A Very Late September / October Primark Haul - Clothes, Beauty, And Home

Where on earth does time go, it doesn't seem like two minutes since I was craving an Indian summer, and now? well the gritters are out and it's only 5 weeks until Christmas - Argh! This year has flown by but the last few months in particular seem to have passed by in a blur. Despite picking up the odd bit here and there I haven't managed a proper shopping trip in quite a while now. In fact the last time I went into Primark was either at the end of September or at the beginning of October! See, it's been so long I can't even remember when it was!

For me though it was a long time ago, and a good Primark trip is well overdue but before that happens (hopefully next week!) I think I better show you the bits that I picked up way back when, which have been living in a carrier bag for a few months now.

On several of my previous Primark trips, I'd picked up a couple of their crew neck t-shirts and for the price I was really impressed with both the fit and the length, so after a recent, major wardrobe clear out I decided to fill a few gaps in my wardrobe and pick up some more basic, stretch, long sleeve t-shirts.

The first one that I got was in a classic navy blue, and like the previous shirts that I'd picked up, it has a softly rounded, crew style neckline.

I couldn't find too many shirts in the crew neck style this time round so I decided to try a few tops in some their different neckline options. This gorgeous dark, forest green t-shirt comes with a deeper, scoop neck,

and this classic black t-shirt comes with quite a low cut v neckline.

For just £3.50 each I think that these t-shirts are excellent value. They all have a good stretch to them, and the length is excellent. I can't stand short tops, I'm not big on flashing the flesh and my wobbly bits, I'm long in the body and I wear a lot of jeggings and leggings, so long line tops are a must have for me, and despite not been marketed as long line, these tops definitely cover my muffin top. You can probably see if from the pictures but I do think that the black top is at least a couple of centimetres shorter and whilst it's fine, I might try and stick to the crew and scoop necked tops in the future for that bit of extra coverage.

To be honest I went into Primark all of those months ago purely with the aim of picking up some basic tops, and once I'd got them I wasn't too fussed about picking anything else up, so I didn't really examine every single clothes rail like a normally do, and the only other clothing item that I picked up was this Miffy sleep tee.

I do love a bit of Miffy and since I managed to get rid of a few sleepwear bits in my recent clothing clear out, I thought that I could justify adding this oversize sleep tee to my sleepwear wardrobe. It was just £5 which I think is pretty decent. The fabric feels nice against the skin, and it has a printed label inside rather than a tag. It's often the little things that sell something to me, and with my creepy crawly, medication and chronic illness, induced skin, the lack of fabric tags on nightwear is a godsend.

That was it for clothing, and seeing as I'm going through another ebay jewellery love in, nothing really appealed in the jewellery and accessories section so I headed to the ever expanding beauty section and bought something that I'd seen in a lot of both Instagram and blog posts.

Taking inspiration from Too Faced's Sweet Peach collection, Primark have recently introduced their own range of peach inspired make up, and being as obsessed with blusher, highlighter and cheek colours as I am, I couldn't resist picking up the Cheeky Peachy Blush & Highlight Palette.

The solid cardboard palette, comes with a magnetic fastening and contains three heart shaped cheek colours, Peach Twist, a golden, champagne highlighter, Peachin', a matte bright peach, coral blush and Sweet Peach, a light peachy, pink blush.

All of the colours are embossed with cute little faces, and like the Too Faced version they have a nice, sweet peachy, fruity scent. They don't just look good though, as you can hopefully see from my swatches, the pigmentation is pretty decent, and these cheek colours have a nice soft feel, and blend easily. For me this palette is well worth the £4 that I paid for it, I know I keep saying but Primark really have upped their beauty game this year and I hope that we can look forward to even more affordable beauty treats in 2018.

So that was it for beauty but I did pick up a couple of home things including yet another candle. I'm slightly obsessed with candles, and just about every month I seem to pick up some form of scented candle, and the latest addition to my extensive candle collection is this Jewelled Satin Scented Candle which was £2.

