Half Term Shopping Spree! Amie, Deborah Lippmann, The Bodyshop...!

Well I say spree but it really wasn't up to that standard! I was feeling a bit sorry for myself after having a blood test done (I'm a wimp when it comes to needles and I get myself really worked up, I'm just impressed I didn't faint!) so I thought that I would have a wander around town. I don't get to shop in Wrexham as much anymore due to spending most of my time in Oswestry so it was nice to have a little scout about. Firstly I ended up getting quite a lot in Tesco even though I was only meant to be getting some sweets in for Halloween! It was half price on Amie stuff so I ended up getting the purifying face wash and the matte finish moisturiser for £2.47 each. I've read lots of positive reviews so I thought it was worth getting them whilst they were on offer. I have enough face wash and moisturisers so I didn't really need them but they'll keep, I'm not planning on opening them until I've finished some more up. I also got a tub of the Tresemme Keratin Smooth hair mask as that was also on offer for £2.75. I've used this previously and been super impressed with it so I'm glad I've got it again.
Soz for the flash/non flash pics. My camera isn't great lately and I'm too sleepy to keep faffing about!

I also got a bottle of Brazil Nut perfume at The Body Shop for £4.25 as it's being discontinued. I love, love, love this scent and as I'm quickly running out of my body mist it's good I managed to nab this before it goes from shops completely! 

I think my fave purchase of the day has to be the trio of Deborah Lippmann polishes I got in the clearance section of TK Maxx for £8. I nearly passed it by but then I spied the super pretty Across The Universe shade and it just had to be mine. The other shades included are Fade To Black and Modern Love which are also very lovely. Fade To Black will be the perfect partner to Across The Universe! I've never tried a Deborah Lippmann polish before so I'm looking forward to seeing what the quality is like. 

Finally, I picked up a copy of Elle magazine just to get the little Benefit lipgloss freebie. I almost didn't buy this as £4 is steep for a mag I don't read but I just thought sod it and gave in to temptation! I chose the shade Dandelion as it thought it would suit me the most. It's a weeny tube so I might actually be able to finish a lipgloss for once in my life! 

In other news yesterday I got back from a mini holiday with my boyfriend to Torquay. We had a lovely time and I shall be posting about the trip shortly :) 

Helly Kitty Lipstick-Koala Berry

So I finally found these on Thursday in B&M Bargains after seeing them on a couple of blogs- sad as it is I was very excited! They are just so cute! In the end I only chose one lipstick as the other colours didn't really appeal to me. The one I got is called Koala Berry (such a great name!) and is a deep red berry wine coloured shade. Perfect for Autumn/Winter! It applies much lighter than it looks so it is very wearable. I thought it might look a tad too vampy on, in contrast to my pale skin, but it really doesn't as more of the red tones come out. Formula wise it feels very smooth and moisturising. My lips are super dry at the moment but surprisingly it doesn't cling too badly at all. I can't remember exactly how much they were, but I do know it was less than £2 so, for the price, this is an excellent lipstick.

I also got two nail varnishes from the range so expect a post on them shortly!

Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Shampoo & Conditioner

Wow I got this duo ages ago now, think it was last year! I didn't start using them though until fairly recently and as I only wash my hair about twice a week they're lasting me a long time. These were a complete steal as I didn't pay a thing for them!The shampoo is normally £21 and the conditioner is £23 but all I had to do was bring in an empty shampoo bottle (any old one, I think mine was a cheapo Boots own one)  to exchange. I say 'all I had to do' but actually it was my dad who did it for me as I was working at the time and I knew they would run out of them in record time. Bless him, he was up at sparrows fart to go into town for me! The Damage Reverse range of products is aimed at very dry and damaged hair and contains ingredients such as Ojon oil, wheat protein, passiflora oil, buriti oil and murumuru butter. I have no real idea what these are but I'm sure it's all good stuff! My hair definitely needs all the butters and oils it can get at the moment, it's like shredded wheat.  Out of the two I prefer the conditioner as it is really thick (so thick it's a bit of a pain to get out of the bottle!) and nourishing. I nearly took this away on holiday with me but then didn't' as it was taking too long to decant into the travel bottle! I was kicking myself in the end though- my sun frazzled hair desperately needed a hardcore conditioner! The shampoo is alright, again it is thick and luxurious in texture and lathers well but it hasn't given me amazing results. I've gotten better results from much cheaper shampoos so whilst this has been nice to try it's not something I would repurchase. It definitely works a bit better in conjunction with the conditioner but there is no way I am paying £44 for both!
Apologies for the glare, had to use flash as it's been so dark and miserable lately.

