Makeup and Beauty Haul

Trying to become more modern with these blogs..

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Natural Collection Makeup Haul

I have been meaning for a while now to do a haul of products from the Boots Natural Collections range and I finally got around to it. It's so cheap I have to admit I really wasn't expecting much, but have been pleasantly surprised.
First of all I will list the products I bought:

• ShineAway Foundation in Walnut
• Blushed Cheeks in Dusty Pink
• Cream Blusher in Naked Glow
• Eye Liner in Black
• LashBuild Mascara in Black
• Corrector Stick in Green
• Moisture Shine Lipstick in Berry Blush

All of these products are £1.99 each; there is currently an offer on that is 3 for £5 so I got 6 then couldn't resist one more to test out.

At first I used the foundation, which is really nothing special. I applied it with my fingers (after applying a base coat of moisturiser to keep the foundation on for longer) and it didn't work out well at all - it was uneven, patchy and had streak marks from where my fingers were moving the product around. I re-tried though, determined not to give up, and used a foundation brush the second time around applying small amounts of product at a time and it worked a treat. It has very light coverage, but I think that's nice in summer, don't want to be caked in make-up.

Next I tried out the powder blusher (Blushed Cheeks), applied it with a blusher brush and it was ok. I applied the cream blusher to my other cheek and could barely see it at all (it may be as I'm slightly tanned at the minute, will probably show up better on its own with paler skin). I then had a little idea to apply the cream blusher over the top of the powder blusher and I'm glad I did because it looks great, gives a really healthy summery glow.

I then tried out the mascara and all I can say is that I am in love with it! It's totally brilliant, opens up the eyes, no clumps at all, lengthens and separates lashes better than any other mascara I've used, it's brilliant. I do think it's more of a "day time" look rather than a night time one as it isn't very dramatic.

I briefly tried out the eye liner on the back of my hand and it glides on brilliantly, and after about 5 hours of washing my hands, going to the shops and walking the dog etc, it was still there on my hand so definitely will stay put (came off easily with make up remover).

I bought the green concealer as it's been one I've always thought as quite unusual, to put green on your face to cancel out another colour; it's supposed to hide redness and I have a lot on my cheeks, nose and forehead so thought I'd give it a go, but again, having slightly tanned skin, it didn't really work as it was way too light. Will try this out again when the tans faded.

The lipstick is brilliant, I have 3 Natural Collection lipsticks and they're brilliant, they don't dry out your lips and they stay on for a decent amount of time before having to re-apply.

Here is as good a picture I could get to show the look I got from using the foundation, powder and cream blusher, mascara and lipstick. I love it for day time. Was also told I looked very "healthy" which I was pleased and worried about. I must look like a corpse for the rest of the time. Definitely try out the Natural Collections products and try and improvise with them as using them 1 way may not work or using them without another product may not look as good etc. For £1.99 each, you really cant go wrong.

Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties Perfumes

I have been looking for the perfect summer scent without paying £30 for a bottle of expensive perfume. I wanted something that had a bit of a coconut smell to it and I assumed this would be a simple task to stroll into Boots and pick a body mist up for a few pounds and that was it... Unfortunately, that was not the case, and it has been quite a long winded process to find something I liked enough to be my summer "signature scent".

I first heard that The Bodyshop had made a summery twist of the classic "White Musk" (smell that we all remember fondly from the 90's) that it was a cooling spray for holidays and more importantly, it was not musky but a light summery fragrance. So I made a point of going into The Bodyshop and didn't want to doddle around so just picked it up, paid and left. As soon as I got in the car I got it out to spray some on and was happy at first - it had an ok smell and it did cool me down (it was a really warm day).
Unfortunately, by the time i was home and in the house, I couldn't smell it on myself at all. Throughout the rest of the day I continued to spray it over myself but 5 minutes later, the smell would be gone. I asked a few people to see if they could smell anything on me (just to make sure I hadn't just gotten used to the smell and couldn't smell it anymore) but nothing. Thoroughly disappointed to say the least. It is usually £8, but when I went in they had 30% of all day so got it for £5 something - not worth that and definitely not worth paying £8. The smell isn't even that nice, I'll only be using this as a "cooling down" spray on holidays. What a waste. I will learn from my mistake and take more time next time!