I'm not going to lie, I was drawn to this one because of the gorgeous, matte plum coloured mini Kilner style jar that it comes in! I love mini things and I'm quite excited to start filling it up with something, I don't know what yet but we'll see once I've finished burning the candle, maybe paper clips or earrings, who knows? Although it's pretty small, this warm fruity, floral scented candle has an estimated burn time of around 15 hours so I'll have a little while to wait yet to reuse the jar but I'm sure I'll enjoy the almost fine fragrance in the meantime.

The last thing that I got in this haul from long ago, was a Christmas item, and it's another reindeer. Reindeer's are everywhere this year and since I already have a couple of the Primark deer tea light holders (see my most recent addition here) I had to pick up this super cute, and stylish tree decoration.

In a right on trend, gorgeous coppery, rose gold, ceramic, this super sweet chubby reindeer bauble was just £1.50, but I have to say it looks a lot more expensive than that. If you like him, then I would recommend that you have a little watch of one of my latest You Tube videos. It's an exclusive home, home fragrance, Christmas, lifestyle and stationery haul, and it features some very affordable ceramic, chubby reindeer ornaments and tea light holders. You can watch it below of via this link.



So that was it, a small and very late Primark haul. I didn't buy a lot but I was pleased with everything that I bought which I guess is the object of the exercise. If you're interested I've also uploaded an accompanying video to my You Tube channel, so if you want to find out a bit more about the products and why I bought them, then check it out below, or via this link, and don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel while you're there, I upload a lot of hauls and unboxing and I'm definitely going to be mixing it up a bit in 2018 so make sure your subscribed so you don't miss a thing.



As I say I'm hoping to go into Newcastle next week, and whilst my major aim will be to do a bit of Christmas shopping, I am thoroughly intending to treat myself to a few bits. If you have any questions on my videos or on any of the items that I've bought then please leave me a comment and I will try and get back to you asap, and don't forget you can also contact me on Twitter, I'm @LouLou699 so make sure your following me if you aren't already x Thanks for reading and I'll see you sometime in the next few days with a long overdue nails of the day post x

A Very Late September 2016 Primark Haul

I Breaking News - Louise starts a blog post with another apology lol! Today's post is super late and I'm sorry! October ends next week and here I am posting a collective Primark haul from September - me bad! Never mind I've got a lot to show you so I'll quit apologising and get started.

As I've said on numerous occasions I love autumn and winter when it comes to fashion I love layering and wrapping up warm, and I do love a nice piece of cosy knitwear, so it's probably no surprise that I'm starting this haul with a lovely fluffy jumper.

You really can't beat Primark for good value cosy knitwear pieces and this one very much defies the £12 price tag. Primark have sold similar sweaters for the past few years now and have a bottle green one with different coloured and sized crystals, and I also have one in an aqua shade with slightly larger crystals around the neckline.

Made of a super soft feeling yarn, this one is in a beautiful blush pink colour, but what takes it to another level, is the beautiful, heat sealed crystal detailing on the neckline. It almost looks like you're wearing a necklace. Long gone are the days when you could only wear sparkles or glitter for a special occasion or a night out, I fully intend to wear this jumper during the day, to add a bit of sparkle to those dull autumn and winter days.

The next couple of clothing pieces that I picked up aren't out and out autumn and winter pieces by any means, in fact for me they're probably more like spring and summer pieces. That said depending on the occasion and who you style, I think that you can wear pretty much anything at any time of year.

This piece in particular has a very spring, summer feel, probably down to the bright floral print but I do think that it's a piece that I can make work in the colder months.

It's basically a  heavier chiffon feel, black patterned, sleeveless long line blouse, but it has splits up the sides and the buttons only go to half way down the blouse which gives a sort of long shirt tail look,

In the summer I can imagine this been worn either buttoned or loose over a pair of denim shorts but in the colder months I think I'm probably going to be wearing this open as more of an jacket or a waistcoat over long sleeved t-shirts, thin polo necks and jeans. It was £10.

The item that I got is another piece that will take my from season to season, it's basically a very smart, boxy, colour block top. With blocks of ivory, and navy, and black trims it has a very trendy, exposed zip at the back. The fabrics vary depending on the colour and it is a tiny bit sheer so I will probably need to wear a camisole or a vest underneath. This top was also £10.

Next up nightwear - admittedly I spend a lot of time in bed but I don't think that even that explains my total obsession with nightshirts and pj's. I am literally running out of space in my nightwear draws and still I buy more. Who could resist this pretty, snuggly brushed cotton feel nightshirt though!

I know that there are a lot of Disney fans out there and Primark at the moment have a lot of Disney pieces in all of their different departments. This lovely candy pink striped number is in the traditional nightshirt style and features Minnie Mouse appliques on each side. It was also £10 which is great value for a piece that will keep you warm and snuggly all winter.

Now this piece could be worn either as an everyday t-shirt or as a sleep tee. I found it in the nightwear and lingerie department, and since I love everything to do with New York for just £4.50 I had to have it.

It's basically just a long line khaki t-shirt, but it features an outline of the New York skyline, in a rose gold tone foil. I did initially buy it as a sleep t but I definitely think I will be wearing it as a t-shirt instead.

Next up feet and footwear! My feet are strange, because I have thyroid problems they get quite dry, and I also have a few circulation issues that means that they're either burning hot or stiff and icy cold I can't win, and whilst I love walking around the house in bare feet, I know that I need to keep my feet warm, and what better way to do it than by wearing a pair of these.

How cute are these? These super cute Hedgehog Cosy Footlets are made of a lovely soft and cosy fabric, and they also have non slip pads on the sole so unlike just plain socks you can walk around the house and even on wooden floor without slipping. These were just £3.50 and they have lots of different animals and characters to choose from.

From something a bit silly to something stylish but very, very practical, winter boots! Living up north like I do and in a semi rural area, a good pair of boots are a real essential for the autumn and winter months

Whilst these ones are super practical they also have a stylish edge, the chunky heel, and the buckle detailing gives these boots more of a fashion look, but for ease and practicality they have a side zip fastening. Okay they aren't leather but for just £15 i think that these boots are a solid investment and I've already worn quite a few times already with trousers, skinny jeans and even with tights and a dress.

Whilst i don't think I'm quick ready to wear this next item yet, I do love a winter hit, I bought something very similar for ebay last year in a navy, but since quite a few of my coats are black I thought I'd get myself a nice black, rib knit hat, with a huge faux fur pompom on it, we as you do. This cosy hat was only £2 and it comes in several other colours.

That was it for clothes and accessories but I did pick up a few jewellery pieces including this long line gold tone, tassel detail necklace which was £2.

and this silver tone long line, pendant cluster necklace, which was £2.50. I already a very similar necklace from Primark in a gold tone, which I've worn an awful lot so there was no way that I was leaving this one behind.

Since this blog is? / was predominantly a beauty blog, I always have a little look at the beauty selection in any shop that i going into and Primark is no exception. I went into both the Newcastle and the Intu Metrocentre store last month so I managed to have a proper look at all of the new additions. There were a couple of things make up wise that I might pick up in the future but this time round I picked up a few nails bits and a few essentials.

I eventually managed to get my hands on a couple of bottle of the PS Cuticle Oil. I talked about this stuff in a recent favourites video and I absolutely love it but I was having trouble finding. Thankfully both stores had it so I decided to stock up. OPI Avoplex is my true love but I'm still going to keep dabbling with this one. At just £1 a bottle the brush is good, and it actually sinks into your nails and cuticles rather than just sitting on the surface. Love, love, love it and it's definitely something that i will keep buying.

Something else that was a repurchase is the PS Nail Polish Twist Pot which is also £1. I was never a big lover of this type of remover but at last I get it. I don't normally use these to remove a full manicure instead I use them for when I make mistakes or for when I just need to touch up one nail.

A little while ago now I posted a nails of the day featuring a nameless PS Gel Effect Nail Polish in a sort of periwinkle, forget me not, blue, lilac shade. Despite the fact that I bemoaned the lack of identifying name or number, I love the colour and the formulation, so much so in fact, that i decided to pick up another shade.

Yet again this is one of the nameless ones, but this time it's in a sort of jade, mint green colour. I went through a phase where I was obsessed with mint greens, turquoise and Tiffany blue like shades, and with the purchase of this shade and the launch of the OPI Breakfast At Tiffany's collection, I can feel that obsession returning.

Something else that I'm obsessed with is of course the PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Cleansing Wipes. I've lost count of how many packets of these that I've bought but I have a lot of swatch photographs to take in the next week or so, so I thought I would stock up. They are just £1 for two packs of 25 wipes.

The final beauty item that i picked up was another one of the rose gold tone make up brushes. This is the PS Double Ended Angled Brow Brush which was just £1.

This is definitely the year when I got the whole concept of the eyebrow and thanks to regular waxing and good products, I'm finally starting to see a proper brow shape forming. Over the last few months I've been experimenting with a lot of brow products, and as good as some of the tiny brushes that come with products are, nothing beats a full sized brush.

I've loved every single brush that I've bought from this range and this one is another win. It's double ended and it comes with an angled brush head to apply waxes, pomades and powders, and at the other end you have a spoolie brush. You could also at a push use the slanted end for cream and gel liners. This brush is a bargain and well worth picking up.

Finally home wear and more specifically candles. Yes, if you didn't get see enough candles in my last haul post, I've got a few more for you now. First up another pineapple candle, I have a few of these from both Primark, and H&M now, but I particularly love these small scented Primark ones.

This one is in a lovely dusky, lilac mauve ceramic and it contains and beautiful, delicately scented Rose and Lychee candle. It was £3.50

Finally i picked up this beautiful set of ornate glass, tea light holders, which was also £3.50.

I think that this set would make a great gift for anyone that likes pretty things, with a slightly vintage look. They are nicely packaged and each one of the holders comes with an unscented tea light, I've swapped them for some of my Yankee ones but they would also look really pretty with a flame less, battery operated tea light inside.

Well as well as late, this haul was also pretty epic, so well done if you've all of this post. You can watch the accompanying video via this link or below x



If you have any questions on anything in this haul please let me know x Thanks for reading and I will see you soon with a review post xx

Sale And Non Sale Haul - H&M And Next

It's taken me over a month to get them all done but this is my final sale haul post. It's bizarre I honestly didn't think I'd bought that much - I was obviously wrong. This isn't just a sale haul though there are a couple of new season bits thrown in, it is nearly all about the clothes though with a couple of beauty and home bits thrown in.

First up Next, because I'm an account holder I always get a VIP invite to the online sale, so a few days before Christmas I logged in and checked out the sale listings. You can pretty much always guarantee a good discount in the Next sale but you have to wade through a lot of stuff. I actually ordered quite a few bits but I only ended keeping a few things.

I normally love Next home wear but there wasn't an awful lot in the sale that appealed but I did got for this cute double, sided cat sign. I'm not sure where it's going to live yet maybe in the conservatory, but I'm not sure yet.

Although it's now 11 months till Christmas I couldn't resist this festive purchase. This fabulous reindeer t-shirt was actually from the Men's line but who cares. I love Christmas jumpers but sometimes it's a little too warm indoors and this t-shirt fits the bill. It was £6 and it's still available on the Next websites clearance section.

Next up something that you will either love or hate - this bug scarf! The light grey, chiffon scarf is covered in images of beetles and insects. I honestly don't mind insects so it doesn't bother me at all in fact I find it really quirky and unusual, and it's completely different from any other scarf in my extensive collection.

As well as giving you the opportunity to buy quirky, and unusual items, sales also give you the opportunity to pick real basics, and wardrobe essentials. I'll let you into a secret, I'm a bit obsessed with nightwear, I love pyjamas, and night shirts so I always try to pick up a few things up every now and then. I don't buy a lot of nightwear in Next, not when you can pick up things for a 1/3 of the price in Primark, but I got did manage to get a few cute bits in the sale.

I love loose cotton based night shirts like this especially in the summer and I love the quote on the front "If You Believe In Dreams They Will Come True". I'm a firm believer in following your dreams and I hope that this shirt will help me to remember to follow mine.

As well as the night shirt I also got these cute, loud floral short pyjamas set. I fell in love when I saw it in the catalogue but I couldn't justify the £24 price tag - £12 on the other hand was easier to justify. Again this set is still available in selected sizes on the clearance section of the Next website. Alongside the PJ's I also got the matching slippers - I'm not a huge fan of slippers but after this weeks toe injury wearing shoes and slippers at all times is something I'm going to have to get used to.

So that was my Next sale order I did buy 3 things though from the Spring / Summer catalogue - long line vests! I'm a real vest fan I really feel the heat at times, so I tend to layer up and wear them with cardigans, kimonos, or under jumpers. So many vests on the market though are quite short, if you're a bit curvy around the hips and the tummy though short vests are no good. They finish at your worst point and show your flabby bits for all to see. The ones I got though from Next are very, very long and easily cover my stomach and the top of my hips and thighs. These vests are available in a wide variety of neutral shades. They're available on a buy more, save more deal, £6.50 for 1, £12 for 2, and £16.50 for 3. I went for 3, the navy which you can see here, and the cream and the nude which you can see in the video further on in this post.

The next part of this haul is courtesy of H&M. I can't do much with my local H&M stores but I am partial to a shopping session of their website. I still think their website has a lot of issues and their delivery times leave a lot to be desired but if your after the widest range of styles and sizes their website is the way to go. Again in the sale I went for basics and bought myself a couple of jumpers.

This first one is just a plain, long sleeved black, fine knit jumper from their Divided line. This jumper was just £5 and whilst it's very lightweight, it's really warm and ideal for layering. This is the jumper that I'm wearing in the accompanying haul video :) It's still available on the sale section of the H&M website in XS and S for £4

I love lightweight knits but sometimes just want something soft, warm and cozy and my next purchase fits the bill perfectly. In a lovely, neutral blush pink the long line jumper has a v neck and small side slits. I think it's in what they call an eyelash knit, it silky smooth and very strokeable. I already have a couple of cardigans in this fabric which I love, so this jumper is a welcome addition to my winter wardrobe. Unfortunately it's no longer available online but it was only £7.

This next H&M purchase was another one of those quirky buys that you'll not sure that you'll ever use or wear but you know you need it. I'd seen a similar faux fur scarf for £10 in Primark but I left it on the rail but as soon as I saw this one I added it to my basket. Again from the Divided line this black and white striped faux fur scarf has a satin lining and was £7.50. Annoyingly it's only £5 now but with sales you win some, you lose some, but at least I didn't pay Primark's £10 or the £14.99 that this one originally cost.

I've only got one other H&M sale item to show you and it's one of those things that I didn't really need but it's holographic loveliness called to me. This is the silver version of this make up bag but it also comes in a holographic pink shade, and you can still buy both for just £2 each.

The rest of my H&M purchases were all full price. First of all I got this set of silver tone, mesh, bracelets. I got the gold tone version a few months ago but for Christmas I got a necklace from my Godparents made of a similar silver tone mesh so I thought I'd get these silver tone ones to match. They  come in several different tones and retail at £3.99 for 4 bracelets.

My next purchase came from the beauty section, and no it wasn't make up, it was some Make Up Brush Cleansing Spray. I'm a big fan of this type of product and whilst they don't give a brush a thorough wash and clean, they do freshen up and sanitise the brushes in between uses. This was £2.99 and I'll let you know how I get on with it.

My final H&M purchase was from H&M Home. I really wish this range was more widely available in stores in the UK, but it's not so we're almost forced to shop online. I made a bit of a boo boo with this purchase I didn't read the sizes on the website so I was actually expecting something a bit bigger.

This set of 3 strong, cardboard, floral storage boxes are really pretty and well made but they are tiny! The largest box is only about the size of my hand. They will be ideal for gifting or for storage of small things like jewellery but I'm not really sure what I'm going to use them for. These boxes are £6.99 which I think is a bit pricey for the size.

You haven't seen a video from me for some time but I'm back on You Tube as of today. I've recorded my first video with my new camera and it's a haul video showing all of the items that you can see in this post. It's a bit of a work in progress with settings and lighting but hopefully the quality is a bit better than what it has been in the past and I'll be able to upload a lot more videos.



Thanks for reading and watching and if you have any questions please leave me a comment and don't forget to subscribe to my You Tube channel xx