Love My Vouchers

When it comes to saving money, I will try many methods to work out how I can get the best deal on something. This is so important when shopping. My logic is, why pay full price for something when you can get a discount? Before I go shopping, or before I buy anything online, I search around for a discount code as most of the time, I will find one. Even if it's something small, it will save me something, and that can go towards something else, like my house.

There are many different websites out there that can give you codes for discounts/free delivery etc. One to add to your list (if you haven't done so already) is Love My Vouchers.

Their website is full of voucher codes, all in seperate categories so you can find what you need, and it even has a search bar if you're looking for a particular shop. It's also good if you have your own business as you can add your discount code!

Search discount codes at http://www.lovemyvouchers.co.uk/

Sponsored post

Home Interiors.

Whilst living with Aiden's nan, we have a box (which has grown into three..) of things for when we have our own home. In there contains things given to us from other people (ie an iron and a grill), as well as things from car boot sales (4 mugs for 50p) and things that we (read I) have seen and bought for our future home.

I'm a sucker for home interiors. I would rather spend £100 in Ikea than Boots, and I cannot wait to have my own little home that we can decorate and fill with pretty things. Although we're saving, I can't resist buying a few things every now and then. Lately, my eye seems to be spotting items in all of the shops, even shops that I wouldn't think of looking in for house things. I thought I'd do a little post of things that we've picked up lately.

 

This was spotted in Debenhams whilst we were Christmas shopping and we have it in our room now by the door. They had 30% off so we decided to pick it up. Debenhams has an amazing range of home items, and I'm in love with all of their wall art, including this. When we do move into our own place, I will definitely be going back there.

 

 These are photo boxes that have dividers in to store and organise photos. I found these in Lidl and fell in love. They also came in black, but I like a bit of colour. They were only around £4 for the two. (I was also on a spending ban when I saw these (I still am) so my lovely mum bought them for me).

 

 

This was a very spontaneous buy as we saw this in the reduced section in Tesco. We thought it would look perfect in an office space so decided to get it. It was only £5 and was on our bookshelf (you may have seen it in the background of a few blog pictures) but it's now in the 'box'.

 

What shops have you found good home interiors in?

 

PS. My Benefit giveaway is still running but ending soon, so feel free to enter. :)

#whatsinyourpocket & a Giveaway [now closed]

When I was approached by Money Supermarket to take part in a £20 challenge, the ideas flowed in from the word go. We all know that amazing feeling of finding money in an old jacket (you can watch their latest video here), and they wanted to recreate that. So they very kindly sent me £20 and told me to spend it on whatever I want, no rules (expect nothing illegal .. obviously!).

The real me would always save it. Pennies make pounds and it could easily have gone into our savings account and go towards our house. But the idea of this challenge was to make me, or someone else, feel good, and although saving it would make me feel good, I decided to go one step further and please as many people as I could with it. I embraced the challenge and headed to the shops with a few ideas. Here's what I bought and who for.

Strangers

My aim of making as many people feel good as I could was inspired by Operation Beautiful - a website where they find notes with some kind of inspirational quote on it. I decided to spend my first bit of money on some post it notes (which part of the money goes to charity), and I wrote some lovely things and hid them for strangers to find. Here's what I put in a public toilet.

Family

Family means so much to me, and it's easy to forget what they do for you. I decided to buy some cute cards from Card Factory so I could write to them. The first card I'm writing is to my great grandad. He's recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and because I don't like in London anymore, I can't get to see him as much as I would like. So I'm going to write to him and remind him that he is my inspiration and I'm so proud of him.

Aiden

I couldn't go without putting a little smile on Aiden's face so I bought him a little something. Ever since we've started our serious saving, he hasn't spent a penny on anything to do with the Xbox. So I decided to buy him some Microsoft points. He's also in the process of setting up his own gaming/lifestyle blog so I think they'll come in useful!

All of you

I couldn't take part in this challenge without saying thank you to my readers. Without you, I wouldn't even get asked to take part in opportunities like this, so I bought a Benefit Radiant Skincare set for a giveaway - which you can take part in below via Rafflecopter.

