Monthly Favourites | July

It was quite a difficult task to pick out a bunch of favourites for the month of July, and I even considered not doing a favourites post this month because it was so hard to rack my brains and think of particular things that I've been enjoying using. In general I've been feeling very unmotivated, uninspired and everything in my life seems to be a little lackluster at the moment - yuck! Hopefully the dull grey cloud will lift from over my head asap and I can get back to normal again. (I suspect that it's the 'all work and no play' routine I've got into that has triggered this feeling).

I didn't want to break the tradition and miss out one of my favourite types of posts 

..so here is my July Favourites:

Original Source Shower Gel - Pink Grapefruit

Obviously not a life changing product - a shower gel. But I really wanted to mention this new seasonal edition from Original Source, mainly because of the heavenly scent! These can be found nationwide in the likes of Asda and Wilkinsons for just £1 each! (They're the two stores I've seen them for that price, there may be more places). They're a pretty standard formula as far as shower gels go and lather up to a nice mountain of bubbles to leave you feeling fresh, but I just adore the zingy and sugary fruity scent of this one. Why have I never known how good pink grapefruit smells before? It's really invigorating and for just £1 it's well worth sprucing up your shower with some yummy fruitiness.

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Deep Conditioning Mask

I have to say I'm not a fan of the matching shampoo and conditioner from this Keratin Smooth range, but the Deep Conditioning Mask is a little something special. It's a fantastic budget intensive treatment for the hair and while the results may not be permanent or long lasting, it offers an instant boost of smoothness to unruly hair. I use this around once a week in addition to a regular conditioner, wrap my hair up and leave this on for about 10 minutes and then rinse it out and find that my hair is instantly much more manageable, softer and smoother. This offers really reliable results if you're after a quick fix for your hair!

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner*

This skincare gem has ranked highly over the past fortnight and following the nightmare of my Liquid Gold and Radiance Renewal running out at the same time (!!) my skin has been flagging and crying out for some AHAs and chemical exfoliation back in it's life. The effects of this toner are by no means as immediate or as intense as those with Alpha H Liquid Gold, but it is a more gentle formula and is suitable to use twice daily, which I have been doing and have loved how much perkier and bright my complexion has been looking following a regular mild exfoliation with this lotion. 

N Spa Melting Gel Cleanser*

I briefly touched upon how much I like this cleanser in my post on the N Spa Beauty & Bathing Rituals, but it definitely deserves more of a mention. This is a super cheap cleanser (£6.00 for the full size, this is a mini) and it feels like you're giving yourself a luxurious spa treatment when using it. It sets off as a thick and oily gel that you rub onto dry skin and it dissolves away all traces of make-up, dirt etc from the skin and then body temperature melts the product down into a thick oil consistency that really helps the skin feel supple and hydrated. When rinsed with water the oil emulsifies to form a milk and washes away to reveal fresh and clean skin. 

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat

Gotta love a rediscovery of an old favourite! This coveted little gold pen stays in it's box most of the time and in a prized position in my make up collection, saved for 'special occasions' - so much so that it hardly ever gets used. I've been pulling it out more frequently over the past few weeks and loving the under eye highlight and general illumination of the face that can be achieved by using this. It really does deserve it's 'holy grail' status. 

Ciate Nail Varnish - Speed Dial and Big Yellow Taxi

What would my monthly favourites be without a mention of nail varnish?! Cosmetic Crave has gone into nail loving overload during July with two Fragrance Direct nail varnish hauls (OPI and Essie, and just Essie), an OPI nails post, a 'nail of the day' with Speed Dial, and a comparison of Big Yellow Taxi with Luis Lemon - Phew! So many nail posts! The two Ciate polishes that I've really been gravitating towards recently are two that I've done posts on recently: Speed Dial and Big Yellow Taxi. They're lovely and bright colours suitable for summer nails and the quality is absolutely faultless.

Seche Vite Top Coat

With nail varnish obsession must come a suitable quick drying high gloss top coat and Seche Vite fits the bill for that. The cream of the crop in top coats, this clear gloss adds an almost gel like finish to any quality of nail varnish with a high shine gloss, it dries completely in a matter of minutes and can last up to a week with no major chips and only tip wear. It's fantastic!

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm at the very start of this post - I promise I'll cheer up soon!
Thanks for reading anyway.

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