October Favourites ’19

We literally have 2 more months until 2020… This is scary. I can’t keep saying each month, “WOW THIS YEAR IS FLYING BY!” because it’s so repetitive… It is scary though, isn’t it?

October was a pretty busy month for me! As I write this blog post I’m currently on my last day off from work after an amazing week off. We didn’t do much in all honestly, it was more of a mixture between doing things fun together and relaxing separately and doing our own thing. We also went to the Pokemon Center in London on Monday, as most of you seem to have already read and enjoyed! It was a crazy day and I will link the blog post here so you can go and read it for yourself.

October really did fly by and I’m so not ready for November already! It’s going to be such a great and yet busy month, but I’ll talk more about that on my monthly newsletter, which will be live later today. SO make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already so you can see what I’ll be up to this month. 😛

Anyhoo, I’m going to plod on with the favourites of the month!

• Nivea Indulgent Moisture Coconut Shower Cream Gel.

I picked up this shower cream gel from Poundland (obviously for a £1) on the whim that I needed some more shower gel and this stuff sounded good. For a £1, this is such a great shower gel as it really does leave my skin feeling baby soft after getting out of the shower. It has a gorgeous soft coconut scent to it too, which is always lovely! Coconut scents really do remind me of Fuerteventura so I always love to use coconut scented stuff in the shower/bath. This is such a good find for the price and I’m definitely going to pick it up again in the future.

• Baylis & Harding Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Cream Hand Wash.

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this hand wash on my blog before and it’s really one I love! It’s not the best in the world for my eczema prone skin, but it’s better than most, that’s for sure! I recently had a phase of using Method’s foaming hand wash and I tell you what, it ruined my bloody skin! It made my hands so sore and they would split if I didn’t put much hand cream on them. Once those hand washes were used up, I decided to go back to my Baylis & Harding one, which smells gorgeous and keeps my hands feeling clean and somewhat soft. I really need to find a good hand wash for my hands. 😦

• Bath & Body Works Black Cherry Melot Hand Sanitizer.

I recently had a clear out of some of my old beauty related matter and I stumbled across a little metal tin FULL of Bath & Body Works hand sanitisers! At least 10 in there that are either brand new, or been used a few times. I was in need of some more sanitiser to keep in my bag so I decided to throw the Black Cherry Melot one in. This smells gorgeous and reminds me of autumn due to the warming scent of black cherries. Whilst me and Dane were at the Pokemon Center in London we used this hand sanitiser before we had something to eat and the scent lasted ages! It’s gorgeous! I’m planning to use up all of the bottles I have and then somehow buy some fresh new smells in 2020. 🙂

• Lush Candy Cane Reuseable Bubble Bar.

This doesn’t look like the traditional/usual Candy Cane from Lush and this is because I’ve broken it up so it’s a little easier to use in my bath sieve. I’ve used a couple of chunks of these this month in the bath and even used one in a bath I ran for Dane. This isn’t something I’ve picked up recently and was actually a part of a Secret Santa gift from my previous job last Christmas. The person who bought me my Secret Santa gifts did good and I loved everything she bought me! 🙂 This bubble bar doesn’t smell anything like peppermint, as you would expect it to and it doesn’t even smell of candy, as the name could suggest. It smells of bloody lemon… Lush’s favourite scent (insert face palm here)… This being said it leaves a lovely light red colour in the water and leaves me feeling soft. This has lasted ages and as you can see from the photos, I still have a fair few chunks left. I actually plan to use this in the bath tonight! 😀

• Taya Copaiba Amazon White Clay Advanced Blend Thickening Shampoo.

Finally we have a new shampoo! I was in need of something new as my previous one was really close to running out. I decided to go with Taya Copaiba again as I loved the shampoo I had previously from the brand. This one is a thickening shampoo and it really does thicken! I’ve used it a fair few times now and do feel like my hair looks and feels thicker after drying and especially when I plait my hair ready for the day! The only issue I’ve had so far is that this seems to take a lot to foam up and go through the hair without using too much product. I’m sure this is something I will get used to soon. 🙂

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from GIPHY

 

 

Favourite TV Show – The Dog House.

This is a TV show over on Channel 4 that me and Dane binge watched recently in a couple of days. We love dogs, so when we saw there was a TV show to show people rehoming dogs, we knew we had to watch. There are so many lovely dogs on the show and it makes us happy to know they were all adopted by loving families. We wish we could get a dog, so the fact we can’t, it’s nice to get some joy from TV shows like this. 🙂 Plus all the cute dogs and puppies on there made us happy! It’s an 8 episode series and sadly we have now finished it. 😦 I hope we get a second series of this show already.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Movie – Joker.

We haven’t been to the cinema since July, so I decided to book for us to go and watch Joker a couple of days after it came out. It was worth going to and both me and Dane loved it! The film is a mixture of drama and thriller and really does work well. I love seeing how Arthur declines throughout the film and how well this is done by Joaquin Phoenix. The best thing about watching this in the cinema was the sound, which was amazing! Honestly loved this film and I’ll definitely look at picking it up on DVD or Blu-Ray when it comes out.

Image taken from Good Reads

Favourite Book – Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe (link)

I haven’t been reading my manga/comic books again… I honestly just don’t feel like I have time to sit and read right now and I know this sounds like an excuse but I honestly do feel that way. I would take books with me to work to read, but I like to do my blog work on my breaks at work and soon enough I’ll be taking a Switch to work to play… Probably… Either way, you get the gist! This being said, I have on and off been reading a cartoon over on Webtoons right now called Lore Olympus, which is about Hades and Persephone. I’m really enjoying it and I really need to keep on reading it.

