Birthday Shopping Haul!

I always get slightly excited when a new month comes, but even more so when April comes around, as it's my birthday month. I meant to post this earlier, but after my little break, I'm only getting round to it now (please excuse me!). I turned 22 on the 23rd April, and had a lovely day. I received money off my parents and I had been saving some money, so I knew a big shopping day was in order! Here are the goodies I picked up! Enjoy!

First up is Next. I'd heard a while back that Next had started to stock NYX cosmetics, and after doing a bit of a scout around the store, I finally found the stand! To be honest, I was a little disappointed, as there wasn't an awful lot there and there was no testers, but I did pick up a couple of things. This was my first time trying NYX products, so I went with the things that bloggers rave about; one of their Mega Shine Lipglosses and one of their Powder Blushes. The shades I picked up were Beige (lipgloss) and Angel (blush). Then, when I was on my way to the till, this makeup bag just seemed to shout me over, and somehow just seemed to hypnotise me to buy it!

Of course I had to nip into Superdrug and Boots. I was mainly after the Nicole by OPI Carrie Underwood collection, but they didn't sell these at them, and also Tanya Burr's lipglosses and polishes! There weren't many left on the Tanya Burr stand, so I went with Chic and First Date. I didn't have a big powder brush, so I picked up the Real Techniques one, and also added the Shading Brush to my basket, as there was an offer on. After seeing many swatches and reviews of the Barry M nail polish for Superdrug's 50th birthday, I knew it would be one I had to pick up. I also picked up one of the True Colour Lipstick's from Sleek in Barely There, as it just caught my eye. Plus, it's my first time trying their lipsticks and I've heard a lot about them. Then, when going past the NYC stand, I saw that they actually had the Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny, which I constantly hear American YouTubers rave about! This is the first time I've actually seen this for sale over here, so I don't know if it's a new release or they just haven't sold it at the other Superdrug's I've looked in. They also had the VO5 Refresh Me Quick dry shampoo at half price, so I picked up one of those just as a back up. On another trip, I really fancied going ombre on my hair, so I picked up the L'Oreal Wild Ombres kit in number 2, and also some of the metal free hair bands.

Boots was doing their very dangerous 3 for 2 across all cosmetics offer, so I did take a little bit of advantage of this, picking up the Sleek Au Natural eye palette, Soap & Glory Super-Colour-Fabulipstick in Guavarama and one of the new Models Own Sticky Fingers. I had also heard that the Charles Worthington Volume and Bounce Texturising Spray was a dupe for the raved about Oribe Dry Texturising Spray, so wanted to give that a try. I also picked up the mousse aswell.

While in Debenhams, I was browsing their skincare section and saw that all of the Love + Toast range was half price! I remember seeing this a while back and really liked the sound of the Sugar Grapefruit hand cream, but being £12+ put me off, but at half price I couldn't say no! I also saw that they did a Blood Orange lip butter, which I was hoping would be like the Orange flavour ChapLips that they did years ago, because I was OBSESSED with that smell! Unfortunately, it's not.

Okay, so we're on to the exciting, high-end stuff now! I really wanted to treat myself to a Jo Malone candle, so off I went into the shop, and came out with a beautifully wrapped and beautifully smelling bag. I ended up going for the Peony and Blush Suede scent, which is a lovely Spring/Summer light, floral scent. The packaging of this though! They even sprayed the tissue paper with perfume!

So, this might be the most exciting purchase I made. It's the Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in 54 Boy. After years of lusting over a Chanel lipstick, I finally bit the bullet and went for it. I decided on a very natural colour, as I didn't want to spend all that money on a lipstick that I could only wear once on a blue moon.

Another naughty purchase here, as I wasn't actually planning on buying this. I was browsing the Debenhams website after my shopping trip and saw they did this gift set of the Touche Eclat, a sample of the Doll Eyes mascara and a mini sample of the Youth Liberator Eye Cream for the same price as the individual Touche Eclat. I then found that the YSL Beauty website sold it with free delivery and free samples, and brought it before my conscience could catch up with my fingers! Look at that mini-lipstick  that came as a free sample!!

I was actually in the MAC store the day the new Alluring Aquatic collection was released in store, so when I saw that there, I knew I had to pick something up from it, because the packaging is absolutely gorgeous! I ended up going for the Cremesheen Lipstick in Mystical, which is a deeper natural your-lips-but-better shade.

