Decluttering my Makeup Basket

I have this basket on top of my beauty chest of drawers, and it's supposed to hold my most used makeup (with the rest going in the top drawer). This just makes things easier to find and saves time in the morning. However, over time, more and more products are added to it, making it a cluttered mess! If I buy a new product, it'll end up in the basket. If I take something out of the top drawer, it'll end up in the basket. And yes, even hair ties end up in the basket.  So, after being strict with myself and having a good sort out, what has made the cut? 

No lip products have because they live in a lipstick container next to the basket. 

My MUA Cover & Conceal Concealer has, as well as a tube of Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer for blemishes. On a side note, how rubbish is the packaging of this? It's a new tube, and yet the black writing has already rubbed off! 

My chosen powder is The Body Shop's All-in-One Face Base in 02 because it gives a little coverage and a silky, matte finish. 

Moving on to cheek products (I'm going through this in the order I do my makeup!). I've decided to have NYX's Cream Blush in Natural in there, as well as two Dainty Doll Powder Blushes in You Are My Sunshine and Money Talks. You Are My Sunshine is a pinky peach with golden shimmer (it looks nothing like it does in the photo), and Money Talks is a cool toned brown. It's shimmery, so I don't use it as a bronzer, but it's a nice alternative shade for blush. 

ELF's Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light has also made the cut, which is no surprise! It's all I use on my brows. 

For lining my lower lash line, I've chosen a few products. NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha is very well loved, as you can see! And I've also chosen Maybelline's Colour Tattoos in On & On Bronze and Permanent Taupe. Permanent Taupe is matte, so I use this when I'm not in the mood for shimmer. 

I've chosen Rimmel's Scandaleyes Eyeliner in Nude for when I wish to line my waterline. I don't do this every day because it hasn't lasted well the last few times I've used it, but it's supposed to make your eyes appear bigger and brighter, and I'm all for that! 

Then, when I have the patience, I'll use L'Oreal's Perfect Slim Super Liner. I'm too lazy to use it on a day to day basis, though! 

Lastly, Maybelline's The Rocket Mascara is my current everyday mascara. I think I ended up with 6 in my basket! And although I used them all, I've decided to use one up at a time.

Do you keep your everyday makeup separate from the rest? If so, do you slowly add other products to the mix so it gradually becomes cluttered like mine?

Recent Purchases - Republic, Primark, Bourjois and More

I went in town yesterday, ice packs in hand (literally), and bought a few bits that I thought I'd show you!

I bought this top from Republic for £5, down from £18. I'd seen it in there a few times, but could never be bothered to try it on, then decided to just do so yesterday. It's such a pretty top, but it's difficult to get on, and impossible to get off by yourself. I had to get my sister to pull it off over my head! If she wasn't there, I'd have been stuck. Still, for £5, I think it's worth it. I'm going to take the white vest top from underneath out and wear my own because it's a bit baggy, but I'm very happy with the overlay.

The weather must have been affecting my choices in Primark! I bought two more vest tops for £2.50 each. I have a load of these, and wear them under most of my tops to avoid displaying my bra. I also bought some sunglasses for £2.50. This purchase is a big deal for me because I think I look stupid in sunglasses. These, however, don't look too bad! I then bought two pairs of shorts for £4 each. I'm planning to wear these to the beach because I like to keep my bottom and crotch covered!

Boots currently have a 'buy one get one half price' offer going on, and this happened...

I picked up one of the new Bourjois Colour Boost lip crayons in Peach on the Beach for £7.99. It's a beautiful shade! Similar to MUA's Justify. Justify looks like a shocking orange in the packaging, but on the lips it's a pinky peachy shade. I tried taking photos of them together, but they look very different on camera (natural or flash!). I then picked up Sinful Colours' Hottie, which is just stunning. It's a dense, blue based holographic glitter. One coat over a blue polish looks amazing! This is originally £1.99. I also bought the Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint in Yellow for £3.99. I'd been searching for this for a while, but my local Boots messed up and had the limited edition green shade instead, which is meant to be exclusive to Superdrug. I've been loving yellows lately, so can't wait to wear this! Lastly, I bought Seventeen's Pink Lemonade nail polish (originally £2.99). I've been meaning to pick this up for years, but never did for some reason! It's a nice pinky, slightly peach, shade.

Last night I also bought some items from a blog sale, and can't wait for them to arrive! I bought China Glaze's Tinsel Town for £1, Essie's Where's My Chauffeur for £2.50, and Sleek's Life's A Peach blush for £1.

