Recent Purchases: Boots and Superdrug

Bought a few beauty items recently at Boots and Superdrug so thought I would share them with you.
I had been good the entire time of the Boots 3 for 2, but I buckled at the last minute and purchased 3 items.

I had read so much about the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream on various blogs that I couldn't resist buying it. I want it for my "no make up" days. I have no idea if it will suit my skin because most reviews have been for much younger skin than mine so I shall report back soon on how it fairs on my less than perfect 40+ skin. I bought it in shade Ivory for £9.99.

I am still on the search for my Holy Grail concealer as I have suffered from dark circles since my teens so thought I would give the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Eye Cream in Ivory a try. I don't think this will be full coverage but may be ideal for my "make up free" days. I picked this up for £7.99. 

Now for my third item I really wanted the Sleek concealer palette but I couldn't find this brand anywhere in my Boots so I had to choose something else for my 3 for 2. I knew time was of the essence because hubby was due to meet me and I didn't want him to catch me buying more make up so I had to choose something and fast! I decided on the L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Liquid Lipstick by Color Riche in shade 500 Molto Mauve at £8.99. A girl (woman!) can't have too many lippies, eh?

As I am sure you are aware, the Boots 3 for 2 is no longer running but there is currently an offer on Bourjois. If you spend £12 or more on selected Bourjois cosmetics you receive a free pot of blush in Rose D'or worth £7.99.

I also decided to do a small online Superdrug order.

Now I have had my eye on the MUA Luxe Pretty Edgy Palette for a little while. At £8 it is a tad more expensive than their Professional range but I do think their palettes are great quality for the price so popped this in my basket because I want to see how it compares. Superdrug were doing free delivery on orders over £10 so I also popped a MUA Professional High Intensity lip gloss in shade "Lips Are Sealed" for £2 into my basket. When it was delivered Superdrug had also sent me 2 free fragrance samples which was a nice touch because they've not done that before. I received Jean-Paul Gaultier Madame and David Beckham Classic but I've not tried them yet.

Anyway, that's just a little taster of my recent purchases and I shall report back with swatches and first impressions once I have had a play with them.

Have you bought anything new lately or tried the new MUA Luxe range? I would love to hear from you so please comment below.

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx

*all items purchased with my own money. None of the links in this blog post are affiliated so I do NOT get paid if you click on them.

Recent Purchases: Skincare, Beauty Box, Clothes, etc...

I bought a few things this week so I thought I would share them with you. I didn't buy much so it's not really a "haul", but here are my most recent purchases.

Firstly, clothes...

I received an email from Tesco advising me they had a Florence and Fred online sale. Now I'm sure you all already know that F&F are the clothing brand for Tesco. Our local Tesco is very small and their range of clothing is pretty poor so I have never bought any of their clothes. Anyway, I took a look online and saw quite a few things I liked, so placed an order. I got them delivered to my local store the next day. Unfortunately, I returned most of the items because they didn't suit, but I did keep the items above (plus a couple of tops for my sons). The Twist Yarn Jumper was reduced to just £9 which I thought was a good price. Although the website states it is green, I'd say it is more of a turquoise colour. It is a cotton mix and very soft. I think I shall get a lot of wear out of it this Spring. The other item I kept was an Embroidered Skirt. I thought for £12 it was an absolute bargain. It is white with a black embroidered detail and a scalloped hem. I think this will be a skirt I wear time and time again over the summer. It is an A line shape, which seems to suit my pear shaped figure. I think this comes up on the large size because I fit in a size 10 which I definitely am not, although I do have a smallish waist I suppose. Apologies that it is so creased in the picture, I really should have ironed it but because I will be putting it away until the warmer weather, there seemed little point!

Next up, beauty items...

One of my biggest downfalls, regarding spending, is reading other beauty blogs and their recommendations. I was reading ReallyRee's blog at the end of last month and she did a glowing review for This Works In Transit No Traces cleansing pads. I try not to use cleansing wipes very often on my face but there are occasions when I use them such as when I am ill, a very late night or on the VERY rare occasion that I really cannot be bothered! Previously I used Boots wipes or (cover your eyes please...) baby wipes. Argh, yes I know, slapped wrist.  Anyway, at the time of reading Really Ree's blog post, I saw that Beauty Bay had a 15% off sale, making the This Works Cleansing Pads just £12.86 instead of £15.13. I also popped a Head Jog Paddle Brush into my basket. I really liked the ladybird design but I felt I was 35 years too old for that, so opted for purple instead! I've not used the cleansing pads yet, but shall report back when I do, but I love my new paddle brush.

Last week, I also subscribed to my first ever You Beauty Discovery Box. Now I have contemplated subscribing to a beauty box for some time, but I have always been put off by not knowing what I'd be receiving. Some people love the element of surprise, but not me. I like the idea of the You Beauty box because you select 2 items that you wish to receive and then you also get a few extras too. At £6.95 per month I also think it is a great price and you  are not tied into a subscription so can cancel at any time. For the March box I chose a Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter which usually has a RRP of £12 and this came with a muslin cloth. I've not used this before but my Mum raves about it so I'm looking forward to trying it. The other item I chose was the Dr. Lipp Nipple Balm which retails around £11. So for £6.95 I received £23 worth of products plus some "extras" - tweezers which I love as they are vintage looking, plus some organic tea bags. Will have to research if they are caffeine free because I don't have caffeine any more. I am really pleased with my first box and I hope the choices next month are just as good.

This week, I also purchased a Revitalash and Revitabrow Advanced kit (not pictured) from QVC and have written a separate post on them here.

Finally, a few items for the home...

I have been after somewhere to store my eye shadow palettes for some time.  I have been storing them in my Muji drawers but I found that, because they weren't right to hand, I tended to use the same palette day in, day out. I didn't want to pile them on top of each other so when I saw this Acrylic Letter Holder for just £6.99 I thought it was ideal. I measured it and it fitted perfectly on top of my Muji drawers. I don't have many palettes so this is just the right size and now they are all to hand, I am finding I am using a different one each time.

Lastly, one of my guilty pleasures - scented candles. I wasn't intending on buying a candle but on the last day of February I realised I had £8 worth of Tesco Clubcard vouchers that were due to expire that day so I needed to spend them and spend them quickly! I didn't fancy driving to my nearest Tesco so took a look online at Tesco Direct and found this lovely Yankee Candle Medium in White Linen and Lace for £9 which I had delivered to store the next day. It has a lovely clean, crisp fragrance, although I've yet to light it.

Do you like scented candles? Which is your favourite brand and fragrance?

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx

**all items were purchased with my own money and any clickable links are not affiliate links so I do not receive any rewards should you click on them. 

Recent Purchases: Beauty, Clothes, Jewellery and more...

Hello,
I did a little shopping this past week so I thought I'd share my purchases with you because I love reading "haul" posts.

First up - Beauty.

I succumbed to the recent Alpha H TSV from QVC.  It was a good deal, the whole set cost less than a bottle of Liquid Gold so it was a no brainer really.  I already use the Liquid Gold and occasionally the cleanser but the Alpha H Eye Complex is new to me so I am looking forward to trying that out.  I am planning on doing a 30 day trial with it and will write a blog post about it later this month.  I can't post a link to the TSV because it has now sold out.
I also purchased 2 more Real Techniques brushes - a blush brush and a shading brush from Amazon. I was lucky enough to receive the Core Collection and Starter Kit for Christmas and I'm really happy with them so decided to add a couple more brushes to my collection.
Finally on the beauty front, a couple of little purchases - hair grips/bobby pins from Matalan and a Collection Lasting Perfection concealer from Morrisons.  I was really happy with the latter because it went through the till at £2.09 - bargain!  I only use this for blemishes as it is too drying for under my eyes.

Next up - Clothes.

My mum came over for the day so we decided to have a look round the shops.  We hadn't been to Matalan in years so decided to take a look. Neither of us were expecting much but I picked up a mint green slouch jumper for £14.  I don't have anything in my wardrobe in this colour and I love it, it's perfect for Spring.  It's a cotton mix so quite a light jumper and it has a metallic thread running through it which I like. The best news is, I fit in a size small!!  Don't worry, I'm not deluded, I know with cheaper clothes the sizes are very hit and miss.  I also picked up a simple T shirt in a denim blue colour for £3.

Now onto Jewellery.

Whilst in Matalan, a lovely necklace and earring set caught my eye. It was priced at £8 which I was happy with, but it went through the till at £3, another bargain. It looks gold toned in the photo, but I think that is the reflection from the other pieces because it is actually silver toned.  
I also bought a few bits in the Lisa Angel sale. Two bold necklaces, one with gold leather effect panels and the other with silver.  I couldn't choose which colour to have but because they were only £3 each I decided on both! I was a tad disappointed that the leather effect on the gold one has got marked in transit but it's not a huge deal.
I also ordered two bracelets.  One is a bright pink corded affair with a heart and a couple of other little charms on it for £2.50. I do like it but think it might be a little "young" for me.  What do you think?  The other bracelet is silver in colour with a purple heart charm (I'm a sucker for anything with a heart!) I didn't realise that the silver beads were plastic so it reminds me of those elasticated bracelets I wore as a little girl.  I can't see me ever wearing this but at £3 it is not a huge loss.

Finally, a couple of other miscellaneous things.  

I saw this little clock in Matalan and because it was only a fiver and it had a heart in it, I couldn't resist!  It's nothing exciting but fits well into the dining area of my kitchen on the mantelpiece.  I live in an old cottage so I was into "shabby chic" way before it became popular, although my home is probably more shabby than chic! The last item I bought was Jo Wheatley's Home Baking book.  Jo won The Great British Bake Off a couple of years ago.  I love baking so when I saw this was just £2.50 from Sainsbury's entertainment I couldn't resist.

Well, that's everything I have bought recently.  I hope you haven't found it too boring and frumpy but my days of wearing spaghetti strap tops and short skirts are long gone and comfort is the order of the day for me now (although I'm not quite ready for thermal underwear or crimplene skirts just yet!).
What are your recent purchases?  Please leave me a comment below.
Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx