Thrift O'Clock

I've bought a couple of things over the past few weeks - some makeup, some bodycare as well a little bit of skincare. It's also all very affordable & available at the drugstore so I'm sharing it with you today in this budget beauty haul!

Soap & Glory

Recently I discovered the Sugar Crush scent from S&G through the body wash (review) and let's just say obsessed doesn't come close to describing how I feel about it. When I saw there was a 3 for 2 offer in Boots I had to make the most of it and get some more from the range. I picked up the body lotion (£10), body spray (£4) and the Hand Food hand cream (£2.50) and couldn't be more thrilled to have them in my life! If the body scrub hadn't have been out of stock I would have took that straight to the till too but I'm sure I'll hunt it down sometime. Dear Soap & Glory, if you ever made a lip balm with this scent I'd be all over it. Sincerely, a serious Sugar Crush fan.

Wet 'n' Wild

The Mega Protein mascara is my first product the brand I've heard countless beauty Youtubers talk about for years but I'd never heard anything about this before. It was only £2.79 if I remember correctly and if you read my February Favourites then you'll know I've already been using & loving it for a couple of weeks now! Check out that post if you want to know more of my thoughts on it but for here I will say that I really recommend it if you want a lovely natural but fanned out lash look without spending a lot to get it.

Boots Botanics

This is another personal brand first & another product I bought without hearing anything about. However, Boots Botanics has been on my radar for a while now and I thought if not now then when? I have to be honest with you - when I was in the shop my eyes must have somehow missed where it said 'serum' because I actually meant to pick up a different product entirely! Not sure how that happened so it was a surprise when I got home and opened it but, no harm done as it sounds like a great product. I think of it as a happy accident and a very budget friendly one too! The All Bright serum costs £6.99 but I got it on offer for just £3.49. I'll definitely get back to you with a full review once I've given it a proper test!

Collection Lasting Perfection concealer, Wet 'n' Wild Walking On Eggshells palette, Rimmel Clear Complexion

Collection
I don't think the Lasting Perfection concealer (£4.19) needs any introduction; it's a well known & well loved product by so many. I've repurchased it time & time again but when my last one ran out I didn't as I wanted to try some alternatives and see how they compared. Well, temptation & familiarity got the better of me and I have a new tube! I'll be interested to see if I still love it as much as I once did. Time will tell!

Rimmel
The Clear Complexion powder (£3.99) has also been a firm favourite of mine for a long time and I don't think it gets enough recognition from bloggers. It smoothes and blurs over your skin, giving it that much sought after evened out finish without caking at all. I'm pleased to have a new one in my life as my old one had cracked and crumbled as most powders inevitably do after a while!

Wet 'n' Wild
Last but not least is the Walking on Eggshells palette by Wet 'n' Wild. I got this at the same time as the mascara but haven't gotten round to using it yet, however if I like it I'm sure you'll know about it! I can't remember how much it cost exactly but I know it wasn't any more than a few pounds.

So that's it for this haul! Get involved in the comments below and let me know if you've tried anything included here or if you'd like to. Also tell me if there's anything you'd particularly like to see reviewed and I'll get on it!

What's on your beauty wishlist?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Well, now that February is done & dusted it's time for me to share my monthly favourites with you!

MAC Twig lipstick, Soap & Glory Sugar Crush, Wet 'n' Wild mascara flatlay

BEAUTY

Starting off with a shower favourite, if you read my recent Soap & Glory review then it'll come as no surprise to you that the Sugar Crush body wash made it into this post! If it's possible to be head over heels in love with a scent then I certainly am - so much so that I went out and bought the body lotion, the spray & the hand cream in the scent the weekend after I wrote that review. Smelling like sweet, lime goodness 24/7 is now an achievable goal thanks to Soap & Glory!

Moving onto makeup, I have two products I want to talk about; a lipstick & a mascara. The lipstick in question is 'Twig' from MAC which I won in a blog giveaway back in January and I can say without a doubt it's my new favourite lipstick. It's one of those gorgeous deep pinky brown shades - definitely my kind of nude. The satin finish means it's got serious lasting power whilst still being forgiving on the lips, aka a match made in heaven. I can't gush about it enough!

