June favourites

No introduction required surely? You know the drill. New month = last month's most reached for and loved products, here goes:

Dior Forever Flawless Perfection Fusion Wear Foundation - £32

This is a gorgeous product and my most reached for base throughout June, an odd choice really. Why you ask? Well it's a full coverage foundation for a start, and personally I prefer a light to medium coverage. Also, a full coverage foundation during the summer months, Naomi what are you playing at? But despite it being full coverage, this does not wear heavy on the skin at all. No cakeyness, just a natural looking, velvety finish. Also a perfect colour match for me, I use the shade 011, which I think is the lightest or next shade up. A lovely product and the kind of quality you would expect from Dior!

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Bikini-tini - £15.50

Yes, I know this appeared in my May favourites post but this continued to serve me well throughout June. It adds that bit of something to every look and the reason it's made another favourites post is because I discovered another use of this already perfect product... Its champagney, gold colour means it can be used as a highlighter at the top of your cheekbones! Try it, you'll thank me later!

Origins Make a Difference Plus+ Rejuvinating Moisturiser - £34.50

This stuff has solved a lot of my skincare woes. I don't want to speak too soon but this could well be a lifetime favourite, not just a monthly favourite. At the start of June my skin was suffering, not only from a minor breakout but it was also pretty dehydrated. However between this and Origins' Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask (I will get to this next) - they've been a total godsend for me. This divine smelling moisturiser, featuring Nature's Rose of Jericho, plus a Lychee and Watermelon hydra-sustain complex claims to quench deep to help add moisture to dry, dehydrated skin. That it does and despite its lovely scent, it does not irritate my skin in the slightest. At the start of the month my skin was looking lacklustre to say the least, however using this product daily has ensured my skin is looking and feeling hydrated throughout the day. Thumbs up for this!

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask - £23

Another June skincare saviour, as mentioned above. This is my first dabble with an overnight mask and my word, I will never look back. I used this once a week during June and each time I woke up with my skin appearing healthier and plump, and just looking better overall. I apply this fairly thickly after my Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum, and use this in place of my moisturiser. Overnight my skin "drinks it up" - as the name suggests. At first this is fairly sticky but don't be put off, it sinks in easily after a few minutes. Another bonus is its delightful, fruity smell - which is obviously down to it containing avocado oil, mango butter and apricot kernel oil. These ingredients also help to deeply hydrate the skin. I will review this product by itself in the near future, as it has worked wonders on my skin.

Batiste Dry Shampoo Dark & Deep Brown - £3.99

If you would've told me a few months back that a dry shampoo would make one of my favourites posts I would have probably laughed in your face. It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable with the idea of dry shampoo and June was the month when I actually became okay with it, well in fact more than okay. During June, I used this on a number of occasions as a hair texturiser more than anything. It added a bit of body to my hair, when it started to look a little lacklustre (new favourite word, can't you tell?) and it made all the difference, and added that necessary bit of 'oomph' to my locks.

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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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