September Beauty Favourites (plus…)
Today’s post is all of the products I loved to death in September. I’m trying to mix a few non-beauty items in here too, so there are also some lifestyle and some fashion items.
Maybelline Color Elixir ‘105 Petal Plush’ – I bought a few of these and I am so pleased that I listened to the hype. These are designed to give the colour pay-off of a lipstick, the shine of a gloss and the hydration of a balm. I would agree with all of that. These feel so smooth and soft on the lips and aren’t as disgustingly sticky as a true lipgloss. The colour isn’t opaque but the colours are great. The packaging is also really lovely and reminds me of the Burberry Lip Glow’s bullet/lipstick packaging. The applicator is a leaf-shaped wand and, bizarrely, the description says it’s made from angora but I did some investigating and apparently it’s synthetic and Maybelline just used the word angora to make it sound soft? Ummm what. Is it just me that thinks that’s a seriously misguided choice of description? ANYWAY, one small descriptive issue aside, these are incredible and I need more. They are £6.99 from Boots.
Sleek Matte Me Lip Cream in ‘Petal’ – Weird coincidence in the names there. A friend gave me one of these Sleek matte lip colours in a vivid pink and I LOVED it and instantly bought a nude pink. This gives me those Kylie Jenner lips that seem to be everywhere at the moment. It applies like a gloss and takes a while to dry (during which you have that vom-inducing thing where your lips kind of stick together when you open your mouth) but once it is dry….hooooo boy. These are super soft. I described it to a bemused colleague as feeling like when you put your finger in really finely milled flour and it’s really soft and almost doesn’t feel real? Do you know what I mean or are you sat at your computer giving me the side-eye?… Moving on. I’ve seen people say these last all day on them and I can’t go that far. I eat a lot, drink a lot of tea and lick my lips a lot so I did need to reapply this a few times, BUT what I did love is that this wears off very subtly in the middle of the lip. It doesn’t bobble or go patchy, it just fades a bit. Also, it layers very well. I hate matte lip products where you have to take the whole thing off and start again. These are £4.99 HERE.
L’Oréal Paris Infallible 24HR Stay Fresh Foundation in ‘125 Natural Rose’ – I’m always on the hunt for a good coverage foundation that will stick with me all day. I have been mixing this with my beloved Estee Lauder Double Wear Light for work and have really liked it. By itself it has great coverage, toning down my rosacea redness a lot; it doesn’t look cakey; it isn’t drying; it has a very sweet smell which I like but others might not. This was brought in to replace the Infallible 16HR foundation which I never tried but the main difference is the new foundation is (obviously) meant to last 24 hours. By itself I get maybe 7 hours until my chin and nose apparently eat my foundation and leave no trace of it. Powdering doesn’t seem to help, but I do have quite an oily skin type. I mix with the DWL and it tends to just about hold out for 10 hours. This is £9.99 HERE!
L’Oreal Paris Collection Exclusive Color Riche Pure Red in ‘Blake’s Red’ – When L’Oreal Paris brought out their Color Riche Nudes range I thought it was genius: a selection of lipsticks inspired by celebrities, so you pick the celeb who matches your skin tone/hair colour etc and that should be your perfect nude shade. GENIUS. Now L’Oreal Paris have done it again. Using the same concept they have brought out a range of red lipsticks. I have heard so many women saying ‘I’d love to wear red lipstick but it just doesn’t suit me’. WRONG, you just haven’t found the right one. In the UK they have currently only released 4 red shades: Blake Lively, Eva Longoria, Liya Kebede and Julianne Moore. I chose Blake’s as I’m fair with blonde hair and I am OBSESSED with it. It is a true blue-based red but I was amazed at the depth of colour. It looks a lot more expensive on than you would expect. It’s a matte lipstick but isn’t drying and feels very comfortable on the lips. I would recommend a lip liner as you need a very crisp line with a lipstick this opaque. Can we also talk about the packaging? Matte black leather effect with gold accents? JEEPERS it’s beautiful. These are currently £6.99 in Boots!
Kiko nail lacquer in ‘319 Light Dove’ – I’d like to say that as it’s officially autumn I’ve been breaking out my neutrals, greys and blacks but, let’s be honest, I wear those colours all year round. I have a THING for grey nail varnish. I just think it looks so chic. Plus it goes with pretty much anything. This is a gorgeous grey-pink-mauve that looks stunning on. Kiko nail varnishes apply really well and last about a week on me before I start to notice tip wear. Kiko nail varnishes are £3.90 HERE.
The Yorkshire Soap Co. Reed Diffuser refill in ‘Mango and Lychee’ – If you’re ever in York and you like smelly pretty things, you NEED to go to The Yorkshire Soap Co. I discovered this place the day after our wedding and we bought some bath bombs to help us relax after a crazy day. I went back up to York to visit my family a few weeks ago and took my mum and we went a bit crazy. I bought some more bath bombs, some christmas cards (THEY HAD BADGERS ON, DON’T JUDGE ME), some soap and this beautiful reed diffuser refill. I love reed diffusers and have them all over the flat. I just think they’re a great way to make your house smell nice without it being overpowering. I chose this one as I love both of these scents although I think it’s a bit summery. I don’t care, every time I walk into the bedroom and smell it I just feel a bit happier. This was £11.99 HERE.
New Look blanket scarves – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have noticed that blanket scarves are everywhere. I have been drooling over the Burberry one (with embroidered initials of course) for ages and until I find a spare £1000 somewhere, these ones are serving me very well. Gorgeous tartan knit blankets: one in navy, white and maroon and the other in dark grey, white, and mustard. These make me feel like I’m still in bed, even when I’m packed on a tube with some man’s armpit in my face. They billow out behind me when I walk which makes me feel slightly like a superhero. You can throw one end of the blanket over your shoulder and stalk from a room when you want to make a point. Long story short: blankets transform you into a badass. These were £19.99 each, you can get similar ones HERE.
I hope you enjoyed reading me ramble about my September favourites. This was a pretty long favourites post but I had a lot to say. These are some seriously great items that will be remain favourites for a while. Do any of these catch your eye? What have you been loving this month?
Lex
