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.

Random Haul #5

I have bought a couple of things since my last haul. I was hoping to treat myself at Duty Free. But my local airport however is tiny and the one in Bulgaria wasn't much better, so I ended up buying nothing.

Just before my holiday I had a last minute panic that I wouldn't have enough bikinis so needed, yes needed, to do a last minute asos order. I ordered several bikinis (but only kept one) but needed to spend £100 to get free next day delivery. I was only a couple of quid short so spotted a Rimmel London Salon Pro nail polish for £3. I haven't tried any of the Rimmel nail polishes for years, but have heard good things about the Kate Moss range, so thought why not. The colour I got was 347 Disco Fever.  This is still available from asos.com for £3.

Whilst spending the day in Norwich with my mum I picked up a couple of bits from Superdrug. The first is the MUA Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation. I have wanted this since it featured on missbudgetbeauty.co.uk. I have never really tipped my toe into the drugstore foundations as I am so pale, I worry I will end up looking like an oompa loompa. I think that there are only three shades available, which is a bit poor. But I swatched two and they both looked pretty similar. I did go for porcelain to decrease the chance of looking orange. This was an absolute bargain as was on offer so was £3 for 35ml and it still appears to be on offer here.

The last thing I picked up from Superdrug was the MUA Pro-Base Fixing Mist. I have always wanted to try one of the Urban Decay ones but couldn't really justify the price tag on a product I wasn't really sure I needed. I recently read a rave review on this, although annoyingly can't remember whose blog it was on. My mum also picked this up as she mentioned she has noticed that now she is getting older her makeup doesn't last as long. This is available from superdrug.com for £5 for 60ml.

Whilst I was walking down the aisles at Tesco I saw some Ardell Demi Wispies and knew I had to get them. I don't know if before I discovered YouTube I had been living under a rock but I had never heard of this brand before. I have attempted to wear false lashes before with little success, but I am sure paired with some tweezers and some tutorials I will be fine.  These were in the bargain end of the makeup aisle and I can't find them online at tesco.com but are available from superdrug.com.

The last product is Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair II I loved the original and now that the new version has the stamp of approval from carolinehirons.com getting the new improved version was a must. I picked this up from my local Boots and realize that I may have paid over the odds as I paid £48 however on boots.com it is £44. I have sent Boots an email asking if there has been a mistake. I always blindly assumed that the prices were the same, the response I got back was 

I can confirm that prices of items that we stock online and in store can vary. This is due to the fact that Boots.com and Boots Stores are two separate businesses and have their own respective Marketing teams. 

So there you have it, before you buy instore get out your phone and check you can't buy cheaper online.

Anyway I know I say this after every haul but must stop spending

FeelUnique.com Sale Haul

I know the sale is no longer on but I thought I would show you what I bought. I have said many times that my scalp is very problematic and I also have very fine unmanageable hair, so I wanted to really make the most of the sale by investing in some hair care.

Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Shampoo regular readers will have seen this in other hauls and empties, but I did actually debate getting the Philip Kingsley No Scent Shampoo instead. As much I love this shampoo my scalp is still never completely clear. I was tempted by the No Scent one as it SLS free which is a common irritant. I however decided to stick with this one as I would only have purchased a small size of the no scent so I didn't feel I was making the most of the sale. I got a 1000ml for £36.38 usually £41.25 here.

Philip Kingsley Scalp Toner in a bid to sort out my scalp and keep on top of it, I know I should use a scalp tonic. This one apparently stimulates blood to the scalp, absorbs excessive oil and protects against bacteria.  I will let you know how I get on with this but I have used another of his toners before but never consistently. I am determined to give this a good go. I paid £13.50 instead of £15.30 for 250ml available here.

Philip Kingsley Elasticizer I got a tube of this for my birthday from my mum as she loves this stuff. Again I haven't used consistently but when I do use it my hair always feels amazing and does seem to behave better. I am hoping that if I use regularly the condition of my hair will improve and maybe just maybe become more manageable.  I got 75ml for £11.25 which is usually £12.75 here.

