Collective Beauty Haul

Hi Ladies, hope you're all doing okay! Today I thought I would share with you a beauty haul of some bits and bobs I've been buying lately. I've gone a bit crazy to be fair but I think a mix of Easter and all the amazing offers that are around in both Superdrug and Boots lately have kind of made me want too pick up some new beauty products. Plus every girl needs a splurge once in a while right? Anyway I haven't shared a great amount of haul posts with you guys just because I'm rubbish, as soon as I get home from buying something new I have to try it and then the photo's always look rubbish and it just isn't the same, I was pretty good this time though so thought it was definitely time to share. I'll be doing reviews on some of the products featured over the next few weeks too, so let me know if there's anything you want too see in a little bit more 

detail.

Revlon Lip Butters - here
Creme Brulee, Sugar Frosting, Cotton Candy & Sorbet

Firstly is some Revlon Lip Butters, I realise it was probably a little bit excessive to pick up four of these but I already love them. I was in Boots and I saw the Revlon stand and started swatching them, I remember last year when I first started blogging there was a massive hype around these lip products and every single blogger was talking about them but I never actually took the plunge and picked them up because to be honest it wasn't until the end of last year I really started wearing lipstick. Anyway I picked up the shades Creme Brulee and Cotton Candy, went home and tried them and fell soooo in love with them that I went back the next day and picked up Pink Frosting and Sorbet. These have a really nice formula, you can wear them pretty sheer on the lips or you can build them up, but they're so comfortable and moisturizing and they're perfect for wearing every day. I really like these and will definitely be picking up more of these, so look out for a post about these baby's sometime soon! 

Make up Academy (MUA) Brow Kit - here

The next thing I did was pop along to Superdrug to pick up a few MUA goodies, I love MUA as a brand, they're cheap and cheerful and have some really good quality products. Anyway I picked up there 'Pro Brow Ultimate Eyebrow Kit'. I love filling in my brows and up until now I've been using the Elf eyebrow kit but mines recently ran out and I wanted to try something new. This is a really cool product you get 3 different shades that you can mix together to create the perfect eyebrow colour and you also get a white, clear wax which you can use to set your brows in place. You also get a teeny, tiny pair of tweezers and little brush housed in this really sturdy plastic case so this was a winner for me. Only £3.50 too!

Make Up Academy - Undressed Palette - here

I know,  I know, I'm late to the party, I think every single blogger has owned this palette and gave their two cents on it but I actually hadn't tried this until recently. I actually bought this palette for my mum for Christmas as a little stocking filler and she was really enjoying using it and I kept stealing it because I think it's ah-maaaazing! This is apparently a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette which I've wanted since I picked up Naked 2 and I just think all the shades in this are gorgeous & really compliment your eyes. Plus these shadows are lovely quality and really pigmented too so I thought it was time I picked up my own. This is a bargain at £4.00 too.

Maxfactor Lipstick in Lilac Wine (655)  - here

I love Maxfactor as a brand I think they're face products, powders and mascara's are definitely the best quality from the drugstore and I really enjoy trying out some of their products, I also love the classy gold packaging. Anyway I thought I'd try out a lipstick from the brand and the shade Lilac Wine is pretty perfect,  it's one of those lipsticks that looks like your lips but better, it's quite a rosy pink colour and has a bit of shimmer in it, but I think this will be really pretty on the lips. I love the big Max Factor X imprinted on the lipstick too. 

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Lychee 303 - here

I won't ramble on about this purchase too much, this is the Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Lychee, I pretty much had to pick up one of these Gelly Nail Paints by Barry M, they are soooo talked about in the beauty world right now and after seeing them featured on loads of blogs I had to pick one up. I thought i'd pick up Lychee because it's a lovely shade, this is perfect for everyday and just really neutral and nice and I don't actually own a shade like this. I really look forward to trying this one out and doing a nail of the day for you all.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation - Ivory here

I bought this foundation a few weeks ago but thought I'd include it in this haul because it's a recent beauty buy all the less. I love this, this foundation is incredible and if you're on the market for a new drugstore foundation then I can already tell you that this one is one to watch. If you've read my blog for a while you will know I'm the biggest fan of Rimmel Wake Me Up but this one is a massive hit with me too, It's got the coverage of Wake Me Up but doesn't have all the glitter and is literally light as air on the skin, the colour match is a bit better for all you paler girls too. This is fab!

Max factor Facefinity Compact Foundation - 01 Porcelain here

I love this compact, if you read my last Boots haul you would have seen me rave about this product and tell you all that I love it. I have really oily skin so I like to use a powder to set my foundation. My favourite ones are from Mac but for a cheaper option I like to use the Max factor one, it's probably the best powder I have found on the high street (and I've tried a lot) and this gives a bit of coverage too which is always good. I was in two minds whether to pick this one up or repurchase the Rimmel Stay Matte but I find this one much better for touch up's and it's a better colour for me so I went for Max factor once again.

Max factor MasterPiece Colour Precision Eyeshadow - here

Coffee 3 & Pearl Beige 5

I haven't really tried a lot of liquid eye shadows but these ones from Max Factor are lovely because they're really creamy and not too watery. My lovely mum actually picked these two up but she said I could feature them in this haul because she knows I'm bound to steal them anyway haha! The lightest shade is Pearl Beige and it's a gorgeous champagne colour which will look lovely on the inner corner of the eye and the second shade is coffee, which is more of a deep chocolate brown. I think these will be really nice for a really simple eye look and they are sooo creamy and easy to apply. I just hope they last on the eyelids.

Paco Rabanne - Lady Million Eau De Parfum - 30ml - here

This perfume is probably my favourite thing in the world right now, I picked this up over the Easter Weekend after loving the smell for such a long time, my friend has this and we went out a few weeks ago and literally everyone was stopping and asking her what she was wearing (including me). I find it really hard to describe scents but this is a really strong perfume and it's a really classic and quite grown up scent. It's quite a floral scent and I think I like it so much because it's sweet enough for my tastes but is really mature and sensual too, I just love it. If you're in Boots or Debenhams give this a spray and you'll love it, I promise. The gold blingy bottle is pretty cool too.

Lacoste Eau De Lacoste - 50ml - here

This perfume wasn't actually one that I bought, I won this in a competition that I entered on Glamour Magazines website months and months and months ago and I actually forgot about it until I got an email from them saying I had won a competition, if I've completely honest I couldn't even remember what I entered for but I got this about 2 weeks ago now and I love it. I think this is their new fragrence for Spring and oh boy! It smells amazing, the bottle of this perfume really reminds me of a golf ball though, so that's a bit strange haha! Anyway this again is a very floral scent but it's a lot sweeter which I love, this reminds me of Spring and it's really fresh and clean smelling, I've worn it a few times and people keep telling me I smell fresh and really Spring like which I think is a pretty good thing, it lasts really long too.

Primark - Backcombing Brush - £1.00

I've been doing a bit of clothes shopping in Primark over the last week too so I will get a clothing haul up soon but I thought I would include this Primark Backcombing brush in this beauty haul, I saw Zoella feature a backcombing brush in one of her video's not too long ago and I thought it looked pretty cool. I have pretty flat hair and I think this brush just makes it really simple to give your hair some volume, I'm actually really enjoying using this brush and think it works pretty well, feels well made too & I love that it's pink! Plus it's an absolute bargain at just £1.00!! 

Anyway lovelies, this post has taken me what feels like a year to write so if you're still here & you made it this far then thanks for reading & let me know if you want me to do a post on any of these bits down below! Hopefully I can stay away from buying anything else for a little while, although I am really eyeing up the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation at the mo! Eeeep, someone help me! Anyway I hope you all have a lovely Sunday & i'll speak to you all really soon! :)
Lots of Love,

Gem

xxxx

Angelica Nail's Nail Polish - Exposure 65

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angelica Nail Polish - Primark - £2.50 - Exposure 65

 



Hi Ladies, Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! For Christmas,  my best friend got me loads of really cute, little gifts, she knows me really well so every gift was perfect and I thought I'd share with you one of them today. Now, I've never heard of Angelica Nail Colours as a brand before, but a bit of Google searching I found out that they were a nail varnish range that actually sell at Primark, I was quite shocked about that because the quality and price of this nail polish doesn't really reflect Primark.

 

This nail polish is gorgeous, I could have spent a huge amount of time taking pictures of it because it's just so pretty! The shade she picked up for me is actually called 'Exposure 65' and it's a navy blue glittery colour full of really small specks of silver and purple glitter. It's so lovely and really nice to wear when it's so cold and snowy outside. I just really like it and I think the brush is nice and just such a cool nail varnish. Unfortunately I couldn't take a picture of this on my nails due to the fact that I have gel nails on at the moment and I didn't want to ruin them, but I painted a fake nail and I think you can see that this polish has a pretty awesome coverage. Normally I find glitter nail polishes too be quite a pain because I have to keep building and building layers and then my nails feel tacky for ages and take ages to dry which is annoying because I nearly always manage to smudge them, but this polish was different within two coats it had a pretty opaque coverage and seemed to dry quite quickly.

