DRUGSTORE BEAUTY HAUL

Why hello there lovelies! Sorry I have become a stranger once again. A mix of bloggers block and then getting really poorly. Not sure what happened to me but I got home from work one day and just had a turn and just couldn't get out of bed for a few days.
I'm feeling better now and I thought I'd treat myself with a little trip to Boots. I've not actually had a spendy moment for a while and being ill is the perfect excuse to change that!

A LITTLE BOOTS HAUL

Thought I'd leave the Sunday Loving post for this week. It's been a bit of a quiet one and I had a cheeky little peruse of Boots yesterday so I thought I'd show you what I bought.

I went to Boots as I needed dry shampoo and deodorant because I'm going to London for a few days tomorrow! (P.s. never been before, please leave me any tips or recommendations of what I should do!) Now, I could have gone to Tesco or even the tiny Boots that would take me 5 minutes to walk to. I didn't do this. Instead I drove for 25 minutes to the biggest one that's near me...

REVIEW: SEVENTEEN TATTOO ME LIQUID EYELINER

Forever on the hunt for the perfect liquid eyeliner and forever failing to find The One. I was told by a friend about this one and was intrigued. I think it was around £4 from the Seventeen make up collection in Boots.
The product says it is semi-permanent and lasts for 48 hours. Now, I can't really comment on this as I've never left it on this long and nor do I see why you would need that much wear time out of any make up. However, once it's on a dried it doesn't not budge in the slightest. The consistency of this stuff is pretty gloopy and thick but it is reasonable easy to apply. I really like the applicator of this; it's very thin and sturdy. It does take longer than regular liquid liner to dry so you have to make sure you don't blink too much or you get it on your brow bone and then you're doomed. but like I said, once it is dry, it is there forever* (*until you take it off. Or 48 hours...)
The tube does tell you that you need an oil based eye make up remover to get it off. I use the Garnier 2-in-1 makeup remover anyway which was handy but it really is the only way to get it off. It won't come off with normal make up remover.

I am glad I've got it and I will continue using it. A few people have commented on how it looks too so that's nice but this still isn't The One.

CURRENT SKINCARE ROUTINE

I really like reading skincare posts and watching the YouTube videos but the products used are often so beyond my price range so I thought I'd show you my affordable routine which I'm sure works just as well! At the very least, my skin likes it. I know everyone's skin is different though.

This is everything that I put on my face. Obviously, not all at once. Everything is available in Superdrug and Boots (and LUSH!).

So, here goes..!

Garnier 2 in 1 Make-Up Remover | No7 Cleansing Water | B.Pure Micellar Water

The first thing I do is remove my make up. I have just started using the Garnier remover to take off my eye make up. I was previously using a Nivea one which works in the same way as this but I started to dislike it a bit. It works by having the oil in to remove the make up and a cleansing water so you don't get oily residue and you have to give it a good shake to mix it all together. I've only used this one a couple of times but it feels a lot more soothing on my eyes than the Nivea. It does say make up remover for the whole face too but I've not tried it for that. 

I use the No7 Cleansing Water to remove the rest of my make up. I LOVE this stuff! I only have a tiny bit left but you only need a couple of squirts on to some cotton wool and it takes everything off. I'll definitely be repurchasing it.

The Micellar Water is from the B. range that recently launched in Superdrug. I've heard people banging on about micellar water for a while but to be honest I don't really know how they differ from cleansing water? It was on offer so I thought I'd see how it was different. I have only used it a couple of times because I thought I'd use it after the No7 ran out. It seems to work just as well as that for removing my make up. I don't like the teeny nozzle in this though. The pump on the No7 is much better!

Botanics Gentle Cleansing Cream | Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser

Once I take my make up off I go shower and then do the rest of my skincare. So, cleanser! I am aware I use cleanser to remove my make up and I know that a lot of people use cream cleansers to actually take their make up off but I really hate doing that. I feel like it doesn't take my make up off properly and I'm just dragging it around my face. So I like waters for taking it off and then after I go in with a cream cleanser.
I kind of alternate between using these two. The Botanics one is from Boots own range. It says it brightens to the skin but I can't say I've noticed that however I do really like it. It's light and soothing and it isn't overly scented. The hot cloth cleanser is from Superdrug's range and I absolute adore this. It's a dupe (I presume, I've never tried this one) of the Liz Earle one but much more affordable. It comes with a muslin cloth too. The cleanser itself is lovely and creamy and leaves your skin so soft. I use this one about 2-3 times a week and the Botanics the rest of the time.

