A Very Late December 2017 Primark Haul - Clothes, Beauty, Disney And More

Okay it's catch up time, and it's haul time. I know from the feedback that I'm getting from your giveaway entries that you love a haul, and a lot of you love nothing more than a Primark haul so in the interests of giving you what you want that exactly what I've got for you today, a late and all be it quite small, Primark haul.

It seems like a lifetime ago since I was last in Primark, and in a lot of ways it was, this stupid virus seems to have sucked the life out of me, but thinking back to happier times, I did manage to go to Primark twice in December and whilst I didn't by a lot I did buy a few bits that you might still be able to get your hands on.

This blouse was actually new in, and even though we probably still have a few more months of winter left to go, there are Easter Eggs in the shops and Primark is full of spring and summer florals. Way back in September of 2016 I bought a long line sleeveless blouse from Primark (you can see it here) and I fell in love with the floral and bird design, and whilst the print on the blouse isn't identical it's pretty similar.

Featuring an oriental style floral, and crane print, this navy blue blouse is quite sheer, so I probably will need to wear a navy vest underneath it but again I love the print and given my love of shirts and florals it was a must have. It was only £7.

Next up a couple of staples, and over the last couple of months of so I've become slightly addicted to Primark's stripy t-shirts and when I was last in store I spotted some new colours. The first one is in the Long Sleeve Stretch Crew style and I got it in a white and blue marl for £4

and I also got one of the Short Sleeve Stretch Crew T's in a navy blue and white Breton style stripe for £3.

I've got quite a few of these t-shirts now and they've became a real wardrobe staple for me. They are nice and stretchy, and they are a good length and they are perfect for layering. I'm sure the price has gone up slightly but they are still great value for money.

Something else that was great value for money was this pair of boots. After I wore my previous pair of black chunky ankle boots out I was looking for a replacement, and these boots from the As Seen In Glamour range fit the bill perfectly.

With a working side zip fastening, these boots have a faux zip on the front, and faux pearl and stud detailing down the front. These boots have a nice chunky sole and good grips so they'll be perfect for the colder days that are still to come. Even better still I got these boots for only £6! They had been £16 and they were just been moved to the sale rack when I went in - perfect timing and a great bargain!

Sticking with the winter wear theme I couldn't resist picking up yet another woolly hat. I'm definitely not a hat person but I have a bit of a thing for cosy winter hats. I have several animal ones and I'm pretty partial to a bobble hat. I got a lovely mustard one from Quiz a few months ago and this black with a huge multi coloured faux fur pompom on the top called to me, and since it was only £3 I popped it into my basket

That's it for clothes, shoes and accessories but I did get a couple of jewellery pieces including another long line disc / circle necklace.

This one features both silver tone and gold tone pendants so it fits right in with the mixed metal trend. It features a combination of plain and crystal studded bars, circles and discs and it was only £2.50.

As much I love longer length and chunky necklaces, I'm also a big fan of more delicate pieces, and this one from Primark's Disney range was right up my street.

On a much shorter chain it's basically a Mickey Mouse head inlaid with a coloured stone representing a birthstone. I'm a May baby so mine is a deep green emerald, and as much as I would love this to be a real emerald, for just £3 I think this is probably just glass or crystal. It's really sweet and I've got to say I'm loving all of Primark's Disney collaborations, and I'm particularly loving their Beauty And The Beast range.

Beauty And The Beast is definitely one of my favourite Disney films and I've been loving all of the Mrs Potts and Chip pieces. The proper teapot still remains elusive but I did manage to pick up this Chip Trinket Dish on my most recent visit.

It basically a mini ceramic Chip mug which is attached to a ceramic saucer. It's perfect for keeping your rings and earrings safe, and you could even pop your change into it. This was £5 and like the other pieces in the range it's really nicely made.

I know I've said this about a dozen times over the last year or so, but when it comes to beauty, Primark are really upping their game, and every time I go in they have something new to look at. Before Christmas I noticed that they were stocking a new range called Holler And Glow, which from what I gather is a skin and body care range that is exclusive to Primark. They seem to do a lot of sheet masks but I went for one of their foot masks.

I'm slightly addicted to these slightly gross, slightly amazing foot peeling masks, and this Holler And Glos Purrfect Pedi Sock Mask which was £4 is definitely one of the cutest that I've used. I tried it out on Boxing Day and I'll let you know what I think in my upcoming December empties post x

Next up a make up item, and I'm going to be honest and say that I'm pretty disappointed with this. I'm not sure what I was expecting in all honesty but this just didn't wow me.

I think it was the silver glitter, outer packaging that drew me in, and the beautiful pink ombre of the powder.

Take it out of the box though and your left with quite basic clear, plastic packaging without a sparkle in sight.

I don't know what I expected this to be, maybe a beautiful pink ombre, shimmery highlighter and blush, but what I got was something completely different. just a matte very pale white / pink powder.

I know there is currently a trend for matte highlighters and illuminating finishing powders so maybe that is what this is. The pigmentation is fine and it feels nice and soft to the touch it just isn't what I thought it would be. That's why we need testers I guess, still it was only £3 and I'm sure I will find a way to use it.

My final purchases were both cleansing wipe based; On my first visit I went into a mild panic because I couldn't find my favourite tea tree wipes ANYWHERE! so I ended buying some of the PS Micellar Facial Cleansing Wipes For All Skin Types instead, and whilst I wasn't expecting a lot, over the last week or so these wipes have been a god send. They are very gentle on the skin and they were quite soothing on my irritated and flu ravaged skin. I eventually did manage to get my hands on some of the PS Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes For Oily & Blemish Prone Skin but I wouldn't hesitate to buy the micellar wipes again for emergencies. All of Primark's own brand wipes retail at just £1 for 2 packs of 25 wipes which is great value for money - I don't use them on my face that often but I wouldn't be without them now for everything from wiping sticky fingers to cleaning up make up swatches, they really are a must have for me.

So that was my late December Primark haul and the way I'm feeling at the moment it might be a little while before I get back into Primark so I will live through your Primark hauls for now, so if you've been to Primark recently and you've either written a blog post or uploaded a video to You Tube I'd love to see what you've bought so link me up x



In the meantime don't forget to watch the accompanying You Tube video which you can either watch above or via this link, and don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know if you have any questions on any of the items that I bought x

2017 / 2018 Brought To You By Tissues And Paracetamol

Well that didn't quite go to plan did it? It always seems to be the way with me every time I make plans, something always seems to throw a spanner in the works or in this case should I say a boomerang!

You've probably all seen the semi sensationalist newspaper headlines but it does exist and me and several members of my family (including Mummy Lou :() have been stricken by the evil thing that is Australian Flu.

So instead of blogging, making You Tube videos, enjoying the Christmas leftovers and of course celebrating New Years Eve, I've spent most of the last week and a half in bed surrounded by tissues, olbas oil and paracetamol!

It definitely wasn't the way that I'd planned on starting 2018 but it can't be helped and as the saying goes things can only get better,

Although it's something that I've subscribed to in the past I'm not really a fan of that New Year, New You thing, I don't want to be a new person I just want to be the best person that I can, and to be honest I know what that entails, so as per usual I'm not going to make any earth shattering new years resolutions, it's just a bit of the same old, same old, lose a bit of weight, be more organised, save a bit of money and generally just be a nicer person and stop worrying about the little things in life and the things that I can't change. 

So instead of getting stressed out about the posts and videos that I've had to put on hold over the last few weeks, I'm going to start the year off as I mean to go on, obviously by being productive and by getting things done, but I'm also going to stop putting so much pressure on myself and I'm going to try and enjoy blogging again but without the stress, the pressure and the self imposed expectations.

For the next week or so I'm going to be in catch up mode, I've got a few You Tube videos coming soon including some unboxings, a sale haul, and a Christmas pressie haul, and I've got a few blog posts in the pipeline as well including a late December Primark haul, a late Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland Advent Calendar catch up, and of course my December empties post and my 2017 Trimming My Stash totals.

I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me in 2017, and I hope that you'll continue to support both my blog and my You Tube channel in 2018. Don't forget to enter my PIXI giveaway if you haven't already and if that one isn't to your taste, I have lots more giveaways planned for 2018, so from me and mine, to you and yours, Happy New Year and let's hope that it's a good one for all of us x

PIXI + It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette + Giveaway - CLOSED

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas or a lovely long weekend if you don't celebrate! After a couple of days of overeating and family time though I'm ready to get my brain working again, and I thought I'd write a little (or maybe not so little!) blog post for you.

If you were lucky enough to receive a little bit of Christmas money, and you fancy splurging on some new make up then I might have a little recommendation for you, especially since it's something that now appears to be on sale from a few retailers

I've tried a couple of products from cult brand PIXI over the last year or so, but up until recently I hadn't tried a lot of their make up, but now I have and over the next few weeks I'm going to treat you to a few PIXI make up reviews. Given my recent eyeshadow palette splurges I didn't really need this palette, but to be honest what has need got to do with it! I have so many neutral palettes in my collection but there was something about about this one that called to me

Apologies That This Picture Is A Bit Washed Out 

PIXI are one of those brands that have embraced the whole social media thing and they are famous for their collaborations and work with bloggers, and You Tubers. and this particular palette was created in conjunction with You Tube star, Judy Travis, aka It's Judy Time.

