July Favourites

It's been a while since I've written a July Favourites post. I suppose until recently, I hadn't been loving anything in particular. This month however, I've truly fallen in love with a few products so I thought I'd share them with you. Also, can you believe it's July?! It's almost Christmas...

Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle EDT - £52 for 50ml

I received this fragrance as a gift when I left Boots. Mine is actually 100ml which is luckily huge as I've been spraying this constantly. It smells absolutely beautiful and because I'm bad at describing scents, I'd recommend giving this a whiff next time you're in Boots. But beware, you'll probably end up purchasing it. It's quite light, fresh and girly and absolutely stunning. I'm addicted.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Celestial - £5.99

I know, I know. Rewind to when these were first released and I couldn't express my hatred for the things enough. I tried selling it, but it just wouldn't sell so instead of throwing it away, I decided to give it another go. The problem wasn't with the formula, it was with the colour. It just didn't seem to suit me. But for some strange reason, I now think it does. It's a beautiful pink shade that's brighter than a nude, but still quite muted.

Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Conditioner - £1.00

I've expressed my love for Alberto Balsam before and I think I'll continue doing so for a long time to come. They're the most affordable hair care brand out there and their products rival brands much more expensive. This conditioner is perfect for summer because it smells like coconuts, and that scent lingers in the hair throughout the day. It also helps get rid of knots and smooths the hair down.

La Roche-Posay Rosaliac CC Daily Unifying Complete Correction Cream SPF 30* - currently £15.60

I wanted a lighter base to wear on holiday and this is the one that I used. It provides medium coverage that feels lightweight on the skin. That was impressive enough. But what impressed me even more was its lasting power. Make up doesn't tend to last well on my skin but this was still intact ten hours after I'd been sweating in Rome all day. Not bad at all. 

Klorane Almond Milk Shampoo* - currently £4.80

I love Klorane's dry shampoo. It's without a doubt the best dry shampoo there is. So when I received this product, I couldn't wait to try it out. The shampoo uses Spanish almond milk which coats the hair fibre to add volume without weighing it down and also smooths and softens it. It's unreal how weightless my hair feels after using this shampoo. I don't have to bother with any volumising styling sprays as this does all of the work itself. It leaves my hair feeling incredibly soft too. I can see me repurchasing this for a long time.

Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Hoola - full size £14.50

I got a mini of this in a Benefit kit that I purchased on holiday. In all honesty, this was the product I wasn't too bothered about in the kit, but since trying it out I'm addicted. It doesn't provide a lot of colour - if any - but it does feel incredibly soft on the lips. It's almost like a balm in texture and it doesn't leave behind a horrible sticky-feeling. It looks beautiful on its own, or over a lipstick to add a hint of shine and moisture.

Weleda Citrus Refreshing Body Oil* - £13.95

It's strange thinking about how much I love oils these days. This one from Weleda is incredible and I knew it'd be a firm favourite the first time I used it. I love citrus scents, and this one proves it further. This body oil lives up to its refreshing name and leaves the skin smooth and supple with a scent that enlivens the body. It also sinks into the skin nice and quickly and leaves the skin soft for hours on ends.

Benefit They're Real! Remover* - £14.50

I was very shocked by this product when I first used it and it's made removing eye make up a complete doddle this month. For an eye make up remover it's expensive but it dissolves make up on contact. It's really easy and quick to use and doesn't sting my eyes.

What products have you been loving throughout July?

*PR Sample

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The Escentual Micellar Blind Trial results

You may remember this post from a few months ago. I first wrote about the Escentual Micellar Blind Trial in May and after trialling the waters and reporting my thoughts back to Escentual, the results have been published. You read the full results here but I thought that I'd also give you all a little run down on my thoughts - more in depth reviews if you'd like.

A: Dior's Instant Cleansing Water £20.40

I enjoyed using this cleansing water and it's something that I would use again. Its cleansing power was okay however it took three cotton pads to remove the bulk of my make up. If you're an avid waterproof eye make up user though, I'd highly recommend this as it removed stubborn eye make up lovely. Texture wise, it felt nice on the skin and really cooled and calmed it down. I wouldn't say that this cleansing water was moisturising but it definitely balanced my skin out.

Branded "the divine one" by bloggers and received a total score of 3.8/5

B: NUXE's Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals £14.50

This was definitely the best cleansing water when it came to eye make up. It was one of the best ones I've ever used and it removed eye make up instantly. It felt nice on the skin but the smell really put me off - I hate the scent of roses. It was however, very moisturising and my skin felt beautifully soft afterwards. Despite the scent, this is something that I'd considering repurchasing and it removes make up wonderfully.
Branded "the calming one" by bloggers and received a total score of 3.6/5

C: Caudalie's Make Up Remover Cleansing Water £8.10 - £13.50

To be quite honest, I didn't really have an opinion on this. I thought it was okay but it wasn't spectacular in anyway. It was nice to use but it didn't blow me away. However, I didn't hate it and it didn't strip my skin. I wouldn't repurchase it as I don't believe that it did much for my skin. It smelt beautiful though!
Branded "the sensuous one" by bloggers and received a total score of 4.1/5

D: Avene's Eau Thermale Micellar Lotion - Cleanser and Make Up Remover £11.25

I was heartbroken to find out that this was by Avene. I love Avene and I usually find their products very pleasant to use but this one was awful. It's good at removing eye make up but it stung my eyes badly. It was very drying on my skin and it smelt extremely alcoholic. I have combination skin but after using this, I had to switch to hydrating products for a few days as it completely stripped my skin.
Branded "the soothing one" by bloggers and received a total score of 3.9/5

E: La Roche-Posay's Physiological Micellar Solution £10.20

This was awful at removing make up and it took forever. On the other hand though, it would make a lovely toner as it felt cooling and calming on the skin. The smell was very fresh and it balanced the skin nicely. After using the Avene Micellar Lotion, this calmed my skin down excessively so as a toner, it's perfect.
Branded "the radiant one" by bloggers and received a total score of 4.2/5

F: Bioderma's Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution £4.50 - £14.50

I definitely noticed that this one was Bioderma as soon as I used it despite never trying the product myself. It's a blogger favourite and I can definitely see why. It balanced my skin nicely and removed my make up efficiently. It didn't irritate my skin in anyway and it's definitely something that I would repurchase. In fact, I'm trying out their oily skin version right now!
Branded "the amazing one" by bloggers and received a total score of 4.5/5

G: Vichy's Purete Thermale Calming Cleansing Micellar Water £9.55

My absolute favourite! This was a pleasure to use and it removed my make up perfectly. It didn't spread the make up around the face but dissolved it instead. It cooled and calmed my skin and left it feeling beautifully soft. I really, really love this product and I'm glad that it's one of the cheaper ones as it means that it's affordable to all. Vichy are really doing it for me at the moment - such a lovely brand.
Branded "the sensitive one" by bloggers and received a total score of 4.3/5

Before this trial, I'd never tried out a micellar water. In fact, despite never trying them for myself, I really didn't like them. Although I'm a big lover of the double cleanse, I'm a cleansing oil fan but micellar waters definitely come in handy when you want to remove your make up quickly. A couple of sweeps over the skin (with certain micellar waters) and your make up has been dissolved and your skin has been balanced. Think of them as a nicer alternative to face wipes.

What's your favourite micellar water? Have you tried any of the above?
*all bottles were sent to me free of charge however, until a few days ago, I had no idea which micellar waters were in which bottle
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A rant about my skin and Dior

If you follow me on Twitter then you will probably know how bad my skin is at the moment. I struggle to lay down as it's so painful and of course, I don't want to leave my flat. My skin hasn't been this bad in about 5 years. The only product that I've recently changed in my skin care routine is my serum. And this is from the No7 Protect and Perfect serum to the Dior Capture Total Multi Perfection Concentrated Serum.

Since using this serum - which costs £140 by the way, not cheap - my skin has reacted incredibly badly. I don't have sensitive skin, I've never had sensitive skin and although I'm prone to breakouts and I have suffered with them in the past, my skin has never been this bad and this painful. It's as though this serum has completely ripped my skin apart. It's not just covered in spots, it's red, painful, itchy and quite frankly, a mess. I have emailed Dior about this product as I don't think a product from a respected company - and a product that's over £140 - should cause a person such distress.

Another note is that I've been to the doctors about my current break out. I hadn't been to the doctors for this reason in about 4 years. The reason for this is, to cut a long story short, the last time I went to see if there was anything they could do about my skin they were absolutely useless and shunned me away. I used to beg and beg for Roaccutane - now I've heard the "horror" stories surrounding this drug I'm quite glad I was never prescribed it but that doesn't mean they couldn't have tried me on something else.

I went to the doctors wearing make up because long story short, I can't step out of the house without wearing foundation. I'm not comfortable doing so. I did however show them a current picture of my skin without make up (as if they couldn't see how bad it is through make up anyway) and the response I received was... "Your condition isn't serious enough for us to do anything about it." They told me to carry on with my skin care routine and to come back in a week if it's still bad and they'll put me on something to clear it up. There have been many things I've missed out on because I haven't wanted to leave the house. I have spent many hours crying over my skin and it's definitely my number one insecurity. If someone wanting to be house bound constantly because of how much they can't stand their skin isn't serious enough than I don't know what is.

What I don't understand is how something like bad skin isn't taken seriously. Now, I don't want to offend anyone but if someone was to go to their doctors because they were obese they would be taken seriously. They would be offered many different options. I don't think this is fair. Yeah, obesity is serious and it comes with a lot of complications. But it seems that because bad skin doesn't come with health complications it's disregarded and thrown aside by health professionals. But they don't seem to understand the mental, emotional and even social risks that come along with bad skin.

I've now gone out and purchased a really strong skin care routine. A routine that I don't condone at all and one that I preach about not using. It's the "cheaper" Clean and Clear routine and I can already feel my skin hating me for it as it's going to be a dry mess! But at the moment, I'd take dry skin over this mess any day.

So yes, a bit of a negative post today. But I think blogging and social media are powerful platforms and I just want to get out there that firstly, this serum is shocking. I know I'm probably one out of millions who've had a bad reaction from it. But like I said, I don't react to products, I never have done and my breakouts have always been hormonal. And this isn't just a breakout; it's ripped my skin apart. And secondly, I want bad skin to be taken more seriously. It's not fair that countless amounts of people have had to suffer because it's not a serious "illness" yet. When in actual fact, it is very serious and many people have to put up with bullying and low self esteem issues because of it. I, for one, still haven't got my confidence back from when I suffered with spots when I was younger - I'm now 20.

Below, I'm going to insert a picture of the state my skin is currently in. I didn't want to put it onto this post straight away as I understand that some of you might not want to look at it. I personally can't look at this picture without bursting into tears and wanting to slice it off of my face.