Favourite Album – Calvin Harris – Ready for the Weekend.

I go through phases of listening to certain albums that I haven’t listened to for ages. The album I am talking about this month is one of them. I LOVED Calvin Harris back in the day, but after the Motion album, I kind of fell out of love. He’s just changed a lot from back in the day and whilst he’s improved dramatically, I just have too many memories of his first two albums and how much I loved them when I was younger. They were all the songs I’ve heard when on nights out with friends and I especially loved Ready for the Weekend because of this. I remember when “Flashback” came out and I was at my “going out” prime. I was out most evenings partying with friends and would always request this song to play. I still love it to bits and whenever I’ve been driving home from work I’ve played it. Honestly, just love it! 😀

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Borderlands 3.

I could have mentioned this game on last months favourites to be honest, but it came out at the end of September, so I didn’t play it much throughout September. This game was constantly played by both myself and Dane and I’ve honestly enjoyed it so much and still am. I’m not a massive fan of first person shooters as I’m just rubbish at them, but the more I played Borderlands 3 the better I got and the more I enjoyed playing! I decided to go for a siren and have really enjoyed stomping on my enemies and sending them flying. 😛 We’ve also played this online with friends, which has also been loads of fun! 😀 November is going to be such a busy gaming month what with Luigi’s Mansion 3 being out now, as well as Pokemon Sword and Shield. So, make sure you’re prepared for lots of game talk in November’s favourites post. 😛

So, that is all of my favourites from October! I honestly can’t believe how quick this month has flown by! It’s been a really busy one, but one I have loved too. I was so excited for certain things such as the Pokemon Center London, getting my nails done at a salon and especially my week off with Dane. It’s been good but I don’t know if I’m prepared for Christmas yet… 😛

How was everyone’s October? What were your favourite things and what did you get up to? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below. 🙂

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re ready for the weekend! I know I am. 😛

February Favourites ’17

I’m not going to lie not only am I glad to see the back of February due to how incredibly shit it was, but I also struggled with my February favourites post this year. I couldn’t think of many products when I was planning this post a week ago but luckily as I sat down to write it, can of cider in hand (oh God…) I’ve seemingly remembered some stuff I have indeed loved this month. YAY!

• Imperial Leather Foamy Banana Shower Cream.

I LOVE this shower cream so much, so much so I have the bubble bath to go with it. I loved foamy banana sweets as a kid and I always remember my mom buying me some whenever we went into our local Woolworths… Oh good ol’ Woolworths eh? This shower cream smells just like them which makes me so happy! I just love the smell of bananas in general and sadly due to an allergy to them I can’t eat them. So things like this make me happier than they should. ANYWAY! Not only does this smell great but it leaves my skin feeling lovely and clean and smelling great. It also perks me up in the mornings if I need to be up at the crack of dawn for work. It’s a bargain at a £1 a bottle so if you fancy giving it a go you know you won’t break the bank buying one on a food shop.

• Reece’s Lip Balm.

I don’t know why but throughout February my lips have been covered in cold sores and blisters and been so damn sore and uncomfortable! I haven’t been able to wear any lipstick which sucked to be honest. But even when using Blistex products nothing was getting rid of the cold sores. I eventually bought a cold sore cream from Boots which helped but THEN another nasty massive cold sore appeared. FUCK! I didn’t know what it could be but when I started using this lip balm during work the cold sores just seemed to heal quicker. So not only was I comfortable, but my lips smelt and tasted amazing too! It just makes me laugh.

• Bath and Body Works Black Cherry Merlot PocketBac Hand Sanitizer.

This is on of the other Bath and Body Works items that my friend Sophi brought me back from America and it’s definitely my favourite item she brought me back! I have wanted to try this scent since it came out a couple of years ago but as of yet I haven’t been able to and oh my it has been worth the wait! It is such a warm and yummy smell, just like black cherries and reminds me of a black forest gateau. I’ll be sad when this runs out. I’m currently not going to pause writing this post to go look for more on eBay… Oh dear… 😛

• Moisturising Foot Socks.

I only have one of these to show off at the moment but at one point I had at least five of these lying around to use. You can pick these up pretty cheap from Body Care for a £1 each and you can pick up all sorts of types. Argan oil, tea tree, coconut, etc. I bought my mom loads of these and decided to get some for myself too. You pop your feet into them for 15-20 minutes and when you take them out your feet will feel soft and smooth. I keep my feet in them for at least an hour to make sure they’re as soft as they can possibly be. As someone who is on their feet constantly due to work these are a lovely treat once a week after a hot bath.

• Bath and Body Works Body Creams in Lavender & Honey and Cherry Blossom.

My friend Sophi went to America in November last year and she was lovely enough to bring me back some goodies from Bath and Body Works, including these body creams as well as a hand sanitizer I’m mentioning in this months favourites too. I’ve been using this as a hand cream instead of for my body and it finds it works really well and keeps my hands moisturised for a long time, although not as long as I would have hoped or wished. They both smell lovely, but my favourite of the two is the Lavender & Honey scent. It’s so refreshing yet comforting to smell. Can’t go wrong!