The mascara is one I picked up on a whim one day when I was in the pharmacy. I'd never heard anyone talk about the Wet 'n' Wild Mega Protein mascara before, nor am I the biggest fan of bristle wands but something drew me to it. Possibly the bright green tube, possibly the fact that it was only £2 something! Each time I use it I'm more and more impressed at how it manages to coat every lash without going clumpy, almost like you've just had your lashes tinted which is ideal for me. My only complaint is that it tends to go on your eyelid when you're applying it but that could just be me being more used to plastic wands. It's something I'm happy to put up with though as the effect & the super low price make it worthwhile.

MAC Twig lipstick, Wet 'n' Wild mascara flatlay

ETC.

As for more miscellaneous favourites, I have two Youtube channels I've been loving and two Things I Did to mention. Not sure how else to categorise the latter!

The first Youtuber is Sophie Eggleton who I discovered through a collab she did with Zoe London. She shares a variety of vlogs, interviews, honest & interesting chats as well as fashion & beauty videos, all delivered with a good sense of humour! Funny & down to earth are two qualities that are used to describe people very often but believe me when I say she really is both of those things. I find her particularly relatable because we both have CFS and it's always helpful & comforting to be able to get the viewpoint from someone who really understands.

Bess Oates is someone I also feel I share a lot of similarities with. This month she created a new channel in a bid to start afresh and allow herself to make videos about anything she wanted to without any pressure. I'm so glad she did because you can tell she feels happier & more free to talk about topics like feminism, veganism and plenty of other good things. She uploaded a video everyday in February and I watched & enjoyed every one each day! Both Sophie & Bess have served as inspiration for the type of content I want to create on Youtube when I get back into it so if either of them read this, thank you!

Lastly, the two fun things that happened in February were recording a podcast with Catherine & meeting up with my blogger pen pal Megan! Both events were so much fun & definite highlights of the month for me so I couldn't not mention them.

So those were my February Favourites! Get involved in the comments below and let me know if you've tried any of the things I talked about or know of any of the channels I included!

What was your favourite thing about February?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Soap & Glory. Arguably one of the most well loved bath and body brands, it's one I've personally remained loyal to for years. Today I'm going to be reviewing their six different body washes!

I was thrilled to receive these in a Christmas gift set from my brother. I'd tried three of their body washes before but Sugar Crush, Orangeasm and Rich & Foamous were new scents to me. They came inside crackers with party hats which was pretty cute and I think these minis are ideal for figuring out which ones you like without having to commit to a full sized bottle. They're also very handy for travelling too!

As body washes they don't make any miraculous claims but it's worth noting they don't dry out your skin at all, especially if like me you're prone to dry skin anyway! What makes them unique is their bright and beautiful packaging as well as the variety of scents. Here's what I think of all six:

Orangeasm

Being honest this one is my least favourite. That's not to say it's unpleasant, I just prefer orange scents which are juicier whereas this smells more like the peel to me. As it's one of a kind I'd say it's likely to be an opinion divider but if you like citrus scents which aren't real sweety sweet, this could be what you're looking for!

Foam Call

I finished a full sized bottle of this not too long ago so it's nice to have it back in my life again! It's quite fruity & sweet and apparently this has the same scent as the S&G Fruitigo fragrance which is handy to know - you could layer them up for a longer lasting effect!

Sugar Crush

Holy moly. This is without a doubt my new favourite Soap & Glory scent. I don't know why I hadn't tried it sooner but now I have I want to try all of it's accompanying products; the scrub, the lotion, the handcream, them all! The main scent components are lime & kiwi but I feel like there might be a hint of banana in there which mellows it down deliciously. It also reminds me of some kind of sweet but I can't think what!

Clean On Me

Y'know Soap & Glory's signature scent? Well this is it in shower gel form! If you're not familiar it's a lovely mix of floral & fruitiness which I think would appeal to most people. As the name suggests, you come out of the shower smelling super fresh & clean!

Rich & Foamous

Almonds, oats & brown sugar are all part of this yummy aroma which I now know pairs with The Breakfast Scrub exfoliator, the scent I considered my favourite before trying Sugar Crush. I would definitely buy the full size of this!

Clean, Girls

And lastly, this one is quite similar to Clean On Me in that it's both fruity & floral but there's just something that little bit different. It's hard to describe but it's almost like they're sister scents!

You can buy these minis for £2.50 each or in 500ml bottles for £6.50 which are well worth it in my opinion because a little goes a long way. Boots often do 3 for 2 offers which are good to make the most of if you want to stock up!

So there you have it, my thoughts on these body washes! As a result of writing this I now really feel like trying some more from the brand so if you have any recommendations, please get involved in the comments below!

What's your favourite Soap & Glory product?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

I don't know about you but when there's hype around a beauty product, I usually tend to wait until that's subsided then think about trying it. Serozinc has been hailed as a 'skin saviour' for so long now and the praise doesn't seem to be fading. Always looking for new additions to my routine, I decided to give it a try and today I'll be sharing my review!

A little bit of background info about my skin to preface this review would probably be handy! I have combination skin so some parts of my face get oily while other parts have dryness to deal with. I feel lucky to have never had to deal with big problematic breakouts (so far anyway, touch wood) but I do often get a few small spots appearing here and there which, needless to say, are never welcome. I do my best to prevent them but sometimes they're just inevitable and there began my hunt to find something that would help get rid!

I ordered Serozinc, my first dabble into the brand La Roche-Posay almost two months ago when it was on offer on Feel Unique. It usually costs £8.50 which I initially thought was a wee bit steep. How wrong I was. Having discovered the effects I now consider it to be absolutely justified. I seriously hope they don't ever bump up the price due to it's popularity! Anyway, onto what it actually does.

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

It's a simple solution of water, zinc sulfate and sodium chloride. Yup, salt. You spray the toner on and it works to both fight/fix blemishes while also soaking up excess oil and let me tell you, it shrinks spots like nobody's business. No faffing around, it just gets to work. Obviously it doesn't make spots disappear instantaneously (wouldn't that be lovely) but I've found that using this twice a day when I'm dealing with spots means it halves the amount of days I usually have to put up with them!

The nozzle itself is also pretty good at it's job - it dispenses an evefine mist when sprayed from a distance. If your skin is just outright oily then I'm sure you'd benefit from spritzing it all over but because of my skin's dry tendencies I prefer to concentrate the spray on where I get oiliest & spots regularly pop up. Sometimes I'll direct it straight onto my face, sometimes I'll spray some on a cotton pad and apply it that way so I can get at specific places. What I'm trying to say is that you can work with it even if you do have dry patches!

WHAT DON'T I LIKE ABOUT IT?

To be honest, not much apart from the fact it can be drying. I think the bottle is a good size and it's great value for money. Will I repurchase? Most definitely!

So those are my thoughts on the ever-hyped Serozinc. Go ahead and get involved in the comments if you have any questions about it! I'd also love to know if you have any other La Roche-Posay product recommendations!

Have you tried this?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

It's time to share all the things I was loving throughout January. I've got a good mixture of beauty, fashion & lifestyle bits to tell you about so let's get straight into it!

BEAUTY

You could count the amount of times I wore foundation in January on one hand. The cold weather has been taking it's toll on my skin so in an attempt to get it back on track, I focused a lot more on caring for it as opposed to covering it up. At the very start of the month I took advantage of the sales and treated myself to some Liz Earle products while they were discounted. Already a huge fan of their Cleanse & Polish (review), I thought it was about time I expanded my experience of the brand! Both the Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Gentle Face Exfoliator have been whipping my skin into shape. I intend to write a full review so look out for that soon!

As well as those, I decided I'd try my first product from La Roche-Posay. Serozinc is one of those raved about products that I always put off buying for some reason. However now I've been using it for about a month & a half, I can see why people get so excited about it; it reduces spots like nothing else! I think it deserves a full post of it's own so I'll save the details for that but basically, anytime I see a spot developing I spray a little of this onto the area and it's almost like the spot is stopped in it's tracks and it goes down without a fight. I will say that it can be a little drying but with my Liz Earle products there to tackle that, I think I've found a keeper!

