Budget Beauty Essential: Boots Extra Large Cotton Wool Pads

I first heard about these super sized cotton pads from Boots in a Zoella video, I believe. At the time I was using a cream cleanser, separate eye make up remover and toner so I was going through 6-8 regular cotton pads every time I removed my make up. At £2.59 for 60 these may seem a bit pricey for cotton pads but I think they're well worth it.

(a bit of a weird size comparison shot!)

If you've ever been a fan of those dreaded drying face wipes (we've all been there...I still keep some on hand for emergencies!) because they're so quick and easy to use, these cotton pads, a good quality cleanser and toner make an excellent alternative. I typically massage my cleanser into my skin to lift the make up and remove with one of the pads. The process is much quicker as I only need one pad unless I need to double cleanse to remove lots of make up.

I also use them to remove polish - one pad will do nails and toes.

You'll find these in the baby section rather than in the beauty section and they're currently in a buy one, get one half price offer. I've only got a few pads left so am planning on stocking up this weekend!

Stace xx

Ps - I'll be posting a wee blog sale at some point over the weekend because I'm moving flat again and am having a bit of a clear out so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Weekend Haul: Philosophy & Boots

Hello!

I've finally done a little bit of beauty shopping! This haul is probably going to seem tiny compared to the monthly hauls I used to post but I'm sort of pleased about that. I generally try to be cleverer about the purchases I'm making now so will usually only buy one or two products over a period of a few weeks. This week I allowed myself to go a tiny bit crazy at the Philosophy counter and in Boots. I say 'crazy' because I don't actually need any of these things but that's not to say I won't enjoy trying them out; there could be some new favourites in here!

Philosophy as a brand is still fairly new to me. I've tried a lot of samples (and received even more after making this purchase - check out the cute little 'mini miracles' bag they came in!) and generally liked everything so I've been keen to pick up more of their line for a while. The 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath is one of the brand's staple offerings; I went for the delicious citrus scented Señorita Margarita. At £14 it's pretty pricey for a basic shower gel but I've been trying this out and a little definitely goes a long way. I tried it in my hair too and liked it as a shampoo but my hair is ridiculously low maintenance so I wouldn't recommend this as a shampoo for all hair types. 

The second product I picked up is their primer: The Present. I've heard mixed reviews on this one and haven't tried it out myself yet but plan to this week so expect to see a review soon if I have especially strong feelings either way. This was £22 but you do get 60ml of product which is around twice the size of most standard primers from other brands. 

Then I had one of those trips 'I-want-everything' trips to Boots but I somehow managed to compose myself and not spend too much. Looking at it now it does seem like a random selection of products! 

I made a couple of repurchases from Rimmel; the Wake Me Up concealer has been a favourite of mine for a long time and another lipstick from Kate Moss's Lasting Finish range. I got the shade 05 which is a warm, slightly bright pink because I've misplaced my beloved shade 19 and I'm hoping to find it again soon! I got a free Scandal Eyes mascara in black which I'm not sure I'll be a fan of as the brush looks absolutely huge.

The next three products which swiftly made it into my basket are all things I was really excited to see because until now I've not spotted them in British drugstores. The Maybelline Mega Plush mascara came out in the States forever ago and I've been dying to try it. This is another product which appears to split the opinion of beauty addicts so I'm interested to see which camp I end up in. I imagine there'll be a review of this up fairly soon. Next up is a Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polish in the infamous shade: Commander in Chic. It's one of those griege-nudes that's been doing the rounds for the past two or three years but I'm still looking forward to trying it out. I also came across a Sinful Colors display with a wide array of shades which are a snip at £1.99. I've been hankering after green nail polishes recently so this one in Exotic Green is a good way to try it out on the cheap.

Finally, I need new skincare. My current skincare system is driving me crazy; largely because it's not really a system. I'm starting my mini-revolution with this Vichy Normaderm moisturiser because it claims to target the issues I've been having with my skin. I also need a new cleanser, toner, serum, exfoliator and mask...suggestions on a postcard (or in the comments, probably quicker), please!

Have you been buying anything lately? If you've posted a haul, leave me a link!

