July Favourites

 

How has July come to an end already?! Time honestly feels like it's flying at the moment; I can't believe summer is here already, it still feels like May. My six weeks of no school has arrived, and actually, as you're reading this, I'm on holiday in Norfolk as this post is pre-written and scheduled.

My first favourite is a shower gel from Lush. I am ashamed to say that it's from the Christmas range;  I can be quite bad when it comes to saving products. Anyway, I knew I loved it, and so I decided to just use it - Lush is always better when used fresh. The shower gel is from the So White range, which has a gorgeous apple scent, and whenever I use it, it leaves such a fresh and lovely smell lingering in the bathroom. The product is creamy and iridescent; it's so luxuriant, lathering up into so much bubble.

I potted a new plant to go in my room the other week! It's a succulent and looks so attractive sitting there on my desk. The pot also goes with the colour theme I have tried to create on my desk of a silver/grey/metal/glass, as I have new curtains which are grey.

Talking of new curtains, I have recently had a lot of new things in my room which are definite favourites this month: a new desk, chest of drawers, chair and light shade. I'm not finished as I'd still like to paint the walls, and change some of the furniture (I'm going from wood to white), but I was thinking of maybe doing some posts about that in the future, maybe featuring bits and bobs of the changes I've made, or a full on room tour.

My fourth favourite featured in my Summer Makeup blogpost, and is the 24hr Colour Tattoo by Maybelline in Vintage Plum. It's eyeshadow of a creamy formula, and this one in particular is a leather effect. I'm not sure what the leather effect means, although I have noticed that it doesn't apply as evenly as On And On Bronze. It feels dryer, so I'm not sure if it's meant to be a matte shadow. But none of that matters! It's a beautiful lilac shade that I feel can be used all year round when blended with the right products; in summer I like to blend a warm golden colour into my crease, and for that I lately have been using Trick from Urban Decay.

Last Wednesday's post featured a new set of brushes. Now, I do love all of them, but in particular the buffing brush. It's made such a massive difference to the finished result of my foundation. I'm not going to ramble now as I've already done an entire post featuring the Core Collection, so go and have read of that for more details.

I've got a fashion favourite now, and that's crop tops. The weather is warming up slightly in England, and so the summery tops have come into play. I think they look super cute with high waisted jeans; you see just a little bit of midriff peeping out. I love the ribbed ones from New Look, especially, and I have worn them tons lately.

My final favourite is a concealer, the Maybelline Instant Anti Age Eye Eraser. It's so so good at covering blemishes and under eye circles, and has replaced completely my love of Lasting Perfection by Collection. One of the things I love about it is the spongy applicator. It's like a pom pom ball where the liquid seeps out, and it kind of massages the product in as you apply. I'd highly recommend it!

What would you recommend this month?

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Summer Makeup | Lilac & Gold

The look I am about to blog now is one I have been wearing pretty consistently lately. It's not a quick, hassle-free one; there are quite a lot of steps involved, but I do love it. It focuses strongly on dramatic eyes of a muted lilac, blended with a beautiful pinky gold, which deepens into the outer parts of the crease.

To start my makeup, I conceal my under eye circles (and also my lids for an even eyeshadow base) using the Instant Anti-Age Eye Eraser by Maybelline. This product has definitely been one of my favourites this month; I find to be so much more effective in doing its job than any other concealer I have previously tried.

For foundation I am using Rimmel's Match Perfection for a decent but light and natural coverage that evens my skin tone and hides redness. I also like to dab a couple of spots of the Lasting Perfection concealer from Collection under my eyes, purely for highlighting and brightening purposes rather than to conceal.

I use only a light amount of powder, simply to stop my face from feeling sticky, and to set under my eyes. As usual, I use Stay Matte by Rimmel.

The first step in my brow routine is to comb through and shape them with a clear gel,and then leave that to set whilst I do my eyes.

My favourite part of makeup is always the eyes - shadow particularly. I feel that without eyeshadow, no look is complete. To begin with, I apply one of Maybelline's 24hr Colour Tattoos, which are creamy shadows, in the colour Vintage Plum, which is more of a muted, grey-toned lilac than a plum. It may sound unseasonal using purple, but I promise you, the colours I add later will add so much warmth and summer to the eyes. It's a gorgeous look that isn't just your regular bronze eye.

I apply the creamy product over the entirety of my lid and no higher; it can't go above the socket or there may be a risk of the cream transferring.

With a fluffy brush, I blend the product out to eliminate lines. 

Here comes the warmth: I sweep Urban Decay's Trick into the whole of my crease so it surrounds the purple, and also onto my lower lash line. I really love applying shadows to my lower lash line, as it makes the eyes so much more dramatic.

You know the drill, blend.

Next, I use the tiniest amount of Factory by Urban Decay in my outer corners to deepen the look. Blend.

I line my eyes with a brown eyeliner from No7, and then add lots of mascara: Sumptuous Extreme by Estee Lauder to my top lashes, and Maybelline's Great Lash to my bottom lashes. Then I quickly finish my brows with Soap & Glory's Archery, of course.

A recent purchase of mine is the Master Sculpt by Maybelline after hearing so many great things about it. I have been eager to try contouring for a long time now, but there are so little products in Boots that are good for pale people as many are way too warm toned.

I am very new to using contour products, but even so, I will use the tiniest amount under my cheekbones and around my temples to shape my face. Contouring is one of those things you have to start small with; if you've never done it before it can be quite daunting, not like highlighting when you can kinda just go for it. Talking of highlighting, I use the highlight from the Master Sculpt across my cheekbones, under my brows... you know the places.

I finish of the makeup with a neutral lip, a lipstick by Kate Moss for Rimmel in the colour 03, which is a beautiful pinky nude. This colour is perfect, as it's pretty, yet doesn't draw attention from the eyes, which are certainly the feature.

Look out for my next post coming on Wednesday

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