May Favourites 2015

Wow, where have the past five months gone? It’s now June and that means we’re also halfway through the year. Roll on Christmas huh? But before then, I want some nice sunshine!

I found my favourites for this month a little hard to choose, but that’s mostly because I’ve been so busy and such with my assignments this month that I haven’t had much thought about what I have been using a lot. But when I walk around my bathroom and bedroom, I soon found some beauty bits I loved throughout the  month.

• Paul Smith Rose EDP.

This is an old favourite of mine and something I love using throughout the year. I’ve recently started to use it again and I really did miss it. I can’t remember the last time I used it to be fair! This is my second bottle of this after receiving another for my 24th birthday last year. It’s a gorgeous strong scent that will last ages! I always get complimented when I wear this and due to that it reminds me of my gran. Whenever I wore this she always commented how lovely I smelt. So whenever I wear it, I instantly think of her. For how nice this perfume is, you can pick it up super cheap as a 100ml size! Less than £30 in some shops, one being Asda.

• Balance Me Tinted Lip Salve in Ruby Red.

I actually received this as a free sample in a copy of Glamour a couple of months ago and at first I used it loads as it was a nice product to apply if I just wanted a bit of a tint. However I didn’t touch it for ages until a few weeks ago. I love using this for work as it’s a multiple use lip product. It hydrates and tints the lips and is also petroleum free, which I really like! I got a full sized tube, which is worth £12! These come in other shades too, but I do really like the red shade. It isn’t a bright red when applied to the lips, sort of like a tomato red, but I really like it if I’m not in the mood for anything heavy.

• OPI Nail Lacquer in This Color’s Making Waves (from the Hawaii Collection).

This is a nail lacquer I have lusting over for a couple of months now and I finally have it! I already know I’ll be buying a bigger bottle of this before it’s discontinued as I just adore it. When I first wore it I fell in love, not just as the gorgeous turquoise shade, but also how nice it made my nails look! I’m not a huge fan of my nails as they’re rather stubby and boyish looking, but when I apply certain polishes they can look gorgeous. This lacquer is one of those. The formula is great to work with too which I really liked. I can see me rocking this throughout summer, hell even autumn, winter, and spring. It’s probably one of my favourite nail lacquers already!

• Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro Lipstick in Liberty.

I mentioned recently in a haul (here) about picking up two of the shades from the Iconic Pro collection, this being one of them. It’s a gorgeous blue toned purple that reminds me of MAC’s Violetta lipstick. Although I also picked up another purple shade (Liberty Matte) I found that this one is a little more wearable when it come to work. I love wearing bright lip colours, and the braver I get, the bolder the lip colours have become. Next I’ll be trying black! 😉 Anyway, this is a gorgeous purple lipstick and although it doesn’t last as long as I’d hoped, it still looks and feels gorgeous when I wear it. The only thing I haven’t been liking about these lipsticks are the smell. It reminds me of PlayDoh which we can all agree, isn’t very nice.

• Garnier Pure Active 3-in-1 Wash Scrub & Mask.

I wouldn’t say I would replace my Clinique face wash for this, but I am pretty hooked on this! As the title of the product states, it’s a wash, scrub, and a mask. What more can you ask for? I will say, I don’t understand how this works as a wash and a scrub but meh it does I guess. I use this once or twice a week as a scrub and once or twice a week as a mask. The mask works really well as getting rid of my oily t-zone and leaves my dry cheeks feeling moisturised and soft. I’ve always struggled when it comes to face masks, but I think I’m onto a winner with this one. As a scrub, it doesn’t scrub as much as I’d have hoped, but it does the job alright for me, so I can’t complain. I don’t know if I’ll repurchase this one yet, as I like to shop around for the perfect product. We shall see though.

So those were my favourites for May. Have you tried any of the products I mentioned? Also, what are your favourites for this month? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all.

Spring Tag!

Image taken from weheartit.com

I love spring, it means the weather is beginning to get warmer and lighter nights are just around the corner. Since getting back from my holiday I’ve been lusting after warmer weather and not needing to layer up and wear my parka. I just want to wear my pleather jacket again, as well as my dresses and playsuits.

It’s officially spring today! So what better way to start off spring 2015 on my blog, than a spring tag!

1. Favorite spring nail polish?
I like my cream and pastel shades for spring, and I’ll definitely be wearing my Models Own Speckled polishes (post about them here). They remind me of Mini Eggs, which I love. As well as that I’ll probably be wearing my Illamasqua Raindrops (review here) polish as I love that shade for spring too.

2. What is your must-have lip color this spring?
I’m swaying towards pinks this spring, mostly nude pinks as I’ve recently got into wearing this shade and I really like it. As well as that I always like to rock a hot pink shade too. You can’t go wrong with pink! One I’ll probably wear a lot is Miley Cyrus’ Viva Glam lipstick (review here).

3. Show us your favorite spring dress!
I have so many favourites! I love my Dr. Martens dress (lookbook here), as well as my Miss Selfridge playsuit which I wore on holiday and will continue to wear in the spring and summer in the UK. Here are some pictures of both dresses…

4. What’s your favorite flower?
I don’t reallllly like flowers to be honest and I put this down to having hayfever… But if I had to choose one it would probably be sunflowers and lilies.

5. Favorite spring scarf/accessory?
Favourite spring scarf is definitely my white skull one that I bought three years ago (wow time flies!). It’s light and perfect to wear with dresses in the spring and summer.

6. What spring trend(s) are you most excited about this year? (Makeup, fashion or both!)
I am really liking the look of the 70’s trend, as I find the style that was out then was pretty nice and looked lovely. When it comes to make up and hair, I don’t really bother with those trends as I just wear my hair how I want to, and same with my lipstick too. Clothes wise, I am in desperate need of a make over! So I may go down the 70’s route!

Image taken from weheartit.com

7. Favorite spring candle?
I’ll burn anything throughout the year, but I think out of all my Yankee Candles the candles I’ll be burning most throughout spring will be Sweet Strawberry and Sweet Apple (post about them both here). They’re perfect for spring and smell delicious too. They’re simple too which is great for spring.

8. Favorite body spray/perfume for spring?
Ooo this is a tough one as I have so many I like to wear throughout the year. I think a few that I really like are Paul Smith Rose, DKNY MYNY, Marc Jacobs Oh Lola, Gucci Envy Me, and Lancome Miracle. They’re all light and floral and citrus scents which work lovely for spring.

9. What is spring like where you live?
Erm… It depends I suppose but usually wet! It rains a lot in the UK as it is, but it seems to rain more during spring than any other month. The thing I like about spring in the UK is how great it is to go into the countryside and awe over all the baby animals, as well as take in the sights. I especially love seeing cherry blossom trees.

Image taken from weheartit.com

10. What’s your favorite thing about spring?
Baby animals and cherry blossom trees for sure! They just both make me happy, especially when it comes to photography too. I also like how lighter nights come around and you can go out in the evenings with friends, family, partner, etc and just enjoy yourselves for longer. It’s also nice how it gets a little warmer out too.

11. Are you a spring cleaner?
Sometimes, not like hardcore but I would like to do a lot of spring cleaning this year. I’ve done a little already with my clothes, but I need to do some more. There’s probably loads of junk I could chuck away out of my room!

12. Any plans for spring break or an upcoming vacation?
We don’t have spring break in the UK, but we do get Easter break. I’m not at uni during this time for two weeks and throughout that time I’ll be working, as well as doing my uni work. I may also use it to do my spring cleaning and have a bit of me and blog time. I won’t have any holiday’s coming up, but I would love to go out for a day somewhere nice for my boyfriends birthday, which is just after the Easter holiday’s.

Image taken from weheartit.com

So that was the Spring Tag! I really enjoyed doing it, and I hope my readers have enjoyed reading it.

Who do I tag? EVERYONE! If you take part in this tag, please link me back to said post via a comment so I can come and read it.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you all have a good weekend.

October Favourites 2014

October, where did you go? If I thought September went quickly than October just went by in the blink of an eye. Can’t believe it’s November but I’m not going to complain! I for one am super excited for Christmas, and I’m also super excited for my holiday.

I have to say I do apologise for being quiet on my blog for over 2 weeks now but I have been pretty busy. I’ve been busy trying to juggle having a social life, having a boyfriend, having a job and also having my university course. My personal life and such like that come first and sadly my blog will just have to be put on the side until I get a change to write-up a post.

