Saturday 18 October 2014

Dubai Haul♥︎ (makeup)

This is incredibly overdue and I have been back for over a week now but I've just been so busy with school recently and haven't found time to post as much as I would like to (sad face)

As you can guess from the title, I was on holidays! Yes, I finally got to visit my very lucky brother who lives in Dubai and I had the most brilliant time ever. I will give you a quick rundown on what we done whilst there - maybe you are heading on holidays there and this may interest you? 

So we landed in Dubai about 9am - and after a 8 hour flight I was tired to say the least. Alas I got myself together and went to 'Bounce' which is a cool trampoline centre thingy - it sounds so crap but trust me we (myself and my brothers girlfriend) had SO much fun. The instructors were lovely and taught us some cool tricks and there is also a section for dodgeball - which I loved (and also won). After bounce we went for lunch and then set off to 'iFLY' which I was scared out of my wits of doing. IFLY is basically a giant tube with air blowing up so you feel like you're skydiving/flying? I'm terrible at explaining it and I was also pretty terrible at doing it. After getting past the initial fear of it I had so much fun and again the instructors were so lovely - one lovely enough to get my leg and spin me around in a circle (whilst 'flying') lol. 

Day two we went to the waterpark in Atlantis - this was probably my favourite day, it was just so much fun and I loooove a good waterpark. Also I'm incredibly proud of myself for going on the famous 'leap of faith' which is basically a vertical slide. This was the first slide I went on. (so proud) The next day we attended a - pretty much - all day brunch. I have never ever seen so much food in my entire life, it was INSANE. I felt pretty disgusted if I'm honest - it was just so wasteful! I won't lie though, I did enjoy it and it was certainly enjoyable (there was a pina colada station and an indian food section, how could I not enjoy myself?!) The next three days were spent relaxing by the pool and doing a little too much shopping.. 

Which leads me into sharing my haul with you all!

(Can you tell the background is actually an old skirt.. Clever, eh?)


Lets begin! First off in the airport I picked up Mac Fix+  which I have been eyeing up for aaages, so it is about time I got it! Whilst on my way to the till I spotted Benefit Majorette blush and after reading a million reviews on it on bloglovin I thought I may as well pick it up - everyone deserves an extra cream blush:)


Up close and personal with benefit majorette ft. my pale arm and the end of my hair in the mirror


Whilst being in Sephora, I honestly felt so overwhelmed - it was crazy. Not just because I was so in awe of it all but because of how crazy busy it was and how I was approached about 10 times asking did I need help. No thank you, overly pushy sales person, I'm fine. Honestly, if I need help, I will come to you! Stop pushing me and following me around like a predator, it puts me off rather than makes me want to buy something! I noticed especially in Lush and Victoria's Secret how pushy the workers were and it got to the stage were I had to be rude to them - which I hated because working in a shop myself I know the feeling of rude costumers, but honestly I was so fricking annoyed and (hate to get too tmi here) thanks very much but I know my own bra size without you following me and pestering me. In lush she literally trailed after me - I left without even getting to look at half of the stuff there. Anyways rant over. Moving on.. 

Okay so in Sephora I was initially set on getting the original Smashbox primer however once seeing the same primer only a blemish control version, I instantly changed my mind. The salycilic acid in the primer helps to treat acne/blemishes while still reducing the appearence of them. I was also determined to get the Makeup Forever Hd foundation  so as soon as I seen the makeup forever counter I nearly screamed I was so excited. I got mine in the shade 117 and I even got one for my sister and one of my friends because it is so good. 

In Sephora I also got the own brand concealer brush  which is great for covering up blemishes because of the small and precise brush.. Head? (is that the word?!). 

I'm also a little confused about the next product I got because I am nearly 90% certain that it is the 'better than sex' mascara by too faced, however it's called 'better than love' and I have looked up everywhere to see if there is a different mascara called that but I can only find the better than sex one so I am very confused. Also I was set on buying the better than sex mascara but at the counter I could only find the other one - so after that rambling over mascaras, I have came to the conclusion they are the same. 



Last thing I picked up in Sephora is the limited edition 'Pulp Fiction' palette by Urban Decay. 
I absolutely love the shades it comes with - I especially love 'righteous' all over the lid and 'tyranny' blended into the crease. At £17.50 I think it's good value for Urban Decay. 


After my rotten experience in Lush. I managed to come out with the 250g tea tree water which is actually a repurchase as my smaller version ran out. I love this toner and the 100g lasted so long so it is definitely good value for money in my opinion. I also got the 'ultimate shine' shampoo bar because who doesn't want shiny hair?! And also because shampoo bars are super cool.


