Lately I've been buying...

I would just like to make a formal apology to my bank account... I'm sorry, I don't mean to abuse you by constantly racking down your funds but I have no will power and like pretty things. I did a fair bit of overtime before going back to college and decided to treat myself because why the hell not? I will add I have also bought a new bag and purse but they will be featured in another post later this week (what's in my bag anyone?) but as you can see that's not all I got. 

first up, you may see a shiny new iPhone 6 in there... yep, I finally said goodbye to my iPhone 4S and decided to take out my first contract and get myself a 16GB gold iPhone 6 and it's bloody beautiful I'm so glad I got it as it's such an upgrade from my 4S! Moving away from my little outburst of love for my new iPhone and onto the beauty bits I also saw the models own hypergel gift set on the superdrug website which contains 10 10ml shades which is essentially the whole hypergel collection that are a tiny bit smaller at just £15 and i've done a blog post all about it that includes swatches (link). If you spend over £10 on the superdrug website you get free delivery so I thought I would take advantage of this so I also decided I would try out two makeup revolution blushers that I have had my eye on for a while, so I got the cream blush in 'frambroise shake' £1.50 and the vivid baked blush in 'all I think about is you' £2.50 ... they're so cheap! for that price they're not going to break the bank and I have heard a lot of good things about makeup revolutions as a brand and I would just like to say that I have tried out the cream blush and pretty much everything else in this haul and it's lovely and long lasting!

I think I was the only beauty blogger who hadn't tried one of Tanya burr's lip glosses £6.99 because I have never been a big fan of them, i've only ever had bad experiences where they're too sticky and get stuck in my hair so I needed to change that and the shade 'chic' stood out to me the most from Tanyas collection so in my basket it went! There has also been a lot of hype surrounding the Maybelline velvet matte lip pencils £4.99 and I was after a matte, everyday pink that's not too noticeable and I struck gold with the shade 'minimalist'. Finally and probably my favourite makeup item I have picked up in a long while is the Stila smudge stick stay all day eyeliner in 'lionfish' £13 oh sweet baby jesus, I was not expecting much from this when I swatched it... I was browsing the Stila stand in marks and spencers and I was on the hunt for a brown eyeliner, so I swatched it and thought 'oh that's pretty' as it's a rich dark brown with golden flecks in it but it's when I tried rubbing it off that the magic happened, it didn't budge at all, not even when I wet my finger - that's when I knew it had to be mine! expect a review of this soon because i'm completely smitten with it. 

Have you bought anything recently - if so, what?

£15 Models own hypergel collection from superdrug!

Models own hyper gel collection - £15

If you hadn't already guessed from the post title superdrug are selling the full set of 10 models own hypergel nail polishes in a gift set for £15, the bottles are slightly smaller at 10ml instead of the standard 14ml but when the polishes retail for £5 each it's a great deal, If you bought every polish in the set for full price it retails for £50... excuse me? what a bargain, especially for a good quality nail polish! I like that the shades in this set are smaller as it's a great way to try out the shades before buying the full size, I already own the shade lilac sheen and it's a beautiful, glossy nail polish that's perfect for spring / summer. I know typically the shades in this set are more suited for the warmer months, but who really listens to that whole 'pastels for spring and darks for autumn' malarky anyway? I wear what nail polish I want when I want. I'm thinking about buying a couple of more of these as they'll make great christmas or birthday presents as they come in quite a cute box

The swatches above are shown with two coats of each nail polish and you can see that they're completely opaque and glossy which give the perfect 'I look like I have gel nails but really don't' look. The shades choices aren't really anything wow as they're typical shades that you can find from other brands but when it comes down to the formula, the models own hyper gel polishes win.

What do you think of this gift set?

The perfect pink polish - Maybelline forever strong 'nude rose'

I have heard a lot of good reviews surrounding the Maybelline forever strong gel nail colours for quite a while, the most recent addition to my nail polish collection is in the shade 'nude rose' and it's a perfect light rosy pink. I personally don't think that these polishes last as long on my nails as other people have claimed they do as on myself they last around 4 days chip free whereas I've heard a lot of ladies saying that they can go a week without chipping, I personally haven't had results like that but the colour is phenomenal and I can't get over how pretty it is. I wanted to get a couple of new colours as I was becoming bored of using the same colours and as soon as I saw this I popped it into my basket and it was love at first application. I love that the brush is really wide on this polish as it meant that you can get an even coat in one swipe and it's quick and easy. This colours going to be gracing my nails on days where I don't want to wear a nude, but don't want to go too bright - it's the perfect middle ground between the two. There have been a lot of 'gel effect' polishes popping up on the highstreet recently but I think that Maybelline are on point with this polish as it really does give that plumped up, glossy gel like finish. 

Not worth the hype? Sanctuary thermal detox mask

Sanctuary 5 minute thermal detox mask - £10.50

Don't you just hate it when products don't live up to the hype that surrounds them? it doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad products but they just don't fulfil your expectations for them which is exactly what has happened to me with this product... it just isn't all that great. I feel bad for writing bad reviews and there's controversy within the blogging world as to whether you should or shouldn't write bad reviews... I personally think it's okay as your review may help out other people when it comes down to deciding on a product.

I will start off by saying that the sanctuary 5 minute thermal detox mask retails at £10.50 for boots so it's not the cheapest mask on the high street and it's a thermal mask which means that when you start to rub it into your skin it heats up which opens your your pores and gives your skin a deeper clean, it's supposed to rebalance your skins oil levels as well as purify the skin leaving it clearer and silky feeling... I personally felt nothing like this, for me it kinda just did nothing. I expected this mask so heat up and then cool down into a clay-like finish, granted it isn't a clay mask but I still expected it to dry and set but instead it has a wet consistency and finish on the skin and doesn't dry at all which doesn't feel purifying in the slightest, and it doesn't feel as thought it's drawing out any impurities. With other masks such as the una brennan tea flower mask and the origins active charcoal mask once they're washed off I instantly see results and my skin looks clearer and healthier but with this I saw no results at all, I have persevered time after time but I just haven't seen any change in my skin when I use this and I generally don't like how it feels on the skin. I normally like to relax in the bath with a facemask on and watch pretty little liars for a while but do not try that with this mask... it will just drip off your face and melts. I personally feel that there are better masks for a fraction of the price It may just be me and my preferences as I know that others such as fleur de force love it.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this mask because I do feel that there are better options on the highstreet that give brilliant results, I will try and use up the tube to get my moneys worth but I have my doubts that I will see any further results

Have your tried this mask - what are your thoughts on it?

Rediscovering old favourites

Recently I've wanted to change up my makeup a little bit because I've been a little bit bored of using the same products everyday, but after paying off car insurance and other bits and bobs i'm pretty much broke. I decided that it was time to 'shop my stash' and use products which I had forgotten about and rekindle my love for them.

First up I have been reaching for the Nars orgasm blush and laguna bronzer duo, Orgasm is a beautiful mid pink with golden shimmer running through it and it does a pretty nifty job at making me look fresh faced. Laguna is the perfect contour shade which doesn't look to orange or muddy so I have been using this to contour slightly day-to-day, as the pans are so small it's difficult to get a big brush in there to do an overall bronze of the face. I like that this duo has smaller versions of orgasm and laguna because then you can try them out to see if they're worth buying later on, once i've finished this up I think I will be repurchasing the full sized of each product as they're beautiful. I've dug the Bourjois chocolate bronzer back out of my stash and have been using it everyday, this post seems to be very bronze heavy... apologies! I think this is the perfect colour to bronze up my face and I love how it looks and smells and it's from the high street so it isn't over priced, I'm so happy I have rediscovered this little gem. Finally I have been loving the maybelline colour tattoo in on and on bronze as a base under my eyeshadows, I completely forgot about this cream eyeshadow offering from maybelline and it has become a staple in my makeup routine again. I have had this colour tattoo for over a year and it hasn't dried out at all which is amazing considering my benefit one has dried out and I've had it for less than a year!

Have you rekindled your love for any of your old products recently?

