A Little Beauty Haul

Hello Lovelies, 

I recently went for a shopping trip with Hayley from Haysparkle and Dee from Dee's Beautiful Life and I have already posted about what I bought from Lush here, but today I wanted to share with you the make-up bits I treated myself to. 

  No girlie shopping trip would be complete without a visit to MAC and after swatching lots of beautiful things I decided to get the Limited Edition Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick, which I have been wanting for a while. It is a gorgeous shade of red with a frost finish and the packaging is different to the usual black packaging, which I think is nice. The proceeds from the sale of these lipsticks go towards helping women, men and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, so if you buy one, not only are you getting a gorgeous lipstick you are also helping a good cause. :)

In MAC I was also colour matched for their Pro Longwear Foundation and left with a little sample in the shade NC15, which I am looking forward to giving a try. 

We spent a while browsing the make-up stands in Superdrug and I spotted this MUA Luxe Palette in Pretty Edgy. I have wanted this palette for a while after seeing a couple of reviews of it, but my local Superdrug never has it in stock and it was only £8 so I couldn't resist getting it. The case is black with gold studs on the top, with a large mirror inside and the eyeshadows are gorgeous. I'm really looking forward to experimenting with this. 

I also got some MUA Matte Lipsticks in the shades Pouty Pink, Wild Berry and Scarlet Siren. I already had one of these in the shade Peachy Keen and really like it, so I thought I would try some of the other shades. Hayley recommended Wild Berry and I have already worn that shade a couple of times and love it. These are only £1 and an absolute bargain! If you haven’t tried them yet then make sure you do!

Have you tried any of the things I bought? What do you think of them?

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

A little Superdrug Beauty Haul

Hello Lovelies,

At the beginning of last week I noticed Superdrug were offering free delivery on any online order, so I decided to have a browse and I ended up buying a couple of things. I really like reading posts like this, so I thought I would share with you what I got.

Here is what I bought…..

I am a big fan of Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion and when Palmer's brought out a skincare range I really wanted to try it. So when I saw that they were on offer (I think they all had a third off), I thought what better time to try a couple of things. After talking to some beauty bloggers on Twitter I decided to try the Cocoa Butter Formula Purifying Face Mask and the Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Cleansing Gel. When they arrived I was a little disappointed, because I had hoped they would smell like the Cocoa Butter Lotion and they don't. I haven’t tried these yet, but after hearing other people’s opinions and reading about them online I am looking forward to using them.

I also got the Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lip Balm, I haven’t used this before, but I needed a new lip balm, so I thought I would try it and the fact is was on offer as well was an added bonus. It smells just like the Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion, which I was really pleased about and it feels really moisturising when you apply it.

Lastly I got a couple of MUA's Nail Polishes, one in the shade Natural Days, which is a baby pink colour and one in the shade Red Fever, which is a lovely deep red. Recently I have been really liking MUA’s Nail Polishes in Bright Coral and Amaretto Crush, so I could't resist trying a couple more. I think these are excellent value at only £1 and hopefully these will apply as nicely as the other MUA Nail Polishes I have tried.

Have you tried any of these or any other things in the Palmer's Skincare range?

I think Superdrug have some really good offers and I’m going to visit my local one at the weekend to see what offers they have this month :)

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

NOTD - MUA Nail Polish in Amaretto Crush

Hey Lovelies,

Today I wanted to share with you my NOTD, which is MUA’s Nail Polish in Amaretto Crush. I have been wanting to try this colour for a while, but my local Superdrug hadn’t had it in stock, then last weekend I managed to get it and couldn’t wait to try it.

I love the colour of this and was really impressed with how well it applied, it wasn’t streaky at all. I did have to apply two coats to get the colour I wanted, but with most nails polishes I normally have to apply two coats. In the photo I have applied Rimmel’s 5 in 1 Nail Treat (which can be used as a base and top coat) as a base coat, then two coats of the Nail Polish followed by another coat of Rimmel’s 5 in 1 Nail Treat.

