Some Products I've Been Enjoying Recently

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge | I last mentioned this in a First Impressions post back in February (here), and said I liked it, but still had my reservations. My foundation applied better with it, especially when damp, but I wasn't keen on replacing it every 1-3 months. Due to an offer and multiple discount codes, I've since bought two more for around £3 each (usually £5.99). Thankfully, I haven't had to use them yet because my original one is still doing a great job, two months down the line. The finish it gives is natural, and it's great at blending. I also find it to cover those blemishes which have scabbed over well. The sponge is able to mold around every crevice. Sounds gross, I know, but we've all experienced it! I don't really know where to store it when it's still damp, though, so it tends to just sit on my chest of drawers next to my makeup basket. The stains are there for life as well, but I've accepted those!

Revlon Super Length Mascara | This was another product in my First Impressions post, and I didn't have strong feelings for this either! It wasn't clumpy and gave my lashes that fluttery effect, like Maybelline's Mega Plush, but I wasn't blown away because I love my Maybelline ones so much. I've been using it every day since, though, so that must say something, and it doesn't flake either. I'll still go to Maybelline first when I need a new mascara, but I'd be happy to repurchase this one.

NYX Butter Lipstick in Root Beer Float (formerly known as Pops) | I've been loving these nude pink shades recently, and the formula of this one is very creamy and pigmented. It lasts considerably well, too, considering how creamy it is. It looks more brown in the tube than it does on the lips, but once on, it's incredibly natural, and not too dissimilar from my natural lip colour. Since taking the photo above, I've also bought the NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Tres Leches, which is a similar colour. I've been loving this as well, so will have to do a swatch post soon.

Rimmel Exaggerate Automatic Lip Liner in Eastend Snob | I've been wearing this with Root Beer Float, so thought I'd talk about it next. They don't look like they'd go well together, but Root Beer Float is more pink than it looks, and this is less pink than it looks. It seems to be a cult classic, and has been compared to Charlotte Tilbury's Pillow Talk. It gives off a nice amount of pigment, and isn't at all scratchy, which is what I associated most lip liners as being. It lasts all day on my lips, and you don't even have to sharpen it. Plus, it's only £3.99.

NYX HD Blush in Taupe | I owned and loved the colour of the old Taupe, but it had no pigment, so I was happy when I got my hands on this. It's so much more pigmented! I actually have to be really careful when contouring with it. It feels a little chalky when swatched with your fingers, but it doesn't come across like that on the face.

Maybelline Creamy Mattes Colour Tattoo in Creme De Rose | My eyelids have some red discolouration to them, so I usually conceal them. They get quite oily, though, so even with a primer, they can crease a little. I bought Creme De Rose hoping to use it as a wash of colour, and start wearing eyeshadow. It ended up being so close to my skin tone, though, that you couldn't even tell I was wearing it. I started using it in place of my concealer instead, and it works really well. It barely creases, and it keeps the oil at bay much better. I've even been using a little under my eyes, where those fine lines are. It's on the cool, pink side, so I wouldn't use it anywhere else on my face, but it works well around my eyes. It's been compared to MAC's Painterly Paint Pot, so if you have your eye on that, try this first and save yourself some money!

Have you tried any of these products? And if you've tried both the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge and Beauty Blender, is the latter worth the extra money?

New Favourites

Left to right: Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in Oh So Wicked, Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Lip Colour in Diva, Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade in Soft Brown, Makeup Revolution Ultra Aqua Brow Tint in Medium, Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Zygomatic. Above the Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade in Soft Brown: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown. Below the Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade in Soft Brown: Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade in Medium.

Aside from the foundation, this lot of favourites comes in pairs. Two nude pinks, two vampy lip colours, and two brow products. I'll start with the nudes.

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Zygomatic | Usually £22, I bought this in the sale for £6 something a few weeks ago, so it was an absolute bargain. I think it's my new favourite blush, and I may like it more than my beloved Nyx Cream Blush in Natural. Now that's saying something! It's just so natural, and not too brown like I thought it'd be. The formula is creamy and easy to blend, and leaves a slight sheen on your cheeks. I can't recommend it enough.

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Pink Lemonade | I hadn't painted my nails in two years, after painting them religiously every week for the longest time. This was mostly due to my job, of which I still have. However, I fell in love with this colour. It's a slightly pinker version of Models Own Utopia and OPI's Steady As She Rose, which are two old favourites. It only takes two coats to become opaque as well, which I was surprised about because of its light colour.

Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in Oh So Wicked | Despite reaching for Naughty Nude almost daily, I was still apprehensive about putting it in my 2015 favourites. I don't know why my feelings were luke warm when I couldn't fault the formula. Since then, though, I can't get enough of it, so decided to try another shade from the line. I went for the darkest, vampiest shade there is, and I've been loving it. Just like Naughty Nude, it's incredibly long lasting. I mean, it survived pizza! Next on my list: Peachy Beachy.

