Biotherm, Benefit, Cath Kidston, Muji and more...

Yes, a new weekend haul :)

☆ Cath Kidston tea cup, food tray, mini cards/envelopes and a button handbag mirror.

☆ Muji makeup bag and an additional set of makeup drawers + brush holder.

☆ New Look cardigan.

☆ Primark boyfriend jeans in grey and blue.

☆ Biotherm mini makeup bag with trial sized cleanser, toner and moisturiser.

☆ Benefit Speed Brow.

Hope you enjoyed my little haul. If you want to know prices, just ask :)

♥

What's in my makeup bag!

This is an updated "what's in my makeup bag" post, which is one my favourite kind of posts to do and read on other blogs. I last did one in March (see here), and looking back, most of my day to day items have changed.

This is what I keep in my makeup bag at the moment:

Right, a breakdown of the products...


The makeup bag was a gift from my aunt, and I just think it's really pretty :)

The face products:

MAC mineralize blush in Warm Soul, Boiing concealer in 01, Benefit Stay Don't Stray, Stila blush in Bud, NARS cream blush in Penny Lane, MAC blush in The Perfect Cheek

The eye products:

Buxom eyeshadow in Pug, MAC Opulash mascara, Stila smudge pot in Black Cat, NARS soft touch shadow pencil in Goddess, YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils mascara

Lip products:

Buxom plumping lip balm in Copacabana, Korres lip butter in Jasmine, YSL Gloss Volupte in 6, YSL Rouge Pur Transparent in 22, Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in 76

What is in your makeup bag?

♥

Retail therapy...

... always makes me feel better when I'm having a rough day/week...

This week's shopping items:

Glamour UK edition (£2) x 3 with £45 worth of Benefit goodies included

Sunglasses from Primark (£1) and blue studded bracelet (£3) from Henry Holland's collection

 - now half price at Debenhams!

The 30 day shred DVD, which all the bloggers are raving about (£6 at Morrisons)

- it's time to get fit :D

A new photo album to put our recent London pictures in (£5 from TK Maxx)

New leopard print scarf from H & M ♥

Jeans (or jeans-like material at least) from Primark with elasticated waist

and the same at the ankles (£11) - cute for summer I thought :)

This definitely made me feel better! Thank you for reading ;)

♥

Don't forget to buy next month's Glamour magazine!

I am sure you have all heard about the wonderful Benefit freebies that will be in the June edition of UK's Glamour magazine, but just in case you haven't, have a look at what you can get!

Glamour are giving out 3 different items, and the magazine is £2, so if you decide to buy all 3 you only pay £6!

Here is what we can get:

Eye Bright

From Benefit's website:

Stroke this pink brightening pencil on the inner and outer corners of the eye to look instantly wide-awake. It's like a coffee break in a stick!

Worth £14

Bad Gal Eye Pencil

From Benefit's website:

This big, BAD, black eye pencil is a beauty addict's dream and a makeup artist's must-have. Dark, smoky, mysterious...being BAD never looked so good!

Worth £14

It Stick Concealer

This is no longer available on the Benefit site, but as far as I can tell (by browsing the internet):

Cease the crease and reclaim your youth. Use it stick to help erase the lines and creases from your nose to your mouth that make you look older and more tired. A few strokes of this ecru colored line diffusing pencil, in just the right places, will help make you look young and cheery in seconds.

Was worth £17

Last year I remember getting the Benefit Bad Gal mascara in one of Glamour's issues, so I am totally excited that this year they are promoting 3 (!!!) items!

I will definitely get all of the above, whether they are full size or not.

I can't wait for June 10! :D

♥ 

Beauty Product Tag: Youtube Made Me Do It

Some of  my favourite products (even holy grail products), have been discovered through watching makeup gurus on youtube.

When you see rave after rave about a product, you just can't help but get a bit curious...

So, being a makeup addict, I run out and buy. Sometimes I get seriously disappointed (see my Don't Believe The Hype post), other times it can be a product that I have loved from day one.

I don't think my makeup collection would be as big, or as beautiful, if it had not been for the gurus on youtube... So I thank you :)

♥


MAC Lipstick in Angel

I first heard about this from the famous Elle or AllThatGlitters21.

It was her favourite lipstick (this is going back a few years now), and I was so intrigued by her 'kind words' that I got it too. And I am very happy I did. Angel is a beautiful wearable pink. A staple in my collection.

Too Faced Beauty Balm

Again, this was bought based on a video made by Elle and lollipop26.

They both loved this, and now I do too! 

It is the kind of product that I would never have discovered if it was not for youtube.

MAC Mineralize Blush

This is Dainty and Love Rock - two absolutely stunning blushes.

Elle did a tutorial (a vampire one if I remember correctly) using Dainty, and I was sold. Through Dainty I discovered the other mineralized blushes, and now I am the happy owner of 7 of them :)

MAC Paint Pots

I never knew that these could be used as eyeshadow bases! I just had one sitting in my makeup drawer rarely being used. Then came along a youtube guru (can't remember which one) and brought new life to my dear Bare Study ♥

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Another product that I probably wouldn't have known about of it wasn't for youtube.

