Haul! Thierry Mugler, Retinol-X, L’Oréal, T-Zone, Derma V10, Primark, Astor, Nature Love, Bling Pop, Manhattan Cosmetics, Precision Beauty, Asda & Daily Defense

Hi there! I haven’t done a haul post since May, so let me tell you what I bought since then. 🙂

1 T-Zone Rose Gold Peel Off Mask – I don’t know how much this was, but I picked it up at B&M Bargains. So it’s fair to assume it was dirt cheap!
2 Thierry Mugler Alien Flora Futura – this was on sale, £25 only!

3 Derma V10 konjac sponges – these were 99p each, and I bought 3.

4 Primark PS… Face Masks – I bought a number of Primark face masks. I think I bought about 20. Most of them were 80p.

5 L’Oréal Elvive Dream Lengths Restoring Shampoo & Detangling Conditioner – these are the big 400ml bottles, and they were £2.25 each.

6 Bling Pop Firming & Brightening Face Mask with Peach – pack of 10 for £5.99.
7 Nature Love Charcoal Face Mask – pack of 5 for £4.99.

8 Retinol-X Anti Aging Sheet Mask – pack of 5 for £4.99.
9 Precision Beauty Charcoal Face Mask – pack of 5 for £4.99.

10 Derma V10 Mango Body Butter – this was 99p for a regular 220ml tub.

11 Manhattan Nail Polishes – blue and red. 99p each.
12 Astor Heidi Klum Lipstick – brownish nude colour, £1.75.

12 Daily Defense Pomegranate Shampoo & Conditioner – these are 473ml bottles, and they were £1.25 each!

And I bought 2 more duvet cover sets from Asda. The one on the left was £14, the one on the right was £7 (half price offer, but it’s back to £14 now for the king size).

I’m really pleased with what I bought. I know I picked up a lot of face masks, but everything else is quite reasonable! What have you bought recently? Have you tried any of the products I bought? Would you like to try any of these products? Feel free to comment. And thanks for reading! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Haul! New Products – Primark, Poundworld, Poundland, Boots, Wilko, Home Bargains, M&S

Hi there! I’ve done a little shopping this month. I haven’t gone nuts, I promise. But I picked up quite a few bargains. So let me show you what I bought!

I bought 4 PS… Facial Cleansing Sponge duo packs. That’s 8 sponges for £4. The reason I stocked up is because I’ve been using one of these sponges for a few weeks now – and I love it! I also bought 2 more PS… Konjac Sponges. That’s £3 for 2 konjac sponges.

It appears that Superdrug has given up on selling reasonably priced konjac sponges which is their loss, really. They also discontinued a few other fantastic products, so I haven’t done much Superdrug shopping lately. So yeah, it really is their loss! Anyhoo, those PS… sponges are from Primark!

I don’t think I’ve ever left my local Poundworld store empty-handed. Poundworld and Bargain Buys (which is part of the Poundworld family) have awesome nail products. I bought a cute Nails Inc. glitter topper (RRP £13), a Revlon Base Coat (RRP £6.49) and a J Lo exclusive collection L’Oréal polish (RRP £4.99). I paid £1 per polish – that’s £3 in total for these 3 polishes.

I picked up 4 new Montagne Jeunesse masks – Relaxing Spa Mud Mask, Candyfloss Scrub, Sea Splash Peel Off and Blueberry Blast Mud Masque. These masks seem to be exclusive to Primark, and they were 90p each. This adds up to £3.60 for 4 face masks.

Sukin’s Purifying Facial Masque is normally £11.95 at Boots. Thanks to a Save 1/3 offer it was £7.97. However, I didn’t spend any money, I paid with points!

I picked up 3 more Montagne Jeunesse face masks (they’re £1 each at Boots). However, these were on a 3 for 2 promotion, so I paid £2 (I paid with points for these products as well!) for these 3 face masks. I also went to Poundland where I found this Imperial Leather Foamy Banana shower cream – I paid £1 for it.

I bought these 10 Essence Colour Boost nail polishes – these are supposed to be one-coaters, so I bought them all to find out if they stamp on a black base. Well, if they stamp, they’re the cheapest quality stamping polishes out there (£1.80 each). If they don’t stamp, they don’t.

I got myself 2 more Essence Out Of Space Stories nail polishes (£2 each) and 4 Essence Glamaxy top coats (£2 each). Why 4? This is a flakie topper! All in all, I paid £30 for these 16 Essence nail polishes.

When I went to Home Bargains the other day I picked up 3 promising products. Creightons Charcoal Deep Cleansing Scrub and Creightons Charcoal Detoxifying Clay Mask were 79p each, I believe (sorry, I lost the receipt). I also picked up a strawberry-flavoured kids’ toothpaste. Yes, I bought it because of the Twilight Sparkle image!

Then I went to a different Primark store where I picked up a My Little Pony Lip Balm duo for £1.50, a My Little Pony Body Mist (100ml) for £2, and another Montagne Jeunesse Sunburst Sauna mask. On the way back home I swung by Marks & Spencer – and I bought a 100ml Monotheme Il Libro Degli Agrumi Pompelmo fragrance for £22.

Have you tried any of these products? Have you done any shopping recently? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – February 2017

Hi there! It’s the 1st of the month – so it’s time for last month’s empties. In February I threw out a konjac sponge and a nail buffer, and I used several face masks. I didn’t keep the beaten-up beauty tools or the empty face mask sachets – this kind of stuff gets thrown in the bin right away. Now, let’s get to the ‘real’ empties!

1 Laura Biagiotti Venezia – I can’t believe it’s gone! Venezia is one of the most gorgeous fragrances from the 90s. It’s strong, powerful, warm, sensual and multi-dimensional. I’m sad I can’t repurchase it, but I’m glad that it didn’t turn whilst it’s been sitting in my stash for all those years. To sum it up – I’m happy that I had the chance to enjoy this fragrance!

2 Boots Extracts Luscious Vanilla Body Spray – this body spray smells exactly like the one and only Boots Extracts Vanilla Body Butter. So yes, this body spray smells wonderful! I’ll review this one properly – very soon! Oh, and I have two back-up bottles – another small 70ml bottle and a full-size 150ml bottle.

3 Dolly’s Mixtures Peach Melba ‘Just Peachy’ Body Mist – a decent body mist. Nothing special though. I won’t repurchase it, but if you like the scent of peaches and peach skin, give this one a try.

4 Boots Extracts Olive Body Butter – one of my favourite Boots Extracts body butters. Unfortunately this body butter has been discontinued. But I have a few tubs left! 🙂

5 Superdrug Tea Tree Skin Care Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash – a decent face wash. I really liked it in the beginning but I grew tired of it because it took me ages to finish it. I might repurchase this product in the future. However, I’ve got lots of other face washes to go through, so I won’t be repurchasing this one any time soon.

6 Herbal Essences Moisture Balance Conditioner – this conditioner is the best thing ever! If you’ve never used the original Herbal Essences products, you have no idea what you’ve been missing out on. Buy this conditioner – and the matching shampoo. And buy the pink versions (Herbal Essences Classics Silk N’ Shine) as well. The shampoos are clarifying, and the conditioners give your hair tons of moisture without making your hair feel heavy or greasy. 100% Awesome!

7 Radox Relax Bath Gel – I really like this one. The lavender and waterlily fragrance is wonderful. I’ll buy this bath gel again, no doubt.

8 NSPA Caramel Chocolate Shower & Bath Gel – this shower gel has been one of my favourites this winter. It was a limited Christmas edition and I hope that NSPA will relaunch it (together with the one and only NSPA Caramel Fudge shower gel) this autumn. Fingers crossed!

9 Boots Mediterranean Bergamot Olive & Orange Body Butter – this is a nice body butter. Rich and hydrating – but not sticky. Too bad Boots discontinued their Mediterranean collection. Otherwise I’d probably repurchase this body butter!

10 Max Factor Pan Stik (2) – I almost despaired when I realised that I’ve been using 6 Max Factor Pan Stik foundations at the same time. However, I managed to prioritise the near-empty ones – this means that I finished 2 Pan Stiks this month! The Pan Stik is also my Holy Grail foundation and I would recommend it to everyone with dry skin. I will repurchase this product, no doubt. However, in addition to the other 4 Pan Stiks I’m currently using, I think I have at least 6 unused Pan Stiks in my stash. So I don’t need to buy foundation any time soon.

11 Radox Mango Mayhem Shower Gel – this is a fantastic shower gel. The mango fragrance is just lovely – it’s almost as good as the Boots Extracts Mango fragrance! Repurchase? Yes!

12 Imperial Leather Effortless Rich Moisturising Body Wash – this one smells great. One of the best shower gels I’ve ever had. Ever! Repurchase? No doubt!

13 Nivea Q10 Firming Body Lotion – I really liked this body lotion. It’s not the richest formula, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing – especially when you’re in a hurry. I will definitely repurchase this body lotion!

This is it for this month. I think I did quite well! I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to finish the Imperial Leather shower gel, but I did it! Success! I hope I’ll be able to finish just as many (or more) products next month. Wish me luck! 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Weekly Recap 28 Nov – 4 Dec 2016

Hi there! And welcome to this week’s recap. If you’ve missed any of the posts, this short summary will bring you up to speed. 🙂

Monday 28 Nov – Barry M Eyeshadows 4 & 6

On Monday I told you what I thought of the two Barry M Eyeshadows I picked up for £1. If you’ve missed the post, click here to read it.

Tuesday 29 Nov – Superdrug Flutter Lip Balm

Tuesday’s post was about this cute Flutter Lip Balm from Superdrug. If you’ve missed the post, you can read it here.

Wednesday 30 Nov – November Beauty Awards

Wednesday’s post was about my favourite products from last month. I loved my new konjac sponge the most, but there were 5 more awesome products that I just had to write about. You can read my Monthly Favourites post here.

Thursday 1 Dec – November Empties

On Thursday I showed you all the products I emptied in November. I emptied hair and shower products, moisturisers, a fragrance… and I even got rid of a few travel-sized products. Yay! Click here to see everything I’ve used up in November.

Friday 2 Dec – Christmas Manicure Ideas

Friday’s post was about a few easy nail ideas for Christmas. If you’ve missed it, click here to read it.

I hope you liked this quick recap. 🙂 And I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend. Feel free to get in touch if you want to. And thanks for stopping by!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

November Beauty Awards

Hi there! It’s the last day of the month, so it’s time for my monthly favourites post. This post is a bit awkward because the top 3 products are all from Superdrug! Well, the reason is that I’ve simply tried lots of Superdrug products recently. But I’ll definitely do a few Boots products reviews next month, I promise! But let’s get to the favourites now!

3rd place – Superdrug Vitamin E Skin Care Intensive All Over Body Cream

Whilst I prefer body creams that are a little less rich, I still think Superdrug’s Vitamin E Intensive All Over Body Cream is really good. It smells extremely nice (you’d think it’s a high-end product!) and it’s very nourishing. I’ll be using it a lot this winter!

Runner-Up – Superdrug Clearly Youthful Resurfacing Night Serum 

I’ve been using Superdrug’s Clearly Youthful Resurfacing Night Serum for a few months now – and I think it’s great. It’s made quite a difference to my skin, and I’ve already repurchased it.

WINNER – Superdrug Dehydrated Facial Konjac Sponge

I loooooove my konjac sponge. I never want to be without a konjac sponge again. If you’ve never used a konjac sponge, you really need to change that! Thank you Stashy and Kathy for making me curious about konjac sponges!

Now on to the honourable mentions! I really like Superdrug’s Vitamin E Eye Cream and Superdrug’s Flutter Lip Balm. And I’m impressed with Burt’s Bees Calla Lily Tinted Lip Balm.

This is it for this month! Feel free to let me know what you think of my favourites. Have you tried any of these products? Would you like to try any of them? And which products did you enjoy this month? Get in touch if you want to. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

You Need This In Your Life – Superdrug Dehydrated Facial Konjac Sponge

Hi there! Today’s post is about my new favourite beauty accessory – Superdrug’s Dehydrated Facial Konjac Sponge. I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never used a konjac sponge before. I know they’ve been around for a while, but over the past couple of weeks I’ve read several blog posts in which fellow bloggers mentioned how much they loved their konjac sponges – and all of a sudden I wanted one! 🙂

And now I have my konjac sponge! Well, I bought 3 sponges – but there was a 3 for 2 offer. OK, let’s get to the product. This konjac sponge is made from pure vegetable fibres – I’m assuming it would be suitable for vegans. The sponge is dehydrated, so it has to be soaked in water for a few minutes before it can be used for the first time. But this is a one-time-thing, and from then on all you need to do is rinse the sponge under the tab for a few seconds – and it will be ready for use.

And what does the sponge do? This konjac sponge promises to exfoliate and to cleanse skin, and to improve circulation for clear and soft skin. And does it work? Yes, absolutely! All you have to do is use the sponge on your face – the same way you’d use any other sponge, flannel or washcloth.

Does it work with cleansing products? Yes. You can apply a drop of cleansing milk or face wash (or whatever you use to remove your make-up or to cleanse your face) to the moist sponge. Just rub it all over your face and you’ll see that it removes make-up, dirt and dead skin cells very well. Your skin will look and feel soft and clear. Awesome stuff!

Another good thing is that konjac sponges are gentle enough for daily use. Whilst harsh scrubs can damage skin, konjac sponges are perfectly suitable for dry, sensitive and flaky skin. And even people with rosacea can use them – because apparently they don’t irritate skin – at least that’s what a dermatologist told Allure magazine (I refer to this article). Personally, I believe these sponges are perfect for every day use – and I’ve made them part of my cleansing routine.

More good stuff: Konjac sponges are all natural, so when they fall apart you can compost them. 🙂 I’ll continue to use Superdrug’s konjac sponges – they’re £1.99 each, so they’re much better value than the “cheap” ones you can find on that auction web site or that online marketplace. 😉

Feel free to let me know what you think of konjac sponges. Do you love them too? For how long have you been using them? Or if you’ve never used konjac sponges before, will you give them a try? Please let me know your thoughts. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde