July Favourites

This month, I  don't actually have any new favourites to bring to the table, mainly because I haven't really bought anything new at all this month. (Must be a first for a while)  As a consequence, I've decided to shop my wardrobe and beauty stash and find a few old favourites for you.

(Sorry about the background being a but busy in these photos)

The first has been this concealer, that I've gone back to using since finishing a recent trusty non-natural Boots No. 7 one.  I reverted back to the Boots concealer when I had a major breakout a good few weeks ago now. The breakout coincided with my using a new to me toner and concealer concurrently and to try to get my skin back to normal, I stopped using this product, just in case it was contributing to the breakouts.

Anyway, having realised it was the toner that caused the problem, I picked this Beauty Without Cruelty concealer pencil up and started using it again.  It most definitely wasn't the cause of the breakouts, as I've had no trouble with it at all since.

I was reminded of what I had liked about it originally.  It's easy to apply being a pencil (although I did have reservations about this when I first bought it), it gives good coverage and is a nice consistency that doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy.  It was quite inexpensive too for a natural, cruelty free product.  Although I've subsequently bought another concealer from a different natural brand, I'm going to stick with this one for the time being, until it's finished anyway and I may repurchase it the next time I need to buy a new one.

My second old favourite has been this retro 4711 fragrance, which has been around for many years now.  I bought a new bottle of this in the recent past and wore it regularly, but these tiny bottles came in a set of 10 miniatures that I bought on eBay a good few years ago now.

For a long time I didn't want to use them, but having found myself without any perfume to wear, whilst I look for a more natural alternative, I decided to use them up and am gradually working my way through the box.  I think I've got about 2 left to use. I like the scent, as it is quite fresh and even though I believe this set to be vintage, the perfume hasn't actually gone off, which is a bonus. By the time I've finished using these, we will probably be on holiday and hopefully I'll be able to acquire a new perfume whilst we're away that fits my new criteria.

My third old favourite that I've mentioned a few times on this blog is the US TV series Nashville, which is in it's third series (I think) and currently showing on E4 on Wednesday evenings. (Don't quote me on the channel, as I can't quite remember because we record it on a series link).  The last couple of episodes that I've watched of this series have been really good ones, with several plot lines coming to a head.  It's one of the only TV programmes I watch all week and I still really love it.

On the wardrobe front, I did buy this small Monki cross body bag at the beginning of June from ASOS.  It wasn't very expensive, just £6 in the sale.  I really like it though and it is a perfect size to carry a purse, lipstick, keys, phone.  I've used it quite a bit this month and love it. Most definitely a good buy. It will definitely be my go to hand bag on holiday this summer, as it is so small, light  and easy to use and pack.  I like the funky animal print too and the fact that you can also remove the straps easily and use it as a clutch which makes it a little more versatile.

Finally, I have another old/new wardrobe favourite to share with you.  I had a pair of Levi jeans that I think I got from a charity shop a long while back, but which were just far too wide legged and looked plain silly on me.  However, I liked the dark indigo colour and cut of them, the fit around the middle and the low slung pockets on the back, which surprisingly aren't too unflattering and I had put them aside months ago, with a view to trying to remodel them, so that I could keep them and wear them. They have sat in my sewing room for months now and I just couldn't think what I could do with them to make them wearable.

This week, it came to me that I could make them into long turned up shorts, as the legs aren't too wide above the knee.  I cut them down to just below the knee, rolled them up a little and stitched the roll ups into place and I'm so pleased with how they turned out.  I will now definitely wear them when we go away on holiday.  In fact I have already worn them out and about at home.  I don't like short shorts, as I just don't have the legs for them these days, but these will be just perfect to wear with a T-shirt and flip flops/skater shoes whilst out and about or on the beach.  They're not particularly on trend, but I'm not too bothered about that.  I don't know why the idea didn't come to me earlier, but I knew there was a solution to this dilemna and I am so glad I've finally found it.

What have been your favourite things this month?