Beauty SOS! (August)

- Just a random Instagram of me from last week - I feel like I haven't shown my face on here for a while and I think it's sometimes nice to put a face to the name behind the blog! - 

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the Olympics! I know I am, which is saying a lot considering my lack of enthusiasm in the lead up to the games. I think it had just been so long since the last one that I had forgotten about the adrenaline of it all, and it's actually proved to be a source of much 'friendly banter' between the hubby and I, who, if you didn't know, is Brazilian. When I say friendly banter, I mean we have been winding each other up something rotten. I got a bit too big for my boots and came over all smug during the GB/Brazil basketball game on Tuesday as it genuinely seemed like we were going to win, and he is always going on about how much better Brazil are at all sports than we are. Imagine my surprise, then, when Brazil made a comeback and managed to pip us to the post in the last quarter. Cue much word-eating for me. However, this was soon rectified when our women's football team panned theirs, although hubby naturally had to put a dampener on it by saying that it 'didn't count because no one cares about women's football', or something equally helpful. Just to clarify though, he is not a horrible person - he just knows exactly what to say to get a reaction out of me, and I always fall for it! Haha.

ANYWAY.

Today is the second instalment of 'Beauty SOS'. If you missed last month's then it's basically a series of posts I am running, where at the beginning of each month, I ask you lovely people for a spot of advice on whatever is troubling me beauty-wise that month., in that I ask for your recommendations of products and tips. I will then share the solutions and tips I have been helpfully given (or have since discovered myself) the following month so that we can all feel smug that we know the answer. For more info, feel free to pop over and have a look at the first Beauty SOS post here.

So, a quick recap of last month's 'issues'. I asked for your wisdom on:

1. Dark circles under the eyes

The lovely Alex over at The Wallflower suggested I try ginseng, although she didn't specify how to use it. Well, I have been taking a multi-vitamin with Panax and Ginseng, and using eye cream religiously, morning and evening, and I have noticed some small improvements. I'm still on the lookout for something else to help with this problem though, so do let me know if you've got any secrets!

2. A good matte bronzer

Lots of you recommended Benefit Hoola and Bourjois Delice de Poudre, so I decided to get myself a Hoola sample in order to try before I buy. Surpisingly, I didn't find this powder to be particularly flattering on my skin tone, which is odd given what a cult product it has become. Weirder still is that Dallas, an unusual sort of plummy-brown shade of powder (also Benefit) which I had previously seen and said I would never buy, has turned out to be a huge winner for me! As I mentioned in my July Favourites post, it's perfect for contouring and looks great alongside the Coralista blush. Some other suggestions were Bare Minerals the Warmth, Bobbi Brown and Nars Laguna, which has LONG been on my wishlist. I WILL get it, eventually!

3. Neutral matte eyeshadows

I have received suggestions of Too Faced Matte Colours Collection and Stila Into the Light for this one, but due to the expensive car troubles I've had this month (which I've already mentioned a million times!) eyeshadows haven't really been my priority when it comes to money. Both have been popped on my shopping list though, so again, I will let you know when I have had a chance to check them out, along with Natural Collection eyeshadows and the MUA Heaven and Earth palette.

4. Blocked pores on my nose.

Alice, one of my lovely readers, suggested that I try Montagne Jeunesse Charcoal Pore Strips, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find them anywhere near me. Alex recommended that I try a homemade baking soda and orange juice scrub, which I had completely forgotten about until now, so I will endeavour to try that out and let you know my thoughts. What I have been doing at home though, is  paying more attention to the area when exfoliating, and use my Caudalie Beauty Elixir after cleansing, and this does seem to have helped a bit. Benefit's The Porefessional also goes onto the area before my foundation, and while it doesn't solve the root of the problem, it does help with the appearance.

Please do head over to the first Beauty SOS post (linked above) and have a read through all the helpful comments my wonderful readers have left. If you are troubled with any of the above then you may well find yourself a solution, although I have tried to summarise all that was mentioned here.

So, onto this month's beauty emergencies!

1. A good clay face mask.

I've noticed that my T-zone has started to become a little oily of late, particularly my forehead, and I seem to have been getting a few more blemishes too :( So I would like a good clay-based face mask that is worth the money it costs.

2. A moisturising face mask.

I'm after a really luxurious one that doesn't cost the earth and will really quench my skin's thirst.

3. Something to banish dry lips once and for all!

Self explanatory really. If you know of any innovative new products then please do let me know in the comments below.

4. An amazing deep conditionng hair mask.

One that truly does the job and doesn't just 'coat' the hair to create the illusion.

That's it for this month, please share your wisdom if you feel that you have some on any of these topics, and if there is anything I could help you with in return then please feel free to ask!

Our car is finally, FINALLY fixed, so we are going on a little impromptu day out today, although we are not sure where yet. It's lovely and sunny, so I'll be sure to take lots of photos to share with you later.
Glad to see that we have won a couple of gold Olympic medals since I first wrote this post! Let's hope there are more to come today.

Hope you're having a lovely day!

xx

July Favourites

, I can´t BELIEVE it is already the  of July! This year is going ridiculously quickly, and I feel like I haven´t done half of the things I wanted to yet!
Anyway, one thing I have, of course, managed to do, is to buy and to use plenty of beauty products, so without further ado, here are my favourites for this month.

Bach´s Rescue Remedy

I haven´t really mentioned this before on my blog, and I´m not going to go on and on about it here, but for the last year or so I have been suffering from anxiety. It´s not the kind of thing where I feel nervous before a stressful event, or when in a difficult situation - of course, I do feel like that, but this is more of a physical thing where I feel permanently on edge and cannot relax, even when I have no reason to be feeling this way. It´s more a case of my body than my mind (although of course it is probably my mind that is causing it, one way or another), and so this Rescue Remedy, sprayed twice on the tongue whenever I am feeling it, really helps me to relax. It´s not a miracle worker, but knowing that I´ve got it to hand is reassuring. It contains Cherry Plum, Clematis, Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem and Impatiens, which all have calming properties.

Do any of you study from stress of anxiety? If so, how do you deal with it? I´d love to know if you have any tips!

Caudalie Eau de Beaute Beauty Elixir

I don´t think this one needs much of an introduction, given it´s popularity within the blogosphere. I am quite sure that you will have read at least one post about this before, if not many more!

Anyway, I got my hands on this a couple of weeks ago and have been using it daily ever since. I generally have very good skin, but recently I seemed to have started getting some unexplained breakouts. I´ve found that this stuff has worked wonders in clearing them up, and my skin feels soft and looks radiant after using it. I usually use it after cleansing, morning and night, and find the menthol scent really soothing and invigorating. However, I haven´t had as much success using it as a ´refresher´on my makeup throughout the day, as many people have raved about in their reviews - for me, it doesn´t seem to make much of a difference!

Revlon Photoready Foundation

This has become my daily go-to foundarion and has been a real ´grower´, considering I was on the fence about it in the beginning. I reviewed this product a couple of weeks ago, so if you are interested in reading that then you can find it here.

Liz Earle Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask

This is a product I´ve had for a while, and which, despite my general love for Liz Earle skincare, I wasn´t too impressed with. It´s a mask which is designed to be applied to the face in a thick layer and left for around fifteen minutes after cleansing, and to be honest, I never really noticed much of a difference in my skin after using it. However, recently, I was in need of a face mask as my skin was asking for some TLC, so I decided to try applying this at night and leaving it on while I slept. Well, I´ve got to say, using it like this has made all the difference. In the morning, there is no residue to rinse off as my skin drinks all the moisture up, and is left feeling lovely and baby soft.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous

I´m going to be reviewing this one later in the week, so I won´t say too much now. But I must say, I absolutely love this shade and have been wearing it almost every day since I got it.

Benefit The Porefessional Primer

I wouldn´t say that I LOVE this or find it amazing, but I have been finding it quite useful when applied to my forehead, which can tend to get a bit oily, as this does a good job of mattifying it and creating a better base for my foundation. I also like to use it on my nose, to hide the obvious pores I have there. But I wouldn´t use this all over my face, as I much prefer a dewy, glowing finish.

Benefit Coralista and Benefit Dallas

I´m going to review both of these soon, so again, I´ll save my chatter for then. But I will say that hey have fast become favourites and go-to products in my daily routine, and when I use Dallas as a contour, together they are the dream combination for me.

So, that´s it for July. I have really been genuinely loving all of these products, and it hasn´t been like some months where it´s hard to choose anything that has really floated my boat. To be fair, it might be because I have ácquired´more products than usual. Not that I´m meant to be on a spending ban or anything. Ahem.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed having a little peek into my makeup bag and the like. Have you tried any of these products? What are your current favourites?

xx