Color Club Bargain at TKMaxx

I pop into TKMaxx every now and then on the off chance that there'll be a beauty bargain to be had. I usually leave empty handed but today I picked up a set of seven Color Club polishes for a mere £7.99. Normally these sets contain one or two nice shades but I would happily wear all the shades from this set. It's called The Back To Boho Collection and there are two sets of colours, the set I got was just called 'set A'. 

The set includes Nomadic in Nude, a true light beige, Earthly Angel which is a creamy light terracotta, New Bohemian, a tiffany blue shade not too dissimilar from China Glaze's For Audrey, Shabby Drab, a muted periwinkle blue, Rad Nomad, a dusky purple shade and Red-Ical Gypsy, a pink-red. The set also includes a bottle of Stuck on You base coat. All the polishes have a cream finish; I believe the other set was made up of shimmery shades so it's worth checking out too if you're a fan of both finishes. Each bottle contains 15ml of polish which is the same as a full sized OPI. 

I've not tried any of these on my nails just yet as I've only just arrived home with them but I will try to post some NOTDs soon. I always see Color Club in TKMaxx so it should be easy enough to find at your nearest store if you're interested.

Swatches

L-R: Nomadic in Nude, Earthly Angel, New Bohemian, Shabby Drab, Rad Nomad, Red-Ical Gypsy

Have you tried any Color Club polishes before?

Stace xx

Five Quick Spot Prevention Tips

For the past three or four months my skin has been looking, dare I say it, pretty good. I still have terrible dark circles, some scarring on my chin and rosy cheeks but the main reason my skin has been looking better is that I very rarely get spots these days. I didn't have acne or anything like that but I usually had at least one or two spots at any given time. I've not made a lot of changes in my beauty routine but I have put a bit more effort into some of the steps so I thought I'd share a few tips just in case any of you are in the same position I was. 

1) Remove your make up properly

We all know that we have to take our make up off before going to bed to avoid waking up to a face full of spots but usually taking a face wipe and rubbing for thirty seconds just doesn't cut it. I want my skin to be clean and completely make up free before I go to bed. The quickest and most effective way of thoroughly cleansing that I found was to use a micellar water a la Bioderma. I've tried several of them and liked them all. Recently I've been using my Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser before bed and double cleansing if I've got make up on. Just find a method that works for you and your skin; it will make a huge difference.

2) Exfoliate regularly

I always know when my skin needs to be exfoliated; it starts looking a bit dull and grey. I use the Vitamin C Microdermabrasion scrub from The Body Shop and highly recommend it for normal, combination and oily skin types. I usually exfoliate twice a week but if my skin's looking extra tired, I'll do it three times. When we were moving I didn't exfoliate for a week and I could really see it in my skin. Aside from brightening my skin, I also find that exfoliation helps to unclog pores somewhat and thus prevents some possible breakouts. In addition, when my skin looks a bit better, I tend to use less base make up which can clog up my pores.

3) Wash your hands

This step will seem like a no brainer, right? I'm sure you all wash your hands when you're supposed to but I've been a lot more careful to wash my hands a bit more often, particularly before applying or touching up make up. Not only does this prevent transferring spot-inducing bacteria to your face, it also prevents you from getting excess bacteria on the products you're using. I like to keep little bottles of alcohol gel in my bag and around the flat to use regularly.

4) Clean your brushes

This seems to be something a lot of us don't do often enough. I spoke to someone a while ago who was complaining about getting more and more spots. When I asked her if she'd cleaned her foundation/concealer brushes since she first got the breakout she said she hadn't so basically she was using the same brush to cover her existing breakout and to create more. I used to be quite lazy about cleaning my brushes mostly because I preferred to wash a lot at the same time but that meant that I'd use the same foundation brush quite a few times whereas I'd only used a particular eyeshadow brush a couple of times. Now I wash my foundation and concealer brushes after every second or third use. It's actually a lot easier to wash just a couple of brushes every few days than it is to wash ten or fifteen at the same time. I use mostly synthetic brushes which I find are a lot easier to wash, too.

5) Have some make up free time

I know not everyone can take a few days a week off from wearing make up but I've been trying to only wear make up when I really need to and my skin's been enjoying the break. Even if you have to wear make up every day, try taking it off the minute you come in from work or not wearing it at the weekends. 

I hope some of those tips were useful. I realise that they all probably sound really obvious but I just wanted to chip in and say that these measures really do work in preventing occasional breakouts without spending lots of money on products to deal with the spots when they do pop up. If you have any other tips, please leave them in the comments!

