Tuesday 31 July 2012

LIFE #7


Playing with PicFX, British weather, finally got some Revlon Balms, Waiting, Sol, Wine and Anna on a Sunday, Cake pop, Collage, My pal on set, Review on THOSE balms, A weeks post, Motto, No. 7 cleansing water, Me, Sunday pampering, Laura Mercier day, ASOS challenge, Old skool FAB, Running out, Makeup prepping 

Hope you are all having a great week! I may be off to Paris in a few weeks which is pretty exciting news considering my bf was dead against it to start with. I guess that means I should start making a beauty 'list' before I go. If you have any ideas let me know. 

Don't forget to come and follow me on Instagram @beckysmakeup

 

Monday 30 July 2012

Style | Topshop Mighty Boots


So my trusted River Island ankle boots finally gave up on me after over a year of continuous wear, so off I trotted to town in search of a new trusty pair of boots when I stumbled across these beauts. When it comes to day to day footwear I am a boots and skinny jeans girl. I like an ankle boot, not sky high during the day but with a heel large enough to stack me up a teeny bit and these ticked all the boxes. I had been eyeing up the Ambush boots in Topshop for a while but at not so purse friendly £75 I wasn't sure I could justify, especially as I could only find them in brown. So when I stumbled across these for a rather nice £45 I snapped up a size five and hot footed it to the till. These are leather with an almost suede effect so I am not sure how they are going to withstand the wet weather, but nothing that a quick spritz of protector spray can't fix. They are super comfy, bar driving in them as the ankle is slightly taller than my RI ones and digs in every-time I reach for the brakes but they definitely go with everything in my wardrobe so I can overlook this little glitch. I have seen that they also do them in brown so I shall be scouring Topshops all over to pick up them too :-). 


You can purchase The Mighty boots by clicking here. Also I recently used the code 09689386509385584938 (yes an odd one) online via this site which gave me 10% off which equates to the postage and packaging at least! (hopefully it still works).


Friday 27 July 2012

Glossy Box | July 2012

I said I wouldn't do a Glossy Box post. Who wants to see another one right? But then I received my July box which is all about the Festivals and I was so impressed that I just could not resist the urge to post about it. So if you are sick to death of seeing Glossy Box then please feel free to click back and I assure you there will be lots of other new posts coming this week which hopefully will be of interest to you. 

This months box was jammed with 6 goodies including 2 full size.

1. Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Irish Cream Lip Frosting. RRP £10.00. I got the full size of this and although I personally would not pay the RRP of 10 quid for it, its a nice little addition to my collection. It doubles up as both a lip gloss and a cream blush and smells bloomin' gorgeous! 

2. Monu Sopa Golden glow. I am all about the fake tan so this moisturising treatment for both face and body will come in handy. RRP £23.00 for 200ml.

3. HD Brow palette. I literally squealed when I received this. I know some people were a tad unhappy as this has been featured before, but being someone who missed the last one I was extremely happy for it to be featured again. The colours are perfect for me and I can't wait to test this out. This retails at £19.995, so this alone is worth double the box. Result!

4. Clynol Enrich Colour Shampoo RRP £9.35 for 300ml. As someone that colours their hair (wuite frequently I might add) I always tend to stick to shampoos designed for coloured hair types, so this is right up my street. Plus I love travel sized bottles which are perfect for the odd weekend away... 

5. Elizabeth Arden Invisible Difference balancing lotion. Ah, I like the look of this but I think my mum would have better use being someone who is a fan of EA products, so being a good daughter I have passed this on. This retails at £32.00 for 50ml.

6. Bonus product: The  Invisible Difference balancing line. Again this compliments the above and got sent off to mum!

What did you get this month? Are you pleased with the products?

Glossy Box is available for £10.00 per month plus p&p. Go to www.glossybox.com for details



Thursday 26 July 2012

When friendship ends...


This is a slightly personal post I guess you could say. The above is a quote from my favourite book 'The Perks of being a Wallflower' and I think it pretty much sums up how I am feeling at the moment. You see a good friend, well one of my oldest friends is getting married and I was not invited to the ceremony. It wasn't so much as not being invited that bothered me. It was more the question why? I understand that budgets are tight when it comes to weddings and therefore its not possible to invite all and sundry from a practical perspective. But as sad as it may seem I think it drew closure on what was a long friendship. You see my friend moved away a good few years ago. We kept in touch via the usual social media, Facebook etc and made the odd visit. But as time went on the contact got more infrequent and I am as much to blame for this. It got me thinking though, when is the time to break up with a friendship? Is distance really a good enough excuse? I do believe that the best friendships are those that can go for months without talking but then just pick up where you left off when you do meet. When it comes to relationships, if he's not the one we might have a little sob to our friends, dwell on where it went wrong and eventually move on. However I can't help thinking that with friendships its a tad different. Like all relationships they take effort, and that needs to come from both sides. If it is always one sided then one person is always going to end up getting burnt. I think in my current situation my friend and I are at completely different areas in life, our life's have taken different paths and whereas before we had a common ground, that seems to have been replaced by different interests which has led us to be different people today. I guess that happens with people that are friends from a young age, you change a lot over the course of years and somewhat lose what made you friends in the first place. I could easily sit here and say 'she has changed' and in some respects that's true. But so have I. And I guess we have just become the people we were destined to be and that does not mean that I do not care for her anymore it means that our lives have moved in opposite directions and perhaps there is not a place in either anymore.

So when a friendship does come to an end what do you do?


Tuesday 24 July 2012

Competition | £100 ASOS Challenge

I think everyone has heard of the £100 ASOS challenge over at The Discount Coder Blog and I thought it was about time I dipped my paws in. Who doesn't enjoy a bit of virtual shopping right? 

Going out on the town these days is a rarity so when I do dig my party shoes out I like to go all out, fake tan, new outfit the whole shebang! When it comes to my outfits I tend to stick to classic shapes and favour black with a splash of colour. This playsuit is literally calling my name. I usually stick to a trusty dress when it comes to going out so a playsuit is a good compromise and the classic shape of this means its not going to date. Being a short ass, when it comes to shoes I am like 'stack me up'! The higher the better, yes there have been a few accidents in the past as a result of my skyscraper heels, most recently in Frankie and Bennies where I proceeded to go A over T in the loo's! haha. A clutch is a must on a night out. I hate seeing ladies with a full on handbag, it just ruins a perfectly good ensemble so this, albeit out of my comfort zone colour wise makes the entire outfit stand out a tad more, especially teamed with a bright coral lip! Statement necklaces are becoming a little popular in my collection lately and I love a structured one such as this one, as the playsuit is rather low this would just help draw attention away from the boob area! 

So guys that's it for my outfit, nothing too daring my this is something I would definitely throw together on a night out with the girls!


Sunday 22 July 2012

Sunday Pampering | My Routine

Who doesn't love a bit of Sunday self indulgence? Whilst my boyfriend goes to work I like to spend a Sunday utilising my time productively with a bit of 'me' time. This usually involves wine at some point and a cheeky chapter of 50 shades (yes, shame on me!) but it also involves a plethora of products to make me feel a tad better about the week ahead... 

Firstly I start with cleansing my face. To give it a good deep down thorough cleanse I have been reaching for Purity deep conditioning cleanser. Using the Lisa Eldridge approach I will do this twice to ensure all the last dregs of makeup have been removed. Next step is a good exfoliating scrub. I recently was sent the Purity deep pore cleansing scrub which has just enough beads to ensure it gets rid of any nasty dead skin and leaves my skin feeling refreshed. 

After this commotion I will wash my hair which generally involves leaning over the bath with the shower head and giving it a good wash with my Aussie shampoo and conditioner. I will then coat my hair in lashings of Aussie 3 miracle treatment, wrap in a warm towel and proceed with preparing a bath. This is after I have cleaned the bath of the hair that I have shed (glamorous hey?).

Next is onto the best bit. Sinking back into a nice warm bath with lashings of my favourite Japanese Spa bubbles. This usually takes place with a large glass of wine by the side and my favourite Bahoma candle in Seduction flickering in the background. Sounding a bit like an erotic novel now but I assure you its far less glamorous in reality ha! I tend to use the time in my bath to apply a face mask. I recently got the chance to try the new clay masks from Montagne Jeunesse which I have to say are a strange little concept. Basically they are a fabric mask enriched with clay which you mold to the shape of your face. I did not find these dried as normal clay masks however this could have been down to the excess of heat and steam whilst I was in the bath. But they do a good job of really cleaning out my pores,  they smell pretty enticing and I can be safe in the know that they are packed full of natural ingredients. 

After I have finished relaxing, with my face mask still in tact I will then exfoliate my entire body which usually involves a variety of poses whilst doing a balancing act in the bath. I find that the Sanctuary's body scrub does the job perfectly and leaves my skin silky smooth. I usually take this opportunity to give my legs a good shave and any other conspicuous areas... Afterwards once I have finished I tend to wash all my face mask over the sink, the good thing about these masks is that a majority of the job is done for you when you remove the fabric then its just a case of rinsing the residue. Then its over the bath again to rinse out the conditioner. I will then apply lashings of L'occitane's almond oil over my damp skin, hop into my PJ's and start with my skincare. On a Sunday night I like to keep things simple so its usually a quick spritz of Caudalie beauty elixir patted into the skin and then a sweep of Alpha H liquid gold and I am good to go. 

If I am feeling extra adventurous then I may give myself a quick mani and tidy up any stray eyebrow hairs but generally this has been done beforehand and after an epic pampering session I am ready to snuggle under the duvet and catch up on a mountain of YouTube videos and blog posts which is pure luxury!

Products mentioned:
Imperial Leather Japanese Spa

Phew, that was a long one! Do you have a routine you like to stick to at the weekend? Any must have products I should consider adding?

*PR Samples



Saturday 21 July 2012

Review | No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water

No7beautifulskincleansingwaterBoots No 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water Review
For about 6 months now I have been religiously using my Bioderma Sensibio H20 to effectively remove my makeup. Whilst I swear by this, it is hard to get hold of so I have been actively seeking an alternative water based cleanser.  This is when I discovered the No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water*. Although I do enjoy a cream based cleanser when my skin is feeling dehydrated, on a day to day basis I tend to stick to water based as I find these to be the most effective in removing makeup rather than just swishing it around my face. This is tailored for normal/oily skin and is specifically created to help your oily skin behave like normal skin, which definitely ticks a big box for me personally. The product itself is a clear water based formula which is enriched with multi-vits to assist in hyrating your skin whilst also including zinc which is well known for regulating oil production (nifty little fact for you). So as I finished off the last dregs of my Bioderma I reached for this instead. Firstly this gets points alone for having a little pump applicator which disperses just enough product per pump. 4-5 squirts usually saturates a entire cotton pad. I tend to use 2 cotton pads for my eyes and then a 3rd to swish all over my face. The smell of this is bloody lovely, very refreshing almost cucumber-esque which is definitely a good wake me up. Whilst this was not as effective at removing waterproof mascara, it took a tad longer than usual it definitely did the biz at removing all my makeup, dirt and grime, it literally dissolves the makeup onto the cotton pad. I am definitely a believer of the Lisa Eldridge 2 step cleansing so I used this to remove all my makeup before moving on to a deeper cleanse with a facial wash. I have however been using this in the morning to remove any gunk from overnight and it provides the perfect canvas to apply a moisturiser and makeup. I am seriously going to purchase this once this has ran out, I even caught my mum using this the other day and the first thing she said was 'where can I buy this'. 

Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water retails at £9.00 (No. 7 voucher anyone?) and is available at Boots stores and online


*PR Sample


Thursday 19 July 2012

Review | Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balms

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable BalmsRevlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip BalmsRevlon Just Bitten Kissable Balms Swatch
Another day another lip product. Apologies that this post is going up so late in the day I have been on the first day of a 2 day course for work which means that I have not had internet access today. I also have been told that I have a test on the course tomorrow which means I have a substantial amount of reading to do tonight boo hoo! 

