August Favourites

I kept it simple this month, concentrating more on skin care (or what little I know of it) than makeup. While I change up my nail polish sometimes 3-4 times a week, I rarely deviate from my regular face, except in what items I use to achieve more or less the same look (e.g. if I'm going for a cream over a powder eyeshadow, or a pencil over a felt tip eyeliner). A few of these products have been items that I've been consistently using and can always rely on, but that I haven't bothered to specifically feature before in a "Favourites" post.

Apivita Express Beauty Mask With Carrot
I received two sachets from the Priceline skin care bag, and I've used up one in two separate uses (I just sticky-taped the edges to seal the packet after the first use). When I first put this over my face, it stung slightly around the nose and upper lip area. But after a while, the mild stinging subsided and I was left with a calming, slightly minty, soothing feeling. After 15 minutes, the mask had absorbed into the skin considerably, and washed off in warm water relatively easily. My skin felt smooth and supple, properly cleansed. I loved that there was a minty feeling for a while after I'd washed the mask off and lightly moisturised. It gave a slight glow to the complexion and made my skin look smoother, clearer and brighter.

Nivea Soft
I've featured this moisturiser before in the only skin care post I've done on this blog, but this past month has made me realise just how much I appreciate this humble and unassuming product, especially after I'd acquired the elusive and much hyped Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè. I may be missing something, because I find Nivea Soft just as good, if not better. For one, this is like a good drink of water for parched skin. Being winter right now, I've had quite dry skin and it was only after switching to Nivea Soft and using it generously at night that I found the condition of my skin start to improve. It's the best moisturiser for working into small areas of my face that have flaked after applying foundation. It smooths the dry patch over and makes it melt away. I don't know what's not to love. It's cheap, readily available, multifunctional, and actually works. If it had SPF, I'd use it in the day as well.

St Ives Apricot Scrub
I don't know why I didn't buy this earlier, as I had run out of an exfoliator ages ago, but just couldn't be bothered to buy another one. Thank goodness I finally managed to pick this up, because it's been a godsend for my skin. I'm convinced that exfoliating with this every 2-3 days and using Nivea Soft liberally has restored my skin from its dry and blemished state, and made it such that I can actually wear Make Up For Ever HD foundation without it looking like a patchy, flaky disaster.

l-r: Shimmering Slate, Bourjois Liner Feutre, Jemma Kidd, bronze in Sleek Storm, Bad to the Bronze

Savvy by DB Luxury Liner in Shimmering Slate
This brand recently underwent a refresh of their product line, and while I've yet to try any of their newly released items, I'm a big fan of their original Luxury Liners (I have all 6 colours). Shimmering Slate is my go-to eyeliner on the weekend when I don't want to use up my liquid eyeliners that I reserve for the weekdays. I line my upper lashline with this, or dot the lower lashline and then blend with my Ecotools smudge brush (from their 6 piece eye set). It's super creamy, impressively pigmented and doesn't budge.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze
I previously complained that though Bad to the Bronze was the clear standout from the five Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows I'd bought, it was still a touch too frosty for my taste. I take it all back. I've been wearing Bad to the Bronze, darkened up slightly with the bronze in my Sleek Storm palette, every day for the past two weeks. Quick, easy and failproof. The trick is to use a flat and stiff eyeshadow brush to apply it. Too much product, and it can be too shimmery. But a thin layer gives a beautiful taupey bronze sheen that lasts in intensity all day. I've been using the concealer brush from the Ecotools Bamboo 5 piece set and it works like a charm.

Bourjois Liner Feutre in Noir
I love this. It's the closest to an eyeliner HG that I'll probably ever have. I've briefly mentioned it before, but time has only intensified my appreciation of it. I ran out after using it for a few months and had to resort to my Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen which was passable, but definitely inferior. Thankfully, I managed to utilise this Bourjois voucher to replenish my supply for $14 ($10 off its usual price). I find the stiff felt tip a lot easier to control and more precise than pencils, which are always blunt when you need to use them and forever need sharpening, or gel eyeliners, which are fiddly and require an angled eyeliner brush to apply. I also prefer them to liquid eyeliners that have a thin brush, as I find it a lot harder to paint my line when the brush is floppy and soft.

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Crème in Rose Gold
It's taken me a while to warm to this, but I'm fully converted now. Earlier in the year, I went through a highlighter phase, and the All Over Radiance Crème was firmly at the top of my wishlist. When I first tried it, I wasn't particularly enthused. I was expecting major, J-Lo type of glow to my cheekbones, but I found that it was a lot subtler than I expected. I've come to realise that there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. This month, I've been reaching for this the most out of my entire highlighter collection. It's just a lovely quality product. The texture is so smooth, it's not oily or thick and it looks beautiful over a flawless base.