The Expensive Makeup Spree

Last weekend I was feeling a little sorry for myself and it never winds up well for my bank account when I feel like that. Thankfully I'd just been paid so I took myself to the shops and had a bit of a makeup spending spree. I have used a few of these items already so where I can i'll try to give you little reviews. 

I finally spent my Selfridges voucher my Mum bought me for my birthday. It's been burning a hole in my bag for over a month but I was saving it for a day like this when I knew there was something I wanted.

I picked up two Estee Lauder Double Wear Eyeliners in Smoke and Pearl. I was originally going to buy the Pink Gold shade but that was out of stock and I liked them both equally when I was swatching them. I settled on a deep grey shade as my other liner because I have copious amounts of really good black eyeliners so I didn't want to add to the collection.

I've used these already and the Smoke shade is really nice smudged on your eyelid as an alternative to liquid eyeliner and I like to blend it on my bottom waterline with some Pearl towards the inner corner.

To reward my sins of spending ridiculous money on eyeliner, I was kindly given a free gift which consists of various anti-wrinkle serums and a mascara. 

The MAC counter was absolutely packed full of people but I managed to spy this gorgeous Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Chilled on Ice. It's a champaign colour with gold shimmer running through it. It's just the most beautiful thing I've ever clapped eyes on. I haven't used this yet (mainly because I don't want to put my finger in it) but I have used Painterly before which it fantastic. 

Soap & Glory had a 3 for 2 offer on their makeup which is actually quite a rare occasion. I needed to stock up on my One Heck of a Blot which is what I use every day so I also bought the Solar Powder too because I'm really trying to get my bronzer skills on point for summer and this looked like a pretty one to try (because of the pink shimmer). And finally I saw Peach Party which reminds me of a pie chart of different peachy colours. You can use them swirled together or individually. 

As I'm on a bronzing quest these days I picked up the very much loved Sleek Contour kit in Light. I'm afraid that in the pan it looks very orangey/warm toned but I'm hoping that with a light hand it'll look okay.....

Next I picked up one of the new Real Techniques Bold Metals Brushes. I still can't actually believe I impulsively bought such an expensive brush but I'm determined to get as much use out of it as possible. I picked the Tapered brush because it seemed quite versatile, for example it can be used as a blush, highlight, contour or an all over face brush. Aside from it's various uses, it's exceptionally pretty and the bristles are really soft. 

Lastly, I picked up this Colour Club nail polish in Harp On It. I always see pictures on Instagram of these and I decided it was time I bought one for myself. Although this is a really nice nail polish to work with and look at, don't be fooled by the pictures because it natural day light it just looks like a silver nail polish. It's only holographic under lights. I'll write a full review soon though!

And that brings this makeup haul to an end. The next haul you'll see from me will probe;y be a KIKO cosmetics haul as I placed an order about a week ago and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully if I'm well behaved you'll be seeing many more reviews and less hauls because I really need to save some money! 

Hope you're all well!

See you next time, 

Leanne x

Photo Diary | 15th - 22nd March 2015

Here we go again guys, Monday has rolled around. Hope you've all had a wonderful week! Today I'm going to show you what I've been up to over the last few days via many photos. Enjoy!

I've been burning my new Tobacco scented candle over the past week and I absolutely love it. It doesn't smell anything like tobacco to me, it just smells spicy and weirdly fresh to my nose. Definitely going to keep my eye out for more from this brand in TKMaxx.

No, unfortunately I don't have a new cat....yet. I've been wanting to buy a cat for ages and these are my two favourite breeds. The top one is an Exotic Short hair kitten and the bottom one is Persian. They are so gorgeous. Someone persuade me to buy one!

Last week I saw the first glimpse of sunshine! It was still very chilly though.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and these were my Mum's prezzies. The candle is one of Yankee's new Easter scents in Jelly Bean, it smells just like a sweet shop. I also bought her some flowers and a personalised picture that a lady from work makes. 

My nail attire this week consisted of Color Club's Harp On It which I bought on eBay. I was a bit disappointed with it because it's only holographic under artificial lights or a camera flash. Otherwise, it's just silver. I'll write a review soon though and show you pictures.

