Pound Shop Lovin'

Happy New Year!
It's been a while. 3 Months and 2 days to be exact. I could bore you with a ton of excuses (which I do actually have, by the way) but I won't waste any more time. So without further ado, I present to you, a gift from me, blog post number threeee. (I have no idea how/why that just happened but it did and I apologise profusely.)

Today I'm going to tell you about some products that I have recently purchased from my favourite kind of shops, which as you can probably tell from the title, are pound shops. Yes I am that much of a cheapskate, but to be quite honest you should be too because they are just amazing really.
You are probably aware of pound shops' wide range of dupes and most likely their branded products too (if not then where have you been?!), but I'm going to share with you a few of my favourites/most recommended.

I'll start off with the dupes, which are both nail related products. I absolutely love nail varnish, to the point where my collection is preeetty excessive, and so naturally it excites me immensely when I see bargains in that field.


Twist and Out Instant Nail Polish Remover
I'm sure you know about the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover which became very popular early last year. Essentially it's just a nail varnish remover soaked sponge in a pot, hence the reason I refused to pay £4.99 for it despite everyone raving about it. When I discovered, however, that Poundland had their own replica of it, I couldn't not give it a try. This nifty little pot has been a massive time saver and takes minimum effort, which means it is perfect for someone as lazy and impatient as me. It only takes a couple of twists for your nail varnish to vanish and from watching youtube videos of the Bourjois version, it seems to work just as effectively as the more expensive version. I have repurchased this product multiple times now and have definitely got my money's worth, so I would most definitely recommend it.

They have also brought out a version for removing glitter nail varnish, however the smell is horrendous and I haven't managed to use that one successfully because of it. I would suggest you don't buy that one and just use this one with a bit more work instead!


Fur Effect Nail Decor
Another dupe that I found was Poundworld's version of Fur Effects nail decor. I put off buying MUA's version of this for a while despite wanting to try it, due to the fact that I wasn't up for buying a £3 product that I wasn't even sure I would like. Admittedly, after buying Poundworld's dupe, I'm not in love with the overall concept of the effect and it is definitely more of a novelty for me which I can't leave on for too long, however I'm glad I gave it a go and for only a pound I don't regret buying it at all. I purchased mine in the shade 'Pink Tease' because who doesn't want their nails looking like candyfloss, eh? Worth buying if you're into that kind of thing but I would definitely recommend checking pound shops first before buying a more expensive version. 

Now for the branded products. The number of branded products now being sold in pound stores makes me extremely happy, and it's not just the cheap brands they're selling either. Nuh uh. From Barry M to O.P.I, most stores have a pretty good range of branded beauty products now. This does mean that they are becoming a lot more well known for these sorts of things and in most places often run out, but if you check back every so often you'll probably hit lucky.



Chapstick
Okay so the first product I'm going to talk (or write) about is really boring so I'll keep it short, but they sell Chapsticks for a really decent price. I use Chapsticks religiously because they smell so good and are actually moisturising, as opposed to lip products like Vaseline which don't actually help long term. They're not expensive at all (usually around £1), but I got 3 for £2 in Poundworld. Every little helps right?! I of course bought my all time favourite flavour, strawberry, but also the apple and the cherry because I felt like living on the edge, clearly.




Barry M Lip Gloss Wand 
Staying on the topic of lips, I picked up a Barry M lipgloss too. I haven't seen this colour before on Barry M stalls and am pretty sure they don't sell it anymore but from the Barry M website looks quite similar to 'Coral' although I'm not 100% sure. Either way, their lip gloss wands are usually £4.49 and to get one for £1 is fab. Now I know to some of you this may look horrible as it is incredibly bright and garish and is more of a neon orange than the apricot tones that I normally go for, however I assure you that with a bit of soft blending after application, it is a lovely coral-y, peach-y colour and as well as being my favourite choice of lip colour throughout Autumn, I'm sure I'll be wearing it a lot in Spring/Summer too.



Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance
Last but not least is this beautiful cheek brightener by Rimmel. I lovelovelove this product and it is part of the Wake Me Up range, just like my favourite foundation. I probably wouldn't use it during the day, as like the foundation, it glistens quite a bit, but for nighttime, parties etc. it's perfect. It is a thinner consistency to the other Rimmel liquid blush which I mentioned in my last post, which means that it is so easy to blend and isn't too obvious when worn. It adds a subtle shimmer and glow along with a gentle rosy colour and is an absolute steal at just £1.


That's all the products I'll be reviewing for this post but there are loads of bargains to be had in the various pound shops so I strongly advise you give them a go if you haven't already. I'll link a few of the websites (yes they have websites) of my favourite stores at the bottom incase you want to have a little browse.

XOXO, Gossip Girl

Ha just kidding, love from your fellow Penniless Princess xxxx

http://www.poundland.co.uk/
http://www.99pstoresltd.com/
http://www.poundworld.net/