NOTD: Accessorize "Storm" and Milani "Hi-Res"

Hi ladies! This afternoon I've got a NOTD post for you!

I used two coats of Accessorize's "Storm" and then one coat of Milani 3D Holographic in "Hi-Res". I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out! I think the purple holographic really adds some sparkle and shine to the nails! It's obviously hard to capture on camera, but it turns all different colors of the rainbow in the light and what could make one more happier than looking down at rainbow colored nails!? Hehe.

I was really impressed by the Milani Holographic polish. Whenever I'm back in the US, I may need to grab some more. Or just make a Cherry Culture purchase. ;)

What do you think?

Lush Haul

Hi ladies! The other day I went online and saw the Lush website was back up. Or what they're calling a temporary website, because apparently a new one will be up using PayPal or something, I'm not sure! I know I should of been weary about ordering so quickly after having to cancel my card over their hacking, but hey, I can't stay bitter for long! Especially when I love their products. Anyways, their payment method is far more secure now. You're directed to an outside banking website so your details aren't actually saved onto the Lush website. On to what I got:

Magic Mushroom Bubble Bar: 2.30 pounds

Aww, isn't he cute!? Smells lovely like strawberries n cream. I've never been let down by a Lush bubble bar, they always create sooo many lovely bubbles, so I'm sure I'll love this one too.

Happy Blooming Bath Melt: 3.70 pounds

One of the bath melts I've heard the most about, so I decided to grab it. It smells SOOOO good, like cherries. It's certainly the most dominant smell out of the order, because anytime I go out into the living room, where the box of my Lush goodies are, it's all I can smell, but that's certainly not a bad thing. You get three uses out of it as you can obviously see cos it's split into 3 chunks. Bath melts just make your bath really creamy which then leaves your skin really nice and soft.

The Ex Factor Bath Bomb: 1.99 pounds

I just thought this looked adorable so I had to pick it up. Plus, a blue bath!? Count me in. :D This just smells like vanilla, mmmm.

Tea Tree Toner Tab: 0.99 pounds

I wanted to try something else from Lush, besides just their bath stuff. I almost got a solid shampoo, but decided I didn't reaaaally need one, so I tried something from their skincare range instead. It had good reviews and I know tea tree is good for acne, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It just smells like you'd expect, tea tree, and is rather small, but I'm excited to try it. I'm still a little unsure as to how you use it, so I'll need to research into that.

Cinders Bath Bomb: 1.95 pounds

Leftover from their Christmas range, Cinders smells amaaazing. Like cinnamon and all things lovely and spicy. Apparently it crackles when you throw it in!

So White Bath Bomb: 1.80 pounds

Also leftover from their Christmas range, this bath bomb was described as having an apple scent, so I grabbed it. It's not your typical apple scent, it has a bit of an odd scent along with the apple scent, but I'm sure once it gets dropped into the bath it'll be fine.

Well that's it! I'll be reviewing these products as I use them. What's your favorite item from Lush? Give me some recommendations! :D

Urban Outfitters: New Wallet!

Hi ladies! Just thought I'd show you the wallet I picked up the other day from Urban Outfitters. I've been needing a new wallet for awhile now. My old one is dirty, breaking, and back from the day when I was a tad less girly, and a bit more...emo? It was from a store back in the US called Hot Topic and it was white with different colored leopard prints all over it. While I loved it then, now I feel a bit silly anytime I take it out, LOL. It's just a bit tacky for my taste though, and anyways, like I said, it was looking rather sad. About a week ago I saw this in Urban Outfitters for only 18 pounds and really wanted it, but left it for the time being. Then when me and my boyfriend were back in London for a meal out, I decided I needed to get it. The best part was when the girl rung it up for me, she asked if I had a student ID card. When I handed it over to her it gave me a discount and I got it for only 15.30!! I always forget that certain stores do Student Discounts and it's not like they always ask you when you get to the check out, so I really appreciated her asking, or else I'd of paid full price for it. Anyways, let's get on to the wallet!

I love the longer/thinner wallets as opposed to the shorter/chunky ones. I especially love this one because there's two compartments. One compartment looks like this:

It's perfect for holding bills and coins!

And then there's another compartment, on the other side:

Which has space for loads of cards!! (sorry for the gray cross outs, I just wanted to be safe and make sure I didn't give out any information I shouldn't, tehe.)

What do you think? I think it's lovely!

UPDATE: laursbeauty.com

Hi ladies! Just a quick post to tell you about my new domain name: www.laursbeauty.com

(image from here)

I decided to buy a domain name because I wanted my blog to look a tiny bit more professional, especially since I'm beginning to think I'd like to get a career related to cosmetics. I just thought my own domain name would look more professional on a CV. Expect changes in the near (or nearish future, tehe) with the layout! I plan on trying to sort it out and making it look more professional....whatever that means. ;)

You don't need to re-follow me again or anything, since it's still just my same blog page, just a new link!

