It's Time For July Favourites!!

So yes indeed, it's time for me to talk about the products that I've been LOVING and using during the month of July. Seeing as this is my first time I'm doing a "favourites" video, I'll probably have more products than my later ones - I'm going to try to avoid repeating the same products again and again.

Now I'm going to dive straight in - the first product that I've been loving is the Naked Palette by Urban Decay (pictured right). I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing how great the Naked Palette is, but there's a reason why it's been so raved about. I was unsure as to whether or not to get it as it is pretty expensive. In the UK, it retails for £32 and I got mine in the Debenhams on Oxford Street, London. I've been hearing about how hard it is to get your hands on one of these because they keep selling out - this is really strange to me. Whenever I go to the Debenhams on Oxford Street, I always see loads. I'm talking like 15+. When I got mine, there were shelves stocked with it, so it kinda confuses me when people talk about it being hard to get a hold of. Running on a bit of a tangent there - if you don't know what the Naked Palette is or looks like (if that's the case, erm, hello, where have you been?!), it's a palette of 12 eyeshadows (with 4 exclusive to the palette). They come in a mixture of matte, shimmer, satin, and sparkle finishes. Rather than coming with an eyeliner pencil (like most Urban Decay palettes do), this one comes with a eyeshadow brush - a flat stiff brush. The colours are mostly neutral, with a shimmery black and gunmetal colour for the dark smokey eye look. I'll do a proper review of this palette and swatches in another blog, and I'll talk about whether or not it's worth it. I've been LOVING this palette since I've gotten it, and been using it pretty much everyday I wear eyeshadow. I used to always do the dark silver slash black smokey eye (even in the daytime!) and now I rarely ever do that look.

My next favourite is Avon Supershock Vivid Liquid Eyeshadow in Antique Bronze (pictured right). It's a gorgeous antique gold slash bronze colour, and I've been wearing this a lot, along with the Naked Palette. It comes with a doe foot applicator (the most common lip gloss wand) and is super pigmented. And what I love about this eyeshadow is that once it dries, it stays put. I can get a nice antique bronze colour elsewhere, I just love the lasting power of this product, as well as the colour. Also, it was only £2.50 - what a bargain!

I've also been loving Carex Grapefruit and Lime Anti-bacterial hand gel (pictured above). It smells so good, I think I'm addicted to the smell. I just carry this around my bag and use it throughout the day. This costs around £1.40, but I got this on sale for only £1 at Boots ^^

My next favourite is a bronzer - Laguna by NARS (pictured left). I absolute love this bronzer and use it every single day I wear makeup. I have it in the blush/bronze trio alongside Orgasm and Albatross. I believe that Orgasm and Albatross are overrated - I don't particularly like the two of them. Orgasm is too shimmery for me, and Albatross is too yellow for me. And costing a whopping £39, it is seriously disappointing for me. I will definitely use the blush and the highlighter as I'm not one to just let it go to waste, especially since I paid so much for it, but it is definitely not something I love. I do, however, love the bronzer and will probably re-purchase the bronzer on its own. The bronzer has a slight shimmer to it, but it definitely does not show up when applied to the face. It gives a very sunkissed glow to the face and can also be used as contouring. It is described as a brown colour with golden shimmer. The bronzer alone will set you back around £22.

My lip product this month is The Body Shop's Pink Grapefruit Lip Butter (pictured right). The lip butter is super moisturising - moreso than Vaseline. The only qualm I have with this product is that it is very white. I usually apply this generously in the privacy of my own home, but use very little when I'm out and about. It does leave a white ring on the inside of the mouth, but hey, it moisturises my lips so I'm not going to complain. I just have to be careful not to use too much of it when I'm out and about. This costs £4 but The Body Shop usually have an offer of 3 for 2.

My favourite mascara that I have absolutely been loving this month is MAC's Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara (pictured above). This costs £17.50 which I know is really expensive for a mascara - as much as I love this mascara, I cannot justify spending that much on just a mascara. I actually got this mascara for free earlier this year because the MAC online store was doing something related to inventory and so you could not order online for a few days. As a thank you for being patient and understanding, they gifted a free Haute & Naughty Lash mascara with every purchase. This mascara is different to most because using the pink opening will leave you lashes looking defined, and opening the glittery purple end (along with the pink end) will result in a more fuller dramatic look. It's just the one wand, but the pink opening is much smaller and so allows for much less mascara to coat the wand. The purple and pink combined looks like a much fatter wand, but it's just due to the fact that there's much more mascara coated onto the wand. The mascara wand is just a regular bristle-type wand. I really like the mascara when opened on the pink opening (with much less mascara), it really defines my lashes and holds curl relatively well. I can also build up the mascara for a more dramatic look - when tried with the purple and pink wand, it can leave my lashes looking clumpy and spidery. I have heard that some people like this kind of look, I am not one of them.

My final favourite is the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink (pictured above). This retails for £15.50 and is more expensive than the MAC FluidLine gel eyeliners (they cost £13.50). I have used both and I will go into a more in-depth comparison review at a later point. I am really loving this eyeliner because I've been going to the gym recently and have been pleasantly surprised with the fact that this does not sweat off my face. My gymming sessions usually last around 3 hours and I only do cardio. Not only does the gel liner stay in place, there's barely any smudging which is fantastic! I would definitely recommend this gel eyeliner if people are unsure as to which one to invest in - I know it may be pretty expensive to some of you, but I can assure you, it is worth it!

So that concludes my July favourites, I know this has been a pretty long list, but like I said before, this is my first time blogging so I have to talk about my makeup essentials. I will try to avoid repeating the same products over and over again. I will also do in-depth reviews on all these products at some point. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and until next time..

- Diem xo