Sale buys: Miss Selfridge Diva jewellery

   I had to say a hard goodbye to one of my favourite necklaces the other day when it decided to snap in half as I put it on. I actually only recently got into wearing / buying jewellery, so I don't really own that much. I decided that the necklace breaking was definitely a sign for me to go and buy some more!

   I've come to realise that on the high street it doesn't really matter whether you buy your jewellery - it all tends to have a relatively short life-span in terms of breaking or even being able to retain it's colour! I don't know if any of you have had similar experiences? I only really buy jewellery in sales or from ebay for this very reason.

   I went shopping in the torrential rain today and spotted some brilliant bits in the Miss Selfridge Diva jewellery sale. Everything was under £4 in my local store, I could have bought half the rack - but I managed to pick out 3 pieces, which all together cost me just £8! I worked out that I saved myself £18.50 - how good is that?!

   I got a body chain (reduced from £10 to £3), a long necklace with multi-coloured crosses and beads on it (£10 to £3) and also a short necklace with a hamsa symbol on it (I think that's what it's called! £6.50 to £2).

   Have you picked anything up in the sales recently? I love going through the sales racks when the shops aren't jam-packed. I'd love to know what you guys have picked up recently! Also, what's your favourite of my bargain buys? I think mine is the hamsa necklace - I'm quite into short chained necklaces at the moment! By the way - after just checking the Miss Selfridge website the items I got in store were actually cheaper than the prices online, so it will probably work out cheaper to buy in store!

7.7.12

Sale buys: Miss Selfridge Diva jewellery

My budget hair care routine

   On my last post I got some lovely comments about my hair and I realised that I haven't yet blogged about my hair care routine! As most of you will know, I really only buy things that I can afford with my student budget (although, I'll admit on occasion I'll treat myself to a designer brand product!). These 6 products are the only things I use to look after my hair - I've found these all to be great products that I've used for at least the past year.

   I thought I'd just point out to start off this post that I wash my hair about 3 times a week on average. I find this is all my hair needs and there's no point putting my poor, bleached hair through any more exposure to heat / chemicals than it needs! I also never use straighteners on my hair unless I need to. This helps the ends to stay in relatively good condition, as I'm a bit hairdresser-phobic and very rarely get my hair cut... tut tut.. I know!

   Of course, the first two products are a shampoo and conditioner. I've used Tresseme Colour Fade Protection (renamed to Colour Revitalising?!) for probably around 4 years now - I find it conditions my bleached hair just the right amount so that it's not straw-like but not stretchy either (if you know what I mean?!). The 900ml bottles last forever! I think my last lot took me over 6 months to get through! I normally buy these in when they're on offer, but they're only £4.69 each at Tesco without any offer, pretty darn amazing for more than half a years worth of product! 

   I also mix in a small amount of the Pro:Voke Touch of Silver Twice a Week Brightening Shampoo (phew!) when I shampoo my hair. Probably twice a fortnight I'll shampoo with just this to reduce brassiness. They sell this for £2.50 at my local Factory Shop, but I used to buy it on Amazon for a similar price. It lasts me about 3 or 4 months.

   Onto post-wash care. I guess the most important thing for anyone these days is heat protection spray. I've used Tresseme Heat Defence Spray for about 2 years now - this is the bottle I bought two years ago and it's still going despite using about 4 sprays each time I wash my hair. I still have about a third of the bottle left! I use it when my hair is damp. It's suitable for use with GHDs as it protects against heat up to 230 degrees (I've found this important to check if you use high heat straighteners / curlers, as some only protect up to 180 degrees etc). This retails at £4.69 (300ml) at Tesco and Superdrug.

   I also use this Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Spray. It's not the best leave in conditioning spray I've come across, but it's still a great product. It does make my hair more manageable. It's also lasted me a long time, after a years use I have a third still left. I spritz 4 pumps of this into my hair after using the Heat Defence Spray. This retails at £4.49 (250ml) at Superdrug.

   Finally, I use Moroccan oil on the lengths and ends of my hair about once or twice a week max. I apply a couple of drops after using the sprays, then I'll leave my hair to dry off in a towel for half an hour or so before finishing it off with a hairdryer. As you can tell, it's a bit of a messy product, but it works a dream! You'll also notice it's not the real deal, well, not the 'real' Moroccan Oil brand! I spotted this in T K Maxx for £9.99 (120ml) - saving a bucket load on the branded oil! It's by Monica Olsen and I'd really recommend it. I've seen a few other lesser known brands' versions of Moroccan oil in TK Maxx too, so before you fork out on the real deal have a look in there to see if you can find any bargains. This has lasted me probably nearly two years now too and I have more than half left.

   Well, this has turned into a rather long post... I hope it's not too overwhelming! If you have any other questions about any of the products or anything else to do with my hair feel free to contact me here or on twitter (@RobynMayday), I'll be more than happy to answer!

3.7.12

My budget hair care routine

Sales bargain - Glamorous cut out side dress

Shirt - H&M
Dress - Glamorous (at House of Fraser)

Shoes - Converse

Bracelet and ring - eBay

    I've been longing for a Glamorous dress ever since I clicked my way to their website a few months ago and discovered their gorgeous range. The unique designs, cute prints and colours of their garments has caused me to call upon all my will power not to click the 'checkout' button all too many times... so when I came across one of their dresses in the sales yesterday for £16 I wasn't going to miss out on it!

   I went sales shopping in Exeter, which was actually shamefully unsuccessful until I popped into House of Fraser. The brands they stock seem to be ever-changing, so I headed in for a peek. To my delight there were several new brands stocked in the branch, including Vero Moda (Alexa Chung makes me want to buy everything I've seen her in their ads!) and Glamorous (- dresses and skirts muddled into racks of TNFC dresses and the like!). 

   The dress I picked up wasn't really 'me' as such. It's very girly and well cut - things I seem to avoid! But as I've been on the hunt for a dress with the cut-out-side feature at a reasonable price for weeks now, I thought I may as well try it on - at £16 (was £32) and the last in my size it was all too perfect! The fit was just right and it seemed appropriate for wearing as a day dress or going out in too. Needless to say I bought it! Trying it on again today for these photos I'm growing to like the print more and I've noticed how it disguises my belly (probably the result of indulging in too much ice-cream and food in general on holiday...) perfectly due to the clever cut. 

    I haven't been able to find it on the Glamorous website, but they still have sizes 8-14 in stock (although very limited) on the House of Fraser website! There's tons more Glamorous items in the sale too for amazing prices.

   A quick note to say thanks again to my guest bloggers and thank you all for your comments! I had a great holiday - I assure you I did go... my lack of tan is a result of my deathly pale skin and cautious application of plenty of high factor sun cream!

1.7.12

Sales bargain - Glamorous cut out side dress