Simple Soothing Facial Toner | Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Cleansing & Toning Lotion

Then it's on to toner. I've been using the Simple one for months and it's great for leaving your skin refreshed and it takes up the last traces of make up that the cleanser left or that managed to get into any pores. The Tea Tree one is quite a recent purchase from Boots own range. I bloody love the smell of tea tree and just putting it on my face. I definitely prefer this to the Simple one but I'm trying to hold off using it until the other runs out. I've had some breakouts recently so the tea tree one seems to be calming it a little. I do love toner though. So refreshing on the skin. Please do recommend me others!

Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub | Garnier Deep Pore Wash

Ooh, I do love scrubbing these things into my face. I featured the Tea Tree one in my last favourites. Again, tea tree... just love it so much! I can never stop touching my skin after I've used this. So so soft! It really has helped to reduce my pores too, I think anyway.
I've had the Garnier one a while now and I bought it cos I used to have a few blackheads on my nose but I don't seem to have that probably anymore. Guess it worked then..! I really like scrubs and just rubbing the little beads into my skin. (I'm weird, I know.)

I don't exfoliate everyday because that would be over-scrubbing and I'd end up ripping my face off but I do it about 3 times a week. If I'm not being lazy.

Simple Light Moisturiser | Vitamin E Night Cream | Sudocrem

Then it's moisturising time. I do all my skincare at night after I shower. After I've done the previous steps sometimes I put the Simple moisturiser on, depending on how dry my skin feels, and I always put it on after I've exfoliated. It is so light and refreshing. It is my day moisturiser, if I'm not using the Nivea Express Primer, but I just love it. I thought it'd had been discontinued when I wen to repurchase recently but they've changed the packaging and put it in a box, so watch out for that!
Then I'm usually just chilling around my room for a couple of hours before I go to bed and I just whack a load of Sudocrem on all my spots. I get quite a few on my chin and cheeks, unfortunately. I don't rub it in either, I just leave it as blobs all over my skin so it looks like I have some kind of disease. I know it's nappy rash cream but it does say acne on the label, too. It is an absolute miracle and I have a huge tub and it cost like £3 and that'll last years! Before I go to bed, I rub in whatever Sudocrem is left on my face (cos it does start sinking into the skin) and, for me anyway, my spots already seem to have shrunk. Then I put a rather generous amount of the night cream all over my face. I love this stuff! So soothing and my skin feels great in a morning. I really need to try other things from the Vitamin E range because I love the products I have.

The night cream is probably one of my favourite products I use and I have just re-bought that too.

LUSH Bubblegum Lip Scrub | Vaseline

Before I go to bed I also like using these products. I don't use the lip scrub everyday because, just as with the rest of the face, I don't want to rip all the skin off! This smells INCREDIBLE. I use quite a bit when I do use it because it's too hard not too and then I throw on a load of Vaseline and I get the smoothest lips. I use Vaseline every night before I sleep though and it definitely helps. Especially because I wear lipstick everyday and some lipsticks are drying.

And that is everything that gets thrown all over my face!

Hope you like this post and let me know of any other drugstore brands you use for skincare that I should try out.

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

I realise I always say this but apologies for the photo quality! I wanted to have this post up before we actually hit March so I had to race with the amount of daylight left when I got home from work and this was the best I could do. I think I may have to buy myself a new camera, this one is pretty old now.

So another month over and quite a few favourites for it...

Boots Tea Tree Facial Scrub | Sleek Au Naturel Palette | ELF Maximum Coverage Concealer | Topshop Lipstick 'Beguiled' | ELF Blush 'Peachy Keen' | Avon Nailwear Pro 'Romance' | Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo '40 Permanent Taupe' | Rimmel Apocolips 'Big Bang' | L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara | Maybelline Color Show Nail Varnish 'Latte' | Ecotools Eye Shading Brush

I was dying to get the Au Naturel Palette for so long and finally managed to pick one up and I've been using in pretty much all month. Particularly loving the colours Nubuck, Bark and Regal and also been using Noir a lot instead of liquid liner for a softer look.

I did a review of the ELF concealer which you can read here. Cannot recommend it enough. Cheap and great quality!

The ELF blush is such a pretty colour. I couldn't get any swatches that show up on the camera because it's a very light colour but it has a lovely shimmer to it and I wear it more so as a highlighter or when I'm having a lazy make up day.

My mum gave me the Avon nail varnish and I've never used one of theirs before but I was so impressed with the amount of time this lasted before it started chipping. I used Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri top coat on top which is supposed to be anti-chip but because of work this isn't really the case for my nails. But this really lasted, very impressed!

