May - it's probably the only month that has two funny memes:
Anyhoo, with the end of May means we also said goodbye to autumn... winter is literally coming (surprisingly I don't like GoT, #sorrynotsorry). Here is my top ten things for the month of May:
Cedel Dry Shampoo for Dark Hair
Dry shampoo... it is everyone's saviour 🙌🏻 and I go through my fair share of cans. Having dark hair, it is always hard to find a good dry shampoo that; gets rid of any greasiness, doesn't make my hair look white 👵🏻 and smells good. One day while listening to the You Beauty podcast, Kelly McCarren had mentioned this dry shampoo as one of her saveys so as with anything that is mentioned on that podcast, I went and purchased it from Priceline for $14.00 but I bought mine on sale. This dry shampoo has checked all of my boxes and its scent is super similar to the Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer and if you know what that smells like you know that this then smells de-lish! Oh and can we give props to the size of the can, its MASSIVE and has lasted me two months now #value.
Nivea 4 in 1 Firming Body Oil
While my face is normal to combo, my body has always been DRY, like bordering on lizard scales 🦎 dry. So as we are nearing cooler weather, I decided to be proactive this year and get ahead of the dry skin train and start to amp up my moisture game. Every evening before I put my jim jams on, I've been making a concoction of my usual body moisturiser with a few drops of this Nivea 4 in 1 Firming Body Oil and I have noticed a massive difference in my skin. I do this at night time so that it can fully absorb and not leave me like an oil slick the next day. I use this on every square inch of my body other than my neck or face. You can pick up this oil from almost anywhere for around $8.99. It has a nice fresh scent and works well with my Cerave Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion.
Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist
Being a normal to combo skin girl, I lean towards more matte finish foundations and always use a setting powder. While this is great at making my makeup stay put longer, it sometimes looks powdery and cake-y 🍰 so I usually set my face with a makeup setting spray or mist of sorts to make it melt altogether. My go-to is the Mac Fix Plus but I stumbled across this Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist when in Myer. This mist claims to be "youth preserving" so you know I'm going to grab it because I am always wanting to look like a baby 👶🏻! The spray on this bottle is heaven and is really a mist; instead of a jet of liquid that leaves random dots everywhere. It contains hyaluronic acid, black oat, proviatmin A as well as vitamins B1, B2 and B6. It does make me skin a little glowy but I am not minding this during these colder days. I picked this one up from Myer for $30. I haven't noticed any longevity in my makeup with this mist but it definitely makes me look less powdery.
Covergirl Exhbitionist Mascara
If you ever asked me "What is one beauty item you would bring if you were stranded on an island what would that be?" I would say... MASCARA!! 😆 I was naturally blessed with some long black lashes (shout out to Mum and Dad for those genes) so for me I want my mascara to provide me with volume rather than length. Before trying this mascara, I would always love to use the NARS Climax, L'Oreal Lash Paradise or the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascaras. All of these mascaras have a similar hourglass brush which is why I like them so much. So when I saw that this mascara had a similar brush, I thought I should give it a go and holy-moley I am glad I did. To read an in-depth review of this mascara, check out this IG post. You can pick up this mascara for $23.95 from your usual Covergirl locations.
Maybelline Face Studio Prime Protecting Primer SPF30
You already know the importance of SPF and protecting our skin against harmful UV rays 🙅🏻♀️☀️. I already wear an SPF as part of my skincare routine every day, but I am conscious that I am probably not applying enough to have the recommended protection stated. So that is why when I saw this Maybelline primer with SPF30, I thought I would try this out. This primer claims to blur imperfections, smoothes skin and defends from the sun. It doesn't leave my skin greasy and sits well under my foundation. In relation to blurring and smoothing, TBH there are better blurring primers around, but it does provide a smidgen of a blur. Its texture is between a liquid and a cream and has a light pale pink colour, I haven't noticed any white cast of sorts. While I haven't really noticed it to increase the longevity of my makeup, it never claimed to do so. I've used this almost every day in May even, on days I wouldn't wear foundation. I bought mine during a 40% sale at Priceline but usually this primer is $17.95.
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
May saw me say toodles 👋🏻 to getting fortnightly shellac manicures as; A) it is $30 a fortnight and adds up over the year; and B) my nails were starting to become very brittle and damaged each time they would remove and file. I've since being doing my own nails and no matter how long I would wait after painting my nails, I would always end up smudging a nail. I even tried sleeping like a mummy and not have my arms under the covers one time 🤣! Another time I noticed I would have weird bubbles appear the next day, which I later found out it was due to the coats not drying properly. So I went to my #BFF Google and found this top coat that claimed to be the bees knees on fast drying polish. No matter what site I went on, it would have either 4.5-5 star ratings. I can totally see why. I use this as my final step and my nails are dried, no smudges, no bubbles, perfection! I couldn't find any stockists locally so bought mine for around $14 (including postage) from eBay.
Nude by Nature Highlight Stick - 01 Champagne
I'm always a sucker for anything in rose gold packaging so when I saw this highlight stick, I loved it from the beginning 😍. But that isn't why it is a favourite of mine for May, the product itself too is amazing. Unless I am doing a "no-makeup-makeup-look" I usually don't use cream products (i.e. blush, contour, highlight) as it tends to slide around on my face. However this highlight works well with my skin. The shade I have is great for my skin tone and isn't too glittery or shimmery. It is hard to explain but it kind of just looks wet with a subtle sparkle. The way I have been applying this is straight on top of my foundation (before powder) and then I just add the smallest amount of powder highlight on top. I also have been using it with my finger to apply in the inner corner of my eyes. You can pick this up for $24.95 but Nude by Nature goes on sale often at most retailers so grab it while it is on sale!
Nexba Kombucha Cinnamon & Lime
It's so funny to see that kombucha is everywhere now. Go back 18 months, it was so hard to find kombucha in Coles or Woolworths let alone a petrol station. Now it is everywhere, in five thousand brands and flavours including sugar free options! I like kombucha for the benefits it has for your gut, but they are usually contain sugar, which if you aren't aware, for someone who eats a ketogenic diet is a hard no 🙅🏻♀️. So when I came across the Nexba kombuchas that have stevia rather than normal sugar I was a little excited. This particular flavour is my favourite at the moment as it tastes just like coca cola bottle lollies #nojoke I pick mine up from Woolworths for $8.50 for a four pack. Fun fact, I drink this at my desk at work and several times people have thought I was drinking a beer or cider 😂.
Ole Henriksen Truth Banana Bright Eye Crème
Dark circles are something I've always had to deal with and no matter how much sleep I have, I always have them. I've seen a number of beauty bloggers/YouTubers talk about this eye cream, including Aussie's own Chloe Morello so I thought I would give it a go. Unfortunately you can only buy this from Sephora in Australia and living in Western Australia we don't have one so I can't go in store to try it in store or grab a sample. So I jumped on the Sephora app and ordered a pack that contained a small sample pot of this eye cream and the C-Rush Brightening Cream for $30 instead of forking out $55 for the full sized eye cream. This eye cream is phenomenal. It is a light yellow coloured cream that has these small sparkles (not glitter) in it to help reflect light. It sits sooooo well under my concealer and doesn't make the area crease. Once I finish this smaller jar, I am without doubt going to buy the full sized as this s**t is 🍌 #punintended .
Lanolips 101 Ointment Multi-Balm
As mentioned above, I am trying to get ahead of the dry skin train as we are getting into cooler weather. One area on my face that always cops a beating in winter is my lips, especially as I like to wear long wearing liquid lipsticks 💋. Every evening before bed and every morning when I start my skincare routine, I apply the Lanolips 101 ointment. My favourite scent/flavour is this one; Coconutter. The smell reminds me of a Soother's Buttermenthol and it leaves my lips feeling so smooth, so plump and so hydrated. Even when they are SHOCKING this stuff is amazing. I have four of these little buggers (in Pear, Apple, Coconutter and Lemonade) around the house as they are so good. The amazing thing with this is you can also use it for your cuticles, dry patches of skin on your hands, elbows anywhere! It is not localised to your lips. I usually pick mine up from either Mecca or Priceline for around $14.95.
So that is it, my top 10 favourites for May. Was there anything in my favourites that you enjoy or have never seen before? What were your favourite items in May? Leave your comments below as I would love to hear what you were digging too!
Toodles 💋
Jess
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