How you choose to spend your money is such a personal thing, some people love their designer clothes, others like to spend their money on exotic travel.

For me I have always liked spending my money on my make up and skin care. Fashions change but well looked after skin never goes out of style. 

I like my skincare expensive and high end but like most of us this isn't something I can afford all the time. Instead I compromise and mix in lower end products with my more expensive ones.

Whilst I 100% agree with Caroline Hirons that there is no such thing as a dupe in skincare (you often get what you pay for in terms of research and ingredients) that doesn't mean that there aren't great products to be found at the more affordable level. This is more true of some brands than others.

When we started saving to buy our house I had to cut all unnecessary spending and that my meant I couldn't afford to replace some of my high end favourites when they ran out.

I started trying more affordable alternatives and have found some excellent products that I had never tried before, including this wonderful Burt's Bees oil.

Starting off with the more expensive of the two though:

Tata Harpers Nourishing Oil Cleanser - £68.00

There's no getting away from the fact the price tag for this is eye watering. So much so I'm not sure I will ever be able to replace it when it runs out.

This cleansing oil though is beautiful and it smells divine and I like to imagine I am at an expensive spa. I feel so calm and relaxed when I use this (which admittedly is sparingly because it's so expensive). It leaves skin incredibly soft and clean.

I use this morning or evening but I have to admit I have only ever used this as a second cleanse. 

While I am sure this would effortlessly remove make up I do not want to waste it on that and prefer to use other (cheaper) products for that task. 

It is very gentle and I imagine it would work well for almost everyone. 

I save this oil for when I need a mood lift or my skin is in need of rescuing and luckily a little goes a long way!

Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Oil - £16.99

The Burt's Bees cleaning oil is significantly more affordable than the Tata Harper version and as a result I use it far more often.

I have used this product to remove make up and it takes even waterproof eye make up off effortlessly. It's also wonderful in the morning or as a second cleanse.

Like the Tata Harper oil this leaves skin soft and is incredibly gentle. Because its an oil you do not get the uncomfortable 'tight' feeling that other cleansers can cause.  

You only need two to three pumps of this to remove a whole face of make up so it lasts a long time.

Despite it's cheaper price tag this still smells and feels lovely (although not quite as lovely as the Tata Harper one). 

The Burt's Bees oil is definitely more of the workhorse in my collection and I have recommended it to several people.

Although it isn't exactly cheap at £17 it is frequently on offer and is far easier to get hold of than the Tata Harper oil.

Overall verdict?

Although I adore the Tata Harper oil I'm not sure that it's cost can be justified when the Burt's Bees version performs as well and costs a fraction of the price. 

If you have the budget then definitely treat yourself to the Tata Harper oil as it is wonderful but for the rest of us the Burt's Bees one does the same job and is much kinder to your wallet. 

Have you ever tried either of these? Or do you have an even cheaper alternative than the Burt's Bees version? Let me know in the comments!

Redecorating update

I have an announcement to make. We have FINALLY finished painting. I am so relieved to hang up my paint brush for a good long while.

It has taken us three weeks in total to decorate four rooms in the house from top to bottom and it has been hard work. We've spent every evening and weekend working on it. Not to mention most of my lunch breaks at work being spent racing into town to pick up more supplies.

But yes, the painting is done. We did the two upstairs rooms simultaneously as they were both being painted one solid colour, which makes the job much easier.

Jared has taken the last few Fridays off work and spent the day solidly working on the house. I'm so glad he did as this has accelerated our progress massively. 

The main bedroom is painted Johnstone's 'Tori', which is a soft dove grey that I am obsessed with. It's the stuff of Pinterest dreams. The spare room had a different colour on every wall so we have decided to try and freshen the room up a little. We've gone for Crown's 'Clay White', which actually is not that white at all, as it has a very soft lilac undertone. I'm really pleased with how they have both turned out. 

We finished painting the skirting boards in the spare room a few Saturday's ago (this post has been a while in the making as I've been very busy) and that was us totally finished. So I spent the afternoon in town with my Mum looking at dressers for the kitchen.

