Mini Collective haul feat. Primark, Tx maxx, Lush and a vintage find.

Hello ♥

Today i wanted to show you a few of my March purchases i have recently picked up. I have been trying so hard to keep my spending to a minimum and even tried to give up spending for lent. As you can see from this post, I failed! 

First up are my two new gorgeous purchases from TX Maxx. I love then both so much. Below is a mustard Bessie Wallet which cost £9.99. At the moment i am using a six year old leather Ripcurl wallet which unfortunately has now seen its last day. This Bessie wallet features three rows of credit card holders and a zipped coin pouch on the side. I also love how it is big enough to pass as a clutch bag. this is definitely one of my favourite finds. 

This handbag was also brought in Tx Maxx. It was a little bit more money than i wanted to spend on a handbag at £29.99 but i couldn't put it back on the shelf so had to buy it. The only other bag i own is a brown cross body satchel so i really needed to buy a larger 'smart' bag. What attracted to me most about this bag was the snake skin pattern and ox blood colour. I have always loved snake skin and i think its coming back into fashion so i will be using this bag a lot. The brand is DSUK which can also be found on Brand alley but these go for £58.

From Lush i picked up two things. A Bubblegum lip scrub for £5.25 and a small piece of soap in Rock star costing £5.64. I have already shown you guys the lip scrub in a previous post and its just the best product have brought this year. The rock star soap was the only one on the lush table i was attracted to. I don't know what is it about me at the moment but I'm just really into Bubblegum scents. This may sound bad but i have left the soap in the packet because i am currently using it as a room fragrancer. Does anyone else do that? When i do get round to using it i will pop a review on here for you guys. 

I also picked up a few things from Primark. I can never go into the city without going into this shop. I did well though as i resisted the urge to fill my basket with all the lovely dresses they have in at the moment. I actually only wanted to pick up some new T-shirts for my new boys but ended up buying three little things for myself. I brought a three pack of cute panda shoe liners (one missing in the pic as it is in the wash), Red flats that were in the sale for £4 and a ox blood maxi skirt also in the sale for £5. 

The other day i finally received my vintage buy from Ebay. I won the bid for £10 + p&p and so so happy with this dress! I think its from the late 70s/ early 80s and is a beautiful light blue skater style dress. The pastel blues and whites are perfect colours for spring. I plan to do a post of me wearing this dress soon, but it probably wont be till the weather warms up a little. 

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this post. 

Gem xx

What I brought in the boxing day sales.

 

Hello!

 

Just a not so little boxing day sale haul for you today.  I am not the biggest fan of sale shopping, it irritates me when i have to pick clothes up off the floor and search through tightly packed rails. Also they never have anything in my size, even when they have the sections of sizes. People bug me too when the sales are on. I'm not a fan of being rammed and my stress levels don't cope. This year i decided to wait a week after boxing day to visit the shops as well as shopping on line. Even though I hit the sales late I'm still rather impressed with the lovely items i have brought.

 

First up are my on line purchases:

 

New look

 

 

I have already shown you guys this dress on a previous post. It cost me £8.00 reduced from £14.00. Its a silky feel blue bird print tea dress from New Look. This has to be one of my favourite purchases as I can't resist a nice tea dress.

Missguided

I love love missguided. I visited their website in search of a sparkly new years dress but as usual i was distracted by their sales page and came away with this lovely lightening bolt jumper. It cost me £9.99 reduced from £19.99. They are still available if you want to grab yourself one.

 

 

On Saturday i decided to visit the shops to see what was left over. Most shops like Office, Zara and Debenhams were too busy for me to handle but i did visit the sales lines of Topshop and Primark. Here is what i brought:

 

Topshop

 

 

 Aztec velvet skater dress, was £39.00 reduced to £20 / Burgundy skinny fit jeans £45 reduced to £20 / Ear Cuffs, was £7.50 reduced to £3.75.



Primark

 

Burgundy wool dress £20 reduced to £10 / Blue daisy print tea dress £14.00 reduced to £5 / Ear cuff £1.00 / winter boots £5

I also visited Boots to see if there were any of their Christmas gift sets left. Unsurprisingly the shelves were pretty bare. I did how ever find a Soap and Glory Shower travel bag hiding underneath a self. Very excited when i found it. Originally it cost £18.00 but it was reduced to £9.00. Inside contains six travel size products which are "Girligo" Body moisturising mist, Hand food, "the righteous butter" body moisturiser, "clean on me" shower gel, "calm one calm all" bath bubbles, and finally "scrub of your life" smoothing body butter.  

 

 

Did you grab any sale bargains this year? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Gem x

What I got in my glossybox: November 2012

   

I have to say, I am very impressed with this months box. The previous boxes have been disappointing alot of people lately and so I think Glossy box have started to up their game, especially with the amount of competition they now have with other beauty boxes.

This month's theme is 'Stocking Fillers'. The card states that the box aims to serve as an inspirational gift guide which i think is a really good idea, seeing as I have no idea to buy my girlie's this year.

