Giveaway: Kérastase Cristalliste Luminous Perfecting Masque

Fancy winning yourself a Kérastase hair mask? Of course you do! I've teamed up with Cohorted to offer one lucky reader a luxurious treat for their hair. Cohorted is an exciting new social shopping website. Every week they offer a brilliant range of beauty products as 'Cohorts'. Each item starts off at a discounted price, so you know you're always getting a bargain anyway. The more people that buy the product, the more money you'll save! Upcoming Cohorts include products from NARS, MAC, Estee Lauder, Illamasqua, Urban Decay & HealGel so it's well worth signing up for. They currently offer free shipping for all new accounts. After joining a Cohort you're given the option to share the deal on social media so your friends can join in too & help bring the price down even more. You can also earn loyalty points with every purchase which you can use to get a further discount on anything else you buy from Cohorted. For every pound you spend, you gain 1p towards your loyalty pot. These loyalty discounts can be redeemed at any time to help make your purchase even cheaper. What's not to love?

To celebrate the recent launch of the Cohorted website I'm giving away a tub of the Kérastase Cristalliste Luminous Perfecting Masque. Kérastase are one of my favourite haircare brands so I hope we'll be seeing plenty more of their products on Cohorted very soon. The Cristalliste range is designed for women with long hair, that suffer from greasy roots & dry ends. This mask promises to bring deep nourishment & shine to dry or damaged long hair. The formula is enriched with Kérastase's Liquid Light Complex leaving the lengths looking beautiful & shiny without weighing them down. It balances everything out making your roots feel weightless & the lengths look polished. I always get a Kérastase treatment mask when I go to the hairdressers and they always manage to make my hair look & feel amazing after a marathon bleaching session. When it comes to hair masks, Kérastase are hard to beat.

If you want to win a 200ml tub of the Kérastase Cristalliste Luminous Perfecting Masque, all you need to do is enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway will run from the 21st to the 27th of April & is open to UK readers only. The prize is being provided by Cohorted & will be sent to the winner by them. It's an absolutely cracking prize so get entering quick!

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Current Haircare Routine

When it comes to haircare my main concern is trying to stop my hair from looking dry and straw like. I've been bleaching my hair this colour since 2006 with a one year break in 2009 so I've tried a fair few treatments in my time. I've noticed the last few times I've washed & styled my hair its been looking better & healthier than ever, even more so than when I sported my natural hair colour. I think I've finally got my haircare routine locked down to these few products so this might be helpful to anyone with dry or damaged hair.

L'Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Silver Shampoo / Tigi Bed Head Urban Antidotes Resurrection Shampoo & Conditioner / Neal & Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment*

I've used an absolute ton of different purple shampoos but the L'Oreal silver shampoo is the best one if you just want to eliminate all signs of brassyness. I found that many others would leave my hair tinted rather than just white blonde. Clairol Shimmer Lights often left my hair with blue tones & Lee Stafford's offering made my hair really pinky. Purple shampoos are normally quite drying too but the L'Oreal one keeps my hair feeling soft. I picked up the Tigi Urban Antidotes duo in TK Maxx but you can find them just as cheaply online. I really like all the Tigi duos because the bottles are so big they last for months. I used to use the Dumb Blonde ones but switched to Urban Antidotes as these are specialised towards extremely damaged hair. Over time this duo has definitely helped to strengthen my hair and reduce breakage. They also have the most amazing bubblegum scent. A product I recently introduced into my haircare routine is the Neal & Wolf Harmony Intensive Care Treatment. I received this at a blogger meetup and when I tried it I couldn't believe the difference it made! It has worked so much better than every other conditioning treatment I've tried including those expensive Kerastase ones. This is a must buy product if you have dry or damaged hair. It just makes my hair look so healthy & glossy. Neal & Wolf are a brand I definitely need to investigate more because if the rest of their products are as good as this I am converted!

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer

I am rather lazy when it comes to my hair so I don't use this product very often but when I do, the difference is just incredible. Elasticizer is a pre-shampoo treatment so it is a bit of a faff to use. You have to wet your hair, apply it, put on a shower cap and then leave it in for ages before shampooing it off. You can leave it in for just 20 minutes or overnight if you prefer. I like to apply it to the ends of my hair and leave it overnight before washing it out in the morning. It restores your hair to almost virgin condition making it feel silky & sleek. This product can also help with hair growth if you use it often enough as one of the main ingredients is castor oil. It is very expensive for a hair treatment but worth every penny.

Kérastase Ciment Thermique / Moroccanoil / Bumble & Bumble Brilliantine / Alterna Caviar Rapid Repair Spray

I'm still using my Ciment Thermique & Moroccanoil combo as my blow dry base products. Together they give me the perfect amount of heat protection & moisture. A couple of months ago I added Bumble & Bumble Brilliantine to the mix and this stuff is basically a good hair day in a tube. You can use it on wet or dry hair to add definition and lots of shine. I've started to use this through the lengths and ends of my hair before blow drying and it just completely renews my hair. It makes my ends look super healthy, like I've just had a trim even though my last hair appointment was a few months ago. So much love for this product! After I've finished drying my hair I like to use a bit of the Alterna Caviar Rapid Repair Spray to add even more shine & get rid of any fluffyness. I've never come across a finishing spray as lovely as this one & it smells divine to boot!

Babyliss Pro Speed 2100W Hair Dryer / Babyliss Big Hair Rotating Styler

I always have to blow dry my hair as I cannot stand having wet hair. Air drying would just make my hair stringy and lifeless anyway. I don't really like to use a curler or straightener so blow drying allows me to get the shape I desire. I know its not the best thing to do to your hair but I only wash my hair once a week and use heat protection products every time so I guess its not too bad. First of all I blast my hair with my hair dryer and run through it with my fingers. I use a Babyliss Pro Speed hair dryer which is really brilliant. I'm pretty loyal to Babyliss when it comes to hair dryers, they always last me years. Theres a newer model of this now but this one is still going strong. When my hair is almost dry but still a bit damp I switch over to my Babyliss Big Hair styler to add volume and shape. I couldn't live without this styler. It just gives you a perfect blow dry without all the effort of sectioning your hair and drying it against a round bristle brush which can be quite tricky to do by yourself. I never used to be able to do it as well as my hairdresser but Big Hair really does help to give you that professional blow dry at home look.

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Favourite Products Of 2012

My monthly favourite posts are probably the ones I enjoy writing the most. Lots of you have told me that they're the ones you enjoy reading the most too. So today I bring you my yearly roundup of the products that I've loved using. It was really difficult to narrow the list down this year. There were so many new things that I tried & that have quickly become an essential part of my beauty regime. I'm surprised to see what things have changed & whats stayed the same from my last yearly favourites post. One thing's for sure, 2012 was a very expensive year in beauty!

Skincare
Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift & Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm / Alpha-H Liquid Gold
REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask / Hydraluron / Caudalie Beauty Elixir / Bioderma Créaline H2O

I definitely spent the most amount of money on new skincare products. I fell in love with this Emma Hardie cleanser from the moment I tried it. It removes makeup like nothing else & leaves your skin feeling so soft. I'm sure you could tell that Liquid Gold would be on my list. This glycolic acid based chemical exfoliant is something of a miracle potion for me. It resurfaces your skin getting rid of blemishes, fine lines & reducing scarring. Hands down, it is my favourite product of the year. The REN Invisible Pores is such a wonderful clay face mask. It draws out all the impurities in my skin & tightens every pore. Hydraluron is my favourite product for injecting a quick hit of moisture to the skin as its basically a super power up serum for your moisturiser. It rehydrates skin & helps keep spots at bay. I still love the Caudalie Beauty Elixir and spray it on my face twice a day. Its just so refreshing on the skin & I couldn't go without it now. Bioderma is the best thing you can use if you're feeling too lazy to actually wash your face. It just dissolves makeup so well & doesn't irritate my skin or eyes whatsoever.

Haircare
Moroccanoil / Percy & Reed Finishing Polish / Kerastase Ciment Thermique / Redken Real Control Overnight Treat
Bumble & Bumble Texture Hair (Un) Dressing Creme / Denman Dressing Out Hairbrush

I use Moroccanoil every time I wash my hair & it has definitely helped with its overall condition. I really like the Percy & Reed Finishing Polish as it gives my hairstyle great hold & successfully tames my frizz without weighing down my hair. Nothing beats Ciment Thermique when it comes to heat protection. It also makes your hair softer & has a lovely grapefruit scent. The Redken Overnight Treat is my favourite leave in product as you really do wake up with better looking hair. Bumble & Bumble products are amazing, I only wish they weren't quite so expensive. One thing from them that you should definitely splurge on is this Hair (Un) Dressing Creme. A tiny blob of this stuff ran through your roots before blow drying will give you just the right amount of texture & volume. To give my roots even more volume I use this Dressing Out brush. It is the best backcombing brush ever & can even be used to brush through wigs & hair extensions.

Base
Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch Primer / Bobbi Brown Corrector / Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray / theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer / Laura Mercier Mineral Powder
Illamasqua Translucent Loose Setting Powder

Clarins Instant Smooth is my new favourite primer. It gives you such a flawless base & basically airbrushes out your pores. Nothing manages to cover my hideous dark circles quite like my Bobbi Brown Corrector. It really brightens up the under eye area and makes you look a lot more awake. For most of 2012 I stuck with Estee Lauder Double Wear because I do love the coverage & staying power. Then Estee Lauder did something stupid & got rid of their palest shade. Enter Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation. Soft Ivory is such a perfect colour for me. You only need the tiniest blob for flawless skin and I find I don't need to use concealer on my blemishes when I use this foundation. I love the Urban Decay Setting Spray as it keeps your face in place all day & stops powder from looking powdery. I have a ridiculous obsession with highlighters and I couldn't stop myself from buying new ones in my search for the perfect glow. Look no further, theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer is the ultimate highlighter! I bought this back in May and haven't used or purchased another one since. I use this every single day as nothing else can deliver such a powerful shine. For days when I'm running late I go for a quick bit of concealer under my eyes and a good dusting of this Laura Mercier Mineral Powder. It has great coverage & gives a natural glow. I'd recommend this one over the pressed mineral powder as the pressed ones give a more matte finish. My favourite product for setting my makeup & taking away shine from my t-zone is this Illamasqua powder. I'm paranoid about my mascara running & concealer creasing under my eyes. This powder sets them perfectly & doesn't look cakey at all.

Eyes
Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara / L'Oreal Carbon Gloss Superliner / Anastasia Granite Tinted Brow Gel
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara / Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette / MAC NC15/NW20 Pencil
Maybelline On And On Bronze Colour Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow / MAC Omega Eyeshadow

My mascara & eyeliner choices are the same as last year. I just love this combo for long, thick, voluminous lashes & that perfect black flick. Anastasia are a brand I've been excited to try for a while & their Tinted Brow Gel certainly didn't disappoint. This is such a great product for when you need your brows done fast. Something I've used for a long time is the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. The tiny brush is fab for getting all those little bottom lashes & as it is a tubing mascara you don't have to worry about it running. The Naked 2 palette really is the best eyeshadow palette I own with shades & textures for all occasions. My eyes don't look right if I forget to use my MAC NC15/NW20 eye pencil. It really opens them up and takes away any redness. I've bought quite a few cream eyeshadows this year but Maybelline's On And On Bronze tops the list. Its such a nice colour & works well on its own as well as under other eye shadows without any creasing. At the beginning of last year I was using the HD Brows palette but I found the shades were just too dark & it was easy to overdo it. Omega is the perfect eyebrow colour. Its dark enough to match my eyebrow hairs & cool enough to look right with my blonde hair.

Blusher
Stila Petunia Convertible Colour / Illamasqua Sophie / NARS Deep Throat

I adore the Stila Convertible Colours! I used to be quite wary of cream blushers but the formula of these is just spot on. All the colours are gorgeous but Petunia is the one I reach for most. Its a bright rosy pink & looks fab on both cheeks & lips. I love love love Illamasqua's blushers & this is one of their newer shimmer blushers. Sophie is such a gorgeous bright golden coral colour and adds a nice bit of warmth to my complexion. NARS Deep Throat is a colour I reach for on an everyday basis. Its just the perfect colour for me & I can't get enough of it. This is actually the only NARS blusher I own, I'd love to get my hands on Douceur next.

Lip Products
NUXE Reve De Miel Lip Balm / Revlon Strawberry Shortcake Lip Butter
Revlon Rendezvous Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain / Look Beauty Citrus Kick Double Hit Lip
MAC Subculture Lip Pencil

The only lip balm capable of saving my lips from death this year has been this lovely NUXE one. I really like the pot & the stick but the pot definitely wins when you need an intense hit of moisture as its a bit thicker. I'd never tried any Revlon products before this year & I truly loved their two very hyped products - the Lip Butters & Balm Stains. Strawberry Shortcake is a lovely everyday pink whereas Rendezvous is sexy orange number. I also really like the Look Beauty Double Hit Lips. One end is a lipstick & the other is a lipgloss. Citrus Kick is another orange but it turns into a very pretty coral when it combines with the natural pink of my lips. The scent is absolutely delicious too. MAC's Subculture lip pencil is great nudey pink shade for emphasising the shape of your lips. It works well under a variety of lip colours & gives you super pouty lips.

Nail Polishes
Essie Cute As A Button / Essie Lilacism / Essie Fiji / Models Own Disco Inferno / Louise Gray For Topshop Junk Yard

I've been loving Essie polishes this year. The new brush makes them so easy to apply & they dry fairly quickly. They don't chip much either with a good coat of Seche Vite on top. Lilacism is probably my favourite one as I just love purple colours! I've also gotten into glitter polishes this year. The whole Models Own Mirrorball collection was amazing but as a gold lover Disco Inferno is the one I reach for most often. This Louise Gray for Topshop glitter nail polish is so stunning & I can't stop staring at my nails whenever I wear it.

Tools
Real Techniques Brushes / Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers / Tweezerman Tweezers

Most of my makeup brush collection has been replaced with Real Techniques brushes since they launched in the UK. I think they're amazing quality with super soft bristles that dry quickly after washing & don't shed at all. My makeup looks so much better since I invested in some of these. I use these three on a daily basis. I apply my foundation using the Buffing Brush, my blusher using the Contour Brush and loose powder with the setting brush. I can't recommend these enough and wish these were around before I wasted loads of money on overhyped MAC brushes which used to just shed all over my face. I use these Shu Uemura eyelash curlers every day without fail. They make my lashes look so much better & open up my eyes. They make such a difference. I've used these tweezers for years as you can pluck out the tiniest hairs with them. They last forever so they're definitely worth the investment.

January Favourites

Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush
I got a couple of the Real Techniques sets at the beginning of January and have been using them every day since then. I'm gonna do a post about them in full but for now lets just say I cannot recommend them enough. My favourite out of all the brushes I got is the Deluxe Crease Brush. This is the most perfect brush for applying your under eye concealer. I've never gotten on with flat concealer brushes & found that the MAC & Sigma brushes that most people recommended for blending concealer didn't work well enough & shed loads of hairs. It makes blending so easy & because the brushes are synthetic they work so incredibly well with cream products such as concealers. I'd kinda fallen out of love with my Bobbi Brown concealer, preferring to just use the Corrector instead, but this brush has breathed new life into it. Not a single hair has been shed from this brush or any of the Real Techniques brushes for that matter. It also works really well for defining your crease, making 60s style eye makeup so simple to do.

Philosophy The Present
I already raved about this in my primer overview post but this has definitely been the best product that I've discovered recently. It just makes every about applying foundation completely effortless & leaves your skin looking smooth & flawless. My face looks noticeably better whenever I use this so I don't think I could be without this primer from now on.

Philosophy Cinnamon Buns Shower Gel
I thought that nothing would ever top Lush's Snow Fairy shower gel for a bit of in shower aromatherapy but I was very very wrong. It turns out that theres a reason so many shower gel companies are copying the bottle & design style of the Philosophy bottles - its because they're frigging amazing! I adore the smell of cinnamon rolls & this shower gel captures that perfectly. Its like you've walked into a Cinnabon whilst still in the shower. They really need to open a UK store outside of bloody Picadilly Circus because the ones in Starbucks & Tesco just aren't good enough! The front of the bottle even includes a recipe so you can make your own cinnamon rolls which I'm very tempted to try out.

