Haul: Chanel, LUSH, MAC and some polishes!

You know that week right after payday where you start flinging money at things you don't really need? Well, I just had one of those weeks (or fortnights...)
First up, a couple of Chanel impulse buys:

I'd read some fairly good reviews on the relatively new cream blushes so after a swatching session I settled on 62 Presage. It's a bright coral shade which leans more orange than pink. I've not used this properly yet but can say my first impressions are just so-so. The packaging is much smaller than I expected and very light; it definitely doesn't feel worth the £27 price tag. The Rouge Coco lipsticks, however, have gorgeous packaging and the product itself is something I'm pretty fond of. I have one of these in Bel Respiro and love it. I went for 21 Rivoli this time which is a blood-red shade. The formula is super easy to apply, has a nice satin finish and wears for a decent amount of time. If you're not a fan of floral scent, avoid! I had lots of Beauty Club Card points so ended up paying just over £30 for both items and I got a £10 voucher back too. 

I took a wee trip home last weekend and on the way made a customary stop at the MAC counter. I really can't deal with the staff at my nearest MAC counter and I like the fact I get a bit of a discount in duty free too. I picked up a couple of lipsticks; Diva (a matte) and Creme in Your Coffee (a creamsheen). Diva is a super dark berry which I'm hoping will satisfy my berry lip requirements for now whilst Creme in Your Coffee is a gorgeous darker nude shade. It looks much less brown when it's applied and the creamsheen finish is nice and glossy.

Now that I finally live in a flat with a bath again(!) I needed to pop into LUSH to pick up my beloved The Comforter bubble bar (it had already been used by the time I got around to taking these pictures) It's a a chunk of deliciously berry scented bubbly goodness which I'm very glad to have back in my life. While I was there I picked up another favourite; the BB Seaweed fresh face mask. I've lost count of the number of times I've recommended this as it works on loads of skin types and is pretty cheap. The only downside is that you need to use it all up within a month of purchasing. I was at the till when I spotted Santa's lip scrub and despite the fact I know that these are messy, I had to have it. It smells and tastes like old school cola. Yum! 

I've been branching out a little with polishes; shimmers and glitters are no longer off the menu. Illamasqua Bacterium made its way into my ASOS shopping basket a few weeks ago (it was only a fiver, how could I say no?!) and when it arrived it went straight on my nails. This slightly odd nude shimmer lasted a full week on me without chipping which is almost a miracle so I'm sure I'll be adding to my Illamasqua polish collection sometime soon. The Barry M Gelly polishes went under my radar initially as to me 'jelly' means translucent and if there's one thing that really drives me crazy, it's a sheer polish. After having a look at the formula I've realised that it's not sheer at all - just super shiny. I've got Watermelon here which is a nice teal green. It's going on my nails in the next couple of days and I have high hopes.

My final haul item is one of those products you pick up thinking 'yeah, this could be cute'. And it is cute; In the bottle. As I said, I've developed an interest in glitter polishes recently so this candy pink packed with pink, blue and silver glitter of varying sizes looked pretty great. I knew that I'd need a few coats but after trying three or four it just wasn't working as it was still too sheer. I took it off and reapplied over a couple of coats of Essie Fiji (almost-white crème finish pink) but I still needed three coats and the effect was too patchy for my liking. There's a photo on my Instagram if you want to have a look you can search for staceisace6. The glitter looked great though so I kind of wish Revlon would have packed more of the glitter into a clear base as then it would have been much more versatile. Anyway, it's Revlon Girly if any of you aren't put off by the above!

What have you been buying recently? Or are you being good and saving your cash for Christmas presents?

Stace xx

Weekend Haul: Philosophy & Boots

Hello!

I've finally done a little bit of beauty shopping! This haul is probably going to seem tiny compared to the monthly hauls I used to post but I'm sort of pleased about that. I generally try to be cleverer about the purchases I'm making now so will usually only buy one or two products over a period of a few weeks. This week I allowed myself to go a tiny bit crazy at the Philosophy counter and in Boots. I say 'crazy' because I don't actually need any of these things but that's not to say I won't enjoy trying them out; there could be some new favourites in here!

Philosophy as a brand is still fairly new to me. I've tried a lot of samples (and received even more after making this purchase - check out the cute little 'mini miracles' bag they came in!) and generally liked everything so I've been keen to pick up more of their line for a while. The 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath is one of the brand's staple offerings; I went for the delicious citrus scented Señorita Margarita. At £14 it's pretty pricey for a basic shower gel but I've been trying this out and a little definitely goes a long way. I tried it in my hair too and liked it as a shampoo but my hair is ridiculously low maintenance so I wouldn't recommend this as a shampoo for all hair types. 

