Avoiding Impulse Beauty Buys

It is so, so easy to give in to the hype. From the internet's insane (but, comparatively, financially forgiving) Morphe obsession, to the truly bankrupting high-end impulse purchases - I've been there with you, friends. Believe me. I've made enough purchases I'm not proud of over the years.

So just how do you separate the beauty wheat from the proverbial chaff? And how do you avoid spending your entire monthly wage in the process?

Plan your purchases. I have a massive, constantly evolving list in my notes on my phone. This is super handy - it's always with me, I can jot down the name of something I like the sound of when I first hear about it, and it's so easy to edit. Having a list of potential purchases is really helpful - you can take the time to research on blogs, in-store swatching, or speaking to fellow beauty lovers to see if that product really does what it says on the tin. 

Save specifically. Be realistic about your beauty budget. Small-time bloggers, I hear you - it's hard to keep up with the mega-bloggers in any capacity without a healthy PR stash. If you, like me, are not on every PR list going - you're just going to have to get real. Budget for it. Be specific (see making a list above) and know exactly what you're spending. That goes for makeup addicts in general - some of these mega-hyped makeup items are properly expensive. La Mer, I'm lookin' at you kid. Money is at its most dangerous when you don't know what you're spending. 

Take your time. Ok, so that's not always possible with super-limited-edition items, but let's be honest - brand spanking new does not a holy grail product make. Don't feel like you have to have every new release the second it comes out. Instagram accounts like Trendmood and mega-bloggers like British Beauty Blogger are really good sources for looking ahead in to what will be coming out in the coming weeks and months, and this can help you plan, list, edit, and consider - rather than rushing out to buy that purple and green duochrome eyeshadow you'll never wear, or the super-spendy palette you'll be too scared to use.

Step away from the smartphone. Ok, the hype is real. It's so easy to get sucked in. But if you're a big internet shopper, you probably don't feel like you need all this stuff quite so much if you think about it objectively. Step away from the screen, take five, go for a walk... do you need to buy it? Now? If the answer is no, stick it on your list. If you don't think about it at all for a week, take it off the list altogether. Discipline is key!

What are your spending tips?

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L'Oreal False Lash Superstar X Fiber Mascara Review

L'Oreal are really changing my opinion on high-street makeup. Their True Match foundation has been a massive hit for me over the past few months, and I'm really enjoying their lovely Glow Scrub as a cleanser too. I'm not even a slight mascara snob, however (my favourite mascara ever is Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara) so this was definitely going to be the next product on my test-list.

 L'Oreal's False Lash Superstar X Fiber mascara was top of the hit list. I really like the full, lashy look that fibre-based mascaras give, but I hate wearing them when I'm wearing contact lenses - scratchy. L'Oreal X Fiber has a primer step to volumise and provide a base for the fibres to grip, and then the second, fibre-loaded step to coat on top.

In all honesty, the tube is a bit massive - if you've got a mega makeup bag you'll be fine, but I don't think this is a teeny travel friendly mascara. Both step 1 and 2 have quite a dry formula (an advantage, I find, with fibre based mascaras) and are pretty easy to apply.

Step two has quite a large brush - I really can't use this for bottom lashes at all, but then I have about five million bottom lashes and three top ones so it's not a deal breaker for me. You may not like this much if you usually load up your bottom lashes with mascara.

Honestly? The jury's out. As a top lash mascara, I'm really enjoying this - as long as I'm not wearing contacts. I'm not sure I can be bothered with the faff of two separate mascaras on the daily, but for a lovely, fluttery lash effect without false lashes, I'll keep this in my kit bag.

Have you tried this mascara?

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Luna Sleeping Night Oil Review

I'm a huge Sunday Riley fan. Artemis is one of my all-time favourite facial oils (though I hear it's being phased out and replaced with SR's newest offering, UFO) and the Ceramic Slip cleanser is a long-term favourite product. I've been religiously testing Sunday Riley's Luna Sleeping Night Oil for a good 4 months now, and I can safely say it's going to be a night-time skincare routine fixture for me.

Luna Sleeping Night Oil is a worryingly blue, thin, nighttime retinol(vitamin A) based skin treatment. It's lightweight, and the blue colour does dissipate as soon as the oil is massaged in to the skin. No blue pillows here.

The two big guns in this little bottle are the vitamin A component, and blue tansy. Luna contains a retinol ester rather than the more irritating retinoic acid. Blue tansy acts as an anti-inflammatory - welcome in a potentially irritating product.

Why would you chuck a load of vitamin A on your face, I hear you cry? Have a read at the immortal Caroline Hirons' cheat sheet. She'll fill you in. Listen to her. She's a genius. Vitamin A and many of its analogues are basically the ultimate anti-ageing ingredient.

I use this product 2-3 times a week, and have noticed a geniune, palpable difference in my skin - less spots, quicker fading of discolouration and spot scars, and a generally bright, well-looking complexion. You really do only need two or three drops of this oil per night, so the bottle will last for ages - I have over two-thirds left after 4 months' solid use. As with any retinol product - make sure you're using a good SPF during the day after using this the night before.

It's pricey. I hate the dropper. And the blue is a bit unnecessary. But I'll be finishing this bottle and loving doing so.

Have you tried any Sunday Riley skincare?

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Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blush in Passion

Spring is definitely on the way. Hello sheeny cheeks, no makeup-makeup and fresh, glowing skin.

If you're in to dewy, healthy, summer-ready skin - you need dis.

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Fluid Blush in the shade Passion is a fantastic little product. A bit of a makeup-maven secret, this little beauty is the key to fresh, glowing cheeks without grease.

The formula is oil-free, lightweight, super-watery (I really struggled to swatch this as it tried to run off my hand!) and blends like a dream. I drop literally one drop of this on to my hand and then blend with a synthetic brush on the cheeks. It plays well with foundation and cream cheek products (I love using this with Phosphene), and can easily be powdered over with no blotchiness if you so desire.

Once this is on, it's on - Watercolour Blush is a real go-to for me for long days or wedding makeup. It can be built up easily, but is virtually undetectable on the skin - it just imparts a really healthy looking glow. Even on oily skin, I get a solid 10 hours' wear with no fading. Seriously impressive.

Between this and my Rituel de Fille loves, I'm becoming a cream/liquid blush convert these days.

You can see the Watercolour Blush heavily swatched (one drop) and blended to the right - glowy, healthy, and subtle. I love this product.

Have you tried this blush before?

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The Red Lip Edit

There are few things in the world I love more than a good red lip.

Well, Party Rings, puppies, then red lips, if we're going to put them in genuine order.

It's easy to keep red lips for only certain occasions - but recently, I've been all over red for everything from running to the shops to going out-out. Intimidating at first - but try it with a super-lashy mascara, a fresh, simple base, and you're good to go. Here are my top red lip picks:

1. Tom Ford Lips and Boys in Dylan. I've already waxed lyrical about this glorious, wildly expensive little tube. A real suit-almost-everyone, neutral toned red shade, with a super-smooth, comfortable matte formula. If you can bear to part with the dolla, this is a perfect medium red. You can pat this in to the lips as a stain if a full matte red lip is a bit much - it works equally well used this way.

2. MAC Retro Matte: Ruby Woo. An oldie, and a goodie. There's a reason this is a cult product. Sure, the Retro Matte formula is on the drier side (nothing compared to your average liquid lipstick on my lips, it has to be said) - but it will not budge once it's on. A vivid, medium-to-cool red - this is a punchier version of TF Dylan.

3. MAC Matte: D for Danger. This is a cool, berry-red - if you're a berry lip fan and not sure about a crimson pout, this is a nice way in. Super-smooth, creamy, easy to apply and wear - and as a bonus, it makes your teeth look shiny-white. It's a darker shade, for sure, but it's surprisingly easy to wear. Again, this looks really chic and modern patted in as a lip stain.

4. Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips in Lost - a beautiful, warm, brown/brick red. This is in my favourite liquid lipstick formula - the Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips. If you have a darker complexion or are olive-toned, this is a seriously flattering shade. The formula is ridiculously comfortable and long wearing.

5. and finally, Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips in Prim. Listed as a "dark blackened red", this shade is vampy, burgundy-red - on a dark complexion, this will look amazing. I love this shade as a statement - again, the formula is so light and comfortable, you'll forget you're wearing such an incredible red!

L-R Colourpop Prim, Lost, D for Danger, Ruby Woo, Dylan

And swatches - there's a red for just about everyone there. I absolutely love every one of these shades - what's your favourite red?

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Omorovicza Complexion Perfector BB Cream Review

If you're a busy bee (aren't we all) chances are you'd kill for an all-in-one, does it all, throw-on-and-go complexion product.

Behold: Omorovicza Complexion Perfector BB Cream SPF20.

This BB cream basically does everything except put the bins out and feed the dog. Moisturiser, SPF, medium coverage foundation, enriched with anti-ageing ingredients - it's a pretty amazing do-it-all product.

The coverage of this foundation is definitely bang-on medium - more than a tinted moisturiser like Bareminerals Complexion Rescue, less than a full coverage foundation. It's also silicone-free, a big advantage if you dislike that slightly slippy, coated feel some BB cream formulations have. I find this product to be surprisingly long-lasting on my oily complexion, and it doesn't do that weird breaking-up thing under oil pressure as the day goes on.

The Complexion Perfector has a pump (hooray!) and half a pump is honestly more than enough for the face, which is a relief given the dolla outlay required to buy this bad boy. It takes about 20-30 seconds to settle in - don't panic when it initially looks like it's going to sit on top of the skin, it will melt in beautifully.

 It's chock-full of skincare ingredients (I should think so, with the eye-watering price tag) so you really can just cleanse and go. Omorovicza say this layers well with other products, and I have to agree. I get about 6-7 hours' wear from this BB cream with a light layer of powder.

You can see the moussey texture in the swatch above, and how it does seem to sit on the skin for a few seconds in the blended swatch. I have the shade Medium - I'd say this would work well for a warm-olive skintone, NC25-35.

My only gripe? The shade range. Two shades?! Really?!

If you are fortunate enough to match either the medium or light shade, this is a really beautiful product. I can see me getting a lot of use out of this over the summer months. Paired with the Shiseido 7 Lights Illuminator, this makes such a beautiful, radiant base.

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L'Oreal Pure Clay Glow Scrub Review

As a natural oil slick, I love a good clay-based cleanser. From super-spendy Sunday Riley to the bargainous Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser, I've got a bit of a hoard collection. The latest addition is a total bargain from L'Oreal - the Pure Clay Glow Scrub. £3.99 you say? Is it any good?

Well, yes. Surprisingly so.

Basically, it's a melange of clays in a gel-cream hybrid texture. Massaged in to damp skin and rinsed off (I use a hot flannel, exactly as if I'm using a cleansing balm), it leaves my skin feeling clear and clean without that stripped, tight feeling I find so often with clay based cleansers. There are some larger granules in this (the only thing I don't like, if I'm honest) so just don't go ballistic rasping your face with it. You can also leave it on for ten minutes or so and then rinse off, for a mini-mask treat - I find it leaves my skin clear and comfortable.

You only need a tiny amount per use of the Pure Clay Glow Scrub - the bottle is a generous size and will last for ages.

Ok, so it's not as super luxe as its' significantly pricier counterparts - but it absolutely does what it says on the tin. I'm using this twice or three times a week and I'm really enjoying it.

Have you tried L'Oreal skincare? What did you think?

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Shiseido 7 Lights Powder Illuminator Review and Swatches

Shiseido isn't really a brand you see a whole ton of on the British blogosphere - and I'm not entirely sure why. Definitely in the luxury category (the financial outlay is up there with Chantecaille and By Terry, broadly speaking), I don't think I've ever heard a negative comment about a Shiseido product. When I saw the beautiful Shiseido 7 Lights Powder Illuminator, my magpie eyes lit up.

Well, I mean, look at it.

We all know I'm a sucker for a beautiful highlight. The powder colours in this palette have been carefully chosen - it's possible to use this as a highlight, highlighting blush, warm bronzer, or simply as a swish-all-over-yo'-face, "bonne mine"complexion powder. Shiseido state that this powder is designed to subtly colour-correct, and add a "sweep of radiance and luminosity to every complexion".

I'd liken the effect of this to powders like the gorgeous Guerlain Meteorites Pearls - subtle, radiant, flattering, and not at all overdone. It is on the subtle side as a highlight - more you-look-well-today than oh-my-life-I-need-sunglasses, but that is pretty everyday appropes for me. The blush can be a lovely, peachy-pink colour, and all of the powders swished together is a beautiful, radiant finishing powder, without clashing with my olive undertones.

As a finishing powder, it's very natural - you're not going to be super-matte using this powder, so if oil control is paramount, this won't do the job. I get a good 6-7 hours before any noticeable colour fade using 7 Lights Illuminator as a blush/highlight/bronzer, and 7-8 hours over a good primer using it as eyeshadow.

The texture is gorgeous - super smooth, finely milled, face-touchingly good; and is very subtly radiant - the shimmer is barely detectable (in a good way) even in direct sunlight. Even if you're a bit scared of highlighting, it's worth considering; this is so beautiful and easy to use.

Overall - love it. It's not going to stop me using my amazing Beauty Pie Highlight on my cheekbones, but for allover, subtle radiance - and the easiest travel powder option ever - I'm in.

Have you tried any Shiseido products?

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Sleek Blush By 3 in Flame - wearable bold blush

Don't freak out.

You would be forgiven for thinking that I, lover of all pink-nude lips and nuanced matte eyes, have fallen entirely out of my tree buying an essentially crimson blush. Not just one. Three. 

Forgiven, yes, but incorrect. I maintain all of my faculties. This palette is an absolute steal. 

Sleek MakeUP is a brand that I think is really underrated - I love their little Face Form Palette for easy travelling, and their eyeshadow formula is really lovely for the price. Their Blush by 3 palette in Flame follows in their excellent powder product footsteps. The palette contains three shades - Molten, a slightly more muted orange-tan red; Bonfire, a full on red, matte NARS Exhibit A dupe; and Furnace, a shimmering, sizzling, orange-red.

L-R Furnace, Bonfire, Molten

Again, I can understand the worry that this punchy palette is going to make you look like, well, a circus performer. Granted, if you went bonkers with a dense brush in this bad boy - you'd definitely be on that horse before you can say roll up, roll up. But with a light hand, all three of these blushes give a beautiful, flushed, look-how-healthy-I-am warmth to the cheeks. If you have olive undertones like me - honestly, give this palette a swatch in store. Darker skintones will look amazing in any of the three shades in this palette.

The powders themselves are very easy to blend (thank goodness) and are nicely pigmented - bright enough to be present, but not terrifying enough to prevent using them on my winter NC20 skin.

Below you can see each shade swatched and blended - see? Not so scary after all! Beautiful, blendable, and flattering. And for a tenner? Well, it's worth stepping outside your comfort zone!

L-R: Molten, Bonfire, Furnace

Have you tried any Sleek MakeUp Blushes? What did you think?

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Colourpop Pearlized Highlighters - Review and Swatches

I probably don't need to tell you how much I love Colourpop. From their excellent Ultra Satin Lips (almost the only liquid lipstick I can tolerate) to their fab Super Shock Shadows - I'm hooked. Overall, especially given the price point, it's hard to go wrong. This indie brand have really taken the beauty world by storm in the past year or so.

Next on my list were the Pearlized Highlighters. I have three of these - My skintone changes so much throughout the year, I can totally justify that, right?!

