Pick of the week #16

 

Following on from last week's beach holiday shop, here's my top pics for the best beach beauty buys.



 

1. Face sun protection - Rituals £14.00

I find that regular body sun tan lotion is too greasy for my face and I end up getting a breakout while I'm away. I've been using this SPF30 face cream for 3 years now and I love it, plus I get a 30% discount which always helps with the price.

 

2. Maybelline BB cream - Superdrug £7.99

I LOVE the Universal Glow version of this BB cream. It gives a really good glow and pre-holiday I was worried that it would be too orange for me but whilst I was out there and gradually getting a tan it was the perfect cream for a coverage that wasn't foundation-heavy. I also used it for months afterwards going back to work, so I can't wait to get a good use out of it again.

 

3. Mark Hill sea salt spray - Boots £5.99

My hair is neither here or there so I like to put a product in it whilst I'm on the beach to stop the frizz and keep the flyaways tame. I can't remember the spray I used last year so I'm going to try this one this year and hopefully it'll keep my hair in good shape.

 

4. Palmers Cocoa butter lip balm - Boots £1.89

This is another beach bag essential for me that I've used year on year. I'm a devoted Vaseline addict but it just doesn't do the job in the sun, my lips just burn straight away. This lip balm is cheap and cheerful, smells great and does the job.

 

5. Moisture Surge - Clinique £32.99

This moisturiser is the best thing since sliced bread. Fact. I use it all throughout winter when my face gets dried out by the cold and wind, but also use it on holiday when I get a heat rash on my cheeks / chin every year without fail. It keeps my skin moisturised and clears it up much faster than anything else.

 

Next week's Pick of the Week - Holiday Footwear

 

Dans x 

Pick of the week #11

 

1. Daisy cami - £26.00 Topshop
This cami top caught my eye straight away from the New In section at Topshop this week. I love it! It's so bright and girly.

2. Coral sandals - £45.00 Topshop
I really need some new sandals but I'm usually so fussy that I go through summers with my perfect 2011 River Island sandals without adding to my wardrobe. But I love these, they are quite pricey for what they are, but I think I'll be popping into Topshop to check them out.

3. Vaseline Lip Therapy in Rose - £1.99 Superdrug
I wouldn't have got very far at all this week through my super-awful cold without my trusty Vaseline. This is the best basic lip therapy ever and the most trustworthy - I would never be without it.

4. Aztec print scarf - £18.00 River Island
This scarf also caught my eye right away and I love it. I have so many scarves, I'm never without one around my neck and I love this bold print.

5. A Different Nail Enamel in Grape Ice - £12.00 Clinique
Clinique have just launched their nail enamel and this limited edition shade is so pretty. They have sold out of a lot of the shades online but I know that John Lewis are doing an offer where you get a mini bonus time when you buy any two nail enamels. All of their range are suitable for sensitive skin and with only two coats you can give yourself a perfect gel-looking manicure for half the price.

Dans x

Make up splurge

I am Dani and I am a Clinique addict. 99% of my make up is made up of their products - mascara, foundation, concealer, blusher, eyeliner, eyeshadow... all of it except my trusted Rimmel matt powder.

But I am not a millionaire and even with my lack of control I just couldn't face a mega Clinique bill when I suddenly ran out of everything. And anyway, why is it that you always run out of everything at the same time?? What's with that??

I was desperately in need of some makeup ready for our friends' wedding on Saturday, so off I popped to Boots on my lunch break to see what I could see.

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation in nude
I have plenty of my Clinique even better foundation, but my colleague at work the other day (also a bridesmaid at the wedding at the weekend) mentioned that she needed some SPF-free foundation ready for the evening 'do. Why? I asked. Oh, the camera flash bounces off of my SPF foundation and makes my face look white, she answered. OH! Everything suddenly made sense. All of those photos where I have a ghoulish white face compared to my naturally coloured neck and body.

So I bought my old trusted Dream Satin Liquid foundation - I used to love this as it gave me a lovely dewy complex. The only mistake I made was that even though it doesn't say in the tube that it contains SPF, I forgot to double check online, so I'm just hoping that it'll be OK.

Maybelline Dream Terra Sun bronzer
I fell in love with Benefit's Hoola bronzer when I bought it in a miniature 3 pack from Boots along with a mascara and powder foundation for £9. But as I was running out I knew I wouldn't be able to afford the real deal, as I know it's over £20. So I purchased this Maybelline bronzer today, not knowing how it would turn out and I have to admit that I love the results. It's quite subtle so you can build it up without it looking streaky.

Maxfactor Masterpiece mascara
This has been my go-to mascara ever since I started using it. I think I originally found it in my mum's makeup bag, used it and fell in love. I always alternate between this and Clinique's High Impact mascara (when I have more £ in the bank) but I feel as though this mascara frames my eyes so much better and it never lets me down. I can really build it up without it becoming clunky.

Maxfactor Colour X-Pert waterproof eyeliner in deep black
I always feel so plain Jane without my eyeliner. I always feel as though my eyes need to be framed else they just look boring and non-existent, especially with my fair eyebrows and eyelashes. I switched to Maybelline / Clinique gel eyeliner when everyone raved about it, but even though I've been using it for over a year I still can't get the hang of a perfect flick with a brush and always end up with smudged, dodgy eyeliner. I stuck with it but I feel much more comfortable with an eyeliner pen, and this one completely does the trick.

Boujois Rouge Edition lipstick in rose tweed
I love a subtle lip colour (I always want to try red but am not brave enough) and it has to be matte - I really dislike sheen on my lips. My favourite lipstick is Clinique's Long Last in Creamy Nude but as I've been rocking this for so long I thought I needed a change. This Boujois lipstick is AMAZING. It's such a gorgeous colour and seems to be pretty long lasting too (I'm sipping on a hot cuppa at the moment and it's staying put).

And here is the end product of my makeup haul:

The only products I added were my Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush (I don't need to buy any blusher for a zillion years as I have so many Clinique samples it's unreal) and Even Better Eyes concealer (the most reliable product in the history of makeup). At the weekend I will most probably add some eyeshadow and my Benefit high beam, and a couple more lashings of mascara to make my eyes stand out and ensure it lasts throughout the day.

Total: £32 - Boots are doing a good few buy one get one half price offers at the moment.

What's in your make up essentials bag?

Dans x

It's bonus time!

There's nothing I like better than a Clinique bonus time!

I've been holding out for one to launch at Boots since Christmas when I got a giftcard from my family - I've even resisted the bonus times at Debenhams and John Lewis (still ongoing) because I just knew the Boots one would be fab and it is.

It's strange that we have two huge Boots in our city centre and yet neither of them do Clinique. So my sister and I went on a shopping trip today so I could get my hands on one, and I was not disappointed!

To qualify for bonus time, one item has to be skin care and so I bought my regular foundation (Even Better, shade #1 Alabaster) and the Anti Blemish Solutions cleansing foam - this is excellent if you have combination skin like me with the monthly pimples that just seem to flare and not go anywhere. It is quite drying but makes blemishes disappear sometimes as quickly as the next morning if I apply it before bed.

1. Moisture surge - I love this moisture surge and always use it as well as my regular moisturiser. It's perfect during the winter and I always make sure I stock up in time for summer holidays too, because as soon as I seem to step down off of the aeroplane steps into a hot sunny climate I come out in a heat rash that covers half of my face, and this really helps to make it disappear after a couple of weeks.

2. All about eyes - I've been hooked on this ever since the first time I tried it, and put it on nightly before bed after my three step, along with my moisturiser and moisture surge. It does really well to make my eyes look more awake and if you use it in the morning after a three step it can also help to keep eyeshadow / liner in place throughout the day.

3. Rinse off foaming cleanser - I've had this before in a giveaway and wasn't very keen on it. I find the texture very strange and I don't like the way it doesn't glide over my face as easily as the regular Clinique wash off face cleanser.

4. Chubby stick - I love love LOVE Clinique chubby sticks and can't rate them highly enough. DC bought me a pack of five a couple of Christmasses ago and I was automatically hooked. They give a good coverage of colour and I was surprised that they actually last a reasonable amount of time before they run out. The only downfall is that I find them quite drying on my lips, just the same as the regular Clinique lipsticks, although applying a little bit of vaseline just before application usually sorts that problem out.

5. Quickliner for eyes - this is the only product in this Bonus Time that I have never tried before, but my fellow Clinique-obsessed friend J swears by them, and goes through them like I don't know what. This is something that I've going to have to try out, and blog about later. I usually apply one of the Clinique dark eyeshadows under my eyes with a tiny brush for definition, but I'll try this eyeliner this week instead and see how I get on.

6. High impact mascara - I have been loyal to Maxfactor's Masterpiece for many years now and never thought I would find another mascara that I would love as much. When I got my first high impact mascara, I didn't even bother to try it because I was that convinced that it wouldn't help my lashes as much as the Masterpiece does. I only happened to use it when I had ran out of the Masterpiece and didn't have anything to use - and then I was changed woman! It's an excellent mascara even for fine lashes like mine. It adds definition and length and can help with both a day and night look - one coat for work, or for a night out build it up and it can look really striking. I now alternate between buying and using the Maxfactor mascara, and switching to Clinique whenever I get a bonus time.

As you can see this bonus time is great for me as I've used most of the products before and absolutely love them. It's annoying when you look forward to a Bonus Time and when it arrives it doesn't include anything that you would really use, and then you get a build up of products in your beauty cupboard that you don't use but don't want to throw away. But Boots always put on a really good deal and I always find myself pleased with what I get. Plus, the Clinique beauty assistants in my Boots are a hundred times more helpful and pleasant compared to our Debenhams and John Lewis. They always have a smile on their face and are more than willing to help. Bonus Time + excellent customer service = happy beauty shopping.

Dans