find inner beauty

I have a confession to make…I am a cheapskate. If I can get it for cheap, I’m in! Don’t get me wrong: if the product is worth it, I don’t mind paying more. But I rather not In this post, I want to show you some budget proof items I bought the other day (all prices are in euro).

First, I went to a store called Action. You can find these in Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Germany. They offer mostly non-food items at a very reasonable price. Let me show you what I found in the beauty section:

- Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days smoothing body milk (2,99)

The one I got says it’s for “dark skin” which is such a silly label to me. This lotion, with cocoa butter, is suitable for anyone with dry, rough skin whether you are fair, medium or dark. Especially during colder winter months, my skin can use all the extra moisture it can get!

- MAX waterproof eyeliner (0,59)

On most days, I can’t really be bothered to apply eyeliner so I only buy budget proof ones. This one is an automatic pencil: you don’t sharpen it like a normal pencil, you simply twist the top to get more product out. I got it in the color 003 Brown. I am not familiar with the brand MAX but at that price, it’s definitely worth a try.

- MAX baked eye shadow quad (1,29)

I am so excited about this product; I got the colors Brown & Beige (471). I haven’t swatched these yet so I have no idea how the pigmentation is but I am hopeful. These shades are totally “me” – I very much enjoy bronze colors because I feel they really bring out my blue eyes. It says you can use them wet for a more dramatic effect or dry for a natural look. I’ll be trying both!

- MAX & MORE Nail Paradise nail art set (1,19)

The last beauty item I got is a nail art set. Every 3 weeks I get my nails done (I have gel nails) but sometimes, I get bored with my nail art before those 3 weeks are up. This set contains nail glue, a mini top coat, a wooden stick and a variety of nail decorations such as stars and hearts (these are stored in a handy container). I look forward to sprucing up my nails with these.

I also bought some random items (impulse buys for the win!):

- TechnoFashion smartphone cleaner (0,55)

So far, I have either used a wet wipe and a normal tissue or a microfiber cloth (this came with my MacBook Pro) to clean my iPhone 5. I mainly got this because there was a line at the cash register and they had all these phone accessories right next to it (how can you resist?!). We’ll see if they actually clean my phone.

- TechnoFashion iPhone 5 protective case (1,59)

Similar story to the one above – who can say no to a protective case at such a low price and just an arm’s length away? The Action I went to had these in 3 colors (black, pink and white). No clue why I picked the white over the black to be honest with you because I’m sure this one will get dirty more quickly. Oh well…

- Office Essentials memo sheets 4×100 (0,99)

Oh sticky notes…I have a love-hate relationship with you. Love because I use you, a lot! Hate because I lose you, a lot! That pretty much sums up that purchase

- Adhesive sticky notes 6×40 (0,89)

I’m a sucker for cuteness. Especially when they make something useful cute! I love this set of sticky notes because they have different formats and patterns. I will mainly use this to organize my agenda.

- WriteWell whiteboard markers (0,98)

Quite a self-explanatory item: I have a whiteboard on my desk therefore I need markers to write on it. I do have a question for my fellow whiteboard owners out there: what do you use to clean your board? I usually just use tissue but it doesn’t always do a great job.

- “Eet Je Mooi” – Dutch beauty food book (1,49)

Beauty food is something I have always been interested in. I often search for information online but I figured it’d be fun to have it all bundled into one. This book features a list of vitamins and why they are important, recipes for better skin, hair and nails and DIY treatments for different skin types. I look forward to testing some of these tips and see if they really work!

The second part of this post will be dedicated to my purchases at a clothing store called BEL & BO. They only have stores in Belgium but they do have a webshop. They ship to Belgium, Luxembourg, France and The Netherlands. For the Belgian readers, if you have any stuffed animals (in good condition!), go hand them in at a Bel&Bo store before February 25th and you get a €10 gift card. I had never actually been to this store but my mom convinced me to take a look and they, to my surprise, had some nice items.

- camel sweater (5,00)

I’m in love with this sweater! The color suits me well and I enjoy the combination with the black details. The pockets make it stand out to me (and they are actual pockets, not just for show!). I actually got this sweater for free because they had a buy 1, get 1 free promotion.

- off-white blazer (29,90)

Blazers are a bit of a tricky clothing item to me – some can look too formal in combination with a more casual outfit. This one however has a modern look thanks to the fun, gold details like the zippers and the studs on the collar. It fits me perfectly and is nicely centered at the waist; the only negative is that the pockets are just zippers and not actual pockets (they tricked me ).

- green sweater (14,99) and grey sweater (7,00)

After spending 3 months in Hawaii, I kinda forgot about sweaters. Belgian weather quickly reminded me though! I bought these 2 classic v-neck sweaters. The grey one is a bit cropped at the bottom; the green one has a straight model. The difference in price can be explained because the grey one is still from the winter collection and the green one from the new, spring collection.
I have worn all 3 sweaters (it’s still too chilly outside to rock my blazer) and I gotta say: they feel amazing. The quality is quite nice, especially considering what I paid for them.

I hope you enjoyed this budget proof haul. Feel free to share any stores you know of that have great products at reasonable prices. Also, if you want to see a review of any of the items I mentioned above, don’t hesitate to let me know!