Mini 'Essentials' Haul

Morning lovely people!

Yesterday afternoon I went on a little 'essentials' haul, as I only had £15 to spend and I needed some things desperately (I say that, almost everything wasn't essential in the end, oops). Warning: this will send you to sleep as it is an incredibly sleep provoking post..

Bracelet, Dorothy Perkins, £1

Okay so yeah, this wasn't exactly essential.. haha, what a good start! I went into Dorothy Perkins and saw this adorable bracelet for only £1 - these little hand symbols are everywhere as well as the 'hipster' cross, so this'll be a good addition to my ridiculously oversized bracelet collection!

The colossal Volume Express mascara, Maybelline, £7.19

Next, I took a little lookie into Boots, and this time I was on a mission! I needed some waterproof mascara I could trust, for the lifeguarding course I'm taking next week - I simply can't go and meet new people with no make up on, not going to happen! So I'm investing in some waterproof makeup and we'll see how they last - this was recommended by a friend though, so hopefully it'll be good!

Maybelline Expert Wear Blush in 57 Peach, £5.19

There was a 3 for 2 offer on Maybelline cosmetics when I went and my friend wanted a nail varnish, so I got to choose something for free, yay! Nothing was really catching my eye, so I thought I'd try out one of their blushes. I say blush, but this is more of a blusher/bronzer, as I chose it in 57 - Peach. It's a lovely peachy colour for summer, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed by the pigmentation when I opened it at home - I tried to swatch it for you, but couldn't even get the colour to come out on my hand!

Hopefully this is something that will grow on me, and I'll find how to use it - but for now, I'm just glad I got it free - I would be seriously annoyed if I'd paid the full £5.19. It only was rated 3.1/5 on makeup alley, with only 48% saying they'd consider repurchasing it - most of the comments are saying the same as me, that the colour is so sheer that there's really no point!

Impulse in Loving Words, 98p

I've seen this on a few blogs lately, but I know what most of you will be thinking - Impulse?! The spray we all used at the beginning of secondary school that has enough pungency to choke a class full of people?! YES. I have to admit, I hate all of the others, but this one is gorgeous! It has a lovely flirty, girly smell and lasts an absolute age - definitely one for summer days.. if they ever reach England that is.

Barry M Nail Varnish in 295 Turquoise, £2.99

Right.. I know, I know, I bought another nail varnish. But just one's okay, right?! I actually wrote down on my 'essentials shopping list' 'ONE NAIL VARNISH MAX', I'm proud that I stuck to it haha! Anyway, I saw this gorgeous bottle in Superdrug when I was picking up the impulse spray, and for £2.99 I seriously love Barry M nail varnishes! The colour is a lot more turquoise in person, almost a neon blue ( if you can get that) and I adore it, definitely going to be my summer staple colour.

'faking it' fake tan mitt, £2, Primark

This actually was an essential that I bought, as I desperately needed a new fake tan mitt! I've only ever had the one mitt (I've been fake tanning about two years now) which a) is actually really gross thinking about it, though I do wash it and b) split on me the other day, meaning that when I squirted the next lot of fake tan on, it went straight through the plastic and stained my palms orange.. attractive? I think not! Anyway, I thought I'd try out a Primark one this time (my last was from superdrug) as it was a pound or so less and their beauty section is actually meant to be pretty good!

Black bikini top, £7, River Island

This last item is actually something I bought last week or so, but I thought I'd add it in anyway - I got this bikini top in the River Island sale for £7 down from £15, which I thought was pretty good! As is normally the case with bikini sales, the bottoms were nowhere to be seen, but I'm planning to just pop to Topshop and get a pair of their plain black string bottoms to match it for £8 - making the total of the bikini only £15 - not too shabby! I love the textured detail on the material, as well as the adorable little petaled flowers on the ends of the strings (I'll put a close up below). Love it!

So that was my afternoon's work, I felt I needed a bit of retail therapy because I can't now go shopping until I'm home from Portugal mid august, so aaah, HOLIDAY STRESS. I just hope I've got everything I need!


Hope you all enjoy your day, ciao! (or should I say tchau)!
Liv xo