A Late April 2017 Primark Haul - Clothes, Jewellery And Beauty

Following on from Thursday's fashion post I thought I'd share a little Primark haul from last month with you. I'm not really feeling clothes shopping at the moment but I did manage to pick up a few basic, everyday clothing items, and some beauty and home bits.

We'll start off with the clothes, and as I said in my last post, I think we should really start breaking some of those fashion rules, and be proud and confident to wear what we like, when we like. For some many people wearing strips, and especially horizontal stripes when you're a bit bigger is a no, no but I love a stripe and luckily for me the shops at the moment are full of them and Primark is no exception.

Although we're heading towards the summer now and the warmer weather is hopefully around the corner, I've always got room in my drawers or my wardrobe for another long sleeve t-shirt. It looks black in the picture about but I think this one is actually a dark navy blue, with a thin, white stripe. I love long sleeve t-shirts in the colder months, and on cooler dats and I love to layer them up under jumper and cardigans, and on my trying new things day's I've even been known to throw the odd baggy vest on the top. They are a real wardrobe staple no matter how you wear them and this one was just £4.

I also bought another striped top on the day but take a tip from me and always make sure that the size of the top or the clothing item matches the size on the hanger. It's a tip that applies to most shops but particularly to Primark. I haven't been a size 8 for a long time now, and although I did try to try it on, I had to admit defeat before I'd even got it over my head, and return it. Never mind I did manage to repurchase the top in the correct size this week, so I have another Primark haul coming up on the blog next week.

Back to April's visit though, and the only other clothing item that I picked up was another t-shirt, and as soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to have it. It's just a plain over sized t-shirt with the words "I JUST CAN'T TODAY" printed on it in black and it was just £6. This is one of my fibro / CFS flare mottos, and it's one I use all too frequently so why not try and make a joke out of it. It's perfect for when I'm lacking energy or for when the judge and the jury on Twitter and Facebook are getting me down!

That was it for clothes but as per usual I also picked up a piece of jewellery. I'm really getting back into earrings again at the moment which sounds weird for someone with four piercings in each ear but sometimes you do get stuck in a rut. For years and years bar the odd holiday or special occasion change, I just had a small gold or silver hoop in each piercing, but since the start of the year, I've been trying to mix it up and wear different earrings in my first hole.

It can be a bit awkward wearing certain earrings when you have multiple ear piercings and small ears like me, so I tend to either go for different hoops, creoles, studs or for some of drop. These gold tone, crystal spray earrings are perfect, they are really delicate, they are really easy to wear and they were just £1.

I only bought one home item on this visit and it was a storage item. This pink tote / storage bag was just £3 and I think it will be ideal for storing make up, or skincare in either my bedroom, or the bathroom. They are made of a lightweight canvas style fabric, and there are lots of different designs and colours to choose from, This bright pink one has the words "Beauty Is My Business" printed on it in black.

When Primark first launched in the UK, their beauty selection was almost non existent, then as the brand grew, a lot fun and super cheap products started appearing on the shelves. Some of their early make up and beauty attempts were a little bit hit and miss (you can read about some of them here) but their current selection is a world away from those early days. You can now pick up brands like Nivea, Cocoa Brown, Creightons, Hask, and Carmex alongside a wide range of well priced make up, skin, hair and body care lines, and beauty tools sold under their own branding.

There are a couple of Primark's own brand beauty products that I love, their £1 cuticle oil, and the £1 facial wipes that I bought on this trip are now staples in my beauty routine, but I'm really fancying branching out and trying some of their newer make up releases.

This was one of their newer make up products that I fell in love with on site. This is the PS Pure Glow Highlighter in the shade Rose Prosecco.

What can I say about this apart from just look at it! It's beautiful in all senses of the word. Okay the plastic packaging is pretty basic but it's practical, and just look at what it's housing! This fabulous peachy, coral, rose gold, swirly highlighter is just so easy on the eye that it's untrue.

Swatch it and you greeted with pigmented shimmery, metallic loveliness, that you could wear as either a highlighter or as a fabulous blush depending on your skin tone. I did think that was a possibility that it was just an over spray and whilst it is a touch darker in colour there is still plenty of sheen and shimmer underneath.

For just £3 i think that this product is a real bargain, it's looks as beautiful in the pan as it does on the face. I'm not sure if it comes in any more shades but if you love a bit of rose gold, metallic or shimmer, then I would definitely recommend that you pick this up.

Some would argue that I've probably saved the best item till last, and as much as I love the other things that I picked up I think I'd have to agree with them. If you're a regular reader or watcher of my Primark haul's then you will probably already know that I'm a big fan of their make up brushes. I've got quite a few of their matte black brushes with the rose gold ferrules but this set that I picked up last month really takes my Primark make up brush love in to the next level.

Are these not the most Instagram worthy make up brushes that you've ever seen? They're going to be insta famous and they know it. From the small silver cosmetic bag with the words 'INSTA GIRL" printed on the front to the white, and grey marble designed handles, this brush set is social media ready!

For just £7 you get a silver zip fastening cosmetic bag and 5 good sized, make up brushes. You get a Powder Brush, a Stippling Brush, a Concealer Brush, an Eyeshadow Brush, and an Angled Eyebrow Brush.

These brushes don't just look good, the quality is superb as well, the hairs are super soft, and they look and feel as though they are synthetic. The handles are chunky and easy to hold, and been slightly smaller than a full size, and coming with a small make up bag their ideal for travel or when you are on the go. I have a bit of a make up brush addiction but these are a lovely addition to my collection and with the marble handles they're right on trend social media wise- what more could you want for less than a tenner ;)

As per usual with my Primark hauls, I've made a little video to accompany this post, so please have a watch below, or via this link, and if you like what you see, I would love it if you would subscribe to my You Tube channel for lots of exclusive content including hauls and beauty box unboxings x



If you've posted a Primark haul either on your blog or your You Tube channel I love to see it so link me up below x I'd also love to know if you have any Primark beauty or make up recommendation so let me know your favourites below and of course don't forget to subscribe to my blog via the links in the side bar, to stay up to date with all of my new posts, including another Primark haul which should be live next week x

A Little Home And Lifestyle Haul Featuring Tiger, Yankee Candles And More

Hi Guys x I hope you're all having a nice weekend x I've got a home haul for you today and it's a long overdue one. I've had some of these bits for quite a while now but as you know sometimes life gets in the way. Some of these bits are for my bedroom, and some are for my home office, come craft room, some of the things that I've picked up are super practical and some of them are just for fun.

I'm going to start off with a few bits from a fun store, that's pretty new to me, Tiger. Hailing from Denmark, Tiger is one cool and quirky shop. It stocks pretty much everything from herbs and spices, to home wear and stationery. Since I've been going for monthly eyebrow waxes at the Benefit counter in Debenhams in Newcastle, I can't resist popping in and having a nose.

The first two things that I bought pretty much sum up the Tiger vibe, cute desk tidies that look like shopping baskets and shopping trolleys. I'd seen a few pictures of these online, and loving anything that's miniature I couldn't resist adding them to my all be it, much larger basket. Since they're made of metal, they're pretty sturdy and the plastic coated section come in a variety of different colours. I think the baskets are around £4, and something makes me think that the trolley was a little bit cheaper. I think they make great funky looking storage pieces and if you have little people I'm sure that they would make pretty cool toys.

Something else that I picked up from Tiger was this pack of wooden log, fridge magnets. I know some people think that fridge magnets are a bit tacky but personally I love them, and whenever I go somewhere new on holiday I always pick up a magnet to remind me of my travels. These cute little wooden magnets that resemble tree rings though are now safely adhered to the magnetic notice board in my office, to keep my notes and my photographs safe. They were just £1 for a pack of 4.

