July 2017 - Monthly Beauty + Lifestyle Favourites

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

Skin: My beauty routine has been pretty low maintenance over the last couple of weeks, simply because most of the time I was sun-seeking on the beach, swimming around in the ocean or simply couldn’t be bothered. One product that I have called upon time and time again for reason or another is the iconic Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. A legend in its own right, I bought a new tube in duty-free, knowing full well it would come in handy for dry, chapped lips on the plane, over sunburn or any other ailments from scratches to insect bites. Of course, I used it for all of the above reasons and my bathroom cabinet simply cannot be without a tube of the apricot coloured, multi-purpose goo.

Hair Removal: Being naturally dark haired with pale skin, hair that is anywhere but on my head shows up pretty prevalently and often in areas I don’t want it to. Er, hello mustache! For these instances, I have found a wondrous solution by way of the Nair Nourish Cherry Blossom Waxing Strips. These mini strips are perfect for those more delicate areas where a few dark hair rear their ugly heads. I use them on my upper lip as they are quick and highly effective leaving minimal redness or reaction once applied.

Scent: I broadly love amber and white floral scents when it comes to perfume. You can check out my perfume collection in this post if you’re interested. My perfect summer scent this year is Sexy Amber by Michael Kors. It is sensual, sexy and very alluring, especially when you’ve spent all day on the beach and you’re heading out for some delicious food and cocktails. It has powdery, balsamic notes thrown in the mix to give you sass and sex in a bottle.

Face: Haven’t caught a little bit of a tan in Portugal I was looking for a multi tonal shades in a similar style to the iconic Body Shop Shimmer Bricks. Well, once again Rimmel London answered my wishes and sent me their new Radiance Brick*. Packed with numerous bronzey/ highlighting shades, I apply it all over my cheeks, down my nose and onto my neck. It doesn’t make you look orange and really amplifies that sought after holiday glow.

Eyes: I have recently been calling upon warm purple shades to wear on my eye lids. A tan always brings out the green in my eyes so I like to compliment and enhance that with a lovely lilac / rosy shade swept all over my lids. To achieve this I have been using the L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche La Palette Eyeshadow in ‘Nude Rose.’ With a mix of matte and shimmer shades, it’s perfect for a throw-on-and-go look. I talked about it in more detail last year, have a read if you’re interested.

Hair: I have been using a mixture of semi-permanent hair dye and henna on my hair of late. My choice of henna is from Lush and I recently wrote a full review on the ‘Caca Marron‘ bricks. Whilst I was on holiday, the sun lightened my hair to a gorgeous warm strawberry/honey blonde. I decided to give the ‘Caca Rouge’ brick a go to add red tones to my hair, it really worked this time as well and I am so happy with the result.

Life. TV. Music + More…

Netflix: Having found Making a Murderer fascinating, frustrating, confusing and thrilling all at the same time, I was ready to try another, similar series. This month I watched The Keepers which I have to say, is a slow burner but once the story starts to unravel, it is hard to believe what you are seeing and hearing. The story follows two American ladies, now in their 60s piecing together clues, evidence, and accounts following the murder of their teacher Sister Cathy Cesnick in the 1960s. As the story unfolds, it is apparent that this isn’t a cut and dry unsolved murder case, there is so much more to it involving authority corruption, some very damaged minds and the harrowing sexual abuse of young girls and boys and a very, very sinister Catholic priest.

Listening: I highly recommend listening to Stella McCartney’s episode of ‘Desert Island Discs.’ Stella comes across as a very zen lady and it is a joy to listen to her recount meeting David Bowie as well as details of her childhood growing up as the daughter of Linda + Paul McCartney. It is also pretty awesome to hear about her friendships with Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and their recruitment in that infamous graduation show.

Reading: We all know I am a big fan of the journalist and beauty writer Sali Hughes. I pretty much love everything she puts out however, I was mostly in agreement (Read: nodding my head along furiously) with her article for The Pool ‘Rejecting the bikini body.’ It has some excellent key takeaways in it and I particularly love the following line:

“I don’t mind that I’m as pale as copy paper, or that my stomach is as soft as bread, not tambourine-taut. I’m relatively happy with how I look day to day, so I’m pretty sure it’s not embarrassment or body shame that prevents me from ever wanting to wear a bikini. And nor is it low self-esteem or perfectionism or shyness. I’ve just never fancied it and even I’m not entirely sure why.“

Sali really hits the nail on the head for me when it comes to swimwear choices. I just don’t fancy a bikini either, probably because i’m quite lazy! See quote: “I simply cannot be arsed with the prep. I reject the impulse to be thinking, even briefly, about keeping my stomach in while reading a Danielle Steel and planning my next Magnum Almond.“

I also really enjoyed the candidly honest and controversial piece written by ex Director of fashion at British Vogue, Lucinda Chambers. Lucinda clearly has a few things to get off her chest in her piece: ‘Will I get a ticket?‘ The article for Vestoj has since been edited following action from Vogue lawyers but the crux if it remains the same – British Vogue is actually like what we see in The Devil Wears Prada.

Finally, the topic of hustling hard and being a total #GirlBoss has been doing the rounds lately by way of opinion pieces written by bloggers and journalists alike. I really enjoyed Lucy Mangan’s piece for Stylist magazine: ‘Relentlessly, tirelessly ambitious isn’t for everyone.‘ Lucy explores the pressures that (inparticular) young women have thrust upon them to be a ‘girl-boss’ and never stop working. I like how Lucy states: “But everyone ultimately shares the same ambition: to be happy. And if that means being able to leave the office at six and pick up some extra loo roll on the way home.” – A really touching sentiment that rings true for me, yep I love working hard and progressing my hobbies and career, but I do like to take a break also and not feel guilty about it.