Collective Haul

I must stop shopping, I haven't bought this all in one go its a good few weeks worth.

My skin has been playing up lately, I think mostly due to stress but my chin has been breaking out like crazy. Nothing I had was working so when I popped into Superdrug I picked up the Deep Action Anti-Blemish Gel  I got this as it has 'the maximum  concentration of salicylic acid' so must work right. I put this on as soon as I got home and it did sting a little, the redness did reduce quickly, but the spot was/is still hanging around. This is available from superdrug.com for £2.

I also got a Tropical Cocktail Peel-Off Mask I love a good old face mask especially on a chilled Sunday evening and thought that this would be a nice one for the summer. It is suitable for all skin types and deeply cleanses the skin. I might do a post on this depends if I remember to be honest. You can get this from superdrug.com for 99p.

Sticking with face masks I bought two Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Peel Off Face Masks from Boots. I really love peel off face masks and thought these may help my stressed out spotty skin. These are 99p each from boots.com. As the range was on 3 for 2 I also got a Tea Tree & Witch Hazel 6 Nose Pore Strips as been suffering from a few blackheads on my nose, yuk. This is £4.99 again from boots.com.

Sticking with the skin care theme I also  bought the L'Oreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution, I have wanted to try Bioderma but haven't wanted to to fork out for it. So when I saw that L'Oreal had bought out their version had to give it a go. So far have been impressed but do find that you need a lot. This is available from boots.com for £3.33.

I am not sure why I thought I needed another bubble bath but treated myself to Radox Bath Smoothies Tropical Tranquillity. This smells amazing, and is absolutely perfect for the summer or holidays, as after a long hard summers day it's still nice to jump in the bath and relax. This is currently available from boots.com for £1.57.

After seriously lusting after this last summer, I finally decided to get myself Essie Bikini So Teeny this was limited edition last summer so was expecting it to be a chore to find but is available for the bargain price of £3.99 from xtras.co.uk. I haven't used the polish yet but am seriously impressed with xtras, free fast delivery.

After falling in love with Superdrug's Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser I picked up another two. You can read my post here I honestly can't say enough good things about this. As they were on 3 for 2 I decided to try the Vitamin E Nourishing Night Cream after being thoroughly disappointed by a No7 one. The night cream is £2.99 from superdrug.com.

The last items are a bit random but I recently went to an outlet shopping centre in Spalding and bought an Eyebag Tea and Foot Soothers from Whittard's. I am unable to find these on their website and they were only £2 for both so assume that they have been discontinued. They are basically tea bags for your eyes and feet, has anyone tried these out?

Well that is all for now, I have just placed an order from asos so will probably be another haul soon.

The Big Read - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte #1

I don't know I have managed to get to 28 without ever reading Jane Eyre, but I have decided that I must read after watching the 2011 film with Michael Fassbender.  I was honestly gripped and could not believe that I had never watched or read it before. My mum claims I have watched the 1983 version starring Timothy Dalton as a child, but I don't remember.

So many of my friends and family have since told me it is their favourite book. I have therefore downloaded to my iPad Mini and will be starting straight away. I am really looking forward to reading as love classic romantic stories.

You can download the book for free on amazon.co.uk or buy the adaption I watched here.

Nails - Ciate Caviar

After getting the Ciate Caviar Mini set with this months Marie Claire I decided to try it out for a big girls night out. There were no instructions but after searching online found this video here on how to apply.

The base colour wasn't very opaque after two coats but it was a flattering nude shade so I might do another post on that shade.

After applying two coats of Cookies and Cream and whilst the second coat is still wet you pour the beads over and gently push them down. This does make a lot of mess as the beads tend to go everywhere even if you pour over a bowl.

Although this seems easy I think I might need more practice as not all the beads stuck. I also really didn't like the texture of these they got caught on everything, and started to come off almost instantly. I couldn't even touch up my hair without these getting caught and coming off, and I would not recommend having a warm bath or shower with this on.

 

This manicure really doesn't last very long, the above is after less then 24 hours wear. Although one plus is that it is a lot easier to remove then glitter.

I wouldn't buy any more of these but might try again.  I would definitely apply after doing my hair and getting dressed. I would also only ever wear for a night out.

Has anyone else tried out this? Is there a way you can make the manicure last longer?

Sample Sunday - Benefit b.right It's Potent Eye Cream

I got this sample when I had my makeup done at a local Benefit counter months ago. After using up my No7 eye cream I decided to give this a go. It claims to 'fade dark circles & help smooth fine lines'. I wasn't expecting much as I have always suffered with dark circles. 

This is a light cream which I found was quickly absorbed. It wasn't refreshing or awakening, so can be used both day and night. When I did use twice a day I did really notice a difference.

As I said I have always suffered dark circles and I am pretty sure I will never get rid of them fully, regardless of how much I spend on an eye cream or how much sleep I get. Due to the stress of my exam I had not been sleeping well. I took herbal sleeping pills as a last ditch attempt to get a good nights sleep, but nothing really worked. I was having dreams about not getting my statement of financial position to balance and where to put a gain on a disposal.

Even with such broken sleep I noticed that my dark circles were looking better, I was putting on less concealer and my eye area looked brighter, and just generally better.

I was really impressed with this. I have never noticed such a difference in my eye area. I did really want to try the Clinique Dark Circle Corrector but I don't think I will now. I have got a couple of other samples to use up. One of which I am really interested to see how it compares  to this as have heard that it is amazing.

This is available from feelunique.com for £24.50 with free p+p for 14.2g

Magazine Madness July 2013

Its that time of the month again. The shelves are brimming with all the new magazine and this month has been a good one. I picked up Glamour, InStyle and Marie Claire.

With Glamour I picked up a Lip Enhancer Illusion Lip Liner from Model Co. I am not sure how I will get on with this, as I haven't used lip liner since I was about 13. To be honest I don't see the point in them. This is a 'one shade suits all' colour, which is meant to help you create the perfect lip silhouette. I picked this as thought it would be good to try a product I wouldn't buy. They also had  mascara, lip gloss and an eye liner from the same brand available.

InStyle had a Neal's Yard Remedies Power Berry Daily Moisturiser, which claims to make your skin 'brighter' and 'dewy-looking' and who doesn't want that. I am always on the hunt for the perfect moisturiser. I have found a great evening moisturiser but still looking for my holy grail day moisturiser. Has anyone tried this? Is it any good?

Lastly I picked up a Ciate Caviar set, with Marie Claire. I have never tried any polish from Ciate but can't wait to try out these bad boys. Not sure how I will get on as do prefer my nails smooth and glossy but I will let you know.

Marie Claire is quickly becoming my favourite magazine as yet again there was a bonus freebie. This time it was a small Oral-B Pro Expert toothpaste. I am actually going to visit family in Lincolnshire this week so this will be the perfect size for taking away with me.

What magazines have you picked up? Did I pick the wrong freebie with Glamour?

Primark Haul

With summer approaching I desperately needed some summer clothes so decided to head to Primark on quiet (ish) Sunday morning. I actually picked up rather a lot for me, as find the Norwich store not that great.

The first thing I bought was this gorgeous western stud dipped hem dress. As soon as I saw this I knew it would be coming home with me. I really love sheer material for the summer and the stud detail makes it that bit more interesting. I wasn't so sure on the high low thing but on I really like it. I did have to separate the vest style dress as getting into this was a pain in the back side. This was the bargain price of £7 however once home I noticed a tiny hole in the material, I don't think its that noticeable so not worth a trip into the city to return.  The only problem is what shoes to wear with it? Any suggestions welcome.

