A Little Saturday Beauty Haul

I've been on a slight spending ban this past month. No beauty products have been bought whatsoever! Well almost none... I did have the odd moment of weakness, but for the most part I did pretty well so I decided today was the day to treat myself!

The man in my life and I had a leisurely mooch around the high street whilst Milan was at his nans, it was so nice to just shop and have lunch without rushing or dealing with constant toddler drama (I love my son to bits but it's bloody hard to get through a shopping trip without stress when he's there!) So we made the most of it, had some yummy tapas at a great little Spanish bar we found, then hit the shops. I had a few bits on my (ridiculously big) wishlist that I wanted to pick up and I ended up making a couple of impulse purchases too. I'm a beauty junkie! Impulse purchases go with the territory ; )

I headed to Lush and picked up Cosmetic Warrior which is a face mask for fighting spots and Tea Tree Water, a toner spray that I've been wanting for quite a while after seeing lots of reviews in the blogosphere. Lately I've been having a few break outs and I've got no idea why. Sure, I get the odd blemish now and again, but during the past few weeks its just been one breakout after another. So I thought I'd give Cosmetic Warrior a go, I'll use it a couple of times a week and see if it helps. The Tea Tree Water is just a lovely, natural toner water that I've been wanting to try after cleansing at night as I'm hoping the tea tree will help to clear my skin.

Superdrug was my next stop where I picked up the infamous Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser. It's a huge tube for £4.99 and it's another product I've been meaning to try for ages. I was then drawn to the Andrea Fullerton stand, I've seen and heard alot of great things about her range and although a little pricey I decided to buy the black dot and flick tool and a little pack of gold studs, which I love! I can't wait to create a nail look with these, studs are everywhere at the moment and I think these are a really fun way to 'trend up' your nails : )

I had to stop off at Matalan to pick up some Mickey Mouse bits for Milan, he's going through a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse phase at the moment so I bought him a cute Mickey dressing gown, some pyjamas and some matching slippers. I know alot of people turn their noses up at Matalan, but you can find some really great pieces in there. I often see dupes of River Island and Topshop items for half the price so I like to have a nose in there now and again. I saw this set of rings for £4 and couldn't resist.

So they were my buys on this chilly Autumn Saturday! We couldn't resist going to Thorntons for a white hot chocolate with all the trimmings... much needed now this cold weather has landed.

Hope you're all having a fab weekend and buying lots of gorgeous beauty products : )

Weekly Wishlist #3

This week's wishlist is a tad late, sorry about that! But better late than never as they say... 

I'm on a bit of a spending ban at the minute... well more of a 'cut down' on beauty products. I'm a complete impulse buyer which is something I need to start getting under control! Therefore I've put myself on a slight ban until the end of November and I'm doing pretty well. I've bought a couple of bits but I'm being pretty good with telling myself no.

Anyway back to the wishlist! This week I'm slightly obsessed with scented candles. I mean I always love them, but this week in particular I've been scrolling through ebay and the Yankee Candle website oohing and ahhing at all the yummy candles on there! I've actually ordered a couple of Yankee tarts (white chocolate mint, gingerbread and icicles) notice I'm gearing up for the winter months (and before you smack my wrist, this doesn't count as beauty products... so I'm allowed a few candles! haha) I also can't stop sniffing the Jelly Belly candles in Tesco... everytime I'm in there, I drag my son to the candle section and have a good sniff of the Toasted Marshmallow one. So once I allow myself a splurge I'll be snapping that up!

Topshop nail polish in Pluto £6

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair eye cream £37

Jelly Belly Toasted Marsmellow candle £7.97 from Tesco

Simmi Shoes ankle boots £30

Lush tea tree toner water £3.95

So there's the items I'm lusting after this week. Hopefully I can get my hands on some of them very soon! I'll leave you with some autumn/fall photos from Pinterest that I've loved enough to save to my laptop... Autumn is my favourite season and these photos made me smile.

May Favourites - Chanel, Liz Earle, Garnier, Lush & Revlon

Soleil Tan De Chanel - Bronzing Make Up Base

I actually bought this very recently but I've been using it everyday and I love it! I've wanted it for a few months but it's quite pricey so I waited until I could justify spending £30 :) but it's so worth the money, it's a cream bronzer that suits all skin tones and I apply it with a contour brush. It blends so easily and creates a really natural, sun kissed look. I have very fair skin so it's hard to apply bronzer and achieve a natural finish, but this creates a gorgeous glow and will last me ages. It's a definate investment buy.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish

I know every beauty blogger and their dog love Liz Earle products and everywhere you turn there's excellent reviews so I won't overdo it, but I recently rediscovered this cleanser and now I'm not sure why I left it behind in the first place... It smells fresh and makes my skin super soft. One pump of this will remove all traces of make up (I use a seperate eye make up remover but I'm guessing you may need a tiny bit more for stubborn mascara), it's extremely gentle on my skin and it gives me just the right balance of moisture whilst not tightening my skin (I find some cleansers really dry my skin out and even though I have quite oily skin I like to keep some moisture there). I don't use the hot cloth with this, I just use it as a regular cleanser, wetting my face first, using one pump of the cleanser and applying it to my face and neck then washing it off and patting dry :)

Garnier Deep Clean Foam Wash

I use this face wash in the morning before putting on my moisturiser and it's perfect for my oily skin. It has zinc in it which helps to fight breakouts, I'm prone to breakouts in the most oily areas on my face and so far this has helped to keep my skin clear. It has a tingly effect when I apply it but I quite like that as it tells me it's working at killing bacteria, giving my face a deep clean. It does tighten my skin but I'm not too bothered by that as I apply my moisturiser straight after. I wouldn't recommend this if you have dry or sensitive skin as it'll probably dry you out too much and I wouldn't say it's gentle enough for sensitive skin.

Lush - Enzymion Moisturiser

Another great product for combination to oily skin. It doesn't really have any scent but I hate fragranced moisturisers so it suits me perfectly, for £13.50 it's quite a small tub (45g) but a little bit goes a long way so I can see it lasting for a few months. It contains alpha hydroxy acids (found in certain fresh fruits) which help to soak up excess sebum (oily skin is just excess sebum being produced) and so far I love this product. It dries my skin but still adds the right amount of moisture keeping my skin soft and creating a lovely base for my make up. Lush is definitely one of my favourite shops at the moment, they have something for everyone!

Revlon Lip butters

I'll be doing a full review on some of these in a few days but they have definitely made it to my favourites! I wear one pretty much every day (I'm lucky enough to have the whole range thanks to a twitter competition) but they're a must have product for summer.

L-R Tutti Frutti, Sugar Frosting, Creme Brulee, Peach Parfait

My 1st Haul! New Look, Lush & The Body Shop

After selling a ton of stuff on eBay recently (goodbye tiny dresses & shoes I've never worn!) I decided to treat myself and my little boy to a little shopping spree :)
I've seen lots of beauty/fashion hauls on various blogs and I love reading them and uncovering little gems... So thought I'd share today's finds with you.

First stop, New Look.

Navy dip hem top - £12.99
Skull print sheer vest - £9.99
Peach/pink scarf - £7.99

I wasn't too sure about the skull vest as it runs the risk of looking a bit tacky but I tried it on with dark denim skinnys, a black blazer and red platforms and it looks fab! Loved this dip hem button up top and I'll definitely be snapping it up in white and orange too... And as for the scarf (I'm obsessed with scarves! I find that even with quite a plain outfit you can throw on a gorgeous bright, funky scarf and it pulls everything together..) I love the summery colour of this one and the clash of giraffe and leopard print.

Onto Lush and The Body Shop.

Time for a confession.. Yesterday I lost my Lush virginity! And damn was it good :) ha! I've seen soooo many blog posts, YouTube videos and general 'raving' about the brand and in all honesty, eventhough I've walked past my local Lush shop a million times, it's never interested me. Wow was I missing out! Was kind of overwhelming as there's just so much to look at and as I had my son with me (who doesn't enjoy sitting in his pram for more than 5 seconds), I only had a quick browse and picked up one item. But I'll be going back there very soon!

Lip Scrub - £4.95

I knew what I wanted before going in the shop, I needed a lip scrub and this one is gorgeous. I chose chocolate over the mint and bubblegum flavours as it smells delish. Plus, as with everything in Lush, it's 100% natural and is literally just caster sugar, jojoba oil, a bit of chocolate and vanilla and that's about it. So after rubbing it on your lips you can lick it off - love that!

This is what I'm really going to rave about! I very rarely buy Body Shop cosmetics... By rarely I mean never. Not because I dislike them, just because I always tend to buy my favourite brands and just haven't considered it, but after today I'll definitely be going back. The value for money was awesome! For a concealer, bronzer, blusher and lip balm the total price was £39.50 (pretty steep I hear you cry) BUT after signing up for a membership card (totally free, just like a loyalty card) I received 10% off, then the shop assistant asked me when my birthday was (for the membership card) and when I told her in less than 2 weeks she gave me another £5 off! Plus all make up products were 3 for 2... So I only ended up paying £23.40! And by being a member I'll be notified first of any special offers and also be invited to evening events to try new products etc... Fabuloso! :) Body Shop cosmetics are excellent quality (a tad pricey but hey, you get what you pay for), so the best buys of the day in my opinion.

Swatch of the concealer in number 01 £9

Tried to do swatches for the blusher and bronzer but my iPhone camera is rubbish. Blusher in number 10, a dark pink shade £8.50 and bronzer in Honey number 02, a matt shade for fair skin £13.00. (I also bought a shea butter lip balm for £4, I have the body butter in this (flavour?) and it smells divine).

Finally I went to WHSmiths and picked up the first 2 Hunger Games books. Its quite shocking that I haven't read these yet as I'm a total bookworm (and library to my friends) and with the hype surrounding this trilogy I just need to get in on the action! They were 'buy one get the second half price'.

And if anyone's interested in what goodies my son came home with, he had an 'Octobubble' bath toy which pretty much does everything but the dishes! It sings, it plays music, it blows bubbles - 3 of Milan's favourite things :) and he got a set of squishy balls to kick around, at 14 months he's easily pleased!

Hope you liked this haul! Let me know your views on any of the products mentioned and if you like this post I'll do some more hauls in the future.

x Daniella Beauty Junkie x