Tuesday 12 June 2012

First make-up shop for a year! Anxiety chat and goodies

Hiya!

This post is a little different from most and, to be honest, is a little bit of a step for me to write about on here! I have suffered with anxiety for a few years, and although things are gradually improving now, I've been pretty much unable to go shopping, out for dinner and other fun things for around a year. All the bits and bobs you've seen on here from me have mainly been from online shopping. I have being pushing myself, with a little help from the good weather and amazing friends and family, to try and meet some targets of mine. As a blogger, it is safe to assume one of those targets is to go make up shopping - and yep, just a few days ago I managed it! I'm pretty chuffed with myself and thought I would share with you here all the goodies I bought from Superdrug :)

Unfortunately anxiety is far too common, so to any of you readers out there struggling - it really does get better! I was pretty much stuck in my house for a long time and have now doors are opening up for me in all directions as I begin to get better. For me the key is repetition.. first I would just take a five minute walk with my boyfriend a couple of times a week, and as this got easier I'd change it to ten minutes and so on. The same with shops, I'd go to a quieter and smaller shop a few times until it became normal, and gradually build it up. It is bloody scary and takes a lot of encouragement, but the rewards are worth it - and you are not crazy for panicking, there are so many of us in the same boat! So persevere and keep your chin up, it does get easier.

Anyway, onto the good stuff!

Max Factor Flip Stick in 'Boreal Mauve'


Superdrug had (I'm not sure it's still on) an offer where if you bought a selected Max Factor mascara, you got a Flip Stick free - worth £8.49 so not bad! The colour choice isn't amazing, and this option seemed the least scary so I went for it. The purpose of this product is to create more of a 3D lip effect by applying the darker colour all over and the lighter colour to the center of the lip. The darker shade is shimmer-free and a lovely berry pink and the lighter shade is more of a baby pink with a subtle shimmer - both more on the cooler, blue-toned side of pink. I've only used this product today and can definitely say the lasting power is fantastic (those swatches have slightly stained me!) and the smaller sized bullets make application easy. I'm not sure that the colour suits me - but the idea of this lippie is fab.

You can get it from Boots here!

Max Factor False Lash Effect 24 Hour Mascara


This was the mascara that I bought to receive the free Flip Stick. I am a HUGE fan of the regular False Lash Effect so assumed this would be pretty much the same.. unfortunately it is a little different in terms of results and doesn't boost my lashes like the original. I don't know what they've changed in the formula, it doesn't seem particularly thin or thick but just not the same magic as before. The wand is the same though which is a big thumbs up. Not sure I'd repurchase but will definitely keep using this :)

It is currently £8.99 for Boots here!

Sleek Makeup Pout Polish in 'Peach Perfection'

I've seen a lot of people rave about these so I picked one up myself. This product seems to be marketed as a lip conditioner - personally I don't think the texture feels thick enough to really be doing anything, but it does leave a nice sheen (not gloss - woohoo!) and soft finish. Plus it smells seriously good! A must have for my make up bag when I don't want anything heavy on the lips.

I don't know why I can't find these on the Superdrug website, but you can get them directly from Sleek for £4.30 here.

Fashionista Baked Eyeshadows in 'Golden Dragon' and 'Bewitched' / Blush in 'Butterscotch'

Blusher in 'Butterscotch' / Baked Eyeshadows in 'Bewitched' and 'Golden Dragon'
From top: 'Bewitched' (e/s) 'Golden Dragon' (e/s) and 'Butterscotch' (blush)

I've never tried this brand before but thought their prices were pretty good value (each of these were £4.00 each) and the colour selection was pretty impressive. The blushes and eyeshadows come in the same packaging and you can get your hands on an empty palette for a fiver which you can pop in whichever blushers or eyeshadows you like. I chose the eyeshadows 'Golden Dragon' and 'Bewitched' which are baked - the pigments are pretty strong but as I can gather so far the lasting power isn't too long so you might need a primer. Fashionista's selection of blushers is pretty vast with a variety of finishes - the 'Butterscotch' shade I chose is really subtle and easily blendeable. Overall I'm pretty pleased and would go back to this brand again!

To have a look through their products clicky here!

Good Things Face the Day Moisturiser


A friend of mine had the grape cleanser from this brand and I used to always have a little sniff of it when I was at hers.. so I got my paws on the moisturiser! I wouldn't say this is a revolutionary product, it does the job and leaves me skin smooth but more importantly it smells AMAZING and so does my face. So thumbs up! Plus it's free from parabens, animal ingredients, mineral oils and sodium laureth sulphate which is a handy extra.

A little bit on the pricey end at £7.99 for 100ml but seriously, go smell this and you'll see why it's worth the pennies.

Aaaand that's it! A bit of a huge post and a big congrats if you reached the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I (finally) enjoyed the shopping experience. If you have any similar experiences I would love to hear from you, I was a little nervous about writing about my anxiety so any fellow worriers do chat!

Take care,
Collette xxx

11 comments:

  1. Well done on getting out the house :) I have recently started to suffer from anxiety more towards health anxiety and i sometimes have days where it feels like it's taking over my life its horrible. I worry so much that i make myself feel ill and then get upset because im worried and its a horrible vicious circle :( I have found that when i do get out the house i feel so much better because im not thinking about it which is helping me to ease my 'symptoms' of it. It's very brave to write about it because it's a huge thing it's nice to know that im not the only one and i hope you continue to feel better about everything :) xx

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    1. Hi Kia, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment! I can completely relate about feeling like its taking over your life but just remember that you are the one in control :) Really lovely to hear that getting out helps you.. its great to have an escape from your worries. Hope you continue doing well hun xxx

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  2. Congratulations on getting over your anxiety, or at least making a huge step towards overcoming it! It takes a lot of courage to write about something like this, which is a shame, as it's such an important topic and so many people suffer from it (me included). It just seems so much easier to talk about the colour of a lipstick or the lasting power of a nail polish, somehow lol. So well done you and it looks like the shopping trip was definitely worth it! ^.^

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    1. Thank you for such a kind comment, it means a lot to me :) I completely agree that it's easier to talk about make-up, which is why I've neglected to mention my anxiety til now - I suppose some blogs are more of an escape from worries, but hey ho! Take care hun xx

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  3. I know all about panic attacks being a sufferer myself - so know how you feel. I tend to use homeopathic remedies, bach remedies and meditation cds which help a lot.

    Great shopping haul x

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    1. Sorry to hear you suffer too. I have Bach Rescue Remedy with me most of the time just in case - can be very handy :)

      Thanks hun xx

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  4. I've nominated you for an award :) xx
    http://courtney--xo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/laine-blogger-award.html

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  5. Congrats for managing to go shopping :) I know people that suffer from anxiety and I can also be quite an anxious person and know it's horrible that it makes you stop doing things! You got some great buys. I will be doing a flipstick post soon as I'm one of the 10 runner ups for the Max Factor comp-wish me luck :) The eyeshadows are so lovely

    Tanesha x
    www.tanesha-marie.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thanks for such a kind comment - it is an absolute pain in the bum! Good luck with the comp :) xx

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  6. hi great blog post ive been suffering from anxiety for the past four years and the last month its started to get worse:( but im finally gonna try doing something useful and make a blog on things i enjoy like makeup and nail art. Great to hear you are getting better, hope it continues :) x

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