Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Sale
January Sales Haul
0
9 years
Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. Mine was spent at home with family, which is just how I like it.
After a few days of relaxing, and purposefully avoiding the first crazy days of the sales, I spent yesterday and today doing a bit of shopping. Luckily the shops weren’t too busy, and though I didn’t go mad, I managed to get quite a few items that I’m really pleased with. Here are most of them…
Primark Biker Jacket – Was £23.00, Paid £10.00
Primark Dressing Gown – Was £12.00, Paid £5.00
George Penguin Fleece – Was £16.00, Paid £8.00
Primark Black Bag – Was £6.00, Paid £3.00
Primark Green Bag – Was £6.00, Paid £3.00
New Look Boots – Was £27.99, Paid £14.00
New Look Shoes – Was £11.99, Paid £4.00
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7″ – Was £139.99, Paid £79.00
I bought a few other things in the sales which aren’t pictured, including a pair of gloves for £2.00, some Christmas decorations reduced from £3.00 to £1.00, a diary for £1.99 (down from £7.00) and a Vax hoover for £45.00, reduced from about £70.00. I also bought a couple of non-sale items too, namely a top and a case for my new tablet.
In total, I made a huge saving of around £90.00 in the sales this year, made all the better by the fact that a few items were paid for using vouchers that I got for Christmas.
What did you get in the sales?
Naomi x
Thrifty Finds No.4: Car Boot
3
9 years
On Sunday I decided to indulge, yet again, in one of my favourite hobbies – thrifting – and got up bright and early to go to two car boot sales in Leicestershire. In particular I was hoping to find some bargainous clothes to add to my spring/summer wardrobe, and though I came away from the first car boot with nothing (how disappointing!), the second was a veritable treasure trove of fashion! For the grand total of just £4.50 I managed to get a waterfall cardigan, a thin knit jumper, a t-shirt, and my absolute favourite find of the day, a pair of wedge shoes.
Z Black and grey striped waterfall cardigan £1.50
Next Thin knit black jumper 50p
River Island Skeleton heart t-shirt 50p
Truffle Black velvet wedge shoes £2.00
Total: £4.50
I’m really pleased with this little thrifty haul, and I’m looking forward to styling each item in outfit posts in the near future. Which is your favourite piece?
Naomi x
Thrifty Finds No.3: Topshop Leather Bag
3
9 years
Yesterday was a lovely sunny day in Leicester, and it saw the start of the car boot season! I’m a sucker for a good car boot, so I forewent my Sunday lie-in and headed to Measham car boot, with a purse full of change, to see what treasures I could find. As I expected, it was VERY busy, and though there were hundreds of stalls I only came away with a few bits and pieces. In fact, all I bought was some pins and a tape measure for my sewing projects, which I’m pleased about as I needed them and they were an absolute bargain, and the best bargain of all… a real leather Topshop bag, which cost the princely sum of just £1!
Admittedly, the bag is showing a few signs of use (a couple of studs are missing and the lining has been stitched in one place), but the leather is beautifully soft and in excellent condition, and it still has plenty of wear left in it. I love the slightly slouchy style too. I’d been looking for a generously sized plain black leather shoulder bag for months, and this is ideal. It’s really roomy, with a large main compartment and smaller side and internal pockets – perfect for work or a shopping trip.
Will you be going car booting this year? What do you hope to find?
Naomi x
How to Make Money on eBay
2
10 years
I’ve been selling on eBay for years and I’ve noticed that, over time, it has become increasingly more difficult to actually make any money from the things you sell. With postage costs rising, PayPal and eBay both taking fees, and the sheer volume of items for sale, if you’re not a savvy seller, selling on eBay can take a lot of effort with very little pay-off.
So, today I thought I’d share with you all my tried and tested tips and tricks for making money on eBay, with a few of my own success stories thrown in too. I can’t promise you’re going to make a fortune if you take my advice, but you can at least earn a few extra pounds!
