Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts

Beauty | Shopping with Offers and Discounts!

18:04

My guilty conscientious has a part to play for the inspiration behind writing this post. At some point, most of us have been impulsive and splurged when we should not, bought the same shade nail polish in 3 different bands, or broke out the credit card because I WANT it. Damn that inner voice! Blogging does have some impact on my beauty expenditure because (and my justification is) I'd like to review it for my website. To do that, I need to be savvy in the way I shop.

Online Vouchers & Discounts
Researching online also has its benefits to finding the best beauty deals. VoucherCloud and Voucher Codes are great if you're looking for money off and free delivery codes. Not only do they cover beauty and beauty, but they also cover restaurants and electronics. So if you've shopped until you've dropped in need a pit stop lunch, use their apps for deals. These can help you stay on budget.

Loyalty Cards & Coupons
My purse is full of loyalty cards from various beauty companies such as Boots, Super Drug and The Body Shop. The 'Advanage Card' from Boots is probably my most used and abused loyalty card. You earn points from spending, then you can spend the point on products marked with an asterisk *. In addition, they post out coupons to utilise the amount of points in each transaction instore or online.

Super Drug also have a fantastic points reward system with their 'Beauty Card'. The point system works similarly to the Advantage Card. If you are a student then you should take note of the extra 10% off with a NUS card!

The Body Shop also have a rewards card called 'Love Your Body' Card where you receive 10% off all purchases for a year. You have to pay £5 for the card. You also receive free gifts, a special birthday present, invites to even offers and discounts, and previews of new products. It's worth it if you regularly shop there.

Again, The 'Debenhams Beauty Club' Card allows you to collect points and exchange them for rewards on Beauty, Fragrance and Beauty Electricals either instore or online. Other benefits include free makeovers and skin consultations, free delivery online, free gifts, and exclusive special offers.

The N.Dulge card from Space NK in also worth having if you enjoy your higher end brands. You get £5 off for every 100 points earned. You earn 1 point for every £1 spent in store. There are also get exclusive invitations, product previews and "birthday treats".

There are many, many more available. I even have one for Toni&Guy, Costa Coffee and Starbuckes!

Shopping Around
Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert is a fantastic place to keep up to date with the latest deals. The information and advice available on this website is great. I have recently found some steals on there thanks for a colleague at work. You can also sign up to a regular newsletter that I would recommend putting your details down for.

Local grocery stores such Asda and Tescos (in the UK) are also hidden treasures for having deals on high street brands such as Rimmel and Maybelline. So if you're out doing the food shop and need some new makeup - why wait until you're going into town when I can pop into your local store (which is probably closer) and pick up your favourite brands.

Sign up to newsletters online and take advantage of the special offers they send you. Most companies will send you exclusive deals like an extra 10- 20% off selective items or even sale items that have already been heavily reduced. If you dislike Spam, make a separate email account that's just for this purpose - one for business - one for personal. Makes sense!

Cash Back Websites
This is the most recent discovery of mine. Cashback websites are great for earning money back on purchases. You have to shop online to get these cash backs but they all add up in the end.Top Cashback and Quido are two of the most popular sites which I use. It works by receiving a fixed percentage back on purchases. For example, if you spent £50 at Tesco who offered 5% cash back, you would earn £2.50. Now that's not exactly ground breaking but it would all add up and some extra savings for that expensive makeup palette. There are also certain banks with current accounts that are offering cash back on spending too! The savings can be deposited straight into your bank account or exchanged for vouchers.

Disclaimer: I have not been sponsored to feature the above companies in this post. All who are mentioned are the ones I enjoy using.

Let me know how you get on. Tweet me @Ragerwager and follow me on Bloglovin: http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/8599775

5 comments bblogger, Beauty, budget, Discounts, Offers, Shopping

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash and Mask Review

16:46

As a teenager, I used this religiously for years! Having acne skin certainly bought it's challenges of finding some suitable for my skin. I used this product before I transitioned to Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish range (extensive review previous done and available on here) which has also been great.

Keeping to my budget this month has meant searching the market for a cheaper alternative for the time being. After much 'researching', I went back to this little old bottle of fresh skin. Why? Because I was impressed with it's results the first time around. But after using constantly for 5/6 years I felt it become immune so to speak.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash and Mask as a daily wash to helps prevent blemishes or can be used as a 5 minutes mask to deep cleanse and condition skin. Its in the form of a clay texture that is thick and soft in consistency.

Once applied as a mask, you get a cooling sensation which makes it feel like it is getting to work. Afterwards, I am always impressed with how clear and noticeably smooth my skin appears. It leaves me feeling fresh and looking much healthier. Great for sensitive, and spot prone skin!! Also helps to reduce redness.

As a facial wash, it kind of lets me down. Without applying a good moisturizer it can dry my skin, especially in the Autumn/ Winter months. Also, at times, I have to re-apply this twice to make sure I get all my makeup off.

This product is great on a budget and as a mask. The results are clear on first use and I will continue to product and recommend in future, but only as a face mask rather than a facial wash as well.

4 comments bblogger, Beauty, budget, Cleanser, Facial, Mask, Neutrogena, product, product review, sensitive, Skin, Wash

Review: L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer/ Highlighter

15:51

Originally, I purchased this as part of a 3 for 2 offer at Boots. I’d read some hype about it being a close dupe to YSL Touche Eclat though I had not tried either before. So, I took advantage of the offer and got it for free.

I definitely jumped to conclusions with my first impressions. At first, I really liked the product but for me it did not have the coverage factor when concealing my problems area (mainly under eyes). I got completely sucked in and assumed it was a thick concealer and couldn’t understand why people has been raving about it.

The Lumi Magique Concealer is available in 3 shades: Light, Medium and Dark

Eventually, after reading more product information online I begun to understand the mixed reviews surrounding the product They say: “L'Oreal Lumi Magique Concealer helps brighten the appearance of eyes. Helps cover any imperfections. Can be used to highlight cheekbones, brow bones and the cupid's bow.”

Perhaps there is some confusion over the expectation of the product. It is very easy to assume that this is a proper concealer. After all, it does use the word ‘concealer all over the product and it’s advertising. However, I think it’s slightly mis leading to the costumer. This is definitely more of a highlighting product and the consistency isn’t thick enough to be classed as a concealer.

Although the packaging is sleek and handy for travel size it annoys me at the same time. It comes in a pen with a built in brush, that you have to twist the base to dispense any product. I hate not knowing how many twists I need to get enough product. Too much twisting and you end up with waste product that dries out the brush.

Using my regular concealer (Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear), I hide my dark spots and under eye baggage. Then, I apply the L’Oreal Lumi to brighten and highlight areas around the eyes, brow bone and bone structure. It’s great for making me look wide-awake after a rubbish nights sleep!

A technique that’s worked better for me is rather using the brush to apply directly onto the skin – place the product on the back of your hand and use your middle/ ring finger to lightly dab the product to cover the dark spots. I found this makes a massive difference as its can be blended onto the skin.

Overall, it’s not a bad product once you’ve applied it with your fingers rather than the brush provided. It does what it says – highlights and brightens the appearance of eyes. But it does not conceal or cover imperfections in my opinion. I don’t think I will be re-purchasing again. Just because I think there are better, more competitive highlighters and concealers on the market that are effective. I may have rated this more if the packaging was better.

Leave a Comment bb, Beauty, beauty review, budget, circles, Concealer, dark, eyes, highlighter, L'Oreal, Lumi, Magique, Make up, product review, review

Peter Pan Collar

15:11

Recently, I've been loving these attachable collars/ necklaces. They can update most wardrobes out there at an affordable price. So to keep on trend (and keep my spending budget down) I purchased this beautiful 'Peter Pan' collar from Primark for a whooping £4!

It's simple yet detail with small pearls on white fabric. Great for any high neck top that you wanna jazz up.