2014’s Top 10 Favourites

Image taken from weheartit.com

This is a post that is long overdue, and I’m finally getting the time to write it! As regular readers will know I’ve been away on holiday the past two weeks so any posts I usually have up on my blog at the start of each month, haven’t really been there this month. Great start to the year eh?

But better late than never eh?

I’m going to show my top ten favourites from the year and there might be a few from 2013, but I don’t care. If it’s a good product, I’m mentioning it!

• Garnier Pure Active Wasabi Fresh Face Scrub.

I’ve mentioned this on my favourites in the past and it has definitely been a great scrub to add to my bathroom in 2014! It’s actually for men, but this works perfectly on my female, sensitive skin so I’m not complaining. My boyfriend uses this too and I noticed a dramatic change in his skin, so it isn’t just me who noticed how good it is. This isn’t the cheapest scrub but I’ve owned this for months now, I use it twice a week and it’s still lasting me ages. There is also a face wash to go with the scrub but I won’t be trying it, maybe my boyfriend will in the future. Since using this scrub I’ve noticed any dry patches on my face have vanished and any signs of blackheads have dramatically evaporated. I highly recommend this scrub, even if you have sensitive skin like I do.

• Lush Comforter Bubble Bar.

I love Lush, regular readers will know this. I bought this bubble bar for the first time months ago when I went to Bristol for mine and my boyfriends first anniversary and it’s safe to say I have fallen in love with it. I’d always smelt it in the shop and loved it’s replica smell of Ribena but as soon as I eyed the price I left it. I regret never buying it until 2014 as this bubble bar lasts ages! The scent is so strong that you only need a little chunk and it’ll go a long way. I’ve found myself getting a good six baths out of one bar, some may prefer to use the whole bar in one bath or two halves to make two baths but I’m quite stingy with my Lush products and I like to make them last. This is really good for the skin and not only does it leave me feeling nice and soft, but it leaves me smelling gorgeous too! I love using this on days where I’m having a lazy day in the house and want a pick me up. It’s also nice to use before you go to sleep as when you get under the covers you can smell it for ages. This is definitely going to be a bath staple for me now.

• Easy Nails Fast & Fruity Nail Polish Remover.

This is by far one of the best nail polish remover pots I have ever used and that includes Bourjois too. Bourjois nail polish remover pot was the first one I tried and for how much it cost, I was incredibly disappointed. I’ve recently got it back out of my nail polish drawer to try and use up as I’m sick of the sight of it now. For less than a £1 you can pick up the Easy Nails pot and it does a hell of a lot more than the Bourjois one has ever done. I pop my finger in, twist it back and forth ten times and I’ll pull it out as clean as the nail was before I applied the polish on the nail. I stock up on these as soon as my current one feels dry. With glitter nail polish I don’t find it works as well as the aluminum foil technique does (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google it. But I will write about this technique very soon) but I don’t want it to get rid of glitter polish. It’s just so great to use and quick too. I wish I had taken one on holiday with me as it would have come in handy when I painted my nails there.

• The Body Shop Vitamin E Aqua Boost Sorbet.

I’ve written a review for this before and whilst I’ve now replaced this with Clinique, I still loved it in 2014 and would be lying if I said otherwise. This was perfect during the summer and my prayers were answered when it came out as it was boiling outside and this really did cool me down. As well as that it left my skin feeling super moisturised and feeling soft. This was rumoured to have some sort of matte texture to it, but I didn’t really notice that myself. I took this on holiday with me and it really did keep my skin feeling cool, soft as well as feeling good in the evenings. This is great to use both in summer and winter but I do find the benefits of the cooling sensation work a hell of a lot better when the weather is warmer. If you want to read more about this, definitely check out the review for it!

• Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm.

Another product I’ve reviewed  and used time and time again. I’m currently using it as it’s my go to lip balm whilst I’m in the house. I first tried this after attending VintSetFest and this was in my goodie bag. I’d heard nothing but good things about Carmex but never really thought to use them before but now I love them! I even bought the strawberry flavour not long after getting the original one, which I haven’t loved as much but it’s still good and what I used whilst I was on holiday. I probably won’t buy another one of these for a while just because I want to use my current lip balms up, but I think the next one I will try out will either be cherry or mint.

• The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector.

I’ve mentioned this hand cream many times and a year later I’m still using the same tube! This tube really is huge and a little bit of this hand cream does go a long way. As this one is for dry to very dry skin it’s perfect for when my hands begin to show signs of eczema and so far my hands haven’t had any issues… Well apart from when I landed in the UK from my holiday, my one knuckle split. Hello cold weather, much? I use this before I head out and whilst I’m out and about, as I often use other hand creams in the house. I definitely recommend this hand cream to anyone who suffers with eczema like myself.

• MAC Lipstick in Goddess of the Sea.

This is the last MAC lipstick I bought and it’s definitely one of my favourites. It’s a gorgeous purple shade and is cremesheen so it not only lasts ages but looks slightly glossy too. I can’t wait to try this underneath my new Estee Lauder lip liner as I’m sure it’ll look beautiful. I have used it with a dark purple lip liner and it looks really dark and gothic, which I rather like. I especially love the packaging for this due to the water effect, something I am a huge nerd of (I love water!) so this appealed a lot when I went to buy it. I don’t wear this shade as much as I do with some of my MAC lipsticks because it’s limited edition. I think if I find it somewhere cheap I’ll definitely buy myself a back up.

• Viktor & Rolf BonBon EDP.

Since the start of 2014 when bloggers started to announce the release of these and tell us all the notes and how yummy it smelt I was excited. So when it finally came out in the UK and on the shelves to test out and buy, I gave it a sniff as soon as I could. I fell in love with it, but however I didn’t fall in love with the price and for ages I put off buying it. However before I went to uni I decided it was time to use the points I earn at work to use to buy this, so this cost me NOTHING, not a single penny! I took this on holiday with me and was lovely to wear on days when I wanted something light, but powerful enough to last all evening. If you haven’t smelt this yet, please make sure to as it’s not like anything that is out there at the moment, plus the bottle is adorable.

• Macadamia No Tangle Brush.

I’ve owned this brush over a year now and it’s by far the best brush I have ever owned. I got it for £10 at VintSetFest and since then I’ve not replaced it, although I do need to buy another one asap as this one is getting a little battered now. It’s a no tangle brush, as the title states so it helps me to brush my long hair without ripping, causing damage, or causing any pain to myself. It also feels really nice to use due to the soft bristles. I especially like that this has a handle as it’s easier to hold and means I can have control whilst brushing my hair, unlike brushes like Tangle Teezer’s. I definitely recommend this brush over the Tangle Teezer.

• OPI Nail Lacquer in How Is Your Dane?

This is by far my favourite nail polish by OPI that I own and there’s a couple of reasons why. First of all the name, which is shared by my boyfriend, who is called Dane. I of course love the shade too, which is a beautiful chocolate-brown shade with a gel like finish. I was going to wear this on holiday but decided against it incase it got ruined due to the heat, or any other reasons. This is definitely the perfect polish to wear throughout autumn and winter, but will be nice to wear throughout all of the year. I like to wear it with glitter nail polish, as well as with a matte top coat to give it a different finish.

So those are my top ten favourite products from 2014! There are already so many more things I’ve found for my top ten for 2015 already.

What were your favourites from 2014? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care all.

September Favourites 2014

I know this post is a week late, but as they say, better late than never!

It’s late because I’ve honestly just been too busy to do any writing, although I managed to get my wish list written okay… I put that down to picture-taking though!

So finally my favourites post is here and I really have loved September. It wasn’t so bad and even involved a fresh start that I’ve needed for a long time! I’ve been at university for three weeks now and whilst I am extremely nervous, I am really enjoying it.

Without further delay, my favourites!

• N SPA Cherry Body Scrub.

After using up my body scrub I decided it was time to buy a replacement and whilst I wanted to buy a nice one for myself (The Body Shop, or Soap & Glory) I opted for this one by N Spa, to try and save myself a few pennies. I bought this one and a Raspberry one, which I am yet to try. This body scrub I at first thought would be rubbish but alas I was wrong and it’s turned out better than I thought it would be! There’s a few things I really like about this, first of all the fact it lathers up when applied to the skin! I use it with my sponge and it really does leave me feeling soft after use, but what else is great about this is how it smells delicious! Although I do sway more towards citrus and strawberry scents, I am a total sucker for cherry too and this is a nice black cherry scent that any cherry scent fan will fall in love with. N Spa is a great and affordable brand and I recommend it to anyone fancying trying something new.

• Simple Anti-Bacterial Hand Wash.

I know I used to say last year and the start of this year how after finding Dettol’s hand wash I would NEVER use another hand wash due to my eczema, but I have broadened my horizons lately, as regular readers will know and this is a hand wash I HAVE used in the past and had problems with. This is a mint scented hand wash and due to that I was already sold, the anti-bacterial  side of it was just a bonus really! However when I used this about a year ago my hands were left tight, dry, and extremely sore and due to it my eczema was worse than it needed to be! I vowed never to use it again, but I didn’t keep it. Recently my mom decided to bring this into the kitchen for us to use and as I thought it would be better for my hands than fairy liquid, I reluctantly started to use it. My hands have been nothing but soft and not exactly perfect, but not as bad as they originally were with previous uses of this hand wash and I was pleasantly surprised! So I decided to pick one up for myself and I am glad I did, especially for a £1! I recommend it, especially in the run up to Christmas as the mint scent really does remind me of the time of year.

• Dolly Mixtures Shower Gel in Pina Colada.

Dolly Mixtures is a new brand that Asda have brought into their stores and I have wanted to buy all the shower gels they sell, but as I don’t have the room, nor the money to buy them all I decided to just pick up one instead, which is Pina Colada. I’m a sucker for the drink, as it’s my favourite cocktail and I love pineapple and coconut scents, especially together. I wanted a bog standard shower gel to use before work and this one was the perfect choice! The scent really uplifts me and wakes me up in the mornings before I head to work, and the way this leaves my skin feeling and smelling is divine! At the time of buying this it was on offer at £1, but it retails for £2, which is definitely worth the money! As soon as this runs out I’m going to buy another scent to try! I can see me buying these for friends this Christmas as they’re really nice and for the price, a real sweet treat!

• Garnier Pure Active Wasabi Fresh Face Scrub.

This was a spontaneous purchase as my Soap & Glory face scrub finally saw its last day and I threw the rest of it away, I think I’d have it nearly 2 years and with a shelf life of just a year, I wasn’t going to risk using it anymore! I had a look at loads of face scrubs during a visit to Tesco and this one was half price so I had a look and decided to buy it. The day after buying I decided to give it a go and it was amazing! It foamed up, which I really like in a face scrub and just felt like it was really working to cleanse my skin, as well as wash away any dead skin, as well as clear my blackheads. After using it I decided to read the back of the tube a little more than I had done in the shop and as I read  more I read how it is formulated for men. YES, MEN! I bought a man’s face scrub and you’re probably shaking your heads at me or laughing, but does it really matter who it’s made for? I don’t think so and since using it my skin has really improved and even my boyfriends has too! I really want to try the face wash next as if the scrub has left my skin looking good, then I’m sure the wash will too.

• Maybelline Color Elixir in Fuchsia Flourish (review here).

I have never loved a lip product as much as I love Maybelline’s Color Elixir’s! I want to get more shades yet but out of the three I bought this one has been the most worn and therefore most loved. It’s a gorgeous dark pink and is wearable day-to-night and leaves a lovely subtle stain behind. I have really enjoyed wearing this for work but I’ve also loved wearing it for university too as it’s easy to apply, leaves your lips feeling soft and nourished as well as giving your lips a pop of colour. If you want to know more about it, go and read my review, it’s been linked in the title.

• Chapstick in Apple.

I LOVE apple Chapstick and when I spied 4 of these for a £1 in Pound World I decided to get myself some! This is probably my favourite lip balm ever as it smells and tastes delicious, just like fresh apples and keeps your lips soft and smooth, can’t really complain with that! I have really enjoyed using this at university as traveling to and from uni, as well as to and from lectures I sometimes just want to keep my lips hydrated instead of looking colourful so the days that I don’t wear lipstick/gloss there this lip balm comes in handy. Plus I love wearing it at work too!

• Simple Moisture Boost Hydro Mist Spray.

I bought this for uni and it’s really been a savior to use after work whilst I make my way to university! It really does refresh my face and I even use it throughout the day and after work even if I don’t have uni. I’ve never used it before and whilst it was half price I thought I would pick it up, as I have wanted to try it since it came out. I really like Simple’s products as they’re perfect for my sensitive skin and never break me out or cause any issues on my skin. With the moisture boost it really does help bring some moisture into the skin and refresh your skin after a long day. It’s really nice to use after a hot bath because of that too, as well as after using a face scrub or face mask. I recommend it if you’re busy like me and want something to freshen the skin up whilst on the go!

• The Body Shop Strawberry Hand Cream.

I had the coconut hand cream on my favourites last month and now I have the strawberry one this month! All I’ve been using is the strawberry hand cream as it’s kept my hands lovely and soft, as well as smelling delicious! This isn’t a huge tube either so it fits perfectly into my handbag. It’s just a gorgeous light hand cream that absorbs quickly and leaves my hands feeling soft and smooth! I really need to review these in the future so keep your eyes peeled! I recommend these if you’re like me and don’t like thick, greasy hand creams.

• Viktor & Rolf BonBon EDP.

Oh my life I have been lusting after this perfume ever since it was announced late January and I finally got my hands on it in September! I didn’t have to pay for this 30ml bottle and it was worth £55. It wasn’t a gift and it did cost me something, but not cash. If I explain where I got it from and how I’ll also be talking about my job and where I work, which I don’t wish to do on my blog… ANYWAY I have it now and it’s one of my favourite perfumes! It’s such a gorgeous sweet scent and not only does my Mom love it, but my boyfriend really does too. I’ve already asked for one of these in a 50ml or 100ml for Christmas! I WILL be writing a post about this soon!

• The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Hand Cleanse Gel.

As regular readers will know, I’m a total sucker for The Body Shop’s hand sanitizers and I love to use them for work and keep them in my bag for on the go. I think I’ve tried them all apart from Mango now and this is one of my favourites out of the all! It’s really strong citrus wise and when I use this at work it really does perk me up and wake me up. Like all the hand cleanse gels, it’s a strong scent and as soon as I use it I get comments, positive of course. As usual, I recommend these to everyone to try at least once!

So those were my favourites for September… FINALLY!

I’m sorry for the wait, but sadly my studies for university come first at the moment.

I shall have my empties post up tomorrow though, so don’t worry.

I hope everyone’s week has gone off to a good start and until next time, take care all.

May Wish List

I can’t believe it’s May already, this year is really flying by and I can’t believe in a year I’ve had so much change in my life (will be making a post about this me thinks!).

My wish list for this month isn’t very long I’m afraid as there isn’t much I REALLY want or need… I say need, I never reallllly need anything I add to my wish lists. 😛

So let’s get on with the wish list for this month!

• Dr Martens 1460 Boots in Black – £100.00.

For a long time I had wanted a pair of Dr Martens boots and in 2009/2010I bought my first pair! They were the same style as these ones but they were  patent bright red leather, very much different from these black ones! For a month I never wore them due to the fact they were a size too small. The girl who sold me them stated that I should go down a size due to the fact that they would give way with wear and if I was to buy my actual size they would be far too big. She was a bit of an idiot because these killed my feet to wear which she stated was “normal”. I took these back after a month and bought some black ankle boots instead, which I still love to this day. A couple of years later I bought my Dr Martens Triumph Boots (post about them here) which I’m in love with! As much as I love them mind they’re a tad long and bulky for the warmer months but at the same time I really want to start wearing Docs again and I’m also craving another pair of Docs anyway. Although I also love the red cherry pair, the black pair will go with everything so those are the ones I’m really craving to get right now. A part of me wants to try and pick up a second-hand pair so that they won’t be as much money and they’d also be broken in and look more grunge and awesome… But I shall see!

• Oh Lola EDP by Marc Jacobs. 30ml – £37.00, 50ml – 47.00 & 100ml – 63.00. (FYI you can pick this perfume up cheaper on certain websites online)

As you can see from the picture above I have a couple of perfumes on here that I’m really wanting and this is one of them. For quite a long time now I’ve been craving to get a  Marc Jacobs perfume as they just smell so damn good and last ages on the skin and the one I’ve been finding I like the scent of most is Oh Lola. It’s a gorgeous fruity and floral scent with notes of effervescent raspberry, peony heart and vanilla. I’m not sure what ml I would like, but a 50ml bottle would be lovely as that would be a good size for my handbag, as well as the fact it would keep me going for quite a while! With Marc Jacobs fragrances they not only smell lovely but the bottles themselves looked lovely as well! Oh Lola is a pink bottle and the lid of the bottle is a plastic flower that is three different shades of pink, as well as green to symbolise the flowers leaf. Marc Jacobs perfumes are just wonderful and I would like to own quite a few in my perfume collection!

• DC Vista Snowboarding Jacket – Was £195.00, Now £65.00. (FYI you can pick this perfume up cheaper on certain websites online)

As old readers will know I’m hoping to start snowboarding lessons this year after my boyfriend got me into the sport around the time when we first started going out. If not there’s about it here. I’m needing to get myself some gear together first before I start my lessons and the jacket is one of the main pieces I wish to try and get my hands on next. This jacket is gorgeous and it’s also a very good snowboarding jacket! It’s 10K which means that the jacket will keep me nice and warm, as well as dry. It’s a lovely blue colour that will go well with my snowboarding pants and whilst I don’t have a colour scheme in mind right now, I can see it going down a blue and yellow theme, seeing as my pants are a banana yellow! £65.00 for a DC snowboarding jacket is a very good price and one I don’t see me letting go!

