Black Friday Haul

I love shopping around for bargains & rarely buy things online without a discount code. Even though we don't celebrate Thanksgiving I'm glad that us Brits have fully embraced the tradition of Black Friday. It's the best time to get all your Christmas shopping done & as you're saving a bit of money you can afford to treat yourself at the same time! There were a few items that I needed to repurchase & some things that I've had my eye on for ages. First I got a new bottle of the L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil & Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. I ordered them from FeelUnique as they had a 20% discount code. The shower oil is my favourite thing to shave with & the extra moisture is much needed at this time of year. I tend to flit between using the Urban Decay & NYX setting sprays as they both work exactly the same. I just went for the Urban Decay one this time as you get a bigger bottle & I enjoy it's unique scent so it's a good one to buy when you can find a discount code.

These days most of my skincare comes from The Ordinary but I still love Bravura London products. They had a whopping 25% discount for Black Friday so it was the perfect time to stock up. I got a new bottle of their First Cleanse Oil which is what I always use to remove my makeup. I absolutely love the Azulene Moisturiser! I use it twice a day as it works really well with the rest of my skincare routine. It's a light moisturiser packed with calming botanical ingredients that help to soothe & heal the skin. It's brilliant for those with oily, combination or acne-prone skin types as it hydrates the skin without clogging pores. I also decided to pick up the Collagen Moisturising Cream. I normally stick with the Azulene Moisturiser but this one is better for dry skin so it helps my skin to cope with the cold weather.



Bumble & Bumble's Hairdresser's Invisible Oil is one of my favourite hair products of all time. I'm always amazed by how much softer & shinier it makes my hair. It can be a real struggle to make damaged, bleached hair look healthy but this stuff works miracles. I rarely have to repurchase it because a bottle lasts such a long time & I'm sure glad it does because it costs £35! I spotted this Bumble & Bumble Sp(oil)ed Silly Gift Set on FeelUnique for £38 which means that for a mere £3 more you get a sample of the Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer (which is also incredible!) & a rose gold Tangle Teezer thrown in. With FeelUnique's 20% discount I got it for just £30. What a bloody bargain!



The Stila Eye For Elegance Liquid Eyeshadow Set was at the very top of my Black Friday wishlist. I'm utterly obsessed with the Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eyeshadows. They make using glitter so much easier & completely mess-free. I currently own four of them but they are pretty expensive so even at full price this set is fantastic value. I knew I could get it cheaper on Black Friday though & Stila had 20% off on their website bringing it down to £36. In this set you get three Glitter & Glow eyeshadows and three Shimmer & Glow eyeshadows. Unfortunately I already own Smoldering Satin but at least I can use the one in the set as a stocking filler for someone else. I'm so excited about this gift set, all the colours look beautiful & I cannot wait to try out the new shades!





Beauty Bay had up to 30% off everything on their website so I ordered a few items that I've been wanting for a long time. I already own 25 Jeffree Star Liquid Lipsticks so I decided that I wouldn't order any more colours. I've wanted to try his Velour Lip Scrubs for ages as the flavours sound amazing but I didn't want to pay £12 for a single scrub. I ordered Strawberry Gum & Root Beer in the sale. I mainly got the strawberry one for Chloe as both of us get dry lips at this time of year. Root Beer is just for me though! It's one of my favourite ever drinks & a small part of me died inside when McDonald's took it off their menu back in the 90s. The scrub tastes just like the drink & has the added bonus of being edible. It does a great job of removing dead skin cells, leaving my lips feeling super soft & smooth.



I've tried loads of different beauty sponges but in my opinion nothing comes close to the original Beautyblender. My one was getting a bit tatty looking so I needed to buy a new one. I went for the Beautyblender Swirl as it has a pretty pink & white marble design. It works exactly the same as the pink Beautyblender but just looks a bit cooler.



Jouer Cosmetics have been all over YouTube this year & I love the look of their lip products. I have so many matte liquid lipsticks so I wanted something a bit different & decided to go for their Long-Wear Lip Topper in Skinny Dip. Lip Topper is just a glorified name for a lip gloss but I do really like this product. Skinny Dip is a metallic golden nude gloss with flecks of gold & pink shimmer. It looks gorgeous whether worn alone or on top of a liquid lipstick. The luminous finish makes my lips look fuller & plumper whilst adding a hint of golden iridescence. The consistency is kinda thick for a gloss but it isn't sticky at all. It feels more like a lip balm as it's quite nourishing on the lips due to the inclusion of jojoba seed oil & coconut oil. This Lip Topper looks truly stunning & the sweet, cakey scent is divine!



