
Hello! Apologies this post is a bit later than i’d like to do a monthly favourites post, but I was quite ill last week and had to move all the posts I had planned to this week. This is quite a varied favourites post – obviously there’s lots of beauty as always; but there’s also some really interesting lifestyle bits.Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette in Stoned Rose – £49, Charlotte Tilbury
I love the Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palettes. They are a great way to get introduced to the brand if you are new to Charlotte Tilbury, or if you are already a fan of their stunning makeup, this is a portable way to carry around a whole look in your handbag. The Stoned Rose palette is all about muted pinks and it’s beautiful. It contains a highlighter powder, a bronzer powder – the iconic one from Filmstar Bronze & Glow, two powder blushes and three powder eyeshadows. I’ve actually been using all of these as eyeshadows (as personally I prefer cream blush and highlighter) and i’m obsessed. All of them are stunning as eyeshadows, and the highlighter looks great in the inner corners of the eyes to brighten them. Whether you use it as a full-face palette or an eyeshadow palette, you’ll love this for spring.Charlotte Tilbury Collagen Lip Bath in Rosy Glow – £25, Charlotte Tilbury
I am a huge lip gloss addict. It’s rare that I wear a lipstick. This is just the most perfect lip gloss ever. I’ve never seen one with more shine, or one that makes your lips look so soft and plump! Rosy Glow is a perfect ‘your lips but better’ shade on me, and the pearlescent particles give a high-shine, wet look which I adore. The new formula really moisturises, conditions and plumps the lips – peppermint extract and mushroom sprout extract plump and enhance lip volume; coconut oil softens the skin, and marine collagen hydrates and promotes firmness and elasticity. Just perfection!Mulac Cosmetics Strobing Cream in Chaos & Madness Gold*** – 11.90 Euros each, Mulac Cosmetics
These strobing creams from Italian makeup brand Mulac Cosmetics are incredible and aesthetically out of this world. I love duo-chrome highlighters for when I want to be a bit ‘extra’ with my makeup, instead of my usual ‘no makeup makeup’ look. These white pearlescent highlighters have a gold shift and a pink shift respectively, and really stand out. They feel like a very lightweight gel, and they blend beautifully into the skin without having any obvious ‘edges’ and without disturbing any makeup underneath. They are Vegan too! Vegan beauty is greatly on the rise right now!KVD Vegan Beauty Go Big or Go Home Mascara*** – £20, Debenhams
Apart from this, I don’t have any other mascara that I would class as being ‘perfect’ i.e. doing every single thing I want my mascara to do. This was a discovery when I went to the KVD Vegan Beauty (formally Kat Von D) counter in Debenhams for a press appointment, and I was instantly blown away. My lashes never looked so good. In this photo and the photo below, I have only this mascara on – no tints, no lash lifts etc. My lashes are naturally very long, and most mascaras can’t tame them properly, but this one leaves them looking amazing (if I do say so myself). KVD Vegan Beauty took so long to develop and perfect this, as it’s powered by plant-based fats. It really seperates and fans out the lashes, as well as adding serious length. It really makes your lashes look full and fluffy, and it lasts all day. It’s a dream!KVD Vegan Beauty XO Vinyl Lip Cream in Carnation*** – £18, Debenhams
I don’t often wear lipsticks now, but I love the formula and the colour of this one. It’s my new ‘going out’ shade, for when we’re allowed to go back out for dinner or drinks! Carnation is a beautiful dark, moody pink. The formula just glides on so pigmented and stays on. The applicator is great for precision application and it stops my lips from feeling and looking dried out too. It’s comfortable to wear and has a lovely shine. I love this new launch from them and look forward to them expanding beyond just the six initial shades.Kili Beauty Liquid Bronzer*** – £24, Kili Beauty
When I first took this out of it’s box, I thought it was far too dark for my pale skin; but the claim it makes is true – it is a universal bronzer to bronze and perfect. The idea behind this is that you add a small pump to your moisturiser to give your more of a bronzed look that helps to disguise tonal imperfections. Before this I would never really use bronzer except in the height of summer; but this has allowed me to wear it in a natural-looking way all year round. If you are scared of bronzer, this will be great for you as you can still achieve that ‘no makeup makeup look’ with this.Honest Beauty Magic Beauty Balm*** – £16, Boots
There’s not really much to say about this other than it’s a really nice scentless, colourless balm for your lips, elbows, cuticles, or whereever else you get dry skin. It’s also really pretty dabbed on the cheekbones and down the bridge of your nose as a natural, dewy-looking highlighter. It has a really smooth formulation, and you don’t need much at all, so the compact lasts a long time. It really moisturises the skin instantly without feeling greasy or wet.Dermalogica Invisible Physical Defense SPF 30*** – £49, Dermalogica
Some people don’t like a physical SPF, but this one, I can promise you, really is invisible and doesn’t result in a white cast. It’s also so lightweight and moisturising, so it doesn’t clog pores or feel uncomfortable on the skin. Dermalogica are real winner with SPFs, as I also love their tinted, perfecting one for no makeup days. The SPF comes from Zinc Oxide. You get really good protection from a mineral SPF like Zinc Oxide as they don’t break down in the sun. Dermalogica claim that they use non-nano Zinc Oxide particles, but there’s a big debate on what sizes are classed as non-nano and nano, and what damage, if any, nano particles do to the skin (and organs if you want to enter a huge messy pit of debates). I would just disregard the ‘non-nano’ claim as we don’t really know what difference it makes anyway. Bottom line, this is a good sunscreen that’s comfortable to wear and offers broad-spectrum protection.Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Serum & Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream*** – £75 & £70, Murad
Murad have just reformulated and repackaged their Retinol Youth Renewal Serum, and added in a night cream and an eye cream to create a retinol powerhouse. The Retinol Youth Renewal Serum was good before, but now it’s even better. The formula feels much more hydrating and moisturising. I don’t use the eye cream; but I use the serum and the night cream. I actually use both together at night. My skin can take it, and I layer another serum and an oil between them usually. Murad says the products work 3X better if you use them together anyway. These are expensive, but they are effective and they yield great results – after just a couple of weeks, skin looks plumper, smoother and more refined.SYLK Tablet & Phone Pillow Stand*** – £23.99 via my link & using code LPS20%, SLYK
Hands up who loves to watch videos on their phone, or read books on their Kindle, in bed or on the sofa, and complains of a sore wrist holding up the device? Me! So I was delighted to be introduced to this chic looking accessory from SLYK. This black adjustable strap fits around any cushion or pillow and holds up your device, meaning all that you need to do is flick through the pages. It’s only a bargain £23.99 if you use my link above, and my code LPS20%.Photowall Framed Own Image Print 70x50xcm – £84, Photowall
I got one of my beauty photographs, of some of my Jo Malone fragrances, enlarged and framed by Photowall. It is such a high quality print, with a properly professional frame (not a DIY frame). I love it. It’s currently at the bottom of my fireplace, but once I can get it on the wall, it will go above my beauty shelving. If you don’t take photographs yourself, Photowall also have thousands of their posters, prints and murals to choose from.
This post contains press samples, but all opinions are my own.
You can see more of what I’m loving, and what I’m doing, over on my Instagram.