Mini Haul

I nipped into town today and picked up a few goodies with some spare cash I had, mainly treaty little things but also some make-up products which I've been wanting to trial, and some which I already love. 

My first purchase was this foundation brush, by QVS - 

I've been looking for a good foundation brush for so long, because I find it difficult to even out the foundation tone when I just apply it with my fingers. Most brushes have also been extortionately expensive due to the designer labels, and I've avoided buying own-brands, especially from Superdrug, because I've already tried some Boots and Superdrug own brand brushes, and they're not so great. This brush, (£4.99 from Superdrug), so far looks really great, although obviously I'll have to test it out. It has really fine, nylon bristles which will help the foundation go on smoothly, and I'm really looking forward to trying this product out. 

Click to view product here.

I then waltzed into my tiny local Next to look around the clothing and accessories, and stumbled upon some of their perfumes. Next have recently introduced a whole line of perfumes labelled with a country, so they have Milan, London, New York and Paris. My favourite (although they were all gorgeous) was the Next Milan fragrance, and I've previously been tempted by the Next perfume line due to their cheap pricing and lovely packaging, but never indulged myself with one. This time, however, I couldn't resist - and at only £8 for 50ml it was an absolute bargain. The Milan perfume packaging looks like this - 

(Excuse terrible lighting, the light I normally use to do product shoots has just broken). 

(Stock Photo Above) 

The product itself has this absolutely gorgeous scent - it describes itself as having notes of melon, green apple, magnolia, violet, sandalwood and amber, and it smells like my idea of heaven. I have yet to discover how long the scent lasts, but I sprayed it on my hand in the shop earlier, and about 3 hours later the scent is still there. The link for the product is here. 

Next, I went to Boots, and at the moment they have an offer of buy one get one half price over most of the make-up and nails. I bought a Rimmel Blush and a 17 Foundation from this deal, a Revlon lipstick and some Toni and Guy Sea Salt texturising spray. 

My first item was the Rimmel Lasting Finish Mono Blush which looks like this - 

Swatched (above), this blush is a creamy rosy colour (the light, again sorry, is terrible) which looks more like a foundation or concealer colour than a blush. I personally think that too much blush looks really horrible, and although it can contour the face nicely, I try and use just a little to highlight the cheeks. Therefore I really love this nudey colour, and it won't be too much for a simple everyday look. This was £3.99 (half-price due to the offer however) and the link is here. The shade is 020 Pink Rose. I have yet to discover whether the shade is nice on my skin tone, but it looks quite nice, so I look forward to trying it. 

I also bought one of my personal favourite foundations through the offer - the 17 Sheer Moisture Foundation in Light - 

This sheer foundation, for £4.99 offers, regrettably, not great coverage, but is one of my favourite foundations, purely because it's really moisturising and makes your skin feel ace. I use it as a substitute moisturiser in the mornings, obviously not before bed, and it does offer a little coverage as well as moisturising the skin. I would suggest, however, if you wanted to buy this product, using the tester in store, because I think it's really down to personal taste. I know some people don't like the kind of 'glowy' or 'shiny' look, but for me I think under my foundation this is a really great product - it makes my face feel great and is a really great base for a layer of foundation. I don't think I'd ever go out with just this on, but I love it nevertheless. This was the second one I've bought - the first has lasted me about a year, despite me using it all over my face every day, because you only need a little to cover and moisturise the whole face. Product link is here, and they have two shades, which are both quite light.

My penultimate product is this Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cappuccino (353), and the packaging looks like this - 

 The product itself is this colour - 

(Again I am so sorry for the terrible lighting). This lipstick really surprised me because it was a kind of pinky, purpley, shiny shade when I first looked at it, something I don't really go for, because I hate lipsticks which are lighter than my quite olive-y skin tone. I swatched it anyway, and it came out as it suggested on the colour chart - a kind of pale pinky-orange, which is an absolutely gorgeous colour. I'm a massive fan of quite simple lipsticks, and I was actively searching for something which would have a natural look, but also be quite moisturising for my lips in this cold weather, because I always get chapped lips in winter. As for how long it lasts, I don't know yet, but I love the packaging and the colour, so I hope the product is as good as it looks. Link to the lipstick here, and the shade is Cappuccino, 353. 

My final purchase was one of my all time favourite products - Toni and Guy's Sea Salt Texturising Spray. The product looks like this - (I bought the smaller version) - 

I used to have really short, pixie hair, and I'm now growing it out and it's that really awkward mid-length where it's just long enough to tie into a pathetic little bun/ponytail or you just look silly with it down. I used this product religiously for about 2 or 3 years and then stopped with my pixie cut and switched to a Shockwaves Matt Clay (which I would strongly recommend for shorter cuts too). This gives your hair so much more body, and I used to use it on my hair when it was slightly longer than a pixie cut and make my hair slightly crazy, and then brush it through to give this really nice tousled look. It does just what it says on the bottle, and the smaller version is a little over £2 so it's really worth it. They also last a long time, as long as you don't spray it too liberally, and you just spray over wet hair and blow-dry your hair to create this amazing volumised look. Amazing product, and a must have hair essential. Product link for the larger bottle here. The smaller bottle is travel-sized and only costs about £2.19, but they don't have a website link, don't ask me why! 

Haul finished! Hope you liked what I bought and I hope you'll go out and buy some lovely wintery bits for the upcoming cold weather, to cheer yourself up! Posts should be coming weekly from me, but I'm at college right now so it might be at the weekends or something. 

Lots of love, hope you liked my haul!