I've been wanting to buy the RCMA No-Colour Powder for so long but it's always out of stock! Beauty Bay managed to get plenty in for their sale so I finally got my hands on this highly coveted setting powder. I use loose powders to bake my concealer but I've noticed that they can sometimes alter the colour, making my base products look slightly weird. This powder has no pigment in it so even though it looks white it won't change the colour of your foundation or concealer & it is suitable for all skin colours. It gives my base a matte flawless finish that lasts all day & it never looks dry or powdery on the skin. Unlike some powders it doesn't cause flashback so you don't have to worry about getting your photo taken. The packaging is a bit rubbish but otherwise this is an excellent setting powder.



The last item I got was the Benton Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack. I mainly bought this to get free next day delivery but I love sheet masks & Benton are one of the few popular Korean beauty brands that I haven't purchased anything from before. The Snail Bee range is very well loved on /r/AsianBeauty so I knew it would be worth trying out. I haven't used the mask yet but if I like it I'm sure you'll hear all about it!





Accessorize had 30% off their Angels kids range so I got Chloe some cute new things. She needed some new Winter accessories & what could be more fitting than their Chloe Cat collection?! I bought her the Chloe Cat chullo hat, Chloe Cat scarf & Chloe Cat capped mittens. They're all so cute & keep her really warm. Her new school has a tuck shop during morning break & when I've given her money to get a snack she always loses it! She loves being able to get a hot chocolate & croissant in the morning so I bought her the Becci Bunny round cross body bag & the Pretty Kitty cat purse to keep her money in. I also spotted this lovely Crown Chakra bracelet in store & decided to treat myself. I have one of the Daisy London chakra bracelets but it was so expensive & this one was only a tenner!




I have become an avid enamel pin collector this year & I'm always on the lookout for cute new pins to buy. Etsy is my favourite place to look for new designs & it was on there that I came across Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes. I didn't manage to get one of her limited Black Friday discount codes but I decided to go ahead & buy a few pins anyway as I fell in love with these designs quite a while ago. I adore the pastel colourwheel, strawberry pocky & CMYK pins but my absolute favourite is the one that says 'I Got Dressed Today'. Sometimes that can be a bit of a struggle for me when I'm feeling down & it's nice to be positive about those small achievements.

What bargains did you pick up on Black Friday?

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Favourite Products Of 2011

I have probably spent more on makeup in the last 12 months than in any other year of my life. It sure is expensive work being a beauty blogger! Luckily it means that I've found some products that I really love and can see myself using for a long time to come. Here are some of my favourite things that I used last year. I liked a lot more stuff than what I've listed here but these are the products that really stood out to me.


Skincare
Clarisonic Mia / Liz Earle Eyebright / Dermalogica Active Moist
The best thing that I invested in last year was my Clarisonic Mia. There is no other skincare product or treatment out there that compares to what this will do for your skin. I love how it makes my skin look, almost like I've had a spa facial every time I wash my face. I love all the Liz Earle products that I've tried so far. I use Cleanse & Polish with my Clarisonic & follow up with their Skin Tonic too. Eyebright is a bit of a wonder product as it instantly cools & refreshes your eyes. Its brilliant if you've had too many late nights or need to look & feel more awake. Active Moist has been my favourite moisturiser for a while now. Its perfect on my normal/combination skin type. I haven't really liked any of the moisturisers I tried last year so I'll be sticking with this one for the foreseeable future.


Haircare
Tangle Teezer / Kerastase Ciment Thermique / Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo / Frédéric Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream
For anyone still wondering if Tangle Teezers work, yes they do & mine has saved me from some pretty horrific knots. I still really like the Kerastase Ciment Thermique & I don't think that any other heat protection product compares to this one. The grapefruit scent lingers on your hair & its absolutely beautiful. I only recently managed to purchase the XXL Volume Batiste as its been really hard to track it down. Its literally always sold out. I'm so glad I got this as although it does make your hair feel like utter crap, it does give you lots of volume. Just whack some serum on afterwards and you're good to go. The Brilliant Glossing Cream is kinda like a cream version of Moroccanoil so it helps to weigh down your hair more. Some people won't like that but I do as it means less flyaways & a more polished looking hairdo.


Base
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation / Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer / Bobbi Brown Corrector / MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base / Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment / MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural / Dior Amber Diamond
Last year I became obsessed with finding the perfect base products. I bought a ton of different products but these are my favourites and I use all of these every day. Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation has been a revelation. I finally have a foundation that matches my exact skintone and has no SPF in which stops the 'ghost face' that Estee Lauder Double Wear used to inflict upon me. Like everyone else I love that Collection 2000 concealer. Its practically opaque & covers pretty much everything. I couldn't live without my Bobbi Brown Corrector as although the Collection 2000 concealer is really good, this product colour corrects my dark circles making me look really awake & like I've slept for 12 hours each night. MAC MSF Natural has been my fave powder for ages, I just wear this with some concealer if I have no time at all to get ready. When I use the Illamasqua foundation I just use this to powder under my eyes because otherwise my mascara ends up all over my face. Pearl Cream Colour Base & Amber Diamond are the perfect highlighting duo. I've bought more highlighters than I can count in 2011 and these are the best of the best. I like a lot of glow so using a cream under the powder makes my cheeks look super shiny & it lasts all day. Hollow Cream Pigment is something I only bought recently but it is the best contour product ever.


Eyes
Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara / L'Oreal Carbon Gloss Superliner / HD Brows Palette / MAC Shroom & Patina Eyeshadows / MAC NC15/NW20 Pencil
The mascara that I've most recently fallen in love with is the Lancome Doll Eyes one. When I first got it the formula was a lot more fluid and didn't really give me the volume I wanted. But as it dried up a bit it got thicker and it is everything I could want in a mascara. It makes my lashes super long, thick & black. I use the L'Oreal eyeliner on a daily basis as I think I look weird without it. This one is really black, long lasting and pretty cheap too which makes it the best eyeliner I've bought this year. I love the eyebrow powders in the HD Brows Palette, they're so pigmented and just brilliant. I only use the one in the bottom right corner as the others don't suit me but I use the others as eyeshadows so its a fab product. The eyeshadows I've reached for most are Shroom & Patina by MAC. I don't really wear eyeshadow much but these are subtle enough for everyday wear. I love this MAC eyeliner pencil as it makes my eyes look bigger & brighter without being a really obvious white line.


Blusher
Illamasqua Katie / Illamasqua Thrust / NARS Deep Throat / Topshop Head Over Heels
I like to wear a lot of blush as it adds some pretty colour to my deathly pallor which saves me from bronzing my whole face to an unnatural colour. My fave blusher at the moment is NARS Deep Throat, I think its the perfect colour for me with just the right amount of sparkle. I adore Illamasqua's powder blushers. Katie is a lovely pastel pink & Thrust is a bright magenta. It looks so scary in the pan but its a gorgeous colour if you apply it with a light hand & blend it properly. I want to try some of Illamasqua's cream blushers next as they seem really good too. The only cream blushers I own are from Topshop but they are great quality for the price. I like the shade Head Over Heels best as its a very pretty peachy colour thats perfect for Summer.


Lip Products
Philosophy Kiss Me Tonight / Beaute Wanted Weightless Lip Creme / MAC Hue Lipstick / MAC Enchantée Kissable Lip Colour
I bought a lot of lipsticks this year. In order to keep my lips lovely & smooth I use Philosophy's Kiss Me Tonight lip treatment. Its a balm that you put on before you go to bed and you wake up with beautifully soft lips. I also put some on before I do my makeup then blot it off when I'm ready to apply my lipstick. I bought the Beaute Weightless Lip Creme in Wanted after I heard that Kristen Stewart loves it. Its a lovely nude thats halfway between a lipstick and gloss. The MAC Kissable Lip Colours from their Peacocky collection use a similar formula. I love the colour Enchantée which is a cool toned bright pink. My fave everyday lipstick is MAC Hue. Its the most perfect pinky nude that looks brilliant on everyone.


Nail Polishes
Illamasqua Jo'Mina / Models Own Utopia / Models Own Pink Punch / Barry M Peach Melba
This was such a hard decision as I adore all the nail polishes I bought last year and believe me, I bought a lot! These ones stood out to me as unique colours that I always get complimented on. They all apply really well and don't chip too badly with some Seche Vite on top.