USA Haul - Sephora, Ulta & Macy's!

 I'd like to start off by apologising for the bad photo quality - my memory card has decided to give up on me and I haven't had a chance to grab a new one so my phone has had to suffice. Normal photos should return soon! Back to a far more exciting topic, as you can tell from the above photo I was feeling pretty spendy and may have placed a couple of orders for my mum to receive while she was out in the States. I didn't buy nearly as much as I thought I would from Sephora, instead preferring to buy more bits from Ulta and try out the products which just never seem to come over to the UK. Only two items I bought can actually be found here but the exchange rate made it hard to say no to them, saving substantial amounts. Read on to see the exciting goodies I got!

Back from Hiatus!

Now I know, I know, it's been a good few months since I've last posted and I know it's also be quiet on the Twitter/Instagram front but I would say I have a pretty good excuse for it; A-Levels. Nothing can prepare you for the horrors that are A-Levels, taking up all of your spare time and zapping all of your energy, hence the lack of posts. I stopped watching YouTube, reading blog posts, let alone writing them, as well as stopped wearing makeup as much.
This was all a bit of a shock to my system as I suddenly stopped having time to read blog posts as I ate my breakfast and just felt too exhausted to do my full skincare routing (for all of you cringing at this, no fear, I never went to sleep without cleansing and moisturising, I just skipped out all the steps in between!). 
So what I essentially wanted to communicate from this ramble is that I'm going to try to get back on track with more frequent posting because I really do miss it! I always pick up products and think about how much of a great review it would make but then remember I have no time - that's what I want to get back into! Starting soon I'll be posting a few more reviews, some wish lists and maybe even a couple of hauls. What can I say, my shopping habits have definitely not taken a backseat over these last few months of business...

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil

Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Precision Shaping Pencil in 'Brownie Points' - £10

I'm pretty lucky in that, due to my Middle Eastern roots, my eyebrows are pretty thick and only need some tidying up every few weeks, rather than needing filling in every day. For this reason I'm not much of a brow product girl but sometimes I just feel like I need to spruce them up a little, with a bit of filling in here and there. Looking out for a good budget buy, the Soap & Glory Archery Brow Tint and Precision Shaping Pencil seemed to be just the thing.

Paris Haul

Well hello there! I know I've been AWOL for quite a while but things have just been crazy recently and I've just been insanely busy with so much - one of these things was an exciting trip to Paris. And what would a trip to Paris be without stocking up my favourite French goodies? Yep you've guessed it, my first post back over my little rest period is indeed a haul. 

bareMinerals Well Rested Concealer

bareMinerals Well Rested for Eyes Concealer - £19

I am forever on the search for the perfect under eye concealer and I was hoping that this bareMinerals Well Rested Concealer would be the answer to my prayers, providing sufficient coverage while still lasting all day and looking as natural as possible. I've not had much experience with mineral products so I thought bareMinerals, the company most famous for their mineral products, would be the perfect introduction to them.

Ciate Velvet Manicure

Ciate Velvet Manicure - £10.50 (currently only available in Blue)

I've never been particularly adventurous with my nails- a dotting tool is as far as I've ever gone- but when I spotted this Ciate Velvet Manicure in 'Mink Cashmere' set I was intrigued. It comes with a great nail polish, a matching crushed powder and a small brush to use neaten up the distribution of the powder. 

Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet

Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet in 'B20' - £33

Can we just take a minute to appreciate the luxury that is Chanel makeup? I don't think I'm ever happier than when I walk away from my local Boots with a little white bag with CHANEL imprinted on it. When this Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet was released I was incredibly excited, however the price tag is a little less than exciting…

Glamour Latest in Beauty Power List Beauty Box

Glamour Latest in Beauty Power List box - £15.99

I have never subscribed to a beauty box before, instead opting to spend my money on products which I have more wisely chosen. Having said that, I do occasionally opt to order a one-off, as I did with the amazing Glamour Latest in Beauty Power List beauty box, which was just too good to miss! Boasting brands like Laura Mercier, Philip Kingsley and Liz Earle it was no surprise that an order was due…

The Lust List #3

I must give it to myself, I have been pretty restricted with my beauty buying as of late! I haven't been to Boots in over a month (shock horror) due to my insane workload and even my ASOS orders, although frequent, have been missing any sort of beauty items. Snaps for Dina! I'm still going to try to be good (I promise) but I can't deny that I have a wish list slowly piling up, so I decided to share it with you lovely lot. 

Benefit High Beam and Cha Cha Tint

High Beam - £19.50 and Cha Cha Tint - £24.50

In my TropiCORAL set (review here) there were 2 minis- 1 of High Beam, a luminescent highlighter and the other of Cha Cha Tint, a coral tinted stain for lips and cheeks. Benefit's tints are products which I've heard a lot about but haven't had much experience with so I was really excited to try them out. Although these look comparatively small, they have lasted me for months, and I'm sure they will continue to last me for even longer.

Naked Palette vs. Naked 2 Palette

Naked 1 - £37 and Naked 2 - £37

The Naked Palettes are the popular neutrals palettes of the beauty world, but the question for those not brave enough for the Naked 3 still stands- Naked 1 or Naked 2? It's incredible just how amazing the quality of Urban Decay shadows are and they are worth every penny!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick in 'Nude-ist'

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick in 'Nude-ist' - £8.99

I had been in the market for a matte nude-y pink lipstick for a while and after hearing so many rave reviews about the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks I was eagerly awaiting the release of their most muted shade, Nude-ist. Despite the name it's not actually nude at all and when I told someone the name of the shade they actually laughed out loud at how inaccurate it was! Aside from the misleading name I love this and it's become a firm favourite in my makeup rotation.

