A TERRIFYINGLY HUGE SEPHORA GRATIS HAUL

Holy crow what happened here? I missed a few monthly gratis hauls so I decided to do one jumbo collective haul and it's grown into a monster. I had no idea how much I'd been given until I started gathering everything together for photographs. I'm not even sure how to handle a post this size. Do I talk about everything? Do I just list it all? In the end I tried to do something in between - a very brief synopsis of each product. Also, don't worry, immediately after this I'll go take myself out back and flog myself silly for being so spoiled (and not in a kinky 50 Shades kind of way, I promise).

FALL NAIL COLOURS

You're going to fall all over these nail colours. Zing. I'm a self professed non-nail-girl. Very catchy name I know. Most of the time I can't be bothered to do my nails. You know how it is. You paint your nails and then you can't dig into a bag of potato chips for at least 10 minutes. What kind of madness is that?! Buuttt, since I've started working at Sephora, I've actually had to keep my nails looking half decent and, I'll admit, it's been fun.. So here's what I've been painting dem claws with.

HUGE KIKO HAUL

I'm back baby! You may have noticed a serious lack of new posts on Bloomin' Rouge in the past few weeks. That's due to the fact that I was lucky enough to have been living it up in Europe for most of April. Truth be told I was feeling a real lack of creative energy before I left, so I'm hoping the break will have me feeling refreshed and ready for round two.

BARRY M LADY: THE GOOD GLITTER

Good lord. If someone had told me before this post how hard hand modeling is I would have laughed in their face. But now... respect. I’m not much of a nail polish girl in general and I’m definitely not a glittery nail polish kind of girl. That being said, I’ve gone ahead and fallen in love with a glitter nail polish. 

TIME FOR SOME DRAAAMMMMAAAA

My everyday aesthetic tends to be light and natural to the point I often get people saying “yeah, but you don’t wear makeup do you?”  I love that healthy effortless look, but every once in a while it feels good to bring the drama. Amiright? And nothing says drama and glamour quite like a bit of sparkle and a red lip (and some contouring, highlighting and matching red nails while we’re at it). So what pickeroos have we here?

PASTEL COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

I’m not a huge nail polish wearer I must admit. I’m a bit lazy with nails and where I work they don’t tend to last more than a day or two without chipping. But when I do crack out a polish it tends to be pastel. I can’t seem to help my love for pastels. There’s just something so light and appealing about them. They epitomize that spring/summer feeling for me. I’ve picked out a nice smattering of colours today for you guys. Hopefully something tickles your fancy.

GETTING YOUR SUMMER GLOW GOING

I’m dressing less and less like a nun these days with the weather steadily improving. I’ve even been getting these old lobster arms out to see the light of day. Impressive no? It seemed fitting to assemble some products that compliment the end of the Dark Age and the dawn of a new light (I hate when people are overly dramatic. Thank God I effectively steer clear of that). Nothing makes me feel more summery than using products that leave my skin looking tanned, dewy and radiant. This is particularly true when I’ve not actually got a tan yet and I’m still as pale as an Englishman in the midst of summer.

BEST ONLINE BEAUTY SHOPS

Please allow me to ruin your life with an online shopping addiction just as I have done to myself. I insist. Don’t struggle, you’ll only sink faster. I’ve banded together what I find to be the best places online to find beauty products. I know depending on your country there are probably much better places, but I’ve tried to pick sites that are available and affordable worldwide. Onward ho: