soap and glory

Summer Haul Part 2: A Bit of Everything – Boots, Matalan, Primark and TK Maxx

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With our holiday a week away there were some bits I needed to get and some finishing touches I had planned for my room over a year ago now that I hadn’t bought so I decided to finish off both in one go. There’s a mix of home, beauty and fashion from TK Maxx, Matalan, Boots and Primark so there really is a bit of everything in this haul, or maybe that should be hauls.

All this holiday shopping has definitely got me feeling summery, even if it’s cold and wet here in the UK at the moment!

I’ve had my eye on the new Soap and Glory hair care products since I saw they were releasing them and after my no buy February I was getting low on a few supplies. I’ve decided to go blonder for the holidays so wanted to try their toner shampoo N-Ice and Bright Toning Shampoo (£7). The charcoal based Junk the Gunk Scalp Exfoliating Shampoo (£7.50) intrigued me as I tend to find charcoal products work well for my skin so thought I might help my scalp too. So far I’m happy and it’s definitely unusual using a pure black shampoo! I’ve also been on the lookout for a heat protecting product since my old favourite was discontinued so I got the Control Sleek Heat Activated Smoothing Cream (£9). I’ve heard good things about the La Roche-Posay Anthelios Sun Cream Body Spray SPF50+ (£17.50) and as I get prickly heat and heat rash the first time I’m in the sun I thought I’d give it a try.

I have a bit of a weakness for bags and needed a carry on bag for the plane so couldn’t resist this Bright Stripe Weekend Bag (£12) from Matalan. It holds so much and the sides pop up so it expands, it held almost everything I bought from Matalan. I love the colours and the shoulder strap. I also ended up getting this Circle Lock Bucket Bag (£14) in pink as it’s so pretty and I wanted a small handbag that would work well for on holiday.

At the moment I have quite a few plastic plant pots in my windowsill and have had plans to plant them into something more permanent. I saw these three in Matalan and thought they’d look good and have room for everything I wanted. The Brass Planter (£16) has the height my pitcher plant needs as it’s hitting the windowsill at the moment. The second largest I got isn’t on the site any more but it’s like this Patterned Planter (£10) and will hold some of the smaller cacti I have. The small Metallic Ceramic Planter (£5) is the perfect size for a small cactus garden my parents bought me a few years ago and is available in several colours and I do love these planters with legs.

I’m never sure how long these things will be in stock in Primark but the Pale Yellow Brooklyn Jumper (£5) and I want to get one a couple of sizes too big as it’s so comfy and cosy for summer evenings and they have them in so many colours and patterns. I think the NASA Socks were £3 and I love the height of these, half way between trainer socks and full ankle socks. The striped Linen Blend Sleeveless Top in Oatmeal was £2.50 and the Whinnie the Pooh Striped Top was £5. I really should have kept the receipt so I could check these!

As with anything from TK Maxx these aren’t in stock any more but I found these Peach Slip on Converse for £29.99. I love flat ballet pumps but they never fit my feet right and these are the perfect shape for my feet. I also found this Copper Finish Caddy with four shelves for £32 from £50 on their site as it was on offer. This fits perfectly in the space and holds what I wanted it to. I find having these kinds of things in places I can see them means I use them more and I keep my stashes down more.

I did also get some bralettes (£10 for a pack of 3) and some knickers (£6 for a pack of 3) from Matalan but they’re not available any more. They are some of the most comfortable underwear I have ever worn though so I’ll be going back to get more.

I was planning on cutting back on haul posts, but I don’t think I’ll be doing actual reviews on the things in these posts so there will be one more. Though I was wondering if you guys like these longer haul combination posts or more of the smaller posts but more often if I get things I want to share but won’t review. I love shopping for home decor but never really do proper posts in them so want to include them somewhere. I have some DIY bits planned so maybe home things in general may be appearing more in the future.

Getting Ready for Holidays Haul Part 1: Boots

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The Summer Haul Part 1: Boots title image. Behind the text box is a photo of everything bought in the haul

It feels like it’s been a while since I last posted, it’s probably not been all that long but I think I needed to step back and life sort of took over. I’ll do more of a post about it soon but blogging was getting stressful, which is not what I ever want it to be, and this break means I’m actually looking forward to posting and have all these ideas. Anyway, onto the post itself.

I recently decided that I wasn’t really going to do many hauls, but as I’m going away to Fuerteventura in April I had so many things I wanted to get ready for that or that were on my list to buy after the no-buy February and my general decluttering that I felt like I wanted to share with you guys what I was getting. This is all from Boots and most of it is actually Soap and Glory but I am so ready for these summer products that I got a bit excited and may have bought almost everything in their new scent that they released in February. It did help that almost everything that I bought was in a mix and match three for two at the time so I got a few of these things free.

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My First Declutter of 2019!

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The First Declutter of 2019 title image. Behind the text is a photo of all the products I decluttered spread out on a chair

I’ve been working on decluttering for the past couple of months, I’ve actually been pretty good and my cupboards look so much tidier. I’ve been sorting out my makeup recently and realised how much of the stuff I was keeping is just not me at all, or at least not any more. I’ve actually counted up how many things are in this declutter post and there’s fifty three pieces of makeup or accessories that are going! I didn’t realise I had that much!

I did start this off with a little review of each of them, but when you have fifty three to get through it would be so long, so instead I’m just going to link to any that I’ve already reviewed on here and say why I’m getting rid of them. I have to say there are a few that I never thought I’d declutter but they’re so old that if I did decide to reach for them I don’t think they’d do me any good. I have a new rule; if it smells like wax crayons, get rid of it!

Onto the decluttering….

My First Empties of 2019, There’s Quite a Few Here!

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My First Empties of 2019 title image. Behind the text is a photo of a lot of empty bottles and jars in a rose gold basket

I’ve always meant to do empties posts, I just tend to find that I go for ages without having any and then within a week everything I use regularly is finished. I love reading or watching them when other people do them as it shows what you actually use and like rather than a review of something you’ve been using for a few weeks or days.

As I’ve been organising my wardrobe, I’m only part way at the moment, I’ve ended up getting all the random stuff that got thrown into this basket I got for empties so now it can finally be used as I wanted it to be. I didn’t plan on it being overflowing before I did my first post though! I’ll try to keep them shorter, maybe after every ten empties, I didn’t realise how much was in there until I emptied it earlier! As there are so many I’ll try to keep them short and I’ll link to any I’ve done reviews on so you can see more about them.

Read more to see how much I actually finished this month…

My Daily Skincare Routine

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My Daily Skincare Routine title image. Behind the text is a photo of different skincare products

I can’t remember when I last did a skincare routine post. There are probably some things that stayed the same as I’ve got some old favourites that I’ve been using for years,  but I have recently found some new products my skin loves. It’s taken me ages to get a regular routine, I’m nearly thirty and it’s only been the past couple of years I’ve had a proper daily routine.

My skin can definitely be difficult at times. It’s acne prone, combination and sensitive but definitely goes on the dry side over oily when it comes to the combination part. I do like trying new products but I tend to find that it takes a while for my skin to get used to them so I’m trying to stick to a few favourites, though one of the moisturisers in the Holland and Barrett advent calendar has made such a difference it’s in my go to list now.

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Review: Soap and Glory Naughty But Spice Duo Gift Set

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I don’t remember Soap and Glory doing a festive limited edition scent before, and being a fan of their products I had to try the Naughty But Spice scent collection. It comes in two gift sets, the smaller Naughty But Spice Duo for £5 with a mini body wash (75ml) and body butter (50ml), and the larger Naughty But Spice Collection for £14 with a 250ml body wash, 200ml body butter and standard 100ml body spray. These are also both in the 3 for 2 Christmas gift offer at Boots.

As far as I can see the Naught But Spice scent is only available in the three product types and in these two sets, unless they’re planning on releasing singles. It’s sold as “fabulous floriental scent-sation that smells good enough to eat! With notes of baked plum and cinnamon.” As a fan of plum scents and spicier smells in the cooler months I had to try it. I decided to get the smaller set to try and if I love it the larger one can go on my Christmas list.

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Review: Soap and Glory Righteous Butter Creamy Body Wash

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The Soap and Glory Righteous Butter Creamy Body Wash was one of those products that you get and sits in the back of a cupboard for ages, for me anyway. I think I got the first tube in a Christmas set and it wasn’t until last week when I got the second in the Foam and Away gift set that I actually gave it a proper try. The tube holds 250ml and costs £7, though this tube will last a long time as a little goes a long way.

This is a 3-in-1 product designed for cleansing, shaving and moisturising so it’s sort of a body wash, shaving cream and moisturiser all in one. As I have dry skin and I’m always on the lookout for a new moisturiser that works well for me I probably should have tried it sooner. If you know of Soap and Glory you may know about the Righteous Butter body butter, it’s one of their best selling products, and this has the same original pink scent.

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Review: Soap And Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipstick in Nude Edition Satin

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In a recent Boots haul post I mentioned the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lipstick in Nude Edition Satin in the gift set I bought. This is in their nude collection and costs £9 for the lipstick when it’s bought on its own. This has 3.5g (0.12 Oz.) of lipstick in it with a satin finish, as the name suggests.

I’ve bought a couple of their other lipsticks a while ago in different finishes, both the shine and matte styles, but not the satin so I was interested to see how it would work. I’ve not had the best luck with traditional lipsticks and staying power but I’ve been happy with the Soap and Glory ones in the past and do love a good nude lip so wanted to give this one a proper try.

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Boots Summer Haul

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boots-makeup-beauty-hair-care-haul-summer-1.jpg

I didn’t realise until this week that hot weather can mess with the internet too! Ours has been playing up so this post was meant to go out on Wednesday but wouldn’t upload in over five hours! I’m crossing my fingers the cooler weather means it’ll work now.

Anyway, I think I’ve been pretty good when it comes to buying makeup recently, I haven’t bought too much and I’ve actually got rid of quite a few things. Next month’s things I used in August is going to have so many things I’ve decluttered in it. I may have ended up getting a bit more than I originally planned in this Boots haul but there’s quite a few essentials in there so I don’t feel too bad. Of course when I get more sun cream the sun disappears, though I think I forgot to photograph it it’s still sitting unopened from the beginning of the week.

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