Best of | H&M beauty

It's taken me a solid year to find out that H&M had launched a new and very trendy beauty line, which frankly doesn't surprise me since I usually triple-check even my drugstore beauty purchases. Long story short, you wouldn't catch me dead buying anything else other than nail polish from "mothership brands" (aka brands that technically specialise in one think but then release a myriad of other stuff). I think it was a video of Tati's, also known as GlamLifeGuru on Youtube, that actually brought this line to my attention and it has been there ever since, so much so that I took the dive into the unknown and emerged 30 euros lighter.

Almost-spring makeup

I'll beging with appologising for the lackluster activity around here. I've had a crazy few weeks and yesterday a viral cold hit me like a ton of bricks meaning all I do now is sleep, cry (damn you hormones) and complain. I do look much more alive in these photos - thanks college nurse for saying I look pale - and it's all due to the new makeup look I have going into spring because I am super impatient and want February to be over.

Dress your lips for Christmas

I'm not going to claim dark lip tones as an invention of mine since most bloggers and youtubers are sporting them but I will say they make it look so much easier than it actually is. Make up stands are brimming with choice but it can be -it certainly was for me- overwhelming to be facing 4 different shades of red and not know which one would suit you. I'm afraid I don't have a secret nor a quick solution, it's a case of trial and error, but I do have a recommendation so maybe that will help next time you're in Boots and having an existential crisis in the makeup aisle.

Best of French cosmetics

As you may or may not know, I'm a pretty big francophil so if you ask me, I'll normally say the French do it better. Literature, check. Movies, pretty darn good. Food, uhm, hello?! Clothes, is there a doubt? And so the next realm of French-ness that I had to tackle was cosmetics.

On my recent trip to France, in Perigord, I left determined to come back with a heap of exciting lotions and potions and see if they're worth their salt. I even went on tons of beauty blogs and forums trying to see what people said was best and having already bought the Bioderma miscellaneous cleansing water which I love, I wasn't left with many options. People tend to go for the big, international brands but I wanted to get something only the French would buy.

If you're interested so far, look no further than the ordinary French pharmacy. Marked with an oh-so-clinical green cross, the pharmacies across the channel are like holy grails for product lovers. Someone said 'British drugstore products are designed to cover up problems whilst the French ones are more targeted to eliminate or treat them'. It cannot be more true.

Without further ado, here is my (sorta big) beauty haul:

Funny enough, this is vinegar for hair. Sounds horrible but it was recommended to me as it makes your hair super shiny. You apply it after conditioner and then rinse it off and you're apparently left with shiny, healthy looking hair and a raspberry scent witch in itself makes this product worth buying. You can also find it in the UK but only online here.

I was already on a high when I picked this up. Avene is an iconic brand whose products are based on thermal water and are designed especially for sensitive skin. I'm currently using Bioderma sebo-something cleanser which is ok but not amazing so I'm really excited to try this.

This I picked up in a supermarket actually since it's the product of a famous hair salon. The ingredient of clay in a shampoo intrigued me and I was super happy with the fact it's formulated for oily roots and thin, dry ends which is what I struggle with sometimes, I'm curious to see if this does wonders together with my Vichy derma-shampoo.

This smells amazing! It might well be up there with the Soap&Glory lotion as the smell lingers on the whole day. It's a luxury body cream with fig flowers...I can see myself becoming addicted to this. Luckily for you and me alike, some M&S stores stock this brand. Maybe I should pay more attention to their beauty section...

Shower gels might not be the staple product of Caudalie but I don't really care. It smells incredible, not too citrusy not too flowery, it leathers up with small bubbles, just perfect for a morning shower!

Last but not least, a very professional looking Noviderm cream. I liked the Bioderma one for skin with acne tendency because it moisturises where you apply drying products but I can't wear it underneath makeup because it makes my face way too shiny. This claims to do the job whilst keeping your face matte so I'm so ready to take this for a spin. Plus there are tons of instructions to follow on the box so it just makes it all the more credible.

This is all (for now). The reason why my bag was 3 kilos heavier than it should; this and all the cheese, wine and fois gras I brought back. More of all that French lovelyness to follow!