Last buys of 2013

I thought I'd try and get this post in while we are still in the first week of 2014, I headed through to Stirling with Muj and hit up Primark. I'm still hoping that Falkirk gets it's own Primark one day, it'd be so much easier! Anyway, just a quick glance at what I picked up, everything was reduced in the sales of course!

 Check that wee platform heel, I bloody love it! I can definitely see me wearing these until they break (which hopefully isn't too soon!)

I've had some issues before with the sizing of Primark tights so I'm hoping these fellas behave! The footless tights, I'm still not 100% sold on them, not something I'd usually wear but I'm trying to get out my comfort zone every now and then.

I am so in love with this necklace! I first saw it on Melonlady's What I Got For Christmas video, which you can watch here. I bloody love Helen and I'm definitely starting to listen to her advice of wear whatever you want!

Speaking of wearing what I want, may I introduce you to my Kylies. How fucking fab are these?! They are still a touch too small (I can't get the zip up) but I'm ok with that as it's perfect motivation! These are definitely going into my 'goal clothes' pile. I'll be doing a post on that once I've finished deciding on everything.

I think the last time I owned a denim jacket, I must have been a teenager and when I saw this hanging on the rails, my inner teenager squealed with delight. I cautiously took it to the changing room thinking I'd look like an utter tit in it but to my surprise I loved it! (Louis hates it, but he can shite aff). I got it in a size 20 as opposed to an 18 or lower, just felt more comfortable. Plus once I've lost more weight it'll be a nice baggy denim jacket on me and I can hopefully wear jumpers under without feeling like I'm suffocating.

Now for the biggest shock of this haul. Are you prepared for this? I bought disco pants. I'll just let that sink in for a minute. I'm still in shock if I'm honest. I hated disco pants when they came out, no particular reason just did not like them. But when I was in Primark, I saw them all on the rails and thought what the hell, I'll try them on and see how much of a tit I look. 

I looked like a complete tit, but they also felt really fucking nice! I still feel a bit too chunky for them but I also know I'll be wearing them under dresses so it's no big deal. Oh and can you see that hanger there in the picture that says 14? Yeah the disco pants say 14 too. I picked up 18 and 20 originally but when I put them on I could pull the waistband out past my tits (and that's a feat in itself!) I kept going until I hit 14 and they were tight but comfortable.

What a surprise, another red lippy to add to the collection! This is quite an orangey red but it's not in your face. Bit of a change from my usual bright, flashy reds but as you can tell from this post, I've bought quite a few new things. I'm totally ready for 2014 to be the year I try lots of new things!

What was the last thing you bought in 2013?

Rimmel & Revlon | Poundland Finds

Alana went to Poundland again? What a surprise! Let's be honest, no one is surprised. Poundland is my first port of call when buying makeup, especially nail polish. The past wee while I don't think I've gone into Poundland without leaving with at least 1 new polish. Got quite the wee collection going now. (I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should construct some shelves for them all, seen some great diys on Pinterst!)

Anyway, on to the goodies! First up, the nail polishes!

It's Sally Hansen's I've been buying most of, I just can't resist the great deal of getting Sally Hansen polish for £1 when it's £5 and up in all the other shops, so I've built up a fair wee collection of them. I was quite pleased when I went in that there were more Revlon polishes this time. As much as I love SH, I love Revlon just as much and possibly a little bit more!

I'll just be showing you what the shades look like below but over the coming weeks, I'll get some NOTD posts with them so you can see them on.

Spice It Up is a great looking shimmer polish. In the bottle it looks quite coppery with some red and orange tones. This looks really build-able and I'm hoping that after a couple coats it's quite opaque but with a nice glittery shine. I thought it would be a great Autumn colour and would work quite well with my skin tone (paley mcpaleface).

Popular is a really pale pink with two different kinds of glitter in it, really small silver bits almost like Spice It Up and then slightly larger white hexagonal bits. I wasn't too sure on this shade if I'm honest, not the biggest fan of nudes and pale colours but I'm making more of an effort to try them out. 

Emerald isn't quite emerald coloured (in my opinion). I think it looks more grassy coloured. The only green polish I can think that I have in my wee collection is a bright lime green so I thought I'd branch out and try a few more shades.

I've not tried any texturised nail polishes so when I saw this Velvet Polish, I thought I'd give it a go before venturing out into brands. I know this might not be fantastic but I'm up for giving it a go!

When I saw this in the shop I was a bit dubious to get it as I've tried the Wake Me Up foundation and it is wayyy too dark for me, (even the lightest shade) but in the spirit of trying things out, I picked it up anyway! It's called Shimmer Touch and what with the shade I picked up being called Radiant Rose I assumed it would be a nice cheek colour. I hope I'm right as this is the only place I'd wear it! A little really does go a long long way with this product as you can see above. I'll have to make sure when I do use it that I use the tiniest amount possible to avoid looking like a clown!

