Mini Boots haul December 2nd

Today I indulged myself in a little bit of retail therapy, which I think is quite well deserved after a really hellish week last week. I had no intentions of buying anything. ... but Barry M had a special offer on, then there was a little sale basket when I got up to the till. Im only one woman, there's only so much I can resist.

My first little splurge was on a Barry M eyeshadow and nail polish, and because I spent over €9 I got a free special effects glitter polish worth €5.99 absolutely free!! The polish I bought is a lovely autumnal red, I love it. And the glitter goes on really thick and is really holographic on. The shadow is a lovely light bronze colour with a gorgeous shimmer.

So I went up to the till thinking I'd been really good only technically buying 2 things.... then the sale basket got me.... I got-

Seventeen Stay Time foundation €4
Seventeen Stay Pout (Date Night) €2
St Tropez Bronzing Mousse (500ml) €16.50

Whoops....... still though, I think I got some great bargains there!

SBBC Day 9- A pop of colour

I absolutely love a pop of colour,  especially during the summer months. It really brightens up my mood,  and makes me a little cheerier. I personally find it a bit easier to incorporate colour when the weather is lovely and bring as you can get away with such vibrant,  bold colours.

I do tend to keep colour minimal in my make up, as my hair is very bright and it can look a bit much. So my nails get a lot of colour.

When I do wear colour it's almost exclusively on the lip. Im a huge fan of a bold,  bright lip, particularly pinks and corals.

NYC Expert last lipstick in Pink Rose

On the rare occasion I'm not sporting a plain cat flick, or dramatic smokey eye, I do like to experiment with colour. I just find the colour and shape of my eyes more suited to a simpler look.

Coming into A/W I'll be obsessed with deeper,  richer colours like plums and dark reds, even browns. I love autumn,  rich colours,  layers and knitwear. Heaven. My current favourite is my Oriflame deep plum lipstick. I love the colour and finish,  there's a lovely sheen to it.

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic

Since dying my hair pink, I've been craving a really bright, vibrant pink lipstick to wear on a night out. I wanted something that I could put on once, and only have to top it up once or twice throughout the night. I plumped for Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic as it was by far the most concentrated shade in the range (there are 8 shades to choose from) and I have to say I am so, so pleased with it.

Apcalyptic

The colour is EXTREMELY pigmented so a little goes a very long way. The formula is smooth and quite thick so you get a very clean, even spread of colour without the lacquer ever going sticky! It's extremely easy to wear! There's a lovely gloss to the lacquer initially, which lasts quite a while, but even when the gloss fades you're still left with a vivid pop of colour for hours! There is nothing discreet about the colour, it's bold, bright and in your face so is best worn with quite neutral eye make up.

I'll most definitely be treating myself to one or two more of these, at 7.95 they are worth every penny!

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!!!

NYC Blue rose (405) lipstick

I've been going through another phase of wearing big, bold coloured lipstick. Im a demon for pinks, the brighter the better. This NYC one is one of my current favourites.

It's a real rich, deep, vibrant shade of pink with a subtle blue tint. It's quite stunning. I tend to find that because i have quite big lips any bright colours can look a bit over the top, but not this one. It's magic! And an absolute steal at just €2.49! The colour lasts hours and stays nice and moisturised. A lovely little find.

Barry M Lip paint, shade #146 Dolly pink

Another Barry M favourite! I adore pink lipstick, but most brands primarily do very tonal, natural looking pinks. No dice!! If i'm going o the bother of buying and wearing lipstick, everyone's gonna know I'm wearing lipstick!

After much deliberation, I opted for shade #146 'Dolly pink'. It looks a lot darker in he tube than it is on your lips, which was a tad disappointing. That said, it could never be described as a natural colour!

With flash:

Without flash:

As with shade #55, I found that after a few minutes  got clumping in he corner of my lips, but blotting sorted that out too!  The lipstick has a lovely gloss to it and felt nice and natural on my lips, nothing worse than sticky lippie! Next venture- Shocking Pink!!

Barry M Lip paint, shade #151

Barry M have been one of my favorite brands for lippie and eye shadows for as long I can remember. In my opinion they can't be beaten when it comes to their range of colours. Quality?....well, that's a different story!

I don't wear lipstick an awful lot, as I just find it too fussy. On a night out I'd rather be socialisng with friends that running in and out of the loo making sure my lipstick still looks good. With that said, I will openly admit that nothing can make you feel sexier that the right shade of lipstick!

Being a fan of more unusual colours, Barry M lipsticks have always appealed to me. The latest addition to my collection is shade #151. It's a beautiful orangey- coral colour that I fell in love with.

Being very, very pale I sometimes find it hard to get a lipstick shade that really suits me, but this one does. Barry M lipsticks have a tendency to be very chalky, particularly with the lighter shades, but this one was very moisturising and had a lovely shine to it.

I've worn this lippie numerous times already, and still haven't gotten tired of it! I did find that my first application tended to clump in the corners of my lips, but I fixed this by simply blotting, then applying a second coat. For just over €6 I'll be a Barry M lippie devotee for a long time to come.