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!!

17 Glam Rocks Eye Palette

Hey ladies! Sorry for the lack of posts, but as I mentioned before, I was busy spending the holiday with my boyfriend and his family, and then 6am Monday morning when I woke up to check the status of my flight, I found out it was moved to the 29th because of the blizzard in the US. -sighs loudly- That's the third time it's been cancelled, and obviously it upset me and my family quite a bit. So I've been busy and a tad depressed, but I'm feeling better now! Still a bit stressed because I'm constantly checking the internet to see news of how well the clean up process at Newark Airport is going and blah blah blah. It's seriously been the story of my life lately. STRESS. But anyways, blogging helps me feel better, so I decided to blog about this 17 palette I got as a free gift when I was picking up some things for my boyfriend's sister. =)

I think 17 have some nice things for reasonable prices, especially their eyeshadows. I think the colors in this palette are gorgeous. My favorites are the two in the middle, the dark shimmery green and the dark brown / taupe color. (ignore all the random glitter everywhere, that's what you get for buying glitter wrapping paper and then proceeding to wrap presents with it on your bed, haha!)

I would recommend applying these with the use of a primer, but then again I'd suggest that with just about any eyeshadow. I love the fact that this comes with a mirror and it makes it incredibly handy for travel and it's the only palette I used while I was traveling around England for the holidays.

Swatched over Urban Decay's Primer Potion in Eden:

What do you guys think? Anyone else receive this?

Christmas Party Look

Hi girlies! I decided to do a Christmas look the other night for you guys. I think it's a great look for a Christmas party. To me, a Christmas party look should be frosty and shimmery! It's not amazing because I did it at the end of the day so my concealer/foundation was wearing off, and I wiped off my eye makeup from that day then never reapplied eye primer, BUT ANYWAYS, this is just an idea of some products that I think are good for a Christmas Party look:

Eyes:

On the lid, I used Urban Decay's Sin. Then for a pop of color I used Sleek's Good Girl Palette by using Lollipop in the inner lid. I then used Lychee as a highlight/brow bone color. Obviously, if I had used primer the look would of been a bit more intense. I also just used your basic black eyeliner on the waterline and a mascara to make the eyes really pop. You can obviously use whatever you like, but I deffo think shimmery is the way to go!

Face:

Again, SHIMMER! Lol. I used Prestige's bronzer all over my face, because it's very light and just adds a nice shimmer to the whole face. I then used E.l.f's Gotta Glow as a highlight, just over the apples of my cheeks. In terms of blush, I think of rosy cheek when it comes to winter time! So I used my Body Shop Autumn Leaves blusher.

Lips:

What kind of inspired this look was the 17 lipgloss in Star Girl that I picked up earlier in the week. It's so frosty and shimmery and perfect for a Christmas party look. I layered it over Revlon's Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout.

That's it! Hope you guys like it. I have some other Christmas posts coming up (can you tell I'm in the holiday spirit!?) where I show my favorite Christmas eyeshadows. Now I'm off to do another chapter of my dissertation. Waaaah. Lol.

17 Ultimate Volume Lip Gloss in Star Girl

One of the other things I picked up from 17 from the 3 for 2 deal was this Ultimate Volume Lip Gloss in Star Girl. It's a gorgeous, shimmery and sparkly light pink. There's also almost a hint of lilac in it, which is what drew me towards it.

As you can see from the swatch above, and from it on my lips below, it's not THAT hugely pigmented. For the most part, it just makes my lips look really sparkly and nudes them a little bit, which I do like. But I would of preferred for more of the color to transfer to my lips, but that's okay I suppose. You get what you pay for sometimes, eh?

I decided to try some lip duo's using the lipgloss. Here it is paired with Maybelline's Color Sensational Lipstick in So Pearly:

Not a huge difference. Just more shimmer.

Here it is paired with Revlon's Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout:

Now there's the color I was hoping for! I think these are perfect for each other.

Overall, the lipstick isn't sticky, isn't hugely pigmented, but does add a small hint of color and LOADS of shimmer. I think I want to do a Christmas/Winter look/tutorial with this. It just reminds me so much of a frosty snowy night! In terms of adding volume, eh? I think that's overselling it perhaps, but either way, I do like this!

Has anyone tried this one or any of the others? Thoughts?

Urban Decay Naked Palette vs 17 Eye Trio in Metallic Toffee

So today I bought a few 17 items from Boots, because they were on offer for 3 for 2 and I figured that justified it enough, even if it doesn't really, tehe! But I decided instead of just doing the hauls I normally do, I'd do separate reviews OR in this case, a comparison to other products.

