Blog Sale

Hey everyone,

I've got a few beauty bits and pieces to pass on so decided to pop them in a wee blog sale. I'm moving flat in a few weeks so I've added a few bits and reduced prices or pulled together some bundles at lower prices. I'll consider offers on a bulk purchase.

The general rules/instructions are noted below but do let me know if you have any questions. Happy browsing!

• All items have been purchased by me and either tested or lightly used (unless otherwise specified) 
• UK shipping is £3.00, there's no extra charge for additional items
• Contact me for international shipping rates
• Please comment on this post or email stacey.mckane@googlemail.com with your request and Paypal email address 
• Payment via Paypal only - please pay within a couple of days 
• Parcels will be shipped within two days of payment receipt

Now, onto the goodies!

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder foundation in Natural Beige - used 6-8x - £16 now £10

MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC40 - used 5x - £12 now £9

MAC Mineralize concealer in NC35 - used 1x - £8 now £5 

NARS blush in Exhibit A - used 3x - £14 now £9
NARS blush in Gina - 85% remaining - £8

Illamasqua blush in Sophie - used 6-8x - £9 now £6

BeneFit Watt’s Up highlighter stick (smudger lid missing) - 90% remaining - £8 now £5

MAC Pro Longwear eyeshadow in Sweet Satisfaction - 90% remaining - £7 now £4
Laura Mercier creme eyeliner in Violet - 85% remaining, still very creamy - £5

Sleek eyeshadow palette in Vintage Romance - used some shades 4-5x - £3 now £1.50
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold - 85% remaining - £1

Lancome Le Crayon Sourcils in 030 Brun - sharpened 2x - £4 now £2

Wet’n’Wild eyeshadow in Envy - used 1x - £1

YSL liquid liner in Gunmetal Grey - swatched - £1
No7 Stay Perfect Metallic Eyes eyeliner in Camouflage - swatched - £1.50
OR ALL 6 FOR £4

Essie Bikini So Teeny - used 2x - £3

Essie Sand Tropez - used 4x - £2

Essie Navigate Her - used 2x - £2

Essie A Crewed Interest - used 2x - £2

OR ALL 4 FOR £4.50

 Butter London in Pillar Box Red - used 2x - £4
Nails Inc in New Oxford Street - used 2x - £4
Deborah Lippmann in Hit Me With Your Best Shot - used 3x - £5
OPI in Live Love Carnival - used 2x - £3
OPI in Ogre The Top Blue - used 3x - £3

Super Facialist by Una Brennan in Rose Hydrate moisture mask - used 3x - £3 now £1.50 

The Sanctury Time Reversal face mask - used 2x - £3 now £1.50

Nip+Fab Glycolic Instant Fix face mask - used 1x - £4 now £2

Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver - used 1x - £5 now £2.50

Garnier Moisture Match for Dull Skin - used 1x - £1 now 50p

Body Shop Honeymania cream body scrub - tested, 95% remaining - £4 now £2

Body Shop Vineyard Peach cream body scrub - new - £4 now £2

December/January Empties

I've not posted an empties post in a long time - mostly because it's taken me this long to gather up enough empties to post about. Do any of you remember the months where my empties posts would have squillions of products in them?! My beauty routine has definitely been simplified recently (read: I've been lazy) so it's taking me much longer to use anything up.

Boots Expert Dry Shampoo

When my favourite Tresemme dry shampoo isn't on offer, I usually buy this one instead. It's almost as good and about a third of the price. 

Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover

My all time favourite polish remover! I've not been able to repurchase this yet so I'm trying another one and it just doesn't compare. 

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Lotion

This was nice but not nice enough for me to rush out and repurchase it. I'm in need of a new night time moisturiser though so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!

The Body Shop Spiced Vanilla Body Butter

I realise this was from last year's Christmas collection but I promise I only opened it in September! As with all Body Shop body butters it's nice and moisturising. I wasn't a huge fan of the scent though.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3

Does this product even require an explanation? It's one of my most used and repurchased beauty products by far. If you've not tried it, you should. I'm already well on my way to using up another tube.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in Golden Beige

I must admit, when I picked this up back in August, I wasn't expecting a great deal. I've been pleasantly surprised; this is an excellent every day foundation. I'll be posting a full review soon...and buying a new bottle!

BeneFit They're Real 

This is the first of three mascaras I've used up recently and it's the only one I've rushed out to buy again. It's hands down my favourite mascara.

L'Oreal Volume Million Waterproof

I enjoyed using this mascara and it's the only one that's come close to being as good as They're Real. It's much easier to remove though, despite being waterproof! 

LUSH Eyes Right*

Formula-wise this mascara is nice. It looks really natural which is great for everyday use. I definitely won't be repurchasing it - the packaging is terrible.

Have you posted an empties post recently? Leave me a link!

Stace xx

What's in my make up bag? [10-Minute Face Edition]

Hello!

I've not posted a 'what's in my make up bag?' post for a while; partly because I've not posted anything for a while and partly because I've not been organised enough to have a make up bag. I've just been reaching for the same few products over and over again but this week I've decided to give myself a few more options in the mornings. 

Lip products are one of my biggest weaknesses; I have lots of beautiful shades but find myself sticking to the same safe neutrals on a daily basis. With that in mind I've given myself three different colours this week. A bright berry pink in the form of Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush, a glossy orange YSL Glossy Stain in #6 and a neutral pink Rimmel by Kate Moss lipstick in 19. The two stains are firm favourites of mine; they're both easy to apply quickly and last amazingly well throughout the day. The Rimmel lipstick is quite new but I've been enjoying using it over the past little while so it's my neutral of choice this week; expect to see a blog post on a couple of the Kate Moss lipsticks very soon. I've also put an EOS lip balm in Tangerine in there.

I like to keep eye make up to a minimum when I'm in a rush; I can easily spend twenty minutes messing around with several different shades and liners if I have the time. I'm going to try using YSL Shocking mascara this week and I'm a tiny bit worried about it smudging, if I'm honest. If I do fancy wearing a lid colour I'll use my NARS Smudgeproof Shadow Base underneath either LUSH's Sophisticated cream eye shadow or MAC's Pro Longwear shadow in Sweet Satisfaction. I have the Lancome Le Crayon Sourcils in 030 Brun and a brow gel (not included in the photo because it looks disgusting!) for my brows. 

The most important part of my make up routine involves these four products. I've been skipping a primer recently but I've yet to use my repurchased Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro primer so I've added it to my make up bag this week. My foundation of choice is the L'Oreal True Match (I wish I could tell you which shade I have but I can't find it on the packaging anywhere). It's so quick and easy to apply; I use my fingers. For concealer I have the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium 3 for any blemishes or discolouration and Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer for underneath my eyes. Drugstore base products are definitely growing on me, it seems!

I won three powder products in a Famous giveaway hosted by Cherry a while back and whilst I've used the No Shine Face Powder in The One and Only regularly, I've only used the Shining Star Shimmer Brick in Rihanna Shimmer and the First Date Blush in Scarlett a couple of times. The shimmer brick doubles as an eyeshadow palette and the blush is a gorgeous dark rose shade. I've thrown in a Dior blush in Peachy Keen because it's one of my favourite winter blushes. 

So, there you have it.

What's in your make up bag right now? If you've posted something similar, leave me a link in the comments.

Stace xx

September Favourites - Hair, Skin & Nails

I stopped doing monthly favourites posts because I always found it difficult to pick out the products I really loved but this month it was so easy. I posted yesterday about my favourite make up items from this month but today I wanted to talk about other beauty products I've been enjoying too.

Aussie Luscious Long Leave In Conditioner

Before I started trying hair oils this product was a staple of mine and I've gone through several bottles of it in the past. When I last got my hair cut my hairdresser used a leave in conditioner spray and it reminded me about this one which had been languishing unloved in a drawer for almost a year. My hair can look really limp and flat if I use a traditional conditioner so I prefer to use something like this or a hair oil on the ends of my hair after washing it. Aussie Luscious Long leaves my hair feeling incredibly soft, much more so than any hair oils I've tried. Because it's such a fine mist it doesn't weigh my hair down or cause it to become greasy either. If you hair hair like mine, I'd definitely recommend trying this.

LUSH BB Seaweed Fresh Face Mask

This mask from LUSH doesn't look particularly nice (think huge chunks of black seaweed...) but it makes my skin feel so refreshed and lovely that I can't not mention it in this post. I got about five uses out of this pot so used it around once a week. LUSH recommend this mask for every skin type; apparently men really like it. There's nothing too irritating in there or it's not too drying/too moisturising. I've tried several of these masks from LUSH and this one is by far my favourite. 

L'Occitane Shea Butter Foot Cream

I'm sure you can see that this product has been well loved because it's almost empty! I really don't like feet but I like them even less if they're not well looked after. I usually prefer to use a thick foot cream overnight and this product doesn't work too well in that context. However, I've been using this all month after my morning shower and because it sinks into the skin so quickly it's much more convenient. When I first tried this foot cream I was seriously underwhelmed but I've recently grown to love it. You do have to be willing to use it daily or at least every two days, though.

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Lotion

I picked this up from FeelUnique a couple of months ago and it's since been my go-to night time moisturiser. I'm not completely taken with the almond scent but it's not too overpowering and I can live with it because the lotion does an excellent job of hydrating my skin. I'm planning to review this properly soon so watch this space!

L'Oreal Color Riche Polish in Beige Countess

It wouldn't be a favourites post without a L'Oreal Color Riche polish, would it? You all know I love these polishes but this shade is the one I've used the most; as you can probably see. It's just a typical medium nude shade that goes with pretty much everything. It's not my favourite polish in the world but I have been wearing it an awful lot this month. I used to think it was very similar to Essie's Lady Like but it's a lot more beige and therefore more flattering on me. The formula is easy to work with and I love the wide brushes on these polishes.

Let me know if you like favourites posts; I might try to do them more regularly from now on.

Stace xx

September Empties

Another month, another empties post. This month I got through quite a few products without really trying; I was surprised to see that my 'empties' bag was bursting!

I ran out of three face products this month; my primer, foundation and powder. The MUA primer was nice but the packaging was frustrating because I always ended up squeezing out too much product so I'm not sure if it's something I'd repurchase. It's good if you're on a budget, though. My beloved Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua  foundation finally ran out this month but I've moved on to the YSL Touche Eclat foundation; espect to see a review of that one soon. I will probably repurchase Vitalumiere Aqua at some point in the future. The powder I finished up was the Clarins Ever Matte. I liked it but I do think it's a bit overpriced. My Chanel Rouge Noir nail polish finally became too gloopy to use. I've been looking for a similar shade but can't find one that seems just right so if you have any recommendations please leave them in the comments. 

I used up a second pot of the Lierac Smoothing Energizing moisturiser, a small bottle of Osmo's Beber Oil treatment and a Fresh Brown Sugar fragrance sample. I enjoyed using all three of these products but I don't expect to repurchase any of them just now.

This Johnson's 24 Hour Moisture Hand Cream is a great budget buy; I used to use this all the time and it's something I always seem to go back to. The Botanics All Bright Cleansing Face Wipes were just okay and not something I'm particularly keen to use again. I got through two pots of Lush Fresh Face Masks and enjoyed using both but much preferred BB Seaweed over Brazened Honey. 

This Boots Nail Polish Remover is another go-to budget buy for me. I've tried more expensive removers but none work as well as this one for me. I reviewed the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Body Lotion yesterday and if you read that post you'd know that I have mixed feelings about the product. I don't think I'll be repurchasing. I would, however, consider picking up another tube of the Jergens Cocoa Butter Body Lotion; partly because it smelled delicious and partly because it felt really nice on my skin.

