Wednesday 3 April 2013

Aldi's Emerald Beauty



 It's not very often anyone sings German supermarket Aldi's praises, in the makeup sense anyway. 
Aldi is well known for it's funny television adverts featuring grannies and babies, and it's bargain fruit and veg, but not for the little gems that can be scouted out in the tiny cosmetic section of the stores.

...Introducing Aldi's 'Lacura Beauty' eyeliner in the shade 'Emerald'...

This is a very dark green kohl, with a creamy consistency making it easy to apply and wear. Some people are squeamish when it comes to the idea of wearing a coloured eyeliner that isn't black or brown, but dark green can be a very pretty alternative. 

Swatch of 'Emerald'
 I've got quite a few coloured eyeliners from Urban Decay, but they are brighter than this shade from Lacura, making them not as wearable, in my opinion. I usually reserve the more vibrant eyeliners for festivals and suchlike. 

The eyeliner is a steal at £1.49, and even comes with a rubber end to smudge the eyes and a pencil sharpener. Can't get cheaper than that!

Although it isn't quite as pigmented as MAC's 'Undercurrant', I'd say it's a pretty good dupe. Tanya Burr uses 'Undercurrant' in her Haifa Wehbe tutorial below.

 Most of us can't afford to be splashing out on green eyeliners from MAC, so this one is a great alternative for when you're trying to tighten those purse strings. 


I'm wearing 'Emerald' in my waterline in these two pictures. As you can see it's a really subtle dark green.





Has anyone found any beauty bargains at Aldi?

Monday 1 April 2013

Recent Bargain Wardrobe Purchases

I usually just write about makeup but today I thought I'd share my recent clothing purchases as I think they're nice and summery, despite our English summer seeming very reluctant to appear any time soon!

First up is this lovely tie-dye green print shirt dress from TK Maxx. I'm a bit of a bargain hunter, and have a keen eye for pretty things that come cheap, and this was no exception at £12.99.

It's perfect for the summer, (when it finally arrives) to wear with bare legs, sandals and a denim jacket.

Unfortunately the photographs don't really do it justice as the greens are a bit brighter to the human eye.

Bought it at TK Maxx but designed by 'Band of Gypsies'




Next is a top I loved as soon as I laid eyes on it. I absolutely love elephants and think most things emblazoned with elephant prints are gorgeous. 
Not only do I love the print of this New Look top, I love the boxy, oversized shape of it too. It's quite casual, but could be dressed up slightly with black skinny jeans and a big gold statement necklace. This is another bargain at £12.99, and was actually one of my Easter presents from my Mam.
You can buy this top here!



Yet another bargain buy is this beautiful red satin camisole from Miss Selfridge. Originally £28.00, it's safe to say I did well getting this for only £7.00
I love the double strap detailing and the cut-out detailing at the front, it makes the top look a lot more expensive than it was!
I'm really into cami tops at the minute, they go really nicely with denim shorts and can easily be dressed up or down. 
I always buy them in a size bigger so that they hang a bit lower at the front and at the arms. I don't know why, but I find that cami's look better slightly better bigger than fitted. 


And last but by no means least is this super-summery dress by Izabel London.
I hadn't heard of this brand before until I saw the collection in an outfit store. They have some gorgeous clothes, especially dresses, at really affordable prices.
My eye was caught by the colour and lattice-detail of this dress. I thought it was perfect for summer and could even be worn at festivals with bare legs and wellies. I'm going to Bilbao Live festival in Spain in July and this is definately going to be going in my bag!
The turquoisey colour would look fantastic with a tan and brown accessories such as a fringed leather bag.

Dress £22.00




Does anyone have any bargain summer purchases?