If you do want to try Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer you can pick up a 40ml sample with this month's InStyle.

Philip Kingsley Stimulating Scalp Mask if you read my recent empties post here. I used up a Scalp Mask from Philip Kingsley which I loved. Unfortunately this has been discontinued and replaced with two new scalp masks. I have tried the exfoliating one and not been overly impressed so I am hoping that these are better. I got these for £4.13 each instead of £4.70 available here.

Now that I have all the products I just need to use them.

What did everyone else get in the FeelUnique.com sale?

Magazine Madness September 2013 + A Mini Beauty Haul

This month's magazines have been a bit of a let down to be honest. I have only found one magazine with any freebies. If anyone else spots one please let me know. To make up for the lack of magazines I decided to add a little haul to the post.

The only magazine with a free gift appears to be Elle which has a Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hairspray. If you have read my blog before you will know that I have very fine hair and am struggling to find a good volumising product. I have never tried anything from Bumble and Bumble, but have read so many rave reviews on the brand, that I have high hopes. I will let you know how I get on with this.

So this post isn't mega short I thought I would share a couple of recent purchases. First up is this amazing smelling Sparkling Wine Natural Lip Balm. I only bought this yesterday from a shop in Holt which I love, I don't think I have ever come out empty handed. They have a website which you can check out victoriagoss.co.uk but I would seriously recommend popping in if you are ever in North Norfolk. I can't comment on whether this is any good but it smells amazing.

Next up is actually a gift I received from my mother in law, who recently went to America. She bought me some Chanel nail polish in 657 Azure. I was absolutely over the moon to get a Chanel polish, I mean who doesn't love a bit of Chanel. It wouldn't have been a colour I would have picked for myself, but I have worn it and I love it. I will write a full post but honestly hand on heart this colour is absolutely stunning.

In fact I loved it so much the following week I went out and bought another Chanel polish in 583 Taboo. I haven't worn this but the sales lady said it had the same finish as Azure. I can't wait till the Autumn/Winter time to rock this bad boy. I really need to get on with culling my nail polishes as I have over 100 but I just can't resist sometimes.

Random Haul #4

Ok so me and my bank balance are hoping that this is the last haul for a while but sometimes I just can't stop myself.

The first product I bought is the Rimmel Instant Tan Light Matte in the water resistant version. I can't find this on the Boots website but you can pick this up all over the place for £6.99. I haven't tried fake tan for years after some serious disasters but it is so hot at the moment that I wanted to be able to wear dresses and skirts without tights. I have used this and think I may need some more practice as it wasn't completely successful, but I think that might be another post.

Sticking with the fake tan theme I picked up Rimmel Instant Tan Remover from Poundland. Even though the instant tan says it comes off with soap and water I expected this to be easier. I am unsure whether this is really worth buying as I still have remnants of the Instant Tan after using both this and soap.  I also saw this in Boots but again can't find on their site.

Whilst I was in Tesco picking up magazines, which feature in this months Magazine Madness I saw that the got2b range was on two for £5.00 so I picked up the got2b Guardian Angel. I am interested to see how this compares with the TRESemme one I have been using for years. 

The reason I was even down the hair care aisle was that I was looking for a new volumising product. I have tried a couple of new products but not been blown away with either so wanted to try something new. I went for got2b 2 Sexy Big Volume Spray Mousse. I haven't read any reviews or heard it mentioned but thought it is worth a try.

Last up is the Sure Clear Aqua Anti-Perspirant I have been using the aloe vera version which I really like as there is no real scent but it does leave white marks. I am hoping this will be as good but without the marks - we will see.

If anyone has any volumising hair product recommendations please let me know.

Mini asos Sales Haul

So this month I am trying to be good as I have had to buy a new laptop after my old one decided to stop working. Obviously since vowing to be good all the sales have hit online and I just couldn't resist.  I only ordered four tops, one is definitely going back, one I love and two I am not sure about. 

