Beauty: February faves and fails
We're into the second half of March and I'm giving you February favourites. That says a lot about the state of my blogging schedule right now! I'm currently away in New York City and because I become a crazy planning worrier before I go on holiday, things have been a bit sporadic on the blogging front whilst I've made lots of lists, over-planned my trip and shopped for things I probably don't need to pack. A slightly more normal service should resume after next week :)
L'Oreal's fibrology shampoo claims to make your hair look and feel thicker. I was dubious about this, but curious to give it a try, and I can safely say that to some extent it works. My hair has particularly fine and lank tendencies, so I wasn't expecting miracles, but gradually this is making an improvement - enough that I've been out and re-purchased. And, it doesn't make my hair any oilier then normal.
Essie's set in stones is such a pretty glitter that I keep finding myself topping my manis with it. It's a really easy glitter to work with and it has big uniform circles as well as little teeny flecks. It's great for a glitter french tip, half moon or just all over.
Hourglass ambient lighting blush in radiant magenta... I'm not sure what possessed me to spend £28 on a single blush, but spend I did and I don't even regret it. It's not something I'll make a habit of, and this may well be the only shade I'll add to my collection, but these blushes are a thing of beauty both off and on the face.
I have three of the Revlon matte balms and two of them have already become serious staples. They're very bright and I'll probably look less out of place in them come Spring, but I'm loving showy (cool bright pink) and unapologetic (hot pinky-coral).
I feel like I've truly mastered the art of applying fake lashes after several years of pain and tears, so I'm starting to wear them more often. My current favourites are the midnight diva lashes from LW Lashes. I usually buy lashes that have quite a thick strip to them, so these which don't have the line at all, just the individual lashes, look completely different. They give a softer and slightly more natural look, but they're also really long and fluttery.
I've finished my second bottle of L'Oreal's Elvive extraordinary oil and have bought a third. It's the best oil / serum type product I've found in terms of giving my hair a sleekness without weighing it down or making it look greasy.
I'd had these NYX butter glosses for ages before I actually tried them, and now I can't stop wearing them. They live up to their name exactly - truly buttery glosses with lovely opaque pigmentation. On the left the nude-pink is called eclair and on the right the brighter shade is merengue. I can't wait to get my hands on some more of these in other colours.
Onto my fails of the month - first is the Embryolisse lait-crème concentré. I'd heard lots of raves about this product with people saying it had totally changed their skin and fixed various issues and also make-up artists swearing by it as a perfect base and in place of a primer. Sadly this doesn't work for me at all. When I've tried it my make-up doesn't sit very well on top, it looks patchy and it only lasts a few hours before starting to disappear from my face. I guess this just doesn't suit my combination skin type at all.
The Physician's formula organic wear mascara is another product I had high hopes for after seeing it in other people's favourites. This mascara is so bad I'm convinced I must have got a duff batch. It's the driest mascara I've ever used and it barely coats my lashes with anything at all. Both times I tried this I had to give up and use another mascara. It's almost like how an old dried up mascara you've had a for a year or more would be. Odd and really disappointing!
My last fail is the Maybelline baby skin instant pore eraser. It's an okay primer of the super-siliconey variety and I'll use it up. The reason I'm putting it in my fails is because it's just an average silicone primer - it certainly doesn't instantly erase my pores - it masks them a bit, like most primers. I usually love Maybelline, but it annoys me when brands put silly claims or give outrageous names to products which then can't live up to the hype.
By the time you read this I'll likely be hitting up Walgreens or Sephora with a huge smile on my face and an over-flowing basket of products itching to make it into my March favourites! Let me know if you have any recommendations for what I should look out for in the US. Back soon x
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