The Lo Down - Boots Haul

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I love a good Boots haul so I do. I recently told you guys how quick and easy it is to buy products from their website. You can get the products sent you your home or to your local store. It's that simple, I purchased three products on Saturday and opted to get them sent to my local store Dundrum and to my surprise they arrived yesterday, such wonderful service I have to give it to them.

I ordered two Sleek products, their colour corrector palette and their Cleopatra's Kiss highlighter palette plus I bought a Aveeno daily body lotion. The latter is a lovely product, it's a daily body lotion that I bought for my elbows as I'm getting really bad eczema by the looks of things from stress. I hope this stuff works as it seems pretty good, it was inexpensive aswell. The two Sleek palettes dont need no introduction they've been doing the rounds lately on lots of blogs and YouTube channels. They look amazing and they weren't too pricey either. Boots are currently doing a buy one get one half price. So I payed in and around €14 for the highlighters and paid €4 for the colour corrector which was a steal, definitely the best price I seen these products at.

There's definitely going to be some reviews on these products once I give them a go so keep an eye out for them.

Have you tried these products? What did you think?

Laura<3

My January Sales Purchases & Other Bits

I've made quite a few purchases over the past few weeks, most of the bits I picked up were on offer which was a definite plus for me. Instead of doing one small haul post I decided to do a collective one, I by no means picked these up all at once that's for certain. My bank account always runs low around this time of year and the end of January can't come quick enough for me. Once Christmas has come and gone, the Sales is the next big event that the majority of people, myself included have great interest in. My Christmas seemed to be so short this year as I was back into work on Stephen's Day so I wasn't up at the crack of dawn to join the end of a monster queue to get my first Sales bits.. I saw the giant line outside Next at 8am and it wasn't pretty let me tell you. I'm glad I wasn't a part of it, I know I probably would of preferred to be at home in bed at that time. I've never went into the Sales really early, fighting over a discounted dress or heavily reduced bag wouldn't be something I'd call fun and isn't something I'd ever want to do. If there's nothing there when I finally get down to the Centre after a good lie in then it wasn't meant to be. I headed into Boots and House of Fraser after I finished work at 1pm and I was surprised at the amount of stock that was left. It certainly shows that online shopping is taking over, who in there right mind would go to a shop the day after Christmas when they can do it in the comfort of their own home. Spending wise I was good this year and bought stuff I really wanted and that I knew I would use in the long run. To be honest I'd buy stuff regardless of if it's in the Sale.

The majority of goodies I bought are of the Beauty variety,  I found most of my purchases in Boots and House of Fraser, a few bits were picked up in other shops which will be mentioned below. I found this year that alot of my Sales finds were put on the shelves in early January, I could be wrong but that's when I spotted them. I did pick up some new bits from Soap & Glory that were full price but I heard such amazing things about all three products so I couldn't leave them behind. They all smell amazing so if your anywhere near a Boots I'd definitely recommend you go give them a sniff. It wouldn't be the Sales without going into the Lush and picking up a couple of shower gels. I got three, Twilight, Snow Fairy and Ponche. They all smell amazing and I know this lot will last me ages. I also sneakily purchased the much talked about MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish. I tried this at my local MAC counter in BT2 Dundrum and I did think it was nice at the time, what I didn't like is the hefty price tag of €28.50. Rip off, I think so and I know alot of people will agree with me too. It's disappointing as I really love MAC as a brand but the prices are awful. I'm not going to rant and rave too much about it as I'm still going to remain a loyal customer but I do think they should look into this.

Here are some of my big bargain of the Sales, first up is one of YSL's Rouge Volupte lipsticks. These retail for around the €32 mark and I got this for €18, which was a bargain that I couldn't let slip by. The shade is Frivolous Pink which is a fun pink shade, I thought it would be a bit too bright for my liking but I'll make it work. I've decided for 2013 that I should be a bit more daring when it comes to lipstick choices, until I'm brave enough I'll be patting this down with some tissue. I picked up this Bliss Fabulips set, it was more than half price at €25.50. I wanted to try this for a while but I'd never fork out the whole €57.50 for it. Bliss products and I have a love/hate relationship, some of their stuff I've tried have been a real disappointment and just plain rubbish. One of their products I absolutely hated was their Lid & Lash Wash, you can see a review I did on that here. I bought this thinking it was going to be an amazing eye makeup remover, turns out it was pretty awful. I have to hand it to them their body butters are gorgeous, my favourite product of theres. In this lip product set you get a cleanser, scrub, plumper and balm, so far I've only tried the balm which I was very impressed with. I'll definitely put up a full review post on this when I've tried the other three products. I also was surprised to see these two fragrance sets still on the shelf when I popped into the store. Both were half price which was such a steal as they are gorgeous fragrance that come in decent sized bottles. There scents that I could happily use all year round so they'll be used for sure. In the Ralph Lauren set you get a body lotion while in the Marc Jacobs Daisy 50ml set you get a shower gel and body lotion. I've always wanted the latter fragrance for a long time but I could never justify the price, I'm glad I could finally pick one up for myself. At €30 each, these two sets were definitely worth every penny. Here are two other bits I picked up in the Sale which I fell in love with. The vintage inspired floral mirror in between the two fragrance is from Boots, It was half price which I couldn't say no to. I think this will look really nice in my room when I have it all nice and tidy. The little pink Minnie Mouse makeup bag is from Boots aswell and it's so pretty. It's a great size too, so I'll definitely be carting this around with me.

A New year couldn't go buy without me picking up a 2013 diary. I always wait and buy mine after Christmas as they are always heavily discounted by then. I got this pretty diary in the Calendar Club and it was 40% of the marked price. Purple is my favourite colour so when I saw this I had to buy it. I also picked up this two puzzle books that were on special aswell. They are called Posh Puzzles, I thought they'd be good to have for travelling and the like. It has to be said I am a bot of a nerd and I love doing wordsearches and kriss krosses, but a a crossword in a front of me and I would probably throw it back at you. I couldn't do one to save my life. I probably wouldn't of bought them if they weren't reduced as they were €9 originally which I felt was a bit overpriced for a small puzzle book. After I bought these I picked up this gorgeous Paperchase lined notebook. It has a nice soft cover and again the design had me with this one, it was also €4 in the Sale need I say more. I thought this would be great for writing down some of my blog ideas which I have a few of so far. If you guys have anything you'd like to see covered on my blog definitely let me know as I would love hear your ideas. Last year I had a numerous different notebooks for blogging but this year I just want to stick to the one, I definitely need to add this to my goals. I always see pretty jotters and I end up buying them which results in me never filling up just the one. I know it is indeed a complete and utter waste so I'm hopefully going to stick with this one for most of the year. Until I fill it up anyway that's for sure.

Today is going to spent finishing off my assignment for college. I can't wait to get this done and dusted. Saying that I have another due at the end of February which I'm going to be even more stressed out about. Yesterday I went to see Les Miserables with Paddy in town. Wow I really enjoyed this movie, I'm going to put up a post tomorrow with all my thoughts on it.

Did you pick up any good bargains in the Sales this year?

Laura<3

My Pre-Christmas Haul!

With Christmas just around the corner and all my gifts finally wrapped under the tree, I thought I'd show you guys my Pre-Christmas Haul. I've been quite reserved this time around in comparison to past years, I haven't gone too wild (leaving that for the SALES!). I have a sneaky suspicion that I'll be buying alot more clothes in JanuaryThere was a couple of things I've had my eye on for a while so over past month or so I purchased them. I by no means picked them up all at once as I definitely don't have that kinda money at all.

I wasn't completely blown away with any of the Boots Star Buys this month. I bought the Fearne Cotton Hat Box at the beginning but other then that nothing really called out to me at all. That is until I spotted Soap & Glory's The Best of All gift set. This gorgeous pink bag contains 9 full sized products, it's all about presentation for me so when I seen this I had to buy it! In the bag you also get some S&G coupons which you can use on products next year, some of them seem really good too so I look forward to using them. There's some bits in here that I haven't used before like the Smoothie Star Body Milk which smells amazing by the way! The only product I probably won't be using in this gift box is the mascara. I've tried it before and I wasn't overly impressed by it, the brush is ridiculously big. Besides that small issue I can't wait to use all these S&G goodies, they'll definitely take me far into next year.

Last week in Kiehl's I did splurge a little and I bought three of their lip balms which came in this gorgeous tin. I fell in love with the design isn't it so pretty? I thought this would be great for storing some makeup bits in, it's one of those things that would look beautiful on your bedside table on display. In the past I've tried their lip balm and I was really impressed by it. I've never bought a product from Kiehl's yet that I didn't like, that just shows how much I highly rate this brand. This set contains a original lip balm, a mango scented balm and their tinted lip balm which has SPF 15. The box I bought was ready made but I do believe you can choose what three balms you want to include or if lip glosses are more your thing you can fill it up with them. I do recall the latter being a little bit more pricier though. I doubt I'll need to be buying lip balm for a long time, I should be stocked up til mid 2013!

After seeing this set on one of my favourite blogs, (Essie Button if you're wondering!) I had to pick it up. This set was by no means cheap but the products you get in it are amazing. I tried their Almond Shower Oil a couple of months ago and fell head over heels for it. I've always wanted to try some more bits from this particular range but they always came across as that little bit too pricey for my liking. After seeing the review post over on Essie Button I went into my local L'Occitane and saw the amazing saving (even in euro!) for myself so I scooped this up right away. Off the bat everything in here smells amazing, if you've tried their shower oil already your bound to like all the other products in this box. The only product that doesn't have a distinctive almond scent for me is the hand cream for some reason, I have no idea why! Last but not least I adore the packaging, it's such a enchanting design. I'm definitely one of those people that keeps pretty boxes for storing makeup and the like so you bet I'll be holding on this it's too nice to toss out.

Lastly I bought some goodies from Catrice and Essence. If you haven't heard of either, there both European brands, that are super affordable. I know their products are available in the States now but I don't think there available yet in the UK which is such a shame. I got a couple of products from their new limited edition collection, Fabulous 40ties (see what they did there!). At present I've used the eyeshadow palette and eyebrow lifter, I can safely say I love them both. The pale pink shimmer shadow in the palette could be a bit more pigmented but I couldn't really expect more from something that cost €5 really. I was lucky to get my hands on the Catrice Berlin Collection Eye and Cheek palette in Penneys (Primark) they only had the testers left on display but when I was going up to pay for the Essence Winter hand creams I spotted one at the till. What are the odd of that happening, I was really happy to get my hands on this as it's such good value for what you get inside. I may do a post featuring just this with swatches and a review in the New Year hopefully. Back to the Essence Winter Collection Hand Creams, they all smell amazing. I went a bit mad and bought all three but I guess you can never have too many. Well I can't anyway, I always carry them around in my bag. There €1.49 which just shows you how great this brand is as the products themselves are huge and there sure to last a while. All the hand creams smell like festive drinks, the three scents are Gingerbread Chai Latte, Caramel Hot Chocolate and Apple Cinnamon Punch. At first I was loving the Caramel Hot Chocolate option but since then I've done a complete 360 and changed my mind in favour of the latter, Apple Cinnamon Punch. It smells so good, I may have to purchase a back up before they all sell out before Christmas.

Have you bought yourself any goodies before Christmas or are you patiently waiting for the SALES to begin?

Laura<3

Collective Haul - Boots, Urban Decay, Michael Kors

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past month, I've just been bogged down with work and college. I hardly have time to think nowadays at all, hopefully I get some spare time soon to get back to blogging. I thought I'd show you guys some of the bits and pieces I've bought over the past while. I'm considering just doing Collective Haul posts in the future as I think it's better than doing numerous ones throughout the month. At least this way and give you guys some feedback on how I like everything.

I spotted these candle holders in Carraig Donn and I fell in love with them straight away. I'm forever picking up bits and bobs so I thought these would look great in my room. They weren't too expensive at €4 each so I'm really happy with them, the colours are perfect for this time of year. I haven't been using these for candles though, I've been using them to store my makeup brushes, lipglosses and whatnot.

As you all know I love Urban Decay Decay palettes, I have quite a few. The Smoked and Naked 2 palette would be my favourites. To be honest when I first seen the Vice Palette online I wasn't too blown away. When I went it store to have a look though it was a totally different story. The Vice  Palette contains twenty shadows that are exclusive to this palette. The majority of shades in the palette are neutral with a pink, purple, blue and greens thrown in. I like how there is a bit of a mixture though, for this time of the year especially you don't want to be rushing out to pick up one pink shadow for a fancy dress. All the eyeshadow are extremely pigmented in this palette, I haven't been having any problems with fallout like with previously palettes. My favourite shadows so far would be Provocateur, Jagged and Muse. I've been using the latter in the crease with Provocateur as the base and it looks so pretty.

I went to Boots on two seperate occasions as they have their amazing 3 for 2 on makeup offer on. I bought quite a bit both times as you can see, there are still some bits I haven't got around to trying yet. I've tried all three foundations I bought and I can't say I think too highly of the Max Factor All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation, it's so thick and doesn't sit on my skin too well. The shade I went for doesn't match my skin tone either so just a bad purchase by all accounts. I may give this to my Sister as she may like it more than me who knows, I just don't want it to go to waste as I paid like €16.99 for it which is shocking. I'm undecided on Maybelline's Superstay 24hr foundation, so I'll keep you updated on that on but my favourite foundation by far was Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation. It has such a lovely formula and blends beautifully into my skin leaving a glowy finish. If like me you have oily/combination skin just add a bit of powder I use Rimmel's Stay Matte powder which is great and affordable. I picked up an assortment of nail polishes from Barry M and Rimmel which I've been loving lately. My two favourite polishes would have to be the Barry M glitter and sparkle ones, there so pretty but a nightmare to get off.  Other purchases I made that are definitely worth the money are the Loreal Colour Riche eyeshadow palettes. I picked up three as the 3 for 2 promotion meant I'd get one for free and I'm so glad I did. I haven't seen too many reviews on these around the blogosphere but they are so pigmented and I've been using them alot so expect a review very soon.

Over the last while I've wanted to treat myself to something for doing so well with Slimming World. I didn't want to buy another makeup palette or expensive beauty products as they'd come and go like everything else. I wanted to have something that would stay with me forever so I decided to splurge on a Michael Kors Rose Gold watch. I was undecided between the diamond and plain face but I finally went with the latter as I thought it would go with way more. I was definitely right, this watch has not left my wrist since I bought it over three weeks ago, it works really well with everything and I couldn't be happier with it. I may start doing fashion posts soon as it's something I've wanted to do for a while now so I'd love to know what you guys think.

Have you treated yourself to anything nice lately?

Laura<3