Escentual Haul (Dior, Too Faced, Guerlain)

As you'll probably be aware, I had an Escentual discount code, which was due to run out at the end of July (on top of their already brilliant prices) and I decided to have one final order of things I'd been lusting after. You can see my other hauls here, here and more swatches here (naughty me) and actually this order had to be split into two because I didn't have enough pennies at the time for one big blow-out. I haven't edited the second lot of photos yet, but I was too excited with this lot, not to share them now!
First up was another Too Faced La Creme Lipstick (£18, bought for £12.24), this time in Nude Beach. It's a pinky beige nude and looks absolutely gorgeous.
I already bought Naked Dolly shortly before this, so I thought it would be of interest to compare the two. I've got more swatches of Nude Beach later in the post, but as you can see here, Nude Beach is supposed to be mauve while Naked Dolly is a very light nude. In the swatches, Nude Beach does lean more mauve (although still nude). Dark/light wise they appear to be on a par, with Naked Dolly beige nude in colour.
Guerlain isn't a brand I buy an awful lot from, but I was so taken with their Maxi Lash Mascara when I tried a sample of it, that I've been on a mission to own it ever since! The packaging isn't quite as elaborate as the Noir G mascara, but then the price isn't as steep either (£22 versus £36). To me, it resembles a bar of gold. I haven't used it yet to verify if the actual wand is easy enough to use (I'd say I'm more used to round than oblong packaging), as I'm still working my way through the sample.
The price is pretty average for a high-end mascara. Given that I just purchased YSL Babydoll mascara the other month, I was happy that my Escentual discount (and their sale price at the time) brought the Maxi Lash down to just under £15. Normally I'd feel quite guilty splashing out on both, but I'm so in love with this that there was no way I wasn't ordering it.
I had a really good browse through all the Guerlain items, but in the end I had to take several back out of my basket because I couldn't afford them, even when I placed the second order. I did buy this Rouge G Lipstick in shade 64, purely because it's named 'Gemma'. A lipstick with my own name? I'm all over that!
Now if spectacular packaging is your thing, then you're going to love this. It's actually magnificent, truly. First off, it's really weighty, so much that I can't imagine carrying this around with me all day! It doesn't look like a lipstick. A mini alien spaceship or something else, sure. Guerlain is etched into the metal surface with a little G 'button' at one end. I struggled to get all my photos in focus, because there was a little too much for my camera to focus on ; )   
You start to slide out the 'G end' and this mirror lid pops up. There's a mirror on the flip side and the inside base.

Keep pulling and the lipstick tube comes out. This is one sleek Mother, trust me! To put the lippie back, you just hold down the lid and slip the lipstick back in. There's even a magnetic force you feel, so the lipstick pops back into the case by itself in the last bit. If you want a lip product that's going to wow every time you reapply in public, then this is it (if you're keen on carrying a heavy load!). It does come at a price, these retail for £31 and I'm quite sure it's my most expensive lipstick. I got mine for just over £21, which didn't hurt quite so much.
Gemma is probably not a colour I'd usually buy, but I'm convinced it's going to look good on it's namesake. It has to right? It's supposed to be a medium pink with a lilac tone. It turned out not to be anywhere near as lilac as I expected when swatched and is actually a lovely rosy pink. There's shimmer in the lipstick, which isn't noticeable when swatched. 'Gabrielle' is next on my list when I can afford it and I'm absolutely in love with the new autumn 'Voilette de Madame' collection. Loving the polka dots especially on the limited edition Rouge G lippies. I'm definitely a Guerlain convert now. I've swatched the lipstick here along with the Too Faced one I promised earlier.
Finally Dior, how I love thee! I really do and I always feel like I'm being very indulgent and getting a real treat when I purchase from this brand. Without realising it, I've ended up buying almost all of the summer 'Birds Of Paradise' collection and I wish I still had my discount code to use on the ahhhhmazing new Mystic Metallics. I am so ridiculously in love with those new season shades that I literally want everything.
Back to the summer colours and you'll maybe recall the Flamingo lipstick I purchased? Well that was from the summer look. There were also these Jelly Lip Pens (rrp£19, bought for £10.98). Think chunky Clinique style lip pencil. I already resisted these last time, but after popping into Debenhams and trying one, I decided I needed it in my life. The shade I was most interested in was...at the Copa, Copacabana, music and passion were always in fashion at the Copa...! Sorry, got carried away with Bazza there, it's 516 Copacabana!
I actually cannot look at this, without singing that song! Anyway, it's one of those fuss free type crayons, that has that summer, beachy, "I'm sooo not wearing any makeup or trying too hard" type of thang going on. The colour is real pretty (nude for me obvs) and despite feeling very light, the formula is nice and balm like. Plus, you twist up the end, so there's no worry of ruining it with a sharpener.
And the swatches. You can see it's quite sheer, but it's supposed to be. There were three other brighter shades in this collection, but we all know I never stray too far from a nude. Can I just got for one last time...."Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..."!
The other item I tried (not very well) to resist was the cute l'il Nail Lacquer Duos (rrp£22, bought for £12.72). Contained inside each box, is two mini (7ml) bottles of gorgeous nail polish to contrast but compliment one another. I had such a hard time deciding which of the two duos to buy, so ended up with both! It's money well spent as all 4 are colours I'd typically wear and I can see me actually using these up.
Samba 001, contains a shimmering peacock green and 'sea blue' which I'd actually describe as a dusky or dull mint green. If the items from this collection I've bought thus far, haven't sounded 'Birds Of Paradise' to you, then this little duo will. I haven't tried these two yet, but am keen to. The silver square lids come off and underneath is a round black lid which is easier to apply with.
Bahia 022, features a hibiscus pink (the only item that didn't come out true to colour in my photos, it's darker, but brighter and has more purple/blue in it than here). I'm already wearing this on my fingers...ooh it's actually the colour you can see when I'm holding the Too Faced lipstick boxes above! To be honest I could've left it with one coat, but I'm rather fussy and went with two. I never tire of bright pink nails, so this is a winner in my book. The other colour is a dark petrol and it's on my toes, you'll have seen it with my Miu Miu sandals the other day. I don't think I own another colour like this, it's lovely.
They dry pretty quickly, apply streak free and I found the brush easy to use. I've had these on for around 10 days and my toes are fine, my fingers are pretty chipped, but I got at least 5 or 6 good days out of it.
Aren't they all so pretty lined up?  I also bought another Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector for a friend-going to get the world hooked on those!  I'm aiming to get the second part of this haul up next week and it includes more Dior and lots of Clarins.