Huge Collective September Haul

Ooops. My spending ban failed. 

Here are the many, many items that slipped through the net....

Haul posts are actually my favourite posts to read, along with mini reviews such as monthly favourites and empties, but I know that they may not be to everybody's preference. So, instead of boring my readers and overloading everybody's dashboards with first an Avon haul, then a Superdrug haul, then a Topshop one, then an Asos one, then an eBay and miscellaneous one, etc etc, I thought I would combine them all into one quite lengthy collective haul.

Avon
Yesterday's haul post was all about the bits and bobs that I ordered from my new Avon representative a few weeks ago. They were an absolute bargain and I got 8 products for less than £15! If you want to see in more detail which bits I picked up then you can see the full post here: link.

Superdrug
When I arrived back at uni at the start of this month ready for a fortnight of 'freshers' antics, I realised that one of the things I had forgotten to pack up in my make-up etc was false eyelashes! For me, these are a must have for a night out to complete the glamorous look. I'd heard that Superdrug were having a 3 for £10 deal on Eyelure lashes but when I got there this offer was nowhere to be seen and must have finished. What I did find instead was this packet of 116's with a free extra pair inside. These cost £5.25 and I got 10% student discount too.

Topshop

A few weeks ago Topshop had free delivery on all orders to celebrate London Fashion Week and being a student who gets 10% off too, it was too hard to resist putting in an order. I was very well restrained with my order and all I wanted was a top that I'd had my eye on for a while and wanted to wear to a 21st party at the weekend paired with a maxi skirt. I got this black, printed cross cropped top* which costs £12.00 and by Topshop's prices that's pretty reasonable. The quality is very good and it's a flattering fit too. I like it because it's pretty basic so can be worn on a casual day, e.g. to lectures with a pair of jeans or can be glammed up and worn on a night out. I actually ended up being too ill to attend the 21st party at the weekend so instead I am planning on wearing this top on an upcoming night out in Manchester - stay tuned for an OOTN! I also got a pair of skeleton socks* for £3.50 because they're different, a bit quirky and I thought they'd be fun for Halloween. Topshop also threw me in some freebies of their magazine and a tote bag - thanks guys. 

ASOS

I'm such a sucker for an ASOS order on a rainy day. I can always rely on their reliable service, speedy free delivery, hassle free returns, reasonable prices and not to mention the student discount. It's the student discount that gets me everrrry time! For a limited time (48hours I think it was) ASOS were holding 25% student discount on everything on their site. I managed to ignore the temptation for this 48 hours but then fell into the trap when the discount was extended for an extra day and I placed an order. Only a little one though so that makes it okay. I only got 3 things and they had all been in my 'save for later' list for quite a long time. I got a holdall bag* to use when travelling between university and home and for any long weekend trips that I might take in the future. It's plenty big enough to hold everything that I need; good sturdy quality; nice and basic with plenty of pockets and compartments; and best of all it's pink and girly. This costs £17.50 in the sale reduced from £35 (link). I got two basic clothing items that can be worn again and again in different ways: a coral strapless skater dress* reduced to £8 from £14 in their sale (link) and a grey long sleeved crop jumper* that cost £15. 

TK Maxx

You can see my post from a few days ago here (link) of a couple of hair and nails bits and pieces that I found amongst the mess of TK Maxx. I've already talked quite a bit about them in the post that I did on them so won't talk about them again here!

eBay

I ordered three things from eBay this month, one of them (my favourite) I am still waiting to arrive and was warned that it can take up to 25 working days(!) to arrive as it is coming all the way from China. The other two are both related to nail art and will feature in upcoming nail posts when I have experimented with them. I've seen sets of nail art dotting tools on a few blogs before and can be used to create multiple effects on the nails - I ordered mine from this seller here (link) for just £1.18. I also just got a little pack of nail stickers to try out, nothing mind-blowing though - I ordered mine from this seller here (link) for 99p.

Miscellaneous 

Wilkinsons - Again, something that I have already done a post on this month was some cheap and cheerful 'home decor' bits that I got from Wilkinsons to perk up my uni bedroom and wrote a post called 'Make A House A Home'. What I didn't mention in this post though was a pair of concealers that I got myself from their beauty section. I got the coveted Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer as I have never tried it before and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I've thrown away the receipt now but I think this cost £4.19 and I definitely understand the hype now that I've tried it! Super easy application and extremely high coverage that lasts nearly all day for a bargain price - love it. I also got the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer as my beloved YSL Touche Eclat is coming to a finish and I need to find myself a cheaper dupe so thought I'd start with this. I've been using this for a few days as an under-eye brightening concealer and so far so good. This cost £6.98.

Nouveau Beauty - As I have a huge girl crush on Millie Mackintosh I decided I would try out some of her false eyelashes that she has recently released. I got the thickest and fullest of the 8 pairs and they're called Shoreditch. You can order them yourself here (link) for £8.95 each with free delivery, or you can see my full post on them here (link).

