Home- Thrift shoppin'

What, what?? OK I'm sorry for being such a massive cheese ball but that had to be done! 

Something a bit different from beauty today, I hope you don't mind.It's still beautiful in it's own way because it's charitable and all! 

Thrift shopping or 'mooching around the charity shops' if you don't want to Americanise another term, is something I do on the days that I'm broke after my direct debits come out and need a shopping fix, today was one of those days.

If you are familiar with charity shops you will know that there is always a little tiny home ware section usually pushed towards the back of the shop, that at first glance looks like it houses all of your grandparents old junk but look closer and if you can be bothered to pick through the Barry Manilow memoribilia and hideous china dolls you can usually pick up some really cool/unique things to decorate your house.

Tea light holder- 50p Not the best example of a unique find as I just spotted an Ikea sticker underneath it, ha!-Currently burning Yankee Midsummers night. 

Blue glass jug £1- I like jugs I have no plans for this as yet, it'll probably end up housing a fake flower of some sort.

Glass tray 50p- I didn't even have to go and check the price because evidently I am the blogger equivalent of the girl who keeps the stickers on underneath her shoes!

The same glass tray- I haven't decided weather to keep Jewellery in it or soap type products...

Books- I bought these from a charity shop a while a go, they were either £1 or £2 each I tend to use nice books as decor, either on my dressing table or TV stand so I do judge them by there covers, naughty I know!

5 piece photo frame- £2.50 I have looked at getting these kind of distressed, held together with rope photo frames for my bathroom for a while now and never got around to actually buying one so I was super happy to find this one like brand new. I hammered it into the wall as soon as I got in using my trusty Allegra boot heel/girl hammer.
I just need to think of a theme for the photographs, or is it a new trend to have 5 pictures of a barbed wire fence? Let me know!

I'm pretty pleased with my little haul I spent £4.50 (not including the books) and still got the shopping buzz minus the buyers remorse!

Do you spend much time popping tags in charity shops?

xxx

Brand New City,Brand New Haul...

Hey Girls and Boys!!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend,If you follow my Tweets you will know that I took my son to see 'Horrible Histories' In York on Friday night,and we decided to make a weekend of it as York is such a beautiful town with Loads of quaint and quirky little shops.

Sooooooooo,here's a few pictures of the weekend and a little haul from Ye olde York town! 

How pretty are these shops??

I had to ask 3 members of staff if I could take pictures in this AMAZING little shop,It was chokka with Make-up,perfume,false nails,Nail polishes and accessories from floor to ceiling and all at really LOW prices!! It was like Heaven!
I'm really annoyed with myself for not remembering the name,and also for getting claustraphobic when it got busy, and leaving without having a really good rummage.

And onto the haul...

So whats in the swag bag?!

• Oilatum Natural face repair cream- For anyone that hasn't heard this mentioned by Pixiwoo, I have to say this is an amazing cream for anyone with skin that is prone to dryness,I haven't stopped applying it since I picked it up yesterday, and from first use I can really see and feel the moisture that has been injected into my face LOVE IT!! Luckily York has 3 Boots and unluckily  it took me until the third to find it!
• Stargazer Nail Polishes- I got the Pink chrome which i'm not sure i'm 100% sold on as it kind of reminds me of a pearlised pink my Nan used to wear,it's definitely gonna be a Marmite polish is this one!
•  I also picked up polish number 306 there is no colour on this,but its a fab black/grey glitter I have it on now over Barry M Black and I'm Loving it!
• Cosmpolitan Eyelash curlers-I love these sooo much! They have proper handles,so no more putting your fingers into uncomfortable metal holes and squeezing until you have big red dents on them! I have been using the cult shu uemura curlers for about 3 years and the cosmo ones have now officially replaced them!
• W7 Cheeky cherry and ravishing raspberry lip balms-Cute little slide open tins with vintage pin up girls on the front...once again I was suckered in by the packaging!!! 
• The Pink Cow 'Vanilla biscuit bath&shower gel' and 'Coconut creme body scrub'- The whole 'pink cow' range was on offer in Boots everything only £2 So I picked these up mainly because 'Vanilla biscuit' caught my eye and Vanilla is my favourite smell ever!! 
• Maybelline 'one by one' mascara-The one with the 'lash catcher' brush,I have used this twice now and have to say it has given me seperated lashes and a good bit of length to boot,I will do a full review of this once I have used it a few more times.
• Loreal 'Sublime bronze' face tan-I was going to pick up St.tropez but remember a friend raving about sublime bronze and thought I'd give it a go.When I have used it a couple of times I'll add a review.
• Nivea soft Hand,face and body moisturiser-Actually I find this pretty similar to the Oilatum face repair,Just gorgeously (<so surprised spell check didn't pull me on that!!) hydrating and I love that it's multi purpose.
• A Cosmopolitan vent brush-Nothing exciting it was just really cheap in TKMAXX! FYI York has a rubbish TKMAXX I was v.disappointed! And while I'm on a bit of a rant It doesn't have a Primark!!! That is the only thing wrong with York in my opinion.
• Good things 5 minute facial mask-I'm not sure why exactly I bought this,I think the intention was to go back and relax and have a pampering session (It didn't really work out like that!) But my boyfriend used it and said his skin felt great so thumbs up so far!

