My Sun Care Holiday Essentials

As the holiday Season is now underway, I thought I would share with you a small selection of my holiday essentials to stay protected in the sun.

• A high factor SPF sun protectant lotion to use mainly for the first few days in the sun
• A dry oil spray - for the last few days of the holiday. I really like the Malibu range
• A scalp protectant spray 
• A moisturiser, lip balm, powder and foundation with a high SPF factor 
• A sun hat and sunglasses
• A cover up
• A good after sun gel like this one from Delph*; it is very soothing and will prevent the skin from peeling and will also help to prolong the tan and reducing the sun's ageing effects
• A hand cream with a high SPF

*Post includes PR samples*

Five Uses For Coconut Oil

I am a big fan of coconut oil - it is one of those items that is kept in our house and is a real multi-purpose item. There are probably tonnes more, but I have included just five ways I use coconut oil.
The coconut oil I have been using recently is by brand Virdian; it is their 100% organic raw coconut oil*.

Lip care
Coconut oil makes a brilliant alternative to a lip balm, keeping chapped lips away.
Food and Cooking
I love to use coconut oil as a replacement for dairy!
Body and Skin Care
Coconut Oil can be used in so many ways for the skin, my favourite is to use it as a hand lotion, shaving lotion or general body lotion, it leaves the skin feeling lovely.
Hair Care
I use coconut oil to tame my hair, and I have heard it works well as an overnight conditioner, I must try this soon.
Around the House
Coconut oil also backs up as a handy product to use for household jobs too - I have used it to fix stuck zips and to shine my shoes.


How do you use coconut oil?

*PR sample*

How To Keep Your Feet Looking Beautiful

As the Summer is coming up, I thought I would share my top tips on how to keep your feet looking beautiful. Our feet do a lot for us - we should look after them! 

• Moisturise your feet - as well as cleansing your feet every day, using a moisturiser or a foot cream on your feet will help to prevent any dryness or cracked skin. It will also leave them feeling super soft too, and smelling lovely! I have been using the Scholl Velvet Smooth Intense Serum recently, which is great to apply to your feet when they are feeling dry, as it really improves the appearance. I have noticed a huge difference in my feet since using it. 
• Exfoliate your feet once a Week by using a good scrub, which will help to remove dead skin cells and keep your feet looking healthy.
• Use a foot file or a similar device to remove any hard skin. Always be careful though!

• Certain shoes sometimes cause blisters, cracked skin or irritation, so it is best to ensure your shoes are as comfortable as can be. Insoles and Heel Cushions (I really like Scholl's Invisible Gel  Heel Cushions for nights out) are a great way to keep your feet comfortable. 
• If shoes do cause you any irritation and leave your feet looking and feeling sore, plasters will help to comfort your poor tootsies, I always try and be prepared for sore feet by taking plasters when I am off to a special event.
• Tackle fungal nail infections and any other foot infections (like verrucas) by getting them treated promptly. Always ask the advice from a medical professional if unsure.
• Feet sweat. It is a fact of life, our feet move a lot and do a lot, so it is completely natural for feet to sweat. Sweat doesn't create an odour; odours are actually made from bacteria in the shoes - something I only learnt myself recently! Using a shoe spray like the Scholl Fresh Step Antipersperant helps to ensure there are no odours from your shoes. It smells really fresh and has given my old running trainers a new lease of life!
• Have a pamper session for your feet - give yourself a foot massage, a pedicure, all that lovely stuff to leave your feet looking and feeling beautiful.

How do you keep your feet looking beautiful?

*Post includes PR samples*

Downsizing Your Makeup Collection: My Tips and Advice

Being a blogger that often writes about my love of beauty, cosmetics and body care, I now have quite the collection of makeup. I love makeup, and as much as I do use most of the products in my collection, there were quite a few things sitting in my drawers which were unused and hadn't seen the light of day for some while. As I don't wear a full face of make-up on a day to day basis, (and was also getting stressed from all of the clutter) i decided to go through everything I owned and down-size my collection. I have compiled a little list of things to think about when organizing and down-sizing your make-up collection.

How old is the item? There is a lot of talk about use-by-date and shelf life with makeup, there are lots of websites online which can help you when it comes to chucking old make-up away. I got rid of a lot of eyeliners and mascaras which I hadn't used in a while - you have to be careful what you're putting near your eyes! 

When was the last time you used it? I love, love, love lipsticks, but to be honest with you, I held onto a lot of mine just because I like a choice of every colour. Glittery lip balms and orange lipsticks soon found there way into the rubbish pile - I have never worn them out of the house and probably never will, so why I am I holding onto them?

What does it look like? With some products, such as nail polish, for example, you can kind-of tell by sight if it is usable or not. Products that don't really look right or the way they should; the formula has changed, the product is gloopy - will you ever use them? I thought not. 

Does it suit you? Do you like how it looks when you wear it? If not, why not donate it to a friend that would use it. I had a few concealers and foundations which didn't match my skin tone at all - so I never used them. 

Do you like a lot of make-up or do you prefer a smaller collection?

Tips On How To Get Brilliant Bargains!

Hello lovelies, hope you are all well.

Sorry I have been MIA in the blogging world at the moment, I have been very busy job hunting which seems to take up a lot of time!
That is why I have had a huge overload of scheduled posts of tags, which I kept for 'rainy days' - or when I was too busy to write up posts more regularly. In a few weeks time things will be back to normal.

STOP GETTING SIDE TRACKED ZOE!

If I had to define myself, I would say I am really good at bargain hunting. If there is an offer to be had, why not use it to your advantage? We are all living under the recession and saving a few pounds can only do the world of good. 

A lot of people compliment me on this, saying I always find great bargains and ask how I do it. I thought it was about time I introduce the ways I do this on my blog.

Here's the list:

1. I visit a lot of websites every few days which alert you of brilliant offers to be had in certain stores or online. My favourite website is Hot UK Deals. It is brilliant, as it shows you latest deals and gives you plenty of information about the product in hand and how it is available, and has separate sections such as deals, vouchers, and freebies. Another awesome site is Fashion Vouchers  This site gives you a heads up on major retailers online savings, for example, if Dorothy Perkins has a limited 35% off all online purchases you can find it here! A great freebie site is  Magic Freebies which I definitely recommend. I apply for a few freebies a week, and have had a variety of little beauty samples, coffee, tea bags and other little things come through the letterbox for nothing. For websites like this, you do have to give a little time to go through the deals, to find ones you want to use, print off vouchers or even fill in application forms online to request for free samples. It is a little time consuming but if you give an hour or so every few days (what is an hour, really?) it can save you a few pennies in the long run. 

2. Another way to grab a bargain (sortof) is by entering competitions. Be it on blogs or other websites, you have to be in it to win it! It takes literally seconds to enter a competition or give away, you only have to enter your details, and if you change your settings on your computer, they can automatically be set for you. (Chrome is great for this). Again, this doesn't guarantee you win anything, but you have more of a chance of a freebie if you enter! I found inspiration from Victorias blog Victorias Vintage to enter daily competitions online, and have won some lovely things ranging from a brand new hair dryer, make up products and books.

3. Car boot sales. Some can be quite prudish about car boot sales, along with charity shops and jumble sales. As the saying goes, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure. I think they are a great way of getting something you really like for a cheaper price, especially at car boot sales as most sellers just want everything gone. They are usually held on empty land in the Summer on weekends. The best tips I could give would be to go quite early, but also to hang around at the end, as that is when most people want to pack up and go, and will probably reduce prices so they don't have to take anything home with them. Don't be scared to haggle, but ensure you aren't too forthcoming about it.

I have brought some amazing things from car boot sales, jumble sales and charity shops, from the likes of a real DKNY handbag, to French Connection tshirts. 

4. Sales. I can hear the fear in your sighs already! I know they are tedious, but they are the easiest way to find a bargain lets be honest. I try to go to the smaller sales which aren't advertised as you are more likely to pick something up that is useful. Supermarket sales are usually quite good, as, if a products packaging is slightly damaged, they tend to knock off a big discount. After season sales are great to stock up for next year!

5. Outlet stores such as Next Clearance Stores and alike are brilliant for getting last seasons products for a much smaller price. There is a Next Clearance store about 5 miles from where I live, so when I fancy something new I travel up there and always find something I like.

6. A brilliant way of finding a bargain is using an App called quick scan on a smart phone. You can scan or type in the bar code of a product, and it gives you a list of where you can get it from and the prices. You can find the cheapest price for a product, and the best thing about the app is it is free!

7. DIY. What I mean is, rather than spend £20 on a take away, cook up a feast in the kitchen with whatever you have in the cupboards. Be creative!. If something is broke, try to fix it before you replace it. I know a lot of people just throw watches away if the battery has run out as it is a tedious job to replace, but watch batteries are quite cheap and with a little time it saves spending another £30+ on another watch. Make a facemask out of fruit and porridge that has sitting in your kitchen cupboards. If theres a book you've wanted to read for ages, go have a look in a few of your local libraries. Its free remember!

8. SHOP AROUND. Just 'cause Pound-world stock something for a £1 (obvs, duh zoe?!), it doesn't mean you cant find it cheaper! I adore UK stores such as Home Bargains and B & M as they are very cheap and usually a considerable amount cheaper to other stores. You can also find listings from News papers /local magazines which list bargainalicous places such as outlet stores, flea markets and lots of other things. Have a looksie, you may be surprised.

9. This sounds silly, and doesn't really help you 'grab a bargain', but it is a tiny money saver! Save your carrier bags! I know most people that I know have a carrier-bag-full-of-carrier-bags somewhere in their home, dont forget to take a few out with you to save a few pennies rather than paying for them.

10. If you are a beauty/cosmetics fan, check out  Fragrance Direct, as it often features amazing deals, I even saw an Essie nail polish for £2 on there the other day!

11. FREE DELIVERY. Its rare that I buy online and pay for delivery unless I really have to. Most mainstream stores have a 'deal' online every few months for free delivery. For me, if I have to pay more than £2 for it to be delivered, I may as well go into the store myself, bus fares cheaper!

12. Use store point cards/vouchers or voucher codes. I know so many people that have a Tesco card but don't get in scanned when they do their weekly shop. The vouchers/points soon add up for things like this. Boots, Superdrug and Nectar cards are things most of us girls have in our purse, we may as well use them! Same goes with vouchers and voucher codes online.

13. Own brand goods. I hate people that are prudish if someone uses a Asda smart price body spray, or buys Tesco brand bread. There's nothing at all wrong with it! You may be surprised at how much money you save and the bargains you can get! You can pick of a Asda body spray for the likes of 54p, rather than forking out £2+ on mainstream brands like Impulse. Same as clothing, you can get a stunning outfit from Primark or Matalan all for under £30, do you really need those Jeffery Campbell heels you'll never wear?

14. Give clothes away and get paid? Close to where I live there are a few places that I dont really have a general term for, but basically they are small buildings where you can take bags of unwanted clothing (there are some guidelines on what you can/cant donate) in black bags, and can get paid a small amount per weight of these bags. They are basically going to be 'ragged'; I wont go into too much detail with this, but fopr example, in a Charity Shop, some clothing items which are donated are not resellable- so these are put into 'rag bags'. The people that collect these rag bags pay the charity store a small price for each bag - these stores are basically doing the same as this, but you get paid. As far as I am aware the clothing you donate still does get donated to charity (in different Countries I believe), so dont worry that you are not doing it for a good cause - the Chairty Shops do this themselves. (hope that made sense! I know this as I am related to someone that works in this industry). I am sure you will easily be able to find somewhere local to you that does this, Google is your friend. The stores near me range from £3 to £5 per full black bag, so it is pretty good.

Did you find this post helpful?
What are your top tips to get great bargains??
Let me know!
xx