What's In My Travel Makeup Bag?

After five years, I thought it was about time I did one of these 'what's in my...' posts. My travel makeup bag doesn't exclusively contain makeup, like the name suggests, but my travel essentials.

I'll start with the beauty products because they're more exciting. I rarely touch up my makeup during the day, but carry a couple products with me just in case. I have the Revlon ColourStay Concealer in Fair, which has a medium coverage and satin finish. It could be a little heavier for blemishes, but is great for everywhere else.

I then carry around the lip product I'm wearing that day, for when I want to reapply. Revlon's ColourBurst Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon just happens to be in there at the moment. It's a sheer, balmy, juicy, summer red, and I love it. I don't like reapplying some lip products, though, because they look best applied to freshly exfoliated, moisturised lips. In this case, I'll just wipe away any product left and apply a tinted balm like the Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Blossom.

For fragrance, I currently have the Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Rollerball Perfume in my bag. It's great for travelling, and smells beautiful.

Since starting my job, I've been using more hand sanitiser than ever before. I finished Bath & Body Works' Market Peach one last week, and am now onto their Sweet Pea scent, which is a light, sweet, delicate floral. These are more expensive than your standard bottle, especially in the UK, so I won't be buying them all the time, but they're nice to use while I have them. My hands and cuticles have also taken a battering since working, so I bought the Figs & Rouge Mango and Mandarin Hand Cream last week to use throughout the day. It's the perfect size for travelling, looks cute, smells amazing, isn't greasy, and leaves my hands feeling moisturised.

The other items in my travel makeup bag include pain and sickness relief tablets, tissues, plasters, mints, a flossing harp (for those lunch leftovers. What? I'm keeping it real!), hair accessories, a nail file, and a pen. I also carry a notebook, hairbrush, and wipes with me, but they're in my handbag because they don't fit in this one!

Oh, and the actual makeup bag is a basic one I bought from Boots the other week (RRP £5). I'm currently on the look out for something a little more pretty, though, so if you've seen any, let me know!

I'd love to know what your travel essentials are?

Feel Unique Sale Purchases

Hello! It feels good to be blogging. Since starting my job, hobbies have taken a back seat. So, I placed an order with Feel Unique this week, and thought I'd show you what I bought!

You guys know that I'm a fan of the natural fragrance brand, Pacifica (I still can't get over the gift sets I managed to get for £3.75! They're £18 on Feel Unique, by the way). I'd had my eye on their reed diffusers for a while, but didn't want to pay £15. I then came across the Hawaiian Ruby Guava one in their sale for £7.50/120ml, so just had to buy it.

My hands have suffered since starting work, so I wanted a nice hand cream. I love Figs & Rouge, and love their Cherry Blossom lip balm, so thought I'd get the matching hand cream for £6.95/80ml. It smells just as good, and looks just as pretty, as the lip balm, so I can't wait to start using it. I also bought the Mango & Mandarin tube for £2.47/20ml (usually £3.95). It's small, but it's perfect for my bag, and smells incredible.

The next two items are products I already have and use daily, but after having them for years, they're beginning to dry out. They were discounted on Feel Unique, and there was a £5 off £20 spend code floating around, so thought it was the perfect time to buy new ones. The Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Intense Black was £5.99 down from £7.99, and the Maybelline Colour Tattoo Gel-Cream Eyeshadow in On and On Bronze was £4.49 down from £4.99.

Overall, I saved £16.58. There's also an extra 10% off sale items with code PLUS10 this weekend, so it's worth seeing what they have to offer!

Have you bought anything from Feel Unique recently? Or will you be?

Collective Haul

I don't feel like I've been buying much recently, but this photo says otherwise! 

So, you know the Pacifica fragrance sets I've mentioned a few times now? £18 on Feel Unique, bought a couple in January for £5, bought a couple more a few weeks back for £7.50? Well, Tesco Direct reduced them again, to just £3.75. £3.75! I'm glad they're not a well known brand over here. If they were, they would have sold out in a heartbeat. I now have four to give away as presents, and three myself.

I don't tend to buy many clothes from Primark (or from any store, really. Jeans and a plain tee will do me just fine). I just like the pj and home sections. I'm fond of their reed diffusers, so picked up four more; two sweet pineapple & ginger, and two blackcurrant & orchid. They smell great, and were only £3 each. I also bought some more cosy and thermal socks (£2 and £2.50). Love, love, love their thicker socks.

I reviewed the TRESemme Platinum Strength Shampoo a couple posts back (here), and then discovered that the bottles were half price in Superdrug (still are), so bought the Platinum Strength and Renewal Hair & Scalp duos. Each bottle was £2.47 down from £4.99. The 900ml and 750ml bottles are the same price, which is annoying, but these have been making a difference to my hair.

