Random Haul #6

I haven't posted a haul for ages, that doesn't mean I haven't been shopping just been too lazy to write a post. This month I was meant to be being good, alas I have spent a fortune. These are just the beauty bits and pieces I have picked up in August - so far.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge I have had my eye on this for ages, I have always wanted a Beauty Blender but always thought that they are expensive and wasn't sure about how easy they are to keep clean and hygienic. I decided to get this as I love all my Real Techniques brushes and wanted to use with my MAC Pro Longwear Concealer. I also technically got this for free as I used my Advantage Card to pay. You can pick this up for £5.99 or 599 points from boots.com. 

If anyone has any tips on cleaning this please leave me a comment.

NYX Blush in Pinched this is another product I have been eyeing up forever. I know this is a YouTuber favourite but I have never seen in the actual shops so always resisted. I randomly found a NYX stand in my local Next in the lingerie section! Is it just me that thinks that is an odd place to put a makeup display? Anyway after spotting I was soon raiding the stand for this bad boy like a mad woman. As soon as swatched I knew it was coming home with me. It was £6 which I think is a bargain, sadly I can't find this on next.co.uk or anywhere else. If you are looking for this and want to swatch I would suggest popping into your local Next.

NYC HD Color Quattro Eyeshadow in 815 Best of Broadway I really don't need any more eyeshadows but I was shopping with my mum and lets just say I suggested quite a few products. She then made, yes made me buy something. So I picked up this little palette, I am sure that I have seen this in a YouTube video somewhere so I decided to give it a try. I have never tried anything from the brand and thought that this would be great for travel. It was a bargain at £2.99 and is available from lloydspharmacy.com

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW15 I went in the MAC store to ask a question and came out with three products! I suffer from very bad dark circles and have yet to find my Holy Grail concealer, I mention this whilst chatting to the lovely MAC lady and she suggested this. I know that Jaclyn Hill uses this, and also uses to prime her eyelid so I was intrigued. As always in the store this looked amazing, I have yet to achieve such results at home. I do also have a few niggles with this product but hoping that the Real Techniques sponge might help. This is £17 from maccosmetics.co.uk.

MAC 286 Duo Fibre Brush this is the second thing I bought in MAC. I also bought a bottle of Brush Cleanser which I didn't include in this haul as it's not terribly exciting. You can pick that up here. Anyway after agreeing to purchase the concealer I stupidly asked what the best way to apply was and guess what she suggested two brushes. One of the ones was a small foundation brush which I wasn't feeling and the other was this one. When I saw this I knew I was in trouble, it is so soft. I love my duo fibre Real Technique eyeshadow brush, but I find if I blend too much it feels like it scratches. I can report that I don't have any such problems with this. I am not sure I would use to blend my concealer but I am glad I bought. This is £23 from maccosmetics.co.uk.

Deep Action Mattifying Shine Control Papers which might just be one of the least glamorous beauty products ever but I can't wait to try these out. I use the Rimmel Stay Matte powder which due to having awful packaging is no way going in my bag. The lid is split and doesn't stay on. It also doesn't keep me matte through a full work day so have been looking rather more dewy then I would like. I only bought these today so can't report back whether they are any good. I did really struggle to find these, does anyone use any other brands or have any recommendations. These are £2.59 from superdrug.com.

Clearasil Superfruits Refreshing Pads as I have now finally finished my AAT I have been catching up on YouTube and watched Caroline Hiron's Budget Skincare video which you can watch here. When Caroline recommends products it's pretty much guaranteed that I will lust after it, and when I saw this in Boots for £2.71 I knew I had to have it. Again I only got this today but I can't wait to try and report back. As I said this is on offer for £2.71 at the moment from boots.com.

I am hoping for my bank balances state that this will be the last haul for awhile but I just cant say no at the moment.

A Happy Ending?

Well this is going to be a bit of a different post for me, sort of a random ramble based on something that I have been thinking about this week - is all we want is a happy ending?

I am not ashamed to admit it, although maybe I should that I am a hopeless romantic. I love reading Mills and Boon and watching chick flicks. Now sometimes I question why I read them, I know it's not how real life works. I know that I am not going to be swept off my feet by a knight (billionaire) in shinning armor (Giorgio Armani) who has a tonne of staff. I have a boyfriend who I know loves me, ok he doesn't say heart melting things to me daily or shower me with Chanel, but a girl can dram right.

Sometimes I find it quite depressing and ask myself why isn't my life like that. Our these books giving us unrealistic expectations of relationships and life in general. Shouldn't I read something more realistic and more empowering. Yet my iPad mini is full of romantic tales that I consume at an alarming rate.

I was even toying with the idea of writing one, I have read so many I know the drill. A young (they are usually fresh out of college) female meets and falls in love with a drop dead gorgeous man. As soon as they realise this another event tears them apart, there is then a period where she can't eat, sleep or function without the love of their life. But alas they end up happily together, after she finds out that he is filthy rich and amazing in bed.

