simply rinse the cloth with hot water and remove the cleanser using circular motions. The luscious cream gently cleanses the skin whilst the cloth softly exfoliates. It works brilliantly as both a morning & evening cleanser as it removes every single trace of makeup without the need for a second cleanse. Although it makes light work of my heavy eye makeup you might want to use an eye makeup remover first as it tends to sting a bit if you massage it too far into your lashes.

This cleanser is suitable for all skin types but anyone with dry, dehydrated or problem skin will really benefit from it. I have combination skin so my cheeks sometimes get rather dry. Using the Bee Good Honey & Propolis 2-in-1 Cream Cleanser for a few weeks has really helped to balance out my skin & eliminate dry patches. It leaves my skin feeling really soft, smooth & hydrated without leaving any residue behind. My complexion looks noticeably brighter & clearer too. Like most cream cleansers the formula is very rich but unlike most of them this one hasn't given me any blemishes. If anything it has helped to clear up any breakouts as propolis is one of the best ingredients for balancing problematic skin. I feel like my skin gets on really well with this calming creamy cleanser & I would highly recommend it as an Autumn/Winter skincare addition. If you're fed up of cleansers that leave your skin feeling tight or stripped then Bee Good might just have the perfect product for you.

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