Recent Purchases from Boots, Superdrug, and Primark

I was ahead of schedule for one of my assignments last week, so decided to do a spot of shopping! 

From Boots, I picked up a couple tubes of Naked Conditioner because they were on offer for £2.79 each (normally £4.19). I highly rate their conditioners; they make my hair as soft as intensive ones do. 

I then bought the Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel for £2.99. In the last year, I've developed the habit of pulling out the hairs of my eyebrows when I'm stressed or in deep concentration, and this sometimes leads to the shape of my arch disappearing, so wanted a pencil to recreate this. I'll still be filling in most of my eyebrows with a powder, but wanted this for definition. Hazel looks like a light-mid brown in the pencil, but I've found that it transfers to a very warm tone. I have auburn hair so this isn't a problem for me, but I'm not sure if it will suit some brunettes (many seem to love it, though). The L'Oreal blonde one looks like a similar shade, but cooler in tone, so I may try that next.

I didn't own a silver glitter, and wanted one to apply over lilacs, so bought Barry M's Diamond Glitter Nail Polish for £2.99.

Because of the 3 for 2 offer, I then got Sinful Colours' Nail Polish in Easy Going for free! I've already swatched and talked about it here.

From Superdrug, I just had to buy 2True's Nail Polish in 17 for £1.99. I can't resist bright, peachy shades! I haven't used this yet, so am not sure what the quality is like, but I'll be testing and blogging about it next week.

I bought the Elegant Touch Kaleidoscope Nail Wraps last month, but they're still available in my local Superdrug, so thought I'd include them in this post. They were £2.50 down from £6, and I think they're so pretty. I'm going to use them for accent nails.

From Primark, my sister bought me this lamb dressing gown/nightie thing as an early Christmas present, and it cost £10. It's so soft and comfortable! I want to get the teddy one next.

I bought my sister the penguin throw for Christmas last month, and it was only £5! I thought I'd include it in this post as well because it's still available to buy.

I also ordered a knitted jumper from Boohoo for £15 last week, and it's okay, but nothing special. It's the kind of knitted jumper that goes fluffy straight away, and not in a good way.

Other purchases include two pairs of jeans and a satchel from ASOS, and a satchel from Accessorize. The jeans are standard, and I'll probably write a separate post on the satchels!

What have you been buying recently?

Sinful Colours Easy Going

I'd been wanting to get my hands on Easy Going for a while, but it was always out of stock in my local Boots. There were rows and rows of the shade on Sunday, though, so I picked one up. The 3 for 2 offer meant that I got this £1.99 polish for free, which is even better! I must admit, when I first laid eyes on it, I was a little disappointed. It didn't look anywhere near as pink as it did in the photos I'd seen. However, I now love it. This extremely pale, off-white pink is delicate and chic; aspects I've been prioritising recently. Three coats were applied to achieve opacity, which I can deal with. It's when we get to four that I have a problem. I'd say that it's a little more pink than the photo above is suggesting, but it varies in different lights. It can look more peach in some, and cream in others. I'll apply a glitter topcoat when it starts looking worse for wear; it's the perfect base for it!

What do you think of Sinful Colours Easy Going?

Christmas with Fragrance Direct

If you're a regular reader of Affordable Treats, you'll know I love Fragrance Direct. It's the place I go to get my nail polish fix! If you've not heard of Fragrance Direct before, it's a website where you can buy branded perfumes and cosmetics for a discounted, more affordable price, and P&P can be from as little as £1.99. With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I'd show you my top picks from the site. I normally buy my Christmas presents throughout the year, but I know that now's the time when many start, or are in the process of, buying gifts for their loved ones.

Sally Hansen £1.49, Revlon 99p, OPI £3.99, Essie £1.99, L'Oreal £1.30

I don't tend to buy makeup for people unless I know exactly what they like to wear (like my mum and sister, for example), but I like gifting nail polish, especially to my friends. I think a couple bottles of OPI or Essie in a mug or gift bag would make a great present. I, for one, would love to receive that as a gift because nail polish and mugs are two of my favourite things! If you're not sure what shades your friends like, ask them. Just don't say why you're asking them!

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau De Toilette Spray 100ml* £49.95, 50ml £38.95, 100ml Gift Set £56.95, 50ml Gift Set £41.95, Eau De Parfum 50ml £45.50

Perfume is very popular to give at Christmas, and if you're planning to buy a bottle for a family member or friend, I'd suggest checking Fragrance Direct first because you may be able to get it cheaper. For example, the bottle above is £14.05 less expensive than other places. In terms of the actual fragrance, Marc Jacobs Daisy is loved by many. Instead of me trying to describe what it smells like, here's a description: 'Daisy is the first of Marc Jacobs iconic fragrances for women; a fresh and floral fragrance, which is youthful and sweet, and perfect for summer. Marc Jacobs Daisy is light and easy to wear, and features a cool combination of Strawberry, Violet Leaf and Blood Grapefruit top notes, heart notes of Gardenia, Jasmine and Violet, and base notes of Musk, Vanilla and White Woods.' Even though it's described as a young, summery fragrance, it's one I'd wear all year round. They also have the Eau So Fresh version available in a range of sizes, but I already have it, so decided to try the original instead.

DKNY Red Delicious Eau De Parfum 100ml* £28.99

This retails for £60, so if you buy it from Fragrance Direct, you'll save yourself £31.01. The description for this is: 'The follow up to the hugely popular Be Delicious, Donna Karan DKNY Red Delicious Eau de Parfum Spray is sweet, fruity and feminine; a tasty perfume for the summer. With top notes of Lychee and Raspberry, heart notes of Bergamot, Patchouli and Rose, and base notes of Leather, Amber and Vanilla. DKNY Red Delicious is a modern and stylish fragrance.' I didn't expect this to be as fruity as it is, which is a good thing because I love fruity scents. To me, this smells like summer berries with hints of floral notes. There's also a little warmth there.

Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche Eau De Toilette Gift Set 80ml* £40.95, 80ml £40.95, 50ml £29.95, 30ml £21.95  

This is my new favourite scent. It's the lighter, fresher version of the original, and if there's the option of a lighter, fresher version of the original, I'll go for it. Here's the description: 'New for 2013, the Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche fragrance has made a great impression with its romantic, fresh fragrance, which can now be enjoyed in this fabulous ladies gift set. The Nina Ricci Nina L'Eau Eau Fraiche Gift Set features the stunning fragrance, which is a blend of Apple, Neroli, Grapefruit and Mandarin top notes, heart notes of Gardenia and Cherry, and base notes of Musk; a dreamy and feminine perfume.' There's a note in there that reminds me of my childhood or a sweet from my childhood, but I can pin point it! If you're looking at buying the 80ml bottle, I'd go for the gift set because you get the 80ml bottle and the lip gloss for the same price. Even if the lip gloss isn't used, it's essentially free! And looks pretty. 

Are you planning on buying any of your Christmas presents from Fragrance Direct? I know my sister's bought my mum Paco Rabanne's Lady Million from there for her birthday/Christmas (her birthday's on the 15th December). I'm tempted to buy my mum and sister more nail polishes, but I well and truly kitted them out earlier this year. You can never have too many nail polishes, though...

*PR samples

Naked Brunette Radiance Shampoo & Conditioner

Although I don't have brunette hair, I do have dark auburn hair that I like to keep looking rich and radiant; two aspects most darker haired girls strive for. Not many brands cater for us redheads, so between products catered for brunettes and products catered for blondes, I'm going to choose the former! I've used a Naked conditioner before, which I really liked, but don't recall ever using one of their shampoos. I was intrigued to see how it compared to my usual ones (which are not 97% natural). I've been using the Naked Brunette Radiance Shampoo* & Conditioner* (£3.99/normally £4.19 in Boots, but they're currently on offer for £2.79!) for a couple of weeks now, and here are my thoughts: They both have a slight herbal scent, which I don't normally like, but this is pleasant. The shampoo cleanses my hair well, but I've found that it can be drying if I don't follow up with the conditioner. It also doesn't perform any better than my regular shampoo, which is less expensive, so I wouldn't rush out to buy it. The conditioner, however, is amazing, and I'll definitely be buying a few tubes while it's on offer. It leaves my hair feeling so soft! It performs much better than my regular conditioner, and is more like an intensive treatment, so I wouldn't mind paying more for it. I don't think my hair is looking any more radiant or shiny than it did before, though. Being the colour my hair is, it naturally reflects a lot of light anyway. Saying that, it hasn't hindered the radiance or shine.

