New York shopping

Well, after all my planning & preparation, to say my shopping 'haul' from New York was a bit disappointing is a huge understatement!!

A lot of the makeup I was after was sold out in many (many!!!) Sephora stores & even though we went into pretty much every CVS & Duane Reade we passed (so yeah, a LOT!), the displays were nearly always empty so I didn't get everything from there either.

Here's the few pieces I did pick up....

From Sephora, I only managed to snag a mini Sephora mascara for $5 (from the Aisle of Temptation!  You'll know if you've been there!!) & an Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade, which was $18.  From CVS I bought two lipsticks from Wet n Wild for a couple of dollars each (which are surprisingly good & give MAC a run for their money!)  I also picked up a MAC lipstick in Call the Hairdresser from Macy's from the rudest sales assistants I've ever had the 'pleasure' to come across.

I desperately wanted to find the E.L.F. store but the address we had, after traipsing up & down this sodding street several times in torrential rain, we discovered had closed down, grrrrr!!!  So I thought that'd be a no-go but then I found a small display of products in Old Navy & picked up 2 each of the brushes shown here (one set for my daughter) & a BB cream.  However, apart from the MAC & one of the WnW lipsticks, everything else is as yet unused waiting to be reviewed so watch this space!!

I didn't find one single bag that I liked enough to warrant spending a few hundred dollars on & no clothes were to be found either.  Anything I found that I did like, I knew I could buy cheaper here so I left them!  To be honest, we spent most of our money on bits for the kids!

But the one thing I did buy that I really wanted & is now my pride & joy, was my Tissot watch.  However, this was bought from Duty Free at Heathrow so doesn't really come under the 'New York shopping' heading but hey ho!!  I googled the price of the watch in NY & it would've been significantly more to buy there so as I was going to save £70 off the price buying from Duty Free, it was a no-brainer!!

So I'm sorry I don't have more to show you but now that my computer is working again, I'll get reviews of the bits I did get up asap!!

Urban Decay ~ Basics palette

Seeing as everybody & their dog seem to have the Urban Decay Basics palette, I thought it was about time I joined the party.  Actually, this was one of my Christmas gifts but I only got around to trying it for the first time a month ago... whoops!!

This is the smallest of the Urban Decay palettes & costs £22 in Debenhams.  The casing itself has a slightly rubberised finish to it which I love as it doesn't feel like it's going to slip out of your hands any time soon & the mirror is a great addition for travelling because let's be honest here, this is THE most perfect size for taking on holidays.

Unlike the other UD palettes, this contains mostly matte colours, & only one shimmer (Venus), again which suits me & my old(ish!), crêpey eyelids down to the ground!  My daughter told me to try her Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion with it too & I can't believe the difference it made to the (already great) application & longevity of the shadows.

Using my brushes from ELF (which are fantastic, btw!), they applied like a dream & felt like velvet on my eyelids.  They were really blendable & I'm not joking, my makeup did not budge a millimetre in the 7 hours I was wearing it!  However, I'm not doing any swatches on here because, quite frankly, you can go onto any beauty blog or Youtube beauty video & see them reviewed & they will look a million times better than on my eyelids - trust me!! 

So to summerise the Urban Decay Basics palette, no creasing, no smudging, no fading, what's not to love about it?

e.l.f. haul

 

 

 

 

e.l.f. is a brand I've never tried before because it's an online brand & I do like to try before I buy.  However, they recently had an offer where they offered a 50% saving when you spent £25 & above so I though it'd be a good opportunity to test them out!  All prices stated are the regular full price.

 

1.  Shine Eraser blotting papers  £1.50

2.  Contouring Blush & Bronzing Cream palette £3.75

3.  Makeup brush storage pouch  £5.00

4.  Blending Eye Brush  £3.75

5.  Eyeshadow 'C' Brush  £3.75

6.  Flawless Concealer Brush  £3.75

 

I also bought bits for my daughter but seeing as I haven't used them, I won't comment on them although she's very impressed with all she had!

 

The blotting papers are ok for the money but by no means the best I've ever used.  Best suited to very light shine but not an oilier complexion.

 

I've yet to try out the contouring palette as I keep forgetting I have it!  I'll get on to that this week....

 

I love all of the brushes.  They are so soft & blend eyeshadow so easily with no caking & as of yet, they haven't shed any hairs.  They're also really comfortable to hold.

 

The makeup brush case I bought because I'm doing the makeup for my sister-in-law-to-be when she gets married next week & because we have to travel down to Yorkshire for the wedding, I wanted some decent storage.  It's a great size, opens flat out & is a handy wipe-clean fabric - always handy!  A great buy at £5, even better at £2.50!!

 

I'm still not keen on buying cosmetics, especially face bases colours, from the website as I find it too unpredictable to guess the shades but there are many more brushes & tools that I want to try out as they offer such great value.

 

If you haven't yet tried e.l.f., have a look today because they're again offering a huge 50% off purchases over £10 with the discount code 500813!!

 

 



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!!