What Emily Did Next.: October favourites

October has absolutely flown by, and with it have come a flurry of new and exciting products. As well as my Autumn essentials that have helped me to overcome my dry skin and hair problems, I have collected a whole range of beauty bits that have made it into my basket of October favourites.

First up is a little collection that I have been obsessed with for some time now. The L'Oreal skin perfection range is a new collection that promises to improve your complexion and reveal smoother, brighter looking skin. As someone who suffers regularly from breakouts and dull skin this is something I am constantly on the lookout for. And more often than not I find I am disappointed with the results. After using the L'Oreal skin perfection purifying micellar solution and being amazed with the results (you can read the full review here) I decided to team it with a few of it's siblings. I went for the L'Oreal velvety soft toner and Radiance revealing exfoliator. Using the micellar solution by itself already made my skin feel soft and silky, but teaming it with these two products improved it tenfold! The toner has a very thick texture, unlike anything I normally use and because of this it feels like it's working even harder to tighten and improve your complexion. This toner not only makes my skin feel cleaner but it seems to prevent it becoming greasy through the day. I tend to use this twice a day and rather than drying my skin out or making me feel like I've had a bad facelift, it gives a great base for my make up. The radiance revealing exfoliator enhances this effect further by acting as a hybrid of a face wash and scrub (I do love a scrub!) It has a gloopy texture with lots of little grains running through it which leave you feeling exfolitaed and baby soft! The smell of this face wash is amazing, so apricoty and fresh, and it easily washes away leaving a fantastic aroma behind it. I found once I had been using this exfoliator for a week or so little spots started to pop up on my cheeks and forehead, which is unusual as I'm usually a spotty chin kind of girl. However after pursuing for another week or so these all disappeared, and brighter looking skin was revealed. Well worth pursuing with!

Another drugstore treat I picked up this month that's well worth a twirl is the Superdrug Aloe Vera mud mask. This product is not only a bargain at £2.59 (!) but is designed to be sensitive-skin friendly. I sometimes find when I use facemasks that my skin has a complete meltdown the next day, howeveR with this my skin felt cleansed but not purged enough to bring all the dirt to the surface. The texture provides good coverage, and doesn't make a huge mess on application, because lets face it the last thing you want on a Sunday evening is to be cleaning up face mask. This is a very refreshing face mask for anyone who's skin needs a little pick me up!

Seeing as we're coming up to Christmas season (sorry, it had to be said) it only seemed right that I added a few splashes of red to my appearance this month. I was really intrigued by the new Barry M Matte polish, so on a recent Boots trip I picked up one in Burgundy Crush. Despite a few wobbles I was really impressed with the finished product once it was on my nails. The colour is gorgeous and the matte finish makes the varnish look very sophisticated. As someone who likes a bit of gloss I wasn't sure i would like the lack of shine, but the polish has a very unique look which is ideal for the darker Autumn days. Last but not least is a beauty product I've read dozens of reviews on, the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick. I picked this up as I needed a deep red lipstick for a party and had a very tight budget. When i tested this out at the counter I was struck by the similarities it had to the MAC lipstick formula. As well as having a similar pigmentation, some of the colours were almost identical. I went for 'Diva Red', a dark maroon tone, very similar to Mac's Ruby Woo. The texture is very creamy and an excellent quality for a drugstore lipstick. Unlike some cheaper lipsticks which can lack coverage, the colour completely covers your lips, and doesn't highlight any dry skin or chapped areas that you may have. In fact it provides great moisture for your lips, and seems to hydrate them consistently as you wear. The colour lasts fantastically and doesn't need constant re-application through the evening. This is a definite make up essential for the Christmas period, and I will certainly be purchasing this in a few more colours.