What I've Bought: Superdrug

You didn't think I'd just done one tiny bit of shopping on my spending ban did you?  Of course I didn't!  Four weeks with no internet is a long time to be bored, and what solves boredom?  A trip to Superdrug after work. 

Here is what I bought!  I've been having a bit of problem skin lately.  I have oily, combination skin which is prone to break outs.  I was doing really well with my skin, but the last week or so has been a bit rubbish, so I cheered myself up with skin care products.



I've actually got a couple of repurchases in there, which I will talk about first.  My first repurchase is the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Micellar Water which you may have seen me talk about in my July Favourites post.  I really like this.  It is so easy to remove even the most stubborn make up, and just generally makes my skin feel refreshed and ready to go!  I mainly use this in the evening, and I definitely recommend it for you to try!

My second repurchase is the Garnier Pure Active Intensive Anti Spot 24 hour Moisturiser.  This worked really well for me last time I used it, and I'm hoping it wasn't just a fluke!  It claims that you can see results from day one, which I think is a bit exaggerated as I haven't seen anything just yet.  But it is a nice product to use for us oily skinned ladies, or men in fact.  It helps to fight spots, mattify the skin as well as moisturise and I will probably be repurchasing to help keep my skin in check!

The second moisturiser that I've bought on this shopping trip is a new one, and I was really excited to use it.  I have to admit, I've not been disappointed.  It's another Garnier one and it is the Long Lasting Shine Control Moisturiser.  I actually think that I prefer this one to the Pure Active Intensive for keeping shine away.  I've tried anti shine moisturisers before and I've found that they always leave a kind of powdery feel, or something but this one feels like a nice velvety moisturiser that really does control shine amazingly well.  I will carry on testing as I've only used it a few times, but I feel like I will be repurchasing!

I also purchased two pieces from the Neutrogena Visibly Clear range; the two in one facial cleanser and mask and the Spot Stress Control cleanser, which is the green liquid.  I really like both of these, they are the type of cleansers that you can feel working on you.  When you take it off, your face feels almost cold because it's tingly and refreshed - I love personally love that feeling because I really feel like the cleanser has gone right in and is sorting me out!

Have you tried any of my purchases?  What are your tricks for keeping skin looking and feeling great?



What I've Bought: Fragrance Direct

I've finally got the internet back!  It's been almost five weeks since it went down, so apologies that my posts have been few and far between.  But whilst I've been bored having no internet, I've had plenty of time to pen down some ideas for blog posts!

I feel a bit silly calling this a haul, as it's hardly a haul.  I had a bit of a lapse in my saving, but managed to control it to two things that I've been after for a while.  I'd never bought anything from Fragrance Direct before now, and I'm so glad that I did.  I was a bit worried at first it would be one of those sites where you're package was "lost in the post," but it arrived quite quickly and I love what I bought!  If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you might have already seen...  If not, my links are to the right of my blog!

I bought these beauties!  And for a very nice bargain too!  I've been taking extra good care of my nails lately, and have taken a real interest in nail care.  I use to bite my nails for probably almost eighteen years, and have been growing them for the last three.  It was a long hard process, and I'm finally at a point where I am starting to love them!  I might do a post on how I grew and looked after my very  weak nails, if you wanted to read?

So the Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover.  It has been sold in the USA for a while, and has apparently just landed in the UK.  It's a little bit runnier than a gel I find, but that might be because you only need a tiny bit so it doesn't keep the thick consistency.  You leave it on for a few seconds and then push down your cuticles to remove dry and dead cuticles - I'm a nail novice and it's so easy to use, and makes such a difference!  Everything just looks neater and nicer!  This is being sold in Superdrug and Boots for around £7, and I got mine for £1.99 - definitely keep an eye out for it on Fragrance Direct!  I would say stock up when you see it, but it will last you forever!

