June 2014 Favourites

 It's June Favourites time everyone! Oh I just love June time, it's actually a rather quiet month for me as i've got no birthdays or things going on, but it is the first of the summer months so it's very exciting! There are a lot of products here that I not only just really like, but that I really really love! And which I know i'll love for a very long time to come. So let's get on with it shall we.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Sunshine Eau de Toilette

 

A slight twist on my usual Marc Jacobs Daisy that I wear pretty much all year. This was the limited edition fragrance that was released last year and is one of only two perfumes that I own. I know, surprising huh. But it's my summer perfume of choice. This isn't avaliable anymore sadly though, sorry guys.

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream - (review)

 

The only foundation/base product that i've been wearing all month, and I very much suspect the only thing i'll be wearing in July and August too. With the SPF of 30 it's great for these summer months, and it's just perfect for my dry skin. I'm so in love with this.and i've done a review of this already, so go and check that out if you want to hear more about it.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - (review)

This one product has completely changed how I apply my foundation, out go my brushes and in come the sponge. If you have dry skin or even eczema skin then please try a sponge instead of using a brush, trust me it'll change everything. I wish I had discovered and started using this sooner.

 

Avene Xeracalm A.D. Cream - (review)

The only cream that i've been using on the eczema on my neck this month, it's really helped to calm it down. It's a huge tube of cream, and i'm so happy that this has actually worked to get rid of my horrible flare up that I had in May and some of June.

Avene Soothing Eye Contour Cream - (review)

Talking of Avene, this is another of their products that i've been loving this month. It's majorly helped the eczema around my eyes and they've really settled down again, it's so lightweight and calming. You don't get that much product in the tube, only 10ml, but it still doesn't stop me from loving it. I just wish you could get this in a bigger size.

Clinique All About Eyes Rich Cream

Another eye cream product that i've also been loving, i've been using both and I can't decide which I love more so i've included both. I use this more at night as it is a bit thicker and a tad more hydrating, but it's more expensive. This is the sample size that is pictured just to let you know, i'm using that before I crack open the full size that I recently bought.

Nars Cactus Flower blush - (review)

Lastly, my blush colour of choice this much is my latest blush purchase. The gorgeous Nars Cactus Flower is a reddish pink colour with gold shimmer. A cream to powder blush, that i've been lusting after for over a year and I finally got my hands on it this month and it is such an easy colour to wear, despite how bright red it may look.

Random Favourites

TV Show - Only Fools and Horses - I've dug out the Only Fools and Horses boxset that we have in our house and i've been watching the whole thing over June, it's such an amazing comedy show. If you are British, you will know all about this show and i'm sure you love it as much as the rest of the country does. If you are unfamiliar with this show, then please go and watch it immediately. You know it makes sense :P


Tennis - I am a massive fan of tennis, so over June i've been watching the French Open, Queen's Club and Wimbledon. So much tennis to enjoy, shame i'm in work during the day so I have to watch highlights in the evening or catch up later *sad face*.

 

What are your June Favourites?

 

 

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

Summer Fashion and Beauty Haul!

 Hi guys!

 

Now i'm not one to dabble too much in the fashion world, it's not really my strong point. I go for things that are comfortable more than anything, and because I have eczema I focus a lot on the actual material of clothes aswell, as I don't want to wear anything that is itchy at all. But when summer rolls around I hardly ever have that problem, as it's light and floaty fabrics galore!

 

Anyway, onto my haul. The main objective of the shopping trip was to buy some summer offce related clothes for work. I work in an office which is pretty warm at the moment despite having the windows open and fans going, so I wanted some light tops that were either short sleeved or sleeveless. And I came across these three tops.

 

The pink top with flowers on is from New Look and is £12.99 but I got 10% off that as one of the buttons at the top on the back had come off, therefore was slightly damaged.  But it came with a spare one so that's easily fixed. The other two tops were from Primark and the cream colour cami one with flowers was £4.00, and the white top was £6.00.

 

I also wanted some basic ballet shoes/pumps/dolly shoes (seriously what do you call these? haha) but I wanted some nude coloured ones to wear with some dresses for work and I just didn't have. I found two pairs that I liked. The straight up nude colour were the cheaper pair at just £4.00. And the slightly more taupe-nude colour were £6.00. I love them both and they are very comfy. I've had numerous pairs of Primark ballet shoes before and I always go there to get more if I need some new ones.

 

I did get a couple of pieces of underwear but I didn't want to put that in the haul, but I did get some very cool Coca-Cola printed pyjamas which is just so cool! It's my favourite drink, so it's only right that I have these pyjamas. The legging style trousers may be a bit warm to wear at the moment, so those might have to wait till September when the weather starts to cool down a bit, but we'll see. The top was £4.00 and the trousers were £8.00.

