Beauty | A Little Bit Of MAC, Benefit And Lush

Although I may have been having a slight quiet spell on my blog recently, I can't say the same for my shopping habits! I have still been avidly shopping to my hearts content and my poor bank balance's despair. In fact, this is like part 1 out of three separate hauls!!

However, one is a slight cheat. I had lots of points on my boots advantage card so decided to buy Benefit's Lolli Tint when it came out, after falling in love with the colour from swatches on many blogs - yes, I'm a follower and not a leader!

Next, I took a little trip into Lush as my skin has been going crazy at the moment and I wanted some organic products to help with my oil levels and these face masks were recommended to me along with a few free samples of moisturisers. I picked up Dark Angels and Mask of Magnaminty.

Finally, during my absence, MAC released their Fantasy of Flowers collection, and as they had many beautiful items, it would of been rude not to pick a few bits wouldn't?! Which is why Azalea In The Afternoon Blush and the Rose Lily Lipstick have ended up in my make-up collection. Opps!

Full reviews of each product shall be coming soon!

What have you been buying recently?!

Beauty | My First Delve Into Kiko

On a trip to London with my boyfriend we walked past the Kiko store and I couldn't believe my ears when he agreed to let me do some shopping in it AND accompany me which is where I picked up this beautiful palette and amazing eyeliner.

I've always been very drawn to Kiko's palette due to their gorgeous colours and pigmentation which I was incredibly pleased about with this palette too. Although Tyler had agreed to let me do a bit of shopping, I knew he meant 'but be quick!' with the eyes he gave me! And this palette satisfied my want to try Kiko cosmetics. At the till whilst paying, the assistant also asked if I wanted to purchase their eyeliner and I was sold as soon as he said it doesn't budge all day, and it really doesn't it's the best eyeliner I have ever bought!

The palette and eyeliner came from the Limited Edition Dark Heroine range and the palette is the 02 Street Taupe Variation and the eyeliner is in shade Panther Black. The collection has now ended, but I managed to still get them in the sale. The palette consists of 5 shimmer/glitter shadows and 1 matte shadow, which is perfect for a smokey look that I like to create. If you like mostly mattes then this palette isn't for you. I however, love glitter and shimmer shadows! As you can see from the swatches, the pigmentation of the shadows are brilliant, and worth their value. Both the palette and the liner have great staying power, and there is minimal fallout.

This beautiful palette is the start of a beautiful relationship with Kiko and I've already placed my next order!

Have you tried any products from Kiko yet?!

Beauty | My Latest Highstreet Shop

 If you're wondering that this a heck of a lot of make up then well... it is!.. But I did buy it in two shopping trips and not all in one go, I just thought that as I was late with doing the first haul I would put it all together to make one! Boots has just been my best friend and my bank accounts enemy recently, and yesterday I look at the amount of unused make up which you can probably see down the side of my blog on my Instagram thumbnails, and even I am slightly ashamed! But I'm going to make a more conscious effort to use my products up more! But I wonder how well I'll get with that.. As I'm writing this post, I have only just noticed and am now rather annoyed that the Natural Collection Lipstick which I've picked up is actually in Rose Bud and not in Pink Mallow like I wanted. Damn you testers in the wrong places and me not checking! Oh well, gives me another excuse to buy another lippie! But I haven't swatched it yet, so if you've swatched or own Rose Bud then let me know what you think of it! So these are all my beauty buys which I've brought recently!

- Soap and Glory Dr Spot Super Strength Break Out Clearing Jel | £8.00
- Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | £4.99
- No 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water for Normal/Oily Skin | £9.50
- Garnier Ultimate Beauty Oil Skin Perfector | £7.49 

- Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Rose Bud | £1.99
- L'Oreal Color Riche Collection Privee in Cheryl's Nude | £8.19
- L'Oreal Color Riche Collection Privee in Julianne's Nude | £8.19
- Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti | £7.99
- Revlon Colourburst Lacquer Balm in Demure | £7.99
- Revlon Colourburst Lacqure Balm in Vivacious | £7.99
- No 7 Natural Blush Tint Powder in Coral Flush | £8.00
- Seventeen Trio Eyeshadows in Metallic Toffee | £5.49
-L'Oreal Colour Riche Les Ombres Quad in Infiniment Bronze | £7.99
- Seventeen Superlash Mascara in Black | £6.99
-Bourjois Little Round Pot Intense Extrait Eyeshadow in 03 Sand Rose | £6.99

Beauty | The First 2014 Haul!