And my favourite purchase...Essie's Bikini So Teeny.  This isn't a new nail polish at all; it was released last summer in their summer collection, but I LOVE it and I'm so glad that I spotted it on Fragrance Direct.  It is such a nice colour - on the top photo, it looks more of a lilacy pastel blue, but once applied it kind of loses the lilac and goes more of a pastel cornflower blue.  It's so pretty, and has teeny, tiny glittery bits in it.  Obviously not so it's a glitter nail polish, but it just gives it that extra shine and dimension to the shade, it's a nice shimmer, but not metallic.  Just perfect.  I got this for £1.99 which I think we all know is a bargain considering how much an Essie polish is normally.

Have you bought anything from Fragrance Direct before?  Any other bargain sites you'd like to share?

July Favourites

Okay so this blog post is very late considering it is now almost half way through August.  We've been having lots of internet problems and BT haven't done anything to sort it!  So I might even be lucky to get this posted today...fingers crossed my internet doesn't cut off!  But aside from my internet being rubbish, let's look at what I've loved in July!

First up is Soap and Glory's Glow Job.  Glow Job is a bronzing moisturiser, and smells like a Terry's Chocolate Orange!  It is quite rich, and has tiny bronzing beads inside.  I used this daily on holiday for evenings out, as it nicely enhanced my tan.  But be careful because I did notice that I had some tiny streaks where I hadn't blended in properly from a random bronze bead!  It is easily fixable though and I'd definitely buy this again when this tube runs out.  The bronze beads aren't remotely orange and are actually bronze, so it looks very natural!  I carried on using this at home, but I found I had to use a powder to help mattify my skin.  I'm quite oily skinned, and without a powder, Glow Job can be quite hard to wear.  Regardless, I love it!

I have loved bright lips this summer, and Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendevous was amazing.  It's a bright orange which looks amazing with a tan, but also great on us pale skinned girls!  I wore this colour a lot in Cancun, and it's just nice, vibrant and looks really pretty on.  Whilst on holiday, I also picked up my fifth Just Bitten Kissable (I love these for a quick colour fix!) and I got the colour Charm which is a peachy, barely there stain.  I love it and if you get the chance whilst your across the pond, definitely pick it up as they don't sell them in the UK.  I got mine from Wal-Mart in Cancun.

My July scent has been Estée Lauder's Bronze Goddess.  I was given this as a gift and it smells exactly like a tropical holiday.  Sweet, tropical and hot...I doubt they're still selling these now as they're limited, but they'll no doubt be out again next year if you need to get your hands on it!  Which you do!

For taking off my make up, I usually just get in the shower and use my face wash in the hope that everything goes in one quick swoop.  It doesn't, and there is always some mascara left behind.  My skin isn't the best and being oily skinned as well as prone to break outs, I need a real skin care routine.  I bought L'Oreals Micellar Solution from Morrisons when it first came out, and haven't looked back since!  It's so refreshing and light on the skin, and removes make up easily.  I have started using this after a shower and I've used my face wash to ensure that my skin is thoroughly cleansed.  Now, I've not tried the original Micellar Water from BioDerma, but I am really impressed with this L'Oreal version, and it's purse friendly!

My last July favourite is something that I've repurchased so many times and it's by Bomb Cosmetics.  It is their Summer Honey Massage Heart.  This is so easy to use, smells amazing and leaves my skin feeling great.  It is a solid moisturiser which needs warming up in your hands a little before use, but then glides effortlessly across the skin whilst you hold the heart shaped treat in your hand!  I sometimes find it a little greasey if I'm rubbing it all over, but to battle that I just rub it a little over my skin and then rub the residue in with my hands.  If you've never tried Bomb Cosmetics, definitely give them a try because I love lots of their things!  They also do great little gift sets which you can buy to get a selection of products to try!  The only downside is storing this; Bomb Cosmetics, I'd love a little case for this to go into!

What were you loving in July?  Have you tried any of my July favourites?

Tagged: The Liebster Award

This week I have been nominated for a Liebster Award!  I'm very pleased as the Liebster Award is something that I hadn't heard of before I was nominated by Emilee from Roky Beautiful.  It is a clever way of helping you to discover new blogs, as well as helping readers discover you!  I've only had my blog a week, and would love to share my thoughts with more readers so this is a great thing to be a part of!  Thank you Emilee for nominating me, and everybody please go and check out her blog and give her a follow!  You can find Emilee's blog here!

