September Favourites 2014

I can't believe it's October already. Luckily we've had quite balmy weather these past couple of days here in Belgium and I'm holding on to the last remnants of summer before the cold weather arrives in full force. I remember once upon a time I would have wholeheartedly agreed with the majority of bloggers who seem to be greeting autumn with lots of love, but I don't know - I'm going to miss being warm and dry!

September has been a month of me focusing on using up the products that I already owned. I'm prone to impulse buys but for the sake of my purse strings and the bathroom storage I want to get into the habit of using up the products I already have and researching what I'm going to buy rather than impulse buying. Though some days it can't be helped. Especially when there's an offer to good to be passed up! 

My favourites this month are also skincare orientated. Transitioning through the season can be really tricky for my skin so I was so happy to find a combination that worked.

I didn't expect much when I picked up the Yves Rocher Purifying Micellar Water 2-in-1. It's aimed at combination to oily skin, and is classed as a 2-in-1 because it has the cleansing effects of micellar water, promising to remove your make up and leave your skin feeling cleaned as well as toning the skin. I'd just run out of toner so was attracted to combining the two. And I haven't been disappointed. It has a gorgeous, fresh smell that's neither too herbal or synthetic, it leaves my skin feeling cleansed and soft all without the tightness that similar products can have. I have noticed a difference in my skin since I've been using it. I'm not entirely sure it lives up to its promises of sebum control (or perhaps I just have a really pesky t-zone) but my skin has looked a lot healthier and brighter. 

Though I think that is because I've been using it in conjunction with the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil Make Up Remover that I received in the Glamour Summer Beauty Edit in order to fully remove my make up first as I don't think that the Yves Rocher Micellar Water can quite do the job, and though I'm not yet entirely sure of the benefits of double cleansing, using the two products has most definitely made a difference. I like how this works. You apply it to your face with dry hands where it starts breaking down the make up, and then when you add water it turns into this milky texture that you can work into your skin like soap. The instructions say that you can just rinse this off, but I highly recommend the use of some sort of wash cloth to avoid leaving residue and/or ruining your face towel.

With my face well cleansed, my skin has been highly receptive to the Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-oil which has been highly touted as the best affordable face serum, with most serums of the kind going for double the price. I can't really fault this beauty. As someone with oily sensitive skin, I can often find myself stripping my face of moisture which does the opposite to what I want: my skin is not only irritated but overproduces oil. This serum restored the moisture balance in my skin, and I'd wake up with fresh, glowing skin. A little on the oily side, yes, but because this is an overnight serum, I can use a mattifying day cream without worrying that I'm drying out my skin. I'm finding that with my kind of oily skin it's a constant battle to balance out potentially drying products aimed at oily-to-combination skin with more moisturising products for sensitive skin.

I've also been loving the Rituals Magic Touch Organic Cherry & Rice Milk Ultra Rich Whipped Body Cream that came as a free gift in a magazine. This stuff smells a-mazing, and that's just a plus point. I'm often disappointed by body creams that aren't specifically aimed at dry skin, finding that they're nowhere near as moisturising as they claim but it was not so with this. When I use this (and I use it sparingly because I don't want to use it up too quickly) I get compliments on how glowing my skin looks. This contains antioxidants, Vitamin E and Centella Asiatica which helps to strengthen skin, so overall this products smells amazing, moisturises the skin beautifully and has added benefits - what's not to love? I have no idea why I don't check out Rituals more often. It's not the cheapest brands but it's far from being expensive. 

Last but not least, this little gem is something I only picked up a couple of days ago, but I just had to include it in my favourites. It's the Balmi Cube Moisturising Lip Balm in Strawberry. I was intrigued by the similarities between it and the spherical EOS lipbalms, and since my lips were going through a really bad phase how could I resist something that not only has Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Jojoba oil but also contains SPF15? Expecting to be disappointed, this has become an instant favourite. The conical shape makes the application easy, it really is moisturising and I've noticed a significant improvement in my lips just from using this a couple of days. Plus it's really cute and smells tasty. Am I obsessed with strawberry smelling products? Perhaps.

Have you tried any of these products? What have you been loving in September?