Frame Friday 002.

0001. Err, so, where has the summer gone? The closest I get to it now is looking at this photograph I took during a brief 10 minute sunny interval a few days a go. Roll on winter, I miss those freezing cold days where snugly coats and mittens are a must have.

0002. All my confirmation letters and logins and all those other bits of paperwork people like to send me have come through from The Open University. From the start of October I will officially be a student, yes, again! I’ll be starting with AA100 The Arts Past & Present and thanks to the wonder of facebook I’ve ‘met’ lots people in the same boat. Good news is we’re all equally as nervous, bad news is they’re all considerably more prepared than I am. I need to get cracking!

0003. It’s been a slightly more stressful week than I would have liked but I think things are on their way to being sorted. My concession at work is under new management and I’ve decided to leave because I don’t agree with some of the new ways of doing things. I’m not the brightest crayon in the box I will freely admit, but I’m also not an idiot and don’t want to dread everyday that I have to work. Usually I can’t make quick decisions but handing in my notice & applying for the concession next door wasn’t something I had to think twice about.

0004. In happier news I got a job at the concession next door, I start next month and my new manager is wonderful! She’s looked out for me ever since I started my current job, which of course she didn’t have to do since I wasn’t working for her, but she did & I’ll be forever grateful for that. I won’t say which concession it is, because I’ve mentioned the town I live in before & someone could come and stalk me which wouldn’t be good. But I will say that the clothes are so much more the kind of thing I love, I can really get excited about them & hopefully be good at helping other people find an outfit they love. I have a feeling I know where my wages will be going, but shhhh, I need to save my pennies!

0005. I ventured into the world of Boohoo.com this week & I must say I’m very impressed. Their new website is much easier to navigate & a couple of their £8 dresses and cardigans caught my eye. They’re obviously not amazing quality, there were a few stray threads here and there but that’s nothing I can’t fix since I don’t have the money to splash on expensive clothes. I’ll have a little fashion post up sometime soon - maybe I’ll rope the boy into taking some pictures for me!

0006. Next week I’m finally going to visit my boyfriend for the first time in what seems like forever. We don’t really have any exciting plans apart from making a trip to Yo! Sushi for some yummy kaiso salad and vegetable yaki soba. I’m so excited! 3 days to go!!

xoxo

Top 10 Products under £10: The Skin, Hair & Body Care Edition.

Sometimes I think that products that won’t break the bank don’t get enough recognition. When I first started watching YouTube videos and reading blogs for some reason I wanted to have drawers full of expensive make up and beauty products but now I’m forever searching out those hidden gems that suit those of us on a budget.

Batiste is a like it or loathe it kind of product I think. I wash my hair every other day and use this on the non-wash days just to give me a bit of texture and volume because my hair is thin & I don’t like the limp look. I’m not fussy on which scent I pick up, none of them linger on my hair for very long but they all do the job just fine. It’s like putting talcum powder in you hair but slightly less messy. This hasn’t been a very upbeat review has it? I find it hard to get excited about a product like this, but hey, it’s much quicker than having to wash my hair daily. I always have a can or two of Batiste kicking around somewhere and they cost no more than £2.50 - bargain!

As someone who’s usually not a fan on roll-on deodorants, when I say I really rate this as a product, I totally mean it. I will have a review of this up very soon, Alva have been so patient with me, but a sneak peek of my opinion on it is that I love it. I have the scent coconut lime, which is gorgeous, so very summery, and they have a range of other scents that are a far cry from ‘cotton fresh’ or the usual deodorant scents. If you need something stronger like Mitchum products, this probably won’t be for you because this is aluminium free. Like all other Alva products it’s also free from parabens, alcohol & mineral oil and it hasn’t been tested on animals. Fabulous company, fabulous product. At £7 it’s a wee bit pricier than other deodorants perhaps, but I think it’s totally worth it and it lasts for ages.

I've been using witch hazel gel on any blemishes for a while now and find it really helps to take down a lot of the redness very quickly which is fabulous! It was when I saw Nicola's post about the results she'd had from using distilled witch hazel as you would a toner that I decided to give that a go. Previously I'd thought if I were to use it all over my face I'd end up with horrible dry skin, but oh how wrong I was. This has worked miracles at improving my overall complexion and reducing the amount of blemishes I get. These 2 products are so inexpensive and I couldn't do without them in my skin care routine now.

These two face washes from Naked have been a part of my routine for a long time now and I really love them. The jojoba exfoliating wash is so gentle so it's suitable for even really sensitive skin and the rose wash is so calming and it smells beautiful. They foam up beautifully and don't leave any residue on your face so it feels very clean. The only down side with these is that they're only available to purchase online, as far as I know, but they are very worth it. These are £3.99 each and mine have lasted for just over 6 months so far!

As my favourite Naked face washes are only available online I popped into Boots the other day to see what I could find. As most of you know I like organic products that are free from parabens, SLS and all those unnecessary ingredients so Organic Surge products are right up my street. I think it was Jen who first mentioned this brand to me so thank you so much for that, I love what I've tried so far. One pump is more than enough to leave your skin feeling beautifully clean and at only £4.99 for 200ml this bottle is sure to last a long time.

I wear waterproof mascara quite often, thanks a lot watery eyes, and I think we all know that sometimes it can be a bit of a pain to get off at night. I like to make sure every trace of make up is removed because I don't want to wake up with panda eyes, as lovely as pandas are! The Boots Botanics eye make up remover is brilliant. All I have to do is soak a cotton pad in it, hold it to my eye for 10 seconds and then wipe away. It is oil based so does leave a residue behind on the skin but since I cleanse and wash my face after it's not a problem for me. At £2.99 for 150ml it's hard to go wrong with the price.

I've reviewed the Naked salt scrub in full here so in short, this is my favourite scrub ever. I especially like using this on my legs after shaving because it really helps to soothe them and prevents any of that yucky redness appearing. It smells absolutely divine, really fresh and it just seems to effortlessly melt into the skin. I will never not have a tub of this sitting on my shelf, it's gorgeous! Again this is an online exclusive from Naked but I would recommend it to everyone. It costs £6.99 and the tub seems to last for ages, even with regular use. Thumbs up!

After I get out of the bath my go to body moisturiser is the orange & honey hand and body lotion from naked. This makes my skin so soft and hydrated as well as being very soothing and calms any irritation caused by shaving. The scent isn't overpowering at all but leaves a soft honey scent for a few hours which is really lovely. It seems like a small bottle but I've been pleasantly surprised with how long one bottle has lasted considering how often I reach for it. You can read my full review here. This is another online exclusive and costs £3.99.

I think I'm in minority when I say I'm not into Lush at all, but, instead I just adore all the scents from Original Source, they're my favourites. The packaging is very cute, I love all the little facts they put on the labels. I have the shea butter and honey at the moment and it says it takes 49 bee miles to make one bottle - how adorable! It also smells good enough to eat but I really don't advise that! I don't remember how much this was but it was no more than a couple of pounds. I definitely recommend these lovely products from a very ethical company.

Finally and probably my new favourite skin care product is the five minute facial mask from Good Things. It's unbelievable how good my skin feels after using this; it feels plump, hydrated and so soft! The scent is gorgeous and it definitely feels like such a treat to use. I'll be reviewing this in full very soon and I think the Good Things skincare range is one to look out if you're after a new routine. The mask is £5.99 for 100ml which I think is a good price.

What are your favourite skin, hair or body care products that cost less than £10? I'd love to hear your recommendations!
xoxo

Frame Friday 001.

So many of my favourite bloggers have a weekly feature on their blogs and I think something like that is one of the things missing from Sailboat at the moment. I’ve been wracking my brains for ages trying to think of something appropriate for my blog that I could make into a weekly feature on a specific day, and when I say I’ve been thinking for ages, I mean ages! But really it was staring me in the face the entire time.

Taking more photographs is something I need to do more of. I keep missing out on capturing memories and I don’t want to miss out on anymore. Posting a weekly photograph will definitely encourage me to get snapping again, hopefully allow me to improve my photography skills and make sailboat a little more personal to me because I’m not just all about make up and beauty.

