Five Under £5 for November

November 5, 2016November 5, 2016 - Vicki 5 Comments

If you want to get involved and link up your monthly 5 Under £5 finds then head over to Julia’s blog at Rainbeaubelle and join in. It’s a lot of fun & you get to see all of the cute bargains that everyone finds, I always end up purchasing so many things from everyone else’s roundups.

So a few weeks ago I went to Amsterdam for my birthday (which was magical) I have been to this lovely City on many an occasion. One of my favourite things to do is visit HEMA, which is an affordable, very cool shop and they sell a little bit of everything. I tend to stock up on stationery, mainly because its easy to get home in my suitcase. If you’re not heading to Amsterdam anytime soon fear not, there are a few HEMA stores in the UK & you can order online (yipeeee).

Happiness Planner

I know they have spelt it Happyness but lets just ignore that. I am going to use this for notes, lists and blog ideas, I can’t see me using it to record my ‘good things about today’. It has a sturdy hard pink and gold cover, which I really like and the pages are nice quality too. I am terrible at keeping up to date with a journal or a planner so this is somewhere in-between and if I keep it on my desk it should prompt me to use it.

Planner Stickers

HEMA do to the best selection of stickers, I bought 2 packs and you get 2 sheets of stickers in each pack. I am thinking of using these in my notebook to make it look a little more colourful and give it more of a planner feel. I am a sucker for stickers and could have purchased so many more sets but I am trying to use the the massive stash I already have so I limited my self to 2.

Hand Lotion £2

I 100% bought this because I loved the packaging, I haven’t used the hand cream itself yet but I am not expecting it to be amazing, but the HEMA beauty and toiletries are pretty good quality. I have very dry hands, especially in the colder months and I’m THAT person with one on my desk, in my handbag and by my bed. Otherwise I forget to apply it, this one is going on my desk.

6 Pack Letter Writing Set With Envelopes £1

This is for my 8 year old niece, I buy her one each year. We write letters to each other as she lives in Scotland (600 miles from me) and its a lovely way to keep in touch. Of course I call her and we facetime but writing a letter is more exciting and its nice to keep the letters to look back on, also we use technology so much now that letter writing is something that feels more special and keeps us connected in a slower, more whimsical way. It also worries me that Alyvia won’t have ever known a world without technology, crazy.

Gold Festive Themed WASHI Tape

I know I do not need any more washi tape but I just can’t resist and hear me out, I have every intention of using these lovely selection to wrap my Christmas gifts. Its really great quality and the gold sparkly one is super pretty and textured. I may have already started wrapping my Christmas gifts already, that is me trying to be organised, so far so good.

I feel I was quite restrained, especially if you take a look at my HEMA Haul from a couple of years ago.

Five Under £5 July 2016

July 9, 2016 - Vicki 5 Comments

I can’t quite believe I am doing my July edition of Five Under £5, where has the last month gone? If you want to get involved and link up your monthly 5 Under £5 finds then head over to Julia’s blog at Rainbeaubelle.

This month I have a real mix of all my favourite things, food, products, stationery & a little LUSH treat!

WASHI Tape £1

I know, I have featured Washi tape in a few previous posts, but I usually buy them from eBay and I was thrilled when I came upon these in Poundland. You get 3 rolls of tape in each pack and I stocked up! I bought all options they had & I think they had about 10 different packs to pick from. These two were amongst my favourites. I love the bright more Summery trio and the gold & silver ones too. I use these for all sorts of things and I like to have a stash of fun options.

Hotel Chocolate Orange 70% £3.50

So I do have a sweet tooth but since going Vegan a few years ago I now crave dark chocolate so I do like to treat myself to a few bars from Hotel Chocolate every now & then. This one is 70% cocoa and has a subtle zest orange taste, I love to have a piece of this with a cup of tea in the afternoon. Its such a delicious treat. These bars are not the cheapest but each pack contains two bars & they last me a while. I did buy a mint chocolate one too but that one was devoured first.

Yankee Candle Melts 50p

I used to burn a lot of candles but I found the more affordable ones let off so much black soot which worried me slightly. I was also running out of crafty things to do with all the glass jars so my Mum suggested I get some of these Melts. They’re so inexpensive, I use one every couple of weeks before the scent starts to fade. Yankee have a huge selection of scents & each season they bring out limited edition ones too. The Sage & White Tea one smells so fresh & the Peach Smoothie one is the definition of Summer. Oh & I found these ones in Home Bargain for 50p each!

Aussie Festival Fresh Dry Shampoo £2.99

I am a dry shampoo fiend, I use is all the time but still haven’t found one I absolutely love. The CoLab one is a contender but I saw this Aussie one on sale in Superdrug & thought I would give it a go. It smells nice & as far as dry shampoo goes it doesn’t leave that much of a gray / white cast to my hair. I wouldn’t say its amazing but its a lot better than the Herbal Essence one and on par with Batiste. If you have any dry shampoo recomendations I would love to hear them!

LUSH Honey Bee Bath Bomb £3.50

I very rarely go into LUSH these days, only for the fact I spend a fortune when I do. I have zero self control. On this occasion I only allowed myself to buy one thing & that had to be something I hadn’t tried before. I succeeded and left with the Honey Bee Bath Bomb, this smells so good and a little citrusy. I haven’t used it yet but I can’t wait – LUSH say,

A good soak in a Honey Bee bath will soothe and cleanse the skin thanks to its wonder trio of honey, aloe vera, and rhassoul mud.

So there you have it, my July Five Under £5 – if you’d like to see my previous months just click here. Let me know if you take part or leave mea comment to tell me what bargains you have picked up this month.

February 2016 Five Under £5

February 10, 2016 - Vicki 5 Comments

Five Under £5 Feb 2016

This month post seems to have come round so quickly, not that I am sad to see the back of January. So I have some great things in this months Five Under £5. If you want to get involved and link up your monthly finds then head over to Julia’s blog at Rainbeaubelle.

Tony Moly I’m Real Sheet Masks

I am a sheet mask addict & that coupled with the fact these Tony Moly ones are just so bright & cute makes me a very happy lady. If you didn’t already know Tony Moly is a South Korean cosmetics brand & their products are affordable, incredible and always have the cutest packaging. These masks come in 11 varieties for all different skin concerns, I have the lemon one for brightening and the tomato one for radiance, you just apply to clean skin & relax for 30 mins then remove the mask & pat the excess product into your skin. £2 each

PUKKA Wild Apple & Cinnamon Tea

I really like Winter Teas & these PUKKA ones are nice and warming. They’re not too overpowering with cinnamon but have just enough flavour, I like to have a cup after a cold Winter walk. PUKKA teas are among my favourites and their selection is so big. If you have a favourite PUKKA tea let me know. £2.40 for 20 bags.

Essence Waterproof Gel Eyeliner

If you like to wear eyeliner but hate when it smudges then these utter bargains from Essence are all you need. They’re a waterproof gel liner, so easy to apply & smoke out then after a couple of minutes they dry down and stay in place all day long. At £2.30 everyone needs at least one colour in their makeup bag.

The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett

This is a true story about a homeless lady called Mary Shepherd who ends up living in her old Bedford van on Alan Bennett’s driveway in London. She lives there for 15 years and the story is little snippets of their interactions over the years. Often funny but at times quite poignant, I read this book in a day. I just couldn’t put it down. Mary Shepherd is eccentric, fiercely private and quite alone in the world. Well worth a read. Kindle edition was £2.30

Co-Op Dark Chocolate Infused With Orange Oil

I have a square of this each night as a little treat, its so rich and yummy, if I didn’t break off one square at a time I would eat the entire bar in one sitting. I love chocolate orange & this is a good mix, not sweet but very zesty! This was around £1.

Let me know what bargains you have found this month.

Five Under £5 January 2016

January 12, 2016 - Vicki 8 Comments

Five Under £5 January 2016

I had so much fun taking part in the December Five Under £5 and was lucky enough to win Julia’s picks which was so exciting (I secretly wanted that phone case so badly). If you want to join in and link up with Julia from Rainbeaubelle then head on over to her post and get involved. I love seeing all the bargains that everyone finds.

So first up is a magazine I promised myself a few years ago I wasn’t going to just buy all the glossy magazines each month because they generally went unread and thats a waste of money but also because the content isn’t always great and they seem to be filled with more adverts than content. Saying that I have come to really enjoy Hello Fashion each month, its a relatively new magazine (I think it started last year). There are so few adverts in and the content is really good. I buy this every month and I’m never disappointed, oh & it is only £1 which is fab.

I burn candles like a crazy lady and I like reusing the glass jars which they come in too, so when I saw ASDA were selling these monogrammed candles for just £2 each I bought a few. The candles them selves are unscented but the jars are ideal to reuse with tea lights and are the perfect size for the small Yankee Candles too. I couldn’t resist.

Jan 2016 Five Under £5

Tea is my drink of choice, I always have a cup on the go. For 2016 I’m trying to drink more caffeine free tea and although these are not a new discovery for me I have stocked up on them to see me through January. This Raspberry & Peach Tea is from Lidl and its so refreshing, sometimes I leave it to cool & pop a few ice cubes in so its more like an iced tea. Either way its lovely and Lidl have quite a few caffeine free fruit teas (of which I have them all). Oh & a box of 40 bags is only 89p. If you have any tea suggestions leave them below – I love discovering new teas.

My January 2016 Five Under £5

I spied this old style plastic milk bottle Home Bargain and thought it would be good for smoothies and juices (which I drink a lot of). I bought two and they’re pretty cute. I am sucker for this kind of thing even if I really don’t need them, it was less than £2 for two so a complete bargain.

Last up is this postcard from Paperchase, I can never walk past that shop without going in and I never leave empty handed. I do like their postcard selection and in particular their positive slogan ones, I have quite a few pinned up on my office wall & fridge just little positive reminders each day. You could also frame them which I think would look really good. They are inexpensive & cost less than £1.

Let me know if you take part this month, I’d love to see what your bargain discoveries have been.

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