I also picked up a pack of magnets from Poundland. I already have the brightly coloured letter magnets that you'll probably remember from your nursery and primary school days but these vintage typewriter style magnets probably appeal more to the adult in me. You can also get them in a ransom note style type, so you can leave yourself messages or make up rude words as you please x

Like a lot of bloggers out there I love my stationery, and I'm one of them, I love cute notepads, cute stickers and even cute writing sets. I know writing letters seems to be a bit of a dying art but I don't think there is anything nicer then receiving a hand written note or letter. I usually buy note cards but for a change I decided to buy a couple of cute writing sets instead. Both of these sets come from The Works, and they had loads of pretty ones to choose from but I loved the lip print and the almost Orla Kiely style stem and leaf print. They were just £1 a set, and each one contains 10 sheets of writing paper and 10 matching envelopes x

Next up something else that bloggers all seem to love, candles! I've loved candles for as long as I can remember, and I burn a scented candle pretty much everyday. Although I'm trying to branch out a little bit and try new things, Yankee Candles are still my brand of choice. I buy a lot of my candles in store but for pricing on Yankee Candles you really can't beat QVC UK's prices. A few months ago now (I said this haul was late!) they featured a Yankee Candle Today's Special Value, which on this occasion was a QVC exclusive 39 piece Warm Summer Nights Seasonal Hamper.

The set came in a sturdy canvas basket which featured a super cute tassel and pom pom bag charm. The basket featured two layers of candle products. The first layer contained 12 votive candles in some of Yankee's newest spring and summer scents,  it contained 2 x Passion Fruit Martini, 2 x Flowers In The Sun, 2 x Moonlight, 2 x Dreamy Summer Nights, 2 x My Serenity, and 2 x Sunset Breeze votives.

If that wasn't enough the second layer of the baskets contained two boxes of 12 tea lights in the Passion Fruit Martini and Flowers In The Sun Fragrances and 2 purple glass bucket holders to burn both your votives and tea lights in.

Unfortunately I can't remember exactly how much this kit was, but I do remember that the value was amazing and way less then RRP. Whilst the votives and the tea lights won't fragrance a huge space, I like to use them either on my bedside table, or the desk next to me while I'm writing, or crafting. They're perfect for a gentle, intimate fragrance and this kit gave me a fantastic opportunity to try out some new fragrances. I have to say I don't think there is a single fragrance in this kit that I dislike - my favourite is probably the super fruity Passionfruit Martini, but I can see myself burning all of these depending on the time of day and my mood. I also bought this kit on what QVC call their auto delivery programme, which basically means that I'm going to receive another 3 hampers, all in a different design, with new holders and new seasonal fragrances in fact I may have already got the Autumn hamper which I'll show you in an upcoming post :)

If you've been reading my blogger for a while now you'll know that this was the year when I was going to try and get organised. I really am trying but there is still so much more that I need to do and need to sort out, and the next few things that I've bought are hopefully going to help me do that, by improving some of my storage options.

This is a foldable, hexagonal storage ottoman which comes from QVC. I've seen a few similar things on the market but this is strongest and the best quality one that I've come across. Made of a faux leather it folds down flat, but when it's assembled it's super strong. It features a padded lid, which makes it a comfy seat, and you can even reverse the lid and use it as a tray. It's sturdy enough to stand on and it's surprisingly roomy. I'm using mine to store all of my electrical beauty bits such as my tongs and my straighteners. I also bought the wheeled section separately so I can move it round and use it around my room as a seat. QVC do a lot of these ottomans in different shapes and I would really recommend them if you need extra storage and occasional seating.

I love my jewellery but I have to be honest and say that I'm running out go places to store it. I have a large mirrored jewellery cabinet for my fine jewellery but my fashion jewellery storage is all over the place, I have some pieces in hat boxes, some in fabric dress style hangers on my doors, and I also have some jewellery hooks on the side of my wardrobe, and believe it or not i still need more jewellery storage. My mum actually got some of these a little while back for B&M and after trying hers I though that these would be perfect for hanging on my wardrobe frame. They are just £1 each and I'm currently using them for long necklaces but you can also use them for belts and scarves. I'm going to do a proper sort and then I think I might do a jewellery storage video to show you all of my jewellery and the different storage options that I use, if you'd be interested in seeing that, then let me know x

Next a few pieces from the storage mothership that is IKEA, if you need storage for just about anything then you need to take a trip to IKEA. I never ever leave empty handed and this visit was no exception, as well as picking up some dining room chairs for Mummy Lou I also picked up another set of Helmer drawers.

Annoyingly the new ones are much of a pure white than the cream ones I have but I'll have to live with that. I used my original Helmer for nail polish storage and to be honest it's starting to overflow so most of my new one will be filled with nail polish too, and if I have any space left, I'll be storing some other beauty items. These aren't the biggest drawers that IKEA do but you can fit them into quite a compact space, and the drawers actually hold quite a bit. I also love that they're on wheels so you can move them around for cleaning. I love them and i would recommend them to anyone whether you use them in the bedroom, the office, or even in the bathroom.

I'm in the process of sorting out my new office space, and whilst I'm moved in and blogging from my desk now, I'm still sorting out boxes of stuff and adding pretties. Apparently plants help you to concentrate and they help to keep you calm so I picked up a pack of 3 cacti plants. I used to have a cactus or two in my bedroom many moons ago and because they're so easy to care for, I thought that this set which was £4.50 would be perfect for my desk. I still fancy something bigger and more flowy and greener to go on the top of a set of storage drawers but given my uselessness with plants I'll need to consult Mummy Lou aka Mrs Greenfingers before I buy anything else.

The final few things that I want to show you are from eBay x According to my mam I'm slightly obsessed with cushions, and yes I'll admit it I do have quite a few in the two rooms that I consider my own, but I love my comfort and I think cushions can make a bed look more dressed and inviting in an instant. This time I didn't buy a cushion as such but these two cushion covers that I got work perfectly with the lilacs and pastels in my rooms.

Come on which beauty lover wouldn't love these cushions? The fabric isn't the best but I love the Chanel fragrance print and of course the NARS lipstick print. These two cushions came from overseas sellers, the perfume cushion was just £2.39 from this seller and the lipstick cushion cover was £2.58 from this seller. A couple of different sellers do these covers at varying price points though so it's worth shopping around x

The final thing I've got to show you in this haul also came from eBay, and it's a mug. A few bloggers I know have this mug already and I believe they got if from Truffle Shuffle, I found this one on eBay though and I love the fact that you can get it personalised with the name of your choice.

Unfortunately the seller that I bought mine from doesn't seem to sell these anymore but this seller does and they have loads of different Little Miss and Mr Men themed mugs, including some of the new adult themed mugs all of which can be personalised. I'm quite fancying a Little Miss Social Media mug next ;).

So that was my long awaited home and lifestyle haul x I've also made an accompanying You Tube video which you watch below or via this link.



I'd love to know what you think about my haul, and I'd love to know what home, lifestyle and stationery items you've bought recently so leave me a comment and let me know x I've already got another home and lifestyle haul planned so make sure you following my blog so you don't miss it x

A Little Home Haul Featuring B&M, Primark And More x

Thanks to a recent purchase I'm trying to get my head around some long overdue blog posts and that includes quite a few haul posts. Today's haul post is all about the home, getting organised and making it look and smell fabulous.

First up B&M Bargains, this is one of my favourite shops at the moment, mainly down to the fabulous array of American candy that Mummy Lou manged to procure for birthday but despite the allure of their half pound Reece's Peanut Butter Cups!! my B&M haul is all about sorting out my mind and my clutter.

The first thing that I got was a new weekly planner pad. One of my naughty cats destroyed the last one, and I really think that these pads help me get organised. I use them mainly for planning posts and for documenting what I need to do every day. You can occasionally pick these up in Poundland but I love this bright, floral Cath Kidston esq one which was £1.49.

Sticking with the floral theme, I also picked up a zippered floral storage box, which was £2.99. Currently on the top of my wardrobe I have several cardboard storage boxes from IKEA, that to be honest have seen better days. I just use them to store my beach and swim things but after dragging them up and down for a few years, their more suitable for the bin than for my bikini. So I decided to try one these boxes, they just fold out and zip right the way around, and I'm hoping that they'll keep my things safe and dust free. If I like them I will need a few more but I'll see how I get on

Clearing out my clutter is a big thing for me at the moment and I'm currently working on my extensive shoe collection. I've accumulated so many pairs of flips flops, ballet flats and sandals over the years that I'm having to have a little purge, with one of my local charity shops being the key beneficiary. Shoe storage is always a huge problem I've tried pretty much everything, broken the drawers under my bed and numerous shelves, and the answer always ends up being piles and piles of shoe boxes. So many shoes  don't come with boxes now though I thought I'd be some more to revamp my storage.

I paid £1.99 for a pack of three fold out boxes, and because of the size I should be able to fit a few pairs of flat sandals or flip flops. The boxes are clear enough for you to be able to see what's inside but each of the boxes also features a fun shoe design, and a fun quote or saying all about shoes.

The Cinderella one is by far my favourite but I think these are a cute way to store your shoes, now I just need to decide where to put them.

From one of my favourite shops, to another, Poundland. Do I need to say more, what is there not to love about Poundland, especially when they sell candles that smell as nice as this one does.

This Chewitts Blackcurrant Scented Candle, smell exactly like the sweeties, it's very fruity and mouthwatering. These candles are pretty generic and the Love Heats, M&M's and Betty Crocker ones are all packaged the same and made by the same company. I haven't tried this yet but I'm hoping that smells even a little bit like it does when it's unlit.

This next item is a little bit of an odd purchase but one of my aims for the year is to try and save up a bit of money and although being a pig collector I have several money boxes, this Despicable Me / Minions money tin was a better fit.

The reason why I like this is because it's sealed, if you want to get into it, you have to get a tin opener out and open it properly. I'm not 100% sure what I'm saving up for yet but I'm thinking about maybe something special or meaningful.

The last two home items that I've bought recently were both hanging decorations for my rooms and they are both heart shaped. The first one is a tin hanging heart which was just £1 from Primark. In pastel shades it has the words "Dream Big" on it.

Finally this wooden hanging heart, which came from ebay and was just  £4.95 from this seller.

I love the quote and this one and a bit of research seems to suggest that it was attributed to Marilyn Monroe. I'm not sure on that one but the saying "A Smile Is The Best Make Up Any Girl Can Wear" is maybe something to live by x

So that was my little home haul, as per usual if you have any questions please leave me a comment and I'll try and get back to you as quickly as I can x

A Late But Epic August Haul Featuring Primark, Yankee, Make Up Revolution, Maybelline And More - Picture And Word Heavy

I want to start off this post by saying a huge thank you to everyone that's entered my giveaway, and I want to say a huge hi there, and thank you to everyone that's followed and commented as a result. Although I haven't had much of a chance to reply to your comments I've really enjoyed reading them and it's been very interesting finding out what kind of posts you like reading. One of the most popular types of posts by far is. unsurprisingly the haul post! I have to say I love writing them too, mainly because they give me an excuse to go shopping lol. They do take a bit of time and effort to write though especially when you buy as much stuff as I do :) so yet again I find myself apologising for a late monthly haul post, but better late then never, here is my August haul :)

I didn't buy too many clothes in August partly because I'm trying desperately to cling onto the last breaths of summer, but I did pay a couple of visits to Primark but I just stuck to jewellery and accessories, starting with some socks.

Despite being in my 30's I'm still a sock girl at heart and I couldn't resist these cute Minion ones. I introduced my mum to Despicable Me last month and she loves it as much as I do. It never fails to make me smile and I am hoping these socks will have the same effect.

As well as my Minions, I also picked up some ankle socks with some frill detailing. I bought them to wear with my Clarks brogues but I'm not sure that the cute girly approach works for me. Never mind they were only £1.50. As well as the socks I also got a bargain double duvet (not pictured it's just a duvet!) and this necklace which I've wanted for ages.

This was £6, which I don't think it particularly cheap for Primark but imagine what you would pay in Accessorize or Top Shop! I love the iridescent pastel colours of the stones.

Despite buying quite a bit of stuff throughout August the bargain hunter in me definitely lives on, and throughout the month I spent quite a bit of time both in Poundland and Poundworld. As well as numerous fruit snacks I made just one other Poundland purchase, and it was another jewellery item from their Purple Ivy range.

If your a new reader, you should now that I'm a little bit obsessed with bows, I'm not sure where it comes from but I love them be it on clothing, accessories or on jewellery. This gold tone necklace features lots of tiny little golden bows. Love it and it was a real bargain for £1

I've said it before I definitely don't have the same affection for Poundworld as I do for Poundland but last month I managed to pick up a few things. I'm a bit of an instagram and twitter aholic and whilst checking out my feeds I started to see lots of pictures of the Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Polishes. Now I'd wanted to try these for quite a while but the £6.99 price tag put me off a bit, but after a little bit of investigation work I found out that they were being stocked in branches of Poundworld.

They had lots and lots of colour to choose from but I had to limit myself a bit I just bought 3 for me and one for a pressie. The shades I went for were Spun Sugar, African Tea Rose and Moonlit Woods. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but I'll be sure to show you when I do.

You've already seen my other Poundworld purchase in my giveaway post but I'm mentioning it again because I think it such a fabulous idea. I bought one of these on ebay quite a while ago now and I think there great. I paid about £4 or so then which I thought was a bargain as I'd seen them for as much as £16 + before but for a £1 I think they're fab. I'm going to alter mine up and maybe use one for hair things and maybe one for bracelets and chunky necklace I haven't decided properly yet but I will show you when they're sorted.

To be honest I need more jewellery storage I have so, so much of it, I'm a bit obsessed actually and after a few months break I've quite a few jewellery purchases from ebay both for me and for Mummy Lou. The first item is something else that you've already seen a fab bright statement necklace.

Annoyingly I only paid 99p for it including postage from this seller, but when I decided to buy another one, it had gone up to £1.89 and now it's gone up to £2.25. Very annoying but the quality is nice and I would easily have paid more for it.

I also bought a couple of turquoise and silver items - they always claim to be real but from the price I'm never convinced - first up I got this lovely elasticated bracelet. I love my bracelets but I'm such an old lady lately I'm finding them impossible to fasten, so I love the fact that I can just slip this on and off. It was just 99p with postage from this seller x

I also bought this necklace which works really nicely with it x Again it was just 99p from this seller x

I'm all about a bargain at the minute and last month I had a little day out with my bestie. Due to her job and my health we don't see as much of each other as we would like but it's always a sign of good friendship that you can pick up where you left off. The main purpose of the day out was to see her new house but we also went for coffee at Chester Grove Garden Centre, To be honest I've seen better garden centres but the cafe is nice and I had some lovely gluten free crumble cake. We had a little look round afterwards and I found a whole load of reduced Yankee Candle Melts / Tarts. These normally retail at around £1.49 but they were on sale at just £1 each. I got four, two Bahama Breeze, one White Gardenia and one Vanilla Lime. I love the melts you get a real hit of fragrance even after just a few minutes.

It wouldn't be a Lou Lou haul without a bit of Superdrug shopping and my goodness I did quite a bit of that last month- first I got the Make Up Revolution Ultra Eyeshadow Palette in Flawless. You can see a full, first impressions review of the palette here and of course you can win one in my giveaway here x

August saw the launch of a Make Up Revolution stand in my local Superdrug and of course it would have been wrong not to pick up a few bits. First of all something I'd wanted to try for a long time - their nail polishes - I went for two shades, Adore a lovely creamy, lilac and Cupid In Disguise, fabulous iridescent, oil on water taupey shade. Due to some nail snappage and a fight with a drawer I haven't tried these yet, but I'll definitely stick a nails of the day post up when I do.

Next up another single eyeshadow - I'm a bit obsessed with these and I'm planning a blog post so you can see my collection swatched side by side , I have a lot of the nudes and browns and both shimmers and mattes and as you would expect they're pretty fabulous. The latest addition to my collection is Good Life, a shimmery, taupe, brown.

Now I only have a couple of Make Up Revolution lip products in my collection and to be honest this is the one area that I'm a bit mehh about when it comes to the brand. Again I'll review everything in due course but one product I love, and one I well don't. Never the less having an opportunity to play with some products in the flesh I fell in love with one of their matte lipsticks, Beloved

Again swatches to come, but this looks to be a lovely, bright pink with just a hint of warmth. It looks quite scary in the bullet, almost like a bright coral here but irl it's a lot more wearable.

