Holiday Snaps

Not beauty related but I thought I'd share some holiday photos. We spent 4 nights in a lodge at Ashlea Pools Country Park and we had a fantastic time.

We used it as a base for us to explore the area and go on some fun days out for the kids.

Setting of, Ipads at the ready. It was only a 2 hour drive but my kids get bored very quickly so we need to make sure we have plenty to keep them entertained.

Here was the outside of the lodge.

And a few pictures from the inside.

Lounge area

Kiddies bedroom

Our bedroom

Kids stood on the hot tub, this was definitely their favourite thing about the lodge

Kids in the hot tub

These are just a couple of pics of our days out.

Funfair at West Midlands Safari Park

Here is my eldest looking like he is having a great time and my youngest looking ready to throw up

 We also went to Ludlow which was an adorable little town, we went for a walk round the castle and surprisingly the kids had a really good time!

We also did a few hours at Cadburys world, the kids wrote their names in chocolate

Cadburys also made these for the Royal Baby, so cute and made completely of Cadburys chocolate. Amazing!

We had an amazing time and I would definitely recommend Ashlea Pools for a relaxing break, we will be looking at going away again next year. 

Now I'm back and can get back to spending more blog posts to follow.

Are you going or have you been anywhere this summer?

July Haul

Hi all,

This is a collective haul of things I have picked up since getting paid so pretty much throughout July. I'm going away a week on Monday, only in this country but we still want plenty of spending money so no more buying until our return. 
Most of the items are budget friendly but there is one that was a bit of a splurge for me. 

I've tried my best to separate them into their own categories. So lets get started

First up we have essentials, I picked up these Sure deodorants from Boots, they were half price and around £1.57 each. I've tried the white and purple one before and really like it so I thought I'd give the black one a go too.

I also picked up one of the Natural Collection Body Sprays, these are only £2 and thought it would be nice to pop into my bag for work and this Ice Musk one is quite lovely. I remember use these in high school so it brings back some nice memories.

On the subject of essentials I spotted these, I have another Balmi lip balm but its the round one and I was intrigued to see the shape of the actual balm on these cube shaped ones. If you too are curious keep scrolling!

The No7 products are the BB Lips in Blush Coral and the High Shine Gloss in Tangerine Twist. These are £8.50 each and are both SPF 15.

Exciting stuff or what? The new shape of these is this conical shape. I've tried the mint one, its not that great. It does tingle but its not that minty which I would have liked, here's hoping the strawberry one is better.


I don't really need any body stuff so just picked up these two, its a Soap and Glory scrub of your life mini, just for me to take away with me. These are about £2.50 at Boots. The sachet is a 2 part foot buffer and butter. With the weather being as it is the old feet are constantly out so we need to get them in tip top condition. This was 79p from Home Bargains.

I didn't even realise until I went to pay that because I got 2 products I got a free gift which was a nice surprise. Its a rather cute and summery plastic make up bag, its actually a really good size and I think I'll be taking it away with me. All my bags are fabric so are a nightmare to clean if something leaks whilst your travelling but this will be a quick wipe down.

As an added bonus the bag actually contained some No7 products too. 

Now I'm no too sure on the eyeshadow but everything else I will definitely use. There is a 10ml primer, a 10ml tinted moisturiser, an eyeshadow, a travel sized mascara and a full size lipgloss in Coral Kiss. I'm not usually a fan of the No7 GWP but I think this one is great and considering I only spent £17 for all this I think its a bargain. 

I've been looking for a good primer for a while and spotted this Dr Jart one in Boots, I really like the BB creams from this brand so I decided to give the primer a go. Its £18 from Boots and I will be doing a review on this shortly as this is one of the first things I bought and I've been using it everyday.

I also saw these Garnier Moisturisers in Boots, they were buy one get one free and £5.99 each. I went for the gel formula for dull skin and the lotion for normal skin. I've tried both and so far I am loving the lotion! A review to some on this one shortly too.
I wont go too far into details about the last item, the Nivea BB cream. I really do not know what I was expecting with this, lets just say the effectiveness if reflected in the price. This cost £3.99 from Tesco.

I needed a cheap waterproof mascara for work, Mayebelline was on 3 for 2 at Boots and I wanted two products from their line anyway so I figured what could be cheaper than free right? This is the Great Lash mascara in black and it cost £4.99. I have seen some people rave about this mascara so I thought it was worth a shot. The two items that I was purchasing anyway were the 24 hour color tattoos in Metallic Pomegranate and Pink Gold. These were £4.99 each, so these two plus a mascara for under a tenner. I think that's a good buy!
I also watched a video on Youtube, I didn't catch her name unfortunately so I can't tell you who she was but the Miss Sporty Mascara was in a favourites video of hers. It was £3.49 and is called Lash Millionaire,its an all in one and claims to give you rich volume, breathtaking length and virtually perfect lash separation. These are some pretty strong claims for a mascara under a fiver so we shall see how this stands up. 
Finally was just a mascara from Max Factor, I do like most of their mascaras and this was on offer for £4.99, its the Wild Mega Volume mascara in black I haven't tried it yet but I'll do a review as soon as I have given it a test run.

Last but not least was my cheeky splurge purchase. I've wanted this since getting a sample in a Glossybox about a year ago but just never bothered to order it. I've been looking in various places at hair masks and treatments and decided to just take the plunge.

I'm pretty sure everyone will either know or will already have the Philip Kinglsey Elastisizer, I absolutely fell in love with this and I was gutted when my sample ran out. Always one for a bit of a bargain I spotted that the 1000ml bottle was much better value than the smaller sizes so I opted for that one. You can find this here on the Feel Unique website. This bottle is £62.90 but the value is £107. Bargain. I've never tried any of his other products so I got some of the sample sizes of the shampoo and conditioner to try before committing to a bigger size. These are £5.05 each on Feel Unique for 75ml and they are actually a really good size to try before splashing out on the bigger sizes or just to take on holiday with you. 

I hope you liked my little haul, if there is anything here you would specifically like to see a review on please comment below.

I'm Baaaack

I've been away from my blog for a while due to being incredibly busy but I'm back now and ready to get back into the swing of things. I thought I would start of with a little haul as I popped to the Trafford Centre last night.

First of all I went into Home Bargains and picked up some Vie products. I saw these the other day and picked up one of the Future Focus Age Prevention Day Lotion and the Above and Beyond Anti Ageing Elixirs, they were only 99p each so I thought they were worth a try. I've been using them for just short of a week and the day lotion especially is really good and left my skin feeling moisturised and soft and most of all no reactions so I went back and grabbed a couple more, they had absolutely loads of these on the shelves.

I also picked up the eye brightener, its just a light coloured eyeliner but again this was only 99p so I thought I would try it.

Next I actually went into the Trafford Centre, I went into Debenhams first and spotted these. I looked at these last year when they were full price at £29, I was really tempted to buy one but the urge to buy make up instead overtook and I ended up getting the Naked 2 palette instead. I'm glad I didn't now as they had a whopping 70% off them and now are only £8.70. Bargain or what? I picked up 2, I've tried this brand before and really like their products and again no reactions to my skin.

 

The Cleansing Facial Wash alone is £8.85 on the Debenhams website. The breakdown of the prices of these are

Cleansing Facial Wash - £8.85
Rich Moisturizer - £7.75
Mild Exfoliator- £7.75
Super Night Cream - £8.30
Algimud Face Mask £3.85 (I couldn't find this on the Debenhams website but it is this price on Holland & Barrett)
Total cost if bought separately - £36.50
I think I got a total bargain for £8.70 and I would definitely recommend having a look at your local Debenhams if you like products like this as they are really good products.

Finally I went into Boots as they currently have a 3 for 2 offer on make up and accessories.

I got the Revlon Photoready foundation in shell, the Real Techniques shading brush and a Revlon Lipgloss in Bellini. I haven't tried the foundation or the brush yet but I have tried the lipgloss. I love the colour and the fact it isn't sticky but the smell is vile. If your ever looking at these glosses I would say have a sniff of them first as I think alot of people may be put off by this, especially as it will be right under your nose when you wear it. 
The total cost for these items was £20.98

I'm pretty happy with my purchases, and I can't wait to try out the Revlon foundation. I've heard mixed reviews on this one so I will put a review up once I've given it a good go.

Have you found any bargains recently?

Wonder Foot Cream under £1.50?

I thought I would share my little foot care secret with you all today. I have a bit of a thing about feet (a thing as in I can stand them not can I touch your feet please) so I try to look after my feet really well, the thought of having bad feet does turn my stomach.
I've tried loads of foot creams over time and I needed a new one, I spotted this little pot of cream at Boots for only £1.29, its called Smith's Creamolia and claims to soften hands and skin with its non-greasy formula. I thought for £1.29 it was definitely worth a go. 

The packaging is nothing special and looks like something your grandma might have used when she was a young'un. The smell isn't overly pleasant either if I'm honest, it smells quite medicated to me so I wouldn't use it on my hands or anywhere else on my body but as my feet are the furthest part of my body from my face its fine for them.
The first time I used it I put a small amount onto my feet before bed, a little goes a really long way so you do only need a small amount, when I woke up my feet have never felt as soft I was so impressed. It really is by far the best product I have ever used on my feet. I now use it every night before I go to bed and my feet are touchably soft and ready for flip flops in summer.

I would definitely recommend giving this cream a go, apart from £1.29 what do you have to lose? I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

Do you have any cheap and cheerful miracle products?

Blog Sale

Here is my blog sale, if there is anything that tickles your pickle please comment below with the items that you would like and your email address and I will send you an invoice. Postage will be £2.20 regardless of how much you order. (Unless something small that will go as a large letter postage will be reduced) More will be added shortly as I have lots of nail polishes to add.

Rimmel Apocalips in Galaxy, Celestial and Apocaliptic. All swatched and Apocaliptic used once. £3.50 each

Barry M Shadow sticks, one brown and one black. Both swatched £1.50 each

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisurizing Loion 30ml £1.50

ELF HD Blush in Showstopper,one pump used -£2.00

ELF Blushed/Bronze used a few times - £1.25

Glow and Go Highlighter by Look, new and sealed - £3.50

Burts Bees Lip Shimmer in Watermelon new and sealed - £2.00, 17 Wild Metallics in Wild Purple used twice - £0.75

MUA Eye Primer x 2 new and boxed - £1 each

Nail polishes all used to do complete set of nails, £1 each

No7 Mini Beautifier, eyeshadows swatched - £2.50

Accessorize Eyeshadow Palette swatched - £1.50

Superdrug Vitamin E Radiance Moisture Cream, used once - £1

Topshop palette in Constallation, swatched - £5

New CID Highlighter in Marshmallow, swatched once - £5.00

NYX Jumbo Eye Crayon in Strawberry Milk, used couple of times £1.50, Urban Decay Eyeliner in Bourbon used a couple of times £2

As I said more will be added shortly but if there is anything you fancy please let me know in the comments below.