Saturday 31 May 2014

May Favourites


Hello lovelies!

I have FINALLY found some time to be able to share with you some of my favourite products of this month. April and May I have been very naughty for hauling beauty...

Naked Palette - This is something I never had the desire for because I have the Naked 2 & 3 palettes and thought the warmer tones would not suit me very well. How wrong I was! After my boyfriend insisted on getting me it because it frustrated him that I did not have a complete collection (which benefits me), we got this from Debenhams. I just love this so much more than I thought I would and it pips the Naked 2 palette to the post for my No2 loved palette (behind Naked 3).

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint (100 Porcelain) - I really struggle to find foundations I love as I hate anything cakey or something that feels heavy on my face. After reading some reviews on this I managed to pick it up from my local Sainsbury's for £7 (which is a bargain for this foundation). This is one of the best foundations I own as it is light coverage and you cannot feel it on your skin once it is blended in. This will definitely be repurchased.

Collection 200 Lasting Perfection Concealer (1 Fair) - I found this so hard to track down in Nottingham as the lightest shade was sold out everywhere when I tried to find it. I managed to get it from a Boots that had less foot traffic and it is understandable why this is so popular. It hides dark circles, spots AND blends well. I won't review this full as their are hundreds of reviews about this and they and mostly glowing.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick (Piccadilly Pink) - I find this in Poundland and decided 'why not?' for £1. I already owned some Moisture Renew lipsticks from Rimmel and they were just gorgeous. This one is no different. A lovely, dark pink that is somewhat natural.

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original) - I love this stuff. It keeps my eyeshadow in place all day without creasing. I luckily picked this up from Cohorted.co.uk when it was in one of their cohorts and got it for about £5 cheaper than normal. Well worth the money and I have barely made a dent in it.

Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner - This is the perfect eyeliner of all time. I use this all the time but I felt this needed to be a monthly favourite because I still appreciate its quality. A must have liquid eyeliner.

Dainty Doll Blusher (002 My Girl) - I am a little disappointed this range has been discontinued but with it's original prices (think the same price you would pay for MAC or Benefit), it was a little bit of a rip off. The line then went into liquidation and the products were sold far cheaper and then became quite popular. The quality of this blush is amazing and the right shade for my pale skin tone. I wish I had picked more of these up before they had sold out.

What are your monthly favourites?


Sunday 4 May 2014

April/May Hauling

Hello lovelies.

Well, I feel I have been a little naughty with the spending the last few weeks and my cosmetics selection has expanded so much. My excuse it that I need waterproof stuff for going on holiday but it has not ALL been geared towards packing for my holiday...

Boots: 3 for 2


A few weeks ago I thought I would give myself a little treat for Easter. I picked up the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (as you can see, my hands have been greasy while I've used it making it look more 'well loved'), Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold and Bourjois Cream Blush in 03 Rose Tender.

I had had my eye on the Bourjois Cream Blush for a while ever since I managed to get my mitts on a stippling brush. A little goes a long why with this so it is no surprise that it is a 2.5g pot.

The Color Tattoo is something I wanted for my holiday. I have been looking for make-up I can wear in the pool without it smearing and this seemed to fit the bill. I chose Pink Gold as it looked like the cream version of 'Burnout' in my Naked 3 palette.

Sainsbury's and Poundland


This is a small stash I gathered rather recently from the Poundland in Kings Lynn and the Sainsbury's in Nottingham.

The Collection 2000 foundation came from Poundland and my goodness, I wished I had purchased more! For my light skin tone, it is try to it's name - it does adapt to your skin tone. I have been wearing this for a few days now and it makes my skin really flawless. Its not too heavy and the texture is light. This may not be for you if you like something more heavy duty but I still cannot believe this is streets ahead of my L'Oreal True Match foundation. If I can pick up more next week I definitely will.
I also managed to find a Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 'Piccadilly Pink' in Poundland too. This has a great formula and a great texture. A nice everyday lipstick.

