I've been a little bit naughty......

......and been SHOPPING!!!!!!

OK, ok, so in my defence, everything, (minus the new purse) was a much needed purchase, to replace things I had either used up or gone without. So I'm not foregoing all that I learnt from my 100 day spending ban  So there!

Lets start with the one purchase which was a 'splurge' rather than a necessity, my new purse.

For an age now I have carted around a little Radley number, but it was all buckled out of shape from years of abuse cramming it to the brim with receipts, This Golunski number (have to admit a brand I had never heard of) I picked up in TKMaxx for £12.99. It has room for all the essentials (otherwise known as credit cards ;) ) and I love the fact it has a zip on the coin section, because we've all done it haven't we, 'fess up, there you are standing at a packed till and you go to get a note or card out and all the coinage slips out showering those around you, sound familiar? Yep thought so. I also love the two tone orange front and the snazzy turquoise lining.

I thought it about time I did something about my abnormally pale pins and good job what with this heatwave we have been having! Normally I like to use the Garnier summer body gradual tanner, actually back up a bit; I LIKE to use St Tropez products but for a day to day use it's kinda pricey so I stick to something a little more affordable. Boots didn't have the Garnier product I use so in desperation I picked up the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze summer glow lotion gradual tan in medium tan. I have used the Sublime Bronze self-tanner in the past and found it too be pretty good, so I guessed their gradual tanner would be equally as good. Have to say it didn't disappoint. Very similar to the Garnier product in price and consistency and result. If I had to choose again between the two I think I would go for the Garnier one purely because I think the 'after smell' is nicer. Can't remember the exact cost of this but I know I got change from a fiver for 200ml of product.

I did pick up two lip balms (I am the lip balm Queen). The Figs and Rouge number was on special offer for £2.50 for 17ml. I find I have a real dilemma with lip balms - I prefer the consistency and overall result from the ones in a pot but for hygiene reasons when out and about I like the stick varieties.But I always find the sticks a little 'draggy' on the lips. So Burt's Bees has gone in my handbag and Figs and Rouge is for my bedside table. I've used both products before. The Figs and Rouge is in pomegranate, it has a very gentle scent which you don't 'taste' once applied and the Burt's Bees is in Vitamin E & Peppermint and smells deliciously of after dinner mints!

After exhausting the end of my last concealer I was in desperate need of a new one, but yet again my expensive tastes do not match my wallet at present! I love and swear by the results of YSL Touche Eclat and was looking for a drugstore dupe. Can't say I found it, but L'Oreal's True Match anti-fatigue illuminating concealer is a good substitue if you are watching the pennies. I got the shade ivory beige. I didn't notice much illuminating going on, but I have to say there was no clogging or creasing around my eye area. You have to blend this in fairly fast though as it does have a tendency to 'set' quickly. Sorry can't remember the price but I think it was around the £4.50-6.00 mark.

Someone please tell me when did 'drugstore' mascaras get to be so expensive?! I really like to wear brown or a brownish black and I really prefer what I would term a traditional brush, sick to death of stabbing myself in the eye with one of those rubber wands. (Not that stabbing myself in the eye with anything is top of my list). But trying to get a traditional brush in brown was hard going. Normally I wear Maybelline's Great Lash in brownish black but not many places appear to stock it in my shade so I picked up this NO 7 intense volume. I think it was £9.99 but the very lovely cashier gave me a voucher for half price which she redeemed against it. The wand is a nice size and shape. Have to say I wasn't blown away by the results the first couple of times I used it but then again I think mascaras can be a little like this one first use - slightly wet if that makes sense. I prefer them when they have dried out a tad. So now that has happened it is giving pretty good results. No fall out experienced but I wouldn't say it was the longest lasting mascara I have used.

I'm currently in the process of growing my hair out from short to a shaggy bob. Normally I use a mousse so I picked up this small can of Mark Hill volumising bow dry mousse. I'd heard of Mark Hill but hadn't really used many of his products. Got to say this is a total fail for me. No matter how small an amount I use, my hair feels really sticky afterwards. So glad I only picked up a mini can!

Last up are two of my favourite products from Estee Lauder. I have used these two products for years. Sometimes I wear them separately and sometimes together depending on what look I am going for. Have to say in this weather I have been reaching for the DayWear tinted moisturiser alot more than the Double Wear Light!

For those who don't use these products, I can't recommend them highly enough. The DayWear comes in one shade fits all, it looks grey when you first squeeze it from the tube and smells of cucumber; which I love although some people are put off by the scent, and has tiny colour beads in it which 'pop' once you apply to your skin. It's not cheap, romping in at £37 but I find a tube lasts me for ages. The Double Wear Light foundation comes in a limited number of shades, six I think and I wear the lightest which is intensity 1.0 and this retails for £28.50 but again lasts for a long time.

