Blog Sale Haul

In case you didn't know, I'm obsessed with blog sales. I'm quite picky and don’t buy all that much from them, but I do like to look through them to see what I might/could/would buy and be nosey to find out what the blogger's getting rid of! If you have a blog sale on I have almost definitely looked through it, and if you have Depop then I'm working my way through that too. My slight obsessions don't mean I'm mad though do they? That was a rhetorical question, we both know the answer to that.

Being in the market for some new bits and bobs recently, I thought I'd share some of my best recent blog sale purchases with you. My brain is frazzled at the moment and I can't remember the exact amount I paid for some of these so I've had to try and work them out from the invoices, all prices are without postage.

One thing I was particularly looking for was a light bluey pink lipstick, and wanting to try out a Mac lippie for the first time Saint Germain (£7, middle left above) caught my eye and I snapped it up. I love the colour, it looks slightly purple on me and can be worn strong and bold as its an Amplified formula or patted into the lips to make it slightly softer and darker. The formula did take a bit of getting used to as it's so pigmented but I've got a lot of wear out of this already. I thought the Revlon Lip Butters were the be all and end all of easy to use sheer moisturising colour but I changed my mind when I used the L'oreal Caresse in Cheeky Magenta (£2, middle right above) for the first time. More translucent but brighter than a lip butter, this strong pink is really effortless to apply and I'm so pleased with this purchase as I love a good bright pink.

You might know that I've had an NYX wishlist for a while and I wouldn’t normally buy something with a wand from a blog sale, but I had to snap up this NYX Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo (£2, far right above) as it was a colour and formula I really wanted to try. It's light and slightly more salmon than I was expecting, the formula is definitely unlike anything I've tried before and I'm still getting used to it! I've been wanting a bit of colour on my cheeks recently but I've gone off powder blush and don't like anything too strong so the Revlon Baby Stick in Pink Passion (£2, far left above) seemed like a perfect buy. Some reviews have said these are too sheer, but I wanted for sheer and once the colour is blended with my foundation it makes a lovely milky pink.

The Clinique Rinse-off Foaming Cleanser (£1) and Pore Minimizer Thermal-Active Skin Refiner (£1) (discontinued) minis were impulse buys as I didn't know much about these. I've only the tried the Pore Minimizer so far and only a couple of times as it has stung a little bit which is a bit worrying. I'm pleased I got these as it's always good to try out something new but I'm not too sure on them yet!

I have a bazillion cleansers on the go at the moment but most are hydrating and with this heat wave I've found them a bit too much for my skin. Having combination skin I thought the Checks and Balances Frothy Facewash (£1) mini would be perfect as it's specifically made to control oil and hydrate dry areas at the same time but my skin feels quite rubbery after using this and so far I've actually found it quite drying so time will tell with this one! In contrast the Zero Oil Cleanser (£1), which is meant to control oil without stripping the skin, has been a much better fit and I featured this recently in my Skincare Tag post as I've nearly used it all up and will definitely buy the big size version when this runs out! Foaming cleansers are a bit controversial at the moment but I really like this one and the minty licorice smell is perfect to start the day.

Finally, despite going off powders earlier in the year I felt in this weather my skin really does need one to control shine (and sweat!). I was looking for something high quality, finely milled and most importantly translucent, so when I saw the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder (£15) for sale I thought I'd give it a try. I usually stick to highstreet brand powders (I used to go through Maybelline Dream Matte powder like there was no tomorrow a couple of years ago), but so far this has been well worth the money- fills in pores, keeps me matte, long lasting on the skin and most importantly for me has no colour. I've found the best way to apply is to tap off the excess from a curved sponge and then press and roll against the skin rather than patting, this really minimises my pores and creates a longer lasting finish than dusting on with a brush.

Not very often you get two posts from me in 24 hours but with the heat and not being well recently I've had lots to catch up on and lots to write about! Let me know your best blog sale buys and if you have depop do leave your name below (so I can be nosey!).