Nars pure radiant tinted moisturiser

I find it quite hard to believe that I haven't spoken about the Nars pure radiant tinted moisturiser sooner on my blog, it's become my favourite base probably of all time! When the weather started picking up at the beginning of summer I was becoming fed up with how my foundation was sitting on my face, it was just melting and it felt so uncomfortable on my skin. My hunt for the perfect tinted moisturiser begun, I read review after review of lots of different tinted moisturisers and one that cropped up countlessly with rave reviews was the nars pure radiant tinted moisturiser, so I popped it into my online shopping basket and ordered it... and I haven't touched any foundations since the day it arrived on my doorstep which is quite a big deal for me. I'll be honest, I don't really have bad skin and as much as I complain about it I know i've got it pretty easy when it comes down to it but the thought of applying anything sheer - light coverage on my skin terrified me because I was too used to wearing full coverage foundations and concealing everything, but all of that has changed and my opinions on lighter bases since I purchased this.

I absolutely love the coverage that this gives, although it's light it blurs out all of my imperfections and makes my skin look really healthy. I find applying it with a brush (real techniques buffing brush) gives me more coverage but day-to-day I just like to apply it using my fingers and it gives a really natural finish and it's quick and easier to apply this way. I have found that it's quite easy to build up the coverage if you apply it in layers but I personally like the 'my skin but better' natural look it gives with one layer so that's what I tend to stick with. I always powder my face because my bases have a tendency to slip and slide off my face but without powder it gives a dewy, glowing finish which makes me wish I could get away with it without powder, but it's equally as beautiful mattified down.

I wear this tinted moisturiser throughout my 9.5 hour shifts at work and don't touch up my makeup at all during the day and when I get home it still looks pretty decent, I normally have a tiny bit of wear on my chin but let's be honest, it's a tinted moisturiser and it's not going to stick around all day so I'm extremely happy with the wear time that it has. Nars have packaged this little beauty in their typical rubberised packaging which is notorious for getting dirty very quickly and this isn't any different to their other product packaging, it. get's. so. messy. On the plus side I'm extremely happy that it comes in a squeazy tube so it's easy to dispense and control how much product I want so I'm not wasting any product but pumping out too much.

Overall I really love this tinted moisturiser and can see myself rocking it all through autumn/winter as well as summer, it's a good'un!

Two books on my to-read list

I love to read. It's one of my favourite hobbies and i'm constantly on the hunt for new books to read.

I'm typically into romance novels and happy ending... blah blah blah, but recently I've become a little bit bored of reading the same story over and over again. A couple of months ago I made a goodreads account and i'm hooked, I love checking out and reading reviews on books and it's also opened my mind to different genres of books, some that I wouldn't normally pick up. 

Ten below zero by Whitney Barbetti.

“In here,” he said, pushing on the skin above my heart, “you're ten below zero. And you’re closer to death than I am.”

My name is Parker. My body is marked with scars from an attack I don’t remember. I don’t want to remember. I choose to live my life by observation, not through experience. While people are laughing and kissing and connecting, I’m in the corner. Watching them live. I’m indifferent to everything, everyone. The only emotion I feel with any kind of depth is annoyance, and I feel it often.

A text message sent to the wrong number proves to be my undoing.
His name is Everett, but I call him rude. He’s pushy, he’s arrogant, he crowds my personal space, and worst of all: he makes me feel.

He chooses to wear all black, all the time, as if he’s waiting to attend a funeral. Probably because he is.
Everett is dying. And he’s spending his final days living, truly living. In doing so, he’s forcing me to feel, to heal. To come face to face with the demons I suppressed in my memory.
He hurts me, he fulfills me, he completes me. And still, he's dying

Okay, so obviously there would have to be SOME sort of romance novel in my mission to step away from my normal reading routine... but this book seems different, it has more of an edge. Ten below zero has gained masses of rave reviews online and is currently no. 43 in the UK so I'm a little bit excited to read this!

The girl with all the gifts by M.R Carey.

"NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.
When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh.
Melanie is a very special girl."

I read the first three chapters on the kindle sample books from amazon and I was sucked in, it's not normally the writing style I would go for but the book was so. damn. interesting, I felt a little bit lost when I reached the end of the sample... but I haven't read it yet? It's definitely next on my list and completely out of my comfort zone when it comes to reading, it's a thriller/horror and not a romance which is why I think I haven't read it yet!

What books have you been enjoying or are looking forward to reading?