Glossybox "All I Want" Advent Calendar - Part 1 - Days 1 - 12

Now I know that some people don't like them but personally I love a luxury advent calendar. I've always had an advent calendar ever since was a child, and even though we've now come a long way since the cardboard and glitter calendars of my childhood, opening a box or a door every morning in the run up to Christmas still gives me that hint of childhood excitement.

We're well advented out in the house, between 2 people and 3 cats, we seem to have acquired 6 advent calendars. The cats have one with kitty heart shaped treats inside, my mum has a Lindt chocolate one, and a NEXT home fragrance calendar, and somehow I've ended up with 3. I have a traditional Cadbury's one, a lovely Moo Free chocolate one which was a gift from a friends parents and I also have a luxury beauty advent calendar, which this year is from Glossybox.

Pretty much every brand and store this seemed to be doing their own advent calendar this year, and there were so many that I could have chosen or gone for, but after receiving a press release, I decided to go for the Glossybox UK All I Want Advent Calendar. This to the best of my knowledge is Glossybox UK's first advent calendar, and as expected it proved to be extremely successful and it did in fact sell out. I'm super grateful that Mummy Lou ordered it for me as part of my Christmas present, the retail price was originally £99 for non subscribers, but subscribers like me got the chance to pre order it for just £75. I also had some Glossy Credits which you could redeem against it, so we paid a little bit less in the end.

The designs itself is beautiful, wrapped in a pink ribbon, it's predominately in shades of pink, rose gold, and grey. Open the door and you're greeted with 24 different sized boxes all filled with goodies and shred, the boxes themselves are stacked on 4 little shelves within the box. That's not all though adhered to the inside of the left hand door is another box, with a 25 on it which is just the icing on the cake in my opinion, it's really nice to have an extra gift on Christmas Day itself.

Unlike the calendar that I got last year, this one probably isn't quite as reusable, but I'm definitely going to think of a way to reuse it, obviously you could refill it as it is, or you can use the individual boxes either for gift wrapping or for storing decorations. I'm definitely going to try and resuse it even if I just put something on the little shelves, we'll see, but it's definitely too pretty to just recycle.

Even though I had a few hints (okay a full contents list!) it's still exciting opening the boxes every morning and seeing what's inside! I've been posting day by day pics on Instagram but like in previous years I thought I'd share some initial impressions about the products inside on the blog, some of them will be full reviews with swatches and so on and with some products I'll just be telling you about more about what it is, what does, and an idea of the retail price so you make your own mind up as to whether or this calendar was worth the money - so a little but here are days 1 - 12.

Day 1 - NARS Velvet Lip Glide - 3.4ml - Immoral

Ah, NARS, who doesn't love a bit of NARS. They're one of those brands that I would happily buy everything from, providing I had unlimited funds that is,  I love their products, and thanks to the Glossbox All I Want Advent Calendar I've been able to try another one.

Lip colours are the one area where NARS and I haven't really got on, but this one thankfully was a winner. NARS Velvet Lip Glide is the perfect mix of a lipstick and a gloss, they apply with the smoothness of a gloss but with the intensity and pigmentation of a lipstick. Containing waterlily and white tea they are moisturising on the lips and have a smooth satin to semi matte finish.

Immoral is a beautiful creamy, cool fuchsia pink shade, it's extremely pigmented and it feels smooth and nourishing on the lips. I am officially in love with both this colour and this formulation. You can see a quick pic of it below and I am also wearing it in upcoming December 2018 Glossybox Unboxing Video x The one pity is that this shade appears to be a limited edition and quite hard to find, if you're in the USA though you can be this shade in this deluxe mini size as part of duo for around $16. Glossybox estimate this deluxe mini size at around £13.72 - a full 5.7ml Velvet Lip Glide retails at around £23. Although it might be quite difficult to get your hands on this particular shade, there are lots and lots of other shades to try, and I'm definitely going to be splashing out on a few more of these in the future x

Day 2 - Nip + Fab Hydrate Dragon's Blood Fix Plumping Serum - 30ml

I've tried a few products from Nip + Fab, mainly from the Glycolic and Kale ranges but I've never tried anything from their Dragon's Blood range before. A few people have told me how much they like this product and apparently Kylie Jenner is a fan too.

