Clinique and Estée Lauder Skincare Haul

I think there's some sort of unwritten rule that at the same time of the year every major skincare brand starts offering some sort of deal.. And as these luxury skincare brands are expensive, I tend to steer clear unless they have a good offer on! So recently I was reeled in by a couple of good offers by Clinique and Estée Lauder at Debenhams!

Gift bag contents: 

Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser (30ml) - Forgot to photograph this one as it's in my overnight bag!

Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion+ (30ml)

Clinique Colour Compact

High Impact Curling Mascara

Chubby Stick Baby Tint Moisturising Lip Colour Balm 

Happy Heart Perfume Spray (4ml)

Clinique's deal came along first, which was buy two products (one to be skincare) and get a gift bag free. They also had double points on I think? It was perfect timing really as my face wash had just run out and my skin was really acting up so I wanted to try a new night moisturiser. I went for the Liquid Facial Soap in Mild (which I usually go for and really like, quick review here) and a new purchase which was the Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturiser, which I am currently loving! I'm quite impressed with the freebies I got in the gift bag, I'll definitely reuse the bag for a start, and the chubby stick and Dramatically Different Moisturiser+ will come in handy! 

Gift bag contents:

Take It Away Makeup Remover Lotion (30ml)

Advanced Night Repair (7ml)

Day Wear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme SPF 15 (15ml)

Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick

Pure Color Gloss

Pure Color Eyeshadow

Modern Muse Perfum Spray (1.5ml each)

So off I went with my Clinique purchase, very pleased, then the next week, up popped this deal from Estée Lauder! It was a pretty similar deal to Clinique's as you purchased two items and you got a free gift bag. However when this deal was on it was also Mega Week at Debenhams, which usually includes 10% off all beauty! I couldn't resist this deal, as I've been wanting to buy Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair and their Double Wear foundation for so long. I've been putting off the purchases because they are both quite expensive and I told myself I could go without! But when this deal came up, I thought there's no way I'll ever get them cheaper. I liked this gift bag more than Clinique's actually. You even get a mini Advanced Night Repair! The eyeshadow palette that came with it is just up my street, and I love the lipgloss too. I'm not sure about the colour of the lipstick with my skin tone, but I love the texture of this lipstick! So I'll definitely consider buying an Estée Lauder lipstick in the future. The lady who served me was so nice too, she even threw in a free full sized face wash just because I'd spent so much, and she wasn't meant to! So for the amount of products I got, just for the price off two (well less) I'm really impressed.

Already my skin has really improved just by using Estée Lauder's Advanced Night Repair with Clinique's Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturiser. My skin was breaking out so bad before I bought these products; I thought I was 14 again! I really look forward to my nighttime skincare routine at the moment! There will definitely be reviews coming up on these products soon so keep an eye out. 

If you're ever coveting a high end skin care item, I'd really advice waiting for one of these deals to come up. They usually have a couple a year and Debenhams often have Mega Weeks when 10-20% is  off around the store. 

Have you splashed out on any skincare recently?

Urban Outfitters Book Haul

Around Christmas time (yes I have a backlog of posts oops!) Urban Outfitters had 30% off their books, and combined with my student discount that was 40% off.. I felt a haul coming on!

I love Urban Outfitters books, they sell so many different, quirky books and they all look nice on a shelf. I went for quite a wide range of books!

The first book I chose was "Whatever You Are, Be a Good One" 100 Inspirational Quotations, hand-lettered by Lisa Congdon. 

This book is so cute, if you just want to feel inspired or uplifted, this is a great book to have a flick through. The typography and illustrations in this book are also amazing, the author is very talented.

The second book I picked up was "The New Braiding Handbook" 60 Modern Twists on The Classic Hairstyles, by Abby Smith.

Although I love the idea of this book, the tutorials are quite difficult to follow at times! I think maybe I'll get used to it after trying a few out, but the first couple I tried weren't that successful! But I think it is very difficult to explain in a few photos how to do a hairstyle. But this book is always a good go to for inspiration.

"You Only Live Once" A Lifetime of Experiences for the Explorer in All of Us by The Lonely Planet.

Talk about Wanderlust!! This book just makes me want to jump on the first plane to France and go work in a vineyard for a month. It's full of amazing ideas, and it has inspiration for different time frames: an hour, day, week, month, and year! There's 1000 different experiences to inspire you, and there's something for all ages and all budgets. It's the kind of book that can really help you make your own bucket list, I know it helped me with mine!

"Best Ever Photography Tips" by The Lonely Planet.

This book is really great for the amateur photographer (like me) looking to improve their skills whilst travelling. This little guide is easy to fit in any bag and is crammed full of useful and simple to follow tips. I really rate this book, I'll definitely be taking it on my next trip.

Another Lonely Planet book: "The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet".

This book is basically the traveller's ultimate guide! It has a short guide to every country. I haven't properly sunk my teeth into this book (I can't or I'll get sad that I'm stuck in England!) but next time I'm planning a trip this will definitely come in handy. 

You can view Urban Outfitters full range of books here.

What's your favourite guide-style book?

Greetings and Mini Haul!

Well hey there! <3

I guess I'm new to this, and not really sure how to "introduce" my blog... Basically I've been at a bit of a loose end lately, I'm a student and it's our summer holidays at the moment, and I'm a very creative person and have been looking for a way to express this recently, and this just seemed to fit! I'm a total rambler, and I like to write so blogging should work well for me! I'm not going to go into too much detail about myself at the moment, I'll save that for a later post, I will just let you know for the moment that I am a student from Nottingham, but study in Sheffield so spend a lot of the year there and I also have a part time job up there.
This blog will not have a singular theme (which is bad I know!) but I couldn't just limit myself to one topic ;). I love all things to do with fashion and beauty, and I'm also a bit of a gym junkie and on a health journey at the moment, and I also love to cook and bake! So all that along with my student lifestyle will feature heavily in this blog! Basically I will write about anything I am interested in, and if anyone stumbles across this and finds it helpful then thats all the better! :) Don't be afraid to message me, I'm welcome to responses and new ideas!

Anyway, onto my first official post...

Mini haul and outfit of the day!

So today I had a little trip to Boots, I needed a couple of things but the purse strings are a bit tight at the moment (being student I'm always poor *sigh*) so I had to limit myself to just a few key purchases even though I could have easily bought half the shop!

The main thing I actually went to boots for was this Toni&Guy salt spray! I had seen a few bloggers rave about it so it was a must! My hair is quite long and naturally straight and it needs some more texture sometimes, so I'm hoping this will help! I bought the "casual" bottle which is basically the mini version, just incase I don't like it. It was £2.19 I think. I will write a review when it's been tried and tested!

I have been wanting a coral lipstick for so, so long! I really wanted one for my holiday next month (Whoaaaa we're going to Ibizaa!) After swiping nearly every coral lipstick in Boots along my hand, I finally decided on this one! Which true to form, is called "coral" and it is number 53. I believe it was £4.99. I like Barry M because they are small and I hardly ever use lipsticks so there's no point in me buying a larger, more expensive one! 

Okay so I actually had no intention of buying any nail varnish... But my eyes strayed and of course when I noticed the new confetti range I just had to have!! It's number 327 and called Marshmellow (sounds so yummy!) Barry M always seem to lead the way with nail varnish, and these could be the next big thing?! I also fell IN LOVE with the lush Tiffany green colour! It is number 329 and called Greenberry. It's part of the gelly nails range, and they go on really well and look nice and glossy so it was a must. They were both £3.99 each, however when you spent more than £6 you got either the dark pink or a yellow one free! So I chose the girly pink, not quite sure how I'd wear yellow! Going to test the confetti and green tonight, will post the results!

This cute heart basket was £12 from BHS (£10.80 for me with student discount!) The label actually states its for the bathroom, however I currently have an extremely cluttered dressing table at the moment, and needed something large that I could store everything in that would look nice too! I wanted something a bit vintage, and I'm considering adding a ribbon or something... If I do I'll post the finished result :).

My OOTD <3

I kept it pretty simple today, I spent a while on my makeup so didn't really have time for hair/outfit planning! I was only going to the local shops and for a spot of lunch so I just threw on some black leggings, a black vest top and sheer top. It's a dip hem top (drops a lot at the back) I can't remember how much it was as I bought it last year, but it's part of the Cameo Rose label at New Look. I'm also wearing my Tiffany necklace and a watch from New Look. I paired this outfit with my flowery vans. There's not much to say about my hair, it was a bit greasy so I talced it to death.. trying not to wash it more than twice a weak to keep it in good condition!

Bye for now! <3