So...about that 'no buy'...

I failed my self imposed 'no buy'.  Several times.  I went to TK Maxx and I failed.  I went to Boots and I failed.  I went to Semi-Chem, yup, I failed and then I had the audacity to buy a few bits on feelunique.com.  Ach well, as they say, you can't take it with you. 

TK Maxx had these two opi's including a limited edition liquid sand for £12.99.  I saved £12.99 on my winter boots from sports direct though so that balances out... Right? I'm going to give this to my mum to give to my brother to give me for Christmas.  Guilt appeased! 

In Boots, I bought a Max Factor foundation.  I have heard these are quite good for folk with pink skintones so I'm going to give it a whirl, the shade is the lightest one, 100 fair, so hopefully that will do the trick.  I haven't linked it as that particular shade isn't on the Boots.com website.  Also, because you were getting a free gift if you spent over £15, I also bought the wild shadow 2-in-1 gel shadow and liner pencil in the shade 05 which seems to be a nice bronzey brown and called 'Caramel Rage on Boots.com.  The free gift includes a full size lipfinity, a full size polish and a full size mascara which I shall review at a later date.

Now to Semi-Chem, I only went in for ibuprofen on the way over to my chums and came out with ibuprofen, oven cleaner (?!?!?) and a new nail polish, as you do. I got my first NYC polish for less than £2. That has been my mid week mani.

And Feelunique brought me the renowned Dr Bronner's magic soap in peppermint and Caudalie's beauty elixir in a limited edition L'Wren Scott designed bottle.  I had a £5 credit to use for referring a friend to Feelunique and it would have been rude not to use it! 

And I still haven't done my Christmas shopping! Yikes! 

Have you ever tried a 'no buy'?

How's your Chrsitmas shopping going?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Not practical but darn they're pretty!

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed there was a recurrence of cut-out boots appearing on the blogosphere and astonishingly, I really wanted in on the action!

Usually, I'm a trainers or flats kinda gal but I have been determined to inject a bit more 'oomph' into my wardrobe starting from the feet up!

I got these babies from Primark for £18 and I'm super chuffed with them.

To me, £18 was a bit steep for Primark as I'm used to £4 ballet flats but if you look at similar styles on boohoo.com, missguided.co.uk etc they are all £30+.

They have a slightly pointed toe and the heel is about two and a half inches, which is more than enough for me nowadays! The boots are black but not a shiny black, they are distressed without being scuffed.  I like the pointy toe as my dumpy legs could do with all the elongation they can get! 

Most importantly, they are really comfy.  I wore these to have a walk around the International market, which is held on the first saturday of every month here in Aberdeen.  The boots managed to carry me around after a giant polish hotdog and some very sinful churros! I then wore them to a work conference held in Glasgow (I didn't get to do any shopping though! *sadface*) with no sore feet in sight!

The only problem with them, is that I might not get much use of them now that the snow has arrived in Aberdeen! 

Have you got a pair of bargain boots?

Have you had any snow yet this week?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

A cool surprise for tired eyes

Lately, I have had such hot, sleepy feeling eyes and so I was determined to get something nice and soothing that I could apply when at home when going sans makeup.

I ventured into Boots a few weeks ago and had a good nosey round and came across this, 'Kind to eyes revitalising eye roll-on' by Simple.  At £4.99 this is a wee bit cheaper than the likes of Garnier and chums.

So this wee fella contains cucumber extracts, an ingredient that is quite commonly found in 'cooling' or 'refreshing' facial products.  It also contains pro vitamin B5 and glycerin to nourish and hydrate the skin and best of all, it contains no artificial fragrances or colours.  Boost!

The applicator itself is a metal rollerball, which in itself is nice and cooling.  The product is a gel like formula which goes on smoothly and can be massaged in using the rollerball.  The tube contains 15 mls of product so it's quite dinky but you don't need a lot of product. 

