Car boot haul bargains!

I am very excited to share with you all the bargains i found at a car boot. I am a great fan of car boots, i love looking though lots of peoples junk and finding some treasures - today i hit jackpot!

We usually visit a car boot at least once every month as James is currently on the look out for a cheap hedge trimmer - i am always on the lookout for anything i fancy. 

I found a stall of a very glamorous older lady who explained she has a little bit of a beauty addiction. I sympathised with her and browsed her stall finding a little basket packed with various lipsticks and lip glosses. I was so excited to find some beautiful lipsticks and i braced myself and asked how much. The lady said that her husband would kill her if she brought them home - and asked for £2 for the lot. Seeing my shocked face she said she was happy that they were going to a good home and she had back ups anyway that her husband did not know about - seriously my kind of woman!

Estee Lauder pure colour 61 pink parfait x2, Lancome Colour fever 216, Estee Lauder 186 Tiger eye, No7 high shine lipgloss whisper. 

Very happy with this stash i became even more of a bargain hunter and found another stall with bargains galore, this time nail varnishes. This stall was manned by a little old guy who clearly did not want to be there. Each item had a little sticker of the price of each item carefully written, i have a feeling his wife may of sent him. This lady must have had good taste as i found a stash of nail varnishes i loved, for the bargain price of 50p each

China Glaze - Spin me round, China Glaze - Mrs Clause, OPI - Hungry for my honey, Opi - Skinny dip'n in Lake Michg'n , Estee Lauder - Pink clouds

 

By this point i was very pleased with my beauty bargains and we began to head back to the car. Not before i spotted a familiar logo in the distance.

I have read so many reviews on this and have been lusting after this clarasonic dupe for some time. I did expect to pay more than £5 for it however. Yes you read correct £5! This is completely new and sealed and i snapped it up. Before i let the stall the lady very kindly told me of a little bag of samples she had for £1 which included a cleanser i could use for this. I looked at the bag and each item was wrapped in tissue paper. I can not resist a surprise so i picked that up too. 

Did you think i did well for £10.50? 

My Chanel Lipsticks

I am not a make up snob, i buy from the Pound Shop, Superdrug and swanky make up counters. I love 'drug store' brands as they are much more practical on my measly wage. I do also think that some of my high end products do not justify the price and have found some drug store brands are better quality. Sometimes though it is very nice to treat ones self to a little bit of a luxury splurge. My splurge of choice at the moment is Chanel Lipsticks.

I am going to start with what you really pay for, the packaging and branding. I am not so naive to think that the quality of these lipsticks really justify the inflated price of these lipsticks compared to cheaper alternatives. 

One thing i do enjoy about higher end products is the attention to detail with the packaging. This is totally aesthetic and unessential however to me it screams luxury. There are two types of Chanel lipstick packaging a traditional twist up (albeit great quality black and gold loveliness)  and what i believe to be the new case design, a push to release case. Both are weighty, shiny, embossed with gold and understated glamour. A lipstick that anyone would be proud to display.

Traditional lipstick case

Push button case

In both case designs the product is twisted up to reveal Chanel embossed onto the lipstick. This is the kind of attention to detail i really appreciate. 

I currently own 6 of these beauties, one is on loan (i imagine long term) to my mother bear and two are in the car so i cant share them all right now. 

41 Rouge Allure Charisma - 60 rouge Coco Shine Antigone- 197 Rouge Allure  Evivree

A few fun facts for you is that the designers decided on metal casings for these lipsticks as when women reached into their bags they found a cool refreshing tube, the scent of the lipsticks is rose, raspberry and vanilla and designers tried hundreds of designs to get the right click when you close the tube. Wowzers.

Of the Chanel lipsticks i have tried i prefer the Rouge Allure line more than the Coco shine as the consistency is creamier and lasts longer. As you can see from the swatches below, all of them have a shimmer however i feel the Coco shine is a mix between a gloss and a lipstick and is much more sheer.

Top Rouge allure charisma, Middle, Rouge Allure Evivree, Bottom, Rouge coco shine Antigone

There is a wide selection of colours and finishes in the Chanel range, however i feel the stock photos when you buy on-line do not do them justice or are not true to colour. Something you cant see on-line is of the lipsticks i own have understated glitter which i love but others may not. I would advise people to visit a Chanel counter to try them before you buy them, that was you might also bag some samples, winner!