1. Use Keywords
The words you use in your titles can really influence how many people are finding your item when browsing eBay, and therefore how many people are bidding. Say you’re selling a black dress… Calling it ‘Black Dress’ will probably mean it gets lost amongst a whole host of generic black dresses, but if you add detail with fashion keywords you can really tailor your items, especially if you know what’s on trend at the moment, and what people will likely be looking for. In my experience, popular terms include ‘Boho’, ‘Gothic’, and ‘Biker’. Just make sure your item actually suits the trend you are advertising it as!
My Success Story: I recently purchased a faux leather jacket on eBay that, though it was nice and very on trend, really didn’t suit me. I only paid £2 for it, so I put it back on eBay at a similar price and would have been happy just to make my money back. However, I listed the jacket using a few keywords in the title that related to its style (such as ‘biker’, ‘punk’ and ‘goth’), and in the end the jacket sold for more than £16!
2. Go Charity Shopping
One of my favourite ways to make money on eBay is to go shopping myself first… If you’re willing to spend time hunting, you can come across some real designer gems in charity shops at low prices, that you can then sell on when you’re done with them. You won’t find something every time you look, but when you’re lucky it’ll be worth it.
My Success Story: A couple of months ago, whilst browsing a local charity shop, I came across a men’s t-shirt from Liam Gallagher’s ‘Pretty Green’ range of clothing. It looked brand new, and at £2.99 it felt too good to be true, but I checked the labels over and discovered that it was 100% genuine. I snapped it up with the intention of giving it to my partner but he didn’t want it, so again, I put it on eBay at a low price in the hope of making my money back. Within hours the t-shirt had gained lots of watchers, and by the end of the seven-day listing it sold for a whopping £23.
3. Take Advantage of Free Listing
If you list an item for under 99p, eBay allow you to list 100 single-quantity items per month for free! But if you want to charge more (as I suggest in tip 4) it costs, and the higher your starting price, the more it costs. For clothing it’s usually around 15p per item, which doesn’t seem that much, but if you’re listing several items at once it soon adds up! Paying to list items just eats into your profits, so take advantage of free listing days whenever you can. eBay tend to run a free listing weekend every other week, so I tend to prepare everything during the week (gather items, take photos, plan my listings etc), then list everything during a free listing weekend.
4. Factor in Fees
Unfortunately for us sellers, both eBay and PayPal take a percentage of the sale price of your items, including from what you charge for postage. PayPal take between 1.4% and 3.4%, plus an extra 20p, and eBay take 10% of the final value. So, if you actually want to come out of a sale with something other than a few pence, it’s a good idea to factor these fees into your pricing. I personally never list anything for 99p, because once all the fees have been taken away you’re left with next to nothing, so I tend to start items a little higher. Perhaps £1.49 for small items, or for labelled brands a bit more.
It might also be an idea to up your postage costs too. It costs £2.60 to post a small parcel in the UK, but if you charge £2.60 you’ll end up paying some of the postage out of your own pocket, as some will be taken in fees. I usually put mine up to around £3.00 as P&P does also include packaging!
5. Take Good Photographs
Ever found something interesting on eBay, only to find there’s one small, low quality image of the thing, probably taken on a mobile phone in a badly lit room? Chances are you’re not going to want to bid on something if you can’t see what it looks like, so good photographs are always important in making a sale! I like to take mine with a digital camera rather than a phone, in natural light, and I always include a few close up photographs too so buyers can really see what they’re getting.
Do you have any tips for selling on eBay? Please comment if you do as I’d love to hear them!
Happy selling,
Naomi x
20% off at Zatchels for London Fashion Week
0Good news, fashion lovers… To celebrate the start of London Fashion Week, British satchel manufacturer Zatchels are offering 20% off ALL bags and accessories sold online. The offer starts today, Friday 13th September, and will run until Midnight on Tuesday 17th September. To get your discount, all you have to do is visit the Zatchels website, choose your bargains and enter the shopping code FASHIONWEEK at the checkout.
