Whilst feeling spendy in Boots the other day - and being enticed by all the Christmas Gift Sets. Smashbox caught my eye with a £25 gift - which included 6 lipsticks and a small tube of Mattifying gloss.

I've always wanted to try Smashbox lipsticks, and this seemed like such a good offer.
The lipsticks are 2.4g in this set, when a full size is normally 3g - so actually it's really good value for money. It also gives you a taste for the brand, and includes a great selection of colours.

Inside it includes:
Legendary - A gorgeous postbox red.
Famous - A hot pink.
Primrose - An everyday pink nude.
Fig - A gorgeous deep berry toned pink.
Tabloid - Surprisingly wearable light purple.
Inspiration - A true nude shade.
Insta-matte - A mattyfying gloss

All the lipsticks are a cream formula, and super comfortable on the lips. They're also richly pigmented.
Tabloid (the purple) is a colour I would never spend money on, however it's actually really wearable and I would wear this out of the house! It's nice to try some colours out of my comfort zone. I also feel like all colours are covered here - nudes, reds, pinks and purples. There's something for everyone, and an excellent gift to lipstick lovers.

The Insta-Matte Lipstick Transformer is a clear gloss that quickly turns any creamy lipstick a comfortable matte - meaning you can create 12 looks out of these 6 lipsticks.

This is such a good treat to yourself, a friend, or simply split the lipsticks up for stocking fillers amongst friends - keep one for yourself though!

Expect more Christmas posts soon!

Over the past few months I've brought a few items to pamper myself during our hectic house situation - I'm sorry thats all I'm ever going to talk about now!
It's nice to have a little treat every now and then; and the only place to do that is in Boots. Most of the items I picked up have either been on my lust list for a little while now, or I've seen them spoken about in videos so I had to try it out for myself! - Watching Youtube videos is so enabling!

Make up:
I found the cutest, tiniest eyeshadow palette from Smashbox that I couldn't refuse - the Smashbox Full Exposure palette has the perfect shades in it to be the only palette you ever need - Full review to come!
Benefit Gimmie brow has been on my list for a long time - and today I finally bit the £18 bullet and brought it. I haven't had much time (or a good enough mirror) to see to my brows recently and thought this would be great to tame things till I can get them professionally done. I havn't tried this yet so await a full review!
Whilst I was gorming at the Benefit counter I also picked up a Posiebalm - just cause it looked cute and I wanted a little treat for myself...I have no excuse, have you seen the packaging?

Skincare:
I had a sample of the Lush moisturiser in Skins Shangri La and remember it being like a drink for your skin. With all the stress from moving and months of decorating, this was very much needed! It's quite a thick creamy consistensy, and almost oily? If you suffer from oily skin this won't be for you; but for those who lack moisture this would be perfect. I use this as the last step in my routine to add a good dose of moisture before starting my day.
Hylamide Booster Glow Serum - I saw this brand on a few skincare blogs and was intrigued so I picked one up. It's from the same brains as Indeed labs, so I thought it would be worth a shot! I picked up the glow booster serum as my skin has always been a bit lacklustre...If I like this one I may have to stock up on more from the brand!

Tools:
On my sprees I also picked up two new brushes from varying spectrums of price. First is the tapered blush brush from the Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection - which I had been eyeing up for a while, and soon as I saw they were on offer I ran to the check out. Its a gorgeous colour, supersoft and applied blush like a dream - no regrets!
On the other side is a £3 blush brush from Wilkos. The softest brush, not too dense and visualy not at all bad...for anyone whose on a budget I highly reccomend taking a look!

Shower Products:
First I brought the St Tropez in shower gardual tan lotion; this was on every blog and every youtube channel and had some real mixed reviews. I've never been one for self tanning as I always end up turning orange or have a horrid streak down my arm. This is the perfect self tanning lotion for people who don't want to look orange and want a streak free application.
Next on my jollies I came across some Ritauls products in Marks Spencers. I chose the Indian rose scent in the foaming shower gel formula. This is similar to the Imperial Leather Foamburst, but a bit more luxurious and creamy.

Well there you have it! 2 months of purchases wrapped up! Expect full reviews very soon as I use the products and get to know them, and expect to see others in Most Used Monday posts - which will be back soon too!

I've really missed blogging and having my little space on the internet...it feels good to be back!

I'm always searching for the best new mascara, I have incredibly straight black lashes that don't want to curl. Even with my eye lash curlers they end up dropping down.
After watching a video from Amelia Liana; she used the new L'Oreal Superstar Mascara and it looked amazing on her. So...into Boots I went and come out with the Mascara. (I was going to buy some of the new Revlon HD lipstick too but resisted, as a shop assistant was putting them all out on display) - expect those to be brought soon!

There are two sides to the mascara, firstly there is a white voluminous side. This is almost a primer for the second step. This includes a beautifully shaped brush to add volume to the lashes. Then you add the other side which is a black formula with small fibers in which covers the last coat and adds color and extra thickness to the lashes.

I've fallen in love with this mascara, it's just annoying to apply as the wands are on the inside of the tube so it's a bit fiddly...but worth the results. I managed to grab this for £7.99 from Boots instead of £10.99, I just might have to pick another one up before this offer disappears!

The only other mascara I've tried from L'Oreal is their Miss Manga mascara. But I've heard great things about their other ranges, I must remember to give them a go sometime!

Have you tried this mascara out yet? Or have any recommendations from L'Oreal's Mascara Range?
Please let me know!

