Tesco Direct Bedding

I am incredibly partial to a nice new duvet cover, so when I spotted these beauties on the Tesco Direct website, I couldn't resist snapping them up immediately!

This white and black heart print was a bargain at £10.97 and I love how it looks in my bedroom! I have predominantly pale cream or white furniture & walls except for my black (blackout) curtains, so this ties everything together nicely. Click!

This was the first set I saw on the Tesco Direct website and it was love at first sight! I'd actually been on the hunt for a cute Cath Kidston-esque duvet cover for a long time and this fit the bill perfectly! £12 Click!

Do you love pretty duvet covers and bedding? Where is your favourite place to shop?

xx

I Want Never Gets... Beds

Happy mid-week everyone! The week is almost almost done - thank goodness. I've only got a four day week to work this week but it feels like it's going to be a really long one! As soon as it hits 3pm I am daydreaming about curling up in my warm bed for a lovely sleep. I'm sure a lot of you guys are the same at this time of year, so here's some lovely beds you'll wish you had waiting for you at home!

This is the Victoria bedframe. I love metal bed frames, they're so elegant and pretty and often you don't have to spend a fortune to get one that looks a treat! Victoria is £310 for a double from 1907 Beds. Click!

Another stunning metal frame, this romantic style is called Milano and is a little more to my tastes! I love this bedframe - it is so pretty with the curly design and gold bed knobs! £135 for a double Click!

Pushing the girly, pretty factor to the max, this Shanghai is a grown up, acceptable version of a princess bed in my opinion! The crystal bed knobs are a little over the top for my own personal tastes but I know plenty of my friends would adore this bed to snuggle up in at night! £350 for a double from 1907 Beds. Click!

This Wallington ottoman bedstead is more practical than pretty, but it would be a must-have in my guest bedroom if I had one! Can you imagine the amount of storage this would give you?! I can imagine using it to house my winter wardrobe in the summer months. At £450 it's expensive for a bed but with it's double use it's an investment you wouldn't regret. Click!

Which is your favourite bed frame?

(supported by 1907 Beds)

xx

MUA 50% Off Haul 2013

I took advantage of MUA's 50% off Facebook promotion recently - which you have probably heard about whether you ordered or not! It's now become a little infamous for the constantly crashing website and the strange way the brand interacted with its customers on Facebook. If you're a follower of Bee's Knees you'll know I am a fan of the MUA brand, but I have to say I was not impressed with the way the company dealt with the offer. I struggled to place my order as the site kept crashing - something you would have thought they would have prepared for given the same thing happening at the 35% off promotion a few months ago.

The worst part for me personally was the way the MUA representatives presented the situation on Facebook, as if it was the customer's fault that the site was down, and implying that the company was getting no commercial benefit from the offer. This seemed very unprofessional to me, as clearly if you are running a business everything you do is a commercial exercise, and patronising your customers in a hideously passive aggressive manner will not do you any favours. The whole experience has made me question whether I will purchase from MUA direct again, or just buy the brand from Superdrug, if at all, in future. Anyway, rant over. Here's a peep at what I bought!

There was a £30 minimum spend before you could get the 50% off promotion, and I think I got quite a few nice bits and pieces!

Black Eyeliner, Red Eyeliner, Cream Blusher in Blossom, Cream Blusher in Yummy, Trio Eyeshadow in Smoke Screen, Mega Volume Mascara, Mosaic Blusher English Rose, Mosaic Bronzer Sunkissed Glow

Nail Varnishes in Shades Stormy Skies, 13 and 14, Kabuki Brush, Shimmer Kiss Bronzer, Shimmer Kiss Blusher

The grand total of my order was £15.25 including shipping which I think is very reasonable for the amount of make up I purchased! Watch this space for reviews as I'll be posting these soon.

Have you tried anything from MUA before?

xx

Urban Outfitters Homewares Sale Haul

Happy Tuesday evening everyone! Today has been a bit of a drag as it's technically my 'Monday' (I had yesterday off work to laze around with my boy and recover from my birthday weekend!) I thought blogging about my favourite sale haul might cheer me up - so here's a post on my recent purchases from Urban Outfitters. I don't shop there often, primarily because I find it slightly too expensive, but I do love their homewares and gift section. If ever I'm stuck for what to buy someone as a gift I head to Urban Outfitters, and although I come out newly poor, I'm never empty handed!

In December I decided I wanted to invest in some little bits and pieces to tidy up my usually clutter-ful bedside table. I found literally dozens of things I wanted on the Urban Outfitters  site, but luckily managed to put it to the back of my mind and avoid actually buying anything until the sales came around this month! I've bought lots of beautiful things but they were reduced so much I can completely justify it to myself - win!

First up is this bea-u-tiful cream bird jewelry tree - I really really wanted to get this when it was full price (£18), but managed to nab it in the sales for a ridiculous £5. That's right, FIVE POUNDS. It's stunning and fits in perfectly with my cream metal bedside lamp, and my bed frame! Unfortunately this is sold out online but they do have the metal and blue one full price here.

I wear a few rings and my watch every single day, which often means they're tossed onto my bedside table before I clamber into bed sleepily at night, and they usually fall on the floor. In a house with a kitty cat that loves nothing more than hiding/eating/playing with everything she finds on the floor, this isn't a sustainable way for me to live! So I set out to find the prettiest catchall I could, and this ceramic one that looks like an adorable mini bird bath, fit the bill perfectly. Again a bargain buy, this was originally £12 but reduced to £5 in the sale. Click!

Another storage idea that ended up a total bargain, this small wooden box was a bit of an impulse addition to my online shopping bag, but I am thoroughly pleased that I bought it! It's really well made and the design on the top is actually a ceramic tile - which makes me very happy seeing as I paid a measly £5 for this (reduced down from £12). I use this to store all my little necessary bits that are otherwise unsightly, for example eye cream and eye drops. It's perfect and pretty and I love it! Click!

I have always bought my photo frames from Urban Outfitters - I already have 3 or 4 from there and I find them to be cute, quirky but still affordable. I came across this rose design one in the online sale and added it to my basket as it was only £5 (reduced from £10) and I can always use a pretty new frame! This is actually ceramic which is incredible value for money as I'd expected it to be plastic. Unfortunately this is also sold out online, but they do have a similar white mirror here.

I have no idea why I bought this bunting, I thought it was pretty and would fit in nicely with my random, shabby chic home! What I didn't realise was how much bunting there is here - when I got it home I realised I had no idea where I could put it! As a result it's now wrapped around the bottom of my bed which looks okay I guess, but I'm not convinced that's where it's destined to live! This was £5 down from £16 but is now sold out online. There are all kinds of bunting available here though.

Finally, this Nail Art Set was definitely an impulse buy, and maybe one that I'm now regretting. Can you believe this started out at £14!? I would have never paid that much! I actually bought it for £5 in the sale. It's two nail art pens (gold and red) with brushes and dotting tools attached, and also some gems.. I'm not sure when I am going to use this, and I wish I had saved my pennies and invested in something else because £5 is a lot in the land of nail art and polishes, and I could have definitely spent it on something that I'm more likely to use. You can check out some other sets here but unfortunately this is now also sold out.

Apologies for the lack of proper links but I think I got in and bought some of this stuff right before it sold out - lucky me! I hope you liked this post, I know it's not fashion or beauty but I am hoping to take Bee's Knees in a slightly new direction this year and feature a few lifestyle-themed posts, so I hope you enjoyed it!

xx

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Celestial, Stellar & Luna

Eek two blog posts in one day! I had today off work so I thought I would be productive! Besides, I have about a dozen things I want to post about ASAP, and top of that list is today's post on Rimmel Apocalips! If you haven't seen my earlier SAVE don't SPEND post click HERE.

I bought these three Apocalips Lip Lacquers from Boots last Thursday where they were on 3 for the price of 2! I am sure you must have seen a fair few posts on these hyped-up new lip products from Rimmel, but I thought as a down to the ground lipstick gal I ought to share my opinion on them!

After consulting Katie's blog post on all six shades (I think it's the best blog post on the web if you're looking to decide between colours) I plumped for Celestial, Luna and Stellar.

I'm sure you already know about Rimmel's space-age-style packaging, clear base that shows the true colour of the product, and the now famous doe foot applicator. I have never come across this kind of applicator before so I was curious to see how it would affect applying to product to my lips. It's not ground-shaking but it is nice and convenient as you can generally do both lips fully without having to dip back into the pot and get more product on the applicator. The applicator is also precise enough to accurately follow the natural line of your lips, and I found it to be almost as good as a lip brush.

Top > bottom; Celestial, Luna and Stellar.

I'm sure you've already read all about the high colour payoff of these products - and I can absolutely vouch for this. In face Stellar on the lips is so highly pigmented and bright that it looks completely different to any other lip product I've ever tried (and I've tried a lot!) I'm very pale and it suited my skin perfectly, possibly the best red lip look for me personally. I have to say I didn't think the longevity of the Apocalips lived up to the hype - maybe it's because I was drinking a lot but I found they needed to be reapplied every 1-2 hours, and the product does easily find its way onto your teeth, annoyingly!