Did you take advantage of this offer? Have you been impressed by any higher end haircare or do you think the cheaper brands are better? 

Revlon Nail Enamel- Really Rosy

I bought this polish last week from Poundland as I surprisingly don't have any pinks in my collection that look quite like this one. It's a gorgeous dark dusky pink shade that I am in love with! I think it's quite season appropriate in that it's a bright but warm shade- a sort of 'cosy colour' if that make sense! No application problems to report apart from accidentally dropping it on the floor- cue my peeved off boyfriend scrubbing the carpet with window cleaner (Google says) in the hope of getting it out before it set. Seemed to work! Carpet drama aside, it took the standard two coats and dried relatively fast. Sometimes too quickly thinking about it, as on a few nails it did drag a bit on the second coat, but that was down to me not having enough polish on the brush I reckon. Overall I'm so glad I got this little bargain. If you like your pink shades I'd definitely recommend you have a hunt in your local Poundland for it! 

Got any nail polish bargains yourself lately? 

Roma Rant

Well not really a rant but Romanian gypsies have been very prominent in the news lately and are generally getting some very bad press. Obviously I can't defend the ones who actually have been engaging in illegal activities, but they only represent a small percentage of the Roma population. I have been to Romania twice now to work with the gypsy children in the village of Urvind, near Oradea. Even in there own country, where they have lived for hundred of years, they are victims of discrimination and have not been able to integrate. As a result there are extremely high levels of poverty, unemployment and poor education. Many are illiterate and it is estimated that 1 in 10 cannot read or write. Though the living conditions have improved for the gypsy village I visited, I also went to another village where they are only just beginning to get help, here the living conditions were overcrowded and squalid. Families were packed into tiny spaces and there was rubbish and human/animal waste everywhere.  Birth rates are high within the Roma community so families are large and often times the parents are very young themselves. Education as a result isn't a high priority though many of the children would love to go to school and learn. During my time there last year we worked in partnership with the village school and carried out some educational activities with them. I saw lots of gypsy children who showed great potential and a real eagerness to learn who, sadly, will more than likely not be able to reach their fullest potential. Education programmes are in place for the Urvind gypsy children but it is never going to compare to what the other children are getting, especially when in some instances parents try to keep the children at home to help with the chores. One of the most horrific sights I saw in Romania was a girl getting repeatedly hit across the face by her mum for being at school and not home. The poor girl was dragged away in tears when just minutes earlier she had been having fun and enjoying herself. A real rarity, she always looked so sad. The scene really broke my heart and it still upsets me to think about it now. Thankfully Teams4U, the organisation who have been helping the Urvind gypsies, have reported that the majority of children are now attending the state funded government school and are being able to graduate high school. A pre-school programme and after school club have greatly helped the children on their way but many gypsy communities do not have this support. What I am basically getting at is that education is the best way out of poverty and without the right opportunities then they will continue to be unemployed and have to cope in the only way they can which, ultimately, is by illegal means for many. Without the opportunities how can they escape a lifestyle which to them is the norm? Of course this problem is never going to be eradicated, as in every ethnic group there are always going to be criminals, but what I'm hoping to get across is that if everyone keeps pushing the Roma away then surely the problems will only get worse. I understand there are arguments for and against every situation but this is just how I feel.

Bit of a FOTD Fail

I thought I would do a FOTD today as I don't tend to do them. But then the lighting was crappy and my camera is perpetually crappy and so the end result is not very useful in regards to seeing what the products actually look like on. I've decided to stick it up regardless as frankly I've got lots of cleaning to do and this is helping me put it off just a little bit longer!  :-p
As I've said you can't tell what I'm wearing but I'll list them anyways!
Witch primer (best primer I've used yet!)
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation in 51
MUA cream blusher in Blossom
MUA eyeshadows in Ghost (Smokin' palette) and Reveal (Undress Me Too palette)
Max Factor Wild Mega Volume mascara

I'm missing the slight tan I had in the summer so much! I look too pale :( I have got a bit of a cold again though so I think that is a contributing factor. The star product here is definitely the cream blush. It applies so well with my stipple brush and looks really natural. Such a bargain too!

It's Nearly Half Term And I'm Getting Grumpy Shopping

Ok so I got a bogey on me today. It wasn't mine.
The joys of working with little kids... but hey! Just 5 more school days then I get a weeks break and a little trip to Devon with my boyfriend. Nice.

So yeah, when I left school today I was feeling a little frazzled and in need of a Poundland browse. Here's what I got, minus the chocolate orange bars!

So how cute are these Hello Kitty fluffy socks?! Well cute if you like Hello Kitty of course! These are lovely and soft and perfect for cosy nights in. Which is every night for me really, I'm such a granny. 

I eyed up this Revlon polish last weekend and managed to resist it but today I had zero willpower! The shade is 'Really Rosy' and is a gorgeous mid toned dusky sort of pink. I don't think I have anything like this in my vast collection! 

Next up I got a can of got2b rockin' it dry shampoo as I go through loads of the stuff. Anything that saves time in the mornings is a boon (love that word). 

Yes, I have bought 2 packets of the evil wipes but I actually find them really useful when I'm tired, and as of yet my face hasn't fallen off as a result of using them. 

I'm so looking forward to the weekend now and I'm not even doing anything! 

Fragrance Direct Order

I placed a Fragrance Direct order last week after a particularly stressful day at work to cheer me up a little bit-can't beat a bit of retail therapy after all! Everything I got was chosen on a whim, as is often the case when I'm comfort shopping! I got the package a couple of days ago now so I thought I'd share what I bought. More detailed reviews of the individual items should hopefully follow on. 

Firstly I got a 250 ml tube of Osmo Intensive Deep Repair hair mask as I love using hair treatments to try and get my hair softer and sleeker. The packaging says its formulated for 'over stressed, heat traumatised and chemically abused hair' Wow, strong words there. Anyways, this was £2.95.

Next up is Laidbare For Richer, For Porer Pore minimiser facial masque. This is for oily skin and contains no petrochemicals, sulphates,parabens, synthetic fragrance, synthetic colours, TEA,DEA, glycols and is not tested on animals. What it does contain is kaolin clay, Japanese seaweed extract, shea butter, liquorice and rose water along many other ingredients of course! I got this as I have recently ran out of Soap & Glory's The Fab Pore mask and thought this might be a good, and cheaper, alternative. We shall see! Oh and it's |£2.99 for 50ml. 

I've been loving brown polish lately, particularly OPI's You Don't Know Jacques!, so I was on the hunt for some similar shades.  Here we have a Revlon Top Speed nail colour in Espresso (99p) and a  Astor Lacque Deluxe polish in Taupe (75p). Bargains! The Revlon one has some shimmer running through it whilst the Astor one is a cream finish. I'm intrigued most by this one as I have never tried any products from the brand. I hope I like it as it was so cheap! 

I also got a Manhattan Soft Mat Lip Cream in the creative shade name 31S. This is more orangey than I would have liked but at 99p I can't really grumble. I'm sure I can make it work if I apply it lightly enough. 

I can't wait to try all this out now! 

Got yourself any good bargains lately? 

Wilko Tangy Rhubarb Shower Cream

When I popped into Wilko's after work today I didn't really need any shower gel but when I saw this for just a pound I had to get it. I've never seen any rhubarb scented body stuffs before so I was keen to give it a try- plus I was hoping that it would smell like rhubarb and custard sweets!  Now I haven't used this properly yet as I've not long bought it but I have used it on my hands and it does indeed smell like the sweets-very yum! It doesn't really linger on the skin but it seems to have a subtle, more floral finish-it's fresh and not cloying at all. There's not really a lot to say about the other aspects of this product as it's just your usual shower cream but I thought for the scent along it was worth posting about! If you like the look of this you can check it out on their website here. 
I also have to say that I like this because it reminds me of my sis, as her favourite sweets are those soft pink, green and yellow coloured rhubarb ones (hope you get what I mean here!). She's away interning in Seville at the moment and is about half way through her 11 week stay, so I miss her lots! I can't wait to tell her about this bargain!

Is there certain scents you'd like to see more of in beauty products? 

To Do List

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately as I have so many things I need/want to do swimming around in my head. Doesn't help that time just seems to fly by lately! I desperately need to clear out a little bit of head space so I thought I'd put up my do do list on here. Hopefully getting it all down in writing will help me feel better.

1. Be more organised at work. I work in a primary school doing 1:1 support with a boy in Year 1. He's lovely and I do enjoy it but it's a lot of work and I often feel like I'm not fitting everything I need to do in the week. I normally take things a day at a time in regards to our 1:1 sessions but what I really need to do is is establish some sort of timetable so that we work on a little bit of everything during the week. I think once I've done this I will feel a lot less anxious and I can then be able to prepare things a bit more in advance. 
2. Get on top of household chores. It feels like there's never any time to do the cleaning and tidying up, but in all honesty it's probably because I don't make time and prioritise it. When I get in I usually just crash out on the sofa when I could be getting on with some small jobs. I think our main problem is that we tend not to tidy up as we go along, rather we let it all accumulate until it gets ridiculous! Hopefully I can get a lot of tidying done during half term so that then it's easier to keep on top of it. We also need lots more storage so that we don't end up with piles and piles of miscellaneous crap all over the flat! 
3. Cook more. I enjoy cooking (in a tidy kitchen) but I'm often lazy and will go for the easy option. Though the easy option is usually junk food so to be more specific I need to cook healthier meals. Again I think I need to do some forward thinking here and plan in advance. My boyfriend prefers to get food as and when we need it, but I really want to start doing a weekly shop and planning our food for the week. It'll save a lot of time plus a lot of money. Countless times we've popped to Sainsbury's and I've ended up getting lots of random things that I don't really need! So that'll be another job to do in the holidays- looking up budget healthy meals. Of course it doesn't need to be healthy all the time as I really miss baking especially now The Great British Bake Off is on! 
4. Life Laundry. I'm itching to have a big sort out both here and at home. My bedroom at home in particular needs a massive overhaul. I'm going to have to be ruthless and only keep the things that I really need. No doubt this will involve a lot of trips to the charity shop! 
5. Pamper time. Life is going by so fast lately that I never seem to have the time to 'maintain' myself as it were. I can go weeks now with the same old chipped polish on when I used to change it every two days. I would also love to be able to spend more time on my skincare some nights instead of a rushed job with a face wipe. Oo and to remember to slather on some moisturiser every now and then to avoid lizard legs. Just little things like this that would help me feel a bit better about myself! 
6. Lettings things go. As much as the above is important I've also got to learn to relax a little more sometimes and stop sweating the small stuff.  I think I've spoilt a lot of moments this way and life is short after all, you need to enjoy yourself! 

I'm sure there's other stuff floating around my head but that'll do for now! Getting all that down has been quite cathartic but I know that I'll only really start feeling more in control once I actually turn words into action! 

Maybelline Fit Me Anti-Shine Foundation Stick

I managed to squeeze the last bit of life out of my cam to do this post! I got this foundation stick for my birthday in August but I've not really been able to use it until now as I had a bit of a tan then and it would have been too light. I got the shade classic ivory 120 and it's a great match at the moment now my tan has well and truly gone. Sads. Whilst the colour match is great this foundation doesn't really live up to my expectations. It's a weird one! For a start it's strange to be swiping a stick across my face as I've only ever used powder or liquid foundations. Secondly the texture is a bit odd considering it's made for oily skin as it has a lot of slip to it and feels almost greasy on application. It's meant to be 'enriched with powders' (says Boots website) with an anti-shine core, but it doesn't feel in any way powdery. For this reason it does blend well but it also tends to cling to any dry areas which is always annoying! A little goes quite a long way so in theory it should last a long time, however if I was using this frequently I'd have to reapply a lot as it just doesn't last. I can put it on at about 8.30 and by 12 it looks like I haven't got anything on my face! It doesn't make me any less shiny either, and after I've applied it I still need to powder. Surely with a product called anti-shine stick you shouldn't need to add any more powder?! 

I'm on the fence with this foundation as on a good skin day it looks ok and is quick to apply but but when my skin is looking a bit more crap, and I need it to last a busy day, it just doesn't perform. I think if you have smooth skin that is only a little bit on the oily side then this would be perfect, otherwise it can have it's issues! 

Have you tried this? What did you think? 

Saturday Shopping

Yesterday I had to get up at sparrows fart for an early appointment so I ended up being in town when it was nice and quiet still- perfect time for some browsing! I'd go to town for 9 more often if I didn't love my bed so much! Anyways, as is nearly always the case, my first stop was Poundland. There were no chavvy teens or harassed greasy mums in the way so I could have a proper nosey at the makeup and hair stuff for once. Now I don't need any more eyeshadow but I couldn't resist picking up a Rimmel Glam'Eyes shadow quad in Green Sapphire as I love green shades, especially for Autumn. The bottom shade is what drew me in, though no doubt I've already got this shade elsewhere in my stash! I then got another quad in Smokey Blue as although I tend to shy away from blue shades these look more grey/purple toned which is much more flattering on me. I swatched these quickly yesterday (apologies for not including any in this post, I completely forgot and now my camera is dead) and I reckon they'll work best over a primer as they're a little on the sheer side.

I also got a shower cap as I've been meaning to get one for ages for when I use hair masks. Now I can potter about without water dripping down my back! They had some Tresemme Instant Refresh Waterless Foam Shampoo in stock, and I remembered that I really wanted to try it when it first came out but was put off after reading some negative blog reviews on it. For a pound though I thought it was worth the risk and in my basket it went. It says it's for dry, frizz prone hair so maybe I'll get along with it better than others have.

Now my most exciting purchase of the day was my new purple winter coat from George. I saw this online whilst browsing different stores and instantly wanted it. Plus at £19 it's a bit of a bargain considering my last one was 60 odd pounds. I know it's not on a par with my last one quality wise but it'll do the job, plus it's such a gorgeous colour. It fits really well and it's roomy enough to wear a jumper underneath without feeling all stuffy.

So all in all, a decent mornings shop I reckon. Now I've just got to do some serious tidying in the flat and try and chill out a bit before another manic week at school. Half term can't come fast enough now!

Organic Surge Daily Care Face Wash

I thought I'd already written about this but I don't think I actually have.. Anyways this is the cleanser I use whenever I'm at home as opposed to my boyfriend's flat where I live during the week for work. I got this ages ago now but it's still going strong! I got this as I wanted a good gentle cleanser that wouldn't dry out or irritate my skin. I also wanted to try a product with more natural ingredients than usual. I'll be lazy and give you a link for more information here.  This foaming cleanser is very gentle and works well at refreshing my skin. It's perfect for using in the morning to get rid of any stubborn mascara smears as well as getting rid of any excess oil. I wouldn't use it to remove a lot of make-up, as I think it might struggle, but it would be nice to use after a cream cleanser for a double cleanse. The rose geranium essential oil gives it a lovely calming scent and most importantly it doesn't leave my skin feeling all dry and tight. On a side note, I've started taking much more care over the temperature of the water when I wash my face as I think often times it's not so much the product that dries it out but how hot it is. Nothing revolutionary but something I'm not careful with! 

Overall this is a great simple cleanser, that I would happily repurchase and recommend.