NSPA Lime Hair and Body Wash

The scent of a body product is important to me, and I like my shower gels to really pack a punch. The juicier and stronger, the better! I've used Original Source's lime shower gel for years, making it a staple in my shower routine. I've tried store own brand lime shower gels, and while nice (they're lime, after all), they didn't have that kick. I don't mind other scents being like that, but to me, lime is known for its kick! Anyway, while in the beauty isle of ASDA, I spotted this gem: NSPA's Lime Hair and Body Wash. I smelt it and was actually taken aback by how strong and juicy it was. Once home, I compared to my beloved Original Source, and you know what? I think this is zestier. For £3, or 2 for £4, I'm even more pleased. With the black packaging and 'hair' in the title, it looks like it's designed to appeal to men as well. Even so, I used it as a shampoo myself, and it cleaned my hair like any other shampoo would, but made it smell amazing afterwards. I won't be replacing my everyday shampoo for it, but I'll use it every so often! As a shower gel, or 'body wash', it also works great. It cleans my body, and that's what every shower gel should do!

Do you like strong, fruity scents? Or are you more of a subtle scent devotee?

Wordless Wednesday

NSPA peach products

I've come to love peach products over the last year. Whether it smells like peach, or is a shade of peach, I'm all over it! I absolutely love The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach range, and even though the products are more expensive than what I usually pay, I've bought them because the scent is harder to come by than others (such as mango and strawberry). So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that NSPA, the inexpensive face and body range that can be found in ASDA, had recently brought out their own peach scented products. There's a body butter and shower gel available in the scent, both of which are £3 each or 2 for £4 - Bargain! They smell like peach, obviously, and therefore smell amazing. I've compared them to The Body Shop's varieties, and thought they smelt the same at first, but after using them a few times I can say that they're not as juicy. It's a shame because I like my body products, especially my shower gels, to pack a punch. However, they still smell incredible, and I'll definitely be repurchasing. In terms of performance, the body butter is creamy (rather than greasy), it absorbs into the skin quickly, and doesn't leave any residue behind. It then leaves my skin feeling moisturised, like a body butter should! The shower gel is like most shower gels; it lathers, it cleans, and it does its job. 

I also picked up a couple of other items from NSPA the same day I bought these, so expect some more reviews to come! The lime shower gel smells amazing. Have you tried any NSPA products?

Wishlist #01

Hello there! I wasn't going to write a wishlist today because there's not many beauty products I have my eye on at the moment, but then I thought I could show what I'm wanting in general, not just in terms of beauty.

My phone contract is ending soon, and I'll be able to upgrade at the beginning of September. No phones have caught my eye, so I'm considering paying a little more and getting an iPhone. I'm not sure if this will happen, but I've been looking at cases anyway. The first one can be found here for £3.99, the second lot can be found here for £2.99 each (I have my eye on A2, A5, and A12), the third lot can be found here for £3.65 each (I have my eye on the Nebula designs), and the final one can be found here for £2.99. iPhone cases are the best! There's just so many to choose from.

I always have books on my wishlist, but these series are the ones I'm probably going to buy next month. Apart from Clockwork Angel (the first book in the prequel series to The Mortal Instruments), I've read the rest, but have shown them to represent the rest of the series. There's a supernatural theme going on here!

I LOVE The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach range, so was delighted to find that Nspa has recently brought out a peach range, too. The body butter and shower gel are £3 each, or currently 2 for £4! A trip to Asda is definitely in order. Lastly, I'd like a cupcake stand for when we have the occasional buffet or birthday party. I'm thinking about making green cupcakes at Christmas and making it look like a Christmas tree. The large 41 cupcake stand is £7.99, the 23 cupcake stand is £5.90, and the 13 cupcake stand is £3.99. All three can be found here.

There's not much else I'm wanting at the moment. I'm still looking for a nice pair of black boots, and may have possibly found them in Primark, but they haven't had my size in stock since they've come out! What's on your wishlist?

MUA Power Pout in Runway

This is my last drafted post, and I haven't bought anything new recently, so need to go to the drawing board after this and think of new post ideas! This is MUA's Power Pout in Runway. You can see my swatches of the rest of the collection here and here. It's looking a little patchy in the photo above, but it wasn't in real life, I promise! Also, I rarely wear it to this intensity. I prefer to wear it as a light stain and create that 'I've just been eating strawberries' look. Runway is a warm, strawberry red which can pack a punch on my pale lips if desired. Like the other shades, it lasts for a good few hours before wearing away, leaving a subtle stain.

I really like the MUA Power Pouts, and hope they bring out more shades in the future. They're definitely worth more than their £3 price tag!

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic

Another day, another lip crayon. I've had this one for a while, so thought it was about time I blogged about it! Soap & Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Fuchsia-ristic is the balmiest lip crayon I own, and the most sheer. It's not designed to be an intense, lip staining, long lasting lip colour, but a rather good tinted lip balm that lasts a little longer than others in this category. It lasts for a few hours, and smells delicious, like vanilla. The name suggests Fuchsia-ristic is a fuchsia, and the bullet suggests it's a bold orange, but it's more of a warm, natural pink.

These gloss sticks are priced at £8, but can often be bought for less due to offers. For example, they are currently only £5 in Boots, so I'm tempted to pick up another shade or two!

Bourjois Shine Edition Lipstick in 1,2,3 Soleil

This is the third, and last, lip product I bought from Bourjois last month! I'd wanted a sheer orange/coral for a while, and had very nearly bought L'Oreal's Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Dating Coral, but liked the look of this better. Before applying 1,2,3 Soleil, I exfoliated my lips, and the application looked perfect in real life, so I'm not sure what's going on towards the centre of my lips in the photo above. Even though it's supposed to be sheer, I still find it pigmented on my pale lips, and the orange shade can look intense if I want it to. As well as wearing it alone, I like to create a pink stain with another product and then apply this over the top, creating more of a coral shade. It feels light and balmy on the lips, which I really like. It lasts for a few hours, so not as long as other lipstick formulas, but that's to be expected! And the easy application means you can touch up on the go without a mirror.

I really like this lipstick (£7.99), and have already been looking at the other shades available. Have you tried this range?

Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Washes

Imperial Leather isn't a brand I've ever bought from or shown an interest in. I didn't even know they did foam shower gels until these new additions caught my eye! And I really think the brand has done well with the packaging of these. They instantly caught my eye, whereas I never even noticed their other products before. I think they're going to appeal to a younger audience. Aside from the beautiful packaging, the product itself drew me in as I love foam shower gels. They were also on offer for £2 each in Superdrug (normally £2.99-£3.15). The scents are true to their names, and I love the ones I currently have. Sweet Vanilla & Cherry Blossom is subtle-y sweet with a hint of floral, Uplifting Lime & Grapefruit smells like lime and grapefruit, surprisingly! But it doesn't pack a punch as much as my other lime shower gels do. Lastly, Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig smells like its name, too. It's fruity, but comforting and warm at the same time. This one is definitely my favourite, closely followed by Uplifting Lime & Grapefruit. I like Sweet Vanilla & Cherry Blossom, but I just prefer fruity scents. In terms of performance, they do their job! My skin feels clean and moderately soft afterwards. Overall, I'm happy to have the Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Washes in my collection, and will be repurchasing them once finished. I'll also be using them as shaving gels, so can see me repurchasing them sooner rather than later!

Have you picked up any of the latest offerings from Imperial Leather yet?

Primark Haul - £5 Dresses, Bunny Pyjamas, and More

So, I lasted a full week without spending a penny (Technically, I bought a book for uni, but that doesn't count, right? I didn't even want it! But I'm a good student). I went in town today to get the last bits and pieces for my sister's 18th birthday, and ended up buying a few things for myself. I feel less guilty buying things for myself when I'm also buying for other people!

I bought these dresses for £5 each. £5 for a dress! I love these types of dresses. I bought the darker colours because I'm planning on wearing them with black tights when it gets a little colder. The material is just your basic cotton, making them great for casual or smart/casual wear.

Primark have some new pyjamas in! The pyjama section is definitely my favourite, and I'm loving these bunny designs. Each top was £3.50, and the second even has a proper bow attached and everything. They also had a couple pairs of bunny pyjama bottoms that I wish I'd bought now.

I also bought these smart little shoes for £8. Again, to wear with tights and shorts/dresses. They look much better in real life, I promise. They had quite a few pairs that caught my eye, actually, which is unusual. I haven't liked many of their shoes for months. They also had a variety of boots available, but the black pair that I liked the look of were not in stock in my size. Typical. One day I will get a pair of black boots!

