August Favorites (beauty and others)

So I think this is my first ever post on my monthly favorites. Hopefully I can be diligent enough to do this every month. Here are some items that I have enjoyed using these past few weeks.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

This foundation is quite nice, and I am quite impressed with it as this is my first high end foundation. I got this in the shade 3.5 and it matches my face pretty well. I did mention this in one of my posts (First Impressions: Illamasqua) and from that incident alone, I was quite scared of using the foundation. I initially bought this because I needed a heavier foundation for a wedding I was going to, but as I use this everyday now and it's quite nice. It gives a light/medium coverage and very build-able. It covers redness, some scars and evens out skin tone. Oilier skins will need to powder as I found this to be shiny after 5 hours without powder. 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Antwerp

I bought this on a whim; I've heard good reviews on this but I personally don't like matte lip products but this totally changed my thoughts on matte lips. It isn't too drying and the colour is very pretty (check my swatch of the colour here). It's perfect for lazy days when you want a natural look but still want to look 'alive'. For days where my lips feel more dry, I put a thin layer of lip balm before using this product, blot and add another layer, blot again and apply a thin layer of lip balm, and this makes the colour last longer. 

Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Oil (green)

I was given this by a friend and I absolutely love this stuff. The first cleansing oil I tried was from Philosophy and it was ok. But after using this, I probably won't bother trying anything else because IT'S THAT GOOD! It removes all of my makeup (including heavy duty concealers and waterproof eye makeup) and does not leave any residues behind, without making my skin feel overly oily or stripped. As you can see I'm almost done with it, and I'm going to run out and get a full size once I'm done.

NYX eye Shadow in True Taupe

This is a typical matte dark brown. What I love about this is that I can use it all over the lids on days where I want something on my eyes without making the look too overwhelming and yet, still make it look super natural. For those that don't have such hooded eyes like mine, this would be a perfect crease colour. I find that this doesn't crease easily even without eye shadow primer (I have extremely oily eyelids).

Other favourites:

Songs:
1. EXO K - Baby Don't cry
 This is a re-discovery for me. I've heard this song before but I've been listening to this song nonstop for the past few days. The members voices harmonize perfectly (despite them being rookies) and there is nothing bad to say about the song or those that sing it. Check out the live performance here
2. Sunmi - 24 hours
 This isn't a typical song I would listen to by it's been getting in my head since it came out. If you don't know her, she use to be a member of the popular group Wonder Girls and she dropped out for health reasons (if I remember correctly). Check out the song here
3. Seungri - Gotta talk to you
 Another song that I wouldn't typically listen to. The soft singing and the chrous (hustlin' hustlin'), something about it makes it really catchy. Check out the song here

Dramas:
I've been really into crime related dramas these days and the ones I have seen do not disappoint when it comes to story line. I say only story line because the ending, as always, ABSOLUTELY SUCK! (more referring to the drama: Shark) because they are open ended (meaning that you have to interpret the ending yourself/ no definite ending). If you're a drama addict like me and you want something to watch, try these
1. I Hear Your Voice
2. Shark (1 and 2 are crime themed)
3. Nail Shop Paris (quite cheesing acting but the actors (men) are good looking and story line is quite good)
4. Wolf boy (This is actually a movie but it's one of the best Korean movies I've seen yet! It was quite a hit in Korean when it was released and I understand why. If you want to support International films, please go out and watch them in the cinemas if you get the chance. For those living in Australia click here to watch Wolf boy and other international films (as well as other Korean films))

Author: Paulo Coelho
I've recently got back into reading books and I've been loving the books from this author. I don't know much about the author but his books are brilliant. The ones I have read are no disappointments whatsoever. If you're into more philosophical reads, here are ones I have read so far and recommend:
1. The Alchemist
2. The Witch of Portobello
3. Manual of the Warrior of light

If you have products you would recommend and share, leave them in the comments below!