Charlotte's June/July Buys

Since we had a mini break and I was going to do this post a while ago but I some reason didn't get round to actually doing the post so I've rounded up everything that I've bought/I've been bought in the past couple of months to share with you because I have managed to get some right bargains!

 Urban Outfitters- Jewellery Box £12 (was £26) 

 Urban Outfitter- Photo Frame £3 (was £6)

Before we moved house, I was just browsing facebook at stupid o'clock in the morning and the jewellery box that I fell in love with popped up on the side advertisement, shouting, I repeat, shouting at me saying it was now £12! I honestly nearly wee'd myself. I was going to buy this at full price which I'm very glad I didn't. So while I was about to purchase this beautiful wooden box, I decided to gander through the sale and saw this adorable Glitter Heart Photo Frame which was half price so I thought it would be cute to put a picture of me and David in it!  

I will show you more buys I got from Ikea for my new room in my New Bedroom Post which I will do shortly.

The Body Shop- Born Lippy £Free (£3) Strawberry Body Mist £5.60 (£7.50)

I saw a deal on one of the student money saver websites (definitely worth checking out, they are always updating brilliant offers and freebies) for a free Born Lippy Lip Balm from The Body Shop, I instantly printed off the slip and walked into the shop expected them to say its not valid or something. Oh how I went in on a good day. As soon as I walked in the shop I noticed that all of the Strawberry collection was on 25% off, that day only, and I LOVE the strawberry section in The Body Shop, saying that anything strawberry is brilliant. Anyway, I had already pre warned myself that I can not afford to buy anything, get the free lip balm and leave; but when I asked the guy if it was valid, he also told me that if you spend £5 or more today you get the membership card free (normally £5). I then couldn't resist to buy the Body Mist which was just over £5.60, I got the free lip balm in Toffee, which I slightly regret now, it doesn't smell/taste like toffee, and the membership card all for £3.75- not entirely sure how but I got another 10% off from the membership card (I know it doesn't add up but I'm not complaining). The Body Shop is my new favourite shop.

Matalan- Soon Collection 

Matalan- Soon Collection

Matalan

So me and mum had a lovely trip to Matalan a while ago now, and planned to get some new and correct size bras for myself because none of my bras actually fitted me. We obviously also had to have a look around the clothes before getting to the bra section. I must say, the bra rails in Matalan are terrible, I think I l knocked a good couple of bras off and looking for my size was impossible without 10 other bras coming off too. After knocking the majority of the bras off and hunting around the hundreds of styles, I only found a couple in my actual size- story of my life and we ended up only buying 1. While I was looking at bras, mum had wondered off into the Soon Collection, which I'd say is a collection for the more mature lady. There was a 3 for 2 offer on, mum had already picked out 2 items and said I could have the final item, I initially didn't think I would find anything, however I managed to spot both the blue dress and the white top up which I love the embroidery and beading on them both! I tried them both on and fell in love and mum luckily only liked 1 of her items, so she got me both, tehe. The blue dress I thought was a bit posh, but it was perfect for cocktails for my friends birthday. 

Mum also picked out this grey midi dress for me, which she really liked and thought it would hide my minging thighs perfectly, cheers mum. But I'm very grateful, at first I was a bit weary showing just half my calf (poet) but I love it! I've been dressing it up with flatforms and a gold chain.

I'm not actually sure how much these all where but thanks momma!

Primark Jumper- £3 (was £12)

Tori already has this jumper and I was totally jealous when she bought it, so when I saw it hanging on the Primark sale rail in my size, it was fate. I love the embroidery on it and I can't wait for the weather to get cooler so I can wear it, I would definitely melt if I wore it in this heat. 

 L'oreal Skin Perfection Purifying Micellar Solution- £2.49

I got this from Body Care after seeing Essie Button post about getting this. I thought I might try it as my current cleanser was running out, so far I'm not sure if I like this product; I may do a full review after I've used it a lot more because I'm still not certain about it. 

 Dorothy Perkins- £2 (was about £6.50 I think)

Dorothy Perkins- £2 (was £6.50)

Me, Tori and Charlotte McQ popped into DPs to see if they had any sensible work shoes for me, however we made it to the jewellery sale rail instead. I fell in love with both of these necklaces! The wishbone necklace came on cardboard with a dog printed on it, and it's my new favourite thing, I've worn it nearly everyday since buying it. I haven't actually worn the gold necklace yet, but it's going to look great when it's a bit cooler for me to wear with my shirts! 

Kurt Geiger in Debenhams- Bank of Mum- £25 (was £85)

Oh god, here they are! 

I got these not long ago for my birthday night out. Looking through Debenhams shoe collection and these were the only pair I could find that I liked. They're a size 8 and a tiny bit big on me so it took me a while to decide if I actually wanted them. I thankfully persuaded myself to get them and just got big memory foam insoles to make them fit perfectly, hooray for big feet! I actually didn't know these were Kurt Geigers until I actually bought them, mum bought them and for £25 I was bouncing for the rest of the day!

I have a couple more items that I need to photograph and it's kind of august now so I will do another post at the end of this month and show you more of my new buys without spamming you with them all at once.

Have you got any good bargains recently?

Benefit Mini Makeover in Debenhams

As we were trawling round the shops looking for our awkward friends birthday present- how annoying when you have a really picky friend and you just have no idea what she wants/needs! Anyway, in the end we came back with nothing other than a makeover which I suppose is better.

We were making our way round Debenhams and a woman stopped us and asked us if we had used any Benefit Cosmetics before, and honestly, both us haven't really used any of the Benefit range. Other than Charlotte, who's just got the 'Fake Up Mascara' sample with this months Elle magazine, which she has fallen in love with! So were thought we'd do a blog post of the outcome and what products they used on us, however unfortunately we haven't got any decent pictures of what it looked like after the makeover.