Pure Naturals - I saw this Healing Scars Face Scrub* on somebody's else blog after they had been sent it and reviewed it. I wrote down the blog that I saw it on to give some credit for influencing my life but when I went searching for it again to link the post it was no where to be seen! Not sure what happened there. But anyway, I read a glowing review on how this all natural face scrub helps to fade away scarring and also speed up the healing process of damaged skin. I like the sound of it containing all natural ingredients and I have scarring on my face so I was up for giving this a try. Pure Naturals has all sorts of natural products on their site to help with body, hair and face problems such as acne, eczema and psoriasis as well as scarring, so if you're troubled with any of these then maybe it's a site worth checking out. My scrub cost £6.95 and you can find it here: (link).

 

I think that's everything!

There might be something that I have forgotten to include but I think that this post is long enough.

Nobody let me buy anything else now!!

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*I know that some people are against bloggers using stock photos instead of their own, but I've lost my lead to connect to my laptop so could not upload my own pictures, sorry. I've marked items with stock photos used with (*) and they are all pictures taken from the website that I ordered from.

Instagram Diary | September ♥

Instagram pictures from September.

Username: Hannahripley1

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♥ New hot tub being delivered ♥ Hot tub ♥ Nail art

♥ KGs that I would LOVE to own ♥ The Dark Knight Rises ♥ 3 for 2 on Soap & Glory

♥ OPI Nails ♥ Mini kitchen bits for uni ♥ Yankee candles

♥ Eyelure lashes ♥ Dominos feast ♥ Bank holiday weekend outfit

♥ Arcadia gift card ♥ Payday! ♥ Bracelets from Zante

♥ PLL and cake ♥ September SheSaid Beauty Box ♥ Nus card

♥ Dying my hair ♥ Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary ♥ Lush bubble bar

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What's In My Shower | September

I wrote this post at the very beginning of September while I was still at home sweet home and in between packing all my stuff up to move back to uni and I forgot that it failed to post and it's been sitting as a 'draft' for quite a number of weeks now. So I thought that I may as well re-post this now..

These are just random little posts that I love to have a nosy at and maybe you're interested too? I find that the products in my shower never stay the same for long which is why I've named this as a 'September' edition, as by next month there will probably a whole array of new things in there.

For my hair my daily shampoo and conditioner are the Aussie Miracle Moist duo which I find really great for regular washing as they make my hair soft and shiny, don't strip it of colour and don't weigh it down either - plus like all Aussie products they smell absolutely gorgeous! As my hair has been subject to years of dyeing and recently bleaching to create the 'ombre' effect, not to mention the heat abuse it is regularly put through, my hair does need the occasional bit of TLC which is why I have a couple of masks in there which I rotate between. The Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment Mask mainly focuses on improving the condition of your roots to encourage better growth and the L'Oreal Elvive Full Restore 5 is an intensive conditioning mask focusing on the limp mid-lengths and ends. I also have a 58ml tube of Clairol ColourSeal Intensive Conditioning Creme left over as I have recently coloured my hair and this is supposed to replace your ordinary conditioner once a week for 6 weeks in order to keep your new colour looking fresher for longer. 

For my body I have this Next Just Pink Body Wash that was received as part of a gift set for Christmas along with the matching perfume and body lotion. It doesn't have a very strong scent, it's quite light and girly but lathers up nicely and does the job of keeping me clean and fresh - Just something that was sat in a cupboard and needed using up really. I also use the Lush Jilted Elf Shower Jelly occasionally (this was another Christmas gift!), and although it is seasonal it is still a fun product to use as how often do you get to scoop glittery green jelly out of a tub and rub it all over your body? Apparently this stimulating jelly is good for helping to shift a hangover so I tend to use this on the days I'm not feeling my best; either due to too many cocktails the night before or just a little bit under the weather. Next up, everybody needs a body scrub to exfoliate those dead skin cells and the remains of patchy fake tan, so I'm currently using N-Spa Lemon Souffle which surprise surprise.. I got for Christmas! Last time I was in ASDA I noticed that N-Spa have actually repackaged their products at some point and I don't think the new packaging looks as nice as this one. This scrub has a super citrus-y scent and has a real wake-me-up vibe to it. I absolutely love it and as it's nearly finished I need to look and see if I can repurchase it and hopefully it will be just the same now but in a different bottle. 

I have a Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser in my shower too as I like to cleanse my face while I'm in there too for extra cleanliness. This is supposed to be 'complexion clearing' as it contains salicylic acid and is oil free, but I didn't find it all that effective on me, but it works well enough for a quick wash in the shower as the pump dispenser makes it super easy to use with wet hands. 

For after I get out of the shower I have a bottle of Redken Anti-Snap Leave In Treatment waiting for me on the side to run through the ends of my hair after towel drying. I use this treatment after every wash and I have definitely seen noticeable improvement in the condition of my hair - look out for an in depth review to come!

So that's it. That is 'What's In My Shower'. It's nothing too exciting and it's not extremely cluttered either. Just your basic shampoo, conditioner, deep treatment, scrub, wash and cleanser!

