30 Ways to Save £1

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Never one to miss out on a bandwagon, I thought I would join in with the Money Super Market ways to save £1. I'll try and keep it short and sweet but I've got a few ideas:

Travel:

1. Switch off Air-Conditioning - now its warmer, open the windows, switch off air-con/the fan and share your love of cheesy music with the world!

2. Clear out the boot - do you really need to carry around 10 extra pairs of shoes, handbags and general rubbish - clear it out to save fuel.

3. Car share if you can 

4. Get the bus or train - its fun plus you might get entry discounts to some top attractions if you travel by train! Check here to see if you can find some http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london

5. Check your car over, top up the water and oil to help the car run well, using less fuel.

Shopping:

6. When you shop on line, use cashback sights like Quidco to get cash back - if you use the Quidco app you can 'check in' at stores in town and when you shop using the card you registered you earn cash back

7. Ebay - Nuff Said :)

8. When online shopping, stick it in the basket and leave it for a few weeks. If you still want it a month later then buy it, you never know, it might have dropped in price!

9. Check out supermarket clothing brands, they often have good dupes for high street/high fashion clothing - Tesco and Asda are awesome for print trousers at the moment!

10. When food shopping, plan your meal out for two weeks. Make a list and stick to it! Helps budget and the waistline.

11. Find a local market, buy on a Saturday morning and get your meet, veg, fruit and fresh bread for two weeks, you may spend £30 but its great quality and better value.

Beauty:

12. Boots points are a godsend!

13. Buy cotton wool from the baby section in supermarkets - you can get the little cotton balls and unroll them to make pads, but they cost half the price!

14. Wash your makeup brushes using baby shampoo - you will use less make up and so save on that and your skin will thank you!

15. That lipstick might be too bright/matte but melt it over a little hot water in a bowl and mix with a vaseline for a tinted lip balm in a more subtle colour.

16. Bright Eyeshadows might work better as a liner, use a wet brush to slick it on! 

17. Mix that too dark foundation with a moisturiser and you've got a summer appropriate tinted moisturiser!

General

18. Make your own snacks - make a batch of popcorn on a Sunday and spilt it up into 100g bags for the week - easy to throw into your bag every morning.

19. Pack your own lunch, your in control of what you put into your body then.

20. Invest in a large water bottle - you can use it at the gym, in the car, at work, save money on buying bottled water.

21. Sign up to Lovefilm/ Netflix then you can enjoy films in your own homes for a fraction of the price.

22. Switch off the phone charger when your not using it still draws a crazy amount of power.

23. Also switch off the TV at the wall or anything with a clock, do you really need your oven to tell you the time!?

24. Charge things or use the washing machine over night - check if your on a cheaper rate first

25. Now its getting warm, don't be lazy and hang that washing out in the sun, air dried washing is ten times better.

26. Digital Subscriptions to magazines tend to work out cheaper then the paper copy, especially weekly issues (Look is £1.80 per issue, that's £7.20 per 4 issues, but is only £5.99 a month for the digital issue)

27. Want something new - write it on a piece of paper and pop in into your money box. If you throw in your loose change each week then you will see it build up and you might just save enough.

28. Have a money box for a certain coin type - my Nanan saves £2 and 50p coins, every time she gets one she saves them and when she gets £20 she puts them into a saving pot. I did this with £1 and saved £20 really quickly.

29. Have a night in party with your friends, bring on your 5 fave nail polishes and have a pamper party - you will get a free manicure and had a girly night.

30. Instead of buying take away or easy kits, make your own - its cheaper and healthier!

So there are all my tips, if you have any other tips then let me know.If you have done a post like this then link me up or if you fancy entering yourself then here are the details 

Sunday Make Up Shake up - Project 10 Pan

Every Sunday I go through my collection, picking out bits that need using up and bobs that I've forgotten about. A quick count today revealed that I own 12 different mascara - I ask you who needs 12!! Plus 21 eyeliners, 8 different foundations and loads of other bits that need using up and getting rid - so I'm starting a Project 10 Pan.