Charlotte:
First of all, we were both quite surprised that neither of the sales assistants didn't take off our make up before they applied their Benefit products.
The girl who did my make up was so cool, actually it's very rude of me to forget her name, oppsey. We was chatted about uni and bars/clubs in Leeds, she told us some really cool new places to go to. She used a lot more products on my face than Tori's sales assistant did, which I was happy about as I've got a huge make up to buy list, which I just keep adding stuff onto so this really didn't help.

She did half of my face first to compare to what my face actually looked like without their products on, this is what she put on my face in order (from what I can remember):

1. It's potent! Eye cream £24.50
This felt brilliant on my eyes, not only can you feel the cold freshness when you're putting it on but it just feels like it is working. It treats the dark circles under your eyes- which at the moment I have a lot of, leaving your eyes looking brighter and smoother under eyes.
2. The POREfessional £24.50
This is the UK's best selling primer, which I didn't know. I've heard such great things about this, and I have never worn a primer before ever and I've been very eager to try out one, and I just don't know why I haven't got this in my life. She blended it onto my skin, and it just felt unreal, it was so smooth and silky over my face and it has Vitamin E in it. This is definitely on my to buy list!
3. Boo Boo Zap! £13.50
I've not heard of this product before and I do find the description a bit unbelievable 'say "bye bye" to boo boos with this fast-acting invisible acne treatment. It purifies and dries out blemishes and reduces the appearance of acne-related redness and swelling' which just seems like a magic potion, but the lady was like no, I thought the same and then I tried it! So she put a bit on my lovely blemish that I have at the moment, but I think that for it to work you may have to put it on more than once to see the effects work, so I can't really say if it works or not.
4. Erase Paste £19.50
The lady then brought a pot of this Erase Paste over, and she said 'this is like industrial strength stuff' which worried me a bit. This concealer doesn't just cover up the blemish amazingly (it was basically gone and it's not a small blemish either) but it also brightens the skin and helps heal the spot.
She put the Paste on next to the spot and then blended it over, she must have been blending for a good couple of minutes which was so awkward. By this point Tori had finished her makeover and was watching the woman basically massage my spot, not something I'd want to do to myself, regardless to someone else!
5. Fake Up £18.50
This product again has had so much rave about, this isn't just your average concealer. It has a hydrating ring around the outside, with Vitamin E and apple seed extract which gives immediate hydration and a concealing core which helps hide them dark circles, smoothes the skin and diffuses light. I found that it does the whole lot, my eyes looked so much brighter and less 'exam period' looking, they also feel great now!
6. You Rebel £24.50
I'm not sure whether I liked this product or not, I quite like my pale look with (attempted) contoured cheeks, nothing too bronzed or blushed. With this tinted moisturiser I just wasn't keen on it, especially after taking photos of the make over, my skin just looks really blotchy and a funny orange/tanned colour.
7. Hervana £23.50
I love the idea of this blush you have the best of everything, you can swirl your brush around them all for an orchid blossom blush colour or just use each colour separately for blush, contouring and highlighting.
8. They're Real £19.50
I already had this one my eyelashes, as I have this mascara and I love it, the brush is amazing, it makes my eyelashes look really long, however she shouldn't have put another coat on as it made them all clump together.
9. Ultra Plush Lip Gloss £14.50
The make up artist put this really nice lip gloss in shade 'All MH' an orange colour on my lips, it smelt and tasted amazing, however i'm not a fan of lip gloss because it's just more faff than it's worth, getting your hair all in it and it comes off too quickly, so I wouldn't buy this product.
0. Refined Finish Facial Polish £18.50
The lady actually just put this on the back of my hand to show me the difference from one hand to the other, and it difference was incredible, the exfoliator left my skin brighten and so much more smoother. The polish contains natural clay and seaweed extract to purify the skin.

Overall I was quite happy with my time at the Benefit counter, the makeup artist also put some eyeshadow on my eyes which looks really nice, and as much as I wanted most of the products she used on my face we both awkwardly had to say we'll come back soon! God, having no money sucks!


Tori:
My makeup artist also did half of my face to compare with the other half!

1. It's potent! Eye cream £24.50
I really liked this product. It's not something I normally use but the cool cream on your face did make your skin feel refreshed and mineralised and it did make a difference the skin around your eyes. The down side to a product like this is maybe the price.

2. The POREfessional £24.50
I have been wanting a primer for a while but wasn't sure what was the best brand to get. I love how smooth it made your skin feel and you could really tell the difference. I am definitely going to consider buying this product.

3. High Beam £19.50

I have thought about buying enhancer before and as it's nice to draw attention to your eyes and applying it on your cheek bones however I would like to try another brand maybe to compare and i thought the women might have applied it a little bit too heavily on my face.

4. You Rebel £24.50
I have never really worn tinted moisturiser before and although it felt nice and may be suitable for around the house and a trip to the gym but I don't intend on purchasing it. I prefer a better coverage achieved by foundation it made our skin look slightly strange.

5. Benetint £24.50
When I normally do my own makeup I use the Mac Mineralise Metallic Finish Bronzing Powder for my cheeks, however the makeup artist used a the Benetint in Rose for my cheeks which is water based. She applied it by three whiskers on my cheeks and then blending them in while I was smiling. She also applied this to my lips. This is a personal choice but I wouldn't recommend this Cheek stain as it looked a little bit too much however it did look quite nice on my lips and it lasted ages, so would be great on a night out.

Overall I didn't really enjoy my experience at the Benefit counter, the woman was more bothered about trying to sell the products to me than what products would look best on me.


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What Primers do you recommend? We are both looking for one!

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