July Beauty Buys

Also known as the Great Post Exam Haul, where I spend an inordinately large amount of money after the exams to make me feel better about myself. So I paid a visit to Mecca and Sephora and a couple of other stops in between to make myself feel better and my wallet feel worse. That and a very belated birthday gift from a friend.

Mecca Cosmetica To Save Hands Hand Cream: I have no good reason for purchasing this. But it has SPF 30 while still smelling really nice and lives in my handbag. And I think the packaging is no nice and super sleek. I'm really tempted to buy their tinted moisturiser and illuminator as well... Maybe next month?

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Duo: Mini sizes and sets are the ultimate way to get me to buy something, and it's a pretty good way to try new things out without committing to the giant full size one, especially since I own a very large amount of makeup. I love how this comes in two shades, the original one and the one in Candlelight, which gives a gorgeous wash of champagne shimmer over the lids. I'm also excited to see how this compares to my beloved Nars Pro Prime.

Too Faced Natural Matte Eyeshadow Palette: I love a good Too Faced eyeshadow palette, and a love a good matte shadow, so this purchase was a no brainer. Admittedly, it probably wasn't my smartest purchase. Four of the nine shadows are shades I already own in the Natural Eyes palette (which I absolutely adore), but I really do love matte shadows so that's how I justified it in my head. Oops.

Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in Fetish: I just thought the packaging and the colour of the blush is so gorgeous. I was also going to pick up the blush in Rapture as well, then I realised they both looked super similar to Nars Sin which I already own, so I tried to restrain myself by picking up the one that's slightly different. Either way, the pigmentation is incredible and I really might pick up a couple more of their crazy colours.

Kit Nail Polish in Ania: There was a promotion where is you spend over x amount of dollars, you can pick a free nail polish! Yeah I'm all over it. So I picked this gorgeous navy colour with micro shimmers. I think it looks a whole lot nicer than just a flat navy, so I'm really looking forward to slathering this on my nails when they get a teensy bit longer than they are at the moment. I do tend to save my dark polishes for when my nails get really long. I just feel like they look better than way. Unfortunately I think the shade was limited edition and isn't available anymore, but the Kit nail polish range has some really beautiful colours.

The Body Shop Body Butter in Vineyard Peach: I'm not going to lie, I bought this for the scent. I absolutely adore peach-scented and flavoured things. While I wouldn't recommend tasting this, I know the body butter itself will be wonderful and hydrating, especially as this one is targeted at those for dry skin. I do tend to find the ones suitable for normal skin a little bit too wet and just not as good, although I will still buy it if it smells amazing.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation in Light Sand: Finally, I've added another high end foundation into my collection. Can you believe this is only my third one? I can't. I've been lusting over the Tarte foundations for so long I can barely remember when I first heard about them, and I've decided now is the time to own one. It was a toss up between this one and the powder foundation, but I just feel a lot more comfortable with liquid foundations. And isn't the packaging just adorable? I love the little bamboo lid.

Tarte Energy Noir Palette: I must say, the packaging for this palette is honestly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. It's made of metal and is subsequently quite weighty, and just feels so expensive! The palette comes with a gorgeous blush and some lovely purple toned shadows in some seriously beautiful matte and metallic shades. I haven't given this one a go yet, just because I'm not sure when to try them out, but it just looks so beautiful.

MAC 15 Shadow Palette in Warm Neutral: Alright, this one I didn't buy, but it was a very belated and cumulative birthday gift from one of my best friends (shout out to Joanna — she really wanted a mention). I think this is an amazing introduction into the world of MAC eyeshadows. I do have a random few lying around but I love that this comes in a palette with some of their most famous shades. It also comes in a cool toned set, but I do tend to gravitate towards warmer tones, which is why I picked this one. And because they're MAC, you'll know the shadows will be amazing.