I will start with the item I am definitely keeping, it is the Warehouse Adorn Paisley Top. As you can see it is pretty sheer but I am thinking of wearing it with a vest top for work or just a nice bra for an evening look, obviously with jeans on as well. I love how this is longer at the back, as always nice to have a bit more material over your bum. I wouldn't pay £40 quid for this so was very pleased to pick it up for £28.

The next item I am returning as its too big and they don't stock any smaller sizes. It's the Oasis Dip Hem Top. Its a lot more pinkie then the camera shows but is utterly gorgeous unfortunately it's just to big. I really like the back as has a peplum feel to it, shown below.

The last two items I just don't know whether to keep, the first especially.

The first is the Warehouse Tile Back T-Shirt which is super flattering, nice and light and will look great with jeans. My only issue is the sleeve holes (or whatever you call them) are low and if your not careful it can show your bra. Is this because I need a smaller size, aren't very busty or is this a common problem? I would order the size smaller to see if that helps but it isn't in stock - any help would be much appreciated   

The last item the Hilfiger DenimButterfly T-Shirt I have much the same problem as the sleeves are so deep you can see my bra. After watching the catwalk on the asos site just now I think this may also be too big, Hilfiger's sizes must run huge as I have a small and it is a lot baggier then the models. I think I am leaning more to returning this.

If anyone knows if seeing your bra poke out from your sleeves is in or not please let me know as I am clueless.

Collective Haul

I must stop shopping, I haven't bought this all in one go its a good few weeks worth.

My skin has been playing up lately, I think mostly due to stress but my chin has been breaking out like crazy. Nothing I had was working so when I popped into Superdrug I picked up the Deep Action Anti-Blemish Gel  I got this as it has 'the maximum  concentration of salicylic acid' so must work right. I put this on as soon as I got home and it did sting a little, the redness did reduce quickly, but the spot was/is still hanging around. This is available from superdrug.com for £2.

I also got a Tropical Cocktail Peel-Off Mask I love a good old face mask especially on a chilled Sunday evening and thought that this would be a nice one for the summer. It is suitable for all skin types and deeply cleanses the skin. I might do a post on this depends if I remember to be honest. You can get this from superdrug.com for 99p.

Sticking with face masks I bought two Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Peel Off Face Masks from Boots. I really love peel off face masks and thought these may help my stressed out spotty skin. These are 99p each from boots.com. As the range was on 3 for 2 I also got a Tea Tree & Witch Hazel 6 Nose Pore Strips as been suffering from a few blackheads on my nose, yuk. This is £4.99 again from boots.com.

Sticking with the skin care theme I also  bought the L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution, I have wanted to try Bioderma but haven't wanted to to fork out for it. So when I saw that L'Oreal had bought out their version had to give it a go. So far have been impressed but do find that you need a lot. This is available from boots.com for £3.33.

I am not sure why I thought I needed another bubble bath but treated myself to Radox Bath Smoothies Tropical Tranquillity. This smells amazing, and is absolutely perfect for the summer or holidays, as after a long hard summers day it's still nice to jump in the bath and relax. This is currently available from boots.com for £1.57.

After seriously lusting after this last summer, I finally decided to get myself Essie Bikini So Teeny this was limited edition last summer so was expecting it to be a chore to find but is available for the bargain price of £3.99 from xtras.co.uk. I haven't used the polish yet but am seriously impressed with xtras, free fast delivery.

After falling in love with Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser I picked up another two. You can read my post here I honestly can't say enough good things about this. As they were on 3 for 2 I decided to try the Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream after being thoroughly disappointed by a No7 one. The night cream is £2.99 from superdrug.com.

The last items are a bit random but I recently went to an outlet shopping centre in Spalding and bought an Eyebag Tea and Foot Soothers from Whittard's. I am unable to find these on their website and they were only £2 for both so assume that they have been discontinued. They are basically tea bags for your eyes and feet, has anyone tried these out?

Well that is all for now, I have just placed an order from asos so will probably be another haul soon.

Primark Haul

With summer approaching I desperately needed some summer clothes so decided to head to Primark on quiet (ish) Sunday morning. I actually picked up rather a lot for me, as find the Norwich store not that great.

The first thing I bought was this gorgeous western stud dipped hem dress. As soon as I saw this I knew it would be coming home with me. I really love sheer material for the summer and the stud detail makes it that bit more interesting. I wasn't so sure on the high low thing but on I really like it. I did have to separate the vest style dress as getting into this was a pain in the back side. This was the bargain price of £7 however once home I noticed a tiny hole in the material, I don't think its that noticeable so not worth a trip into the city to return.  The only problem is what shoes to wear with it? Any suggestions welcome.

I went a bit crazy for their dresses and picked up their textured skater dress in blue and green, well they were only £13.  I  got these so I could wear to work but think that they might be a bit short. They are still ultra flattering,comfortable and can be dressed up or down, so perfect.

As I said I got two. The emerald one didn't have a belt attached, but was the last in my size, so it wasn't a bit deal.  The green one is actually available on asos.com, lets hope they pick up more Primark clothing as would make the site even better.

I also picked up this stripped vest top for £4. I love how bright this is and that it is longer at the back, so covers your bum. Some days I just feel like my bum is too big and that everyone is starring at it. I am sure they aren't but like to have a bit more material covering it all the same. That said this is quite sheer and will have to wear either an old granny nude bra or a bra that is made to be seen.

The last items of clothing, well apart from knickers which I don't think you wanna see are these adorable pjs for £7. They are so soft and perfect for summer, the shorts are very short but I don't suppose that matters.

The last two items are very random but just had to get them, one was a lint roller. I am a bit obsessed with lint rollers as they are a necessity for when I visit my mum. She has two dogs, my sister who lives with her has a dog as does my other sister so can be up to four dogs. You end up covered in dog hair which I hate so before I leave I go mental with a lint roller.

The last thing was some antibacterial hand gel which is a handbag essential and was only 60p. I haven't tried this yet as I still have my weird rash on my hands so not trying anything new until I know what it is or it goes.

If anyone has any suggestions on shoes with my studded dress please let me know.

Pay Day Haul May

After the stress of last month I decided the best way to cheer myself was to have a little splurge, admittedly I did need a couple of things, mainly a cleanser and some jeans but I may have treated myself to a few other things tut tut. I will start with one of the items I needed.

I have been wanting to pick up the nspa Hot Cloth Polish since I saw it feature in one of Ruth Crilly's YouTube videos ( I can't find the original post but she has since mentioned in her New Budget Beauty Finds video which you can view here) I have high hopes for this cleanser and I am very interested to see how it fairs against not only the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish which I have reviewed here but also my current favourite drugstore version from Superdrug which I posted about here. It is available from asda.com for £7 or most of the range is on two for £8.

Due to the offer the second product I picked up was their Skin Renewal Gel, I haven't seen anything about this product, but am intrigued to try a chemical exfoliator as opposed to a manual one. I do love giving my skin a good old scrub so will be interested to see how I get on with this. Again this can be bought from asda.com

Whilst I was in Asda I saw this gorgeous quilted bag in cream. The strap is adjustable so can be worn across your body or just on your shoulder. I knew I had to have it as I am planning on going to Royal Ascot this year and think this will go with whatever I plan to wear and also the perfect size to fit all your essentials. You can pick this up from asda.com for £7.00 it also available in black.

Another need was some new jeans. I am lucky to be able to wear whatever I want to work so live in jeans and really wanted a lighter wash for spring summer. After declaring my love for Warehouse denim in my Autumn Haul my black ultra skinny jeans really let me down. They faded and stretched really quickly. They no longer sell the ultra skinny jeans which is annoying as I love my indigo pair. After browsing online they do sell Superfit Skinny which apparently are made from 'premium' denim meaning that they will last longer however they are £8 more. Anyway back onto what I actually bought I got the Super Skinny jeans. There is a lot more give in them then the Ultra Skinny so expecting them to lose their shape pretty darn quick, if only I saw the other ones in store. Anyway I will see how well they last and let you know.  They are £40 from warehouse.co.uk

I had a a voucher for Topshop so decided to see what jeans they had, as I think another reason the last pair didn't last as long is due to their constant use. I bought a pair of Leigh Supersoft Ankle Grazers. They are incredibly soft and like the length for this time of year as will look great with some gladiator sandals. They were two pounds cheaper and I am interested to see which pair lasts longer. I think these are the wash I got although there are several different washes available.

