Winter Sales Haul

I didn't realise just how much stuff I'd actually bought in the sales until it came to photographing it all for this post. I'm surprised it's as much as it is, as I really wasn't that impressed with the sales this year, particularly as a lot of the higher end brands I was after were added to the sales really late, or most not at all. I am still really pleased with the things I did get, and I guess it saved me a few pennies anyway. As well as my usual online shopping, I ventured out into the Boxing Day store sales for the first time this year - an experience I doubt I'll ever repeat! We got there nice and early, so town was pretty peaceful when we arrived, but fast forward two hours and everywhere was absolutely manic and I had to get away! So here's a sneak peak of everything I managed to get.

The first sales purchase I made was actually on the 23rd December! I had an email ping through from FeelUnique to say that their sale had gone live, and I was on there like a flash. Disappointingly there wasn't a lot that caught my eye, but the This Works Dram Believers set looked like it could be really useful to me, as I've been struggling with sleep issues recently. The set was reduced from £25 to £20 (annoyingly I found it on the Boots website the next day for less, grrr!) and contains a large deep sleep pillow spray, which I have used before and love, plus the dream cream which I've heard goods things about.

I could have gone mad in The Body Shop sale on Boxing Day, but I have so many of their products still to use up that I had to draw a line. I'm going to make it my mission to use up as many The Body Shop products as I can this year, so that I can really treat myself in next years sales, as this was one of the few stores I found to have some really great deals. I did treat myself to a couple of things though. The Fuji Green Tea range has been one that I've been dying to try for a while. As I have so much to use up, I thought miniatures would be the way to go, just to test the range, and when I saw the treat cubes were reduced to £4,50, I snapped one up. Another product I've been intrigued by is the Frosted Plum candle from the Christmas range. I'd asked for one of the Frosted Plum gift sets for Christmas, but had no idea that The Body Shop had released candles this year too. I can't wait to burn this and see if they are any good, This was half price at £5.00.

The next website I visited was Boots and, whilst I got in there pretty quickly, I guess I just wasn't quick enough as a lot of the products I had my eye on were gone (mostly Soap & Glory, though I have a feeling some of it had already sold out online before the sales had started). One thing I did manage to find was the Nails Inc Health Kick Kit, which was reduced from £25 to £16.66. I need to take much better care of my nails, so I'd seen this kit before Christmas and wanted to give it a go, but I'm glad I waited until it was reduced! Another product I was waiting for the sales to buy was the Aroma Home Cat Huggable Hottie. I'd seen this whilst browsing the aisles of Boots and thought it would be great to use when I'm having back trouble - plus it's a cat, how cute! I was about to pick it up when I saw the £20 price tag - very expensive for what it was, so I decided to wait until it was half price. It's fragranced with lavender too, so hopefully it will help with sleep issues too. My last purchase was a bit of an impulse. I'd never intended on buying a Yankee Candle in the sales, but as this was a gift set, it has a much better deal on it than the normal candles do - and the only difference was that it came in a cardboard box! Sparkling Cinnamon is one of those fragrances that's right up my street in the winter time, I can't wait to start burning it,

As well as the online sale, I did nip into my local Boots store on Boxing Day to see if I could pick up any of the things I couldn't get online. The Soap & Glory sets were a no-go. They seemed to have every single set left except for the ones that I was after - trust me to pick the popular ones! They did, however, have plenty of the Sanctuary Spa sets left, so I picked up the Sanctuary Surprises cracker set, which contains four different body washes & lotions, and the Glow & Boost Skincare Collection. The only item of Sanctuary Spa skincare that I've ever tried (and loved by the way!) is the 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask, which you do get a sachet of in this set, so I'm excited to try some new things. Both were in the half price sale, so I was able to get the pair for just £15, which is great value.

The next two purchases weren't exactly sale items as such, but they were good offers that were running at the time, so I thought I'd include them. When I was browsing Superdrug, I spotted the gorgeous Bourjois Nude Smoky eyeshadow palette. I had a swatch of the shadows and knew I had to pick one up. I discovered though that this was a gift with purchase product that wasn't available separately, so I had to buy three Bourjois products to get one. Luckily it was 3 for 2 at the time too, so I essentially bought two products and got two free! I decided to pick up a couple for shades of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks that I love so much, in the shades Frambourjoise & Red-volution, as well as a mascara that I'd heard a lot of good things about but have never got around to trying - the Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara.

The second great offer I found was on the Liz Earle website. I'd gone on to have a browse of their gift sets in the sale, when I spotted something which was even better value for money. You could buy their Cleanse & Polish (with two muslin cloths), Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Skin Repair Moisturiser in a set for just £45, plus you'd get one of their Eucalyptus & Rosemary Botanical Candles sent to you for free as well. The total value of the goods separately is well in advance of £100, so this was incredible value for money, I had to snap up this deal. Unfortunately this is no longer available, though they do have a similar deal running at the moment where you can get a free body wash instead of the candle.

I'm not that big on fashion sales, especially in the stores. Everything is usually far too chaotic and messy, I just don't have the patience to rummage through the overcrowded rails trying to find something that a. I like and b. is in my size. I did however pop into Primark on Boxing Day. I wasn't planning on doing any sale shopping, as their stores are usually a mess anyway, let along when there's a sale on, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was relatively tidy - I'm guessing because I got there early! Most of the items I did buy weren't in the sale, but I did find this grey/blue cardigan reduced to £10. I have one already in a different colour way, but I'd never seen this one before and I have to say I much prefer it. It's so soft and fluffy too, so it's super cosy for those evenings snuggled up on the sofa.

I'm not a big fan of shopping for clothes online either, I do it occasionally, but I feel like I need to see an item in person to get a real idea of how it's going to look. I did have a little nosey on the Miss Selfridge sale though, as they always have some pretty things, and my local store is tiny. The sale selection didn't really appeal to me much, though I did find this grey waterfall cardigan reduced to £19 (I think!). I really liked the black faux leather trim, as I thought it added something a little different to something that's otherwise a basic, and was much needed in my wardrobe following my weight loss.

What did you find in the winter sales?