I picked up the Maybelline Color Show polish after reading Fleur de Force's blog here. I love nude nails and I didn't realise how cheap these polishes were. I'm pretty sure it was £2.99! It does make you seem like you have mannequin fingers but I really like the look. I tried to do the blue tips that Fleur did but I was less successful with that..! I picked up the majorly hyped Colour Tattoo because Maybelline was on buy one get one half price when I got the nail varnish. I got the shade 'Permanent Taupe' because I thought it'd be most neutral. Not sure about the 24 hour part but with primer it lasts me a full 9 hour shift. It's great for blending with other eyeshadows or on its own. Been wearing it alone when I've been rushing to work and with it being more cream based, there's no fallout so I don't even have to tidy up my face; just run out the house so I'm not late!

I think the Tea Tree scrub from Boots own range is my absolute favourite of the month. Can't remember the price but it was very cheap. I was having a bit of a spot nightmare so I panic bought tea tree stuff. Very impressed! It's left my face feeling fresh and smooth and I am just so pleased. I also bought the toner from the same range but I'm trying to force myself to finish my current one before starting that.

The Topshop lipstick is something I've had for going on a year, I think, but I've found myself reaching for it a lot this month. Topshop lipsticks are brilliant. They're pigmented and they last. The colour of this one is very similar to the Kate Moss from Rimmel one in 107 however Beguiled isn't a totally matte shade. I'm wearing it in this post.

The Apocolips featured on most people's favourites last month but with them only coming out the very end of January I didn't think that was long enough to make up my mind. When I bought it I thought it'd be sticky like a lipgloss but it really isn't. You do need to make sure you do some good blotting or you end up with it all over your teeth! The applicator has a dip in it that collects the product which means you get more than enough and don't have to keep sticking it back in the tube to fully do your lips.

The Telescopic mascara... I am in love. I've always been ever faithful to Maybelline Falsies but that hasn't had a look in since buying this. I actually used the Falsies the other day and I don't think I like it anymore! Although the Telescopic doesn't make my lashes seem as thick it feels and look lighter and doesn't go clumpy if I accidentally put on too much. I have bought the False Lash effect version of Telescopic but I will try hold off til I've used this one up. Also, love the packaging. So clever!

Finally, a new brush. I've been wanting a good fluffy blending brush that doesn't cost the earth for ages and I saw the Ecotools in Boots. I love this! Blends everything together so nicely and is really soft. Also washes really well and I've not had any fallout from it either. Tempted to look into more Ecotools now..!

What have you been loving this month?

HOUSE OF HOLLAND X BOOTS BEAUTY SET

Before Christmas, Henry Holland held a Twitter Q&A session to promote the House of Holland beauty sets that have been released in Boots stores. I asked him a question just on the off chance and he replied! I was shocked enough at that and then just over a week ago I received an email saying that I had won one of the sets because of this! I've been admiring them all since they were released the other month so I was absolutely thrilled.

It's a shame I can't do anything with my hair to get even close to big hair but EEEK!

I was sent the "Grubby to Gorgeous" kit...

First of all have to say how much I love the bag it comes in. It's huge and will be brill for when I'm staying over places and not having to take more than one bag to carry around all my essentials.

On to the products..! They all have one of the infamous House of Holland slogans for their product names, which I love.
"Hey Hey Hey! Hands Off My Soufflé!" is a body cream which I've been using after showers to leave my skin super soft. It smells INCREDIBLE. It makes me use way too much because to smells too nice.
"Oh My Gosh, You Can't Swear On A Body Wash" is, surprise surprise, a body wash. This one doesn't have any scent which I thought was odd as the other products do. Also, it doesn't lather much unless you use loads of squirts.
"Glamour And Glitz All In A Spritz" is a body spray which says to just spray all over the body. I'm not really sure if it's supposed to do anything special but again it smells amazing and so I've just been going to town on the spraying!
It also comes with the body scrubber/thing/I'm not actually sure what they're called, oops!

There was a couple of different ones of these House of Holland sets released and now I really want the haircare one. They're all reduced now too but they're all sold out online so hopefully I can find a store with some left in stock.

PAYDAY HAUL #2

Today I had the day off work and had every intention of getting the bulk of my Christmas shopping done. Now obviously, that was never going to happen. Instead I spent money on myself. Lots of money. Oh boy.
I did by ONE present though so it's okay... I'll tell myself that anyway.

I bought the bag a few days ago after I mentioned here I wasn't overly happy with my current bag. I love this one though. So classy and it had 30% off (plus I get a little staff discount on top of that.) and it has a long strap which makes my life so much easier.

I also got the Real Techniques Core Collection the other day because they were reduced to around £15 on Amazon. That works out at under £4 a brush so that is awesome. I've already used a couple of them so sorry they're already a bit grubby on the photo. I can already tell the buffing brush is going to be in the upcoming favourites post!

So on to today and the first stop was Superdrug. Their 3 for 2 across all cosmetics ends tomorrow and I was determined not to miss out. My local Superdrug doesn't have all the brands so I had to go elsewhere to get to one with a Sleek stand. I've been dying to get hold of the Rose Gold blush for so long but it was sold out everytime I went to larger stores. Managed to get the last one in stock today though! I also got the Sleek Dip-It eyeliner, Sleek True Colour Matte lipstick in the shade 'Vamp' and I finally caved and bought a Revlon Lip Butter in 'Candy Apple'.

Also picked up a new Simple toner which I love and my first bottle of it has lasted me nearly 3 months so well worth the money. And finally got the Nivea Express Hydration Primer which I am dying to try out. I had to get it fro dry/sensitive skin as the normal was sold out but my skin has got a little drier this last month or so, so it may be useful.

In Boots I found the Revlon lipstick in Black Cherry after every other Superdrug/Boots I've been in in the past month didn't have it. Such a lovely colour. And I think I should go on a lipstick buying ban now...

And I also got some new foundation but in the Beautifully Matte formula as opposed to the Stay Perfect.

Then the ultimate bargain of the day... got the 3 Models Own nail polishes for £5.99 in TK Maxx! Considering they're £5 on their own that is incredible. They're in the shades 'Peach Puff', 'Gold Digger' and 'Champagne'. I very nearly bought an Essie set which had 4 polishes in for £9.99. Considering they're £7.99 on they're own, I wish I had done now!

Just got two casual tops from Topshop. A beautiful plum coloured scalloped hem one and just a light purple tee which will be great for just throwing on with a black skirt and a cardi. The one on the left was £15 and the right was £16.

Clearly, I am really adventurous when it comes to colour... Got this huge chunky jumper in Primark's men's section. I bought some spike studs off eBay a while back that I haven't used yet so I may get creative with that. The dress cost me £15 which I'm not overly keen at paying in Primark but it looks lovely on and I know I'll have regretted not buying it in the long run.

Also in Primark I got some earrings and a new phone case. Primark's iPhone cases are actually really nice and very cheap too. (Though I only have a month left on my contract and I'm planning on upgrading to the iPhone 5 so this may have been a silly purchase...)

Finally, I decided this past week that I now am a little obsessed with Example despite never liking him all that much before so I bought 2 of his albums as they were on the HMV offer. If anyone has his new one let me know if it's good because his music isn't on Spotify.

Now I'm all spent up and still haven't done Christmas shopping!

PAYDAY HAUL

My previous blog post was my payday wishlist and as I got paid yesterday (with a nice little bonus too!!) I went shopping today on my day off.

Skirt; Topshop | Jacket; Miss Selfridge

Sorry the last photo is so blurry!

On the previously mentioned wishlist, I had featured the skirt and the jacket. I was in town the other day and the skirt was sold out in my size so I tried the next size up but it was too big. I went home to order it online but it'd had sold out and I was gutted. Luckily, it was restocked the other day so I ordered it as soon as I realised. It fits perfectly and I'm so happy with it.

As for the jacket, I never want to take it off. It's a lovely fit. I'd definitely recommend going up a size in it though (as I think you should anyway when it comes to jackets and coats.) It's a little pricey (though I do get staff discount) but I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it and it's easily going to be able to be worn all year round. I'm looking at it as an investment, anyway!

Every payday without fail I spend too much money in Superdrug. I'm literally obsessed. Although I did quite well this time (until new Kate Moss for Rimmel lipsticks are released next week, eek!) They had a buy one get one free offer on selected Simple products, which I think is on for all this month but I'm not 100% sure. I picked up some face wipes and a new moisturiser and I also got some eye balm. My eyes look so tired all the time so i was curious. I've used it today and I've noticed the skin around my eye feels a lot smoother but I don't know if I look more awake! Probably not used it enough just yet.

The GOSH primers had £3 off and although I've still got quite a bit left I couldn't pass up that offer because I've never seen them on offer before. I really recommend this primer, though. 