Rules

1. Give ten random facts about yourself.
2. Answer the ten questions given to you by your tagger.
3. Choose ten bloggers with less than two hundred follows to tag with the Liebster Award, and link them in your post.
4. Pick ten new questions to ask your chosen bloggers.
5. Let your bloggers know they've been nominated.
6. Don't tag back!

Ten Facts About Me

1. My all time favourite film is The Little Mermaid, closely followed by The Goonies.  (My favourite ever dreams have involved me being a Goonie and finding the ship...)
2. I have a Miniature Schnauzer called Ronnie; look out for him on my Instagram because he'll definitely crop up!
3. I love learning, and have clung onto education for as long as I possibly can.  I have just finished University this year and am graduating in September.
4. I leave everything until last minute, but I still like to think that I'm organised.
5. I have a boyfriend called Liam who I have been with for almost nine years.  We met when we were both in high school and have been together solidly ever since!
6. I hate clothes shopping.  I can't stand trying things on, but I have to try things on because my bottom half isn't proportional to my top.  (Big thighs, big bum and all that!)
7. I went through a major goth phase in high school.  Black hair, panda eyes and baggy clothes...
8. I once got majorly carried away with plucking my eyebrows and ended up being left with a line for an eyebrow which was one single eyebrow thick.  Big mistake.  I don't know why I did that.
9. I have a big scar on my knee because I was messing about at my friends house and put the tread mill on full speed and jumped on.  It didn't end well.  I'm no runner.  One step and I was down, and couldn't fall off because of the wardrobe being directly behind.  Ripped all my knee apart.  It was quite funny though.
10. I have a tattoo of an ankh on the back of my neck, plan on getting a boomerang tattooed to my ribs, and have a few piercings.

Emilee's Questions

1. What beauty product do you carry with you everywhere?  Lipbalm.  Always.
2. What made you start blogging?  I needed a hobby and wanted to share my thoughts and ramblings with people.  It also gave me an excuse to buy beauty products and other things, because I'm meant to be on a spending ban...
3. How old were you when you first started wearing make-up?  I don't remember the first time I put make up on, I probably played with it when I was younger but started wearing it daily in secondary school at probably the age of thirteen.
4. Which one person would you pick as your make-up/style inspiration?  I don't think I have anybody who inspires me for style; I just buy things that I like.  I read a lot of beauty blogs, so I'm always inspired to try things through the blogs that I read.  My favourites are Essie Button and What I Heart Today, but I read a lot.  
5. What are your favourite blog posts to read and write about?  My favourite ones to read are ones that have amazing swatches, so you definitely know what you're getting.  I hope to put lots of these in my own blog once I get going, and manage to set up my camera properly!
6. What would be your dream job?  My dream job?  That's way too hard...  An archaeologist that gets to work on all the big jobs, like the pyramids and discover all the secret tombs and treasures. 
7. If you had to choose one clothing store to shop at for the rest of your life, where would you choose?  Zara.
8. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?  I'd love to go in all the secret tombs in the pyramids.
9. Do you consider tights as pants?  Nope.
10. Do you prefer to buy clothes online or in store?  I like browsing online, but prefer buying in store so that I can try on even though I hate doing it.

Nominated Blogs

1. Anya from Crazylins
2. Christina Thorup
3. Grace from Graces Walk in Wardrobe
4. Zara from La Vie en Rose
5. Olivia from Crave More Beauty
6. Amy from The Powdered Nose
7. Hayley from HaySparkle
8. Claire from LYLots
9. Fifi from Fifi McGee
10. Jessica from Gingerly Pale

My Questions 

1. You can choose to be one Disney character, who would it be and why?
2. If you could have any super power, which would it be?
3. If you were told you could only have one beauty product for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. Heels or Flats?
5. Nude or Bold Lip?
6. What is your go to beauty brand?
7. How would you describe your style?
8. Why did you start blogging?
9. If you could build a house anywhere, where would you build it?
10. You can be another person for a month, who would you be and why?

Everyone please be sure to check out and follow my nominated blogs!