Preparing For Summer

It's stating to get to that time of year again when we pack away the cosy jumpers and snuggly scarfs in preparation for the warmer temperatures. This is just a little post on some of the things i find essential for summer :)

Tanning

I always exfoliate with a sugar scrub before i apply fake tan just as an added guarantee that it will apply smoothly and dry with as few streaks and patches as possible. My favourite scrub is Soap & Glory's Flake Away :)

Then we have the actual tanning. The product on the left is Soap & Glory's Glow Job which i tend to use on my face as it is a moisturiser with little tanning beads that burst and provide the colour. It's a really light easy product to use.

The next is Rimmel's Sun Shimmer which is the only actual fake tan i have ever used, and i like it soo much I'm in no rush to change, although i wouldn't mind trying St Moriz. I find that on first application the shimmer can be a little OTT but if you apply it and then sleep on it, most of the glitter disappears and the colour stays :)

The final is Johnson's Holiday Skin which is a gradual tanner. I've gone through a lot of bottles of this stuff because i find it works so well, although i have heard that Dove's gradual tanner is better. I tend to apply this throughout the winter as well as it provides quite a natural colour.

Here are swatches of all three products

(From L to R) S&G Glow Job, Rimmel Sun Shimmer, Johnson's Holiday Skin

The Bronzers

The product on the left is Boots 17 bronzing powder in Light. It has clearly been very loved and is perfect for a natural day time bronzed look. It appears to be slightly more pink toned to the mac one and much much cheaper.

The Product on the right is Mac's Bronzing Powder in Golden which can be built up to give quite a deep bronzed colour for the night or very lightly dusted for the day. I find i cant use this all over the face because there is far too much glitter and shimmer in it but it's lovely on the cheeks.

Here are some Swatches

(Top to Bottom) Mac in Golden, Boots 17 in Light

The Protection

It is sooo important to protect yourself in the sun so i try to keep these kind of products with me at all times! Sun cream is essential because even though i am only 17 i am really not looking forward to wrinkly skin and want to try and avoid it for as long as naturally possible.

Then there is a lip balm with SPF. The pictured product is macs TLC in Feelin' Good but there are loads of other products to choose from that pretty much do the same thing.

And then there are sunglasses, not only do they make you look SUPER COOL! they also help to protect yours eyes and keep hair out of you face (when you pull them to the top of your head).

REMEMBER YOU WANT ABOVE SPF15!!!!

Just To Make You Look Good

And now down to the beauty products that i think are perfect for summer:

Waterproof Mascara. The only waterproof mascara i own is this YSL everlong one and i love it :) Waterproof is essential for me in the summer because who knows when you are going to have a random water fight?

Pastel nail polishes. If you have read this post then you will understand

MSF's. I'm thinking they will just add a pretty glow in the summer which the sun will pick up nicely :)

Dry Shampoo. In heat, my hair gets oily a lot faster so i tend to keep some dry shampoo with me.

What are your summer essentials??

March Favourites

This month we have some old favourites, some brand new items and some recently rediscovered beauty's :)

Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep effect foundation: this was in last months and i put it in here too because I'm just using it so often.

Ralph Lauren Hot Perfume: I've had this for about 3-4 years and only just found it again since i swapped rooms back in like January. I forgot just how much i love it :)

Mac TLC in Feelin' Good: This smells sooo good! but after using it pretty much all month I'm convinced it's drying my lips out :( so I'm switching back to other lip balms over the next month

Calvin Klein concealer pen: This gives the same kind of glowy/dewy effect as the bourjois foundation :) and its really light and i love it :)

Boots 17 Blush in Bramble Frost: possible the best £3.50 I've spent in a while. I've got so much use out of this i really want to go and check out some of the other colours.

Max Factor Eye Shadow in Burnt Bark: great for every day. great for a smokey evening look. and if i remember correctly i got it on sale for 99p :)

Collection 2000 Hot Look nail polish in Dynasty: easily my favourite pastel at the minute :)

YSL EverLong Mascara: This was also in last months but I've just been using it more than any of my others.

Review: YSL Everlong Mascara Waterproof

YSL EverLong Mascara Waterproof

in 1W

Cost: £21

My Thoughts: I've always believed that mascara is the one products that you really don't have to spend a lot of money on. My favourite brand for mascara is Maybelline because they are always coming out with something new. However i bought this just to try it out, and i am very impressed! I absolutely love the wand and the formula itself. It is my longest lasting mascara (but i think that is because it is waterproof) and the black is really intense which i like :) I think this product has opened my eyes to the YSL brand and i cant wait to try out some more things, especially the Pure Lipsticks, Rouge Volupte's and the new Teint Resist Foundation :) Something to remember is that is it a lengthening mascara so if you are looking for Voluptuous lashes, this may not be the product for you.

Where you can buy:

Boots

Debenhams

House of Fraser

Would i re-purchase: Maybe. I do love it, but it an expensive product to have to re-purchase every 4-6 months

Overall Score: 8/10

Other Pictures

The Wand

Bare Lashes

1 coat of mascara

2 coats of mascara

The Waterproof Test

Before the shower

After the Shower

It began to run a little along the bottom, but it was quite messy to begin with. Overall i am impressed because i dont have black streaming down my face :)

February Favourites

I'm soo proud of myself for remembering to do this post :) I always forget to do monthly favourites :)

Avon Liquid Freeze Spray - How did i ever live without a quick drying spray?? I love this soo much and it makes painting my nails soo much quicker and easier :)

Nars Orgasm Blush - I feel like i've used this a lot this month, and now i have an angled brush i find it much easier to apply :)

China Glaze in Camisole - So i only get this about 2 or 3 days ago but i love it already. The consistency is fabulous and the colour is going to be perfect for school :)

Gosh Darling Lipstick - I find this much easier to apply that MAC's Myth lipstick and it's nice to wear in the daytime

Rimmel Clear Lipstick - I think i'm on my third tube of this now. I love it. It's perfect for when i don't want to use carmex and get lip balm all over my fingers

YSL EverLong Mascara - I recently did a review on this but it is currently scheduled so keep an eye out for it :)

Avon Angled Blush Brush - Used it every day since i got it and i think it makes applying any cheek product a billion times easier :)

Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation - It's lovely and light and feels fresh and i love the smell of it. I also have a review scheduled for this

Saturday Morning Haul

Today i had to go into town to post some nail polishes and wile i was there i decided i would do a little big of shopping. First was Boots where i got:

Rimmel Sun Shimmer in Light Matte which was on sale for 99p :) I have the light shimmer one and i love the colour but i really hate the shimmer so hopefully this will be perfect

A no.7 nail polish in Nougat which i will be reviewing soon on my nail polish blog Paint & Polish. This was also on sale for 99p :)

And then i picked up another 17 eyeshadow because i was sooo impressed with the first one i bought. This colour is Chalice which is a really pretty orangey/bronze colour.

And then to the factory shop:

i got this YSL lengthening mascara which is waterproof so it should be good for my holiday. The sticker said it should have been £21.00 but i got it for £10.00 :) It's the same place where i got the Calvin Klein nail polish the other week for like £3.00 :)

This is a close up of the wand:

And then in the post yesterday i got this book from Waterstones because i love the film and the plan was to save it for my holiday but i've already read like 80 pages :) it's really really good so if you are looking for a book i would recommend this one!

And then finally another magazine to add to the collection :) which came with a free Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream. That is the third hand cream i have got free in a magazine this year so i think i am going to do like a review of them all.

What have you been buying this weekend??