July Favourites.

(...) Can time please slow down?! I don't understand how it's going so fast. I've loved my time in Australia so much that I should have just gotten married just so that I could stay there for longer than my VISA allowed and so that I don't have to pay international university fees. One thing I've been loved about my time there is that I've been wearing less make-up and, when I do wear make-up, I've only been wearing my holy-grail products. So, here's some of the beauty (and also non-beauty) products that I've been loving recently...

• KIKO Coral Nail Varnish & Long Nails: I've always been really bad at biting my nails - it's something I'm constantly told off for, even though I'm now an adult that travels the world and lives on her own - but I've recently been making an effort to stop biting them. I've always loved long nails but have never managed to achieve growing them myself due to my awful habit, up until now that is. People in restaurants have genuinely come up to me and asked if my nails are real and how I managed to get them so long. The only bad thing is that I've now become one of those people that complains when they break a nail which, as I live with two children under the age of four, is slightly inevitable. As I've mentioned before on my blog, I've always got my nails painted, and a colour I've been loving recently is 489 Pearly Golden Mango from KIKO. It's such a summery colour, perfect for the warmer months that I've been experiencing in Australia! It's also really long lasting, which is exactly what I need when playing with the kids and heading off to explore. 

• YSL Black Opium: Along with DKNY Be Delicious, this is my go to perfume. It's a mixture of vanilla, coffee and white flowers, and one spritz is definitely enough to last all day. I received this particular bottle of Black Opium for my birthday last September and, so far, I've been very frugal when it comes to using it as it isn't exactly the cheapest. I have been using it a bit more than usual though as I've had a few special events, and not a day has gone by when I haven't received compliments on it. I am now running dangerously low so will be storing it away for the foreseeable future until I manage to get around to getting a new bottle. 

  

• Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation: It's so hard to find a drugstore foundation that actually works as well as high-end ones, but I've only gone and found one that's even better. My favourite foundation in the world is MAC Studio Fix, and I'd say this is almost as good. There are some days when I'd say it's just as good. I'm not a massive fan of Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation as it doesn't have the best coverage, but the Lasting Finish 25h is seriously amazing. Plus, it's only £7.99! It's even better than previous foundations I've tried from Bobbi Brown and Urban decay.

• KIKO 139 Pearly Salmon Eyeshadow as Highlighter: Most of the photos I have on my phone are screenshots from my never ending conversation with one of my best friends, Ariadna, and also photos that we send each other of ourselves or from MUA instagram accounts of our/their highlighter. We are obsessed. I personally preer a gold highlight and the more the better. I've recently been using KIKO's 139 Pearly Salmon Eyeshadow as a highlighter and I am obsessed. I apply this on my cheekbones, on my brow-bone and also in my tear duct. 

• Maybelline Master Sculpt Contouring Palette: Another favourite, another highlighter. This one is definitely more subtle and more suited to everyday use. This one is more silver than gold, but I still really enjoy using it. A silver highlighter which doesn't leave me looking like a vampire from Twilight? Massive win. I also really enjoy the contour in the palette. It's not at all cakey and doesn't have a muddy colour. I'm definitely no make-up expert or artist but even I can manage to add some cheekbones to my football face with the Master Sculpt Contouring Palette. Though the packaging is pretty bulky, it's worth it as it comes with a great mirror and also its own brush, which is actually usable. 

• KIKO Natural Concealer in Green: It was only in early July, when I first ran out of this and no KIKO in site, that I realised just how much I rely and depend on it. The best concealer for counteracting redness I have used. 

• TRIANGL Bikini: I'll be talking about this more in a future post, but I couldn't resist at least mentioning it. I'm obsessed and what more do I need other than a TRIANGL Bikini when lying on a beach, sunning myself in Australia? 

• Lindt Sea Salt Chocolate: Australia has left me feeling very snacky. I personally blame the heat but it's probably due to the fact that I'm a massive pig that is always hungry. Though I'm normally one that likes to stick to normal flavours of chocolate (you can't go wrong with a bar or two of traditional, plain cadburys), I've recently been loving the Lindt Sea Salt chocolate. It's not too strong like others I've tried, and no one else that I live with likes it, so that's another bonus!

• Netflix & Suits: Breaking up with your boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't have to be a bad thing, especially when said ex leaves themselved signed in on Netflix on your laptop, leaving you to fully take advantage like I have been doing. Instead of watching something new, I'd gone back to one of my old favourites; Suits. I'd hoenstly forgotten just how good it is - it's witty, clever and I actually laugh out loud when watching it. I'm definitely going to have to branch out and watch something that I haven't watched before though. What good is Netflix if you don't put it to good use?!

• Spotlight & Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs is technically a favourite from March, but I have been thinking about it so much that I just had to include it. I actually watched in on the plane journey to Australia (along with Black Mass, Bridge of Spies, The Suffragette, PLL, The Revenant & more). It's probably cheaper to just book a flight to Australia and watch loads of films than to go to the cinema so many times, haha. Steve Jobs was just so captivating, the acting was superb (it deserved so many Oscars) and I actually almost cried, though I blame the altitude! Spotlight is another film that I've recently enjoyed watching. For such a delicate subject, I thought they handled it really well and it definitely deserved to win best film at the Oscars. 

• Jhene Aiko Sail Out: As well as rewatching Suits, I've also been listening to some old favourites, like Jhene Aiko's debut album, Sail Out. I'm a massive fan of Jhene and was gutted to recently miss her concert in Perth, so I'm definitely going to have to attend another show. There isn't a single song on the album that I don't like and I could honestly listen to it all day. It puts me in a relaxed mood but also makes me feel like I could take on the world, haha. 

What have you been loving this month?

Let me know in the comments below!