Lush, Superdrug and Claires Haul!

Hello everyone!

 

It's been quite a while since I did a haul so I thought I'd show you what I picked up earlier in town. It's a mix of things I bought for myself and things I'm going to put away for people for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

Since its the place I spent the most time and money, I'll start with Lush. Out of the four things I bought, three of them are from their Limited Edition Christmas or Halloween range! I tried the Lord of Misrule bath bomb which I reviewed: here and was really impressed so I picked up another bath bomb from the Halloween range which is called Soot Ball, £2.50. It's this adorable black dusty ball that has big eyes and quite a musky scent. I'd definitely say this is more of a masculine scent, although the glitter that erupts into your bath makes it rather feminine as well! I haven't tried this yet but expect a review soon! The next thing I got was this beautiful, amazingly-scented, slightly sparkly Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, £2.65. This smells AMAZING, just like the Snow Fairy Showergel or the Bubblegum Lip Scrub. I've never tried one of their bubble bars before but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Again, expect a review! The last two things are going to be stashed away for Christmas for my dad and my sister. The Dirty Shaving Cream, £5.25, for my dad (which I've also reviewed here as my boyfriend loves it) and the Gold Limited Edition FUN, £5.00, for my baby sister. It smells just like their 'Honey I Washed The Kids' soap, which kind of reminds me of the Honey Nut Loop cereal!

 

Next I stopped off in Superdrug and picked up three of the new MUA Matte Effect Lipsticks. I have very high hopes for these are I love matte lipsticks but the formulas are always really drying so I'm looking forward to testing these. The packaging is the same as the normal MUA Lipsticks but in white and they actually have shade names now! I picked up 'Pouty Pink', 'Scarlet Siren' and 'Wild Berry' as Superdrug are currently offering a '3 for 2', which means I got all three for just £2!

 

 

 

Lastly I went into Claire's Accessories, somewhere I've not visited since I was a teenager, and grabbed one of their fake lip/nose rings. I'm seriously considering getting my lip pierced so I can wear a ring but thought I'd better pace myself and just see what it looks like before making any drastic choices! I got a silver one which was £3.50 but they also do it in black. I have to admit it's quite uncomfortable and my lip has gone a little numb but I'm willing to suffer for how nice it looks!

 

xx

Review: Trevor Sorbie Beautifully Straight Blow-Dry Spray

Ah, I do love the Boots Clearance Counter.

 

Especially as I picked up this bad boy for 50p, purely because it didn't come with a lid! To be honest, I wasn't even entirely sure what it was at the time, I just sort of saw the price and my favourite hair styling words 'heat defence' and 'straightening', grabbed it and was walking out with it five minutes later.

 

 

This spray is basically a heat defence and straightening blow-dry spray. I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't have even picked this up if I'd've walked past it on a normal shelf. I don't have much faith in straightening products, mostly because despite the fact my hair's no where near curly it always flicks out no matter what I use, so I wasn't exactly holding my breath with this one.

 

But, it actually works.

 

I would love to say to you guys that in the colder seasons I take my time building elaborate hairstyles and curling my hair but, to be honest, I mostly just spend that time in bed. Not always, of course, I do love curly hair for the fall time, but mostly I just sort of wake up early but get up late and end up rushing around, no time for straighteners or complicated twists.

 

So a spray like this is perfect for me. It's official name is Trevor Sorbie's Beautifully Straightened Protect, Flatten & Shine Spray and I can say it lives up to all it claims. It's supposed to be used as part of a whole straightening routine (including shampoos and straightening) but I just use it on it's own and it works just fine. It's heat defending properties means my hair's protected even when blow-drying and can be used when even straightening at the highest temperatures. It also leaves my hair soft and silky with a slight shine.

 

I'm not sure of the official method for using this - it doesn't give any specific instructions - but I use it when my hair's wet and it works just fine for me. The end result is perfectly straight hair that lasts for hours. This spray wont last longer than a day, but will take you til your next wash/straighten.

 

Overall Thoughts:

 

A straightening spray that does just what it says on the tin (bottle). I'm not sure how it would fare against wavy or curly hair, but us straight haired girls will definitely see results. It's reasonably priced at £5.59 and available from most Boots stores so if something like this is missing from your routine, give it a go! My only problem with it would be the scent - it has a faint alcoholic smell to it but you can't smell it once it's settled into your hair, although it does make me wonder about the ingredient list.

 

xx



Step By Step: Zombie Nails! (Halloween nail art)

 

One of my favourite things about the colder seasons is all of the amazing holidays. Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas, New Year... all outrageous opportunities to be a little more scary, sparkly, daring and over the top with our make-up, fashion and nails. 

 

So today I thought I'd show you my little DIY project for Halloween: Zombie Nails. I'm taking my little sister out trick-or-treating this year (she's going to be a Minion, IM SO EXCITED) so I thought I'd be a little adventurous and try some cool Halloween nail art to wear out with her. Make-up and hair wise, I'm just going to keep it simple and dramatic: BIG hair that makes me look like I've been dragged through a hedge, minus the leaves and twigs, thick black eyeliner and bright red lips. Outfit-wise I'm not too sure of yet, but I might post an OOTD when I decide what look I'm going for!

 

Anyway, the nails. I thought I'd be a bit more generous with this step by step than I have been in the past, by taking photos along the way to help with the instructions. The key to this look is layering, layering, layering. And also, to be messy! This really is the most simple nail art I've probably ever featured on Mega Beauty.

 

Difficulty: Beginner.

 

What you'll need:

 

 

 

Kit:

 

Nail Clippers / Scissors.

 

False Nails. I got mine from eBay for 99p for a pack of six.

 

Nail Varnishes:

 

Pale Pink or Nude: Avon Nail Wear Pro in Perfectly Flesh

 

Yellow: Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours

 

Green: Revlon's Sassy

 

Red: Nail Fix Red

 

Brown: Bourjois in Santal Opulent (might be a foreign name!)

 

Steps:

 

 

1. Using your nail clippers/scissors, cut irregular chips out of the tips of the false nails. This creates the look of broken, chipped nails.

 

 

2. Once happy with your broken nails, paint the whole nail in your nude/pale pink shade. This will create a base for your other colours.

 

 3. Apply the yellow polish. The trick to getting the coverage right on this part is to try and get the least amount of polish on your brush as you can. This will create a more faded look that works better when it comes to applying the next layer and adds more texture. If you apply the colour too full-on, keep going over it with the brush or even use a make-up sponge to dab it away. The streakier and messier the better!

 

 

4. Repeat the previous step with the green polish.

 

 

5. Use your red nail varnish to add touches of 'blood' around the cuticle area and on the broken tips.

 

 

6. Use the brown nail varnish to add touches of 'dirt' around the sides of the nail and along the cuticle line. You could also add small touches on top of the red varnish to add contrast.








7. Seal your design with a top coat and you're finished!

I think this design is so simple to do but looks so professional and unique. Also, the good thing is once you do them once you can keep them to wear every year or if you feel the urge to inject some zombie-ness into your daily life.

xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Budget Brand Focus: Boots Natural Collection

 

 

Personally, when I think of certain brands I have a certain product of theirs in mind. Collection: concealer. Rimmel: lipstick and foundation. Revlon: nail varnish. They all have their own sensational hits or depressing misses with products that are widely appreciated across the blogging world, so I thought I'd do a little 'Brand Focus' series here on Mega Beauty to show you guys my likes and dislikes with certain brands.

 

I thought I'd kick off with one of my favourite budget brands, Natural Collection. A baby of the Boots brand, Natural Collection's products are all Dermatologically Tested and Fragrance Free so they're perfect for even the most sensitive skins! The price range of this brand is fantastic, ranging from £1.79 - £1.99 per item or rather often they feature a '3 for £5' deal that I regularly take advantage of. The product range itself is rather good, they have all the normal products you would expect such as mascara, eyeliner, lipsticks and nail varnishes as well as blushers, foundations, concealers and bronzing pearls. However the shade ranges are lacking in some areas such as the blushers and eye shadow duos where-as the lipstick and nail varnish range is full of lovely shades.

 

So without further ado, I'll show you my little collection of their products and my thoughts!

 

 

I currently own one Blushed Cheeks Blusher in Pink Cloud, one Eye Shadow Duo in Mink/Sable and three Moisture Shine Lipsticks in Berry Blush (top), Raspberry (left) and Pink Mallow (right).

 

As you can see, the packing of these products are fairly simple and straight-forward: white plastic containers with clear screw-on lids for the potted products and a simple white lipstick lid for the lipsticks (obviously). The brand logo is written in a simple brown on the side/top. I personally like the packaging aesthetically, it's very simple and the clean white shade makes the colour of the products pop. The practicality of the packaging is awful though - the pans all fall out of the pots but it's nothing a little super glue wont fix.

 

Now onto the products themselves.

 

I've done a full review on the Blusher here so if you want the full info on this product plus swatches then go and take a look, but for now I'll just give you the basics. The pigment of this is literally incredible, you hardly need any on your brush and it does require quite a light hand as it's so packed full of colour so it means the little pot will last a long time! It sits very nicely upon the skin and lasts a fair amount of time. This is the only shade I have from this range as the others are more bronzy/peachy and they're not really my thing. This blush was £1.99.

 

The Eyeshadow Duo is my newest purchase, I got this when I went on a 'neutral eye' shopping spree (I also picked up a Heaven & Earth MUA Palette, review coming soon!) and have been using it regularly since. The shades I chose are Mink/Sable, a lovely light chocolatey brown and a slightly shimmery cream. Both of these shades are quite matte and yet at the same time have a slight luminosity to them that make them very flattering. The pigment isn't amazing, but that might just be because of how light the shades are themselves but they do last a long time. I wear these together, with a darker shade from the MUA Palette to accentuate the crease a little more. The other shades in the collection are quite nice but I think these are the only neutrals. This duo was £1.99.

 

Finally, the lipsticks.  My three shades are Berry Blush, a deep purple/red/pink shade that's packed with subtle sparkle, Raspberry, a pretty red/pink shade and my favourite, Pink Mallow, a gorgeous dusty pink shade that I can't stop wearing. The consistency of these lipsticks is really nice and buttery but despite being part of the 'Moisture Shine' range they're not particularly moisurising, a lip balm is definitely needed. The staying power is okay, but if you're planning on wearing it for an all-day-out kind of day, you'll definitely need to take it with you! The shade range is quite nice, a mix of nudes, reds and pinks but there's not really any darker shades. These lipsticks were £1.99 each.

 

 

So there you have it!

 

Overall, I do love this brand. There's a few gems within the product line-up but they also have their faults with shade ranges, so I'd say it's a mixed bag. The price definitely makes up for it though!

 

xx

My Top 4 Statement Lips (Best & Worst!)

 

 

Okay, so I have this little obsession with lipsticks. I don't really know where it came from as up until last year I had the opinion that lipstick was for more mature, sensible women than me and I was completely all about the eyes.

 

But since the day that I changed all that, I've grown quite a collection. I think lipstick is the thing I have the most random purchases of - even if the colour definitely isn't suitable for my look or my skin tone, I always buy it... just in case.

 

So today I thought I'd show you guys my top 4 Statement lipsticks (best & worst).

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Nivea Volume Shine Lipstick in Mauve Parure - Barry M Lipstick in 129 - Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rogue - MUA Lipstick in Nectar

 

 

Nivea Volume Shine Lipstick in Mauve Parure -

 

One of my post recent purchases - a gorgeous deep berry toned purple. The formula of this is very thick and is one that definitely needs a brush to be applied or it will go everywhere. It has good staying power once applied in layers and adds drama to any outfit. I would recommend keeping all other make-up simple for a day look, where-as adding lashings of mascara and a cat-eye looks amazing with it for a dramatic night-out look. I got this for £1 from Poundland.

 

Barry M Lipstick in Shade 129 -

 

This lipstick is the 'worst' mentioned in the title. I was so excited when I bought this lipstick as I've been dying for a pale purple lip shade but sadly this was such a disappointment! The formula is so shiny and never dries so the slightest touch of your lips will cause a blur! The shade is completely un-wearable for me as it makes everything seem so yellow! My skin looks unhealthy and sallow and it's not very flattering for even the whitest teeth. Such a shame as it's a lovely pale pink toned lilac but it just doesn't work for me! I paid £4.25 for this from Boots.

 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rogue -

 

Although it looks much darker in the tube, this lipstick has a lovely deep red tone. In my photo it doesn't translate well (I think it was the bright lighting) but it works very well with my pale skin and looks perfect with just a few slicks of mascara for a ' I look like I've tried when I actually haven't' look. The staying power of this is incredible - I applied at 8am and it was still going strong at half past 2pm - and once dry it's not too matte or shiny. My lips simply look moisturised! I got this for £1 at Poundland.