I was trying to think of twists, what if she wasn't young and single, what if he wasn't a CEO but a bin man, and most shockingly what if they didn't end up together.

Alas I never started it but then I read a book which I can't stop thinking about. I won't say what it is because it will totally ruin it, but it had the most heart breaking ending. I literally couldn't read through the tears, not only did they not end up together but it finished with the devastatingly young couple discovering that not only could they not be together but that love is a myth and that they will never fall in love again.

Now I am not saying that this is more realistic as there was some very dubious plot twists but my God it haunted me for days. I couldn't stop thinking if the couple really loved each other they could overcome the obstacles, the book left absolutely no hope of this. I found it utterly heart breaking and could think and talk of little else for a couple of days.

I actually became quite angry how could the author be so heartless? How could she do it to them and more importantly to me? What had happened to her that made her so cruel?

It was then I decided that if I ever wrote a romance novel it would definitely have a happy ending. After all if our escapes from the drugged of life leaves us a sobbing mess what kind of escape is that, or positive message.

I may not believe that I will end up with a billionaire sex God but I do believe that love conquers all and that with the right partner by your side you can get through anything. In many aspects I am very negative and skeptical but matters of the heart I am ever the optimist. I realised I am unwilling to give up that hope and belief. If a romantic heroine doesn't get her happily ever after what hope is there for us.

Lastly I would like to say for the record that I am not saying to have a happy ending you have to have a man/husband, in fact many happy endings can come in many forms but I would like to think that there is a happy ending for everyone.

Recent Empties #Skincare

A rather Ren heavy post today, the reason being is that I had a few mini sets from magazines to use up. Now these are small samples and some I haven't used for a while so might not be the most in depth reviews - sorry.

Ren Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel buying and trying new cleansers seem to be my thing right now. At the moment I have four on the go, this is one of the more expensive ones that I have tried - so is it worth it. Well yes and no. This smells gorgeous as it is rose scented and is feel more luxurious then most. It also didn't dry out my skin or leave it feeling tight, but it didn't do anything amazing either. This is a product I wanted to fall in love with as it smells so good, but really it didn't do anything that my Superdrug one doesn't do for a fraction of the price. If you haven't seen my full review of that, click here. So for that reason I wouldn't repurchase. The full size is available from marksandspencer.com for £14.

Ren Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream this promises to protect against free radicals and environmental aggression whatever that means. The thing I couldn't and still can't get over is that this is a protection day cream but doesn't include and SPF - is it just me that thinks that is weird? This does have a light but I find pleasant scent, and is a light texture which is quickly absorbed. Again as with the cleansing gel, I wanted to love this but just wasn't wowed by it. Maybe because I only had 10mls but I didn't see any real difference in my skin. I am glad I tried and have nothing negative to say, but I wouldn't rush to purchase. You can pick up the full size for £27 at uk.spacenk.com.

Ren Vita-Mineral Day Cream I liked this more then the previous one, for a couple of reasons. It seemed more hydrating than the Global Protection one and it reminded me a lot of the Caudalie Vinosource Sorbet that I loved, which I reviewed here. It too had the same light texture yet managed to be uber hydrating. Depending on what offers were on when I need to buy a new moisturiser it will be a choice between this and the Caudalie. If you like a light moisturiser but need a lot of hydration I would strongly recommend this.  The full size is £25 from asos.com.

Ren Vita Mineral Active 7 Eye Gel now 3ml is not a very large sample and I didn't test this out for as long I would have liked but this didn't make any difference to my dark circles. I have always suffered with dark circles but recently they have got worse, probably due to everything that is going on. Maybe if I had a larger sample and therefore used for longer I would have seen an improvement. Has anyone else used this? The full size is £20.00 from marksandspencer.com.

As always none of the above links are affiliate links.

ModelCo Fibre Lashxtend Mascara

During my little sabbatical I was still wearing and loving makeup, and one of my favourite finds was this mascara from ModelCo. I got this as a freebie earlier in the year with Glamour magazine. 

To be honest I didn't have high hopes for this as had visions of this crumbling and flaking off all over my face.

This is a very dry formula and at first I wasn't sure, but I was really impressed with this. For day time I like to make my lashes as black as possible with no clumps and some added length. This delivers on both counts.

I was also impressed with the longevity, it didn't smudge, flake or crumble and it was removed easily. I am too lazy to wear mascara that is difficult to remove on a daily basis.

The packaging also get a thumbs up from me, as this has a handy mirror on the side, which although gets very grubby does come in handy.

The only issue I have with this is the price and the availability. I have never seen this in the shops and can only find on two websites. It is available from modelcocosmetics.com for £16 with £5 p&p unless you spend £100! Alternatively I have found a duo available for £6.99 on xtras.co.uk who I have ordered from before and  have been  very impressed with.

I am tempted to purchase the duo but do have quite a few mascara's but when I am running low I will check Xtras to see if they are still in stock.

Please note that none of the above links are affiliate links