L'Oréal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution & Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

One of the words that I hear most often in the beauty 'blogosphere' and on YouTube videos is Bioderma. The infamous micellar water that removes makeup like nothing else and that every woman, her mother and her dog should own. But with it being pretty damn hard to get your hands on in the UK, and with me never setting foot on French soil in my life, it comes as no surprise that I've never tried it. So when I walked into Boots a few weeks back and saw this offering from L'oréal, the Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution, I knew I had to try it. 

The 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution claims to do three things - dissolve makeup, unclog pores and remove impurities, and tone and soothe skin.

After using this for about two weeks now, I can say that it is without a doubt the best thing I have ever used for removing makeup. I pour some onto a cotton wool pad and swipe it over my entire face, and it removes every single trace. It removes my eye makeup well, but as I wear waterproof eyeliner and mascara, sometimes there is still a smudge of those left in my eye area. Which leads onto the other thing in this post, the Loréal Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. I tried this because of how impressed I was with the Micellar Solution and it did not disappoint. I use this on a cotton wool pad just for my eye makeup, then use the Micellar Solution for the rest of my face. The eye makeup remover gets rid of all of my mascara and eyeliner, without me having to tug at my lashes or drag the cotton wool pad over my eye. I just gently swipe it over and it works wonders. I usually use Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for my eye makup, which is equally as good as the Loréal offering, but much more expensive, therefore at a fraction of the cost, I will definitely continue buying the Loréal as an alternative. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and it helped you if you are looking for new makeup removers. Also if you have ever tried Bioderma, is it worth the hype? 

Hope you've had a lovely weekend and I'll speak to you in my next blog post!

Lip Product Haul

So last week I was out shopping in Manchester with my boyfriend, and somehow managed to come home with a total of eight lip products. EIGHT! I'm not quite sure how it happened and thankfully, they cost me next to nothing, thanks to a few free rewards and a 3 for 2 offer. 

The first thing I picked up was a gorgeous Creme Smooth Lip Colour from Laura Mercier. I got the colour Royal Orchid as I thought it looked like a gorgeous 'my lips but better' shade. I had somehow managed to build up £20 worth of N.Dulge Reward Points, so when I got this to the till, it cost me a grand total of... Nothing! The price of the lipstick was exactly the same amount as the points I had built up, so I took this home feeling very smug at the fact I'd walked out of Space NK with a free lipstick. I haven't tried this lipstick yet, but will post a review when I get the chance to.

Next stop was House of Fraser, where I quickly went over to the MAC counter with six empty eyeshadow pots. With the empties, I did Back 2 MAC and got yet another free lipstick. I picked up the colour 'Lustering' which is a lustre finish. It isn't overly pigmented and just adds a nice shine of colour. The formula is very moisturising and feels very creamy on the lips. I have only worn this once, and the lasting power isn't as good as other MAC lipsticks that I have tried, I had to reapply after about two hours. However, I do not mind reapplying often and tend to do so anyway even if I don't particularly need to. I would highly recommend this shade as I think the colour is lovely and it would be great for people who want to try a brighter lipstick but not go too crazy with a super pigmented colour straight away. MAC lipsticks have increased in price yet again, they now cost £15, so walking away with one for free felt quite satisfying. 

Finally are the six that I am probably most excited about, which seems strange as all six together work out cheaper than just one of the above lipsticks would have cost alone. They are the Maybelline Baby Lips. I have been waiting for these forever and when I found out they had finally landed on UK turf, I couldn't stop myself from going on a wild hunt for them. I looked in my local Boots store the day after they came into shops, and there were none there at all. I did the same in Superdrug, with the same bad luck. 

So last week, on a trip to Manchester, I made it my mission to come home with all six in hand. And I did it! I found three in Boots on King Street, priced at a mere £2.99 each, and on a 3 for 2 offer, so I picked the three up for £5.98. Then we went into the larger Boots store, where no Baby Lips were to be seen anywhere. So we then ventured into the Arndale Centre and walked into Superdrug with everything crossed. There was a table with the last of their Baby Lips left. I found two of the three I was missing, and slightly disheartened, went over to the till to pay. But, with incredible luck, I found the final one near the till when I was queuing - no joke, I literally ran over to it squealing, slightly embarrassing, but I didn't care because it meant I had ALL 6! And, again, bought them on 3 for 2, meaning that for all six I only paid £11.96.

From left to right, the ones I got were: Peach Kiss, Pink Punch, Hydrate, Mint Fresh, Intense Care and Cherry Me. These are all really nice, there is nothing particularly special about them that makes them stand out over other lip balms, and I have certainly used better ones, but I'm so happy that I bought them and will continue to use, and probably re-purchase them. Peach Kiss, Pink Punch and Cherry Me are tinted lip balms and provide a nice wash of colour on the lips, so could be used in replacement of a lipstick or gloss.

Hope you enjoyed looking at what I bought, or didn't in the case of the first two, HA!

If you have any lip product recommendations, then please leave them in a comment below so that I can check them out next time I go shopping.

Natalie x

Gatineau Aquamemory Duo

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I've been so busy and I just couldn't find the time to do it, but I'm back now and today I'm showing you two new additions to my current skincare routine.

