Last Gasp of Summer

Darlings, CC hopes you enjoy this last day of August and all these bodacious bikinis!

Eberjey Gisele bikini; this and next three at shopbop.com.

Mara Hoffman V wire bikini.

Naelie Julli polka dot bikini.

Red Carter Fruit Punch bikini.

Emilio Pucci printed triangle bikini; this and next three at net-a-porter.com.

Missoni Antibes reversible crochet-knit triangle bikini.

Shimmi Nicole lace-up bandeau bikini.

Zimmerman Hawaiian printed bikini.

Beach Sexy sequin striped triangle bikini; this and next five at victoriassecret.com.

Cia.Maritima palm tree triangle bikini.

Hot Tuna striped bandage bikini.

Sauvage Swimwear twisted wrap bikini.

The Miracle Bra retro push-up triangle bikini.

Very Sexy VS Stringkini.

Which bikini do you find most beautiful?

xoxox,

CC

Chic Shorts

First things first, darlings! The winner of CC's Fashion Flirts Gift Set Giveaway is the lovely Miss Missick ~ congrats!

Check out these lovely little shorts, darlings!
Runway coverage via style.com.
ADAM
Behnaz Sarafpour
Carlos Miele
Christian Siriano
Collette Dinnigan
Cushnie et Ochs
Holly Fulton
Jill Stuart
Lyn Devon
Milly
Moschino Cheap & Chic
Rachel Comey
Rebecca Taylor
Tommy Hilfiger
Tracy Reese
Which pair do you prefer?
xoxox,
CC

Summer Essentials, Part II, Makeup!

This is the sequel to my Summer Essentials post, and in this I talk mostly about makeup/cosmetic products that are useful! I feel like this is much more my field. There are some great posts and videos out there about the joys of suncream, but I am much much much more of a makeup girl! This is bad, I know, haha. Enjoy!


Tinted Moisturiser.. Sort Of
As you can see, I don't really own a tinted moisturiser. I don't really get the point. Clinique's Dramatically Different Gel is the best thing since sliced bread - all I do is squirt a little bit on the back of my (sanitised) hand, mix with a bit of foundation and it's a blessing. You don't really want to be wearing a full face of heavy foundation when it's thirty degrees outside.


Waterproof Mascara
I hate waterproof mascara with a passion, as it dries out my lashes something shocking, but if you know for a fact you're going to be in and out of the water or near a pool or the sea, you're probably going to want to invest in this stuff. Just use it sparingly.


Bronzer
Since you'll definitely be using SPF (won't you?!), you'll want to make sure your face is nice and tanned. This is my favourite bronzer, because it's lovely and shimmery and a nice goldish-bronze colour. I love ones like this MAC Loose Mineralize powder with a nice wide sifter, so I can use a big 'ole brush and sweep it all over and down onto my chest and neck area too.


Bright Lipstick or Lipgloss
No-one wants to wear a lot of makeup in the summer, and that is that. There's sweating involved and your pores get clogged, and if you're on the beach you don't want to be worrying about smudged eyeliner or mascara.. right? Right. One of my favourite tricks when I'm reaaally lazy is to just throw on some concealer and a little bit of mascara, and then add a really bright lipstick such as Illamasqua's Mistress Lipgloss, shown here, and you're set.


Primer
Generally, I'm not really a big fan of primer. Some people swear by it. I got this one recently and I'm pretty much loving it. It's a weird formula - a mousse, but primer's generally help keep your makeup from sliding all over the place and staying put all day. However, I do sometimes feel like they can clog your pores and make your skin feel really heavy, so apply with a light hand, and because this one has a beige-ish colour to it, all I really need to do after apply is add a little bit of concealer and I'm pretty much good to go.


