Mothers Day At Poundland - Stationery, Homeware, And High End Make Up Dupes

When I was younger, like so many of peers I wouldn't have been seen dead in a so called discount stores, whether it was down to naivety, delusions of grandeur, just trying to fit in or just plain stupidity, I look back on the Louise of the 1990's and I cringe, I was such an idiot, discount and bargain stores rock and they probably always did.

It's simple really, why pay more for something when you don't need to, I am a huge fan of the so called discounter supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl, I love a good market stall, and of course I love bargain retailers like B&M and Home Bargains. My real love though is Poundland, you do sometimes need to watch their prices, as you can occasionally get things cheaper elsewhere but it's one of the few shops that I can never leave empty handed.

What do I buy in Poundland? well anything and everything, you name it and I've probably bought it in Poundland, nail varnish - check, CD's - check, cleaning products - check, yeah, you get the idea. I'm lucky enough to live quite close to one of their larger stores so I can't resist popping in every week or so, to see their latest arrivals.

Like so many stores now, Poundland is a buy it when you see it shop, if you don't get it when you see it there is no guarantee that it will be there the next time, I think that fear of missing out is probably one of the reasons that I buy so much on every trip.

Now I don't post as many hauls on the blog as I used to instead I tend to upload pictures to Instagram,  and save them to highlights but I thought that today I'd share some of my most recent Poundland buys with you, and they all have a bit of a theme.

If you are still lucky enough to have either your own mum in your life or if you're a mum yourself then you'll already know that it's now less than two weeks till Mothers Day. I think I'm just about sorted now but if you aren't and you either want some little things to add to a main present or you just want some cheaper or token items, or even if you fancy treating yourself on a budget, than Poundland really should be your first port of call.

On my last couple of trips I've noticed more and more items appearing in the their Mothers Day collection. With 90% of the range priced at just £1, this years offerings are perfect if you're are a fan of pinks and marble prints. With items ranging from these fabulous tea light holders, to travel mugs, coupon books, coasters, and trinket boxes, there really is something for every type of mum

Now my mam, is a bit of a puzzle book fan so I've picked up a cute set of pens that are shaped like cooking utensils for her (not pictured), and you know how it goes, I couldn't resist picking up a few stationery bits for me. The pack of  marble print washi tape wasn't in the Mothers Day range but everything else in this picture was. I love anything in gold, pink and marble, and I do love a notebook, so for just a £1 this one was a must, and I love the quotes like "Write Your Own Future" on the pencils.

As well as stationery Poundland's Mothers Day range also contains quite a few beauty items, I'd already picked up one of the marble Blending Sponges when they first appeared with the Valentines / Galentines range, and after a few uses I decided to get a back up. It works just as well as my Beauty Blender and I love the grey and white marble print. As well as the blending sponges, there are perfume dupes, nail polish and nail files sets, bath bombs and some pretty decent make up products.

For Mothers Day 2019, Poundland have released 3 cheek different products inspired by Revolution / Make Up Revolution's, popular Blushing Hearts line which retail at around £4.99 and were themselves inspired by Too Faced's £24 Sweethearts. I don't own any of the Too Faced originals but I'm pretty happy with the Revolution dupes that I do own, and £4.99 is a lot easier to spend then £24. What about a pound though, can make up that cheap really be any good? well I decided to find out and I managed to get my hands on two of Poundland's "heart" make up items.

The first item I picked up was the Bronzing Powder Triple Baked Bronzer. Sticking with the the pink, Mother's Day theme, it comes packaged in pink and white cardboard box. The box itself comes wrapped in a plastic seal so you can't actually see what you're buying, slightly risky but it was only a pound and there is nothing worse than getting a product home and finding someone else's fingerprints in it, so at least you've escaped that!

Open the box and you're greeted with your product adhered to a plastic insert, and boy does it look the part. The domed, chunky, heart shaped bronzer contains 3 shades, a deep warm gold, a deep brown bronze, and a slightly lighter nude bronze.