The second product I picked up is their primer: The Present. I've heard mixed reviews on this one and haven't tried it out myself yet but plan to this week so expect to see a review soon if I have especially strong feelings either way. This was £22 but you do get 60ml of product which is around twice the size of most standard primers from other brands. 

Then I had one of those trips 'I-want-everything' trips to Boots but I somehow managed to compose myself and not spend too much. Looking at it now it does seem like a random selection of products! 

I made a couple of repurchases from Rimmel; the Wake Me Up concealer has been a favourite of mine for a long time and another lipstick from Kate Moss's Lasting Finish range. I got the shade 05 which is a warm, slightly bright pink because I've misplaced my beloved shade 19 and I'm hoping to find it again soon! I got a free Scandal Eyes mascara in black which I'm not sure I'll be a fan of as the brush looks absolutely huge.

The next three products which swiftly made it into my basket are all things I was really excited to see because until now I've not spotted them in British drugstores. The Maybelline Mega Plush mascara came out in the States forever ago and I've been dying to try it. This is another product which appears to split the opinion of beauty addicts so I'm interested to see which camp I end up in. I imagine there'll be a review of this up fairly soon. Next up is a Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polish in the infamous shade: Commander in Chic. It's one of those griege-nudes that's been doing the rounds for the past two or three years but I'm still looking forward to trying it out. I also came across a Sinful Colors display with a wide array of shades which are a snip at £1.99. I've been hankering after green nail polishes recently so this one in Exotic Green is a good way to try it out on the cheap.

Finally, I need new skincare. My current skincare system is driving me crazy; largely because it's not really a system. I'm starting my mini-revolution with this Vichy Normaderm moisturiser because it claims to target the issues I've been having with my skin. I also need a new cleanser, toner, serum, exfoliator and mask...suggestions on a postcard (or in the comments, probably quicker), please!

Have you been buying anything lately? If you've posted a haul, leave me a link!

Stace xx

November Beauty Haul

I've not posted a haul for quite a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been shopping. I've been totally out of the beauty blogging loop so I've not been overly inspired to buy lots of new make up; if you've tried anything new you think is worth checking out, let me know in the comments!

Lip products were my thing this month; it seems. I picked up one of the recently repackaged 17 Mirror Shine lipsticks in Beehive. I've owned this before and used it up completely because it's such an easy lipstick to wear. I like the look of the new black packaging compared with the old shiny blue tubes but it's a faff to use! It's rectangular and there's a little mirror which slides out; basically it's annoyingly difficult to close. 

I finally purchased a couple of Rimmel's Kate Moss lipsticks and I have to say I'm incredibly impressed. I have the matte lipstick in 107 and the original formula in 19. I've worn 19 a lot already because it's a great every day colour. Both shades/formulas have great staying power and feel very comfortable on the lips. I may need to pick up a few more of these!

The fourth lip product in my haul is the YSL Glossy Stain in #22. This was a bit of an impulse buy but I've been on the hunt for a dark, glossy lip colour for a wee while now and this seemed to fit the bill. I wore it today and it is a bit difficult to work with but it looks amazing. Finally I picked up a medium pencil from Illamasqua in the shade Titivate because the counter assistant was wearing it and it looked awesome on her! I've not worn this one yet so can't share my thoughts on it.

I had a £10 off voucher for LookFantastic so snapped up a bottle of OPI Live and Let Die from their Skyfall collection. It's a gorgeous dark green with gold shimmer running through it. I was really impressed with the formula of this polish too; it was almost a one-coat wonder! Earlier in the month I bought this metallic Bourjois polish in the shade 20. I love the brushes on these polishes but I'm not totally sold on this shade in particular; it's almost like a metallic version of a nude.  

I replaced a couple of my favourite base products this month; Collection's Lasting Perfection concealer in Medium 3 and NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Punjab. I use the concealer almost every time I wear make up and the foundation is my favourite for winter because it offers a bit more coverage. I've not had a bottle of Sheer Glow since spring time so I'm excited to use this again. I picked up the Illamasqua blush in S.O.P.H.I.E because I've had it on my wish list for a while. It's a bright slightly shimmery coral. I've been good and not bought a blush in a long time so I thought it was about time I tried something new. 

What did you buy this month? If you've posted a haul, leave me a link!

Stace xx

A Teeny Tiny Haul - Boots & Wild About Beauty

The last time I bought a beauty product of any description was over a month ago so I thought I was due a trip to Boots; partly to replace things, partly for new nail polish! I also popped into Debenhams and *ahem* accidentally managed to spend some more money there. 

Boots are running a 3 for 2 offer across all cosmetics right now so I decided to take advantage of that. I initially just wanted the Essie polish in Bordeaux but I decided to pick up another tube of the Rimmel Fix & Perfect primer because it's one of the best primers I've tried and I'm just working through other samples at the moment. I've heard so many good things about the Maybelline Forever Strong polishes so I picked one up in the shade Rosy Sand. I thought it would be a nice warmer toned alternative to Chanel Particuliere. I'm wearing it just now and I have to say, it applied beautifully. I'm not entirely sure I like the colour though.

My beloved Rosewater Toning Spritz from Botanics ran out a fortnight or so ago and I've been lost without it so I had to repurchase that. I also picked up a shower gel from the new Botanics bodycare range. It's the Restoring Cream Body Wash. I bought it because my skin is feeling quite irritated at the moment; I've used it a few times now and I think it's helping. I had a coupon for this Tresemme Volumising Dry Shampoo so I grabbed a can to add to my current supply. I can never be without that product!

When I was in Debenhams I spotted a new counter for a brand I'd never heard of before. It's called Wild About Beauty (I think the name is pretty silly) and the range has been developed by make up artist Kim Jacob and celebrity Louise Redknapp. The products themselves all look and feel really nice. I loved the shade selection; everything looks quite natural. 

I picked up a couple of products to try out. The first thing that caught my eye was the Nutritious Gloss in Astrid. It's a dark pink berry shade which is surprisingly pigmented. I'll need to wear this a bit more before reviewing it but expect to see a post fairly soon. I was intrigued by the Mattifying Balm so bought that too. If you've tried BeneFit's Dr Feel Good, this product is sort of similar. You can use it under or over make up but I'm planning to buff it on my T-zone after foundation with an ELF Powder brush. I think it'll be a nice alternative to powder for me; I hate looking powdery. I couldn't even wait to photograph this product before trying it so I apologise for the less-than-perfect photo!

The girl on the counter, Kathleen, was lovely. If you're in Glasgow I'd definitely recommend having a chat with her because she's more than happy to tell you all about the new range. So far, I'm quite impressed with what I've tried.

What have you been buying recently? If you have a haul post, link it below!

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

Bargains from The Body Shop

I don't think I've paid full price for a product from The Body Shop in a very long time. I used to view some of their products, like the £12.50 body butters, as 'luxuries' or things I'd get as a gift but I tend to stock up on them when they're on sale at half price or less so I can use them all the time. I do have their loyalty card so get 10% off all purchases including sale items but when I was in I'd received an email entitling me to 20% off all sale items. I thought I'd share what I picked up as there was plenty left in store when I was in so if you see something you like, you can probably still pick it up!

Spiced Vanilla 

Hand Cream - £1

Hand Soap - £2.50

Body Butter - £3

I love this scent, I know it's not particularly summery so I'll probably save it until it gets a bit colder (as if it isn't cold enough already here in Glasgow!) £3 for a full sized body butter is pretty amazing; especially since it ended up only being £2.40 with my discount. 

Cranberry Joy

Bubble Bath - £3

Body Butter - £3

This scent is really fruity; it's not spicy at all so I'd happily use these right now. We have a bath in our current flat but the sink kind of leans over it so having a bath is pretty much impossible. Our new flat has an uncomplicated bath so I'll be using the bubble bath as soon as I can!

White Musk Sun Glow 60ml - £7.50

I sprayed some of this on myself in store before going on holiday and thought it was really nice but it was £15 so I decided to wait and see if it went on sale, which it did! It's like a fruity version of their signature White Musk scent. I like these perfumes for putting in my bag or travelling as they're not too expensive so if something happens them it's not a total disaster.

Have you shopped in The Body Shop's sale?

Stace xx

A Little L'Oreal Haul

I don't often buy L'Oreal make up. If I'm going to buy something from the pricier end of the drugstore spectrum it's usually something from Revlon. However, I've tried a few L'Oreal products recently that I've really enjoyed (a Rouge Caresse lipstick and Telescopic mascara) so I wanted to try some more. Ideally I'd have picked up some more of the Rouge Caresse lipsticks but I'm on a lip product buying ban until I've completed the little challenge I set myself so I went for two eyeshadows and a nail polish.

There was a 3 for 2 offer on in Boots; does that offer ever end?! So even though I only went in for one product I ended up picking up another that I had my eye on and then added this little beauty to my basket. It's a Color Riche polish in the shade 204 Boudoir Rose and I've been pleasantly surprised by this dinky bottle of rosy pink delight. It's very small; only 5ml, but that's okay with me since I don't really use up entire bottles of nail polish. It's a great colour for me because it's a darker pink but it still looks quite neutral and much less offensive than my other pink polishes. My main complaint with this product is the brush. It's wide and flat which is great but the bristles are nasty so I needed three coats and a thick layer of top coat to combat the streaky-ness. This was £4.99 (well, it was 'free' for me).

I hadn't planned on buying the Color Infallible shadow in Sahara Treasure but I've never seen it in stock until now and I swatched it about four times before sticking it in my basket. It's beautiful. So pigmented and a brilliant taupe-gold-brown shade. I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of this and can completely understand why people have been raving about this. These shadows are priced at £6.99. 

