Recent Beauty Buys

Hi everyone, hope you're all well! Today I have a post on some items I snapped up from Superdrug the other day, yet again in one of those times where you go in to buy an essential and end up buying some things you didn't really need...in my case, I can (sort of but not really) justify it as I haven't purchased much new makeup so far this year at all - I've been trying to use up what I have and then only buy the makeup I need (a new mascara every six months is fair game, right?) and save money, and this plan is going well for the most part!

Anyway, having picked up my essential items I noticed that Superdrug were doing a 3 for 2 offer across all makeup, so you can guess what happened next...

As a side note, I like it when the 3 for 2 isn't restricted to one brand! I don't always find it easy to pick three things I'd like from just the one brand. Anyway, the first thing I picked up was the Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer in Ivory.

Bourjois Radiance Reveal Concealer in Ivory packaging and swatch

I didn't really need a new concealer that much so I have no excuse for this but I do like trying new ones as I have terrible dark circles and get spots quite often (although with this one I don't think I'd use it on spots, as I don't want to add radiance there and draw attention to them!) I love Bourjois for foundation (I reviewed their 123 Perfect CC Cream in my last post) and had heard great things about this new edition to their range of concealers, so I thought I'd give it a go. The shade ivory is probably the lightest shade and is a reasonably good match for my skin tone. It's also said to be a great dupe of, or at least a similar product to, the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, which I've tried and really like but can't afford to repurchase! This Bourjois one comes in quite fancy packaging for drugstore/high street and has a sponge tip applicator. It's a bit more than I'd usually like to spend on a drugstore concealer, at £7.99, but this is still pretty good considering the NARS offering is now £22.50. Anyway, I might come back with my thoughts on this after I've used it for a while! 

The next thing I got in the 3 for 2 deal is one of the new Rimmel Kate Moss 15 Year Anniversary Lipsticks in the shade Boho Nude. These lipsticks have been launched to celebrate 15 years of Kate Moss being the face of Rimmel, and come in gorgeous rose gold packaging which I adore. It caught my eye instantly and is definitely making its way to my Instagram...

There are three nudes and three reds in the collection and unfortunately I couldn't swatch any of them as my local Superdrug only had the sealed ones at the Rimmel section (I have mixed feelings about Superdrug using these stickers. On the one hand, they're great because it means you can be sure no one's been in and touched the makeup before you bought it. On the other hand, they're a pain in the arse to remove.) that is, until I was standing in the queue for the till and spotted a nearby mini-Rimmel stand which had a few testers. I'd already put Boho Nude in my basket after looking up swatches of it and deciding to take a risk, but when I saw the tester I gave it a quick swatch to actually confirm that I liked it.

It's a bit of a brown-toned nude, so I wasn't sure if it would suit me (I haven't really tried the recent brown lipstick trend, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't suit me at all!) but it's unlike any other lipstick I own so I thought I'd try it. I've worn it once and my first impressions are pretty good - it smells lovely (a similar smell to my other Rimmel Kate lipstick...I don't know how to explain it. It just smells good) has a great formula, and looks quite nice. It was £6.49 which I think is reasonable, especially considering the fancy packaging.

The final makeup item I got was a Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow in Creamy Beige. I've been meaning to pick up another one of these for ages (I already own one in the shade Pink Gold) and decided to get this as my free item in the 3 for 2 - it's £4.99 otherwise.

It's not a daring colour or anything but more of a good everyday basic brown eyeshadow that will last all day and can also be used as a good base for other eyeshadows. As you can tell from the name, these eyeshadows promise to last 24 hours - I don't know about that, but they do have brilliant staying power and are just generally really great quality and stay put. They have some really bright and more interesting shades as well which look nice but I thought I'd get more wear out of this shade.

Moving on to skincare, I needed a new cleanser and moisturiser so after a bit of deliberation (looking for ratings or reviews using the free wifi) I decided to try Superdrug's own brand Tea Tree range. They had lots of cleansers to choose from but I got the Foaming Face Wash. The range had a '2 for £5 deal' on so I also got the Tea Tree Moisturising Face Cream. You only get 30ml with the moisturiser which I thought was quite small, and both products are £3.29 normally so the 2 for £5 deal is pretty good. I've only been using these for a few days but so far I quite like them, they may not have worked miracles on my spots but they work well at getting the jobs done of washing and moisturising my face - the latter leaves my face feeling nice and smooth without being greasy at all.

