Tag: Boots No 7

Autumn Acquisitions

On By samanthaIn HEALTH, SHOPPINGLeave a comment

Although I am persevering with decluttering my entire house it is inevitable that sometimes I need to buy more “stuff”. My daughter’s six year old iPhone was becoming increasingly unreliable which was worrying me as she depends on it for everything. Train tickets, ID, payment methods etc, it’s all on her phone. I decided to upgrade my own phone to an iPhone 16 and gave her my two year old iPhone 13. I resent upgrading my phone, I never seem to notice any difference in performance and it just seems like a colossal waste of nearly nine hundred pounds. Also my new phone needed a different charger – ugh!

Of course then we both needed new phone cases. I had seen Burga continually coming up on my Facebook advertising feed, probably as my phone had been spying on my conversations about phone cases, so I took a look at their website. They have literally hundreds and hundreds of lovely designs but they are fairly expensive at around £45 each for the more basic styles. A couple of days after initially browsing a “buy two get two free ” offer appeared. Slightly annoying that it wasn’t a BOGOF as who actually needs two phone cases? I eventually chose two designs and so did my daughter. I went for a bright, citrus case and a white rabbit design and my daughter, for some reason known only to her, went for lobsters and sardines. The cases are shipped from Lithuania and the tracking is not regularly updated. After three weeks I had given up hope of ever receiving the cases and contacted Burga requesting a refund. They told me that my parcel had been returned to their warehouse and they shipped it back out. Just two days later it arrived. The packaging is minimal which is refreshing. All four cases came in cotton drawstring pouches which could be reused, I keep my power bank in mine. The phone cases themselves are really excellent quality and very attractive. The have an attractive glossy finish and the colours are very sharp. Most importantly, they also appear to offer a good level of protection.

I also treated myself to some more Boots No 7 Youthful Replenishing Facial Oil. When I first received this product as part of a gift set I didn’t think it would suit my skin but I have really been impressed. I mix a single drop with my foundation to stop it looking cakey and I use a couple of drops under my moisturiser most days. I also bought a new lipstick by Revlon in a nude shade called Bare Affair It is a subtle, every day colour but I have found the formula to be quite drying despite being infused with vitamin E and avocado oil . Lastly I bought some Double Serum by Clarins. The jury is still out on this product, I find that it is easily absorbed but I have not noticed any results. I find that too much comes out with each pump of the dispenser which seems wasteful as it it expensive at £65 for 30ml.

So a little bit of a spendy month but, on the whole, I have been pleased with my purchases.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Budget Beauty Buys – Hits & Misses

On By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

I am at that age where I need to start taking action to prevent crepey skin on my body, in fact I probably should have begun some years ago but I have never liked using body lotion. I have noticed the sagging, wrinkled effect beginning on so many people, especially their arms and chest and it isn’t attractive but then, what part of aging is? I remember my beautiful Godmother, Josephine, complaining about her skin beginning to look wrinkled when she was eighty five but sadly I don’t have her amazing genes.

I moisturise my face and neck twice a day without fail and have done since my late teens. Sometimes I splash out and treat myself to something fancy from Chanel or Clarins but, more often than not, I will pick up a jar of something in the supermarket, Nivea Q10 or Olay. I noticed that Boots No 7 had an offer on so I ordered their Lift and Luminate gift set for £62.95. The set comprises of face oil, day and night creams and face and eye serums. I have enjoyed all the products apart from the face serum which leaves a blue, glittery sheen on my face. I will definitely repurchase the eye serum. The face oil smells gorgeous and just two tiny drops leaves my face looking hydrated and a little bit glowy. Have any of these potions made a visible difference to any signs of aging – no, but they have kept my face feeling soft, they smell nice and have represented good value for money.

I have been using the same face wash for years, Nivea Gentle Cleansing Cream Wash but it seemed to be out of stock everywhere recently so, on a visit to Tesco I picked up some L’Oreal Hyaluron Expert Wash but within two days of using it I had red, sore patches under my nose and between my brows. I don’t have particularly sensitive skin but this seems to be too strong. Maybe it would be a winner for someone with oily skin.

For my body I bought Garnier Nourishing Ceramide Body Butter which was on offer for about £5, it has a vanilla fragrance. I liked this product so much that I also bought Garnier Vitamin C Nutri Glow Body Cream in a mango scent which literally smells good enough to eat. I can’t recommend these well priced products enough, they are very effective at moisturising even the driest patches

My nails are, to be quite honest, rather a disgrace. Apart from before my wedding, I have never had a professional manicure in my life. Firstly all the young people working in these places (and there are so many nail bars in my town) seem to be from Vietnam and I worry that they are being trafficked. Also, professional nail upkeep is so expensive and time consuming. I might give them a quick file when one of them breaks but that’s about the extent of my maintenance. I do always polish my toenails in the summer though in an attempt to spruce up my hideous feet. I bought myself some Essie gel polish in a lilac shade called Strut with it. The polish and gel top coat are both £11. You can usually expect your gel manicure to last about ten days. I have tried the cheaper D-i-Y gel polishes but Essie does seem to be the best. I also recommend Mavala nail polishes, they do a beautiful icy pink shade called Glacier, perfect for toenails. I used to wear their deep burgundy shade called Las Vegas in my twenties and they still sell it thirty years later. At £6.40 it is a great alternative to Chanel’s iconic Rouge Noir.

So some great, reasonably priced beauty buys. I think just slowing down and taking the time to induge in a little self care is very important and it doesn’t really matter if the products you are using cost £50 or £5. In fact, I’m sure some of the cheaper options are just as effective.

Thank you for reading

Samantha