The first and largest product i grabbed out of my glossy box was a Wei beauty white lotus hydrating face treatment pads. On the card it states that it instantly hydrates and revitalises lifeless skin, leaving you looking dewy and fresh. The sample includes one pad which i am really excited to try out. The original product costs £55 for six pads! Expensive so must be good.

Second product is yet another Dr. Jart BB creme, but I'm not complaining. This one is a water fuse beauty balm which you place under makeup to avoid streaking when sweating. Last month I received a sample of the Dr Jart+ Premium BB cream and I absolutely adore it, I think it really deserves all the hype it's been getting recently. I had also seen some reviews of the Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream and I loved the sound of it so I'm thrilled to be able to try it in this month's box! From what I've read I think I might like it more than the Premium version, but we shall see! The full 50ml tube is £18 which I think is really reasonable.

 

 

 

 

Next up, a Dermalogica daily microfoliant. The card reads: A unique rice based powder that gently exfoliates skin, leaving it noticeably smoother and brighter. When I first looked at this product, i was like what is it, a salt pot? On reading the instructions i discovered you shake the contents into wet hands, rub into a paste and massage over your face and it will activate upon contact.  I've never really seen anything similar before, it's a powder that is gentle enough to use on a daily basis. I have already tried this face scrub and I have to say, it feels really nice. My face felt really soft and fresh. Also there's not much of a scent to it which is what i like in a face product. The full size of 75g is £38.50 so it's pretty pricey. Will probably not be buying this if I'm honest as i find cheaper product a lot better.   

 

 

 

 

 

The fourth product is this newcomer from Alison Claire natural beauty. It is a mango body butter which smells amazing. I have used this on my hands and has made them so soft. My husband recons the smell is a little too strong but i love mangos so it doesn't really bother me. I find it brings a little summer happiness to the cold harsh winter. The bonus of this product is that it isn't tested on animals and is made from 70% organic ingredients which I think is great. Defiantly worth buying a full size 200ml bottle for £15.  

 

 

The award for best product in this box goes to this gorgeous Nails inc polish. The colour is 'Notting hill gate' which is a bright neon pink. The tiny 4ml bottle is so adorable, it's one of the smallest bottles of nail polish I've ever seen but will be perfect to put in a clutch or small handbag in case your nails require a quick emergency touch up. I've tried nails inc polishes before and have always loved the quality of them. The full size of a 10ml is £11.

 

 

Overall, I felt this is great box this month and i am excited to try out all of the products. I have seen other boxes, and have to say I'm really jealous that some girls received Burberry body! Its my one of my favourite perfumes. What did you get in your boxes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiny primark haul

Oops i went to Primark again today. I just can't stay away from that place, but i still need winter clothes! Had a good rummage around but it was extremely busy in there today, strange for a Sunday, so lost the the patience to find anything. I went in there looking for a few day dresses and a leather jacket, no luck (sad face), I did however pick up these lovely items:

Pearl chain collar necklace, £4.00. Such a cute instant way of jazzing up an outfit. Primark had this in either black or white. The white seemed the better option as it will stand out more and will go with anything.

Black feather earrings with gold spikes, £2.00. Loved these earrings the minute i saw them. The spikes are on trend for autumn and are the perfect length. Would only wear these for a evening out as may turn my ears slightly black but still a good statement jewellery piece to have.

White gold studded vest top, £6.00. This was a slightly rushed impulse buy. Saw it by the till and decided to buy it. I liked the studs on it but having now tried it on at home I am not too sure on it. The vest is too baggy for my liking so may have to go back.

Burgundy belted skirt, £8.00. I have been after a skirt for a while now that i can wear with boots and tights. This one, being wool, is perfect for winter, dressed up or down. It is a mini length but not too short and comes with a thin black belt.

Jeggings in blue and grey, £7.00. I have so many pairs of these but hey i live in jeans so two more won't hurt. They are so comfy and go with anything. Also they provide me with a bit of tummy control (must get that gym membership). Jeggings are defiantly my winter essential.

Gem

xx

Primark haul. Casual wear.

Super soft cropped jumper in pink. They also do grey or
 blue stripes
but im loving pink at the moment.
 Snapped this one up for £6.

3/4 sleeved pendulm tshirt. Was looking for a smart
 pendulm top but most i have found are more office/ evening wear.
Was really happy to find a nice casual version. This one was £5.

My winter essential, Black wellies.
Love the dogtooth pattern inside and they are really comfy.

Mint icecream knitted jumper with rolled up 3/4 sleeves.
 Love the colour of this jumper and was a good price at £14.

Long Sleeve stripey tshirt. Feels really soft and is perfect
 for my winter wardrobe. Cost £4 from Primark.

Mini primark haul

Had a tiny shop today. Brought a couple of things. Here they are:

Primark rings. Brought the wrong size but actually look good as thumb rings. Think they were £2.50.

Burgandy belted maxi skirt. Nice length and really cool and comfy. £10.

Cute thin bow belt. £2.50. Also found a matching handbag and purse which i must buy on my next visit.

Stripy skater dress. Comes with a cute belt. £13

Chunky brown bow belt with gold trim. £4.