<3 Beauty Haul Essentials <3

So, I have been bad and not posted in a while! However, this means I have more time to shop so it's not all bad. And I have been working hard elsewhere which makes me feel less guilty! This is just a teeny tiny haul of a few of my fave recent purchases in the beauty side of things! ENJOY! 

Say hello to my new best friend... yes, I am talking about my new Mac Pro Longwear foundation. This is my one true love and just in time for Valentine's day, too! My shade in this is NC15. (Yes, I am as pale as a ghost.) I am always on the search for a new foundation that is 'the one'. I have read so many varied reviews on Mac foundations. It seems that people either love love love them or find that they break them out or irritate their skin. This caused me to panic a bit so I popped into Selfridges and asked for a couple of samples as I didn't fancy paying £24.50 on something that didn't do the job for me! However, this is my new all-time favourite foundation (at the moment.) Out of all the ones I have tried this is by far the best. At this price, it isn't the cheapest but definitely isn't enough to quite break the bank and it is also very worth the money in my case. I have very oily skin and find that throughout the day I have to keep blotting my skin and then by the time I get home my makeup has already ran halfway down my face anyway! BUT this foundation seems to do the trick and really lives up to its 'longwear' title! Definitely worth a purchase or even just picking up a little sample at your nearest Mac counter.

My next beauty crush is this Topshop Lipstick in 'Secret Admirer'. I have wanted to buy a nice, soft, pinky lipstick for a while now. I have also wanted to try a Topshop lippy as I have never bought one before. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and impulsed by this while waiting in the Topshop queue. It is so soft and really matches up to the quality of my Bobbi Brown Lipsticks. It only costs £8, so at the fraction of the price of higher end lippies but near-enough the same quality I will definitely be looking into wider variety of shades in the future! 

Next in line is my Bare Minerals eyelid primer. I bought this near Christmas time as it came in a set which was on sale. I didn't really even notice it a first but when I got it home I thought I'd give it a try! Usually, when I don't use an eyelid primer, I find my eyeshadow to be really dry on my eyes and even turn a bit flakey (not attractive, I know.) When I use this, it sets a nice base for my eyeshadow or if I leave it on alone it leaves my eyelids with a nice, natural shimmer that lasts all day. Such a nifty little thing!

Another impulse till buy here. I had no idea Primark even did face wipes... up until now that is. These wiped come in scented, unscented and oil balancing versions. I picked up the scented ones because I thought the packet was pretty. These a such a bargain as it is a twin pack with a total of 50 wipes! They don't do anything spectacular but are perfect for sleepovers, weekends away or even just to throw in your bag at a festival!

 Hope you enjoyed reading!

What are you latest beauty essentials?

xxx Katie xxx

<3 Soap and (not so much) Glory <3

Now, both of these products look very similar. However, the one to the left is the Soap and Glory Fab Pore Cleanser and to the right is the Bright Here Bright Now Instant Radiance Energy Balm. I've never really delved into the Soap and Glory world before but thought I'd give it ago when I saw these products reduced, just after Christmas, in Boots. 

Staring with the Fab Pore Cleanser, I can't say I found it very 'fab' at all. The texture and consistency of this product isn't very good. With most cleansers, I find that once I begin to rub them into my face they seem to work with me and massage quite nicely. BUT this just doesn't cooperate at all. It smells a bit like salad, too... (I hate salad).

Next, the Bright Here Bright Now moisturiser is alright! It definitely moisturises, but almost to the point where it makes my skin a greasy mess! However, one thing I like about this product is it's tint. It had a slight creamy/beige hint to it that helps to even out my skin tone in the morning before I apply a primer. Usually, if I use an oil-free primer, then it's fine. But I rarely like to use oil-free primers because I feel they can be rather drying. Ahh well, better luck next time, Katie. 

Do you recommend any Soap and Glory products?

Have you also had bad expereinces with any?

Let me know

xxx Katie xxx

<3 My Month In Pictures <3 Instagram - katieanngal

 My Jeffrey Campbell prom shoes; worn once but brought great happiness! I am the kind of girl that doesn't mind too much spending a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of shoes I know full-well won't be worn much. However, shoes, to me, are a bit of a collector's item. Literally, I could stare at my shoe collection and be very content at just the sight of my neatly stacked shoe-rack stood aside the copious shoe boxes. So there you go, this photo was me reminiscing on Prom and my spikey spikey heels! 



I continued on sporting my little pink fluffy hat (bought in the Topshop sale last year). I love my little hat... and for a little hat it has a lot of memories haha! Anyway, my wooly hat makes me feel so young and bright; I stand out like a sore-thumb! Yet again, me capturing another ever-precious moment with another one of my prised possessions! 






Say hello to the new edition to the family! My Red Unif Hellraisers... PHWOARRRR! I had my eyes on these beauties for well over a year but didn't have the heart to part with £135, despite what I said earlier. To my delight, in the Christmas sales at UO these babies were reduced to a mere £40! So I ordered them without a shadow of a doubt! YESSSS <3 


 Yum, sweets! I love my job (Nandos yeah!). Not only do I get a free meal after each and very shift but occasionally there is the odd surprise awaiting for us all the staff room. i.e. this rather large tub of sweets that i most likely consumed around 45% of. 

 Argh, Pandora! Back to prom, now. My Nana had bought me a Pandora bracelet and charm to celebrate the occasion  Recently, my brother bought me the 'K' charm and I also got the guardian angel for myself. (as recommended by Nana lol). 

