Forbidden Haul

Original prices given!

H&M loose fitting t-shirt in Grey Blue £7.99

H&M loose fitting t-shirt in White £7.99

 

New Look Navy Supersoft High Waisted Skinny Jeans £22.99

 

H&M pack of 3 socks £3.99, New Look socks 3 for £4

 

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser £5.99, Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry £3.99, Avon Naturals Room & Linen Sprays in Strawberry & Guava, Raspberry & Hibiscus and Cherry Blossom £4 each (always on offer though)

Avon Sonal Flower Umbrella £10. "You're not supposed to put umbrellas up inside! It's bad luck!" I really don't care haha

I was meant to be on a spending ban this month, but then I realised that I would just buy the stuff I wanted in March anyway, so cancelled it.

I bought the H&M items with £5 off and 25% off codes. I bought the t-shirts in a S, instead of an XS, because I wanted them to be very loose fitting. I'm going to tuck them into my high waisted jeans. How cute are the zebra socks?!

New Look's jeans are currently discounted, so I bought another pair of my favourite ones. I now have three pairs. The buttons are more brassy on this pair, but I don't mind. I also couldn't resist adding some socks to my basket. Animals on socks are my weakness, I tell you.

I also ordered from Superdrug this month. The hot cloth cleanser was half price at just £2.99, and I really wanted the nail polish. There was also free delivery, which sealed the deal for me.

From Avon, I ordered three room and linen sprays for £4, and the umbrella for £8 because I needed a new one. Excuse my messy bed in the background! But how cute is it? I love it.

I've also bought some homeware bits, some H&M sprays and a couple Primark throws, but I've already blogged about them.

I've been naughty, I know, but... but... I have no justifications *hangs head in shame*

New Favourites

Once a product becomes a favourite, it most likely stays a favourite, so I prefer to write New Favourites posts rather than Monthly Favourites. So, what have I been loving recently?

NYX Cream Blush in Natural (Review and swatch can be found here). This blush is so creamy and pigmented! I only need a light dab with the stipple brush. And the colour is beautiful. It looks so, wait for it, natural. You didn't see that coming, did you? ;)

Moving onto the brush I apply the cream blush with: ELF's Studio Stipple Brush. Before this, I used a normal blush brush, but it would pick up far too much product. This, however, picks up just enough. I've read that some people find it too flimsy, but I haven't had that problem.

I've also been loving Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey. I'll be reviewing and lip swatching this, along with the other shades I have, soon. I have a few blemishes around my mouth at the moment, so am waiting for them to clear up! I held off buying this shade for months because I thought it would be too brown, but it's not at all. I usually dab my lip products on because I'm not comfortable wearing them fully applied, and prefer a natural looking stain. I've been applying this full on though because it's a natural lip shade and suits me well. I've never worn a lip product fully applied out of the house before, so that goes to show how much I love this.

The last two products I've been wearing every single day are the Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliners in Taupe and Nude (Review and swatches can be found here). They're creamy, pigmented and last well. The nude shade has changed how my eyes look for the better. My red waterline is no more, and my eyes appear brighter.

What products have you been loving recently?

Cream Blush Collection, Reviews and Swatches

 

Top row: NYX Natural, NYX Glow, Look Beauty Guava and Look Beauty Melon

Bottom row: MUA Blossom, Natural Collection Rosy Pink, ELF Headliner, Revlon Flushed and ELF Heart Breaker

 

NYX Natural, NYX Glow, Look Beauty Guava and Look Beauty Melon

MUA Blossom, Natural Collection Rosy Pink, ELF Headliner, Revlon Flushed and ELF Heart Breaker

I've really started to love cream blushes in the last year or so. I think they give a natural, radiant finish. My favourites are definitely the NYX ones. They're so creamy and pigmented! For my cheeks, I only need 1-2 light dabs with the stipple brush. The other cream blushes I own, especially the Look Beauty and MUA ones, require warming up with my finger to get to the pigmentation. Because of this, they're harder to use with a stipple brush, which is what I prefer to apply cream blushes with. The next two blushes have a liquid formulation, rather than a cream one, but thought I'd include them anyway. They're closer to cream than powder! The Natural Collection Rosy Pink blush is my least favourite out of the ones I own. It takes a lot of product to even show up on the skin. The ELF Headliner blush is a beautiful colour and extremely pigmented. I don't use it very often though because I'm too lazy to put the product on the back of my hand and then apply! Revlon's Flushed looks scary in the pan, but it's not that pigmented, making it very wearable. I do like it, but it's not as creamy or pigmented as my NYX ones, so don't tend to reach for it regularly. Lastly is ELF's Heart Breaker. It's a beautiful shade, but the formula lets it down. It's like molding clay, and all my finger and brush do is move it around instead of picking anything up. Therefore, it's incredibly hard to build up. The swatch above required a dense brush and heavy hand. I also have the Topshop cream blush in High Five, which I forgot to photograph. Again, I like it, but don't love it. And I hate the white packaging. It gets so dirty!

