Hello my lovelies and welcome to August! For me this excites me as we are potentially entering another Summers month and how gorgeous has the weather been in July? Totally amazing is the answer to that. Pure chance that I managed to book two weeks worth of holiday during mid July. Personally, I would say that July has been a good month. I have enjoyed many things during my holiday. Although I didn't actually go away I had a very productive time with gardening and house jobies accompanied by lot's of lovely treat days. I have spent many an afternoon waling on the Downs with Mum. I feel so lucky that we can call the South East our home. Holiday started pretty damn on the Friday going out for dinner and watching the new Ab Fab film, definitely worth a watch! The following day I went to Hastings with my gorgeous mother and best friend. Since moving to Sussex me and Mum have always wanted a sunny day trip to Hastings yet this never happened last year for many reasons such as work, moving house and the weather. Now we can finally tick it off our bucket list. I loved it we did many "touristy" activities such as travelling up the Hastings lift to the top of the cliffs and visiting the cute quirky shops that I would say are very similar to The Lanes in Brighton yet a lot smaller and undiscovered. We then tackled Adventure golf which I have no shame in admitting that I came last in. After a caffeine shop we had a spontaneous go on the go-karting which was a bit too much for an adrenaline rush for me but something you've got to do once in your life. No day trip to the sea could be possible without a fish and chip lunch and a wonder along the sea front.
Another treat day that I wrote a blog post on that you can read by clicking here was a day out to Chichester with Mum. It has been a dream of Mums to see a real lavender field in full bloom. She discovered one in Laudington so we visited the gorgeous lavender field and she could tick it off her bucket list. I would agree that it was incredible and something you have to see in person. We then went into Chichester and had a cheeky Bill's lunch before continuing our cultural day where we wondered around the town, visited the cathedral and palace gardens.
I haven't been to Brighton recently so what do you do on a gorgeous sunny day I ask you? Spontaneous day trip to Brighton is the answer. Massive sales in Home Sense resulted in some unintentional shopping yet when you can buy beautiful homeward for such good value it would be rude not to. My bedroom is definitely getting there. Mum hadn't visited all of the lanes before so I showed her some more of the lanes. If someone then says who fancies going to Bill's for lunch, I'm hardly going to say no. So TWO Bill's lunches this holiday, what a special treat that was! I mean who can resist the staple dish of Bill's Halloumi burger? Classic. We walked along the beach with crystal blue waters and clear blue sky heaven. Very fitting for ice-cream on the beach, seaside staple. I've heard great reviews of the Boho Gelato ice cream shop so when we stumbled across it we had to go in. They have an amazing range of flavours it is literally impossible to chose. Whilst in Brighton I also got my taro cards read which was a first for me but very intriguing.
The final spontaneous outing of the holiday had to of course be a trip to London. No holiday or time off work would be complete without it. I personally adore London and I haven't had a summer fix yet so it was an easy conclusion to come to. Top tip, book train tickets online it is a lot cheaper.
Yet asides from all of these amazing adventures; chilling in the garden or the odd visit to garden centres has been very therapeutic. Being able to treat my Mum to a coffee and cake at the garden centre whilst sitting in the sun looking over the plants and the downs is very calming. Also quite special as when I was little me and my Mum would spend many a day together at the garden centre playing in the playground then she would always treat me to a slice of chocolate cake so it's almost like we have been recreating those happy childhood memories and traditions.
Back to the point of this blog post. As I have been on holiday there have been many products I have loved using over July so narrowing it down to my top five has actually been quite challenging and a little on the stressful side for me.
Summer Saviour Shampoo And Conditioner By L'Oreal
I would describe this as my Summer shampoo and conditioner of choice. When we are lucky enough to have proper summer weather my hair doesn't seem to cope with this. It goes very brittle, dry and frizzy and all of the moisture seems to disappear. Very unfair I know. Whilst in Superdrug I discovered a new shampoo range by L'Oreal which instantly appealed to me. Summer Saviour, I mean hello that is totally what I need. The shampoo is for dry hair exposed to sun, salt, sand and chlorine, the perfect item to pack in your suitcase for a summer holiday. The shampoo is packed full of oils and claims to nourish your hair and restore shine. I would say I agree with these statements and I think it might just be my new best friend for Summer. Fingers crossed along with the conditioner, my hair will survive the summer, wahey.