Sainsbury's also managed to have a few bargains too. I picked up a Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in 02 Peach for £3.49 instead of about £6.49. I had been on the look out for a peach blusher as the pink blushers that grace my bad can be a little too cool for my eye make-up. This is the perfect colour and I didn't have to shell out loads of money for it either!
Lastly from Sainsbury's is Maybelline's Great Lash Waterproof Mascara. I had heard good things about this mascara and for £3.99 I thought I would give this a go. I have tried this today and it was better than I expected. It separates and lengthens lashes really well despite having a smaller than usual brush. I would definitely repurchase it again for a drugstore mascara. 

Beauty Outlet


I went a bit crazy buying face powders as I have been trying to find some decent priced ones instead of my usual Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder. Admittedly, the Becca Loose Powder in 'Ginger' is a repurchase as it is a fantastic loose powder and this particular shade seems to sell out quick. This shade was the last on the shelf and I only found it through foraging through other shades in the shop! This cost £6.99.
The L'Oreal powder must be an import as it is written in French. I had been eyeing up the True Match powders for a while but it was too expensive usually. I picked up the shade  C1 Rose Ivory and it is fantastic. It is super soft and applies well.
I also picked up a HD Brows powder foundation. It was a bargain at £5.99. The texture is smooth and it even comes with a lovely mirror. The problem? The shade '2' is a little orange for my cooler toned complexion. It is usable but I will probably give this too my Mum as she has a less pink complexion.

Debenhams and Cohorted


After trying out the potion samples that came with the Naked 3, I knew I had to get the full size bottle. When I saw that Cohorted.co.uk were doing it for one of their cohorts I immediately signed up. Luckily, it sold out meaning that everyone in the Cohort got it for £11.20 rather than £16. I was a little surprised when it arrived through the post as two travel sized potions rather than one. However, I am not complaining as it means that I get an extra 1ml of potion than if I had one full size.

Today was a little killer in Debenhams. I had intended to go in their only to by a bikini for my holiday as they had 20% off all swimwear. I made the mistake of walking through the beauty department where my boyfriend offered to by me the original Naked palette (because having the 2nd and 3rd one without the 1st was irritating him more than me!). Then because they had an offer on where if you bought an award winner item (the Naked palette) and other item from beauty or fragrance meant getting another £10 off. So naturally, I had to take advantage of the offer and settled for a beloved Dior Diorshow mascara which I have previously had samples of and LOVED. Nothing comes close to it.

As you can see with the Naked Palette, it has new packaging. No mini sized primer potion now. Just the samples you get with the Naked 3. Tut tut, Urban Decay!

Soap and Glory - 3 for 2


After Christmas, I decided to purchase some Soap and Glory products as a little treat. Something I fell head-over-heals in love with is their scrubs. I am currently half way through my original Sugar Crush scrub and I absolutely adore it. So today I decided to extend my range and also purchase Flake Away and Breakfast Scrub. I seriously cannot wait to try these. Nothing comes close to Soap and Glory scrubs.

Finally: the Fragrance Direct Prize!


I was a very lucky lady last weekend and won the 'Handbag Heros' competition being run on Fragrance Direct's Facebook page. I took a snap and uploaded it to them thinking it was a little bit of fun and to my delight I won their prize. I was so happy as I never usually win anything.

They sent me:
Katy Perry Killer Queen Oh So Sheer 30ml
Elizabeth Arden Double Density Mascara
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Hand Cream 30ml
HD Brows Bronzer 2

The perfume and the hand cream are definitely things I shall be keeping and possibly be repurchasing. I have already tried the Elizabeth Arden mascara before and it did little for my lashes so I have promised this to my Grandma. The bronzer, unfortunately, I cannot use because I am as pale as a ghost and it looks too dark for my complexion. So this is possibly going to be re-homed to my boyfriend's sister who is a lot darker than myself.

As you can see, I have had a good few weeks of goods this spring!

What have you been hauling recently?