Current Beauty Favourites

Looking at these photos it could be the middle of May, with birds tweeting outside my window and a gentle breeze blowing through my open window. Alas, they were taken on a rare sunny January morning – but we can pretend, can’t we? Anyway, the Christmas stocking is a wonderful thing because it’s the perfect destination for beauty-sized presents that you don’t want to spend the money on yourself but need oh so badly, which is precisely where I got 3/4 of the products featured here from.

Current beauty favourites

If there’s anything I have gained from blogging, it’s an overflowing make up bag and a drawer full of cosmetic products that is getting harder and harder to close! I’ve always paid that little bit extra for skincare and make up because, being cursed with acne prone skin, the more expensive products do make a noticeable difference. But since entering the blogosphere I’ve also become much more accustomed to trying new brands and products that I wouldn’t necessarily have considered using before, and also sharing the products I’ve tried, tested, and approved with you.

This Lush Tea Tree Water toner is the perfect example of a product that I would never have bought had I not seen it worshipped all over the internet. I’ve dabbled with using toners in the past, but having tried brands like Clinique, Lancome and La Roche Posay I just didn’t really notice that much of a difference in the long run. This little beauty, however, has revolutionised my skincare. A little spritz of this post-cleansing in both the morning and evening has left me noticeably more spot-free, and when I’m home for the day I’ve taken to spraying this whenever my face feels a bit oily or in need of freshening up. I’ve not quite been swept up into the Lush revolution yet, but maybe this is how it starts…

I bought my first Kiko product last summer: a brown eyeliner pencil, which I still use and love to this day. Now, I’ve upgraded to trying some of their other eye products, like these Kiko Infinity Eyeshadows, which have brought a whole new meaning to au natural make up for me. I’ve even found these nude and champagne shades add a little something extra to my Naked 3 palette, which is a testament to how lovely the colours are, and the range of shades that Kiko have. They’re incredibly delicate, with a subtle shimmer that catches the light, and also incredibly cheap, which is a pretty good combination.

The brand of the moment for me is Kiehl’s. The hefty prices used to be off-putting, but having tried out a few of their products I’ve come to realise you really do get what you pay for. My love of the Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream started when my mum brought home a few samples for me, since she caught onto the Kiehl’s hype a while ago. I’d been meaning to dip my toes into the new world of BB creams for a while, so I thought a free sample was the perfect excuse to try; one use and I was hooked. The colour (fair) was an absolute perfect match to my pale complexion. It left my skin looking dewy, and had a great amount of coverage for my blemishes without feeling cakey. The one teenytiny reservation I have about it is that, because it is SPF 50, it does have quite a strong suncreamy smell when you apply it. But if you can get past that it is an absolute winner.

The other great thing about Kiehl’s is the amount of samples they give you. I know this is all a ploy to get you to fall in love with their products and come back to fork out the money for the real thing, but I’ve found that they’re pretty useful to keep for when you’re going away for the odd night, or on holiday. I’ve even gone as far as to convert an old green tea tin that I just couldn’t throw away into a ‘samples tin’, so that when I need a small moisturiser, eye cream, or foundation for a night away I can just grab one and go! Just a little tip for when you find yourself with hundreds of testers (or a nice green tea tin) you’re not quite sure what to do with.

Have you tried any of these products before? I’d love to know what you think of them!