Little Online Shopping Spree

It's not all that often that I will buy things from the comfort of my own home. It's not that I don't like online shopping, it's just that I tend to shop more on the High Street. However, come pay day, there were so many things I wanted to buy/try that I wasn't all that sure i'd be able to get hold of in the shops. I went onto the feelunique website (which is just brimming with every product you could ever think of) and bought the above items. 

The first thing that accidentally hopped into my virtual basket was the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. I've heard such amazing things about this face mist, so of course, I had to give it a whirl and see what all the hype was about. The next thing that ended up in my basket, was the Benefit Erase Paste (bought in 01 fair). This is actually my third pot of this stupidly-overpriced-but-equally-amazing undereye concealer. I absolutely love it, and when I reach the bottom of the cute little pot, I always get that horrid feeling of dread & despair at having to fork out another £19.50 because I can't really live without it (trust me, I have tried). There was also a little deal where if you bought a Benefit product you got a little "Cha-Cha Tint" for free. It's a lovely mango lip and cheek stain, much like the benetint and posietint, but being peach, A LOT more up my street. I think this will be really pretty in summer. The last thing I bought, was all because of Millie Mackintosh. If you are familiar with the TV programme "Made In Chelsea", then you will know who I'm talking about. She is absolutely gorgeous, but one thing that always makes me ultra envious, is her healthy golden glow. I recently read a blog post she did, where she says that she uses "Institut Esthederm Self Tanning Face Cream" so naturally, I needed this in my life. I can't say i've ever heard of the brand before, but i'm looking forward to seeing if I magically wake up looking like Millie....(I can only hope right...). 

Let me know if you'd like to see any reviews of the above products once i've put them to the test!

♥

Mini Topshop Makeup Splurge

It may not come as much of a surprise to most of you that recently I have fallen in love with Topshop Makeup. I'm starting a series of review posts about each of the things I have tried from the whole range. I've already done one on the lipsticks which you can read HERE.

I recently popped into Topshop to have a little mooch around at the clothes, but ended up buying more of the makeup. Maybe, if I actually go there for makeup, i'll walk out with some clothing? It was the new "Sisters of the New Moon" collection that caught my eye. Topshop often bring out little collections alongside their permanent range, which I think is refreshing, and keeps you interested. I picked up a lip tint in "Crystal" which is absolutely amazing to look at. I feel like it's almost too pretty to use. It adjusts in shade when it comes into contact with your skin, which I thought was pretty cool. The second was a lipstick, which as you can see, is orange in colour, which therefor means I must have it. It's a lot less intense on the lips than my beloved Infared, but I love it. Both lip products were £9. I then also picked up a blush in "Flush" from the permanent line which is a pretty shade of fushia pink for £6. The last two items were nail polishes, also from the permanent line, "Hidden Treasure" (right) and "Gypsy Night" (left) which are both gorgeous colours. Who doesn't love a multi coloured glitter black & blue bottle? Both £5!

Overall, a pretty successful trip to Topshop, even if I didn't intend on leaving with makeup ;)

♥

All Things Christmas

Christmas is always my favourite time of the year. People are always much more cheery, everything looks so pretty and wintery and fairy lights are scattered everywhere. The run up to Christmas always seems to last a while, and then you blink, and it's all over. Where does the time go? There are those few days for some of us between Christmas and the New Year for you to relax, watch tonnes of films and eat plenty of Christmas treats, as well as all the sale shopping. I almost don't want this lovely mid-week to end. Above are some snaps I took of all things Christmas. My Mum always decorates beautifully, and this year, she decorated twigs and branches, such an easy thing to do, yet looks so pretty and festive. I have also snapped a few of the presents I recieved, I got some lovely things! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, and that 2012 will be a good one. I have yet to decide whether I will be making any resolutions (I never do). Let me know what the highlights of your Christmas were & what did you get?

♥

Chanel Injection.

I think it's only right, that in every female's life, there comes a time when we need that tiny little top up of high end nice-ness. Something I like to call a "Chanel Injection". We don't need it daily, or even weekly in order to keep us going...just every now and then, to keep the smiles on our faces & to boost our retail therapy excitedness.

