April favourites

Despite April probably being the busiest month of the year so far, it was definitely my favourite month of 2014 yet. Lots of hard work was done but there were a couple of lovely birthdays celebrated, my best friend, Craig has gone to work in Mallorca for six months, despite feeling sad that he's gone, I'm thrilled that he's having a wonderful time over there, oh and there's been plenty of blog progress, including a lovely little revamp - thanks to the boyfriend for that. Oh and I'm sorry to be a total fangirl BUT... *cough* the wonderful Essie Button shared my blog with her 76k+ Twitter followers *cough* - she enjoyed my Essie Button made me... post! Win!

So yep, April was pretty good but now I shall hush up and crack on with my most loved and reached for beauty products of the past month, and I've got to say, it's quite a luxurious list. Here goes:

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - £37

If I could use any iPhone Emoji to sum up my feelings on this palette, it would be the 'heart-eyes' one, you know the one! I've had this little treasure of a palette for just over a month now and I adore it. Throughout April I reached for this palette on a number of occasions to create some lovely night time looks. One look I enjoyed creating in particular, was a subtle shimmery eye teamed with some winged liquid eyeliner. This look finished off my outfit at one of my best friend's 21st birthday Gatsby party perfectly. The shades I used to create this look were Dust - an extremely shimmery, peachy pink with A LOT of glitter, Buzz - a glittery, satin rose, and Nooner - a matte taupe. I wore Nooner all over the lid and finished the look off with the shimmery, glittery shades and of course, the winged liner. (Apologies for not having any pictures of this eye look!) I know this is a favourites post but I do have one gripe with one shade in this palette and oddly enough, the shade is Dust - that I have just mentioned. There is far too much fall out in Dust! Other than that, it's a stunning palette.

Ciate Paint Pot in Pocket Money - £9

This was another beauty product that finished off the Gatsby party look. It's a beautiful nude shade, that's somewhat pinkier than your typical nude nail polish. It's an extremely elegant shade and the formula is lovely. It lasted me a good four to five days without any highly noticeable chipping. This is a little pinkier than Nooner, in the Naked 3 Palette. Being a sucker for pretty packaging, I must say the bottle is presented beautifully with a lovely black ribbon to finish it off. Trés elegant.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lipstick in 33 La Distinguée - £26

This is not just an April favourite, this is a lifetime and a day favourite. I reached for this little beauty a number of times in April and as always, it finished off any look, day or night, gorgeously. La Distinguée is a moderately dusty pink with a very subtle hint of peach. It's beautiful and my all time favourite lipstick shade. This isn't a Gatsby party themed post I swear, but teaming this with the Naked 3 Palette and Ciate's Pocket Money was just a dusty pink dream! Despite its matte formula, I don't find this drying at all. Look out for a post dedicated to this lipstick in future because as you can tell I adore it. 

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - £13

This product featured in my Essie Button made me... post. I've worn a winged eye a number of times this month and I've absolutely loved it. The pen makes the detestable liquid eyeliner application process somewhat less detestable for me - big praise indeed! As I've previously said, it's the perfect black liquid eyeliner for me and it does not budge all day/evening.


La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus - £15.50 *

Its predecessor featured in my February favourites and since using the revamped version over the past month, I'm smitten. This product reduces any redness that comes after any skin outbreaks and I've found its actually improved the overall redness of my skin, which has given me the confidence to go a number of days foundation-free during April! See here for a full review of this.



Have a fab May and lovely Bank Holiday weekend all - I'm off to watch McBusted tonight in Birmingham, so I'm a tad excited to say the least! Thanks for reading!

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La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus

I'm one of those people that lives by the old saying: "If it ain't broke don't fix it" - I had been a huge fan of La Roche-Posay's original formula, Effaclar Duo for around 12 months. I even repurchased the stuff - a beauty addict's way of saying: "this is some pretty good shizz". So at the start of the year when I'd heard that the much-loved spot treatment had been discontinued BUT replaced with a revamped version, the Effaclar Duo + Plus I've got to admit, I was a little anxious but I had heard it did everything that the original did, on top of helping to reduce and prevent scarring.

About a month ago, the kind people at La Roche-Posay offered me the chance to try out the new formula, which was fantastic as I was keen to see whether the Effaclar Duo + Plus lived up to its predecessor.

I've never really had particularly problematic skin but I found that using the Effaclar Duo daily helped to keep my skin clear. It claimed to 'reduce the appearance of imperfections and unclog sebum-blocked pores' - which it did.

Does the new version do this? Yes, it does. Like the original, it helps to keep breakouts at bay. It's a preventative treatment, so with that in mind, remember it won't clear up current outbreaks on first application but it will reduce the frequency of them in future. This is a product that you have to persevere with - but not for a terribly long period of time, I found it to be effective in around a fortnight.

Now for the 'newness' - this updated version claims to prevent red and brown marks. La Roche-Posay claim that the new formula not only targets blemishes, clogged pores and excess sebum, but it also eliminates acne marks from the moment they start to form, thanks to an exclusive anti-marks active ingredient called Procerad.