 

Charity

I put my change into a charity pot. I didn't want to waste a single penny, and that money can go to help lots of people who need it.

So who got the 'feed good' experience from my £20? Well, there's the many strangers who will find the notes, the winner of my giveaway, my great grandad and all my other family that I write to, Aiden, and the charities who get the money. And finally, I got the feel good experience, because I've made other people feel good, and you can't put a price on that.

To read how other bloggers have spent their £20 - just search #whatsinyourpocket on Twitter.

Giveaway is open to UK only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

My Current Skincare Routine

I decided at the beginning of this year that I really need to get into a good skincare routine. Whenever I stuck to one for a few days, I could notice a big difference in my skin so I've made sure that I've found a routine that works for me.

 

I start with Clean and Clear Morning Energy Daily Facial Scrub (£3.99 in Boots) which really gives my skin a boost and wakes me up. I like the scrub as it clears any dead skin cells but it's not too harsh on my skin. If I feel like my skin is a bit oily or I have a lot of blemishes I'll use the Clean and Clear Deep Cleansing Lotion (£2.99 in Boots) and wipe over my face using a cotton pad. I have raved about this product so many times but it is really good for clearing and cleaning my skin. Clean and Clear currently have on offer of 2 for £5 too. (That's when I usually bulk buy!). If my skin needs a little boost, I'll use Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now Energy Balm (£11 in Boots), which instantly make my skin look more glowing and more radiant. (I reviewed it on my blog recently.) Every day I apply The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream (£10). It's perfect for my skin as I'm not oily everywhere so it adds moisture to areas that need it and mattifies oily areas. It sinks in really quick so I can apply make up straight away. The balanceMe Wonder Eye Cream (£10 normally) actually came free with a Glamour magazine a while back, but I really love how it applies to my skin and leaves my eyes looking much more awake than they actually are!

 

 

At night, I tend to be really lazy with skincare but I'm trying hard to keep to a routine. If I get in late or I'm super tired I'll use the Deep Cleansing Lotion again along with Garnier Soothing Eye Make Up Remover (£2.99 in Boots) - which removes all of my eye make up without irritating my eyes at all -  but I try to use Sanctuary Fresh Faced Purifying Wash (£9.00 in Boots). It removes all traces of make up and leaves my skin feeling super smooth. I then apply Simple Kind To Skin Night Cream (£5.60 in Boots) which sinks in nicely and doesn't overclog my skin. If I have any blemishes I'll apply The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil (£7.00) onto the affected area, and by the morning it's significantly reduced.

 

 

What are your skincare must haves?

 

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Review | Hairy Jayne Handmade Hair Care

Being someone who wants to set up my own business myself, I am always extremely keen to help get those smaller businesses 'out there'. I think it's so important to support smaller businesses no matter what, and I sometimes think you get a much better, personalised service (although there are larger companies that do that too).

Hairy Jayne is a an experienced hairdresser who decided to make her own hair products with her bare hands in her studio not far from where I used to live. She has used hair friendly products to create a simple yet gorgeous hair care range. Care and consideration has gone into the whole process and the bottles and packaging can all be recycled.

Having such wild and unruly hair allows me to try all sorts of products and give them what I believe 'a true test'. My hair will well and truly let me know if it doesn't like something (not through conversation, but simply by doing the complete opposite to what I want it to do) and so many products end up in a box never to be used again.

The Hairy Jayne Perfume with Heat Protection* is something that I will be using all the time. As my hair is so difficult, I only tend to wash it once a week, so I don't often have that 'new, freshly washed hair' (although it isn't dirty, let me clarify). I also use hair straighteners often and so heat protection is a vital part of my routine.

 

The perfume can be applied to freshly washed hair, or can be used in between washes to give your hair a pleasant aroma. I decided to give a true test and waited until Day 6 before using. I was worried it would weigh my hair down, however I needn't worry. The first thing I noticed was the instant gorgeous smell of grapefruit, may chang and jasmine. It is, no word of a lie, the most gorgeous smelling hair product I have ever used. It also left my hair feeling incredibly soft and throughout the day I kept sniffing my hair to find the scent still as strong.

I would really recommend you having a look at her website - you are guaranteed to like the look of something, also if you live in London she also does hairdressing and the information is there as well.

All Ditzy Glamour readers can get 10% off all Hairy Jayne orders with the code BLOG10

*product was sent to me for review

Good Old Fashioned Love.

Valentine's Day is a hit and miss across the world. People, single or in a relationship, either love it or hate it. And boy don't we all tell each other about it. You may sigh when you see that this is yet another lovey-dovey post, but by all means click the cross and read another blog. But I think it's good to share, and I'm the first to admit it's not always blue skies and kisses and cuddles.

Today is Aiden and I's fifth Valentine's Day together. And do you know what? It's been the best one yet. We're past the stage of buying extravagant teddies and huge cards (which still cost a fortune even if you do get them from Card Factory) which don't get me wrong I love, but really it's not worth it. (Neither are balloons, which I've made Aiden promise never to buy me for Valentine's).

We're past the stage of always being (or at least trying to act) perfect. When people first get into a relationship, it's all shaved legs (I don't think Aiden ever saw a hair on my leg for the first year..), perfect skin (cleverly covered by natural 'I just woke up like this' foundation) and uncomfortable yet sexy clothes and underwear.

Now, I won't lie. It's a lot more relaxed now. I have more 'make up free days' than I do 'make up days'. I always change into pyjamas or trackie bums as soon as I walk through the door, and now we live together, I can't avoid going to the toilet while he's in the house. My underwear never matches no matter how hard I try, and my hair looks Worzel Gummage's twin 90% of the time.

But do you know what? He still loves me. He tells me I'm beautiful even on my make up free days, he lends me his tracksuit bottoms, and he tells me my hair looks great

I can pretend I have the most perfect relationship in the world, but I don't. There's days when I would happily hit him round the face with that huge teddy from four years ago, but most of time, he's alright, and I wouldn't change him for the world.

"We are all a little weird, and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."

 

Review | Lee Stafford Dry Shampoo

I have always been the biggest fan of Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment, but never tried any other of his products. For Christmas, I received a travel set, with a shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo and dehumidifer in. They are all the perfect size for travelling with.

The product I was most excited about was the dry shampoo, as I consider dry shampoo to be a life saver. To give it a true test, I left my hair until it was really greasy (for research purposes, not laziness, I promise!) and sprayed it all over my hair.

I was quite shocked at the instant transformation. It looked like my hair had been washed and it really soft. I was quite shocked at how well it had worked, especially considering the state my hair was in before. Usually, if I haven't washed my hair for a while, I have to tie it up to hide the messy state it's in, but after using this dry shampoo I'd happily wear my hair down.

The only downside is that it doesn't have much of a scent and therefore my hair still smelt quite unclean. I'd prefer it if it had a bit of a scent that left my hair smelling fresh as well as feeling it.

What dry shampoo is your favourite?

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Quick Blog Sale | Mac, Bio Oil, Barry M and more.

A very quick blog sale as I still have way too many things in my room and need to make some space. If you want anything just leave a comment or tweet me with your paypal address.

Rules

UK only. (Sorry!)
Postage is £1.50, plus 20p for every additional item.
No returns or refunds I'm afraid.
Any questions, just ask.
Payment via Paypal.

 

Ted Baker Body Wash. Never used. £2.50

Bio Oil 125ml. Usage as shown. £6

Clairol Colourseal Conditioning Gloss for Brunettes. Never used. 50p

Welda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oi. Tried once on hand. £5

 

All used once or twice. All £1 each. (please look online for swatches as the Barry M polishes don't look like their true colour)

Eyeko Indigo Polish, Eyeko Chi Chi Polish, Barry M Spring Green, Barry M Cyan Blue, Models Own, Smash Up Silver, Models Own True Blue.

 

The Body Shop Papaya Lip Butter Never Used (still in wrapping) £1

The Body Shop Hi Shine Lip Treatment. Never Used. £1 each or both for £1.50

 

17 Blusher Brush. Never used. £1

MAC Select Moisturecover NW20. Used once. £8

Miss Sporty Fabulous Lash Mascara. Never used. Free (just pay p+p)

 

Nail polishes all used once or twice (OPI never used) All £1 each.

Please see online for swatches (couldn't get the right lighting for it)

 

Nails Inc Victoria

No7 Betty Blues

No7 Temptress

OPI (no name but it's a shimmery dark purple.)

 

 

25 Facts About Me.

I have absolutely loved reading these on other blogs, and I want my blog to be more personal without revealing too much so I thought this would be an ideal way to do it. I hope you enjoy it!

[New Years Eve 2012]

1. I was born in 1992, making me 21 this June. Can't wait!

2. I'm a Gemini - I definitely have two personalities.

3. I have been with my boyfriend since I was 16.

4. I met my boyfriend online, and it always raises people's eyebrows.

5. I used to live in London, I now live in Hampshire.

6. I am working in my dream job, although I really want to work my way up.

7. I get addicted to things very easily - throw my whole life into it then get bored a few weeks later. A few examples have been The Sims, entering competitions, starting many businesses (never actually got round to it), making soaps and candles (whole box of materials under my bed!).

8. I was anti-Apple products for many years. I now own an iPod, iPhone and iPad. Oops.

9. I worked at a shop on Oxford Street for two years.

10. I want to get a tattoo, but I'm too scared.

11. I have a scar on my right cheek from an operation to remove a cyst when I was 6.

12. Big spaces and small spaces both terrify me.

13. I am obsessed with The Big Bang Theory.

14. I won't buy boxsets of TV shows until they have finished. That's why I only have Only Fools and Horses, Friends, The Inbetweeners, Gavin and Stacey, and Sex and the City. Part of me can't wait for Big Bang to finish.

15. I want to have three children, but only if I can afford it.

16. I can only eat salad if it has Salad Cream on it.

17. I'm 5 ft 7.

18. I've seen Chris Brown, Take That, and The Script live in concert.

19. My first crush was Scott from 5ive. I had a picture of him in a frame and everything.

20. I already have names for my future son's, but have none for future daughters.

21. I hate being late so much that I normally end up being half an hour early.

22. My car is called Joey - he's my little munchkin.

23. I've climbed the Great Wall of China!

24. I speak to my mum and dad every day.

25. My iPad is called Peppa.

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January Favourites

Another month, another set of favourites. This month has really taken a bad toll on my skin. Every winter, I get dry skin around my nose and mouth (which drives me mad as I'm used to having just oily skin) and also my skin looks very dull and grey. So, this month has been mostly trying to brighten my skin and make me feel a bit better about myself.

The first in my favourites is the Soap and Glory Bright Here Bright Now Instant Radiance Energy Balm (what a mouthful). I reviewed it recently and the more I use it, the more I like it. In my review, I wasn't exactly singing it's praises, but I really like the way it makes my skin look and feel so I would definitely recommend it for awakening your skin.

Also, on the radiant list, is Soap and Glory Glow All Out, which is a highlighter that I've had for a while. I apply on my cheekbones, nose and under my eyebrows and sometimes on my forehead and it really gives me a healthy shine that I love. It's perfect for day to day wear, and is buildable for night wear.

As I mentioned, I get dry patches of skin in winter, but I also get really sore dry lips. I've managed to keep it under control using Carmex lip balm which is amazing. I have the Cherry flavour and it smells so so good. This now lives in my handbag and is my reach for lip balm at the moment.

Finally, my favourite make up item has to be Benefit Bad Gal Liner. I was lucky enough to win this in a twitter competition and I really love how it applies. It gives a very dark line, which I love as normally I have to use liquid eyeliner to get the darkness I want. It also smudges really easily so it's perfect for a smokey eye look.

Link your favourites posts below so I can have a read!

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