Monthly Favourites | January

Happy February folks! I do hope you've all had a spiffing start to the new year.  Mine has certainly been a busy one to say the least and I've had a tough time keeping all the plates spinning at once - juggling blogging along with final year uni work and actually managing to maintain having a life is a task and a half! This being said, I wouldn't be a blogger unless I'd managed to make time to scout out a few new beauty favourites, would I? January is always big on the discoveries for me - so many new releases make their way into the shops before Christmas and I often rack up a few new purchases (don't we all?!).  Anyway, without further ado - I shall introduce you to my January love interests... Grab a cuppa - there's quite a few!

Urban Decay | Naked 3 Palette | Full Review

Discovery of the month goes the the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.  I shall be honest and say I didn't expect to love this as much as the second one, but I must admit I've fallen head over heels for its rose gold gloriousness! The shades seem to really suit my skin tone at the minute - I find the rose-gold hues work really well with my eyes and I've been wearing it pretty much every day this January.  My favourite colours at the moment are 'Trick' - a beautiful rose gold and 'Factory' - a mid-toned brown.  I've also been using the matte shades 'Limit' and 'Nooner' as transition colours and for creating definition in the crease of the lid.  I have a full review including swatches and detailed photographs in this post all about the palette.

Bumble and Bumble | Thickening Hairspray |

In terms of hair products this month, this little spray has been a firm favourite of mine.  After wanting to try it for ages, I received a small bottle from my Mum for Christmas and have been blown away by it's volumising capabilities! I'm usually a mousse girl through and through, and if I'm honest I wasn't expecting this product to live up to its hype at all.  However, I've been proven wrong.  I can really see why this product received so much blogger hype.  It's amazing.  Usually, I don't find volume sprays provide that much texture or lift to the hair, but this one surely does!  I spray a little under my fringe and through the root area and after I've finished blow drying my hair looks and feels amazingly swoopy and voluminous.  I will be investing in the big bottle as soon as I run out of this miniature size as I can't stand to be without it on my dressing table at the moment.

Neal & Wolf | Heat Protection Spray |

Heat protection spray is pretty much a standard product isn't it? I don't often get excited about it at all and tend to opt for whichever one is on offer in Boots at the time.  However, I've recently been loving Neal & Wolf products (their conditioning treatment is amazing) and have found myself becoming addicted to the scent of their range.  I've mentioned it before - it's not to everybody's taste but I personally love it.  Their products have a sort of 'musky' smell to them that reminds me of being in a posh salon - if I've used Neal & Wolf on my hair I can smell it the day afterwards without fail every time I 'swish' my barnet! This is why I invested in their heat protection spray. Not only does it do an amazing job of smoothing out the hair and helping it to stay soft to the touch, it means that my hair can smell like Neal & Wolf all day long without fail! Perfect. It will be a definite re-purchase for me.

Jimmy Choo | 'Flash' | Full Review

I won't harp on too much about this little beauty as I've already written a full post on it this week which you can read here.  It's become my new every day fragrance and I adore it.  It's such a gorgeous, unique scent and it's really sophisticated and soft without compromising on staying power.  

Champneys | Skin Comforting Bath Milk (not individually pictured)

Oops. Somebody was a numpty and forgot to photograph one product out of the whole bunch - slap my wrist and call me a bad blogger! I've spoken about my love of luxurious bath products on my blog many a time before.  Through the colder months, there's nothing I look forward to more than a long, relaxing soak in a hot bath with a magazine and a candle or two. This bottle of Champney's Bath Milk has become my new favourite and I've been reaching for it loads just recently.  I must admit, when I first smelt it I wasn't instantly sold - it's quite a 'soapy' sort of smell. I'm aware I'm really not selling it amazingly well here - but it really is such a gorgeous, perfumed 'spa-like' scent. It fills the bathroom with a beautiful aroma within seconds and it always leaves me feeling all pampered and relaxed.  Its milky consistency fills the bath with moisture and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth to the touch when you step out of the bath. 

Clinique | Bottom Lash Mascara
Now then, now then.  Where do I begin with this little beauty?!  I don't want to say too much as I'm planning on dedicating a full post to it soon - it deserves it's own space on the ol' bloggles that's for sure!  I really have no idea why on earth I never purchased this before.  For so many years, I have struggled with mascara leaving black smudges and flecks underneath my eyes.  I have quite long bottom lashes and always like to use mascara to show them off to their best potential - but I always felt as if it was a wasted effort because an hour later I'd resemble a panda. Not in a cute way either.  Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara has solved this problem and I haven't experienced any smudging whatsoever since I started using this.  The teeny-tiny brush is amazing at picking up every single individual lash and my eyelashes have looked a million and one times better since I bought this. Honestly - if you're in the same boat as me I urge you to give this a try. 

Mac | Sculpting Cream in 'Accentuate'
Mac Sculpting Creams have become a firm favourite in my routine just recently - which is a bit of a shame since you can't pick them up anymore.  I actually bought this off Lisa's blog sale a while back now and have been using it ever since (I also bought the shade 'Coffee Walnut' which is gorgeous for a strong contour look!). This shade is a perfect highlighter! I'm not one for shimmery highlighters and very rarely feel the need to add one to my face on a daily basis (I go through phases with them) but this little pot has been the perfect solution for me.  I apply this to the tops of my cheekbones, my brow bone and my 'cupid's bow' area and blend in with a brush on top of my foundation before adding powder and it provides such an amazing, flawless finish.  Because it's a cream it doesn't look powdery either - it blends into my Nars Sheer Glow with ease and gives such a professional effect.  It looks so natural because of the lack of shimmer and sculpts the face really well.  I might have to do a tutorial on how I use cream products to contour - do let me know if it would be of interest as I find it looks much more natural than relying on powders all the time!

Benefit | Porefessional Primer | Full Review
Again, I've spoken about this product in depth on my blog over the past couple of weeks so I won't harp on too much.  It really is an amazing primer. It's one that I've maybe overlooked in the past and I have no idea why! It really does smooth out the skin and provides that 'high def' finish to your foundation.  It minimises pores (yep, it does what it says on the tin!) and gives a baby-soft feel to the skin making it the perfect base for your makeup.  My foundation has never lasted so long! Honestly, if you're going to invest in a primer and are fed up of your foundation slipping off your face or moving during the day - it's well worth the pennies.  It will make the world of difference. You can read my full review here.

And there we have it.  My January beauty preferences wrapped up in a post.  It was quite a task picking favourites this month - I've really found myself switching up my routine recently and have been using a whole array of different products.   

What have you been loving this January? Do you share my love for any of these products?