Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

Is anyone else going to a Halloween party this year?  I am, so I picked up some bits and pieces from Primark recently to use as part of my fancy dress costume. They had some great items including headbands and jewellery for the usual bargain Primark prices.  Here's what I bought: This jewelled spider headband was only £2.50 so I had to have it. I also bought a couple of pairs of earrings.  The witches on broomsticks were only £1 and the freaky pumpkin heads were £1.50. Whilst I was in Primark I also picked up some non Halloween items.   The plimsolls were £2 for the blue and white stripy ones and £3 for the black lace ones.   I also bought another couple of pairs of earrings the blue/green round jewel earrings cost £1.50 and the clear stone front/back earrings were £2, these didn't stay in my ears at all because the butterfly backs didn't hold them onto my ears.   Luckily I have a box full of different sized butterfly backs so I used th...

Cult Beauty are doing one of their great goody bag offers again.  The Autumn goody bag is worth £150 and is free when you spend £100.  This makes it a great time to stock up on your favourite beauty products or take a chance on some new ones that are on your ever increasing wish lists. You can find out which products are included in the goody bag here.  Hurry if you want to take advantage of this offer are there is limited availability. Leighlee

Just a quick post to let you know that I picked up a great bargain in Poundworld this week.  They had some Elegant Touch Little Mix Perrie Press On Nails (these usually retail at £6, but seem to be sold out online at Boots right now).  I also bought some Elegant Touch Express Press-On Instant Manicure in Trend Bright Marble.  They are currently retailing for £8.99. I love a good pound shop bargain.  Have you found any good bargains recently? Leighlee I bought these with my own money.

I went to see A Walk In The Woods last night at the cinema.  Normally the thought of two old guys hiking through the American wilderness would not be top of my list of films to watch at the cinema, but the film is based on the book of the same name by Bill Bryson which I read years ago and thoroughly enjoyed, so I thought I would give it a go. I am really glad I did.  The film recounts Bills trip along the Appalachian trail in the eastern United States which is  2200 miles long.  It starts off with a jaded Bill doing the morning talk show circuit plugging a special edition set of his previous books based on his travels in various countries around the world (I would definitely recommend these books by the way, including Notes from a Small Island recounting his trip around Britain).  Bill (played by Robert Redford) is fed up with life and hasn’t written anything more than the foreword in a book for over 4 years.   After the death of an acquaintanc...

I recently received some TIGI hair products to try out, one of which was the Bed Head After Party Smoothing Cream*.  I am always on the look out for great hair products especially those that tame my curly hair so I was interested to try this out.   It says that it's a smoothing cream for silky, shiny, healthy looking hair, all of which are essential for my curly and somewhat frizzy hair. The instructions for use are really simple, just smooth on dry hair and party on. I like something that is so easy to use, although I can't say I'm doing much partying on after using it but never mind.   Anyway, I tend to use this to tame the small frizzy little hairs that escape throughout the day when my hair is pulled back in a ponytail for work.   It also works well on the ends when I'm wearing my hair down.    You only need to use a small amount of the product to tame the frizz and my hair feels really silky after I've applied it and...

I set myself some challenges at the start of 2015 and just wanted to post a quick update on how I'm doing with them. Top of the list is to lose weight.  I set myself this target last year and whilst I did lose some weight, it wasn't anywhere near enough.  I did join a gym last year, so I am going in the right direction, but I am going to target myself with losing 2 stone this year and at least 1 dress size. Failing this at the moment as I'm still going to the gym but need to sort out my diet. I want to have 3 no spend months this year.  The no spends are on unnecessary items such as makeup, toiletries, clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery.  It does not include food, drink, petrol or going out. COMPLETED.  I completed this challenge this week and promptly had a bit of a shopping spree, although it was more clothes than beauty. I want to use up 10 makeup items.  I find that makeup is the hardest thing to use up, so I will pick 10 items to fully u...

I recently received the  Braun Face Epilator & Cleansing Brush * to try out and review. I have never used a facial epilator or a cleansing brush before, so I was really interested to see how I got on with them. First of all does the facial epilator hurt? I'm not going to lie, it does. Is it worth it? I think so. I think it's  definitely  a case of no pain no gain and this is the definition of that. If you suffer from dare I say a moustache or those nasty little dark chin hairs that pop up over night, then this is the perfect product for you.  I wouldn't recommend this product if you are particularly hairy on your face as I think it would hurt too much, but then again maybe I'm just a wimp. In the end the pain is bearable and the results are worth it. I didn't get much redness when I used the product and the pain disappeared straight away.  I love the fact that this is a multi tasking product and it also provides a cleansing brush at...

Earlier in the year I posted about my quest to find curly hair products that really work (you can read the post  here ).  I must admit I've struggled to find many that I would buy again, but  John Frieda Frizz Ease Curl Reviver Mousse does a good job. I do really like this product it's perfect for taming my curls without making them hard and crispy (those of you with curly hair will know what I mean).  I thought it did a really good job of holding my curls throughout the day and I didn't feel like I constantly had to check my hair to make sure it wasn't getting frizzy (the more you worry about it and touch your hair the more it gets frizzy, it's catch 22).  Here's a photo of my hair after using this product and the curls are much more defined than normal and there is definitely less frizz. I will definitely buy this product again.  It costs £5.89 for 200ml at Boots and is currently included in their 3 for 2 offer. Do you have any curly ha...

If you are anything like me then you have a wish list as long as your arm of all the beauty products that you want to try out.  I always take advantage of offers like this SPACE.NK one where you receive a free goody bag when you spend £160 online.  You can find more details here, but hurry as stocks are limited and its only available until midnight tonight (2nd Sept 2015).  There are 27 fab products included in the goody bag and you can find the full list here. Leighlee