As my Topshop voucher was £40 I picked up this gorgeous bracelet in the sale for £3.50. Unfortunately I can't find on their website but I also saw it in white. I picked up the nude colour as I think it will go with more things.  I rarely wear bracelets as they tend to irritate me but thought that this would look great on a night out.

Now onto the really naughty makeup treats. After seeing Sam apply the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot in this video I knew I had to try it. Well I was amazed after it was applied in the store, honestly my dark circles are a nightmare, no matter how much sleep I get or cream I apply they don't budge. The difference with this was so noticeable so I had to buy it. I got mine from Jarrold & Son in Norwich which unfortunately you can't buy online from but this is available from Johnlewis.com for £29.00.

I was only going to buy the concealer but Jarrold's had a free gift with purchase of 30ml of the Foundation Primer with two or more purchases so I had to find another product to get the free gift. I have heard so much about their primers that it was an offer I couldn't resist. I am not sure whether it was only Jarrold's doing this as I can't find any other stockists but you can buy this from johnlewis.com for £18.50.

The other product I bought to get the free gift was the Tinted Moisturiser, which is another product I have read great things about. I am hoping that this will be a million times better then the last tinted moisturiser I had which was You Rebel Lite by Benefit which kind of put me off tinted moisturisers. I was shocked to find this is more expensive then my beloved Chanel foundation (which I will write a post about one day) for less product fingers crossed its worth it. You can get this from johnlewis.com for £33.00.

Has anyone tried any of the Laura Mercier products - are they worth the price tag? And which are the best jeans on the high street?

Mini Boots Haul

This post is a bit late I actually bought these a couple of weeks ago using a gift card. If you read my random ramblings post you will know that there was an issue with my bank which left me with very little money so thank fully due to the brilliant invention of gift cards was still able to go shopping. The issue has still yet to be resolved but have been paid now so not as dire.

The first thing I picked up was some TRESemme Heat Defence Styling Spray, I have used this for years as I love how it doesn't leave any residue in my fine hair or make it sticky. I have noticed that I seem to be getting quite a few split ends at the moment, so was tempted to try Redken's Extreme Anti Snap but at over £14 decided to stick to good old TRESemme which is only £4.69 from boots.com

The reason I actually went shopping was I needed a new mascara as noticed that my Maybelline The Falsies was starting to dry out. I always wanted to try a new mascara not that I didn't love the Maybelline one but I might be missing out.  Revlon was and still is on offer so I thought I would try the Grow Luscious mascara. I haven't seen a great deal about this mascara but if it can help make my lashes longer its gotta be worth a try. It is currently £9.99 from boots.com

As Revlon was on 3 for 2 I decided to finally take the plunge and get a Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain. I have read so many great reviews of these and seen them appear in numerous YouTube videos so decided to finally give in and try one. I went for 001 Honey which appears to actually be the exact same colour as my lips. I have worn a few times but will get some swatches and write a full review. You can pick these up for £7.99 from boots.com.

The last thing I bought was a Colourburst Lip Butter in 063 Wild Watermelon. I do have another Lip Butter which I bought last year when I went to Oxford,but I haven't got round to reviewing that yet.(naughty blogger) Anyway safe to I really like these. I decided to go for a brighter colour then my usual nude pinks and it's safe to say this is a lot brighter then I am used to. So far not ventured out of the house wearing it. Its so much brighter then what I normally wear that when I first tried this out at home my boyfriend noticed that I had something different on my lips! These are also £7.99 from boots.com

Since I have been paid I have actually treated myself to a few (too many) other things which I will share in another post.