Here are my picks of the Zatchels range to show you some of the gorgeous bags they have to offer. All prices are based on the smallest bag sizes, but larger sizes are available.
Candy Blue Cracked Metallic Satchel – RRP £119 – £95.20 with discount
Pink Fluorescent Saddle Bag – RRP £60 – £48 with discount
Gothic Lace Satchel – RRP £119 – £95.20 with discount
Tangerine Duffel Bag – RRP £145 – £116 with discount
Purple Leather Satchel – RRP £96 – £76.80 with discount
Cornflower Blue and White Polka Dot Barrel Bag – RRP £55 – £44 with discount
Will you be taking advantage of this offer?
Naomi x
FashionistA Fashion Secret Flawless Primer
2
10 years
by Naomi in Face
One product I’ve always struggled with is face primers. I have an allergy to salicylates, and for some reason almost every primer I’ve ever seen or tried has had some form of salicylate in, and has brought me out in red rashy spots – not a good look! I’d just about given up looking for a primer suitable for my skin when, whilst browsing MUA’s online sale, I came across FashionistA’s Fashion Secret Flawless Primer. MUA are currently selling off loads of FashionistA products at heavily discounted prices, and at £3 down from £10 I thought I might as well give this one a go.
Going by aesthetics, this primer isn’t especially exciting. Just a simple grey tube with a wide nozzle which, quite frankly, makes quite a bit of mess as it lets out far more product than you actually need. But as they say, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and what’s inside this IS special.
Almost every other primer I’ve encountered has had a heavy, creamy consistency, so I was quite surprised to find that this one is a clear, lightweight gel. At first I was a little put off as I expected it to be a bit greasy, like hair gel, but a little goes a long way and it actually glides on perfectly and forms a silky finish which is the perfect base for make up. My skin always feels so soft and smooth when I’m wearing this, which is lovely, but it does leave an odd residue on your hands after application which needs washing off.
In my experience, both liquid and powder foundations apply easily over the top of this primer to create an even, flawless finish, and quite impressively one application keeps your make up in place all day, which for me is the sign of a very good primer! Furthermore, I’ve been using this for over two weeks now and have had no sensitivity to it whatsoever, so this is a great little product for allergy prone skin (although check the ingredients first, obviously!)
Make up over primer.
Without a doubt, FashionistA’s Flawless Primer is worth every penny I paid for it, and I’ll definitely be stocking up before it sells out. It is available online from MUA here, and costs £3 for 30ml.
Will you be trying it?
Naomi x
Cosmetics and Toiletries Blog Sale
0
10 years
by Naomi in Blog Sale
Evening everyone!
I’ve been having a bit of a clear out lately and have gathered together a few cosmetics and toiletries which I’ve decided to sell, including body lotions, lipstick, nail varnish, aftershave and more. Almost everything is brand new and unused, and a lot of it is still sealed. If you’d like to have a look at what I’m selling, click here or visit my ‘Blog Sale’ page via the tab at the top. All information on postage costs and payment details etc can be found there.
Thanks!
Naomi x
BeTrousse January Sale – All Boxes £9!
0
11 years
Good news, beauty fans! BeTrousse are currently having a January sale and ALL of their Beauty Kits are selling for just £9 each!! That includes the Christmas Beauty Box, Pretty Beauty, Summer Break, The Must Haves, Organic & Natural Beauty and Spring Beauty. Every box is packed full of full-size products (not a sample in sight!), so at £9 you really are getting an absolute bargain. In fact, my favourite box is the Pretty Beauty Box which contains NINE full-size items, working out at just £1 each with this offer – amazing, right?
If you want to know more about each box before you decide to buy, here is what I thought of each one (except for the Spring Beauty box, which I didn’t receive)…
Christmas Beauty Box
Pretty Beauty
Summer Break
The Must Haves
Organic & Natural Beauty
To take advantage of this incredible saving, you can view the full selection of beauty kits here. Fingers crossed they’ll be launching some new, exciting kits in 2013!
Naomi x
Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Velocity
9
11 years
by Naomi in Nails
Earlier this month, not long after I decided to ban myself from spending for a while, I received an email from Illamasqua to say that they had added more lines to their winter sale, and I couldn’t resist a browse. There were so many lovely things going cheap that I had to restrain myself, but I made a compromise and let myself buy two things that I wanted the most – a gorgeous red lipstick in the shade Tramp (which I will review at a later date), and this beautiful nail varnish, Velocity.
Illamasqua nail varnish usually retails for £13.50, but Velocity cost me just £5 in the sale, which is obviously a massive saving. I love Illamasqua for several reasons – they’re British, they’re cruelty-free, they challenge conventions, their packaging is chic and, importantly, their products are amazing quality, and this varnish is no different.
Velocity is a very beautiful shade with a bit of an edge, which oozes individuality and class. Illamasqua’s website describes it as a dusky grey-purple which is spot on, and it looks fantastic no matter what level of light you’re in. In natural light it looks the colour of vibrant purple heather, with a tinge of grey which stops it being overly bright, and indoors it has a deep plum look to it, which is equally as gorgeous. The varnish also has a glossy finish which gives incredible, eye-catching shine.
The varnish itself has a lovely creamy consistency, which when paired with Illamasqua’s quality varnish brush allows for smooth, easy coverage. It’s also very highly pigmented and gives full coverage with only one coat, but I applied two for a more intense look. The varnish dries quickly too… I was playing Balderdash with my family about ten minutes after painting my nails with Velocity, and I didn’t suffer any smudges or dents!
I’m also really impressed with how long this has lasted so far. For some reason, I didn’t apply a top coat over the top, and after three days the varnish is still wearing well. One nail on my left hand has chipped a bit, but the rest look almost as good as new!
Here is how Velocity looks on the nails, in natural light, after two coats…
I really can’t put into words how much I love this varnish! The colour is stunning and you can really tell when using it that it’s a good quality product. I would happily pay full-price for Illamasqua nail varnish, so I feel very lucky that I managed to get this little gem for only £5. If you want to follow in my footsteps, it’s actually still available in the sale here, but be quick because I think the sale ends soon!
Which Illamasqua nail varnish shade is your favourite?
Naomi x
January Sales Haul
3Since Christmas it has been January Sales galore, both on the high street and on the internet, and I (along with millions of other shoppers, I’m sure) couldn’t resist a browse. My main aim was to hunt out a couple of pairs of shoes suitable for Spring/Summer, as well as a few items of clothing. I prefer to relax with my family on Boxing Day, rather than go shopping, but on January 27th I braved it and went into town, but soon gave up as there were far, far too many people for my liking. So, that evening I sat down with my laptop, a box of chocolates and a cup of tea and browsed the web to my heart’s content. I must say, I wasn’t that impressed by the quality of the sales this year, but luckily I succeeded in my shoe and clothes buying mission! I managed to resist binging on make up and perfume gift sets in the Superdrug and Boots sales, but I did get a couple of beauty accessories.
Donnay Purple Canvas Ballet Pumps – £3.50 (£3.49 saving) – SportsDirect.com
Skechers Sunset Pink and Black Canvas Shoes – £20.00 (£14.99 saving) – SportsDirect.com
Dr Martens Aldgate Floral Canvas Shoes – £30.00 (£15.00 saving) – Dr Martens
Purple Metallic Manicure Set – £0.99p (saving unknown) – Superdrug
Unwind Cherry Stone Relaxation Pillow – £0.99p (saving unknown) – Superdrug
Purple Heart Knit Dress – £10.00 (£4.99 saving) – Store Twenty One
Blue Paisley Print Top – £5.00 (£4.99 saving) – Store Twenty One
A rather humble haul I know, but I managed to get everything I wanted! What did you get in the sales this year?
Naomi x
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