Marrakech packing ~ makeup & skincare

I've had the morning to myself today as Hubble has taken Alfie out to a rugby tournament so I thought I'd get a head start on my pre-holiday beauty prep!  So far I've tinted my eyelashes (not the easiest thing to do yourself!), waxed my 'tache(ahem!), applied lashings of gradual tan lotion, coloured my roots & given myself a pedicure.  My hair is getting cut & blow dried on Tuesday morning so I can get up & go on Wednesday - one less thing for me to do!  I'm doing my friends' nails for them on Tuesday so I won't do my own nails until Tuesday night after I've packed the last couple of bits & bobs so I don't ruin them.

I've also sorted out & packed my makeup & skincare to take with me as I won't need these before we go - another tick off my packing list!  Seeing as we booked cases on in the end, I'm taking more than is probably necessary but a couple of bits I'll finish off whilst I'm there so they won't be coming home with me.  So here's what I'm taking -

My makeup bag from Muji is fantastic.  It's double sided with plenty of pockets & spaces to keep things neat & tidy!  They don't have this exact model anymore but they have this one which is very similar.  There's tons of room left in it so I might just put all my skincare in there too, one bag less to take!

Makeup wise, I'm going to decant into the teeny tiny posts my Boujois Bronzing BB & Revlon Photoready BB & that's my face sorted - nothing heavy & definitely no powder.  I will, however, take this dinky tube of Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer to cover up my persistant scars on my face.  To add a healthy flush in the evenings I'm taking my Bourjois Cream Blush & a tiny pot of mineral powder bronzer by Bare Minerals that I picked up in TK Maxx.   

For my eyes, I just have 2 eyeshadow pencils in charcoal & bronze by Barry M & a mini Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara that was part of a special offer gift set (reviewed here.)

And the last of the makeup are 3 of my favourite lip colours, Bourjois Peach Club  (review here), Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple (review here) & No 7 BB Lips in Blush Pink.

Now moving on to the skincare.  I bought this Rosehip trial size gift set by Trilogy a couple of weeks ago so this is the base of my skincare.  It contains a cream cleanser, hydrating mist toner, facial oil & day cream.  Next, I've got a miniature of Bi-facil eye makeup remover by Lancôme, a mini micellar water by B Pure, mini Hydraluron that came in a gift set & my Botanics All Bright eye roll-on to help tired eyes.

So although there looks like quite a lot, because they're all minis they take up no room at all!

I need to take a quick trip to town in the morning to get the last couple of bits that I need & then I'll get my case packed.  3 days to go....!!!

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream

 

 

As I've previously mentioned, I am very new to the Smashbox brand.  I've always read great things about it but because nowhere near to me sells it, I've never bought any to try as I like to sample new products first.  However, when I was away at my dad's the other week, we found a larger Boots branch with a Smashbox counter so I had a little play!  After being colour-matched by the lovely sales assistant, I came away with the 'It's Your Prime' primer tester kit (post to follow shortly!) & a sample pot of their BB cream in light/medium shade.

 

There was enough product in the sample pot to test it for a week & I can honestly say, I don't think I've ever used a better BB cream.  The coverage is seriously amazing, something that I don't usually get with BB creams, it doesn't exacerbate my oily T-zone, is semi-matte & has fantastic longevity, bearing in mind I was testing it out on one of the hottest weeks of the year.  I would happily wear this in place of a foundation all year round & I love that it offers a broad spectrum  SPF 35 too.

 

  The blurb on the box states that it is a '5-in-1 complexion miracle-worker proven to prime, perfect, protect, hydrate & control oil' but I will admit, I was a wee bit sceptical after such a huge claim.......however, this little beauty offers all of those......and then some!!  I was so impressed with it, I ordered the 15ml trial size (£12.50) straight away from the Smashbox website as I still wanted to test it for a while longer before buying a large tube.  It was delivered in 2 days & can I just say kudos to Smashbox for offering free delivery & a free sample with every order, I like this very much!!

