Mini Christmas Lush Haul

I love Lush all year round but when it comes to their seasonal products being released each year, I get so excited and usually spend a lot of my time in store, 'umming' and 'ahhhing' over which ones to get! I didnt think much of the Halloween range this year but I always love the Christmas products! I usually get a few Lush bits as Christmas presents so I didn't go overboard on this particular trip (there will most likely be another trip during the week as I can never resist when passing by!!).  Here are the goodies I picked up... (The Magic of Christmas Bubble Bar just looks magical and I'm most excited to try this one- although slightly worried about the state it will leave my bath in with all that glitter!!)

What are your favourite Lush Christmas products (new or old)? 

Abbie x

Beauty Bay Haul

This was my first time shopping with Beauty Bay and I can quite confidently say, the whole process was a pleasant one! I spent enough to get free next day delivery (ooops!) which was all accurate and it did come the very next day which I was impressed with as I ordered on a Sunday evening so was unsure whether it would come on the Tuesday instead. Beauty Bay have so many lovely brands that aren't available in our English drugstore shops. I really had to rein it in and keep myself to a strict budget otherwise I would have easily spent way more money than I did!!

Zoeva Naturally Yours Palette- £18.00

I have had my eyes on the Zoeva eyeshadow palettes for a while now and it had just stayed on my 'want' list (anyone else have one of these?! Mine's in my notes on my phone hahaha!) for a while. I struggled to decide which one to get as they are all so gorgeous but I went for the Naturally yours one as I prefer neutral eye looks with warm browns and golden colours. When I opened this, I did the most geeky smile at it for a good minute- it is just stunning and looks soooo much better in real life! My Fiance really doesn't understand how I can call makeup beautiful and just looked at me like I was mad but I was totally mesmerized by it (makeup nerd over here!!). 

Morphe R37 Pointed Blender Brush- £4.75

As I was buying more eyeshadows, I felt I probably needed a new blending brush and was sucked in by this rose gold detailed Morphe one! It is nice and soft and feels good quality so we shall see how it goes!

Milani Baked Blush- Berry Amore- £8.00

I have seen these Milani Baked Blushes talked about so much over the blogging and youtube community so thought it was time I tried one out! This colour looked like it would suit my skin tone the best. It is really quite pleasing to the eye although the packaging is a little on the plasticy/cheap side, but this isn't really an issue for me, after all it's what's inside that counts!

Milani Matte Lip Cream- Adorable- £8.00

This is the only product of the haul that I have actually tried (I will be reviewing them all in detail soon). It is a beautiful colour and has some amazing staying power! I actually struggled to remove it which to me is a positive as there is nothing worse than spending money on a lip product that needs reapplying every 5 minutes! 

LAgirl Endless Semi Permanent Lip Liner- Natural- £2.49

I added this to my basket as I was in need of a natural colour lip liner that would go with a lot of my current favourite lip colours. It was also cheap as chips (literally!) and i've heard good things about the brand LA girl which is another brand that I have never tried until now. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and it doesn't make you go and hammer your bank balance because I know I always go straight onto beauty websites when I see people's makeup hauls or reviews!

Abbie x

Loreal Pure Clay Purity Mask

As always, seeing other people love and review beauty products makes me run out to the shops and try them out myself! My bank account is not liking me very much since I've started blogging and reading other people's blogs more!

I had seen lots of varied reviews on the new Loreal Pure Clay face masks and i'm a bit of a sucker for a good face mask and pamper. I was interested in trying one of these masks from the range and when I saw how reasonably priced they were at £5 (introductory offer at Boots, usually £7.99), I had to pick one up. I am hoping to try the other two in the range as I have really enjoyed this one. 

This mask applies beautifully. It feels so cooling on the skin and doesn't have that stinging sensation that makes you panic that all your skin is going to burn off in an allergic reaction like a lot of other masks have! The consistency is perfect as well- not too thick but creamy enough to feel luxurious and cooling on the skin. I left this mask on for about 10 minutes while relaxing in the bath (perfect pamper evening), as it is suggested to leave it on for 5-10 minutes or until it drys on your skin.  A little goes a long way as well (it states that you can get 10 applications out of this- I believe I got about 7 or 8 but I do have a big face hahaha!).  L'oreal suggest that you use this mask 2-3 times a week, but for me personally, once a week was enough. 

The mask I picked up is supposed to purify and mattify the skin and I believe it does just that! I have recently had a very bad few months with my skin and felt like I hadn't had a breakout free month, or even week for a long time. After using this mask just once, I can honestly say I noticed a difference and have since had no major breakouts for a good few weeks! My skin felt so smooth after removing the mask and for the next week after using it, was a lot more matte and had really calmed down my oily areas. The mask is easy to remove and not too messy which is a massive thumbs up for me as I hate it when you have to scrub your face to remove a mask as this can make your skin very sensitive after having a deep cleansing treatment. 

I am definitely going to purchase the other two masks in the range and hope that they are just as good as I feel this one has been :)

What is your favourtie face mask? (any brand, I'd love to try more)

Abbie x

Clinique Sonic Cleansing Brush

'I am a big believer in that if you focus on good skincare, you really won't need a lot of makeup'- Demi Moore. 

I live by this quote!

Growing up through my teen years my skin was always pretty good. I never really got proper breakouts until I was about 18. This is when I'd say I actually started taking better care of my skin as before I would just use makeup wipes and be done with it. 

Aside from the occasional breakout that feels like I have boulders on my skin (it always looks worse to yourself!), the one thing that bothered me about my skin was how dull it always looked and that I often got blotchy discolouration here and there. 

I was given the Clinique Sonic Cleansing Brush as a birthday present back in June this year. I have used it every day since and have really noticed a difference in my skin. I had read reviews on these kind of facial brushes before and been put off by people saying it made their skin worse before better as it takes a bit of getting used to. Luckily, I didn't experience this. My skin is much clearer, less oily and much more even toned as well as being more radiant and glowing! 

I've never suffered from really noticeable blackheads but obviously everyone has a slight build up or discolouration around their nose (gross, I know, but let's face it, we've all been there with nose strips and various blackhead removing tools!! Cringe!). Cleansing brushes are great for helping get rid of this and I love how this brush has the green bristles at the top for getting into those hard to reach places. 

The brush that I have came with 3 clinique miniatures inside which was great as I was looking to try a new skincare brand anyway at this point. It came with the foaming sonic facial soap, clarifying lotion and the dramatically different moisturiser. The moisturiser didn't really suit me and felt quite oily and sticky on my skin which is a shame as I know loads of people swear by it and love it. I wasn't particularly fussed by the lotion either and prefer my Liz Earle skin tonic still. I loved the facial soap and when I ran out, couldn't get it in full size as it was out of stock everywhere!:O. I went back to using my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and even tried using it with the facial brush but it wasn't the right consistency as the brush works best with foaming cleansers. After a few weeks I managed to get my hands on the facial soap and have used and loved it every day since! 

I think the skincare routine I have right now will be the one I continue for a long time as I have found it to be the best for my skin yet!

What is your favourite skincare product?

Abbie x