So, I think that's me all shopped out for the next 6 months!! You may not see any hauls for a little while now!

What's on your beauty wishlist?

Fiction Addiction | Book Haul

A bit of a different post today. One of my resolutions/blog goals for this year was to write about more lifestyle-y posts, and I think this is the start of that (yes, 3 months later, I know!). Anyway, this marks the beginning of a new series called Fiction Addiction here on Laura's Land of Beauty. It will basically be about my love of reading and books. To start us off, I thought I would do a little book haul of some books I recently picked up from Amazon.

I had recently finished all the books that I got for Christmas and a few others that I had lying around, so was in need of a couple more. I much prefer to buy off Amazon as you can get them so much cheaper than a proper book shop, plus I find that it's a lot easier to find different books that you wouldn't necessarily see in a book shop.

The first one I picked up was Splintered by A. G. Howard. I first added this to my wish list after watching Elle Fowler's (allthatglitters21) January Favourites video. It sounded just like my sort of book, and I love Elle's recommendations; I tend to enjoy the same genres of books as she does. The description on the back of the book says:

Alyssa Gardner hears the thoughts of plants and animals. She hides her delusions for now, but she knows her fate: she will end up like her mother, in an institution. Madness has run in her family ever since her great-great-great grandmother Alice Liddell told Lewis Carroll her strange dreams, inspiring his classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

But perhaps she's not mad. And perhaps Carroll's stories aren't as whimsical as they first seem.

To break the curse of insanity, Alyssa must go down the rabbit hole and right the wrongs of Wonderland, a place full of strange beings with dark agendas. Alyssa brings her real-world crush - the protective Jeb - with her, but once her journey begins, she's torn between his solidity and the enchanting, dangerous magic of Morpheus, her guide to Wonderland.

But no one in Wonderland is who they seem to be - not even Alyssa herself...

The next book I picked up was The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass. This is a series of books starting with The Selection, then the sequel The Elite. I read these after I had finished my Christmas books and just fell in love them! I suppose the best way of explaining the basic plot of these stories is a fairytale meets The Hunger Games. Anyway, this book contains two short stories based on two of the characters in the series. It also contains a sneak peak of the final book in the trilogy, The One, which is out in May. (Can't wait!) The first book is called The Prince, and the description of this book is:

Before America arrived at the palace to compete in the Selection, there was another girl in Prince Maxon's life.

'The Prince' opens the week before the Selection begins and follows Maxon through the first day of the competition.

A captivating view into the heart of Prince Maxon before he fights to win America Singer's love.

The second book is called The Guard:

Raised as a Six, Aspen Leger never dreamed that he would find himself living in the palace as a member of the royal guard.

In 'The Guard', readers get an inside look at Aspen's life within the palace walls - and the truth about a guard's world that America will never know.

A captivating view into the heart of Aspen, one of the men fighting to win America Singer's love.

Another fairytale-esque book here! You're really starting to see what type of books and stories I like! This is Briar Rose by Jana Oliver. I read the description of this book, and knew it would be one I would enjoy!

Briar Rose believes in fairy tales...

And now, because of a family curse, she's living one. Doomed to fall asleep for one hundred years on her sixteenth birthday, Briar has woken up in the darkest, most-twisted fairy tale she could have ever dreamed of - miles away from the safe, boring small-town life that she has left behind.

Briar must fight her way out of the story, but she can't do it alone. She always believed in handsome princes, and now she's met one her only chance is to put her life in his hands, or there will be no happy ever after and no waking up...

Next up is The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen. I bought this on a bit of a whim, as it sounded a little like something I would enjoy, and was under £4. The description is:

Sophia's duty is clear: look pretty, behave well, and find a husband as soon as possible. But Sophia hates the social whirl of balls and masquerades - so under the cover of darkness, she secretly swaps her ball gowns for breeches, and turns to highway robbery.

When one man begins to take a keen interest in her, Sophia must keep her distance - or risk him unmasking her secret life...

The last one in this haul is Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton. I'm not so sure about this now I re-read the description, but we shall see.  The description of this book is:

London 1880.

Witches killed Luke Lexton's parents and he is determined to avenge their death by becoming a Witch Hunter.

But first he must prove his loyalty and pick a name from the Book of Witches to track down and kill within a month or face death himself.

Luke picks Rosa Greenwood, a young witch-girl who is almost impossible to kill...

What are some of your favourite books?

