Recent Loves: July 2014

Ok, so essentially this is a monthly favourites post – but fact is I’m not consistent enough to do these every month so decided to just call it what it is, some recent loves. I don’t know why I don’t do these round up posts more often, I guess it’s a combination of once I love something I stick with it for a while so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same things pop up month after month (which doesn’t exactly make for thrilling reading). Plus my blog has pretty much always been more product focussed so I tend to look at one at a time rather than round ups. Old habits die hard I guess, but I am trying to mix things up and talk about more edits/collections of stuff etc. I have a few more ‘three of’ posts coming your way very soon… but for now. Let’s take a little peek at a few of my recent loves and a few words on why.

Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Eye Make-up Remover* (Selfridges £18.50): This is a mini bottle and is almost all done as I’ve been toting it around on the various trips and nights away from home I’ve had recently. I took it because it was mini sized and convenient, but now I’m sad it’s almost done as it really is a fab eye make-up remover. It simply does a great job at taking off make-up quickly, which is all I really want it to do. Maybe not sting eyes too (which it doesn’t) but thinking in terms of my essential needs from an eye make-up remove – this ticks all the boxes. Good stuff and definitely thinking of picking up a full size, although it is quite pricey for what it is.

Macadamia Natural Oil Control Fast Drying Working Spray* (Beauty Bay from £4.36): This was a bit of a random one that I discovered a couple of weeks ago when I threw it in my bag of beauty bits to take along as bridesmaid to one of my best friends wedding (FYI – being a beauty blogger with a totally excessive supply of beauty bits comes in VERY handy when being a bridesmaid). The one thing about this that I am a bit baffled by is the name – is it a styling spray, or is a hair spray?! The directions make it sound like a hair spray, but the name makes me think more styling. I’ve been using as a hair spray and it’s been working great for me like that! The best thing about this in my opinion is that it smells fab and gives me light, natural hold.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist* (The Body Shop £8.50): For the first time since I left my full time job I had a moment of missing office life this week – the air con. Oh man, how I wish I had air con. But as a close second, I have been using this to avoid being a total sweaty mess all day long. Ok, I may again my exaggerating but this spray is very refreshing on a hot day. I’ve been spritzing on my face to refresh and on my pulse points to give a bit of a cooling effect. It smells lightly of roses and have left my skin feeling lovely and fresh after use.

Bourjois Instant Dry* (ASOS £5.99): This might sound a tad odd, but I’m generally not a fan of fast drying drops. Generally they seem to just be alcohol based and I haven’t found any that really work all that well – at least none that have beaten the speed of my old favourite Seche Vite. But what I like about these is actually not really the fast drying element, but the cuticle nourishing bit. It’s basically a little bottle of oils (Mineral and Cotton Seed Oil mostly) that you drop on to your fingers post-painting and it speeds up drying AND gives your cuticles a quick boost. My cuticles have long been the bane of my beauty life and I love how this is an easy way to give them a bit of post-manicure hydrating without risking ruining the colour. I still use my Seche Vite as my top coat/speed dry solution, but have now added this as a final step for the old cuticles.

Deborah Lippmann The Cure* (Look Fantastic £18): Also on the cuticle front, in between painting of nails I have been slathering on this little pot of goodness. It’s basically a really good, rich, but still light feeling (i.e. it absorbs quickly rather than feels like it sits on the skin) cuticle cream. I have been trying where possible to leave my nails bare at least overnight between polish changes to give them a bit of a breather/pamper between different shades. This is my go-to at the moment for giving the cuticles a good moisturise, simply followed with whatever hand cream I’m using at the time (there’s always a few as have them all over… in my bag, by my bed, on my desk…) Simple, but effective – really liking this.

Ameliorate Skin Smoothing Body Lotion (Victoria Health, £27.50): Chicken skin, bumpy red spots, or keratosis pilaris. An annoying condition that affects a lot of people and for me personally it bothers me more than something like cellulite. It makes me feel self-concious when I wear anything that leaves my arms exposed (somewhat of a hassle/cause for frustration in a heatwave…) and something that is surprisingly difficult to sort. Exfoliating can actually make it worse, when what the ‘spots’ are are pores being blocked with keratin deposits. You would think scrub exfoliation is the answer, but no – it can inflame the skin and make it worse. What this cream does is uses lactic acid (a naturally occurring AHA) to help the skin do it’s thing, keeping it hydrated but encourage it to naturally exfoliate and remove dead skin build up (euw). Essentially reducing the look of the ‘chicken skin’ effect and leaving skin soft and smooth. I picked this up from Victoria Health recently, whilst it wasn’t cheap it came with recommendations that I can now happily back up and I’ve only been using a short while. I will be slathering this on religiously in the run up to the wedding to avoid being chicken-skin arms bride. No-body wants to be chicken-skin arms bride…

Also, in a total aside – Victoria Health delivery was amazingly quick. Ordered using standard delivery and was there the next morning. Impressed!

Alpha H Instant Facial* (Cult Beauty, £37.50): Last but by no means least, the amazing Alpha H Instant Facial. I already mentioned this back in my wedding prep post a few weeks ago and the love affair continues. This is another that I’m using as a suprising weapon against the KP/chicken skin effect. Plus just as a general skin-wonder/pick me up. As I said with the KP thing, I’m not restricting to use on my face at all and finding it generally works wonders. Will be repurchasing as is amazing – basically a fab and speedy way to deliver a chemical exfoliation effect, leaving skin looking fresher and healthier than before. Fab stuff.

So there’s a little run down of my Recent Loves: July 2014 – what have you been loving lately?

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