I Smell Like a Great Big Parma Violet

A reoccurring theme on The World of Kitsch, since I launched in 2009, is my devotion to finding anything and everything with the scent of the classic Swizzels Matlow sweets, Parma Violets. 

One of my most viewed posts, week in and week out, is a March 2014 post about a range of sugared violet beauty products. I did a bit of backwards search engining and found if you Google search 'Parma Violet perfume' it's one of the top results. This is ironic as I'm STILL asking Twitter even this year for other people's recommendations of perfumes that smell like the sweets.

This week I ebayed for some more Parma items and came across this body butter from  Squeaky Soaps. It was only £2, £3.99 postage mind you, and delivered in two days. It's VERY thick and super whipped. It feels heavy but with it comes a lot of moisturisation. It would be great for dry skin, and if violets aren't your thing there's a marshmallow scent on sale too.

I've ordered a couple of other small, handmade businesses' items with the same scent on eBay, so watch out for them this week. 

If you fancy checking out my really popular Parma Violets' beauty range blog post  you can visit it here!

M&S Pizzas- A Second Chance & New Flavours to Try

Pizzas £4 each : Salads two for £4

I love M&S food, and 99% of the time I'm happy to pay the slightly more than other supermarket prices for their products, because the quality is always there. But, I have a secret. I hate M&S pizzas.

I tried them a few years ago and just didn't like them. I didn't like the base, the toppings, the way they cooked- nothing. So when my lovely PR contact at M&S asked me to pick up the new stone baked varieties from Sprucefield to try, I wasn't as enthusiastic as I usually am about my trip to Lisburn. 

I picked the classics, and the new combinations, all of which cost £4. The new pizza recipes are BBQ Pulled Pork, The Magnificent Meaty and The New Yorker. The latter appealed to me the most with pastrami, gherkins and what looks like American mustard toppings.

Every pizza is totally loaded with toppings, no half measures. But, did I like the M&S pizzas now? A few years on and I can safely score them off my dislikes list. The bases cook really well, the toppings are lovely and I would definitely buy them again. I think I'd still avoid the boxed pizzas which were the ones I didn't care for previously, but this range is everything you'd expect from M&S. Filling, delicious and very tasty.

That's the pepperoni one below, which my son and I shared this evening with their olive and feta salad. He gives it a big thumbs up too. The New Yorker is the one I'm most curious about, so keep an eye on my Instagram (@rudedoodle) and I'll let you know how it goes when we cook it. 

The 100 Colour, £12 Eyeshadow Palette Every Makeup Junkie Needs

I nearly collapsed with excitement when I spied this  100 shade eyeshadow palette from Revolution which is only £12 on both their own site & Superdrug's. I ordered it on Sunday afternoon & it was delivered to my local Superdrug store for pick up today.

It has nudes, mattes, shimmers, neons, the works. All I need to do now I skill up on eyeshadow application, especially with colours. 

The Big Monday Morning Round-up: Clarins Double Serum, Lidl Fashion, & Drop a Jean Size Challenge Midpoint Check-in

I've follow up news on three different topics I've blogged about before, so I'm combining them in one big Monday morning round-up. 

I blogged a few days ago that I was trying  Clarins Double Serum which is the UK's leading serum product with a string of awards to its name.

Its a unique oil AND water product, and Clarins have found a combination so they work together rather than separating as those elements usually would. You can see the bottle above is split in two, oil on one side, water based serum on the other. When you pump to dispense both come out and you combine them before applying to your face. 

I was given a few samples at the House of Fraser 'Beauty Confidential' event, where you can currently pick up Double Serum for £59, saving £10 on their regular price.

I have tried all my samples, one each night and truthfully I haven't noticed much of a difference from my usual Boots No.7 serum. The Clarins rep said that to really get a good idea of the product you need a week's worth of samples, but by the time I reached that concession after my Laura Mercier makeover, they were almost all gone. So perhaps that's why I didn't notice any different YET, I only had four nights' samples.  