• BONBON EDP by Viktor & Rolf. 30ml – £50.00, 50ml – £68.00 & 90ml – £94.00.

In January this year I heard about this perfume coming out and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited for it! I’m still to smell it and I already know that I will love it already and quite frankly I can’t wait to get my mucky paws on it! I love Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf so I’m pretty sure I would love  BONBON too, especially due to the fact it’s a sweet scent, which is something I love, especially during the spring and summer. The notes for this perfume sound so sweet that I doubt I’ll have a sweet tooth whilst wearing it! The main note is caramel, which is said to be the first thing people notice when they smell this perfume, as well as some citrus and musky notes such as sandalwood and amber. Not only does it sound delicious but the bottle is incredibly adorable too! It’s a dark pink bottle in the shape of a bow, which just makes it look so quirky and cute and reminds me of something you would buy when you’re a teenager. This perfume is definitely something to bring out the young teenager in all women and I’m super excited to finally give this a smell later on today!

• Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel in Chocolate Truffle and Espresso – £6.49 each.

When I first heard about these I wasn’t too fussed about them due to the fact that there are or have been so many scented nail polishes around before that it didn’t seem like anything new or special for that matter, however the last weekend of April consisted of me popping into Boots with my boyfriend so that he could pick up a late Mother’s Day present and whilst he was paying for his goods I went to have a mooch at the make up, including the Parfumerie collection. On the stand they had some little paper stickers that were scented to the nail polish the were in front of. Not all of them had these but the ones that did smelt gorgeous! Sadly Chocolate Truffle and Espresso weren’t there but that doesn’t bother me, I’m sure I’ll get to smell them eventually. I have looked at swatches and reviews of both of these shades and the colours themselves have been praised, but the scent, not so much on some occasions. Chocolate Truffle is a gorgeous dark chocolate-brown shade, which looks gorgeous and would make a nice change to a dark blue or even a black! Espresso is a black glossy shade and whilst I have black shades, you can’t go wrong with a black shade that smells of coffee, even though that’s all I smell all day at work! Either way at £6.49 each I can see me picking one of these up, more likely Chocolate Truffle.

• Love Hearts and Crosses Silver Origami Fox Necklace and Ring – £12.99 each.

The final item on my wish list is one I discovered literally two days before this post was due to be up on my blog and a jolly good find at that! I only own 2 necklaces and I don’t really wear either. One was a 21st birthday present from someone and is a Storm necklace and another is one my Mom bought me, which has been featured on my blog before. It’s a red locket with a silver chain and the reason I don’t wear it much is when I get anxious I faff and fiddle with it which tends to annoy myself, as well as other people. The only piece of jewellery I wear really is my Pandora bracelet, which I love dearly! When I stumbled across this necklace on Love Hearts and Crosses I fell in love with it instantly! They have all sorts of animals to choose from including a rabbit, elephant, fox (which is the one I’ll be talking about), hummingbird and there’s one called bunny rabbit too I don’t know if this is meant to be for rabbit but I’ll mention it anyway. They also come in 3 colours, gold, rose gold and silver which is the one I’d opt for and finally you can get each animal on a bracelet, as earrings, a necklace or a ring. Upon having a closer look at the Fox Ring too, I have decided I really like the look of that too, it’s light and delicate looking and something I would proudly wear on middle finger. BUT onto the design of the Fox itself. As the name suggests and the pictures show it’s shaped like an origami fox and it just looks really quirky and different from what you would normally find. The only flaw with the necklace and ring is that they aren’t real silver and excuse me sounding snobby, but I only really want real silver. I’ve bought fake silver in the past and it’s often turned my skin green as well as turning green itself and that’s not something I really like, or want for that matter. But for £12.99 I can’t complain and for the necklace I can always pick up a real silver chain if I do so wish. This might be something I pick up before my weekend holiday in June… Keep eyes peeled for details about that!

So that was my wish list for May! I know it’s nothing exciting or special but I really can’t think of all that much I want at the moment. My number 1 item on this wish list is probably the Dr Martens, or one of the perfumes… I’d have them all if I had the money! 😛

What are you lusting after this month? Let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and have a great weekend. 🙂