The Lo Down - NYX Custom Pro Palette

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I like finding nice and affordable eyeshadow palettes, sometimes it's almost impossible to afford the more highend alternative. I recently saw the NYX Cusom Pro palette as my friend Megan had bought one so I had to pick one up myself and I'm so glad I did. I got mine on the Boots.ie website and I always find that the service is really good whenever I've used it anyways.

I purchased the shade J'adore and Sex Kitten which are two beautiful neutral shadows that I really like. Don't you know I always go for neutral shadows I wouldn't wear anything different. This palette doesn't contain a mirror which doesn't really bother me but I wish they had the shade names on the bottom of the shadow itself, there's none to be seen though. Both eyeshadows are very pigmented and I love them alot. I've been using them quite a bit to achieve a simple eye look and the looks always turn out really nice I might purchase a darker shade the next time I make a purchase online which will probably be sooner than you think.

The palette itself costs €5 and then each individual eyeshadow costs €5 which isn't too bad at all when you consider highend palettes. I've been really impressed with this palette and I'm definitely going to pick up another one soon as there are so many shadows that I want.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - Boots Haul

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I love a good Boots haul so I do. I recently told you guys how quick and easy it is to buy products from their website. You can get the products sent you your home or to your local store. It's that simple, I purchased three products on Saturday and opted to get them sent to my local store Dundrum and to my surprise they arrived yesterday, such wonderful service I have to give it to them.

I ordered two Sleek products, their colour corrector palette and their Cleopatra's Kiss highlighter palette plus I bought a Aveeno daily body lotion. The latter is a lovely product, it's a daily body lotion that I bought for my elbows as I'm getting really bad eczema by the looks of things from stress. I hope this stuff works as it seems pretty good, it was inexpensive aswell. The two Sleek palettes dont need no introduction they've been doing the rounds lately on lots of blogs and YouTube channels. They look amazing and they weren't too pricey either. Boots are currently doing a buy one get one half price. So I payed in and around €14 for the highlighters and paid €4 for the colour corrector which was a steal, definitely the best price I seen these products at.

There's definitely going to be some reviews on these products once I give them a go so keep an eye out for them.

Have you tried these products? What did you think?

Laura<3

Real Techniques Roadshow!

Yesterday I met none other than the Pixiwoo sisters (queue fan girl moment), Sam and Nic. Anyone who looks at YouTube beauty videos will know these two well known beauty gurus. They were in Dublin's Boots in Jervis street for their much anticipated Real Techniques Road Show. The girls are a real success story and just shows the power of social media. I've always been a huge fan of the girls and really enjoy watching their beauty tutorials as who doesn't want to look like their fave celeb. I know I've gotten quite a few tips and tricks from their videos that's for sure.

I headed for a ramble around town with my Dad and popped into the Jervis centre to see the girls. I absolutely loved Nic's outfit, I definitely need to find out where she got it from. Of course I left my old Dad a little on the embarrassed side as I dragged him into the photo with me. I picked up the Real Techniques Retractable lip brush and makeup sponge on the day as I know I'll get plenty of use out of both items. As I picked up makeup brush on the day I was eligible to the free gift they were giving out on the day which was there amazing buffing brush. I have to say it is my go to makeup brush and I use it to apply my makeup everyday.

I can't wait to pick up Nic's makeup brush kit when it launches in October, it can't come quick enough.

Did anyone of you go to the Real Techniques Roadshow?

Laura<3

Boots & Disney Haul!

I've been trying to be good this month and save a little more than usual. I'm going to London in two months time, I haven't booked my flights yet so I have to get cracking on that. I did make a couple of small purchases in Boots as they had their fabulous 3 for 2 on, it would be rude not to in my opinion. I didn't go to crazy I bought things I knew I would use and some other bits that I'd heard a lot of good things about.

