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!