 

MUA Lipstick in Nectar -

 

This lipstick is definitely my favourite out of the bunch. A gorgeous bright, wearable orange that sits beautifully upon lips and lasts for hours. It's brightness doesn't wash me out at all, in fact it seems to give some life to my face! It applies really well straight from the tube but does require layers if you want it to last all day. This lipstick can be taken from day-to-night with just an outfit change, I love it! I picked it up from Superdrug for just £1!

 

So there you have it! My top four best and worst statement lipsticks.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

xx

 

 



Review: Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser

I'm going to admit something to you guys, which some beauty-fiends may find offensive.

 

I never body moisturise. Like, ever. I don't know if it's maybe just my skin, but it always feels clogged and thick when stroked with even the lighest touch of moisturiser. I think it's something I got from my mum - she hates moisturising, too - and also because I've never really moisurised before my skin doesn't really know any different!

 

 

So when I saw Nivea's In-Shower Moisuriser, I jumped at the chance to try something new. This is basically like your regular moisturiser but it works kind of like a hair conditioner - it's activated by water. So once you've washed your body you apply a layer of the In-Shower moisturiser, I personally leave it to work it's magic for a few minutes and then rinse it off. It really is that simple.

 The end result is gorgeously silky skin that's not heavy at all! It's totally a 'lazy-girl in winter' moisturiser - you can just jump out the shower, dry yourself off and pull on your warmest pajamas! It's the perfect thing for the colder months, as there's no hanging around needed. The softness doesn't last too long, but will definitely carry you until your next shower and although it carries a pleasant, light scent that kind of reminds me of sun cream, it's not overpowering. I'm so impressed by this, as it's fully converted me to not ignore my poor dry limps! 

            My only annoyance about this is how much you need to cover your whole body - it wasn't a crazy amount but you do feel the need to apply more and more as it's so readily absorbed. I'm going to stick to using this on just my arms and legs so I don't run out too soon!

 

Overall I'm really enjoying using this product! It's available pretty much anywhere, I've seen it in Boots, Superdrug Co-Op, Sainsburys and Tesco but the prices range as sometimes it's on sale and in other places it's obviously full price. I got mine for £2.66 in Sainsbury's, but I think full price it's around £3.50.

 

xx



Review: Lush Limited Edition 'Lord Of Misrule' Bath Bomb!

 

When it comes to limited edition products, I have a love-hate relationship. On the one hand, I adore testing something out that may or may not turn into a much anticipated special treat upon their return. On the other hand, if I do actually love said product, I become irritable when I can no longer get my hands on it!

 

So when the sales assistant in Lush approached me, preaching of their new Limited Edition Halloween range, I doted on the adorable little Pumpkin-shaped bubble bar (which I might have to get as well) and the delicious scented shower gel and as impressed as I was, I wasn't planning on buying anything. But when I was shown the pretty Lord Of Misrule bath bomb, I knew that my sister would love it!

 

 

 

 

I don't have an original picture of the one that I bought because my sister just chucked it in the bath before I could take a photo haha! I got this photo from Lush.co.uk

 

As you can tell from the picture, Lord Of Misrule is quite a large bath bomb that's a lovely almost mint green colour and has an adorable crown etched right into it. Let me tell you, the scent on this one is POWERFUL. It's so heavy! I'm not going to lie, it's quite overpowering and concentrated when dry but once it's in the bath it mellows which is a lot nicer. It's a sort of earthy scent, quite florally to me with hints of vanilla and black pepper.

 

The bath bomb itself is another of Lush's colour-changing and popping candy creations, which is most of the reason why I bought it! They're so fun and such a surprise for my sister when we drop it in and watch the water change!

 

 

This bomb causes the water to change into a mulled-wine-ish deep fuschia shade which is such a Christmassy colour! It makes me think of cold evenings by the fire. The amount of popping candy in this bomb is crazy, it literally crackles on and on for a good 2 - 3 minutes! The bomb's dissolving time is around 5 - 7 minutes and the crackles come in after around 4 minutes.  

 

The scent lasts for pretty much ever.. or at least that's how it seems to me! I had a bath earlier after using this bomb last night and my water still had a faint scent to it!

 

Have any of you guys tried anything from Lush's Halloween range?

 

xx