Monthly Favourites: January + February

Many of you probably thought that I've quit this blogging business, but I'm happy to report that I'm back! I've published a total of one blog post this year, but that's mainly due to things out of my control. As some of you know, our house got broken into for a third time in January, this time while we were in the house sleeping (the burglars were in the opposite side of the house and we are unharmed, but still), we got a puppy (more on that later), and I finally finished the last few things for my PhD. My defence went amazingly well and I will be awarded my PhD degree at the end of April.

So now that I've caught you up I'm sure you will understand why I've been so quiet on the blog! But don't fear, I am back and I am here to stay. Today's post is going to be about my favourites for the past two months. For the post I tried only sticking to things that have never been featured in a monthly favourites blog post before, so that's why it might look a bit sparse for a two-month favourites post.

Ohhhh my goodness, I think I have found a new favourite shower cream. Dischem had these Palmolive Gourmet Spa Shower Creams on sale for R44 for two big bottles (500 ml). I picked up this Mint Shake and the Creamy Coffee one (which I still need to try) and I am in love. It smells exactly like peppermint crisp and it's very cooling on the skin, perfect for summer. It's very creamy and nourishing and isn't drying like many other inexpensive shower products.

I have had Skin Creamery goodies on my wish list for such a long time and just before my birthday at the beginning of February I decided to spoil myself. I got this Jojoba, Melon Seed, and Baobab Hydrating Facial Oil and I'm hooked. The directions say to apply two drops to wet hands, emulsify the product, and then apply it to your skin. Apparently this helps the product to absorb better. My favourite way to use this is to spray my face with a thermal water (Uriage, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, or Avène), apply two-three drops of the oil in the palm of my hand, rub my hands together, and gently pat it onto my wet skin. It smells amazing and is so light, you don't feel oily or greasy. The packaging also gets an A+ from me as it's absolutely gorgeous.

The Avène Soothing Moisture Mask comes in a small tube, perfect for travelling, and is a milky cream. If that doesn't make sense, imagine a thick sunscreen or a watery cream. I like to apply it after using a clay mask to soothe and hydrate my skin. I apply it and let it sink it, wiping away the excess before bed (to save my pillow cases). It's a no-nonsense mask: no big claims, just hydration.

I love many of The Body Shop's skincare products, but I'm not always the biggest fan of their makeup products. That being said, this Vitamin C Skin Boost Instant Smoother kind of falls between skincare and makeup. It is said to wake up dull, tired, and grumpy skin. The product has the distinct citrussy smell of the Vitamin C range, so maybe avoid that if you're sensitive to strong smells. The product has a velvety texture and smoothing it onto the skin leaves me with a silky complexion, almost the same as when you would apply the Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer or Benefit's Porefessional. It gives me a fantastic base to which apply makeup on and I don't experience any pilling or patchiness. Makeup goes on smoothly and evenly, and my only gripe is that the pump dispenses a bit too much product at a time.

I have been searching for a good hand cream for a while now, and I was delighted to find the Palmer's Shea Formula Raw Shea Hand Cream at Dischem. It contains natural Shea butter and Marula but no parabens, phtalates, mineral oil, gluten, sulfates, or dye. It smells amazing and very familiar, I want to say it's a vanilla scent, but I can't put my finger on it. It's quite a thick hand cream but it sinks into the skin in record time. I've had no problems with greasy hands and I keep this on my desk at work so that I can moisturise and go on typing.

Since cutting my hair at the start of December I've been curling it every morning and obviously I need something to set my curls with. I always use the L'Oreal Elnett hairspray, but since I am a floozy and a sucker for new things, I decided to try out the VO5 Strong Hold Weather Resistant Hairspray. Apparently VO5 relaunched in South Africa last year (can't say I noticed) and this was one of the 'new' products. It's a gigantic can (400 ml), but I have to say, it's quite good. It's difficult to compare something like hairsprays so I can't say whether or not this is better than the Elnett, but it smells good and it does the job. The other day my husband told me that I smell very nice, and that was just after I used this hairspray, so if that's not a stamp of approval then I don't know what is. Apart from smelling nice it doesn't leave my hair crispy and the mist is fine. It keeps my curls in place, although I can't vouch for it being "weather resistant" (Gauteng thunderstorms and flash floods...?).

I purchased the new Bourjois Radiance Reveal concealer in February, and oh my goodness, it's amazing. It's got quite a liquidy consistency and I think it won't work for a lot of people, but I'm really enjoying it. I have it in the shade "02 Beige" which is the perfect shade for me. I mainly use it on my under-eye areas, but also on the sides of my nose and to cover any blemishes. I let it dry for a few seconds and then gently buff it in with my Real Techniques Contour Brush before setting it with powder. 

The Catrice High Glow Mineral Highlighting Powder has been my HG highlighter for months. This Deluxe Glow Highlighter trio in "010 The Glowrious Three" definitely does not replace it, but it is great for when you want a similar look, just a little more toned down. The three shades are all gorgeous: a champagne-shell colour, a more bronzy champagne-shell colour, and a light bronzy shade. I take my fan brush and just swipe it back and forth over all three colours and apply it to the tops of my cheekbones. It gives a beautiful highlight without looking too "beaming".

Last on my list of favourites is the beautiful Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer in "10 Punch Pop". The packaging is super cute and the sound of the lid clicking in place is very satisfying... The lipstick has a built-in primer and I can definitely feel that. The lipstick is creamy and applies beautifully. It doesn't drag across the lips and it stays put. It's not matte so it doesn't dry down, but it's not super glossy either. Even through eating and drinking it mostly stays put and the best of all: it doesn't wreak havoc with the condition of my lips. I can wear it all day to work and by the evening my lips will still be in great condition. The colour is also stunning: a rich dark pink that will be flattering on a lot of skin tones.

I have a last monthly favourite, but it's not makeup, nor skincare. As I said at the start of the post: we got a puppy at the start of January and I am besotted with her. Mia is a labrador/Border Collie cross and we got her when she was nine weeks old, making her 18 weeks now. She is so cute and smart, but she's getting a bit naughty now. We try to give her things to do (as much as you can with a puppy) to keep her busy as both labradors and Border Collies are "worker dogs". Here are a few snaps of Mia on 18 weeks for those interested. She sat next to me while I was taking blog photos, happily chewing on her rope.

Until next time!

Hildegarde

xoxo