Mid-week mini haul!

Hi everyone. If you follow my blog or Youtube channel you'll know I love a good haul (a haul being where you reveal what you've been buying) and here's another! All be it mini.

Like many, I love to shop and will often take myself on random retail therapy sessions! It still feels a bit naughty to be out and about on say a Monday afternoon or a Thursday morning enjoying myself whilst others are at work. My typical week has so drastically changed since I left teaching full-time.

Anyhow, sometimes, just sometimes, I get bored of my own company (sarcasm detected) so I was thrilled when one of my best friends said that she had this week off work. YES! Someone to shop with me! 

So on Wednesday me and Gina naturally decided to indulge in a bit of retail therapy in Nottingham. We of course started our shopping trip with a Nando's. You just have to! :) Standard. 

Here's me literally bursting with excitement over anticipated chicken!!! :D

After demolishing our Nando's and adjusting my waistbelt...we hit the shops!

I cannot remember a running order so I'll just talk about my purchases from left to right of the haul picture...

Katie Piper's Beautiful Ever after. I have so so much admiration for this girl! She is truly one of the bravest people I've ever witnessed and I find her very inspirational. I loved her first book, despite it being a true tear-jerker and I'm sure this one will be just as great. WHSmith's were doing a offer where if you bought any magazine you could get the book for £2.99. Gina was buying a magazine anyway and so I simply couldn't resist :) 

Cotton pads and wash cloths. I actually bought 3x cotton pads and 2 wash cloths (pink and cream) for the above reason. I'm giving friends/family/local people the chance to try some of our great skincare products for a few days in the form of this Pamper Box. <3

Elemis Tan Accelerator. I've talked about this product many times and it's been a favourite of mine for around 5 years now. It does as it says and accelerates a tan like nobodies business! Also helps prevent prickly heat and sunburn. And have I mentioned it's scent?! Wow does this smell good! I purchased mine from John Lewis and a offer in store meant it was £20.70. It's usually not far off that pricemark anyway.

Plasters. How exciting! I've been trying to get my feet used to dolly shoes and the likes again now that summer's approaching. They do the job. Boots £1.79. Bargain.

White pumps. I wasn't actually planning to buy any shoes but whilst at the till in Select I happened to see these on the side. My feet are pretty delicate so the first thing I do when looking at shoes is feel the back of the heel to see if they are soft. These particular pumps felt amazing and I could tell they'd be a comfy wear. As luck would have it they had my size out of the only two pairs left in the store...I took this as a sign. They were also only £10.99.

Black leggings. You can never have too many black leggings right? Well recently my collection had dwindled down to one pair! So I had this purchase in mind from the start. I find Select ones really good value for money at 2 pairs for £8. 

The Veronica's new album. Although not pictured, I also bought this CD. This purchase was actually for my Dad. He loves the song 'You ruin me', as do I actually, and I planned to get him the album for his birthday way back in January! It was only recently released so it's been quite a wait...but finally got it! :)

As I said, it was just a mini haul! Hope you've all been having a great week too!

x

Elemis Tan Accelerator

Hello. So I cannot believe I haven't blogged about this before! It's Elemis' Tan Accelerator lotion and it's amazing. It's without question one of my most used and loved products of all time. 

So what is it? ... Well, as it says in its name, it does indeed accelerate a tan. It's pretty good for that actually. However this is not the reason I first purchased the product. 

When I was younger I'd often go on a couple of abroad holidays each year and whilst I enjoyed going away, my skin didn't. More often than not I'd break out in awful pricky heat rashes. If you've ever experienced prickly heat yourself, you'll know how unpleasant and uncomfortable it is. 

May 2011, Greece. I developed the most severe prickly heat rash on my stomach that I had ever experienced and to be honest it ruined my holiday. I was miserable! However during that time my friend told me about this 'tan accelerator thing' that helps to prevent prickly heat and sunburn. I was certainly interested. 

So prior to my holiday in Septemeber 2011 to Gran Canaria, I bought myself a bottle of the Elemis Tan Accelerator. It recommends it's best to apply the lotion about one to two weeks prior to your holiday to help prep your skin. I used the lotion like I would a body moisturiser and applied it all over my body once a day for about 14 days. 

The result: A fantastic holiday in the sun, without any rashes or sunburn! Amazing. Obviously, as a then pale skinned person, I was also using high factor sun cream, but I didn't experience any sunburn. Usually I would still burn a bit, with or without sun cream as my skin was that sensitive! 

I enjoyed using the product so much that after my holiday I decided to continue using the lotion and bought another bottle. Why?
1) The smell. It's delicious. I can't quite describe the scent but I really love it. I suppose it reminds me of holidays.
2) Good skin moisturiser. It's very easy to rub in and instantly sinks into your skin. I don't find it sticky and it does lightly tint your skin.
3) Great for sunbed use. Yes, I know, sunbeds are BAD. However I do enjoy a quick sess every so often and find the lotion really helps to protect your skin whilst accelerating the tan as it were!
4) I figured if I ever go abroad again, my skin will already be prepped and ready for the heat.
I've been using this on a weekly basic ever since...So, wow, pretty much 3 years!
At £22 from the likes of John Lewis, it's not particularly cheap but the fact that I continually repurchase speaks volumes in my eyes! It depends on how often you use it and how much you apply, but on average I get through a bottle about every 5-6weeks. If however you want it prior to a holiday and you're applying all over your body everyday, then I'd say a bottle (125ml) would last you 10-14 days depending on how liberally you apply.
All in all I'd give this product 10/10 and would recommend it to anyone, especially the fairer-skinned population!