For her flowers, my Mum bought some rubber balls on eBay, you put them in water and they expand then you can put them in a vase with your flowers. They look really pretty and come in lots of different colours. They're also really therapeutic just to mess about with in water if you're a bit strange like me!

There's a picture of my empty staff room at work. A rarity!

At work they give us beastly laptops to do our work on, I was shutting it down and getting myself prepared for the pub... on a school night. My Mum, Auntie and myself went to watch City vs Barca on Wednesday night. That could easily have been about 6-0 if it wasn't for Hart.

There's a little weekly face of the day with a sneak-peak to some naughty high-end purchases I made at weekend. Aside from the blush which I change day-to-day I pretty much wore the same everyday. There will be a Selfridges haul up on Friday.

My KIKO Order arrived only a week after I placed the order. I'm very impressed with everything I bought! I'll definitely be writing some reviews soon!

There's Hector being a little weirdo. He got comfy right on the end of my bed and was nearly falling off. He looks so moody haha!

With this gorgeous Spring sunshine we've been blessed with over the weekend the crystals on my bed have been casting sparkly light all around my room. It's so pretty! Look at that blue sky!

Another snap of Hect looking much chirpier :)

Saturday night, I went to watch an Oasis tribute band with my friend so a McDonalds tea was a must. I've not had a McDonalds so I really went to town! 

Selfie with my Mum! 

And a Sunday morning selfie before heading off to Knowsley Safari Park with the rents. Thankfully avoided the hangover. Phew. 

Here are some Safari creatures enjoying the sunshine. We've got a lioness (look at that tail!), a rhino, a baby croc and an Oleg! 

So that was my week, all wrapped up in a blog post. I'm sad that I didn't get any pictures of the Eclipse but I was sadly in work so I missed it. Did you see it? What was it like where you are? It just kinda looked like it was going to rain to me. 

Thanks for reading!

See you next time, 

Leanne x

Bonus Sunday Primarni Haul!

Primark hosted a whole load of buyable things this weekend. Sometimes I go in there and find sweet FA and others I want everything. I just picked up a few bits and pieces in the end because I was feeling a little sick at the amount I'd just spent in Selfridges and Boots (beauty haul coming soon) but there was bedding, cushions, throws and many other tops I could have easily bought. 

First up is this bag. I needed a new one for work because my old one was bugging me to high heaven. The clasp had broken and it just flopped about. I'm in love with this one, it's got rose gold hardware on the handles and square cut out detail down the sides. It also comes with a large, removable pouch inside which an iPad can easily fit in. For £10 this is a steal.

Next, I found this black bandage skirt for £8. I used to have one of these which I wore loads when I was 18/19 but it started to look a little too short and figure hugging. This one is a bit longer and is much more flattering. I'm really looking forward to wearing this next time I go out!

I went out with the intentions of buying a lilac jumper. I don't often wear purple and I don't really know why because I think it's a nice colour to match with blonde hair. So I found this one in Primark. It was £6, it's very fine knit, stretchy and baggy and at least if I don't like it, it hasn't broken the bank.

I love this knitted top so much. It's like something you'd find in River Island for four times the price. They had it in all black and all white too which I would have liked to buy as well but you've got to have some control, haven't you?

It was only £5 and I can see me wearing this on nights out and throughout the summer.

Moving on now to accessories, I picked up a few hair things including headbands. I use headbands to get my hair out of the way when I'm doing my makeup but recently I've seen people wearing really thin headbands just out and about. They must be coming back in fashion! So I bought a pack of 5 normal ones and a pack of 2 zig zag ones which were both £1. I also got some pretty pink hair ties for £1.

Last but not least, I finally caved and bought some Primary makeup. I saw a review on MissBudgetBeauty's blog or YouTube, I can't remember which, but the lipsticks looked really great so I bought 2 of them for £1.50 each, 2 blush sticks also £1.50 and an eyeshadow palette for £2.50 (like I need more eyeshadows). Let me know if you'd like me to review them!

So that's everything I picked up from Primark. Believe me it could have been much worse!

