February Favourites

Another month down and it's been a good one for new discoveries. I have quite a few things to talk about this month so lets get right down to it.

I'll start with one that's possibly a bit obvious: in my post about the new releases to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani line, I made my feelings towards the Lipsticks in that collection pretty clear (click here if you missed it!). I have gone back and picked up the shade "Rock Steady" (resisting hard on the other shades - surely buying them all is a little extreme?) but it's the shade "Firebird" that really has my heart. It's an awesome deeper bright pink and it's super comfortable and so unique and my other lipsticks have barely had a look in this month. Seriously, love.

With a bold lip I've been going for something a little less in-your-face on the eyes and I've been gravitating to the Love of Colour One and Done Shadow Stick in the shade "Champagne Problems". I got this in my Birchbox this month and LOC is an in-house brand at Birchbox and let me tell you, these shadow sticks aren't messing around. They're £8 each and they're pigmented, long lasting, creamy eyeshadow sticks and you'll be hearing more about this brand in an upcoming post. My only complaint? There's only 2 shades available in the UK right now - LOC, please release more!

Another Birchbox win this month was the Spectrum Collections Tapered Finishing Brush. This brush retails for £7.99 and it's a really lovely brush for contouring the cheek bones. I love that it's so colourful and even though it's only £7.99 full price it feels really sturdy and nicely made. For those of you that want vegan friendly, cruelty free brushes these are also synthetic bristle brushes.

Ive been getting back into using setting sprays. I went off them because the only ones on the market were a bit up there in price and for me they didn't do an awful lot - Ive had the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray in my collection for years. On a recent trip to Boots I saw that the L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist had come over to the UK and it was in my basket before you could say "setting spray". I'm still not sure if it's doing much for the longevity of my makeup but it does make my base apply a little nicer as it gives some slip and I've been using it every day since I got it.

And finally? Hair masks. I've not been into hair for ages but I'd been wearing it up off my face a lot for a few weeks and noticed the ends were feeling a bit brittle and not as soft as they normally are. Depending on how much time I have in the shower I've either been reaching for the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque or the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer in the "Geranium & Neroli" scent. I personally prefer the effect of the Philip K option, it's a bit of a faff having to dampen the hair, put the mask in and then leave for 5-10 minutes before shampooing but the effect is great.

Days 12-18 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

So today we have days 12-18 of the M&S beauty advent calendar. I can't believe how close Christmas is now. I've spent 2 whole days wrapping presents (more because I'm a perfectionist about wrapping than there being a lot of them), I've listened to "Merry Xmas Everyone" and "The Fairytale of New York" (mr two favourite Christmas songs) a few hundred times and I'm counting down the hours until my Christmas holiday begins at 4pm on Tuesday. But back to the advent calendar:

I was actually really surprised with day 12. The Diego Dalla Palma The Lipstick in shade "46" looked a bit bland when I first opened it, but after applying it for the first time and actually wearing it, I love it. The colour is a nice wearable everyday shade and the formula is so unbelievably moisturising. I've pretty much worn this constantly since I got it - and it seems to be a full size?

My sunday treat came on day 13 in the form of the Mio Liquid Yoga Restorative Bath Soak, it's like M&S knew what would happen because I had an epic handover last Sunday (thanks works Christmas do) and this was amazing for it. I've made a pretty hefty dent in the 58ml sample size with just one use but its great. Not many bubbles but a really calming, relaxing scent that just eases stress.

On day 14 I got a  Roger & Gallet Hand and Nail Balm With Shea Butter and Fig Extract. So this smells quite nice but for me the formula is a bit heavy - I don;t have particularly dry skin on my hands so for me this was a tad greasy and it lingered a bit too long for me.

Day 15 brought us something I already have: the Percy & Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil. I did a full review on this product (here) and while it's a like, it's not quite a love and I've barely made a dent in the original bottle I had.

My day 16 treat was the Rodial Dragons Blood Sculpting Gel, which I actually used on my trip to Amsterdam and loved - I had some little sample sachets. Really pleased to have a bigger bottle to play with as it's a really nice face cream.

I was a bit confused by the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque that I got on day 17 of my advent calendar. I'm sure the full size must give you some information but this sample came with no hint as to what it was supposed to do - nor did it come with an inci list on the bottle. I tried it and it seems to be a hydrating treatment as my hair felt super soft after use but it also felt a bit greasy (after having just been washed), so maybe one for those with super brittle hair (mine is colour treated and heat styled regularly).

Finally? On day 18 we have a Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Moisturising Soap. Which I can't bring myself to use for the overpowering smell of awful. It smells like one of those old fashioned soaps that your gran might have used back in the early 90's. Definitely the worst addition to the calendar so far.