 

Lastly onto the beauty side. The deodorant was necessary to put in my bag for work in these lovely summer months, enough said. And the dry shampoo was a necessary purchase as i'm running low and it's an essential to have around for me. And lastly the Avene skincare was on 3 for 2 so I got the Rich Skin Recovery Cream (which I had a sample of and really loved so bought the full size, and I will do a blog post on this soon. And I also needed more of the Soothing Eye Contour Cream, so I bought one and as it was 3 for 2 I got another one for free, yay!

 

 Love

Amy

xxx

Rimmel Stay Glossy 'All Day Seduction' Lipgloss

Ah it's about time I dug this little baby out of my makeup stash, it is summer after all and this is the perfect summer lipgloss. In fact so much so that this is the only lipgloss I wear in the summer time as this is the one of only two lipglosses in my collection. Yes you didn't read that wrong, I said two. The other one I have is Maybelline Stellar Berry but that is a plum colour and it is my autumn/winter lipgloss. I'm really not a lipgloss person, so I made a conscious effort to use up the ones I do have and scale it down to my real favourites, which leaves me with just two and I thought i'd share my favourite one for Spring/Summer time with you today. Let me introduce you to Rimmel 'All Day Sediction'.

 

Why is this Rimmel one my favourite you may ask? Well not only is the sleek packaging very nice to look at but the doefoot applicator is just perfect for applying just the right amount on the lips. The smell of this lipgloss is lovely, just sweet and your typical Rimmel scent. Most importantly though the formula of this lipgloss is just divine, smooth and glossy and not the slightest bit on the sticky side. I tell you now, if I was a lipgloss kind of person I would have stocked up on every colour in the Rimmel Stay Glossy line, alas I am not so I am very happy to just have this one.

 

Also the colour is just divine, and very Spring/Summer appropriate. It's a gorgeous redish coral colour with gold shimmer and I stress no glitter! I hate glittery products. I would say if Nars Orgasm was a lipgloss, then it would be this lipgloss.

 

The gloss claims to stay glossy and last up to 6 hours, which is a load of cobblers, as i've yet ever to find a lipgloss that lasts more than two hours. And if you eat anything it's gone completely. But i'm happy to reapply after a couple of hours it's fine.

 

Worringly I couldn't find this exact colour on the Boots or Superdrug website, I hope it hasn't been discontinued as I really love this colour. I don't think it has though as i'm sure I remember seeing it in Boots very recently. Nevertheless I have found it on fragrancedirect for the bargain price of £1.99 which is a £4.00 saving compared to the original price.

 

If you like this look of this lipgloss then grab it now if you see it.

 

 

Rimmel All Day Seduction Lipgloss - £1.99

 

 

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself

Project Pan - 4 month update!

1.) Simple Essential Lip Balm - Used up

2.) John Frieda Frizz Ease Spray - Used up and repurchased

3.) Simple Kind to Skin Vital Vitamin Day Cream - Used up and repurchased

4.) Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Hot Pink - Used up

5.) Avon Red Dress Spray - Used up

6.) Palmolive Passionflower Shower Gel - Used up

7.) Mac Creme Cup Lipstick - Almost gone

8.) Pixi Oyster Glow Eyeliner - Used twice since last update

9.) Clinique High Impact Mascara Sample - Almost Gone

10.) The Body Shop Mango Body Butter - Almost Gone

As you can see I only have four of my original ten products left to use up, I'm so close with the Mascara and the Body Butter in particular. I've had a bad skin flare up recently so I haven't been wearing much make-up, hence why I haven't used those products really. By my next update at the end of August I reckon they will all be gone :)


How is your project pan coming along?


Love
Amy
xxx
 

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream

The whole BB and CC cream craze seems to have died down ever so slightly in the beauty world, either that or just people aren't talking about new ones that are being released or perhaps people are just bored of the whole thing. I am a bit too if i'm honest, when every brand starts to jump on the bandwagon it just gets a bit tedious.

 

Having said that I still love the idea of these type of base products that provide light coverage, they are perfect for this time of year when it's warmer outside and you don't want to be caked in a heavy coverage foundation. After all our skin could all do with that extra vitamin D that we definitely lack here in the UK for almost all of the year, so when the sun does come it's a light coverage base product all the way!

 

Now if any of you have been keeping up to date with my blog, you'll know how bad my eczema has been in the past 6 weeks or so. Thankfully I am now coming out of the other side of the flare up, but during that period I was miserable, and so too was my skin. And when getting a consultation at Clinique (the lovely sales lady helped me a great deal in getting some cream for my very eczema flared up eyes, which I am very grateful for) I spotted the Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream, down to the price of £20.00 which is £8.00 cheaper than normal, so I snapped it up as I had been thinking about trying it and i'm so very glad I did.

 

The thing about CC creams is that they are Colour Correctors, hence the CC name. And as I do suffer with redness where my eczema is on my face and as I need hydrating products for my skin, the sales lady said it would be perfect for me and I feel like it really is perfect.

 

It is like a tinted moisturiser, very hydrating on my dry skin and it hasn't settled in any dry areas after I apply it with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. And it does a great job at getting rid of the redness on my face and my skin just looks and feels better. I have the shade Light, the sales assistant did a colour match for me and their lightest colour Very Light was too light for me so I have the next one up. It's a perfect match for me.

 

I even love the packaging, in a squeeze tube so I will be able to get every last bit of product out of this when I get to the end. It also just looks high end and with it being nice and slim it would be great to put in your makeup bag or to take on your travels.

 

This has been my go to foundation/base since I got it at the end of May/very beginning of June and I know I will be using it all summer long, and longer. Especially as this has an SPF of 30 which is brilliant for this time of year, not good for taking photographs because of the flash back the SPF would cause but that's really not an issue. This lasted a good 8 hours on my skin and it is one of the longest lasting base product that I own, so i'm very pleased.

 

I am so head over heels in love with this CC cream, and if you suffer with dry skin and have some discolouration issues then this would be perfect. I would suggest getting a colour match with one of the sales people first as you don't want to be getting the wrong shade, especially as this comes in at £28.00 which is on the expensive side. That is my one and only negative about this product, but if I get it when there is an offer on I am content with that as I just love this too much not to have it in my stash.

 

 

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream - £28.00

 

 

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself. 



Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

 



 Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99

 



 

 Sponges are nothing new when it comes to using them as a way of applying base makeup such as your foundation, even my sister uses sponges and won't use a brush to apply her foundation. So it is rather bizarre that i've never ever tried to apply my foundation with a sponge, until now. Behold the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, a dupe for the ever popular (and very overpriced for a sponge I think) beauty blender sponge.

 

My reasons behind purchasing this was because during my crazy eczema and major dry skin flare up in May, which i'm still suffering from now, I was watching Youtube videos and reading blogs on what foundations and products were good for very dry flaky skin and I can't remember which video it was but the person said that you should apply foundation with a sponge if you have dry skin, as using something like a buffing brush like I have been using for a few years just acts like an exfoliation motion and creates more dry and flaky skin (not a nice image I know but I want to be honest). That little idea sparked me into wanting to instantly try a sponge, and as I love the whole Real Techniques brand I thought i'd try this out.

 

As you can see it is an orange sponge, which has a pointed end for getting into the smaller corners and contours of your face like under the eye area and the inner corner of the eye and even to be more precise with applying foundation and/or concealer over blemishes too, which is a clever idea. The top is a flat surface of the sponge which I use to dab the product on and blend, and the rounded edges you can use to apply the product over a bigger area of the face, but I just use the top flat part of the sponge for that.

 

I have to tell you the eye area, which I had the biggest problem with looking dry, now looks so good almost flawless I would say. Well as flawless as you can get with someone who has eczema at any rate. It looks so much more fresh and the kind of alligator scale look (oh the horror!) seems to have gone away.

 

I just damp the sponge everytime I go to use it, which then makes the sponge expand as it soaks up the water and with the help of the water on the sponge it helps to make the foundation look so much more even and also will more than likely help the skin look and feel more hydrated too.

 

Some people may say that £5.99 is rather expensive for a makeup sponge, but I don't mind paying that. Especially considering how much the Beauty Blender is, if you want to compare the two. I don't know how long this sponge will last me, but i'd gladly buy this all over again. It's revolutionised how I apply my foundation, and I don't think I will ever go back to using a brush again. A very, very bold statement to make but for my very dry skin, a sponge is just the best way to go.

 

 

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99

 

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself.

OPI Ridge Filler Nail Polish

 

 

OPI Ridge Filler Nail Polish

 



This is the newest nail polish to my collection, but I feel like it is an essential one nonetheless and one I wish I had picked up ages ago. This is the OPI Ridge Filler Nail Polish. Now this may be a bit TMI but I do suffer with ridges on a couple of my toe nails, by big toes in particular and it's not a nice sight to behold. Whenever I painted my nails they didn't look all that nice on those particular nails. So when I recently was in a beauty discount shop I spotted this and thought this could really help.

 

I tested it on my nails and it's made a difference, not a mind blowing difference but it has helped quite a bit in making the nail look flat and smooth. This polish claims to be a smoothing nail treatment, made with silk extracts, to help make the surface of the nail give an even smooth finish.

 

I agree that it has helped, and on the nails that don't have ridges it has made a great difference as it just makes everything look so much more plump, which is probably the wrong word but that's how it looks. It almost like when you put moisturiser onto dry skin it just looks healthier, well that how I feel the nail polish works on my toe nails. Now I haven't used this polish on my finger nails because I don't have ridge problems on those, but I may try it soon just to see how it works.

 

I will be using this nail polish as a base coat for my nail polish on my toes for the foreseeable future, I really love it. So if you do suffer with ridges on your nails then check this out.

 

 

 

OPI Ridge Filler Nail Polish - £6.75

 

 

 

 

Love

Amy

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***DISCLAIMER***

All views/opinions are my own, product bought myself.