Giveaway goodies | All Of Her Yesterdays

As you may have read in this post, I received a very exciting tweet last Saturday during my break at work - I had won a blog giveaway! Now, to most, this won't seem very exciting. For me, however, it really is. Let me explain, I'm quite honestly the most unlucky person ever when it comes to winning things. Remember when you were at primary (elementary) school and there were those end of term christmas parties with games like musical chairs, I never won. Playing things such as board games never turns out successfully for me either, I always lose! A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I were at his uncle's house and we were playing the card game Sh*thead (google it if you've never heard of it, otherwise known as Palace for those readers who are more well-spoken than me!) and I lost. I didn't just lose, it was as if I had been flying a plane, lost all engine power, tried to parachute out but the ropes had been cut & so I fell to a painful death in a volcano (seriously, how does my mind think of such strange similes?) So yeah, you get the point, I never win things.

The host of said giveaway was Lydia at All Of Her Yesterdays. I love her blog and recommend that you all go and check it out, her posts are wonderful! If I'm honest, I'd forgotten that I had entered her giveaway which then heightened my excitement when she contacted me! The 'prize' for the giveaway was a palette, two nail polishes and a lipstick. I was given the choice of colours for the polishes and lipstick but as I was at work I couldn't really access swatches or anything so I said that any colour would be fine for the nails and for the lipstick any shade that was either pink or nude as they are the colours that I tend to wear.

The package arrived Thursday morning (unfortunately I didn't get it until the evening as Mr. Postie was late & I had work & I've been so busy so couldn't get this post up sooner, boooo!) and was so cute. All wrapped up in pink polka dot paper with my name and everything, seriously, I'm a sucker for anything cute! Anyways, on with the pictures...

Thank you so much to Lydia for hosting the giveaway, it was so generous and the products are amazing!

If you'd like a more in-depth review of any of the products she sent me then let me know in the comments below & I'll add it to my posts list :)

P.S. sorry for the lack of photos of the lipstick, I've been so busy lately and just haven't been home in daylight to photograph it!!

Haul | Boots, Topshop, Superdrug

Leigh Ankle Grazer jeans | Topshop | £38

Set of 4 rings | Topshop | £4 (I think) in the sale

Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends shampoo | Superdrug | £1.69

Barry M Nail Paint in Coral | Boots | £2.99

Nivea Oil Free Moisturiser | Boots | £3.99

Maybelline Superstay 24hour foundation (Nude) | Boots | £9.19

Maybelline the Falsies Black Drama mascara | Boots | £7.99

Maybelline Colour Sensational lipstick (Sweet Pink) | Boots | £7.19

Natural Collection Bronze Powder (Sun Shine) | Boots | £1.99

Natural Collection Blush (Pink Cloud) | Boots | £1.99

Natural Collection Eyeshadow Duo (Mocha/Latte) | Boots | £1.99

Collection 2000 Colour Pout Lasting Lip Stain (Flirt) | Boots | £4.99

L'Oréal Paris Super Liner (Black) | Boots | £6.49

Models Own Nail Polish (Utopia) | Boots | £5

Models Own Beetlejuice Nail Polish (Copper Pot) | Boots | £5

This was originally going to be two hauls - hence the different backgrounds - but I figured it was easier just to pop them both together! I received quite a few offers on the makeup products but can't quite remember them all, I do remember that the Models Own nail polishes were buy one get one half price though which is a fab deal! Boots also have an offer where you receive 10 points for every pound if you spend over £15, meaning that on a shop that cost £22something I got 220 points, how great is that?!

Tag: How much is your face worth?

 I've seen this post done quite a bit but was always a bit meh about it, but then I saw that Louise at Sprinkle Of Glitter had done it so I took a look. Hers definitely shocked me and so now I'm interested to know how much mine will be. I don't use really high end, luxurious products like MAC but still, makeup is pretty expensive!

