July Favourites!

 To be honest, this month has been pretty lazy! Although with that in mind I still have over six weeks until I hopefully start uni so I cant see myself getting any better anytime soon. The heat over the past month has also meant I've been wearing less make up, meaning I've featured just two make up items this month! 

Superdrug's Mango & Papaya Body Butter (£3.69/200ml) - I've raved about these body butters so much over the past two months but I just really like them and feel they're great if you need something to nourish the skin at a good price (they're often half price or buy one get one free too!)

REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream (£27/50ml) - This is kind of a cheat favourite since I've only used it a few times - But I love it! I just feels lovely on the skin and you dont need to use a huge amount, although with that in mind I'm not too sure I could part with £27 for it!

Vera Wang Lovestruck (£48/50ml) - To be honest I'm rubbish at describing scents so I wont even try, but this is just something always find myself coming back to despite my collection of fragrances. I really want to try the floral rush version too!  

Organic Surge Blissful Daily Moisturiser (£8.49/50ml) - I brought this for just over £2 in Organic Surge's big sale last month and have fell in love. Hopefully I will review this at some point because it's a great product even at full price.

Essie Neo Whimsical (£7.99/15ml) - I've really fallen for Essie polishes this month with my favourite being Neo Whimsical. It's just beautiful on and stays chip free for ages! Again something I need to review soon.

Benefit Lady's Choice Lipstick (£14) - This baby may be on it's last legs but it's my perfect nude! I also spotted that these are currently half price on Benefits website (may have to buy a back up)

Collection Waterproof Skylash (£1.00) - I picked this up in Poundland the other day and have worn nothing else since. To be honest this performs better than my favourite benefit mascara yet cost me just a pound! Bargain! 

July Empties!

This month didnt see my using up many products, which will hopefully change next month since I'll be rushing to use them up intime for Uni to save my lugging a bunch of half empty products half way across the county.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong shampoo and conditioner samples - I quite liked these and actually ended up buying the big 400ml bottles since they were half price. They're not the best hair care products I've used but far from the worst and a decent price when on offer. Plus the big Herbal Essences bottles tend to last me ages which is always a bonus!

Toni and Guy Cleanse Shampoo for advanced detox (£5.99/250ml) - This has lasted me since the Christmas sales which I think is pretty good. I used this about once every 1-2 weeks to get rid of any product build up and felt it did a great job - I'm likely to pick this up again!

Naked Shine Glossing hair treatment (discontinued) - I picked this in Poundland and thought it was a great product, I'm a little gutted I didnt stock up as this is a lot harder to get hold of now but it lasted me well.

Skinetica anti blemish treatment* (£9.99/80ml) - I actually finished my full sized bottle of this although seemed to have misplaced it so photographed a sample instead. I love this stuff however I've noticed that the Skinetica website has reduced the size from 100ml to 80ml meaning users are missing out on a whole 20%! Lucky I've came across this website which is selling 100ml for £8.25 including shipping, which I will be using from now on.

Murad Aha/Bha exfoliating cleanser (£34.00/200ml) - This has one or two uses left so I figured I'd throw it in anyway. I really liked this product just not enough to spend over £30 on it, although I think I'll have a look at what else the brand has to offer.

Superdrug Coconut & Shea Butter Body Butter (£3.69/200ml) - I think these are great and have raved about them way too much in the past month! Expect to see these body butters pop up again very soon!

The Body Shop Lemon Body Butter (£13/200ml) - I love Body Shop body butters and picked this up for just £3 in the sales. It's not my favourite scent in the world but I loved wearing it of an evening in the Uk's recent hot weather as I found that the citrusy scent was a massive help in stopping me from being bitten in the night.

What have you finished this month?

Back to skincare basics...

I'm a big lover of skincare, so much so that I have an overflowing stash of scrubs, masks and cleansers. I've tried so many products and treatments but I find my skin always looks at it's best when I simply Cleanse, tone and moisturise every night. Although I still find myself reaching for my face scrubs, washes and masks when I'm in the shower or my skin feels like it needs a pick me up, I just feel like nothing comes close to these three steps. I start by removing my make up with my Bioderma which allows me to get the most of my actual cleanser. My current one is this gentle cleansing lotion from Organic Surge which I apply with my fingers, I then use a cotton pad to wipe the majority off before following up with Naked's Up tone girl gentle toner. Once I'm done with that I use my Organic Surge blissful daily moistiriser which I've really come to love, I picked this up for just over £2 but think its worth its full price of £8.50 -  the packaging is great too! Together these products leave my skin feeling clean, soft and clear which is all you can ask of a skincare routine really.

What's your preferred method of cleansing?

Mango & Papya Body Butter

Last month I posted about my love for Superdrug's Coconut and Shea butter body butter, I loved it so much that I picked up another in the Mango & Papaya scent and figured It would only be fair to give this a post too. As I've mentioned before these are my favourite alternative to The Body Shop body butters which don't come in cheap at £13/200ml whereas these retail at £3.69/200ml (currently buy one get one free!). Personally I find that the only difference is the texture, and like TBS butters this smells great, leaves the skin feeling moisturised and doesn't leave you waiting around for hours before getting dressed! I feel like the texture of this is a lot thinner than any body butters I've tried from TBS, but in a way I quite like that as it allows this to go a lot further. 

Overall I really like these body butters although I do find myself favouring the ones from the Body Shop just that little bit more. When considering the price difference I'm probably more likely to pick one of these up again. Although its worth noting that the Body Shop have had some amazing sales lately - I got a 200ml Lemon, Raspberry and Passion Fruit for just £3 each!

Undress your skin Foundation

I'm a big fan of MUA, So when their 'Undress your skin illuminating foundation' launched I was quick to grab a tube, although as I mentioned in my Shopping my Stash post it was something which I completely forgot about until recently. Personally I really like the packaging of this and find the design allows it to really stand out in my make up bag as the tall and skinny tube is unlike anything else I own. I also spotted that this contains 35ml of foundation as opposed to the normal 30ml which is always a bonus.

I have the lightest shade Porcelain which I adore since it's pale enough for my skintone which is pretty rare on the highstreet, previously I was using a Dainty Doll one which is designed for pale skin so I'm pleased to see that this is only a tiny bit darker at a fraction of the price. Generally I find my illuminating foundations tend to be quite sheer, so I was pretty surprised when I discovered that this offers medium level of coverage which is easily buildable to full. It really gives skin that 'flawless' look and actually covers most of my freckles which surprised me a lot since most of my foundations tend to leave them on show (For reference I'm a big lover of sheer foundations and BB creams)

Overall I really liked this product and think it is a complete bargain! While it offers more coverage than I'm used to, It really helps achieve that flawless look and it will be a definite staple for nights out and events I feel I need a bit more make up for! You can pick this up for £5 over at Superdrug or half price on MUA's website.

Punk Bouquet Body Scrub

I love a good scrub, So when I finally had the chance to visit the & Other Stories store way back in May I was sure to treat myself to one. After sniffing all of the scrubs on offer I ended up buying the Punk Bouquet body scrub which was my favourite. Initially it was just the amazing scent which drew me in to this product, although I literally have no idea how to describe it so I'll leave that down to add & Other Stories who describe this scrub as 'a Smoothing sugar scrub that polishes skin to a silken texture and leaves it lusciously scented. Tiger orchid and dewy lotus flower are entwined with nutty almond and sweet tonka beans, overgrown by tree moss and topped with a splash of tangerine'. But its not just the scent which makes this product a complete winner, the texture is spot on and while I felt this was perhaps thinner than scrubs I'm used to (such as S&G's flake away), It's by no means watery and is jam packed with scrub practicals which really allow you to work into the skin and get amazing results.

Although its ridiculously cliche a little of this really does go a long way, and you find you need the smallest amount to cover a whole limb. This is probably down to the foam it creates as LFA explained in her post. While it's a little smaller than similar products on the market at 250ml, It really does last well and I'm not even done with half of this after two months of frequent use! At just £7 I think these are well worth a sniff next time your near the London store, I know I'll be back!

Revlon Top Speed nail polish: Royal

 When it comes to nail polishes Revlon are one of my go to brands, not only are they long lasting and quick drying, you can find a fantastic range of shades for under a pound if you shop around. Royal is no exception to this and has quickly become one of my favourite polishes, it's hard to believe I paid just 99p on Fragrance Direct! Topped with my Seche top coat this resembled a gel manicure, only messier because of my shoddy paint work!

Have you tried Revlon's nail polishes?