Lily from LLYMLRS has her wonderful Sunday Portrait series & Victoria from Lily Loves Lola does brilliant Monday Summaries and I wanted a cute title for my new series. Because of this I’ve found out that I am rubbish at coming up with snappy names, completely and utterly rubbish. My boyfriend however is a bit of a genius, so it’s thanks to him that Frame Friday’s are born! *Cue fanfare* Yayy.

I hope this is something you’ll find interesting, it’s certainly something I’m excited about starting and I’m hopeful that this time next year I’ll be able to see a distinct improvement in the quality of my photographs. Fingers crossed!

This is probably the one and only time my face will appear in a Frame Friday photograph but it seemed like a fitting way to start.

0001. This week I have mostly spent my time being generally uninteresting. It's been one of those weeks where everything seems to be wrong and you can't do any good no matter how hard you try. I've decided to make some changes so hopefully, in the coming weeks, things will start to get a little better.  Life is far too short to spend time being unhappy and it's up to me to make changes, no one else is going to do it for me.

0002. After a genuinely awful day at work I had one beautiful lady come in and tell me I was a lovely girl and a pleasure to meet me. It was lovely to meet her and it pretty much made my entire month. I really hope she knows just how wonderful she is. 

xoxo

Top 10 products under £10: The make up edition.

While I was searching through my collection I was surprised at how many products I love cost over £10. I always thought I was fairly budget conscious when it came to cosmetics but I’ve changed my mind & I think I blame YouTube a little bit for that. Having said that however, I didn’t find it difficult picking my top ten budget buys at all and that’s something I love about beauty – there’s something for everyone no matter what your budget is! I'm fairly sure I've cheated a little by splitting this in to separate make up & skin/hair/body care editions but ehh, I couldn't pick just 10 products overall!

I completely rely on my Eyes Lips Face studio brushes for everything; whether it's foundation, powder, blush or eye shadow there's an Elf brush that'll do the job fabulously. At £3.50 each they're a bargain for brushes of such good quality and I would recommend them to everyone.

As someone who very rarely wears eyeshadow I will admit to being fairly clueless about anything to do with shadows. Having said that however, I do know that the Sleek palettes are incredible quality & value for money considering you get 12 good sized and highly pigmented mineral shades for £5.99. There are a whole range of palettes to choose from, some with brighter shades for those of you that love to experiment and some, like the storm palette, with more neutral shades that you can wear every day. I don't think I'll ever be without my Storm palette, it's brilliant!

If I want flawless skin, my under eye circles need a lot of concealer to be hidden but, for those days when I don't want to wear a lot of make up, the Eyes Lips Face under eye concealer does an incredible job. It covers well, is very easy to blend and the lightest shade is a perfect match for my pale complexion. I'm not a fan of the highlighter end but at a mere £3.50 the price is worth it for the concealer alone.

The mineral lipsticks are my favourite of all the Eyes Lips Face products and I think they're absolute bargains; it feels like we're practically stealing from Elf the prices are so cheap! There's a fabulous range of colours so there's definitely one for everyone and at only £3.50 each they're worth a try! Out of the three colours I have Natural Nymph is my favourite & I think I'm on my second or third tube at the moment. It's quite a flattering shade on it's own but I really love using it as a base for other lipsticks to really emphasize their colour. I definitely need to pick up a few more of the colours I have my eye on!

Healthy Mix from Bourjois is everything I was looking for in a foundation. Previously I was using Revlon ColorStay and although I still rate it as a great foundation is was becoming far too heavy and cakey for me; my skin just didn't need that much coverage any more. Healthy Mix, with its medium coverage & easy to blend formula, has come to the rescue and it really does help me to look awake even when I'm really really not! The palest shade is just about light enough for me, which for a pharmacy foundation is nothing short of a minor miracle. It's £10 on ASOS.com & I love it!

Cream blush has been on the top of most peoples' lists of products they love in the summer time and I think the ones from NYX are really lovely. They do have quite a thick formulation so perhaps not the easiest to blend, but a tiny bit goes such a long way because the pigmentation is amazing. They are so inexpensive and would be a great addition to anyone's blush collection! I got mine online for £3.50 each.

