Hard Candy - High Maintenance Duo Review

Ello lovelies!

Another review of one of the goodies i picked up while on holiday! I'd seen so much on Hard Candy online that i just had to pick up a few bits and so far this is my favourite! Unfortunately Hard Candy (as far as I'm aware) is only available in the USA, it used to be available in Boots many, many years ago but sadly they stopped stocking it. So if you're from the USA or traveling there soon keep an eye out for this brand. Alternatively, you can probably find them on eBay, if like me you HAVE to have it! I've been on a real Taupe kick lately and have picked up quite a few different shades and this has been my most used!

The High Maintenance duo is two gorgeous, taupe based baked eye shadows. I picked this up from Walmart for a mere $6, bargain! Both shades are of a frosty finish so they may not be to everyone's taste, but i sure as hell love 'em! They can be used wet or dry, individually or by swirling your brush in both to get a third gorgeous shade. Pigmentation wise i really can't fault it and they blend like an absolute dream. The only issue with it is that there is quite a bit of fall out and the product itself is a bit stiffer than expected. But for the price, it is absolutely fantastic!

Swatches! Lighter colour, darker shade then a mixture of the two!

I am SO impressed by this duo i kinda regret not picking up a couple more! If you can get your hands on Hard Candy i REALLY recommend picking this bad boy up, you wont regret it!

Have you tried any other Hard Candy products? Whats your favourite?

xox

USA Drugstore Haul!

 

Heya lovelies. Long time no post!

Its finally here, the LAST of my USA hauls and this one is a bit big... I had quite a lot of fun raiding stores like Ulta, Walmart and Target whilst i was away (i got back well over a month ago now, *cry*). What hasn't been very fun is not being able to use half of it! I was determined to save it all for a haul and with University deadlines its been a bit tricky. So now i get to dig in and give this lot a good ol' test!

I'm going to try and not waffle on about products as much as possible or this is going to be one lengthy post. But as always, if theres anything you'd like a full review on, let me know through the comments.

 Hard Candy - Glow All The Way in Dollface - $8

Its so shiny! Such a lot of product for your buck, its a huge sized highlighter with a pearly pink glow and some glitter which I'm currently undecided on. Can't wait to test it out!

Revlon - Colorstay Foundation in Buff - $10
I do own a colourstay foundation already, but for once, its actually quite a bit too light. So i picked up another one in a darker shade as they were half the price they are here in the UK.

Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Foundation - Ivory $12

I'd been eyeing this for a while after hearing SO much about it online, i just couldn't resist.

 Hard Candy - Moon Glow $ Welcome Matte - $8

This is what happens when grabby hands come out in Walmart. I may as well have been doing a supermarket sweep run the rate i was picking things up. Oooh that looks interesting... *grabs* 

 Hard Candy - Glamoflague Concealer - $6

Another grabby hands purchase. Plus i was curious if this can really cover!

Maybelline - Dream Lumi Concealer in Radiance - $6

Probably my favourite discovery. I fell in love with this on my trip so much i hunted for them where ever i went and only managed to grab another two! Such a great brightening concealer for under the eye and pretty damn cheap too. This NEEDS to come to the UK!

 Lotsa lip products...

EOS - Lip Balm in Sweet Mint - $3

Another cliche holiday purchase...

Milani - Lip Flash in Hot Flash - $6
VERY similar to the Urban Decay Super Saturated lip pencils!  

Maybelline - Baby Lips in Grape and Cherry - $3

Yet another cliche purchase, i am a lip balm fiend!

Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Last Lipsticks in Coraline, Cherry Picking and Think Pink - $3

The BEST cheap lipsticks you can buy, ever. I LOVE my Mega Last Lipsticks!

Burt's Bee's - Tinted Lip Balm in Tiger Lily - $4

I did warn you... I am a lip balm whore.     

 

Wet 'n' Wild - Comfort Zone and Petal Pusher Palettes - $5

Another brand i just wish would hurry up and come to the UK. I already had a few Wet 'n' Wild palettes and trios at home and although they were either hit or miss, the hits were fantastic! So i picked up two of each and gifted the spares to the besties.

 

Hard Candy - High Maintenance Duo - $6

Oh how i love taupe. These are probably two of the most famous taupe drugstore shades on the web, so i had to snatch up both!

Cover Girl - Tapestry Taupe Eyeshadow - $4

This is the only Covergirl shadow i have ever tried and i am seriously impressed. Its smooth, buttery and the colour is absolutely stunning.     

 Ecotools - Retractable Kabuki - Bronzer Brush - $12
 My first ever Ecotools brushes. I have to admit i'd been a bit of a snob when it came to Ecotools in the past. They aren't the cheapest in the UK and cost around the same in pounds as they do in dollars. These were buy one get one half off in Ulta so it seemed the perfect time to snag a couple. The bronzer brush will be one of the first things i review because i am shocked at how amazing it is!

Real Techniques - Expert Face - Powder Brush - $10
So much cheaper in the states! These were also buy one get one half off so i grabbed a much needed back up of my favourite powder brush.  

Hard Candy - Fox in a Box in Truth or Dare and Hot Flash - $6

Their likeness to the Benefit boxed powders well and truly caught my eye, plus the colours are too cute. Packaging is pretty flimsy and its probably one of the worst brushes included with a blush ever, but I'll review these soon! 

NYC - Bronzer in Sunny - $3

As you can see i am one of those girls that sees things mentioned online and writes a little lust list... Then buys the lot at the first opportunity, haaa! Its a completely matte bronzer that i hope to use for contouring to make my beloved Laguna last a bit longer.   

Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream - $6

It smells like lemony heaven. I adored the smell but not the consistency of Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter so after being recommended this by a good friend i went on a hunt, well i say hunt but it was pretty easy to find. I even found it in Boots when i got home... doh!

About a years worth of mascara...

Elf - Liquid Eyeliner in Black - $1

My favourite, cheap eyeliner. I managed to only find two while i was away but i am a little disappointed they seem to have changed the brush on this. It used to be a firm felt nib, but it now seems thinner and a lot flimsier so it takes a bit of getting used to.

Covergirl - Lash Blast Mascara - $6

Its so famous i had to give it a bash. I'd been using the waterproof version on holiday and it was okay so i thought i'd test this one out!  

Maybelline - Mega Plush Mascara - $6    

Was just curious about this one and better to be curious when you can get them at half the price.

L'oreal - Voluminous Mascara - $6

Again, curiosity killed my bank balance.

Almay - Get Up and Grow Mascara - $5

...And another one.

Maybelline - One by One Mascara - $6 

...

So... that's it!

That's the end of this haul and the end of my USA posts! As much as I'd love to carry on posting them, my bank balance wont allow it and I'm sure it'd get boring real fast. But again, let me know if you'd like a review of anything specific and I'm looking forward to posting some FOTD's with this little lot soon!

Whats your favourite high-street or "drugstore" product?

xox 

USA Haul: Sephora!

Ello lovelies!

Its taking me a long time to get through these hauls! This is the second to last, i promise! I was like a kid in a candy shop in Sephora, i spent quite a long time just looking around at what they had, and they have an awful lot! As you can see i went a little Tarte crazy, i SO wish we could get hold of this brand in the UK because there was SO much more i wanted to get, but my damn luggage allowance wouldn't allow it!

I wasn't lying when i said i went crazy on Tarte! I actually had a little makeover done in store and i am gutted i didn't pick up their Amazonian Clay Foundation as my sample is getting low and i bloody love it! September was an awesome time to visit Sephora as they were just starting to get in their Christmas gift sets. I was also lucky enough to have some birthday money to spend which is my way of justifying the ridiculous amount of blush i purchased! I've added prices for all the products listed, and if you want to find out more about them they are all on the Sephora US website.

I'm planning to review the majority of these at some point, but if theres something in particular you'd like to see one on, let me know!

Tarte - Amazonian Clay Blush - $25

As you can see i picked up four of these, i wanted to try a range of colours because blush has been, until now, the smallest part of my collection. There are 16 shades, so choosing wasn't an easy task. But i settled on: Exposed, Glisten, Flush and the infamous Tipsy. 

 Tarte - Blush & Bronze On The Go - $15

I spotted this duo after i had chosen the first four and thought, why not? It contains a mini Dollface blush and a mini Park Ave Princess, and at only $15 i thought that was quite a steal. The blush contains 3.4g of product which is over half the size of the regular ones, fantastic!

Tarte - Baby It's Bold Outside - $35

Contains four new (i believe) limited edition shades, again in just over half size. This was on my second trip to Sephora, i just couldn't help myself. Its such a steal at that price and i rarely go through an entire blush. I can see these getting a ton of wear! 

Tarte - High Definition Eyebrow Pencil - $19

This was used on me during the little makeover i received. I am shocked to just stumble over a nice, taupey brow pencil! I find it SO difficult to find brow products that aren't too dark or too warm toned, this is perfect!

Random bits and bobs...

Makeup Forever - Aqua Cream #2 - $23

Apart from the Mascara i picked up at IMATS earlier in the year i don't actually own and MUFE so thought it was time i rectified that. Steel is described as a "Grey Silver Shimmer", but i think it'd work really well under taupey smokey eyes!

Josie Maran - Argan Color Stick - $22 

The sales assistant got an easy sale with this one. Had an "ooooooh its soooo prettttyyyy" magpie moment. I've not had a chance to try this out yet, but it is an extremely pretty pink cream blush. Josie Maran products contain a whole host of skin loving ingredients and im really looking forward to giving this a bash.

 Urban Decay - Good Karma Brush - $24

My new favourite foundation brush. You NEED this in your life. Review coming very soon!

Laura Mercier - Brightening Powder - $22  
I'd wanted this for SO long, but i wasn't going to pay nearly £20 for an under eye setting powder here in the UK. Well, i may have to when this runs out! Again, I'll post a full review of it soon. 

Anastasia - Brow Powder Duo - $22

Another product I'd lusted over for a long time. Full review up soon! 

  

Fresh - Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo

It was my birthday while i was away and i was a little cheeky and signed up for a Sephora Beauty Insider card... oops! So on top of collecting points for a few 100 point perks i also received this super cute lip duo. One of their lip balms actually retails for over $20, madness! They are damn good balms though.  

Jack Black - Lip Balm - $7.50

I'm a lip balm whore. I adore this, it smells so fresh and being a "mens" product doesn't leave too much of a sheen on the lip, perfect! 

Urban Decay - Naked 2 - £30

I eventually caved. I was set on not buying any expensive eyeshadow palettes while i was away, in fear of smashing them travelling home. This little beauty appeared on the duty free book on the plane home and i just couldn't resist any longer! Only a £6 saving on buying it in the UK, but an excuse to get rid of all my extra dollars. 

Point perks! I was a little bit bummed they had finished their MUFE Lipstick perk by the time i got there, but these are very decent sized samples. I'm also only a few points away from another perk when i next go, bonus!

Phew, that's it!

This was a MUCH longer post than i expect, so sorry for whittling on. You'll be pleased to know that i only have one more haul to share with you, hurrah! And i think i saved the best till last, my Drugstore haul! And just a quick warning, its going to be a whopper!

Do you live by a Sephora? Whats your favourite product? 

Or are you like us UK girls, longing for them to open up shop here again?!

xox