oh what a lovely haul!

Clockwise from top: Soap & Glory Face & Body Brush, Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Coral Reef, No 7 Nourishing Lip Shine in Pink, Burt's Bees Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 001 Transparent, Origins Sensory Therapy Peace of Mind on-the-spot-relief. Centre: an assortment of Mavala Nail Varnishes.   

So, I went shopping...and this is essentially going to be a post solely about that. I really like hauls and seeing what people are buying, but if you have no interest in what happens to be in my shopping bags, then it's probably best you leave now..

From Left: Burt's Bees Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm, No 7 Nourishing Lip Shine, Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Coral Reef (eek.)

In the image above are the three new lip products that I purchased the other day (duh). Here's a small 'lowdown' about each product:

• Burts Bee's Lip Balm: This is simply really great. It smells exactly like pink grapefruit, also I really like the fact that it's just a clear lip balm colour as opposed to tinted in any way - it's much easier to apply on the go. 
• No 7 Lip Shine: This is apparently a bit of a dupe for a gloss that Clarins do (but I can't comment on that, as I haven't tried the Clarins one.) I'd definitely say that it's a lip shine as opposed to a gloss, but I quite like that. It gives a subtle sheen and a slight pink tint to lips.
• Sleek Lipstick: This is scary bright, but I wanted to try a brighter lip for summer and I found that if you lightly apply this and then rub it in a bit, it's give a stain but it's still quite subtle - I definitely wouldn't be brave enough to just wear this really thickly(?) on my lips. I'm really impressed with the Sleek lipsticks though - the packaging's great (so vain) but the formulation is great too, plus they're only £4! I'll probably have to go back and get some more at some point...   

Colours From Left: Mosaic Blue, Megeve, Black Cherry, ELLE.

I really like Mavala nail polish, I think the formulation's great, I love the shades that are available, and I like the fact that the bottles are fairly small - I never get through a big nail varnish before it dries up/goes gloopy and thus I feel like I'm not having to pay for more product than I'm likely to use.

• Mosaic Blue: a really deep navy blue, it looks really black in some lights.
• Megeve: a shimmery pearlised white. I think this will look nice either on it's own, or thinly layered over matte polishes.
• Black Cherry: a deep purple with flecks of pinky purple shimmer. I probably won't get much wear out of this over summer, but come winter I think I'll be favouring it a lot.
• ELLE: this is a cross between a grey and a taupe with purplish undertones. It's really pretty.  

From Left: Soap & Glory Face & Body Brush, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, Chit Chat Highlighter. 

• Soap & Glory Brush: I've had my eye on this brush for a while - it's the cutest kabuki ever. I think I'll mostly be using it for powder, but according to the box it has many uses, so we'll see.
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder: In my never ending quest for a shine free face, I decided to pick this up and give it a whirl - so far, I'm fairly impressed. I might do a review on it after I've tested it a bit more. I have this in transparent and it is exactly that, and doesn't leave any colour on the face.
• Chit Chat Highlighter: Yep, I took a trip to 'Poundland'. This is a dupe for Benefit's High Beam, and whilst I adore Benefit, it just wouldn't be worth it, for me personally, to spend £18 or whatever it is on a highlighter - I just don't wear highlighter enough. This is nice, I'm going to properly review it at some point soon. 

So, that's about it. There should be some reviews coming over the next few days (hopefully) now that my dissertation proposal is out of the way. Let me know if there's any specific items featured in this post that you'd like me to review. xx   

a slightly belated may favourites.

Clockwise from top: Burt's Bees Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion, Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum, Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Contour Brush, Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara, Maybelline Colour Tattoo, and Benefit 'Powder Pop'.

So, these are my current favourite beauty products, and I suppose I ought to expand upon exactly why I've been 'loving' them. Without further ado:

• Burt's Bees Nourishing Milk & Honey Body Lotion: I suppose the first thing I should do is put my hands up and say I didn't technically go out and buy this, as I received it in April's Glossybox (potentially my favourite Glossybox of all time..) but I did pay for the Glossybox, so it's really all the same. Anyway, I really like Burt's Bees as a brand and I actually own rather a few of their products - mostly assorted lip balms, which makes sense given that I'm a lip product fiend - but I'd never tried any of their lotions/creams before. A really great thing about Burt's Bees is that they try to make their products as natural as possible and don't test on animals (which I'm wholly against on cosmetic products, but that's a whole other blog post.) Saying that, I'm quite guilty of never actually checking the ethics/morality of a product before buying it, but it's definitely nice to know that Burt's Bees are such a trustworthy company in that respect. Anyway, this lotion smells amazing, and is a really great consistency - somewhere between a lotion and a cream. It's also not overly sticky once you've put it on, which is one of my absolute pet hates (who wants their clothes literally sticking to them?) To be honest, I'm quite lazy (story of my life) and thus I never used to use a body lotion on a really regular basis (shoot me), but I've recently I've been getting mysterious patches of really dry skin and this has definitely helped that out. I'm not sure about it's '24-hour moisturisation' claims, but who really needs 24 hours of moisturisation anyway? Available here at £5.99 for 70g.
• Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum: Again, I received this in a Glossybox (see above disclaimer) but I think I'm literally falling in love with it. I'd never used a serum before this one, and thus I had no idea what to expect of it. It's incredibly lightweight, which I was really surprised by, and it sinks into skin quickly leaving no residue. You use this before moisturiser and it's supposed to counteract dehydration. I have combination skin (the worst possible kind) and I suffer from some oily areas and then also dry patches. That's a bit of a nightmare when you're trying to find skincare to suit your whole face. I've found that, because this is so light, it hasn't upset the more oily areas of my face but it's made a huge difference to dry areas - in fact, I haven't had any dry patches since starting using it. It also smells amazing, really fresh and natural (I'm truly awful at describing). The main downfall with this however, is the price for the amount you get. It's generally around about £30 for 30ml (ouch), but it definitely does perform well. I'm not sure I'll definitely purchase this when I've used the sample up though - perhaps I'll just enjoy it while it lasts... Available here.
• Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Contour Brush: These brushes have been talked about so much by beauty blogs/beauty gurus and accordingly, I'll try and keep this short and sweet. I love these brushes. They're really good value and just perform really well, plus I've had no fallout of bristles, which is always great. I use this brush to contour my face and also for generally applying my blusher (which explains why the ends are so pink. sorry.) I believe this brush is only available in the 'Core Collection', which contains three other brushes as well, but really they're all fabulous. Definitely worth investing in. Available here at £21.99 for the collection.
• Benefit BADgal Lash Mascara: This is only a sample size (and if you go and buy Glamour magazine right now you can get one too for only £2) but it's really great. I find it both really lengthening and thickening, and it's also not clumpy (worst thing ever). I'm already seriously considering investing in the full size, even though the price is probably a bit more than I'd tend to want to pay for an everyday mascara... Available here for £16.50. OR go and buy the July edition of Glamour Magazine...

An attempt to show you the inside of Maybelline Colour Tattoo, and Benefit 'Powder Pop'.

• Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24HR: The shade I have this in is called 'On and on Bronze' and it's (obviously) a bronze shade. It's quite shimmery, which is nice and it's basically the easiest eye shadow to wear ever. I apply this with a finger and it can literally be swiped over the eye and that's it. Simplest thing ever, which is great for me (I really am lazy). This does last a long time, although no-one should be wearing this for the full 24 hours as it's literally the cardinal sin to wear make-up to bed (pretty sure I'm preaching to the choir on this). These are apparently really comparable to both MAC Paint Pots and Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eye Shadows, but obviously much cheaper. If you're looking for an easy to wear cream eye shadow, this is definitely it. Available here in a selection of shades for £4.99.
• Benefit Powder Pop: I'm not sure whether to can actually still buy this or whether it was limited edition, although you can definitely still get the individual powders separately. This compact contains 'Coralista', 'Dandelion', and 'Dallas' and they're just really lovely powders. Coralista is the perfect coral and it's got a nice amount of golden shimmer in it, making it great for summer. Dandelion is a great pink blush for paler skin, as it's not a really bright shade. It gives a really natural flush. Dallas is a really subtle bronzer, and I've used this a few times to contour my face. Essentially, Benefit appear to have face powders down to a tee, they know what they're doing. They are fairly expensive, but they do last a really long time. They also smell surprisingly great! Available at Benefit separately for £23.50 each. Ouch...

Hopefully, you enjoyed this ridiculously long post. Have you ever tried any of these products? Or any of the brands they're from? xx

(almost) empties!

Clockwise from left: Sudocrem, Botanics Organic Rosewater Toner, L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover, Blistex Relief Cream.

Ok, so I feel I'm fairly cheating because not all of these products are actually completely empty...I'm slightly terrible about finishing things, I tend to feel really sad when things are completely gone (oh so pathetic) so I attempt to make them last 'forever' by leaving a minute amount in them. Anyway, these are all pretty much done with and thus, I thought I'd fill you in as to what I've thought of them. So, from the top..

1. Sudocrem: Now Sudocrem is certainly not the most glamorous of products (oftentimes you'll find it in the baby aisle of supermarkets next to nappies..) but, it is a great 'all round' type of cream. I've used this when I've been really badly sunburnt (I'm ridiculously pale, so this happens more often than you might think) and it's worked wonders, but what I love it for the most is for keeping spots at bay. I'm lucky in that I don't tend to get many, but I'm pretty sure that by using Sudocrem at night on blemishes, I've managed to stave them off before they get too nasty. Apparently, Cheryl Cole is a fan (this admittedly might make you swing in several directions, depending on how you feel about Cheryl, but generally she looks fairly flawless so there's obviously something to it..) - Around £1.99 from supermarkets/pharmacies.
2. Boots Botanics Organic Rosewater Toner: To be brutally honest, I don't give two hoots about whether or not my beauty products are 'organic' (which probably makes me a truly terrible person, but whatever). And I also swore that I'd never fall into the 'pointless' trap of using a toner. I guess I just never saw the point of them, that is until recently. I picked this up on a whim, mainly because boots had a 3 for 2 offer on (to be fair, when don't they?) and it smelled of roses. I'm literally the perfect customer ever, given that I'll happily spend another 100% to get something for 'nothing', but I'm so glad I got this. I use this after my cleansing milk at night and I was initially fairly horrified at how much extra dirt and grime (oh the glamorous world of beauty blogging) it cleared off my supposedly 'deeply cleansed' skin. It seems to clean a lot lot deeper than just a cleanser, and I don't think I'll ever go back to not using a toner after that horrifying discovery. Plus, this smells so so great - like fresh roses. - Around £5 from Boots.
3. L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream: I think this tube actually came free with a magazine, but since I've been using it, I've literally bought a tube for everyone and anyone (well, both my mother and grandma..). It's fairly expensive for hand cream, but it's incredibly moisturising and it smells amazing! Seriously, so so good. A little bit goes a really long way, so on a cost per use basis it's probably not too expensive. Plus, you can get it in small 30ml tubes which are great for carrying about with you. This is considered a 'bestseller' on the L'Occitane website, and has won lots of awards, and I can totally understand why. - Around £8 for 30ml from the L'Occitane website/stores.
4. Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover: This doesn't really do anything all that special, but it does the job. I like to use a specific eye make up remover designed just for eyes, as opposed to just using a general face cleanser. I think they tend to be gentler. I've had a lot of bottles of this over the years, and given that I keep going back for more it must be doing something right. It's also scentless, which is nice for the sensitive eye area. - Around £4 from Boots.
5. Blistex Relief Cream: I first bought this when I had a mouth infection thanks to a rogue wisdom tooth (there I go again imparting all the glamorous details of my fabulous life) which had made my lips ridiculously sore - I'm not sure how though. Anyway, this stuff is quite strong - I believe it can be used to cure cold sores as well as chapped lips - but it's utterly excellent at curing dry, chapped lips. It smells quite medicine-y, which is probably due to the fact that it's essentially a strong ammonia solution, but I don't exactly dislike the smell. The packaging is slightly irritating though, if you squeeze the metal tube too hard product will continue to come out until kingdom come. You have been warned. - Around £3 from chemists/pharmacies.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them? xx