a sneaky little drugstore haul...

I work in a shop which sells, amongst other things, makeup. This is a good and a bad thing.

Reasons why this is a good thing: well! 

1. I get to keep up to date with the new releases of drug-store makeup brands.

2. I get to use my discount to buy said new releases...
3. I flipping love makeup. :)

Reasons why this is slightly less than a good thing:

1. I end up using up my entire break floating about on the shop floor and spending all of the money that I have earned that day... er... in the shop that I work in... If you think about it, they more or less pay me in makeup. My bank is just the middle man. 

I think, and I hope that you'll agree (please agree, it'll help me justify my actions), that the good reasons far outweigh the bad. Nothing wrong with keeping up with the latest trends, is there? :)

So last week I went on my break at work and decided to go a little wander around the shop floor. I promised myself that I would only buy a mascara. But this is me that we're talking about, and I never just buy a mascara... I've taken a little time to post up this little mini-haul / review because I wanted to give myself some time to try each of the products out properly before I write about them!

Bourjois Little Round Pot Blusher
41. Healthy Mix

There are so many things that I absolutely adore about Bourjois blushes. First things first, they seem to be never-ending. Seriously, these things last forever. They're great value for money. The quality of the blusher is great: it's highly pigmented, but is still sheer enough to look like a natural and cast pretty glow on the cheeks. Healthy mix is a pretty pink-peach colour. It's nice and natural - perfect for every-day wear. :)

The packaging for these is actually really handy as well. The little pot is the perfect size for your handbag or your makeup collection at home. The little brush that you receive with each blush is cute and dinky yet still does the job - it is curved so that it fits around the blush which I find is pretty handy if the cosmetics bag that I'm using is on the smaller size. 

Lastly, and this is probably the weirdest thing I have to say about this product, is (oh my goodness) the smell. These smell divine - like flowers! Obviously once the product has been applied to the face the smell isn't really noticeable, but I personally am definitely drawn to items where the manufacturer has thought of the little things... like the smell. :) 

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
01 - Transparent

The next item that I bought was definitely an item that I needed. My skin can be a pain in the derrière at times - it is very dry in winter and yet a lot oilier in the spring and summer time. It seems like spring has finally sprung (at long last!) and so I figured that I had better invest in a pressed powder to keep oils at bay. I usually use this Lancome pressed powder, which certainly does the job but is a bit pricey for the average student. Rimmel has always been a brand that I've trusted as I've always managed to find something that suits my pale combination skin, so I picked this up at thought I'd give it a go! 


One of my biggest concerns when buying and using pressed powder is how it finishes the rest of the makeup - there's nothing worse than taking care applying a primer, foundation, concealer etc only to apply a pressed powder to set it all and ending up unintentionally looking like a pastry chef covered in flour. 
This powder, thank goodness, doesn't do that. It feels super light on the skin and eliminates any unwanted shine, finishing a completed look rather nicely. It doesn't cling to any of the drier parts of my skin either, which is one less worry: I can quickly sweep some powder over my face and not have to think too much about whether I'm going to look flaky. There's no scent to this product and it last for ages - perhaps not the 12 hours that Rimmel claims it does, but it can't be far off. :) I'm super pleased that I popped this into my basket - and it only cost £3.99, which is a bargain even if you are on a budget! 
The only thing I would really have to say about this product is that the colour selection isn't great. It's ok for pale folk like me, but the range of colours for people with darker skin isn't great. :/ 

Maybelline Rocket Volum' Express Mascara

When I first set out on my little in-store shopping adventure, I knew that I was going to buy this mascara. After hearing rave reviews about it for ages, both online and in-store, I had been dying to give it a go. 

And well... it was ok. But that's all I can really say about it. I don't think it quite lived up to the hype: the brush is a wee bit chunky for my liking, and care has to be taken to not create 'spidery' lashes. Another thing that I've noticed from using this mascara is that it smudges really easily when exposed to any natural oils present on the eyelid, so it might be a good idea to powder up if you're planning on using this. :)

 I'll still use it from time to time, in the hope that it will kind of grow on me in the same way that the Falsies Flared mascara by Maybelline did. You never know! 

Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer 

101 - Celestial
(please ignore my chubby cheeks)

Oh my golly gosh, last but certainly not least, I purchased some of Rimmel's Lip Lacquers: which are kind of a cross between a lip stick and a gloss. The application is very similar to that of a lipgloss, but the texture of the product on the lips isn't sticky or... er... glossy? (I could't think of a better word, oh dear!)

Anyways, these things are flipping ah-may-zing. Not only are the colours absolutely beautiful, but these are so pigmented and they last for ages. I went out to lunch with a couple of friends the other day wearing Nova and it lasted through all two courses, which I was super impressed with! I've also had lots of compliments on both colours since I've started wearing them, so I'm definitely going to buy some of the others available. 

So that's it for my little mini shopping make-up spree from last week, I hope I haven't rambled on for too long. :)