Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier – Review

I was meant to review this towards the end of January but I just never got around to it in all honesty. 2019 has been a hectic year so far and it’s doing my head in. I feel like blogging has been put on hold and posts aren’t as regular and they used to be due to that!

This being said, this review has been worth the wait as I actually discovered some better things about it throughout February that I may not have really mentioned previously.

This Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier has been on my wish list since it first came out as a Kickstarter campaign in July 2017. I nearly picked it up via Kickstarter but due to the prices for shipping (as well as customs!) I left it.

Just before Christmas 2017 Firebox started to stock this on their website and I KNEW I had to have it! Fast forward over a year later and I was finally gifted it for my 29th birthday in January from Dane’s parents, with some essential oils too.

I couldn’t wait to get it plugged in, full of water and ready to go! When I first started using this I popped it on the other side of the bedroom, as it just seemed like the right place to keep it at the time. Although it was okay in this place, both me and Dane didn’t notice it was even in the room apart from the slight sound it makes when the air is coming out. I was sort of disappointed, but it was only a matter of time before I moved it closer to me and Dane.

I was really poorly recently and came down with what felt flu but I think it was just a really bad cold. I was in desperate need of something to help me breathe so Dane suggested I move the humidifier onto my bedside table and pop the eucalyptus oils inside. It was so much better on my bedside table to be honest with you and the oils really helped clear my blocked sinuses.

Since then I keep this by my bed and make sure to pop it on for a couple of hours before I go to sleep. I keep it on for an hour whilst I settle down and then for an hour as I’m starting to sleep.

The humidifier is powered by a plug, no batteries here guys!

With the humidifier it lights up various different colours, you can either keep it on a loop of all of those colours, or pick whichever colour is your favourite. You also have the option for how long you want the humidifier mist on for, which ranges from constant, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours.

You can just have the mood light on if you don’t want to use the mist, which I really like! Especially if you’ve had enough of the mist halfway through the day/night and want to change it up.

The one issue I have with the humidifier is trying to take off the lid so you can fill it full of water and empty the old water. It’s not the easiest thing to remove and does take some getting used to and definitely some patience!

You aren’t meant to keep reusing the water in the humidifier after 3 days, which is understandable due to mold. I didn’t use this for a week due to being busy and hadn’t emptied the water out of it, so when it came to sorting it out to use it was pretty gross inside. I had to give it a good clean with some anti bacterial spray. It wasn’t so bad to be fair.

When you go to pop your water into the humidifier you have fill lines, with a min and max line on them. I’m aware I have mine filled just past max and I really don’t know how that happened! I only usually fill it half way to be honest with you haha.

I love to use the lavender essential oils in this as I mostly use the humidifier when I’m gong to bed. If I feel poorly throughout the day or night I’ll use the eucalyptus one. As of yet I haven’t used the other essential oil I was bought, which is tea tree. I just haven’t found the right time to use it in all fairness. I only add max 5 drops to the water, although the booklet only suggests that you need 3. 5 for me is more than enough. I tried 10 recently and it was far too strong and I ended up having headaches.

Overall I really love my Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier and I was so grateful to receive it as a gift! For ages I was close to picking it up myself, but I just never got around to it. Having this on my bedside table to use before bed has changed up my night routine and it really does add something cute to the table as well!

This would be great to get for a child, teenager and of course a grown adult who love unicorns! Elodie is adorable and I really love owning stuff with the cute unicorn on lately.

It costs £39.99 which I know isn’t cheap considering you can get humidifiers on Amazon for £15-£35. But I don’t care! I wanted an Elodie one and for the price I think it’s so worth it. 😀

Make sure to read about the Elodie ramen bowl and the Elodie light up umbrella (which was kindly gifted by Firebox).

If you’d like to pick this up for yourself (or anything else on Firebox in fact!) then make sure to use my £5 discount code, which I’ll link here.

I apologise that this is a short review, but there isn’t a whole lot to really say about this other than how it works and how much I love it! 😛

What do you think of the Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier? Would you pick one up yourself? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

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

October Favourites ’18

At the time of writing this blog post I am in the middle of packing for a little weekend to London (which I mentioned a couple of weeks back here) to see my friend Sophi, as well as go around London for some shopping and coffee and bubble tea dates. 😛

I can’t believe how quickly this month has gone though, but at the same time I feel like it’s really dragged… Maybe it’s due to autumn setting in with darker nights and such like that. Meh, it’s November and with that it is almost Christmas too. Damn.

This months wish list wasn’t too bad to write to be fair, I sometimes worry I struggle to try and think of beauty and lifestyle things each month that I’ve loved.

So, enough of me rambling, on with the favourites!

• Carex Unicorn Magic Shower and Bath.

I have been loving this bubble bath throughout the month. It’s definitely bath season again and I have been loving having a good soak on my weekends off work, especially Sunday’s! This unicorn magic range by Carex is amazing and I have honestly been loving it and for just a £1 for each item, it’s such a bargain. I picked the hand wash and shower and bath up from Savers for that price, but I’m sure you can find them in Poundland and such for the same money too.

• Lime Crime Plushies in Cherry Soda (review).

I recently reviewed the two Lime Crime Plushies that I own and I love them both SO MUCH! They’re definitely my go to lipstick at the moment as I love how they feel, as well as how long they last. I couldn’t get along with Cherry Soda at first, which really disappointed me as this was the shade I really wanted the most from this collection. Finally, I have started to get along with it and I’m so damn happy! It’s a gorgeous cherry red colour and it’s just beautiful. I especially love how these colours give a sort of blotted effect to the lips.

• The Body Shop Strawberry Softening Body Butter.

I’m really loving The Body Shop lately and I do not apologise for featuring at least one product every month lately for the past God knows how many months! 😛 This month I have been LOVING the strawberry body butter, which I’ve been using on my hands at work and on the go. I know it’s a body butter, but I just don’t get along with The Body Shop hand creams that much. They’re just not “strong” enough for my eczema. I got this free in a gift set due to spending a certain amount in The Body Shop and I do love it. It’ll definitely be something I’ll pick up in future to use for my hands. Of course I can only imagine this is amazing for the body too!

• Newtons Labs T-Zone Spot Zapping Gel.

This has been a GOD SEND to me lately! I don’t know why but my face just broke out in zits for what felt like a month, which was horrible. I always get zits around time of the month and that’s normal to me. It’s a sign of (sadly) what is to come and I am used to that. A whole month of them though? IT SUCKED! They were all on the left side of my face, as well as my jaw line which I found so odd. It might be where I rest my head on my hand at work or something, I don’t know. I just pop a little bit of this one before my moisturiser in the mornings and as and when I need it. It’s only 99p from places like Body Care and Savers and it lasts AGES! Definitely worth picking one up if you still get the odd zit on and off. Honestly kids, I’m nearly 30 and I still get zits! 😛

• Dior Addict Eau de Parfum.

This is one of my favourite perfumes and I always graviate to it when the colder weather comes. It’s such a gorgeous and unique scent and one I really love. My mom bought this for me when I was 25 and thankfully it hasn’t gone off! She bought it me for my birthday when we went to Fuerteventura together for our birthday’s. I don’t know how to describe the scent to be honest with you, it’s strong and bold and it’s something that definitely stands out. It’s floral but to me it smells kind of sweet as well. It’s definitely a mature perfume and I’d be surprise if anyone 21 and under wore it! Dane loves this too, so I like when I’m wearing it and he comments. 🙂

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

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Big Mouth Season 2.

