A Shopaholic's Journey #12 - Last Haul Before Manchester!

As you can tell from the title, this is going to be my last haul post for a while. I'm heading to Manchester towards the end of July for nine days which means I have to start saving now. I've been twice already and I love this city. There's actually quite alot to do and I love the Trafford Centre, that place is amazing. From now until I go I'll be focusing more on doing reviews. As always if you see anything in this post or previous ones that you'd like to see reviews on let me know. I didn't buy all these products all at once so this is more of a collective haul. I feel like I've been treating myself more to new products lately as I'm doing so well at Slimming World. I've had another amazing month, so be sure to keep an eye on for my update next week.

There was a Summer event on in Harvey Nichols were they offered 15% off all beauty products. It was for one night only so of course I did take advantage. I've seen alot of great reviews on Laura Mercier's Mineral Powder, I caved and bought it along with one of their lip glosses in Orange Tulip. I'm sure both products will last me ages so I'm happy with the purchases. I've yet to try Bioderma but I have been using alot of micellar solutions lately. I picked up This Works Clean Skin 5 in 1 water, I've used it a bit so far and I really like it. I do use up micellar solutions awfully quick though so at €26 I don't know if it's something I'd repurchase. I'll have to wait and see. My skin has been acting up lately so after chatting to the Bliss sales assistant, she recommend the Clog Dissolving Cleansing Milk. This is the most popular product in their spa facials so I'm hoping this can sort out my problem skin. As I made a purchase from Bliss, I received there gift with purchase which was their Lemon + Sage Soapy Suds Body Wash. I already have the body butter in the same scent and it smells amazing. Last but not I got a sample of the Dior Forever Foundation. I like this, but I don't like the price tag it's on the expensive side. I'm still on the lookout for a new foundation so if you have any recommendations let me know. I may go back to my favourite Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua but I want to try something different.

These are just a few random purchases from different stores. I found it so hard to find the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover, it was literally nowhere to been seen in my local Boots. I finally got my hands on it and yes it's brilliant, so much so that I included it in my May Favourites. I got two haircare products from Boots. I'm loving Tresemme's Liquid Gold Perfecting Treatment but I'm not 100% keen on Umberto Giannini's Scrunch Up The Volume Messy Texture Cream. It has a sticky consistency and leaves my hair looking a mess to be honest. At least it was on offer so I didn't spend too much on it. I picked up another No7  Eyeshadow Blend and Contour brush with my €7.50 off voucher. I rate this higher than my MAC 217 brush, it's brilliant. I was on the look out for a new handcream, The Body Shop's Hand and Nail Cream ticked all the boxes, it's the perfect size for my handbag, smells amazing and leaves my hands lovely and soft. I'm getting really into tanning lately, I have no idea seeing as the weather is so miserable out. The Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil is a product from The Body Shop that I've wanted to try for a while. It has a gorgeous scent and I can see myself use this alot over the Summer. I popped back into Moss Cottage which I've talked about alot on my blog. I picked up another Lily Flame candle this time around I got Coconut Grove. From the name you've probably guessed what it smells like. I love this candle it has such a nice summery scent. This candle smells exactly like a macaroon bar, and for me that's the best scent ever.

Have you tried any of these products? What would you like to see a review on?

Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #11 - Collective Haul

It been a while since I've done A Shopaholic's Journey post. Not that I haven't been buying anything at all in the past few weeks, the stuff I bought just didn't warrant a big blog post. I received alot of gift cards for my birthday back in mid February and I only got around to spending them now.

In Boots, I picked up one of the Stella McCartney Print Collection Eau de Parfum. I know they've been on the scene for quite a while now, but from what I remember they were quite expensive. When I saw they were on sale for €23 I snapped one up. Out of the three prints to choose from, this was my favourite. While in Boots, I also bought some makeup products. I bought three of the Loreal Caresse Sheer Lipsticks (01, 103, 501). These lipsticks have been mentioned on a few blogs already. I don't think I would of noticed them otherwise, there just pushed in with all the other lipsticks, you wouldn't think there new. As you would guess I got a few No7 Vouchers when I bought this stuff. I tend to only buy their makeup wipes with these, but I heard so much talk about the Vital Enlightening Highlighter powder. I'm glad I picked one up. Isn't it so pretty??

This is probably my biggest splurge, it came to around €75 with a gift card my grandparents gave me. I don't think my Nanna was too happy I bought it, she hates when I straighten my hair. After much thought, I decided on the Maxi Styler from the Gold Series. I have frizzy hair which takes forever too straighten, so I thought this would work best for me. I always straighten my hair before work using the Classic Styler and halfway through the day it's frizzy again so I thought it was time for a change. I shall let you know how I get on with it. While I was in Peter Marks, I saw that there was 20% off Redken promotion. I heard one of my favourite bloggers Essie (Essie Button) talk about their All Soft shampoo and conditioner in one of her videos, so I decided to give it a go. I've used it once so far and I really like it.

Last but not least, I went to House of Fraser and Brown Thomas. At the latter, I bought one of the tendertones from MAC's latest collection, Cook MAC, Tread Gently is the shade I picked up. Tendertones have the nicest fruity scent, I love it. Whilst wandering around House of Fraser, I spotted a Laura Mercier stand which I never saw before. On it was a selection of products from their body and bath range. Among them I spotted this Souffle Body Creme Sampler which was €30. I thought this was great value as you get four generous size tubes. I think there usually only available around Christmas time, as I remember thinking how luxurious they looked when I saw them. So far I've used Creme Brulee and Wow it smells heavenly.

This feels like quite a long post. I doubt I'll be buying any beauty products for a while now, so expect plenty of reviews soon!

Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #10 - Christmas Sales and Bits

This post has been a long time coming. I wanted to put it up before New Years but I was pretty busy so it got a bit delayed. Being sick over Christmas ment I couldn't go into the sales on Stephen's Day. I was mildly disappointed that I couldn't but there was nothing I could do so there was no point moaning. Last Thursday, I went to Boots to have a look around. To be honest I wasn't really blown away with much stuff I seen on sale. All the Christmas Gift sets were half price so after browsing for a bit, I left with these!

 

Soap & Glory Yum At Heart set 

I had seen this set before Christmas and needless to say I fell in love with it. Yum At Heart contains a full sized Hand Food and The Breakfast Scrub (my favourite). It also comes with a cute Soap & Glory apron which I think my Mom will love, so I'm going to give it to her. This set was such good value, I paid €10.75 for everything. Each product is worth more than this price so I made quite a saving.

 

Lipsy London Perfect Pamper set

This set was €6.75 down from €13.50. I would of never paid full price for this set as I don't think it would of been worth the money. All the products are minitatures that I'll get a few uses out of. I think they'd be great for my handbag and for holidays. The scent is gorgeous, very floral.

Accessorize Eau De Toilette set

I've always loved the floral scent of the Accessorize Eau De Toilette. It was €10 for the set which I couldn't really go wrong with. The set also contains a 100 ml body wash and body lotion which makes for great value.

17 Peep Show Mascara in Black
This mascara wasn't on sale but I was really intrigued to see what it's like. Peep Show contains lengthening fibres which claim to lengthen lashes aswell as adding volume. I've only used this once and so far so good I like. I'm going to pop up a review really soon.

These purchases were made better with the fact that I used my Boots Advantage points. I saved up €35 euro worth of points so I thought what better time to use them then during the sales!

I popped back into Boots to look at the perfume sets on sale and left with Vera Wang Lovestruck. I already own a bottle of this but I'm almost all out. I included Lovestruck in my favourites back in July, I  like the scent alot. The set was half price down to €24.75 so it was such a bargain.

I was disappointed that I couldn't go into the Lush Sale as I was sick. I was so happy when my parents popped into Lush when they were in town and got me all these goodies! I love Snow Fairy it has such a yummy scent. My Mom only bought me a large bottle a few weeks ago, so I'm going to keep this one for a backup for when the other runs out. Glogg is a part of the Christmas range too, I've never owned one before so I'm looking forward to trying it. Creamed Almond & Coconut Smoothie is a shower soap with a lovely vanilla scent which I enjoy using. I'm nearly all out the mini tub I got in my Seasons Greetings set so of course I was delighted with this. Last but not least another Snow Globe soap, words cannot describe how much I adore this. It's alot like Sexy Peel, even more citrusy if you could imagine. Snow Globe is just so refreshing, I wish it was available all year round. All these products are sure to last me well into 2012.

 

 

Here is some more stuff I picked up in my local pharmacy that wasn't on sale. I've heard alot of good things about both of the above Loreal products, Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara and Superliner Carbon Gloss. I also bought the Essence Circus Circus Longlasting Eyeshadow in 01 It's Magic. I thought this would look nice as a pop of colour all over my eyelid. I'm not going to go into these products too much as I want to wait and try them first. I shall let you know my thoughts soon!

I also bought a few things online (beautybay.com and Asos) last week with my Christmas money. They haven't arrived as of yet so I'll try to pop up another post when they do.

Have you grabbed any bargains during the sales?


Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #9 - Pre Christmas Debenhams Haul

After seeing online that Debenhams had 15% off Beauty & Fragrance recently, I had a little look on their website. I had most of my Christmas presents sorted so I thought I'd treat myself. I was happy to see that they accepted Laser cards which some websites don't do. I just bought two items even though I could have bought more.

Urban Decay Quinceanara Makeup Bag - €19.55

I've had my eye on the Quinceanara bag ever since it was released. Purple is my favourite colour, Amethyst is my birthstone (15th February if your wondering) so that's why I love anything purple. This makeup bag is very spacious. It fits all the products that I'd use on a daily basis, with extra room for more if needed. I think this bag would be great for travelling. If you would like to see a "What's in my Makeup bag?" post let me know in the comments below.

Origins Amazing Duos- €25.50

After hearing great reviews about this product, I've been wanting to try it for a while. Origins Vitazing Eye Cream is usually €30. When I seen that you get a coffee cup with it for the same price, of course I had to buy it. I have only tried this eyecream once so far, so I shall let you know my thoughts soon. What products from Origins should I try next?

Have you picked up any Pre-Christmas bargains?

Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #8- Lush Haul

As you know from my previous posts, I absolutely adore Lush. I like how there is such a relaxed vibe in their stores and how their staff are always super friendly. I was pretty excited to see they had their Christmas products already in store the last time I went. There is a mix of old and new products this year, it was quite nice to see some of the old festive favourites back.

Snow Globe and Angel's Delight Soap

Having bought these soaps last year, I was happy to see they were back again. Snow Globe is a favourite of mine. My mom brought it back as a gift from her Christmas trip to New York. Of course I immediately fell in love with it. Smells alot like Sexy Peel from the permanent soap range. Angel's Delight is another addition that I liked last year. It smells fruity and looks very girly. Bits of gold, silver and iridescent glitter gives it an extra festive feel.

Pow Wow Lip Scrub and Celebrate Lip Tint

Above are two new Christmas lip products I couldn't wait to try. Having loved the Bubblegum Lip Scrub, I decided to give Pow Wow a go. At first, I was put off with the green colour of this product. Yet, I'm glad I purchased this lip scrub as I love it. Still I'm not a hundred percent keen on the Celebrate lip tint. When I opened the tin at first, all I could see was little gold specks all over the surface. After further investigation, I found this was supposed to give the effect of champagne and is infact edible gold lustre and more popping candy. This stuff made the lip tint look messy. After scratching the popping candy off I loved the lip tint. It leaves my lips a gorgeous shade of light pink.

Seasons Greetings Gift Set

I like Lush gift sets as they have a variety of different products that I wouldn't  normally use. I picked up this one because it was one of few to contain all shower products. I may do a individual post for this to give you a better idea of what you get inside.

Australian Igloo Scrub

As you can see I used a picture from Lush's website...you may be thinking why?! The reason is that being the complete idiot that I am, I left this near my radiator and it broke everywhere. I still used Australian Igloo in the shower and I really liked it. Inside the scrub is a blue colour which is coconut oil, it left my skin moisturised and feeling smooth. This is a product I'd recommend trying if you already like Lush sugar scrubs. Just don't leave it beside the radiator like I did.

Lustre Body Powder
Lustre is one of the new offerings from Lush's permanent range. One of sixteen new products, this in particular caught my eye. To be honest it was a bit of a nonsense buy on my part as I don't think this is something I'd use. Lustre leaves a nice gold shimmer on the skin which isn't too much, this would be great for night outs and for Halloween to make you dazzle. I'm going to give this bottle to my sister as she loves stuff like this. Hopefully she likes Lustre as much as I did.

What do you think of the new offerings from Lush?? Does anything catch your eye??


Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #7- MAC Posh Paradise & a Lippy!

I'm in love with MAC paint pots. They can be used as a eye base or for a splash of colour all over the lid. When I seen MAC were bringing out a new collection, Posh Paradise that contained eight limited edition paint pots I had to go to my local BT2 and have a peek.

Out of the eight options I had to choose from, I left with these three beauties, Nubile, Genuine Treasure and Idyllic.

Nubile

Alot like Painterly (1st paint pot and most used) this is more peachy in colour. I would use it everyday under my eyeshadow or alone with a darker shadow in the crease. I can see this being very popular indeed.

Genuine Treasure

Not like any paint pot I've ever seen before. In my opinion it's the stand out of the collection. It's the only paint pot I've seen that contains glitter. The feel of the product is gritty which I'm sure won't be some peoples cup of tea. This is definitely going to be a sell-out and if you only want one from the collection it should be this.

Idyllic

I also fell in love with this lovely burgundy shade. A gorgeous colour for all over the lid I think. I can tell it's going to be used alot over the winter months ahead.

I picked up this lipstick from the Seasonally Supreme Lipstick collection. Supreme Style is a beautiful coral/pinky shade. Definitely a my lips but better shade. Being so wearable I can see myself wearing it everyday. The packaging also looks very sleek and fancy. I adore it.


What do you fancy out of these new collections? Don't the paint pots look fab?
Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #6- Dublin Airport +Sephora

When I was in Dublin Airport heading for Barcelona I had a few things in mind that I wanted to get in Duty Free. I try to make a little list before my holidays as I find the prices are much better there. Dublin Airport have a system, Shop & Collect were you can pick up your purchases when you get pack from holidays. I used this service as with my carry on luggage I didn't have much space.

These are the Duty Free products I purchased....

MAC Studio Careblend/Pressed Powder in Medium
MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque
MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

Yves Saint Laurent Travel Selection 'All For Eyes'
 contains
Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils
Touche Eclat
Mini Eye Makeup Remover

 At the start of La Rambla in Barcelona I spotted a Sephora. I've never been to one and I have to admit I was blown away by all the makeup. I heard the stores in America are bigger and better so I'll have to visit one the next time I'm there.
Almost all the products I purchased are from Sephora's own brand and one is from Bourjois.

Bourjois Smile Enhancing Gloss in Rose Bright

Sephora Purse Spray in Pineapple Grenadine
Sephora Sun Disk Bronzing Powder in Light
Sephora Lip Atitude Lipstick in Rosy Mad (not pictured)

Sephora MoonshadowTrio in Sunbaked

Sephora 4 Shadows and Liner Palette in Almost Nude

Sephora Long Lasting Eyeshadow in Carine (Hollysayshey on YouTube recommended this eyeshadow to me and I love it.)

On the last day of our trip my boyfriend surprised me with these lovely gifts. I was surprised to see 'The Body Shop' was in Barcelona.

Yves Rocher Yellow Peach Eau De Toilette 
Yves Rocher Vanilla Nourishing Lip Balm
The Body Shop 100% Natural Lip Roll On in Orange


I've never heard of the brand Yves Rocher. I love these two products, the lipbalm is amazing and smells gorgeous.

I haven't used much of these products yet but I'll let you know my thoughts on them soon.


Is there any products you'd like to see a review on??

Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #5- Collective Haul

As you all know I'm going to Barcelona in a little bit over a month. I have to say I'm very excited about going. After hearing loads of your tales about Barcelona, from shopping to must see places, I can't wait til September finally arrives. Going on holidays always means that I have to commence a shopping ban almost immediately. Which means I won't have a 'A Shopaholic's Journey' post until the middle of September. I'm sure I'll buy lots in Barcelona so there will be a post as soon as I come back. I've heard Sephora is in Barcelona so I'm super excited about going there as it seems like makeup heaven!! If there is any Sephora brand products you recommend...leave a comment below. I would love know your fave products from Sephora.

So this post as you probably guessed from the title is going to be a collective haul. It's going to feature some bits and bobs I picked up in the last few weeks. Before I realised I was going on holidays.

Let's get started!!

The Body Shop celebrated it's 30th Anniversary and for 2 days they had 30% off all products. I went in to have a mooch around and I came out with two products.

Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder

This product has become quite a cult product for The Body Shop. It has such a big fan base among beauty bloggers. Of course I had to see what all the fuss was about. I bought my bronzing powder in shade 03 which is medium matte. I really like this product so far for contouring and to add a nice subtle glow. I would love to get more stuff from this collection. What products have you used from Honey Bronze?

Illuminating Face Base 

I had my eye on this product for a while. The packaging was designed by students at the University of Arts London and London College of Fashion. I have to say I really like the design they came up with. It's something different than what The Body Shop has come out with before. I sadly haven't used this product yet. The sales assistant told me it's good to use as a highlighter and leaves the skin looking radiant. I'm really looking forward to putting this product to the test.

I love getting bargains as much as the next person. When I see special offers I usually take advantage of them as sometimes they can be too good to be missed. I love finding affordable brands. Sometimes I feel people look over these as they don't think there as good as top end brands. This is usually not the case, I sometimes find certain products to be better. 

Catrice Crystal Clear Gloss Stick in Tigerlily and Bird Of Paradise

The two products above cost €8.50. I know amazing,eh?? They are so lovely and not drying in the slightest.  They leave your lips with a lovely sheer colour as they are tinted gloss sticks. These two products are a part of Catrice's latest collect, Papagena and are limited edition. Get them while you can.

Neutrogena Multi-Defence Gentle Purifying Wipes.

This is my second pack of these wipes. They are from Neutrogena's Multi-Defence range which was made to protect your skin against different environmental elements. They remove my makeup without leaving my face dry like some wipes have been known to do. Multi-Defence Gentle Purifying wipes are for all skin types and include 25 wipes.

Garnier 2-in-1 Tinted Eye Roll-On 

This product has been mentioned alot around the blogosphere and I've heard good things. I bought mine in the shade for fair skin tones. There are 2 shades to choose from. As well as reducing the look of fatigue this roll-on can also be used as an under eye concealer. This product was on a special offer so instead of paying €14.99, I only had to fork out €7.50. Bargain!

Gosh Velvet Touch Line Perfector Primer
I recently ran out of my much love Lancome La Base Pro. I bought this as it was a fairly reasonable price at €10.99. I always have to use a primer. I have oily skin so my makeup would slide off without it. I will let you know my thoughts when I've used it for a while.

Rimmel Vinyl Max  Lipgloss in Excess
This was such good value at €3.75. I've never used Rimmel lipgloss. The wand is huge, they are the same size as the MAC Wonder Woman lipglosses. Definitely worth trying out!

Essence Gel Liner in Midnight in Paris
Again a product I've hard such good things about. I've been using this gel liner alot. It is as good as any higher end liner in my opinion. It's also as cheap as chips.

As I'm going away in a little less the month. I have started to pick up some travel size products. I don't like leaving things til the last minute so I've started to get some bits now just to be prepared. I bought the following products in Boots as they have such a good range of travel sizes.

• Toni & Guy Straight & Protect Shampoo
• Toni & Guy Straight & Protect Conditioner
• Toni & Guy Iron-It Heat Defence Spray

 

• Soap & Glory Scrub 'Em And Leave 'Em Body Buff
• Soap & Glory The Daily Smooth Body Butter

I haven't tried any of the mini products above as I'm keeping them up for my holidays. I will let you know how I get on with them when I get back. That brings me to the end of my haul post. I hope you girls enjoyed it.

Have you used any the products mentioned?? How did you find them??

Laura<3

A Shopaholic's Journey #4- Hollister,Stila and more!!

As most of you know Hollister opened in Dundrum Town Centre on Friday. As I live near enough I decided to pop down to have a look. Having been to Hollister in Manchester's Trafford Centre, I knew what to expect. When I was in Dundrum in the morning the queue at the entrance was massive. Luckily, when I went in later that day I just walked in. When you've been to Hollister I think you've been to them all as they have the same interior. If you haven't been I think you'll really like it as it something different. I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else.

As I'm not getting paid til the end of the month. I didn't go too mad as it's on the expensive side.

While I was there I did pick up these...

 L2R-Laguna Beach Body Mist & Laguna Beach Body Lotion

The above products retailed for one for €12 or two for €18. As it was better value I got the two. I love the smell of Laguna Beach it's really fresh and has a really nice peach scent. I'm doing my room up soon so I think the packaging is so pretty and it would look so nice on display.

After Hollister, I went into McCabes pharmacy. They are stocking NYC cosmetics now so of course I had to pop in and have a look. Typical me, I came out with this lot.

Top Picture-NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Face Powder, NYC Colour Mosiac Eye Powder in Pink Cadillac, NYC Lippin' Large Lip Plumper in Peach

Bottom Picture- Essence Gel Liner in London Baby, Essence Stay with me longlasting lipgloss in Me & My Ice Cream

I haven't owned anything from either brand before. They are so inexpensive and such bargains. I've heard such good things about both ranges so I  can't wait to try everything out.

Last weekend, I went to Boots in Liffey Valley. I was told by a few bloggers that Stila was opening a stand instore. I own no Stila products so I decided to pop in and have a look.

Firstly WOW this Boots is massive and bigger than any I've ever seen (Mags! you were right it's huge ) I immediately went looking for the Stila stand. After looking over it for a while I came away with these two products.

L2R- Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten, Stila 'Living the Life in Laguna' beach palette

I live a good bit away from Liffey Valley and I probably won't be back there for a while. I've seen so many brands there that aren't in my local boots. One of the things I seen was the Bourjeois Delica de Soleil Bronzing Powder. I've seen this in my own Boots but they have it in the darker shade. I couldn't buy it at the time as it was too dark on me. When I seen the lighter shade I snatched it up along with these other goodies....

L2R- Orly Nail polish in Rage & It's Up To Blue, Max Factor Liquid Effect Eye Pencil in Brown Blaze, Bourjeois Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder in  shade 12

That comes to the end of another Shopaholic's Jounrney. I hope you enjoyed it!!:D

 Have you tried any of the products above?? Let me know your thoughts!

Laura<3