B's Summer Essentials

Hi everyone!
It's been really rainy these last two days here in the Netherlands (admittedly a welcome little change after the weeks of humid and unbearable heat!) so I've had a little time to take a few pictures! I thought I would show you guys which products I have been loving and using a lot so far this summer: from make-up to dry shampoo, body butter and lipstick, it's all there. I'll include all the necessary shop names/sites where I can.

You can buy all these products via the Body Shop Online Shop.

I'll start off with my body care / shower essentials. Aside from my Garnier facial scrub (boring!), my Elmex toothpaste, my Elvital Color Protect shampoo & conditioner and my Nivea Stress (or Dove Silk Dry) deodorant, these are the things I've been using in my body care routine lately... I may or may not have raided the Body Shop when they had a sale a couple of weeks ago! I am going crazy for tropical scents at the moment, so all things fruity, coconut-y and fresh really appeal to me. Not included in the picture is my nearly empty Passion Fruit Shower Gel, which I highly recommend. The Body Shop are great when it comes to creating smooth, soothing products that smell delicious without being sickly sweet, and it's always good to buy fair trade and vegan where you can!

                                        You can buy Batiste Dry Shampoos via ASOS.

Next stop: my hair. Because of the unbearable heat, I have been washing my hair less often than usual. I have incredibly thick, long, hair, and A LOT of it, too, and to my dismay it tends to curl and frizz a lot when I let it air dry - so I blow dry it after every time I wash it. When it's that hot outside though, I just cannot be bothered to go through the 20 minute long hassle of blowdrying!! Instead, I wash it once every 2-3 days, and use the Batiste Dry Shampoos on the days where I don't. I have the scents "Tropical" (COCONUT!) and "Cheeky Cherry". They work wonders, because they don't make my hair feel rough and sticky, but they definitely give it a fresh feel. I'm pretty addicted to it - though I do prefer the tropical scented one.

                               Cacharel "Amor Amor - In a Flash" via The Perfume Shop

Talking about scents: I have discovered my new favorite perfumes and have been completely in love with them over the past two months. The first one is my every day go-to perfume: "Amor Amor - in a flash" by Cacharel. From the packaging to the scent, it's completely perfect. It's sweet, girly and fruity, without being too overwhelming so I find it perfect for every day wear in summer.

       L'Occitane "La Collection de Grasse" Spring/Summer 2013 Collection Box Set via L'Occitane

My other favorite scent is actually a whole little collection: the "Collection de Grasse" by L'Occitane. It's composed of four little perfume flasks, and I can't even decide which of the four scents I am more obsessed with. The scents are: "Jasmine & Bergamot", "Magnolia & Blackberry", "Vanilla & Narcissus" and "Green Tea & Bitter Orange". I know right? They sound divine, and they really are. I own the box set which has all four scents in 18mL bottles, but you can also buy them individually in bigger bottles if you like one of them particularly! Have a look here on the Birchbox Site!

     Chanel Le Vernis in "Black Pearl" and in "Lotus Rouge", Barry M Nail Paint in "Prickly Pear"

Recently, my nails have been really weak and chipping a lot, so I've been trying to give them a little time to regenerate and air to breathe and have been going easy on the nail polish. I also recently moved away from home and had to leave a biiig part of my collection back! So sad. These are my favorite polishes though so they had to come with me: The two Chanel ones are my all time favorites, as they're perfect for any outfit or season, classy and elegant and still pretty fierce. I've been loving this lilac-y / lavender-y shade by Barry M because it's light and pastel-y and perfect for summer. Their gel nail varnishes are so good - they give such a nice glossy finish and stay chip-free for at least 3 days. Admittedly, the Chanel colors aren't that long-lasting or chip-free if you don't use a top coat, but they do make the prettiest colors ever!

           All MAC Shadows via the MAC Cosmetics Store -  Estée Lauder Quad - H&M Palette

Now to the more exciting part: my summer make-up essentials. I'll start off with my eyeshadows, since they're my favorite bits from my current make-up collection. As I've mentioned before, I've been loving the nude shades for my eyes, so these here have been my essential life supply in the last weeks. I like to mix more high-end make up with drugstore make-up, just because I can't go 100% high-end but don't wanna use only cheap things either, so I try to find a compromise! I am eagerly saving up for an Urban Decay Naked Palette, but in the meanwhile, the eye shadows that I do have serve me well. My hands down favorite is my MAC one in the shade "Brulé", which I use all over my eyelid up to my brow bone on a daily basis (that explains why my little beauty is nearly empty - going to cry!!!). I also dearly love my eye shadow quad in the shade "Truffle" by Estée Lauder. It combines a khaki-olive-y brown/green, a warm, coppery bronze shade, a shimmery deep brown shade and a satin-y champagne tone. For a summery smokey eye, this combination is perfect. My other every day go-to shadows are "Bronze" and "Expensive Pink" by MAC and my "Soft Nudes" eyeshadow palette by H&M which is surprisingly good for a fairly cheap product. You can pick it up for 4,95€ in your H&M!

I've been trying to keep the rest of my make up fairly light so I haven't been using tons of foundations, setting powders and concealers. These are my few bits and bobs that I've been using a lot though. I use the Catrice Cosmetics facial primer, which is great cos it is really cheap, not oily and makes my skin feel smooth and moisturized without making it greasy. I swear by the Maybelline New York Dream Matte Mousse (I use the shade 01 Ivory) because it's a great light weight foundation, and since it is matte I don't need to use any powder make up on top. For dark circles under my eyes, I use the Maybelline Dream Lumitouch highlighting concealer, also in the shade ivory. Recently I've had to cut back a lot on both of these though, as ivory is slightly too fair for my tanned skin at the moment! Luckily, the sun and lack of make-up has made my skin clear up a lot so that's not a problem. My absolute favorite product at the moment is the Benefit High Beam highlighter. I blend it on my brow bone, my cheek bones and a bit on my nose for a fresh faced summer look. I'm going to be so gutted when it runs out as it is such an expensive product, but really worth the investment.

I usually pair my nude eyes with a very thin line of black liquid eye liner and a combination of three mascaras (one for length, one for separating and one for volume) only on the top lashes. As an alternative to my liquid liner in black (and for a softer look), I've been using my MAC eye pencil in the color "Powersurge" as well as my MAC Kohl liner in dark brown. For days when I don't want to wear any proper foundation at all, I go with my GOSH Cosmetics BB Cream in the shade 01 Sand - Primer, tinted moisturizer, and SPF 15, all in one! For my eye brows, I usually use my Barry M Brow Pen in dark brown, paired with my Catrice eye brow pencil in light brown, and on my cheeks, I love to use the Benefit Bene-Tint color stain for a healthy glow. I also like to use it on my lips and usually pair it with my Benefit Sugarbomb Lipgloss or my MAC lipstick in Crème in Your Coffee (my all-time favorite lipstick! I have naturally very pale lips, so it helps me look a bit fresher and healthier). You can pick up most of these products in bigger shopping centers at the cosmetics counters, or you can check out the Benefit Online Store as well as the MAC Cosmetics Online Store.

From left to right:
Barry M in Neon Pink #52 and Baby Pink #100, Manhattan in Nude #95L, MAC in "Crème in your Coffee", Manhattan in Purple #56U, Kate Moss for Rimmel London in "Kiss of Life" #111, Catrice in "Princess Peach" #050, Manhattan in Coral #34N, Kate Moss for Rimmel London in #10, Manhattan in Deep Red #54V.
Below: swatches of the lipsticks (order doesn't coincide with the above picture.)
From left to right: MAC "Crème", Barry M #52, Barry M #100, Manhattan #95L, Manhattan #56U, Manhattan #54V, Rimmel #111, Rimmel #10, Manhattan #34N, Catrice #050. 

Since I go mostly nude on my eyes most days, I've been loving crazy bold lipsticks! I'll let the colors speak for themselves, so there you have my Summer 2013 Favorites. (I wear the brighter, coral-y and candy-pink tones during the day, and the deeper, darker shades like purple and red at night).

If you want any special advice on how to use/wear any of these products, where to get them, or a more detailed review/opinion on them, let me know in the comments below! Sorry for the long, photo-heavy post, but I thought this was a good time to show which products I've been loving so far and will continue to love til the end of the summer for a fresh faced, light summer look with a pop of color.