PRE-SPENDING BAN BEAUTY HAULING

Yesterday, I went shopping - bad idea, I know. But, in the next couple of weeks I am starting my spending ban in order to save for my trip to America in the next few months so that I can try out some of the beauty items from there, but of course I had to pick up a couple of things I could try out so I wasn't totally beauty purchase deprived up until I step into the airport (read: Duty Free).

I restocked on the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in the shades 1 Fair and 2 Cool Medium as I caught the sun a little recently and so I thought I could mix the two of these together to find a match. I also got a new Batiste for those bad hair days in the Floral & Flirty Blush scent.
Sticking with the hair products, I also thought I would give the VO5 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray a whirl and on first impressions, I'm a little unsure - how do you use this product?

In the trusty Boots clearance I found the Botanics Face Brush which I plan to use occasionally to cleanse, and this was £2 anyway so I thought it'd be a good time to try it out. As well as this, I found the Soap and Glory Archery Brow Tint and Pencil in Brownie Points for £4 (after peeling back the sticker apparently it's expired but if it's unopened I don't see the issue - I'll report back), but this is something I have been wanting to try for a while now so when better than for when its selling for something short of a fiver.

In TkMaxx I found this Orly Nail Polish in Va Va Voom (a vibrant neon pink in which the picture just isn't doing it justice) but this was a bargainous £2.99 so I couldn't pass it up and I thought it'd be a good summer shade. Finally in Topshop I got these simple gold shape earrings in the sale for £2.50 and thought they would be nice to wear everyday.

What have you been buying recently, and what are your tips for saving money?

BARGAIN STILA PRODUCTS

I love a good sale. Even when I am on a spending ban, one incredible sale popped up on the Stila website and I simply couldn't resist, and obviously I am going to write a blog post about my bargainous finds.

So, basically, Stila incredibly discounted tons of their products, including sets, individual products, and some limited edition items, and the thing which made up my mind was the free shipping - result. I picked out 2 sets which I am so happy with and I will be more than happy to review them in the future if you wish.

Firstly, I found the Smudge Stick Eyeliner Set for an incredible £6.25, which contains 5 shades of what is a bestselling liner. Although I have complaints about the packaging and the often faulty twist-up mechanism, I can get round it because the colours are divine.
 You get Moray, which is a stunning olive base with some green and almost rust coloured shimmer, which only shows withing certain lights. You also get Oscar Fish which is a brown liner, with some reddish shimmer in there which I adore. Next up is Angelfish which was the one I was most excited about, which is a nude shimmery liner, with almost a slight hint of greyish lilac to it, but only slightly. Then there is Stargazer; a black liner with sliver glitter/shimmer in it which is nice for a feline flick. Finally, Tetra is a gorgeous jewel-like purple which is infused with some pink shimmer to add some dimension.
These liners are truly smudge proof, to an extent which I can rub my eyes like mad without any evidence of doing so.

Then, I got the Positively Pink Lip and Cheek Palette, for £3.25 which contains a powder blush, and a lip glaze, both of which are stunning pink colours. I believe this was made to support the Breast Cancer Awareness week/month which is a lovely touch as well.

Bargains everywhere. I hope to will restrain myself now, after buying the Ikea Alex 9 Drawer Unit, and needing to pay my family back some of the money. Spending ban it is. 

 

BOXING DAY NON-BEAUTY BARGAINS

Another day, another haul. I haven't done a haul for what seems like months, and probably is months, but I am trying to elongate the festivities and what better way that to shop you the bargains I picked up in the sales. I didn't get these on Boxing Day, but the following few days count if you ask me. I did get some clothing but it was awkward to photograph, so you will have to wait until some fashion posts for them to get their debut. 

So, these items are form Matalan and ASDA both of which, places I don't tend to shop in on a regular basis, but these bargains definitely will be getting a lot of wear. 

So, the 3 jewellery items are from Matalan all of which were half price in the sale. The first is currently on my finger now, and is this adorable midi ring, which has a ladybird on it for detailing, and I thought this was the cutest ring ever. This was £1.50 half price, which is a bit of a bargain.
I also got this pair of round earrings, which have some jewel detailing all over, so for a little bit extra bling when you wear them... Did I actually just say that? But cringe worthy phrases aside, these were £1.50 too, and I am excited to get some wear out of these.
Finally on the jewellery front, I got this set of 3 pairs of heart shaped earrings. There is a gold pair, a silver pair, and also a gunmetal shade which is really edgy, but the heart shaped frame still makes them look dainty.

So, the other two things were kind of on the knitwear side of things. Also from Matalan I got this purple/aubergine chunky knit scarf with some fluffy tassles at the end and a tiny bit of shimmer in it if I am right, and I absolutely love this. I may be a few months behind, but I now have a scarf which shall be keeping me cosy in the upcoming few months. That isn't to say though, that I will stop hunting for the perfect tartan scarf must I add. This was half price at £3, so totally worth it.

Finally, from ASDA I got these huge, chunky knit, colourful long socks, which I have been wearing a lot, just lounging around the house. These were also £3 (from £5), and I shall me wearing these oh-so-much.

Bargains everywhere. I think I need to keep the spending at bay now, but a day with Megan tomorrow could mean otherwise...

 

UNDER £3 STOCKING STUFFERS

It's December. The Christmas posts are going to be getting a lot more frequent on the blog on the buildup to the 25th. Stocking suffers are one of my favourite things to buy, and I have put together a few things that are under £5 so this is for those on a budget, or if you are like me, you have spent all your money on presents already.

The first thing is this mustache mug, which I found for 99p in a local store called Home Bargains which I thought was an incredible deal! I filled this is with 2 candy canes and then a small pack of Cadbury Eclairs which are so tasty, and cost 29p.

Next up from the same store (which is part of my Secret Santa gift this year) is this Ebot Speaker contraption. This was an amazing £1.99, and basically, you plug it into your phone, iPod, phone, tablet, or any electronic device and your music is louder!

You can't go wrong with the Cosy Footlets from Primark as a gift, and for £2.50, any girl will enjoy wearing these when they are cold. These ones are the softest and warmest things ever, almost like sheepskin, but obviously not real. 

Then, this is a Christmas gift from Wilkinson which is a black wooden heart hanging decoration, which comes with a chalk so you can write on any message you want to! I thought this was such a cute gift, and it only cost £2, which is totally bargainous if you ask me. 

Finally, I have this mini manicure pouch from H&M, which cost me £1 in the sale, but generally costs £1.50 anyway, so still way in the £5 budget. Any beauty junkie would love this as a gift, as it is so handy, and handbag appropriate. You get a nail brush, a mini file and buffer, and a cuticle pusher backer. Even the pouch is handy for carrying around. 

It is all about bargain hunting when you are on a budget, and it doesn't necessarily mean that the quality isn't as good. These gifts were all under £3, which is an amazing deal and the quality is still there. 

MY RECENT BARGAINS

It would appear that I have been doing some shopping recently, but haven't managed to pay full price for anything you see in the image above. That makes the hauling sound a little better...right?

Starting off with skin, I purchased 2 items. The first being the Dr Jart+ Water Sure Gel, a hyaluronic acid based gel which locks in moisture, hence why I use it under moisturisers daily. Basically Hydraluron in a tub, and this cost me £6.50 a month back in a Boots clearance, unusually reduced from the £26.00 they still charge on the website. 
Secondly, I picked up the Garnier Moisture Match Wake Me Up Gel Moisturiser, which I have wanted for a while now, and what better than when it is over half off at £2.37 in Tesco - brilliant. Look forward in the next few weeks of what is ruling the skincare shelf, and you may see one, or both of these featured. 

Onto nails, I accidentally stumbled into TkMaxx, and found a pack of 3 OPI Nail Polishes for £6.99 - What?! I couldn't not pick this pack up, as it was almost half the price of one, for all three. I got A Roll In The Hague, which is a vibrant, slightly red orange, I Don't Give A Rottadam, a dusty, periwinkle with some iridescent, leaning on holographic glitter - and both of these are from the Holland Collection. The other, is called Stranger Tides, a slightly dusty, murky, pale greenish, nudish, hybrid, which belongs in the Caribbean Collection I believe.

Back to makeup. In tesco, on the same trip, I managed to find myself a wee bargain, when spotting this Maybelline Eyestudio Mono in 750 Chocolate Chic, which I thought was matte at first, but in depth, this is a slightly reddy, plummy, dark brown, which is matte in the 'base', but then it has some larger, sparse amounts of iridescent shimmer, and still looks smashing in the crease. This was reduced to 79p, as I think they were decreasing the stand. 
For the same reasons, I found a Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Marker in Wink Of Pink on a whim as it was £1.49, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I don't know whether it has dried already, or the colour payoff or maybe it isn't as pigmented as I remembered on the first use.

Finally, on Saturday, I was waltzing round Boots, as you do, and in a clearance, I found the Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in 040 Crystal Water, which I have wanted for so long, and the sticker said £3.50, which I thought was a good deal anyway, but as the lady scanned it through, it came to £1.50 - what a bargain! 

So, a bit of a long one for me, but this haul should have cost a total of £86.06, but instead, I paid... £19.64, and something tells me that is a great deal... 

 

 

BEAUTY HAUL - CAR BOOT, TKMAXX, AND MORE

Shopping is a healthy addiction for us beauty bloggers. I am constantly buying things to review and try out, and it happened again this weekend. 

I was on quite a bargain hunt, and I got quite a lot for under £15, leaving me with a beaming, beauty-caused smile.

Cover Girl mascaras are just one of the many products you people are blessed with in the US (not sure where else..), and so when I spotted this one in TKMaxx for £3.99, I refused to leave without it. The packaging is naff, yes, but that excused this is the one mascara that I have found to not go anywhere on my lashes and hold the curl for a long time.. I have no idea what I will do when I need to repurchase this.

I need to love a product a lot to repurchase it. This is my 3rd repurchase of this, and I have planned a full blog post about it coming soon. This is the best mascara remover I have tried from the drugstore, but I never really want to pay the full £3.50 odd, as there are some faults with it, but I spotted this in Savers fro £1.69, so I will be stocking up from there from now on. 

Impress nails are genuis, but can I justify the £8.99 for them? I don't think so. With a bit of filing I can get 2 uses out of a box, but I still don't like the price tag. I saw these 'Space Cadet' ones in Savers yet again (they have some good stuff in there at the moment) for £3.99! That is a £5 saving, and I will be going there again to get these when I next want them. 

I have been after a good white for a while now, and I saw this one in Pound Land from Sally Hansen called Ivory Skull, It is a crisp white creme polish, and I am wearing it right now with a 'flakie' top coat on it, and I love it. It isn't the best and you have to layer 3 coats for full opacity, but it cost me £1 so I can't complain. 

I went to a car boot sale today, and I thought if I was going to buy any makeup/beauty items I wanted to disinfect them in some way. Megan told me she has bought Surgical Spirit from Superdrug and mixed it with half water in a spray bottle, so you can easily spray it onto any makeup you wish to disinfect. I never actually bought any but this might come in handy in the future?

What I actually found in the car boot sale (it wasn't a good day today beauty-wise), which I have been going out of my way to find because every shop has stopped selling them, which I don't understand because they are genuis. These were 10p from a lady who said she had had them for ages and never used them. I wish there were more packs, because I would have gotten them all!

I think we all need to bargain hunt a lot more, it really pays off to your collection and your purse, I mean this stuff cost me exactly £12.12!

 

A Bargainous Weekend of Hauling

Hi guys!

Another weekend, another haul. I don't feel too bad about this haul though, as nothing cost me more that £4.50, that's pretty good. I went to the beach with my family and I visited a bargain beauty shop, so that is where a few of the things some from. Little pic inspired by Megan here:

So, I will start with the things you see above, as they were the things I got in the shop called 'Facial Attraction' - a bargain beauty store. 

I got this neon pink Sinful Colors polish. Megan has this, and I have been wanting it for AGES. It really is neon, as it has a blue/purple undertone and shimmer to it, which gives it even more of a neon sheen. This was only £1.99 and it's called Daredevil. It is opaque in 2 coats (yep, I already have it on!), and it dries really quickly - great for the small price tag!

The next thing I got was £2.99, another bargain. It is the Dainty Doll Cream Blush in Paper Roses, a simplistic pale pink blush. My collection of Dainty Doll products is increasing, but I still think I should have got some more items yesterday! Ah wells, there is always Fragrance Direct. 

The last 2 things from that store were a whopping £1.99 each - BARGAIN! They are the Rimmel Kate lipsticks. I got one of the matte ones, in shade 101 which is a pale purplish pink matte colour, and then I got 16 in the non-matte formula, which is a pinkish coral colour, which is so nice!

Moving on to the other shops, this was yet another pound shop bargain. This is a Revlon Colorstay nail polish is Provence, which is a grey-lilac colour, it is really nice and I cannot wait to try it. For £1, I couldn't leave it, and MissGlamorazzi loves these polishes, so another reason to buy! 

So, as you may have seen on Megan's blog, Dorothy Perkins had an amazing jewellery sale, and I had to get these cute pack of earrings! I have been really into wearing earrings everyday at the moment, and I was in the mood for some new ones. These are just little 'embossed' square studs, there are 2 neon, 2 pastel and 2 metallic colours, and once I had seen Megan with them, I had to go out the following week to get them!

I then got the B. 'Pure Micellar Water' as a makeup remover/Bioderma substitute. I'm pretty sure that I will be the last person to buy a bottle of Bioderma.. This was on offer for £3.32 and the woman at the till was telling my how amazing it is, so I just went for it and bought it! Good ol' Superdrug..

The random purchase of the week was these pens I got off of Amazon for £4.48 including P+P. I got these for revision and planning for my CA's at school, as that's the way I like to learn! I was going to buy a pencil case, but I couldn't find one, so I just will use one I have at the moment.

That was all my hauling this weekend, its a little big, but everything was on some sort of offer r discounted price!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow on Bloglovin' as today is the day that you will need to get hold of all your favourite blogs and follow! 

Lauren x

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