Baked Bronzer By The Body Shop
During the summer as I tend to wear make-up most days of the week I always find that my face is less bronzed then the rest of my face. To overcome the challenging prospect of a bronzed body and pale face I have rediscovered a bronzer from The Body Shop that I have been loving again. I still carry out my usual contouring routine with my trusty Hoola bronzer and What's Up highlighter by Benefit yet I use The Body Shop bronzer for an all over healthy glow afterwards. It is a baked bronzer in the shade 02 Warm Glow. I would say that it is a good dupe for the Mac Mineralise Skin Finish powders for an all over healthy glow and shine. Although it's shimmery it doesn't look as if you've covered yourself in glitter. It just adds a bit of warmth to my skin. I love it when you rediscover a trusty beauty item as I have many previous fond memories of using this little gem.
Fruit Salad Bubble Bath By Imperial Leather
I have recently been really enjoying the Imperial Leather products. When they are continually on offer in Boots for £1 you can't say no. This month my scent of choice has been Fruit Salad which is based on the retro pic 'n' mix fruit salad sweets. Personally I never liked the sweets themselves yet I adore the scent of this shower cream. It's a really hard scent to describe. It's fresh, fruity and sweet. It reminds me of sherbet mixed with tutti fruity. Perfect for feeling fresh this summer. I know the products are called shower creams yet I use them as bubble bath as they create beautiful scented bubbles and the added moisture in the formulation leaves your bath water and skin feeling silky soft afterwards. Imperial Leather have a wide range of products and I can highly recommend that you check out the entire range. Whether you are sweet, fruity, floral, neutral or musky there are a whole range of scents to chose from. At a £1 each - total bargain.
Nouvelle Vague Nail Polish By L'Oreal
I have always loved painting my nails and having time off work has meant I have been able to paint my nails more often and have the time to not rush and enjoy it whilst taking care painting my nails. I have loved changing my nail colour regularly this month; featuring bright summery colours or sweet pale pastels. It has been really challenging narrowing it down to a favourite nail polish but I do love a retro discovery. I have had this nail polish for a couple of years now yet I have really enjoyed rediscovering it over July. It's a beautiful pastel, pale lilac shade with a slight cornfield blue tone to it. Perfect for summer. I really like pastel shades in summer as they make you look more tanned. Good sneaky tip there. It is a really easy shade to wear and compliments many a different outfit combination. In fact I am currently wearing it now whilst typing away. I love it when you rediscover old favourites.
The Nudes Eyeshadow Palette By Maybelline
This was another cheeky purchase for my holiday. I really don't need any more eyeshadows yet I caught sight of this beauty and the naughty beauty loving shopper inside of me couldn't resist. It is a gorgeous nude eyeshadow palette containing twelve eyeshadows, half matte and half shimmer. I am a sucker for a nude eyeshadow palette especially one containing warm shades. The fact that the palette contained warm golds I thought it would be perfect for summer. The fact it was also on offer also made it feel a lot easier. It's hard to pick favourite shades as each day I have been enjoying trying different combinations of eyeshadows. It's very rare for me to actually say that I like every shade in the palette. I know that I will use this palette throughout the year and at some stage every shade will be used again and again. Wow, what a good purchase this was. It's so satisfying to know that you get your moneys worth. I hate it when you finish a palette yet you are left with two or three shades that you never touched as you couldn't find a use for it. I would highly recommend this palette! The eyeshadows themselves are really blendable with great pigmentation. One of my best discoveries this year.
Thank you for reading this blog post my lovelies. I would love to know in the comments which products you have loved using over July. Let's hope August is another gorgeous month. I won't lie but the Summer really is my favourite season.
XXX