AUGUST FAVOURITES

I can't believe it's actually time for another monthly favourites again, the months are just flying by and this month was no exception. I feel like I have generally done nothing but work, but September is here and I have an exciting trip to London coming up so roll on the next month. So I'll crack on with my favourites, with the first being the most beautiful blush I have ever seen, it's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in the shade Mood Exposure. This is the nicest and prettiest blush and completely worth the price, it's such good quality and is so pigmented. However, if this is slightly over your budget the Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in the shade Nude Mauve is the perfect dupe and is good quality for this price but comes out slightly darker on the cheeks than the Hourglass blush but may be worth a try before you invest in the Hourglass blush.

My next favourite is another beautiful product, the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Sexy Sienna and can we take a minute to appreciate this packaging, I mean rose gold, and the product itself is just as good. I've been loving this more recently, mainly because of the few sunny days we've been having and it's just been the lip product I've been reaching for the most. It is matte but still has a creamy texture and is so easy to apply and work with, you can either wash this over the lips quickly and really work it down with just a touch of colour or really build this look up for more of a bold lip. I personally prefer to build the colour up and go for a bold lip to brighten a dark outfit up and add a pop of colour.

The other lip product I've been loving is the Sephora Cream Lip stain in the shade Always Red, this is the product that was top of my list going to Paris but I've only now got round to using it and I now understand why almost every blogger raves about it. This is such an easy red lip product, it's not too hard to apply, it does dry quite quickly when you apply it but is such a long lasting lip cream and I was only reapplying it after eating. I also paired it with New Look's Pure Colour lip liner in dark red, this is slightly darker but is still a great match. A trip down to New Look is definitely a plan because this lip liner is such good quality and at £1.99 it was definitely worth buying the other 3 colours. Although there's not a great choice of colours, the four colours they do is the main, primary colours you would need.

My eyeshadow favourite for this month is the Urban Decay Naked palette that I finally got my hands on as a birthday present. I had been eyeing up the three Naked palettes for a while and couldn't decide which one but I finally picked the first one because these were the colours I was looking for and wanting and I'm so glad I went for this one. It's such a great palette, and for a first Urban Decay purchase it's a good one and I can see why almost everyone has all three and the new Naked Smoky palette isn't a disappointment and I will definitely be looking into getting another palette.

My last and possible favourite, favourite this month is the most wonderful perfume, Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb. I had been eyeing this up for a while and it has been on my wish list for god knows how long so I finally managed to get it on the way back from Paris at the airport and of course I had to get the 100ml. I usually go for more fruity scents and tend to dislike some floral scents but this is just such a nice and subtle scent and not over powering at all. It lasts all day without having to completely drown myself in it and not to mention the beautiful packaging, this is always a plus.

Stay tuned for a August non-beauty favourites...

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush  - Mood Exposure
Max Factor Creme Puff Blush - Nude Mauve
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution - Sexy Sienna
Sephora Cream Lip Stain - Always Red
New Look Pure Colour Lip Liner - Dark Red
Urban Decay Naked palette
Viktor & Rolf, Flowerbomb perfume

NARS MAKE-UP COLLECTION

I wouldn't really call the few NARS products I have a collection, but they're definitely a start, so I thought I would do a blog post on the products I would recommend you need to get in your life pronto and a review of the products on a whole. So the first bits I picked up was while I was in Paris back in June, *sob sob* I'm already thinking of the soonest possible time I could back there. I picked them up in Sephora, possibly the best shop I've walked in to, and I will say the sales woman there did help persuade me to get more than a few dozen products.

So the first thing I ran to and the product I would 100% recommend everyone get their hands on is the NARS Bronze and Blush duo, in the shades Laguna and Orgasm. I'd originally planned to get the travel set which included a mini version of the bronze and blush duo but obviously it was sold out in seconds but I'm much happier I managed to get the bigger size bearing in mind I use it almost every day. I was worried that the bronzer would be slightly too dark for my skin tone but it's actually the perfect shade, it's easy to build up and use to contour my face and my favourite out of the two is definitely the bronzer and I might need to look into getting the bigger size...

The two lip products I picked up was the Pure Matte lipstick and the Velvet Gloss lip pencil, the lipstick being the one I went for first and the lipgloss being persuaded to buy by the sales woman but I'm so glad I did. I managed to get my hands on the Pure Matte lipstick in the shade Tonkin after not being able to get this anywhere, and I mean anywhere. This is such a great matte lipstick in a beautiful dark nude shade and I have been reaching for this everyday and may have to pick up some more colours because of how lovely the formula is. The lip pencil is in the shade Happy Days, and is a glossy formula and great for the going out nights, I thought I would hate the glossiness of it but its not sticky at all and applies really well and is still lovely and pigmented. I would definitely recommend you give the NARS matte lipstick a go, rather than the NARS lipgloss as not everyone is a fan of the glossiness of the Velvet Gloss lip pencil.

The next product I got was after being disappointed when I found out the original product I wanted was sold out but they had the NARS And God Created the Woman eye set in stock and the eyeshadow palette included the two colours (NARS Bellissima Duo Eyeshadow) I had originally wanted so technically it was the better option (even though it was slightly pricier). The set includes the eyeshadow palette with the shades - Bellissima, Kalahari, Night Clubbing, Alhambra, Galapagos, Coconut Grove, the NARS Mini Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base and the NARS Travel size Wide Contour Brush 43. I am so much happier that I went for this mainly for the primer, it just makes my eyeshadow last so much longer and it's just a plus that you get a brush with it, clearly the better option in the end.

Last but not least, is the NARS Radiant Creamy concealer in the shade Vanilla, I picked this up a little bit after Paris in SPACE NK when I went to Bath Spa for the day, I mean my first SPACE NK purchase had to be a good one and it really was. This is the product I would recommend everyone get their hands on as it is some sort of miracle concealer that manages to cover even my dark circles. It has great coverage, is great for blemishes and dark circles but isn't 'caky' on your skin. Before this concealer I couldn't really justify spending my money on a high end concealer or foundation but now I'm already planning my next treat from NARS and it will definitely have to be the NARS All Day Luminous Weightless foundation.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
NARS Blush and Bronzer duo - Laguna and Orgasm
NARS And God Created the Woman eye set
NARS Velvet Gloss lip pencil - Happy Days
NARS Pure Matte lipstick - Tonkin
NARS Radiant Creamy concealer - Vanilla

THINGS I INTEND TO GET MY HANDS ON ASAP:
NARS Audacious lipstick - Raquel
NARS All Day Luminous Weightless foundation

HOMEWARE HAUL

It has been my constant obsession to continuously collect homeware pieces, like small dishes, throws, cushion covers and anything copper or marble but I never actually end up doing anything with them and they just gather in a pile in the corner of my room. So it was about time I had a real good sort out of my room and I just thought I would share a few of my favourite or most recent bought items.

MAKEUP REVOLUTION LONDON

So I thought I would do a Makeup Revolution haul and first review, after finally getting my hands on a few products I'd been eyeing up for a while and my local Superdrug finally having them in stock. I had heard a few bloggers and youtuber's raving about some of their products I had been eyeing up so I thought I'd give them a go. So the first thing I had been wanting to try was the Ultra Blush Palette, mainly because of how pretty it looks, but the quality is just so good for the price. These shades are so pretty and pigmented, and come out lovely either as a blush or as a highlighter. The only thing I would say is that these are quite shimmery and work much better as a highlighter, just because it can be a bit much used all over the cheeks. But I would definitely recommend this simply because of the amount of things you could use this palette for, I've used some of the more shimmery colour for eyeshadow and the matte warm brown shade to do my contour, they look so great and work really well.

The next thing I picked up and possibly my favourite is the 32 eyeshadow palette in Flawless Matte for just £8. I love this palette, it has possibly all the matte shades you would need, well I would need and they are great quality considering it's a drugstore palette and for this price as well. I would definitely recommend you get your hands on this as soon as possible and take a look at the other eyeshadow palettes because they're a few others I plan to get my hands on soon.