I always like trying out new concealers so when I saw this, I knew I had to try it! I was quite surprised when I opened it as it had the concealer to cover blemishes then the little inner core that treats the blemishes. I thought this was a great idea and not too dissimilar to Fake Up although I'm not sure what came out first. (Still heavy lusting after Fake Up!). I had to giggle as the shade is 010 Ivory, my old blog was called Ivorysmoke and every time I get foundation, powder, concealer, anything like that, the lightest shade that matches me usually has the word Ivory in it.

Last but by no means least is the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 850 Rouge. I am a sucker for a red lippy and no matter how many different (or similar) shades I have, I always like to pick up another! The only thing I need to work on is applying it properly. Some people can fill in their lips and look great, others go a little over their natural lip line and look great (some look really silly though). I always feel like if I go over my lip line that I'll look like a clown but my lips are so teeny tiny that I need to. Catch 22!

What have you found recently in your local Poundland?

Haul | Topshop & Primark

Hello! How are we all today?

Today is my favourite kind of post to read so I quite enjoy writing them too, I just don't always have the money to spend! I recently won a £20 Topshop giftcard from Allie on a giveaway that she ran on her blog Rush & Teal (you should totally go check it out by the way! She writes about fashion, style and beauty and has such a fabby wee blog!)

I've written about Topshop before here, in which I talk about finally fitting into some of their clothes however, I knew as soon as I stepped into the Topshop on Argyle Street in Glasgow that I wouldn't be using my giftcard to get any clothes. I was in the frame of mind that I knew if I tried clothes on I would get disheartened and it would totally knock me. Instead I headed straight to the jewellery and makeup part of the shop. So what does £20 get you in Topshop?

First thing I picked up were these wee bracelets. I was at the jewellery stand for a fair wee bit before finding stuff I actually liked. For example, I'm not really into big dangly earrings, bit too Pat Butcher for me and I am so done with the crosses on everything trend. Not a fan in the slightest. After getting past all those, I saw these wee bracelets and just thought they were too cute! These are really positive words so I thought it would be great for if I'm having a bad day, I can look down at my wrist and feel a bit better!

I thought these socks were just too cute to pass up! Now that it's getting into A/W, all the berry and plum shades are coming out and those are my favourite colours! Clothes wise anyway, I've still not mastered dark eye looks without looking like I've been punched! I'll get there one day. Until then, clothes it will be!

I think I only have 1 lip pencil and it's not a very good quality one so I though I should maybe start branching out and getting some. As you can see I went for Deception, a lovely dark red shade. Due to inexperience with lipliner, I had no idea what to expect but this was a dream! So soft but still gives you a nice precise line.

 I'd asked on Twitter the night before what other bbloggers would buy if they had the giftcard, it was almost unanimously decreed that their lipsticks were a big hit! I'd heard about them from other bloggers, in particular Zoe from Zoella but I always thought £8 was a bit much for lipstick (I'm still way too much of a cheapskate at heart!) but I decided that seeings as I had won this money that I should go on and treat myself!

Treat myself I did! I went with the shade Depth and have no regrets, I love everything about it. Totally worth £8 and I will be buying more in the future. It's just deciding which ones to get next that's the problem!

I actually love this combo together. Deception under Depth give it's a nice wee red tinge. Deception is great as a base and I could probably rock it on it's own as well as under liptsticks.

After Topshop I decided to head into Primark, there isn't one in Falkirk so if I'm ever near one, I have to go in! I didn't really have the greatest experience in this Primark, the shoppers were just so rude! I tried to put that aside though and just get on with having a rummage and nosey :)

I recently subscribed to a youtube channel called Katie's Chatting and saw her talking about these handbag organisers in her What's In My Bag video. I've always known about handbag organisers but they've always been ridiculously priced. Remembering Katie talking about these I kept an eye open whilst perusing the rails and finally saw them, reduced to £2! You can bet that went straight into my basket, well it would have done if I picked a basket up. I actually ended up using this as a basket as I already had my handbag and a bag with a 2ltr bottle of water in it (gotta stay hydrated!)

These earrings were just too pretty to pass up. My favourites are the hearts, stars and little birds. As anyone with hair long enough to put into bobble will know, they like to disappear! So I now have 40 and some headbands too. I thought these would be good for when I'm exercising, cleansing my face or doing face masks. 

I finally caved and got some midi rings! My main influence for this has definitely been Paula of The Brantastic Life, her last couple posts have featured midi rings and my curiosity got the better of me! The ones on my middle finger are two separate rings but I thought they looked quite nice bunched together as well.

Another lipstick! D: This smells amazing and was totally worth the £1 price tag ;)

I got these socks in preparation for starting C25K, I've got no excuse now! I have shoes, clothes, socks and hairbands. I'll keep you posted on how I get on with it D:

How fabby are these jammies?! As soon as I saw them, I knew I was buying them. Kitty Purry. COME ON! They were a steal as well at £3 and the icing on the cake? They are a 14-16! Primark sizes are always a bone of contention with me. I once bought a packet of knickers in a size 20-22 and I couldn't even get them on without ripping them! I was an 18-20 at the time as well.

The lace leotard (it is a leotard isn't it?) is a size 16 but is still a touch too small (those weird sizes creeping in again!) but give me a couple months and it should hopefully fit! I got it to stick under sheer tops (when I buy some) or vests for another layer of warmth.

Aaaaand I'm done! I'm very pleased with all my purchases and I'm looking forward to the lace leotard fitting me! I'll keep you updated on that.

What are you top buys from Topshop and Primark just now?

Recent purchases

Thought I would update you all with some of the things I've been buying recently. As of now I've put myself on a slight ban, in that until I get a decent routine and budget sorted out, I can only buy things that I need (we'll see how long that one lasts!)

Yet another Montagne Jeunesse product! I'm undecided on this mask though, it felt more like a creamy exfoliator. It smelled like chewing gum which was quite odd at first but then I quite enjoyed it. My skin did feel great after using it then sticking some moisturiser on so I might get it again and give it another go.

Bought from Asda for £1

I picked up this Denim effect nail polish from Asda for £3, I wouldn't say it is very denim-y but I do like the colour!

Celebration haul!

I say haul, I spent less than £20, but thanks to my bargain hunting savvy, it went very far! It's a celebration haul as I'd won some money from a Twitter competition and I've now got a job! Wooo go me! Now I just have to wait for an email telling me my start date, ironically enough, I'll be selling electronic cigarettes. My no smoking should come in handy for that! ;) Now onto the goodies!

Foodie goodies first! The Fabulous Bakin' Boys flapjacks were a steal at 49p for 5! I do love flapjack and it would probably be cheaper to make my own, I'll need to give it a go one day! From Holland & Barrett's Neal's Yard Wholefoods range, I got popping corn and thai chilli rice crackers. It was actually buy one get one half price so instead of it costing me £5.30, it was only £3.98! I'm really looking forward to trying the popping corn, means I can take my own with me to the cinema and it won't be covered in sugar!

Beauty goodies next! The wipes were £1 for 3 packets in Savers, not expecting them to be miracle wipes but as long as they can cleanse my face and leave it feeling fresh and hydrated I'm happy. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'll be keeping a packet in my bag, never know when you'll need them! Nail brush was 49p from Bodycare, it was a spur of the moment buy, I saw them and realised I didn't have one! The floss was £1 from Savers again, 200 metres of it! Again, it might not be the best of the best but as long as it does the job it's supposed to, I have no issue! The lipstick was 99p from Bodycare and I'll do a wee separate post about this with swatches etc.

The Carmex was from Savers and cost me £1.49, I was quite surprised as usually when I see it, it's £3 upwards! I'll need to remember to visit Savers again when this runs out (that's if I don't lose it before it runs out!). The pure eye roll on was from Savers again and was only £1! I've seen these roll ons before and really wanted to try them. Can't complain at a pound! I'll do a follow up post about this in a couple weeks.

Now the last beauty item, hair lightener (£3.99 from Bodycare). If you follow me on twitter or instagram, you'll already have seen the outcome but for those who haven't...

I'm now blondey blonde! It's still quite yellow but I've got a blonde dye to tone it out and silver conditioner (I'll post about that in a couple weeks as well) I need to get another box of lightener as there are still some brown bits to get rid of. Looking forward to my future as a blonde.

Now onto the last lot of goodies, miscellaneous items.

I hit The Works again, remember my last visit? I should really stop going in there! This time I got a memo block, I hate hate the LOL on it but I needed a memo block and it was only 74p. The Hello Kitty pen was actually from Rymans and only cost 99p, it's got 10 different colours and I ruddy well love it! Anyways, back to my Works books. Louis showed me this Catwoman book and I fell in love with it! 49p as well, the RRP is in $ but it says $18.95 Bargain and a half! The Accidental Vegetarian by Simon Rimmer, looking forward to reading this. 25p with an RRP of £12.99 and the last item is Jumbo to Jockey, as you can see from the picture, I couldn't quite get the sticker off the 'O' so it looks like it's called Jumb to Jockey. After reading the blurb on this, I couldn't not get it

And so we have come to end of my haul. Quite a lot of stuff wouldn't you agree? What have you bought yourself recently?

