my goodies.

While I have been saving money and trying to not spend so much I have started to make a list at the beginning of each month of things that I need to buy, this way I knew exactly what I wanted to get so I wasn't browsing around shops and spending a fortune. It seems though, that each time I have been out shopping the products I wanted to buy haven't been there, so instead i have been substituting them with products that I think are kind of similar, because of this I have found some amazing new products and brands and thought that it would be good to review some of these on here :)



First up, there was the Bare Minerals 'mascara', it says on the packaging that it is supposed to make your eyelashes look like they have been curled and then use a special formula to keep the curl in place, I have heard some good things about Bare Minerals before even though i've never used them and i'm glad they didn't have my regular mascara in stock! It really appealed to me as I have a strange curler phobia and don't like putting things near my eye, so it has been so nice to finally find a mascara that can give the same effect. The wand is a wave design so can grab all of your lashes and pull them up curly and high, it's really easy to use and the best way to get the effect is to wiggle the wand as you pull it, one coat can give you a really good look but obviously more coats mean higher and more curled (although make sure you don't overdo it as it can weight them down! I would 100% recommended this to anyone who likes having long, curly, thin lashes but it's not really the right product for people who like them long and thick.

curl & lengthen mascara from bareminerals - £16

Secondly I had a quick trip to Lush, everything about this store is what I love in shopping; the smell, the bright colours and the atmosphere. I normally just come in for bath bombs and bath salts but have been looking at a few products online and decided to try some out. One product that was recommended to me by the lovely Bristol staff was the 'american cream' hair conditioner, it's made with lots of natural ingredients and I was promised my hair would smell lovely for days, it definitely did! The conditioner is really light and soft and although I used quite a lot of it in one go (I have very long, thick hair) it was so worth it. You use it like any other conditioner so there's no tricky instructions to follow. I also purchased their 'ultrabland' face cleanser, i'm a bit picky when it comes to using new products on my face where my skin is so sensitive but one of the staff reassured me that it wouldn't cause any aggravation to my skin. so I gave it a try. It was lovely and soft but also a bit sticky where it's made with beeswax, because of the beeswax you have to wipe it off with either a cloth or cotton wool but my skin felt amazing after I used it and also had a bit of a glow to it!
Then there was the 'charity pot hand and body lotion', I have been looking for a good hand cream for a while as I get really dry, rough hands and skin around my nails and have been stealing my mother-in-laws cuticle butter every time I go round, it's a really nice texture and spreads out a lot so you don't need to put much of it on. I bought two pots, a regular size one and a mini one to go in my bag!

ultrabland from lush - £6.95 (45g)

american cream from lush - £8.95 (250g)
charity hand & body lotion from lush - £6.95 (95g)
charity mini pot - £1 (10g)

My next two little purchases were on a bit of a whim, I thought i'd pop into paperchase to have a look at their super cute passport cases and luggage tags and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a gorgeous little satchel! I am a massive handbag hoarder, I always have loads of rubbish in my bag that I never take out again, so I was hoping that because this bag is slightly smaller than my normal ones it would help that problem, so far so good! It is a beautiful turquoise colour and although slightly smaller it fits everything I need in it, I have my phone, purse, tablet, glasses, hand cream and some sweets in there with space still to spare, which is perfect for day-to-day outings. It goes really well with all different types of outfits and it's a nice change from just the conventional handbag.

satchel from paperchase - £20

Finally, my new phone case, I had put this on a previous wishlist post but while shopping on amazon for some christmas presents (being organised this year!) I came across it and decided to chuck it in with my order. It's a hard plastic case so hopefully shouldn't break and has a beautiful floral design on the back, it clips on really easily and I am currently looking for a matching case for my tablet! I normally go for flip cases as I like having my screen covered but it was such a lovely pattern that I just couldn't resist it and with a screen protector stuck on i'm not too worried :)

floral s4 mini case from amazon - £2.90

So that was my little shopping spree this week! I would love to hear your feedback if you have used any of these products or any products of your own that you could recommend to me!