Boots Discount Haul

I haven't worked at Boots since I started my new full time job, which has meant no discount for me (sad face). I had also been saving up my No7 vouchers so I could stock up when I could get my double discount on it. This meant a nice little haul when I was finally back in on Sunday and as it is my first haul in a while, I thought I'd share it! I may have gone a littler over the top but all make-up was buy one get one half price which was too tempting to resist!

The first bits I picked up were the No7 BB Cream (£12.95) and Essentially Natural Foundation (£9.95). I have been wearing the BB Cream loads recently and I love it. It gives me the perfect light coverage I want for work and feels lovely on my skin. The Essentially Natural is my daily foundation and I when I want it to last longer or need a  extra bit of coverage. I do only use light foundations as my skin isn't particularly bad and I don't like anything heavy and these two have been ticking all the boxes for me recently. If you haven't yet, go get colour matched for No7, their foundations are my favourite.
I also picked up another of the BB Lips in Belle Pink (£8.50) as I have been loving those after picking up a couple of other shades which I reviewed here.

Next stop, nail polish (obviously). I had seen the new No7 Gel Look polishes (£6.50) a few weeks back and fancied giving them a go, although I wasn't too impressed with the shade range. I did like the look of these bright ones though so picked up Summer Holiday (bright pink) and Mint Treat (turquoise). I have Summer Holiday on at the moment and it is gorgeous, so it will have its own post soon but first impressions- it is mega shiny and beats Barry M's Gellys in terms of looking like gel polish! I always stock up on top coat when I get vouchers so got another one this time (white top, £6.00) and also picked up the new Gel Look top coat (£6.50) to try.
These were all bought with the £3 off No7 vouchers and on buy one get one half price, so were a great bargain.

                                                                                       l-r: Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet, Macaroon,

                                                                                    Maybelline Super Stay Tint Gloss in Lasting Pink.

I also needed a new primer as mine is running out. I still love the Seventeen Photo Flawless (£4.99) so picked up the same again. I can't bring myself to try another as this is just so good for the price.

I have been using Revlon Lip Butters (£7.99) almost constantly the last few months so decided to treat myself to another couple of shades. Sorbet is a bright pink which can be built up or left subtle like the swatch and Macaroon is a nude browny pink with a hint of glitter. I can see these two making their way into my daily routine along with my other Lip Butters.

Maybelline Super Stay 10 Hour Tint Gloss (£6.99) in Lasting Pink is something I have been trying to get my hands on for a while now but haven't been able to find. I wanted to try it after loving the L'Oreal Stain Splash and this colour is lovely without being too bright for me. They smell amazing too, really fruity. 

I may have spent the days wages before I even get paid but I am really happy with my little haul. I have lots of lovely new bits to try and I'm sure they will pop up in reviews soon. The No7 Gel polish will be first as I am already loving it!

I have just realised this is also my 100th post so a little bloggy milestone there for me! 

Revlon Moon Candy: Orbit

I posted a while back about the gorgeous new Revlon Moon Candy polishes I managed to get my hands on. I tried Galactic first here and today decided to give Orbit a go. I have tried Satellite but was really disappointed with the look of it, the Burgundy base is lovely but the glitter comes out yellow and I just didn't like it! I really want to mix them up a bit though and try the glitters over some different colours. As much as I love the effect I think Revlon made a bit of a mistake and could have used more contrasting base colours so that the glitter showed up more. 

Anyway, Orbit was my favourite of the three initially (its purple, go figure), but after trying them out I think Galactic is my favourite combination. Orbit has a gorgeous deep purple base colour which only needs one coat. These base colours have really impressed me as I don't own many one coaters. The glitter top coat although lilac in the bottle, comes out blue on the nail. 

As you can see the glitter just doesn't show up very well. With Galactic, the glitter was really obvious and really stood out in the light, whereas Orbit just doesn't have the same effect.

