Primark Beauty Favourites.

Primark's beauty section can be quite hit and miss but it's amazing when you find a hidden gem amongst some of the more bargain basement style products. Also, not every Primark carries the same products and some products tend to disappear after a while so even if you do fancy trying something or repurchase something, there isn't always a guarantee you'll be able to get your hands on it. But I thought I'd do a post on my favourite products anyway as I think most of these are still available in most Primarks still!

Starting with base products, all of these are from the PS Pro range which I'm a big fan of. I suffer from redness quite badly so buying the colour correcting primer was a no brainer. Don't hold me to this, but I think it costs £5. It definitely does what it says and is a great primer to use during the summer as it also has SPF 30. On the days when I want to use a different primer, I use the Longwear CC concealer instead. I can't remember how much this cost but it's worth the money as a little goes a long way. The Longwear Mineralized Foundation SPF 15 is my go to everyday foundation. It only costs £5 and has really good coverage. I use the shade Porcelain which is the lightest and a spot on match for me. If you have pale skin and struggle to find a drugstore foundation fair enough, this might be one to check out. I have dry skin and it doesn't cling to any dry patches or break apart on my nose, which can be a problem with other foundations. I'm not sure how well it lasts on oily skin but for a fiver, it's definitely worth giving a try. I've also seen reviews saying it's a good dupe for Estee Lauder's Double Wear but I've never tried it so can't really give an opinion on that.

Let's talk about the Mermaid Glow Highlighting Powder. If you like a subtle highlight, this is not for you! I want to say this was £3... And so worth the money! I reach for this quite a lot, it's perfect on my pale skin but wouldn't work on darker skin tones. I'm not sure if this is still in stores either.

Onto liquid lipsticks, I've tried the normal PS ones and I was not a fan of the formula. I got rid of them straight away. The PS Pro Kiss Proof Liquid Matte Lipsticks however, are a welcome addition to my makeup collection. I have the shades Nude In private (pinky nude), Rouge in Danger (dark berry) and Dark in Tension (berry toned brown.) These dry down quite quickly and the staying power is impression for Primark and the cheap price.

I don't think it'll be a surprise to see the Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayons included here as everyone seems to already know how great these are. For £2, these are a steal. The Precious Metals Lip Crayons are a newer edition and ones I actually left the stickers on so I know the shade names! The more coppery one, 24K dip, is my favourite of the two and these apply beautifully. Like the Velvet Matte, these also only cost £2 each.

I wouldn't be without the PS Pro Make Up Melt now. This is a dream for removing makeup and it smells gorgeous! Even if I use something else, like micellar water,  to remove a full face of makeup, I will take a tiny bit of this on my lashes to remove waterproof mascara as it makes it come off so easily. A definite repurchase as long as Primark don't get rid of it!

What are your Primark hidden gems? Have you tried any of these?

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Danni

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Glossybox, December 2017.

Since cancelling my Look Incredible subscription, I'd been in two minds whether I wanted to try another beauty box. I did subscribe to Dollibox but my first box was their last ever box, so that relationship ended before it even really began! I looked at both Glossybox and Birchbox as they are of a similar price and Glossybox won out for me.

December's box was my first box and I also got a Secret Santa box for free as I signed up using the code SANTA. The secret santa boxes will be a past glossybox and I got the October 2016 box. I actually received the free box before my normal box and I really liked the mix of products I got in it. The products inside included a primer, a lipstick, a facial scrub, a cheek stain, a body oil and a shampoo. Four out of the six products were full size, with a value totalling around the £60 mark and I got them all for free!

But onto the December box! I had to wait a to receive this as it actually got lost and never made it to my house but Glossybox's customer service team quickly sorted this and sent me a replacement.

From what I've seen, the contents can vary but I'm not sure how they decide what products each subscriber gets.

Kryolan Eyeshadow Primer (Full size RRP £18.30)
I've never heard of this brand before but that is the beauty of subscription boxes. I haven't tried it out yet but I have high hopes for it considering the RRP.

LAQA & Co Cloud Lips in Daydream (Full size RRP £12.70)
This is my favourite product from the box. It's such a beautiful pinky nude shade, it's matte without being too drying. What is there not to like?! Plus, the packaging is gorgeous. It doesn't have the best staying power but I know I'm going to be reaching for this a lot!

Lypsyl Mirror Compact (Full size RRP £4.99)
I have a ton of lip balms I'm working my way through but I love that this comes with a mirror. It's very handbag friendly as you can just chuck it in and go!

Steve Laurant Precision Tip Eyeliner (Full size RRP £18)
I used to be such an eyeliner junkie back in the days of Myspace. These days I have a fair few eyeliners sitting in my drawer that are mostly left untouched. But it is a staple product to have and I really like the tip of this one.

Naobay Equilibria Gel to Milk Cleanser (Full size RRP £15.99)
I do love a good cleanser but I find getting them in beauty boxes to be a bit hit and miss as what works for one person, can have the opposite effect on another. This one however sounds like it's going to be a hit for me. I suffer from dry combination skin so the fact that this has almond oil in sounds great.

Glossybox is a monthly subscription which costs £10 per month plus £3.25 P&P. You can save 20% on your first box by clicking here.

Do you have any beauty boxes?
What did you think to this month's Glossybox?

What I've Been Reading: November 2017.

I feel like I've been on a reading downer this month. It took me longer to finish the books I chose and out of the five that I finished, I only properly loved one!

"Tess and Gus are meant to be. They just haven't met properly yet. And perhaps they never will... Today is the first day of the rest of your life is the motto on a plate in the kitchen at home, and Tess can't get it out of her head, even though she's in Florence for a final, idyllic holiday before university. Her life is about to change forever- but not in the way she expects. Gus and his parents are also on holiday in Florence. Their lives have already changed suddenly and dramatically. Gus tries to be a dutiful son, but longs to escape and discover what sort of person he is going to be. For one day, the paths of an eighteen-year-old girl and boy criss-cross before they return to England. Over the course of the next sixteen years, life and love will offer them very different challenges. Separated by distance and fate, there's no way the two of them are ever going to meet each other properly... or is there?"
This is a cute book but it took me a while to finish it as the story does drag on. I though all the near misses between the two main characters were done very well, especially one where they are both on a flight to New York. It just felt like I was waiting to long before the obvious conclusion. A good book, but one I won't be rereading in the future.

"A single choice can change everything. Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's  ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college application, and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic- one of opportunities and chances. Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.  Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her what happened. For what she let happen. With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when she and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?"

Jennifer Armentrout can do no wrong in my eyes. She is one of my favourite authors and this lived up to my expectations. In case you hadn't guessed by know, this was the one book that I really loved in November. Honestly, if you haven't read any of Jennifer Armentrout's books, I highly recommend you check them out. The Lux Series is one of my favourites.

"Alex Taylor wakes up tied to an operating table. The man who stands over her isn't a doctor. The offer he makes her is utterly unspeakable. But when Alex re-awakens, she's unharmed- and no one believes her horrifying story. Ostracised by her colleagues, her family and her partner, she begins to wonder if she really is losing her mind. And then she meets the next victim."

I'm a little on the fence with this one. I almost stopped reading halfway through as my interest started to wane, but I stuck with it and I didn't end up regretting it so that's something! The story itself is a little far fetched but I was surprised by the ending. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't recommend it either.

"Harper has tried to forget the past and fit in at expensive boarding school Duncraggan Academy. Her new group of friends are tight; the kind of girls who Harper knows have her back. But Harper can't escape the guilt of her twin sister's Jenna's death, and her own part in it- and she knows noone else will ever really understand. But new girl Kirsty seems to get Harper in ways she never expected. She has lost a sister too. Harper finally feels secure. She finally feels... loved. As if she can grow beyond the person she was when Jenna died. Then Kirsty's behaviour becomes more erratic. Why is her life a perfect mirror of Harper's? And why is she so obsessed with Harper's lost sister? Soon, Harper's closeness with Kirsty begins to threaten her other relationships, and her own sense of identity. How can Harper get back to the person she wants to be, and to the girls who mean the most to her?"

This is probably my second favourite book of November. A thrilling look at the relationships between teenage girls at a boarding school, but for me, the ending didn't quite live up to the build up. I much prefer Torn, one of Cat Clarke's other books, to this one.

"Sarah Roberts used to be good. Then she did something bad. Very bad. Now, years later, she's living a good life. She works as a local newspaper reporter and lives with her saintly boyfriend Jonathan. She has no reason to think her guilty past will ever catch up with her. Until Nick walks back into her life. And suddenly, what's good and bad aren't so clear ro Sarah any more."

When I don't enjoy a book, I'll usually give up and start another one. But a rare thing happened and I actually finished I Did a Bad Thing. I loved Linda Green's newest novel, After I've Gone, when I read that earlier this year so I did have some expectations for this going in.... But I hated it. There are no redeemable qualities about any of the characters and Sarah constantly pissed me off. This book is a just a merry go round of the two main characters cheating on their partners and feeling guilty. Don't bother to read this but do check out After I've Gone as that is an absolute banger of a book!


If you want to check out previous posts of what I've been reading, just click here.
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