Monthly Favourites: August

It's the end of the month and frankly, I'm quite happy to say goodbye to August. September is shaping up to be a good month for me and I have tons of new content that I can't wait to share with you all. It also means Autumn is one step closer and my Autumn/Winter baby heart is going into overdrive. This month has been a weird month for favourites, I've spent most of it make up free because of the weather and haven't really deviated from usual skin products. I have however added a couple of new additions into my routine but the majority of my favourites have been more lifestyle related this month.

I'm going to start with the beauty bits as they're what I have less off. The first favourite is a bit of a problematic favourite. I absolutely adore it but it doesn't always seem to agree with me. It's the newly released Nip And Fab Glycolic Fix Extreme 6% Scrub. This makes my skin feel so so soft, it's unbelivable. It doesn't dry my skin out or leave it feeling tight and any texture I have is pretty much non exsistent. However everytime I've used it, the day after I wake up to find a new friend on my face. Which is where my dilemma lies. I love how it makes my skin but I don't want to have to fight a blemish or two every time I use it. I thought my skin would get used to it like it did with their 6% liquid toner but I don't think it's going to get better with time and I don't really feel like putting my skin through that repeatedly when I could easily just use another scrub that agrees with my skin.

My next two beauty favourites both centre around the eye. The first is the Garnier Moisture Bomb Under Eye Masks. These are fantastic under eye patches/masks that have changed how my under eye area look completely, well these and my next favourite. Both eye masks leave my under eye area looking hydrated, puff free, with a great reduction in the appearence in my dark circles which as a combination makes my whole eye area look more awake and alert. I've gone through numerous packets of these already and have a good two or three packs as back ups. I haven't repurchased my holy grail Rodial under eye patches since I started using these and that's saying something as normally I'd need at least one pack of those in my possession at all times.

My last beauty favourite is again focused on my under eye area but is definitely less budget friendly than the Garnier. I recently recieved a sample of the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream to try and I instantly fell in love. From the first use, my under eye area looked smoother, hydrated and my dark circles look/ed reduced but not completely eradicated. I had a feeling I'd like this as I love the Advanced Night Repair Complex from them and I wasn't wrong. It's extremely thick for an eye cream but I find that it doesn't leave my under eye area feeling greasy and actually sinks into skin quite quickly but obviously works a lot longer than you'd think. I'll happily buy a full size when this runs out.

Now for the non beauty favourites I don't even know where to start. Actually as I type this and look at my notes for this post, I have a good idea of where to start. BAKE OFF IS BACK! Now I know it hasn't actually started tonight (Channel 4 8pm, if you've forgotten) but I don't even need to watch it for it to be a favourite this month. Bake Off is one of my absolute favourite programs of all time and I always find myself waiting impatiently for it every year. It is the only show that will get me to put my iPad down for an hour and fifteen, I won't even reply to Jasmin's texts until afterwards, and that's saying something as she's one of the only people I reply to quickly. Ir's what inspires me to continue baking and one day I'd like to maybe even apply even though a lot of my friends and family think I should apply for next year. So for the next twelve weeks I'll be curled up in my pjs at 8pm with a snack and a hot drink, enjoying Bake Off to it's fullest.

My next favourite is somewhere I went at the beginning of the month and loved every second of the day, even if I didn't manage to stay awake past half nine that night. At the beginning of the month me and my mumma had a week off together and one of the days we went to the zoo. Marwell Zoo to be more precise. And it was beautiful. I went last year with my friend Lauren and her little girls but I'd completely forgotten how beautiful it was until I got there. The big cats were my favourites (crazy cat lady in the making) but every animal we saw was beautiful to see in the flesh rather than on a TV screen. I took over three hundred pictures that day and still to this day can not whittle it down to a favourite. I post ten of the best over on my instagram so I'd suggest going over and checking them out.

I have a new favourite YouTuber and her name is Brogan Tate. She is an amazing lifestyle, beauty, Disney vlogger who I discovered when I stumbled across her Florida Disney vlogs and I've been hooked ever since. Not only is she a lover of Disney but she's extremely down to earth and shows exactly what day to day life even if it's not the greatest. There's something extremely calming about her videos and I love watching them after a long day at work. She creates amazing content and I find myself prioritising her videos over anyone else's new uploads and I'm excited for her next batch of Florida Vlogs. If you haven't watched any of her videos, I highly recommend you do. I can guarantee you'll be hooked just like me.

A song I've been hooked on this month is God Is A Woman from Ariana Grande. I wasn't too sure about it when I first heard it but then I watched her perform it live and I found myself listening to it over and over again. After Carrie Underwood, it's one of my most played songs this month. I love everything about it. Her vocals kill it, the beat is amazing and I love the message she's putting through the lyrics. I'm not a big fan of what I've heard of Sweetner so far but I think if I listen to it again, I could be hooked on the rest of the album as I am on this song.

My last favourite this month will not be to everyone's taste but I absolutely adore it and that's all that matters. I'm a huge fan of the Disney film The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've loved it from a young age, with one of my earliest memories is of me sat in front of the TV watching this on repeat, literally rewinding the video (I'm a child of the nineties) back to the beginning as soon as the credits started rolling. I apparently did it that much, my mum had to hide the video. But even twenty odd years later I'm still a huge fan of it so when I saw what Disney had released to comemorate the twenthy-five year anniversary of it's release, I just had to have it. This beautiful purse with Lock, Shock and Barrel on the front was one of the easiest purchases I've ever made. I absolutely adore it, it's the type of purse I like, it has plenty of room inside for cards, cash and coins and is just the softest material I've ever felt. It was definitely the best twenty quid I ever spent.