Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: home bargains

  • My Budget Friendly Christmas Gifts For My Friends

    It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. Seeing people shop till they drop even today doesn’t surprise me. It’s called working in retail, you see it all! Am I a last minute shopping kind of girl? Nope. When I was younger, occasionally, but not anymore. I like to plan, prepare and execute the act of gift giving well before the event. So, I try to pick up things months before when they are on special offer, pop them away and bring them out closer to a birthday or Christmas. And this is what I did for 2 out of the 3 gifts below.

    Candle & Salt Rock Tea Light Holder

    Both of these were purchased from Home Bargains and these will be given to my neighbour. I bought these because I know my neighbour is house proud, and loves to use things in her home to create fragrances e.g oils and wax melts. And I know she’s very particular when it comes to how things look so I thought the tea light holder would make this a killer gift combo! This was a purchase I made a week or so ago. Not planned, but I saw them and my neighbour just came to mind so I grabbed them. Candle £2.49, tea light holder £1.49. Total cost: £3.98.

    Twisted Peppermint Candle & Rock Salt Tea Light Holder
    Bath Fizzer, Mud Face Mask & Body Mist

    All of my friend’s are people who love a bit of pampering, nice scents and look forward to unwinding. I thought this would make a great and inexpensive pamper present. Mud Mask (Home Bargains) 49p, NSPA Body Mist (reduced to 79p from ASDA) and I Heart Revolution Bath Fizzer from Superdrug (was half price and on a 3 for 2) £1.16. Total: £2.44

    I Heart Revolution Cookie Bath Fizzer, Earth Kiss Mud Mask & NSPA Mango & Passion Fruit Body Mist
    Bath Fizzer, Under Eye Patches & Body Mist

    Another gift for a friend, and someone I work with. Trust me, I know she works hard! Early mornings, late nights, THAT’S why I popped in the under eye patches to help soothe and revitalise her eye area. The bath fizzer is fun and I think is a good addition to a bath time routine. And the body mist because I adore this one, it’s gorgeous in scent and I think she would appreciate and use it. Skin Republic Eye Patches (were half price) £2.99. I Heart Revolution Bath Fizzer from Superdrug (half price and 3 for 2) £1.16 and Superdrug’s Bloom Body Mist 99p. Total Cost: £5.15.

    Skin Republic Retinol Eye Patches, I Heart Revolution Cookie Fizzer & Superdrug’s Bloom Orange, Rose & Amber Body Mist

    So as you can see, these three different Christmas gifts are not the biggest and flashiest, and definitely not the most expensive. But it just shows that you don’t need to give a huge amount of ‘stuff’ to show some form of appreciation or thought for someone.

    For all of you who are super last minute when it comes to buying gifts e.g running down the aisles on Christmas Eve at 8am, I will not judge you but I will pray for you! Best of luck, and please don’t kill yourself or your credit score in the process.

  • Candy Cane Lane’s Gingerbread Jingle & Fluffy Marshmallow Reed Diffusers

    Hearing Christmas songs from the start of November has not only hurt my ears but my soul too. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t mind seeing Christmas related things early but not the music! Drives me absolutely crazy! I am however enjoying seeing the new Christmas inspired home fragrance products. I became particularly taken by some new reed diffusers in Home Bargains recently. I picked up Candy Cane’s Gingerbread Jingle and Fluffy Marshmallow Reed Diffusers for £1.99 each.

    Home Bargain’s Candy Cane Lane Gingerbread Jingle & Fluffy Marshmallow Reed Diffusers

    Why did I buy these?

    A few reasons. I’m falling in love with reed diffusers as a form of home fragrancing. The packaging for these totally drew me in because they are cute and festive but not in the traditional Christmas way. The scents I thought I would like, and the diffusers were affordable.

    Packaging.

    Both come in a small and thin rectangular box. Gingerbread Jingle is mainly mint green in color whereas Fluffy Marshmallow is a light salmon pink shade. Both have silver holographic slightly raised patterns on them and a coloured pom pom stuck on the top each box. There’s an open window on the front of each box so you can see the actual diffuser.

    Each bottle section of the diffuser is clear and transparent. But they have a label on them with illustrations mirroring the box each fragrance comes in. So Gingerbread Jingle has gingerbread men and woman all over it, snowflakes and trees. Fluffy Marshmallow has baubles and snowflakes decorating the label.

    What do you get & how to use.

    Each diffuser has the fragranced liquid/oil bottled and 6 short and thin reeds. Take the stopper from the bottle off, pop the reeds in the fragranced liquid and enjoy! The reeds will soak up the fragrance and release into the air.

    How do these smell?

    Gingerbread Jingle smells surprisingly of gingerbread! You get ginger, warming spices (possibly cinnamon, nutmeg etc), sugar (although not too sweet). I like it! It’s not too ginger but it definitely is a bakery fragrance but the spices really make it come alive.

    Gingerbread Jingle Reed Diffuser

    Fluffy Marshmallow I’m not sure whether I would call it marshmallow scented as such. It has a sweetness to it, almost sweety like. But seems to have a touch of vanilla in it as well. It’s not as complex as the Gingerbread version but if you like your sweet inspired scents you probably would like this.

    Fluffy Marshmallow Reed Diffuser

    Strength & Longevity.

    I put each of the diffusers in different parts of my home. Gingerbread Jingle in my bedroom on the window sill, and Fluffy Marshmallow at the top of the stairs. Despite the fact the diffuser is quite small, Gingerbread performs really well in my bedroom which is a medium sized room. It’s not strong, but you get a good whiff of this and for this room the strength is perfect. So I would say it’s a medium. Fluffy Marshmallow I’ve had to move around quite a bit to see where it works best because the is light. I would have liked this to be stronger but think this is best suited to a small room or area not a large or open space. The diffuser itself is small and the scent not punchy but it does give off fragrance. Just not enough for me.

    When it comes to longevity, I’ve been only been using these for 3 days so can’t say how long lasting they are. But so far so good, but Gingerbread is the clear winner!

    Recommended?

    I really like these reed diffusers. The pom pom bit on the top of the packaging annoys me, but other than that their overall presentation is sweet and easy on the eye. Good choice of fragrance for this time of year, but clearly Gingerbread Jingle is the best in regards to it’s smell and strength. So I would recommend this one and I’ve even purchased a few for Christmas gifting too!

    If you aren’t a fan of a reed diffusers but possible the fragrances mentioned, these do come in candle form as well! Just saying….don’t call me an enabler when you visit Home Bargains next!

  • Maui Shea Butter Body Lotion

    So, I actually have a problem! It’s hard for me not to find new skin and body care products irresistible. When I say new, I mean new to my skin and face, never been tried and experienced by me before. It’s an addiction which I will get help for soon, promise! So it shouldn’t be a surprise I recently picked up Maui Shea Butter Body lotion from Home Bargains for 99p!

    Why did I buy this? It was 99p! I know of this range from seeing their hair care products in stores, such as Boots and Superdrug. So when I saw the body products available, and at a stupidly low price, it was a no brainer! Body lotion, shea butter, hydrating, all words I love to hear and see. And at a bargain price!

    Maui Shea Butter Body Lotion

    What is this meant to do? Maui Shea Butter Body Lotion is formulated for very dry skin. With a mix of aloe vera juice, coconut water, shea butter ( and other ingredients ), this is supposed to make your skin moisturised and look and feel healthier.

    Packaging. 384ml of lotion lives happily in a purple tinted, plastic bottle with a gold flip top lid. The labelling has an almost exotic, island vibe to it (think Hawaii or somewhere equally as tropical and glorious!). It’s a great looking, well packaged product that looks more in keeping price wise with its rrp (£8.99).

    Scent. This is what confirmed I NEEDED to buy this! Sweet, but not sickly. Hints of coconut, a creaminess to it which is on the verge of vanilla ( but I suspect it’s the shea butter element to it ) and a little floral. An unusual scent that I haven’t smelt before in a body product. It smells beautiful and I could happily have this in various forms from bath products, perfumes to wax melts!

    Texture & Consistency. White in colour and pretty much like most body lotions in regards to texture. Smooth, fluid but I found this not runny.

    On the skin. Easy to apply and sank in quickly and well. BUT only when I used a small amount. My skin felt it had something applied to it but still looked and felt quite normal. I did feel though it didn’t quite give me the hydration I wanted, so using more made up for this shortfall. Only problem with that is I had to work it into my skin. It reminded me of applying sun protection where you have to really rub it in to get the white coloured cream to disappear. That’s what I found when I used the amount my skin needed. Applying more left a visible delicate shine. This made my skin look better, moisturised and it felt it too. THIS was what I wanted.

    My skin was lightly fragranced with the scent of this lotion, which was lovely. Not strong, but enough for it to be there and to enjoy

    Is this really for dry skin? I wouldn’t say my skin is exceptionally dry, but when it is it’s obvious because I have Afro Caribbean skin. Dry normally means lack lustre, dull, even chalky white in appearance. So I know dry. I would say this is a good body lotion for someone who has normal skin heading towards slightly dry, but not very dry. The formulation would need to be a touch thicker and waxier in my opinion. So if you have no real skin concerns in this area this will be absolutely fine. If you suffer from very dry skin, this wouldn’t be my first choice.

    Important Note. There are lots of ingredients that has been left out of this product and I suspect from their entire range (although do check I’m not 100% sure). These ingredients are things such as mineral oils, silicones, parabens and SLS’s just to name a few. This is important to some consumers as many people want their products to be as natural as possible, and contain as few things in it that can cause irritations to the skin.

    Recommended? I would if as mentioned above you don’t suffer from very dry skin. Although it’s a shame as this is what it’s marketed for, I didn’t feel it quite lived up to that promise. But It is a lovely product to use which smells great. Packaging makes this an ideal gift or part of a bigger gift to someone because it looks the part. And if you can get this for 99p personally I would get a few as it’s such good value.

    But would I recommend this at full price, or buy it myself at £8.99? If I’m honest, no. A body lotion is something I can go through like a thirsty person drinking water. And what I wouldn’t want to do is buy something that should be for everyday use, but fear when it runs out. When it does run out it would need to be replaced. And at £9.00 it would be an expensive one off purchase, but more importantly an expensive repeat purchase. There are many body lotions out there that are much cheaper and just as good if not better if you wanted to keep your body moisturised regularly.

    Want to get your hands on this sweet smelling lotion? You can pick one up from many places such as Boots and lots of online retailers too. But please check Home Bargains first. For the price of one on the high street you could pick up NINE with a few pennies left over if bought from there! So if you do buy it, buy it cheaply please.