..FREEBIES!..

I just have one more assignment for uni to finish and then I’ll have a bit more time to blog. I’ve got so much to update you all on – received the best Carmine and Glossybox boxes, ever!

I’m also going to be having a BENEFIT giveaway very soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

This post is all about the freebies though, as I’ve found a few FREE and highly discounted items that I just can’t keep to myself. Unfortunately one of them expires today and I don’t want you to miss out ladies!

Until yesterday I hadn’t heard of Half Price Perfumes but it’s a website with lots of discounted beauty products. I’ve got a code for one freebie and all you need to do is pay the £1.99 postage. Okay, they’re not entirely free since you have to pay the P&P, but you do get a free sample sachet of Fudge Oomf Conditioner!

I’ve ordered mine and I’m really excited to receive a Nivea Super Moisturising Lipstick in Big Berry. Waxy Nivea chapsticks are a staple in my makeup and handbag so I can imagine that this lipstick will be ‘super moisturising’! Click here, add it to your basket and enter code ‘FREENIVEALIPPY’ at the checkout. Don’t even think about it, just do it! Offer runs out today!

Now this one isn’t entirely free but there’s a massive discount. For those ladies lucky enough to be ‘toffee shade’ then this is perfect for you as it’s only available in that shade – BOO! Click here, add it to your basket and enter code ‘99PMAXFACTOR’ at the checkout. Really wish they had it in more shades, but I suppose that’s why it’s on offer. If anyone does buy this then let me know what it’s like!

I did have a whole list of free things from Half Price Perfumes, including a Revlon lipstick and a Bourjois eyeshadow(!) - both for free, but having just checked them it seems that too many people have used the codes and so the promotions are over. Sorry ladies! Next time I find out about these things, you guys will be the first to know!

However, there are some free Clinque products up for grabs in the April Cosmopolitan magazine, which is out in shops now. You get two free products out of four up for grabs – a mini mascara, 30ml Moisture Surge, a lip gloss and a facial scrub. The Moisture Surge cream is available in Boots - £30 for 50ml, so £3.50 for the mag is well worth it. Will hopefully pick one or two up later on today!
I've heard that some places mightn't have it until 1st March, so make sure you look out for the gorgeous Holly Willoughby on the cover!

Nivea are doing free samples of the new Nivea Q10 Pore Refining Day Cream. You can order your sample here.

Last of all, I’ve found a free Calvin Klein lip gloss, all you need to do is pay the £2.95 P&P. Click here, choose your shade and add to the basket, then enter code ‘BCKLG’ during the checkout process. I picked mine in ‘dazzle’ as it looks as if it’ll be clear. It retails for £12 on this website, but is generally between £7 and £14 elsewhere, so a decent saving!

Calvin Klein, Dazzle.

More of these to come, I promise to keep you all informed. ;)

Not really a freebie, but Body Shop are offering 40% off orders online over the next couple of days. Perfect for Mother's Day or just a treat for yourself! Couldn't really pass up the offer so I treated myself to a new primer and a lipscuff. Excited.com right now!

Let me know if you do decide to take advantage of any of these! I'm really looking forward to the Nivea lipstick!

Lola ..x

Wants This Week: Shoes.

Behind on my Wants This Week – again!

Good news though, my boyfriend surprised me with one of my Wants from last week. His lips are sealed and he won’t tell me which one it was, so I’m really excited to see what gets delivered!

My Wants This Week are shoes. When I thought about what I’d do this week, shoes seemed to be the best idea since the boy had bought me two pairs last week. BUT there wasn’t much out there that I liked right now, which was disappointing.

So here are my picks, the best of a bad bunch to be honest!

1 - ASOS LEON Slipper Shoes with Butterfly Print – ASOS - £20

I’m obsessed with slippers at the moment, I haven’t bought myself a pair yet as I need to find the right ones – and try them on, which is the only downside with ASOS – but these are really cute.
♥♥♥♥

2 - Manney Suede Slippers – Topshop - £28

Again, slippers. I’m really annoyed as Topshop had an AMAZING pair of studded black slippers, which they only have left in a horrible, nude pink at the moment. So these are the next best thing. And you can’t go wrong with suede!
♥♥♥

3 - Black corsage t-bar pumps – Dorothy Perkins - £25

I didn’t realise that there seems to be a recurrent theme of black shoes. I have pair of black t-bars, also from DP, but these are similar to some that Topshop had a few months back. I’m not usually keen on patent shoes, but I love the frills!
♥♥♥♥

4 - Woven Peep Toe Platform Shoes – New Look - £24.99

I didn’t want to just pick out flats, and even though I don’t wear heels very often I’m completely in lust with these. I love the platform and the chunky heel.
♥♥♥

5 - Two Tone Platform Court Shoe – Zara - £49.99

These are probably my favourite out of all of the shoes. They’re made out of goatskin, and look like they’d be really comfy – well, as comfy as heels can be! I love the block colours, and as well as the black and white, Zara also stock them in white and coral. Love, love, love. 
♥♥♥♥♥

What are you picks for this week? Link me any shoes that you've been lusting after!

Lola ..x

Mini Haul! ..

The other day my boyfriend and I went shopping to try and find him a jacket, and we ended up buying everything BUT a jacket!

Whenever he buys himself something new he always get me something too - he's such a sweetie, so here are the things we picked up on our trip.

H&M - £10

This jacket is from H&M – how ironic that it was him who was supposed to be getting a jacket, not me! It was the last one in the sale section, so it was obviously meant for me! I thought it was really cute and can be dressed up or down depending on where you’re going, and it has a really nice silk lining.

River Island - £7 (Reduced from £15)

I really love chunky knit stuff and I spotted this snood as soon as we walked in. It’s so soft, and really warm and I’ve not stopped wearing it since we got it!

Dorothy Perkins - £20 

My boyfriend has got really good taste in shoes, and I was so happy when he picked these up. I’m usually a size six, but these were huge in a six and so I had to get a five instead. I haven’t worn them out yet, but they feel really comfy and they’re oh-so-cute!

H&M - £7.99

Again, another pair of shoes. It’s becoming a bit of a habit now. I love plain pumps that I can just slip on and off and these fit like a glove. If I’m wearing an elaborate dress, or even accessories, I don’t like to overdo other parts of my outfit, so shoes like this are perfect. And at £7.99 I’m sold!

H&M - £2.99 (I think!)

I have about four or five different lip balms in my bag (read: suitcase) and it’s always a trouble to find them so I got this little makeup bag to keep them in. And of course since I was buying it, what better excuse do I have for buying another lip balm?

H&M - £2.99

This Vanilla Lip Butter smells ah-may-zing and it keeps my lips really soft and supple.

I also got some wipes to keep in my bag and some shea butter hand creams.

Both H&M

Wipes - £1.99 (They smell good!)

Hand creams - £1.99

I’m not very good at going shopping; I actually hate it I’m sad to say. After a few shops I get fed up and want to go home – online shopping any day! So that was it after we visited three or four shops. The boy got some really nice stuff too so it was a good trip all in all.

Lola ..x

Long overdue, Carmine Box! ..

I feel so behind on my posts, I have SO much to share with you guys – the boy is away this weekend (BOO!) so I’ll definitely have some time to update everything fully!

Last week my Carmine Beauty Box arrived, I was really excited about getting it since I’m new to the world of beauty boxes and have heard such good things about Carmine.

The doorbell rang at 7am-ish and I ran in a sleepy stupor to answer it, and was greeted by a VERY cute postman only to realise that I had a HUGE line of dribble across my face – oh the shame!

Granted, it’s not as cute as the pink Glossy Box, the inside is a horrible garish green.

Contents:

KORRES Wild Rose 24-Hour Moisturising & Brightening Cream

Eldora False Lashes

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil

Westlab Himalayan Pink Salt

Eyeko Fat Eye Stick

At first glance I was slightly disappointed with the box, I’d heard nothing but good things about Carmine and it didn’t really live up to the hype. However, thinking about it the box was a complete bargain – it was my first box so I got a discount. I love the Fat Eye Stick (worth £10), although I’m still getting to grips with it as it’s really creamy, and swatched a bit too easily on my hand.

The lashes are worth about £5 – I think – and although I don’t wear them (I don’t think suit me), I now have an excuse to at least try them.  

The Korres Wild Rose Brightening Cream smells AMAZING. Don’t think I’ll be using it much though as I’m officially hooked to those Clarins Day and Night Creams from the Valentines Glossy Box! The cream is quite a small sample at 10ml but the full size product is just 40ml and costs around £20, making the sample worth about £5. I was expecting it to be really thick but even though it wasn't a small amount still absorbed quite quickly.

I was worried about the Balance Me oil, my skin can be really unpredictable at times and I thought that the oil might make me break out. Quite the contrary actually, I use it at night over the night cream and my face feels really soft and supple in the morning. It hasn’t got the greatest smell to it but it’s definitely a keeper in my eyes. The roller ball applicator is rubbish though, and I had to hack it apart to get any oil out! Full size product is 30ml retails at £30, so while the sample looks teeny it’s worth about £6.

Finally, the biggest disappointment in the box for me was the bath salts. I’m really much more of a shower kind of girl, and so the salts didn’t appeal to me. I know the boy will appreciate these more than I will!

So that’s it. The box wasn’t as great as I’d heard it was going to be but I’m not unhappy with it. It’s still too early for me to compare it with the Glossy Box, but at the moment the GB is leading slightly!

Lola ..x

Restaurant review: The Laughing Gravy, Southwark.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Source

My posts have been a little sporadic of late, and I had such a lazy weekend that I didn’t follow up with the posts that I meant to.

Last night the boy and I went to a restaurant as an early Valentines Day celebration. The Laughing Gravy was recommended to us by a friend and is apparently ranked 9/9000 of all of the restaurants on Trip Advisor.

It took us a while to find the place as we drove and kept getting lost – particularly bad since we live in London!

When we did eventually find it, it was a really cute, cosy place with fairy lights over its high walls and tea light candles on all of the tables.

Apple Virgin Mojito - I was driving!

Towards the front of the restaurant there’s a book section, where you can read the books they have. They also allow you to take the books home, but encourage you to swap it for one of your own.

I couldn’t take too many pictures, mainly because the boy hates it when I take pictures in restaurants (tsk tsk!).

The food was absolutely amazing though, quite honestly the best steak I’ve EVER had! Ever, guys! All of the staff are really friendly, and we felt right at home. Our waiter looked genuinely upset when we said we didn’t want dessert.

Staffordshire Innes goat's cheese, Somerset Brie, mature Cheddar and three onion pasty with slow roasted tomato chutney and herb leaf salad - It was soooo good!

World's best steak!

Lincolnshire steak with shallots, flat mushrooms, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, Madeira sauce and garlic butter

HUGE light in the restaurant. Looks really small in the picture but the boy & I would have been able to fit inside!

Loved it, want one for the flat - not that we have any room! :(

Since a friend recommended The Laughing Gravy to us, I felt that it was my duty to pass it onto you guys – if you ever find yourselves in Southwark then definitely give this place a try. It’s not hugely expensive and all of the food looks great, I wanted to try everything!

Lola ..x

Wants This Week

Going to do a few posts today instead of doing one reeeeally long post.

Here are my Wants This Week, decided that I’d focus on bags – a girl can never have too many bags .. or shoes .. or dresses .. or anything really!

1 – Tapestry Satchel – Matalan - £12

Matalan are having a bit of a revival at the moment, or in my eyes anyway, and this tapestry bag is really cute. I wouldn’t actually BUY it because I carry around my whole life in my handbags and I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in here but it’s still very nice.

♥ ♥

2 – Contrast Leather Satchel – Topshop - £75

Dear Topshop, your bags are beautiful but 75% of the time they’re way out of my price range. And this is definitely one of those times. Gorgeous bag, and I’d even be willing to leave some of my junk at home so I could carry it around. But until I’m a graduate earning some big moola (HA!) I can’t sacrifice practicality for a bag that’s out of my price range anyway.

♥ ♥ ♥

3 – Plaited Leather Shopper – Zara - £79.99

This is one is a bit of a cheat because I actually have two of them already. My boy got me the gorgeous tan one, and then got me a grey felt and leather version too. I see them EVERYWHERE though, which is slightly off-putting but alas had made me fall in love with the black one now as well. I know I was just moaning about the price of the satchel, but this bag is amazing – size, quality, looks, its perfection.

♥ ♥ ♥

4 – Ted Baker 13” PU Sleeve – Ted Baker for Apple - £59.95

Okay technically not a bag, hands up. But it is gorgeous! I’m addicted to my Macbook, and she’d look perfect in one of these. Ted Baker has designed them specifically for Apple so these ones are only available on the Apple website. Admittedly, a bit of a bump at £60 but worthy of my cooing nonetheless!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And finally ..

5 – Leather Contrast Clutch Bag – Topshop - £32

Another Topshop beauty, but this time slightly more affordable. I love a good clutch bag and this one is amazing. I really like the coral detailing, and it’s got space for your cards, money, phone, whatever, so you can leave that bulky purse at home! 10% off for students as well so I’m very tempted to buy!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As usual, if anyone has some cash lying around that they just don’t need then I wouldn’t object to you buying one – or all! – of these for me! Haha :)

Lola ..x

Foundation.

This is beauty arrived through the door yesterday. I don’t know what it is with me but I get really excited about receiving packages, even though I know what they are and that I’ve paid for them!

I’ve been a bit eBay mad recently though and splurged on so much stuff. But I have a few surprised in store soon though …

Source

I don’t use liquid foundations because I used to have acne and I’m prone to horrible whitehead breakouts when I wear too much or sleep it in – which I sometimes do, unfortunately.

I use Bare Minerals Original foundation that I have to say is pretty amazing, it retails at £24 a tub but I managed to get it on eBay for just £10. Wahey! It was packaged really cute, too!

It’s really light and gives me a good coverage but still looks natural, which is really important to me, as I hate to look caked. It also doesn’t make me breakout, so to me it’s perfection.

Recently however I’ve been noticing dark circles, and my precious Bare Minerals doesn’t cover them as much as I’d like. So that’s where I’m hoping my new Maybelline Mineral Powder foundation will help me out.

I haven’t used it yet but did a little swatch and it seems decent enough so *hopefully* it will. I’ll do a full review once I’ve used it properly though.

Another beauty arrived this morning, which was my new MAC Kabuki brush.

MAC retails them at £32.50, but managed to bag a bargain on eBay (again!) for £10.50. My current brush is just a cheapo and keeps shredding so this one should be better.

Today is day three of my Instagram #FebPhotoADay challenge, but I haven’t taken my picture yet but here’s day one and day two:

Day One: My View

Day Two: Words

OH, and finally!

My beauty box intrigue is turning into an obsession – just ordered a Carmine box. Someone please help me, I’m turning into a monster!

Lola ..x