Going cruelty free.

I’ve always been someone who is aware and unhappy about animal testing but have never really looked into which brands test on animal and which are cruelty free.  A recent look in the cleaning cupboard at home lead me to come across some Astonish anti-bacterial cleanser that works amazingly and smells great and its cruelty free!  The realisation that actually it’s not that hard to come across cruelty free products spurred me into doing a bit of research on the ‘beauty’ products I use daily and whether they were recognised as cruelty free or not.

A simple google search of “is (brand name) cruelty free?” helped me to come across the following on the brands ii regularly use:

Simple- not cruelty free

Nivea- not cruelty free

Tresseme- not cruelty free

Collection- unsure as mixed answers came up on the search

Make up revolution- cruelty free

Super drug (own brand) - cruelty free

Wilkinson’s (own brand) - unsure

Aldi (own brand) - unsure as all that comes up is cleaning product information

Tesco (own brand) - Claims to be cruelty free but not been recognised

Avon- not cruelty free

Zoella beauty- cruelty free

 

Then came the looking into alternatives for the products that aren’t cruelty free (the majority) but that also didn’t break the bank (I’m trying to save for a house).  My first stop was Superdrug, whose own brand products are all cruelty free with the recognised picture saying so, I ordered a fair amount from here and can’t wait to test them to see if I like them.

Cruelty free logo's I'm looking out for.

 

 

I can’t wait to test them all and to see if my skin will happily accept the change in products (fingers crossed).

 Leigh xx

Mamma Mia!

Recently I went to an amateur production of Mamma Mia.  Having only watched about half an hour of the film and turning it off as I wasn’t a fan made going seem a bit stupid.  I bought a ticket anyway wanting to support a workmates husband and a great charity and had an absolutely brilliant time!

 

The car ride there was full of laughs and giggles.  One of my colleagues drove picking me and other lady up, we all get on really well so it was a fun car journey even if we didn’t really know where we were going.

 

Right from the off we were encouraged to cheer really loud, sing along and to generally just have fun! And that’s exactly what we did.  The actors did an amazing job and even carried on then there was a technical glitch in which all the sound and stage lighting all went off. Brilliant.

 

If there was one thing I didn’t like about the show was the female roles.  There were a lot of women and not many parts to play so they were all taking it in turns for a scene to come out and play different characters, making it very confusing for someone like me who doesn’t know the story line.  Other than the confusion it was a great night out with the lovely ladies from work. One I wouldn’t mind doing again, let’s see what they do next year!

 

Leigh x

Joom: a review

Hello there,

Just before Christmas I decided that I was going to start looking for some items in order to create a harry potter Christmas tree, I knew it wasn’t going to be possible that year but wanted to prepare for next Christmas.   Upon scouring the internet for harry potter related items I came across the app called Joom, now I would never normally use these apps as I am always unsure if they are safe or not and after googling for reviews didn’t really find much out, I did however see that there was the option to pay through pay pal and having seen so much that I liked at such an affordable priced decided to but it.  If it wasn’t for the paying through PayPal I would probably have left it but knowing there was added protection there helped.

I spent about £15 and here’s what I got:

25 small organza bags 67p – I wasn’t disappointed in these they look like they did in the picture but I’m not 100% sure that I will use them for the purpose on which I bought but they are still pretty and of decent quality.

 

 

A Harry Potter watch £1.36 – Now I’ll be honest it’s not the best made watch that there is, I would struggle to tell the time on this watch but for £1.36 the quality isn’t bad at all for the actual watch.  The picture on the watch face is blurry but again for the price you can’t be too picky.

 

 

A set of 6 Matt Liquid Lipsticks £4 – when I opened this I was certainly surprised to see the Kylie Jenner labelling on as there was no mention that this was what the product was.  Now I know it’s not real and that is in in fact a fake but decided to swatch the colours on the back of my hand, these were really pretty but when I tried to wash them off stained my skin making me decided that I wouldn’t use them.  They also had a strange odour that again put me off wanting to use them properly.

A pair of Heart Shaped Earrings 43p – I have yet to wear these but they look like the picture.  The only issue I have with them is that they only have small plastic backs that are a real pain to put onto the earing its self but I think they will look so pretty when I do wear them and for 43p I can’t really moan.

Flip phone case £2.64 – I was slightly annoyed when I opened up this package as it wasn’t at all the colour I had expected to receive, but the phone case is of decent quality my phone fits and it does the job that I bought it for.  So other than the colour I am pretty happy with this product.

 

 

 

Harry Potter Wand Keychain 86p – The issue I had with this product is you didn’t know which wand you were buying they just sent one out.  It’s pretty decent quality and will do the job of tree ornament just fine so happy me.

Harry Potter Rowena Ravenclaw lost diadem necklace 94p – This is fairly decent quality.  I wouldn’t wear it out myself but to use on my tree is perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

Platform 9 ¾ key ring 86p – when this came it wasn’t at all what I expected rather than being flat like I had thought it was it came with a clear dome over it.  Brilliant for on my tree though so happy again.

 

 

 

Harry potter liquid luck vial necklace 86p – Again impressed with this item it came and looked just like the picture and will be perfect for my tree.

Tom Riddles Ring 39p – I will use this on my tree but I think I might try and hide it at the back as it is very poorly made but for the price of it I should have known that it wouldn’t look that amazing.

Harry potter themed bangle 86p – I really like this and can’t wait to wear it! It feels a lovely quality and that I could wear it for hours without it being irritating (whether that’s true or not will be tested when I actually wear it)

 

 

 

Deathly Hallows sign neckalce 53p – This again is fine and brilliant for me tree, I can imagine this one is easy for the manufactures to mass make hence the low price.  I also got this on special offer with so much knocked off (its original price was £1)

 

 

 

 

 

Golden snitch necklace 57p – I’m not impressed with this one, although does look like a snitch the quality is very poor, I will use it on my tree but along with the ring will probably be placed near the back.

 

Overall I found my experience with Joom a fairly positive one.  If you don’t mind waiting a fair while for delivery (most of mine took 3 weeks) then have a look, just maybe don’t but and cosmetics from their as who knows what could be in them.  They also have offers on where items are the ‘deal of the hour’ so you get them cheaper.  I have just ordered another batch of items, fingers crossed they all come ok.

Do you recommend anywhere for harry potter products?

 Leigh xx

2018 Goals!

Hello There,

This year I have decided to set myself goals rather than resolutions in the hope that I have more chance of achieving them.  I have also slashed the number of goals that I have given myself again in the hopes I can achieve them.

 
My goals for 2018 are:
 

1)   Save, Save, Save! - I have decided that this year I will take it very serious and save up as much as I can in the hopes that it will help with my dream of moving out! This also means cutting down on my spending which I fully intend to do

 

2)   Raise £1000 for the Alzheimer's society- I decided upon this one after last year’s memory walk hearing so many peoples stories of this horrible disease spurred me on to try and raise even more for them and of course for my grandad who I hope to make super proud!

 

3)   Get Fitter- This is something I say I am going to do every year and every year I fail.  This year though I intend to do everything I can to achieve this as last year I became super unfit and plonked weight on.

 

Fingers crossed I can look back on the 31^st December and feel proud of myself that I have achieved these. 2018 let’s do this!


Leigh x

Bargain shopping.

Hello there,

 Recently I have become obsessed with vlogs of people shopping at bargain stores and the amazing things that can be found in them and being someone who does shop in them a lot thought I would write about it.

I finally, after months of not having the courage to do so, drove to Mansfield and went shopping.  The day was only meant to take us to Poundland and Home bargains but then my sister rang and said she was catching the train to us and asked if she could come home with us so two shops changed into four and we bought a lot of stuff.

Cards 50p/£1, Manicure set £1, Baby Grooming set £1

The first shop we went in was Poundland, I wanted to go to a bigger store because my local one isn’t very big and doesn’t have as greater a variety as the other bigger store that are just that bit further away.  The plan for here was to start on Christmas presents mainly my dad as he loves gardening but once there realised that I wouldn’t actually be able to get anything as the bits that I saw were things he already had or wouldn’t use.  That didn’t deter us from looking around the rest of the shop and we managed to pick up some pretty good bargains including some lovely card that had been reduce to 50p! I have decided recently that I want to move into somewhere of my own and have begun saving up to move out and have been buying little house things and couldn’t resist the wine glasses, at four for £1 you can’t go wrong! They also had slate placemats for £1 each which is what I am wanting for my house but unfortunately all the ones in the store were scratched or chipped so I didn’t get to purchase any.

 

Bath Bomb 59p, Card 59p, Deodorant £1, Pot Noodles 65p Each

The next shop was Home Bargains, I don’t go in here as often as in my local town it is placed a bit more out of the way so you have quite the trek to get there depending on where you’ve parked.  I wanted this shop as a couple of the ladies at work had gotten water bottles from here and they looked amazing! Unfortunately for me I couldn’t find them anywhere so I just purchased a few things, including some super noodles (49p) that were eaten before I took the pictures… ooops!

 

We then ventured to Primark and I just bought some bits for when my friend has her baby.  I haven’t taken pictures as I’m wanting to keep everything a surprise but I was amazed that I could get a teddy with a blanket and a packed of 5 bibs for just over £10.

 

Bin £1.99, Small Photo Album £1.99, Large Photo Album £2.99,
Jar Money box £1.99, Large Storage Box £3.49

The last stop was B&M bargains and we ended up with a trolley, my sister bought loads! I also picked up quite a few items and was particularly pleased to find a new bin as I have been wanting one for my room for a while now.  I also couldn’t resist the photo albums as I absolutely love taking photos and need one to use as an album of the photos from my sister’s wedding. I also really loved there range of money pots the jar ones I have never seen before and thought were really cool but they also had the pot ones that you have to smash for the fraction of the price as the branded ones.

All in all I think it’s safe to say we had a brilliant shopping trip buying things we needed and things we didn’t even realise we wanted!

Leigh x

Buying a DSLR camera...

Hello there

For a long time I have had an interest in photography, from as far as I can remember we’ve always had a camera in the house.  I remember my first ever camera was a Barbie one with a film that had to be developed in it and I loved snapping anything and everything, although we never did get any pictures developed from that, and now my interest has grown.

I at the moment own 3 different cannon and a Fujifilm instax mini 8, the newest addition being a Cannon 100D my first ever DSLR.  Now I’d be lying if I said I knew what I was doing with that thing, it was an impulse buy (second hand from a selling page on Facebook) for me to try and learn how to use before my sister’s wedding. I got to grips with the basics and managed to get some shots that I was quite proud of.

Here are just a few pictures of me getting used to the camera and from the wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve signed up to an online photography course but I think I might try and enrol at my local college on a night course as this interest has now turned into a passion and I really want to see if I can get better and who knows even maybe start taking pictures for people?

Leigh x

Poundland Bargins!!

Hello there,

I am a super lover of pound shops and will more often than not make anyone I am with come into them with me when out shopping, and every so often I will find some gems!

On a recent shopping trip to (the dreaded) Meadowhall for another dress shopping day I decided that a nip into the rather large Poundland was needed.  Now I had a few things in mind which I wanted to buy but then on the end of an aisle I saw what I thought was brilliant.

A few people I know are having babies and as my sister is getting married next week we all suspect it won’t be long before I am made into an auntie so when I saw that Poundland had baby shower items I got majorly excited buying them ready for when my sister has a baby.  A few items were bought in Meadowhall and a few from a rather large shop in Scarborough (who also had a good selection of weddingy bits).

This is what I picked up:

  

All the bargains for £10!!

 

Some super cute confetti £1!

24 Milestone cards £1

14 Photobooth props £1

Pin the Dummy on the Baby £1
(I think I might have to get another)

2 Lovely Banners £1
(I definitely need some more of these)

20 pack of napkins £1

20 Pack of Plates £1

20 Pack of Straws £1

 

 

 

 

 

20 Pack of Paper Cups £1

 

24 Pack Cupcake Kit £1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At £1 each I found them to be real bargains and can’t wait to use them! There was other bits too which I am hoping to get a few things of such as a scrapbook, a money bank etc.  I might even challenge myself when the time comes, can I throw a baby shower with all budget £1 or less items? We shall have to wait and see!

 

Leigh x