RECENT FAVOURITES | Summer 2013

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine nail paint 'Blue Grape', Revlon lipstick 'Pink in the Afternoon'

BARRY M GELLY HI-SHINE NAIL PAINT IN 'BLUE GRAPE'

The Gelly range had always had a very disappointing colour range, as far as I was concerned. Their new summer colours are much more impressive, my favourite among them being this blue. I'd been looking for a bold royal blue for a while and the formula on this is nice, very shiny, if not a bit on the 'gloopy' side. I foresee myself wearing this to death during the summer months.

REVLON LIPSTICK IN 'PINK IN THE AFTERNOON'

I hate nudes and I hate pale, cool-toned pinks but this shade has been a firm favourite of late. It leans to the coral side and is vibrant enough that I don't feel corpse-like, the way some paler colours can make me feel. I love a bold lip at heart, but when I feel like toning things down I've been reaching for this.

Forever 21 and Primark shorts

Summers home from university mean I become particularly lazy and sit around a lot reading and catching up on TV I missed during term-time. These athletic style ('style' being the operative word, since there's nothing athletic about my summer past-times) shorts have become my summer-at-home uniform. A slight step up from wearing pajamas all day, but definitely not quite going to the whole hog and getting fully dressed. They're ridiculously comfy and I've found loads of different coloured pairs, particularly in Primark.

Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub and Clean on Me shower gel

SOAP & GLORY THE BREAKFAST SCRUB

I've previously been a big fan of Soap & Glory's Flake Away exfoliator. I use scrubs mostly on my legs in the shower, pre-shaving, but I decided to try this one for a change. It's definitely just as good as my old favourite, Flake Away, but has an even better scent in my opinion. It smells like warm porridge with maple syrup in it. I'm a big fan of toiletries that smell like I could eat them, so this one's a winner for me.

SOAP & GLORY CLEAN ON ME SHOWER GEL

This stuff has several great points. 1) It smells good. It has the same scent as the Flake Away scrub which is pretty much identical to Miss Dior Cherie perfume. 2) It comes in a massive bottle with a pump, so it'll last you bloody ages. 3) It's pretty moisturising. I have incredibly dry skin, so I still need to apply a body butter post-shower, but if you don't suffer from dry skin, you could probably get away without that extra step if you used this stuff. 4) It's fantastic for those annoying red bumps you get on the tops of your arms (a.k.a keratosis pilaris). I don't know what it is but I've suffered from KP all my life and this is the only stuff that's ever completely cleared it up. That in itself is reason enough to buy it, in my humble opinion.