I'm also waiting on Ciate and Accessorize sale orders, so expect to see them soon!

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!

My Current, Daily Beauty Routine (Morning)

Good evening, everyone! Here are the products I am currently using every morning. They are mostly make-up items because I shower and use my body products in the evenings. A post for my evening beauty routine will be up shortly.

Before I apply my make-up, I quickly wipe my face with a facial wipe to get rid of any excess oil and then use a light moisturiser. I'm currently using the Nelsons Pure & Clear Purifying Daily Facial Wipes* (Boots, £5.49) and Nelsons Pure & Clear Balancing Moisturiser* (Boots, £8.49). The moisturiser is light and absorbs into my skin well, which is just what I need before I apply my make-up. The facial wipes have a plastic lid on them - I wish more brands did this! Before I started using the Nelsons products, I was using Skin Therapy's Facial Wipes (Wilkinson, 2 for £1) and The Body Shop's Vitamin E Moisture Cream (The Body Shop, £9).  Once I've finished using my current face wipes, I'm going to buy a big packet of baby wipes because you get more for your money.

Once my moisturiser has sunk in, I apply my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Boots, £4.19) to any blemishes. Before applying it around my eyes, I use Witch's Anti Blemish Skin Clearing Primer (It's not showing up on Boots' or Superdrug's websites, but I know they stock it. I think it's around £5) because I have oily eyelids. I also sometimes use ELF's Eyelid Primer (ELF, £1.50). My skin normally looks quite even by this stage, so I just use ELF's Mineral Booster (ELF, £5) to keep any shine at bay. I then use my trusty ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Medium (ELF, £3.75) (Review can be found here) to fill in my eyebrows.

Blusher is one of the only products that I change daily. Above is some of my most used. At the back, you have Sleek's Pixie Pink, Flamingo and Rose Gold (Superdrug, £4.49), Natural Collection's Pink Cloud and Peach Melba (Boots, £1.99), 17's First Kiss (Boots, £3.49), Revlon's PhotoReady Cream Blush in Flushed (Boots, £5.99) and NYX's Cream Blush in Glow (Joy017, £6-7, including P&P). As you can see, most of them are warm toned. They look the most natural with my freckles and ginger hair.

For months and months now, I've lined my eyes with NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha (Joy017, £4-5, including P&P) (Review can be found here). Recently, I've been using the NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Campo de' Fiori* (NARS, £17), which is a beautiful gold. It is strongly pigmented and lasts for hours. This is great for someone like me who cannot be bothered to touch up my make-up throughout the day. I then curl my lashes with ELF's Eyelash Curlers (ELF, £1.50) and use Maybelline's One by One Mascara (Boots, £8.49). I've repurchased this mascara so many times. It has a plastic brush, so I was sceptical at first, but I was pleasantly surprised and haven't looked back since. I love it because it separates every last eyelash, making them look natural. If I want to wear an eyeshadow, I've recently been opting for Maybelline's 24HR Colour Tattoo Gel Cream Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze (Boots, £4.99), and if I want to use a liquid eyeliner, I've been using Collection 2000's Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner in Black (Boots, £2.99). Both the eyeshadow and felt tip liner do not budge once dry - I love them.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced mocha, NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Campo de' Fiori and Maybelline 24HR Colour Tattoo Gel Cream Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze

Like the rest of my make-up, I like my lip products to be fuss free and last most of the day. The shades I've been wearing the most are Collection 2000's Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Creams in Fairy Cake and Cotton Candy (Boots, £2.99) (Review can be found here), NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan (Joy017, £5-6, including P&P) and Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Sweetheart. Sweetheart is not available in the UK, but you can buy other shades in Superdrug and Boots for £5.99 at the moment (Normally £7.99). The Balm Stain is quite bright, so I like to sheer it out with my finger.

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Fairy Cake, Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Cotton Candy, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan and Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Sweetheart

That's it for my make-up! I'm left with a natural look. The brushes I use are by ELF Studio and Ecotools.

I don't use any products on my hair in the mornings. I just straighten or curl my hair using my Remington Pearl appliances. The Remington Pearl Curling Wand (Review can be found here) makes the curls in your hair last for days, so I don't need to use any hairspray to keep them in place.

And that's me ready for the day! Holy Moly, this post is long. It's because of the make-up products. My evening routine post shouldn't be as long!

*PR samples

Beauty Buys and Banana Pajama Bottoms

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer £4.19 from Superdrug, 17 blush in China Pink £3.49 from Boots, Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze £4.99 from Boots, GOSH Soft 'n Shine lip balms in Passion Pink and Perfect Plum £3 each (on sale) from Superdrug.

I bought yet another Collection Lasting Perfection concealer! I must have had about 15 tubes of this wonderful product. Since they were released, I wasn't interested in the Maybelline Colour Tattoos, but found myself buying one yesterday! I'm going to use it on my lower lash line. Let me tell you, these things do not budge! My Superdrug had a huge basket full of discounted GOSH products, so I spent a good 10 minutes searching through everything. Out of the two shades I picked up, Perfect Plum is my favourite because it is more wearable and doesn't contain any shimmer. I kind of wish I picked up Barbie and Sweetheart now, but you only get 1.5g of product, so even at £3, they're overpriced. 

And from Primark, I purchased...

Banana pajama bottoms! They were £5. They're very... bold, but I love the quirkiness of them. Don't worry, these are only going to be worn inside the house!

I've been spending money, yet again!

I bought a lot of the following things weeks ago, but I never got round to posting about them!

Boots - 17 Wild Metallics cream eyeshadow in Wild Nude - £3.99

I rarely wear eyeshadow, but I thought this would slowly ease me into wearing it because it's a subtle, day time shade.

eBay (Joy017) - NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha and NYX Concealer in a Jar in Green - Around £3.50 including P&P and around £5.40 including P&P

I've been using the Jumbo Eye Pencil on my lower lash line and then applying a taupe eyeshadow over the top. I needed another green concealer, so I thought I would try this :) I highly recommend this eBay seller. Great prices and fast delivery from America.

The Body Shop - Inflatable Bath Pillow and Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Bar - Originally £8 and £3

The Body Shop had yet another discount code floating around (this time it entitled you to 30% off) so I thought it was the perfect time to get what I needed. The bath pillow is one of my dad's Christmas presents. He's really hard to get for, so I tend to buy him things I know he'll get a lot of use out of. The cleansing bar is my favourite cleanser and is my third one!

Claire's Accessories - Ladybird and fish earrings - £3.50 and £6.50

I love the ladybird earrings and have been wearing them a lot recently, which makes a change because I haven't worn earrings in over a year. The fish earrings are part of my sister's Christmas present :)

H&M - Basic cardigans - £9.99 each

I was looking for some basic blue cardigans for ageesss, so was delighted to see some in H&M for a great price. These have been getting a lot of wear because blue is my favourite colour.

Primark - Thick tights - £3 (I also bought some other thick cotton tights, which were down to £1.90)

I am really impressed with these tights! They're very opaque. A lot of tights I've tried in the past haven't been very opaque once they've stretched around your legs.

I've also just got a new bed (my Christmas present from my parents). For it, I've bought a new duvet, two duvet cover sets and two fitted sheets. I still need to buy some new pillows, a valance, lamp and fairy lights. Here is a phone camera snap shot of one of the duvet covers:

It's from Tesco and was £13.

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September Favourites

I really should just call these posts 'New products I've tried and liked in *insert month here*' because if I did show you my favourites, you would be reading the same post each month! I rarely change my routine.

I would just like to say that I am sorry for the photo below. My camera is getting worse (or my expectations for quality are getting higher). I wasn't going to write this post, but I really wanted to blog, so I'm putting up with the photo.

Also, I haven't included a swatch of the blush or lipstick because of how rubbish the photos were, but I will be reviewing each of them soon, where I will include some :)

Remington Pearl curling wand- £25.49 from Boots (review coming soon)

This should actually be in my 'Favourite products of 2011' post. It's amazing. I curled my hair with it about a week ago (without hairspray. I never use it) and two days later, the curls were still in. The packaging is also very pretty.

Original Source Vanilla Milk and Raspberry shower gel- £1 when on offer (which is regularly), £2ish when not, from Superdrug, Boots and most supermarkets.

I love Original Source shower gels. I always use their Lime one and it's super duper yummy (very informative, I know). This one is just as delicious and smells of Strawberries & Cream sweets. I picked this up in Asda a couple weeks ago but when I was there last night, I couldn't find it. I really, really hope it hasn't been discontinued.

Accessorize With-Love Merged Blush in Starlet- £5-6 from Accessorize or Superdrug.

I added this to my virtual basket when Accessorize had an online (and in-store) sale. The main reason I bought it was because it was £2.50. I didn't actually think I'd get much use out of it. However, I have! The pigmentation is average, which can be built up, and it gives you a nice glow.

Maybelline The One by One Volum' Express mascara- £8.49 from Boots (review coming soon)

I won this from a Womans Own magazine competition and my first thought was 'Ahh a plastic brush'. I am not (well, wasn't) a fan of plastic brushes because years ago, I tried one that was awful. Plastic brushes have developed since then and this mascara has converted me. The one rule I have with mascara is that it must not clump. At all. I've seen some mascara reviews where girls say 'it doesn't clump' and when I look at the photo, I think their lashes look clumpy. This mascara coats your lashes One by One (shocker!). I love Maybelline's Colossal and Falsies mascaras, and this one joins the list.

17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Belle- £4.89 from Boots (review coming soon)

I'm not a lipstick wearer. In fact, I don't wear any kind of lip product regularly. A bit of lip balm here, some lip stain there, but that's all. So the fact that I've wore this out of the house a few times is amazing. It's a natural, 'my lips but better' shade and feels like a balm on. Sorry I don't have any swatches to show you today, but I will try and write the review as soon as possible.

My favourite shop of the month is... New Look!

This month, I've bought two pairs of jeans, four vests, a pair of heels (and soon to be a pair of boots) from them. All basics, but that's all I wear. I do think some of their jumpers and cardigans are over priced, but their shoes are reasonable (and loved by many), as well as their other basic items.

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Nails Of The Week - OPI Elephantastic Pink and Comparisons

I love shades like this; warm pinks. This polish has a jelly formula, so is quite sheer. Above, I have on 4 coats!

There are quite a few dupes for this, which are not sheer:

Barry M Pink Flamingo, OPI Elephantastic Pink, 17 Pink Grapefruit and ASOS Paint in Blake.

 Barry M Pink Flamingo is the closet in shade to Elephantastic Pink. It's opaque in 1-2 coats and is only £2.99, so I would definitely recommend it over the OPI polish. The 17 and ASOS shades are slightly darker, but still in the same colour family.

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Shop!

I only bought my sister's birthday present and a few essentials but I thought I'd show you anyway. I personally find it quite useful when people show what essentials they've bought.

Boots:

17 blush in First Flush - £3.49

17 blush in China Pink - £3.49

Natural Collection WaterGuard mascara - 3 for £5

Natural Collection LashLength mascara - 3 for £5

Natural Collection LashCurl mascara - 3 for £5

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection foundation in Ivory - £5.99

17 Nail Bar in a Bag - Free when you purchase 2 or more 17 products

My sister's make up 'collection' consists of a foundation (Collection 2000), a very well used blush, a scratchy blush brush, a dried up mascara and a few lip balms. It saddens me when I look at the state of it! That is why I've bought her a load of make up for her birthday.

Wilkinsons and Poundland:

Wikinsons - Dove deodorant stick - £1.94

Wilkinsons - Germolene - £1.24

Poundland - Eucryl teeth whitening powder - £1

Poundland - Airwick squidgy air freshener thing in Country Berries - £1

Poundland - Dog rope toy - £1

I'm looking forward to using the teeth whitening powder; I'll let you know how it goes!

The air freshener smells so good!

And of course, I had to get Jessie another toy :)

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17 Endless Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Lady

Price: £3.59

I'm not a regular lip gloss wearer but I'm beginning to wear it more. When I first saw this I didn't think much of it. I was surprised to see this has 5 star ratings on Boots.com so decided to give it a chance.

What I love about this product is the packaging. A lot of lip glosses on the market these days bulk up the packaging to make 3ml of product look like 9ml. The 5ml of product you get with this lip gloss is in a basic plastic tube; no deceiving involved. The lid clicks firmly in place and also has a 'stopper' to make sure no product leaks.

The formula is very glossy (Hence the name!) and the consistency is slightly thick/sticky, but in a good way. This makes the gloss last longer than others would. Pink Lady is a shimmery pink which is very pretty.

I can see why this product has so many great reviews.

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17 Va Va Voom Plumping Lip Gloss in So Buff

Bare lips, lips 15 minutes after applying the lip gloss.

This is a new product from 17 which has come out with the Spring Collection and is £3.79.

So Buff is a nude shade suspended in small shimmer particles. I think the other two shades are also suspended in shimmer as the particles reflect light, creating an illusion of fuller lips.

The gloss tingles/almost stings for about half an hour which I like.

As you can see from the photos, the gloss fills out the lines in my lips and the colour evens out the tone. Because of the shimmer particles reflecting light and the gloss filling out the lines, it makes my lips look slightly fuller but in terms of size, I don't think it makes a huge difference.

Overall, I really like this gloss. The photos speak for themselves!

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