Boots No.17 Glitch!

I got a real bargain in Boots yesterday so I thought I'd share it with you all...
I popped in as I needed a new pressed powder. I always check the Advantage card machine first and noticed a voucher for a free No.17 crackle top coat when you buy any other item.
When I got to the No.17 stand I noticed you get a free smokey eye palette when you spend 5.99.
So, I picked up my pressed powder (3.99) and the crackle top coat (3.99) and my free eye palette and went to the till.
It turns out the top coat had been reduced to 1.99 but the voucher still takes off 3.99 so I got all 3 items for 1.99!!
If you are off to Boots over the next few days check out the ACM machine as 2 free items plus £2 off another item is a really good deal!
Let me know if you spot any great bargains!

Another nail varnish post...

I painted my nails in a lovely Essie polish I got for just 2.99 from Xtra's Accessories so I had to show you!
This colour is called 'Penny Talk'. It's slightly lighter and pinker than a penny but it really is the nicest metallic I have seen!
What do you think? Have you got any other good websites for a cheap Essie fix?

MUA Nail Varnish

I'm very excited about today...I have decided to have a little 'mini Christmas', just me, hubs and the kids.  I love Christmas day to be with as many family members as possible ( I am lucky that both mine and hubs family all spend it together) so I thought it would be nice to have a day just the four of us.  I am cooking a roast dinner later, we have crackers for the table...eveyone is going to get a little pressie to unwrap and later on we are going to play board games and Dance Central.  Whoop!
At the minute however, everyone is pretty comatose still after my son's football club Christmas Disco last night, so as I am for some reason feeling quite chirpy despite all the rose wine and fruity cider, I thought I would tell you about the nail varnish I was wearing.

Step forward MUA's £1 nail varnish in Bright Coral (so glad they are giving their products names now)...

I could rave about the quality of MUA products all day.  I am a massive fan of theirs and own so much of their stuff that it is definitely the most featured brand in my whole make up collection.

I have a few of their nail varnishes but haven't really used them much since I found a cheap source of Essie polishes.  Last night however I was in a real rush and grabbed the first coral colour I came across.  (Yes, I know it is all about berry tones at this time of year but I love a splash of bright)  I had no time for a base or top coat, I had literally 5 minutes until I had to leave.

The formulation of this was really creamy, not too runny and gave a decent coverage with one coat.  The first coat dried quickly enough that I was able to get a second coat on too.  Two coats is more than enough to give full, opaque coverage.

The colour is a lovely pinky, creamy coral.  It is not overly shiny though but had I  had another 5 minute I would have put on a top coat...I don't generally expect to get a high shine from the nail varnish itself.

The only thing I was not so keen on was the brush.  It was bit small and the bristles have a bit of a life of their own.  I guess you are not going to get an amazing brush for such a good price and I didn't find that it made a mess when I was applying the polish so it is no something that would mean I reached for a different brand rather than this one.

What I was really, really impressed with was the state of my nails this morning.  Considering I hadn't put on a top coat and I was chasing round after the kids all night doing general mum things I was expecting chips ahoy.  Not the case!.....

My nails after getting up today!

 

My nails are chip free!  The light is reflecting off my nails a bit but they look as good as they did when I painted them last night.  That never happens!

 

I will definitely be digging out the other MUA nail varnishes I own to see if they are as good as this one!

 

Have you tried any MUA polishes?

New favourite mascara - and really cheap too!

How is everyone on this chilly day?  I'm just back from the school run so thought I would share a major bargain find of mine from last week....
...I went into Poundland looking for some stocking fillers for the kids and thought while I was there I would have a quick look at the makeup section.  I don't usually buy makeup from Poundland but they do occasionally have a few brand name items (anyone remember the Stila items a while back?)
I was pretty unhappy with the L'Oreal Telescopic mascara I was using as I find it gives me no volume whatsoever so when I saw this I thought for £1 it was worth a try...

