A Mini Makeup Haul

This is my second post of the day for all you lucky people, and this time around I have a little haul. I've been trying to stay more restrained leading up to Christmas, so there's only a few items, but I thought I should share them with you.

Boots recently had one of their 3 for 2 mix and match across all makeup brands, so of course I had to take advantage of this. I needed a new foundation for the winter months, now that I'm paler. I chose the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation Nude (£7.99) because I loved the Match Perefection, but wanted something slightly higher coverage this time around. I did decide to get the medium coverage nude one rather than the full coverage original as my skin is actually behaving itself at the moment (touch wood).

The next product I decided to get on the deal was this L'oreal Matte Bronzer (£7.99). It's less orange toned than some so I thought it was be good for contouring, but I have found that it still isn't grey toned enough so I may have to save up for Benefit's Hoola as I can't find any grey toned bronzers in the drugstore. However, this is still good for bronzing up my skin, and because it's matte, it still looks really natural.

The final product I got in this deal was the Maybelline Under Eye Concealer (£7.99), which silly old me forgot to photograph. It has a very unique applicator but so far I've been loving it. It has quite a thin consistency but it still has good coverage. I like to have a different concealer for my under eyes to my blemishes as it is much more hygienic so this is great for me.

Lastly, I bought this an Essie nail polish in the shade Toggle to the Top. I have had my eye on this for a while but at £8 I just couldn't justify it. Low and behold, I am browsing in TK Maxx and find it on sale for £3.99! Of course, at this price I just had to pick it up, and so far I am impressed. It is perfectly opaque in two coats, dries relatively quickly, and lasts well on the nails. The only negative is that it is very difficult to remove, but then that applies to all glitter polishes.

And that's it! I'm quite proud of myself because there's a lot on my wishlist at the moment but hopefully after Christmas I'll have a bit of money to spend on a few new beauty products.

emma x

Kiko Haul

For today's post I wanted to share with you what I bought on my first ever trip to Kiko, which, for those of you that don't know, is a cosmetics brand that can't be purchased in other retailers such as Boots. I was very excited to have a browse around the store as I had heard a lot of amazing things about the brand, and I was overwhelmed with the amazing range of products. There was so much more makeup than I thought there would be, a surprisingly large skincare range, and a good selection of brushes. I went to the flagship store on Regent Street (it's basically on Oxford Street though as it's on the corner where they meet), so there may not be as greater selection in other Kiko stores, but I was truly spoiled for choice. It's a miracle that I didn't buy more than I did, but I managed to restrain myself, and tried to pick the cheaper products rather than the 'pro' versions.

The prices in Kiko are really good and are equivalent to the middle range of the drugstore, with most everyday products ranging from £3 to £8. Some products, such as setting sprays and complete brow kits were more expensive, but that's the case with most brands. For the price you get excellent quality packaging, and a lot of the products came inside boxes which makes the products, and store as a whole, seem more luxurious.

The first product I got was an eyeshadow in the shade 143 which is a really nice pale pink shade with a little glitter in it. This is a good colour for a quick wash over the lids when I don't have time to do anything special. From the couple of times I've used it, I've found that it applies really nicely. It creases slightly throughout the day but because it's not a bold shade you don't really notice. For £2.90 I think this is a good eyeshadow and is perfect for travel if you only want to take a shade or two.

The next product is a nail varnish in the shade 363, which is a dark reddish pink. I really like this colour as I think it's good for summer because it's bright, but the deepness of the shade makes it suitable for winter too. The brush is quite wide, which I like as it makes application easier. I haven't used it yet so I can't comment on the formula, but I'm really excited to use it. These nail polishes are £2.50 which I think is a good price for a nail varnish.

The next thing I bought was an eyeliner from the Smart Eye Pencil range. It is a lovely turquoise blue colour in the shade 813. I thought this was perfect for summer to add a pop of colour to my eyes. From swatching it on my hand, I found that it was a little on the solid side, but for £2.50 I can't really complain, and I will only be using it on odd occasions. They do have similar shades in their other eyeliner ranges though, if you are interested in a slightly softer pencil from the brand.

I also bought a lip liner from the Smart Lip Pencil range as whenever I go for a bold lip, it's nearly always a bright pink, so I knew it would be worth it as it will be a shade I use often. The shade in question is 708, which as I said, is a bright pink. Because I will be wearing it under lipsticks and glosses, the exact tone of the shade doesn't matter to me too much but I do really like the colour so I could potentially wear it alone.

Lastly, I picked up the Glow Touch Lip and Cheek Colour in the shade 102 Wave Hibiscus, which is a lovely peachy coral colour. I have been wanting to try a cream blush for a while but wasn't sure if they would be for me, so I figured that this would be a good solution because even if I didn't like it on my cheeks, I could use it on my lips. What really lured me towards this product is the gorgeous packaging which is unique to their summer collection. This was on sale for £4 so I would hurry if you want to try it as they won't be around much longer.

I hope you enjoyed this haul as I haven't posted one in a while. I will be sure to review most (or maybe even all) of these products after I have tested them for a couple of weeks. Be sure to leave a comment telling me whether you've tried anything from Kiko and what you thought of it.

emma x