My final Make Up Revolution product for August was something basic, and not that interesting but I have oily / combination skin and despite the fact that they aren't as popular as they once were I need a pressed powder in my make up bag at all times The Make Up Revolutions Pressed Powder retails at a pretty bargainous £2. There are four shades to choose from and I went for one of the lightest Porcelain.

I've got enough Make Up Revolution products to do a full base product post now, so keeping checking back to see a full review of this and some of their other face products.

I admit it I am a bit obsessed with Make Up Revolution at the moment, but the opportunity to have a little look around Superdrug I did buy some bits from other brands including Rimmel.

I know, I know another lip tint, balm thing! but what can I say I obsessed with these as well at. I also went through a phase of being a bit obsessed with whole Keep Calm thing so these Keep Calm balms definitely appealed. There are 5 to choose from and I went for Keep Calm And Play - 040 Rose Blush.

It looks an absolutely terrifying coral colour in the bullet but like all of these balm tints, you just get a mere hint of colour (not even enough to justify a swatch in this case!) which enhances your natural lip colour. It has a pleasant slightly, sweet rose aroma but unlike a lot of similar products I don't think this feels that moisturising.

It's confession time - I'm totally lazy and useless at eyeliner - I just don't have the patience for it, and I barely ever wear it now - something that I'm sure several brands and PR's waiting for reviews will testify to. Recently though I became intrigued by the new Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner. It seems to be one of those products that you either love or hate though so I wasn't really that keen on shelling on £18.50. Whilst reading my usual array of blogs and tweets though I happened to read that the Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner Pen was very, very similar and actually slightly better for a much more affordable but still slightly spendy £8.99. Hmm I thought about it for a while and decided to raise the issue on a recent #bbloggers twitter chat. A couple of lovely ladies replied and said they liked it so I took the plunge.

In the flesh it looks pretty, damn close to the Benefit offering, the silicone tip is very similar and it has the same twist up action. I'll be honest and say I haven't had the chance to try it on my eyes yet but I'll definitely add it to my list of upcoming eyeliner reviews and let you know how I feel about it soon.

The final item in my Superdrug haul was something else that you've seen in my giveaway post. I definitely went shopping with a one for me, one for you philosophy. Despite my age I'm still a bit of a Hello Kitty fan and I found these super cute tweezers on a clearance rack for just 49p x It would have been wrong not to buy them :)

I only made only other real beauty purchase in August and that was from Avon. I get so mad about brush marks with metallic nail polishes, that you think I would stop buying them but I don't. I decided to try a colour from Avon's new Metallic Effects range and the shade I went for was Jade Reflection.

It's sort of a metallic taupey, khaki, quite hard to describe and photograph but I can't wait to give it a proper try out on my nails, brush strokes and all!

Although the magazine freebies appear to have slowed down on the last month or so there are still a few out there and in August I picked up a couple of magazines with free gifts in them. InStyle came with a mini set of Ren skincare items. I've had the same set from them before so I guess they must have had some spare and Marie Claire came with a mini Ghost Eclipse fragrance roller ball.

Whilst it's not a fragrance I would have bought I actually quite like it's depth and complexity, and I'm a huge fan of the roller ball style applicator. Slim pickings for August but the October issue of InStyle actually came out on the 30th August so whilst it's still in store I can just about include it in my August haul :)

It was actually a pretty decent freebie too, you get a a 50ml bottle of the L'Occitane essential oil shampoo and a 50ml bottle of the matching conditioner, together worth about £10. I haven't tried their haircare before but I'm a huge fan of the brand so I can't wait to give them ago.

The final bits that I acquired in August came courtesy of a lovely, fellow North East blogger, Becca from Polkadot Notebook. For my birthday so kindly gave me a few bit including a mini FCUK Signature Body Spray, which as you know I love. Being the lovely person that she is she sent me some other FCUK signature minis x Thanks Becca x You're a star x

So that was my very late, and very long and in depth August haul x I haven't managed to film a haul video to accompanying post so I hope that you will forgive me x  Hopefully I will be resuming normal video uploads soon x Thanks for reading and of course if you have any questions on any of my purchases please leave me a comment xx