 
 I love my college! They provide books for the needs of every type of person. Even the makeup obsessed girly girls *like me*. I picked up this little bad boy by Bobbi Brown; the Makeup Manual. This manual is full of little tips and tricks for your makeup buying, applying and everything you could think of with regards to makeup. Such a lovely nighttime read for any other makeup savvy girlies like myself! 

 
 I also indulged in a few Lush bath bombs over Christmas. Shamefully, I have forgotten the name of this bath bomb BUT I do know that it was shaped like a present and drenched in golden glitter! This bath bomb was quite interesting... just when I thought it had stopped, it would change colour or explode with something new. I highly rate lush bath bombs. They truly are the greatest. 




Last, but by no means least, my Hot Gossip Mac lipstick. YUM! I find nothing more exciting than delving into the bottom floor of Selfridges into the world of makeup. It's like a real-life dream! On this particular journey I picked up this new lippy! It is gorgeous! So sheer but so girly! <3

Thanks for reading!!

Do you have instagram? Let me know! Mine is katieanngal :)

xxx Katie xxx

<3 Bare Minerals <3

Ever since I have started wearing more and more different kinds of makeup it has become a necessity to find the perfect makeup removers, moisturisers etc to combat all the bad stuff that comes along with wearing lots of makeup. 

I have here the Bare Minerals Purely Moisturising Moisturiser (for combination skin), BM Eye Makeup Remover, Eye Moisturiser and Facial Cleanser. 

I was going to get the Skin Renewing Trio for £22 near Christmas time from Harvery Nic's but then didn't... However, later on in the day I popped into Debenhams and saw the exact same set for half of the price and picked it up without hesitation! I am so happy I got a bargain as, even though I love the trio, I don't the the size of the products compensates for the full price. On the bright side, the eye cream is dreamy! It goes on smoothly and is lasting the longest out of them all. (10/10!!!) Works great for morning AND night! I have only used the facial cleanser once but it smelled absolutely delicious. The texture is creamy and soft on the skin which is lovely to aid in makeup removing after a long day. Again, nothing bad to say about the moisturiser... does exactly what it says on the bottle! As I have already said, these products would be perfect if they were bigger and/or cheaper. I'll have to think about if I am going to re-purchase or carry on in my hunt for the perfect skin renewers!
To the right of the image, you will see the Bare Minerals Eye-makeup remover! This, too, is going down quickly, although it was purchased separately! I don't know if it works well for people that wear mahoosive amounts of eye makeup, but I only apply a touch of pale primer/shadow and mascara and haven't tried it out on anything more. 

Have you tried any of these products? If so, what did you think of them? 

<3 Thanks for reading <3

xxx Katie xxx

<3 Laura Mercier Secret Concealer <3 

I'd heard about this concealer a lot over the past 6 months and had been debating whether to get it or not because I thought £18.50 was a tad over priced for a teeny tiny pot of concealer! Any how, I decided to buy it the other day in Harvey Nic's and I am really happy with it! I bought the concealer in 'shade 2', as recommended by the sales assistant. Even though I assumed this little pot wouldn't last very long so far I have hardly used any but it still does the job perfectly! It's definitely worth the extra few pounds and much better than cheaper concealers as it has excellent coverage. The creamy texture is smooth and delicate; it's perfect for under-eye use as well. One of my new beauty essentials!

To apply this concealer I just use my Bare Minerals concealer brush and it works like a dream!

<3 Thanks for reading <3

Katie xxx

<3 Mini Shopping/present Haul <3

  Montagne Jeunesse face masks are my absolute fave. The bright packaging and incredible fruity variety of scents are great! My auntie got my mum a pack of five as part of her birthday present, early in December. She saw how much I loved them and bough a pack for me too! I had never seen this cute little multi-pack before but it is so useful, cute and makes a lovely gift for any beauty fan. The actual face mask go on like a dream and my personal favourite is the apricot one! Give them a try if you already haven't!





 These two soaps were a gift off a family friend. One is 'Lemon Meringue' and the other, quite odd but, is  called 'Jack The Rippler'. Names aside, these soaps are to die for and smell divine  So gorgeous and well made!

 Woooooo, this is my Lush fairy wand bubble bar which was half price in the Lush post-xmas sale! Sounds a bit childish, but I love just before my baths waving this wand around and waiting for bubbles to magically appear. The wand lasts ages and just a little wave can make your bath smell magical!

I am a big fan of Elemis despite the steep cost! These Cellular Recovery Skin Capsules are so dinky and cute. The minty one goes on at night and the rosey one in the morning. The aim of them is to fight signs of ageing and recover your skin from all the day-to-day pollution it has to endure. These make my skin feel so soft at night, I really love them!

<3 Thanks for reading <3

<3 My Top 3 Perfumes <3 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! This DVB Intimately for Women perfume by the Beckhams is my new fave perfume  I have used this everyday since I got it and it is incredible. It literally lasts all day and I can still smell it on myself when I'm about to go to sleep. The scent is sweet but sophisticated and good enough for any day or night-do.

 This is the DKNY Be Delicious perfume. I had got given this last year for Chrimsas and loved it that much I asked for it this year too! This secent is really fruity (that doesn't take much guessing if you look at the bottle). It is perfect and light to wear for the daytime, especially when summer comes around.

This is the Burberry Original perfume by Burberry (obviously). This is what I like to describe as just a classic traditional perfume smell, which sounds bad, but I don't think that;'s a bad thing. It's such a mature and classic scent and could be worn for any formal events or just day-to-day. Love it!






Overall, if I HAD TO pick a favourite, it would be the DVB one. It's new for me and just ticks all the right boxes with how it smells, how long it lasts and its lovely presentation.

How about you? What is your favourite perfume? 

Thanks for reading! <3