It does cool the area instantly although it has no effect on dark circles and doesn't claim to. I would say it has an immediate effect but it does not last more than a few minutes.  It recommends that if there is excess product on the skin, to just gently massage it in.  What I find with this product is after applying whether just with the rollerball or with my fingers too, is that it feels like it leaves a residue.  I put this on less than 10 minutes ago and already under my eyes feel tight, almost as though I have a face mask on and the area feels almost as hot as it did before I put on.  The gel does absorb in though and doesn't leave any strange residue on the skin.

All in all, it's an okay product and if you have delicate or allergy prone skin, it may be worth a try but for me, I'm afraid I won't be putting this on my repurchase list. Sorry Simple! 

If you do fancy trying it, Boots are offering 3 for 2 on selected Simple products, here.

Do you have any tips for reviving tired eyes?

Have you tried this roll-on before?

Hugs,

Jodi 

xxx

One Jumper, Three Looks!

This is my first attempt at doing a board of things, so please bear with me!  

Last weekend, I bought a black fluffy jumper from H&M for £14.99.  I can't find it on 

the website anymore but I think it may have sold out online.  It was very soft and fluffy 

and I just thought it was so versatile because of the texture.  

With that in mind, here is my one jumper, three looks board! 

I'll break it down a bit...

1st Look:
Black jumper from New Look but you can get similar in H&M or Primark for less £.
Floral Midi Skirt from George @ Asda, very similar to this one, from ASOS.
Black Heels from New Look, I always find their heels really comfy.

2nd Look:
Same Jumper.
Tartan Kilt from George @ Asda, similar to this one, from New Look.
Cut out Style Boots from Boohoo.com, these are really on trend just now, I picked up a cracking pair from Primark for £18!

3rd Look:
Same Jumper.
Floral Harem Trouser from House of Fraser, I own these and they are comfy but the pockets do distort the shape slightly.  Again, there is alot of floral leggings, jeggings and jeans going doing the rounds.
Black Ballet Flats, these can be found in most places, I like these because they are pointed, I think it may elongate the silhoutte a bit more.  Alternatively, you could use the heels from the first look for a cheeky wee date night look!

I hope this didn't bore you too much!

Have you found your winter wardrobe staple yet?

Hugs,

Jodi

Swatching it up a little...

I was in the sacredest of sacred places recently, yes, Boots, again and didn't buy anything!! Except some halls soothers! However, I wasn't feeling that rotten that I couldn't do a few swatches.

Benefit Hydra-Smooth Lip colour in 'Fling Thing', £15 here.  First off, the colour of this is lovely, a perfect autumnal, berry shade.  The casing is so unusual too, it kinda looks like a Doric column from ancient greece. With shea and mango butter along with Vitamin E, this packs a hefty hydration punch for your lips and has a double slanted tip for precise application.  It did glide on very smooth and I can see why this would be classed as medium-full coverage.  My only bugbear is paying £15 for a lipstick, but I could be tempted with this one!

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in '07 Fuschia Graffiti'.  A superbly bright pink!  This contains Orchid Blossom extract to help it glide on lips smoothly and it feels as though it would do just that.  Bourjois can do no wrong at the moment with new releases popping up every other day it seems and each collection just as good as the last.  There are 18 shades in this particular lipstick ranging from nudes to dark purples, so there is something for everyone.  This is also claimed to hydrate and protect lips for 10 hours, a claim that I usually take with a pinch of salt. This can be purchased at Boots or Superdrug for £7.99.

Lastly, was a rather melty Sleek 4 Lipstick Palette in 'Ballet'.  Sidenote, I do wish people would take a bit more care when handling products in the shops, I love a good swatch myself but it doesn't kill ya to put lids back on and not get lipstick all over the place! *steps off soapbox*. 

 Back to the matter in hand, Nudes are not something I tend to go for when picking a lippy, my dark hair, green eyes and pale pink skin, seem to me to be a better match for pinks, purples and reds.  Having saying that, nudes are something I want to experiment with as they can look great with a smokey eye and this wee palette is a great way to try out a variety of nudes.  