What's your favourite recent Primark purchase?

Thanks for reading,
Leanne x



P.S. Sorry that some of the pictures aren't brill, the dark was fast approaching and my photography skills leave a lot to be desired. I'll try to do better, promise!

NuMe 25mm Magic Wand Review

I still can't get over the absolute steal that was these curlers. I had been eager to try something from the NuMe brand ever since they contacted me telling me about the discount codes I could offer on my blog. However, the price and shipping always put me off despite the excellent reviews I'd read.



About two weeks ago they had an offer on throughout the website which I think was all curling tools were down to $29.99. That's a huge discount. I eventually settled on the 25mm wand which is the medium size. If the larger size had been in stock I would have probably opted for that one instead but I'm happy with the ones I picked. These come in about 5 different colours including black, purple and green. Pink was the only colour left in stock by time I got there.

Overall, in pound sterling the whole order cost me £32 which is bloody brill considering the shipping was almost $20 and they put an extra $8 on the bill for customs.

The estimated delivery was 15 working days but mine arrived in about 9 days which I really wasn't expecting. I was thinking more like a month.

The package arrived via Yodel in a box which was totally undamaged. The curling wand itself is packaged in the cutest tube which is colour matched to the wand you pick. I'd have loved to see the green one! I also ordered a European plug and they kindly provided me with a Euro-UK adaptor which I thought was really kind.

The wand comes with a heat proof glove, which I use all the time so that's handy, and an instructions guide. 

I found the curlers really easy to use, just like any others I've tried. They reach up to 230 degrees which is ridiculously hot but does the job in speedy time. I found that the easy-grip texture of the handle was really useful whilst curling my hair as it stopped it being slippy. The only problem I had with them is that the buttons are easy to press so as I was working with them I kept accidentally turning the heat down.

I was pretty scared of all the heat I was using because my normal curlers don't get anywhere near that hot but my hair felt surprisingly smooth and healthy afterwards, It was super shiny too which really reassures me.

You can see how my hair turned out below...

It took me about 20mins to achieve a full head of curls but I took big sections of hair and didn't leave it on the curlers long. If I wanted even more curls I could definitely get that by taking smaller sections of hair. 

After I'd slept on them, the curls had dropped but only a little which I was glad about because I was going to work the next day, not on a night out unfortunately haha!
I'm really looking forward to using these next time I go out, I'm planning BIG hair!
You can visit the NuMe website here.
What are your thoughts on the NuMe brand? Have you tried anything from the range?  If they have another offer on I'll definitely be buying another pair.
Thanks for reading,  Leanne x

Five Current Beauty Favourites

Good Morning, team! Today I'm going to discuss with you my top 5 favourite beauty products of the moment. All but one of these items I use every single day (and that one's only left out because I don't wash my hair daily). So sit back, relax and let me persuade you into buying some goodies.

Nummer eins - Laroche Posay Effaclar Duo - £15.50
I've just started my third tube of this magical serum. I've been using it since September last year and I don't go a day now without it. I wear it every morning underneath my makeup because it has some similar properties to a primer so makeup sits well on top of it. I also wear it at night after I've cleansed and toned my face. The texture is very thin and non-greasy, it dries completely matte and sinks right into the skin.

Since using the Effacer Duo I've noticed significant improvement of my skin. Nowadays I rarely get noticeable blemishes and my face is much more hydrated, shiny, perkier and overall healthier-looking than it once was.

Two tubes lasted me 6 months so although it's quite expensive it does last a good while. And you really don't need to use a lot, a little goes a long way.

Nummer zwei - Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Hair Masque - £5.99
Over the Christmas break, I decided to treat my hair and wound up in Boots buying this hair mask. Ever since then I have thoroughly enjoy taking this to the sauna with me on a Sunday and letting it sink in for a good 15 mins.

I don't use this every time I wash my hair because I like to vary the products I use but this is a really lovely conditioner. My hair always feels silky smooth and strong afterwards it gets rid of any brittleness I have on my ends. Then for the following days the scent lingers around as a reminder of what an excellent conditioner it really is.



