Blogmas

Blogmas Day One: Budget Gift Guide (For Girls!)

~ Sally ~ Leave a comment

Happy December 1st, and welcome to littlebudget Blogmas!

Today’s post is a good old gift guide for all the ladies in your life – but because it’s me (whose happy place is the pound shop), we’ve got a budget. Nothing in this list costs over £10!

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1: Handbag
You can never go wrong with a bag – we all use them (unless you’re my dad, who wears a snazzy bumbag and has done for the past 25 years). I love Primark for affordable bags – and their handbag game has improved dramatically over the years! They rarely cost more than a tenner. This black and white duo are from the Summer collection, but if you’re lucky you might find these staple pieces in a sale somewhere!

2: Notebooks
I’m a stationary junkie. I physically cannot leave TK Maxx without picking up a diary, a notebook, a calendar… you get the drill. Notebooks are a perfect (and practical!) gift for anyone – school/uni work is much more fun when you have something pretty to write in!
This particular one was £9.99, but I’ve picked up loads of pretty notebooks for under a fiver!

3: Shower Jelly
You know that thing where you want to buy someone some bubblebath or a bath bomb but they might be a shower person? Pick up Lush‘s “Santa’s Belly” shower jelly! It shares a scent with last year’s “So White” shower gel (which hasn’t made a return this year – waahh!), and it’s full of cute little confetti stars! A mini pot costs £3.95, and a larger one (which will literally last you til next Christmas) is £7.95!

4: Magazine Subscription
 I’ve asked for a Glamour subscription every year since I was about 18, and it hasn’t happened… yet. It’s actually cheaper to get your magazines this way – and you usually get a cheeky little free gift with it too! You can get 3 issues of Glamour for £3, which would be a pretty cute thing to pop in a stocking for someone!

5: Makeup Palettes
 Giving individual eyeshadows as presents is a risky business – what if they’re not mad keen on the colour?! I’ve bought a couple of palettes for my sister (who I really, really hope isn’t reading this!) this year. I’m obsessed with Freedom Makeup, their palettes give you so much choice, and they’re a bargain too! The blush palette in my gift guide is “Peach Pal and Baked”, which has some gorgeous festive colours. Perfect for Christmas parties!

So that’s my budget gift guide! I’ve been super organised this year – my tree is up, everyone’s presents are wrapped neatly(ish) underneath it, and I’ve been bulk-baking cinnamon cookies and forcing my family to eat them so I don’t eat the whole batch.
Happy December 1st!

11th Day Of Blogmas: LUSH Haul

~ Sally ~ 11 Comments

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Happy Christmas Eve Eve! As a little treat to myself I picked up a few bits and pieces from Lush, to treat myself over Christmas.

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8th Day Of Blogmas: Elsa & Anna!

~ Sally ~ Leave a comment

About a month ago, I told you about my sister’s new job – she gets to dress up as Elsa from Frozen and go to children’s parties. Now, a couple of weeks ago, she texted me and asked if I’d mind going along to a couple of parties as Anna from Frozen, and of course I was ridiculously excited, because as we all know, I am an overgrown child.

I have a couple of pictures I never got round to sharing, and I thought I’d give you a couple of tips makeup-wise, if you’ve got any fancy dress Christmas parties coming up, or just want to lip-sync to “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?” in your bedroom mirror. I’ll also tell you a bit about my experience at the parties, because it was, quite frankly, hilarious.

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7th Day of Blogmas: The Berry Lip

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Winter is the perfect time to go a little darker with your lipstick – so I’ve put together a little Christmassy collage of some gorgeous shades to suit all skin tones.

berry lip edit 2 True Matte Lipstick (Shade 6)
Matte shades are really glam at this time of year – try pairing this with dewy highlighted skin to really contrast the strength of the lipstick. 2 True products are really affordable and pretty good quality (I swear by their concealer – seriously, try it). When wearing matte lipstick, make sure your lips are exfoliated and really moisturised beforehand, to avoid them drying out and cracking (ew) in the cold weather.

B. Brilliant Lip Gloss (Morello 116)
I was really drawn to this shade – it’s so dark and vampy for a lip gloss. It would be perfect layered over the top of darker lipsticks to give a bit of dimension (sometimes really dark lips can look a bit flat   try dabbing some gloss in the centre of your top and bottom lips) or on its own as a berry sheen. Either way, really unusual colour that would look stunning on all skin tones.

Barry M Loud Mouth (Diva Deep Red)
One for a girl who can’t quite say goodbye to red lipstick, this high-gloss stain from Barry M is perfect to add a bit of something different to a traditional red lip. It’s deep enough to be considered a berry tone, and would look extra gorgeous with a smokey eye for a Christmas night out.

Barry M Lip Liner (Plum)
I’ve only recently started using lipliners, and I honestly don’t know how I managed to pull off a statement lip before I discovered them. This dark plum liner from Barry M is an essential if you’re going to be rocking a deep berry tone, and can even be worn alone for a dramatic and pigmented lip colour. At only £2.99 each, stock up!

What’s your go-to lip colour? Will you be daring to go berry this Winter? Let me know!