Eyeliner isn't part of my everyday make up routine but when I feel like adding a bit of definition to my eyes I always reach for my Elf waterproof eyeliner pens. These beauties are the only things that don't smudge on my oily eyelids and they stay put all day. They're also pretty foolproof, I mean if I can manage a decent enough line with them, anyone can! At £1.50 each it really is hard to go wrong with these and I think they're brilliant.

Over the years I think I've had most flavours of the lip butters from The Body Shop and I've loved them all. The shea lip butter is my favourite but they're all beautiful and make my lips look smooth and moisturised. The pots look tiny but the product lasts for such a long time and they smell divine! I just can't be without one now, I kind of feel lost without them! Is that sad? Yeah, it probably is but at £4 a pop at least my habit isn't breaking the bank!

I know, I know, in my review I said I thought that Big and Curvy mascara was too expensive and I wouldn't dream of repurchasing. Well, I sort of think I accidentally lied. Although I do still think it's expensive, probably a couple of pounds overpriced, I can't help but love it a lot. So, why do I love it so much? Because it's the only non-waterproof mascara that doesn't transfer or smudge half way down my face throughout the day. Waterproof mascara is all well and good until you want to take it off and then it's a pain. This comes of super easily at night time and I love that. The wand is lovely, it's tapered so all my lashes, even the teeny tiny ones, get an even coat of product - yay! It does smell quite strong, of what exactly I'm not sure, but I can overlook that because the length and separation is gives my lashes is beautiful. I love it, but I still don't love its £10 price tag.

Finally I've picked out my Topshop cream to powder blush in the shade Neon Rose, but all the colours in the range are beautiful. These are so pigmented, a tiny bit goes a very long way - I've used this so much but it still looks almost brand new. I apply this with an Elf powder brush and it blends over the skin so easily giving a pretty flush of colour that's definitely buildable if you want a strong cheek. I'm not a Topshop fan but these are lovely and surprisingly, really reasonably priced at £6 each.

I'd love to know what your favourite products under £10 are, after all, I think everyone loves a good bargain! 
xoxo

Good Things Skincare: An Introduction.

The beauty behind one of my all time favourite blogs, Magic's in the Make Up, Nicola was the first person to tell me about a new skincare range called Good Things. She said it was something I should definitely check out as the products don't contain any ingredients, like parabens, that I like to avoid. I was so so excited about it and was going to look out for it the next time I was in Boots but it simply slipped my mind & I totally forgot because I appear to have the memory of a goldfish. I really really really need to start writing things down! I was reminded when an email dropped into my inbox from the same company that represent Naked Bodycare and Julia, who knows how much I love Naked products, asked if I would like to sample something from the Good Things range. She'd noticed that I was missing a face mask and an eye cream from my skincare routine and thought that I would really love these products. She told me the range is aimed at young skin and I was really very excited to give them a try.

The creator of Good Things is a British beauty journalist called Alice Hart-Davis who I must admit I'd never heard of before, sorry Alice! However, a little bit of Internet research later (thank you Google) I now know that Alice has won many awards for her writing, has penned a book aimed at teens which gives an all-round guide to hair, skin and make up and she helps to judge awards for the beauty industry amongst many other things. So, you know, I think it's pretty safe to say that she knows what she's talking about & it gives me high hopes for this range. I'm also no-so-secretly definitely extremely jealous of her career!

One of the first things you notice about a product is its packaging. I can't speak for everyone but I know that I want my products to look pretty; how terribly shallow of me I know, but aesthetics are an important part of enticing you in. Good Things does a very good job of grabbing my attention aesthetics wise; it's simple, it's swirly and it's pretty. That box has been well and truly ticked.

The text makes a point of mentioning the superfruit extracts in each product and also that it's free from animal ingredients, parabens, SLS and mineral oil - fabulous! The website GoodThingsBeauty.com has a page dedicated to explaining what a lot of their ingredients do for your skin and also which products you can find them in. I think that's a really nice touch & something that's very helpful especially if you know your skin needs something specific. For example, if you have dry skin that needs some extra moisture you can find out that wheat germ oil is super moisturising and you'll find it in their Dream Cream Night Cream.

The two products I received are the Bright Eyes Eye Cream from the gentle face care range and the Five Minute Facial Face Mask from the anti-blemish range. The eye cream is formulated to help reduce puffiness and dark circles, goodness knows I need all the help I can get with those things, so I am very interested to see if it works. The lychee extracts are to support the delicate skin arond the eyes and the raspberry is used for its soothing properties.


I'm currently using this on my right eye and using an eye cream with Organic Sea Buckthorn from Alva Natural Skincare on my left eye so I can compare and contrast the two. I am only 21 years old so I've not really used any other eye creams in the past & I thought doing this would allow me to provide better reviews on both of these eye creams.

The Five Minute Facial Face Mask is the product that I'm most excited about. In the past the masks I've used have been a bit, for lack of a better word, blah. You know, you put them on, you look a bit ridiculous for 10 minutes, you wash it off and nothing has really happened. I tried this as soon as I opened the package and the very first thing I noticed was how beautiful it smells, oh my goodness, it's divine! I know it should be all about the results but when something smells wonderful it becomes such a pleasure to use. In my opinion all products should be like that, beauty should be an indulgence and not a chore!

Gorgeous scent aside, first impressions are very positive and at the moment, having only used it once, brief first impressions are all I can give. I haven't had any nasty reactions, it only takes 5 minutes and my skin wasn't left feeling tight, instead it felt moisturised, plump and soothed which was lovely. I even noticed a reduction in the redness in my cheeks, hoorah! You really only do need to use a little bit, I found it easy to distribute over my face because it's neither runny or gloopy and it sets super fast. The avocado is there to moisturise & leave your skin feeling soft and the goji berry is there to calm, provide anti-inflammatory properties and also to energise your skin. I must say, it all sounds very lovely and hopefully I'll see real results because that would be wonderful.

Both of these products retail at £5.99 each and every item in the Good Things range costs less than £9 so it's very affordable which I think is absolutely fantastic. 

Like all skincare I think it's important to test products for a least a month before being able to give a substantial and hopefully helpful review, however so far so good! The next time I'm in Boots I will be heading straight for the skincare aisle to check out a few of the other products in the range that have caught my eye and yes, I have written it down this time!

Have you tried anything from the Good Things range? Is it a brand that interests you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

xoxo

Memories.

Taking photographs is top of my list of things to do more of, not necessarily photographs to go in my portfolio, just photographs that capture everyday memories. My mum has so many photo albums full of pictures that we loved making and still love looking through. Unfortunately the albums come to an end quite abruptly because we got a digital camera & never got around to getting those photographs printed. Inevitably digital files get deleted or forgotten, memory cards get misplaced and those images are lost forever. I don't want to miss anything anymore.

Tomorrow I am going to dig out the smallest film camera I own, make sure I take it everywhere and start capturing those memories again. I want to have scrapbooks bursting with photographs that I can look back on in twenty years time and chuckle at how much life has changed with the people I love. ♥

xoxo

Face of the Day with Illamasqua Promise & Fable.

As soon as I received promise cream blush from Illamasqua in the post I couldn’t wait to slap it on to see how pretty it is on the cheeks and I wasn’t disappointed! I’ve got my go-to make up routine pretty set at the moment, keeping everything the same each day apart from my lipstick and blush. My make up loves are lip products and blushers so it’s usually fairly impossible to use the same products every day, but, I think promise is going to be a permanent addition to my daily routine for a long time - it’s gorgeous!


Since discovering Bourjois healthy mix foundation my base make up has become complete. I love the way it makes my skin look, it works well with my favourite concealers and lasts well throughout the day.

♥ Bourjois Healthy Mix – Light Vanilla.
♥ Benefit Boi-ing & Erase Paste – 01.
♥ Eyes Lips Face Under Eye concealer – Fair.
♥ Beauty Without Cruelty loose powder – Translucent.
♥ The Body Shop Big & Curvy Mascara – Black.

In my review I said I probably wouldn’t repurchase Big and Curvy mascara from The Body Shop but I really am in love with what this does to my lashes. The wand is the perfect size to grab even the smallest lashes and it doesn’t transfer at all throughout the day, which I have a lot of problems with usually. Why do you have to be so expensive, big and curvy?!

