Some new shoes...

 O'Malley, loving the wedge.

 Okay, I'll be the first to admit that the last thing I need is another pair of high heels. Truly. Especially summery high espadrille wedges with an ankle strap and a peep toe (for real, peep toes confuse me. I hate toes. I don't want to see my own peeking out of a shoe for no good reason, far less anybody else's horrible toes. And don't even get me started on the expression 'toe cleavage'. Boke.) And I'm attempting to save money, trying to be sensible.

So, when I initially peeked these high, peep toe, be-wedged summery shoes on TK Maxx, I didn't buy them. Who care's if they happen to be All Saints (a company that, despite myself, I can't help but love)? Who care's if they happen to be ridiculously good value? I don't  need them. So I didn't buy them.

Long story short, its payday today and of course I went back and bought a pair. Only four pairs remained, and only one in a size 5 in the colour of my choice. Its fate, really. I'm sure.

Because at the end of the day, really, what's more sensible than taking the oppertunity to buy shoes for £19.99 when they retailed £145 initially? :)

PS- A quick search revealed they are the Biela Espadrille model, now discontinued. The TK Maxx I bought them in- the flagship store in Glasgow city center, also had cut price Ted Baker, Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton (not as horrible as you would think!) shoes in stock if anyone is interested!
xxx

Cheap and Cheerful

Hello! I’m well aware its been weeks since I last posted, but honestly, nothing exciting seems to have happened anyway! Post-Berlin I managed to get rather ill (clearly 48458385 layers of thermal clothing was not enough!) and lethargic, and my finances have taken a bit of a blow, too. Any new purchases recently have been essentials, the rest of my money I’ve spent on coffees and lunches with my nearest and dearest- the best way to spend money!

That said, there really is something to be said for retail therapy, and today in Superdrug I couldn’t resist buying some new lipsticks- particularly when they cost the princely sum of £1 each, by MUA. I’ve never tried MUA make-up before but a few blogs I read have regularly mentioned the products, and, well, for £1 they definitely have proved a bargain buy.

I purchased lipsticks in shade 1 and shade 5, as well as lipgloss shade 4, which proved ridiculously difficult to photograph but in reality is a lovely pinky-gold, very wearable. As an aside, I wish MUA would name their cosmetics! Its such a small thing to do but (for me at least) makes such a difference! I will absolutely never understand why Kate Moss has named her lipstick range for Rimmel in numerical order, it just seems like lack of effort! Anyway, that’s just a shallow, surface criticism, because actually, I’m pretty damn impressed by my purchases.  

 Shade 1 is the deep red, Shade 5 the pink with silvery shimmer. All pictures were taken without flash, although the pictures on the bottom are more accurate to the lipsticks real shade!

I quickly tried on the two and both impressed. Shade 5, once applied, looks more like a lipgloss than a lipstick, and is a great deal more sheer than it appears in the tube. Shade 1 is not quite as deeply crimson, but is still resolutely a good staple blue-red.Both lipsticks don't have any kind of scent, which I personally don't mind but I'm sure some of you will miss the creamy sweet scents of more expensive products. Most importantly, both applied well straight from the tube and although I've yet to test their longevity both felt smooth on my lips- I have dry lips and I don't think MUA lipsticks will make them worse unlike some other brands I've tried (Revlon lipsticks- I'm looking at you!!!).

 Although MAC lipsticks remain my favourite I'm not particularly loyal to any other brand, and for such a great price MUA lipsticks are worth buying! I'll probably wear both during the day and save my favourites for nighttime :)

xxx

Cheap Nail Polish!

Please excuse my (extremely) poor attempt at a manicure. I have a rather slap-dash approach to nail polish, and these pictures have really made me think maybe I should spend longer than 5 minutes doing it! #theshame.

Anyway. The real reason I'm even posting this is to demonstrate the colour and quality (or lack thereof) of some cheap nail polishes I've treated myself to recently. Firstly, Primark's attempt at a crackle polish. I know that the crackle coat trend has come and gone, but I never really appreciated the look enough to spend even a few pound on Barry M's bottle. It just never appealed. Yet, drawn in by a bargain, I purchased Primark's very reasonable version.

 

Primark nails! Pictures taken in direct daylight.

Verdict? Rather impressed! The crackle coat itself was better than I expected- it dried quickly, and achieved a pretty good quality 'crackle' pattern (that said, my pinky was left looking very splotchy- I guess it all depends on how heavy handed you are with the brush!). I actually quite liked the look- although it's possible thats just because I never do anything particularly interesting with my nails, and the crackle is a bit of a novelty! Regardless, the set was £3 for three bottles, and rather good value for the quality of the product. The top coat in particular makes this set a pretty good purchase. (obviously I didn't use the gold in these pictures! Its over a very pretty nude pink by 17 cosmetics).

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 ELF Cranberry: The picture on the left was taken at night without flash, and on the right, with flash.

Secondly, with my first ever ELF order last week, I bought for the princely sum of £1 a polish called 'Cranberry'- basically, a staple shiny, cherry red colour. Now, my ELF order was rather hit and miss (word of warning- the brushes are made with animal hair, so they really are too good to be true at such a low price. And the face mist smells absolutely disgusting- like sick!) I have to say, I was very impressed with this...

One coat!!! That's only one coat of Cranberry! Its almost perfectly opaque, and its such a pretty colour! For £1 this was definitely the best of the ELF products I ordered, and as red is pretty much my go-too nail shade, I can see myself using a lot of this.

xxx

Today was a good day...

...for cheap makeup! Now, in my (rather feeble, it must be said) attempt to save a bit of money, I've decided that the amount I spend on make-up is absolutely ridiculous. My staples are YSL mascara, MAC Studio Fix foundation and cream blush, Urban Decay eyeshadows and MAC lipsticks. I'm also partial to the odd nice face cream, or hair mask. This is all well and good, until I run out (and don't you find you always run out of EVERYTHING at the same time?!), and I have to spend a chunk of hard earned money on refills.

So no more! I've been trawlings blogs and forums to find the makeup and beauty products with the highest recommendations. And I think I've done pretty well today!

Picked up these beauties at Poundland (!) L-r Revlon Creme Gloss lipgloss in Raisin' The Roof,
Rimmel eyeshadow quad in Smoky Brun, and eyeshadow mono in Spicy Bronze.

Now, I get that Poundland do receive shipments of brand name products when they are about to be discontinued and the brand wants to get rid of them. However, the Rimmel products I bought today are still on Boots website- even the colours I picked up! The quad retails at around £6.50, and the mono about £4. This is  all a little suspicious- back of a van, anyone? Rimmel eyeshadows are usually decent enough quality, and the little quad is perfect to pop in a handbag for touchups. The Revlon lipgloss is almost certainly discontinued (its on Amazon retailing about £3), but the colour is lovely and the brush is pretty damn good, too. Poundland also had a little selection of Rimmel nailpolishes, and Maybelline false lash effects mascara (!) which I used to wear but can't anymore because alas, most high street mascaras are just not suitable for my delicate post-laser surgery eyes.

When I got home, my ELF delivery had arrived! I've  never ordered from Eyes.Lips.Face before, but read about the products in quite a few magazines and blogs- particularly their make-up brushes, which seem to have a pretty stellar reputation considering the cost(I got a foundation brush and a blending brush, each £1.50) My delivery arrived a mere two days after I ordered it, and was packaged very nicely. A+ for delivery, Elf!

 Top to bottom: All over Color stick in Persimmon, Matte lip color crayon in Praline,
Nail polish in Cranberry, Tame & Treat eyebrows in Medium, Makeup Mist and Set, and
Foundation Brush in 1801, and blending brush in 1803.

I meant to go on just recommendations, but ended up going a bit mad because they've got a sale on (cheap stuff, even cheaper!) From the sale I ordered the Studio Mist make-up spray (half price at £2.45) and a dark red nail polish called Cranberry for just £1. I can't ever pass the opportunity to buy lipstick of any type or colour, so picked up the matte crayon lipstick in praline (£2.45 on sale). Its a lovely nude colour, I have pretty high hopes!

I never fill my eyebrows- I have light brown hair and my eyebrows are nearly blonde, but I always think they look odd drawn in! I know that brow gels have been pretty big news but I don't want to spend upwards of £15 when I'm not sure I'll appreciate the look- ELF however, has a Treat&Tame (treat??!) eyebrow shaper for £3.50...my expectations are a bit low, but it'll be interesting to try out.

Lastly, I purchased one of the all over face sticks in Persimmon (It took awhile to decide on a colour- the website stock pictures aren't the greatest) as it reminded me a little of Nars face sticks! In reality the colour is really, really nice- I'm very pale and it looks just like a subtle peach shimmer. If its not a perfect match for my skin, I can see myself using it as an eyeshadow base, as I usually wear gold and bronze shadows anyway.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my purchases! I'm sure some will be better than others, but considering the combined total of everything I've pictured is under £20(!!!), I can't complain too much!

xxx