Do you like cream blushes? Are there any you would recommend me trying?

Homeware Purchases

At the weekend, my dad and I put up bookshelves in my room, and I wanted some things to use as bookends, so off I popped to QS/Store Twenty One (The logo outside the store is a QS one, but the labels and bags are all Store Twenty One). I picked up the glass jar for just £2.99, the wooden heart tealight holder for £1.99, and the cute, cheeky mug for 99p. I don't know what I'm going to fill the glass jar with yet, but I'm filling the tealight holder with glass pearl beads, which I've ordered from eBay. The mug is selling for £7.50 on eBay, so I'm pleased with the price I paid.

As I said, my dad and I put up bookshelves in my room, and we bought them from B&Q. Whilst there, I just had to go to the plant/flower section. I bought the beautiful plant arrangement for £7.98, and a pack of three mini cacti for £3.98.

Homeware and plants... I can never resist!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish in Oxide

I bought this polish from Fragrance Direct for £1.49, and I'm so glad I did. It's a beautiful gunmetal shade packed with silver shimmer. It makes a difference from the light and bright shades I normally wear. The closest shade I have to it is Illamasqua's Creator, but I wouldn't say it's a dupe. Creator is more of a true black with silver glitter.

What do you think of dark shades like this? and have you bought any bargains from Fragrance Direct recently?

MUA Make-up Brushes

Top to bottom: F4 Powder Brush - £3.75, F6 Blusher & Contouring Brush - £3, F2 Stippling Brush - £3 and E7 Eyebrow Brush - £1.50

I bought these brushes in MUA's 50% off sale, but I've given the original prices above, seeing as the sale is no longer on! They are much better quality than I thought they would be. They're soft, dense, don't shed, and wash well. Also, they're affordable! Very affordable, actually. I would prefer the Stipple Brush to be bigger so I could use it for blusher, but it's still a great brush. I think it's the perfect size for contouring. My favourite out of the ones I have has to be the Eyebrow Brush. It's not hard to get an eyebrow brush right, but I use them every day, so it's been getting a lot of use. The Powder and Blusher & Contouring Brushes are good too, but I have softer alternatives, so don't use them as much. Now, ELF's Studio Brushes are similar to these, in price and quality, but what ones do I prefer? I prefer ELF's because they're softer. They're slightly more expensive, at £3.75 per brush, but they're so worth it. The MUA ones are still great though, and they're less expensive. 

Do you own any of these brushes? If so, what do you think of them?

The best thing I've eaten this week...

Crunchie ice cream!

Beauty Changes I've Made in the Last Year

The other day, I realised just how many beauty changes I've made in the last year or so! There are more than what I'm going to mention in this post, but the following are the main ones. I was thinking about writing a post on the changes I've made since blogging, but that post would be ridiculously long! I've probably changed everything about my routine since three and a half years ago.

First of all, I started to use hot cloth cleansers in 2012. I love them. They're so creamy and moisturising, but remove all of your make-up at the same time. The ones above are Superdrug's Naturally Radiant Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser, Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser, and Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish. I've also just used up the No7 one. My favourites would have to be the Superdrug ones. They're nearly as good as the Liz Earle one, but they're so much cheaper.

I also started wearing primer last year. How did I manage without it?! I couldn't not use it now. It allows my make-up to go on smoothly and last all day. The ones I use are Witch's Anti-Blemish Skin Clearing Primer and Nivea's Express Hydration Primer.

I started using body oils in the Summer of 2012. The ones pictured above are Palmer's Moisturising Body Oil and The Body Shop's Coconut Beautifying Oil. I've used a third of The Body Shop's one, which is good going seeing as you only need to little bit at a time. I really want to try the mango scented one next.

I also think I started using wax to fill in my eyebrows last year. Before that, I always used powder. The wax I use, and have repurchased, is the one from the ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Medium.

I then started to use cream blushes. The ones I use the most are the ones pictured above, and they are the NYX Cream Blushes in Natural and Glow. To apply these, I use the ELF Studio Stipple Brush, which I picked up last month.

I also started to buff my nails. I never realised how many ridges I had until I buffed them. I then couldn't get over how smooth they felt! And my nail polish started to apply much better.

The most recent beauty change I've made is wearing nude eyeliner. The one above is Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude. It covers the redness I have on my waterline and brightens my eyes beautifully.



