Haul: New Releases and More

First off I would like to apologise for the lack of posts this week. A mixture of not feeling a hundred percent and some family issues meant that I lacked the drive to post. However I'm feeling better now and normal posting will resume on Monday. But as I was putting away some purchases I made today I realised that my New In Box was brimming with bits I'd picked up over the last few weeks. So I thought I'd bung them all into one giant haul for you today, not only so you can see what new releases there are but also to make up for the lack of posts last week.

Let's start with skincare. Loreal has released a new range called Fine Flowers. It contains Rose and Jasmine extracts and is designed for dry to sensitive skin. There are two cleansers, a toner and face wipes in the range. I picked up one of the cleansers. This isn't like most cleansers, instead of washing it off over a sink with a flannel you use a cotton pad to rub it into and remove from the skin. I'm not usually a big fan of these types of cleansers but this one sounded a lot different to others on the market so I picked one up to try.

Recently I've been trying out different cleansing balms to see which work best. High Street Beauty Brands don't offer as many choices as higher end brands so I was pleased to see Sanctuary offering their own version of a balm. This supposed to warm as you rub it into the skin and help purify the skin whilst removing make up and daily dirt and grime. This is a very hard balm that takes some working into the skin but it does remove all signs of make up in one use.

I'm a big fan of facial mists so when I saw that Garnier was releasing one I knew I had to pick one up. It's a part of their Moisture Bomb range and contains Hyaluronic Acid and Pomegranate Extract to hydrate the skin whilst simultaneously protecting the skin. So far I'm on the fence about this product but definitely need to use it more to get a real feel for it.

A repurchase that I had to make comes in the form of my holy grail eye cream. I received a sample of the Skyn Iceland Icelandic Eye Cream. This is one of the best eye creams I've ever tried. It's significantly reduced the look of my dark circles, any puffiness and any signs of ageing that there was. No other eye cream has wowed me as much as this one has and even though it's price tag makes me cry ever so slightly it's so well worth it. Plus I received a sample pack of their Cooling Gels with any purchase which itself was worth £10.

Some face mask repurchases I've made are the Boots Ingredients Sheet Masks. These are very lightweight sheet masks that stay in place and work wonders for the skin. I picked up another of the Super Hyaluronic mask and the Rooibos mask. And then I picked up another of the Garnier Repairing Honey Mask. I tried this for the first time this week and absolutely loved it. It left my skin feeling super soft and nourished, plus I didn't have to fanny about with washing it off.

Another repurchase comes in the form of the Maybelline SuperStay Primer. I brought this when it first came out and instantly fell in love with it. It's very liquidy in consistency, easy to apply, leaves skin feeling velvety soft and tacky to grab onto any base product you put on over top. I've used this everyday since I brought it and am not surprised that I've run out of it.

A lot of brands are bringing out their own versions of Colour Corrector products but none of them have caught my eye like the Barry M Colour Correcting Wands. There are three in the collection but I only picked up the two that my skin need. The yellow shade helps eradicate dark circles, something I occasionally need help with and the green helps reduce the appearance of redness, something I need most days. They're very thin in consistency and blend out nicely so I'm assuming they will sit nicely under base products. And because I spent over £8 on Barry M I received the Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit for free. I've never contoured before but now I have this kit I may give it a go.

 A foundation that I instantly fell in love with is this Loreal Infallible Total Cover Foundation. It's lightweight in feel, high in coverage and matte in finish. It claims to be able to cover tattoos and extreme cases of redness. And most of it's claims are true. I'm seriously in love with this foundation. It covers my redness, doesn't look cakey on the skin, doesn't feel pore clogging and lasts all day long. And the best bit it's the third of the price of my once favourite Dior Star Foundation.

I picked up another of my Collection Pressed Powders. I go through this quicker than any other product but I don't mind as it only cost £2. But don't think it's bad quality because of it's price tag. It's lightweight, natural on the skin and doesn't oxidise on the skin like some pressed powders do.
I also brought a MUA Transparent Pressed Setting Powder to try. I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy it because it's even whiter than my Collection Powder. However I will get back to you once I've given it a fair trial.

All that is left is lip products and as usual with me there is a lot of them. To start I brought these two liquid lipsticks from Barry M. They've recently released three limited edition Lip Kits, each very similar to the Kylie Lip Kits, containing a lip liner and coinciding liquid lipstick. And then they've released five liquid lipsticks which are permanent. I of course picked up the red shade and from swatching them on the back of my hand, I'm impressed. Very liquidy and lightweight, these dry down but don't feel dry or uncomfortable on the lips.

I took a trip to London this week and popped into a little beauty shop that caught my attention. I'm very glad I went in as they stocked Milani as well as other American brands. They had the Amore Matte Lip Creams and of course I had to buy one. I brought the shade Precious which is a stunning pink nude shade. I could have gone for the red but it swatched slightly patchy on the back of my hand. I'm looking forward to wearing this as I'm really having a nude lip moment.

Even though I haven't been wearing a lot of red lipsticks I've still picked some up. This gorgeous off red shade from Loreal is not only perfect for now but also perfect for the upcoming warmer months. It's a part of the new matte lipstick collection from Loreal and swatches beautifully. I'm not to keen on the Loreal lipstick scent but it's something I can easily overlook that when it looks so good on the lips.

And finally I've picked up quite a few new bits from the new Rosie For Autograph releases. She's released three new lipstick shades (pictured) and five lip liner shades. I only picked up on lip liner as it was the only one that swatched nicely out of them all. It's in the shade Silk which works well with quite a few of her existing lipstick shades. I've thoroughly enjoyed wearing this under her shade Silk Rose for a stunning nude lip.
The three new lipstick shades are stunning. From left to right you have Sour Grapes, Rosie Lips and Vintage Rouge. Rosie Lips is the shade I'm most excited to wear as it has an interesting mauve tone to it and I think it'll look stunning on a multitude of skintones.

Product Empties #5

Until today I didn't realise how full my empties bin had become. I'd just been chucking them in there and not paying attention to how full it had become. So today for a bonus post I'm going through with you my empties purely because I can't fit another thing in there.

Let's start with what I have the most of. Firstly there's the Garnier Moisture Restore+ Night Cream. I've gone through countless pots of this but two full pots since my last empties post. This is a gel formula cream packed full of skin hydrating ingredients which will simultanesouly soothe and hydrate skin in the evening. A little bit goes a long way and really gives skin a boost especially after taking off any make up. I can guarantee there will be plenty more of these appearing in future empties posts.

Another double empty and this time it's my holy grail concealer from Collection. The Lasting Perfection concealer is the perfect high coverage but easily blended concealer on the high street. It works well both under the eye and over any imperfections. Blemishes? Redness? Uneven skintone? This has got you covered. I go through about one of these a month because I use it liberally on a daily basis and for under a fiver you can't complain. More of these will be appearing in future empties.

Now I have three serums. Two are from the Simply Pure range and have appeared before in empties. They contain both Hyaluronic Acid and Salicylic Acid to hydrate skin and help fight blemishes. It's formula works well in the even and after taking make up as skin just soaks it right up. And the third serum is from Olay. Their Instant Hydration Day Serum is the perfect base product before applying make up. With a slight silicone feel to it smooths over pores and creates an even base for make up. It's also really good at hydrating skin. A full review can be found here. Expect to see more of both in the future.

Up next is my holy grail cleanser from Clean and Clear. The Deep Cleansing Lotion for sensitive skin has been a staple in my skincare routine since I was thirteen and it has never done me wrong. A lot of people might not like the idea of putting this on their face because the alcohol would dry their skin out. It doesn't dry skin and if paired with hydrating skincare afterwards you won't even know you've used it. I have a feeling I'll be using this still in a decades time. Used right after that is the B Essence Lotion. I used to laugh at essence lotions but ever since trying this one I've been highly surprised. It helped change the look and feel of my skintone. Gone was any texture I had and my redness look diminished with every use. Containing Allatonin this soothes skins after every cleanse. Definitey not one to turn your nose up at. A full review can be found here.

Following up from those I have a couple of sprays that I adore. The B Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz has really saved my skin during our hotter days and even a few bad skin days. Packed with nothing but Hyaluronic Acid this delievers hydration to your skin with every spray. It can be used over and under make up to keep skin feeling refreshed during the day, especially helpful during the hotter months. Then another product that has come in handy when the temperature has risen is the Maybelline SuperStay 24 Setting Spray. This is a fine mist that doesn't disrupt or ruin your make up that helps make make up look more natural and lock it into place for longer. Personally this is one of the best setting sprays on the high street and if you haven't tried this before you should definitely pick one up.