This Nail Polish is only £1, which I think is excellent value. I have also tried this Nail Polish in Pistachio Ice Cream which I blogged about here.

Have you tried any of these MUA Nail Polishes? What are your favourite colours?

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

A Little Beauty Haul

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have a little haul post for you. I always love reading what other people have been buying and last weekend I went shopping with my Sister and ended up buying a few beauty bits, so thought I would share with you what I got.

Here is what I bought…..

We popped into Superdrug for a browse and they had the Garnier Moisture Match Moisturisers for half price. I had been wondering whether to try one of these and have read mixed reviews about them, but for only £2.99 I thought I would give it a try. I have combination/oily skin so I chose the Shine Be Gone one that is for combination to oily skin. I haven’t tried this yet, so can’t comment on whether it really does reduce the appearance of shine and mattify your skin.

While in Superdrug I also picked up a Sleek Blush in Flushed, this is a gorgeous pinky red colour with a little bit of shimmer. I have a couple of other Sleek Blushes and really love how pigmented they are and how long they last, so I am looking forward to trying this one.

I have so many nail polishes that I probably have enough to last me for years, but while in Superdrug I also couldn’t resist picking up MUA’s nail polish in Amaretto Crush. This was only £1, which I think is such a bargain. I have a couple of these already and have wanted to try this colour for a while, but my local Superdrug hasn’t had it in stock. This is a lovely summery colour and I love what it looks like in the bottle, so am looking forward to trying it.

Recently another blogger recommended H&M’s Eyelash Curlers to me and they were only £2.99 so I thought I would give them a try. I love that they are pink and thought they were really good value, although I haven’t tried them yet, so not sure how good they are.

While I was in H&M I also picked up another nail polish, which was in the sale for only £1. It is in the shade Oh La La and is a gorgeous dark coral pinky colour with gold shimmer, which I think will be lovely for summer.

From Boots I picked up two bargains, one was the Stella McCartney The Print Collection Eau de Parfum, which was reduced from £40 to £20 for 30ml, because it is part of her 2012 Collection and the 2013 ones are out now. The perfume inside is the classic ‘Stella’ fragrance, which I have always loved and I think this bottle is also really pretty, so I was really pleased I found this and it was half price.

The other product I picked up from Boots was Montagne Jeunesse Tropical Peel Off Face Mask, which was reduced from £5 to £2.50 and it contains 10 applications. I love Montagne Jeunesse face masks and buy the sachets a lot, so thought this was really good value. I have already tried this and it smells gorgeous and left my skin feeling really clean.

I’d love to hear if you have tried any of these things, what you think of them.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

My June Favourites

Hello Lovelies,

I love reading what other people’s favourite products are and think it’s a good way of discovering products you may not have tried, so today I am going to share with you the beauty products I loved using in June.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub – I absolutely love the smell of this, it smells like sweet lime and it leaves your skin feeling smooth and moisturised. I use this a couple of times a week and it makes my skin feel softer and I think also look brighter. I also always use this before shaving and it definitely makes my legs smoother than if I shaved without using it first.

L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Micellar Solution – I love how when you use this it genuinely feels like you are just using water on your skin. I use it with a cotton wool pads to remove my eye makeup and if you hold the pad on your eyes for a few seconds it removes your eye makeup without having to rub at your eyes and it leaves your eyes and skin feeling refreshed. I don’t have much of this left, but I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser – everytime I use this it leaves my skin feeling really clean and looking brighter and I recently reviewed it here. There are some other things in the range I want to try, but as I don’t really need them I am waiting for them to be on offer again.

