Monthly Favourites: June 2014

It honestly feels like two seconds ago I was writing my May favourites I can't believe June is over already! The summers going fast! Here's what made the cut to my favourite beauty products during the last month. It was a good one for me for beauty faves, starting with a couple of bath and body favourites.

Soap & Glory Scrub of Your Life.
I had a couple of well loved bath and body related items in June and one of which was my all time favourite scrub from S&G which is the Scrub of Your Life. I really like this as I think its affordable, has a nice clean smell and really exfoliates those areas that need a bit more welly to smooth out nice and evenly. I've gone through quite a few of these over the years including the mini travel size versions too so this isnt a new discovery however I do tend to grab it more often during the warmer months when my skins out on show a bit more and want it looking its best.

The Body Shop Raspberry Body Butter.
From an old love from S&G to a new love from The Body Shop - this has actually been one of the standouts of the month for me and it is the Raspberry Body Butter. You may have caught my full post on it  here as I've already expressed my love for this product, this is honestly the most perfect summer scented body moisturiser... if you love raspberry scent as much as I do that is? I'm already close to using it all up. This may well be limited edition so if you're interested get to a Body Shop asap!

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Instant Tan Light Matte.
I never expected to be featuring a tanning product in a favourites post, let alone on my blog at all as I've not really been that girl who fake tans --ever. But I succumbed after trying on a dress in Miss Selfridge and the sight of these two milk bottles sticking out had me trotting off to Boots in a flash. I wanted to start off in the world of tanning products with something relatively inexpensive (and that washed off) as I didn't want to pay out for something that I wasn't sure I would like or use again so ended up trying this from Rimmel. Expect a full review on my thoughts in the next couple of days but it certainly has the thumbs up from me.

Benefit Sun Beam.
Sticking with the theme of glowy shimmery skin another favourite in June was Benefit's Sun Beam. I picked this up from eBay in the mini size and I absolutely love it as a highlighter, it creates the loveliest golden sun kissed glisten to your face that is so spot on for the summer months. I kind of wished I had been brave enough to buy the full size version now but I will probably repurchase it next summer as I can just use this one up in the upcoming months. In case you didn't know this is a liquid highlighter that is supposed to be dotted to the cheeks or brow bones and then blended out. Its easy to use while still creating a gorgeous golden hue to the skin.

See By Chloe Pefume.
My perfume choice of the month was the ever so lovely See By Chloe. This fragrance somehow manages to be fresh, youthful, florally and still remain quite sophisticated at the same time. I've written a full review on this perfume here.

Barry M Gelly Paint in Pink Punch.
Another Barry M Gelly paint to scrape its way into a favourites post this month was this gorgeous shade called Pink Punch. This is almost a neon pink where its so vivid and eye catchingly bright. This has been on my nails and toe nails virtually the whole month of June. I really like the name too as it just reminds me of an exotic and colourful summery bowl of punch.

MAC Sharon Osbourne Peaches and Cream.
Sorry to feature limited edition items in a favourites but this blush was too gorgeous to not feature. I was so excited to pick this up at my local Mac counter earlier in June. This is such an incredibly pretty product in my favourite blush colour of  pink/peach tones however it really does feature a sort of creaminess that reminds me exactly of strawberries and cream. Its such a beautiful blush.

MAC Morange.
Behold one of my all time favourite Mac lipsticks, Morange. I could sing this lipsticks praises all day long so be ready to be bored. I absolutely love this lipstick. Morange is an amplified lipstick therefore yes that colour in the bullet there, that bright, in your face orange will transfer over to your lips with pretty much one application. Morange is one of the most vivid, bright and fun to wear lipsticks in my collection. Its such a feel good lipstick that is guaranteed to get you a few compliments as it just brightens your entire face up and makes you look so vibrant and summery. What I like about Morange is you can pull this off day or night (if you're brave enough to) as I wore this on my birthday during the day but its also statement enough to wear as an evening lipstick, its so stunning seriously. I think everyone should own at least one out there lipstick like Morange in their collection.

And there we have it my rather bright and fun bunch of June Favourites - what did you love in the last month?

Soap & Glory Butter Yourself Body Cream

With it being May now, and summer literally round the corner (we hope) I have well and truly been embracing the fruitier side of life. Recently my morning shower routine has left my bathroom smelling deliciously good. I spoke in my April favourites about my latest Soap & Glory product and that is their new zesty body wash Orangeasm but I was on the fence about the Orangeasm body butter so ended up giving that one a miss. This also has something to do with the fact that I'm trying to use up products that I have around the house before buying any more. This reminded me that towards the end of last summer I picked up S&G Butter Yourself.

Butter Yourself is an intense cream which applied to the body really does feel as smooth as butter. It leaves your skin looking and feeling super silky while also making  you smell mildly fruity. Despite its buttery texture this isn't exactly 'heavy' like some body butters that can have a tendency to leave your skin feeling weighed down. Its not sticky or greasy and dries on the skin fairly quickly.  I've definitely found that Orageasm and Butter Yourself really compliment each other, its nice to step out the shower after washing with Orangeasm and going on to use Butter Yourself. This is probably to do with the fact that Butter Yourself contains orange waterjuice meaning that they are a pretty good pairing.

For the price, (it currently retails for £10.50) this is well worth the pennies. You don't need to use a huge amount to cover areas of your body so the 300ml tub will last a good while. While I like this body cream my S&G favourite is still the Righteous Butter, however its good to switch things up and Butter Yourself really is great during this time of the year. I probably wouldn't want to use this in the winter months though to be honest but that's just my own preference. This leads me on to say that if you aren't into heavily fragranced body butters this probably isn't the one for you as its pretty strong and if you use a lot of it it will linger on your body for a few hours. I however enjoy it and look forward to having this as a shower addition now that the summer months are arriving!

Have you tried S&G Butter Yourself? What are your favourite body creams?

Products I've Used Up | Empties #2

I'm back with another Empties post today...

 

Marc Jacobs Daisy 50ml.
This has been my signature scent for such a long time now, and has to be one of my absolute favourite day time perfumes. Its just so easy to wear - I'm an all round lover of Marc Jacobs fragrances but I think I'm ready to try something else soon just keep things different.  For that reason I wouldn't repurchase this at the moment.

Marc Jacobs Daisy shower gel.
I received this as part of a set although this is a lovely luxurious item, I wouldn't use it on its own as a shower gel - its purpose is mostly to enhance the smell of the perfume in my opinion. Whenever I used this I would always use my normal body wash first and pop this over top at the end. I probably wouldn't go out my way to buy this, however if it came as part of a set I would definitely use it.

The Body Shop White Musk body wash 250ml.
This was a freebie when I joined the rewards programme. Firstly the smell is absolutely divine it sort of reminds me a little bit of Flowerbomb, if you're familiar with that perfume for a comparison. Although as for the shower gel it just seemed to disappear really quickly and I definitely wasn't using too much. For 250ml it costs over £6 so I would only repurchase if in a decent sale.

Soap & Glory Clean On Me 75ml shower gel.
I tend to make sure I keep a travel sized body wash in my over night bag and this is always my chosen option and it got used up while I was away on my course this month. I've already replaced it in my over night bag!

The Body Shop Vitamin E 60ml cream cleanser.
Another travel sized item that got loved while away from home this month was the Vit E cream cleanser from The Body Shop. I have absolutely adored this and will 100% be repurchasing.

Lush Golden Egg.
Over the Easter weekend my bath was like a glisten gold tub of lush goodness - I loved loved loved this range from Lush.

Skin Therapy cotton wool pads.
I tend to go through cotton wool pads pretty quickly to remove eye makeup and so on these are cheap and cheerful from Wilkinsons.

Sure Women Clear Pure Crystal 48hr.
When it comes to antiperspirants I stick with what I know and what works for me which happens to be Sure. This is my last can of this in the old style design.

John Frieda Full Repair Deep Conditioner.
This was a lovely product to use once a week in the shower to give my bleached hair some TLC, it visibly made my hair look healthier and it felt like velvet afterwards. I'm not bleaching my hair at the moment but if I do again I would repurchase this.

 

What products have you been using up?

Soap & Glory Orangeasm Body Wash

Today I'm going to be running through a quick 'first impressions' type of review and that is on the new Soap & Glory Orangeasm body wash. I literally just picked this up in Boots yesterday, so I only had a chance to use it last night and then again in the shower this morning but I knew I wanted to do a quick post as there has been a lot of hype surrounding the new range from S&G - and rightly so! The Orangeasm range has introduced three new S&G products including this plus a body butter and a fragrance mist.

I'm a huge sucker for orange fragrant bathing products so when I discovered these new releases I was at Boots before you could say orangeasm. I love S&G body washes so I knew that this would find its way into my life, however the body butter I was a bit indifferent about so I gave it a miss and stuck with just the one item. I thought that the body butter smelt a little overpowering and while I like the smell of orange I'd rather not smell like one all day. This body wash is right up my street though! In true S&G fashion the consistency is slightly creamy which glides across the skin for an indulgent fruity shower experience, that will have you 'mmming' and 'ahhing' meaning that the title Orangeasm does deliver its promise....

For an even more orangeasmic experience I would recommend putting a small pump of this onto a bath lily to create oh, so many fruity and foamy bubbles. This is going to be perfect in the mornings to wake me up as the smell is so energising. However the good thing about this in my opinion, is that the smell doesn't linger on your skin, once your towelled dry and popped your clothes it just leaves a fresh aroma on the skin. All in all this little lovely is a perfect shower addition in the run up to summer.

Have you tried Orangeasm yet? What are your favourite S&G products?