What £250 Looks Like From Sephora - And Why It's No Longer Worth Shopping With Them From The UK

When it comes to make up hauls, there's the good and the excellent. Then there's the perceived make up Mecca, Sephora. Ask any make up addict and it's the dream. Any make up junkie who steps foot in a country that homes a Sephora store will hot-foot it there faster than you can say 'haul' and swiftly pick up a collection of pre-planned purchases. Because when it comes to make up shopping, Sephora is the one to beat - right? I've been one of those girls many, many times. And in the absence of many physical visits, I'm prone to making the odd (usually twice a year) bonanza haul online. I look forward to these times and spend months deciding what I'm going to order. 

A HUGE World Duty Free Haul! (Part 2)

As you guys know, I recently went along to the Gatwick Summer Festival as a guest of my good friends at World Duty Free. I blogged all about how fantastic the event was, what I got up to and why the first ever #GatwickSummerFestival is just so darn fabulous. So make sure you check out Part 1 in my previous post! This will explain everything you need to know about all of the fun festival themed activities going on at the Gatwick North and South Terminals, all the travel exclusives you can pick up, and there's a chance to win up to £5,000 worth of airport vouchers too. So make sure you have a read of my post first...

The One Place You May Be Overlooking For Beauty Shopping...

When it comes to shopping for beauty products, we've all got our favourites haven't we? We've got the amazing all-in-one's like my good friends Cult Beauty and co. Then we've got department stores galore - all with mostly the same brands, but a few exclusives which mean we could never be fully loyal to just one. Then there's the direct brands that are only sold online, and the overseas brands too that we can't get very easily either. Without the make up mecca, Sephora, opening it's doors here in the UK and making all our beauty dreams come true, we do tend to have to shop around for our beauty buys. That's okay, but did you know there's somewhere closer than you think that you may have overlooked?

American Drugstore Beauty Haul

When it comes to drugstore make-up, nothing beats shopping in the States. Their drugstore brands outperform, price-bust and generally impress to the max. Some of their drugstore products are so impressive in fact, that to buy them here, you'll end up paying over the odds, often counter-brand prices. Mad eh? So while I was recently doing some American shopping online, I decided to treat myself to a bit of a drugstore haul, and I am SO glad that I did because almost everything has wowed me...

My Huge Colourpop Haul!

Now before I start, I'm going to admit that I am a FULL Colourpop addict. I have a LOT of their products in my collection and am constantly making sneaky orders for more. I can't help myself! But I've never made quite as many as I did at the end of last year: making four separate orders in two months. Even for me, that's a lot! But what can I say? The Holiday Collections and new releases just kept coming and the Boxing Day sale was too good to miss with 40% off site-wide and a free palette, and free shipping. What's a girl to do other than shop-away?! 

Top Bath and Body Works Scents

I've been a self-confessed Bath and Body Works addict for years now. However, it was on my visit to New York last summer where it really went up a gear. I bought as much back with me as I could, then started making regular (huge) orders to cover my addiction. Much to my boyfriend's annoyance, because our bathroom shelves are filled with my shower gels and body creams and there's not much room for his stuff now...but hey, a girl can never really have too much Bath and Body Works in her life, right?!

Charlotte Tilbury First Impressions

So as a blogger, one name we're all exposed to frequently on the beauty circuit is Charlotte Tilbury. Until then, I'd never heard of her, or her brand, and was sweetly ignorant to the cult classics she has been making for quite a while now... Sadly for my bank balance, this changed with a recent visit to Selfridges in Birmingham...

My Sephora Haul

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you will know that I did an online shop at Sephora this week. Living in the UK means we don't have Sephora here, and it's one of my favourite shops! So, when I do decide to do a little haul, I make sure it's worth my while. And seeing as it's my birthday in a few days, I had the perfect reason to treat myself to this Sephora Haul! I even paid the $2 for a gift box - after all, it's a birthday present to me, from me!

I've used the same make-up for years now, occasionally trying the odd new item but never straying far or for long from my trusty usuals. In the last few months I've found so many amazing new brands that I want to try, so I started with these bits...

Tarte Amazonian Clay Gifted Mascara

I've wanted to try this mascara for months after a friend of mine used it and her lashes looked amazing! Tarte is new discovery for me, and I can't say I'm disappointed. As with all Tarte products, this mascara has amazonian clay in it - which actually helps to improve the health of your lashes while also adding massive volume - it's win/win. I used this today and am so impressed! I've been using the Benefit 'They're real' for ages and haven't thought I would find anything that would come close...then I've used this and I'm converted! What's more, usually when I take off my make-up, my 'They're Real' is a nightmare to get off, 'Gifted' came off cleanly and my lashes feel great and soft. This one is already getting a mahoosive 5/5!

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector - Champagne Pop

I found out about this limited edition BECCA product on the grapevine, and it does come in a palette version which was sold out, so I got the pressed version on it's own ($38). It's a gorgeous pressed powder highlighter in a soft white gold/pinky/peach colour and it's got natural pearl pigments in it that adjust to your skins undertones - meaning it fits to your own skin. I am totally in love with this now too, having worn it today! I have oily skin and so wearing highlighters can be a bit of a nightmare because it can add to the shine that's taken affect by the end of the day. However this didn't do that, it blended perfectly with my other make-up and looked great on my cheek and brow bones. Again, this one is already getting 5/5!

Too Faced Melted

I am the biggest pain when it comes to lip colour. I struggle to find anything that I think suits me and always revert back to my old trusty lipstick. I've spent a fortune over the years on lipsticks, glosses etc but I never use them for long before I convince myself they don't suit me - so I surprised myself when I decided to buy this! It's called a 'liquified long wear lipstick' and it comes in a gloss style tube. It goes on like a gloss, but dried like a lipstick (perfect for me) and it's literally the longest lasting lip colour I've ever worn! I put it on this morning and it last through breakfast, mid morning cuppa and lunch before I needed to reapply - I was so impressed! I chose the Melted nude shade, but there's loads of lovely colours from nudes, pinks and dark reds. Happily giving this a 4/5.

Nudestix #bestbronzesmokeyeye Holiday Kit

I'd never heard of Nudestix before but I think this brand is going to become a firm favourite of mine! This kit includes three eyeshadow pencils and the colours are really gorgeous and shimmery. The set includes a nude, a bronze and a deep bronze to create a smokey eye look. They are also waterproof and supposed to last all day without need for reapplication. This set cost $49 but the value is $72 so it's an amazing bargain. I haven't used this yet, but I can't wait to.

Nudestix Magnetic Eye Colour

This is another of the Nudestix eyeshadow pencils, but I got the black. I'm a huge fan of the smokey eye look, in fact I rarely go for other colours, so I got the black to go with the Holiday Kit shades too, in order to really deepen the dark shade I use in my eyelid crease. All the Nudestix come with a pencil sharpener and a mirror so I can't wait to try this too.

Sephora collection Kissing Stories Set

Again, I surprised myself when I got this - but it just looked so cute that I couldn't resist it! It's a holiday kit, meaning it will only be available for this Christmas - so I thought 'why not'?! This set has 8 different lip pencils and they all have a lovely glossy finish. The shades in the pack go from nudes to reds with some gorgeous pinks and fuchsia shades. The best thing about this set is the price! If you got the pencils individually you would pay $80 (£53 approx) but the set costs $28 - which is huge value! I used one of these yesterday and it was lovely, and I can't wait to film a video to show you guys all the shades in this set.

Tate Light Of The Party Collectors Make-Up Case

The real treat of the haul! Another Tarte product, but wow am I so impressed with this! This kit is a limited edition (and it's expected that they will sell out fast) Christmas set which has SO much in it! There are 30 eyeshadows in different finishes (matte, shimmer etc) and 24 of them are brand new shades! They are also all the sorts of colours I would go for - the shades I can use for a smokey eye. Then there's a deluxe size mascara and eyeshadow brush too. There's also a bronzer, blusher and highlighter and it all comes in a gorgeous sequin case. The best part about this is the price - eek! The case cost $59 (approx £40) but the value of the contents inside is a whopping $394 or £258!! For that, I couldn't not buy it! I can not wait to start using this and working my way through the eyeshadows, and of course I'll do a YouTube video showing them all to you!

So there you have it, that's my birthday Sephora haul! It was like opening my presents on Christmas morning when this arrived! I can't wait to start saving up for my next haul already!

Check out the video I made too: 

What do you think of the products I got?

My Bluewater Haul

So I went on a girls day out to Bluewater Shopping Centre at the weekend, and I had an amazing day. We did some shopping, had a lovely lunch and had a generally wonderful day out. Want to find out what I got? Then check this out! 

My Mini Christmas Decoration Haul

In the spirit of being a person who adores Christmas, I've done pretty well to avoid the Christmas stuff in the shops (mostly because I've been totally skint). However, it's Sunday, the housework is (kinda/almost) done and I fancied a wander...

I didn't expect to buy anything, "just look" as I tell my son. But that went right out of the window when I saw the shining, glittery, sometimes dancing decorations. I actually became quite fond of a life size dancing and singing Santa, and other than the price tag, I had to talk myself out of buying it.

When it comes to Christmas, we've all got our own style. It's like fashion, everyone has their own take on it. Some go for colour schemes, some go for the traditional colours and some go for all out colour splatters in every room of the house. Personally, as long as it's Christmassy, I'm all for it! I watch Christmas films like they're going out of fashion as soon as it hits November 1st, and count down the days until I can put the tree up. What can I say, I'm an out-and-out Christmas fan.

When it comes to my decorations, I'm also a full on snob. I spent a great deal of time (and far too much money) a few years ago matching my tree decorations to the colours in my lounge - which are green, cream and mocha. The decorations on my tree (it obviously being green takes care of that colour) are all cream or mocha and come in various finishes (matte, sparkle, glitter, shiny etc). My lights even have to be the perfect shade of cream - which was a nightmare last year when half way through December, one set broke and I could only find white lights left in the shops!! I think that's the closest I've come to a Christmas breakdown... Anyway, I have a touch of shabby-chic going on in my lounge, and my decorations and Christmas bits must fit in with that, otherwise they don't get purchased. Yep, I'm that ruthless.

I wander around the shops at Christmas, looking at all the decorations - the traditional colours literally make my inner child squeal. I love the red and gold and even today I looked at the newly fashionable silver ranges and tried to image which room in my house I could transform just so I could have all the different colour schemes in one room of the house. I don't even mind temporarily painting and decorating rooms to fit this idea in, although realistically, my landlord would have a fit.

So, after mooching around the Christmas decorations today with my little man (who, by the way, I am raising to love Christmas just as much as me!) I decided it's kind of nearly November (ish) so it's okay to buy a few bits. So I did...

So my first spot was this gorgeous wooden house with cute little windows and ribbon and bells on top. It's so cute looking, and i've got a bit of a thing for cute looking ornamental houses, so at £5.99 it was a no brainer really. AND to be honest, this one might be staying out all year round, I think I can get away with it not being a Christmas item right?

Then there's this little guy. How cute?! I'm a lover of the nordic print themes that have become really popular over the past few years. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't match my perfectly coordinated colour scheme but he was just too cute not to, plus I'm sure I can edge a bit of neutral colouring into the room somehow, just for this little dude. (£1.79)

Then there's these teeny decorations. I've got a twiggy tree which is my favourite year round room decoration. It's on my sideboard and I've really wanted some small (obviously colour matching) decorations to hang on it at Christmas. These little packs were perfect. The pack of 10 wooden, cream hearts are rustic looking and shabby chic - and will be perfect for the twiggy tree, and if there's any left over, they can go on the actual tree! At only £1.49 for the pack of 10, it was an absolute bargain! Be rude not to.

Then there was the gorgeous six pack of hand sewn mini hearts - which are just so sweet that I couldn't resist, even though two are grey - which is totally not cream or mocha. I'm going to force these on the twiggy tree whether they match the room of not. Seriously though, I love these. £2.49 for the pack, and I'm tempted to get a few more packs and put them in the gift baskets I'm making for each of my friends as gifts this year.

So, I didn't go mad (unlike the lady in the shop who had two baskets overflowing and a child about to go into full meltdown after apparently being in there for over an hour and a half) but I'm pretty pleased with my first mini Christmas haul of the year!

(all items from The Range)