I know its a pretty small one especially considering that I was surrounded by really cute shops,but it was really busy and the shops were all pretty small and seriously jammed with people, so it made for a somewhat stressful shopping experience.

 I'd like to go back on a weekday or a Sunday when its maybe less crowded and I'm able to hear myself think!

What are your favourite cities for shopping? 

March Treat street!

Hey Girls and Boys!!

Just a quickie to let you know about March's 'Treat street' at Boots.com.If you dont already know about treat street,it is an awesome way of collecting Boots Advantage card points just by shopping online at your favourite stores!(ASOS is on the list,eeeek!!!!!) 

All you have to do is log into treat street on the Boots website, (the box is a little way down the right sidebar)

You will also need an advantage card (duuhh!!) 

There is an A-Z list of stores which work in conjunction with your Advantage card and each one earns you at least 1 point for every pound spent with them..

For example spend £100 in ASOS(easy done!!) get £1 on your card which doesn't sound loads but they rack up quick and its money for nothing so why not?!

Each participating store has their own offer to earn you extra points to spend in Boots!! 

Quick run down of March Treat street special offers

• Get 20% off full price items at New look-Enter code NLTREAT at checkout
• Save 10% at Laura Ashley-Enter code N446 at checkout
• Save 10% at Waterstones when you spend £20 or more in a single transaction-Enter code BS9408
• Save 20% on selected Virgin holidays
• Save 15% when you spend £40 or more at Dorothy Perkins (code available when you sign in)

These are not my top favourite stores,I do wish ASOS had a 20% (or 75% dream scenario!) code,but I think there are a couple there that are worth stopping by,Waterstones is always good and Mothers day is coming up so a discount and a few Advantage card points to boot will be nice!!

My favourite 'Treat street' stores

• ASOS (I think I made this clear already!)
• Habitat-2 points for every pound here!!!!
• Notonthehighstreet.com-( Joint with ASOS as my ultimate favourite website ever!!)
• New look
• I want one of those-(gadget store)
• itunes store

I hope this has been helpful for a few of you! After all what's not to love about earning free money to spend on more Make-up by shopping...That's the dream right there!!!

Does anyone have any great online or instore offers or codes to share 

PLEASE paste below (I will heart u 4eva!!) 

Lotsa Love Nat xxx

Because I have too much to say!!...

Currently...

Tanning with... 

Forget St.Tropez (Forgive me,old faithful),it's all about St.Moriz at the minute for me! Simple application,no nasty fake tan smell and £2.99 a bottle!!which means you get 6 and a half bottles for the price of one St.Tropez,Im constantly repurchasing and haven't found fault with it yet (oh ok,the blatent rip off of St.Tropez name is a bit of a bummer and doesn't look as en vogue on the dresser...BTW..Is St.Moriz a place or just a made up tanland??) 

Listening to...

Britney,Christina,Enrique and Eminem...this little nostalgia trip stemmed from when i was cleaning out my closet (Eminem pun intended!) and stumbled on a bunch of CD's from when i first met my boyfriend...aww takes me back! I love a wander down memory lane!

Shopping at...

Well...everywhere really!! The shopping bug has a hold of me pretty bad this month!! I do keep trying to justify it to my boyfriend by saying 'but there are so many nice things in the shops at the moment,and thats not my fault is it?..blame the shops babe!'

Favourites of the month are:

Primark...Pretty much a staple favourite,but this month i've picked up some really gorgeous things..ooh and their make-up range is suprisingly good!!

Dolled up...I'm fortunate enough to live near this shop,but check out their new website,and if you are ever in the area pop in! The store owners are amazing.

Next...The only reason I ever shopped here before was for my Son's clothes and home ware.( check out the vintage jar competition here)

I don't know what it is but I have always felt that Next is a shop that's just too structured and grown up for me :/ 

But this weekend after popping into the home dept and having to pay in the women's clothing dept,I noticed a section of perfumes,one of which had a bottle almost identical to YSL Cinema and which after a quick spritz I discovered to actually be a fab copy!...well for £6.50 as January's pay cheque is drying up, this promptly bumped up Next's appeal and now here it is a new fave!! They also have an amazing copy of Armani 'she'...My mum's fave she went nuts for it!!

The £6.50 bottle doesnt have the bling effect of the YSL bottle, but the larger sizes do.

Watching...

As we speak I'm watching sex and the city 2...Its only the second time I have seen it, the first was at the cinema with my best friend,we were absolutely doubled up in hysterics at the market scene where Samantha goes nuts! If you haven't seen it yet check it out asap its better than the first movie! 

SATC 2 xxx

I also saw Inception this month and LOVED it,I had to google it before watching as i'd heard it was a hard one to understand...that really helped and I totally enjoyed it,beginning to (crazy good) ending.

Also quick mention for 'The Vampire Diaries' as it is Tuesday after all, dont forget to get your Salvatore fix at 9pm itv2 ;) xxx

BITE ME DAMON!!

Reading...

Check out the l'il lego peeps!,
my son collects them and gives me his spares!

As you can see,pretty much everything! Currently not reading would be a better description!

From The shopaholic series to books on buddhism and philosophy (FYI you need to check out the secret!!) 

 I can't seem to stick to one book or magazine at the moment! Blogs however I am sticking to and loving!!

Favourites mentioned here.

Wishing for...

I have heard nothing but good stories about this foundation,Alexa Cheung even tweeted about it the other week, a sample later and im hooked!!! 

Also on the lust list is the new Vivienne Westwood scent,not because i've sampled it! It's simply the fantastic name...am now wanting to go to the deed poll office....hmm....there's a thought!

Has anyone tried 'NAUGHTY ALICE?'Let me know what you think of it..xx

Well I fear that my posts are becoming a little self indulgent of late,but I love a good old snoop into what other bloggers are doing,buying etc and  really wanted to share a bit more about my life,promise to post some reviews this week!!!

Please leave your comments below and tell me what you have been buying,reading etc :) 

Loadsa love Nat xxx

The perfect thing for the Vintage Jar? *competition*

Happy valentines afternoon pretty peeps,

I love when other beauty bloggers do storage,bedroom design posts so i thought I'd share mine and at the same time get a l'il help with a certain problem I have....the filling up of the Vintage sweet jar.

At the moment I am redesigning my bedroom just to accomodate my ever expanding make-up kit.An extreme measure,maybe but it's been driving me that crazy!

I'm no interior designer,i usually let my boyfriend take over that department! But so far it's looking pretty good,I've been able to find some amazing bargains without much imput from the mister!

Trunk £99 from a discount furniture store
(currently full of make-up and hair products)

Bedding £20 Wilko's 

(We are changing the Bed next week
for the one that matches the trunk and drawers :))

I love these,they were £129 from the discount store!

Check out the depth of the top drawers! <3I'm using this for everyday 'go to' products.

ooh the possibilities for the bottom drawer,eeek!!!

Ok so,i mentioned a competition then went off on a tangent (not an uncommon occurence!) Well among my bedroom bargains i picked up this cute,vintage sweet jar from Next (£6) and cannot decide what to fill it with,the fat pig in me wants to put sweets in it,but being a closet fatty I know i would eat them all and the Jar would be empty 99.9% of the time!

Fill meeeee ;)!!!

So I have decided to throw it over to my lovely readers who im sure will come up with the perfect idea for the perfect Jar!

There are no rules to this except to win you must be a follower of my blog.

Simply enter your suggestion along with your name,email address and blog name (if you have a blog) underneath this post.

The winner is the person who comes up with the best filling for the jar and will win this.....

'Love Tink' set includes:Black patent make-up bag,shimmer body lotion and perfume
 (really clean fresh scent)
Trust dust 'lily'
No7 Radiant glow Beauty lotion.

Closing date for entries is 18/02/2011,I will post a picture of the full jar,with a link to the winner's blog (again where applicable) and notify the winner by email.

Cant wait to hear some suggestions,please dont let me get fat(ter) and fill it with sweets ;)

Lots of Love 

Nat xxx

Making me happy this month...

<3 Products from VIE
reviews coming soon <3

IPhone4 'I am awesome' app (free)....hehehe how cool!!!

Valentines day!!
Valentine's night outfit already picked
I bought this a couple of weeks ago from asos

Shopping!!!(but this always makes me happy!)

Fave products purchased this month clockwise from top...

<3.Mink/black purse (a bit Chanel inspired ) £3 Primark

<3.VIE Glowing Beauty double ended highlighter £12.75 vieathome.com

<3.Fabric flower hairband £1.50 Primark

<3.Thierry Mugler Angel a firm favourite of mine for years

<3.VIE Guardian Angel.An absolute super cream that deals with everything from spots to dry lips/skin

<3.Peppermint oil capsules,brilliant for beating stomach bloat!!! read review here

<3.VIE Round the clock eye care a cream for night time and a soothing gel for the wide awake morning look.

And underneath that lot is my new bag £6 Primark I'm so happy with it!

I really enjoy it when i have an hour to spare and can sit and sift through Beauty blogs,I always find the best advice and love meeting like minded girls.

My fave blogs at the moment

• http://www.makeupsavvy.co.uk/ A fantastic blog by the lovely Fee.Helping us find the best beauty bargains (featured in Company magazine)
• http://emlovesmac.blogspot.com/ A new blog by the most amazing girl.
• http://www.sofiasjournal.com/ Just a really cute,well presented blog that i instantly fell in love with.
• http://www.jude-jadlgw.blogspot.com/ Love,lust and fairy dust,again a mega cute interesting blog by a really great girl.(And i wanna pinch the name of it ;) )

What's making you happy this month??

High street 'hopping' vs Online shopping

What i think most girls enjoy about online shopping as opposed to buying on the highstreet is the comfort aspect,the fact that you dont have to go from store to store taking off your boots,then heaving your skinnies on and off, stressing and burning up as you drag your top up over your head for the 47,000th (NO exaggeration ;)) time,ruining your hair and make-up as you do it!Not too mention lugging around however many bags that are bursting at the seams and ready too rip and spill the contents of your new wardrobe/knicker drawer/bathroom cabinet all over the highstreet (*cough*Primark*cough*).

I know that most girls end up flopped in Costa surrounded by bags completely exhausted,bedraggled and lacking the energy to venture back out onto the highstreet, this is never a good thing  if you are shopping on a Saturday ready for a big night out,in fact 9/10 it makes you want to go home to bed and just not bother,even if there was 50% off at Selfridges it would take considerable effort to haul ass up from that leather setee pick up your ripped bags and go in for some yellow bag therapy (ok,it would HAVE to be done but you get my point.)


When we compare the horror story above to the fairy-tale-esque shopping experience that is online shopping (occasional late delivery disaster aside for now!) where there are no nightmare bag ripping,knicker dropping embarrasments,it doesnt matter if your make-up is on your face,sliding down your face or completley non existent, and there is no up and down,on and off pulling, squeezing or tugging of clothes because lets face it you are in your pj's ;)!
(Ok there is no costa coffee in your living room but hey!)

 HIGH STREET VS ONLINE

      * HIGHSTREET                                                                

                                                                                                              
    *  Being able to test products,feel fabrics                                          
     ,try before you buy, and swatch cosmetics.                        
                                                                                                    
    * It's fantastic exercise! as Carrie Bradshaw                        
     said in sex and the city "shopping's my cardio"
                                                                                                  
    * Costa Coffee/Nero's... just any place that sells coffee
     and muffins!!                                                                         
                                                                                                   
     Getting your items there and then! No hanging out of        
     the window waiting for the postie!                                      

    * And while we're on that subject....NO MORE                  
    'SORRY WE MISSED YOU,YOUR PARCEL                    
     HAS BEEN SENT TO THE DEPOT' notes                      
     (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!)    




ONLINE


 *Being able to browse your favourite stores,from the comfort
of your sofa while watching TV,eating,having a cuppa,wearing a 
facemask and pj's....the list is endless....


*There are no queues in 'online land'


*Most online shops do next day delivery 
and same day delivery is becoming alot more
common (ASOS and Selfridges already provide this service)

*There are no opening and closing times so no more 
wedging yourself between Topshop's doors at 5:31pm
as the sales girl brings the shutters down on you!!
(I didn't do this!! ;/)
              

                                                                                                   



So if it wasn't obvious throughout this post, I am so on Team online!
I wont stop going to the highstreet because I really enjoy visiting little boutiques that you wont find online and my beloved trips to Nero!!  
But now when i take a trip to town i can happily breeze through the shops scanning for my next purchase,relaxed, without 'changing room hair'  bruises around my wrists from carrying hefty shopping bags and blissfully happy in the knowledge that my Saturday night dress and accessories are hung up on my bedroom door awaiting my return ready to party!!