The pigmentation was really good with these four and the consistency was nice and smooth, the palest one on the top left corner looked to me like concealer at first glance and it seems to be softer than the others.  Still, a great introduction to the nude lip for £8.99, these only seem to be available on the Superdrug website, here, it doesn't seem to be on the Boots website at the moment, but I think that the range is quite new to Boots.

Do you have plans to buy a new lipstick for Autumn/Winter?

How much is too much to spend on a lipstick?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Oh look, I've been to Boots...

Tonight in Aberdeen, there was a 'grand re-opening' of Boots Beauty Hall in what I call the 'Main' boots in the city centre.  Keen to see what was new and improved about it, I trotted along after work.

It was nice, althoug I didn't find it that different.  There was two new additions in the form of bareminerals and Molton Brown and I think the Bumble and Bumble stuff was new too, I think in the past I had only ever seen it in John Lewis here but I may be wrong.

So, I may have bought a coupla things...

I did pay for most of this (freebies detailed below) and it came to about £54, not nearly as close as I was expecting to spend, in a good way.

Origins Best At-Home Facial, this was free with any skincare purchase.  Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation SPF 15 sampler.  Max Factor Whipped Creme foundation in 50 Natural. Philosophy Microdelivery triple acid brightening peel (1 pre-saturated pad).  The perfume strip has a skoosh of Molton Brown 'Londinium' unisex fragrance. It is a unisex fragrance that lasts for 24 hours or until you wash it off, it's nice and clean and cosy and I like.  FYI, Skoosh is a technical term...

Some essentials, ish.  Cutex Ultra Cleansing nail polish remover, does the job and lasts a long time.  Radox Moisture Soak, a continous repurchase for me, Nivea In-Shower moisturiser, I'm looking forward to trying this.  Soap and Glory Pulp Friction Body Scrub, Soap and Glory really do scrubs well and so I have every faith that this will be a winner too. Brown metal-free hair bands, super handy for work.  Moist towelettes, I have decided these are a handbag essential now for when I am getting ma swatch on!

Some skincare treats.  Simple Kind to Eyes revitalising roll-on.  Since catching a coldy/ fluey thing a couple of weeks back my eyes have felt so tired and this promises to cool and refresh, nice! And my proper luxury items, Origins Ginzeng moisturiser.  I am not that keen on the smell of oranges but the texture of this felt nice on the back of my hand so I'll give it a whirl and lastly, Origins Super Spot Remover.  I have heard great things for this teeny tiny little bottle and so I have high expectations, super handy as I have about four volunteers on my face right now.

Next Thursday the 10th of October, Boots in the Bon Accord centre are having a points event until 9pm where you can get £12 of Advantage card points when you spend over £50 in-store.  So if you are local to the area, it's worth a visit.

Any Super Spot Remover success stories? 

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Bourjois are Bringing it!

Peach on the beach, never has a name been so apt than this delicious little nugget from Bourjois.  Bourjois are really upping the stakes at the moment and my wishlist is growing exponentially with those stakes.  Here is one of their Colour Boost Lip Crayons and I urge you to try one and not want to keep it!

Following in the style of the Clinique Chubby sticks, these are a very effortless and speedy addition to your make-up bag. I can see them lasting a good amount of time too as one swipe and your done, even stevens!

The top is pointed for precision (although I squished mine a little putting the lid on).

And the silver part at the bottom twists the product up, similar to a lipstick or a retractable pencil thing that lasted your first week back at school.

The colour is a yummy, juicy coral which will suit a majority of skin tones and would go beautifully with a tan.

I would say that the hydration is good but perhaps not the 10 hours promised good, especially not if eating or drinking.  On me, the glossiness faded after about two hours but it left a nice tint behind on the lips.  On another one of my colleagues who also tried it, I would say after an hour all that was left was a tint.

