Purchases & Presents

I was planning on getting this post up earlier than this, but I keep buying things, so have been waiting for them to arrive before taking photos of everything. Even now, I have some sale sets on their way to me, but thought I'd draw the line with this lot, else we'll be waiting all year.

This post is a combination of a 'what I got for Christmas' and sales haul post because I don't get a lot for Christmas, but wanted to show you the things I picked out for my parents to buy.

I've already shown you the Lush sale products I bought with the Christmas budget my parents allowed, but I placed an order with Whittard of Chelsea before Christmas. I picked the Cocoa Creations Hot Chocolate Gift Set for £20, the Hazelnut Flavour Ground Coffee for £5, and the English Rose & Glass Mug Bundle for £18. They're expensive and not items I'd buy myself, which is why I thought they'd make an ideal present.

Also with my Christmas money from my parents, I ordered Face Paint by Lisa Eldridge from Amazon for around £15. I've never bought a YouTuber's product before, and I've never bought a makeup book, so this is a first on both accounts. I'm a fan of Lisa Eldridge, and I like that this book has been designed with an older audience in mind, rather than young teens. It's beautiful and not tacky at all. What I like most about it is that it's not just another book telling you how to apply makeup, but one which looks at the history and origins of it. I'm looking forward to having a proper read through of this.

I've been wanting to buy a Rituals gift set in the sales for the last couple of years, but they either sell out quickly, or I change my mind and think they're still not worth the money. Last week, though, M&S had the Ancient Beauty Gift Set for £7 down from £19.50, so I had to order it. The common scent across the products is rose, and it's combined with something else in each one. It's a subtle, sweet floral, but in a luxurious, spa-like way.

I bought a couple Origins sets before Christmas because they were on offer, and I'm glad I did because they were nowhere to be seen on the Boots website after then. I've already shown you the Glow So Nice Set, which I managed to get for £20.66 down from £40, but I've yet to show you the Shining Stars Set, which was exclusive to Boots. It was originally £25, which is still great value, considering the moisturiser alone is worth that. It then went down to £20, and when I added it to my basket, my staff discount took off more than it was supposed to, so I got it for £15.50. I've tried the Drink Up Intensive Mask before, but not the others, so I'm looking forward to giving them a go.

The Boots after-Christmas sale is one which I look forward to the most. I didn't buy anything from the main line of gifts because I bought everything I wanted during double discount week in October, but I did get some fragrance sets. The first was Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue, which was £28 from £42, and the second was Marc Jacobs' Daisy Dream, which was £37.33 from £56. I then found a code for £5 off these, which was a bonus! I already own Daisy Dream, and my sister's already finished the bottle I bought her for her birthday and is on her second, so I thought I'd buy her this as a back up.

Then, earlier this week, Boots further reduced their fragrance gift sets, so I bought Dolce & Gabbana's Miniatures Set and Nina Ricci's Nina Gift Set, each for less than £20. Again, I already own Nina, but bought the set as a present. Still, I should probably avoid buying perfume for a while!

What have you bought in the sales? 

Boots Haul

It's currently double discount week (and a half) at Boots, where employees and designated card holders receive 25% off branded products and 45% off Boots own products. I've been taking advantage of this, and thought I'd show you what I bought. Compared to last year's haul (found here), this is tame, especially considering some of it isn't mine!

Both my sister and I already have a large bottle of Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream. I bought my sister it for her birthday, and considering she's not into perfume, she's already half way through her bottle. She decided to buy another for when it runs out, which I have no complaints about because she received 500 Advantage Card points for buying it, and gave them to me! I'm now back up to £80 odd.

She also picked up the OGX Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner because it was already a third off, making these around £3 a bottle. I've used OGX in the past and like it, but don't find it to be above and beyond what I normally use. I also have a drawer full of hair products already, so have put myself on a hair product ban!

The Maybelline Rocket Mascara and Lasting Drama Gel Liner are also hers. I also picked up the Gel Liner and the Sensational Mascara, both of which are repurchases. I have other mascaras to use, but wanted a back up of one I really love.

I bought the Laura Ashley Ceramic Cupcake and Muffin Tray and Rolling Pin with my future kitchen in mind. They're both things which should see me through the years, and they're so pretty! I actually bought two of the trays because I always make at least 12 muffins when baking. They're both originally £16, but the 3 for 2 offer and double discount brought this down to a more acceptable amount.

I ordered through the tills in store so I could have access to the products online. On the website, you can buy a No7 Restore & Renew bundle for just over £31, which is an amazing price when you think that the day and night creams are usually £24 each. The bundle also comes with the eye cream, and I'll be giving all of these to my mum for her birthday. This bundle was exempt from the discount because you're already saving so much.

Soap & Glory! I picked up the Super Exfoliating Scrub Gloves in the hope that they're better than my usual cheap ones. I also bought the Sugar Crush Body Wash, which I haven't used in a while. I still have my fair share of shower gels to get through, but I've resisted quite a few recently, so thought I'd allow myself this one. The One Heck of a Blot Primer and Sugar Crush Hand Gel are both new releases, and for some reason, I received 45% off of them, which I'm very happy about!

Barry M have released a new lipstick range called Satin Super Slick Lip Paints. There's six shades, all of which are beautiful. There's some neutrals, berries, and a peach. I chose Nuditude and Berry-licious. Nuditude is more pink than I thought it'd be, and looks like it'd be chalky, but it's not at all. Berry-licious is more toned down than a lot of berry shades, making it more wearable. Because of the 3 for 2 offer and discount, I got both of these for £3.47. I'm excited to wear them, and can see myself buying a couple more shades!

Have you had a splurge in Boots or Superdrug recently? What new releases have caught your eye? I can't wait to get my hands on the Freedom brow products, as well as The Body Shop's Fresh Nude Foundation and Shade Adjusting Drops.

Spring Fragrances

As I've said before, it's only in the last year that I've really started wearing perfume, and it's become part of my routine. I spritz myself with one every morning before I leave the house, and sometimes on my lunch break, too. I believe that you can wear any scent or colour when you want, no matter what the season, but I have to admit that the weather does have an effect on my choices. We've had textbook spring weather where I live recently, making me choose the above fragrances over others.

The Marc Jacobs Daisy fragrances are light and perfect for spring, but there's two I've been reaching for more than the others - Daisy Delight and Daisy Dream. The Eau So Fresh varieties were my preferred ones when I first started wearing perfume because they're incredibly light, but I've started wearing the standard Daisies more these past few months. Surprisingly, I've been reaching for Daisy Delight over Daisy Sunshine. The Sunshine editions are quite fruity, whereas the Delight ones have more sweet floral notes in them (but they're still fruity). I normally choose the fruitier option, but have preferred Delight recently. It was limited edition, but can still be bought from discounted fragrance sites, and sometimes from the likes of Boots and Debenhams online.

Daisy Dream has all the characteristics of a Daisy perfume; it's light, floral, and fruity, but it smells muskier to me. It has more depth, and is slightly more mature than the others. The bottle is also b-e-a-utiful.

I like Nina Ricci Nina, but I like Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau more. It's fresher than the original, and there's something in it which reminds me of aniseed. That could just be me, but I really like it. 

Then there's The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach Body Mist. I love their body mists, even if they don't last that long, and I also love the Vineyard Peach range. The scent is very fresh, crisp, and juicy. It's not artificial or too sweet. Unfortunately, the scent isn't part of the permanent line, but it keeps coming back. When it does so again, I'd recommend stocking up until next time!

Recent Purchases

This post is going up about a month later than I originally intended because I just kept buying things! As well as all my brand specific hauls (Lush, The Body Shop, Yankee Candle, Illamasqua, Makeup Revolution...), these are the purchases I made when feeling really spendy in January.

The Christmas sales were a disappointment, especially after three of my orders were cancelled. I did manage to buy some bargains from Ciate, though. The Mini Mani Manor went down to £14.70, the Candy Cane House to £7.50, and the Cranberry Love Me Oil to £5.50. I then bought a couple of the Big Beauty Buses from Boots for £5 each.

I also managed to pick up the No7 Skincare Collection in the Boots sale for about £6, which I'll be giving to my mum for Mother's Day. Online, Boots also had the Marc Jacobs Daisy Sunshine for £22.50 instead of £45, so I had to add it to my collection! Other purchases from Boots include the Rimmel Gel Eyeliner in Emerald £6.99 (a twist on black which should make my eyes and hair pop), the Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Peach Poppy £6.99 (so pretty), the No7 Eyelash Curlers £7.25 (they're okay, but not great - other reviews are very negative!), and the Garnier Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures 1 Minute Treatment £2.99 down from £4.99 (smells great and conditions my hair, but not to a great extent).

From Lush, I bought a large pot of Ultrabland for £11.50 because it's one of my favourite cleansers, ever. I also picked up the Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask for free because I brought back 5 black pots. It smells incredible, but easily crumbles off your face. It does seem to cleanse and mattify my face, though.

I always buy underwear in the Accessorize sale, and the ones above were £2-3 each, instead of £5-6. I also bought the parrot shopper for £8 because I love a shopper!

The dress doesn't look like much folded up, but it's really pretty. It's from Closet, and one I had my eye on for graduation, but it wasn't really appropriate for that, so I bought a couple others from the brand (and ended up keeping both because they fit so well!). It was £26 down from £51 in the Dorothy Perkins sale, which I think is pretty good, considering I wanted it beforehand. The back has a V shape, but you can still wear a normal bra with it. I'm just waiting for a summer wedding so I can wear it! I seriously love Closet for more formal dresses - the shapes are beautiful, and the quality incredible.

For some reason, I included my mini lint rollers from H&M when taking the first photo. They are helpful, though, and I've been keeping one in my bag.

Debenhams had the Marc Jacobs Daisy Delight for £24 instead of £48, and I had to buy it to complete my collection. I didn't mean to collect them - it just happened! Like the others, it smells beautiful.

Finally, I picked up a copy of Elle for the Benefit Roller Lash Mascara. I dislike magazines, and this one's no different, but some samples are worth buying for. Roller Lash has a very similar wand to the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, and the effect is pretty similar, too. I think I prefer the Lash Sensational one, though, but I'll keep you posted.

What did you pick up in the sales?

Not So Affordable Treats

Up until recently, I wasn't one for perfume. Anything other than a fruity body spray was too heavy and 'old' for my liking. I don't know what changed, but I now spritz myself with a fragrance every morning, and usually reapply throughout the day. 

At work the other day, I found myself trying the new Daisy Dream and instantly liking it. Then, after comparing prices, codes, and cash back on multiple sites, I decided to purchase the 100ml bottle from Boots. It came with a free makeup bag and 4ml bottle, and there was a 10% off code, 10 points per pound promotion, and good cash back deal. The makeup bag is made of a rough cotton material I wouldn't associate with the fragrance, but it was free, so I don't mind too much. I do, however, love the miniature bottle; it's so cute!

Just as I was about to place my order, I learned that the limited edition Daisy Delights were in the current fragrance sale. I'd had my eye on them for months, so thought I may as well order one then. I ended up choosing the Eau So Fresh edition, which was £34.66 down from £52, but was also tempted by the original Daisy Delight (£29.66 down from £44.50). Daisy Eau So Fresh Delight is very light, fruity, and sweet. Not for everyone, but I love it. I would try and describe Daisy Dream, but I know I'd fail miserably because I can't pin point any aspect of the scent. I just know I like it.

And if two perfumes in a week wasn't enough, I've just ordered Nina Ricci Nina 80ml from allbeauty.com for £31.80 down from £54. I have the L'Eau edition, which I love, and tried this one yesterday to find that it's another winner.

I'm an all or nothing kind of person, and once I start to like something, I want to acquire every variety there is. I'm going to try and refrain from buying any more perfume, though. For now, at least.

Have you treated yourself to any perfume recently?

Christmas with Fragrance Direct

If you're a regular reader of Affordable Treats, you'll know I love Fragrance Direct. It's the place I go to get my nail polish fix! If you've not heard of Fragrance Direct before, it's a website where you can buy branded perfumes and cosmetics for a discounted, more affordable price, and P&P can be from as little as £1.99. With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd show you my top picks from the site. I normally buy my Christmas presents throughout the year, but I know that now's the time when many start, or are in the process of, buying gifts for their loved ones.

Sally Hansen £1.49, Revlon 99p, OPI £3.99, Essie £1.99, L'Oreal £1.30

I don't tend to buy makeup for people unless I know exactly what they like to wear (like my mum and sister, for example), but I like gifting nail polish, especially to my friends. I think a couple bottles of OPI or Essie in a mug or gift bag would make a great present. I, for one, would love to receive that as a gift because nail polish and mugs are two of my favourite things! If you're not sure what shades your friends like, ask them. Just don't say why you're asking them!

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml* £49.95, 50ml £38.95, 100ml Gift Set £56.95, 50ml Gift Set £41.95, Eau De Parfum 50ml £45.50

Perfume is very popular to give at Christmas, and if you're planning to buy a bottle for a family member or friend, I'd suggest checking Fragrance Direct first because you may be able to get it cheaper. For example, the bottle above is £14.05 less expensive than other places. In terms of the actual fragrance, Marc Jacobs Daisy is loved by many. Instead of me trying to describe what it smells like, here's a description: 'Daisy is the first of Marc Jacobs iconic fragrances for women; a fresh and floral fragrance, which is youthful and sweet, and perfect for summer. Marc Jacobs Daisy is light and easy to wear, and features a cool combination of Strawberry, Violet Leaf and Blood Grapefruit top notes, heart notes of Gardenia, Jasmine and Violet, and base notes of Musk, Vanilla and White Woods.' Even though it's described as a young, summery fragrance, it's one I'd wear all year round. They also have the Eau So Fresh version available in a range of sizes, but I already have it, so decided to try the original instead.

DKNY Red Delicious Eau De Parfum 100ml* £28.99

This retails for £60, so if you buy it from Fragrance Direct, you'll save yourself £31.01. The description for this is: 'The follow up to the hugely popular Be Delicious, Donna Karan DKNY Red Delicious Eau de Parfum Spray is sweet, fruity and feminine; a tasty perfume for the summer. With top notes of Lychee and Raspberry, heart notes of Bergamot, Patchouli and Rose, and base notes of Leather, Amber and Vanilla. DKNY Red Delicious is a modern and stylish fragrance.' I didn't expect this to be as fruity as it is, which is a good thing because I love fruity scents. To me, this smells like summer berries with hints of floral notes. There's also a little warmth there.

Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche Eau De Toilette Gift Set 80ml* £40.95, 80ml £40.95, 50ml £29.95, 30ml £21.95  

This is my new favourite scent. It's the lighter, fresher version of the original, and if there's the option of a lighter, fresher version of the original, I'll go for it. Here's the description: 'New for 2013, the Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche fragrance has made a great impression with its romantic, fresh fragrance, which can now be enjoyed in this fabulous ladies gift set. The Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche Gift Set features the stunning fragrance, which is a blend of Apple, Neroli, Grapefruit and Mandarin top notes, heart notes of Gardenia and Cherry, and base notes of Musk; a dreamy and feminine perfume.' There's a note in there that reminds me of my childhood or a sweet from my childhood, but I can pin point it! If you're looking at buying the 80ml bottle, I'd go for the gift set because you get the 80ml bottle and the lip gloss for the same price. Even if the lip gloss isn't used, it's essentially free! And looks pretty. 

Are you planning on buying any of your Christmas presents from Fragrance Direct? I know my sister's bought my mum Paco Rabanne's Lady Million from there for her birthday/Christmas (her birthday's on the 15th December). I'm tempted to buy my mum and sister more nail polishes, but I well and truly kitted them out earlier this year. You can never have too many nail polishes, though...

*PR samples

New Favourites

In order to write 'monthly favourites', you need to be trying new products (unless you wish to feature the same products every month!). My favourites usually stay favourites, and I don't buy that many new products, so had a hard time keeping them up! So I started writing 'new favourites' and realised earlier that I hadn't written one in a while. The products above are products that haven't been featured much on Affordable Treats, but I've been using them a lot recently, so thought I'd talk a bit more about them.

A couple months ago, I wanted a face powder with a little coverage, so purchased The Body Shop's All-in-One Face Base in 02. It's £14 full price, but I paid around £8 with a code. The Body Shop always has a great offer on, so you'll never have to pay full price for something! It gives me a little coverage and a soft, matte finish. For areas which need more coverage/mattifying than others, I pat the product on with my finger. I use this technique around my eyes the most because they tend to get quite oily and red. You can apparently apply it wet for even more coverage, too.

Sticking with The Body Shop, I've been loving the Mango Body Mist. I've loved this for months, and am running very low! £7.50 full price, but I've never paid that for my mists (I also have the coconut and berry varieties, which are also great). My sister also loves this and has about 4 bottles stored away!

Another fragrance I've been loving is Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine Edition. I was gifted this from the people at Fragrance Direct, wrote a post about it, and have been wearing it ever since. I've been wearing it even more than usual recently, though, which is odd for me because I'm more of a body mist kind of girl. I've been pairing this with the Mango Body Mist, actually. The light floral and fruity scents go well together. It's a nice, happy medium of the both.

