My Half Year Favourites

Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzer in 14 Tanned Skin - I brought this because I love the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer but I hate the packaging because it doesn't have a mirror. So I brought this new one which has a 360 degree mirror and has a slight shimmer with the bronzer and I love it as it is great for on the go. 

Revlon Lip Butter in 095 Creme Brûlée - This is the second Revlon Lip Butter which I have and it is my favourite everyday one particularly for when I am working as it is such a nude colour and compliments my everyday make-up well. 

GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in 153 Flirty Orange - If you follow my blog or have seen any of my recent post and I love this lipstick. Not much I can say, I just love this colour. 

Fashionista Khol Eyeliner in 1 Erin - I found this right at the beginning of the year and it got lost in an old handbag but found it again about March time. It is the perfect Khol eyeliner as it is a rich black texture and doesn't smudge unless you smudge on application and it is pretty cheap too. 

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - I know there is a huge hype around this product and I am on my second one of the year after receiving one for Christmas last year. It has just transformed my skin. 

Lancome Tonique Douceur Toner - I never really used toner until this year where I wanted to make sure I had a full skincare routine. I used a couple of low end toners which dried my skin out. But I will be repurchasing this again and again. 

Paul Mitchell Super-Charged Moisturiser Hair Treatment - I have dry hair mixed with dyed blonde hair which equal super dry hair. This treatment is amazing... am currently on a hair "diet" from my hairdressers because of the peroxide disaster which I had last month. I leave this treatment on for a few hours and it works its magic on my mop and bang it's beaut. 

Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub - I think this is my third or fourth pot of this scrub and by gosh I think only this year I have realised why it is my favourite. I'm finishing up my numerous Body Shop scrubs which I own and whilst they are gorgeous, they don't have the thick abrasive texture that The Breakfast Scrub has. 

Garnier Summer Body Gradual Tanner - Deep Sun Kissed Look - Nearly finished this bottle and it is leaves my skin feel beautiful and it doesn't smell bad either. The moisture sinks in quickly but you don't know the effects until after a week, I think. Still it does the job and doesn't go patchy or streaky. 

Garnier Ambre Solaire Self-Tanning Dry Body Mist - Quick, easy and clean. I found that this was like giving myself a spray tan but for myself. I do get through this like water which is a pain but it isn't too expensive, I think around the £10 mark. And it doesn't come off in the shower, it fades but doesn't come off which is a bonus!

Lush Helping Hands Handcream - WOW. Smooth beautiful hands in one pump. I LOVE THIS :) 

I love reading other people's monthly favourites but I just find that this year is flying by and the next minute I know it will be christmas. Eeek that is such a scary thought. Anyway, basically what I am attempting to say is that I can't keep up with the monthly favourites. Thus now I am doing my half yearly favourites - yes we are half way through 2012. I don't know where it has gone. So I thought I would show you what I have been loving this year so far. 

Loving The Orange

As you can see by this post that I am really loving the orange trend at the moment. My first hook was the Orange Nails as seen on Stephanie Pratt, Vanessa Hudgens and Olivia Palermo above. My two favourite orange nail varnishes of the moment are the Kiko nail lacquer in 235 and Missguided in 09. The Missguided one I think I got free from a magazine possibly Glamour or Cosmopolitan (as they are really the only ones I buy). The colour is a block colour and has no shimmer at all, it is bold and bright - everything you need for a summer polish. Whereas the Kiko nail lacquer I brought from the Kiko store in Westfield at Stratford, it is the shop which has millions of different shades of nail varnishes. Mine was £2.50 which is a bargain as it is a great polish which is long lasting. This one has a gold shimmer through the orange which makes the colour softer and looks great with a summer tan.

                       

I think this is possibly my favourite make-up trend that I have clung to in ages. I literally adore my orange lipsticks and I feel that I have the two perfect shades for myself. My Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti (left picture) is a great subtle shade whereas my GOSH Flirty Orange is really bright and 'in your face' type of colour. Most days at the moment I am sporting either of these colours, I just need the sun to come back out because this colour looks beautiful with a tan. 

Has anyone else jumped on the Orange Fever?

My Eyebrow Routine

The Products

 (L-R) 17 Eye Liner: GOSH Brow Pen: Bourjois Ombre Stretch 

Before

After

This may seem like an odd post but for years I never use to do much with my eyebrows except tweezer them. I'm naturally fair and I have "slug" eyebrows, as I call them. So I have always been envious of Kiera Knightley's brows and others of the like. I would love to have big brows but sadly I wasn't given them :(. As you can see in the before picture my eyebrows are fair, shapeless and sparse. 


It may look like I use lots of different products but they each have their own role. I use the Benefit Speed Brow for defining the brow hairs and setting them in place. I use the Bourjois Ombre Stretch in 04 Flexi Brown because this has great tones for the body part (the thick bit) of my eyebrow. Then I alternative between the 17 Eye liner pencil in Brown and the GOSH Brown Pen in 004 Wheat for defining the tail bit of my eyebrow (the thinner end). 


I apply the Bourjois Ombre Stretch with my Elizabeth Arden brow angled brush, which I believe is the best angled brush on the market. It is smaller and thinner than most others. In the photo's above I have compared it to the Real Techniques Brow Brush and the visual  differences between them. I have used the Real Techniques before but because my eyebrows are very small (smaller than average) the make-up on the brush smudges above and below the eyebrow and it comes a such a mess. 


The Prep:


Step 1 - In this picture I used the GOSH Brow Pen, whereby I drew the outline of my eyebrow but from only the underneath. Then thickening the line when it reaches the tail end.


Step 2 - On my Elizabeth Arden angled brush and using the Bourjois Ombre Stretch. I flick strokes in different directions on the main body of the brow. The reason for going in different directions is to make it more natural. 


Step 3 - I brush on the Benefit Speed Brow Gel to fix the eyebrow hairs. I stroke the brush upwards and then drag it down the top part of my brow. 


Then I have more defined brows and am ready to go. 


How do you do your brows??