The texture is very similar to the Super Shock Shadows - bouncy, smooth, cream-to-powder-ish and does set on the skin - no sliding around after half an hour, even on my oily skin. I can get a solid 8-9 hours' wear from these, and believe me, the highlight is intense. I find the Pearlized Highlighter formula is best used with a finger and patted along the cheekbones, but for a less full-on highlight a sweep of a dense synthetic brush would work well.

Monster is a super bright, light, duochrome pink-lilac highlight. Basically, distilled unicorn cheeks. It's slightly more muted than the other two I own, so it's more buildable - I find this is an advantage with a colour leaning on the unusual side. This is like Becca's new highlight in bouncy cream form.

Wisp is, well, glorious. Listed as a "golden champagne with gold pearls", and I'd pretty much agree with that. Beautiful, golden, creamy, blendable and beautiful. Light-medium skintones will really love this shade.

Butterfly Beach is a warm, right, coppery-gold - if you're olive toned, have a medium-deep skintone, or love a good tan, this will be right up your street. It's seriously reflective - be prepared to blind people with this one.

Top to bottom - Butterfly Beach, Monster, Wisp

Above - one-swipe swatches. You can see how pigmented these are! With Colourpop now shipping to the UK, these are much easier to get hold of. I definitely recommend picking up their highlighters!

Have you tried any Colourpop products?

All products mentioned bought with my own money. Some links are affiliate links.

Beauty Pie Makeup Haul Vol.2 - Review and Swatches

After my generally favourable first Beauty Pie haul, a new month = a new spending allowance = a shameless beauty haul. Sorry not sorry.

Anyway, let's not beat about the bush. This month, I bought the Pro-Glow Highlighter, another Futurelipstick Matte (I love Hush Now that much), the One Powder Wonder, Superbrow Colour Mousse and Moisture-Lock Wondergel Lip Liner.

First up - the Pro-Glow Highlighter. This is, indeed, a thing of beauty. With a very similar ingredient listing to Laura Geller's Baked Gelato highlighter formula, I knew it was highly likely that I'd be on board with this. Supposedly 12-hour wear (I get a solid 8 hours with no fading), with a gorgeous, silvery-rose tone and finely milled feel - this Pro-Glow Highlighter gets a definite thumbs up from me. Not for the faint-hearted, mind, but easy to apply lightly with a good fan brush. 

The Superbrow Colour Mousse is, well, a brow mousse. Much softer in texture and slightly less pigmented than Anastasia Beverly Hills' Brow Pomade, but this does make it quite forgiving to apply. I got the shade Baked Brown - this is, admittedly, a little warm for me, but used alongside my fave SUQQU brow pen, it gives nice dimension to the brows without being overpowering. It's got a smooth, natural finish (no weird shiny/glittery brows here) and lasts well for 8 hours.

Superbrow Colour Mousse and Pro-Glow Highlighter

The One Powder Wonder is a product I've seen gathering its own little cult following. Admittedly, I've not killer-road-tested this yet (just wait for peak oil production in warm weather, eugh) but so far, so good. Beauty Pie say this is flaw-blurring, with a luminous finish. It is quite firmly pressed in the pan - I was a little worried by the initial lack of purchase a standard brush had on the powder - but a couple of swirls in, and you're golden. This is a lovely, light, smoothing powder - probably not enough if you're an oil slick like me in the summer, but for cooler days/drier skins, this really is a lovely powder option. It'll take down mild-moderate shine, and is pretty forgiving on any dry patches. It's also virtually impossible to generate cakiness, which is a bonus. It's sheeny, not flat-matte - If you like the finish of a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, you'll definitely like this One Powder Wonder. I'm not sure it's going to replace my ultimate powder love from Charlotte Tilbury, but I'll definitely pop this in my handbag for further testing out.

And finally - lips. The Futurelipstick Matte in Semisweet is another product I'm really glad I picked up - vanilla scented, modern-matte and a really beautiful pink shade - with a comparable formula to Charlotte Tilbury's gorgeous Matte Revolution lipsticks, I was always going to pick another one of these up.

