A Cult Beauty Haul

When it comes to buying fashion, I’m a real online shopping kinda gal. I turn my bedroom into a changing room, lunging around in my new jeans to make sure they don’t cut me in half. It’s a real treat for my neighbours. When it comes to buying beauty though, it’s something that I like to do ‘IRL’. The swatching, the weighty feel of a lipstick bullet – it all adds to the allure, doesn’t it? However, there is one exception to that rule and it’s good ol’ Cult Beauty. I’ve been purchasing stuff from them for years and have to give kudos to the sleek design, delivery and my word do I love having a read of the reviews for products. They’re like mini blog posts of their own! They also stock a fair few things that I’m unable to get hold of easily and that I repurchase often. So that’s what this haul is; a mix of items that I desperately needed to buy again (dramatic, but true), and a few that I fancied giving a go thanks to the no-BS CB reviewers. And you think that I’m enabling, eh? 

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand in Light/Medium. I’m always on the lookout for a contour option that’s outcome is natural and application easy. Being someone who possesses multiple chins and a complete lack of visible bone structure, I actually do contour most days that I wear makeup, despite the fact that my routine is pretty parred back. So given that contouring is quite high on my list of makeup priorities, I thought I’d give this a whirl as it looked like it ticked off my two main criteria. However, the outcome was so natural that you can’t even see it and the application was tricky to get right. Upon further testing I’ve realised that you need to tap it in with fingers so that a sponge or brush doesn’t suck up the majority of the product and that works better, but it’s still not enough for me. If you like the definition that a powder contour gives, then the chances are that liquid and gel formulas just aren’t going to float your boat here.

Kjaer Weis Eyeshadow in Magnetic. I will admit that I was completely suckered in by the packaging for this one. Just look at that clean, mechanic swish! It’s a thing of beauty and when it arrived I spent a solid five minutes playing with it and marvelling at the beauty. On first impressions though I wasn’t mad about the innards. I love the colour, which is a mid-tone matte brown that’s a little cooler than the rest of the shadows that I reach for. However, I found it to be a tad patchy on application, although the longevity was pretty impressive. The formula is certified natural and Cult Beauty labels Kjaer Weis an ‘eco-luxe’ brand, just a little FYI and actually, after I’d given it a go a few more times it’s grown on me. Sure, it takes a few seconds longer to blend, but the colour is a nice switch-up for autumn.

Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. If you watch today’s vlog you’ll hear about how this is my favourite face mask ever. Hands down – no competition. It took me two and a half years to work my way through my old pot, but work through it I did; whipping it out whenever my skin felt dry, makeup wasn’t sitting right, or I needed a boost on the glow-front. I actually missed it when I’d run out. I’d think ‘ah yes – that’s what my skin needs right now!‘ and then be a little bit gutted when I remembered that I’d ran out and I hadn’t got round to repurchasing it yet. The one thing I would say is that for my sensitive chops, this is a little on the strong side. However, I recommend using it only in the evenings so no one except your other half sees you complexion which now resembles a big red thumb. It’s worth the face that resembles a chimp’s backside though because come the morning your face looks, and feels brand new.

Bella Freud Fig Leaf & Tomato Candle. It’s been a long while since I purchased a candle because I’d previously been collecting them as though there was about to be some kind of world candle shortage and I was solely responsible for the collection left in the south east of the U.K. ‘Don’t worry everyone – I can keep us going on the candle front for at least the next 10 years!’. When it got to the point that I could no longer close my drawer of them I realised that it was time to start burning through the stocks and I have kept to my vow actually, lighting a candle on my desk as I tap away most days. I’ve realised that the fig category are my favourite and I like my candles to be fresh, instead of scented with heavy notes; so this pot of wax that smells like my Grandparent’s greenhouse mixed with a soapy fig base is ticking all the boxes for me. PLUS, doesn’t it look the part too?

Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts. If you’re going to buy one bath product, make it this. Screw the milks and the soaks and the other salts on the market, I don’t think that anything concocts a bath as heavenly as these do. I haven’t used them for years, thanks to our enamel-free bath, but the urge for a sleep-inducing bathe got too much and I’m so bloomin’ glad that it did because I forgot just how magical this stuff was. I know it sounds like complete codswallop, but a sprinkle of these into the water as you’re running it lets off this dreamy fug that fills your home with a lavender and menthol cloud that hangs around way past you drifting off, and I genuinely do believe that I have a better night’s sleep when I’ve had  a bath with these prior. It might just be a placebo effect, but either way these are worth the investment in my eyes because it’s one of those luxuries that you miss when they’re not there and trust me – I haven’t had these in my bathroom for two years and just look at my face in the video. I look like a kid at Christmas…

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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