Nummer drei - Bliss Lemon and Sage Body Butter - (Price Varies)
This was one of them snap TKMaxx decisions that turned out to be a brilliant one. I'd heard opinions on this brand before which is why I picked it up in the first place otherwise it wouldn't have even caught me eye. Nevertheless, I parted with £11 which now I realise is a great deal and I've been using it ever since.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with the 'it will leave even the scaliest sort feeling seriously soft' claim because I have pretty irritated and dry skin on my arms and I wouldn't use it on them purely because it so heavily scented. BUT this is perfect on my legs. Even after just one use my skin felt softer than with anything I've used in the past. I can't wait to have the most moisturised legs to show off ever in the summer!

They also had a vanilla scent but I'm not sure what other varieties they make. If you're interested in trying this I'd definitely recommend you try your local TKMaxx first because it can get pretty price online.

Nummer vier - Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation - £29.50
This is another staple in my routine. I've been wearing this Monday-Friday since September. It's the best work foundation because it offers unrivalled coverage and staying power. I can whip it on in the morning and I know that even if I don't get the chance to check on it throughout the day it'll look pretty fine at the end of the day too.

Nummer fünf - Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara - £7.99
There has been so much hype surrounding this mascara and I'm totally right there hyping about it too. I picked it up on whim when it was on promotional offer, I think it was towards the end of the month and I just needed a cheap mascara and I have totally fallen in love with it. I will definitely be repurchasing it. I love it almost as much as my 2000 Calorie by MaxFactor which is really saying something!

Last but not least I thought I'd leave you with my most loved random favourite which are the new-ish Lenor Unstoppable Scent Boosters. These are amazing little scented balls that you put in with your washing. They don't offer any cleaning or conditioning qualities but they smell the best. I like to use the blue flavour as it's so fresh and clean, the smell fills the house when all the washing is drying and you can continue to smell it wash after wash. Would definitely recommend!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my current favourites!
Have you tried any of the product I've talked about?

What are your current favourite beauty products?

Thanks for reading,
Leanne x

Photo Diary | 8th - 14th March 2015

Following on from last week's photo diary, today I'm compiling the photos I've collected throughout this week. I'm hoping that as the days roll on and writing this post becomes a habit I'll start remembering to take pictures as I'm out and about rather than just food, candles and nails! I'd like it to be more of a week-in-the-life rather than random photos. But for now, let's crack on with the post!

As the weather here in Manchester was a little bit warmer last weekend I decided to bust out my Vanilla Lime Yankee Candle which was put away at the end of last summer. It was so fresh and really got me in the mood for spring. All hail the sun!

I find my little Hector in the strangest of positions. For quite a big lizard he really can squeeze himself into little places. I just thought he looked so cute curled up like that. 

My nails sported, once again, Barry M's finest this week. I had on the silk polish in Forest with the Sally Hansen anti-chip top coat to make it super duper shiny. 

On Sunday a.k.a hair wash day, I used my new NuMe curling wand. I absolutely loved the curls it made and despite how hot they get my hair still felt smooth and healthy afterwards. There will be a review and more pictures up on Friday 20th March if you're interested!

So I saw this 365 blogging ideas book somewhere recently. I'm not sure if it was a YouTube video or a blog post but I decided to buy one for myself. I ordered it from Amazon and I think it was about £10. Sometimes I really just need some interesting ideas otherwise I'll just write pointless hauls all the time. I've decided to pick a topic out of the book for every Wednesday post until my brain starts thinking up some decent ideas of its own ;)

The next two pictures are Instagram snaps that I thought were awesome. The rabbit is one of the cutest things I've ever seen and the chameleon drawing so cool.  

Last week, we had a Sunday dinner on Thursday. Buzzin. 

The pictures in this segment are not chronological which is bugging me. So we'll start with the perfume. Superdrug had a Mother's Day offer on where you could buy a 100ml bottle of Armani Diamonds for £35 as opposed to £70. I love the smell of this perfume as it's strong and lingers around all day so I snapped up a bottle of that. 

Then on Friday after work, my friends and I went to Frankie & Bennies for some lunch. Obviously cocktails were consumed I they were lovely. I had a strawberry  which I've not had for a long time. 

