January Empties

Now this post won't be anywhere as near as exciting as my last empties post (81 products, hello!) but I've still been a busy bee this month. It always surprises me when I use up a lot of products, but I always find that some products finish really quickly, but others (I'm looking at you lip balms!) seem to go on forever and ever and ever.

Here's what I used up.

I'm really trying to focus on using up some of my older products, especially since my 'Use Up Dates' post, which opened my eyes to the amount of bacteria etc. that can get into your products from once you open them. Also, I now work in beauty and I found out a lot of information about product dates, and it's kind of opened my eyes a bit.

 

The products I will miss the most are the Strawberry Body Butter (heaven in a tub), the Britney Spears perfume (surprisingly beautiful scent) and the Batiste Dry Shampoo (a life saver, although I have stocked up on this so I'm okay!)

My spending ban starts in February so I won't be able to repurchase anything, and I'm trying not to anyway, so expect to see a lot more in next month's empties post!

Advertise Your Blog Here...

I have decided to start offering advertisement spots on my blog again. I did it a few times last year and I really enjoyed discovering new blogs and sharing them with my readers. Since I'm really throwing myself into my blog at the moment, I thought it would be an ideal opportunity for you to get your blog 'out there'.

What will be included:

- Your blog button in my sidebar (near the top) for a whole month, or two.
- A blog post mentioning your blog and what I love about it around the 15th of each month.
- Regular mentions on twitter. I can guarantee at least one a week but I will do it more often too.
- A special mention on my Facebook page.
- A follow from me. It's only fair!

If you're a shop or company you can still advertise and get all of these benefits (unless I can't follow of course!)

The cost will be just £5 for one month, and £8 for two months.

The spots will be offered on a first come first serve basis, and I will only have a maximum number of blogs selected as I think it's only fair that they get their own little spot and are not lost among hundreds of blog buttons.

If you have any questions, including about stats, etc. feel free to comment or tweet me (@ditzyglamour) or drop me an e-mail at jesswd18@hotmail.com

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Dotcomgiftshop Haul

Dotcomgiftshop is by far my guilty pleasure. I have spent months browsing their website and creating endless wishlists in my head. Just after Christmas they had a sale on and I couldn't resist. I got a couple of bits and left it at that. However, a short while after that order arrived, they added more to the sale, including things I wanted! So I ordered another box of goodies and they arrived today, so I thought I'd do a haul of everything I've got.

I am in love with everything I purchased. Most of it will all be going into storage for when we get our own place but it's nice to know we've got some bits to have when we get there. We have nothing at the moment so we are starting from scratch with everything. I know it will be pretty expensive which is why I shop in sales and look around way in advance.

 

I absolutely adores these sets and I love the colour scheme too. The tea/coffee/sugar set was reduced to £4.95 and the tins were also £4.95. I'm not sure what the full price was but I think it was at least half price or there about for everything!

 

 

I'm not sure why I bought these - Aiden even said we probably won't have these spices but I want to prove him wrong! I thought these would look perfect with the other tins, and I promise I will use them! These were reduced to £3.95.

 

 

Now these were all little extras that go with the tins! I'm clearly in love with their 'Pantry Design' range! The jelly mould was 50p, the napkins were £1.00, the tea towels were £3.95 for two, and the shopping list was £1.95.

 

 

I can't do much baking at the moment but when I get my own place I plan to bake all the time so I got these cute cupcake cases that were 50p each.

 

 

Planning ahead just a tad but I thought these would be perfect for Christmas next year with brown wrapping paper. It was £1.50 for the ribbon and £2.95 for the string.

 

The sale at http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/ is still on (it ends midnight 28th January) and delivery is only £3.95 which is pretty good if you buy a lot. Let me know if you're getting anything and if you're as in love with this website as I am!

Pretty iPad Case

So for Christmas, I was super lucky to get an iPad, and one of the things I was very excited about was getting a cute case for it. Ideal Cases* have a wide range of cases for mobiles, tablets and ereaders. I was given the opportunity to create my own case.

At first I was overwhelmed by the choice. You could have a photo or even a collage of photos. I was originally going to do this, but I couldn't decide which photo's to use so I opted for a simpler choice. They have a range of different designs that you can choose, and you get to see what it would look like too.

I love how it is completely up to you what you have. You can add text wherever you want, and add as many images as you want. You can go wild - although I didn't.

I chose a case just for the back, as I already have a case that goes over the front too, and it can sometimes get in the way. I opted for a simple blue and white polka dot design.

When it arrived I was amazed at the quality, I was worried it would look quite cheap with the polka dots but I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Ideal Cases is perfect as a gift or if you're looking for a specific or personalised case. Would you go for a simple design like me, or would you go crazy? :)

*product was free, but I chose the case and design myself.

Lazy Girl's Guide To Fitness

I'll admit it. I used to be extremely lazy, and I still kind of am. But this year I decided enough was enough and I want to get fit. Not just for now, but for when I'm older. I'm not the kind of person that can train for hours on end and keep going. And probably like you, I don't seem to have enough time to exercise. I decided that this year there was no more excuses and so here's my lazy girl's guide to getting some fitness into your day.

- Do squats whilst brushing your teeth.

This is so easy to do, and instead of just standing there, do squats. If you do 20 squats a day for two weeks you will notice a big difference. That's not long to see changes!

- Walk whenever you can.

Now I can drive I tend to drive everywhere. Before I could drive, I used to walk for hours. My tip is to avoid using the car when you can, and if you get public transport, get off just one stop earlier and walk it. You'll feel better for it, and you'll be wide awake by the time you reach where you need to be.

- Do an advert break work out!

I've become a big fan of these lately. When I'm watching TV I'll choose an advert break, and do a work out whilst it's on. Whether it's sit ups, squats, press ups. I'll do whatever I want until the programme comes back on. It gives me a little boost!

- Have fun working out!

Find what is fun for you. Whether it's a zumba class with friends or a jog around the park with your dog, find an exercise you enjoy and go for it. I downloaded the Davina Fitness App which offers 15-20 minute work outs and I really enjoy doing them. As they're quick I can fit them in around my day.

What fitness tips would you give to someone struggling to get motivated?

source: link

P.S. Do you want to see more fitness posts? If so, what kind?

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Review | Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now

Those of you who were lucky enough to receive a Best of All gift set for Christmas will know that inside was a range of Soap and Glory vouchers. The first voucher entitled me £3 off skincare so I decided to head to Boots and treat myself.

I decided on the Bright Here Bright Now Instant Radiance Energy Balm as it is currently on sale from £11 to £7.50 so I only paid £4.50. I suffer from really dull skin, so I was keen to try out some new skincare that brightened up my face.

 

 

Bright Here Bright Now claims to make dull skin dazzle. It contains real orange essential oil to uplift skin, as well as timeron pearls to create a radiance, along with many other ingredients.

I applied it to my skin after cleansing my face and it was relatively easy to apply, however I noticed small white flakes on my face which I couldn't seem to get off. I applied another moisturiser on top, and this got rid of the problem. It does say you can use it like a moisturiser but I need to use it with for some reason.

 

It doesn't have a very overpowering smell, and left my hands feeling very sticky, but other than that it's really good. It does what it says it will do, and my skin looked luminious all day. If i'm having a good skin day I try not to wear foundation to let my skin breathe, so I applied this and nothing else (apart from moisturiser) and my skin looked awake and very very radiant.

Would I pay £11 for this? Probably not, but I would definitely recommend getting it whilst it's on sale at Boots.

Review | FCUK The Colour Palette

As I travel to and from London a fair amount to see family and friends, I normally drag around way too much luggage, especially make up, as I'm never sure what I'll want to use! (Anyone else get like that?) For Christmas, I got an FCUK eye palette, which I blogged a little bit about here, but never realised there was a lip palette inside too! And it's perfect for travelling with.