I picked up the Gatineau Aquamemory Duo a few weeks back and have added it into my daily night time skin care routine to put it to the test. I got mine for an amazing price in TK Maxx, this set usually retails for £48.50, but was reduced to £24.99. The one that I got was the last one and the box it was in was pretty beaten up, so I was offered a further 10% discount, meaning I only paid a mere £22.50 for it. Bargain! 

The set contains a 30ml Moisture Replenish Concentrate and a 30ml Moisture Replenish Cream. Considering the sizes are so small, these seem to be lasting me a really long time. I assumed I would get around 10 uses out of each, but I have been using these daily for almost a month now and have loads left. I am about 1/3 of the way through each of these so hopefully they might see me through til the end of September, although that might be asking a little too much, ha! 

I have been using the Moisture Replenish Concentrate as a serum, followed by the Moisture Replenish Cream as my moisturiser, after cleansing and toning. The Aquamemory Duo is designed to boost hydration, and while my skin isn't necessarily dehydrated, this has been working really well. I had never used any Gatineau skincare products before, so didn't know what to expect, however, from the first use, I could definitely feel the quality of both of these products. After cleansing and toning, I apply just one pump of the serum into my fingertips, which is enough to spread over the whole of my face and down my neck evenly. I then take a pea sized amount of the moisturiser and do the same. Both of these products sink into my skin more or less instantly, and don't feel tacky or sticky to touch. For such a small amount of product to provide such amazing moisture, I think it is definitely worth the full price.

The only drawback I have is that if I get this anywhere near my eye area, my eyes sting and start to water, so I do not go anywhere near the under eye and only use my eye cream for moisturiser there.

I would definitely recommend both of these products to anybody without hesitation. I have looked online and can't find the duo set that I got, so I assume it was limited edition, however you can buy both of the products individually here and here. The serum that I got in this set is actually the biggest size they do as far as I am aware and retails for £48.50 alone, so I essentially got it for around half price and got the moisturiser free. Don't you just love things that little bit more when you know you got a good deal! The full size moisturiser is £41.50 and comes in a 50ml jar, which is 20ml bigger than the one I have. Although these products are on the pricey side, I would definitely pay it as the quality is just amazing.

Hope this review helped! Does anybody have any recommendations of other serums and/or moisturisers I should try when I'm out of these two? Let me know in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you.

Natalie x

Sephora Haul

So today I'm showing you everything else I got from Sephora when I was on holiday in Italy. Wherever you take me in the world, I will find somewhere to buy makeup, living up to my name as a beauty addict. I bought makeup in duty free at the airport, and from Sephora and Kiko when I was actually on holiday. When I walked into Sephora, I literally felt like I had died and gone to makeup heaven. 

Warning: This might be quite a long post!

As we were walking down the street, I saw the black and white stripes of the Sephora shop, and a little squeal came out of me with no warning. But, I had to put my excitement on hold as it was closed, so I had to wait an agonizing five days before we went back into the city to shop. FIVE DAYS. But it was worth the wait and when I went, I did not hold back on spending the last of my euros.

Other than the Make Up For Ever item that I wrote about yesterday, I wanted to check out Sephora's own brand makeup more than anything as I could buy all of the other brands, such as Chanel, YSL and Dior at home. The things that I were drawn to most were the eyeshadows, after a marathon swatching session, I fell in love with 6 colours, 4 at full price (€11.90) and 2 which were on sale for €7.50 - bargain! 

Going clockwise from the top, the colours I chose were - Secret Boudoir, Californian Blonde, Dying For Fudge, Be On The A-List, Flirting Game, and Starry Sky.

Secret Boudoir is a matte creamy colour, which I think would be perfect as a subtle brow highlight, or as an all over base colour on the lid. Californian Blonde is a creamy gold colour, Dying For Fudge is a red toned bronze, Be On The A-List is a brown/taupe, and Flirting Game is a brown toned bronze - all of which have a satin finish. The final colour, Starry Sky is a dark grey with lots of silver shimmer running through it. The swatches below show how the eyeshadows look when applied to the skin.

The formula of the shadows is lovely, very creamy and blendable, and the colours are so pigmented. I think that the first 5 colours are gorgeous everyday colours as I am a neutral eyeshadow girl, but I think all six of them are perfect for a smokey eye for a night out or another special occasion. The only problem I have is with the colour Starry Sky as the shimmer in the eyeshadow produces a lot of fallout. I have to apply this while holding a tissue under my eye to catch the stray glitter so it doesn't end up all over my face making me look like a disco ball. Not cute!

I also picked up an eyeshadow palette which has 5 colours in it. The palette is called Taupe Model and contains the colours - Californian Blonde, Marie, Beige, Coffee Brown and also a liner colour called Mat Brown. As I was writing that list I just realised that one of the colours, Californian Blonde, is the same as one of the single eyeshadows I picked up - oh well, at least it's a colour I like!

(Swatches L-R : Californian Blonde, Marie, Coffee Brown, Beige, Mat Brown)

I think the palette is very nice and the formula of the shadows, again, is lovely. However, I don't think there is much difference between the colours Marie and Coffee Brown, so there isn't a great deal of variation between the colours. 

