If you're anything like me, you probably always worried about shopping online (or maybe you just had very wary parents who did not trust the internet one bit, which was also my case). For whatever reason, you never shopped online, but I'm here to show you a completely safe way to do so, by sharing my shopping experience at asos.com and giving you some tips!

First of all, when you're picking a website, you have to make sure it's trustworthy - after all, you are giving them important information that you do not want in the wrong hands. Usually, online stores that have a great reputation are a good place to shop (for example, Asos has a great reputation amongst youtubers and bloggers all around, so I knew they could be trusted). Any clothing brand that is well known and has physical stores will also be a great place, since you're ordering from the actual brand, not some online retailer. 

Wherever you end up shopping, try googling what was other people's experience with shopping online there, hopefully that will tell you if they're reliable and if their shipping is actually up to standards. Shipping will be the trickiest part of it all, since you have to make sure your order won't get lost in the way. For that, looking up other peoples' experiences will be the best way to assess if you're going to have any trouble or not. Of course, sometimes accidents happen, but if they happen to everyone, there has to be something about it online, so you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. I did all of this before I placed my order at asos.com and I noticed everyone usually had no problems with the shipping or the actual shopping, so I knew I was choosing the right place.

Once the actual order was done, it came the time to pay. Of course, I'm not going into very precise detail about how I paid, but I will tell you I first consulted my bank to find out what the safest option would be. They suggested the MBnet platform, since it allows you to create a temporary credit card, without having to share the information of your original banking account. Personally, I only owned debit cards, so making a temporary credit card was perfect since it would expire after a month and you can only make one payment with it before it gets blocked, so nobody else can use it. I do recommend talking to your bank first, just so you know what they suggest to make your shopping experience as safe as possible. I had no problem whatsoever with paying for my order through this method, so if you have heard of it and it's something your bank offers, I definitely recommend it.

I also didn't pay for any shipping, since my order was over 30€, which meant I got free shipping. Otherwise, I would have had to pay 3€, which isn't a fortune, so I wouldn't be too upset. However, I do advise you to check out what the shipping costs are since they change depending on what website you're ordering from.

Once everything is paid for, comes the waiting. I chose the standard delivery, which meant I'd had to wait up to six working days for my order to arrive. My order was first shipped from the UK to Spain, where it would then be shipped to Portugal, where I live. The first shipping took around three or four working days, while the second shipping to my house took only a day. It did arrive within the six working days, so I have no complaints there, but it did still arrive late (they said it should be here from 5 to 6pm and it was almost 8pm when it arrived). Still, it's a minor detail that doesn't stop me from wanting to shop more at Asos. They also provided me with a link so I could track my order (which was great when it came to knowing if everything was going well) and they also texted me asking which day would be more convenient for the delivery to my house to be made, so you do have some control over the delivery. This, however, is only Asos case. I know some sites do not offer tracking unless you pay more for it, which is a bummer (I'm looking at you, Topshop EU), so it's up to you if you want that little extra control.

As for the order itself, there were no problems. Everything I asked for arrived here in one piece, all the shades were correct, everything was perfect. There were no dents on the packaging, you could tell they had been careful with it, so I couldn't be happier (see this post for pictures of everything I bought). Overall, I definitely recommend shopping online at Asos, and I have to confess I'm looking forward to shop in other places online: Forever 21 and Maquillalia are two big favourites of mine, so stay tuned, I might have a new post talking about my shopping experience from those websites in the future.

Overall, I think online shopping is great and you can benefit so much from it, as long as you do it properly. Do your research, ask around, ask experts (aka the banks and other people who already shopped there) and only go forward with it if you feel confident you're spending your money well. Have a great day and I'll see you guys on Wednesday with a brand new post!

Remember when I made a post about ordering stuff from Asos (this one here)? Well, they finally arrived this Thursday, along with a Zoeva brush I ordered from a Kitchen Makeup in Lisbon, so I decided to show you all in this little birthday haul post! My birthday isn't until the 26th, so I can't actually start using any of these until then (my mum has taken them hostage and won't let me have them until then) but I decided to show them anyways. I already had the chance to try them all out at least once though, so I can definitely give you a first impression. Also, if my background happens to change colour in every pic, it's mostly because I was using natural lighting on a cloudy day to take these.

Starting with the Monki pouch that I ordered from Asos, I'm absolutely in love with it. It's the perfect size to hold everything I got and then some, which means it will be perfect to carry all my makeup when I go to uni. Plus it's excellent quality, as far as I could tell. I definitely recommend it.

As for the Zoeva brush, I got the 107 Powder Polish. Although it's meant to be a powder brush, I used it to apply liquid foundation and it blended everything like a dream. I never took so little time applying my foundation, nor has it ever looked that good. I honestly fell in love with this brush at first use, even if I one or two little hairs fell out in the process - nothing major though, it doesn't actually have a negative impact considering how amazing the brush is. Plus it comes on a cute little pouch, which is perfect in case you need to travel. This was only 19,90€, which is more than Zoeva brushes usually cost, but IVA is a pain in my ass.

