July: The Love List

So, July's over. How did that happen, eh? I'm not too sure but I don't quite know how, but here we are and it's time again to talk you lovely lot through some of the things I've been loving throughout the past month. If you fancy catching up with my previous 'The Love Lists' you can catch them all here but for now - let's jump straight on in... 

GARNIER MOISTURE BOMB TISSUE MASKS IN 'LAVENDER' AND 'SAKURA' - These two new variations of the popular sheet mask from Garnier were released recently and I gave them a go and - surprise, surprise - loved them. I just love this entire face mask range and these are no exceptions. Simply apply straight to your bare face, leave for ten minutes or so, remove and massage in any excess product and you have a super-hydrated, super-glowy, super-soft and smooth complexion. So easy and so affordable too. I particularly like the addition of the Lavender, very calming when you're using it in the evening.

SOAP AND GLORY WHIPPED CLEAN SHOWER BUTTER - With the weather heating up (slightly), I've been having far more showers as opposed to baths and for that I've been cracking out this product from S&G. Rather than a shower gel, this is a shower butter and so not only cleanses the skin, but also moisturises it too. For someone who is pretty darn lazy at moisturising their body - especially after coming out of the shower/bath - this is a complete revelation and I am obsessed. Not only is the scent all kinds of delicious (think the creamy, cake-like scent of the 'Breakfast Scrub') but it really does leave my skin feeling super soft, as well as cleaning it too. Love this stuff.

TANYA BURR COSMETICS 'CHASING THE SUN' COLLECTION - The lovely Tanya Burr released her second collection of the year this month - 'Chasing The Sun' - and I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear that I love it. You can see my full review here, but overall - it is all kinds of awesome. The 'Champagne Sorbet' Illuminating Powder is super pigmented, creamy and has become my go-to glow; the 'Contour Stick' is my new essential for carving out those cheekbones and the 'Strawberry Milkshake' Lip Balm has been great for those days when I want to add a touch of colour to my lips, but nothing too much and yet still want to keep them nice and hydrated at the same time. All in all, every single product has more than impressed me and I would highly recommend you giving it a look next time you're on Feel Unique or in-store at Superdrug...

MAYBELLINE SUPERSTAY 24HR PRIMER  - Makeup-wise, this has become my new go-to face primer ever since I tried it in my 'First Impressions' post I did here. Having never given any primers from Maybelline a go in the past, I was a little skeptical as to how well I'd get along with this product but I was thankfully proved very, very wrong. The texture is super thin and watery, but do not fret as as soon as you apply it to your face, it soon sinks in and - the best part of all - almost instantly smooths things out and fills things in. Despite not being marketed as a 'pore-filling' primer, I find this is really fill out my pores and, as I said, smooth out the appearance of my skin. It leaves my complexion with a slight tacky feeling - usually a good sign that it's gonna keep your makeup in place - and would ya believe it, it really does. All in all, it does exactly what I want in a primer and for a pretty reasonable price too.

ESSENCE SUN CLUB BRONZER IN '01 SUNKISSED' - Another new addition to my makeup stash that I have been loving lately is this bronzer from Essence. Being so faithful to my beloved 'Solar Powder' from Soap and Glory, it was always gonna take something pretty darn good to compete with it, or even better it and I feel like this one has definitely given it a good run for its money. I fancied a change from my usual and so picked this up as it looked like my kinda thing and I'm so glad I did. First off - it's matte and completely shimmer-free - so it certainly ticks that box of the brief but also, the colour is perfect. It's not too light, nor too dark and doesn't make you look at all Oompa Loompa-esque. The texture's suprisngly creamy and blends out very well indeed so all in all I have no complaints and will definitely be using this for a long time to come...

MAYBELLINE BROW PRECISE MICRO PENCIL IN 'DEEP BROWN' - I had a bit of an overhaul in the Brow department this month - with me changing up both of the products that I've used and loved for a good while now. I know, I know - it was a bit of risk - but it paid off as I love both of the items I replaced them with. This brow pencil from Maybelline is pretty similar to my beloved NYX Micro Brow Pencil, but it's just as good - if not even better. The colour is spot-on (a winner for Maybelline, as with the NYX I usually have to mix colours) and the formula is ideal too. The pencil itself is not too creamy, but too dry and waxy either. It applies like a dream, you can create really precise, hair-like strokes and it aloes me to really beef my brows up to the darker, bolder, more strcutured level I want to. The handy spoolie on the other end is also a pretty good one too (gotta love a good spoolie)...