Apologies for the kinda scary photo, lighting+face+hair+everything=disaster today!

No7 Shine Free Make-Up Base - £11

Maybelline Superstay 24hour Foundation (Nude) - £9.19

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (Light) - £3.99

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Peach Glow) - £3.99

No7 Natural Blush Cheek Colour (Candy Pink) - £9.50

BM Beauty Summer Warmth Bronzer - £8

HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette (Foxy) - £19.96

ELF Eyelid Primer - £1.50

Natural Collection Duo Eyeshadow (Mocha/Latte) - £1.99

L'Oréal Paris Super Liner (Black) - £6.49

Maybelline The Falsies Black Drama Mascara - £7.99

Sephora Collection Super Nourishing Lip Balm - $5 (£3.17)

Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner (East End Snob) - £3.99

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick (Sweet Pink) - £7.19

Total: £97.95!

I knew it was going to come to quite a bit, but honestly, I didn't expect it to be that high. Obviously I'm not using the whole product at that one time and they last me ages, but still, that's a lot of money to be carrying around on your face!

I hope that some of you will do this tag, it really is quite interesting to find out just how much all of your makeup adds up to. I now know why I always hate it when everything runs out at once!!

If you do this please leave a link in the comments, being the nosey parker that I am, I would love to know how much yours comes to!

Review: HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette

If you read my July favourites post then you may well be aware that I've been using my new HD Brows palette recently and I've been absolutely loving it!

I received the palette in my July GlossyBox and mine is in Foxy, which is clearly aimed at girls with darker hair colours, therefore is perfect for me! It comes in simple yet gorgeous packaging, the design being sleek and sophisticated in the all-black, glossy case with white lettering. The packaging definitely gives it that 'up-market' feel and just reeks of glamour!

Inside are four shades; nude, warm brown, dark brown and carbon. These shades make the palette suitable to a range of people as they go from almost black to a much lighter brown. The nude shade is perfect to use as a highlight under the brow as well as to run around the edges to cover up any slight mistakes rather than slathering on the concealer!

For me the carbon shade is much, much too dark so I keep well away from that. I've found that the perfect colour for me is a mix of the two medium shades - warm and dark brown - however neither are too light or dark for me to use them individually. I tend to change what I use depending on my mood & what makeup I'm wearing that day, for example today I'm only wearing mascara on my eyes so I've gone for the dark brown on my brows, whereas if I were wearing a lot of eye makeup I would go for the lighter shade to balance everything out.

The brush that comes with the palette is surprisingly good. I never normally use the brushes given as they aren't always very good quality, however this one exceeds expectations. The bristles on the angled brush are solid enough that you can achieve a very defined look first time without having to go back and make corrections. Also the brush is thin enough to go all the way to the tips of your brows without them staying thick, giving a very feminine look. The rounded brush is slightly more flexible which works great when you're applying the highlight as you don't want it to be quite as precise.

(L-R) Warm Brown, Dark Brown, Carbon.

(Nude is just so nude that it wouldn't show up in the swatches, sorry!)

Another great thing about the colours is that they can also be used as eyeshadows, giving a great look if you'd rather have a matte finish to your eyes. When used on the eyes they blend superbly and last all day (even without primer!). I'd recommend using the three lighter shades as eyeshadow and then if you wanted to then use carbon as a liner along the upper lash line.

(T-B) Warm Brown, Dark Brown, Carbon.

(Nude is just so nude that it wouldn't show up in the swatches, sorry!)

Overall, I've really enjoyed using this palette and would definitely recommend it to all brunettes. If you have different hair colours then they also do the palette in Vamp & Bombshell. Each palette can be found here for £19.96, a little pricey but in my eyes it's definitely worth it!

Have you ever used any HD Brows products? If so what were they and would you recommend them?

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with HD Brows and they have not asked me to review this product. I am purely reviewing it because I've enjoyed using the products and am receiving no money or rewards/benefits for writing this review.