Mecca hauling

I recently had a wedding to go to which prompted this little Mecca haul.

Mecca Cosmetica To save Face SPF 30+ Facial Sunscreen – I’ve mentioned it before but I’m so unimpressed with Garnier discontinuing all my favourites and I’m not going to wait for them to discontinue my day moisturiser of choice so I’ve been actively on the hunt for one with decent SPF and this Mecca brand sunscreen fits the bill quite well. It’s a hydrating sunscreen that I can imagine in summer is all I will need but coming out of winter there are some days that I still feel the need to moisturise and then layer this on top. It’s a fairly thin consistency that absorbs completely without leaving any hint of a white cast and it sits really well under makeup. On the whole I’m really happy with this.

Philosophy Take A Deep Breath Oil-Free Oxygenating Gel Cream – Another brand that has discontinued a favourite of mine (Full of Promise) but thankfully I’m just as happy with this new moisturiser. It’s a faint mint green colour which smells of fresh fruity cucumber though this doesn’t linger. More cream than a gel, it smooths on easily and absorbs really well. I’m usually not such a fan of these thinner consistency creams but this definitely delivers on hydration so is a winner in my books. As a side note I love how Philosophy creams come in 60ml pots rather than the standard 50ml making them even more affordable.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Vera – I’ve been hearing a lot about these lippies with NARS releasing even more colours recently and almost all the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Vera is supposed to be a ‘bright raspberry’ but I find it pulls a little purple red on me which I love. Gorgeous creamy formula too which wears comfortably and doesn’t bleed. It’s so pigmented that as it wears off it leaves a stain behind so if I can’t be bothered reapplying I just pop on a little lip balm, rub my lips together and it smooths out the colour without looking like I have a ring around my lips. I’ve now got a few more shades on my wish list and I can see myself building quite a collection of these if I’m not too careful.

Too Faced Primed and Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer – In my last haul I mentioned that I was still on the hunt for a primer that filled in my enlarged pores and after testing a sample of this I went ahead and bought the full size. Does it smooth over and fill in my pores? Yes. It even mattifies my skin which is a bonus but am I totally happy and in love with this? No. I love a silicone primer and the consistency of this is ideal. It isn’t super thick nor is it so thin that I feel like I’m wiping it off as I try to smooth it out but a silicone based primer by its very nature has a lot of slip and it doesn’t set. I’m not sure it’s any better than the Inglot one I used to use which is cheaper and if I’m going to settle for something that does half the job I’d much rather pay less. For now though, until the makeup gods develop something that is spak filler and stays in place, this will do.

So while I used the wedding as an excuse to go makeup shopping I really only used the primer and the gel cream on the day. Like a girl really needs an excuse anyway.