June Superdrug Haul!

A little present to myself for finishing exams...

I really haven't bought much makeup recently, because I'm well aware that I already own way too much. But there have been a few things I've really wanted recently and after much thought decided to finally pick up from Superdrug.

I have tried some of these products already, so I'll let you guys know a few first impressions.

Makeup

Ignore the moisturiser, I'll deal with that in the skincare section!

I picked up some really exciting makeup bits.

Firstly is something I've been so excited to pick up, but at first I was hesitant as I do own many foundations, a lot of which I don't currently use because even though I buy the lightest shade every time sometimes it's still not light enough for my winter colour skin!

This is the Max Factor Face Finity all day flawless 3 in 1 foundation which was £11.99, supposedly a primer, concealer and foundation all in one (which is a claim that really annoys me). I got it in the lightest shade, light ivory 40. The match is perfect for me, thankfully. I still have used a primer with it, just to make the application more smooth. But I did find amazingly that I didn't need to use concealer when I used this! It gave me the medium plus coverage I needed.

I wanted to buy this because Max Factor and Covergirl have many of the same products just repackaged and under different brand names, and I felt like I was missing out every time someone raved about the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation, which is clearly the same product as this Facefinity foundation. So I thought I would never get to try this product out, but thankfully it recently got released under the Max Factor umbrella very recently this 2014 Summer.

And yeah, I love it so far. The first time I tried a bit of this on my skin, applying it with the Real Techniques Essential Foundation Brush (not something I normally use), the brush and the foundation together was an amazing match and gave a phenomenal effect.

This reminds me of my favourite foundation ever, the L'Oreal True Match which I actually am in love with... But I think this Max Factor one might actually be a little better! It's early days, I tried it on briefly and I've worn it out once all night,was impressed with the results both times, but only time will tell.

The only downer is that it has SPF! I guess it's good for summer, but not those nights where you know you'll be getting photographed with flash photography, as it might cause flashback- a white cast.

It was three for two on L'Oreal, so naturally I obliged and picked up three things because I've been wanting to try the L'Oreal Paris Glamshine Stain Splash's especially the purple shade, and I thought I would buy two to test out the shade range.

They retail for £7.99 each, and I got the shades Marilyn (lighter one, on the right above, and left below), and Milady (the deeper purple pictured above left and below right).

The idea between these is that they have high pigmentation but stain your lips and so have a better staying power, and they're good.

The scent is fruity and sweet, it's beautiful, and undoubtedly the colours are beautiful. I do find they work even better on top of a lipstick (nude for the light pink one, or a deep purple for the purple one) because they enhance the colour of the lipstick and kind of seal in the lipstick because of their staining power.

And of course there are naturally comparisons to the YSL alternative, because L'Oreal and YSL are owned by the same umbrella brand.

Marilyn, Milady

Everyone always mentions this, but it really is annoying that they don't have the product name on the outsides. The packaging is beautiful though, and the applicator is sort of heart-shaped and applies quite well, although not as well as the Rimmel Apocalips applicator which is the best lipgloss applicator EVER.

So yeah, so far I quite like them, they really do stain well, I couldn't get the last of the stains of these off my swatched hand 24+ hours after and using much makeup remover! But I shall let you know how my thoughts change or develop and perhaps do a full review.

Finally for makeup, I got this single eyeshadow from the Color Riche L'Ombre Pure range in 307 Smokey. This is really hard to track down online, but I'm pretty sure this was between £3-6.

L'Oreal have some amazing eyeshadows, and this is another one. It says it's 'gel infused', and I'm not really sure what that means but I think it contributes to how super creamy, blendable and buttery this product is. The colour is also a beautiful silver shade.

I did really get this because I had already got two L'oreal products, so picking out one for free, but I do actually love this product. The pigmentation is amazing, as you'll see from the swatches below.

Single eyeshadows are something I rarely get, but this colour was so beautiful and it's something I always wear as my standard eyemakeup look for a night out, so it'll be perfect for summer. I haven't worn it on the eyes yet but I know I'll get a lot of use out of it.

However I have realised that it's almost identical to another L'Oreal silver I own, the Colour Appeal (another amazing L'Oreal eyeshadow range) in 150 'Real Silver'. The only thing that's slightly different is the texture, this one having a drier texture in comparison to the one I picked up here.

Skincare

Witch naturally clear cleansing and toning wipes, £1.99, Simple kind to skin cleansing wipes, £1.48, Freederm deep pore cleansing wipes, £1.99. They all have 25 wipes in each packet. The Witch ones I haven't tried yet, but the Simple and Freederm ones I have. This may seem an excessive number of face wipes to buy, but I'm going to use them one at a time (I've started with the Witch ones), and they'll last me for ages. 

You'll see empty-reviews of these as I finish them, letting you know my thoughts on them. I know I love the Simple ones and Freederm ones for different reasons; the Simple ones are very gentle and do clean the skin, but the Freederm ones, my personal favourites of all time, I have noticed really do make a difference to my spots, and make them a lot less horrible to go through! Seriously try these if you haven't already.

By the way, I don't souly use makeup wipes to remove my makeup. I use the Bioderma and Nivea double effects to remove my eye and face makeup. I haven't been using makeup wipes at all for probably up to a year now, but I decided to try them again just to use for a final cleanse of my skin and make sure all the last bits of face makeup are removed. I've missed having makeup remover wipes!

The Clean and Clear Dual Action moisturiser, £3.59, is a repurchase for me. I finished it back in April after it being one of my first moisturisers ever (and wrote an empty-review of it), and when I saw it I felt like I wanted to try it out again. It actually did help with spots and sank into the skin so nicely, making it feel refreshed and, well, clean. It's also oil-free so it kept my oily t-zone under control.

So those are the things I picked up!

What have you most recently bought from the shops? What makeup are you currently loving? Let me know in the comments below.

SO MANY EMPTIES!

About three months worth of empties have been piling up...

I'M GOING THROUGH that stage of trying desperately to use previous items of makeup and general care which have been lying about in my collection, hardly touched. It's that satisfying feeling of using a product up which I love, and also it allows you to skip the guilt next time you go shopping. PLUS, it's been eye-opening using these products and helped me realise which products I love and which aren't up to scratch; something which you can only really get from using one product singly for a long period of time.

First here's a general selection of body-care, I guess we could classify these three products as. On the left is the Superdrug own brand Mango and Papaya Body Butter which was absolutely amazing, and I would repurchase. I used it twice a day for about two or three weeks and it left my legs feeling smooth-non greasy- and smelling fruity but not too much. In the middle is the Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream which I got in a gift set a year ago and have been using recently. It's extremely thick but did the job and left my feet feeling good as new! The Sure Mineral Fresh Deodorant was okay, but not my favourite deodorant ever and I don't expect to repurchase.

In the last few months I have used up four sets of makeup wipes. The ones on the right are the Simple Kind to Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes. What I loved about these was how drenched they were in product. They don't get every bit of makeup off but are good to run across the face after the initial makeup removal is done. I always repurchase these. The others are the Freederm Deep Pore Cleansing Wipes which in terms of removing excess makeup and more importantly getting rid of spots- yes these really are a miracle product- they do a great job. I bought them initially on a recommendation from a friend and I will definitely repurchase. They got rid of my spots- simple as.

I also used up three sets of makeup removal pads, two Superdrug 100% Pure Cotton Wool and one Essential Waitrose Cosmetic Pads set. The Waitrose ones were smoother and more gentle on the skin, but the Superdrug ones were cheaper and not too much worse, definitely for me easier to buy, so I think those will be the ones I continue to use in the future.

 Next, what I use to actually remove my makeup. Clearly I've been trying out a few different products here, and one stands out. The Bioderma Crealine TS H2O is a people's favourite, but to me although it is good it doesn't live up to the hype. I have another 500ml bottle I'm using up but I found that it didn't remove all my waterproof makeup, and so in the future I won't go out of my way to buy it. Next is the Nivea Daily Essentials Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover which I've been using from the very beginning, and it is good and non-irritant, like the Bioderma. But my current favourite and complete makeup-removing MIRACLE product is the Nivea Daily Essentials Double Effect Eye Makeup Remover and I beg you all to try this because it's amazing. It effortlessly removes all my makeup, and a full rave review is coming soon. The little tub at the bottom is an Avon product, the Clearskin Professional Clarifying Toner Pads which I was using after cleansing and before bed just to tone my face. These smell amazing and had loads of product soaked into each of the pads. And they definitely helped whenever I had a few bad spots. Next time I do an order from Avon, these will be in my basket. Avon also is extremely cheap, and great quality- I recommend it to everyone.

Here are two products I used for spot removal. The first, the Dr Sebagh Breakout Spot-On which my mum bought for me ages ago and I only recently used up, was a disappointment, especially since I love their cleanser which worked miracles for me. It didn't work for me but that's not to say it won't work for you. The Neutrogena Visibly Clear Rapid Clear Treatment worked extremely well for me, however. It is very very strong though and does have a tendency to burn- this stuff is for real. It works though so I can't complain. I will be repurchasing this, it's really cheap from Superdrug.







Here is the makeup I used up. The orange ball is an EOS Lip Balm, you know those dome-shaped ones. I have about 5 of these and finally used one up! I love them they're great. The smell of the orange one reminds me vividly of a particular time so getting rid of it will be hard. The ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen is one of the worst products I have ever bought. It comes out not pigmented at all and has a tendency to drag across the eyelid so I hardly used it, but I'm throwing it away. The next two are Random Lipglosses I got a while ago and am throwing out now, one was from Primark and another from a magazine ages ago. They were good, nothing special. Primark surprisingly has some really good makeup and makeup brushes, I can do a specific post on this if people want. The mascara I used up is the Maybelline Waterproof Illegal Length Mascara which I got ages ago and wasn't particularly impressed with. It just didn't do too much for me but I'm tempted to try it again this summer as it had a really great brush and I need a reliable waterproof mascara for the hotter times (hopefully) approaching. Last here is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder which here is in 002 Pink Blossom. I really liked this and purchased another one, this time in translucent. I much prefer the translucent one but anyone with a darker skin tone might want to find one closer to their skin colour to avoid any white caste. But for me it worked, great for the 'drugstore' price and availability.

PHEW! Onto the last empty product! And not a particularly interesting one either- sorry! Just some Superdrug own brand Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover. This was a bright light blue colour which was really nice, smelt the same as all other nail polish removers I've ever used, worked the same. I really seem to have no preference to nail polish removers- is it me or are they all the same? If anyone has any suggestions of good ones let me know.








Have you used any of these products above? What is your most repurchased beauty item? Let me know in the comments below.