This is what I will continue to tell myself when I start to think "I possibly shouldn't have spent so much at the Chanel counter this month". But fear not, I don't do it often and injections are always beneficial right?

So, My first trip was purely to get a sample of the Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation, of which I ended up walking away with the Soleil De Tan Bronzer and another little sample of some Mascara. The lady was so nice though, and I had wanted it for ages. I'm enjoying using it, although, I do find it leaves me a little patchy at the end of the day as it's not your typical powder bronzer. Does anyone know how I can combat this? The colour is nice also and it looks pretty sat on my dressing table (please remember ladies, this is NOT a reason you should buy any product, but it is slightly more satisfactory than a boring revlon bronzer). I've not yet used the mascara sample, but it is a plastic brush, which aren't my favourite kind. In fact, I normally avoid all plastic applicators as I find bristles give a better effect in general, but this could change my mind.

Onto the foundation, and the reason for my second Chanel purchase. I used the sample (which was quite generous, you could get at least 3 applications from it) and I instantly fell in love with it and ran out and purchased it. I have however, since using it on a number of different occasions, come to the conclusion, that although it's a fantastic foundation and has everything I love about a foundation in it (natural coverage, great colour, sinks in fast, looks flawless yet natural, not too dewy, not too matte), I think it may be a bit on the drying side. At first it didn't seem at all drying, but as the days go on, it seems to cling to any dry patches on my face (just like pro lumiere did), I'm starting to think there is something in Chanel foundations that do this to my face. Is it just me? I find that I need to exfoliate more, and moisturise more, even though at the moment my skin isn't really all that dry. I still really love this foundation, albeit it a bit more on the pricey side, and slightly drying and i'll keep using it. Not too sure i'll repurchase though.

Do you ever have these naughty little splurges? Please reassure me. haha.

♥

Primark purchases of late.

Mink crop top £5 - Scooped neck navy top £8

Bag £7 - Sailor Pumps £6

Just a few things I picked up in Primark recently. They don't have a lot of newer things since the last time. I really loved the fabrics of the two tops. The crop top is a really heavy, flowly material which I think will look flattering & I loved the mink colour. The navy top is also really baggy and floaty. The bag was one of those "oh my gosh, quick grab it" purchases. I'd seen this in the SS11 collection photos, and it was the one thing that I knew I had to have. I spotted it in Oxford Street & there were literally about 5 girls standing around them when I grabbed one. Think there were 2 left after i'd gone. They may get more in but if you want this, grab it now while you can or if you spot it. Looks to me like it's a popular item. The shoes were just too cute to pass up really. I think they'll look good in summer with little white dresses and pretty skirts.

♥

Granny Chic on a Budget.

Handbag - Bootsale - £1 Silk Scarf - Bootsale - 20p

It became quite apparent to me, whilst strolling through Topshop on Oxford St, London (I literally get lost in there) that a lot of the things on sale for stupidly high prices, could be found at a fraction of the cost in charity shops all over the UK. I still have a very love-hate relationship with Topshop...

Affordable fashion? Really?
Long-Lasting? Questionable.
Unique? Not Always. Every girl & their mum has the same item.
Quality? Sometimes.

Overall it's pretty hit and miss, and i go through phases of wanting things from there, and then I go back to dissliking it again. If they dropped their prices slightly, I might be more inclined. Although the point of this post is not to go into detail about Topshop, it's simply to highlight other places you can grab similar things, for much, much less. This winter, I have mainly bought my jumpers and cardigans from Charity Shops. The prices in high street stores of winter clothing always shocks me. Especially if you want quality. I have had a bit of an obsession with 80's batwing jumpers. I wear them with leggings, or shorts, or a bandeau skirt.

Top photo: left - Batwing Jumper bought from Brick Lane for £5, Right - Cardigan from Charity shop for £6
Bottom photo: Vintage Beaded tops L-R - Charity Shop £5, Ebay £6

I'm also a big fan of the beaded "granny chic" evening tops. You don't really see anything similar on the high street the best place to find them is Charity shops and Ebay. I like to wear them with leggings. Just something a bit more exciting and different for a night out or evening do ;)

Top left photo: Both jumpers from a Charity shop, £3 & £4
Bottom left photo: Chairty shop again, £5 & £4
Mohair coat/jacket - Charity Shop £5

The mohair coat was such a find, I absolutely love it with my military boots and a messy updo, and it kept me warmer on minus freezing days than any other coats I own. I really can't encourage you enough to check out the Charity shops and bootsale's for vintage items, be it clothing or accessories. Even if none of this is your style, you will find something,to suit you and it's somehow a lot more satisfying.

