Coventry SS19 Fashion & Beauty Press Day

Almost a month ago I got the chance to go to the SS19 Fashion & Beauty Press Day in Coventry and it was so much fun! I’d booked the day of work especially for the event, which in turn was also the day I found out I’d been offered my new job! Definitely a day for celebrating!

The event was organised by Coventry Bid, who partnered up with Emily who runs Coventry Bloggers (and also her blog The Emily Chapters).

Me and Amy (Writing into the Ether) decided to meet up before the event to go for something to eat and then head to the event together. It was a lovely early afternoon eating Japanese food together and talking about all sorts, from her weekend down in Brighton, to working together on blog posts.

We ventured over to the event and it was much bigger than I thought it was going to be! I’ve only attended one fashion style event before, which in turn was the first blog event I ever went to and by far one of the worst! We won’t go into that though now… 😛

The event was held in The Old Grammar School, a gorgeous church like building that was the perfect location for this event and as you walked in the main section was filled with various high street fashion retailers, some recognisable and some not.

As well as fashion there was a small beauty section located in one of the rooms, which was great but to be honest too small for how many people were at the event. This being said it was amazing for networking! I saw some old and new faces and spoke to loads of bloggers, which was lovely.

We were given a drink upon arrival and after a little introduction to the evening and what it entailed, we were let free to venture around and look at all the clothes coming out for spring and summer 2019!

There were various people there including Milk Vintage Clothing, Marks & Spencer, Topshop, Yours Clothing, Debenhams and more.

I was really disappointed that I never got to have a look at Topshop and what they had on offer. They left early due to a launch/sale the next day. I did go over to the stand to look at what was on offer, but everyone was swarming the area so I couldn’t really get a chance to look, which was a shame.

I have to be honest and say my two favourite stands were Marks & Spencer and Yours Clothing. Now I’m not a plus size lady but I LOVED all the styles that Yours Clothing had on offer for plus size ladies. It’s great that they make fashionable pieces that are up to date with the catwalks but they don’t charge loads for pieces because “they have to use extra fabric”. This is an excuse that most stores out there use and it pisses me off. It’s just bogus and I don’t agree with it at all.

Marks & Spencer were amazing and they were by far my favourite. I actually used to work there for a couple of years and I was always so frustrated at the clothes range and how they’re aimed at older women. They’ve taken a lot on inspiration from massive brands, the one that stands out the most being Chanel. They had some gorgeous pieces that really stood out alongside the other stands in my opinion.

They had a mannequin that was dressed perfect for the office, or an evening out with friends or a partner.They also had a gorgeous tea dress that would be lovely to wear during the later spring months when the weather is starting to get warmer, as well as summer when the weather is gorgeous and an evening in a beer garden is a must!

The piece I loved the most on their stand is their leather slingback shoes which shout Chanel! They had the nude pair on show and I would love to pick them up for work now. They’d look perfect with the tea dress I mentioned and a nice black or navy blazer.

Finally another stand that kept drawing me back to it time and time again was Milk Vintage Coventry. When I was in my early 20’s I was obsessed with vintage clothes and was always down at Cow Vintage in Digbeth. These days that isn’t so much the case, but I do rather like to flick through vintage finds as and when I get the chance to.

I loved the variety of vintage pieces they had on show, but I particularly loved a tartan skirt they had on show! I love wearing tartan trousers (in various colours… Not just the standard red!) which I thought this was when I first saw it. Everyone was commenting on this piece though and I think if these had been on sale at the event, it would have been snapped up straight away! A geeky black tee or a band shirt and some Vans trainers or Converse would look amazing with this in the summer!

Me and Amy ended up going our seperate ways on and off during the event but I walked around with Gemma (Just Gem) who is such a sweetie! I love her so much and she always makes me giggle when I’m in her company. 🙂

However before I lost Amy, we had a good nose around the beauty section and I watched Amy get her makeup down by the gorgeous girls at Benefit. She looks beautiful in the photos I took of her! 😀

I would have had my makeup done by Benefit, but as my readers know, I’m not a makeup wearer. They made all the girls look stunning (even though they did previously!) and gave them a bit of colour with their Cheekleaders Mini Bronze and Mini Pink palettes!

Me and Gemma ventured over to the Clarins section of the room, where they were talking about some of their new skincare, which we also got to take home samples of! I still need to give them a go, I’m really excited for them. 😛

Sadly I can’t remember names, but the woman at Clarins was so thorough about everything and the even tried both of the products on the back of mine and Gemma’s hands.

We got to try the Re-Boost day cream and the Re-Charge sleep mask. They both feel really refreshing and hydrating on the skin and as I said previously, I’ve got some samples to try but as of yet I haven’t give them a go. I will do very soon though and when I do if they feel lovely on the skin I might treat myself to one of them. 🙂

I wanted to get my nails painted as well but it was so busy I just left it in the end, but Amy and Emily (Coventry Life) got their nails done and they looked gorgeous! 😀 They both went for a raspberry pink colour.

We all sort of gathered together as we waited for Amy to get her nails painted and then ventured over to the last beauty stand, which was Dior. This area was incredibly busy and me and Gemma never got the chance to ask what they were talking about and showcasing at the event. However, later on the lady who was in charge of the stand noticed that she hadn’t yet spoken to us and said how she felt bad for missing us. Even though she had packed everything away at this point, she still went out of her way to go and get both me and Gemma a goodie bag with some little bits and pieces in! We both had a sample of their Joy perfume, as well as a mini sample of their Dior Addict Lip Maximizer. I’ve used this product a couple of times now and it’s lovely! It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s good and does me for work. 🙂

Before we all headed home after the event we had loads of selfies! I loved seeing Emily as I hadn’t seen her since before Christmas! She’s such a great person to talk to and always so honest in her blog writing, as well as just her in general. I also love that she collects pin badges like I do! 😛

Overall I had such a fun time at the event! I’m not the most fashionable in the world anymore and I don’t really do much in the world of beauty either, but most of all I loved seeing my blogger girls and just having a good natter with them all!

March was such a crazy month for me and I feel like this event (as well as the news I received earlier on in the day) was just the beginning of the crazy. 😛

Do you love fashion? If so which trends are you looking forward to this spring and summer?

Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you had a lovely weekend.

August Favourites ’17

YAY SEPTEMBER! Oh my I have been so excited for this month to roll around. Apart from the holiday this is always my month of the year where I try to get a fresh start in order. I’ll try and do a blog post about this before I go on holiday.

This past months favourites has been so hard to do as I really had to have a good think about what products I was loving. Obviously I came up with my 5 items for the month but it wasn’t easy!

• Australian Bodycare Tea Tree Oil Skin Wash.

This is a shower gel I’ve started using again and I always forget how amazing it is! It’s a massive bottle that my mom gave me not long before me and Dane moved into the house. I stopped using it because I wanted to save it for whenever I fancied using it again. Of course tea tree is antibacterial and due to that I love using this shower gel to help me feel lovely and clean. My anxiety can sometimes make me worry I smell and I’m dirty, even if I’ve just got out of the shower. Bless my mom she recently gave me ANOTHER bottle of this and as you can see from the picture, it’s huge. A 1000ml bottle in fact. So I’ve started using it again. I forgot how refreshing this shower gel is and I love it so damn much!

• Benefit Gogotint Cheek & Lip Stain (review here).

This was one of my new purchases in July/August and it’s the main lip product I’ve worn throughout the month. It’s so easy to apply and in so many different ways! I love wearing it at work at the moment as it adds a pop of colour in the mornings and I can apply my Vaseline over the top of it without any colour being ruined. This will definitely be worn loads throughout September and especially on holiday. You can read my review to understand more of why it’s on my favourites this month.

• Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel.

You know Lush Christmas is looming when I get the Snow Fairy out! I still have a massive 1kg bottle left to break out and use when we’re back from holiday, but for now me and Dane have really been enjoying this one and have used nearly all of it! I forgot how sickly sweet it is and I fucking love it! It’s been a shower gel I’ve used on days off as well as in the bath alongside some of my Lush bubble bars and bath bombs. I’m excited to find out what we’ll be getting for Christmas with Lush!

• Rimmel London Insta Fix & Matte Powder.

I bought this powder as I needed a new one and this has been everywhere on blogs the past month or two. I’m glad I picked it up as it’s a great powder for the price. All the same however it’s not the best in the world, but it definitely does the job whenever I’m getting ready and popping out. I’ve been using it loads this month and I’m probably going to take it with me on holiday too as it’ll be great to use in the evenings to keep shine away. This doesn’t keep shine away all day, but it will for at least 6 hours.

• DIOR Addict EDP.

I’ve owned this perfume since I went to Fuerteventura in 2015 and it’s still got loads left in the bottle! I started using this mid August and I actually forgot how much I love the scent. I can’t really describe it to be honest with you. It’s sweet but not a girly, teenage, Britney Spears type scent but more of a mature woman smell. It’s the sort of fragrance that if you will see a business woman wear. 😛 This is a classic and has been around for over 10 years now.

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

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite TV Show – This Is England 86, 88 and 90.

To say I love This Is England is a massive understatement. I don’t know why but recently I felt the need to watch the TV series from the start to finish. I watched all 11 episodes in probably a day if not two and I fell in love all over again. I didn’t watch the film however. I do have a feeling I felt the urge to watch them due to watching Joseph Gilgun in Preacher recently. Which I am still loving from last month by the way! If you’ve never watched the This Is England series then I seriously suggest you do so asap! You’ll love it more than the film, I guarantee. I just love LOL and Woody so damn much. I wish I had them both as friends.

Favourite Film – Swiss Army Man and To The Bone.

I recently watched these two films thanks to both Amazon and Netflix. Me and Dane have wanted to watch Swiss Army Man for ages but we just never got around to it until we saw it recently being advertised on Amazon Prime. It was all that I could imagine it to be and even more, quite honestly it was weird and amazing and I recommend it for everyone to watch! I’ve had to put a trailer above because I’m pretty sure many haven’t even heard of this film before.

I also recently watched To The Bone, which is about a girl dealing with an eating disorder. It reminds me of a John Green novel and I just fell in love with all of the characters. The film ended and I was left wanting to find out more of what happened! I recommend you watch it if you love films, TV shows and books like this. Something to watch out for is if you have or are currently dealing with an eating disorder then this could trigger you, so please be cautious before watching.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite Book – Erm…

I haven’t read anything this month sadly. I don’t know what it is at the moment but I just haven’t really been reading anything, not even manga. I’m kind of waiting to go on holiday to catch up on reading all my manga at the moment. But I can see me just taking two Bridget Jones books to read.

Favourite Song/Album – K-ON! Soundtrack.

Dane recently bought the soundtrack to K-ON! and that’s pretty much most of what we’ve both been listening to and I actually love it! I can’t wait to listen to these songs when we’re on holiday as they’re just some really happy and go lucky feeling songs. The song I’ve added above is one of the last songs the band create together and it’s the last one we hear on the anime too. It’s the girls goodbye song to the youngest member of the band, Azusa. They’re all leaving to go to college and she’s staying at school for her final year. It’s a very sad song but it’s lovely all the same and is definitely my favourite.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite Game – Persona 5… YES IT STILL IS, GET OVER IT! 😛

Yes I am STILL playing Persona 5 and I don’t give a fuck! Sadly due to how bad my mental health has been throughout August I haven’t been reading nor have I been playing games and it’s purely because I just haven’t had the patience or thought behind doing either of them. Watching films and TV shows has been fine though.

Image taken from weheartit.com

This being said I have been playing Minecraft with Dane quite a lot lately. We both craved a game we could just chill out and play together and Minecraft was the perfect game for this. We’ve played it loads and I forgot how much I love it. We haven’t played it as much though lately, sadly. I’m sure we will again soon.

So those are my favourites from August! It went by really quickly and a part of me is so pleased. I fucking hated August. It was full of stress for me and mind fucks and I’m really hoping that September will bring better things.

I’ll be writing a blog post about that soon. 🙂

What were your favourites throughout August? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a great month.

Benefit Gogotint Cheek & Lip Stain – Review

Don’t you just love when you have enough Boots Advantage points to treat yourself to something fancy? I noticed recently that Benefit Cosmetics had added a new lip stain to their ever growing collection and it’s definitely one of the nicest I’ve seen! I was going to be good and wait until me and Dane go on holiday, as I could have picked it up in the airport but I fancied a treat now… 😛 I had nearly £90 worth of points on my Boots card so I decided to treat myself before payday.

I’ve owned this stain for a week now and I am in love with it! I knew I had to review it for you all and compare it to Posie Tint, which I own the mini version of.

If you didn’t know Benefit have a lip stain line which you can use on the cheeks and lips. Before adding the new Gogo shade they had 4 shades in the collection, Gogo makes it 5.

There’s Benetint which is a rose colour and from swatching it in the past on my hand it’s actually my least favourite of all the tints. It’s a water like consistency is really awkward and annoying to work with and due to that I also feel that the colour doesn’t built up much and isn’t very pigmented due to it. I know it’s just a stain and isn’t meant to be pigmented but for the price I don’t feel that Benetint is worth it.

Rant over! 😛 The rest of the lip stains have a gel like texture to them, which is what I love! It’s easy to apply and feels really comfortable on the lips. The other shades include Chachatint which is a mango shade, Lollitint which is a candy-orchid shade and Posietint which is a poppy pink shade.

Of course we have the new shade Gogotint which is a bright cherry shade. Of course this will be the shade I’ll be reviewing today. I found this chart on the official Benefit website so thought I would pop it into this post. I don’t personally feel like it’s accurate though. I wish I had all the shades to swatch for you guys. As I own Posietint I’ll be swatching that alongside Gogotint so you can compare. I’ll probably review it in the future though as I’m hoping to pick it up in the airport before we go on holiday. I currently only own a mini version of Posietint so I’ll take pictures next to my full size of Gogotint for comparison.

Image taken from benefitcosmetics.com

Posietint mini next to full sized Gogotint

The full size of all the Benefit lip stains is 10ml, and the minis which you can buy or get in gift sets are usually 4ml. I got my 4ml mini lip stain from Boots about a year ago for £5.00, which was a complete bargain in my opinion! I don’t think Boots do the lip stain minis anymore, but they do do other minis as well.

ANYWAY! I want to talk about the packaging first. It’s got the typical Benefit retro pin up style to it that they’re so well known for. I love the bottle for Gogotint so damn much! It’s a gorgeous metallic glass bottle in a cherry pink colour to match the colour of the shade itself and a white lid with some detailing on it. I’m sure the detailing on the lid has only been introduced recently. The fact that it’s a glass bottle makes me a little wary and nervous, but I’m sure I wouldn’t damage it in anyway, unless I threw it. 😛

I love the bottle so much as it looks simple, yet expensive and pretty at the same time. However, the one thing I don’t like is not being able to see how much product you have left. It’s kind of a guessing game with these. The only lip stain to be in a clear bottle is Benetint. All the others are in the metallic coloured bottles.

Gogotint brush with product

Gogotint brush without product

Posietint brush

The brush for the Benefit lip stains remind me nail polish brushes. It’s really weird to be honest due to how flexible it is but how fiddly it is at the same time! I’ve struggled a little at times to use it when lining my cupids bow. It’s not too bad really as you can wipe away any mistakes you make, but all in all it is a pain in the arse if you’re in a rush. I find with my mini Posietint that due to the size the brush is a little thicker and therefore easier to use. I do wonder if a lip brush might be worth using when trying to be precise with the full size bottles. Either way I manage. 😛

Now I’ve spoken about the basics of Gogotint, I’ll FINALLY talk about the product itself!

I found a bit about it on the official website and Boots website too:

Brighten up with cherry red lips & cheeks!

Gogotint is the wildest flush you can get from a bottle! Our see-through bright cherry red lip & cheek stain is vibrant, juicy & pops till you drop. You gogo, girl!

• Cherry red lips & cheeks
• Kiss-proof & smudge-proof
• Longwear cheek & lip stain
• Instant pop of color
• Bright, see-through flush of color

Gogo-getter! Too busy for beauty? Never! Brush gogotint cherry red tint on cheeks and lips then blend for a vibrant flush. It only takes 5 seconds! BEAUTY TIP: Thank you CHERRY much! Gogotint’s flush will get you lots of flattery. Not used to all the attention? Just respond “thank you cherry much”…they’ll get the hint!

I had a look around Instagram and YouTube for ages of people swatching and showing off the colour of this so that I could get an idea of whether I would like this colour or not. When I heard it was a cherry red/pink shade I KNEW I would love it. These sorts of pinks are right up my street. I can’t be dealing with light colours. 😛

Dark heart – Gogotint, light heart – Posietint and circle beneath is Gogotint blended out

This really is a bright colour and would actually be a great lip colour for anyone who is wanting to venture over to the dark side of the none nude variety! This in my opinion is the most vibrant and pigmented shade that Benefit have brought out in their lip stain collection to date. I love it!

Wearing Gogotint

Wearing Gogotint

As I’ve already mentioned this has a gel consistency to it and isn’t too thick and isn’t too thin, so it’s perfect for applying. It’s especially great for applying to the centre of your lips for a just bitten look. This is something I have tried somewhat with Gogotint and it looks gorgeous with this shade.

The one thing I really like about this shade is that it’s buildable so you can dab a little on with your finger to create a soft pink shade and look, or apply a couple of coats to really pack a punch with that gorgeous cherry red colour for an alternative pin up girl look.

Wearing Posietint and Gogotint

Wearing Posietint and Gogotint

Wearing Posietint and Gogotint

I have tried both and love them both just as much as the other. I also applied this in the inside of  my lips and then applied Posietint on the outside for a gradient and just bitten look.

I’ve worn both of these at work and they last really well to be honest! I’ll have to top them up when I go for my break (4-6 hours into my shift) but that’s kind of normal to me for something like this. I also use my Vaseline before applying this and making sure to wipe away most of the excess when applying the lip stain. I also use it over the top of the stain throughout the day to keep my lips soft. It doesn’t dry out the lips though and if anything feels comfortable and not like you’re wearing anything on your lips.

I can’t really put my finger on what the scent of this is and it smells exactly the same as Posietint. I don’t want to say a chemical smell because it doesn’t smell like that at all… But it doesn’t smell of anything either… It’s scentless! 😛 It doesn’t smell disgusting, let’s put it that way and it doesn’t smell when you apply it to the lips, which is good.

Of course as the name states, you don’t have to just use this on the lips, you can also use it on your cheeks as a blush. I won’t be doing this but it looks so pretty when blended out!

I tried to test if you can remove this with my Garnier micellar cleansing water and it removed really easily which I was surprised about. This is a little disappointing but at the same time I can’t complain! I’d be moaning about it staining if it didn’t come off. 😛

Wearing Gogotint with a blue highlighter on top

Wearing Gogotint with a blue highlighter on top

Another little thing I like to do with Gogotint is I like to apply a highlight onto my lips to give it a pop of colour! I never thought of doing this before and I’m so chuffed with the outcome, which I’ll show on here of course!

As I always do, here are some picture of me wearing Gogotint alone, with Posietint and of course with the highlighter. Loads of pictures await you!

My overall feelings on Gogotint is that it’s an amazing lip stain and one that I don’t regret buying. If anything it will become one of my go to lipsticks now! I’m definitely going to take it on holiday with me as it’ll be lovely to wear both in the daytime and the evening when going out.

All 5 of the lip stains by Benefit cost £25.50 from both the official Benefit Cosmetics website and Boots. As I mentioned before you get 10ml of product for this price and right now I feel it’s well worth the money as a little bit of the lip stains really does go a long way and of course it’s a 2 in 1 product, you can also use this on your cheeks as a blush!

What do you think of the new lip stain? You like it, or are you not sure? Do you own any of the Benefit lip stains? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a lovely week so far.

March ’16 Wish List

Okay this is seriously a wish list this month because I SERIOUSLY need to watch my money now. I need to adult and only spend money on house related items… How boring. 😛 I’m hoping to do a wish list Wednesday post on house related items, so keep your eyes peeled for that in the future!

But for now, I’ll just be talking about all sorts of cute, and quirky items that I want for myself. Oh and FYI, I never bought a single thing off of my wish list last month… 😛

• Benefit Posie Tint – £24.50 (link)

I have to first of all say, I know there are going to be LOADS of lip products on this months wish list… Oh boy. BUT I picked up a sample of this lip tint and I have fallen head over heels in love with it. I am literally using this nearly everyday for work. A little bit goes a long way, and it leaves a gorgeous just bitten pink stain on the lips. I am just so in love. I will buy this one day, I just don’t know when at this moment in time. DAMN having to be a grown up and save money!

• OPI Hello Kitty Collection Nail Lacquer in Starry-Eyed For Daniel -£12.50 (sadly no link as most stores have sadly sold out…)

I have been lusting after this nail lacquer for quite some time now… BUT I keep telling myself I don’t need anymore polishes, especially when I don’t really wear them anymore. I have my eye on quite a few of the lacquers from this collection, including this one, Charmmy and Sugar, and Say Hello To Hello Kitty. But I doubt I’ll pick any of these up, at least not any time soon at least. It is such a pretty collection coming up to spring and summer, and it’s been a long time coming OPI collaborating with Sanrio. I hope they bring another collection out in future with the rest of the Sanrio family!

• Bee & PuppyCat Vol. 2 Comic Book – £10.76 (link)

I LOVE Bee & PuppyCat and after recently discovering that there was a comic book out of the popular cartoon show, I just fell harder in love with the show. The second volume of the comic book is currently on pre-order, but as it’s out in less than a month it’ll be mine before I write and publish my April wish list… Because I have that shit pre-ordered! OH YEAH!

• Sugar Bunny Shop Doki Fox Yamiiko Sweatshirt – $25.00 (link)

Oh.My.GLOB I love this sweatshirt and I legit want it in my life… BUT MONEY! Y DO I HAVE NO MONEY?! Eventually this will become mine, when I don’t know, but it will be one day. It’s the gorgeous Sugar Bunny’s Doki dumpling fox on a sweatshirt, what more could I ask for? I love foxes as it is, but I especially love her Doki fox, he’s just so adorable. Dane bought me some of the stickers from her store a few Christmases ago and I keep them safe in my diary. I could imagine Dane buying me this for our third anniversary together… But we shall see what happens…

• Lancome Juicy Shaker in shade 400 Mint To Be – £18.00 (link)

I’ve actually bought one of these already… *smacks hand when meant to be saving money* NAUGHTY NAT! But I bought one of the purple shades. This one however is a gorgeous blue/clear sparkly shade, and one that is also limited edition. I actually regret not buying this one considering what it is… But meh I’m sure I’ll be able to pick this up on another occasion. These are gorgeous and lovely to wear for work, and I know already they’ll be a real hit with teenagers, and especially in the summer when people are going on holiday. I’m going to be writing a review up in the week on the shade I picked up over the weekend.

• Benefit Puff Off Eye Gel – £22.50 (link)

I have been lusting after this throughout February and I actually went to buy it a week ago, but it has sold out in the Boots store I visited! I received a sample of this when I picked up my Matte Rescue and I fell in love. It’s a lovely creamy gel texture, and when applied to the eye area it helps it feel cool, perfect in the morning! I don’t know when I’ll pick this up, as I recently purchased a miniature of Benefit’s It’s Potent eye cream, which I am loving at the moment! So I’m not in as much hurry right now as I previously was. I still can’t wait to get my hands on this though.