So onto the products. On one hand I was kind of excited to get hold of these products, damn me for being sucked into another blogger hype. But on the other hand I was slightly dubious. Having been let down by the original Just Bitten balm by Revlon which is a double ended wand with a stain on one end and balm on the other I was worried these would have the same results. However instead of having a separate balm its built into the stain. These have unsurprisingly been likened to the Clinique chubby sticks and judging by the packaging alone I can see why. I can't however speak for the Cliique version as I have yet to try them. Now I was not aware these had reached the UK stores although I did know that they were on the Boots website. The colours are limited both in store and on the site at the moment in comparison to those available across the pond but none the less I managed to pick up Rendezvous which was on my radar after seeing Louise donning it in a recent post and also Honey which is a deep pinkish mauve colour. The product is almost a crayon for your lips which you can twist to reveal more product thus removing the need to sharpen. I had heard that they have  a minty aroma and whilst I could not smell this immediately when applying to my lips, a good sniff of the actually stick revealed that this is true, think toothpaste girls. I had envisaged these to have more of a fruity scent, its not unpleasant in the least just not something I was expecting. I was impressed with the formulation though - smooth and pigmented and ticked all the boxes in what I look for in a  lip product. Rather than apply a separate balm this leaves almost a balmy layer over the stain which wears off after a while and you are left with just the stain. And when they say stain, boy do they mean stain, this bad boy isn't budging for no one! I did find that as the balm wears off they can leave your lips feeling a tad dry and like most stains can cling to any dry patches on your lips. I didn't find this quite the case with Rendezvous but with Honey which is a much darker shade you could notice slight darker patches where it had collected on dry areas. I found the easiest way to remedy this was to apply a clear lip balm throughout the day which replaces the original balm left after initial application. 

In a nutshell I would say I was more impressed with these than their lip butter releases. Revlon have certainly upped their game here and I look forward to seeing whether there become more shades available in the future.


Wednesday 18 July 2012

Review | No. 7 Nourishing Lip Shine

No 7 nourishing lip shineNo. 7 Nourishing Lip Shine Clarins Dupe SwatchNo. 7 Nourishing Lip Shine Swatches
A few weeks ago I spotted a lone Nourishing Lip Shine by No. 7 in their limited edition summer collection. Likened to the Clarin's lip perfecter this is acclaimed to be a cheaper alternative which by using the No. 7 voucher means that you can pick this up for a mere £5 compared to the higher end former which retails at £16. Unfortunately me being in a rush and getting highly frustrated using the self check out meant I ended up paying full price at £10 for this, slightly annoying! Now I can't do a comparison of the 2 as I have not tried the Clarin's bar a quick swatch at the counter before being stalked and scared away by the over friendly assistant. 

Firstly this is beautifully packaged which I cannot fault. It has a foam applicator which disperses the product when squeezed which takes a lot of pressure to actually see the product which can be a tad frustrating when wanting to apply in a rush. I am talking sheer force here girls to get some product! The product is available in 2 colours - peach and pink, I opted for the latter since this was the only one available. With my already quite pinkish lips this just added a clear sheen with a very subtle pink highlight. I found that this works best when used in conjunction with another product. I have been giving a quick sweep of this over MAC creme cup and found that it just adds another dimension to the colour. This is claimed to be nourishing however I did not find this too nourishing/moisturising to be frank although it did last pretty well. Lately I have been steering clear of the stickiness of lip-glosses but this was not too sticky compared to some glosses. I think had this only set me back a fiver then it would be a nice little gloss to add to the collection but personally I do not think this is worth the £10 RRP.

Have you tried this product? Or are you a fan of the Clarins lip perfector?





Sunday 15 July 2012

Mini Haul | Space NK and Boots

Yesterday afternoon as the heavens opened in the UK my boyfriend and I took a trip to our local shopping centre Bluewater. Along with several thousand other people it seems as the place was heaving, talk about the weather doing good for the local economy. Whilst I had a list the length of my arm and envisaged returning with bags of goodies I only got a few beauty bits. 

Space NK and Boots HaulSpace NK and Boots Haul ShoppingHaul Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stains

First stop was Space NK. I could seriously live in this shop. My only issue is that the shop is small and the sales assistants tend to be on you as soon as you walk through the door. Now I don't have an issue with this but 9 times out of 10 I will be happily browsing and have several assistants check I am OK cue when I need help and there is no one in sight? Is this just me? So I ended up getting the Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser. I said I wouldn't. I eyed it up every single time I went in the shop and I managed to resist temptation and then this weekend after yet another swatch in the shop and temptation got the better of me. Hopefully I won't be too disappointed when I try this. I also picked up the REN Invisible pore detox mask. I have a slight obsession with face masks at the moment and love trying different ones usually on a Sunday night. I already own the REN glycolactic renewal mask and after being suitably impressed I decided to pick up this one from the range which was surprisingly a lot cheaper at only £18. The kind lady then threw in a little sample. Although I did have to ask which is usually quite rare in Space NK when you are buying a significant amount of goodies! 

I then popped to Boots, advantage vouchers in hand and spotted the Revlon Kissable Lip Balms. I literally jumped at them. I had seen them on the website but was unaware they were in store yet. Yes, there was a limited amount of colours but I managed to get Honey Douce and Rendezvous which is one I have had my eye on since Louise posted about it. Boots are doing a £2 discount on Revlon so these worked out a fiver each. Not bad going when you look at the price of the Clinique version. I swatched these yesterday and the stain is still visible this morning, albeit faded but it goes to show that when they say a 'stain' they mean a stain, expect a review very shortly. Finally and last but by no means least I picked up a new L'Oreal Telescopic mascara in waterproof. I have finally finished my last one and don't think I could stray to another mascara now as this one ticks all the boxes for me. 

So that's it, not a big haul but the weekend is not over just yet. My boyfriend usually works Sundays but for once he has this weekend off so I am sure we shall be out and  about at some point today. What have you been up to this weekend? Any cheeky purchases?


Saturday 14 July 2012

Going on Holiday | Top Duty Free Treats!

If you lucky enough to be jetting off somewhere hot and sunny this year then if you are anything like myself then you will be heading straight to the duty free section to see what bargains you can pick up! Being a beauty junkie means that I love exclusive offers and I love a bargain even more so this is the ideal opportunity to pick up a few products and save a few quid at the same time. I have yet to book  a holiday which is partly down to having not decided on a destination and not getting my bum in gear and actually booking it. So whilst mooching around some sites looking for the perfect getaway I found myself staring at the world duty free store and thought I would see what offers were to be had at the moment.
Flower Bomb is a perfume that has been on my wish list for forever. I don’t know why I don’t just buy the darn thing. And this limited edition number is no different. This retails at approximately £55 on the Boots website but you can pick this up for £38.50 in duty free which is a pretty hefty saving. No wonder people go crazy for fragrances whilst on holiday!

Another absolute gem of a find is a personal favourite of mine and that's the Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair. This is not the cheapest of products and for 100ml it works out at £116 on the High Street whereas in Duty Free you can pick this up for £68 for the same amount.

 I love a duty free exclusive. OK so its not THAT exclusive considering the amount of people traveling through duty free but there's something special in buying something that you know you can’t pick up in your local shopping centre. The Clarins Take off Essentials retails at £35, and includes everything you need for that ‘inflight facial’. If you watched the Lisa Eldridge video religiously like I then you will now know the importance of looking after your skin throughout the flight. I certainly will be taking no chances on my next flight and will be donning the face masks and creams like no-ones business. Cue a lot of strange looks from fellow passengers!

I have heard a lot about the Hypnose Star mascara from Lancome but at £21 on the High Street its a tad out of my budget for a mascara but if you do have your eye on this then you can get it at £19.50 via Duty Free. Given not a massive saving but every little helps right and think of the £ you have saved could go towards cocktails by the pool.
Lastly this one for when you get home. If you are like me then your tans fades pretty quickly so anything to maintain it once I have arrived back in the usually wet and dreary UK is on my radar. For £18.50 you get a 250ml bottle whereas this retails for approximately £22 in Selfridges for a mere 125ml.

Are you off on holiday this year? Are you planning on picking up any treats?

All items courtesy of www.worlddutyfree.com




Thursday 12 July 2012

Purity Conditioning Cleanser Lotion | Review

Purity UK conditioning cleansing lotionPurity UK cleansing lotion reviewPurity cleansing lotion review
When the queen of makeup Lisa Eldridge recommends a product then you know its bound to be a winner, right? Purity is a brand which I was none too familiar with but when I was given the opportunity to test out a few of their products I was intrigued. After reading a tad more about the brand itself I was pretty darn impressed. Not only is Purity a British brand but it basically boasts 'intelligent' ingredients whereby 98% of them are naturally grown. No nasty's in this brand so to speak! I was keen to test out product of the month 'the conditioning cleansing lotion'* which is designed to break down and remove makeup effectively. Being a Bioderma girl I was a little wary about trading in my go-to product and replacing it with a cream based cleanser as I can find the latter can be a tad messy in comparison. After a little fight with the pump style applicator which I am assuming I got a dud as it did not work no matter how hard I tried and aside from squirting it in an upwards direction I ended up resorting to pouring the product into my palms. The consistency is rather runny but when applied to the face is absolutely fine. I worked it around my entire face in circular motions leaving the eye area to last to avoid putting mascara all over my face. I then took a clean cotton pad and removed all the product. 2-3 cotton pads is suffice and about the same amount I would use with Bioderma anyway. The incredible thing about this product is how well it removes waterproof mascara something I struggle with using Bioderma. Seriously a couple of sweeps and its gone. Plus no irritation when applied to the eye area, bonus! With heavier makeup you may need a couple of applications but I found that it removed a majority of my makeup before giving my skin a deep cleanse with my usual Chanel cleanser. The good thing about these products is that they all retail at less than a tenner which is pretty reasonable compared to some good cleansers on the market. Aside from the dodgy applicator, this is the perfect go-to product in my personal opinion and if its good enough for Lisa then its good enough for us right :-).

Purity is available to purchase in selected Superdrug stores and online at http://www.purityorganicskincare.co.uk
All their products are priced at £10 or less!

*PR Sample

   


Wednesday 11 July 2012

How to save money online | Competition

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image - weheartit
When it comes to spending I have got it down to a fine art. Often quite frivolous when purchasing online and on the High Street I am more than likely to be seen paying full retail price for an item than scour the internet for discounts or face the dreaded queues of sale shopping *hangs head in shame*.  As a result my bank balance has paid the price *sighs*. This year my boyfriend and I have started the stressful task of looking for a little place to call our own. Albeit we are going to be renting to start with but it does mean that my now disposable income is going to be spent on bills, rent and all the other things that come with being a fully fledged grown up! So this year I have made it my sole mission to be more careful with my pennies, cue operation miss money savvy!. After some thoughtful research and my trusted friend Google I have come up with some of the best money saving sites which could save or make you a bob or two!

  "Let me introduce you to the top sites that made the cut! Who'd of thought saving money could be so much fun?"

Clothes swapping parties are becoming a growing trend at the moment whether you want to gather all your friends together for a 'swapping' party (clothes swapping that is!) or use an online service such as bigwardrobe.com which offers a FREE online fashion exchange.

Girl Meets Dress is a site for the designer/fashion lover. Its a subscription service starting at £60 per year where you can hire out designer dresses for occasions. If you rarely go to occasions then this is not going to be worth your while however if you had a few weddings over the course of a year and are not a fan of the Kate Middleton recycling trend then this could be for you. I often spend at least £60 on 1 dress alone! Offering you high end fashion which you return after use meaning you will never be caught in the same dress twice. The only downside is you do actually have to return the dresses! Boo!

eBay has to be an old fave of mine and probably the one place that I can happily browse for hours. The trick is to grabbing a bargain is timing often you need to stay up late or early morning to blag the best bargains when there are less people around to bid against. Try using a tool such as fatfingers which searches commonly misspellings that often get missed in listings and lost in the world of eBay. I have bagged many a new item for only a few quid using this tool.

Cashback sites are always great! Topcashback is one of the most familiar sites out there with many of the big fashion stores such as ASOS, Very Warehouse to name a few. You can claim up to 8% per store. Keep building this up and you could have nice little amount to claim back to put towards, more clothes maybe? My work actually has one of these sites for employees so check with your company to see whether they have the same service. Often larger companies will have employee perks that you don't even know about.

Most stores have ongoing discount codes floating around. These are generally sent to those subscribed to their websites but little gems such as fashionvouchers.com find these codes and collate them into a website for you. The codes range from anything from free P&P to 10% off or more. Every little helps right and I for one am always a bit bummed when it comes to paying extortionate postage charges especially if I am only ordering 1 or 2 items.

What are your best money saving tips for buying online? Comment below I'd love to hear them!
 

Disclaimer | This is not a sponsored post. I was however contacted by fashionvouchers.com and invited to enter their bloggers comp which offers the chance to win a whopping £300 which would really help towards the house fund! I urge you all to check this out by clicking here and feel free to enter! Please share the love by liking and commenting on this post it is greatly appreciated!


Tuesday 10 July 2012

Samples | how to get and where

Beauty samplesBeauty sample boxHow to get beauty samples I love beauty samples, who doesn't right? I love the idea of trying new products. Unlike in the USA where trial size products are more widely available, In the UK there seems to be some hidden rule when it comes to samples. I keep all my samples in an old glossy box and once a week I take a dip into the box of treasures to see what products I can try that week. Along with my Glossy Box sub and a mountain of freebies with magazines I have accumulated rather a hefty amount and it is therefore my mission lately to try and get through these. Call it 'shopping my sample stash' if you will? Plus a little inspiration from the lovely Leanne Marie's blog.

So I have put together a few of my own tips on getting samples and making the most from them. 

  • Sign up to a beauty box. OK they aren't 'free' samples however they do give you the chance to try out products you wouldn't of tried before for approximately £10 a month. Generally these are deluxe samples and sometimes full sized. I personally love the element of surprise each month but of course it's not for everyone. 
  • Sometimes from time to time you will receive products in beauty boxes that you don't want, or can't use. I tend to either pass these onto family members or keep them in a seperate box to make up stocking fillers and birthday gifts as little treats on the side which is always appreciated. Just because you don't like the Collection teal eyeliner doesn't mean that someone else won't...
  • Scour your local newsagents for magazine samples. Current magazines on offer are Glamour which is offering 1 of 4 Balance Me products, Cosmo have a Misguided nail polish on offer, Elle are offering a free trial of the St Tropez gradual tan, and theres a free Avon mascara with Marie Claire to name a few. They might not be your usual magazine but its sometimes worth buying for the products alone and you never know you might actually enjoy the mag. 
  • When buying higher end products, don't be afraid to ask the assistant at the till if there are any samples available. Space NK generally does this without me having to ask but I have found that both House and Fraser and John Lewis are happy to oblige if asked. 
  • Following on from above, even if you are not buying a product don't be afraid to ask if they have a sample of a product. Make sure that you show a genuine interest in the product/brand and the sales assistants are usually more than happy to assist. Plus whats the worst they can say, no?
  • Sign up for Whats in My Handbag. I recently was sent a REN mask to try. You just sign up for the site and they will email you weekly with the latest trials. There are only a limited amount of products and if you are lucky to be selected then you will be sent the product. 
  • Use a site such as http://www.magicfreebiesuk.co.uk/free-stuff to keep up to date with the latest offers available. I recently received a 7 day trial of the Garnier intensive body moisturiser as a result. 
  • Lastly, I keep all of the small bottles that some samples come with. You know the shower gels, body lotions etc and once I have finished I wash them out and re-use them for traveling. This also echoes my thoughts on the samples of shampoos and conditioners you get inside mags. I tend to keep these and use them for overnight stays. Definitely a lot more convenient than lugging around huge bottles of shampoo.
Personally I think samples are a must when it comes to higher end products. Not many people have squillions to splurge on products before trying them first and a majority of the products which I have sampled have led me to purchase the full size which I may not have done had I not tried it first. 

What are your thoughts on samples? Do you keep a little box of treasures?