JULY FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS OVER THE PAST MONTH.

I've had a few new products this month, a lot of them have been really good and I've actually struggled to narrow it down so that this post wasn't ridiculously long. These five, however, are my ultimate favourites.

• BONDI SANDS: SELF TANNING FOAM [DARK] & EVERYDAY GRADUAL TANNING MILK

I've been an avid tanner for a few years now, mainly because without fake tan I'm practically reflective and even in the sun I don't tan naturally. To put into perspective how pale I am, MAC NC13 & NARS Siberia are too dark (tragic, I know). Additionally, when you wear such pale foundations it's even more difficult to find concealers that actually highlight, bronzers that don't make you look muddy and highlighters that actually show up on your skin. Still, even with fake tan on, I'm still only a few shades darker, but it makes me look and, most importantly, feel a lot better. 

Most fake tans have a tendency to go green on me, mainly because I'm so pale to begin with, and they don't leave me with a naturally olive colour, more orange. This, however, doesn't go too dark on me when I use only one layer, and it also leaves me with a more natural looking tan, rather than obviously fake. The smell is amazing, very strong coconut, which lingers on the skin hours after application and even after it's developed it doesn't have that typical fake tan smell (which I happen to like the smell of but I know most don't). 

Most importantly, this is best fake tan I've used in terms on longevity on the skin. Not only is this tan great in terms of application and colour but when I take care of it properly it can last up to a week and a half, which is good for me because I find tanning a chore. The Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk is fantastic for prolonging the life of the tan. It has the same coconut scent and doubles up as a moisturiser meaning you can get away with using less products. This product is a great price, slightly more expensive than other brands, but I definitely feel like it is worth it. 
[Self Tanning Foam Dark- £14.99, Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk-£11.99, SUPERDRUG, UK]

• MAYBELLINE: FIT ME! MATTE & PORELESS FOUNDATION

Ever since the days when matte skin was all the craze I've completely hated it and always veered towards a dewy finish. That was until I found this foundation. I'd heard great reviews about the normal Maybelline Fit Me foundation, however when I went to try and buy it they didn't have my shade, so instead I got this one. 

The coverage is absolutely fantastic and completely buildable. I wear this shade [105] when I'm slightly less tanned although I'm going to get another one for when my tan's a bit darker. Sometimes with more affordable foundations I find that they don't have a range of colours and can tend to all be a bit orange, however this one has a strong yellow undertone, which suits me perfectly. 

The price of this foundation is also amazing, I got mine for £6.99 for 30ml (standard for a foundation) but even still, it's not usually much more expensive than that. The finish definitely is matte, as the name would suggest, but it's not flat and doesn't make your face look like a cake. Even if you didn't want a matte finish you could always try dewy setting sprays or using a light reflective powder. I'm going to try the normal Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation next but I'd definitely recommend this, especially for the price. 
[Maybelline Fit Me! Matte & Poreless Foundation-£6.99, SUPERDRUG/BOOTS, UK]

• MAC COSMETICS: 135 LARGE FLAT POWDER BRUSH

Generally, I'm not massively into MAC as a brand. I don't know whether that's because back when I first got into makeup the only brand I really wore was MAC and I've just made myself sick of them, or whether I just genuinely don't really rate their products anymore. MAC brushes, especially, are very expensive, and I feel you can get better products cheaper from other brands. (My favourite brush brands are Morphe, Sigma & Zoeva). That being said, this is genuinely the best bronzer brush I've ever owned. 

A lot of bronzer brushes I've used haven't been able to distribute the product in an even way and often leave me with brown streaks on my face where it's applied too much/too little product at once. This brush completely eliminates this and places the product onto the face properly whilst also blending it out. The size and shape are also perfect for me- I don't have a particularly big face so sometimes bronzer and powder brushes are too big and cover too much area at once. If you don't like a particularly strong contour you could definitely use this brush, it's flat so you could achieve a definite contour line if you're not a fan of it looking too sharp. It's also really soft, using natural fibres, meaning that it doesn't end up scratching your face or disturbing the makeup underneath. 

Admittedly, this brush is expensive (£35.50) and I only bought it on the rave reviews of many online beauty gurus but I'm definitely glad I did. This doesn't mean that I'll be rushing out to buy a load more MAC brushes as I do think they're overpriced as a brand but this one definitely exceeds expectation.

[MAC 135 Large Flat Powder Brush-£35.50, MAC Cosmetics, Worldwide] 

• L.A. GIRL: PRO CONCEAL HIGH DEFINITION CONCEALER [PORCELAIN]

My biggest issue with concealers is that I can never find the right shade for me. As I said before I'm usually quite pale and I like to use concealers to highlight under my eyes, forehead and chin. I have found a few brands which have concealers light enough to do this but I've usually found them a bit too thick and cakey looking. My undereye area can tend to get a little dehydrated and if my concealer is too thick and then is set with powder it can just look awful. 

This product is light enough so that it's highlighting but also blends out extremely well and doesn't look cakey. If I'm having an ultra pale day I usually lighten it with the Urban Decay Weightless Concealer in Fair Neutral (another favourite) but often I just use this product alone. 

L.A. Girl isn't the easiest brand to get your hands on, I get mine from Beauty Bay in the UK or I've also gotten it from Amazon in the past, although Beauty Bay definitely has a better assortment of shades. The most amazing thing about this concealer is that it's only £5 which is great as I can tend to go through them quite quickly. 

The only thing I don't like about this product is the applicator. It has a brush tip which you squeeze the product through and then apply to the face. I'd much prefer a standard doe-foot applicator as I feel like this type wastes product, but for the price I can very easily look past that. 

[L.A. Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer £5, Beauty Bay, UK]

• JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS: VELOUR LIQUID LIPSTICK [DOMINATRIX] 

I've already written a whole review and swatch post about these products so I won't go into too much detail but I'm in love. I used to be terrified of wearing lipsticks and, until about 3 months ago, didn't own any. I jumped in at the deep end and purchased some of the most praised liquid lipsticks on the market (Jeffree Star, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Kat Von D) and I now can't leave the house without lipstick on. 

All the liquid lipsticks I bought are amazing, but there's something about this one that I absolutely love. I feel that this colour, a very dark brown, just makes everything look a lot more dramatic and vampy and also just suits me personally. I've worn it so much this month, even to work. 

The applicator makes them so easy to apply and the formula is amazing- not at all drying and very long wearing. Additionally, I feel like they're amazing value for money at $18 (£12/13) per tube and would highly recommend them. 

[Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipsticks $18 http://jeffreestarcosmetics.com]  

They're my favourite products for the month of July, very varied in price and make but they're all some of the best I've used. Let me know if you'd like to continue seeing monthly favourite posts, I thought they'd be quite helpful as I can offer quick mini reviews without having to go into masses of detail and I can let you know what I've genuinely been using over the month. 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

x