I bought the Organic Surge Blissful Daily and Super Intensive Moisturisers during their sale for just over £2 each, and I'm so glad I did! They're both very moisturising, but light at the same time, and sink into the skin quickly. Even the intense one is suitable for the day, and I have combination skin! It has a light scent of rose, and the daily variety smells of lemon. They're £8.49-£8.99 full price, which is very reasonable, and I'd be happy to pay that.

I use ELF's Small Angled Brush to fill in my eyebrows, but find it too thick to apply eyeliner with eyeshadow. Enter MUA's £1.50 Eyebrow Brush. It's very thin and dense, making it perfect for eyeliner. 

Do you use any of these products? What products have you been loving recently?

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine Edition

I was intrigued by this perfume the moment I saw the promotional images. The bottle is just so pretty! I've heard some say it looks a little childish, but I really like it. Being Limited Edition and me not being a perfume fanatic like some, I didn't think I'd ever try it, but Fragrance Direct invited me to choose a few products to review. Like I said, I'm not usually the perfume kind of girl, and normally lean towards fruity body sprays. I think this is because I prefer simple scents rather than notes on top of notes (on top of even more notes). I also find a lot perfumes too musky and 'old'. I actually own a small bottle of the Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh (which I also bought from Fragrance Direct), which I wear, but not as often as I should. The Sunshine Edition* is one of the better designer perfumes I've smelt. It's light, fruity floral, and reminds me of Spring/Summer. It also reminds me of pink lemonade, for some reason. To get a better idea, the top notes are strawberry, pink grapefruit and apple blossom, the heart notes are jasmine, rose and violet leaf, and the base notes are oakmoss and amber.

Compared to the original Daisy Eau So Fresh, it's fruitier. The original is a little heavier and grown up.

And here's a photo of the bottle lids swapped because it amused me. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Sunshine Edition retails for £48, but Fragrance Direct is selling it for £43.99 here.

*PR sample

Fragrance Direct Haul - Marc Jacobs, Essie, Maybelline and more

I've been waiting to post about this for about a week, but I kept ordering, so had to keep waiting! Let's jump into things. 

The Maybelline nail polish in Nude Rose was 99p. I've been wanting this polish for months, but always resisted it when in Boots or Superdrug. It retails for about £4, so that's a nice little saving. It also looks better in real life! 

Of course, I had to buy some Essie nail polishes! For £1.99, I just couldn't resist. Everyone is talking about these little bargains, so you can't be surprised to see them. I ordered Mademoiselle, A Crewed Interest, Lady Like and Mod Squad. Mademoiselle and A Crewed Interest have the new thicker brushes. Fragrance Direct also have some Essie base and top coats for £2.50, but I never use them, so passed.

I then ordered the Badger Balm in Ginger and Lemon for £2.50 (Normally £4). It smells delicious!

The last make-up item I ordered was Maybelline's One by One mascara for £3.50. I've repurchased many tubes of this mascara and recently bought one in Superdrug for £8.49! I'm definitely going to check Fragrance Direct before I buy mascara from now on. I was a bit sceptical at first because the font of 'One by One' is slightly different to the ones I've bought in Superdrug, but I've been reassured by the people at Fragrance Direct that it is authentic.

My most recent order from Fragrance Direct included Marc Jacobs Eau So Fresh Eau De Toilette set for £24.95. It contains a 20ml bottle and a 15ml refill (With a funnel). How cute is it?! And it smells good. In three words, I would describe it as light, fresh and citrusy. It's my first designer perfume too.

This brings me on to the perfumes I've ordered today (Thanks to Kate for mentioning them!). Perfume Parlour sells perfumes that are very similar to designer ones, but at affordable prices. I've ordered the Marc Jacobs Daisy dupe spray (£8 for 25ml), the Burberry Body dupe spray (£8 for 25ml), the DKNY Sweet Delicious Tart Key Lime dupe perfume oil (£2.25 for 3ml) and the DKNY Sweet Delicious Creamy Meringue dupe perfume oil (£2.25 for 3ml). I only ordered the 3ml perfume oils of the last two because I've never smelt them before. I was initially sceptical because the website doesn't look the best, but I then read many positive reviews from a forum. I will be writing a post on them when they arrive. My mum has Burberry Body and I have a sample of Marc Jacobs Daisy, so I will be comparing them!