Shopping!

This is my 6th haul this month! You can see why I'm going on a spending ban in February. To be fair, there's been a lot of sales this month, and it was my birthday. So, here's my most recent purchases! I'll start with the duvet set. I bought a similar one at the end of December and love it so much. Like that one, this was also in the sale, and then I had a 25% off code on top of that. I ended up paying £27 instead of £45. £27 is still more than I normally spend on a duvet set, but I loveee it. The squares on this one are all different sizes, and the patterns are different. The reverse is equally as beautiful.

Next is the purple, pink and orange floral fleece throw from Primark, which was only £6. It's so pretty! I can have up to 5 cats and a dog on my bed, so need a throw to keep my duvet covers clean.

I then bought a couple pairs of Super Cosy tights for £3.50 each. I love Primark tights, but I've never tried their Super Cosy ones, which are always raved about. They feel so nice, so I can't wait to wear them. I also bought some pig socks for £2. I love my novelty socks! In terms of animals on your toes, I now have pigs, cows, sheep, foxes and bumble bees.

I then bought a bra from New Look for £11.99. I fell in love with it straight away. The camera doesn't pick it up, but it's blue with purple lace, so it looks almost duo chrome. I also have this style of bra in green and yellow, and really like them.

When cleansing my face, I either use my fingers or a pair of exfoliating gloves. I didn't have anything in between. So, I bought the Botanics Facial Brush from Boots for £6. It feels soft for a facial brush, which is just what I wanted. I used to have a small one from The Body Shop, but it was far too rough for everyday use.

Finally, I bought a bottle of Original Source Spearmint shower gel for £1 from Savers. Original Source has gone up in price in a lot of shops, so I'm glad it's still a pound in Savers. I have about 10 bottles of shower gel stocked up in my drawer, so I shouldn't have bought this, but it smells so nice! I love the scent of spearmint. Some mint scents can be overwhelming, but this is perfect.

That's it. No more shopping for me for a month! I do have an MUA order on its way though which I placed last week, so look out for that. I also have a birthday present post coming up and a few reviews!

Boots Sale Purchases

In my Christmas Sale Purchases and More post, I said I'm always underwhelmed by the Boots sale. Well, this post completely contradicts that statement! I love Boots Extracts and Botanics, so thought I'd buy some sets for birthdays throughout the year, as well as Christmas.

The Boots Extracts Collection was £11 down from £22. It contains a variety of mango and coconut scented products (all large 200ml sizes). I worked out that the products separately come to around £35, so I'm very pleased. I'm going to split the products up, put them into organza bags, and give as presents.

The Boots Extracts Cranberry set was £8 down from £16. It contains a 200ml tube of body wash, 200ml of body lotion, a 50ml tub of body scrub and a 50ml tub of body butter. I love this set. The bag is beautiful and the products smell delicious. I think it will be perfect for a Christmas present!

The Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Mini Mix set was £2.50 down from £5. It contains a 75ml tube of body wash and a 50ml tub of body butter. I think this set is a perfect little stocking filler (or birthday gift bag filler!). I wish there were more scents available.

The Botanics Men's Face Care Regime was £6 down from £12. I didn't take a photo of this separately because the products are on the front of the box. It contains a 150ml tube of face wash, 150ml of shave gel and a 75ml tube of moisturiser. This will either be for my dad or grandad, I think! I love how it's presented - the box is lime green inside, too :)

The Boots Extracts Mango Selection is in the Christmas Sale Purchases post, linked at the top, so you can see it in more detail there. It was £5 down from £10 and contains 200ml of body wash, 200ml of body scrub and 200ml of body butter. The body butter alone is £7.95, so this is a great little bargain!

So, the Boots Christmas sale isn't that underwhelming after all! Only because of the Extracts and Botanics sets though. I wasn't interested in anything else.

Boots Botanics Golden Glow Body Lotion

Price: £3.05

'Botanics Golden Glow Body Lotion is a rich 12 hour moisture lotion which builds a gradual golden colour with regular use, without streaking or exposing your skin to sun.'

This has a light floral scent, which I really like. It sinks into my skin well, leaves it moisturised and develops a golden glow without streaking, so I have to agree with the claims. I wouldn't say this product gives you a lot of colour, so if you are looking for that, another product may be better. This gives you exactly what it says; a golden glow. I get paranoid with tanning products, thinking I look uber orange but this product is fine.

Here is my arm (Which is the same colour my legs used to be) against my leg after using this product for 2 days:

Leg, arm.

It's not a huge colour difference but I am really happy with it.

The price of this product is so affordable and I would definitely recommend it.

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Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse and Toner

I've been using these products for nearly three weeks so thought it was about time I reviewed them :)

Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse £4.07

'Botanics range combines active plant extracts in carefully balanced formulations to give you the right product for your skin type. Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse for Blemish Prone Skin is formulated to be non pore blocking, containing Rosemary which combines antioxidant properties with antimicrobial action, helping reduce skin bacteria and also helping to protect skin from damaging free radicals while Willow Bark exfoliates and clears the skin, Plant extracts at levels that really work, combined and formulated for unbeatable product performance.'

I was a bit apprehensive about buying this at first because the formula looked very watery. However, when you pump the product out, it turns into a foam. You can definitely detect the scent of Rosemary and this product smells very fresh.

I use one pump to cover my entire face. A small amount will spread across your skin well and feels almost creamy when applying. Afterwards my skin is left feeling matte and thoroughly cleansed.

Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Toner £3.05

'The Botanics range combines active plant extracts in carefully balanced formulations to give you the right product for your skin type.

Botanics Pore Perfecting Toner for Blemish Prone Skin leaves complexion soft and matte. Containing Rosemary which combines antioxidant properties with antimicrobial action, helping reduce skin bacteria and also helping to protect skin from damaging free radicals, also contianing Amazaonian clay which absorbs oils to keep the skin oil free and fresh. Plant extracts at levels that really work, combined and formulated for unbeatable product performance.'

Again, the product in the bottle doesn't look very appealing; a murky, muddy water. This is because of the clay. A large amount of clay is at the bottom of the bottle and will not budge! This doesn't affect the product though. When applying, it doesn't sting as such but feels a little like antiseptic. This isn't a bad thing and I don't think many people will notice.

How have these products improved my skin?

My pores are a lot smaller than they were, that's for sure. Before, if I ran my finger over my forehead, I could feel little bumps. Now, it is smooth :) I still get a few blemishes like before but this is going to be natural for blemish prone skin and no products can stop that completely. Although I still have blemishes, my skin feels better, smoother and 'pore tightened'.

I would recommend these :)

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Shop!

WHSmith:

2011 Diary £8.49.

I've been looking for a diary for weeks! I'm so fussy. Finally found this one and I love it :)

Boots:

Botanics Golden Glow Body Lotion £2.99 (Free as it was 3 for 2), Botanics Pore Perfecting Toner £2.99, Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse £3.99, Palmers Cocoa Butter Stick £2.69.

I have quite a lot of skincare products but I thought I'd try the Botanics range out as I've read tons of amazing reviews. The Palmers stick was just something I wanted!

Superdrug:

Nail Varnish Remover £1.99, Accessorize Eyeshadow in Champagne £4, Accessorize Blush in Pretty Pink £5.50, GOSH Effect Powders in Gold Dust and Satin £1 each in sale, Collection 2000 Base Coat £2.49 (Free as it was 3 for 2).

The Accessorize eyeshadow and blush give an amazing glow. The eyeshadow is the perfect highlight.

Wilkinsons:

Cotton Pads 50p each, White shower thingy 84p, Pink shower thingy 45p, Palmers Lip Balm 97p.

The shower thingy's (Bath lilies, body mops or whatever) have 'suckers' on them which come in very handy!

Online I've ordered a Boots Extracts gift set containing 5 yummy 50ml body butters. This was half price, £5.

And from The Body Shop, I've ordered the large strawberry holdall which was £14 down from £35.

I need a coat, cardigans, shoes and camera, but they're for another day!

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