Guest post: How to shop on a budget with Megan from The Big Megowski :)

Hey guys, Danielle here :) as some of you may have seen, for the past few weeks I've started having some of my favourite bloggers guest post for me every Saturday until I finish my uni course! I'm so busy right now it's ridiculous, but I don't wanna absolutely forget about my blog, so I thought the perfect thing to do would be to let them take over Floral Danielle so you guys still have some lovely posts to read! If you'd be interested in taking part too, please give me an email at floraldanielle@hotmail.com! Today's post has been written by the lovely Megan from The Big Megowski :)

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Hi everyone. One of the few things I pride myself on is being fashionable on a budget. Especially since blogging I have discovered so many creative ways to get some great fashion and beauty bits very cheap or even better, free! I thought I'd share with you all my top five ways to find a great bargain.

1. CHARITY SHOPS + VINTAGE OUTFITTERS/MARKETS

Charity shops are the number one place to get cheap clothes. I'm not sure if all charity shops do this, but my local one does a sale now and then where it sells all clothing items for €2. One of my most worn tops, just a navy and white striped top is from a charity shop. I only wear it round the house really, but that's what charity shops are great for - the basics. It's a great place to get casual wear or outer wear like oversized coats and jackets. 

Vintage shops on the other hand are a lot more expensive than charity shops, but the cost is worth it knowing that the clothes are at least twenty years old and you won't see everyone else wearing it. Whereas with charity shops you can't guarantee the clothes are old, they could be from last season in Topshop. 

2. SALES + DISCOUNTS

I know, it's an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many people don't go straight to the sale bin. If you're going shopping, but don't have anything particular in mind then have a root around the sale bin. You find some great basic pieces like plain vests or skirts and they are ridiculously cheap. I think so many people avoid them because they're so messy, but you can find some real gems there. I nabbed this khaki tube skirt in Penneys[Primark] for only 50 cent.

Discont codes are a great way to get something cheap too. Before you buy something Google to see if they have any discount codes on at the moment. Especially for people in the UK, UNiDays and Student Beans offer great discounts and freebies. These silver stackable rings were just under €4 on She Inside after using their first-time buyer discount code.

3. EBAY

Again this is quite an obvious one, but people don't utilise eBay enough. Whenever you're going to buy something, especially online, I beg of you to have a quick search on eBay for it first. Unless it's just new in, chances are somebody has bought it, hated it and thrown it up on eBay. Failing that, eBay offers great dupes particularly from places like Hong Kong. If you have a specific event coming up then you best stick to the regular website as a lot of these cheap items come with the flaw that they take a few weeks to ship over.

I bought these round sunglasses last summer for less than €5 and that's including p+p. The downside is it took a 3-4 weeks in the post. The same with these beauty blender dupe sponges. Only 99p or just over €1 per sponge and they took a few weeks to arrive. Definitely worth the wait!

4. BLOG SALES

Blog sales are what most the best part of my wardrobe consists of. They are particularly good to buy makeup from because anyone trying to sell used makeup knows they're going to have to cut the price quite a bit for it to be worth people's time buying. All of the clothes pictured above were bought from Stephanie JW, her blog sale is just always full of gorgeous clothes from the UNIF, Mink Pink and Evil Twin. The Evil Twin Gatacca dress[bottom] was an amazing bargain. I'm not sure the exact price it retailed at but it was over €60 and I bagged it for only €17. 

Not all bloggers have typical blog sales anymore, but use Depop instead which is basically the same principle. The great thing about Depop is they only take 5% commission and they don't have nearly as many rules as eBay or ASOS marketplace which means you're able to do swaps if you please, although be very careful doing swaps. Make sure to check the person out well, as I learnt the hard way.

5. GIVEAWAYS, CONTESTS + FREEBIES

This is the real secret here. Giveaways. So many bloggers do them and somebody has to win, right? Do not be disheartened by losing a few, just keep entering. The more you enter the higher chance you have of winning. I have also won a £40 ASOS voucher, a Harry Potter cushion, a blue stone ring, a gold lion necklace, a $15 Thread Sence voucher and tons more I can't even remember[not trying to brag I swear].

Although I do recommend don't enter giveaways where you have to follow a blog you really don't like, because if you're going to unfollow the blog after the giveaway it's a bit pointless and most bloggers will know the sinking heart feeling of seeing a number drop. However if you're indifferent or even better if you like the blog, then you might as well enter. You're probably following already.

I won the cute little hair slide from one blogger giveaway, I won the blusher, eyeshadows and nail polish along with a ton of other makeup from another blogger giveaway and the fake tan is a freebie Sally Hansen were giving away. It's all luck and if I can win all of this, then you can too!

Thanks to Danielle for letting me guest post on her blog! I've loved putting this post together :-) Megan x

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Thanks so much for reading and thank you Megan for guest posting :)
Which of Megan's tips is your favourite?

Do you use these tips yourself already? :)
Don't forget to follow her on Twitter and Instagram also!

Love Dani

x

Carboot sale haul #7 - Mostly vintage homeware! :)

I've had a busy few weekends, which means that I hadn't been able to go to the carboot sale for a while, and I literally felt like I was getting withdrawal symptoms! I love getting up early on a Sunday morning and driving to the carboot with Joe, not knowing what we're going to stumble across each time. Sometimes I manage to find nothing and sometimes I come back with bags full of stuff! This Sunday though, I managed to go, and thankfully I found a few nice bits too!

I went to the carboot sale with my best friend and my boyfriend, and when we bumped into my sister and her boyfriend, my boyfriend decided to go off ahead with them so that me and my best friend could have a proper rummage through each stall. This also meant that I could buy a few little goodies for Joe without him knowing! I found this golden ship plate and knew instantly that he would love it. I almost walked straight past it without asking a price as I thought it would be so overpriced, but I'm so glad I didn't as it was only £2! I also found this little teacup with a ship on and a little Amsterdam style windmill for just 20p :)

 I've been on the lookout for a little teacup exactly like this for a while so that I can put my Yankee Candle Sampler in it and it can melt into the cup. I was so happy to find this one in white with pink flowers to match my bedroom, and it was a total bargain at 50p. I also bought these gold sun candle holders off the cutest little old couple for only £2.

These gorgeous set of pin up photos were on a stall that was absolutely full of framed photos and pictures. The man who was at the stall said that they were all from movie sets which is pretty cool! I paid £4 for the pair which is more than I would usually pay for things at a carboot, but I absolutely LOVED them and can't wait to get them up on my wall!

I managed to get all four issues of Vogue and Elle for £1 which will be great for some fashion research I should be getting on with right now for uni! I found this cute little Pears Soap sign with a vintage feel for 50p, and I thought it would look so cute in my bathroom. Finally, I found this burgundy knitted jumper for just 50p! I'd been on the lookout for one for ages, so when the lady said she wanted 50p I was so happy! :)

Thanks for reading :)
Did you go to a carboot sale this weekend?
Did you get any goodies?
Love Dani :)

x

Carboot haul #6 - His and hers :)

As I'm now officially back home from uni for the Summer, me and Joe will more than likely be going to the carboot sale every single Sunday morning! I thought it would be nice to include some of his buys too as he's just like me when it comes to shopping and loves a good bargain piece of clothing or home decor. The weather today was absolutely gorgeous and it made me remember how much I love going to the carboot! I'm pretty sure I sunburnt my hair parting though, but we were pretty lucky with our buys this week as we got lots of goodies! :) 

There were so many stalls today because of the lovely weather, and it was nice to stroll around in the sun as we've gone before when it's been freezing cold and it's nowhere near as fun! There was a lovely cake stall which I hadn't seen before so we treated ourselves to a mid-morning snack :)

 I found this lovely white crochet bottom top for only £1 and I can't wait to wear it! I also found this cute little paisley scarf for £1. It's the perfect size to tie in my hair or wear around my neck and I really want to get some more paisley into my wardrobe. Lastly, I found this un-opened Karl Lagerfeld bottle of coke for 50p. They're about £1.50 new anyways and I've started making a collection of the fashion designer coke bottles on my window sill including the Jean Paul Gaultier ones. I want to collect all of them!

I picked up this lovely Topshop skater dress in my size for only £2 and Joe picked up this aztec print camera strap for his collection for £1. He recently graduated after studying Photography at uni so he has a lovely little collection of cameras and camera accessories, he always manages to find himself some nice bits at the carboot!

Joe found this lovely ship painting framed in a burgundy and gold frame for £3, got the three packs of film for 50p and the ten pack of Polaroid film for £1. Even though the films are out of date, he likes to experiment with them and you can sometimes get really unusual colours from out of date film! I found this un-used Balmi in the Blackcurrant flavour for only £1. I was so happy when I found this as they RRP for around £5 and I've been wanting to try one out for ages!

Joe never really seems to find that much clothing as the carboot, so he was pleased to find a Vans checkered shirt and a Stussy t-shirt for only £2 each. They were both in brilliant condition, and the shirt was so soft - I will definitely be borrowing it in the colder months!

Lastly, and most probably leastly, I found this little pig mug! Me and Joe are both obsessed with pigs, and plan to have only vintage floral and piggy mugs in our house! He's a bit naff, but for 20p I couldn't resist him!

Thanks for reading :)
Which is your favourite find from my carboot haul?

Have you been to any good carboots recently?
Love Dani :)

x

Carboot haul #4

Hello my beautiful readers! Sorry for the lack of blogging, as you can see from my previous post, I have been abroad in the land of Turkey for a week, and as much fun as I had, I majorly missed my blog, and reading everyone's daily posts! But alas, (saying that always reminds me of Dumbledore in the first Harry Potter) I am back in cold England, ready to give you guys a few new posts :)

These photos are from a carboot sale I went to the Sunday before I went on holiday, and it was one of the best carboot sale hauls I've been on in a while! Hope you enjoy my finds :)

I've wanted a quilted pinboard thing for my room for ages, and this one is so pretty! It's white with pink floral for you to put pins in (the white dots are just on the plastic wrapping) and the ribbons allow you to tuck things under them such as reciepts and photos! This was an absolute bargain at just £1.50 and it is brand new too! It's massive aswell :)

 I love this floral hat box and it matches the pinboard too! I have a pile of 4 sunflower circular boxes in my uni room which get smaller in height, but I thought I might give those away and just have this one big one. It's absolutely massive so I'll be able to fit lots of lovely bits in it :) and it was only 50p!

 

I ended up with these two floral china pieces, the one on the left a plate and the one on the right a bowl. I bought the plate first, at only 30p, as I thought it was gorgeous, and I was going to use it as a jewellery plate on my desk, but then I found the bowl a few rows later, also at 30p, and thought it was a nicer design and I could fit alot more in it! I'm gonna keep them both though, they're so cute! :)

I had to say yes to this little heart bowl! I'll probably use it as a jewellery or storage bowl in my room to be honest, but for 50p I thought it was so cute! :)

I was so happy when I found these! I had wanted the dress on the right for SO LONG, and it was in my size and at only £1! It's a Topshop dress with a peterpan collar, and it looks so cute on. I already own the top on the left, but I had bought it on eBay in a size 16 thinking that it would look really cute oversized, but infact it just looked too big. So when I found this in a size 10 and for only £1 I couldn't say no either :)

I am actually such a granny when it comes to clothes, jewellery, decor and storage! I absolutely love this little jewellery box/ note holder. It came with these little oval pieces of paper and a pencil, but I may use it to keep my earrings in. It was only 50p and I'll keep it on my desk at uni :). I also love this little shell! My friend bought them in a pack of 4 and gave me one, to keep earrings or pins or something in!

I love this vintage jumper so much! I have many black vintage jumpers that I have bought over the years, but this one is so cute and plain, unlike some of my other ones, and I love the pearls on it! I love that the detailing is only on the shoulders, so it will look nice with a pair of leggings, plain black or patterned. It was only £1 too :)

These belts were a funny deal. At first he said 50p for one, then he said 50p for two, then he said £1 for the lot, and then he told me "you have no self control" hahah! But for £1 who would say no?! I love the bottom two and they're going to go nicely with so many outfits! :)

I never usually find that many clothes at carboots, it's just luck if there's any Topshop or nice bits. I managed to find this embroidered and crochet H&M smock blouse in my size for £1 for holiday, but I ended up putting it in the wash and forgetting to take it! I'll definately end up wearing it thought so it's okay :). I also found this dress on the same stall, which was also £1 and is Topshop. It's actaully from the maternity section, and is a midi dress, but I think with a nice belt it will look nice!

 

I am yet to try out these hair curlers, but I have wanted to try some for so long! At 50p though I thought I may as well give them a go, and I can't wait to see what my hair looks like curled! These magazines were only 10p each, I wish they had more Vogues!

Here is all the lovely jewellery I managed to find from many different stalls! I love finding little jewellery pieces and I got some beauties this time! :)

I have wanted gold shell earrings for so long, and I found these for 50p! They look so cute in the little shell from my friend too :)

I have wanted a cross/ crucifix long necklace for ages, and I thought this was a bit different to all the ones you find on the high street. This was only 50p and it hangs to about my chest so will look nice over the top of dresses and jumpers :)

Ah I was so happy when I found this! I have wanted a sewing machine necklace for so long! I think they had made the necklace themselves beforehand as there were two charms on the necklace (a horse shoe aswell as the sewing machine) but I think I'm just gonna put the sewing machine on a different chain. This was 50p too :)

Do you recognise this at all? It is the exact same as the ring and earrings I bought in my London haul a few weeks ago! At only £1 I had to get it :) 

The jewellery in their new home :)

I found myself another gorgeous duvet and pillow set! These were £2.50 for the set, and they looked almost brand new! I can't seem to find any nice/ not really expensive ones in high street shops, and my other favourite set I already have are from a carboot sale! :)

 

Do you have instagram? Follow me, my username is: danidanimason

How cute is this baby Iron Maiden denim jacket!?

My friend Georgia who I usually go to the carboot with, and she's using the same bag I bought in my recent haul and it looks so cute on her!

Well that's it for this week! If you would like to continue reading my carboot sale finds, read my previous one here from last week, which includes a few tapestry bags, a vintage embroidered jumper, topshop dress and vintage crochet shirt :)

Also, I only have 3 days remaining on my giveaway which contains make up, jewellery and nail wraps. Please enter the giveaway here :)

Thanks for reading :)

What do you think of my carboot finds?

Do you go to the carboot sale yourselves? Link me if you have any carboot hauls :)

Love Dani

x