BLOGUST | Summer Favourites

Hello my lovelies and welcome to blogust day thirty one, the final day. Wow, I cannot believe I've been doing this for a whole month (nearly) it has flown by so quickly. So I thought what better post to do for the last day of blogust than my summer favourites. Now technically summer doesn't end till September 22nd but I've made a little season calendar in my blog planner book: 

Autumn - September 1st - November 30th 

Winter - December 1st - February 28th 

Spring - March 1st - May 31st 

Summer - June 1st - August 31st 

And this calendar is not the real life calendar of when seasons start and end but this is just to help me in terms of when to post season based wishlists and favourites etc. I can't do monthly favourites because I don't try enough new things each month to actually do a post on it but seasonal favourites is definitely something I can do. 

So the favourites I'm going to share with you have been things I've been loving since June right up until now on this very day. There's a whole mix from beauty to books to music - so if you guys want to know what my favourites have been this summer then just keep on reading. 

So my first favourite is more like an obsession and as you can see by the image it's flamingos and cactus'. I don't know why but I've just been so addicted to these all summer and in this image are an array of my favourite flamingo and cactus based things. So we've got mainly homeware pieces and an inflatable flamingo drink holder. Yeah, the obsession was real this summer. 

I have been using these two sprays all summer long and if you guys have been keeping up since the beginning of blogust these were already my favourite summer sprays as I did a whole post about them! The Grace Cole Vanilla and Sweet Peony body mist and the Hawaiian Tropic Sunkissed Dreams body mist. I've loved these because they smell amazing, they're easy and light to wear, and they're not over powering. If you guys want to read more about these sprays then click here. 

Firstly sorry for the weird lighting on all these pictures. But anyway, I have been using this all summer long, Makeup Revolution's I Heart Makeup Chocolate Vice palette. Warm tone colours have been so in this summer and have been dominating everyone's makeup looks including mine. I've been reaching for this every time I do my makeup all summer and I even used it in my most recent makeup tutorial! 

As you can see it's got everything in there that you need: warm tones, cool tones, shimmers, mattes in all of your summer shades of gold, bronze, burgundy, pink, peach, browns etc. Also, the pigmentation and the quality is the best for the price of these palettes.

I know I'm still going to be reaching for this as we go into autumn as the shades are also perfect for the upcoming season. If you guys want to see this palette in action then don't forget to check out my sunset inspired makeup, click here. 

This next one has been a favourite since May and I literally haven't used anything other than this since I first picked this up and tried it. Tanya Burr Cosmetics rosy flush cheek palette. As you can see it's got a bronzer, blush, and a highlight. The bronzer is super warm but not horrendously orange, as we all know that's not a good look especially on fair skin. The blush is a super lovely pink which gives a nice healthy pop of colour and glow. And the highlighter is bloody beautiful! A gorgeous medium champagne shade which looks gorgeous for summer. 

I've reached for this every time I've done my makeup all through summer and it still has no signs of running out. It has been going for so long, there's not even that much of a dent in any of the pans which is so impressive. If you've got fair skin like me or a light-medium skin tone I'd highly recommend this. 

I have spoken about these all summer long, they've been included in my makeup tutorials, as well as all over my Instagram. You guys probably know how much I love them by now and they have to come as a pair because they're perfect together. The NYX soft matte lip cream in Cannes and the Primark metallic liquid lipstick in Molten Lava. I have worn these non stop all summer - Cannes is just a gorgeous my natural lip shade but better, it glides on the lips so easily, literally need two coats and the colour is popping, it lasts all day because it's matte but it honestly feels like you're not wearing any lipstick. I really need to pop to Boots and buy some more of these as I'm obsessed! 

As for the Primark one, it's not the best colour on it's own because I don't think light metallic colours are that flattering on my pale skin. I feel like they look amazing on dark skin tones. But I love the metallic colour so pairing this over the top of the NYX colour makes it work. On top of the Cannes shade it goes a super deep bronze orange type of colour but it blends beautifully into the Cannes shade to create this gorgeous glow in the middle part of my lips. It almost looks like a Jouer lip topper. 

But yeah, love these! I wanna get some more of both of these products in different colours and play around with them through autumn. 

In the summer I find doing my nails really hard, especially when it's hot because I don't want to sit and wait forever for them to dry. So I haven't really painted my nails much over the summer because my polish has been lasting really well with the top coats I've been using. 

But this summer I've been really into bright neon like colours as I find they make my hands and feet look more tanned than they are. Which is great if you're like me and never tan. 

The two I've loved through out this month and a bit of July are these two. Rimmel's Daisy Days which is in the Rita Ora collection. It's just a really nice bright yellow (bright yellow was really in this summer in clothes) and I know not many people dare to go for shades like yellow but I was really feeling it and it made my nails look so long (even though they were pretty long when I wore it). And the other shade I've been loving is W7's Pink Passion, a bright hot pink shade. Again I was really feeling it and this colour was also what I wore on holiday. It made my hands look really tanned when they really weren't and made my nails look really long (even though they were once again pretty long when I wore it). 

I'm excited to get into all of the autumn and winter shades though as all of the deep colours and glitters are my favourite nail shades. 

Clearly I've been too ready for autumn and winter because this next favourite is a Christmas hand cream there's even a gingerbread man on the bottle! But anyway, I've been using Zoella Beauty's Hungry Hands non-stop this month. I have no idea why I've been so obsessed with it but I've found myself reaching for it all the time. But it is a great handcream, smells of vanilla and gingerbread which is great for autumn and winter even though I've been using it in the summer. It makes my hands really soft, really hydrated, smell nice - the scent's quite rich, doesn't make my hands sticky or greasy, the product soaks in quickly, and one thing I've noticed is the scent lasts for ages. There was even one day when I'd used it so much that this scent stayed on my hands even after I'd had a bath. I was very surprised. This hand cream will definitely still be being loved through autumn but knowing me I wont use it in the season it is actually meant for. 

Moving onto books, firstly we have The Stylist by Rosie Nixon. I have a whole book review of this on my blog, so if you guys wanna know about this in more detail click here. 

But I love this book - it's a super nice and easy read and it really reminds of The Devil Wears Prada which is one of my favourite films. The character of Amber Green is so relatable, funny, witty, and charming. So much happens in the book that you wouldn't expect and I was really gutted when I finished it. I know that the author has brought out another one called Amber Green Takes Manhattan which I need as I'm in need of a new book/ books to read. 

Onto another book now which I only finished over a week or two ago. Of course it's Connor Franta's note to self. I've spoken about this with you guys so much in my Mindful Mondays posts as I did a review of the book. Once again if you guys wanna know more about this in detail then click here. 

Honestly this book is so amazing and if you're into talking about our past, present, and future and ours lives then this is the book for you! It's one of those books that you don't know how to fully describe because there is so much in there but in regards to this one it is so relatable. The main thing I love is how it's about Connor's life but the way it's written is easily relatable to your own life as a reader. I'd recommend anyone to read it because it really opens your eyes to your own life and it literally will change your life. I'm not just saying that, honestly, go and buy it already! 

Another favourite of mine has been backpacks. I only have this one from Primark and a blue one from Accessorize but I have been really favouring these guys over any other bag I have lately because they're just so much easier to use and much more convenient. Especially for uni or when I'm gonna be out all day. I want to get a new one for the new term at uni and a more autumnal one as the ones I have now are very summer-esk. I've been seeing a few nice ones pop up in Accessorize lately, so I think I'm gonna check those ones out after this post. 

Another favourite has gotta be these pillows. The large one is from New Look and the smaller one is from Primark. These guys have been great for taking blog pictures with, as well as being pretty room accessories, comfy to lay on and cuddle, the large one has been a fab laptop pillow for me for the past month, and the little one is a great head pillow for when I don't want my head to lean on the wall. 

