Beauty Haul & Mini Reviews

I keep trying to convince folk that I'm attempting to curb my spending habits and put a cap on my ever-expanding collection of cosmetics. Psssh...Who am I kidding?  If anything I'm just as bad as I've always been - making up all sorts of excuses for the odd lipgloss...the 'cheap' treat here and there or that really 'unique' nail polish that I actually have 50,000 dupes for already.   I'll use my recent holiday as one excuse - after all, I did pick up 2 of these items in the airport before I boarded the flight and duty free money doesn't count as 'real' money, right? Everybody needs a little pre-holiday cosmetic purchase to kick-start the sunshine spirit don't they?! Ohhh I give up convincing myself that my impulsive habits have changed... In celebration of my spending ban fail, here's a beauty haul...

Seventeen | Instant Glow Bronzer in 'Medium Bronze' | £4.49 | Link

I picked this up at the airport as a 'back up bronzer'.  I mean, come on, who needs a bloody back up bronzer for an 11 night holiday?! What was my other one going to do? Sprout legs and tottle off to the nearest beach?!  I must have got caught up in the duty free frenzy as I threw this into my basket along with 'emergency' paracetamol (of which I'd already packed in my suitcase) and a miniature sized mosquito spray - typical! My shoddy willpower aside, it's actually a really good bronzer and one that I'm so glad I discovered on a whim.  In fact, I've been using this over my high-end favourites just recently as my new 'all over' bronzing product.  I love it.  It's definitely not one you'd use as a contour due to the warmer tone but for all over bronzing, this is a drugstore winner.  It instantly helped to deepen and darken my tan whilst adding a subtle, healthy glow. It's fairly matte - which is another plus point for me as I usually find cheaper bronzers are far too shimmery. It's also really well pigmented, soft and easy to blend and isn't chalky or powdery in the slightest.  Honestly, I think I've uncovered a complete gem here - well done Seventeen!

Rimmel | Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in 'Peach Glow' | £2.99 | Link

Ohh how everybody seemed to rave about this powder a while ago. It was my first port of call when I caught a glimpse of myself in an airport mirror and realised I needed a little bit of a spruce up! I'd packed my trusty Mac powder in my suitcase so unless I wanted to arrive in Greece looking like I'd already spent a day at the beach, then I needed an emergency powder session - pronto! (what is it about airports and being whisked through security that sends your skin into a complete meltdown?! Or is this just me?) I settled on this cheapy and it did the job just fine (I bought a little sponge to use on the plane as it doesn't come with one).  I wouldn't say its a holy grail powder like some claimed it to be - but for on the go and for a cheap pick-up, it was pretty good. It's quite chalky so I tried not too apply too much, but it did a smashing job at keeping shine at bay and it actually came in handy at night when humidity took its toll on my skin.  If you struggle with shine on holiday, aren't fussed about extra coverage but want something that instantly mattifies (but don't want to spend the earth on a new powder), head over to the Rimmel stand! I opted for 'Peach Glow' but to be honest, it doesn't have any colour pay off at all so it wouldn't matter too much which shade you picked up.

Anastasia Beverly Hills | Dip Brow in 'Medium Brown' | £15.00 | Link |

I won't say too much about this as I already provided my rave review earlier in the month. You can find that here if you fancy an in-depth read up as to why I love it so much. I decided to pick up a darker colour (I bought 'Blonde' originally) as I discovered that there had been a selection of new colours released in time for A/W2014 (you may remember in my last review I mentioned the lack of shade choice so I'm very happy to see there's now a couple more to select from!)  To be honest, this is probably a little too dark for me - I was swayed by the name 'Medium Brown' but it's much darker and deeper than the name would suggest. However, all is not lost. I find this works well at defining the arches of my brows (i like them to appear darker anyway) and the product also doubles up as an eyeliner! It's incredibly long lasting and my 'Blonde' pot proved to be a holiday hero for me - I even popped some on around the pool as I wanted to see what this stuff was made of (typical curious blogger!) and I still had eyebrows at the end of a day of sunbathing. Impressive and so worth the £15.00 price tag.

Boutique at Sainsburys | Lipgloss in 'All the Tea in China' | £6 | 

I cannot find a link but here's a little bit about these glosses on the Sainsburys blog here (who'd have thought Sainsburys actually have a blog?! Such hip-cats!) After seeing these lipglosses on a few blogs recently, I decided I simply had to try one for myself.  I settled on a nude shade called 'All the Tea in China' (I do love a versatile beige!). I have to say I'm impressed so far - the consistency is very similar to Tanya Burr's glosses and very wearable. The pigmentation is also pretty tip-top and I almost wish I'd been brave and gone for a slightly darker colour (they have some gorgeous corals and pinks!).  The colour is maybe a little bit too nude for me - but I've taken to wearing it over my darker browns and brighter lipsticks to tone them down a little bit.

Tanya Burr | Lipgloss in 'Exotic Island' | £6.99 (cheaper on All Beauty) | Link

Oh noes. Look what happened. I only went and bought another shade from Tanya Burr's lipgloss collection didn't I?! If you're a lipgloss hater, then trust me when I say it's well worth looking into these.  Before I tried them, I hardly ever wore lipgloss but I'm 100% converted after trying these.  I have a full review post on my blog here so I won't say too much but I bloomin' love them.  I really wanted this bright, blue toned pink as I thought it would be lovely now that I have a bit of a tan (I also have a blazer and nail polish to match - got to love a bit of outfit/lipgloss/nail polish co-ordination now and again!) I wore it yesterday and am 100% head over heels in love. Ahh...

Nars | Sheer Glow Foundation in 'Punjab' | £30.50 | Link

Ouch - my fourth re-purchase of my favourite foundation - definitely comes as a blow to the ol' purse strings but it's definitely worth the dent in my bank account! Again, I won't say too much as I already have full review here, but I do love this foundation (the fact I'm on my 4th bottle speaks volumes!) Now that I have a tan, my everyday shade is far too light for me so I picked up the shade darker which is called 'Punjab'.  I was actually going to buy a shade darker than this one, but Nars shades can be very strange and I actually find 'Punjab' than the next shade up? Maybe it's just me - but this suits my newly tanned skin much better and because it isn't too much darker than my usual shade, I'll be able to get away with it once it fades a little too (there's always fake tan...) This one has a slight peachy-yellow undertone to it that works very well with my summer skin tone.

Swatches L-R: Boutique Lipgloss | Tanya Burr | Anastasia DipBrow | Seventeen Bronzer | Nars 'Punjab'

And there we have it - my recent beauty buys coupled with some short and snappy reviews.  There's a couple of products here that will probably be reappearing on the bloggles shortly when I put together my next monthly favourites post.  I'm so glad I discovered the Seventeen bronzer and the new lipglosses have definitely gone down a complete storm with me!

Have you tried and loved any of these products? Is there anything here you fancy picking up for yourself?