The Moisture-Lock Wondergel Lip Liner in Rummy Pink is absolutely lovely. Lip liner is something that's pretty hard to get excited about, but between this and Charlotte Tilbury's formula, I'm set for life. The formula is pigmented, smooth, and comfortable to wear, and is a perfect everyday nude-pink.

All in all - a really successful second haul. The stars of the show for me are the lip liner and the beautiful highlighter. I'm really looking forward to getting lots of use out of these!

Have you tried Beauty Pie?

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Hourglass Girl Lip Stylo in Futurist

Hourglass have pretty much nailed their glowy, luxurious, ever expanding corner of the luxury makeup world. I'm yet to meet an Hourglass makeup product I don't love. Exquisite, luminous blushes, a pricey (but excellent) primer, and instantly instagrammable complete face palettes; I'm a bit obsessed  of a connoisseur.

And can I be honest with you for a minute? I'm a little bit over the whole matte lip thing. Dry lips that look like an anatomical diagram of the feline backside after a couple of hours are just not my jam. I know, I know, there are better formulas out there (Kat Von D, I'm looking at you) but in general - I'm done. I was a teen in the Lancome Juicy Tube era - this Spring, I'm all about satin, comfortable, minimal effort lips.

Hello, Hourglass GIRL Lip Stylo. We are definitely BFFs.

Hourglass GIRL Lip Stylo in Futurist. Take a deep breath, nude lip fans. You've just found the easiest, goes-with-everything, your-lips-but-better shade. The texture is butter-soft (the formula is loaded with shea butter and jojoba, and you can tell) and glides on smoothly. It is super forgiving on dry, matte liquid lip victim lips; and it feels creamy, light, and extremely comfortable. The Lip Stylo formula layers well (no weird dry crumbly bits here), and is nicely pigmented. I'd say I get a solid 3-4 hours' wear from this formula - pretty good for something so balmy and creamy.

Above - a rare lip swatch. There's not many of these kicking about on this blog - mainly due to my lack of application precision (ain't nobody got time for 300 years with a lipliner). Thankfully, the Lip Stylos require little to no skill to apply - though I do wonder how well it'll apply after extensive use - the point will definitely blunt quite quickly. 

Oh, and there's a great shade range - every glorious pink/peach/brown nude shade you could ever want, and some brights thrown in there for good measure. Definitely get yourself down to Space.NK for a swatch-fest.

Have you tried these yet?

All products mentioned bought with my own money. Some links above are affiliate links.

3INA Cosmetics The Lip Oil Balm in Strawberry

3INA (pronounced Mina, I am reliably informed) is a relatively new, Spanish beauty brand. I stumbled across 3INA on Asos - their beauty selection seems to be growing and improving by the minute, and this was a speedy add-to-bag. I'm always on the lookout for a decent lip balm, and this tinted, oil balm option sounded right up my street.

The packaging is a pretty standard lip gloss/balm tube - but with a squidgy applicator - which is all honesty, I'm not the biggest fan of. My inner germophobe is unnerved. the scent is pretty sticky-sweet, fake strawberry - I quite like it, but it won't be to everyone's taste. it does dissipate quite quickly however.

See? Slightly weird, squishy spongy applicator. I can't help but feel this is going to get a bit gross over time.

The texture is actually really nice - think more of a thin balm than a sticky oil. I think it's middle of the road on the moisturising stakes - not Baume de Rose or Agave Lip Mask levels of hydration, but perfectly useable and the squeezy tube makes re-application easy. It absorbs relatively quickly in to the lips and does make them much more comfortable quickly, without being at all sticky or gloopy. I think these could be a really nice beach-bag staple for summer.

The swatch above shows how this absorbs in to the skin - you can see it starting to melt away while I take the photo! I really like these little tubes - I'll be picking up another shade or two before summer!

Have you tried any 3INA cosmetics products?

All products mentioned bought with my own money. Some links are affiliate links.