April Favourites

So let's begin the post with a cliche.  I can't believe it's May already, it feels like it was Christmas only yesterday, but alas summer is slowly creeping up on us and it's time for a monthly favourites post.  As you may know, I've been a busy bee with university work this month, but that could never stop a girl from indulging in a little beauty every now and again.  Needless to say, my make up has been very minimal this month, needing the extra minutes in bed over a perfect eyeliner flick.  

Lets start with my only skincare item to make the cut.  The Emma Hardie Amazing Face became a saviour this month after I began running low on my beloved Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.  I had thrown this to the back of my stash but after pulling it out, it has reigned supreme as my go to cleanser this month. The product is a balm that requires a little water to make it slightly less thick, before massaging into the skin.  It melts away every trace of make up whilst thoroughly cleansing the skin and leaving it feeling fresh and hydrated.  

Moving onto make up and onto the blushers, you know I've been loving the Stila Convertible Color in Gerbera, which I talked about earlier this week.  It's the perfect spring/summer shade and is so easy to apply.  When I'm not feeling the dewy look as much, I've been turning to NARS Douceur blush.  Douceur is perfect for fair skinned girls, it's a gorgeous peachy brown shade which gives off a subtle flush of colour and can even be used as a soft contour. I'm definitely finding myself falling more and more in love with the NARS blushers every time I use them. They are soft and pigmented and apply seamlessly onto the skin, without leaving you looking like you've been running around in the cold.  

For the eyes, again I've been keeping it simple.  If I chose to wear eyeshadow, I just dusted the darker, purple-taupe shade from the NARS Tokyo duo across my lids for a soft wash of colour.  Other days I've gone straight in with the mascara.  A recent discovery is the Rimmel Scandaleyes mascara which I got free in Superdrug when it was on offer.  Admittedly, I hadn't had high hopes for this mascara but yet again Rimmel pulled it out of the bag.  The formula gives volume without leaving clumped up spider legs behind and the wand is tappered, allowing you to really get hold of every single lash. Another Rimmel product that's got the seal of approval is the Kate for Salon Pro nail colour in Soul Session. I spoke more in depth yesterday about the range and mentioned that this particular shade has taken the top spot in my nail colour preference (sorry Models Own Pink Beige, you're still number 2).  

I've been into my MAC lipsticks again this month, in particular Myth and Hue.  Both nude shades, I usually wear them together as I find Myth gives too much of a concealer lip look.  Together they create the perfect nude but sometimes I will just pop Hue on.  Myth is a matte formula, whilst Hue is a glaze. 

These are my monthly favourites, but what are yours?  

Skincare that Works #3 | Back to Basics

Since January my skin has been atrocious, in particular my chin, which has been up and down (quite literally) for four solid months.  I'm not sure what exactly has caused this, although I have an idea it might be something to do with university stress (my dissertation and FMP were due in the past four months), using and trying an array of products all at once or just my hormones being all over the place. Whatever the reason, my skin has really been getting me down.  As a result, I completely stripped back my skincare routine, beginning with products I knew my skin would tolerate before slowly introducing other products into the mix.

To start off, I swapped out a cleanser for my old and faithful Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I (and so many others) have an ongoing love affair with this product, but my skin loves it and I knew I would be safe.  I then cut out my morning cleanse, changing it for a clean flannel and warm water, to wake my skin up, followed by a double cleanse in the evening.  I've found this to be a lot better for my skin, the double cleanse means my make up is completely wiped off in the evening.  Another cleanser I've been using a lot more recently, due to Liz Earle running low, is the infamous Emma Hardie Amazing Face.  I originally purchased this in January when everyone and their dog in the beauty blogosphere had discovered it, but it was around this time that my skin had gone berserk and I wasn't sure if it was products that were fuelling my breakouts or not, so it got thrown to the back of my stash.  I pulled it out mid-March, not wanting to waste the money I'd spent on it, to give it another go and to my surprise my skin has taken to it quite nicely (a full review is coming soon).  I use this in the same way as Liz Earle, using it only in the evenings with a muslin cloth. 

Once or twice a week I will follow a cleanse up by exfoliating my skin.  Another greatly loved product by myself is the Origins Modern Friction.  I usually exfoliate whilst in the shower, the product is quite abrasive but also has a creamy lotion too it so it's not extremely stripping on the skin and gets rid of the dead skin cells that have built up over the days.  My favourite part of the routine is my night cream, another product from Origins.  I have the oil-free High-Potency Night-A-Mins and it just feels wonderful on the skin.  It's got a gel like texture which is cooling on the skin and extremely moisturising - the formulation is somewhat comparable to the Drink Up Intensive mask by the brand, except it's lighter.  

So that's my current skincare routine, quite stripped back in terms of what I was using but it seems to be working (for now anyway).  Sometimes I will pop on a face mask (usually Out of Trouble, again by Origins) but I'm trying not to overload my skin at the moment.  

How do you banish those pesky breakouts?