I wasn't overly impressed with the scent of Soap & Glory's Foam Call Shower Gel when I first smelled it but it seems to smell a lot nicer in the shower. I like that it comes with a pump because I tend to be too generous with shower gel. I'm not sure if I'd buy it again immediately but it is a nice product. I used up two shampoos this month; the L'Oreal Ever Strong Reinforcing Shampoo and the John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo. I realise that it seems as though I've used a lot of shampoo this month but the L'Oreal only had a little left in it at the beginning of September and I gave some of the John Frieda to a friend to try. I have reviews of both these shampoos coming up soon. 

I've had this can of Boots Firm Hold Hairspray sitting around for quite a while but I've been wearing my hair up a lot more recently and was reaching for it to tame flyaways. I don't think it's a particularly good hairspray but it did the job for me. The Tresemme Volumising Dry Shampoo is one of my all-time favourite hair products and one I posted about recently. I've already purchased another can! LUSH Rub Rub Rub is another product I reviewed positively recently. I still can't believe how much I loved the scent and it was a really effective exfoliator. I was given Prada Candy last Christmas and whilst I liked it initially I did get a bit bored of it so I'm quite pleased to have finished it up. There's just something about it that isn't right. I wish I could explain it!

So, those are my September empties. Did you use up many products this month?

Stace xx

NOTD: L'Oreal Color Riche in Opulent Pink

Another NOTD post, another L'Oreal Color Riche polish! This is the last one, I promise! Opulent Pink was the other shade that came in the little gift with purchase set L'Oreal were offering around a month ago and it's definitely my favourite of the two. 

The shade is a bright, warm toned pink and whilst it's not something I'd typically reach for I do like it. Formula wise it's nice, not too thin but not thick and gloopy either. As always with these polishes, I love the wide brush. The wear time was average for me at around 2-3 days with the Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat on top. 

These polishes are priced at £4.99 and are available wherever L'Oreal is stocked. They're currently part of a 3 for 2 offer in both Boots and Superdrug. 

What do you think? Have you tried any of the L'Oreal Color Riche polishes?

Stace xx

PS - Apologies for not posting over the weekend, I'm having a bit of a life crisis right now and went to stay with a friend. 

PPS - I've moved my blog sale to a separate blog (here) and I've added a few new products so if you're interested please go and have a look. I'll be adding more including clothes and shoes over the coming week or so.

NOTD: L'Oreal Color Riche in You Are Worth It

Another L'Oreal Color Riche NOTD...I apologise! I received this one a little gift with purchase set and to be honest, it's not a shade I'd typically go for. You Are Worth it is a medium grey shade with slight blue undertones and a creme finish.

I like the Color Riche line of polishes because they're small (a mere 5ml compared to 15ml from OPI or 13.5ml from Essie) so I might actually get through an entire bottle and because despite their dinky size, they have a nice wide brush which means they're easy to apply.

The other polishes from the range that I've tried have all been on the thin side formula-wise so I was surprised at how thick You Are Worth It was. I could have got away with applying just one coat because it was so opaque and even but I always feel weird doing that so added a second. I used it over my usual Revlon ColorStay base coat and put some Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat on top. As you can probably see, it looks a lot more blue on the nails than it does in the bottle. I'm not entirely sure that it suits my skin tone but it could look nice on someone with cooler undertones.

L'Oreal Color Riche polishes are priced at £4.99 (but can often be found in 3 for 2 deals) anywhere L'Oreal is sold. 

What do you think?

Stace xx

August Haul

I had every intention of not buying anything this month and failed miserably! I'm consoling myself with the fact that most of the items weren't too expensive and the priciest item was a birthday present.

Botanics Cleansing Face Wipes

These were under £3 in Boots when I bought them so I thought it was worth giving them a go. I used them when I went back home this month and I've got a review of these coming up soon.

