Summer make-up review!

AT LONG LAST! I've finished editing my first video for Cheap Like Me, it's a budget Summer '11 make-up review, let me know what you think!

(YouTube gave me the most HEINOUS thumbnails to choose from, so this is the best of a bad bunch, sorry people's eyes!)

The prices for the products are as follows:
Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder £6.99
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19
Rimmel Glam'Eyes Quad Eyeshadow £4.99
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara £8.19
Maybelline The One-By-One Mascara £8.49

Hope you enjoyed it! Oh and get following you beauties!!

who loves short shorts?!

Well slap my thighs and call me Sally! (On second thought don't I bruise like a peach...) But exclamations aside, I have just experienced a revelation in Matalan. Yes, I can hear you all now: "Matalan?! Has she gone mad!?!?" Fear not my lovelies, you are about to see what on earth I am talking about.

Tribal Patterned Shorts - £8! and Denim Polka Dot Shorts - £10!

I spied a pair of tribalesque patterned shorts (above!) in more! magazine last week which looked completely adorable, so today I ventured into Matalan after work to seek out these Summer 2011 must haves, and I found them... along with a vast collection of Summer basics and cute key pieces, in particular - shorts!

Rebecca Taylor's 'Denim Dot Dukes' - £93 phew!

Matalan's Spot Print Denim Shorts - £10!

There was also a gorgeous pair of drawstring patterned shorts which I resisted buying (maybe next pay packet!) but that were equally to-die-for and the likes of which I have not seen on the high street for such a brilliant price! Drawstring also equals cinched in waist, which is a-okay in my book!!

Drawstring Patterned Shorts - were £12 now £7! Yay!

But shorts aside, there are also some gorgeous little basics floating around for Summer, including this bateau-style stripey t-shirt with rolled up sleeves, very reminiscent of the Marc by Marc Jacobs nautical collection!

Marc by Marc Jacobs SS11

Summer Stripe T-Shirt - was £8 now £5!

So there you have it my gorgeous lovelies, get yourselves to Matalan, there's so many more incredible bargains I spied that I didn't have the time/budget to list here.

Oh, also I am in the process of editing my first video! It's a Summer make-up review, and I'm hoping it should be up in the next couple of days, so watch this space!

latest bargain haul!

Another day, another trip to the charity shops! This time to the beauteous little bargain haunts of Ashley Cross and Upper Parkstone. These are both great areas for charity shopping: as with Boscombe, even though you may have to sift through a hell of a lot of poorer quality items, you will find the odd gem which you wouldn't normally find in the wealthier areas like Westbourne or Christchurch.

I think my favourite find had to be this woven tote (my wise owl of a mother believes it to be banana leaf?) with raffia handles and pocket detail. The perfect day bag, big enough to carry my enormous filofax amongst other essentials, but also great for the beach as it has a handy sand filter (the bottom is a loosely woven raffia) to avoid time consuming clear outs.

'M' for me!

I also found this great mottled brown box bag which has already proved extremely handy, due to its 'open plan' set-up which means nick nacks can't get lost in the lining. It also had an 'M' bag charm on it, which sealed the deal!

On the clothing front, I found two very different but absolutely lovely items: a leopard print maxi dress (on trend for Summer!) and a super super cute short-sleeved knitted jumper in a gorgeous light yellow! I love the fact that the maxi dress pattern is alternated in what almost looks like a zebra print style, more animal magic! And although the knitted jumper may not be suitable for this time of year, I cannot wait to wear it with a circle skirt, platform court shoes and a sweep of red lipstick in Winter!

As you can see ironing is not a favourite pastime of mine...

The final find was this rather eclectic little blast from the past, an ancient batwing top from Topshop in a sort of 80s-style tribal pattern. I might cut the modesty slip out of it and wear it as a shrug over the leopard print maxi dress, currently undecided!

That's it for now, I'm hoping I'm going to have the time/the skin to do my Summer make-up review this weekend so watch this space!

(P.S. I notice I have a couple more followers, thankyou and hello lovelies!)

gorgeous giveaway alert!

Just a quick one lovelies!!

There's a faboosh giveaway going down on the Facebook page of Kiki's Boutique a gorgeous little boutique in Christchurch, Dorset which sells an eclectic mix of premium brand clothing, shoes, jewellery and vintage inspired trinkets (it's also the workplace of a very gorgeous friend of mine - hi Kay!)

So anyway the gorgeous girls at Kiki's Boutique are running a big ole giveaway with some completely adorable items up for grabs!! And the good news is they ship internationally so it's open to everyone from Christchurch to Canada! All you have to do is tag yourself in the photos of the items that you love to be in with a chance to win them! Make sure you take a look at all their albums, duplicates of photos have had to be made because it has been so popular already!

Winners will be chosen next week, the giveaway ends next Wednesday 13th July so remember to pick your favourites before then, here are a couple I've got my fingers crossed for!

To indulge the old lady within me, but keep my style tooth satisfied!

Still optimistic for the Summer...

So cute I might explode. No, really.

Perfect for the English Heritage trend of AW11!

So there you have it. Oh, here's that link to Kiki's Boutique Facebook page in case you missed it before... Good luck everyone!

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!