Charcoal Challenge

A few weeks ago I was invited by Money Supermarket to take part in a competition called the Charcoal Challenge. A group of bloggers were each given £50 to host the ultimate BBQ. It was my birthday around the time so I decided to throw a lovely BBQ for the family.

For £50 we had an amazing feast, heres a sample of what I spent the £50 on;
Chicken Breast Fillets
Steak
Bread Rolls
Salad
Burgers
Chicken Skewers
Magners Cider
Wine
Potato Salad Ingredients
Pork Steaks

We had a brilliant time and the food was lovely! Thanks to Money Supermarket for asking me to take part.

Gem x

Bourjois Colour Boost in Peach on the Beach - Review

I picked this up last week while I was in Birmingham. I needed a new Healthy Mix foundation and all Bourjois were on 3 for 2. Id wanted to try the chocolate bronzer for ages so I picked that up along with this. The colour is what really drew me to the product - its so bright and summery.

Its a great lip product. Its glossy but not sticky and it delivers the right amount of colour. The product claims to last up to 10 hours; now I'm sure it would last 10 hours if you just sat still and didn't move your mouth for them, but in reality it doesn't last nearly as long.

I can forgive Bourjois for those claims though because it is a great product. I really want to try the other colours, especially the fuchsia one.

Have you tried these yet?

Gem x

Budget Bucket List

When I saw this competition from Money Supermarket, I really wanted to give it a go myself. Bloggers are challenged to write a post on one budget and one extravagant bucket list item. I do have a bucket list of sorts, and there are lots of thing I would like to do in my lifetime, I had a hard choice narrowing them down, but here are my picks:

Budget - Visit a Christmas Market

I love Christmas, it really is my favorite time of year and I have always wanted to visit a German Christmas Market. From the pictures I have seen it just looks amazing, so many things to buy and I bet the christmassy atmosphere is brilliant. A coach trip for 4 days to one of these markets costs around £400 for two people, so its a little on the pricey side. And as this is the budget bucket list I have to do better than that!

In Birmingham there is a huge European Christmas market on every year around the festive period, and it looks just as amazing as the ones in Germany - but at a fraction of the cost of getting there. It would cost around £50 for coach travel for two people, that would save me £350! Thats £350 more to spend once I get there...Only joking - I don't think I could actually spend £350 there, or could I? 

The reason I haven't gone yet is that money is always so tight around Christmas time for me. I have two little boys and any extra cash goes on their presents. I would really have to save hard throughout the year to have the spending money to go, but writing this post has made me realize how much I would like to go so hopefully I can do it next year.

Extravagant - Get Married in front of the castle in Walt Disney World Florida

I have to admit that this has been on my bucket list since I was about 10, way before I met my fiance. I have an absolute love for Disney World in Florida and I couldn't imagine anything more magical than getting married in front of Cinderellas Castle. 

The only way this would ever happen for me is if I was to win the lottery - the marriage ceremony in front of the castle costs around £30,000! 

Id top off the wedding with a stay in one of Disneys most luxurious hotels - the Swan and Dolphin hotel, and spend every other day of the holiday in the parks. 

Realistically, We will never be able to afford this. However I think if me and my Fiance can save hard enough, we could have a lovely wedding and holiday in Florida at a much more reasonable price. I think you can get a non-disney wedding in Florida for around $1000, and it would still be every bit magical. 

If you would like to take part in the competition, more details can be found here -http://www.moneysupermarket.com/life-insurance/competitions/budgetbucketlist/

I tag:

Lucyy Writes http://lucyywrites01.blogspot.co.uk/

Leanne http://asliceofmylifewales.blogspot.co.uk/

Bex http://www.ialwaysbelievedinfutures.com/

No 7 Extravagant Volume Waterproof Mascara

Finally, a mascara that does what it says on the tin. It delivers loads of volume and is completely waterproof. I used this mascara while I was on holiday, and I can vouch for its waterproof claims; it didn't smudge or flake like others I have tried, and I didnt end up with the dreaded panda eyes.

When I first saw the brush, I didnt think I would get on with this mascara as it has really short plastic bristles. But they do a great job.

When I wear mascara, I like the volumised to the max look and this one definitely creates that. The pictures below are with just one coat. You do need to be careful as it can clump if not applied correctly. I do the wiggle technique and also scrape the brush before use. 

Whats your favorite waterproof mascara??

Gem x

June Favorites

NO 7 Extravagant Volume Waterproof Mascara - I love how volumising this mascara is, and it is actually waterproof too. I used this whilst on holiday and it held up in the pool great.

MUA Lipstick in Juicy - A really nice coral shade of lipstick, and its only £1. I love corals for summer and this lip shade goes really nicely with the Bourjois cream blush.

Bourjois Cream Blush 02 - A peachy coral colour, this blush blends amazingly well. Its so pigmented and the perfect size for your makeup bag.

Garnier Summer Body - This is a great gradual tanner. I got the shade meant for deeper skin tones as I wanted a more intense tan and it didnt fail to impress. I was looking really sunkissed but not at all orange. I really recommend this as its only around £5, but often reduced and I managed to get mine for £2.55.

MUA Undress Me Too Palette - I have been loving using the bronze and gold shades in this palette, and took it on holiday too as its so portable.

What have been your favorite products this month? Link me up or let me know in the comments :)

Gem x

3 Bargain Holiday Dresses - Outfit of the Day

I have just come back from the gorgeous island of Menorca. I bought a few lovely bargain dresses before I went, and was going to do a haul but I didn't get round to it. What better way to see them though, than in action on holiday? haha.

This first dress is from Store 21 and cost only £4.99. It is really flattering to my larger figure as it skims over my tummy nicely. I have modified this dress - it came with 3 buttons down the top but they didn't look right at all. Easy to remove and the dress looks 100 times better now in my opinion. I don't think store 21 do online shopping?! I'm not sure but the dress also came in navy and was really pretty too.

This dress/top/coverup is from Matalan and is only £5. Its so pretty and I wore it over my swimming costume as a coverup, but it also looks great as an evening dress. If you are over 5`5" I think it would be too short though, as it is really short on me. Its still showing on line in the holiday shop, but when I click it I get a page unavailable message at the moment!

This is my favorite of the 3 dresses, and again its from Matalan. It cost me only £8, I cant find it online but it is probably still in store. It came in at least 3 other colours too.


Gem xx

Bingo!

Admission: About once a month I go to bingo with my Mum and I really enjoy it. I have actually been really lucky and in total I have won over £3000! Bu that is over about 3 years.I have never played it online before though.

I was asked whether I wanted to give my thoughts on Costabingo.com, and as I had never played online bingo before I thought I would give it a try.

I played their 90 ball bingo, which is what I usually play, and it was fun. There are 5 and 10p per book games with prizes for one line, two lines or full house. The jackpots depend on how many people are playing at the same time as you, and can be over £50. There are also  games with a jackpot of £2500 at 9 or 10 every evening, with fridays being £10000.

I love the design of the site, its really easy to use and if you deposit £10, they will treble it to £30!

go to Costabingo.com to find out more :)

Gem x

Online bingo is fun to play now and again, but please be careful as it can be addictive for some people gambleaware.co.uk