Stace xx

December/January Empties

I've not posted an empties post in a long time - mostly because it's taken me this long to gather up enough empties to post about. Do any of you remember the months where my empties posts would have squillions of products in them?! My beauty routine has definitely been simplified recently (read: I've been lazy) so it's taking me much longer to use anything up.

Boots Expert Dry Shampoo

When my favourite Tresemme dry shampoo isn't on offer, I usually buy this one instead. It's almost as good and about a third of the price. 

Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover

My all time favourite polish remover! I've not been able to repurchase this yet so I'm trying another one and it just doesn't compare. 

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Lotion

This was nice but not nice enough for me to rush out and repurchase it. I'm in need of a new night time moisturiser though so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!

The Body Shop Spiced Vanilla Body Butter

I realise this was from last year's Christmas collection but I promise I only opened it in September! As with all Body Shop body butters it's nice and moisturising. I wasn't a huge fan of the scent though.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium 3

Does this product even require an explanation? It's one of my most used and repurchased beauty products by far. If you've not tried it, you should. I'm already well on my way to using up another tube.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in Golden Beige

I must admit, when I picked this up back in August, I wasn't expecting a great deal. I've been pleasantly surprised; this is an excellent every day foundation. I'll be posting a full review soon...and buying a new bottle!

BeneFit They're Real 

This is the first of three mascaras I've used up recently and it's the only one I've rushed out to buy again. It's hands down my favourite mascara.

L'Oreal Volume Million Waterproof

I enjoyed using this mascara and it's the only one that's come close to being as good as They're Real. It's much easier to remove though, despite being waterproof! 

LUSH Eyes Right*

Formula-wise this mascara is nice. It looks really natural which is great for everyday use. I definitely won't be repurchasing it - the packaging is terrible.

Have you posted an empties post recently? Leave me a link!

Stace xx

A Teeny Tiny Haul - Boots & Wild About Beauty

The last time I bought a beauty product of any description was over a month ago so I thought I was due a trip to Boots; partly to replace things, partly for new nail polish! I also popped into Debenhams and *ahem* accidentally managed to spend some more money there. 

Boots are running a 3 for 2 offer across all cosmetics right now so I decided to take advantage of that. I initially just wanted the Essie polish in Bordeaux but I decided to pick up another tube of the Rimmel Fix & Perfect primer because it's one of the best primers I've tried and I'm just working through other samples at the moment. I've heard so many good things about the Maybelline Forever Strong polishes so I picked one up in the shade Rosy Sand. I thought it would be a nice warmer toned alternative to Chanel Particuliere. I'm wearing it just now and I have to say, it applied beautifully. I'm not entirely sure I like the colour though.

My beloved Rosewater Toning Spritz from Botanics ran out a fortnight or so ago and I've been lost without it so I had to repurchase that. I also picked up a shower gel from the new Botanics bodycare range. It's the Restoring Cream Body Wash. I bought it because my skin is feeling quite irritated at the moment; I've used it a few times now and I think it's helping. I had a coupon for this Tresemme Volumising Dry Shampoo so I grabbed a can to add to my current supply. I can never be without that product!

When I was in Debenhams I spotted a new counter for a brand I'd never heard of before. It's called Wild About Beauty (I think the name is pretty silly) and the range has been developed by make up artist Kim Jacob and celebrity Louise Redknapp. The products themselves all look and feel really nice. I loved the shade selection; everything looks quite natural. 

I picked up a couple of products to try out. The first thing that caught my eye was the Nutritious Gloss in Astrid. It's a dark pink berry shade which is surprisingly pigmented. I'll need to wear this a bit more before reviewing it but expect to see a post fairly soon. I was intrigued by the Mattifying Balm so bought that too. If you've tried BeneFit's Dr Feel Good, this product is sort of similar. You can use it under or over make up but I'm planning to buff it on my T-zone after foundation with an ELF Powder brush. I think it'll be a nice alternative to powder for me; I hate looking powdery. I couldn't even wait to photograph this product before trying it so I apologise for the less-than-perfect photo!

The girl on the counter, Kathleen, was lovely. If you're in Glasgow I'd definitely recommend having a chat with her because she's more than happy to tell you all about the new range. So far, I'm quite impressed with what I've tried.

What have you been buying recently? If you have a haul post, link it below!

Stace xx

Budget Beauty Essential: Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover

This post is another instalment in my budget beauty series; I apologise for letting that fall by the wayside over the past few weeks, expect to see more of these posts in the near future!

Today's post is about my all-time favourite nail polish remover which conveniently only costs £1. I've tried more expensive removers from a variety of brands but found that none of them work as well as this one so I've given up on trying anything else. This remover takes my nail polish off so quickly and easily; who could ask for anything more? Obviously it needs a little help if you've got six layers of glitter polish on but I think that goes for all removers.

The only downside to this product is that it does contain acetone which can damage fragile nails. In saying that, I paint my nails at least three times a week and they haven't suffered due to using this remover. 

So, if you've not given the Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover a go, I highly recommend that you do!

Stace xx

September Empties

Another month, another empties post. This month I got through quite a few products without really trying; I was surprised to see that my 'empties' bag was bursting!

I ran out of three face products this month; my primer, foundation and powder. The MUA primer was nice but the packaging was frustrating because I always ended up squeezing out too much product so I'm not sure if it's something I'd repurchase. It's good if you're on a budget, though. My beloved Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua  foundation finally ran out this month but I've moved on to the YSL Touche Eclat foundation; espect to see a review of that one soon. I will probably repurchase Vitalumiere Aqua at some point in the future. The powder I finished up was the Clarins Ever Matte. I liked it but I do think it's a bit overpriced. My Chanel Rouge Noir nail polish finally became too gloopy to use. I've been looking for a similar shade but can't find one that seems just right so if you have any recommendations please leave them in the comments. 

I used up a second pot of the Lierac Smoothing Energizing moisturiser, a small bottle of Osmo's Beber Oil treatment and a Fresh Brown Sugar fragrance sample. I enjoyed using all three of these products but I don't expect to repurchase any of them just now.

This Johnson's 24 Hour Moisture Hand Cream is a great budget buy; I used to use this all the time and it's something I always seem to go back to. The Botanics All Bright Cleansing Face Wipes were just okay and not something I'm particularly keen to use again. I got through two pots of Lush Fresh Face Masks and enjoyed using both but much preferred BB Seaweed over Brazened Honey. 

This Boots Nail Polish Remover is another go-to budget buy for me. I've tried more expensive removers but none work as well as this one for me. I reviewed the Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Body Lotion yesterday and if you read that post you'd know that I have mixed feelings about the product. I don't think I'll be repurchasing. I would, however, consider picking up another tube of the Jergens Cocoa Butter Body Lotion; partly because it smelled delicious and partly because it felt really nice on my skin.

I wasn't overly impressed with the scent of Soap & Glory's Foam Call Shower Gel when I first smelled it but it seems to smell a lot nicer in the shower. I like that it comes with a pump because I tend to be too generous with shower gel. I'm not sure if I'd buy it again immediately but it is a nice product. I used up two shampoos this month; the L'Oreal Ever Strong Reinforcing Shampoo and the John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo. I realise that it seems as though I've used a lot of shampoo this month but the L'Oreal only had a little left in it at the beginning of September and I gave some of the John Frieda to a friend to try. I have reviews of both these shampoos coming up soon. 

I've had this can of Boots Firm Hold Hairspray sitting around for quite a while but I've been wearing my hair up a lot more recently and was reaching for it to tame flyaways. I don't think it's a particularly good hairspray but it did the job for me. The Tresemme Volumising Dry Shampoo is one of my all-time favourite hair products and one I posted about recently. I've already purchased another can! LUSH Rub Rub Rub is another product I reviewed positively recently. I still can't believe how much I loved the scent and it was a really effective exfoliator. I was given Prada Candy last Christmas and whilst I liked it initially I did get a bit bored of it so I'm quite pleased to have finished it up. There's just something about it that isn't right. I wish I could explain it!

So, those are my September empties. Did you use up many products this month?

Stace xx

Botanics Skincare Overview

I've always been a fan of Botanics skincare. I've liked most of the products I've tried from them and on the whole I think they're a great budget-friendly skincare brand. As most of you probably know, they recently repackaged and reformulated their range. I've been using five products from the new range and although I've reviewed a couple of them individually, I wanted to post an overview for anyone who's not sure about the new products and formulations.

First up is my favourite product; the Rosewater Toning Spritz. I used to use the Rosewater toner that Botanics made so I just picked this up as a replacement and I've been enjoying it so much that it's almost time to buy a new one. I've already reviewed this one in full if you want to go and read more about it. Basically, it's less harsh than a tea tree based toner so it doesn't dry my skin out. I also find that I use a lot less of this each time because it's a spray. If you prefer to use a cotton pad, you could still do so. This product is priced at £4.99.

The second product is also one I've reviewed already. It's the infamous Soothing Eye Make Up Remover. I say infamous because it seems that Botanics have been fiddling with the formula of this once much-loved eye make up remover. Whilst I don't think this remover is as good as the old one, it's still almost as effective and a decent product considering it only costs £3.99.

The Softening Cleanser was a new product to me and I have to say that initially I wasn't a fan. When I used it I found that it left my skin feeling sore and looking red. A friend of mine has also tried this cleanser and had a similar, if not more extreme, reaction. I continued to use it and found that after four or five uses my skin no longer reacted. The product is recommended for all skin types but if you have quite sensitive skin I'd say that it's best to avoid it completely. I actually quite like the product now; it removes my make up effectively (including light eye make up) and it hasn't caused any break outs or other reactions apart from those first few times. It's a very typical cream cleanser which I massage into my skin, remove with a cotton pad and repeat until every trace of make up is gone. The Softening Cleanser is £4.99.

My most recent purchase from the range is the Radiant Youth Microdermabrasion Polish. I was reluctant to buy it because I believe I've already found my favourite facial exfoliator (the Vitamin C Microdermabrasion from The Body Shop) but curiosity got the better of them when I spotted a few positive reviews. I figured that I'd be saving myself some pennies if I liked it as much as my favourite because at £7.99 it's a couple of pounds cheaper and contains almost twice as much product. Unfortunately I don't think it can compare. Although the granules are relatively fine, they're larger and more abrasive than what I'm used to so I found using this scrub a little uncomfortable. It did exfoliate my skin pretty well, it's just not my favourite. It's worth having a look at if you've never tried a microdermabrasion scrub.

The final product from the range that I've been using are the All Bright Cleansing Face Wipes.  I took these with me when I went home last month because I was out of my favourite No7 wipes. They're only £3.49 and they're not bad. I did find that they felt a tiny bit 'dry' even when I first opened them but other than that, they worked as I expected them to. I wouldn't rush to repurchase these now that I've used them all up; I don't use face wipes regularly anyway. 

Overall I like Botanics and a brand and I think they offer fantastic value skincare products. I like the new packaging and whilst some of the products I've tried haven't thoroughly impressed me I'd still like to try more from the range and there are a couple of products that I'll probably always repurchase. 

Are you a fan of Botanics? 

Stace xx

August Haul

I had every intention of not buying anything this month and failed miserably! I'm consoling myself with the fact that most of the items weren't too expensive and the priciest item was a birthday present.

Botanics Cleansing Face Wipes

These were under £3 in Boots when I bought them so I thought it was worth giving them a go. I used them when I went back home this month and I've got a review of these coming up soon.

Boots Baby Extra Large Cotton Wool Pads

These were recommended by Zoe from Zoella and they're great! I used to use about eight small cotton pads to remove my make up but I only need two of these.

Boots Baby Shampoo

I use baby shampoo to wash my brushes and I sometimes use it to wash my hair if my scalp's feeling a bit irritated. 

NARS Bronzer in Laguna

This is the first high end bronzer I've ever purchased! It was a bit of a birthday present to myself. 

Elie Saab Le Parfum

This was part of my birthday present from Boyfriend. It smells gorgeous :)

Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser x 2

This is one of my favourite moisturisers and I like it especially if and when I get break outs. I've purchased so many tubes of this in the past, I've lost count! They were in a 2 for £5 offer in Boots.

Botanics Microdermabrasion Polish

My favourite scrub, The Body Shop's Vitamin C Microdermabrasion, is running low so I decided to replace it with this cheaper alternative to see how well it compares.

Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub

This is another repurchased product, it's probably my fifth or sixth tube of this scrub!

Cuticura Passion Flower & Mango Anti Bacterial Hand Gel

I love my little Bath & Body Works Pocket Bacs but I'm running low on those so I picked this up to replace those.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

I've been on the hunt for a nice drugstore foundation which doesn't break me out so I decided to give this one a try.

L'Oreal Color Infallible Shadow in Goldmine

This was a total impulse buy because I knew if I spent more than £15 I'd get a little gift set for free. It's very glittery!

L'Oreal Color Riche Polishes in Dating Coral & Femme Fatale 

These were emergency airport purchases because I didn't like the manicure I'd planned to keep on for a week. I'm addicted to these little bottles of polish.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara in Brown/Black

My mum used to use this. In fact, she probably still does! It was on offer so I picked it up to see what it's like. I've never tried a Max Factor mascara before. I went for the brown/black shade because it looks a bit softer and more natural.

17 Blemish BB Balm in Medium

I don't know what possessed me to buy this because I know I don't like western BB creams but I always want to try new ones just in case they're not rubbish! I've tried this a few times already and I don't hate it, which is a good sign. I'll probably be reviewing this in a few weeks.

MAC Select Moisture Cover Concealer in NC20

I picked this up on a blog sale for around a fiver. It's a couple of shades lighter than my skintone but I'm planning to use it on my under eye area.

I had a coupon for £5 off a Feel Unique so I made a little order!

Weleda Almond Soothing Facial Lotion

I needed a new moisturiser to use when I don't need to use the Clean & Clear Dual Action so I picked this up on a whim. I was a bit disappointed when it arrived as it's only 30ml rather than the 50ml I expected; I should have read the description more carefully!

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat

I needed a new bottle of this and it was under £5 on Feel Unique so I popped it in my basket. 

NUXE Reve de Miel Lip Balm

I'm a lip balm junkie so I knew I'd have to get around to trying this at some point. I'll be posting a review of this soon!

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Body Lotion

When I buy clothes from ASOS I always end up with at least one beauty item in my basket and this body lotion is what made it into my most recent order.

Boots Nail Polish Remover

This was another product repurchase!

Essie Fiji

I've been wanting this colour for such a long time and Boots were running a points event where you would receive 10 points per £1 if you spent over £15 so I added this to my basket in order to take advantage of the extra points. At least, that's what I'm telling myself!

LUSH BB Seaweed & Brazened Honey Fresh Face Masks

I was after a new face mask but after looking in Boots several times, nothing took my fancy so I popped into LUSH and picked up a couple of their fresh face masks. I've tried Brazened Honey before and it wasn't my favourite mask but I was given it by accident instead of Love Lettuce this time so I'm interested to see if my opinion has changed. Expect to see reviews of these quite soon. I should also mention that Rachel, the girl who helped me in store was absolutely lovely. All the staff in LUSH on Buchanan Street in Glasgow are great so if you're in the area I'd highly recommend popping in!

If you'd like to see reviews of anything I purchased please let me know in the comments. 

Did you buy anything nice this month? If you have a haul post or video, leave me a link!

Stace xx

Free Gifts at Boots from 17 and L'Oreal

I popped into Boots today so pick up a few essentials and several other items; watch out for them in my haul post at the end of the month! I already knew that L'Oreal were offering a gift with purchase and planned on picking up some L'Oreal items anyway so I got that and another little free gift from 17. I'm not sure how long these will be available as the L'Oreal set has been in store for at least a week. I thought I'd better blog about them immediately so that anyone who wants to pick up the free gifts can do so.

The L'Oreal set is the larger of the two and you have to spend more to get your hands on it; £15 to be exact.  You may have noticed that recently I've been enjoying several L'Oreal products so it wasn't difficult for me to spend £15. I bought a foundation and an eyeshadow, if anyone's wondering!