The PIXI + It's Judy Time - Get The Look - It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette contains 12 super silky, and blendable eyeshadow shades, that are designed to take you from day to night

The sturdy plastic palette features an adhesive mirror so you put it exactly where you want it. I like to see the shadows in the palette through the clear lid so I've stuck my mirror onto the back of the palette.

The palette contains 12, good sized 1.2g powder eye shadows in a combination of matte, metallic and shimmer formulations . This is the perfect neutral palette and the shadows range from golds, to neutral browns and taupes, to coppers, and bronzes, with a few dark chocolate colours, and 1 deep, slightly shimmery, charcoal shade which is perfect for creating a smokey eye.

The shades are - 1st row from left to right - Snowflake, Bubbly and It's Mommy's Life,

2nd row from left to right - Good Morning, Brick and Honey Bear,

3rd row from left to right - Tu Tu, Getaway and Ping,

and 4th row from left to right - Dark Chocolate, Aww Snap, and Night Night

Having never ever tried an eyeshadow from PIXI before, I was really impressed with both the feel and the pigmentation of the shadows. The matte shadows particularly impressed me, they have a smooth and silky almost cornflour type feel and the shadows are pigmented and not in the slightest bit chalky.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was blown away by this palette, the colour palette was perfect, the shadows with smooth, silky and pigmented and they blended like a dream and wore well. The PIXI + It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette isn't tested on animals and it's free from parabans and it has a recommended retail price of around £28. It is currently available from the PIXI website, ASOS, and Marks and Spencer and I know I'm always saying this at the moment but shop around and you might be able to make a little bit of a saving on this palette, I've seen it online for as little as £14 from M&S so get moving quickly if you want it x

This palette is a real winner and you can be a winner too, if you enter my kind of festive giveaway. I've got one PIXI & It's Judy Time Get The Look It's Eye Time Eyeshadow Palette and a lovely clear and eyelash print NEXT cosmetic bag to give away to one lucky reader. All you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below x

Terms, Rules And Conditions

Unfortunately due to postal issues in the past this giveaway is open to UK residents only
If you are under 18 please get your parent or guardians permission before you enter as I will need your contact details if you're the lucky winner.
Entries will be picked at random using Rafflecopter
I reserve the right delete any entry that hasn't fulfilled the entry criteria or redraw the winner
The giveaway will end at midnight on 27th January 2018
The winner will have 7 days to respond to my email, if no response is received in this time I will draw another winner
This prize was purchased with my own money I have not been compensated from holding it and this giveaway has not been endorsed in any way by PIXI or NEXT.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for reading if you have any questions leave me a comment and good luck x

Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland 2017 Advent Calendar - Part 2 - Days 13 - 24

So the Christmas tree lights are on, my new PJ's are on and I'm sitting here with some cheese, mulled wine and The Muppets Christmas Carol, well what else would I be doing on Christmas Eve! Although I'm not a little person anymore I still love the excitement and the anticipation that you feel on Christmas Eve even if sometimes as an adult it does feel a little bit stressful!

As promised my last post before Christmas is a summary of Days 13 - 24 of the Look Fantastic Beauty In Wonderland Advent Calendar (you can see what products on got on days 1 - 12 here). I've really enjoyed every aspect of this calendar, I love how it looks and I've really enjoyed discovering some new brands and some new products, some of which I will definitely be buying again.

Day 13 Moroccanoil Morrocanoil Treatment - 15ml 

Now I've heard a lot about this brand and as you know I'm always looking for products to improve my hair so I can't wait to give this a proper try. I've already tried a little bit of this thickish yellow oil in my hair and so far so good. I do love a hair oil and this oil which contains argan oil and linseed oil claims to detangle the hair and leave it smoother and more manageable, and boost shine. I can't find a price comparison for this size but a 25ml size retails at £13.45.

Day 14 - Korres Wild Rose Advance Repair Sleeping Facial - 16ml 

I'm a huge fan of Greek brand Korres but the only products that I've used are their shower and body products, and their lip butters, so on day 14 I was given the opportunity to try out a new product for a brand that I already loved. This leave on mask is designed to sooth and brighten the skin and reduce fine lines, discolouration and pigmentation. It contains wild rose, vitamin C, hyaluronic,  and linolenic acid. I love anything like this so I can't wait to give this a try, especially over the festive season and the winter months when your skin can look a little bit dull. I can't find a price online for this size but the 40ml size retails at around £26

Day 15 - Rose Gold Look Fantastic Branded Face Brush 

Now the next item appears to be an advent calendar exclusive. It is a gorgeous soft, face brush with a gold tone handle. It has a very designer look and it's reminds me a lot of the Real Techniques Bold Metals collection.

Day 16 - Model Co Instant Brows - Light / ,Medium  - 1.5g

From someone who used to pretty blase about their brows over the last 18 months they've became one of the most important parts of my beauty routine and whilst I have my go to products now I still love trying new things but unfortunately I haven't really got on with this one. With a brow spoolie at one end and a soft slanted wax at the other end you can either use it to draw in individual hairs or to fill in larger areas. Designed for all day way this product was just too soft for me, the minute that I put any pressure on the tip it snapped. The colour was too light for me as well but I'll use it up as a brow highlight. I've seen this pen for sale at a couple of different price points between but for this size it usually retails at between £14 and £16.

Day 17 - Omorovicza Queen Of Hungary Mist - 30ml 

This is probably one of my favourite discoveries of the entire calendar. With a limited edition bottle, this is basically a toning mist which you apply after cleansing to refresh the skin and according to Omorovicza revitalise the spirit. It contains orange blossom, rose, and sage water, apple pectin and Hungarian thermal waters. This spray feels beautiful and cooling on the skin and it smells AMAZING, the mixture of rose and orange blossom means that it smells a little bit like the Courreges fragrance Girl In The Air! This size retails at around £15.

Day 18 - Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm- 4ml 

This is another cult product that I haven't tried before I've had a couple of these in the past but I've never used them . This lanolin filled balm can be used on any sore or dry areas including lips, cuticle, dry patches and of course on nipples. I've used this on my lips a couple of times already and a little goes a long, long, way and whilst it's thick it absorbs quickly and a little goes a long way. This is a tiny little size but the full 15ml size retails at £12.

Day 19 - Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Ultra Moisturising Hand Therapy 25g 

I've tried a few hand creams from heritage brand Crabtree & Evelyn but I've tried this one from their famous La Source range. With a fresh and clean, aquatic scent, this hand cream which contains green seaweed, red sea algae, Shea butter, myrrh, ceramides and hyaluronic acid, has a lovely creamy texture and absorbs quickly into the skin. This size retails at £8.

Day - 20 - Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream - 15ml

I was thrilled to find this little tube in my calendar. I talked about this cream an awful lot and just in case you've missed my musings, this is without a doubt my favourite ever moisturiser. I love the fresh scent, and I love the cream / gel texture. It's lightweight, non greasy and absorbs really easily into my oily / combination skin. I love it and my godmother who is 87 and has drier, mature skin also loves. This is a good size and although I can't find a direct price comparison, a 30ml pot now retails at around £52.

Day 21 - Magnitone Wipe Out The Amazing Microfibre Cleansing Cloth 

I've got a few of these wipes now and I'm not sure how exactly but they really do work. Simply dampen down the microfibre cloth with warm water, and use it to remove your make up. You don't need a cleanser just plain water, but for stubborn make up you can still use one if you like. I'm not sure if this is a full sized cloth but 2 full size cloths retail at around £14.99.

Day 22 - HD High Definition Eyeshadow Palette 002 Foxy - Full Size - 5 x 0.8g

This palette comes from the brand previously known as HD Brows and their brow products were the only things that I'd tried from them but now they've branched out into other types of make up and believe me this palette 002 Foxy is a beaut. In an expensive looking matte rubberised effect packaging, this palette features a large mirror and contains 5 beautiful matte and satin shimmer, neutral eye shadows, and a double ended shadow and liner brush.

The shades from left to right are Bare, Golden, Honey, Bronze and Truffle, the pigmentation and the texture is excellent. The shadows contain emollient oils, anti oxidants and vitamins C and E. This palette retails at £29.

Day 23 - Doucce Maxlash Volumizer Mascara 

I've never heard of this brand before but I do like the sound of this mascara. It aims to add outrageous volume and length, and they also claim that it is clump resistant, flake proof, smudge proof and humidity and sweat resistant. I'll let you know what I think about it when I try it x I don't think that this is a full size product as there is no size on it but it does seem to be a decent size

Day 24 - Dr Botanicals Moroccan Rose Superfood Facial Oil - 15ml Travel Size 

Well this is one product that I don't think I'm going to have the chance to use. Mummy Lou loves facial oils and she's loves anything with rose so I've given her this as an early Christmas pressie. This facial oil contains Moroccan Rose, vitamin C and A, and almond and is rich in antioxidants and moisturising properties. This size retails at around £35.90.

Unlike a lot of advent calendars out there this one also has a Number 25 so I'll be updating some time soon about what was in the box. In the meantime I'd like to take this opportunity if you celebrate, to wish you a very, Merry Christmas. Tomorrow will be a quiet family one for me, and I know I'll cherish spending time with people that I love. Hopefully it will be a happy day for me and my family, but please remember that life goes on, on Christmas Day and problems don't always go away, so please, please remember that you are not alone on Christmas Day or on any other day of the year, and if you need help or someone to talk to there will always be someone there to listen x Merry Christmas x