April Favourites 2016

Hi guys!

There were SO many wonderful and newly discovered things I loved all through March and April and so I thought I'd do a monthly favourites and as usual, just share with you some products and random bits and pieces I've been loving and that are worth giving a try! 

LUSH Happy Hippy Shower Gel- 

I haven't tried many of the LUSH shower gels before but have really taken to this one! It was given to me as a gift and I just love it! It is citrussy and grapefruit scented and just smells so nice, especially for the mornings. 

LUSH Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub

Another LUSH product... like I said, I tend to usually stick to the LUSH bath bombs and bubble bars, etc. and so haven't given much chance to all their other products before, but I really love them. They are such great quality and feel really good and natural for your skin. This is a salt based exfoliator, and whilst I also enjoy sugar-based ones, this one foams up and lathers really nicely, feels super good and exfoliating to the skin, and of course, smells lovely. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Perfume

Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVE this scent! I pretty much use it as my everyday perfume, and it is just very much the type of scent I love, sweet (but not too sweet), fresh and floral. I think it feel like a good mixture between young and still slightly more mature than some of the other sweeter scents on the market. I previously used 'Daisy', which I also really like, but am currently just loving this!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick- in the shade 330 "Sloane's Plum"

I went into the shops the other day, knowing in mind that I really wanted like a deep plum/berry colour lipstick, and after a while of looking through all the counters, I found this and fell in love with it! I don't usually wear dark lipstick as I feel quite self-conscious in it, especially in an everyday setting, but there's really no need to, and I really love it, so I have been wearing it a whole lot over the past few months. It is such a gorgeous shade, Rimmel is always very cost-effective and it has relatively good staying power too. 

Mac 217 make-up brush

I am sure I have spoken about this brush on this blog before, and I know that it is definitely one of Mac's most favourite and popular brushes, and it has definitely earned its good reputation! I love this brush, and as I have been using an eyeshadow palate recently, I have just realised how amazing and helpful it is! I basically use a different eye shadow brush to put the various shades on, and in my crease, etc. and then use this one to basically just blend all over and above the lid so that the shadow doesn't look quite so stark and suits a more everyday, smokey look. So yeah, this brush just basically does what it's meant to do really well. 

Academy of Colour- Metallic brown smokey eyes kit

This is a little quad palate with some really gorgeous shades. I have actually had this for ages and never used it as I didn't know the brand and thought it wouldn't be much good, but I love the shades it includes, and they also have very good staying-power. There is a silvery brown colour, a more reddy brown tinged one, one that's matte and very similar to "Cork" by Mac, and then lastly a very dark shimmery brown, and I just love them all a lot, and they are quite natural and work for a simple smokey eye for either a more casual or dressed-up look. 

Essie Millionails Clear Polish

Oh my goodness, I love this stuff! You can use it as a top coat on top of a coloured nail polish, which helps it last a lot longer. But I also like to use on my nails when they don't have anything else on them, and it just seems to really help keep them healthy and much stronger than usual, especially cause I bite my nails, so they need all the help they can get. 

Yankee Candle in the scent Black Cherry

This was another gift, and you can only imagine my excitement when I realised that not only was it a Yankee Candle, but it was cherry scented!! And it definitely lived up to my original expectation, this smells absolutly beyond delicious! Even when it's not lit, if I leave the lid off, it scents the whole room and like I said, it is just SUCH an amazing scent. 

Nespresso coffee

We recently got a Nespresso machine and this has had a very direct impact on my coffee drinking! This coffee is just so delicious, like can't even compare to the instant coffee I usually make at home, and so yeah, I basically have been drinking a ton of it, especially through exams. 

Woolworths Wake-me-up Peppermint Tea

I mentioned this already in my "Studying Tips" post, but yeah I really love this stuff a lot! It tastes as good as it smells, which is amazing, and it is very calming and delicious. 

So that's everything I loved over the past couple of months, sorry it's so late, but still I hope you enjoy some of these products! 

Love, 

Massive Winter Beauty Haul - Beauty and Skin Care

Yayy, I have done some shopping! 

I kind of went a liiitle overboard- but in my defence, these were not all bought in one day. I was in great need of a lot of beauty and make-up items and so over the past 2 weeks or so, I seem to have accumulated a pretty big stash! Seeing that I have had quite a few of these for a couple of weeks now, I have tried most of them, so I will give you a little run-down on how I'm finding them and so on... :)

So here it goes!

I am splitting this haul into 2 posts, one for beauty and skin care products, and the other for make-up, because I don't want one extremely long post, I would rather have two shorter ones. 

BEAUTY: 

THE BODY SHOP- HONEYMANIA BODY BUTTER
If you read my blog regularly, you'll know how much I LOVE this scent from the Body Shop! It is quite new, and is my ultimate favourite! I had recently finished my shower gel and exfoliator that I got for Christmas in this same Honeymania range, and so I knew it was about time I went back for more! I have been absolutely loving this! It is just a run-of-the-mill Body Shop body butter, but the smell is just so so amazing!! Definitely worth a sniff next time you're there! 

TRES EMME- INSTANT REFRESH: RADIANCE DRY SHAMPOO
I am a big dry shampoo fan- particularly because I straighten my hair a lot! This one is my favourite of all brands because it is the only one, I've found, that actually stops my hair from feeling and looking greasy- which is essentially what you want from a dry shampoo, right!? It smells like apples and with a quick comb through after, it doesn't leave behind any white specs or anything! I'm onto my fourth or fifth can of this since I started using it last year sometime, and I've stuck with it because it really is the best one I've found. 

NIVEA: DAILY ESSENTIALS- REFRESHING TONER (NORMAL & COMBINATION SKIN)
I have been so impressed in general with the Nivea Daily Essentials range! Nivea isn't specifically renowned for amazing skin products.... what I mean by that is that when someone talks about amazing face washes/exfoliators/toners/make-up removers/moisturisers, and so on, Nivea isn't a brand that comes up often. But currently, I would highly recommend this Nivea range to anyone looking for quality skin care products that are affordable. I love this toner- it's light and gentle on my skin, and always leaves my skin feeling refreshed! I have used one bottle of the same type before this, but by mistake bought the toner for dry skin, and when I went back to buy more, I saw that this (normal/combination) one is the one I should be using. I really like this, so definitely give it a try if you're looking for a new, fairly cheap toner!

CLICKS: SKIN ESSENTIALS- 3-IN-1 FACIAL WIPES
(Sorry my picture is a bit blurry) 
These are nothing too special, but I just feel like everyone needs these in their bathroom to wipe off  a night of make-up quickly... I often use these if I'm having a super lazy night and can't be bothered to do anymore than just wipe off my make-up with one of these and then use a moisturiser. They have a toner, cleanser and make-up remover all in one, and so they do a good job at just clearing my face quickly. Clicks is a South African drug store type shop, so I don't think you could get these anywhere else but here, but like I said, they are nothing too amazing, just a staple I think everyone should have :) 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: DAYTIME TREATMENT
For such a long name, this is essentially just a good moisturiser. I don't know if Dermalogica is an available or well-known brand overseas, so depending, you may not be able to get your hands on this brand, but I do know that it is Australian (I think). I wasn't enjoying my Yardley London moisturiser that I had, and so made a transition to this, and in fact, have pretty much decided to use this brand for all my face products because it is so good. I think what I like the most is that all the products are very gentle on one's skin- and my skin needs products like that because it tends to get irritated by products quite easily and is very sensitive. There is also SPF in this, and it always leaves me feeling fresh-faced. It is a bit on the pricey side (my mom bought it for me :P ) but worth it if you can!

I also bought the 'Dermalogica Clear Start Cleaning Face Wash' (which is also very good) but didn't take a picture because it I have been using it for a while now and it was wet in my shower and a bit empty and so on....

My mom also bought me little sample sachets of other Dermalogica skin products that I have been using (sparingly, but still). 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: PORE CONTROL SCRUB

(the green sachets)

This is their exfoliator in the range, and I have really liked it. Obviously these are small little samples, so could only get about 4 uses from the sachets I have, but I did enjoy it, and might well go back (when I make some moola) and buy a proper sized tube of it. 

