Big Fat Beauty Haul #1

A lovely package from the online beauty store Feel Unique arrived for me at the end of last week, a box of my favourite goodies! 

It's been one of those months where I've run out of practically everything, so it was time to stock up. Although I haven't tried this yet, the beauty store Feel Unique offers a subscription service for your favourite go-to products that you know that you run out of every month or so. I think this is a great idea, and just one of the many reasons why Feel Unique is the best beauty store in the web! You can read more about their Subscribe and Replenish service here: 

http://www.feelunique.com/page/subscribe-and-replenish

So in my beauty haul I've got (starting from the top) 

Clinique's High Impact Extreme Volume mascara in Extreme Black

Clinique's Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Chocolate

Bare Minerals Original Foundation powder in Fairly Light

Bare Minerals All Over Face Colour in Warmth

Bare Minerals All Over Face Colour in Rose Radiance

Avene's Cleanance Micellar Water (a BIG bottle this time!) 

As I've blogged before, these are my favourite, everyday essentials. I use them all the time. This haul set me back £94 and that was with a discount code. However, these brands can be fairly pricey, and as I've learnt, when you find a product or a brand that just works, money kind of goes out of the window. I know these products work with my skin and don't cause me to break out, and that alone is justification for spending nearly £100 on cosmetics. 

Just don't tell my partner...  😉

I'm running low on my Clinique Anti Blemish products so my next Big Beaity Haul will include those! 

Lisa x

Avene Cleanance Micellar Water

Jumping on the bandwagon of the 'micellar water' craze, I started using the Avene Cleanance Micellar Water about 6 weeks ago. Micellar water is hugely popular in France and has been for centuries as a way of cleansing skin gently without having to rinse afterwards. I have used products in the Eau Thermal Avene Cleanace range before and had been impressed, so it was a no-brainer for me to try this product from a brand I trusted. This particular range (Cleanance) caters for those with oily, blemish prone skin, though there are other options for dry and sensitive skins.

This particular bottle was about £7 from Boots and is a good size to try, being only 100ml. I've since ordered the big 400ml bottle which I hope will last longer, as I have got through this pretty quickly. Micellar water is an excellent replacement for makeup remover wipes that whilst convenient, are often packed with preservatives to help them last. I have now seen Micellar water makeup remover wipes on the market though so you can potentially get the best of both worlds.

This brand has a pleasing, fresh smell. It's subtle and not astringent, it just smells clean. The water is ever-so-slightly oily and all I do is sprinkle a few drops onto a clean cotton pad and sweep across my face and eyes (yes - it can take eye makeup off too!) If you have a full face of makeup, expect to use 4-5 pads, if you've already cleansed your face (as I do - see earlier post) then you can get away with 1 or 2 pads, just to take away any lingering dregs of makeup and to freshen the skin. It feels very soft and gentle on the skin and mine devours the small amount of oil the water contains, meaning most days I don't bother with a moisturiser. I've been using it morning and evening and I feel quite strongly that my skin's overall appearance and texture has improved. My pores seems less enlarged and my skin seems more 'dewy'.

There are many other brands doing Micellar water now: Garnier and Simple to name a few. I figured that I'd pay the extra and opt for a brand that I trusted and used spring water that is bottled at the source after spending 40 years underground (think of all those nutrients and minerals!). Another brand which is touting Micellar water as their 'thing' is Bioderma, who have been selling it for years.

Next time you're out of makeup remover wipes, perhaps consider trying this instead. Hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

Lisa x