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Favourite TV Show – The Last Leg

I know this show has been out for years but I only recently discovered it on YouTube through clips, the one added above caused me to cry with laughter. The show is just hilarious, witty and currently just rips the shit out of Donald Trump, which is always funny. 😛 I just love it and if you haven’t watched it before definitely give it a go! I’ve only watched series 1 and I’m currently up to date with series 10. I need to try and find the other series to watch online!

Another Favourite TV Show – Sex and The City

Sadly I don’t have a favourite film for this month so I decided to talk about another favourite TV show. I mentioned in a post recently about how I was watching Sex and The City again and I’m about a handful of episodes away from finishing the show for God knows how many times now. I re-watch the show at least once a year and every time I do I’m reminded of how much I love all the characters but how pissed off I get at the all too… Apart from Sam. 😛 Dane is watching it with me for the first time which has made me so happy! He’s actually really enjoyed it too which is nice. I’m going to put the films on for us at some point for us to watch.

Favourite Book – Your Lie in April

I know I mentioned this last month on my favourites but I would be lying if I said I was reading anything else other than this… Which I actually finished a few days ago. I haven’t been able to get enough of each volume and during my breaks at work I’ve read a whole book! I’m not even joking. So in a week I got 5 volumes read… Well I don’t know what to say about this manga other than I love it so damn much and it has fast turned into one of my favourite manga and anime series. I can’t really say much about it without ruining it but it’s a very sad story to be honest but with a positive ending which makes you think. I cried to be honest at the end. 😛 I wish it could have lasted a little longer but I’m glad with the way it finished.

Favourite Song – Duke Dumont – Ocean Drive

I discovered this song at the start of the year through a beauty guru on Instagram. She said what the song was in the posts description so I went to search for it on YouTube and here we are. It’s been out for nearly two years now and only now have I heard it! WHAT!? I do tell everyone how I don’t listen to chart music… This is evidence of that! It’s a catchy song which is very chilled sounding and reminds me of something from the 80’s. I love it so much and it’s always something I listen to whilst getting ready to go out and even when doing blog related work. 😛

Favourite Game – Pokemon Moon

 This game came out towards the end of 2016 and during February I actually picked it up and played it constantly! I hardly played it when it came out due to being busy with work, getting ready for Christmas and being an adult. 😛 BUT when I had time in February I picked it up every day when I got the chance. I haven’t finished it yet and I haven’t picked it up for about a week now… But I will… I will…

So those were my favourites for February! It was a long but at the same time quick month and I am so pleased it is done and dusted. I won’t state why but it was shit… Really shit… Stuff still is shit but it’ll get better. Well I hope anyway. 😛

What were your favourite things throughout February? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and here’s to a new month… and hopefully some better weather. 😛

November ’16 Favourites

Woohoo it’s now December and we are so close to Christmas. Honestly it’s going to be here before we know it. Then it’ll be New Year and then my birthday. JEEZ I’M GETTING OLD!!! But either way I am back on my blog after being absent for well over a week! I’ve either been too busy with life or too tired from it to do any writing for my blog. It would seem that when you move out life gets nothing but busy!

Well anytime is better than no time, so here is one of my last favourites posts of the year!

• Australian Bodycare Skin Wash

I’ve loved using this shower gel for as long as I can remember and it’s one I go back to time and time again. It’s one that I often use if my skin has broken out badly, or if I’m feeling under the weather and need a pick up. Lately though I have had a horrible allergic reaction on my thighs and tea tree seems to be the only thing helping it (as well as Sudocrem). I always forget about how much I love this and I really want to try and pick up more of Australian Bodycare’s products next year.

• Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in shade Bauhau5

I bought this last month and it has fast turned into one of my favourite liquid lipsticks! It’s just so damn comfortable to wear and it looks beautiful. I’ve wanted it for years so it was definitely worth the wait to pick up whilst I was in London. I’ll be writing a full review of it soon but it’s definitely the liquid lipstick I’ll be wearing throughout Christmas.

• Blistex Triple Butters Lip Balm

Due to the cold my lips have really taken a beating and even at the moment they’re really sore and split various times. This is either from just neglecting to pop any lip balm on my lips for one part of the day, or due to wearing liquid lipsticks. SO I’ve been in the need of a rich and caring lip balm. I used to use Blistex a lot when I was younger and it did a great job, so I decided to pick some up recently. Boots had a 2 for £3.00 offer on all their Blistex range so I picked up an intense balm and this Triples Bitters lip balm. This smells amazing and it reminds me of white chocolate and strawberries. I LOVE it so much! I use it around the house when my lips feel dry but I may start using it for work too.

• Garnier Skin Moisture Match Wake Me Up

Not only have my lips been super dry but so has the skin on my face. I find when I put my translucent powder on top of late that it would be showing up all the dry patches on my cheeks which was just off putting of course. So I dug through my beauty drawer and brought out this moisturiser. I’m so glad I did as it really did help to banish those dry patches on my cheeks which I was so pleased about. Recently I have gone back to my Clinique moisturiser which is my God send so now this will go back into my beauty drawer.

• Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom Body Spray

This is one of the many Bath & Body Works products that my friend Sophi brought back for me from her trip to America! She was very thoughtful and picked me up a couple of Cherry Blossom scented miniatures, including this body spray. Since she gave it to me I’ve used it most of the month before going to work. It smells lovely and will definitely be one I’ll use on warm summer days.

So those were my favourite products throughout November! What products did you love using last month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time take care all and hope you’re having a lovely week.

What I Got For Christmas 2014

I first of all I would like to say that I am in no way shape or form showing off what I received for Christmas. I just thought readers may want to read and see what I received for Christmas this year. I did a post last year about this too and whilst I had no issues, I just wanted to say what I just did.

I really was spoilt this Christmas and I want to say thank you to my friends, family and my boyfriend for what I was given, I loved everything I was bought.

I still have a couple of presents to add to this post, as one of my friends has sent her over to me, and another I haven’t got a picture of so as and when I can get pictures I will update this post.

As you can see, there were lot’s of presents! Due to this, this post will be image heavy.

I’ll start off by talking about what my friend Poppy bought me.

My friend Poppy went over to America before Christmas and each time she’s gone over the pond she’s asked me if I’ve wanted anything brought back. Apart from the perfume and the lip balm, I asked her for all these goodies from Bath & Body Works. I LOVE their Pocketbac’s, as regular readers of my blog will know so the fact she picked these up for me and gave them me for Christmas was really sweet of her! As well as that she gave me a Chloe perfume sample, which I’ve grown to love, and a Burt’s Bee’s lip balm in Pink Grapefruit, which is really nice. I’ve been using this around the house and it’s lovely to use. I’ve never tried the foaming hand wash before but I have been converted and already eying some up to buy from eBay when I get back from my holiday. Thank you Poppy, I love my presents!

Next is a present from my cousin.

I wasn’t expecting anything from my cousin and when I saw her Christmas Eve she didn’t mention that she had bought me anything either. So Christmas Day when I saw the tag on this say “Saw this and thought of you.” I was really touched when I opened this and saw it was fox related. Everyone knows someone who loves foxes, or owls, or butterflies and will always pick them something up with that animal on it. Of course mine is foxes. I tried one of these out before I headed to my boyfriends for the weekend and they’re lovely! These will be perfect for my walks to uni and into work when it’s chilly.

Onto my nephews and sister in law.

They picked me up this lovely Sanctuary Spa wash bag with little wash sets inside too. I’m actually excited to try the hand cream! I’ll probably have these for my boyfriends house, as little bottles like this come in handy! I could also take some on holiday with me too, but I shall see. It makes me laugh how I picked up a Sanctuary Spa gift set for her too!

My boyfriend’s parents bought me some lovely presents this year too.

This is a Nintendo 2DS holder and one that my boyfriend had been trying to get me to buy for quite a while. He has a black and blue version and now I have the red one! This is a hard shell case which keeps your DS nice and safe. Inside it also comes with a USB charger, an in car charger, and a pen stylus. This is really nice and will definitely come in handy when travelling and definitely for our holiday!

My boyfriend’s parents were also lovely enough to pick me up a Lush Christmas gift box that I had been lusting after, as well as some Santa’s Lip Scrub which I had also been thinking about picking up in the sales! Before I even upwrapped this present I could smell it was Lush. For ages my boyfriend had told me that I hadn’t been bought anything from Lush, what a good liar huh? This box set contains some lovely little pieces and I’ll be making sure to enjoy some of those for my birthday in the New Year. I still have my Santa’s Lip Tint (review here), which will go perfectly with the scrub. They also both bought me a bottle of Black Tower wine, but that’s probably been drunk now. Hic!

I knew what I was getting from my Mom for Christmas as I went and picked them up with some money she gave me. Apparently she does have a few surprises for me, but they haven’t arrived in the post yet.

I’ve decided I want to start using Clinique’s 3 Step system again so I picked up the facial wash, the clarifying lotion and the moisturising gel. I’ve really missed using it, so I’m glad to have them back in my daily routine! As well as that I decided to pick myself up a new face powder. I’ve been using this one the past few days and it’s REALLY good! I need to get a little powder mitt for it, as whilst I thought you automatically got one with the powder, you actually don’t… Which I thought was bad. I’ll pick one up when I’m near a MAC counter next. I’ll be reviewing this at some point after my holiday, it’s amazing!

My Dad on the other hand got me some surprises, which I really loved! I knew I would be getting Pandora, but I didn’t know that he wasn’t picking something out for me that he liked, he usually just gets a list of charms I like and picks from those.

This one is definitely picture heavy and I did realise after taking the pictures that they aren’t the best of quality either… I will be doing an updated Pandora bracelet post soon mind so I can show them off properly then! My Dad got me this cute little angel and telephone box charms and explained the meaning behind them. The telephone box has such lovely detailing on it, such as the little Pandora logo about Telephone, as well as the red Union Jack print on the top and “Call me” on the bottom. They’re the most thoughtful charms on my bracelet to date and for that these are probably two of my favourite charms on my bracelet right now, I love them so much.

Finally I have the presents my boyfriend bought me. There’s loads!

My boyfriend spotted the Gorjuss range ages ago and asked if I liked it, which I admitted I had for years. So what did he do? He bought me some, some fox themed stuff at that. He knows I love my notebooks and he didn’t buy me one, he bought me two! These are both really high quality and I know already that I’ll be taking the larger of the two away with me on holiday so that I can do some creative and blog writing whilst I’m away. I love these so much, so nice that he picked them up for me.

I knew I had the stickers, badges and the little Pokemon charms as my boyfriend picked these up for me when we went to Comic Con in November, however I didn’t know I had the cute little box and it really did make me tear up when I opened it. As you can see the box says “Smile you are beautiful” which is a really nice message and one my boyfriend says to me quite often. He didn’t make the box himself, but the thought is still there. I’m not sure what I’m going to use it for yet, but I’m sure I’ll find some use for it soon. The charms that he bought me are official and from Pokemon Center in Japan! I love the Eeveelutions, (which also explains the stickers) and to have these cute little charms makes me smile. I don’t know what to use them for yet, but I would love to get a charm bracelet for them so I can collect more.

These were a cute little surprise, but I knew I had something from Sugar Bunny Shop as my boyfriend told me but it was a surprise as to what I would be receiving. These stickers are so cute that I can’t see me using them, it has however made me want to buy some more Doki fox items from the store as I’ve always loved this little guy, but never bought anything before.

 I had my eye on this coin purse for ages, and I should have known that my boyfriend would pick it up for me. One thing I have to say about this is that it is MASSIVE! I wasn’t expecting it to be like a mini clutch bag, but it really is. This isn’t a bad thing mind, as I wanted this for my holiday. It’ll be perfect for taking out in the daytime if I just want to pop down the road to the shops, as not only will this fit my money in, but my iPhone also fits in here really nicely. Can’t wait to start using this, especially as it goes with my wallet!

This is another present that I knew I was getting, as we both bought each other little alcohol gift sets. I bought him a Jack Daniels Honey set and he bought me Bailey’s. As soon as I opened this I ate the chocolates, which were amazing! I love Bailey’s and sadly didn’t have any this Christmas as we didn’t have any to enjoy. My little bottle is being saved for my birthday and the glass in this set is gorgeous and is going to be my wine glass.

 I love Nana and only decided to read the manga after watching the anime but for ages I couldn’t find books 8, 9, and 10 and when I did find them online to buy they were costing me a fortune! How my boyfriend picked these up for cheap, I don’t even know! Sadly I have book 7, which he sadly hadn’t noticed at the time but I was so happy to see that I had Nana as Christmas presents. I have been tempted to take these on holiday to read instead, but I would get through them in no time, which isn’t what I want really. I can’t wait to carry on reading this though as I’ve had it on hold for months though.

Another present my boyfriend knew I wanted, and I had a hunch that he had picked up for me. I saw this in Paperchase months ago and fell in love. I nearly bought it too, but I knew it would be a good Christmas present to receive from someone. This is a gorgeous organiser and I’ll be keeping it with me whenever I go out, as I’m terrible when it comes to trying to make sure I don’t “double book” things and know what shifts at work may clash with classes at uni! So this will come in handy and because Paperchase do their insert able yearly pages, I can use this year after year. The print is the best thing about this, as it’s a gorgeous woodland print, which of course includes foxes. I just love the colour scheme too, as I love a bit of blue.

Another present I knew I would be getting. Please excuse the use of presents to hold this down, but it worked! My boyfriend bought this for me at Comic Con and I’m now hooked on the artist who drew it! I don’t know what I’ll be doing with this picture, but I’d love to frame it in the future to put in my kitchen when I move out… But I do not know when that will be right now. But back to the picture, how cute is it, really? Little Pokemon characters eating rice balls and such? Adorable. Couldn’t say no to this picture. It’s by an artist called Ry-Spirit, whose work you can check out here.

This was a bit of a jokey present from my boyfriend, but a very apt one. Whenever I’m at his house I’ll constantly ask for a cup of coffee and this bell says, “Ring for coffee” on it. We’ve actually left it at my house as the bell is really quite loud, but when we move out I’ll be ringing this for ages. I can eventually see him burning this or throwing it away mind. 😛

This was a must! I’ve used the Simon’s Cat calender since it first came out in 2011, that’s 4 years of Simon’s Cat every month, how crazy is that?! I do really like these calendars though and I also pick up the diary to go with it… Although I don’t know whether to or not this year… I can see me picking it up though. Either way, amazing present.

I KNEW I had this present. I text my boyfriend the day I saw it saying how much I wanted it, so when he asked me what shop it was and such, I knew he was off to buy it. However this being said when I went to open said present I wondered what he had bought, as it weighed a ton! Was a lovely surprise considering I’d forgotten all about it. These smell divine though and I have had my eye on Candy Cane Lane for ages. I can’t wait to start burning this next week when I’m back home. As for Sugared Apple I’ve always wanted it, but never bought it. It smells delicious and I know I’m going to enjoy using it during the summer too.

I knew I was getting a Pop Vinyl from my boyfriend as we had eyed them up a lot at Comic Con and both made a huge list of ones we wanted. I had a feeling he had bought me Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy and my suspicions were correct. He’s an awesome little character and my favourite from the film, but what makes this figure even better is that he’s a bobble head! The detail of him is really nice and he just looks so cute as well. I’m going to be keeping him in the box until me and my boyfriend move out together, as I want to have him displayed nicely. If I didn’t care I would keep him in my car, but he would get stained by the sun and ruined. He’s so awesome though, nice little character to start my Pop Vinyl collection with.

This was definitely the best present out of all the presents my boyfriend bought me. He had hinted he had a big present for me and when he showed me the present all wrapped up and such, it did look pretty big. I saved it until last to open and I had been guessing on and off that it was either a huge Totoro plushie or a huge Pokemon plushie. At one point I guess it was a huge Lady from Lady and The Tramp plushie but I was right with my first guess. He’s a very big teddy as you can see my the picture of me holding him, but he’s also very sturdy too which is really nice. We have been debating whether or not he’s real… We’re unsure at the moment but either way I don’t care as he’s bloody amazing! This was such a great present and I really love him. I nearly picked up a Totoro plushie when we went to Bristol for our anniversary in the summer but I left it. Glad I did in a way as I may not have this guy now.

So those are all my Christmas presents. I was really spoilt by my boyfriend this year and I feel so lucky because of it, but I would like to add, I spoilt him too. 😛

Thank you to everyone who bought me something, my friends, family and especially my boyfriend. I love you all!

What did everyone get for Christmas? I would love to hear what you got nice, so please feel free to do so in the comments down below.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and although I will say it a little closer to the time, I hope everyone has an amazing New Year too.

Until next time, take care all and enjoy your weekend.

November Favourites 2014

Christmas is just around the corner and as I say every favourites post, I can’t believe how fast the year has gone. To think in less than a months time it’ll be a New Year, Christmas will be over and I’ll be older.

November went by really quickly and it actually took me ages to try and think about what my favourites were throughout the month, as it just flashed by!

Eventually I came up with my ten favourites and here they are.

 

• Yankee Candle’s Simply Home Candle in Lemon Cream.

I’ve owned this candle for quite a while, but since having the house to myself the past two weeks, my boyfriend and I have been burning this loads as we love the smell and look how low down it is now! This was really cheap too from a market nearby where I live, only £6 and this is a medium jar, which usually retails for £9, so I did get it at a bargain. I haven’t seen this for sale in-store anywhere since buying it, which sucks as it smells delicious. It reminds me of lemon cake, most of all like the one you can get from Costa Coffee, which just smells lush! It’s a really strong candle too and when I first used to burn this I used to have to keep my window open as it used to give me a headache. I’ll definitely buy this again in the future, as well as one of the Simply Home candles again as they’re a great price and are actually Yankee Candles, but under a different name. They’re worth just as much as the Yankee Candles themselves. Check these out if you haven’t before.

• The Body Shop Glazed Apple Shower Gel.

I LOVE the Glazed Apple collection from The Body Shop this Christmas and I’ll really be sad to see this go at the end of the month. I love apple scents and this really does smell of fresh apples, but with a sweet scent too. My friend Mali over on her blog (link) reviewed this not long after it came out in October and described it as smelling like Hubba Bubba apple bubblegum and she’s so right! I love using this shower gel in the mornings before I head to university as I smell of it for a while before I leave the house and the fresh but sweet apple scent really does wake you up. It makes lots of lovely bubbles and a little bit of it goes a long way. My boyfriends been using this loads too and he loves it. I’ve also tried the hand cream from this collection and have literally just ordered the bubble bath too. I’m excited to try it out! I recommend picking up the Glazed Apple products as soon as possible as soon enough Christmas will be over and these will be coming off of the shelves too.

• Angel by Thierry Mugler EDP.

Sadly a few months back I ran out of my Angel and luckily I have a refillable bottle so it doesn’t cost me much to get my star bottle refilled if I want to. So for less than £30 my Dad was lovely enough to go and get it refilled for me and since then I’ve been using Angel once again. This is one of my favourite perfumes and has been since it came out in the early 90’s. My Mom used to wear this loads when I was a kid and because of it, the scent always reminds me of her. I love wearing this throughout the winter season as it’s such a warming scent and it lasts ages too so if I’m busy I don’t have to worry about topping it up every hour or so. If you’re thinking of getting this someone for Christmas, or even yourself definitely pick up the refill bottle! You save so much money in the long run.

• Dettol Moisturise Aloe Vera & Milk Protein Hand Wash.

The Dettol hand wash is back on my sink and boy have I missed it! I love the Dettol hand washes, they’re sure to clean your hands from bacteria, smell delicious and leave my hands feeling moisturised and lovely. This was on offer in Asda for just 95p, which I thought was great considering the Dettol hand washes are £1-£2 usually. This smells delicious and I can’t even describe the scent, other than fresh and like milk and honey. I’ll definitely be picking this up again as it’s made my hand lovely and soft, and not many hand washes out there does that to my hands.

• The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector.

I still own this hand cream and I have to just say how lovely it is! Since picking this up on my 24th at the start of the year it has done nothing but keep my hands soft. This is definitely one for autumn and winter as it’s a very thick hand cream that is designed for dry to very dry hands, which I suffer from terribly at this time due to my eczema. However, as of yet I haven’t had any problems (touch wood!) and I have a feeling it’s because of using this hand cream everyday. I got this for £5.00, instead of the full price of £11.00 and whilst it is expensive it really is worth the money! I recommend this and have written a review for it in the past (check that out here) and I will tell people to try this over and over again as it really is amazing and a real skin saver!

• Bath & Body Works Pocketbac Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel in Graham Cracker Marshmallow.

I love Bath & Body Works, but I hate that they aren’t available in this country, GRR! I usually pick up my Pocketbac’s from eBay and that is where I bought this one from. This hand sanitizer smells of yummy chocolate crackers and it really is delicious. As all Pocketbac’s the scent is really strong and lasts ages. I’m usually asked what perfume I’ve put on whenever I use this as it just smells THAT strong, never a bad thing. As well as that it keeps my hands germ free and clean throughout the day. I love using this in class as my lectures are due to start and it really is a treat to use. I always sniff my hands after use too and it really does smell yummy. If you like the sound of this just go and search for it on eBay, I’m sure you’ll find one on there somewhere.

• Carmex Lip Balm in Strawberry.

I’ve posted about this lip balm various times on my blog and even written about it in the past (which you can check out here) and once again it is rearing it’s strawberry scented head. I love using the original Carmex but as that is seeing it’s last days I have started to use the Strawberry one more. This smells lightly of Strawberries and you can taste it a little when you put it on the lips, but it isn’t anything major. This lip balm is gorgeous and a little bit of it goes a long way. I love using this alone and under lip products. My lips over the years have been dry and chapped throughout the winter season, but since discovering Carmex last summer my lips since have been lovely and soft… I do use other lip balms by the way! I find this one works nice underneath lip glosses but with lipsticks (depending on the formula) it doesn’t work as well if you don’t blot afterwards… But I often do this anyway. I’m going to try the cherry flavour when this has finished, can’t wait!

• Rimmel Glitter Bomb Top Coat in Bedazzle.

This was one of my more recent beauty purchases and it’s a gorgeous glitter top coat. I know I don’t need anymore make up products, I know this but who can deny something as lovely as this? This top coat is a dupe of OPI’s Polka.com nail lacquer and I’d wanted that nail polish for nearly two years, so the fact that I have bought a great dupe for over half the price isn’t bad. I need to post a review of these in the next few weeks before Christmas and New Year roll around, but this is such a great top coat to wear alone or over a nail polish colour. It has purple, blue and pink glitter running throughout and is really girly! Perfect for New Years parties and I can see me wearing this loads in December.

• Vaseline Lip Therapy with Aloe Vera.

Okay I want to start this by saying I don’t use this on my lips, I use it on my eyebrows… Yes I know that sounds weird but hear me out. I have HUGE eyebrows and without a gel or Vaseline to keep them looking neat and tidy they would be an unruly mess! I apply a little of this onto my eyebrows and then use an eyebrow/eyelash comb to smooth them down and make them look tidy and straight. I recommend this if you have thick eyebrows like I do, I wouldn’t wish to use a coloured gel on mine as they’re black so they can’t really become any darker than they are already. Plus Vaseline doesn’t cost much either, which makes my wallet happy.

• Maybelline Color Elixir Lip Lacquer in Raspberry Rhapsody.

I wrote a review (you can check that out here) about these when they first came out and ever since I’ve loved these and have been meaning to order some more for when I go on holiday in the New Year (which I’ll do after Christmas!) as they’re just such lovely shades. This is definitely one of my favourite shades as it’s a gorgeous purpley pink shade and looks beautiful on the lips, leaving a slight stain as well as keeping them moisturised and feeling great. I often opt for these if I’m not in the mood to wear a lipstick as they’re easy to apply and last ages so I don’t feel the need to reapply them often. If you haven’t tried these yet, get from under that rock you’re clearly hiding underneath and give these a go!

So those were my favourite products throughout November! I can’t believe it’s December already. Speaking of which, what do you all think of my new header? Christmassy huh?

What did you like using in November? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all.

Germaphobe!

I am a germaphobe, I won’t deny that and I have been for a very long time, if not all my life. I remember as a child my Mom when she first bought hand sanitizer, I hated the stuff. She picked up from school one afternoon and said, “Now you don’t need any water or towels to use this stuff, you just squib a bit on your hand and rub until it’s dry.” So I did as she advised and it was rubbish (in my mind anyway!) and I ended up wiping it off with a baby wipe.

Since then I have learnt that this stuff is wonderful and over the years it’s only got better as companies and shops have brought out more and more different alternatives, aloe vera, moisturising, sensitive, and of course scented!

Scented are definitely my favourite and in the past year and a half I have come to have loads in my possession.

So I thought for today’s post I would write a huge post on which scented hand sanitizers I recommend! It’s really cold lately and with autumn and winter coldness comes plenty of flu and colds, as well as kids and students alike going back to educate themselves once again where germs and freshers flu are all over the place.

Keep yourself germ free with these gorgeously scented beauties!

I’m going to talk about the only bad one first, just to get it out-of-the-way. I bought this hand sanitizer thinking it would be great, as I’ve used Carex’s Strawberry Laces hand wash in the past and it smells gorgeous! However, this doesn’t even smell that much of strawberry, let alone strawberry laces! I’m rather disappointed with it to say the least and I know I won’t be buying it again. I keep one of these in my handbag as a spare for work and on the go, but I’d much rather use one of my The Body Shop ones instead as they actually smell strong! These aren’t worth the money if you’re expecting a strong scent like I was, however if you don’t like strong scents or even a strong alcohol scent then this will suit you down to the ground!

I LOVE The Body Shop’s hand sanitizers and whenever I pop into The Body Shop I usually pick one up to add to my collection, or even try out for the first time. I’ve tried them all now apart from mango and absinthe. I doubt I’ll try mango, as I’m not a fan of that scent myself but absinthe is definitely one I’ll be giving a go next! The ones above are Lemon, Satsuma, Coconut, Strawberry and Pink Grapefruit. Lemon was limited edition and is now no longer available, however if you look hard enough SOME The Body Shop stores will have the odd lemon scent available. I have seen some before in the best and next time I see one I may pick it up. These cost £2.50 each, but are often in deals such as 3 for 2, or even buy one get one 50% off. My favourite of the bunch depends on my mood, but possibly coconut if I don’t want something strong and strawberry if I want something stronger. These are amazing for the money and I always get compliments whenever I wear these at work, or on the go. These are well worth the money and I recommend you give them a go if you fancy updating how you cleanse your hands on the go.

Saving the best until last, these are ALLLLLL my PocketBac’s from Bath & Body Works. May I just add, I have never been over the pond to America, but eBay does that for me, as well as my friend Poppy being my PocketBac dealer!

eBay is amazing for products from Bath & Body Works, but sellers aren’t cheap with these and if you can find a bargain on there then I suggest snapping it up straight away. Whenever I find any on there that I would like and are just under or over £2.00, I make sure to pick them up as they often don’t come up that cheap.

As you can see I so far have thirteen, although three are finished with now. They’re all in the order of which I have obtained them and most of these I have bought myself off of eBay, but as I mentioned my friend Poppy brought me some back this year and being the awesome person she is, she’s going to bring me back some more later this year.

L-R: Party Animal Confetti Cake, Fresh Picked Strawberries and Zippy Fruit Punch (A light refreshment of sparkling fruit punch).

Party Animal Confetti Cake Review

Fresh Picked Strawberries Review

Zippy Fruit Punch Review

Starting off with the PocketBac’s I’ve used up! These are all lovely starter hand sanitizers to start off with and are all fruity scents and were lovely to have over the spring and summer months. Party Animal Confetti Cake is one of my first favourites and smells delicious, definitely good enough to eat! Zippy Fruit Punch wasn’t exactly the nicest scent in the world but it was good enough to keep by my bedside table. I picked up Fresh Picked Strawberries really cheap for just a £1.00, but since then I haven’t found any other PocketBac’s that cheap. 😦

L-R: Twisted Peppermint and Pink Sugarplum.

Twisted Peppermint Review

These are probably two of my favourite scents, and they’re also from the Christmas line. As far as I know these come out every year, but I do know that last year the labels design changed which is a shame as they aren’t as cute as these ones are for sure! Twisted Peppermint is definitely my favourite scent and due to that and the fact its limited edition I don’t use it all that often, only if I fancy it as a treat. Pink Sugarplum is gorgeous and one that is really nice to use to cheer you up on cold winter days. I need to get more of the PocketBac’s from the Christmas range!

L-R: I Love S’Mores, Mr Fox Sugar Maple (The sweet scent of sugar maple, like a perfect drizzle of syrup) and Crisp Morning Air (Breathe in the invigorating scent of mountain pine, fresh juniper and pear).

Some of my newest scents, as well as an old favourite! I Love S’Mores is a definite favourite and it came out last year for autumn, and sadly I don’t know if it will be coming back out this year. I have a feeling it won’t… Although they have brought out Graham Cracker Marshmallow recently, which I want to get. The next two are my most recent purchases and already firm favourites. I recently watched one of HollieEatsLipstick‘s videos on YouTube where she was talking and showing off what she had recently bought from Bath & Body Works, which included Crisp Morning Air. She sounded in love with this scent and I knew I had to find out for myself what all the fuss was about, and I’m glad I did! This reminds me of autumn for sure! Crisp apples show through this and it makes me really happy, I have to say. It also smells like fresh air, just as the scent says and is named after. I love this and I really do want to order more of these to last me through until the end of the year and autumn time. As well as that I have Mr Fox Sugar Maple, which reminds me of maple syrup you get on your breakfast pancakes in Frankie & Benny’s. It smells sugary and just amazing and like something I haven’t smelt for a very, VERY long time. My boyfriend loved this too and the scent lasted on my hands for ages.

L-R: Fresh Picked Garden Strawberries (Succulent scent of sun-warmed strawberries fresh from the vine), Fresh Picked Meyer Lemon (Fresh and clean meets the legendary sweetness of Meyer lemon in this sun-kissed scent), Strawberry Cheesecake, Caribbean Escape (Lightly scented with crushed raspberries, sweet strawberries and warm musk) and Beautiful Day (Lightly scented with sun-kissed apple, wild daisies & fresh pink peonies).

Finally I have some PocketBac’s that my friend Poppy brought me back from New York. It was lovely of her to get these for me and I didn’t even ask her to pick me up any scents in particular, she just went off what scents I have smelt and liked on our days out together. Let me tell you, she did very well! Garden Strawberries smells just like Fresh Picked Strawberries and is one I keep on my bed side table to use before I go to sleep. Meyer Lemon is a beautiful fresh citrus scent that I am saving for winter mornings to perk me up. Strawberry Cheesecake is by FAR my favourite of the bunch as not only does it smell like it says on the bottle but it also have glitter/shimmer running throughout, which makes a pleasant change and also looks super pretty and girly. Now with Caribbean Escape and Beautiful Day I didn’t actually know if I would like either scents or not, but I love these both more than the fruity scents! Caribbean Escape reminds me of holidays as a teen as I used to use a body spritz just like this, it smells creamy and like coconuts, which I adore! Beautiful Day reminds me of spring in my garden, it smells of fresh apples and cut grass, which as a hay fever sufferer you think I would hate but this is delightful and light, something I will enjoy using during autumn and winter to perk myself up.

So those are alllll my hand sanitizers, and Pocketbac’s mostly as you can see. If you have seen any you are interested in finding out more about, feel free to request a review (or two), I’ll be happy to write some up in the future.

Until next time, take care all! I’m shattered, need a cup of tea and some much-needed sleep. Have a great bank holiday Monday!