I’m back with my favourites of the month! Trying to keep them to a minimum is a tough task every time. It may not be a lot, but some of these products are true gems (dare I say holy grail material?). And good news for budget lovers, nothing in this month’s faves post is over € 40!
Let’s get the most expensive one out of the way first. ‘Balm Jovi‘ is a wonderful multifunctional palette from The Balm. It contains music-related 12 eye shadows (8 shimmers, 4 mattes), a highlighter, a blush and 2 lip & cheek creams. It also has a heart shaped mirror and some suggestions on how to make looks with the palette (not shown in the photo). I’ve been reaching for this palette a lot lately because the content is so incredibly pigmented and the colours are great. Adagio is a pretty matte ivory shade that matches my skin tone perfectly. I like to use it all over the lid as a base. Another fave is ‘Alice Copper’, a pretty burgundy shade that will certainly get more love during fall/winter. But perhaps the most amazing thing about this palette is that it contains 2 of the star products of The Balm: the highlighter you get here is the exact copy of The Mary-Lou Manizer and the blush is my fav ‘Frat Boy’ blush. The only thing I haven’t used yet are the creams.
If a palette is a bit too much, you can always get the Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter from The Balm separately. This highly pigmented white gold will transform your entire look by giving you a nice glow. Since it’s so pigmented, you only need a tiny amount of product. I apply this under my eyebrows, in the inner corner of my eyes, on top of my cheekbones and a little bit in the cupid’s bow. It’s one of my favourite highlighters of all time.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about the L’Oréal True Match foundation, but like always no colour would match my skin tone here, so I picked this one up in Soft Ivory N1 when I was in the States last May. The choice of colours you get over there is overwhelming, I wish they would do that here as well. Soft Ivory is just the most perfect colour ever for my pale skin. The texture makes it look so natural and glowy, while providing medium coverage. I fear the day this runs out..
Since I use the Catrice Eyebrow set, I can’t imagine wearing make up without it. It just looks so naked! This matte powder duo makes my brows look fuller and more defined, making my eyes stand out more. I use the darker colour to draw a ‘shadow line’ along the lowest brow hairs and blend it out upwards. Then I go in with the lighter colour and colour my brows in. For that I use the little brush that came in the drawer underneath (I only discovered the drawer when I got home). The tweezer is pretty much worthless, so I don’t use it. I’ve had this set for over a year now and still no pan in sight. This is one of my favourite purchases from Catrice, ever!
By now we all know a good make up look starts with good skin. And I’ve got 2 products to thank for that this month. First one is the Avène Ysthéal anti-wrinkle emulsion I’ve been putting on my face before bed (review here). Because of my acne prone skin, I’m not to keen on slapping on heavy products at night, but this one is just perfect for combination-oily skin. It doesn’t feel heavy and/or oily at all while adding some moisture to my face while I’m sleeping.
Another favourite I’d recommend for those with combination-oily skin is this La Roche Posay Effacer Mat moisturizing cream. This matifies like there’s no tomorrow, ideal for those hot & sweaty summer days. Don’t put this on the drier areas of your face though if you have combination skin. I only use this on the oily places of my face (mostly T-zone).
Ever since I dropped my beloved pink Tweezerman tweezers, I realized how addicted I am to it. No other tweezers will do anymore. I tried to go back to my old ones because I was desperate, but it was no use, they’re no Tweezerman tweezers. The slanted edge helps you to get each hair almost effortlessly, and for that it didn’t take me long to purchase them again, even though they have quite the price tag, but hey anything for perfect brows!
Lastly, let’s talk about the other hairs we like to keep in place. Brushing your hair when straight of the shower/tub can be a total pain, but not since I got my hands on the famous Tangle Teezer. This plastic brush has just the perfect size to fit my hand while I brush it’s hundreds tiny plastic bristles through my hair, getting rid of every knot within seconds without hurting my scalp. That way, my hair looks more sleek without me having to go through a lot of trouble first (blow drying & combing for an hour). Ain’t nobody got time for that.
The Balm ‘Balm Jovi’ palette – € 39 (available at Di Beauty&Care)*
The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter – € 18 (available at Di Beauty&Care)*
L’Oréal True Match Foundation in Soft Ivory N1 – € 10 (U.S. edition)
Catrice Eyebrow set – € 4 (available at Kruidvat)
Tweezerman tweezers – € 24 (available at Ici Paris XL)
Tangle Teezer brush – £ 11 (available at Boots)
Amène Ysthéal emulsion – € 25 (available at Farmaline)*
La Roche Posay Effaclar Mat moisturizer – € 15 (available at the pharmacy)
So that was it. These are my favourites of September.
Have you tried any of these products?
What are your faves of the month?
Disclaimer: Some products in this post are PR samples provided for review purposes*
