July Favourites!!

I can't believe August is already upon us, where did July go?  I was just talking to my brother yesterday about how it's the last month of the Summer holidays before he heads back to college which is crazy!! For me July will be remembered for the amazing weather we had here in Ireland and of course going to see Justin Timberlake in concert! We don't get the Sun a lot but when we do we never stop talking about it. For two weeks straight the sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky. Fast forward to the first week in August and already the clouds are back, I miss the nice weather already!  On a brighter note I'm heading to Spain with my family next month. It's the first holiday I've had with my familia for years, I have to admit I'm really excited. Sun, Sea and nice food for a week whats not to like?! The city we're staying in is close to Gilbratar so I'm looking forward to going there to do a bit of shopping of course. Before I start rambling on about my upcoming holiday to Spain, I better start with my favourites as I do have quite a lot to show you this month.

I love finding products that are simple and easy to use, Benefit's Creasless Eyeshadow in No Pressure! is definitely one of them. I picked this up a while ago in Brown Thomas with a gift card I had floating around my bag for an age. It's gorgeous taupe shade with a few specks of gold shimmer. In the mornings I've been applying this to my eyelid and blending it out to create a quick and easy smokey eye. For night I layer it up and use Mac's Embark in the crease. This certainly has been a great addition to my makeup collection as I've been getting a lot of use out of it, well worth the €22.50 that I paid. I absolutely adore the new Colour collection packaging, this product comes in a really pretty art deco cardboard box which I have kept myself. I already have my eye on another shade Bikini-tini that I heard Essiebutton rave about so I know I'll definitely like it.

A nail polish favourite from July has to be Butter London's Cake-Hole*. It's a gorgeous neon pink shade that brightens up any outfit, it pretty much hasn't left my nails all month. I've gotten so many comments this nail polish when I'm wearing it, Cake-Hole is definitely one of those shades that stand out (just look at the name). Only two coats of this is enough to achieve the finish that you can see in this photo here from a previous post. I guess you could get away with one but I'm so used to doing two by now.

When I was in London in June I did go a bit wild and bought a lot of beauty products, two of which have made it into this months favourites. First up is this Crown Brush makeup brush (C45) I picked up at IMATS. It's from their new Infinity line and I've been using it to apply my foundation. Excuse it's appearance, I didn't get a chance to clean it before I took these pictures. The brush is similar to the Real Techniques Buffing Brush but the bristles are tightly packed making it a little more denser. I did buy a couple of brushes from the Infinity line but the C45 is definitely my favourite.

 There has been whispers that a Victoria's Secret store is opening in Dublin Airport which I'm super excited about even though I know it will probably be tiny. When I was in London I knew there was one in the Westfield Shopping Centre beside my hotel in Stratford. Of course I ended up dragging Paddy and if you've already read my Haul you'll know I picked up a lot. One of the products that I bought that I've been loving this month is the Sparkling Citrus Lemon Escape Fragrance Mist (pictured below). This stuff smells amazing, it's a mixture of sweet lemon and coconut which I've been using literally everyday. I haven't taken it out of my bag yet as you can see from the bottle I'm almost half way through the bottle. I bought this is a set for £20 which included a shower gel and a body lotion in the same scent. If you're in Victoria's Secret I'd definitely recommend picking up a set as there's such good value. Just be warned that this spray is 125ml so if you're travelling light with carry on luggage you may not be able to bring it back on the plane. I can't wait until I go back to Manchester at the end of the year as I do believe they're opening a Victoria's Secret store in the Trafford Centre. I'll definitely be picking up another bottle of this scent when I visit and check out some more while I'm there.

At night I've been using the Neal's Yard Beauty Sleep Concentrate*. I was given this at a Press Event a couple of months back and I stumbled upon it while cleaning up my room recently. I've been using this on its on at night but you can use it alongside other products in your nighttime routine. Apart from being moisturising, I haven't been using it long enough to see a significant difference in my skin but I adore the calming scent. It certainly makes me feel relaxed going to bed at night. This product is 90% organic aswell so I'm happy to know that I'm not putting anything nasty onto my skin. The bottle may seem small but you literally only need 3-4 pumps of this stuff so it will last a good while. After busy days on the go I think it's so important to give my skin some TLC and this has been working a treat.

With July being so sunny for the most part I had to include these two products from Hawaiian Tropics. Like everyone I know how important it is to use sunscreen even when the sun isn't shining (pesky UV rays and the likes) so I was using this duo a lot. They are both from Hawaiian Tropics Silk Hydration so aswell as protecting my skin from the Sun they are super moisturising too. Did I mention that they also smell amazing? The After Sun's Coconut Papaya scent reminds me of holidays and I can't get enough of it. I did buy these in Tesco on special offer a while ago so I'm not too sure if that is still on. I do remember it being a great bargain! Needless to say seeing as the Sun is no longer around I may not need these as much now but I'll be bringing them along on my holidays to Spain.

Here are two of my random favourites from July as you all know I'm big into reading. When I was given Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare I left it aside for a while I'm not going to lie. I thought it was going to be another Twilight kinda book which I knew I wasn't going to be interested in. Now that I'm almost half way through the book I couldn't have been more wrong. This has a really good storyline to it which I'm not going to explain as knowing me I'll definitely give too much away. I have a feeling there's going to be a love story in this at some point but the background plot is really good. If you're like me you won't want to put it down. Clock Angel is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series which is has been made into a movie that is going to be release this month. It stars the babe that is Robert Sheehan (The Misfits & Love/Hate) and Lily Collins, whilst the movie is based on the 1st book in the series the City of Bones which I haven't read yet I can't wait to go see it! Once I do finish this book I'm going to pick up some more in the series as they are currently on 3for2 in Easons. The other random favourite of mine is this bag I bought from Accessorize. I usually don't go for bags with short straps, I much prefer when they're long as I find them way easier to carry around. I was between to minds when I got this but I think I made the right decision in the end. This bag is huge and fits absolutely everything in it, e.g my camera, notebook etc. It also contains a removeable pouch which for me makes the bag more secure as I can put all my important stuff in there. Coming in two different colours I opted for the black/brown option as I think it would go with more compared to the green/navy offering. If you'd like to see a "What's in my Bag?" post in the future let me know in the comments.

What made it into your July Favourites? Did you get up to anything exciting last month?

Laura<3

Butter London's Backstage Basics Set

I've always been fond of Butter London nail polishes, they have a huge range of shades that would suit any occasion. I don't own too many of their polishes but the ones I do have I love. I bought their Holiday Glitter Trio in December last year and I use them all to add a bit of sparkle. They apply beautifully and look gorgeous in general. I do adore glitter polishes even though they can be a bit of a nightmare to remove.

Butter London's Backstage Basics set is great if your new to the brand. Being the nail lacquer of choice at Fashion Week, this little gem contains all the essentials needed to get a beautiful nail look. This kit includes a Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat, A Nail Lacquer, Hardwear P.D Quick Topcoat, Powder Room Nail Polish Remover and a cute little Butter London Nail File.

I'm guilty of not using a basecoat, I can't stand when my nails get stained from nail polishes so I will be using one more often. I like how this particular one can be used alone or under a polish. Out of all the topcoats I've used, Hardwear Topcoat is by far my favourite. I only needed one coat and it dried instantly, great for when your in a hurry. It also leaves a lovely glossy finish to the nails but if this is something you don't like there's a matte option available. I'll be definitely repurchasing this topcoat when it ruins out. Both the topcoat and the basecoat come in big bottles as you only need one coat I can see them last forever. When I first saw the brush for both these products, I thought they were going to be a nightmare to apply but that wasn't the case at all. I've actually used the Powder Room Polish Remover in the past, I really like it, I wish it came in a bigger size bottle though. I'd definitely buy one if they did. Another thing I love about this set is that you can choose the nail polish you want. I think this just adds something special as there has been times when I see sets were I don't particularly like the shades included. Yummy Mummy is the polish that came in my set and I've been rocking it alot on my nails. It's a neutral beige shade which I think would suit anyone, perfect for everyday. I applied two coats of Yummy Mummy along with the base and topcoat to get the results below.

For €50, I don't think you can go wrong with this set. I've seen the basecoat and topcoat retail for €22.50 in some stores and the polishes are €15 on there own. This would also make a lovely gift for someone (I know I would love it) or even if you wanted to treat yourself. Butter London's Backstage Basics set is available online or from Avoca and Fran and Jane stores.

What do you think of this Butter London set? What polishes should I try next??

Laura<3

*PR Sample

Butter London Holiday Glitter Trio!

On Wednesday I was in Harvey Nichols as there was a Christmas event on that offered 15% off all beauty products (very rare). After browsing what they had to offer nothing much caught my attention except this set!

I don't own any Butter London polishes so when I see this set I fell in love. This set itself didn't come cheap at €35 but seeing as one individual polish is €14 and I got 15% off (bringing my total down to €29.75) how could I say no! I'll be wearing these polishes alot over Winter as they are so festive. Another thing I love about these polishes are the names especially Chancer!

Here is a quick Nail of the Day using Rosie Lee. Isn't it beautiful? The result shown is after three coats! This glitter polish looks so nice when the light catches it. I'm looking forward to trying the other two polishes, I'll put up another NOTD post when I do.

What Butter London polishes should I try next?

Laura<3