January Shopping Purchases!

Due to work, seeing family and generally just wanting to avoid January sales chaos, I didn't go shopping until the 9th of January.  I'm not a big fan of sales and would quite happily just look at all the new things instead of trying to hunt down a bargain.  However I do work in a shop which makes it much easier to pick out bargains and the first few two are as such!

I needed a new lunch bag to take to work as I'd had my other one for years and it was getting really tatty.  This is one of Ted Baker's mini shoppers which are £29 RRP but I ended up getting it for about £15 due to various discounts.  £15 is still a ridiculous amount to pay for a lunch bag but I really like it and it's very sturdy so it should last a long time hopefully!

I'm long overdue sorting out all my jewellery and having a big clear out so I bought some Stackers which are really handy jewellery boxes.  They come in different layouts so you just buy whatever you need.  These 3 would have cost £52 but in the sale with discounts it was only about £18!  As you can see I've already started sorting my earrings in the 2nd section, I can't wait to have everything organised.

These items I got using various gift cards I'd accumulated since my birthday and Christmas:

New Look - £12.99

New Look - £9.99 (edit: I actually had to return this as the back isn't lined!)

Topshop Joni Jeans - £36

New Look Necklace - sale £4

Topshop Nail Varnish in Venus Flytrap - £5

Topshop Nail Varnish in Blank - sale £3

I love La Senza pants but I only buy them in sale when they go down to £2, such a bargain!  Although they had a pretty rubbish selection this time sadly :(

I also went into Lush because between my boyfriend and his dad I have £30 to spend in there!  I'm hoping to make it last as long as possible!  I got 2 new items I've never tried before.  They are both vegan.

Blackberry Bath Bomb - £2.95

Figs and Leaves Soap - £3.40/100g

Finally I went into Paperchase as I was really needing a new diary and picked up this cute little one for £5 which I think is pretty good!

<3

Clothes Haul - Primark, Warehouse & Zara

This is a joint clothes haul from two fun days out I've had recently!  The first one is from when I went to Glasgow with Hayley and Charlotte.  We went shopping then had a late lunch/early dinner at Zizzi - the new one in Royal Exchange Square - which was so good, you can see what we had to eat in Hayley's post.  Then finally we met up with Morag and went to a food event at Sloans, which was quite nice but not particularly vegetarian friendly, Morag and I spent the time trying to pick out chips from under pieces of chicken carcass!  I didn't spend too much money as it was just before payday but I got some bits from the Zara sale - first Zara purchases ever!

I am going to Italy on Saturday so I was looking out for holiday clothes.  I got this lovely floral skirt for £9.99 down from £22.99.  I have been wanting denim shorts for ages but I haven't liked any of the styles but I found this pair and they cover my arse cheeks - yay! - they were £15.99 from £22.99. 

Yesterday I went to Livingston where there is a shopping centre and designer outlets.  They have a really nice Primark, I think because it's new it's still quite clean and tidy doesn't look as bad as they usually do!  I went on a bit of a workwear splurge - yes, I am technically unemployed but always got to be prepared for interviews etc...  Then I finally managed to get some bikinis from Primark!  I knew they had some nice swinwear but all the ones I was in would just be a riot and only have tops or bottoms, or random sizes so I was really pleased to get these two intact.  

Pencil skirt with floral panel - £10

Zip detail straight leg trousers - Sale for £7

Cream blouse - £8

Top - £8

Bottoms - £4

Top - Sale £2

Bottoms - Sale £1

We popped into Warehouse as when walking past my friend Ashleigh fell in love with a coat so we went to investigate.  I had a rummage through the sale rack and found this beauty down to £35 from £80!  I tried it on and fell in love, then remembered I have a wedding in September so it was the perfect excuse to get it haha!  Unfortunately it is a size 6 and the waist band is a bit tighter than I'd like - it doesn't actually sit on my waist?! - but I squeezed myself into it!  Not sure how good that will be for the wedding breakfast but never mind, as long it looks good, eh?  I will need to get a stick on bra too, I've never had anything like that before.  I also got it for nearer £30 with student discount, yayy!

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IMATS Haul!

I finally made it to IMATS!  I have been wanting to go for the past 3 years but this year we actually put the plan into action and got it all organised.  I went with my friend Louise (confusing, yes) and we flew down to Luton on Friday afternoon and stayed over in a Premier Inn on the same street as Kensington Olympia, then the next morning we headed along to IMATS!

I think I was actually quite controlled with my spending!  My budget was £60 and from adding it up below (not including the concealer) I only went over it by about a tenner which isn't too bad!

Nars Make Up Artist Palette £12.50 - OH MY GOD isn't the price insane???
Nars Eyeshadow Trio in Calanque £10 - Such pretty colours and again, BARGAIN!
OCC Concealer in Y0 £10 - My friend asked me to pick this up for her, but now I want one, dammit!
Make Up Blending Sponge £3.25 - Worth a try for that price! Just need to work out how to use it now...
Bdellium Tool 975 £10
Bdellium Tools 776 £5 - Mac 217 replacement perhaps?!
Bdellium Tools 777 £5
NYX Nude Matte Shadow in Kiss The Day (light one) £3 - I hardly have any matte shades so I picked these two neutrals up
NYX Nude Matte Shadow in Tryst (dark one) £3
NYX Eyeshadow in Toffee Shimmer £3.50
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Dark Brown £3.50 - I have Milk so I wanted a dark one to use as a base
NYX Eye Pencil in Sapphire £2.50
NYX Eye Pencil in Purple £2.50
Inglot Translucent Loose Powder in Shade 217 £7 - I've been looking for a yellow setting powder for a while now!

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A Rare Clothes Haul

I actually can't remember the last time I bought clothes! I've been buying quite a lot of dresses and things recently (by recently I still mean last year!) but casual clothes, nope. Which is quite stupid considering I'm not going to wear party dresses every day... Although because of work and college I wear black four days a week, then probably pyjamas another 2 days so I actually don't need that many to be honest, but I just get so bored of wearing the same things over and over.

I'm looking forward to doing a big massive wardrobe spring clean but I thought I should buy some more clothes first so I don't end up with nothing!

Primark - £10

Primark - £12

Primark - £5

Topshop - £16

(£14.40 with 10% student discount)

I thought the black top would be good for work with a wee strappy top under it as I always wear the most boring clothes to work, and the skirt will be good for both work and college.

It really annoys me that everything in Primark is so sheer!  But what can you expect really for the price!!

Have you bought any nice clothes recently?

<3

Some Christmas Pressies!!

I do love seeing what people have got for Christmas, it's so exciting!  I've decided to do a sort of abridged version just including my bigger presents rather than going through every sweetie and pair of socks haha!

I wasn't expecting much this year as I'm over 21 now and apparently that's the age when everyone decides you're too old for presents!  However I ended up with a good wee haul anyway, I am very lucky!

So first, one of my main presents from my mum and dad was the Sigma Mrs Bunny Travel Kit, which also comes in black.  I got this on Black Friday when they did free international shipping, and I also treated myself to the Kabuki Kit!  It was then passed onto the parents and put away until Christmas.  I really like it, it comes with synthetic versions of the E40, E30, E55, E65, F30, F40 and F60!

Next is a coat I wanted from work, I brought it home a week before Christmas like, can you buy me this for a present?  They didn't even wrap it :( I've not had it on yet but I love it, and it was a bargain too!

I got loads of books this year!  My Auntie Tricia got me the Enid Blyton Adventure set, and my parents got me the new Jodi Picoult book, Lone Wolf.  I'm looking forward to reading these, Enid Blyton takes me back to my childhood!

My Auntie Tricia also got me Lgns London Roses & Diamonds perfume which I had asked for.  This is a BUAV Approved company so finally I can have some fancy cruelty free perfume!  It is also pretty cheap too, I think it's about £20 for 30ml.  It smells so nice but you don't need to take my word for it because they send out free paper samples - which I had already got.  There is also another perfume called Serenity which I haven't tried, and they are currently doing a deal where you get a free mascara when you buy that perfume.

I got this bag from my Auntie Heather and family.  It's so big and squishy, I love it!!  I'm getting a bit fed up of my tiny little bag so I am going to transfer everything over into this one.  It means I can get a nice big purse to go with it too!  I'm not 100% sure which it's made of which worried me at first but I think it is faux leather - hopefully!

...And my Auntie Tricia gave me this wee charm too (she spoils us!!!) so I attached it onto my new bag!

From my mum's friend and her daughter I got a Soap & Glory set which I was really excited about.  I've never actually tried any of their stuff so I can't wait to try it out and see if they live up to the hype!

And finally from my neighbour, a L'Occitane hand cream set.  The packaging on this is just stunning, I'm definitely keeping the box!  Sadly L'Occitane started selling in China last year so I wouldn't be able to repurchase but I'm sure this will keep me going for a while!

Have you got a favourite present from this Christmas?

<3

Recent Buys | Topshop & The Body Shop

I had been wanting a few bits so once I got birthday money I went on a wee shopping spree!  There are other things I bought too which I didn't think would be appropriate to include such as a wok (£5.99 from TK Maxx, what a bargain!) and a set of underwear (from the Rosie Huntington-Whiteley collection in M&S, so pretty!).

Firstly I went into Topshop as I was planning on getting some lipstick but I changed my mind and instead got 3 nail varnishes.  If you saw my previous post though you'll know how only 2 made it home safely :( The two which survived are Milkshake and Hat Trick!

Two coats on nail wheel

Then I placed an online order on The Body Shop website because they had 35% off all items and free P&P!  The main item I wanted was the Shimmer Waves blush/highlighter because it's the closest thing I've found to the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick!  I've only tried it once and it didn't blow me away but we'll see...

I decided to try one of the scrubs as I'm not a huge fan of body butter or anything but I do enjoy a good scrub!  I chose Mango and it smells amazing!!

They had lots of these lip balm things where each fruit had a different colour (similar to the Korres ones) and they were only £3 and the packaging is very cute!!  The one I got is Pomegranate and smells yummy!

Lastly I needed a new White Musk perfume.  This is my 3rd bottle!  They've changed the lid and it looks rather classy now.  They also sent me a sample of tree tree oil - is this for spots??

Another thing I got which is totally separate is some studs from eBay.  I got mine from here and they are the silver 12mm ones, only 99p for 100pcs!  They are actually perfect for what I wanted them for - I added them to the shoulders of my faux leather jacket as it was looking rather plain and boring haha!

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