Stace xx

July Haul

I didn't think I bought too many products this month but I guess I was wrong!

I needed a new shampoo so picked up the L'Oreal Ever Strong Reinforcing Vitality shampoo; it's from their new sulphate free range. Having tried (and enjoyed) another (much more expensive) sulphate free shampoo, I've been keen to try another one. The E45 lotion was a necessity because the skin on my back and shoulders has been feeling so irritated recently. It's a decent moisturiser in general and something that's handy to have on hand when scented lotions are too irritating.

I popped into The Body Shop because it's my birthday month so I had a £5 reward plus a £5 reward on my reward card. I needed to replace my African Spa Hand & Foot Butter so I used my £10 of rewards on that.  From the sale I picked up a Raspberry body butter, a Green Apple shower gel and a Passion Fruit cleansing gel. I stupidly thought the Passion Fruit cleansing gel was a body wash, though. I added a Born Lippy balm in Pinkberry at the till and I've been enjoying this lip balm so much. It smells like a strawberry Opal Fruit.

I picked up the famous Rub Rub Rub body scrub from LUSH and have been loving it so far. The scent is really unexpected; because it's blue I was expecting it to smell fresh but it's actually a lot more floral.

I did a little blog sale shopping this month. From a US blog sale I bought a mini Make
Up For Ever Smokey Lash mascara but unfortunately it's very dry looking so I don't think it's usable. I bought two more Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch and Cherry Me. Despite the naff packaging, these are great little tinted balms. I also picked up a Hard Candy 'bronzer' (what?!) in Tiki. It's a lovely highlight powder.

I accidentally bought another highlight powder from Lou's blog sale; this time it was Topshop's Sunbeam. This one is very pigmented and golden. I also bought a mini Burberry lip cover in Rosewood because I didn't get it in my Harrod's Glossybox and felt I was missing out! It's very cute.

I clearly had a thing for honey scented lip balms this month given that I purchased both the Nivea Milk and Honey balm and the Burt's Bees Honey balm. I have to say, I prefer the Nivea one. I picked up a couple of the new-ish Revlon Kissable Balm Stains in Crush and Rendevous. I wanted to try a waterproof mascara so picked up the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof in Black; I've been enjoying using it so far. I had to replenish my stock of Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium, too.

I attended a make up lesson at Urban Decay that I'd won and the make up artist used this concealer on me. I really liked the coverage and texture of it so I picked up the Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer in AFI. Expect to see a review on this sometime soon. The final product in this haul wasn't purchased by me. A lady I babysit for gave me this because she didn't think the colour would suit her. I've been hankering after a NARS Larger Than Life lip gloss for a while so it was a nice surprise. This is in the shade Place Vendome. 

Swatches

Hard Candy Tiki, Topshop Sunbeam, Urban Decay AFI, Collection Medium

Maybelline Cherry Me, Maybelline Pink Punch, Revlon Rendevous, Revlon Crush, Burberry Rosewood, NARS Place Vendome

If you'd like to see reviews of any of these products, please let me know!

Stace xx

Philosophy Purity Made Simple

I've been using this cleanser for around six weeks now so I thought it was about time I posted a review. I used to use only cream cleansers but in the last year I've been trying micellar waters, face washes and hot cloth cleansers so it was inevitable that I'd try Philosophy's Purity Made Simple cleanser at some point.

The packaging is typically Philosophy; simple and functional but still a little special. Since the product is more of a liquid than a gel this sort of packaging is better than a tube but it will be more difficult for me to get every last drop of cleanser out. It's not a deal breaker for me, though. I have to say, it did take a while to get used to the herbal scent.

It's pretty easy to use, I just apply a small amount (see above photo) to damp skin and massage in for around a minute. Purity doesn't sting my eyes at all so I don't need to use a separate eye make up remover and it removes waterproof mascara excellently. If I'm using it in the shower, I just rinse it off my face but otherwise I remove it with a muslin cloth. If I've been wearing a lot of make up, I'll cleanse twice and if not I'll just spritz on some of my Botanics Rosewater toner. 

After using this over the past six weeks I've not had any reactions and I still have lots of product left (about 70% of the bottle!) It does leave a slight 'moisturised' feeling on my skin which doesn't bother me but may be problematic for anyone with really oily skin. 

