April Favourites

Where has April gone!? It feels like just yesterday we started April. 2014 is going far too quickly for my liking...
Considering this is my first monthly favourites post, I have so much I would like to share with you, but I'll try and keep it to a suitable length.

Firstly, I have been listening to the album Encore by Hunter Hayes SO much this month which is the extended edition of his first self-titled album. I know I'm a little late to the game as Hunter released his first album in 2011, but Encore was released in 2013.. that's my excuse anyway... I can honestly say that I love every single one of the 17 songs on the album, which is a rarity for me as I usually tend to dislike at least one song on any given album. I know that country music isn't for everyone, and I've never been a fan myself, but I feel that Hunter changes it and really turns country music on its head, all in all... I'm obsessed. If you haven't heard Hunter, you need to climb out from under that rock and go give him a listen!

Moving onto fragrances, I am LOVING the Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction limited edition Bloom range, as well as the original Pure Seduction scents. I recently went to London with sixth form, and during our free time for shopping, I found myself in Victoria's Secret... After smelling almost all of the fragrance mists they had on offer, I decided that Pure Seduction was my favourite. I must say that I preferred the limited edition Bloom range to the original, however unfortunately they didn't have the fragrance mist in this scent. The original scent is "red plum and freesia" which is quite heavy and fruity, but lovely nonetheless, whereas Bloom is lighter and more floral as it contains violet blossom and red currant. I bought the fragrance mist in the original scent and the body lotion in the Bloom scent. I think that the prices of these products are slightly on the expensive side, with the fragrance mist being £11 and the body lotion at £13, although when I went there was a "3 products for £24" deal on, I'm not sure whether this is always on or it was just a one-off, but I definitely took advantage of that! 

During April, I acquired a love for pinky and coraly colours, as when I think of coral and pink I always think of spring and summer, and summer is something I'm really excited for this year. Whenever I see a coral or pink product I'm drawn to it straight away, especially when it comes to nail varnishes. I've gone a bit nail polish crazy this month, and my absolute favourite has been the Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint by BarryM in the colour Passion Fruit. I've been wearing it since I bought it earlier this month and the quality is amazing. I love the colour of it, but what I especially love is the fact it lasts such a long time. It's a great, cheaper alternative for the raging Shellac trend, and at £3.99 a bottle I would definitely recommend it.
A second nail varnish, again going with the pink/coral trend, is the colour Bright and Early by Tanya Burr. Tanya is an amazing YouTuber, one of my absolute favourites, and when she announced she was launching a nail varnish and lip gloss collection, I freaked out a little bit... This is the only nail varnish I have from her collection, as at £5.99 a bottle, they're a little on the expensive side... If you've not heard of Tanya, go and watch her channel! 

Moving on to make-up, my go-to foundation is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation. I love this product, and I feel like it really does wake me up! My skin instantly looks brighter and the coverage is perfect for my skin - it doesn't make my face look overdone and covers the majority of any blemishes I have. I previously used the Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation, however I found that the coverage was much lighter and didn't cover any blemishes as much as I would have liked. Although the Wake Me Up Foundation is more expensive at £8.99, the price is worth the quality and therefore makes it into my favourites!

I've been in need of a primer for quite a while now, but I've never come across one that I felt was worth the purchase, however a couple of days ago I came across the Baby Skin primer by Maybelline, and as there was a buy one get one half price offer in Superdrug I decided to go for it. I've been using it non-stop since I bought it, as it really minimises my pores and makes my foundation last a lot longer throughout the day! Having oily-combination skin is a lot of trouble, as most products that tackle the oil make the dry areas worse, and products that are suited for dry areas make any oily patches more oily. However I love this primer, as it gives an even base for my foundation, without making it more oily or dry. It's so lightweight and a little goes a long way! 

In terms of mascara, I've tried so many I've lost count... I've struggled to find a mascara that gives the right amount of volume, yet doesn't cause my lashes to clump or look "spidery". After hearing about Maybelline's The Rocket, I decided to give it a go - what did I have to lose? I can honestly say that this mascara has been my knight in shining armour. I love it! The formula is simply amazing, in my opinion it's got the perfect consistency and doesn't cause my lashes to clump or separate too much. I personally prefer the waterproof formula to avoid smudging during the day, but the only downside to this is that its more difficult to remove with facial wipes. I'm normally against them anyway and tend to use a cleansing oil, but for the sake of lazy days or being away from home it's more of a chore to remove. 

Finally, my favourite blush for spring is the All-in-One Cheek Colour in the shade Macaroon by The Body Shop. It's such a pretty coral colour and it gives a nice pop of colour to my face without being too drastic. The pigmentation of this blush is simply amazing and a little definitely goes a long way with it.

That's all for my April Favourites, I hope you had an amazing April and have an even better May! What have your favourites been this April? Leave a comment and tell me! 

Chloe