• Nana Manga Vol. 16-21

I’ve spoken about this manga on my blog before, and it is by far my favourite. It’s also incredibly hard to get hold of these days, but my boyfriend finds me good copies on Amazon all the time… Thank God! I am currently on 13, but I know after I’ve finished writing and schedule this post, I’ll be reading it for a while before I go to sleep. I am so close to the end of the series, yet so far away! I know kind of what happens at the end, which sucks, but meh. I’ve watched the anime for the series, which I fell in love with too and own on DVD. I just can’t wait to get the rest of the volumes so I know that I’m one of the lucky few who owns ALL of the series. This is something I will definitely be buying off of this list. I can’t live without my manga.

So that was my wish list for this month! What goodies do you have on your own wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below of what you have your eye on.

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re all having a great week so far.

Much Needed Retail Therapy – Haul

Oh dear, I should really be saving my money… Especially when I’m getting closer to buying a house! I hate being a grown-up… >.<

I went out with my friend Sophie (HI SOPHIE!!! :D) for a much needed YO! Sushi, nerdy, and interior design window shopping. It was much needed as I’ve been so busy lately with work, and life in general that I haven’t seen her properly since after Christmas!

We had an amazing day, but I spent a little bit too much money… OOPS! I hope I don’t do the same again Sunday when I see Poppy… Fingers crossed. 😛

One of the items I picked up was from eBay, but I just HAD to mention it today as it was such a bargain I snatched up!

One of the first things I picked up before we went for food was this 2016 holographic diary, and pen from Paperchase. I don’t need a diary as I have my planner,  but that’s for important things, this diary is going to be my “Bridget Jones diary” where I write in it everyday. As it is now pretty much two months into the year, I’m using the first few months as random pages to write ideas for my blog, interior ideas for when I get a house, etc. It was 30% off in the sale too, which wasn’t too bad. I recently found my diary from 2013, which I never finished as I had a lot of stuff going on, and just forgot about it. I read through the pages, and it reminded me of things I have forgotten about. So I want that again, especially this year with all the exciting things that are happening!

We ventured into a couple of the comic book shops in town, Forbidden Planet and Nostalgia Comics. I picked this AMAZING comic up from Nostalgia, and I didn’t even know of its existence! Bee and PuppyCat is a cartoon by Natasha Allegri which started off as a cartoon, and has now been turned into a comic! I literally gasped out loud, and pretty loudly too when I saw this, and snatched it up with both hands. There was only one copy left, so I’m glad I got it. I love Bee and PuppyCat, which was inspired by Adventure Time’s Fionna and Cake. I’ll drop a video down below so you can check it out.

Naughty me bought Benefit… And I said I wouldn’t… Sigh. I decided to do the 4 minis for £15 offer, one of the minis I gave to my mom (a mascara) and I picked up the Triple Performing Facial Emulsion, It’s Potent Eye Cream, and Posie Tint Lip & Cheek Stain. I already LOVE Posie Tint and already know I want to buy the full product. I’m pretty sure I’ll be reviewing this at some point.

I also picked up The POREfessional License To Blot Instant Oil-Blotting Stick. I wanted to pick up Puff Off eye cream/gel, but they didn’t have any left in stock. So I decided to go for this instead. I used it this morning for work and it worked pretty well to be honest! I touched up with a bit of powder during my break, but I wasn’t as oily looking as I usually am, which I was really pleased about. Well worth picking up then!

I didn’t buy these yesterday, I actually picked them up after work. I was only going to buy the one item… I ended up leaving with all of these. Oh dear… I earned a lot of Boots points from it though so WOOHOO! I picked up a new face scrub for myself, and as I loved this so much last time I bought it I decided to repurchase it. It’s a 3 in 1 wash, scrub, and a mask I use the latter two. I didn’t know that Soap & Glory had brought out their Hand Food hand cream in the Sugar Crush scent! Yes it’s in a tiny 50ml bottle, but I don’t mind that at all as it can live in my hand bag, or on my bedside table happily! The main reason for me going into Boots in the first place was to pick up a clear mascara for my eyebrows. I’ve always used the Miss Sporty one and it’s always done me good, so like the face scrub, I repurchased it. Finally I picked up the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Pillow Plump XXL lip gloss in shade Clearvoyant, which I’m sure you can guess is a clear shade. I’ve had my eye on it for a while now, but never seen it on offer until today. With £2.00 off I thought I’d finally pick it up for £8.00. I tried this not long after I got home and it feels and makes my lips look pretty nice. It has a fruity scent to it, and straight away I can feel my lips tingling and plumping. It’s nothing major from what I can see so far, but we shall see how it goes…

One of the first places me and Sophie went into after sushi was Tokyo Toys, (which I’m sure as you can guess from the name) is a store dedicated to all things Japanese, and kawaii! We bought a matching little black soot Totoro keychain, and I picked up a little Totoro holding a no face mask keychain. I was going to stick these little guys in my car, but I don’t want to now, so they’re going to sit with my massive Totoro plushie in my room. Yay!

Finally I’m showing off my eBay purchase, some more Black Milk Clothing leggings! Which I hope you can tell are mermaid leggings too. These are the Mermaid Midnight Leggings, which look black but aren’t 100% black. When you shine them in light the scales come up as a dark teal shade, which is pretty cool! These cost $80.00 AUD but I picked them up for £36, including postage and they’re BRAND NEW! I’m so damn pleased that I bid on them, and won them as I’d probably be kicking myself now. I’m going to wear them this weekend, and maybe get some pictures taken for a look book post.

So yeah, that’s everything I picked up when I went on my retail therapy shopping spree!

Have you bought anything nice recently? If so make sure to let me know what you’ve picked up recently.

Until next time all, take care and hope you’re all having a great week so far.

February ’16 Wish List

We’re down one month of 2016 already! Only 11 more to go and it’ll be Christmas and New Year all over again. 😛 I was a little spend happy throughout January, so I need to watch my money this month and be good. Lipsticks won’t help me buy a house, sadly. This being said, there are a few bits and pieces I am still after this month, and it never hurts to lust after things, does it?

• Benefit The POREfessional: Instant Wipeout Masks – £24.50 (link)

Benefit have a few new goodies coming out for their POREfessional range, one of them being the Matte Rescue gel, which I was so excited to try and pick up! These are little face masks which you can use all over the face. They’re like nose strip style shape and size, BUT they aren’t pore strips. They’re a liquid face mask which you can apply to the nose, chin, forehead, and cheeks, as they have up to 10 uses from what the woman told me on the Benefit counter. I would have bought some when I was there the weekend, but they’re not cheap and these will be a product I’ll pick up as a real treat to use once every fortnight. I don’t really have issues with my pores, I just have an oily t-zone. My boyfriend would probably love these mind. I want to look into these more though, they sound cool.

• New Look Black Turtle Neck Cold Shoulder Jumper – £22.99 (link)

I’m a huge fan of the cold shoulder look on long sleeved, black garments and I REALLY DON’T KNOW WHY! Is it a trend from the 90’s that I love? Or grunge? What is it people, can anyone tell me? I have a black long sleeved t-shirt from New Look that shares the cold shoulder look, and it’s one of my favourite black t-shirts to wear now. So why not add a jumper into my wardrobe to throw on when it’s nippy? Not only do I love the cold shoulder look, but I happen to love turtle necks too. I think it’s the whole wrapping up warm aspect for me. I wish I had gone in New Look and had a butchers for this when I was in town last weekend, but I never thought of it at the time. I would love to pick this up though to rock with a skirt, some denim shorts, or a light wash skinny fit jean. The Dr Martens in this wish list would look great with them too, as well as my Jake Dr Martens (post about those here)

• ASOS Swing Dress In Star Print With Eyelet Detail – £15.00 down from £30.00 (link)

I wouldn’t have known this dress existed if it wasn’t for Hannah Gale, who recently featured it on her blog, as well as one of her vlogs. She looks gorgeous in it and I loved how she teamed it up with a belt and some boots (you can view how she dressed it up here). I don’t know how the hell I would dress it up if I bought it, but I’d rock it all over the spring and summer months. I showed it to my boyfriend and he isn’t sure on it, but that being said I will keep my eye on it and see how I feel. It looks beautiful on Hannah, but it might not look as nice on me. :’) It just look so airy, and the perfect dress to wear if you want to look great, but feel like shit.

