August Favs and Foes

August is over and unless there is a miracle any hope of Summer sun is gone with it. I won't pretend to be too sad, I love Autumn, leaves falling, crisp weather and cosy clothes.

So here are what I was loving and heating this month - Abbey has included her fav too!

Lancome was my fav mascara in August

Lancome Hypnose Volune-á-Porter mascara
I love volume, I love length but most of all I like full coverage right to the roots.
As a redhead, my eyelashes are naturally blond so despite getting my lashes professionally tinted
every month, my roots tend to show through between tints. So coverage from root to tip is important to me. This mascara uses a hybrid formula of 20% latex and less wax with 306 bristles, resistant smudge-proof while long lasting and sleek one to two sweeps are enough for day time wear. And did I mention a subtle fragrance of fresh roses? The only thing I don't like is the flakes during and after removal - but I am usually in pyjamas at this stage, so who cares!

These are yummy for baby and mummy!

Organix snacks (Abbey approved)
All of them! Abbey loves these and they are great at filling a little gap or keeping her quiet when we are out and about. I like the rice cakes best as they last a little longer than a second! It is great to be able to hand her something which she can eat herself. They use good ingredients, so I am happy to let her have one or two of the snacks a day, I keep them in an airtight container in her changing bag, so a packet will last us just over a week.

Blend, blend, blend

Real Technique Miracle Complexion Sponge
My under eye wrinkles were soaking up my concealer and looking caked recently so I went hunting online for a product or solution. I came across some advice to use a moist beauty blender to blend in concealer and to quickly follow with a setting powder. I found this Real Technique sponge to be dupe
for the beauty blender and the good news is - this advice works! Run the sponger underwater, squeeze it and use to flawlessly blend and set concealer (I use Rimmel Stay Matte powder). I use this sponge everyday, it is great for blending.

My snapchat

Snap Chat phone app

Yes it is addictive, yes it is fun - but it keeps freezing my phone! It is constantly stopping and stalling, and this is the second phone it has terrorised. I do like the app and think it can be fun and I did hear there are new updates to help reduce the amount of space it uses, so that would be very helpful.

No sudden changes!

Sudden Change Eye Serum
This product promises "to look younger in just 3 minutes." And I didn't.
Surprised? Not really, but I was expecting it to be a bit more useful. As an under eye serum it is ok,
but after waiting 3 minutes and not smiling or frowning as per instructions, I felt a little silly when
my under eye wrinkles were still visible.

July Beauty Favs and Foes

I love to watch and read people's beauty favourites each month. Sometimes it gives me inspiration to buy stuff, but more often than not I feel it keeps me informed on new products!
But what about those products that did not work for me? I want to let you all know about them too - to warn you, advise you before you purchase.
So here goes, let me know what you think - if you have a similar post leave a link in the comments below please.

Olay Regenerist

I have already written a post about Olay Regenerist serum and moisturiser here. But I wanted to include them in my favs of the month, because I have seen actual results. Now this would be a wonderful opportunity to show before and after pictures .... but I don't have any non make up old and
and wrinkly photos of myself (for a very good reason!). So you will just have to believe me, when I wake up in the morning or take off my make up in the evening, I can see an improvement. My face looks and feels smother, the areas which were really red have been reduced and either my vision has got more blurry or those lines around my eyes have actually reduced.

Matrix Oil Wonders
As a red head, my hair rarely lets a product dominate it. My hair is thick, it is wavy and a lot of the time does what it wants - a free spirit! So when I came across this product I was not expecting much. On first Spritz I noticed my hair instantly brighten, despite still being very damp after a towel dry. When I took to the hair dryer, I was shocked to realise how little hot hair was needed. It had reduced my blow drying time by minutes and my hair felt smooth, shiny and manageable! This has made it onto my list of Favs, because I no longer dry my hair before using this bottle of magic. If you are looking to reduce your 'getting ready' routine by a few minutes - try this!

Vichy Purteté Thermal Range
I was very excited when I was sent Vichy Cleansing Milk Balm and Toner from the new Pureté
Thermale range.
I really wanted to love this, it looked good, there was no smell, it seemed gentle and it had a lot to boast about. But after a few uses, I had to admit defeat.
The Cleansing Milk Balm is very gentle and nourishing, it does not leave any residue and did not cause any irritation, but it is not a good make up remover. The toner is also nice and bubbly, but both failed to impress me in anyway for taking off the day. I have been using both in the morning sometimes and they are hydrating - but then again so is water ...!

So Su polish 24 hours after application

So Su nail polish
I love So Sue (Suzanne Jackson) - fashion blogger, model, fitness inspiration and business lady - what is not to love?
The answer is her nail polish.
I had watched her announcement, read the reviews, stared at the nail polish stands and was only too excited to receive some samples. The colours are beautiful and they look so shiny and gel like on - but none of the colours lasted more than 24 hours without chipping on my finger nails. Maybe it is because my hands are over worked, as the colour did last on my toe nails for almost two weeks, but I get better use out of cheap as chips polish than So Su, which promises at least one week of no chips.