Monthly Favourites | November

Hi beauties! Oh my goodness, as if it's December?! This makes me super duper happy as I now have a little chocolate to look forward to every morning, my christmas tree has taken pride of place in my living room, pay day has arrived and I only have three weeks left at work before Christmas festivities well and truly begin. WOO! So after that upbeat little intro, let me tell you about the lovely products I've been loving in November...

Lee Stafford 'Hair that Never Grows Past a Certain Length' Treatment

I recently bought this on a 3 for £12 deal at Boots and considering this product is supposed to be £7.99 alone I picked up two of them and one other Lee Stafford product. Now I'm sure you've all heard of this hair growth treatment by now as it seems every man and his dog has been using it in the hope that their hair might grow a few inches. To be honest, I have absolutely no expectations for my hair to grow although I did want to try it after reading many a review say it nourishes and conditions the hair excellently. As a blonde my hair is partial to getting dry and I must say this has been working a treat so far in regards to making it feel soft and silky. As far as my hair growing is concerned, time will tell. I will be doing a full review on this product when I've worked my way through both tubs.

Elemis Freshskin Softly Softly daily moisturiser* & Dreamy Sleep night time moisturiser

I bought the freshskin night time moisturiser while I was over in Australia and for a while it was a little bit neglected. I seemed to have so many moisturisers and skincare products to work my way through that this was just another on my 'to try' list. However, I've been trying to stick to a proper routine at the moment so when Elemis kindly got in touch to see if I wanted to try the accompanying freshskin face wash and daytime moisturiser, I was over the moon. I've been using all three in conjunction with each other for a couple of weeks now and absolutely love them. The moisturisers are so lovely and sink into my skin within seconds of application. I won't say too much more as I will be reviewing the range in full soon.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Crush'

This is one of those products I didn't really need but clearly had to have after hearing lots of other bloggers raving about them. I opted for 'Crush' which is a deep berry shade and perfect for this time of the year. I've worn it a few times now and really love the colour and moisturising formula. I like how its not quite as intense as a lipstick but not as sheer as a lipgloss. It's has the perfect balance of things I look for in a lip product. Again, I will be reviewing this in full soon with swatches.

MAC 'Lady Danger' Lipstick

I recently reviewed this lipstick here after winning it in a giveaway. It has instantly become one of my favourite lipsticks and I find it perfect for both summer and winter wear. I will definitely be slicking this on over Christmas. Is it just me that has to wear red lips over the festive season?

Caudalie Cleansing Water

I reviewed this product a while ago here and as you can see, I have used every last drop. I have already ordered the bigger 200ml version from Feel Unique as I absolutely adore this product for removing my makeup. It is quick, efficient and the refreshing grape scent is a nice bonus too, ahhh! I actually bought the massively hyped Bioderma not too long ago and reviewed it here comparing it to the Caudalie cleansing water. On first impressions I thought Bioderma had been more effective at removing my makeup and although that might still be the case I 100% prefer the cleansing water. After continued use of Bioderma I found it was stinging my skin after use whereas Caudalie is very gentle and leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed. I know everyone loves Bioderma but if you have sensitive skin like me I would recommend giving this a try too.

NARS 'Kalahari' Eyeshadow Duo

I've developed a little love affair with these pigmented, creamy and generally amazing duos ever since receiving 'Isolde' for my birthday back in July so when my lovely boyfriend asked me if I'd like anything from Sephora on his recent trip to Vegas, I said I'd love to try 'Kalahari'. I'd had my eye on this shade for a while as it's the perfect duo for every day wear. I will review it in full soon including swatches and photos of it on my eyes. 

Murad Active Radiance Serum*

I was recently sent one of Murad's Christmas sets after being unable to make it to their event in London. I was gutted I couldn't make the event so it was really lovely of them to send me one of their new sets. The set, which I will be reviewing soon, came with three mini products and this serum was one of them. I love all three of the products but this one in particular has stood out to me as it really does give my skin 'radiance'. I've been applying it in the morning before my makeup and it does a great job at giving my skin a much needed wake up boost. It also smells like Terry's Chocolate Orange, what's not to love?

I hope you enjoyed reading about my November favourites. Have you tried any of them? Which products have you been loving lately?