I always find it a bit funny how Superdrug offer a '100% happiness guaranteed' deal with their own brand skincare - if you're not 100% happy, they'll give you a full refund and 25% off your next own brand purchase. So I could just go back to the shop and say "I'm only 99% happy with this" and they'll give me this offer? Also, it's so cheap I don't think anyone would actually bother with the offer unless it was really convenient for them to do it/they wouldn't feel awkward/they really really hated the product. But I digress...another good thing about these products is that they're both paraben free and cruelty free, which I like!

Sort of sticking to skincare (only it's skincare for the body) I decided to try a new body scrub. My local Superdrug didn't have a huge range to choose from so I was tempted to leave it and get one from the Body Shop or somewhere instead but then I saw the Palmers Cocoa Body Scrub, which was on offer for £3.29 instead of £4.99.  I've not tried anything from Palmers before but thought they're meant to be a pretty good brand for body products and this one sounded good -"This unique formula contains pure Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Vitamin E and natural crushed cocoa beans which moisturise, refine and polish skin." 

I've used it once and so far I really like it, it does really well at exfoliating and moisturising your skin and smells AMAZING. Just like chocolate. I kind of want to eat it, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea. I'm sometimes a bit too lazy to use body scrubs but with this one I think I'll enjoy using it!

That's it! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings about buying some new beauty things, which I probably didn't need but what the heck...treat yo self.

What have you treated yo self to recently? :)

Sabrina xx

High Street Haul: Boots, New Look and Superdrug!

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great Easter! Today I have a haul post to share, because I went to Boots, New Look and Superdrug, and stuff just happened...

I actually only got a few things from Superdrug so I'll start with those. I got two Barry M nail polishes from Superdrug as the £3.99 ones are currently on offer for 2 for £6 and I wanted to get a more expensive product for free when I took advantage of the 3 for 2 offer in Boots.

As I've said before, I do have too many nail polishes - but in my defence these two are both very unique in my collection, as I don't think I had any yellows at all before I bought this one!

I picked up one of the new Quick Dry polishes in Stop the Clock, which is a really pretty and summery pastel yellow. I'm not sure if this will go that well with my skin tone but I love the colour so it's worth the risk. I'm also looking forward to seeing if it does dry quickly as it promises!

The other colour I got was Almond in the 'Gelly Hi-shine' range which Anna from Vivianna Does Makeup said was an amazing dupe for Nails Inc's Porchester Square in this blog post. I don't normally go for this kind of taupe shade but I thought this would be a great work-appropriate neutral which is something a bit different from the light, natural pinks I usually go for when I think of more formal nail looks. I've tried a few shades from the Gelly range and they've all been great, and I love Barry M polishes in general!

Moving on to Boots, I went in knowing I was going to get the L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper, as Renata from Speaking Beauty wrote that it was a great dupe for Benefit's Gimme Brow, which I've tried at a Benefit counter - it looked great, but it's too overpriced for me at £18.50. L'oreal's offering is £5.99, but I got it free with the 3 for 2 offer and it's the first eyebrow product I've ever bought! They had no tester for the darker shade but I tested the lighter one and knew it would be too light so I got the darker one - I have dark blonde hair so I just hope my eyebrows don't clash too much with my hair colour.

'Dark Brunette' swatched

I quite like it so far! It's a welcome new addition to my everyday makeup as it definitely makes my eyebrows look more polished. I had a look at the even cheaper (£3.99) Rimmel version of the eyebrow mascara type product (Brow This Way) but the brush was shorter and larger so I wasn't sure about it. I like the brush of the L'oreal one, it's quite long yet small and it makes me feel like I know what I'm doing when I do my brows haha.

Before and After

But seriously, this kind of brow product did seem best for me as an eyebrow product beginner because I just don't know how to fill in my brows with products like Benefit's Brow Zings and the mascara-like brush does it all in one go so it's pretty effortless. I also wasn't sure if my eyebrows even need much filling in as they're quite thick already!

I also went in thinking I was probably going to buy the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation - I had a sample of it and quite liked it, but I also noticed that L'oreal had a new foundation aimed at oily skin - Infallible Matte Foundation, which at the time of posting is on offer for £6.99.
It looked intriguing - it promises to stay on for 24 hours which is a slightly pointless claim considering that no one keeps their foundation on for 24 hours! In the end I went for the No7 Foundation as it has SPF which is great for daytime wear (I can use my Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation for night time wear to avoid flashback in any flash photography) and looking on Makeupalley on my phone I could see that the No7 foundation had a higher rating/more positive reviews than the L'oreal one. I would still love to try that L'oreal foundation sometime though! I have never tried a foundation from either L'oreal or No7.

Side note: am I the only one who checks the overall rating of a product on Boots.com and Makeupalley whilst browsing in Boots or Superdrug?! I just don't want to take the risk of blindly buying a product without checking any reviews or ratings first, and I might even return a product unused if I did buy it blindly and then find that it has extremely negative reviews!

The final product I got in the 3 for 2 was the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, £7.99, which I've heard great things about on blogs. I've used it a few times now and I like it so far apart from that it's a little clumpy, but I'll let you know how I get on and probably do a full review soon!

I went to New Look just to see if they had any nice work appropriate pieces other than the usual white shirts and black trousers. I bought this dress with a contrast collar. It is a little short (I'm 5'9) so I'd probably wear it with tights. The only size 8 they had in this had foundation marks around the collar so I got 10% off and it's non-returnable. It is £19.99 normally and looking online it's currently on offer for £14.99 which is slightly annoying, but nevermind.

They also had a black version but no size 8s, I tried on the 6 and it was way too tight, so that made the decision for me on which colour to get!

Lastly I didn't intend to buy a bag and I haven't bought a new one in ages, but I fell in love with this one - it is such a classic style but in a gorgeous, unique colour, which I couldn't help but notice is very similar to the nail polish I bought earlier that day, Barry M's Almond.

The rose quilted design is very pretty and it's a good size - not too large or small, and I really like the adjustable strap. It was also very reasonably priced at £12.99!  I'm not sure if it goes that well with my new grey dress, but it doesn't clash either. Overall, everything about this bag is gorgeous, and I think it's suitable for finishing off both formal and casual outfits.

Thanks for reading!
Sabrina xx

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Nail Polish of the Week, and Some New Purchases!

Hello! So firstly - sorry for my absence. I've been pretty busy, having a work experience placement and then visiting my boyfriend. To make up for it, this post is practically two posts in one!

I wanted to share with you all the nail polish I've had on for the past week while I was at my boyfriend's. I don't think I've expressed my love for nail polish yet, but basically I own way too many (though thankfully I've been able to restrain myself from buying more for a while now.)

I wanted to share what I think is probably my all time favourite nail polish - Oh Cabana Boy by Orly.

This is the first and only polish I've tried from Orly but I'm in love with it.

I first heard about this when Fleur de Force raved about it on her blog here back in January 2012, and I bought it shortly after. So I've had this polish for three years now and have used it maybe five or six times, so I doubt I'll ever use up this huge bottle!

In fact, has anyone ever used up a nail polish? I feel like it's pretty unlikely, unless you love it and it's not too big! At 18ml, mine is a bit too big really, hence I've linked to the 5ml one!

Unfortunately, the little lid symbol with the number in (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check the packaging of your beauty products, they should have a lid symbol telling you how long it's good for, so mascara for example is good for 6 months and then you should chuck it) tells me this product stays good for 36 months, or three years. When I applied it I didn't notice that it had gone gloopy at all, and I hope it stays good for as long as possible!

Anyway, I absolutely love this colour. It is a bit like MAC Show Orchid Lipstick in nail polish form, as both are bright blue-toned fuchsia pinks, but I think Show Orchid is darker. It's unashamedly bright, definitely quite a 'night out' polish, and probably not ideal for work or school unfortunately.

This polish is slightly sheer in the first coat so 2-3 coats are needed to make it opaque. It applies nicely as the brush is fairly large and good for applying quickly.

