If you need a bargain buy to brighten up your Monday, then look no further for I have one for you.

If you download and print this PDF voucher, you’ll be able to get $6 off the normal RRP of any Maybelline Great Lash Mascara at Priceline.

While Maybelline isn’t my all-time favourite mascara (that honour goes to Dior DiorShow), for the price Maybelline Great Lash is pretty damn good, and if you throw in an extra $6 discount, well that makes it even better.

The offer is valid until September 3.

By Caroline Warnes

In an effort to trim the fat from my spending budget during January, I’ve made it my mission to try less expensive versions of my everyday essentials.

I was on a mission to find a new, inexpensive body lotion the other day and stumbled across a brand called Pure Innosense, which caught my eye mainly because it had the bargain price tag of $2.

Unfortunately I accidentally picked up the gradual tanner body lotion instead of the straight formulation (unfortunate because I’ve sworn off all forms of self-tanning). I gave it a go this morning anyway because I figure if I exfoliate everyday, then I won’t suffer any gradual tanning.

I’m pretty pleased with the results. My skin feels suitably moisturised and the smell is quite inoffensive. If there are no adverse effects from prolonged use, I may have a new favourite here. Of course next time I will invest my $2 in the lotion WITHOUT self-tanner in it.

Plus, some good news for anyone who is into natural products - this New Zealand brand only uses plant-derived ingredients, essential oils and extracts. That means no parabens, artificial colourings and other nasties that most supermarket brands have in them.

By Caroline Warnes

The new Loreal Colour Riche Shine Gelee lip colour not only sounds like some sort of expensive dessert, it’s also actually pretty kind to your lips.

Many lipsticks and lip glosses have the unfortunate effect of drying my lips out - particularly cheaper brands - so I was somewhat skeptical of Loreal’s claims about Colour Riche Shine Gelee. Apparently it’s made with nourishing royal jelly, which is packed with essential nutrients (products with royal jelly are also great for your hair), as well as shea butter.

I came across a sample of Loreal Colour Riche Shine Gelee in one of my magazines this month, and gave it a try - definitely not as drying as many other lip colours, it does give a lovely colour and shine.

I tried the Shiny Grapefruit colour, and there are 11 others to choose from, all with similar hunger-inducing names.

Loreal Colour Riche Shine Gelee retails for $23.95 and is stocked at the usual outlets - selected pharmacies (including Priceline) and department stores.

By Caroline Warnes

I was in Priceline the other evening buying the hair dye that I SO don’t really need when a range of cosmetics called Savvy by DB caught my eye.

Not being as obsessed with cosmetics and nail polish as I am with, say, shoes, I can usually walk past a cosmetic display without feeling the need to make an impulse purchase. But these particular items had the most attractive price tag of $3 each, so I thought why not?

I purchased myself a bottle of Savvy by DB nail polish in a lovely shade of garish pink and went home to apply it immediately. This was on Thursday, it’s now Monday and I haven’t really noticed any chipping. Plus, the colour cheered me up immensely over the weekend. What better way to add colour to a dull winter weekend than walking around looking like a packet of Hubba Bubba threw up on your toes?

The Savvy by DB range has a variety of make up products, including glosses and eye shadows, and is stocked exclusively at Priceline.

By Caroline Warnes

As mentioned previously here, I hate facial shine with a passion and go to great lengths to avoid it - and a good finishing powder (also known as translucent powder) is my best friend in the war against shiny face.

Well guess what - my Jurlique Rose Silk Finishing Powder finally ran out (almost two years after purchasing it) and after going a few days without I felt quite naked and shiny and really had to do something about it.

I’m being a bit cheap at the moment so didn’t really want to fork out the $43 for a new pot of Jurlique (although it is good value over the course of two years) so I went to Priceline and picked up the cheapest translucent powder I could find - Rimmel Silky Loose Face Powder, which runs out for around $15.

I gave it a whirl this morning and was pretty happy with the result - it mattified my face perfectly (used over the top of a light tinted moisturiser), eliminating shine and hopefully maintaining some of the tint from the sunscreen throughout the day.

It gets a thumbs up from me.

By Caroline Warnes

I am the Queen of the short-lived home manicure.

Whenever I paint my nails at home, they always end up chipping as early as 12 hours later, no matter how hard I try to preserve them (which can be difficult when you spend most of your working week typing).

This annoys the hell out of me and also prevents me from wearing dark colours on my nails too often, seeing as I’d have to be painting them every second day, which frankly I don’t have time for (especially during the TV ratings season).

A friend of mine recommended OPI Ridge Filler, a surface smoother that contains natural silk to even out nails. Of course, OPI makes the best moderately-priced nail colours going around, and I don’t mind paying the standard $20 for my OPI top coat colours. However if you’re on a budget, $20 can be a bit pricey for ridge filler, which is essentially an undercoat.

I was browsing around in Priceline the other day and came across a product called Cutex Smooth & Strong, which is also a ridge filler-cum-nail treatment. With an RRP of $6.95, it’s far more affordable, too.

I applied the Smooth & Strong as a base coat on Sunday afternoon, and nearly two days later I have no chips and the finish feels much smoother than usual. I used it with a single coat of OPI Malaysian Mist on top.

By Caroline Warnes

These days one of the most sought-after looks for going out hair is the big, bouncy supermodel look made famous my the likes of Gisele Bundchen (she truly has great hair, non?).

Also known as bed head, the look has lots of volume and movement but not too much structure - it should literally look like you just got out of bed.

Unfortunately, achieving this look isn’t as easy as, well, getting out of bed. Many of us have to contend with lack of volume, frizziness and poker-straight hair.

The video below shows you how to achieve this look at home using only a curling iron (find offers near you) and styling wax (Priceline is having 20% off the Fudge styling range - details here).

(Photo courtesy of Gisele Bundchen’s official site)

By Caroline Warnes