Hiya everyone! Hope you had a good bank holiday weekend. I went for a walk with my best friend and saw my grandparents as my nan is not well at the moment. My husband cleaned the patio and windows at home while I popped out. We had some sunshine here, but it was bitterly cold!
It’s been a few months since I did a monthly favourites, so today I’m sharing my Current Beauty Favourites with you! What with end of year favourites and then being in a flare up this entire year so far, work has taken a back seat a few times. I used to beat myself up about it all the time, but there’s not point. It doesn’t help me. I have to come to terms with the fact I’m never going to be well and I have to listen to my body. If I’m unable to lift my head off the pillow due to cervical instability, then I’m going to rest. It’s extra hard as I’m a workaholic and I hate feeling like I can’t do something because of my body and conditions.
It’s all still so new to me, I’m so used to coping with chronic pain and also not being taken seriously by doctors. Now they are taking me seriously, it’s so novel. Plus, since January I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve had something flare up every single day of 2021. Normally something will flare up, then it will calm down and I go back to my base line pain of about a 5/6 out of 10. This year I’ve had gastro issues, reflux issues, dysmotility, migraines, coathanger headaches, neck pain, vagus nerve issues, subluxations in my wrist, heart fluttering, pounding, chest pain, inflammation in my chest, my knees have popped in and out, pulled muscles from what seems to be existing.
Anyway, let’s get into my current beauty favourites; I have so much to share with you!
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L’OREAL PARIS ELVIVE DREAM LENGTHS WONDER WATER – £9.99 from Superdrug
Run don’t walk to buy this stuff. It’s AMAZING! There was no way this wasn’t making it to my Current Beauty Favourites! This has made the single biggest change in my hair recently. It’s lamellar water which is this strange water that almost feels like an oil when it comes out. It also warms up on contact with your hair and foams slightly. It’s the strangest thing ever, but boy does it work!
You will instantly feel the difference in your hair when you rinse this out. My hair feels like silk when I rinse it out. It also smells divine and your hair will continue to smell divine once it’s dry. Apparently lamellar water works by only attaching itself to the strands that need to be repaired. Whatever is in this stuff, it’s magic. It’s also half price at Superdrug right now. I’ve already finished a bottle and have stocked up on this stuff.
DIOR FOREVER SKIN VEIL SPF20 MOISTURISING PRIMER – £36 from Selfridge’s
Dior’s Forever range is one of my favourites. Their Skin Glow foundation is amazing. I’ve recently been testing out the new Natural Nude foundation from the same range (review coming soon!). So, when I saw that they had released a Forever Primer as well? I knew I needed to try it!
This is a fascinating product. It’s flesh coloured and comes out a bit mousse like. However, when you start to rub it in, it becomes a lightweight cream. It also feels like it should be a pore filling primer and it does blur the skin. However, it manages to glide over the skin and be super hydrating as well. It’s fantastic!
I’ve had some acne on my chin recently which, as it heals, has become dry and flaky. When I use this primer, my foundation doesn’t cling to the dry patches. It’s like it hydrates and smooths the flakes out??? So weird, but incredible! It’s been really long lasting as well. My makeup looks flawless all day when I wear this. No caking, separating etc. Another fabulous product from the Dior Forever range!
KOSAS TINTED FACE OIL – £40 from Cult Beauty
Before we get into what I love about this product, let’s talk about one thing I don’t like. The smell! It’s not got fragrance in, which is a good thing. However, it smells like vegetable oil! And you can smell it on your face for a while after application. I’m able to get over the smell because this looks stunning on the face and it performs so well, I really wanted to mention it in my current beauty favourites as I’ve been wearing it a lot.
I have combination skin, so can get oily in the t-zone. I’m not as oily as I used to be, but I didn’t really know what to expect from this face oil. I could have been a grease ball by the end of the day. But.. nope. This looks gorgeous all day on me. It’s definitely not transfer proof with masks, but the reason it made it onto my current beauty favourites is the longevity and how it looks on the skin.
It’s so lightweight, yet manages to cover pretty well. No, it’s not full coverage, it doesn’t claim to be. But you can get good coverage which really evens out redness and texture. Your skin looks so healthy with this, glowy, but not greasy.
If this had no smell, you honestly would not know you were wearing anything on your face. It’s the lightest weight base product I’ve ever worn. It never looks like foundation, it just looks like you have amazing skin.