MUA Undress Me Too Palette – I read lots of positive reviews about this before I bought it and I have to agree with them. The eyeshadows are quite pigmented and I love all the colours. I sometimes use just one colour and sometimes use two or three together, which I think makes this Palette really versatile. I used this a lot in June and I’m sure I will continue to. It doesn’t always last all day without an eyeshadow primer or base but for only £4 I think it’s really good value.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant – I received this in my March Glossybox and wasn’t quite sure how I would use it, because although it says it is a multi-tasker, it has the texture of a thick lip balm and so I don’t think there are many things I would use this for. However I do use this on my lips and it leaves them really soft and moistured. I had really dry lips at the start of June and this really helped and I have been using it pretty much most days since.

Mac Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle – this is probably my favourite powder highlighter. I love how subtle it can be if you only apply a little, which I think makes it perfect to wear everyday. I have loved this since I got it, but when we had some sun at the start of June I managed to tan a little and have been using this a lot since, because I think it looks lovely when I have a bit of colour, especially when its sunny too.

Maybelline’s Mega Plush Mascara in Black – my favourite mascaras for a long time have been Maybelline’s Falsies Mascaras, but during a bblogger chat someone recommended this to me and at the time it was on offer in Tesco for only £6, so I thought I would give it a try. It has a gel-mousse formula which claims to leave your eyelashes feeling softer and not hard like other mascaras do and I have to say that it does. It gives my eyelashes extra volume and length and it hardly feels like you are wearing any mascara. I will definitely be repurchasing this when it runs out.

Have you tried any of these?

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

Beauty Swap with Clare from A Bit of This and That

Hello Lovelies,

Today I wanted to share with you what I received in a recent Beauty Swap I took part in. 

I had seen bloggers post about these in the past and always thought they looked a great way to meet other bloggers and a good opportunity to try products you might not always buy for yourself. So when Hannah from Hannah Marie Beauty asked if anyone was interested in taking part in one, I jumped at the chance. Hannah allocated everyone who took part in the beauty swap a partner and I was paired with the lovely Clare from A Bit of This and That and we were set a limit of £10. Then it was down to us to get to know each other a bit and let each other know the sorts of things we like.

This being my first beauty swap I wasn’t quite sure what to choose and so looked at some beauty swap posts to see what sort of things people had included and I also looked at Clare’s blog to see what sort of things she liked. After getting to know a bit what Clare likes, I decided to send her things I hope she would like but also things I love using. I did go a little over our £10 limit, but I hope Clare enjoys using the things I sent her as much as I do. If you want to see what I sent Clare you can look at her post here.

I was really excited to see what Clare had chosen for me and my package arrived this week. This is what was in my package :) 

MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder 

I was really pleased when I saw this because I love highlighters and particularly powder ones. I have been meaning to try this for a while, so looking forward to using it. 

Sleek Shimmer Blush in Rose Gold

I actually already have this, but I love Sleek Blushes and this shade it is one of my favourite ones. I love the colour and how shimmery it is, so I was really happy when I saw that the Blush Clare had sent me was Rose Gold.  

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bulletproof Beige

I have not tried these yet, but have seen some reviews of them, saying how good they are, so I am excited to try this. I swatched this straight away and it's a gorgeous shimmery champagne colour, it feels really creamy and I will definitely wear this.

There was also a lovely card from Clare inside.

Thank you Clare for my lovely things :)

I loved taking part in this Beauty Swap and hopefully will be part of some more in the future.

Have you ever taken part in one? If you have leave me your links in the comments box if you posted about them, because I’d love to see what you got.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

A Little Beauty Haul

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have a little haul post for you. I love reading these sorts of posts and I ended up getting a few beauty bits at the weekend, so I thought I would share with you what I got.

A friend of mine is getting married in August and decided she wanted to do her own makeup for her wedding, so on Saturday we went shopping for products for her to use to create her wedding day look. I hadn’t planned on getting anything for myself, but I ended up treating myself to a few bits :) We also came home with a few samples and I love nothing more than getting a lovely little sample to try.

Here is what I bought......

Debenhams had 10% off beauty and from there I got the Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray. This is 30ml and was only £9, so with 10% off was only £8.10, which I thought was a bargain. I have seen a couple of reviews of this and was intrigued to try it. The lady on the Urban Decay Counter convinced us this works really well at keeping your makeup in place all day and we both bought one of these.

I also got from Debenhams the Benefit Skincare set, which includes Foamingly Clean Facial Wash (8.9g), Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (8.9ml), It's Potent! Eye Cream (3g), Total Moisture Facial Cream (8.9g), Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (8.9ml) and Refined Finish Facial Polish (8.9g). This was £12.50, so with the 10% off it was only £11.25. I am really enjoying trying different skincare products at the moment and haven’t tried any of Benefit’s, so I thought this would be a good way to try them. 

I got the Benefit Porefessional from House of Fraser. I love this product and still have some left, but a lovely lady on the Estée Lauder Counter in House of Fraser gave me a £10 off voucher to be used against one of ten selected products and one of them was Porefessional, which meant I got this for only £14.50, so I couldn't resist getting it.

I love Lush products and we spent a while browsing Lush and as always there were so many things I wanted to get. I resisted though and just got a Creamy Candy Bubble Bar and a Butterball Bath Bomb. I have used both of these before and really like them, especially the smell of the Creamy Candy Bubble Bar.

My friend wanted to get a couple of MUA’s Power Pouts and because Superdrug currently have an offer of 3 for 2 across cosmetics, she got me a Power Pout in Runway, which is the colour I wanted to try next. I already love MUA’s Power Pouts and red lip products, so I am sure I will love this.

Here are the samples I got......

We were looking for a foundation for my friend to use on her wedding day and tried a few different one. I came home with a sample of MAC Matchmaster Foundation in shade 1.5, Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup in shade Believe in Me - Ivory and and Estée Lauder Double Wear in shade Ecru. The ladies on these counters were so lovely and helpful. I haven’t tried any of these samples properly yet, but from when I was colour matched to them, I think my favourite one will be the Mac one.

I got the Badgal Lash Mascara from the lovely lady on the Benefit Counter when I bought Porefessional. I have tried this before and it’s not my favourite mascara but I love little mascaras like this as they are perfect to keep in your handbag.

When I bought the Benefit Skincare Set the lovely lady at the Benefit Counter in Debenhams gave me a little sample of Porefessional and Triple Performing Facial Emulsion to try. 

If you have tried any of these, I’d love to know what you thought of them.

Thanks for reading

Nyss x

Beauty Tip #1 - Reshaping Your Eyebrows

Hello Lovelies, 

I am about to move house and won’t have much time to post this week, as I am busy packing and organising things. I finally get the keys this Friday after what seems like ages from when I had my offer accepted, but it is all coming together now and I’m really excited. 

Anyway today I thought I would share with you a beauty tip, that I mentioned to a friend recently and she thought it was a good idea, so maybe it will be useful to you too.

About 2 months ago I decided after years of having my eyebrows the same sort of shape I wanted to reshape them and have them thicker. They have always been quite thin and I think I have probably been guilty of over plucking, so I decided it was time to reshape them and let them grow a bit. I’ve always plucked them myself and decided the best way to let them grow into the shape I wanted was to draw with a dark eyebrow pencil the shape I wanted them to be before I plucked them and then I just plucked hairs that were outside of this shape. I did this every time I plucked them and it did look a bit strange having dark drawn on eyebrows, but it worked really well as a guide of where to pluck and where not to. I bought an MUA eyebrow pencil to use for this because it was only a £1 and I did have to be careful not to smudge it too much, but it worked really well. I guess you could use any kind of eyebrow pencil or eyeliner to so this.

Below are photos showing my eyebrows as they were before and how they are now.

In then 'Now' photo I have used my Benefit Brow Zings in Medium to define them and I am much happier with the shape they are now.

Let me know if you think this beauty tip was helpful and if you like this sort of post.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

MUA Nail Polish Review

I finally managed to pick up some of MUA's new Nail Polishes today. They are only £1 and I have been wanting to try them for a while but my local Superdrug hasn't had them in stock. They still don't have many different colours, but they do now have a few. Today I picked up Pistachio Ice Cream, which is a lovely minty green colour and also Bright Coral, which is a lovely bright pinky coral colour. 

The packaging of these Nail Polishes looks just like the Essie Nail Polishes and I think they look more expensive than they are. I couldn't see on the bottles how much is in them, but they seem smaller than other nail polishes.

I tried the Pistachio Ice Cream one straight away and absolutely love the colour, I think it is a really nice colour for Spring. The brush isn't very smooth and so I needed to apply two quite thick coats to make it look smooth, also the shape of the brush meant it was a bit messy to apply, but nothing a cotton bud and nail polish remover couldn't correct. :) 

Overall for the price of £1 I think these are good value for money and will probably try some more, I really like the look of the Amaretto Crush one, so hopefully will be able to try that one next. 

Thank you for reading. 

I'd love to hear if you have tried these and what colours you like.

Nyss x

MUA Blusher No. 4 Review

I recently bought my first MUA Blusher and wanted to share this with you because I am really pleased with how pigmented it is and I really love the colour I choose.

When I bought this I wasn’t looking for a blusher, but these are only £1, so I couldn’t resist getting one to try and after swatching the shades I picked up No. 4, which is kind of peachy pink colour, with a bit of shimmer in it.

This Blusher is really pigmented so you only need a little on your brush. It has a soft texture that blends really easily, creating a lovely finish. I think these Blushers are excellent value and the other shades all looked lovely when I swatched them so I will definitely be trying some more of these. It would be nice if there was a mirror in the lid, but for only £1 I can’t find anything negative about this Blusher.

If you have tried these I’d love to hear what you think of them or what colours you like.

Thanks for reading :)

Nyss x

MUA Power Pouts Review

Since I first heard about MUA's new Power Pouts I wanted to try them,  I love using lip stains and tints, so these really appealed to me and they are only £3 which makes them excellent value. I popped down to my local Superdrug yesterday and they had all six shades in stock. After reading some reviews I had already decided what two shades I wanted to try first, but I swatched all six on my hand to see what they were like for myself.

 Top to Bottom - Crazy in Love, Rendezvous, Runaway, Irreplacable, Justify and Brokenhearted. 

I loved them all and think I will probably end up buying more, but yesterday I stopped myself at two and bought Justify and Rendezvous.

Left - Justify. Right - Rendezvous.

I wanted to wait until today to post about these, so I could try them for a day to give you more of a review. When applied they go on smoothly and have a slight minty taste. They feel really moisturising and after applied they just feel like you are wearing a lip balm, which I really liked and the shape of the stick makes it easy to apply.

The colours look different when applied as you can see from the photos, so swatch them before you decide which ones you want.

Rendezvous

Left to Right - Bare Lips, Rendezvous first applied and Rendezvous after about half an hour.


I found while wearing Rendezvous it developed into a deeper pink colour, which I liked, but you might not if you apply this wanting a nude colour.

Justify

Left to Right - Bare Lips, Justify first applied and Justify after about half an hour.

I found while wearing Justify it also developed into a slightly deeper colour after a while. 

Both of these Power Pouts are a little deeper in colour than the photos show and the colour lasted well and when it felt like it had worn off, my lips were left tinted, which I really liked.

I recently received a Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush in a Glossybox which I loved and I think these are quite similar in design, although the MUA Power Pouts are more sheer than the Jellp Pong Pong Lip Blush I have, and they also feel more moisturising. These also look very similar to the Clinique Chubby Sticks, but I haven't tried these so not sure how they compare, if you have I would love to hear what you think.

Overall I have to say I love these and for the price, they are an excellent bargain and a little treat that will not break the bank :)  I will definitely be getting some of the other colours and if you haven't tried these you should. 

I am becoming a fan of MUA products and the price means you can try lots of new things. I'd love to hear what your favourites are.

Thank you for reading :)

Nyss x