Included in this I have:
- Murad Skin Perfecting Primer
- Rimmel Wake me Up foundation
- Clinque High Impact Mascara
- Benefit Lemon Aid
- Rimmel Soft Kohl Pencil
- Benefit Bad Gal Mascara x2
- Benefit You're Buffing Colour Corrector
- Rimmel Max Bold Curves Mascara
- 17 Photo flawless Primer

I want all of these gone, some are too old, barely anything left in them and need to be finished and chucked out!

I'll keep you updated, but for now this is my main makeup for school (work)- I've kept everything else the same as last week as I'm being lazy!


Are you doing a clear out? Who does need 12 mascaras?

NOTD Models Own Apple Pie - Review

   

Any mint coloured nail polish has stiff competition from my favourites - Essie Turquoise & Caicos and Mint Candy Apple, but this one comes close!

The third colour from the Models Own Fruit Pastel collection is Apple Pie. A lovely minty blue/green, this one on colour is a winner. The formula was better than Grape Juice, this was opaque in two coats, and lasted for 3 days before I changed it - it could have lasted longer but it had started to look less then fresh.

There was a definite apple scent, not so much apple pie but more apple air freshener which i didn't mind really, it was the least noticeable of all the colours really.

For £5, Models Own have produced a great collection, and the colour will be one I grab lots over the summer - especially on the toes!

What do you think? What are your minty nail polish favourites?

Sunday Makeup Shakeup #8

So first week of the summer term has begun and spring is really trying to start so my make up choices are starting to get more summer based.


This weeks picks are a real range of things I need to use up as well as bits that are new to the stash or old favourites.

Face:

- Rimmel Wake me Up foundation

- 17 Cosmetics Photo flawless Primer

- Mac Blush in Harmony

Eyes & Lips:

- Benefit Lemon Aid

- Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Eternal Gold

- Barry M Dazzle Dust in 38

- Clinique High Impact Mascara

- Benefit Badgal Lash Mascara

- Benefit Browzing in Medium

- Jelly Pong Pong Irish Cream Pavlova Lip Frosting

Lots of bits this week - some bits that are part of my project 10 pan (post to come this week)


What bits have you grabbed this week? Any tips for getting through a project 10 pan? xx

Veet In Shower Hair Removal Cream - Review

Hair removal isn't something I normally discuss - we all have to do it but its something that is normally saved for in the bathroom only, but with summer hopefully on its way it's time to start thinking about it.

For years we have been told we must remove the hair, been given lots of different methods, some that are easy, others that look and feel like methods of torture. For me I've tried most, being a swimmer & dancer for many years meant it was need more then anything, but I always stuck to a good old razor.

I've dabbled with waxing, epilating and threading, but always gone back to a razor. Sick of having to keep it up I picked up some Veet in Shower Hair Removal cream. I wanted something that would get rid for longer then a day and had read some good reviews.

You get the tube & a sponge to apply. The instructions are a little odd, you have to apply this before you get in the shower - for something that is advertised & named In Shower you can't get it wet for the first three minutes!

Instead of jumping in the shower, I left it on for 5mins and then wasted it off, scrubbing with the scrubby side of the sponge. My first attempt left me with some really good results - the front and most of my legs were nice and smooth, but the back was just shorter and fuzzy still and needed shaving. A week later and the front just started to get fuzzy so I tried again with the same results - it's very odd!

I got 4 uses out of the bottle just doing my lower leg, it's pricey at nearly £7 so I might save this for more of a summer thing, but it's good, just need to work on my technique!

Have you ever used this? Any tips for improving my technique?

Wobble Less Wednesday -Update #1

4 weeks have passed since I started this journey, with only 14 weeks to go until the summer holidays,I thought I would do my first update.

Food:
- I'm making better choices, eating a higher protein based diet but still following Weight Watchers. I also prefer to eat my biggest meal at the start of the day and then get smaller so a typical day will look like this
Breakfast - Weetabix with skimmed milk, 1slice rye bread toast & one boiled egg mashed in a cup. (7ppts)
Break time - Snack box(Graze) or fruit (4ppts)
Lunch - Protein & Pitta & Salad, yoghurt, fruit (5ppts)
After school - 40g portion of Sugar Free Muesli & skimmed milk (5ppts)
Dinner - 6ppt meal

I'm meant to get 32ppts a day but struggle to eat all that usually sitting around 27/28 plus I also usually earn between 8 & 13 activity points a night when I go to the gym! If I'm gymming it then I will also always have a protein shake after to help with recovery as I do some weight training.

Exercise:
- I've upped my routine to 3 60min spinning sessions a week, 2 60min dance classes a week, plus following the Blogilates monthly workout plan and videos on YouTube. I'm noticing a difference in my fitness, although I need to do some more stretching as I'm ending up a bit crunchy and sore at the moment.

Body:
- I've lost nearly 7lbs as of now, I would have liked more but it's the measurements I'm more interested in.
- I've lost 2inch from my waist, 1inch from my thighs, 1inch from my bum and 1inch from my hips. I have noticed that my trousers are seeming a bit looser, but not quite down into a 14.
- People have commented that my face seems thinner, nearly laughed at the girl on the MAC counter when she was showing me how to contour she said I had a slim face & good cheekbones - I can't see it myself but maybe I'm losing the pudding face.

Goals:
- Keep going! I'm still taking weekly pictures so will carry on with these.
- Up my water in take, my skin is in desperate need :(
- Add a core class to my routine - I'm looking at meta fit at the moment.

So, how have you been doing? Are their any posts you want to see in this series? Xx

Sunday Makeup Shake Up #7

Sorry this is late, life gets a tad complicated at weekends, but I went home to my parents for the weekend for a car event - but this is what I packed and I'm using it for this weeks make up!

Face:

- Benefit Hello Flawless foundation

- Benefit Erase Paste

- Benefit Georgia Powder

- Look Beauty Cream Blush in Melon

Eyes & Lips

- MUA Undressed Too palette

- Benefit Browzing

- Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproog Khol - Bronze & Nude

- Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara

- Benefit Lipgloss

I'm finding myself not so fussed with makeup at the moment, my skin is really playing up and I think I need to sort that out first, but I've had a few products resurface from my stash that might just shake me up a bit further.

Forgot how much I love most of the Benefit products, it is pricey but I adore it!

What bits are you loving this week? How do you shake yourself up out of a rut?

NOTD - Models Own Grape Juice - Review

Possibly my favourite colour in the world, Grape Juice is the perfect pastel purple, its pretty and girly and the right side or pink toned for not giving me lobster hands.

The scent wasn't as noticeable of Strawberry Tart, its still there but. 

This has the potential to be the perfect polish, except for one thing, for some reason the formula was really difficult to work with. It was streaky and unco-operative and for some strange reason it took a real dislike to my thumb nails, refusing to dry.

It lasted for about 3 days, but it took a real battering at the weekend and didn't look awful. I might try layering this over a white to get it to work, or I might have been having an off day!

Anywhoo the colour is amazing, the scent not so obvious and still a bargain for £5. What do you think? Have you had any trouble with the formula?

Festival Styling with Apricot Online Exclusives

With this weekend marking the start of the music festival season, I've started dreaming of the summer, especially with all the prints that are being released. 

To celebrate all things print, Apricot have released a collection of online Exclusives which include every sort of print in various designs. There are about 30 items, with more designs being added.

I picked my favourite from the collection and styled up how I would want to wear this.I picked the Navajo Sunrise Kimono Top as it hides a multitude of sins whilst having the tribal print that I adore.

I picked bits from New Look to go with the top - I might have to pick up those boots.

There are loads of other prints over on the Website, head over & have a look.

What prints have you spotted over on the site? What do you think of my outfit?

SEVENTEEN Oh So Spring! Cheek Stamp in Coral - Review

Spring seems to have rushed off again, but the coral blushers are back out in force and newbie to the market is very different.

Seventeen have launched their Oh so spring! cheek stamp. This literally is a stamp for blusher. On the top you get a cute little mirror, and inside the stamper and the blush pan. 

There are two colours, coral and pink, I picked up coral.

From the picture above, it easy to get a touch of the clown face with this as it does print a perfect circle on the cheeks that needs to be blended. I dotted the blush on my cheeks & then blended with my Real Techniques blush brush.

The coral is a gorgeous colour, perfect for summer with a warm tan. There is a hint of gold shimmer in the blush which works well to highlight - I only apologise for the sorry state I look in the picture, full of cold & high on Day nurse is not attractive.

For £4.99 theses are a great bargain, pop in store to pick this up as the colours are muddled up online.

What do you think, coral blush for spring? Is it a tad cheesy or something you would grab for on the go?

Versatile Blogger Award

So I always see these on other people's blogs and loved reading them and then I find that I've been nominated by the lovely Jenny from JennyPeaowl

So the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you. Thank you Jenny :)

2. Include a link to their blog. - go and check it out!! - http://jennypeaowl.blogspot.co.uk/

3. Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.
- Here goes

1. If I wasn't a teacher, I would be a mechanic

2. I can do the splits - comes from years of dance & Kung Fu training!

3. I can put on quite a few accents, I'm good at mimicking others, although this does get me in to trouble when people think I'm being cheeky!

4. I'm scared of helter skelter slides - I had an accident on one when I was 9 and I can't stand them now!

5. My boyfriend calls my nail polish obsession a 'hobby'. It's how he justifies to himself when rather large collection!

6. I once had my hair so long that I could sit on it!

7. When I was little, my & my sister would pretend we were from Disney films and I would sing 'A whole new world' at family BBQs.

Finally, I have to pick 10 lovely bloggers I follow and share their links so here goes:

- Jemima&ted
- Blue October
- Bamboozle Beauty Blog
- Chloe Ryan Makeup
- Laddered Tights
- Makeup for the Inept
- Misse Blog
- Try My Hand- Twenty One
- Cupcakes & Converse 

Have you been linked?! 

Wobble-Less Wednesday - 15 snack ideas

I'm awful when it comes to my food choices. I will happily eat 6 packets of crisps in a row and forget. My snacking choices have never been my strong point, so I need to get myself together and sort this out. I love snacks, for me I need snacks that can get mee from breakfast until lunch without keeling over in the middle of a lesson - so I need complex carbs and a hit of protein if possible.

I raided my kitchen cupboards for everything a list of things that wasn't a great choice and then wrote a list of what I needed  to get to grips with this healthy eating and thought I would share what I plan.

- Popcorn - make up a large batch on a sunday and then share into bags for the week ahead. 25g is the perfect amount & then sprinkle with a topping of your choice - I like either salt & pepper, cinnamon or even a sprinkle of chocolate powder.
- Banana
- Apples
- Graze box - for under £4 a week you get 4 boxes of balanced yumminess - why not try a free box with my code! XTP1TH5D
- Frubes (yummy!)
- Cheese Strings
- Boiled Eggs
- Avocado & ham on Melba toast
- Cucumber & Guacamole
- Weight Watchers Crisps - pick up the big packets from Poundland!
- Hummus & Wholemeal pitta
- Dark Chocolate
- Cadbury Fudge bar (3WW pro points)
- Peanut butter & a crumpet
- Mixed nuts - buy them from here! 

I try to makesure I have all of these in the flat or at work so that I can just grab and go when I need it without worrying I'm eating too much - plus the more I exercise, the more fuel I need to maintain what I've achieved so far!

So those are just some of the snacks I have in the flat - what sorts of things do you grab to help you! 

LOreal Colour Nail Topcoat in Confetti - Review

If there ever was a polish that was hard to find then this up there with the best of them. L'Oreal Topcoat in Confetti is one that is doing the rounds on the beauty circuit and for good reason!

Made up of large hexagonal black & white pieces of glitter as well as smaller white & black, its the perfect way to get the speckled nails, inspired by the Illamasqua polishes from their I'mperfection collection for a fraction of the price!

Easy to apply over any colour, the pieces are suspended in a clear polish and the glitter can be easily places, as well as building it up to create a gradient effect.I love the little bottle as well as the shape of the brush

for only £4.99, this really is a must if you can grab it! 

What do you think of it - have you found it? What do you think of the speckled nail trends?

Spending Ban - It's a start

I must admit, I look at my 'collection' sometimes and wonder "do I really need all this?" I have a lot of make up and clothes, some of which are hardly used, others which have never been worn, or worn once and never again.

I then look at my bank balance each week and think how wasteful I am - the odd £10 in Boots add up to quite a lot over time and really I only have one face. Coupled with that, the boy and I are desperately trying to get enough together to put a deposit on our dream home, we've spotted a couple and would love to own rather then throw away £900 a month on someone else's mortgage.

So from today (Friday 5th April) until the 5th of July, I am on a spending ban.
Terms & Conditions of the spending ban
- only essential beauty items will be purchased (deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste) if there are non available in the stash.
- nail polish does not count as essential!!!
- clothing is not needed
- the makeup stash will continue to be 'shaken' each week as blogged on a Sunday.
- samples will be used and reviewed in a post (hopefully)
- All loose change will be collected and saved, no more dumping pennies!
- withdraw £50 on a Monday and it MUST cover everything until the following Monday, any left overs will be stashed on the piggy bank, not spent!!

Coupled with this, I'm also in the process of a massive clear out of my wardrobe and drawers - so an ebaying session will commence soon. I have far too many unloved shoes and clothes - will link them on here :)

So from now on, if you see me in a shop, lusting over Nailpolish, or just generally wasting money then you have permission to slap me! I would love any money saving tips you have, so let me know, or if you want me to do a half way update or any other posts then let me know!!

Are you saving at the moment?!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wobble-Less Wednesday - Stop Making Excuses!!!

I have a confession - I am the Queen of excuses! If I can put something off then I will for as long as I can, making 1000 excuses!

In the past 6years those excuses have resulted in me gaining nearly 3.5stone of weight, but enough is enough - no more. I asked the question on Twitter, and I got responses with the same excuses I make to myself every week. Its frustrating, especially as we're now 16weeks away from the summer and my mindset needs to be changed. These are my excuses:

- "I'll start tomorrow" I make one every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc if I don't want to do something. This is especially true of what I eat, if I can have cake then I will, the diet will start again tomorrow. This can knock me for a full day and I'll eat whatever - but one small slip shouldn't cancel all the good I have been doing!

- "I've been really busy today" Really? How busy is busy? So busy that you've burnt enough calories for those two packets of crisps? I think not! I use this occasionally when I'm feeling lazy, however its no excuse - an hour workout is only 4% of your total day -have I really been that busy?

- "I've nothing to wear" No more is this an excuse, I actually love workout gear, there's so much cute stuff out there - I swear by Zaggora hotpants or Capri pants and a t-shirt, I usually get these from Primark as I cut them up to be how I want them to be. Its not meant to be a catwalk on the treadmill so stop making that excuse! 

- "If no one sees me eat it then did I really eat it?" How many of us are guilty of this?  Yes you have eaten it, yes you will need to burn it off - your only lying to yourself! This is where Weight Watchers comes in for me - I plan and track everything, even that little corner of the biscuit needs to be tracked. If you don't want to join WW then grab yourself a little diary/notebook & write everything down, or better still take a picture on your phone! Make yourself aware of what's going in your mouth, even when your not thinking about it! 

So those are just some of my excuses, I will not let them stop me! What excuses do you make? How do you over come your excuses?

For more fitness quotes, head over to my Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/KnickersnNails/ xx

NOTD - Models Own Strawberry Tart - Review

 

Hands up who else let out a squeal when they saw that Models Own were releasing not one, but two collections ready for summer?! The moment they became available I pre-ordered and then they were mine :)

As it's Easter, I thought I would work my way through the Pastel collection. For those under a rock, Models Own are taking us back to the 90s, with scented polish in sweet scents and pastel colours.

Strawberry Tart is a gorgeous, creamy pink, perfectly pastel and spring ready. This applied a tad streaky on the first coat, but a second smooths it out to a squishy, gel-like finish. The pictures are a tad messy, but it is my left hand (I'm left handed), it did apply a lot better on my right hand but clean up was quick and easy. The pink was so soft and flattering that I actually looked a lot more tanned, which can only be a good thing!

The polish dried really quickly and shiny, and once dry you can smell the strawberry scent - its not sickly at all, very subtle, plus you could still notice it 2days later.

You can pick these up now from Boots and Models Own for the grand sum of £5

So what do you think? Are you loving the pastel for spring? What about the scented polish?