New York Haul

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! Back in April I made a trip to New York for my mum's 50th, a surprise trip her boyfriend had been planning for her for months. It was incredible with all kinds of amazing experiences from a helicopter ride above the city, visiting Ground Zero (something I'd wanted to see for a while) and of course, all the shops filled with goodies we can't get in the UK! I haven't posted in an extremely long time, mainly due to focusing solely on getting my degree but now that I have obtained my 2:1 I'm back to blogging more regularly which I'm so happy about.

I did end up spending quite a bit in New York but trust me, this was me holding back. There were so many amazing brands and products I really had to narrow it down to the wishlist I'd had of things I really wanted to try. Here's what made the cut!

Can you tell I'm a foundation junkie?! Base products are definitely by far my favourite makeup product to collect and I'm constantly on the hunt for the 'perfect' foundation. Starting with the Tarte Clay Full Coverage Foundation, this was something I had to pick up after seeing countless positive reviews online. It is a lovely foundation, like it says on the packaging it offers great coverage whilst appearing light on the skin and not too matte. Really love this for covering up redness.

The next foundation was the first of my repurchases, the MakeUpForever HD Foundation which is my all time favourite base for nights out. It really does live up to it's title as in photos this makes my skin look flawless without an imperfection in sight. I don't love it for the daytime as it can look a little heavy but trust me, if you want something for photo or evening use, this is a great pick. My second repurchase was the Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 Foundation. Unfortunately, I picked up a shade darker than my usual colour so I'm unable to wear this unless I mix it with something lighter but the foundation itself it great for long lasting staying power and good coverage without looking too heavy.

Finally, I went for another Tarte favourite, the Tarte Clay Airbrush Foundation which is a powder foundation. I have to say, I'm undecided on this one. It's definitely one for days where my skin is looking a look less red which isn't much at the moment and I don't find the staying power great either. A bit of a let down but good for those who don't require as much coverage and have more normal skintypes.

Stepping away from foundations, I also picked up the extremely hyped GlamGlow Mud Mask. I have to say, for something so eye-wateringly expensive I really expected more from this. It is a good face mask but I wouldn't say it's any better than cheaper ones I've found at clearing my pores. If you have the money to spend it might be worth a try but I wouldn't buy this again. Another hyped product I purchased was the Fresh Brown Sugar Perfume. I love how America sells the rollerball perfumes, so convenient, I got far too excited over this! This perfume smells so amazing, as the brand would suggest it's a really fresh scent, slightly sweet but also citrusy. If you get a chance to smell this I definitely would, I'm addicted to it.

Next was a recommendation from a friend, the Clinique All About Eyes Serum. This stuff is my saviour against my puffy, dark circle eyes in conjunction with my Bobbi Brown Corrector as the rollerball applicator and product combined really cool and depuff my eye area. I didn't realise this before going but Clinique is SO much cheaper in the US so I'd recommend grabbing some of their stuff over there if you can.

Finally, I was given this Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Sophia which is effectively a lip plumping gloss. Firstly, the colour is so gorgeous. It's similar to my natural lip colour but with a really subtle shimmer to it and a sheen that makes my lips appear lighter. I'm not sure it massively plumps my lips but I really love the staying power and colour of this gloss, not bad at all for a freebie!

The only hair product I picked up was another thing I slightly regret, the It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product. I'll start by saying it's not that this doesn't work, it does detangle and fulfill the uses listed on the bottle however I CANNOT stand the smell of this at all, it's so horrible! I have other products that do a similar job so I wouldn't buy this again, it was pretty expensive and I'd probably rather by something that has a nicer scent if it will be noticeable on my hair for days like this was.

Lastly, I bought a Victoria's Secret Body Spray in Passion Struck. I really wish these were more accessible in the UK as they are so lovely. This scent in particular contains notes of Fugi Apple and Vanilla Orchid, making it a really fresh fruity, sweet fragrance that I haven't stopped wearing!

So that's my New York Haul, have you tried any of these? I'd love to know what you all thought of the same products!

Big Boots/Online Haul!

Hi everyone! So I hadn't been shopping in quite a while which led to me going a bit crazy for some products I'd had my eye on as well as well as a few things I really didn't need. I'll start with all the things from Boots, beginning with the face products.

Loreal Lumi Magique Primer (£9.99) - I really love to use a radiance primer for all the normal areas of skin (everywhere but my nose) to brighten my face and even out redness and after hearing good things about this I thought I'd give it a go. It was quite expensive for a smallish amount but I do really like it. It leaves my skin looking glowy but not shiny and is quite a good dupe in terms of effect for the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer.

Smashbox Primer Try Me Kit (£19) - I'd had my eye on this kit for a while as Smashbox has always been a brand that's interested me and I hadn't tried anything from them before. It includes three mini's of their photo finish oil-free primer, their lid primer and their undereye primer. I haven't used them long enough to give a real opinion but i'm excited to try them out.

Max Factor Whipped Creme Foundation (RRP £9.99) - I hadn't heard anything about this on any blogs at all but after looking at it's unique texture I really wanted to give it a go. Straight off this stuff is amazing! I've used it most days since owning it and cannot get enough. I'm happy to do a full review if people are interested as it's quickly become a favourite of mine. I don't remember the exact price as I got this on offer in Boots but it's definitely under £9.99 and worth every penny.

17 On The Spot Foundation (£6.99) - Although I don't actually suffer from spots I thought I'd give this a go as the name suggests it would probably be good for the oily patches of skin I have. I've used this a few times and I'd say it's a really nice everyday foundation which lasts pretty well but it doesn't quite beat the Max Factor for me.

Bourjois Bronzing Primer £9.99 - This was definitely a total blogger influenced purchase. I've used it a couple of times now and although I like it I have to say, I don't love it. It's not that it's not a good product but I personally find it a lot more effort to use cream products than I do powder contours. I will continue to use it but so far I may be a bit too lazy to incorporate it into my everyday routine!

Bourjois 24 Hour Cream Eyeshadow in Gold (£6.99) - I'd seen a lot about these on blogs and was really torn between which colour to choose but in the end I went with this one. Again, I'm not sure if i'm totally sold on this yet. It's a nice product but I find it takes a lot of building up to get the colour to show which is either the product or just the shade I chose.. Please let me know if this is the case!

Collection Black Velvet Eyeshadow (£2.19) - I really wanted a nice matte black to use for doing a smokey eye and this one is really great. It's super pigmented and applies really nicely. 

Rimmel ScandalEyes Flex Mascara - I got this as a freebie for buying other Rimmel products and I'm not that impressed with it.. It's a pretty average mascara but it's not really the kind of brush or formula I usually go for so I wouldn't go out and purchase it.

Maybelline Brow Drama (£4.49) - I'm not overly impressed with this at all. Although it does a nice job of setting my brows this is in no way the quick fix to great brows. The colour pay off is pretty much non existant so i've been using it as a finishing set which it's worked much better for. I'm just disappointed that it doesn't have more of a pigment to it.

Revlon Super Lusterous Lipsticks in Kiss Me Coral and Berry Couture (£7.49) - Revlon Lipsticks have an amazing texture and finish to them and definitely rival Rimmel as my favourite drugstore lipstick brand. The colours are pretty self explanatory with Kiss Me Coral being a nice peachy coral nude shade and Berry Couture being more of a purpley pink shade perfect for Autumn.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipsticks in Glam Plum Fulham & Lets Get Naked (£6.29) - I saw Glam Plum on Vivianna's blog as a dupe for Rebel from MAC which I've always wanted so thought I'd give it's cheaper alternative a go and I love it! I haven't tried Lets Get Naked yet which is more of a nude but these are seriously moisturizing and pigmented and i'll definitely look into getting more when I've used up some more lipsticks. 

Revlon Lipgloss in Adorned (£7.99) - I spotted this shade from Revlon's new fall collection and it is so, so beautiful. My camera didn't pick it up but it's a really bright pink similar to MAC Girl About Town and it is so, so pigmented. The most pigmented lipgloss I have ever come across in fact. It's got some shimmer running through it but doesn't feel chunky or uncomfortable at all on the lips, it's stunning.

Barry M Nail Paints (£3.99) - These don't have names but I spotted them both as limited edition shades and had to have them. I adore Barry M Nail Paints generally and knew they wouldn't disappoint. I haven't used the multi-coloured one but the silver has become my new favourite glitter EVER so I will definitely be stocking up! I'll post a photo at some point but it's an amazing multicoloured holographic effect when the light hits it that I cannot get enough of. It also lasted 5/6 days on my nails without chips. Love! 

Rimmel Lets Get Naked, Rimmel Glam Plum Fulham, Revlon Kiss Me Coral, Revlon Berry Couture, Revlon Adorned Lipgloss

Onto the couple of other things I got, I ended up purchasing the Make Up Forever HD Foundation (£30.95) and the infamous Ben Nye Banana Powder (£7.50) from a site called Guru Make Up - both of which have been on my wishlist for the longest time. I haven't really had much of a chance to properly test out the MUFE but the Ben Nye is a really lovely setting powder for the undereyes. The one criticism which is more my fault is the colour is very yellow so you do have to be careful to apply lightly if you are very fair.

Please let me know if you'd like to see a full review of any of these products as I'm happy to do them!

Space NK Haul!

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! Today I thought I'd share a little Space NK haul with you all, including my first impressions of the products. As some of you may know if you follow me on Twitter, I was offered a job at Space NK a few weeks ago which was amazing as it's one of my favourite shops. However, since working there and being able to try a lot of the products I now have a list as long as my arm of things I'd love! Other than doing something I really love talking about beauty and doing people's make up, I'm also lucky enough to get a great discount of 30% on most brands and 50% on Space NK's own brands. With that in mind, I did get a few bits I didn't really need but that have been on my wishlist for quite a while!

So the first thing that had been on my wishlist for the longest time was the By Terry Touche Veloutee Concealer. I remember seeing this on blogs so long ago and I've always been so intrigued by it! Known for amazing coverage over dark circles I can definitely agree it does just that. I'm not totally convinced it's worth the £35 price tag as I have cheaper concealers that do an equally good job but it's definitely a great concealer if you struggle to find something that brightens and covers undereyes without too much creasing.

Next I picked up the NARS Single Eyeshadow in Himalayas (£18). This colour is so so pretty, the camera does not pick it up well enough at all! Although it looks a straight up white, it's actually a white/pink duochrome with a shimmer finish. You do have to layer it on a bit to get the full effect but it's a gorgeous colour nonetheless and one I've reached for a lot.

Another NARS eyeshadow I picked up was the cream eyeshadow in Savage (£18). This is only product I'm a little disappointed with. Although it's a nice colour, it appeared so much more bronze to me than it actually is. It's actually more of a flat brown with a slight bronze undertone on me so wasn't exactly what I was looking for! The quality is extremely good though, just not what I expected!

Finally are my two favourite things from this haul, two lipstick from Lipstick Queen's Endless Summer collection (£18 each). I didn't actually hear about these until I started work but one day I showed up without lipstick on and tried Perfect Wave (left) and instantly fell in love with the colour and the finish. These are both from Lipstick Queen, a brand I had never tried but I am so impressed with both. They are a sheer, moisturizing finish but still pretty pigmented and buildable. Perfect Wave (left) is a beautiful coral toned pink and Stoked (right) is more of a reddish coral shade. Both are comfortable to wear and not at all drying. They do not reapplying throughout the day but I never see this as a problem as the colours are so worth it! 

L - R Nars Savage Eyeshadow (top), Perfect Wave, Stoked, Nars Himalayas, By Terry Concealer in 1

So that's everything I've bought for now, not too bad for a list that's got around 20 products on it! All the prices listed are the original prices as I thought that would be more helpful to you guys, please let me know if you've tried any of these products for yourself or what's on your Space NK wishlist! :)

Boots & MAC Haul

I'm back again with more shopping I really didn't need but got anyway! I've tried to justify it by telling myself it was okay because I got my student loan on Monday but actually, it probably isn't justifable, especially seeing how many lipsticks and nail varnishes I already own. I basically couldn't resist picking up a couple of things I'd wanted for a while now that I had a bit of a money and to get some work appropriate lipsticks because starting next week, I have a two week internship at Red Magazine which I'm so, so excited (and nervous) for. Not only do I not really own nude/neutral lipsticks but it also meant I had to get some more fashionable clothing pieces as in all honesty, I'm a comfy casual kind of girl! Anyway, onto what I picked up!

First up was nail varnish. I have to say, I was so excited when I saw that my local Boots had started selling a ton of nail polish brands: Sally Hansen, Sinful Colors, Butter London and more so I really had to narrow my picks down to a couple, even though I ended up buying another two polishes later that day! The Sally Hansen shade I got was in Hidden Treasure, a beautiful lilac greenish duochrome which I cannot wait to use. Then I got the shade Gorgeous from Sinful Colors as I'd originally planned on getting Topshop Eclipse but when I saw this one with a similar effect for £1.99 I had to try it out. Then I went to John Lewis and saw the OPI polish in Which Is Witch and couldn't put it down! I had originally intended on getting this but it's an amazing glitter polish full of holographic pieces of glitter. Finally I got MAC Soiree, a rose goldish polish I'd wanted to ages as I'm obsessed with anything rose gold. 

Next I headed to get lipsticks. From MAC, I got Hue and Patrisserie and let me just say, I cannot believe I'm only just trying these for the first time when I own so many MAC lipsticks! They are both really lovely shades and very wearable nudes, coming from somewhere who really struggles to get nudes to suit them. I've always found they just haven't looked right on me and have shown all the imperfections in my usually dry lips but now they are in better condition thanks to my Maybelline Babylips, they actually look really pretty and will be great for when I'm working. I then couldn't resist picking up three more of the Bourjois Rouge Edition lipsticks because they are my favourites alongside MAC and are just incredible. I now own six and love them all, I got Rose Tweed which is a browny nude, Rose Neon which is a bright but still everyday shade of pink and Rouge Jet Set which is a true red colour. I also got some Tweezerman tweezers as I needed some new ones and thought I'd take the plunge and try them out and a MAC Brow Crayon in Spiked as my current brow eyeshadow has started to look too warm toned for my brows!

Have you tried any of these products? I always love to know people's thoughts on them! :) 

Recent Beauty Purchases

Hi everyone! Been a bit bad lately with my 21st coming up and bought myself a few beauty bits that have been on my wishlist for a while. It started with Beauty Bay, then went onto Ebay and purchased some products unavailable in the UK and finally, a few things from Boots. So, onto the haul! :)

www.beautybay.co.uk

Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray - I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this but I've wanted to try it for ages! I get a very oily T-Zone so i'm willing to try anything that may help it.

Urban Decay Primer Potion - My MAC Paint Pots aren't working on my oilier eyelids anymore annoyingly and I remember this primer being really good when I've used it before. I was torn between this and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance but as this one is £3 for the same amount I thought I'd go for this one.

OPI Nail Lacquer in Goldeneye - I saw this on someone's blog a while ago and absolutely fell in love with the shade. In the bottle it doesn't look like my kind of polish but swatches I've seen tell me otherwise!

Essie Butler Please - Although I'm not the biggest fan of Essie's formula this shade is undeniably beautiful. I actually really wanted Topshop's AWOL polish but they've annoyingly stopped doing it and this was the most similar shade I could find

www.ebay.co.uk

Kleancolor Polishes - I saw the shade Twinkly Love on Lily's blog and fell in love. I took up the offer of six (I got two of the Twinkly Love shade, far right) and also purchased Blind Date (small multi-coloured stars), Firework (copper with multi coloured glitter chunks), Take A Hint (lilac with iridescent glitter) and Aurora (pink with iridescent stars and glitter). I got them from here and I'd highly recommend the seller.

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Papaya - I probably don't need to rave about these anymore since my post on how much I love them. This shade is unavailable in the UK but it's just a gorgeous corally shade that will be perfect for summer.

Maybelline Babylips in Pink Punch and Cherry Me - I've wanted these for ages and despite hearing rumours of them coming to the UK at some point, I couldn't wait! So far I adore them, they leave a pretty tint and work really well for moisturizing my lips too.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers - My eyelash curlers completely broke last week and I completely gave into the hype and purchased these. To be honest, I've only used them once but so far I'm not overly impressed. They do the job, but no better than my normal cheaper ones and I find they're a weirdish shape, but we'll see!

Boots

17 Miracle Matte Powder - The hunt continues for the dream way to stop my T-Zone from being oily! I've heard Mel say she loves this and after being left disappointed by the Rimmel Stay Matte I'm hoping for good things from this powder!

Rimmel Match Perfection - I'm on the hunt for a really good drugstore brightening concealer and saw this on a blog (cannot for the life of me remember which!) how someone with great taste in makeup loves this so thought I'd give it a go!

Toni & Guy Advanced Detox - If you read my latest post you'll know I'd never be without this! I won't say much more than it's amazing and you should try it.

Have you tried any of these products?