Purchases and Presents

Hello there!

I'll start with the items I purchased in the sales. I only bought from two stores because nothing else caught my eye!

Lush:

The prices mentioned are what I paid after the 50% discount (The Comforter bubble bar is the only thing that wasn't in the Christmas sale). Snow Globe soap chunks £1.25, £1.25 and £2.20, Candy Cane soap chunk £1.38, Angels Delight soap chunk £4.70, So White bath ballistic 95p, Cinders bath ballistic 98p, The Comforter bubble bar £3.99.

As you can see, I love the scent of Snow Globe! I also bought a huge chunk of Angels Delight, which should last me a while.

M&S:

Mugs £3 each

I couldn't help it! I love mugs.

Now, these next items were purchased before Christmas :)

Primark:

T-shirts £6 each

Dressing gown £9.90

2 pack of gloves £1.50, scarf £2.90

I also picked up some bras and grey pumps from Primark, but they're not worth showing!

Wilkinsons:

900ml bottles of TRESemme £1.98 each! Bargain!

I also thought I would include my Christmas presents in this post because they really don't need a post of their own!

The owl cushion was from my sister, the Impulse set was from my auntie and the Misfits box set was from my parents, along with the double bed they bought me last month and the Primark items seen above.

I was only meant to be getting a bed from my parents, so the Misfits box set was a bonus. My dad also let me choose what I wanted from Primark, which was fun :)

"Iz you taking a photo?"

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Someday Summary

Hello! I haven't written one of these in a while because my life has consisted of assignments and shopping...

Lets see... I had my hair cut yesterday for the first time in... eight months I think. My hair is now three inches shorter :) It's still fairly long though and in my lower back region.

I've completely finished my Christmas shopping now. I normally finish in October, so I'm very late this year! I was baking my extended family shortbread, but decided against it and then had trouble finding them presents they'd like!

Speaking of shopping; the January sales will be commencing soon! My sister and I are going in town on the 27th December. I'm going to make sure I'm comfortable, have food and water at hand and have my own shopper bag with me, so I don't have to carry around multiple carrier bags.

I have a practical for media to do over Christmas, so I've booked out one of the University's fancy cameras. All I know is that it is a Nikon. I'm going to take advantage of it and take a lot of photos for my blog :) I used it last night for the first time and here is how the photos turned out: 

Jessie (she's not old and grey; that's her colouring!)

Shadow

Cleo

Considering the lighting wasn't great and it was my first time using it, I think the photos came out OK!

Rare Smartie!

I finally have some bulbs for my lamp! The lamp was £10 from Tesco. I've had the flower magnet that is on it for eight years and I love it. The bedding is also from Tesco and was £13.

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New Year's Resolutions

Aka the things we promise to do, but never do for more than a month.
In previous years, I've made multiple New Year's Resolutions. For 2012, I'm just going to focus on one. Maybe then I will actually continue with it!
My New Year's Resolution for 2012 is to exercise. Not exercise more; just exercise. The word more implies that I actually do some now!
Up until 12 years of age, I exercised like most children; I swam, I rode my bike, I ran (I was actually very good and ran in races. Wish I kept doing it really!). From 12 to 16, I participated in P.E lessons a couple times a week, and up until I was 18, I walked 6 miles to school and back (although I don't think this actually counts). Now, I... walk up the stairs a few times a day? haha
I don't want to start exercising to lose weight, but to become healthier, and maybe tone up here and there.
Have you made your New Years Resolutions for 2012 yet?
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Storing my Lush products

Now that I have more than a few Lush products, I thought it was about time I found some storage for them!

Jar - Wilkinsons - £2.75. Soaps featured (from bottom to top): The Godmother, Rock Star, Porridge and Snow Globe.

M&S dessert pots. Products featured (from bottom to top): Australian Igloo sugar scrub, Candy Cane bubble bar, Shimmy Shimmy massage bar and bracelets.

