ESTEE LAUDER HAUL + GIFT WTH PURCHASE

Well, after another little impromptu blog break I'm back and what better way to return than with a little haul?!

I've been kind of boring lately in that I haven't tried many new products or switched up my usual ones for something different, but this is only because the things that I have been using have been so good that I've not felt the need to try anything else.  So that is why, when my beloved Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer finally ran out I headed straight to Boots to pick up another.  It is without doubt my holy grail concealer these days, I use it for both my dark circles and spots.  At the counter however I saw that Estee Lauder had a gift-with-purchase offer on, so naturally I wanted to get my greedy little mitts on it!  This make up bag full of goodies is available when you buy two products from them, one of them being foundation or skincare.  I ended up buying the concealer and a repurchase of their Double Wear Foundation, in the shade cool bone.  

The free gift included a super cute make up bag, which always come in really handy; a full size lipstick in the shade Melon, which is a gorgeous coral orange, and sample sizes of their Day Cream, Take It Away make up remover, Advanced Night Repair Serum, a mini Double Wear Foundation (perfect for keeping in your handbag), Modern Muse perfume, and three mini base samples to create their 'Instant Glow' look.  I'm really impressed with this generous offering from them, and think it's a great incentive to stock up on a couple of bits if you're running low on foundation or skincare.  

I can't wait to give the lipstick and serum a go, I've heard great things about the formulas of both!  

Did you take advantage of this Estee Lauder offer?  Have you tried any of these products? xx

FAVOURITES WEEK | HIGH END SKINCARE

Skincare is something we are always told to get right, as when that is perfect it creates the best possible foundation for our make up.  And obviously it helps to keep your skin looking young and beautiful too!  

I'm no expert at all on what skincare is best etc., but these bits that I have picked out as my favourites are ones that have made a noticeable difference to the condition of my skin.

I bought Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair after seeing so many positive reviews on other blogs, and I really love it.  I've had it since around December and I've still got over half of it left, so it earns it's price tag in lasting power.  I love the non greasy formula and I do believe that my skin, especially my eye area, looks better and smoother since using it.

Now I know that this technically blurs the line a bit between skincare and make up, but Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster has made it here because it is mixed with my moisturiser to enhance my complexion and give it a boost of much needed colour.  I love that I can just mix a couple of drops of this into my night cream and by morning my face has a subtle and totally natural looking tan.  I cannot recommend this enough, if you have a very fair complexion like me then I'd definitely consider this if you're after a easy way to get a golden glow.  

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Instant Boost Skin Tonic are two products that I will always repurchase and use for taking my make up off at night.  The hot cloth cleanser is gentle yet removes my make up easily and thoroughly, along with the muslin cloths that help to exfoliate too.  I use the skin tonic afterwards as a toner, and it makes my skin feel squeaky clean and refreshed - I think it's always good to use it as it can sometimes feel that cleansers leave some trace behind.

Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 eye cream is a product that I wear over my moisturiser to give my eye area some extra protection from the sun, and I would always repurchase it now.  I think sPF is so important, and as the eye area is extra fragile and prone to aging, I think this cream is excellent for giving it a boost - and the bonus is that it isn't greasy and the formula is really light!

Benefit It's Potent eye cream is something I use a small amount of to hide my dark circles.  I'm not sure what kind of magic it is but somehow this cream seems to fade my dark circles so that they are much less noticeable and therefore much easier to conceal!  I end up using much less concealer and therefore no little creases appear throughout the day.  You also need only the tiniest amount of this so it is going to last absolutely ages.  

Last up is Charlotte Tilbury Lip Magic, which is probably the priciest but best lip balm on the market!  I won this in an instagram competition, and I love it!  My lips get dry all year round, and this contains Propolis which is made by bees and has powerful healing properties.  On top of that it also has vitamin e, hyaluronic acid, argan oil and shea butter - a pretty impressive list of ingredients!  I love how it leaves my lips feeling super soft and conditioned, and it works a a long term fix rather than just hydrating them for a few hours before needing to be reapplied.  

My last post will be my favourite drugstore skin care products!  What are you favourite high end products?  Do you like any of these? xx

Make Up of the Moment

Today I thought I would show you what make up I wear day to day.  I'm always trying new products and brands so these are literally the ones I'm using at the moment.  The foundation I've been wearing is Estee Lauder Double Wear, because 1) I've seen a lot of good reviews about it and 2) I had a 'lovetoshop' voucher from xmas to spend which made it easier to buy than actually pay the £26 or something with my own money!  It has the best coverage by far than any other products I've used, and I never thought it would beat Mabelline Dream Satin Liquid, but it does.  You don't need much of it at all which means it lasts longer and you therefore should get your money's worth.  I bought it because I always look for full coverage foundations because I'm so pale that any blackheads, spots or uneven skin tone are really noticeable, and this foundation completely covers all of these up so well that I hardly need to use any concealer (I use Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer)  This especially is true for around my eyes, because I get very dark circles that are always needing concealer, but I don't use it anymore because Double Wear covers them perfectly!  I would definitely recommend this product but only if you need full coverage, because otherwise it is quite expensive.  I use Maxfactor Creme Puff just to seal my make up and keep any shine away.  It is really light and lasts for ages because again you don't need much of it at all.  I use Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes pallette because there are three neutral colours in it that can be worn in all kinds of ways that are perfect for evening or daytime looks.  It also comes with handy little brushes to apply it all, and I also sometimes use the darkest brown in there to colour in my eyebrows - it is great because it makes them look much thicker, and then any touch ups are done with the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil.  Also, for daytime make up I use the darkest shade under my lashes instead of eye liner as it can be blended to give a subtle and more natural colour.  Rimmel Flash Eyeliner is what I use on my top lash line, because you use it like a pen and this makes it very easy to do a smooth, straight line.  The staying power is really good too.  Then there is the Benefit Coralista blusher, which is a peachy coral colour and is great for my pale skin because it gives it a rosy glow without being too bold or fake-looking.  Finally, there is the MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara, which I only started using very recently.  It does lengthen my lashes quite a lot, but I definitely prefer their False Lash Effect mascara - in fact I've never found one that is better than this yet, it makes my lashes really thick without the spidery effect and also really lengthens them, so I will be going back to it in future.  

Hope you enjoyed my longest post yet!! xx