Monthly Beauty and Lifestyle Favourites August ’15

*Insert incredulous first sentence about it already being September*. Now that’s over with, let’s get down to the goodies, shall we?

Monthly Beauty and Lifestyle Favourites August ’15

This month I got a new phone. I’m not one of those people who does a countdown to a new phone being released, or queue up for one. I am very behind with this. But oh how I love my new phone. It’s so shiny and gold and the camera is amazing. Not that you can see how gold and shiny it is, because of my AMAZING phone case. It’s an almost exact replica of my old phone case, but bigger and more obnoxious. Which is always better, right? (Totoro phone case from eBay, the iPhone 6 from literally everywhere that sells phones).

I have a lot of blushers that I use on rotation, but this month I’ve been reaching for this one almost every day. It’s a B. Whipped Cream blush in ‘Strawberry’ – a really light cream to powder blusher in a gorgeous bright pink shade. It’s really pigmented so I’ve just been lightly bouncing the bristles of a Real Techniques Stippling Brush on the top to pick up the tiniest amount. You can get the blusher HERE and read my review on the B. Sweet Candy Shop collection HERE.

I promised myself I wouldn’t buy any more nail varnishes in New York. I failed spectacularly and bought about 10 (You can see my haul videos HERE and HERE). As soon as I saw this Sephora x nail varnish I knew I would have to get it: it’s a neutral pink-leaning grey and that is like crack to me. I have so many already but cannot stop buying them. This is the shade ‘Thrilling’. It reminds me of a murkier version of Model’s Owns ‘Utopia’, another one of my favourites.

Another New York Sephora purchase: The Kat Von D ‘Tattoo Brow’ in Blonde. This is a liquid product with a fine nib that is very long-lasting and easy to use. It’s slightly too dark for my skintone but if used lightly it’s a great match for fair-medium brown hair.

Being very fair, I’m always wary of contouring as colours tend to be super dark or muddy on me  which end up looking very fake. The new Maybelline Master Sculpt contour compact is great as it comes in a Light/Medium shade, which is perfect for fairer skin tones. It has a powder compact which is 60% contour and 40% highlighter. I’m not a huge fan of the highlighter as it’s quite shimmery, so I’ve just been using the contour side and I am in love. I’ve been using it every day since I bought it. It comes with a mirror and brush (which I don’t use) but would be helpful in a pinch.

Yet ANOTHER New York purchase (apologies) – I’d heard rave reviews about this L’Oréal Paris ‘Boost It High Lift Creation Spray’ and it is seriously good. I actually prefer it to the Bumble & Bumble mini I picked up of the ‘Dry Spun Finish’. And it’s a fraction of the price. It gives my hair oomph and texture without making it too sticky or heavy. I really hope this comes to the UK!

I’ve spoken about this Caudalie ‘Divine Oil’ before (read my French pharmacy haul post HERE) and I’m still in love with it. My skin is very dry on my arms and legs so applying this after my shower has been a necessity. It sinks in very quickly, can be used on body, hair and cuticles, and it smells INCREDIBLE (no really, they’ve released a perfume of the scent as it smells so good).

*Whispers* The last New York purchase in this post, I promise. Wet ‘n’ Wild eyeshadows are everywhere on US beauty blogs and it’s easy to see why. They are so cheap and come in such great colours. I was quite reserved and only picked up two: this pink and taupe one (‘Sweet As Candy’) has been my most used eyeshadow combo this month, I love these colours together.

Every month I try to feature my favourite books. During my daily commute, my Kindle is pretty much surgically attached to my hand so if you have any recommendations, please let me know! This month I read a really mixed bag. First up is yet another dystopian future novel (I think I have an obsession!) that had come very highly recommended: Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel. It’s a wonderfully compelling story about survival, hidden connections and what makes us human. It’s a book that you want to start reading again immediately once you know how it ends!

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is another book with rave reviews that’s been on my wish list for a long time. I think this would count as a YA book but I was hooked from the moment I started it. It is written from the point of view of a few of the main characters and the style reminds me a lot of ‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time’, so if you enjoyed that I would highly recommend this.

I really liked Mindy Kaling before reading ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?’ but now I want us to be BFFs. It’s a very easy read (I think I finished it in 2 days) with short chapters and is written as she talks so it’s very accessible. It gives a great insight into her work on The Office US and how she came to work in comedy.

And that’s it for another month! There weren’t any lip products for once, as I was doing #31LipsticksIn31Days over on Instagram, so I couldn’t have a favourite! If you want to see the lipsticks I chose, have a mosey over to my Instagram: www.instagram.com/TalontedLex 🙂

What have been your monthly favourites? Leave me a comment below with your tips or a link to your favourites post!

Lex