A Little Shopping Trip...

Bareminerals Foundation sample / Topshop Lipstick in Whimsical / Silver necklace from H&M / Purse from Primark

For those of you which live in the UK you can take advantage of a Bareminerals foundation sample at your local beauty counter using this voucher - I've always wanted to try the pressed version of the infamous formula and so opted for their Ready Foundation with SPF. They only have select colours available for samples but with this product you will be a darker shade than expected. Any foundation with SPF in it applies lighter on the skin and it is this which gives you that white face when snapped with flash. So, don't be alarmed if they are saying you are a certain colour which looks nothing like your skin in the palette. But I have yet to try this sample, which comes with a cute little application brush, mind you I think I'll be at it all day with something that size. Apparently you need specific brushes to apply this product to get the best results so I am wondering whether my RealTechniques Buffing Brush would work... I'll do more research on that. I have seen great things from this foundation when crawling the internet and love how natural it looks on the skin. Plus it seems quick and effortless to apply. So, I will be getting back to you on that front. 

I have some great lipsticks from Topshop and think their prices are really reasonable. So, at £8 I saw Whimsical and thought that nudey, pinky, coraly colour would be welcomed into my lipwear family. You see I have ran out of my nudes and as I have been wearing eyeshadow a lot more of late thanks to the Naked 3 palette I needed a subtle colour to go with dark eyes. I thought this lipstick looked like a nice in-between of subtlety without washing me out. But when I got home I impatiently rubbed my red lipstick off which had made me lips quiet dry and applied this one. I pretty much loathed the look. It emphasised all my dry areas and sat in my creases. It did that thing where it sits around the line of the mouth making you look like you are wearing lip-liner and the rest of your lipstick is wearing off. It also has a neon quality to it. I was wearing fake tan and thought the whiteness in the product did not go with dark skin - it just contrasts too much. But I wasn't about to give up. I treated my lips for its dryness and then tried applying it over another nude colour to give it a base. Thank goodness the results were much better! But I don't want to have to waste another lipstick by putting it underneath this one all the time. So, I think I need to invest in a matching lip liner to coat my entire lips beforehand. This morning my lips are in much better condition and will a delicate application the effect is much better and more desirable. I do like the colour when applied subtly or over another shade so I think I need to experiment some more with this one. But if you have lighter skin or lips which are not dry then this would look gorgeous on you!

The other bits and bobs is a nice plain silver necklace from H&M which looks great with string tops or jumpers and a patent nude purse from Primark. Something aesthetically I like but as a purse it doesn't really work. The material makes it really hard to open and close and the slots for your cards obviously have no quality control because they aren't all big enough to actually fit cards in! Just goes to show you that a bargain isn't always the way to go. But I'm not one for wasting money so will still be using this. Look out for my post tomorrow with a much more favourable Primark item that I am absolutely loving!