July Favourites

Yes, it's already August 3rd, apologies for the late July Favourites, a lot's been going on already in August!
Where oh where has July gone? In a flash of rain and brief sunlight, you could hardly call this a summer here in the UK, but we're used to it, although that doesn't mean we stop complaining about it!

L'Oreal NutriSummer Face 12hr Moisturising Fluid - I found this a few weeks ago having not touched it for about a year, I wanted to use it up before binning it, but actually, I really like the formula, it's smooth to apply but not watery, it gives a gradual tan providing you use it sparingly for a day on-day off routine. I might even repurchase this if it's still available - any ideas girls?
MUA Undressed Palette - So I got this a few days ago but I'm cheating! I ADORE shade 12, I've fallen in love with gunmetal shades thanks to this! Every single July Favourites post I've seen so far has this little beauty, and it's no wonder, any dupe of a £20+ Urban Decay palette deserves this kind of attention!
Collection 2000 Gel Liner in Black - I wrote a horrific review of this a while back but this month I haven't stopped wearing it, it's absolutely perfect now I've worked out how to use it!
Rimmel mono shadow in Jet Black - As you can see, I've hit pan on this and that doesn't often happen with my makeup! I've fallen back in love with my black eye looks so this is definitely back in my makeup bag!
MUA Clear Mascara - So this month I decided to give my eyebrows some attention because for years I thought they were bushy enough without extra thickening! As you can see this mascara's already showing battle wounds, it's hardly clear anymore!
Barry M Limited Edition Lip Gloss - Barry M aren't great when it comes to naming products and this doesn't have one at all, it just came with my Impulse Tease that's mentioned later in this post. I'm really bad at identifying smells but I'd say it smells like chocolate brownies, and it looks lovely on bare lips too.

L'Oreal Elnett Flexible - I bought this mini can to use at Download in June but I never got round to it, but I'm starting to like it, it smells a lot less than the original Elnett, plus it leaves my hair a lot lighter and less straw-like. I will warn you though, this isn't built for the second-day messy look that I love from the normal Elnett, this turns greasy after a night on the pillow.
Impulse Tease - I'm loving this smell at the moment, and it takes me a while to adjust to smells because I can't distinguish smells well, my brain might say 'this is supposed to smell like pineapples' and my nose goes 'I don't know what pineapples smell like, but this smells nice', so it's got my approval!

Nails Inc Portobello - I keep reapplying this and admiring it, then chipping it, then reapplying it and the cycle starts again. It's so pretty how it glows in certain lights and looks gorgeous and summery in others!

Bandanas - I started wearing these in June but I got hold of some genuinely comfortable ones in July, and I can't leave the house without wearing one!

Music
Artist - Alice Cooper
This one's pretty obvious if you read my blog, I posted about Alice being my sort of style icon. I've not stopped listening to his albums for the entirety of July, I suppose I've bordered on obsessive when I've stayed up at 4am watching his interviews and gigs. But if you've ever heard Alice talking about himself and his fame, he breaks down all the barriers that popular culture seems to build around him. The intimidating image of Alice is what he attributes to being 'admittedly schizophrenic', switching off his alter ego the second he steps off stage. He's the wisest man in rock and roll and he's proud of every song he's written in his 40 year career. He's always said each of his songs is different, playing on a different emotion: love, anger, lust, fear, so the audience leaves his gig thinking, 'what on earth did I just watch?', contrasting the industrial music era he claims played on anger and nothing but anger, where the audience leave those gigs thinking, 'wow, I'm angry'. Alice isn't short of fantastic rock and roll tales from the road, and above all, what other 60 year old man still looks that good in leather?

Album - Guns N Roses - Greatest Hits.
Every song I love - Nightrain, Sweet Child O' Mine, Welcome To The Jungle, Live And Let Die, Sympathy For The Devil - my GnR craving has been satisfied!

Song - Alice Cooper - The Underture.
I love instrumental versions of my favourite songs sometimes more than the original with vocals. There's something about The Underture that attracts me, it's an aural battle between piano and strings. Featuring instrumental versions of Welcome To My Nightmare and Something To Remember Me By, Alice calls this his version of an overture from a Broadway show, and I adore it.

The End App

Remember the Temple Run phase? Running for no good reason into the distance from some obscure monkey-like creatures? Well The End is very similar, only you actually have a purpose other than earning more coins to keep running. It's based around the idea that the end of the world is catching up with you and you must run and collect duct tape along the way, in an effort to survive the 14 day long environmental catastrophes around you. The images you see along the way are quite good for a relatively small phone game, and it's certainly kept me occupied through the rainy days recently. There's been a different version released by the creators of Temple Run and despite the name, Zombie Run, I just don't get on with it, it's laggy and it seems a bit lacklustre now The End has got me hooked.

Movies

The Tourist - I can always tell when I've enjoyed a film by the way I watch it again straight away the day after. The Touristis so unusual, combining comedy with criminality, the only way I can describe it is James Bond meets Laurel and Hardy. I love anything set in Venice because it means I can sit and unashamedly stare longingly at the gondolas and the elegant buildings! And of course there's Johnny Depp... Let's be honest, if he wasn't in this film, I probably wouldn't have gone anywhere near it. He would make any film perfect, but actually this film stands alone from its all-star cast, the plot and the writing is so clever and almost cheeky, leaving you feeling totally satisfied at the end. I thought the ending would prevent me watching it again, as some endings do for me, but I'm glad it didn't, I'd watch it again in a heartbeat! I adore films that don't take themselves too seriously, and this definitely foots the bill.

TV
Tour De France 2012

I don't usually pay attention to sports, I'm the least athletic person out there, but I adore watching the cycling abroad because it gives me the opportunity to see other sunny climes and their countryside, and the Tour de France is no exception. I watched from day one, glued to every day's 4-hour live coverage and the previous day's highlights, I was absolutely hooked, and I don't usually do that with anything on TV. At first, it looked like the champion's title was going to be just another rider, but as the days went by and a British rider known for winning straight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics grabbed the yellow jersey. Bradley Wiggins was awarded both the title of the winner of the Tour de France but also the 'sexiest sideburns' as voted for by... well, who doesn't like them?!

Instagram
July Swamp Challenge - As you can probably tell by my excessive posts about this, I took part in the July Swamp Challenge and only forgot on one day! I was dead proud of myself, and I loved every day's prompts. So much that I've made my own for August!

What have you been loving in the month of July?