Collection 2000 Skyscraper length and definition mascara in black

 

I really really like this mascara.  It's not quite the same as my all time fave YSL Faux Cils but this really is nearly as good and at £1 compared to £23 I know what my purse prefers!

 

The brush has lots of little flexible plastic spikes (not the right word I know but hopefully you get what I mean) and gives good coverage on the first swipe.

 

 

 

I don' have any pictures of me wearing it - I tried but I couldn't get them to come out at all right - sorry!

 

I put this on one eye and my L'Oreal Telescopic on the other as I prefer to compare mascaras against another one rather than against eyelashes without mascara on.

The Collection 2000 was comparable on length but did so much better on volume.  The base of my lashes looked much thicker and really made my eyes stand out.  I love the big fake eyelash effect but am not a big fan of wearing false lashes so any mascara that helps give that effect gets a big thumbs up from me!

Wear time for this is good as well.  I have been wearing it from 7:30 AM every morning and I haven't noticed any flaking by the time I take it off at night (normally about midnight)

 

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this mascara...if you are ever in Poundland then definitely pop one in your basket, for a pound you really can't go wrong!

 

What is your all time favourite mascara?  What do you look for when choosing a new one?



My current skincare routine...

I'm usually terrible for constantly changing the products I use.  I will just start one thing then I see something else advertised that I just HAVE to ty.
With Christmas coming up (and my boss forgetting to approve my overtime, snarl) I am trying to not start anything new until I have finished what I am using.
Luckily, I am pretty happy with the products I am using at the minute so I thought I would share them with you.

First up, cleansers...

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is my go to product (around £15).  I love the fact you can even use it on your eyes and I use it every night without fail to take off my makeup.  I often use it in the morning too but once or twice a week I use Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub (about £5 from Boots). I use this to make my Liz Earle last longer and also as sometimes I need something a bit more exfoliating to remove any nasty dry bits.  I have read reviews from people saying they don't like this as there isn't enough grainy bits in it to scrub your face properly.  For me I find it just right.  My skin can be quite sensitive so anything too harsh just leaves me feeling sore and looking red.  This also has a lovely zingy fragrance that helps wake me up on these dark and dingy mornings.

Next is toners/moisturisers/oil

My current toner is the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic.  (12.50)  I love the smell of this.  It is really fresh and feels lovely and refreshing on your skin.  I'm not an expert on toners so I haven't noticed it is any better than any I have used previously but it certainly doesn't dry out my skin and I will be looking to repurchase this.
Liz Earle again for my moisturiser (I love the Cleanse and Polish so much I wanted to try some of their other products).  This is the Skin Repair Moisturiser in normal/combination (18.75)  In a complete contrast to the toner, I really dislike the smell of this.  I believe it's because they keep things as natural as possible so it has that weird unscented smell.  It doesn't really affect the product as you can't smell anything when you put it on your face.  I do like this cream and it doesn't make me have major break outs like some other creams I have tried but I also don't think it does anything more than Johnson's Daily Essentials (see my budget beauty post).  The Johnson's is only a few pounds so I will be going back to this once my Liz Earle runs out.
Lastly is my NSpa Deep Hydrating Facial Oil (about £7 from Asda).  I went to an NSpa at home party a few months back and really liked their products.  They have a full range (most is available in Asda) and it is all really cheap.  This oil has a really lovely spa style scent and feels a real treat to use.  I only use it about once a week and you only need a couple of drops so this bottle will last ages.  It is only as empty as it is as my mum wanted a sniff and proceeded to drop it, spilling a load.  I am prone to dry skin so find using this every so often before bed helps keep my skin hydrated.  If you have dry skin then check it out, this would be really good in a pamper session!

Right, there is all my current skincare.  How does it compare to what you use?  Is there anything else you think I should be adding (I'm debating an eye cream at the mo)?

New Look Christmas party bargains...

Hooray!!  It's Christmas party season!!!  For me it's a great excuse to send the kids to grandma's, buy something new to wear and boogie the night away. Good times!
This year I actually decided to wear a black dress I already owned but wanted some new colourful shoes to jazz it up a bit.  I was passing New Look and noticed they had 50% off loads of partywear, bags and shoes.
As soon as I got near the shoes section, these beauts caught my eye....

