Products of the month: April 2013

Hi lovelies, sorry I haven't posted much lately, April has been a crazy busy month! I've got lots to share with you so posting should be back to normal soon :)

♥ MAC Cut A Caper Lipstick ♥

I am absolutely loving coral at the moment, and this is the perfect coral lippie for me! Cut A Caper is nice and bright but not in your face bright - a really wearable shade with a lovely Lustre formula. I'll be gutted when it's empty! Do you know of any dupes?

♥ MUA Gel Liner in Tribe ♥

I'm a bit like a magpie when it comes to liner. If its bright and sparkly I'll take it. I saw this and thought I'd give it a go because I'd yet to find a true bright blue gel liner. I'm so pleased I did because it's perfect. For just £2 you get a fantastic formula which applies smoothly, stays put and looks amazing.

♥ Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer ♥

Recently I made a Bobbi Brown order and as I know a lot of people swear by this I decided to give it a try. £18 for a concealer is perhaps a bit on the steep side but I genuinely do not think I'd repurchase any other concealer now. I got the shade Porcelain and it brightens up my under eye area perfectly and makes covering blemishes an absolute doddle.

♥ Avene Cleanance Emulsion Lotion ♥

In my hunt for the perfect product to mattify my skin and keep shine at bay, I stumbled across this in my recent Escentuals order. I use this after cleansing and it hydrates whilst helping to prevent shine. I apply my base straight after and it keeps it in place all day and shine is significantly reduced.

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Have you tried any of the above? Which products have you been loving lately?

Go Nude with Pur Minerals at Marks & Spencer

Just a quick post to let you know that Marks & Spencer are currently running a Beauty Discoveries event online until 10th April. If you buy any two items from the Pur Minerals range, you'll receive a free Go Nude Eye & Cheek Palette, RRP £20.00, which looks absolutely stunning.

The palette contains 6 shadows, a blush, bronzer and eyeliner and has a handy mirror which is perfect for on the go.

If you're looking for some purchase inspiration, you might like to read my reviews of the Pur Minerals Big Blink Mascara and the Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup Compact. 

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Let me know if you indulge, or if you've found any good beauty bargains lately!

French Pharmacy Skincare Brands

Last weekend I had a much needed lazy day. I decided to catch up on the ridiculous amount of unread blog posts I had stacking up. I stumbled across a post from Charlotte, letting me know in her ever so helpful way that the Escentual website had a discount throughout March on French pharmacy skincare brands. Conveniently I needed to stock up on some new skincare staples and I thought it would have been rude not to try something new. A few well informed clicks later and I had a lovely full shopping basket of Avene, Bioderma and Caudalie products. Ahem...

♥ Avene Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser ♥ 

As I wanted to try some products from Avene, I decided to go all out and get a complete set of skincare items rather than alternate between the few brands I'm using now. Avene's Cleanance range is formulated specifically for oily/blemish prone skin. I opted for this cleanser and so far, so good! It smells lovely - clean and fresh. It certainly does the job. Removes all traces of makeup and doesn't irritate my skin at all.

♥ Avene Cleanance Emulsion Lotion ♥

Lately I've been trying out a few different products that claim to reduce oil production and mattify skin. I apply this after cleansing and spritzing my face with Avene's Thermal Water. It mattifies my skin, providing a great base for makeup application, and helps my skin to stay shine-free all day.

♥ Avene Cleanance Lotion Toner ♥

I use this after cleansing and I love it because it instantly mattifies skin whilst also ensuring there are no traces of cleanser left on my face.

♥ Avene Cleanance Mask ♥
I haven't gotten around to trying this yet but it smells the same as the rest of the Cleanance range so I'm looking forward to trying it out. 

♥ Bioderma Sebium H2O Micellar Solution ♥

I know, I know, I must be the LAST person on the planet to try Bioderma but I've finally jumped on the bandwagon. I was a bit of a sceptical Susan before but blimey how wrong was I? This stuff is AMAZING. I use two Boots' large double sided cotton pads to cleanse my face of makeup and it removes everything. So impressed! I cleanse afterwards anyway but there's never anything left to remove. One thing that I find slightly off-putting is the scent. To start with it smells sort of clean, then once its on your face it has an odd sulphur smell. Attractive. I won't knock it though, it works!