I picked up three Revlon products, two of their ColorStay Ultimate Suede lipsticks and a lip butter. From the Ultimate Suede range I got two of the darker shades available, Trendsetter and  Backstage. Not what I'd usually go for but I'm going to try and make them work. They have such a good range of shades to choose from, I seriously just wanted something different and out of my comfort zone. I've used these a couple of times already and boy they do not budge! On the other side of thing I picked up a really wearable lip butter shade, Juicy Papaya to fall back on if things don't work out with the Ultimate Suedes. It's a peachy colour that I know I can pull off.

I also picked up three Loreal skincare products that were on special. I'd never seen these before on my recent trips to Boots so I was intrigues to see what they were like. So far I've tried the cleansing oil and micellar solution. I'm not too keen on the latter but I'm absolutely loving the oil for removing my makeup at night. With my Boots Advantage Card points I picked up the new Garnier 5 Sec Prefect Blur Smoothing Perfecting Primer. This product has just launched over here during the week and I'm really excited to try it. I'm all for wearing a primer under my makeup as I definitely feel that it holds my makeup in place for much longer. I haven't heard much about this product yet so I'm looking forward to giving it a go.

I'm a bit of obsessed with Disney mugs, I have quite a lot of them. When I seen this OZ mug I couldn't leave it behind. Just look at it, it's amazing! If you haven't watched the movie already I'd recommend going to see it, James Franco is the leading man you seriously couldn't ask for more. I absolutely loved it, one of my favourite movies (after Les Miserables) so far this year. When I was at the till buying this mug the lovely sales assistant told me I could get a Finding Nemo towel for an additional €9.90 on promotion. How could I say no? It's another movie I love and the towel is super soft too! Sorry I didn't include it in the picture above, it's huge and I doubt I would of gotten a decent picture anyway.

Lastly I bought a book in Dubray Books. I haven't read many Jenny Colgan books so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into this. I love the cover art it's so pretty, I also like how there's lots of yummy recipes at the back of the book to enjoy. Who knows they may get featured in one of my future Baking Sundays posts.

Have you treated yourself to anything nice lately?

Laura<3

A Little Help from my Loyalty Cards

My purse is literally bursting with Reward cards for different stores. It's ridiculous as some of them I don't even use, if a store assistant asks me to sign up I always end up saying yes. I just don't think I'll ever find a purse big enough to fit them all in. On the plus side the ones I tend to use like Easons, Debenhams House of Fraser, Boots, and Arnotts, always give great rewards back. Like a lot of people I do tend to forget about using my card which can be a nuisance when they can't put the points back on in store, does this happen to anyone else? I think this problem will be solved if I clean out my purse and dump the cards I never use. My favourite loyalty scheme of the bunch is Boots, sometimes they have great offers on e.g. Double Points so I've gotten quite a few goodies in the past when I build up all the points. When I was in town last week I popped into Debenhams and Easons as I knew I had rewards to spend on both cards. In the latter I picked up the latest addition of Allure magazine. This is the third issue that I've purchased so far and I really love this magazine. It's full to the brim of new beauty news and must haves, essential for any blogger. This doesn't come cheap and rings in at €6.61, probably the most expensive magazine I've bought but there's a lot a reading plus it's not full of ads like some tend to be. The gorgeous Mila Kunis is on the front of this month's issue and WOW she looks absolutely stunning. In Debenhams I picked up Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray in the new handy travel size bottle. I've tried this setting spray before and I love it, it keeps my makeup looking fresh and also helps it stay in place. Debenhams had a instore promotional event last week were there was 10% of beauty/fragrances which is always a good time to pop into their store. Along with the 10% discount, I also had €5 on my BeautyClub so I ended up paying €5.80 for this product instead of €12. Looking back I do wish I had of bought the full sized bottle as I don't think I'll get too long out of this one but the funds wouldn't stretch that far. I think this will be good for travel purposes though, when I finish this bottle I can hang on to it and fill it up again.

All in all I was pretty delighted with these two purchases, I got both for a little under €9 which is great when you compare it with €19.61. I've been pretty much broke for the entire month with saving for New York so it was nice to be able to pick up these goodies. It may not of been possible without the help of my trusty loyalty cards.

Are you like me? Do you have a ridiculous amount of loyalty cards spilling out of your purse?

Laura<3

My January Sales Purchases & Other Bits

I've made quite a few purchases over the past few weeks, most of the bits I picked up were on offer which was a definite plus for me. Instead of doing one small haul post I decided to do a collective one, I by no means picked these up all at once that's for certain. My bank account always runs low around this time of year and the end of January can't come quick enough for me. Once Christmas has come and gone, the Sales is the next big event that the majority of people, myself included have great interest in. My Christmas seemed to be so short this year as I was back into work on Stephen's Day so I wasn't up at the crack of dawn to join the end of a monster queue to get my first Sales bits.. I saw the giant line outside Next at 8am and it wasn't pretty let me tell you. I'm glad I wasn't a part of it, I know I probably would of preferred to be at home in bed at that time. I've never went into the Sales really early, fighting over a discounted dress or heavily reduced bag wouldn't be something I'd call fun and isn't something I'd ever want to do. If there's nothing there when I finally get down to the Centre after a good lie in then it wasn't meant to be. I headed into Boots and House of Fraser after I finished work at 1pm and I was surprised at the amount of stock that was left. It certainly shows that online shopping is taking over, who in there right mind would go to a shop the day after Christmas when they can do it in the comfort of their own home. Spending wise I was good this year and bought stuff I really wanted and that I knew I would use in the long run. To be honest I'd buy stuff regardless of if it's in the Sale.

The majority of goodies I bought are of the Beauty variety,  I found most of my purchases in Boots and House of Fraser, a few bits were picked up in other shops which will be mentioned below. I found this year that alot of my Sales finds were put on the shelves in early January, I could be wrong but that's when I spotted them. I did pick up some new bits from Soap & Glory that were full price but I heard such amazing things about all three products so I couldn't leave them behind. They all smell amazing so if your anywhere near a Boots I'd definitely recommend you go give them a sniff. It wouldn't be the Sales without going into the Lush and picking up a couple of shower gels. I got three, Twilight, Snow Fairy and Ponche. They all smell amazing and I know this lot will last me ages. I also sneakily purchased the much talked about MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish. I tried this at my local MAC counter in BT2 Dundrum and I did think it was nice at the time, what I didn't like is the hefty price tag of €28.50. Rip off, I think so and I know alot of people will agree with me too. It's disappointing as I really love MAC as a brand but the prices are awful. I'm not going to rant and rave too much about it as I'm still going to remain a loyal customer but I do think they should look into this.

Here are some of my big bargain of the Sales, first up is one of YSL's Rouge Volupte lipsticks. These retail for around the €32 mark and I got this for €18, which was a bargain that I couldn't let slip by. The shade is Frivolous Pink which is a fun pink shade, I thought it would be a bit too bright for my liking but I'll make it work. I've decided for 2013 that I should be a bit more daring when it comes to lipstick choices, until I'm brave enough I'll be patting this down with some tissue. I picked up this Bliss Fabulips set, it was more than half price at €25.50. I wanted to try this for a while but I'd never fork out the whole €57.50 for it. Bliss products and I have a love/hate relationship, some of their stuff I've tried have been a real disappointment and just plain rubbish. One of their products I absolutely hated was their Lid & Lash Wash, you can see a review I did on that here. I bought this thinking it was going to be an amazing eye makeup remover, turns out it was pretty awful. I have to hand it to them their body butters are gorgeous, my favourite product of theres. In this lip product set you get a cleanser, scrub, plumper and balm, so far I've only tried the balm which I was very impressed with. I'll definitely put up a full review post on this when I've tried the other three products. I also was surprised to see these two fragrance sets still on the shelf when I popped into the store. Both were half price which was such a steal as they are gorgeous fragrance that come in decent sized bottles. There scents that I could happily use all year round so they'll be used for sure. In the Ralph Lauren set you get a body lotion while in the Marc Jacobs Daisy 50ml set you get a shower gel and body lotion. I've always wanted the latter fragrance for a long time but I could never justify the price, I'm glad I could finally pick one up for myself. At €30 each, these two sets were definitely worth every penny. Here are two other bits I picked up in the Sale which I fell in love with. The vintage inspired floral mirror in between the two fragrance is from Boots, It was half price which I couldn't say no to. I think this will look really nice in my room when I have it all nice and tidy. The little pink Minnie Mouse makeup bag is from Boots aswell and it's so pretty. It's a great size too, so I'll definitely be carting this around with me.

A New year couldn't go buy without me picking up a 2013 diary. I always wait and buy mine after Christmas as they are always heavily discounted by then. I got this pretty diary in the Calendar Club and it was 40% of the marked price. Purple is my favourite colour so when I saw this I had to buy it. I also picked up this two puzzle books that were on special aswell. They are called Posh Puzzles, I thought they'd be good to have for travelling and the like. It has to be said I am a bot of a nerd and I love doing wordsearches and kriss krosses, but a a crossword in a front of me and I would probably throw it back at you. I couldn't do one to save my life. I probably wouldn't of bought them if they weren't reduced as they were €9 originally which I felt was a bit overpriced for a small puzzle book. After I bought these I picked up this gorgeous Paperchase lined notebook. It has a nice soft cover and again the design had me with this one, it was also €4 in the Sale need I say more. I thought this would be great for writing down some of my blog ideas which I have a few of so far. If you guys have anything you'd like to see covered on my blog definitely let me know as I would love hear your ideas. Last year I had a numerous different notebooks for blogging but this year I just want to stick to the one, I definitely need to add this to my goals. I always see pretty jotters and I end up buying them which results in me never filling up just the one. I know it is indeed a complete and utter waste so I'm hopefully going to stick with this one for most of the year. Until I fill it up anyway that's for sure.

Today is going to spent finishing off my assignment for college. I can't wait to get this done and dusted. Saying that I have another due at the end of February which I'm going to be even more stressed out about. Yesterday I went to see Les Miserables with Paddy in town. Wow I really enjoyed this movie, I'm going to put up a post tomorrow with all my thoughts on it.

Did you pick up any good bargains in the Sales this year?

Laura<3

Collective Haul - Boots, Urban Decay, Michael Kors

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past month, I've just been bogged down with work and college. I hardly have time to think nowadays at all, hopefully I get some spare time soon to get back to blogging. I thought I'd show you guys some of the bits and pieces I've bought over the past while. I'm considering just doing Collective Haul posts in the future as I think it's better than doing numerous ones throughout the month. At least this way and give you guys some feedback on how I like everything.

I spotted these candle holders in Carraig Donn and I fell in love with them straight away. I'm forever picking up bits and bobs so I thought these would look great in my room. They weren't too expensive at €4 each so I'm really happy with them, the colours are perfect for this time of year. I haven't been using these for candles though, I've been using them to store my makeup brushes, lipglosses and whatnot.

As you all know I love Urban Decay Decay palettes, I have quite a few. The Smoked and Naked 2 palette would be my favourites. To be honest when I first seen the Vice Palette online I wasn't too blown away. When I went it store to have a look though it was a totally different story. The Vice  Palette contains twenty shadows that are exclusive to this palette. The majority of shades in the palette are neutral with a pink, purple, blue and greens thrown in. I like how there is a bit of a mixture though, for this time of the year especially you don't want to be rushing out to pick up one pink shadow for a fancy dress. All the eyeshadow are extremely pigmented in this palette, I haven't been having any problems with fallout like with previously palettes. My favourite shadows so far would be Provocateur, Jagged and Muse. I've been using the latter in the crease with Provocateur as the base and it looks so pretty.

I went to Boots on two seperate occasions as they have their amazing 3 for 2 on makeup offer on. I bought quite a bit both times as you can see, there are still some bits I haven't got around to trying yet. I've tried all three foundations I bought and I can't say I think too highly of the Max Factor All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation, it's so thick and doesn't sit on my skin too well. The shade I went for doesn't match my skin tone either so just a bad purchase by all accounts. I may give this to my Sister as she may like it more than me who knows, I just don't want it to go to waste as I paid like €16.99 for it which is shocking. I'm undecided on Maybelline's Superstay 24hr foundation, so I'll keep you updated on that on but my favourite foundation by far was Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation. It has such a lovely formula and blends beautifully into my skin leaving a glowy finish. If like me you have oily/combination skin just add a bit of powder I use Rimmel's Stay Matte powder which is great and affordable. I picked up an assortment of nail polishes from Barry M and Rimmel which I've been loving lately. My two favourite polishes would have to be the Barry M glitter and sparkle ones, there so pretty but a nightmare to get off.  Other purchases I made that are definitely worth the money are the Loreal Colour Riche eyeshadow palettes. I picked up three as the 3 for 2 promotion meant I'd get one for free and I'm so glad I did. I haven't seen too many reviews on these around the blogosphere but they are so pigmented and I've been using them alot so expect a review very soon.

Over the last while I've wanted to treat myself to something for doing so well with Slimming World. I didn't want to buy another makeup palette or expensive beauty products as they'd come and go like everything else. I wanted to have something that would stay with me forever so I decided to splurge on a Michael Kors Rose Gold watch. I was undecided between the diamond and plain face but I finally went with the latter as I thought it would go with way more. I was definitely right, this watch has not left my wrist since I bought it over three weeks ago, it works really well with everything and I couldn't be happier with it. I may start doing fashion posts soon as it's something I've wanted to do for a while now so I'd love to know what you guys think.

Have you treated yourself to anything nice lately?

Laura<3

Fearne Cottons Favourites Hatbox

Last week seen the unveiling of the second Star Gift from Boots which was Fearne's Favourites Hatbox. I love seeing what gift set is on offer as the selection of Christmas goodies this year in Boots is amazing. I always pick up their Soap & Glory sets as all the products come beautifully packaged and make great Christmas presents. I wasn't planning on buying Fearne's Favourites Hat Box last week, I came home from work to find that my Mom had bought it for me. I'm glad she did, it was a wonderful surprise and I probably may not of picked it up myself otherwise as I'm so broke til payday!

Usually €47.00, last week this beautiful set was on special for €22 which is slightely over half price and such amazing value for what you get. First off if you don't know who Fearne Cotton is she's a very popular TV and Radion presenter from England. She has her own clothing line which has some beautiful pieces that I've had my eye on recently. Every year in Boots at Christmas, they bring out a Fearne Cotton Beauty Collection. I haven't tried anything of hers before as I've always been drawn in by Soap & Glory and Ted Baker so I'm glad my Mom picked this up for me.

You may be wondering what's inside this hatbox, there's quite an assortment of products to tickle your fancy.  I've start off with the two makeup products, a mascara and eyeshadow palette. You can buy the latter individually on its own in Boots for €10.50, so if you managed to get this set for €22 you've made good savings. The palette itself wouldn't be my favourite item from this set, two of the siz shades (olive green shades in particular) wouldn't be what I'd usually go for. Maybe they'll grow on me, I think for this time of the year you could incorporate them into any look. The packaging for this palette is gorgeous too so I wouldn't mind pulling this out of my makeup bag either.I was pleasantly surprised by the mascara, I wasn't expecting anything amazing from it. It doesn't clump which is rare for mascaras from gift sets, I hardly ever use them. It leaves my eyelashes seperated and natural with maybe a added bit of volume The rest of the goodies consist of  full sized body products e.g body wash, body polish, hand lotion etc. which all have a gorgeous light musky vanilla scent. As you can see all the products come in beautiful matching packaging, I absolutely love the design. I think these products would look good in any bathroom or bedside table. I can't wait to start using them all myself, I have already popped the body spritzer and hand lotion in my bag. I'm going to keep the hatbox for storage as it's just too pretty to throw away I think. The drawstring bag will also come in handy, when I travel I'll probably use it for toiletries. I really like this set and though I didn't pay the full €47 for it, thats the joys of Boots Star Gift as you may purchase something you wouldn't usually go for as the offers are just so good.

What do you think of the Boots Star Buys so far? Do you have your eye on anything?

Laura<3

No7's New Makeover

When I was shopping in Boots, I noticed that the No7 stand had gone under a bit of a makeover. It looks really nice and certainly makes the most of the space they have in the store as it seems that little bit more spacious. The stand isn't the only thing that has had a facelift, the product packaging has had a transformation too. Gone is the old and dated, the new packaging is gorgeous and modern which was a much needed change. It will also appeal to alot more people as it is certainly eyecatching. They've brought out new shades in their single eyeshadows and gorgeous new quads. I picked up the shade Beach Shine, a gorgeous light neutral colour that would look nice all over the lid. I certainly have my eye on a few other shades as they are very pretty indeed and the colour range is great too. The High Shine Lipglosses now come with sponge applicators too, on the other hand I don't like these too much. There's a great colour range but the applicator doesn't pick up the product too well so you have to poking around in the tube to get the amount needed. Other bits that stood out for me were the lipsticks and the nail polishes, they all have new packaging and the range seems much bigger now, so I can't wait to try these too. The No7 vouchers have been released again but this time with a twist. There's €4 off makeup products and €6.50 off skincare which is a bit of a difference from the usual €7.50 off. I'm miss that bigger discount alot as it was so handy and you got to buy eyeshadows for only €2.

What do you think of No7's revamp? Has anything caught your eye?

Laura<3

Essie Nail Polishes Now Available At Boots

When I popped into Boots in Jervis St before an event on Wednesday, I was surprised to see a Essie stand. This brand was always near impossible to come across in Ireland.  I would always have to order a couple of polishes off the Beauty Bay website. Boots have a great selection, not the full range  but still some lovely shades to choose from. The layout of the stand is great as all the neutrals, blues, greens etc. are paired together which makes for easy browsing.

I bought a polish, Fiji which I adore. I got so many comments in work about it, everyone seemed to be a fan of the shade. The only thing I don't like about the polishes is the ridiculously steep price tag of €12.99. In the States you can get these for around the $8/$9 mark which converts back to less than €7. I don't understand how it's worked out at double the price here to be honest, even on Beauty Bay they cost €10.20. The nail polishes are good quality, so I'd consider buying some again but I still can't get over the price.   

What's your favourite Essie polish? Would you like to see a NOTD using Fiji? 

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

Lynx for Women?!

While I was watching the TV the other day, a Lynx ad came on showing off their new fragrance. At the end I was surprised to hear them say "Attract for Him and for Her". Lynx couldn't possibly be bringing out a deodorant could they? Yes they have gone and done just that.

On Tuesday I was in Boots and I stumbled upon the Attract For Her spray. They are in the middle of all the Lynx men's sprays if you have a hard time finding them. There was so many, I don't think people have realised there actually for women. As you can see the packaging itself is the same as the men's, bar the design colour which is pink and white. Scent wise, Attract For Her does smell like other women's deodorants on the market that I would normally lean towards. In my opinion, it's nothing too unique. I hope people don't immediately assume I'm using a men's deodorant when I pull this out of my bag. I can see how people may get a bit confused!

I wonder if this is a one off women's product from Lynx or are they expanding the brand? At the moment in Boots they have any two Lynx products for €7. I got two Attract For Her as I'm going to give one to my Sister and see what she thinks of it.

What do you think of the first female Lynx's product? Will you be trying it?

Laura<3

Herbal Essences Hair Masks

I always wanted to try hair masks by Herbal Essences. So I found the perfect chance when I was in Boots last weekend and saw they were all half price. I decided to indulge myself and bought three.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Deep Nourishing Intensive Mask for Dry/Damage Hair

Herbal Essences Dazzling Shine Light Reflecting Intensive Mask for Normal/Dull Hair

Herbal Essences Split End Protection Intensive Mask for Dry/Damaged Hair

All the hair masks were under €3 which was such a bargain. I may have to go back and get more. depending on how good they are. 

Have you tried any Herbal Essences Hair Masks before?

Laura<3

Mini Boots Haul

Having just got paid today, I decided to pop into Boots after work to have a quick look around. There wasn't anything in particular I wanted to buy, I just love having a browse around the shops when it's payday. I was surprised to see alot of new product releases in Boots so I treated myself and picked up a few things.

No7 launched there Spring Makeup Collection and Beautiful Skin range during the week. I was drawn more towards the skincare as nothing really caught my eye in the Spring Makeup Collection. Not that it wasn't nice, I just couldn't justify buying more No7 makeup. I have so much  from Christmas Gift sets. I  like the look of the Beautiful Skin range. there are products to suit three skin types, Dry/Very Dry, Normal/Dry and Normal/Oily. No7 came out with this range for people who necessarily don't have time for lengthy skincare regimes, like if they travel alot or are rushing to work. The new packaging is actually sleek and modern which is way nicer than the previous. They have also changed the packaging on the rest of the skincare range (eye makeup remover and the 4 in 1 face wipes) to fit in with the new products.

 I purchased a few products from the Normal/Oily range, the Foaming Cleanser (€12.35), Day Cream (€17.50) and Night Cream (€18.95). I had three No7 vouchers floating around my bag so I used them up. I suppose if you were getting the Day or Night cream I'd recommend using the vouchers on them as they are expensive. I'm going to do a full review on all three products in due course, so check back.

I love Loreal products, so I grabbed two new products I seen on their stand. I went throught two tubes of the original Telescopic mascara so I had to try False Lash Telescopic mascara (€16.49). I have high hopes for this mascara, there's only ever been one Loreal mascara I disliked, the 4D Lash Architect. I really liked it at first but then after a while my lashes were left looking like a clumpy mess, dont buy it! I have alot of mascaras on the go at the moment so I won't be using this for a while. I also bought the Super Liner Gel Intenza (€7.49 when bought with another product usually €14.99) which is the new Loreal 24 hr gel liner. Like the Maybelline Gel Liner this comes with a little precise eyeliner brush. Super Liner Gel Liner comes in two shades, Pure Black and Gold Black. I went for Pure Black, which I guess you can never go wrong with. I'm going to pop up a review of both products after I play around with them a bit.

That brings me to the end of my Mini Boots Haul. My bank account seriously doesn't like this shop come payday at all!

Will you be trying any of these news products?

Laura<3

17 Instant Glow Tanning Range

17 Cosmetics launched a new tanning range that really caught my eye recently. I think my local Boots just got ther products in as they had no stand for anything.

 There was so much to choose from, I finally decided on these two products.

First up there's the Instant Glow Bronzing Powder for Face and Body. I had a Gosh Sun Powder like this last year, which I unfortunately broke. The difference between the two products was the price, Gosh's offering was €20 while this cost me €7.49. Not bad at all! The powder is described as a "animal print maxi bronzer" as it's covered in leopard print. The shimmer design on the product is a overspray and comes off after one use. For people that don't like glitter in bronzers, I found that underneath the overspray there was hardly any (almost matte). I also buy bronzers that are always way too dark for me, this shade was perfect. A big thing that I hate about this product is the chalkiness, like it's the worst I've probably seen. You can see in the picture above how bad it is! After two swipes of a brush, that is the amount you get. This factor alone is why I won't be purchasing this product again.

Instant Glow Gold Bronze Shimmer Brick is so beautiful. I've never tried a Bobbi Brown Shimmer brick but I presume this is a cheaper alternative. Straightforward to use, you swirl all four of the shades over your cheekbones and woola your left with a gorgeous glow. Each of the four shades in the brick would make great eyeshadows as they are also very pigmented. I just don't know how well they'll work as shadows after I swirl them altogether. 17 Instant Gold Bronze Shimmer Brick cost €6.59 which in my opinion was a bargain. I seen that it's also available in Pink Bronze shade, I'm going to pick that up on my next visit to Boots.

 Both prices are very reasonable so I can definitely see myself buying more from this range. I have my eye on the bronzing rocks. Only weird thing I seen with both products is that it says "Wash Off" on the front (common sense don't you think?).

Will you be purchasing anything out of 17's new range?

Laura<3