I went a bit crazy for their dresses and picked up their textured skater dress in blue and green, well they were only £13.  I  got these so I could wear to work but think that they might be a bit short. They are still ultra flattering,comfortable and can be dressed up or down, so perfect.

As I said I got two. The emerald one didn't have a belt attached, but was the last in my size, so it wasn't a bit deal.  The green one is actually available on asos.com, lets hope they pick up more Primark clothing as would make the site even better.

I also picked up this stripped vest top for £4. I love how bright this is and that it is longer at the back, so covers your bum. Some days I just feel like my bum is too big and that everyone is starring at it. I am sure they aren't but like to have a bit more material covering it all the same. That said this is quite sheer and will have to wear either an old granny nude bra or a bra that is made to be seen.

The last items of clothing, well apart from knickers which I don't think you wanna see are these adorable pjs for £7. They are so soft and perfect for summer, the shorts are very short but I don't suppose that matters.

The last two items are very random but just had to get them, one was a lint roller. I am a bit obsessed with lint rollers as they are a necessity for when I visit my mum. She has two dogs, my sister who lives with her has a dog as does my other sister so can be up to four dogs. You end up covered in dog hair which I hate so before I leave I go mental with a lint roller.

The last thing was some antibacterial hand gel which is a handbag essential and was only 60p. I haven't tried this yet as I still have my weird rash on my hands so not trying anything new until I know what it is or it goes.

If anyone has any suggestions on shoes with my studded dress please let me know.

April & May Empties

Firstly apologies for the lack of posts, I have had an exam which has meant I haven't had any spare time. Now that I have my life back I will be able to dedicate more time to blogging.

So what have I used up?

Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser after being recommended this by Mez from mezmadeup.blogspot.co.uk I decided to give it a try, and lets just say its love. I honestly could go on and on about how much I love this. I even prefer this over my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, which was my holy grail cleanser before discovering this. This is bigger, cheaper and ultimately and most importantly I think my skin prefers this. I will definitely be getting more of this and would recommend to anyone with normal to dry skin. You can read my full post here.

L'Occitane Ultra Rich Shower Cream I have had this for ages, I got this as part of a set when I went to Bicester Outlet Village before I started blogging. This does say that this can be used on your hair but personally I think this is much too thick and heavy to be put on my fine hair. It contains 5% Shea butter and is very moisturising but the scent could be more luxurious in my opinion. I have got a larger version of this so I don't need to repurchase.  You can buy a set similar to the one I got from feelunique.com.

Treacle Moon Warm Cinnamon Nights Bath and Shower Gel another shower gel and my oh my did I love this. I love the smell so much that I am considering keeping the empty bottle just to sniff occasionally. As I said in my full post which you can read here. This isn't as luxurious and moisturising as premium brands but it is a fraction of the price, that isn't to say that this is drying or bad quality it just isn't Molton Brown. This was a limited edition version and I haven't seen it in my local Tesco's for a few months but I will definitely be trying out some of their other scents.

Sanctuary Foaming Bath Soak when I am stressed out there is nothing better then a nice hot bath with a good book or a magazine, and this is a favourite of mine. I love the scent of the Sanctuary products as I find it calming and comforting. This also creates a lot of bubbles and leaves skin soft. I have a few of these travel sizes and a larger 250ml so don't need to repurchase but am sure I will again and again. I have written a full post which you can read here.

Oral-B 123 Toothpaste a bit random and I don't usually include toothpaste, but I have really loved using this. I don't have the worlds whitest teeth naturally but do think they are looking better thanks to this. Its also nice and refreshing and leaves your teeth feeling clean. You can get this at all the normal places and think it costs around £1.25.

Lancome Hypnose Star I got this free with Tatler magazine in their September issue and due to the size had been saving for nights out, but think it is time to throw this out. I really liked this mascara and its unusual wand but can't see me repurchasing. I just think £21 for a mascara is bit steep.  I did a full post which you can read here.

Sure Aloe Vera Sensitive Anti-Perspirant I know this is only a deodorant but I love this stuff. I hate all the really synthetic smells a lot of deodorants have. This is just fresh and barely noticeable  The only niggle is the white marks, this doesn't claim not to leave white marks but they are pretty bad, guess I will just have to stop wearing so much black.

TRESemme Heat Defence Spray a bog standard edition to my empties but I use this practically daily, how effective these sprays are I don't know but I wouldn't dream of not heat protecting my hair.  I love that this isn't sticky and doesn't make my hair look greasy.

Philip Kingsley Body Building Conditioner my love for Philip Kingsley is well known, I won't use any other shampoo but conditioner I am not so fussy with.  I have had this ages as if I put too much conditioner on my hair just looks lank and greasy. It kills me to say this but I don't think that this didn't anything for my hair. When I bought this my hair was in a short bob and I don't think this gave my hair any extra body, later my hair was a good three inches below my collar bone and I just don't think that this was conditioning enough for my ends. I wouldn't repurchase this again but might try another of his conditioners.  You can buy this from feelunique.com

No7 Cleansing Body Polish I love daily body polishes as love that just scrubbed feeling and this has been one of my favourite so far. It is gentle enough to use daily but still feel like you have got rid of all the dead skin cells. There a couple of cons one is the smell, it really reminds me of baby wash and the second is the price. I am just not willing to pay £9.50 for this. I have written a full review here. If anyone has any cheaper alternatives please let me know.

So that is what I have been using up, I have also done a bit of shopping too so should be posting a couple of hauls soon.

Summer Book Review - This Time Next Door by Gretchen Galway

I meant to write this a couple of weeks ago as I discovered a great book available for free on both iBooks and Kindle, it doesn't seem to be free on Kindle any more which is typical.

Anyway I was looking for something light and easy going to read whilst I was studying and discovered This Time Next Door by Gretchen Galway available for free on iBooks. Not all of the reviews were glowing but it was free so went for it.

I loved this book, I will warn you if you are looking for something deep and meaningful or the next Man Booker winner then maybe this isn't for you. Equally  if you are prudish then maybe pass this one by as there is some sex in it, this isn't Fifty Shades but will definitely make some people blush.  If however you are looking for a light holiday read I couldn't recommend this enough.

I read this in under 48 hours whilst working and studying as I just couldn't put it down, I don't want to ruin the story but it focuses on Rose who moves across America and ends up living next door to Mark, a computer geek who lives with his mum and who desperately needs to get out more. I loved Mark and seriously wished he was real. I also loved his mum as she made me laugh out loud several times.

This is one of those books that I was genuinely upset to finish and have read some parts more then once, as I just didn't want it to end.

I can't see how much this is on iBooks any more as I have downloaded which is really annoying so it may still be free but on Kindle it is £2.49 available here.

I will definitely be buying other books by the same author especially for my holiday in September.

What are your favourite holiday reads?

The Big Read - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald My Thoughts

I'm back! As well as studying like crazy for my exam I also finished The Great Gatsby. It really wasn't what I was expecting, I have never seen any adaptations of the book and only wanted to read after watching the trailer for the new film. 

Well the trailer looks a lot more exciting then the book was. I really didn't enjoy reading this, I found it boring and I didn't like or relate to any of the characters. I disliked the style in which this was written and found the whole book generally frustrating.

I think my main issue with this is just how unpleasant the characters in the book are, by the end I really didn't care what happened to any of them. My least favourite character had to be Nick Carraway who unfortunately narrates the story closely followed by Tom Buchanan who is horrid.

Maybe my tastes aren't sophisticated enough for this I am sure there are many out there who love this book and the many layers of the story. Unfortunately I am not one. 

I am still going to watch the film mainly for the dresses, soundtrack and Leonardo but kind of wish I didn't bother reading the book.

I read this on my iPad Mini via iBooks for free but who can download via amazon.co.uk for your Kindle for 77p.