I decided I wanted one as soon as we chose the paint colour for the kitchen (Farrow & Ball 'Mizzle' in case you wanted to know). Our kitchen may be small, but we are going for a modern farmhouse feel. I've been on the hunt for a petite dresser to fit the room ever since.

We finally found one in the Salisbury Emporium, which is an amazing shop as it's kind of like being inside the Room of Requirement. The dresser was reasonably priced and only 3 foot wide. It's a gorgeous vintage style and I absolutely love it. I've always wanted one and never thought I would be able to get one to fit the room. It looks amazing in the kitchen and fits the space really well.

I'm not entirely sure if I want to repaint it or not. I guess we'll see how I feel about it in a few weeks as right now I can't face doing anymore painting. I am planning to repaint the kitchen table cream, but we'll leave that as a project for another day as well.

I think the room I'm most proud of is the front room as it now looks a lot warmer and more inviting instead of a bit bland and sterile.The two long walls are painted a very neutral cream and the two side walls are each one shade darker, with the darkest shade being next to the fireplace. We wanted this to be the focus of the room and to help the room feel less long and thin.

 
We spent a day cleaning up all the mess we've made painting. Everything had a fine layer of dust all over it, plus our painting gear had spread itself all over the house. So we've rounded everything back up and given everything a quick wipe over.

So that's the painting finally done! More updates to come on moving in!

Top 3 Budget Face Masks

Can you even call yourself a blogger if you don't love a good face mask? Life is all about enjoying the little things and there are few things more relaxing than a mini weekend pamper at home on a Saturday morning. 

Saving to buy a house has meant that I've been really watching my money for the last 18 months or so, which has meant I can't really afford to indulge my love of high end skin care. 

Luckily these three are actually my favourite face masks that I reach for over all of my others and they're all very affordable too!

1. Quick Fix Facials Purifying Charcoal Mask - £5.29

This is described as being for congested and lifeless skin and I think that is a very fair description. It is definitely the one I reach for when my skin is playing up as it does exactly what it says. This is a charcoal mask so comes out a very dark colour so I find it is best to remove it with a dark flannel or it can make your white ones look a little grey. It also has a pleasant tingling sensation when its on so you can actually feel it doing something. I can sometimes find charcoal masks to be too drying but this one leaves my skin feeling soft, without that uncomfortable tight feeling. 

This range is super affordable too and there is a mask for every skin concern. However, if you have combination skin like myself and sometimes have a break out you should definitely try this one!

2. Good Things Manuka Honey Radiance Mask - £5.99

I bought this after seeing Jasmine Talks Beauty rave about it in a post and I am so glad I did. This is a super soft clay mask with ingredients that include honey (obviously), beeswax and various fruit extracts such as papaya. The result is skin that looks brand new after use. This is actually my favourite mask out of the three and although I haven't had it as long I've used quite a bit of it! It really does improve the radiance of your skin which can be something I struggle with. This product smells like honey as well which is another part of it that I love.

I now really want to try other things from this range so if you have any recommendations, let me know!

3. L'Oreal Pure Clay Glow Mask - £7.99

Everyone and their dog has been raving about these masks and I picked this one up in Tesco when they were on offer.This one is slightly different to the other masks in that it contains a physical exfoliant so it is a mask that is combined with a scrub.

The red algae and three clays it contains are meant to help with brightening and they definitely do. I apply this in a thin layer and leave it to sit for 5 minutes before massaging it into the skin to make use of the scrub action and then rinsing away. For the price, this product certainly feels and smells like a far more expensive product. It has a gentle, almost spa like scent to it which I really like. The packaging is fantastic, with a solid glass pot that means you can get every last bit of the product out. It also looks great on my bathroom shelf! The quality of the product itself is lovely and it has a really smooth, creamy texture. 

I think I'll be looking to try more from this range!

The best part is all of these masks are under £10 so they are an affordable way to treat yourself! Do you have any bargain skin care favourites? Let me know in the comments as I'm always looking for good quality skincare that won't break the bank!