October Favourites

It's been a while since I've chosen some monthly favourites - here are a few things I've been loving recently.

 

 Belenos Skin Botanique

 

Belenos Botanique are a relatively new-to-me brand that I came across on Instagram whose product range and ethos instantly attracted me. They offer a massive 30% off your first order, but not only that, their products are really well-priced anyway.

 

 

This Floral Brew bath soak cost just £7.00 and I really wasn't expecting the giant 250g glass jar when it arrived (I really thought it would be much, much smaller for that price).Packed full of pink Himalayan rock salt and a host of beautiful dried botanicals like Calendula, Rose Buds, Lavender, Hibiscus, Chamomile and Cornflower - you get a generous mix of all ingredients with every scoop. The scent is gorgeous and I'm loving how it makes my bathroom smell beautiful into the next day after use. 

 

Feng Shui Love is a stunning bath and body oil which has rose buds suspended in the bottle. This costs just £9.00 for 100ml. It contains essential oils of Mandarin Oil and Orange Blossom in a base of skin conditioning wheatgerm and rosehip oils. Absolutely stunning!

The Fruit Lift Serum (£8.90) aims to replenish lost moisture, accelerate cell repair and to balance and rejuvenate skin. Ingredients include Sunflower Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Pomegranate Seed Oil, Wheatgerm Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary and Frangipani.

 

 

Green Keratin

 

Green Keratin Cactus + B5 Neck Elasticity Fluid

£15.95 for 30ml BUY HERE

 

Another FOMO purchase after seeing this brand pop up on Instagram! Green Keratin are another British skincare brand with an absolutely amazing range of products. Slightly overwhelming in fact, when you're deciding what to try first! I finally opted for the Cactus + B5 Neck Elasticity Fluid because I've never yet had any dedicated neck product! I had been extending whatever went onto my face down onto my neck and upper chest but a painful and unfortunate reaction which lead to an angry red rash on my neck made me think twice about doing this as I had obviously inadvertently mixed a couple of products that did not react well together (even though I didn't have the same reaction on my face luckily). It's early days for this serum but first impressions are good - extremely gentle, soothing but intensely hydrating. I just want to try more products from the brand, even though I don't actually need anything!

 

Essie Fall Collection 2018

 

 

I took advantage of a recent Boots 3-for-2 offer so I could try out these stunning shades from the Essie Fall 2018 Collection. I picked up 'Booties on Broadway' the perfect navy blue for the season; ' Fall for NYC' which is a gorgeous cream mustard yellow with marigold highlights and 'Say it ain't Soho' which is a metallic copper colour with amber tones. I usually love Essie and you can generally rely on them for a great colour range and easy application, but I did find that the metallic 'Say it ain't Soho' was a bit streaky and hard to apply. Bit of a shame with the inconsistency - although I'm really loving these shades at the moment.

 

Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara

 

 

The only makeup product to make it into my monthly favourites. I gave a quick first impression review of this mascara HERE. Initially, I did have some problems with excess product on the wand that made the mascara clump quite badly. But further use has luckily sorted this out and I'm absolutely loving this mascara. The lengthening powers are insane!

 

A. Florence Skincare

 

A. Florence Skincare -

Balm to Milk Cleanser -£13 for 35ml/ £32.00 for 100ml

Super Serum - £14 for 10ml/£32.00 for 30ml

Hydration Booster (free sample) - £14.00 for 10ml/£36.00 for 30ml

Intense Night Repair Oil (sample) - £12.00 for 5ml/£36.00 for 20ml

BUY HERE

 

Another British Indie Skincare brand that has absolutely blown up the internet in the past few months is A.Florence Skincare, so I had to make a little order to see if the hype was real!

And yes, it's altogether VERY real!

I ordered a couple of the deluxe sample sizes (Balm to Milk Cleanser and Super Serum) and you get to choose two small samples with every order (I chose Hydration Booster and Intense Night Repair Oil for my two samples).

My order came in a super cute cotton drawstring bag, so I had already fallen in love with the presentation before I tried out the products.

The Balm to Milk cleanser has very quickly become my favourite cleanser - it smells absolutely delicious, is gentle on the eyes but removes heavy eye makeup, it leaves no residue after removal and leaves my skin silky smooth and soft.

The two mini samples absolutely blew me away though! When using the Hydration Booster and the Intense Night Repair Oil together at the last step in my evening routine, the deep hydration and velvety-smooth skin combo was something I'd not experienced before. These two will be my next repurchases.

 

 

Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box

 

 

Skin Organics Clean Beauty Box

£21.00 per month + £3.95 P+P BUY HERE

Without fail, my absolute favourite beauty box ever in the whole history of beauty boxes!

Every single month has been packed with a range of stunning natural skincare and bodycare items and there hasn't been a single dud. This is an absolute monthly box of joy and through the box, I've really discovered some lifelong favourites.

 

 

This Butter Bar Soapery special edition Revive Body Polish (from the August box) has been my most favourite body care product I've ever tried - the chocolate orange scent is crazy good, nothing like those artificial chocolate scents you find in drug store products. I've been rationing this out though since it was a special edition and isn't for sale on the Butter Bar Soapery website (although I'm hoping that they will be introducing it to their current range soon - pleeeeeaaase!). I never want this to end!

 

Primark - False Nails with Adhesive from £1.00

And finally, this one is a little embarrassing! Having really buggered up my nails from a week of excessive nibbling, I noticed the false nails in Primark and thought I'd give them a go - figuring that if my nails were covered up for a few days it would stop me shoving them in my mouth for a while and give my real nails a chance to grow a little. I actually bought a pack of nails that cost just £2 - they had little gems on the cuticles (my husband has been referring to them as my 'tweenie' nails!). But I'm actually pretty bloody impressed! Five days in and they're still holding up really well! I'd be surprised if they manage to stay on for a whole week (and that would be my limit anyway) but they're really very solid. They come with a small tube of nail adhesive plus 24 nails (if you're wondering about the sizing when you see them in store - the thumb nail sized nails are hidden in the box). I'm definitely going to buy a couple more of these packs to keep in for emergencies! Bargain of the month!