♥ Caudalie Beauty Elixir ♥

I'm blaming this purchase solely on the blogosphere. Everyone and their cat has raved about this so I bought it. I use it after foundation to set it before powdering. The scent is just odd. Its a florally, minty, herbally type of scent. Odd. But it certainly helps makeup stay put. How do you use Caudalie's Beauty Elixir?

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Have you tried any of these brands? Share your thoughts, I'd love to know what you think :)

Keeping up with Kimtopia

I'm sure you've all heard about the impending demise of Google Reader. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye. Don't you just love the Sound of Music? I just wanted to let you know the ways you can keep up to date with new content on Kimtopia :)

Bloglovin

I've had a Bloglovin account for a while and I think its one of the easiest ways to keep up with your favourite blogs. You can add your faves, be kept up to date of new posts in a feed, and there's also an option to see the top blogs and most popular posts on the site. A sure fire way to find some new reading material! Bloglovin can also send you an email when you have new posts to read so you'll never miss out on new content.

Hellocotton

Hellocotton is similar to Bloglovin in that you can follow your favourite blogs and receive new posts in a handy feed. What I love most about Hellocotton is that blogs are categorized into different sections with the most popular being shown on the homepage. I've lost many an hour finding lots of interesting new blogs here!

Feedly

If you're looking for an alternative to a Google Reader style web app, I'm recommending Feedly. It's sleek and uncluttered and you can either import your blogs from Google Reader or start from scratch. I've done the latter as I stopped using Google Reader an absolute age ago in favour of Bloglines however I've found that glitchy so I've switched to Feedly. You can download a mobile app for iPhone and Android to catch up on the go. The Android app reminds me a little of Flipboard in that you can literally just flip through posts. Fab for on the go!

Don't forget you can also catch up with me on:

You can grab fab icons like these from the wonderful Miss E's blog!

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If you've found any great alternatives to Google Reader, let me know :) Also don't forget to leave your links for your Bloglovin and Hellocotton accounts!

Products of the month: March 2013

♥ Dr Renaud Peach Hydrating Body Milk* ♥

I must confess, I go through moisturising phases. I find a new product, use it, then forget about it. I'm trying to use products like this up and I must admit I forgot how much I loved the clean, fresh peachy scent of this moisturiser. In a bid to get my skin ready for Spring (when it actually arrives) I've been moisturising religiously and I consider using this an extra luxurious step in my daily routine.

♥ Revlon ColorStay Foundation ♥

I'm in a bit of a foundation rut so I went back to an old favourite. I purchased bottle after bottle of this when I discovered it a few years ago but I'll admit I'm struggling to remember why I loved it so much. The colour match is pretty much perfect on me for Winter/Spring and the coverage is great, so for this reason I've been reaching for it a lot and quite liking the finish. Saying that, I don't remember it being such hard work to apply. If you use this, I'd be ever so grateful if you could let me know which brush you use to apply. My Real Techniques Buffing Brush just isn't cutting it.

♥ Ahava Mineral Foot Cream* ♥ 

I really do wish I could find one singular multi-use moisturiser but skin just doesn't work like that eh? In a bid to finish the scores of products lurking in my bathroom and bedroom I've been using this on my feet for smooth, hydrated skin. Ahava's Water range smells absolutely heavenly and I'll be sad to see the end of this tube.

♥ Sleek Blush by 3 Palette ♥

I've been switching my blushes up lately and I found this buried at the back of my makeup drawer. Whoops! I absolutely adored this last year so I've been using the Lace palette on a daily basis over the last few weeks. Sleek's blushes are such amazing quality with brilliant pigmentation and a gorgeous finish. Personally, I find the Lace palette the most wearable for pale skins out of the Blush by 3 collection and I wouldn't be without it.

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Are you prepping your skin for Spring? Which products have been your favourites this month?