I've been lusting after this bronzer for a while now, it doesn't look scarily red/orange, nor does it look too dark. I'd heard many people on the internet talk about this product do when I was feeling spendy in Boots the other day I had to pick it up.

One one side is a dark, matte brown and on the other side is a lighter more shimmery brown. When mixed together they create a nice golden tone and it really brightens up my skin tone. I've been on the search for a natural looking bronzer, and I think I found it. When you first open up the product it has a light pink shimmer on the engraving, however this is gone after the first use and isn't too shimmery afterwards.

I'd previously brought the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in fair and found that it was slightly too light for me to have any effect on my skin tone, I also found it a bit too powdery (If that's even a thing I don't know.) I felt it sat on top of my skin too much and didn't blend as well. This is one of the products I regret buying. I may throw it away to be honest as it's now been replaced.
The offering from Soap and Glory is the opposite. With the darker matte shade a can use it as a slight contour to contour my cheek bones out a bit and add some definition to my little moon face. or I can add a subtle warmth to my skin with the lighter shade, and use it on my temples to add a sun kissed look.

I can see myself using this product daily, along with a nice blush to add some colour to my cheeks, and a little pop of highlighter on my cheekbones, Summer sorted!

Have you tried this bronzer from Soap and Glory? It would seem I have an ever growing collection from their make up range.

The bronzer is £11 from Boots and is currently on 3 for 2 here.

I love these types of posts as I'm a very nosey person.

I'm currently using my River Island small cross body, mini satchel in black with gold hardware, It goes with everything and is small enough to not be in the way, but still a decent size to get all the essentials in.
If I was to show you what I put in my larger bag for work it would be a LONG post - mittens included!

Contents:

• iphone 5 - Standard. I'm due for an upgrade soon, but I can never be without my iphone! In a Cath Kidston phone case; obviously.
• Purse - Essential. Again this is from River Island and was a brand new purchase today, I've been searching for a nice thin purse and as this was mint green - well I had to have it. This contains my most prized possession - my Nando's card and Boots card.
• Keys - I have a million of the things.
• LipBalm - I can't be out and about without one! I switch it up between Burts Bee's and Carmex/Blistex.
• Sunglasses - In the UK you'll be kicking yourself if the suns out and you forgot your sunglasses! These are from River Island a while back and fit my petite head perfectly - and go with every outfit too.
• Lipstick - If I'm out wearing lipstick and know it will need touching up at some point I'll pop it in my bag just in case. I love the 'Lip Butters' from Revlon for a quick touch up and there's no need for a mirror!
• Little Essentials - Gum, a few hair grips and hair bands at the bottom for those 'just in case' moments. There's normally some form of shopping list in here too and if I'm really lucky I'll have a pen.
• Kindle - This fits snuggly if I do ever want it in my bag - I'll only ever take it out with me if I'm going on the train. 

What essentials do you have in your bag? Is there something you can't live without?

I hadn't been in boots for a long time so I decided to pick up a few things I hadn't tried before.

I've been after a new foundation/bb cream for a while now that is compatible with my dry skin. I was browsing the L'oreal stand and spotted the L'oreal Nude Magique BB cream. When I swatched this I was pleasantly surprised.

When squeezed through the tube and onto your skin it appears as a white gritty liquid. Then when rubbed into the skin, the gritty (beads) explode into colour that gives a light natural finish. A finish so natural you can't tell your wearing it which I love. There's nothing worse than cakey makeup! 

When swatched it looks a bit on the orange side, but it blends nicely into my skin tone when applied and is untraceable. And best of doesn't highlight any dry patches.

Whilst I was at the L'oreal stand I also noticed a little tube of L'oreal Nude Magique BB Blush.

This is even stranger. It's a clear silicone gel when squeezed out the tube, but when placed into the skin and mixed with your natural PH it turns into a beautiful natural glowy pink. A little goes a long way with this and it only needs to be patted lightly onto the cheeks to give a youthful 'just been outside' pink glow. This might be a new favourite! Especially as spring is round the corner.

Next up I picked up 5 Montagne Jeunesse face masks. 

I've never tried these face masks but I've heard good things, so I decided to pick 5 different ones up to get a feel for the brand. I picked up two hydrating sheet masks. Apparently these are great for dehydrated skin and are incredibly mess free to use! The other three are either peel off masks or old school mud masks for cleansing as I tend to get blackheads on my chin and forehead. 

I've only tied the black seaweed peel off mask so far. The texture is odd and messy and incredibly black! It reminds me of venom from Spider-Man! It was easy to peel off and saw amazing results! For £1 a mask (I reckon I could get three uses out of that one) I think they're brilliant value for money when you need a quick skin fix. My pores where incredibly clear and it didn't dry out my skin. It was also REALLY fun to feel off. A bit like peeling PVA glue off your hands when in primary school.

I recently ran out of my soap and glory shower gel and scrub and was going to pick some more up when I decided to try something new. So instead I picked up some from Original Source. I picked up the coconut shower gel (I love coconut scented things!) and the tea tree shower daily scrub. This scrub is delicate for my sensitive skin but scrubby enough to get rid of any dead skin before shaving. Great buy! I really want to try the new shower oil range from them too! 

Lastly I got an old favourite from Charles Worthington  - Moisture Seal Shampoo, Conditioner and Deep Conditioner. 

The scent of this range is gorgeous and my hair already feels more nourished and smooth than it did before. My hair was looking and feeling a bit damaged so I need a quick rescue and I sure got one!

Overall I'm really happy with my new purchases; have you brought anything recently from Boots?


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