D.I.Y. Nails

I bought myself some false nails to do at home. They are often called press on nails or full cover nails and do not require an acrylic or gel overlay. In the video I share both an acrylic kit and full cover press on nail kit. Very affordable and keeps me frugal. 

Loving the Natural Hair in Hellmann's Advert

Saw this Hellmann's Mayo advert online and now on TV. What I love about it is that on UK TV there is an array of natural textured African-Caribbean hairstyles on display and even being styled in a salon. Well done to the casting team.

Please note that I am not affiliated with Hellmann's in anyway!

Revlon Foundation Review

I bought the Revlon PhotoReady foundation in Caramel during one of Boots 3for2 offers. I found that it was a bit light for me so I managed to get a darker shade from Ebay. I mix both to get a decent match. Alternatively I have also tried Revlon Colorstay which is a good match for me. These are okay foundations and worth the price. Below are pictures of the foundations so you can compare the shades side by side. If you have tried these please let me know.

Soap and Glory The Yule Monty

Soap and Glory The Yule Monty gift set

'Tis the season for an abundance of bargains and things you probably do not actually need. Yep it is the commercial side of Christmas. In true form Boots and Soap and Glory release a very expensive gift set every year whose price drops on the initial day of release for one week. I have somehow managed to buy one every year. I did miss out on the hat box but when I think about it, I did not miss out because well what use is a hat box unless you are a regular to Royal Ascot.

So this year as always you will find many different Soap and Glory gift sets around. Though the most popular one is released about a week before Christmas. This years offering is called The Yule Monty and contains 9 different skincare and beauty products plus a sample (sachets) of a new serum. The gift set normally costs £60 but is sold for £27 for one week only. The offer ends on the 19th December. If by any chance there are any left the price will go up. 

Previous years it has sold out quite quickly. As much as it is a bargain and well worth every penny, you should ask yourself if you will benefit from most of the products. I have given away some of the body scrubs in the past. In the coming new year I am going to give them another go. Nice to see that some of scrubs are clearly different so may suit me better this time. If you buy a set you will love it unless you are gifting it. These sets are always a pressie to myself. 

As I bought my lonely one gift set a man in Boots was buying at least 6 or more. Deep down I wish that was me buying an abundance to give away or what many do and put them on ebay. I checked ebay after 10am and already many had put what they bought up for sale. If anyone went on ebay to buy these sets knowing boots selling them so cheap yet choosing to pay over £50 on ebay is quite unfortunate and sad don't you think? Isn't boots UK wide? Each to their own bargain. 

The Yule Monty contents:

• The Righteous Body Butter (body butter)
• The Scrub of Your Life (body buffer)
• Hand Food (hand cream)
• Sugar Crush (body wash)
• Peaches and Clean (deep purifying cleanser)
• Heel Genius (foot cream)
• Butter Yourself (moisture lotion)
• Thick and Fast (mascara)
• Sexy Mother Pucker XL (lip gloss - shade pink out loud)

also samples of Make Yourself Youthful (serum)

All contained within a collectible vanity bag designed by British Fashion designer Jonathan Saunders.

Click here to have a look at my previous article on the gift sets to compare contents.

Glamour Mag and Nails Inc Kate Spade

The December issue of Glamour magazine UK with Katy Perry on the front cover comes with free nail polish. Nails Inc collobarated with designer Kate Spade New York to create these limited edition shades.

You are able to choose from the four following shades: Uptown Glamour (gold), New York Noir (black), Soho Silver (silver), Big Apple Red (red).

I do not normally wear black polish but for £2 a magazine verses £11 cost to buy the polish in a shop I decided why not buy all four. They look so pretty.

Grab a bargain while you can.

MUA Matte Lipstick Collection

MUA offer makeup at very affordable prices for any budget. I recently bought the matte lipstick collection. In the video I do state the Wild Berry is not as pigmented as the red but if you layer it on you get a nice colour pay off. At £1 each well worth the spend.

RiRi Woo - Hype Does a Brand Favour

Ruby Woo and RiRi Woo side by side

Last week I was observing Instagram. I follow many beauty and fashion bloggers and makeup artists galore on there. I had already heard about the new Rihanna collections for MAC cosmetics. Then It looked like folk where waiting with anticipation for their order to process for Rihanna's take on the cult classic Ruby Woo which is a matte red lipstick that every skin tone on the planet can wear with confidence. I have been a proud owner of this shade for the longest time. Thanks to all the amazing beauty enthusiasts out there.

So the UK was able to purchase the next day after the Americas. Thankfully I brought my laptop with me so I could clock watch when I visited friends. Purchases of RiRi Woo were limited to one per customer. I was one of those customers able to purchase it. In America alone it sold out in 3 hours and in the UK it sold out the same day. Not bad for an online only purchase.

