Last Minute Gift Set Bargains

If you're like me then you might of got the majority of Christmas presents but there might be one or two things might make someones gifts that little bit better. At the same time though we seem to be too busy treating everyone else and forgetting about yourself. There's so many gift set bargains out there, a lot are going on sale already too. There's so many products out there I'd like to get my hands on and now I'm doing the "Do you still not know what to get me for Christmas?" to people. If only I'd done my research on all these fab sets doing the rounds in the beauty blogging world to let people know what I'd quite like.

• bareMinerals The Beach Collection (RRP £39 - Now £31.20)
• Philip Kingsley Happy Hair Days Kit (£19.99)
• Clinique Party Favours (RRP £55 - Now £49.50)
• Soap & Glory Good, Butter, Best (£8)
• Liz Earle Limited Edition Cleanse & Polish (£19.75)
• Nails Inc Snowflake Collection (RRP £15 - Now £13.50)
• Bumble and Bumble The Tousled Two Step (£27)
• Benefit Limited Edition How To Look The Best At Everything (RRP £25.50 - Now £15)
• Burt's Bees Essentials Kit (£11.69)
• Too Faced Poolside Primping (RRP £32 - Now £22)

Is there any gift sets you're lusting after?

The Brand Edit - Seventeen

Seventeen is a brand that I always used to walk straight past in the long line of beauty counters in Boots. I started to see loads of good reviews about a lot of new products and decided it was time to try a few things out from their range. I've got to say I haven't been let down by anything either.

The first product is actually a free limited edition gift when you spend £8 on Seventeen products so definitely get yourself to Boots or online while stocks last!

| Brow's That Brow Kit (Limited Edition) - £6 | I've been on the search for a brow kit for ages but all of them out there seem to be to dramatic for my own liking. Seen as this was free I thought I would give it a whirl. It contains a mini eyebrow pencil, a wax, a setting powder and a highlight powder. Used all together you can create some serious good looking brows. Since getting my hands on this there hasn't been a day where I haven't used it. The pencil works fine just on it's own as well for a quick make-up routine, on a Monday morning rush anyway. I want to explore more of Seventeen's brow products now.

| On The Spot Concealer (Medium) - (£4.99) | As much as I enjoy this product my only problem with it is the colour range. They currently only have on shade which is a bit too dark on my skin and can look like it's dried out on my pale skin after a few hours of wearing it. However, It vows to  clear up spots in 4 weeks. I do feel like my skin cleared up a lot in a few days of wearing this product. It's a shame I can only use this though when I've got a tan - which has to be faked this time of the year.

| Phwoarr Paint (Fair) - £5.49) | Much improved this one with the two different shades it's available in. The shade 'fair' is so much more suited to my skin. This is brilliant for under the eyes and helps brighten them and make myself look a lot more awake when I am still half asleep. You can also use this as a normal concealer in any other blemished areas and it works brilliantly and doesn't crease or dry out.

| Skin Wow Primer - £5.99) | This product is described as a primer even though the bottle packaging does actually say '3 way highlighter'. Personally I'd find this far too shimmery as a primer but as a highlighter - let's just say there's a reason it has become part of my everyday make-up routine. It gives me a lovely luminous glow especially in this cold weather when everything seems a little dull apart from your neighbour's Christmas lights that flash through your bedroom window all night. Simply apply to cheekbones for a skin 'WOW'.

I think Seventeen have really come into their own at the moment and I am loving the names they are picking for their products, reminds me a little of Benefit's wittiness. 

Do you love any of Seventeen's products?

What's In My Travel Bag?

Another day of December means another day of Blogmas! I've got to say it's hard work blogging everyday but I'm really enjoying it! Tomorrow I'm off to Birmingham for a few days - a couple of gigs to attend to, the German Christmas market to visit along with all the other amazing shops Birmingham holds! If I'm honest I'm quite glad for this mini break. Working in retail is stressful any time but at Christmas a lot of people turn into an idiot customer and it doesn't half get you down. Anyway, back to the point of the post.. With my mini break looming I thought it would be the perfect chance to show you what bits and bobs I'm taking with me on my travels. A lot of this you can easily pick up in the drugstore and always a good time to try out samples.

I go for a clear wash bag to keep everything in because I've got a tendency to forget things and I'm always in a rush so a last minute check of everything is made a little easier with this option!

• Shockwaves Ultra Strong Power Hold Spray (£2.95) - What a fancy name for a hairspray eh?! Names aside I've been using this hairspray for years. I'm yet to find one that keeps my hair in place for longer or one that smells as nice. A lot of hairsprays I can't stand the scent of but this one is spot on!
• Sunkissed Instant Self Tan Moose Medium Bronze* (£4.99) - Become my new tanning favourite recently so this has to come with me for a tanning top up. Read my full review HERE.
• Batiste Dry Shampoo Paisley (£2.99) - Always safe to carry a bottle of dry shampoo around with you. However I think they have stopped making this paisley version as I can't find it anywhere online but I've spotted it in my local Superdrug recently. 

• Nivea Double Effect Anti-Perspirant (£3.29) - Bit of an obvious one but I've been loving Nivea's deodorant range recently and they do the job!
• Nivea Invisible Black & White Clear Roll On (£2.10) -  I like this roll on especially because you can use it with whatever colour clothes you are wearing without the worry with white marks on your new black dress and I prefer a clear roll on as well.

• L'Oreal Matt & Messy: Salt Spray (£3.75) - One of my favourite purchases ever brought on a whim, I picked my first bottle up in the summer. As a natural wavy/curly hair girl I love to embrace it and I love spraying this for an added texture to my waves.
• L'Occitane Jasmin Passion Hand Cream (:Limited Edition) - C'mon it's Winter and the dry hands are making there way out to haunt me. I love this 30ml size, perfect for travelling. It has a slight scent which is nice as I don't like strong smelling hand creams (yuck for finger foods half hour later!)

• Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser (£3.79) - Whenever I'm having a skincare nightmare I always turn to Simple. My skin gets dryer as it gets colder and applying this twice a day has kept the dryness at bay as it hydrates the skin.
• L'Oreal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (£4.99) - I'm currently in the trail period with this product but so far I've been enjoying it. It does a good enough job of removing any make up and toning the skin. (Don't forget the cotton pads either!)

• Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream (£18.50) - When it comes to travelling out it always the right time to gather your samples and try them out. I have tried this a few times before and it always leaves my skin extremely soft and helps glide on primers/foundations even easier.
• Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion+ (£28) - I can see why so many people love this after a couple of uses. Already thinking of purchasing the full size if I'm honest!
• Vichy Idealia Life Serum (£29.50) - I got my hands on a couple of sample sachets of this and I was hooked after one try of the stuff. Every time I go into I'm stopping by this but the price tag for such a small amount puts me off. I can see myself buying it in the new year though.

So that's a few bits I'm taking with me this weekend (don't worry I know I've missed out key things like shampoos etc but I'm doing a haircare post soon!)

What are you up to this weekend?

Solution to Pale Girl Problems

I'm pale all year round without fail. I go on holiday and my skin's idea of a tan is to go a lobster shade of red and then straight back to milk bottle legs and arms. So when Sunkissed sent me these goodies I couldn't wait to try them out and I've got nothing but good things to say! With the upcoming party season fast approaching I definitely needed a self tan that wouldn't be letting me down. I'd actually had a dabble in Sunkissed's cosmetic range when I was a lot younger and enjoyed it back then so it's nice to go back to a familiar brand from your younger days isn't it?

Firstly the Application Mitt* (£3.99) works a treat, leaves my skin with no streaks and an even and flawless natural looking tan. My favourite thing about the mitt as I don't get any stains on my hands like you do with a lot of mitts out there. This usually leaves my tan uneven and patchy on my hands/wrists area but no problems with this mitt from Sunkissed. Then onto the Instant Self Tanning Mousse in Medium Bronze* (£4.99), nothing but good from this bottle of magic. Now you might not believe me until you try it but this doesn't have that digestive biscuit smell that self tan usually does have - instead it has a coconut scent to it. This makes me a massive fan as I love fruit scented beauty products. Gold star to Sunkissed for this as I can say goodbye to worrying about stinking a room out with self tan. Now this is an instant tan and as I mention all the time when I say I'm pale, I mean really pale so 'medium bronze' is probably a shade or two darker for me. I find best to apply at night before bed then shower in the morning which leaves me with a golden natural looking glow. I had so many compliments from friends and family saying I look a lot better with a bit of colour to me (I often get the "are you ill?" comments). Now possibly the best product I got sent was the Exfoliating Tan Remover* (£3.99), usually I find it so hard to get rid of any patchy areas after a few days of wearing self tan. I was so excited to see this and was even more excited to try it out. It clears up any patches as well as removing dead skin cells, making your next tan application even smoother! You can also use this product after applying your tan to make sure you have a flawless tan that's even and smooths out colour!

