Things I want vs things I should be doing with my money...

Things I want:

• Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick. Ideally two, in Raven (red) and Icon (purple-red)
• 4 dresses from Oasis. I don't want to buy all 4 (yet), but I at least want to try on all 4. And knowing my luck I won't buy any. I tried on 2 that had been on my wishlist for a long time at the weekend and they both looked really bad on me. Wrong tailoring for my shape.
• Clinique Chubby Stick Intense. Yes! Shortly after saying I wanted to get a red (and maybe more) in the normal, the intense shades came out! I really want the red. It's a lovely red. I only need a few more Boots points to get one for free... I think Mightiest Marachino is the shade I want.
• Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. Black Honey is probably my favourite Clinique colour ever. Ever. I almost cried when I broke my Black Honey gradient blush palette on the bathroom floor (it shattered) because I waited too long to buy a replacement (trying to be a "good girl" and saving money) and couldn't find it anymore
• Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura painting liner

Things I should be doing with my money:

• Replacing the money I took out of my savings when money was a bit tight last week.
• Adding more money to my savings
• Gradually buying things I need for Japan e.g. suits, smart tights, shirts, shoes, shoe polishing kit...

As you can see, with the purchase of 4 different MAC eye products over the last couple of months, I now want to indulge in beautiful autumn/winter lip colours. For me, autumn/winter make up colours are reds and purples. And now I want purple/red lips. Granted, I do already have some red and purple lipsticks, I guess I should make more of an effort to wear them. My Voluptuous Violet Chubby Stick is getting a lot of use these days - I feel like proper lipstick might be a bit too much for work...

Quickie

I got bitten by the shopping bug a couple of weeks ago, and my weekend indulgence (post to follow!) has satisfied some of the cravings...

Just checked my bank balance and my money for this month is in. Do I indulge further..? Logic is telling me not to!

Though... I do have my eye on this:

Clinique's chubby sticks! I already have voluptuous violet (#16) and oversized orange (#12), but I have my eye on a red one, either two ton tomato or chunky cherry...

I'll let you know if I give in to temptation...!

Product review - Clinique Pore Minimiser

One of my major skin concerns is open pores - namely on my nose and on my cheeks just at the side of my nose, so pretty much an extension of the vertical of the T-zone.

I've been searching for ages for something that would treat them. I used to use the old Clinique Pore Refining cream, which came in a lilac tube.

Sadly, after using it for months, I found it hadn't done anything except discolour my skin slightly, making it lighter than the rest of the skin where the product hadn't been applied, so I stopped using it. I eventually found a cosmetic solution from Benefit, their Porefessional (will do a separate review for that).

Then while windowshopping recently I saw Clinique had discontinued their previous lilac-packaged serum - it had more of a lotion consistency so I don't really count it as a serum... - in favour of the gel-cream green-packaged new version.

I immediately decided when I had enough money to spare for it that I'd get it. Everyone has been telling me pores become worse when you get older - especially my mother, for whom pores are also a concern.

The new serum has a pretty hefty price tag for me: £38.00 But boasts quick results, "in 2 weeks, pores look 58% smaller. Guaranteed." as the website says.

And I have to admit, even though I was doubtful, it's true that the pores do look smaller. Blackheads are removed, there's not nearly as much dead skin collected there which I used to get, despite washing my face thoroughly twice a day.

The downside - the serum makes my skin so smooth that it feels greasy. I can't use it under make up, and if I use it when I'm wearing glasses I get frustrated at just how much more my glasses slide down my nose. It's rather annoying. On days when I'm going to be wearing make up, I just use it at night after my nighttime washing routine.

And of course the other downside is the price of it. However I've found you only need to use the tiniest amount of it to thoroughly cover the problem areas, so hopefully it'll last for a long time (I think I've been using it for about a month or just over a month now)

But, the important point, the pores are smaller.

Verdict: 7/10. (lost one point for the price, two points for the super slippery feeling)