It may be awful, but when I'm feeling a bit down I got for a bit of a make up spending spree! Boots and Superdrug are both my bestfriends and also my enemies, as far as my bank account is concerned! I recently headed to both, and surprise, surprise brought things from both! So here's a little look at what I brought!

Firstly, a trip to Superdrug is never complete without buying something from MUA! MUA is like my holy grail beauty brand as their prices are incredibly affordable and the quality is really impressive for what you pay. I'm yet to come across a MUA product which I don't like. Their palettes have always been a favourite of mine, especially my much loved Heaven and Earth palette. I've also been dying to try out their new Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint and chose the colour 'Stay'. I also picked up their 'Smokin' palette and their 'Ever After' matte palette.

Next, I headed to Boots where I embarked upon a new adventure. I don't know how it's possible to go this long without one but I picked up my first Bourjois blush in shade 35 Rose d'Or - Golder Rose and it is the most beautiful colour ever! I also repurchased an ever favourite of the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent. This is currently one of my most used products and helping with any oilyness I've been having recently. I'm also always on the look out for that perfect mascara and after watching a video by Moree Milk, ages ago, where she swore by this Mascara as being the best I knew I had to give it a go. So that's how Number 17's Peep Show Mascara ended up in my basket! Finally, after hearing everyone endlessly rave about Barry M's matte Nail Paint I had to have some for myself, along with adding another Gelly Hi Shine to my collection. I brought the Gelly Hi Shine in shade 'Plum' and the matte Nail Paints in shades 'Crush' and 'Mocha'.

- MUA Smokin Palette - £6.00
- MUA Ever After Matte Palette - £4.00
- MUA Colourblast Eyeshadow Tint - £3.00
- Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Pressed Powder - £3.99
- 17 Peep Show Mascara - £6.29
- Bourjois Blush Rose d'Or Golden Rose - £7.99
- Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Plum - £3.99
- Barry M Matte Nail Paint Crush - £3.99
- Barry M Matte Nail Paint Mocha - £3.99

So that's what I've been buying recently, and reviews will be coming as soon as I possibly can find time to write them, as it's starting to get hectic again being back at uni!

What are your recent favourite purchases?!

Beauty | MUA Lip Liners

A little while ago I went on a massive MUA spending spree, and in that spree I brought (nearly) all of the MUA Lip Liners. I was never one for a lip liner, until my red lipstick started to smudge and bleed all down my face!

For £1.00 each of these Lip Liners are hardly bank breaking, and they're the perfect colours to what I use most of too! I brought the Lip Liners in Pink Me Up, Red Drama and Softly Lined. The final colour which is Brooding Plum I decided against as I don't have any dark lipsticks. (See I can be sensible with my purchasing sometimes!!)

Red Drama is a perfect red which will go with most lipsticks which I own and is a lot more matte compared to Pink Me Up and Softly Lined which are rather shimmery. I know quite a few people don't particularly like shimmer, but I have to say, I don't really have a preference between matte or shimmer, I tend to just go with the mood I'm in!

Finally, my next favourite thing about these lip liners, other than their price is their packaging. I adore how the lids of the liners are sharpeners too. I'm forever searching around for a sharpener when it comes to my eyeliner or lip liner and 9 times out of 10 I've lost it! So the design of these are just perfect!

As you can tell, I'm a massive fan of the MUA Lip Liners! Have you tried them yet?! 

Beauty | Beauty Pet Peeves

I'm back with another post from the September Beauty Blog Challenge, I realise I haven't posted everyday, but I try to and I'm also picking just my favourites from this challenge. So here are my pet peeves!

Image taken from www.weheartit.com - edited by myself.

1. Eyebrows - I don't get two things. The first.. Why girls like this 'scouse brow' look. YOUR EYEBROWS LOOK LIKE SLUGS! Why are you all so obsessed with having thick black bushy brows? And the second, why girls like their brows so thin that they draw them on with what appears to be a sharpie. Why don't people leave their brows alone?! What's wrong with the natural look?

2. Chipped Nail Polish - I can't stand it when my nails are chipped or other peoples. I think it looks horrible and messy, I get so self conscious of my nails when they're chipped. It also frustrates the life out of me when I've just spent ages painting my nails for me to go and smudge them. There's just nothing nicer than a nice clean manicure!

3. The Ompa Lumpa Look - I have to admit that I have committed this sin and worn a horrific shade of foundation and then not blended it down my neck, giving myself a lovely tide line. Girls, this is not a good look, please blend your foundation and find one which matches your skin!

4. Foundation Lips - Why oh why do girls do this?! Foundation for lipstick?! There are no more words...

5. Eyeliner Pens - I love eyeliner pens, I think they're great, practical and easy to use but what I cannot stand is how quickly they dry up, like within a matter of a few weeks from when they're open, and they're not all exactly cheap either. Why design a product which only lasts a few weeks?! I don't get it?!

So there you have my pet peeves, just little things which other people, myself or beauty products do to annoy me!

What are your beauty pet peeves?!

Beauty | Barry M Lipstick 146

Sorry, it had to be an iPhone selfie!

I am currently loving Barry M! In April I reviewed their lipstick in shade 140 which was a gorgeous glitter pink and seemed popular with my readers and with family and friends. Which then lead to me buying this beauty. Once I find something I like, I have to have it in all the colours. So this is the start of a beautiful Barry M Lipstick collection!...

Unfortunately Barry M didn't come up with very inventive names for their lipsticks and named them purely after numbers. However, I love their packaging so they score points for that. It's a very original, sleek and sophisticated packaging which I love. Yes, gimmicks can be fun, but sometimes they're too tacky and over powering. So call me boring, but I love their sleek look.

146, is a vibrant pink, yet again, a girl can never own too many! However, upon application it has more blue tonnes than I realised and expected, leaving me with a lovely fuchsia pink - not complaining! Some people say that they don't suit certain colours of they believe that certain colours don't suit certain skin colourings, but I believe that if you like it, then you wear it! No one has the right to say what does and doesn't work for you. What I love most about this lipstick is how creamy and moisturising it is along with the great pigmentation. I often suffer with dry lips, but with 146 I never worry, plus there are always lip balms on standby!

Finally, the last thing with Barry M got so right was the price. Each lipstick costs £4.49. What a bargain?! That's easily affordable to own one of each colour! I love this brand and find it hard to fault!

How do you rate Barry M?!  

Beauty | My Custom FashionistA Palette

Recently, there has been a lot of talk from MUA about how they've now taken over FashionistA and they were doing a deal where if you filled a palette with 4 shadows, bronzers or blushers then it would cost £7 rather than £10 and if you filled a palette with 6 then it would cost just £10 rather than £15 as a special offer. I've been wanting to try the custom palettes from FashionistA for ages, which is a brand which can only be brought in certain Superdrugs.

I had great fun choosing from all the eyeshadows, blushes and bronzers which FashionistA have to offer and I think I'll be going back to fill up more palettes too! From top left in a clockwise direction I brought Cafe Au Lait Eyeshadow, Glamour Girl Eyeshadow, Milan Blush, Barcelona Bronzer, Couture Eyeshadow and Bronze Eyeshadow. I choose four eyeshadows which I could use to create that perfect bronzed smokey eye which I love.

I choose four eyeshadows which I could use to create my perfect smokey eye which is perfect for the day time and also in the evenings by vamping it up with Couture, bottom right. The FashionistA eyeshadows also come in a range of mattes, shimmers, glitters and baked eyeshadows which personally, I think all are beautiful.

I also wanted to add a blush and bronzer to the palette to make the palette meet all my needs as it'll be great for taking on my travels and means I can pack lighter without having the faff around wondering if I've got everything as I'll know it's all in the one palette. Milan is a gorgeous pink, it's not too bright and doesn't make you look like a crazed clown it can be used to create a subtle look or applied heavier for nights out. Barcelona has to be my favourite from this palette as it's very similar to MAC's Soft and Gentle which I'm in love with. Although it's not exactly identical it does have it's similarities.

Swatches from the palette. Left to right: Cafe Au Lait, Glamour Girl, Bronze, Couture, Milan and Barcelona. As you can see they're all really pigmented, even the base colours like Cafe Au Lait. I've been using this palette a lot recently and have been finding it hard to put it down. In a few months I think I'll be going back to the FashionistA stand as I think they're great value for money, especially as you can create loads of different looks from the one palette.

What do you think about the FashionistA Palettes?

Rimmel Apocalips in Nova

Like many people, I have fallen completely and utterly in love with the Rimmel Apocalips, or the Show Offs for any of you US readers. I have 5 shades, but recently I haven't been able to stop wearing Nova. I know that these have been floating about in the beauty world for quite a while now, but not everyone has necessarily brought these as some may be put off by the boldness of colour or the fact that it's a Lip Lacquer which is the combination between a Lipstick and a Lipgloss, but for me, personally, I now prefer Lip Lacquers to the majority of lip products.

 

With Lipsticks I can sometimes find them to be too matte and drying on my lips and will always be reaching for a lip balm or be endlessly trying to find a lipgloss which is the perfect match. Then there's Lipglosses, and sometimes I just find them too sticky and they can be rather sheer. So when you're struggling to find the balance between both, go for a Lip Lacquer. They're glossy but not sticky and they hold the colour and pigment of a Lipstick, they're just fabulous!

Where would we be with without a few posey instagrammed photo? Oh the vanity!

 

Now Nova is a gorgeous pink, slightly barbiefied, yet it's not as bright and powerful as Apocaliptic which is more of a bright, bright fuchsia, but it's still a statement colour, and something which I'd be really happy to wear each day to add some colour to my neutral makeup. Sometimes with a Lipgloss I find that I'll need around two coats to get a good, bold, strong colour but with the Apocalips I literally will only use the one coat, and this will last me a good few hours too (and thats with a few glasses of wine on these sunny days in between!) I also love how easy the application of the wands are, sometimes I make such a mess when it comes to my lips, I never stay within the lines and it's about as neat as my 2 year old nieces colouring. But with these wands they're quite hard around the edge which allows you to get a neat and precise lip line. I also find that they make my lips look fuller, which I love because I have such teeny tiny lips!

Finally, the best part about the Apocalips is their price tag, £5.99 and they can be brought in Boots and Superdrug. I've also seen them available in Supermarkets such as Tescos and Asdas.

 

Have you tried any of the Rimmel Apocalips? What's your favourite colour?!

 

Topshop Cosmetics

You all know that I'm late with jumping onto the bandwagon with products and brands, always have been, and always will. After reading quite a few good reviews about Topshop makeup I knew I had to try some, so after my job interview at the weekend (WHICH I GOT, BY THE WAY GUYS, YAY ME!) I headed to Topshop to investigate their products, which is where I picked up a Lipstick and a blush. Can I just say, how cute is their packaging?! I didn't want to throw the boxes away, but decided I wasn't going to become the ultimate hoarder! The packaging is also very sturdy, so in that morning rush you can just throw these into you bag and not have to worry about them being damaged or any breakage or smashing of products.

I cannot get over how cute the packaging is, I love it! I opted for two of my favourite colours, a nice bright pink for lips and a peachy/coral for cheeks, these are two of my favourite summer trends at the moment! This is also the first cream blusher which I've owned in a long time. A few years back I owned one but threw it away after struggling to use it and never using it. But now, I think the formula's have of cream blushes have improved and my make up skills have also improved, (I'd like to think!) allowing me to apply cream blushes with ease. Phew.

This Lipstick immediately stuck out to me, but I think that's because I have a love of all things pink! I only wanted to get one Lipstick but I'm telling you, I could have brought them all! Well at least several...

I was pleasantly surprised at how creamy and moisturising these lipsticks are, which for someone with dry lips such as myself is always a bonus. The Lipstick also applies evenly, so if you're in a rush you don't have to worry about wasting time using a lip primer or brush, it just glides on effortlessly. It is also incredibly pigmented so you don't have to worry about building the colour. Although, obviously, the more you apply the more bold and vibrant the colour will be.

I thought I'd play it safe with this blusher as it can look really natural if you really blend it well, or you can use it for a more bold look. As it's name suggest I really have fallen head over heels in love with this product. I don't find it too creamy, and it blends really easily and you can either use your finger or a stippling brush for this. The best part about this product is although it's cream based once it's applied it becomes more powder based making it more easy to work with. Maybe it's because sometimes I can be lazy with my make up routine as to why this product is such a favourite, it's really quite effortless and perfect for beginners, it's certainly got me loving cream blushes again!

 

Have you tried any make up from the Topshop range yet?

 

My Soap & Glory Collection

I've been debating whether or not to write this post for a while now. If you follow me on Instagram then you'll know I post a lot on beauty products, especially my love for Soap & Glory and I get quite a few comments asking to see my whole collection so I thought I'd do it in a blogpost and break it down in products. This is in no means me bragging about what I have, it's what my followers and readers have asked to see, so please don't leave any negative comments about me 'showing off'

Soap & Glory are one of my favourite brands for skin and body care, I especially love using these products for a little pamper, especially as they smell so great! It's also a fairly inexpensive brand which is probably why I have so much, because it doesn't really break my bank balance, especially when it's all on offer at Boots with 3 for 2!

- Mist You Madly Flirty Floral Body Spray 250ml - £6.50

- Calm One, Calm All Bubblebath 500ml - £5.50

- Peaches And Clean Deep Cleansing Milk 200ml - £7.00

- Smoothie Star Body Lotion 500ml - £10.00

- Clean On Me Creamy Claryifying Shower Gel 500ml - £5.50

- Clean Mary Cleansing Milk

 - Clean Girls Creamy Body Wash 500ml - £6.00

 - Glow Job Daily Radiance Moisture Lotion 75ml - £9.00

- Great Shakes Hand Cream

- Sugar Crush Body Scrub 300ml - £8.00 

- Smootie Star Buttercream 300ml - £10.50

- Thick & Fast False Lash Mascara - £10.00

- Sexy Mother Pucker Clear Lip Plumping Gloss - £9.00

- Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss in Punchbowl - £9.00

- Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Gel 50ml - £2.50

- Heel Genius Foot Mask 125ml - £5.50

- The Righteous Butter Mini Travel Size Body Butter 50ml - £2.50

- The Righteous Butter Body Butter 300ml - £10.50

- Butter Yourself Smoothing Body Cream 300ml - £10.50

- Pulp Friction Foamy Fruity Bodyscrub 250ml - £8.00

 - Catch A Wrinkle In Time Daily Moisturiser 50ml - £11.00

- Hand Food Non-Greasy Hydrating Hand Cream 125ml - £5.00 

 - Glam-A-Lot Soft & Sexy Body Spray 250ml - £6.50

- Girligo Body Moisturising Mist 250ml - £6.50

 So there you have my Soap & Glory collection. For some of the products there will be reviews coming soon, if there is something which you specifically want to see then leave me a comment! I don't think I'll ever stop buying and adding to my collection, I'm addicted to the smell and the quality of the products. The cute, quirky packaging is just a bonus!

Do you have a Soap & Glory obsession too?!