October Favourites 💖

Now that Halloween's out of the way, we can all get excited about Christmas, right?!
But seriously though, how fast is this year going by?

This was a hectic month for me. With birthdays, parties and lots of other drama, this has been a crazy month but it was all gooood!

My favourites this month range from haircare to skincare and everything in between! So let's get down to business...

Last month, my best friend made my lifeless, unexciting hair into fabulous, beautiful ombré hair! The colour on the top part of my hair is a copper/brown and on the bottom is a dirty blonde colour. To keep the blonde part nourished and try to keep the brassiness away, I've been using the John Frieda Colour Renew Tone Correcting Shampoo. The conditioner I use is the John Frieda Go Blonder Lightening Conditioner. I love these two. They do an amazing job together!

Next is body moisturiser. The one that I have been loving recently is the Dove Intensive Nourishment Body Lotion for Extra Dry Skin. It does exactly what it says on the tin. My skin is noticeably more hydrated after just a short while of using it. LOVE!

As winter has well and truly arrived here in Ireland, my pale skin is in desperate need of some colour. My favourite (ever) tan is the Cocoa Brown Night and Day Tan. As I am so pale, I always find it hard to find a tan that actually looks natural on me, and this one definitely does just that! This winter, Cocoa Brown tan and I are going to be the best of friends!

As I've already mentioned, winter and the dreaded cold weather has arrived with a bang here in Ireland. Already, my skin, lips and hands are so dry. My holy grail lip balm for the past year has been the Burt's Bees Original Lip Balm. This is some serious stuff! A little piece of heaven in wax form! 😍

On to my favourite makeup products for ze month of October! For me, I always go back to the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. No matter how many times I stray away, I always come back to this piece of amazingness. No other drugstore foundation ever compares to it for me! My favourite makeup tool to apply it? The Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. Check out my review here. For such a small, odd shaped thing, this thing can work wonders! *awkwardly hugs sponge*.

Last month, after hearing people say how surprisingly good they thought the Catrice Eyebrow Set was, I had to try it for myself. And I've got to admit, it is pretty good for the price. I think I paid €4.49 for this. It's a powder duo with a light brown and dark brown. I mix both together and it's a pretty dead on match for my brows. It's the only thing I have used on my eyebrows during October. The next two things are finds from Essence that I have been pleasantly surprised by. They're the Match 2 Cover Cream Concealer and Get Big Lashes Volume Boost Mascara. Both are great for everyday use and both save me a lot of money too! Bonus! 👍

I had to include the piece of jewellery that I have worn everytime I've gone out in October. It's a necklace - a black cross with diamonds in the middle. I think it looks beautiful for both casual wear or for a night out. It's from A-Wear and it's precious. So there.

With the arrival of October, saw the return of two of my favourite television shows The Walking Dead and Love/Hate. I adore this show. Both amazing shows definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.

So there you have it! My October favourites. What have your go to products for October been? What tv shows have you been loving?

Linda, x

September Favourites

So, can you believe it's October already?! You know what that means, right? It's so close to Christmas! It's so close I can almost smell it! :)

Autumn is my favourite time of the year. I love the transition between Summer and Winter. Not just regarding the seasons but with fashion too. I love the darker, sophisticated colours, layering clothes, getting yo boots on, scarves. And of course there's the shorter evenings, hot chocolate, hoodies, duvet days watching Disney movies, the return of the X-Factor and of course the start of the season of one of my favourite things ever, rugby! (I'm a Leinster girl!)

Right, on to business! My 'September Favourites'.

I'll start with the peak and the pit of the month for me. One of the highlights of September for me was being a model for my best friend (who is a trainee hairdresser) for a hair competition. I had so much fun doing it! I now have amazing ombré hair thanks to Will. He is going to be an amazing hairdresser, and is proving it already. That wasn't the peak of the month for me though. It was getting to see my best friend more frequently. He is amazing and I'm so blessed to call him my best friend. :) The pit of my month was my aunt passing away. It really put things into perspective for me.

OK, on to my favourites.

This past month, my skin has been oilier than it's ever been. As a result of that, I've turned to my trusty Nivea Daily Essentials Light Moisturising Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin. This is light weight, fast absorbing and doesn't leave my skin looking even oilier than before I applied it.

Something that has made a huge difference to my skin this month is, before brushing my teeth I apply a hydrating face mask to my face, *obviously* and let that work it's magic whilst I'm brushing my teeth. Then I wash it off and finish my usual morning skincare routine. I got this amazing tip from Lisa Eldridge's PMS video. It's something I've incorporated into my morning routine and it makes such a difference! The face mask that I use is Avon Planet Spa Mediterranean Olive Oil Hydrating Face Mask. Pure magic.

Something that has been very apparent during September, were my pores. *le sigh|*
Fear not! I had my new bessie mate to help me. Yep, it's the Garnier 5 Second Perfect Blur Smoothing Perfecting Primer. Without this piece of heaven I'd be lost! It's inexpensive and easily accessible. It's something I've recommended to my friends and would definitely recommend to you.

Towards the end of September, I woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and got the absolute shock of my life. My lips were so swollen, sore and slightly cracked. My top lip was enormous! *scarlet for me*. In that situation you would hope to look like Angelina Jolie. Nope, not me. It was more like looking at Mick Jagger! What caused it? Well, it was a bad reaction to a lip product. Thankfully, my Burt's Bees Lip Balm was on hand to help me out! I'd apply Vaseline first, let that absorb and then apply my Burt's Bees lip balm about 20 times a day. *I'm actually serious*. It took a week for my lips to get back to normal but thankfully they're back to their usual uneven selves again!

My 'go to' foundation and concealer during September was Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation and Inglot Cream Concealer. My favourite makeup brushes were the Real Techniques Buffing Brush, Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Real Techniques Contouring Brush. I love Real Techniques which was created by the amazing Sam Chapman. None of my other makeup brushes compare to my Real Techniques ones. If they're available to you, I'd definitely recommend you getting them! Such amazing quality and really inexpensive too!

I can't let this post go without mentioning something that I have used everyday since I got it. That's my beloved Urban Decay Naked Palette. All of my other eyeshadows are very neglected at the moment at the expense of this piece of amazingness!

My favourite song that has inspired me this past month is the amazing The Script Hall of Fame. I love The Script's music, I just relate to it so much. Their album '3' is one of my favourite albums of all time. Love it! :)

So, there you have it! My 'September Best Bits'.
What's yours?

Linda, x

PS., here's a picture of my new hair! :)