It's time to share all the things I was loving throughout January. I've got a good mixture of beauty, fashion & lifestyle bits to tell you about so let's get straight into it!
BEAUTY
You could count the amount of times I wore foundation in January on one hand. The cold weather has been taking it's toll on my skin so in an attempt to get it back on track, I focused a lot more on caring for it as opposed to covering it up. At the very start of the month I took advantage of the sales and treated myself to some Liz Earle products while they were discounted. Already a huge fan of their Cleanse & Polish (review), I thought it was about time I expanded my experience of the brand! Both the Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Gentle Face Exfoliator have been whipping my skin into shape. I intend to write a full review so look out for that soon!
As well as those, I decided I'd try my first product from La Roche-Posay. Serozinc is one of those raved about products that I always put off buying for some reason. However now I've been using it for about a month & a half, I can see why people get so excited about it; it reduces spots like nothing else! I think it deserves a full post of it's own so I'll save the details for that but basically, anytime I see a spot developing I spray a little of this onto the area and it's almost like the spot is stopped in it's tracks and it goes down without a fight. I will say that it can be a little drying but with my Liz Earle products there to tackle that, I think I've found a keeper!
Skincare aside, to go with my minimal makeup I found a lip combination that I've stuck to pretty much the whole month. I've been loving applying Max Factor's Colour Elixir lip liner in 'Mauve Moment' all over the lips for a bit of colour that's just deeper than that of my own. When I included it in this drugstore beauty haul, I remember getting a comment from someone saying they found it to be quite drying and yes, it can be. However adding some lip balm over the top solves that problem, resulting in a long lasting colour which is still comfortable to wear. It's not usually like me to stick to one lip colour for a whole month, I do love to chop & change but y'know what, it's nice to have a go-to that you can rely on!
FASHION
I didn't actually go January sale shopping for any clothes (until the very end of the month, so those things could possibly be in February's faves!) but I did get some amazing pyjama's for Christmas which I've kinda been obsessed with since the moment I laid eyes on them. Look at how cute the top is! So fluffy. So cosy. It's from F+F at Tesco and a matching sleeping mask came with it, something which has really been helping me get a better night's sleep too.
ETC.
Another Christmas gift, but if I remember correctly it was New Year's when we watched Big Hero 6 on DVD. When I watched the trailer I knew it was gonna be good but I wasn't expecting for it to become one of my favourite films! They got the balance between really funny moments as well as heart-breaking ones spot on and the attention to every tiny detail is astonishing too. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend you do - it's gonna be one of those ones I rewatch over and over!
I also want to include the book I've been reading, as well as reading in general in my favourites this month. Something that comes with having CFS/ME is a difficulty to concentrate and ever since I developed it, reading became a real challenge so I haven't been able to pick up many books and finish them. In January however, I managed to read The Difference A Day Makes by Carole Matthews and although it took a lot longer to get through than I'd have liked, I consider it real progress. Anyway, onto the book! For the first couple of chapters I was really unsure whether I liked it or not. That was until something hugely shocking happened (I'm obviously not gonna give away any spoilers but I will say that I had to look up from the book and take a second to process what just happened) and from that point onwards I was hooked. With my rekindled love of reading I might start writing book reviews here so let me know if you'd like to see one for this!
Lastly I just want to mention the little bit of travelling I was able to do in January. How could I not? I went to stay with my sister in the glorious city of Cambridge from the 8th - 14th and I had a wonderful time there. I wrote a whole post about the trip which you can read here if you want to know what I got up to each day. I feel so lucky to have so many happy memories of the place and I'm hoping another chance to visit will pop up in the not too distant future!
So those are the things I loved most in January! Go ahead and get involved in the comments below and let me know if you have any experience with anything I've mentioned, I'd love to know!
What were your January Favourites?
Thanks for reading,
Maeve
x