Up next is a mask that I've gone through countless tubes off and a product that didn't work well originally but I found a use for anyway. The Sanctuary 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask is a staple in the beauty world. It's a brilliant mask for pulling any crap out the skin and giving skin a really good detox. I've talked about this so much my mum now uses it too. Then there is the Make Up Revolution Aqua Priming Base. It's a hydrating spray that you spray on before foundation and it's supposed to help base products stick to the skin. It didn't work like that for me so I used it to dampen my beauty blender when I was feeling to lazy to go to the sink. And it worked really well. My make up looked smoother when this was sprayed on my sponge. I'm definitely going to have to pick up another bottle.

I've gone through my first pot of the Garnier Miracle Wake Me Up Cream. This is the sister cream to Garnier's Miracle Sleeping Cream. This won't be a daily moisturiser for everyone but using after removing make up or a face mask and this will work wonders. Containing ingredients to help reduce signs of ageing and tiredness from the skin this smooths over and blurs any imperfections. It's the perfect cream to use on days when you're not wearing make up and it will just give everything that blurred over look.

The Nip and Fab Glycolic Extreme Fix Pads are my favourite skin treatment pads. Containing 5% Glycolic Acid as well as Salicylic and Lactic Acid these work to exfoliate and loosen and dead skin cells as well as clearing away any blemish creating bacteria. As you only need one or two a week, a pack of sixty will last you ages. The Simple Brightening Eye Make Up Remover Pads aren't the best to remove all eye make up but they're great to catch any mascara or eye liner lingering around the eye area. One pad can do both eyes so these will last a long time as well but don't believe anything about them brightening the under eye area. Invest in a good eye cream, the results will be more obvious.

Now the final items in this post are ones I don't talk about often. Yes I'm on about face wipes. I don't use face wipes to remove any part of my make up except my lipstick. And these two packs of wipes from Garnier work better to remove my various lip products better than any other. The original micellar formula wipes are good removing sheen finish, gloss or cream finish lipsticks. But the oil infused wipes are brilliant at removing matte lips and the most difficult liquid lipsticks going. They're both very soft wipes that don't irritate the lips and the formula's won't create issue for the lips as well. I know I'm going to go through countless more packs of these with the amount of lipstick I wear.

So that's it for this ridiculously long empties post. Hopefully the next one won't be so long. I'd love to know what products you go through the most so let me know in the comments. 

Unboxing: Origins and British Beauty Blogger Mix and Mask Box

I have never ordered something as quickly as I've ordered this box. I've been wanting to try out Origins Face Masks for ages now and when I saw this on my Twitter feed on Sunday I knew I had to have it. If you haven't already seen this box all over Instagram and Twitter then let me introduce you to the Origins and British Beauty Blogger Mix and Mask Collaboration Box.

The box itself costs £20 but the goodies inside come to a whopping £84 together. And who can turn down an offer like that. I ordered Sunday morning and recieved this Thursday morning (the day I'm writing this). And this is how it comes. My first thought is on how pretty the design of the box is. It has a floral watercolour design on the box and the leaflet inside which is that stunning I'd consider giving one of these as a present.

 When you open the box you have the small information booklet that contains a introduction from Jane (BritishBeautyBlogger) and on each page is a small paragraph as to why she chose the products she chose. It also gives examples of skin types that'll work well with each individual product and what each size is worth. If you've never tried Origins products before then this is a perfect accompanying guide.

When you remove the booklet, you're greeted by a thing layer of tissue paper which protects the products inside. It also has a small watercolour design sticker to hold it together. There is just something about the design of the box that I find simply stunning. It's very elegany and high end which I think goes hand in hand with the brand and their collaborator.

 When you open the tissue paper you're greeted by a whole host of skincare goodies. It's all protected by a fuzzy tissue paper which holds it place in the box so nothing gets/got damaged in transit. I have gotten rid of this as I found it went everywhere but obviously you can keep this in your giving this as a gift.

The first thing that caught my eye when I opened this box was the face mask pods. It is advertised as having four face mask pods but I only recieved three and the fourth happened to come in a surprise larger size. Each pod is a generous 10ml size and retail for £2.50 each. I recieved the Out of Trouble mask that is a mask to soothe and clear problem skin. I also recieved the Clear Improvment mask for purifying skin as well as the Drink Up which is aimed at dry/dehydrated skin. In the accompanying booklet it said that these pods are a great way to try out the multi masking trend where you use different masks on different parts of your face to combat certain issues. I'm not sure I'm going to use them this way but it is a good idea if multi masking is something you're interested in.

