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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!

Primark PS Beauty Haul & Review

~ Sally ~ Leave a comment

A trip into town to go to the doctors wouldn’t be complete without a sneaky little trip to Primark, would it?

Rather than ogling the winter jumpers and That Pair of knee high platform boots (if you’ve seen them, you’ll know the ones I mean), I headed straight to the little makeup bit – mainly to avoid the crowds, because for some reason the people of Middlesbrough haven’t realised that Primark’s makeup range PS Beauty is like, the best thing ever.

Primark PS Beauty Haul

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The Body Shop Event #seizethesummer

~ Sally ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been trying to post this for over a month now. Better late than never, right?!

The Body Shop is one of my favourites – I’m usually a sucker for their “£10 off when you spend £25” which results in me buying a ton of shower gel that I didn’t necessarily need (but thoroughly enjoy) just to get my discount.

I was so happy when I was invited to this event – even more so when I realised it was for the launch of the new limited edition Virgin Mojito range – which smells AMAZING. Think sweet, minty, fresh goodness in a bottle.

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I’ve also got to say a massive thank you to the gorgeous ladies at the Body Shop Middlesbrough for letting my sister come along (she was staying with me, and I didn’t want to leave her behind while I went off to get pampered!). They even gave her a mini goodie bag, which is just so sweet of them.

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When we got there, we were greeted with nibbles and virgin mojito cocktails, which were amazing (I’ve got to learn how to make those for myself), and slushies!IMG_0752 IMG_0754

We had a look round (and by “look round” I mean “we smelled everything we possibly could”), and learned loads about some of the new products. I’ve now got my eye on the Bouncy Sleep Mask – if you’re near a Body Shop, go in and have a cheeky little feel of the tester, it’s fun!

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I even got my makeup done, which is something I’ve always been scared to do for some reason. I mean, there are cheerful little notices all over the shop offering free makeover services and colour-matching etc, but I’ve always been too nervous to ask. Typical Sally.

I went for warm colours – a coral/peach shade for my eyeshadow and pink/gold blusher, which isn’t something I’d usually wear. I thought I’d take loads of pretty pictures when I got home to show off the look…and it rained on me all the way home. Sorry about that.

Another massive thank you to the Body Shop, I had a lovely time!

High End Makeup Haul – Stila & Lord And Berry

~ Sally ~ 2 Comments

I’d come to accept the fact that I’d never be able to justify spending more than £10 on any makeup other than foundation (and I still struggle with that, to be honest!) but then something magical happened.

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TK Maxx happened.

I managed to pick up two Stila eye products (a shadow and a smudge crayon) for £2.99 each and a Lord And Berry lip crayon for £5.99.

I saved about £27, so I’m very pleased with myself.

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The products I picked up are:
Stila Eyeshadow in “Pigalle”
 Might sound a bit weird, but I’ve been experimenting with ‘bruise’ shades – I find they look pretty on my brown eyes. I wasn’t initially too impressed with the pigmentation of the shadow, but then I realised I was quite glad about that – I want a light wash of colour to avoid looking like someone bashed me in the eye.

Stila Smudge Crayon in “Pink Violet”
 Another ‘bruise’ shade, I use this on my bottom lashes to even out my eyes. I’m guilty of spending ages perfecting my eyelid and lashes and then forgetting to even put mascara on my tiny little bottom lashes. Oops. This pretty pop of colour will remind me next time.

Lord And Berry Lip Crayon in “Chocolate”
 Bit of a daring one, and not really a Summer shade, but who cares? I fancied something a little different, and it looks really dramatic and glam paired with the eyeshadows I picked up. The crayon applicator makes it easy to apply quickly and it’s beautifully creamy. Still figuring out whether it suits my skin tone or not, though.
stilalordandberryswatchesI finally feel a bit more like a “beauty blogger” with some of these higher end products making my makeup bag look a little prettier.

What’s the biggest beauty bargain you’ve picked up recently?