Debenhams & Superdrug Beauty Haul!

Hi girls!! Hope your all well. I have a haul for you, a lot of which are essentials, but some are quite exciting!!

So as you can see I needed to top up on a lot of things and a few items were on deals! I have really been loving the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner in the Hello Hydration range. I feel as though my hair has become a lot thicker and less dry feeling too! My hair has also stayed cleaner looking for longer! These are also on a 2 for £6 at the moment in Superdrug and these are the big sized bottles! Also on a deal was the Sure deodorant, which is 2 for £3 and obviously I can't go without that! I then picked up a big Batiste dry shampoo in my favourite scent Tropical!

I also needed to bet more cotton buds and kirby grips! I honestly just don't understand where these go. You buy a pack and then use them a few times and you can't find them again! I'm sure a lot of us have this problem! Hehe.

I then picked up a little treat for myself! A L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash (what a name!?!!) in the colour Romy. Its a really pretty pink, which looks almost as bright as a fuschia colour on the lips. It feels so light on the lips, although quite a strange consistency almost like a gel. It is a great stain too, stays put and is hard to remove completely with make up remover!!

I put an Instagram photo up yesterday (and also on Twitter) telling you that I had something new on my lips! Well it was this! Oh and my Instagram is @jenstar_blonde follow me! Hehe!

If you read my Birthday Haul, then you will know I got a Debenhams voucher from my friends, lucky me! I knew I wanted to try out a new foundation and I headed straight to MAC! After telling the girl about my dry skin, she colour matched me with the Mineralize Moisture Foundation. I can tell you all now that I am matched to NC20!! I have always heard everyone talking about what colour they are etc and now I have one too! Hehe.

I am so impressed with this foundation. It feels so lovely and soft on my skin and glides over any dry patches. Below you will see the foundation swatched and then blended out onto my skin. The NC range of colours are designed to minimise red patches and as I have a pink undertone this was the best choice for my skin. This is why it looks so yellow, as it allows the foundation to cover any red or pink, giving me a lovely complexion! Yay!

As I still had some money left on my gift card I headed over to Benefit (of course!). My first thought was to try out the new Fake Up Concealer! The lovely lady at the counter applied it and it looked awesome and not to mention it felt so gorgeous when applied! I obviously just had to have it! I only own two concealers so it was about time I tried a different one!

You will have probably all heard about this concealer already, but what is so great about it, is that it has an amazing hydrating ring around the concealer, which means application is so smooth and easy. This also allows the concealer to sit under the eye without any creasing, as the moisturising part of the product has sorted all the problems out!

Before she applied Fake Up, the lady moisturised  my eye area with Benefit's Its Potent eye cream. I am always quite wary of the creams that are applied to my face, as I have eczema and I'm always quite scared of making it any worse, but this cream felt so amazing on. It completely awakened my eye area and you could totally see the difference between what eye she had applied it to and which one she hadn't. I have heard about this cream before and so knew it was full of all natural goodness. So I bought it, mostly because I really want to start using an eye cream (as I don't at the moment) ad this one just felt so lovely on I couldn't resist it! At £24.50 it will hopefully be worth it, but the Benefit lady that was helping me also has really bad eczema but can use the cream and also the face moisturiser (which felt amazing on my hands by the way, they are still soft this morning! She gave me a sample of it to try!). If you are looking to try a higher end eye cream, Benefit is the place to go! I will be applying it morning and night and let you know how I get on!

So that was the end of my haul! What do you girls think of what I bought? Oh and apologies for the dark photos of the MAC foundation. My camera ran out of battery and I was meeting friends so the photos had to be taken when I came home! Oh wells, I guess these things can happen from time to time! Hehe!

Love, Jen x

Benefit Brow Bar Experience!

Hi girls!

Before I went on my holiday, way back at the end of February, I wanted to get my eyebrows all pretty before I went away. I decided to go to the Benefit Brow bar at my local Debenhams. This is where I would usually go to buy Benefit make up, so I have been aware that they have eye brow technicians on hand to do your brows for you. The girls there are always so lovely , so I knew I would be in safe hands! So I made an appointment for a couple of days before we were to leave. I usually just keep my brows tidy by plucking them, but I felt as if I wanted a complete overhaul for the holiday! This is the brow bar they have at the Debenhams store, sorry for the poor photo, it was a sneaky shot! It is a cute looking part of the shop with its flowery wall paper and with white decor. 

The girl that did my eyebrows was called Natalie and she was lovely and so friendly! She made me feel very at ease. I opted for the brow tint and the wax, as we both felt it would be good to darken the brows slightly as they are so fair. She first mapped out my brows, using the end of a make up brush and showed me how my brows should look by giving me a mirror. Natalie was great as she talked me through every step and made sure I understood everything she was going to do!

Firstly, Natalie applied a tint to my eye brows. We chose the medium tint, as this would just make them slightly darker and make the ends more defined. That was left on for a couple of minutes. She then took the tint off via cotton pads and then wiped a cooling gel pad over my eye brows in preparation for the wax. It felt quite strange, having this done in public, as other shoppers could walk past and see this treatment being, done. It didn't bother me too much, just not something I had experienced before! She then waxed one of my eyebrows and gave me a mirror to see the difference. It was great being able to see one very tidy brow compared to a messy one and it really showed you how your brows can define your face. Usually when your in a salon getting your brows done, you don't get to see this in between stage! After waxing the other one, Natalie then applied the powder from the light Brow Zings Kit to fill in my brows, which is a product I already had a used at home. I walked away with lovely brows, a smile on my face and all ready to go on holiday! The tint and wax treatment was £18 and the service I had was great and well worth it!! I will definitely be going back soon to get my brows done again!

I wanted to do a before and after so you can see how awesome they looked! I had obviously let my eyebrows completely grow out, so I could get the full effect of the treatment. My eyebrows are an annoyance for me, as I seem to have a couple of little scars through them, which means there is no hair i that area and also the tails are very few hairs, which can leave me with a very severe look when not filled in. They are also slightly different shapes, with one higher up on my brow bone than the other. Here they are before, with completely no make up on.

If you now look at the image below, you will see a huge difference!! My eyes look so much more open and my brows have ow lifted my face right up. The only make up I have on is the Brow Zings powder. Isn't it amazing!?! It will take some time for my brows to become the shape that I want them to be in, as they are not perfect! I am just so happy how they have turned out after one experience of the Brow Bar! Natalie told me the areas where I should to try and get more hair growth to even my brows up and also gave me ideas of how I could try and get the hairs to grow in the sparse areas! She did apply more powder to my brows than I usually would (as I prefer them looking more natural), but you can still see the affect it has created! They looked fab!

Those two photos above show why you want to keep your eye brows looking good and why filling them in is so important!! Eye brows gives your face definition and when done right, can make you look like you have just had a face lift! I also wanted to show my brows a few days after my wax and tint. They are not perfect in this photo, as it was the end of a very long day in San Francisco, but you can see how I would fill in my brows and the more natural look I like to have. This was also with Benefit's Brow Zings kit, which I love!! 

If you are looking for a new place to get your eye brows done, then I would totally recommend going to Benefit!! They are so well trained and can answer any questions that you may have regarding your brows! The Brow Zings kit is a great purchase too, and comes in three different colours depending on the colour of your brows. Brow Zings is £23.50 and is so worth it, It comes with a powder, a wax to set your brows, two mini brushes and a cute pair of mini tweezers! Definitely look into that kit girls! 

Have you been to a Benefit Brow Bar? How did you like it? Or have you tried Brow Zings? Let me know!

Love, Jen x

USA Beauty Haul!

So a beauty haul is on the cards today! It is a special one too, because all these came all the way from America! Yay!!

The first make up item I bought was while Robert and I were in the Grove in LA and I went to MAC! I really wanted to pick up the Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle, so I did! I now know why everyone raves about this product!!

On the same day, before we went for dinner, we ended up at Target and had a wander round. Of course I bought some drug store make up! First up I picked up two Maybelline Baby Lips! I have been wanting to try these for ages, so these were a must on my list!

Pink Punch

Peach Kiss

I then bought two Wet n Wild eye shadow palettes! I have heard so so much about these and I can concur, they are great quality for so very cheap!! I picked up the famous Walking on Eggshells and then a pretty pinky one called Sweet as Candy!

The last thing I got while in Target was a Revlon Colourburst lip gloss, I have not owned one of these before, but have heard a couple of people talking about them. I know you can get them in the Uk, but it was just a spur of the moment type purchase! The colour that caught my eye was Peony, which is a gorgeous pinky coral colour with a gold shimmer through it! 

When we were in San Diego, we came across a Bath & Body Works store I just had to go in!! I picked up some of their famous hand sanitizers! It was 5 for $5, so I couldn't not get them! I also bought one of the holders, so you can attach it onto your bag and of course I picked up the pink kitty one!! The scents I picked up are amazing!!! They all smell so good!

One of the first things I did when we arrived in Las Vegas was go to Sephora!! I went in with a little list (America Wish List) and came back out very happy!! The first thing I did was head to the Benefit counter and I picked up The Bronze of Champions kit and Worlds Most Famous Neutrals in Most Glamourous Nudes Ever!

This kit is fab! It means I get to try the Hoola bronzer that I have been lusting after for ages and I get to try the Watts Up highlighter! There are also some other awesome goodies inside too!!

The World Famous Neutrals have been all over the blogosphere for a little while, I got mine when Sephora was the only place to get them! I opted for the Glamourous palette, as it has a gorgeous peach colour and other colours that go well with my grey eyes!

Plus the box is just so gorgeous!! I love the tips and tricks guide they give you!

Then of course I picked up a Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush!! I chose the colour Dollface, which is a gorgeous barbie pink! It gives a lovely colour on the cheeks too!

Lastly I picked up a Korres Lip Butter. I chose Jasmine, which has the most amazing smell and has a hint on nudey pink on the lips! It is so moisturising!!

Then my last purchase of the holiday was in Duty Free in Las Vegas! I bought a Mac lipstick!! After having a look through the shades, Pink Pearl Pop, which is a cremesheen colour, caught my eye. I don't think I have heard a lot about this shade at all in the blogging world, but it is a amazing bright pink!

It looks amazing on the lips too, with almost a coral tinge to it. I love it!!

And there you have it!! My beauty haul from my holiday in America!! As I said yesterday in my other haul, I allowed myself lots of treats on holiday and I work hard to be able to allow myself to buy these things! This is the last of my holiday posts, I had the most amazing time ever while Robert and I were away and I enjoyed being able to buy these items throughout our time so so much over there! I hope you enjoyed seeing all of the beauty items I bought! I will be doing some reviews on a few of these soon! Do you have any of these make up pieces? Or anything you want to get?!

Love, Jen x

A Big Boots Haul!

Hi girls! I hope you are all good. I have got a Boots haul for you today! I know we all love these ones!

I had a couple of things I needed to pick up.... Then went a bit overboard with things I wanted to pick up! Ooops! Haha Firstly I picked up some huge cotton pads! These are great because you can cleanse/remove make up using just one pad! You find them in the baby aisle and for the big pack I bought they were £2.19.

I then finally picked up a Tangle Teezer!! I have heard so so much about these and have been wanting to try it out! Since I am trying to grow my hair, I thought this would come in handy to stop breakages while brushing! I have used it quite a lot and so far so good! I obviously picked up the pink one, which is £10.99.

Next up, I picked up a new shampoo and conditioner. I have been using the Herbal Essences for a while now, but have not tried this specific type called Hello Hydration, which deals with dry hair and also increases the shine in your hair! I bought the smaller 200ml bottles, which will be good for taking on my upcoming holiday! These were both £2.29.

So I bought the Real Techniques Blush Brush, which I have had my eye on for ages!! I have really been needing a proper brush to apply my blusher and this obviously is the perfect one! I love the brand and will get so much use out of this! It's £9.99, which I think is a fab price for a  brush that is such high quality!!

Next up is one of Rimmel's new ranges Cocktail Colour. I first saw these on Fleur's Blog a little while ago. They really caught my eye, so I picked up the orange colour from the range, which is called Shirley Temple! Funny name right, and well it is a name of a cocktail and they usually are an orangey colour, so I guess it fits!! I love this orange though with its really fine gold glitter through out it. It comes out really evenly, so in one way it will look just orange and the next time you look at it it will just be proper gold sparkle! Its really pretty and lasts really well on my nails! These polishes are 3.99, however I got mine free, because Rimmel have 3 for 2 on all their make up! My other two Rimmel items are coming up... Any guesses what they are?! Hehe.

Next up I picked up this Collection 200 clear mascara, I thought I could use this either on my brows to set them or on my eye lashes on days where I don't want to were proper mascara, but still have my eye lashes defined. This was really cheap at just £1.99, so I thought I might as well try it out! 

I then picked up a back up of my all time favourite mascara!! The Maybelline Volume Express One By One mascara, £8.49. If you have following my blog for a while then you will have noticed me using this a lot whenever I do a FOTD/FOTN. It is awesome and makes my lashes super big!! 

Now obviously I had to buy at least one of these new lip products!! They have been absolutely everywhere!! Rimmel Apocalips retail at £5.99 and I picked up 2! I have heard so much about these and I will concur with everything I have heard about them! They are great! They feel lovely and light on the lips and not drying at all! So firstly I picked up Luna, which is a really pretty soft orangey coral and I also picked up Nova, which is a bright soft pink! Both lovely colors on the lips!

I then picked up an old favourite. I had run out of my concealer, obviously going to be the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, which is only £4.19 and is a great product!! I highly recommend it if you haven't tried it!

Lastly I picked up a Maybelline Colour Tattoo, which I have been meaning to pick up! I am really pleased with the colour I bought, Pink Gold. It is a gorgeous baby pink/gold with almost a silver shimmer through it too! Really pretty and very wearable too! These are usually £4.99, but I got mine half off, because of a Maybelline promotion! 

And that was my haul!! Have you been buying any beauty bits recently? Or have you tried anything I bought, I would love to know what you thought of them!! 

Love, Jen x

Don't forget to enter my MAC Give Away girls!! You could win a MAC lipstick and eye shadow of your choice!!