BEAUTY

Back at the very beginning of the month, I made it my mission to hunt down a copy of Glamour magazine because they had a choice of four Clinique freebies inside. Never one to say no to red lipstick, Cherry Pop was the one I went for and it was love at first swatch. I blogged my first impressions of it and now that I've been using it for the whole month I can safely say that it's easily one of my favourite lipstick formulas ever! Very comfortable and easy to wear, sometimes I even forget I'm wearing it. Luckily though it has fantastic staying power so I don't have to worry!

As well as that, I've also been using my new stuff from Zoella Beauty (review) pretty much everyday. Her brand idea is centred around creating joyous pamper time and as I've built up a decent sized collection, I definitely agree that her products do just that. If I was to pick my absolute favourite from the bunch it would be the hand cream - I've been genuinely wowed at how much of a difference using it makes!

And lastly in my beauty favourites this month is a body wash from Cussons Imperial Leather. Their pink peony & raspberry shower gel has been making me smell like a dream! The scent doesn't really linger once you're out of the shower but it's worth it while it lasts. The mix of floral & fruity goodness has been a lovely addition to my ten minute shower routine and as you can keep in the photo above, I've still got about a third of the bottle left. I would love a perfume in this scent!




I feel like as we move from Autumn into Winter I'm starting to be a lot more comfortable in my style choices - I much prefer this time of year to the Summer when it comes to clothes! I've been getting into roll neck jumpers a LOT and I think if I don't restrain myself I could end up with having one in every colour. They're just so cosy!

Then to go with the majority of my outfits lately I've been wearing my new ankle boots which I treated myself to from New Look. In the past I've been a bit of a shoe-aholic but I want to change that and create a 'capsule shoe wardrobe', if you get what I mean. Ideally I'd like to own about 5 decent quality pairs because if nothing else, I'll be able to cut down on the amount of space my shoes currently take up!

I included those boots in this outfit post alongside another favourite, my Weird Ape watch. It's such a classic design and it's nice to have something on my wrist for once because as I said in that outfit post, my wrists are too small for most bracelets!



Lastly I have three miscellaneous favourite I want to share with you!

The first is a video editing programme. I'd been looking for something similar to Final Cut Pro but available for Windows and Katy recommended Sony Vegas Pro. I downloaded the trial version and couldn't be more grateful to Katy because it's amazing! I'm definitely keen to get the full version as soon as I can.

Also this month I bit the bullet and got myself a new domain! It's just a tiny change but I love being .co.uk - why didn't I do it sooner?

And last but not least, one of my favourite TV shows is back on! This series of I'm A Celebrity has been so entertaining so far, it's one of those shows you can watch and actually laugh out loud at. I'm hoping either Vicky or George stay in til the end and win it, they're my favourite ones in there!

So those were all of my November Favourites. Get involved in the comments below and let me know what yours are!

What have you been loving this month?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

x 

This week . . .

. . . I wasn't feeling the best, in fact Monday was pretty much a write off in terms of getting any work done. My immune system always seems to be down at this time of the year but I suppose I'd rather be sick now than at Christmas time/my birthday which is next week! I'm lucky to have Evie practically glued to my side 24/7 though. She's such a cutie pie and occasionally hilarious too - I don't think this photo of her with her tongue out will ever stop making me cry with laughter! She's a character, that's for sure.


Something very exciting did happen midweek however; I put up my mini Christmas tree in my bedroom! It's pink and I got some little pink snowman shaped lights to put on it which I'm very, very happy about. I flipping love Christmas. Keep an eye on my Instagram cus I'll be sure to upload a photo when I get the chance!


Then of course, the whole week was consumed by Black Friday deals left, right and centre. Don't get me wrong, it is a great opportunity to get things at more affordable prices than usual but stretching the whole thing out for over a week is a bit much. I was all for it on Monday but by the time Friday rolled round I was sick of hearing about it!

Saying that, I did order a few Christmas presents for people and treat myself to some lip balm from The Body Shop & Zoella's Blissful Mistful body mist. If you read my Zoella Beauty review this week you'll know how much I love the scent of the range so I thought I may as well get it when there's money off! I'm actually quite pleased I didn't spend too much because I'm pretty focused on saving up for the little holiday I have booked for next year. Did you get anything good in the Black Friday sales?


So that was my week!

It was a very necessary chilled out one to rest and recuperate. As I mentioned, it's my birthday next week so we're hoping to go out for a family meal. If you want to keep up with me as and when things happen, I'm on Twitter @thriftoclock!

Get involved in the comments below and let me know what you got up to!

