Hello lovelies!
Hope you all had a great weekend and Monday is treating you well :) Last Saturday my mum had the day off, so I went on a shopping trip with her and my grandma to Leeds. Initial perceptions of a shopping trip with your grandma might include being dragged to orthopaedic footwear shops and tutting at the short skirts in the window of Topshop, but my mum and grandma are both seriously into shopping at all the places I love, so I’m very lucky there! I had a beauty wish list as long as my arm, and I managed to pick up many of the items I wanted…
I headed straight to Harvey Nichols at my first chance, to finally get myself a MAC lipstick. I have been wanting one for so long, but I’m not one to buy make up online as I never feel truly satisfied with my choice until I have an arm full of swatches! I live half an hour away from Leeds, and as they don’t stock MAC anywhere in Harrogate, this is my only option. The MAC counter was absolute carnage- something I definitely didn’t expect!- the lipstick testers were all over the place, and there was a 10-minute queue just to buy anything, but I was determined to get myself a lipstick even if I had to wait all day. I ended up with Please Me– a matte finish which is a beautiful rosy-pink and perfect for my colouring- a fantastic every day shade. I added Vegas Volt, Flamingo and Rebel to my wish list, but decided to invest in a more neutral colour that I can wear all the time.
After this, I headed to Superdrug as I assumed the Leeds one would sell Make Up Revolution, which is a brand I’ve wanted to check out for a long time but as I mentioned before I’m not an online makeup shopper! I may have to resort to it though after hearing so many good reviews, because there was none to be found in store. I was reunited with my favourite budget beauty brand MUA, where I picked up a matte lipstick in Lilac Belle which is slightly unusual for me as I’m used to more traditional lipstick colours, but this lilac shade is just too pretty and for £1 you can afford to experiment! My mum also picked up a MUA lipliner after my raving about the one I bought a few weeks ago, which you can read about here).
If you read my Lunchtime Budget Haul post the other week, you’ll have read about my search for a new foundation. Despite trying and loving No7’s Stay Perfect foundation, I wanted a cheaper solution and after reading great things about Rimmel’s Wake Me Up foundation and concealer (especially from Tanya Burr’s videos- if she can substitute NARS Sheer Glow foundation for this every so often, it must be good!) I decided to pick them up on a 2 for £10 offer, as well as another beauty favourite Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent. I haven’t used powder in ages, but I think it’s a makeup bag essential just to get rid of excess shine without having the over-mattified look I have come to loathe.
I was also keen to try out one of Tanya Burr’s lipgloss collection after hearing good things about them, because they’re thicker than a normal gloss and more pigmented for a lasting colour. I don’t usually wear lipgloss because of the windy weather = sticky hair situation, but I’ll make an exception for this one as it’s a lovely moisturising formula and a really pretty, girly pink just a touch lighter than my Please Me lipstick (this is the shade Afternoon Tea).
A skincare product I have read good reviews of is Superdrug’s Vitamin E Oatmeal Facial Exfoliator (which I can’t find online, not sure why!) so I picked this up as the St. Ives scrub I’ve been using (which is designed for oily skin- I picked up the wrong one ages ago but was determined not to waste it!) is far too drying on my eczema that has been dominating my forehead this winter! Using this every other day, along with my L’Oreal Paris Skin Perfection products, has helped to almost eliminate the scaliness on my face and stop my skin feeling tight and thirsty after exfoliating. It is so gentle and the thick, oatmeal texture feels so soothing- full review on the way!
My final purchases were from Boots because I prefer to shop there so I can get my advantage card points- the Superdrug scheme is a bit naff! I picked up the Real Techniques Powder Brush to apply my new powder and also my new Bourjois Délice de Poudre Bronzing Powder in Gold. I have always been scared of bronzer because I always think it makes me look too dark because of my fair skin, but this shade is the perfect amount of sunkissed perfection, without being overwhelming (plus the packaging is adorable, and it smells of chocolate!) I’ve been using this for a spot of contouring and it works a treat on pale skin tones, as well as being dusted all over using the ginormous Real Techniques Powder Brush (it’s the same colour as my Core Collection brushes so it satisfies my OCD pretty nicely!)
Here is my makeup look from Saturday night, when I took George out for a meal to celebrate him getting a new job as a Project Manager! Moving up in the world, and closer towards me being a lady of leisure for the rest of my life ;) Sorry the picture is quite dark, but I think you can just about tell my skin tone looks nice and even, with a bit of a glow, thanks to my new products! I used some of my old favourites, combined with some of my new products from this haul:
Face
Rimmel Lasting Perfection foundation in True Ivory
Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in True Ivory
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent
Bourjois Délice de Poudre Bronzing Powder in Gold
MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighter
Benefit Rockateur
Eyes
Benefit Roller Lash
Lips
MUA Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle
This is my favourite sophisticated going out look at the moment, and I just love the airbrushed finish I get from using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to apply foundation- it applies to naturally and you don’t need too much product either. I don’t like wearing lipstick when going out with George because I don’t want to get it on his cheek or anything, so it was quite lucky this one soon rubbed off whilst I was eating!
I am so pleased with all my new beauty products. I also grabbed Tanya Burr’s new book Love Tanya to read over the weekend, and I am loving it so far- mostly the makeup and skincare tips, and I’m yet to read all the recipes further on in the book! Some of the life advice stuff is clearly aimed at younger girls, but it’s still interesting to read about Tanya’s background, how she grew up, and what her inspirations are. She is a fantastic role model for young women, so there’s no surprises the book is aimed at them!
Hope you all have a great week- look out for full reviews of my beauty haul products coming soon!
