I’m a few days overdue, I know. But life, she has her way of throwing things at you that  you weren’t expecting, even if they are ridiculously exciting. But enough tantalising you with things I can’t chat about just yet. I’ve decided to change my monthly favourites up a bit. When I started Mascara & Mimosas I wanted it to be mostly beauty and skincare but to also have a lifestyle element to it and so you’ll see that from now on I’ll be including a whole bunch of different things that I loved, hopefully you will enjoy this little change! August, our last chilly month (fingers crossed), let’s get the favourites rolling!

LUSH Ultrabland Facial Cleanser: Again, I’m totally late to this party. Ultrabland is one of the best sellers from LUSH and is a very thick, rich, odourless cleanser. The first time I used this, I scooped out a glob, added some water and attempted to cleanse. I was not impressed at all, it felt like I was rubbing glycerine onto my skin. Ew. And so all the way to the back of the cupboard it went, never to be used again. I’m not sure how I found this out but turns out that I was using it incorrectly and so I decided to give it another shot. This time I used dry hands and massaged it into my dry skin. What a difference this made! This has become my go to cleanser for night time and using it feels super luxurious and even relaxing, perfect for before I hop into bed. Just a note: I have found that the best way to remove this cleanser is with a hot cloth. If I use just my hands it leaves quite a lot of residue.

Green juice: If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen me post a picture of my first homemade green juice – I was so proud! I had read all about the benefits of gulping down some of this vile looking stuff and decided to give it a bash. I’m going to be honest with you, it doesn’t taste bad at all! I think the trick is to throw something sweet like an orange or apple into the mix, I don’t even taste the Swiss chard. I have one of those old school juicers that have been around for forever so it is a bit of a mission but I have been eyeing out the Nutribullet on the Yuppiechef website, it would make life a lot easier! Schlep or no schlep, green juice is well worth it, especially if you are someone constantly on the go – you’re guaranteed to get a whole bunch of essential nutrients that your body graves with each gulp.

Two apps: There are few things I love more than a nifty app on my phone. I tend to download a whole whack at once and then end up deleting quite a few that I didn’t really enjoy. This past month there were two that made the cut and now have a permanent space on my home screen.

Zomato: I’m sure that you’ve seen the restaurant reviews floating around on social media with the Zomato link attached. I had too and promptly ignored them. That was a mistake. I ended up downloading it (curiosity, you know) and it has made such a difference to the way that Dan and I dine out! I hate rubbish service at a restaurant, especially because it’s become rather pricey to go out and enjoy a lovely meal and a glass of wine! Having Zomato means that I can read other peoples reviews about a place before going there and being disappointed. You can also view menus (such a plus if you have certain dietary requirements) and even order an Uber with the app! If you’re a bit of a foodie and haven’t downloaded this yet, best you get on it! You can follow my food journey here.

Takealot: Guys, I really am behind hey! Dan reads so much that we buy new books often, and now that we have started to build box sets of our favourite series, we order DVDs too. The Takealot app makes ordering so easy and convenient. The wishlist function is great – if it’s month end Salticrax, you simply add things to the wishlist that you will purchase when your hard earned cash comes rolling in. Genius, its like a virtual Christmas list, and it’s never too early to start one of those…

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: Ok, now I don’t know if this is a favourite that I will continue to repurchase time and time again but I definitely used it during August and I did enjoy it. My only qualm with it is that I feel like it’s a bit redundant in my skincare regime in a way. Don’t get me wrong, I had seen this particular micellar water being raved about by overseas bloggers and I prayed to the beauty gods to bring it to our shores, which they did. It works like a bomb and removes all my eye make up with ease. I find though that if I use it to take off a full face of make up, I go through a lot more cotton pads and need to go over an area twice, sometimes even three times if my make up is quite heavy. If you wear light make up or are looking for a great eye make up remover for a good price, this is for you! I’m happy to continue using this as it really does do a good job on the eyes and my skin didn’t react at all, but for the rest of my face I think I will stick to my traditional double cleanse.

And that pretty much wraps up August! September is here in full force and I’m looking forward to a whole lotta sunshine!

If you discovered some faves during August, let me know in the comments below.

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