It is crazy that we are half way through the year! Looking back on June, there have been some crazy moments, but overall, it's been a good month. As always, I am sharing events.shows etc, rather than focusing of products like I used to do in monthly favourites posts, back in the day. I would love to hear how your month has been?
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| This set was kindly gifted to me, without obligation. |
As you know, Cult Beauty feature a different brand each month, to be their Brand Of The Month, which for June is Fresh Beauty and this means free international shipping on all orders, plus there are exclusives and free gifts. I was kindly sent the Best of Fresh X Cult Kit to try some of their best sellers, which is also available for general sale and is a great way to get to know the brand as the sizes (although mini), are large enough for you to decide whether to buy the full size. There are five products, plus a headband, which is brilliant for keeping your hair off your face while doing your skincare routine, but particularly when using a mask, and they are all housed in a clear case, which is convenient for travelling. I had used two of the products previously, but three were new to me and I want to share my thoughts on all five with you today.
It's time to treat yourself! I don't know about you, but some months will pass by and I won't have bought anything, and other months, I just get on a roll! There's no harm in treating yourself, even if your budget allows only a small amount. This month, I have three fantastic products, all under £35, to share with you.
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| This was kindly gifted to me, without obligation. |
I remember when the first version of YSL Touche Êclat foundation was released, I was SO excited, because I had used the conceal/highlighting pen for years. I absolutely loved how the foundation looked on my skin - it gave it a healthy, fresh glow, with medium coverage. It ticked all boxes, but it broke my skin out so badly! I was so gutted, because it looked amazing on, but there was no way I could use it regularly. I have used other YSL foundations since the, but without this issue, so I was excited when I read about the new Touche Êclat Le Teint foundation, which has been reformulated. So, how does my skin like this newer version, and what has changed?
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| Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation. |
I love to do a check in mid year to reflect on the new products that I have discovered so far, as the months can fly by and then when it comes to doing my annual favourite discoveries, I may overlook something from early in the year. I'm accepting less P.R. these days, as I hate waste and have a good idea of what will suit me, plus I'm buying a lot less and just focusing on using up the (rather large) stash that I have. If you watch my empties on Instastories, you'll see I'm doing a pretty good job in that regard! Now on to my favourite discoveries. Anything kindly gifted (without obligation) will be marked with a *.
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| None of these items were gifted. (I wish!) |
In January, I wrote a luxury wishlist for 2021 here: http://www.beautylymin.com/2021/01/my-2021-luxury-wish-list.html so given that we're pretty much half way through the year, I thought I'd update you on it. It wasn't a huge list, with just six items on it, as I really am trying to focus on quality over quantity this year and have only bought clothes that were missing from my wardrobe, or worn out and needed replacing. I know that fast fashion has a market, due to affordability, but I'm trying my best to steer away from that as much as possible. So what have I bought?
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| Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted to me, without obligation. |
As you know, I don't do monthly favourites posts (I do post about what I've loved each month, but they aren't necessarily product-focused), but I love to share products that I'm really enjoying and using consistently. Today I have five products that I love and want to tell you about!
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| These products were kindly gifted to me, without obligation. |
Youth To The People* is a brand that I had been eyeing up on Sephora for ages, so I was absolutely delighted and so grateful when Cult Beauty sent me a package of products to try! Cult Beauty are really killing it at the moment with all of the new brands that they are adding to their lineup on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis! I've been trying the five products I was sent for around five weeks now and want to share my thoughts with you, on how they've worked for me, and whether I would repurchase them. If you don't know much about the brand, all of the products are based around super foods (you'll see as the post goes on), they're vegan and cruelty-free.
I really wish that Tatcha was more accessible for those of us on this side of the Atlantic, because I pretty much love everything I try from them. If you don't know much about the brand, it's Japanese and focuses on the principle that less is more. The foundation of their products is Hadasei-3™, which is a trio of anti-aging superfoods, present in the Japanese diet; green tea, algae and rice. Every product that I have tried has been delicate, yet effective. Those with sensitive skin, or who want to simplify their routine, will love this brand.
