Mid Week Mini Haul

So I haven't been having the best week at work this week and so to cheer myself up I did a little bit of shopping on my break. Here's what I picked up.

VO5 Shine On Shine Serum 45ml - £4.15

I have very thick and sometimes somewhat frizzy hair, I never ever style without a good serum. My old one had ran out and as it was nothing special I decided to try something new. I've heard good things about this one so I'm hopeful. It's also on 2 for £5 offer with other VO5 products in Superdrug at the moment, which brings me onto my next purpose.

VO5 Give Me Texture Instant Oomph Powder 7g - £4.09

I had a haircut yesterday and while I really like it I was looking for something to help give it a little bit more movement now that I have more and shorter layers. I added this to my roots, massaged it in and pushed the hair up a little and I can honestly say I was so impressed with the results. It really did add volume and having never used a product like this before I was definitely pleasantly surprised. 

Sleek Blush Sweet Cheeks - £9.99

Ever since I got the Face Form palette from Sleek I've been wanting to try more of their blushes. The blush in the palette, Rose Gold, is so beautiful but I wanted a matte blush without any kind of shimmer for daytime. As I personally prefer a pink blush I decided to just try a Blush By 3 palette in Sweet Cheeks. I'm not even going to lie, I opened this and thought I'd made a massive mistake! They looked so bright and so dark I thought they'd never suit me. A quick try with all of these though and I soon realise I needn't have worried, I do have to be a little bit careful when applying the two darker/brighter shades in the palette but once blended correctly they look great and apply nice and evenly.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation True Ivory 103 - £7.99

I'm having a really hard time with my current foundation at the moment! I've been using Healthy Mix Serum for well over a year now but lately it just hasn't been agreeing with my skin. It doesn't last more than a couple of hours even with primer and powder and its showing up any slight dry patches where it used to be moisturising. So since I'd already picked up two other products and Superdrug still have the 3 for 2 offer on cosmetics I searched for a foundation. I had actually tried this before but it was long before my beauty product days. Back in the days when I didn't even know it was possible to apply foundation with a brush and when primer and powder weren't even on my radar. I thought I'd give it another go now I'm a bit more savvy when it comes to this kind of stuff. I've had a quick go and so far so good, the shade match is perfect for my pale winter skin and since this time I used a brush it doesn't feel caked on which was the problem I had with it the first time.

Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint - £3.99

It's been a surprisingly long time since I bought any new Barry M nail products, I saw this sparkly little number and had to have it. If you're not a fan of glitter polish stay well clear but if you are I'm sure you'd love this. Tiny pieces of multi-coloured glitter sparkle so much when the light catches. Definitely going to be my Christmas polish of choice.

SEVENTEEN Phwoarr Paint - £5.49

Finally a trip to Boots got me this much blogged about little beaut! I've heard mainly good reviews on this but a couple bad so I was very excited to try this for myself, especially with how tired my eyes have been looking lately. Well... I am most definitely impressed. So easy to apply, doesn't set into creases and definitely lives up to the description of being a "heavy duty under eye concealer".

This little mini shopping trip did the job of cheering me up. Now I'm thinking I should try and stop spending so much! I've said it before, having a Superdrug right next door to my workplace will be the end of my financial stability!!

Red Lipstick, all on the paper: Kate Moss Rimmel review

In the words of Gwyneth Paltrow "Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That or a kick-ass red lipstick". You will rarely see me on a night out without red lipstick, it's my go-to look and the one thing, to me, that can really bring a look together.

I have a LOT of reds but one I've really been loving lately is Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss for Rimmel in 111 Kiss Of Life.  I hadn't read anything about this before I bought it, I was drawn in by the lovely simple packaging. I don't know why but the red cylindrical tube with the "Kate" signature on the side really caught my eye. When looking through the colours, being me, I went straight to the brightest red. Here's a look at the packaging:

Now that's out of the way we'll get to the product itself. The colour is a deep velvety red with a matte finish. Here's a look at the swatches with and without flash

You can't really get an idea of the matte finish in the swatches but it is most definitely matte. I'd stayed away from matte until this because, since I don't have the poutiest pout in the world, didn't think it wouldn't suit me. One try of this and I was proven wrong, I've had so many compliments when wearing this. Here's a quick look at the product on the lips

I've found it so hard to find the right light to capture the colour but I'd say the one in natural light is the closest but imagine it a tiny bit brighter. You can get a better idea of the finish from the above picture though.

Application on this is... tricky. Only because you really really need to make sure you take the time to prep and line your lips properly. Liner is essential for this lipstick because if not used it WILL bleed and it will bleed quite badly. That said as long as you get the prep right this lipstick is great; it's matte but not at all drying, it's super pigmented in one coat and it can last a good few hours and a good few cocktails before it needs a touch up.

This lipstick is available at Boots for £5.49 and if I'm not mistaken they currently have a buy one get one half price offer on.

That's me and one of my favourite reds, what's your go to red lipstick?