• Dr Martens Serena Faux Fur Lined Boot – £110.00 (link)

I have wanted a pair of these boots for years… Since before I even met Dane and I met him three years ago this year (God that’s flown by!). I’ve found a pair cheaper on eBay, and although I would jump at the chance to buy them usually and still say, “BUT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” I need to be a little more realistic now. I need to save money, and I still have my Jake Dr Martens, which I only got in September when I finished university. I love those Dr Martens… BUT yellow Dr Martens with silly faces on aren’t always practical… Especially when I just want to rock some black clothing and look like the inner goth that I am. 😛 I shall see how I feel in the future, but Dr Martens want to be something I rock more this year and onward. They’re amazing boots, and a shoe brand that I really adore.

• Marvel Deadpool Men’s Varsity Jacket – £29.99 (link)

I wanted to save the best until last, and it’s hard to choose between this and the last item! As everyone knows, the new Deadpool movie is out next week and let me tell you, I am so fucking excited! I have been a fan of Ryan Reynolds for 10 years, and Deadpool is my favourite Marvel character too. I came across this having a nose for some present ideas for my boyfriend and have fallen in love. I don’t really need anymore jackets, but this one is just too nice to pass up. I love wearing my boyfriends jackets, they’re just so comfortable and as this is a man’s jacket I could get away with buying a small size and rocking it with some skinny fit jeans, and boots or Vans. It isn’t expensive either for an official licensed product!

• Pokemon Yellow on 2DS and 3DS – Price TBC

This is the item I saved until last. The only thing I know about it is that it is due to come out on the Nintendo eShop on 27th February, the same date the original three Pokemon games (Red, Blue, and Yellow) came out 20 years ago! I don’t know how much they’ll be, I imagine something like £10-£20. Anymore than that would be a bit of a rip off to be honest… I will be getting Pokemon Yellow, as this was always my favourite to play. I know my boyfriend is going to get one too, so we can play and trade Pokemon together. Anyone who isn’t going to be buying these bad boys, WHY NOT? I’m hella excited.

So that was my wish list for this month. I need to save money so the only things I can really see me buying is the Deadpool jacket, and Pokemon Yellow. Two nerdy things I am super excited for this month.

What goodies are my readers after this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

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

A Belated Birthday Money Haul

I mentioned in a post recently about how I’d received a Debenhams gift card (post here) from my brother for my birthday, as well as some birthday money from family… But that I hadn’t spent it yet.

Well after a crap week, a trip to A&E, and some resting in bed, I decided if I was feeling up to it I would take a trip to town with my boyfriend and do some much needed therapy shopping… and eating.

It’s not technically something I bought with birthday money, but I wanted to give the item, and my friend a mention. My friend Claire (over at All Mouth, No Spoons) offered to sell her Jeffree Star liquid lipstick in Unicorn Blood to me earlier on this week, and when she said for £10, I jumped at it straight away! She knows how much I love Jeffree Star’s lipsticks, and bless her she knows my skin tone well and that it would suit. It was nice to have a natter with her for a while when I went round to her house to buy it. I’m sure I’ll be meeting up with her soon, and doing some collaborative posts in the future!

Our first stop of for the day was to Yakinori, a noodle, bento, and sushi restaurant. There are two in Birmingham, one in Grand Central, and one in Selly Oak by Birmingham University. I have to say hands down it is some of the best katsu curry I have ever had, and let me tell you I’ve tried a lot from various Japanese restaurants… So I’m kind of a pro now at this taster stuff. Joke. 😛 It really did set us up though for the day, and we didn’t feel hungry at all after that. We intended to get some more sushi from there on our way home, but that never happened.

So we went into town to do some shopping, parking was a pain but it wasn’t SO bad and town was actually quieter than we originally thought it was going to be, due to people being paid and such. It was good though, nice and quiet just how we like it.

Our first place to go shopping was Nostalgia Comics. It’s my favourite place to go if I want to do some much needed geeky shopping. They stock comic books, manga, Pop Vinyl’s, various figures, I could go on. You get the gist of it by now, they stock a lot of nerdy stuff. We went in to get some comic books and manga. My boyfriend was on the hunt for more Deadpool comics, and I wanted to try and get some new manga to read. My boyfriend kindly offered to buy me some manga, my choice being the Sword Art Online Progressive series, which started not long ago. Nostalgia do a 3 for 2 offer on most manga, and these were on the deal too. They weren’t cheap in my mind at £9.99 each, but meh. They’ll keep me happy for a while!

I loved Nostalgia Comics anyway, but after yesterday I love them even more. When my boyfriend purchased his goodies, the woman serving us put some free Deadpool goodies in too! She gave him a beanie, a sleeping mask, and a badge. I said, “Oh wow I’d love the beanie!” To which my boyfriend replied, “No I bagsied it!” I said aww and obviously looked sad, so the woman asked if I wanted a hat too! I said yes of course, and only when I had a nose at the hats a while later did I realise she gave me a full set of goodies too. What a legend! The beanie hat is so damn comfortable and baggy, it’s definitely going to be worn to death.

Next stop was Debenhams, where I decided I would either use the whole £50 on my gift card, or just half of it. I ended using all of it! On things I really wanted mind. The first thing I picked up is this adorable fox dress by H! by Henry Holland. I LOVE foxes so I couldn’t pass picking this up. I went and tried it on, and it was just perfect. The fit, the length, and especially the print. It has a nice little cut out above the boobs as well, which is a nice change. For £28 I thought this was a bargain, and that’s full price. I’ll wear this loads throughout the year.

As well as that I picked up a new product by Benefit, the POREfessional: matte rescue. I can’t wait to try it, and have had my eye on it since it releasing in America a while ago. I’ve heard nothing but positives about it too, especially for people who have oily skin. I have an oily t-zone (which I HATE!) and whilst the POREfessional does help it, it doesn’t help it all day. This wasn’t cheap at £21.50 but to be honest, it’s a huge tube and a little bit does go a very long way, so I don’t mind spending that much. I’ll be writing a review on this in the future. The woman who served me at the Benefit counter was amazing too, she gave me a couple of free samples, which I can’t wait to try!

Finally I made a stop off at Victoria’s Secret, the shop I mainly wanted to go to town for. Since my friend Poppy introducing me to the store back in December 2014, I have loved their bras. It is like my boobs are on air, and they’re loving it! However, my first bra from there is damaged, two more I bought aren’t the right fit for me, and a duplicate/replacement I bought of the first one is just wearing away from overuse (oh dear…), so I decided it was time to buy a couple of new ones. I’m so glad I did! I always get my bras from upstairs in the PINK section, but this time I opted to try the Victoria’s Secret section downstairs, and I’m really glad I did. I picked up a gorgeous red bra that I liked the look of and waddled to the changing room to try it on. I asked Gemma, the girl who served me if I could try it on and be measured as I was concerned that I may have gone down a bra size. She said yes, not a problem and helped. She said I was still the same size, and that the bra I had picked up fitted perfectly. To be honest, I felt pretty damn good in the bra I picked up, and I loved it so much I picked up another one but in a nude shade. I can’t wait to wear them next week now. I’ve missed having a comfortable bra! The only problem with VS though, is the price… These made me want to cry when they came to £77.50… But meh they last quite a long time, and they feel comfortable, so to me it’s worth every penny.

So that was everything I picked up from town with my birthday money! I have bought some little bits and pieces up this month, but I’ll feature those in a separate post me thinks. I really need to stop buying things now. 😛

Have you picked up any nice goodies after pay day on Friday? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’ve had a great weekend.

2015 Top 5 Favourites!

Well at midnight tomorrow 2015 will be officially over, and a part of me is so damn happy. I hated this year for various reasons, mostly due to stress, and my anxiety going from good to worse. Alas, 2016 is looking bright already and I really hope it is my year to improve myself and begin a new and exciting life with my boyfriend.

However, something I did like about 2015 was my blog, and how much it has gone from strength to strength. One of my regular monthly posts being my monthly favourites, and I couldn’t go without mentioning all my favourites from the year.