So a few days later, still on a quest to find this scent, I gave in and went to the Boots perfume counter. After smelling almost everything there, I asked the girl at the counter if i could smell some of the Harajuku Lovers perfumes (Gwen Stefani's line) as they had cute little bottles. There is the ordinary line with bottles looking like this:

and then the new summer line:

and I fell in love with the first one I tried, which is this one:
It is EXACTLY what I had been looking for - light, summer, fruity and... coconutty! I love it, reminds me slightly of Malibu (in a good way - not as sickly) which is convenient as it's usually my favourite mixer on holidays :). Unfortunately though, I was giving in to paying a little bit extra and I paid £14 for 10ml. I am not a huge perfume buyer so I was completely unaware as to just how little 10ml actually is... literally like a thimble full! You can't even buy any other amount in this line (you can buy 30ml in the normal range). I suppose its less weight in the suitcase. I am totally loving it though, smells gorgeous, smell stays on you and its summery summery summery down to a T (for me anyway!). The packaging is so cute, I love the different little dolls on each of them, really different.

I have to say as well that I did smell Sarah Jessica Parker's 'NYC' and it is amazing. Not the "summery scent" I was needing but if I had the money, I would have bought it, it's so lovely. Might treat myself to it in duty free....

What's your favourite scent? Do you have a "summer scent"?

Boots 17 - Nail Varnishes

In the last few months I have had a little bit of an obsession with nail varnishes and have created quite a large collection of different colours. I was recently having a look through all of my varnishes and I noticed a recurring theme with regards to the brand that I seemed to have bought the most colours from, this was Boots "17" line.

Most of the colours I had purchased from this line were bright, eye catching and summery. I have also been buying these a lot because they are very cheap (£2.99 each) and extremely good quality for the price. The colour lasts a long time, is very vibrant with 2 coats and I feel they are perfect for summer as they will look nice with a tan! Here are a few I applied quickly (sorry for the state of the application and my nails):
Definitely give them a go as you will not be disappointed. Buff the nail first before applying 2 coats of the varnish and if you want it to last longer, apply a top coat of clear varnish. Voila!

Let me know if you use "17" varnishes and how you found them.
What is your favourite nail varnish colour/brand?

Naked Rescue - Shampoo and Conditioner

At the beginning of this year I decided to go blonde (I'm naturally brunette) and after the second time having the colour done my hair became very dry and extremely tuggy at the roots. I love the colour so much I'm not willing to dye it back to brown so decided to look for another shampoo and conditioner instead.

I used to use Herbal Essences for dry/damaged hair as I liked the smell and it did make my hair soft, before I got it coloured. However, I went into Boots and had a look around and ended up picking a new shampoo and conditioner with some of the most boring packaging, so I'm not too sure what made me even pick it up in the first place - but, I am so glad I did. It's called "Naked Rescue" and I bought the 'frizzy, damaged hair' shampoo and conditioner and also a few intensive hair masks. I liked that it was a 97% natural product and the smell is totally amazing.


So I used all of the products that night (shampoo, conditioner and then the intensive mask) and I could feel instantly it was smoother. I let my hair dry naturally (I have EXTREMELY frizzy hair and I don't want to put any heat on it if I have time to let it dry itself) and it had really made a difference to my hair - especially the ends, which were ruined from the colouring.

If this wasn't already good enough, it's actually making a difference to my skin!! I have eczema and have it quite bad on my hands, and I noticed after a few days that my hands were not as dry as usual and the top of my arms also. I've found that this is actually because the Naked Rescue products are so natural that all the chemicals in normal shampoos and conditioners are not included and are not drying out my skin as much - this is also a problem for people who may get rashes on the back of their upper arms; it could be because of your shampoo and conditioner as it runs down your arms etc.

