I hope everyone had a lovely thanksgiving! There was some really good stuff on sale and things were selling out like crazy. Black Friday has become more and more popular in the UK over the last few years and in preparation for Black Friday I always have a wish list of stuff I would want to buy and look out for deals to come and it's also a great way to buy presents for your loved ones for Christmas. I shopped all the sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and scored some amazing deals for myself!
PRETTYLITTLETHING Grey Multi Embroidered Joggers - £18 (Size 6 & 12 available)
I was looking for some new joggers and these are high waisted so I'm excited to try a new style of joggers. I got these for £12.80 (excl. delivery cost) as it was 20% off and £1.27 back in Quidco cashback.
I bought this on the JustBeauty website for £60 as it was the cheapest place I could find this item. With my order, I was also able to get the Jolee Weekly Sheet Mask Regime for free the regular price is £5.99. I also bought five other gel nail polish shades - My Everyday Muse, Tainted Love, Kiss Kiss, Queen of Hearts and Solo Act which were £4.95 each on the Black Friday sale, they are normally £5.50 each. I was also able to get an extra 10% off by signing up to their newsletter and delivery was free over a certain spending limit I believe. The total cost of my order was £72.04.
Bioderma Sebium H20 Purifying Cleansing Solution Duo Pack 250ml - £12.50 (Sold Out)
I've used the Bioderma Sensibo years ago as I got a free bottle at Selfridges when there was a Birchbox counter pop-up and it was FREAKING amazing, the best skincare product I have probably, used ever (no exaggeration). But using it daily it isn't the most friendly on the bank account as it is on the more expensive side for a drugstore product so of course, I had to snatch it up on BF deals. I wanted to try something new from the Bioderma range and the Sebium range wasn't out back then. I got an extra 25% off through LookFantastic code, got free delivery and £1.22 cashback through Quidco, so my total order was £9.37.
Funko Homeware Disney Classic Mickey Head Metal Water Bottle Gold - £14.99 (Sold Out)
I bought the bottle through Zavvi as I got 12% student discount and 2% Quidco cashback. Sadly, it became out of stock after I bought this so I won't be getting my order anytime soon until more stock has come back in. Overall, I paid £15.18 including £1.99 for delivery. You can buy this bottle for £20 from MenKind (linked above), everywhere else this item is sold out.
GHOST Deep Night 30ml Gift Set - £20.99 (In Stock 10th Dec)
This gift set contains GHOST Deep Night Eau de Toilette (30ml) in the iconic half-moon design, GHOST Deep Night Eau de Toilette Splash (10ml) perfect size for popping into your handbag and ideal size for travelling. The set also comes with a GHOST Deep Plum Nail Polish (5ml) which is a beautiful deep purple shade.
The perfume is perfect for a Christmas gift as it has top notes of amber Indian rose to give off a musky warmth and comes in a box themes gift set. Overall, a great gift for any woman in your life or a secret Santa, I got this for one of my best friends as a Christmas gift. Brilliant value for money as I got it for £13.50.
Ritzy Rollerz Besties - £6.99 (No Longer Available)
I got this when I visited Smyths Toy Store during Friday afternoon and I completely stumbled upon this by accident which made buying this all the more exciting because I bought my niece the individual one at Hamleys for £6. You can only buy assortments online so you'll never know which set you'll get which is off-putting. I bought the besties set for £4.99 and got the last unicorn set there!
I got this when I visited Smyths Toy Store during Friday afternoon and I completely stumbled upon this by accident which made buying this all the more exciting because I bought my niece the individual one at Hamleys for £6. You can only buy assortments online so you'll never know which set you'll get which is off-putting. I bought the besties set for £4.99 and got the last unicorn set there!
Bamboo Cotton Reusable Makeup Remover Pads - £11.99
Listed as one of the best on this site here. I bought 18 pads for £6.95 during the sale, previously you could only get 16 so I was happy I got an extra 2 for the price.
Swarovski Vittore Ring in Rose-Gold Tone Plated - £49
It was listed at £39 on their site but the delivery cost was near enough £5 and I didn't know whether or not I was going to keep it and lucky I didn't buy online as apparently, my ring size is not the same in Swarovski as it is in Pandora (size 52) in Swarovski (size 55). I ended up paying £39.20, I don't know why they added an extra 20p but it's not a big issue.
It was listed at £39 on their site but the delivery cost was near enough £5 and I didn't know whether or not I was going to keep it and lucky I didn't buy online as apparently, my ring size is not the same in Swarovski as it is in Pandora (size 52) in Swarovski (size 55). I ended up paying £39.20, I don't know why they added an extra 20p but it's not a big issue.
Amazon Fire TV Stick w/ Alexa and TV Control - £39.95
I got this for the house but my mum mostly uses it. My brother suggested buying this and it was sold out on Amazon so I decided to buy it from Tesco. Luckily they had it in stock as their shelf said it was temporarily out of stock but I asked the customer service desk if they could check anyway as it was £19.95 I also got a family friend to give me their discount (10%) so I got it for £17.96.
I got this for the house but my mum mostly uses it. My brother suggested buying this and it was sold out on Amazon so I decided to buy it from Tesco. Luckily they had it in stock as their shelf said it was temporarily out of stock but I asked the customer service desk if they could check anyway as it was £19.95 I also got a family friend to give me their discount (10%) so I got it for £17.96.
I also wanted to buy the Ring Video Doorbell Pro for my house as well, but the closest place I could buy it from was 30 min away and I could only reserve it for a day. Hopefully, I can buy it during the Boxing Day sales.
What did you buy during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale? Let me know in the comments below.
Have a great weekend!
- @boldinorigin
Despite the title of this post, I’d like to start with a caveat that I’m not under any illusions that I’ll be receiving any of these items for Christmas. I’m very aware of my expensive taste and as such this wish list serves, if anything, as an aspirational list for myself. Things I want, and probably will buy (overtime!) but certainly don’t need or expect to receive from anyone else on Christmas day.
With the disclosure over and done with, I can carry with the post. As you can see my taste is quite mixed, none of these things is necessary but nice to have. Every item above is self-explanatory but I'll walk you through a couple.
Desenio prints - Posters with Scandinavian Design. We have posters that match well with the Scandinavian and Nordin interior.
Antibes Print
Abstract Figures No.1
Curve Line Art Poster
Belkin Charging Dock
Pruning Shears with flowers preferably Peonies! (<- my fav flowers)
Samsonite Magic 2 in 1 Travel Pillow - There are cheaper versions out there but this is what it should resemble
Art Deco Gold Letter Opener
Peacock Letter Opener
Cast Iron Skillet - A good quality cast iron frying pan can be a solid investment and useful addition to your kitchen.
Diptyque Baies Candle
Diptyque Tuberose Candle
Moet Chandon champagne - Moët Impérial is the House’s iconic champagne. Created in 1869, it embodies Moët & Chandon’s unique style, a style distinguished by its bright fruitiness, its seductive palate and its elegant maturity.
What's on your Christmas Wish List? Also, what are you guys gifting to your loved ones, I would love to know? A x
Nirvana Spa is an award-winning luxurious pure water spa
near Reading, one of the most top-rated spas in the country. When walking
around the building there is an air of relaxation and complete
tranquillity.
Skincare Workshops
Nirvana Spa provides a variety of three skincare
workshops at no extra cost to your spa day package or treatments. It is a
small and fun little workshop with a handful of people attending of various
backgrounds and ages, this is a great way to learn how people view beauty and
how they use their own skincare products.
We arrived at the spa with the intention to go to the
wellness suite first to have our morning workout, after a quick shower and
change I was on my way to the 'Decléor Paris Unwrap Your Winter Skin Relief'
workshop led by our specialist Becky.
Each skincare workshop is around an hour long. You make
your way to the Crystal Treatment Suite to check yourself in and the specialist
will pick up everybody attending the workshop, then are brought into a room out
back passing the nail salon, the room is a tad cold so wrap up warm.