Blot Powder
I generally don't see many products as a "must-have". This is not one of those products. I love this product and recommend it to anyone who asks me about it. It is a summer-night-out staple, honest to God. Sweep this over your forehead, nose and cheeks, and you will be shine-free all evening. MAC do a Blot Powder, but my favourite one is the Urban Decay one. Firstly, look at that packaging, it's just awesome. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, and I'll be honest, Urban Decay don't always pull it out the bag, they're a little hit and miss, in my opinion. This is a hit, hit, hit. Another thing is the colour: MAC's Blot Powders have a touch of colour to them, which may or may not be your thing. I always felt I looked a little cakey in it. This is a transluscent blot-powder. In the pan it looks white, with a hinttt of purple or blue to it, but when you put it on, it disappears into your skin.
I'll stop now with my mini-review.. haha.


Hand Sanitizer
This is sort of a summer essential, and really just an all the time essential, but I feel I use it most in the summer, where you might be eating outside or going into cities an sightseeing, or using public transport.. Hand sanitiser is just plain sanitary, and useful, and that's about it really.

Did you like this little departure from everyday blogging? What are your summer essentials..? I love all feedback!

Summer Essentials!

I did think about making a video talking about this, but decided that I would just do a post, because I explain myself more succinctly in writing. I thought this might come in handy for those hot summer days that we've actually been having here in the UK! Unfortunately they seem to fall on days when I'm at work, so this is some of the stuff I stash in my bag, haha.


Suncream
This is an obvious one, really. Suncream. I recommend getting a little bottle to throw in your handbag, because you never know when you'll get caught out in the sun (for example, whilst waiting for an iPhone4.. haha). Gemma just did a great post about anti-aging products and the gimmicks. Really, your number one best bet to help prevent aging on the face is to use suncream. Mix it in with your foundation, get a foundation with high SPF, just try and use it on your face as much as possible!


Facial Wash
This is also a bit of a no-brainer. In the summer, you sweat more, and if you wear makeup when you're all sweaty.. you're just going to end up with messy skin, so I realllly recommend a good cleanser. The Shu Uemura one here is pretty pricey - but it gets off foundation like a treat. I also think something cooling and refreshing such as The Body Shop's Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash, of which you find a review here. I came home from a sweaty 12-5PM shift this afternoon, and the first thing I did was scrub it all over my face and neck and it felt wonderful.


Exfoliators of all kinds!
No-one likes to have icky, dry, flaking skin during the summer.. and you're all the more likely to get it if you're getting a bit of sun. The Body Shop's Raspberry Scrub is a great all-over product, but I use this on my shoulders and my feet in particular, as it's a really good intense scrub - and all the Body Shop scrubs are good for this. I have waxed lyrical about how much I love Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub: if I am exposed to any weather that isn't your bog-standard English rain, my lips go to pieces. Sun or snow, my lips get dry and flaky, and this is a great helping. Finally we have the only face-exfoliator I really use. I don't really need a good one for my face as I don't get too dry, and this one is really gentle. I've had it for a while and can't remember where I bought it from, but I saw it in Vogue magazine, and bought it.


Body Moisturisers
I should've mentioned this above, but summer really is the season of tanning - you're going to want to watch out for those dry spots by exfoliating and moisturising like crazy - especially if you're a fake tanner! This Soap & Glory all-over moisturising "mist" is great. It smells fantastic and I spray liberally all over after I've showered. You don't really need to rub it in, it just sinks in on it's own. The mini-body-butter is great for popping in your handbag and all of those Body Shop butters are great for intensive moisturising. Apply to shoulders, elbows, feet and legs after exfoliating! (:


Hair Conditioners
I have a lot of hair. I have a lot of thick hair. I have a lot of thick, long hair. I also have a habit of washing my hair and then letting the sun dry it - mainly because I end up looking like Mufasa if I attempt it any other way - which makes it frizz something awful. In the summer my ends get all dry and my hair gets weaker. Conditioner's like this are ah-maz-ing. I swear by Miracle Moist - the only thing that doesn't give me intense breakage, and I love the leave-in conditioner: I just spray it all through my hair when I've got out the shower and it helps heaps.