It began to chip around the tips of my nails after 3 days of wear, so I topped it up but it then chipped more on day 5 or 6, so it's not the longest lasting polish, but it wasn't too bad either.

Also, this is a bit random but I do like the 'award winning' gripper cap. It feels safer and nicer than ordinary nail polish caps.

Moving on to new purchases, and I spotted Superdrug's own brand 'Simply Pure' range, aimed at sensitive skin, which basically contains none of the usual culprits that are considered harsh or irritating for the skin.

My Everyday Makeup!

Hi again! So I thought I'd share my everyday makeup look, although technically I don't wear makeup every day - but you get what I mean ;) I usually like to change a few things round each time I wear makeup though (blush, lip colour) and I rarely wear eyeliner during the day.

I'm also trying out a couple of new products at the moment - I got a sample of the No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation at a counter as I don't own any matte foundations, which can be tricky when my skin is being particularly oily, so I thought I'd try this one out. At £13.50 though I think I'd probably like to wait for the next £5 off No7 vouchers to come out if I decide to buy it! 

I have only used it a few times but so far I quite like it, it mattifies and gives decent coverage without looking cakey. The lightest shade, Calico, is just about light enough for me. I've been trying it out without using a primer or a powder as I like to see how long it can last on its own - and so far it's been pretty good (No7 say that it stays on for up to 12 hours - I haven't worn it that long to say so far but it has lasted a good 8 hours or so.) I also like how it has an SPF of 15 and is hypo-allergenic. I might do a proper review of this sometime, especially as so far I'm definitely considering buying it :)

I think foundation with SPF is great for the daytime so before I started trying this one I was typically using Rimmel's Match Perfection Foundation which I have in the lightest shade again (Porcelain) - it is super pale so a good winter foundation.

I'm also trying out the Seventeen Perk and Paint Eyeliner Duo which I bought along with the Seventeen Falsifeye HD Mascara in a 'buy one get one half price' offer on Seventeen products. I also had a voucher to get 300 Advantage Card points for buying any 17 product (am I the only one who likes to build up their points using the points boosting vouchers they send in the post about every couple of months?)

17 Perk and Paint Eyeliner Duo Swatched

I haven't seen much talk about this on blogs but it seems good so far! Like I said I don't normally wear eyeliner during the day but I like that I have a black liner on the other end of the brightening pencil as it's handy for if I do decide to wear eyeliner. I'm definitely more intrigued by the 'eye brightener' side though as it seems like it could be a great dupe for Benefit's Eye Bright (which I don't own but have heard good things about) In the makeup picture below I just wore the brighening pencil on my waterlines - it's a great choice for if you tend to have reddish waterlines when you're tired!

Here I am makeup free:

I like to keep my everyday makeup quite natural, as you can see: 

Products used:

MUA Clear Mascara for my eyebrows

Seventeen Falsifye HD Mascara - sometimes I like to apply loads of this

Seventeen Perk and Paint Eyeliner Duo

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Clinique Chubby Stick in Wopping Watermelon (sample size I got free with a magazine)

Sleek Rose Gold Blush

No7 Beautifully Matte Foundation

I also applied my foundation with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush and my blush was applied with the Real Techniques Blush Brush.

Just a random thought: recently it's occurred to me that I might be a bit of an unusual beauty blogger in terms of how I don't really use anything on my eyebrows. I tend to just pluck my brows to keep their shape every week or so and then occasionally use a clear mascara from MUA (which only cost me a pound from Superdrug) to brush through them if I think they look a bit unkempt but other than that I leave them au natural. In some photos I think my eyebrows look fine just as they are but in others I feel like they need filling in or tidying, in fact my friend Emily has filled them in for me a couple of times for nights out but I usually think they look a little strange (even though they are tidier and she does a good job!) probably because I'm not used to them looking like that! 

Anyway I'm thinking about buying an eyebrow product such as the Sleek Eyebrow Stylist, I'm not completely sure how to use brow products though and I don't want my brows to look weird. If you have any recommendations or tips on doing your brows then please let me know! (Or I could just google it of course, haha)

Thanks for reading!

Sabrina xx