Browsing Category

Candles

Candles, Clothing and Fashion, Lifestyle, Make-up

An Accidental Haul Part 2

June 2, 2014

Haul

You know when you really shouldn’t go shopping but you do anyway? Well I blame Pants entirely (and you can see her haul post here!) and can’t be held responsible for my inability to say no to a good bargain shop! As we are both supposed to be saving money for festival season at the moment we limited ourselves to only four shops – Primark, Superdrug, Boots and Poundland.

 

Primark Boots

Boots – Primark  £10

I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt as I bought these as Pants had been after them for ages, but they only had clown sizes left! Luckily I’m a UK size eight shoe, so I always seem to get the best of the sales. I’ve got some customization plans for these, studs and chains and basically all the things Pants wanted to do to hers (sorry…not sorry Pants!). I figure they’ll get plenty of wear on stage, and even though they have a heel, it’s not too unreasonable to think I might be able to last a few bands at a festival in them.

Primark clothes

Black Dress & Lepoard Print Dress – Primark £5 each

I already have both of these dresses in other colours, but they’re so comfortable and perfect to throw on with a pair of leggings and some boots for work, that I always pick up a couple more whenever I’m on a Primark binge.

3/4 Leggings – Primark £2.50

It was warm enough to show my calves for about three minutes last week, but I got these just in case we have another five minutes of summer!

Lace Skirt – Primark £3.00

I couldn’t help picking up this lacy skirt, I have always had a weakness for black lace! I’m planning on turning this into either a mini or a strapless dress for stage, and the best thing is if it all goes wrong I’m sure I can do something crafty with my bargain find!

The Little Mermaid Pyjamas – Primark £8.00

I saw these cropping up a few times on my Instagram feed, and knew I had to have them! My PJ collection is quite ridiculously large now, but when they are this cute I can’t help but add to it!

Primark bits

Zebra Tote Bag – Primark £1.50

As you can probably tell from my current bedspread, I love zebras! You can never have enough totes (especially if you are eco-friendly and prefer not to pick up new plastic bags every time you go shopping!) and you can definitely never have enough adorable zebra-in-pink-stilettos-totes.

Shoe Liners – Primark £2.50 & Socks – Primark £2.00

I am physically unable to leave Primark without at least one set of new socks. Not the most exciting of things, but I just adore the feeling of brand new fresh socks! I picked up a pack of five shoe liners for the gym and some cute bunny socks!

Embellish 3D manicure set – £1.00

I’m not sure I’ll ever get round to trying out the 3D mani (though I have quite a few sets already! =s) look, as it seems a bit fussy and messy. I do however love the blue shade, so even if I never use the balls I’ll certainly get some wear from the polish.

Red Berries & Orchid Tin Candle – Primark £3.50

I adore scented candles, but what I love even more than that is scented candles that leave you with a pretty storage tin once they’ve burnt away!

IMG_9751

Soap & Glory Hand Maid Antibacterial Hand Cleansing Gel – Boots [£2.50]

I’ve started stocking up for festival season, and I never step foot into a field without antibacterial hand gel! Usually they smell of cheap vodka, but this one  smells delicious!

Soap & Glory Flake Away Mini Scrub – Boots  [£2.50]

Another festival essential, I’ll be stocking up on all my favourite minis over the next month so that I’ll have a plethora of nice treats to pack!

IMG_9753

MUA Matte Lipstick in Lilac Belle – Superdrug [£1.00]

I loved the first five colours released in the MUA Matte Lipstick range (reviewed here) so I knew I had to get the two new colours recently released. I found Fawn Fancy a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I’ve been able to put my hand to Lilac Belle. Given how much I’m into pinky/purple lipsticks at the moment I think I’ll get a lot of wear out of it!

MUA  Intense Colour Eye-liner in Snow White – Superdrug [£1.00]

The make-up was 3 for 2 in Superdrug, and even though I didn’t really need this, I figured why not. My old white eye-liner was getting a bit crumbly, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

MUA Inense Colour Lip-Liner in Red Drama – Superdrug [£1.00]

Er..it was 3 for 2…did I already say that. I definitely didn’t need this.

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique Figer & Toe Twines – Superdrug 0.74p

One of my toe separators has gone missing so I figured why not try these out as they were only 74p on clearance!

Poundland bits

Oil Burner & Tealight Holder – Poundland £1 each

I’ve been looking for a new burner for my Yankee Candle tartlets for a while, but I’m glad I held out because this one is lovely and much cheaper than some of the others I was eyeing up! I couldn’t resist the cute little lantern, it’s intended for outdoor use but I think it will look just as lovely on my vanity!

Travel Bottle Sets – Poundland £1 each

More early festival prep, but I also use these a lot in general anyway. Between the band and a boyfriend overseas I spend a lot of time in transit, so it’s useful to be able to take a small wash-bag full of minis and small bottles.

Johnsons Baby Cotton Pads, Screen Wipes & Zebra Pens – Poundland £1 each

Just a few of the more boring essentials I needed to pick up, though the zebra pens were a great bargain as I usually pay about £3.99 for a set elsewhere.

W7 Rock ‘N’ Roll Eye Shadow in Envy and Sage – Poundland £1 each

Oh my god. Why has no-one thought to put loose pigment in a roller ball before? (If they have please spam me with links so I can buy them all!). I was having  a good search around the otherwise bare beauty section and I idly found an open tube to test out on the back of my hand. All I can say is I was blown away by how pigmented and mess-free they are! I love loose mineral shadows, especially glittery ones, but I always make such a mess – with these tubes you can get the colour right where you want it without any fall-out at all! I’ve already spotted a few other colours here that I just have to pick up!

So overall not too much damage done to my bank balance, but some nice treats and bargain finds that will tide me over till the next time my shopping urges appear!

Totally hellbent for “oh what the hell lets go shopping” days!

– Gem

Candles

Sunday Scents: Chupa Chups Strawberry Scented Candle

June 1, 2014
Chupa Chups Strawberry Scented Candle

Chupa Chups Strawberry Scented Candle

Being a vegetarian the sweets of my youth are often completely off limits due to frankly revolting ingredients of animal origin, but Chupa Chups fruit lollies are one of the treasured few that are not only vegetarian but vegan!  I’ve been able to continue loving Chupa Chups sugary scents (and flavours!) well into my cruelty free lifestyle so when I saw this candle in Poundland I knew it was definitely for me!

I wasn’t expecting too much from it, and it’s not the most fragrant candle I’ve ever used, but actually it has a gorgeous sugary strawberry scent that filled the room in a few minutes.

There was no burn time listed on the packaging, but it’s a decent 85g so should last out a good few hours – I’ve had it going since this morning and it’s got plenty of life left in it.

You’re not going to find the richest true scents in a candle that only costs £1.00, but if you want a quick sugary fix that is very reminiscent of the confectionery branding I’d definitely recommend checking this candle out.

Have you tried the Chupa Chups Strawberry candle, or any others from the range?

Totally hellbent for cheap thrills and sugary treats!

– Gem

Candles, Clothing and Fashion, Make-up, Nails, Skincare

Accidental May Haul

May 29, 2014

may-haul

Sometimes you just want to shop. It’s an urge that truly can not be ignored, especially if Gem and I are left alone, unsupervised! This afternoon was definitely one of those times and we ended up going on a completely unplanned spree.

may-haul-2

No budget style shop would be complete without a trip to Primark and even though I didn’t -need- anything at all, I still ended up with a bag full of stuff. I absolutely adore giraffes and I squeeled with delight when I found the giraffe print dress and the tote bag. Even though I usually buy matching underwear from La Senza or Ann Summers, I often pick up some cheap briefs when I can for the gym or lounging around, because lets face it, no one wants to spend 30 minutes on a treadmill in lacy briefs. I really couldn’t resist the pack of four Brazilian style briefs which came in red animal print, red lipsticks, red hearts and navy polka dots and the 5 pairs of animal print “shoe liners” or better know to me as … socks I can wear at the gym with my trainers.

Giraffe Dress – £5 – Primark

Giraffe tote bag – £1.50 – Primark

Pack of 4 brazilian briefs – £4.50 – Primark

Animal print shoe liners – £2.50 – Primark

may-haul-3

And now the stuff that I really really didn’t need. Another candle to add to my collection from Primark in “red berries & orchid” a beautiful berry candle in a gorgeous purple tin, surely this was meant for my dressing table?

A trip to boots ended up in me picking the Rimmel Scandel Eyes gel eyeliner up, which you can read Gem’s review about here, and also NO7’s Beautiful Skin Day Cream with spf15. This was my primary reason for going into Boots as I had a £5 off No7 skincare voucher and really needed some day moisturiser which had spf in. This was for dry to very dry skin and all the reviews I’ve read about this cream were pretty good, so I’m excited to give it a try when I run out of my current moisturiser.

Despite my worries of going to Superdrug and buying half the store, I was actually very sensible, as it was 3 for 2 on most of their makeup, I did pick up an MUA lip-liner in “Red Drama”, MUA lipstick in “Shade 3” and another MUA power pout in “Crazy in Love” (you can see my review of the MUA power pout in “Runaway” here). I also picked up some Garnier Micellar water, which I really did need and some more deodorant which I’m almost out of.

Lastly, we fell into Poundland where I stupidly decided that I had to have a Revlon nail varnish in “Runway Pearl”, two W7 “rock and roll” eye-shadows in “sage” and “envy”, some zebra pens (I already have a vast collection of these exact pens in my desk drawer!) and some beautiful blue paper, a nice addition to my craft room.

Purple tin candle – £3.50 – Primark

Rimmel Scandel Eyes Gel Eyeliner – 4.99 – Boots (usually £6.99 and also £6.99 in Superdrug)

No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream – £12.50 – Boots (only £7.50 with my £5 off voucher)

Nivea deodorant – £2.29 – Superdrug (2 for £3)

MUA Power Pout – £3 – Superdrug

MUA Lip Liner – £1 – Superdrug

MUA Lipstick – £1 – Superdrug (3 for 2 – £4 in total)

Revlon Nail Varnish – £1 – Poundland

Decorative paper – £1 – Poundland

W7 rock and roll eyeshadow – £1 each – Poundland

Zebra animal print pens – £1 – Poundland

I absolutely blame our shop on Lauren over at Lauren Amy Blogs, since I was up late last night reading some of her “Superdrug haul” posts and I had an overwhelming urge to go out and buy things. Despite both Gem and I having a no spending month *cough*, together we are a force that is unstoppable – thankfully we did manage to resist the £5 blow up chairs in Ann Summers complete with built in penis’ – something we thought would be absolutely hilarious to take to our upcoming festivals.

This is definitely my last haul for a while, but if you’ve had a recent haul, please post us your links in the comments below so instead of spending our money we can live precariously through you and your blog posts :o).

Totally hellbent for having an uncontrollable addiction that I thankfully share with my bested friend in the whole world

-Pants

 

 

Candles

Sunday Scents: Yankee Candle Wax Tart in “Soft Cotton”

April 27, 2014

yankee-candle-soft-cotton

My love of Yankee Candles has been ongoing for many years now. I’m always on the look out for cheap wax tarts to fill up my oil burners and usually have a good stash in the cupboard. When Gem told me that Asda had these tarts for as little as a pound, I had to get in on it. I usually pay between £0.99 and £1.50 per tart when I get them from the internet so it’s handy to know I can pop down the road to pick up some of these treasures for around the same price.

For those that have never tried a tart before, you simply use it in place of oil in a burner, place your candle underneath and leave the aroma to brighten up the room. I prefer them to scented candles as I think you get more of a fragrance out of them. The burn time is allegedly 8 hours per tart but I’ve found it varies depending on the fragrance. My recent Cinnamon and Sugar tart probably kept it’s fragrance for around this time but my Black Cherry tart is used at least once or twice a week and has been going for over a year and a half.

I’ve not tried the Soft Cotton wax tart before, but it has a beautiful light and airy smell, it reminds me a little of Febreeze, which I absolutely love and it’s perfect to burn in the bathroom to give the upstairs a nice gentle aroma. I’ve also found that this scent isn’t too heavy but since using it, has left the whole of my upstairs smelling absolutely beautiful.

The other advantage of wax tarts is that they can be easily removed from your oil burner and stored somewhere else if you fancy burning something else. I usually burn mine until they stop smelling and for my smaller burners, I break off a little of the tart at  a time which makes them last longer.

Ultimately I think this is yet another Tart to add to my favourites collection and I’ll definitely be putting this in my shopping trolley again.

For a range of Yankee Candle tarts you can visit The Scented Candle Shop website for some great deals, alternatively if you want to try a more limited range, visit your local Asda and pick them up for just £1!

Totally hellbent for a beautiful cotton bathroom smell that combats the post walkies bath, wet doggy smell.

-Pants

 

Candles

Sunday Scents: Yankee Candle Simply Home in Vanilla Frosting

April 13, 2014
Yankee Candle Simply Home in Vanilla Frosting

Yankee Candle Simply Home in Vanilla Frosting

 

Hello and welcome to the first of many Sunday Scents!

Who doesn’t love a good scented candle? I’m pretty obsessed with them, and sweet vanilla scents are my biggest weakness!

Yankee candles are a little on the pricey side usually but I spotted them in my local Asda at around half the usual cost. The whole line there is branded as Yankee Candle Simply Home and there are some slight differences between the standard candles as described on the official website –

Inspired by the simple pleasures of home and family, Simply Home by Yankee Candle is a range of home fragrance designed with both style and value in mind. Simply Home is created with the same wax and to the same high standards as Yankee Candle Classics (Housewarmer), but with a different complexity of fragrance, and in colours that perfectly complement your home décor. 

So there you have it, the difference should be minimal with only a less complex scent to show for your savings. I picked up the  49g Vanilla Frosting Wrapped Votive Sampler for only £1 and with the full  size at only £13.00 I will definitely be making a return trip to the home-wares aisle!

The burn time of the sampler size is around 15 hours so you get plenty out of your £1 investment! I think this is a great way to try out all the different scents (I know I plan to!)

So onto the part where I actually talk about this particular candle – it is absolutely delicious! A rich and thick sweet scent that reminds me of baking. It’s quite a creamy smell and could be a bit sickly if you aren’t particularly into sweet scents. It takes a little while to get going but once a pool of wax has formed on the top it really fills the room with a mouthwatering sugary smell.

I’ve tried many many vanilla scented candles, but this is definitely my number one favourite and I can’t wait to get my hands on the full size jar!

Find in-store or order on-line at Asda.com

Have you tried any of the Yankee Candle Simply Home range?

Totally hellbent for sickly sweet treats that contain zero calories!

– Gem