I hate to say it, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Marc Jacobs Beauty might be no more soon! There's no summer collection this year and the entire makeup collection is on sale on Sephora, will regular sales on the brand's site too. I hope I'm wrong, but with Becca announcing that they are closing in a few months, nothing would surprise me. The quality of Marc Jacobs products is up there with the best, so I took advantage of the reductions, with some products in this post: http://www.beautylymin.com/2021/05/some-recent-marc-jacobs-purchases.html and then went back for more, which I'm sharing with you today.
I certainly don't claim to an expert on sustainability, however I'm definitely of the belief that if we all do something to help protect the environment, it will all add up and it's better than just a small percentage of people being perfect. Growing up, we grew the majority of our own fruit and veg, baked homemade bread, biscuits and cake and it was similar to The Good Life, if you're old enough to remember that show? We didn't have a recycling bin in the 1980s, however we always used a composter for peelings etc and there really wasn't any waste - it was just how we were brought up, as my parents were both keen horticulturists and gardeners, and we had enough land for them/us to be able to do this (but you can grow herbs on your windowsill, so you don't need lots of land, or even small propagators). As kids, we chose our own veg to grow each year, and tended to it (from around the age of five), and I can still remember the sense of achievement when my sweetcorn or cauliflower appeared! Nowadays, people have much busier lives, but there are still small ways in which we can be more sustainable in our everyday lives, and there are some brands that make it easy. Today, I want to share some of my favourites - some will probably be of no surprise, but I'm hoping that there might be some that you can incorporate into your lives.
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| Anything marked with a * was kindly gifted, without obigation. |
Pigmentation - the bane of my life! Slight (large) exaggeration there, however it does bother me. I have one small, stubborn patch of pigmentation along my cheek bone that appeared around five years ago when I was on holiday. I was using SPF 50 and wearing a hat, but was also on medication that made my skin more prone to sun damage. I am always so careful about re-applying my sun cream, but I think it was the medication that did it. Nowadays, people know to wear SPF all year round, but I was very late to that party, as it only became a popular topic when I was in my late twenties, and then I started to do it. I never tried to actually tan my face, but just didn't always protect it. Pigmentation elsewhere on my body doesn't particularly bother me, but this one little patch on my face does. That being said, using certain products consistently does help it fade, plus I haven't developed any other patches, so I'm obviously doing something right! There are so many products on the market to help with this issue, but I've narrowed it down to my top three.
Living Proof is one of those brands that we couldn't get this side of the Atlantic for years, and most of us lusted after it because Jennifer Aniston was their spokesperson and I've yet to see her have a bad hair day! It arrived on our shores a few years ago, and although I haven't tried a lot of their products, I love everything I have tried. I'm aware that I've shared a lot of haircare products on the blog over the past few months, but after losing hair to Covid last year, I have been determined to take care of my hair and now that it's in good condition (post here: http://www.beautylymin.com/2021/05/taking-care-of-my-balayaged-hair.html), I want to share some of the products that I use to style it and Living Proof features heavily.
A few years ago when YSL discontinued their Les Sahariennes cream bronzer, I was so disappointed because it was a product I used every time that I did my makeup. I had never found a more natural looking cream bronzer...... until Fenty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Bronzer came along last year! Review here: http://www.beautylymin.com/2020/06/fenty-beauty-cream-cheek-products-worth.html I didn't think that I'd ever try another cream bronzer after that, because that one ticks all of the boxes for me, but I wasn't expecting a Nars cream bronzer! Laguna has been in my makeup bag since around 2006/7, and even though I have tried used and loved other bronzers, I will always have a Laguna in my stash! This cream bronzer is available on this side of the Atlantic now, but I ordered it from Sephora because I couldn't wait for it to release here. There is also a bronzing brush, which is more expensive than the Sunkissed Bronzing Cream itself, so I didn't bother buying it as I have other brushes that work perfectly. Has it lived up to my expectations?