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone - there are other types of the shampoo and conditioners for different hair types; have a look in the products/hair section of the website here. I've had a look and realised they also have body washes n stuff so will definitely have to try those out! They are very reasonably priced as well; Shampoo and Conditioner both £3.99 and intensive mask £1.29.

Deffo give these a go - my hair type is the worst ever (sooo frizzy and dry) and if it works for me, I'm sure it will work for you!

What is your favourite shampoo and conditioner?

Max Factor False Lash Effect

Mascara has to be one of the most expensive things that you have to "replenish" a lot in your makeup bag. I was personally addicted to Benefit mascaras but had a few problems with them; I used Bad Gal mascara (around £15) which gave amazing length and volume but I found that it flaked a HUGE amount; there were a lot of occasions where I looked in the mirror and thought I had a black eye because it had flaked so much. So I was recommended by my lovely sister to try out Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara and, I did. I was worried about the price, as I think £15 is way too expensive for my current budget but was happy when I saw it in Boots priced at £10.99 (plus you get Boots advantage points!).

I have to say that I love this mascara now and I use it every day as it does exactly what it says on the tin. It is definitely better than the cult favourite Bad Gal Benefit mascara as it doesn't clump, flake or fade. It opens the eyes out and gives a really good fresh look! (This picture is a bit nasty - I took this 5 hours after I applied the mascara and it still looks amazing.)

The only things that I can say aren't so good about this mascara are kind of brush related - the brush is too big to do the bottom lashes, or at least, I can't do it. And I know a lot of people like to coat the back of their lashes first before applying it properly (to hide blonde lashes etc) but you can't really do that with this brush; I've tried and it just covers your eye lid in mascara - not good!

All in all though, False Lash Effect mascara is a definite must have (I've also had quite a lot of compliments on it and a few people have actually thought I had false lashes on!), it lasts probably 6-8 weeks which is extremely decent. Definitely worth the price.

I am going to start trying out mascaras with smaller wands - any suggestions on good, cheaper mascaras would be much appreciated!

Sigma Brushes

The obvious and most important thing to have for applying makeup is a good set of brushes. However cheap the makeup you are using may be, it will always have huge benefits if you are using a decent brush for application. MAC brushes are the real makeup world's favourite, however, they are verrrrry pricey. As I don't have a couple of hundred pounds to spend on an extremely good set of brushes such as MAC, I started looking for alternatives and found an outright winner; Sigma brushes. They are MAC quality (some actually better than MAC) at a fraction of the price. Perfect!

So, I went on to www.simamakeup.com and had a look around. After a lot of deliberation, I finally decided on the Professional Brushes Complete Kit in black. This set which has 12 brushes, costs $69 (around £45) or with the brush roll $89 (around £59). Obviously there are p+p costs but I think that altogether I paid about £67(this was including the brush roll). The estimated delivery time was 2-3 weeks and I was ecstatic when I received my Sigma package only a week later!

When I opened the box the brush roll was in a gorgeous little bag with a few leaflets on brush care e.t.c in side.

















The brush roll itself is a gorgeous soft leather with the Sigma logo on the front and inset











The brushes are all in individual sockets and 4 of the larger brushes, have plastic sleeves to maintain the brush shape and quality.







The quality of the brushes is amazing. They are so soft and easy to maintain and give MAC quality application. I have swatched the same eyeshadow here, on the left is a brush I got with a cheap eye shadow set and on the right is the Sigma SS239. There is a huge difference (although not hugely visible in the picture) with regards to the quality of the application; the SS239 gives a more vibrant colour and is a lot harder to wipe of with fingers.

£67 may seem a lot to us students, however, I wanted to "invest" in a good set that will last me for years to come if properly looked after (which I intend to do). These are definite winners.

What brushes do you use? Have you ever tried Sigma brushes? Have you ever had extremely good/bad experiences with any brush(es)?