Purple is my favourite colour so I knew I had to have them.  With 50% off these were only £10 - what a complete billy!  The chunky heel and slight platform means they are actually quite comfy.  I wore them for about 7 hours with no problem.  I think I will get loads of wear out of these as I reckon they will look great with skinny jeans.
If you haven't sorted your Christmas outfit yet then definitely take a peek in New Look.

Has anyone got any exciting do's this weekend?

Just a quick hello....

Just a quick post from me today. My son is home from school with chicken pox so I'm in full mum mode trying to stop him from scratching and keep my little girl busy too.
I'll try and do a proper post later but thought I'd share this picture of my two from last weekend before we went to my work's kids Christmas party.

How is everyone doing with their Christmas shopping? I still have loads to do!

My favourite budget beauty products

 

There was a time where beauty products had to be high end for me. I spent a month in New York with work back in 2003 and my apartment was just off 5th Avenue,  I therefore spent ALOT of time in Saks trying out (and buying) pretty much anything I set my eyes on.  I got the bug and carried on spending when I got home!

Fast forward a few years (and a couple of expensive children) and I have learnt that you don't have to spend loads to get good results.  Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some high end items that I wouldn't be without but there are also loads and loads of really good items that are affordable even the week before payday!

Here are a few of my favourite budget beauty products.  I have loads more favourites which I may post about later but these were the first things that sprung to mind when I decided to do this post.

 

 

First up is the mega impact gel eyeliner in black flash. avonshop.co.uk £6

Now, I must point out that I paid nowhere near £6 for this.  I buy my Avon products through my local Avon rep and in the Avon catalogue there is always loads of offers.  I'm pretty sure that this cost me no more than £3.

 

 

This eyeliner is amazing.  It glides on so smoothly and it is really, really black.  When I use eyeliner on my waterline I find quite often it can irritate my eyes but that doesn't happen at all with this.  Just one stroke of this is all you need, no going over the line again and again to try and deepen the colour.

It's a pencil style rather than a twist up which I prefer as you can sharpen it to a nice point if you want.  Next time I see this in the catalogue on offer I will definitely be buying another for when this runs out.

 

Next up is the tea tree and witch hazel cleansing and toning lotion from Boots.com £3.59 for 150ml

This is currently on 3for2 so is even better value!

 

 

I have used different variations of these Boots lotions for years - since I was about 14.

As I have got older, my skin has got drier so I don't use this all the time anymore (as it can be quite drying) but I always have a bottle to hand.

This really cleans my skin, every single tiny weeny piece of dirt is left staring at you on your cotton wool pad after using this.  The tea tree and witch hazel really helps when I get breakouts  I've been having a nightmare with my chin for the last few months and this really helps.  I would have thought this would be brilliant for oily spot prone skin.

 

Third in my favourites is the No.7 beautiful skin cleansing water from Boots.com £9

This is currently on 3for2 but I bought this with a £5 off No.7 voucher so it only cost me £4

 

.

I'd love to try the Bioderma micellar water but it is really expensive so for £4 I thought I would give this a whirl.

I mainly use this for taking off my eye makeup if I am not using my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and it does a really good job.  Unlike some of the dedicated makeup removers I have tried it is not greasy and I don't find I have to scrub at my face to remove my eyeliner r mascara.  Next time I get a No.7 voucher I will definitely be using it to buy another one of these.

 

Moisturiser next.  This is the Johnson's daily essentials nourishing 24 hour day cream for dry skin.  This is sold everywhere, including supermarkets and Wilkinson's and normally at least one place has an offer.  I think it was £3 in Superdrug the other day.

 

 

I have tried countless moisturisers, expensive and budget and this is hands down my favourite.  It moisturises my skin, keeps the dryness at bay and doesn't cause my skin to break out.  It has a gentle, pleasant scent and I do not have a bad thing to say about it!