Just thought I'd let you guys know. =)

How is everyone's Friday night? My boyfriend and I went out for burritos (YUMMY) and some Pandan cake from China Town (double YUMMY). Now I'm off to watch the new 30 Rock and The Office. I bought a new wallet today. I was in DIRE need of a new one, and I bought one for 15 pounds from Urban Outfitters with a student discount! I'll be posting about it, probably tomorrow. I also have a Lush haul....I KNOW I KNOW, I spend too much money, but I saw their website (or a temporary website) was up and running and I couldn't help myself.

Okay, done babbling now!

-Lauren

Budget Beauty Buy's

That's a mouthful! Tehe. Today while I was in Sainsbury's, picking up some things for dinner (we had Quorn "chicken" patties with cheese in them with red pepper pesto on top with mashed potatoes on the side, yummmmmy!!) I couldn't help but look at the "girly" sections. You know, skincare, bodycare, etc. A couple of deals caught my eye and I couldn't help but take advantage of them.

Biore Pore Perfect Daily Deep Pore Cleansing Wipes: 1.99 pounds

I just ran out of my Simple cleansing wipes and saw these Biore ones on sale for 1.99 when they're usually around 4 pounds. I figured I couldn't pass up that deal! I've never used them before but I did rather like my Biore cleanser and still love their moisturiser, so I went for it. Besides, I'm not too picky about my cleansing wipes usually. Although most nights they're all I use. =X And I wonder why my skin is horrid! ;)

*DO NOT use these to wipe off your eye makeup! I just used them now and owwww. Lol. They have lil exfoliating bumps in them, which hurts the sensitive eye area, and also one of the main ingredients in these wipes are alcohol so my eyes stung from that. But I liked them for my face! JUST NO EYES, hehe.

Garnier 2 in 1 Tinted Eye Roll-On in Fair: 5.04 pounds

Also, I saw the Garnier 2 in 1 Tinted Eye Roll On for dark circles with caffeine and lemon extract. I've heard so much about the regular version of this one, which was also on sale for about 5 pounds (usually sells for a lil over 10 pounds) but I had to try this one. I figured it would be perfect for those days when I don't want to apply "real" concealer, because I heard this doesn't have the best coverage.

Swatch (top=blended out, bottom=heavy swatch):

On both eyes:

On left eye, nothing on the right eye:

As you can see, my right eye without the roll on has some slight purply-ness going on, haha. But the left side looks much better!

Close up of the eye WITH the Garnier Tinted Eye Roll On:

Close up of the eye WITHOUT the roll on:

I tried it out when I got home and I think it has its pros and cons. Its cons being that I can see this thing making a bit of a mess! I only used it once and already excess product is coming out so you have to be careful when closing it back up. Also, this definitely isn't something you just roll on and you're done. I wouldn't even say you'd roll it on, it's more like a tap because you really don't need much product. You also need to blend it in rather well. But saying that, it blends like a dream and I did notice a significant difference between an eye with the roll on and an eye with nothing on. Saying this, I don't have intense dark circles, so if you do, I wouldn't recommend this because it's NOT full coverage. But overall, I really like this. I've been having trouble getting my current concealer (one from 17) to blend without looking like a mess, so I'm going to start using this everyday as my undereye concealer and we'll see how it goes!

BUT, would I pay full price for this? Probably not. 10 pounds seems a bit extreme to me for a concealer that isn't even full coverage, but then again it does contain ingredients that are meant to de-puff, which I can't comment on at the moment, so perhaps it is worth the price. But if you can find it on sale, I'd say go for it!

Well that's it. I just wanted to let you in on a few bargains I found so that if you're interested you can take advantage of them yourself. =) Have you found any good bargains lately? Do tell!!

Collective Haul: Boots and Superdrug

Hi ladies! Today I've got a bit of a collective haul to show you. It's not THAT big, it's just from two trips to Boots and Superdrug, but I figured I'd show you anyways!

Boots:

Before work a week ago or so, I popped into Boots in hopes of finding a moisturiser to replace my almost empty Biore one. While I do rather like the Biore moisturiser, it's a bit pricey for what it is (around 8 pounds and it's a relatively small bottle) so I was sure I could find something similar for less. Of course I grabbed a few other things as well, because I wouldn't be a beauty junkie if I didn't!

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips: 4.59 pounds

I've been curious to try some nose pore strips for awhile now, so I picked up these ones because they were cheap enough! The first time I used them, nothing happened. BUT, the second time I used them with more success. I think the problem the first time was my nose wasn't wet enough. But this time, there was a good amount of dirt pulled out! And don't we all just love the satisfaction of looking at all the dirt we successfully removed from our pores? No? Just me? Haha. Upon looking at reviews, some people said they work even better when you're fresh from a hot shower, because your pores are open, so I'm going to try that next time!

Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturiser: 4.07 pounds

In the end, I picked up this moisturiser to replace my Biore one. It was half the price AND you received about 25ml MORE of product. I've used this a couple times now (I'm still scraping out the last bits of my Biore moisturiser because I like to get the most out of a product that I possibly can, hehe) and as of now, I'm quite sure it works just as well as my Biore one, but I'm going to keep using it and see what I think.

17 High Gloss Nail Polish in Sphinx: 3.49 pounds

I couldn't help but grab this nail polish as well. It looked like such a lovely color and 17 are a very affordable brand, so I figured why not! (I say that a lot...)

While I still think it's a gorgeous color, I'm just not sure if it suits my skin tone. What do you think?

Superdrug:

The other day after work I went into town because I wanted to have a look at the new Sleek Primer Palette. I haven't been impressed by swatches online, so I wanted to see for myself. But, when I got into Superdrug I saw that they were all sold out. So I didn't bother swatching the tester because I didn't want to end up loving it and then not being able to buy it! So instead I went over to the Accessorize makeup because I've been dyyyiiiing to try some things from that range for awhile now. Isn't that always the case?

Accessorize Merged Blusher in Starlet: 5.50 pounds

Out of all the products, the merged blushers were the ones I've been wanting to try most. In the end, I picked out this one because I love me some pink blushers. I used it the other day and loved the pink glow it added without making me look like a disco ball or something.

Swatch:

Accessorize Icon Eye Shadow in Champagne: 4.00 pounds

There was a lot of pretty colors in terms of eye shadows, but I decided to grab one that I've actually use. I wore this over MAC's Bare Study paint point the other day and thought it brightened up my eyes. Not as well as Sin from UD, but that's okay!

Swatch:

Accessorize Nail Polish in Storm (bottom) and Magical Mocha (top): 4.00 pounds each

Sorry for the ugly tape marks all over them, but you know how Superdrug are, they tape everything to death. Which is all well and good to stop people from opening them in the store, but it certainly makes it hard to open them once you've bought them....Anyways, I'm slowly building up my nail polish collection and decided to add these two to it!

MUA Mascara in Shade 1: 1 pound

Everyone goes on about how they use this to set their brows and that they love it, so I gave in (I mean, it's only a pound!!) I don't normally do anything with my brows (makeup wise, I mean gosh I'm not an animal, I do pluck them! Haha) but they can go a bit crazy during the day so I figured I'd try setting them bad boys with this! I found that throughout the day they did stay in place so I'm rather impressed.

Well that's it! What have some of your recent buys been? Hope your weekend is going well!!

A Belated Valentine's Day Post

Hi ladies! Sorry this post is a bit late. Above are the things my boyfriend got me for Valentine's Day. Obviously nothing huge, because our real gift to each other was the Kinect for our Xbox360, which I love by the way. We've been playing Dance Central, Kinect Adventures, and the EA Active 2 game which gives you such an amazing work out. I'm hoping to get back into shape, because I stopped doing Pilates a long while ago. Not sure if I'll lose much weight though seeing as we're not exactly dieting, but oh well, it's fun anyways! But back to the topic of this post, Valentine's Day! So because we'd already gotten each other our big gift, we just exchanged some small things on the actual day. I was sleeping in and he came home with a latte, a rose, a cupcake, some strawberry gummies, and a heart shaped balloon! He had me at latte, lmao.

Yummmmy!

The pretty rose he got me. Sadly it was wilted by the time we got home from dinner, because I'd forgotten to put it into water. I do get my black thumb from my mother.

For dinner we planned on going to Hache, a delicious burger place, but we got there too early so we stopped for drinks first and then made our way over. We got there at 8:50, they were packed, and we said we had a reservation and the lady checked her list and gave us a snotty look and went "It's for 9..." As if we weren't aware when we made the reservation for! At least tell us nicely to have a seat. I don't care how busy you are. But anyways, that's probably the last time we'll go there. The past few times we've gone they've been relatively empty but it still took them ages to get around to us to simply take a drink order. -eye roll- Talk about terrible service! That's just the one in Camden though, there's another one in London that's far nicer but a bit more difficult to get to. Sorry...-end rant- So we just left and went to eat at a Chinese buffet down the road that's another favorite of ours. Didn't even tell the lady we weren't coming back, so I hope she held a table for us. -evil laugh-

Here's the makeup I wore! Because it was a couple of days ago I can't recall what I wore, but I know I did a pink/gray subtle smokey eye and wore MAC's Snob on my lips:

What did everyone else do for Valentine's Day?

What's In My Makeup Bag?

Hi ladies! Tonight I've got a post on what makeup I brought back to my boyfriend's parent's house last weekend. I didn't want to pack much, since it was only for a few days, so I only packed what I felt was essential! It was challenging, hehe.

Eyes:

Naked Palette: What more do you need!?

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Zero: My favorite liner for my water line, so of course I brought it along.

17 Wild Curls Mascara: I've been going through phases with the various mascaras I own (I'm currently loving my L'Oreal Telescopic), and last week I was loving this one, but again it's annoying me because for some reason the brush randomly catches up my bottom lashes and it KILLS and makes a mess, haha, does that happen to anyone else ever?? I think it's cos I have small eyes.

Kat Von D Eye Brush Set: All you need for your eye makeup!

Notice I didn't bring along a primer. I thought the Urban Decay shadows wouldn't need it, but I kind of regret it now, ah well! I now know for next time. ;)

Lips:

Morbid The Merrier Lip Balm in Spiced Pear: Smells amaaazing. I didn't feel like bringing any lip products so I just brought along a lip balm!

Face:

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW15: Brought this for all my concealing needs: under eyes and blemishes.

Revlon Photo Ready in Vanilla: I know I've been loving mixing my two foundations, but it seemed a bit silly for this trip, so I just brought this one since it matches me pretty well on its own.

Bare Minerals Foundation in Fairly Light: One of my favorites for setting foundation. Keeps me oil free all day and adds a bit more coverage than a translucent powder would. I also brought the brush for applying it with.

Sephora Primer: I had a sample of this from when my sister ordered my Christmas gifts from the website, and decided this was the perfect time to use it because it was tiny and great for travel. I certainly prefer my L'Oreal primer to this. This one is really quite gelly in consistency and gives me the feeling it's kind of oily, even though it does leave the skin matte. Not sure how to describe it, I just prefer the creamy texture of the L'Oreal primer!

What are your makeup essentials when on a short trip away from home?

Covent Garden Haul

Hi ladies! Today I've got my haul from Covent Garden, when me and my friend, fellow beauty blogger, Ava, went shopping. We had a lovely catch up and did some shopping. =)

First up, because I was early, FOR ONCE, haha, I went into The Body Shop while waiting for Ava to arrive:

I picked up two bars of soap, Strawberry and Shea, because they both smelled yummy and were only 2 pounds each. I also grabbed the Love Etc solid perfume for 5 pounds because I think the Love Etc scent is AMAZING, but I didn't feel like shelling out the 15-20 pounds for one of the perfumes. But thankfully when I checked out I received a free sample of the perfume! I may have to eventually give in...

Then when Ava arrived, we went to the market area and found this sweet lady selling gorgeous jewelry and even though I haven't been wearing much jewelry lately, I couldn't help but pick up one of the bracelets because they were only 5 pounds and soo pretty:

The next bit I'm so excited about!! We were wondering about where to go next, so I was like "There's not a Lush around, is there?" and while Ava stood thinking to herself, she all of a sudden looked up and was like "Look!" and there was a Lush right in front of us, HAHA. I got very giddy because I'd never been in one before and really wanted the It's Raining Men shower gel. While the shop was a bit tiny/cramped, the workers were amazing and very fun and helpful:

I got the It's Raining Men shower gel, the medium size, for 7.95, the Butterball bath bomb for 2.30, the Space Girl bath bomb for 1.90, and the Comforter bubble bar for 3.99. I'd just run out of Lush goodies so I was so excited to stock up a little bit. I didn't go as crazy as I would of liked to, but hey, I'm not made of money! ;) Also, because it was a relatively small store, there wasn't THAT many bath bombs or bubble bars, or else maybe I'd of been in real trouble, hehe.

FINALLY, we walked past a store called Space NK, which I've heard of before but never went into, and I saw they sold Nars, and I've been dying to purchase my first Nars product, so we went in and I was drawn towards this gorgeous eyeshadow:

Strada: It's this gorgeous purple with gold sparkles. It was 16.50, so rather pricey, but it really is such a unique color or else I wouldn't of bought it!

Swatch:

Well that's it! We also went into MAC and we swatched the Mega Metal shadows from the Peacocky collection and I really wanted Prance but held back because I want to purchase some goodies from the Wonder Woman collection. Oh dear me, anyways, what have you bought lately?