 Then what was advertised as a pod but was actually a travel sized tube is the Original Skin mask. It contains Rose Clay and is supposed to rexturise skin and give a glow boost. I think this would be a great mask for people who can't get on with glycolic acid but want something to get rid of any excess texture on the skin. It smells absolutley divine and I'm looking forward to using this. This is a 30ml tube and retails for around £7.

Then there is a 30ml travel sized tube of the Drink Up Intensive Overnight mask. This retails for £6.90 and is aimed at skin that has been outdoors or needs that moisture boost to help with skin's supplness. And this isn't like most of the masks in the box. This one you put on either before you go to bed or whenever your skin needs that boost and leave it to sink into the skin. Then all you have to do is take a tissue or a cotton pad and wipe off the excess.

 Up next is the By All Greens Foaming Deep Cleansing Mask. You get a 25ml pump bottle that retails at £11.42. This is one of Origins newer releases and one I'm intrigued about. This perfect for someone who wants to purify and deep cleanse their skin. It's an interesting concept for a mask. It pumps out as a runny fluid but once you start to rub it into/onto the skin it turns into a foam. One I'm definitely looking forward to trying.

Then you have the most interesting mask of the bunch. This is the GinZing Peel-Off Mask. You recieve a 15ml tube worth £4.80. This is recommended for people with oily skin and dull complexions. What makes this mask interesing is the bronze colour. Yes, you read that right. It's a bronze colour when you apply it to your face. It's supposed to help removed dead skin cells whilst brightening and give skin a fresh feel. It's a peel off mask so when it's dried you get that satisfing feeling of peeling it off, but I'd recommend not putting this anywhere near your eyebrows. I have a feeling it could turn out quite painful if you did.

 And the last two products you recieve are in fact two full sized products. The first is a bottle of their new release the Maskimizer. It's a 95ml bottle and retails for £18.50. This is a fine mist that you're supposed to spray skin with before you apply your mask. It claims to help the mask adhere to your skin better and contains Marine Algae to help hydrate the skin at the same time. If you're a fan of facial toners/spritzs or even essences then I think you'll like this.

And lastly you get a full sized tube of the VitaZing SPF 15 Energy Boosting Moisturiser. This alone is worth £29.00, more than the box itself. It has a sheer tint release which makes this more of a tinted moisturiser/BB cream product. I like the idea of this being an energising moisturiser but not sure how I feel about the sheer tint. In my experience these kinds of products don't work well with people with fairer complexions and end up looking orange after application. However it's something you'll never know until you try it. I'll definitely be reporting back on how this one worked out.



At £20 this box is a steal and when you open it you'll see why. I'm very impressed not just with the choice of Origins products but with the size of them aswell. Each product is a decent size and two are even full size. If you can still get your hands on this box then I recommend you do it right away. It's a cheaper, easier way to try Origins as a brand if you've never tried them before. Keep your eyes peeled next month for a full indepth review of what I thought of each product. Until then if you have the box enjoy.

Have any of you recieved the box? What did you think? What product are you looking forward to trying the most? Let me know in the comments.

Review: Maybelline Setting Spray

Bonus Post Time! I know another bonus post. I have so many products to review and I don't always remember about them until I've scheduled my posts for the month so I decided I'd throw in a couple of extra reviews this month so they don't get forgotten. And today's review is of the Maybelline SuperStay Setting Spray.

I became a fan of setting sprays towards the end of last year but I quickly wore out the selection the high street had to offer. Yes I managed to find one I liked but it wasn't wowing me to the point where I used it and nothing else. Then at the beginning of this year Maybelline released their setting spray and all my prayers were answered.

Unlike some other setting sprays I've tried this is a very fine mist that doesn't drench the skin when you use it. Two or three sprays does the whole face and it dries down quickly so your skin doesn't feel tacky or wet. Once it's dry your make up is literally not going to move unless you want it to. And it doesn't dry out your skin. Some of the others I've tried have dried out my skin but not this one. At the end of the day my skin still feels as hydrated as it did when I put my moisturiser on.

The packaging leaves a lot to be desired as you can't see how much you've used and you can't see if you get any settlement at the bottom like you do in the Loreal Setting Spray. I also don't like all the writing on the front as it just seems a bit too much for the front of a product. But I know you don't wear the packaging so it should count but I can't help but picky about it sometimes.

Overall I really like this Setting Spray and I can see myself picking another one up in a couple of months time. It leaves my skin feeling good, my make up stays in place longer and it doesn't drench my skin and make everything run when I apply it. Definitely a winner for me.

Have any of you tried this? What did you think? Did you like it? Or do you know of any other brands I should try? Let me know in the comments.