If you have dry skin you really should try this.  They have a night cream version too but I always just use this at night time as well.  This was the first moisturiser that I actually finished which definitely says something.  It's so cheap and works so well that I am sticking to this from now on.

 

Next is the MUA cosmetics Undressed palette from muastore.co.uk or Superdrug £4

If you haven't heard of MUA or have but haven't tried their products then hotfoot it down to Superdrug now and buy this!

 

This palette is the exact dupe of Urban Decay's cult Naked palette. Hmmmm, £36 for the UD version of £4 for this???  Plus, to make it even more of a bargain, this is often on 3for2 at Superdrug or if you like the MUA Facebook page, once they get to 50,000 likes they will be releasing a 50% code!  I bought my palette (the second one of this I have bought) a week or so ago when they got to 35,000 likes and had 35% off everything.

If you are not already convinced, the pigmentation and staying power is great!  I'm not going to do a massive review here but if you google it, you will find lots of blog posts all raving about this!

 

Another blogger favourite next, the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer - Boots.com £4.19

I have it in shade 1 - fair.

 

 

When I bought this, I did not believe the hype.  Everyone said it was amazing but I have never found a concealer that actually covers up my spots so did not hold out high hopes for this. I was wrong.  It has great coverage but yet blends really well so if I am wearing just powder on top and no foundation (as I often do for work) my face does not look at all patchy.  I will definitely be repurchasing this.

 

Last but by no means least is another Avon product, this time the Colortrend Dazzlers nail top coat in gold fleked £3

This is another item I got discounted through my local rep.  I paid £1.50 for this and it was really worth the money.

Some glitter top coats are really annoying.  You need about 100 coats to get any hint of glitter but with this, a couple of coats and you are good to go.

 

 

In the picture below I have quickly put 2 coats over the nail varnish I was already wearing (Essie Penny Talk) so sorry it doesn't go very well or look very well done.  I really like this and will be wearing it loads over the Christmas season no doubt.

 

Phew, that went on didn't it??  What are your favourite budget beauty items?





Christmas Wishlist

For me it is now officially Christmas season! I have just come back from my annual shopping trip to London with my mum so I thought I would share what is on my Christmas list this year. I certainly won't get all of these items but a girl can dream right??!!

First up is the Fitbit one - £79.99 fitbit.com

The Fitbit One is basically a super duper pedometer.  It tracks how far you've walked, stairs climbed, calories burnt etc. you can also wear it at night to track your sleep cycle. The Fitbit also syncs to your iPhone 5 via Bluetooth and can link up to My Fitness Pal for tracking your food.  I fell in love with it's predecessor the Fitbit Ultra at the Gadget Show Live in April and I really think this will help me get fit in 2013. 

Next up are a couple of goodies that I know I have got as mum bought them yesterday. A new bottle of cleanse and polish (£19.75 for 150ml) and a lipstick (£14) by Liz Earle.-uk.lizearle.com

I don't need to go into much detail with the cleanse and polish... everyone has heard of it and blogged about it. If you haven't then please try it, you will not regret it. My troublesome skin always looks clearer and brighter when I use this, it gets all my makeup off and smells lovely.

The lipstick I have gone for is Number 12 - Azalea. It is described as a soft, wearable coral and I thought it looked very pretty.  The formulation is nice and creamy so it won't dry my lips out through the cold, wet and windy winter. 

(This is the swatch from the website but here it looks more like sardine and tomato paste than the lipstick. It's beautiful in real life, honest!)

Another gadget next (I'm a total gadget geek). This time it's the new Kindle Paperwhite -£109.99 amazon.co.uk

I like reading in bed but find my iPad is too heavy to hold for long. This new Kindle has a built in light rather than needing a separate reading light or case so will be perfect. I often end up sharing my bed with the kids as well as my husband so having a bedside light on isn't an option. I'd still like to be able to read my books on my iPhone and iPad so the Kindle, with it's IOS apps is the obvious choice.