All in all, I really enjoy using this product and think it's really effective as a cleanser. I have the 240ml size which cost £17.50. I'm definitely interested in trying more Philosophy skincare now!

Have you tried this cleanser?

Stace xx

FOTD: Smoky Coral

I bought the L'Oreal Color Infallible shadow in Magnetic Coral a few months ago and whilst it looks okay when worn alone, it looked a little 'off' or something. Today I decided to pair it with MAC Twinks and I really liked the slightly smoky effect so I thought I'd post a quick Face of the Day!

On my skin I applied some of the MUA Primer with a Real Techniques Buffing brush and then put a tiny bit of Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach under my eyes. I buffed some Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium over any blemishes with the same Real Techniques brush. The foundation I used is a sample of the new Urban Decay Naked foundation in the shade 7.0. I also buffed this in with the Real Techniques Buffing brush. Watch out for a review on the foundation in the next couple of weeks!  I used a little Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in Soft Beige under my eyes; I blended that in with an Illamasqua Blending 2 brush. For blush I used MAC Warm Soul on a MAC 168 brush. 

I used my NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow base all over my lid before filling in my brows with Smashbox Brow Tech in Taupe/Soft Brown with an angled brush and combing through them with MUA clear mascara. I applied MAC Twinks in the outer V/crease of my eye with a fluffy brush before applying some of the L'Oreal Color Infallible shadow in Magnetic Coral with my finger. I used a tiny bit of TheBalm's Mary Lou-Manizer as a browbone and inner corner highlight and ran some Twinks under my lower lashes with an ELF Crease brush. I added a tiny bit of Milani Liquif'Eye pencil liner in brown before applying two coats of the waterproof L'Oreal Volume Million mascara in black to my curled lashes. 

On my lips I just applied some Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer. Phew...this FOTD included a lot more products than I thought!

Stace xx

Illamasqua Cream Blush in Zygomatic

I wanted to buy most of the products from Illamasqua's Naked Strangers collection but I was restrained and went for the cream blush in Zygomatic. I've already got an Illamasqua cream blush in Rude, which I love, so I was pretty sure I'd be pleased with my purchase.

The texture of the Illamasqua cream blushes isn't sticky at all and the finish of Zygomatic is quite dewy.   Illamasqua describe this shade as a 'naked pink brown' which I'd say is about right. It's very subtle on my skin tone so if you're any darker than a MAC NC35, I'd advise skipping this but if you're pale, this should be a great shade for you. 

My favourite way to apply this with the Illamasqua Highlight brush but I also like using my fingers or a Real Techniques Stippling brush. Since it's on the sheerer side it's quite difficult to over-do it with this blush in terms of colour but I'd avoid applying more than a couple of layers as it can look a little greasy. I get around five or six hours of wear out of this blush which is pretty good considering it's a cream product which doesn't dry down. I've applied a powder blush on top to increase the wear time and that's worked well for me. 

Zygomatic is priced at £16.50 and is available from Illamasqua counters or online (link).

Did you buy anything from the Naked Strangers collection?

Stace xx

Wednesday Wish List: LUSH!

I went into a LUSH store for the first time in forever last week and whilst I only purchased one item, I came away with a list of products I can't wait to try so I thought I'd incorporate that into this week's Wednesday Wish List!

You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt

£3.10

This smells so summery! I've tried a few of the other bath melts and enjoyed them; you do have to be willing to deal with a bubble free bath, though!

Dreamwash Shower Smoothie

£9.50

This is a reluctant wish list entry for me because LUSH have cruelly discontinued my favourite shower smoothie; the almond and coconut one. I used it as a shave cream on my legs and it worked amazingly well so I was pretty distraught when I discovered back in February that it was gone! This is the next best thing for me, it has the same great texture but unfortunately not the delicious scent. 

I Love Juicy Shampoo

£15.95

Have any of you smelled this?! It smells so good I kind of wanted to drink it. This is a clarifying shampoo so probably not one for anyone with dry hair but mine is very grease-prone so it should work well for me. 

Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask

£5.95

One of my all time favourite LUSH products is their face mask in Catastrophe Cosmetic but I think it's about time I tried another of their fresh masks and this one is at the top of my to-try list.

Imperialis Face Cream

£12.50

I've never tried a LUSH face cream before and this one sounds like their best all-rounder. I'm almost out of moisturiser so this could make its way into my skincare drawer pretty soon!

Do you have a list of lemmings from LUSH? What's on it?

