Monthly Favourites: February

Martha Temmuz 20, 2021

Whereas January seemed to be the never ending month, February seems to have gone by in a flash, which is a good thing for me as it means my Birthday has come around quickly. Turning 26 wasn’t something I was massively eager to do but now that it is here I hope that it is going to be a better year than 25 which has been a particularly hard year for me. However after a couple of personal changes, I am feeling more positive than I have in a long time which I hope will be something that will carry me through my 26th year.

Without getting too ahead of myself, I am going to take this opportunity to look back at my month and consider all of the things I have loved throughout February. February has been quite a short month and I have to be honest, I haven't purchased that many products but I have a couple of beauty bits I have been loving and I am going to start featuring my book of the month. After using my Birthday Week to look back at Why I Started my Blog, I remembered I didn't just want to talk about beauty. Also I have been trying to read 1 book a month; last month was Becoming by Michelle Obama and I will be talking about this months at the end of this post. If I have to mention it in my blog, I will be forced to actually do my months reading. Let's get into it shall we?

Huda Beauty - Rose Gold Remastered Palette

I was very kindly given the Rose Gold Remastered Palette by my best friend who really treated me this Christmas. I had been eyeing up this palette for so long but I could not justify buying it for myself. Since Christmas, this has replaced the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette to become my go to daily palette. There is a stunning mix of warm shades with the most incredible formula of both matte and shimmer shades which allow you to create every look possible. The shimmers are so stunning that they literally catch any light in the room and the mattes blend out beautifully.

Huda Beauty was definitely a brand that I slept on but I have to say both the eye shadow formula and the liquid lipstick formula (the two products I have tried) are incredible. Luckily I absolutely love the Huda Beauty palette as my best friend super kindly bought my the New Nude Palette for my Birthday, what a gem! and my work bestie gave me one of the Obsessions Palettes so I have plenty of Huda Beauty to play around with for the next couple of months. If you aren't sure if this palette is worth the money, I can safely say it is!

Yves Saint Laurent - Valentines Collection

Valentines Day this year was a bust for me: no one got me flowers, I didn't receive a single card and no one professed their undying love for me. Very disappointing all round. Luckily I managed to pick myself up some discount flowers from M&S as lets face it, I am my own ultimate Valentines. I have to say I do think Valentines is a bit bullshit and it is definitely a commercial holiday but that didn't stop me from buying some of the YSL Heart and Arrow collection launched for Valentines, purely because I liked the pattern. Plus I did actually have an interest in the products. Luckily, as you can probably tell by the fact that they are in this post, I loved both of the products.

I treated myself to one of the Rouge Volupte Shine Lipsticks in the shade 15 Corail Spontini and I also bought a Touche Eclat in 1 Radiant Rose. I have actually used the Touche Eclat more as it was a product I had been missing from my routine. I've never had a brightening product for my under eyes before and this product works amazingly just to give me a little lift which makes me look more awake. I do use a concealer underneath as on it's own this does not have enough coverage but it is amazing over the top of MAC Studio Finish Concealer. I can honestly say I now understand how this has become such an iconic product.

The lipstick is gorgeous and I have worn it a lot but I have to be in the mood, there are times when I want something a little bit more long lasting and this lipstick is not it. The Rogue Volupte Shine is an 'oil-in-stick' formula so it is very hydrating and gives a glossy look to your lips but I don't think it is overly long lasting. This is a gorgeous coral shade and basically embodies the Pantone colour of the year: Living Coral. This is a colour I would never add to my actual wardrobe but I have been loving it in lipstick form. The shade just seems to brighten up my face which is something I like within my Spring makeup. In both cases, the packaging certainly helps to elevate them to favourites status but I have to say they are both good products as well.

Maybelline - Fit Me Foundation

For a couple of months I have been testing products for a drugstore month I was planning on doing in March but having not prepared enough, I am now pushing it back until April. However I have still been testing products for it and one that I have absolutely loved is the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. I stumbled across this foundation as I had run out of both my Fenty Beauty Foundation and my beloved Double Wear and I was super poor so I couldn't afford to purchase either of them. Instead I had to search for a cheaper alternative and that is how the Maybelline foundation came about.

I haven't used a drugstore foundation since University so I didn't know where to start but after talking to a work colleague and watching a couple of Jamie Genevieve videos I decided to give the Fit Me Foundation a go. The whole selling point is that it is a matte, poreless foundation which is something I like in my foundation and it turns out I like this foundation a lot. So much so that when I got paid I didn't rush out to buy a new foundation, I continued to use this one. The only pain was that I had to colour match myself with no testers as all of the ones in my local Superdrug had been stolen but I matched my self to the shade 104 Soft Ivory and I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself.

For £6.99 this is a seriously good foundation. If you like a matte foundation that gives an almost velvet finish to the skin, applies easily with a brush and blends out seamlessly, you need to try this foundation! I will be doing a full review when I eventually do my Drugstore month so keep your eyes peeled for the review if you want to find out more about this foundation.

Jo Malone London - Peony & Blush Suede Cologne

I have spoken about this perfume quite a lot and I must have included it in a favourites post before but I had stopped using it for a long time in favour of other perfumes but this month, I bought it back out. Peony & Blush Suede has been a long time favourite, ever since I worked for the brand and it is easily my favourite Jo Malone scent. It has a special place in my heart which is why I don't use it all of the time. As it is my Birthday month, I of course want to treat myself to the best so I have been wearing this perfume again and it has reminded me just how much I love this scent. I won't talk about it too much as I've spoken about it many times but if you haven't smelt this and you like a sweet floral perfume, you need to smell this.

Book of the Month - Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown

Last month's book was Becoming by Michelle Obama which was her autobiography and this months book is also an autobiography of Tina Brown. I feel like this one is slightly more niche than Michelle Obama but Tina Brown was the editor of Vanity Fair from 1983-1992 and at the time she wrote a diary all about the experience. The reason I was interested in reading this was because firstly, I want to become a beauty editor and what could give you better advice than the diary of someone who has held that sort of position. Secondly I have read Inside Vogue which was the diary of Alexandra Shulman who was the editor of Vogue for 25 years however it was all about the 100th year of the publication and I loved it so I hoped I would love this version just as much.

Obviously they cover very different decades: Inside Vogue is modern day whereas Vanity Fair Diaries is about the golden era of publications, before blogging and the internet came along to take away from the power of the publishing industry. I have to admit by the end of February I hadn't finished it, I was only about half way through but it was a lot more in-depth than I thought it would be and I didn't quite realise just how long the book is but I think it is fascinating so far. During Inside Vogue, Alexandra seemed to shun the world of social climbing fashionisas, Tina Brown embraced it. Vanity Fair Diaries gives you an insight into the publishing elite and just how fabulous the lifestyle was at that time. I have to say I don't think this is as relevant to an editor these days as life just simply isn't the same but my god is it an interesting read! I can't wait to get stuck in to this one and finish it. Even though I am slightly behind, hopefully I should have caught up by the end of March but we shall see.

After a bit of a shit start to February, things are looking up for March. As you will know if you have been following my blog, it is my Birthday week this week and it has been a great start. I've been out for brunches with friends, spent time with my family, my best friend came to visit and I've been to London. The celebrations are set to continue this weekend, what a way to start the month!