Barry M Loud Mouth Extreme Lip Colour in Diva | I already owned, and loved, four shades from this range (review and swatches here and here) when I bought Diva, months and months ago, but it's taken me this long to get around to using it. Like the others, you need the smallest amount. They're not glosses, but highly pigmented colours. I find that they last well on my lips, and wear down beautifully. The swatch makes it look like it'd bleed and smudge, but it honestly doesn't. I've just used more than necessary for the photo. I would probably wear a lip liner if I was going to really pack it on, though. It's not as foolproof as the Rimmel one.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Aqua Brow Tint in Medium | I bought this early last year when I placed a large order, and I'd used it a couple times, but it's only this month that I've started appreciating it. Like pomades, it's very pigmented, so you only need the tiniest amount, but I've found it to give an incredibly natural finish. At £3, it's a steal.

Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade in Soft Brown | Like many people, I'm a fan of the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, but mine's beginning to dry out, so I thought I'd try a cheaper £5 alternative. I bought Freedom's offering in Soft Brown, which is the shade I use of the Anastasia one. At first, I thought it was a little too warm, so bought the ashier, darker Medium, but I've since decided that Soft Brown is the shade for me. I can't tell much of a difference between this and the Anastasia one. Both are pigmented creams that have some serious staying power. The powder duo, £4, is also a product I'm a fan of.

Collection Illuminating Touch Foundation in Porcelain | On other people, this foundation looks light, but I still find it a little dark for my liking. Fear not, though, as my Body Shop Shade Adjusting Lightening Drops sort this out. It's the actual formula which has impressed me. I'm used to natural or matte finishes, so wasn't sure what to expect with this dewy one. It looks and feels great on the skin, though. Foundation sometimes settles into places it shouldn't, and goes slightly dry and crusty, but this one doesn't. It has a tendency to crease a little more if I put it on my eyelids, but it's not a big issue. I also like that it's not glittery, unlike Rimmel's Wake Me Up! It has medium-full coverage, and the cherry on the cake is that it's only £5.99 full price. You can often find it on offer for £3.99, though. I'd heard bad things about the Lasting Perfection foundation, so was apprehensive about this one, but it's surpassed my expectations. It'd be even better if there was more of a shade variety.

Do you own any of these products? What do you think of them?

The Products Which Didn't Quite Make It

I set myself a limit of fifteen products for my 2015 favourites, but I have to mention the ones above. They may have missed out on a spot at the top, but I still enjoyed using each and every one of these throughout the course of the year. I think I discovered all but one of them during the year as well, so I haven't gone on about them umpteen times before.

Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot Primer (review here) | I started using this towards the end of 2015, but it's better than a lot of other primers I've used before, and I'll be repurchasing soon. It doesn't live up to a lot of its claims, but it does make my makeup last well, and my eyeliner less smudgy. I also like the packaging; you can get everything out of the tube, and the nozzle allows for control.

Soap & Glory Glow All Out Luminizing Face Powder | I swatched this multiple times over the course of a year before buying. I thought it was beautiful, but for some reason, always put it back on the shelf. When I finally made the purchase and used it for the first time, I was actually disappointed. It didn't look as nice out of the store, and it was barely noticeable. I don't know why I thought that because I find it to be more than enough now. I find it too shimmery to be used all over the face, but think it looks beautiful on the tops of the cheeks.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Julianne's Nude | I wasn't into nudes and muted pinks before the summer of 2015. I don't know what changed, but I've been wearing shades like this one on a regular basis for months now. This particular one is very flattering, and the formula doesn't go patchy over the course of its wear. It stays looking good right the way through.

NARS Copacabana Illuminator | I bought this in a blog sale, and can see it lasting an age! The smallest amount gives a pearlescent, almost metallic highlight to the places you apply it.

Revlon ColourStay Foundation for Normal/Dry Skin in Ivory (review here) | For someone with oily skin, I was skeptical about this. I bought it over the one for combination/oily skin because it looked lighter. I've since bought that one as well, but find myself reaching for this one more. It has a thicker, more gel-like texture than my other foundations, and leaves my skin feeling more moisturised. It doesn't make me any more oily than I usually get, and seems to last throughout the day better. I just wish it had a pump!

Bourjois Bronzing Primer (review here) | A matte, cream bronzer that blends beautifully. There's not much more to say! I still want them to come out with a contour version.

NYX Concealer Wand in Green | I started using this in December, but still wanted to mention it. I've had the jar version of this for a long time, and started using it again in November. The colour really helped tone down my blemishes and rosacea before applying foundation, but the formula had dried out and become difficult to blend. This liquid version is much better, and incredibly pigmented!

