February Haul Post

For weeks I've been saying Boots needed to do a mix and match 3 for 2. I've had £40 of points burning a hole in my pocket and I just wanted to spend them, but not til the time was right. I'm not an animal. I'm always more careful with Boots points, much more so than with money, strange really. 

I casually walked into my local Boots last week and gasped when I saw the 3 for 2 offer. I could have gone crazy there and then but I waited til I went home to do a little research and decide what I really wanted to buy. Partly as I wanted to be semi sensible and partly to be nice to my son and partner who would inevitably be dragged around by me trying to find the perfect free thing while decorating my hand with various shades of lipstick.

So home to my iMac I went. I looked at a load of reviews and even asked on Twitter if I would suit the shade of purple that Revlon were offering me in their new matte balms. 

I'm usually one for being silly and buying things I don't need, and don't get me wrong, I didn't need any of this but it was ON OFFER, OK! So that makes it alright. 
yes it does... yesitdoesyesitdoes!

Armed with my list and 2 Mac lipsticks I feared may be similar to colours I was going to buy (how very sensible of me!) I went into Boots after treating my boys to breakfast at Cafe Rouge. I thought they would need a treat before what they were about to endure.

As predicted Revlons Matte Balm in 'Audacious'  was rather similar to my Mac 'Vegas Volt' so that was crossed off my list and made way for 'Mischievous', which had more of an orange tone to it. And 'Shameless' was much more purple than my Mac 'Up the Amp' so I decided I needed that.

The more observant of you will see that there are 7 things in the picture "She didn't make the most of the offer!" You may shout.. but no. One of these babies was from Superdrug, Superdrug which had £2 off their Matte Balms I'll have you know (oh yes, the research paid off!) So don't fret, there was another bargain. I parted with £5.99 and a lovely pink shade called 'Elusive' was mine. I love all of these so no doubt I will be doing a separate review showing how these colours look.

I picked up Revlon's Highlight Palette in 002 which I am already completely loving along with Maybelline's Better Skin Foundation and L'Oreal Infallible 24 hour Foundation. I also added another lip crayon to the list but this time I steered away from Revlon for a second. I was completely drawn to the bright neon coral of 'Peach on the Beach' Colour Boost Lip Crayon by Bourjois, it's very glossy and such a great bright colour that I will no doubt be wearing lots of as we move in to Spring and Summer. (YAY!)

I couldn't help picking up some of the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water too. I'd told myself I couldn't try it til my L'Oreal version ran out and it's pretty much finished so it was time to see what the fuss is about. It was also on offer for £3.32 in Superdrug so it would have been rude not to! Don't worry, I won't be reviewing it, every blogger and their dog has reviewed this stuff but I'm looking forward to giving it a go!

And lastly, on excellent recommendation from my lovely friend Amy I picked up the Bubblegum Lip Scrub from Lush. I tried it in the shop and I was instantly impressed. My lips are really chapped and not only does this stuff smell (and taste!) incredible but it smooths out my lips and gets rid of all the dead skin. Lovely. 

I do love a little haul. What have you been buying lately?

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Benefit How to look the Best at Everything Review

I actually got this lovely little set for Christmas and I've been meaning to post about it for a while now. 

I am a big fan of Benefit and have been for years... about 10 years to be exact! (wow, when did that happen?!) The packaging ahas always been a huge factor for me and I felt like I was really treating myself when I bought myself something. I think my first Benefit purchase was 'You Rebel' tinted moisturiser, shortly followed by the gorgeous bronzer 'Hoola' which I still repurchase to this day. 

How to Look The Best at Everything comes with all the basics you need to create a good base for your make up. It comes in a lovely box shaped like a book that you can re-use and keep bits an pieces in. Even if it wasn't a reusable box I would have kept it anyway! I just can't throw away nice packaging -it's a problem!

The set itself is available in 3 shades, light, medium and dark so there should be a kit to suit you. I was thankful that medium was the shade as for me as the mint green box was my favourite of the 3!

It has 4 little beauties inside with a little information book to guide you along. 

Porefessional Primer -It's the primer that everyone's raving about, and for good reason! It really makes makeup last! I guarantee when I use this I know my make up will stay perfectly all day. It goes on so smoothly and makes your face feel soft and velvety. A little goes a long way too as you only need a tiny bit to cover your face. I'm really pleased I got to try this out and I'll definitely be repurchasing it.

Hello, Flawless! Oxygen WOW Foundation in 'Honey'

The foundation is light and creamy and blends really well into the skin. It evens out skin tone and looks really natural.  It's a light to medium coverage so you would need a concealer to hide any imperfections. One thing I found is that it's great without a powder, it does the job of creating a good base all on its on. Personally I need a higher coverage but this would be fine if I was having a particularly good skin day or I didn't want my make up to look too heavy.

Bo-ing Industrial Strength Concealer in shades 02 and 03

It really is 'industrial strength. When I was struggling to sleep at the end of last year this stuff was a god send for covering my dark circles! I've used this for years, it's one of the best concealers out there in my opinion. It provides great coverage and it doesn't settle into lines or crease at all. The fact that you get two shades is excellent as you can blend them to the colour you require which is great of you're covering blemishes or like me your skin changes colour throughout the year!

