Little Haul Of Bargains

As you all probably know Boots currently have a 3 for 2 offer on all make up. When they are being so generous to us it would have been rude to not take them up on it, right? I was very good and picked up two things I actually needed rather than things off my wish list. My Collection concealer has run out and as much as I love it I want to try something new so I got the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer for £7.50. The main selling point was the applicator is much more hygenic than a doe foot one and I really like the serum from the range. Next I repurchased the Seche Vite Top Coat for £9. It's just perfect- long lasting, fast drying and super duper glossy. Finally I got another Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti making my purse £7.99 lighter. I actually really wanted Sweet Tart but I have so many pink lippies and this one is a really nice sheer orange colour perfect for if we ever do get a Spring in England.
After a trip to the hair dressers for a little trim I popped into a couple of charity shops because I need more storage for my make up. I got a really cute fish dish (try repeating that quickly) which is now home for all my mascaras. It was only £1! I also got a floral little jug which is so cute and only set me back £1.25. I really love picking little bits like these to store make up in because it is so cheap and looks really cute. Muji storage is so nice but its a little boring and hugely over priced.

Have you taken advantage of Boots 3 for 2? Found any charity shop gems?

Foundation Routine

In faces of the days I have posted and in real life I have had quite a few compliments on my flawless skin. Well my skin is far from flawless! I have lots of spots, large pores and an impossible nose clogged with blackheads but after a lot of trial and error I have finally found a foundation routine I am truly happy with.

The first thing I do is apply the Nivea Express Hydration Primer (full review here) which I don't really like so I'm trying to use it up. Then I put one pump of Estee Lauder Double Wear in the shade ivory nude on the back of my hand and mix it with Bright Here Bright Now (full review here). I love this combination because on its own Double Wear can stick to dry patches and be difficult to work with as it is so thick.Once I've applied this with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush it is a dewy full coverage foundation that lasts all day. The next thing I do is cover up nasty spots with Collection Lasting Perfecting Concealer in Light and pat it in. For under eye bags I take a little of Benefit Erase Paste on my ring fingers and warm it up before gently smoothing it on. It does an amazing job at covering and brightening under eyes. To finish it all off I set the center of the face and any areas of concealer with the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow on a Bare Minerals Flalwess Face Brush. I hate the brush because it is so scratchy but I love the powder for hiding pores and the shade adds colour without being at all orange.

Do you use any of these? What is your current foundation?

Take Me Home One Direction. Please.

If you're one of those people that hates One Direction then just click away because this post all about when I went to see One Direction on tour. I don't know if people will want to read this but I thought it would be fun to re-read it in a years time and I did say I would do more life style posts.

Oh Liam! My heart skipped a beat when he did that.

 We went to the evening performance on the 16th of March and our tickets weren't great but people had a lot worse. We were in the top tier five rows back from the railing. To be honest I felt lucky to have any seat! Although I am insanely jealous of the people on the floor who got so close to them.

One Direction's performance was amazing- even better than I expected. They get so much stick about not being able to sing but boy they can! It was cute how they still seemed surprise by the amount of people there and how people knew the words to all the songs. And I swear Harry welled up during the slow songs when you could really hear the crowd singing back. Speaking of which I sung my heart out to every single word of song and the girls next to us found it hilarious so I must have been pretty bad. Or maybe it was the dancing that amused them. You can only imagine how insanely loud the screams were. I don't think the Dad behind me appreciated my screams but hey ho. 

The second the boys finished singing what make you beautiful we legged it round to the bus gate to see them leave. There were only a few other girls there so we were right up against the gate to try and see them. Typical teenagers screaming I know. As their bus went past the camera man filmed us so watch out for me on the tour DVD screaming like a maniac with fake lashes falling off. Now that is a reason to get the DVD!

Clearly the man sat behind us didn't enjoy it as much as we did! I don't know how he managed to have a snooze in that noise.

FOTN as proof I started the night looking a lot better than I finished it!

I had an amazing time and if I could I would do it all over again. I'm not usually the crazy fan girl sort of type but I will only be 17 once so I might as well have fun. They come back to the M.E.N in April and I need to find a way to get floor tickets! If anyone knows someone selling tickets to a Manchester or Sheffield show please let me know.

Dainty Doll Haul

Just before the post-There has been a bit of caos in the blogging world today about GFC being cut. Google are shutting down a different aspect but they haven't set a date for when GFC will go. Just in case anything happens it would be great if you could follow with the pink Bloglovin' button at the side bar. Better to be safe then sorry!

