Ready for the Weekend - Tesco Beauty Deals

The plan was to find the best deals from a number of sites, but Tesco Beauty have so many that I thought I'd start with them!

Below are my favourite deals currently on the Tesco website, but there are tons more online and you can pick up some real bargains in store! To my amazement I bagged Maybelline's Lash Sensational for £2.99 on one of my "big shops".

But back to the present. Here are my top 5 beauty savings from Tesco Beauty:

1. Max Factor - 2 for £14 on selected products 



This covers the Lasting Performance and Colour Adapt foundation ranges so if you use either of those foundations on a daily basis anyway, you can essentially get your second bottle for half price. Not too shabby.

2. Barry M Lip Paint - selected colours half price

I can really get on board with these given how impressed I was with the Genie Lipstick and this offer does tempt me.

Normally £4,49, 3 beautiful (and summery) pinks are currently just £2.25. Do I just buy all 3 for fairness?



         Pretty Pink                                Shocking Pink                          Marshmallow 

3. Bourjous Healthy Mix Concealer - nearly half price
    Bourjous 123 Perfect Foundation - £1.50 off



I have a real soft spot for the Bourjous Healthy Mix range which has a great coverage, smooth feel and gorgeous fruity smell. And at £3.75 for the wonderful concealer, why not give it a go? Unfortunately Medium is still £7 (boo!), but if your shade is Fonce or Clair, you're in luck (hooray!)

The same goes for Bourjous 123 Perfect Foundation which is currently £5.50 (rather than £7). The offer only applies to Light Beige, Light Vanilla and Rose Beige. But again, if one of those is your shade - well done you! This isn't the best deal in the world, but combined with the concealer, you can pick up a freebie as part of the 3 for 2 offer on Bourjous cosmetics.

And who doesn't love a freebie?

4. Maybelline Color Sensational Popstick in Pink Lollipop - £3.50 down from £6.99



Occasionally a random lip colour just pops up for half price and this is one of those occasions.

Another gorgeous pink which claims to leave a subtle sheen. Maybe not an everyday shade, but a great bargain product for a girls night out!

(As a side note, I love Maybelline's lipstick packaging. I mean, look how pretty!)

5. Maybelline Color Show Nail 651 Cool Blue - £1.50 down from £2.99



It is not an understatement to say I am obsessed with these nail varnishes. I could shout about them from the rooftops all day but I'll just simply say that they are THE BEST drugstore nail varnishes out at the moment. And I'll have to resist pretty hard not to snap up this beautiful baby blue!

So those are my picks, Will you be splurging on beauty this weekend? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Love Nicola x

*This post is not sponsored in any way by Tesco. They just do great deals. 

Nude Palettes - Maybelline vs Collection

Nude palettes are big news.

We had Urban Decay's now iconic NAKED Palette, which now has 4 variations, followed by L'Oréal's Color Riche La Palette which I've since given away (I'll come back to that!) and may, many others. 

It seems palettes are back in fashion when they were previously seen as full of dud colours and the more sensible option was to go with individual shadows (or a duo if you were brave!) 

However, cosmetic companies have seriously upped their game and two great palettes I own are the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze Palette (£3.99, boots.com but currently £2.99!) and the Maybelline The Nudes Palette in "In the Nudes" (£9.99, boots.com - currently with an offer on buy 1, get 1 half price on Maybelline products). 

Looking at the palettes and given the different costs, there are some similar colours in there and I wanted to share a comparison between the two (given the Collection Palette only contains 6 as opposed to Maybelline's 12, but it still equates to a difference of 83p per pan for Maybelline compared with 66p per pan for Collection). 

So firstly, a comparison of the colours (Collection top). As mentioned, Maybelline's Palette contains double the number of shades, but there are similarities in some of the colours (Collection shades are on the left). 

Ivory & Shade 5 from bottom row (sorry Maybelline, but first mark against you, I like knowing the names of colours!):

Both a pearly light nude, with Maybelline's looking slightly more gold. 

Mink & Shade 1 from bottom row:

Both a light bronze - very similar colours, Collection just slightly more intense 

Ochre & Shade 3 from bottom row:

Both a shimmery gold, again more intensity from Collection as well as a bronzier undertone. 

Golden Brown & Shade 4 from top row:

I can't tell these apart - practically identical! 

Ember 

Ember actually stands alone, in my opinion. It has a beautiful purple undertone which I find very unique. 

Nutty 

Again stands on its own - not my favourite and a little too dark. 

So now onto the individual palettes, starting with Maybelline. 

Colour 6/10 

Some of the colours are very nice, but I do feel there's a bit of duplication with some shades and they are not as intense as promised. 

Formula 7/10

You don't need to blend as much with these and the powder is finer than Collection but the pigment is weaker than the Collection palette (you can see from the swatches that they fade off on application). 

Wastage 4/10 

I find 3 of these very nice and the rest are ok (minus the black which is essentially grey). 

Travel 7/10 

The packaging is pretty sturdy but I'm still not sure I'd trust it in my hand luggage. Definitely far from the worst though. 

Lasting 7/10 

Lasted very well with no flakiness. Very impressed with how it lasted in the crease. 

Value for money 6/10

£9.99 isn't too bad considering L'Oréal were looking for £14.99 for theirs and it pales in comparison. But the lack of swoon-worthy colours drags the value down a few pegs. 

And now onto Collection. 

Colour 9/10

I love the colours and there are no colours in here just to make up the numbers. Plus Ember is very unique. 

Formula 8/10

Creamy, pigmented and nice to apply. The only downside is you do get some of the shadow falling down while applying and you do have to blend away the excess a bit more. That being said, it means a little goes a long way. 

Wastage 8/10

I wouldn't personally reach for the dark colours, but good to have them in there for the full offering. 

Travel 4/10

There is no way on earth I would travel with this in my hand luggage. Cardboard packaging as opposed to plastic held together by a small magnet - I would definitely be wedging this in to my make-up bag. On the upside, the smaller size gives more room in your make up bag so that's a bonus. 

Lasting 6/10

This doesn't last too well in the crease and it did get a little itchy towards the end of the day. Still not bad though. 

Value for money 10/10 

This is an absolute steal for a beautiful product - I can't fault the value that comes with this palette. 

So all in all, both perfectly nice palettes but Collection clinches it for me with their intense shades, colour pay off and value for money. However I would recommend the Maybelline palette to those looking for a less intense look and it is still very good for the price. 

Which one do you prefer? Are there any other similar drugstore palettes? 

Love Nicola x