Last up is the Zara office city bag - £49.99 zara.com

In a dream world I would love the Chanel Executive Tote but I think this a good affordable option.
I love structured bags and this one also has lots of zipped sections to keep my iPad and other bits and pieces safe. It would look great for the office but I think it would also look fab teamed with jeans, boots and a blazer for shopping and coffee at the weekend. (I'm going to ignore the fact I spend most of my weekend in wellies on a soggy football pitch watching my son play).

What do you think of my list? What are you asking Santa for this year?

Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver Review

My first ever blog post! I'm sure noone will read this, so if you are, hello and thank you!

I bought these pretty much on a whim yesterday.  I already have a couple of curling wands which I cannot get the hang of at all and I read loads of reviews that said wavers were really easy to use and gave a really natural, wearable result. The Enrapture version definitely seemed to be everyone's favourite and as they were half price at Argos and Boots it seemed rude not too!

Enrapture describe their jumbo waver like this:

'Amplify your hair and create a rock, beachy or mermaid look with big tousled ‘s’ waves. With superior titanium plates the jumbo waver gives even heat-distribution so you can add volumising texture to any hair length.' 

Well, as a girl with horibly fine, lifeless hair the idea of volumising texture was enough to get me going!

What's in the box?

Firstly, it's a very lovely box.  I know that isn't really very important to some people but it is all part of the package to me!  It's a beautiful shiny bluey purple with the Enrapture logo in silver.  The flap also has two magnetic closures on it to keep it all nice and tidy!

Inside is a use and care instruction manual and a style guide booklet.  This covers all 3 of their products and although it has a few handy hints it would have been nice if it had been a bit more indepth.  The website (enrapturehair.com) however has 2 how to videos and another with top tips so I would definitely recommend watching those before trying the waver for the first time.

Next in the box is the heat mat/case.  This little case is great as it unzips into a heat protective mat.  When you have finished with your waver you can just zip it up and pop the waver inside.  This is especially good for mum's with little ones like me as leaving anything hot lying around is a big no no.

The waver itself is quite light so I didn't find it too heavy to hold.  It's definitely the biggest hair tool I have ever used but that's because the barrels are a whopping 25mm each - a complete must to get those lovely s shape curls that Enrapture mentioned.

There is a simple illuminated on off switch and a 25 setting heat dial.  Enrapture recommends starting on the lowest setting and slowly increasing until you find what is right for your hair.



My only grumble with the product at this point is that there is no indicator for when the tool has reached temperature.  Still, it only takes a couple of minutes to heat up so I just timed 2 minutes before starting.

Here is a quick picture of my hair before I started waving it.  I washed and dried it, sprayed on a little heat protector and then straightened it.  My hair is naturally straight but can be a bit frizzy so thought best to straighten it first.

I found the waver really easy to use.  I am normally terible with hair gizmos but this was a breeze.  You just section your hair, clamp it over a section near your head, hold for 5-10 seconds then move further down your hair and repeat.  Simples!  You can adjust the heat, how long you clamp each section and the size of each section depending on how defined you want your waves.

I started with the dial half way and it wasn't hot enough for the look I wanted. As soon as I turned the dial up to about 3/4's it was much better. Also, as my hair is quite fine it started dropping quite quickly. Next time I will spray some hairspray on each section first and that should help it hold.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished result...



Next time I do it I will take some more pictures as by time I took these it had dropped a fair bit (my daughter wanted her lunch, I couldn't leave her with a hungry tum could I?!)  However, I LOVE IT!!!

My hair has got so much more body but yet doesn't look overly 'done'.  I can see myself using this loads.  Perhaps not for work as it took me 45 mins but certainly for nights out or going shopping.

I'm really happy to have got this for the bargain price of 37.49 (reduced from 75!)  I also noticed that Enrapture's other products - the Totem hair styler and the Extremity heated rollers are also half price at 37.49 at the mo.  I'm quite tempted to give them a whirl at some point too!

Has anyone tried any Enrapture products?  What did you think?  Would you recommend the Totem or Extremity?