No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter | I bought this all the way back in the summer of 2014, but haven't mentioned it much, and started using it again towards the end of 2015. I love cream products, and this one is no different. A dupe for the Clinique one, it's incredibly easy to use, blends well, and has just the right amount of shimmer. I'm a fan of the blushes from the range as well.

Stila Convertible Colour in Hibiscus | The NYX Cream Blush in Natural is still my go-to blush, but I also love this one. It's mostly the shade I love because I have nothing like this coral red in my collection, but the formula's good, too. It's harder than the NYX ones, almost like a solid gel instead of a cream, but it's pigmented and blends well. The packaging is also pretty, let's be honest!

Have you tried any of these? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

Top 15 Products of 2015

I didn't give myself a limit to the number of products featured in my 2014 favourites, and ended up having two mammoth posts, so I set about having just 15 this time around. It was quite difficult actually, so I may write another post with the ones which didn't quite make it!

Most of these products are ones which I discovered in 2015. There are three which I've been using for longer, but I absolutely love them, so had to include them. I haven't included my trusty NYX Cream Blush in Natural, The Body Shop's All In One Face Base in 02, Maybelline's Gel Liner in Black, or ELF's Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light, because although I've been through many of each, I talk about them all the time.

The fragrance which I'm choosing as my 2015 favourite is Viktor & Rolf's Bonbon. I haven't had it that long, and I still love all my others just as much, but this one is so different to anything I own. It's rich, warm, and sweet, rather than light, floral, and fruity. The caramel note is really what makes it, and I'll catch whiffs of it throughout the day. One spray on the neck, and one on the wrists, is all I need, and my mum will comment on my perfume when I get home from work. I've avoided smelling Flowerbomb because of the patchouli note, but everyone seems to love it, so I think I'm going to have to track down a tester or sample of that one as well.

I'm grouping the MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balms together, but thought I'd show you two of the five shades I own; Cherry Bomb and Dusky Rose. They're light, balmy, and last surprisingly well. They're also only £2 a piece!

I've been using the Superdrug Colour Effects Wash In Wash Out Conditioning Colours for years, and have spoken about them an awful lot, but I had to include them in my 2015 favourites because I've been using them more than ever, and have been receiving more compliments on my hair than ever. These bottles (£1.49) add different tones to your hair, depending on which shade you opt for. I tend to use the Mahogany shade the most, which makes my auburn hair deeper and richer. I also like True Chestnut, which is less red. I'll either leave it on for an hour once a week, or put it on in the shower for ten minutes and gradually build it up over the course of a few days.

I discovered Lush's Ultrabland Facial Cleanser in 2014, but it became the only cleanser I use in 2015. When you first start using it, it feels very heavy, and so moisturising that you think it'll clog your pores, but it doesn't. The texture has become the norm for me now, and the simple ingredients are great for my skin. The best thing about Ultrabland is how well it removes your makeup. It just melts it away, and doesn't sting your eyes.

Rimmel's The Only One Lipstick in Naughty Nude wasn't going to be in here, but when I thought about it, it's a lipstick I go to a lot. It's opaque, creamy, and lasts for hours. It kind of dries down to feel like a satin/stain, but it's not drying on the lips at all.

Barry M's Satin Super Slick Lip Paint in Berrylicious isn't one I've had that long, but I really do love it. Again, it's opaque and incredibly creamy, but it lasts well, especially when I dab and work it into my lips. The colour is different to other berry shades I own as well. It's slightly more purple, more muted. It's also only £4.49, which is a bonus.

My new favourite mascara is Maybelline's Lash Sensational. I'm not great at distinguishing the qualities between mascaras, but I know that this one separates my lashes, somehow makes them look better than other mascaras do, and doesn't flake.

I also discovered Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner before 2015, but I love, love, love it. I found the scent overpowering at first, but now it seems to calm me. The actual product is what does it for me, though. You put it on in the shower, wash it off, and voila. You're left with moisturised skin. No need for butters or lotions in the cold.

Boots were selling Origins Mask Marvel sets, left over from Christmas, in the spring for a great price. I think they were £20 for three 75ml tubes. My favourite out of these is the Drink Up Intensive one. You sleep with it on overnight, and wake up to incredibly moisturised, plump skin. I usually find that once you wash your face, the effects of other moisturisers and masks seem to disappear with it, but this one doesn't. It also smells like apricot, which I love.

The Body Shop's Shade Adjusting Lightening Drops are a game changer. I've been loving them so much. You simply add however many drops to your foundation to make it lighter, which is great if you're pale and find it difficult to find a foundation light enough. It doesn't change the formula of the foundation either.

I became a big fan of Nip & Fab in 2015, especially of the Glycolic Fix range. I love the mask and serum, but decided to include the pads here because of their ease. Wiping one of these over your skin will improve the texture, making it smoother and brighter. You'll see more of an effect if you incorporate them into your daily routine, but I like to give my skin a break after about a week.

