Collective Beauty & Fashion Shoplog: Lush, MAC, ZARA, Sting, H&M & more

Yup, it’s that time again: I went shopping. In The Hague to be exact. The Hague is a city near me and they have a bunch of store Leiden doesn’t have, such as Lush, Sephora and ZARA, a more extensive H&M with the Trend collection and some other bits and bobs. I go The Hague once a month to get my allergy shot and before or afterwards I usually go into town to check out the stores I can’t get to regularly. I also bought some items from the H&M website since they still have a sale going on. Needless to say, I found plenty of cool items and today I’ll be showing you everything I purchased. There are some beauty and fashion items, and I will just post these in a random order. Sit back, relax and enjoy the craziness, because I bought quite few things!

Black straw Trilby hat (H&M)

I sorted through all of my accessories the other week and actually threw out a woolen Trilby that I had lying about for ages. It was too warm for summer, not practical enough for winter. This is much more of a summer hat. It makes me want to go to festivals: lying in the grass while listening to music.

Black faux fur shawl (H&M)

This comes from the online H&M sale. I used this as a cover up for my roaring 20s party look. It’s the only reason why I bought this, but I think I’ll be able to peruse this again next winter. And if I don’t, at less than 5 euros, it’s not exactly a waste.

Silver choker necklace (H&M)

I contemplated buying this for such a long time and never did. Then it sold out everywhere and I regretted not getting it. So when I found it in The Hague and it was the last one there, I didn’t hesitate and picked it up immediately.

Lush hair mask in Jasmin & Henna Fluff-Eaze

Hair mask. Not something I have used before. I use face masks alright, but hair mask have never been part of my routine. The hairdresser did use a delicious mask on my hair when I got it cut and that asked for more. So I bought this one because it smells divine and I was curious about it. I have yet to try it and I will probably do a review when I like it.

Big comb, curlers, make up remover (Afro shop & Sephora)

The Hague is the proud owner of a very special beauty shop. It’s called the Afro & Indian Beauty Market and they sell tons of brands and products you can’t find in regular Dutch drug stores. I had heard they had all different types of curlers and since I wanted to curl my hair for the 1920s party I decided to give these a try. My favorite (eye)make up remover is the Sephora brand one and since I was nearly out I repurchased it.

LA Girl lipliner in Currant, MAC lipstick in Impassioned (Amplified), MAC Select Moisture Cover in NW 20

A few other make up items I purchased. I needed a dark plummy colored lip pencil to go with my dark lipstick for the 1920s party. Regular drugstores didn’t carry any plums and when they did they were too light or too expensive. The LA Girl one I found at the Afro shop for less than 3 euros. I went to MAC in search of a new concealer/ foundation for summer. My Studio Sculpt concealer in NW 15 has become too light for my skin and it’s also too creamy and heavy for the warmer weather. The make up artist pulled out this one and I wore it for some time while shopping. It didn’t feel heavy, stayed on great and it didn’t make me itch so I decided to just go with it. Swatches:

Lipliner in Currant, MAC Impassioned, MAC Select Moisture Cover

The lipstick is a hot coral pink color. It’s an Amplified lipstick meaning the color is very in your face. The color is very opaque and it looked great on. I just picked this up while waiting for someone to help me and decided to swatch it. The minute I put it on I went: Wow. I will feature this in a face or look of the day some time soon I’m sure.

White Ginger Eau de Toilette (H&M)

For summer H&M has released a new body product line including some new perfumes. At only 5 euros a piece these aren’t expensive, but the scents have to be your cup of tea. Many of the H&M perfumes are sickly sweet. When I smelled this one I was pleasantly surprised. This scent has a bit of spunk to it. I’m guessing it’s the ginger.

Mint colored belt (ZARA)

Mint is my favorite color this season! I already own a few shirts in this color, have a pair of earrings in this color, so a belt is a very logical follow up.

Pot holder with print (Xenos)

How cute are these? Cupcakes, pretzels, tomatoes, cooking utensils? I just couldn’t pass these up. I needed new ones anyway as my housemate made my other ones magically disappear!

Beige/ light gray blazer (H&M)

A light colored blazer had been on my wishlist for some time. I tried on a few white ones in the past, but those just made me look dead. Then H&M had a 25% offer off of 1 item. When I saw this blazer I was a bit skeptical because of the color, but I decided that with 25% I could at least give it a try. I could always send it back if anything. Lucky me: the color is great, it is comfortable and it looks great on.

Coral crochet top (ZARA)

My other favorite color this season: coral! This a bright coral color with a crochet look to it. In the back there is a fastening with green lining, which I thought was a nice touch. It’s slightly baggy and a bit see through, but with a top underneath it will be no problem. Here’s a close up of the pattern:

Mint colored sleeveless button down (H&M)

This top is more of a pastel blue color, but I think it can still pass for mint. Apart from it having my favorite seasonal color it also taps into another love of mine: button downs! I have a bunch with long sleeves, but short sleeves, or sleeveless? Not that much. This changes that. I think this will go nice with the pastel galaxy ombre leggings I bought from River Island in Antwerp not too long ago.

Coral short sleeved button down (Sting)

Another button down, but this time with short sleeves and in coral. They also sold these in several other pastel/ on trend colors such as mint, but I thought this color looked best on me. I also had more minty items than coral ones and this evens out the score quite nicely.

Summer dresses (Zeeman)

These two dresses are identical, but of course have a different color scheme to them. The one on the top has a blue top and a floral bottom with blue and coral/ peachy colors. The other one is plain gray on top and dark blue at the bottom. I bought these at Zeeman. For those of you unfamiliar with the store: it’s a super super cheap store. These dresses only cost €4.95 each. Now that to me is a bargain!

Dark brown heels with ankle strap and block heel (H&M)

Again an H&M sale item. These had been reduced to less than half price. They are pretty high, but the sturdy block heel makes them surprisingly easy to walk in. The ankle strap is a nice touch and I love the 70s retro vibe these give off. I’m sure my mom must have owned a pair of shoes like these way back in the day.

Black skater skirt (H&M)

This last item isn’t all that interesting but I thought I’d share because I got a good deal on it. I already owned a plain black skater skirt, but I ruined it by spilling chlorine/ bleach onto it while DIYing my jeans shorts. I was bummed so I searched for a cheap skirt and they had these in the H&M sale for roughly €5. And you know what: I like these more than the ones I originally had!

That’s it! Those are the things I bought in the past couple of weeks. I got some good deals as well as some things I needed, plus of course a bunch of things I don’t necessarily need, but which I do love. It’s just one of those years where styles, cuts and colors are exactly to my liking. So I’m stocking up in case next years trends are hideous! 😉

What trends are you loving?