July Favourites!

Since July has been my first full month of Blogging, I thought I might do a monthly favourites before August kicks off!

Makeup...

Daniel Sandler's Watercolour Blush in Cherub £15.50

This stuff is absolutely wonderful.  It leaves the skin dewy and fresh, and the colour sticks around all day long.  It takes a while to get the hang of applying it - I now put a couple of drops on the back of my hand, work it into my RT Expert Face brush equivalent (it's got the same shape and is so soft!) and then stipple it along my cheekbones.  Perfect for the warm summer months.



Max Factor Eyeshadow in 'Burnt Bark' £4.99

I rediscovered this at the bottom of my makeup drawer a few weeks ago, and out of curiosity swatched it on my arm.  At that point aswell, I was considering purchasing 'Satin Taupe' by MAC as I'd fallen back in love with taupe-brown shades - but once I saw this on my arm I knew I didn't need the MAC shadow any more!





Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in 'Nudist' £8

I originally purchased this at around Christmas time, and wore it obsessively. These chubby lip crayons smell like MAC lipsticks on steroids, and are super shiny - like a liquid gloss!  'Nudist' is an almost browny-nude, which translates to a slight coral sheen on my lips.  Recently I've been using it instead of my usual reds and pinks to balance out a smokier liquid-lined eye.



Clothing...

I've pretty much covered my recent clothing staples in the 'Wears of the week' post I did a few days back.  I did go and purchase two more of the ASOS tee-shirts though...*oops*
Also, my old saggy Levis have come back out to play due to the warmer weather - they're worn out, rolled up cutoffs and I love them to bits.


Shoes...

Keds Trainers £40

Mine are pretty old and battered, as I'd been using them as work shoes.  They're so comfortable though, that I've been wearing them all the time now - the black goes with everything and you can cutesy them up with a pair of coloured trainer socks.



Accessories...


Sterling silver dreamcatcher earrings

I bought these earlier this year from an independent shop - they're about an inch and a half long, very lightweight and quirky.  They also match my new Nails Inc. polish, hence why i've been wearing them constantly the past week or so!  I don't have a link for the store I got them from but if you're in the UK they're available here, and from the States here.



Reading...


'Will We Ever Speak Dolphin?'  £5.59

If you've ever wondered about the history of the '10 second rule', or why us ladies wear makeup, look no further.  People's questions, answered in the 'Last Word' column of New Scientist have all been compiled into a series of books - this one being the latest.  The answers can be from anyone, and often include hilarious anecdotes!






xxx

Chic nails by Barry M...

The other day, I saw a fellow blogger wearing this polish and fell in love.  Long story short, I ended up popping into Boots to get it on Saturday - and applied it as soon as I returned home...

Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in 'Almond'

'Almond' is a gorgeous grey-nude colour with some lavender undertones.  In some lights it looks pure grey, and then as if by magic it will change to a dusky purple!  I absolutely love it on the fingernails - not sure about toes (might be a little too grey for them) - and as it's supposed to mimic a gel manicure it should last a long time on the nails too.

I used a base coat as advised on the bottle, and applied two coats of the polish.  It was almost opaque in one, but was a little streaky so a second was required to smooth it all out.  I also applied a top-coat out of habit, and also as we're going away for the week I didn't want it to need any touch-ups! (At some point I'll also do a top-coatless test to see the longevity of the polish alone.)

And here's the finished product! 

You can find it here for £3.99.  All the Barry M polishes are buy one get one half price in Boots at the moment, so I may or may not have slipped the shade 'Elderberry' into my basket too...that's next on my list to try out!

xxx

What's in my handbag, you say? Well, plenty...

I'm one of those people that likes to lug their life around in their handbag.
As in: Must. Be. Prepared. For. All. Situations.

So this evening, I thought I'd do a little post on my favourite bits and bobs that I always haul around with me....



1) Card Holder, Ebay £7

Mine is just a cheapo one from Ebay, but it was such great value for money.  There's plenty of room for cards, reciepts and vouchers, and even my paper drivers licence (all folded up neatly!)  Plus it's lovely soft leather.






2) Coin purse, Cath Kidston £6

I downsized from my gorgeous, yet extremely heavy Fossil wallet to this dinky little coin purse from Cath Kidston and I'm loving it!
The combo of this purse and a the card holder means I can switch up to a small handbag in no time.

3) Keys

An obvious one, no real need to elaborate here.  Although dull as it is, the huge loop i've got them on is awesome as it means you can switch them up in no time (also without ruining your mani!)

4) Hand Cream, Neal's Yard £10

This one from Neal's Yard is divine.  It came free with a copy of Marie Claire - but I'm so obsessed that I'll be running out to repurchase once this is finished.  (They also donate some of the proceeds to the 'Save the bees' campaign, so it gets a thumbs up from me!)

Mine's this pattern, but with
 a chocolate-brown background.

5) Mini umbrella, Cath Kidston £22

Even though it's properly summer over here in England, the weather still trips us up by giving us mid-afternoon downpours.  I've had this Cath Kidston brolly for years now - the last one died during a thunderstorm in Paris when the handle snapped off (yes, the wind was that strong).  Doesn't blow inside out and is seriously lightweight.  Definitely worth the money.





6) Makeup bag, Amazon £12.95


I'm in love with this design.  So cute!  It's big enough to fit brushes, and also has a little inside zip pocket for the things you don't want people on the bus seeing...
Also it's slightly padded, so if you're clumsy like me and drop it on a daily basis your powder compact is protected.

May have noticed (sneaky sneaky!) that
 the black version is on sale for about £13...

7) Diary/notebook, Smythson £45

Over the past year I'd been using a battered Filofax as a planner at college, but our babe of a chemistry teacher surprised us with fancy Smythson ones as leaving gifts last month.  The notebook hoarder in me wanted to keep this on a shelf, pristine and lovely - but I've managed to persuade myself to start using it!  Dangerous territory as I'm bound to replace it once it's filled up, but hey we can all treat ourselves once in a while, right....?




xxx

The BEST hair ties ever!

For starters, my hair is very thick and wavy.  On day one, just after washing I can get it to stay up in a bun (as long as it's still damp).  However, after being slept on it's near impossible to get it to play ball.

My odd little hair saviours!

I picked up a pack of Invisibobble hair ties on my last Boots expedition, thinking perhaps they'd be good for tying my hair back overnight as they claim to leave no marks/dents from where they rest.  I don't quite think they live up to that claim, but the classic 'ponytail dent' is significantly less noticeable than with regular hair ties.

The reason I think they're awesome though, is that they manage to help you create the perfect bun - regardless of the condition of your hair.  Somehow, the rather odd telephone cord shape means that they grip the hair and stop your bun from slipping down your head.   I've got the brown coloured ones, and they disappear into your hair beautifully.  Just wrap them around a twisty bun on the top of your head, and you're good to go!

They're available from Boots in 3 packs for £3.75

xxx

Makeup chores #1: Sanitisation

It's no secret that if you're a bit of a beauty junkie it's far too easy to end up with a massive product stash.  It occurred to me a few weeks ago that there's a lot of fuss about keeping our brushes clean, but what about the makeup itself?
If (like me!) you've got skin that's prone to bacterial blemishes, the oils and bugs that build up on/in your makeup can trigger breakouts.  Also, products such as mascaras can cause eye infections if they're 'out of date'.

If you look at the back of a product (be it skincare or makeup) there's a little symbol of a pot with a number inside.  This indicates the number of months after opening that your beloved eye cream/blush/miscellaneous makeup item is going to go out of date.  

Cream and liquid products tend to have a shorter lifespan, and for those which you double-dip such as lip glosses it's even less time.  To be honest, the latter should be binned after a year or so (depending on how much you use them) and mascaras after an even shorter timeframe.  The bacterial colonies from your face will have gone haywire in these sorts of products, and in the end your health is the most important thing.

However, many other products can easily have their lifespans extended by sterilisation!  You can easily get your makeup stash to last much much longer by killing off the surface bacteria using an alcohol spray.  I use pure Isopropyl alchohol (you can get canisters of this here on Amazon). Surgical spirit is a bit cheaper and you can get it from Boots, but I'd advise only using this for cleaning the packaging itself as it contains castor oil and will leave residue on the product.

Here's the stuff I use.  The purer the better.

I'd also recommend getting a little spray bottle/atomiser as this will allow you to mist the product evenly, instead of blasting it straight out of the can.

This works amazingly well for pressed powder products (you can also get compact mirrors really clean while you're at it too).  Cream products such as bullet-form lipsticks and blushes can also be sterilised decently this way and the Isopropyl alcohol evaporates quickly, so you don't have to wait ages for things to dry.  (It will however ruin your manicure if you've got painted nails and I'd also urge you to do the whole process in a well ventilated area.)

To sum it up, I think It's definitely something worth doing every few months if you're looking to extend the life of your beloved makeup stash.  Now to persuade my Mum to do hers too...!

xxx

Ways to use your No.7 voucher...