The kit has 'Nail It, Wing It, Gloss It' written on the packaging so as you'd imagine the contents includes nail polishes, a liquid liner and a gloss. The polishes are from the Color Riche range and the shades are You Are Worth It (blue-grey) and Opulent Pink (hot pink). The kit also includes nail stencils. The polishes are a welcome addition for me; just yesterday I posted about another Color Riche polish that I've been enjoying so I can't wait to try these two. The liner is the Superliner Luminizer in Black Diamond/Brown Eyes. I don't wear eyeliner often so this isn't something I'd have purchased myself but I'll give it a try. The fourth full sized product is a Glam Shine gloss in Magnetic Nude Glow. It's a very metallic nude shade and again, not something I'd have purchased myself but I'm interested to see how it looks over certain lipstick shades. There are also samples of the Nude Magique BB cream and True Match foundation. 

If you're not in the market to spend £15 on L'Oreal, how about £5.99 on 17? I purchased the newly reformulated 17 BB cream which was conveniently priced at £5.99 and got this little bronzing set for free. 

This set contains an eyeshadow called Statuesque which is a metallic taupe shade. Texture-wise it reminds me of the MUA shadows; it's very pigmented and almost creamy. There is a little pot of a cream blush/bronzer which seems to be quite sheer but buildable. I'm interested to see how this works on my face. The third product in the set is an Ultimate Volume gloss in the shade In The Nude which is another metallic nude gloss.

So there you have it. I spent £21 and got ten products between both kits and the items I purchased. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me, even if I have ended up with two slightly scary looking lip glosses!

Are you going to be picking up either of these little sets?

Stace xx

My Thoughts on Beauty Reward Cards

If you live in the UK, you'll have heard of these four cards before. Boots have had an Advantage card since before I can remember, I think I got mine when I was about 14. That means it's almost a decade old...Probably shouldn't dwell on that so much! I've had two Love Your Body cards from The Body Shop, I've had the Debenhams Beauty Club reward card for a couple of years and I've also got Superdrug's reward card offering.  In this post I'm just going to tell you what benefits you can get from using these cards and which ones I like best. 

First up is possibly my favourite card. In fact, I think it is my favourite. This is Debenhams' Beauty Club reward card. You get points credited to your account when you present the card in store or enter the details when shopping online. In store you will receive 3 points per £1 when you spend over £25 and online you will receive 5 points per £1 plus free delivery. Debenhams regularly run offers for extra points when you spend over a certain amount; they usually offer an extra 500 or 1000 points when you spend over £40. Sometimes this is specific to certain brands and other times it applies to any beauty and fragrance products. Each point is equivalent to 1p but credit to spend in store is only loaded onto your card in £5 increments. £15 in rewards is the maximum that can be given each month but any extra points are carried over to the next month's balance. So, for example, if you gain 1765 points one month, you'll get £15 credited to you reward card at the end of that month and 265 points will be carried forward and added to any points you gain in the next month and so on. 

My top tips would be to shop online where possible as you get more points that way, try to shop only then the bonus points are available and if you're spending, say, £80, split it into two orders to get the maximum amount of points. The only downside to this card is that the credit you receive can not be redeemed online so if you don't live near a store this might be frustrating. However, the advantage is that your credit can be used  as part or full payment on any purchases so you don't have to save up enough points to cover the entire cost of what you want to buy unlike with the Boots Advantage card.

You can get a card from beauty counters in any Debenhams stores and immediately start collecting points. Once you've registered it online you can check your balance and will receive monthly statements letting you know how much credit you've accumulated.

Reward Card Rating - 4.5/5

Next up is Superdrug's Beautycard. This annoyingly shiny card is my least favourite of the four that I have. For every £1 you spend in store you will receive 1 point on your card. You can use your points as part payment for your purchases but only once you've earned at least 100 points and only in increments of 100/£1. So if your shop comes to £3.50 and you have 400 points, you will still have to pay 50p. You can also earn points online. Superdrug sometimes run promotions offering more than 1 point per £1 and I remember there being lots of those when the card launched. At one point you could earn 10 points per £1 if you shopped online so it's worth watching out for those although they definitely don't happen as regularly these days. There are also occasional in store offers of bonus points on certain products or if you spend more than a certain amount on a particular brand. Again, these offers have been much less frequent in the past eight months or so.

My main issue with this card is that I'd have to spend £100 in order to get £1 back. Let's be honest, who spends hundreds in Superdrug? Boots offer 4 points per pound so if something is the same price in both stores, you're better off buying it from Boots. As I mentioned, the offers for bonus or additional points per £1 have not been as forthcoming since the hype around the card's launch died down which is a shame. The system of using the points as part payment is annoying too because it's so specific. If you have £20 of points on your Debenhams card, you can buy something at £17.50 and essentially get it for free or if you're in Boots and have enough points to cover what you're buying, you can also walk away without having to spend anything whereas in Superdrug you always have to pay something. Once I had to hunt around in my purse for 22p, it was annoying.

This card gets a thumbs down from me. I still use it if I'm in a Superdrug but I've not built up enough points to get money off my purchase for a really long time as it takes so long to get anywhere near 100 points these days. It's worth having if you shop in Superdrug a lot and you keep an eye out for the elusive bonus offers but I'm not telling you all to rush out and get one if you haven't already. These can be picked up from any Superdrug store and can be registered either online or by post.

Reward Card Rating - 1/5

The Boots Advantage card; it's an oldie but a goodie. As I said, I've had mine for a long time and over the years have used my points to make 'special' purchases, usually from Chanel! For every £1 you spend you collect 4 points. Boots often run promotions for extra points on certain brands or specific products. To benefit fully from your Advantage card check for offers at the in store kiosks and keep an eye out for vouchers sent in the post. There are lots of opportunities to earn 250 extra points on a £25 spend, 150 points if you buy three products from 17 or whatever. One thing I would warn you about is not to get sucked into buying things you don't want just because there's an offer of extra points, it probably won't be worth it. However, if you were going to buy those 17 products anyway, for example, it's nice to get a little extra back in the process. 

You can spend your points whenever you like but the issue with this card is that you must have enough points on your card to cover the cost of your purchase. You can not use these points as part payment, hence why I don't use the points on this card so often. You can spend your points in store and online which is handy if you're a fan of online shopping.

You can pick up a card (if you don't have one already...I imagine almost everyone does!) online, over the phone or in stores. 

Reward Card Rating - 4/5

Finally, I have a Love Your Body card from The Body Shop. This card works differently to the others as you don't gain points when you shop. You pay £5 for the card but there's usually some sort of free product worth at least that value if you buy the card so it's usually technically free or almost free. Look out for a sign up incentive that you actually want. I believe I got one of their sulphate free shower gels and it was lovely. For your £5 you get 10% anything you buy for a year. The discount is applied to full price items, items in multi-buy offers and items in the sale. In fact, during the most recent sale (still ongoing, I believe) I had an email offering Love Your Body members an extra 20% off sale purchases and if you scroll down the blog a bit, you'll see a bargainous haul! In addition to the discount you get a stamp for each £10 you spend and once you've spent £40 (i.e. have four stamps) you get a free product worth up to £5. Once you have eight stamps you get a free product worth up to £10. You also get a free product worth up to £5 in your birthday month. There are also offers of freebies or extra discounts throughout the year.

When it comes to online shopping, you can still get your 10% discount but if you want to have the stamps added to your card for each £10 you spend, you have to take your receipt into the store and have them do it for you which is a bit of a faff. It's not the most online-friendly reward card out there.

I would recommend this card to anyone who thinks they'd spend around £80 in The Body Shop in the space of a year in order to take advantage of the freebies. However, since the card usually ends up not really costing you anything, if you want the free product that comes with signing up, I'd say to just get it. If you never, ever shop in The Body Shop then this one obviously isn't for you!

Reward Card Rating - 3.5/5

Phew...that's it! Sorry it was a long one this time but I hope it was helpful and that if you don't have some of these cards, you'll be able to pick them up and start saving a little money.

Stace xx