Boots Baby Extra Large Cotton Wool Pads

These were recommended by Zoe from Zoella and they're great! I used to use about eight small cotton pads to remove my make up but I only need two of these.

Boots Baby Shampoo

I use baby shampoo to wash my brushes and I sometimes use it to wash my hair if my scalp's feeling a bit irritated. 

NARS Bronzer in Laguna

This is the first high end bronzer I've ever purchased! It was a bit of a birthday present to myself. 

Elie Saab Le Parfum

This was part of my birthday present from Boyfriend. It smells gorgeous :)

Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser x 2

This is one of my favourite moisturisers and I like it especially if and when I get break outs. I've purchased so many tubes of this in the past, I've lost count! They were in a 2 for £5 offer in Boots.

Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish

My favourite scrub, The Body Shop's Vitamin C Microdermabrasion, is running low so I decided to replace it with this cheaper alternative to see how well it compares.

Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub

This is another repurchased product, it's probably my fifth or sixth tube of this scrub!

Cuticura Passion Flower & Mango Anti Bacterial Hand Gel

I love my little Bath & Body Works Pocket Bacs but I'm running low on those so I picked this up to replace those.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

I've been on the hunt for a nice drugstore foundation which doesn't break me out so I decided to give this one a try.

L'Oreal Color Infallible Shadow in Goldmine

This was a total impulse buy because I knew if I spent more than £15 I'd get a little gift set for free. It's very glittery!

L'Oreal Color Riche Polishes in Dating Coral & Femme Fatale 

These were emergency airport purchases because I didn't like the manicure I'd planned to keep on for a week. I'm addicted to these little bottles of polish.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara in Brown/Black

My mum used to use this. In fact, she probably still does! It was on offer so I picked it up to see what it's like. I've never tried a Max Factor mascara before. I went for the brown/black shade because it looks a bit softer and more natural.

17 Blemish BB Balm in Medium

I don't know what possessed me to buy this because I know I don't like western BB creams but I always want to try new ones just in case they're not rubbish! I've tried this a few times already and I don't hate it, which is a good sign. I'll probably be reviewing this in a few weeks.

MAC Select Moisture Cover Concealer in NC20

I picked this up on a blog sale for around a fiver. It's a couple of shades lighter than my skintone but I'm planning to use it on my under eye area.

I had a coupon for £5 off a Feel Unique so I made a little order!

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Lotion

I needed a new moisturiser to use when I don't need to use the Clean & Clear Dual Action so I picked this up on a whim. I was a bit disappointed when it arrived as it's only 30ml rather than the 50ml I expected; I should have read the description more carefully!

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat

I needed a new bottle of this and it was under £5 on Feel Unique so I popped it in my basket. 

NUXE Reve de Miel Lip Balm

I'm a lip balm junkie so I knew I'd have to get around to trying this at some point. I'll be posting a review of this soon!

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Body Lotion

When I buy clothes from ASOS I always end up with at least one beauty item in my basket and this body lotion is what made it into my most recent order.

Boots Nail Polish Remover

This was another product repurchase!

Essie Fiji

I've been wanting this colour for such a long time and Boots were running a points event where you would receive 10 points per £1 if you spent over £15 so I added this to my basket in order to take advantage of the extra points. At least, that's what I'm telling myself!

LUSH BB Seaweed & Brazened Honey Fresh Face Masks

I was after a new face mask but after looking in Boots several times, nothing took my fancy so I popped into LUSH and picked up a couple of their fresh face masks. I've tried Brazened Honey before and it wasn't my favourite mask but I was given it by accident instead of Love Lettuce this time so I'm interested to see if my opinion has changed. Expect to see reviews of these quite soon. I should also mention that Rachel, the girl who helped me in store was absolutely lovely. All the staff in LUSH on Buchanan Street in Glasgow are great so if you're in the area I'd highly recommend popping in!

If you'd like to see reviews of anything I purchased please let me know in the comments. 

Did you buy anything nice this month? If you have a haul post or video, leave me a link!

Stace xx