I remember me and Dane watching Big Mouth when it first came out and we was in Fuerteventura at the time. It was hilarious and definitely something different at the time. It recently came back for a second season and it’s just as funny as the first! I especially love that in one of the episodes they had a sexual education approach to it, it worked so well and they did such an amazing job. I think shows like this need to definitely be shown in schools, swearing or not it gets the message across (in a very funny way) about puberty and basically the flaws of being a teenager. I really hope this gets another season next year!

Favourite Film – Sierra Burgess Is A Big Loser.

I remember seeing the trailer for this on Instagram and I KNEW I had to watch it! It reminded me of a book I would have read growing up. I didn’t realise it was a film until me and Dane put it on. Netflix usually shouts TV series to me so that’s what I expected this to be. Alas it’s a film and one I rather liked. I wouldn’t say loved, but I’ll touch on that. It’s a good film, especially being set now but at the same it’s so bloody cringe it’s crazy. I definitely recommend watching it, as it was a good watch but I don’t feel like I need to watch it again. I do wonder if it would have worked better as a TV series… But do we have too many teen drama series on Netflix right now? Nah not really. 😛 Let’s put it this way, this isn’t like My Mad Fat Diary, that show is amazing. 😛

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Book – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life.

I recently bought volume 3 of this manga and like all the others, I LOVED it! The art style of the manga is always amazing and for a spin off series I actually find it’s better than the original! Kanna has been a massive hit with all sorts of people and when you read the manga and watch the anime you can really see why. She’s adorable and I certainly fell in love with her, so it’s no wonder that they created a manga series based on her! They’ve now released pre orders in the UK for a manga series based off of Elma, who is my favourite dragon out of the bunch! She just reminds me of me with her love of food and the fact she works in an office, haha. If you love Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid the manga or the anime (or both), then you need to read Kanna’s Daily Life!

Image taken from www.mydadwroteaporno.com

Favourite Podcast – My Dad Wrote A Porno.

Okay I know this isn’t music, but it’ll do! I discovered this podcast randomly online and I just had to listen as it’s bloody hilarious! This guys dad has written a porno and with the help of his two friends is reading it for us all to hear! I started listening to it towards the start of October and it’s hilarious. I didn’t actually think I’d still be listening to it now! I’m currently on series 2 and book 2! If you fancy a giggle on your way to and from work, then give this a listen. It’s pretty cringe but fuck it’s hilarious! Obviously if you don’t like listening to sexual sort of stuff, meh you won’t want to listen to this. I have an iPhone and if you search in the podcast app, you’ll soon find this to listen to!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – LEGO DC Super-Villains.

I was going to actually mention Kingdom Hearts this month but to be honest with you that game has made me rage quit various times, it hasn’t been a favourite… Although I have enjoyed playing it! This game came out just over 2 weeks ago but me and Dane have played it together almost daily! I’m so glad he’s wanted to play this with me so much, as I worried he’d get bored with it after a few days. I do love playing the LEGO games and I’ve mentioned my excitement for this game quite a lot on my blog lately (which you can read about here). It plays really well to be honest and it’s definitely up there as one of my favourite LEGO games to date! The detail in the customisation is incredible and so in depth. Both me and Dane have made out super-villains and at the time of writing this post, the story has BLOWN UP and some serious tea has been spilt. 😛

SO those are my favourites from October! I still can’t believe it’s November now! This year has seriously flown by and it’s crazy. Next month I’ll have been in my job a year, Christmas will be around the corner and soon enough after that I’ll be turning 29. Urgh.

What favourites have you got from October? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re all ready for the weekend.

Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops – Review

I feel like I haven’t done a review for the longest time, but apparently I only did one last week which was my Lime Crime Plushies review (which you can read here). How on earth did I forget that I wrote that review last week?! Either I’m beginning to show my age or it’s just showing how quickly the days are flying by!

Anyway, I’ve wanted to review the Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops for the longest time, but as of yet I just haven’t managed to. I’ve thought about adding this to my favourites since September but to be honest with you, it hasn’t been a favourite product.

Personally when I read and write reviews I don’t want to always see them be positive and, “OH MY GOD THIS PRODUCT IS AMAZING AND YOU NEED TO GO BUY IT. Oh and P.S. my affiliate link is down below.” No, no and no again.

I like to read and write reviews that are realistic and honest. I like to think I’m honest when it comes down to reviews, even when I’m sent and gifted items to review and talk about. I was in two minds whether or not to review the unicorn primer drops as I didn’t quite know how I felt about them, to be honest.

So I’m going to be honest throughout this review, no fakery or BS here. 😛

I picked up the unicorn primer drops about a month ago now and have been using them almost daily. I heard about this thanks to Instagram and Facebook and everyone was talking about how it reminded them of the Farsali unicorn essence and in all fairness, it’s pretty much a duplicate of the unicorn essence.

I’ve been after a primer for a while now, as sometimes I do like to have them to try and help mattify my skin. I used to use one from The Body Shop last year, which I loved but as I managed to get hold of it when it was on offer I haven’t picked it up again since.

I actually forgot about the Barry M unicorn primer drops until I ventured into Boots in September and decided to pick it up to try. I mean why not eh?

Prep skin for the ultimate makeup application with this innovative oil-free elixir. Packed with superfruits such as acai berry, goji berry, watermelon and tamarind, this hybrid-serum brightens, detoxifies, hydrates and smooths the skin for the perfect primer and skin care treatment.

Use under makeup to prime skin or on its own to hydrate, brighten and protect from free radical damage. Taken from barrym.com

I remember watching some YouTube videos where people were testing this and reviewing it and in all honestly, most of the videos I watched weren’t praising this product. One girl said how the product caused her make up to feel tacky and sticky and another commented on how it didn’t seem to improve her make up much.

As I don’t wear make up, I didn’t think it would affect me in this sense and if anything I hoped it might help my translucent powder last longer!

It’s been over a month now since I first bought it and I finally feel like I’m ready to review it.

My thoughts on this primer have chopped and changed over the past month for so many reasons. I started using it whilst the weather was still warm and recently as the weather has cooled down, I feel like I’ve really began to see how it works, if that makes sense.

The primer comes in this purple square bottle with a pipette at the top. You get 15ml of product in this bottle which I think is a decent amount. I find that a full pipette is too much for my skin and only find that I need a small amount for it to cover my face and neck. This primer is also VEGAN! Although I’m not vegetarian nor vegan, I do love when brands bring out products that are vegan. I think it’s only fair for everyone to be able to use and enjoy the same products, so I was really pleased when I read that the primer drops were vegan.

A lot of people online have been complaining about the pipette not working for them and how due to the thickness of the primer, it causes the pipette not to work. I’ve not had this issues personally and if anything I LOVE the pipette! Whenever I go to use this product the pipette is always full of product and ready for me to use.

People have also complained about the packaging and how it just doesn’t look “special” enough for them. I never give a shit about the packaging with products nine times out of ten, but I do get what they’re saying. It’s very simple and to the point and I’m surprised that Barry M didn’t try and do more with it really. I would have liked the bottle to be see through so I can see how much product you have left. Maybe Barry M will make new packaging eventually if they bring out a whole line of primers, who knows!

I pop 5 little drops on my face, one on each cheek, my nose, my chin and my forehead. I find this is the perfect amount for my face. The primer itself isn’t thin nor thick in consistency but I find that when it’s warm it’s really thin. I love the consistency of this primer as I find it’s easy to use.

The colour of the product is so magical (as you can probably guess by the name!) and it’s a gorgeous bubblegum pink colour, with shimmer running throughout. It’s so pretty and if you’re a magpie for shiny things like I am, then you’ll love this!

One thing I remember about the reviews on YouTube that I watched was how this smells, “So good I could eat it!” I didn’t personally get this, yes it smells really sweet but I wouldn’t say it’s good enough to eat. It does contain a lot of fruits such as acai berry, goji berry, watermelon and tamarind which are all superfruits and are said to help keep skin looking beautiful.

I used this every morning after my moisturiser and then put on my translucent powder. I’ve not yet mixed the primer in with my moisturiser, although I am tempted to. It’s just fun to look like a beauty guru or Instagram beauty video where you apply those pink unicorn tears on your cheeks! 😛

After you’ve applied this primer it does feel tacky on the skin and although a lot of people complained about this on reviews, I’ve also seen a lot of people rave about this due to how it helps their make up stick to the skin etc. I get that and after hearing and thinking about it, it has helped with my powder sticking to my skin.

During the warmer days I didn’t feel like this worked for me as well as I hoped. It definitely makes my skin feel hydrated and even gives my skin a little bit of glow after applying, but I couldn’t say if I feel like my skin is brighter looking throughout the day.

I expected this primer to help my powder last longer throughout the day, but when it was warmer I felt so greasy, especially on my t zone. I don’t carry my face powder around with me anymore so I couldn’t top that up. However, as the weather has started to get cooler I’ve found that my powder is lasting longer and thus I don’t feel or leak greasy/oily. Now, whether this is down to the primer or not, I don’t know.

One of the things I really love about this primer is that it’s oil-free. As I’m combination skin I try to avoid using any products with oil in, so when I read this was oil-free I was pretty stoked about that. I also love how baby soft my skin feels since I’ve started to use it too! I use it after wearing face masks to give my skin an extra boost of TLC. I feel so pampered afterwards as well.

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos to see how other people use the primer and one person applies it all over their face, like I do before their make up BUT they also applied it to the lips! I never thought to do that to be honest with you, but it’s definitely something I’m going to try and start doing that in the morning, especially if I’m planning to wear lipstick.

After application. My hand definitely looks brighter in places!

Personally I do have mixed feelings on this primer as I don’t know if it’s actually done anything to my skin and I have to keep wondering if my skin is benefiting from using it? I do wonder if it’s help moisturise my skin more and given it an extra boost of something, as I remember with my old primer my skin felt and looked dry in patches, especially on my cheeks and around my mouth and chin. This has gone to be honest, so maybe all those superfruits has actually helped my skin the TLC it needed!

This has been out since August/September and for the 15ml bottle it costs £7.99. I think that’s quite expensive, but I am a cheap skate at the best of times! For how lovely and soft it’s made my skin look and feel, I do think it’s worth it though.

I wonder if I can’t see any difference in my skin because I don’t use make up, all I use is powder to help my skin look matte. At the time of writing this I am touching my face and looking for any signs of oil. It’s lunch time now and my skin looks as it did when I got ready this morning, which is amazing!

Maybe during the warmer months, this doesn’t work as well as it could but during the colder months this will be a game changer.

Right now, this isn’t a game changer for me and overall whilst I do like using it and feel like an Instagram beauty guru when I use it, I don’t know if I’ll repurchase it or not… I’d like to find a primer that helps my powder last longer AND helps my skin look matte for as long as possible.

If you really want to give a new primer a try, whether or not you wear a full face of make up then I recommend trying this! I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s a life changing product. It’s better than some primers I’ve used in the past BUT that’s due to its moisturising properties and maybe because it’s a gorgeous pink colour. 😛

Also if you are looking for a cheap duplicate of the Farsali Unicorn Essence then this is your best bet! Especially as that essence will set you back £20.00 for just 10ml of product. Ouch.

I’ve linked at the start of this post directly to the primer at the top of the blog post, but I’ll link the Superdrug and Boots so you can buy them from there if you wish to do so.

Overall these unicorn primer drops are definitely worth picking up to try, especially if there is a 3 for 2 offer on which both Superdrug and Boots have at the time of this post! They’re also worth picking up if you suffer with dry skin and want to help keep your make up lasting longer. I never had an issue with combination skin, which was great! Just don’t expect a life changing product as personally I don’t think it was that, sadly.

Otherwise I really hope you enjoyed this review today! Sorry that my blog has been quiet since last Friday but I just wanted a break from blog work this weekend. I had a new game to play with Dane, friends to see as well as LOTS of blog work!

I also apologise for how rambly this blog post reads/feels! I just wanted to get all thoughts and feelings out there, I hope you didn’t get too bored. 😛

Do you think you’ll give the Barry M Unicorn Primer Drops a go? Or have you already? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and I hope you’re all having a lovely week so far! Not long now and it’ll be Halloween.

Elodie the Unicorn Ramen Bowl

I don’t quite know why I’m writing this post/sort of review today as it’s just so random, but at the same time it’s something I really want to share with you guys for so many reasons! Of course, I’ll go into those as the post goes on.

I don’t mean to call this a review throughout the post either, but what else can it be?

I’ve been lusting after the Elodie the Unicorn Ramen Bowl for about a year now, which I discovered through Smoko’s Kickstarter campaign for the Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier. I nearly ordered this through Kickstarter which would have come with the humidifier, the mug and of course the ramen bowl. I didn’t due to how expensive it was and was gutted I’d missed the opportunity to getting some cute unicorn pieces for the house.

Smoko is an American company, so at the time you could order their Elodie products but shipping and import would have cost a bomb! So I left it… Then recently on Firebox they started releasing some of Smoko’s Elodie goodies, including the ramen bowl.

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times on my blog in the past when talking about my monthly wish lists, which you can read here and here.

Me and Dane had been in the house over a year when I discovered the Elodie goods on Firebox’s website and I pleaded with him to let me order the ramen bowl. It was pretty expensive at the time, £24.99 and for a bowl we both found it was expensive. I added it to my Christmas and birthday lists and I still didn’t receive it.

I noticed recently that the bowl was on offer and when I first looked it was down to £20.99, which I thought was a bargain… But again Dane was honest and said, “Nat where are we going to keep it? It’s not cheap either for a bowl.”

He was right, it wasn’t cheap and we didn’t have room for it, so I left it.

A couple of weeks ago I looked again on the website, just randomly to see what new Elodie goods Firebox may have added to the store, I discovered that the ramen bowl was EVEN CHEAPER than previously at £14.99!

I decided not to chance it a third time and put an order through! When you shop with Firebox for your first time you can receive a £5 voucher, which I put towards the ramen bowl. It practically paid for my postage, which sadly isn’t the cheapest in the world but it was definitely worth the money to ensure that my bowl arrived in one piece.

I didn’t have to wait long before my ramen bowl was on its way to me and on my doorstep, it literally arrived the day after I ordered, I was amazed and so happy.

I got home from work and I couldn’t wait to open it. The box that it comes in is cute in itself! Is it sad that I can’t bear to throw it away?! I’m not going to to be honest, I’m going to use it to keep my food in at work. 😛

The bowl itself is gorgeous and to be honest not what I imagined it to look like. It’s also lighter in weight than I thought it was going to be, which is incredibly handy when taking the bowl in and out of the cupboard.

This is technically two bowls, but to cook the noodles you need to use both bowls, one as the bowl itself and one as the lid.

So how it works is you pop your ramen noodle packet and any flavouring sachets into the bowl and pour boiling water over. Give it a max of 15-30 minutes and voila! The noodles will have grown twice their size and be ready to eat!

It claims it’s big enough to fit your ramen noodles in without breaking them, I don’t know if it’s due to the brand of noodles I used but sadly I had to break mine in half to get them into the bowl. I used proper Japanese ramen by the way. 😉

They melt in your mouth when eating them and this bowl will already make my life easier when I’m in a hurry or I’m tired after work. After cooking the noodles you could of course transfer the noodles to the other bowl so that two of you could share them… But of course I just want to scoff all the yummy ramen noodles myself! 😛

So, was this bowl worth the money? Oh hell yes! If anything I’m glad I waited a year to buy it for £10 less than the original asking price.

Dane was indecisive about this bowl but not only does it look adorable, it actually does an amazing job! Now Dane wants a ramen bowl himself, which I’m trying so hard to find for him! Otherwise I’ll have to buy another Elodie the Unicorn ramen bowl for him to match mine. 😛

If you like the look of this ramen bowl and want to get one for yourself, then make sure to use my code down below to bag yourself a £5 code!

https://www.firebox.com/r/natalee-e9e09e

ALSO! The Elodie the Unicorn goods are only available at Firebox for us UK shoppers, so you won’t be able to find those goods anywhere else! If you like the look of the Elodie the Unicorn goods then I’ll pop a link down below to both the Smoko and Firebox websites!

Smoko

Firebox

What do you think of my adorable ramen bowl? Would you buy one? Let me know in the comments down below!

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

March Favourites ’18

Happy Easter everyone! I do apologise that this post is a day late (well I’m being naughty and putting it up as if it was actually on time… ;P) but it was my first Easter that I’ve had a 4 day weekend and not had to work! I also spent it chilling with Dane, as well as with friends and family which is the best way to spend it.

Now I’m finally getting the chance to work on my monthly favourites whilst I watch some gaming YouTube videos. Finally, here are my favourites for March!

• Palmolive Naturals Milk & Honey Shower Gel Cream.

Not long ago I picked up this HUGE pump shower gel cream and I only got it for £2.00/£2.50 from Morrison’s on a food shop and at first I regretted it but this was near to half price so I was pretty happy at the bargain I grabbed. ANYWAY I started using this at the start of the month and it’s lasting agggges! You only need a little and it foams up gorgeously as well as leaving you smelling amazing and feeling lovely and soft. The milk and honey Palmolive shower cream reminds me of Fuerteventura for various reasons, the main one being back in the day when we first had the house there we took loads of “home comforts” and this was one of mine that my mom bought for me, so the scent always reminds me of my younger years there. Now it’s coconut scents that do it for me! 😛

• Diesel Loverdose Eau de Parfum.

I’ve been using my Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT for what feels like forever and halfway through March I decided it was time to start using something else, something that I love to the moon and back. Loverdose by Diesel is one of my favourite perfumes and this is actually my second bottle now! It reminds me of my best friend Jacqui as when it first came out she got a bottle for her birthday and showed me it. Now when I wear it it reminds me of her. It has a unique fragrance and reminds me of a mixture of liquorice (which is actually contains!) and tequila. If you’ve never given this gorgeous perfume a sniff, then get on it! Even if you don’t like liquorice, you’ll love this. 😛

• Collection Velvet Kiss Moisturising Lip Cream in shade Rosie.

Whilst on a quick shopping trip to Superdrug in March I was having a nose around the Collection stand for my staple eyebrow gel and noticed the lip creams. I used to use these back in the day when they first launched and during the summer months I used these to death! I decided it was time to pick up a new one, but instead of going to the shades I used to use (Cotton being one of them) I decided to pick up the red shade Rosie. I love wearing red lipsticks and I actually haven’t worn lipstick properly for months. Since buying this I’ve used it about a handful of times alone and with a lip liner and it’s so good! It lasts ages and feels so comfortable when wearing it. I’ll definitely be reviewing this in April. You can check out the review one of the old shades Fairy Cake here for the time being.

• Nails inc Nail Polish in shade Dream Dust.

I feel like I haven’t worn my unicorn Nails inc polishes for ages! So I decided to grab Dream Dust to wear every other week throughout the month and throughout Easter. I forgot what a gorgeous shade Dream Dust is to be honest with you. It’s a shimmer gold glitter with a mauve base shade. It’s so shimmery and is definitely an awkward shade to remove but whatever! It’s a shade you can wear throughout the summer, especially for holidays! This lasts a long time too so I’ll definitely make a habit of wearing it more often at work. I loved Nails inc polishes back in the day when I was a student but then I sort of fell out of love with them. Since picking up the Beauty of Dreams gift set before Christmas last year (you can read about it here!) I’ve realised that Nails inc are still an amazing nails polish brand, if not even better now than they used to be!

• L’Oreal Hair Expertise Sleek Smooth Intense Shampoo.

I recently started using a new shampoo and this is actually the same if not similar to one I use when I’m in Fuerteventura (which you can see here) as it’s just one of the best and affordable! When I came home I searched for this shampoo straight away and bought that as well as another type of sulphate-free shampoo. Since starting to use this shampoo my hair has felt so smooth and looked less frizzy too. I’m so glad I started being sulphate free with shampoos this past year as it’s really helped my hair and to be honest since finding budget friendly shampoos, it’s helped my wallet too. 😛 I really recommend the L’Oreal sulphate free shampoos if you want to give this type of stuff a go as they’re super cheap from Superdrug and more often then not, on offer too.

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

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite TV Show – Violet Evergarden.

I feel like I’ve mentioned this anime on my blog in the past and I’m pretty sure it was when Dane wrote a post on here with me not long ago (you can read it here). He introduced me to this anime when it first started but like he always has a habit of doing, he got me to start watching it at episode 3. I watched a couple of episodes but I just couldn’t feel like I was getting into it. Then a couple of weeks ago he said he’d watched episode 10 and that I needed to as well. We started watching the anime together from beginning to episode 11 and oh man, I have fallen in love with the show. Every single episode is also heartbreaking and I was silently crying at most if not all of the episodes. I’ll copy and paste the synopsis as I’m awful when writing what stuff is about without worrying of ruining it!

Synopsis (source: Anime Expo) – There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning. A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation. Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as “the weapon,” has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of “Auto Memories Dolls,” who carry people’s thoughts and convert them into words.

If you fancy giving this anime a go you can find it over on Netflix where it’s in English. It’s being aired at the same time as in Japan, which is amazing. It’s such a beautiful anime both in the way it looks as well as the story line.

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Film – 10 Cloverfield Lane.