They're some of the changes I've made in the last year. Others include smudging out the eyeliner on my lower lash line, exfoliating my face with exfoliating gloves, and waxing my top lip ;)

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Greenberry

Greenberry is one of the new Gelly shades Barry M has brought out this month. It's so pretty! I don't own many green nail polishes because I think they look weird on me, but this shade is easing me into the colour. It looks minty in the photos above, but in real life, it's more green. It's weird because it's bright and pastel at the same time. The first coat was very streaky (I'm blaming the thin brush), but the second coat evened it out well.

I own 7 of the Gelly nail paints now, and love them all. Do you own any?

Look Beauty Collection and Swatches

 

Top row: Triple Hit Eyeshadow in LA Luxe, Make Me Blush in Pinch, Mattify Me Pressed Powder, Brow Perfect Kit

Middle row: Statement Eyes Eyeshadow in Cami, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Melon, Long Last Liner  Eye Brightener, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Guava, Stay Put Powder

Bottom row: Nail Pops in Beret, Vintage, Dusky, Flamingo and Petticoat, Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp

 

Make Me Blush in Pinch, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Melon, Fresh Cheeks Cream Blush in Guava, Statement Eyes Eyeshadow in Cami, Triple Hit Eyeshadow in LA Luxe, Long Last Liner Eye Brightener

Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp

I've had these photos on my camera for a while, so thought I may as well post them! My Look Beauty collection has come from winning one of their giveaways and indulging in their 50% off sale. Their products are more expensive than other highstreet brands, so don't know if I would regularly pay full price for them. However, they are of great quality! The eyeshadows are creamy and pigmented, and the blushes are so pretty.

Do you own anything from Look Beauty?

Wordless Wednesday

Superdrug and Fragrance Direct Purchases

At the end of January, I placed a couple of orders with Superdrug and Fragrance Direct. Now, let me just say that a lot of the products above are not for me! Some are for my mum and sister.

All of the nail polishes are from Fragrance Direct. From left to right, you have Sally Hansen Yellow Kitty x2 £1.49 each (one for me, one for my sister), Sally Hansen Himalayan Blue £1.49 (mine), Sally Hansen Oxide £1.49 (mine. I love this shade!), Sally Hansen Fairy Teal £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Cherry Cherry £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Gilded Lily £1.49 (mum's), Sally Hansen Purple Pizzaz 99p (mum's), Rimmel Apricot Punch 99p (sister's), Essie Camera £1.99 (mine).

From Superdrug, I bought the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Honey and Crush. I've wanted these colours for a while and they were on offer for £5.99, so thought I may as well. I now have four shades, so will be reviewing and lip swatching soon! The Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude was £3.99 and is for my mum for Mother's Day, like the rest of her products in this post. She used my one a few days before placing this order and really liked it.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Yesterday, I published a nail polish collection post, so if you would like to have a read of that, just click here.

Nail Polish Collection!

 

Barry M: Clear, Indigo, Raspberry, Coral, Pink Flamingo, Strawberry Ice Cream, Berry Ice Cream, Pink Silver Glitter, Aqua Glitter, Amethyst Glitter, Boots Limited Edition, Gelly Blood Orange, Gelly Prickly Pear, Gelly Pomegranate, Gelly Blueberry

 

Essie: Mademoiselle, A Crewed Interest, Lady Like, Bikini So Teeny, Beyond Cosy, Mod Squad, Lights, Bazooka, Camera, Barry M: Gelly Papaya, Gelly Grapefruit

 

ASOS: Blake, Megan, Olivia, Gwen, Lauren, Lily, Maybelline: Hot Salsa, Nude Rose, GOSH: Holographic, Rainbow, Nubar: Nubar 2010

 

Illamasqua: Creator, Deborah Lippmann: Razzle Dazzle, 17: Sweet Kisses x2, Forever, Ruby Dazzle, Pink Grapefruit, Sally Hansen: Yellow Kitty, Himalayan Blue, Oxide, MUA: Frozen Yoghurt, Shade 5, BK (Glow in the dark nail polishes from eBay): Shade 13, Shade 14

 

Models Own: Nude Beige, Champagne, Disco Heaven, Ibiza Mix, Party Pieces, Mystic Mauve, Beth's Blue, Balearic Blue, Luis Lemon, Beach Party, Fluro' Orange, Hedonist, 3 in 1

 

Models Own Nail Art Pens: Black x2, Gold, Silver, White, China Glaze: Snow, For Audrey, Dance Baby, Make Some Noise, Secret Peri-Wink-Le, Flip Flop Fantasy

OPI: No Room For The Blues, Lucky Lucky Lavender, Shorts Story, Elephantisic Pink, Look Beauty: Beret, Vintage, Flamingo, Dusky, Petticoat

I haven't written a nail polish collection post in years! I've been meaning to for the last few months, but I just kept buying more... oops! Recently, I've only been buying shades I don't have anything similar to though, and I'm trying to slow down on the purchasing because I'm running out of room. For a beauty blogger, I don't think my collection is that big. I think it's bigger than the average girl's though! A lot of the nail polishes above have been featured on Affordable Treats before, so if you would like to see a swatch of one, just type it into the search bar. If I haven't swatched it already and you would like me to, just let me know.

I hope you enjoy your evening!

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya

Natural lighting

Flash lighting

Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Papaya* is one of the new shades being released from the 13th February. It's a beautiful bright peach and was opaque in two coats. After using an Essie nail polish brush a couple of days ago though, I've noticed how thin Barry M's brushes are, making the application a little harder. However, it all evens out as it dries.

Will you be buying Papaya or any of the other new shades? I'll definitely be buying Greenberry. Dragon Fruit also looks pretty, but I have far too many similar polishes already.

*PR sample

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliners in Nude and Taupe Review

For me, eyeliners must be creamy, pigmented and long lasting. The Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliners are all of these things; I love them! The shades I have are Nude and Taupe. I'd never used a nude eyeliner until a few weeks ago and I wish I'd used one sooner. Although nude eyeliners are known for brightening the eye, I initially bought it because my eyes can get quite red, and I wanted to conceal this, but couldn't put concealer on my waterline. Because Nude is of a concealer shade, it also works well on blemishes! Gotta love multi-use products. Taupe is just a really nice defining colour. It makes a change from the shimmery eyeliners and eyeshadows I normally use. In the eye photos above, I'm wearing Nude on my waterline with a little bit of Taupe smudged into my lash line. I hate my eyes and these photos aren't very good, but I couldn't talk about the Nude eyeliner without showing you its effects. Trust me when I say that my eyes and the photo quality do not do these eyeliners justice. They look so much better in real life. These eyeliners are just £3.99 and I would definitely recommend them. I know some people were worried that they may be too creamy to sharpen, but I've just done so with no problems.

Have you tried these eyeliners?

New H&M Fragrances

I love that H&M brings out fragrance collections every few months. The ones above are my favourites from the most recent collections. The Juicy Pear Body Splash was £1.50, the Cotton Flower Home Fragrance Home Spray was £3.99, and the Pomegranate Home Fragrance Home Spray was also £3.99. They smell just like their names suggest, so there's no point in me describing them! The Juicy Pear Body Splash also comes in perfume form, but it's really sickly. The Body Splash is sickly enough and it's the lighter of the two! There's also a Candy Pink scent, which is really, really sweet. The Home Fragrance Home Sprays smell amazing. There's also an Orange & Cinnamon one and another one I can't remember the name of! H&M also has a Snow White collection out at the moment, which includes perfumes, body butters, nail polishes and more. There's three different scents in this collection (Blackberry, Apple & Vanilla and another).

Primark Throws

Primark has a couple of nice throws in at the moment (well, in my opinion), and I just wanted to show you them! Throws are needed on my bed because I can up have to 5 cats and 2 dogs on it. It's easier to throw a throw (haha) in the wash than change my duvet set every few days! The top one was £15 and the bottom one was £6. I've wanted one like the top one for ages, and really loved one from BHS, but even half price, it was £45! There was a similar one in Primark not long ago, but a couple of the squares had patterns I wasn't keen on. The one above is very girly, and I wasn't sure on it in store, but bought it anyway because I knew I would regret it! Now that I've put it on my bed, I'm glad I bought it. It's so pretty. The bottom one is of a fleecey material, and probably my cats' favourite one. They love to knead it, and because it was only £6, I don't mind. I would love to pick up another one actually.

Essie Camera

Camera natural lighting and camera flash

Phone camera flash

I recently bought Essie's Camera from Fragrance Direct for £1.99. I already owned Lights and Bazooka from the collection, and really wanted to try this one too. Camera is one of those coral shades that can't make its mind up between being red, orange or pink. I think it leans towards red, and the photos above display this. I've included a flash photo from my phone because my phone is better at picking up colours. In the above photos, I have on two coats of the polish, but you can see some visible nail line in certain lights and at certain angles. I think 3-4 coats would make it completely opaque and avoid this. It was easy to apply because of the smooth formula, and the brush is great. The downfall to this polish is how easily it chips. I don't normally mention chipping in my nail posts because polishes last well on me, even without a base and top coat. However, after a day, my thumbs and index nails are incredibly chipped. Not just small chips, either. You can now see more bare nail than polished nail because it's just flaked away. The sheerness and how easily it chips has let this polish down; the colour is beautiful. I'm glad I got to try it, but I wouldn't have been pleased if I paid full price for it!

Swatch of the Day

Look Beauty's Loud Lips Lipstick in Berry Vamp