We’ve come to the end of the month and you know what that means. Yep, it’s time to whip out my Hit and Miss List! This month, I discovered a new Holy Grail mascara, fell in love with loose eyeshadow pigments (that’s jolly well almost impossible in my books!), shed a few tears and blood over leopard print and read quite a lot of books.

Let’s get started with the List, shall we?

The Hit List

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Pure Pigments*
I absolutely adore the regular Colour Tattoos by Maybelline (particularly Bad to the Bronze) but I have to say, I was pretty apprehensive of using the loose pigments in the Pure Pigments range. I usually dislike using loose eyeshadow pigments simply because they’re fiddly and can end up leaving a mess. After trying out the Improper Copper, all I have to say is … wow. Just wow. What a stunning pop of colour! I’ll be doing a makeup look with one or two of the Pure Pigments in a coming post and will elaborate about them further but for now, it’s definitely on my Hit List.

L’Oreal Volume Million Lashes So Couture mascara*
I’ve tried the regular Volume Million Lashes by L’Oreal but didn’t think they were any good. Well, that was until I tried out the So Couture. Ladies and gents, I’ve created a new spot on the pedestal next to my Holy Grail Australis Voluptulash mascara because sweet mama, this is good. It comes with a rubber-bristled brush, gives me good volume and even greater length in lashes. You want to know how long these made my lashes? Let’s just say that when I wear my glasses, the lashes actually smudge the glass and leave marks on it. I kid you not. It presses against the glass! Other than smudging my glasses with its killer lash length, it doesn’t smudge my skin at all, even after over 10 hours of wear. Love this mascara big time! I foresee myself repurchasing this many times.

Green People Daily Aloe Shampoo and Conditioner*
I don’t usually use sulfate-free haircare products because most of them make my hair feel very flat and not 100% clean (I don’t mean squeaky clean but like there’s leftover residue of grease on my hair). The Green People Daily Aloe shampoo and conditioner did none of that. I was very pleasantly surprised at how gentle they are on my hair (like baby shampoo) yet they still clean and condition my hair very well. Plus the shampoo smells like blood oranges which is already a winner in my books.

Enbacci Vitis Vinifera Gentle Facial Cleanser*
I’ve been using this cleanser for the past couple of months and currently only have about 10% of this cleanser left. It’s gentle on the skin, cleanses it well without leaving it dry and tight. It smells pretty good even though it doesn’t smell like grapes (would be even better if it does. Just sayin’, Enbacci). Having said that, I’m not sure if I’ll be happy paying AU$64 for it though.

By Terry Cover-Expert Perfecting Fluid Foundation Ultra-Correcting Coverage
I’m calling it, people. To me, this is better than the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. It’s better than the Chanel ones I’ve tried. My skin glows with this foundation on. It’s crazy good and I love it. A review will be coming soon but for now, I’ll just say it’s bloody fantastic.

The Miss List

Paula’s Choice RESIST Retinol Skin Smoothing Body Treatment
There were many good reviews about this product on the Paula’s Choice website so when I was making an order of Paula’s Choice skincare, I decided to pop this into my shopping cart too. After using it for over 6 weeks, I saw no improvement in my skin. It was just like any other regular body lotions. As I used this in winter, this body lotion was too lightweight and not rich enough for my dry skin. There are better regular body lotions out there at more affordable prices than this one. The retinol in this one did nothing for my skin.

Revitanail Instant Dry Drops*
‘Tis a real pity that this went into my Miss List because when I first used it, I thought it was pretty darn awesome. My nail polish dried in an instant! Unfortunately, instant gratification of dried nail polish left me with extremely dry cuticles for days. Methinks I’ll just stick to a good top coat even if it means I have to wait for my nail polish to dry a little bit longer.

My new leopard print loafers
I know this isn’t a beauty item and it breaks my heart that it’s a miss because I really like how good this pair of loafers look on my feet. But they’re hell to walk in. I made the mistake of trying them on with socks on before I purchased them. I don’t know why I didn’t bother taking my socks off because I wouldn’t wear socks with these loafers anyway. It was very comfortable with socks on but without them, the hard leather trimmings around the edges of the shoe chafes the back of my heels so badly till they bleed. If anyone has any tips and tricks on how to solve this issue without me needing to wear plasters on my heels every time I wear these loafers, I’d really appreciate them in the comments.

Indeed Labs Pepta-Bright
Would it be right or wrong for me to put this in my Miss List after I’ve only used it three times? My problem with this isn’t with the actual serum, although to be fair, I can’t really judge how good or bad it is after only using it for so few times. My issue with the Pepta-Bright is with the scent. Oh my lawd, it stinks. It’s extremely rare for me to encounter bad-smelling beauty products so imagine my horror when I applied this on my face and was hit with a godawful smell. It was too hard for me to get over so I just had to stop using it.

It’s Not Just About Beauty

Novels by Linwood Barclay
I’ve been spreading the love about Linwood Barclay’s novels all month so it’s only apt that they make my Hit List this month too. I’m a big fan of psychological thrillers and crime novels, and Barclay’s books have all of those and more. I read 4 of his novels in August and I’m currently reading his latest book, No Safe House. Even though I’m only about 56% into the book, I don’t find it as compelling as his earlier books. Those were much better.

Unlock Your Style by Nikki Parkinson
I love supporting a fellow blogger’s work and when Nikki’s book was finally launched, I made sure to pick it up the very next day. I may or may not have also done some rearrangement of books just to make sure hers get as much exposure as possible. Her styling tips are great but what I enjoyed most are her personal anecdotes and stories about her wardrobe story. She and Norlin are on the front cover of the book too and I’ve mentioned to Tim more than once, “I KNOW THESE PEOPLE ON THE COVER!”.

Sussan’s embellished statement necklace
I picked this up during a random drop-in at Sussan. When my eyes fell on this necklace, I fell in love with how sparkly and gorgeous it looked. Want to know something even better? I got this at 1/4 of the price and ended up paying less than $10 for this. Talk about a big-time score!

MUJI notebooks
I love stationery by MUJI and if you love notebooks as much as I do, I highly recommend that you check out the ones by MUJI. I have one that I use for blogging and it’s seriously one of the best quality papers I’ve ever written on. The paper is so smooth and easy to write on. As with all MUJI products, the notebooks aren’t fancy-looking but they’re just as easy to write on as Moleskine notebooks but at much better prices. My favourite notebook cost me less than $4.00.

August has been quite a book-heavy month and I’m glad because getting back into reading one book after another without stopping felt really good. Here’s hoping I’ll soldier on in September too.

What made your Hit and Miss List in August? Was there anything in particular that you really liked and/or disliked?

Disclaimer: Products marked with * were provided for editorial consideration.