I cannot believe that it's September! Does this mean that summers over? It sure went quick but it was amazing and I've found some really good products that I've used so much over the past few months that I am going to share with you!
Shockwaves Curls and Waves Styling Mousse
At the end of July I went on holiday to my favourite place in the world, the South of France, I went with my family and we go hardcore camping when we go away so I leave my curlers and straighteners at home and go au nature. I have used this curling mousse for years every time I go away and this, combined with the soft water where we are my hair transforms from frizz to the loveliest waves! It says it's a curling mousse but I think anyone with relatively wavy or curly hair can use it, it also calms frizz so well. I've used other, more expensive, mousses but I always go back to this one, and it's only £2.95! Shockwaves also do a volumising mousse which I haven't tried but if it's anything like this then it's going to be good! highly recommend this for those wanting to ditch the heat and embrace the natural look. Below is 2 pictures of me, on the right I am on holiday with natural hair having used this mousse and on the left I am on a night out and I have styled my hair using my Babyliss curling wand.
Nivea Express Hydration Moisturiser
When I go to hot places my dry skin gets even dryer so I went in search of an affordable but good body moisturiser. I found this Nivea one at Sainsburys and was drawn in by the 'ultra fast absorbing' tag line because if there's one thing I hate doing, especially in a hot country, it's sitting and waiting for moisturiser to sink into your skin. I immediately fell in love with this after one use, it's more like milk than butter and when they say ultra fast absorbing they sure mean it, it probably takes 15 seconds for this to sink in and your skin be completely dry! It's SO good and it moisturises so well. I've been so impressed with Nivea just recently, they deserve more praise! This is a perfect every day moisturiser for those who need to moisturise constantly like me, my skin dries out so fast! It smells really nice, not too fragrant, and it's only £5.10 for this huge 400ml bottle. I've had it and used it a lot for over a month now and I still have at least half of the bottle left!
Herbal Essences Bee Strong Strengthening Cream
Back to hair care now, if you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I love trying new hair products and I particularly love those that are very inexpensive! After loving the Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends range I thought I'd try their new Bee Strong range which, in my opinion, is kinda the same thing right? I chose this strengthening cream because with the hot weather on holiday my hair was bound to go dry and brittle so it needed a bit of TLC and what a perfect time to try and review a new product. Now I don't really know if I agree that it strengthened my hair because I didn't really want to try breaking it but it definitely moisturised! I also really like how it's a spray bottle and not a pump, I hate getting my hands all icky and the spray nozzle is much more hygienic. I used a few hair products on holiday and this was one that I've continued to use since being home. If my hair was brittle and in need of a deep condition I wouldn't instantly reach for this but as a part of a healthy hair routine it did the job and I really like it! It's £4.79 at Boots.
Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser
I really want to branch out with my beauty routine and I decided I want to get into skincare and treat my skin the way I treat my hair, while in France I couldn't help popping into the Pharmacies and looking at all the beautiful french brands. Caudalie is a brand I really wanted to try and so after scanning the shelves and realising just how little french I know I picked up two of the Instant Foaming Cleansers, something I would deem to be a beginner product. I think they were 9 Euros each so not too expensive. I've loved using this since I've been home, I use this daily in the shower and then a couple of times a week I'll pair it with a face scrub. It's so soft and gentle and really makes my skin feel fresh and awake and like it's removed any leftover make up or oil. One thing that had me drawn to Caudalie is that it's advertised for people with ultra sensitive skin and while mine isn't crazy sensitive I do have to be careful so it was a safe option, I've had no troubles with it so far and that's made me really want to try more Caudalie products!
Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon
This is a product I've been wanting to review since I got them way over a month ago. I cannot rave about these lip crayons enough, they are AMAZING.
I've never really been a big lip product person, I find lip gloss annoying and because I have dry lips I have a difficult time finding a lipstick that doesn't dry out my lips and look disgusting. I was given some gorgeous Ted Baker lip crayons for Christmas and fell in love with them straight away which made me want to try more and the beautiful summery colours of the Bourjois ones pulled me in straight away.
I've heard good things about the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (what a name) but after swatching a few of the Bourjois ones and the Revlon ones I came to the conclusion that the consistency of the Bourjois ones was nicer.
I got two colours: Red Sunshine which is a gorgeous pinky-red and Orange Punch which is my favourite, it's a beautiful peachy-orange colour. I've worn these like they're going out of fashion, they're an everyday staple for me now and I want to buy more just so I can have one in my handbag and one in my make up bag. I would class the orange as a better daytime colour compared to the red, I'm not very daring when it comes to bold lip colours during the day so I save it for the evenings, they're both so glossy and moisturising. They say they last 8 hours which I don't agree with but without eating or drinking probably last 1-2 which is better than the 10 minutes some lip products I've tried last, and I'm fine with that because you use such little product each time you put it on you're not going to run out in a hurry.
I recommend these to everyone, hats off to bourjois because they have done an incredible job with these. I hope they release more colours because currently there are only 4, the 2 I have plus a baby pink and a fuschia pink. From my pictures you can see how much I've loved these because all the writing has rubbed off the packaging. They're £7.99 which seems a little pricey but is standard for a good drugstore lip product and they are SO worth it.
Sleek Blush By 3 - Lace
Here's another product that I've got nothing but good words to say about it. I'm a massive blush junkie, I love bold statement blushes and when I found this, a trio blush palette, for only £10 I couldn't resist. I am so glad I bought this they are so good. They have the most amazing colour payoff the pigmentation is incredible, easily as impressive as a MAC or Benefit blusher. I alternate wearing all 3 colours and some days I find it so hard to choose between them. I love the packaging as well it's so classy, I love the black case and the fact it has a huge mirror means it's great to keep in your handbag. Sleek do 4 other Blush trios for all different skin tones. This was the first product from Sleek I've tried and it's a great first impression so I will definitely be trying more and on the lookout for more blushes that are as pretty as these!
Maybelline Baby Lips
Next is a product I've been waiting for for a LONG time. MacBarbie07 on YouTube has been raving about these for ages and they've finally found their way to the UK! I bought 3 straight away because I was just dying to try them! I bought 1 coloured one, 1 treatment one and 1 flavoured one. I love them all, they all have great uses.
The Blue one on the left in the photo is the 'Hydration' one and it does do a really good job, I keep this in my pocket at work and it keeps my lips soft and not feeling horribly chapped all day. The pink one is somewhat like the lip crayons I love so much, it has a surprisingly good colour payoff which I wasn't anticipating but LOVE, I really want to try more of the coloured ones. The green one on the right is mint flavoured, it's delicious, I put this on in the morning before I start my makeup so my lips are hydrated and soft before I apply lip product.
These are good for all age groups, I would have loved to have had these when I was at school, especially the coloured ones, because you can totally get away with them being a lip balm but still have the nice girly pop of colour. They're only £2.99 each and can (sometimes) be found at boots, there were very few left on the shelf when I went to get these so I was really lucky! Just shows how good they are!
Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Blueberry
Last but not least is this beautiful nail varnish by Barry M. It's been my favourite colour of the whole summer and has been on my nails most weeks. Blue is my favourite colour and this is just such a happy summery colour, it looks so good with a tan! I love the Gelly Hi Shines as I've said in previous posts and I discovered this colour because of Zoella on YouTube who wore it in one of her videos and it gave me major nail envy that I had to go and get one for myself!
The fact that the summer is technically over makes me so sad, all these products remind me of happy summery times and I'm going to carry on using them into the autumn months. They can all be found in either Boots or Superdrug (Minus the Caudalie) and are very reasonably priced!
Bethan :)
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