Make-up brush guard roll

After reading Carrie's post, I went straight to eBay and bought a roll of make-up brush guard myself. For those of you who don't know, brush guards help protect your brushes and keep them in shape. I normally use them after I've washed my brushes, so the bristles dry into a neat, condensed shape. This roll of brush guard allows you to cut off the exact amount you need for each individual brush. 

I paid 99p, including delivery, for this roll, which is a bargain. The eBay seller I bought mine from is no longer selling them, but if you type 'make up brush guard' in to eBay, similar rolls will pop up.

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Spendin'

The quality of these photos is not the best - I'm back to using my own camera *sob*

Lush - Ocean Salt and Sexy Peel soap - £6.75 for 120g and £3.25 per 100g

I think these products are quite expensive, but I decided to buy them because every time I have resisted buying them, I have regretted it. I had a sample of Ocean Salt and liked it, so wanted to buy a full sized pot. Initially, the pot looks small, but my sample lasted me a couple weeks, so this should last a while. Sexy Peel soap smells like sherbet lemon - bliss. I'm going back to Lush soon, to buy my mum a few bits for Mother's Day. I may buy myself something else while I'm at it (I won't feel guilty then :P).

H&M - Cropped jumper - £7.99

I love the periwinkle shade of this jumper... and the price! H&M's prices are very similar to Primark's. I also bought a cobalt blue, basic cardigan (£9.99) and a white, long sleeved top (£7.99), but they're currently in the wash!

Tesco - Jumper - £12

My camera has made it look like the jumper has dirt on it in the first photo, but this is not the case! This jumper is girlier than most of my clothes, but I really like it.

Primark - Bambi t-shirt - £6

I bought another Disney t-shirt!

Primark - Men's bold printed socks £1.50 each, pack of three cow socks £2, pack of two pink and white cosy socks £2.50.

I love socks :)

Primark - Shoes - £3 each

I've been looking for these for six months! Last Summer, I bought a couple pairs of these shoes and wore them to death. Since then, size sevens have been out of stock. So, when I saw multiple size sevens on Saturday, I grabbed four pairs; two grey and two navy.

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University - Five months in

I write these update posts when there are significant things to update you with, so here we are! Since my last update post, I've received assignment grades back, produced a practical and sat an exam.

For my assignments, I received a first and two 2:1s. I could not be happier! I had to triple check that what I was seeing was correct. I was expecting 2:2s at most. 

For media, I also had to create a practical representing myself. I kept it simple and used an old home video for the visual, and for the audio, I had my family members tell stories about me as a child. I asked the technician if he could transfer my home video onto a DVD, as I hadn't watched it in over ten years. As soon as I started watching it, I knew I had to use it in my practical because it meant so much to me. I loved seeing young versions of my parents, myself as a baby and my old animals. Accompanying the practical, we had to write an evaluation explaining why we made the choices we did. I'm so glad we had to do this because I'm good at explaining myself through words. Even if my practical is rubbish, my evaluation justifies it. My practical is being shown on the big screen in Plymouth, which is exciting!

Yesterday, I had my first exam (for one of my English modules). I'm not sure it went well, but I won't know for certain until I receive a grade for it. If I do have to retake, at least I know what to expect; yesterday, I didn't have a clue what was going to come up!

The last month has shown me that I am coping with University, and it has gave me the confidence to continue. I still don't believe I will be able to cope with the second year, but that's not for months yet. I'm just going to focus on the present!

The Body Shop order

At the weekend, The Body Shop had yet another offer on, and I couldn't resist. I know I wouldn't have bought these products if it wasn't for the offer, so I haven't really saved any money, but I don't care! The offer was 'spend £30 and get £10 off your order, spend £40 and get £15 off your order or spend £50 and get £25 off your order'. So you could have spent £25 and received £40 worth of products, or spent £25 and received £50 worth of products. Hmm guess which one I went for! The total of the products below would have came to £50.25, but I only paid £25.25. It was also 'buy one get one half price' on skincare, so I saved even more.

Strawberry Gift Bags - £5 each in the sale (originally £10 each)

It was stated that the offer excluded sale items, but that wasn't the case! So I roughly paid about £2.50 for each of these. I really recommend checking out The Body Shop gift sets after Christmas. When they're in the sale, they're a complete bargain. I bought one for a birthday present and one for a Christmas present (I'm on the ball!).

Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser - £4.50

I love foaming cleansers, so thought I'd try this one. With the 'buy one get one half price' and 'save £25' offer, this worked out to be around £1.12.

Vitamin E Face Mist - £7

This is one of those products that isn't a necessity and I wouldn't pay full price for, but thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it. This is going in my bag for those hot days.

Vitamin E Moisture Cream and Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream - £9 and £11

I prefer pots of moisturiser to tubes, even if they are more unhygienic. I moisturise my eye area in the mornings, before I apply concealer, and I always reach for a pot.

Pomegranate & Raspberry Body, Room & Linen Spritz - £6

This is in a glass bottle! It feels so fancy. I also love the oddly long, thin bottle. It smells fresh and fruity, without being sickly. The only downside to this product is that the scent doesn't last that long.

Strawberry and Mango Hand Cleanse Gels - £2.50 each

These smell delicious! Like the body butters. They're not too expensive either, so I want to buy the coconut and pink grapefruit varieties next.

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NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha

Price: Around £3.65, including P&P, from joy017 (great eBay seller)

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils can be used as bases, eyeshadows or eyeliners. Iced Mocha is a shade that works well for all of these purposes. It is light enough to be used as an eyeshadow, yet dark enough to define your lower lash line. The pigmentation is fantastic and formula is so creamy, it glides on effortlessly. Iced Mocha has a pearlescent finish and reflects light well, so really brightens up your eyes. I usually use it on my lower lash line, but if I do wear it as an eyeshadow, I have to wear a primer underneath because I have oily eyelids.  If I want more definition, I apply a taupe eyeshadow over the top, on my outer lower lash line, and then Iced Mocha acts as a base. Would I repurchase? Yes, I want to purchase French Fries and Yogurt next :)

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More sale purchases

In this post, I mentioned that very little caught my eye whilst sale shopping and I only purchased some Lush and M&S products. Since then, I have acquired a few more items from the sales.

Accessorize slippers - £9 down from £18.

I needed some new slippers and I love anything navy, so couldn't resist!

New Look bras - £5 down from £15 and £4 down from £12.

The longline bra makes your boobs look great! It looks like something Rihanna would wear. However, I don't think I can wear it as a top like her because the lace detail will tell people it is a bra. 

The only things I don't like about these bras are the straps. The front half of them are just material, so they cannot be tightened much.

Snow Globe soap, Ice Blue soap, Satsumo Santa bath bomb, Candy Mountain bubble bars and Cinders bath bomb.

I ordered more products from Lush because I wanted to stock up before the sale ended. Apart from the Ice Blue soap, which was £2.95, everything was half price and cost no more than £1.48. I ordered by phone because the sale was no longer available on the website. I will be ordering by phone in the future because they have more products available that way and the staff are so friendly!

Cacti, yeah!

If you didn't already know, I like cacti and have ten on my windowsill. I don't like the huge ones you find in the desert though - just the household sized ones :)

I really like these two photos, so thought I would share them with you!

Ooh, pretty. My cacti seem to flower all year round!

This is one of my favourites. I think he's known as a Cleft Stone cactus (well, similar cacti come up when you Google that). He's currently growing two more 'leaves', which you can see in the middle.