Five Things That I Love (March 2012)

It's been a very busy couple of weeks with lots of exciting beauty launches so I've spent the last few days catching up on things rather than blogging: bad beauty blogger! However, I've definitely got a lot to write about, which I intend to do this week.  In the meantime, here are my favourite products for March:

Etat Pur Citric Acid 

I very recently reviewed this fully here and obviously it's going to be in my love list as it's done some amazing things for my skin.  I can't stress enough just how impressive this new to the UK brand is, so if you haven't had a chance to check it out already, I strong recommend heading over to the Etat Pur site and absorbing yourself in their huge range of products.  I've now cut down this to every other day (up until a couple of days ago I was using it every day) and I'm also using their Salicylic Acid on the days I'm not using this.  At the Erno Laszlo event last week I bumped into Jane from British Beauty Blogger who mentioned that my skin was looking very good, and considering the only time I've ever been told that is during ReAura treatments, I think that's quite a credit to this active!  The only thing I do recommend if you start using this is a good night cream to go over the top, which leads me nicely to......

Erno Laszlo Velvet Night Cream

.....which I've been using every night since the event last Thursday.  Obviously I need to continue using it to ensure it doesn't have any funny impact on my skin (as soooo many other products do) but it's safe to say that, assuming my skin continues to stay happy, that this is one 'ell of a night cream.  It pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin and leaves my skin feeling like velvet right up until I apply it again the following night.  It's a very rich cream that I initially thought my skin wouldn't have a hope of working with, but so far so good and I'll definitely report back with the full review as soon as I've used it for long enough.

Illamasqua Freak

I raved about this scent when I received a sample in a previous beauty box.  My lovely (but sadly ex) boyfriend bought this for me for Valentines day and I'm still loving it.  It's definitely a Marmite sent and not for the faint hearted, but if you're a fan of strong yet feminine scents then this is definitely worth checking out.  The bottle is also gorgeous and incredibly unusual, so it looks pretty on my dressing table.

Max Factor Xperience Boutique Sheer Gloss Balm in Coral

If you can ignore the annoying name, this is a really great and cheap lip gloss that leaves lips with a hint of colour and a teeny, tiny bit of sparkle that's OK for day wear.  I initially mentioned this last summer as I wore this day and night throughout my holiday, so now the sun is starting to appear again, it's time to add some dewy, gentle sparkle to my lips.  This is a seriously pretty pink that can be built up to quite a good bit of colour whilst still staying light and summery.  This is pretty much my perfect pink and it ticks all the boxes - moisturising, subtle, baby pink inclinations - so if you're a fan of subtle colour then this is definitely a product worth checking out.  I believe it comes in 3 shades and the shade I use is Coral which I think is a bit misleading as it's definitely more pink than coral in colour.

Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Cuticle Pen

Regular readers will know how much I struggle with my cuticles, but since my last manicure I've been on a mission to get control of my own cuticles so I don't have to keep forking out for the help of a pro.  However, the flaw in that plan is that I can only really be bothered to do something quick (rather than soak and push them back every couple of days) and thankfully I appear to not be alone in my laziness as this treatment pen allows me to brush on the treatment as regularly as I like.  I tend to do it a couple of times a day - mainly when I'm watching telly - and it soaks in within about 5 minutes.  As you can be very specific with your application, it also means that there's never any greasy fingertips left in my wake.  I've been using this both on the cuticles themselves and on the slightly dry area on the outside of my fingers (from playing guitar) and it's had a great impact on both.

As usual with my love list, there were quite a few products that didn't make the list but I'm still loving, so no doubt they'll make an appearance on next month's list instead.

*Etat Pur Citric Acid and Erno Laszlo Velvet Night Cream were press samples.