Full FOTD using mostly 2 palettes

Hi sorry it's been a while as I don't wear make up everyday. I never used to but since having the little one I have less time to experiment with make up.

Here is my recent face of the day, I'm wearing,

- Benefit oxygen wow foundation

- Benefit Hello Flawless powder

- Bobbi Brown under eye corrector

- Benefit Boi-ing concealer

- Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade

- Benefit High Brow

- Mac all that glitters shadow all over lid

- Mac sepia shadow on the outer edge and under the eye.

- Mac Show Stopper shadow in the outer corner.

- Mac Orb shadow inner eye area and above the eye to highlight.

- Eyeko liquid eyeliner

- Mac Melba blush

- Benefit Watts Up highlighter 

- Rimmel lip liner 

- Mac Ravishing lipstick 

Sorry this was so Benefit heavy. I have the Benefit how to look the best at everything palette and I love it. I also used my Mac Rebecca Moses face palette here. I find palettes much easier to reach for these days if I'm quickly trying to put a look together. Also some of you might notice that I didn't include mascara here, that was no mistake as even though it makes your lashes look fab I find that they scratch on my glasses an leave marks. X

How avoid paying RRP for the things that you really want

So since quitting my job and becoming a stay at home mum funds are tight and that means I don't really spend money on myself. It's hard, as before if I saw something that I 'had to have' I would have just bought it and thought about the consequences later but now I can't.

I used to love buying high end makeup but now those items are saved for Christmas and birthdays.

Sometimes though there are just some things that creep up that you can't stop thinking about that you just love and are just 'so you' it hurts. Here is how I have handles such situations.

Not paying the RRP tips!

1. Be patient

I have been after a certain Seasalt dress for the past 3 months. It was nautical and a button up dress I immediately fell in love. However the price tag of £55 was out of my reach so I waited. I waited for it to go into the sale, it did but my size instantly sold out, no! I proceeded to stalk ebay where as after 2,3 weeks one finally came up for auction in my size second hand. There had been new ones in my size on ebay for ages but all at the RRP and above. I managed to get the dress in great condition for less than half price.

2. Turn on ebay notifications

If you are constantly searching for the same thing you can pre set it to notify you of any listing fitting your search criteria. You can set a few of these so be sure to never miss out. 

3. Email eBay sellers with a cheeky offer

If something that you want comes up as a new listing and has 6 days left. If it has no bids don't be afraid to message the seller with a cheeky buy it now offer.

4. Is there eBay outlet store?

If a big store has what you want check to see if they have a eBay outlet store. It may be in the sale or cheaper because it's ex display. I recently wanted a new pram for Sophia. I wanted a Mamas & Papas Armadillo pram RRP £249.99 and I knew that we couldn't pay that. Argos had it on sale for £179.99 which was better. In the end I found it brand new delivered for £163 via Direct2Mums eBay store.

5. Join dedicated Facebook groups

So I like Pink Lining baby bags and wanted a new one. I joined 3 dedicated Pink Lining buy and sell Facebook groups. If someone isn't selling what you want then the group members will post on the group the latest places that have a sale on and sometimes even post voucher codes. These groups are great places to get a bargain and some are often selling bags brand new with tags or bags that are nearly new. I got my recent bag nearly new the seller said she had used it once for a 3rd off the RRP. There is some trust in these groups but if it means saving money then I'm all for it. Just make sure that you pay via PayPal goods and services so that you are covered by PayPal protection.

6. Can you hire it?

In this day and age you can hire almost anything from the latest tech to high end clothes and handbags.

I recently wanted a Connecta baby carrier for Sophia and the RRP is £70. I looked around and managed to get a 10% off code from a baby wearing Facebook group, but I found out that I could hire them locally. I had never heard of a sling library but it is very cheap at about £4 per week. You can also hire from dedicated websites. This is great to know. In the end I bought one but it goes to show that if you look you might be able to hire what you want to try it out.

Beware of fakes

eBay is full of fakes, make up, bags and clothing. If it is a smaller brand such as my Seasalt dress I knew that that wouldn't be faked but watch out for the fake Zara items. Even some Pink Lining bags look fake. A tip is to check what else the seller is selling, is it a one off or do they have a load of them for sale? Check their feedback, use your instinct, if it is a fake then open a eBay case for a refund and good luck.

So that's my tips, if you have any money saving tips that you want to share please do in the comments below. X

Mamas & Papas Armadillo Pram Review

Sophia has recently turned one and she is quite big for her age, I had recently noticed that she was completely filling her buggy. We had the Cosatto Supa Stroller and its very narrow, her shoulders were touching the sides and her head touched the top of the canopy when reclined. I was a bit gutted as I liked the Cosatto and I thought that it would last her until she was walking.

Queue panic searching of buggy reviews and many YouTube videos for tall kids. One pram kept coming up over and over again the Mamas & Papas Armadillo (the regular one not the city version as that's smaller). I immediately starring hunting for a deal as I knew that I wanted this one. The pram RRP is £250 but Argos had the coral on sale for £179.99 it has since gone back up. We got a great deal on it brand new from Direct2Mums ebay store for £163.

