April Favourites!

I've not posted a favourites for a long time now, as it has been a while since I loved enough products to amount to one. Although this month I spent two weeks at home for Easter, and somehow forgot way too many of my everyday products meaning I had to replace them (and try out some new ones in the process). So without further waffling here is everything I've been loving this month!

Lacura Pro Revive Hand Cream (125ml/£0.75) - The skin on my hands has been playing up lately and I completely forgot to pack a handcream. I didnt want to pay out for a new one as I have so many opened ones in my flat so pretty much made a grab for the cheapest one I could find. This turned out to be a brilliant choice as this is probably the best one in my collection. This is lovely thick texture, which pretty much instantly absorbs into your hands meaning you're not left waiting ages for it to dry. It also leaves them feeling so much softer, which isn't surprising given that the front of the tube claims that this bundle of joy includes beeswax and vitamin E!

Superfacialist Calming Creamy Cleanser (150ml/£7.99) - I also forgot my face wash so picked this up after reading its list of impressive claims. To be honest I'm not normally a fan of products which feature rose, although I haven't found it to be an issue with this. I found that this cleanser has a lovely thick formula which does a wonderful job at cleansing my face and has left it feeling so much softer after just a couple of weeks use!

Rimmel Wake me up foundation (30ml/£8.99) - I've actually given this product a negative view in the past because of its rubbish shade range. Although recently Rimmel have released 'light porcelain' which is pretty much a perfect match for my skintone and I have been enjoying this every day since. Its really easy to work with and I like the way it looks on my skin which makes it worth every penny in my opinion.

Collection Work the Colour Palette (£3.99) - I've reviewed this favourite recently here and I'm still using the second row of shades pretty much everyday so figured it had deserved its place here. A truly great product for the price.

Make up Revolution #happylips in Love a Hug (£3.00) - I've always wanted to try a lipstick surrounded by a balm, although the Clarins ones are extremely pricey! So when this launched I couldn't wait to try it! I wasn't at all disappointed, this feels amazing on the lips and I really love the colour. Expect a review post soon!

Becca compact concealer (£30.00) - You can get these a lot cheaper if you shop around, for example mine was under £4 from Fragrance Direct. I just love the coverage this offers me and the fact that its the perfect shade for my skintone!

Collection Work the Colour Palette

I was having a bit of a spurge in Superdrug the other day when I came across this range of palettes on the Collection stand. I figured at £3.99 a pop they were well worth a try, so went home with the 'nude eye palette' which is right up my street. Included in the cardboard palette is a mini duo applicator, eight powder eyeshadows and a cream highlighter. The idea behind the palette is that you use shades 1,2 and 3 along with the highlighter to create your desired look featured on the back, although personally I would have preferred another eyeshadow shade over the cream highlighter as all of the shades towards the left of the palette look as if they would make descent highlighters anyway. Although I guess the idea of an added cream highlighter would be welcomed if you are looking to build your make up collection collection.

To be totally honest I don't care too much for the top row of shadows. Number one here is a poorly pigmented white/cream shade which I suppose could be useful as a highlighting shade if you really tried to get the colour to show (below it is swatched twice as apposed to once like everything else). The next pan contains the cream highlight which is just as bad, I just fail to see the purpose in it as its pretty much undetectable on the skin. Things get better here with shade 3 which is by far the best shade in this first row, in fact it petty much matches up to the rest of the palette which despite the so far negative review I actually really like! It's just a really pretty shimmery brown which you can see demonstrated below.

The second row makes this palette worth every single penny to me! I really love it and have been sporting these three shades on my lids ever since I picked up this palette earlier in the week. As instructed to on the back I simply blend shade one all over the lid, add shade two into the center of the eyelid to add some definition then finally complete the look with shade three which I use to contour my eyelids! It just creates a really pretty natural look which I love against my skintone! Unfortunately I don't have an eye primer with me since the majority of make up is still in my flat back at university although I have been putting this to the test over my Becca cream concealer. In doing this have found that when I check this around right hours later there are still traces of the shades even if there is some cracking occurring, although I imagine this wouldn't be a problem with a descent primer! 

The final row is one I cant say I have used much (mainly because I've been too busy swooning over the second) although again its made up of three decently pigmented natural shades shown below. Like the rest of the palette they all have a hint of shimmer too them which varies from shade to shade.

Overall I really like this little palette! While it isn't the most pigmented product in the world that can be overlooked when you consider for under £4 you get a total of eight lovely eyeshadows and a cream highlighter. Plus I love the fact that it gives advise on how to wear the eyeshadows. A truly great product for beginners! 

The accidental beauty haul..

I wasn't intending to post a haul today, although yesterday I went into town to pick up a few essentials I forgot to pack in my suitcase and this was the result. Firstly I'll tell you about the things I actually meant to pick up.. I some how forgot to pack the majority of my skincare along with some heat protection so my first stop was Boots were I finally decided to try one of the Una Brennan products everyone's been raving about! I picked up the Superfacialist Rose Hydrate Cleanser (£5.33/150ml) which I've heard amazing things about and look forward to trying it out.  Next I went to Superdrug where the majority of hauling started! I picked up this Naturally Radiant Brightening Micro Polish (£2.48/75ml) and this Style Expert Styling Straightening Spray (£1.99/100ml) which I cant find online but according to my receipt it was £1.99, It's also from a brand I haven't heard of before which is always exciting! Finally for essential items I finally picked up another night cream after my Origins one sadly run out, instead I went for a cheaper choice in the form of this Nivea night cream (£2.86/50ml).

I didnt go too crazy with make up in Superdrug, although there were a few bits which caught my eye! The thing I'm happiest with is this Rimmel wake me up foundation (£8.99/30ml) in the new shade, light porcelain. I owned this previously although found that the lightest shade was too orange on my skintone so I was really pleased to hear that Rimmel were making a lighter shade since this stuff gets amazing reviews! As this was on a buy one get one half price offer I also picked up a colour rush lip crayon in the shade make me blush (£5.99/2.5g). Next I finally manged to track down an MUA lip Lacquer in the shade Funk (£3.00), and am bloody impressed with it so far so expect a review to come! Finally I spotted these work the colour palettes (£3.99) on the Collection stand and picked up the nude one to try out, I also got a polish free for spending a certain amount!

Last but not least I figured I'd show you the goodies I got from Make Up Revolution the other day whilst posting a haul. I'm yet to spot another Naked 3 dupe, so when I laid eyes on the Ionic 3 palette (£4.00) I knew I had to have it along side my other dupes! I also loved the look of the vivid blush lacquer's (£3.00) so popped desire into my basket. Finally I picked up two lip products, the amazing care lipstick in love a hug (£3.00) and rebel with cause (£1.00) 

As always I want to hear what you've been buying lately! Also if you want to see a review on any of the products mentioned just let me know in the comments below! 

What's in my make up bag?

Its been a good while since I've done one of these what's in my make up bag posts, although since moving to university last September, I have found my make up bag has remained the same as I've found myself pretty loyal to the same products.. Although I'm guessing this is something which will change rapidly over the summer! I've only been back at home less than 24 hours and I've already managed to get my hands on four new goodies. So without waffling on for too much longer here are the current products I have tucked away in my make up bag!

Osiris Avise BB Cream (£1.00/bodycare) - As a lover of the natural look I love a good BB cream, although this one happens to be my favourite - and the best part is it was only a pound! I find that this leaves my skin with a lovely glow natural glow to it, which is more than I can say for other pound make up products I've tried! 

Revlon Nearly Naked foundation (£8.99/Boots) - Like the BB cream, I find this feels light on the skin although offers me just a little more coverage on those days that I want to look more 'put together'. I really adore this, however due to the fact that it doesn't have a pump and I'm constantly wasting a load of it- I cant see myself buying this again anytime soon! Sometimes packaging really is key, sorry Revlon!

Maybelline Dream Lumi concealer (£6.99/Boots) - I forgot to photograph this one, although lately I've been favouring this over my eye eraser which is saying a lot! I just find the light consistency a complete dream to work with and love the way it leaves under my eyes looking!

Becca compact concealer (£4.99/Fragrance Direct) - This is £30 on the Becca website! Although luckily I snapped one up when they were under £4 over on Fragrance direct! I've always been a Collection lasting perfection kinda girl, although this completely changed me! It does an amazing job at covering any tricky blemishes and blends incredibly, Such a great find!

Bourjois universal illumining powder (£9.99) - I'll be honest and say I don't use this half as much as I should, although the lid to my favourite powder (Rimmel stay matte) has snapped in two which wasn't ideal for my 3 hour train journey home so picked this up instead. I had forgotten how much I actually liked this, despite looking awfully shimmery it gives a lovely subtle glow to my skin and steals my make up into place.

Soap & Glory Solar Powder (£11.00/Boots) - I wont be going into too much detail with this once since I dedicated a whole post to it recently here, although I will say along with the Topshop cream blush this is probably the longest standing product in my make up bag - I just cant get enough of it!

Topshop Cream blush in head over heels (£7.00/Topshop) - It seems this one has gone up in price since I brought mine, although it is still worth every single penny. I find nothing other than this blush gives my cheeks a beautiful natural looking glow on a daily basis, how I still haven't reviewed this is beyond me! Although I suspect this will be one of my first reviews once my exams are over!

Benefit watts up (£24.50/Benefit) - I got this in one of benefits little kits around Christmas and have been trying it out ever since. Would I spend nearly £25 on it? Never, although it is a lovely product and I will continue to use it until the sample runs out!

Maybelline the Rocket Volum' express (£7.99/Boots) - To be quite honest I've never been a fan of Maybelline mascaras, while they leave my lashes looking good they constantly smudge on me! Although that all changed when I tired this one out, not only does it leave my eyes smudge free I love the way it leaves my lashes!

Mua clear mascara (£1.00/Superdrug) - I always use clear mascaras as brow gel and this pound one from MUA does the trick! Although looking at the state of it, i think I'm in need of a replacement!

Loreal Glam shine in sin for peach (£6.99/Boots) - I picked this up a while ago although its only recently made its way into my make up bag. I really like how moisturising it is and the shade on my lips. Again this is another product that I'm hoping to review soon!

Benefit Lady's choice lipstick - I was given this lipstick from my Nan a while back, although it was pretty much love at first sight! I just love the way the colour looks against my skintone and would consider buying another if it every runs out.

What's currently in your make up bag?

A little Primark Haul..

I took a little trip into Primark this week and ended up with a few bits I wanted to show you guys since I know how quickly the shock tends to change. The first thing I picked up was this brown bag for just £8, I've had my eye on it for ages so when I saw that this was the last one in store I had to have it! I just think it has a lovely shape and pattern to it plus there's plenty of sections to keep stuff in. While also in the accessories section I picked up this lovely necklace for £3 and this cute bracelet for just £1.50 which I think will look really nice together and were a complete bargain at under a fiver for the pair! I fell in love with these Paris themed socks which come in a set of three for £2, although I've already put a pair to good use since all my other socks seem to have acquired holes lately! I also picked up a lovely tea dress for £8 which you can see in the right hand corner although unfortunately it just doesn't fit right so I'm going to have to take it back and try and find a different size. Finally I got two bits for traveling back home for Easter next week in the form of these handy travel bottles for just £1 and this other sized navy make up bag for £4.

So there you have it, everything I picked up on my latest trip to Primark! Have you brought anything nice lately?