Make up haul!

Over the past couple of months or so ( I think its been roughly that long since my last post...) I've been picking up bits and bobs to make my skin look better and also to add to my make up bag.
I thought I'd give I run through of the products that I've bought along with a short review to let you know if it's worth spending your dosh!

I'm going to begin with skincare:

L'occitane Comforting Cream Light
I bought this cream after Clinique's 3 step system didn't really help me when I'd had a breakout. It is a very light yet moisturising cream and so far, so good. I can use it twice a day and my skin finally seems to be clearing up. Hurray! I think I've finally found a face cream that I will stick with.

Pixi Glow Tonic
I've been after this toner for ages but because you can only buy it online, I have been putting it off (I much prefer going to the shops to buy and try products). I was running out of my Clinique Step 2 which was beginning to sting my skin (there is a serious amount of alcohol in there!) So I finally went for it and I'm so glad I did. I use the tonic twice a day after cleansing and it feels nourishing but also cleansing. I like to use toners that actually feel like they're doing something and Pixi Glow definitely does, well worth the £18!

Soap and Glory Dr Spot 
It's no secret that I've been battling with some serious spots just lately. So I decided to buy a dab on product to help clear them up. I can proudly say that since using this and my other new skincare products, my forehead has completely cleared up. I have however, developed some new mountains on my cheek which seem to be taking longer to shift... I'm on the fence about this product, it might be totally psychological but I'm going to keep using it twice a day until I run out, or a miracle occurs and I wake up with no spots!

Now onto make up:

Benefit Roller Lash
It's early days in our relationship as I only bought this very  recently but I have been quite impressed so far. The wand is plastic - my favourite - and usually it takes a while for me to warm to a mascara but this I liked instantly. I still use my eyelash curlers and Dior Maximiser with this mascara but it did lift and lengthen my lashes amazingly well. Definitely worth a try.

Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser
In addition to spotty skin, I have also been suffering with dry, flaky patches (probably because I have been squeezing a LOT) which has resulted in my usual foundation looking cakey and drawing attention to the gross bits. Because of this problem and as the weather is finally getting better, I decided it was time to try a lighter coverage to hopefully help my skin recover and keep it looking more natural. I tried this tinted mosituriser in Space NK after reading lots of reviews and also the Nars one. I'm glad I finally went for this one. It gives enough coverage to give your skin an improved natural look and even though it's oil free, it gives a dewy glow and doesn't dry my skin out. I love this so much, I think everyone needs to try it!

Nars  Creamy Concealer
This is a new concealer for the dark circles that no amount of sleep can get rid of. The assistant in Space NK chose quite a light shade for me which I was unsure of at first but it does seem to lighten up the area without looking unnatural. This concealer gives good coverage without being too thick of drying either. Well worth the investment.

Nars Lip Gloss in Priscilla
I love bright pink lips and own a Nars lipstick but wanted a more daytime friendly gloss that I could build up. This gloss is perfect, not too sticky, just the right amount of colour and I love, love, love it! I will definitely be wearing this day and night.

YSL Lip Oil
I bought this product impulsively and still haven't made up my mind. Its basically an oil- looks like a gloss when you first put it on- that stains your lips. So, when the oil wears off - which it does quite quickly- you're left with the stain. I thought this would be a nourishing product as I do suffer with dry lips but have found that is is quite drying. I also like a shine, so I am constantly reapplying. That said, I do like the colour but I think I'm more of a traditional gloss girl.

The final section is perfume:

L'Occitane Neroli and Orchidee
I fell in love with this scent when after purchasing my face cream, the assistant sprayed it on my bag. I was walking around the shops and this beautiful scent kept floating out from the bag. I went back to the shop and bought the gift set for £32 ( I'm such a sucker). I do still love this perfume but I am a tad disappointed. I should have known when it said Eau de toilette on the bottle because even when I layer the soap, body lotion and perfume, the scent doesn't linger for very long so I'm constantly having to reapply a regular problem with toilettes. I'm really sad about this because the scent is beautiful, I wouldn't even mind paying a bit more for a stronger version, eau de parfum maybe? Sort it out L'Occitane!

Lancome Miracle
I picked up the gift set for £28.14 reduced from £42,from House of Fraser the other day and in it you get a 30ml Eau de parfum, body lotion and shower gel. I really like the scent, its light, fresh and summery and even though it is quite light it lasts on my skin. I'm not madly in love with it but it's a good day time fragrance that was a bit of a bargain.

Oh dear, seeing this long list of purchases is a bit scary but I hope you found this post interesting and helpful in some way. I am planning on writing another post this weekend on a new natural make up look I've been using, so please come back to read it!

Thanks for reading
Becky xx

New make up!

Right, so the NEC Big Airport sale was a big waste of time for me. They had a few products (mainly perfume and creams) in a small room that weren't that cheap. I suppose I should have known better when the tickets were free but I had grand ideas that each brand would have its own stall with heavily discounted items. Oh well, you live and learn! 

Feeling disappointed, we decided to go into Birmingham as we weren't going home without make up! And that is where the fun began...

The first stop was Selfridges (naturally) as I had decided that I wanted a bright pink lipstick. We had a little browse around, I really wanted to try out Mac but it was super busy as usual so I couldn't get near the lipsticks, let alone find someone to help me. I found a nice colour in the Dior fluid stick but thought I should try a different brand that was hopefully a bit cheaper! I went over to Nars and found a gorgeous bright pink called Schiap. The lady behind the counter encouraged me to try it on and I really like the colour. A bright pink is a bit scary for me but the Nars woman reckoned you should go bright with those sorts of colours, so I did and it was a whole £7 cheaper than than the fluid stick at £19! 

After that, we decided to visit Superdrug as they stock a brand called Sleek which  I've heard do really good duplicates for Mac and Nars at half the price. There they had a 3 for 2 offer across all cosmetic brands. From sleek I picked up the brow kit (which is a lot like Benefit Browzings).

 A gorgeous eye pallette called Storm- it contains 12 really pigmented eyeshadows (Sleek had loads of different pallettes for £7.99) 

and finally I bought the contouring kit that contains a bronzer, highlighter and blusher (which looks exactly like Nars Orgasm blush). 

I had a play with my purchases last night and love them! As an added bonus the whole lot was less than £20! I'll post a picture of my final make up look for the evening below. 

Finally, I bought some perfume. House of Fraser had a brand event on so we decided to look there and they did have some very good offers- 10-20% off most perfumes! I went for a 30ml Viktor and Rolf flowerbomb eau de parfum version for £45. I tend to choose eau de parfum over toilette because I like the way it lasts longer on the skin. I know they're more expensive but I feel that I'm buying a better quality perfume. 

Unfortunately when I got home, the perfume had leaked in the box. So I took it back to my local House of Fraser- where they don't stock Flowerbomb! Argh! They did offer to order it for me but I wanted a new perfume for that evening. So in the end I chose Ellie Saab intense at £56 for 50ml (eau de parfum of course). I'll have to get Flowerbomb another time as I do love it but the Ellie Saab is lovely too and I got a free cosmetic case.

So those were all my purchases for the day. I am very pleased with everything I bought and I felt that I came away with a lot for my money. Here is my finished look (please excuse the still scraped back fringe.) I've used all of my new products. I kept my eyes quite natural with Snow storm from the Sleek pallette all over my eye followed by winged eyeliner and lots of No7 Lash Impact mascara.  

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Thanks!

Becky xx