So here are my favourites from 2015!

• Benefit The POREfessional Face Primer

If there is a product I have discovered this year and truly fallen in love with, it is this one. I used to only use this on my t-zone where my skin would look shiny. This has a matte affect to it, so it was leaving my oily t-zone go away. However, I didn’t find it was working just on my t-zone so I started to use it all over my face, and it worked a hell of a lot better! I’ve nearly finished my first tube now, but I have another one already which I bought before I went on holiday. I have used this throughout the year, and it’s always done wonders for my skin.

• Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in Masochist (review)

I LOVED Jeffree Star’s liquid lipsticks this year! I haven’t owned Masochist and Hoe Hoe Hoe THAT long, but even so I love them. I get nothing but compliments about them from people at work, people in general, family, and friends. They just stay on all day long, and look gorgeous and eye catching too. I hope to own more of these in 2016… I’m after the Valentine’s Day shade next, and Abused.

• Dior Addict Eau de Parfum

My mom bought me this perfect at the start of the year whilst we were on holiday and it is probably one of my most reached for scents this year. I really can’t describe what it is like. So I’ll just insert a quote from The Perfume Shop here, “A sophisticated oriental fragrance with a floral heart, for the passionate, intuitive woman who ignores dictates and follows her own rules. The Dior Addict attitude is best incarnated by its compelling heart note of the Jamaican ‘Queen of the Night’ a rare and elusive flower that blooms only for a few hours and is considered the soul of enchantment. Intensely seductive.” It is a very unique scent and reminds me of a mature, sweet smell. It’s right up my street either way, lasts for ages, and I can’t wait to wear it more throughout 2016.

• L’Occitane Zesty Lime Hand Cream

I own so many of these hand creams and I only realised recently whilst having a clear out of my beauty drawer. I took one on holiday with me to use everyday and it was really lovely to use. I haven’t been using it so much at home since I got back from holiday, but this seems to be one of the only things that keeps my hands lovely and soft, even with my eczema flaring up! It also smells absolutely amazing, really zesty as the name suggests, and fresh. I have the lip balm to match, which is really to use nice in the summer, the same with the hand cream really.

• MAC Cosmetics Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Pressed Powder

I received this powder for Christmas from my mom last year, and I still have some left! Even if I have hit pan… This is an amazing pressed powder and one I was going to repurchase, but my mom has bought me a new one by Laura Geller. It’s just so smooth to apply to the skin and a little bit really does go a long way. I use it over the top of my POREfessional primer and it sets it for the day! It has a handy mirror inside too so when I used to have this for on the go it was really handy. I intend to finish this soon and I’ll probably buy myself another one soon enough, as for just over £20 it is a complete bargain for how long it has lasted me!

So those were my five favourite products from 2015! I would have mentioned more, but I wanted to make it look more condensed down to beauty products I really loved, and couldn’t really live without in 2015.

I will of course continue with my monthly favourites, the next one being at the start of February now! They will remain to be 5 top items of the month, like what I did throughout 2015.

What were your favourite beauty products of 2015? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until 2016, take care all and have a Happy New Year! ^_^

Holiday Haul!

Woohoo I’m officially back from my holiday (almost a week to be exact!), and boy was it good. The sun was out most days, and I’m now sporting a gorgeous natural tan. Don’t be too jealous! Whilst I was away I did a little bit of shopping. How could I not take advantage of a tax free island? Would have been rude not to… I didn’t buy as much as I actually thought I was going to, which left me feeling pleasantly surprised. Not only did I buy myself some odd bits and pieces, but I also bought some Christmas and birthday presents too.

The first things I picked up were actually from Birmingham airport. Duty free is always a must have to splurge on before you get on your plane, but this being said I didn’t exactly grab many offers… I won’t lie when I say that I wished I had waited until I had arrived at Fuerteventura to buy the first thing, but no point in crying over spilt milk, eh?

• Dior Blooming Bouquet 100ml EDT Gift Set

I’ve had my eye on this perfume for quite some time now after receiving a sample of it in the post back in the summer. It’s an eau de toilette so it’s a lovely light perfume, and perfect for summer due to it’s fruity, and floral notes. This set cost a purse crying £80.00, which came with a 100ml bottle of Blooming Bouquet, as well as a 7.5ml refill bottle. The refill bottle is stunning, definitely a posher version of a Travello bottle. So for the high price tag, it was sort of worth the money really. I wore this every evening we went out and I loved it. This will probably be my go to scent for my new job, as well as for spring and summer.

• Benefit The POREfessional Face Primer

I LOVE this stuff! It’s definitely a must have for me now since it recently returned into my beauty regime. I’m really low on my first tube so I decided to pick up another one whilst I was in duty free. I used this in the evenings whenever we went out, and due to how light weight it is on the skin, it meant it was perfect when it was still warm outside.Due to this, I would say this is a definite must have for holidays! The airport had a special offer where if you bought one it would cost £20.00, but if you bought the three/four gift set, it was only £53.00! I was really tempted by the special gift set (as you can only buy it at the airport… apparently), but considering how much I had just spent on the Dior perfume, I decided to leave it. Next time my parents fly out I’ll ask them to pick the set up for me and give them the money back. My boyfriend will be jetting out in January for a holiday, so I may even ask him to pick it up for me!

I have to say that one thing I hate about Fuerteventura is how they have a chain of lingerie shops called Women’s Secret, and we don’t! This being said, we can order online from there but meh it’s not the same thing as going in store and going through all the amazing pieces they have on offer. That and it’s cheaper in Euro’s. This being said we now have Victoria’s Secret, and that’s my favourite lingerie shop so I can’t be too sad about not getting Women’s Secret. I only picked up a couple of things whilst I was in Women’s Secret. I didn’t intend on bringing anything back, but alas I couldn’t help myself, and even then I was pretty good. The possibility of bringing back some pajamas really did tempt me, but I left it and just bought loads of knickers instead… 😛

• Hipster briefs (in black, white, and grey)

As you can see I bought quite a few of these knickers… This wasn’t even my intention to be honest! I originally bought a pack of black briefs to keep at my house in Fuerteventura, which I left behind but I loved them so much I just had to buy another pack to bring home with me. This resulted in my buying two more packs, a white pack, and a grey pack. I have no regrets because these knickers are just so bloody comfortable! If there is a pair of knickers sent from heaven, then they’re these. As you can probably see these are hipster briefs, comfortable, and perfect for hugging my curvy bum in all the right places. These weren’t on sale or anything, but cost €12.99 a pack, and you get three in a packet. I didn’t mind paying this price to be honest as I just love these so much, and doubt I’ll find any as good in the UK.

• Mickey and Minnie Mouse knickers

These were a bit of an impulse buy but they were on sale from €12.99 down to just €5.99. Who could say no to that? These are really cute, yet sexy, and comfortable. They’re grey with a picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse having a kiss and a cuddle on the one side, super cute! I am such an unsexy person when it comes to lingerie, so I choose childish, and comfortable over sexy, and lace any day!

One of my favourite places to shop in Fuerteventura is Correlejo, it’s basically like a smaller version of London (WAY SMALLER) to the island, and thus the place to go shopping. It’s especially a great place for surfing, and the fashion there is the best with the surf, skate, and (surprisingly) snow shops. This is the main reason why I like going there, as there are over a handful of these shops dotted around Correlejo, and although I wanted to go twice to make sure I visited all the shops, I only managed to pop into a couple on one visit. My favourite shop is one that is near the top of the high street as they sell some complete bargains in there, and they’re all high brand names such as Vans, DC Shoes, Roxy, Billabong, etc. So I picked up a couple of t-shirts from there.

