Superdrug Haul

Just wanted to share with you a few goodies I picked up at my local Superdrug. (A drugstore for those of you not from the UK).

First up, I have 2 Sleek Eyeshadow Palettes. The ones I bought are, The Oh So Special Palette £6.49 & The Ultra Matte V2 Darks Palette £6.99.

This is the Oh So Special Palette. I bought this one because I really liked the colour selection. It have a good mix of neutrals & darks, I also liked how it has shimmery shades and matte ones. The colours are pigmented & feel almost buttery to the touch, which I wouldn't expect for a product that is relatively inexpensive.

I particularly like the Ribbon shade, which is a matte pinky coral that is nicely pigmented.

This is the Ultra Matte V2 Darks Palette. I think this is a new palette from Sleek. I thought this palette would be useful to me because I have hardly any matte eyeshadows in my collection. There was another option of this palette, that had brighter more neon colours.

There are some really pretty shades in this & again they are pigmented & buttery soft.

Here are some 'light' finger swatches of Ink, Highness & Noir.

Finger swatches of Paper Bag, Villain & Fern.

This is how the palettes look closed.

Next up I bought this Softlips French Vanilla Lip Balm, I think this was around the £2 mark. Let me just tell you the scent when you open up this baby, is amazing! Its that beautiful french vanilla that warms you up & gives you a big hug scent. The balm is in a twisty tube, & when applying onto the lips it feels meltingly super soft. I think it also has methanol, because once applied it has that cool tingle on the lips. It also has SPF 20.

I'm always on the lookout for a good lip balm as I have dry lips. My all time favourite lip balm would be Carmex in a tub, in terms of formula that works for me. However a big negative factor is that it gets unhygienic after a few uses. I've tried Carmex in a tube but feel the formula is different (more petroleum jelly like). The Softlips is a good replacement to the Carmex tub & so far I am really enjoying it.

Finally I repurchased my quite recently appointed, HG hand cream. Aveeno Hand Cream, now on offer for £3.09. A few months back I was in the market for a good hand cream because my hands had become extremely dry. I needed one that was extremely moisturising but not heavy or greasy. Also I don't like ones with a scent because I have a very sensitive nose. I tried a fair few, then tried this one & found it ticked all of the boxes. Colliodal Oats are known to be good for dry, sensitive skin, also great for eczema. My brother just got back from holiday & his eczema on his hands tends to get really bad when he goes to hot countries. So I let him use my hand cream (which he kept, thus my having to repurchase..) & he has already noticed a significant improvement. Although I would definetely recommend seeking medical attention (as I have to my brother) if you also suffer from eczema, because they can help.

 

Lots of Love XOXO

 

London Selfridges & HOF Haul

I was lucky enough to be staying in London with family whilst the Summer Sales started this year. So we popped on over to Selfridges to see what treasures they had on offer. Sadly nothing to entice me in the sale section, but fret not, I didn't leave empty-handed (or empty wallet-ed, ahem..).

So here is what I got from the non-sale section

Warehouse Tan/Coral Satchel £34

Warehouse Scarf £18

Warehouse is not really a brand I tend to purchase from, but I totally love these items. The bag is just so gorgeous & perfect. I think the design is just right & the quality seems pretty fair considering it's only £34. The scarf is a beautiful peach colour that fades into an exciting punchy bright orangey coral. The material is beautifully soft to the touch. Aaaah, softness...

As you may have noticed, I'm on a MAJOR! Coral/orange kick at the moment & these definetely are whetting my appetite.

I was also on the lookout for a decent makeup/cosmetics bag, & found one I liked which came in two sizes, (normal persons 'makeup bag' size & then makeup aficionado size, more commonly known as 'wash bag' size (& this only fits travel "essentials" makeup)..) but it wasn't in stock in the colour I wanted. So I thought I'd just order it online when I got home. After visiting a few other shops on Oxford Street, we decided to head to HOF. Guess what I found?...

& any guesses on the colour?...

...

Here she is, in all her glory..

Ted Baker Wash Bag £25

This is more true to life colour.

The main body of the bag is a vivid peachy orange colour & the text and bow detail is in a coral pinky colour. It is large & sturdy & fits a very decent amount of beauty products. Lengthways, it is large enough to fit things such as Urban Decays Naked Palette and still have plenty room. It also has a good depth at the base of the bag which really maximises its potential.

Did you purchase anything in the Summer Sales? Post a comment below.

 

Lots of Love XOXO

MAC Fleet Fast Blush Lovin'

So here's a little background, I used to be a straight up MAC blush wh***, it was all MAC or it was nothing! I'd hear of other brands but I wanted to stay faithful. MAC blushes are amazing. They fufilled all my blushing needs. Why would I need to try others when this worked so well for me? Well I couldn't help it & my faithfulness waivered, I cheated, shame on me! I was swept away by Nars blush & I slowly turned my back on MAC (MAC if your reading this, I am so sorry..)

MAC Fleet Fast

So slowly reacquainting myself, but this time as friends (we had some really good times, why lose out on a good relationship..) I found myself at my local MAC counter again, checking out their latest collection called Hey Sailor! I was swatching Fleet Fast satin blush & was in two minds wether or not to let it come home with me. I'm so glad I did.

MAC describes it as a pinky golden coral. I would say it's slightly more burnt coral pink with reddish undertones.

When I first swatched it instore I was terribly underwhelmed. It just didnt translate how I had envisaged from MACs description. It looked almost (dare I say it) pale & ashy on my skin tone (MAC NC40/Nars Stromboli). But having had experience with MAC satin blushes, I was hopeful.

After having a play around with it at home, I didn't really love it as much as I wanted. I was using a MAC 129 brush, & found that it wasn't giving me much colour payoff & after copious layers it just looked a dirtied mess. Then I tried the Real Techniques contour brush, which is one of my go to blush brushes. Again the blush felt like hard work, like it was very sheer in payoff. It looked nice & like a natural flush, but I didn't want natural, (I have a million of those blushes) I wanted it to be more like in the pan.

So then I decided to give the trusty MAC 168 angled contour brush, swirled in the blush and applied to my cheeks... This is when the magic happened...

MAC Fleet Fast (very heavy swatch)

It transformed into a mouthwatering reddish pinkish watermelon colour...

...L..O..V..E...

MAC has done it once again, but this time not as my one true love, but as one loves their children equally even though they're different.

Ahem... my beauty craziness aside, I think it's a perfect hue for this summer & have been wearing it frequently since I got it. I would definitely recommend checking this blush out instore if you can & especially would say to try it out on the cheeks.

I like to wear it as a bright blush but because it's sheer, you can wear it as a light flush of colour.

 

XOXO

 

TK Maxx Haul- Nails inc. Review & Swatches

So last week I went to my local TK Maxx, for those not familiar with TK Maxx, it is essentially a store that sells discounted branded items. From clothing to footwear, to homeware & cosmetics. Obvisously me being a beauty-crazed-cosmetics-junkie (I know, I have a problem, but they do say acceptance is the first step on the road to recovery..) I tend to make a bee-line for the cosmetics section. There's rumours in the beauty community that sometimes you can find Nars cosmetics products there, but so far in my quest to find them they have evaded me.

However i did manage to find these nail polish sets by Nails inc, & at £14.99 for 4 polishes as apposed to £11 per bottle, it was a bargain not be passed up on. The thing with TK Maxx is, if you see something you like you should get it because chances are next time it won't be there.

There were a few variations of this set on offer, but I chose this one because I liked the colours more. The polishes are all full-sized bottles.

The polishes included in this set are-

• Wardour Mews
• Chelsea Manor Street
• Garrick Street
• New Burlington Place

Wardour Mews

This polish is described as a lilac with golden shimmer. I would describe it as a mauve-y pinky lilac shot with amazing gold shimmers. It is such a beautiful foil polish. I didn't expect to like this so much (have an adverse reaction to lilac, after having a lilac overdose in my early teens when it was an 'all the rage' kinda colour, just brings back flashbacks of awkwardness & moments of what was I thinking?..) but I really do love this shade. It just looks like that organza chiffon/silk material that flashes gold in certain lights. It's just so beautiful.

It also seems like it could be a colour that you might associate with a 5 yr old, but there's something about that makes it more sophisticated, maybe it's the fine gold shimmer that makes it more wearable.

The polish is quite sheer in application, I used 3 coats to get the desired effect.

I think it's a colour to definitely try & see IRL. Absolutely gorgeous.

Chelsea Manor Street

This polish is described as gunmetal grey shot through with silver shimmer & I would say that it is definitely that. The shimmer is again fine and densely packed. So it really packs a glittery foiled punch.

Application was great and polish is opaque with just one coat.

I applied 2 coats for maximum sparkle (the more sparkle the better is one of my life motto's)

I think this is a solid performer from Nails inc. beautiful shade of grey, I personally find that silvers/greys don't really work on my skin tone, but this one seems alright (not sure how often I'll be rocking this shade..maybe it could be worked into a ring finger manicure- but again that's only my personal preference).

Garrick Street

Now this shade surprised me the most. I tend not to like darker colours on myself, it looked really pretty in the bottle but not wearable for me. I would describe it as a purple base shot through with an extremely fine blue micro shimmer that makes it duochromey, sometimes flashing purple & sometime electric blue.

Now the reason it surprised me, was on the the nails it transform into a sophisticated elegant grown up duochrome. It glides on effortlessly & has a 'smooth' finish. It feels like one of those 'no brainer' shades when you want that classy look but with a twist.

This shade reminded me of an Orly shade called Galaxy Girl but with less shimmer.

Here is 2 coats Garrick Street & on the pinky is 3 coats of Galaxy Girl.

They both have similar purple bases with blue shimmer, but the orly shade is more sheer & the shimmer significantly larger. The Nails inc. shade's shimmer is more finer & densely packed into the polish, so you see flashes of the colours rather than particles like the Galaxy Girl. I prefer Garrick Street more because of this, it makes it more wearable.

New Burlington Place

This is described as a pink purple with gold shimmers. I would describe it as a fuchsia pink shot with fuchsia pink shimmers and golden orange shimmers. The whole reason for me buying this set was this colour. I thought it would be spectacular. But after trying all the shades I have found I liked some of the others better :)

It is still beautiful, once applied it hits you with fuchsia pink foiled sparkle & in certains light you get that orange duochrome hit. It reminds me of MACs Bad Fairy? from the Venemous Villains Collection that I missed out on. So it's a nice alternative. I think the reason I don't love it as much as I thought I would is because, I have to ask myself on how many occasions in day-to-day life, does it call upon to have fuchsia pink sparkly nails? I think I would use it as a ring finger manicure or maybe as a cool gradient nail effect colour, ooooh..

Here I have applied 3 coats.

 

Overall I am happy with this set, at just under £3.75 per bottle you can't really go wrong. Alot of high street brands cost more than that & I really think you cant fault Nails inc. quality. I like the idea of the set because I had a chance to try colours that I wouldn't necessarily have chosen myself.

So if you have a TK Maxx nearby, I would definitely recommend having a browse in store to see what bargains you might find.

 

Lots of Love XOXO