Summer Must Haves/Essentials #6 - Bloggers' Summer Favourites Part 2

This is going to be my final post in my Summer series and the second installment of bloggers' favourites. I've really enjoyed reading through all the products people have mentioned in both parts. I find it really interesting to see what other bloggers are liking, it also makes me want to go shopping just a little. Another three fabulous bloggers have agreed to be featured in this post, I enjoy reading all their blogs and I love when they have new posts up. I think there are so many amazing blogs out there at the moment, I've found so many gems through the bbloggers chat on Twitter. Enough of my rambling, I won't delay you guys too long so I'll get started.

Lauren from LoveLaughLauren
For me, no matter what age you are, summer is about making the most of what you've got. I don't like wearing heavy makeup or layers of products, I just want to make sure I feel my most confident while I have fun. I regularly exfoliate my skin with Soap & Glory's Flake Away body scrub; it smells gorgeous and is a bit oily so it really leaves your skin smooth. I follow that by slathering on one of The Body Shop's famous body butters. This one is the shea butter one, but the raspberry one is also very yummy! Being extremely pale, a bit of fake tan is a must. I haven't tried much from expensive tanning brands (although there's a few products on my wishlist!) but the St. Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mist works excellently and is only a few pounds. Whatever makeup i'm wearing, I always spritz on a bit of Avene's Eau Thermale which really ensures my makeup blends in with my skin. It can also be used throughout the day to reawaken your face and your makeup. Finally, Korres Lip Butters continue to be my favourite lip balms. This one is in Jasmine; a pretty pinky nude, but for summer I really want to get my hands on Pomegranate and Mango.

Sophie from Candy Cane Heart
Urban Decay All Nighter- This is by far the best setting spray I have ever used and it seems to be lasting me ages. I got this 118ml (odd amount?!) bottle at christmas and would say I still have a 1/3rd left. I loved this during the, very little, hot weather we have had and it just makes my make up last. 

Avene Eau Thermale- This is basically an expensive water spray but oh my! it is so refreshing. Again in the hot weather I loved this for a little refresh and to help calm my skin down. This little bottle has lasted me ages so worth the £3 ish that I paid for it!
Chanel Chance- This has been my go-to fragrance of the summer. It is really light and fresh but still quite sophisticated. I'm not very good at picking out the different notes but all I can say is it smells Devine and it really is worth the price tag as this does not budge! 
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat- This is the day moisturiser I have been using over the summer and I have fallen in love. I tend to get quite oily during the day and have noticed a HUGE difference since using this. It is an anti shine and anti enlarger pores moisturiser and is actually a perfect base as well. I haven't had to use primers, which is a total bonus. Oily skinned girls really need to try this out!
Laura Mercier Loose Powder- My skin has been quite good recently so I have been using this as my foundation and it gives a coverage but it is so light you  can't feel it on your skin. It's not a mask, just helps even out your skin tone. 
Topshop Nail Varnish in Parma Violet- The shade I have been wearing all summer. Seriously i haven't taken this off and that is so unusual for me. Its a dream to work with and dries quickly AND it doesn't break the bank, what more could you ask for?!
Mac Blush in Pink Swoon- Another product I just haven't stopped wearing! I love the colour of this, it gives a rather natural flush to the cheeks and my god it does not budge! Seriously I did a 12 hour shift at work recently, The rest of my makeup had given up but this blush was still there!

Livi from Beaumaquillagex
Sleek Brow Kit, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in ‘Eternal Gold’ , MAC Rubinesque Paintpot, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, MUA lipstick in ‘Nectar’ , Revlon Lip Butter in ‘Lollipop’, MAC Lipstick in ‘Lovelorn’, Natural Collection Loose Powder, Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro Primer, Natural Collection Blusher in ‘Pink Cloud’, Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara, MAC prolongwear Concealer, Benefit High Beam & Collection 2000 Fix Me Up.

My favourite finds this summer have been the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua & Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel, I have been loving these. The Chanel foundation gives such a flawless finish and looks like you aren't wearing any foundation, I like to apply this with my Real Techniques angled foundation brush. I love to apply the Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel underneath my foundation, otherwise it looks to orangey on my pale skin, I find that this works really well to give me a natural bronzed look, and it means the finished look isn't too powdery I have been loving all these products to give me a natural, but flawless bronzed look this summer. I have loved every single one of these products and that is why they have made it into my summer favourites!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did putting it together. I may do another series during th Autumn/Winter months, I've had so much fun doing this one so I kind of want to. Thanks so much again to all the bloggers that featured in both parts of this post, I definitely have quite alot of products to add to my wishlist now. if you missed out on part one you can check it out here.

What series would you like to see next?

Laura<3

Rediscovered - Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette

Whenever I clean up my room I always find products that have slipped under my radar. I store my makeup on custom built shelves in my room but I'm still in the process of organising everything so alot of stuff still remains in boxes. One of the products I've rediscovered recently is my Urban Decay 15th Anniversary palette. I fell in love with this when it was first released so I was surprised I hadn't used it in so long. The presentation of this palette is beautiful. A selection of limited edition eyeshadows come presented in a pretty purple tray which rests in a gorgeous velvet box. I like the idea that once you finish with the shadows you can use the packaging to store other bit and pieces, I may use mine for jewellery. The shade selection is good I like how there is a equal amount of brights and neutrals. I'm a big fan of the latter but it's still handy to have some alternatives in case you need them for a particular look. All the shadows were limited edition when the palette was released last year but since Urban Decay repackaged all their eyeshadows I think some of them are now available on counter. The brand brings out new palettes quite regularly, I think the Naked 2 palette must of took centre stage when I bought it so this one was left forgotten. That's certainly not the case now as I've found myself reaching for this more over the last week or so. All Urban Decay eyeshadows are super pigmented, like everyone I do get annoyed with the fall out but I haven't found that to be the case with this palette at all. They are so easy to work with and blend beautifully.

Here is a quick look I created using the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary palette. I'll list the shadows and the other products I used below.

Face - Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in the Shade 2.0
Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Ivory
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent
 Soleil Tan De Chanel
MAC Pink Tea Blush

Eyes - MAC Nubile Paint Pot
   UD Midnight Rodeo (Lid)
UD Deeper & M.I.A  (Crease)
UD Vanilla (Inner Corner & Brow Highlight)
Loreal Super Liner Luminizer for Blue Eyes
Bourjois Volumizer Mascara

Lips - MAC Dervish Lip Liner (All over lips)
Yves Rocher Vanilla Nourishing Lip Balm

I really enjoyed doing this look for you guys as you can see it's quite simple and great for everyday. If you'd like to see more posts like this in the future let me know in the comments below.

Do you own any Urban Decay palettes? What's your favourites?

Laura<3

Fashionista Custom Palettes

On my trip to Manchester in July, I popped into Superdrug on the look out for some new products. We do have them in Ireland but there is a wider range of products and brands in the UK stores to choose from. I went to a few different Superdrugs while I was there, but I ended up picking up the most stuff in the first one which was their Manchester Picadilly store. The brands I was drawn to the most were Fashionista, Sleek and Look Beauty, their products don't seem to be available in the Dublin store yet. Suprisingly I was quite reserved and I didn't buy as much as I though I would of done. I'm still testing out most of the products so I don't have too much to report back on. One of the products I have been getting quite alot of use out of so far is Fashionista's Custom Design Palette. I've seen alot of great reviews so I couldn't wait to try one myself. I went for two blushes (cinnamon & butterscotch) and two eyeshadows (Nude Glimmer & Brunette Bombshell), all quite neutral shades that I knew I would get alot of use out them. I went for the black palette as it looks super sleek, it is also the perfect size for my makeup bag when I'm on the go. As prices go, this was a bargain at £5 for the palette and £4  for each individual shade. There is a great selection of eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and highlighters to choose from so you can mix & match to your hearts content. The mirror on the palette is such a good size, not an essential for me but still great to have as you can see from the picture below. I was only unhappy with the eyeshadow Brunette Bombshell, as I find it to be quite chalky which results in a lot of unwanted fallout but once blended it does look alright. Both the blushes I bought are matte and I've been using them a hell of alot, there just so wearable and very pigmented, which for the price is amazing.

I was surprised when I got back to my hotel to find a email from the brand themselves, asking did I want to try some bits from their range. They sent me another custom palette* with a random selection of eyeshadows/blushes along with their new brow kit* (review to come later). I love getting random selections of shades as they may not be ones I'd usually go for but I end up using them alot. I received a blush (London), two bronzer (LA & Rome) and a eyeshadow (Trend-setter). The latter is one of their new baked shadows, the shade isn't one I'd usually go for but you could work into a night time look. The baked blush and bronzer, LA and London are beautifully pigmented, they do have a light shimmer which I love and gives a nice glow to the skin. The matte bronzer, Rome is great on my milk bottle skin so it's definitely not too dark and it's certainly buildable.

I really think a selection of drugstore brands have stepped up their game lately and have brought out great additions to their range of products. Fashionista is no different and I can't wait to try some more bits from the brand.The only problem I have with these palettes is that it's almost impossible to remove the pans once you put them in. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong but I don't think its rocket science to remove a pan from a palette, like how hard could it be to take them out.

Have you tried anything from Fashionista? What products have stood out for you?

Laura<3