The idea of dragons blood sounds a little bit scary, but no komodo dragons, Smaugs, or Drogons have been harmed in the making of this product, dragons blood is in fact the sap from the Croton Lechleri tree, which when teamed up with velvet flower extract and hyaluronic acid provides intense moisture, plumpness  and comfort to all skin types but especially dehydrated and sensitive skin that is prone to redness. My skin is strange at the moment I have a few hormonal spots on my chin but at the same time, it feels quite dry, so I might give this ago in the run up to Christmas to see if it can perform a festive miracle or two x This is a good 30ml size which Glossybox value at around £11.97, the regular 50ml size retails at around £19.85

Day 3 - Yankee Candle Small Jar Candle - Berry Trifle 104g

I do love a candle especially when it's cold and dark outside, there is something so warming and soothing about candlelight, especially when it smells as good as this one does. Apparently there were two different scents but the one I got was Berry Trifle. I love food and fruit scents so this one is right up my street. It has a mouthwatering warm, fruity, berry scent with just a hint of vanilla and creaminess. Between us, me and Mummy Lou could probably own our own candle store and we I first smelled this I thought we already owned this one, but the one we actually have is the similar smelling Berry Jam, so Berry Trifle is a welcome addition to our extensive candle library. This is a Yankee Candle Small Jar Candle, which burns for 20-30 hours, they retail at £8.99 so this was a nice item to receive.

Day 4 - Philip Kingsley Body Building Conditioner - 60ml

Now, I'm a huge Philip Kingsley fan, Elasticizer is a must have and I regularly use the brands shampoos and conditioners and I have a few other bits to try. I've tried a couple of their conditioners before but I've never tried this one before. I've reviewed the corresponding shampoo before (read my review here) but this is new to me. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but once I've cleared a few more products out of the shower I'll be giving this ago.

According to Philip Kingsley (who are a professional trichology brand) this is an ultra lightweight conditioner that's ideal for fine hair types, it's designed to add moisture without weight, and it's designed to thicken the appearance of each individual hair strange, and detangling the hair as well as combating frizz and fly aways. Sounds good? I'll probably let you know what I think in a future empties post x This 60ml size is quite hard to find but it retails at around £7.00, the 75ml size retails at £10 if you fancy giving this a go.

Day 5 - MDM Flow Greater Than Mascara - 6.5ml

I've tried a couple of lip products from this UK, cruelty free brand before, but I've never tried any of their eye or face products. Now I haven't opened this that because I've already got a couple of mascaras on the go but it sounds pretty promising. According to everything that I've read this is a highly pigmented black volumising mascara, with a indented brush designed for increased volume and clump free application. It's also apparently long wearing but it contains a unique Easy-Off formulation that makes it easy to remove with either water or a water based eye make up remover. Sounds good and I can't wait to give it ago - I'll let you in a future post what I think about it if you're interested. This full 6.5ml size of the MDM Flow Greater Than Mascara retails at around £18.

Day 6 - 3INA The Lip Primer - 10ml

I've used a few bits from 3INA in the past but this is new to me x I've never much of a fan of lip primers if I'm honest - the majority either seem to dry your lips out or they just look like you've covered your lips in concealer, this is a little bit different. As well as being paraben free, vegan, and cruelty free, it's also water based. It's basically just a slightly iridescent pink, liquid cream. It matiffies the lips without making them dry or sore. I've mainly be using this under both lipsticks and glosses and it definitely makes the majority of them that I've tried last a little bit longer. You can also use it as a lip nourishing produce and on top of lipstick to give a more mattifying effect. This is a full size and retails at around £9.95.

Day 7 - Patisserie De Bain Strawberry Cupcake Bath & Shower Creme - 50ml

I was a little bit excited when I saw this, I do love fruity smelling shower products and this is the scent of summer in a tube just what you want when it's freezing outside! Patisserie De Bain are the sister brand of Yorkshire based company Rose & Co. I've tried a few Rose & Co products, and my mum is already a huge fan of Patisserie De Bain's Sugared Violet range, but this is a new scent to us both. This vegan friendly shower product apparently smells exactly like strawberries and cream, yummy! I'm in a wintry and warming mood at the moment when it comes to shower products so I'm going to hang on to this one and keep for when it quite so vile outside x This product has an estimated RRP of £2.99.

Day 8 - Real Techniques 200 Expert Foundation / Face Brush

I do love a make up brush and I was thrilled to open one of my little boxes, and see a make up brush from Real Techniques. If you haven't heard of Real Techniques where have you been?? It is an excellent, and affordable make up brush for make up artists and You Tuber's Sam and Nic aka Pixiwoo. I love their brushes and this is a limited edition version of one of their most popular brushes, their foundation / face brush. Their brushes are cruelty free, soft, durable and silky, and in this case in particular they look amazing. This brush which perfect for applying both cream and liquid foundations has super soft, densely packed duo fibre hairs. The body of the brush in a gorgeous almost rose gold, pink metal, and a almost rubberised feel plastic. I can't actually find this brush for sale on it's own so it's definitely a limited edition, a comparable brush would retail for around £9.99 but if this one has taken your fancy then it is available as part of the newly released Everyday Essentials Set which retails at around £19.99 and contains 4 brushes including this one and a Miracle Complexion Sponge.

Day 9 - Charles Worthington Take Aways Volume & Bounce Body Booster Mousse - 50ml

Now I've got to be honest I don't really use hair mousse, my hairdressers occasionally uses it before she blow drys my hair but it isn't something that I use at home. My mam on the other hand has crazy curly hair, and as a result she loves her mousse, so she's already nabbed this, and fingers crossed she likes it. From celebrity hairdresser Charles Worthington's line this mousse contains collagen is designed to boost volume, and give body, bounce, and lasting volume x This is a travel sized mini and has a retail price of around £2.49.

Day 10 - Bare Minerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Infusion - 7.5ml 

I actually have a tube or two of this but as yet I haven't tried it. You may be familiar with bare minerals as a make up brand but did you know that they've now branched out into skincare. It's a natural progression I guess for a natural brand that already produced make up with so many skincare benefits. This sounds amazing and I'm actually going to try it out tonight. Containing Bare Minerals patented Long Life Herb Extract. this is basically an all round skin replenisher, which is designed to promote a more youthful appearance, by adding moisture, and diminishing the appearance of fine lines, pores, wrinkles and uneven skin texture. You simply apply it to the face and neck after cleansing both morning and evening. You can either use on it's own or under your normal moisturiser for extra boost. According to Glossybox this 7.5ml size retails at around £7.29.

Day 11 - Bellapierre Cosmetics Kiss Proof Lip Finish - 3.8g

Bellapierre are another mineral based make up brand, all of their products are toxin, paraben free, and cruelty free, and contain only naturally derived ingredients, I own a few of their products already including some of their pigments and I've been pretty impressed with the things that I have tried but this is something new!

Now this product has flummoxed me a bit - At first I wasn't sure exactly what it was - was it a lip gloss or was it a lip sealer like Lipcote, designed to keep your lipstick in place no matter who many people you kiss under the mistletoe, it turns out it's probably a combination of the two. Kiss Proof Lip Finish is a hydrating clear lip gloss that is designed specifically to be worn on top of Bellapierre's Kiss Proof Lips Cremes, transfer what is in essence a matte product to a long lasting glossy one

Obviously you can use over any lip colour and I actually tried it over NARS Immoral and wow the difference in appearance was phenomenal, for a pretty satin finish to a full on almost mirror like gloss finish in one sweep. The gloss is a bit runny but it gave a fabulous almost mirror like finish to the lips and believe it or not it improved the wear time of something that was already pretty long lasting. This is a full size and retails at £15.

Day 12 - MUA Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palette - Cosmic Vixen 

and on day 12 my true love, or Glossybox in this case, gave to me a full size MUA Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palette. Although they are definitely at the lower end of the price spectrum, Make Up Academy Eyeshadow Palettes are pretty amazing and I already own quite a few of them but I didn't have thankfully I didn't have this one.

This palette is both talc and cruelty free and contains 15 fabulous shades in a mixture of textures, mattes, shimmers and high pearl finishes, this palette isn't for the faint hearted, there are some pretty out there shades in it. From pinks, almost reds and corals, to mauve's, purples and plums, there are some bright colours in this palette. Fear not that because it also has a few gold, taupe's and bronzes so it isn't all scary. If you like the idea of Urban Decay Naked Cherry with just a touch of Naked Heat thrown in then this palette is a fab budget alternative.

All of the shades feel soft and silly and the shimmers and pearls almost have a creamy feel to them. As you would expect pigmentation wise it's the shimmers and pearls that will blow your socks off, smooth shimmery, buttery and delicious colour payoff. The mattes on the other hand whilst feeling soft and silky vary slightly, the pay off on the darker colours in fine, but some of the paler shades are a bit chalky.

In reality I probably wouldn't have bought this palette, a lot of the colours are just slightly too bold for me but even though I've just managed to swatch it I'm really thinking that I could make more of the colours work for me than what I first thought. It's definitely going to be one that I'm to experiment with in the new year. This is a full size palette and retails at a pretty fabulous £5.

So 12 days down, (well more like 16 now) and a week and a bit to go before the big day - Verdict? So far, so good - A good assortment of products, full sizes and prices, and a few fabulous new discoveries - Highlights? too many but NARS, 3INA, Yankee Candles, and Real Techniques are the things that excited my most, we'll see though when I've had a proper play. Don't forget you can keep track of the days and the boxes on my Instagram and I'll be posting days 13 - 24, hopefully on Christmas Eve. In the meantime if you have any questions on any of the products in the calendar so far, I'd love to hear them so leave me a comment below xx

Real Techniques Your Picks Berlin Brush Set Winner Revealed

Hi Guys x I hope you all had a lovely weekend, I know I'm a little bit late but it's now to time to announce the winner of my Real Techniques giveaway! I had over 2,000 entries and I've really enjoyed reading through some of your new years resolutions and I'm definitely going to take aboard some of your blog post suggestions in 2017.

Alas there can only be one winner, and the winner picked at random from Rafflecopter is.....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deborah Smith

AKA kungfupidge21 on Instagram

Congratulations Deborah x If you can send your address details to louloulanduk@gmail.com  before this Saturday, then I'll post your prize out to you next week x

If you weren't lucky enough to win this time round don't despair, this weekend marks my 10th blogging anniversary and I may be hosting another high end giveaway on Sunday that you won't want to miss if x Thanks again for all of your entries, and of course for all of your follows, comments and support xx

Real Techniques Your Picks Berlin Holiday Set - Review And Giveaway - CLOSED

For someone who never used to use, or see the point in make up brushes, it's safe to say that I'm now slightly obsessed with them. I have 5 jars and vases full of make up brushes, and I have several more squirrelled away in make up bags and drawers. I've said it before and I'll say it again though , a cheap brush doesn't make a bad brush, and if you were to have a look through my brush collection then you'd see that I have brushes from a huge variety of brands and at a variety of different price points.

One of the brush brands of the moment is of course Real Techniques, the beauty tool brand founded and championed by professional make up artists and You Tubers Sam and Nic aka Pixiwoos. As much as I love watching their tutorials up until recently I only owned a couple of their brushes, a stippling brush and an eyeliner brush. I'd heard a lot of great things about their brush sets but if I'm being honest I couldn't really justify buying a full brush set. I didn't desperately need any more brushes, and even though I view Real Techniques as being a made range brand I couldn't really justify the cost.

You know how it goes though, you stay strong for so long and then you just say sod it and buy it anyways. Well that's exactly what happened when I saw this set, the Real Techniques By Sam & Nic Your Picks Berlin Brush Set.

Comprising of 5 brushes for the face and eyes, this limited edition set is Real Techniques first ever fan voted kit. Way back in April, Real Techniques gave their fans the opportunity to vote via their Instagram and social media pages for which brush design they liked the best. All of the brushes were themed around cities, and the designs reflected local landmarks, art and culture. I'm going to be honest and say that I preferred the brighter Sydney or Shanghai designs, but this set Berlin was the clear winner.

The inspiration for this design came from the multi cultural Berlin street art scene, with the brushes reflecting abstract paintings, street murals and graffiti. All of the brushes are cruelty free and are made from 100% synthetic duo fibres so they can be used with liquids, creams and powders. The main metal section of the brush handle features an abstract black and white, which depending on how you look at it could be a cow print, or even brush strokes. The name of each brush is also printed on the side in hot pink / purple colour. In direct contrast to the black and white design, and the monochrome brush hairs, the end of the brush handle is also in a bright pink / purple plastic which has a slightly rubberised feel for easy grip.

As I say this kit contains 5 full sized brushes, for both the face, and the eyes. It's a real essentials kit, and it's perfecting for trying out Real Techniques for the first time, or for expanding you make up brush collection 

Buffing Brush

If you're a loose or pressed powder fan or if like so many of us, you love the look and ease of mineral foundation, then this is the brush for you. It's super soft and fluffy, but it isn't too big so you can apply the powder exactly where you need it.

I've been mainly using this brush with both loose and pressed powder and I've found it a really easy brush to use. It picks up powder with ease, and it feels gentle on the skin but at the same time it's firm enough to do the job. 

When I first used this brush I notice a little bit of shedding and as you probably see in the photos above some of the hairs were slight splayed. I do think that this was probably down to the packaging though rather than down to any manufacturing issue. The brushes are quite tightly packed it a piece of foam so I think that may be why some of the hairs were slightly displaced.

Contour Brush

One of the key beauty trend of 2016 was contouring, or using powders and creams to re shape your face. As well as needing the right bronzers, concealers and highlighters you also need the right brushes to apply you make up.

This smaller slightly domed brush is perfect for applying a bit of highlighter to your cheekbones or even for popping a bit of colour into the hollows of your cheeks. I've mainly been using this brush with a powder highlighter, and again I was really impressed with the softness of the brush, and with how easy it was to use.

Stippling Brush 

I already have quite a few similar brushes in my collection, and whilst I do sometimes mix it up and apply my foundation with a different type of brush or sponge, I always end up coming back to the classic stippling brush.

This duo fibre brush not only features two different types of hairs, but the hairs themselves are actually different lengths for a more natural, feathery finish. The brush hairs again are super soft but at the same time the brush is substantial enough to hold it's shape even when it covered in liquid. I've been using this brush mainly with a liquid foundation, but I've also tried it with a cream foundation and I was equally impressed.

I did notice a little bit of shedding the first time I used it but it was a very easy brush to work with and unlike some brushes that I've used in the past it blended out the product very easily and I didn't really get any streaks, or uneven patches.

Deluxe Crease Brush

The last two brushes in the kit are both eye brushes and this one is the Deluxe Crease Brush which is specifically designed to contour and shape the eyelid.

This is quite an over sized fluffy crease brush, personally because I don't have a lot of lid space, I prefer a smaller more precise crease brush but I still think that I'll get a lot of use out of this brush. With a very steady hand I can use this brush to apply colour to my crease but I think I'm mainly going to be using this brush to blend and soften my eyeshadow, and maybe to apply a highlight colour to my brow bone, where I have a bit more space.

Like all of the other brushes in this kit this one was super soft, but it was substantial enough to the job. Again some of the hairs did look a bit splayed and I did actually notice a few loose hairs in this brush that came out when I first used it.

Base Shadow Brush

The final brush in the kit is the Base Shadow Brush. This brush is still pretty soft and fluffy but it's a lot smaller and as a result I think it's something that I will definitely be using on pretty much a daily basis.

As the name would suggest this brush is perfect for applying your base shadow colour all over your lid, personally though I would also use this brush for crease work and even for applying an eyeshadow primer. This is a super versatile brush and I think that it's one that most people would get a lot of use out of.

In fact I think that most people would get a lot of use out of this entire kit. This set contains 5 of the most useful essential brushes that everybody needs in their collection. These brushes look great and bar a couple of minor blips, the quality is excellent. All of the brushes were really easy to wash with minimal shedding and they were quick drying. 

I think that this kit would be perfect for someone who is new to make up or for anyone who wants to expand their make up brush collection in one easy step.

The Real Techniques Your Picks Berlin, is a limited edition set with a recommended retail price of around £25 and is available from all of the usual Real Techniques stockists including Boots, Superdrug and the Real Techniques website. This was a limited edition holiday kit though so you better get your skates on if you want to grab it before it disappears.

If you're having trouble finding it though, don't despair, in celebrating of the new year and LouLouLand reaching, 1,000,000 all time blog views,  I've managed to track down an extra set, which I'm going to be giving away to one of my lucky readers.

All you need to do is make sure you're following my blog and fill in the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open internationally and will end on Saturday 4th February x 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you've any questions on this post then please leave me a comment x Thanks for reading and good luck x 

November / December Haul - Part 2 - Fashion and Beauty Featuring Make Up Revolution, Real Techniques And More

Happy Monday Guys x I hope today hasn't been too awful for you x Apart from cooking a yummy pasta dish the only other thing I've done today is brave the shops to finish my Christmas shopping. Bar a few ebay no shows I'm done. I really love shopping but not at this time of year, it's way to busy and way too stressful. Over the last month and a bit though I have picked up a few things for myself, I'm very much a one for me one for you person :)

We'll start off with clothes and it wouldn't be Christmas without a Christmas jumper. For many years they were considered naff, think Bridget Jones and her turkey curry, now tho they seem to be a bit of a must have. I already have a Christmas pudding from last year but I couldn't resist these fluffy sheep in Santa hats.

The sequins give is just a hint of tackiness but I just think it's really cute. Slightly blurry pic below but I teamed it with a winter skirt and tights for National Christmas Jumper Day on Friday. I think that I'll be wearing it with jeans and leggings for the rest of the festive season though. I got my jumper from Littlewoods and it was also available for Very, unfortunately it doesn't appear to be online anymore.

Sticking with the Christmas theme I also bought some Nordic themed reindeer socks from ebay. I didn't really need anymore socks but I bought a couple of pairs for gifts and you know the one for me, one for you theory. It's probably too late to get these in time for Christmas, but there is nothing wrong with thinking ahead for next year ;) There are a few different colours to choose from and they are just 99p from this seller.

My last clothing purchase was a bit of a silly one courtesy of Groupon. At this time of year we really get the urge to nest, and there is nothing better for keeping cosy than an animal onesie!

I know it's completely ridiculous, but I couldn't resist my Cheshire Cat, The face is on the hood and it even has a little tail

It was £16.99 with £1.99 postage and  there were quite a few different ones to choose from including Piglet, Eeyore, Olaf from Frozen, and lots of different animals.

As well as my little Body Shop and Neals Yard hauls I've also bought quite a few other beauty things lately, including the pretty fabulous Beauty At Tesco Advent Calendar. I got it for half price (£25) on Black Friday.I'm going to do a couple of posts on the contents for you but so far I'm pretty pleased with it.

Over the last month or so I've also placed a couple of Avon orders and I've also made probably my last ever bubble bath purchase whilst living in this house

I'm still using up a huge bottle of Avon's Cranberry and Orange Bubble Bath from last year but I love the smell and I couldn't resist a bottle of this years incarnation, Avon Mrs Frosty Bubble Bath in Spiced Cranberry and Orange. I love the snow person shaped bottles and you can also get a Mr Frosty variant, which contains Spiced Apple Bubble Bath. For just £2 each I think that either of these would make a great stocking filler and I may have picked up a few extra ones for my friends and family

As well as my bubble baths I also got a couple of nail polishes from Avon. As you know I'm a big fan of their polishes and I may have just found a new love.

Their new Stardust Nail Enamels are crammed full of sparkly glitter but unusually they have a slightly matte finish. I want them all! but in two orders I got two polishes Black Sequins, which is full of black and silver glitter, and Crystalized Pink, with is cram packed with pale, warm pink sparkle. I got these on special offer but they normally retail at £6 each. I love them but I will be waiting for another offer before I pick up the rest x

Okay time for the biggest part of the haul and if you follow me on instagram you'll know that it's from Make Up Revolution. Over the last month and a bit I've placed two orders with Make Up Revolution. The first order was a pretty big one and contained some things for me and some things that I bought for gifts.  I'm going to review everything that I bought in due course so this is really just a quick peek x

First up two of the new lip products, I got an I♥MAKEUP Super Wow High Gloss Lip Colour Stick in Hanging On The Telephone and one of the new #LipHug Lipsticks in Not Giving Up.

