October Favourites 2013

REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask - £18
I've really enjoyed using this mask this month - it draws out the impurities in your skin so I do get a mini breakout after using it but once that has gone from using the AHA concentrate my skin is left so smooth with my pores looking far more minimal.

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate - £30
Full Review

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - £33
Full Review

Seventeen Phwoarr Paint - £5.49
Full Review

Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Mascara - £17.90
My HG mascara - I love this stuff, it gives volume to my lashes like no other mascara I've ever tried. It leaves all of the lashes neatly separate so it gives a lovely natural look but still adding real colour and length.

Barry M - Autumn Nail Varnish Picks

Left to right: Gelly - Lychee, Matte Crush, Matte Caramel, Red Black, Black

£2.99 - £3.99 Barry M Boots

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint - 110 Warm Ivory

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint - 110 Warm Ivory - RRP £9.99 (Currently £7 everywhere) Boots

I didn't intend to purchase this a few weeks ago but when I was in Boots the pretty little POS caught my eye and it ended up in my basket - I'm a marketer's dream. Nude Magique Eau De Teint (what a mouthful) claims to be lighter than water, completely non greasy with a zero make up feel. I thought this would be perfect for my holiday as in the Turkish heat I definitely didn't want anything too heavy for my skin. It comes in a glass bottle which is described as 'perfume like' to apply it says you need to tip it onto your finger then blend. I will admit this took me a lot of getting used it and even after 3 or 4 applications I didn't like the method. It's so runny you can't put it onto the back of your hand to apply so I decanted some into a little round pot and then lightly dropped in my Real Techniques buffing brush to apply.

This worked a lot better for me - again took some getting used to as it's so runny a tiny bit will blend all over your face. I found it gave a really light coverage that evened out my skin tone a little but didn't give me the coverage I look for when it comes to blemishes and problem area's. The best part of this for me is that warm ivory is my perfect shade as its so light it blended into my natural skin tone effortlessly. 

Overall I liked this on holiday as I wanted a light foundation to just act as a base and the SPF 18 was perfect for the Turkish sun. However I really couldn't get on with the feel of it - it's just too runny, I don't think I ever wanted a foundation to be as wet as this so it hasn't really ticked any boxes as to it being the revolutionary foundation I needed in my life. I really think they should have bought this out much earlier in the year as it's definitely a summer base - I need something much more substantial to take me through the winter months. 

Dove Heat Defence Protection Mist

Dove Heat Defence Protection Mist - £1.79 Tesco

Dove is a brand synonymous with nourishment and moisturising - this product is no different. I try not to use heat on my hair if I can help it as my hair is now really long so I don't want to dry it out anymore than it already is. This protection mist smells of that standard dove scent and spritz's onto the hair leaving it really moisturised. When straightening my hair this product leaves really shiny still and avoids any straightening frizz anywhere. It always seems to be half price from its RRP of £3.50ish and I think for less than £2 it's a real winner and is currently my go to hair protection spray when I do use heat to style my hair. 

Morrocan Oil Travel Size Mini's Set

Moroccanoil Travel Kit £33.85 Feel Unique

I received this kit so long ago as a gift and I've been scared to use it for 2 reasons. 1. I didn't want to like the products in it as much as I already like the moroccan oil as I can't afford to bring them into my everyday hair care. 2. They are all so mini I didn't want to use them up too quickly. But the other weekend I had a long weekend away with friends and thought it was time to just bite the bullet and use these gorgeous little mini's. I've already professed my love for the moroccan hair oil (original review here) which I am still making the mini bottles I get in gift sets last forever. 

The shampoo and conditioner are pretty special - they leave the hair so smooth, silky and leaves the hair feeling full of natural oils. It leaves my hair feeling like so nourished and soft literally like no other shampoo conditioner combo I've ever tried. However after one or two uses it's a dream but any more I find my hair gets greasy far too quickly and builds up oil too heavily. It's a lovely once a week wash for my hair but I'm super glad it's not something I want in my everyday hair routine as 250ml of either shampoo or conditioner come in at nearly £20 a bottle. 

The intense hydrating mask is again a really lovely product it's a much richer thicker version of the standard conditioner where a little goes a really long way. 250ml of this mask costs nearly £25 as much as I love it I'm really not in the market for such a pricey hair mask at the moment. If I'm looking for hair treats I'd definitely head to Moroccanoil as all of their products really nourish my hair and give it a salon finish.  

REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask

REN Invisible Pores Detox Mask - £18 (Marks and Spencer)

I've been using this product for quite a few weeks now and its fast become one of my favourite masks of all I own. I've always had a problem with overall skin texture small pimples that don't really want to go away nor turn into full blown spots and also I have very visible pores that I'm always on the hunt to minimise. This clay mask does draw out the impurities from the skin and I do find I have a little break out after using it however this doesn't last long when using the REN AHA concentrate in my evening skincare routine. Once the mask is dry it begins to flake off you can then even wash it off or rub it off in flakes for a light exfoliation with it. After even the first use I noticed my pore size had really reduced and my skin overall just felt smoother. Again I can't sing the praises of REN skincare enough - since starting to use a combination of REN products on my skin I have noticed such a difference and this mask is no exception. 

