august favourites

I'm not usually fond of writing monthly favourites, probably because I struggle to photograph them. I've tried at least four times to photograph what I've been loving that month, but I've either not been happy with it or it was feeling forced. However, this month I've been getting my act together and using new products to finally do a monthly favourites post. So, here are my August favourites. :)

The first thing I've been loving this month is the Bourjois Healthy Mix serum and I use the shade Vanilla. This is quite dark for my pale skin, but I've been on holiday twice in these six weeks so I've got a tan on my arms and neck which means I can get away with wearing this! One of the things I love most about this product is the smell. It smells very fruity and summery, and I'm sat smelling this as we speak because it smells so good!

For me, Bourjois have been the brand I've been most impressed with so far this year. Everything from their foundations and bronzers to lip crayons and glosses have surprised me. To be honest, Bourjois was always a brand that I overlooked, but I think they're one of the best drugstore brands out there. Their Colorboost lip crayon in Fuschia Libre has been one of my makeup bag essentials for this summer. I did a full review on all of the shades in the collection here, but this has become one of my favourite shades.

I've been loving lip products this summer, and I find them more suited to summer than eye makeup is. My first and only Topshop lipstick has been one I've been loving this month. This one is in the shade Innocent, and is a beautiful baby, beachy pink which is so easy to wear! Nails Inc have also impressed me this month. Even though I only own two shades from their whole collection, I've fallen in love with Elizabeth Street. There is a (quite old) full review here.

I've also been using the St. Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub, (that was a mouthful). I mentioned this in my skincare post here, and mentioned that it says on the tube to use it 3-4 times a week. However, this is quite a tough scrub and it could be very irrative on your skin if you used it too much. I use this 1-2 times a week and leaves my skin feeling very clean and fresh.

Finally, I've been loving my Yankee Candle in Midnight Jasmine. The scent is very floral-y, fresh and delicate. I've been burning this in my bedroom with all of the windows open in the blistering heat, and it fits in perfectly :)

starting off: skincare

 So after having a snoop around the #bbloggers chat on Sunday night, I saw a little project called #theSOproject. In a nutshell, it basically means 'starting off' and aims to help people who may be new to makeup, or for younger teens. Because I am only 15 but I have been blogging for almost a year, I thought that I could bring my version of this for teens with similar skin and not much money! To read more about #theSOproject, read this post on Steph's blog.

This week's topic is skincare. I know teenage skin is horrible as this is probably the time when you're most likely to get acne, and it is probably the oiliest skin you'll ever have. My skin is oily around my nose and dry everywhere else, just for reference. I've been really getting into my skincare recently, as I've realized that you need a good base to get good makeup. Plus, it's good to start looking after your skin whilst you're young!

So, to kick things off I'll start with a cleanser. On a day to day basis, I use Philosophy's Purity cleanser. This is slightly on the more expensive side, costing £28.50 for 480ml from Boots. This removes waterproof makeup, especially mascara that won't budge! (Benefit's they're real, I'm talking about you.) There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning with panda eyes, even though you've cleansed! A negative to this product is that it doesn't smell the nicest. This is formulated to cleanse and tone in one, which is a bonus for when you don't want to do a full long-winded routine. The formula is quite gel like, and although it doesn't feel the nicest on your skin, it does the job well and leaves your skin feeling beautiful after!

For a spritzer I use Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer. Again, this is quite expensive, but I bought this in a set with a moisturizer and the infamous Cleanse and Polish. I rarely use this, but when I do my skin feels fresh and light after quite a heavy cleanser.

As my moisturizer I use Simple's Kind to Skin Light moisturizer. Finally, a cheap one! I know what it feels like to not have much money to spend on makeup if you're young and just starting out, but I really do recommend this if you have dry skin. Also, if you have oily skin, moisturizer is your best friend. You need to keep all of the moisture in your skin, as that's what keeps it looking and feeling light and fresh.

For exfoliating I have been trying out this St Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub. How ironic, because I've scheduled this post for when I'll be down in Cornwall! On the tube, it says it works best when you use it 3-4 times a week. I find this to be a harsh scrub, so it would be quite irritative if you was to use it that often! I use this every Sunday. This smells amazing and you only need a pea sized amount so it would last ages! This is cheap too, and you can get it from Boots, Superdrug and even Tesco.

I rarely use eye creams or eye balms, but I bought this one from Simple in Tesco's 3 for 2 offer and I love it! I keep this on my bedside table for mornings when my eyes feel or look red and puffy. This reduces the redness and makes you look that slight big more presentable in the morning!

sunday sum-up

I got the idea from this post from the lovely Lauren from Sidda Thornton. I love list-making and I find that if I do this every week, I could look back in a few months and years and see how my life was week by week. So, without further ado, this week I have been....

Watching: Extreme Couponing. This is one of my favourite all-time TV shows, and it basically just shows how people (mainly women) in America can buy items from the supermarket for thousands of dollars and only pay around $50. It's so fascinating!

Wearing: One of the Revlon lip butters in Berry Smoothie. These are so easy to wear and give a nice subtle colour. Perfect for this late Summer.

Reading: The August edition of Company, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Red magazine. Company has to be my all-time favourite magazine, although it sometimes can be quite controversial!

Smelling: The Red Velvet Cake candle by Yankee Candle. This smells just like red velvet which is my favourite cake flavour.

Thinking: I should really get some blog posts scheduled for next week for when I go on holiday. I have so many ideas scribbled down in my blog notepad, but can never find enough time to sit down and write!

Buying: A MAC lipstick in Creme D'Nude. I'm not too sure about this on my skin tone. Even though it's a nude, I find it to be too concealer-lips nude because my skin is so pale.

Wanting: The Naked palette! I feel like the only blogger not to have this palette. That reminds me,  I need to fill the rest of the spaces in my MAC palette. Woops.

Feeling: Sad because there's a week until I go back to school. The only good thing about going back to school is buying new stationery - I'm a stationery freak!

Loving: Buying new Autumn and Winter clothes! Winter is my favourite season because it's so cosy and I love the feeling you get when you drink hot chocolate around the fire... Ah, it makes me happy :)

bronzed eyes

In this late Summer, bronzed eyes are my favourite makeup look. They are so incredibly easy and look effortless, and I achieved the following eye look with only 1 product! Super easy and simple :)

On my face is MAC Studio Fix, as usual! I love this foundation to pieces - I did a full review here. I bought this from Selfridges a few months ago and the lady on the counter matched me perfectly! This is a medium to full coverage foundation and has an SPF of 15. I then used the Sleek Face Form palette in Light to bronze and warm up my face as I knew I was going to have warm eyes. Then just dust a light amount of the blush in the palette over your cheeks and you're good to go!

On my eyes is one simple product - a Collection work the color shadow stick. These little pencils are genius. They're so creamy so they don't drag over the eye and can be blended nicely within seconds. Once they're blended, they do not crease at all and stay putt all day. What more would you want from an eyeshadow?

Lips are kept simple and just look like a light gloss. I'm wearing one of Revlon's lip butters in the shade Berry Smoothie. You don't really want a full eye look and bright lips - I think it only works if you get it balanced!