 

Also I couldn't check out the claim about it glowing in UV light because I don't have any UV light running around my home but i'm sure if you went to a rave or something like that then it would glow in the dark which is a cool added feature. Overall it gets a huge thumbs up from me and I'm definitely going to have a look around Primark next time I'm there and see if I can find any more of these bad boys!

 

Have you ever tried out Angelica Nail's nail varnish? xxx

My Favourite Lipsticks

 

Primark Red, MUA Shade 13, MUA Shade 7, Kate Moss Lipstick Shade 101, L'Oreal 325  , Kate Moss Lipstick Shade 20, Topshop 'Innocence', MUA Shade 3, Mac Outrageously Fun, Kate Moss Shade 19, MUA Shade 4, Mac Angel, Kate Moss shade 1, Primark Pink.

 

Hi everyone, today's post is a bit pic heavy but I thought I would show you my favourite lipsticks, these are my most worn lipsticks and the ones that I find have a good formula, good colour pay off or are overall just a really nice shade. There are 14 lipsticks that i'm showing you, all different formula's and colours and price ranges going from £1.00 right up to £14.00. Until I joined the blogging community I wasn't a massive fan of lipsticks in all honesty, I found them really hard to apply and wear and they were oftent he step that I skipped when doing my makeup in the morning because I just thought it was more of a 'night-out' thing and I could potentially look too dressed up wearing a lipstick during the day. How wrong I was?! Now I think lipsticks are my favourite makeup product to buy and try out, I love them, they're are so many shades and some really compliment your skin tone and make your makeup look glamourous and put together, so for that I thank the blogging world. Anyway, i'm going to try not to ramble too much and just get on with the post, if you want any individual reviews of any of the lipsticks featured let me know, although i'll try to make sure that I add links to posts I've previously done on most of them.

 

The first lipstick I love is this bright red lipstick, I love the packaging, pink polka dots are really nice and this lipstick is really creamy, I actually picked this lipstick up from Primark and it's one of the lipsticks within their makeup range, it was only one pound and one and an impulse purchase at the till  but this began my love affair with red lipsticks, I felt that this let me try them out and they're quite good quality for the price, not as nice as the MUA one's but still pretty good, this is a very individual shade too, it looks very dark in the tube but when swatched it is actually quite bright.

 

The next lipstick that I love is the MUA lipstick in shade 13, this was also a pound & I love it, the MUA formula's are amazing, they can be built up or worn sheer and they are really creamy and moisturising on the lips. They have a strong vanilla type smell which i'm not a fan off but they wear amazingly on the lips, they're so cheap at a £1.00 piece, the packaging is sleek and cute and they're a great quality. This red lipstick has a strong coral undertone which makes it great if you want to go red but not for a bright red that can sometimes look overpowering. It's been featured in an individual review on my blog here.

 

The next lipstick is again a MUA lipstick (told you I love them) & this is in shade 7, this was my first corally lipstick and I actually quite like it, if you want to wear something that isn't pink or red and a lot more nude and simple on the lips then this is the perfect lipstick, it adds a sheer amount of coral without being an overpowering orange. Again has been featured in a blog post here.

 

The next lipstick that I love is the Kate Moss lipsticks from Rimmel London, they are amazing and you'll see several featured within this post because they're great quality and are a good price because you can pick them up at Boots. This is the shade 101, it is a gorgeous milky pink and probably one of my favourites, it's so wearable, creamy and easy to wear whatever makeup look you decide to go with & they last well too. This colour is one that would suit most skin tones and work for everyone. You can find a earlier review of this product on my blog here.

 

The next is this L'Oreal lipstick number 325, this is such a cool colour, it's a strong wash of colour and is almost vampy, it's a berry that comes out with purple undertones when swatched. It has a small amount of micro glitter which means that it is much more suitable for evening wear, I think this is quite a daring lipstick, so better for evenings overall.

The next lipstick is another one from the Kate Moss lipsticks for Rimmel, it's actually number 20 told you I was a massive fan, this is one of my fav's it is a bright hot pink, I just really like this because it's a really strong colour that's really out there and gives your face that perfect pop of colour that you need. You can read more here.

 

The next lipstick featured is from another favourite brand, I actually only own 1 Topshop lipstick (I know! Shock horror) it's not that I don't love it, because I really do, the formula is so impressive for the price and in all fairness they give the likes of Mac and high end brands a run for their money but there isn't a Topshop near by me so I have to order online which is a bit of a pain if all I want is a lipstick. This particular shade is Innocence, I really enjoy it, it's a nice milky pink, it's actually got quite a similar tone to Mac Angel which is my favourite lipstick of all time and it's one of those colours that is like your lips but better, the packaging is also gorgeous with Topshop lipsticks.

 

The next lipstick is again another love from the Makeup Academy or MUA range, this is another bright pink colour, it is shade 3 and I would say it's less brighter and a tad darker than the Kate Moss lipstick I own, but of a similar tone, I like it because MUA have a slightly sheerer and creamy formula that can be more wearable if you just want to add a slight bit of colour without going all out for the day but it can also be built up for a more opaque coverage. Individual review on my blog can be found here.

 

The next favourite lipstick could definitely be put in my top 3 favourite lipsticks of all time, I won't go into too much detail about it because I did a review only about a week ago here. But this is Outrageously Fun by Mac, it's a gorgeous Magenta pink that is literally just stunning, it's a crème sheen too and it's just lovely, really adds a pretty pop of colour! Fairly pricey but amazing!

 

Next is another Kate Moss Lipstick in shade 19, it's a nudey brown colour, this is a lipstick that either works some days or doesn't work other days and I find that if I put it on on the right day it is stunning and looks really simple but effortlessly beautiful. More information here.

 

The next lipstick you can see has had quite a lot of use, it's shade 4 by MUA it's a bright but light pink, it's not too pigmented, it's very sheer and just works as a quick wash of colour for everyday so it's just perfect.

 

Next is a lipstick that needs no description it's Mac Angel, it's my favourite lipstick in the whole entire world, its creamy, smells nice and is the most gorgeous pink in the world. I think i'll be repurchasing this lipstick forever, there's not been a day since I got it that I haven't worn it, I love it! Read more here.

 

The next is a bright, brick red from the Kate for Rimmel Collection (more info here), it's just a stand out colour in my favourite formula, it's great because it's very British and a classic "London" Colour and it just works, I like wearing this when I want a stand out red.

 

Last is another Primark, lipstick, this is just a light pink one, there's nothing really special about it but it does work for those days where you just want some colour and it's so cheap that it's nice to have in your collection.

 

Sorry for the massive post! Let me know what you're favourite colours are! xx

 

 

Small Primark Haul

Hi Ladies,

Today I have a haul for you from shopping I did at the end of last week, I visited Primark 
and got a few goodies that I thought I could show you. I know haul's are one of my favourite things to read on blogs, I love seeing what other people brought when they went shopping and I especially like hauls that include Primark, I think it's because they don't have a website so unless you see what other people have brought you go to the shop without having any idea what you're going to buy and that can be very dangerous for us beauty and fashion bloggers. Anyway, I had some money left at the end of last month and since I got paid on friday I thought it was the perfect excuse to splurge. I figured Christmas was coming and I would have to start buying countless amounts of presents so this was the last time I could really treat myself before the festive period. I could have spent a lot of money in Primark, because when i'm in there I kind of get into the mindset that everything's so cheap and such a bargain I might as well get one (I have no self control when it comes to a bargain) but actually I was quite well restrained. All I picked up was a shirt, a bag and some earrings

Firstly I picked up this really nice shirt, this shirt cost around £8-£10, I'm not quite sure of the pricing but it was somewhere around there. I love it because it's a little different. I've been seeing a lot of black and white striped shirts but I loved the fact that this one was navy and white stripes and therefore it was a bit different to the shirt that everyones been wearing. This shirt is super sheer so you have to wear a top underneath it but it's actually really nice. Another thing I loved about it was the gold detailing, the shirt has gold buttons, and then on the shoulders has some gold buttons on a little cuff which I think makes the shirt look much more expensive than it actually was.

The next thing I picked up was this gorgeous navy bag, I love this bag, it's kind of a cross between a clutch bag and a small shoulder bag, it's too big to be a clutch bag and too small to be a shoulder bag but I think it's perfect for nights out because it's not too big that you're having to carry a big bulky bag around with you but it still has enough room that you can fit what you need in. It also comes with a strap that you can take off or leave on, I think this makes it much more versatile. The thing I loved about this bag the most was how simple it was and I really love the gold bow on the front of the bag because I think that gives the bag a bit of a statement but it's still simple enough that it will go with a lot of different outfits. This bag was also £8.00 so was a massive bargain! Actually they have lots of nice bags and clutches in Primark at the moment and nearly all of them look more expensive than they actually are. 

The third thing I picked up was some earrings, I liked these earrings because they're big, and I love to make statements with my earrings, they also have glitter and are quite blingy so I just like them really. I thought that they would go perfect with the shirt and the bag as well, so I was really liking that.

Hope you liked my mini haul!

Lots of love

Gem xxx

Sunday Shopping Haul

Hi Lovely Ladies!

