Superdrug, Boots & Topshop Haul

As I said in my previous post, I did not leave London empty handed. Once again, I raided Superdrugs, Boots and Topshop to find products that we don't have here in the US. I went a little crazy with mascaras, as you'll soon see.

On this trip, I was determined to try more Bourjois products. I finally bought the Healthy Mix foundation and I was quite disappointed that I hadn't bought it sooner or on my previous trips because I absolutely love it! It sets real nicely on the skin and never looks like I've got any foundation on. This drugstore foundation rivals some of the high-end ones I've used in the past. The finish of the Healthy Mix foundation is demi-matte and has light-medium coverage that is buildable. There's a reason that world renowned make-up artist Lisa Eldridge so often recommends Healthy Mix. The Healthy Balance powder goes together nicely with the foundation, never looking cakey when you set it. I'll have to demo them one day. I have yet to try the mascara, but I was intrigued by the brush.

The Bronzing Primer is similar to Soleil Tan de Chanel, but has a more mousse consistency. The two pretty much look the same once blended into the skin, though Chanel tends to last longer on me. I often use it as a base before I apply Healthy Mix since the shade I have (#51 Vanille Clair) is a tad too light for me and I am actually between #51 and #52. It's easier to warm up a light shade rather than lighten a dark one.

The Flower Perfection Primer is actually really nice. It's supposed to mattify the skin, but I still get a little oily. It does have a slight blurring effect, as you can see in the picture above. I've used Healthy Mix with and without the primer and it doesn't affect the longevity of the foundation. It does help the foundation apply better. I think my favorite thing about all of the Bourjois products is that they all smell amazing.

Seventeen is a brand that I only discovered last year. I'm pretty sure it's been around for a while, but I just never noticed them. I asked around on Twitter for brands that I should check out while in the UK and Seventeen was one that was recommended to me by a handful of people. My mum loves their mascaras so I picked up 3 of them. I haven't used them yet as I currently have 3 other mascaras that I'm trying to use up. Hopefully I can get to these ASAP.

The Cheek Stamps are an interesting concept. They literally are spring-loaded stamps that stamp powder blush onto your cheeks. I've tried the tester and they are a little gimicky and slightly awkward to blend with, but I liked the shades they had to offer. I will swatch them in the future so you all can see.

The Stay Time Concealer was a last minute buy from the Boots at Heathrow. Once I got through security, I made a beeline for Boots to see if I could get in one more purchase. I wanted to look awake and fresh when I landed at LAX so I bought this to brighten up my skin a bit. The coverage is light-medium and since the shade Fair is a little too light and pink for me, I use it only to brighten under my eyes, around my nose and mouth and other areas that I want to highlight.

You know I couldn't leave London without getting something from Topshop. I also grabbed a couple of items from Collection and Rimmel.

The Collection Work the Colour Eyebrow Kit is one of my favorite purchases. I didn't own any brow powder so I wanted to look for one. I love the shades included in this kit because neither of them have any red in it. It's so versatile and suits everyone. I also really like the brush that is included. I use the angled end to fill in my brows and the rounded end to blend everything in. The brow gel, though, is completely useless that's why I bought the Rimmel Brow This Way Gel.

We now have a Topshop in San Diego, but you can't really avoid going into one when you're shopping on Oxford Street. Having realized on my last day of shopping that I hadn't picked up any lip products, I thought I'd check out what Topshop had to offer since they now have more shades available from the last time I was there.

The Cheek Jelly in Beep is nothing special. It's just a tinted balm that you can use for both your cheeks and lips. I bought it because my skin was really dry at the time and I wanted to use something that would add a flush of color and make it look less dull. It has a really funny smell, though it goes away after a few seconds. I think there's no difference between the Jelly and someone melting a red crayon and mixing it into Vaseline. Maybe the only difference really is convenience. The matte lipstick in Suspected is one of the shades that I couldn't pass up. It's a dark plum color that really suits my skintone. It kind of looks like MAC's Rebel, but it is slightly darker on me.

And that's all for my UK haul! Hope you enjoyed it.