One of the items I picked up was the 17 Eye Shadow Trio in Metallic Toffee. They also had a nude one that looked really pretty, but they didn't have any left. =( Anyways, the colors reminded me a bit of the Urban Decay Naked Palette, so I figured I'd see if I could find any dupes!

17 Eye Trio in Metallic Toffee

Swatches of the trio (clockwise, starting from the left color, if that makes sense, lol):

Here are the comparisons I found for the white color:

While I can't exactly say they're dupes, the white color (gosh I wish they had names) and Sin are very similar. Although Sin is more of a champagne color, I've found that once it's on the eye, it seems pretty white. Not sure why I swatched Virgin, it's not the same at all!

The comparisons I found of the gold color:

My initial thoughts were that the gold color from the trio and Half Baked would be dupes, but from the looks of it, not quite. I'd have to say that Half Baked is more of an intense gold than the 17 trio one is. And it's obviously not a dupe of Toasted, but is similar I suppose? Just much lighter.

The comparisons I found for the brown color:

Not a dupe in sight here! It's no where near as dark of a brown as Smog, it isn't as light as Sidecar, BUT, is definitely comparable to Toasted, don't you think?

Now while I haven't found any dupes -sad face-, this is definitely a far cheaper alternative to the Naked palette (but let's face it, not as lovely! haha). The shadows are pigmented and creamy and I'm overall pleased with them.

Has anyone tried this trio? Thoughts?

Boots Haul!

During my lunch breaks before my next shift starts, I often like to take a walk, which inevitably leads to me walking into some Boots shops, lol. I figured since I had a No7 voucher to spend, I might as well pick something up. And something always leads to somethings. So here we are!:

No7 Natural Blush in Candy Pink: 4.25 (usually 9.25, but had a 5 pound off voucher)

This is what I spent my 5 pound off voucher on. There wasn't really anything else I wanted, and I've been wanting a matte pink blush since it seems all the ones I have are shimmery and that's not always the most flattering on my face. I'd never spend the full amount on it, but it's pretty and pink and I like it!

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Pink Blush: 3.99 (on sale, normally 4.99)

I'm realizing the only lipstick shades I feel comfortable wearing are pinks, so I decided to pick this one up. Partly because it's on sale, and partly because it's one of the new shades from the adverts with Zooey Deschanel, lol. As you'll see from photos below, it looks far more pinker on my lips than I expected. It reminds me of something Snooki would wear, HAHA, so I dunnno, we'll have to see.

Swatches of the blush and lipstick:

With flash:

After leaving this Boots, I soon came to another one. I've been wanting to try more 17 products lately, and they were having a 3 for 2 sale, so I decided to get some things.

17 Wild Curls Mascara in Wildest Black: 5.99

Now, I don't own the original one of this, so I can't really say if it's THAT much blacker, haha, but I kind of doubt it. Anyways, I've heard some good things about this mascara and decided to give it a go. Because it's impossible for me to put on a new mascara after having worn a different one all day (feels crunchy and odd, I dunno), I can't really say yet how I feel about it. Perhaps I'll do a separate review on it.

What I can say though is that I like the look of the brush. Not too big, not too small.

17 Liquid Liner in Black: 3.99

I've been wanting to try liquid eyeliner for some time now, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Can't say I've heard anything about the product, so it was a bit of a leap of faith. What I noticed was that while it took a lil bit to dry, it didn't budge when I rubbed my finger over it. Here's what it looks like on my eye, DON'T BE HARSH, I'm new to liquid liner and don't even normally line my top eye with pencil liner, sooo, it's a bit shit, but practice makes perfect!

17 Eye Shadow in Statuesque: FREE (3.49, usually, but it was 3 for 2 on 17 brand)

I think this is such a pretty color. It's really pigmented and shimmery without big ugly chunks of sparkles. Great for a glammed up natural eye.

Swatches of the eyeshadow and liner:

With flash:

And here is me, wearing all the products! Still unsure about the lipstick. It's like a big ol pink marshmallow or something, I don't even know, haha. But then again I was unsure about Revlon's Pink Pout at first and now I love it. I like the whole look of liquid eyeliner, I just need to get better at applying it! Overall, a good and relatively cheap haul! But now I've got TWO more No7 vouchers to spend. -SIGHS- Hahaha.

So what do you guys think? Have you tried any of these products before? If so, let me know your thoughts! I'm off to try and do some uni work before passing out. Exhausted from this week. Just want to get tomorrow over and done with and get to the weekend! It's my boyfriend and mine's 2 year anniversary on Sunday. :D

Bye bye!xxx