February favorites

February has been a very mixed month for me when it comes to makeup products, and unfortunately I've felt quite underwhelmed by a lot of the new products I have tried. This has meant that I've turned to some old tried, tested and well loved favorites to restore the balance. One of the new products that I've recently tested and really taken to is the Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat (£8.70). Let's just  disregard the somewhat strange name right away and go straight to the excellent qualities of this basecoat. The formula contains ingredients that make the basecoat feel ever so slightly sticky, and rubbery which means that nail polishes will get a better grip and last longer on your nails. When I use this basecoat nail polishes will last approximately 2-3 days longer than they normally would so e.g. a Barry M nail polish, usually lasting 3 days now stretches to 5 before the chipping is substantial. It is more expensive than many decent basecoats on the high street, however the bottle is a generous size and considering you don't need to apply nail polish as often any more, it's well worth getting. I'm so excited about this basecoat - yes I know... it is only a basecoat, BUT I'm beginning to hope that this is the solution to my unsatisfactory relationship with Chanel polishes which on my nails always chip already after a few hrs. I'll take it for a Chanel specific test drive and let you know how it went.

The fragrance that I've been wearing the most this month, is the gorgeous DKNY Energizing Fall EdT (£42). I've been feeling a bit cold and miserable after all the rain and the time spent outdoors and this has been perfect to restore my mood. It's an unusual but well balanced EdT with it's warming spicy and fruity scent of mandarin, lemon, jasmine, magnolia, musk, vetiver and cardamom. The blend is so harmonious, calming and beautiful with lots of substance and I'm suprised that I haven't seen it on more perfume shelves of department stores. 

A completely new discovery for me this month, and already a firm favorite is Batiste's Dry Conditioner (£3.99). It's the same concept as with dry shampoo, you basically spray it onto dry hair and then brush and style as usual but instead of cleansing your hair, this conditioning spray adds nourishment which makes the hair smooth shiny and sleek. It's an amazing product that adds a lot of volume, freshness and control without the crispiness of a hair spray. I'm completely addicted to it and start using it already the day after a hair wash and I'm definitely trying the one for strength and shine next.

One of the must have products in any decent makeup collection is a perfect nude lipstick, something which I had been trying to find for aaaages. After much searching and swatching I eventually found one in L'Oréal's Color Riche Collection Privée (£8.19), more specifically in the shade Julianne Moore. It's a gorgeous peach color with just enough pink for a subtle and natural look, and since I've already reviewed it in more detail in my article about natural colors for makeup where you can also see a swatch, I'll only mention here that the formula is moisturising and pleasant to wear, and it fades well throughout the day. I've worn this shade so often since I bought it, not just on a "no makeup" day and although it took me a while to find a pale shade that I'm confident in wearing, I've finally got it now and it was well worth the wait.

Since I've spent so much time outdoors in February I haven't really felt like getting all glammed up in my best YSL Youth Liberator Serum foundation, so after a bit of digging around in my tash I've rediscovered the No 7 Instant Radiance Foundation (£12.50). It's perfect for those days when you're feeling a bit tired and your skin is stressed, and it'll give a light to medium coverage as well as a natural finish. The formula is lovely and silky with light reflecting particles that makes the skin look radiant but without any glitter or shimmer, and it feels great and soothing on tired or dry skin. The foundation is a little bit more expensive than many other great options from e.g. Bourjois or L'Oréal, but the No 7 Match Made Service makes it worth those extra few pounds since you're guaranteed to get as close a match with your natural skin tone as you can get.

I debated with myself if I should include this last beauty product that I've loved this month, but in the end I decided to put it out there. As you may remember I did a review of the Diorblush from the  Trianon collection earlier this month, which was a bit of a let down simply because of the weak pigmentation, which is why I decided to show this bargain blusher, MUA 1D Cheek Tint in Coral Cutie. Expensive doesn't always equal great quality! It's a lovely soft and creamy cheek tint in a stick form, which is easy to apply and blend in and it stays in place all day long. Dab a little of this beautiful sunny coral shade on your cheeks and blend for a fresh and healthy looking glowing skin. This was a limited edition MUA product which I bought in Superdrug last year for no more than a few pounds, but since it's now only available on ebay these days the price is hugely inflated, as so often happens although you should be able to get one for around £5-6, and it's definitely worth it. 

I don't usually include non beauty items among my monthly favourites, but since it was a bit thin on the beauty ground this month for me, I thought I would show you a scarf I've been wearing at least a few times a week since I got it for Christmas. It's a two toned reversible cashmere scarf from LK Bennett - one of the sides and the tassels are in a gorgeous warm cerulean blue, and when you turn it over the other side is in a cool steel blue. It's long enough to double fold it and it's lovely and wide to use as a cashmere throw or stola. I hope you've had more luck than I with new products this monthly, and I'd love to know if you've also got any non beauty products among your February favorites?

November favourites

It's the end of the month and I'm already soooo excited about December being here, and all the boxes with Christmas stuff are lined up and I'm ready to start decorating this weekend but before we get completely immersed in Christmas, it's time to have a look at what I've used all the time and LOVED in November.

Let's start with the BaByliss Pro Perfect Curl (£149.99) which I reviewed in a previous article. It's a completely new approach to hair curling. Instead of the hair around a wand or barrel, you clamp  the curler around a section of your hair and voilà, it's automatically sucked up into a ceramic curl chamber, and when you release it a couple of seconds later, you have a gorgeous and perfect curl. It's so easy to get the hang of, it's gentle on the hair and leaves less frizz than when I use a curling wand. It takes me about 25 mins to do all of my hair, using quite thin sections and the curls last for abut 4 days - obviously depending on how much you brush the curls out and if you secure them with some hair spray. I've used it every week since I got it - it's amazing and I have a feeling it'll be on many ladies' Christmas wishlist this year.

To secure the curls I've been using quite a lot of the Fudge Urban Iced Raspberry & Vanilla Hair Spray (£4.99). It's a spray that will hold the curls up to 24 hrs and despite being strong hold it doesn't make your hair crispy and hard. A couple of short bursts of spray will keep your curls in place and it adds a nice shine. The best bit though is definitely the scent, it's so fresh and crisp and fruity that I almost tend to add a little bit more than necessary just to get my locks to smell lovely.

I don't know about you, but it's so cold in the mornings and evenings now that I've got my mittens out to keep my paws nice and warm, and to protect them from getting dry. I also take out the loveliest richest hand creams I've got and this month I've been using Caudalie Hand & Nail Cream in Feuille de Cassis (£6) religiously. It's rich with softening and nourishing products like avocado and shea butter and the hands feel luxuriously soft. The cream also works great to soften up the cuticles and to give them a nice little treat and you could even apply quite a thick layer of the cream, put your hands in plastic bags, wrap them in warm towels and leave them for 10 mins - the cream will just soak into the skin and cuticles. This is very subtly scented with black currant which gives a feeling of great warmth and earthiness - perfect for winter.

Every morning I use a lip scrub to prep my lips for the day ahead and I can't be without the lip scrubs from Lush to help keeping my lips conditioned and smooth. Unfortunately my absolute favourite - Bubblegum, broke on the bathroom floor so I had to start using the Christmas special - Santa's Lip Scrub (£5.50) a little earlier than I had planned. It has a lovely Christmasy red color that doesn't stain your lips and it smells gorgeous with a strong scent of ginger and spice that smells exactly like Coca Cola - yep.... Coca Cola! I follow that with my Gatineau Defi Lift 3D Perfect Design Revolumising Lip Care (£29.52 for 2) to hydrate the lips and also to plump them a bit before applying the lip product of the day. The lip balm has a silky glossy non sticky consistency that you can use both as a primer, a lip gloss or a lip contour mask because of its firming effects. The plumping effect is immediate and noticeable and will last for a few hrs before you need to re-apply it - pure luxury for the lips.

The past month I've completely embraced just using two very seasonal perfumes, which is highly unusual for me. As a lighter scent and body spray I've been wearing the Bath & Body Works Fine Fragrance Mist in Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin that I've mentioned earlier. It's a stunning light, spicy and fresh scent of apple, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla and rum - very comforting and warm. If you like foodie scents you'll definitely love this and I have already decided that I'm going to repurchase it next year - talk about planning ahead... I've worn Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin either on its own or layered it with the DKNY Energizing Fall EdT (£32.95). This is another warm and interesting mix of scents that create a warm, spicy and fruity scent by mixing citrus fruits like mandarin and lemon, delicate white flowers like jasmine and magnolia, musk, vetiver and cardamom. It's fresh, but not forgettable, warm but not over powering and fruity with lots of substance and I've loved wearing it this month.

My skin has been a bit temperamental the last month and I've had a few blemishes, both hormonal and as a result of trying new products. As annoying as it is, at least you can get rid of them and minimise them quickly if you use the Origins Super Spot Remover (£14). It's a clear gel that calms down any redness, heals and eliminates excess oil and you dab it on the spot a few times a day. It works ultra fast and already the day after, you won't notice the spot as much. The gel comes in a tiny little bottle, but since you only need very little, it will last a good few months before you need to buy another one. It's my go to product to get rid of pesky little blemishes, but if you use it a lot you might notice that it dries out the skin where the gel has been applied, so you'll need to follow up with a good moisturiser.

That's that for this month's favourites - which products have you loved this month?