May 2016 Monthly Favourites

So apparently it’s June *stares as sheets of rain hurtle past the window and I realise I’m wearing a knitted jumper and fluffy socks*… But start of a new month can only mean one thing – it’s time for May 2016 monthly favourites! There are some old favourites and some new discoveries in here so let’s get cracking.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites

May 2016 Monthly Favourites

May was actually pretty nice, from a weather point of view, which means some of these products now feel very unseasonal! But hopefully the rain will stop soon and we can go back to sandals and bronzed skin and lighter layers…

Let’s start with old favourites as I won’t need to waffle as much about them!

The bizarre and depressing trend of celebrities dying in 2016 resulted in the loss of Howard Marks in April. If you’ve never heard of him then you definitely need to read his autobiography: it is interesting, funny, poignant, infuriating and unbelievable. There’s also a film but I can’t bear to watch it as I love the book so much. I once met him in a bar in Leeds and he was bloody lovely. You can buy Mr Nice by Howard Marks here – as you can see, my copy is well-loved!

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Howard Marks Mr Nice

Roger & Gallet Fleur De Figuier is the scent that I reach for as soon as the sun comes out. It’s such a pretty, light fragrance that instantly lifts my mood and reminds me of warm evenings, sunny afternoons in the park and lazy holidays. It’s a ‘fragrant water’ so it’s not as long-lasting as an eau de parfum but for me it is just summer perfection in a bottle.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Roger & Gallet Fig perfume

Both GOSH Lumi Drops* and theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer have featured a few times on the blog but expect to see them all summer as they are just ideal for getting that summery glow with a bit of a sun kissed tint. The GOSH Lumi Drops are a liquid highlighter, and this one (004) is a really subtle peach colour and I pat it onto my cheekbones for a light glow. TheBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer is a really pigmented peach-gold-pink bronzer/highlighter that is great when you want a bit more impact. I brush this across my cheekbones, bring it slightly onto my cheeks to catch the light, and lightly take it up to my temples to give a natural sunny shimmer.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites GOSH Lumi DropsMay 2016 Monthly Favourites TheBalm Cindy Lou Manizer

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this exact colour on the blog before, but I’ve definitely spoken about my love for Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadows. This is the shade Crème De Rose, from the Creamy Mattes range and I think it may be discontinued because I’m struggling to find it online anywhere but Amazon, although this is the official Maybelline Amazon account so you don’t have to worry about fakes. All of the colours in the Color Tattoo range are brilliant: long-wearing, pigmented, easy to build up to an intense colour or leave more sheer, and they make really good bases for other colours. Which is what I use this shade for. It’s my perfect ‘nothing’ shade as it covers redness, veins, discolouration and just makes me look more awake and put together. LOVE. I know it’s poor form to put a hard to get product in here, but I’ve been using it so much that it needed to be a May 2016 monthly favourite. Please bring it back to stores, Maybelline!

Also I needed to mention the Urban Decay x Alice In Wonderland palette which I am STILL obsessed with but thought you might be bored of me waffling about by now! You can read my thoughts on it and see a LOT of photos HERE.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Maybelline Color Tattoo

Last month I had my second blogger ‘pinch me’ moment of the year when I was invited on the Avène press trip to the south of France (I still can’t really believe I’m typing that). Needless to say it was incredible, but I need a whole other blog post to tell you about that! But in our care package ready for us on arrival was this: Avène Cold Cream*. The words ‘cold cream’ evoke images of grandmas who swear by the stuff for keeping their skin smooth and youthful. I don’t know about youthful as I’ve only been using it on my body, but it has completely sorted out my horrible winter legs (you know, the scales that develop when you only wear tights and skinny jeans for 5 months of cold weather? Yum) in next to no time. I am a total convert.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Avene Cold Cream

You may notice that this product is in French – that’s because I picked it up in Toulouse over my birthday trip as it was on offer and I knew I was running out. However, I’ve found out that the UK equivalent (just in different packaging) is Veet Hair Removal Cream with Aloe Vera & Vitamin E for Sensitive Skin. My skin on my legs is quite sensitive and I get a lot of ingrown hairs so I prefer hair removal cream to shaving, plus I find it lasts a lot longer and you don’t get the same sharp stubble. Huge positives all round!

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Veet

I’ve been an Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion fan for a long time, but I used to use the original formula, in the lilac tube. I really liked it and used it every day (all about that oily eyelid life!) so when it ran out, I ran to replace it. But the shop assistant asked if I’d tried this version, the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in ‘Eden’. I much prefer this to my old version as it is tinted so covers some of my discolouration and forms a great base for my eye make up, but also the packaging has been updated so it now has a stick applicator which is so much better.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites Urban Decay eye primer

The last item in my May 2016 monthly favourites is a scary-looking lip product that I discovered through doing my Instagram challenge, Unwearable Lex. I’ve been testing out lots of lip products that are unusual or unorthodox colours and seeing how wearable they actually are… and this is my favourite so far. It’s LA Splash Cosmetics ‘Vindictive’ and you simply have to SEE IT ON because in the tube it looks like a fairly boring grey, but when it’s applied to the lips it takes on this beautiful blue tone that gives it an extra POW factor.

May 2016 Monthly Favourites

I hope you enjoyed my May 2016 monthly favourites, let me know in the comments if anyone of these caught your eye and what bits and pieces you’ve been loving this month.

Lex

*All products with a * are PR samples. Some links may be affiliate. Please see my disclaimer tab for more information.

 

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3 Comments

  1. 3rd June 2016 / 8:32 am

    Howard Marks was brilliant, I love his books. Such an interesting guy. What’s with this year? We’re losing a load of the good ones.

    Veet is also a favourite of mine, partly because you can use some of it on your legs, and then put the rest in the plughole in the bath, leave it for a few hours and then wash it off, and it dissolves all the hair that gets stuck in the drain! This is very exciting to me, I have a lot of long hair. It gets everywhere.

    • Lex
      Author
      23rd June 2016 / 5:37 pm

      I have no idea – this year needs to stop it immediately!

      I would never even think of the plughole thing – my husband will be thrilled that he won’t have to deal with horrible clogged pipes anymore. Thank you!

      • 26th June 2016 / 1:32 pm

        The plughole thing is my favourite cleaning tip! 😉

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