Origins Super Spot Remover
Despite using my Clarisonic I still get a few hormonal spots along my jawline. I've heard lots of good things about this spot treatment & when I saw that it was available on BuyaPowa for just £8.50, I snapped it up. The bottle is so cute & tiny but a little goes a long way so even paying full price for it would be justified. The smell is a little weird, like a mix between witch hazel & rosemary. The cooling gel feels very tingly which I like because to me that means you can feel it working on your skin. It really does help to get rid of spots very quickly, pretty much overnight in my case.

Kerastase Masquintense Cheveux Fins
Another bargain from BuyaPowa. I got this for just £16 including postage. Not bad considering you'd normally pay about £25 for it. I'm currently waiting for my next hair appointment (after having to cancel it twice grr...) and felt like my hair could do with some pampering before and after my next round of bleach. I've only used this a couple of times so far but the pot is pretty small for the price so I'm probably only gonna get about six more washes out of it. I've been leaving this in my hair for a couple of hours before washing it out and it leaves my hair feeling a lot stronger and softer with minimal frizz. It doesn't weigh down my hair at all and the smell is really nice too. Its a good investment to make if, like me, you do torturous things to your hair.



Sainsbury's Popping Candy & Coconut Chocolate Spreads
I'm one of those people who often resorts to eating Nutella with a spoon when in desperate need of a chocolate fix. So imagine my delight when I saw these on the shelves of Sainsburys! Both are fabulous on toast or crumpets but I think I prefer the coconut one. It tastes pretty much like melted Bounty bars. I can imagine it working brilliantly as a ready-made cupcake frosting.



Community
I prefer to watch American TV shows on my laptop than whatever is on Sky. All my fave shows finished for Christmas so I had literally nothing left to watch. I'd often seen Community mentioned on Oh No They Didn't and was always intrigued by it so I decided to download the first season. The show is kinda hard to describe but the basic plot is about a study group at a community college. They're all a bit mental really & have a penchant for clever pop culture references. Its one of the funniest shows I've watched in a long time & each character has been perfectly cast. I am so in love with Joel McHale and you might recognise one of the other main characters as the rapper Childish Gambino. I downloaded the second and third seasons too which are even better. For me & my boyfriend its become one of those shows that you mention & quote in every day life. Sadly its been put on hiatus in the middle of season three which is why we need to save the show!



Unbearable Lightness
This book was written by the actress Portia De Rossi about her struggles with being gay & eating disorders. I loved her character in Arrested Development & enjoyed Sirens & Ally McBeal but I'd never really paid much attention to her otherwise. I'm not sure why but I often find myself reading books about self-destructive behaviour & mental health issues. Maybe because I identify with it in some strange way. The book is a really sad read as you can feel her desperation. Shes so open and honest about how she felt at the time which I found quite inspirational. Its a really compelling book & I did find it hard to put down. Portia De Rossi is a wonderful writer and I think shes very brave to put all of this out there. I'm now onto reading Damned by Chuck Palahniuk who is my favourite author. I've only read about a quarter of it but its pretty good so far so I'd recommend that too.

Favourite Products Of 2011

I have probably spent more on makeup in the last 12 months than in any other year of my life. It sure is expensive work being a beauty blogger! Luckily it means that I've found some products that I really love and can see myself using for a long time to come. Here are some of my favourite things that I used last year. I liked a lot more stuff than what I've listed here but these are the products that really stood out to me.


Skincare
Clarisonic Mia / Liz Earle Eyebright / Dermalogica Active Moist
The best thing that I invested in last year was my Clarisonic Mia. There is no other skincare product or treatment out there that compares to what this will do for your skin. I love how it makes my skin look, almost like I've had a spa facial every time I wash my face. I love all the Liz Earle products that I've tried so far. I use Cleanse & Polish with my Clarisonic & follow up with their Skin Tonic too. Eyebright is a bit of a wonder product as it instantly cools & refreshes your eyes. Its brilliant if you've had too many late nights or need to look & feel more awake. Active Moist has been my favourite moisturiser for a while now. Its perfect on my normal/combination skin type. I haven't really liked any of the moisturisers I tried last year so I'll be sticking with this one for the foreseeable future.


Haircare
Tangle Teezer / Kerastase Ciment Thermique / Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo / Frédéric Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream
For anyone still wondering if Tangle Teezers work, yes they do & mine has saved me from some pretty horrific knots. I still really like the Kerastase Ciment Thermique & I don't think that any other heat protection product compares to this one. The grapefruit scent lingers on your hair & its absolutely beautiful. I only recently managed to purchase the XXL Volume Batiste as its been really hard to track it down. Its literally always sold out. I'm so glad I got this as although it does make your hair feel like utter crap, it does give you lots of volume. Just whack some serum on afterwards and you're good to go. The Brilliant Glossing Cream is kinda like a cream version of Moroccanoil so it helps to weigh down your hair more. Some people won't like that but I do as it means less flyaways & a more polished looking hairdo.


Base
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation / Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer / Bobbi Brown Corrector / MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base / Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment / MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural / Dior Amber Diamond
Last year I became obsessed with finding the perfect base products. I bought a ton of different products but these are my favourites and I use all of these every day. Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation has been a revelation. I finally have a foundation that matches my exact skintone and has no SPF in which stops the 'ghost face' that Estee Lauder Double Wear used to inflict upon me. Like everyone else I love that Collection 2000 concealer. Its practically opaque & covers pretty much everything. I couldn't live without my Bobbi Brown Corrector as although the Collection 2000 concealer is really good, this product colour corrects my dark circles making me look really awake & like I've slept for 12 hours each night. MAC MSF Natural has been my fave powder for ages, I just wear this with some concealer if I have no time at all to get ready. When I use the Illamasqua foundation I just use this to powder under my eyes because otherwise my mascara ends up all over my face. Pearl Cream Colour Base & Amber Diamond are the perfect highlighting duo. I've bought more highlighters than I can count in 2011 and these are the best of the best. I like a lot of glow so using a cream under the powder makes my cheeks look super shiny & it lasts all day. Hollow Cream Pigment is something I only bought recently but it is the best contour product ever.


Eyes
Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara / L'Oreal Carbon Gloss Superliner / HD Brows Palette / MAC Shroom & Patina Eyeshadows / MAC NC15/NW20 Pencil
The mascara that I've most recently fallen in love with is the Lancome Doll Eyes one. When I first got it the formula was a lot more fluid and didn't really give me the volume I wanted. But as it dried up a bit it got thicker and it is everything I could want in a mascara. It makes my lashes super long, thick & black. I use the L'Oreal eyeliner on a daily basis as I think I look weird without it. This one is really black, long lasting and pretty cheap too which makes it the best eyeliner I've bought this year. I love the eyebrow powders in the HD Brows Palette, they're so pigmented and just brilliant. I only use the one in the bottom right corner as the others don't suit me but I use the others as eyeshadows so its a fab product. The eyeshadows I've reached for most are Shroom & Patina by MAC. I don't really wear eyeshadow much but these are subtle enough for everyday wear. I love this MAC eyeliner pencil as it makes my eyes look bigger & brighter without being a really obvious white line.


Blusher
Illamasqua Katie / Illamasqua Thrust / NARS Deep Throat / Topshop Head Over Heels
I like to wear a lot of blush as it adds some pretty colour to my deathly pallor which saves me from bronzing my whole face to an unnatural colour. My fave blusher at the moment is NARS Deep Throat, I think its the perfect colour for me with just the right amount of sparkle. I adore Illamasqua's powder blushers. Katie is a lovely pastel pink & Thrust is a bright magenta. It looks so scary in the pan but its a gorgeous colour if you apply it with a light hand & blend it properly. I want to try some of Illamasqua's cream blushers next as they seem really good too. The only cream blushers I own are from Topshop but they are great quality for the price. I like the shade Head Over Heels best as its a very pretty peachy colour thats perfect for Summer.


Lip Products
Philosophy Kiss Me Tonight / Beaute Wanted Weightless Lip Creme / MAC Hue Lipstick / MAC Enchantée Kissable Lip Colour
I bought a lot of lipsticks this year. In order to keep my lips lovely & smooth I use Philosophy's Kiss Me Tonight lip treatment. Its a balm that you put on before you go to bed and you wake up with beautifully soft lips. I also put some on before I do my makeup then blot it off when I'm ready to apply my lipstick. I bought the Beaute Weightless Lip Creme in Wanted after I heard that Kristen Stewart loves it. Its a lovely nude thats halfway between a lipstick and gloss. The MAC Kissable Lip Colours from their Peacocky collection use a similar formula. I love the colour Enchantée which is a cool toned bright pink. My fave everyday lipstick is MAC Hue. Its the most perfect pinky nude that looks brilliant on everyone.


Nail Polishes
Illamasqua Jo'Mina / Models Own Utopia / Models Own Pink Punch / Barry M Peach Melba
This was such a hard decision as I adore all the nail polishes I bought last year and believe me, I bought a lot! These ones stood out to me as unique colours that I always get complimented on. They all apply really well and don't chip too badly with some Seche Vite on top.

August Favourites

MAC 109 Brush
I have watched countless YouTube videos trying to figure out how to contour my face properly. I just have a naturally huge round face so I'm willing to do anything to make it look a bit slimmer. Most of the videos I watched said to use a MAC 109 brush. Hesitant to spend even more money on new MAC brushes I tried loads of different ones that I already had using the techniques I'd picked up but nothing worked. Every brush was far too large and left me with a weird orange beard. Not attractive. So I bought this & now contouring is the simplest thing ever. If like me you suck at contouring give this brush a go because it is the perfect size.

Stila One Step Correct
I've really missed Stila's presence in the UK market. I'm a big fan of their convertible colours & lipglosses. I wanted to try something new from their range so I got their One Step Correct. Its basically a primer that supposedly helps to even out your skintone & brighten your face. I wouldn't say it does everything it claims as my face still looks fairly pink after applying it but it really does help to brighten my skin leaving it dewy & prepped for foundation. Its perfect for days when you have no time at all to get ready. Just put some concealer & powder on top and I find my face looks pretty decent with minimal effort. Now if only Pout would re-open I would be one happy bunny. Their cheek stain's were immense!

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser
Although I do love Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish for taking off my makeup at night, I personally prefer to use a foamy gel based cleanser to wake me up in the morning. My L'Oreal one just ran out & Boots haven't bothered restocking it for weeks so I looked through my skincare stash and dug out this sample of Purity Made Simple. Its exactly what I was looking for. I actually prefer this to my previous one as it leaves my face feeling ridiculously soft. Its helped to get rid of some spots I had under the skin & keeps blackheads at bay. I definitely want to try some more of Philosophy's skincare products, which apparently are coming to Boots soon along with Stila, sweet!

Kerastase Ciment Thermique
Everytime I go to the hairdressers they use this on my hair & everytime my hair is left feeling really soft & strong despite my intense bleaching sessions. I put it down to this product. Its basically a heat protectant but it also reconstructs the hair. It helps to reconstruct hair from within as well as reinforcing the natural external protective layer. It is heat activated so once you start blow drying your hair the magic begins. After using this every week my hair looks & feels better than ever. It smells gorgeous too, like fresh grapefruits mmm.

Crest 3D Whitestrips
Every year or so I buy a new pack of whitestrips. They really are the best way to whiten your teeth without spending hundreds of pounds on professional treatments. My teeth are pretty wonky despite having worn braces because I lost my retainer so to make up for it I try to make them as white as possible. I buy mine from ebay so they work out pretty cheap. These new 3D ones are proper hardcore though, I have to do them once a week rather than once a day or my teeth become horribly sensitive. Anyone tried the 2 hour express ones? Those are next on my wishlist.



One Day & Game Of Thrones
Everyone and their dog has read/is reading One Day so I thought I'd give it a go. So far I'm really enjoying it as its a nice easy read before bedtime. I'm looking forward to seeing the film even though I hate Anne Hathaway & appaz her Yorkshire accent is worse than mine. I bought it in Sainsbury's along with Game Of Thrones as they have a 2 for £7 offer on at the mo. I'm proper obsessed with Game Of Thrones! I recently watched all the TV show and was instantly hooked. I love how they've kept in so many details from the book, its a really good adaptation. Its practically a fantasy version of a soap opera with all the twists & shock. I figured reading all the books would be quicker than waiting for the next season to be broadcast. Can't wait for Season 2 though, I need my Jon Snow fix!

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.