MAY FAVOURITES

May was a bit of a busy one for me, but enjoyable all the same! It was my birthday month and it was lovely to celebrate with my friends and family. The UK was also blessed with a spot of beautiful weather (over now obviously!) which was well needed; there's nothing quite like spending a day relaxing outside with a cold drink in one hand and a good book in the other!

My first few favourites from the month of May are beauty related. The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is something I've been using for probably a few months now, but in May I really discovered how much I love it! It feels lightweight on your face, which means it's perfect for the summer months, and it provides light to medium coverage. The only downside is that the shade range is quite limited, but if you can get your hands on a shade that matches your skin then I would definitely recommend it!

I've also been loving the Bondi Sands Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk. I've always been a bit scared (read: terrified) by the thought of fake tan all thanks to an incident when I was at high school and applied it only to wake up resembling an oompa loompa the next day. When I think of fake tan, I think of a horrible, orange, streaky mess. However, this gradual tan from Bondi Sands has changed my mind completely. It's incredibly easy to use as you use it exactly how you would use a moisturiser - I apply it all over my body after I have exfoliated in the shower and the job's done. It looks very natural and develops quickly for a gradual tan; I can apply it to clean skin at night and then wake up the next morning looking all bronzed up!



I don't always use bronzer, but because I've been applying fake tan more regularly, I've definitely needed it to make sure my face and the rest of my body match. I've used the NARS Laguna Bronzer religiously for years, but I recently stumbled upon the Look Good Feel Better Angled Contour Brush to apply it with and I love it. Look Good Feel Better is a charity that supports women and teenagers with cancer and for every brush/set you buy, an 8-12% donation will be made. All of the brushes are allergy free, cruelty free and incredibly soft! This brush is perfect for contouring and applying bronzer and it definitely rivals some of my more expensive brushes in terms of quality.

Again, the Too Faced Hangover Primer is something that I've been using for a few months now, but since I've not written about it on my blog yet, I thought that it deserved an honourable mention. My skin is classed as combination, as I have an oily t-zone but incredibly dry and dehydrated patches around my eyebrows, nose and cheeks. I find that this primer is perfect for my skin, as it doesn't add to the oiliness yet it still hydrates the dry patches, providing a smooth, even base for my make-up. It smells amazing and soaks into your skin very quickly. It's on the pricier end of the scale, however I've had mine for nearly 4 months now and it's still going strong despite using it each time I do my make-up.


Moving onto my non-beauty favourites from May, the first is the Netflix series 'Girlboss', which tells the story of Sophia Amoruso's struggle and success in setting up Nasty Gal. Nowadays, I find it difficult to sit down and watch a series, however this one had me addicted from beginning to end. It was really interesting to watch something where the protagonist is actually represented as being quite selfish and unlikeable, yet I still found myself rooting for her throughout! Another season, please, Netflix!

Image from Luci's Morsels

Image from Pinch of Yum

A few posts ago, I talked about my 123 Goals (read here). I have to admit that I don't know how well this system has worked as I don't think there has been a single week since where I have achieved all 3 goals! I have, however, been whipping things up in the kitchen more often. I've really enjoyed cooking and trying out new recipes and I've come across a few really delicious ones that I wanted to mention. The first is an incredibly sinful yet divine Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake; this recipe makes A LOT of cake, yet all of it was gone within a few days! I've also been loving this Pico de Gallo recipe; it's amazing to have with a Mexican meal such as fajitas or burritos, but just as good as a dip with some salted crisps. When I made it, I added slightly less garlic (I am a fan of garlic usually but 5 cloves seemed excessive), less lime juice and swapped the cilantro out for coriander and it tasted great.

 My final two favourites from the month of May are both book related. You might not know this, but I am a complete bookworm; if I'm not busy, you'll probably find me curled up somewhere with a book in hand. I've been known to read books in entire sittings, from beginning to end with no breaks. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a book that I didn't read in a single sitting, only because it was so intense and so beautifully written that I almost didn't want it to end. It tells the story of two different women, Mariam and Laila, living in Kabul, Afghanistan in the late 20th century. I didn't know much about Afghanistan before reading this book, but I was truly fascinated by the way that Hosseini painted the country with his words; he did this so well that it was incredibly easy to conjure up the images in my head and it was almost as if I was there enduring the terror with Mariam and Laila. It was a very moving novel and I'm sure it will stay with me for a long time.

Last but not least is a website that I've been using a lot during the past few weeks. World of Books is home to over 2 million second-hand books, most of which are around £2.59 and with free delivery to the UK. Because I get through books so quickly, it seems silly to buy books at full price, so I was so happy to discover this website! I bought 7 books and with a 10% discount (using the code WORLDOFBOOKS10) they totalled just under £18. They all arrived within a week and most were in excellent condition despite being second-hand. I'd really recommend it to anyone looking for some new books to read - A Thousand Splendid Suns is currently on there for £2.59! You can thank me later...

So, there we have it, my May favourites. I'm sorry that my posting has been a bit here and there; to be quite honest with you, it's almost like I forget that I have a blog sometimes and then all of a sudden I remember and have the urge to write a whole post in one sitting!

Do you have any favourites from the month of May? I'd love to know what they are - leave me a comment below! X