I've been loving highlighting in general, and have a few favourites, but the one which tops them all is probably Topshop's Glow Highlighter in Polished. You only need a small amount of the cream formula, and it blends beautifully. If you want something that's warmer than this pearlescent shade, they have a golden shade called Gleam.

Overall, I love my cream blushes more than my powder ones. My NYX, Stila, and Illamasqua ones in particular. But I thought I'd include Max Factor's Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve because, out of the blushes I bought in 2015, it's the one I go to the most. The colour is so natural and easy to wear, and the formula is a dream to use. It's soft, yet not chalky, and blends incredibly well. These blushes were talked about a lot last year, and for good reason.

I found a new brand to dominate my brush collection in 2015, and that brand is Zoeva. They look and feel more expensive than they are, and the ones I own have not disappointed. The two I use the most are the Silk Finish and Brow Line ones. Even after using the Silk Finish brush to apply my foundation after all these months, it's still just as in shape and dense as it was when new. The Brow Line brush is thinner than any other eyebrow brush I've used, so it doesn't pick up as much product, and allows you to have more control. This comes in particularly handy when using pomades.

Have you used any of these products? What were your favourites of 2015?

New Favourites

Stila Convertible Colour in Hibiscus | £16

I'd had my eye on the Convertible Colours for a while, but didn't want to pay £16 for one, especially because I was so happy with my NYX ones. Then Stila reduced a couple of the colours on their website to £8 with free delivery, and because I prefer warmer shades over bubblegum pinks, I chose Hibiscus. It's an orangey red, and one of the reasons why I've come to love it is because it's nothing like the other shades in my collection. The red shades I have tend to be of the raspberry variety, which I love during the winter. I didn't have a summery red, though, so this has filled that slot. I wasn't expecting it to be as pigmented as it is either. The NYX ones are the most pigmented cream blushes I own, but that's partly because they're so creamy. This is more firm and waxier, but still has incredible colour pay off. The finish is light and fresh, too. Petunia is next on my to buy list.

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Pads | £12.99

I've just reviewed these (which you can read here), so I won't go into too much detail. Like the face mask in the same range, they leave the surface of my skin feeling smooth, and appear to minimise the appearance of my pores. The solution they're soaked in is also distributed evenly through the tub, so every pad has plenty of product on.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Soft Brown | £15

I've also reviewed this recently (here). The colour is a great match for my eyebrows, and once you get used to how pigmented it is, you can create a really natural look. Unlike powder, there's no fall out, and it's going to last a long while. I'm just hoping it doesn't dry out too much!

Bourjois Bronzing Primer | £9.99

You can find my full review of this here. Although it's quite orange in the pot, it blends out so easily, leaving a sunkissed glow. Cream bronzers are hard to find, especially matte ones, so I'm glad I found this. I'd love it if they brought out a cooler shade, though; it'd look more natural under my jaw line when I attempt to contour!

Zoeva 102 Silk Finish Brush | £11.50 on its own (the silver version)

This is the brush I've been using the most from the Rose Golden collection, and I've been using it with my foundation. I prefer it to my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, and I think that's because it's not as stumpy, so is easier to use around my nose. It's still dense and super soft, but slightly more flexible. It's also prettier, let's be honest!

Lifestyle Favourites

I've done many favourites posts over the years, but don't recall ever doing a lifestyle one before. I'm looking forward to talking about products which aren't beauty related!

I love plants, and up until last week, my windowsill was filled with all kinds (mostly cacti) in brightly coloured pots. I fancied a more minimal, clean look, though, so started looking out for some succulents. The garden centres I went to were a let down, not having many to offer, and the ones available being quite expensive. I then went to Wilkinson, and to my delight, saw a shelf filled with assorted succulents for £2 each. £2! I bought four, including the two above. I was going to show you them in the copper pots I ordered off eBay, but the seller messed up and I won't be getting those until the end of the month.

I also bought the Life's a Peach handled mason jar from Wilkinson for £2, along with the glass jug for £1.25. It's only 1L, but that's still about four glasses worth, so I can't complain for the price. I bought it because I've been enjoying iced tea recently, which leads me on to my next favourites.

The Lidl Knightsbridge Raspberry & Peach Tea is the one I've been liking the most. I think it's 89p for 40 tea bags, and I like it more than my Twinings ones. To bring the iced into iced tea, I've been loving my Primark re-usable ice cubes. They're in the shapes of raspberries, strawberries, lemons/limes, and another fruit (possibly apples or peaches). They keep your drink cool without watering it down, and they were only £1. I also have some old ones from Poundland, but these are prettier.

I used to love Pringles, but not so much in recent years. I'd heard people talking about the new Tortilla Chips range, though, so thought I'd try the Sour Cream ones. All I can say is, they're addictive. I ate two tubes over the course of a few days, and that was me being restrained. I'm going to need to stock up while they're on offer.

