April Beauty Haul: Barry M, Soap and Glory, Sleek, Nars and more...

Viper Venom Eye Fix - Nip + Fab

£9.99 (on offer, usually £14.99)

This item featured in last month’s Lust List, and I decided to go for it over the other contender (Indeed Lab’s Eyesilix).

I have a lot of love for Nip + Fab, I think their products are genuinely effective and at a great price point, and they always seem to have the latest innovations. More and more of their skincare products keep creeping onto my bathroom shelf, so I almost wonder why I’ve never tried an eye product from them yet. I have horrible puffy eyes and dark circles, so I’m hoping this will help!

Satin Lip Pencil in ‘Biscayne Park’ – Nars via Space NK

£18.00

This is, shockingly, my first purchase from Nars (I know, I know. Call yourself a beauty blogger!).

We’re lucky enough to have a Space NK store in Nottingham, and I popped in a couple of weeks ago to have a look. I’ve been searching for the perfect barely-there neutral for my lips for a while now, and tried a few different colours on, but this seemed to be really flattering.

It has a pinkish tone to it that makes it really wearable. The feel on is soft and moisturising, with a demi-matte finish, really classy and elegant. And of course I’m quite obsessed with things in a crayon format at the moment as well, so this is ideal.

Undress Me Too palette and bronzer – MUA

£4.00 and £1.00

 

So after hearing so much about this palette over on Legos and Louboutins from Donna, I was going mad with curiosity. Basically, the shades are all a dupe of the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette, which I own, love and over-use, so I was highly intrigued. When Donna named it as her top pick, I decided that I needed it in my life! For the princely sum for £4.00, this is actually pretty amazing.

I also happened to pick up this bronzer at the same time, which was only £1. It appealed to me because its matte, which is hard to find, and it didn’t look too orange. I'm pleased to say its become one of my favourite products- its a lovely, warm, flattering colour on and the staying power is so good. I'm amazed at the price of this and will definitely be repurchasing.

Showstoppers Palette – Sleek

£7.99

Another blog-inspired buy (reading lots of blogs is clearly dangerous for my bank account!), this time another purchase inspired by Gemma at Makeup Magpie. Gemma has a unique ability to make me want to spend money, I think its her lovely descriptions of the items she reviews.

Anyway, she recently wrote about the Sleek Garden of Eden palette, which I immediately though I needed to add to my collection. I’m a big fan of Sleek, so I don’t take much persuading! But when I popped into Superdrug, there was no sign of that palette at all, just the usual suspects. But what they did have was this, which is an exclusive ‘celebration’ palette, made up of popular shades from their other collections. And so I pounced!

Schwartzkopf Got2Be Rise and Shine Souffle

£2.49

I’m a big fan of the Got2Be line - the products are great, and its so affordable, so I had to try out their new launch. This is a volumising product that I believe you are supposed to use like a mousse. You work it through dry hair for a volumised but silky finish.

As I’m always aiming for big, Barbarella hair in one way or another, this had an obvious appeal. After I bought this, I noticed it does say on the Got2Be site that its aimed at short hair (whoops) but I’m sure it will still work its magic for me!

Gelly Hi-Shine Lips in ‘Capella’ and ‘Vega’ – Barry M

£4.99 each

These were another item on last month’s Lust List, and I’m so happy I managed to get my hands on some! In the end, I went for ‘Capella’, which is a cool pink and ‘Vega’ which is a darker cherry red.

That shade is a little out of my usual repertoire but I decided I’d bought too many bright reds recently.

I’m really impressed with these. They feel lovely and moisturising on, they’re very pigmented and the colour is long-lasting. They were a really good buy, so if you haven’t tried these yet, go get! I'm hoping they continue to expand the shade range, because I'd like to pick up a few more of these.

Ayuuri Natural Rosewater Toner

£2.74

I love anything with rosewater in and have always been a fan of the Rosewater toner that Botanics do, so this little lovely caught my eye when I was picking up my food shopping. It’s not a line I’ve come across before and it’s a foreign brand, but it was very cheap and rosewater is usually fairly expensive.
One whiff of this and it was into the basket! I know the use of rosewater as a beauty aid is traditional in Middle Eastern countries, so this may be where this comes from. Lots of the supermarkets seem to be expanding their range of foreign foods and I know Asda have a ‘world foods’ aisle now (plus American candy, which is super-exciting).

They now seem to have adopted this approach with their toiletries aisle too, so have a look next to the L’Oreal and Olay and see what you can find.

L’Oreal Studio Line Go Create! Sculpting Spritz

£3.19

 

L'Oreal Studio Line #Txt Volume Supersizing Spray

£3.59

After picking up the Studio Line heat defence spray and enjoying using it, this little lovely caught my eye. I’ve been using L’Oreal’s Matt and Messy salt spray a lot recently and trying to embrace the textured look rather than just ironing my hair flat all the time, but that’s on it’s last dregs, so I decided to try this instead.

It says its ‘ideal for creating both messy and more defined looks that last’, so I’m expecting something a little like a spray gel, which might also be useful for up-dos. Its meant to have a ‘weightless formula’, which I’m hoping means no crispy finish, that is the kiss of death for hair products with me. Its enriched with Pro-Vitamin B5 as well, so it must also have a conditioning effect as an added bonus.

The texture styling spray was a purchase inspired by my colleague Iram. She has amazing hair, and one day I noticed that she was rocking a sort of bed head, volumised style. She told me this was the secret behind the look, so I powered off to the shop straight away after work to add it to my haircare product selection!

This is sort of like a cross between a spray wax and a dry shampoo. It's a really interesting product, perfect for getting that undone texture, and its become a favourite since I bought it. L'Oreal say it 'leaves hair looking sensationally volumised and texturised' and I have to agree. On a low maintenance hair day, I leave it to air dry and just scrunch some of this in and its great. I put the Bumble & Bumble Dryspun Thickening Spray on this month's wishlist, but I think this is actually a much cheaper dupe for it. A new favourite.

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean 3 in 1 Wash Off Deep Purifying Cleanser

£8.00

Another blog inspired purchase - this time over at KerryJustBeauty. I've come to the last few drops of the facewash I'm currently using (L'Oreal Skin Perfection) and I was ready to try out something new. I know a lot of people are addicted to Soap and Glory, but I haven't tried much from them. But after seeing this I decided to give it a try.

This is super-creamy. It contains antioxidant-rich peach and goji berry extracts, t-zone decloggers, and detoxifying oxyginseng technology. I like the more grown-up look S&G have taken on for their skincare, to be honest the whole retro-cutesy schtick actually put me off before. I'm much more likely to keep something like this on my bathroom shelf. The pump bottle is super-convenient and a big selling point for me. It makes it really easy to grab in the shower.

This smells amazing. It goes on with a slight tingle, smells like minty peaches (yes, that is a good thing). It melts off any last trace of make-up and leaves my face feeling smooth and revitalised. This is a real winner for me.

Have you found any great new products lately?