Illamasqua Sale Purchases

I'm so happy I managed to get my hands on these beauties! Not only are they packaged beautifully and products I'll get a lot of use out of, but they were a complete bargain.

The Illamasqua Embellished Eye Trio caught my eye before Christmas, with its Precision Brow Gel in Strike, Vintage Metallix Cream Eyeshadow in Embellish, and Precision Gel Liner in Infinity. At £49, though, I couldn't justify buying it. Then it went down to £24.50, but for some reason I still didn't order. Then it went down to £14.70 last week, which was insane. The Precision Brow Gel, Strike, is the only shade available at the moment, and could possibly be too dark for me. However, with a light hand, I think I can make it work.

I decided to add the Intense Lipgloss in Mistress to my basket last minute for £6.60 (down from £16.50). It's described as a bright, coral orange, which is one of my favourite shades. I've also been loving pigmented, liquid lip products recently, so I can see this being used a great deal.

I love all the Illamasqua products I own, especially because most were bought at great prices in their sale.

What's your favourite Illamasqua product?

New Blog Name!

Hello! Welcome to Freckled Elle, formerly known as Affordable Treats. I changed the name a couple days ago, after having Affordable Treats for 5 1/2 years. It'd become like my second name, but it had its limitations. I'm now earning more money, and while most of my purchases are still affordable, I want to be able to blog about more expensive things if I buy them, without feeling like I'm going against my word. The name also focused on products, and I want to be able to blog about other hobbies and lifestyle topics from time to time. It was sometimes confused with dog treats, too! 

Thinking of a new name was incredibly difficult. I actually decided on three before this, but they were all taken. Freckled Elle is super simple; I have freckles and my name begins with 'l/elle'. That's all there is to it!

Unfortunately, with this name change, my previous posts aren't showing up on Bloglovin, and I've lost most of my traffic. My images on Google all link to my old URL, which has now been removed, and I don't know how to redirect them, if I can at all (the custom redirects in settings doesn't work).

I'm going to try and make my blogging a little more organised and have set times and days for planned posts. I'm thinking Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Hopefully I can think of enough ideas to keep this going! If not, it'll be twice a week instead!

New In

This next haul post is coming to you from Boots (and one item from Topshop). Working there has definitely encouraged my beauty spending habits!

I prefer cream highlighters to powder ones, and had heard a lot about the Topshop Glow Highlighter in Polish (£9). I'm impressed so far, and will probably be reviewing it soon. I also had my eye on one of their powder blushes, but I have enough already. I'm also not a fan of the packaging because it gets so grubby.

The Max Factor products are actually my first purchases from the brand. I'm running out of my Witch primer and wanted to try something new, so thought I'd give the Face Finity All Day Primer (£10.99) a go. I was sent the Skin Luminizer Foundation (£11.99) a few months ago, but it was in the wrong shade and I wasn't really into wearing foundation back then. I've heard good things since, and was in the spending mood yesterday, so popped it in my basket. I'm hoping it's light enough for me! Max Factor is currently on 3 for 2, so I also picked up the Colour Elixir Lip Gloss in Enchanting Coral (£7.99). I'd had my eye on this for a while - it's a beautiful, pinky coral shade with no shimmer (for once!), and has a good colour pay off.

Wearing foundation has opened up a whole new area of makeup for me to try, which is exciting. After doing lots of research on many brands and foundations, I decided to try the L'Oreal True Match Foundation (£9.99). I was going to go for the Revlon Colourstay one, but it looked too dark for me, so maybe I'll try that in the summer. Now, I thought it'd be best to go for the shade N1 Ivory, but my store only had C1 Rose Ivory. I thought it'd be too cool toned for my skin, but then I compared it to other foundations in the store, including my current No7 one, and it didn't look any different, in terms of tone. I'll let you know how I get on with it! L'Oreal is currently 2 for £14, and as tempting as that was, there wasn't anything else I wanted.

I love Maybelline mascaras, and the new Lash Sensational (introductory price £5.99, normal price £7.99) looked like a combination of the Rocket and Falsies, so I had to try it. I then bought another Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Intense Black (currently £5.99, normally £7.99) because my current one is starting to dry up. I love this eyeliner, and I actually use the brush that comes with it!

When I showed my family what I bought (does anyone else do that?), my dad said I didn't need any more makeup. Sometimes, I feel like he doesn't know me at all...

Another Yankee Candle Haul

I know I've only just posted one of these, but my sister and I went to a store that had its own Yankee Candle section the other day, so took advantage of being able to see and smell all the scents.

I intended on stocking up on Red Raspberry because I'd melted it the night before and fell in love. Sadly, it was the one scent they didn't have any wax tarts in, so I settled for a sampler candle (£1.80). I then bought another Mango Peach Salsa, as well as Black Cherry, Pink Grapefruit, and Turquoise Sky for £1.49 each. Turquoise Sky is described as 'calm, salty air with hints of sea grass and musk, float gently on ocean waves... off on an adventure beneath a bright blue sky', but I'd just describe it as fresh and slightly more masculine than the others I have.

Champaca Blossom is one of the fragrances of the month (25% off), so I paid £1.12 for the wax tart. It's described as a 'fruity floral nectar', and I'd agree with that. Not one I'd have chosen if I was shopping online, so I'm glad I was able to smell it.

Summer Scoop and Sicilian Lemon were £1.04 for some reason, and ones I'd had my eye on before. Summer Scoop smells like strawberry ice cream, and you can guess what Sicilian Lemon smells like!

Finally, Christmas Cookie and Snowflake Cookie were 74p each. There were other Christmas and Halloween scents on sale, too, but I didn't like them as much.