I've had my Yankee Candle Electric Tart Warmer for a while now, but it's still one of my favourite things. I'm not allowed to have naked flames in the house, but love home fragrance products, so this is the perfect alternative. I'm currently melting Marshmallow Blends' Blackberry Jam, which is delicious.

I recently upgraded my phone, which seems to eat at the battery life a lot quicker than my old one. I asked on Twitter which portable chargers were the best, and people replied with various ones from the brand Anker. I decided to go with the Astro E1 5200mAh for £9.99 on Amazon (now £11.99). Although it only has enough power to charge a phone two full times, that's all I need, and it's compact. So far, I've managed to charge my phone 50-100%, 40-100%, and 30-100%, with a bar of power still left. I'm hoping it continues to be this effective, but if it isn't, I'll update you.

I used to use a Ped Egg for the hard skin on my feet, but no longer like it because it's so harsh. It basically grates your foot, and if you catch some soft skin, you'll know about it. The Micro Pedi was on offer at Lloyd's, and my sister had discount on top, so I couldn't refuse. I've been really impressed so far. It's effective, yet gentle. I've heard that the files don't last too long, so I bought a pack of four generic ones from eBay for around £10, and they've been working a treat.

My Kindle Paperwhite is another product I've had since the start of the year, but I really do love it. More so recently, where I've been reading at lunch and before bed every day. I've been particularly enjoying the Belle series by Lesley Pearse, so think I'm going to download some of her other books.

I'd love to know your current lifestyle favourites - it'll make a refreshing change! 

New Favourites

Since my last favourites, I've bought and tried a whole lot of products. I'm fond of most of them, but to keep things short and sweet, I've only picked a handful to write about today.

I'm still not big on body scrubs, preferring to use exfoliating gloves, but one I really like is The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach Body Scrub. I like intense scrubs, and used to think ones with large scrubby bits were better for that, but actually, the finer ones are. I think this is because the bits don't fall off your skin, meaning you can really work them in. This is what the Vineyard Peach one is like, and it's creamy, so leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth. It also smells incredible, but that goes without saying.

I feel like I've spoken about the face masks above a lot recently, so I'm going to just give you the links to my reviews. Click here to read my thoughts on the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, and click here for the Nip + Fab Glycolic Instant Fix Mask. They do more than other masks I've tried, and for that, I applaud them.

The Topshop Glow Cream Highlighter in Polish (review here) is amazing, and probably the best highlighter I've used. It's iridescent and glowy and beautiful. Plus, the pot is going to last a long, long time.

Another Topshop cheek product I've been loving is the Cheek Jelly in Reign. I'd describe it as a water based cream blush, and it's very natural. Sheer, slightly dewy, blends well; an all around winner.

I've bought so many blushes this year, and have ended up loving them all. One of my favourites is the MUA Whipped Velvet Blush in Ritzy. I love every shade I have (review and swatches here), but I've been leaning towards these natural, flushed colours recently. The Whipped Velvet blushes are like mousses, and are very light in texture. They're only £3, too, so I'd definitely recommend checking them out.

Everyone's been raving about the Max Factor Creme Puff Blushes, and for good reason. They're pigmented, not chalky in the slightest, and subtly illuminate without relying on a huge amount of shimmer. I have Nude Mauve and Gorgeous Berries, but have just featured Nude Mauve here because I've already featured two berry toned blushes.

I've been reaching for the MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balms more than any other lip product recently. You can read my review here, but they're essentially light, moisturising, tinted lip balms. They're quite pigmented for what they are, actually. The only one I haven't featured here is Coral Reef, and that's because it looks like a hot pink on my lips, which isn't my favourite colour.

The ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light is still my go to eyebrow product, but I've been so impressed with Makeup Revolution's Brow Dual Ultra Arch & Shape in Medium. It's the perfect shade for me, is easy to use, and looks natural. The pen side is my favourite, but the pencil's good, too. It's the £3.50 version of Soap & Glory's Archery, but there's four shades instead of two. I don't know how quickly it's going to dry out, but for the price, I'm not going to be too upset when it does.

New Favourites #05

I've written positive reviews on most of the products above, but realised that they haven't been in a Favourites yet, so here we are!

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil - £10/200ml - review here

I love both this and the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, but have been reaching for this more often because it's quicker. Instead of unscrewing a lid and scooping, I can just pump. It removes all of my makeup well and leaves my skin feeling really soft. 

The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Mist - £7.50/100ml - review here

I have quite a few of The Body Shop body mists, and this is my new favourite. It smells like a fresh, juicy peach. Amazing.