ESSENCE 'MAKE ME BROW' EYEBROW GEL MASCARA IN '02 BROWNY BROWS' - The second and final new brow product to my routine is a brow gel - an essential for me personally. I usually use the L'Oreal Brow Artste Plumper but again, fancied a switch-up and so picked up this infamous product from Essence to try out. What I love most about my usual L'Oreal offering is that not only does it set things into place but it adds a slight tint to my brow hairs and also has fibers in the formula to help beef things out even more so. Essence's seemed to be very similar - hence why I bought it - and having used it, it definitely, definitely is. It basically does the exact same thing, but I think I kinda actually prefer it. I know. The smaller applicator (both in length of the wand and the size of the brush in general) makes application easy-peasy and the formula coats the brow hairs with just the right amount of product and never leaves them feeling/looking heavy, cakey or clumpy. And it's a complete and utter bargain too. Winner!

RIMMEL KATE MOSS EYESHADOW STICK IN 'ROSE GOLD' - An oldie, but a goodie this time. This has been in my makeup collection for ages now and has also more than likely featured in a post just like this sometime before too but this month, I have re-found my love for it. I'm never usually one for cream eyeshadows in stick format, but this one is so super creamy, easy to apply and even easier to blend out too. It gives such a gorgeous, copper/rose gold colour to the lids that looks super stunning worn alone but the way I really love wearing it is to pair it with a copper powder shadow over the top to really make a statement. Currently, I'm loving using a couple of shades out of the Tanya Burr Cosmetics 'My Paradise' Palette and combined with this shadow stick - they are a dream team. Love, love, LOVE.

ESSENCE LASH PRINCESS FALSE LASH EFFECT MASCARA - A mascara I've been loving during July is yet again another winner from Essence. What a bargainous, and yet bangin' brand, eh? I'd heard great things about this and so just had to pick it up to try out and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. The brush is pretty stnadard and alike to a lot of other (usually cheaper) mascaras I've tried, but combined with the formula - this is an awesome mascara.

RIMMEL STAY MATTE LIQUID LIP COLOURS - You all know that I am all about those matte liquid lippies and I was eagerly waiting for Rimmel to bring their offering to the already-well-saturated table and when that moment came recently - I immediately picked some up to try. And thankfully, they are just as awesome as I was thinking/hoping they would be. The colour selection is great, the packaging just as much so but the thing I am really impressed by is what's inside. The doe-foot applicator makes application a breeze and holds just the right amount for one layer of even, opaque, liquid lipstick goodness. The consistency is rather moussey, but once on they only takes a few seconds to dry down to a fully, powdery-matte finish that I love. They don't feel overly dry, don't look dry on the lips either and they last really well too. Love.

ESSENCE EYE BLENDER BRUSH - Finally from Essence - I promise - is a brush that I spotted on the website when making my order and kind added to my basket kinda on a bit of a whim. Thankfully, it paid off as it is an awesome brush. While I do have a rather extensive brush collection (especially when it comes to eye brushes), but I always found what I was missing was a nice, big, super-fluffy brush that I could use to really blend and buff things out - particularly as a last, finishing step. This is exactly that and I for one am so glad to finally have something like it in my stash at last. It gets the job done and it's super soft too, considering how amazingly affordable it was. Highly recommend!

BARRY M MOLTEN METAL NAIL PAINT IN 'HOLOGRAPHIC LIGHTS' - Lastly - Nails - and I never thought there'd be a time when I was obsessed with a holographic nail polish, but I am and I love it. This is one of the 'Molten Metals' from Barry M, a range I really rather like and so I guess it shouldn't be any surprise that I love this one too. It may require an extra coat to achieve full opacity (I find I need a good three layers to get there) but it's well worth it in the end fr the finished effect. It's like pure holographic goodness on your nails and it is so darn pretty, especially when it catches the light. Ooooo yeah.

MAYBELLINE COLOR SHOW NAIL POLISH IN 'PINK BOOM' - Finally, the second polish inclusion, and this time one from Maybelline. A classic, bright, candy pink that's super Barbie-esque - I love it. It's very much the sort of shade I liked wearing all the darn time a few years back and yet haven't in so, so long. Though while the colour is very much a throwback, this polish specifically is very much new to me and I guess it was picking it up in the drugstore not so long ago that inspired me to try out these types of tones once again. The colour's bright, bold and vibrant and fully opaque in two coats and lasts pretty well too. It's a goodie...