In which Demi plays with her new beauty buys

I've been meaning to do a new beauty post for ages now, since I've collected what seems like a huge amount of goodies over the last few months. I do love cosmetics ♥

Manicure Monday! Today's choice is Peacock Green by Model's Own, which I love but rarely wear. I'm not sure why; every time I wear it, I think 'why has it taken me this long?!' I think it probably looks better on shorter nails, but that's never stopped me. I love Model's Own polishes - they have great coverage, a huge selection of colours, and they stay intact longer than some more expensive brands. But they can be a pain to take off, so always use a base coat.

Today's haul from Boots: No.7's Exquisite Curl mascara, L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Polish in Wild Purple, No.17 Make Your Mark liquid eyeliner.

How stunning is this colour?! I am so excited to try it out, but not until Peacock Green chips. L'Oreal Colour Riche polishes are brilliant as well; their brushes are pretty much perfect, and their formula, while a little thick sometimes, is super glossy and doesn't chip easily. I'm starting to build up a nice little collection! *cough* nail obsessed...

I've been meaning to try out a marker-style eyeliner for a while, after my usual thin-brush one gave me a whole bunch of smudged blackeyes in a row... It had a terrible habit of flicking half-way through my carefully-drawn line, ruining everything. I'm looking forward to trying this out, I love a classic cat eye.

Exquisite Curl is my go-to, daily mascara. I have it in the black/brown shade for regular daily use, as it's softer and more natural, then use a Collection 2000 thickening one in black for nights out (the name escapes me right now).

I love this. Nice consistency, excellent brush, and easily removed with Gatineau's Floracil. Mascara perfection in my opinion.

L'Oreal's Rouge Caresse lipstick in 401 Rebel Red. Again, I adore this product - I specially requested it for my birthday from a housemate. I'd been searching for the perfect 'almost lipstick' look for a while. Unwilling to part with the cash for Clinique's chubby balms, I ran through a bunch of those lip stain pens (Max Factor's are the worst by a long way. Within a couple of days, it had completely dried up) with little success. I was torn between the Rouge Caresse lipsticks and the Revlon Lip Butters. The only thing that tipped it was that I preferred the texture of the L'Oreal. It layers up beautifully, from a hint of pink to a shiny raspberry-ish red. Love, love, love.

I got this compact in a freebie box I received after a make-over and splurge at the L'Oreal counter a while ago (I am a fairly recent convert from Maxfactor). Although I am no blonde, I'm still pretty pale, so these shades suit me fairly well anyway! The middle golden shade makes a brilliant eyeshadow, especially when paired with the darker copper shade (with gold flecks) in the crease. Over summer, I would swirl this with my large powder brush and dust over my face to give me the healthy glow I was lacking, due to the lack of sun here in the UK...

Finally, L'Oreal's Nude Magique BB Cream and Matte Magique Foundation. I am a dedicated foundation fan, as I have large pores and uneven skin tone, so foundation was one of the first make-up products I tried. I'm never fully happy with my foundation; for some reason, I always think that a better alternative might exist on the market, and I just haven't found it yet. Every couple of years I get itchy fingers and do some research, swap about and settle for a good alternative. Although I have to say, Matte Magique is the closest thing I've found to my perfect foundation so far. It's the first time I've broken away from liquids, and I find that the light, souffle-like mousse is much better suited for my combination skin. While mattifying, it's never completely matte, it leaves me with a nice amount of humanity left in the skin!

I wish I could say the same for the BB cream. Insert massive sad face here! I'd been reading all about BB creams, done my research, had a look at a bunch of them, and decided that this sounded and looked the best. The liquid comes out white, speckled with tiny grey capsule-like blobs which burst as you rub it into the skin, releasing the colour. I'd bought it for summer, in the hope that it would give me a lighter coverage - more dewy, and with SPF. Excellent, right? However, while the Fair sample seemed to match me in the light of Boots, when applied to my whole face it took on a distinctly orange tint. 'Alright, so I'll just look a little faux-tanned,' I figured. But within 24 hours I'd sprung up in break-outs. As the only new product I'd added to my skincare mix, I instantly pinned the blame, and it's been retired to my make-up box ever since. Maybe I'll try it out again another day, just to double check...

Time to dream of more beauty products. Addicted and proud. Please share any recommendations you might have! xo.