Sephora Haul

Possibly the worst thing about living in England/the UK is the lack of a Sephora. So many of the American bloggers/youtubers go to Sephora and buy all kinds of beautiful things, and it just seems like a majestical palace of mystery and wonder, so you can imagine my excitement when (whilst I was travelling around mainland Europe) I realised that not only where we going to Paris, home of this amazing store, there was also a Sephora in nearly every country we visited. Possibly too happy about this fact, but I was very restrained in what I bought!

The first thing my friend and I picked up to try from the Sephora in Verona, and I don't have with me now to photograph, is one of the sheet masks that Sephora sells and the likes of Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter have bought and loved.The idea of a sheet mask makes the large lazy side of me so damn happy, because you just whack it on and Bob's your uncle, Fanny is your aunt. I picked up the green tea mask because my skin was getting disgusting and tired, and needed a serious pick-me-up. I really enjoyed using the mask, and could definitely see a difference after the required twenty minutes or so was up. 

From Verona I also picked up three cute handbag sized scents in long glass bottles. They were on special offer, and obviously this meant I just couldn't resist the damn things. I got the scents green tea, peony, and mango. Peony is in the pink bottle and possibly my favourite fragrance. It's floral and light, and just really lovely to pop in your handbag and spritz on when you are feeling not so fresh. Good job Sephora.

So far, so good. But, then Sephora in Paris happened, and my brain went to a place where money was no object apparently, and I bought the Urban Decay Naked On The Run palette, and a Sephora lipstick. I kind of really shouldn't have spent the 49 euros on the Urban Decay palette, but it spoke to me and I couldn't resist! And honestly, I do not regret this purchase.

The palette is amazing for weekends away or overnight stays with friends, as it has essentially everything you need, bar foundation/concealer/powder and brushes. In the (beautiful rose gold) palette you get six eyeshadow shades, a blusher, a bronzer, an eyeliner in a dark brown, mascara, and a full size lipgloss in a beautiful pinky-nude shade. The eyeshadows are a mix of shimmers and mattes, all fairly neutral with good pigmentation and a creamy formula that is so easy to blend and looks so beautiful on the eye. The 50/50 shade, which is slightly bigger than the others, also doubles as a good highlighter so you can still contour on the go! The mascara is really good quality and makes my lashes look long and thick and black (essentially a miracle), and the eyeliner glides on easily and stays in place all day. I've never owned/used Urban Decay products before, only lusted over them, but I have fallen head over heels in love with this palette, and know when I'm at uni it's going to be so useful when I come home just to pop this in my bag alongside my face products and head off. Good space saver, good investment.

The lipstick I got was around 10 euros, which I thought was a pretty decent price, and me oh my was it tricksy to choose a shade. There were hundreds, I swear. But in the end I plumped for a dark pinkish shimmery shade (Fever), which feels lovely and moisturising on the old lips, has decent staying power, and is actually more like a 'your lips but better' shade, which makes it ideal for everyday.

The crux of this post is that Sephora has become my everything, and I have no idea how I'm going to function without it! Thank goodness they ship here now.