Glossy Girl

Hey girls, 

As mentioned in my last post I did a massive Anastasia Beverly Hills haul on Black Friday so I am doing a series of posts to cover the products I bought. 

Today I am going to cover what I felt was the ultimate bargain buy from the lot, that is the Lustrous Lipgloss Set.

The set includes 8 of the ABH most popular gloss shades including (listed in order from left to right) : 

-Glided, a subtle metallic gold

-Danity, a pretty baby pink

-Sunset Strip, a coral/pink with added sparkle

-Socialette, a cherry red

-Weekend Barbie, fuscia with a hint of glitter

-Date Night, a sparkly pinky red

-Metallic Rose, a metallic purple/pink

-Black Cherry, a deep purple 

Swatches of the set, L-R:Glided, Danity, Sunset Strip, Socialette, Weekend Barbie, Date Night, Metallic Rose, Black Cherry

I personally found the lighter metallic and glittery shades, particularly Glided and Sunset Strip, were not as pigmented as the rest of the colours. I have been using these two colours on top of other lipsticks to make the most of the colour, but wouldn't really wear them alone. All of the other colours have great colour pay off. 

My favourite shades in the set are Danity and Black Cherry, however I also like the Metallic Rose as its such a different shade to any I have come across. 

I did not find the glosses super sticky, as I have found some glosses can be, however the glittery shades had a slight stick compared to the muted colours. Overall these glosses feel pleasant to wear and smell AMAZING, literally like sweets, an added bonus when wearing them. 

What I love about this set is that there is a gloss for every occasion, and the price is unbelievable for the value for money ($40 in the US, or £33 in the UK which works out as £4.13 per gloss- A-M-A-Z-E). I am not usually much of a gloss girl and tend to wear lipsticks more often however I give these glosses a massive thumbs up, they have won me over as preferred choice against the Mac lipglass, its just a shame we can't buy the individual ABH lip gloss shades in the UK. 

I also bought my first ABH matte liquid lipstick, which will be covered in a seperate post so stay tuned! 

Are you a lipstick or a gloss girl? 

Blag Friday

Hi guys, 

As many of you will know when it come's to make up I will give up my entire bank's savings if it came to it. This Black Friday I went out to scout out the deals from the fails and this post will cover what I found. Now I won't lie, I did spend (a lot) this Friday, however most of the items were things I will stock up on in the next 6 months anyway as part of my beauty regime, or my professional kit. I tempted myself from falling in to some of the Blag Friday traps. 

Black Friday "sales" originate from the U.S as a follow on from Thanksgiving celebrations, kind of how boxing day works out for us. The past few years however it has become a bigger thing here in the UK, but are all of these deals really worth us staying up, sitting in front of our computers and giving in for? 

Last week I went into Superdrug and did a double take on two items in particular. The Makeup Revolution advent calendar, and the Real Techniques 10 piece brush set. As a beauty guru I spend most of my online life reading blogs, youtube videos and surfing beauty websites and Instagram pages (sad I know), therefore only two weeks ago I saw the Makeup Revolution advent calendar launch on the MR website for just £25. When I saw this I thought great; an affordable beauty calendar which fits well with what the brand stands for. A week later in Superdrug, the price went up to £50, which confused me and put me off buying it, only for it to be brought back down to £30 for Black Friday weekend.  Not as great a deal as many would think, working out at £5 more than the launch price. This to me screamed "blag." 

The second was the Real Techniques 10 piece brush set, which is marketed at £99. When I saw this I thought it had to be a mistake, 10 brushes for £100 may seem a good deal particular for Real Techniques which are amazing quality and I don't dispute that. However, the brushes include pics from the core and eye collection (which retail on average at about £20.99 each for 4-5 brushes). I also received the Nics Picks set last year, which included 6 brushes at £32 at the time. For Black Friday weekend the 10 piece set was reduced to a "bargain" price of £48.99. 

Although there are some brands and website who may not be selling items which are quite the deal they seem, there are also a few websites I found with great deals. 

Feel Unique- This isn't a website I usually use, but for this weekend including Cyber Monday they are posting a range of special offers on items including skincare and fragrances, definitely worth a look! There is also 15% off everything not included in the Black Friday discount deals and free delivery over £10, which trumps the 10% off in Boots, John Lewis and Selfridges this weekend. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills (U.S website)- Anastasia is a brand a regularly rave about, and as a luxury brand imported from the US none of the UK stockists have included Anastasia in their Black Friday discounts. However, if you buy from the brand direct on Cyber Monday they are offering 25% off brow products, and there is also talk of a free highliting brush with every highlighter purchase to be launched so keep your eyes peeled. Although a shipping charge applies, the products still work out a lot cheaper than available in the UK. 

Clarisonic - If you own a Clarisonic, now is the time to stock up on your brush heads with 20% off everything. The brush heads can be quite expensive to buy, and you will always need them for your machine so definitely worth the deal. If you haven't read my review ranting about how great this product is read it here and you can also purchase yourself the Clarisonic Aria for £99 this weakend and the Smart Profile (which I use) for £159.20 (I paid £200). 

The Body Shop- The Body Shop is offering 40% off all products, and also flash deals throughout the weekend. I bought a shampoo, moisturiser, facial oil and scrub all for £26 including delivery. If you have always been curious about some of their products, but didn't want to commit, this would be the time to try them. 

Did you have a Black Friday or a Blag Friday? Post any fab or dud deals you found in the comments box!