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 : )

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