Blistex Intensive Moisturiser - £2.59/5g at Superdrug, £2.63 at Boots

I have yet to mention this on Affordable Treats. Blistex were giving away 500 of these on Facebook a few weeks back, and I was lucky enough to win one. I wasn't expecting it to be anything special, but was blown away when I first used it. It feels like it moisturises your lips right the way through, instead of just the first layer of skin. I apply this at night, let the menthol do its thing, then wake up to moisturised, plump lips. I rarely have chapped lips, so cannot comment on if it helps to that extent, but it seemed to help my sister's. I'll definitely be buying another tube!

NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler - £5/6.5g - review here

Like I said in my review, I'm not usually one for gloss, but this is something else! It's not as orange as it looks in the tube, and it's not as pink as my swatch suggests, but a beautiful coral. It feels buttery, like the name suggests, but in a good way. It's also pigmented, lasts a few hours, and fades evenly. I also have Apple Strudel, but that shades tends to settle into the lines on my lips. Peach Cobbler doesn't.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Buttercream - £10.50/300ml - review here

My sister bought me this from eBay for just £4.69 including P&P. It smells like lime cheesecake, absorbs into the skin quickly, and leaves it feeling moisturised. Couldn't ask for more!

Accessorize Daisy Necklace - £6

I normally include my non-beauty favourites in my Currently Loving posts, but thought I'd just include this little item here. I like jewellery, but don't wear a lot of it because I always forget to. I went into Accessorize with my sister the other day because she wanted a ring, and she picked out this for me. I was surprised it wasn't more than it was, and love daisies, so decided to treat myself. It's small and sits perfectly on my collarbone, going with most of my tops. I could have bought a lot more, but will probably wait for their next sale!

What have you been loving recently?

New Favourites #04

Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner - £15.95/225g

An in shower body moisturiser that leaves your skin feeling soft and smelling great. I found the rose scent overwhelming at first, but have gotten used to it now. It's expensive, and I don't think I'd have bought it if I didn't have credit to use, but it's impressed me. I think it'll be going on future birthday/Christmas lists! I'm reviewing this in the next couple of days, so look out for a more in depth review!

Lush Ultrabland Facial Cleanser - £6.95/45g

Removes all of my makeup, doesn't sting my eyes (so I can open them when I'm convinced someone's about to murder me in the shower!), and leaves my skin really moisturised. From other reviews, I was expecting to be left with a heavy film, but this isn't the case. Because I have combination oily skin, I go easy on the moisturiser after, sometimes skipping altogether (don't shoot me!). 

Naked Smooth Silky Conditioner for Straight/Longer Hair - £4.19/250ml

I've mentioned Naked conditioners in a few Empties now, but don't think they've featured in a Favourites before. Anyway, I love them. They seem to condition much better than other conditioners I've tried. I think my hair's becoming too used to them, though, so will stop using for a while, and then return.

Revlon ColourBurst Lip Butters in Juicy Papaya and Wild Watermelon - £7.99 each - Wild Watermelon swatch and review here

Love! These are my first Lip Butters, and wish I'd bought them sooner. Juicy Papaya is a peachy shade, and looks surprisingly natural. It goes really well with my colouring. Wild Watermelon is a little more out of my comfort zone, but I've been loving this summery, juicy red. I'll be swatching and reviewing Juicy Papaya soon, so look out for that!

Illamasqua Cream Blusher in Dixie - £18 - Swatch and review here

Creamy, pigmented, and blends well. On the cheeks, this translates as a peachy pink, and gives you a warm glow. It's not quite as creamy as my beloved NYX ones, but it's still up there. I paid £6.75 for this in the sale, and can't wait to pick up a couple more in the next!

What products have entered your Favourites recently?

New Favourites

In order to write 'monthly favourites', you need to be trying new products (unless you wish to feature the same products every month!). My favourites usually stay favourites, and I don't buy that many new products, so had a hard time keeping them up! So I started writing 'new favourites' and realised earlier that I hadn't written one in a while. The products above are products that haven't been featured much on Affordable Treats, but I've been using them a lot recently, so thought I'd talk a bit more about them.

A couple months ago, I wanted a face powder with a little coverage, so purchased The Body Shop's All-in-One Face Base in 02. It's £14 full price, but I paid around £8 with a code. The Body Shop always has a great offer on, so you'll never have to pay full price for something! It gives me a little coverage and a soft, matte finish. For areas which need more coverage/mattifying than others, I pat the product on with my finger. I use this technique around my eyes the most because they tend to get quite oily and red. You can apparently apply it wet for even more coverage, too.

Sticking with The Body Shop, I've been loving the Mango Body Mist. I've loved this for months, and am running very low! £7.50 full price, but I've never paid that for my mists (I also have the coconut and berry varieties, which are also great). My sister also loves this and has about 4 bottles stored away!

