Pretty in Poundland

Hello!

I popped into my local Poundland store recently, to pick up some sweets ect. for potential trick or treaters, and was greeted by some pretties that I had to share! I have to admit, pound stores or discount places are not shops I like to frequent - not because I'm a snob (seriously, I'm anything but) but because I usually have two small children in tow that want everything in sight and then whine for the rest of the day when whatever they buy inevitably breaks after half an hour, but they are sometimes worth a look for bargain nail polish and accessories. Sorry, that turned a bit ranty didn't it? Anyway, onto what I found...

Instead of the usual jumble-sale feel of the beauty section there was a stand devoted completely to nails and nail art, dubbed the Nail Bar. I was surprised to see some of the latest trends in the nail world, by what seems to be Poundland's own brand, Pretty. There were feather polishes, graffiti polishes, mattes, magnetics and lots of glitters. As well as the polish there were nail art stripers, rhinestones, charms, nail wraps, caviar beads and loose glitter embellishments as well as files, buffers and removers. All for just £1. I think I was most impressed with the graffiti and feather effect polishes, as these are so on trend and fairly new to the market - it's obvious they've been copied from high end brands but I'm not complaining. Personally, I'm not big on the feather effect, as I can't stand my nails looking 'hairy' or glitter sticking out from the end of my nails but for £1 (rather than £11ish for one high end brand) I can just about stomach it!

I picked up two of the feather polishes, and the graffiti effect one that they had in my store, and really they're quite pretty (hence the name?). The quality is surprisingly good too - I expected them to be thick and gloopy, and stink to high heaven but they didn't. They're thin enough to wear as topcoats, but with a decent amount of glitter so that you could build up to relative opacity fairly easily. The nail-wheel swatches below show 1 and two coats. The only gripe I have is that the shades are not named, but it's not a deal breaker!

I thought while I was at it, I'd show you some of the other things I've picked up in poundland, pound world and the 99p store etc. They're good places to check if you're after some cheap embellishments, and it's the only place I can find pure acetone locally to me without paying an arm and a leg for it. They've even had stamping plates, with a stamper and scraper in my local store before. I prefer my glass nail files now, but you can pick up basic files and buffers for pence too.

They also have branded items available sometimes - the most notable one recently being OPI shatters, with an RRP of £10.50 at just £1. Ok, so shatters aren't to everyone's taste, and seem to have gone out of vogue (I still love a quick shatter mani) but OPI for £1? Who can resist? I also regularly see Sally Hansen, Rimmel, Collection 2000, Revlon, W7 and Maybelline. Last seasons shades perhaps, but still good quality items. You take pot luck as to what you'll find, but it is worth a nose, even with children in tow!

Hx

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Off-Topic Tuesday - Budget Beauty Buys worth trying!

Although this is prominently a nail blog, I'm a closet beauty junkie too. There's no way in a million years I'll ever get through all of my make-up, but I still buy more and more. And when it comes to spending, I want more for my money! But to get the quantity you don't always have to scrimp on quality, so I thought I'd share a few of the budget friendly products I use every day and love. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a collection of MAC lippies and Urban Decay palettes, but when I can get a whole make-up bag full of goodies for the price of one higher end one, I know which I'd rather have!

MUA

I seem to have amassed quite an array of MUA products, both from their main £1 range and the slightly pricier pro range. It started off with a single eye shadow (Shade 1 pearl, not pictured because my three year old smashed it...) which I loved so much as an eye shadow and highlighter, and moved on from there. Several of the products I use everyday and will repurchase over and over - the pressed powder and clear mascara for my brows are used every single day. I love all the palettes as they're great quality and only around £4. A recent favourite is the Intense Kisses lip gloss. At just £2 it's comparable to Rimmel Apocalips, but easier to wear and less messy!

Derma V10 Cocoa Body Butter

I must admit I'm a little bit lazy when it comes to body moisturising. I buy a new product and start out with good intentions, but they soon fade either when the product doesn't live up to expectations or I just get bored of it. But not with this one. I tried it after Miss Budget Beauty's recommendation and have repurchased several times since then. For just 99p (I get mine from Body Care, but apparently you can get it in Poundland and 99p stores too) you get a decent 220ml tub of bright orange body butter. Yup, bright orange! But as soon as you rub it into your skin you get a rich, gorgeous smelling, moisturising lotion that really packs a punch. The scent lingers on your skin, but doesn't smell fake or too sickly and makes my skin really soft and smooth. My only reservation is the colour, but with a product this good I can overlook that. If you're a fan of the much pricier Body Shop body butters, give this a go. I promise you wont regret it!

Superdrug Vitamin E Range

I first tried the vitamin e range from Superdrug after the huge hype the Hot Cloth Cleanser caused in the blogosphere when it launched. I fell in love with it and have been using it ever since. I'm happy to report the rest of the range is just as good! Most recently I've been using the Facial Scrub and Oil and they're both products I love. The scrub is oat based, and while I usually find these aren't 'scrubby' enough for me, the exfoliating particles in this have just the right texture. Since I purchased the oil a few weeks ago I have used it every single night before bed and the difference it has made to my dry skin is incredible. My skin feels so much brighter and smoother, my make-up goes on so much easier and even the dark shadows under my eyes are less noticable. And for under £3!

