August Favourites

Last night I looked at my console table and picked up everything I had used the most over the last month. So all the products you see above have been literally used every other day or more! However I use both the No7 blemish stick and the Neutrogena spot treatment month on month.

But for some reason this month's favourites has been the easiest to do - so be warned, I have quite afew lovely products! 

 

Neutrogena Rapid Clear Treatment 15ml (£4.85 from Boots) - I think I mentioned this product about 5 months or so ago now and since then this has been the one thing that never fails to clear up my spots and yes at 22 I still have them .  It  boldly claims to reduce the appearance of spots within 8 hours and it definitely lives upto that. I think this must be down to the product contains both Salicylic acid and Lactic acid. Which isn't commonly found in most low priced spot treatments.

It's worth mentioning that is it very drying on spots which is great, however if you where to apply this to every blemish or over large areas of the face it would leave you with quite dry patches! 

But as long as you use this sparingly you really can't go wrong with this product and it really should clear up most spots.  

 

Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely Perfume Serum Wand 4.4ml (£9.35 from Cheap Smells ) - I really don't want to use this word but I will get it out of the way now. But this perfume really is just lovely. It sounds so cliche but it is very true...it's just a lovely scent. Nothing too over the top just a subtle fragrance that seems to linger around. A nice clean scent. 

However there is a reason why it is my favourite this month, not just because of the scent but for the wand/roller ball. 

I've been constantly going back and forth between my new house and the house I live in now. Which means when sleeping over my makeup bag has to be compact to say the least and this perfume has been perfect for that. It is just so so handy and compact. 

On another note - I know I will be buying afew for Christmas presents this year as the packaging is just umm....lovely! 

17 Solo Eye Shadow - Statuesque (£3.49 from Boots) - I have to admit this is my first ever eyeshadow by number 17. I have alot of other products by this brand but there eyeshadows are a first for me. But I thought I would swatch afew while in Boots at the beginning of the month and this really stood out to me. 

It is just such a lovely shade - abit hard to describe (and nothing like the swatch on the website) so I thought I would put up my own swatch so you can see the true shade of it. 

As you can see it is quite pigmented even for the price and does contain alot of shimmer but it does really blend out well. 

Also a perfect eyeshadow for when you want to be lazy and only apply one eyeshadow but also want to create abit of contouring/dimension to the eye socket.

If you have recently purchased anything by 17 over the value of £6 you will have the free bronzer palette which you will find a small sample of this and also Ivory Coast.

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick in Fair 03 (£7.75 from Boots) - This is far more than just this month's favourites as I have been using daily for afew month now and you will be glad to know it lasts a long time. But this really does cover anything and everything. Really high coverage without being cakey as it almost blends out to a powder like finish. It is also really long lasting and yes, just the best coverage especially on spots. 

So if you are wondering what to spend one of them £5 No7 vouchers on - this product is really worth looking at.

 

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara (£9.99 at Boots/Superdrug) - Ok so alot of people seem abit confused about what this product is meant to do. To my knowledge the product isn't actually a growth enhancing product but something that is alot better for your lashes - so therefore keeping them healthier so they stay in longer and so the lashes have the chance to grow longer. I hope that makes sense. 

As mascara go it isn't the best - yes it makes them look thicker especially at the base of the lashline but if you like to apply your mascara quite thickly or like several coats, you will see clumping. It's far from awful - it's just average. 

However I have seen a change in my eyelashes! - The first thing I noticed with this mascara was how it felt on my eyelashes. Alot softer than any mascara I have used and when removing my makeup it was also alot easier/softer to remove. Which makes me think it isn't as harsh on the lashes than some other products that can almost give you hard eyelashes that actually feel crispy! 

So I really do think this has resulted in me having more lashes and not as many falling out - even when rubbing my eyes or removing makeup. 

Ofcourse I don't think this will make you all believe me so I do plan to use this DAILY for another 2/3 weeks and then have my eyelashes tinted so that I can actually compare my eyelashes to when I last had them tinted.  As I think this is something that does need a before and after comparison with no mascara.

 

  

Barbara Daly Cosmetic Sponge (£1.75 at Tesco) 

This may be on the pricey side for just one sponge that lasts all of a week even if you wash it between uses. But oh how I love it. Well to be honest it's half the sponge and half the fact that I have started to apply my foundation in a whole different way. 

I decided to change how I applied my foundation as it was creating flaky patches around my nose and looking abit cakey - so I switched from using a foundation brush to applying it with a damp sponge. I am now 100% converted. This stops all cake-ness nasty-ness and really does create a flawless look. A totally transformation with any foundation I use. 

So it is down to the sponge - but I am sure if I applied my foundation with the sponge dry it wouldn't be all that good. 

I do think when my two back up sponges are done with I will be testing out different brands. But for now this works wonders!

 

No7 Matte Top Coat (£6.75 at Boots) - I'm sure most of you know by now that I paint my nails alot and so when I saw this in Boots little alarm bells sounded that this may just transform every single nail polish I own! and I wasn't disappointed at all. This really does change the look of every nail polish I have - but I am mainly loving this over anything dark or anything nude - It really does give the ultimate mannequin nails...if you don't believe me just have a peak at this post I wrote afew days ago. A product worth getting it you have never tried matte nails.

Ciaté Love Me Oil - Cranberry (£7.75 at HQ Hair) - I normally don't treat myself when it comes to looking after my nails - just a 99p buffer will do and some kind of hand cream. But after painting & decorating so much recently my cuticles where suffering badly, to the point they felt sore. So I decided they needed some TLC in the form of a nice scented cuticle oil ofcourse. 

It has now become abit of a ritual before bed, brush on the lovely cranberry scent oil and then rubbing it into my nails. 

It leaves them alot softer and even gives the nails a nice shine and ofcourse scent. But most importantly no more nasty split cuticles!

 

  

As I love finding out about other peoples favourite products make sure to leave me any links to your monthly favourites or just what products you have loved last month!