Mini Haul Part II

Here is the continuation of my first haul post to round up some more products I purchased recently!

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer (£17.50)

Ok so I actually owned a sample of Benefit's Boi-ing concealer for a while in their How to Look the Best at Everything collection. It is pretty much the only concealer I own and I normally dab some under my eyes and on the odd blemish before applying power. It is pretty solid as a concealer, lasts long and blends in to my skin tone (I'm shade 01). To be honest I loved my sample a lot more than I do the actual full-sized product; I think when I only had so little I put a lot less on and I've noticed it has a tendency to create creases under my eyes even despite my best efforts not to use too much!

Clinique Long Lasting Lipstick in All Heart (£17)

I was very lucky to receive this Clinique lipstick using an offer code when I last ordered with them. I must admit I don't normally wear lipstick (I have quite dry lips and always seem to rub it off!) so this colour was rather bright for me. However I was pleasantly surprised by how it looked on. It applies a little lighter than it looks and doesn't look horribly unnatural. It says long lasting and it does last longer than my other lipsticks, but unfortunately I still find it disappears before the end of the day - often when I drink wine… perhaps I need to practice my technique - until I've got that down I won't be shelling out!

Smashbox Wondervision Eye Set (£35)

This one is cheating: I bought this set a while back in America as a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing (pretty packaging!) and only just opened it so I'm including these products. The set includes the Cosmic Eyeshadow Palette, Full Exposure Mascara and Limitless Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx (not pictured oops!). Let me begin with my favourite: the eyeliner! I never quite grew out of that heavy layer of dark eye-liner phase from my teens. I think it's because I wear glasses pretty much all the time and so really my eyes often don't show up well without a heavy dose of eyeliner. This eyeliner is amazing, I didn't realise until actually looking on the website that I had to sharpen it and thought that you only got the tip to use and would still recommend it! (I'm so used to those ones which wind out). It applies really smoothly without irritation and most importantly stays put for a long time which is important because my L'Oreal alternative would give me panda eyes by the end of the day.

I have been using the Mascara to compliment the eyeliner and it is also becoming a favourite!! The brush is really thick and separates the lashes well to apply an even coat. I rarely every get any clumping and it makes my eyelashes look long. Once again it lasts long and is durable where other mascaras would irritate my eyes and cause me to rub them.

Finally I adore this eyeshadow palette and it was the main draw in buying the pack - I just thought it looked awesome. Sadly it is only available in this set and appears to be out of stock on the Smashbox website. I love doing a smokey-eye with a light colour in the corner and a darker colour blended over the lid. This set was perfect for that! I am always scared of matching blue shadow with blue eyes (and pink lips) but this is a really complimentary set and it blends nicely. I like to use these shadows for evenings out, but there is definitely room in the matte shades to create a neutral look for day-wear too.

If you can get your hands on this set I 100% recommend it. The products in it are worth somewhere in the £50+ range and the limited edition silver packaging is a nice touch! Otherwise I already have my eye on their Try it Kit which looks cost-effective for anyone wanting to try out their range.

Mini Haul Part I

So I haven't yet really posted about any products I use; this is my first official haul post! But since I enjoy shopping for beauty products so much you know it won't be my last. Being that it's my first post I think a little history is in store before we start: I am a massive fan of bargains, it's not to say that I don't splurge, but being student I have a moral obligation not to get ripped off. That doesn't mean I always buy the cheapest products, but I certainly take a long time considering splurges and testing out cheaper alternatives if I think a products is too risky. So bearing that in mind I hope you understand that I do my best not to be frivolous!!

Products above:

• Max factor Facefinity Compact £11
• Remember how I was saying I very rarely made frivolous purchases? Well this was one of them. I was in need of a powder compact since the last one I bought is about 4 years old and the current one which I use for setting my makeup and touch ups is the Hello Flawless powder which comes in Benefit's How to Look the Best at Everything Kit - not practical for handbag usage! In comparison to my old L'Oreal True Match powder this is amazing; it doesn't clump and applies evenly with both a brush and the little sponge provided. I haven't really noticed a difference between this one and my Benefit Hello Flawless powder which is a bonus considering that one will set you back a whopping £25! Not to mention the gold case is really attractive and slim - it's what made me splurge in the first place!

• Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation (£11)
• I admit I didn't intend to pick up the 'Serum Gel' version of this foundation and so can't say if it's any better than the ordinary foundation (£2 cheaper), but I can tell you one thing: I am in love!! This foundation has completely revolutionised my skin care routine, I have had so many compliments on how fresh-faced I am, and also on how good I look without make-up on! (I wish it were true!) It is a light weight formula which you can't feel when on and it lasts for hours.

• Bourjois 123 Perfect Colour Correcting cream (£10)
• So after the success of the Healthy Mix Serum Foundation I wanted to try some more Bourjois products - sadly this one left me disappointed. It doesn't really provide enough coverage to use on its own, but using it underneath foundation seems pretty pointless (however it does have an spy 15 which the serum foundation lacks). Also there are only 5 shades and the lightest shade for me is unfortunately just a little bit too dark.

(I'll save the Smashbox Eyeshadow Palette for another post with the Smashbox Mascara too - I didn't know I could talk so much about make-up!)

Hope you have a lovely Easter and I look forward to sharing more recommendations in my next post! :)