Monthly Favourites | April

So.. It's the 4th May? (May the Fourth be with you ..haha) But seriously, how the hell did that happen? It felt like literally a week ago I was writing up my March favourites and this month flew around so fast I barely even had time to catch my breath! It's a bit of a mixed bag for this month's favourites, but I hope you all enjoy it and read on to see what I'd been loving in April...

Barry M 'Gelly Hi Shine' Nail Paint - Lychee

Barry M's newly reformulated nail paints to give a 'gel nail' finish are well worth the hype that they're receiving. Having just released a new line of colours for the summer I'm eager to stock up on some more shades! Lychee made the cut as this month's favourite as it's the perfect classic nude shade that you can't go wrong with and I've been wearing it a lot recently. It gives a polished manicured look with a thick, high shine finish and lasts for close to a week without chipping - All for £3.99 too!

Redken Color Extend 'Radiant-10' Treatment Spray

I wrote a full post all about this product, and it was also part of my 'Happy, Healthy Hair' post too because it's been a little bit of a lifesaver (/hairsaver) recently. It comes at quite a high price, but it's well worth it and I'd recommend it to anybody looking for a good quality lightweight detangling spray and leave in conditioner that comes with a whole multitude of additional benefits such as adding shine and prolonging the vibrancy of hair colour.

 

Origins 'Modern Friction' Exfoliator

My first Origins purchase, and I wasn't disappointed! A persuasive saleswoman talked me into buying this one as she said that good exfoliation is one of the key stages in skincare to reducing blemishes (I don't really want to talk about excess dead skin cells clogging pores and causing a build up.. but yeah..) and after she demonstrated this product on me during a 'mini facial' I knew that it was love! I'm going to do a full review on this in the coming weeks, but basically it's a very fine and gentle exfoliator that is a real indulgent treat to use. It contains 'rice starch cushioned in cream' which makes it feel a little bit like you're rubbing rice pudding or porridge on your face, but it gives such a thorough polish to the surface of the skin and makes everything look that little bit more refined and fresh.

 

Clinique 'Even Better' Foundation

I have a full post written up on this amazing foundation, that I dubbed as my 'holy grail' base for my make up. Having problematic skin leaves me with wanting no less than a full coverage and long lasting foundation that will stand the test of oil-prone skin. 'Even Better' ticks all of those boxes! One of the highest coverages I've ever used, smooths over enlarged pores, covers blemishes, flawless application and lasts all day. It's my favourite foundation to date and if what I've listed above is something you're looking for then this is one to try!

The Body Shop Vitamin E 'Sink In Moisture Mask'

The Body Shop and their crazy bargains in the sales left me paying no more than £5.00 for this tub, when it's full retail price is £13.00 - I love bargains like that! A naughty product (suspicions lying with Effaclair Duo) left me with skin that was dry, flakey and very unsightly. Dry skin is not the norm for me and I needed something to sort it out pronto! I looked to the Origins 'Drink Up' Mask, but couldn't justify the price tag at the time, however worth it it might have been.. and I found this potential dupe in The Body Shop. It's a fast working 10 minute 'Moisture Mask' that you apply in a thick layer all over and it seems like a normal moisturiser, but after the time is up it has only partially sunk in and there's a residue left on the surface of the skin that can be gently removed with a cotton pad. It leaves the skin looking instantly plumper, like it's had a good 'drink', hydrated and reduces flakey patches. A few uses of this and my dry skin had returned to normal - this saved the day!

Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion

When I wrote a full post about this gradual tanning lotion it received lots of comments from other people saying that they were huge fans of this tan too! I'd recommend clicking here to read my full review on it as I gush in depth about my love for it. Literally the most perfect gradual tanner I've ever used; there's no tell-tale tan smell, it smells fresh and fruity, it actually comes up gradually and is easy to build upon day by day so that there's no waking up and being overly fake and orange if that's not what you're looking for, and the colour is a nice touch of brown, lovely and natural like you've spent a day sitting out in the sun.

 

Urban Decay Super Saturated High Gloss Lip Color - Theodora

Being a lucky little lady, I managed to win one of The Sunday Girl's giveaways and landed myself with one of Urban Decay's limited edition palettes for the release of the film The Great and Powerful Oz. Out of the two versions of the palette (Glinda and Theodora), I won the Theodora palette, represented in the film by the ever so gorgeous Mila Kunis - deserved winner of FHM's Sexiest Women in the World! Enough about my girl crush.. The Theodora Palette came with one of UD's 'Super Saturated' lip colours and the shade is just named 'Theodora' but it's a beautifully bright and glossy red shade that is so simple to apply with the creamy formula and the crayon applicator. I've not been one for red lips much in the past but this one just seems to work for me and the high gloss lasts for hours and hours too. I might have to look into more of these lip pens from Urban Decay because they're such amazing quality! My eye is on 'Love Child' and you can see it here.

So, that's my April favourites! I hope you enjoyed!

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Review: Clinique 'Even Better' Foundation

Everybody hold up, stop what you're doing. I think I have found my holy grail foundation. That's right, this could be the one. We spend years going through bottles and bottles of the stuff searching for that one perfect formula and shade combined to give us the flawless base that we're searching for, and I think I've found my answer in Clinique. 

Halfway through bottle number two of this foundation and I had the realisation that I could never see myself turning to anything else, at least not for the foreseeable future anyway. What I like about this is that it provides full coverage, works on oily skin and it lasts all day. How often is it that you come across a foundation that can do all of that? It is suitable for any skin type which is ideal for me as I suffer with patches of dry and patches of oily (and patches of normal) - annoying skin! But I would say it is suited more for oily/normal skin types though, as it does tend to show dry patches if they're quite bad.

What I'm more concerned with is how high and how full the coverage is that this offers; it's pretty amazing. Having a face that's riddled with scars, marks, redness and little blemishes I've got a lot to cover up! The foundation's main aim is to target uneven skin tone - that's me! But it doesn't just cover the uneven skin tone and the hyper-pigmentation, it also works to treat it at the same time and who doesn't love a 2-in-1? With continuous use, over time this foundation will provide benefits from the mineral enrichment that helps to even out the skin tone and deliver brighter skin (or so it claims). I've been using a range of new things to help with this whole 'evening of the skin tone' fiasco, and I'm definitely seeing improvements but I would say that it's the result of a combination of products and that this foundation isn't quite powerful enough to make any radical changes to the skin's quality on it's own, but every little helps!

As well as concealing any imperfections on the skin such as redness or markings, it also helps to slightly 'fill in' (I don't know if that's the best term that I could've used) enlarged pores and smooth them over, making them appear minimised, in the same way that using a primer such as The Pore-Fessional would do. So not only does Even Better provide an amazing full coverage that isn't at all thick or cakey on the skin and actually feels nice and light, this full coverage also manages to last all day long without sliding around. With a few dabs of concealer and a dusting of powder this foundation manages to give me a flawless (or as near to flawless as I'm going to get) base, and by the end of the day it's still looking just as good. Huge thumbs up!

Any extras you  might be interested in: it contains SPF15 which is always a good thing as it prevents sun damage and any further hyper pigmentation (it's good unless you're having your photograph taken - SPF causes those 'ghost faces' with a flash), it's an oil free formula, it's enriched with minerals and it also has anti-aging properties.

Housed in a nice and sleek compact little tube, it's standard 30ml size but there's no bulky and uneccessary packaging that takes up space. It's very minimal and very simple, but it still looks high end and presentable. The squeezy plastic bottle makes it ideal for travelling too as there's no risk of breakage or spillage, and the nozzle makes it easy to control dispensing the product in a super hygienic way. I just dislike the way that there is no indication of how much is left and when I'm going to run out as the bottle is completely opaque. I hate that day when it comes as a shock that there's actually nothing left in the bottle! At £23.00 a bottle it's on middle ground of price range for high end foundations and it is available to buy here, or you can go in store to your nearest Clinique counter and have the lovely ladies colour match you up; they did a good job with me as this shade matches my skin exactly.

I have the shade 01 Alabaster which I would assume is the lightest shade that Clinique offers as it is numbered '01', and this matches me perfectly. However, although I do have pale skin, I know that my skin isn't the fairest out there and if you're especially light skinned then there's a chance that this could be a tad too deep for you and that's a complaint I've heard about Clinique before; that the shades don't go light enough. 

But, it matches me, it works for me, and I LOVE it.

If you're in the market for a new long wearing foundation that offers high coverage then have a wander over to your nearest Clinique counter and have a look at Even Better - you won't be disappointed.

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