beauty \\ beauty purchases

It had been a while since I bought any cosmetics despite new releases and a wishlist as long as my arm! A few days after payday, I decided to have a little wander around the beauty aisle and I may have come away with a few things...

Rimmel London Nail Polish - Mind The Gap, Victoria - I don't have anything like this colour in my collection and although I really should be moving onto more dark toned nail polish for the Autumn, I couldn't resist the powder blue colour! Just look. So pretty. 

Rimmel London Micro Eyeliner - See Boots and their 'buy one get one half price' deals, it never fails to draw me in! I've been wearing liquid eyeliner a lot more lately and I believe this may be a new product as I hadn't seen it before. The tip is really tiny and brilliant for drawing a simple minuscule line. I won't go into it too much because I will do a separate review on it. 

Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme - Oh cripes. This was kind of an impulse purchase. I had a Debenhams gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I thought I would put it to good use and treat myself to a little something something. My supervisor at work uses this and I've read so many great reviews on it so I parted with my cash for my first Dior purchase. I was colour matched to shade 2 and the counter lady said it was a pretty perfect match. Kind of excited to try this out!

Have you been purchasing any beauty cosmetics lately?

Vanessa

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stationery haul

Put me in the stationery department of any shop and I will be there for ages picking up various stationery items and mulling over my head whether my notebook drawer really needs a new addition (trust me, I actually have a drawer just for notebooks and stationery).

As my plaster cast came off the other day (yay!), I had the privilege of being able to drive my car again (double yay!). I headed down to my nearest retail park and had a nosey around Home Bargains with the intent of buying some snacks for the cinema. I came out with more than that... 

I bought this set of 3 vintage-esque notebooks for 99p. I thought they'd be good for popping one in my bag for those 'eureka' moments. Plus, how Cath Kidson do they look? I love looking a recipes online and always have my laptop next to me when baking/cooking with a recipe but a white Macbook and messy Vanessa does not look like a good mix so I bought this recipe book at £1.29 to store all my lovely baking recipes I have discovered!

A bit nonsensical but I love tissue paper. These tissue paper packs will come in useful when I want to wrap gifts or such like. If you bought anything from my blog sale, you'd know I like to make anything look pretty with tissue paper! I bought a pink and blue one at 49p each.

Lastly, my brother bought me a map of the world about 2 years ago for my birthday and I have yet to pin it up in my room because I didn't have any coloured pins to pin where I had travelled. Home Bargains didn't have any coloured pins on their own so this 126pc desk essentials had to be bought for 99p. Can't complain. My map is finally in its rightful place on my wall!

Random haul but it's the best £4.25 I have spent so far! I do love a little Home Bargains spree from time to time! 

Do you love stationery as much as I do? 

Vanessa

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recent (essential) purchases

Yes, for once, these purchases we actually necessary! Would you like to see what I bought? I'm sure you do...

La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Eyes £14.50: I never realised how puffy and dark my under eyes where until my friend took a really ghoulish picture of me in London. I decided to take action and incorporate an under eye product into my skincare routine. I'm interested to see how this will fare.

B Pure Micellar Water £3.99: This product is akin to that of Bioderma and I had heard so much about it. As I have only one functioning arm that can touch water, I've been using this to cleanse my face in the morning before applying my makeup. So far so good I think! This is currently on offer for £3.99 from £4.99.

Models Own Fruit Pastel Nail Polish - Apple Pie £5.00: Right now I'm not wearing much nail polish but I saw this a while ago with my friend and I knew I had to have it. Mint green is pretty much my favourite colour right now and a nail polish that smells delicious? Yes please! I've read a lot of good things from other bloggers so I can't wait to try!

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Eyeliner £2.99: You may have already heard of my eyeliner demise and disappointment with S&G's Supercat Eyeliner so I decided to purchase a new one seeing as my matching eyelids are making me so happy right now! I wore this out today for lunch and the cinema and it lasted throughout the entire day with little smudging. I'm so impressed with this so far, especially at the price!

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer £6.99: I bought this to use in conjunction with the under eye cream and so far I really like it. Believe it or not, I don't use concealer. I thought it might be time to start expanding my makeup routine. I've been using this with my RT pointed foundation brush and it blends really easy. Love it!

Usually I come home regretting my purchases but this time I have loved each and every one of them. Well, that's no more spending for a while now!

Don't you just love buying all the essentials and having no purchase regrets?

Vanessa

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recent Boots haul

I mentioned on Twitter (@ParisianOrchid) that I went into Boots to buy a heat protectant spray because I had finished the one I was using. I left the store about 30 minutes later clutching about 6 other products that I didn't need. Why do you have 3 for 2 offers on Boots?! Making the best of a bad situation, here is a mini haul!

Real Techniques Core Collection £21.99: I've had this on my mind since they had been released and I basically use my RT Stippling Brush about 99% of the time I wear makeup so  I got this kit as an investment. And the handy carry case with come in useful when I go travelling.

Lee Stafford Hair Treatment £7.99: I've used this treatment before and I loved it. I'm trying to grow my hair out again so this will come in handy.

Soap & Glory Supercat Black Eyeliner Pen £6.00: With my wonky asian eyelids, eyeliner just does not look nice on me but I decided to give it ONE LAST GO before I retire all liquid eyeliners to the bin and admit defeat. I've heard good things about this so I'm looking forward to testing the waters on this one.

John Frieda Full Repair Styling Spray £5.99: I've not actually heard a lot about this but I like the sound of it. 

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle £4.99: Pretty much went crazy on the haircare products. Again, heard good things about this!

17 Blush Powder in 'First Flush' £3.49: I'm very much over using my NARS Penny Lane blush so I thought I'd pick up an inexpensive blush for the Spring season. First Flush is quite bright in the pan so hopefully it won't be too bright once I apply it onto my cheeks.

Jergens Hand Cream £1.49: This was a justifiable purchase, my Garnier one has ran out so this was an essential purchase. I've never used anything by Jergens before so looking forward to trying it out.

All in all, I saved about £10.99 with the Boots 3 for 2 offer. Good news is is that I have about £22.00 on my Advantage Card now! Chanel, I'm almost there! Please no one let me go back there again anytime soon because I will buy the entire store. 

Have you been taking advantage of any of the Boots offers lately?

Vanessa

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primark haul

I'm one of those get in and get out shoppers. The less time spent in a store the better but today, I didn't have any firm plans with my afternoon so I did a proper rummage around Primark. I came out with quite a few gems and saved quite a bit of money. 

First, I got a dress for £13.00. Navy and burgundy are my favourite colours so I could resist this lovely combination. Next, I hit up the discounted section and got a textured navy skater skirt for £2.00 reduced from £10.00. I've been looking for a skater skirt for a while so this will be a great addition to the wardrobe. 

I've been favouring shorts as opposed to my usual jeans so I couldn't not get these tweed shorts for £5.00 reduced from £10.00. Not a big fan of the leather detailing but I can easily get over that. Lastly, I got some new tights because I managed to get a hole (or 2) in my favourite pair. Sad times but this pair is only £2.00. I somehow managed to stop myself from putting more socks and tights in my basket. I seem to have a small (read: massive) obsession with socks and tights. I have a problem. 

My three clothing items are three different sizes which is not unusual for me. But Primark really need to get their sizings under control. Seriously, we're talking sizes between 14 and 18 here!

Have you picked up any bargains from Primark recently?

Vanessa

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hong kong haulin'

Oh how I wish I could have visited Hong Kong this year. I love the environment and the atmosphere plus, the shopping there is uh-mazing! MamaOrchid was over in Hong Kong last week and I asked her to pick me up a few things. Although it's not an overly massive haul, it warrants a little post I think.

It's really difficult to get phone cases for Samsung Galaxy S2 here so my mum picked up this cute blue phone case that has an anchor on it. It actually reminded me a little of Jennie from sailboat. My phone is prepared for any of my clumsy tendencies now!

Majolica Majorca's cream pencil eyeliner is actually one of my favourite eyeliners. I needed a full sized pencil because the one I had was a mini sample. I better get using eyeliner because my mum ended up buying me 2. No idea why!

I wanted to try the Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner but my mum wasn't aware which one I wanted so she took a stab in the dark and went for the pencil liner. It's not a big deal, but now I have 3 black pencil eyeliners. I'd be interested to see how this one fares though.

Last but not least, I got some 'My Beauty Diary' face masks which I'm really excited about using. It's a two-step system that also contains a moisturiser. I love sheet masks, they're so much easier to use than regular face masks. That's the lazy girl in me coming out!

I also got some other random goodies like new lunchboxes, sweeties and a big hug from my Mama! I hope that next year I'll be able to take a trip to Hong Kong myself. Fingers crossed!

Vanessa

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boots haulin'

We all love a good bargain don't we? I decided to take up some of the offers that Boots had and stocked up on a few little bitties that I had my eye on.

• Real Techniques Stippling Brush: when Boots had their 3 for 2 offer on, I knew that a Real Techniques brush would be making its way into my basket. I decided to go for the stippling brush as I felt I would get the most use out of this one. My gosh, it is amazing! I use it for blending in my foundation and it just creates a lovely flawless finish. Get it. Get it now.
• Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation: I only own 1 other foundation so i thought it would be a good idea to branch out and try another. I went for the Match Perfection one and I await tentatively until I can use it as I'm always so rubbish at colour matching foundation. Holding my breath!
• Barry M Red Glitter Nail Polish: I need Christmas in my life now. And you can never get bored of glittery nail polish. Especially of the red kind.
• Nivea Lip Butter (Caramel Cream): I really don't need another lip butter or lip balm but my curiosity got the better of me. This smells so good! Better than the Creme Brulee Vaseline as this has a more rich smell. Mmmmm.

I justified all this by saying that I needed it all so I can blog about it. Yes. It works.

What have you been loving/buying recently?

Vanessa

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London Purchases

I didn't really know how to approach doing this type of post and I even considered embedding a YouTube video but I truly believe that I'm not quite ready/prepared to put myself out there on YouTube yet. So this is my best offering to show you what I bought from London.

My criteria for making purchases was simple. I was only allowed to buy things that I can't get back home i.e. it's not readily available. I exercised an amazing amount of self control and my bank balance can weep no longer!

 If you follow me on Twitter (@ParisianOrchid), you will know that I was very overwhelmed in Forever 21. It wasn't what I was expecting and I must admit, the ones in America are better (possibly a very unpopular opinion, but I'll just put that out there!). The only thing I got was this mint green tank top. It's pretty but nothing too spectacular! 

I always love the sales when it's right at the end where it gets discounted even further! I mean, you're going to be sifting through the stuff no-one wants but you can stumble upon an amazing find if you're lucky enough. I got this red top from Urban Outfitters half the normal price. Yayzers!

I then got this green t-shirt from a store called The Sting where there are lots of different brands in the same store. Again, on sale and I think it's quite 'quirky'.

 Whenever I hear the words Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister, I tremble at the thought that I would just look like a sausage bursting out its casing if I wore any of their clothes. I didn't hold much hope out for Gilly Hicks which is the sister brand to the Abercrombie & Fitch but I wanted to have a gander around their store anyway. Yes, I ended up getting two jumper cardigans *hangs head in shame*. In my defence, they are the softest things to ever touch my skin and they feels so much more comfier than the tighter cardigans from the other brands. I live in Scotland, they shall be worn very often!

I was reading Temprary Secretary's blog and she posted about Urban Outfitter's Twinkie nail polish and I knew I needed it in my life. I mean, a nail polish with actual stars in it?! It's times like these that I think I was a magpie in a past life!

Lastly, I went to a Victoria's Secret and I bought some underwear but I really don't think this is an appropriate forum to post about them! But I can show you what my friend bought for me as a belated graduation gift. She let me choose a toiletry item because they were part of a mix and match deal and I chose the Hello Darling Eau De Toilette. I was torn between two different scents but I finally settled on this which is a white nectarine and peony scent. Smells like a flirty summer spent reading books in a park *sigh*.

So this is my 'haul' (urgh, I really dislike that word...kind of like 'moist' *shudders*). I think I was very level headed and bought things that I will actually use which is always a bonus!

What have you been purchasing recently?

Vanessa

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