I also popped into Boots and picked up the Soap & Glory Supercat eyeliner pen. I saw it on another blog this week and I was intrigued. I used to use the Rimmel felt pen liner and then I went off it so I'll have to see how this compares to my holy grail liquid liner that is Barry M.

Finally, I keep seeing people go on about the Lush lip scrubs and I never go in Lush but decided to give it a go. I got the bubblegum flavour and it smells AMAZING. I wear lipstick every single day so I probably should look after my lips as much as I try to look after my skin.

I have also just ordered the Hero & Cape Bowie tee that was featured in the wishlist. Very excited for that to arrive.

I'm going to try and post a monthly favourites blog tomorrow. Hope you all have great weekends!

WHAT'S IN MY MAKE-UP BAG

Over the last couple of months I've really started to love make-up and I've been buying a lot of it. Like most people I've had the struggle of finding foundation that actually matches my skin. I don't even want to know how much money I've spent on different ones. I have really pale skin. For the last year or so I've been using Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in 'Light Ivory' (because Ivory was still too dark...) but I still wasn't very happy with how it looks. I was always really paranoid about how my face looked.

Recently, the No.7 make-up brand from Boots launched their foundation match scheme. I saw the advert and was all "pfft, that won't work!" but my friend had it done and she recommended it so off we went to get matched up. It is amazing and I would definitely recommend getting it done if you're after a foundation that actually matches you and is reasonably priced. I ended up being "Cool Vanilla" and I really do feel so much happier with how my make up looks now.

Make up bag; Primark £2

Face:

GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer

No.7 Stay Perfect foundation in 'Cool Vanilla'

No.7 Blemish Cover concealer in 'Fair'
No.7 Instant Radiance concealer

Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder in '001 Transparent'

Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light'

Eyes:

Maybelline Falsies mascara in 'Black Drama'

Barry M Liquid Eyeliner

Vivo Eyeshadow Pallete in 'Bronze Me Up'

MUA Eye Primer

MUA Eyeshadows in 'Shade 16 - Matt' and 'Shade 24 - Pearl'

Maybelline EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner pot

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in '004 Black Brown'

Vivo Eyeliner in 'White'

Wow, writing it all down makes it seem like I put so much on but I don't wear it everything there all the time, particularly all the eye stuff. Also as you can see, I do stick to drugstore/high street brands (mainly because I can't afford to buy all of MAC.) The most expensive things there would be the foundation which was £14 and the GOSH primer is around the same but I'm quite willing to spend money on foundation if it's going to look good, be good quality and last. As far as primer goes, I don't even know how I managed without that prior to discovering it! MUA do a primer too for a couple of quid if you're not up for spending that much on it. This is my second bottle and I'll be buying it over and over again.
I probably should have got a new pressed powder before taking these photos, too! Oops!
The Falsies mascara is my all time favourite. I've easily bought it over 15 times now!

Brushes 1-5 all QVS via Superdrug:
(Powder, Foundation, Concealer & Foundation, Powder, Eyeshadow)
Brush 6 comes with Maybelline gel eyeliner pot

Again, I'd love to be able to afford Sigma or Real Techniques brushes but realistically I can't. I really like these QVS ones and I've not paid over £6 for any of those. They wash really well too. I got them from Superdrug but I'm pretty sure they're available in a few other stores too. I would love some higher end brushes though as they must be better at applying make-up for the price they are. I've recently ordered some e.l.f. brushes so I will post about those when I have them.

MUA shade 1

Barry M 'Touch of Magic'

MAC 'Impassioned'

Collection 2000 '5 Pretty Please'

Collection 2000 '6 Sugar Pink'

Rimmel '320 Funtime Fuschia'

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 20

Kate Moss for Rimmel shade 02

Avon Colour Trend 'Passion'

Avon Colour Trend 'Doll Pink'

Topshop 'All About Me'

Topshop 'Brighton Rock'

Topshop 'Beguilded'

My name is Louise and I am a lipstick junkie. My favourites are the Kate Moss collection ones, probably shade 20 out of those two. It's such a bright pink. I definitely want more MAC ones. I treated myself to Impassioned a month or so back. I know £14 is a lot but they're so lovely. Topshop lipsticks are great too. They're not shiny but creamy and they go on nicely. Pretty much all these are various shades of pink but I'm trying to branch out and be brave and get other colours. The MUA one is a lovely red colour and Beguilded by Topshop is a very deep red/wine colour.

I never realised I owned this much until I did this post.

* I was not asked to write this post by No.7/Boots or any other mentioned brands