Free Make-up brushes (Offer over – Now £5.99)

Do you want some FREE make-up brushes? If you have Amazon Prime, you can get yourself this pretty set of ten, instagrammable brushes for absolutely free, delivered next day! I was searching to see if Amazon had the new Real Techniques brushes but instead, stumbled upon these!

What’s the catch? There isn’t one. Unless you count Prime as a catch. If you don’t have Prime, you can still get them free, you just pay for postage, but that’s basically the cost of the brushes – unless you do the minimum spend of £20 for free delivery.

Anyhow, here’s how you get your free brushes!
Go to the amazon page for the Free Make-up Brushes.
See the promotion on the page that is shown in the screenshot below? Click it and hit “Redeem”. The brushes are the same cost as the discount, making them cost £0.00!

Add the brushes to your cart.
In the cart, the price will not show the discount, but it does at checkout!
Before confirming, check, it should say discounts applied -£4.99, then hit checkout.

I was going to add a screenshot, but this is limited to one per person, you only get the offer for one set of brushes. I already tried and made the purchase myself, so I can’t purchase any more.

All that’s left to do is to wait for your free brushes to arrive. Enjoy! Get ’em fast, I’ve no idea how long this will be available for, it could have been an error or may only be while stocks last. I’d appreciate it if you would share this if you found it useful!

The Blogger Excuse

The Blogger Excuse. Do you know what I’m referring to? You do, don’t you? I think everyone with a niche topic blog is probably guilty of this at some point or another.

So, what is “The Blogger Excuse”? The blogger excuse is using your blog as an excuse to indulge. Many of us have blogs on topics that we’re passionate and interested in. We can use the blog as an excuse to indulge ourselves and purchase something that we wouldn’t otherwise get if we were blogless – all in the name of content. It’s often a costless and actually fairly pointless activity but we justify it with “oh, but I can blog about it” when in actual fact, we could wait for other reviews which inevitably are written on new releases, wait for 3 for 2 deals and other offers for a product we don’t REALLY need.

So. You have a blog, you follow all of your favourite related brands and their PRs, follow them on twitter, facebook, instagram, pinterest, their own newsletters, the whole lot. You hear of a new product release and you can not wait to get your hands on it… to review on your blog. Not because you need another x/y/z product in your life, but because you fancy it and your blog is the perfect excuse. It’s okay, right? So, you spend a fortune on products that you probably don’t need but they’ve just come out and of course, you’re not alone in this, because as you upload your post, you realise… in come hundreds of posts on the exact same product to the bloggosphere.

I ask you this. What makes your blog, your post unique? What makes it stand out above all of the other posts of identical nature and often, identical format. (Big, popular blogger does x with their blog, many follow suit because it’s what a successful person does/has?) What makes The Blogger Excuse actually worth it? IS it actually worth it? Or could you actually refrain, save money and create more unique content?

What do you think? Are you guilty of using the Blogger Excuse? I know I sure have been.

Cervical Comb-over

So, I had my very first smear test, or cervical cancer screening test. Yeah, it was weird and I decided I wanted to share the experience with you, start to finish, because I know many young women are apprehensive about having the procedure.

So, first thing is first. Booking the test? Well, you get a letter in the post. I got mine earlier on in the year, even though I was still 24. I kept putting off booking my test because I needed to see a nurse for bloods and a pill check as well anyway. I decided I would do it when I got back from a trip away. I actually got a second letter, this one had a leaflet with more information about the procedure, what happens afterwards, and requirements prior. You start getting invited around the age of 25. It is worth noting that you do NOT have to have the test if you don’t want to. It’s ultimately your decision, but please don’t use embarrassment or anxiousness as a reason to avoid it.

To book the procedure, you just call up and book in with the nurse once you’ve had the invite – the letter does tell you all this, but I’ll tell my experience regardless so you know what you can expect. Now, when I booked in, the receptionist didn’t actually tell me about the things you need to do before-hand (or rather, the things you need to NOT do). They ask that you book the test for the middle of your cycle, basically, it’s better if you’re not on your period for the test as they can get a clearer reading. They also say to not have a bath the day before and to avoid sex the night before – specifically to not use spermicide, lube or a barrier method of contraception. It’s probably just better to avoid it all together to save having to maybe need the test re-doing. If the sample is inadequate, they will call you back in three months time to take another sample. The test itself? The only thing you need to do is undress your lower half. If you wear a lose skirt, you can keep that on. The test itself only takes a few minutes.

The nurse will ask you to lay down on the bed – I was given some of that paper stuff to put over my lap. You go spread-eagle and she (or he! you can request that a female perform the test when booking if you’re concerned) will insert a lubed up, scary looking contraption in to your fanjo. It’s called a speculum and it’s not actually scary. This basically dilates your vagina, opening it up so the nurse can see the cervix. Then she uses a little brush like pictured above to swab some cells from the cervix. This is what is sent off for testing. For me, the opening of the speculum was uncomfortable, a little painful in fact. The tenser you are, the harder it is for them to get on up there but if you’re anxious, tell your nurse. If it hurts, tell your nurse. They’re happy to take their time or to stop if you need it. It only takes a moment to collect the cells. While the speculum itself was weird and uncomfortable for me, I honestly couldn’t feel the brush. I dunno if it was because I was focused on the fact there was this woman all up in my junk and the pressure kinda made me feel like I need the loo or if it’s something you genuinely can’t feel but that was it. Brushy brushy, then she gets on out of there and you can put your junk away.The nurse advises that I may experience some spotting later on and if it happens, to not be concerned. Personally, I didn’t get any, but my ladyparts did feel a little weird for a while.

A little embarrassing? Perhaps, but it’s worth it to monitor your cervical health and potentially reduce the risk of cervical cancer.

Once the sample is taken, you will get a letter back after about two weeks with the results. If the sample was adequate and completely clear, you’ll get called back again in three years. If the sample was not adequate, you will get recalled in a few months – there are loads of reasons the sample might not be adequate so don’t worry about it. Anything else? They’ll tell you in the letter what will happen. I’ve not had my results yet or anything so I cant really speak on that part.

If you want some more technical information, you can check out the NHS page on Cervical Screening. This post was a bit longer than intended but I hope it puts some of you at ease about the test.