April Favourites
The beauty product that cures no-sleep under eyes, a simple trick to beat PMS symptoms and the underrated winter shoe everyone should own.
This is the monthly favourites roundup that you didn’t ask for, but I’m going to give you anyway. A fashion favourite, a beauty favourite, a food favourite, a lifestyle favourite, a health favourite and a music favourite will make up this series each month as I roundup what I’ve been loving and lusting over in the last 30 days.
Fashion Favourite: Loafers
I’ve had my pair of black mohair loafers (a steal from Mango that I bought about five years ago) sitting in my cupboard untouched for the better part of the last two years. Firstly, it took me close to three years to properly break them in without having to wear socks and secondly, I just never really knew if I was pulling off loafers in the desired ‘hot girl’ way. In short: I was a bit nervous that I looked more daggy school girl than Parisienne chic.
But with the cooler weather now well and truly upon us, I have been loving adding my loafers to any outfit. For one, they’re easier to get on and off than boots (lazy) and secondly, I feel like I have finally got the proportions right so that they actually look cool. My biggest tip: show some skin. If wearing them with jeans, go without the socks and leave a little ankle peeking out the bottom. If wearing them with a skirt, keep the legs bare and go a scrunched down sock.
My Mango pair have held me in good stead considering I’ve probably now gotten the cost-per-wear down to about three cents. However, if I were in the market for a new pair of loafers (which, let’s face it, I’ll tell myself I am in about a week), this burgundy pair from Therapy would be on my hit list. And, I mean, as would a classic pair of Saint Laurent black loafers (here) but we won’t talk about that.
Beauty Favourite: NARS Light Reflecting Eye Brightener
As a former beauty editor, you may be surprised to hear that my daily makeup routine is close to nothing. For one, I’m lazy and just can’t be fucked most of the time but I also don’t love sitting in makeup all day (which may be PTSD from my random adult acne situation last year). So, I like to keep my face to a minimum during the week, which is where hardworking, undetectable products come into the mix. Enter: NARS’ Light Reflecting Eye Brightener.
The perfect under eye product to make dark circles disappear while looking like luminous, healthy skin, this formula is constantly on rotation in my routine. Whether it’s a quick tap under the eyes followed by brow gel and curling my lashes before I head into the office, or as undereye concealer when I’m going out and popping on a full face, I won’t do my makeup without it.
Food Favourite: Porridge
Chic? Hardly. Practical, delicious and perfectly warming for the cooler weather? Absolutely. I am very much back in my oats/porridge era and am loving it. My current favourite combination is vanilla protein oats topped with cinnamon stewed apples, pepita seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds and greek yoghurt. A certain kind of wonderful, if I do say so myself. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
Lifestyle Favourite: LED Face Mask
Moving house certainly has its perks—for me, it was rediscovering the charging cord for my LED Face Mask. I’ll take the small wins where I can get them. So, now that I can actually use it again, I cannot get enough of 10 minutes of red LED light each evening. Perfect for stimulating collagen production, reducing the appearance of scarring, evening skin tone and texture and overall just feeling like I’m taking the time to do something for me, it’s a ritual that I don’t see myself giving up any time soon. Yes, the masks are initially quite a pricey investment, but they practically pay for themselves after a month. I have the Airyday Bright On LED Face Mask and love it.
Health Favourite: Seed Cycling
If you know me, you would’ve heard me rabbit on and on about the female hormone cycle and why it is so important to work with our bodies, rather than against them. Seed cycling is one such method I have adopted to try and support my body in the hormone changes it experiences throughout the month. In layman's terms, this involves adding different seeds to your meals depending on the stage of your cycle you’re in to help clear out excess oestrogen, boost progesterone levels or just balance everything out all together. During the follicular phase (days 1-14), you’ll want to add flax and pumpkin seeds into the mix to prepare the egg for ovulation. Then, during the luteal phase (days 15-28) sesame and sunflower seeds are your friends, helping to prepare the uterine wall for either pregnancy or menstruation. Do your own research, but I have noticed the biggest difference in my PMS symptoms (i.e. sore boobs and bloating) in the lead up to day one of my period.
Music Favourite: Here We Go (Uh Oh) [Remix], Coco Jones & Leon Thomas
Back on my R&B bullshit, this month’s music favourite is a sexy, soulful track from Coco Jones and Leon Thomas (yep, that bloke from Victorious). I legitimately have listened to it all day everyday for the entire month because it’s so good. Perfectly sensual while still being boppy enough for a sing-a-long in the car, it’s a goodie.
Great article! Getting my loafers on and purchasing the eye brightener