Here you can see the sheeny shiney-ness of it.  One thing I really like is that although it is incredibly juicy looking, it is not sticky.  There is nothing worse than walking to work with my hair stuck to my face, I have to cross some big (big in aberdeen) roads and seeing where I'm going is incredibly helpful!

This gives a pretty opaque colour for one swipe, although I think on the lip it has a slightly more milkier opacity to it.  I had this to work and one of the staff nurses, who is blonde and really tanned, put this on and it looked great on her but just not as orangey-coral as it did on the back of my hand.  Still gorgeous though!

These are available in six shades on the Superdrug website, here, and on the Boots website, here. It is worth noting that on the Boots website, 'Peach on the Beach', is just called 'On the Beach'.  Also worth noting is that Boots have a buy one get a second half price offer on at the moment.

I'm after 'Prune' next, sounds like an ideal autumnal shade.

Oh, and one last thing, these little beauties contain SPF15, so really you would be doing yourself a favour if you went out and bought one.  Right now. 

Have you tried these yet?

Hugs,

Jodi 

xxx

Hello Softy!

Recently, I may have mentioned a mini splurge in Boots - shock!

I couldn't help myself when I spotted this Soap & Glory 'night in shining armour' cream in the reduced section - reduced you say?! Instead of the usual £13 this cost me £3.25, happy birthday to me!

So, contained in this screw top, pearlescent tub is a myriad of skin-friendly ingredients.  There is the patented Superpeptide complex, which is scientifically proven to reduces wrinkles, increase elasticity, improve skin smoothness and also skin firming effects.  It also includes antioxidant EFA oils (I've yet to find out what the EFA stands for but it would appear to be vegan?!), Vitamins A and E and lastly, aromatic fragrance oils which include orange, mandarin, geranium and lavender.

One major thing that I will point out is that the scientific evidence and statistics are based on testers using this twice daily over two months, so unless we live on mars which has two moons, we earthlings would only be applying a NIGHT cream once per NIGHT! So, any results would possibly take up to four months to become visible.

All in all, I found this to be pretty effective at giving my skin a moisture boost, it would be awesome if it had maybe some salicylic acid or hylauronic acid in it, but for a mid price moisturiser it's pretty decent. I reckon one tub will last a good couple of months too as a little goes a long way.  My face definitely felt softer in the morning and looked a bit brighter too which is always a bonus.  The scent is a floral herby kinda mix, I don't detect so much of the citrus in it.  After applying this to my face, I feel a brief, invigorating sensation, if you have ever used original source tea tree shower gel, it's a bit similar! 

It's available at boots, in stores and online here.

Do you have a magic night time cream?

Are you a fan of soap & glory?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

A trio of Barrie's ...

Hey Chummers!

I couldn't go into Boots and not come out without a polish (or three) *chortle*

Pictured below is the white, ltd edition yellow (only available at boots) and the pink sequin effect. I really like the ltd edition cap, it just makes it look so much more edgy.

Below we have two coats of white on the index (pointer) finger and one coat of the yellow and the white on the following fingers.

Next up we have the two coats of the pink sequin effect over the white to give it a bit of oomph, two coats of the yellow on its own and one coat of yellow over the white.

Two things stood out for me that I did not like about these purchases, firstly, if you are testing a nail polish in a shop, please do it neatly and cleanly! In the picture below, just at the top, you can see a bit of dried up yellow polish, the lid was practically crusted on - eugh! 

Secondly, the sequin effect polish.  The formula was terrible if I'm brutally honest, the base pink was grainy and the colour itself was wishy -washy, it was not good to work with.  It also had a textured finish.  On the second coat I found that the base colour covered a fair few of the 'sequins' from the first coat giving them a much less vibrant effect.  I was gutted by this polish as I had really liked the look of it when it was first released.

The iphone pic below isn't the best, however this is two coats of the sequin effect polish, just look how patchy and meh the finish is! 

The formula of the white and the yellow polish were pretty good, if applied very carefully you could reach opacity in two coats, or if done not so carefully (like me!) you would benefit from three.

Whats your feelings on all these new textured polishes?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx