Current Skincare, Hair & Make-Up Favourites

Firstly, can you actually believe we're nearly at the middle of August?? The summer is practically over (what summer!?!) and the schools go back this week.

I had vowed to do monthly hair & beauty favs, but life is kinda busy and I've not managed to write these posts as frequently as I'd like. That said, I thought I'd share with you now my current favourite hair & beauty products. Maybe I should aim for these to be quarterly for the seasons, so this would be my "summer" edition!

First up is Origins Clean Energy. I've been really enjoying this oil cleanser. I use it in the evenings to remove my make-up ahead and surface dirt ahead of a second cleanse with Elizabeth Arden PRO Gentle Facial Cleanser. It's fantastic at dissolving eye make-up and I then use a warm flannel to remove it. For a while I was using baby oil over my eyes to get rid of stubborn eye make-up,  but this is a step up and it's just lovely and feels great on my skin.

Origins Clean Energy Gentle Cleansing Oil, £23.50

For hair care, it's got to be Ojon's Rare Blend Moisture Therapy Conditioner (turns out Ojon is now part of Origins!). This thick, luxurious conditioner is more like a hair mask than a conditioner and it's fantastic at injecting some moisture back into my hair. My hair feels immediately softer and sleeker after just one use. It smells slightly bizarre - it's hard to describe - but I actually quite like it.

Ojon Rare Blend Moisture Therapy Conditioner, £23 *

 
Finally for make-up my go-to product at the moment is the Smashbox L.A. Lights Blendable Lip & Cheek Colour in Malibu Berry. It's a great colour that works well on both my lips and cheeks. The stick is really easy to use and at the other end there is a little sponge for blending (I'm finding it super useful for when I'm on the go or travelling). It's all very casual and you don't need to be precise in your application. In less than a minute and a few swipes, I've got my lipstick on and a bit of colour to my face. The colour is probably more one that I would use in Autumn... it has a lovely warm plum tones... but to be honest, the weather has been so mixed here in Glasgow that it actually feels like autumn right now. I've been wearing my North Face parka throughout the holidays!!

Smashbox Blendable Lip & Cheek Colours, £25 *

 

* I received a selection of Ojon and Smashbox products to try, however opinions are honest and my own

 

 

Some of My Favourite Instagram Accounts

The one thing that I struggle with on Instagram is the number of people I follow and I wish that I could create lists like I do in Twitter. I feel like I miss so many posts, and I have to specifically search users to catch up on their feeds. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite Instagram accounts so that you can check them out too. They inspire me to take better photos and fuel my shopping habits!

myluckyday.dk

amerrymishap

cococakeland

lovingthelittlethings

milka_interiors

What Instagram accounts are your favourites?

Beauty - April Favourites

Last month I shared my March favourites, and I'm back this time with my April favs! I'm a bit disorganised, so apologies that we're now halfway through May already!! I will attempt to get these posts out at the start of each month in the future!

I'm going to pick 5 products that I've been loving and give you a bit of a blurb on each of them...

1. Urban Decay NAKED 2 Palette, £38

I am really slow to join the NAKED palette bandwagon. For some unknown reason, eyeshadow is not something I've really bought lately. For the past couple of years I've been wearing the same three MAC shades. So with my MAC shades nearly empty (they lasted well!!), I decided it was time to invest in something new and I chose this NAKED 2 palette. I love it. The shades I've used so far are very pigmented so it doesn't take long to build up a good colour.

2. bareMinerals Stroke of Light, £22*

 

I'm still loving this Stroke of Light wand from bareMinerals and have been wearing it daily. It's definitely worthy of a place in my monthly favourites.

3. Origins Original Skin Serum, £32

 

Now that I'm nearing my mid-thirties I'm happy to invest in my skincare products; and I'm hoping that it shows as my skin is in pretty good condition now. I had been using Merumaya Iconic Youth Serum but given my new love for Origins I thought I would try their serum. The Origins serum has a thinner consistency compared with Merumaya and if I'm honest I'm not sure that I notice much of a difference between the two in terms of how my skin looks and feels. Both products are priced similarly too. From the marketing, the Origins is probably targeted at a younger market whereas the Merumaya is perhaps aimed more at anti-aging. Anyway, I've heard that using a serum is better than no serum, and that in fact the serum you use doesn't really matter so much; whether this is true or not I'm not sure. 

4. Dior Diorskin Star Foundation, £32.50

You may remember from my March favourites that I've been wearing the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue, but I was seeking a foundation for my make-up bag and decided to try this Dior one.

It goes on really easily (I have a little sponge that I use which I picked up in Kiko whilst I was in London) and I like that the foundation feels lightweight on the skin and yet gives good coverage.

5. Jo Malone, Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne Intense, £100

This perfume has been on my wish list for a while now and I caved and bought myself a bottle. It's gorgeous. Perhaps more of a Winter fragrance or for night-time as it's a heavier scent but regardless of this I've been wearing it every other day or so.

* I received the bareMinerals Stroke of Light as a PR sample. All other products I have purchased myself. Opinions as always are my own and are honest.

Beauty - March Favourites

Here are my March favourites, with a wee vlog at the bottom too :-)

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask

After my success with the Origins Super Spot Remover, I went on to purchase the active charcoal face mask. This mask acts like a magnet to draw out impurities from the skin. I've been using it weekly, and I've gotten into the habit of applying it whilst the kids are in the bath of an evening. Multi-tasking at it's finest! It does feel rather strange on the skin as it dries, but it really does seem to do the trick. I've been using the Super Spot Remover less and less now and I'm rarely applying concealer.

Origins Clear Improvement, £23 for 100 mL

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Face Mask

I bought this overnight face mask recently as part of a limited edition gift box from the Origins counter at Debenhams. I had wanted to try the charcoal face mask (above) and it made sense to buy the gift box as I got a few products for just £30 - the charcoal mask, this overnight face mask, a modern friction exfoliator and a facial brush. Anyway, this overnight mask has such a lovely thick consistency and it really is fantastic at injecting some moisture back into my dry skin. I've not been using Origins products for very long, but I really am enjoying this brand.

Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask, £23 for a 100 mL tube

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant

I got a small tube of this from Asda in their sale to replace a tube that I have finished. It really is the best product for chapped skin and I love putting this onto my lips before bed. It's a skincare classic, and probably something that I'll always have kicking about.

Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, £26 for 50 mL

bareMinerals Complexion Rescue

Complexion Rescue launches in April but I was sent a tube of the Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream to try and I am super impressed. It ticks all the boxes for me and I think this is going to become a permanent feature in my make-up bag. It's so easy to apply, feels lovely on my skin and gives just enough coverage. You'll find my full review here.

Complexion Rescue, £26 for a 35 mL tube

Batiste Dry Shampoo

I wash my hair maybe twice a week after working out. In between washes, a few sprays of this dry shampoo can work wonders. It's great for making my hair feel a bit cleaner, improves oily roots and gives it a bit of oomph. Again, another staple item for my beauty shelf.

Batiste, £4.99 for 400 mL