Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

As I mentioned in my Sephora Favorites Box Set Haul - Part 1 post , I love the Sephora box sets as they are such good value.  Here's the other boxes that my sister and I bought: Sun Safety Kit - Cost $27 (Value $103) This has loads of great deluxe size samples that will come in very handy and the best thing is that Sephora will donate $17 from the sale of this kit to the Skin Cancer Foundation.   The box includes the following products: Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF50 - 15ml Supergoop Setting Mist With Rosemary SPF50 - 15ml Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF15 - 2.2g Algenist Sublime Defense Anti-Aging Blurring Moisturizer SPF30 - 7ml Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield SPF30 - 5ml Tarte Tarteguard 30 SPF30 - 7ml St Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower - 50ml Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion SPF30 - 15ml Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Multi Rejuvenating Cream SPF30 - 7ml Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Li...

I had heard about Mario Badescu Skin Care products, but I had never bought anything from the range.   When I had the opportunity to visit an Ulta store in the US (you can read about my Ulta Haul here ), I thought that I would buy some products from the Mario Badescu range.  I did not have any plans as to what I wanted to buy, I decided to check out the range in store and see what caught my eye. In the end, I mostly bought products to sort out a problem with my skin while I was on holiday.  I had gone to one of Disney’s swimming parks (Typhoon Lagoon) and managed to forget to reapply sun cream during my visit.  Whilst I didn’t end up with a red face, the lower half of my face became very dry and started peeling which wasn’t an attractive look.  I didn’t take any moisturiser with me for sensitive skin and the oils and serums and creams that I did take with me made my very sensitive skin sting and go bright red.  In the end I picked up 2 products from Mar...

I love Sephora and it's usually the highlight of any shopping trip to the States. What I love the most is the Sephora Favorites Box Sets, as they are really good value.  I went on holiday to Florida in May with my sister and we bought loads of box sets between us, so we can take advantage of the amazing value and share out the goodies between us.  It's a great way of trying out loads of expensive products without breaking the bank.  I was especially impressed with the box sets that were available in the Sephora store that was in JC Penneys at Florida Mall as they had quite a few box sets which were exclusive to JCPenneys. Here's what I bought (along with my sister): Power of the Petal - Skincare powered by Plants, Fruits and Flowers - Cost $38 (Value $100). This box included the following products: Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil 13ml Caudalie Premier Cru The Eye Cream - 7ml Fresh Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask - 20ml L'Occitane Pivoine Sublime Skin Per...

I thought I would do a quick post on the products I've used up over the last few months.  I am back on my spending ban for a couple of months so it's giving me the chance to shop my stash as they say. Schwarzkopf Q10 Plus BC Bonacure Hairtherapy Time Restore Satin Spray - I didn't notice any real benefit from using this product so not one I would repurchase. St Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Tanning Lotion - I like the idea of this product but it didn't work at all so definitely wouldn't repurchase. Percy & Reed No Oil Oil for Thick Hair - This is a nice enough serum, but I probably would not chose it over my favourite Frizz Ease serum. The Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist - Japanese Cherry Blossom is one of my favourite fragrances and I love this version by The Body Shop as it's a light floral fragrance that's great for summer.  I would definitely repurchase this although as usual I have to use up all my other body sprays first ...

Thankfully NYX Cosmetics are now available in my local Boots branch in Leeds, but it was not as easily available prior to my Holiday in May, so I was happy to pick up some NYX Cosmetic products on my recent trip to Orlando.  I visited an Ulta Beauty store and here's what I bought. NYX Lip Primer in Nude ($6.99) - This is a clear balm in pencil form that is very easy to use and primes your lips prior to applying lip products.  I use it before liquid lipsticks as I have quite dry lips and it works really well, to keep the product from drying out my lips and stopping it from looking patchy. NYX Eye Shadow Base in Skin Tone ($6.99) - This is a creamy concealer like product. I applied it with a brush on my eyelids and also used it as a concealer under my eyes and I found that it brightens the dark areas under my eyes and does not cake and crease.  I have applied powder eyeshadow and cream eyeshadow over this base and it definitely enhanced the staying power of both ...

I have wanted to visit an Ulta Beauty store for ages, but have never come across one on my travels to America.  I recently visited Orlando and was happy to find out that there was an Ulta store within walking distance of Mall @ Millenia, so I made plans to include it in one of my shopping days away from the theme parks. There were a few brands that I wanted to check out in Ulta - NYX, Mario Badescu Skincare and Shea Moisture.  I spent the better part of an hour browsing the store which is good, because while I was in there the heavens opened up and the rain was so heavy that there was no way I could walk back to Mall @ Millenia without getting soaked.  Luckily there were lots of great brands to check out.  Here's what I bought in Ulta. I had heard about Mario Badescu Skincare, but had never come across any products.  They are all reasonably priced so I bought the Facial Spray with Aloe Herbs and Rosewater ($7), Silver Powder ($12) and Kerotoplast Crea...