My favourite features are:
* Lots of room length and widthways whilst still being a small pram.
* One handed fold down. I can hold Sophia in one arm whilst I collapse the pram with the other.
* Huge canopy for blocking the sun.
* Easy to push especially with one hand.
* Has wheel suspension for a comfier ride.
* Good size basket.

My not so favourite things:
* You have to buy a footmuff and seatliner separate at a extra cost of £60 Rrp. These where included with my Cosatto so it was a large extra cost on top of the price of the pram.
* It doesn't come with a cup holder. My Cosatto did and I loved it but I'm not paying Rrp £25 for a cup holder as that's crazy. I will use my Pink Lining bottle bag instead.
* I don't like how the raincover doesn't cover the whole canopy it attaches where the canopy ends. It's so frustrating as living in a upstairs flat I have to find room to put my pram up to dry.

Overall I love this pram and now that I've bought the extras it is better than my Cosatto pram as Sophia is a lot more comfortable and has lots of room in it to grow. I love how we can buy different coloured hoods if I get bored or if we have a boy down the line. I also love how it can be used from birth and with adapters it will fit a car seat. I hope that this is the last pram that we need to buy and it might even see us through a baby no.2 who knows.

We bought the pram ourselves and all thoughts in this review are my own.

Pink Lining Notting Hill Tote Bag Review

I was using the smaller mum on the run bag but I've found that I needed more space to carry snacks etc so I bought this beauty.
I absolutely love it. I used to have the Yummy Mummy bag but I wanted something more 'for me'. The Notting Hill tote looks more handbag like and to the untrained eye it is just another stylish tote bag.

It still has lots of pockets for all my baby needs and more. I love that it has 2 removable bottle holders which I use to store Sophia's water bottle.
Even though it doesn't come with a long canvas strap like the other bags I've found that I don't need it as it has built in pram clips. These are genius and it looks very stylish hanging from my pram handle.
The only negative that I've found is that the inside pockets are not deep enough to fit nappies in. My nappies stick out and get dog eared but it is something that is only a small niggle.

I'm also a bit obsessed with this cottage garden print at the minute as its so beautiful and perfect for summer.
I would definitely recommend this bag as it would suit a newborn or older children. They have just brought out new designs and the penguin one especially looks fab!

I bought this bag myself and this review is all my own thoughts.

Yumbox, making weaning easier.

So Sophia is now 10 months old. We are still breastfeeding but she eats solid food also. We started baby led weaning at 5.5 months but she would gag and it would put me off so we went onto purees. She would never eat more than a couple of mouthfuls of purree and it always felt forced. Then at 7 months old she had a couple of teeth so we went back to baby led weaning and she was like a different baby. She loves eating finger food and hardly ever gags. I think it made all the difference waiting until she was ready and had teeth.

So I have several baby cookbooks and I love making her different foods it's just not easy making sure that she has a balanced meal. Me and my husband eat processed fatty food such as burgers, pizza and curry etc and I don't want Sophia to eat anything bad. Especially whilst she is so young that she doesn't have a choice what she eats so we make sure that she eats a healthy balanced meal. The Yumbox makes this easier as it has several different trays all labelled with what to put in, protein, dairy etc. So when we go out I make Sophia a little healthy packed lunch and she loves it.

The tray is removable and it is dish washer safe. It is also air tight when closed so you can put yoghurt in one of the compartments and it won't leak. I love how it even has a small round compartment suitable for a dip.

I also love how it fits into her Pink Lining mini rucksack perfectly so I can still use my small mum on the run bag whilst I put her lunch in her own bag. She is too young to carry it yet but I hang it off the pram handle.
There are cheaper lunch boxes out there but they aren't as cute as this! I bought the older version as it was on sale the only difference is that the new updated trays won't fit in. I'm hoping that it will last a good few years and see her into nursery. Overall I would recommend the Yumbox as it's a great idea to keep a busy mum focused on feeding her child something healthy.

You can buy this box here

Primark summer mini shoe haul

So we have had a tiny amount of sunshine and that's enough to make me dream of a new summer wardrobe. What new pieces I want to get this year to go with older stuff etc. Basically if I could have one of everything in Zara I would be happy haha.

Anyway I have been thinking about some new summer sandals and my first stop was Primark as they usually have loads to choose from. Last year I bought some from New Look for about £15 but in Primark they are basically the same for half the price.

I picked up these 2 beauties. One is a aztec printed sandal £6 and the other is a black open sandal £8. They both fit nice and are really comfy. I am sure both will walk many miles over the summer.
Also I couldn't leave my daughter out so I picked her up some super cute open toe sandals with velcro £3.50, so hopefully they will stay on her feet.

Jodie x

Spring shoe round up

It might finally be time to put my over the knee boots away and start to wear some open shoes.
Here are my favourites

* Zara leather buckle ankle boots, special price £19.99
* New Look basic ballet pump white £9.99
* Dorothy Perkins scallop edge ballet pump aqua, sale £9.60
* Dorothy Perkins asymmetric pointed ballet pump, sale £12.60

I feel that with this selection I could team these with anything and get numerous casual or party looks.
What will you be wearing this spring?