Five things I’m loving this week: Early April

Hi again, it’s time for a quick round-up of some of my latest favourite treats and bargains. As always I’m taking a pick and mix approach to whatever turns up on the radar so here we go.

Our first pick is Barry M Crushed Jewel cream eyeshadow in ‘Pillowtalk’, which is a shimmery soft gold liquid eyeshadow. It’s a nice slightly metallic looking eyeshadow that goes on smoothly and lasts for several hours. The shades in the range are all very pretty, and they remind me a lot of Stila’s Magnificent Metals Shimmer and Glow eyeshadows, although at £4.99 they’re a lot cheaper than the designer version (£23). The darker colours have microglitter in them, but it migrates to the under eye area so they’re not so great, but most of the lighter ones don’t and they look much better. Find them at Boots and Superdrug, where you can get them in their free gift or 3-for-2 offers respectively.

Next up we have a lovely bargain lippy in the form of Collection’s Intense Shine Gel Lipstick in ‘Sicilian Glow’. The whole collection is great for the price, and some of the shades look a lot like some of the bestsellers in Buxom’s cult Big & Sexy Gel lipsticks collection, but the price here is £4.99 compared with £15. I’d say it’s a satin finish rather than extra shiny, and it’s quite moisturising as well. The shade I picked here is an orange coral, which is nice for a pop of spring colour, but you might prefer a nude, berry, hot pink or red. They’re on offer for £3.99 right now at Boots, in the 3-for-2 offer at Wilko, or in the 3-for-2 offer at Superdrug.

Uniqlo’s spring dresses have caught my eye this week too. I love this short sleeve 100% cotton number with its removable belt for just £19.90, and it’s available in five different colours. You can style it up or down, and it’s really versatile so it could last for several seasons. Their sale and offers section is worth a look too, with over 50% off some of the stock.

I also had the chance to try out these SmileLab Whitening Strips, which had a noticeable effect on my teeth after only two sessions. These whitened gently without causing sensitivity and gave a natural appearance rather than a too-white end result, and they’re good value this week at Boots (currently 25% off, bringing the price down to £28.50). These are a handy quick fix and I’d use them again.

And finally, we have Essie Treat Love & Colour in ‘Tonal Taupe’. This is a very gentle nail treatment that works as a one-step care and colour. You need to use it for at least a couple of weeks, but most people will find their nails are less likely to peel and break afterwards. This colour is more of a nude shade with a tiny bit of shimmer rather than a real taupe shade, and it makes nails look more groomed and healthy. At £8.99 they’re not super-cheap, but I got mine in a special offer at Superdrug where they’re included in the 3-for-2 deal so that brought the price down. Boots also have them in a ‘buy one, get one half price’ deal right now.

That’s the latest update – it’s definitely been a good week for finding offers on makeup and beauty products in the big high street chemist shops! Seen anything you like?

Full disclosure: Contains a mixture of samples kindly provided by PRs and products I’ve bought with my own money. All comments and thoughts my own.