Today I’ve got a little haul for you, on Sunday I had a day of work and so me and my mum decided to hit the shops to do a bit of shopping and browsing. On Monday it was 2 of my best friends birthday’s, so I was going out clubbing and therefore I wanted to get an outfit for that and in the end I picked up a few beauty bits too. Everything I brought was a fair bargain though so I thought I’d show you what I picked up.

Firstly I went to New Look, because I was looking for a new dress to hit the town in, I’m really into the “Skater Dress” trend and therefore I picked up this really cute blue skater dress, I really like it because the colour is so bright and I think this is one of the styles of dress that literally just flatters everyone, plus for a night out it is nice to have a massive pop of colour, it helps you to stand out. The best thing about this dress is the fact that I actually picked it up for a bargain price of £14.99 which is actually really cheap for New Look and I would expect them to be selling out quite quickly, so if you want one go online or run to your store sometime fast, they also have this dress in red and black, and I’m quite tempted to get the other 2 after loving the fit, plus it came with a nice studded belt, which is a nice accessory, this dress is perfect to be worn down during the day and then dressed up with lots of glittery accessories for the night and therefore for me it is such a great buy.

The next thing I needed for my perfect going out outfit was some shoes, I mooched around New Look looking for some but if I’m honest I couldn’t find any that I really fell in love with and I always think that some of the New Look shoes are quite overpriced so therefore I decided against it. I was in Primark looking around for some cute but cheap accessories (later to come girls) and I found the nicest pair of black platform shoes, they were literally to die for. The shoes are so so so high with a little black platform at the front and a massive heel, but the thing that drew me most to them was the fact that they came with some straps, I have a massive hard time managing to keep heels on my feet so for ease of a steady walk I decided that these shoes would be really good. I liked how good quality these shoes actually looked, especially as they were from Primark and on the night several girls came up to me and asked me where I got them (score) so I know that I wasn’t the only one who thought they looked good. The best thing about Primark shoes is Primark prices and I got this lovely pair of shoes for a bargain £15.99 which I was really happy with. The only thing I would say about these shoes is that they absolutely murdered my feet and I swear that even now 3 days later my feet are still suffering haha, I’m worried that they’ll never recover, but in the name of all things fashion I will power on.

Next in Primark I wanted to get some accessories that I could wear with my dress, I wanted to go quite simple with my accessories simply due to the fact that I’m the kind of girl who normally ends up looking like a glitter ball, I love bling and anything sparkly way to much, and it’s not until I look back at photo’s that I realise how much of a Christmas tree I look like and therefore my aim this time was to keep very low clear, with only a little bit of sparkle allowed. This is when I found a lovely set of earrings and a matching bracelet, for a bargain price and therefore had to have them. First I picked up these gold studs, they’re pretty big and quite sparkly but because they’re studs I think they kind of work. These cost me either 2 or 3 pounds, I can’t remember the exact price but they’re bound to be no more than that because Primark don’t charge much for their earrings, I thought these would look great with pinned up hair. Next I found the matching gold bangle/bracelet, I love this bracelet, it clips as you put it around your wrist meaning it was so secure, which I love because when I’ve had one to many I’m always scared of loosing my jewellery but this fitted really well, also it gave me a matching bit of sparkle without looking over the top at all, this bracelet was actually £4.00 which is slightly  more expensive but still quite cheap. The last thing I picked up at Primark were some of their fake lashes, I’ve read a few blog posts where people seem to rave about these lashes and seeming as they were so cheap when I saw them lined up at the till I thought I’d give them a go, because for £1.00 why not? So far they look good quality and I think they will look really nice on the eye. I didn’t actually wear these on Monday because frankly I was way to scared to ruin my eye makeup, especially when it was looking so nice, but I’ll do a face of the day post soon and I’ll definitely feature these if you want to see them!

The last place I went to after my bank balance had received a massive hit was the Revlon Colour Stay foundation from boots, this foundation set me back around £12.49 which is quite a lot of money. I brought this foundation around a year ago and remember really liking it but it ran out super quick because unfortunately Revlon don’t provide a pump with this foundation (such a pet hate of mine) and therefore I kept wasting lots of product. Recently I’ve been wanting to try it again because I remember really loving it and I don’t ever know why I didn’t really go and repurchase it. But actually this time it’s been a foundation that’s really disappointed me, but this may be because I picked up a different formula this time, switching to try the oily to combination skin type, which is my skin type but this time it is just not working for me. I’ll give a full review and swatches over the next few days if anyone wants to read it though?

Anyway thanks for reading my small haul & thanks for your continued support

Lots of Love

Gem xxx