Hauling in July ... !

Bonjour!

It feels like forever since I did a haul post so this is a big one ... although all this lot wasn't just bought in one go but rather in dribs and drabs over the last month-ish ...!

Starting off with hair ... yes well ... now that I've had my hair cut into a short bob I've decided I want to grow it into more of a 'lob' (my daughter says this is all I ever do ... cut it off then try to grow it ... grow it then cut it off again and so on and so forth!). Anyway, I've invested in a couple of appliances for starters ...

I needed a new hairdryer after my old one packed in ... ummed and ahhed for ages and in the end decided to go for a professional brand (more on that later) so went for the Diva Professional Veloce 3800 Pro from Amazon. And also the Babyliss Dual Big Hair Rotating Hot Air Styler which, in contrast, was an impulse buy after I saw the demo on QVC and decided it was the styling tool for me - so far so good!

A few clothing buys ...

This lot was bought fairly recently ... the softest off-white top ever from The White Stuff, navy linen blend dress from Gap, long sleeve basic t-shirt and another 'fluffy thing' from Next (have one in grey and how I love it for softness and warmth during the colder months!) all in the sales! The only non sale item was my new leather bag - a bargain from TK Maxx - I'm in love and can't stop gazing at it - I've never had a 'handbag fetish' but this could be the start of a bad habit!

Flowery print gypsy top (not sure it's me as I don't usually do the flower or the gypsy thing but my mum likes it!) and khaki utility skirt from the New Look sale.  Also got hold of a pair of thin khaki trousers from New Look (only £9!) and was unsure whether to keep or not as I'm rarely out of my jeans but the opinion was an outright 'keeper' when I asked for opinions over on Instagram!

Next up a few beauty buys ... some essential and some treats ...!

The essentials ... (in my book anyway!) were the Vichy Ideal Soleil Mattifying Face Dry Touch SPF 30 as I fancied something non-shiny on my kite this holiday and  Bourjois Bronzing Primer - it's meant to be a dupe for the Chanel Bronze Universel, which I have loved in past years so we'll see how it compares!

The treats ... Original Source Coconut and Shea Butter Shower Cream and Mandara Spa Shea & Coconut Body Butter on offer in Sainsburys and Rimmel Wake Me-Up Concealer (although this could be deemed as essential as I should never be without an under-eye concealer!), Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lipliner in Spice and Natural Collection Eye Liner in grey.

A couple of footwear items ...

Can't stretch to Birkenstocks this year so these will do me nicely from Primark at only £4! And finally  ... my JuJu Reilly sandals - a bargain in the Office sale at a tenner - they are so comfy - I could shop for hours in them (but I won't!) ... I want another pair!

So that's me done for a while, must try to be good now although my brother's wedding is coming up next month so that could be a problem!  What have you bought in July?

Jen x

Bargain/Budget Buys, Bourjois and Freebies ...!

Bonjour!

If you read my last post re 'Shopping my Stash' then you are probably thinking 'there is no hope!' However, you can't pass up on a bargain (or three) can you - even if it means adding to your bulging stash?  Anyway ... apologies for a slightly picture heavy post here ... I should also point out that these items were not purchased all at once but over a reasonable period of time ...!

First up Primark bargain footwear - a quid for the flip flops ... crazy!

I had a H&M gift card so bagged myself a much needed sun-hat for holiday ...

Superdrug hand creams are supercheap anyway but were on offer buy one get one half price. L'Oreal Expertise Heat Protection Spray half price at Tesco and I've been wanting to try their own brand of dry shampoo for a while ...

Also had a TKMaxx voucher which I put towards this baby. Ok so it's not leather but you know when you just like the way something feels in your hand (!) - I love the colour, the style and the way it hangs ...!

Limited myself to two magazine freebies - not bad considering there are tonnes out there this month! Red mag has the Rodial Stemcell Super-Food Glam Balm (how long?) for lips and could not for the life of me find any Clinique Chubby Stick freebies with Glamour so plumped for the High Impact mascara ...

And last but not least ... Bourjois goodies on 3 for 2 plus free sunglasses at Boots.  I'm blaming my daughter for this one (sort of)! We have the school summer show this week and the Y6 class will be playing all the lead roles in the performance - singing, dancing etc.  Mums will be crying ... I know this because I cry (a little) every year at the show when other people's kids are singing their farewells to the school ... this one is going to be agony! Cue the Bourjois 1 Second Volume Waterproof Mascara - let's see how it fares ... if all else fails guess I could stick the sunglasses on!

Have you picked up any bargain/budget buys recently? Any tips for composure during sentimental school concerts would be greatly appreciated!

Jen x

A January Haul ... ?

Bonjour!

I don't know if you can call this a 'haul' as such - more of a sporadic gathering of bits of over the last few weeks.  I didn't have much in the way of presents this Christmas as my plan was to treat myself in the sales... unfortunately I didn't manage to bag that many official bargains so ended up just picking up things in dribs and drabs ...

Can you believe this is all I picked up from the half price beauty gifts in Boots?

Managed to get these leather pumps from Next though - a bargain at £12 ... but that's it for the 'proper' sales!

Because I'd been so good (or bad - whichever way you look at it!) sales-wise - I picked up some bits from Boots last week - all on offer mind ...!

Barry M Matte Nail Paints in Crush and Mocha (buy one get 2nd half price)
Max Factor Wild Shadow Pot in Burnt Bark (reduced to £3.99)
L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara (on offer at £5.99)
17 Peep Show Mascara (an old favourite - couldn't resist as all 17 mascaras were £4!)

A few cheapie t-shirts and scarf from Primark (the stripey one was only £2) ...

And then when I went to Sainsburys last week all this lot was on offer so I satisfied my domestic yearnings and treated myself - go me! (Actually can't wait to try out the saute pan - as I say go me!).


So what did you get in the January sales? Bet you did better than me!

Jen x

A Small Haul...!

Bonjour!

I actually feel half asleep today, haven't slept very well this week and the weather's been dismal - what a contrast to last week's sunshine!  On Tuesday I had both kids off school - with the teachers' strike and all.  Myself and my daughter did a little bit of shopping - think everyone had the same idea as our local shopping centre was heaving ...!

Trying to be budget friendly, we mainly stuck to Primark and Superdrug (apart from popping into Boots to restock on my Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic) and I picked up a few bits - literally a few!  Compared to some of the lovely big haul posts I've read recently this can barely be classed as a haul - more like a haulette maybe?

Cable jumper and print scarf from Primark.

MUA - 'Ever After' Matte Palette, Blush Perfection - Cream Blusher in Scrummy and Nail Polish in Moody Mink!  The palette was £4, blusher £2 and nail polish £1 - you can't go wrong!

I literally picked up Superdrug's own brunette dry shampoo as we were headed to the till - think it was reduced to £1.32 or something silly. Now that my highlights are seriously grown out I have to dry shampoo every other day so am getting through rather a lot of the stuff at the moment. I've already used this a couple of times and first impressions are ok - especially for the money!

I also bought some Cadbury's Fruit and Nut bars from Sainbury's (on offer of course!) on the way home as we had to pop in for bread and milk. Not had a bar of fruit and nut for ages - this has now been rectified!

Although I'm not on a shopping ban as such, I am trying to get into this 'shopping the stash' thing - hence the excuse of a haul!

Pilates and gym tomorrow - need to stretch it out and pump it up! Have a good weekend!

Jen x