Positive living - PLUS GIVEAWAY How I live well for less part one: Having nice things for yourself because you are mindful of what you have.

In living well, there is one very important first step.

1) Be awear of what you already have and thankful.

Its so often in life we find ourselves wanting more. They say its part of human nature, to want what we do not have. I choose to live my life being thankful for what I do have, and once I embraced that, the more blessings seemed to be bestowed upon me.

This first step is so important because if you cannot appriciate what you already have, the having more things will not change that. Its just more things for you to ignore while dreaming about more.

Once you understand and make use of what you have, you will become more appriciative of new things that come your way.

Lets keep this simple-

For example:

 I could look into my beauty supply and think to myself that I dont have every piece of make up id like, perhaps ive got my eye on a high end blusher set, I would then look at whats in my make up bag, pull one of my blushers out and feel pretty pants about the contents, as I could have better and these are not as good as what I want. Other women have this and I only have this. That casts a very negative view on what I already have.

Or I could look into my beauty supply and see what shades I do have. Is there anything I could mix to make a similar colour to the one I love? No? Well could my old blusher collection perhaps be cute summer pastel eye shadows or highlighters? 
Worst case senario perhaps I could use up and ejoy what I have now until I can buy the set I would like or a similar alternative.

How on earth can you every be happy if you are looking for the next big thing constantly? There is nothing wrong with wants, but dont ever let them make you feel unhappy with what you already have.


Got it? That positive mind set is everything. I promise you, think positive and good things will happen.

Want an example?

Ok, so this time last month I decided it would be really nice to thank the companies of beauty products I enjoy. I pulled a bundle off of my shelf and made a list of the companies. I sent each an email explaining that I love the products and why.
I got so many lovely emails back, full of beauty tips, links to offers and clubs which were great.
I also got sent a HUGE amount of free items from them as they were so grateful for my positivity.

Mac, Benefit, Burts Bees, Elemis Spa, John Freda, Tresemme, Simple are just a few of them. I got loads of mascaras, lip balms, a huge spa set with enough in there to last me the rest of the year, shampoos, hair treatments, face wipes and so much more.




I put out positive vibes and they came right back!





Sometimes you have to make your own luck, all I know is this has proved itself in my life time and time again. So go ahead and pay it forward.


I will start:


I will give one of my readers a brand new set of soft and beautiful make up brushes, a Mac eyeliner pencil and some spa goodies this month.

Just leave me a comment and I will choose at random september 1st. Open worldwide.

Anyone had anything happen from putting good vibes out there? Id love to hear from you!
 

Things I want in my make up bag this year!

https://www.toofaced.com/p/mascaras/beauty-blogger-darlings/

£14 set of 4 products

https://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/view/operation-pore-proof

“Mission accomplished” pore kit £28.50

http://www.thebalm.com/cosmetics/lips/how-bout-them-apples.html

Lip and blush set by TheBalm £21

Simple And Easy Beauty & Hair Hacks - Dry Skin Bath - Frizzy Hair Mask - De-puffing Eyes

Simple and easy moisure bath.
15 mins to soft skin.

1) Run a warm bath, while its running add in some raw cocoa butter. This can be bought for around £1 on ebay, and that will last you months.
2) And a cube in or small pinch, let the water run.
3) When our bath is half full, and in a handfull of oats.
4)Climb into the chocolate oaty smelling lagoon and relax for 10mins.

 When you get out your skin will be so smooth and have a light film of moistiriser.


Very simple de-frizz natural hair mask.
2 hours to manageable hair

1) Take half a cup of olive oil and heat it in a bow until its just above room temp (slightly warm)
2) Rub the oil into the lengths of you hair.
3) Tie your hair up away from your face and get on with your day indoors for a couple of hours.
4) Was out well (Twice if need be) and continue hair care as usual.

Your hair will me super smooth and healthy looking.


Get rid of puffy tired eyes
10 mins to bright eyes

1) Take two tea bags
2) Dunk in cold water for 30 seconds
3) Place one over each eye
4) Relax with some good music.

 Take off and your done, bright eyes.

How I save money on my beauty routine - The frugal girls guide to looking and feeling good for less.