Autumn Break Holiday Nail Polish

Barry M Nail Varnish - £2.99, £3.99 Boots

I'm currently in Turkey enjoying hopefully a bit of sun before winter sets in and these are my four nail varnishes I'm packing. I've tried not to buy any new clothes for this trip as I always regret my odd holiday purchases so these colours go with what I normally wear - nudes, browns, reds and blacks. I've packed both my recent Barry M matte polishes review and also lychee and pomegranate from the Barry M Gelly collection. I think pomegranate is a great holiday colour as it's so bright but still has red tones and is also the perfect toe polish. I have a bit of a problem when it comes to nail varnishes and I normally pack way more than I ever use so this year I've tried to keep it simple with two nudes and two colours I know I'll wear. 

Models Own - Autumn Nail Polish Picks

Left to right: Gold Digger, Vintage Pink, Slate Grey, Red Red Wine, Nyla Nude

Boots £5 Models Own £5

eBay Powder Contouring Palette

eBay £5.19

I've always had a little bit of an obsession with the contouring Kim Kardashian's makeup artist achieves. I just wanted a palette to play around with so decided to pick this one up from eBay for just over a fiver. It contains six large completely matte shades from white through to a dark brown. These are really powdery and aren't overly pigmented but they can be built up where you want them and for practising they work quite well as you can't sweep in with streaks all over the face straight away. For the price this is a good little addition to my make-up stash as each shade is less than £1 you can't really complain. It's a good way of playing about a bit and working out what colours and shades would be worth investing in a better quality brand for. I've since ordered a similar palette but with creme based shades which I think will be much more fun to play with however I'm definitely glad I picked this up it's a fun palette to give contouring a go and the shades are really versatile and neutral too so are good for eye looks and bases too.

Blog Obsessions - My Favourites

I think it's literally been over a year since I sat down and shared my favourite blogs. So after feeling the love a little recently and from loving reading posts like these by others I thought it was about time I sat down and shared all of the blogs I love reading ...


Milk Bubble Tea - I adore Becky's blog her photography is out of this world she could literally make a peg on a clothesline look amazing. I love her wish lists, recipes and beautiful trips away.

The Londoner - Rosie's blog was one of the first that I read before starting my own. I'm a massive dog lover so the adventures of Custard keep me coming back as well as the incredible recipe's and travel adventures that feature regularly.

Secret Diary of Fashion Journalist - Laura has single handedly made me obsessed with statement necklaces. Again one of the first blogs I followed - I adore every post she writes always so on point.

Gh0stparties - My obsession with Kate's blog is mainly down to her flawless skin. I have bought so many products from her recommendations and they have never let me down.

EssieButton - I adore this girl! I love all of her posts, dream of having her make-up collection and love watching her youtube channel.

Milkteef - As a massive lipstick fan Emma's blog always ticks the right boxes her lipstick collection really is to die for and her full face swatches of every product she buys means all her reviews really help you decide if it's worth buying or not.

Blue October - This blog has the perfect mix of everything, amazing fashion, lifestyle and beauty. I love flicking through all of Lizzie's posts regularly.

Barry M - Matte Nail Varnish Autumn 2013

Barry M Matte Nail Varnish - £3.99 Boots

Barry M have bought out so many new releases to their nail varnish range this year but the autumn winter matte collection has easily been the one that has got me most excited. The range has come out in 5 shades - espresso (black), crush (burgundy), caramel, vanilla (light nude) and mocha (mid brown). I could have easily picked up all five shades but decided to stick to crush and caramel as I do own a matte top coat so it definitely wasn't necessary for me to own these but I wanted them so much. I love matte nail varnish and these shades are perfect for autumn. Above is the polish using two coats and like all Barry M polish they cover well and have good lasting power. I'm going to resist buying the other three as I really don't need them but I love this entire collection it was hard to choose just two shades as they are all perfect for this season.

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate

REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate £30 Marks and Spencer Space NK

I've wanted this product for ages so when my job was made permanent last month it was time for a few treats to be bought for myself and this most definitely going to be one of them. This is my first full size REN purchase I've had so many mini's from beauty boxes and as extra's to orders and I've loved pretty much everything I've tried. 

The resurfacing AHA concentrate claims to be formulated to resurface the skin and renew the complexion giving a radiant youthful glow. The main attraction for me that it contains both glycolic and lactic acid. AHA's (alpha hyproxy acid's) really interest me and are showing up much more frequently than I ever remember in so many different products. They make pores appear smaller, make spots struggle to surface, improve hyperpigmentation and just rid you of all dead skin leaving you with a better texture overall. 

The REN AHA concentrate dispenses using a pipet which is built into the lid - I didn't think I'd like this that much but it's the perfect way to get the product out as you literally just need 3 or 4 drops to cover your whole face. The concentrate has the texture of a serum and the citric acid in it means it has a lovely orangey scent. It kind of feels like the serums that always end up breaking me out but obviously the acid's in it ensure this is avoided. 

The results: I've been using this product now for a good few weeks every single night and it has made such a difference. The first morning I woke up to a much healthier complexion and immediately noticed an even skin tone. A few weeks on some of the scarring from old acne has nearly completely gone and it's taken nearly all of the red out of these area's. My skin isn't perfect yet but this is really improving it, it also stops spots in their track each night so I'm avoiding future pigmentation that will then need attention. 

I'm currently enjoying a little love affair with REN skincare they are a brand that I wouldn't once question spending the money on. I love how it never feels like a gimmick of fancy packaging or clever marketing their products just speak for themselves and I wouldn't hesitate to repurchase this once I've finished.