So that's it for my little 'haul'. Have you tried any of these products or are there any you would recommend?

i heart fall tag

So I was tagged by the gorgeous Sarah over at Ample Curvature to do this tag which has been doing the rounds on Youtube and blogs recently.  If you haven't seen Sarah's blog pop over and take a peek, it's fab!  As a brit I call Fall Autumn, so please don't get confused if I drop the odd Autumn in here and there lovely North American viewers!

Right lets crack on with it...

1. Favourite fall lip product?
I get really dry lips in the Autumn, like many others, from a drop in temperature and the good old heating coming on, but I have been loving my Figs and Rouge 100% organic lip balm which came in my Glossybox a few months ago.

I'm a sucker for anything organic and this cherry and vanilla balm goes on sooooo smoothly and is really hydrating.  Unfortunately I've been forgoing any of the beautiful deep plum and burgandy lip colours which are so popular this A/W, for if you've read my previous It's all about Meeeeeee post you will note I have the six month smiles braces.  Which for those who don't know is like traditional train track braces but they are clear.  Which is great but they stain oh so easily.  You know what it's like when you get a smear of lippy on your teeth, well imagine what it looks like on clear braces - Nice (not!).

2. Favourite Fall nail polish?
Currently I am in love with these, Essie's Bahama Mama and Models Own Hot Stuff.

Two coats of Essie and a slick of Models Own and you get this.

The Essie polish is such a bang on the money colour for this season and with the coat of Models Own which gives a gorgeous red, green, golden shimmer it reminds me of fallen leaves on a crisp autumnal day.  I am loving this so much I think it will get much wear over the party season.  It's a pretty good wear time as well considering it has a glitter topcoat; 3-4 days which is about the same as my normal polishes.

3. Favourite Starbucks Fall drink?
Hmmmm I don't really frequent Starbucks.  Purely because my nearest one is a good 45 minute drive away.  I do have a Costa Coffee about 10 minutes down the road and I stick to my usual latte or Chai latte if I pop in there.  Boring I know!

4. Favourite Fall candle?
Ahhh now candles, unlike Starbucks, are my thing!  I do a lot of work and study from home so I usually have one candle or another burning away on my desk and I do like to stick to seasonal scents.  I've just come to the end of my Mandarin Cranberry Yankee candle and on the good word of the lovely Rachael over at Made up of  (check out her blog too if you haven't already) I picked up Yankee's Honey and Spice candle.  Oh my! If you like toffee apples, sticky toffee pudding, caramel and pecan pie, this will be right up your street.  I got it earlier today and have been burning it nonstop.  If you like sweetness with your spice, try this candle, you will not be disappointed.

5. Favourite Fall scarf or accessory?
This one is easy.  I got this beautiful teal scarf from Boden's A/W sale either last year or the year before.  I just love the richness of its colour and it is so warm.

6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride or haunted corn maize?
I know what these are and that they are big in the states but Halloween isn't such a big deal in the UK (yet!).  Also I don't like to be scared, I'm not a big one for scary movies etc so I would have to say Haunted house.  I saw the film Children of the Corn a few years back and almost peed my pants so Haunted corn maize would be bottom of the list!

7. Favourite Halloween movie?
As I mentioned above I'm not a great one for scary movies but I would probably have to say the original Halloween film.  The one from 1978 starring Jamie Lee Curtis - "A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets" - yep that movie.  I watched it as a teenager, not in 1978, blimey I'm not that old!  And the memory of it has stayed with me ever since.

8. Favourite candy to eat on Halloween?
I am a sweet toothed kinda gal.  I do love the Haribo sour (can't remember their full name) sweets, but any sweets/chocolate is fine by me and I am a sucker for toasted marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate - ummmmmmm.

9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
Well as Halloween has been and gone, I'm abit late with that one.  But I didn't dress up at all as I was busy flying back from Amsterdam on the 31st.  Think I would've struggled to get through security if I had dressed up though ha ha.

10. What is your favourite thing about fall?
I like it when Mr B.P. and I have a rare, (very rare) day off together and you get one of those really crisp autumnal days, with a beautiful clear blue sky, with just a nip in the air.  I like to wrap up warmly, take our dog for a walk through the fallen leaves and maybe stop for a hot chocolate enroute and then come home and curl up on the sofa with either a good book or film.

So what about you lovely readers?  I tag all of you.  Let me know all about your I heart Fall tags.