Drugstore Makeup Haul + First Impressions.

Hey there, how are you all?
Welcome to another blog post. I asked on Instagram what posts you would like to see next and a Haul was the most popular. (If you would like to be involved in votes like this in the future, you my follow me @lucibarker_).

I decided to treat myself to a few new beauty bits and pick up some makeup that I’ve been really wanting to try out and let’s just say I picked up more items than I expected to … typical me. So, what did I pick up in Boots this time?

The first thing I picked up was the So…? Fragrance in Cali Cool and I’m sure you’ve all seen me talk about how much I love Bali Breeze from them too, so I really wanted to try out a new one. This was in the sale for just £2 on the Boots website and I thought it was the perfect time to try another one. I love how refreshing this scent is and I know it’s gonna quickly become one of my go-to spring / summer scents. Because I’m no good at describing scents to you, I will add the description of the Body Mist below:

‘From poolside hanging to city exploring, So…? Cali Cool body mist will keep you fresh! Inspired by the smells of sun, sand and the ocean, the fragrance begins with sun-soaked notes of orange and nectarine, progressing into sizzling summer fruits of pineapple, mango and papaya, perfectly topped off with creamy notes of vanilla. This is summer captured in a bottle!‘

I’ve been wanting to try using a powder foundation for a while now because, sometimes when I don’t want to wear a full face of makeup, I still want to look presentable and not rough haha. I wasn’t sure where to start, or  which ones were good but I came across the NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop which came with a free mini setting spray and that was all the temptation I needed to pick this one up. I picked up the shade Alabaster, which I believe is like the second or third lightest shade. To be fair it can be a little orange toned for me, but I like the fact it can give me some colour so I just blend it down my neck slightly and we’re all sorted. It’s not great coverage, but with a little bit of concealer underneath it works a treat. It looks super natural and light weight, and it’s really easy to take off at the end of the day. It did last all day for me and I was really impressed with it over all. This retails at £15, which I thought was okay for a foundation, but when I used it I had to use quite a bit to make sure it was all covered, blended and no patches, so I do feel like it would hit pan pretty quickly and that’s my only criticism.

I have recently ran out of my MAC Fix+ and after years and years of using that, I thought it was time to try a new one. I’ve seen so many positive things in Videos and on Blogs about the Obsession Setting Sprays, so I couldn’t not try it out. I picked up the Dewy Fix one, because I love glowy skin and this retails at £6, which is a third or even a quarter of the price of the MAC one. So far I’m really liking how this makes my makeup look after spritzing it. It takes away that powdery look and gives a little bit of a glow. To be honest, I never know if setting sprays actually work, but it’s really refreshing and I like to use it before, during and after my makeup is done, as well as using it to damp my brushes or makeup sponge for a better application of a certain product.

I wanted to pick up a kabuki brush to use with my powder foundation as I thought that it would work better than the big fluffy foundation brushes that I use at the moment. Years ago, I used to have a No7 Kabuki Brush and I remember it being really good, so I decided to get another one. I then saw that No7 had a number of different deals including 3 for 2, £5 worth of points when spending £25 AND a free gift, so obviously I had to make sure I got all three of the deals. I decided to pick up the Contour and Highlight double ended brush, because I thought it would be good for travelling but also because it looked like a good quality brush and like one I needed in my collection. I’ve wanted to try more of No7 products for a while and Concealer seemed to be one that jumped out to me to want to try, so I decided to get the Hydraluminous one in the lightest shade. I’m really looking forward to trying out all of these no7 items and I’m sure you’ll all find out soon my thoughts on them.The No7 Nude to Night Palette was the free gift as I bought 3 No7 products and it usually retails at £25. It comes with 6 eye shadows, a bronzer, blush and a highlight and it looks like the perfect little palette for a night out.