Stace xx

Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup

I'd been keen to try the Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup since it launched. Estee Lauder claim that this foundation is 'Fresh, flawless, radiant. Ultra light, ultra breathable, oil-free' and it sounded like my perfect foundation. A lot of bloggers and YouTubers have compared this with Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua which is my current foundation of choice so I was expecting great things. 

I was matched to the shade 3WN1 and given a substantial sample to try out. On the subject of shades, this foundation comes in 16 shades as opposed to the five shades Chanel offer with the Vita Lumiere Aqua. They cater for warm, cool and neutral undertones. I'd say 3WN1 is just a hint too dark for me right now and in MAC terms it's around an NC35.

I've tried applying the Invisible Fluid with my fingers and found I needed a lot of product so I prefer using it with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. I like to use the Vita Lumiere Aqua in a similar way. 

In the photos of my face I've used a little MUA primer and Bobbi Brown Corrector under my eyes but no concealer or powder. 

The coverage is definitely on the sheer side. I have a few healing spots on my chin and as you can see, it's not really done anything to hide those. I also have some redness in my cheeks that it doesn't cover sufficiently for my liking. It's sheerer than Vita Lumiere Aqua. I like sheer/light coverage foundations but the fact that the Invisible fluid didn't even out the redness in my cheeks means it's probably too sheer for me. I'm happy to use concealer on blemishes and dark spots but not over half of my face. 

When I initially apply the Invisible Fluid, the finish isn't particularly dewy. It reminds me a bit of the Bourjous Healthy Mix Serum finish-wise. It looks nice for a couple of hours on me and then it all starts to fall apart; or melt away. I don't have very oily skin but this product makes me look like an oil slick if I don't use powder. I don't mind having to use a powder but the fact the foundation looks quite matte/satin when first applied meant that I didn't think I needed to powder, especially given that this is an oil free product. 

If you have pretty clear skin that only needs a little evening out, this could be a great foundation for you, especially if you wanted to try Vita Lumiere Aqua but couldn't find a good shade match. I really wanted to like this foundation but unfortunately it's fallen short for me. It is priced at £27 for 30ml and can be purchased from Estee Lauder stockists.

Have you tried it? What did you think?

Stace xx

Soap & Glory Original Pink Perfume

I'm going to put this out there; I'm terrible at describing scents! I do wear perfume, though, so I thought it was about time I started reviewing it. I try to only have one 'expensive' perfume on the go at any one time so I picked this Soap & Glory Original Pink as a cheaper option. The reason I wanted to review this first is because I don't think there are many people out there who don't know that typical Soap & Glory scent; this is essentially what this smells like. 

Whilst I like the Soap & Glory scent (rose and bergamot, apparently!) I find the body butter scent lasts far too long on my skin and it becomes a bit cloying to me. The fragrance is a nice alternative because it's a bit lighter.. The wear time is only a couple of hours with this perfume, which might be frustrating for some but I happily chuck it in my bag to reapply on the go because I'm not worried about the bottle getting damaged. 

Overall I think it's a nice product but it's not something I'd rush out to repurchase because there are a few other 'cheaper' perfumes I enjoy more than this one. If you like the Soap & Glory scent, this is probably a must have! It is priced at £16.50 for 50ml from Boots or the Soap & Glory website.

Stace xx

PS - Sorry I've been a bit absent for the last week. Moving was more difficult than I anticipated and I wasn't near a laptop for a week!

Wishlist Wednesday: Purse Friendly Edition!

After last week's wish list full of pricier items, I thought I'd share a few items on my wish list from the other end of the spectrum. Everything is under £10, which suits me in my current jobless state!

Rimmel Stay Matte powder

£3.99

My current face powder has a huge amount of pan showing right now so I'll need to pick up a new one quite soon. I've heard a lot of good things about this powder and it's less than £4! 

Barry M Lip Gloss in Toffee

£4.25

I've owned this before and I used it constantly. I've held off on replacing it because I wanted to use up a few other glosses but I think it's about time it took up its place in my collection again.

Bourjois 10 Day Nail Enamel in Coral Pink

£5.99

I've seen a few reviews on these new-ish polishes from Bourjois and they sound pretty good. I'm not sure how this would compare with the Revlon ColorStay polish I tried and loved, though.

Korres Lip Butter in Guava

£7

I've tried a couple of lip butters before but they were all too pigmented for me to just wear as a balm. I did like the texture so I'm keen to try Guava because it's effectively colourless. 

Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect Rotating Mascara

£10.00

I'm not going to lie, I only really want to try this because it has a rotating wand. Have any of you tried it? I'd love to know your thoughts.

What's on your wish list this week?

Stace xx

Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz

When it comes to toners I'm not too picky. I've tried a variety of them from different price points and I've never felt the need to rave about any of them, until now. I usually only use a toner in conjunction with a cream cleanser so when I picked up a new cream cleanser from the Botanics range, I also picked up the Rosewater Toning Spritz. I believe I've owned the Rosewater toner from Botanics before it was repackaged but I don't have the packaging to check if the ingredients are the same. 

I've not started using the cleanser yet but I decided to give the toner a go by itself and I've been impressed. I normally use it before applying moisturiser in the mornings and before bed but since I've not been wearing make up much recently (the joys of moving house!) I've also been spritzing this on during the day to keep my skin feeling clean and fresh. 

I find it less harsh but equally as effective as the Tea Tree toner from LUSH which also comes in a spray bottle. If you have normal or combination skin and are looking for a new toner, I'd recommend giving this a go, if you'd prefer not to use a spray, you can always take the cap off and use it with a cotton pad. 

One of the best things about this toner is the price; it's only £4.99 (here) but right now it's on offer for £3.33. This will definitely be something I repurchase!

Have you tried anything from the recently repackaged Botanics range?

Stace xx

A Foot Cream Face Off: L'Occitaine vs. The Body Shop

It's taken me a while to feel up to writing today's post. I'm just going to put this out there; I hate feet. They freak me out. Even 'nice' (shudder!) looking feet make me feel a bit squeamish. However, this is a beauty blog and making my feet look a bit less disgusting is part of my regular beauty regime so it's about time I reviewed the products I use. 

I normally exfoliate my feet in the shower, then I'll apply a foot cream and put on some cotton socks. I prefer to do that before bed but I do try to use a foot cream every day or at least every two days so sometimes I'll just pop on the socks for half an hour before I have to leave the flat. Right now I have two foot creams that I alternate between and I like both of them, but for different reasons. This post is going to be a comparison of both products.

First up is The Body Shop's Spa Africa Honey & Beeswax Hand & Foot Butter. A bit of a mouthful! I can't imagine using this on my hands as it's very thick so I use it exclusively as a foot cream. The pot is a bit fliddly and unnecessary in my opinion. This is priced at £10 for 125ml (here) and I've been using this pot since the end of April, at least once a week.

I tend to use this foot cream once or twice a week at most partly because I don't want to waste it if my feet don't need such a heavy duty cream and partly because it takes quite a while to sink into the skin, meaning that I really do need to have this on overnight. 

The product itself smells gorgeous. It doesn't smell like a typical foot cream to me; I often think of them as smelling quite minty or herbal. It's the best foot cream I've used in terms of how moisturising it is. You do need to exfoliate your feet beforehand, but then any foot cream requires that step. If you find you struggle with dry skin or if you only want to have to use a foot cream once a week, this is definitely one to check out! I've already repurchased it.

PS - I bought this on Essiebutton's recommendation.

The second foot cream I use regularly is L'Occitane's Shea Butter Foot Cream. This is priced at £18.50 for 150ml (here). The packaging is functional and thankfully, a lot less fiddly! 

I bought this on a bit of a whim and at first I wasn't overly impressed by it but I like using it in combination with The Body Shop's Honey & Beeswax foot butter. If I use that twice a week, I'll try to use the L'Occitane cream at least three times and I find it just helps keep my feet hydrated. On its own it's not enough.

The texture is definitely more of a cream compared to the buttery texture of the other foot cream I use. That has its benefits because it means the cream sinks in a lot more quickly so I can easily use this in the mornings if I have to. I'm not in love with the scent; it's very herbal and not what I expected from a shea butter based cream really. However, that does mean it feels quite cooling and makes it nice to use on tired feet too. I'm not entirely sure it's worth the £18.50 price tag or the accolade of 'foot cream of the year' (according to InStyle) but it's not a a terrible product either, I just think there are cheaper alternatives or other creams that work better.

I hope this was helpful to some of you!

Stace xx

Scottish Bloggers!

The lovely Karris (check out her blog here) has decided to start a Scottish Bloggers blog. It's going to have a variety of beauty, fashion and lifestyle posts from various bloggers in Scotland. I offered to contribute and my post went up today! It's about my favourite everyday eyeshadows and you can read it here. 