♥

The best things in life are free.

For a while now, I've been depotting my mac eye shadows & popping them into palettes, as it saves space & makes things a lot easier when looking for certain colours. Obviously not everyone thinks this way, and for those of you who prefer to have the indivdual pots, this blog post may sway you slightly. I'd been saving all my eye shadow pots in a little bag & I had then shoved them in a draw & completely forgot about them. It was always something on my "to do list". For those of you who aren't aware of the Back to Mac scheme, it's basically just a good way of recycling empty packaging & Mac give you something back in return for 6 empties. Usually a lipstick. I took along my 18 eye shadow empties & picked out 3 new colours. It would have cost me £40.50 but got 100% discount. Very satisfying indeed. These 3 are the colours that I had been oggling for a while, and obviously with the lipstick now retailing at £13.50 (stop mac, seriously, stop with the price increases) now is a good time to take back your empties. I picked up Chatterbox, Creme Cup & Shy Girl.

Lush also do a recycling scheme, where if you take back 5 empty black pots, you get a free fresh face mask. I don't find it very hard emptying any lush black pots, especially if you regularly buy the fresh face masks anyway, they only have a shelf (or fridge) life of 2-3 weeks, so after this time it should all be used up. I am definitely guilty of throwing a few away in the past...and now i regret it. I picked up "Catastrophe Cosmetic". It's my absolute favourite face mask. I love everything about it, the smell, the colour, the texture, the way it makes my skin look. I'll be buying these over and over and over, and then hopefully being rewarded for recyling buy recieving a free one every now and then :)

Overall, quite a satisfying little shop, since I ended up spending no money on things I actually want and love. So, ladies and gentlemen, the moral of this blog post is SAVE YOUR EMPTIES & SAVE THE PLANET. :)

♥

New Year...New Makeup?

When shopping the other day, I noticed that all makeup in Superdrug was 3 for 2. This doesn't happen too often, not across ALL the beauty brands. Since I haven't splashed out on makeup in a long while as Christmas left me penny less after buying for everyone else, I decided to take Superdrug up on their offer. To be totally fair, I had my eye on at least 4 of these items for a long time & went straight for them.

♥ L'oreal Studio Secrets HD Smoothing Foundation - I have wanted to try this for ages. The brush on the end intrigued me & the fact it was "HD" meant it was something a little different from anything i've previously tried.
♥ Gosh Touch Up Concealer - Yes, i still swear by this concealer...on blemishes and under my eyes. I was running low so being practical I bought a back up. Read a review of the concealer here.
♥ MeMeMe Coral Blush - Again, I have wanted this for a while, since summer in fact. Benefit's Coralista kept me going but saw this on a few blogs & instantly knew i had to have it. I think coral blushers suit me the most, whether the sun is shining or the snow is falling.
♥ MeMeMe Highlighter in "Moonbeam" (The pinkier one) - I was going to splash out on Benefits expensive version of this, which I do have a sample of that came in one of the kits & it has run out. Alas, I decided that with it's slightly re invented packaging (a black lid), and it's almost identical properties I would try this one. So far I have noticed it's not as opaque but still does a marvellous job.
♥ MeMeMe Highlighter in "Sunbeam" (The golder one) - I actually think i prefer this one so far. It will be gorgeous in the summer mixed with foundation or just worn on cheekbones. I have a bit of a thing with liquid highlighters.
♥ Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Mascara - I've been using Max Factor False Lash Effect & I love it, but I am running dry & so wanted to try out a new mascara. My Mum has this & loves it, as well as other bloggers across the interwebz who have sung it's praises, so I thought i'd give it a go myself.

Have you taken advantage of the Superdrug 3 for 2? If not, i would suggest you get yourself to a good store and pick out a few things you've wanted to try out. I can review items individually if you'd like after i've given them a fair shot? Let me know.

♥