Another fragrance I've been loving is Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine Edition. I was gifted this from the people at Fragrance Direct, wrote a post about it, and have been wearing it ever since. I've been wearing it even more than usual recently, though, which is odd for me because I'm more of a body mist kind of girl. I've been pairing this with the Mango Body Mist, actually. The light floral and fruity scents go well together. It's a nice, happy medium of the both.

I bought the Organic Surge Blissful Daily and Super Intensive Moisturisers during their sale for just over £2 each, and I'm so glad I did! They're both very moisturising, but light at the same time, and sink into the skin quickly. Even the intense one is suitable for the day, and I have combination skin! It has a light scent of rose, and the daily variety smells of lemon. They're £8.49-£8.99 full price, which is very reasonable, and I'd be happy to pay that.

I use ELF's Small Angled Brush to fill in my eyebrows, but find it too thick to apply eyeliner with eyeshadow. Enter MUA's £1.50 Eyebrow Brush. It's very thin and dense, making it perfect for eyeliner. 

Do you use any of these products? What products have you been loving recently?

Favourite Nail Polishes - Glitters

Choosing just 16 favourite nail polishes in my Favourite Nail Polishes - Rainbow Edition post was incredibly hard, so I bring you part 2: Glitters! I used to dislike glitters, but have come to love them. Fine ones look pretty over every nail, and chunkier ones look great on an accent.

My first favourite glitter is Illamasqua's Creator; a black base with silver glitter. I bought this on ASOS with a £10 voucher, and I'm glad I did, but wouldn't pay the full £14.50. As much as I love bright nail polishes, I also love shades like this.

Sally Hansen's Oxide is more of a shimmer than glitter, but it didn't fit into my Rainbow Edition post! This is similar to Creator, but it's more of a gunmetal shade, and the glitter is much finer.

Models Own Ibiza Mix is a mix of green, blue, purple, gold and bronze glitter. Very unique, in my opinion. I used to hate chunkier glitters, thinking they looked tacky, but this looks very pretty on my ring fingers.

Models Own Party Pieces (exclusive to ASOS) is a mix of larger and smaller glitter chunks, and the colours include red, blue, green, purple, gold and silver. It's very fun and goes with most colour nail polishes.

Barry M's Amethyst Glitter is densely packed with blue, purple, pink and gold glitter pieces. I love this with darker blues!

Barry M's Pink Silver Glitter is so, so pretty. The glitter is very fine, so I don't mind wearing this on every nail. Glitter can be very bold, so I love that the colour is subtle to even this out.

Essie's Beyond Cozy is another fine glitter that I like wearing on every nail. Normally, the combination of gold and glitter screams tacky, but this colour is very cool toned, and can sometimes look silver, so I think it works. I wore this for Christmas 2012, and will probably wear it for Christmas 2013, too!

I also love my flakies nail polishes (Nubar 2010 and Gosh Rainbow), but haven't included them in the photo. They're so beautiful, with the flakes changing colour in the light. They look incredible over dark polishes!

What are your favourite glitter nail polishes? Are there any I absolutely have to have?

Favourite Nail Polishes - Rainbow Edition

I love nail polish, and I love rainbows, so thought I'd combine the two! I was initially going to pick just one polish for each colour, but that was far, far too difficult! So I picked two instead (which was still a challenge, I tell you).

One of my favourite reds, and Winter favourite, is Barry M's Raspberry. It's dark yet vibrant at the same time, and has just enough pink in it. Models Own Hedonist is amazing! It's a neon coral/red, and the photo really doesn't do it justice.

Sinful Colours Orange Cream is one of the most recent additions to my collection (look at the post before this to see it on!). It's the most beautiful peach shade. I initially had Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya in place of this, but swapped them. The second orange I chose was Models Own Beach Party. This is the brightest yellow toned orange I've ever seen! 

Etude House Ice Cream Nail Polish in Banana is another polish I've recently blogged about (go to the search bar on your left to look for swatches). I bought this for the cute packaging, but it's actually a really nice polish. It takes 2-3 coats, which is good for a yellow! Models Own Luis Lemon, on the other hand, is rather sheer, but it's a neon, so I'm not surprised. I just wear a white base coat underneath! It's probably the brightest nail polish I own, and that's why I love it.

I don't own many greens, so it was easy picking my favourites. Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry is beautiful! I've also blogged about this. The next green I chose was Sinful Colours Rise & Shine. This shade is so hard to photograph! The photo really doesn't do it justice. It's not a muted teal like above, but a... green (I don't know how to describe it!) with blue and green shimmer.

For blue, I didn't choose a sky blue, but shades at different ends of the spectrum. You have Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Guava, one of the new Summer shades, and then Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Blueberry. Guava is a turquoise, whereas Blueberry is a cornflower blue (incredibly pretty).

Indigo... I only have one indigo polish! And that's the fourth shade in the photo - Barry M's Indigo. Another Winter favourite of mine. It's not just a navy, like the photo suggests, but a vibrant indigo with lots of purple tones, too. The polish before it is Astor's 070 (A Spanish brand that I found on Fragrance Direct). I know it's not indigo, but it's close enough!

Violet/lilac/purple was a category with lots of possibilities. I ended up choosing a cool lilac and a warm lilac. The cool toned variety is Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Prickly Pear, and the warmer one is OPI's Lucky Lucky Lavender. 

Pink isn't a colour of the rainbow, but you can't leave out pink when it comes to beauty! I love most shades of pink, cool or warm toned, so chose the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints in Dragon Fruit and Grapefruit to represent this. I think they're the epitome of pink shades.

Because choosing 16 favourite nail polish shades was too hard, I'm also going to be showing you my favourite glitters and extras in another post soon. It's hard to narrow down my favourites because I only buy shades I love (of course!). 

I also took photos for five other posts earlier, so look out for them!

New Favourites

Once a product becomes a favourite, it most likely stays a favourite, so I prefer to write New Favourites posts rather than Monthly Favourites. So, what have I been loving recently?

NYX Cream Blush in Natural (Review and swatch can be found here). This blush is so creamy and pigmented! I only need a light dab with the stipple brush. And the colour is beautiful. It looks so, wait for it, natural. You didn't see that coming, did you? ;)

Moving onto the brush I apply the cream blush with: ELF's Studio Stipple Brush. Before this, I used a normal blush brush, but it would pick up far too much product. This, however, picks up just enough. I've read that some people find it too flimsy, but I haven't had that problem.

I've also been loving Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey. I'll be reviewing and lip swatching this, along with the other shades I have, soon. I have a few blemishes around my mouth at the moment, so am waiting for them to clear up! I held off buying this shade for months because I thought it would be too brown, but it's not at all. I usually dab my lip products on because I'm not comfortable wearing them fully applied, and prefer a natural looking stain. I've been applying this full on though because it's a natural lip shade and suits me well. I've never worn a lip product fully applied out of the house before, so that goes to show how much I love this.

The last two products I've been wearing every single day are the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliners in Taupe and Nude (Review and swatches can be found here). They're creamy, pigmented and last well. The nude shade has changed how my eyes look for the better. My red waterline is no more, and my eyes appear brighter.

What products have you been loving recently?

New Favourites

I thought I'd start writing 'New Favourites' posts instead of 'Current Favourites' or 'Monthly Favourites' because my favourites stay the same. These products are the products that have entered my 'favourite products' category. If you would like to see my other current favourites or monthly favourites, just read my previous posts :)

Treacle Moon - One Ginger Morning Shower Gel 500ml - £2.99 from Tesco

This smells like lime Starbursts! I love it so much. So much so that it's up there with the Original Source Lime Shower Gel - My all time favourite.

Palmers - Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion 200ml - £3.77 from Boots

I don't regularly moisturise my body, but when I do, I like an intense moisturiser. I normally prefer body butters, but this lotion is thick and moisturises just as well. The scent may be too sweet and heavy for the Summer months, but I still love it.

Exfoliating gloves - Mine were a couple of pounds from Superdrug, but you can get these from any Supermarket.

I've been using these to exfoliate my face a couple times a week and my face has never been so smooth and soft. Then, at night, I use an intense moisturiser or balm. It's doing wonders for my skin.

The Body Shop - Hand Cleanse Gels 60ml - £2.50 each

I've reviewed these here. Beautiful, true to name scents that are not alcoholic. Love them!

Lush - Vanilla Puff Dusting Powder 50g - £4.50

I've reviewed this here. I've mainly been using this as a dry shampoo, and it works brilliantly. The powder is fine, so it doesn't leave you with grey hair, and the scent is of a 'grown up' vanilla.

The Body Shop - Vitamin E Moisture Cream 50ml - £9

Every morning, before I apply my concealer, I use this under my eyes. It's light and sinks in well. I prefer using pots of moisturiser for some reason.

The Body Shop - Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream 50ml - £11

I've reviewed this here. You know I said I use an intense moisturiser just now? This is the one I've been using. It feels like silk, absorbs well and leaves your skin incredibly soft.

ELF - Small Mineral Booster 5.1g - £5

I've just checked their website and this has increased in price! The small pot used to be £3.50 and the large pot was £5, but now the small pot is £5 and the large pot is £7. This leaves my skin looking matte and feeling soft, but I don't know if I'm going to repurchase it now. I think I'll repurchase it when they have a code floating around.

Figs & Rouge Balms - Pomegranate 17ml and Rambling Rose 8ml - £4.95 and £3.50 from Super Smoocher (Feel Unique and Boots also sell them)

I've reviewed these here. Beautiful packaging, delicious scents and very moisturising. They are also 100% natural and organic.

Have you tried any of these products? Let me know!