MONTHLY BEAUTY AND LIFE FAVOURITES: APRIL 2017

Beauty products I’ve been loving in the month of April…

Hair: I am quite fickle when it comes to the ‘cheapy’ shampoo and conditioner I have on rotation in my shower. I like to save my SHOW Beauty ‘Sublime’ duo and my AVEDA ‘Shampure’ set for special occasions and then I have some bargainous products for everyday use…or for Adam HA! I am currently coveting the L’Oreal Elvive ‘Full Restore – Extreme Repairing range and whilst I can say my hair ain’t all that bad anymore, certainly not requiring of too many repairing properties, this protein packed duo is ideal for parched, damaged or overly chemically processed hair. The conditioner is brilliant and contains keratin and ceramide to replenish the hair without weighing it down with too much product. A solid 8/10 for me!

Skincare: Never ashamed to admit I LOVE face-wipes for quick fixes for application blunders, giving my make-up a swipe off before the gym, or for when I’m rolling into bed after one too many Espresso Martinis. My favourites are the Superdrug Micellar Oil Cleansing Facial Wipes, they’re super wet and are gentle and moisturising without leaving your skin dry and stripped of every essential oil.

April’s monthly favourites could also not be without an honourable mention to the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate which has been a recent introduction to my skincare routine and I am so glad that I made the splurge and invested. The lightweight oil sinks into the skin overnight leaving it heavenly soft and supple, brilliant for dehydrated skin.

Make-up: Having recently talked about my favourite cruelty-free make-up brushes for base, I had to mention the Eco-Tools mattifying powder brush in this month’s favourites. I use this 100% natural brush for setting my foundation with a mineral powder and sealing everything nicely without the worry of the dreaded ‘cake-face.’

I spent a little time back in Wakefield over those super sunny weekends and found myself in one of my favourite haunts, Wakefield Antique Store. Filled to the brim with treasures and trinkets it is an antique collectors dream. I particularly love the jewellery and vintage make-up section where I found a 1970s/1980s Stratton Compact (complete with infill and lipstick holder) in an original presentation box. I had to have it and decided to treat myself to the set. There’s something particularly special about applying a pop of lippy in front of a vintage gilded mirror.

Body: As we were treated to a few days of sunshine, as much as I protected myself wth an SPF and a cute straw hat, my skin still caught the rays and I turned to my trusty Aloe Vera Gel. I bought it from Superdrug and it contains 99.9% natural Aloe Vera. I use it when I have my brows done to avoid those pesky breakout from the wax, and it is totally soothing on burnt shoulders and noses!

Life. TV. Music and more…

Theatre: I was lucky enough to catch Jodie Prenger at Leeds Grand taking the stage solo for 2 hours as she performed Shirley Valentine’s infamous monologues. It was bloody brilliant too, Jodie had the entire audience in the palm of her hand as she portrayed Shirley, a scouse housewife who longs for something more than ‘talking to the wall’ and becoming further and further away from who she used to be as a young, spritely thing. It’s funny, it’s heartwarming and it’s very, very relatable. If you want to watch something encompassing female empowerment, I suggest and highly recommend watching the film or even catching the stage show.

Podcast: I won’t go on about ‘The High Low’ again, so this month’s podcast nod has to be Bryony Gordon’s ‘Mad World podcast which discusses mental health experiences and features Prince Harry talking candidly about his charity work for mental health causes as well as his own experiences having tragically lost his mother, the beautiful Princess Diana at just 12 years of age.

TV: One Born Every Minute is back and I have to admit, it is my guilty TV pleasure. Having done my marketing work experience at Liverpool Women’s Hospital a few years ago, I was lucky enough to watch some of the episodes with the production team and the LWH team before they aired, so seeing the series back on the TV is super exciting. I remember the production team pointing out inconsistencies such as some of the midwives wearing jewellery and how people would react to that so they could firefight every possible reaction.

Instagram / Youtubing: An absolute must-watch for anybody currently in the grip of a mental health struggle, or somebody who simply just wants to learn more about how this particular mental health issue affects people – watch Megan aka ‘Wonderful You’ – let’s talk depression video. It is very articulate and open and shares an honest account of how it feels for your known self to change when depression clouds your life.

I just wanted to finish by mentioning an Insta post that I saw last week from Sunday Times journalist, Dolly Alderton. She posted a beautiful image of a young Marilyn Monroe on the beach. She looks breathtaking and is sitting naturally, not posed or ‘sucked in’ her tummy is rolled as it naturally would be when you sit down, and it just made me so happy to see. My personal Instagram feed is full of #bodygoals that are completely un-relatable to myself and seeing this made me so happy, I wish there was more of it, instead of this need to filter, nip and tuck every image to not show a single piece of cellulite, belly roll or hair.