Primark Winter Haul and more

Primark - Socks - £4, £2.50 and £2.50

I love Primark's socks and pyjamas in the Winter! The ones above look and feel so cosy.

Primark - Bird print pyjama bottoms and owl gloves - £5 and £4

Another pair of cute pyjama bottoms to add to my collection :) The owl gloves are also adorable!

Primark - Tights and hair turban - £2.50 each and £1.50

I love Primark's thick tights. These ones are lovely because they don't go 'bobbly' and stay opaque, even when stretched over your legs. The hair turban was an impulse buy. Towels can be too heavy on my head, so this should be perfect :)

I also bought a coat for £26. In store, I thought it was a dark green, but when I arrived home, I realised that it was actually black, so I've given it to my sister. My hunt for a coat continues!

New Look - High waisted super soft skinny jeans and plimsolls - £22.99 and £6.99

Both of these are repurchases. I've been wearing the jeans a lot, so thought I'd buy another pair. I had never worn super soft jeans before these because I thought they'd easily lose their shape, but they haven't and I really, really like them. 

Superdrug - TRESemme shampoo 900ml bottles and long beaded necklace - 2 for £6.99 and £2.99 (Originally £6.99)

I'm running low on TRESemme shampoo, so stocked up while they're on offer. They're usually £4.99 and £5.49 each, so that's quite a saving! It's even better when they're half price, but I couldn't wait until then. The necklace is really pretty and was a good price. I'll probably wear it with a plain white top.

Poundland - Chocolate cream wafers - £1 each

Wilkinson - Flower cookie cutters and scented ornament - £1.50 and £1

I loveeeee these chocolate cream wafers and always buy some when in town. I can't wait to bake and use the cookie cutters. The scented ornament is cute and looks pretty hanging on my chest of drawers.

My Favourite Affordable Duvet Sets!

Sorry about the creases!

I was looking through my phone and Twitpic profile, and found these photos of my duvet sets, which reminded me to blog about them!

Since getting a double bed, I've been investing in duvet sets because I know I'll be able to use them when I get my own place. I've bought 4 or 5 in the last few months, but the two above are definitely my favourites. They're from eBay and were very reasonably priced. When I say eBay, I mean an eBay store, not a personal seller, so they come brand new.

The first bedding set is from here and cost £14.97, including P&P.

The second set is from the same seller, but the listing is no longer available (for a double), but you can buy it here for £19.80, including P&P, or here for £19.95, including P&P. All of them are from top-rated sellers.

Do let me know if you've found any nice and affordable duvet sets!

Meet Buddy!

This is Buddy, our new family member. He's one-one and a half years old and a Rottweiler cross Bull Mastiff. He's already had a few owners in his lifetime because he's rather big. The woman we got him off lived in a flat, which was too small for him. She also didn't live near any woods or fields, meaning he couldn't have a much needed run. 

He is the biggest baby and not like his breed's stereotype at all. Even with Jessie growling at him, he hasn't growled once. He just wants to play.

The main things we need to teach him is to not chase Jessie or the cats. His intentions are innocent and playful, but they don't like it, for obvious reasons.

We haven't had a male dog before and we've always had animals from birth or 2 months, so this is a new experience. My dad is great at training dogs though and all of our others have been very well behaved, so we have no doubts that Buddy is going to make a great dog. His obedience has already improved after a few days.

Because of his name (He was already called Buddy before we got him), I think he would make a great Christmas elf ;)

Nails of the Week

Although the camera on my phone isn't as clear as my actual camera, it picks up colours better, so I've used it for today's post. Above, we have China Glaze's Secret Periwinkle with Models Own's Silver Nail Art Pen for my French tips. At first, I wasn't sure I liked it, but it's grown on me. I initially wanted to do this manicure with a dusky blue polish, but I don't have one, so went with this darker, purple blue.

I hope you have a lovely Sunday! We're having roast chicken with a fresh loaf of bread this evening - Yummm. I have my first 2nd year lecture tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to because I don't know many people in the module.

Also, I should have a post up in the next couple of days about our new family member! He's very cute.

Models Own Silver and Gold Nail Art Pens

I've been waiting for Models Own to bring out a silver nail art pen for ages! I'm so glad they finally are. Along with a silver, they'll also be releasing a gold. I won these, along with some nail polishes and accessories, from the Models Own Facebook giveaway, so I don't know when they'll be hitting stores, but it should be soon. I did swatch them, but the swatches were so messy, I couldn't bring myself to upload the photo! All you need to know is that they're as opaque as the other nail art pens Models Own offer and I'm very pleased with them. I can't wait to paint my nails a dusky blue and French tip them with the silver. I also can't wait to use the gold for Christmas manicures!

Affordable Alternatives to Designer Perfumes - Perfume Parlour

Last week, I read Kate's blog post and watched her video about the perfumes she ordered from Perfume Parlour. I had never heard of the company before then. Their website design is not great, so I was initially sceptical, but after reading a forum full of happy customers, I decided to order.

Perfume Parlour offers perfume sprays and oils with similar notes to designer ones, but at an affordable price. The 25ml sprays are £8 for one, £15 for 2 and £20 for 3. The perfume oils, which come in a roller ball bottle, come in a variety of sizes. I ordered the 3ml ones to try a couple of scents I'd never smelt before, and they were £2.25 each.

Okay, so firstly, I ordered Body, which is the dupe for Burberry Body. I've compared the two and can report that they are very similar. I like Burberry Body more, but I can't put my finger on why. However, for the price, I'm happy with this fragrance.

Next, I ordered Debate, which is the dupe for Marc Jacobs Daisy. I have a sample of Marc Jacobs Daisy and I really like it, but I don't like this. It's in the same family of scents, but Debate has a note in it which I really don't like. It takes the scent from being a fresh one to a heavy floral, 'old' one. I know Kate ordered this and likes it, saying it's very similar to the original, so it may just be my nose!

I then ordered a perfume oil of Sweet Lime Tart, which is the dupe for DKNY's Sweet Delicious Tart Key Lime. I haven't smelt the original, but I really like this. In fact, this is my favourite of the bunch. It smells like sweet lime, just as the name suggests!

Lastly, I ordered Sweet Meringue, which is the dupe of DKNY's Sweet Delicious Creamy Meringue. I'm not too keen on this one either. I normally love sweet scents, so was expecting to like this, but it's overly sweet, bordering on sickly.

The perfume oils came in these little bags, which are cute.

Even though the perfume oils I bought are only 3ml, I can see them lasting a while (Especially Sweet Meringue, since I won't be using it haha).

P&P is £1.50 or free if you spend over £15.

Overall, I love the idea of Perfume Parlour, but the Debate scent did let me down and has me questioning how similar the rest of the scents are to their originals. 

New Books!

"They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie.

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure."

"They say to live every day as if it's your last - but you never actually think it's going to be. You always think you'll have more time. That's what I thought. But I was wrong. The thing is, you don't get to know how it happens. You don't remember to tell your family that you love them or - in my case - remember to say goodbye to them at all. What if, like me, you could live your last day over again? Could you make it perfect? If your whole life flashed before your eyes, would you have any regrets? Are there things you'd want to change?"

 

"When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything to find out."

"My name is Anna and I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't exist. But I do.

Anna hides her secret diary away each night because she doesn't want to get into trouble for breaking the rules. Life in Grange Hall is governed by rules, rules that have to be obeyed in order to make up for breaking the biggest rule of all. Being born. But when Peter arrives and starts to tell Anna shocking things about the outside world, she learns to question the rules and, with Peter, struggles to escape the past and find a better future."

Oh, I love books, so you can imagine how happy I was when the four books I ordered from Amazon arrived today. I bought Delirium because it was recommended to me by you lovely lot on Twitter. Before I Fall also had a lot of positive ratings, so I thought I'd give it a go. The Maze Runner has some mixed reviews, but I've been thinking about reading it for months, so just bit the bullet. Lastly, I bought The Declaration. I had never heard of it before the night of ordering, but it sounds interesting. The cover is also pretty!

I'll let you know my thoughts on them once read! I'm a little sceptical about the last two, but we'll soon see if they're any good!