March Empties

Hello ladies, I hope you are all well and have had an amazing Easter? Easter has been lovely spending it with my family, Bethany did get an awful lot of chocolate and i felt obliged to help her out a little with eating the chocolate :)
I'm going to do an empties post for you and i will be brutally honest in my opinions as ever and I hope you enjoy :)

The Arrid extra dry deodorant is OK but I would not buy again as it leaves too much white residue behind.
The Radox deodorant Is rubbish, it doesn't keep you protected for longer than a couple of hours at a time which is not great.
Avon room and linen spray I would definitely buy again (I already have a few spares dotted about my house) as they are just lovely and last such a long time.
Avon anti dandruff shampoo is ok for the price and I would buy again.
So body spray is lovely and I kept it in my bag to refresh myself throughout the day while using the Radox. I would buy again.
Oil of Olay anti ageing toner is dreadful, it dried out my skin so much that i felt as though i looked like a dried up prune. It stung my face so much that it took over an hour for the redness to subside. I would not buy again.
Garnier Fructis conditioner is just OK, it wasn't amazing and it wasn't rubbish. I just wouldn't buy it again.
Wilkinson's everyday facial wipes are amazing and cost only 30p. I have a drawer full of these bad boys and i buy more whenever im in wilkinsons. nHighly recommend.
The eyeshadow pen doesnt have a brand but it is rubbish and I wouldnt buy again.
The skin doctors eye tuck stung my eyes so i wouldn't recommend for use on your eyes. I do have highly sensitive eyes though so could work for you.
Bodyshops Aloe soothing day cream is lovely. It soothes and hydrates my skin from the second I put it on. I would buy again (in fact I already have). Amazing.
Sparkle shower gel is something i gave to my 4 year old as she loves anything like that.
Next shower gel is for men and my husband says its very nice, which means he would buy it again lol.
Avon hair mask is lovely and I would buy again. x

I hope you have enjoyed looking into my empties basket and has given yu an idea of what to avoid. Anyway, until the next time, have fun and don't do anything that I wouldn't do.


WENDY
XXXXXXX

Small Elf haul

   

      Hello you gorgeous girls, I hope you are all well?

I haven't been on for a little while as I've been having a bit of a hard time in my private life but I am back now to do a good few posts. I hope you enjoy them as much as I love to do them.

I will get on with this small haul and tell you my brief impressions of them and as I go, I will do a full review in the next week or two of the items after a thorough use of all products.

I bought 4 jumbo eyeshadow pens in the shades from left to right: Little Miss Thing, Rock Out, Turkish coffee and Forest Nymph. The mascara in black/brown and the HD blusher in Superstar.

I haven't taken pictures of Forest nymph and Rock it because they are for someone else and I had already packed them away. I'm sorry about that but trust me when I say they are exactly as the shades in the pic above.

My opinions so far of the eyeshadow sticks are that they are very pigmented, I have tried them today without eyeshadow primer and they are still there so far after a couple of hours.

The HD blusher really is super pigmented and you genuinely don't need a lot to use it as a blusher. I haven't tried the mascara before, so I am looking forward to trying that out and comparing it to the studio line waterproof mascara which I must admit, I do love so it has a bit of a hard job to impress me.

Anyway, I will do a full review after giving all of the above a blooming good trying out with primer, without primers and will try them out over the next 7 days straight (all except the mascara as I have a little left of the studio one and a  month before it gets to the 3 month cut off period, so I will do a review of that shortly).

So for now, that is all for this post, I hope you have enjoyed it and I will be as honest as I always can just so you can make a judgement for yourself to see if it is something that you would want to try for yourself or save yourself a bit of money and go for something else. Be safe and don't do anything I would do.

Lots of love

 Wendy

  xxx

Christmas box swap with Aimee

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well?

A gorgeous girl called Aimee (one of our fabulous Secret Beauty Junkies) came to stay at mine for a few days and she brought my Christmas swap box with her. She received the one I sent her in time for Christmas but this gorgeous girl is a nurse and is always working. I would have made this post a little earlier but one of the presents was slow in coming as she bought it straight from Debenhams and it only arrived this morning. To say I'm shocked and amazed at what she got me is an understatement to be fair as you will see when you see the pictures!

Are you as surprised as me? I was screaming like a little girl at Christmas! It is completely gobsmacking. I just don't really know what to say other than thank you so much Aimee, this means so much and you are always welcome at mine.

Meeting up!

 Hiya everyone, sorry I haven't been around for a while but sadly my laptop has given up the ghost and finally died. So I am literally trying to learn how to use the new laptop and it's a little annoying as it is completely different to how the last one worked, but hey ho let's crack on shall we?

I had a little meet up in Liverpool with one of the gorgeous Secret Beauty Junkies girlies, Aimee Alicia. Aimee stayed at my house for a few days and we did some serious damage to our bank balances. I must admit that we got some amazing bargains too and I hope you enjoy what you see. We visited a good few of the shops and I will show you what I bought, and let you in on the bargains hehehe. We visited a couple of charity shops too.

First off we visited a couple of charity shops and got some lovely things including four pillows for 50p each. The two Superdrug Vitamin E gift sets were literally £1 each, the Avon mask was 50p, and the Chilli Pepper gift set was £1.50.

All of the items in the photograph below were from Home Bargains: the Nivea gift sets were £1.99 each; the nail polish remover was 69p; the BB cream was £1.99; the cucumber eye patches were 79p; and the mints were also 79p.

 

 All of the above were from either a Pound shop or a 99p shop.
Below is my MUA haul - waterproof mascara which was £1 and the lip stain was £2. Frankly the lip stain is fantastic, if not better than the higher end items. Highly recommended.

 These are what I bought for my daughter from Primark or as some people like to call it "Primarni" just to make it sound a little more posh (which I don't understand myself but hey ho that's just me).

And above is what I bought myself from "Primarni" and I adore them. The boots were £5 as was the top but the sizing is a little off on the waist but fits amazing everywhere else. The eyelash curlers £1 and are the best I've ever had and the usual cosmetic pads. I also bought a couple of their leggings for £3 which is a fantastic price; you can't complain about that price!

All in all, everything I bought I absolutely adored and I am looking forward to our next meeting as Aimee is a lovely woman and myself and my husband have decided to adopt her hehehe. My daughter absolutely adored her and would not leave her side. If nothing else comes of my little foray into facebook page owning, and blogging doesn't come to anything, at least I can say I have gained a good few amazing friends and a new beautiful daughter. 

In my next update I will show you all the Christmas present that Aimee bought me - Lancôme, Mac, Urban Decay, OPI, Revlon, Mua, Max Factor. I will tell you this, I am one lucky lady. 

Until the next time, be safe and be happy,

 

Wendy xxx

Celebration of life

mum on holiday in Blackpool

I wanted to use this post as a celebration of my mum's life. My mum sadly past away on the 24th November 2012 and was 67.

mum and Bethany her granddaughter

Before she passed away my mum wished to be cremated and for her ashes to be scattered in New Brighton as it was one of her favourite places, one she remembered from childhood and where she brought us as children. I bring my daughter here as often as I can and it is a wonderful place for creating happy memories.

When we found out that she had passed and and were sorting out arrangements for her funeral, as a family we decided that it would be apt for her ashes to be scattered on her birthday 5th January when she would have been 68.

Mum would take us camping to Towyn in North Wales every year when we were children. We still go camping as adults all thanks to mum's love of the outdoors. A memory I hold dear is when my younger brother Geoff went missing and we were all looking for him for a good few hours. The daft begger was in the caravan next door having a full English hehehe. (Maybe not as daft as he sounds). My mum also took us Morris dancing and because of this we got to travel all over the country and meet a wide variety of people, sane, insane and just plain loopy and yes one of them was my mum, she was very, very quirky.

me and mum in Blackpool 2011

Mums dog Charlie who has lived with me for nearly 5 years from the last time she had a stroke

I did have a love hate relationship with my mum and we fell out constantly but we always knew that if we needed each other we would be there for one another.

New Brighton beach

It has been raining all week heavily and today 5th January 2013, the sun was out and cracking the flags. How very apt; and my mum would have been made up. It went well and mum got her wish to be in New Brighton but please tread carefully on the beach and the surrounding areas because you could be taking a little piece of my mum with you where ever you go.

The lighthouse on the beach

As expected, the day was very emotional but my mum got to see all of her children together for the first time in over 10 years (even if she was just there in spirit).
Also there were three of her grand children and her sister who is amazing herself :)

Where we scattered mums ashes in the sea.

It was a personal day but I wanted to show that each of the ladies on our blog are completely different and yet we have found each other through the love of all things beauty and bargainous. I hope that you are all as lucky as myself to call these ladies friends.  Until the next time, be safe and have fun.
Wendy xxx

Review of Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation

I have very awkward skin that is dry and sensitive and I struggle to find the right balance of skincare and foundation. However, I have been trying out the Chanel Perfection Lumiere foundation.
I managed to acquire a sample from the Elle magazine subscription that I recently signed up to. The sample lasted me for two days and the first time I put it on I was completely amazed at how different I looked. I looked flawless and glowing. It is expensive at £36 which is completely out of my foundation budget, but I loved it so much that I am thinking I might save up a couple of pounds each and every month for a while.

The foundation application is so smooth and blends so easily it is literally almost dreamlike, covering as lightly or as heavily as you need it. I put it on lightly and dabbed a little extra on a couple of spots which meant I literally had no need for concealer. As a busy mum I really appreciate the fact that this gives me a lot less hassle. I had shade 30 beige and it was the perfect match for my skin tone as I have a yellow under tone to my skin. It didn't dry out or clog my pores and it moisturised my skin as well. I put on the foundation at 7am and I still have it on as I am writing at 7 43pm, and not only that, it is still flawless. Be safe and have fun ladies.

 Wendy xxx

Welcome! x

 Good evening everyone :)

Welcome to the new blog for the Secret Beauty Junkies group on Facebook. 

We are a crazy, but lovely bunch, who love nothing more than to have a (sometimes drunken) banter about make up, skincare, nail polish, kids (not my area as i don't have any haha), recipe tips and life in general. 

This blog will be a mish mash of all the above and will feature contributions from myself and many other beautiful ladies. 

We hope you will find it a warm and welcoming community to be a part of and we welcome any comments  (please keep them nice) or suggestions for future posts. Blogging is nothing without hints and tips from fellow junkies :)

Enjoy

Catriona xxx
http://stansfieldleon.blogspot.co.uk/