Liz Earle & La Roche-Posay Serozinc skincare

Skincare aside, to go with my minimal makeup I found a lip combination that I've stuck to pretty much the whole month. I've been loving applying Max Factor's Colour Elixir lip liner in 'Mauve Moment' all over the lips for a bit of colour that's just deeper than that of my own. When I included it in this drugstore beauty haul, I remember getting a comment from someone saying they found it to be quite drying and yes, it can be. However adding some lip balm over the top solves that problem, resulting in a long lasting colour which is still comfortable to wear. It's not usually like me to stick to one lip colour for a whole month, I do love to chop & change but y'know what, it's nice to have a go-to that you can rely on!

Max Factor lip liner & Dr PawPaw lip balm

FASHION

I didn't actually go January sale shopping for any clothes (until the very end of the month, so those things could possibly be in February's faves!) but I did get some amazing pyjama's for Christmas which I've kinda been obsessed with since the moment I laid eyes on them. Look at how cute the top is! So fluffy. So cosy. It's from F+F at Tesco and a matching sleeping mask came with it, something which has really been helping me get a better night's sleep too.

ETC.

Another Christmas gift, but if I remember correctly it was New Year's when we watched Big Hero 6 on DVD. When I watched the trailer I knew it was gonna be good but I wasn't expecting for it to become one of my favourite films! They got the balance between really funny moments as well as heart-breaking ones spot on and the attention to every tiny detail is astonishing too. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend you do - it's gonna be one of those ones I rewatch over and over!

I also want to include the book I've been reading, as well as reading in general in my favourites this month. Something that comes with having CFS/ME is a difficulty to concentrate and ever since I developed it, reading became a real challenge so I haven't been able to pick up many books and finish them. In January however, I managed to read The Difference A Day Makes by Carole Matthews and although it took a lot longer to get through than I'd have liked, I consider it real progress. Anyway, onto the book! For the first couple of chapters I was really unsure whether I liked it or not. That was until something hugely shocking happened (I'm obviously not gonna give away any spoilers but I will say that I had to look up from the book and take a second to process what just happened) and from that point onwards I was hooked. With my rekindled love of reading I might start writing book reviews here so let me know if you'd like to see one for this!

Lastly I just want to mention the little bit of travelling I was able to do in January. How could I not? I went to stay with my sister in the glorious city of Cambridge from the 8th - 14th and I had a wonderful time there. I wrote a whole post about the trip which you can read here if you want to know what I got up to each day. I feel so lucky to have so many happy memories of the place and I'm hoping another chance to visit will pop up in the not too distant future!

So those are the things I loved most in January! Go ahead and get involved in the comments below and let me know if you have any experience with anything I've mentioned, I'd love to know!

What were your January Favourites?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

After hearing numerous bloggers wax lyrical about this little palette, I decided to get it a couple of months ago and I've been using it almost exclusively ever since. Here's my full review of the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette!

Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette review

My THOUGHTS

Before this, I'd never tried any of Collection's eyeshadows so I really had no idea what to expect. However on swatching they proved themselves to be soft, apply smoothly and offer a very decent amount of pigmentation. For £3.99 you get six warm toned, bronzey shades which you can use to easily create a handful of different looks, all within a dinky, space-saving palette. I took it with me on my trip to Cambridge and it was all I needed for the week! That's what I love most about it; you're not paying extra for four other shades you won't use - every one is very wearable.

Due to their almost creamy texture, fall out is fairly minimal but I find layering them on top of a cream eyeshadow (my favourites are the Maybelline Color Tattoos) completely eradicates that problem. It also increases the longevity of the eyeshadows although saying that, they do hold up impressively well on their own.

Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette review & swatches

The SWATCHES

IVORY & MINK:

Ivory is the most sheer in the palette but it gives a beautiful, baby pink glow which looks great swept over the lids on it's own or blended with Mink as I've shown here. Mink is a champagne shade which makes a very useful & pretty addition to the palette.

OCHRE & GOLDEN BROWN:

Ochre is one of the most stunning gold eyeshadows I've ever used! It's super shimmery and pairs together well with Golden Brown for a bold smokey eye.

EMBER & NUTTY:

Ember is more than your standard shimmery brown; the pink running through it makes it gorgeously unique. Nutty is also interesting, in that it's a kinda of matte/shimmer hybrid. It somehow manages to be both (it's more of a sheen) and so it deepens up a smokey eye like a treat!

So those are my thoughts on this Collection palette. There isn't anything I'd really change about it to be honest! I know they do different shade variations so if you've tried any of them, please get involved in the comments below and let me know what you think.

What are your favourite budget eyeshadows?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

It's time for my last Favourites post of 2015! Here's what I was loving in December.

December Favourites inc. things from Collection, a Nicki Minaj perfume, films, food & a Nikon camera!

BEAUTY

I can remember that exact date the Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint perfume came into my life & became my favourite, it was on the 3rd December, my birthday! It was such a lovely, much-appreciated gift as I adore Nicki and her fragrances are pretty fabulous too. This one in particular is definitely more interesting than your average celebrity perfume (although for the record I don't really see why celeb perfumes get such a bad rep in general). It's sweet yet citrusy with a warmth and depth to it that's just delicious. I've been wearing it pretty much exclusively ever since I got it!

Also this month, if I've been wearing makeup I seem to have opted for super sparkly eyelids, the sparklier the better. The Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette (review to come in the near future) used either alone or over the top of my Maybelline Color Tattoos is what I've been choosing most often as of late!

Nicki Minaj The Pinkprint perfume & Collection Eyes Uncovered palette

TV/FILM

There's been a lot of films and Christmas TV on recently but the most notable things I've watched this month have been two DVDs we bought. It was great to remind myself of why I loved The Amazing Spiderman 2 so much when I saw it in the cinema! It's one of the few Marvel films I actually LOVE rather than just feel so-so about.

Inside Out was what we chose to watch as a family on Boxing Day. I was expecting it to be pretty darn good but somehow it exceeded my expectations from the get-go! I feel like if you haven't seen it yet, it would be better to watch it without actually knowing too much detail about it, so I'll just say that it's about emotions and I don't think there'll be anyone who won't be able to relate to it. Oh and it might make you cry, or at least well up in a happy, "Oh wow, I relate to this so much" way.

ETC.

I've loved getting Graze boxes for years now but I think it had been a good long while since I've had one before Shona reminded/tempted me big time about them this month! So I ordered one and my favourites from it were the pretzel sticks with peanut butter (omg) and the cranberry & hazelnut toasts with cocoa dip (double omg). I kinda want to start getting Graze boxes regularly again!

The last thing I'm gonna include in my favourites, technically I've only owned since the 25th December but the second I ripped off the wrapping paper on it, it was guaranteed a place in this post. I got a new camera for Christmas! It's the Nikon L340 - a bridge camera which is a big step up from what I was previously using (and will still continue to use, of course) and I just, ahh. I love it. I've been spending time getting to grips with it and obviously I have a lot more learning to do but I'm excited for that. Plus, I wasn't expecting it AT ALL so it was the best surprise ever!

So there you have it, my December Favourites! Here's to making new favourites in the new year.

What have you been loving this month?

Thanks for reading,

Maeve

Here's the makeup I'm taking with me for my two week trip to England.

Back in January when I was in Cambridge for a few days, I took the opportunity to visit the MAC store there and get some eyeshadows for my palette!

I've bought a couple of things over the past few weeks - some makeup, some bodycare as well a little bit of skincare. It's also all very affordable & available at the drugstore so I'm sharing it with you today in this budget beauty haul!

Well, now that February is done & dusted it's time for me to share my monthly favourites with you!

Soap & Glory. Arguably one of the most well loved bath and body brands, it's one I've personally remained loyal to for years. Today I'm going to be reviewing their six different body washes!

It's time to share all the things I was loving throughout January. I've got a good mixture of beauty, fashion & lifestyle bits to tell you about so let's get straight into it!

After hearing numerous bloggers wax lyrical about this little palette, I decided to get it a couple of months ago and I've been using it almost exclusively ever since. Here's my full review of the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nude Bronze palette!

Today is the last day of 2015 and this is going to be my last blog post this year! What better topic to talk about than my favourite things. Here's a recap of each Favourites post/video I uploaded over the past year!

It's time for my last Favourites post of 2015! Here's what I was loving in December.

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