Dry Shampoo
This is literally just a god-send, whatever the weather, but I seem to use it more in the summer, for whatever reason. Great for when it's too hot to do anything but you want to look respectable! I much prefer the Tropical scent - the rest seem a bit hospital-ish for my liking - but the mini Batiste I bought after a day out in London and needed to spruce my hair up before going for drinks and hasn't really left my bag since. Since I bought these they've realeased a brunette one, which I want to try.


Sunnies!
Your eyes are just as important as you skin, so make sure you protect those babies.

And that's all for now! There will be a Summer Essential's post for makeup coming up shortly, so make sure you don't miss that. I hope you like these kind of posts, let me know, I'd love to hear your input!

Beauty-related posts will return shortly..

I just read a blog by someone I went to college with moaning about summer. 690 words complaining about how they hated the summer. Hated children in summer. Hated adults in summer. Hated driving in summer. Hated shopping in summer. Hated leaving the house in summer.

God. Really? Be grateful you don't live with depression or seasonal-affective -disorder, why don't you.

I live for summer. Sunshine works absolute wonders. I didn't realise until recently how much something like the sunlight effects me, and how much of a different person I am in the winter. I love Autumn with a passion, honestly. There is nothing I like better than cold walks with my dad and coloured leaves and fires burning and rain. But by the time the days shorten, I feel like my personality leaks away.
I don't want to do anything, my mood drops considerably. There's the typical winter-blues, but when you physically cannot bring yourself to move, you know there's more to it than that. I dread winter, every year. January and February are my worst months and I don't have good memories about these times. I'm virtually bedridden, some days. The hardest thing is when you never really see the sunlight. You get up and it's dark, you do things all day and it's dark by the time you get home. It's a horrible thing.

Summer is a good thing. Do not underestimate how good the sun can be for you. Yes, it can be bad. But for people like me, it's literally a God send. I love everything about the summer.
So here is a blog to counteract those 690 words of misery, because I need this.

I love the heat. I love sitting outside and just being so overwhelmed by heat, heat, heat. I love the light. God, I adore the light. Getting light at 4AM? It's beautiful.

And the sunset's in summer are intense.

The light is one of the best things by a long shot. The sky seems to take on this amazing quality in the summer. I don't even know, but it makes me feel fantastic.

Clouds are gorgeous. I could write a whole blog about how I love clouds. I won't. But trust me when I tell you how pretty they are. Look up.

If we're talking nature, remember how green everything looks in the summer months. It's got to beat snow or bare trees, right?


The places you visit seem even better in the sunshine. It adds a great colour to all your memories.

Italy was one of the best places I've ever had the privilige of going to.



And whilst we're on the subject of traveling.. you don't even have to leave your own country, god. My dad has a phobia of flying, so my family holidays have always been British-affairs. And I'm okay with that, pretty much. The weather can be bad, but it can be excellent too. Just wake up to it. I love British beaches. They're a staple from my childhood, and it makes everything excellent. Take a trip to the Lake District and go on a boat. Walk up a hill. Go to Oxford or Bath and look at some excellent architecture.


In general, I love cities in the summer. Despite the heat. I like how the heat descends on a city and everything seems to slow down.

I love travelling in the summer. It makes me feel like something exciting is going to happen. One of the best things in life, I feel, is having music up loud, driving somewhere, a car full of your friends and the windows down and your hair being blown all over the place. Driving like this, it solves everything.

Here's a good time: get some food in, start your BBQ going, get some wine or fruity drinks and get your friends over. Continue until the sky goes black. Then light candles and carry on.

Cocktails and pub gardens are a must.

So yeah, maybe hot, stinking tube trains suck, maybe screaming children on a trampoline at 7AM next door when you're trying to have a lie-in in August get on my nerves, the 4PM customers on a sunday when we're clearly sold out of anything barbecue related are beyond irritating.. but get over it! There are far too many good things to waste your time complaining about the bad things.
Do not under value your summer, your seasons in general. My bad winters make me appreciate the summer a thousand times more.

Please tell me you like the summer too?(All pictures are my own.)