 My hair

When it comes to dying your hair try and keep it close to your normal colour. If you are on a budget bleaching your hair every few weeks just isnt practical and adds ££ to your bill every month.

I only dye my hair to keep away greys and sort out any colour fading.

My roots are a dark brown and I like to keep my hair a dark chocolate. This means I can go months without dying my hair. Not only does that save me money and time each month, but also my hair is the healthiest its ever been! Which in turn means less expensive hair products need to be bought.

When I feel like my hair needs a bit of a shine or smoothing boost, I use a few drops of pure argon oil on the lengths. Cheaper than any product "containing traces of argon oil" and works just as well if not better. one tiny bottle lasts me over a year.

I dont like using heat on my hair too much, so I heat style my hair many once or twice a week on low setting. Not only is this saving me so much time, its also keep my hair healthier and less dry. Which for me means less hair dresser trips, less electric used and less products to try and fix frazzled hair.

My bath and body

I love having luxurious feeling baths, but in all honesty, I cannot justify spending £20 a month on luxury bath treatmeants like oatmeal bath scrubs and shea butter drops. So I make my own. I buy a small batch of refined pure cocoa butter, heat it up over a pan of hot water until its liquid, then i pop it in icecube moulds to set. These normally last about half a year and cost around £2 to make.

I pop one in the bath and you wouldnt believe how good your skin feels afterwards. Better than any in bath (or after bath!) moisturiser I have ever used. Non sticky and its smells liek milky chocolate.

I also make Goats milk, honey and oat scrub bars and shea butter drops.

Ebay sells all this stuff very cheaply and its all 100% natural.

My skin

I always use cleanser & toner on my skin. I use just an asda young own brand for this. It lasts ages and cost me £1. Ive tried loads of different ones and this is just as good as any of them.

To exfoliate I use a 100% organic cotton washcloth i made myself (crochet) with a body shop exfoliating salt scrub. I got the scrub on sale for about 1.50 and it lasts ages.

As a facewash I normally use any of the simple brands (i buy the mini ones as they work out far better value for money! £1 each and last ages!) or my body shop foaming tea tree facewash. this was £5 from the body shop and it great for tired skin or spotty skin.It comes in a big bottle and where it foams you need only use a tiny bit each time. It will last me the year easily. My hubby uses it to. I use the matching clearing lotion for breakouts (which dont happen often but where I am now on artifical hormones due to cancer I have to be careful as they do come along now and again)

Moisturiser I just use a mini simple, or tesco own brand day and night cream. I also have a huge olay. I have to use quite a lot of lotion as I do have very dry skin.
I only tend to buy things if I know they will last me a fairly long time and are suitable for my skin type, which saves me so much money in the long run. Most products last me a good 6-12 months.

My nails

I dont get my nails "done" if you like very often at all, last time I had them done was 2 years ago. I keep them short and clean. I use mostly clear gloss protecting varnish or maybe a peach now and again. I keep it simple and it costs me pennies. I use a good handcream, always have a soap and glory or berts bees on the go for when I need it.

My brows

I went through a bit of a phase getting my brows threaded every few weeks but I think I am going to stop that for a while now. It was £15 a month for somthing I can do myself really (well, pluscking anyway!) I just liked the convience of it.

My feet

I may be weird here, I am 23 and have never had to exfoliate or use a pumice stone on my feet. They have never been dry or hard looking really but I think I will start anyway. I like to use foot cooling lotion by the bodyshop on them after a nice foot spa at home. Pennies a year and nice soft tootsies.

Hair removal.

I shave, I used to use Nair but it burnt me and I wont use it again now. I dont get on with wax. Wax = pain. No thanks. I shave using disposables at the mo, go through aboout one razor a week. pack costs me £1 (bic lady) and lasts about 2 months per packet. 

Tanning

I use the St Moriz tanning mouse. Its a dupe of the St Tropez tanning mouse. It works perfectly with a tanning mitten. No streaks, no smell, no fuss. I go through a few bottles a year and its £3 a time. Cant argue at that.

High end make up and the dupes ive discovered - A thrifty girls guide to looking good!

I love a good make up splurge as much as the next girl. I am a big fan of brands like Benefit, Mac, Urban Decay, Bobbi Brown, Chanel and Younique.