Although before and during December I will either be posting regular or only once a week as I need to get 5 assignments finished by the start of January, which will suck, but totally worth it!

I do hope you enjoy my favourites this month, I have a few new bits and pieces in here as well as some old favourites… Enjoy!

ALSO I want to apologise for how CRAP these images look. They aren’t the best and I took these late at night and i thought the settings on my camera were okay.

• Yankee Candle in Fireside Treats.

Like most people out there I love my candles and now that it’s autumn (and soon to be winter) I’m burning as many as possible! I bought this one at the start of October and since then I have loved it each time I’ve burnt it. It was one of the two fragrances of the month and due to that it was only £14.99 for the large jar instead of £19.99, bargain huh? Considering I have wanted this ever since it came out 1-2 years ago, I’m glad I was finally able to pick it up for a great price. It smells sweet but not over the top, sickly sweet but more of a subtle sweet scent. I like this as it means I can burn it for hours on end and it won’t get to the back of my throat, nor will it give me a headache. I’ve been enjoying burning this during the late afternoons and evenings whilst I do my work for university and chill out.

• Paul Smith Rose EDP.

I love this perfume and I have done since I discovered it back in my final year of university. I remember my Mom buying it and ending up not liking it as much as she originally did, so she gave it to me and for about two years it became my signature scent. Sadly it ran out and I was without it for a good year, until my Mom bought me a new bottle for my 24th birthday this year. Since then I have been using it on and off, but throughout October it’s been the number one choice for work and some days at university. It’s a gorgeous deep floral scent that lasts ages and smells so lovely on the skin. This is a very romantic scent and due to how deep it is, it works better during the colder months than the warmers ones. I can’t wait to wear this more throughout winter.

• The Body Shop Satsuma Shower Gel.

I’ve owned this shower gel for quite a while now, never going to use it until all my other shower gels were used up. So when I looked into my shower cupboard and saw this at the back, I decided it was time to start using it. I want to say how my boyfriends loves this! Whenever he stays over at mine it’s pretty much the only shower gel he’ll use and at once point I was contemplating giving it to him. He recently finished his huge bottle of the strawberry shower gel and I can tell it was very much-loved. ANYWAY This smells really fresh and the citrus from the satsuma really does come through every time I use this. Due to this it really does wake you up when you use this, so I love to use this mostly in the mornings to get me going for the day, and even in the evenings to perk me up. This leaves my skin feeling lovely and clean as well as feeling smooth and smelling lovely! Although I love this, I doubt I would buy it again mind as I much prefer the strawberry shower gel but also because I want to try out some new things in 2015. Just to let you know these huge bottles are once again in The Body Shop’s sale at just £8 a bottle, AND if you own a Love Your Body card you’ll get an extra 10% off too! These make great presents for Christmas so it’s always worth stocking up for that.

• Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch (review here).

I know when Baby Lips first came out in the UK every girl and women into their beauty were after these, and they were either left disappointed or their expectations made reality and accurate. I bought two of these when they first came out, including Pink Punch. I had a clear out recently of all my make up items and I re-discovered this lip balm. I’ve been using it lots for work and it’s a nice balm to use alone or over pinky lip shades. This smells really nice, link fruit punch and it is really a pleasure to wear. It isn’t the most hydrating lip balm out there but as I make sure to moisturise my lips all the time at home, it isn’t so bad when I’m out of the house. I can see me stocking up on Baby Lips for my holiday as they have a lovely pigmentation to them and they’re really easy and quick to apply. PLUS they contain SPF 15, can’t go wrong with that, eh?

• L’Occitane Lip Balm in Zesty Lime.

Recently I wrote a post about how you could pick up a free L’Occitane hand cream with Marie Claire (post here) and how the magazine was offering its readers to pick up a free Hugs & Kisses gift set from L’Occitane too! All you had to do was buy something in store and as I was feeling the urge for some new L’Occitane I decided to get my hands on said gift set. As I said I would, I picked up the Zesty Lime set and inside the set was the lip balm. The balm itself is really lovely and glides onto the lips ease and thanks to the applicator on the balm it makes it easier to apply it too. It feels really moisturising and also smells of lime sweeties which is perfect, I’m a sucker for lime sweets and I’ll always be the one who steals the green ones from your Fruit Pastilles tube! 😛 I’ve used this quite a lot this month, however I am going to cut back on that a tad as I do want this for my holiday. I recommend checking out the L’Occitane lip balms as they really are better than I thought they were going to be.

