May Favourites | 12

I can't believe how quickly May has gone by... well almost anyway! May has been quite a nice chilled out month for me. I've loved the sunshine that we've had here in the UK in the last week or two, it has been lovely. I've got a handful of favourite's this month so thought I'd do a little post on it :)

Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Brick - Rose

I've done a post on this here. I love the shades and the finish it gives on my cheeks, I think it's stunning!

Hugo Boss - Orange

I picked this up last month and I've been wearing this more and more recently. The scent I think is great for Summer, it's light and sweet yet fresh at the same time. I love this scent so so much, the only problem is that it doesn't stick around long enough which is a shame I think. Despite this, I've found myself constantly spritzing this on during the day.

Barry M 273 - Raspberry 

I've recently been wearing this raspberry red nail polish on my toe nails seeing as the sun has made an appearance... as have my sandals. I love this shade as I think it looks good in both Summer and Winter months. Barry M is affordable and the quality is pretty decent for the price (a week on my toes and barely any chips!). One of my favourite red nail polishes by far.

Benefit's Boi-ing Concealer 

I've owned and have been using this concealer daily for months now and I probably haven't given credit where its due. This concealer works well for me, it's lasted me a long time, it's lovely to apply, gives a lovely coverage and doesn't look cakey or crease under the eyes. The combination of my Bobbi Brown corrector with this concealer has been the perfect routine for me. I'm quite fussy with concealers, it's a big necessity for me. I've hit pan on my Boi-ing concealer so have picked up a few cheaper, drugstore concealers over the last couple of weeks and have realised that I had a good thing going, so I'll be repurchasing Benefit's Boi-ing concealer - for me its a must!

L'Oreal Caresse Lip Butter - Tempting Lilac 

I have done a post on the L'Oreal lip butters here. The shade Tempting Lilac has been one of the shades that I have been reaching for the most. It's lovely and light on the lips and feels nice and moisturising once applied.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

I purchased this at the start of a year as a birthday present for a friend. She read it, she loved it and then lent it to me. I knew this book was something that I wanted to read, even after watching the film I still wanted to read this. So over the last 2/3 weeks I've been working my way through this. I'm about halfway in and I'm really enjoying it. It's well written and more detailed and explanatory than the film (the film was pretty good though). It's a real page turner and quite a unique story. It's quite a popular book and I can see why. I will probably write a little post/review on this once I've finished reading it.

Accessorize - Hand Bag

I spotted this beautiful bag in Accessorize a few days ago and really could not resist! I love everything about this little beauty - the colours, the size, the fact it has longer straps which can be attached so it can be slug over your shoulders. I've really been loving Accessorize recently, there is always something in there that catches my eye.

What are your May favourites? I hope everyone has had a nice month of May :)

Bobbi Brown - Shimmer Brick Compact

So I very recently picked up a stunning beauty product which I think is genuinely beautiful. A few weeks ago my friend showed me her Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick and I fell in love. The colours and the packaging really stood out to me, but I was sold after she applied it to my cheeks. It wasn't long before I picked up my own in the same shade, Rose. I adore this product I really do. 

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in ROSE

I haven't tried many Bobbi Brown products in the past, except for the corrector and creamy concealer (both of which are now firm favourite's of mine!). However, after trying and loving the corrector and concealer as well as the Shimmer Brick I think Bobbi Brown is definitely a brand that I'm growing more and more interested in. The Shimmer Brick was a product that I hadn't really heard much about. Although after picking one up myself and doing some research I have discovered that it's actually a best seller of theirs.

The Shimmer Brick comes in a nice, sturdy black compact which includes a mirror and a combination of five beautiful shades are lined together to create the Shimmer Brick. This product intends to add a highlight and a glow to the cheeks. It can be used as a blusher/highlighter on its own or over a blusher. The shades can also be used individually or together as an eye shadow. If used over the blusher the idea is to sweep your blusher brush through all five shades and dust lightly onto the cheekbones.

L-R - In order of top to bottom from the Shimmer Brick 

                                                                                                                                                                        

The Rose Shimmer Brick, which I picked up, gives a lovely rosy glow to the cheeks which I absolutely love. Each of these five shades are really beautiful and slightly shimmery. The combination of these shades together creates a really stunning finish. I love the versatility of this product, it's wearable throughout the day and in the night. I'm so glad I stumbled across this gem I LOVE it. Now to resist picking up all the other shades!

The Shimmer Bricks retail at around £30.50. However, there have been a lot of 10% off deals at stores such as Debenhams and John Lewis so at the right time it can be picked up for a bit cheaper. It's not the cheapest of products but it's a product that can be used in various ways and is versatile enough to be worn every day. I think it's worth the price tag. I picked up the shade Rose but Bobbi Brown also do the shades Rose Gold, Nectar, Beige, Bronze and Rose Quartz. Although some of these shades are only limited edition.

If you want to know more about these products - click HERE

Have you tried any Bobbi Brown products or the Shimmer Brick? What are your Bobbi Brown favourite's?

Burt's Bees Tips & Toes Kit

Burt's Bees is a brand that I hear lots about, but have never really got around to trying out myself. So after spotting this little 'Tips and Toes Kit' I thought it would be a nice way to try out a few of their products. This kit offers products for healthy hands, feet and nails. The following Burt's Bees products are included in this kit; a pomegranate lip balm, an almond milk beeswax hand cream, a honey and grapeseed oil hand cream, a coconut foot cream, a hand salve and a lemon butter cuticle cream. In terms of packaging, I'm sold. I absolutely love it. I love the bright colours, the little tins and the quirky old school prints.

Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil: This feels lovely, moisturising and soft on the lips. It also adds a slight shine to the lips. This is definitely a decent lip balm which comes as no surprise. The scent isn't my favourite - but it's not bad, it's a light herbal, pomegranate scent. This lip balm also has a very slight tint to it.

Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream (7g): This comes in a nice sized glass pot. Again love the packaging of this! Now the smell may not be for everyone as this hand cream does have a strong almond scent to it. To begin with I really disliked this but it's grown on me and to be honest I love the hand cream itself enough that the smell isn't so much an issue. This hand cream is quite thick and so a little bit can go a long way.  Once applied to the hands you can really feel your skin soaking it up, it offers an almost protective sheen and feels very rich and creamy without being sticky and greasy. It doesn't take long to soak into the skin and although you can still notice a slight honey and almond scent on the hand it is no where near as strong which is great! I'm really impressed with this product!

Thoroughly Therapeutic Honey & Grapeseed Oil Hand Cream (20g): This hand cream is quite thick but when rubbed into the skin feels light and soft. Like the Beeswax hand cream it doesn't take long to soak in and doesn't leave your hands feeling sticky or greasy. This hand cream has quite a sweet honey scent to it, again this scent may not be for everyone.. I quite like it. The difference I've noticed between this hand cream and the Beeswax hand cream is that the Beeswax hand cream seems a bit more intensive, so great just before bed or in days of desperate dry hands. 

Coconut Foot Cream (20g): I was probably looking forward to trying this product the most! I am a huge fan of coconut scents and I must say this smells absolutely gorgeous! It really is the stand out product of this kit for me... and not just because of the scent! This product when applied is slightly similar in texture to the Beeswax hand cream, in the sense that it is balmy, slightly thick but offers a slight sheen to the skin. It really feels like a treat when applying this to my feet (lovely bit of rhyming there - not intended haha). 

Hand Salve (8.5g): Like the other products this does feel lovely to apply. Very soft, balmy and moisturising. It contains a herbal scent which reminds me strongly of Vicks VapoRub. 

Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream (8.5g): I love the little lemon design on this tin. This is quite similar in texture to the hand salve, although it's slightly thicker. This has a strong sweet lemon scent to it... like lemon cake. I love it. This feels moisturising on the cuticles and is nice and gentle.

Overall, I think these are great quality products. The texture and consistency of these products offer the skin a thorough treat and I will easily be favouring these over many of my other hand/foot creams etc. To begin with I looked through these products, took a whiff of some of the products and thought 'Mmmhmm, I'm not sure if I'm going to like or even use some of these products'. But honestly after taking the time to go through them all I'm happy with my purchase. They are all lovely quality products, the packaging is lovely and the scents are fresh and some of them I love. I must admit there are a few scents in there that aren't my favourite.. but I can definitely let that slip as all of these products are lovely. MASSIVE recommendation from me.  I can see what all the fuss has been about and look forward to using all of these products up :) 

I picked up this kit in Boots for £12.99. The products are a nice size and there are 6 products in there so I think it's a good price. There are other Burt's Bees kits for sale including; Head to Toe Kit, Baby Bee Getting Started Kit and an Essential Body Kit. Burt's Bees products can be purchased in many other stores as well as online. 

Have you tried Burt's Bees before? What are your favourite Burt's Bees products?

L'Oreal Caresse Lip Butters

I've been meaning to write a blog post on this for quite some time. Over the last couple of weeks I have accumulated a handful of L'Oreal's Caresse Lip Butters. I had heard lots of different things (mainly good) about lip butters in general and decided that I wanted to try some! Lip butters, if you didn't know, are said to be a cross between a lipstick and a lip balm. Therefore offer colour and moisture to the lips. Over the last few weeks I've been tempted by the selection of lip butters from L'Oreal - and have somehow ended up with 5 of their lip butters (I blame the offers that seem to be floating around in some stores!). The shades that I own include; Fashionista Pink, Aphrodite Scarlet, Tempting Lilac, Sweet Berry and Nude Ingenue.                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                     

L-R - Fashionista Pink, Aphrodite Scarlet, Tempting Lilac, Sweet Berry and Nude Ingenue.

L-R - Fashionista Pink, Aphrodite Scarlet, Tempting Lilac, Sweet Berry and Nude Ingenue. (2/3 coats)

                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                                                  

Now where to start... the packaging is sleek and makes identifying the lipstick very easy.  This is really handy as it can be a bit difficult sometimes to remember what is what, so it's a bit of a time saver. The lip butters themselves have a slightly sweet scent to them which is always nice. They are lovely to apply and feel soft and moisturising on the lips. You can achieve a nice colour on the lips as these lip butters are very buildable. One light coat adds a little bit of colour and shine, but after applying more coats you can build a more opaque look. I find the finish is more glossy and gentle on the lips than your regular lipstick. 

Personally I quite like the look you can create with these lip butters as I often shy away from bright lipsticks as I feel that they don't particularly suit me. But with these lip butters a softer finish can be achieved, so colours such as Aphrodite Scarlet do not come out on the lips as a bright matte red, as oppose to other red lipsticks. Instead it comes out as a more subtle red which is buildable and glossy... and for me, more wearable. I adore these lip butters, they're lovely and lightweight which is great for the Summer months ahead. The only flaw is that due to the formulation of lip butters they do not stay on the lips as long as a regular lipstick would. I have found that colouring the lips with a lip pencil beforehand does help in giving the lip butters something to cling to which helps with keeping the colour on for slightly longer. But other than that I can't fault them. I absolutely love all of the shades that I have picked up, I think they look lovely on - tempting lilac has to be one of my favourites! 

These are priced at around £7.99 and can be purchased in places such as Boots, Superdrug and many larger supermarkets. 

Have you tried any lip butters yet? - Have you got any favourites?

Essie - Eternal Optimist

I have really missed blogging over the last couple of weeks. There is something quite nice about sitting in front of my laptop and typing away about things I love and enjoy. However, I have been in the final stages of finishing off my degree (good old exams and all that - fun fun fun). So of course my studies became my priority. But I have now finished my course, so I finally have the time to do things that I want to do - such as blogging :)  I was originally going to post an April favourite's post but have decided against it. I didn't have a huge amount of April favourite's to include anyway, so instead I will do individual posts about some of my recent favourite products which I have been absolutely loving. 

If you hadn't already guessed from the title I'm going to do a little post today on an Essie nail polish which I very recently purchased! Being UK based Essie can be quite difficult to get hold of, especially as I'm the type of person that likes to see the products in person. So as you can imagine when I spotted a beautiful new Essie stand in my local Boots I was very happy indeed :) I've always wanted to try this brand (I'm an Essie newbie), and have heard so many good things about it so was excited to pick out a shade! Boots are selling around about 30 different shades, which are all priced at £7.99. The shade that I chose to purchase was number 23 - 'Eternal Optimist'. Not only do I love the name of this nail polish but I love the shade too. 

I would describe this shade (Eternal Optimist) as a muted, nude pink. Essie itself describes this shade as a "spiced tea rose with a dash of cream". The shade almost reminds me of a prawn cocktail kind of shade. Overall I love the packaging of Essie's nail polishes, they're really simple but pretty and sturdy. The brush is quite thick and wide so it's easy to apply a nice, even amount of polish to the nails. The nail polish itself is a lovely consistency, it isn't too watery or too gloppy, so it's a joy to apply. It's possible to get a fairly opaque look with one coat, depending on the amount of polish you load onto the brush, but personally I think two coats looks really lovely and gives a better finished look. The final look on the nails is definitely the colour you see in the bottle, I know sometimes colours on the nails can look very different to when in the bottle. I painted my nails on Saturday afternoon and have had no problems with chipping yet, just a tiny bit of wear and tear at the very end of a few of the nails which is barely even noticeable (it is now Tuesday so that's a good 3 days). When I applied this nail polish I didn't apply a base coat or a top coat, I only applied two coats which gives a slight glossy finish. I'm pretty impressed with the longevity of this nail polish and really love the shade! Another bonus for me was that I found the polish to be quite quick drying once applied to the nails. 

I would definitely recommend this shade, and judging from my experience with this particular polish I would also recommend the brand. I think this shade is lovely for adding a bit of colour to the nails, but is subtle enough to be worn as a slightly different 'nude' shade. It's definitely not like any of my other shades. A big thumbs up from me. 

Have you tried this shade before? Are you an Essie fan or an Essie newbie? I'm looking forward to trying some other Essie shades so would love to hear what peoples favourite's are?