The main things I love about this palette is that the mirror is really big for a compact, and there is such a wide range of colours. I love my Naked Palette, but if I fancy a bit of colour, it's no good, so this is ideal.

 

The palette consists of 10 eye shadows, which are all very pigmented and there are a lot that can go together to create a smokey eye.

The biggest surprise to me was the lip palette underneath. Normally, I shy away from lip palettes as I feel like I have to dig into to it to get any product, but these are so dewy and so easy to apply. I tend to normally wear nude lipstick so I'm keen to try some of the brighter colours.

 

I will now be carrying this every time I travel. I really love it. It's actually from Boots but I looked on the website and couldn't find any (They were from the Christmas section) however, I looked on the FCUK website and found it in the sale! There's also some on eBay and Amazon.

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Use By Dates

It was only recently that I learned that almost every cosmetic has a period of which the product is okay, a sell by date if you will, and is symbolised by an open tub with a number followed by M - signifying the number of months the product is 'in date'.

 

This shocked me and worried me quite a bit, because if I threw out things I'd owned for longer than it said on the packaging - I don't think I'd have anything left!

 

 

 

I received a FCUK gift set for Christmas two years ago. I hadn't got round to using the products as I had other products to use up first. I tried them once when I first got them (too much excitement to try new products!) but that was it. However, although they say 12 months on the bottle, there's no actual sign that they are 'off'. They smell, look and feel the same as any other product I've used, so what does it mean?

 

I'm not quite sure why I'm writing this post. I guess it's to find out your opinion, and whether you even look at it? We all know we should throw out mascaras after 6 months, but is it a bad thing if you don't? Has anyone really had a bad reaction to something, or is it just to save the company if something does?

 

Excuse the rambly post, but I'm looking forward to your comments!

Latest In Beauty Advent Calendar 2012

So, last year in the lead up to Christmas, there were many Youtube videos and blogs talking about beauty advent calendars, including the Latest in Beauty one. I really wanted to get one then, but with the cost of Christmas, I couldn't really afford it.

I decided to browse their website recently, and noticed that their advent calendar was now half price. After much umm-ing and arr-ing, and not-much-needed persuasion from my boyfriend - I got it.

I paid £29.95 + £4.95 p+p which I thought was a bargain for 24 products. Although I'm meant to be saving money, my logic was that I could keep some for myself and give some as presents (therefore saving money). As it contains £210 worth of products, I thought it was a good deal.

Before I bought it, I decided to read what was inside (it was on the website) to see if it would be worth the money. I saw three items on there that I've wanted for a really long time, and so I didn't need to read any more!

I was going to open one door each day, but I couldn't resist and opened it all at once. There are some seriously amazing, and a wide range of, products, and I actually want to keep them all! I can do a blog post on what is inside if you want, let me know in the comments and I'll write one to go live on Monday.

Do you think beauty calendars are a good idea? I wasn't sure at first, but the excitement of opening those doors was too much, and I will definitely be getting one for next year! There are still some available (as far as I'm aware) so pop over to the website to have a look.

Review | Vaseline Hand Cream

I have an obsession with hand cream. Whenever I read anything about growing older, it always says that your hands give away your age and a lot of older people wish they used hand cream more when they were younger. So I constantly cream my hands, especially before and after work, after washing up etc. I think it's so important to look after your hands.

I recently finished my Soap and Glory Hand Food (although I got two more for Christmas ... yay!) and was on the look out for another to try. As much as I loved Hand Food and would 100% recommend it, I like to try new products so I went for Vaseline Healthy Hands and Stronger Nails Hand Cream.

It's quite a big bottle (200ml) so it's not ideal for carrying around in your handbag, but other than that it ticks every box. It hasn't got a very strong scent, it just smells fresh and clean. You only need the tiniest amount, and when rubbed in, it's not sticky in the slightest. With past hand creams I've usually had to wait a minute or two before I can do anything as my hands end up sticky or slimy but with this hand cream there is none of that.