There was an offer on Soap & Glory facial products the other week in Boots, so I ended up paying £5-6 for the Ultimelt Hot Cloth Cleanser, rather than £10. I've used it a fair few times now, and... it's okay. It doesn't smell the nicest, it doesn't remove my makeup as well as others, and it doesn't leave my skin as soft as others. It's just okay. I like it, but wouldn't pay £10 for it. I then bought the Sugar Crush Body Scrub for £8. Full price. I don't think I've ever paid full price for a Soap & Glory product. There was a points voucher involved, though. Anyway, I've tried the other products in the range, and wanted to move away from exfoliating gloves and enter the world of scrubs. It smells better than the body wash and butter. It's incredible. I'm going to use it for the first time tonight, so will let you know how I get on.

I bought another Blistex Intensive Moisturiser (£2.59/Superdrug, £2.63/Boots) because I use my current one every night, and I also bought another Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipstick for £5.99 (normally £8.99). This shade is Peach Club. I like them, but can't say too much because I haven't worn them to their fullest potential yet. I've just been dabbing and blending a little in.

What happens when you combine a buy one get one half price offer, a £3 off voucher, and multiple point boosting vouchers? You spend, and you don't feel guilty about it. I bought the No7 Pop & Glow Cream Blush Stick in Classic Rose (normally £9.95), and the No7 High Shine Lip Crayon in Tropical Beach (normally £9). I ended up paying £6.95 and £4.50. I haven't tried them yet, but like the Instant Radiance Highlighting Stick I have from them. Tropical Beach also looks similar to Bourjois' Colour Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach, which is one of my favourites.

Lastly, the bag is from Accessorize. At £33.30 (usually £37), it wasn't the cheapest, but it's for my sister's birthday, and the patterns are really beautiful.

What have you been buying recently?

Recent Purchases (Accessorize, Bourjois, and Pacifica Bargains)

It's that time again! These are some of the things I've bought in the last couple of weeks.

Accessorize currently have a sale on, and I can never resist their sales. I spotted the lemon coin purse a few weeks back, and thought it was so cute and would make a nice present, but held off buying it because I knew there would be a sale soon. I ended up paying £3.50 instead of £7. I like that it fits cards in, unlike many coin purses. The sticky notes book was also £3.50 down from £7. Cute stationery at a great price is always a winner! I also picked up five pairs of underwear ranging from £2.50-£3.50 down from £5-£7. I love Accessorize's underwear, but it's expensive, so make the most of their sales. I then went back yesterday and bought the coral dolly shoes for £12.50 down from £25. I spotted these last month, but wasn't willing to pay £25 for a pair of dolly shoes. Then I found them in the sale in my size, but ended up talking myself out of buying them. When I went back in yesterday, they were still there. The last pair in my size. It was meant to be.

When the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Lipsticks first came out, I wasn't interested. None of the shades appealed to me, and I was going through a light, balmy lip product phase. I then swatched them again and really liked the look of 02 Frambourjoise, a pinky red shade. Fast forward a week and they were on offer for £5.99 in Superdrug, so I couldn't refuse!

The Pacifica sets I've had my eye on for months finally went down in price on Tesco Direct. They're currently £7.50 down from £15 (£18 on Feel Unique), so I ordered Indian Coconut Nectar and Island Vanilla (I may have to get Tuscan Blood Orange, too!). I already own the Ruby Guava set, which I managed to get in January for just £5. I think they're great products for your bag, and make beautiful gifts, too.

What have you been buying recently?

Christmas Sale Purchases

I set out Christmas sale shopping this year with the goal to buy birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas presents. I bought a few things, but not a lot caught my eye.

The two pairs of slipper boots were from Accessorize, and were £10 each down from £20. I bought them for my mum for Mother's Day and my sister for her birthday in August.

The tea mug set was from Boots, and cost £3.75 down from £7.50. I thought this would make a nice little gift for anyone I know. Nothing else appealed to me, though! I wanted the Aroma hand warmers, but they were out of stock straight away, both online and instore.

The Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava sets were from Tesco Direct, and were just £5 down from £15 (£18 on Feel Unique). I worked out that the individual products are worth $28, which is about £17-18. However, this is directly converting. These products are more expensive to buy in the UK, and would cost £25+ (the roller ball perfume alone is £12 on Holland & Barrett). The scent is nice, but different to what I was expecting. It starts off very citrus-y, like grapefruit, and then the coconut comes through. My mum isn't a fan, which kind of killed my buzz about them, but I still like the scent. I'm just hoping the people I bought them for like it, too. My sister bought me my own for my birthday, and I tried out the products last night. The perfume is stronger than expected, which was a pleasant surprise, and doesn't smell alcohol-y. The body butter is more subtle and sinks in quickly. The lip balm feels nice on the lips, and gives them a pink-y, nude-y, can't quite describe-y tint. I'm now hoping the other scents go down in price, too. Tuscan Blood Orange, Indian Coconut Nectar, and Island Vanilla all sound amazing.

Have you bought anything in the sales?