We started off by going around the group explaining the
types of products we use and the skin type we have. Our therapist was really
lovely, explaining all the products in-depth and suggesting products for us to
try out.
|
| *Nirvana Image from Google Images |
Our skin care therapist guided us through a range of
products they use throughout the spa, focusing on products that would get us
through the holidays for hydrated, healthy and glowing skin. We are run through
a basic routine of must-have products - Step 1: cleansers & toners, Step 2:
Exfoliators, Step 3: Masks.
Products I sampled (in order of application):
·
Bi-Phase
Cleanser £32
·
Phytopeel
Exfoliator £33
·
Decléor's
Antidote Serum £48 30ml
·
Energy
Youth Mask £60
·
Hydra
Floral Everfresh Light Cream £45
·
Magnolia
Night Balm £65
I discovered a couple new tips, tricks and products I
should be using for my acne-prone, dehydrated skin -
· Use
an oil cleanser, which L'Oreal does a good one apparently, one of the ladies in
the workshop recommended it. I will definitely be buying this soon to try out.
Oil gets to the dirt deep in your skin and oil dissolves oil and excellent as
dissolving oil on the skin.
·
Using
a rose essential oil-based serum to desensitize the skin.
·
When
using eye cream, it should be applied using your ring fingers to the orbital
bone and eye socket, however, not under the bottom lashes or the top of the
lids. It should be dotted on instead of rubbed in as the skin is sensitive
around the eye, keep patting until it is fully absorbed.
·
When
applying products to skin you only need a pea-size amount of product.
Décleor has recently come out with a new anti-oxidising
range powered by Green Mandarin, which a lot of the older women within the
workshop group took to and it smells amazing too.
For more information on their skincare workshops: https://nirvanaspa.co.uk/skincare-workshops/
Dining at Nirvana Spa
If you are considering booking a package with lunch, I’d recommend.
When calling to book your spa day they also want you to book a one hour slot
for your buffet lunch as to lower crowding and due to limited seating, we could
go an hour earlier on the day when asking the maître d if there was
availability. The dining area was not packed at all, with people seated
spread out across the dining area and was somewhat noisy with relaxed chatter
and laughter.
They offer a freshly made, huge salad bar with lots of
choices as well as a hot buffet, however, if you don't fancy anything from
their buffet they also have a separate al la carte menu you can order
from. They offer healthier choices of food reasonably priced, however,
I've had better food for a better price elsewhere so I stuck with the buffet.
Overall, the food for the buffet was good, they offer a
good range for both veggies and meat-eaters. I had two plates worth of food
during my lunch, I started off with the salads then moved onto to the hot food
(well-cooked tilapia fish and chickpea curry, yum) after. What they serve as
buffet does change so they do not have a menu listing the food available on
their website, which is kind of nice as you go in without having any expectations
for the food.
Cons: The other thing I wish was better designed is
the seating area for the restaurant, you must go through past the seating area
to get to the other side of the spa where the wellness suite and Crystal
Treatment Suite is and if you are wearing gym wear incl. trainers you must put
on and remove these puffy blue shoe covers for sanitary purposes. Although I
have no problem with supporting sanitation it just is a little off-putting
strutting around like that around a luxury spa.
One amazing thing about Nirvana Spa is that they offer
their spa-goers free unlimited soft and hot drinks throughout the day and
I took full advantage of this, consuming three lattes and a hot chocolate
during my day there.
If you want something indulgent they have a variety of
sweet things, cakes and desserts on offer at the cafe where you can pick up
your drinks, there is another cafe without serving cakes located near the
colosseum. I treated myself to a mug of hot choccy and a slice of Victoria
sponge cake (hey, why not). I then settled down on one of the beds around
the colosseum pool which I found is my favourite place to relax in Nirvana Spa
and less crowded than the main roman pool.
Nirvana Spa has recently introduced an afternoon tea
option earlier this year. If you want more information on what food they offer,
check it out here - https://nirvanaspa.co.uk/our-food/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons