Bargain Beauties #3.

Hi there Folks,

Today I'm going to share with you some of the bargain beauties that I've acquired over the last couple of months. I should probably stop buying make up because I already have more than I need but I just can't resist when it's £1!!

L-R: Chit Chat pink glitter polish in ???, Rimmel Exaggerate liquid eyeliner in 007 (does this make me a Bond girl when I wear it?!), Covergirl Shine lipstick in 470 Nude Shine, Covergirl Shine Lipstick in 465 Peach Shine, Revlon Just Bitten lip stain in Lust. 

Swatches L-R: Covergirl Shine lipstick in 465 Peach Shine, Covergirl Shine Lipstick in 470 Nude Shine, Revlon Just Bitten lip stain in Lust.

I've really been loving the eyeliner actually, its a beautiful navy blue. Seeing as I tend to keep my make up quite basic during the day I think its really good for adding a little pop of colour to my everyday make up without being too loud.

And here's a final shot of the lip stain in action. I actually really like the colour, I have naturally quite pinky red lips, so I think it works nicely with my natural pigmentation to make a more berry, plum colour. The two Covergirl lipsticks are very sheer, so you can't really see the colour very well on my lips and my lips are in no fit state to be concealed out to show off the colour. But they feel nice and smooth on the lips and they just add a nice subtle hint of colour and shine.

Have any of you scored any bargain beauties recently? I have more to share too so stay tuned!

Ciao for now,

JB.

Eat Like A King.

Hi there Folks,

So I'm a student. Students are renowned for living off 10p noodles and generally eating rubbish...in my first year of uni, I'm pretty sure some of the guys I lived with literally lived off chicken dippers and toasties. But not me. I love food and really couldn't cope with the idea of not being able to eat well. So I thought I'd share how I manage to live on a student budget and still eat like a King!

Now before I start, I must say that I'm not really your average student. I live with my boyfriend and neither of us really drink. I know alcohol plays such a big part of being a student, but I really can't justify going out and spending £30 on a night out. I don't feel that I gain anything from doing that apart from a massive hangover (which I hate) and a guilty feeling that I could have put that money to better use.

I generally budget up to £50/week for food shopping, which is for both me and my boyfriend. This buys more than enough food for both of us and also allows us to keep our cupboards, fridge and freezer well stocked. Jake's Grandma always used to say that your freezer is your bank. Which I totally agree with. When it gets to the end of the month and things are a bit tight, we always have a selection of meats just chilling in our freezer ready to make something with. 

Now I know if you live in student halls you're really limited on fridge and freezer space, in my first year I literally had half a shelf in the fringe and half a drawer in the freezer. I tended to take stuff out of packets where I could, I cut mince into single servings and freezer bagged it etc so I didn't have loads of plastic taking up valuable space! 

Meat can get quite expensive, I'd love to be able to buy free range chicken and eggs, but at the moment I simply cannot afford to. To save money, I buy basic range frozen chicken breasts, where you get around 2kgs for about £4. I also buy basic range chicken portions which are even cheaper at about £3 for 2kgs. These are really handy as you can just take one or two out to defrost whenever you need them. I also buy whole chickens or ham joints when they're on offer or available at a good price. I tend to slow cook these, shred or chop them and then keep them in tupperware in the fridge and use it in place of sandwich meat. I've come to realise that sandwich meat is really expensive! If you want to buy anything that looks remotely like a real piece of ham you're looking at about £2 for 5-6 slices. Whereas you can pay maybe £3 for a whole bacon joint that weighs 1.5kgs and would last so much longer! Then you can make yourself a really good looking sandwich to take to uni which means you don't have to pay the extortionate sandwich prices!

I also buy reduced meat wherever possible. This is key. If you go to the supermarket at the right time of day you can get some absolute bargains. In the past I've got silverside joints of beef reduced from £7 to 80p! These reduced items are so worth investing in if  you've got the freezer space to store it. I also buy reduced bread wherever possible too...I don't think I've bought bread full price for months. I find that I can then freeze it and use a slice at a time or put it in tupperware in the fridge where it can stay mould free for ages! A few weeks ago we went to Asda just as they'd reduced a load of bread and croissants down to 5p a pack! We filled a trolley up and it came to £1.45...needless to say we won't need to buy any more bread until at least next year. I find that things tend to get reduced around lunchtime and then again towards the evening. Evening time is when you get the best reductions as they obviously have to sell it before they close otherwise it just goes in the bin.

When it comes to fruit a veg, I like to try and got to my local fruit and veg stall as I find it you get so much more for your money. I can got and buy enough salad for a week (and my boyfriend eats it everyday, sometimes for lunch and dinner) and it'll cost about £3.50. And its really good, locally grown produce. My university also does a fruit and veg box scheme, where for £5 a week you can get a box full of fruit and veg that is all grown locally. Failing that I get myself to my local Aldi and see what they have on the 39p/69p deals and buy that.

Finally, if you want to eat well, I think its really important to know how to cook. I've lived with people who really have no idea how to cook a meal (I got asked how to cook bacon and make mashed potato when I lived in halls), and they therefore end up living off 10p noodles or domino's pizza. Now the noodles are cheap but they have no real nutritional value and Domino's is not only expensive but so so bad for you (although I will admit it tastes amazing lol!). I think knowing how to cook really benefits us as we can just throw whatever we have in the fridge together to create something tasty, which will really help save you money and allow you to eat tasty, home cooked food every day!

I hope this helps guys, please feel free to share any tips that you have in the comments!

Ciao for now,

JB

Bargain Beauties #2.

Hi there Folks,

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the nail varnish that I'd managed to pick up in Poundland and today I thought I'd share the few little bits of make up that I'd managed to find too!

So these are the bits that I have, I've got 2 Revlon ColourStay 12 Hour Eyeshadows in 03 Pink Opal (top) and 04 Champagne (bottom). Then I have the Sally Hansen Diamond 12 Hour Lip Treatment, I think the colour is Gem but its a nice peachy colour. Next I have the Collection 2000 XXL Volume Sensation mascara. Now I'm sure you can still buy this one in Boots full price so this was a steal, I really like it too! 

I also have one of the controversial Stila products that they weren't meant to have, this is the Angel Light powder refill in shade B. Then finally I have these Revlon Mix & Mingle lip gloss pot in 280 (top) and 265 (bottom). These are great just to keep in my bag for those times I may fancy something a bit nicer on my lips. I'm fairly low maintenance with my make up most of the time so something like this can just make me feel a bit more done if I'm wearing minimal make up.

So there you have it, some bargain beauty products and I enjoy all of them! Have you found any bargain beauty products recently? Please share!!

Ciao for now,

JB

Lets Cooks - JB's Super Simple Minestrone.

Hi there Folks,

So as soon as the weather starts to get a little colder and the nights get darker I find myself craving soup. I love the stuff, it does wonders for putting that cosy, warm feeling in your belly. So this week I decided to make a super simple Minestrone soup.

Now personally, I'd say this soup is brilliant for students to make. Being a student myself (albeit not a proper one who only eats baked beans and super noodles) I think that the ingredients of this soup can be found loitering in most student's cupboards and fridge. Also, if you have a pan big enough to make a massive batch you can freeze some for a later date, although I know how stingy halls are on fridge and freezer space but if you've got room it's a winner! Another bonus is that if you're very organised and have a Thermos flask you can take some to uni with you to save you having to buy lunch there as the canteen's can be quite expensive.

So, for this super simple soup you'll need:

2 celery sticks

1 onion

1 pepper

2 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)

2-3 new potatoes (or one normal potato, I only have little ones!)

1 tin of baked beans

2 cartons/tins of chopped tomatoes

Small stack of spaghetti (or any other pasta you fancy)

1 litre of stock (I used fresh chicken stock but vegetable stock cubes are fine!)

Any other vegetables you have floating around in your fridge that need eating up (i.e my green beans!)

