Escentual Discount Haul

Beauty purchases have been few and far between this year with me not wearing makeup and trying to work my way through some of the ridiculous sized stash I own. I've actually managed to start and finish 3 full-sized lip products (lip balm crayons from Clinique, Dior and Clarins) which I was thoroughly impressed by! I had a mild panic after Christmas though, when I realised I only had a trickle left of my Clarins Lotus Face Oil. It quickly became integrated into my routine and I'd miss not having it, so I placed an Escentual order for more.

To see me through the rest of winter I thought I'd try the Santal Face Treatment Oil £32 this time, which is for dry skin. Being home all day with the heating on, then a trip out every few weeks to the physio (my it's cold out there) isn't kind conditions for the skin, so I'm hoping this will help. First impressions; I'm not as fond of the scent as the oily/combination one. I know at the time I bought that, I said it was strong, but it's really grown on me (maybe this one will too).
The bottle is fantastic to work with, having that dropper (no mess). I only use 3 drops each night (though might cut back from using it 7 days a week with this one) and aside from the tiniest drop in the bottom, I've managed to get it all out using the dropper, even when there was very little left.
Seeing as there is 20.15% off the site just now (details at the bottom of this post), I treated myself to a few more things. Another Clarins Energizing Emulsion £26 for tired legs. What is this my third or fourth bottle in the past couple of years? I'm running low on my last bottle and am suffering from aching legs a lot just now, so saw this one as a necessity. It's not a miracle cure for pain, but it's pleasant to apply when your legs are throbbing.
My Clarins Pure and Radiant Mask is running out (seriously everything is right now), so I was looking for something different to try. I really like the one I'm using, but fancied a change. I almost got the Clarins Hydra Quench Cream Mask but at the last minute changed to Dior Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask £31.50. It was a little cheaper and I've just finished (yep again) a Dior cleanser, my first foray into their skincare, so wanted to try something else from the brand. I find the reviews pretty helpful on Escentual when I'm looking for new products. Obviously not everyone will have the same opinion, but this one seemed to get good reviews anyway (or should that be 'glowing'? Haha), so I thought it worth a try.
I haven't quite finished the Clarins one (probably just one application left), but was too tempted by this when it arrived and opened it and used it before I got into the shower.  It seems pleasant enough.  It feels like a cream when applying and doesn't dry 'hard' like other masks.  You don't wash it off, just massage in the remaining and/or use toner.  My skin certainly drank it all up, so it was obviously in need of hydration.  I'll keep you updated on how I get on with it.   Finally, a lipstick.  Oh the bother I had to get this one.  A while before Christmas, I'd made a wishlist of Guerlain and Givenchy items I wanted from their limited holiday releases.  Escentual had been running an offer (I think it was for Black Friday) and I should've placed my order straight away but thought I'd suss everything out first, then of course when it came to buying them, they'd gone.  Most of them had been OOS anyway but available to order, but even that option had gone.  I was really annoyed, especially when I realised they'd sold out everywhere else too.  I managed to get one Guerlain nail polish and that was it.  I kept checking and during Christmas they had around 20 Givenchy lipsticks back in stock, so I managed to get the very last one (er yeah I didn't learn my lesson of buying immediately, they went quicker than I thought)!  It's the Rouge Interdit Shine in 37 Prune Folie £22.    
Firstly the case is amazing.  A sheer, soft grey with very fine shimmer.  I really struggled to capture this on camera, but the two tilted photos below should show it.  It's very subtle, but on the second image with the flash, it's more noticeable.  Inside is the weighty silver bullet, with the Givenchy logo embossed and there's even a small ribbon loop at the end to pull it out of it's cover.  So pretty, chic and sleek!  
The lipstick itself is black or blackened purple with lots of multi coloured glitter.  A part of me definitely wanted it to apply like this, even although I knew beforehand that it didn't and realised that wouldn't be very practical for daily use.  I do think props to Givenchy for thinking outside the red and gold theme for festive makeup this year with their Folie de Noirs collection though.  
It's actually a soft and sheer plummy pink with sporadic glitter when swatched.  As it's a shine formula it isn't supposed to be wildly pigmented or full-on colour, but actually I'm very pleased with the amount of colour.  On the lips (sorry no photo), it's really beautiful, adding a flush of deep pink with lots of shine.  I'm really pleased I eventually got hold of it.  
I also have Clarins Blemish Control £19 roll-on treatment on order because it was out of stock at the time.  I need to find a reliable 'on the spot' emergency treatment, so I'm putting a lot of hope in this one working!  Like I said earlier, there's 20.15% off everything (for new year, hence the odd amount), with the code ESCENTUAL2015 and that runs until midnight tomorrow (12th January).  As well as Givenchy, Escentual are now stockists of Shiseido, so I'm tempted to try something from there in the future.  Any of these beauty products take your fancy?  Click here for my review of my nails seen in this post.        

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