Monthly Favourites: May & June

Just like that we've reached the halfway mark for 2016, unbelievable! I've been a bit quiet during the first half of the year, but I'm slowly and steadily picking up (blogging)speed again! This post bundles together my favourites for the past two months, and there's quite a few so let's get started!

Body care

This post is quite skincare-heavy as I love nothing more than to slap extra rich and hydrating products on my skin during the dry, cold winter. 

I bought the Palmer's Coconut Oil Body lotion on a whim when I heard a lot of people rave about it, and it is simply divine. The body lotion comes in a big bottle (400 ml) with a handy pump to dispense the product, and it's extremely affordable. It smells incredible and feels silky on the skin, as well as sinking into the skin quickly and doesn't leave a greasy, yucky film. It contains raw coconut oil and Tahitian Monoi oil, but no parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, gluten, sulfates, or dyes.

The Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Body Wash is a very new entry to the favourites list, but it's definitely a goodie. I bought this a long time ago on a sale so I can't remember the price, but I recently discovered it in my stash of body products when I was searching for something that would cleanse as well as moisturise my skin. The body wash is touted as being restoring, anti-ageing, hydrating, as well as nourishing. It contains delicious ingredients such as argan oil (first on the list!), aloe vera leaf juice, orange fruit extract, vanilla fruit extract, baobab fruit extract, and a bunch of oils (clove, geranium, lemon peel, patchouli, cinnamon leaf, rosewood, wild mint, mandarin peel, spearmint). The body wash is quite watery and a little bit foams up nicely (even though it contains no foaming agents). It smells incredible - spicy and comforting, delicious! It hydrates my skin beautifully and I'm already trying to find out where I can purchase another bottle.

Skincare

I have spoken about this Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel many, many times. I think it might be my favourite facial cleanser of all time! I recently bought another tube and remembered why I love it so much: it has the typical soft-floral Clarins fragrance, and is extremely gentle on my skin all while properly cleansing my skin. It's a thick gel and I apply it directly to dry, dirty skin. As I start massaging it into my skin I can feel it starting to change consistency. Adding a drop of water emulsifies the gel into a deliciously frothy cream. I then take a warm, wet facecloth and remove all the makeup, grime, and cleanser.

I was looking for a budget-friendly serum that would hydrate my parched skin, and thank to the girls from All Dolled Up, I was introduced to the Avène Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum. The serum has a white gel-like consistency and sinks into the skin immediately. You can use this both day and night but I prefer to only use it in the mornings. It doesn't revolutionise my skincare routine, or suddenly give me bouncy plump skin, but it does manage to keep my oiliness at bay, and that's good enough for me!

The Vichy Idéalia Skin Sleep is like a moisturiser/mask hybrid that you apply at night. It has a delicate rose smell and the product is a silky gel-cream. I can immediately tell that my skin feels more comfortable and hydrated and the next morning I'm left with plump and glowy skin. Good skin in a tube? Sign me up!

Makeup 

 

I've spoken about the Catrice Beautifying Primer and the Catrice High Glow Mineral Highlighting Powder here. The primer smooths out my skintone and creates a perfect base for whatever I apply next. I've used it almost every day for a month and I absolutely adore it. The highlighter is a surprise addition to the list: I'm normally not one to wear highlighter during the day for fear that I'll beam too brightly, but this highlighting powder is so stunning that I just can't help myself. The other day at a MAC counter, the makeup artist told me my makeup looks amazing and is that Soft & Gentle on my cheekbones? I felt very chuffed and replied that no, it is indeed a drugstore highlighter!

I've recently started using the NYX Eye Shadow Base after using their HD Eye Shadow Primer tube for a long time. The product is quite hard, but after warming it up a bit with my finger it applies easily to my eyelids. There is a white variant and this camel-coloured one, and I find that this one evens out the colour of my eyelids. It does a decent job of keeping my eyeshadow in place, although with my oily eyelids it's difficult to say.

I've also been loving the essence long lasting lipliners, and as you can see I own six of them! I'm not going to go into too much detail here as I plan on doing a proper blog post about them in the near future. All I can say is: they are amazing and I plan on owing every single shade!

That was my favourites for the past two months! What were your favourites for May and June? Let me know in the comments section!

Until next time!

Hildegarde

xoxo