 I do really like these and I think over a different colour base this will look amazing, the colours are just too similar to put together. The glitter doesn't stand out and give the almost holographic effect that I got with Galactic. As a single polish though, the base colour is fantastic for needing only one coat and is a lovely purple.
I have to say for £7.99 I think these are a little overpriced for what you get. I was really swept up in the idea of them when I picked up three and I am slightly regretting it now, especially with Satellite. I wish I'd just looked for a flaky holographic glitter to go with the polishes I already own. I will keep trying though, I'm sure with a little colour mixing, you could get some really gorgeous effects from these polishes! Revlon posted this photo on twitter earlier and I love the glitter tips so this might be one to try! Also check out Satellite in the bottom pic, I just don't like the yellow!

Has anyone else found a better way to use these yet? I'm not 100% sold on them, but I'll keep trying!

Revlon Moon Candy: Galactic

I seem to have a little Revlon obsession at the moment. I am loving the Nearly Naked foundation, can't get enough of the Just Bitten Balm Stains and had to have some of the new Lip Butter shades. When I spotted these beauties, I just had to have them too!

Moon Candy nail art pens come with a base colour on one end and flaky glitter top coat on the other. They come in 10 shades and totally beautiful. You can see the full range of shades and buy them here. I picked up Orbit, my favourite, a dark lilac base with a stunning holographic glitter which looks to have a lilac base. Galactic has a deep blue base with a light blue base to the glitter and Satellite has a burgundy base with a pinky base to the glitter. They were on 3 for 2 at Boots so obviously I had to pick up 3! At £7.99 a time they aren't the cheapest but I'm sure I won't finish one and you can use the base colour or glitter separately, so technically you get two polishes in one.

I used Galactic on my nails today as it will go with a dress I am wearing for a job interview tomorrow. Galactic has a fantastic base colour which only needs one coat for a perfect coverage. The glitter shows up totally different when on your nails and comes out a lovely almost holographic range of blue and green shades in a clear base. This one needs a top coat though, the bigger pieces of glitter won't always sit flat, so a top coat helps smooth it all off.

I love this and can't wait to try the others. The effect you get with the different size and shapes of glitter and the amazing range of colours makes it look really unique, even on my really short nails. Its really beautiful in the sun, which unfortunately decided to vanish as soon as I wanted to take pictures and flash just doesn't give the same effect :(
What do you think? Would you give these a go? I cant wait to try the others!

Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter: Wild Watermelon and Juicy Papaya

I posted a while ago about one of my favourite lip products at the moment, Berry Smoothie Lip Butter. I have been wanting to get another shade for a while so was very happy to see the lovely woman turn up to update our Revlon stand as this always means new products! Lucky for me, our stand has three of the four new lip butter shades, all but Pink Lemonade. I had to pick up the two I had been wanting, and got a nail polish free, with the Boots 3-for-2 deal on at the moment!

Wild Watermelon is a gorgeous subtle red, which isn't too bright, so perfect for people like me who don't tend to go for bright reddy reds. You can build these up for more colour but they look lovely as just a subtle wash of colour too.

Juicy Papaya is amazing. I am totally in love with this colour and can see me wearing it right through to Summer. One sweep gives a lovely subtle peachy coral tint, but this can be built up for a more full-on coral lip. I am really impressed with this shade and love how it looks. I think this will be a popular one as it is the kind of colour which will suit everyone!

Both colours are really moisturising as with the rest of the lip butter range. That makes them perfect for the long Winter we seem to be having, if like me you are suffering from dry lips. You do have to re-apply during the day for the balm effect although I do find I am left with colour for a good few hours after the balm has gone.

Have you tried these? Which of the new shades do you like best?

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

This is another lip product I have been loving recently - the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey. Like most of my other lip colours this is a "my lips but better" kind of colour with a little shimmer, maybe I need to be brave and go for some more colourful shades but I don't think they suit me as much as nude colours.

The Balm Stains are exactly what you would expect, a lip stain with a moisturising balm mixed in. I didn't realise until I looked online that so many shades are available, Boots only sells 7 so I might have to go on the hunt for some of the others as I really love this.

These colours come packaged as gorgeous chubby crayons, which I love as you they are so easy to apply and you can just twist it up as it runs out. They do smell a little strongly of mint, although this doesn't last after applying.

As for staying power, the balm doesn't last that well, it will loose its gloss and balmy feel after a couple of hours or when you eat/drink. The stain however, lasts really well and after applying at 9am I still have colour left at 4pm, although it has faded a little from bits of my lips.

As they are a stain they won't dry out your lips or cling to any dry patches, which is why I prefer them to lipsticks. They aren't the cheapest thing ever, but seen as you aren't reapplying all the time they will last ages!

Revlon Balm Stains are available here for £7.99. Is anyone else loving these? Any other shades you would recommend?

Make-Up Free March: Week 2

The second week of March is nearly over, and the second week of my spending ban. Only two more weeks to go! Things are going better this week than last, so overall I am pretty happy. This week has been an expensive one as my car has been for its MOT and luckily passed, but it also needs insuring and taxing, so my spending ban has come at a good time!

I only treated myself to one thing on pay day  which I debated over whether or not to get and decided I deserved (another) treat. That lovely little item was my L'Oreal Stain Splash in Romy. I am really glad I got it, even if I shouldn't have. 

There are a couple of things still tempting me but I have managed not to buy them, and I have had a few repurchases of empties, which is allowed, although I did really well with that too as I needed to replace my day-to-day blusher which is almost gone, and instead of buying another No7 one I went for a Rimmel one instead which was half the price!

I'm hoping I can curb my beauty spending a little bit now as I can see the day I move out getting closer and closer. The boyfriend will have cleared his overdraft in a couple of months and as long as I have a full time job by then (fingers crossed) we can get into our own place. I really need to get myself sorted now so that it won't be an issue when moving time comes.

Total beauty spends this week: £7.99 (about £7 with discount).

I am lusting after: I still want the Models Own Fruit Pastel polishes. I have also been tempted by the new Revlon Lip Butters and this gorgeous nail polish!

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

I picked this up the other day as part of my Midweek Haul here after reading lots of lovely reviews about it. I love natural foundations and can't stand the feeling of having something caked on my face, so I hoped this would be a good alternative to my staple No7 Essentially Natural Foundation. I have to say I wasn't disappointed. 

After trying a few shades I decided 150 Nude was the best match for me, although the light formula means you can't go far wrong with it even if the shade is slightly off, it will blend really well.

Just a quick mention of the bottle..it has no pump! WHY?? I don't like this, it makes it much harder to use and you end up wasting product that you can't get back into the bottle! I don't want to waste my hard earned pennies by loosing half of the product! I found the best way to apply was to pour a little very carefully onto my hand then apply as normal and I managed to get any excess with my finger and scrape it back into the bottle. I'm debating pouring a little into a sample pot and using it from there instead, has anyone else found better ways to use it?

Anyway, back the the foundation. It is lovely, I used it over my Seventeen Photo Flawless Primer which if you have read my earlier post here you will know I absolutely love it. The Nearly Naked goes on like a dream, it blends really well and feels really light. It won't cling to any dry bits (I have a sore nose after a cold so this was extreme circumstances and it still didn't cling).

You can see where I have blended on the lower half of my hand, it gives a slight sheen, which I quite like as it gives a similar effect to foundations like Rimmel's Wake Me Up without the shimmer, but you can top it off with powder to get rid of this. It feels lovely on, I do feel like I'm not wearing anything but safe in the knowledge that my skin looks even and any blemishes are covered. I'm starting to see why it has had such good reviews!

I usually hate taking pictures of myself but I couldn't review a foundation without showing how it looks, so there we go, the first is with only Nearly Naked, the second has a touch of powder and blusher. I think this gives a lovely natural look for those days where you don't need a full-face of make-up.

It lasts really well, I put it on at around 8am and even after going for lunch then to work it was still looking lovely at 10pm. It doesn't feel as moisturising as my No7 foundation which is the only thing I can fault it on, but I still really like it and will keep using it, its staying in my make-up bag and not being stuck in the drawer of things I don't use!

Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation is usually £8.99 but is on offer at Superdrug at the moment for £6.99 and is available here. Does anyone else love it or do you have better light foundations? I'd love to hear your favourites!

February Favourites

I love seeing this kind of post from other people, so I thought I would do my own this month. It was really hard to pick my favourites as I seem to have a collection of things I have been using everyday so ended up with about 10 things I wanted to show here, but I have managed to narrow it down to the essentials.

So firstly, the only skincare product which made it onto my list of favourites, I really do love this one - Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner. I use this daily after cleansing to remove any last bits of make-up and it really does brighten my skin and make it look smoother and more even.

I also included L'Oreal Confetti Top Coat as I have really loved using this and it has to be my favourite new polish at the moment. I know quite a few other people have included this in their favourites list this month because it is just that good!

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation - I won't write too much about this as I'll have a proper review soon but I am loving this one despite its lack of pump!

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter - I had never really bothered using highlighters before I invested in this one but it is another MUA product I love! It gives a really lovely subtle but brightening shimmer for the dull winter days we have been having. I love MUA for their fantastic quality stuff at bargain prices.

Another MUA product in my favourites this month is the Pro-Brow Kit. You can blend the colours really easily to match your natural brows and this fills them in beautifully and lasts all day. You even get a little brush which I do actually use, and some mini tweezers.

I had to include the Seventeen Photo Flawless Primer as it is still one of my daily essentials and it amazes me every time I use it as my skin looks so smooth and my foundation blends so well. I reviewed it here.

Finally, I have been really impressed with the Rimmel Accelerator Endless Lash Mascara. I don't know whether it is helping my lashes grow, but it gives really good definition and lengthens without clumping, so it is worth a try just for that! I don't usually like thin brushes like this one but I am getting on really well with this!

There we are - my favourites for February. What do you think of them? I'd love to see some of yours, link me if you've done a similar post!

Another Midweek Haul

So, it would seem I can't even survive one day off work without having to go out and do something to stop me getting bored. Today that involved a trip to the White Rose centre, so I thought I'd show you what I bought...again!

The first stop for me always has to be New Look, I am loving their stuff at the moment, so much of it is similar to Topshop but half the price and better quality. They have 25% off jeans at the moment so I had to pick up a pair and have been eyeing these up for ages. They also had them in 34" length which I usually struggle to find (I'm 5'8) so I took it as a sign to buy them! (Pulled the pics from the website as its pretty dull today and my pictures were rubbish!)

I am currently living in plan/striped long sleeve tops as they are nice and warm and go with anything so picked up another colour, there seems to be a theme here, loving burgundy at the moment!

I finally gave in and bought the bag I have been wanting for ages, I really wanted the Topshop version but it was £40 and having just bought a Marc B bag, didn't want to pay that much so settled for the Primark £12 copy. This will be perfect for chucking in everything I need when I am working.

I then made the mistake of going into Superdrug. To be honest, I intended to treat myself to a few new bits as I am taking part in a spending ban on make-up and beauty products throughout March and this was my last chance to shop before March begins! 

After reading lots of good reviews I thought I needed to try the new Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation, on offer for £6.99 (usually £8.99). I don't like using heavy foundations and don't really have any problems with my skin so this seemed perfect for me. I went for shade 150 Nude so I'm hoping it will be a good match.

I have been wanting to try the new range of moisturisers from Garnier which contain different ingredients designed to tackle different skin problems. I debated getting the dry skin one but in the end thought I'd go for the Wake Me Up formula for dull skin. I am hoping this will be really good to use on a morning to brighten my skin up and set a good base for my make-up. £3.99 at the moment (usually £5.99).

I have been suffering with chapped lips all Winter so have been trying all sorts of lip balms  and as Palmer's is one of my favourites, I had to try the new formula - Dark Chocolate and Cherry. It is gorgeous!! It has a slight red tint to it which looks lovely on and for £1.99 you can't go wrong.

Finally, I wanted to treat myself to a few new make-up bits. In the end after deciding I really don't need or want any new nail polishes, I chose some more lipsticks from MUA. I really liked the three shades I got in my 50% off haul so chose a few different colours. These are shades 2, 6 and 11. I'm particularly liking shade 2!

So there we go, my last haul before Make-Up Free March. I'm really not looking forward to this now, I wish I'd never said I'd do it, but hopefully it will save me some money to go towards a deposit for when I move out. What have you all been buying this week, I love reading haul posts.