Best of Summer Beauty 2015

I am sorry to be posting this! But to me, Summer is well and truly over! Finito! I am now preparing myself for Autumn - my favourite season. But, here are some things that I either discovered over the summer or got great use out of.

First off I will start with sun cream. I bought this Vichy sun cream when I was in France. I don't know if it is sold in Ireland or not? But it comes in aerosol form, which was so handy on holiday, I just sprayed myself with it and didn't bother rubbing it in (saved me from the dreaded sticky hands usually associated with sun cream). It is SPF 50 too. It was absolutely brilliant to use and was amazing to use on the go. Definitely the best sun cream I have ever tried! It was so hot and sunny when I was in France but my skin was so well protected, I came home as pale as I went!

Also I bought the Clarins facial sun cream and it was great to use, it wasn't sticky or greasy at all and I was able to put my make up on over top of it. It smells amazing too. I used a La Roche Posay one last year and I really wasn't that fussed on it. I thought the Clarins one was miles better!

OK, I promise I won't ramble on about this but the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette has to be my star buy of the summer! The eyeshadows are bloody brilliant, beautiful shades and there is something in there for every occasion. I have been wearing this non-stop, every day since I got it! I just think it is so cute too, it looks (and smells) just like a giant chocolate bar! Perfect for a chocoholic like me.

I am kind of embarrassed to say that only over the summer I discovered MAC lipsticks! I know, I know, I am such a crap blogger! I already have 3 of them and definitely want to add more to my collection. I used to be such a big gloss/lip balm girl and I always thought lipsticks were too high maintenance for me to wear every day, but MAC lipsticks really are something else! I can't get enough of them!

Everyone has a summer scent I am sure, and this year mine is Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I got this in Dublin airport before I jetted off to France so this scent just brings me right back to my holiday. I couldn't even describe it to you, but it is just so fresh and lovely.

An oldie but a goodie, I just love the Illamasqua cream blush in the shade Dixie. I actually have this blush nearly 2 years and probably is my most used blush, but somehow over Summer I have rekindled my love for it. It's just the perfect colour for me and no matter if you use it in the most intense summer heat, it stays in place all day.

Another new (to me) MAC product was the Studio Careblend powder. I have never used a powder as good as this! It's so soft and is very forgiving on my dry skin. Sometimes all I need is to wear a tinted moisturiser but I always set it with this powder and it's great for taking down the shine. Somehow it makes your skin look pretty flawless too!

And last but not least is the famous Nuxe lip balm. When I first got this, I was impressed but I perhaps didn't think it was worthy of all the hype. Turns out, I was wrong! I cannot go a day without using this. Actually this lip balm goes hand in hand with the MAC lipsticks I was using. I cannot put any lip product on now without a good layer of this lip balm. Plus it was a saviour in hot weather when my lips felt really dehydrated. I'm nearly out of this pot but I will go straight out and buy another when it runs out!

So while I had a great time going on holiday in July, the Irish weather is really getting me in the mood for Autumn!

My top picks of Summer 2014 (so far!)

Here we are in the midst of summer, and what a glorious one it is too! I am just back from a wonderful holiday in Disneyland Paris and as I write this, I am in my back garden enjoying every minute of this beautiful weather. 

It has been a great summer for some new make up too. I am particularly fond of the Clarins Colours of Brazil collection but I have tried out loads of new things this summer. Here is a small collection of what I have been wearing the most!

1. Skechers Flex Appeal Memory Foam - Not a make up item I know, but I bought these for going on holiday and I have been wearing them every day since! They are extremely comfortable, with a memory foam insole! It is quite literally like walking on air. I love these!

2. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL SPF 50 - I have been using this quite liberally, and despite the intense mid-30 degree heat in Paris and our beautiful weather here, it has not let me down so I would say this is  definitely one of my top picks for summer!

3. Escada Born in Paradise Perfume - This scent is just summer in a bottle for me! It is so fruity and tropical. I have been spraying this every single day and it has fast become my favourite perfume for summer. My only problem is, it is only available in eau de toilette so the beautiful scent does fade very quickly! :( But this perfume will forever remind me of this summer!

4. Clarins Lip Balm Crayon - These are the best things I have ever put near my lips! This shade is "Sweet Cherry", a beautiful but not too striking colour, which is very suitable for everyday wear. They feel so creamy and smell delicious! I recently tried a Clinique Chubby Stick for the first time and I can honestly say the Clarins Lip Balm Crayons are 100 times better! Please Clarins make these part of your permanent line!!

5. Clarins Colours of Brazil Eyeshadow Palette - I am still very fond of this palette and I wear it a lot! My favourite shades are the two brown shades, and I like to blend out with a little of the orange colour. The blue liner is really something! I never thought I would get much use out of the liner but it turns out I was wrong! I always line my lower lashes with it now, and it looks beautiful and lovely contrast with it and the orange eyeshadow!

6. Lancome City Miracle CC Cream - This is what I have been wearing on my face every day since I got it. It has such beautiful consistency and applies beautifully. It has that lovely elegant Lancome scent too (which I love) and of course has been providing some much required protection to my face with the SPF 50. I wish I had got it in the lighter shade though, as I constantly have to wear fake tan to make sure this matches my skin!

I would love to know what your top picks are for summer! And I hope you are all enjoying the nice weather! :) 

Sun care with La Roche Posay!

So a mini-heatwave is upon us (finally!). The sunnier weather of course means that we need to be super careful with our skin. I am not one for sun bathing but even if you are like me, and just happen to be occasionally out and about in the sun, and take to sitting in the shade, I still think it's important to make sure I have plenty of sun protection on!

I chose to buy some La Roche Posay sun care products, as I have read many a blogger's rave reviews on them. I will always choose the highest SPF possible, so in this case I got the Anthelios XL 50+, face cream and sun cream spray.

I will start with the face cream. It is quite a thick cream. It blends into the skin easily but I do feel like it leaves a greasy layer on the face. I wanted to use this face cream under my make up, but it hasn't been sitting very well over it, so for me it loses points for that. If you are not intending to wear make up then you cannot go wrong with this cream.
(Actually I got a sample of the Clarins SPF 50 face cream, which is a much lighter cream and does not feel greasy, and make up sits perfectly over it. Perhaps I should have got the full size of that.)
I will still use this La Roche Posay face cream of course, because I want plenty of protection on my face. It's just a matter of trial and error to see what makeup suits it best. So far, my Clarins tinted moisturiser has been working well with it, so I think I will have to stick with that and stay away from foundations!

The Anthelios 50+ spray is amazing! The texture is so much lighter, and non-greasy. It is the least stickiest sun cream I have ever used. I believe that this one is also much kinder on fake tans, which is great news for me! I absolutely love the slimline bottle and handy spray, which is going to be perfect when I head off on my holidays.

What sun creams have you been using lately? Any recommendations?