Boots No7 GWP - Summer Beauty Bag

I love brands that have gift with purchase (GWP) promotions. Especially when the GWP contains a selection of miniature products. My most recent trip to Boots saw me come away with two No7 pencils and a No7 Summer Beauty Bag, filled with an assortment of mini goodies.

I bought an eyebrow pencil (brown) and a precision lip pencil (caramel) and then used one of the £3 off No7 vouchers to bring my total to just over £10. The No7 Summer Beauty Bag came free when you purchased two cosmetic products. It contains: No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow - Pale Pink (1.5g), High Shine Lip Gloss - Coral Kiss (9ml), Extreme Length Waterproof Mascara -  Black (4.5ml), Triple Protection Tinted Moisturiser - Medium/ Fair (10ml), Airbrush Away Primer (10ml).

Personally, I love mini mascara's as I never seem to use up a full size one, so this is the perfect size. I actually have a little collection of travel size mascara's! I'm also looking forward to trying the Airbrush Away Primer (and it'll be the right size to take away on holiday). The lip gloss and eyeshadow are shades that are great for everyday wear, subtle and very Summer appropriate! The only product I'm not sure about is the tinted moisturiser, simply because of the shade included. All in all, I think No7 have a pretty good GWP here.

I think the GWP's are a great way to try the products before purchasing the full sized ones. Of course, I didn't really need (another) eyebrow or lip pencil, but there's always space for more =)




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Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain [review]

These Clinique Chubby Stick look-a-likes are practically a staple in my makeup bag at the moment, so I thought I'd share why! The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains (crazy long name), are basically a super pigmented and moisturising lip stain in a chubby crayon form. The chubby pencil design makes it easy to apply the colour directly to your lips and because it's a retractable pencil, there's no sharpening required! I have two of these stains, in Crush and Honey.

 

 

 

Crush is the darkest shade available and it's a berry red shade. I apply this colour and then blot it so that it's not as pigmented on my lips, and by the end of the day there is still a stain on my lips. It's perfect for when I don't want to carry any lip products with me as there really is no need to reapply! I just add a little lip balm over the top as the day goes on, because even though the balm stains are moisturising, my lips do get dry throughout the day.

Honey is a more recent purchase (which I bought using my Boots Advantage Card points) and is a lovely soft pink shade. A sort of 'my lips but better' colour which is great for everyday wear. This is currently in my work bag, even though I don't really need to reapply during the day, it's there for those 'just in case' moments'.


I definitely am glad that I picked up these balm stains, especially in these two particular shades! I'll be looking into the rest of the shades available, but so far I've found two that are perfect for me =)

Have you tried the Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains? What do you think of them?




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Boxing Day Sales 2012 - Haul

This year I actually did get to do a little shopping on Boxing Day. Last year, I didn't do any sale shopping, so this time I decided to treat myself as well as pick up a few essentials. And here's what I got:

My Boxing Day Sale haul!

Close up of the stackable rings =)

From Next (which believe it or not, still had a long queue of people waiting to go in at 4pm, even though the store opened at 6am), I picked up a standard pack of ankle socks and a set of stackable rings (not very exciting, I know). Boots had 50% off all their christmas gift sets, so I bought the Soap & Glory Shower Trip case, which contains 6 travel size products and a rather handy (and large) bag, which will be perfect when I'm travelling. I also took advantage of the 50% off offer at Lush and got hold of one of the last few 500ml bottles of Snow Fairy in the store, which cost me just over £5. Superdrug also have plenty of offers going on at the moment, and one that caught my eye was a selection of Simple products priced at £2 each. My sister is currently using the Simple hydrating light moisturiser, and she really likes it (I'll try and get her to do a review), so I picked up the replenishing one, which is more suited for my dry skin as it's a rich moisturiser.

The one piece of clothing that I got was a black jersey maxi skirt, from a shop called Select Fashion. It wasn't on sale, but only cost me £10 (and there are lots more colours availableon the website). Not sure exactly when and how I'm going to wear it, so if you have any idea's, do let me know!


I forgot to have a look at shoes/boots so I'll probably be going back next week (hopefully when the crowds have all gone) =)

Did anyone pick up any good bargains during the boxing day sales?




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October Empties

Fewer empties this month than last month, however I haven't bought much either so maybe that's why! (If I buy more, then I feel like I have to use up more products). Anyway, Psychology aside, here are the products that have been used up this month.

Dabur Amla Hair Oil - I use this as a conditioning treatment before I wash my hair. A more detailed hair care blog post will be coming up soon, so keep an eye out for that! Unfortunately, amla oil has a really strong smell so I'll most likely be switching to almond or coconut oil (but will be repurchasing this as a backup plan) =)

Sure Women Clear Diamond Deodrant - Pretty standard deodrant that doesn't leave white marks and smells quite nice. I bought this when it was on offer as I'm not too fussy about what deodrants I use, as long as they work =)

No7 Extreme Length Mascara (travel size) - I picked this up in Boots Clearance ages ago and I'm actually quite fond of this mascara. I don't wear mascara on a regular basis, mostly because I am constantly rubbing my eyes, and also because really long lashes and glasses don't mix well! This mascara is perfect for lengthening the lashes without being too over the top. Some might say that that might not be 'extreme length' but it's enough for me! The wand also manages to define each lash and a few coats of the mascara doesn''t leave you with clumpy eyelashes. Once I get through the rest of my mascara collection (both full and travel size) I shall be purchasing this one. Hopefully with the help of a No7 voucher =)

Natural Collection Blusher in Sugar Plum - This is a repurchase which has also been finished! I love the natural collection blushers as they are super cheap (£1.99) and have enough colour to give a natural looking blush. Also they are matte (no shimmer or glitter whatsoever) which I am a big fan of! Will also be repurchasing this (after I've made use of a few of my other blushers) =)


Not as many empties as last month, but still a fair few. What have you been using this month?




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Autumn/Winter Boots : Bring on the Rain (not really)

I really need to go on a spending ban soon, as I've been buying quite a bit over the past few weeks. In my defense, I'm adjusting my wardrobe for the colder months which have arrived (a little too early for my liking).

 

My most recent purchase is this pair of High Leg Chelsea boots from New Look, which I purchased for just under £20 (with student discount). I chose the high leg boots as they will stop my feet and legs from getting wet when it's raining, especially as the bottom half of my abaya gets soaked (especially from the knees down). I love the brown colour, which is perfect for the Autumn/Winter seasons and they make a nice change from the usual black boots. These are also wide fit boots and have a low heel, which means that they are practical and comfortable, and also don't squash my feet (also perfect for wearing with thick, winter socks). Not too sure about how these will hold up when it starts to snow but I'll definitely be making use of these boots in the next few months (I have a separate pair of boots for when the snow arrives!) =)

(excuse the photo from the website. I couldn't get a decent picture with my camera)

 



Expect to see a few OOTD posts soon featuring these boots (especially as it's been raining quite a bit).

What do you think? Have you started wearing outfits from your autumn/winter wardrobe?




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September Beauty Haul

As P10P:TakeII finished a few weeks ago, I have been buying quite a bit more in terms of makeup and skincare (and just general bits and bobs). Although, in my defense, I have used up more products (which will be revealed in the September Empties post at the end of the month) and therefore needed to restock as well as try a few new things. And here's what I bought!

 

Soap & Glory Flake Away travel size (Boots - £2.50). I bought the travel size tub to test out the Flake Away scrub after reading Aalia's review on her blog Hijabi With Style (check out the review here). I seem to be getting more dry and flaky skin as well as ingrown hairs, so hopefully this scrub will help with reducing the ingrown hairs and removing dead skin.

Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Peel Off Face Mask 10ml (Boots - 99p). I had a Boots Advantage Card voucher which gave me 150 points when I bought any product from the Boot's Tea Tree & Witch Hazel range, so naturally I picked up the cheapest one there. And one can never have too many face masks!

Dove Deodrant Beauty Finish (Boots - £2.45). Standard deodrant. No explanation necessary =)

 

Dermalogica Top Performer Collection (Dermalogica - £20). I had a face mapping skin analysis at the Dermalogica in Westfield Stratford to see if I should be making any changes to my skincare routine. My skin is dehydrated, I have an oily T-Zone (mostly on the nose) and I have hypo-pigmentation on my cheeks.The sales assistant recommended a few products, however I have had bad expereinces when changing my skincare routine in the past (thanks to eczema and sensitive skin) so instead of buying the full size products I bought the Top Performer collection. This is a set of travel sized products and she also kindly gave me a few samples to take away as well. I'll be trying this new routine out over the next few weeks and will blog any findings =)

Garnier Olia Hair Colour in Golden Brown (Superdrug - £6.99). A new product in stores, which is a permanent hair colour that doesn't contain ammonia. From what I've read, the formula is oil based, rather than water based which means the dye works a lot better (in simple terms) and is less damaging to the hair. Picked up the golden brown shade, but I have no idea if it will show up on my dark hair.

MAC Satin Finish Lipstick in Twig (MAC - £14) [rubbish lighting=no picture]. I went along to the Glamour Beauty Power List Live event at Selfridges in London earlier this month, mostly because I have't been to Selfridges in ages. Tickets were £10 and redeemable on any beauty purchases made on the night. I only picked up a lipstick from MAC, and I'd describe Twig as a 'my lips but better (and more pinkier)' shade. I would have also picked up the new limited edition Vaseline in Pink Bubbly, but unfortunately the ingredients list states wine extract, so I put it back.


I also purchased a few non-beauty items this month, including an abaya and flat lace shoes (as seen in this OOTD post). A few other items include a sweatshirt from David & Goliath (perfect for the autumn weather) and a blazer from New Look (it was on sale) =)






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Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation: mini review

I picked up a sample of the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation with a Boots advantage card voucher a few weeks ago from the Benefit counter at the larger Boots store. As this was before the launch date for the foundation, the full range of shades wasn't available to try out and I was given the shade "I'm Hopelessly Hot" Hazelnut to take with me. Considering that I wasn't matched at the counter, the foundation is slightly darker than my skintone when applied using a brush (I use the E.L.F studio powder brush) although this doesn't really matter when I'm wearing my scarf because no one can see if there is a slight difference between my face and neck.

I'd personally go for the shade lighter which is "I'm so Glamber" Amber, simply because it's easier to warm up a foundation rather than make it lighter. I love the pump dispenser as it means you can control how much foundation is dispensed rather than pouring it out (thus creating a horrible mess). Despite not being a big fan of liquid foundations, I do like that the Benefit HFOW is light-medium coverage foundation and it doesn't feel heavy or sticky on the skin. The sun protection factor of SPF 25 PA+++ also makes it great for the upcoming Summer months (even though the weather seems to be otherwise at the moment). Even though there are only 9 shades available, they cover a range of skin tones from fair/porcelain to deep mocha complexions.

I am going to purchase the full size 30ml foundation which retails at £24.50 (although not at this moment in time. Maybe as a treat after exams?).

What liquid foundations would you recommend?




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