Christmas Haul and Swap Reveal Photos

Happy 2014 everyone!  I am officially on holiday so I'm sitting here in my PJ's in total hibernation mode.  I finally gathered up all my haul and swap items in December and can now do a proper post about all the things that I purchased or swapped for.

I've been working on downsizing my stash and swapping for items that I will use, so I'm very proud that I managed to get all my beauty stash into my makeup unit on my vanity and an IKEA Helmer :)

**Warning: Long post :) and apologies for the iphone pics, my camera is broke**

Let's start with my favourite purchase of the season!
Acne Comet Boots (purchased from Harrods)
I recently posted about this, but they are finally here. I wore them to work for 2 days and they were so comfortable and I received so many compliments ::blush::
My only grievance is that the box is pretty standard and flimsy. For boots that originally cost over £400, I expected a little bit more.

 

Do you see that bright bag in the background? I also treated myself to the 

Vivienne Westwood vs. Cambridge Satchel Company bag  

(purchased from The Cambridge Satchel Company in Covent Garden)

These bags are so sturdy and well constructed. I just fell in love with the energy and vibrancy of this design.  My friend who bought this for me told me to go for this one instead of the brown one that I was initially going to go for.

Continuing with the Vivienne Westwood theme...

Lush x Vivienne Westwood Scarves 

 (purchased from my local Lush shop)

These were very limited and I'm happy to have secured both.

Guerlain Terra Nerolia Highlighter 

(purchased from Debenhams)

I was shocked to see this at 50% off as usually these limited edition products sell out before they can even go on sale.  I love the Guerlain palettes so much. They smell so fresh and fruity and the craftsmanship is so stunning.

 

A few more purchases for the New Years

I didn't want to pay the money for a Louis Vuitton refill in my agenda, so I headed to TK Maxx in hopes to find the Taschen Calendar Diary and Viola! there were tons. Many years ago at Uni, I purchased a Dali one and I loved it. The pages are filled with a lot of graphics and the paper is high gloss and sturdy.  It will last all year and it's worth the £5.99 price tag as well.

Also included in this photo are Muji pens. A co-worker gave these to me and I accepted with a huge smile on my face :)

 

The next item was a bargain find on ebay for only 99p. 

The Ninja Bunny Drawstring bag is very kawaii! I currently use it as my makeup bag.  

The last of my purchases before I move onto my swap reveal...

Lush Shower Gels: Ponche, Rose Jam, and Snow Fairy

My favourite of the three has always been Snow Fairy, but I had to get Rose Jam and Ponche for their unique scents.  Ponche is fresh orange juice and tequila and Rose Jam is a modern take on the traditional Rose smell.  Both are full of zest, freshness, and I love using them!  I had to stock up so I ended up buying 3 large bottles after I bought the travel sizes.

They are indeed limited edition, you can try your luck at your local Lush shop.

 

Ok ladies & gents, onto the swap reveals....

TheFACEShop Fruit Face Mask from Korea

I haven't tried them yet so can't comment, but these are actual cotton mask you put onto your face. They look a bit creepy, but fun ha!

 

(From L-R)

Caudalie Huile Divine OIl

I have only used their moisturisers before, but the oil smells "divine" for real!

 

Lucy Annabella Organics - Argan & Bergamot oil

I never heard of this brand, but the scent is fresh and I'm looking forward to using this on my legs tonight

S5 Purity Serum

This is another brand that I haven't heard of. I'm in love with oils and serums lately, so happy to give this one a try

The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit hand cleanser

Anyone who knows me that I don't support the Body shop since they were recently bought out by L'oreal.  I will say though that this hand sanitizer leaves an orange scent on your hand for a long time.

Escada Cherry In The Air (gift)

If you like sweet and uncomplicated perfumes that borderline body sprays, then this one is for you.

Ren Neroli & Grapefruit body cream 

I love Neroli so much! It is actually moisturising as well. I know Ren had a huge marketing presence when they first launched so I'm excited to finally try this before investing in money

Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation (only £2.99 from fragrancedirect.com)

I couldn't believe how inexpensive this was on fragrancedirect as Boots and Superdrugs is selling it far more.  I actually love using this foundation on days where I'm just running to the supermarket.

Clarins Santal Face Treatment Oil 

This was a free tester from my friend at the Clarins counter. The oil is so pure and rich. I put this on my face but wasn't so keen on the heaviest of it, so I will be using this in my hair.

Fresh Mangosteen Soap (gift)

I am happy to see that Fresh is still up and running. It's very difficult to get Fresh here in the UK, so a friend sent this to me as a gift. I currently have so much soap that I'm not sure when I'm going to use this one, but soon for sure.

Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin perfume (gift)

Jo Malone is one of those brands that keeps growing. I'm not sure if they are growing too fast or not as their scents are becoming far too predictable; however, this one is very different and unique.  Just my kind of perfume.

MAC muscle tone nail polish (gift)

I always forget about MAC products, especially MAC nail polish.  This one takes 4 coats to make opaque

Perfume Guide from Luca Turin and Tanya Sanchez
I swapped for this book and I'm so happy to have it. The book goes over both high street and niche perfumes with humour, great insight, and knowledge. I've enjoyed reading this and feel very inspired to grow my perfume collection

MAC 217 Blending Brush was a gift. It's such a great blending brush. It's soft and blends shadow without striping the colour.

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige 

I swapped for this as it's one of my HG foundations.  I love using this on it's own in the summer or on top of my liquid foundation during the winter.  This is honestly an amazing foundation that highlights skin that is maturing (aka my skin now :(  )

Well that's all folks! These are the products that I will be working through along with my stash.  I'm really making an effort not to purchase too much but purchase quality products that I can enjoy using all year. 

I'd love to know what your fav purchase was in 2013? and Happy New Years to new and old readers.  May 2014 be filled with lovely products and happiness x

30 Day Beauty Challenge: Day 4 Your Favourite Foundation

Day 4 of the 30 Day Beauty Challenge is....
what is my Favourite Foundation?

This is an easy as pie question...none other than Bare Minerals Foundation (original) in Medium Beige.  The easy application, great coverage, and versatility, makes this by far my most reached for foundation currently.

I don't know if liking bare minerals makes me into an old woman or not lol.  I got teased recently that only middle aged women wear this (which I think is total nonsense lol), but I don't care.  I love my Bare Minerals!  It's one of those foundations that you don't have to devote too much time too.  Other foundations can leave streaks and can cake, but with bare minerals, it just attaches itself to your skin and gives you this healthy glow while covering up blemishes and scars (and boy do I have plenty of scars).  if you don't like the glow, they also came out with a matte version, but I prefer the original.

The other reason why I choose Bare minerals out of all the other foundations is because it is the most versatile for me.  When I lived in D.C., I wore a liquid foundation (forgot which one now so many years ago), then when I moved to Miami I had to change my foundation completely.  Liquid foundation ran right off of my face in that humid climate, and that is when I found bare minerals.  Even when I was sweating like  a pig, it stayed on me.  Now that I'm in England with the colder temperature, bare minerals works for me too.  It's just really really versatile and I'm so very happy with it.  So happy that I use it very sparingly as bare minerals costs a lot more here in the UK than in the states. 

Sorry I don't have a FOTD for you, because frankly I look a hot mess from this cold, but I did do a quick google search and there were tons of FOTD's and the ladies look wonderful with their nicely covered glowing skin, so check it out.

GOOGLE SEARCH FOR BARE MINERALS

You can buy bare minerals foundation at department stores and online as well for £24 (basically double what it costs in the US hmph!)

What's your favourite foundation lovelies?

A Look Into My Holiday Makeup Bag

I had to pack a small makeup bag to cover me for 9 days. I really wanted to bring my entire vanity counter, but obviously I couldn't, so I had to really sit down and think about which products were transitional from day to night.

My bags were already super heavy, and I planned to bring carry on instead of checking in my bags.  I shuttered at the thought that I would be left without my bags during my cruise, so check in was the only option to me.

So this is what I brought with me.  I decided to keep my face and lips simple and basic, and basically just change my eye makeup to give myself several different looks.

MAC 15 Slot Pro Eyeshadow Palette

Initially I was going to bring with me just a Dior palette, but I couldn't commit to only 4 eye shadows, so I decided on bringing my MAC pro palette. I'm so sorry that I won't be able to tell you which colours are in this palette. I didn't transfer over the eyeshadow labels when I depotted them (I know super lazy of me :/). This palette was the lightest of all my palettes, and I had a lot of neutrals and dark colours to give myself the day time and night time looks that I needed

 

Chanel Glossimer #96

This was a perfect neutral/pinky glossy lips that went with my day-time and night-time look

 

Garnier BB Cream in Medium & 

Bare Escentuals' Bare Mineral in Medium Beige

The Garnier gave me just enough coverage to even out my skin tone during the day.

Pleasingly, this bb cream also lasted even when I went into the pool and on the beach. It also has sunscreen in it, so it helped shield me from the strong Caribbean sun too. It also works as a primer, so I didn't have to bring a primer with me, which helped a lot with lightening up my makeup bag.

I used the bare minerals in the evening on top of the B.B Cream in order to give myself a more polished and finished look.  It also has a bit of shimmer built into it, so it didn't mattify my healthy sun glow, but still evened out my discolored skin tone. 

I did depot my minerals into a smaller pot to save on space.  A little goes a long way with this powder foundation, so it didn't take up a lot of space :). 

 

Dior Bronze 002 Sunset Fiesta

 I had the hardest time choosing which blush/highlighter to bring with me.

I finally decided on this Dior palette, because it could be used individually or on it's own.

 

The brush wasn't very helpful, but it did it's job.

I wanted to accentuate my sun kissed cheeks, so this colour was absolutely perfect.

 

Also, I did bring with me a Lorac black liquid eyeliner, but it didn't make it back with me.

ugh.  It was my favourite liquid liner, because of the brush too.  I'm going to have to hunt for another one soon. :/

Also as for skincare and haircare products, I actually brought with me a bag of samples :)

They have to be used someday right? It was super light, and at the end of my trip, I had space in my bag :)