DERMALOGICA- CLEAR START BREAKOUT CLEARING: EMERGENCY SPOT TREATMENT
(the red sachets)
I highly highly recommend this to any one whose skin can occasionally just stop co-operating completely. I, generally speaking, have never had really really problematic skin, but of course, like all of us, my skin has its good and bad days. About 2 weeks ago, my skin seemed to have a bit of a meltdown and I was doing everything I could to kind of just treat it kindly and get it back to normal. So I got some of these sachets of this spot-fix serum type stuff. It is SO good! It is alcohol based, so really kills any bacteria you may have around little blemishes and within about 4 days of using it, my skin was pretty much completely clear. I definitely want to go buy the large version of this!

TIP TOP NAIL VARNISH- SHADE 974: "IN THE NAVY"

Tip Top is a South African brand of nail polish, and it is one of the two brands I actually like buying. I really hate using polishes that chip within a few days, or require loads of layers just to get the colour properly but Tip Top is super good, in that 2 layers will do, and generally I can go a week or so until I need to redo it or take it off. It is winter here and so I have been wanting a dark colour, and decided I wanted a navy blue colour. I found this one and it is exactly what I wanted. It is pretty dark, but you can see it is blue not black, and it is just very nice, I have been liking it a lot. 

ESSIE NAIL POLISH: SHADE 10- BLANC
ESSIE NAIL POLISH: SHADE 686- CUTE AS A BUTTON
I ordered these two online, and am so happy I did, because I am such an Essie fan! Let me start with Cute as a Button- the pinky-corally one: I ordered this wanting a coral colour and so was quite disappointed when I saw it, because it is a lot more pink than the sample shade looked (never trust the Essie thumbnail samples- I say this with experience haha). Buut it has since grown on me a bit- when you paint it, is does look a bit more coral than it does in the bottle, and I've decided that it will look really nice on my toes in summer, not too sure about my hands yet, but we'll see. 

The second one, Blanc, is one that I am loving!! I have wanted to try white polish for a long time because I have seen a lot of girls do it recently, and I really like the way it looks, not to mention that it goes with everything you wear :) Blanc was one of their very very first colours they ever made and even thought they have since made quite a few other whites, I wanted this one because it is the original one and is very crisp and clear, and doesn't have shades of anything else in it! 

Both of these don't chip for at least a week, usually more, and I only need 2 layers to have the colour perfectly pigmented. Also, they don't come out streaky and yeah, they are really good quality. 

LUSH- MELTING MARSHMALLOW BATH MELT
I have used this one once before, and so thought it was about time I tried it again because it just smells too delicious. Its a Lush classic I'd say, because it's always there, and not part of any special range or anything, but sometimes simple is best. As you could guess, it smells like marshmallow, but not so hectically that it is overwhelmingly sweet. Being a bath melt, you just pop the whole thing is your bath and it melts into the water, with all its delicious smelling goodness and I promise you, my skin felt so soft afterwards! I love this one, and I think sometimes a bath melt is best if you just want something plain and simple that smells delicious and is good for your skin too. 

LUSH- SAKURA BATH BALLISTIC
This is one of the new products for the Spring/Summer range (at least it's new here in SA, it may not be elsewhere). It smells like cherry blossom, which is a scent of theirs I hadn't smelt before. I've not yet used it, but from the look of the colours and the popping candy stuff on the outside, it looks pretty exciting! 

MARC JACOBS PERFUME- DAISY (EAU SO FRESH) 
I have been wanting this Marc Jacobs fragrance for a long time now, but it is so bloody expensive that I haven't been able to. So of course, it was the first thing I asked for when my mom asked me what I'd like from her trip to Ireland. I am so happy with this! I love the scent, is is floral (say what, a perfume called Daisy smells floral haha) and quite sweet, but not so much so that is smells childish or anything, so yeah, I'm super happy with the scent. So far, it also doesn't give me allergies, which is my main priority when buying perfumes because my nose is very sensitive to smells and fragrances and stuff. I also love the bottle, and there is a lot of perfume in there, so I think it will last a long time! 

So that's it for beauty and skin care stuff, if you want, go check out the second part of this haul which is some of the make-up I picked up :)