You can apply this with a brush, sponge or fingers. I’ve tried both brush and fingers. I prefer brush application, but it does blend in with fingers well. You only need a few drops to cover your whole face as well. I can get a full day’s wear with this and it wears away beautifully too. It sinks into the skin as it wears away, never becoming heavy or noticeable on the skin. Kosas is a new to me brand, but I’ve been enjoying their products so far!
MAYBELLINE DREAM LUMI HIGHLIGHTING CONCEALER – £7.99 from Superdrug
I don’t think this is a new product, however, I think its been repackaged recently and possilby reformulated as it was definitely new in my Sainsbury’s store. This packaging is also different to what I can find anywhere online.
I’m not surprised that I ended up loving this concealer so much it made it to my current beauty favourites as Maybelline do concealers well. Their Fit Me concealer is my absolute favourite for covering acne. Nothing else has even come close.
I’ve been using this concealer non stop since I bought it. It’s fantastic under the eyes. It’s a twist up pen which I never think is the best packaging. BUT, for one of these highlighting concealers, the coverage is fantastic! I do wish there were more shades, I have the lightest one and it’s a little dark. If I was into bright under eyes, I wouldn’t have a hope, but this does work and I can wear it.
This lasts all day, doesn’t need to be set and only settles ever so slightly into the fine lines under my eyes. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t found a single concealer that doesn’t somewhat settle, even if it’s set. It’s just something I’m used to. I don’t have any crows feet, but I’ve had two fine lines under each eye for as long as I can remember.
The texture is very lightweight, easy to blend and doesn’t separate or look heavy on the skin. The finish is natural matte, not flat at all, but not really glowy. It just looks natural on the skin. I haven’t found the brush and tube getting too messy, but I’m super careful twisting more product up as all packaging like this has the tendency to come flying out and not stop!
I also have L’Oreal’s version of this type of concealer and I don’t love it as much. It doesn’t cover half as well and creases on me quite a bite. It’s passable, I just don’t love it which is a shame as I wanted it to be amazing! It’s skin care and concealer together, but it doesn’t really perform that well unfortunately.
KOSAS CLOUD SET BAKED SETTING POWDER – £30 from Revolve
Another Kosas product that’s made it into my current beauty favourites! This powder is beautiful and so lightweight you can’t see it at all on the skin. Some people have said it’s slightly glowy, but I don’t find that. I don’t think it’s flat and matte, but it doesn’t make my skin glowy. It’s a baked powder, so it’s stiffer than non-baked powders. Sometimes you think you haven’t picked anything up, but don’t fear, you have!
I use this to set under my eyes and sometimes round my cheeks if I’m going to be wearing a mask for a long period of time. It’s like air has been applied, but it really works. Because it’s so light, it doesn’t add texture or make your makeup look heavy. I love the packaging, it feels solid and well made. I also love the fact this performs just like the loose Hourglass powder I love, because the Kosas is much more travel friendly. Oh and they’re less problematic than Hourglass. I decided not to support them anymore, since they continue to refuse to be inclusive and mislead people by putting out ads with deeper skinned women and a “new” palette. Which turned out to be old stuff repackaged and waaaaaay lighter than their marketing images.
Since then, I’ve been trying to find an alternative from a brand I don’t mind supporting. Happy to report that while it’s slightly more matte than the Hourglass, the effect on the skin is incredibly similar. It never gives you that over powdered looks where you end up grabbing your Fix Plus and spraying the sh*t out of your face so you don’t look like you’re made of plaster. It’s just a great, lightweight powder!
You can also Join the waitlist on Cult Beauty for when this product releases here.
L’OREAL PARIS LE LINER SIGNATURE IN DENIM BROWN – £5.99 from Superdrug
This liner is fantastic!! I’m totally obsessed with it and there was no way it wasn’t making it to my current beauty favourites. Every time I’ve worn makeup recently, this is the liner I’ve worn.
It’s thin tipped liner, ultra smooth and pigmented and it stays put all day. No transfer between top lash line to bottom lash line. It’s fabulous and well worth £6! My favourite eyeliner was the Physician’s Formula satin brown eyeliner, but it only came in a pack of three and I didn’t lie the other two. So, I wanted to find another eyeliner that I could buy individually. L’Oreal to the rescue! If I wore any other colour than brown, I would buy these liners in every colour!
If you’re after a long lasting, smooth liner that sets down and stays in your waterline, then look no further than this eyeliner. It’s glorious and so well priced! I’ve spent £20 on an eyeliner before and it wasn’t as good as this one!
LANCOME LASH IDOLE MASCARA – £23.50 from Boots
I haven’t found a new mascara love for ages! I was set on the Nars one, but I didn’t love the bristles… And I’d stab myself in the eye almost every time I used it because the brush was so sharp and big!
I loved the volume and length of the Nars, but it could go clumpy and make you have spider lashes. This Lancome one however? Perfection! The wand is much less spiky, the wand is curved which makes coating your lashes a breeze. It never clumps or looks spidery. It just lengthens and volumises lightly. I’m not after huge, thick lashes. I have really long lashes anyway, but, while my lashes are mostly brown, the tips are almost invisible. So, I need mascara to just make my whole lash visible!
The Lancome Lash Idole Mascara doesn’t flake or smudge on me either. It lasts all day and is pretty easy to remove as well. This has knocked every other mascara I own down the list and has quickly become my Holy Grail mascara, so I had to mention it in my current beauty favourites!
MAC POWDER BLUSH IN FLEUR POWER – £20 from MAC Cosmetics
This is not a newly released product, however, it is new to me. It’s the perfect shade for Spring/Summer. A light pinky coral which is easy to blend and has a matte finish. Well, not completely matte. They say this blush is satin, but I don’t notice any shimmer at all.
It wears a full 16 hours and I actually had to properly remove it at the end of the day. It hadn’t faded at all, the formula was so easy to work with and blended like a dream. I just know I’m going to be wearing this colour non stop. It’s gorgeous, it gives you that pinched cheek look and healthy flush.
I also bought the shade Mocha when I ordered from MAC recently. Again, not a new product, but new to me. That’s a more Autumnal shade though. It’s a beautiful light plum.
I think MAC does blushes so well. There are loads of different formulas; extra dimension, mineralize, powder, glow play. I have at least one of every formula and there isn’t a dud in the pack. MAC is such a fall back brand for me. I love shiny new things and testing new brands, but I can always rely on MAC and I ALWAYS go back to them.
MAC GLOW PLAY LIP BALM – £17.50 from MAC Cosmetics
Now, this actually is a new release! I have the shade Sweet Treat in the normal packaging and Floral Coral in the Black Cherry Collection packaging. I love them both!
Sweet Treat has become a handbag staple for me. It’s a beautiful nude pink which is so easy to throw on without looking. These balms have plenty of pigment, but you can just apply a thin layer and sheer them out. These are moisturising, non-sticky and feel so lovely on the lips.
They have a mixture of butters in the formula and I find them really hydrating. I wasn’t really a tinted lip balm person until recently. I haven’t been wearing lipstick as there’s no point when you’ll be wearing a mask. But I still want something on my lips to hydrate them.
There are 6 shades in the permanent collection and a real mixture of shades, so you’re bound to find one you love. There’s a clear, nude pink, deep pink, coral, plum and red.
L’OREAL PARIS COLOR RICHE SHINE LIPSTICK IN MLBB – £9.99 from Superdrug
The final product in my current beauty favourites is this lipstick from L’Oreal. I know I just said I haven’t really been wearing lipstick recently, which is true. However, sometimes I test products at home and don’t need to wear a mask, so I’ve been obsessed with this lipstick.
It really is your lips but better! It’s a beigey nude with just a hint of pink. If it was too beige/grey I wouldn’t be able to wear it. But it manages to pull pink enough that it suits me.
L’Oreal has been a huge hit with me recently. I keep trying products that I fall in love with. This Shine formula is my absolute favourite of their lipsticks. They smell like sweet fruit and are so gorgeous on the lips. They aren’t long wearing, they’re a creamy/glossy lipstick, but they’re just so comfortable to wear. While I love a MAC cremesheen lipstick (or 38) I have to say these L’Oreal lipsticks are a great drugstore alternative.
And there we have it! My Current Beauty Favourites! I have loved so many products recently, I had to really whittle it down to this, otherwise the post would be ridiculously long!! I’m hoping to be able to go back to monthly favourites now, so I don’t end up with an overwhelming amount of products to mention.
