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 on the 11th November 1985 in Kingston.

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 an older 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 Queen, Under Pressure... or Faith by George Micheal. Oh I don't know! 

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

Mason 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.

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 Mason 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 Mason 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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Spring Bags - Pastels

I love that Spring is just around the corner. What is it now... 9 weeks away... ish? Well the Countdown will be well and truly on once I work out the exact date anyway...

My favourite thing about Spring has to be all the Pastels about! I just love them! Mint and lilac being my favourite and they are all just a bit girly without being in your face (just like me..heh!)

I'm not one for shopping for Winter, and I just gloss over Autumn.  -A season of dead leaves, mushy mud, dampness and mess -no thank you! So naturally I've been looking at a few bits to get me ready for the second best season in the calendar. And I was excited by the amount of gorgeous handbags available, here's a few Pastel Bags I have my eye on.

1. This is the one I think I'm going to have to buy. I just love this bag from Accessorize, they seem to bring out great bags every Spring actually! It's such a gorgeous lilac colour, great size, good price and just perfect for me.

2. I really like this Ted Baker Shopper  I love the zip detail down the side! it's available in neon pink too which is amazing but I figured this one in black and nude would be the more sensible option and I would get more use out of it.

3. I've been lusting after the Michael Kors Jet Set Travel Tote bag for a while now. I think it is more of an investment to get it in black but I do love the baby blue! 

4. There had to be a gorgeous mint colour in my selection and ASOS really deliver with this satchel bag (sorry for the pun-was that a pun..?!) It's so cute and the perfect size to throw a few bits in.

5. I'm often lusting after the accessories in Karen Millen, one piece that caught my eye was the Patent Leather clutch bag. I resisted adding this in mint green which I love but the nude colour is more timeless and a lot more versatile. Aren't I being sensible with my picks today?!

6. Acessorize again, but with this great colour block satchel. It's more of a day time bag, great for shopping and lunch. I'd get a lot of wear out of this as I'm in my jeans a lot and I think this would look excellent with denim.

7. I may have mentioned I won an iPad Mini for writing this post last month and I'm after a case to carry it in. I love the pale pink Ted Baker mini tablet Case, I think it would be the perfect home for my lovely new gadget.

8. I love a bit of Kate Spade and this coral shoulder bag is perfect for day or night. It looks small but it's wide enough to fit in all the important bits. It's such a gorgeous colour, I actually have some shoes that match this bag perfectly, that's reason enough to get it, right?

Are you looking forward to Spring?

Are there any bags you have your eye on?

The Mummy Tag

I saw this Tag by Emma Louise at Not your Average  and this one is a little bit different as it's got a Mum theme. Being a Mum is something I can talk about all day so I had to give it a go.

1. Are you a Stay at Home Mum, or a Working Mum?

Stay at home, but I'm much more than a Mum, there's more to it.

2. Would you have it any other way?

No. I love it, I was born to be a housewife. I'm very old fashioned so I like looking after my house and family.

3. Do you co-sleep?
No. I'm not a fan. Mason has always slept in his cot, I wouldn't want him to get too used to coming in with us.

4. What is your one must-have item for your baby?
That's a tough one. I don't think anything was really a must-have item. 

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

I'd like one more. I've always imagined having 2 boys. I just want about 4 years between them.

6. Date night? How many nights per month?

We make sure we spend quality time together in the evenings and we go out to see friends once or twice a month and have people round every other week. We probably have a proper date just the 2 of us once a month.

7. Your childs favourite show?

We don't have CBeebies on too much as it drives me mad and Mason isn't overly interested in any of it. He's more content with a music channel which he dances along to. One thing he will sit and properly watch is Toy Story.

8. Name one thing you bought before you had your baby and never ended up using?

We were given a lot of stuff and I think we used all of it. We got a room thermometer but ended up using our own judgement, I don't think they're completely necessary. 

9. Your child’s favourite food?

Broccoli, cheese, ham, pasta. He's not too excited by sweet things (not yet anyway)

10. How many cars does your family have?

Just one. We live really close to town so we do a lot of walking. 

11. Weight gain before pregnancy, during and after and now?

Oh I hate this subject. I didn't gain much at all. I didn't have any maternity clothes and I wore my normal jeans. I'm actually smaller now than I was before I had him. I guess it's all the rushing around. But everyone is different. I might not be so lucky second time around.

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

I cannot wait to go to Disney World! We're going to wait til we have 2 kids and they are both old enough to really enjoy it. We''ll take Mason to Disneyland Paris in the next couple of years, I can just imagine his face when he meets Buzz and Woody! 

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

Anywhere hot and relaxing. I'd love to go back to Mexico.

14. How has your life changed since your baby has been born?

It's changed a lot. I put him before everything and he's never off my mind for long. I don't go out drinking, if I do have a drink it's a couple of glasses with the girls instead of doing shots and dancing on bars!

15. Finish the sentence: ‘It makes my heart melt to see … ‘

Mason sleeping. He always looks so peaceful. Or when he goes over to Sam and gives him a kiss, so adorable.

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

Zara, Baby Gap and Next are my favourites. He has a few Ted Baker and JoJo Maman Bebe bits which are absolutely gorgeous too.

17. Favourite makeup and skincare products?

Mac mineralise concealer is great. And I wear Benefits Rockateaur a lot to give me a glow. I'm often wearing a strong lip too but I have to make sure it's not on days where I'm taking him swimming. Once I was in my bikini with red lips and I looked more like I was doing a glamour shoot rather than taking my baby for a swim! I didn't realise until I caught my reflection in one of the windows!

18. Huggies or Pampers?

Pampers! Huggies for swim nappies and wipes though.

19. Have you always wanted kids?

In all honesty, no. I only wanted them after I met Sam! I just knew we'd be a great team!

20. Best part about being a mum?

Seeing your child grow and learn things. Thinking 'I helped him do that' It's a very proud moment. Whenever I feel down his giggle always cheers me up, if someone has upset me I always think 'you don't have this feeling, I do. I win'

I tag every Mummy! If you do this let me know, I'd love to have a read and meet some other blogging mums!

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