• Shiro Cosmetics Intertube in Smashing.

I have to firstly say that this is now discontinued and no longer available to buy, which sucks as I want to try more of the Intertube’s! As well as that I’ve never been so glad to grab a bargain as my friend Mali (maliberrymakeup) put this up on her blog sale so I only paid £1 or £2 for this and quite frankly I’m chuffed to bits with it. It’s a gorgeous purple shade and applies really smoothly and with ease, which is always good. It doesn’t have a scent or taste to it which is good and lasts ages on the lips, leaving behind a slight stain. I really do want to try more of Shiro’s lip products, especially their Studio Ghibli collection… So I may have to spend a few pennies in the New Year…

• OPI Matte Top Coat.

Back in January my Mom bought me an OPI top coat gift set and this was one of the three polishes in the set. I hated it when I first used it, it made my nail polish look horrible and it didn’t dry… But oh how the times have changed! I tried this out again to see if it would work and alas it did! It made the originally shiny nail polish matte AND it dried it super quick too. I was shocked by pleasantly surprised and since then I’ve used this on every manicure I’ve given myself. This looks works wonders over darker shades and I’ve found it works best with OPI’s How Great Is Your Dane? and also OPI’s WHO ARE YOU CALLING BOSSY?!? It’s what I’ve been wearing over my nail polishes throughout October and you really can’t go wrong with matte nails so I strongly recommend this top coat if you want a good one for that matte nail look.

• OPI Nail Lacquer in WHO ARE YOU CALLING BOSSY?1? (review here)

I recently reviewed this polish and the set that it came in, and since then I’ve worn it quite a lot. I’ve of course team this up with my OPI matte top coat and it looks perfect for autumn and winter! The polish itself is really pigmented with two coats and has a gel like look and texture to it, which looks lovely. I can see me teaming this with plenty of various glitter polishes, as well as some lighter shades for some nail art. I can’t wait to wear this at Christmas time too!

• L’Occitane Hand Cream in Zesty Lime.

This is the hand cream I got free with Marie Claire (post here) and I can safely say I am in love. I’m so glad I decided to pick this up to try as since then I have gone on to buy two more… Obsessed, me? Get out of it! I’d been eying up some new hand creams for a while to get me through autumn and winter and it really does look like I’ve found a staple for my collection. This is super nourishing due to its number one ingredient, shea butter and also smells so yummy and citrus like due to the lime scent. A little of this hand cream goes a long way, so I can see those three tubes lasting me quite a long time… I hope anyway! I will definitely be buying this again.

• Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella.

I LOVE The Shopaholic series and I have done since I started my BA course at university back in 2008. So for four years I waited in anticipation for a follow-up to the last book and in September I finally got it! I used my saved up Nectar points to buy this and I’m really glad as whilst this is worth every penny, it’s good to save pennies where you can. I’m currently on chapter six and I can hear you saying “WHAT? It’s been out for over a month and you’re only on chapter six?” yes I’m only on chapter six. As much as I love reading, I do have a busy lifestyle right now and sometimes sitting down and reading a book isn’t really what I want to do. I’m a very slow and laid back reader, which sucks and it’s a habit I’ve never been able to shake, sadly. I know next month or in December I shall be writing a blog post about the Shopaholic series to keep you eyes peeled for that. If you haven’t yet bought the book and want to read the first chapter, then go onto the website ALL the books from the series have first chapter extracts in there.

So those were my favourites from October, but what were your favourite products? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, take care all and Happy Belated Halloween!

24th Birthday Presents!

So on Monday it was my birthday and I aged another year closer to my mid 20’s, boy I feel old! I’m hoping 24 will be a good year as being 23 was bloody rubbish!

Now I just want to add that I’m not doing this post to show off at all, I’m doing it because I want to show any nosy people out there (like myself) what I got as I love seeing what presents and gifts other people are bought and plus I love everything I was bought this year, especially the presents my boyfriend bought me, although one isn’t shown in this image as due to something that has happened I won’t be receiving said present until after the 24th of this month, although I know what it is.

I can’t really talk much about it on here sadly but the Pandora charm my boyfriend is buying me for my birthday is The Waving Cat charm! Due to not having this charm just yet my Pandora Bracelet post will be postponed until the start of February, but it will be worth the wait!

Anyhoo I received lots of lovely presents from my boyfriend, his parents, my parents and my aunt. As of yet I know my best friend has a present for me and I’m not 100% sure if my brother has a present for me or not, we shall see sooner rather than later.

So onto what I was bought and I apologise right now for dark images, when I took them it was pretty late at night (9pm to be exact) so I had to go with what I had I’m afraid!

The cute little teddy key ring wasn’t so much of a present but just a cute little thing that I got on the birthday card my Dad bought for me. I don’t know what I’m going to do with said key ring, I have contemplated putting it on my car keys but I’m not certain as of yet.

The butterfly bracelet here is by Bibi Bijoux and was a complete surprise when I opened the present on my birthday! Due to receiving my Pandora bracelet in November, I didn’t expect my Mom to buy me another bracelet. This is a gorgeous bracelet and has some little butterflies, a dragonfly and a crystal gem on it. It’s a very simple bracelet and can be worn for any occasion. My only problem with this bracelet us due to it being elastic it catches the hair on my wrist, which on quite a lot of occasions pulls them out, I won’t lie it bloody hurts! I probably won’t wear this bracelet as much as my Pandora, as I love my Pandora so much! But if I can try and wear this as an ankle bracelet during the summer, I’ll do just that. 🙂 Either way it’s gorgeous and I love it very much.

As I mentioned on Sunday my boyfriend and I went to West Midlands Safari Park on Sunday as an early birthday outing, as I didn’t see my boyfriend on Monday, which was sad for me. Still we had an amazing day out together and he bought me this Souvenir Guide Book which has been nice to look through after our day out. I’ll be making a post about our afternoon out on Sunday!

For my birthday he bought me this massive Yankee Candle in Sweet Strawberry. The sneaky devil asked me before Christmas what my favourite scent of Yankee Candle was and I told him this one and that IF he wanted to buy me one, to get a small jar. Bless his little cotton socks, he bought me a large jar and on Sunday night whilst we watched The Cat Returns, I burnt the candle. However I’m refusing to burn it anymore until I can pick up a large shade as it’s already started to well and I don’t want that! It was so lovely of him to buy me such a massive candle and it smells beautiful too, it’ll be perfect for spring and summer.

We have another present from my Mom, Paul Smith’s Rose EDP in a huge 100ml bottle! Back in my third year of University my Mom was bought this by my brother after I mentioned to her what a gorgeous smell it was. Whenever I smell Rose it reminds me of my best friend, as she wore this all the time when we were at University for nights out. After a while my Mom began to dislike the perfume and passed it down to me. Only recently I used up my 100ml bottle that she gave me and noticing this, she bought me a new one. It was lovely of her as I’ve really missed using this perfume. As well as my best friend it somewhat reminds me of my Gran, as whenever I wore this she would comment how lovely I smelt.

My boyfriends parents bought me three lovely presents for my birthday and when my boyfriend passed me the present and informed me who it was from, I was pleasantly surprised! I wasn’t expecting anything from them and it was lovely of them to get me something.

I was bought this real leather notebook with my name added to the front alongside a pink Parker pen! I LOVE stationary and it’s been years since I had a Parker pen so it’s lovely that they bought me one. It’s blue ink too which is lovely. After taking these pictures I started using the notebook and pen and so far I’ve written some blog post ideas down! I don’t know what else I’ll be using this blog for, possibly somewhere to write things down to help with my spending ban too. But for now, it shall be my blog book!

You can see my Pandora bracelet on the notebook, but that shall be saved until last!

The 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die was also a present from my boyfriends parents and I have to add how this book weighs a lot! I do read a lot (although in the past year I don’t recall even finishing reading one book! :S) and my boyfriend commented on the idea of every time I read a book featured in this book, to tick it off which I think I will do. I know when I move out and such I’m going to have a huge book shelf, as I use my window shelf for books at the moment and it’s pretty full now.

