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

To Ombre Or Not To Ombre...

It's time for my Friday Faves guys and gals! And this week it's all about the beauty products :) so lets dive straight into number one... 

Revlon Colour Stay Foundation 

It's always being compared to MAC's Studio Fix fluid (Iv personally never used that particular MAC product *cue gasps and shocked faces* so I can't comment) but I've been using Revlon's raved about Colourstay liquid foundation for about a week and I'm really pleased with the result...

(excuse the amateur photography skills!)

It has quite a thick consistency but I'd say it gives medium coverage which is perfectly fine for day time and its so lightweight when it's on! I've been using 'buff' which is a light beige shade, but another great thing about Colourstay is they have a HUGE range of shades, so you're bound to get an almost perfect if not perfect match... 

It also comes in normal/dry and combination/oily versions. I have oily skin and I struggle to find foundations that keep my skin matt all day but this is one seems to do the trick. I use my elf blotting papers now and again, mainly out of habit, but overall this is my current favourite foundation for day time use and I'd definitely recommend trying it... I think it's about £10 and can be bought in Boots or online, anywhere really!

Tip - I normally just apply foundation with my fingers as I'm not a fan of foundation brushes (although i really want to try Real Techniques Blending brush!) but I've been using a beauty blender lately which is amazing! 

I definitely recommend buying one (prices vary but mine was about £3 from eBay) as the look you achieve is so much smoother! I'll do a full review on the beauty blender soon but you basically dot your foundation over your skin then blend it in using circular motions with the large end of the blender - fabuloso! (check out YouTube for beauty blender tutorials and reviews).

Beauty Works Ombré Extensions

My absolute FAVOURITE this week! (and month... Possibly favourite thing this year).

I've been admiring certain celebs with their dip dyed locks and to be honest I've decided I may try this myself. 

This is the colour I want to try! It looks gorgeous on Lauren...

Ombré has the danger of looking messy and the only thing that puts me off trying it is the fact that it needs a certain amount of effort and styling to avoid it looking scruffy...

But Beauty Works have seriously tipped the scales in favour of me trying this look! 

Their dip dye clip in extension range is a fab idea as you can wear ombre as and when you want to (click the link above to look at the range of colours).

This takes away the scary prospect of dying your actual hair (mine is too short anyway)so extensions are the way forward.

For anyone that's interested in purchasing these, do look out for discount offers and reduced shipping costs on their twitter page @Beautyworks and do check out the blonde/lavender dip dyes - gorgeous! More for someone younger I'd say but they're lovely :)

Giles Deacon Cosmetics 

He's collaborated with New Look for quite a while now on the clothing side of things but on 21st April Giles Deacon's new make up range for New Look is launching :) The Gold by Giles cosmetic range will definitely be worth a try with prices ranging from £1.99 for a lipgloss to £3.99 for an eyeshadow palette (you get the idea, cheap as chips!) there'll also be metallic eyeliners, make up brushes, eyebrow pencils to name but a few, as well as new nail polishes ( he launched some nail polishes, nail wraps and lashes last October)... 

I normally don't like it when popular high street clothing stores start selling cosmetics, they tend to look a bit cheap and nasty, apart from Topshop who's cosmetics and nail polishes are awesome... but I love the look of these products from the photos I've seen! The lipgloss shades look really bright and summery and I'd be interested to try the brushes :) if they're any good then at around £7.99 they're a steal! 

This range hits New Look stores on 21st April and will be available online too. 

So thats my little mixed bag of favourites for you this week :) Do let me know your thoughts on Revlon's Colourstay, if you'll be having a nose at the Giles Deacon cosmetics when they hit the shelves and the most important question, to ombré or not to ombré? 

Follow me on twitter @daniellacha 

x Daniella Beauty Junkie x