Haul Alert! Westfield Stratford Shopping City

This is a bit of a belated haul post - I wanted to do it for ages, but just couldn't get around to it, so apologies for the delay. My boyfriend had to go to an exhibition for work and asked if I wanted to come down to London with him for a couple of days and as I had a bit of time off I said yes. It turned out that our hotel was a Premier Inn right on top of the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, so I made the most of my day alone and went on a bit of a spending spree.

First up is this dress I picked up from New Look. It's not actually by New Look but by a label called Mela Loves London, which had its own little section upstairs in the stores. I desperately need some more "smart" clothes that I can wear to the office and I totally fell in love with the cute polka dot print and the soft wool material. The cowl neck is also incredibly flattering. At £25 it was also a bargain!

I also picked up this ring while I was there, which was on sale for £1! I don't really know why it was in the sale section, as they also had loads of these rings for the full price and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

Next I popped into Forever21 where I just couldn't resist this sweater. It's got Beagle puppies on it (*excited squeal*)! They had these with all sorts of animals, but the Beagles have got to be by far the cutest. It's one of those things that's so cheesy it's great again and will make a lovely cover up for cosy, lazy weekends. I think this was about £15, but I don't really remember anymore.

I also went into a shop called Beauty Base which mainly sold cheap perfumes - not as in awful crappy perfumes, but normal perfumes for less money - and cheap makeup - as in awful crappy makeup. I picked up a pack of five mini nail varnishes by L.A. Colors, as I loved the shades in the pack. I haven't tried any of these yet, so I can't comment on their colour density or staying power, but seeing as it cost me a pound or so for five nail polishes I won't be overly sad if they turn out to be rubbish.

I also got this bath and shower gel as I was running out and this smells absolutely gorgeous. It's a very strong fruity and refreshing scent, which might not be for everybody, but it's something I really love under the shower as it always manages to wake me up, even on the bleakest of mornings. Again, at round about two pounds for a 500ml bottle this is a complete bargain.

I also had to keep myself entertained, so I popped down to WHSmith and bought two books which were on a "buy-one-get-one-for-£1" offer. I already finished reading "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" and it has already become one of my favourite books ever, I really can't recommend it enough.

I bought this blusher from Topshop after I read loads and loads of positive reviews about their blushes. As you can see I've already been using it quite a bit. This is a cream formula in "Pinch", a gorgeous deep pink / fuchsia colour. The colour payoff of this product is absolutely amazing (see swatches below), it looks exactly like it does in the pot which is so rare. It's a creamy formula that dries into a powder on your skin, so you've got to blend it quickly before it dries. It's easy to overdo it with this blusher as it's just so colour intense, so it's better to just carefully dab it on rather than swirling your fingers around the pan and then to build it up on your cheeks as you go along.
It makes my face look really fresh and glowing, as if I'd just come back from a winter walk in the snow, which was exactly what I was looking for, so I'm extremely pleased with this product.

As I went through my lipsticks the other day I noticed that I always buy pretty much the same shade: a slightly greyish nude pink. In all seriousness, all my lipsticks are pretty much the same and only differ in finishes - some are glittery, some are sheer and some are matte. So I decided it's about time I got something a bit more brave, especially as there tends to be a recurring trend for strong lips every winter.
I went for this super intense fire engine red by Dior. It's actually called "Rouge Dolce Vita" from the Diorific line. How amazing is the packaging? It's a long lasting formula, so it's a good idea to apply lip balm beforehand, though it's still relatively creamy compared to other long lasting lipsticks I've tried. Oh, and when I say long lasting I mean long lasting. This stayed on my lips for hours, despite several drinks and a two course meal. You'd still need to touch it up from time to time, as it lost its sheen after a while, but I sure won't mind to pull this beauty out of my handbag any time soon.