Florida Haul 2014

Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I last posted something and I do not have a good excuse this time so I'm just going to apologise and hope you can all forgive me. I promise I am back now and aim to post a lot more frequently while I'm on my summer break and make the most of this time that I have off.

Part of the reason you guys haven't heard from me is because I went to Florida for just under two weeks. I would have warned you guys in advance about my absence but, well, I didn't know I was going until the day before I left. In fact, my tickets were not even booked until less than 24 hours before I caught my flight!

I won't go too far into why I went or what I did because this post would be incredibly long but basically I met my mum and godmother out there and we spent a week at a health spa and then another week at my godmother's house to relax and shop.  As you can imagine I went a bit crazy on the cosmetics since I find make up to be so much cheaper for me to buy in the U.S. and it's one of my favourite things to shop for.

All my lovely goodies...

Make Up For Ever High Definition Powder

I have wanted this powder for so long having heard the hype around it in the beauty community.

Smashbox Photo Finish Blemish Control Primer

I needed a new primer and have heard good things about this one. The blemish controlling aspect appeals to my troublesome skin.

Dior Airflash foundation in 600 

I will admit that I was influenced by a sales assistant. She put this on me and it looked so good that I purchased it despite the ridiculous price tag!

MAC Blush in "Raizin"

I asked the MAC assistant to help me find a reddish brown matte blush that I could use as a contour as well as a blush and she immediately suggested this shade for me which is one I had actually been considering myself. It looks amazing on darker skin tones like my own.

Maybelline Master Glaze in "Plums Up"

This product caught my eye when I was snooping around the make up section of Bed, Bath and Beyond and I was pretty sure this wasn't available in the UK yet so I though that I should definitely check it out! Plus, I love the idea of cream blushers in stick format. I have tried this already and found that it blended well to give a natural finish and the colour pay off was also decent.

Dior Rosy Glow in "001 Petal"

Don't be frightened by the bright bubblegum pink of the blusher in the container, on the skin it adapts to your skin's pH to provide the perfect blush colour for your skin tone. I loved this when the lady tried it on me in the store.

Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer in 6.0

I have used this a lot since I bought it and really like it. It covers up my under eye circles well and is a good shade for me. The stick makes it travel friendly and good for precision concealing of problem areas. It is maybe not the most hygienic for a make up kit but for personal use I love the convenience of it.

Essie Nail Varnish in "Merci Boku"

I love the bronze tint to this. It would look amazing with a tan! 

Butter London Nail Lacquer in "Dosh"

Green is my favourite colour and it was discounted at T J Maxx, how could I not?

O.P.I Liquid Sand Nail Lacquer in "Get Your Number"

I was drawn in by the sparkly-ness and electrifying colour of this product. It has a rough texture on your nails due to the sheer amount of chunky glitter packed into the bottle, but this adds to the 'liquid sand' effect. To me, it is similar to the Rimmel Space Dust Nail Polishes I have reviewed in the past but with slightly chunkier glitter pieces. It is as equally tough to remove as Rimmel's version which is to be expected, but this does mean that it is impressively long wearing.

Dior Nail Glow

This makes the pinks of your nails pinker and the tips whiter. An awesome "your nails but better" product for those who want to enhance their natural nails.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips

The name is hilarious but I have also heard some great things about this product so it was not purely a novelty purchase. I do like it a lot actually which is surprising for someone who is very fussy with lip balms because it has more of a thick serum feel than a waxy balm and therefore I feel like it is actually moisturising my lips and not just masking them.

EOS Lip Balm in "Honeysuckle Honeydew"

This lip balm is more of a waxy formula, however surprisingly I do find that it still moisturises my lips. It also smells and tastes divine.

Too Faced Melted Liquefied Long Wear Lipstick in "Melted Fig"

A matte finish liquid lipstick in a purple-pink colour which I am very drawn to (I wish I knew the correct name for this colour, or at least something to compare it to)

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains in "050 London Posh" and "020 Rio Rush"

I was so excited when I saw these in CVS because this is something I don't think I have seen in the UK yet and for once might be ahead of the hype or at least not months behind it [edit: these lip stains are now available in the UK]! I've tried the lighter frosty pink shade (London Posh) already and found it to be comparable in formula and idea to the L'Oreal Paris GlamShine Stain Splashes which I love. I do feel like the Revlon versions are thicker in consistency and glossier though.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cremes in "San Paulo" and Amsterdam"

These dry to a semi-matte finish and come in a huge colour range. The colour is very opaque and the formula is not drying on your lips. It also smells like buttercream icing to me, yum!

MAC Lipsticks in "Russian Red" and "Plumful

Russian Red is a cult favourite because it can be easily worn by pretty much all skin tones (but pops on lighter skin tones) and the blue tone helps to whiten teeth.

Swatches

Top to bottom: Melted Fig (Too Faced), London Posh (Revlon), Rio Rush (Revlon), San Paulo (NYX), Amsterdam (NYX), Russian Red (MAC) and Plumful (MAC)

Dior Rouge Lipsticks in "448 Tulip Pink", "651 Tourbillon Pink" and "766 Rose Harpers)

The lovely Dior counter girl gave us lots of free samples including tester lipsticks and perfumes since my godmother, mum and I collectively spent a lot of money under her influence. We split the free items between us and these are the ones which I got. The first two shades (448 and 651) look similar but 448 is definitely warmer toned and slightly darker.

So that is my rather large Florida haul, I hope you enjoyed perusing my purchases and maybe even got some ideas of thing you might like to try in the future. Be sure to tell me what you'd like to try most or suggest other similar products or different shades you think I might like.

Thanks for reading,

Kira <3