Oil

Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs for seasoning

So here's how it's done:

1. Chop all your veggies up into bite sized chunks. It doesn't need to be super neat but remember your soup isn't being blended so they can't be too huge!

2. Start by lightly frying the onion and garlic in some oil until softened. Then add the celery, pepper and green beans (or other veg) and cook for a few more minutes. Finally add the potatoes and cook for two minutes.

3. Add the baked beans and chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir through. Then add your stock, stir and place the lid on and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. 

4. Break the spaghetti into small segments and add that and whatever herbs you would like to use as seasoning (I just used mixed herbs). Leave the lid off and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the spaghetti is cooked.

And there you go...you have some yummy minestrone to warm you up during the chilly days. Serve nice and hot with some bread and butter...yum yum!

Please feel free to share any other yummy soup recipes you love to eat in the colder months!

Ciao for now,

JB

This post can be found at the following Linky Parties:

Petite Hermine, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping it Simple Crafts, Handmade Harbour, Twigg Studios, Six Sisters' Stuff, Flamingo Toes, It's Overflowing, Mommy's Sweet Confessions, An Original Belle, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, The Dedicated House, Sugar Bee Crafts, Delightful Order, Southern Lovely, Semi Homemade Mom, Someday Crafts, Happy Hour Projects

Home Style - Cheap Stationary Storage

Hi there Folks,

As both myself and my boyfriend are students, we have a lot of stationary floating around our house. And I'm sure that if you're students or have kiddiewinks then you're in the same boat.

So I thought I would share a cool but inexpensive way to store your pens and pencils which incorporates a bit of recycling and a yummy treat too!

That's right, Ben and Jerry's pots! After we finished with them we just gave them a really thorough rinse out and let them dry properly and there you have it! They look really cute and funky and it also means you can indulge in a little ice cream time to boot! You could always coat the inside with PVA glue or something similar just to protect it, but we didn't and they're still going strong after 2 years.

Does anybody have any more recycled storage tips that they would like to share? Please do!

Ciao for now,

JB

Bargain Beauties.

Hi there Folks,

As a student, I really like to try and save money where I can. But the thing is...I'm a girl. A girl who loves make up, nail varnish and pretty much anything shiny! So you can bet that I was super excited when I discovered that Poundland sells a stash of pretty decent make up and nail polish products for, yes you guessed it, £1!! (I know that after the documentary on it the other night it might be a bit controversial...but I don't care!)

I reguarly read AThriftyMrs' Blog and she has posted several times about the little gems she's found chilling out in Poundland, so I thought that I too would share the little treasures that I have found.

Today I'm going to show you my nail varnish. I love love love that you can pick up Revlon nail varnish in Poundland. Below is my little stash, I managed to pick up some lovely pastel colours for summer time, a lovely jubbly shimmery purple with foil style flecks in it and also a beautiful emerald green which has a matt finish that I intend to use once they weather starts getting a little more wintery.

So the colours are (L-R): Blue Lagoon (004), Minted (028), Sunshine Sparkle (042), Royal Cloak, Emerald City (032), and Rendez Blue (745). 

I will definitely try post some pictures in the future of how they look on the nails too. And stay tuned for an upcoming post on my Poundland make up goodies.

Has anybody else picked up some bargains from Poundland recently? If so please share!

Ciao for now,

JB

Home Style - Floral Lanterns.

Hi there Folks,

I just thought I'd share a really cheap but lovely looking piece of home decor that I found in...wait for it....Poundland! I know after last nights programme Poundland is probably a bit controversial now, but seriously I feel that £1 is ridiculously cheap and I doubt you would find something like this cheaper elsewhere.

So the item in question is these lovely little tealight lanterns. 

Aren't they sweet?! Well I think so anyway. As you can see in the photo I have them sat either side of my bookcase and when they're lit up at night they cast a lovely little floral pattern onto the walls which feels very cosy and calming...they're so cute!

Has anybody else got any bargain homeware that they would like to share? Please feel free and we'll all have beautifully decorated homes that don't break the bank!

Ciao for now,

JB