I tried Luna and found it to be a lot more orange-y than I had expected, and I'm still not sure if the colour is for me! I don't often wear nude or natural lips but I'd hoped this one would be a winner (besides, it looked so pretty on Katie's blog post!) But I'm still undecided... Celestial on the other hand is the prettiest, easiest-to-pull off pale powdery pink that I think will be a staple day lip product for every girl, regardless of skin tone.

Overall I am impressed with the colour of Stellar and the general high pigmentation of these products. The applicator is nice and the formula doesn't dry out your lips. I'm not as impressed as other bloggers by the lasting power of the product - but maybe that's a personal thing. I don't like how this doesn't dry; it remains sort of tacky and easily transfers to your teeth, it's easily smudged, and could possibly transfer onto clothes and cause staining problems.

So my opinion of the Rimmel Apocalips is that it's not the amazing, life-changing lip product that many other bloggers have found it to be, but priced at £5.99 (and currently on 3 for 2 at Boots) it's worth a try.

Have you tried the Apocalips? What did you think?

xx

SAVE don't SPEND #3

I have been dreading this post - every day last week I spent too much money! I will put my hands up and admit that this week's SAVE don't SPEND diary shows me spending lots of money on unnecessary things which, when I look back, I do regret. Which is why I am re-starting my spending ban today but this time I will stick to it and be harsher with myself! No more buying unnecessary beauty or clothes purchases for 100 days.

(source)

Monday

3.63 - Holland and Barrett, (lunch and biscuits)

32.98 - H&M (jumper and blouse, blog post coming soon!)

21.94 - Tesco Direct duvet covers 

£58.55- total

Tuesday

20 - Urban Outfitters bags (2; 1 for giveaway, 1 for me!)

16 - MUA haul

£36.00 - total

Wednesday

5.68 - Nisa food shop

21 - Avon order

12.80 - Chinese takeaway

3.85 - Sally Hansen cuticle remover from eBay

£43.33 - total

Thursday

2 - Sainsburys food shop

15.80 - Boots; 3 x Rimmel Apocalips, No7 toner (£3 with voucher), 1ltr bottle of water)

£17.80 - total

Friday

0.94 - Boots (Q tips)

2 - Sainsburys food shop

£2.94 - total

Saturday

32.72 - Tesco food shop

11 - renting car through ZipCar

9.37 - Holland and Barrett food shop

£53.09 - total

Sunday (my birthday!)

62 - Westfield shopping trip, including H&M, New Look, HMV, Boots, Lush (95p spend using gift voucher)

£62 - total

TOTAL: £273.71

I feel SICK. This is far, far too much money to spend in one week and I am really horrified. I had suspecting it would be over the £100 mark but I had no idea it would be more than £250! It's really difficult being this honest about spending so much but I think honesty is the only way this spending diary will actually work for me.

I think I have a partial excuse in that it was my birthday but that does not justify spending so much. I am even more determined now to enforce my spending ban and save some pennies! I bought some sandwich filling in one of my food shops so I'll hopefully be saving money by not buying lunch this week.

Have you taken a spending ban? How are you getting on?

xx

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor Facial Moisturiser

Today is my birthday!!!! I have now attained the ripe old age of 24, and as I most likely went out and drank far too much last night, I scheduled this post earlier in the week. I've actually been using this moisturiser for a while now, and I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get around to blogging about it!

After my Good Things moisturiser (read review HERE) ran out, I decided to replace it with a moisturiser that has SPF in it. I spotted this Feel Good Factor in Boots whilst passing the time waiting for a train in St Pancras Station, and eventually bought it the following week when it was on 3 for 2 (so I now have 2 waiting in the wings for when this tube runs out!)

You get 50ml for £12, which is pretty reasonable. I've had this one for over 4 months now and I reckon there's still around a quarter left, and that's using it once a day every day. It's called a 'moisture lotion' which I think is accurate as it does seem a little more 'liquid-y' than moisturisers that are in cream form. This is handy as it means the product sinks into your skin much faster.

It contains SPF25 which is ideal for me - I am newly 24 and need to start looking after my skin to avoid any aging wrinkles etc. I'm not so worried that I want to start using actual anti aging products, but I thought getting a moisturiser with SPF was a sensible idea.

I really like this lotion - the packaging is cute and quirky, as is now expected of S&G. It's a nice consistency and you don't need to use a massive amount to feel that you've covered your whole face. It works very well under make up and you don't feel you have to wait for it to be absorbed before applying foundation. It equally looks fine without make up; I didn't wear make up for a month after my operation and this product didn't leave my skin shiny or greasy without foundation.

