May: The Love List

It's the end of May - already?! - and so, it's once again time to talk you lovely lot through everything, beauty-wise, that I've been loving throughout the month. With it being my Birthday month, I have a lot of new favourites from what I was both lucky to receive and I bought myself and let me tell you, I have some new obsessions! Plus, we of course have some other newbies that have entered my general beauty rotation so, without any further ado - let's get started...

OFRA X NIKKIE TUTORIALS HIGHLIGHTER IN 'GLAZED DONUT' - First up, we have this awesome highlighter! I was so excited to finally be able to try a more expensive highlighter formula and see how it compares to my usual drugstore/affordable offerings and - Oh. My. Goodness. - I love it! Don't get me wrong, I still adore all of my staple, bargainous glows (I always feel like highlighters are a type of product that's pretty consistent, across the board, no matter the price-point) but there's definitely an extra something special about this one from OFRA. I mean, I probably should have known that, with it being a collaboration with Nikkie Tutorials - the Queen of Highlighter - but it really is so, so good. The white gold shade is just perfect for my paler skin-tone and the formula and finish is awesome. So creamy that it picks up well on a brush, but doesn't kick up at all in the pan itself and it just applies onto the skin beautifully. It gives such an intense, blinding glow with the smallest amount of product, but almost melts into the skin in such a way that it looks like you've applied nothing at all - until your skin catches the light! It's not chunky or glittery in anyway, doesn't leave a cast - it just looks wet and sheeny. Like a 'natural' glow - but not natural at all because it's so blinding. Also, if you want to sheer it out and make it less intense (#CantRelate) you can do so too!

BEAUTY BAY EYN FIERY 9 COLOUR PALETTE - This was another thing I very luckily got for my Birthday this month and though I haven't got round to giving this a dedicated mention round these parts just yet, seeing as I've already given it a try - it was only right to give it a shout-out in my favourites for the month! I actually managed to get this as part of the Beauty Bay TRIBE Reward Scheme and seeing as I basically accumulated most of the points I used to get this palette from my order for my 'main' presents from my Parents, I thought I'd include it as part of my presents. Ever since Beauty Bay launched their own range of eyeshadow palettes last year, I've been eager to give them a try - so I was pretty happy this gave me the opportunity to finally do so - and so far, I am really impressed! The mattes are really rich in pigment, nice and creamy in texture and blend easily; whilst the shimmers are so lovely and intense and almost foiled-like, even without using your finger or a dampened brush to apply. The warm-toned neutral colour selection isn't anything drastically new to my collection (everyone loves warm-toned neutrals, right?) but it's really pretty and creates gorgeous looks nevertheless. Plus, I thought it was the best place to start when it came to trying a new brand of shadows too. The 9-pan set up is nice and compact and not too overwhelming, but still allows you to create a good amount of looks too and in general, I think I may just have to try more eyeshadows from Beauty Bay after this palette...

TECHNIC THE GLITZ LIQUID GLITTER EYESHADOW IN 'GOLD' - Another product that I actually bought myself when shopping on my Birthday that I haven't got round to giving a dedicated shout-out to but having already given it a go, thought it was only right to do so right now - we have this gorgeous liquid glitter from Technic! I'd heard so many amazing things about these - even as them being potential Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter and Glow dupes - so when I came across them in 'real life' I thought I'd pick one up to try out for myself. I plumped for the 'Gold' as that was the colour I'd heard and seen the most good reviews about and so far, I am definitely not disappointed! Such a gorgeous, true yellow-y gold shade and such a brillaint formula too! I simply take some on thin, flat brush and gently pat over wherever I want it to go on top of my finished eyeshadow, leave my lid sort of half-closed for a few seconds to enable it to dry and set down well and it's all good to go! It doesn't feel heavy uncomfortable on the lid at all (like some liquid shadows or glitter/shimmer eye toppers can do) and stays where you put it all day or night long! No crumbling or flaking off - plus the glitter stays looking just as sparkly and doesn't crease up on the lids either. I think I may need to invest in more colours of these...

JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS VELOUR LIQUID LIPSTICK IN 'PROM NIGHT' - Another makeup item I was lucky enough to get for my Birthday, tried since and have fell in love with is this liquid lipstick. Having already tried the Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipsticks and really enjoyed them, I was interested in giving another shade a go - and this bright, hot pink caught my attention. I love vibrant, Barbie-esque pinks for the Spring/Summer (it's kinda my go-to colour when I want a bold/bright lip over the warmer months) so I thought my Birthday was the perfect opportunity to try out what this range had to offer when it came to that colour family. And so far, I love it! Such a gorgeous, in-yer-face, hot pink that's got a blue base, but still enough warmth in it to make it really nice and flattering on the complexion. As always with the Velour Liquid Lipsticks - they go on glossy, quickly dry down to a fully, powdery-matte finish and once set into place, last and last all day or night long. Though really matte, they don't feel or look at all dry on the lips and unlike some bright pink liquid lipsticks I've tried in the past, this one is fully opaque in one coat. No patchiness in sight...

