September: Loves and Lusts

It's the end of another month (already?) - so you all know what's coming next... It's 'Loves and Lusts' time again! If you're new round these parts of the Interwebz then I'll link up my other seven posts of this style I've done so far here so you can get a feel for how things work. If you're more of a regular reader though, I'm sure you know the deal by now, eh? Let's get started...

What I've Loved:

Tanya Burr Cosmetics *New/Updated Range* - When Tanya announced last month how she'd be re-releasing her cosmetics line, adding in some new products and bringing back some of the old favourites all in an updated, shiny packaging - let's just say I was excited (as I'm sure many others were too). I sensibly picked up one of everything (bar the brow kit that I just didn't see myself getting much use out of) and after a thorough testing, it's a big thumbs up from me. The Hollywood Eyeshadow Palette especially is just all kinds of gorgeous, and considering the price-tag, the quality is just on point - fab pigmentation and blendability and a really lovely wearable selection of shades too.

Fleur De Force Eyelash Range for Eylure ('Simply Fleur' and 'Fleur Loves') - Another new launch in the online Blogging/Vlogging world comes from another equally lovely lady - Fleur from 'FleurDeForce'. After the success of her first foray into 'merchandise' with her 'The Glam Guide' book, this time she's ventured into the beauty pool and come out with a range of false eyelashes. Now, not having any past experience with faux lashes until a few months ago, I perhaps wasn't the best person to test these out - but recently I have begun to actually try giving them a go, easing myself in with individuals (which I now really, really like using). So I did in fact pick a couple of packs up to give a whirl and I'm so impressed. I went for the most natural of the collection 'Simply Fleur' and the messy, 3/4 lash 'Fleur Loves'. Both were really easy to apply and use, and both appear almost undetectable on the eyes - yet still give a noticeable amount of volume, lift and length. The glue they came with was more than enough to keep them in place all day long and removal process was super-simple too. I think these may just have full-on converted me to the world of strip lashes...

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in '100 Ivory' - Moving onto makeup, and this is perhaps less of a 'new' favourite, but more of a 'rediscovery' one. This foundation in its pervious form was infact the first base I ever tried and used - it even was the one I used for my prom makeup a couple of years ago. I loved it back then as a really natural, light on the skin and glowy base with still a decent coverage to it - but I guess over time, as my interest in beauty grew, it kind of got forgotten about as I moved onto new things. However, a few weeks back, when seeing an advert campaigning about its re-launch with new, updated packaging, I was interested again. I quickly matched myself up again and after wearing it for most of this month, I have to say I 've fallen back in love with it. I'm not entirely sure whether the formula has been altered in anyway, but I'm pondering over the possibility I might actually like it even more than I did back then. The glow seems to have been pared-back a tad, giving a more 'skin-like' finish and everything seems to go on that little bit smoother than I remember it used to. Maybe it's just me (if anyone else has anymore information I'd love to know!) but even if it is - I really do love this stuff.

Collection Highlight and Sculpt Contour Kit - When Collection have a new launch, I usually get excited. It's a brand I've always loved ever since I started getting into makeup and even now, having a slightly bugger budget for all my beauty buys - I still love coming back to this brand with its amazing quality at affordable prices. This release was no different - as soon as I heard about it on the blogging grapevine I mentally bookmarked it and spotting one sole one in Boots, I nabbed it to give it a go. And I have to say I'm pretty impressed. Sure, the contour perhaps isn't the best shade in the world (it's not as ashy as I'd personally like it to be, and there's only one shade available at the moment), but with a bit of a lighter hand and a bit of time I can make it work. The highlighter for me is where this palette really wins me over, which is surprising as typically I don't tend to find the ones in palettes like this to be that good. However, this one is lovely - a pale shimmer that's just icy enough to give that glow without looking unnatural and the shimmer is just that - no large unmilled chunks to be found - with the formula being really creamy and blendable. Even if contouring's not really your thing, I'd suggest picking this up for the sparkly shade alone.

