Top 10 Bargain Beauty Buys

When I'm reading other people's blogs I always get so jealous that they are reviewing or recommending products from MAC, Benefit or Clinique! These babies are not only wonderful but they also come with a price tag that I just can't condone splurging that much on such a small item! So, until I'm healthy-wealthy I will stick to spending less than £3 on each of my make-up bag items; I have all I need for all eventualities and all for under £30! Here are my Top 10 bargain beauty buys that I just can't live without:

 

Natural Collection Shine Away Foundation - £1.99 - Boots

Natural Collection Pressed Powder - £1.99 - Boots

Natural Collection Eye Liner - Not Available Online (Otherwise I use Rimmel Jet Black Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil - £2.99 - Boots)

Africa by W7 Bronzer - I got for £2 on a market stall in Watford but also available online at Amazon for £3.41

E.L.F Duo Eyeshadow Cream in Blueberry - £1.50 - E.L.F Cosmetics

Disney Eyeshadow Palette - £2.99 - H&M (Not now available but other palettes are - CLICK HERE)

Natural Collection Lash Build Mascara - £1.99 - Boots

True Colour Lipstick in Liqueur - £4.99 - Sleek Make-Up

Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil - £2.99 - Boots

Natural Collection Cover-Up Stick - £1.99 - Boots

 

Although cheap and cheerful this collection is all I need for everyday make-up, nights out, lunches with the girls, dinner with the boyf, everything!

50% of it is from Natural Collection - Boots' own range of cosmetics. I find that not only are the products excellent value for money they also rival their dearer competitors: I tried out the Maybelline Great Lash Mascara last month and found that not only did I pay over double for it but it lasted half as long as the Natural Collection mascara! It dried out in less than 2 weeks whereas NC Lash Build lasts me well over a month at a time.

 

NC Eyeliner does smudge throughout the day which is annoying. I'm considering trying out the Studio Makeup Mist & Set from E.L.F (£3.75) to see if it holds it in place!

Has anyone used this or have any other tips for smudgy eyeliner?!

 

The bronzer from W7 is one of my greatest ever beauty discoveries! Casually browsing a beauty stand in the Harlequin Centre in Watford I found this for about £2. It was one of those spur of the moment, 30-second purchases which I've grown to love! It's so much darker than all my other face shades which really accentuates my cheek bones and because of the multi-coloured blush and thick brush that comes with it, you get a pinky-tanned glisten perfectly wearable in the day and evening times.

 

The most expensive item in the collection is the Sleek lipstick. Luckily for me this was a Christmas gift but it has definitely got me hooked on the brand! Sleek is also available in Superdrug which is handy if you're out and about on the high-street. I have it in 'Liqueur' but am hoping to try something bolder next time like 'Loved Up' or 'Exxxagerate'.

 

For £25 I have basically stocked my make-up bag for at east 1-2 months with products that are reliable, cheap and look great! Who said being on a budget meant we had to suffer?!

 

What's in your make-up bag?? Tweet me @sheldan2207 or comment below

 

xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Top 7 Ways To Boost The Bank Holiday Blues

Judging by the mass amounts of tiredness and nostalgia creeping around the UK today it seems we all enjoyed the Bank Holiday quite a bit. It was handy for the pubs that it landed on so many people's paydays but not quite so lucky for our poor souls which are now in dire need of intensive care.

From crisps to sexy department store owners - try this lot out for a Bank Holiday boost and recover in style avec moi...

 

Hampstead Tea Organic Iced Tea - £1 Tesco - Light, refreshing and full of anti-oxidants this healthy beverage is perfect for the morning after a heavy night
Pearl Lip Bam - 99p Superdrug - As we brace ourselves for more cold weather and continue to recover from the Bank Holiday Madness, our cracked lips can look good enough to kiss with one swift application
Garnier Simply Essentials Soothing Toner - £2.99 Boots - One splash of this and your pores are rid of all of life's nasties - your face will feel 10lb lighter!
Mr Selfridge - Series 1 DVD - £15 Amazon - Sundays really are not the same without dreamy Selfridge and his department store drama. Swoooon!
Kelloggs Special K Cracker Crisps - £1.99 Tesco - The most moreish of all 'diet crisps' in all of the land...
Candles - The White Company £20-£35 - Duvet, fluffy attire, Gossip Girl & the faint waft of various signature scents from The White Company...Bliss?!
Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show - Every morning from half 6 the hilarious DJ brings me to life - and seeing as he is BFF's with London's elite kool krew I feel in with the kats!

Out-Style The Snow

Buses are running, trains are going places, schools are open... has the UK finally realised life goes on with or without snow?! Craziness...

In the meantime, we also have to find ways to a) still look semi-decent smothered in 150 layers, b) stay sane when the snow day is done and c) avoid eye contact with the inconspicuous white sky...

Luckily for us all can be achieved...and pretty much all from the comfort of our own homes:

A) Looking semi-decent and keeping warm!
It plunged to -8 degrees pre-snowfall which is alarming when you're sat at work in leggings and a jumper and not much else << Freezing Fashion Fail!
Changing tactics, today I've opted for Black Jeans from Next teamed with a White Shirt and Jumper from H&M. Not only am I much warmer, I'm rocking that layered look that's hot right now with celebs such as Elle MacPherson, Kim K and Demi Moore:



Footwear is of utmost importance is such severe weather, but that doesn't mean we have to be super boring and wear the classic green welly or a pair of panic-bought snow boots from somewhere random like Aldi... It is 2013 and sexy booties are bang on trend! Simmi Shoes have some amazing pairs of wellies and boots of all heights on their site at the moment...there are even some still left in the sale:



Final features to complete your look are welly socks, gloves and, of course, a faux fur hat! Who said keeping warm had to be dull and dreary?!

B&C) The work day is done...
The commute home was a nightmare with delays running as long as an hour so you had to walk most of the way. Your perfectly prepared outfit from this morning is drenched, your hat covered in ice and your new boots have rubbed your feet. Time for some seasonal maths...

Options Hot Chocolate

+

Onesie

+

Cosy Slippers

+

Warm, Comfy Throw

+

Big Bang Box Set

=

The ULTIMATE Winter Wind-Down!

Photo Sources: 3am, Contact Music, Yahoo

Thrifty Thursday - Cleverly Customised Calenders

This week's post follows on from my ideas yesterday. It's all well and good having a delightful mood board but if you have nowhere to hang it, then you have a slight problem.

 

It's the 10th of January so we should all by now have our new calenders/filos/diaries on the go...so really this week's project shouldn't cost you a penny!

 

We look at our organisers every day and all we see are numbers and pages, but why should we stare drearily and count down the days until our next big thing? I'm going to customise my diary with images similar to those on my moodboard so I can be reminded of my goals and what in turn is going to make me happy this year!

 

That weekend away - the one that is going to be the first weekend away of the year and isn't until March:

 

 

(Excuse the terrible picture quality - blame my BlackBerry!)

 

That week before the super luxurious trip to the Caribbean - the one you've spent all year preparing for:

 

 

 

Inject a little fun back into your everyday lives. I used images from the Boots magazine I mentioned yesterday (only because I haven't had a chance to go and stock up on my glossies!) but you can also take your own pics to really pump some personality into your organiser!

 

These are some of my personal photos that could be used on my moodboard/in my organiser:

 

It can literally be anything that will help you see through the year happy and successful!

Give it a go, it's just a little bit of penny-pinchin' fun

 

xx



 

Get to your Goals!

That famous saying, 'New Year, New You' - it haunts every single one of us every year. It's all very well having aims and motivation for January but, there's 11 more months to go!

 

Boots Health & Beauty Magazine has an inspiring article in the current edition (on sale for £1.50 or free for Advantage Card holders!):

MOTIVATIONAL MOOD BOARDS

 

I looked at it for a split second and immediately started thinking about what would be on mine.

My main aims for this year are:

 

1) Feel and look fitter in time for my holiday in September

 

2) Discover my own sense of style and feel more comfortable in clothes again (goodbye leggings!)

 

3) Keep more up-to-date on the current affairs that don't involve celebrities (crime, health, politics, etc.)

What are yours??

 

They're pretty much the same every year and about the same time every year... I give up! Usually around end of January, beginning of February and my motivation has gone right out of the window.

Not this year!
I quicky created this one to give an idea of what I mean:

 

It's everything I'm aiming for but visually looks so much nicer than a boring old list!

I found some more awesome ones online - they're mainly for textile moodboards but they are really awesome:

 

 

It's a fun way to keep track of what you set out to achieve at the start of the year! Which leads me on to tomorrow's Thrifty Thursday post... Motivational Diaries - you don't need to go out and spend a fortune to get on track! Spend £1 on a diary and the rest is cut and stick!

x See you tomorrow x

Tweet me @sheldan2207
Comment below
xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIY Decorations & One Of A Kind Gifts!

One of the best things about christmas is the fact that you can clutter your house full of flashing Santas, glittery tinsel and brightly coloured hanging things, and no-one can tell you otherwise! Of course, every year we spend absolutely thousands on new decorations, trees, candles, etc, etc, etc. What if we decided more food, less decoration this year? What with most families having to reign in their spending at the moment I thought I'd test the waters with some DIY Christmas decorations, starting with a wreath. I'll come back to that later!

Unfortunately, the holidays are somewhat tinted with stress, with the giving and the cooking and the preparing. With everything going on it's hard to keep up with what everyone actually wants for christmas. Instead of being the one that always gets exactly what's on the family's wish list, I've always been the one to pull a random on them all and get something they didn't even know they wanted themselves! I don't know about you but I still like to have a few surprises on Christmas Day! Today I've put together a small collection of niche music boxes, a fabulous gift for those close to you who love music and quite the conversation piece to have at home too. Click on the links below for an array of beatiful musical gifts.

Lastly, today I woke up to a magical dusting of snow. Although not as much as the kids were hoping for, just enough to melt quicker than the rate it fell at, which is good news for anyone else! All this means, though, is that more is almost definitely on the way and what better way to prepare than to get yourselves a handy pair of Snow Boots! No excuses for the morning commute now!

DIY Christmas Wreaths

Christmas wreaths are never something I've invested in over the holidays, and I've always pondered over the high prices of some of them, which is why I'm going to attempt to make my own this year! I've found really helpful blogs online that I'm going to use to help me! Tomorrow, I'll be getting all the bits and bobs I need for my wreath and will post a step-by-step commentary on how it went on Thursday! It will be a Your Desirables version of Art Attack! In the meantime, if you want to join in the festive fun, check out MidoriSourPatch, Caroline Inge's post on Home Depot, Jewels For All, Amalia Misc and (my personal favourite) Clouds Of Colour for some Wreath-spiration! Check-in on Thursday to see my efforts! Make sure to show me yours on Twitter @sheldan2207!









 

 

Music Boxes

Something I stumbled upon Monday evening when researching my Vintage Bird Cage pick of the day! I never thought of something so perfect until I saw the Gold Plated Singing Bird Cage at Magical Music Boxes. Granted, the price tag is more for the wealthy among us, however, a couple months saving up for this thing and I guarantee it won't be a waste of time! Garden parties, lunches in the conservatory, afternoon tea in the lounge, this beautiful home accessory is not only a stunning addition to any house, but also quite the conversation piece. When I'm a millionaire, this WILL be in my house. I love it! I'm also very aware that I am not a millionaire, just like the majority of you! So, I set about looking for a much more affordable music box for my own humble abode. The Music Box Shop has music boxes that are also... wait for it.... jewellery boxes! From pink teddies for the kids and wooden for the mature, from red roses for the girly and floral for the trendy, there are patterns to suit all and prices start from a slight £12.50! American company Mr Christmas has tree symphonies, musical wreath eggs, musical pumpkins and seasonal clocks! All prices are in US$ dollars though. If that's a problem head to Music Box World where fun musical stocking fillers start from £5.99!

 

Snow Boots

Sure, snow is pretty. It's magical and it gets people talking and together and gets everyone feeling very festive! That's the first day. After the light dusting, it snows again and again until the British people become fed up and at a standstill. Planes, trains and automobiles are told not to move. Getting to work is one long slog up a very sludgy hill. How many times have you fallen over in front of a total stranger? NO MORE! The style and market gurus have finally taken note of our struggles, teamed up and snow boots are now finally a winter fashion must have! Even Aldi have a pair of £15 snow boots up for grabs! Other bargain outlets for snow boots this year include Sports Direct, Wynsors & Amazon! Click the links for their ranges. If you want to step out in style check some hot faves of mine: ASOS (for Juicy Couture, Kurt Geiger and See by Chloe), Selfridges (for UGG) and John Lewis (for Hunter, North Face and Helly Hansen).

 

That's all for today, I hope I've inspired a few of you on such a cold evening! As always get in touch on Twitter @sheldan2207, it's always a laugh over there! If not comment below, I love to hear feedback.

 

Check-in on Thursday for my step-by-step guide to my DIY wreath and what my next festive DIY accessory is going to be. Share yours and I'll post those too! Any seasonal DIY ideas? Let me know!

 

 

xx