Haul | Things I Bought in August

L-R: Soap & Glory 'Night in Shining Armour' Night Cream, Tangle Teezer, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, Essie 'we're in it together', Jemma Kidd Front Cover Concealer, Seventeen Photo Flawless Primer, Elizabeth Arden Green Tea & Honeysuckle EDT

As a self-confessed shopaholic, I'm always on the lookout for new products to try. So when I found out my mum was due to place an order with Fragrance Direct, I couldn't resist having a little nose around on their website myself. To my surprise I actually found some pretty good bargains, the Essie nail polish pictured above was just £1.99!! As well as that, I thought I'd give the Jemma Kidd Front Cover Concealer a try, so before I knew it the online basket was bulging full of things for myself rather than for my mum.. whoops!

Of course the spending didn't end there. Whilst in town I thought I'd just quickly 'nip into Boots', but as you can probably guess that didn't quite happen... consequently leaving my purse empty but my shopping bag full of more beauty goodies.

The first thing I spotted was this; the Soap & Glory Night in Shining Armour night cream. When it comes to Soap & Glory products I always find it's the packaging that entices me, and this was no different. I love the mixture of pinks with the black & white photos; it gives off a real sophisticated, vintage vibe. Priced at £13 it is a little pricey if you're used to buying cheaper products available on the high-street, but you do get a 50ml jar and as you'll only be using this at night time it should last longer than your average 'use whenever you like' cream.

Tangle Teezer, £10.99 available at Boots

Ahh, the Tangle Teezer. This is something I've been wanting to try for a while now, so when I stumbled across one online I just had to go ahead and buy it. 
My hair isn't particularly long, (I'd say it was just past shoulder length)- so generally I don't find knotty hair to be a huge problem. Although combing through my hair when it's just been washed always proves to be a challenge, I seem to end up with just as much hair in my brush than on my head (ouch). But alas, the Tangle Teezer has entered my life and WOW, I LOVE it. The bristles glide through your hair effortlessly which in turn makes it so much easier to keep your hair in pristine condition with minimal breakage. When I first used this it felt as if I was brushing through my hair with a piece of velcro; it's so light-weight it doesn't feel like you're even brushing your hair! And best of all, it's the perfect shape and size to carry in your handbag for any hair-related emergencies you might encounter during these autumnal months ahead.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

This is something I've heard SO much about from online reviews and various beauty bloggers and vloggers. It's the Effaclar Duo by La Roche-Posay; the 'dermatologists brand of choice recommended by 25,000 dematologists worldwide.' Of course this persuaded me to take the plunge and buy it.. 25,000 people can't be wrong, can they?
I've been using this product for a few weeks now and so far, so good. I've been applying it all over my skin in the mornings and at night, particularly focusing on areas where I have spots or where I'm prone to blemishes. Upon first use, it was if I could feel the product working as a few seconds after applying my skin felt a little stingy (though personally in a strange sort of way I do quite like to feel some effect from the product... at least then I feel like it's doing something and it isn't just a load of watery nothingness). 

Priced at £13.00 it is a little steep compared to other spot treatments on the market, but my skin was in such a state I felt I had no choice but to give this product a go, and I'm so glad I did. I've also noticed that applying this before my make-up has made a huge difference in how my skin looks during the day. I used to notice my skin start to go oily around midday, but this product seems to really help in reducing the appearance of shine... something that was always a huge bugbear of mine ..(who wants to keep reapplying powder all day?!) Thankfully this is much less of an issue now I have this product in my life, so I'd definitely recommend this for those of you who suffer with oily or acne-prone skin.

Essie 'We're In It Together'

Next up we have this lovely little nail polish from Essie. It's a really gorgeous baby pink colour with a slight glittery shimmer, perfect for those days when the sun is shining and you want to feel a little bit girlie. This is the first Essie nail polish I've ever bought, but I highly doubt it'll be the last. The brush is a lot bigger than most other nail polish brushes I've used which means you can cover over your nails a lot quicker. As with most pastel nail polish colours, I'd recommend you went over your nails a couple of times to make sure you have a really even coverage, as I didn't find one coat of this to be enough.

Jemma Kidd Front Cover Concealer in colour 01, Fair

Now I'm going to be completely honest here, I don't really know why I bought this, but I'm the type of person who can't only have one concealer... although that being said I now have five- (I guess you could say my obsession is becoming slightly out of hand). Anyway, I decided to give this a go as it promises to help 'soothe and hydrate skin', with added vitamins A and E. I opted to use this mostly under my eyes to hide those dreaded dark circles, and after a few hundred twists of the bottle later the concealer decided to make an appearance and seep out onto the little brush. 

Coverage-wise it is pretty good, my under-eye circles seemed a lot less noticeable but I can't help but think that the packaging is made to make this product appear a lot better than it actually is. At the end of the day it's just a concealer, does it really need to be in a bottle that you have to keep twisting in order to even get a glimpse of the product? (The more you twist the more you hear little clicking sounds.. it does get a bit monotonous). Apart from that, it does do the job and is streamline enough to take with you on nights out so there are a few plus points at least.

Seventeen Photo Flawless Primer

Next we have one of my favourite products so far. I came across this when I was mooching around Boots, and I'm so glad I did. The gel-like texture feels a bit odd at first but as soon as you apply it to your skin it makes your face feel super soft and silky. When I first used this I applied it before my concealer, which lets just say didn't work out too well as the texture of the primer meant the concealer didn't have anything to 'grip' onto, so it basically just slid back off. Then again that was probably down to my inexperience of using primers... this is the first one I've actually gone out and bought (after sampling many on the back of my hand!) Anyway, this product did make my make up stay on a lot longer than I would've originally thought, and like I previously mentioned I tend to get a little bit oily around my nose and after using a primer it did make a difference in reducing the amount of shine.. meaning I could go longer without reapplying powder, yay!

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea & Honeysuckle EDT

Last but by no means least I have this; the Elizabeth Arden Green Tea and Honeysuckle Eau de Toilette. I bought this around the beginning of August as I was on the lookout for a light, summer fragrance- and this ticked all the boxes. To start off with it cost around £15 and that was for 100ml which I thought was extremely good value. The scent itself I would describe as very light and fresh- (emphasis on the 'light'... it doesn't last very long so you need quite a few sprays) but I do really like it; it's very clean and nowhere near sweet and sickly like many other 'summery' fragrances out there in the shops. 

Top notes: bergamot, lemon, green tea, tangerine and boysenberry

Middle notes: honeysuckle, jasmine sambac, ylang ylang, green tea and Tunisian neroli

Base notes: peach, musk, birch and ambrette.