I can't recommend Sunkissed products enough and I personally can't wait to purchase some more. I'm pretty sure it will be my go to product for a natural glowing tan for the party season.

What are your favourite tanning products?

Christmas at Lush

I haven't brought anything from Lush for so long. So when I kept seeing rave reviews about their lip scrubs I knew I had to get my hands on one, especially as I'm prone to dry lips whatever the weather. Obviously I couldn't pick up just one thing though. I didn't go too wild though as at the new house we've moved to it has a corner bath which means it's mainly showers unless I want my legs up the wall to have a bath. So let's have a look at the Christmas bits I picked up from Lush..

| Santa's Lip Scrub - £5.50 |

When I heard this Christmas themed lip scrub was cola flavoured I knew I'd want that one. If I'm honest I didn't even give any of the others a chance but I'll definitely be grabbing another one when it becomes unacceptable to take anything with 'Santa' out in public. The scrub leaves my lips feeling so much better, especially as it gets colder. I use it a fair few times a day and have seen a much softer lip condition. The taste really is like cola cubes as well, yum!

| Luxury Lush Pud - £3.40 |

As I mentioned I couldn't go over the top as I just wouldn't get the use out of bath bombs with current bathing conditions at the new house. This smells gorgeous though and I'm excited to see what colours it sparks off around my tub. I'm a sucker for anything Christmas related, let's be honest!

What are you loving from Lush?

& I'm blogging every day of December!

Battle of the: Primers (Drugstore Edition)

Firstly I am so sorry about the lack of posts in the past week but let me tell you why.. I've been busy with work and also MY PLANNING TO BLOG EVERY SINGLE DAY OF DECEMBER. I've been thinking about it for a little while but it's all finally coming together so make sure you are following for posts every single day. If you can handle that much of my ramblings anyway!

So this is a new feature on my blog and the first one is all about primers. I choose three products from my collection and give them a bit of a dance off (Okay not a dance off, a primer off). I want to focus on drugstore as I find it so much more affordable on my budget and primers are a make-up product I've only gotten into the past few months to see if they improve my daily appearance.

Rimmel Match Perfection Fix & Perfect Pro - (£6.99)

First off the most expensive out of the three. It comes out as a white liquid. I find it's got a thin texture to it which makes it runny and using more than I probably should be. It does the job though and is brilliant as it mattifies the face. Packing is pretty basic, even though it's white it's easily cleaned if it gets covered in muck though. 

Collection Primed and Ready Smoothing Make Up - (£5.99)

This was the first face primer I ever tried and what a primer it was to start with. This actually my second tube in 4 months. It lasts for ages and I use it most days! It's a clear jel that comes out and I can tell straight away it's going to smooth my face and leave my make-up looking great all day. The texture of it is a little interesting but after a few uses you get used to it. It's a really spreadable primer due to the texture and glides on with ease.

NYC Cosmetics Primer - (£3.49)

This is my least favourite but it does have it's uses. What puts me off massively is the shimmer to it, so it could work well as a highlighter. It's a white shimmery liquid that blends into the skin. For such a cheap price though it does the job but for me personally everyday use is out of the question. However, with the party season coming up it could be ideal for a glittery make up look!

Swatched! From top to bottom: NYC Cosmetics Primer, Collection Primed & Ready, Rimmel Fix & Perfect.

What's your favourite primer from the drugstore?

What Lauren Says

I thought an introductory post would probably be a sensible place to start. After reading endless blogs and watching hundreds of YouTube videos for the past 8 months I decided this is most definitely something I wanted to try out. Even more so when I finished studying photography at college a few months back and felt a little lost and not sure what to do with myself. And so it begins..

So what is it that you do when you are no longer a student any more?

I decided against university as I just didn't think it was the thing for me (and the fees scared me a little bit). Mainly I didn't want to start my life as such with debt looming over me. I quite luckily landed myself a part time job as a retail assistant. I say part time, I tend to pick up a lot of hours recently to which I am not complaining at. A lot of people question me frequently asking me what I want to do with my life after leaving college and the answer is always well, I don't know. I have no idea what direction I want to go in but this is usually my reply to such questions; "I'm just an 18 year old girl who likes to earn a decent wage to cover costs of attending gigs and my habit of buying a lot of clothes/make-up".

What do you expect to see on my blog?
Well as the name of my blog states it's 'What Lauren Says'. A blog where I can discuss lifestyle, fashion, beauty and my massive love for music. Posts will feature reviews, hauls, OOTD's, music related or me just rambling on about something not even remotely interesting (sorry in advance!)

I tend to talk a lot so let's see how it goes.