Summer Makeup Favourites

These some of current summer makeup favourites that I seem to be reaching for again and again. This is partly because it has been crazy hot in the UK so I have wanted to keep my makeup light and simple but also weather resistant!

As a base I have been using the YSL BB Cream Skintone Perfector. I have written about this already and it has really become one of my favourites. Its sheer coverage and feels light and lovely on my skin.

For a highlighter I love nothing more than the Estee Lauder Modern Mercury Powder Gelee (about £30). This is an amazing highlighter in a rose gold. It was a limited edition but Estee Lauder have brought new ones out each summer so have a look. I love this highlighter. Its very shimmery and if applied with a strong hand can look awful but I have to say on my skintone it’s really perfect.

For blusher I recently jumped on the bandwagon and got the Maxfactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blusher in Soft Murano (£4.99). I find this colour is ideal for my skin colour. It is a lovely rose pink with a very subtle shimmer. I use my Real Techniques stippling brush to apply this. It has good colour pay off and lasts quite well. I find the colour very flettering.

On my eyes I have been using the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate for weeks on end. I have already written about this product and I just LOVE this colour. It also lasts amazingly in the heat we have been experiencing here in the UK without having to use an eyeshadow primer which is a bonus. You can see what that looks like on me here.

On the odd occasion I also love the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in Bright Blue (£3.99). This gives a real pop of colour when applied to the waterline. I think this looks quite cool especially when the sun is out!

For mascara I have become totally obsessed with the Collection Killer Curves Mascara in Black (£3.99). I found this by total fluke – I had forgotten to put on my mascara one day so popped into Boots and grabbed this one beacuse it was cheap and looked ok! Well I was lucky the brush is really well designed and somehow grabs my lashes to give them volume and curl. Its so easy to apply and lasts all day.

On my lips I have been loving the Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in Red Sunshine (£7.99). This is a really moisturising lip gloss stick. I find the colour can be built up from sheer to quite strong. It never dries my lips out and I just reapply like lip balm all day! I love this red colour as it’s perfect for the summer.

Finally I spritz with the Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray which I wrote about recently. Its great at just holding everything in place when you get hot and sweaty and everything is threatening to melt!

I also carry with me the Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot powder (£12). This a great translucent mattifying powder that gets rid of any shiny areas that appear throughout the day. I have been using this a lot lately and really like it.

 

So that’s my current summer makeup favourites. I am sure I will find new things that I will add to this list but for now this is pretty much what I reach for!

Here is what all of these products looks like on me (with Scandal Eyes Kajal in Bright Blue instead of Maybelline Color Tattoo)!

Refreshing Facial Mists – A Summer Saviour!

In July the UK experienced a most unusual phenomenon – very very hot weather for about 3 weeks! This is very rare and although we all wanted to enjoy the heat wave by the time the thermometers hit 32 degrees centigrade we were melting!!

I invested early on in the heat wave in two refreshing facial mists to get me through long hot days in the office and any other occasion!

The first one I got was the Avene Thermal Water Spray. I got the smaller can (50ml) in Boots for £3.99. There are larger sprays (150ml and 300ml) but I wanted one that would easily fit in my handbag or makeup bag which this did. This is basically a can of thermal spring water. I know that sounds like a con but it really isnt! I don’t know why but this is not only refreshing but also sets my makeup, hydrates my skin and can be used for loads of different purposes (sunburn, shaving rash etc.). A quick spritz when it’s really hot and humid and I am feeling a bit droopy is just lovely!

Next up is the cult product the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. Again I got this in the smaller 30ml size (about £12) from a pharmacy but they are very easy to get hold of on-line. This is totally different to the Avene one as it is packed full of essential oils like Rosemary, Peppermint and Rose amongst many others.

This is meant to “smooth the skin, tighten the pores and provide an instant burst of radiance, as it stimulates microcirculation”!! Sounds amazing right? Well I dont know about all that but it smells DIVINE and gives you that sort of ahhhhh feeling! I love this on planes especially as it gets rid of that horrid plane smell even if only for for a few minutes. I find that this is the one I reach for again and again and have repurchased this many times.

So if wherever you are the hot weather is driving you a bit mad – reach for a refreshing facial mist!!

Summer Skincare Favourites

I thought I would do a quick post about three of my favourite go to skincare products for the last month or so while it’s been really hot here in UK.

First I use this new product I spotted in Boots the other week – Vaseline Spray and Go (190ml £4.99). It’s a very light moisturising spray. It goes on very easily- a quick spray and swift rub in and you are ready to go! Very easily absorbed and not heavily fragranced. Definitely enough moisture for my skin in the summer.

I usually follow this with the Nivea Sun Protect and Refresh SPF50 (200ml £16.99). These have been offer for ages at half price in Boots so I have stocked up. It is an amazing product. Again goes on very much like the Vaseline spray but has a bit more of a shiny finish. It does absorb really well too so the shiny effect disappears quite fast. A great SPF cover without any stickiness.

Finally if I need a bit of a shimmer I use the E45 Silky Radiance Body Lotion (250ml £3.99). This is a lovely light lotion with a very subtle golden shimmer. It leaves my skin lovely and soft and in the sun just lightly shimmering! I love this and use it every summer or on holiday. I tend to use this instead of the Vaseline Spray or a very light layer on top on certain parts like my shins and décolletage.

So that’s my summer skincare favourites of the moment! I think they make the perfect beach holiday skincare kit too!

