Wednesday 20 April 2016

April Obsessions

 
Lately, I've been mixing it up a lot with my make up, skin and hair routine, because although I like to stick to what I know in pretty much all other areas of life, there's a constant stream of new beauty products, and a search for what my skin agrees with best. I also purchased a few make up items for my birthday, which has meant a new influx of products to try, which I'm sure you'll see up on the blog here in the next few weeks. These products have been essentials lately in my beauty routines, and I would 100% recommend them to you all.
 
Definitely my most exciting find this month has been the Olay Essentials Beauty Fluid moisturiser, which retails at about £5.99 (absolute steal!). In almost all situations my Mum knows best, and I always benefit from taking her advice. In the past few years though its more than often she who turns to me for beauty and make up advice (she's currently taking my brow masterclass - since I'm such an expert, not.) When I was at my wits end after the Bourjois Healthy Mix completely drying out my skin after about two weeks of use, I was desperate for any moisturiser recommendations, and this one that she gave me has completely done the job. It's light, perfect for normal to dry skin, and the only way I can properly describe it is that it literally feels like giving your skin a drink of water. I would swear by this stuff now, its even better than the Benefit facial cream I was trying before (although that on also puts up a good fight) and I even have Harry using this on the odd occasion because boys apparently don't see the value of a daily moisturise.
 
The second favourite of mine in the past month or so is the Real Techniques Highlight Brush, which is delicate enough for a sweep of sparkle across the cheekbones (how nice is the phrase 'sweep of sparkle' oh my gosh.) I'm going to be brutally truthful here when I tell you that before purchasing a couple of brushes last week, I'd been using a huge powder brush for all my contouring. Using this brush has changed the way I see highlight, and it's been lovely to apply the next product I've been loving, which is an absolute cult favourite in the blogger world. I'll be frank, I'm not the biggest fan of TheBalm packaging, I don't think its that pretty and it doesn't really fit in with my aesthetic fancies. BUT. When I swatched this in Debenhams I fell in love - this is a gorgeous golden champagne shade that is so highly pigmented and layerable that I can't get over it. It's been a product I've been debating over for a while, but I'm so glad I finally picked it up. What a winner. Let me know if you want me to post my highlighter collection - its been growing a lot recently and I'm so happy with the products I now own!

 
I discovered the Kiko Kiss Balms about a week ago, which I wrote about here as they are a perfect dupe, and although I love all the shades, I've been reaching for the coconut flavour the most because it just smells like sun cream and malibu and everything holiday-worthy.
 
For my party I decided to wear some false nails, since my actual nails are a shambles that won't be easily rectified (a habit is a habit and some things even Stop and Grow have no power against.) This French Manicure set from the Boots range set me back £5 and lasted for a whole week without issues, and I got a lot of comments about how nice and natural they looked, which is always a good thing to hear! I've also been loving the Primark nail range, which are as cheap as £1 and are so underrated since they have such long lasting and varied designs. I feel like in the past year I've truly embraced the 'fake' side of beauty (nails, tan, eyelashes), and event though I was sceptical I couldn't be happier. My nails may be fake but I'm real on the inside, and that counts for a lot - right?
 
Lastly, I've been treating my split ends to some TLC. I'm not prepared to put down my straighteners; having my hair straight rather than a frizzy mess not only improves my confidence but makes my hair a lot easier to handle. The downside of this routine is that the ends of my hair are quite dry and brittle, but this month I've used the Fudge Urban Miracle Ends hair serum that I apply before blow drying to condition and seal the ends of my hair. I'm sure that these kinds of products can only repair hair to an extent, but I've definitely noticed that my hair feels softer and easier to brush through. I've been using this brand for years - the dry shampoo and hairspray are essentials in my collection and they all smell absolutely fab.
 
Have you tried any of these products?
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5 comments

  1. Ok you have made me want to try that Olay beauty fluid SO badly!! My skin has been going through an awful phase of dehydration and dryness recently so I really love the sound of this and what a bargain too :) I also love the sound of the Real Techniques highlighter brush, that's been on my wishlist for a while and I'm definitely going to have to treat myself soon!
    Love Holly x

    www.thehollydays.co.uk

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  2. The fact the Kiko kiss balm smells like coconut has sold me already! x

    eleanorclaudie.blogspot.co.uk

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  3. I definitely need to try the Mary Lou Highlight! So so pretty from the swatches I have seen :)
    Kathy x
    www.alongcamekathy.blogspot.co.nz

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  4. I'm not the biggest fan of The Balm packaging either - it reminds me a lot of Benefit and I don't love their whole 'look'. I've been wanting to get my hands on the RT sculpting trio of brushes for a little while. It's seems such a good value for money set. I haven't tried any Olay products for a LOOOONG time. My mum was a died hard fan back in the day.

    Kirsty - Life in Excess

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  5. Mary-Lou is always a good idea ;)
    The Real Techniques Highlighting brush only comes in a set, doesn't it? I hate when they do that, I wanted to pick up the fan brush on its own but they only have them in a set... I do use their Setting brush for highlighting purposes though...

    Love, Charline | Charline Has a Blog

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