The shampoo is okay, but it's the conditioner I'd recommend you try. Have you tried any products from the Naked hair range before?

*PR samples

Triple Chocolate Cookies

My Raspberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cranberry and Raisin Oatmeal Cookies both had fruit in, and were nice alternatives to my usual Chocolate Chip Cookie Slabs. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and it drew me back. Back to the chocolate chips, and back even further. Let me introduce you to these Triple Chocolate Cookies. They are chocolate cookies with milk and white chocolate chips. I was going to add some chocolate chunks in there, too, but thought these were going to be chocolately enough!

With this recipe, I managed to make 33 cookies. I read recipes with double the ingredients saying they'd make from 14-24! Mine aren't particularly small, either. You wouldn't want them too big, though, because they are sweet.

You'll need:

• 200g brown sugar
• 125g butter
• 1 egg
• 175g self raising flour
• 40g cocoa powder 
• 1tsp baking powder
• 100g milk chocolate chips
• 100g white chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC.

2. Line your baking trays with baking paper.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar.

4. Combine the egg.

5. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. The baking powder makes the cookies fluffier, so if you'd prefer chewier ones, leave it out. I've made them both ways and love them equally!

6. Add in the chocolate chips, but make sure to leave some of the white ones.

7. Spoon walnut sized balls onto your baking trays, making sure you leave a couple of inches between each one.

8. Add the remaining white chocolate chips to the tops of each one. I also added some sprinkles and 'chocolate bean' decorations to some.

9. Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes, but make sure to check on them every few minutes.

10. Finally, take out the oven, leave to harden for a few minutes, and then transfer to wire cooling racks.

As you can probably tell, I love cookies. I much prefer them to cupcakes because they're not as filling, and they keep for a lot longer. I want to try making different flavours next, such as chocolate orange or walnut ones. Are you a fan of these sweet treats? If so, what's your favourite type?

Revlon Top Speed Nail Polish in 570 Vintage (99p at Fragrance Direct)

This is one of the nail polishes from my most recent Fragrance Direct order (haul post here), and my favourite! Vintage is a deep, berry shade, and varies between shades of red and purple, depending on the light. Two coats were needed, and I had no problems with the formula. These kinds of shades are known to stain more than others, though, so cleaning up was more difficult than usual. Surprisingly, I have nothing like this in my collection. The closest shade I have is Barry M's Raspberry, but this is more purple toned than that. For 99p (from here), I'm pretty pleased!

Have you bought any nail polishes from Fragrance Direct recently? Do you like these kinds of shades? I think they're perfect for autumn/winter.

Nail Polish Haul!

Every once in a while, my sister and I seem to find a load of nail polishes we like the look of on Fragrance Direct, and because they're so affordable, we buy them! This is our most recent order, with the most expensive polish being just £1.49. First up, we have the Rimmel Lycra Pro Nail Polishes in 312 Ultra Violet and 420 Aqua Cool, which were 99p each. I love the brushes of the Rimmel polishes! These two are my sister's, but I'll definitely be adding some to my next order. Then we have Sally Hansen's 848 Sgt Preppy and 843 Palm Treat, and these were £1.49 each. I also love the brushes of these. I then bought L'Oreal's 507 Riviera Lavender and 506 Exotic Grenade, which were £1.30 each. These are only 5ml, but I never finish a bottle of polish anyway, so don't mind. I wouldn't pay the full price of £4.99 for them, though! I also chose Revlon's 920 Make Mine Mango, 210 Jelly (Top Speed), and 570 Vintage (Top Speed), which were 99p each. These are the ones I like the most out of our haul! I love oranges/corals, so had to get Make Mine Mango. Jelly was another must have because I love deep, red toned pinks. Although it's called Jelly, it's not a jelly formula. Then we have Vintage, which is a berry shade, and perfect for this time of year.

Have you bought anything from Fragrance Direct recently? They're supposed to be getting some more Essie shades in this week, so I'll no doubt be placing another order!