Lucy Rose Guest Post // My Summer Picks

When Kayleigh tweeted asking if anyone would be interested in guest blogging whilst she went on her jollys – I jumped at the chance! Couture girl was one of the first blogs I started reading way before I started my own, and still is one of my firm favourites. With this being said, I hope you enjoy!

Summer has finally popped its head around the corner and the sun is beginning to shine. With this in mind, my daily beauty regimes and routines have all had a good old shake up and my summer products are out in full force – which is exactly what I am going to share with you today. Just a few of my favourite summer products I will be using this year.

The Tan

Naturally, I look very un-natural. In fact my other half calls me casper when I am (very rarely) tanless. Tan is something I generally wear all year round, but definitely make more of an effort with in summer. Especially as the sun does nothing but turn me into a giant freckle! Xen Tan is my saviour. The one and only tan I have ever found to tick every single box – no streaks, no dodgy biscuit smell, good colour guideline, not orange but beautifully golden, lasts up to a week and doesn’t give you that snakeskin look when it starts to fade away. Need I say more? For my face, I use St Tropez as I find this to be a lot more moisturizing than the Xen tan face tan. It leaves a gorgeous colour and your skin is left so soft and smooth, making the bare face look so much easier.

The Base

In summer, especially when it’s hot the last thing I want is a heavy, thick foundation hanging on my skin. This is where tinted moisturizers come into play, Nars pure radiant tinted moisturizer being one of my favoured. Lightweight and radiant with added spf 30 it is the perfect coverage for a hot summers day. It is also absolutely flawless and the radiance really does shine through giving you a beautiful glowy and dewey finish. On hot days I find my skin dehydrates much more than in winter, and sometimes I might just be too hot so I turn to this little pick me up – Lush’s breath of fresh air toner water. I sometimes use it as a toner, but mostly I just carry it round in my bag for a quick spritz here and there. It smells so lovely and contains fresh sea water. What’s best for dehydration? Salt.

The Bronzers

I ummed and aahh’d which bronzer to throw in this post, and I just couldn’t choose. Laguna has and always be a firm holy grail, but I love the Universal too?! Both are equally as good and are my go – to’s for contouring. Crème blushes are my preferred texture in summer, so therefore the universal I am using more for contouring and Laguna for an all over bronze. Both are so natural looking, especially Laguna which just has the tiniest bit of shimmer in which I love – sun kissed and natural.

The Cheeks

As I just mentioned, crème blushed are my way to go in summer – these new releases from Bourjois are just fabulous. They are really on a roll at the minute! I love coral shades in the summer months and this one in‘Healthy Glow’ is so pretty and blends like a dream. My powder choice, another coral, would be coralista from Benefit. A favourite of many, and it’s pretty obvious as to why, it is a lot lighter than the bourjois and has a speckle of shimmer in it too to give that highlighted glowy effect. Mac Lustre drops in sun rush – HOLY GRAIL. I cannot get enough of this. I would of never of picked this up myself till someone put it on me in a makeover and thank god they did. I have never been a fan of liquid highlighters but this just is the cream of the crop. Beautiful and golden for that summer bronzed look – definitely recommend these.

Lips and Nails

I could give you a million lipsticks that will be on my summer faces this year, but as I am a lipstick obsessed woman – it would take way too long. Hence I picked one of my all-time favourites – Girl About Town. A bright berry pink – perfect for a summer evening. I love bold lipsticks and this has great pigmentation as always from MAC. MAC Ravishing is the one I’m using most day times at the minute, love that too – couldn’t resist could I! On my nails I love Barry M at the minute. Their pastels caught my eye in spring, and now their neon’s and I are becoming great friends. This colour in ‘Dragon’ is a recent purchase and so beautiful on the mitts. I think it brings out my tan too!

The Body

Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate is all my legs scream in summer. The pins are out a lot more than they are used to, and the wear and tear of constant hair removal takes its toll. Exfoliating with my favourite soap and glory product – THE body scrub means my pins are well and truly smooth – making tan a hell of a lot easier to apply too. Whilst the pins are out, the feet are out even more, sandals and wedges rule my little tootsies in summer, which means my feet need prepping too. All the horrid dry skin from the colder months is buffed away and maintained with L’Occitane’s dry skin foot cream – rich in Shea butter and ever so nourishing. Smells divine.

And there you have it – my top picks for summer 2013. I really hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, I feel quite honoured to say my very own little piece on couture girl! Be sure to pop along to lucy rose and say hello, it would be lovely to hear from you- Happy summer.

Em Talks Guest Post // The Best Items for Summer

Hey everyone, I'm Em from EmTalks blog and the lovely Kayleigh has kindly let me do a guest post on her fabulous blog. It feels great to be posting here because CoutureGirl is one of the first blogs that I came across and ever since, I have been an avid fan. I thought that I'd do a round up of my favourite items for Summer, to get you all in a Summer mood. Whether you're going abroad, going on a more local trip, a city break or just staying at home, the sunshine makes us all want to look and feel our best, so here are my top items to achieve a glowing, fresh look this Summer...

GlamGlow / ThisWorks, In Transit Primer / Clarins Skin Perfecting BB Cream / Urban Decay Gold Liner / MAC Mineralize Powder / John Frieda Sheer Blonde / Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray / SmashBox Lipgloss / Arbonne Lip Sunscreen.

Glamglow Youth-Mud Face Mask - First up, GlamGlow. I haven't read one bad review about this yet. I feel that a good face mask is essential for Summer because everyone wants to be able to bare their skin and glow. If you use this around two weeks before your holiday, I guarantee that you wont want to wear foundation on holiday. As most face masks do, it will draw your impurities out, but once they're gone, they're gone for good. I use this before I go on a night out, I apply it for ten minutes whilst I do my hair and then wash it off and it just gives me the most perfect base to apply make up to. Apparently this is what celebrities in Hollywood use before big events and I really can see why. My skin feels instantly smooth,glowing and fresh. It's not like any other face mask that I've used, it has so many exciting ingredients in it including volcanic rocks French sea clay and green tea leaf pieces.

ThisWorks In Transit Camera Close-Up Primer - This is a really exciting new product, it is a mask moisturiser and primer all in one. I honestly can't do my make up without it anymore, I love letting it soak into my skin, it really does leave my whole face feeling moisturised for hours. My complexion looks so radiant and smooth with this primer, I think that's because with it also being a mask, it works like skincare on your skin. It kind of feels like you're protecting your skin from the harmful make up that you're about to put on top of it. It's a nice little barrier between your skin and any nasty products that you're about to apply. It's made my skin feel bright and plump. Another bonus point is that it's really light and easy to carry,so you can pop this in your hand luggage or beach bag really easily.

John Frieda Everlasting Blonde Shampoo - I noticed such a change in my hair after washing my hair just once with John Frieda's new shampoo. My fringe seems so bright, I can't stop looking at it. It's just restored my colour and really brightened up my hair completely. It's brought out my highlights just like the sun does, but without the damage. This is perfect if you want to wake up your dull hair. If you're not blonde, they also do a great range for brunettes and other colours too, if this can help out blonde hair, I'm sure John Frieda also does good products for every hair colour!

Clarins Skin Perfecting BB Cream - I noticed that Kayleigh has mentioned this before as one of her favourites and I am the same, I honestly cannot get enough of this product. BB creams are really good for your skin but usually they're too light and you have to have really good skin to dare to wear them, this looks and feels light, it lets your skin breathe but it has a really nice build-able coverage which means that it actually covers up your imperfections, whilst treating whats going on underneath due to its caring properties. I absolutely love this, it's a must have for Summer. You will notice how much you glow the minute you apply it.

Mac Cosmetics Mineralize Powder - I have worn this product for years and it really is fantastic. I feel that this is great for Summer because as it says, it gives a nice natural finish and we all want a natural look in the Summer months, not to be caked in make up. This also gets rid of shine as it gives a lovely matte finish, but it isn't too matte, you can still see some highlights through it. It also has minerals in it which means that it's kind to your skin and will let it breathe.

Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in GoldMine - Every girl needs some shimmer in her life and I feel that Summer months are the perfect time to embrace this. I'm absolutely loving Urban Decay's new 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils, particularly in gold and silver. I simply line the water line of the eye with this in order to open up the eyes and make them pop. It makes you look so awake. In the photo below you can see me wearing it along the top of the eye and in the middle of my eyes to create a sunset look for Summer. With this liner you can either go for a dramatic look or go for a really subtle, natural wide-awake look. It's worth trying it on your water line just so you can see how bright it makes your eyes and whole face look. Also, this doesn't budge, perfect to wear in the sunshine.

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray - I love this for Summer. It's so easy to carry around with you because of how cute the size of it is. Also, the packaging is just so pretty and it screams Summer. You can use this on damp hair and blow dry it to get a quick and boho beachy texture or I tend to apply it to dry hair and then play around with my hair with my fingers until its shaped just how I like it. With this, you can have nice hair, everyday. Time for the beach.

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss - I got this with a Smashbox starter box from Boots. Whilst the rest of the box wasn't up to much, this really is. I find that it's amazing for Summer because it has a hint of shimmer in it which really makes your lips pop and it gives them a juicy look. The colour itself is nude so you can get away with it for a natural look or more of a glamorous look. I think this is really versatile and it will take you from day to night on holiday.

Arbonne Lip Moisturiser with Sunscreen - We protect our hair, our face and our skin but what about our lips? I am obsessed with lip balms but this one is by far the best that I've come across. It's tiny so it's perfect to pop into a clutch or your hand luggage, it has sunscreen in it so nothing will harm your lips, it keeps them moisturised all day, but also, I've actually stopped wearing lipstick since buying this, because it just gives such a gorgeous glossy finish, without being sticky, so much so, that your lips stand out anyway, without the need for lipstick. I never want this to run out. If you haven't heard of Arbonne, don't worry, I hadn't either, I did a full review of Arbonne products on my blog which you can read here. They do some seriously good products.

I hope you liked this post, you can see more like this on my blog, EmTalks.co.uk do let me know if you liked it, you can always tweet me: @emshelx

A massive thanks to the gorgeous Kayleigh for letting me take over her blog. I hope you all have a fabulous Summer. What products will you be using this Summer?