I also picked up some more microfiber tights in 100 and 200 deniers (£2.50 and £3). They're my favourite tights because they're thick and don't go bobbly. I've never owned a pair of 200 denier tights before because 100 denier is opaque enough, but I'm looking forward to wearing them.

Have you bought anything from Primark recently?

Collection Work The Colour Eyeshadow Pencils in Vanilla Sky and Hot Chocolate

After using NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha in my everyday routine for over a year and a half, I've been keeping an eye out for other taupe shadow sticks. Rimmel brought some out not so long ago, but the closest they had in colour was a bronze, which was slightly too warm for what I was after. I was browsing Superdrug's website a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon these new offerings from Collection for £2.50 each. They're now back to being £3.19 each, but they're still very affordable. The shades I decided to buy were Vanilla Sky and Hot Chocolate. They claim to be velvety, soft, blendable, waterproof, and long lasting. Some very high claims, and for the most part, these pencils do live up to them! They're very creamy, and incredibly pigmented. You can blend them, but you have to be fast because they dry pretty quickly, and once they're dry, they're not going anywhere! So the waterproof and long lasting claims are also true. I don't wear eyeshadow on my lids (I wear it on my lower lash line), but I lightly applied the Hot Chocolate shade to the outer corners of them the other day, and didn't experience any creasing. I did apply it very, very lightly, though, so can't comment on the creasing if it were to be applied any heavier. I also found it very hard to blend here because it dried far too quickly. I think these will be better used as eyeliners so you can keep blending to a minimum.

For £3.19, I'm quite fond of these eyeshadow pencils. You do have to work fast, which is annoying, but they're not going anywhere once they're dry. Have you tried them yet?

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Fraise Remix

Bourjois is not a brand I usually buy from for some reason, but I managed to acquire three lip products from them last month! The hot weather we had resulted in me wanting to wear Summery shades, and Bourjois had just the ones I was looking for. This is Bourjois' Rouge Edition Lipstick in 11 Fraise Remix, which is a bright, very warm, yellow toned pink. Strangely enough, I don't have anything like this in my collection (even though I think warm tones suit me best). It is an intense shade, but I don't wear it as heavily as above. I like to dab it on to achieve a stain. Then I sometimes swipe a sheer orange lipstick over the top to create a beautiful coral. Fraise Remix is very pigmented, and the finish isn't too shiny, nor too matte. It's the perfect balance of the two. Wear time is also good. After 4 hours, it still goes strong, and could probably last a few more hours if you weren't to eat or drink much. On my pale lips, it leaves behind a stain, so if I were to eat or drink, I wouldn't be left with an obvious lip liner effect, and I definitely wouldn't if I were to dab it on like I usually do.

I'm really impressed with this lipstick, and would happily buy another (£7.99). I think the Rouge Edition range will be the first I look at when after a Winter berry shade!

Unintentional Haul

An impulse buy here, and an impulse buy there, and suddenly I have enough to warrant a haul post! Small purchases are deceiving because they're cheap on their own, but they quickly add up to a small fortune without you realising it. I'm cutting down on these cheap thrills now. 4 days into August and I haven't spent a penny ;)

I met up with a friend on Wednesday who needed her Primark fix, and this wore off on me. Just a little. I bought a few pairs of underwear, with the pink and black lace pair being £2, and the other two being £1.70 each. I then picked up the bunny makeup bag for just £1 down from £3. I'd very nearly bought this before after seeing it on numerous blogs, so when I saw it on sale, I couldn't resist!

We then ended up in Superdrug, and the Imperial Leather Foamburst Body Washes caught my eye. The packaging is really nice, and I love foam shower gels, and they were on offer for £2 each, so I picked up a couple. If you've ever used a foam shower gel, you know how big and messy one little pump can get, so I couldn't smell them in store. My guessing paid off, though, and I love these two scents. They smell just like their names. Sweet Vanilla & Cherry Blossom is subtle-y sweet with a hint of floral, and Uplifting Lime & Grapefruit smells like lime and grapefruit! It's slightly more grown up than other lime shower gels I've smelt, though. Even though you can't really smell them in store, one bottle/can of Blackberry & Wild Fig had already been tested, so I decided to also have a whiff. I made a mess and ended up having to put the foam into my coat pocket haha, but it smelt amazing, so I think I'm going to have to go back for it. 

I've also ended up buying a couple bottles of the Bath & Body Works hand gels from eBay. The scents I bought were Fresh Picked Apples, and Vanilla Berry Sorbet, both of which were £2.84, including P&P (from here and here). I actually resent paying what I did, but one's for a birthday, and both are unique scents. I just can't help but think that they're only $1-$1.50 in America!

Next up we have The Body Shop's All In One Face Base in 02. Usually £14, but I paid £8.40 because of the 40% off code. I normally use concealer and translucent powder, but wanted something with a little more coverage. Nothing on the highstreet really caught my eye, so I went to The Body Shop's website where this had many positive reviews. I would never pay £14 for it, but then I'd never pay full price for anything at The Body Shop! They always have a code out.

Lastly, I bought Bourjois' Shine Edition Lipstick in 1,2,3 Soleil from ASOS for £4.95 (normally £7.99). I'd been eyeing this up, so when ASOS had an offer on Bourjois cosmetics, and I had a 10% off student discount code, I went for it. I've wanted a lightweight, coral lipstick for a while, and very nearly bought L'Oreal's Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Dating Coral, but liked the look of this better.

This time, I really am going to try and cut back the spending! Have you tried any of the products above?

Affordable Treats is 4 today!

My blog is 4 years old today! I made these cupcakes in celebration (instead of getting an image from the internet like I've done for the past 3 years!). They didn't exactly go to plan, but they still taste nice! I can't believe I've been writing on here for 4 years. It seems to have flown by, but at the same time, it feels like I've been writing a blog forever. I don't know what I'd be doing if I didn't have this hobby and the community it comes with. I've been given so much support from you guys, blog wise and personally. Thank you to everyone who has ever read or commented, and thank you to those who've had endless conversations with me on Twitter. Let's see if we'll get to 5 years!

Ciaté Nail Polish in Pepperminty

I love the colour mint, but I'm never sure how I feel about it on my nails. I think I'm warming to the Ciaté Paint Pot in Pepperminty, though! I think it's because it leans towards the blue end of the spectrum. The formula was good, taking 2 coats to become evenly opaque. There's not much more to say about it, really!

What do you think of mint nails? What's your favourite mint nail polish?

July Update!

Jessie on our walk the other day looking rather amusing!

Hello, all! After not updating you in over a year, I've done so twice in two months! I used to do weekly ones, but not a great deal usually happens from week to week, so I think I'll just keep them monthly.

In my last update, I said I'd applied for a job. I didn't get it, which does make me question myself as to why, but I'm still proud for even having the courage to apply. I haven't applied to any others since then because it's not a top priority at the moment, what with year 3 and my dissertation around the corner. I know lots of people have jobs while at uni, but because I've never experienced that, it'd be a shock to the system handling something else, especially in year 3. I wish I'd started applying last Summer!

I also said in my last update that I'd love to go to Thorpe Park this Summer. Well, that week, I did! My parents both had time off of work, so we all went together. Unfortunately, I was travel sick, and was still sick entering the park. Travel sickness and tummy turning rides do not mix, but I went on them anyway because I was not missing out! Surprisingly, Rush turned my tummy the most, not any of the roller coasters. I'd love to go again, but take precautions this time!

Out of the blue, I remembered that I hadn't yet applied for student finance for the next academic year - Two days before the deadline. Quite lucky, really. I can't believe I'd forgotten about it, though. I'm normally one of the first to get it in. I think it's because this last year has gone by so quickly that I thought I'd only just filled the forms out, when it was actually 16 months ago - Oops!

In the month of July I also became an organ donor. I hadn't signed up before because the thought of my death, someone cutting me open, and taking my organs, terrified me. It still does, but I thought I may as well. My organs will only go to waste if I don't, and if I can save a life, it's worth it. I just hope they won't have to be used for a very long time!

As some of you may know, July was also an upsetting time for my family because our beautiful Puddin' died. It was out of the blue, a week before her 5th birthday. We still miss her every day, and expect to see her running in before remembering what happened, but we're just thankful that her death was quick. I'm holding on to the adorable and funny memories I have of her now.

That week was a bit of a roller coaster because the day after Puddin' died I received my 2nd year uni results. I was so happy with them, and it felt great to be proud for once. On closer inspection, I found that one of the Firsts I'd received was for an assignment I struggled with towards the end. Baffling, but I'm not complaining!

Now I've just got to concentrate on year 3. I'm going to gather research for my dissertation idea next week, if my lecturer says my idea is okay. I'm nervous to open my email and find his response!

The next update you'll see will be in September! I can't believe that's only next month. Enjoy your August!