serious savings at Superdrug!

So this is just a VERY brief one, but word on the street (and the MoneySavingExpert forum) is that Superdrug has some crazy discounts right now. I can't quite make out whether the discounts/sale items vary from store to store, but from what the forums are saying the lowest price items are going for is      

10p!

Some of these items are clearly reduced, but some of them aren't, so here's a link to the forum where many people have actually listed the items that they've bought reduced and how much they've bought them for. This is the perfect opportunity to stock up for the start of term in September, or just bag yourself several bargains!!

last night ASOS saved my life!

It's been TOO long, but I'll get straight down to it!

ASOS is having the most UH-MAZING sale right now and if you don't take a look you're a fool, a fool I say!! (A little strong, but it is an absolutely incredible sale!)

I'll keep this brief as I do have two more, much better posts coming soon, but I just wanted to share two of the fantastic little finds I scooped to prove to you how good it is!

Cheap Monday Very Stretch Skinny Jeans - £31! (RRP: £45)

I was going to hold out until next month to buy a pair of classic blue jeans, bite the bullet and possibly invest in some Levi's ID jeans, when lo and behold, in the ASOS sale I find a pair of perfect indigo beauties in the one denim brand that I know fits me like a glove. For all those curvy girls out there with more cushion for pushin' but smaller on the waist and lower legs, Cheap Monday has served me so well that they are now the only jeans I buy (and I have 3 pairs!!). They may not be as purse friendly as your average pair from Primani, but they will make you look and feel like your pins have just stepped off the runway - parfait!

Jonathan Aston Mock Suspender Tights - £7! (RRP: £10)

Now some people may be screaming '£7 for a pair of tights?!' but I will say this: much like my Cheap Monday jeans, my other leggy love are my Henry Holland suspender tights, in which I feel like a woman (/high class escort - c'mon, we've all seen Secret Diary of A Call Girl and thought about the money/killer wardrobe) but bless them, I think they need a little rest from their faithful service, and dear Jonathan has provided a gorgeous alternative. They also come in S/M/L so none of this One Size trauma for the more curvaceous!

I WILL get round to my other two posts, one is a charity shop haul and one is a make-up review so watch this space and in the meantime get a little ASOS sale in your life!

orientation.

So the Seventies is dominating fashion this Summer, but another big trend of the Seventies was the allure of the Orient, which is also bang on trend for the season. In particular, household name Louis Vuitton injected their SS11 collection with a vibrant Oriental flavour and clashing colours.

Louis Vuitton SS11

Now I wish I could bring you some gloriously inexpensive imitations of these Oriental jewels, but unfortunately my scouring in this case has not been THAT successful.

What I do have for you is a couple of pieces from a great website which should always be your first visit when looking for 'that dress' or 'that blouse': the brand is LOVE and having already been featured on the rails of Topshop it now has its own online platform to sell its simple, staple designs. The great thing about LOVE is that they don't mass produce their collections, so it is much less likely that you will see someone else running about town wearing the same thing as you! 

LOVE clothing will set you back on average about £30, but considering they make limited numbers for their collection and their wardrobe essential styles, there is definitely a greater value to them than you might find on the high street.

LOVE Jasmine Print Shirt - £28!

This little piece took my eye because of its adorable tie front and lace insert shoulder detail, but also because of the vintage/oriental looking jasmine print, perfect to wear with a chiffon maxi skirt, floppy, wide-brimmed hat and chunky mid-heel wedges for a smart casual day look.

LOVE Rust V Neck Playsuit - £30!

This rust coloured playsuit almost has a mini-kimono look to it, making it perfect for those who don't want to be 'going Japanese' the whole nine yards! If you do want to dress this little beauty up however, a great and inexpensive idea would be a long, bright coloured sash/ribbon in a colour like purple or cyan blue, plenty of gold jewellery (definitely some hoop earrings and bangles!) and colour clashing platform heels (of course!).

And if you're feeling really brave, take a leaf out of Louis's book and get yourself a lovely lace fan to complete your fabulous ensemble!

frugal fashion from Groupon!

Groupon offers The Bible for less for 48 hours only!

Okay so enough with the blasphemy, I'm not talking about the actual Bible, I am of course talking about my fashion bible Vogue, amongst other Condé Nast glossies like Tatler, Vanity Fair and GQ for all those metrosexual males out there.

£19.99 for 12 issues!

Until midnight Friday 3rd June, Groupon is offering a year's subscription to a Condé Nast magazine, 12 issues for just £19.99! This is a fantastic deal as usually Condé Nast subscriptions cost a minimum of around £40 even with internal offers (I was lucky enough to receive mine as a birthday present from my beautiful best girls this year!). Perfect as a gift or as a treat to yourself for end of exams, 


Also until midnight on Friday 3rd June, London based make-up brand Eyeko are offering £20 worth of their Tokyo inspired make-up for £8! 

£20 worth for only £8!

Inspired by the playful, colourful elements of young Japanese fashion trends, Eyeko has already been featured in Cosmopolitan, Elle and Marie Claire amongst other publications. They offer a range of adorably packaged cosmetics created on the principles of cute colours and natural ingredients. In particular their range of Fat Balms have caught my eye:

Toffee Fat Balm - £6.50!

The Fat Balms are a multi-purpose product which can be used for lips and cheeks, free from lanolin (which can affect sensitive skins) and also provides SPF 15! They've had great reviews on blogs as well as in the magazines and for only £6.50 for a 2-in-1 product they're a beauty bargain! The Toffee Fat Balm looks to be perfect for Summer, ideal for wear with a smokey eye, dewy skin and a healthy tan for that post-beach chic!

If anyone takes advantage of the Eyeko offer, let me know what you think!

DIY facial!

Girls, Summer is just around the corner and that means we're all after that flawless complexion to flaunt sans make-up. Problem is you might find the solution for dull, blemished skin either costing you a pretty penny or a few more spots!

Expensive face-masks may work, but not for a student budget. Cheap face-masks may not cost you much money, but sensitive skins may be left looking worse than before!

As a sensitive skin sufferer, I've been through countless pots and tubes and sachets of face masks to try and get my skin looking good for the hotter months. The Lush Fresh Face Masks are the only real affordable miracle-workers I've found on the high-street, but at £5.25 a pot, they're not always cost effective for everyone!

After a couple of experiments in the kitchen, I've concocted an all natural face mask which is tightening, brightening and sensitive skin friendly.

You will need:

• 1x small, ripe avocado (moisturising and anti-bacterial)
• 1x small, ripe mango (brightening and tightening)
• 1x bag of oats (exfoliating, moisturising and soothing)
• 1x pot of manuka honey (anti-bacterial, soothing and healing)*
• 1x blender/mixing bowl and electric hand blender

This little recipe is for 1-2 people, for sleepover numbers just adjust the quantities in accordance!

Step 1: Halve the avocado and the mango and put the other halves back in the fridge (healthy treats for later!). Remove the stone from the avocado, cut into quarters and peel off the skin. Do the same with the mango. Then finely chop both and place in a mixing bowl/blender (depending on which tools you have.

Step 2: Add a regular mug/cup of oats and a tablespoon of manuka honey into the mix.

Step 3: Blend until a thick but even consistency, about the same as whipped cream.

Step 4: Pour into a tupperware and put in the fridge to settle for half an hour (just in case there are any left overs, those can go in the fridge for another day/another person!)

Step 5: Take it out and slap it on! Apply thickly and evenly over the face. Leave for 20-30 minutes, then rinse off with cool water in circular motions.

Et voila! A clean, toned, exfoliated and brightened complexion for next to nothing! If you've tried it let me know how it went!

*N.B. Manuka Honey is more expensive than normal honey to buy, usually coming in at about £7.99 for a regular size pot (health food shops usually have the best deals!) but once you have it, you can use it for face masks, for putting on toast or even for putting in hot water with fresh lemon juice and ground ginger as a sore throat remedy!

violently sexy lips!

OH. MY. GOD. If it was possible to fall in love with a beauty product I think I've just gone head over heels! On my blog travels I have stumbled across what I think has to be a cosmetic phenomenon!!

Click here for Violent Lips!

 They're a temporary lip tattoo, just like those super cool temporary tattoos from about 10 years ago (no but seriously, these ones are amazing!). You cut them to fit your lips, wet them, hold them, then peel off the backing et voila! Hot lips like never before.

The Pink Polka - around £9.25!

Now I know what you're thinking, how the hell are they going to stay on?! Well the Violent Lips girls are always at hand to answer questions. As long as you follow their application tutorials and leave off eating and drinking (or kissing!) for 15 minutes after application then they can last you between 4-8 hours, perfect for a night out!

Violent Lips already have a great range of colours and patterns, though in the next 3 weeks they will be adding an amazing 36 new designs to their website!

The Leopard - around £9.25! (one of my favourites!)

NOW is the time to buy these beauties too, because even though Violent Lips is in the US, for a limited time they are offering FREE international shipping when you buy any 3 products! (as with all International purchases it's always better to see if any friends want them too, works out cheaper for you!)

What with the currency conversion, one design with three applications will cost you around £9.25 which just over £3 a tattoo, that's cheaper than your average set of falsies!

PLUS this weekend they're offering 20% off all purchases with the code VLMDS, so you get even more for your money!! So go fill up your basket now!

juicy fruit!

Last weekend I think I stumbled across the cutest little bikini on the market right now!

If you've flicked through any of the fashion bibles recently you'll probably have seen Stella McCartney's fruity pieces, and there's plenty of imitations and inspirations on the high street.

Stella McCartney RTW SS11

H&M's new collections have been splashed about everywhere from TV screens to bus stops, and they've had some great pieces on show (alas the Seventies style jumpsuit they dangled in front of my eyes seems to have sold out everywhere!) BUT they haven't showcased this little beauty yet, and more fool them!

Banana bikini top - £9.99

Banana bikini bottoms - £7.99

This adorable little two-piece is on trend for the Summer with a great design and cheap as you like! You can pick up the whole set for just £17.98! You can't see from these pictures but the bikini is a halterneck, has support panels at the sides and removeable padded inserts, so it can actually give you a good lift despite its non-supportive appearance.

(N.B. having tried it on myself, I would say that this bikini is better suited to C cup sizes and smaller OR those with gravity-defying boobs!)

It also has super cute pineapple charm details on the ends of the straps, continuing the fruity theme and sealing this bikini's status as a real steal!