The final things I picked up were three eyeliners. I picked up two jumbo eyeliners and one normal eye pencil. The jumbo eye pencils eye chose were in the colours Beige and Dark Taupe Shimmer. The names are very fitting as they perfectly describe the colours. The liners are very creamy and blend really well, I have been using them as eyeshadows more than eyeliner and they work well for both. The staying power is very good, I have worn these for around 10 hours with no creasing and they are very waterproof... today's heavy rain put that one to the test!

The eye pencil that I got was in the colour Chocolate. I wear black eyeliner in my top and bottom waterline, but did not need to buy one from Sephora as I am very loyal to my Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long–Lasting Eyeliner in the colour Ebene, so I decided to get a brown eyeliner as I do not have one already. I have tried it and it is nice, but no match to my beloved Chanel, so I am still on the hunt for a brown eyeliner.

(Swatches L-R : Beige, Dark Taupe Shimmer, Chocolate)

If you've made it to the end of this post then you deserve an award.

Hope you've enjoyed looking at what I bought and if anybody has any recommendations for a brown eyeliner that I can fall in love with, then please leave it as a comment below.

Natalie x

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream - 13

As I mentioned in Sunday's post, for the next few days I will be showing you the things I picked up from Sephora when I was on holiday in Italy. Everything I got was Sephora's own brand makeup, apart from one product which is from the brand Make Up For Ever. This is a brand that I have heard a lot about, but never tried as it is super hard to get hold of in the UK. There were two Make Up For Ever items that I wanted to try, one of which was the HD Foundation. However, with 26 shades to choose from and costing €41.90, I did not want to spend all that money and then realise when I got home that the colour did not match. So, reluctantly, I moved away from the foundation and found the other item that I wanted to try - the aqua creams. 

I only chose one shade, as they were quite pricey at €24.90 each, and the colour I chose was number 13, a champagne colour. The colour is gorgeous, it is highly pigmented and the formula is lovely, as you can see in the swatch below. When you first apply it, it can look slightly patchy, but it is easy to blend out and when done so the finish is very smooth. You can also build up the colour to make the shimmer in it more intense. I have tried applying this both with just my fingers and also with a flat shader brush, and both methods work brilliantly. The staying power is good but not the best, I applied Urban Decay Primer Potion onto my eyelids before applying this and it lasted around 8 hours before creasing slightly. Usually, when I use a primer, my eyeshadow does not crease at all, so this is one of the main issues for me with the aqua cream. 

Even though the staying power isn't the best, I am still very happy I got the Aqua Cream and would definitely buy more shades in the future. I have still got my eye on the HD Foundation, so will pick that up next time I am near a Make Up For Ever counter, wherever in the world that may be. If anybody knows of anywhere in the UK you can buy MUFE products, or somewhere online that ships to the UK, then please leave it in a comment below.

Part two of my Sephora haul will be up tomorrow!

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Natalie x

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey everyone!

I've been reading blogs for years now and recently came across Bloglovin. I use it to follow all of the blogs that I enjoy reading, and since recently joining the blogging world myself, have decided to connect my own blog to Bloglovin.  I think it is a brilliant way to connect with other people and I would love it if you would follow me on there so that I can see who is reading my blog and be able to read yours too.

My next blog post will be up shortly,

Love Natalie x

Kiko Eyeshadow in 125

Last month, I went on holiday to Lucca, a gorgeous little city in Tuscany, Italy. Most of the week was spent sightseeing, but we did manage to squeeze in some quality shopping time. As a beauty addict, the two most exciting shops I went in were Sephora and Kiko Cosmetics. Kiko is an Italian makeup brand which is very affordable but has amazing quality products.

I bought lots of things in Sephora, which I will be talking about in my next couple of posts, but I only had about 5 minutes to look in Kiko before meeting up with everybody for lunch, which meant I only got chance to pick up one item. But I am so pleased with the product that I bought and am seriously considering making a rather large online order. The product I picked up was an eyeshadow in the colour 125.

The colour I got is a satin type finish and is a grey toned brown. On a day to day basis, I go for very neutral colours on my eyes and this works perfectly for the outer corners and also through the crease. 

I paid €2.90 for this eyeshadow, and for the price of it, I did not think it would be anything to write home about. However, I am so impressed with the quality, it is super pigmented and you only need a small amount on your brush to get a good colour payoff. The eyeshadow blends well and is very buildable by applying more product until you get the intensity you want. 

I find the colour to be quite similar to one of my all time favourite MAC eyeshadows, Satin Taupe.

The swatches above show the two colours side by side. Kiko 125 is the top colour and MAC Satin Taupe is the bottom colour. The colours are very similar in the pan, but when swatched Satin Taupe is slightly more bronze, however, I find that when they are on the eyes, you can hardly tell the difference. 

I wish I'd had chance to pick up more of these, as well as some of Kiko's other products. I am thinking of ordering more Kiko makeup, so if you have any recommendations then please leave them in a comment below so I can check them out.

Hope you've had a lovely weekend!