Back with a HAUL!

Ok I haven't blogged for ages. sorry. had a personal thing & then concentrating on work & then just didn't really feel it. Plus I stopped purchasing for a while due to budgeting & I got caught up in Instagram.

But enough of the excuses. I did a haul the other day, posted it on Instagram (I am nicolagg over there) then suddenly thought - wow I would like to blog this. So I have.

My haul was a sweet combination of "high end" and "drugstore" - in this case MAC, Nars & Topshop (whose make up collections I am really enjoying of late).

l-r : MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder (Year of the Snake Collection), MAC 168 angled contour brush, MAC Summer Sweetheart Lipglass (Archies Girls Collection), Topshop Milkshake Nail Varnish, Topshop Glow, Topshop Blush in Morning Dew and Nars Galapagos.

So some new(ish) things and some oldies but goodies.

MAC: The Shell Pearl beauty powder looks a bit scary but is in fact a perfect peachy gold highlighter which would also work well as an eyeshadow. Lovely. The lipglass is probably the only thing I will haul from Archies Girls - just don't like the cartoonish collections and nothing inspiring there to me. I recently had a full on make over done at the MAC store in Covent Garden and they used a 168 contour to apply liquid foundation. I usually use Studio Tech in the compact but have a few liquid foundations I never use and I really liked the finish with the brush so thought I would give it a go!

Topshop has been a real revelation. The Milkshake varnish is a great dupe for OPI Mod About You (one of my all time fave pinks cremes) and the Glow is a lovely subtle highlighter. Perfect for summer. I really like the creme blushes as they have good staying power especially when applied with a stippling brush and then gone over lightly with a powder blush.

Finally NARS Galapagos. I have been umm'ing and ah'ing about this for a while. I always love NARS colours but the payoff never seems that good - apart from Dogon which is my alltime fave. I have Mekong in the single but I gave in to temptation and purchased this too - a nice coffee brown with a gold sparkle which doesnt really show when applied. Lets see!

Anyway - thats that - I guess I am back!

Until next time .... XOXO

N

FROM MIA....TO MIAMI POP! A BOOTS HAUL

hey hey hey!

Haven't blogged for ages - completely my bad - real life kind of got in the way and my creative juices were completely sapped. 

 

Still been shopping though (of course) and a little haul from that perennial fave Boots seemed to be the perfect way to dip my toe back in the blogging waters.

 

So.....this lunchtime I popped down to my local Boots at Canary Wharf - ostensibly to spend my Boots voucher on some eye make up remover......it always starts with a necessity.

 

However, while I was there I shimmied past Collection 2000 and noticed these Shimmer Shades bricks. Now - I have never had a good Collection 2000 experience so you think I would have learned. Concealer, mascara, powder: every product I have purchased from Collection 2000 in the past has fallen at the first hurdle. But I am a sucker for cute packaging and I have a couple of rugby tours coming up - and bitter experience has taught me never to take my good stuff on these!

cute huh? 

First up is Way to Glow: a bronzey shimmer selection:

 Way to Glow Girl!

 

And Blushalicious - pretty much what it says on the can: 

 

 

 Blushalicious!

and now on the fingers:

 

hmmm I have to say the blushes are quite chalky and I think will need a lot of layering. But the colours ARE pretty, just not as pigmented as other cheaper brand blushes like Sleek (see my next Blogpost for my new FAVE Sleek product!)

 

At 4.19 each (plus a free lipgloss with 2 Collection 2000 products) this is a decent bargain. But I guess you get what you pay for.

 

I then found myself, as if by magic, passing the No17 stand - normally not a brand I would seek out - but this divine nail varnish caught my eye. I am always on the look out for a perfect orange varnish for my summer toes, and this juicy little number is called Miami Pop so how could I resist. Plus the shade is called Downtown. "Where all the lights are bright?" I hear you ask?  Yes now I have that song in my head too.......

 

 

 

 I'm in Miami Bitch!

 

So that was it - a couple of Wednesday treats to help me get over Hump Day

 

Hope you liked!

 

Until next time .........xo

Avene Haul !

To celebrate getting a new job last week I finally allowed myself properly off my product embargo and splashed out on some Avene items I have been wanting for ages. Here they are in all their glory!

From left to right: Eluage Cream, Ystheal+ Emulsion and Eluage Concentrate.

The Eluage "restructuring" cream is a combination of Retinaldehyde and HAF (Exclusive fragmented Hyaluronic Acid) which claims to stimulate collagen and elastin fibres synthesis within the dermis and regenerate. Yes it will rebuild my face!! Hurrah!  I have never tried this product but heard really good things so I was excited to try it last night for the first time. I will be using it sparingly every other night as my skin is pretty sensitive - but so far so good. The cream is not heavy and has a peachy colour and light fragrance and feels moisturising on the skin.

Ystheal+ is an anti-wrinkle, anti-oxidant cream. I have tried this before and loved it so it's made a comeback! It also contains Retinaldehyde but also Pre-tocopheryl (apparently this is the physiological precursor of Vit E - whatever that means!). All I know is my skin liked it. It is also a night cream so I will be mixing it up between Eluage and this. 

Eluage Concentrate: well I couldn't resist something that claims to correct wrinkles and deep lines especially crows feet (my biggest paranoid fear!). Its a gel you apply directly to the deep wrinkles and you can use over the Eluage cream. Can't wait!

Now - another little rave. I purchased these from a site called www.essentialslondon.com I hadn't used the site before but I did a price comparison on Google and the products came out £11 cheaper than the nearest online competitor so I gave it a go. The products arrived in 2 days (delivery was free as order was over £40) and they also sent me a lovely little pack of samples which was a very nice unexpected surprise: 

Yay! freebies and haul! Who could ask for more!

Let me know your thoughts on Avene......

until next time.....xo