With the baked texture that you we've come to expect from this type of product, the payoff and pigmentation is superb, all of the shades are strong, and smooth, and I didn't have to do any of that scraping that your sometimes have to do with baked products to get to the colour - just warmth and shimmer in just one light swipe.

Unfortunately I haven't managed to take any pictures of these actually on my face yet, but I have used this bronzer for an all over look, swirling the colours together to warm my cheeks up, and then individually as eye colours. The shades aren't quite as dark as they appear in the pan but I definitely think that this will be more of a summer palette for me, it definitely adds a real glow and a bit of shimmer, which I think will work better on me when I'm not quite as pasty.

Now the other item I got is something that I can definitely wear all year round, it's the Triple Baked Highlighter. Yes, yes I have a ridiculous amount of highlighters but they make me happy, I mean look at it, it's so pretty!

Obviously it comes in the same packaging as the bronzer, only this time you're getting an altogether lighter, cooler toned glow. Again you get three shades in your chunky, domed heart, a true champagne, a more golden champagne tone and a bronze nude. Again I can't fault the colour payoff, or the texture, the pigmentation is there and it's definitely a case of shimmer rather than glitter.

Whilst the bronzer palette worked best for me on the eyes, this is more of a put it everywhere type palette, you can use each shade individually or swirl them together and use them on your cheek bones, brow bones, and again you could even create a full eye look with just this one heart.

I wasn't expecting a lot from these two palettes but I'm so, so impressed for the price. They feel nice, the colour payoff is superb and they were really easy to apply and blend, oh and did I mention that they aren't tested on animals? Yes you get a little bit of fallout, and they create a bit of dust, and I can imagine that the packaging will get a bit grubby after a while but hey I can live with that, they are a £1 each what's not to love! I can't really justify buying any more cheek products at the moment but I'm so tempted to go on a hunt for the as yet elusive, Blushing Hearts Blusher to complete my trio, if that is even half as good as these then for just £1 it will still be well worth picking up. If you've tried it though let me know your thoughts As I say when you see things in Poundland you should buy them, everything that I've seen and read seems to suggest that there were made specifically for Mothers Day so if you fancy a real make up bargain or anything else that I've mentioned then I'd get yourself down to Poundland sooner rather than later x Are you like me and a fan of bargain and discount stores? Share you best finds with me in the comments x

Large Candle Haul - Yankee Candles, Village Candles And More

My name is Louise and I'm a candleaholic! I love candles and so does my mum, you can pretty much find a candle in every room in our house bar maybe the porch and the shower room. We love candles not only for their scent, and their ability to rid the house of nasty niffs (essential if you're a pet owner!) but also for their relaxing properties. Looking at a candle flame just makes me clear my head and breathe just a little bit more slowly.

Between us we probably have enough candles to stock a small shop but like so many things, in my eyes there is no such thing as too many candles, so I decided to use some of my birthday money to replenish my stock.

The main thing that I wanted was either a medium or a large Yankee Candle in the Lemon Lavender fragrance for my room. The lilac colour matches the paint work in my room perfectly and the subtle but zesty lemon tones perfectly compliment the clean, heady hints of lavender. This is one of my all time favourite Yankee scents and I tend to burn it just before I go to bed because I find it quite a soothing scent, some people though find it quite zingy and refreshing, it all depends on your nose I guess. I bought this one from a local retailer Collectables and this is the medium jar candle which retails at around £18.99. (Note to self though don't leave candles in hot cars  because they have a tendency to melt a bit!).

While I was in Collectables I also got a few votive candles. These are ideal for more intimate fragrancing, and for fragrancing smaller spaces. I'm intending to use these ones in my craft room / office when I get it sorted, so I picked a couple of refreshing and revitalising scents, that will hopefully help me combat that afternoon slump. The two fragrances that I chose were Mango Peach Salsa, and Lemongrass and Ginger. Mango Peach Salsa is a real old favourite of both mine and Mummy Lou's, it  absolutely mouthwatering and smells like a peach and mango smoothie with just a hint of spice. Lemongrass and Ginger on the other hand is a relatively new addition to the Yankee stable, and as you would expect it has the lovely, aromatic citrus scent of lemongrass. I can't really pick up the ginger but maybe that will come to the fore when I burn it. Yankee Candle votives or sampler candles normally retail at £1.80 each.

That was it for full price shopping but a couple of weeks ago, my bestie Dawn and I went on a little road trip for her birthday, the whole point was to head to Seaham, a small town on the North East coast just south of Sunderland, and eat ice cream in probably one of the best ice cream parlours around Lickety Split! If you follow any North East blogger on Instagram (including me!) then you'll know about their amazing ice creams, and ice cream sundaes - if your up north at any point then you must pay a visit!. Anyways I digress, the weather wasn't that great on the day, so after a little walk around the marina we got back in the car and headed a little but further south to the Dalton Park Outlet.

Dalton Park is basically just a large outlet village in Murton, Co Durham that is crammed full of Outlet stores, ranging from national chains such as M&S, Next, Thorntons, Joseph and Gap, to more localised stores including a Collectables.

The first store when went into was M&S and whilst my bestie was trying on work clothes, I had a little look at the small home section and I saw some candles and decided to have a sniff. The one I fell in love with was the M&S Specially Blended Jasmine & Orange Flower Aromatic Candle.

There were several sizes and style  to choose from but since I'd never tried an Marks and Spencer candle before I went for the small 90g size which came in a cute glass jar tied with raffia. I love anything to do with jasmine at the best of times, and combined with the orange blossom, this candle has a heady floral scent that just screams summer. It actually smells very like the Courreges La Fille De'L' Air perfume that came in a recent My Little Box (see my unboxing video here). I've been wearing the fragrance quite a bit since I got it and to me that's very similar to what this smells like. It was reduced to just £2.25 and based on this experience I'm definitely going look at Marks and Spencer's candle selection next time I'm in store.

Our next stop was the Collectables outlet, and I picked up a few pieces, in some more of my favourite scents. Me and my mum already own these fragrances in both small, and large Yankee jars, but I love the scents so much I couldn't resist picking up both a votive and a wax melt, in both the Tarte Tatin, and the Pain Au Raisin fragrances. As I say votives are perfect for fragrancing a smaller space, and the melts, or tarts as they used to be called are ideal for a strong, quick hit of fragrance. The two scents that I chose are in no uncertain terms foodie fragrances, and as Yankee Candle fragrances are so true to life, the names pretty much describe exactly what they smell like. Tarte Tatin smells exactly like an apple tart, with the tartness of the apple, the warmth, sweetness and buttery taste of the pastry, and the spice of the cinnamon, where as  Pain Au Raisin has the buttery scent of the dough, and the sweetness, and spice of the cinnamon and raisins. I probably saved a few pounds on these in total and I'm really hoping that these sweet, cake scents, will help me with my cake and sugar cravings.

We had another wander round and some how we ended up in the Hallmark Outlet. This basically a card outlet and it was full of cards and gift wrap, but they also has quite a few gifting items including two huge candle displays. I was a bit candled out by this time so I just had a little look at the Village Candle display. I've never tried anything from Village Candles before so I had a good sniff, there were some amazing scents, but I stayed strong and decided to just buy some candle accessories instead. All of the Village Candle accessories were reduced and since they are the same size and the medium and large candles I decided to treat myself to a shade and a candle plate.

I didn't look at the price till I got to the till and when I did and I was really surprised at just how cheap they actually were. The Lilac Lustre Candle Plate was just £1, and the matching shade was just £2. The prices were absolutely insane, after doing a bit of research their accessories are cheaper than Yankee anyways but the quality is almost identical and a comparable set from Yankee would probably retail at around £23 for a set this size - Bargain!

I really love these, they make you candle look more like a little lamp, and the shades really help your candle to burn more evenly and last longer. I particularly love the crackle glass and the way that the candle light reflects through onto the walls. This is what the set looks like with my Yankee Lemon Lavender.

The final candle related item that I picked up was a set of glass votive holders from Poundland. Obviously these were just a £1 for the two, and the blue and white stripe and spot design will work perfectly with blue walls, and carpets and the white ceiling in my office.