I also got the Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer and the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Fatigue Blur from Asos, and I'm quite happy with both. The concealer is great, very yellow though, so I don't know if it would work on other undertones. It does a great job covering my dark circles and even does a decent job covering blemishes, plus it doesn't cling to dry patches.

As for the primer, it's not a holy grail primer, not by a long shot, but it's pretty good for the price and the amount of product you get (Bourjois' Happy Light Serum has less and the price is almost the double of this, for example). I only apply it anywhere I have redness and on my dark circles, since I found it helps make them less obvious. It doesn't make my makeup last any longer, but it does hydrate, which is good for my dry skin. Overall, I really like it, but the nail polish smell it has really threw me off at first. I still used it and it was good, but gosh, that smell. It was enough to make someone pass out, I swear.

Finally, we have the last thing I ordered from Asos, the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Nude in the shade 100. You guys... this has to be my favourite thing in the world right now. The Zoeva brush is great, don't get me wrong, and it definitely plays a part in how much I love this foundations, but this is seriously my holy grail foundation. Not only does it give a good amount of coverage (not full, but not light either - although I don't quite think it's medium as it claims; more like a light-medium coverage), but it also stays on all day. And I have actually tested out if it lasted 25 hours - I would never actually wear my foundation for 25 hours straight, but I fell asleep with my makeup still on, oops. The next morning, when I took my makeup off with the Garnier Micellar Water, some foundation was still on my face. Yes, not a whole lot, but enough to give you a light coverage. And mind you, I wore this on a hot day, while I was out shopping with a comfy sweater that soon turned into my personal hell because it was easily 28 degrees. Not only did I not get shiny throughout that whole ordeal (and believe me, I sweat enough to be shiny) yet this foundation managed to keep me matte-ish all day long.

Now, I don't want to give you guys a full review (I will do that in another post), but seriously, go and buy this. You will not regret it - in fact, you might just cry tears of joy when you first put it on. You're welcome.

And that's all I have for today! Sorry the post came on a Saturday instead of a Friday, I was super busy with exams and college is just... ugh. But let me know in the comments what you think about these products and if you have tried any of them yet!

I'm so sorry I disappeared for the last week or so! Life got really messy and I had to take a little break from blogging to sort some things out, but I am oficially back! And there's no better way to get started than to share with you what I just ordered from Asos!

I'm turning twenty at the end of April, which seems like a very long time from now, I know! Still, I decided to buy most of my presents online and order them in time to open them on my birthday, and I had to share it with you guys as soon as I hit the little 'buy' button!

Now, since it's my first time ordering from Asos, I've decided to keep things simple and safe, so I went for mostly makeup, as you can clearly see. I did have my eye on a few clothing items but decided not to risk it right away. The sizes they use are different from the sizes here in Portugal, plus I'm not sure if Asos clothing is true to size. Buying a lot of makeup I couldn't find for sale here in Portugal seemed like the perfect idea (or in the case of some of these products, they're more expensive here or always sold out).

Starting from left to right, we have the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Fatigue Blur in the shade Warm Apricot (find it here). It's currently 10.94€ and it's not available in Portuguese stores. This is basically a primer that helps get rid of redness and dark circles, while also bringing some light into a dull complexion, which fits right into the description of my college girl skin. Plus the reviews on this are amazing, so I can't wait to try it out.

Next, we have the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Nude Foundation in the shade Ivory (find it here). It's currently 10.94€ and not available in Portuguese stores. I've heard so many good things about this foundation, but what really sold me was hearing viviannadoesmakeup praising it so much in her blog and youtube channel. I'm really excited to try this out, especially now that Spring has arrived and I feel like I don't need Healthy Mix's bigger coverage all the time.

I've also ordered the Bourjois Healthy Mix Radiance & Anti-Fatigue Concealer in the shade Light (find it here). It was also 10.94€ - this seems to be a reaccuring theme for me in this post - and although it's available in Portugal in some stores, it's a bit pricier and a lot harder to find your shade (like all of Bourjois' products, actually, but that's the subject for a whole other post). I was in dire need of a concealer that could cover both my dark circles and blemishes, without looking cakey: in comes Fleur De Force and her Top 10 Under £10 video focusing on concealers. She praised this one a lot, claiming it could do the job perfectly, so I had to get my hands on it while I could. Hopefully it's as good as people claim.

Finally, we have the only non-make up item I ordered: Monki's Casja Pouch in Panda Print (find it here). It was only 6.85€, the cheapest of all the things I bought. Sadly, Monki isn't for sale in Portugal, so I couldn't find this anywhere else. The reason why I ordered this was mostly because I needed a small pouch to put all my makeup in for school and whatnot. This little bag will do perfectly, it's very slim and perfect to carry only the essentials. Its small size will also help me not overpack it, which is something I'm likely to do every single time.

And that's all I ordered from Asos today! Of course, I also plan on buying some clothes here in Portugal, but I'll be sure to make a "What I got for my birthday" post as soon as I can, so you can see all I got. Not to mention I plan on reviewing most of these makeup products. This is all I have for today, but don't forget to comment down below telling me your thoughts on this little shopping trip of mine and maybe recommend more stuff for me to buy?