• Vans Disney The Little Mermaid Ariel Raglan T-Shirt

I’ve mentioned on my blog in the past how much I’ve loved the collaboration between Vans and Disney. I did really like the look of The Little Mermaid goodies they brought out in the first collection, but not enough to actually pay the prices Vans had things for sale at. When I spotted that this shop were selling one of the Ariel t-shirts with 30% off I decided to snap one up quick. They only had large sizes left and whilst I probably should have tried it on, I decided to get it anyway. There’s nothing wrong with a baggy t-shirt. I’ll be teaming this up with some baggy jeans, denim shorts, and anything really. It’ll be perfect for lazy days, and shopping trips. I picked it up €23.00, bargain! When I tried it on at home, it felt baggy enough that it wasn’t swamping me, which is perfect really. I intend to rock this Christmas Day.

• DC Shoes T-Shirt

Another t-shirt from the same shop. I saw this and knew I had to have it. I didn’t want to worry if I left it behind I would regret it. This is a navy t-shirt with the DC Shoes logo in red, and white. It actually reminds me of a t-shirt my boyfriend owns by DC Shoes which is one of the reasons I picked it up. I love that t-shirt of his, and when we first got together I would constantly ask to borrow it to wear, or tell him to wear it. So it’s nice to kind of have my own version. That’s just so soppy isn’t it? I picked this up in a medium which is the only size they had for this one, I’m sure it’ll fit fine! This was 50% off in then sale so I only paid €13.00 for it. When I finally got this home and tried it on, it fit lovely but has a very odd boxy looking fit on the top half of it. I’m sure this will go away the more I wear it.

I didn’t buy much make up whilst on holiday, which I am somewhat surprised about, but at the same time I didn’t want to buy much anyway. So this being said, I did really good! Although I have three things here, I only bought two of them as one was a gift, but I still wanted to mention it here. These are all things I have wanted for years, so it was lovely to finally treat myself to them.

• YSL Kiss & Blush Soft Matte Colour in shade 3 Rose Libre

One evening when I stayed in I watched the 2014 film about Yves Saint Laurent which I’d downloaded specifically to watch on the plane to or from my holiday. I’m glad I didn’t watch it on the plane now to be honest, as I enjoyed it more during an evening in, whilst chilling in bed. It kind of gave me the push to buy the lip colour which I had nearly bought when I came here in January. It’s a gorgeous creamy lipstick and blush, which reminds me of a creamier version of Collection 2000’s lip cream (in shade Cotton Candy). Rose Libre is a cool neutral rose shade, and one that can be worn all year around, especially in spring! Due to how light it is on the lips this will be perfect to wear for my new job. It’s definitely a shade for wearing to smart events and such. I doubt that I’ll wear it as a blush, as regular readers will know, I don’t wear a full face of make up. This was an absolute steal at just €29.00 considering they cost £28.00! I’m sure I’ll be reviewing this in the New Year.

• Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Protector in shade 01 Rose Shimmer

This is another product that I’ve been lusting after for ages, again since January and even before then! My friend Ali over at (Maliberry Makeup) reviewed this not long ago (link to that review here), which opened my eyes to this shade, as I had my eyes on another shade beforehand. This is a lovely non sticky lip gloss that gives a nice conditioning feeling to the lips, whilst leaving them with a natural shade, this one being a delicate pink shade, which is somewhat bright. These Clarins Lip Protectors also have a gorgeous sweet scent to them as well, an aspect I love in lip products. I’ve worn this to work a few times now and it looked natural and beautiful. It’s going to be a staple for me when I don’t fancy wearing anything dark on my lips. These cost £18.00 in the UK, but I picked this up for just €12.00 which is so damn cheap! I wish I had bought more now I’m back home, but two of these is more than enough.

• Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Protector in shade 05 Candy Shimmer

This was actually a gift from my dad. He managed to snag it alongside another present for me for just €8.00! I couldn’t believe it when he told me, but he’s got a way with words, like myself really when it comes to trying to snag bargains. This is the shade I have been lusting after for years after my friend Poppy reviewed it over on her blog years ago. It just looked like such a gorgeous darker pink nude shade, something I don’t find myself going towards to be honest. It’s more of a peach shade and definitely darker than Rose Shimmer. Like Rose Shimmer, it has the sweetie scent to it, which really gives it a lovely feel overall. I’m going to be wearing these loads throughout the warmer months of the year, as they’re not sticky at all, and are also lightweight.

I didn’t intend on buying any games whilst I was on holiday, but alas I did… Oops!

• Nintendo 3DS games – New Style Boutique 2 Fashion Forward and Cooking Mama Bon Appetit!

I wasn’t going to buy any games whilst on holiday… Even though I was looking for the Style Boutique game the day after arriving. I had downloaded the demo to play whilst there, and I fell in love with the game after finishing the demo. I didn’t buy it until a couple of days before we were due to go home, and I paid hardly anything on it too! It costs £28.00, but over there it only cost me €27.99, which I thought was pretty decent. A day later I went back to the electronic shop I bought the first game from and picked up a Cooking Mama game. I loved Cooking Mama when it first came out, so to be able to play a newer version of the series made me happy, and I paid even less for it than Style Boutique. It only cost me €21.99. I didn’t bring the games boxes back to the UK with me, instead I just bought the game chips with me, which is of course what you can spy in the picture above.

In the part of the island we live in/stayed in they have their market every Tuesday and Saturday from 10am until 2pm, so we had to go and have a quick mooch around before we were due to come home. We went on the last Tuesday we were there, and within an hour we were done looking around, and buying things for ourselves, as well as for other people. I bought myself a little something, and my dad bought me and my mom a few things too.

• Black Baggy Genie Pants/Trousers

This is what I ended up buying for myself. I saw one of the waitresses wearing some pants similar to these, and I fell in love with them, so I knew I had to find myself something similar. These were only €10.00 which is cheap as chips! I wish I had bought another pair now, but alas I left it to just one pair. I wore them loads the last couple of days we were on holiday, and I knew I would be bringing them home with me. They’re pretty thin so they’ll be good if I just want to quickly pop out to run errands, and especially great for summer days, and evenings out with friends.

• Rainbow Scarf

This was another purchase from the market, and one my dad bought for me. He wanted to buy my mom something nice to bring home for her, and the only thing he could think of getting her was a scarf. You could buy one scarf for €7.00, or two for €20.00 so he offered to get me one too. I couldn’t really find much I was after, but when I spotted this scarf I knew I had to have it. I used to love anything with a rainbow pattern on, have done since I was a kid. I don’t know why to be honest. Since getting home I’ve been wearing this scarf for my new job, and it’s really lovely.

• Michael Kors Small Riley Satchel in Navy

I didn’t buy this, but it was a gift from my parents, bought whilst me and my dad were on holiday. It’s an early Christmas present, and I would have bought it myself but it was pretty expensive, and since buying all my Christmas presents before I went on holiday I was pretty skint… This bag was really cheap too, and before anyone assumes it must be fake it is NOT. It is very much real. This originally cost €294.00 but with 30% off it went down to €210.00. This in pounds made it £152.00, a complete steal for a Michael Kors bag, especially when this is meant to cost £260.00 (in John Lewis) it was a really good price! So far I’ve been using it since the last couple of days of holiday, and so far at work and I love it. It’s a small bag, but it fits loads in there, and it fits in all the things I need and that’s it! I picked it up in the colour navy, even though they had it in a nude shade too. I would have loved it in red or purple to be honest, but beggars can’t be choosers and quite frankly navy is gorgeous anyway! I will be writing a post about this bag before the New Year, so keep your eyes peeled for it.

But that is all I picked up whilst I was on holiday! I don’t think I did too bad to be perfectly honest, as I could have bought more. I did also buy some presents for my mom, and a couple of things for my boyfriend, and my friends.

I had a lovely holiday though, and being able to treat myself after graduating from university was really good to do.

I doubt I’ll be treating myself anytime soon… Well maybe not until the Boxing Day sales anyway, or my birthday!

Have any of you bought yourself some little treats at all in the lead up to Christmas? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all, and I hope you’ve all had a great week so far.

July Favourites 2014

I can’t believe it’s August already and I also can’t believe it’s been raining. I started writing this post up on Friday and literally sighed after each time that I looked out the window, how dramatic huh?