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara - Onto more lash-related goodness (however this time for use on the natural lashes) and I have  new mascara love for this month - as I talked about in this post. When I wasn't slapping false lashes on left, right and centre I was going for this. After the success I had with another popular lash offering - Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara - I decided it was only right to try out the other that's been getting it's fair bit of love as of late - Benefit's Roller Lash. I picked up a sample-sized one I spotted in Boots so as to hopefully not feel it'd been a waste if I didn't like it, but I guess I was being too hasty as I couldn't have been more wrong. I love this stuff. I'd say it differs a fair bit from Too Faced's offering, but in a good way. It's a very 'Length'-orientated mascara, but it still manages to give a lot of volume and drama if you build it up. The small wand really gets into the lashes, lifting them upwards and really separating and fanning them out for a very fluttery effect. As for whether I prefer it? I'm calling it a draw this time as I still love what the Better That Sex Mascara does to my lashes, but if you're looking for something that's perhaps more 'Daytime' focused but doesn't in anyway compromise on definition, volume and length - Roller Lash is your guy...
 
Maybelline Super Stay 7 Day Nail Polishes in 'Surreal' and 'Divine Wine' - Nails-wise, I've found a major new love these past few weeks, and they are the 'Super Stay' polishes from Maybelline. I've heard many a good thing about these little beauties ever since I saw Amelia of Amelia Liana raving about them. That was some time ago, but recently the urge to give them a go had been getting stronger so I guess it was only a matter of time before I caved. And this month I did, purchasing two shades from the collection - both of which I've given a road-test in my beds - and I can confirm that they are all kinds of awesome. The brush fits with my usual criteria (wide, flat and curved) and the formula has a gel-like consistency to it that just makes it glide onto the nails, dry very glossy indeed and last. for. ages. Like seriously, these have to be the best wearing polishes I've come across. They actually do kind of live up to their '7 Day' tagline - that's how good they are. I'm not gonna even pretend that I'm not gonna go back for some more shades pretty soon...

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint in 'Dead Heat' - Another nail fave, this time from a range I've already sampled from before, is this little beaut from the Barry M 'Speedy' line. I love this range - the formula dries super quick, everything's opaque in two coats and they last pretty well too. When I spotted their newest Autumn drop I just knew this shade had to become part of my life. A true red with none of the undertones many brands seem to throw into the rogues of their collections nowadays. I know it may not be the most exciting shade ever, but I don't infact own many like this already and c'mon - it's a classic, right? See it in action here.

Maybelline Dr Rescue Quick Dry Nail Drops  - Finally from the nail category (it seems some months I just go crazy for the stuff, eh?), we have not a polish, but a tool-type thang. I struggle sometimes with painting my nails. I'm not too bad at the actual paint job itself, and I do enjoy the process - but for me, it's all about the whole drying issue. Painting my nails before bed, leaving them until they seem dry and them going to sleep, only to wake up the next morning with dents and smudges in them is far too regular an occurrence for me. So when I spotted this, claiming to make nails dry in an instant - I just had to pick it up. And now I've given it a whirl and I  have to say I really like it. Believe it or not, as soon as I put a couple of drops of this on a freshly-painted nail, it really does set it in place and make it dry as it could be in a flash. No more waiting around, no more worrying over how my nails are going to look in the morning *breathes a sigh of relief*. I've noticed such a difference since starting to use this and I don't think there's any going back now...

Zoeva Brushes ('101 Face Definer', '102 Silk Finish', '227 Soft Definer' and '231 Petit Crease') - Onto tools and whilst I am typically an exclusively Real Techniques kinda gal (and even now I still absolutely adore their brushes!) September was the month in which I finally decided to bite the bullet and try some which were not part of their range. After hearing so many eave reviews about Zoeva's brush line, and seeing how reasonable the prices were - this was inevitably the brand I headed to. I had a few brushes in mind after reading about or seeing them in countless blog posts and YouTube videos so I picked those up as well as one which also caught my eye. If I'm honest, there were others I could've also plumped for, but I decided to ease myself in gradually and see what I thought of a few before committing myself to most of the range. However, after giving these few a go I'll definitely be going back for more. Firstly, the brushes are super-soft - like so incredibly soft. The Silk Finish brush worked wonders at applying my foundation (a possible rival for the Buffing Brush perhaps?) and the Luxe Face Definer is also a possible new contender for replacing my beloved Blush blush, being a little smaller and more tapered to really get into the contours of the face. The two eye brushes (firm faves in the Blogging/Vlogging community) are also beauts - with the Soft Definer (a supposed MAC 217 dupe) working brilliantly at both applying and blending out and the Petit Crease fab for under-the-eye shadow application - just as Lily Pebbles recommended. All that and they wash up easy-peasy looking as good as new afterwards! Win, win!

Dr Bronner Magic Soap in 'Rose' - Tying in with the previous items, again this is less of a 'new' favourite but more a new scent. I've loved the Dr Bronner Magic Soap for ages now - it all I use to deep clean my brushes with and it works a dream. However, after only ever using the 'Almond' scent, this time when a repurchase called I decided to switch things up and try a different one - plumping for the 'Rose' fragrance as we all know how I feel about anything floral-related, eh? After washing my brushes with it the last two weekends, I have to admit I think I kinda prefer it. It's a lot less of an overpowering scent like the 'Almond' one was and scent doesn't seem to linger for as long (usually something I'd see as a negative, but when it comes to brush cleaning, I don't really love them to have an overwhelming scent afterwards). And it comes in a pink bottle - what's not to love?

Nice 'N' Easy Root Touch Up Permanent Colour in 'Light Brown' - September was also the month that I tried this out, after finally biting the bullet at giving home hair-dying a go. I wanted to cover up the rather obvious line that was developing between where I last had my hair blonded-up and my natural, ashy-blonde roots have started coming through an I'm really rather impressed. It applied super easy and after only ten minutes was ready to wash off. The colour matched up to my natural hue seamlessly and a few washes in, has no signs of fading off just yet. I've already got another box stashed away ready for when this finally does wave goodbye out of my strands, which I know after a while it will...

What I'd Love To Have:

Real Techniques Deluxe Gift Set - £29.99 - Starting with just one of the many Blogging/YouTube-related lusts of September, and we have some new-in beauties from Real Techniques. As I said earlier, wile I'm currently having a bit of a love-in with my new Zoeva brushes, I'm still a RT's gal at heart and when I saw this new seasonal set I knew it'd somehow make its way onto this list. Isn't it do dreamy? A collection featuring a few old faves alongside a couple of set exclusives that I really feel I need to add to my already-excessive range (questionable), all wrapped up in gorgeous metallic casing that seems to be replacing their standard matte finish. Swoon.

Real Techniques Deep Cleansing Brush Gel - £7.99 - A second and final lust from the Real Techniques crew comes from their first venture into a release that doesn't feature tools of any kind. More a 'tool for cleaning your tools' - oh yes, they've come out with a brush cleanser. I suppose it was only a matter of time, eh? I know I've said many a time before how I've allegedly got my brush cleansing routine down with my beloved Dr Bronner's Magic Soap that happily takes care of my deep cleaning, but being a typical beauty blogger and fanatic - is the grass any greener on the other side of the brush-cleaning fence? There's only one way to find out fo' sho' I guess...

#FleurDeForceBeauty - Ranging from £6.99-£8.99 - Another featuring of the lovely Fleur, and while her eyelash range have only just been released, she's wasting no time in adding another string to her bow and is venturing into the world of makeup! Like Tanya, she's curated a range of cosmetics embossed with her name and I could not be more chuffed for her. After the success I've had with her lashes, I'm definitely adding a few items of #FleurDeForceBeauty to my wishlist. So far there's a range of lipglosses and two eye quads - all of which look equally dreamy - along with a very stylish-looking makeup bag. Anyone care to lend a hand in helping me make my mind up what to pick out?