MAC Blush - Gingerly

MAC Sheertone Blush in 'Gingerly' - £18

Unlike a majority of the beauty blogging community, I only own a small handful of MAC products. To be honest, I'm not quite sure why, as I find their range really amazing but it's never attracted me like a new Benefit or Bobbi Brown launch has.

Over a year ago I bought this Sheertone Blush in 'Gingerly', which is described as a 'capri bronze'. It's definitely very warm-toned and has a lovely matte texture. I can see why this shade would be too dark for some, but I would say that I have fairly pale skin and I can make it work. 

The issue is (and I never thought that I would complain about this) that it is almost too pigmented, which means application isn't always so easy to blend. It's definitely very easy to pick up too much product on your brush and then from there, there's no going back! You either have to put some foundation on top or wipe it off (I opt for the latter rather than risking the possibility of looking cakey with the former). 

I'm pretty impressed with the quality of this MAC blush but I'm not completely smitten and it's not one that I find myself reaching for on a daily basis, due to the effort I have to put into application. I'll continue to use it, especially as it's a lovely autumnal shade, however it won't stop me from trying out blushes from other brands too!

Summer Favourites

While 'Summer favourites' posts aren't very common, I decided to write one simply due to the fact that this summer I've not had enough time to do my monthly favourites. It just so happens that at the end of both June and July I was away and couldn't write up the posts/take the photos so I'm making up for it with a huge favourites now! For some reason I completely forgot to photograph my lip favourites of the summer but believe me when I say their absence in the picture in no way lessens my love for them! 

Max Factor CC Sticks

Max Factor CC Sticks in 'Green' and 'Yellow' - £9.99

For me lately my base makeup has been less about concealing by using just flesh coloured foundation and concealer but more about correction. It may seem like a strange concept to use green and yellow coloured things on my face but I promise that with enough blending you wouldn't have been able to tell I had anything on my face - although you might be wondering where my under eye circles/redness has gone…

Enter the Max Factor CC Sticks. After I got over the initial shock of seeing a stand of purple, green and yellow sticks I then decided what concerns I wanted to address - Green for redness, particularly around my nose, as well as Yellow, to correct under eye circles. 

I apply these pre-foundation onto my bare skin and I must admit, it's a little scary at first to see green and yellow streaks on my face. The consistency of the sticks is quite thick which means the preferred application method is to apply a bit then blend - for reference I prefer to use a mixture of my fingers and the Real Techniques Setting Brush - then apply a bit more and blend again, until I've reach the desired level of correction.

Out of the two the green's colour is a lot more prominent and takes some more work to blend into the skin seamlessly and make sure that it's all gone. Without the extra blending I find that my skin can be tinged slightly green so that's definitely something to bear in mind. For that reason I'm more reluctant to use the green stick unless I have time to get ready, it's not really a product to use when you're low on time.

On the other hand the yellow stick is really great on no makeup days where all I want is to get rid of my dark circles. Again it takes a bit of effort to blend it but it's not as obvious as the green stick, since the yellow tinge give it a lovely brightened look. It doesn't crease under my eyes unless I'm heavy handed with the application (which isn't hard to do, given its thick texture).

Overall I'm pretty impressed with the Max Factor CC Sticks however I'd consider them to be pretty pricey, at just under a tenner. If you really wanted to try them I'd recommend the shade Yellow the most but if redness is a problem then Green would probably be the way forward. If you're lucky you might catch them on a 3 for 2 offer and stock up on some other favourites while you're at it!

Korres Lip Butter in 'Pomegranate'

Korres Lip Butter in 'Pomegranate' - £8

This little pot of joy was popped into my FeelUnique basket just on a whim a couple of years ago, simply hoping for a pomegranate scented lip balm. While I might have been disappointed in the lack of pomegranate scent, the Korres Lip Butter in 'Pomegranate' has been a happy accident indeed. 

Malaysia/Australia Haul

….And here I was telling myself that I didn't want to spend too much while away. Yes indeed the inevitable post-holiday haul post is here and I'm writing this while trying to fight off the jet lag (and failing might I add, I just fell asleep in the middle of that sentence) as well as the feelings of guilt that come after buying so many beauty products!

Empties #4

 I never realise just how much I go through until I open up my overflowing top drawer and see all of the empty containers just begging to be photographed. I've used up quite a lot (and replaced it all too- haul, anyone?). Without further ado, let's begin rummaging through my rubbish!

Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen in 'Bright Idea'

Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen in 'Bright Idea' - $39

My first foray into the luxe Marc Jacobs beauty range has been a positive, albeit expensive, one and I regret absolutely nothing. When asking my sister to pick something up for me on her travels I was overwhelmed by the vast range of products but eventually settled on a type of product I had always wanted to try; a corrector. No matter how much sleep I get I have horribly dark under eye circles which are stubborn and refuse to be covered up. So when I received this I was expecting great things and great things I got. 

Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss

Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss - £6.19

I've never been a lipgloss person, finding them to be sticky and just generally annoying. I think we can all agree that windy days +  lipgloss = hair stuck to face. The only lip gloss-type product that I've actually liked using has been the Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector and nothing else- cue the Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss.