Living for the Good Life: haul

Showing posts with label haul. Show all posts

So I finally did it, I finally bought some of the magic made by the make-up Queen, and boy I wasn't disappointed. Spurred in part by my moment (or should I say days) of mourning after I realised I had somehow lost my new Mac Whirl the day before (I know, I'm still crying inside a bit), I was drawn towards the lip products.

I'd heard much about Pillow Talk lipliner, and so repeatedly swatched it, moving on to other products, but always coming back for one more look. I caved and asked the sales assistant if she could put it on me, but not before eyeing up the lipsticks. Mostly, but not entirely (okay fully) swayed by the name, I drooled over Bond Girl, and asked for that to be applied on top of Pillow Talk. It was instant love. Though a pairing not usually recommended by the Tilbs, I was happy with the way the two worked, knowing that they would be just as good on their own as they were together.

Pillowtalk on the lips

Bond Girl lipstick on top of Pillowtalk

As you can see, both are very wearable shades and could easily be worn day-to-day if you're looking to make yourself look a bit more put together. I suppose I should have done a picture with Bond Girl on its own, but I didn't, sorry! Anyway, I'm so in love with both of them and I think Pillowtalk is going to be my everyday go-to, with Bond Girl being my go-to when I want to add a little something-something. After getting these, all I can say of Charlotte Tilbury is...I wantttt moooorrreeeee!

I decided to share with you my main presents from L, as I'm so in love with them and they're too gorgeous not to share. I knew I was getting some things from Mulberry, but wasn't 100% sure what. I had an inkling it would be these items, and I was super pleased when I opened the bags to find it was.

The purse is made of the butteriest, softest leather, and has so much room for your things inside. I have a lot of loyalty cards and such, and so the extra spaces are brilliant.

I've been wanting a proper cardholder for some time now, and so I'm delighted to finally have one. My intention is to use it when I go out for a nice meal or drinks, kept inside my clutch to keep things organised. I'd like to use it on nights out but I don't trust myself to keep it in good condition, or to keep it at all!

They are both lovely neutral shades, but the camera is not showing the justice. The purse is showing up much more yellow toned in the pictures than it actually is, and the cardholder is much more of a soft, powdery pink, described as 'oatmeal' on the tag. I apologise for the poor picture quality, my camera seems to be getting worse by the day! I hope you all got as lovely presents, and enjoyed giving presents just as much as you enjoyed receiving them, because I sure know I did.

As I said in my last post, I've recently fallen in love with Nars during my multiple Space NK trips. One of the things I had been eyeing up was the Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette, swatching it and swooning over it time and time again, but never actually buying it. The perfect excuse/opportunity came up a week or so ago when I received an N.dulge N.centive via email, and on top of that I was feeling a little ill so L wanted to treat me, and I finally got my hands on it.

The box it comes in matches the actual packaging, and although I'm slightly unsure of the image, it's nowhere near as creepy as the Tearjerker eye set.

The packaging is beautiful though, and feels wonderfully luxurious - weighty, but not too heavy. When you open it up, it's even more of a beauty.

As you can see it comes with 7 products: A highlight, contour, bronzer and four blushes.

For some reason they don't name the highlighter on the back of the product, but the contour is Paloma and the bronzer Laguna. The blushes from left to right are Robotic, Blasphemy, Luster and Dolce Vita.

I've used all but two blushes so far, and can confidently say it is an amazing palette.

I'm particularly taken with the Dolce Vita blush, which gives a gorgeous deep flush to the cheeks, perfect for this time of year.

I have to say I am marginally disappointed with the highlight, having expected it to have some kind of sheen or shimmer. Instead it is more of a matte powder, which offers little highlighting properties, for me anyway. I've been using it to powder under my eyes so at least I've found another function for it I guess.

I tried to do swatches for you but they seemed to payoff lightly on my fingers and the lighting was poor to say the least, but here's my best efforts. Ever so inconveniently it's in reverse order, starting from Dolce Vita on the left and going backwards through the blushes and then through to the bronzer, contour and finally the highlight.

I'd highly recommend getting your hands on this palette if you're as much into face products as I am at the moment. It's brilliant value but it's also limited edition, so get it whilst you still can!

As a little late treat for graduating, L offered me up a budget to pick a goodie of my choosing. I've be in and out of Space NK like a mad woman recently and the sales assistants are starting to recognise me, which is equally embarrassing as it is comforting. Anyway, in my many visits I'd been eyeing up the Nars range, which in all honesty I'd never given any real scrutiny to before. I own the Orgasm blush, which I adore and have had for 3 years or so, but apart from that I've had nothing else. I was in the mood for both a new lipliner and a new eyeshadow, and turned to Nars to satisfy my cravings.

A lover of gold eyeshadows, I opted for one of the Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows in the shade Himalia. It's a gorgeously smooth applying eyeshadow, in a sort of antiqued gold. It looks lighter in the pan compared to how it applies, going on to the lid more antiqued and bronzed. I can imagine that this is incredible applied using a slightly damp brush to give a really impactful look. It's just passable for daytime wear, and I especially love it patted all the way around the eye to give an almost-but-not-quite smokey eye.

For lipliner, I wanted a sort of nude-but-more colour, one that was fine for daytime but a little but more noticeable than my usual Mac Subculture or my Kiko. I opted for the Patong Beach Velvet Lip Liner.

It's a slightly brick toned nude-red, that could be worn daytime for a bit more of a done-up look, or night time for a 'I've made an effort but not too in your face' vibe.

My only problem with this is that it definitely requires touch up. I'm used to more nude tones that I can just leave and eat and drink and not think about, but this one does need to be watched. I made the mistake of wearing it during a busy day at work and caught myself in the mirror towards the end of the day and it was all kinds of blotchy. Not good. Apart from that it's gorgeous, and I'm really pleased with both products.

May this be the official happy start to my love affair with Nars...

I recently received my first 'supervisor pay', and so I thought I would treat myself for my hard work so far. Conveniently, it's also my Graduation for my Sociology degree this Friday and so that also worked as a brilliant excuse for a present to myself.

At the weekend before last I was shopping with my Grandma in House of Fraser in Manchester and knew that I was on the hunt for the perfect coat. I didn't intend to buy anything but I just wanted to see if my dream one actually existed. I own a super cheap camel coat from the high street, which is nice, but I've only had it a couple of months and it's bobbling already and showing it's value (or lack of), and so I thought that the next coat I buy will be a great quality, timeless piece that will last for years.

Anyway, we stumbled across the Jaeger section and I instantly saw and fell in love with this dreamy wrap-over number, in a rich shade of not quite camel, not quite brown - 'conker', as they had named it. I tried it on and sighed in love. It was perfect, but I put it back and moved on.

Days passed and I couldn't get it out of my mind, persistently swooning over it on the website. I knew it was fate when the following Wednesday I passed the window of the Chester store Jaeger, just a few doors down from where I work, and there the coat was, pride of place. To sweeten the deal even more there was an incredible offer on in store at the time, and so I headed in. I tried it on one last time and with the push of all the sales assistants remarking how gorgeous it looked on, I said 'I'll take it'.

The sales assistant wrapped it up nicely in the huge bag and off I trotted, feeling happy as larry.

The pictures don't do how beautiful it is in real life. The wool feels heavenly to the touch, and the lining is the silkiest thing against your skin. It also has deep pockets that are perfect for keeping your hands warm and carrying your phone etc. in - something my cheap coat lacks. I'm so in love with the wrap style with the tie-up belt and just think it looks so effortlessly chic. I also really like how it's a deeper colour than most camel-toned coats in the stores right now, which makes it a little more unique.

I've worn it out once to dinner and once into town now and have received multiple compliments on it already. I'm so pleased with it and really believe it's a great investment for this time of year, and will last me for years to come keeping me warm but also stylish.

I would add some swishy, posey pictures of me looking into the distance wearing it, but I haven't quite reached that stage of blogging yet...

(Leather look trousers - New Look) (Lace-up top - Miss Selfridge) (Maxi nutrition bar, Touch of Silver shampoo, Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes conditioner, Advance White extreme whitening toothpaste, Tea tree & witch hazel exfoliating face scrub - Boots).

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