NYX SUEDE MATTE LIP LINER IN 'PINK LUST' - To go alongside that liquid lipstick, I picked up this lip liner before my Birthday as I realised I had no current ones in my collection that would match it perfectly. I saw that the matching Liquid Suede Liquid Lipstick from NYX was a supposed dupe for 'Prom Night', so figured the lip liner in the same shade would be a good one to go for - and so far, I think I picked a good'un! This is basically nearly the exact same bright, hot pink shade as 'Prom Night' - just in lip liner format! The formula is really nice and creamy, glides on easily, yet with enough waxy-ness to ensure a sharp application and long wear time. The colour is really fully opaque too.

SOSU BY SUZANNE JACKSON LASHES IN 'HOLLY' - I love finding new styles of lashes that I really love - and this month, I found these! I already adore the SOSU Glam Lashes in 'Dubai' (also part of their range you can find exclusively in Primark) - they've quickly become my new, go-to lashes for a night out or special occasion. Full, really long and voluminous but also super fluttery and 'fluffy'-looking at the same time. So, I thought I'd give a different style a try - and this style, called 'Holly' caught my attention the most. This time, these are from their 'Deluxe' Collection but the lashes all looked just the same lovely quality as the ones in the 'Glam' Range so I thought I'd give them a try. 'Holly' is actually quite comparable to 'Dubai' - they're just a little shorter on the inner corner - so they give your eyes a slightly more feline, winged-out effect, which I really like. They're just as soft and fluffy though, almost with that faux-mink effect to them and they're just as relatively quick and easy to apply too! Used in conjunction with my fave lash glue (Duo Glue, FYI) - they really do last and last all night long. For such affordable lashes, you really can't go wrong - I think these will be my new staple false lashes for the foreseeable...

ELEGANT TOUCH HIGHLIGHT IT UP FALSE NAILS IN 'IN THE GLOW' - With it being my Birthday this month (have I mentioned that already? I don't think I have...lol) I was after some false nails to use as I knew I wouldn't have had the time to do them myself on the Saturday night for going out, before doing them again for my actual Birthday the following Monday two days after - so I took the lazy way out and opted for some pre-done nails instead. But actually, I was pretty happy with how they came out! A gorgeous pinky, rose-gold, marbled design on a long (but not too long) stiletto shape. Really 'me' and super pretty, they were really quick and easy to apply and used with my favourite nail glue, they actually lasted on my nails really well too! All throughout my night out, Birthday and beyond...

BARRY M MOLTEN METALS NAIL PAINT IN 'PEACHY FEELS' - In terms of actually painting my own nails myself, this polish has been a favourite of mine this month. I used it once again, this time in a look with another polish and really love how the finished look came out. This is such a gorgeous, unique colour - a light, peachy metallic with a gorgeous warm, yellow-y gold shimmer running through it. Used on its own it was beautiful, used with that other colour in my collection it was possibly even more so. I love it!

ZOELLA BEAUTY 'FRUITS' COLLECTION - Zoella (a.k.a Zoe Sugg) has released her annual Spring/Summer range for Zoella Beauty - her last ever range, in fact! Boo! I always pick up her annual range every single year, but this time I was even more eager to do so, what with it being the final offering - so that's exactly what I did! And so far, I'm pretty impressed. The 'Berry Jam' Body Scrub isn't my favourite I've ever tried (it's not 'scrubby' enough for my liking) but the other two products I tried, I really love. The 'Banana Foam' Body Wash smells delicious and cleanses the skin nicely; whilst the 'Peach' Body Sorbet is so lightweight, yet deeply moisturises your body like a dream. Those two latter products in particular I might just have to stock up on before the collection disappears for good...

AUSSIE 3 MINUTE MIRACLE SCENT-SATIONAL SMOOTH DEEP TREATMENT - Finally, we have a new Haircare love for the month! Well, I say 'new' but basically, it's a new version of an old favourite that I already know and love. We all know I'm already obsessed with the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Hair Deep Conditioning Treatment and as a result, whenever a new edition comes out, I just have to give it a go. This 'Scent-Sational' version was the newest drop to the line-up and so far, I love it! The formula is exactly the same as usual and it works in exactly the same way, but the fragrance is just delicious. So fruity and 'yummy', if you get what I mean. I might even prefer it to the classic Aussie scent...

So, there we have it - all of my new beauty favourites from May! As I said, with it being my Birthday this month, I feel like that both inspired me to try a load of awesome new products and also caused me to try some others as a result of buying/being gifted them too. And, I'm pretty happy with what I discovered this month. Some proper, new, staple favourites. Yay!