The idea for the soap storage came from this video. It's practical and also looks pretty. Every so often, I'm going to open the lid to fill my room with an array of delicious scents.

I wanted small glass jars with lids for the other products, but we don't have any, so I've used some glass dessert pots from M&S. Each pot acts as a lid for the previous one. You can fill the top pot with anything that doesn't need a lid; I chose bracelets. I've crushed the sugar scrub and bubble bar so they're easier to use and I don't waste any product.

Apple pot - Wilkinsons - £2.50. Product featured: Avobath bath bomb.

EDIT: Since this post, I have acquired more products, so I have changed how I store them. I now wrap my soaps individually in cling film and store them in plastic containers. My bath bombs and bubble bars are also stored the same way.

They see me haulin

They hatin, patrolling, they tryin to catch me spendin dirty.

Yes, I did just quote and tweak the lyrics of that song (and I may have sang my version over five times).

Now that I've completed my assignments, I have some time to blog! I have a few posts coming up, but first, I wanted to show you what I've been buying over the past few weeks.

LUSH:

Sweet Soap of Mine stack £5.25, Snow Globe soap £2.50 per 100g, Porridge soap £2.95 per 100g, Australian Igloo sugar scrub £2.75, Avobath bath bomb £2.99.

Some of these are gifts from people and some are my own purchases. Snow Globe smells SO good! It's fresh, citrusy and sheberty smelling. I rarely have baths, but I repurchased Avobath because it's amazing. It smells delicious (just like Snow Globe because they both have lemongrass in) and it leaves your bath a beautiful lime green colour.

Superdrug:

Maybelline One by One mascara £8.49, MUA clear mascara £1, Accessorize blush in Sensational £5, Biore nose strips £4.06 (half price), Impulse body sprays 95p each (half price).

The Maybelline mascara is a repurchase because I loveee it. I bought another Accessorize blush because I use my current ones everyday. Sensational is a warm pink and really brightens up your complexion.

Blog Sale:

Sleek Pout Paints in Rosette, Milkshake and Minx £1.50 each.

I bought these from Siobhan just because they were a bargain! They're easy to use and I just dab them on with my finger to create a stain.

ASDA:

TRESemme: Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner, Restructuring Deep Conditioning Treatment Masque 3 for £10.

I really like TRESemme products. They're one of the few brands that work well with my hair. The conditioning treatment smells of mayonnaise, but thankfully, it doesn't leave your hair smelling like it!

Amazon:

My Blue Nose Friends: Needles the Woolly Mammoth, Quiver the Emperor Penguin RRP £5 each.

I had an Amazon voucher so actually paid nothing for these! I now have nine of the little cuties.

H&M:

Bambi make-up bag £2.99.

How adorable is this?!

Wilkinsons:

Apple ceramic pot £2.50.

I couldn't resist! I have a thing for apple shaped items at the moment.

Primark:

Footlets £1.50, Seamless Footies £1, Vanilla Snow candle £1.

New Look:

Socks £3.58 for all three pairs (originally £1.99 each), dolly shoes £9.35 (originally £12.99).

New Look had 3 for 2 on their socks and free delivery, as well as the usual 10% off for students. They're so cute! I bought the hamster ones because I always joke that I look like a hamster (because of my fat cheeks).  I then placed a second order because New Look had 20% off and free delivery again. I had a sudden urge to buy some red dolly shoes and I don't regret it because they'll add some colour into my boring outfits.

Tesco:

Boots £12.50.

These are a complete bargain! I find it hard to find boots I like because I only like a particular style; suede looking, slouchy ankle boots. I only like a certain type of brown shade too. I don't like bright, chestnut brown and prefer them to be quite dark, like the boots above.

ASOS:

Cath Kidston: Oil Cloth Book Bag £11.50 (originally £18), Cotton Book Bag £10 (originally £16), Zip Top Purse £3.50 (originally £6).

A few weeks ago, ASOS had a sale on their bags and because I'd been looking for shopper bags for University, I placed two in my virtual basket. I've been using the first one because I absolutely love the print and it is waterproof, so is handy for the horrible weather we've been having! The purse was for my sister. We were expecting it to be purse sized because 1. It's called a purse and 2. The website makes it look really small. However, when it arrived, it was the size of a make-up bag! I'm not too bothered though because I can use it for something else or give it to someone as a gift. 

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University - Three months in

I made it through the first term! Yipee!
Lectures in the last few months have been fine and I've understood what has been taught. Two out of three of my modules are a mix between a lecture and a seminar. The atmosphere is relaxed and informal, just like my A Level classes used to be.
Assignments... lets start with the fact that I've managed to complete four! I don't believe in myself when it comes to essays (well, I don't believe in myself full stop!), so I'm proud that I've managed to do them. It wasn't easy peasy lemon squeezy though. To begin with, I found it hard to find the motivation to write them. Towards the end however, I worked hard, because I had no choice. If I worked as hard as I did in the beginning, I would have finished them weeks earlier! I still managed to get them in on time though, so all is good :) Over Christmas, I just have one assignment and a media practical to do (the assignment looks so hard though). Then, at the end of January, I have one exam.
In terms of friends; I have some! I've become close with a girl and a few guys, and they really do cheer me up in our Friday classes, after a long week. We went bowling the other week, which was good (we were all terrible though!), but apart from that, we haven't seen much of each other outside of University. This is because a few of them live hours away and catch the train to Uni. We bought each other Christmas presents and I have a few LUSH products to use up now!
Overall, the last three months have been good! Can I make it to the end of the academic year though?
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I've been spending money, yet again!

I bought a lot of the following things weeks ago, but I never got round to posting about them!

Boots - 17 Wild Metallics cream eyeshadow in Wild Nude - £3.99

I rarely wear eyeshadow, but I thought this would slowly ease me into wearing it because it's a subtle, day time shade.

eBay (Joy017) - NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha and NYX Concealer in a Jar in Green - Around £3.50 including P&P and around £5.40 including P&P

I've been using the Jumbo Eye Pencil on my lower lash line and then applying a taupe eyeshadow over the top. I needed another green concealer, so I thought I would try this :) I highly recommend this eBay seller. Great prices and fast delivery from America.

The Body Shop - Inflatable Bath Pillow and Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Bar - Originally £8 and £3

The Body Shop had yet another discount code floating around (this time it entitled you to 30% off) so I thought it was the perfect time to get what I needed. The bath pillow is one of my dad's Christmas presents. He's really hard to get for, so I tend to buy him things I know he'll get a lot of use out of. The cleansing bar is my favourite cleanser and is my third one!

Claire's Accessories - Ladybird and fish earrings - £3.50 and £6.50

I love the ladybird earrings and have been wearing them a lot recently, which makes a change because I haven't worn earrings in over a year. The fish earrings are part of my sister's Christmas present :)

H&M - Basic cardigans - £9.99 each

I was looking for some basic blue cardigans for ageesss, so was delighted to see some in H&M for a great price. These have been getting a lot of wear because blue is my favourite colour.

Primark - Thick tights - £3 (I also bought some other thick cotton tights, which were down to £1.90)

I am really impressed with these tights! They're very opaque. A lot of tights I've tried in the past haven't been very opaque once they've stretched around your legs.

I've also just got a new bed (my Christmas present from my parents). For it, I've bought a new duvet, two duvet cover sets and two fitted sheets. I still need to buy some new pillows, a valance, lamp and fairy lights. Here is a phone camera snap shot of one of the duvet covers:

It's from Tesco and was £13.

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Does this look familiar?

Firstly, sorry for the quality of this photo. Us bloggers are having a difficult time photographing with the dark lighting we've been having!

So, does this necklace look familiar to you? It is in fact identical to the one seen in Accessorize stores. However, mine is from eBay. You can buy it from this seller for around £1.60, including P&P. Before buying costume jewellery from high street stores, I would suggest looking on eBay first if you would like to save yourself some pennies. It all comes from the same place anyway!

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Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!

source

(The Fairy Hobmother is currently out running errands, so Fairy Godmother has offered to take her place until she gets back)

The Fairy Hobmother paid me a little visit today. She was ever so kind and gave me an Amazon voucher! I have no idea what to treat myself to. I'm so indecisive! 

"Who?" you ask. The Fairy Hobmother is from Appliances Online UK and has been bringing joy to bloggers across the blog land.

Leave a comment below with what you would like The Fairy Hobmother to gift you, and she may just pay you a visit!

x

Someday Summary

Hello!

I haven't written one of these in ageesss (since the 1st September to be exact). I simply have not had anything to write about because my life is so boring. I don't really have anything significant to write now, but I had the urge to blog.

• Since my last Someday Summary, I have changed my blog header and theme. I think these plums and purples are more appropriate for Autumn/Winter. I've also added a disclaimer page, just so I can back myself up in any future disagreements. What else? Oh, I've been posting more this week (this is my third post so far, if you include Sunday). Other posts that should be up very soon include a 'haul' (again), a necklace dupe and a mineral make-up review.
• I've nearly finished my Christmas shopping (I normally finish it in October). I'm only buying proper presents for my mum, dad and sister this year. For my extended family, I'm making them homemade shortbread. I'm going to put the shortbread in pretty boxes and decorate with edible glitter.
• I handed in my first assignment a few weeks ago. It only had to be 500 words, but I'm still proud. In the next month, I have to write another three, which are a lot bigger. I'm extremely stressed, but if I gather the readings I need and knuckle down, it shouldn't be too hard.

I saw this top in Bershka and couldn't resist taking a photo. They had some nice tops in actually, including smurf ones!

I bought another cactus! This is my tenth one. It's from Lidl and cost £1.99. I don't think I'm going to buy anymore, just because I don't have any room left on my windowsill! It's an agavoides and from the Google images I've seen, it flowers beautifully. 

I like taking photos for my Someday Summaries on my phone. I don't have to make them 'perfect' and obsess over details.

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New Montagne Jeunesse Face Masks

Price: £1.09 each

Today, I will be talking about three new Montagne Jeunesse face masks* out of four, with the other one being Iced Crystal.

Hot Chocolate

Doesn't this one sound perfect for Winter? I love self heating masks. They're probably my favourite type of face mask actually. Combine this with the subtle scent of hot chocolate and it really does feel like you're putting the popular hot drink for cold nights on your face (that doesn't sound very nice, but trust me, it is). Be warned though, this is very dark, like chocolate sauce, so it does make a mess when you're rinsing it off. The results? My skin felt extremely cleansed and smooth, and I could no longer feel the pores on my nose.


Very Berry
This lilac number does exactly what it says on the tin packet. It left my skin very cleansed and moisturised. Because my skin was so moisturised, I had to pop a little powder on my nose in the morning, but it wasn't a problem. It did sting ever so slightly when I first applied it, but most of the face masks I've tried do this, apart from the self heating ones.


Virgin Olive
This was the mask I was least excited to try, simply because I prefer chocolate and berries over olive oil! Thankfully, the mask doesn't look like oil and is a mint green cream. I'm not keen on the scent because it smells like olives. It is only subtle though and disappears as it dries. Again, this mask left my skin very cleansed and smooth, especially around my nose area.


Before this review, I had forgotten how well face masks worked. I got it into my head that they slightly cleansed, and that was about it. Also, I've never reviewed face masks, so in the past, I didn't pay as much attention to the effects they had on my skin.
I'm in the mood to try some more now. With the face masks being £1.09 on their website (click here) and delivery only 50p (or free when you spend over £7.50), it's not going to break the bank if you indulge a little.

Just for the laughs, here is a (rubbish webcam) photo of me wearing the Hot Chocolate self heating mask:

Gorr ;)


Oh and, does anyone else scrunch their face up and pick at the mask once it's dry? I can't resist!

*PR samples

Nails Of The Week!

Price: £11 (I think it has been discontinued though because it was in this month's GlossyBox)

Hello! For the upcoming week, I'm wearing Leighton Denny's Babydoll nail polish. It's a warm, baby pink which is very different to my usual cool toned baby pink polishes. Application was hunky dory and I only needed to apply two coats for an even, opaque finish. 

In this month's GlossyBox, I actually received Sex Kitten, a pearlescent blue, but I wasn't keen on it, so I hopped on over to here and swapped it.

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Nails Of The Week!

Hello all! This is my first nail polish post in two months! The good thing about not wearing polish for that long is, your nails return to their natural colour, rather than having a yellow tinge. 

This is Barry M's Berry Ice Cream, which is currently £1.80 in the ASOS sale (click here to bag this bargain). I know, I know, it's not an Autumn shade. I'm not one to colour code my nails to the seasons. The silver lining to wearing a Summery shade this time of year is that your nails can brighten your damp, dark days.

The formula of this shade is a little thinner than other Barry M nail polishes I have, taking three coats to achieve an even finish. I do prefer pastel shades to be less opaque though, because I find that opaque pastels can look a little tip-exy.

Toodle pip!

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Pudsey inspired nails for BBC Children in Need

This year, Children in Need have launched a range of Pudsey inspired products to help raise money for disadvantaged children in the UK. One of these products are these colourful, spotty nail wraps from Nail Rock. These are available to buy from Boots for £6.65, and 25% (£1.66) of the money will go to Children in Need. I think they are a great way to raise money for the charity; you can have beautiful nails and help a great cause at the same time :)

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Oops! I did it again...

Yes, I did just quote a Britney song. It popped into my head and I just couldn't shake it! At least it's more interesting than 'recent purchases'...

As the title suggests, I did it again. 'It' being spending money. Hehe.

Primark:

Winter socks (pack of two) £2.50, knee high owl socks £2

Oh how I love Primark socks...

Long sleeved pj top £5

Pj bottoms £5 and £3

New Look:

Suede desert boots £23.99 (£29.99 before student discount)

White string vest £2.49, teal vest £3.99

'Shell pink' loose boxy t-shirt £7.99

I attempted to take a photo of me wearing this, but the photos didn't do it justice! The back has a sheer panel (which you can see near the tag).

Republic:

Soul Cal deluxe hoodie £24 (£30 before student discount)

John Lewis:

Remington Pearl straighteners £39.95

I have wanted these for agessss! I wanted them even more after buying the curling wand from this range, which is amazing. The original price of these is £80-90. Boots currently have them on offer for £56 and I was going to buy them from there, but thankfully I saw them on the John Lewis site for a lot less!

Here is a rubbish webcam photo of my hair this morning, after using the straighteners:

Topshop:

Cream blush in High Five £5.40 (£6 before student discount)

I'm not a fan of Topshop. I think many of their items are ugly and overpriced. However, I've wanted one of their blushes for ages. High Five hasn't been talked about much because Head Over Heels has been receiving most of the attention. So far, I really like it. It's very pigmented, so I have to use a light hand when applying! One thing I don't like about this product is the white packaging. It's already filthy!

ASOS:

Barry M Nail Paints in Pink Flamingo and Berry Ice Cream £1.80 each in the sale

I've previously owned Pink Flamingo, but I made the mistake of letting my sister borrow it. She used it so much that I was left with half a bottle of gloopy polish. I've wanted to try Berry Ice Cream for a while, so this was the perfect time to do so.

eBay:

My Blue Nose Friends- Thomas the Hippo and Twiggy the Giraffe.

I've wanted these for ages, but they're no longer sold in stores and are rare to find. The ones you do find are going for stupid prices on eBay. Thankfully, I didn't pay too much over the retail price for these.

I've also ordered some other bits and bobs from eBay, but they're coming from Hong Kong and won't be here just yet!

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