I don't need to buy any more for a while now, but I'm tempted to buy 10 Red Raspberry melts from yankee.co.uk for £9.60! I may need another Pineapple Cilantro as well because the scent's currently wafting through the house and smelling beautiful.

2014 Favourites: Part Two

Part two of my 2014 favourites includes skincare, haircare, and bodycare products (you can see my makeup favourites here). I'm probably missing something, but the ones above are the ones currently in my collection. I've given the full prices, but, aside from the Lush products, I've never paid them! They're on offer more times than not.

The Body Shop's Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter (£12) and Silky Cleansing Oil (£10) have become my favourite cleansers. They remove makeup so well and leave my skin feeling incredibly soft. I find they both do the same job; they're just different formulas. The Silky Cleansing Oil is quicker to dispense, but the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter won't leak if you were to travel with it.

The other cleanser I've been loving is Lush's Ultrabland Facial Cleanser (£7.25/45g or £11.50/100g). Like the others, this is my second repurchase, and it won't be my last. Again, it removes my makeup well, and I can open my eyes without it stinging. It leaves my skin feeling moisturised, and my combination-oily skin would be fine if I didn't use anything else. It makes my skin feel moisturised in an ever so slightly tacky way, like I have actually just moisturised.

Another Lush favourite of mine is the Ro's Argan Body Conditioner (£16.50). This second pot was a gift I asked for, for Christmas, because it's expensive. It''s amazing, though. You put it on and wash it off in the shower, and you're left with moisturised skin, just like you would be with a body butter. It makes moisturising in the winter so easy (and a lot less cold!).

Another body product I've enjoyed using is the Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Wash in Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig (£2.99-£3.15). I've tried all the scents, and this one's my favourite. I just love foam shower gels, and think these are a great alternative to the Rituals ones.

In terms of hair, the TRESemme Platinum Strength Shampoo (£4.99) really impressed me last year. I find most shampoos do the same thing, and as long as they clean my hair and don't dry it out, I'm happy. This did those things, but also made it feel incredibly soft, without weighing it down or making it greasy. The conditioner was also good, but I didn't even need it with this. I now have an entire draw of this range, which should last me through 2015!

The Naked Rescue Intensive Care Conditioner (£4.39) is still a favourite of mine. It smells great and conditions my hair like no other. The shampoo is also good, but can be a little too clarifying at times. The brand no longer has a website or social media accounts, but can still be found in Boots. I really hope they stay there!

Well, this is no surprise. The Superdrug Colour Effects Wash In Wash Out Conditioning Colours (£1.49) have been favourites of mine for years. Some of my most popular posts are of these, and they're included in nearly every Empties post. They just give my auburn hair that extra vibrancy, which I'm regularly complimented on. They've gone up in price to £1.49, but were recently on offer for 3 for £3, so I bought another 9 to add to my stock.

2014 saw me find a new appreciation for hand creams. My absolute favourites so far are the Figs & Rouge ones (£3.95/20ml or £6.95-£7.95/80ml), particularly the Cherry Blossom and Mango & Mandarin scents. I also love The Body Shop Hand Creams (£3.50), with Mango, Frosted Cranberry, and Vanilla Brulee being my favourites.

Finally, I'm never without a pack of Kleenex Shine Absorbing Sheets. They absorb any excess oil without disturbing your makeup, and I normally use these at lunchtime to freshen up. I don't think they're available in Boots or Superdrug anymore (I think they were discontinued), but you can get them on eBay and Amazon. I bought 5 packs for £3.49 including delivery (they used to be £2-3 individually).

Do you love any of these products?

The Body Shop Haul

I've been 'treating myself' a lot recently, so expect to see a few hauls!

The code I used for the products above only entitled me to 35% off (not 40% or 50% off like I usually buy with!), but it included sale items as well, so I didn't mind so much!

I'd wanted to try The Body Shop's Home Fragrance Oils for ages, so when I bought my burner, I went straight to the website. I bought Aloe & Soft Linen, Green Tea & Lemon, Pomegranate & Raspberry, Exotic, and Satsuma for £2.60 each (RRP £4).

I then bought another All In One Face Base in 02 for £9.10 (RRP £14) because I always like to be stocked up on this. It has some coverage and a velvety soft, matte finish.

From the sale, I bought the Frosted Cranberry Eau De Toilette for £2.93 (RRP £8.50), the Frosted Cranberry Body Polish for £3.25 (RRP £10), and the Raspberry Body Scrub for £4.25 (RRP £13). I want to start using body scrubs more, and these scents are a couple of my favourites!

Have you bought anything from The Body Shop recently?

Yankee Candle Haul

I've wanted a wax burner/warmer for years, but am not allowed naked flames in the house. I looked at electric ones a couple years ago, but there weren't many options and they were much more expensive than tealight ones. Then, last week, Hannah reminded me of them and I went on an online hunt. The selection still isn't great, and they're still not the cheapest, but my parents offered to buy me one for my birthday (I'm going to be 22 on the 20th). I bought the one above from here, and then set about buying some wax tarts to go with it. 

I know I went a little overboard, but I just got excited about finally being able to buy them! I bought 10 from this listing for £11.95, and another 10 from Yankee Direct (another recommendation from Hannah). The ones from Yankee Direct were 'buy 10 pay for 8', and delivery was £1.95 (£2.95 if you spend £10-£24.99 and £3.95 if you spend over £25).

They're already scenting my room, and I haven't even opened them yet! Salted Caramel is particularly strong, and one I can't see my parents appreciating, so I'm going to break it into smaller pieces.

I also wanted to try some wax melts from smaller brands to see how they compare, so look out for another haul.

Are you a fan of wax tarts? What's your favourite brand, scent, and place to buy them?