Overall very pleased, happy and likely to continue to use this for the foreseeable future (and not just because I've got 2 more tubes under my bed! Haha.)

xx

Spendthrift Saturday #3

This weekend is a bit of a big deal for me - it's my birthday tomorrow!! I'm having a few friends around tonight and then heading out to a few bars later on, but before then I've got a lot of chores to do - sad face! If your Saturday plans involve shopping then you might find some of these savings useful!

First up is 25% off the highest price item at H&M with code 0241, valid on sale items!

Expires - 1 August 2013

Free delivery at Superdrug online when you use the code FREEDELFB.

Expires - 1 February 2013

Use VOUCH15 to get 15% off orders at Fashion Union, plus free delivery!

Expires - 27 January 2013

Get 10% off orders over £70 at Boots with VCUKT1J70.

Expires - 27 January 2013

10% off orders at Lipsy if you use VC1301B

Expires - 27 January 2013

15% off all orders and free delivery at Look Fantastic with voucher code JANLFVC

Expires - 27 January 2013

30% off orders at Motel Rocks using VCMOTEL14

Expires - 3 February 2013

As always, let me know if anything isn't working!

xx

January Primark Haul

I popped to Primark at the White Rose Centre in Leeds when I was at home over New Year to pick up a few bits. I was definitely inspired by the YouTube haul videos I've seen recently, a lot of bloggers seem to be picking up the same items!

You've almost certainly seen this nude studded clutch before, £6.

These soft pumps are incredibly comfortable and ideal for popping in your bag in case your heels give you sore feet! £4.

I picked up these various sizes of pearl earrings to go with my Marilyn Monroe costume, a steal at £1!

These are my favourite simple black ankle socks, and they're only £2!

It was love at first sight for these burgundy velvet ankle boots - how beautiful are they?! Only £10, they were a bit of an impulse buy!

I'd seen this collar all over blogs and had to pick it up for myself - £5.

The same for this long silver cross necklace, only £2.

I adore this metal statement necklace, and can see myself wearing this a lot with shirts, jumpers and dresses alike! For only £3 it was a total steal.

And last but not least, my hair is finally feeling a little longer! It's almost long enough to tie up now, for the first time in 4 years! I have no hair ties whatsoever, so these were a must-buy, especially as they were £1.

Have you picked up any of these items from Primark?

xx

Fabulous Nails #25 - potential OPI dupe for £2.50?

I realised I haven't done a Fabulous Nails post for a good few weeks, so here's one about a MUA polish - as MUA currently have 50% off and free international delivery online using code MUA50.

I picked up a few MUA nail polishes in my giant haul (that was ages ago now but it's taken me a while to get around to reviewing everything). Today's Fabulous Nails is about the mystical shade Seahorse.

I picked this polish as I think its unlike any of my other metallic shades - the one it's most similar to is OPI Warm and Fozzie but that's a warmer bronze tone whereas this MUA polish is a brassier gold tone.

This is OPI Warm and Fozzie:

I found this MUA polish really easy to wear and it would be a great simple party nail. It lasted quite a good few days without chipping, although it did take 3 coats to get this opacity. Retailing at only £2.50 I would definitely recommend picking up this unique shade to add to your metallic polish selection! Click!

xx

I Want Never Gets... Home & Interior

In keeping with my New Year's resolution to do more lifestyle-style posts, this week's IWNG is all about furniture and other homewares! I love 'planning' what the inside of my future home will look like, and I've picked out some of my favourites to share with you tonight!

I think I've found my perfect sofa - how unique and cute does this two seater look? It would make a real statement in any living room, and as the colour is quite neutral you could style it to suit your own tastes with throws and cushions! £959.20 from Interior Addict. Click!

I'm pretty sure most girls are like me and really struggle when it comes to finding enough space to store all their stuff! This stand-alone mirror has little hooks on either side which are perfect for draping scarves or necklaces on, a really innovative space saver that looks stunning! £175.20 Click!

Although I have a three seater sofa in my living room, it's never enough seating for when I have friends around and I'm entertaining. A pouffe like this show stopping red one would be ideal, and even when not in use it would make a massive impact on the overall look of the room. £95.20 from Interior Addict. Click!

I am a real sucker for cute cushions - I have 7 on my sofa at the moment (and yes I did just count them) which my boyfriend thinks is too many. In fairness there is very little room to sit down, but when you can find space it's super snuggly! This printed beauty would be totally at home with my cushion collection! £23.20. Click!

Another unique sofa design, I do wish this wasn't in leather! They have one that's fabric but I don't like the colours. I think this would be a perfect addition to anyone's bedroom, as it's not so big that it would take up lots of room but it would be handy to have every now and again... And of course it's be-a-utiful! £1191.20 from Interior Addict. Click!

Are you a bit of a sucker for homewares and furniture too? Which is your favourite of the items I've chosen?

(supported by Interior Addict)

xx