Beauty Buys

It's been quite a while since I've had a beauty splurge, but with some neccessities running low in my stash, I just had to make a trip to Selfridges to stock up!
Nars Sheer Glow (shade Santa Fe): 
I'm sure I've mentioned this foundation before - but Nars Sheer Glow foundation has never failed me. I use this foundation on a daily basis. When used with a beauty blending sponge (I love the Real Techniques Miracle Sponge), you can sheer this foundation out in one thin layer for a natural day time coverage. But you can also use a slightly heavier application, by layering the foundation for a more full coverage, yet natural, appearance. Although my skin tends to get slightly greasier on the t-zone area, I have had no issues with this product in terms of excessive oiliness - I tend to carry my Mac MSF with me everywhere anyway.
I've said this before, but my skin is extremely sensitive, and prone to cyctic acne breakouts. Though I haven't had any problems with this product reacting on my skin *touches wood*
Benefit Roller Lash Mascara: 

 "It’s a roller for lashes! The eye-opening Hook ‘n’ Roll™ brush grabs, separates, lifts and curls…while the instant curve-setting formula holds for 12 hours." - Benefit Cosmetics

That's enough to get anyone trialing a new mascara right? I'm giving this one a go as my hunt for THE perfect mascara still continues - here's hoping it's everything it promises to be! (Review  upon request).

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara:

This product is meant to be a dupe of the Benefit Roller Lash - obviously I had to pick up both and make the comparison myself... Right?

Mac Blush (shade Harmony):

This product is a repurchase - that's commitment right there! I first got my hands on this gem in Canada, but I somehow managed to misplace it upon my travels (grrrr). This blusher is one of the best 'contour' shades on my skin tone. I tend to place it over the top of my bronzer, but only in the hollows of my cheeks and alongside my nose to create that shaddowy illusion. 

*Tip* If you already have Benefit's Hula bronzer then there's not much point in investing in Harmony as the two are very similar in shade and results!

Bobbi Brown Metalic Lipstick (shade Berry): 

I picked this lip colour up on a slight whim and a random outburst of convincing myself that for some reason, I needed it. My logic? 'You can layer this with your matte muted pink-brown shades to add sheen'. I'm a sworn matte lip fanatic, and I only own a handful of lipsticks in my collection - most of which I barely reach for. But with the English weather not seeming to make its mind up, it's left my lips in a bad condition. Therefore, my matte lipsticks do not set as well as they should and I've had to layer them with something more moisturizing. This product reminds me of the Clinique Chubby Sticks in the sense that it has slight colour with more of a lip balm effect. Once worn alone, this product gives off a subdued rosy-pink or berry shade with a metallic sheen but once layered on top of a matte nude it brings dimension and fullness to the lips. 

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade (shade Chocolate):

I'm sure if you read or follow a few beauty blogs or Instagram pages, you've been exposed to the rave around this product. I first set my hands on the Anastasia Dipbrow's late last year, but the colour I purchased was too dark and gave my eyebrows a very unattural appearance. A further problem I had with the product was it's lasting power in the pot - the product became rock solid and extremely dry to use after a month or so! I repurchased this product in hopes of achieving a slightly natural colour pay off and also hoping the product will last longer. 

What have been some of your recent finds? 

Saina 

xo

Olympia Beauty: NYX Cosmetics Haul

As promised, this post is about the little gems from NYX Cosmetics, which I managed to bag at the Olympia Beauty Show. Prior to this haul, I had dabbled into NYX products and there were two items that I had hopes of finding at the exhibition - the 'Xtreme Shine Lip Cream' lip glosses and their finely milled, pigmented blushers. Although the stand featured all their range, the stock seemed low at my time of visit and many colours had sold out. However, I did manage to snatch a few shades of both products and I have swatched all the items below. In addition to these items, I bought my first NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in ''Sugar Pie" which is a champagne based nude with slight shimmer running through it - I have heard quite a lot of about this lip gloss and it's non-stick formula, so I'm keen to layer it over nude lipsticks. Finally, I grabbed two Round lipsticks in the shades "Strawberry Milk" (pale pink) and "Circe" (peach toned true nude) - these lipsticks are super creamy and very pigmented (think Mac's Amplified lipsticks).

I checked and compared the prices online and found that the products were being sold at a slight discounted price at the show. All the products are quite cheap (£5 and under), being retailed at your typical 'high street' brand prices, but the products are definitely not of cheap quality as they have great colour pay off and long wearability. All these products are available on the NYX website, though I must admit, the online swatches are not really true to colour, making it extremely difficult to find the right shades.

Do you have any NYX favourites?

Saina
xo

New York Beauty Haul

Now by no means is 15 lip products justifiable, but I’m going to try my hardest here! As most of you, I’m assuming will already know, most of the USA’s drugstore products are not available to us in different parts of the world. Or often, we have to wait for months until something as simple as a lip balm can be released to the UK’s beauty market. Therefore my mission for this trip was to hit the drugstore’s in full force and grab as many things that I’ve been lusting over.

Evidently, the incredibly cheap brand Wet & Wild won me over! With lipsticks and blushers priced around $3 I took no chances and grabbed almost every shade that suits my complexion and I can confirm they were my star purchases of the trip. The Wet & Wild matte lipsticks are products that I’ve not heard anything about, but the risk I made was totally worth it as these are now my favourite matte lips. The texture of these products are moisturizing when first applied and then dry to a semi matte, velvety finish with incredibly long staying power.

A US trip would not be successful without an EOS lipbalm, I picked up this one in ‘Strawberry Sorbet’ and it’s just your average lip balm with quirky packaging- not much to add to that. I also picked up a Maybeline Color Whisper in the shade ‘Lust for Blush’ a natural, pinkey nude with an added sheen – very moisturizing and due to the added buttery texture the lasting power is not great. Re-application is required after 15 minutes!

A product that has always gained my interest is the Ben Nye Banana Powder, so I picked up a bottle and I’ve loved using these over my t-zone and under eye area over concealer. It’s an extremely, finely milled powder with a non chalky finish allowing your own skin to shine through but keeps greasiness at bay.

Of course I had to hop on to the bandwagon and pick up a bottle of Makeup Forever HD Foundation – although due to the hot weather I’ve been sticking to Tinted Moisturizer and haven’t been able to test this product out yet. Another cult product is Sephora’s Mineral Powder brush, so I quickly picked it up and I’ve loved the finish this gives to my skin and it’s quickly replaced my Real Techniques Buffing Brush! From Sephora, I also picked a Color-Adapt Bronzer, Highlight in ‘Star Dust’, an eye crayon in ‘Matte Dark Brown’ and a waterproof eyeliner in  ‘Cocoa’ and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by these.

I discovered a New York based brand called Nikka K and picked up a couple of their eye crayons and lip products, the crayons have a living power of a few hours, so I’ll suggest an eye shadow primer before application.

A few NYX blushers and lip products were quickly placed into my shopping basket too as I’ve been wanting to test these out for months. Once again, the reviews and raves have not failed me and these products have earned a spot in my favourites.

Finally, I picked up a couple of mascara’s – Revlon’s Grow Luscious, and L’oreal’s Telecsopic Shocking Extensions. And a lipstick from Milani in the shade ‘Nude Crème’ which is basically a dupe for Mac’s Hue both in texture and colour. 

Let me know if you would like an in-depth review of any of the products! 

xo