Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

I was having a browse around Zara at the weekend and I could have spent a fortune of shoes in there.  I haven't been in Zara for quite some time, but I was really impressed with their clothes, but even more taken with their shoes.  Heres a run down of the ones that are now on my wish list.   POINTED VAMP SHOE WITH HEEL BACK - £19.99 SHINY POINTED BALLERINA  - £59.99 (midnight blue) SHINY POINTY BALLERINA - £59.99 (nude) - these ones were my absolute favourites. Available in sizes 3 - 8 So tempted to buy them all, but did not have £140 to spare.  They are definitely in on my birthday and christmas wish list this year.   Leighlee

As the title states I really didn't have a clue how many perfumes I had until I put them together for the photo below.  I'm ashamed to say this doesn't include the box sets that are on top of my wardrobe or under my bed (I'll save them for another day!!). I don't really have a favourite perfume as I like to swap and change and just pick up perfumes in the Next/Boots and Debenhams Christmas sales and also in Duty Free at the airport. Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy 30 ml.  I haven't used this yet but really liked this scent when I tried it in Debenhams. I think I won this in a Debenhams competition.  Its a lovely fresh and floral fragrance. It contains wild berries, mandarin, honeysuckle, gardenia, jasmine, amber, caramel, vanilla, sandalwood and pralines.  I can't wait to use it.  I might put it on next months use it or lose it challenge. Tom Ford - Violet Blonde 50ml.   Another one I haven't opened yet but couldn't resist buying at D

I just picked up the October issue of Marie Claire as there was a free Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus (7ml).  This is worth approximately £7.70 based on the full size product.  It also mentions that you can collect a Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream and have a free foundation fitting at the Clnique counter in House of Fraser.  In total the gifts are worth £15.       There are also a fair few free samples included in the magazine.  A sample of Dolce & Gabbana Intense eau de parfum, a sachet of Clarins Double Serum and a double sachet of Eucerin Dermo Purifyer Hydrating Care and Cleanser.  There are also a couple of other perfume samples stuck to the pa ges of the magazine that you can just open and run across your wrist.   There is a promotional code for £25 off a £100 spend at Urban Outfitters.  The code is MC25.   There is a beauty event that you can book at House of Fraser in Glasgow and Oxford Street in London in September.  Ticket

I am planning to do a post on decluttering soon, but I thought I would start it off by doing this post called Use it or Lose it.  As the title suggests, I have picked out some products that are currently in my stash that I hardly use.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with any of them, I just don't reach for them that often.  Therefore, I have challenged myself to use them as many times as I can in September and if I still like them then I will keep them.  If on the other hand, I barely use them in September, I will get rid of them (either on ebay or via my blog sale).  Here's a photo of the products I need to use or lose in September.    Urban Decay Naked Palette  - Cost £37 -  I really don't know why I haven't used this palette much as its full of great easy to wear shades.  Possibly, smaller palettes are easier to store so this one gets pushed to the back on a shelf out of reach MAC Warmth of Coral Blusher (from the semi precious collection

I was recently tempted into making an order on Fragrance Direct.  I just couldn't resist the Essie nail polishes for a bargainous £1.99 each.  I picked up: madison ave-hue - a pretty pink colour with fine glitter bond with whomever - a lovely light purple colour go ginza - a pastel lilac avenue maintain - a bright blue maximillian strasse her - a pastel greyish green   I also bought a Revlon nail polish in Popular which is pale pink with silver glitter (99p).  Thats all for the nail polishes.  I bought a couple of Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks for 99p - Notting Hill Nude & Cherry-licious.  The next item to make it into my basket was UNE Sheer Lips Balm in S05.  This was £1.99 (I have never tried this brand).  Finally, I had to have a cream blush - Elizabeth Arden Cream Blush in Honey for £5.50.   Fragrance Direct Haul   Essie Polishes  Revlon Popular  L-R - Notting Hill Nude, Cherry-Licious, UNE S05, Honey Blush Elizabeth Arde

This was a great offer that I read about on Beauty Balms Blog .  I bought all this for the grand total of £11.64. Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm 15g - £9.50 Summer Travel Kit - this set contains Micellar Cleansing Water (35ml), Nuxellence Jeunesse Youth & Radiance Revealing Fluid (15ml), Huile Prodigieuse Multi Purpose Dry Oil (10ml), Rêve de Miel Hand & Nail Cream (15ml) and Nuxe Body Fondant Shower Gel (30ml) - £9.90 As I ordered 2 products I received a Discovery Kit free which included Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals (35ml), Anti-Fatigue Moisturising Cream (15ml) and 24 hour Moisturising Body Lotion (15ml) I also got to pick a free travel size product, so I picked Huile Prodigieuse OR Multi Purpose Dry Oil (10ml) - I have always wanted to try this shimmering oil, so I was really happy to receive this as part of my order. Finally I received 3 sachet samples - Fondant Cleansing Gel (4ml), Huile Prodigieuse Multi Purpose Dry Oil (4ml) and 24hr So

I had to go to into town for an opticians appointment so I thought I would have a quick browse around the shops while I was there.  I had a few vouchers that I wanted to use as well.  Heres my haul.     I had a £2 voucher off John Frieda products, so I bought a full size Frizz Ease Serum which was on offer for £4 and with my voucher only cost £2.  Bargain!   I then went to SPACE.NK as I had £5 worth of points on my Ndulge loyalty card and also a voucher for a free gift as it was my birthday this month.  I bought a tangle teezer with my points as I need one to take on holiday with me, so this only cost £5.  I also received an 8ml sample of Radical Skin Care Anti-Aging Replenishing Extreme Moisture Cream with my voucher.  This product retails at £100 for 50ml, so is worth £16.  Not bad for a freebie.   Finally I went to Boots and picked up Garnier Ambre Solaire BB Cream SPF50.  This was half price and cost £7.99.  I am really looking forward to trying this out as I usual

I just wanted to let you know about a great Freebie in Grazia magazine this week.  The magazine costs £1 and it includes a voucher for a free Starbucks salad.  There is a choice of 5 salads - Hail Ceasar, Feta Compli, Thai & Mighty, Moreish Meze and Holy Guacamole.  The salads retail for  £4.75 (to eat in) and £3.95 (to takeaway).  This is such a great saving and so far I have tried the Hail Ceasar and Holy Guacamole and they were both very tasty and filling.  The voucher is valid until the 19th August.     Leighlee 

Hi All I thought I would do a quick series of posts called Top 10.  They are just going to be random Top 10s that I think of.  Here's my first one. Top 10 - TV Shows 1. Vampire Diaries 2. Community 3. Mindy 4. New Girl 5. The Soup 6. The Last Leg 7. Americas Next Top Model 8. Parks & Recreation 9. Hart of Dixie 10. True Blood High Commended (cos I hate to miss them out) Dance Moms, Nashville, Elementary, Cheer Perfection, Sherlock I am a big fan of American TV shows and not that keen on soaps which I guess is obvious from my list. Can you recommend any good TV shows that I should be watching? Leighlee

I received my August Birchbox yesterday and have to say once again I am impressed with the contents.  I am so glad that this is the only beauty box that I subscribe to as it very rarely disappoints. Here's a photo of the contents. Bluemandarines SkinLife Energetic Cellular Cream - 10ml (full size retails at £35) - a light peptide packed cream which brightens, refreshes and protects skin.  I have never heard of this brand, so I am looking forward to trying it out. Philip Kingsley Elasticizer - 40ml (full size retails for £27.50) - I have received this in a couple of beauty boxes in the past, but I do really like it (I bought a 1000ml size bottle when it was on sale).  This size will be great to take on holiday with me. Gerda Spillmann Hydro Pearls Moisture Lotion - 10ml (full size retails for £30) - I have tried the foundation from this brand which was nice, so I am looking forward to trying this product.  This is also a smoothing primer. LAQA & Co Min

The winner of my very first giveaway is Claire S (htpp://pennyforthem1.blogspot.co.uk).  Well done Claire. I will send you an email shortly to get your address so I can send you your prize.   Thanks everyone for taking part and following my blog.  There will definitely be some more giveaways later on this year.   Leighlee

Thanks for following my blog.  I now have 25 followers either on Bloglovin, Google+, Twitter & email.  Please make sure that you have left me a comment so that I know how to contact you (you can leave a comment on any post).  I will do the draw on Saturday and post the winners name on the blog and send an email so you can give my your address.  Don't worry if you didn't have a chance to enter this giveaway.  I will be going to America later this year and plan to bring back a few goodies to use in some future giveways (maybe when I get 100 followers) and I am thinking about doing a special christmas giveaway, so its definitely worth following my blog.   Good luck everyone and may the odds be ever in your favour :) Leighlee

I picked up this Nip + Fab Pistachio Body Butter for £3.99 at TK Maxx.  They usually retail at around £7.95 for 200ml in Boots, so I thought that was a great deal.  I have been meaning to try this brand for ages, but never got round to it, but I am so glad that I picked this product up.  I have very dry skin, so this product looked like just what I needed.   First of all its a really bright green colour, exactly the same shade as pistachio ice cream.  It smells absolutely Divine (almost good enough to eat), its nutty and creamy all at once and the smell lingers, unlike some products which disappear as soon as they touch your skin.  For that reason I would say this body butter works better as a night cream, rather than using it in the day when it will be fighting with your perfume and other lotions and potions that you might use.   Its a very thick and creamy butter, but not so thick that it takes ages to rub in and it really does smooth and soften dry skin.  I will definitely

I only need a few more followers before the giveaway takes place.  If you are following me on bloglovin, please can you leave a comment with your email address so that I can contact you if you win.  Bloglovin, doesn't seem to have a facility to find followers email addresses so I won't be able to get in touch with you if you win.   Heres a photo of the giveway prizes (EOS & Bath & Body Works).     You can follow me on bloglovin, Google+, Twitter or email.  Just remember to leave me a comment so I can include you in the giveway.    Thanks everyone   Leighlee