I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for a while now because I’m really trying make more of an effort to choose cruelty free products because frankly, I love animals, and animal testing is not cool.

First up, being in desperate need of new makeup brushes, and having featured Spectrum brushes in my Beach Wishlist post, there was no question which ones I was going to get! I went for the 10 piece essential set – the dreamy pink handled blue and purple design – and Siren Smoke eye brushes.

Safe to say I’m in love with them; they’re super soft, so easy to clean and work like a dream, not to mention looking prettier than my makeup itself!

Next up, I finally found the NYX counter in Bournemouth, yay!! I already had a vague idea of what products I wanted to try, so it was a pretty easy shopping trip. If you read my July favourites post, you’ll have seen I featured the matte Euro Trash lipstick which has become my new everyday favourite shade, and it lasts all day without budging, especially when paired with the lip primer, which I got in deep nude. Being a big lipstick person, I figured it would be a good idea to get a primer as I hate having to worry about whether its wearing off during the day.

Finally, I bought the Sculpt and Highlight Brow Contour, in blonde/ivory, and Mineral Matte Finishing Powder. While I prefer doing my eyebrows with a pallette, this little double-ended pencil and highlighter is perfect for on-the-go fixes, and also great for travelling with. I’m still getting used to using loose powder, but it feels really light and does a great job evening out my skin tone and taking away shine.

Top to Bottom: Poppy, Corallo, Plush

Finally, a brand I stumbled across while browsing Asos: Winky Lux, which is an up and coming US brand. I instantly became obsessed with several of their products, namely their lipsticks, and while I probably could have bought every shade available, I settled on three to start off with; Poppy, a bright pinky/red, Corallo, a light nude shade and Plush, a bright yet deep pink. First up, isn’t the packaging so beautiful? The tubes are actually pretty little, but I like that as they’d fit into a pocket quite easily and I love the gold and silver design. As for the lipsticks themselves, they’re super soft and pigmented – those swatches were one stroke! They have a matte finish (my fave) while still feeling rich and moisturising, and have a vanilla-y flavour much like MAC lipsticks do. I’m a happy bunny!

What do you think of my haul? If you have any cruelty free brands to share, drop me a comment!

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