Models Own Haul

Models Own recently reached 250,000 likes on their Facebook page and to celebrate, they ran a 50% off sale. Of course, I had to take advantage of that! So, I thought I would show you what I bought, as I do love watching/reading hauls and also love writing them.

I firstly was really surprised at how nice the packaging was! It came in a cardboard box, with a Models Own sleeve. Inside the box, were the nail polishes wrapped in bubble wrap, and then wrapped in some tissue paper. (I don't know about you, but I'm one of those people who gets drawn in by cute packaging!)

When it comes to nail polish, I usually go for pastel and light colours. I find that dark colours really don't suit me, so I kept this in mind when ordering. Models Own had recently come out with a new range of polishes called 'HyperGel' which are described as:

10 brand-new mega-shine shades that are highly pigmented, long-lasting and chip resistant. Enriched with lotus flower oil, the gel-like finish gives the professional shine of a salon manicure.

The colours I went for in the end were Pink Fizz, Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin (both of which are scented), and Utopia. I also picked up Naked Glow, Lilac Sheen and Pink Veneer from the HyperGel collection. I've seen swatches of the HyperGel polishes on other blogs, and they look amazing, so I can't wait to try these out!

I haven't as of yet tried any of these out. But from reviews and from other polishes I own from Models Own, I think that these are going to be great. You can almost definitely bet that there will be swatches and/or NOTD posts in the near future, especially as it comes into Spring.

Did you manage to pick anything up during this sale?

Christmas Sales Haul!

So, I other day I went shopping (oh, yes, there's that sentence again!) But this, time I feel slightly more justified using it, as I went Christmas sales shopping, and you really cannot complain about getting great things at half the price.

I went shopping to the Trafford Centre, and first visited Victoria's Secret. Most things were 50% off, including most of their beauty gift sets etc, which is what I was after. These are the things I picked up:

I have already bought I couple of things from the beauty range before Christmas, so knew a couple of the scents that I already loved. One of which was Secret Craving, and this range was 50%, so I picked up a shower gel for £4.50, and the other scent I love is Amber Romance, unfortunately this range wasn't 50% off, but I saw the above gift set reduced down to £10, so also picked that up. The rest of the stuff is more just things that I saw that I liked the look/smell of. A Strawberries and Champagne body mist, which smells incredible! Reduced to £5.50. An iPhone 4S case, reduced to £10, which is one of the most gorgeous cases I have ever seen! I also picked up one of their fragrances called Bombshell Diamonds, which was also half price, and a makeup bag reduced down to £10 as well. 

I love a visit to Boots after Christmas, as they always sell whatever gift sets they've got left over from Christmas at half price. Obviously, it depends on what your local shop has got in store, but I find you can get some great stuff and ridiculously cheap prices!

I love the scent of Gok's Gorgeous range that he brings out every Christmas, so picked up the above gold bag full of some of his goodies for £9! I also saw a lipgloss set from Seventeen which was reduced to £3, which I couldn't say no to. And I've been after a diary for my handbag, so when I saw the above Winnie-the-Pooh one, reduced down to £3.50 with a pen, I fell in love with its cuteness. I think these next two purchases are probably the bargain of the lot! Lady Gaga Fame perfume and Nicki Minaj Pink Friday perfume gift sets! Half price! Fame was reduced to £13, and Pink Friday was reduced to £11.50! Like what?! Ridiculous! If I was organised and had thought, I should have stocked up on a couple for birthday presents and maybe even this years Christmas presents!

I also nipped into Matalan, and picked up this candle reduced down to £4. This matches my room decor perfectly, and thought that once I've used the candle up, it would make a lovely trinket box.

So that's it from the Trafford Centre, but on Boxing Day, I also made an online order at Lush, as whatever Christmas products they have left over goes 50% off as well, but you have to get in there early, before they sell out.

Snowma Bath Bomb reduced to £1.25

Star Light Star Bright Bath Melt reduced to £1.65

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb reduced to £1.75

Snow Fairy 100g Shower Gel reduced to £1.75

Magic Wand Bubble Bar reduced to £2.47

The Christmas Penguin Bubble Bar reduced to £1.47

The Melting Snowman Bath Melt reduced to £1.12

Cinders Bath Bomb reduced to £1.22

What bargains have you managed to pick up in the Christmas sales?

Affordable Skincare Haul!

I'm getting to that point where I'm about to run out of all of my skincare products (don't you hate it when that happens!), so I went off to pick up some new bits. I'm currently using products from the Michael Todd dry sensitive skin regime, but as I've recently graduated from uni, I wasn't going to spend that much replacing them, plus, I didn't really think that much of the products I used. So, I was on a mission to get some good quality products at affordable prices. I started off in Boots:

I knew I wanted to try the Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner, after MissBudgetBeauty said she really liked it as an exfoliating toner. What's even better is that it was on offer for £2.69! (usually £3.99) I have also heard rave reviews about cleansing balms, and especially the Boots Botanics hot cloth cleanser, so I also picked that up, which was also on offer for £6.99 (usually £8.99). This was the bargain of the haul, as I didn't actually pay for this, I used my Boots points against it, so I'm looking at it as if I got it for free. I have heard that a cleansing balm can be slightly heavy, so I knew that I would only be using this at night, so I wanted just a basic face wash for the morning, but not one that would dry out my skin. I saw this Boots Essential Cucumber Facial Wash for £1.50, and thought I would try it, and for that price, I couldn't go wrong.

Then I went over to Aldi. 

Now, before you look at me weird, Aldi do some amazing beauty/skincare products. I particularly love their Aqua Moisture Cream, and I had a tiny bit left in the pot I was using so had to pick up two of these! And you wont believe the price for these pots of heaven! £1.99!!! I also wanted to try out the serum from the same range, Multi Intensive Serum Aqua, which was £3.49. I also saw that they did a Moisturising Face Wash, so thought I would try that out aswell. I think this was £1.49.

I also picked up a couple of random things in Boots:

I needed some new shampoo and conditioner as my beloved VO5 Gloss Me Smoothly shampoo and conditioner has changed name, and seemed to have changed formula aswell, and I really don't like it now. I decided to try the Pantene Smooth and Sleek Light Silicone Free shampoo and the conditioner to go with it. I also saw that they had the Maybelline SuperStay Powder in Ivory. This really caught my eye, as it says it's waterproof, which really intrigues me. I'll let you know how I get on with this.

Now, I haven't tried any of these products yet, and as I said at the beginning, I'm still using up the last of my current skincare products, so I probably wont be using these for a couple of weeks yet. If I really fall in love with something, you can most definitely expect reviews on them, or if there's something you really want a review on, then please let me know in the comments or via twitter.

End of Uni Haul!

At the end of May/beginning of June, I officially finished university! To celebrate, I, of course, went shopping! Now, just to warn you, this is a big haul, and I didn't get all of this in one go, it was over the course of several weeks. So, to begin with, we'll start with what I got from Boots:

Top Image:

Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Expert Face Brush, Simple Kind to Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Mist x2, Simple Kind to Skin Moisture Boost Hydro Cream, Sinful Colors nail varnish in Mint Apple.

Bottom Image:
No7 Stay Perfect Base Coat, Essie nail varnish in Mint Candy Apple

Next up is Superdrug:

Top and Bottom Right Image:

Essie nail varnish in Fiji, VO5 Shockwaves Curling Mousse, Witch Tinted Moisturiser in 2 Medium, Nivea In-Shower Moisturiser for Normal skin, Collection Cream Puff in Fairy Cake, Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in True Ivory, Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick in 2 Pink Shock

Bottom Left Image:

Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light

From House of Fraser I wanted to pick up one of the Ted Baker bow makeup bags.

I ended up choosing the Black bag with light pink bow and rose gold hardware. They had so many gorgeous colours, and it took me ages to choose, but I thought this looked more expensive, and wouldn't get as dirty as say a white one.

I ordered three Essie nail polishes from Fragrance Direct, in Cascade Cool, Neo Whimsical and Bikini-So-Teeny. From Lush I picked up a new Tea Tree Toning Water, a Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly, and a Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb. I've heard great things about the Seche Vite top coat, so when I saw Amazon were selling it for £5.50 (£9.99 in Boots!), I knew I had to pick one up.

Lastly, this is the most exciting purchase I made. I have wanted one of these for so long, since I'd seen MissGlamorazzi and FleurDeForce wearing them. It's a Rebecca Minkoff MAC Daddy bag in the colour Coral.

I love this bag! The colour is very transitional, i.e. it looks good in all seasons, and there's so much room inside. There's even a padded pouch for an iPad! I ordered this off Amazon, and got it for such a good deal! (Coupon codes and student discount rock!) Now, of course this is an expensive item, I know but it was a special purchase/celebration for me.

Well, that's everything. I can't believe I have now finished uni all together! Now to find a job!

Superdrug and Boots haul

So, over the last couple of weeks/months, I have been doing a little bit of shopping at the drugstore, so I thought, I haven't done a haul post for a while, so I would show you what I've been buying.

First up is Superdrug. I brought this stuff about mid-April, when I was buying stuff for my 21st fancy dress party. I was after a red lipstick to go with my Dorothy costume. Well, I ended up getting a red lipstick, but also picked up some other stuff, so here goes:

2true All Over Natural Bronzing Powder

I picked this up because they do a matte version of this, which I thought would be good for contouring, but I didn't know which shade it was (either Shade 1 or 2), so I picked up Shade 2, but it turned out this was the one with shimmer in, so I was slightly bummed about that. I will probably still use it now and again though.

2true Twist 'n' Line Eye Definer

This was something for my costume, as I was after a light blue eyeliner to go in the water line, but I was really disappointed in this. The liner doesn't show up on the waterline, and the packaging feels very cheap and plastic, as if it could break at the lightest touch. I wouldn't recommend this.

MUA Shimmer Kiss Blush

This just caught my eye, as I went past the MUA stand, and I thought for £3, it wasn't going to break the bank. This is a good all-over product; it can be used as a blush, a highlight, and the individual colours, can also be used as a slight eyeshadow. They also do a bronzer version of this.

Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in Sugar Glaze

2true Fast Dry Colour Quick Nail Polish in Shade 14

I loved these colours, and they screamed me, so I had to have them. I have heard good things about the Revlon nail polishes, so I thought I would try it out. The other polish, I haven't heard anything about, and I haven't tried it out yet, so I don't know what it's like, but you can expect me to mention them if I like them.

Collection Lasting Colour Gel Eyeliner

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

I've recently been trying to get more confident with winged eyeliner, so I was after something that could make it slightly easier for me. I wore the felt tip liner for my birthday party, but I noticed that the liner could wipe away very easily. The gel liner seems to last longer, and stays put aswell, but I haven't put this to the test yet.

Simple Soothing Facial Toner

Cotton Wool Round Pads

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

100ml Spray Bottle

Just some bits and pieces that I was out of/needed to pick up.

CollectionVolume Sensation in 3 Ruby Red and 8 Cherry Pop

MUA Lipstick in Shade 13, Collection Colour Pout Lasting Lip Stain in 5 Pout

These are the red lipsticks that I picked up. For the party, I eventually went for the Collection Volume Sensation in 3 Ruby Red. I really liked this lipstick, it was moisturising, and wore quite well. It didn't smudge, like some dark lipsticks can, so I was really impressed with this.

That's it for Superdrug, so let's move onto Boots now. I picked this stuff up in the last couple of weeks.

Nivea Pure and Natural Milk and Honey lip balm

Simple skincare - Moisture Boost Hydro Moisturiser, Soothing Facial Toner, Deep Cleansing Facial Mask

Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash

Just some bits I picked up. The Nivea lip balm I picked up because everyone I watch on YouTube always rave about this, so I thought it's got to be worth a try.

Real Techniques Blush Brush

I thought it was about time I picked up one of these brushes, as they are always raved about on the YouTube beauty community, so I went with the blush brush. I was also after the Expert Face Brush, but they didn't have this at my Boots.

Soap and Glory Lid Stuff in What's Nude,  S&G A Great Kisser lip balm in Juicy Peach, S&G The Daily Double Lidshadow & Linerstick in Velvet Pink/Brownie

I was originally only after the lip balm, as I had recently seen MissGlamorazzi talking about it, and I love the scent and taste of peach, so I was excited to pick this up, but when I got to the Soap and Glory stand, there was an offer on, where if you spent over £12, you got a free Lid Stuff palette! Now this palette itself is usually £10, and I've been eyeing this up for a while, so I thought it was the perfect time to pick it up. I got the Daily Double eyeshadow pencil to make up the price, and this again, looks like a good everyday product. I tested it out on the hand, and within five minutes, it wouldn't budge, so I look forward to trying this out. You can probably expect to hear more about these if I turn out to love them.

Well, that's it for this haul. I hope you enjoyed. Unfortunately, these are from a few weeks ago, so the offers are no longer available, I'm sorry about that, but Boots especially always have some sort of offers on, so if anything tickles your fancy, then I would personally wait until they've got a offer on.