Illamasqua Cream Blush – Promise.


Promise gives my cheeks that real ‘I look like I’m glowing’ effect that I’ve been lusting after all summer. It’s a really warm candy pink colour that seems to compliment my very pale but quite yellow skin tone nicely.


I decided to pair it with my Illamasqua lipstick in Fable, which is a beautiful rose pink with warm undertones that I don’t give enough love. I combined it with a little Pink Pout from Revlon to make it ever so slightly less matte on my lips. These make a really pretty summery combination that brightens and gives a super fresh look to the face. I even got complimented on my make up in the Post Office today of all places!

I haven’t done a face of the day in a long time, I’m a bit rusty I think! But that’s my current go-to face routine at the moment and the best part is I only use 3 brushes which means I don’t have lots to clean all the time - hoorah!

What are your favourite lip and cheek combinations at the moment?
xoxo

Oh ASOS, you got me again!

It's the free delivery option that gets me every time, it really is. I can always manage to talk myself out of an online purchase when there's a delivery charge, but when it's free, it almost feels like it'd be rude not to buy. Oh dear.

Anyhoo, payday finally rolled around and I decided to treat myself to a couple of things from Asos before setting aside some pennies to buy some goodies for Tennille & tucking the rest away into my savings. There are so many big things I want to do over the coming years – learn to drive, get a car, start & complete my Open University degree and most importantly buy a house – so I’m hoping to take some more hours at work to save for those things.

Now I don’t actually like planes, the thought of ever having to go on one fills me with terror. So you’re probably wondering why on earth I bought a necklace with a plane on it? My boyfriend loves planes, he’s so completely obsessed and it’s very cute so when I saw this on Asos I had to get it simply because it reminds me of him.

We’ve been having a bit of a tough time with the long distance lately, it’s been over 2 years and it doesn’t get any easier, so anything that reminds me of him I just have to have. A 'friend' said that was a bit sad - charming, ta very much for that - but I actually don't care. It makes me smile. It was only a couple of pounds, it’s so tiny and I love it.

An Illamasqua cream blush has been on my wish list for absolutely ages, they’re quite expensive at £16 so I’ve been good and resisted... until now.

I needed a little pick me up and this has done the job fabulously because I’m in love with it. I got the colour Promise that Illamasqua describe as a warm candy pink & it’s beautiful. I’m excited to do a face of the day and hopefully the camera will pick up on just how lovely and fresh it makes my cheeks look.

It’s such a girly colour that I can’t wait to wear with flawless skin, lashings of mascara and a rosy pink lip. The formula is so smooth, not thick at all and it leaves a really pretty dewy finish to the skin that’s not greasy or oily. I am envisaging having to reapply this throughout the day but for this colour, it’ll be totally worth it.

What are your favourite cream blushers? Are there any more must-haves I need in my collection?
xoxo

July Favourites.

How on earth is it August already and where did July go? When I was younger a year felt like a life time but now it feels like they pass too quickly, it feels like I'm wasting my life, but that's a whole other story that I won't bore you with.

July was a good month for me make up wise, not in the sense that I acquired a whole bunch of new products, but more that I've been really enjoying the process of applying make up and also taking care of my skin.

My first favourite is my Clinique Super City Block with spf 40 and although I'm not out in the sunshine for very long each day I use this every morning before my foundation without fail. Taking care of my skin has become a little bit of an obsession in recent months & this doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all. It's lovely and well worth the money because a little bit goes a long way. 

My next favourite is a foundation that I'm so happy I decided to try out. I was using Revlon ColorStay which I loved, I've almost finished the bottle, but it had started feeling heavy and looking cakey which I didn't love so much. After asking around on Twitter & reading some reviews on blogs I decided to try the Bourjois Healthy Mix. I had wrongly assumed that it wouldn't be enough coverage for me because I thought I needed a really full coverage foundation to make my skin look nice, but oh how wrong I was! Healthy Mix is a medium coverage foundation and my skin looks a million times better than it ever did when I opted for high coverage. Maybe it's because it looks more natural or maybe the formula suits my skin better, but it really does make my skin look healthy. The only downside is that the lightest shade, 51 Light Vanilla, is a tiny bit too dark for me. Yes I am indeed that pale. But with a bit of careful blending down my neck I can make it work, yay! 