What's even better is that after 24 hours I can still feel the softness in my hands. I no longer get any dry patches of skin which I used to get all the time.

Looking online, I noticed there are other sizes available so I'll definitely be purchasing a travel size to put in my bag. There are also different Vaseline hand creams to suit your needs. I wanted the stronger nails one as I'm still trying to grow mine! You can get the one I bought online here.

What hand cream would you recommend?
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What I Got For Christmas (Beauty)*

*and one or two things from the sales.

Last Christmas, I was well and truly spoilt. I know I'm a little late on this post, but I'm sure you can still get some of this at Boots (especially as some of this was from the sales too). I don't know any prices I'm afraid as some were presents and I don't want to look them up! All of them are from Boots (apart from The Body shop stuff). :)

 

The little ice cream tub looking pots are all lip balms that smell gorgeous. I couldn't stop smelling them when they opened. They come in Mint Choc Chip, Very Cherry, Strawberry Sundae, and Hot Fudge Sundae. They all remind me of the scented gel pens! I also got a Hot Fudge Sundae shower gel and body butter. On the right is Body Shop Make Up from the Lily Cole collection. I haven't tried any of them yet, but they look amazing! The Lee Stafford set contains shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo and a dehumidifer. I'm most looking forward to trying the dry shampoo as I've only ever used Bastiste before.

 

Inside the fcuk palette is these gorgeous eyeshadows. Also, I didn't realise until it came to writing this blog post, that there's more underneath! There's also a lip palette, but I'll do more photos when I do an actual review.

 

 

Inside Wowed Mouth, there are these lovely lip colours. I've never really used lipsticks like this but I look forward to trying them out. I also love that this will be perfect for taking with me when I visit my family in London. (I hate carrying lots with me).

 

 

My boyfriend got these for me in the Boots sale and I think they look beautiful. I haven't tried them yet, but I think they'll work really well.

 

 

 

And I got the Soap and Glory Best of All gift set! I love how it's got a few of my favourites (hand and foot cream are both amazing!) but it's also got a few things I haven't trued, like the cleansing milk and the mascara. I really can't wait to use these, but it has added to my collection that I was trying to cut down! Oops! :)

 

What did you all get for Christmas? Feel free to leave links below.

My New Year Resolutions.

I've seen quite a few blog posts like this and I've loved reading them so I thought I'd do one of my own. I tend to make 'resolutions' all the time, normally monthly, sometimes even weekly. I think smaller targets are easier to reach than setting a resolution for the whole year. Nevertheless, I've still made some, and I'm hoping that by putting them on here, I'll stick to them!

source: link

1. Save money.

Now of course I have a target in my head, so I'm hoping to reach it. I've been saving on and off for a while now, but now me and Aiden are living together and wanting our own place, it's time to really crack down. I've got a blog dedicated to it if you are interested.

2. Get our own place.

This is kind of linked into number 1, but I really hope we can have our own house or flat by Christmas. This isn't a resolution I'll guarantee to stick to, but I will do everything I can to get there.

3. Run 10 miles.

Rather than do the typical 'do more exercise' I decided to set myself a target. I started running a few months ago, but stopped over Christmas and I plan to really get into it again. I originally wanted to do the Great South Run which is 10 miles, but I've got a problem with dizziness/ black outs and I'm worried I won't be able to complete it. However, I still want to run 10 miles. I just hope it will be then, then I can do something for charity too.

4. Do more for charity.

Now, I do my fair share of donating to charity, but it can be quite hard when you're trying to save. Instead of giving up on charity, I have decided to do more rather than just hand over my money. I've been looking into Give and Make Up which I think I will definitely want to get on board with. I also want to do the Great South Run (see 3.) and give blood. These are all free for me, but still doing something for others, so everybody wins.

5. Travel more.

It's a bit difficult to travel lots when saving, but I want to see more of the UK. I really hope that I can manage to go on days and weekends away to new places and see some new sights.

I think that's it! I'm sure I'll have more as the year goes on, but these are the main things that I want to do. What are your new year resolutions?

Using Up Products | I Did It!

Back in September I wrote this post, which talked about my need to use up products and clear some space for when Aiden and I live together. We are now living together, and I am so glad that I started this challenge, as I struggled with the products I did have!

My aim was to use up 50 products before Christmas, and at one point I didn't think I'd achieve it. But somehow I did. And here's what I used up...

The picture doesn't do as much justice as there was A LOT of products ... 81 to be exact. Yes that's right, in 3 months I managed to use up 81 products, and it doesn't even seem like I've made a difference to my collection. There are some products that I miss already, especially the body butters and a few foundations. However, I've got enough body butters to last me until next Christmas so I won't be buying any anytime soon.

It was quite therapeutic doing this challenge as it was exciting to finish something and add it to my pile. My little Ted Baker box I used got quickly swapped for a bigger box as I filled it in a month!

Have you done anything like this? Are you planning on doing it in the future?

Oily Skin Essentials

I have always had oily skin. Although it is getting better, I still can't use products for normal skin. I tried, and it broke me out in spots. So, I have been sticking to the same products for a while, as they seem to work best for my skin.

Clean & Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion - £2.99 in Boots

I've reviewed this here, and in the post I mentioned that I've used it for years. It is the only product that I feel really cleans my skin and it is perfect to give wipe with cotton wool over your skin before applying make up, and before going to bed.

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore Cleansing Facial Exfoliator - £8.00

The Seaweed range from The Body Shop is perfect if you have oily/combination skin. For me, their tea tree range (which is perfect if you have very oily skin) tends to dry my skin out but this works perfectly.  I use it 3 times a week (sometimes more of less depending on my skin and the weather) and gently exfoliates my skin without drying it out, or without causing any redness.

Nivea Daily Essentials Oil Free Moisturing Day Cream - £3.99 in Boots

This is quite a recent purchase for me, and I regularly change my day and night creams. It is only in the past few months that I realised I should always be using 'oil free' moisturisers, as I don't need to add a lot of moisture, but my skin still needs to be moisturised. This cream is very light and doesn't make my skin feel clogged.

ELF Shine Eraser - £1.50

These bad boys come out on shiny days. I used to use them daily, but now I just use them every now and then. Whenever I have a 'shiny' day, I blot a sheet on my t-zone and it takes away the shine completely. These are always handy to carry in your bag if you suffer from oily/shiny skin.

Please Note: I'm not a skincare expert and these products work for me, but this does not mean that they work for you. The key things are to find an oil free moisturiser, a gentle exfoliator, and a good cleanser. There's no harm in trying products otherwise you'll never find what works best for your skin. I've always been told to try products for six weeks before you give up on them.

What are your essentials for oily skin?

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Hi There!

Long time no see. There's no real explanation to me not blogging, but I think I simply lost my mojo a bit. But so much has changed and I'm excited to get back to blogging.

So what's new?

Aiden and I are now living together and are saving up for a place of our own. It's so nice to go from being in a long distance relationship to seeing each other every day. It does mean I no longer live in London but I'm only a less than 2 hour drive away so I still travel back often to see my family. It's weird living on the South Coast - but I love it!

I also have a new job. After only having one job previously (I was there for two years) it was quite scary but I've settled in well and I absolutely love my job. It's weird getting up and being excited to go to work!

I've gone from being a couch potato to being very fitness conscious. I'm really into exercise and 2013 is the year I properly change my lifestyle. 'I'm too young to feel this old' is my motto for this year.

I also need to go on a serious saving spree. You can follow updates on my other blog http://www.livelifesavemoney.blogspot.co.uk

Be ready for lots of posts and lots of tweets. :)

Hope you all had a lovely New Year, and have a great 2013!

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