Retail Therapy

I have been a little stressed today so I thought I would treat myself and do little bit of beauty shopping. (clothes shopping always frustrates me, so I stick to makeup) I needed to get a new cleanser, I also had some Boots points and a No7 voucher so decided I would go to Boots and spend them.

First up I picked up the No7 makeup wipes. These are great at removing makeup and they never dry out. I also spotted this Vitamin E cleanser so thought I would give it a try, as I like just simple cream cleansers. I noticed it was 3 for 2 on skincare so I picked up Oilatum cream that Pixiwoo have been raving about. (I'm always following the hype, I think its a problem)

I also got Sally Hansen's Peachy Keen nail polish (NOTD to follow) and Lanolips Lemon lip aid. I have wanted the Lanolips since FleurDeForce spoke about it on YouTube. (see products with lots of hype is my weakness. haha.)

 

I was then having a look around the Clarins counter and got chatting to the sales assistant, I was talking about how I'm trying to find a new cleanser and she gave me some samples which was very exciting. I got two eye make up removers and two foaming cleansers. Looking forward to trying them out. 

And lastly I picked up Glamour magazine as it has free sample size Benefit makeup with it this month. I got two, High Beam and Posie Tint. If you have read my favourite highlighters post you will know that High Beam is one of them, so this is the perfect travel size. I have never tried Posie Tint so another thing I look forward to trying out.

Overall a good shop and I didn't spend any more than £14 as I had the voucher and spent my boots points.

Have you been doing any retail therapy recently? 

Favourite Hightlighters.

I do like a good highlighter. I like my cheeks to look glowing. Here are my favourites.
Starting from the top we have...


MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl - This is a cream highlighter that is a very light gold colour. Its very smooth and easy to apply. I just dab it on with my finger under or over my foundation. I then like putting a peachy/pink blush over the top. It gives a lovely sheen.

The Body Shop Shimmer Waves 02 -  This is a very pink powder highlighter, it gives a very smooth shimmer on your cheeks, its not at all chunky. You can also use it as eyeshadow. I like the fact that it has 5 different colours as you can choose how dark you want the highlight. The only downside to this product is the packaging. The plastic case breaks easily, the lid has completely snapped off mine. Even with this fault it is still one of my favourites. I just don't travel with it.

Benefit High Beam - I love using this under The Body Shop Shimmer waves. It makes your cheeks super shiny. This is also good to use on its own under blush. You can also mix it with your foundation to give you an all over dewy look. This is probably my all time favourite highlighter as there is so many ways you can use it. The main way I use it is by dabbing 3 little dots along my cheek bones and blending with my finger. It also looks lovely on the brow bone. The packaging is a bit different on this, its like a nail varnish bottle, I do quite like it. I never end up using too much product.

Mac Powder Blush in Gana (unfortunately this is limited edition) - I can't remember what MAC collection this was from. This is the most subtle looking out of the four I've mentioned. I either use it on its own for a very slight highlighter or over Pearl Cream Colour Base for more dramatic look. Again its another very smooth powder. Its a very light gold colour. Its a shame that this was limited edition as this is a really nice everyday highlighter. 

What are your favourite highlighters?

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder

This year I have fallen in love with bronzer. I have very pale skin (mac nc15 if that helps anyone) so I have always thought bronzer makes me look orange. While on holiday in Madrid back in April I decided to give Benefits Hoola a try as I was feeling very pale and I have it in a little set that also contains Dallas and Dandelion.

I haven't looked back since. This product gives you a lovely glow and a bit of colour where you need it, but not at all orange. It looks really natural. Its very smooth in texture, applies evenly and lasts all day. I usually use either the Sigma F25 brush or Estee Lauder 5F Bronzer brush. I find they both apply the bronzer well.
You get 5g of product in this palette and I have been using this pretty much everyday since the beginning of April and I've only made a slight dent. So I think this will last a very long time. When I have used this up I will defiantly be buying a full size.
This set is discontinued, I found it at TKMaxx. Benefit usually does similar sets every Christmas.

If you are pale and worried about using bronzer I defiantly recommend this.

You can purchase the full size here, here and here.

GlossyBox and Recent Purchases

You have probably heard loads about GlossyBox already, so i am not going to go into too much detail. Basically you pay £10 a month and you get sent 5 Luxury sample size items of new products and unknown brands. For more info here's a link to the website GlossyBox

I was visiting friends and family last week, so i didn't actually get my box until yesterday. I had been keeping up with reading blog posts so i knew what was going to be in it. I was still very excited.
In the box came 5 products, A full size NARS Orgasm Illuminator 30ml, Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Rapid Repair Spray 25ml, Full size All For Eve Lipstick in Eve Red, COMO Shambhala Invigorate Body Lotion 50ml and Bionova Lab Bioactive Cleanser for normal/dry skin 4ml.

NARS was the only brand i had heard of before, so i was excited to try out the products and learn more about the brands.
My favorite product so far is the Alterna caviar repair spray. It smells AMAZING!
The NARS illuminator is defiantly the next favorite. Its a lovely peach shimmery shade and gives your cheeks a nice glow.
The body lotion is a bit to strong for me. So will probably just use it on my feet.
I'm not a lipstick girl, so was a little disappointed in the All For Eve Lipstick, but when I tried it on, it applied so smoothly and is such a lovely colour. I'm going to wear it around the house to start building my confidence. Then hopefully ill be brave enough to leave the house with bright red lips soon.
The only product i haven't tried yet is the cleanser. (Will probably try that tonight)
Overall I think the box is such good value for money and a good way to try products out that you wouldn't normally try. I'm already excited for next months box.

Whilst visiting friends and family last week i did a little bit of shopping. Debenhams had 10% off all beauty and fragrance, i was going to buy Benefits new eye cream, but as i was browsing the counter and the starter kit caught my eye, which has a miniature size of the whole skincare range in it. For £9 i decided to go for that instead.
I Also popped to MAC and picked up Mystery Eyeshadow (which had been on my list for ages) and Glided White Powerpoint Pencil from the Surf Baby collection. I thought this would be good to apply on the waterline to wake up my eyes on those days when I'm super tired.
I'm now officially broke after a week of eating out, shopping and enjoying myself. No more shopping for me for a while.

Did you sign up for the Glossybox?

Products Im Currently Using.

Ive seen loads of different blogs do this, so thought i would join in.

Hair

Shampoo - Umberto Giannini Voluptuous Body Shampoo.

Conditioner -  Umberto Giannini Amazing Body Conditioner.

Dry Shampoo - Batiste Dry Shampoo.

Body

Moisturisers - The Body Shop Strawberry Body Butter and Soap and Glory Righteous Body Butter.

Shower Gel - Soap and Glory Clean Girls body wash.

Body Scrub - Soap and Glory Breakfast Scrub.

Face 

Cleanser - Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser.

Toner - The Body Shop Seaweed Toner.

Day Moisturiser - Olay Complete Moisturising Fluid Combination/oily. (which i'm not too keen on, I'm looking for something else)

Night Moisturiser - Dermalogica clean Start - Bedtime for Breakouts.

Eye Cream - Clinique All About eyes. (this is a sample size i'm trying out. Have just finished Origins Ginzing which i loved)

Make up

These are just some of my favorites that I have been using a lot lately.

Foundation - Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Shell and Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundation in Ivory (which is a little to dark for me)

Concealer - Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place concealer in Light.

Blush - Nars Deep Throat and Benefit Bella Bamba.

Bronzer - Benefit Hoola and Nars Laguna.

Highlighter - Benefit High Beam.

Eyeshadow Base - Urban Decay Primer Potion and Mac Bare Study Paint Pot.

Eyeshadow - Mac Woodwinked, Mac Shroom, Mac Naked Lunch and Any of the colours from the Urban Decay Naked palette.

Eyeliner - L'Oréal Paris Super liner (A new love of mine)

Mascara - Makeup Forever Smokey Lash.

Lipgloss - Mac Cremesheen Glass Deelight. (I don't use many lip products)

Lip Balm - Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

I Hope this gives you an idea on what kind of products i like to use. I really enjoy reading these kind of posts.

What are your currently using at the moment?