Recent Beauty Purchases

I received a sample of coconut oil with one of my recent online orders, and as I mentioned on Twitter, it removed my makeup twice, moisturised my face, and conditioned my hair. I started to see why people are obsessed with it, so had to buy some myself. I bought the Biona Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oil (£4.39/200g) because it was buy one get one half price at Boots, and I paid with my points, so it was technically free. 

I'm a big fan of Superdrug's own brand products, and have tried many over the years. The Hydrate & Shine Coconut Water and Coconut Oil Conditioning Hair Masque (£2.65 down from £3.99) and Clearly Youthful Retexturising Glycolic Peel Off Mask (£2.39 down from £4.89) both had good reviews, and were so cheap, that I had to try them. I've only ever tried glycolic products from Nip & Fab, and I love them, so am really looking forward to trying the face mask. You don't see many affordable brands with a product like this. The packaging of this Clearly Youthful range is not bad either.

I was running out of my Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot Primer (£10), so needed another, and because it was buy one get one half price, thought I'd browse the rest of the range. I've seen the Hocus Focus Illuminator (£11) talked about a few times, and liked the idea of adding some to my foundation, so opted for a bottle. I've already mixed it with my base makeup a few times, and used it as a highlighter, and really like it. It's glowy, not shimmery. I used to use the Superdrug Vitamin E Radiance Face Cream (£2.99) years back, but I don't know exactly how similar they are because it was so long ago. 

I hadn't ordered from The Body Shop in a while, but was running low on my Shade Adjusting Lightening Drops (£10) and All In One Face Base in 02 (£14), so thought I'd browse the rest of the website while ordering these. I'd heard good things about the Fresh Nude Foundation (£15), so added the shade 010 Chelsea Porcelain to my basket. I've been using it for over a week now, and quite like it. It has a light-medium coverage, with a natural satin finish, which surprised me because I somehow assumed it would be overly dewy. It's not cakey, doesn't cling to any dry areas, and feels fairly moisturising. 

Seeing as it's fast becoming my new favourite thing, I'm curious to know if you use coconut oil?

Another Collection of Essence Purchases

I posted an Essence haul just last month (here), and although I said I may pop back to the stand for a couple more things, I didn't expect to buy enough to warrant another post. But here we are.

I really, really didn't need another mascara, but wanted to try the I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara (£2.80) because of the high ratings. At £2.80, I thought I may as well.

I already own two lipsticks from the nude range, but found the Long Lasting Lipstick in 06 Barely There (£2.30), and had to add it to my collection. The other two I have from Essence are pink and mauve based, whereas this is more brown, so it's completely warranted.

I picked up another Lip Liner (£1), this time in 05 Soft Berry, because I quite liked the Satin Mauve one I bought last time.

I was also a fan of the Liquid Lipsticks (£2.50), even though I wouldn't go as far to say they're liquid lipsticks. Like the Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Lacquers, they're pigmented, balmy glosses. The shade above is 04 Show Off, which is a bright, summer red.

Finally, I opted for the Long Lasting Eye Pencil in 25 Say Hi Light (£1.50). I absolutely love this pencil, and have already bought another. If you'd like to see my review of it, click here.

This affordable brand has really impressed me, and I like that they regularly bring out new releases to keep up with the trends. They have a range of gel-like nail polishes, and have recently brought out eyebrow pomades as well. It's certainly a brand I'm going to keep an eye on.

Two New Zoeva Brushes

Zoeva is my favourite brand for makeup brushes, and I've recently added some more to my collection. 

I prefer cream blushes over powder ones, and these require a stippling brush. I've used the Real Techniques Stippling Brush for years, but wanted a smaller option so I'd have more control over where the colour is placed. The Zoeva 122 Petite Stippling Brush is perfect for this, and means I have the space to blend, blend, blend.

I wanted a narrow, rectangular brush so I could define certain areas of my face with more precision. Like my jawline, for example. The Zoeva 109 Face Paint Brush had the size and shape I wanted, but it's made with natural hair. I have a couple of the natural brushes, and don't like them as much as their synthetic counterparts because they shed more and don't hold their shape as well. I then found the vegan version, so opted for this one instead. The 109v is one you have to be careful with because of its density. You need a very light hand and time to blend the hell out of your product of choice. Other than contour, though, it's great for highlight. It's the perfect size and shape for the tops of your cheeks. It's best paired with a more subtle product, though, because of the density I mentioned. If I'm ever ordering from somewhere which stocks Zoeva, I'll probably add another of these to my basket so I have one for each task.

Above, you have the Zoeva 109v Face Paint Vegan, the Zoeva 122 Petite Stippling, and the Real Techniques Stippling Brush for comparison.

You can buy Zoeva from a few online stores, but I've personally bought all of mine from Beauty Bay and Love Makeup. I know that Selfridges now stock them as well. Delivery is £5, but if you're already buying something from there, it's worth having a look.

Lush Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar

The Lush massage bars can not only be used in multiple ways, but are a dream for someone who's lazy when it comes to moisturising. I simply step away from the water when showering, apply one of these over my body, and then I'm left with soft skin for two or three days. No rubbing in, while standing in the cold, is required. You can also cut them up and use them as bath melts, by the way.

Strawberry Feels Forever, if you haven't already guessed, has a creamy strawberry fragrance, very similar to that of Peeping Santa. It's more strawberry milkshake than actual strawberry, but it's pleasant all the same. Just like the other massage bars Lush has to offer, it contains cocoa and shea butter, along with various oils, and leaves my skin feeling incredibly moisturised. I will say that it decreases in size fairly quickly, though, and can be difficult to grip as it gets smaller.

I prefer this one to Pearl (review here), and will probably buy it again in the future, but it hasn't topped Each Peach and Ro's Argan, which are my favourite body conditioning products from Lush.

You can purchase Strawberry Feels Forever (75g) for £5.95, online and in store.

The Best Nude Pencil For Pale Complexions (And It's Only £1.50)

Nude eyeliners are not only great for applying to your waterline and making your eyes appear bigger and brighter, but they make for great blemish concealers as well. It's best to wipe them after use, or have separate pencils for each task, for sanitary reasons, but it really is worth it. 

I've been using Rimmel's Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Nude (second swatch) and Look Beauty's (remember this brand?) Long-Last Liner Eye Brightener (third swatch) for a while now. They look incredibly orange on my incredibly pale arm, but they're really not that bad on my face.

Still, I've found a pencil much better in the last couple of weeks, and it's from the brand Essence. The Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Say Hi Light is just £1.50, and is lighter in shade. This makes my eyes look brighter, and conceals my blemishes more than the other two. It's creamy and pigmented, but what has impressed me the most is how long lasting it really is. It stays on my waterline all day, and when it came to removing the swatches above, it was the last one standing. To top it all off, it's mechanical, so you don't need to sharpen it.

I've already bought another because I know it's going to get a lot of use, and I'm always worried brands will discontinue my favourite products!

Essence products can be found at Wilko, online and in store. If you've yet to check them out, I'd recommend you do so. You never know, you may end up finding an all time favourite, costing you just the loose change in your pocket.

What's in My Bag?

I've had this post sat in my drafts for a couple months now, and it's about time I changed that! So, 'what's in my bag?' posts and videos are classics, but I've yet to do one in the seven years I've been blogging. I've only recently left education (It's nearly been two years; I need to let go), and have only used bags in the past for this purpose, which wouldn't have been interesting to see. However, I now have a bag filled with things for those 'what if' and 'just in case' scenarios, which rarely occur.

The most important thing in my bag is my wallet, clearly. My sister bought me the Kate Spade Cedar Street Lacey Wallet in Cy Blue for my birthday (post here), and I absolutely love it. It's so pretty!

Then you have my Kindle Paperwhite (post here), which is still one of the best things I've bought, a shopper bag, pen, and tissues, which are all practical items to have in one's bag.

The hand gel, hand cream, hair brush, and serum really belong in my cosmetics bag, but they don't fit, so tend to just sit at the bottom of my bag at the moment. I know the serum seems a little much, but since using my new straighteners, my hair has been prone to becoming more static. This OGX Coconut Milk Serum smells incredible, by the way.

This photo doesn't do my tacky mermaid cosmetics bag justice, but inside includes:

Painkillers, tampons, floss, mints, gum, oil blotting sheets, my Travalo, concealer, a lip product or two, and a Tic Tac case containing plasters, a nail file, hair ties, and grips.

Some would say excessive, but I'm going with prepared, and I think that's where we'll leave today's post!