Probably my favourite purchase - the gorgeous 'star violet' eyeshadow by Mac. I love it, I love it, I love it. It is so beautiful and such an unusual colour, it looks beautiful with browns and pink toned colours. It is the ultimate autumnal shade in my opinion. 


So pretttttttty!

I also managed to pick up the Kiehls 'Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Masque'  I haven't used this yet, but it has been on my wishlist since August so I'm super duper excited to try it out!



And that's me! A bit of a text-heavy post but oh well! I hope you enjoyed reading, leave a comment below on your thoughts etc I love reading them:) 

Have a good day! Byeeeee:) 

Ps Always remember.. 




Tuesday 7 October 2014

September Favourites♥︎


I understand that every blogger/youtuber/monthly enthusiast comments on how this month has flown past us and I am no different. This month has went soooo quick! It feels like no time since I was stressing over what bag I was going to bring to school. Now I'm a month in. Crazy.

Another month, another set of favourites.. Two of these are all time favourites however I have paticularly enjoyed them this month. 

Also this is a pretty late favourites post because I was on holidays - in which I was feeling a little spendy so I will be posting two new hauls - makeup and clothes later this week. Hurray!


First off lets begin with the social media superstar frank body coffee scrub (original- £11.95, Coconut & Grapeseed £13.95), this scrub claims to target stretch marks, cellulite and other skin conditions. I'm not going to go too in depth with this product as I think I will do a review on it once I finish my original scrub and then maybe when I'm like half way through the coconut one? Just so I can tell you my preference. So far I love this scrub, my skin feels smooth and toned(?) after using it and if you are like me and love the smell of coffee - it's the scrub for you! (Also it is free shipping, how great is that?!)


Two lip favourites this month include my trusty Burts Bees (£3.69) lip balm which is amazing and I have always loved it but I always seem to lose it so after getting a new one this month it was feeling a whole lotta love.

After my love affair with my Topshop lipstick in ditsy, I've been dying to try another Topshop product which led me to buying a lip bullet in the shade heartbeat (£8), it's a gorgeous peachy pink and is so wearable. Also I love how creamy the formula is making it so easy to apply. 


Only now am I realising the face masks packaging is dirty, I apologise for my grossness.  
I'm pretty sure I have mentioned the Ren 'Invisible Pores Detox Mask' (£18) before on this blog but I am only going to mention it again briefly. Whenever I'm having a bad skin day, I love using this mask as it really feels like it's doing good and always leaves my skin feeling soft and refreshed after using it. 

Fellow acne sufferers and people with skin issues, come and gather round - you will love this. Estee Lauder Double Wear (£29.50) was introduced to me around the start of this year and ever since then, I've been running back to it. I wouldn't wear it everyday as it's a very heavy, high coverage foundation. Without even using concealer, it can cover up all of my acne and it will last all day, literally - All. Day. I always wear esdw on nights out because (as gross as it sounds) dancing makes you sweat and other foundations melt away by the end of the night. One problem I have discovered recently is, I find that esdw causes flashback in photographs (I think?) because my face looks incredibly white compared to everyone else's but only when flash is used.. It's still worth it in my opinion.

Holy grail status - The Balm 'Bahama Mama' (£13.50) bronzer is my absolute favourite bronzer of all the bronzers I have tried.  (can you use the word bronzer anymore Nessa?!) This is literally the perfect contour shade. Not muddy or orange, it mimics a natural shadow under cheekbones and works as such a beautiful contour shade. If you are getting anything from this post definitely get the bronzer, it's amazing. 

  

What's that little contraption in the bottom left corner of the picture you ask? It's the Laura Mercier eyelash curler . I used to always skip curling my eyelashes, thinking it was pointless but this little guy has completely changed my mind. It's honestly so good - being the best eyelash curler I have used - and also because it's so small it takes up hardly any room in my makeup bag (leaving more room for other goodies)

My Mac fluidline in blacktrack (£15.50) has been quite the staple in my eye makeup this month, if it's not a cat eye, they will be lined to some extent - and I have been using this bad boy for just that.



How can I not mention my Too Faced 'Chocolate Bar' palette (£45)? I've been using this almost every time I've makeup on, mainly because it's gorgeous. The shades are pigmented, blendable and wearable - everything you want in a palette, eh? My favourites are 'salted caramel' (first on the second row), 'marzipan' (beside salted caramel) and 'cherry cordial' which I think will be fab for winter (fourth on the third row). Also, it smells of chocolate, case closed - it wins everything. 

I hope you enjoyed reading! Comment below on what your September favourites are, I would love to read them:) 

See you soon!x