My £2 challenge!

Now we are almost a month into 2014, most people will have had their credit card statements, seen their bank account and are thinking about next Christmas as well as other activities and events in between and there is one thing all of these things have in common - Money!

As I have spent hours reading and commenting on other blogs, scrolling up and down sites such as Facebook, Money-saving Expert, and Twitter I have discovered that there is a wide range of different money-saving methods out there. For example, when it comes down to saving money, whereas some people prefer to work with financial services providers like Aspiration, others prefer to do things a little differently. That being said, if you would like to learn more about the different ways that financial services providers like Aspiration can help people to save money, you can take a look at these aspiration online bank reviews. As for me though, over the years I have attempted spending bans. Many of us are currently doing them as well as looking for other ways to save some money and I am sure we can all manage to save just £2 per day from the change we have in our pockets, wallets, or floating around in our handbag.

Once the money to save has been found, for me it needs to be out of sight, so this is my money box, Freddie the Frog and I have had him since my University days when I used to put all kinds of coinage into him and whilst he is looking a little older and a little bit battered, he is the perfect size for this challenge.

We all have loose change in our handbags, pockets and purses and I don't know about you, but I do find it rather annoying and heavy and am always wondering what to do with it.  So what I am going to now do is keep all of that change at the end of each day and try to ensure there is a minimum of £2 and then I put it into the frog.  Naturally I would prefer to have £1 and £2 coins but as long as it adds up to £2 that will do and if I have a little bit more change that will also go into the frog.  Then by the end of the year I should have no less than £730 which I can either use beforehand when buying Christmas Presents or leave it until the New Year and have a good old spend in the sales.

It is now 13th January and I already have £30 in my frog, £30 I would have probably just used on things I didn't need!  Putting that into perspective, it is almost a Naked3 Palette!

Is anyone else doing anything like this or have you tried it in the past? 

Balance Me BB Natural Perfection SPF 25

I am yet to find my Holy Grail BB Cream, I have tried 3 or 4 and they were alright, but would I repurchase them, I am not too sure. When this box from Balance Me dropped through my letterbox I was quite excited when I saw what was inside. Allow me to introduce you to their very own BB Cream*, a product which sold out as soon as it became available and one I have been itching to get my paws on. I am a huge fan of the Balance Me range and I first came across the BB Cream when I got a sneak preview at the Debenhams beauty event that I was lucky to attend and which you can read about HERE.

The Balance Me BB Natural Perfection SPF 25 to give it, its proper title is described as being

"A high-tech formula designed to create a naturally active daily skin perfector that leaves skin radiant and glowing, thanks to our sophisticated mineral-based tint. To support the structure of your skin and to smooth away signs of daily wear and tear, our SPF 25 BB cream contains an innovative natural titanium dioxide-based sun filter to block out both UVA and UVB rays. Our hand-picked ingredients were chosen to both enhance the activity of our sun filter and boost complexions. We’ve blended Abyssinian and rosehip oils with anti-oxidant rich, collagen and elastin-boosting blackberry leaf extract to help firm and smooth the surface of the skin; the purest grade of hyaluronic acid to help plump and bind in moisture; spruce knot, lotus flower and violet seed extracts to help calm any redness to give you a beautifully even skin tone"

Now I am more than impressed that it has an SPF 25, the one thing I want from and in my products these days is an SPF and something around 20-25 is perfect for my face. What's more with this BB Cream is that it has, what is referred to as a five-fold action to nurture and enhance your skin and they are:

1. Prime
2. Moisturise
3. Smooth skin
4. Protect with an SPF of 25
5. Deeply hydrate

Now this cream smells incredible, as soon as you squeeze some onto your hand all of those essential oils rushing to your senses making them coming alive and it smells absolutely wonderful.

When it comes to application, it couldn't be simpler.  It can be applied directly onto your freshly cleansed skin or over a moisturiser and using your fingertips, you simply blend it to give that natural, radiant and dewy glow.  What i love about this product is that the coverage is lovely and light, it doesn't make me look orange and it does make my skin feel lovely and nourished specially given that it contains high grade natural hyaluronic acid which we know is brilliant for our skin, camellia and jojoba oils which help with moisturising your skin, rosehip oil to help calm and then Abyssian oil for smoothing and anti-ageing, add that to the SPF 25 and your skin is getting some serious protection and TLC.

I use this BB cream daily with Benefit Hello Flawless over the top and my make-up lasts all day, so on a normal working day that can be anything from 8-10 hours depending on how busy I am, again I found the staying power quite impressive.

This product hit the shelves in November and a 40ml tube retails for £26 which you can see HERE and since this product came through my letterbox I have worn it almost everyday, it is just brilliant and it leaves my skin feeling soft, smooth and moisturised not to mention looking lovely.

Have you tried this product? Would you like to try it?

Competition | Debenhams Womenwear Winter Challenge Win £500

Debenhams have launched an exciting competition for bloggers who have a natural talent for fashion. All you have to do to enter is to create a mood board which presents two stylish winter outfits. One should showcase a daytime look, which will keep you warm and cosy but looking good through the colder months; and the other outfit should be your ultimate party look. One lucky winner will receive £500 of Debenhams vouchers and two runners up will win a £50 voucher each.

I am a huge fan of Debenhams, it is my favourite department store and one of the places I turn to when I need an outfit for a dinner, wedding and any occasion that requires a little more effort than a trip to the highstreet.

I decided to enter this competition and have created my two outfits which are showing below and I would love to know what you think:

Look One

Meeting up with the girls often requires a little more than jeans and a top and I like to make the effort and go somewhere between casual and comfortable but smart as well.

Coffee with the girls by beautyqueenuk featuring black leggings

Look Two
Party season is still on-going and again the look for me has to be right and I have to be comfortable.  This is my outfit

Party Time... by beautyqueenuk featuring a crystal tennis bracelet

How to Enter

The winter style challenge will be judged by Natasha from girlinthelens.comand Victoria vipxo.co.uk.

To enter, create your blog post and then add the link to your entry in the comments section under either Natasha or Victoria’s posts about the competition.  You will have to be quick though because it closes on Monday 13 January 2014

Requirements

Your entry must include the product name and price for each item you choose.

Together, Victoria and Natasha will choose the overall winner based on how stylish and imaginative the outfits are. They will also each choose a runner up from their own comments section – so if you think you share the same tastes as either Victoria or Natasha, choose wisely when posting your entry! We’ll announce the winners on this page and on Victoria and Natasha’s blogs soon after the closing date.

You can find Victoria’s post here and Natasha’s post here.
If you do enter I would love to see your entries, so please do tweet me and link me to your post or post the link in the comment section below.

Terms and conditions for this competition can also be found HERE

Good Luck

Valentines Ideas for Him

If you have been in any Supermarket, Card Shop or are signed up to any beauty and fragrance websites, you will be more than aware that Valentines Day is just around the corner.

So I have put together a rather creative list of the kind of things I know my beloved would like and want.


Adopting an animal is something I chose because he did it for me a few years back and it was so lovely and unique.  We are both animal lovers anyway and have three cats of our own not to mention an aquarium full of fish and love going to the zoo.

If you have a stressed out and tired hubby/partner a bit of TLC goes a long way and sending them off for a massage and some pampering is something I have always looked at doing.  My beloved has a stressful job and I think it would be nice to send him off for a few hours of me time.

If you don't take Valentines Day too seriously then something jokey like I.O.U vouchers are brilliant inside a card, some are much more naughty than others and require some imagination and others are simply "I.O.U a cup of tea every morning for x amount of time" and so on.

If money was no option, luxury Rolex watches are something I would want to invest in.  I know a few people who are lucky enough to have them and not only are they stunning they actually keep their value, many increasing at time goes on.

The final option is a meal for two.  For me, one of the best things is going out for a meal, just the two of us and there being no shopping, food preparation, cooking, washing up and so on.  A nice relaxing dinner, with wine is for me a perfect ending to a day and something I want to do more of.

What have you got planned for Valentines Day? Does the Man/Lady in your life get special treatment?