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!

MAC Mineralize Lipstick in Elegant Accent

Hi everyone! I'd firstly like to apologize for the lack of posts this week. Been doing work experience for my course which meant doing work for a festival interviewing bands etc which was really fun, plus I got to meet Bastille who I love! Music stuff aside, I wanted to review a MAC Mineralize Lipstick because I haven't actually seen any reviews of this since they came out but they are really, really nice! I actually have two shades - Elegant Accent, a pretty pink and Lush Life which is a bit like Rebel but in a glossier form.

As I said before, I got the shade Elegant Accent which MAC describe as a 'mid-tonal warm rose cream'. I think I would agree with them, though on me it is slightly more of a baby pink than a rose shade. Formula wise, these have to be one of my favourite formula's (if not my favourite) from MAC followed by amplified, matte and lustre! These are by far the most comfortable finish for me, they are extremely lightweight to the point where it feels like a lip balm. Don't let this fool you though as these provide a very decent dose of pigmentation and moisturization to the lips and can be built up a lot if you do have a lighter shade. The finish has a shine to them but nothing glittery or overpowering in my opinion.

Then onto the packaging. I absolutely love it, not only does it look sleek but it has a magnetic closure which I think really adds something to the design. The only slight downside to these lipsticks is that they are £20, £6 more expensive than the normal MAC lipsticks. However, it is worth noting that these contain an extra gram of product so with the other you are paying over almost £5 per gram of product whilst these would work out as £5 so it's not too disimilar. 

Overall, I'd highly, highly recommend these lipsticks. Don't let the lack of reviews put you off, they are the most beautiful formula and finish and I will definitely be picking up more when I eventually use some more of my lipsticks I'm not so keen on up! I'd love to know your thoughts if any of you have tried these?! Also, please let me know any requests of posts you'd like to see! :)

2012 Favourites: Lips

Revlon Colourburst Lipgloss (One shown in 'Pink Ice') - This is cheating a bit but this lipgloss is a representation of all this range, this one being my favourite. I was never a lipgloss girl until I tried Revlon's as they apply beautifully and don't feel sticky or uncomfortable on the lips. They are also so pigmented, far more than any high end lipgloss I've tried and I love the packaging. Definitely one worth trying before you write off lipgloss entirely!

Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose - This again is my favourite shade of the range but all these lip butters are incredible. They are what I wear if I'm going for a simple look or my lips are extremely dry and I find these work better at moisturizing my lips than any other I've tried, including Blistex and Vaseline. This one in particular comes out a natural deepish pinky red and I honestly wouldn't be without these.

MAC Lipstick in Plumful - First off, I apologize for all the MAC in this 'top 5'! I'd be lying if I said they weren't my favourite lipsticks. This one is particular I got about 9 months ago as I much prefer deeper shades on me. It actually comes out lighter than it looks in the bullet, more of a berry shade which I love. I also really enjoy the lustre formula, it's one of my favourites along with the finishes of the next two

MAC Girl About Town - This is my go to lipstick for a night out (as you can probably tell by how much it's melted, oops!) that I find works so well at making a statement without looking ridiculously overdone. It comes out a fuchsia pink with blueish undertones and I am yet to see this on someone and it not suit them.

MAC Charmed I'm Sure (LE) -  Sorry to include something LE but I couldn't not speak about this lipstick. It has fast become one of my all time favourite MAC shades and my favourite red shade ever. I think because it leans slightly pink it's just so flattering, I have problems wearing really blue toned reds as they just look too much on me for some reason but this is a perfect neutral red that I'd recommend anyone snatching up if you have a chance! The only colour that's meant to be slightly similar is Ruby Woo, which I may try if I ever use this up!

What's your favourite MAC lipstick or lip product of the year?

A Vampy Lip

From the recent MAC Marilyn Monroe collection, I bring you the perfect 'vampy' lip! Deeply Adored is a beautiful dark red shade with slight blue undertones. Although in swatches it may appear a bit plum toned don't be fooled, this is most definitely a deep scarlet red that would look beautiful on a variety of skintones. 

As you would expect from a Matte lipstick, the colour payoff is really great. Some find the Matte formulas to be a little drying but on my lips they really aren't as drying for some reason! I actually seem to be the only person who finds the cremesheens a lot more drying.. Anyway, due to the pigmentation, this shade is opaque in one sweep across the lips and with a bit of lip liner to prevent bleeding (I used Rimmel's one in 'Black Tulip') you are good to go!

In terms of how to wear this, I think it looks best with really simple make up - I tend to wear nothing but mascara on the eyes and sometimes a bit of Nars blush in Sin on my cheeks, though most often I will just wear this with no blush or eyeshadow so all the focus is on the lips. The colour lasts a good few hours on the lips for me without the need of a touch up, which is really nice - especially on a night out.

Unfortunately, this collection sold out so quickly but if you ever see it in a blog sale or have a chance to get I would highly recommend snatching it up! 

What's your favourite dark lip shade?