Now, this was the product I was looking for when I went shopping. I'd seen a review of this on Adrienne's blog and just had to have it. I used to own MAC's Coral Crepe paint pot which was a similar colour to this Magnetic Coral shade from L'Oreal but I sold it in a blog sale because I wasn't using it enough and as it's a cream product it would only end up drying out. I don't have any other coral toned shadows in my collection so this is a welcome addition. The formula isn't as creamy as Sahara Treasure for some reason but it still seems relatively easy to work with. 

Have you bought anything from L'Oreal recently? If you have any product recommendations, I'd love to hear about them!

Stace xx

Haul: NARS, Chanel, Illamasqua, Revlon, Nails Inc, Milani & Maybelline

I went a bit mad buying make up recently so I thought I'd share what I got. It'll be the last haul for a while; partly because I just booked a holiday and partly because there's not really anything I want right this second. 

I popped into Boots today and picked up a couple of Revlon polishes as they were in a two for £8 offer. I got Impulsive (the purple) and Dreamer (the light blue). They both have a creme finish, which I love! I also bought Nails Inc Baker Street from ASOS and it arrived today. I've been looking for the perfect true blue for a while so I hope it applies nicely!

I had some Debenhams Beauty Club card points so I decided to treat myself to a Rouge Coco Shine from Chanel. I wanted one of the more vibrant shades but my local counter didn't have the one I was looking for so I got Evasion which is a lovely neutral peachy pink shade. I can see myself getting lots of wear out of this one.

A few weeks ago I bought Illamasqua Skin Base foundation and Rude cream blush. Both of these products have been on my wish list for quite a while so I'm pleased to finally have them in my collection. I got the Skin Base in shade 11; it's a little bit too dark right now but I tan very easily when the sun comes out so it'll be a nice summer colour for me. 

I stopped by L'Occitane on a whim. I've never tried any of their products but I recently heard some good things about foot cream so I picked that up. I couldn't resist the mini hand cream because whilst I love my Clarins hand cream, the tube is too big to keep in my bag.

My Too Faced Shadow Insurance finally ran out so I've replaced it with the NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base. I'm excited to try this out.

Finally, I picked up a few bits from a US blog sale. I got a couple of Milani HD Advanced Lip Colours in Candy Apple and Classy Nude, a Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss and the controversial Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Coffee Cake.

So, that's all for now! 

Have you bought anything nice recently? I'm off to paint my nails with Baker Street!

Stace xx

Haul: Topshop & Boots

I've not been into town for a while and I had a few clothing items to return so I popped into Topshop and Boots to pick up some new make up. There were a few things I'd been after for a while now. 

I also bought some clothes and accessories from Primark but I never really feel like posting about those. I see this blog as a beauty blog so I rarely feel the need to talk about fashion but if you'd like to see the occasional clothing haul, let me know!

I popped into a different Topshop today and it stocked the entire make up line! I was pretty restrained and just picked up two cream blushes. I tried one of these when they first launched but I wasn't a huge fan of cream blushes. I'm still not a cream blush fanatic but the formula of these isn't sticky, which I appreciate.

I got the famous Neon Rose which is a bright coral shade and Head Over Heels which is a peachy shade. These were only £6 each for 4g of product. Bargains!

I popped into Boots because I had some coupons to use. I had £2 off any Revlon product so I picked up the UK exclusive Lip Butter shade, Macaroon. I already have all the lip butters I want (apart from Creamsicle which is only sold in the US!) so I've not been hunting them down but I did like the look of this shade. It's a deep pink shade. The full range of Lip Butters was well stocked in the St Enoch Centre Boots in Glasgow if any of you are from here and still looking for them. This was £7.99 but I only paid £5.99.

There is a 3 for 2 offer across most of the cosmetics brands so I picked up three new products from Rimmel. I've been debating whether or not to try the Wake Me Up foundation for a while because I was worried it would be too luminous for me. I swatched it and it felt really nice on the back of my hand so I decided to give it a go. This was £8.99. I also picked up the corresponding concealer which was £5.49. I got both in the shade Soft Beige. I picked up one of Rimmel's new lip stains in Nothing But Nude which is a peachy-pink shade. That was £5.99.

I've been using up my perfumes recently and I've only got Prada Candy left now. I love that scent but I don't want to use it every day. I decided to give the Soap & Glory Eau De Soap & Glory Original a try. This was £16.50 for 50ml which is very reasonable for an everyday scent. This will be great for just chucking in my bag. I got a free Foam Call body wash since I'd spent over £10.

So that's it for my little weekend haul! Let me know if you'd like to see reviews of any of these products once I've had the chance to try them out.

Stace xx