 

 

 

For the photo here, I applied it at 8.45am & removed it around 7.30pm & it still looked as fresh as it did when first applied!  This is just before I removed it & the only thing I'd reapplied was my lippy!

 

 

 

 

I really do love this stuff & look forward to trying more products but purleasssssse, if you're reading this Smashbox, open a counter in Dundee!!

 

 



Beauty haul #2

It's not often I go out & buy lots of things in one go, I usually replace things as & when I need them but occasionally I  try the odd new product *ahem*!!

 

However, when I was away at my dad's a couple of weeks back, I decided to try quite a few new things.

 

 

 

 

From left to right we have.....

 

1.  ELF Contouring Kit - I've yet to try this but watch this space (part of an ELF haul I bought - post to follow!)

 

2.  Lacura Aqua-Complete Serum - I've been using this lightweight gel-serum from Aldi for months now & this is probably my fifth bottle now -  I just love it!  It contains hyaluronic acid & my skin feels so hydrated, plumped up & refreshed when I use it.  Such a bargain for under £4 a bottle!!

 

3.  No7 Make-up Brush Cleanser -  I bought this using the £3 off No7 makeup voucher so it was £5 & is brilliant at removing everyday makeup from your brushes without drenching them or having to dry overnight.  I put a couple of pumps onto some kitchen roll & lightly swirl my brushes over it to remove light makeup.  It's ideal to use a couple of times week until I do a 'proper' brush clean.

 

4.  Revlon Photoready BB cream - I was desperate to find a BB cream that worked for me & I kept reading about this on blogs so decided to give it a try when it was on offer in Superdrug.  I think I paid around £7 or £8.  I got it in the medium shade & although it offers quite good coverage, it's still a tad too light on my skin at the minute due to a tan but I just mix in some of my Bourjois Bronzing BB & it's great!  I've since found another BB though that is pure perfection....blog post to follow very soon!

 

5.  MUA Matte Perfect powder - generally I'm not a fan of powder so never really use them but in this recent hot weather, I felt my skin needed mattifying a wee bit so tried this one for £2.50.  It really is great, it's shocked me a bit!  It leaves a fabulous matte but not powdery finish, doesn't cake & is totally invisible.....a great buy!

 

6.  Smashbox It's Your Prime - Smashbox is a brand I've never tried, mainly because nowhere near me sells it but I've always wanted to try the ever-popular Photo Finish primer.  My daughter & I went to a large Boots & found a Smashbox counter so it was great to be able to test some of their products & when I spotted this kit with this, the Photo Finish Lid Primer & Hydrating Under Eye Primer in it for £14, well, I just had to!!  All 3 are amazing but I want to say too much about them so will do a follow-up post.  But can I just say that the sales assistant was brilliant!  She really took the time to explain about the products & didn't even baulk when I asked for a sample of their BB to try.  In fact, she even colour matched me & also gave me a sample of the green tinted anti-redness primer to try too.  I was so impressed with the BB, I've subsequently purchased one & it really is an amazing product!!

 

7.  L'Oreal Micellar Water - I'm a bit late to the party where these wonder waters are concerned having only tried my first one last month (by B Pure) but when I saw this on offer & my other was running low, I decided to try it out.  It is equally as amazing at removing my surface makeup as the B Pure one but I don't feel it is quite as hydrating on my skin.  It can be left feeling a bit tight, but in no way unpleasant or uncomfortable but it'll be interesting to see how my skin feels by the end of the bottle.

 

8. Botanics All Bright Refreshing Eye Roll-On - I bought this on a total whim as I had a Boots voucher offering 200 worth of points if I spent over a certain amount.  This was half price at £4.49 & took me up to the amount I needed to spend so I popped it in the basket but I'm so glad I did!  In this weather, it's been so cooling around my eyes & it hasn't irritated them one bit.  It seems to reduce puffiness well although hasn't made any difference - as of yet - to my dark circles but I've only been using it for a couple of weeks. 

 

So that's my recent haul of goodies.  I can't wait to tell you all about my fabulous Smashbox BB & my little haul from ELF - whoops!!