If you're interested I've also uploaded an You Tube video to accompany this haul so please have a little watch below or if you're on a mobile device you can watch it via this link x



Ahhh I can't wait to start burning all of these now and to experience all of these lovely aromas. I can't help it I'm just addicted to candles and I think they are something that I will never stop buying. I am trying to branch out a little more in my brands though and step away for the Yankee, so if you've got any candle recommendations I'd love to hear them, and in particular if you have any Village Candle recommendations I'd love to them and I'd also love to know where you buy yours from x Thanks for reading and happy home fragrancing!

Isle Of Wolf Natural Perfumed Candle - Rose Absolute*

After another couple of lousy weeks in LouLouLand, I've been in serious need of a bit of a meditative and reflective time, so every night I've been lighting a candle and trying to use it as a tool for relaxation. Over the last few months I've been burning a lot of food, and spicy fragrances but I'm trying to switch it up a bit and look forward to the lighter nights and the spring. I already have a nice collection of fruit and floral scented candles but I decided to shake it up and try something new from My Pure.

I've tried a couple of candles from  Latvian brand Isle of Wolf now (read my reviews here and here) and I've grown to love their ethos, and their subtle and natural aromas so I decided to try another fragrance- this time I went for Rose Absolute.

Based near the shores of the Baltic Sea, this family company operates out of the historic Vilksala manor house. Vilksala literally translates as Isle Of Wolf, and the house and it's gardens provide inspiration for all of the candles that they produce.

Every candle is made by hand, using traditional methods, from 100% pure plant wax. All of the soy wax that they use is free from genetic modification and their naturally sourced cotton wicks are lead free, for a cleaner, safer, and more even burn. Their fragrances are also carefully sourced and they only use 100% natural aromas taken from both essential oils and plant extracts, and they are also suitable for vegans.

All of their candles have a 40 hour burn time and come boxed, and packaged in either a white or a black glass votive, in this case it's a black one which gives a very high end end sophisticated feel, and contrasts brilliantly with the creamy whiteness of the wax. The votive also comes with an attached cardboard coaster to protect your furniture from scratches and the heat which is a nice touch.

Think of a rose fragrance and you automatically think of that powdery, true English rose aroma, this though has a little bit more depth. The Isle Of Wold Rose Absolute scent is based on the fragrance of the Vilksala manor gardens, it's described as "the bursting ripe sweetness of rose flowers with fresh notes of red fruits and green leaves plus subtle touches of powder musk"

Fragrance is a hard thing to describe but for me I can definitely see where the official description is coming form. I definitely get a bit of the traditional rose scent but I also get a hint of maybe some green, herb notes, and a bit of geranium, with an almost sugary, powdery finish

This candle burns cleanly and evenly but for me it just doesn't seem to have as strong a fragrance throw as the previous Isle Of Wolf candles that I've tried. You can definitely smell it but this candle is really a one for a smaller room, such a bedroom or a bathroom, rather than my large open plan living room. If you like strong, heady fragranced candles then this one isn't for you but if you like a more subtle, intimate fragrance, with a high end interior magazine appearance then this candle could be right up your street. The Isle Of Wolf Natural Perfumed Candle in Rose Absolute retails at £15 from My Pure. Are you a fan of rose fragrances? Leave me a comment and let me know x

*Sample

A Huge Collective Home And Lifestyle Haul And A Giveaway

As much as I love buying clothes and beauty products at the moment I'm really enjoying buying and choosing things for the home and more specifically things for my bedroom. Because of my ME and Fibromyalgia even the simplest task like reorganising and tidying my room seems to take a lifetime, At last though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and although I still have a few things to do before I move onto my craft room / office, it's time to start buying pretties.

My bedroom really is my sanctuary - I want it to be cosy, and comfortable and I want it to smell nice, hence my obsession with candles, and room fragrance.

I love Yankee Candles but in my room I want quick, and easy fragrance and whilst I still burn candles, I really love wax melts for speed and for intensity. The last time I was in the Metro Centres I went to one of my favourite Yankee retailers Collectables and bought a few melts / tarts. I got one of my all time favourite Lemon Lavender, and a few more seasonal fragrances, Christmas Memories and my current my have fragrance Pain Au Raisin.

I'm a huge fan of Christmas fragrance and whilst Yankee always do some amazing spicy and foodie fragrances, my favourite Christmas fragrance is actually Next's Festive Spice. It's the perfect mix of spices, orange and red fruits, and I always stock up while I can.

This time round I got one of the Festive Spice Fragranced Candle Jars which £6 and one of the Next 70ml Festive Spice Fragranced Diffusers which was £6.50.

As much as I love proper candles, you can't leave lit candles unattended, and sometimes with pets they just aren't suitable. Although I haven't really started on my office / craft room yet I though that this Set of 3 Festive Spice Flameless Candles would be ideal for my festive windowsill.

For just £16 you get three substantial wax candles, which are fragranced with the Festive Spice scent. They are battery operated and they come with a remote control, with 2 different timer settings and you can also alter the appearance of the flame.  We have flameless candles all over the house and they're are safer, and cleaner way of enjoying candle light, but unlike the rest of them, these ones have a bit of fragrance.

I'm all about mood lighting at the moment, I love candles, tea lights and fairy lights and for a while now I've been trying to embrace the LED star light trend but I haven't had much look. I never managed to get my hands on the Primark one and the only other ones I could find with around £60. that was until I saw this one from Studio for just £14.99.

I wasn't expecting much for the price but this is actually really nice for the price. It's battery operated and made out of a sturdy cream, coated metal, and it features 10 warm LED lights. I was going to hang it on the wall but I've tried it in a few places and I like it best on top of my Muji make up storage.

As well as my star light, several strands of fairy lights, a lava lamp, and some lanterns I also have a set of twig lights, that I originally bought in Primark, which have been quite happily living in a tall lilac vase from Asda. Louise is a clumsy person though and a couple of months ago I broke this vase - sad times :( Since then though I've been looking for a replacement without much look - they were either too small or the necks weren't wide enough for the battery packs. Eventually though I found what I was looking for in this gorgeous silver, mercury glass vase that I got from B&M Bargains.

I'm not sure how much this was but I think it was around £6.99 - £7.99 which isn't the cheap for B&M, but it's definitely worth the money and it's something that you would probably pay way more for elsewhere. The picture below isn't the best but it looks so pretty with the lights reflecting through it.

I love my bargains and I got another lighting piece from another bargain tastic store, Home Bargains.

I'd wanted a one of these for the longest time, but when I first saw them they weren't that cheap. This one was only a couple of pounds and it came with batteries.

I only picked up another one of Mason Drinking Jars, which was on special at just £1. I already have a Kilner one but it didn't comes with a lid so I was happy to add this one to my collection :) I would really love the shot glass versions of these so if you know where I can get some please leave me a comment and let me know x

Ever since I was a tiny tot I've loved stationery and over the last month or so I've become obsessed with it all over again, and I can't seem to stop buying pretty notebooks and office bits. The first stationery item that I got was this notebook from Home Bargains.

I love the black and gold combination and what's not to love about polka dots. Again this one was just a few pounds and I believe they also sell one in a black and gold chevron design. I love my polka dots so I also got this pocket sized brown, craft style notebook, with tiny gold polka dots from BHS. This should have been £5 but I got 20% off.

In the picture you can also see a lovely Orla Kiely Stem Print notebook that I got from TK Maxx. It was £6.99 was is pretty pricey for a plain notebook, but it should about £14 so I still want bargain hunting credit ;)

One of the highlights of going back to school or university after the Christmas or summer holidays was getting a new pencil case, I must of owned dozens over the years, but although I don't have as much use for them as a once did I had to get this one from ASOS.

Eat Sleep Blog Repeat really needs to be my mantra but sometimes real life gets in the way ;) This comes from a brand called James & Friends which I'm lead to believe is Jim Chapman's range. I think I might use it in my newly sorted office but it is big enough to be used as a make up bag so we'll see.

Poundland is one of those shops where you go in for one thing and come out with about a dozen. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen this cute stationery set.

