Hello lovelies
I haven’t done a drugstore makeup haul on this blog in quite a while - I guess I’ve been concentrating more on building the high end of my collection and ticking off a few of my wish list products.
But of course there are fantastic things to be found on the high street, and nothing quite like the thrill of wandering around Boots with an empty basket, discovering treasure.
You’re never winning more than when you find a product that really delivers AND gives you change from a tenner.
In town the other day, I visited Boots, Kiko and Superdrug to get my hit of the best new drugstore products in the UK for glowing skin, contoured cheekbones and lashes to die for.
L’Oreal Summer Splash Limited Edition Box
This little collection really caught my eye, because it contained several products I wanted to try all in one.
It contained four full-size products for £20, a saving compared to the £36.50 they’d cost if you bought them individually. And unlike some ‘selection boxes’, they’re all great products.
Here’s what’s inside:
L’Oreal SuperLiner Perfect Slim
As a massive fan of felt-tip style liners, both for their ease of use, and the results you get (nothing nails a cat-eye liner look better), I have used and liked this in the past.
The absolute best thing about it is the super fine tip, which makes it so easy to get a perfect result. I dislike liners that are too chunky and clumsy, but this one is brilliant, especially for days when you want a more subtle look.
The absolute best thing about it is the super fine tip, which makes it so easy to get a perfect result. I dislike liners that are too chunky and clumsy, but this one is brilliant, especially for days when you want a more subtle look.
Like a lot of people, I’m currently just a liiiiittttle obsessed with Kylie Jenner’s make-up, and this is the liner she has said she uses. Whatever else my opinion of her, her eyeliner game is always on point, so I wanted to get hold of this.
It’s very intensely pigmented and delivers a precise, intense line that’s beautiful. The thin tip makes it quite hard to ‘go wrong’ so if you struggle to get that flawless cat eyeliner application, you might want to look at this.
L’Oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume Mascara
This wasn’t something I wanted to try when it launched, despite the cute packaging. I’m very fussy when it comes to my lashes, and tend to stick to a few tried and tested favourite mascaras.
For ages I thought I only liked products that had a plastic, comb-style brush, as these seemed to give me better results. That was until I tried Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara, which became my holy grail.
Despite having a brush that looked like a roller from a car wash, it gave beautiful definition, thickness and a wonderful feathery soft look to my lashes.
Being gorgeous but pricey, of course I was soon on the hunt for a great alternative, and found a lot of people claiming L’Oreal Miss Manga is a Too Faced Better Than Sex dupe.
The feathery, plush brush and creamy formula certainly look like a close match on the surface, although the Miss Manga wand is conical rather than BTS’s hourglass shape. I’ve used it a couple of times now and have been quite impressed. Look out for a full comparison review coming soon.
L’Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss in ‘I’ve Got The Power’
For a while now, its been all about the matte lip and I feel like gloss is overdue a bit of a comeback!
Especially with contenders like this that don’t compromise on pigmentation, deliver high shine and contain goodies like lip plumping hyaluronic acid to perfect your pout.
The best part is that this is not at all sticky – the whole hair-getting-stuck-to-lips thing was probably something that put a lot of us off glosses in the first place.
The Mega Gloss range features a range of five finishes – matte, neon, dazzle, extreme, and cream.
The shade in the box is a cream finish- the most wearable- and is a beautiful dusky, pinkish beige nude that would suit most people.
I love the sleek packaging – there’s something Chanel-esque about it - and the curved wand, which makes the product easy to apply, even when you’re in a rush. I can see me picking up a few more of these.
L’Oreal Dream Legs BB Wash Off
Who wears nude tights anymore, aside from Kate Middleton?
Sweaty, uncomfortable and far too easy to snag, my rule is that if it’s warm enough not to need opaques, its warm enough not to need tights full stop.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss their saving grace of disguising all those unsightly marks, thread veins and imperfections.