How was your week?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

x 

Having already tried the Tutti Fruity body lotion, I knew what to expect with this one to an extent and again, I like it but I'm not blown away. Don't get me wrong, it ticks all the boxes; it smells lovely and doesn't take long to sink in but it doesn't wow me. I just feel like it's a pretty standard body lotion whereas the other Zoella Beauty products I've tried all have unique qualities.

The scent is a more subtle version of the handcream & fragrance which is fine by me and I like being able to layer them. For just £5 this won't break the bank but if this was your introduction to the brand, I don't think it would encourage to you try more from Zoella Beauty.

So there you have it! Get involved in the comments below and let me know which products you like the look of and which ones you think I should try next!

Have you tried any Zoella Beauty?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

x 

I think it's a great occasion to make the most of, especially if you have Christmas presents to buy but do think carefully about your purchases so you only spend money on the things you really need!


>> Feel Unique <<

They have range of discounted items which change on a daily basis as well as various brand discounts. I got some pretty good gifts for people on the site yesterday and the free delivery over £10 spends is very much appreciated!

>> The Body Shop <<

You can get 40% off a wide range of items (including gifts!) using the promo code '14670'. I made the most of this one too and ordered some gifts for others and a cheeky lip balm for myself. You've got to treat yourself sometimes!

>> Makeup Revolution <<

I'm not sure if they're specifically Black Friday deals, but my favourite budget beauty brand have some weekly deals and some money off their Christmas gifts right now!

>> Liz Earle <<

Again not strictly a Black Friday offer but I really wanted to share that Liz Earle have free UK delivery until 9th December and four different free gifts depending on whether you spend over £20, £50, £50 or £200. Worthwhile if you've already being thinking about ordering from there!

>> Look Fantastic <<

They're keeping what their deals on the actual day are gonna be quiet for now but until then you can get 15% off orders when you use either 'LF15' or 'BLACKFRIDAY' as a discount code!

>> Sleek <<

Sleek are already a bargainous brand but they currently have a secret sale on their website where you can pick up some palettes & pout paints at half price. Consider your Secret Santa sorted!



>> Models Own <<

This is an offer not to be missed - starting on Thursday 26th in Bottleshops and Friday 27th online, you can get anything from Models Own half price. The only condition is if you're buying from the website you have to have a minimum of 5 items in your basket for the offer to apply but with hundreds of polish shades available that shouldn't be too difficult!

>> ASOS <<

So what are ASOS bringing to the table? You can get up to 60% off their casual collection. Sounds like a good opportunity to move some of your saved items into your basket to me!

>> New Look <<

As well as giving up to 40% off over 3000 of their items, New Look are being generous and have buy one get one free deal on certain accessories & a 3 for £4 offer on socks. And they do some pretty fancy socks too, I have my eye on these unicorn ones!

>> Boohoo <<

They're also keeping their Black Friday deal under wraps until the day itself but with Boohoo, you just know it's gonna be good! At the minute they do have 20% off Christmas partywear with the code 'SPARKLE' and you can use 'WANTIT' to get 30% off something for the man in your life.

>> Accessorize <<

If it's some new slippers you're after either for yourself or someone else, you can get 30% off a gorgeous pair from Accessorize right now!

>> Debenhams <<

The department store are going above and beyond already and have loads of different offers on everything!

>> The Hut <<

Again, there are numerous deals on The Hut's website where you can find just about anything from beauty & clothing to homeware & electricals. Have a look at their 3 for £20 gifts & voucher list pages to see how much you could be saving on what!

>> Coast <<

The occasion wear shop have a couple of offers you could benefit from, with 20% off all accessories & shoes and up to 20% off selected dresses & separates. Fabulous if you're after something for the party season! There's also 40% off all of their coats so it's a great opportunity to bag yourself a Winter warmer that could last you year after year!

>> Topshop <<

There's a whopping 50% off some Topshop pieces - I can sense a lot of people will be making the most of this one!



And in case you were wondering how Black Friday/Cyber Monday got started, here's a gifographic full of information from My Voucher Codes. I found it pretty insightful as we seem to have adopted the whole practice here in the UK without much knowledge of the reason it exists!

Ever since I heard her last album I'd been waiting for more music from Ariana and her new single Focus did not disappoint! It's a fun, upbeat song which still shows off her amazing vocals and I love it. If nothing else it's really catchy!




. . . and I feel like it would be wrong not to give an honourable mention to the birthday video the Kardashians/Jenners made for Kris Jenner. Just when you think the song's nearly over, it gets even funnier. I've been playing it on repeat (and singing it) more times than I'd like to admit!

So there you have it! Get involved in the comments below and let me know what your favourite songs have been this month!

What have you been listening to?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

x