Yes I know I'm an adult but come on Hello Kitty as Elvis what is not to love. For just a pound you got 2 pens, 3 pencils, 3 erasers, a pencil sharpener, a ruler and a metal pencil tin :) You all seemed to love it on my Instagram and a few of you couldn't find it so I went back and bought another one to giveaway :) All you need to do is be a follow of my blog and fill in the Raflecopter form below before the 1st December 2015. This giveaway is open worldwide so if you're a Hello Kitty or an Elvis Presley fan get entering x

a Rafflecopter giveaway


As well as my Hello Kitty bargain, I also managed to pick up an adult colouring book. I love the idea of these to promote mindfulness and relaxation but I really can't justify some of the prices. This Natural Wonders Colour Art For Everyone book contains a variety of beautiful and intricate floral patterns and for just a £1 I'm looking forward to trying to giving it a go.

The minute that Halloween is over, out comes the Christmas things, and Poundland as per usual have a pretty substantial festive selection. This item though doesn't scream Christmas.

There seem to be a lot of these inspirational type signs mixed in with Poundland's Chritmas offerings this year, in both wood and ceramic. These three ceramic hearts come suspensed on a red ribbon, and feature the words " Live Laugh Love" in a red type. I don't think these have to be for Christmas so I'll be displaying them all year round.

Speaking of love, I am the typical crazy cat lady, I don't mind the stereotype at all and there is nothing in life that can't be improved by putting a picture of a cat on it.

This luck black cat from the H&M Divided line is in fact a sticky tape dispenser. Sticky tape annoys the hell out of my but dispensing if from this little guy will hopeful make my Christmas wrapping less of a chore.

Cats seem to a pretty popular motif at the moment and I also got this mug from H&M, which is covered in a montage of cat pictures and features the phrase "You've Cat To Be Kitten Me Right Meow". Slightly cheesy but the perfect pressie for a cat lover.

The final thing that I'm going to show you in this rather large haul, is another item that I was inspired to purchase after looking at instagram pictures, reading blogs. and reading tweets.

Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward is probably the perfect cookery book for me, it's full of healthy vegan, gluten and sugar free recipes, that sound and look amazing. I'm still trying to eat healthily at the moment but I'm taking a break from the diet thing for a little while x I'll explain why in a post on Monday but as soon as I can I'm going to be working my way through all the recipes in this book, and I already have the sequel on my Amazon wishlist x 

I know there was quite a few items in this haul for you to contemplate, so I've an accompanying You Tube video so you can have a better look at your leisure. You can find the video below or via my You Tube channel here x 

If you have any questions on anything that I've bought please leave me a comment and of course don't forget to enter my Hello Kitty giveaway x 

What Are The Top 3 Online Catalogues?*

If you want more choice and flexibility than you can find on the UK high street, catalogue credit account, which will provide you with access to a wide range of products, and allow you to spread the cost of your payments over time.

Here are the top 3 online catalogues:

1. Next

One of the largest and best-known retailers in the UK, Next specialises in men's, women's and children's clothing, as well as homeware and gifts. If you're looking for clothing for work, school, or an evening out, you will be able to find it in the Next Directory. Some of the benefits in applying for a credit account with Next include the opportunity to pay for your order in instalments over time, and having your items delivered directly to your door.

The company also provide a number of discounts, sales, and promotions throughout the year - saving you a lot of money. You will be able to apply for a credit account with Next by visiting your nearest branch of the shop, by calling a member of staff over the phone, or visiting the Next website.

2. Jacamo

Jacamo is one of the most popular catalogues for men's clothing, with sizes in up to 5 x large. You will find several well-known brands, with clothes such as shoes, jumpers, trousers, and jackets available for purchase. There are designs and styles in a wide range of sizes, and you will be able to pay for your order in instalments. Apply for a new account by visiting the Jacamo website.

3. BrightHouse

BrightHouse sell a wide range of products such as homeware, consumer electronics and even furniture. You will be able to apply for an account or by visiting a branch of the store in your nearest town centre. The company provides you with the opportunity to make repayments on a weekly basis

*Sponsored Post