Impromptu Shopping Trip

Last Thursday I was awoken to the noise of hustle and bustle in my house. This noise was an impromptu shopping trip between my mother and sister. How dare they plan a shopping trip without asking me first. However, when I jumped out of bed demanding they waited for me, they happily obliged. After the whole hour I took getting ready in such a flurry, we headed out the Trafford Centre in Manchester (a rare occasion).

Once there, we headed to a couple of shops first to pick out a new handbag for my sister who is heading to university in a couple of weeks! That was actually pretty easy and we didn't really go for anything in particular (hence it being an impromptu shopping trip) so we ended up just wandering around. It was so chilled out and full of things that I actually wanted to buy, which is pretty unheard of for me usually.

While we were there, I decided on several items that I simply needed to have like a swanky true red lipstick, a concealer, an eyebrow kit, cotton pads (how interesting), lip balm and solid soap from LUSH (I bought Sea Vegetable - smells amazing, haven't tried it yet). I also picked up a couple of things I just saw and bought like a clay mask, blusher and a hat with little cat ears on it. Adorable.

The lipstick I bought was a beautiful red from Maybelline and it was their ColourSensational Lip Stick in 530 (Fatal Red) (£6.99). It goes on like a dream (although i've only worn it once so i'll need to test it a little more).

I've never really owned a concealer because I just usually stick to a once over with some foundation. However, over the summer months I packed in using foundation to just let my skin have a little 'me time' and relax. This does come at a cost though. Not having any foundation on meant that any blemishes were really noticeable, and while this didn't bother me over summer, I have a feeling it will when I go back to university. I chose to buy the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Warm Medium. This has a really interesting finish and I love it. It dries really dry so it's not shiny, but not so it's uncomfortable at all. It has a wonderful texture to it when it's dried and so far, covers dark circles and blemishes like a dream. What more could I ask for £4.19? 

For the past few months, I have been using a shimmery eye shadow as a blush so I though I should treat myself and upgrade to a powder that was actually made for cheeks. I bought the L'Oreal Paris True Match Blush in 145 (Rosewood) (£7.69)It's a beautiful rosy pink with the slightest shimmer. It will be perfect for that just bitten look from the nippy autumnal weather. 

Although i've been filling in my brows for three years now, i've only been shaping them for 6 months and i've been using an angled eyeliner brush and two eyeshadows to do so. Again, I thought i'd upgrade to an actual eyebrow palette so I don't have to carry around a giant (really, it's humongous) eyeshadow palette with me. I bought the MUA Eyebrow Kit in Fair-Mid for £3.50. It comes with two shades to fill in the brows, a brow gel, a highlighter, a lovely pair of tweezers, a double-ended brush (one angled, one flat) and a mirror. It is an absolutely brilliant kit and I recommend it to everyone. This is definitely my favourite purchase.

Lastly, I just want to tell you all about the wonderful hat I purchased and why. It's from H&M, £6.99 and you can find it here. In December 2013, I went on my first holiday with my boyfriend of (then) just over 4 and a half years to Edinburgh. It was absolutely freezing there and the hat I took, a cossack hat, did not fit underneath my giant parka's hood. Yes, it was so cold that I needed a giant parka and underneath it, a cossack. However, it was one or the other so I ditched the cossack. That meant my hair was flying around everywhere and I had bum-length hair. Have you ever been to Scotland? Take a hat. Please. Back to the point, this is is so lightweight, delicate, beautiful, so cute, and best of all, it's warm and will fit under my hood. It will also help to control my hair flying around. I'll definitely wear this when I get back (and probably before I go) to Scotland again this year. 

Love, 

Eloise