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

My new favourite mascara combo!

I love the pink and gold accents on the packaging
- which is usually just black all over!

On my last trip to Superdrug, I picked up a tube of Max Factor's False Lash Effect mascara.  Over the last couple of weeks I've absolutely fallen in love with the beautiful fluttery lashes it gives - the picture below is after almost 12 hours of wear, and you can still see the curl!  It's not massively volumising unless you start to build it up, which I actually rather like (as most of the time I like to keep my makeup natural looking!) but as I said before it really does hold the curl despite the fact it isn't the waterproof version.  It doesn't crumble or smudge at all, even with my super watery eyes and at the end of the day it washes off nicely with my usual cleansing oil.

After using the dinky little wand on Benefit's Roller Lash it did take a while to get used to the mahoossive wand on Max Factor's - but I quickly got the hang of it and now really appreciate how the larger wand allows for faster and easier application.  I do use a separate mascara for my lower lashes though (Clinique's Bottom Lash Mascara), as even with the smallest of regular mascara wands I tend to make a mess!  

Overall, I'm really pleased I picked this one up and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting super long curly lashes that are still natural looking.

xxx

Huge drugstore makeup haul!

This time last week, I decided I'd head into town for a little shopping pick-me-up.  And ended up going a little bonkers in the aisles of Boots and Superdrug!  I thought It'd be fun to share them with you, as I don't often purchase this many items in one go - oops...

It's been at least a couple of months since I purchased any lip products, and since I absolutely love the Revlon Balm Stain in 'Honey' I thought I'd try out some other shades from the range.  In a post last week I mentioned I had a gap in my lipstick stash for a bright pink and an orange lip colour - so when I was in Boots I picked out 'Lovesick' and 'Rendezvous'.  They both look gorgeous, so fingers crossed the wear time is just as good as 'Honey'!  I also happened to wander past the Barry M stand, and I ended up grabbing a couple of their polishes - who can resist, right?  'Eat my dust' is a gorgeous pale, pastel blue that pulls a tiny bit lilac, and it's from their Speedy Quick Dry range which I was curious to try.  'Damson' is the most stunning bright blue shade, from the Gelly Hi-Shine range (which I've been super impressed with before).  Plus, they were buy one get one half price, so it was a win-win situation!

In Superdrug, there's also a 3 for 2 on currently but across all brands.  I'd heard a lot about the Max Factor Creme Puff blushes, and how they have a very similar glow-y effect to the Hourglass ones but at a fraction of the price.  Since I love Rimmel 'Santa Rose' as it's the perfect natural blush for my skintone, I thought I'd give '10 Nude Mauve' a go - which is very similar but adds a little more dimension to the face as it's not totally matte (I've already tried this out aswell, and it's super soft with very little fallout so applies like a dream!)  I also decided to try out Rimmel's (relatively new) foundation, which is the Nude version of their Lasting Finish formulation.  As I have a tiny bit more colour in my skin post-holiday, I think '010 Light Porcelain' should be a pretty good shade match - thankyou drugstore brands for finally catering to us super pale people!  Finally, I knew that my Benefit Roller Lash was on it's last legs so I was on the market for a new mascara.  In the end, the lovely counter staff pointed out that Max Factor's False Lash Effect had several pounds off, making it cheaper than the other two products which meant I got it for free!  I'd seen Suzie from Hello October talk about this, and since her lashes always look amazing I thought it was definitely worth a go.  Plus, the packaging is super pretty (I think part of the profits go to the Marie Curie trust, which is awesome too).

And just as a little add on at the end, whilst I was in Wilko (getting ice cube trays if you must know!) I stopped off at the Essence stand and chose one of their Longlasting Lipsticks in the shade '01 Coral Calling' It's a lovely, bright peachy coral and was only a couple of pounds.  It has a similar scent to their lipliners - slightly chemically woody cherry but isn't strong at all (or that offensive to be honest!)

xxx

Speedy review: Benefit's Roller Lash mascara

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Elle on the way back from the station.  It came with a dinky little tube of Benefit's new mascara, and since it just so happened that my current tube was drying up I thought I'd give this one a go!

Benefit Roller Lash mascara £19.50, Boots

Firstly, I must say that I'm a big fan of the sleek, skinny brush.  I'm always prone to smearing mascara all over the place if the brush is too chunky, so I was already feeling optimistic...

Above: before mascara
Below: after applying Roller Lash

I don't particularly find that the bristles separate very well though, as the wand tends to pick up a lot of product.  Most days, I've had to comb through afterwards to de-clogg my lashes a bit.  However, the amount of impact you get from a couple of swipes of the brush is amazing.  Having curled my lashes, Roller Lash somehow manages to curl them up even more...and best of all, the curl sticks around all day long!  There also isn't the issue of smudging or crumbling, and I've found it a heck of a lot easier to remove than it's sister product They're Real.  All in all, I'm not sure if I'd pay up for a full tube of this at the moment as high end mascaras are a bit out of my budget, but I'm going to keep on using this one and see how it goes!


xxx

Late to the party with: Benefit 'They're Real'

I'm possibly the last person ever to try this mascara!
(It was £9.99 for 4g, so pricier than the full size per gram but not by much.)

A few weeks ago, I mentioned having picked this product up as part of my pre-Uni shopping spree.  My beloved Clinique mascara (name totally forgotten and left at home - shall find out!) was on it's last legs and most likely wouldn't last the next twelve weeks, so I was on the hunt for a new one to test out and this had been on my list for yonks.  As I said in my previous post, I can't really justify purchasing the full size of a pricier mascara as they all tend to dry out after a few months regardless of whether they're super fancy or super duper cheap - so when I saw this mini size of 'They're Real' on the shelves of my local Boots I went and chucked it in my basket!

To be thoroughly honest, I can't really say that I have tested this out for long enough to give a concrete opinion as most mascaras tend to improve over time (until a certain point where they've gotten too gooey) but I managed to snap a decent picture of my lashes with just this mascara so thought I'd give my impression of it from using it over the last few days.

Pre-makeup application...

And the end product, with only mascara on the eyes.

The formula and brush took a little getting used to - there was quite a bit of Bioderma involved the first morning I slapped this on and managed to get it all over my eyelids!  The wand itself is made up of lots of very fine plastic bristles and is quite large, which is new for me (the last few mascaras I have used had either fibre bristles or plastic ones with a small thin applicator).  The problem you get with a lot of brand new mascaras is that as the formula is so wet your lashes will stick together at the slightest brush unless you let them dry for a while.  Here, I ended up having to brush through my lashes post mascara application and then apply another coat once the first had dried.  This worked pretty well I think - the end effect is quite fluttery with mostly length and not much volume added.  The kind-of spiky end of the wand also means you can get at the corners easily, I just wish the whole thing was a smidgeon smaller!  It also works really nicely on the bottom lashes, giving you doll-eyes without too much of a panda eye effect.

The really great thing about this though (which I wasn't expecting!) is that it is seriously waterproof.  This first week at Uni has been filled with blood, sweat and tears (I jest, I jest - no blood honest) and it has stayed put without flaking for twelve hours straight - sometimes longer.  At night to remove it I have to use a cotton pad soaked with Bioderma after my Body Shop Cleansing Oil to make sure I get it all off.  You do feel it on your lashes and getting it off properly is a step you do not want to miss!

So far, if 'They're Real' went missing I wouldn't dash out to repurchase - but I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks and keep you posted!

xxx