Five Things I Love (June 2012)

Another month, another massive collection of beauty goodies that I've struggled to narrow down to my top five, so without further ado (whatever ado might be), here are the five things I love this month:

Dr. Jart+ Regenerating BB Beauty Balm

On the day these landed I marched down to Boots to find that my local store (which is a big one) was the only store who hadn't taken delivery; gutted.  So I came back the next day and there was a stand in front of the Dr. Jart stand because they'd all sold out.  However, standing all alone just behind the stand was one tube of the Regenerating version of this BB Cream which I snapped up.  My intentions had been to buy the Water Fuse version as that was the one I believed to be most suited to my skin type, but as the Regenerating  one was the only one left and I was gagging to try the Dr Jart formula, I purchased this instead.  I'm really pleased I did as it's absolutely perfect for my skin type.  I won't launch into a rave now and I'll instead write a review shortly of how this compares to the Water Fuse version (which I also bought - I just can't stop myself) and as BB Creams seem to be currently experiencing a second wind, I'll be putting together a list of my favourites.  Dr Jart's Regenerating Beauty Balm costs £21.

Giorgio Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencils in Copper and Antique

I purchased these in the Selfridges sale.  Quite why I thought I needed both shades, I don't know, but I'm glad I bought them both as they're fantastically flattering shades that work well as eye brightening day colours.  Copper is a kind of peachy bronze shade and Antique is more of a light gold and they both work as either eyeliners or water liners.  I've been using them as water liners to compliment my usual day look and they really make my eyes pop.  The consistency is a dream; silky, creamy and blendable without being too watery.  I'll definitely be investigating this line of eye pencils further and I'm so glad I finally have some liners that work on the waterline and can be worn during the day.  These are both still in the Selfridges sale, down from £18 to £10.50.  I'll update this post with a better picture as I didn't realise how out of focus it was!

Clarisonic Plus

My lovely ex bought me this a while ago and I used it for a bit, then stopped.  I've recently started using it again as part of my nightly skincare routine and consequently I've been reminded just how fantastic this brush is.  I'm sure you're all familiar with the Clarisonic brush and what it does, but just in case; it's a deep cleansing brush that oscillates as you work it over your skin and the movement causes deeply ingrained dirt (lovely...) to move to the surface.  It's kind of like creating a mini earthquake on your skin that forces all stubborn grime to shake loose and move forward so it can be removed by the brush.  This isn't an exfoliator, it's just a deep cleanser, but a seriously good one.  I've been back on it for about two weeks (using it with the Vichy Aqualia Cleansing Foam which is nice and gentle) and whilst it's difficult to tell if it's made any difference to my spots, my overall skin tone and clarity is definitely improved.  Any beauty junkie should most definitely have a Clarisonic in their lives.  They're not cheap, so it's worth shopping around; mine was purchased through a QVC special.

Vichy Aqualia Thermal (light)

Speaking of Vichy, I'm currently having a bit of a Vichy moment as I'm using their cleanser, mineral spray, foundation and also this rather fabulous moisturiser.  It's soooo hard to find moisturisers that keep my skin happy by not aggravating my spots but still providing lots of moisture, but this one definitely achieves that.  It's still early days in my trial of this, but on first impressions I'm a big fan.  It supposedly provides 24 hours of moisture which, in my mind, is tricky to work out unless I don't put anything on my skin (or take anything off) for the full 24 hours which just isn't going to happen, but this is a very rich yet light, effective and glow-giving moisturiser that I'm currently absolutely loving.

My Custom Eye Treatment

I reviewed this a couple of days ago; it's basically a blend of two products that I put together to treat the skin around my eye area which has been playing up lately.  It's a blend of Forest Secrets iRejuvenate Plus Elixir and Etat Pur Hyaluronic Acid which together create the moist unbelievable moisture boots for my delicate eye skin, without flooding or saturating it and causing the associated problems.  I'm using this nightly, but I'm also using this as an intensive treatment when I do my DIY facials; I apply a thick layer and allow it to absorb whilst whatever mask I'm using is doing its thing.

Disclosure: Forest Secrets and Etat Pur products were PR samples, the rest of the products mentioned were purchased by me, fuelled by my out of control spending habit.