That’s why products like this are getting so popular. I don’t tend to use fake tan (too scared of potentially streaky, glowing orange limbs) but products like this I adore, because they wash off if you make any mistakes.
It’s more of a skin foundation than a bronzer, so its not too dark and scary and it doesn’t contain any shimmer (you can always add that on top by stroking a powder highlighter or shimmery pale eyeshadow down your shin bones).
The best results come with blending it into the legs using a mitt. It’s very silky once on and is meant to be transfer and streak resistant.
When it comes to lashes, I adore Eyelure. They have great quality strip lashes in a huge variety of different styles, but they're all easy to apply and give a great finish.
Recently, they launched four new 'Cheryl' styles, cashing in on their association with the woman who still gives most of us #lashgoals.
I loved this style 'First Date' because they're so natural and pretty. Just enough to give a subtle boost to your eyes without anyone suspecting that you're wearing falsies. They're beautifully lightweight and don't have a visible band, so you don't have to rely on heavy eyeliner to make them work.
These would work so well for a daytime event when you want to be polished but not too vampy. I can't wait to try them out.
Eyelure Cheryl 'First Date' Eyelashes
When it comes to lashes, I adore Eyelure. They have great quality strip lashes in a huge variety of different styles, but they're all easy to apply and give a great finish.
Recently, they launched four new 'Cheryl' styles, cashing in on their association with the woman who still gives most of us #lashgoals.
I loved this style 'First Date' because they're so natural and pretty. Just enough to give a subtle boost to your eyes without anyone suspecting that you're wearing falsies. They're beautifully lightweight and don't have a visible band, so you don't have to rely on heavy eyeliner to make them work.
These would work so well for a daytime event when you want to be polished but not too vampy. I can't wait to try them out.
Botanics Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz
Lately, I’m really loving the Botanics brand, which offers great quality organic plant-based products for a really accessible price.
I’ve been using the Brightening Toner with Hibiscus extract over the last month, which my skin really got on with, but this time around I decided to go for the Rosewater option instead.
This is a lovely product because its not one of those overly harsh, astringent toners that aggressively dries out the skin. You can either spritz a little onto a cotton pad or just lightly mist it over your face.
It leaves your skin feeling really soft and pampered.
It leaves your skin feeling really soft and pampered.
John Frieda BeachBlonde Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray Mini
Since going for the chop, I’ve been loving playing about with different ways to style my ‘lob’. It seems to have made me more adventurous! I think I just used to find styling my long locks quite tedious, but everything is so much quicker now I’ve gone shorter.
I’ve always liked beachy looking waves, but for some reason they never used to turn out right – they just looked a mess, rather than artfully dishevelled.
Going shorter seems to have changed all that, and I’ve been getting into salt sprays in a major way.
This tiny handbag sized one was lurking by the till, so I popped it in my basket (is it just me that loves all the minis Boots do by the checkout these days?).
This will be really useful for on the go touch ups when my waves start to drop. It smells of coconut and doesn’t leave my hair crispy either, so its pretty much a winner!
Makeup Revolution Mono Shadow ‘Mocha Love’
After Boots, I also popped into Superdrug and of course I couldn’t resist checking out the Makeup Revolution counter. They must be about my favourite drugstore brand for consistently brilliant quality at unbelievable prices.
One thing I used to repurchase, and haven’t for a while, is this shade of eyeshadow. It’s a taupe mid-brown, and its absolutely the perfect skin contour shade.
There’s a lack of orange tones and its completely matte – ideal for creating realistic shadows on the skin. The pan sizes are also big enough to get a contour or blush brush into as well, which makes life easy.
There’s a lack of orange tones and its completely matte – ideal for creating realistic shadows on the skin. The pan sizes are also big enough to get a contour or blush brush into as well, which makes life easy.
Even though this can be yours for just £1, the pigmentation is all there, and its long lasting too. I’d forgotten how much I loved this! It’s also a great neutral crease colour for eyes.
MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter
Another repeat purchase! This powder highlighter is the most beautiful, finely milled product. There are three shades available, this is the lightest, a sort of iridescent pale pink, but it looks wonderfully natural on skin.
Not long ago, I bought the much pricier Mac Mineralise Skin Finish, and I have to say I genuinely prefer this – and its only £3.00!
I like to use a fluffy powder brush to lightly sweep this over the high points of my face as a finisher, and it just makes you look so polished and lit from within, without being too shimmery. It punches well about its weight.
The only thing I definitely don’t love is that every time I’ve bought this, the hinge on the compact breaks no matter now careful I am. And then I have to chuck it away (perhaps I should get an empty palette and de-pot instead?).
Makeup Revolution Pro Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray
Having heard a couple of rave reviews of this, when I saw it in stock I had to pick one up. Setting sprays are all the rage in the make-up world, I guess because we just want to protect our handiwork and keep our look fresh!
I don’t usually have time to touch up once I’ve done my face in the morning, and I don’t want to carry a load of different products round with me, so they appeal to me. Having tested this out a couple of times I am seriously impressed. I’ve been using the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray and in my honest opinion? This stuff is better.
It’s not that I have especially oily skin, but it keeps my make-up on far longer. My base, blush and eye makeup all looked perfect into the evening, whereas a lot of my foundation has usually sunk without a trace by lunchtime.
Not only did this spray perform amazingly well, but its only £5.00 compared to £20 for the Urban Decay stuff, so you can afford to splash it about. The sleek white and rose gold packaging is also pretty restrained and nice. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be without this now.
Kiko Rebel Romantic Collection Metallic Shine Eyeshadow 01
So we’re lucky enough to have a Kiko store in Nottingham, which if you haven’t come across them, are an Italian make-up brand that specialise in beautifully presented, high performance products at very friendly prices.
You can order from them online, but I found that the customer service and shipping times were both awful, and the website itself is just annoying (simple things like letting you look at a product before saying its out of stock, rather than just taking it down).
They recently launched this new Rebel Romantic collection that looked all shades of gorgeous, and I contemplated braving the website to place an order, but then decided to wait for it to hit the store instead. There's a big range of items including contouring crayons, blush and liners.
I’m super-glad I went into store, because the items I picked out were not at all what I thought I wanted before going in.
I had my heart set on the lipsticks, but I didn’t like any of the shades in the flesh. Similarly, I would have totally overlooked these gorgeous eyeshadows.
They had four shades in the collection, all stunning, but I was most drawn to this kind of iridescent, champagne colour. It’s so creamy on and creates a beautiful, almost holographic effect on the skin that these pictures really aren’t doing justice to.
Plus, these come in the most gorgeous pots with pewter lids and scalloped, art deco motifs on the side.
Plus, these come in the most gorgeous pots with pewter lids and scalloped, art deco motifs on the side.
For £6.90 these look and feel like a much more expensive product – I wouldn’t mind adding another couple of the shades to my collection.
Kiko Rebel Romantic Pocket Mirror
And I couldn’t resist this to-die-for compact either. I mean, just look at it!
Delicate and rose-gold (who isn’t crazy about that colour at the moment), with the art deco motif of the collection etched on it.
Delicate and rose-gold (who isn’t crazy about that colour at the moment), with the art deco motif of the collection etched on it.
The mirror has a regular and a magnifying side, and there can’t be many more glamourous ways to touch up on the go.
Plus, it comes in this beautiful metallic grained leather protective pouch. There’s also a make-up bag in the same material if you’re a bit of a Matchy Matchy Madeline.
Plus, it comes in this beautiful metallic grained leather protective pouch. There’s also a make-up bag in the same material if you’re a bit of a Matchy Matchy Madeline.
This was £5.90, which again seemed like an absolute bargain for the quality.
And that was my little drugstore haul this time around. I feel like I found some treasures, so I’m very pleased with myself! What high street products are your holy grails? Have you tried anything I bought? Let me know what you think!
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