The last week in February I went to London, and it's pretty safe to say I went a bit crazy. I had a list of things I was after while I was there, like anything Caroline Hirons has ever mentioned on her blog, the MUA dupes for the Naked palettes, Lush stuff (because it's SO much cheaper in the UK), and a bunch of things from Soap and Glory, and I think I hit just about everything. Grab a cup of tea. This is going to be a long 'un.
In London, there are Lush shops basically everywhere. I smelled my first one close to a Space NK off a street by Oxford Street, and then I popped in another one on Regent Street. I picked up four shower gels (naughty naughty), four soaps, and a shower scrub. A couple of samples were given. All of the soaps (Figs and Leaves, Godmother, Miranda, and Sea Vegetable) were repurchases of my favorite Lush soaps (full reviews here), and It's Raining Men and Dirty were also repurchases. After having the sample of Happy Hippy a while back, I wanted the full size, and my jasmine obsession brought me to getting a full size of Flying Fox. I got a tub of Rub Rub Rub, because the smell (like the Sakura bath bomb) is to die for, and I love the exfoliating while lathering action. I also got a sample of Porridge Soap and Blousey Shampoo. I'll see how I get on with those later.
I had a mission to get me some palettes at Superdrug, because if you don't know already, the MUA Undressed, Undress Me Too, Smokin', and Matte palettes are all dupes for the much pricier options from Urban Decay. Each cost 4 pounds (the Smokin' palette was 6 pounds though), and these are really incredible eyeshadows for the price. And yes, they really are almost spot on dupes for the Urban Decay palettes. I just went for these instead of spending all the money on UD's offerings. Neutral heaven, here I come.
At Superdrug, if you spend 6 pounds on MUA, you get a Colour Blast Eyeshadow Tint free. I got two free. They are absolutely horrible. Don't even pick them up for free. They tug so much on the poor eyelid, and they blend out to nothing, smudge (they don't set really), and even with powder eyeshadow on top, they crease. I threw these out already.
I went a bit crazy with the Soap and Glory makeup because it's fantastic! The Kick Ass Conealer is pretty nice (though still not as good as my beloved TimeBalm concealer from TheBalm), and the One Heck of a Blot powder is really nice and mattifying yet not cakey. I also picked up the It's About Prime eyeshadow underbase, and I really like it. It's a white pearly sheen that looks very pretty on the lids. I'm not sure that it holds shadows on for that long, but I need to keep testing it still. I got the Supercat Liner since it has rave reviews, and I do like it. One of my favorite products from this bunch in the Archery brow tint and precision shaping pencil. It has two ends, a waxy pencil end and an ink brush end to draw in little brow hairs, and I love both of them. Perfect brows in a pinch? Yes, please.
I was also tempted by the Gosh Flower Power blush and the Natural Collection blush in Peach Melba. Both are gorgeous. I picked up the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder as well, and it's also really nice. It doesn't have a very powdery feel, and it's pretty undetectable on the skin while still giving some decent coverage. Mattifying power is average, but it's still a nice powder. It also smells nice.
I also picked up the Sleek Face Form palette in Light. I absolutely LOVE the bronzer. It's probably the best one I ever used. It's matte, looks natural and not orangey, and blends well. I'm not too fussed about the highlighter in the kit though, and the blush is absolutely horrible. It's basically no color and all gold shimmer, and it makes my pores look horrible and huge. I think once I run out of the bronzer, I'm tossing the rest of the palette and just repurchasing the bronzer (if I can do that).
I got the Sleek Brow Stylist as well. It's supposed to be a sort of dupe for the Hourglass and Tom Ford brow pencils (that I've not tried). It's okay. I think the color (medium) is a bit too warm for me, but it's workable.
I also came home with some nail polishes. The Pixi one was free with my purchase there, and I knew I wanted to pick up the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paints. They are absolutely lovely. Lychee is the perfect nude, and I'm rocking and loving Prickly Pear (the purple one) as I type. It's a nice change from the awful Mavala nail polishes.
Again, I went crazy with the Soap and Glory. I picked up a travel set that included The Righteous Butter, Hand Food, Calm One Calm All, and Clean on me (all of which I have tried and loved), the Sugar Crush Body Scrub which smells like Lime Coke and is divine. I also tried out their skincare offerings; The Fab Pore, Peaches and Clean, and the Ultimelt hot cloth cleanser. I tried out the Ultimelt already, and oh my gawd is it lovely. I'll have to do a full review on it later because it's just so incredible.
Also when I was in Boots, I picked up Eysilix, Pepta-bright, and Hydraluron from Indeed Labs and the Neroli Firming Super Lift Night Cream and Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask from Super Facialist by Una Brennan. I popped into Pixi to get two of the Glow Tonics, and I made a cheeky purchase at Space NK and got the Emma Hardie cleansing balm that everyone is always banging on about. Basically all of these purchases were Caroline's fault. :P
I then went into Liberty's to get some fabric for my mom, but I also ended up walking away with the Escentric Molecules Molecule 01 perfume. It is one of the best perfumes ever. I love it. I can actually smell it on me (a lot of people can't), and it's this lovely musky, woody scent. It smells different on everyone though, so go spray it on and see if you can smell it on you (or if anyone else can). If you've seen the reviews for this baby, most of them involve people being tracked down because everyone wants to know what perfume they're wearing. They're hilarious.
I didn't get these guys in London, but I'll include them anyway. My host sister here in Paris works for L'Oréal, so she gets free stuff and 50% off all purchases. I also benefit from her job there. She gave me the Garnier Body Gel Cream in Honey, the L'Oréal Ever Riche L'Huile Absolue, and the Ever Riche Conditioner, but I bought the Vichy Idéalia Life Serum for myself. The Garnier Body Lotion is a lot like the Vaseline Aloe Fresh one I love, and I've been using the Ever Riche Shampoo and Conditioner happily for a while now. The Vichy serum is incredible, and it's a dupe for another more expensive serum. I'll tell you all about that one later though.
I also got the Pureology Serious Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner. I don't have colored hair, but we'll try it anyway. I also got the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo-Nettoyant, Effaclar Duo + (which is like my beloved Effaclar Duo but also is supposed to work on hyperpigmentation), and the Anthelios XL SPF 50 Gel-Crème dry touch sunscreen. I picked up a few high-end mascaras (because that's what you do when you can get them half-priced/even cheaper than a drugstore mascara in Paris). I got the YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils and the same thing but the Shocking version, and I got the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill. A couple of my favorite bloggers (Fleur de Force and Makeup By Tiffany D) rave about these, so I really wanted to try them. Plus, the packaging is incredible.
I also got some samples in London. When I bought my perfume at Liberty, I was given a couple samples of Eau de Monsieur from Annick Goutal, and some randos in the streets gave me a soap and moisturizer sample.
Now before I even went to London, I had to pop into Muji (one of my new favorite stores ever) to get some travel things. I got this Muji 5-pot tower which is the most perfect thing for traveling, a little bottle for my toner, and another acrylic pot for my cleanser. They worked perfectly for me.
Now before you think I'm absolutely nuts, I'll let you know that Boots was on 3 for 2, so many of those products were free. Everything that's L'Oréal brand was half off. I've also been thinking about these products for a long time, and some of them were things I needed because I'm running out of other things. It's also not everyday you get to go to London.
0 Yorumlar