I'd really appreciate it if you could go and check out the blog, I think it's going to be great! If you're a blogger in Scotland and are interested in contributing, definitely get in touch with Karris.

Thanks!

Stace xx

The Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream

I started using an eye cream daily at the beginning of the year and so far I've tried both Clinique All About Eyes creams and the Philosophy Eye Hope. Whilst I liked all three of those, something inside me baulks at the idea of paying £25-£30 (or more) on 15ml of eye cream, despite knowing that I'll only use a little each day. So, I decided to give The Body Shop's best selling eye cream a go.

I much prefer face moisturisers that come in tubes; I'm not the biggest fan of sticking my fingers in jars, especially when my nails are quite long. Eurgh! So, the Vitamin E eye cream gets points for coming in a tube. I find it really easy to control how much product I squeeze out so I don't waste any.

Texture-wise, it's a lot more lightweight than I was expecting. I actually prefer a lighter texture if I'm wearing it under make up so this is a perfect daytime eye cream. It's hydrating without being greasy or causing my under eye concealer to crease. At the moment I'm using this at night as well but I think when the weather gets a little colder, I'm going to want something a bit more heavy duty for night time. 

I have quite dark under eye circles because I have pretty sallow skin so I know that no eye cream will really help those and I've not noticed much of a difference when using this cream. I don't have a great deal of fine lines in the eye area yet either but I'm planning to go down the 'prevention is better than cure' route with those for now and I believe the hydration the Vitamin E eye cream offers is helping with that. 

The Body Shop's Vitamin E eye cream is available online (link) and in stores. It's £9.50 for 15ml. I think it's a great value product and I'd recommend trying it if you're not sure where to start with eye creams or if you want something light for daytime. 

Stace xx

Current High Street/Drugstore Favourites

I had quite a few requests recently to do more posts about drugstore or high street make up so I thought it was about time I did a drugstore favourites post. Regular readers will know that I try to keep my stash under control so I don't have a favourite drugstore item from each category; like foundation, for example. I also don't consider a product a 'favourite' unless I use regularly so there are only ten items in this post. Of course I do enjoy other products from the high street but these are my top picks right now.

MUA Primer 

This is a great basic primer; it makes foundation application much smoother. It's not particularly heavy duty in terms of controlling oil and prolonging wear but it's a nice product and I've been using this every day recently. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer

I bought this on a whim alongside the foundation and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised and I've been using this almost daily under my eyes. It's a lot lighter than the other concealer I use so it's nicer for the under eye area.

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer

What beauty blogger worth their salt doesn't have this in their stash? I know it can be a little drying and the shade range is somewhat limited but this stuff is great on blemishes and discolouration. This is my third tube and it's on its way out - I have another waiting in the wings, of course!

MUA Clear mascara

I'm embarrassed to even show you this but I use it as a brow gel; either by itself or over the Smashbox Brow Tech. It's only £1 and again, it's something I use every day.

L'Oreal Color Infallible shadow in Sahara Treasure

I reveiwed this a couple of days ago. It's a great neutral shimmery shade that's easy to work with. It's one of the few high street eyeshadows that has managed to impress me.

MUA Out There Plumping lip glosses

I have this in the shade Buff which is a nice neutral colour. I've also tried a couple of brighter shades which were really pigmented. It does make my lips tingle a bit but it's not painful (for me, at least). 

Revlon Super Lustrous lip glosses

The shade pictured is Nude Lustre which is my most used Super Lustrous gloss but I find the formula to be pretty consistent across the board with these and would recommend most shades. They're not sticky at all and I like the packaging.

Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks

This is one of my favourite drugstore lipstick formulas. In fact, if you discount the two I'm about to talk about, it's my favourite 'traditional' lipstick formula from the drugstore. They're pigmented and quite long-lasting without being drying.

Revlon lip butters

I had to include these. I'm almost out of my favourite shade, Fig Jam (sadly a US exclusive!) which is saying something. These are sheer but buildable and feel very comfortable on the lips. The one down side is that they're not particularly hydrating so don't really live up to the 'lip butter' claim in my opinion.  The shade pictured is Tutti Frutti. 

L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipsticks

These are similar to the Revlon lip butters in that they're sheer lipsticks but they feel a lot lighter on the lips. I find them to be a touch drying but they do smell nice. I have a couple of these and find myself reaching for them quite often.  

What are your favourite drugstore/high street products?

Stace xx