Estée Lauder Makeup and Skincare Haul with First Impressions.

If you read my blog quite frequently, then you know that I looove some Estée Lauder. Skincare, makeup, fragrance... EL is just perfection for me, as I'm yet to come across a product that I don't really like (and to be honest, I hope that never happens). The skincare is glorious, and I've almost finished my second lot of Advanced Night Repair, which is basically everything good in one little bottle. It's quite rich, so I use it every other night, but when I do, my skin practically slurps it up! Who knew that my skin was that thirsty for ANR? But anyway, back to my haul! I'll give you a little backstory to this before I go delving into products: I'd had a long day and work, and a customer said something horrible to me, that basically shattered my confidence, made me really self conscious and practically made sure that I'd never wear a blue tight fitting dress to work again. Can you guess what it is? She asked if I was pregnant. To say I was shocked, was a bit of an understatement. I just laughed it off at the time, as she explained that a ruffle on my dress made her think that I was hiding a baby bump... but after she'd gone (she literally ran away from me, in shame probably) I felt so self conscious. I kept pulling my dress down, crossing my arms in front of me... I almost went to put my coat on to work, because I was so conscious of how I looked. I'll admit, I do have curves. I used to think that the dress showed them off nicely, as I've always had customers and my colleagues say lovely things.. but this one lady... she's shattered my confidence. Isn't it strange how one person can change how you perceive yourself?

The next day, still a bit upset, I strolled into Debenhams with the aim of looking at the lipsticks from Estée Lauder, as I don't own any... but typical me, I had a good nose through all of the offerings, and that was when I spotted a few items that I hadn't seen before. First of all, hello matte red lipstick! I am a huge fan of matte red lips, so this was something that had to come home with me. It's from their Pure Colour Envy Matte selection and this red was just perfect. You can never have too many reds, right? It's my favourite kinda red as well, a blue red that makes teeth look whiter and suits my pale skin. Decisive Poppy is such a classic shade, that's actually really creamy for a matte. Very impressed so far, but will be sure to do a full review, with full swatches. I will say this though, the packaging is so luxe. It feels so heavy in the hand, and snaps to a close with a really satisfying click. I just love the sound that it makes.

The next area I went to were the concealers, as I'd never had one from EL, and the look of their Double Wear concealer was very appealing. Sadly they didn't have any shades suitable enough for my ridiculously pale skin, but oh well, that took me onto better things, i.e. Double Wear Brush on Glow BB, which is basically a highlighter and concealer in one: think of Estée Lauder's version of YSL's Touche Eclat. The packaging is luxury and gorgeous, I feel really fancy when applying it (I love that feeling) but I'm not going to speak too soon on this one, as I like to test them out for a good week or so before giving out any opinions. Although, from swatching, it looks glowy and with a good amount of coverage. So I'm really looking forward to using this in the upcoming days. 

Eyeshadow was another one that I was on the lookout for, as you can never have too many of them either, right? I'd seen single eyeshadows from them before on the EL counters, and yes they'd been pretty, but my eye had never been caught by them. Until this beauty. Enter Pure Colour Envy Eyeshadow Palette in Defiant Nude, a palette that is so stunning, I can't really find the words. A nude matte champagne shade for a base, then a little more golden colour for adding some definition, then enter the first defining colour - a soft sandstone colour that's simply made for going in the crease of an eye, then we have the bronze shade; a shade that is so packed with pigment it just knocks you in the face and makes you want to apply it all over it - so stunning. Lastly, and the final matte, it's a deep dark chocolate brown, glorious for smoking out a simple neutral eye. Basically, I fell in love with these shades and managed to grab the last one. I'm so so glad that I did, because I feel a palette this stunning needs to be raved about and from what I've seen so far, I think I'll be doing just that. 

My last pick was one from the skincare front, and to match my love for ANR, I decided to pick up their Advanced Night Repair Eye, which is basically a cooling, nourishing gel for the under eyes and eyelids. Once again, I'm not going to say much, because skincare needs to be tested thoroughly, but I like it so far. I'm quite excited to have the matching serum and eye cream, but I'm going to say this: I expect a lot, because I hold the serum in very high regard. Very high. 

One little thing that I didn't realise, was that there's a free gift with purchase. God, I love it when that happens. An Illuminating Perfecting Primer (ha, I bet you thought I was forgetting about that one) which I have yet to put on my face, but on my hand it felt divine! As well as a makeup bag, full of travel sized goodies that you can bet are going into my 'Travel Skincare' section, there's also a mini of the eye cream/eye gel - so I'll be able to take it away with me as well. Don't you just love it when that happens? Haha. Plus, my Instagram has the shot of the free gift with purchase, so definitely head over to lust over them! Believe me, you'll be getting some serious heart eyes! Btw, I just loooove love love Estée Lauder, and this was in no way paid for by them. I paid for all of these with my own money, and I'm going to really, really enjoy them.