Five Things I Love May 2012

Yardley Royal Diamond EDT (S)

This arrived as a surprise last week and it’s become my summer perfume.  It’s such a pretty, floral scent without being too heavy or sickly, but most importantly, it doesn’t smell like it costs £9.99.  It’s got a familiarity to it and I think it’s quite close to Estee Lauder’s Pleasures but I won’t know for sure until I get my hands on some to test side by side.  I’ll be reviewing this fully soon so keep an eye out for that if you want to witness me embarrass myself trying to describe perfume notes.  It’s available all over the place (suddenly I’m seeing Yardley everywhere!) including Boots.  

Bobbi Brown Treatment Lip Shine in Orchid Pink 

I’ve already reviewed this so I won’t go into more detail and risk repeating myself too much, but this gorgeous pink is so easy to wear and works for both daytime and night time looks.  As I mentioned in my full review, this is currently a limited edition shade as part of the Miami collection, so if BB decides not to make it permanent I’ll be gutted as it’s my absolute go-to pink that takes my easy daytime look from bare to gently polished.  That and it works really well with a tan too!  This seems to have disappeared from the BB online shop, so I’ll do a bit of digging and find out what’s happened to it….please god don’t let it be gone forever. 

E45 Nourish & Restore Body Lotion (S)

I’m never normally one for body lotions, but I’m very aware of the fact that the skin on my body has been drying out recently which I think is partly due to stress and partly due to the fact that I’ve been keeping the heat on for much longer than normal due to the crappy weather.  Anyway, I hate applying body lotion as I hate the sticky, greasy feeling I usually get and I’ve only ever known a couple of products that don’t leave a residue.  I was given the three new variants that E45 added to their range but my favourite is this one as it leaves me with really soft skin without the horrid residue, plus it’s only ever so slightly fragranced, so it doesn’t interfere with my perfume.  I can apply this liberally and it all soaks in, so I tend to apply it after a shower.  I’ve also been using it as a hand cream and an aftersun, so for £3.99 this is a bargain of a multi-purpose product.  Available at all the usual retailers and currently in the Summer 3 for 2 promotion at Boots.

Clarins Ever Matte Skin Balancing Foundation

I’ve been obsessed with BB Creams for longer than I can remember, so I decided last week that it was time to reacquaint myself with foundation.  I’ve read so many positive reviews about this offering from Clarins that I decided to get colour-matched and try it out for size.  This was my first introduction to Clarins make-up as I’ve never tried anything from them before, but it’s safe to say the introduction went well as this is a brilliant foundation.  The coverage is excellent, the formula is perfect for my skin and the wear is great.  Again, I’ll be reviewing this more fully with pictures very soon, so I won’t go into lots of detail yet but it’s safe to say that this is a firm favourite of mine and I’m using it daily. Priced at £24 and available from all the usual retailers including Boots. 

St Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub (S)

I can’t imagine that there’s anyone who’s into beauty who hasn’t at some point tried the cult product that is the St Ives Apricot Scrub.  I remember trying this years ago when I first started buying beauty products (I’ve just realised that it was probably, literally the last century when I used the Apricot Scrub for the first time which may well be the most depressing realisation I’ve ever had) and using it regularly.  However, as times goes on you try new things and forget about the old favourites, so it was great to be reintroduced to the brand recently when I attended a St Ives event.  I’ll be honest and say that it would never have occurred to me to try this scrub again had I not received it at the event, but I’m seriously impressed by just how good it is.  The granules are tiny and soft so you don’t feel like you’re scratching your face and they’re housed in a brilliantly slippery emollient meaning that you have a very gentle exfoliation, yet skin feels perfectly polished afterwards.  This is easily as good, if not better, than the higher priced scrubs I’m used to using so it’ll be a definite repurchase for me.  I have some other St Ives products on their way to me so when I’ve tried them out, I’ll let you know my thoughts.  This is £3.99 and also part of the Boots Summer 3 for 2 promotion. 

As I said, it’s been an eye-opening month with some seriously cheap products making their way into my regular skincare routine. There are so many things to love about beauty blogging and one of them is that you often end up trying products that you wouldn’t normally give a second thought to, but you try them anyway for the benefit of the blog.  Sometimes your instincts were right, other times you end up rediscovering old favourites or being introduced to new ones that become staples.  There is so much joy in beauty blogging!

Coming soon: