A higher end makeup haul...

I'd like to start off by saying that don't worry, nope, I didn't purchase all this in one go!  It's a collective haul from the last month or so, as I didn't feel that every item warranted an individual post but I still thought it'd be nice to share them with you all...

The first thing I picked up was Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which is a super dry, high coverage concealer.  It was super pricey, but I've actually gotten quite a bit of use out of it on those no-makeup days where I'd still like a bit of coverage on any scars or blemishes.  It's also great used over foundation, but I've found it's best to powder first and then layer up or you can start to move stuff around a bit!  The best thing is that the lighter shade (I've got the lightest palette, SC-1 if anyone's interested) is actually lighter than my skintone!  It's also yellow toned, so does the redness-cancelling job really well.  The darker shade (which annoyingly is the one you get more of) is pinker toned and is useful to mix in with the other one for when it's just too light.  I use a tiny flat brush to apply it with, and the stiffer bristles mean you can really pack on the product without it looking cakey.  Overall, I'm actually really glad I've got this in my stash, as it covers so much better that liquid concealer!  You also get almost 6 grams of product, and considering how little you need to use it's going to last ages!

Next up was the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara, which is super handy for when you want you lower lashes to look on point.  I do find it a bit of a faff to use though, and often can't be bothered so I might pass it onto my Mum so that it doesn't dry up before it's used up!  I love the cute silver design on the tube, which is probably part of why I was suckered in - but I do think it'd be worth the money if you tend to make a big mess with larger mascara wands.

Soon after, I splurged on my first Burberry Eyeshadow.  I'd been eyeing them up for a while, but they never had the shade I wanted in stock, and then when we actually passed a counter in duty free we had to rush to catch our plane and I didn't have time to stop, sadtimes.  But I got my paws on one eventually, and I'm super happy with it!  I've actually done a proper review of it, which should be the next post up here!

Finally, last week I saw that Escentual had a sale on.  I was picking up some of my usual bits and bobs and then on a whim decided to treat myself to a new lipstick!  I'd been really good up until then, and had been on a bit of a lip product ban but 20 percent off was a too good offer to miss!  I picked out one of the Rouge Dior Lipsticks in the shade 'Rose Bonheur' as I'd heard good things about the range online.  It's the perfect my lips but better shade for me, and although it's quite sheer the colour sticks around for a decent amount of time with no awkward fading.  The scent is also lovely - a more sophisticated version of love hearts sweets!  One that goes with everything, and since I don't have a lot of nude lip products I didn't feel to guilty about picking it up!


xxx

Unboxing last week's splurging spree...

Last week - specifically on the evening of results day, I went a little nuts with the online shopping.  I've already chatted about what I purchased in this post (where I get slightly emosh towards the end if you're into that stuff!).  But I also promised to update you when they'd all arrived...so here they all are!

First to arrive was the Sleek blush.  It's everything I thought it would be - the perfect peachy coral that blends in seamlessly with my skintone.  My only gripe with it is the fact that its not the softest blush out there, but it leaves a lovely sheen to the skin.  Also, highly bargainous at a mere £3.89 (including 1st Class delivery!)

Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach'
There's something about it that reminds me of Clinique's 'Peach Pop' blusher,
I shall have to swatch them side by side and get back to you on that one.
Also, the name.  You know by now that anything peach related gets a thumbs-up
from me!

Second up is the Laura Mercier palette.  (I must say that I was very impressed with Space.nk's customer service before I tell you all about what happened - they got back to me within the hour and were absolutely lovely.)
Anyway, I opened the box up like a kid would at Christmas and encountered a golden brown, glittery mess...

Understandingly, I was somewhat upset!  In hindsight though, it was rather funny...
all that gold shimmer went everywhere like a poof of icing sugar ahaha!

Space.nk sent out a brand new palette free of charge, and told me to keep the old one.  I decided to try to clean it up as best I could and give the eyeshadows and brushes to my mum (as I knew she would love the shade 'African Violet' in particular.)  I did end up with hands like one of those Bond girls from Goldfinger, but I thought it was a shame to not attempt to salvage at least some of such a beautiful palette!  The replacement arrived in perfect condition, and I am absolutely in love.  I've been using them over the top of my favourite No 7 shadow stick in 'Cool Mink', in particular the shade 'Sable' all over the lid and 'African Violet' in the crease - I'm a purple shadow convert!  The cake eyeliner in 'Ground Espresso' is a little bit of a faff to apply, but oh boy is it worth the extra effort - using it wet means it sticks around all day long.  I could go on and on, but I think you can tell I'm happy with my purchase!

The packaging, although rather bulky feels sturdy (and is oh-so-glamorous!)
Also, can I just talk about the brushes?!  Especially the pony-tail brush - so so soft.

Top row L-R: Morning Dew, Coffee Ground, African Violet, Ballerina Pink
Bottom row L-R: Crystal Beige, Sable, Dusk, Deep Night

I have yet to use the bronzer for its intended purpose, as it's a
little too dark for my skin.  The blushes though - oh my.
Underneath, is the cake liner in Ground Espresso (applied wet)
and the pencil liner which literally stayed on for a shower and a day!

Last of all was the scarf from Kate Moss' Topshop collection.  It's a lot more of a dark cream, almost with a little green mixed in than it looks on the website - but looks perfect with a plain grey tee and jeans.  And although it's rather thin and gauzy, it works a treat at keeping the wind off your neck if the weather is a bit chilly!

And here it is, in natural light.  The colours are pretty much true to
 life here - I love the way the light blue pops through!

xxx

What happened post results...oops!

Yesterday, results rolled around and I spent most of the day grinning like a loon.  It was such a relief to know I'd got the grades for uni - waiting all summer is rather stressful (and it's always at the back of your mind!)

Regardless, the wait was worth it and I'm already firing up the uni shopping lists (hell yeah!)
I'll probably chat about the things I'm getting for uni when it's closer to the time (or do a review once I've used them a while), but I thought I'd share the couple of little 'present to self' items I picked up last night...

It's listed as £10, but here's
the 10% off code I used:
000110204242314

(N.B: Since they're all online purchases, I'll do some proper little reviews of them once they've arrived.  Hopefully all the offers will still be on!)



Kate Moss for Topshop scarf £9 originally £45 

I already tweeted earlier this week that I'd popped one in my basket - but decided to hold off until Thursday to see if it would be a 'congratulations' or 'commiserations' purchase.
It's a gorgeous vintage-y coloured lightweight scarf, that I feel will mute down any outfit you pair it with.  This should be great to take brightly coloured summer clothes through into autumn, and it was such a bargain.  It's made of a polyester chiffon, not silk - but definitely worth the money.  And c'mon, how could you resist an 80% discount?!

Sadly, I saw this go out of stock
 as I was typing up this post - but
 there's still a few available on ebay
 for about the same price.

Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe for Eyes and Cheeks £30 originally £78 (holy moly!)

This was more than a little bit of a splurge.  It's one of those things that you don't really need, but is such good value that you have to snap it up!  I was taken in though by the eyeshadow shades - as I'm in love with cool toned shadows (and nearly all of these fell in that category!)  The brushes also get great reviews, and I'm hoping this will be a fab option for when I'm travelling back and forth from uni and don't want to carry much.  Overall, you get 8 shadows and 3 blush/bronzer shades, 3 brushes (one double ended) and 3 liners (plus a pencil form brown liner!) - working out at about £1.50 per 'item' :O




Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach' £3.89 

I'd been hankering after an orange toned blush for a while, and was on the verge of purchasing Stila's 'Gladiola'.  I wasn't quite sure though that it would suit, so was looking for a more budget-friendly option to try out.  I was also still kicking myself for not picking up a similar shade at the Essence counter (mini haul to come there) when I was in Wilko, so really was searching for something around the £3-4 mark.  Then this morning, I saw a post featuring Sleek's blush in 'Life's a Peach' and though why not give it a go?  I got it from Ebay as it was about 50p cheaper than Boots (and I was also feeling stingy after the aforementioned Space.nk accident) - fingers crossed it arrives soon!



There we go.  That's my little results day haul complete.  Of course, there's more to life than chucking stuff in your shopping basket - this past summer has for sure been a special time to spend with family and friends.  It's really starting to hit home how much I'll miss them, and it's times like these where you're all celebrating together that you realise how much you love them all and are so grateful for everything *cries a bit*.

But anyway, enough of the emosh-ness!  There's going to be a lot of stuff to do over the next few weeks, and it's all going to get very busy very quickly - but I can't wait for it all to start!!
Here's to the next year :D

xxx