October Favourites + I'm Back!

I have been a very, very naughty blogger - if I can even go so far to be called one anymore. It has been (and I say this with great horror and disgust) just over a year since I last blogged. Let me just say that again, for some extra added shock value, one WHOLE year (*cue disgusted gasps here*). To be honest, I am kind of shocked myself and surprised that I can even remember how to write a blog post let alone remember my login details! I just cannot believe that it has been more than a year since I have last sat behind my computer screen and wrote out a blog post - extremely pathetic, I know.

And in saying that my last post was pretty pathetic as well, I do recall making some lame sorry excuses then too about how life got too hard and blah blah blah. The excuses this time are not too different as well, but what has been happening in my life can be a whole separate blog post in itself. But let's just keep it short and simple shall we? I have been well and great, I did and experienced some new and exciting things, meet plenty of new people and a few I would rather forget completely. Some of you I may have kept in contact with as I work with a lot of you gals on a daily basis, and I guess you can say that is what inspired me to come back! So hello, how you have you been? I have missed you all so very much! This time I will try to hang around for a wee bit longer than last time but I think it's better that we don't make promises we can't keep, am I right?

So let's start this off the right way, since we have officially reached the end of October (how the heck it is November now, beats me!) with all the things I have been currently loving - my October favourites. Spoiler alert, this will probably be a looooong one (I haven't blogged in a while, ya know).



The absolute stand out product for me this month has been the Mecca Cosmetica Soft Focus Smoothing Primer - I don't think I can sing my praises enough for this. Mecca released their own line of cosmetics many moons ago now and this was one of the fist products from the range I tried. I believe they also have another 2 primers in the series but after some careful deliberation I thought this one was definitely the one for me. Ability to transform my skin in seconds? Tick. My very own soft-focus filter? Yaaasss please. I was pretty much sold. And it definitely does what claims - it is just like an Instagram filter in a bottle.

I find primers sometimes to be full of bull and never really do anything it says it will for me because my make-up would always be gone by the end of the day/night (yay to oily skin...) but this primer is not like the others, oh no. Upon application you can already feel the difference in your skin - it feels soft, hydrated and like something is on the skin but not in a disgusting silicone way. I found that this primer helped in smoothing out my large pores and generally just made foundation application a more pleasant experience for everyone involved. But the real test was how it fared at about 3pm. See, I work in an office and anyone who works in an office knows the horrors office air con can do to your skin aka make it a dry, sobbing horrible mess (not a great look when you also have oliy skin, ew). But with this primer my make-up stayed in place all day and even kept dry skin AND that dreaded oily t-zone at bay. With just a few touch ups, this primer will allow your make-up to stay put well into the evening.

If you have yet to try out the Mecca Cosmetica brand range I suggest you get on it. Besides the packaging being the stuff minimalist dreams are made of the range is actually quite good and in my eyes is an affordable higher end type range. At $40 a pop I say this primer is well worth it. In fact I am already on my second bottle - can you tell I am in love with this primer yet?

Now on to the rest of the face. The products I found myself reaching for the most, especially when I was running late and had no time to think about what was really going on my face were my Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full Coverage Foundation, the Lorac PRO palette and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. In tandem with my Mecca primer, the Tarte foundation (I have it in the shade Fairly Light Neutral) and Ambient Light made for a really great combo to get a really flawless, long lasting base. I will do a full review on the Ambient lighting palette in future, but I will just say if you can get your hands on it and don't have it already, just get it will you? The price is worth it, believe me.

As for the Lorac PRO palette, it will also need it's own seperate blog post for me to fully express my love for all things Lorac but it is pretty much the perfect palette for everyday looks. It has the perfect combination of very wearable neutrals and some pretty slightly more dramatic shades and mix of mattes and shimmers - my favorite from the lot? Defintely Garnet which is a lovely mix between bronze and red.

For those days when my skin just had enough already? Glamglow Supermud Clearing treatment came to the rescue. Being the self confessed beauty junkies we all are (come on don't be shy), sometimes our skin just needs a real deep cleanse and an extra helping hand to make it feel super clean. This is where this baby comes in. Perfect for combating congested pores and oil slick skin, this mask is made with real Eucalyptus leaves and seriously draws all the nasties out of the skin without it feeling tight and dry afterwards. Yes the price is quite hefty but it is worth the splurge.

And last but not least, the saviour to my poor shellac beaten nails has been the Revitanail Nail Strengthener. This treatment really saved my nails especially after having Shellac on for many months. It stopped them from chipping and breaking and really left my nails much more healthy and strong.

WHEEEEWWWW, we made it. That was indeed a long one and if you made it this far I applaud you - I guess you could say I had a lot to get off my chest! So those were my October favourites! Have you tried any of these products? What have you been loving this month?

Until next time.
Chantalle xx