Do I believe this updated version does anything in tackling the marks that come after blemishes? Yes I do and in fact, I feel that the product has done wonders in reducing the overall redness of my skin, so much so that this month, I've gone many days without wearing any foundation at all! Don't get me wrong, my skin has always been okay but it's rare that I feel confident enough to leave the house without any sort of base on my skin.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the results of the revamped formula and like I did with its predecessor, I will certainly be repurchasing this stuff when it eventually runs out! The original Effaclar Duo was great, however the Effaclar Duo + Plus just goes that step further for your skin.

You can get your hands on La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + Plus (RRP £15.50), from Boots or via online beauty and skincare hotspot, Escentual.

Thanks for reading!

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February favourites

As we are now well and truly into March, what would the beginning of a new month be without a blogger telling the world what products they enjoyed using and reached for the most during the past month?

My February favourites.

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £37

Usually I get the most wear out of this palette during the evenings. However, during February I used this palette a few times during the day, opting for a subtle daytime look using two extremely pretty shades, 'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow, and 'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade. I wore 'Sin' all over the lids and 'Toasted' in the outer crease and I must say, they make a good shadow team! The look wasn't too heavy for the daytime and certainly brightened up my eyes. I adore this palette and I feel that I subconsciously went for the two pinkier shades in this palette because I'm (still) dying to get my hands on the third Naked Palette, which is all about the pinks and rose gold shades.

'Sin' - a pale, champagne shadow. 

'Toasted' - a warm, bronze-y, pink(ish) shade.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque - £18.50

This little beauty served me well during the past month. For those mornings when I woke up having not quite had my solid eight hours of sleep, this worked wonders in tackling a dark under eye. The product has a slight pink tint to it, in order to cancel out any darkness. I feel this product works better than a standard concealer for me as the consistency is so creamy, it blends in extremely well, doesn't crease and really brightens my under eye area.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Porcelain Bisque.

Sleek Blush in Pixie Pink - £4.49

A monthly favourite it certainly is, but I could go as far as to say this is one of my favourite blushers of all time. That's a big statement, as I LOVE blush. I reached for this pretty much everyday during February. It may look slightly daunting as it is very pigmented but applied with care and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush, it looks lovely on a fair complexion. A gorgeous, soft pink that makes for the perfect springtime shade and an added bonus is it's a great drugstore dupe for Nars' Gaeity, which retails at a pricier £21.50.

Swatch of Sleek's Pixie Pink.

Bourjois Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow - £6.99

Another pink(ish), bronze eyeshadow here. I'm not 100 per cent sure but I think I have the shade 'Petale de Glace'. These are a cream to powder texture, which is what drew me to purchasing it. During a few days in February I wore it and it made for a lovely, neutral daytime eye look. The product is shimmery but not too shimmery for the day. The colour pay off is good and I didn't find it to crease at all. I am tempted to try a few other shades in the range, however they look deeper than this, so will probably work best in the evenings.

(nb -I NEED to say: product is spelt 'color', I haven't made an error :P)

Swatch of Bourjois' Color Edition 24h Eyeshadow.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo - £12

This is my second tube of this stuff and I must say I'm still enjoying it. I stopped using this for about a month but got well and truly back into it during February and if used everyday, does work wonders for my skin. I don't have particularly terrible skin but I find using this everyday does keep my skin pretty clear. You don't need much of it at all. It's a corrective and unclogging treatment that I find to be gentle on the skin. On the back of the tube it says it 'reduces the appearance of imperfections and unclogs sebum-blocked pores', and I think it does. The only downside for me now however, is this product has been discontinued... but fear not, La Roche-Posay have brought out Effaclar Duo [+] Plus. I believe the only difference in the revamped version is that it helps to reduce and prevent scarring, as well as what it already does. (Correct me if I'm incorrect here someone.)

Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask - £22

Wow. Wow. Wow. This stuff. What a superb product. Sorry to sound over the top here but I cannot sing this mask's praises enough. I have never used a product that is so effective in such a short space of time, it makes a real difference right away. I never in a million years would have thought to have picked up this product, however I was perusing the Origins stand in Boots not so long ago and was given this sample by a lovely sales assistant. I didn't really pay it any attention and didn't use it until recently. However, a little while ago my skin was having lets just say 'a bit of a moment' and on reading up on this mask, I decided to take action fast. Many said the active charcoal in the mask draws out impurities right away and that it did! The charcoal acts as a magnet and brings those pesky impurities right to the surface. Prior to application you have to open up your pores with warm water. I apply it fairly thickly to any impurities, which mostly occur on my t-zone, I leave it 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. Right away my skin feels very clean and any breakouts are greatly reduced. When I eventually run out of this sample, I will certainly be purchasing the full size product. 

Stella McCartney Lily Eau De Parfum - £43.50

I had a 30ml bottle of Lily for Christmas and it's the only fragrance I've worn this year. My signature scent has been Chance by Chanel for years but I think this may well have stolen that title. I don't want to get the notes incorrect so here is how Ms McCartney herself describes it: "Top notes evoke the rich, mineral freshness of truffle. Heart notes of green and luminous lily of the valley create an irresistible addiction. Base notes reveal the earthy warmth of oak moss." For a woman's fragrance, it has a masculine sort of smell to it but in an extremely pleasant way. I tend to prefer a lot of male scents and this kind of explains that. It's a fresh, earthy yet slightly floral scent. I love it, worn day or night it lasts ages on me. Stunning.

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