The last thing I picked up and am slightly disappointed with is the Brow Dual Ultra Brow Arch and Shape pencil. The main reason I had picked it up was because it was similar to the Soap and Glory Brow tint and precision pencil but slightly more affordable to be using it everyday, but the Soap and Glory one is much better and worth the extra £4.50. I just found that the Makeup Revolution one wasn't great quality and the brow pencil end was what put me off the most because of how waxy and thick it was meaning that when you tried to shape or fill in your eyebrows it came out too thick and dark whether you used it light handed or not. The felt end was slightly better but stained your skin when trying to take it off.

Although the last product was disappointing I think Makeup Revolution have some great products and are definitely worth a look, so on a whole I'd definitely recommend the blush and eyeshadow palettes but would say to skip the brow arch and shape pencil and head to Soap and Glory for that one because that will always be my favourite brow pencil.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Ultra Blush palette - £6

32 Shade eyeshadow palette, Flawless Matte - £8
Brow Dual Ultra Brow Arch and Shape pencil - £3.50

CLINIQUE POP LIP COLOUR AND PRIMER

While I was in Paris I managed to get my hands on some of Clinique's Pop Lip Colour and Primer lipsticks, I had been wanting to try these for a while after hearing some great things about them from essentially everyone - I managed to pick up the shades Beige Pop and of course Melon Pop. My favourite out of the two is probably Beige Pop just because it's more of an everyday look and a 'your lips but better' kind of lipstick which are always my favourite. These lipsticks are so good, they're super hydrating and pigmented and so long lasting and I 100% recommend you give these lipsticks a go and the colour range is amazing and I'm definitely going to pick up a few other colours 'cough cough' Poppy Pop.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Clinique Pop Lip Colour - Melon Pop
Clinique Pop Lip Colour - Beige Pop

JULY FAVOURITES

It's that time again where I question where the whole of July went, this month has flown by and instead of hot summer days we've had the usual drizzly rain and British weather we usually have which has me looking forward to more wintery days already.

So let's get on with my July favourites, starting with my recent purchase, the Nars Radiant Creamy concealer. This was a spontaneous purchase because I was using Collection's concealer which isn't amazing but does the job but the Nars concealer is just so good and now I see why everyone raves about it. Although the Collection concealer isn't as good, it is a great dupe for the Nars one. My next favourite is also a more high end make-up product, Charlotte Tilbury's Fallen from the lipstick tree lipstick in the shade Bitch Perfect which is a great 'your lips but better' lipstick. I just love this lipstick and I could buy so many more of her lipsticks because they're such great quality and they apply so nicely to the lips. Another great lipstick next, but on the more affordable side is the Rimmel London Kate Moss lipstick in the shade 38, it has taken me so long to get my hands on this shade and they've discontinued it from the high street shop but I managed to get it from ASOS and it was reduced which begs the question how could you not get it.

My next favourite is a slightly boring one but is worth the mention, it's the MUA extreme curl mascara. I just really like this mascara and find it better than a lot of other ones I've tried like those by Maybelline and Rimmel and at only £2 this will stay my favourite. The next few products are all from Essie, these nail varnishes are addictive because of the huge range of colours they have, and they're new summer collection are even better. They're such great quality and the brush makes them easy to apply and the dreaded process of painting your nails quick and easy - which is great for someone like me who hates having to paint their nails.

My only skincare favourite this month is the one only Bioderma, this is such a great cleanser and being myself with all my allergies and eczema this really does the job without being harsh on my skin or giving me some sort of horrible allergic reaction. I recommend this to anyone who's had difficulty looking for a great cleanser that isn't harsh on the skin but is still tough enough to get rid of every last bit of make-up. I have left the best product till last, the Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette, the Zoeva eyeshadow palettes are impeccable and this is no exception, the colours are beautiful and I recommend everyone to get this.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
NARS Creamy Radiant concealer - vanilla
Charlotte Tilbury lipstick - Bitch perfect
Zoeva Cocoa Blend palette
Essie nail polish
MUA extreme curl mascara
Rimmel London Kate Moss lipstick
Bioderma