HQ Hair Beauty Haul

Last month, the wonderful people over at HQ Hair very kindly sent me a beauty bundle to get stuck into - and my oh my, have I ever! HQ Hair stock all sorts of wonderful brands, and not only haircare but makeup and skincare too. As you can see from the products they sent over, on their site you can find a range of affordable, mid-range and high-end beauty treats. 

Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen Waterproof Eye Pencils in Bronze Beam* and Black Tulip* - £9.50 each

Pixi is the makeup brand founded by Petra Strand, a makeup artist with twenty years of experience in the industry. Petra founded the brand just over ten years ago and it's gone on to grow an international following. Funnily enough, my first ever makeup product was a Pixi lip gloss that my dad bought for me when I turned fourteen and I haven't tried any of their products since then!

I wasn't actually expecting to try any new makeup this month but then this lovely parcel from HQ Hair arrived at my doorstep and it contained these two gorgeous Waterproof Eye Pencils from Pixi. I haven't tried much of Pixi's makeup before but I have given their range a browse in their flagship store just off Carnaby Street and I can't deny that I'm super, super excited to finally have a couple of their products to play with.

 I was interested to see that Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen Waterproof Eye Pencil in Black Tulip and Bronze Beam* (£9.50 each) came in slightly different packaging to one another. Both pencils look chic, but I prefer the Pixi branded packaging - I think it makes it easier to identify the pencil once it is stored amongst my other eyeliners. The colour pay off of both shades is great and the consistency of these liners is really creamy and easy to apply and blend. They take a little while to set but once they do they last really nicely on the eye; I didn't experience any creasing, even on my hooded eyelids. My first impressions of these were really strong and I'm looking forward to using them more. 

Real Techniques Eyelining Set* - £19.99

I'm a big fan of Real Techniques' affordable makeup brushes, and this eye lining set is pretty wonderful. It contains the four brushes pictured above, all of which can be used to create the perfect eyeliner look - whether you like things super smokey and blended or sharp and defined. An aspect I really like about the set is that it comes housed in a silver makeup case that makes these brushes easy to store and transport. I like to keep the Real Techniques brush cases as they really come in handy whenever I'm travelling. HQ Hair stock a range of Real Techniques brushes on their site, including the Miracle Complexion Sponge which is one of my favourites. Although you can find Real Techniques in many high street stores the benefit of purchasing them online is that you can often find great deals on the price; HQ Hair often have 20% off discount codes and free gifts with purchase deals.

This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray* - £16.00

This Works' Deep Sleep Pillow Spray range is a long time favourite in my household. The soothing lavender scent really does make a noticeable difference during the weeks where I've otherwise found myself anxious, unsettled and sleepless. All you have to do is spritz your pillows with this spray and I find that it makes falling asleep - and staying asleep! - so much easier. If you're going through a bit of a restless period then I'd definitely recommend this spray, there have been times in my life where I've found it really helpful. And it reminds me that I should definitely look into trying more from This Works as I've read some stellar reviews of their body care ranges.

Monu Soothing Touch Calming Cream* - £19.95

I'm already a big fan of Monu's beauty range - their bodycare is to die for - so I was pretty excited to try this skin calming moisturiser. It's packed full of arnica and lavender essential oil, which are both meant to soothe irritation. Plus, because it's green (and green can help balance the appearance of redness in the skin) I get the impression that this might be good for my rosy cheeks - but I can't say for sure yet. It has a lovely thick and creamy consistency that would work well for normal / dehydrated skin, but that might not quite be enough for truly dry skin. I think I'll probably have to crack on and try this soon before the warmer months, when I tend to stick to gel and gel-creme formulations. But from everything I know about Monu, and from my own past experience with their range, when they say a product helps with something then you really can expect it to help.

Considering that HQ Hair kindly sent over these products without asking me about them first, I have to say that I'm majorly impressed with all to their choices. Everything I received is something that I'd buy for myself, and I'm particularly excited to properly test the Pixi eyeliners and the Monu moisturising cream. I'll definitely try and do an update on how I get along with both of these, so if you're interested in full reviews then do let me know.

The real benefit of shopping through HQ Hair is that they stock a great range of brands and they offer free delivery. And let's be honest, I'm always going to opt for the website with free, reliable delivery.

This post contains PR samples - marked with an asterisk