USA Beauty Haul

L-R: Blooming, Pink, Cantaloupe, Apple Strudel, Tokyo

L-R: Bronzer, Glow, Coralina

L-R: Creamy Beige, Dramatic Black

As you may or may not know, I spent a couple of weeks in Florida with my family recently. While spending lots of time lounging around by the pool, I also got chance to do a bit of shopping. OK, maybe some shopping. Fine, I bought a lot of stuff ok?! I did go out with a list in my head of things I wanted to pick up with a couple of extra impulse buys added in. Apologies as this is a super long post so get a drink and settle down to hear my thoughts!

L'Oréal Concealer Crayon: I've seen a couple of American Youtubers use this and thought it looked interesting which is why I picked this up. The coverage is probably only light to medium in my opinion so I only use it on my under eyes. I don't love it- it does feel creamy and easy to apply but it does crease after a while so I wouldn't desperately want to buy this again.   

L'Oréal Magic Lumi Highlighter: This is one product that you can easily pick up in the UK and is one that I've been contemplating buying for a while. I spotted it while shopping and worked out it was actually cheaper in America so I took the plunge and boy, am I glad I did. This is definitely the best highlighter I've used as it's not shimmery but glowy. From my experience it is a fab dupe for the YSL Touche Eclat and gives a radiant glow. I apply this under my eyes, tops of my cheekbones, down my nose, my cupids bow, between my brows and on my browbone. Since I've been loving the dewy, glowing skin look lately, this is fitting perfectly into my routine.   

Almay Liquid Lip Balms: I've heard Essiebutton rave about these a lot and thought they looked really interesting. At first I just bought one shade, Blooming, which is a natural pink colour. Upon applying it, I found it comes out quite sheer and glossy (something with earlier in the year I would have hated but I loved how pretty it looked). I then went out and purchased two more pigmented shades- Pink, a bold fuchsia and Cantaloupe which is a peachy shade. I'm disappointed that you can't get these in the UK as they are such good products at a really reasonable price.   

NYX Butter Gloss: After discovering that I really liked glossy lips, I went on to buy another much loved product. I chose the shade Apple Strudel which is a pinky coral. Buttery is definitely the right adjective to describe these- creamy, moisturising but glossy too. It also has a really nice sweet scent. You can actually get NYX in a few places on the UK so if I get chance I would pick up a couple more of these.   

NYX Rouge Cream Blush: I've been wanting to try these for so long- cream blushes are definitely my jam. This is the shade Glow, a pink with a hint of coral which applies like a dream. It has a dewy finish and is really long lasting. You can either apply these with your fingertips or a brush, which ever works for you. I tend to apply this with my fingers, then blend out any harsh edges with  brush.   

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream: Unfortunately I don't really get on with this- it's a cute pale pink shade called Tokyo, which reminds me of MAC's Please Me but I can't seem to get on with the formula. It does feel creamy but it applies quite streaky and doesn't really dry so it just slides around. I think applied very lightly or worn under a gloss it could work but it's not quite what I was hoping it would be.   

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Leather: Hopefully this a product we'll be getting in the UK soon as these are right up my street. They have the same amazing staying power as the regular colour tattoos but with the absence of shimmer, replaced instead by a matte finish with a slight sheen- funnily enough, just like leather! I chose two shades- Creamy Beige, a nude that is great for all over lid either alone or as a base for other shadows, and Dramatic Black which, as it sounds, is an intense black which I think works great for daring smokey eyes or it may even work as a gel eyeliner.   

Milani Baked Blush: This definitely reminds me of the Hourglass blushes in how it looks- shimmery and highly pigmented. I have the shade Coralina which feels soft to apply and the mirror in the compact is a great extra touch.   

Milani XL Bronzer: OK, it's fair to say I was suckered into this by the size. It is as big as the palm of my hand and has bronze shade and a lighter shimmery one too. Both are highly pigmented and can be used separately although I like the look best if I swirl them both together. I can use this for contouring if I am light with it, otherwise it can turn out a bit orange, much like the Bourjois chocolate bronzer. None the less, I think this is a great summer bronzer.   

Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Trio: These palettes are such a bargain I couldn't not buy one. I have the shade Sweet as Candy which comprises of three shimmery shades used together to create one look. I'm super impressed at how pigmented they are- the highlight shade in particular blew me away.   

Not Your Mother's: This affordable haircare range do a lot of different products so it was hard for me to stop at just two. First the thickening spray- this really did make my hair feel fuller and shinier (my mom actually commented on how thick my hair looked without knowing I'd used this). I spray the product onto my hands and scrunch it through my hair, and it works equally well whether I let my hair dry naturally or blow dry it. The same can be said for the texturising gel, which is quite gloopy and thick when you work it through the hair but definitely leaves it looking messy, voluminous and thick. Love love love both of these!   

Anastacia Brow Wiz: I didn't expect to get to a Sephora on my trip so didn't plan on picking this up but I'm really pleased I did. I think I'll do a full review on this soon so won't say too much about it now, except that it worked out cheaper to buy it in the US which is why I decided to buy it then.   

Sephora Formula X Nail Polish: Final product! I've heard a lot of people talk about these recently and they've been praised for their staying power. I can never get nail polish to last on my nails, depite using both base and top coat and trying many different brands so I look forward to seeing how this fares once I've got my gel manicure off. These work out to be not really anymore expensive than drugstore brands, this is actually pretty equal to buying an Essie polish for example. This shade is Unmistakable, a very pastelly green which is paler than any mint greens I already have but I think this will work well all year round.