The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Gel For Face

Ah sure it's summer time, or so we're meant to believe.  That means we're out and about in the sunshine, getting a lovely golden glow on our faces.. snort, had you going there for a sec didn't I?  Sigh..  The Irish summer.. The elusive dream...  The closest thing that we get to a summer is the couple of weeks in June when the Junior and Leaving Certs are going on and it is always sunny.  And the few days when the kids all go back to school in September.

Thankfully I have this product to help me through the "summer".  It's The Body Shop's Honey Bronze Bronzing Gel For Face (RRP €18).  I got it at the launch of The Honey Bronze Collection back in April and it came with me to Spain on my girlie holiday.

The Bronzing Gel For Face is a really lightweight moisturizing gel that you can apply to bare skin or over foundation to give a truly natural sun kissed glow.  I am afraid of self tanners for the face because if you make a mistake with it, it ain't coming off and you're stuck with it for all the world to see!  This is absolutely perfect for me.  If I mess it up, I wash it off and start again, simple as that.

I like to apply it with my duo fibre brush because it is the best thing I have that gives a really light and even layer of products like this or Cha Cha Tint (more on that soon)!  I'd recommend a brush like this, I got mine in TK Maxx as part of a set and I've seen really affordable versions in pharmacys etc  

The gel itself has a really strong honey scent.  Funny that eh?  It contains fair trade honey, beeswax and aloe vera.  The first couple of times I used it, I found it really strange just because of that.  I like honey on my porridge so I was cringing a bit applying it and was afraid bees would attack me.  Thankfully the scent went away after a few minutes and no bees tried to chomp me.  Now I can hardly smell the honey when I apply it so I'm getting used to it, so the moral of the story is, beware of the scent if you don't like honey.

It looks scary on the skin initially but once blended in fully, you're left with a lovely natural and healthy glow.  There's the teeniest bit of shimmer in it but once blended out, it can't be seen which makes me happy as I'm not a big fan of a lot of shimmer in bronzers.

Here are some before and after pictures, excuse the hair!  First up is without the flash.

The fact that it's a gel means that the finished look is just more natural than if I had used a powder.  It sinks into the skin beautifully and stays put.  I used it in Spain when we were going out at night and that's when my real love affair set in with it.  It didn't budge at all at all.  When I had a tan on my face, it enhanced it and I didn't need to wear foundation underneath.

When I apply it, I start on my forehead, I mean fivehead.  I blend it into the hairline and fade it out towards my eyebrows.  I then blend it over my cheeks, across my nose and onto the chin.  So basically, anywhere that the sun would hit my face.  You can build up the layers to achieve a darker look which is what I like to do.  I start off with a little bit and build up slowly.

Above shows what it looks like with a flash photography.  I am in love with this product and when I head back to Spain in September, it will be coming with me again.

This weekend The Body Shop are finishing up their celebration of 30 years in Ireland and have 30% off everything in Irish shops so this is the perfect time to get this gorgeous product.

Has anyone tried this yet?  

30% off everything in The Body Shop this weekend!

Ooh ladies, this is a good one!  All month The Body Shop have been treating us to 30% off certain products as part of their celebrations of 30 years in Ireland.

This weekend there's going to be 30% off everything!

I have my eye on the Vitamin E facial mist and tomorrow I will do a post on the Honey Bronze Bronzing Gel for Face, I'm in love with it and need to do a show and tell!

Bargain alert! Butter London polishes

Last weekend I found myself in TK Maxx in Drogheda and when I say "found myself" what I mean is asked the mothership if she wanted to go to the one in Swords or Drogheda and crossed my fingers in my pockets that she picked Drogheda since I've never been to that one.  Thank the stars she picked Drogheda because look what I got!

Perfect Prezzie (L)  HRH (M)  Jaffa (R)

These fine specimens of nail polish were found by moi and I will say, I gave a little gasp when I came across them.  I've heard only good things about Butter London nail polishes and was excited to purchase them for..... wait for it.... €16.99 for all three!!  They retail at around €12-€14 or so each, so I was a happy camper.

Perfect Prezzie

Perfect Prezzie is a gorgeous deep burgandy metallic polish with gold shimmer running through it.  I'd say this would be lovely in the Autumn.  It's from the Christmas 2009 collection and I can't wait to give it a go.

HRH

Next us is HRH.  This is absolutely stunning and is a pain to photograph properly.  It's a vivid vibrant purple that I can't stop looking at and is my favourite of the three polishes.  And if it's good enough for Her Royal Highness then it's good enough for me.

Jaffa

Last on the list is Jaffa.  This is an amazing coral/orange colour that is bang on trend for this summer.  I'm obsessed with anything coral at the moment so I'm happy with this addition to the collection.

I will be giving one of these away soon so I want to get one of those plastic circle nail thingys to show you swatches.  I don't wanna be giving people my cooties, I know, I'm good like that.

So the moral of the story is ladies, get yourselves to TK Maxx, any TK Maxx and have a root for some amazing bargains.  I got a few other bits that'll I'll show you soon but lets have a moment for 3 Butter London nail polishes for €16.99 shall we?  I'll tell you more about the company when I review the polishes themselves, I just couldn't wait any longer to share my bargains!

Has anyone tried any of the Butter London polishes?  Are they available anywhere else in Ireland?  Share with the class in the comments below ladies!

Two ways with Mac's Golden Gaze

After seeing this post on Beaut.ie recently, I became obsessed with needing to have Mac's Golden Gaze in my life and in my collection!  And when I saw Aisling from beaut.ie on Xpose a couple of weeks ago, I turned to my sister and said, "oooh look, I think she's wearing Mac's Golden Gaze eye shadow" at which point she looked at me like I'd spoken Japanese.  Anyway, it is part of Mac's Semi-Precious collection and I am obsessed with it, the end.

It comes in at a decent €20.50 and you get 2g of product compared to 1.5g from a regular Mac shadow.  Isn't it preeeetty?  It's a gorgeous blacky yellowy goldy bronzey eye shadow that applies like a dream.  I know that is a very vague description of the colour but it truly is one of those eye shadows that looks different depending on the light.

I've been playing around with it since I bought it and decided to show you some photos.  Rather than do a how-to post, this is a look-what-you-can-do-with-it-and-it's-so-easy post!  I applied it to one eye as normal, dip brush into shadow, apply eye shadow to lid, bing bang boozy there you go.  On the other eye I decided to apply it wet, so I grabbed my Fix + from Mac, sprayed it directly onto the brush and applied it as I would if it was dry.  Bing bang boozy it looks completely different.

On the left you can see what it looks like when applied wet.  The Fix + brings out the gold beautifully and the sheen is gorgeous.  On the right is it applied dry, it's a much smokier darker look.  If you don't have Fix + on hand, water will do the same thing.  It seems to grip the gold and just make it lovely and shiny.  And we all like shiny things.

A quick lash of some black eye liner on the waterline and some extra mascara and you're good to go.  This would be a great eye shadow to have on hand for a subtle smokey eye, apply it wet to the lid and dry to the crease.  The lid will be left lovely and gold and the crease will be dark and smokey.  Happy days!

I think this colour would suit all eye colours and would be a great investment if you can find it.  Word on the street is it's sold out in Brown Thomas in town, I got mine in Dundrum last week and there was one left.  So get searching ladies!

Left is the shadow applied wet and on the right it was applied dry.  Now I haven't had the courage to wear something like this to work yet but I'm building up to it!  And now because of Simone G and Lollipop26, I now want Smoked Ruby, sigh, I'll never be rich at this stage!

Has anyone tried anything else from the Semi-Precious collection?  I'm kind of afraid to ask this question in case it makes me want more but I'd rather know from you ladies what's good and what to leave behind in the shop.  So hit me with your recommendations!

Monday's child is fair of face... eh maybe not...

Last night I decided to get myself organised and chose the make up I was planning to wear today.  I went through my stash over the weekend and found a couple of bits that I'd forgotten about, namely my Sleek face contour kit and my Nars duo in Kalahari.  These are the rest of the bits I decided to wear today.

 I get up at 5.30 am and am sitting at my desk at 6.30 am, so organisation is key for me, while my ancient computer at work is starting up, I start putting the war paint on.

There was a glitch in the system.

This is what I wore on my face today.

In my panic trying to get out the door on time, I left my make up bag on the counter in the kitchen.

Instead of taking this cute little leather make up bag I got in Spain last year:

I took this yoke:

Doh!  Cut to me rooting around in my handbag hoping I'd suddenly come across a spare foundation rattling around and a mascara!  Actually, note to self, I just realised I hadn't actually packed a mascara in the first place...

My skin is in bad shape at the moment due to not taking care of it properly so thank God I found that concealer pen from Aldi in the bottom of my bag!  I lashed it on under my eyes and on my many blemishes and hoped for the best but lads, I came to the conclusion that I really do need mascara to look like a human being.  The fact I was exhausted and my eyes looked beady and villainous to begin with didn't help things at all.

So I apologised to all my colleagues who had to look at moi sans make up :)  I will not be posting a face of the day due to the fact that it could cause you to have heart failure/go blind/run from the laptop screaming!

Lesson learned though, I'm going to make it my mission to take care of my skin so that if something like this happens again (and say a prayer for all your sakes that it doesn't) that I won't mind going bare skinned :)

So ladies, do you have any skin care tips and tricks?  I drink about 2 litres of water a day so that's a good start!

200th post giveaway winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway and even more thanks to those who have read my first 200 posts!  Here's to the next 200!

I used the usual suspect to choose the winner of the giveaway, Random.org and the winner is..................

Gaby!!  Congratulations Gaby :)  I'll be contacting you to find out what two lipsticks you'd like.

Stay tuned ladies for a special competition coming up in August.....

Lancome L'Absolu Nu lipsticks

As you may all know, I'm a sucker for nude lipsticks and that will never change.  I'm getting braver with wearing more colour on my lips but I think I'll always be a nudey patootie at heart!  A while ago I was in a pharmacy somewhere and swatched one of these lipsticks and immediately added it to The List.  I fell in love with it and couldn't wait to hit the Duty Free on my way to Spain earlier this month.

Shade 203 Beige Feutre is the one I had my eye on, but when I saw Shade 201 Beige De Soie, I couldn't decide which one I wanted and so promptly bought both ( I was on my holidays so that's allowed, I don't make the rules).  They worked out at €21 each in the Duty Free and I think they're around €25 in the shops.

Shade 203 (L)   Shade 201 (R)

The L'Absolu Nu lipsticks are designed to enhance the natural colour and shape of the lips and they contain tiny fragments of mother of pearl to give the lipsticks their shine.  The packaging is gorgeous!  The lid snaps into place with a very satisfying "click" thanks to the weeny magnets in the base.  Others that I've showed this too don't seem too impressed but this makes me happy for some reason!  It must be the make up junkie in me.  They contain the trademarked Pro-Xylane which helps keep the lips soft and supple.

Shade 203 (left and top lipstick)   Shade 201 (right and bottom lipstick)

Both of these share are gorgeous.  They are exactly the type of lipstick I go for, especially for every day wear.  They're subtle, shiny and really moisturising.  They feel light on the lips and although they're sheer, they give me just the right amount of colour.  Now, if you've read my blog, you know that I love me some crazy dark eye make up and that means I'm always on the lookout for nude lipsticks that aren't too pigmented.  I don't like ones that are too opaque and "concealer lips" aren't my cup of tea at all.

Shade 201 Beige De Soie

Shade 203 Beige Feutre

They don't last for ages on me but I wasn't expecting them to, since they're a sheer lipstick.  Shade 203 has become my go-to lipstick for work now and I am a happy camper!  If you're looking for an easy to wear, sheer, moisturising lipstick then this is the range for you.  It won't make you suddenly look like the beautiful Kate Winslet so I thought I'd just prepare you mentally for that!

Have you tried any of the lipsticks from the L'Absolu Nu range?  Do I need any more when I visit the Duty Free again?  (It's an expensive hobby being a make up junkie and I need to save where I can ;P)

Catrice Infinite Matt foundation

Back in March or April, I picked this foundation up as I went searching for a gel liner from Catrice.  What was I thinking, me only buying one product?  Eh no, so anyway, I saw this and after swatching it, thought that it was the perfect shade for me.  Not too yellowy or pinky in the undertone department, it was very neutral, shade 020 Honey Beige.  And at €6.99 I was sold.

Now, I've been using this foundation a good bit since then and have meant to review it but am glad I didn't blog about it until now.  And here's why.  This is how I was getting the product from the bottle for the past 3 or 4 months.  

I twisted the cap off to reveal the wand which I applied directly to my brush or the back of my hand.  I thought this was only grand, I could control the amount of product I needed.  Bish bosh happy days.

Cut to me about a month ago picking it up very awkwardly and the cap came off in my hand.  I thought I'd broken it or not screwed the cap on properly when lo and behold, look what I found.  After three months of using it.  No exaggeration.

Yes, that is a pump you can see.  Of course it  makes sense to have a pump on foundation! I have since found out that the ladies over at Stylesiren also fell victim to The Hidden Pump Wot Has Made Us Feel Like Eejits.  Anywayyyyy....

On to the foundation itself.  It claims to be a "long-lasting, shine control, hydrating, oil free" foundation and I can tell you that it is exactly that.  I have an oily T zone and this stuff stays put for the entire day.  It's a lovely, thick foundation that blends beautifully with medium coverage (for me anyway).  It says it has light reflecting particles and you can see if the bottom photo that my skin doesn't look flat.  It has a really light fresh scent and it dries to a matte finish but doesn't look cakey at all.  I took some before and after photos with and without the flash so you can take a look.

Please 'scuse the mad looking hair thanks... This is what not using the Babyliss Big Hair looks like!

I can't say enough good things about this foundation and at €6.99, it's completely worth a try and I have passed on my wisdom about the pump too.  But, out of spite, I have continued to use it the old way, no foundation is gonna make me feel like a fool... (except this one but I'm choosing to ignore that).  

Have any of you tried this foundation and were you all smarty pants and found the pump right away?

Avon Colordisiac lipsticks

Ladies, I have a confession to make.  I am afraid of the Avon catalogue.  Scratch that, I am afraid of *me* with an Avon catalogue.  But now it's just gotten scarier for me.... Not only are there Avon reps on Twitter and Facebook, but I've just found out they have an online store.  I may be bankrupt by the end of the year ;P

Seriously though, they have some great products on the market right now (but please bring back the Supershock Gel Liner in black please thanks very much)!  Imagine my delight when these little babies found their way to my post box.  I like to think that they were coming home to the mothership :)

These are Avon's Colordisiac Lipsticks, aren't they preeeetty?  I was given 7 of the 9 shades to try out and I immediately whipped them out and got them posing, smile with your eyes little lipsticks!

They are €12.75 but keep an eye out for special offers online and in the catalogues.  They have a gorgeous vanilla scent which I love and are so creamy when applied.  Take a look below at some swatches, I've gotten braver about posting photos of my lips, they're my least favourite feature on me face :)

Can't Resist Coral

Alluring Brown

Drawn to you

Rose Addiction

Flirty Fuchsia

Ravishing Red

Red Hot Lips

My favourites are Can't Resist Coral, Flirty Fuchsia and Red Hot Lips.  I wore Red Hot Lips to the L'Oreal Colour Trophy Awards and felt very glam altogether!  All of the lipsticks are really pigmented as you can see from the photos above and I took them with and without the flash so you can see them properly.  I think it's always difficult and risky buying make up without seeing swatches first because the colours can be different in person than in the catalogue, so hopefully this post helps you delve into the world of Avon's lipsticks and be able to pick shades that will look good on you!

Have you tried any of these or any other Avon products that I should try out?  (I think I'll be sorry I asked that question, I'm sure a load of products will be added to my Must Buy List!)

The Body Shop Stop Sex Trafficking Petition

This is a break in normal services here on the blog to ask you to do something that will only take a couple of seconds.

On Thursday July 21st, The Body Shop Ireland along with Children's Rights Alliance and EPCAT International will be handing over their Stop Sex Trafficking Petition to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald.

160,000 people have already signed it.  160,000 people want to make a difference.

Click here to sign the petition and to learn more about it.

NOTD - Mermaid to Order

I wanted to go for something different in the nail colour department yesterday and since it was miserable over the weekend, I thought I'd pretend I was somewhere nice via the power of the polish.  Yes, I pulled out the big guns, well, small guns, this is one of the mini polishes that came as part of a set, you can see the set here along with the rest of my nail polish collection (it has grown even more since then, oh the shame!)

This shade is called Mermaid to Order from Sephora by OPI.  It is a gorgeous metallic turquoise-green polish  that only needs two coats to look like this:

Here comes the obligatory shot of "The Claw"!

It is one of those polishes that is really hard to photograph properly.  It is even brighter, greener, turquoiser (made that word up but you know what I mean) in person and was just the pick me up I needed on a grey and windy Monday morning.

What are you wearing on your nails today ladies?  I need ideas for the next switch of polish which will probably happen tomorrow!

Seche Vite - the immediate pick me up for nails

Seche Vite, one of my favourite products of this year and this little post will show you why.  I do not apply nail polish without adding this quick drying top coat over it.  It makes my nails smooth, weirdly smooth, to the point that I often find myself stroking my nails, yes, am a weirdo.  The shine is fabulous and makes it look like you've had a proper manicure, not a DIY one at home!

Anyway, last night I didn't put it on over my polish for the purpose of this post.  I applied two coats of a nail polish I got in Spain that is my absolute favourite coral polish of all the ones I own, €2.50 from Mercadona and it's shade 76.  I applied it a couple of hours before bed time and when I woke up, I was left with dents, scutchy marks and sheet marks, not pleasant.  I went about my work day where I use my hands a lot.  I came home and decided instead of taking the polish off and starting again, I would bring it back to life using Seche Vite and it validated my love for it.  Take a look see:

On the left are my nails after about 18 hours or so and on the right is one coat of Seche Vite.

Obviously it cant do anything to help the chips but look at the shine, isn't it preeeeety??  I used the flash on the camera to show the shine properly so the colour is washed out a bit.  If there are any spanish ladies reading this or anyone heading to Spain, get yourself into Mercadona, their polishes are amaaaaazing!

Above shows the polish with and without the flash to try and show you the colour of the polish.  I bought a second one for a giveaway so stay tuned!

Seche Vite is available in Boots and I will check the price properly tomorrow but it's about €13, well worth it, cannot say enough good things about it.

Has anyone tried Seche Vite?  What do you think of it or is there an even better fast drying top coat out there?

My most favouritest eye shadow ever

If you were only allowed one eyeshadow, that's right, one, what would it be?  I know that for makeup lovers like ourselves, this is a scary and terrible thought (also highly unlikely and downright mean, I mean, come on, one shadow?!)  Anyway, for the purpose of this post, we are only allowed one, so there.  I'm now going to make you choose your absolute favourite.  

This is my desert island eye shadow - Stila's Kitten

It is a shimmery champagne colour that I love using when I'm in a mad rush for work.  It gives a lovely wash of colour and brightens the eye up.  It applies like a dream and blends out easily.

When I'm going out or want something a bit more dramatic, I like to add a coloured liner to the bottom waterline and lower lash line and tightline the upper lash line.  It makes a change from slicking liner on the top lash line.

I used a Sephora Jumbo Liner in the shade Marine on the lower lashes and to tightline I used Stila's Kajal in Onyx.

So here is the question of the day poodles,  what is your absolute favourite eye shadow of all time?  There can be only one, don't nobody come telling me "oh I can't choose one, can I have two"?  'Cos I will say noooooo, There Can Be Only One ;)

Cuckoo for Coconuts - from The Body Shop

Before I went away, I was kindly sent these products from The Body Shop to play with and I can say hand on heart that I am in love with them and will be purchasing them when I've used them up, which will be pretty soon.  I was given a body scrub and lip butter from the Coconut Bath & Body range from The Body Shop.

First up is the Body Scrub.  I was sent a mini size, 50 mls, but the full size is 200 mls and is €17.75.  It contains coconut husk and ground coconut shells which all sit in the creamy and amazingly scented scrub.  I love a bit of meat to my scrub, as in, I love more scrubby bits than the actual solution it sits in and this has plenty of scrubby bits.  Scrubby bits = happy Karen.  The creamy part of the scrub contains Community Trade coconut oil, marula oil from Namibia and organic babassu oil from Brazil along with almond oil and Community Trade soya oil.  I had never heard of babassu oil so a quick google told me it's derived from the babassu palm and when in solid form, melts on contact with the skin.  Never say I don't teach you anything!

My skin feels so soft and smooth after using the scrub.  I'm left with beautifully moisturised skin thanks to all of those lovely oils and there is nary a rough patch to be found.  Result!

Secondly we have the Lip Butter which is €7.50 and totally worth every penny if you ask me.  I got a Korres lip butter last year as part of a set from Sephora and loved it and promptly lost it.  The coconut lip butter is actually better than my Korres one and now comes everywhere with me.  I guard it carefully but know in the back of my little mind that if I lose it (which I will, let's not beat around the bush), that I'll be able to get another one easily!  In the pot, it looks like a thick cream, but the heat of your finger melts it and when applied, leaves your lips looking glossy and feeling gorgeously moisturised.  It contains Community Trade  coconut oil, shea butter, organic beeswax and vitamin E.  This little concoction looks like this on the lips:

I adore the smell of this and when using it at work, one of the girls was like "ooh what's that smell, it smells like holidays" and ladies, that's what we need to get us through the "summer" months, every little helps, wha?

There are a lots more products in the Coconut Bath & Body Range so if the scrub and lip butter don't tickle your pickle, maybe these will:

Coconut Body Butter - €17.95

Coconut Shower Cream - €8.95

Coconut Milk Body Lotion - €12.95

Coconut Foaming Bath - €12.95

Coconut Soap - €3.95

Coconut Shimmer Body Lotion Special Edition - €12.95

So there are lots to choose from ladies!