Lots of Love,

Murad Pore Perfection Starter Kit

*Murad Pore Perfection Starter Kit - £12.50

Hi Ladies! I was recently contacted by Murad and asked if I'd like to try their Pore Perfection starter kit. As I had heard of Murad before and knew it was a high-end luxury brand, I instantly jumped at the chance and said yes. As I'm currently looking for a job there is no way I could afford to buy expensive skin care myself so I was very grateful to be given the opportunity. The kit I was sent includes four products - Energizing Pomegranate Cleanser (50ml), T-Zone Pore Refining Gel (15ml) and Energizing Pomegranate Moisturiser (30ml). They also included a Skin Perfecting Primer (5ml) which I have actually tried before when it was included in a Glossybox.

As these products are designed for people with oily skin, it is the perfect kit for me. My skin isn't super oily but I do find I get an oily t-zone so I was particularly excited to try the 'T-Zone Pore Refining Gel'. When the kit arrived in the post, I was very impressed with how it was presented in this lovely box and each of the products were cute, pink and a generous size. First impressions = excellent!

After using these products for a few weeks I feel I have got a real feel for them and want to give you my thoughts. 

First up is the Energizing Pomegranate Cleanser which is designed to cleanse and tone the skin in one simple step. I have to point out before I continue that the scent of all these products is quite strong but I didn't personally mind that. Just keep that in mind though if you aren't partial to a strong scent. I have been using this cleanser whilst having a shower for the past few weeks now and I must admit, I love it. It is a foam cleanser so when pumped onto my hand the liquid turns into a frothy white foam. I really like the idea of using foam on my face as it is less messy and fussy than a cream or gel. When applying this to my face I rub it around in circular motions and I find that a little goes a very long way. This small bottle is only 50ml but I have been using it for a few weeks now and have only used just over a quater of the bottle. It sinks into my skin perfectly and it almost felt like rubbing silk over my face. The foam feels so smooth and it instantly removed my makeup and left my skin feeling soft and supple. One thing I hate about some cleansers is the tight feeling it can leave on my skin but this did the exact opposite and left it feeling hydrated. I would definitely recommend this product and I am contemplating buying the full-size bottle when I have more money.

Next up is the T-Zone Pore Refining Gel which again, is a fab little product. Much like the cleanser, this product is going to last such a long time. I have been using it in conjunction with the cleanser for three week or four weeks and have barely touched the surface. A little goes a very long way with this product. At first, I was a bit confused as to how I was meant to use this as I have never heard of or used anything similar previously. However, after doing a bit of research I came to realise that this product is supposed to be used down the t-zone where skin is partial to excess oil. The aim of the product is for it to control shine and minimize pores. Now I can't really say I've seen a difference in the size of my pores as I'm quite lucky to not really have any. However, I can definitely say this helps to control shine which is great if you suffer with excess oil like me. I really like this and like I said earlier, it will last such a long time. The only down side is that this has the strongest scent of all three products and is even a bit too strong for my liking.

The final step of the routine is the Energizing Pomegranate Moisturiser. As with the other two products, I really love this. As someone who suffers with an oily t-zone, I always worry about using too much moisturiser as I think it can add extra oil to my skin. However, this moisturiser is so light and sinks into my skin straight away. It also left it feeling hydrated instead of heavy and oily. Again it has the standard scent but I found this to be the least offensive of all three products. 

As for the Skin Perfecting Primer, this is the one product I wasn't overly keen on. To be honest, primers just don't do it for me as I never seem to get any benefit from them. This one also has a tint to it instead of being clear and I found it was a little too dark for my skin which resulted in it looking a tad muddy. It also left my skin feeling sticky, looking shiny and didn't do much in terms of smoothing out my pores. As I say though, I don't think I have ever tried a primer I get along with. With this being said, I can look past the primer as the main products in this kit are great.

If you are interested in trying this kit, it is currently on sale for half price here making it £12.50 instead of the usual £25.00. I have really enjoyed using all of the products and would really recommend giving this a try if you have difficulty controlling oil. However, if you don't  have oily skin they have other kits for anti-ageing and blemish prone skin too so you can find something to suit. The small bottles do last a long time too so £12.50 is a real bargain for high-end skincare products. Plus I always think sample sizes are a good way to test a new skincare routine before committing to buying the full-size bottles. The full size version of this kit costs a very hefty £70.00 but I must admit, if I had that kind of money I would buy it. Maybe I should stock up on these little kits while they are on sale? Hmmmmm.

Have you ever tried anything from Murad? Do you like the look of this kit?

Lots of Love,