Dark under eye circles are the bane of my life, no matter how well rested I am it looks like I've been punched, quite forcefully, in both eyes. Gorgeous. But this is where Benefit's Erase Paste comes in to save the day. It doesn't cover them completely which is why I use a tiny bit of Boi-ing before, but it really helps to brighten the under eye area giving the illusion you've had enough precious beauty sleep. The price tag may be off putting but you really only do need to use a tiny bit at a time so the pot will last for ages. This is firmly on my 'I will repurchase forever more, or at least until they stop making it and then I might cry' list & there aren't many products on that.

My Neal's Yard skincare items have all been getting a lot of love this past month but my absolute favourite is the Vitamin E & Avocado night cream. It really is a beautiful cream that moisturises the skin so well without feeling greasy at all. This is going to be extra gorgeous in the winter time or after suffering from a cold because it is so soothing and it feels like it's doing my skin a lot of good. It really is beautiful.

I do still get the odd blemish, usually when I've been naughty and indulged on a little too much chocolate and yummy cakes, and all I've been doing to them is patting on a little bit of witch hazel gel after I've moisturised. I only use a tiny bit so I don't dry out my skin at all, but it's been working wonders to take down any redness super quickly and it's surprisingly gentle - no stinging at all! Lovely.

Summer time to me means getting bitten to death by yucky bugs and then spending the next week desperately trying not to itch the bites and make them worse. I've mentioned before how the Naked Orange & Honey Lotion really calms down any irritation on my legs after shaving and I've found that it's been doing the same for the bites on my skin. This really has been a life saver this summer, I've used it so much and this is still my first bottle so it's fabulous value for money!

My favourite eye combination this month has been the ELF due eye shadow cream in the shade Butter Pecan & Bronx eye shadow by Illamasqua. You all know I love my neutrals so I've been using the darker shade of Butter Pecan all over my lid as a base with Bronx over the top and really blended out with the lighter cream shadow under my brow. It just gives that little something that makes it look like you've made an effort but it really only takes 2 seconds to do & it stays put all day. I love it.

My mascara of the month has been Big and Curvy from The Body Shop. I don't like the smell, I don't like it's £10 price tag but I have to say, I've been loving what it does to my lashes. The most important part for me is that it doesn't smudge or transfer at all & that's something I find hard to find in a mascara, especially one that's not waterproof. I might just have to repurchase this in a few months time.

Cream blush is my newest obsession and I am in love. These two cream blushers from NYX are the ones I've been reaching for every single day this month and I have the shades Natural and Glow. The formulation is a little thick but I don't find them difficult to apply at all. I just dab my ELF blush brush into the product once, dab on to my cheeks and blend it out. The pigmentation is incredible and they really do stay put all day which I wasn't expecting. They make my cheeks look dewy, fresh and most importantly, glowing! I'm craving more cream blushers, so if you have any recommendations please let me know!

Finally I have 3 lip products in my favourites this month. The first is my ELF plumping lip glaze in the shade Baby Doll which gives a pretty sheer pink glaze to my lips. I don't find the plumping side does make my lips look fuller but I do love the tingling sensation. These are only £1.50 and I'm definitely going to get some more colours, they're lovely.

Next is my first NYX lipstick in the shade Margarita and this is so pigmented. I use a tiny bit of this on my lips to give a pretty frosty coral colour that's perfect for the summer. This with a little bit of Fresh Squeezed lipgloss by Benefit is a beautiful summer combination!

My last favourite of July is the Body Shop Lipstick in shade 73 which I believe is called Iced Pink or something along those lines. This is quite a sheer colour but it's easily buildable and still so completely wearable. I've been wearing this a lot to work and I love it. It smells and tastes like cake which is fabulous and the formulation is gorgeous. I find it really moisturising and it leaves my lips looking glossy which is lovely.

What were your July favourites?
xoxo