Now, I was away for the start of July, so here's a heads up if you don't already know, The Body Shop are celebrating 30 years in Ireland and for the month of July, have a special deal every day, with 30% off a different product.

Check out their Facebook page here to see what the daily treats are or follow them on Twitter to keep up to date on the treats.

I hope the Vitamin E facial mist is one of the treats, love it lots so I shall keep my beady eyes peeled every day for the rest of the month!  Has anyone else tried anything from the Coconut range?  Please tell all in the comments and be an enabler to many other ladies out there :)

My holiday make up purchases

I kind of went a bit mad on the aul make up lads, but you know what?  I worked lotsa overtime before going away so I could treat myself and holy moly I did that :)  First of all, let me tell you, I was *extremely* restrained in Sephora and was in there for ages swatching the living daylights out of my hands so I wouldn't make any bad purchases.  Alicante has a relatively small Sephora but you know the old saying, size doesn't matter *ahem*  Say hello to the products I got there:

I got a Beauty Essentials set from Estee Lauder which has a travel size of the Advanced Night Repair, DayWear Creme and Advanced Night Repair Eye cream.  I thought this would be a great way of trying a few products out for €21.  Next is Make Up For Ever's Mat Velvet + in Shade 20, I've been dying to try this for ages!  I got an Aqua Cream from Make Up For Ever aswell in the most gorgeous coral shade ever, it's Shade 9 and I am in love with this already.  I had it all over both hands in Sephora and think this will be gorgeous on the cheeks and lips.  Finally is a Jumbo liner from the Sephora brand itself.  I'm obsessed with midnight blue makeup and knew I had to have this.  It's waterproof and applies like a dream.  Love these all.  A lot.


Next are the nail polishes.  Before you have heart failure, these are photos with the flash and no flash, I didn't buy doubles!  I tell a lie, I bought a back up of the most perfect coral polish I ever did own in my life.  It is the middle polish on the top row of the first photo.  These are from Mercadona, a spanish supermarket chain and the top row were a measly €2.50.  The bottom row were a piddly €1.  You cannot go wrong nail polish lovers.

Below are some gorgeous NYC polishes I picked up in the local pharmacy Marvin Mundo and these babies were on sale, yes siree!  They were priced at €1.99 each and I got'em for €1.59.  Bargain or wha?

Next are bits I picked up on random trips to Mercadona and Marvin Mundo (which we called Maradonas and Marilyn Munro the whole time).  I love my Adidas Pure Lightness body spray but when I saw a new fragrance, I snapped it up.  Strange name, Happy Game, but I love the fresh, summery scent.  I got a Revlon quad in In The Buff and it was just over €10 blips and a Deborah Milano Liptint & Balm in a coral peach colour.

On the bottom left above are more bits from Mercadona and I'm missing a third eyeshadow, it's in my make up bag which I left at work and it's a bronzey colour, all these were cheap as chips but I can't remember exactly how much, helpful, right?!  Bottom right is a Revlon lippie in Peach and Rimmel's Airy Fairy.  These were 20% off along with the Revlon quad and the lipstain.  Nobody should ignore a 20% off sale.


Below are these gorgeous lipsticks I got in Mercadona and I do remember these were €4.50.  They are gorgeous, creamy, glossy and they make me happy.

The shades are just numbers but if you want to know what they are, just let me know in the comments and I'll do a full review post shortly.  These are my kinda lippies, not drying, shiny and cute.  Result.


Finally are the lippies I was dying to get my little paws on.  I've been wanting to get the L'Absolu Nu from Lancome for months now and had my eye on shade 203.  But of course, while perusing the Duty Free, I swatched shade 201 and since they were cheaper than in the shops, I couldn't resist.  They're beautiful nudey lippies which we know are right in my comfort zone, although I'm stepping out of it little by little!

Now ladies, you have my full permission to smack me upside the head if I buy any more lipsticks or nail polishes this month.  (Except Stila, that doesn't count, those are the rules, I don't make them.)

Let me know if you want to see swatches or reviews on any of the items.  Am currently giving my nails a little break, they're stained blue from my most favourite polish ever, Sally Hansen's Blue Calypso but I will continue to wear it again and again, I love it and it came to Spain with me, it doesn't matter that I look like I've lost the circulation to my fingernails!