Haul

My fiance is going away tomorrow for a week to go kayaking in the Outer Hebrides...rather him than me! Anyways, we were going to get some food shopping so I didn't starve while he was away (his words, not mine!). I told him I had to "pop into Boots on the way past to get something". Now in girl talk this should be translated to "I want to go and look at all the pretty makeup stuff for a while, tell myself I won't buy anything, then buy everything". After an unspecified amount of time, I emerged from Boots with a bag, to which my boyfriend announced "Finally!"...I, of course made up some excuse that there was a huge queue and the girl behind the till was really slow...which wasn't true (sorry Boots girl). What WAS true was that I got sidetracked buying lovely goodies and here is what I got:

I don't usually even look at the 17 counter in Boots coz I haven't used it since I was a teenager but after seeing Tali a.k.a. The Gloss Goss talking about how good the bronzing pearls were, I decided to take a look at what the brand had to offer. I saw quite a few lovely products. After swatching like a mad woman, I got the 17 Ligloss in Star Girl, Barry M Ligloss in no.4 and 17 Eye Pencil in Gold. I loved the lilacy shade of the 17 gloss and thought it was a flattering and easy-to-wear variation on the trend. I also LOVE the Barry M one, I have seen a few people posting on this product and I really like the milky opaque pinky/lilac effect it gives. It's quite full-on pastel for daytime so I will probably wait until I go out somewhere at night to try it out properly. At first, I thought the two lipglosses looked very similar, but on closer inspection and after swatching, you will see below that the 17 gloss is a sheerer, more shimmery peachy/lilac version of the Barry M gloss. So basically, I would wear the 17 one in the daytime for a more subtle look and the Barry M one for a more striking look at night.

The 17 Eye Pencil in Gold was an impulse buy but I'm SO glad I tried it coz it is SUPER pigmented and after swatching it, I washed my hand and it took a good three washes to get it off!This says to me that when I wear it, it's gonna be long lasting and won't budge. I will definitely go back and try out the other shades, from memory I think there was a silver one, purple, blue and black one. At just over £3.00, these are great value for money!

The product that made me check out the brand was the Instant Glow Bronzing Pearls in Medium. Tali had said that they give a gorgeous glow and I agree. When I swatched it, it looks like it would be a great product to add a glow to the hairline and cheekbones. I wouldn't say it's a product I would use as a bronzer for my whole face though as the colour isn't strong enough for that. The different coloured pearls just add that extra bit of sheeny glowiness and the swatch pic below certainly doesn't do it justice (you can thank my rubbish camera). I will have to use it in a FOTD to show you what I mean.

There was also a deal on that when you spent over £5 on 17 products, you get a free Bronzed & Gorgeous Summer Glow Kit as pictured below...

I wasn't expecting much from this palette as it didn't look that exciting at first...BUT...the eyeshadow called Statuesque (the taupey brown colour) is just gorgeous! I didn't expect it to be that pigmented and I would say that with a good base, this would be a stunning all over lid colour! The other eyeshadow in Ivory Coast didn't show up well in the pic but it's basically just a matte vanilla colour and you could use it as a highlight or to tone down the darker shade but it's a bit blah really. The bronzer in the palette is basically exactly like the bronzing pearls but in powder form. I hate the silly little cheap brushes they put in these kind of palettes...they're never any good. The disappointing part of the palette was the lipgloss, it's so rubbish, they didn't even give it a name. There's no pigment to it at all! I won't bother using it. I'm not that bothered about that though coz it was a freebie so anything good about it is a bonus.

The next section I skipped over to was Prestige. I have been desperate to try their other Skin Loving Mineral Powders ever since I got Pure Shimmer (one of my fave highlighters) and their bronzer in St Tropez. I got the most popular blogger choice, Glam Tan and the lesser blogged about, Rich Bronze. When I first swatched Glam Tan, I knew it was too dark for me to use as an all over bronzer, but it will be brilliant as a contour! I think Rich Bronze is alot more wearable, I am wearing it today and although I suspected it might be a bit shimmery to use all over the face as a bronzer, it looks really good. The shimmer isn't noticeable and it creates more of a glowy look to the skin. I love the quality of these mineral powders, they are great value for money and have the same concept as MAC MSF's. I really like the sturdy packaging too.



So after my very successful shopping trip to Boots, I came away a very happy bunny and with my arms and hands covered in different swatches of make-up...I felt VERY self conscious in the queue for the till...the guy next to me kept looking at my arms. I had a real urge to say to him "you're a guy...you don't understand these things! It's girl stuff!"