This months favourites are pretty summery, which is to be expected after all the lovely weather we’ve been having the past month. Fingers crossed this rain passes so we have some more.

There are quite a lot of new products featured on here that I’ve either only just reviewed or really need to get round to reviewing, sooo if you see anything you would like to see being reviewed, PLEASE let me know in the comments!

This post is going up later than my usual favourites posts, but I’ve just been so busy and such that I sadly didn’t get time to post this until today. Oh well, better late than never!

Image taken from thebodyshop.co.uk

• The Body Shop Banana Shampoo.

The reason this is a picture taken from The Body Shop’s website and not an actual photo of said product is because I don’t actually own this shampoo… But my boyfriend does. I bought him this just before we went to Bristol in June as part of his anniversary present and to this day he has loved it. Whenever I stay at his house I use this shampoo and it really does leave my hair feeling soft and smooth, as well as looking healthy. The most appealing thing to me about this shampoo is the smell! It smells like real bananas, which makes me happy, as (random fact!) I’m actually allergic to bananas and due to this I often have to avoid banana things that contain actual bananas, just incase they cause me to flare up. However I gladly discovered in Bristol that this shampoo doesn’t set off any allergic reactions, so since then I’ve used this on and off. I do intend to buy my own bottle of this soon, when however, I don’t know! This is for all hair types and I really do recommend it, especially if you love the smell of banana as much as I do!

• The Body Shop Body Sorbet in Strawberry.

When I heard about this coming out well before June, I KNEW I needed it in my life! As much as I love having soft skin, like pretty much most women out there I loathe moisturising. It can take ages (well 10 minutes for myself) and never wants to sink in as quickly as well all hope. I have found moisturisers that DO sink in, as well as the patience to apply them, but during the recent hot summer days it just feels too hot and clammy to wear any moisturiser. However, The Body Shop have brought out their Body Sorbet’s just in time! These cooling moisturisers help keep your skin soft and smooth, as well as cool feeling and smelling gorgeous. They come in 5 scents and the one I picked up was Strawberry, my favourite Body Shop scent. You can read my full review for this here, but I have  loved using this throughout July and I know I’ll continue to enjoy it throughout the rest of the year, not just during summer.

• Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy EDP.

This is the only celebrity fragrance I currently own and is by far one of my favourite fragrances to wear. It smells gorgeous and lasts all day and for an 100ml bottle it costs just £19.99, bargain eh? But anyhoo, as to why I like this in the first place… When the weather is really warm I often reach for stronger perfumes and this is probably one of the first ones I will reach for, for many reasons. Not only is it a strong perfume but it also smells of blueberries, which is a really nice for the summertime, I think anyway. I’m near the end of my massive 100ml bottle, so I am going to be buying a new bottle really soon as I can’t really live without it. I love wearing this for work as well as over the weekend as it’s just a lovely perfume to use to keep you smelling beautiful all day long.

• The Body Shop Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet.

I heard about this coming out over the pond in America because it had even hit shelves over here in the UK the same time as the Body Sorbet and I have to say how much I love this stuff! I was hesitant to purchasing it, even after testing it out in store (and admittedly falling in love with it) I didn’t feel it was worth the price tag of £12. However I walked around town for a while after trying it and decided that it was actually something I needed in my life, even for £12. The sorbet is both cooling and very hydrating for the skin, as well as that it’s also meant to leave your skin with a matte finish too, which is pretty much what my skin needs, as it’s combination. I already know I’ll be re-purchasing this moisturiser, and will be writing a review up of it very soon! My skin has improved so much since using it.

• Benefit Benebalm Hydrating Tinted Lip Balm.

I can’t remember when these came out, but I remember reading about them being released and I was so damn excited! There are four of them to choose from and when I went shopping with my friend Poppy back in June in Milton Keynes, we popped into Boots and my advantage points were burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to treat myself to this lip balm and I’m really glad I did! It was a tough choice between Benebalm, Lollibalm and Chachabalm, but I love my reds so this one won! This lip balm is super hydrating and lasts for ages. It’s been a staple for long close shifts at work, where I’m usually too busy to get a chance to keep reapplying lip products. It’s nice worn alone or underneath/over a red lipstick. I’ve teamed it with my Lush Santa Baby Lip Tint (review here) quite a lot throughout June and it’s worked really well! I’ll definitely be reviewing this soon, as well as buying the other balms in future.

• MAC Goddess of the Sea Lipstick.

As many will know, this lipstick is from the Alluring Aquatic collection and one I snapped up pretty much before it was due to be taken off the shelves forever. I was going to buy this lipstick in Bristol after swatching it the first day I was there, but by Monday it was taken off of the shelves and I was told it was no longer available to buy. Fast forward a week or two later and I had it in my possession! I picked it up from the MAC counter in Birmingham’s Selfridges and the woman who sold it me was so lovely! Anyhoo… This shade is gorgeous! A dark violet-purple and due to it being a cremesheen it is perfect to wear during the summertime, as it feels comfortable and the colour just works perfectly! I’ve been wearing this loads during my time off work, as well as in work. I’ve had many compliments on it and upon telling customers it was by MAC they just sighed and said, “I can’t afford MAC!” oh dear. xD But anyhoo… This WILL be reviewed in the future, probably one of the days this month. I can’t wait to review it quite frankly as this has fast turned into one of my favourite MAC lipsticks and I wish I had picked up two of these now so that I had a spare for the future.

• Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me.

As my previous reviews of Baby Lips show (Mint Fresh review and Pink Punch review), I’ve owned these lip balms before and whilst I loved them at first, I slowly grew for forget their existence and for a while they just sat in the bottom of my handbag gathering handbag dust. However everyone has always ranted and raved about Cherry Me the most, including my closest friends. SO I decided to pick it up for myself to see what was so great about it, and I really do love this lip balm. It reminds me so much of Nivea’s Lip Balm in Cherry, which I used to own and use every moment of the day when I was at school. I remember it well and the scent just reminds me of that time. I pretty much just have this lip balm for work to apply to my dark and red lipsticks, it works beautifully over Rebel, for example. I can see this being my go to lip balm for winter time mind as it tastes gorgeous, smells gorgeous too and is lovely to wear and quick to apply! Another product I’ll be reviewing soon!

• Simple Kind To Eyes Soothing Eye Balm.

This is an eye balm I have gone back to time and time again and this is it. It’s always been gentle on the skin around my eyes, as well as doing what it actually should. Other eye balms don’t compete against this one, price tag included on that! I’m just glad to have this back in my beauty regime as it’s just something I can’t really live without. In this warm and humid weather it can make my eyes feel very dry and tired, but this eye balm leaves them feeling cool and awakened, which is definitely what I need for early starts at work! A roller ball eye gel would work wonders too, but I never find these work as well as they should. I definitely recommend this one though if you’re after something cheap and cheerful, which will actually do what it says on the tin.

• Ciate Nail Polish in Pillow Fight.

This was a freebie in Marie Claire magazine back in June and I picked up two of these magazines for the nail polishes. I wrote about the first Ciate set I picked up, but I managed to get myself another set, which included Pillow Fight. Pillow Fight is a gorgeous purpley grey nail polish and something different, that I knew I needed to have in my collection for autumn and winter. This being said I have been wearing it a lot over the course of June and it has worked beautifully with some glitter nail polish too! I would definitely and probably will in the future buy the full size version of this, as it’s just too gorgeous not to keep in my collection.

• The Body Shop Hand Cleanse Gel in Strawberry.

I love scented hand sanitizers and whilst I love my Pocketbac’s, they’re too pricey to keep using 24/7, so I opt for The Body Shop’s versions instead. I’ve pretty much tried all of them bar a couple and my most recently used one is Strawberry, which has fast become one of my favourites. I keep these in my handbag to use whilst on the go, as well as for work and I always get lovely compliments about how gorgeous they smell, mainly from my manager who can always smell when I’ve used it! They usually have their hand sanitizers on 3 for 2, so I always pick some up whenever I pop into The Body Shop!

So those are my favourites for July! What products did you enjoy using last month? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you had a great weekend!