New In At The Drugstore #AllMonthApril

A couple of months back I began a new series here on this 'ere blog - New In At The Drugstore - a pretty self-explanatory concept in which I every now and again make a little trip to the British drugstores, have a gander at the new launches, haul some/all of them and give you lovely lot the deets. Ready for round two? Here goes...

Firstly I headed to the Barry M stand - a visit that promoted this whole post if I'm honest. Just a few days before their new Sunset Nail Paint and Topcoat Polishes (£4.99 each) were unveiled and I, like many others, were super excited and couldn't wait to get my hands on them! Barry M claim these to be polishes that "deliver the look and resilience of pro salon gel nails without a UV lamp or the expense! All you need is a Sunset colour and the Sunset Topcoat – no need for a basecoat as the special formulation bonds to the nail like a gel in daylight but can still be removed with a regular remover". The idea of these is simple - pick one of the gorgeous shades, apply two thin coats and then apply a layer of the special topcoat - and there you have a set of gel-like nails without a trip to the salon or your own DIY kit needed! I picked up 'Peach For The Stars', a gorgeous pinky-peach hue and prior to giving them a go, I imagine these to leave a similar finish to their Gelly nail range but with perhaps more longevity and 'professional' feel to them. As always with new Barry M launches, I am very excited and am expecting good things from these!

Next up there are quite a few new launches from Rimmel - one of my personal favourite drugstore brands. Whenever they launch something new I always seem to like it, and even if not for myself, I can see why others would. Out of their recent releases I picked up two newbies from their Lasting Finish range - the first being the Lasting Finish Primer (£6.99). Rimmel state this to be an "ultra-light formula that helps to minimises the appearance of pores and evens skin tone whilst providing endless comfort." They claim that it "feels soft and silky on the skin, mattifies without over-drying the skin and can be worn alone and also under or over makeup, for extended wear". I picked this up mainly due to the raves I've heard on the blogging grapevine about it, many claiming it to be a great all-rounder base for your makeup that feels more like a moisturiser in texture. This appealed to me as, whilst I get along with more silicone-based primers fine, the idea of a primer that feels more like the final step of your skincare routine just seems to make more sense. I also picked up their newly-released Lasting Finish High Coverage Concealer (£5.49). Rimmel describe this as being a "high coverage camouflage concealer that hides all imperfections, flaws, blemishes and dark circles. Its lightweight supple texture instantly blends into skin for a natural looking finish whilst remaining comfortable from morning until night. They also claim it to be highly durable and long-lasting, stating it as being "rub, smudge, and fade resistant and lasting up to 25 hours". I first hard about this from one of Anna's videos and immediately put it down on my shopping list. She likened it to the Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer, in that it being high-coverage yet still blendable and creamy; and also in the way it's housed. She gave it an overall thumbs up, and I've got high hopes that this may just be the heavy duty concealer I've been searching for what seems like forever. I'll definitely report back on this one! Finally from the Rimmel stand I bought one of the new shades of the 60 Seconds Super Shine Nail Polishes by Rita Ora (£2.99). Rimmel claim these little beauties to give "chip resistant, anti-fade high shine colour for up to 10 days with precision maxi brush that glides perfectly on the nail, for a flawless professional like finish with a quick drying formula dries in less than 60 seconds". I'll hold my hands up - I've never actually tried one of these polishes before. Sure, if you're a regular round these parts you'll know of my love affair with the Salon Pro lacquers from the same brand, but these are totally new to me. However, seeing as some new Spring/Summer shades have recently been brought out I thought I'd give them a go. I picked up the shade 'Tangerine Tent' - a beautiful bright, almost florescent orange - and if the formula is as good as the Salon Pro's, I think we may just be onto a winner with these.

Finally we have a couple of newbies from Collection. First up we have the Gorgeous Glow Blocks (£4.99). Collection describe these as being "highly pigmented, shimmering highlighter palettes with a velvety-soft powder formulation and easily blendable. The mixture of shades make the palette perfect for contouring and creating flawless cheekbones". These are available in two shades - one more bronzey and one more pink-toned. They instantly remind me very much of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks and any dupes that have come out of the release of those since. On appearance they look virtually identical - strips of different shimmery hues of the same colour made into one block that you swirl your brush into and apply as you normally would bronzer/blush. I chose the 'Blush' shade as I thought I would get most use out of that one (personally more of a matte bronzer girl myself) although I do think if shimmery bronzers aren't your thing like me you could perhaps utilise the shades within that one as eyeshadows as individually they're very pretty shades. I also picked up one of their new launches from their updated nail care range. As documented round these parts most of the time, I am trying my best to get into more of a nail care routine and am on the hunt for any products that might just give me the help I need. Out of their new collection, I picked up their 2-in-1 Stronger and Longer Nail Treatment (£2.99). Collection claim this to "nourish nails with Vitamin E and protein-rich Collection 2-in-1 Longer & Stronger Treatment to boost nail growth, strengthen and add natural shine". I'm looking forward to giving this a go as I've never really dabbled in the whole 'nail treatment' thang before but have always wanted to give it a try, especially combined with my laziness when it comes to taking care of my beds.

And there we have another 'NIATD' post! I do love a good mooch round the drugstores every so often to see what's new. Have you seen anything there that's taken your fancy? What have you spotted recently in the aisles of Boots and Superdrug? I'm all ears...