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Pomegranate

I have a few of these Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Cream Gel Eyeshadows (£4.99) but this colour (Pomegranate) is by far the BEST for me. I never thought that a dark purply pink with shimmer would somehow end up being my go to colour but that’s exactly what has happened since I got this!

It is just a beautiful colour that just adds the right amount of definition to my eyes without looking overdone. The colour does stay on as promised and doesn’t crease. I can’t be happier with this purchase!

Bohemian Collective

Like every other blogger out there (or so it seems) I have given in and bought the Bohemian Collective above knuckle rings (£26 each). I went for two rose gold rings one normal band and one wishbone. They are solid 9 carat rose gold so for me definitely worth the price, in fact I think they are great value.

So they arrived beautifully packaged in a little cloth bag. Each ring was in a tine paper envelope! Very cute. I went for small size in both and they fit me perfectly and stay on. I adore them they are delicate and exactly what I wanted.

Wearing them with my Etsy rings and & Other Stories Rose Lame nail polish.

HQ Hair – couldn’t resist…

I got one of those emails from HQ Hair recently offering me 20% off my next order and of course I couldn’t help but be tempted. So after a long browse I settled on four things.

First is the Deep Relax bath oil from Aromatherapy Associates. I have already talked about this product so I wont go on about it again other than to say this is a constant re-purchase! Normally this costs £39 but HQ Hair had an offer on at £32 which even without the extra 20% off was a great discount!

Next is the Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray 30ml (£9). I have used the All Nighter before but decided that over the summer this would be a better option and it definitely is. My makeup is staying put longer and I have noticed that I am using my blotting powder less often. So I would definitely recommend this.

The next product I went for is from the new Kerastase range of Couture Styling products. I have to admit this was a bit of an impulse purchase. I did need a hair spray but was just intrigued to try the range out. I went for the Laque Couture Fusional Fixing Spray which was on offer on HQ Hair for £16.50. It’s a really fine spray that gives a medium hold and smells quite pleasant. I wouldn’t say it’s the best I have tried but I do like it. I have to admit the spray looks amazing on my dressing table!!

Finally I got the Tangle Angel Brush (£12.95) in pink! I got this for my daughter as her tangle teezer was pretty much dead. She needless to say LOVES this brush and it is extremely good at combing the tangles out of her thick hair without hurting her. Obvious bonus is how it looks!

Summer Face by YSL

I am getting slightly obsessed with finding the perfect BB cream. I have been using my Sleek BB cream for a while now and still really like it but it is definitely too heavy for the summer. I also tried out the Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream but its quite sheer and doesn’t really give me the cover I was after.

Essentially I was looking for something light and wearable when the sun is out and heat is on! So I popped into Debenhams and tried the Dior and Clarins BB creams but they were both much too light for me. As I have been enjoying the sunshine my skin is even darker than normal so I needed something that would keep me going through the summer.

The lovely lady helping me in Debenhams suggested the YSL All-In-One BB Cream Skintone Perfector in Dark (£38.00).

As you can see from the picture above it is quite a dark shade so I was convinced it wouldn’t suit me. However once blended in it gave my skin a bronzed perfected look (see below). Like the healthy glow after a holiday!

The consistency is light unlike the Sleek BB Cream which is quite thick. This is almost like something between a foundation and a serum. I think this gives a light to medium cover which is perfect for those hot summer days. It says that you can wear this under foundation almost as a primer although I haven’t tried that. I also like the fact that it has SPF 25 which means I don’t have to worry about suncream most days.

I have to say I am really loving this cream and can tell the difference in my skin tone. I love the look it gives me and is certainly going to be a summer favourite.

Shay and Blue – Atropa Belladonna

The brand Shay and Blue has been popping up everywhere I look. I finally let my curiosity lead me to their website and I was immediately intrigued.

Shay and Blue describe themselves as boutique perfumers who create scents that are unique, made with real flowers, fruits and spices. There are only a handful of fragrances available which somehow made it even more tempting!

I read through each description and was immediately drawn to Atropa Belladona – “beautiful lady” or “deadly Nightshade”. The scent is described as “dark cassis berries blended with the heady white flower blooms of narcissus and jasmine, on a base of rich bourbon vanilla”.

Well I was not disappointed. My package arrived in this beautiful box, which opened to reveal the perfume in a vintage inspired bottle. The scent is beautiful and not as heady as I thought but is really rich and warm. It does linger well and the vanilla definitely comes through hours later.

Given the uniqueness of the whole experience you may be surprised that a 30ml bottle  costs £30.00 and the 100ml which I bought was £55. I am very impressed and obviously tempted to try out more of their fragrances and maybe even the candles.

Jones – Jayne Sandals in the Sale

Jones Bootmaker was having a sale so I thought I would have a quick look in and immediately spotted these sandals reduced from £79 to £65. I love the colours and shape and also the fact that the heel isn’t too high. They are really comfortable to walk in which is great! Now I just need some good summer weather to wear them!

Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil

Oh my goodness this Body Shop Honey Bronze Shimmering Oil smells divine! The texture, the golden shimmer, the smell, everything about this oil is heavenly! The dry oil texture means that it glides on beautifully but dries quickly leaving no oily residue just a beautiful shimmering glisten! The smell is like summer, exotic with a hint of something like frangipani…just lovely!

It comes in two shades Honey Kiss (which I got) and Golden Honey which is a lighter more golden colour. They are £16 each.

This is most definitely a must have for summer legs, arms and décolletage!