Saturday morning I attempted to wear my hair in a high pony tail but just didn't have the confidence to actually go out with it like that. I think it looked quite good though! What do you think? As you can see, the curls I put in my hair on Sunday lasted all the way through till the following Saturday. That's good going!

My sister and I went shopping and I came home with a whole host of Selfridges bags. I needed a serious pick-me-up so I treated myself to some pretty new makeup. I actually wanted to buy the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation but I couldn't find my shade anywhere as they're phasing it out to be reformulated and repackaged!!

As the final Saturday treat I ordered a naughty Chinese take-out. We don't have take-outs often in this house (we're more like McDonalds fiends) so it was justified and I'm currently eating warmed up, left over chow mien and salt and pepper chips whilst I write this post. Yum.

Thanks for reading everyone,

See you next time, 

Leanne x

H&M Cucumber Face Mask

Let's have a talk about H&M skin care. Today, I have a review of the Cucumber peel-off face mask which you can buy for 99p in the larger H&M stores and online. I say the larger stores because I haven't seen them in any smaller, local H&Ms.

I decided to give this a go on Saturday night whilst doing a bit of blogging and watching some Ant & Dec. Well I'll tell you for nothing it didn't go down quite like that. 

I'll start by saying if you have sensitive skin don't even bother. Don't waste your 99p. 

I applied a thick layer of this on my face and down my neck. You get lots of product in the packet, you could probably get two applications out of it if you wanted to. And the mask itself is a thick and sticky green liquid. It smells strongly of cucumber, as you'd suspect, but kind of artificial; not like real cucumber. 

I had this on my face for a matter of seconds before it started to sting like a bitch. I hadn't even managed to get it off my hands before I was running to the bathroom to wash it off my face. Afterwards, my face was bright red and slightly puffy. I lathered on the E45 and it settled down but even an hour later my face was still red. I'm not sure whether my skin just didn't agree with this face mask because my skin isn't super sensitive, it just gets dry sometimes, or whether I'm actually allergic to it. It bloody felt like I was allergic to it. 

Bottom line, if your skin isn't sensitive to them, these are really good value, for 99p you can definitely get 2 applications out of them. Obviously I can't comment on the effect of this mask because I didn't have it on for long enough; I mostly wanted to warn people with sensitive skin not to try it. Also, it does say on the packet to do a test for irritation before whipping it on your face. I was just too confident that all would be fine. 

I do have the Dragon Fruit Polishing Mask from H&M too which I will still try once my face has settled down again but I will be doing a test first this time!

See H&M face masks online here.

Have you had any experience with the H&M masks?

What did you think?

See you next time, 

Leanne x

5 Things I Don't Regret

I found it really difficult to think of five things I don't regret. It's not like I go about my life regretting everything I do but I just found it a challenge to think of things I truly don't regret doing. It's like them dodgy occasions when someone asks you to think of words to describe yourself. It's not easy. But I'm giving it a go. 

Here are five things I've done in my life that I truly don't regret doing. 

Going to university

I loved my three years at uni. If you're new around these parts I graduated last year with a degree in English and Linguistics and I couldn't be prouder. My pride is definitely not reflected by my certificate still lying in an envelope somewhere but believe me, I'm pleased. 

It's just an experience. It's three years of your life that very few people are able to replicate again. Once you leave, you gain responsibilities that you can't just drop whenever you want a week away or a lazy day in bed. You have so much freedom. Unless you're going to travel the world in later life or take some serious time off work you're not going to get that kind of freedom again. Enjoy it while you can! 

Spending two weeks of my life binge watching series 1-6 of Lost

One summer, I spent two weeks watching Lost. Every episode was conquered. I did venture out on nights out and to do a bit of shopping but Lost was my main priority. The first series remains to this day the best thing I have ever watched. I applaud those of you who watched it week-by-week I don't know how you did it!

Applying for a job on the last day before it closed despite thinking I'd never get it in a month of Sundays

You've just gotta try things. When you're applying for jobs apply for everything because you don't know where it will lead you. As it turned out, this was the only job I heard back from of all the ones I applied for. Now, I've been working at the school since September and I love it. I've met some fantastic people and had some great experiences. 

Starting a blog

I can not tell you how many times I almost started blogging and didn't. I think I even had this set up for about a month before I wrote anything on it. At first it felt weird to just be writing to myself about makeup. Especially on the first few posts that got no views never mind any comments.

These days, I don't know what I'd do with my time if I didn't blog. And I definitely don't know what I'd do with all the things I buy... who could I talk about them with?!

Impulse buying my bearded dragon, Hector

In my first year of uni at the end of the second lot of maintenance loan I had £200 left over. Really don't know how I managed that. I had £850 to last 4 months and I had £200 left over... see I've not always been a shopaholic.

My sister got 2 leopard geckos and I felt left out that I didn't have any pets. I'd seen these bearded dragons and actually tried to persuade Sophie to get one instead. Eventually I just went and bought one for myself. I think my Dad took me to Manchester to buy a rucksack and I wound up in a local pet shop parting with £200 on my beloved Hect.

I really wouldn't recommend impulse buying a bearded dragon, they're not as low maintenance as you might think. Your electric bills go up as they need constant heat and UV light and you can't be afraid of live food as that's what they eat.

Three years later, Hector is a spoilt little bugger and I love him so so much. He's probably the best thing I've ever spent money on. 

***

What things don't you regret?
Leave your answers in the comments :)

Thanks for reading,
Leanne x

Photo Diary | 27th Feb - 7th March

I've decided to start a new series on my blog where every Monday I will collect all the pictures I've taken on my phone over the last week and collage them together into a sort of diary post. I've done similar things in the past but never committed to it so let's see how it goes! 

Last Friday brought us the dress controversy. It absolutely stunned me and still does. What colour do you see it in? I see blue and black. Sunday I tried to be healthy for a day and had a strawberry yoghurt with a peach for breakfast. I have a bit of an addiction to peaches at the moment. Then for dinner I had a smoked cheese and pickle sandwich which was gorgeous too. Carbalicious though. The candle I have been burning recently is Mandarin Cranberry by Yankee, it's lovely. I currently have my eye on Red Raspberry which I think I'll buy when I next get payed.

I had been craving stir fry all week and at weekend my wish came true, with lashings of Lea & Perrins sauce mmm. Hector was a tired teddy on Sunday night and fell asleep on my shoulder. On Monday I went to Costco with my Mum. A member of staff brought some cakes into work which were beautiful so I signed up for individual membership and bought a giant chocolate fudge cake and a lemon drizzle loaf. Awesomeness. 

My fingernails this week consisted of Barry M's Silk polish in Orchid with the Sally Hansen anti-chip topcoat. They were so shiny! I ordered a personalised mouse mat on Etsy from this seller. You can choose what colours and shapes you want and the letters too. I am so happy with it and it only cost £8.99 with free p&p. There's a nice picky of predator and pray. I took a mid-week trip to Asda for treats and picked up The Strings of Murder by Oscar De Muriel who actually lives in Lancashire! Same as me! I also bought some McVities Chocolate Hobnobs because I'm obsessed with them and some Border Lemon Drizzle biscuits, don't they sound amazing?

On Thursday (thank the lord that my salon stays open late on a Thurs otherwise I'd never get chance to go in!) I got my tootsies re-gelled and my eyebrows tinted and waxed. I went for a neon pink shade because I needed something summery in my life. Then on Friday I took my Mum to Wagamama in Manchester. I finally wore my coat I bought from SheInside, you can see it in this haul post. I ordered the Chicken Ramen which was lovely but awkward to eat. My Mum got the Chicken Katsu Curry which I would probably get if we went again. We also got some grilled vegetables to share which were really tasty. Finally, on Saturday morning my NuMe order arrived! I bought a 25mm curling wand when they had all curling tools discounted to $29.99, what a bargain is that? For something that should cost $149. The delivery was super fast and I can't wait to use them and review them for you! 

So that concludes last week! 

Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this post,

Thanks for reading, 

Leanne x