With it now being almost mid-July (how has that happened?) I thought now would be a perfect time to do a little countdown thingamajig of some of my favourite products of 2015 so far. Of course, there are some items that I've loved for ages and have simply carried on loving over the past six months as well - so I will try and keep this limited to only the new products I've discovered so as to not sound like a broken record and bore you with my hundredth rave about the Lasting Perfection Concealer (a.k.a. what usually happens). So, without further ado - let's get into it...
Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer - Kicking things off with makeup, this was a new release from Rimmel in the first half of 2015 and I have to say I am feeling it. Whilst do like Benefit's POREfessional, with its silicone texture - this I perhaps even prefer as it is much more moisturiser-like in formula and so applies and sits on the skin just like my day cream does. It feels very hydrating, pairing well with my slightly-on-the-parched-side skin, and does leave a slight tackiness behind, but nothing as dramatic as ones similar to Benefit's offering. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Rimmel Lasting Finish 24 Hour Nude Foundation in '100 Ivory' - More from Rimmel (I know, I know). I'll try and keep this one super-short as I like to do nowadays when it comes to this product as I've simply rabbited on about it for far too long already. In short - this is one fab foundation from the drugstore. It's light-medium coverage so would probably suit most base criteria's (and it's easily buildable), is neither overly matte nor overly dewy - just skin-like - giving a very natural finish, and lasts a decent whack of time both with or without the above base underneath it. Love, love, LOVE this stuff. FULL REVIEW HERE.
L'Oreal True Match Concealer in 'Vanilla' - The only other foundation I've really used over the past six months is L'Oreal True Match (which I do rather like) but if I'm honest, after picking up the matching concealer to go alongside it - I think this is the item I prefer out of the two. After having the last two months worth of trips to the drugstore being full of inability to get my hands on a tube of the Collection Lasting Perfection (like many others it seems), I picked this up as I was in desperate need at that point of some kind of liquid cover-up. I opted for this instead as it seemed to go along similar lines and I'm actually rather liking it. I picked up the lightest shade, though I perhaps don't find it perhaps as good a match as Collection's offering - but the creamy, easy-to-blend formula; good coverage and long lasting power gets it an overall thumbs up from me.
Rimmel Lasting Finish Concealer in '10 Porcelain' - Another concealer (cause you can never have too many, right?), though I'm justifying this purely on the basis that it's more of a thicker consistency so is useful for other purposes that L'Oreal's would not be. Yeah, we'll go with that one. Seriously though, before discovering this I was having trouble using a concealer such as Collection's to cover everything. I mean - for general blemishes and under the eyes it works well, but there's just some super-stubborn areas which it doesn't do so much for. And that is where this little beauty comes in. The thicker texture makes it easier to pack on and do what I like to call - 'pinpoint concealing'. While it is a little more dense, the formula is still super-creamy and can be blended out if need be to still get that natural finish. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Soap and Glory 'Solar Powder Bronzer' - Moving onto the finishing parts of the face and this one had to be perhaps the easiest to pick for this list out of the lot. If you're a regular you'll already have heard me ramble on about this ever since I first bought it back at the start of the year so again, I'll try and keep things short 'n' sweet. Bronzer has always been a little bit of a minefield for me. I'm a pale gal and often things can just get a little too oompa-loompa-like as opposed to bronzed-goddess-beach-babe (too far?). Anyway, then I discovered this. It's like it was made for me. First things first - it's matte, so great for either bronzing or contouring. It also has two shades in the pan (one more traditional bronzer-like and the other more honey-toned), meaning you can literally dial up or down your colour depending on your skin tone and how bronzed you want to go. The formula is powder but creamy so super easy to apply and blend and I've been using it pretty much every day since I got it in January and I've made a pretty big dent - but I'm still going. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Bourjois Colourband Eyeshadow and Liner Sticks in 'Mauve Baroque' - Eyes-wise, there's been one particular new release in the eyeshadow category that really caught my attention over the past six months and that I've been loving. I do love a good cream shadow, and you'll know if you're a beauty blogger junkie like myself that this formulation in stick-form has quite literally taken the beauty world by storm recently. While pretty much every brand's cottoned onto the craze, I kinda took a step back as a few I'd tried or swatched previously just looked too dry for my liking compared to their traditional pot counterparts. But then these little beaut's came along and oh. my. are they good 'un's. They do not drag or pull on the lid when applying at all, and the formula gives a good amount of time to blend everything out before it sets down - and does. not. budge. The pencil format makes them great for liner the upper or lower lashline too (as the name would suggest) and the range holds a gorgeous selection of colours to please pretty much everyone's needs. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara - Now, once again we are back into the 'must-not-go-into-too-deep-a-rant' territory, as you've probably already heard me go on and on and on about this stuff if you've read Dainty Ditsy before. So I'll try and summarise my feelings - but I really do feel this is something to shout about. You'll also know if you're a regular reader how big a fan I am of Maybelline's line of mascaras in general - they really are all kinds of awesome. This one has to be up there with my favourites the drugstore has to offer though. In short - it offers pretty much everything you'd ever want in a mascara - length, volume, thickness, curl and lift - all without the dreaded clumps, flaking or smudging. LOVE this stuff. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - If your budget for a mascara is perhaps a little more extravagant - let me introduce you to what I like to call 'The Lash Sensational Dupe'. To me, both these mascaras give a similar 'does-it-all-and-more' effect to the lashes, so I feel you can really pick and choose as to which one you plump for, depending on how much your purse will stretch to. If you're into your luxe makeup - go for Too Faced's one; if you're looking to save a bit of cash - look into Maybelline's. There's really not that much between them - other than the fact I really love them both. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in 'EastEnd Snob' - Finally, moving onto lips and if I'm honest, while I do love a good lippie (or five) there's only been one item for the category that's really stood out to me over the first half of the year. This liner has always seemed to get a lot attention on the beauty bloggersphere in recent times - many citing it a good dupe for other, more expensive counterparts such as a certain liner from Charlotte Tilbury. The basic principal behind this is that it's pale pink liner with a slight brown undertone - supposedly making it a fab match for your natural lip colour - allowing you to either draw round your natural shape or use it to naturally make your lips look a little fuller ala Kylie Jenner. And is really does live up to expectations - this makes my lips so much more defined and even (if used to fill them in as well) and the formula of this is so nice and creamy and easy to apply without any dragging at all. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Nic's Picks Angled Shadow Brush - A brush favourite of mine from the past six months has to go to this. Oh my. Is it strange to get to het up about a brush? Whatever the answer to that question - this really has changed my eye makeup application. For a while now I'd been on the lookout for a brush to 'perfectly' apply colour to the crease and almost blend it out at the same time. This brush does just that. The angled shapes makes it an ideal fit for the outer area of the lid and crease and like I said - it almost does that thing where you can apply the colour and blend it at the same time. Great for both time-saving and brush cleaning purposes...
Real Techniques Sculpting Brush - Another from good 'ole RT's, and this time from their 'Finish' range. This is a relatively-new addition to the collection, but not an overly-surprising one, considering all the hype that's been surrounding the whole 'Contouring' thang as of late. This short, densely-packed, angled brush makes for a perfect companion for when you want to chisel out those cheekbones - enabling you to pack on the colour and blend it out at the same time. If that wasn't enough of a reason to love this brush, I also find it to be an ideal foundation applicator as it's pretty similar in texture to their classic 'Expert Face Brush'. Everybody loves a multi-tasker, eh...
Tanya Burr Individual Lashes - Then, sometime over the past six months I've somehow managed to finally get into the whole 'false lashes' thang. I know - really? It's not something I ever imagined I'd really master, but these individuals are just so easy to apply and remove and they last all day long. Everyone was saying how they were are great for beginners and with my birthday (and the events accompanying it) fast approaching a couple of months ago - I took the plunge and I am so glad I did. FULL REVIEW HERE.
Rimmel Salon Pro Nail Polishes in 'Mars', 'Hip Hop' and 'Red Ginger' - Once again - prepare yourselves for a rave that I'm gonna try and condense down without covering ground I've already done so about a hundreds times over. This little obsession was kicked off at the end of last year when Rimmel were offering a free polish (the Salon Pro in 'Mars', a bright red) when you spent over a certain amount. I, of course, fulfilled that request and picked it up and lets just say things have majorly snowballed from there. Next came a purple, then a forest-y green, then a coral and finally - and probably my personal favourite of the bunch - 'Red Ginger' (a.k.a. my perfect hot fuchsia 'is it red, is it pink' shade). FULL REVIEW HERE and these also feature in a fair few 'Polish Pick' posts (available through this link) if you fancy seeing them in action.
OGX Coconut Water Weightless Hydration Haircare Range - Next comes haircare and oh. my. am I glad I found these. Zoe (a.k.a. Zoella) mentioned this range in one of her recent favourites videos on the good 'ole Tube of You and when curiously reading up on exactly what the collection supposedly offers for your follicles - I quickly headed to Boots to pick myself some up. They were on 3 for 2 so I picked up the whole range (Shampoo, Conditioner and Dry Oil) and I could not be more impressed by them. Thank you Zoe for recommending! The range is targeted at us gals who really like our hair to be and feel nourished and hydrated, but perhaps have hair which is prone to getting weighed down by our attempts to do so. This range solves this issue. It is so incredibly nourishing on the hair, yet after using it my hair still feels like 'mine' if you get what I mean. No intense frizziness, no greasiness - just my hair, but better. Also, heads up - if you can only buy one thing from this range - the Oil in particular is just all kinds of awesome. Shiny hair in a bottle. Mmmmm.
Soap and Glory 'Heel Genius' Foot Cream - Finally for this (most likely extremely long post) we have a bodycare item and another which has quite literally changed my life. No joke. Before discovering this at the start of the year after receiving a mahoosive Soap and Glory gift box for Christmas, I was using standard body lotions/butters on my feet. I always seem to suffer from cracked heels (TMI?) so it's always an essential for me to slather on some form of cream onto them in some desperate attempt to make them look better. However, I'd never really found one to properly do the job and go some way to actually repair the damage as opposed to simply making it appear that way for a little while. This foot cream does, though. I swear it's some kind of magic or something, as I put this on at night onto my dry feet and the next day they look as good as new and stay looking that way afterwards. Genius. This will most definitely be getting a repurchase after this tube's all gone (which probably won't be that long at all, judging on how much I've used already)...
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