To be honest RiRi Woo is only a very slight subtle change to Ruby Woo. It is slightly more moist but still a tad drying. Even the best of lips will benefit from a lip scrub and moisturiser to prevent chapped lip effects which a lipstick like this will clearly show up for all to see. The red is more juicier. Yes that is how I describe it. Was it worth the purchase yes and no. This purchase was mainly a hype buy and if you have Ruby Woo already you are not missing out on much except a bit more moisture and Rihanna's signature embossed on the lipstick. Now there is a deep berry mauve-ish lipstick pictured in the promotional pictures which I would definitely want to buy. In the meantime I will just enjoy 

indulging my love of makeup with or without hype.

My Pink Lipstick Collection

After watching quite a few beautiful deep brown ladies wearing the now infamous MAC lipstick Candy Yum Yum, I decided to give in to the hype. It is not the usual colour I would wear. I have bought pink lipsticks before but never wore them for long periods. On a whim I decided to buy Candy Yum Yum and a few other pinks to bulk up my collection. I am quite impressed and love this bolder me. I just have to get the right balance between eyeshadow and lipstick right. Below I have included swatches of each lipstick I own. Some are said to be dupes of Candy Yum Yum so you can compare and contrast that for yourself.

How do you wear pink lipsticks and do you suggest any lipliner shades?

MAC Candy Yum Yum

Milani Rose Hip

Barry M 52

Barry M 62

MUA Shade 6

GlossyBox Glossy Pink

Sleek Fuchsia

ELF Gypsy

Sleek Loved Up

Helen E Marshmallow

Maybelline Fuchsia Flash

ELF Makeup Buys

I took advantage of the recent £10 off minimum £30 spend at Eyes Lips Face makeup. I used it as an opportunity to get hold of the Everyday Eyes palette I have been after for ages. I bought some other stuff too as listed and pictured below. Also check out my video.

Items bought :

Eyelid primer

High Definition under eye powder

Blush/Bronzer Blushed - Bronzed

Studio Powder Brush

Blush - Glow

Cream Eyeshadow Collection

Back to School Bundle  - contained - Everyday eyes palette, Nail polish in Berry Pink, Studio lipgloss in Perfect pink, Liquid Eyeliner in pearl

My Primark Asda bargains

I am so getting used to combining blogging with vlogging. My blog posts will continue as normal and I will not be all about just posting videos. Been quite busy (who isn't) in the lead up to school. Oldest moves into a new year and my youngest starts school. I just do not get half days for a week etc. But hey. I hope you enjoy my video and please do give me feedback. I intend to change my background as I am not sure if it is quite working for me.

MUA Lip BOOM by Alexandra Burke

After reading about some MUA eyeshadow palettes, I found myself travelling to two Superdrugs stores in the hope of getting at least one. I got two which I hope to do a post on later on. However being the impulsive shopper that I am I spotted these lipstick combo sets from the MUA professional line. Alexandra Burke has helped to create a lipstick/lipgloss/highlighter range .

The packaging says that Lip Boom is a 4in1 Lipstick and Highlighting gloss. The four ways to wear it is 1)- Lipstick alone for a matte look 2)- Lipstick with highlighter in the middle - 3)- Lipstick with highlighter all over 4)-Highlighter alone. I bought shades "It's a situation" which is a deep plum shade and "Doing good" which is like coral pink shade to me. 

Now if you look at my pic where I have the lipstick taken apart by accident I discovered the base is removable and there is product in there like a heavily tinted lip balm or could actually be a dollop of the lipstick I don't actually know. (On the MUA website they don't actually take the lipstick base off from what I observe in the pics) One thing I do know is that I have worn both lipsticks and prefer the lipstick by itself. The gloss is full of glitter and if you use both in unison it often transfers onto the lipstick wand which I found irritating but other than that its a good product. The lipstick is matte without the dryness of many matte lippies. The colour pigment is very pigmented. Now it does not last as long as say a MAC matte but for £3 it is a bargain and will serve the purpose just fine for me. 

Random Beauty Buys

During the hotter days of the summer weather I took advantage of some beauty offers. I also stumbled upon NYX products being sold in River Island in Nottingham. So I indulged a little bit. I bought one NYX matte lipstick, the infamous NYX jumbo eye pencil in shade milk , Eco Tools concealer brush and their Kabuki brush. Not forgetting a favourite shade of Rimmel lipgloss. I am so tempted to buy Real Technique Brushes but unsure if I should.

I will update the lipstick and lipgloss shade names very soon.

Edina Ronay Handbag from TK Maxx

I am on the hunt for a big bag. One that could be slung across my shoulders so that is easy to hold both children's hands when we are out and about.  Also I like my hands and arms being free. The satchels I have seen have not done anything for me. So I was almost tempted to buy a Primark handbag which looks like Paul's Boutique handbags. I actually thought my friends's bag was from Primark but it was a genuine Paul's Boutique bag (oops!). See I do not follow fashion to that degree to know what is what and who style is what. 