Makes the eyeshadow last all day - perfection.

Ecotools brushes

I first heard about these brushes from michele1218.

She mentioned how soft they were, much softer than MAC brushes, which got me curious. I found these a few months later in Tesco, and she was right.!They are super soft and now my new favourite brushes.

Urban Decay 24/7 liners

A lof of gurus rave about these amazingly soft liners. They are all right, of course :)

Benefit Thrrrob blush and Boiing concealer

Benefit have some great products, and having tried my fair share of them (with both failure and success), I have found some wonderful holy grail makeup that I always keep in my makeup bag.

Both being used in makeup tutorials on youtube, these two caught my attention early on. Thrrrob is a gorgeous pale pink blush & Boiing is a seriously solid concealer.

Soap & Glory

It's not just makeup products that I have discovered on youtube. Soap & Glory has been mentioned a few times too. I eventually decided to check out some of their produts...and fell in love, like so many others.

Lush Bubblebars

Everybody deserves to know the luxury of a lush product. The pampering and soothing effect goes beyong any bath product I have ever tried before.

I think almost all of the makeup gurus on youtube have mentioned Lush at some point. I'm sure they have made Lush a lot of money ;)

What have you discovered through youtube?

♥

Beauty Product Tag: Don't Believe The Hype

This is a post on products that I have purchased after having heard numerous enthusiastic reviews.

Unfortunately they just didn't work for me (could be holy grail products for you though!) :)

So, with that being said, here are a few of the products that I, in hindsight, wish I had given a miss
(but hey, you don't know unless you try, right?!)

♥


Benefit High Beam, Lip Plump & Ooh La Lift

I got these 3 little minis in a kit, and not a single one of them work for me

(thankfully I did not get these in full size)!

High Beam is ok as a highlighter, but I much prefer MAC's Cream Colour Base in Pearl or any white/gold powder eyeshadows.

Lip Plump is supposed to help smooth and fill in fine lines while building up the contour of the lips. I don't know why, but it does not do this on my lips. It just smears and makes a big ol' mess.

Ooh La Lift is an under-eye brightening pink balm. Again, I apply it, but see no result.

Benefit Benetint Lip Balm

Benetint Lip Balm is a rose tinted balm, which in my opinion is not worth the money (something like £18!) It's just like a regular lip balm, but actually less moisturising!

It does colour my lips, but I never reach for this product, so I'm obviously not impressed...

Benefit Get Bent Liner

The Get Bent Liner is ergonomically designed at a 30° angle, supposedly making it an easy job to apply liquid or gel liner.

It could be me being awkward I guess, but I find that this 'angle' makes applying liner even more complicated! And the brush is way too thick! I much prefer a simple straight brush, like MAC's 210.

Benefit You Rebel Lite

You Rebel Lite is a tinted moisturiser, which have received numerous raves. Supposedly easy to blend, providing nice coverage, moisture and SPF.

This unfortunately broke me out and made me look slightly orange as the day progressed. I have seen other bloggers complaining of the same problem.

Clearly I have a bit of an issue with Benefit, but I have got some wonderful products from them as well! :)

MAC Strobe Blossom Tinted Lip Conditioner Stick

This is an ok, but a bit boring product. Strobe Blossom is too drying to be used just as a lip balm, but too sheer to work as a lipstick. Fail. 

MAC Prep + Prime

MAC Prep + Prime skin is a popular product among many. It should calm and soothe the skin, blot away excess oil, and even out skin redness.

It does one thing only for skin - it breaks me out terribly!

Clarins Instant Light Lipgloss

I don't really know why I bought this. I have never liked Clarins... But I heard a few good reviews & saw some pretty pictures - voila!

The Instant Light Lipgloss is a beautifully coloured gloss, which unfortunately smells really, really bad!

I can't stand it on my lips, believe me I have tried for the sake of the colour...

Nars Orgasm

If there is such a thing as a 'famous' blush, this is the one.

NARS Orgasm is a pretty rosy peach colour, and I wanted to love this so much! But my skin and this blush just do not get along. It's too peachy for my complexion, and I don't like the shimmer either. Oh well :(

I would love to hear your views & experiences on 'bad' products!

♥

What's in Netty's makeup bag?

This is what I carry around with me & what I would take to a sleep-over

(as I obviously can't take all of my makeup with me).

The makeup bag:

The content:

The blushes:

MAC Mineralize Blush in Two Virtues

MAC Beauty Powder Blush in On a mission

MAC Gel Blush in Just a Pinch

The highlighter:

MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl

The concealers:

YSL Anti-Cernes Multi-Action Concealer and MAC Select Moisturecover

The eyeshadows:

MAC self-made quad: Mylar, Quarry, Brule & Flashtrack

The lip products:

Barry M lipgloss in 951, Britney Spears Curious pink lipgloss (and perfume!), MAC lipglass in Viva Glam VI

The mascara/eyeliner/brow products:

Chanel Intense Eye Pencil in Ambre (dark brown), Maybelline Colossal mascara, Benefit Speed Brow

What do you have in your makeup bag?

♥