This is a hidden gem of my home town and I've been back there so many times this month that it has to be included in this favourites post. Little Amsterdam has become my favourite cafe to eat at in my home town. I've been four or five times now since first discovering it. It's such a lovely cafe, with incredible decor, delicious food, lovely drinks, and wonderful staff. I did a whole blog post on visiting the cafe and if you guys want to check that out just click here and if you want to check out their menu, click here. 

I have been so obsessed with Little Mix this summer that they have made it into my favourites. Honestly they are killing it right now and if you haven't listened to their music where have you been? They're such an empowering girl group for young women and teenagers and they're vocal talent is insane. My favourite song at the minute from Little Mix is definitely Power. 

Something else I've loved this summer is Love Island. Everyone went on about it last year but to me it was essentially Big Brother in couples, so I didn't watch it. But then this year rolled around and everyone kept going on about it, even my mum as I got a text every night asking 'are you watching Love Island?' 

So I gave it a go and my god after just three episodes I was hooked. I don't even know why I got so obsessed but 9:00pm every night on ITV2 was what I looked forward to every day to watch this. It's just a standard reality show but I think the reason I loved it is because I got really attached to the people in the show and if you follow me on Twitter (katielouj0hnson) then you'll know I had some strong opinions throughout this show.

When it was over I was so gutted as I didn't know what I was gonna do with my evenings, but great news as they're making a winter version for this year and I cannot wait! That's my evenings sorted all night for the up coming season. 

And my final favourite of the summer goes to Bubble Witch 3 saga. This is a bit of a random one and another one that I don't know why I got so addicted to, correction, still addicted to. My mum let me play it on her phone one day and I've been hooked ever since. It's just a really fun app to play when you want something to do or you need a break. The characters and the animations are really cute, the levels range from easy - hard, there's a little story during each "chapter", and you can build your own little house with the prizes you win, and there's also mini games that pop up really frequently so if you run out of lives on one you can just pop over to the other levels. There was one day last week when I played this nearly for three hours, yeah, the obsession is bad but good. And it's free, so go and download it! 

And my lovelies that is it for this post and that is it for blogust! 

What a month it has been, I cannot believe it is officially over. This has definitely been a massive challenge for me and the fact that I virtually blogged every single day is such a big achievement for me. I really wanted to push myself and create interesting content for all of you guys to enjoy which I think I successfully done this month. This was a big thing for me because although I loved when I did blogmas last year, I didn't manage my time very well and I wanted to use blogust as a tester for this years blogmas (as I'm gonna be much busier when I do blogmas) and I'm so proud of myself for this whole month of blogging. And because of doing blogust I've discovered so many other amazing bloggers on Twitter and Instagram this month and it's lovely to have a support unit and a group of creators who I can call friends. And I've even been contacted about some potential opportunities that I will share with you guys at some point soon if they 100% happen. 

I just want to say a massive thank you to all of you guys for your love and support over this month. From reading the posts, commenting on the posts, liking my Instagram photos, liking and sharing my tweets, voting on my polls, following me on my social medias, and messaging me your thoughts on my posts over this whole month.  

I've also seen so much growth in reads this month and that means the absolute world to me. So if you've been keeping up with all of my posts for this whole month thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. You honestly don't know how much it means to me.

Well as this is the last post of blogust, I hope you guys enjoyed this post as well as all of the posts throughout this month. I feel bittersweet saying goodbye to blogust, you never know I might do it again next year. But I've got so many exciting posts planned for all of you guys for the next four months of the year that I know you're gonna love. And of course you can look forward to me blogging for a whole month again in December. 

I'm going to take this weekend as a little break and chill out as obviously I've been doing blog things all month long. But do not worry because I'll be back on Monday the 4th of September my lovelies for another Mindful Mondays! I will return to my normal uploading schedule which is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But I'll definitely be posting on my social media still, so if you still wanna see more of me then don't forget to follow me on my Twitter @katielouj0hnson, my Instagram @katiej0hnson, and my Pinterest @katielouj0hnson. 

Once again thank you all so much and I love you all to the moon and back. 

And always remember...

Love,

Katie