The Rouge allure lipsticks wear a little better than the Coco Shine, but all of them last well. Lipsticks always require touch ups, they are subject to drinking, eating and kissing (if your lucky!) so i don't expect miracles. These do last longer than some of my drug store lipsticks and when they do wear off leave a nice tint to the lip. 

At around £24 these are pricey. I have purchased a couple of mine on-line for a much bigger discount and was given one as a gift to save on cost. Please be aware there are fakes flying around eBay at the moment and have almost exact packaging to the real deals. I was stung by an on-line fake (i paid £15 for it) and instantly noticed the poor quality, plastic smell (Chanel have a yummy scent) and the lack of the embossed Chanel logo, i got a refund. 

They are luxurious and make me feel special when i have them on and for me that makes it worth the extra pounds. 

A blog from Blackpool - Swap

I have discovered lots of new people from starting blogging and getting involved in the beauty community and its really great. What is more fun is that i have got back in touch with friends from Blackpool who i have not spoken to in years, Danielle the brains behind A blog from Blackpool and the lovely Neeny from Neenys wish list.

Picture stolen from Facebook 

 It is great to get back in contact after all these years after college, uni and moving away. I love reading their blogs, especially the Blackpool ones as i miss home lots and reminds me why i love my home town so much.

Danielle suggested we did a swap of things we don't use as she had a few things she thought i would like. If you have read my blog you will know that i love doing swaps, there is nothing better than a surprise parcel at the door - its like Christmas!

I have been a pretty bad swapping partner and still have her parcel here - all ready to post off tomorrow, i really hope Dani likes it. 

I have a disclaimer, two products have found their way to my make up bag, i could not wait and my camera battery died before i could take pictures. I got a lovely lipstick and a gosh loose powder in Paradise (stunning!) So here is *most* of what i received...

Exciting

 Dani has blogged and reviewed these masks on her 100 day challenge and looked splendid. I always see these in Superdrug and Boots but never buy them so will be excited to try these out. I think they are around the £1.50 mark, If you would like to see Dani modelling a face mask click here

 

Two sparkly nail varnishes - cant beat a bit of glitter. I have tried the Technic nail varnish in Carnival before after i heard it was a dupe for OPI Rainbow Collection and loved it. I'm very happy to have a back up in my collection. I have never tried a W7 glitter polish before but can confirm this is great and gives a good glittery layer in just one coat, i am modelling my sparkly nails as i type. 

I have wanted to try this for ages, and other than on my hand at debhenams i have not had the chance too without paying the hefty price tag. I got pretty excited when i saw this and i really like it, but i do not think it is much different to the GOSH primer which is much cheaper. I will keep this one in my going away bag as its the perfect size for travelling and does do what it says on the tin. 

Now my favourite item, Mac Gentle Coral tinted lip balm. I proper love this, lots. It feels lovley on my lips but i would not say it is a very moisturising lip balm - however the colour is BEAUT. It has just the right coulour pay off for the day time and i have found this perfect to have in my handbag to spruce myself up during the day. This has become a firm fave of mine and will last me forever. Just as a disclaimer for Dani, this product did not look so messy when she sent it me, i have just used it so much! As Dani sent it me im guessing this is not quite for her - thats why i love swapping - one ladys junk is anothers treasure and all that jazz. 

I am tres excited to try out the Maybelline colour tattoo, im hoping the silver base will work well on a sexy smoky eye. I have not had chance to play with this yet but will let you know how i get on with it.

As i said i got two more items that i will picture and add to this post when i am more organised. Speaking of organisation i have been terrible and still have Dani's here - its being posted tomorrow after a job interview (wish me luck!)

Here is a sneak peek for you darling

Dani's parcel was all wrapped in pretty paper so it was like my birthday and i got a cute little note which is now at home on my hallway pin board of fame. 

If you have not visited Danielle's blog please do, she is super dooper cool and updates regularly unlike another blogger i know (me)

Have you taken part in a blog swap, if so link me to any posts as i love reading about them!

Lots of love

xxxx