 Hello Flawless Face powder in 'Me Vain?'

 I have been tempted to buy this powder for a while, it was the packaging again! So I was pleased to try it out. It's heavily pigmented but doesn't feel cakey at all. It's a very light feeling powder so you can't even fell that you're wearing it, yet it still takes away shine and looks really natural. I'm really happy with this powder, I just wish I was able to carry it around with me -just another excuse to buy the full size really!

These kits are a great way to try out a few bits from Benefit without/before purchasing the full size product! There's 3 out of the 4 that I'll more than likely be purchasing at some point so I can safely say this was a great purchase/gift!

For around £25 for 4 products, with the full size being about £20 each that's not too bad at all!

Have you tried any of these Benefit kits?

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Story of My life Tag

So the name of this Tag means I now have One Direction in my head! 
I saw this done by Sarah from Bow Bombshell and I thought it looked like a fun tag to do. If you didn't learn enough about me in my 50 Facts About Me post then here's a bit more...

1. When and where was your birth?

I was born in November in Surrey, but I'm sure you already heard that one through the walls, right?

2. Who chose your name(s) and was there a reason?

My Mum liked the name Jenna after seeing it in Dallas. My Dad liked Crystal but it rhymes with my surname so I'm extremely glad they didn't go with that.

3. Earliest childhood memory?

I remember being on the carpet (the sort of reading area) in school when I was about 4 and I wasn't really listening or I'd got in late and didn't catch the beginning and the teacher asked if any of us had anything to add. I put my hand up and said 'I have new shoes' I remember it clear as day! I was even holding my foot up! I've clearly always been shoe obsessed!

4. What were your hobbies as a child?

I went swimming from the day I was born (well, as soon as my mum could take me) and I did swimming lessons every week too. I went to Brownies but grew out of it before I was old enough for Girl Guides. Then I got really into basketball as I reached my teens.  I've always been into drawing too.

5. Do you have any siblings?

I do, two younger brothers and a sister.

6. A funny story of something you did or said as a child?

Now, you would think the shoe story would be hard to top... But I once was being told off by my mum after school. It was something silly and I got really upset and angry. I was still in my uniform and I was drinking a glass of orange juice. In my anger I decided to throw it down myself! I figured it would annoy my mum and she would have to wash my uniform before I had school the next day. Needless to say I was sent to my room! 

7. Did you do well at school?

I did pretty well considering I had a year off due to illness. I enjoyed school actually.

8. First teenage celebrity crush?

It was Steven Gately from Boyzone! I later found out he was gay and I had no chance. I moved on to Gary Lucy from Hollyoaks then, I had pictures all over my wall and in my school locker!

9. Favourite song(s) of all time?

Of ALL TIME?! Now that is a tough one, I change my favourite song more than I change my pants (which is a lot, I'm not saying I never change my pants. Just so we're clear!) I think maybe 'More than a Woman'... or 'Under Pressure'.

10. Favourite moment or memory in your life so far?

My son being born. It's an obvious one but the first night I spent in the hospital with him was the most surreal moment of my life. He just laid there looking at me and made me feel amazing. Knowing I look after him every day and don't palm the off, despite being unwell makes me feel really proud of myself. 

11. Have you fulfilled any of your dreams yet?

Meeting a guy that I'm crazy about and having a great relationship. I think watching too many Disney fins as a kid made me think there is someone perfect for me out there and I needed to find him. I've been through so many ups and downs over the years and I love how things are falling into place.

12. What are your ambitions for the future?

After last year I was totally off marriage but I'm warming to the idea again so one day I'd like to marry Sam. If only to have an amazing party with his family and mine all together! We're not really low-key kind of people so we wouldn't do it on a budget so want to wait til we can go all-out and do it exactly how we want it. I also want to let M see the world so I want to be able to take him on amazing holidays that he can look back on. I think I want to have another baby too, just not til M is at school!

  

 I tag everyone reading this. If you do the tag please leave a comment with the link, I'd love to have a read!

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Personalised iPad case from Mr. Nutcase

About a month ago I finally wrote my really personal post on a Moment that Mattered for She Might be Loved's competition to win an iPad mini. I was absolutely over the moon to find out I'd won! It felt great to finally get a lot of my thoughts out in the post and winning such an amazing prize was the icing on the cake!

 I knew with my new lovely gadget I should keep it safe. So I really needed to invest in an iPad Mini Case. It was excellent timing when I was contacted to try out a case from Mr Nutcase.

The website is really bright and colourful. It's woodland cartoons with the cute squirrel are really fun!

Choosing a case was really difficult, I have to say. There's so many designs to choose from. They're not just for iPads either, they cater for iPhones, Samsung, Blackberry, Kindle, HTC...pretty much anything!

There's also an option to use your own pictures to make a more personalised case, this one was the obvious choice for me. I have so many pictures of Mason that I love so I thought it was great idea to add some to the case of something I would use everyday. 

After selecting the create your own section you select your manufacturer and device, (Apple, iPad mini) then you can chose between a executive flip leather or and ultra light weight slimline case. I opted for the slimline case. A new iPad case sounded great, a personalised iPad case sounded even better!

There's 19 layouts to choose from and you select photos from your computer and can move them about and crop them to make the design exactly as you want it.

You can choose the colour of the case too, I wasn't 100% if my new iPad was going to be black or White so I selected a grey colour so it would work with either one.

I really enjoyed designing my case, it took a while but that was down to me being picky and trying out various designs to make sure it was exactly as I wanted it. 

You are shown a preview when you are finished and then you enter your details and you are away! The case was on my doorstep within 2 days and packaged really well, you get a screen protector too if you like their Facebook page, which is a lovely little addition.

I'm so impressed with how it looks and when I get my phone upgrade next month I'll be sure to look on mr nutcase for a new case! I really recommend you give them a try!

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Little Mix Nail Wraps Review

I'm not gonna lie, I bloody love Little Mix. I wasn't a fan when they were on X factor but now I just can't get the gorgeous little buggers songs out of my head!

Jade is just stunning and I envy Perries make up, which might be a bit sad considering the age difference between us! 

I didn't know they had a range of nail wraps out to be honest but I stumbled upon this little gem in the Boots discount...urm, shelf? Elegant Touch let the girls have a go at designing some nail wraps. And the girls did good!

One whole English pound this cost me! Less than a bottle of Coke!

 I shunned my 2 favourites for the likes of Jesy (I've now learnt their names thinks to Google, who says blogging isn't educational!)

Her Pop art/ graffiti themed nails just stood out to me. So I handed over my quid and went on my way to stick these babies to my nails.

And it was as easy as that. You literally stick them on and file off the excess! It took a bit of smoothing out and I had to trim a couple down as I wanted some that were designed for larger nails on the little ones (I just made my life difficult really). But I'm so happy with how they look!

I was worried they wouldn't last and I was picking things up and trying not to do too much at first (any excuse) but you can actually go on with your life and not worry about them peeling off. 

They even stayed on when I washed my hair. So far I've had these on 3 days and they are still going strong. Go ON little Mix! I'm going to dig around and look for Jades ones next, they are a bit more girly with bows and hearts on them. I'm so impressed with them, I really am.

Seeing as these were in the reduced section I don't think they'll be about for long but I have seen them online at Feel Unique for their full price of £5.99

(I use a lot of brackets -don't I?!)


Have you tried these out?

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The Wet Brush Review

I've used my Tangle Teezer for a long while, since getting it I've not even thought about trying out another hair brush. When I heard about the Wet Brush I was intrigued, how can using a proper brush on wet hair not ruin your hair? 

I was sent one to try out and I was excited to give it a go and see for myself.

I've been trying to grow my hair for ages and it's currently the longest it's ever been so I'm treating it as nicely as I can.

It has thin flexible bristles that are designed so they don't snag your hair. It's bigger than a Tangle Teezer and it actually felt nice to go back you holding a brush by the handle again! The Wet Brush has a rubber coating so you have a good grip while using it, which is perfect as it's designed to be used when wet! There's no worry of dropping it and you know that brushing out the tangles after shower won't be damaging your hair. 

 It's available in a range of colours and works on both wet and dry hair without damaging your hair. It's a great brush for children who might have long hair that gets tangled. 

Because of the design it means you can easily get into harder to reach areas like underneath a ponytail. I always found it a bit difficult to use the tangle teezer for putting my hair up. The handle makes it much easier to hold.

I don't think it will replace my Tangle Teezer completely but it will mean I have another brush to use. It will definitely be my go-to brush for up dos!

 The Wet Brush is £6.95 available from Sally stores and online at www.sallyexpress.com

Have you tried the wet brush?

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Models Own Hypergel Pink Veneer Review

Like many others I was extremely tempted by the Models Own 50% sale. £2.50 a bottle, I don't have the will power to resist that!

I have a lot of nail polish and one colour that never seems to look right on me is pink. It's actually the colour I have the most bottles of, I just try new ones hoping it will suit me. I've been after the perfect baby pink for a while so it was natural that one of the colours I picked up was Pink Veneer.

It's from their new Hypergel nail polish range. Which gives the gel like effect without going to the salon. I really like the texture along with the gorgeous shade. It's such a creamy blue toned pink that reminds me of yogurt!

The bottle is great too, I keep my nail polishes stood up in a box so it takes a while to track down the colour I'm after. Looking at them all from above means I just see the lids. The fact these have the colour on the top make it oh-so very simple to pick out (other nail polish companies take note!)

I'm really pleased with this nail polish, the colour is so lovely it's definitely going to be one I wear a lot as we move into Spring! 

It did seem to chip pretty easily but I paint my nails so often it's not really a problem for me! Just an excuse to put on another colour!

If you like the look of the hyper gel polishes I have a GIVEAWAY where you can win 4 bottles.

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