Next up cheeks, and my blusher obsession continued with the purchase of 3 more face products. I'm a tiny bit obsessed with the Make Up Revolution Blush Palettes that I already have and after seeing pictures of the new creams and pink palettes I need those in my life too. Unfortunately they weren't on sale when I placed either of my orders but Golden Sugar was.

This is such a pretty palette and contains a combination of baked, shimmery, merged blushers in pinks, nudes and bronzes, and two almost bronze shades.

As well as the palette, I also ordered two of their designer inspired blush products -The One Blush Stick in Rush,

and The One Fluid Blusher in Pink Dew.

There has been such a buzz about both of these products that I can't wait to give them a try. Reviews of both of these products will be on the blog in the next week or so, starting with my review of Pink Dew which will be up this week.

As well as pretty lip colours and pretty blushers I also got a couple of their mono eyeshadows, Frozen, a silver, grey and Insomnia, a plum shade.

Swatches of these shadows will also pop up on the blog later this week for reasons that will soon become apparent :)

Like most websites at the moment, Make Up Revolution have had a few decent offers on lately. I love a decent offer and it was a free gift offer that eventually encouraged me to place another order. The free gift on this occasion was the I♥MAKEUP I Heart Sin Palette.

I love the packaging, a shiny black palette with a clear purple, faceted acrylic heart. I will be reviewing this palette on the blog but it's a fabulous combination of neutral, bright and almost neon eyeshadows.

So that was the first part of my Make Up Revolution haul,  My second order took advantage of another special offer -Black Friday, and at the moment I'm really trying to resist placing another order! Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to photograph all of my Black Friday haul yet so I'm going to try and get another haul post up at the beginning of next week.

As well as my clothing, Avon, and Make Up Revolution purchases I also bought a few more random beauty bits including my first Real Techniques brush - the Silicone Liner brush

I being debating whether to buy this brush for a little while now. I asked for some opinions on twitter and I got a few mixed responses but I've decided to take the plunge. I've got out of the habit of using eyeliner but I always used to prefer cream and gel liners, so I'm hoping that a new brush might give me the push I need to start wearing it again.

Something else that I got from Boots was another bottle of the Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner. As much as I love the Clarins Exfoliating Toner, and Alpha H Liquid Gold I can't justify a repurchase at the moment, and to be honest this cheaper seems to be doing a decent job. I don't think it's quite as strong as the other two products, as I don't seem to get the tingle, but it does seem to leave my skin feeling smoother and looking cleaner and brighter.

Only two purchases to go and something else with a festive slant, and something else that I got from ebay :)

Nail stickers! I used quite a few of my festive nail stickers and transfers up last year so I thought I'd buy a few more. I had a little search on ebay and this kit was one of the best value ones that I could find. For just £1.09 I got 12 sheets of festive stickers, some of them are a little odd (bells with faces, yellow Santa's?) but there are snowflakes, Santa's, mittens, wreaths, trees, holly, presents and pretty much anything else that's festive that you can think of. They came from this seller in China so unfortunately you wouldn't get them in time for this years festivities but the bows I got in my kit could be used all year round and you could always keep them for next Christmas.

The final proper purchase in my November and early December haul is something else (hint, hint) that you may be seeing later on this week.

I didn't really need another make up bag but I loved the wording on this one "Don't Let Anyone Ever Dull Your Sparkle". Unfortunately it's not on the Next website anymore but it might be worth having a look in store and if not you might want to check out one of this weeks up and coming blog posts ;)

The final two items in this haul are both nail polishes and are both magazine freebies. Unfortunately this ones gone from stores now but last months Glamour magazine came with a free full sized Nails Inc polish - I want for Marylebone Mews - a taupe, greige, nude shade.

From one you can no longer get to one that's still on sale.but you have to know where to look. The January issue of Marie Claire is currently on sale in WHSmith for just £2. Not only that but it also comes with a free mini Ciate nail polish, there are a few shades to choose from but I went for Snow Glow, a gorgeous iridescent flakie.

Congratulations you've made it to the end of a very lengthy haul :)  Since this haul was photographed I've naughtily made another couple of purchases so I'm going to try and get myself organised and show you my final haul of 2014 at the beginning of next week. In the meantime if you have any questions or comments on any of my buys please leave me your scribbles below xx