You have probably all seen lots of Dainty Doll hauls recently so hopefully you aren't sick of them just yet. I ordered a few things of Fragrance Direct for bargain prices and I am very happy with some bits but disappointed with others. If you're thinking of picking up a few bits then this will help you know what to get and what to avoid.

Concealer in 001:
I hate this concealer. It's in a compact so I was expecting something creamy but it is very very powdery and dry to the touch which makes it extremely difficult to get any product out. I've tried to work with it but it is completely useless and I wish I hadn't even wasted £1.99 on it.

Kohl Eyeliner in 003 :
I decided to add this to the basket to because it is so cheap and I have a brown cream eyeliner but not a kohl one. Again I find this difficult to work with as the texture is not creamy enough and it is hard to get product out. I do still use this although it takes more effort then I would like.

My Girl Powder Blush:
On a more positive side I adore this blush. The packaging feels sleek and expensive and it's handy to have such a big mirror.It has a fine milled texture that blends perfectly and it is so well pigmented. The colour is quite a cool toned pink with  silver glitter running through. You guys know I love a glittery pink blush!

Orange Country Girl Cream Blush:
This cream blush is another hit! I googled for swatches before I got this and new I had to have it. It's completely different to anything I have in my collection. On the cheeks it gives a gorgeous gold sheen which personally I love but it might not be to everyone's taste. I was a little worried that the red colour would end up looking constantly embarrassed but when applied with a stippling brush it just works.

The blushes made the whole order completely worth it for me. I actually really wish I had got more colours but I am greedy. If you're thinking of getting something then I would recommend getting the blushes and steering clear of the concealer.

Have you tried Dainty Doll?

Benefit Brow Bar

Yesterday I toddled to Benefit to get my eyebrows waxed. When I was searching for information on it I struggled to find useful posts so I thought I'd do one. Be prepared for a rambly and hopefully informative post.

Lets start with my eyebrow history. I actually only started plucking them a year a go and then I started going to Superdrug to get them threaded. Oh how that hurts! I was always left unimpressed by the customer service and threading left my eyes streaming which is pretty embarrassing. Plus the shape wasn't very good and if I was going to embarrass myself I at least wanted to have good brows at the end.

 It was when I was chatting to some lovely Benebabes at the Leeds Launch of Fine One One that I realised Benefit really know there thing when it comes to brows. So it didn't take much convincing for me to pay my local Benefit a visit for some much needed eyebrow tlc. It costs £11.50 for a brow arch which is twice as much as Superdrug but you get what you pay for.

I made an appointment in advance as the service is very popular so they get booked up. When I arrived they were running perfectly on time and I was sat down to fill in a little form. I was recommended to get a tint and brow arch, which is a wax, but as that comes to a pricey £18 I went for just the waxing. So the actually waxing process was pretty much painless and over very fast. There was a slight stinging but not anything like threading. My forehead was left as red as a tomato but that was quickly sorted out with some concealer. Then my brows were filled in with some Brow Zing and I was good to go. It only took around 10 to 15 minutes in total! The Benebabe that did my eyebrow was lovely and I have found this with lots of Benefit counters.
Below you can see the sorry state of eyebrows before and the difference afterwards.

Filled In:

Au Natural:

                                           

I am very happy with the end result. It's hard to see what a mess they were before but you can see how lifted and more arched they look. I have already booked an appointment with the same woman for a months time and I will be treating myself to a tint too. I really recommend trying out Benefit Brow Bar if you haven't already.

Have you tried the brow bar? Where do you get your brows done?

February Favourites

Last months favourites were a week early which sort of makes up for the lateness of this one! I haven't got too many products this month as I stuck to most of the same favourites as last month because when I love something I stay pretty faithful.

Mac 217 Blending Brush:

I've had this brush for about 5 months and I absolutely love it. The soft tapered end makes blending so fast and easy. This brush is yet to shed which means it will hopefully last for ages. The only thing I don't like is that the writing is rubbing off the side and I wouldn't expect that from an expensive brush especially because it hasn't happened on cheaper ones. Non the less I really want to try more Mac brushes because the quality is top notch.

Pixi Brow Brush:
I picked this up on a trip to London and it's the first I have tried from Pixi. I really like the cute mint green handle, it's one of my favourite colours. The dual end makes it so handy and the angled side is small and firm enough to get neat brows.

Nars Deep Throat Blush:
When it comes to blush I usually change it up everyday so the fact I have worn this almost every single day since I got it three weeks ago shows just how much I love it. It's by far my favourite blush. Its mainly pink with a hint of coral and gold glitter so it gives the prettiest pink flush to the cheeks. It instantly brightens up my face and its just plain gorgeous.

Flawless By Nadia Mineral Blush in Dusk*:
I have already raved about  this but I loved it so much I had to include it. It's very pigmented and soft and the colour is stunning. I haven't got as much wear out of this as the Nars blush because it is mineral so it is not morning friendly. For a full review and a swatch click here.

Mac Shy Girl:
I featured this in a recent haul post and I have loved wearing it since I got it. It's the perfect peachy nude so its gotten a lot of wear during the day. I actually enjoy reapplying this because the texture is so creamy and luxurious.

Have you tried any of these products? What has been your favourites?

*PR  Sample

Lazy Day Make Up

Most of the time I enjoy doing my make up in the mornings but some days I just can't be bothered so I have certain go to product combinations for those lazy days. The foundation, concealers, contour and highlight products all stay the same. On a Wednesday I'm only in College for two hours (best day of the week!) so there really is no point in spending ages doing make up but at the same time I want to look semi decent. The criteria is they have to be quick and easy to use, fairly natural and low maintenance.

When I fancy going for a pretty pink look a reach for these. The Illamasqua  Katie Blush is so natural and adds a pretty pink flush to the cheeks. I like that it is well pigmented so it only takes one sweep and you're done. For my lips I always go for the Maybelline Pink Punch Baby Lips because it is a natural pink and so low maintenance. I can wack it on with out a mirror and not have to worry about dry lips for the wrest of the day.

For a peachy look I love using Natural Collection Peach Melba Blush. I only just rediscovered this and I have fallen back in love with it. It's pigmented and creamy which is everything I look for in a blush. To go with this I use the Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait. This is a warm colour which I love but for some reason they packed it full of glitter which ruins it. Being a petty cheap skate I am determined to use this up especially as I do actually like the colour. No matter what lip and blush combo I go for I always stick to the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On And On Bronze for my eyes. I hate not wearing eyeshadow because when it takes a minute to apply there is no excuse, especially when the colour is gorgeous. I've found the best way to apply this is using your finger to put it all over the lid then go in with a blending brush. It takes literally a minute to do which is perfect for me!

Do you use any of these products? What are your favourite lazy day make up items?

Guest Post: Mothers Day Gift Ideas

* This weekend I am away on a Geography field trip so the lovely Hattie from project-rattlebag.blogspot.co.uk/ is doing a guest post.  Its much more useful than anything I could put together because I bake a cake every single year. Enjoy!*

Most years Mothers Day seems to creep up on me, come Saturday morning I am in a fluster dashing around John Lewis looking through all the Mothers Day gift leftovers. This year I'm ahead of the game, with my gift orders and card bought this is the first mothers day in a few years I have been really excited about. I hope this Mothers Day gift ideas post inspires you to go out and find something your mother will really love!

Burgon & Ball Gardening Gift Range £14.95 to £29.95 - This range of gifts is perfect for those with keen gardening mothers . The design is very practical but also manages to maintain a gorgeous sleek design.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub  £8 - The Soap and Glory scrub is really inexpensive for a high quality product and is said to give an amazing finish, perfect for summer. Definitely one for the Beauty Junkie mothers!

Liberty Print Shower Cap £20 - Mothers day is certainly a day for  luxuries and nothing says that more than a beautiful shower cap from Liberty.

Personalised Photo Book £16.99 to £28.99 - This is a custom made book full of the photos of your choice, a mothers day themed book would make for a beautiful gift and bring a day full of reminiscing over times spent together. 

Kenwood Ice Cream Maker £24.99 - Out of all the picks today this would be the one I would but for my own mother, she is a keen cook who gets far more excited over a new blender than a new handbag. This ice cream maker is a good price for something that co

Zara Ethnic Style Necklace £17.99 - The chunky appliqué detailing is perfect if your mother likes to make a statement. This necklace is also really great  to work into Spring/Summer looks.

Cath Kidston Daisy Pearl Bracelet £25 - This dainty little bracelet is sure to look great with almost anything, it is also adjustable so should fit most wrists 

Thorntons You're So Fabulous £6.99 - No mothers day could ever be complete without the obligatory chocolates! These bring a more personal note to them with the slogan on the front and cute book style packaging.

Floral Ballerina Slippers £12.50 - These slippers are sure to be a hit with every mum, who doesn't like to have warm feet?! They also have the added bonus of a ditsy floral print and pink bows. 

 

Made With Love Measuring Spoons £14.99 - This gorgeous spoon set looks gorgeous and will certainly get a lot of use, They would make for a truly unique gift. 

Thanks so much for reading, hope it helped!

Hattie Constance x