Mini Superdrug haul

I haven't been in Superdrug or Boots for a long time now. I know, that's incredible isn't it? but honestly I really haven't felt like I've needed any new make up OR even felt the urge to buy things that I don't need (which I'm very prone to so this is shocking). I suppose this is because I've been consciously trying to save money but also I really haven't felt THAT excited by any beauty products in store for the past few months. I feel like this has something to do with my recent disconnect from the blogging world over the last few months and not seeing anything that would catch my eye or get me all excited for. 

So I've really been making a concious effort recently to use my make up I already have which would save me wasting make up that is sitting there going out of date and it would make more space in my room which I so desperately need. I have about 5 or 6 new foundations on rotation at the moment, I'm so ridiculous. I can't actually DECIDE or work out what my skin type is so I keep using different foundations depending on how my skin feels that day.

One product that I knew I'd be repurchasing as I'd recently ran out of it is this Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. Everybody knows about this concealer and it seems you're either a lover or a hater. Personally, I'm a lover! It just works so well for me. I'm not much of an expert when it comes to concealers but I find it so creamy, well covered and doesn't dry up my skin. 

I'm a long term fan of Garnier Micellar water. It replaced my once horrible habit of constantly using face wipes to take off my make up and that soon stopped once I discovered Garnier's Miceller range. I'm currently running out of my standard bottle with the pink lids so when I saw this I thought it was a bit different and felt like giving it a go. To be honest, aside from the colour it isn't much different, It does the same job and does what it says on the tin which is to remove make-up except it supposedly is more ideal for people with oily to combination/sensitive skin. I don't see the difference myself. I also ignore the 'no rinsing' claim on the bottle because I still feel my skin is a tad sticky (not much by any means) and I wash my face afterwards just to feel even more fresh. It's the same price as the regular pink bottle so I don't feel any loss but I also don't think it's particularly different so I will continue using the regular one after this runs out. 

I cannot tell you enough how excited I am by this purchase and it's definitely my favourite from this shop. I've been lusting after the Ultra Metals collection for so so long and what's not to love about the rose gold handles and those beautiful white bristles? When I saw these in the Superdrug Brixton store, they were the only two left on the shelf. Like they had literally been flying off the shelves, so I'm pretty sure I would have completed the collection if they were all there. I haven't yet tried these on my face but as I'm writing this, I've been on/off stroking them all day because they are SO soft. I've always been reluctant to spend full money on the Real Techniques - Bold Metals brushes and these are just as beautiful for half the price tag. Pleased as punch I am,

Kiko haul.

So I'm not sure when this happened but Bromley INTU shopping centre now has a KIKO shop. This is so exciting. I've never bought from KIKO before for the pure fact that their products would have only been available to me online or in their central London store but I'd rather try them out in person first. So when I was in the middle of my christmas shopping, I popped in a decided to try out a few things!

I already know they are a reasonably priced make up company but having their own shop really makes them seem more high end to me without ACTUALLY being so. In fact, this store is a couple of shops away from Mac in Bromley and I was more pulled in by here than I was to Mac.

One of my 'things' is that I generally always have to get a matte red lipstick with any cosmetics brand I try and I didn't feel any differently here. I first picked up this 606 Fire Red lipstick from the Velvet Mat range. The packaging is SO high end and priced at £6.90, it has to be one of, if not the most gorgeous high street lipsticks I have ever seen. The gorgeous rose gold packaging is a dream for any blogger I'm a sure, but for me, it's definitely on par with the Charlotte Tilbury lipstick I just bought - and for fraction of that price, you really cannot complain.

Now I decided I wanted to venture out of my comfort zone and pick up a lipstick that was not only NOT in my usual matte formula but also a non-red colour. I quite like some nudes and brown colours on lips but I have been hesitant in picking them up.  My eye was caught by the Gossamer Emotion Creamy range because the packaging on the lipstick was so different it almost fascinated me a little bit. It looks like a bullet with it's metallic outer shell and a gold, logo embossed click button at the top which releases the lipstick from the shell. I went for the Pinkish Brown 105 shade which says what the lipstick shade is like right in the name. This lipstick is slightly more expensive than the Velvet Mat range, priced at £10.90. On first impressions, this lipstick is very rich and creamy and also works to leave your lips feeling smooth and silky, which is obviously a nice feeling when you spend most of your time wearing matte lipsticks which can leave your lips feeling dry. As for longevity, I'm not too sure yet but I'm going to be giving that a test over the next couple of weeks.

I've been lusting after a glittery red nail varnish for a little while now and none have particularly taken my fancy. My eye caught the nail lacquer 277 in 'Blueberry Glitter' as it looked the perfect christmas shade for me. As you can see, the polish is absolutely opaque and it took two coats which I find is pretty standard among nail varnishes for me. I know I'm not the best at applying nail colours and it's definitely not my forte but I'm going to see if I get better and less messy. I seem to be one of those people with really weak nails; I have no problem growing them but they snap really easily so I find it hard to have beautifully shaped nails! Well, that's my excuse for this anyway. First impressions though? I'm really pleased! The colour is absolutely gorgeous and applies so well so the only thing I've got left to test is the longevity. I no doubt will be purchasing more colours. For £2.50 (down from £3.90) who can resist?

I then picked up these two beauty and skin care accessories! I'm always trying to try new blending sponges and after enjoying ones from Primark and Real Techniques, I thought I'd give this one a shot as it's only £6.90. It's slightly different shape to the other two I already have, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that works with my foundation application. Another thing I saw that looked interesting was this Cleansing Face Brush retailing at £5.90. Recently, I'm trying to look at new ways of improving my skin and this brush looked really interesting to me. I've not used anything like this before so I'm looking forward to using it and see how it changes my skin, if it does. 

I absolutely loved my trip to Kiko although it was really hard to choose what I wanted to buy. The selection in their stores is incredible and it's so interactive so you know exactly what you're buying before you do. It's refreshing to have an actual make up store with high street prices and not just high end ones. The high quality feel and look from these products make me love them all the more. Until next time...

What are your favourite KIKO products?

Twitter // Bloglovin // Facebook // Pinterest

xo