Superdrug Naturally Radiant | Renewing Night Cream & Brightening Eye Cream

I'm quite a fan of the Superdrug own brand ranges. I adore the 'Simply Pure' serum and day cream - and the Vitamin E hot cloth cleanser but recently I've been trialing the Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream and the Brightening Eye Cream.

Mini-Haul | Superdrug

I think it's safe to bet that if I have to pick up anything from Boots or Superdrug (Hot cloth cleansers, usually,) that if there is an offer on cosmetics, I will pick something up. This time, I picked up three little somethings...

First up was the Rimmel Salon Pro nail varnish in Peppermint. Oh, it had me at first glance - a perfect green-blue for Summer - plus the finish and longevity of the product is brilliant especially for the price point. 

Second, another polish. This time by Barry M - my Superdrug can sometimes fall behind on ranges when it comes to make up but recently they have undergone some changes to their stands (YAY!) and with it comes better stock lines for me to peruse. I picked up the Sequin Nail Paint in shade 1 (really, not a delightful name for this pretty product?) and it seriously reminds me of those penny sweets, my favourites, sometimes called white rainbow drops. I trust in Barry M polishes ever since my early teen years, and this doesn't disappoint. 

Last of all was Permanent Taupe - from the Maybelline Colour Tattoo range. I've had On and On Bronze and love it dearly so picked up this shade. I love it, of course. I usually use my fingers to apply these or the Detailer brush from Real Techniques (it's stiff enough to apply these kinds of products perfectly! A match made in heaven...) and the opportunity to build up in light layers is incredible. You can go subtle to smokey very easily. 

So that was my little pick me up, what was your recent treat to yourself, beauty or otherwise?

Peace!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner + Eyeshadow Sticks

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Taupe and Bronze, Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick in Bulletproof Beige.

The Rimmel Scandaleyes range is nothing new to the blogosphere. The Kohl eyeliners have been raved and hyped up and so I caved. I bought the Nude eyeliner and fell in love upon immediate application. Less scary than a white eyeliner, the nude shade perfectly makes eyes look brighter and much more awake. So why not invest in a few more shades, I thought...

Of course by this time the Eyeshadow sticks have already come out and swatching one in Superdrug was my downfall. Although all of these are under a fiver so it won't break the bank. You'll just have to show some restraint and not buy all the range in one go. ;)

Creamy formulation, there is no drag to either of these products. They apply like a dream, and stay put more to the point. These swatches lasted through various amounts of washing up and stayed put, and that is saying something considering how vigorous I am with a scrubbing brush. 

I've stuck to the neutral shades as that's what I do best - but I wouldn't mind the purple shade 'Paranoid Purple' for the lower lashline. 

Have you tried this range yet? Thoughts?

Peace!

A little experimentin'...

Sectioning Clips, Superdrug.

Tomorrow I'm going to be doing a cheeky bit of experimenting... I'm going to be testing out an at-home ombre kit. Wish me luck and pray it doesn't turn my ends orange. :)

Peace!

P.s, regular posts as of tomorrow. :)

Haul | Superdrug & Boots

So a little thing happened. I went into town to drop off my car at the garage and then thought "Oh, Superdrug has Original Source on offer, I'll pick some up..."

The face masks are Superdrugs own brand, currently on a 4 for 3 offer - who can say no? Original Source is only £1.13 at the moment, I picked up some more face wash and some cocoa butter lotion (I love this particular stuff and for under £2 I don't feel guilty when I slather it on,) and not to mention a cheeky Barry M nail varnish in Lychee.

This was my plan - only to pick up bottles of delicious Original Source. Then I got distracted by everything. The product I am most intrigued to try is of course the Wild Ombre kit from L'Oreal - I'll be putting this into action once my hair has been re-dyed. I have no idea what will happen to my ends in terms of colour, it very well may come out orange - but I am not worrying. It's only hair.

In boots I had only wanted some Hand Food and thought to go for the 3 for 2 offer. Of course I needed some more Heel Genius and picked up some Hand Maid sanitizing gel too. Then Toni and Guy are on offer - 3 products for £12... Oh god help me. Then you know, Revlon. BAM. In the basket.

What had been intended was a simple trip into town turned me into red-wrists. When you buy things, and then they weigh you down and give you red wrists. Red-Wrist Guilt I call it. ;)

What have you been splurging on this week?

Peace!

P.S, Thinking about doing some vlogging, yay or nay?

fashion | home | beauty

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Hello lovelies!

I want all of these things. That chair also doubles as a single guest bed - and it's in grey. Swoon. And do not even get me started about the media unit in yellow! Goodness! Anyway, moving on...

I'll be frank. I am tired. Shattered. Knackered. Worn out. All of those and then some.

After working 10+ days in a row, yesterday was the hardest on my mind. I had to do an early shift and late shift. Oh the joys of shift work! I moan, of course, but I do enjoy working and I offered to do the work because, well, I like buying things. You sort of need money for that. I also like moaning. ;)

I now have a week off so I can take some time to evaluate our living space. We have a living room and a bedroom - but the living room is also like a dressing room too - with two wardrobes, a chest of drawers, a tv unit, a bookcase and a hamster... Kind of crowded at the moment.

I had an idea to get rid of one set of wardrobes, and change the dresser to two tall but slim dressers I think maybe these from Ikea - so we still had our own area for clothes and the remaining wardrobe could be used for dresses/stuff that shouldn't be folded/shoved into drawers. We need the space for a desk (eventually,) for the boyfriends mac, plus it would make us feel less crowded. 

So - the extra hours at work were needed, I need the pennies to fund this project. I also want to upholster our footstool but that can wait until April - when my parents return from Spain, well rested. Then I can pounce and use my mothers seamstress skills to the full! 

Sorry for the ramble but isn't it nice to get it all out? Right, I'm off to get the polish and duster... ;)

Have an awesome week!

Peace!

Did a bit of shopping... With hardly any 'real' money?

 Rimmel Apocalips (left to right,) Nude Eclipse, Celestial and Apocaliptic.

 (I got these rather delicious looking Rimmel lip lacquers on a three for two offer at Boots!)

M.U.A Heaven and Earth Palette. 

I mentioned in my review of the Nivea Primer that I received two £5 vouchers to spend at any Nivea stockists, Boots, Superdrug, etc and so I went into my local town - which to be fair is a farmers town, is small and most of the shops are too - all which culminates in not a lot of stock of ranges sometimes, but I digress.

I went into boots and picked up some Nivea products, I got two at this point, a body lotion for me and some face moisturiser for the mister! 

After this purchase, I asked the lady how many points I had so off I toddled to spend £15 (I had more, but couldn't find particular products, so didn't bother wasting my points on stuff that didn't intrigue me...) I kindly bought mother some hairspray and I got some Rimmel Apocalips... They only stocked four of the range, but these were the ones I wanted - so I couldn't complain! I think I will definitely returning for Big Bang though, so gorgeous!

Superdrug was next on the list. I went to the counter first, checked I could use my remaining £5 voucher from Nivea with them, yes you can by the by, and to see how many points I had on their loyalty/beauty card. I only had £2, but still, I had the M.U.A dupe for the Naked palette in mind, so that only cost me...yep, £2 for a solid neutral palette of eyeshadows! Bargain. 

Of course I treated my man to further products from the Nivea for men range (aftershave balm, face scrub,) and then called it a day.

In total I must have spent £2+£1+£1= £4 of my own change, and then the rest from boots points, superdrug beauty card points and of course nivea vouchers. Not bad, eh?

(Completely forgot to use my student discount card though! Doh!)

Have you ever had one of those 'bargain' days?

Peace!

Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise. Repeat.

From left to right; Boots Botanics 100% Organic Rosewater Toning Mist, Palmers Daily Calming Facial Lotion, Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser.

The fact of the matter is; our skin is pretty damn important. I do think that you should prioritize sorting out your insides first, mind you - eating good, plenty of water; the usual kind of thing that your doctor, dermatologist and mama would tell you to do. 

There is this of course make up to make your skin look at its best, but what is the point when your putting Dior foundation on not that very nice skin? Your skincare should be providing an excellent base for make up, or should you be so lucky enough - your skin is clear enough that you don't even need any skin-make up at all.

Given that I am on a budget - I have been testing these products for a long time, since September 2012 at the latest - So I am gonna stick my two cents in. 

Or two pence. I am a brit lass, after all. Ready for ramble? CHECK!

The Toning mist by Botanics has long been a favourite on the blogospere, much like the Caudalie Beauty Elixir - however I have only used this as a toner, not on top of make up - because it is just a toning mist, let's get that out of the way. It's 100% organic, which means no nasty shit - which is always nice and the scent to me, is especially calming at night time. The boyfriend hates the smell of rose oil, like it seems most of my organic products contain, and says it smells of Turkish delight - and frequently asks me to apply it in another room... Can't win 'em all. This really is a great toner though and saves me using too much product like most pour-onto-cotton-pad/wool toners - and the fact it's cheap is also a huge factor - given this is a budget feature. 

The Palmers Daily Calming Lotion is one that I seriously cannot recommend enough! You only need a little bit of product as it is quite thick (I have dry sensitive skin, most of the time, FYI,) it smells freaking gorgeous (even my hamster has tried nibbling my chin thanks to the cocoa smell,) and what's more it's under £6. I have quite red cheeks, and I am contemplating seeing a dermatologist to see if it is rosacea, but for the mean time it really is calming my skin before I apply make up. Great base too. This also comes in an SPF version - which is always handy. 

I have tried many hot cloth cleansers (Liz Earle, No7 included,) - all have been satisfactory and just what I need for my dry skin. I found this Superdrug concoction to be a serious competitor. It's under £6 again, rich in vitamin E, BUAV approved (yay for animals!) and claims to defend the skin against environmental damage. Maybe those in London could give it a go? In any case, the scent is hugely subtle, it's gentle for my sensitive skin, rich and creamy for the dryness and comes with a handy-dandy muslin cloth. Huzzah. 

Since using these products my skin has had less breakouts, reduced redness, reduced in dry areas and really has me falling in lurvee. 

So really, if you're on a budget, give these a go!

Peace!

Updated Skincare Routine

 Skincare extras; Boots cucumber eye remover gel, Tri-Peptox Scrub, Witch Blemish stick, Superdrug Natural High facial wash, simple wet wipes.

 Morning Routine; No7 Hot cloth cleanser, Caudalie Beauty Elixir, Vichy eye roll on, Superdrug Simply Pure moisturiser.

Evening Routine; No7 Hot cloth cleanser, No7 toner, Boots Cold Cream, No7 night eye cream.

After what seemed like months of being in a rut, it seems I have found an-ideal-for-me-right-now skin care routine. Which is always great, you know?

I tend to stick to the same morning/evening routine but if something ain't working I'll switch it up with the extras to give me a little boost.

I'm on the look out for a good serum. I've tried the Caudalie, No7 and L'Oreal serums to date - all from different price ranges as you can see... But let me know if you have any recommendations. 

Have you got your ideal routine down pat?

Peace!

Empties #1

This Vaseline Cocoa Radiant is amazing! It left my skin feeling so soft and the smell was gorgeous! 

 My empties pile has been growing...

 Collection 2000, Super Size Mascara - I liked this for the length it gave but it left my lashes clumpy. For that reason I won't be repurchasing.

High Beam - This was a sample given to me, as you can tell by the dinky size! I love High Beam and have since purchased the larger bottle. God bless Benefit!

 Simply Pure, Superdrug - This moisturiser is amazing! It's paraben free, hypo-allergenic and has SPF 15 too. I will be repurchasing this beauty. Considering it was under £2 and provided an excellent base for make up...

Fix and Perfect Pro, Rimmel Primer - Amazing. It comes in just under £7 in most places, provides an excellent base for make up and leaves my skin feeling ready to battle the day! I have since bought two more of these and I am running out... 

MUA Primer - Its £4, it keeps my make up in place, the consistency feels weird, but it doesn't on your face once worked in. I have another one coming. I like it. Average, but it does the job well.

Illuminating Touch Concealer, Collection 2000 - This concealer was beautiful! I really must repurchase because it covered my dark circles/blemishes so well! You don't get much though and I was actually surprised it ran out so quickly!

I've literally just finished using this Dove Visible Effects body moisturiser, and while it does it's job beautifully the scent is a little over powering and almost feels slightly sticky as its soaking in. I would repurchase again, but the smell is just off putting - unless you hold your nose!

Peace!

Skincare Routine

Recently I have been experimenting with some new skincare products. 

Up until about two weeks ago I was using a variety of face washes... depending on what kind of deal they were on VS how much product there was VS if I liked and trusted the brand already...

holy grail product?!

Getting ready for sandal weather ladies? Yes yes, I am too. Open toes, wedges, the common flip flop...

Our feet need to be soft, beautiful... not cracked and wailing from the harshness of winter boots!

Okay, enough of that cheesey writing - basically I got this foot butter with my MUA primer online, and let me just say... It's £1.99, on offer instead of £3.99 - which either way is an amazing price for what it does...

I put it on after I've had a shower, and pop some socks on. Voila! Get ready for some tingling, which I find refreshing and lovely. Plus it smells of peppermint! Who here does not like the smell of peppermint?

Literally the best foot cream/butter I have ever come across, and for now it's only £1.99? GET IT HERE!

I promise, you won't regret it!

Peace!