Also I thought the samples themselves were a little small. I realise it's an expensive product, so samples will be costly to give out for free, but I found it tricky to get any of the water based side of the serum out of the sachet at all. 

I do want to give Clarins Double Serum another try though. The lady representing them said they get sample sizes in every few weeks, so I will try to see if I can get a seven day supply of samples when I'm up again. 

I'm keen to visit House of Fraser while the Beauty Confidential offer is still running, as the other product they showed us, Instant Smooth, is also £10 off at only £16.50

This stuff is magical. It was their innovative product they shared with us during the talk that night, and what it can do has to be seen to be believed.  

Rubbing a tiny amount on the palm of your hand, then comparing to your other one, will show you just how effective Instant Smooth is. Wrinkles and lines are filled in and simply disappear. I had never seen anything like it.

Of course the effect is temporary, once you take off your makeup at the end of the day your wrinkles are back- but it's a cheaper and less drastic measure than injected fillers. 

So, who managed to get something wonderful from the range of Lidl Fashion that arrived in stores last Thursday? 

I was thrilled to find the striped t-shirt I had wanted at the press event, at only £5.99 in my local Bangor store. I couldn't find the panelled leather look leggings, but I've a feeling they said those will be in store in November. 

Finally, I'm one week into my drop a jean size challenge. My weight is inching down, and those size 12 jeans are looking more like they will fit every day. In fact I was able to buy size 12 leather-look leggings yesterday in Exhibit.

 The New You site has lots of new bundle offers in time for slimming down for Christmas, if you fancy joining me.

Wonderfully Cute 'Dear Zoo' Storage Boxes. Oh, & Breaking Bad Themed Ones Too!

Far too fierce

Rod Campbell's animal illustrations will hit most of us with a huge wave of nostalgia, being nestled in the pages of children's book favourite, 'Dear Zoo'. 

Too big

Many of us not only remember Dear Zoo from the warm & cosy bedtime story time of our childhood, but also from owning a copy of the book now to share with the kids we have of our own.

Too naughty

The Works isn't a store I'm in regularly, but I needed to buy some storage and I had previously picked up Hungry Caterpillar and London Underground print boxes there maybe three years ago now for £10 for the two.

Brilliantly the offer is still the same price. They are collapsible and fairly sturdy so I use mine to store papers like bank statements, tax credit letters etc.

They are a suitable size to keep in your living room, to tidy away all the kids' toys quickly at bedtime, so you don't feel like you're sitting in a day nursery when it's time for telly, relaxing and grown-up time.

They cost £7 each, or two for £10. I didn't see the Breaking Bad versions in my local Bangor branch, but they do stock them on the  online store, and there are two designs. Great for chucking the otherwise cluttered pile of DVDs and Blurays beside the TV in. Could be a good Christmas present for the untidy Breaking Bad fan in your life!

If meth-themed storage isn't your thing, then there are a dozen or so other patterns in the cube, collapsible box range. 

I was after a particular type of box, for storing my daily-use makeup, so to take advantage of the 2 for £10 offer I chose an owl & the pussycat collapsible box for Michael to keep his room tidy with.

The boxes that suited storing my makeup best were these two cute, vintage-look, floral suitcases, which came as a set for £7, or mix and match in the 2 for £10 offer. 

You can see the pile of various makeup and hair products I use every day behind them in the photo below. Having that cluttered collection sitting there was annoying me, and I didn't want to put it all away in my drawers on the other side of the room, and get it out again every morning and night. 

The large case stores everything I use in the morning. Foundation, mascara, primers etc are loose, then all my eyeshadow products or anything that's a bit messy I can keep in the original vintage Ladybird book makeup bag. 

The smaller of the two Is just the right size for my hair products and my nighttime routine bits as well.

The boxes are a good size and they look more presentable in the corner of the room than a pile of bags.

I like to think this storage will suffice for a good length of time, but considering I've gone from just a tiny bit of foundation & mascara a day, to about twenty products in the daily routine a year on, I could need bigger boxes by this time next year. 

I've seen beauty bloggers post about little sets of drawers that are sometimes on wheels for storing tonnes of products, so that will probably be the next step for makeup mad Claire. 

With the mix and match offer you can get storage for the whole family. As well as the large cube boxes and my choice of two cases, there are also slightly different shaped suitcases in sets of three.

Finally, this set of five cylinder hat boxes are also included in the offer. Useful storage solutions at a bargain price. 

Benefit Air Patrol, Is It Worth Taking To The Skies?

This week I will be filling you in on some of the products we were clued up on at the House of Fraser 'Beauty Confidential' blogger event last Thursday.

The girl from Benefit told us the history of the brand, and schooled us on their newest product, Air Patrol. 

It's a BB cream and eyelid primer all in one, with a SPF of 20. She told us it's major plus is that it will intensify any eye shadow you use over it. We got to try it on our hand during the chat & you can see the pigment is stronger where I used Air Patrol on the right. 

On the night we were all given a gift card to buy something we usually wouldn't buy, but would like to try. I had already spent mine on a Laura Mercier finishing powder, but my friend Sera from  The Style Guide Blog hadn't seen anything that took her fancy, and was rushing off to get home to Ballymoney, so she very kindly gave her card to me!

I do love Benefit products, the packaging always appealed to me and I even made several purchases of products even before I went makeup mad this year. 

So I picked up Air Patrol as I was so impressed by the hand test with the eye shadows. Benefit are known for their innovative products and Air Patrol has a feature that's brand new 'makeup technology' I suppose you could call it. 

The applicator is a super soft cushion calm tip that claims to be more gentle than your little finger. If you go to your local Benefit counter they'll have a large size of the material used for you to poke and test out. Another cool feature is that you can twist the base to dispense, but also to suck the product back in if too much comes out. Money saving makeup! But is it worth its £21.50 price tag?

So this morning before I put on any makeup, I tried doing my eye products with one lid bare and the other with Air Patrol as a primer. 

Left bare : Right using Air Patrol

It's easy to put on and 'dries' quickly. Excuse my novice eyeshadow application, but you get the idea. The pigment definitely has an edge on the eyelid on the right, which is the Air Patrol primed one.

So yes, Air Patrol works, so it's worth investing in if you want to up your eye makeup game. You can buy online where you can get two free samples of your choice with your order, or buy instore at your local Benefit counter, which always seem to have a sample or two for you when you make a purchase.

Air Patrol comes with super cute, pencil case type makeup bag at the moment as its their newest product. Because it was a blogging event they were incredibly generous with the samples!

They also have sweet little luggage tags, to tie in with the air travel theme of Air Patrol. 

Puff Off! Is a product which works to minimise eye bags. It feels nice and soaks into the skin quickly without feeling greasy.

Instant Comeback is a luxurious serum, even the sample bottle is gorgeous. It's a clear serum and sinks in quickly and again without feeling greasy.

The It's Potent! eye cream is just that! I tried it last night when I took my makeup off and found it too greasy for my skin. I guess that's because it's not a product aimed at someone like me, it's best for those with dry skin. 

The last sample I've tried so far is the Lollitint liquid blusher. I naturally have rosy cheeks, very rosy at times, so blusher is a product I've never dreamt of even buying. However, now that I wear more foundation, they are hidden somewhat, so I've been wondering should I use a blusher now. 

So when Rachel at the Laura Mercier concession was doing my full makeup, I asked her if I WAS to use blusher, whereabouts on my cheeks do I put it? So now I know I tried out this blusher sample with a bit more confidence. I think a powder type blush would be more for me. I worry if putting a light liquid like Lollitint on top of foundation would ruin the finish? I think it's a great product for girls who can get away with no foundation. Just a little bit on each cheek would give you a healthy glow. 

More from the House of Fraser Beauty Confidential during next week. The event sees lots of different beauty and makeup brands offer one of their top products with £10 off. The product Benefit and chosen for the promotion is another fairly new one, Rollerlash. Again it's a primer product which lengthens and curls the lash before you apply mascara. The reviews on the Benefit site are great and with the Beauty Confidential event, if you buy it in House of Fraser it's just £9.50

The £6.95 Monthly Beauty Box That Will Find You Your New Favourite Products For Less

The You Magazine Discovery Box is a classic monthly subscription box, that costs just £6.95 including delivery. 

Now that all of a sudden I'm Mrs Makeup, I wanted to check out some of the subscription boxes you can buy online, which let you try a handful of samples of different brands every month. The big names are Birchbox and Glossybox, but ever the bargain hunter I spied the You Discovery box cost just £6.95, saving £3 a month compared to the other subscriptions.  

You still get to try brands you might not otherwise buy from, independent companies and bigger, well known brands like Body Shop. The September Revitalising themed box includes a gift card for £10 off when you spend £25, which I'm thinking of using it before the October deadline and buying some Christmas presents. 

The other products are a seaweed & aloe eye gel, several samples of Skyn firming eye gel, face masks, a serum and more. Another unique feature of the You box is every month you can choose two samples from a selection of brands on offer. So as well as some surprises in the post, you are guaranteed at least two products that you really want to try out.

As well as the monthly box there are limited edition special boxes on offer, such as this Burt's Bees themed collection. 

All in all its the beauty box for me. It's cheaper, I can choose two samples, and who doesn't like getting a little present in the post, even if it is from themselves? 

Next I want to mention a product I'll be trying out over the next few nights, and which I'll tell you all about properly after that. 

On Thursday night a group of local bloggers were invited to come along to House of Fraser to listen to representatives from five beauty brands giving us a short talk on their newest and most innovative products. 

The ladies from Clarins showed us this amazing new wrinkle eraser, but also spoke about one of their top products, the multi-award winning Double Serum. As I said I'll tell you all about it after my trial, but apparently it's a real game changer of a product, so I'm excited to try it out. 

The House of Fraser event was to launch their Beauty Confidential promotion, where a selection of products across all the beauty brands are £10 off. That includes the Clarins Double Serum which is now £59 down from £69. So I have my little samples and I will tell you in a few days if I notice a difference from using my usual Boots No7 serum. I'll also tell you a bit more about the other beauty brands and products we heard from last night.

Drop A Jeans Size in a Fortnight Challenge Day Three Check In

My order of tonnes of meal bars & oatmeal and porridge arrived yesterday at tea time. I've this New You Plan thing licked this time around. I've explained before all the variations of products, but I've narrowed it down to exactly what I want out of it. 

I ordered five oatmeals and five apple & cinnamon porridges for the morning. These taste great. I especially like the original oatmeal, I thought it might be bland, but it's sweetened. I made it up with a little too much water, but I devised a fix for it. I microwaved for 60 seconds, stirred, another 60 seconds, but it was still watery. I tried leaving it for half an hour planning to return and blast it too again, but by that time it has thickened up itself, so 30 seconds did the job and I saved my oatmeal. 

You can also use the oatmeal to make sweet nibbles  by following one of slimmer Dawn' recipes and mixing in some chocolate shake powder. I made the crisps using soup powder as she suggests and it worked!

The meal replacement bars are my other items for the day. I'm allowed three of them to take me to the four New You Products a day and 100% RDA of vitamins and minerals. Please, please take note- New You recommend you only eat ONE bar a day, due to their mild laxative effect. However this doesn't seem to creat a problem for me, so I've tailored the diet for taste. 

I also have a huge backup of low calorie meals, the majority being my favourite, their Cottage pie. I also have the spicy noodles, carbonara and everything else each craving could be covered with.

Now this little tub is my secret weapon. I ordered the three for two, and I'm glad I did as I used a whole jar in five days! The New You Broth is a water flavouring which you can enjoy in unlimited amounts. It's really tasty and I pretty much have a mug on the go constantly through the day: it helps you feel full up and not craving savoury. 

So three days in, three pounds down already, waiting for a delivery of wafer snacks to arrive today. I Will be comfortable in these jeans in a fortnight. They can be zipped up already but are too snug. 

*always consult your GP before starting a very low calorie diet. Results vary*