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Cheek Palettes - £8.00 - Speaking of Tanya, after the relaunch of her brand late last month (of which I reviewed some of the products here), she's now surprised us all with yet another item to Tanya Burr Cosmetics. As Tanya explained in her most recent video, originally these were supposed to be released at the same time as the rest of the range, but have only just been finalised now - hence why they've come out a little later. Available in two shades - one more pinky and the other more peachy - these look to be gorgeous compacts, perfect for when you're on-the-go or simply like having one item which covers all bases cheek-wise. I've got my eye on one shade in particular, so I'm hoping they'll be in my local Superdrug when I make a visit soon, as I'd like to see them in person before making a purchase - fingers crossed.

Barry M Eye Shine Shadow and Glaze Palette - £6.49 - Moving onto more traditional, not-so-Blogger/Vlogger-heavy items, I have a new lust from Barry M. And for once, it's not nails-related - I know, hold the phone. I spotted this crop up in Anna's latest 'New In At The Drugstore' video, and let's just say she has totally enabled me once again. Like Anna herself admitted, while a couple of the shades on the left are perhaps less than ideal for everyday wear, the other half of the palette just looks so gorgeous. The three shades towards the end of the selection - a bronze, copper and cranberry - just scream 'Autumn Makeup' for me, and I have heard many a good thing about the palettes from Barry M in the past, so perhaps this may just be going in my basket soon...

L'Oreal La Vie en Rose Colour Riche Lipsticks - £6.99 each - Onto items of the lip-based variety - would you just look at this new collection from L'Oreal. Mmhmm. They've come out with yet another one of their 'Colour Riche' ranges where they pick a few well-known faces and align a particular hue of a certain colour that supposedly matches them, and so if you're a similar colouring - it should do to you as well. Previously they've launched a nude and red range of this format, so of course it was only a matter of time before they ventured into the pinky side of things. Again, this is an Anna-enabled lust, as I saw these pop up on a blog post of hers sometime this past month and a shade in particular has caught my eye. 'Blake's Delicate Rose' looks to be the perfect 'I'm wearing pink on my lips but it's not too noticeable'-shade. Yanno the ones I mean? A colour that sits just the one level up from a 'MLBB'-type, coating your pout in a pinky hue, but without being too 'in yer face' with it. Of course there are a few in the collection which sit a little more on the natural, natural side of things, but hey - I'm stepping out my comfort zone for once.

Rimmel 'The Only One' Lipsticks - £6.99 each - More lipsticks - I know, I know. Now this, is a really exciting launch. Rimmel lipsticks have to be some of my favourites when it comes to the budget side of things. The Kate Moss line is just all kinds of awesome - I think we can all agree on that, eh? So when I saw that Rimmel were launching a 'Lipstick Revolution', releasing a brand new range featuring a mammoth 15 shades - I listened up. They're called 'The Only One' Lipsticks and claim to deliver the best on all fronts - highly pigmented with a moisturising texture, yet still long-lasting. They seem to be right up my street (I love the longer wear time properties of matte lipsticks, but not always the texture on my lips) and with that amount of variety up for grabs, there must be a shade or three for me in there somewhere?

Zoella Beauty (New Range) - Ranging from £5.00-£15.00 - Scooting back on over to the Blogger/Vlogger side of things and there seems to be a running theme with those who fall into that category this month as Zoe (a.k.a. Zoella) is adding yet more items to her Zoella Beauty line. Last year saw the first initial 'Classic' range unleashed, then came the 'Tutti Fruity' collection earlier this year and now, along with a few limited edition Christmas items, she's gone back to her original range to add yet more bits 'n' pieces which some may have felt it was missing until now. There's everything from a hand cream to a reed diffuser, with a few more designs of makeup bags/pencil cases thrown in for good measure. While it may well be primarily targeted towards her younger audience, I've surprisingly found many a gem amongst her range so far, so I think I'll be giving a few of these a go.

Anna's Nail Polish Collection - Let's not go into my how much it'd add up to all together... - A slightly more general lust for this month, and finishing again on an Anna-related note (can you tell she's one of my faves Blogging/YouTube-wise?), after watching her Nail Polish Collection video a few weeks back it's safe to say I now would very much like a replica of her entire collection please and thankyou. I may have only done a rundown of my own only a short time ago (here), but I already have some new shades piling up on my mental 'Need To Buy ASAP' shopping list. #BeautyBloggerProblems.