February Monthly Favourites

I love monthly favourites. It's that time of the month when I get to have a good nose at what other bloggers are loving... and what's more interesting than makeup and skincare? Nothing! Unless their favourite is a pug, or a sausage dog... in that case, the puppies are infinitely better. Regardless! I do love me some monthly favourite posts. It's where all the lovely items from the month come together in some lovely photography... and they just kinda sum up what your month has been about. I've been loving a lot of makeup this month, and just really sticking to my regular skincare, so there's nothing really new there. But makeup... oh makeup. People ask me how I can have so much, but the real question here is, how can I have so much, and still have a wish list the size of a small country? Huh? Answer me that! I just want to try everything... I really do. I want to have drawers of foundations, concealers, blushes, bronzers and probably an entire wardrobe of makeup dedicated to my eyes and lips. I want to try them all, figure out my favourite ones, and stick to those. Is that so hard to understand? 

Anyway! Monthly favourites for the month of February are almost a complete look, despite the fact that I never like going out of the house without concealer... yeah, these bags need covering. Except the pretty black one with a chain and a pom pom, everyone needs to see that one. For the base, we've got Collection's Illuminating Touch Foundation (£5.99, here), which is a rather fabulous product, as it really does pack in some glow, much like their infamous concealer, without it looking like you're sweaty, or too shiny. It gives a very even coverage without being too heavy, and also blends easily, despite coming out quite thick from the bottle. I have the shade Porcelain, which is rather perfect for me and those with pale skin, and the shade range is good if you're light skinned, but I'd say if you're any darker than a NW30/35, then you might have some issues. Hopefully Collection will expand their shade range and allow those with darker skin to covet their wonderful formulation. Next up is Illamasqua's Cream Pigment in Hollow (£18, here), a sort of grey, beige shade, perfect for pale skin contouring. Or a greige, if you will. It's a cream that can be used on the cheeks, lips, face and body for contouring, or just for general usage. I do like to apply this onto the hollows of my cheeks, and also a little into the crease of my eyes, just to give more depth and definition. This doesn't crease or smudge, making it a fantastic addition to my makeup kit, and a brilliant buy at £18, considering that I've had it for ages, and it's barely made a dent. 

Keeping with the base products, we have a firm favourite of mine and it's from Estée Lauder's Bronze Goddess range, their wonderful Bronzer (£33, here). It still has that wonderful tortoiseshell casing with a huge mirror, small brush and powder that gives a glorious bronze glow to the skin - and considering how pale I am, it doesn't overwhelm the skin. In the Summertime, when my skin naturally catches a slight tan, this comes in handy once again, giving a lovely sheen to the skin, and adding a sun kissed glow to the contours of my face. Such a wonderful product, and I'm so glad that I managed to dig it out of my stash. Estée Lauder truly are one of my favourite brands, regardless of whether it's skincare or makeup... I just find their formula's, textures and packaging to be so effortlessly chic. Like that cool Parisian girl who can throw an outfit together, not brush her hair, apply some lipstick and just outshine everyone else who spent hours pinning a look together. Estée Lauder is that girl, and I'm forever in awe. Now moving onto the eyes, we have three fabulous little eyeshadow pans from Makeup Geek (£4.95, here) and they are Vanilla Bean (the cream, champagne shade), Bedrock (a gorgeous taupe) and Barcelona Beach (a sandy bronze shade). These three have convinced me that I need so much Makeup Geek in my life. I really, really do. Buttery soft, with little to no fall down... these three shades blend seamlessly together, and they create a subtle look with a defined crease, and when combined with black cat eye liner... oh, just yes. The look is perfect. I did a post a few weeks ago on the three Makeup Geek eyeshadows and for £4.95 each, these come in at a lot cheaper than most, so you know you want to build up your own collection.

Last but not least, is one of my favourite lipsticks at the moment from Urban Decay. UD have been slaying the makeup game right now with their Gwen Stefani releases, but I'm taking it way back to the start with their Revolution lipsticks (£15.50, here), and the one that's got my heart right now is in the shade Fiend, a pink mauve shade that looks so damn good on the lips that I can't stop wearing it. A little shoutout to the shade Naked as well (as I forgot to include it) which is a nude peachy pink, perfect for a neutral look with a bit of added warmth. The formula's are creamy and long lasting, and if you want to know more/see some lip swatches, they were featured in an Urban Decay Revolution lipstick blog post earlier this month.

What are your monthly favourites? Are there any of mine that have caught your eye?