So I headed to TK Maxx today on a whim. I love looking at their handbags and tend to buy my purses from there. Most of these designers I have never heard of except the few commercial ones. I spotted this brown handbag with gold accent on the front and thought it looked nice. I aways want a black bag but do love brown ones too. I saw the black equivalent of this same bag but it did not have the same nice appeal as the brown one. It is by Edina Ronay and original price was £80 but I paid £22 for it. Which to me is just a normal price for a bag anyway. I am not even sure if it is leather as I cant smell that awful scent leather has. 

I am quite happy with my purchase. I can't complain especially as it has a long strap as well that can go across the body when I cannot be bothered to carry it. Think I need to browse TK Maxx more often. By the way does anyone know why TK Maxx is called TJ Maxx in America. So much for universal branding. I still need a bigger bag though. Might have to save the pennies for one.

Soap and Glory Big Splendour

I think I definitely am a person who loves Soap and Glory products. Not everything they make appeals to me but the body butters, shower gels and face scrubs are my fave. Money Saving Expert website newsletter always let's you know when the offers will be available. I was so disappointed when the hat box came out a few years ago and I missed it. Last year I bought the Tote Bag and ended up giving away a few products as I bought two lots. I gave away the shampoos and some of the body scrubs. 

So this year I went to Boots to pick up the bargain buy. Boots staff were scattered around the shop to promote this product. I was a bit surprised when sales pitch lady comes from nowhere trying to sell me something I had already picked up firmly in my hand. If these are still in stock when I go back to Boots next week I might buy another one.  

Anyway I love the selection this year a lot more than the previous. So much stuff I will use myself and not give away. The products come in a big vanity case that has an internal drawstring cover. The original price for the set was £60 and I paid £25 as part of the deal plus it gave me 100 Boots Advantage card points. Not bad for 10 products that individually can cost you £5-10 on average each.

Products:

Clean on Me 500ml 

The Righteous Butter 300ml

Pulp Friction 250ml

Face Soap and Clarity 150ml

Heel Genius 125ml

Hand Food 125ml

Mist You Madly 250ml

Sexy Pucker Candy Gloss 7ml

Calm One Calm All 500ml

Off Your Face Wipes 

Wet N Wild surprise finds in £1 shop

I have been hastily doing my Christmas shopping in the last few days. After buying a game which required batteries my friend whispered in my ear pound shop as a hint not to buy the same batteries in the toyshop that cost more.

As I have discovered before, the pound shops which all include Poundland Poundworld 99p shop Everythings a £1 etc tend to sell similar stuff with small variations. Previously I came across Rimmel Lipsticks and Sally Henson Nail polishes. Which I could not say no to.

So to my surprise I noticed that Everythings a £1, was selling Wet n Wild eyeshadows and lip liners. Years ago Wet N Wild had a UK website but that closed after a sale and the next thing you know all the beauty vloggers on YouTube and bloggers are raving about the wonderfulness of this cheap brand that gives you high quality for the price. I would love to get hold of the more popular products as the eyeshadow sets but in the mean time I am happy with what I have for now.

So I ended up spending £4 for 8 products. I bought the Wet n Wild beautybenefis triple fusion eyeshadow, the Beauty Brilliance mineral eye shimmer and Dual Effects lip pencils which I had thought was a shadow stick but it will serve a purpose one day. 

Triple Fusion eyeshadow shades:

21121 Lily Bloom

21123 Aqua Marine

21124 Purple Haze

Beauty Brilliance mineral eye shimmer:

21183 Obsidian Glass

21181 Gold Dust

21180 Artic Haze

Dual Effects lip pencil:

21253 Mocha

21255 Blossom

Earrings from Muse

I used to think that Muse was just an over priced accessories shop. However I would always go there when they had a sale as they tend to sell some pretty pieces of jewellery. On Saturday I ventured to town my excuse to take in the sun and shop. I passed by Muse and was in awe of the price tag £2 and £3. When paying for my items I asked the sales assistant how long the sale was on for and she kindly told me that it is now an outlet shop and the prices will always be this low. Oh yes I shall be going back. There are some earrings that are out of my comfort zone that I wish to give a go and at these prices should not hurt the pocket. I took some pictures of what I bought. Yes pics not best quality but hey I am no amateur or professional photographer. 

My good friends has since pointed out to me that Muse has been an outlet shop for ages. So I am so late.

Where do you go for your accessories?

Eyes Lips Face makeup not bad

I had been reading on the beauty blogs about ELF makeup for so long. This year I have indulged three times thanks to their ever so inviting discount codes. My last purchase was a few weeks ago when they offered 50% off. The American site seems to offer this more often than the UK one. I am pretty much happy to buy bargain makeup as long as I have decent base. 

I find the eyeshadows have major fallout but because of the price and the pigment in the colours it is a minor issue to me. I love the Lipstick in Fantasy as it is more of real nude lip for my complexion. Not a nude beige (which is not nude to me) but a nude brown. I have not tried the lashes as yet but my co-worker bought loads at the same time. The lip liners I am not sure if I have gotten the right colours but trial and error at £1.50 plus 50% off is not bad. I really do love the Beauty Encyclopaedia Everyday Eyes. Nice neutral colours which are are different to the Urban Decay Naked Palette.  Now the Glitz and Glam set I only purchased for the mascara as that was sold out at the time of my purchase. Also I like the eyeshadow brush. My eyelids are not huge so this one makes application easy. I will be investing in more. 

Products bought this time round were:

Lipstick in shade Fantasy 

Lipstick in shade Gypsy

Get the look Glitz and Glam

Eyeshadow Brush

Lip Liner Bark and Bitter

Eyelashes

Beauty Encyclopaedia Everyday Eyes 

Have you bought any ELF products before. Do you recommend any particular product I should try?

New Shoes H&M

Over the years I have taken to buying practical shoes. This translates to flat and comfy. I buy heels for days when I am able to get out however I want heels in the week. I am starting off with small heels and that I can drive in then I will move onto the more skyscraper stuff if my toes allow it. I say my toes because usually there is one toe that feels the pain the most. 

Anyway whilst shopping for my boys online I saw these and decided to buy two. One in black and the other in coral. They cost £14.99 and I bought them at the reduced price of £7.49. So technically to me I bought one and got one free. I love the little animal print detail on the inside. 

More Ruby and Millie Treats

I need to stay either out of town or just not go to Boots. I thought those empty shelves would be clear by now but it seems they still do have a few bits and pieces they are still trying to clear. So I splurged again. I do not know where my receipt is but all items were about 75% off in Boots. I have browsed their website and they have some products but many sold out too. It is worth taking a browse in the shop or online just in case. I was only really in Boots to redeem my £5 No7 voucher on some face wipes. Well my summer nail colours are covered for now. Well that was last week Saturday when I bought these items. Yet I confess I just got a delivery of ELF products. I must stay away from those darn beauty blogs. They make everything seem so warm and inviting so useful so justified so fool me. hah. 

This haul includes

Nail Color Lilac 530P

Nail Color Nude 800C

Nail Color Lilac 520P

Lip Gloss Purple 57 (it even has a blue 'new' sticker on it)

Lip Gloss Beige 80

Lip Gloss Pink 41

My other Ruby and Millie spur of the moment purchases.

Ruby and Millie bargains

I am so not a beauty blogger. Just an enthusiast who loves makeup and a good bargain. Today after church I was in town with my sons as they had a date with the Build a Bear store. The oldest had been asking consistently for two weeks for a monkey from there. These bears are not cheap so I am glad I was not the one to buy both bears. 

Anyway I  had been running low on eye makeup remover and headed over to Boots. They have 3 for 2 offer on skincare type products. Had it been a buy 1 get 1 free I would have indulged. 3 for 2 offers cost you more money in the long run especially if your intention like mine was just to buy one product. Thankfully I told myself I have plenty of face washes and just needed the Simple Eye Makeup remover. I do not usually buy the same one as I will buy what is on offer.

So as I am browsing Boots wondering where the heck the Urban Decay stand has vanished too. I am not pleased with this as I have a planned purchase for the UD Roller girl palette with my Boots points. So as I am swirling round the endless makeup shelves with Build a Bear boxes in hand and my mini me's following suit I spot 75% off on the Ruby and Millie stand. Then I remembered the post I read months ago on Lipglossiping which spoke of the brand being discontinued. I always thought of them being too high in price for High street but they were ok. I only ever really used their twisting up lipgloss but a lid broke and it became a love hate relationship

This is what I bought and yet I was only supposed to spend £10 give or take £1 in Boots. 

• Ruby and Millie Eye liner brush 7mm £6 reduced to £1.50

•Ruby and Millie Nail Color in Yellow 200C £10 reduced to £2.50

•Ruby and Millie Nail Color in Orange 300C £10 reduced to £2.50

•Ruby and Millie Nail Color in Blue 610C £10 reduced to £2.50

•Ruby and Millie Nail  Color in Red 410C £10 reduced to £2.50

•Ruby and Millie Eyeshadow Smokey Eyes Purple £12 reduced to £3

•Ruby and Millie Eyeshadow Smokey Eyes Bronze £12 reduced to £3

•Ruby and Millie Brow Color in Black £11 reduced to £2.75

Considering they were practically given away the above products it was only right for me to buy them. Now I just have to use them to justify my purchase even more.