Mini haul- NYC and Essence- 04/02/13

I had a few spare quid this week, so I decided to treat myself to a few new bits of make up! Considering i spent less than €10, I think I did pretty damn well!!

Today's mini haul!

For me, NYC is one of the best budget make up ranges on the market. Bar their foundation, which I can't use because they don't make one pale enough, I have always been pleased with their stuff! So I got NYC Big Bold Curl Mascara in Extra Black for €3.79, and Expert Last Lip Color in 441 Traffic Jam for €2.49. A steal!!

Big Bold Curl in Extra Black €3.79

Expert Last  in 441 Traffic Jam €2.49

I'm thrilled with lipstick! I thought id would be quite a balmy colour judging by the look of it in the tube, but it packs a punch! It feels really light and moisturising on and has a lovely, healthy shine to it. This beats the socks off some of the more expensive lipsticks I have, only downside is the range of colours is great! But hopefully that'll soon change! I know what you're thinking, pink hair, red lips..... lets just say I'm getting in the mood for Valentine's Day!

I haven't tried the mascara yet, I packed on my 17 Doll'd up this morning, so that will have ,to wait till tomorrow!

Now onto the Essence! I've always found them a bit hit and miss. Some stuff is absolutely fantastic, other stuff, particularly in the new Studio Line nail range, is just piss poor! But I have always loved their mascara's, felt liners, powders, eyeshadows and eyebrow pencils!

I got t he new Stays No Matter What Waterproof eye pencil in Stunning Brown. I didn't buy it to use on my eyes, but my eyebrows. There is NOTHING in this world worse than an eyebrow pencil that smudges as soon as you look at, walking around for hours with your eyebrows down your nose and being none the wiser. THE HUMANITY!!!! I have high hopes for this, as I swear by the run of the mill Essence eyebrow pencil. I popped it on when I got home, left it a while, then gave it a little rub, and to be fair, it didn't smudge!! For €1.89, I'm very impressed! They could have been slightly more inventive with the name though!

Essence Stay No Matter What €1.89

I also got Essence Colour & Go Polish in 144 Black is Back. I have had a life long battle with black nail polish. It's verging on impossible to find a budget black polish that doesn't come out like mucky water and need 5-6 coats before it's not see through. This surprised me! It's easy to apply, but goes on a really dense, dark colour, 2 coats and your done! And it dries quick! If it doesn't chip like a bitch like most black polishes I'll be a very smug shopper!

Colour & Go 144 Black is back €1.79

So there ya have it! €9.96 spent in total, and overall i'm very happy. The Essence stuff surpassed my expectations, as did the vibrancy of the lipstick. If the mascara is any good I'll be 4 for 4!!!