Book haul

I'm taking full advantage of the fact that my friend Muj has loaned me her laptop and I'm getting this post out. If you follow me on Twitter (@alana_mullen) you would have seen me harping on about The Works having a sale.

The Works is "Britain's No.1 Discount Book Store" I can't think of American stores similar to this, but basically, it's cheap books! I've grown up going to The Works, it was a staple when staying with my granny at weekends. New colouring books, new diaries then as I got older, more and more books. (I'm pretty sure my Penguin Classics Collection was from The Works)

I digress! I've now 'popped in' 3 or 4 times and each time I've come away with at least one book! Well, one of the times I came away with one book, every other time it has been more! What can I say I love books.

Now I feel I should put a wee warning here before you read on, do not have a heart attack at the prices, like I said, this was (and still is for another 5 weeks) a MEGA sale. I believe it's just the Falkirk branch holding this sale but other Works will always have sales on at some point, go have a rummage!

 

These are my non-recipe books that I picked up. From top left clockwise we have Running Made Easy, Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salad, How To Clean Absolutely Everything (The Right Way, The Lazy Way, The Green Way) and The Savvy Shopper.

All 4 of these books were... drumroll please, 25p each. That's right, all 4 for £1! To put it into even more perspective, the RRPs for these 4 are as following (top left clockwise again) £9.99, £9.99 £7.99 £8.99

I've already stated reading Running Made Easy, preparation for my Race For Life on June 9th, you can sponsor me here  if you're feeling generous, and as I keep saying, if you live nearby, come down and cheer me on! I've also started reading The Savvy Shopper which is quite the eye opener, I'm learning lots of new things. 

Outwith the books I'm writing about here, I'm also reading Foley Is Good by Mick Foley (8 days till I meet him again!) and Book 1 of A Song Of Fire and Ice. I'll be starting Kate Mosse's Labyrinth soon as well (Muj and I watched the tv adaptation then she told me she had the book and has loaned me it) What can I say, I love to read! Anyways, back to the books in question!

 

I saw these Easy Everyday books and though they would be ideal! There were others from the collection that I went back to get another day to finish the collection but they were gone, it's what I get for not snapping them all up, I'm pretty sure all of Falkirk knows about this sale, as well as my Twitter followers and Facebook friends! 

Like the last bundle, these were 25p each, I can't find an RRP on either of them but both have stickers on the front cover saying £4.99 Another great saving! Looking at the back of the books, the other titles are Family, Italian, Indian, Salads, British, Pasta, Simple and Desserts, I'd love to get them all and have the whole collection but I probably won't find them in The Works again during this sale. Won't stop me trying of course!

 

Next bundle we have Real Fast Food by Nigel Slater, Eating & Cheating by Gill Holcombe and Eat Well With Nell by Nell Nelson.

Not much to say about these yet as I haven't started reading them, think I'm set with the ones above for now! I will say though, I really like the covers on the first two books, the designs and patterns are what drew me to the books in the first place!

Eat Well With Nell was only 24p and the other two 25p. RRPs left clockwise again are £8.99 £12.99 and £14.99 Those savings are just mounting up!!

The next (and last) 3 books were too big to picture together and so I've had to do them seperately.

 

How much fun does this one look! Catchy title, which I love, nice bright cover, I can't wait to jump into this one and try out the recipes!

This one cost 50p with an RRP of £16.99 

 

This is the most expensive books out of the 12 I got, it came in at a whopping £1.99, which isn't that much but on a previous visit, I think I got 5 or 6 books for the same price! Still, I love it. It's split into three sections horizontally so you can just flip the pages and bam, 3 course meal in front of you! I'll definitely have fun with this one, chances are I'll take this one round the supermarket to get ingredients with.

As I said it cost £1.99 and the RRP is 14.99

The last book I got is for some reason refusing to upload and so I've had to google an image of it (grrr technology!)

Found on Google Images

This was the first book I bought when I found out about this sale, it's also the only visit I've had so far where I've only bought 1 book!

I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this, a big heavy cookbook, thousands of pages, I dreaded looking at the price but thought I'd chance it anyway.

It was 25p. That's right, PENCE! With an RRP of £25 I'd say this is possibly the best bargain I've ever found. And I love a bargain (Ta mammy)

I love the look of this book, it reminds me of the kind of book your mum or gran might have, big and sturdy, filled to the brim with delicious recipes. 

And so we have come to the end of my book haul, if you've actually read this whole post then congratulations! I didn't think I would actually write this much but I suppose when it comes to books, I just can't help myself!

What are you reading just now? Have you read any of the books I've mentioned above?