Okay now The Body Shop products aren’t actually presents from anyone, I bought them myself on my birthday. As a Love Your Body member it means I get £5 off purchases on my birthday, as well as 10% off purchases anyway! So I decided to use that to buy myself some hand related products as I don’t exactly need any body products and I was rather close to buying some face products to keep at my boyfriend for whenever I go to his. I picked up the Hemp Hand Protector in a huge 100ml tube, which retails for £10.00. When I opened up my membership for LYB I got a small 30ml Hemp Hand Protector for free, which was nice and since then I have kept it in my handbag and use it throughout my shifts at work. As well as that I picked up a bottle of their Sweet Lemon Hand Cleanse Gel, which retails at £2.50. This has actually been discontinued from The Body Shop now, which is a real shame as it smells amazing! I think every time I’m near The Body Shop in future I shall have a look for one of these to pick up as they’re lovely to keep in your handbag!

So my purchases were meant to come to £12.50 but I paid less than £5.00 for all these as I also had 25% knocked off of my purchases too! I love The Body Shop and since November they are fast becoming one of my favourite shops!

Firstly I apologise for the first image being a tad on the bright side, but due to how dark my room is I couldn’t get a decent pictures of my shoes without flash being used. Although I have paid for these myself, my new DC skate shoes are going to be another present from my Mom who insisted I buy some new skate shoes as my near 10-year-old Vans are seeing their last years now (I hope not!) and that a New Year should mean some new shoes! I knew I wanted some DC skate shoes and especially the Court Graffik style, which is what these babies are. My boyfriend has a couple of pairs of these trainers and so does one of my friends and they just look awesome with both skinny and baggy boyfriend jeans! My boyfriend has a pair of these in black and purple, which I wish would fit me otherwise I’d have stolen them by now! I’ve wanted a pair of these style DC skate shoes since the age of 17 after finding a pair of black and red ones I wanted, sadly when I want back to Schuh to buy them, they’d gone and they weren’t online to buy either. I haven’t found them since then, but if I do in my size I’ll soon snap them up! Anyhoo I tried these on as soon as they arrived and I love them!

Yes they aren’t exactly fashionable but deep down I’m still a skater kid and I love to dress down in my baggy jeans and baggy or tight fitted t-shirts, alongside with my skate shoes. PLUS skate shoes are some of the comfortable shoes to wear when you have to walk a lot, fact!

Finally we have come to my Pandora bracelet and what charm my Dad bought me for my birthday. I haven’t yet had chance to wear this out with my new charm on it, but I’ll be doing that over the weekend, which will be great! I didn’t know which charm I wanted and had a good look on Pandora’s website for some ideas. It had stated on their website that this elephant charm had infact sold out and had sold out in stores too, so I gave up hope of getting this one and looked at another elephant charm instead. When we got into the store I had a look at the charms to see that the elephant charm I had seen in the first place was in there and for sale. So after a while of deciding between this, the other elephant and a turtle I decided upon this one! I love this charm, it’s so cute and right up my street. My bracelet so far is mostly animals, which is strange to me!

I have seen some more charms I would like, so I’ll be making another wish list later on this year (probably June) and surprise, surprise, I’ve found charms with some colour to them!

As well as that I also received some money, £10 from my aunt and £30 off of my brother which was lovely of them both! I’m going to put my money away in my savings, as I don’t really need anything right now and as I mentioned earlier this month on this post, I’m currently on a spending ban.

I also received a Fearne Cotton dress from my Mom but I’ll be featuring that in a What I Wore post sometime soon!

Anyhoo, apart from my best friends and my boyfriends Pandora present which will be added here as and when I receive it those are all the presents I received for my birthday! I love them all so much and couldn’t ask for better presents.

I don’t have a favourite out of everything I received but the present I am the most excited for is the notebook and pen that my boyfriends parents gave to me as I love notebooks so much and I was after a new Parker pen so I couldn’t be happier with these.

I hope you liked this post, if you have any questions about anything I received for my birthday then  please feel free to ask in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care and I hope everyone’s week is going well!