Big Ol' Beauty Haul

Cast your mind back to April 2019. A young, naive Ellie sat in her room, clearing out her excessive beauty stash, putting in writing that I really, really, really don't need to buy anymore makeup in a while. Fast forward to three months and an £125 feelunique.com order later, and I'm unashamedly sat in a pool of wonderful new beauty bits. Raise your hand if you knew that wouldn't last long (*raises own hand*). But, I have found some absolute corkers over the last few months - and maybe if this post persuades you to splash the amount that I have on these beauties, maybe I won't feel so guilty. So if you are in the market for some luscious sustainable goodies, the most beautiful universal nude lipstick, and a perfume that makes you smell like a sexy businesswoman - don't go anywhere.

In my makeup clear out post, I mentioned that I was much more of a highlighter fiend than I thought. That hasn't changed. This makeup splurge was initiated by my purchase of the mini Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone as a self-congratulations for passing my shorthand exam in June, and I've been treating myself ever since. I have no regrets over this spontaneous purchase though - this is the perfect, subtle highlight for an everyday, lit-from-within glow, and is a complete dream for my fellow pale brothers and sisters. I spray a Spectrum Fan Brush (which I bought at the same time, and love just as much) with some Lush Eau Roma Water before swiping it across the powder to help achieve that stunning wet-look effect. This adorable travel-size is going to be a great holiday companion, too. However, if you're fancying a more punchy, disco-ball-esque highlight - boy, do I have the product for you. Say hello to the Fenty Beauty Diamond Bomb. I have never tried a product like this before. It's as if tiny little stars have been crushed up and set into the most gorgeous sparkly pan you ever did see. This can be used on face and body, and is sure to make you look truly angelic; my favourite place to pop this is on the inner corners of the eyes, for a super glam eye-opening touch of glitter. The formula lasts such a long time - not quite a powder, but not quite a cream or jelly either, it's so unique but utterly wonderful. So thanks to my bro for this cracking birthday gift.

Moving onto those sustainable goodies I was on about: I mentioned in my 5 Little Sustainable Changes post (which has just reached an insane amount of views, thank you SO much) that I was interested in trying the reusable bamboo makeup remover pads. Well, I purchased a pack recently from Amazon - and I'm getting on really well with them! I would say they perhaps soak up liquids more than regular cotton pads - like my Liz Earle toner and Garnier Micellar Water - so you may find you're using up product more quickly. That being said, the gorgeously soft texture of these pads, and the big bucks you save by purchasing reusable products, makes it all worth it. They also cleaned up perfectly in the wash - I know I won't be going back to regular cotton pads anytime soon. My next little sustainable newbie comes courtesy of my lovely friend Rachel, who bought me the Jumping Juniper Shampoo Bar from Lush for my birthday. Lush's incredible 'Naked' range eliminates the need for nasty plastic packaging, with products ranging from hair care, to shower gels, to deodorants. The shampoo bar is the first item I've tried from the range, but I know it won't be the last. While the difference in my hair isn't hugely noticeable, it did make it feel really smooth and clean. It smells super scrummy and is ridiculously easy to use. A no-brainer purchase.

Something I don't chat about a lot on here is fragrance, but I'm a sucker for it. After running out of my favourite 2 perfumes - Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Pera Granita Eau de Toillette and Stella McCartney's STELLA - I knew I needed to stock up. But when it comes to perfumes, this girl ain't loyal. This time I went for Kayali's Elixr 11 Eau de Parfum, and damn. It was a good choice. As much as I love my Guerlain and my Stella, I have never owned a perfume that makes me feel quite so sophisticated. It's described as a fruity/floral fragrance - with notes of red apple, rose de mai absolute, jasmine, amber, patchouli and vanilla - but I think the fruity side of things fade within a couple of hours to reveal this sultry floral scent. Kayali's whole range is made up of four perfumes designed to be layered, but I wasn't up for spending lots of money on two scents. This does, however, mean that the singular scent of Elixir 11 doesn't last as long as it could on the skin - maybe just over 5 hours for me, and you have to be quite close to smell it. For this reason, I've also picked up Lush's Vanillary solid perfume. At £9, this comes in a lot cheaper than Kayali's Vanilla 28, and works fantastically as a moisturising base to elongate the scent of Elixir 11 and bring out its sweeter notes. The Lush perfume alone is a rich vanilla scent, with its compact packaging making it ideal for throwing in your handbag. A little goes a long way for this little puppy and its pungent fragrance lasts like nothing else. Highly recommend. 

And last, but certainly not least, we come to my new lipstick obsession. Recently I haven't been wearing lipstick all that much; I've had some trouble with my lips cracking quite a lot, and my fave lipstick - e.l.f's Lip Colour in Praline - I feel, is much more of an Autumn/Winter shade due to it's deep, warm undertones. Then, I see Charlotte Tilbury has released her Hot Lips 2 collection, with celestial packaging. That's right. Not only that, but one of her lipsticks was dedicated to and named after J.K. Rowling. I present, JK Magic. I'm pretty sure this lipstick was made for me. While this lippy has the very nude, brownish undertones I usually seek out, this one is laced with pink - not usually my cup of tea. But this lipstick has completely knocked me for six, and I think it would be a flattering shade on just about anyone. If you're a dedicated Charlotte fan, you'd recognise this lipstick has her classic K.I.S.S.I.N.G formula, which leaves the lips gorgeously moisturised with a pretty, glossy finish. While this lipstick was a hefty £28 - and yes, this was the one I referenced in my 30 Things I Want to Do Before I'm 30 post - not only is it a vegan formula, but £1 million of the Hot Lips 2 profits will go to Women for Women. Amazing! And if that's not enough, these lipsticks are refillable, so you can keep the stunning components, and replace the lipstick when you've used it all up - another sustainability win. If you can't tell already, I'm pretty in love with this lipstick, and wouldn't be at all surprised if you see it in my 2019 Favourites coming to a screen near you in December time.

These are all the stunning beauty bits I've managed to get my makeup-stained mits on recently - and man oh man, what a haul. I'm so excited by each and everyone of these products, I just had to share them all with you. Hope you love them as much as I do! Now, please, if I speak about buying more makeup before the end of the year, do whatever it takes to stop me.