It's that time again where when you get to the till at Boots, you're given one of those dratted No.7 vouchers for £5 off skincare and £3 off makeup...

I'd usually just head off home and completely forget about it, until it was long out of date!  However, if you're savvy there's quite a few bargains to be gotten with it.  (Prices are for when you use the coupon.)


£2 Face Wipes

I usually use the Simple wipes, just because they're usually the cheapest ones around that don't leave a funny residue.  However, unless they're on offer they're more expensive per pack than these.  The No.7 ones are soft and feel a little more luxurious.  My main pro is that they have a proper clicky closure, so they dry out much less quickly (and when travelling don't leave your washbag all damp!)






£7.50 Thermal Mask


There's been a lot of buzz going around in the blogging world recently about the Sanctuary 5 minute thermal detox mask.  This mask does pretty much the same job, but is also formulated for oily skin.  I find that if used once a week,  my face looks a lot less oily when I wake up in the mornings and my makeup lasts much longer.  I've actually got it on as I'm typing this!  Sanctuary's offering is on promotion too at the moment, making it about the same price but it's usually about £10.





£3 Nail Polish

If you're looking for a long lasting polish, comparable to Essie, look no further.
There's a huge range of shades available, and at a similar price point to Rimmel or Seventeen these are a no brainer.










£5 Cream Shadow Stick

I picked up several of these last time the coupons were being handed out.  My absolute fave is 'Cool Mink', a soft grey taupe with a little bit of shimmer.  They've really got the formula on point here - scribble it all over your lids, quickly blend out and you're done.  Long lasting, and I've heard that they're supposed to be a dupe for the By Terry 'Ombre Blackstar' shadow sticks!







£1.95 Pencil Sharpener

A sharpener is a sharpener, isn't it...?
This one is pretty sturdy, and with the coupon is cheaper than Boots' Essential range one.  The second hole is just the right size for those impossible to sharpen chubby eye crayons (I'm looking at you Nyx!)









Bargain Brushes

Finally, I couldn't help but mention the makeup brush range.  If you're after a real hair blending brush, the Eye Contour Brush is the way to go.  My absolute essential though is the Smokey Eyeliner Brush.  This is amazing for applying powder concealer to blemishes.  Work a little into the brush, then press the tip gently into the skin.  Couldn't recommend it enough (and would probably run out and repurchase full price if mine went missing haha!)  Both are £4.25 with the coupon.


Skincare is on 3 for 2 here
Makeup is also currently buy one get one half price here

xxx

New love: Liquid liner!

I've gone through many many phases with eyeliner.  First it was kohl - applied only to the lower waterline - panda eyes alert!  Then there was about a year or so of disastrous liquid liner experimentation.  I then gave up on it all for a while (I believe I actually went through the whole of last summer sans eye makeup).

Most recently though, I've just been using brown or black shadows to accentuate the lashline, and that's been going pretty well.  However, I purchased this Stila liner a couple of months ago having seen Estée from Essiebutton do an amazing cat flick tutorial - but until a week or so ago had been too much of a wuss to try it out properly.  Thank goodness I did!  

Stila's 'Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner'

It's a liquid liner, but instead of having to keep reloading your brush constantly it's all in pen form - like a Sharpie for your eyes!  The felt tip nib means you can be very precise with application, and I've found the best way to start it all off is with the flick itself and then to fill it all in back towards the inner corner.

It takes quite a few tries to get the hang of it (I'd thoroughly recommend getting your hands on a huge pack of cotton buds beforehand - you can get a 300 pack from Wilko for 37p) but I think I've finally managed to get the technique down.

Here it is after 6 hours outside in 31 degree heat.
I couldn't keep my makeup on any longer than that as I felt like my face was going to melt off!
(Yes, us Brits are pants at dealing with warm weather.)

Once dry it doesn't flake, or rub off easily.  Also, the pen itself hasn't dried up after being open a while - something that has put me off purchasing felt tip liners in the past.  All in all, a fab buy :)

You can get it from ASOS for £13 (but there's almost always discount coupons)

xxx

Transitioning to healthy(ish) snacks...

I often ask myself the question - Is eating a hobby?  We do it multiple times a day, and enjoy spending out time doing it.  I'd like to think that it is :)

During the winter my snacking progressively got more and more unhealthy and although the thrice daily meals I was eating were balanced, I'd always get a sugar crash mid morning and afternoon.  

As soon as the weather got colder, all my brain seemed to want was sugar - empty calories - sugar!

Over the past few months, I've managed to find a few things that keep me away from the Dairy Milk bars and Oreos...

For that sweet tooth

Low fat yoghurts

You know my feelings on peaches by now, so it goes without saying that I adored the peach flavour Activia yoghurts.  They're still pretty high in sugar, and nowadays I prefer plain yoghurt, but I thought I'd include them as they're what kickstarted my healthy snacking shindig.

I also loved (and still very much like) the greek style Liberte ones.  I'd thoroughly recommend the blueberry flavour, but steer clear of the honey (far too runny and not half as tasty as the real thing.)  They're made up of a generous layer of fruit compote underneath a helping of thick Greek yoghurt.  Yum yum.

Actimels

I remember picking these up on a whim, thinking they'd be just about bearable when I didn't have time to eat an entire yoghurt.  How wrong I was!  The coconut ones are delicious, and satisfy that little niggle an hour or so before lunch/dinner time.  Also great to chuck in your handbag when you're running late for the bus (just remember to pack a plastic bag to pop the empty pot in if you aren't going to have access to a bin any time soon!)

To satisfy that urge to eat a family pack of Doritos

Special K cracker crisps

These little rounds of salty, vinegary goodness are supposedly lower in fat than baked crisps due to the way they're prepared.  You definitely taste the balsamic vinegar, so they're a little bit more special than your regular salt 'n' vinegar crisps.  They're also on special offer most of the time. (Only issue is that you can easily munch on through most of the packet as they're so moreish!) 

Tesco chilli rice crackers

These are my guilty pleasure.  Not particularly healthy, but as they're so spicy you can't get through the entire packet in one sitting! Sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy - delish.  I originally popped these in the basket thinking they might be like the sweet goan curry crackers that used to come in Graze boxes.  They've a little more of a kick, but flavour-wise are pretty similar.  You used to get them at the deli counters, but they discontinued them a few weeks ago (no jokes, I nearly wept) but the other evening I was browsing the dried fruit selection and lo and behold - they'd repackaged them!  Slightly larger but the same taste, crisis averted.

Fruitaholic

On lazy days where breakfast will have happened so late that I don't particularly fancy a regular lunch, I'll chop up a mango and have that instead.  So fresh and sweet, and you don't get a sugar crash afterwards.

Same goes for watermelon.  Also surprisingly filling, although I'm such a pansy when it comes to chopping it up...

And for the naughty days

85% cocoa chocolate bars from Aldi.  These are pretty bitter, but if you've not had anything high in sugar for ages they're just right and hit the spot.  I honestly think that after a while I have started to prefer things less sweet - I had a moment of weakness and attempted to eat some Waitrose rocky road bites a few days ago and couldn't eat more than a couple as they were too saccharine!

In conclusion, I haven't really lost any weight - but that wasn't the original plan!  I've found though that I get fewer headaches from sugar crashes, my skin is looking a lot better and I feel a lot more alert in general.  Fingers crossed I'll be able to keep this up when I leave for uni later on this year... 

I hope this has helped anyone else that's looking for snacking alternatives - do comment if you'd like to hear about anything else food oriented!

xxx

Glitzy nails...

I'd decided to glitz up my nails for a night out last week, and happened to take a couple of pictures just before leaving (you know how it is - you need photographic evidence of that perfect mani you spent aaaaages on before you go out and most likely mess it all up :/ )

Anyway.  I found the photo this morning, and thought I might as well type up a quickie nail post on the polishes I used...

On the left: 'Hors d'oevres'
On the right: 'Big Spender'

I'm in love with Essie polishes at the moment
(definitely going to be checking out their summer collection next time I'm hitting up Boots!)

Having started everything off as per usual with a base coat (the Revlon one from my previous nail post), I applied a couple of coats of my fave - Essie's 'Big Spender'.  Once that had all dried, I added a coat of Essie 'Hors d'oevres' - a gorgeous gold shimmer with hexagonal silver glitter and tiny little flecks of blue.  (I believe I saw this originally in TalkBeckyTalk's summer nail vid, and was obsessed with it!)  Finally, I topped it all off with my regular Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.

Surprisingly, as everything was super quick drying it didn't take long at all to set (I always end up spending the extra time tidying the edges up though!)  However, ideally I'd probably leave it all overnight and apply the top coat the following morning :)

I love how you can still see the base colour, depending on the lighting.
So purdy.

Although it still required a little extra elbow grease to get my nails squeaky clean, having multiple layers of polish under the glitter coat meant I wasn't clawing chunks of glitter off over the day following removal.  Also, two coats of the base colour probably aren't necessary as the glitter polish isn't that sheer - which is great news for next time around!

Essie polishes are usually cheapest at Boots, but as the glitter top coat was limited edition I purchased it from Ebay.

xxx

Wears of the week

You know how it is, when you start seeing the same clothing pieces going through the wash over and over again.  You look for them in your drawer, and have a mini panic because they're currently in the airing cupboard and won't be dry in time to wear...


ASOS Sweat Lounge Tee £6

A baggy, soft, lightweight, go-with-anything grey tee.  Technically I guess it's a pyjama top, but who cares?  I'm in love.

(Currently in the sale, so if you're deliberating go grab it quick before it disappears!)





Topshop Tile Print Leigh Jeans £40

Everyone and their mother in the blogging world seems to be loving these at the moment.  I'm pretty sad that I missed the aubergine colour in the sales, but upon perusal of the Topshop website I spotted they've introduced a black style for autumn.  Very comfortable, and I'm praying that these don't wear out too quickly!





Longchamp Le Pliage Tote £68

Technically this isn't a clothing item, but I've totally fallen back head over heels for mine this summer.  You could literally fit the kitchen sink in it, although my one could do with a little TLC (it's on my list this winter to get the corners and lining fixed) I think it looks rather chic along with a pineapple bun and a loose shirt.


xxx

Scrubalicious: Scrubatiomic review

I'm obsessed with peaches.  There.  I've said it.
Last summer, all I was munching on were the white flesh ones from Marks and Spencer.  So sweet, but not too sweet.  I was in love...

Anyway, during the winter I was looking for a new cleanser and ended up picking up Soap and Glory's 'Peaches and Clean'.  That was true love, and soon enough I'd also picked up their 'Scrubatomic'.  This also has the same fresh peach scent, so I was bound to like it.

I'm about halfway through after 3 months of use.
Also, I love that the packaging is clinical yet still
girly like the rest of the Soap and Glory range.

The scrub has tiny little exfoliating beads in it (as most do), but unlike others it also has fruit extracts in it.  I've found that this means I don't need to apply a toner after using it, as my face is left feeling super fresh and slightly tight afterwards (almost as it it is acting as a chemical exfoliant too!)

It has a very whipped, creamy texture with little pink micro beads.
(Also my hand isn't sunburned, it's just the lighting!)

As my skin is pretty sensitive, I only use it every other day in the evening.  I really do notice a difference if I skip it out however, my skin gets a little rougher and makeup goes on less smoothly.  I've also found that it helps with bacterial blemishes - instead of chucking harsh chemicals (like TCP) at already sore patches, gentle removal of the dead skin cells helps a lot more with healing times and prevention.

You can get it here from Boots, currently 1/3 off and priced at £6

Review: Sleek 'Storm' Palette

I'm writing this post sitting down the garden in the sun...absolutely loving the fact it's properly summer weather now in the UK!

I purchased Sleek's i-divine 'Storm' palette several months ago, as it was the one Sleek palette that everyone seemed to love.  You can do neutral or smoky night-out looks with it, and the fact that it's so versatile makes it great value for money in my eyes.  It's also very slim, so great for travelling!

It is mostly shimmers - 9 of these vs 3 matte colours.  Some of the colours are real standouts - insanely well pigmented and without fallout - but all of them are pretty decent regardless.  Nearly all of them are also very soft, with the exception of 'Blackout' - but I actually prefer this compared to the black from the Naked palettes (it's much more intense...)

Top row L-R: Sand storm, Snow storm, Calm before the storm, Thunder Storm, Perfect Storm, FirestormBottom row L-R: Dust storm, Gathering storm, Storm cloud, Electric storm, Eye of the storm, Blackout

On a day to day basis, I don't usually wear a full eyeshadow look.  However, I always use 'Eye of the storm' (mixed in with a little of a reddish brown Kiko shadow) to fill in my brows.  I also work a little of 'Blackout' into my upper lashline to thicken it up a bit before applying mascara.

'Snow storm' is the perfect inner corner highlight colour, and I've also found it to work really well as a more "out there" cheekbone highlight - gorgeous.

The non-neutral colours, I use less regularly, as I'm a bit of a colourphobe when it comes to eyeshadow!  I've found the best way to use these is either blended in the outer corner and/or crease for a night-out, or as a liner (this looks so pretty and subtle!)

They also look amazing used wet.  Just spritz a little of your preferred setting spray (mine's the Urban Decay 'All Nighter' one) on to a brush, pick up the colour and pat onto the eyelid.  I've surprisingly found they also blend better used like this - although most of the colours swatch quite dark, they in reality come up quite sheer on the eye when used as normal.

Here they all are swatched - in the same order as in the palette itself.
You can see that the darker shades have much more colour payoff.

And in direct sunlight...hopefully you can see all that lovely
lovely iridescence going on with the shimmers!

 To sum it up, I think this is a great wallet friendly palette.  There are a couple of very similar shades ('Sand storm' and 'Thunder storm' I'm looking at you), and I wish there was a taupe shade somewhere in there.  In conclusion, I may not repurchase (as I'll be so slow using up the less neutral colours), but I'll definitely be checking out more Sleek palettes in the future.

Sleek i-divine palettes are available from Boots or Superdrug, for £7.99

xxx

A sky blue mani with a pop of pink...

A quick post today on the manicure I did tonight...

L-R: Models Own 'Feeling Blue', Essie 'Big Spender',
Revlon 'Quick Dry Base Coat'', Sally Hansen 'Insta-Dry'

I'd had Models Own's 'Feeling Blue' nail polish for a while, and had never used it.  Its a lovely pure blue, like the sky on a clear summers day.  I really like Models Own polishes; they're opaque in two coats and have a great colour selection.  The brushes are quite small though, so not the easiest to apply.

Since I didn't really want blue toes, I opted for my favourite Essie polish - 'Big Spender' - for them.  Its a gorgeous plummy pink colour, that's almost opaque in one coat and applies like a dream.  I love the brushes on Essie polishes; they're huge, and allow you to coat your nails in a couple of swipes (they're very similar to the ones on Dior polishes).  (Note: the colour from this one doesn't quite translate on camera - it's a little more purple, and darker in reality.)

In order for my hands and feet to match, I painted my ring finger on each hand with 'Big Spender', and I feel it goes quite nicely (and adds a little bit of girlyness back into the manicure!)

I'm also terrified of stained nails, so always use Revlon's 'Quick Dry Base Coat' underneath - very very quick drying, and makes the polish on top apply much smoother and more opaque.  Finally, I topped everything off with a coat of Sally Hansen 'Insta-Dry' - so so glossy, and it's touch dry in seconds.

And here's the finished product!

(Also, a quick note from the morning after; no sheet marks!!)

Essie, £7.99
Models Own, £5
Revlon, £6.49
Sally Hansen, £5.99

(They're all available from Boots, and are almost always on 3 for 2.)

xxx

Watch lovin'

Today I thought I'd write about something a little different as its been a pretty hectic week for me (lots of long distance driving!)

All through school I always had a watch on, and then along came my first proper phone and I banished my 'uncool' wristwatch to the deepest recesses of my jewellery drawer.
Just under two years ago now (doesn't time fly?) it occurred to me that perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to not be so heavily reliant on my phone for everything, and so I went and bought myself a nice little dainty digital watch.

Retro, shiny and comfortable.  What's not to like? :)

 The one I picked out was the Casio LA670W, and I believe it was around the £30 mark.  The gold plated one is a fair bit more pricey than the silver, but I felt the extra bit of 'prettyness' was worth the extra few pounds.  They also do different coloured faces, there's a purple one and a turquoise, along with a standard black one.

Functionality-wise, it does the job.  The battery has yet to fail after over a year of use, you can set alarms, there's a stopwatch, and it tells you the date too.  The glass face is extremely tough, and has not scratched at all, and it's supposedly water resistant to 30 metres (although I haven't dared anything other than keeping it on whilst washing up!)  I'm also majorly impressed that the clicky clasp has lasted this long too.  I tend to fidget and open and close the clasp constantly, but it hasn't worn out and still feels solid.

I do have a couple of gripes though; the colour has worn off on the strap to the point where it is pretty much silver in some areas now (this makes me kick myself for not getting the silver one), and the buttons are easily pressed by accident (resulting in the alarm going off when you least want it to).  There also isn't a backlight, but this isn't something I'm too bothered about as I take mine off overnight.

You can really see the wear where the strap rubs on my arm.
It's also adjustable (handy!)

All in all, I think it's great value for money and when my strap gets too tatty to continue using I'll be changing it over or repurchasing.

I got mine here (The price tends to fluctuate rather a lot on Amazon though, so I'd recommend keeping an eye out for a while to see if it drops down a bit.)

xxx