Beauty buys



When I was walking home from college today, I just had to go into Boots when I saw they were doing 3 for 2 across all make-up, nails and eyelashes (it also got me out of the rain). I ended up getting 6 for the price of 4 but that's typical of me; why chose one or the other when you can have both is pretty much my attitude towards life and whenever someone answers a question with both, my dad now refers to that as 'the Jenni option'. I restocked on my favourite eyebrow pencil (Rimmel eyebrow pencil in 001 Dark brown) because mine is now so short that it's almost impossible to use. It's my favourite pencil because it's really soft so goes on easily and yet stays on all day and the shade is perfect too. Plus it's only £2.99 and lasts ages so it's a really good buy. It's something I've been using for years and will probably use for many years to come (unless they discontinue it which always seems to happen with my favourite products).

I don't tend to buy false eyelashes very often. It baffles me how some people use a pair and then throw them away; I literally reuse mine about 20 times, maybe even more. I also have a firm favourite pair; Ardell natural style in 101. But I always have a look anyway and I saw that Katy Perry had bought out a new range in partnership with Eylure. I loved her last range and her 'Oh, my!' pair were the perfect prom eyelashes. Lashes that go longer in the outer corners don't suit my eye shape so I look for pairs with roughly the same length all the way round, and I like thick lashes rather than ones with lots of spaces. I only know this stuff from years of trying out different ones though so you have to find what works for you and your eye shape. This pair fit with everything I like perfectly and Eylure make really good quality products and the best glue on the market so I thought it was worth trying out a new pair. These were £5.95 which isn't bad considering I reuse them so much.

Pastel nails are my absolute favourite at the minute. Not only do they fit with my ever-growing pastel wardrobe perfectly but they also make your hands look really feminine and just make your nails look really pretty. I think nail varnish is something that people often buy cheap, thinking you won't be able to notice. But I think it's a product where quality really shows; cheap ones just chip straight away and are really watery so you get a really irregular colour unless you apply about 6 coats. At the same time though, I don't like spending loads on nails varnish because I change it so often. I do have a few Revlon nail varnishes which are amazing but at about £7 each, I think that's just too expensive. I prefer to go for middle-priced, so you get good quality but don't just waste money. These Maybelline ones are a new favourite of mine (normally I get Rimmel); I've already got one in 214 Green with envy (which was featured in my 'Feeling fruity' blogpost) and so I wanted to try some other colours. I went with a pastel lilac and pastel blue in 324 Love lilac and 651 Cool blue. The colour goes on exactly how it looks in the bottle too so I can tell these are going to look really nice and they were only £2.99 each so really good value.

I am SO picky when it comes to lip colour. I don't like lip glosses or anything too shimmery, I don't suit pastel colours or really pale shades and neither do I like really bright colours. So when I go looking for a new lipstick, I end up with pink and red lines all over my hands from where I've tested every single lipstick they sell. I tend to go for medium pink tones as I've already got a red, a coral and a deep purple and I don't think you really need more than one of any of those. The No7 one was way more expensive than what I'd normally choose; at £9.75 it was even more than the eyelashes and was the most expensive thing I bought today. But it was such a gorgeous product and the perfect colour that I figured if I was going to buy it at any point then buying it on the 3 for 2 was the best time. Its No7 Stay perfect in Classic rose and has a really nice matte finish. The application is really good too because it's shaped with a flat round top at a slanted angle so you get precision and good coverage. I went with a slightly cheaper brand for my second lipstick. Seventeen Stay pout in It's a kiss off for £4.49. It's quite a similar colour but it's slightly brighter and has a shiny finish rather than a matte one, which is good because I like to have a mixture. Both are a really good quality; although lipsticks are one of the few products that I don't choose based on brand or quality; I choose them solely on colour. To say I got six good-quality products; I only spent just over £20 and ended up saving nearly £7.50 aswell as getting my advantage card points. If you haven't got one yet then seriously go and sign up, it's so worth it for the money you save.