Ebay

Not a budget beauty buy as such, but definitely worth noting if you're after a bargain! I like going in store and having a browse, but online shopping can be just as satisfying, especially if you know what you're looking for. I recently got a brand new Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadow on ebay for around £3.80 + free delivery, when the exact same product in Boots or Superdrug would have set me back £4.99. Ok, so there are often 3 for 2 offers or discounts, and points to collect in store, but if you're just looking for one thing and don't want to be tempted then see if you can find it on Ebay first! Other things I have picked up are a Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in Berry Queen for under £2 and a couple of Sleek eye palettes for much lower than the RRP. 

I hope this has been helpful! If you're tight careful like me or often find you have too much month at the end of your money, share your budget tips!

Hx

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No-spend September and untried challenge...

So, today is September 1st, the end of the summer and start of a new season. I can't believe the non-Summer we had, so blah. My tan is already fading and yesterday I wore a dress with thick tights and boots. How depressing.

Anyway, as you've probably guessed I am aiming for a no buy/no spend this month, for nails, hair, make-up and beauty. I have everything I need - I'm not about to run out of moisturiser or foundation, I have a couple of basecoats which are perfectly fine and the number of half-full bottles of shampoo I have in my bathroom is obscene. So, with a few exceptions, I am not going to buy anything - no polish, no make-up, no nothing. Bit scared. But it will do my bank balance good, as the old man is self employed and work has been thin on the ground lately and my part-time this and that isn't getting us anywhere...

As I said, there are a few exceptions-

• I will run out of polish remover and cotton pads at some point, so they will need to be replaced - maximum spend £2.50 possibly twice in the month.
• I will need hairspray as mine has rolled too far under the bed for me to get (at least I think that's where it is...)
• I may be organising a swap...but if I do will put it off until later in the month.
• Bargain of the century Holy Grail item that I can't pass up.
• I have a small paypal balance that isn't worth transferring to my bank burning a hole in my virtual pocket, I will hold onto it as long as possible though.

So, since I can't buy any new polish, I decided I should stop being such a spoilt brat and use the 'new' polish I have that I've not even worn yet. Yup, the untrieds. I dug out all the untried polishes from my stash, put them in a box and firmly closed my polish drawer.

Um, blogger, why you make picture upside-down?

I think I have a month's worth of manicures here... I'm going to use these and only these for the whole month of September. A few exceptions again, to keep it interesting-

• If there is a particular nail-art that I want to do, I will allow myself to use other polishes as long as the main polish is from the untried box.
• I have some polish winging it's way to me from the Models Own sale and blog sales which will be added to the box.
• To add interest and change it up a bit I will allow myself to use matte, glitter, shimmer and crackle top coats as long as the main colour is an untried. Where possible I will use a glitter or crackle from the untrieds if I can.

So, that's my September! I've already started by painting my nails with an untried polish :) To be fair it is one I only got at the weekend...but it's a start!

Anything that catches your eye from the (upside-down?) picture? Will you be joining me on no-spend September? Let me know!

Hx

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Bargain Haulage

Hello!

I'm sorry this post is later than I planned, for some reason the weekend went too fast and time was not on my side.

Anyway, I've been bargain/freebie hunting and this is what I've come up with!

First up, some freebies. In Boots at the moment when you buy two Dove Deodorants you get a free Nails Inc Nail Polish in either Copacabana (coral creme) or Havana (nude shimmer). I spent just under £8 on the deodorant (which is the brand I use anyway so they'll get used up) and got both polishes, worth £22 together. I have Copacabana on my toes at the moment, and it is more orange than it looks in the bottle.

Also in Boots, when you buy any two 17 products you get this mini nail bar in a bag free, containing two polishes, a nail file and some nail stickers. The polishes are Pink Grapefruit and Red something (which I already had but had gone rock solid!) I bought a polish in Peacock and a high shine lip gloss in Coral Queen to get this freebie, spending less than £7.50. I wanted a coral lipgloss anyway, but will have to keep looking as this one is just completely sheer :(

Now an ebay bargain, I was looking for a particular Collection 2000 colour tat is apparently good for stamping, but has been discontinued. I couldn't find the one I was looking for, but the orangey-coral polish in this set caught my eye. There was 30 minutes or so left in the auction, it had no bids with a start price of 99p + £2 postage so I bid £1.20 and won. The pink isn't really very me, but the other two are nice enough, and I wanted an orange shimmer as my few orange polishes are all cremes.

These 2 Barry M beauties are Peach Melba and Berry Ice Cream, which I got from the Barry M Website with a code for 15% off. With postage I paid a little more than you would in Boots or Superdrug, but I can never seem to find Peach Melba and there aren't any offers in either shop at the moment, so I went for it. After all, you can't beat a bit of Barry M :)

Hx

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