What's in your shower?

♥

SheSaid Beauty Box | September 2012

I feel quite delayed in posting this as I received my box over a week ago, but anyway, I'm not 100% sure whether September's SheSaid Beauty is the 4th or the 5th one that I have received from them but I can hands down say that it has been my absolute favourite. None of the products inside were dramatically disappointing as some in the past have been completely and utterly naff, plus it contained 4 full sized products with the total price of the products inside the box coming to at least £17. When you're paying just £9(+p&p) for the box (I actually have been paying £4.50 as I got a 50% off deal on a 6-month subscription), you can see how they work out as being good value for money - you're definitely not being ripped off by them.

Anyway, enough rambling and onto the products inside the box and what I thought of them:

1) Ginvera Green Tea Whitening Marvel Gel
In the box we received a 10ml sample size tube and the full size 60ml tube costs £22.00 so this product isn't exactly on the cheap side. I read so many glowing reviews on this product and I too have fallen for it and am considering buying the full size at some point. It is basically a gentle facial exfoliater that 'helps remove deep layers of dead skin'. It came with a leaflet explaining all the active ingredients, how they work, directions for use and the expected results including refining pores, balancing oil secretion and evening out skin tone - claims that many products make but I feel that even after just 4 uses from my sample size that I can see evidence of these results and feel it could perhaps be my new wonder product.

2) Collection (2000) Primed & Ready
A bit of confusion as to why if Collection 2000 rebranded themselves and dropped the '2000' from their name they are still releasing products labelled 'Collection 2000'? This full size 18ml primer costs £5.99 and feel very silicone-y on the face, something I try to avoid as I am convinced that these block up my pores and break me out. I used this once on just a regular day and didn't feel like it made my make-up last any longer through the day or didn't really make that much of a difference when applying.

3) Collection (2000) Fix Me Up
Another Collection/Collection 2000 product - I've never had two products from the same brand in one box before. But this full size 18ml spray bottle also costs £5.99 and although I don't think that SheSaid ever makes any promises that their samples will be 'luxurious', I do feel that this brand and their products have a very cheap feel to them, especially with the new packaging. This misting spay is supposed to make your make-up last for longer when you apply it over the top of a completed face. Do  I think that this worked? Erm.. I couldn't see any noticable improvements to how well my make-up lasted unfortunately. It really did just feel like spritzing water.

4) DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
I'll be honest and say that I haven't trialled this product just yet as I've finally found a skincare routine that works perfectly for me and I don't want to go mixing it up too much. In our boxes we received a 30ml sized bottle which costs £3.50 which I think is quite reasonable after all the good things I have heard about this from other people's reviews. Also available are 70ml bottles and 200ml bottles for £9.50 and £18.50 and SheSaid offers an exclusive £5 discount code on this product at www.dhcuk.co.uk/dhc/shesaidbeauty. This is an oil cleanser and these seem to be incredibly popular at the moment and they apparently 'dissolve' the make up from your face and then rinses away to reveal a fresh and non-greasy clean skin. I cannot wait to try this out really because I really like the sound of it.

5) Amie Spring Clean Cooling Clay Mask
This 15ml sachet costs £1.50 but the full size 75ml can also be bought for £4.49. This is a brand that I have never heard of before but I do love a good clay mask as a Sunday treat! This claims to help draw out dirt and impurities while soaking up excess oil to help prevent blemishes which sounds like everything you could want from a clay mask. I put this on and there was more than enough to cover my whole face but after about 5 minutes I did start to get a little tingling feeling in my face, kind of like a stinging feeling, so I washed it off and my face was bright red! After a few minutes this faded away and I went back to a normal colour but I did have quite fresh and bright looking skin. Did anyone else feel like they were allergic to it when they used it? Or is that just me?!

6) Popchips Barbeque
A little bonus in the box- bit random putting food in a beauty box isn't it? But nothing wrong with a little treat and as these are not baked and not fried and only 46 calories a bag then they're supposed to be healthier and guilt free compared to your regular crisps. These were pretty tasty and I enjoyed them as a snack but don't think they'll be something I'll rush out again to buy in the future. 23g bag costs £0.79 and an 85g bag costs £1.89.

All in all, I LOVED the Ginvera gel, wasn't impressed with the two Collection products although I felt that they had potential and they excited me when I opened up my box, the DHC oil cleanser is something I'm very excited to try out, the Amie clay mask left my skin bright and clear and definitely oil free even if I did only leave it on for 5 minutes and the Popchips were a yummy bonus!

I also wanted to make a little point of saying that I noticed that the new box is now slightly smaller and has changed colour too. I store things inside these boxes and stack them up and when I put this new one of the top of the pile I couldn't help but notice the differences.

Left: September box, Right: August box

If you like the look of this box and fancy subscribing for your own at £9(+p&p) per month

then you can click my referral link before to sign up!

https://www.shesaidbeauty.com/invite/JKWWS
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