But I know full well these products are just so expensive. I am not saying they are not worth the money, I will always treat myself when I can to these fab products but Its not always in my budget to always buy high end make up. 

I have shopped around a good while now and I am convinced I have found some awesome dupes at the fraction of the price I normally would pay for my high end make up.

I thought I would share with you some of the dupes ive found, for those ladies who want their make up budget to stretch a lot further but still feel beautiful.

Benefit high beam - A lovely highlighter that sells for around £23.

Now here are the dupes.

W7 night glow. Essentially the same product and you can get this for less than £5, Same with the one bellow: Technic High Lights.

Next up we have the Benefit cheek and lip tints. These are fantastic and I have bought these many times. They sell for around £23 each.

And now we have these dupes, they sell for about £4.75 and work just as beautifully. Note the similar packaging too :)

Next one to take note of are the Urban Decay pallettes. All lovely and so popular in the make up world. Are around £35 each.

And the mini 6 shade ones 

The dupe palettes are by the W7 brand and cost around £5 each.

Now we have the Benefit powder boxes

These are about £25 each

And the £5 versions by W7

Well, there is a few there to keep you going.

Until next time.

My fave lip products for every season! Higher end and the dupes!

I love changing up my style every season and my lip products are no exception to that rule!

There is something about the changing weather that I associate with different make up hues (and hair!) Today I want to speak about lip shades and why I choose them. These products range in price from £1 to £24. So there is something for everyone, and I love a good dupe! So lets get started!

So lets start with spring.

When I think of spring I think of pastels. Pinks and peaches automatically come to mind!

I prefer a matt lip look in spring, Subtle light shades are classic and here are a few of my personal faves.

This is by a company in Austrailia called "Bloom" (The name is sooo fitting!)

They come in all sorts of colours but my personal fave is Rhubarb,

(The light one on the end!)

Its a lip stain, so that means it dries up matt and stays on your lips all day. its reminds me of fresh watermellon and raspberries. This costs around £12 and can be ordered from the Bloom website.

If £12 is a bit out of budget for a lipstain then try the MUA pen stains! They are awesome and work just as well. While they look a little less glamourous I find the products to be essentially the same. Priced at just £3 each (I got mine for £1 in the online sale!!) who can say no?

Next up is summer

Now in summer I like a wet look to my lips, even just a little sheen can bring a look to life and catch the sun light. When I think summer I think pinks and rose. Bright, glossy fun and alive.

For this look I use two products. My first is a lip stain.

I Like to use the Posie tint by Benefit. It can be rather pricey retailing at £24.50 but the look it gives is very pigmented and I love the benefit products. This can also be used on the cheeks for an all over pink glow.

If £24.50 cant be justified on a lip product all is not lost! Try the brand W7.

As you can see these are essentially the same product and this one sells for £4.95 VERY reasonable and a great dupe! The colours are very similar once applied.

Now for the over gloss I like to use Nars lip gloss in shade striptease. This is very pigmented for a gloss and leaves behind a flirty wet look, the price is £19.

 

If you are after something a little more tame try Vaseline. I think the nicest one is "Pink bubbly" and they normally only cost a few pounds per tin.

Now for Autumn/Fall

The best time of the year I think! This is when my nudes and purple hints come out to play!

I normally keep this basic and just go for a gloss, I like Bobbi Brown Chocolate Raspberry. its £24 for 10ml or £18.50 for 7ml. Its a bold purple colour that cannot be missed.

For a much cheaper alternative try Lips are sealed by MUA, this baby is a tiny bit lighter and just £1!

If im not in the mood for a gloss I like using LUSH it started with a kiss apple lip balm. Its perfect and the standard you would come to expect from LUSH. The taste is devine and the colour reminds me of fallen bright red leaves. This costs £5.95.

A great one to try for £2 is MUA Rouge Rumba sweet sheen lip balm, its just as nice.

And lastly, winter

 For this season I love snappy reds (think Santa!) they are great for all the wonderful Christmas parties as well as day to day wear against the pale cold skin.

For a stain I am going to recommend Stiff Upper Lip by Younique. Its quite pricey with a £18 price tag but the colour is very intense and long-wearing. Its correctly named as a very British shade matching our busses and postboxes.

A good dupe of this has to be W7 A hint of Bali lip stain. Although its not the exact shade of intense red its still an amazing shade by its own right and a pretty amazing buy at £4.95

But I also love a nude lipstick for day wear. Perfect for this season and is a very warm greating colour. It reminds me of hot pears and cinnimon sprinkles.

I use Kate by Rimmel. Its shade 03 and is a dupe of the Velvet teddy by MAC. It costs around £4 and is my all time fave.

That concludes my post on lip products by season. Its a pretty simple post but I hope you all find some products here you want to use. I have tried everything and highly recommend them.

How doing DIY hair beauty treatments and home spa days saved me over £1000 per year!

The average spa day costs around £80 at least per person.

In that you get a massage & a facial and if your lucky. We all love the spa, you come out feeling pampered and soft all over but for many woman, they cannot justify that price unless its a special occasion.

 To have your hair coloured and deep conditioned the average hair dresser is looking for around £35.

Not much beats having healthy feeling fantastic hair and a renewed colour.

Its a shame as I believe woman should have at least one day a month for themselves. A day to feel relaxed and free. Stresses of work, homelife and children not only impact moods but also can cause stress aches, breakouts and poor physical health. Yet with prices rises like they are and wages failing to meet those rises the reality is woman are having to find cheap alternatives or give up self manintaince compeletely.

But all is no lost! There is a way you can have these amazing spa days at a fraction of the cost with a  LOT more treatments!

 Heres how to do it!

Note: You cannot do this if you are having to worry about children. The idea of a spa day or a "you" day is that you will not be spending this time looking after children or worring what to cook for dinner. This needs to be a no drama day. Have your other half take the children out on a day trip or arrange a day and grandmas. You need time for you sometimes and one day a month is certainly not unreasonable for any woman to ask.

1) Pop on some relaxing music for background sound, make sure it can be heard from the bathroom.

2) Run yourself a hot bath, use some relaxing bubble bath, lavender scent is great for this (tesco sell a huge one for 70p!!) Into the bath pop some bath salts if you have any (radox do these for £1 and they last ages!) great investements as these products will last you many months.

Head to the kitchen and mix together salt and a pink of olive oil into a bowl. Bring this to the bathroom and leave on the side. This will be your facial scrub.

 3) Light some candles and dim the lights. I myself use battery opperated ones for safety. This creates a beautiful relaxing mood already.

Make sure you have towels, a nice drink (tea, wine) to hand as well as a good book you have been meaning to read. If you are not a book person magazines work just as well.

4) Save a good soak! Not a 15 min bath, im talking maybe 40 mins. Really take some time to lay back and enjoy yourself. This time is for you.

(Great tip: add a facemask and a hair mask on before you get in, they will not cost more than £1 each at superdrug!)

5) Wash off the facemask once you are out and at the sink. Afterwards take your facial scrub bowl and start scrubbing your face in little circles with the paste. This will remove all dead skin cells and leave your face fresh as a daisy. Splash your face with cold water to close your facial pores.

6) Moisturise your face and body. Tesco do their own brands and they are not more than £1 per item. This will keep your skin nice and soft as well as hydated.

7) Blow dry your hair. Now its fresh and clean give it a good dry. Use heat protection spray (You can get these in the pound shop) and off you go! Once dry pin your hair back away from your face.

8) Switch on the tv and catch up on your fave netflix shows and get ready for an afternoon of binge watching. Grab some fruit snacks and berries to snack on.

9) Use this time to clip, file and paint your nails and toenails, give yourself a little mani-pedi!

Drink plenty of water and just enjoy your afternoon to yourself.

If you want to include more in your spa day then add in a full body exfoliation using the salt scrub. Dye your hair with a home dye and re-vamp your colour. Add in a foot spa in and get your partner to give you a massage.

Why not go full out luxury and enjoy some wine and fancy chocolates on your day? It doesnt have to be expensive, do what your budget will allow and just take time for you. We all spend far too much for our lives worring about others, money and day to day stresses we forget to take care of ourselves once in a while.