september 2013 haul: boots, primark, asos

since starting to read blogs (which began around this time last year,) i've found myself making more frequent purchases than ever before. i try to tell myself these purchases are necessary due to reasons such as, "but that mascara has had such good reviews!" and "but that dress will look awesome with my chunky boots!" but more often than not, i come away with shopper's guilt after having spent a little more than i'd have hoped to for the month... this month was no exception, what with me starting uni again and needing to once again become less frivolous with my money, but for now i thought i'd show you all what i've purchased throughout the month of september - and who knows, maybe it'll inspire you to do as i so often do and go trawling the highstreet for items you've seen on blogs!

1: collection pressed powder, £1.99, boots: for me, this product is cheap and cheerful and does the job of setting my face and reducing shine just as well as any other, more expensive powder i've tried out, so i figured why pay any more for another?

2: collection last perfection concealer, £4.19, boots: i'd never tried out the collection concealer before, but after reading such great reviews and it costing a measly £4, i figured i'd give it a go while boots had a buy one get one half price offer on. 

3: benefit they're real mascara, £19.50, boots: as someone who doesn't like splashing on one item, the price tag of benefit's they're real on the high street always put me off the purchase, however, after finding the product on ebay for just £7, i figured i'd jump on the bandwagon and put this apparent miracle mascara to the test; so far, i'm impressed overall. 

4: collection 24 hour felt tip liner, £2.99, boots: before this purchase i'd never used a felt tip liner, and now, in hindsight, i see how foolish i was. eyeliner application with a felt tip is a breeze and i'll definitely be repurchasing this when i run out.

5: rimmel kate lasting finish lipstick in 01, £5.49, boots: the only reason i purchased this is because i'd previously bought a MUA lipstick (i mean, come on, they're a pound) in a similar shade and loved it, however it transferred far too easily for my liking so i was on the hunt for a similar shade with a better wear time, which happened to be this.

6: rimmel kate matt lipstick in 101, £5.49, boots: another 'a blogger uses this and i like it so i'm going to purchase it' purchase here. after seeing lily melrose mention this in one of her favourite lipsticks videos, i figured i just had to go out and buy it because the colour is so pretty. also, i figure lily knows what she's talking about, so if she recommends it, it must be worth the pennies. 

7: patterned skirt, £8, primark: when i laid eyes on this in the shop, i was instantly reminded of this print i'd seen on the motel website. i thought the skirt looked a little more expensive than your average primark find, so for £8 i had to have it. 

8: tartan dress, £13, primark: anything tartan gets a yes from me, but combined with this adorable collar and loose fitting, i was smitten after trying it on. i'm sure this is something i'll get plenty of wear out of throughout the colder months. 

9: tier necklace, £4, primark: i'm a sucker for anything chunky or layered, so when i saw this necklace for just £4 i threw it into my shopping bag just knowing that it would look great under collars, or over jumpers, or to pretty up a plain dress, etc. etc.

10: woven chain belt, £2.50, primark: i probably own too many belts, but i really liked the subtle gold chain woven into the belt and thought it would break up tops and bottoms well without being 'too much'. and anyway, it was only £2.50...

11: t-bar shoes, £12, primark: these shoes have to be my favourite purchase of the month. after eyeing up dr. marten t-bar shoes and refusing to pay the hefty price tag, these were the perfect compromise for me. they're just so adorable!

12: paisley smock dress, £25, river island: i grabbed this from asos during the students' 20% off event, meaning i picked it up for £20. after eyeing it up for such a long time, i figured 20% discount was a good enough reason for me to go ahead and finally purchase it.

13: silver stud belt, £8, asos: this was another blogger inspired purchase (lily melrose, AGAIN...) after seeing and loving the belt she wore in this outfit post. when the belt arrived i was a little disappointed at how thin it was, but i thought it would suffice and kept it anyway, and have since found plenty of wear in it regardless.

so, there are all my purchases, and after totting up the total spent i'm giving myself a little tap on the wrist... i will be better throughout october! as ever, i'm always interested in reading about others' hauls, so if you have any posts you'd like me to check out, please leave links below. thanks for reading!

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products i love: illustrated

hello again! something a little different from my normal content once again today, this time as an illustrated list of products i've been loving as of late! i read a fair few beauty blogs and would like to think i take a certain amount of pride in my appearance, which then leads to fairly frequent purchases of beauty products on my behalf. i figured that because beauty blogs sit within my interests and a lot of my readers are interested in beauty/run beauty blogs themselves, why not throw a little bit of beauty content into my blog so long as it still relates back to illustration somehow?

my solution was to simply illustrate the products it was that i was going to talk about. not the most creative solution, i'll admit, but it works and drawing from real life objects was somewhat fun for me as it's something i haven't done since gcse art (quite some time ago now, that was...) so, without further ado, i'll begin my reviews of the products!

1: schwarzkopf got2b 2 sexy big volume push up hairspray

wow, i never realised how much of a mouthful the product name is to say out loud. for years i'd been in search of a hairspray that would give my hair volume without making it sticky or matted, and it was only this year that i finally found my perfect product: this hairspray! the formula is slightly drying so it's probably best to use the product sparingly, however not much is needed for an instant boost and it does exactly what i want it to by creating volume without making your hair sticky; it also smells absolutely wonderful. i cannot rave about this product enough, it's fantastic. a massive 10/10 from me.

2: e.l.f. lip exfoliator

since using this product, i've wondered how the hell i ever lived without it. applying lipstick is now a much more pleasant experience as there's none of the gross cracking and flaking that would've previously occurred on days where my lips were looking a little less than perfect. i apply this morning and night followed by blistex relief cream to ensure that my lips are well moisturised after being exfoliated, and since starting this routine my lips have been consistently soft and crack free. lovely.

3: simple pore minimising toning cleanser

i've been using this product for about six months now, and although i'm still prone to the occasional breakout, i find that my nose and chin now have considerably less blackheads on them, which can only be a good thing. it's not a miracle product by any means, but it definitely does what it says on the, er, bottle.

4: aussie miracle hair insurance leave-in conditioner

i've also been using this product for about half a year now and love it just as much as the schwarzkopf hairspray. i spray it on wet hair and it detangles all the mess for me while leaving my hair gorgeously soft and shiny once my hair's dried. i repurchased it as soon as i ran out of my first bottle while also stocking up with another three. it's now become a hair care essential for me; a fabulous product with a fabulous scent (like all the aussie products, swoon.)

5: harajuku lovers sunshine cuties: love perfume

this product i'm not particularly mentioning for its scent (which is a lovely, summery, coconut smell,) but more for its appearance. it's the cutest perfume bottle i've ever laid eyes on, so much so that after owning this minute amount of perfume for two years, i've only just brought myself to finish the bottle for fear of the empty being thrown away against my will. i now have this bottle and another empty harajuku bottle stashed away ready to be taken to uni to be used as some sort of ornament. there's no point wasting so much cute, i figured!

6: nivea oil free moisturising day cream for oily and combination skin

for so long i suffered with the problem of skin that was dry but also greasy, which made absolutely no sense to me. after reading blogs and discovering that it was a light moisturiser that i needed as i had combination skin, i headed to boots and picked this up. since purchasing it i've never gone back. i found that it cleared up my problem pretty much instantly and it now continues to leave my dry areas moisturised without leaving the rest of my face greasy - perfect! i cannot fault this product at all and would highly recommend trying it out if you also have combination or oily skin.

7: rimmel moisture renew lipstick in 180 vintage pink 

i'd heard a lot on beauty blogs about 'your colour but better' lipsticks, and after a lot of searching, i finally found mine in this colour. it's a bit of a strange one with it being a dark pink/purple kind of colour, but it's so subtle and flattering on me and doesn't wash me out like a lot of other pink lipsticks i've previously tried. the formula's also really moisturising on your lips so you never get that awful cracked look when applying it. it's a lovely lipstick that i'll definitely be repurchasing when it eventually runs out.

so, there are my product illustrations and reviews! i think more than anything i just wanted somewhere to ramble on about how impressed i've been with these products, but if it helps you out somewhat or inspires you to try a new product, brilliant! i know there are a lot of bloggers i'd like to personally thank for prompting me to go to boots and pick up some of the items that i've grown to love. if you have any comments on this kind of blog content, please feel free to let me know in a comment. i'd be interested to hear other people's experiences with these products or just to find out if you find this kind of post on my blog interesting at all!

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