I remember going to the cinema to watch Cloverfield and all the rumours around it of people running out of the cinema to be sick due to the motion controls of the camera. FYI I was fine. 😛 I loved the film at the time and have since then watched it about a handful of times. When 10 Cloverfield Lane was announced I wanted to go and watch it, but no one else was really arsed. Years later it was put up on Netflix and me and Dane decided to give it a go. This is a film that really keeps you on the edge of your seat for various different things! You’re constantly wondering what is happening outside, as well as inside the bunker that the three characters are staying in. You have some awesome character development which is quickly snatched away from you by the time you start getting to know them and liking them. If you haven’t watched 10 Cloverfield Lane, then I definitely recommend it!

Image taken from Wordery

Image taken from Wordery

Favourite Book – I Am A Hero Omnibus Vol. 1 and 2.

This was one (well technically two) of the presents I got Dane for Christmas just gone and after he read Vol. 1 he gave it to me to show me some awesome scenes in the book. I checked them out and as it was halfway through the manga I decided to give it a read for myself and now I’ve ended up reading more than Dane has considering he’s only read the first volume and I’ve now read both the omnibus volumes he owns. It’s about a zombie apocalypse that hits Japan, with our “hero” being an anxious manga artist who sees things late at night and dreams of being a huge manga artist once again. It’s so well drawn and very realistic, you’re just hooked on it and want to keep reading. I actually finished the second omnibus volume in almost two hours… FYI it is a huge book! That and I’m a slow reader. 😛 Hopefully he won’t read this post but I intend to get Dane the rest of the omnibus volumes for his birthday.

Favourite Song/Album – Various…

Meh I wasn’t really sure what music to mention on my blog this month as I’ve just been listening to all sorts really… Mostly stuff I’ve heard on the radio at work, as well as some oldies I love. I’ll post above some of the songs I’m loving and quickly why below.

Dua Lipa – New Rules – I don’t know what it is that I love about this song and originally I was into an 80’s remix I heard on the radio first. I just find the song is really catchy and Dua Lipa has a lovely singing voice too.

Joyce Manor – Make Me Dumb – I first heard this game on Forza Horizon 3 as Dane bought it aggggges ago to play on his Xbox One and since then I’ve loved it! It’s such a catchy and upbeat rock song and due to that I just had to have it on my iPod for drives to and from places.

Paloma Faith – Crybaby – I don’t know what it is about this song but I love EVERYTHING about it! Paloma Faith is an artist I’ve listened to more of since 2016 and her voice is amazing, as well as her lyrics. This song is one that you’d listen to when you feel like crap and you need some encouraging words to listen to. It’s not a slow sad song, it’s an upbeat “pull yourself together, it’ll be okay” type song and I think that’s what I love the most about it.

Image taken from GAME

Favourite Game – Miitopia.

YES FOR ONCE IT ISN’T PERSONA 5 ON MY LIST! Sorry I love Persona 5 so it will come up a lot on here… In fact be prepared to hear about it next month as the anime series for it starts in less than a week now! 😀 Anyway… I got myself a new 2DS XL recently (which I’ll be writing about at some point on my blog) and I feel like since picking this up, I’ve been picking up my DS a hell of a lot more now I have a new one. I’m going to put it down to the screens being shit loads bigger and better at that! I picked up this game the day before I flew to Fuerteventura in September last year and Dane loved the look of it so much he got himself a copy too! Basically you play the hero and an evil guy has come and taken everyone’s faces, so you need to go and fight him and his minions to get them back. As the name suggests, it’s based on your Mii’s, the little customised characters you create on your 3DS and Wii, I don’t think the Switch has really bothered with it. I was close to finishing it before we came back from Fuerteventura but never did. HOWEVER, since picking up my 2DS XL I’ve played more and oh man, I forgot how much I love it! It’s an RPG game but it’s such a lax one at that, which is why I love it so much. Basically if you loved Tamodachi Life on the 3DS and you love RPG’s then you will love this! They do have a demo on the Nintendo eShop so check it out.

PHEW finally I have my favourites from March written down and done! I swear I can’t believe how quickly the year is going already and it’s my last day off of the Easter holidays too. SAD TIMES! 😛

I’m off to go and chill out, whilst attempting to eat some of my chocolate eggs. I bought myself one this year and received one from my manager as well as Dane’s parents. I’m not a massive chocolate person, so my chocolate eggs will probably last months. 😛

How many chocolate eggs did you get for Easter? Also, what are your favourites from March? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and Happy Easter!

January Wish List ’18

I wanted to originally have this January wish list as a birthday wish list, but alas it wasn’t put up quick enough and to be honest I didn’t have a clue what to put on this list that I hadn’t put on my December 2017 wish list (which you can read here).

This list isn’t anything special this month as I’ve just had my Christmas AND birthday presents so a lot of gifts I received would have been items I’d have added to my list. FYI I will be doing a post about what I got for my birthday as soon as I can!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this wish list, I’m sorry it’s nothing special this month. 😛

• Lime Crime Diamond Crushers in shade Heirloom – was £13.95, currently £11.00 (link)

I’ve always been iffy about trying Lime Crime products due to all the bad talk about them in the past but I can’t deny that I really love the look of their Diamond Crushers and as you may be able to tell on my list above, I have another bunch of these to talk about at some point too! If there is one product I would like to give a go it’s definitely these. Heirloom is a pinky red glitter that you apply to either bare lips for build able colour, or over lipstick to give a 3D effect. Seriously need some of these in my life!

• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth 3DS Game – £17.99 (link)

I heard about this 3DS Persona game a while ago and at one point I even found it in CEX for the shocking price of £45.00! I don’t mind paying the cheaper price on the Nintendo eShop to be honest. I’ve heard some good things about the Persona Q game and it’s definitely something I’d like to pick up as soon as possible whilst it’s at a decent price! I’m getting through the Persona games so quickly now that I just want to keep playing them. 😛

• Nintendo 2DS XL Pikachu Edition Console – £139.99 (link)

I know I don’t need a new 2DS… Mine works fine and even so I don’t play it as much as I used to. BUT how cute is this bloody Pikachu 2DS XL?! I missed out on the Pikachu 3DS and was absolutely gutted, but I’m all for the 2DS over the 3DS anyway due to the 3D hurting my eyes. I’m going to keep my options open with this as I would love to get it at some point but at the same time this isn’t the cheapest item in the world and I really want to save my money if I can. This is a wish list however, so I can lust after it all I want! 😛

• Nails Inc Dirty Unicorn Shake That Tail Nail Polish – £11.00 (link)

Since starting to work in an office I have rekindled my love of wearing nail polish! I love changing my nail colour up twice a week and especially when I have sparkly polish on, it just brightens my day a little bit. I really would like to get some new nail polish though as well, now I can! My favourite polish to wear at the moment is the unicorn ones by Nails Inc so when I found out they had the Dirty Unicorn shades out I had a good look at them. There are four altogether but Shake That Tail is my favourite! It’s a colour shifting polish and is described as, “Shake That Tail is a rainbow at twilight – a multi-flip spectrum of shades ranging from pink to blue to gold.” which is why I really like it!

• Boohoo Maisie Fishnet Mom Jeans – £18.00 (link)

When I was in Fuerteventura I saw a lot of jeans with this style and I really like the look of them to be honest! I haven’t really seen much like that over here in the UK but when I’ve had a search around the internet I have come across some pairs of jeans similar. The only ones I have really found that are decent are these mom jeans from Boohoo. I’m not a massive mom jean fan but I’d love some new jeans soon so these are more of a “target” of what I want to get for when the summer is here!

• Pitanui Persona 5 Hero Phantom Thief Ver. Plushie Keychain – £25.79 (link)

This is something I REALLY want and have done since before Christmas. I’m a massive Persona 5 fan and when I saw that these had been announced I got really excited and went to order, but when I saw the price as well as the size of the plush itself, I let out a massive sigh. I can’t really part with that sort of money for something so small! Maybe £15.00 due to it coming from Japan, but not £25.00! That’s crazy! Look at how cute he is though! Fuck he’s melting my heart so badly. 😦

• Lime Crime Mini Diamond Crushers Unicorn Cracker Box – was – £19.95 currently – £15.95 (link)

This is the other Lime Crime item I was talking about earlier and is the one I want the most out of the two, as let’s face it you get 3 mini Diamond Crushers for the price of one full size. That’s not bad if you just want to try out some of the shades and the formula of the product. In the unicorn box you get Unicorn (lavender/rainbow sparkle), Unicorn Queen (electric violet) and Black Unicorn (black rainbow). I would love to order these right now but I just can’t… I need to watch my monies right now until I get paid next. 😦

So that is my January wish list and the first one of 2018! How exciting, eh?

What items do you have on your wish lists? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

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

December Wish List ’17

Not going to lie, I didn’t know whether to make this wish list a Christmas with list or just a casual monthly one. Let’s just say I went for the latter! It’ll be Christmas Eve where I do my Christmas wish list, with a funny twist, so please keep your eyes peeled for that in the next couple of weeks.

But for now I decided to focus on things  that I’d love to buy, but probably won’t (well maybe one or two things off of the list… ESSENTIALS YO!) due to Christmas being right around the corner. My wish list is a bit lame this month, but it’ll do the job! 😛

• Carmex Skinny Dip Limited Edition Unicorn Sugar Plum – £2.59 (link)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Carmex but I always forget about how much I like it until I buy a new tube or jar. I recently bought the cherry flavour for my holiday a few months back and fell in love all over again. I saw online that Skinny Dip were teaming up with Carmex again to bring out not only a unicorn themed jar, BUT also a sugar plum scent/flavour! As soon as I see this in the shops I’ll be picking it up! I need myself a festive lip balm to apply. As sad as it sounds, I’ll probably pick up a couple to stock up! I love sugar plum scented things. 😛

• A Polar Bear in Love Vol. 1 – £8.91 (link)

I recently heard about this manga from Akidearest, a YouTuber who talks about a lot of Japanese related stuff on her channel. Like myself and many other people, she also does a monthly favourites and this was one of the items from it! It’s about a polar bear who is in love with a baby seal, but the baby seal is just constantly scared that the polar bear will eat it. So it’s constantly running away! The polar bear doesn’t know though how scared the seal is so whenever he attempts to run away, the polar bear just goes after it for cuddles and affection. It just sounds adorable and from the previews I’ve seen, it also looks hilarious! I doubt very much I’ll be getting this for Christmas, so as soon as Christmas and my birthday have been, I’ll be ordering this.

• Elodie the Unicorn Humidifier – £39.99 (link)

This is an item I wanted to pick up when it was a Kickstarter! I was going to get the full deal of the humidifier, ramen bowl, mug and planter. I was ordering it and getting myself psyched for it, when I found out it would cost £20 for shipping and that didn’t include any import I might be charged. Gutted, I left it. I’m glad I did however because now Firefox, a UK Based online store are stocking this! I’ll definitely be picking this up in the future to use around the house. I want to put essential oils in, lavender before and during bed time, and eucalyptus when me and Dane feel poorly. I know it’s not cheap at £40, but I want it and need it in my life and in my home! 😛

• Romwe Block Striped Heart Patch Sweater Coat – £18.33 (link)

When Lazy Oaf brought out their BORING rainbow cardigan, the blogging world went crazy. YouTubers were buying it and then everyone else was until it was sold out and not really available anymore. I really wanted the cardigan but over £50 for a cardigan? Oh hell no. As bad as it sounds I scoured Depop and eBay for fakes, but as of yet I just haven’t found one I like the look of, or trust to actually look ANYTHING like the picture. So I left it. Then I recently saw Jess over at iamfoxxtailz talk about this cardigan and show it off in a lookbook (you can read her post about this cardigan here). I thought, “Urgh someone else lucky enough to have and afford the Lazy Oaf one…” But how wrong I was! In actual fact the one she was wearing was from Romwe! I looked for a solid week on the website for it and had zero luck, then whilst writing this post I looked again and eventually found it, IN THE COATS SECTION! This is not a bloody coat!!! I went to order it to be honest but it was saying it would cost me £6.00 postage, which sucks to be honest. Not only that but it’s one size, it could be too small for me, which would suck. I want the oversized look in this cardigan so I can snuggle into it at work, at home and when out and about. I’m tempted to just treat myself to the Lazy Oaf one, but fuck it’s so expensive. That’s a food shop to me. 😛 We shall see what happens!

• Inc.redible Jelly Shot in shade Watch Me Go – £8.00 (link)

I had a feeling that Nails Inc were going to come out with a lipstick line when they had two lip products in the Beauty of Dreams gift set (which you can read about here) and I couldn’t find them ANYWHERE online! It was just a sneak peak of what was to come as a week or two ago Nails Inc came out with Inc.redible, a new beauty brand that so far has loads of amazing lip products, including these jelly shot tinted lip balms. I really want to get my hands on the green one as it looks amazing both in the tube, as well as on the lips. It leaves a light pink stain which I’m always down with. I’ll definitely be picking this up as soon as I can!

• Imperial Leather Foamburst Unicorn Marshmallow Shower Gel – £2.00 (link)

This is something I wouldn’t mind picking up to say I tried it and I probably will when I go into Boots next! I’ve used the foamburst shower gel before and they are amazing. They always remind me of when I was a kid when they first came out. Me and my mom both loved these and still do! I’m pretty sure she still buys the vanilla scented ones. Me and Dane have both used the marshmallow hand wash, shower gel and bubble bath by Imperial Leather so I’m pretty sure this marshmallow foamburst will be lovely to use on cold weekend mornings. For £2.00 I don’t mind giving this a go. 😛

So that was my wish list for December! I’m pretty sure there is more stuff I could have added to the list, but my mind has gone blank to be honest.

As I said as well, I will have a Christmas wish list up on Christmas Eve, which will be fun so keep eyes peeled for that! Anything I couldn’t add to this list will definitely be on that one!

What items do you have on your wish lists this month? Both in general and for Christmas, I want to know!

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

How to Become a Unicorn with Nails Inc

Whilst I was on holiday and even shortly after I returned home, I saw this gift set EVERYWHERE and wondered what all the fuss was about.

I also came back to discover that stores are now releasing all their Christmas goodies, which I’m excited about! Boots and Lush are probably two of my favourite places for Christmas, due to all the amazing beauty products they come out with.

As many of you will know, Boots bring out a star gift every week or so and it’s usually an expensive gift that is brought down to half the price. I don’t know if this was the first star gift this year, but it’s proven to be a popular one so far!

This gift set being the one I’ll be talking about today is one that most got excited about. This being the Nails Inc Beauty of Dreams Deluxe Unicorn Beauty Gift Set. I picked this up last week and I wasn’t going to, but to be honest I felt shit and wanted a treat to cheer me up. It was still half price as well, so BARGAIN!

I won’t be reviewing anything in this gift set and sadly I won’t be swatching anything either, so I do apologise about that.

This set contains 7 products to help you become a glamorous, beautiful, unicorn. You get two nail polishes, two lip products and three face masks. I’ll go into detail about each one, as well as reveal the prices of them if bought individually. I want to show you what steals you get for £20! 😛

• Sparkle Like a Unicorn Nail Polish Duo Kit – £15.00 (link)

Already this kit is a steal when you consider that just 2 out of 5 of the products cost £15.00! The nail polishes in this gift set are what sold it to me in the first place. I’ve wanted these polishes since they were released not that long ago. You get the 2 shades in here, Rainbow Wishes (iridescent purple) and Dream Dust (holographic shimmer). You can’t buy these polishes on their own and even so if you did they’d probably be £11.00 each anyway. I don’t actually think I can pick a favourite from the two as they’re both as gorgeous as the other! I’ll definitely be reviewing these very soon. Wearing them has made me realise how much I love Nails Inc polishes.

• Show me the Bunny Sheet Mask – £5.00 (link)
• Sparkle like a Unicorn Sheet Mask – £5.00 (link)

These face masks are EXPENSIVE! You get both of these in the gift set, £10.00 for two is a lot, but when you think about it, the half price offer makes them sound like they’re free in comparison. I love sheet masks and I already can’t wait to try these, especially the bunny one.

Show me the Bunny is an oil-balancing sheet mask, whilst Sparkle like a Unicorn is an illuminating sheet mask. I have an oily t-zone so the bunny mask will be great to use as a pamper around my time of the month. 😛 Most of all though I can’t wait to take pictures of me wearing these, it’s going to be hilarious!

These are the only products you can buy on the Nails Inc website, the rest appear to be special limited edition items for the gift set(s).

• Silver Streak Brightening Silver Peel Off Mask.

This is a single use peel off mask which you obviously apply to skin until dry and peel off. I’m guessing it’s silver from the name. 😛 It says on the pod itself that you can use it on hands, face and body. I’m not a massive fan of peel off masks as I get so paranoid that they’ll peel all of my eyebrows off. I want to get a face mask brush soon so I’m going to wait until I get one of those to try this out.

• Lip Trippin Iridescent Lip Strobe in shade Busy Unicorning.

This is a gorgeous iridescent lipstick that is pink with gold shimmer throughout! It reminds me of the 00’s, which really does take me back to when I was a kid. It’s creamy to apply and feels like a lip balm when applied to the lips. I do have a few issues with it though. Whilst it doesn’t have a scent, when I’ve worn it on my lips it does smell a little plastic. It’s not as bad as I’m making out, but if you’re highly sensitive with smells you may not like this. The other issue I have is that I don’t think it suits me… Sadly. I haven’t looked at properly enough to see how I feel but I do think it washes me out. I’m not a person who suits light shades at all, I’m definitely more of a dark shade gal. Either way I like this though!

• In a Dream World Iridescent Sheer Gloss in shade Sleep Unicorn.

This lip gloss is stunning and it just reminds me of the lip gloss and lipstick shades I wore as a teenager! It’s an iridescent purple shade that when put in the right light shifts to purple. It looks exactly the same as the Rainbow Wishes nail polish, which would work perfect together at a Christmas party with a little black dress. The gloss isn’t stick at all to wear and feels like a buttery balm to wear. Again, like the lipstick this doesn’t have a scent and shares that same plastic scent, which is a little off putting. This is something I would wear alone or over a darker shade to make it pop.

I keep mentioning that this gift set was half price. I don’t know how long it’s going to be on offer for and to be honest I don’t even know when it went on the offer! This is supposed to be £40.00, of course on the offer it’s £20.00. This is way more than a bargain and to me is more of a steal for that price.

The best part about this gift set for me is definitely the nail polishes, which I know is probably what is making everyone buy this… That and people will buy ANYTHING that can help them towards their goal of becoming a unicorn or a mermaid. 😛

So, what are my thoughts about the gift set? First of all it’s definitely not worth £40.00 in my eyes. £30.00 maybe, but definitely not £40.00. I love it though other than that! This is definitely a gift you would buy for a teenager or someone obsessed with unicorns! It’d also make a really nice gift to get your girlfriends for a pampering evening in. I’d definitely get something like this for one of my friends and me to use on an evening in towards Christmas, or to use before an evening out.

I’m already wanting it pick up another one of these for gift ideas! You don’t have to gift the whole thing to someone! You can always pop one of each item into a stocking for a friend, or even as a secret Santa idea. The possibilities are endless with this sort of thing.

So, for £20.00 would you pick up this gift set? What do you think of the Beauty of Dreams gift set? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having an awesome week.

Back To Education Stationary Ideas!

I just want to start this post off by throwing it out there that the title and original idea for this post was for back to school, not education. Then I realised that it’s not just kids and teenagers who get to have fun buying funky stationary, older teenagers and young adults get to as well!

September is by far one of my favourite months of the year and I’ve explained on various different posts over the years why. It just feels like a fresh start to me. It’s when you started a new year at school, college and university. Hey! It’s even when many start their first years at these places and you want to always leave a good impression to the others in your year and classes.

I remember in August as a kid my mom taking me to the stationary shops to pick up some new bits for school. It was always an exciting time! New books, scented gel pens and a fluffy pencil case and I was ready!

Things haven’t changed either, with 90’s trends making a comeback in fashion AND stationary we now have so much funky stuff to feast our eyes upon again! There’s holographic, fluffy, unicorn and even Hello Kitty and Pokemon! Talk about bringing back some nostalgia!

Today I am very tired from a night of awesome drinking and talking with my friend Jacqui, her boyfriend Chris and of course Dane. I didn’t want to write anything at all today. I’m not hungover, but I’m very tired and lethargic. Urgh!

BUT I was scrolling through the internet and decided to do this post. The summer holidays are coming to a close and whether you’re returning or even starting a new year of education, here’s so funky stationary ideas for you to have a look at! 😛 P.S. Pray for me that I feel better by bed time. 😛

Oh by the way, this post won’t contain things you’ll need such as special equipment for maths, art, science, etc. This is just the bog standard necessities. 😛

• Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Ruled Journal – £12.99 (link)

Now, although I am not a Harry Potter fan myself (sorry guys…) I know a lot of people who are, young and old! I find journals to be great not only for use as a notebook for classes, but also for personal too if you want to get any thoughts written down on paper. Although I’m not a Harry Potter fan this journal looks gorgeous and is definitely one that would get a conversation started for any Potter fan who would see it. It’s not cheap however, so this is a journal for something a little more special.

• South Park Barrel Pencil Case – £3.99 (link)

This pencil case was mostly added for nostalgia. I remember when South Park came out and everyone and I mean EVERYONE went mad for it! Then WHSmith brought out some pencil cases for it and all the boys in my year had one at some point or another. I wanted one, but they were forever sold out in my local store. This is definitely more for guys but sod it, girls can pull this off just as much! I don’t think this is anything huge either which is always good if you have a small bag.

• Hello Kitty Gel Pens – £6.00 (link)

Who doesn’t love gel pens eh? Especially scented ones! These aren’t scented but they’re Hello Kitty… What more do you want?! I always found different coloured gel pens to be great to use on certain projects and I’d like to say during revision too… I was one of these stupid kids who didn’t revise… How I would have been if I was as level headed then as I am now… 😛

• Green Marble Notebook – £2.49 (link)

This is actually a notebook I really want to get for myself… But I won’t because I have WAYYYY TOO MANY! This is a notebook for the more older members of education who may read this post. It reminds me of the notebooks they have over the pond… You know the black and white ones that EVERY SINGLE high schooler owns and uses to write secrets in. ANYWAY! This is gorgeous and would be great to use as a notebook for a certain lecture or class.

• Bramblewood Fox Notebook – £2.99 (link)

Yes, another notebook. BUT it has a fox on it and you know I love my foxes! I used to own a phone case with this same fox design on, which I adored! It’s just a bog standard notebook really, which you could use for classes or personal. I’d probably end up using it for classes. I find that when you have a really nice and funky notebook for classes, lectures or even at home for notes you just feel good opening it up to jot stuff down.

• Aquamarine Pencil Case – £5.59 (link)

If I had to have a favourite item on this list, I’d say this is it. As you all know I LOVE anything holographic, turquoise and mermaid themed. This just ticks all those boxes for me and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at all want to buy it… 😛 It’s a gorgeous turquoise pencil case with a fish scale sort of texture to it. This definitely reminds me of something the “cool kids” at school would have used. Either that or a fluffy pencil case! WHSmith have loads of these sorts of pencil cases available, with quite a lot of them selling out. So if you like the look of these sort of cases, get on there (or even in store) pronto!

• Pusheen A4 Ringbinder – £4.99 (link)

I LOVE Pusheen and I have a feeling that if I had been a kid when Pusheen first came out, I would have saved up my pocket money ready for when school shopping came around to buy EVERYTHING I could! I remember in my last years of secondary school I used an A4 pad of lined paper inside of a ringbinder for when I jotted notes down. I don’t know how I did it to be fair, as years later I attempted to do that again when studying my MA and I HATED IT. Folders are really handy to have, especially during GCSE’s, but it’s always better to have a cute one.

• What Would A Mermaid Do Prediction Pen – £8.00 (link)

Holy shit. I randomly found this obviously whilst researching for this post and I hesitated adding it at first as I thought it seemed so daft. I just couldn’t resist though. It’s so dumb but also so funny! If you love mermaid related stuff this pen is for you and the younger you are, the more you can get away with having it. 😛 It’s not cheap at £8.00 however, but it’s just such a novelty! Definitely something to cheer you up when you’re feeling down.

• Gemma Correll Unicorn Pencil Case – £12.95 (link)

I love Gemma Correll’s designs and in the past I’ve bought and used her stationary items! I still to this day own my ringbinder I bought and now use it to house adult documents in, because I’m now a motherfucking adult. 😛 I saw this pencil case and knew it needed a place on this list. I’ve got a couple of mermaid items, so a unicorn has to be part of the mix too! This isn’t cheap but it is a brand and it’s massive too! This would especially be good for an art student.

• Getting Shit Done Sticky Notes – £3.50 (link)

I remember when I was at university in my final year I was organised as fuck. I bought some post it notes, expecting to use them seriously and in the end I used them as a way to piss about so that I didn’t have to do any work on  my dissertation… I got a 2:1 on it and overall so it’s not like they affected my mark. 😛 They were boring though, so whenever I see funny or funky post it notes I wish they had been around when I was studying. These made me laugh so much! I may have to buy them for the office and blog related work. 😛

• Scented Pencil Pack – £4.50 (link)

Smiggle is notorious for their scented stationary, even their pencil cases! It’s cool but I do wonder if they’ve overstepped the mark just a tad… I always give stuff a smell on the rare occasions that I pop in however. I have looked at these scented pencils in the past and it just makes me wish I was at school again! I’d have definitely bought the banana ones.

• Mini Cookie Eraser Pack – £4.50 (link)

Again another scented item from Smiggle and one I just couldn’t leave out of this list. I was always a sucker for cute little erasers as a kid and I still remember to this day my mom bought me some puppy ones for when I started year 1. I couldn’t bear to use the one as it was just too cute. I’m pretty sure it’s still in my room at home somewhere! These little erasers are just adorable and I especially love that they come in a little plastic tub so you can keep them nice and smelling strong before using them.

So those were my picks for what you could buy for going back to education with. This list was definitely aimed more at a younger audience, but if you’re an adult who loves anything cute and kawaii then this list is totally for you too!

What items would you suggest people to pick up? Please leave links down below! I’m forever on the hunt for cute stationary!

I said at the start of this post that I hope I feel better when it’s finished, and you know what? I actually do feel better! I’m off to spend the rest of my Sunday chilled on the sofa with Dane.

Until next time, take care all and have an awesome bank holiday Monday tomorrow!

Barry M Colour Changing Lip Paints in Genie, Neptune and Unicorn – Review

L-R: Genie, Neptune and Unicorn

Wow this post has been sitting in my drafts for God knows how many months now… SINCE MARCH! Oh jeez… That’s when I bought Neptune to be honest.

Top-Bottom: Genie, Neptune and Unicorn

There are now three of these colour changing lip paints by Barry M and although I love my liquid lipsticks and MAC lipsticks equally I really do love these lip paints. The first lip paint Genie is one of the first lipsticks I bought and started wearing daily and it’s from this that I found my love of wearing lipsticks, especially dark pink shades. It wasn’t called Genie back then though and instead was called, “touch of magic” lip paint. Genie works better. 😛

If I’m known for one thing it’s my lipstick. Although my lips haven’t been in the best shape lately, I always usually have lipstick on, whether it’s liquid or a normal creamy one. As I mentioned before when I first started wearing bright lipsticks, the Barry M green lipstick was the one I wore the most. I loved it so much I wore it down to a nub! I remember the packaging was all black too, not colour coordinated like it is now. I definitely prefer the packaging now to back then.

So I thought why not review all of these lip paints? They’re all amazing, perfect for summer as they work like a stain as well as being a colour changing and unique shade to you.

I’ll do them in the order they were released, so the first one I’ll be reviewing is Genie!

Genie is the first shade that came out and goes on green and turns into a hot pink shade. I’ll pop a bit about it from the official Barry M website.

It’s green but magically turns your pout an ultra-long lasting personal shade of pink. It does this by adapting to the Alkaline in your lips. In other words, every person is different and every look is unique! Genie lasts for eight hours too so you can achieve an all-day custom kiss that’s all your own (Genie is an improved formulation of Barry M’s popular ‘Touch of Magic’ lip paint.)

I know a lot of brands claim that your lipstick will last for 8-12 hours, but this ACTUALLY does! I feel like it’s more of a stain than a long lasting lipstick, which I love! Due to this I feel like you can apply various coats of it and it’ll help it last longer, as well as create a darker shade which of course is good.

FYI this is my favourite picture of the bunch and one of my favourites I’ve taken of myself since my blog profile picture! :’)

Genie is green and goes on as a hot pink shade. It’s one of my favourite shades out of the three due to how vibrant the colour looks and due to that it can be worn all year around.

I first bought Genie (well touch of magic!) back in 2009/2010 when I first started getting into wearing bright coloured lipsticks. My mom loved it too and bought one at the same time as me. She still uses it to this day like myself, which just goes to show what an amazing product it is!

It’s from Genie doing so well over the years that I can only imagine encouraged Barry M to create not one, but two more colour changing lip paints to add to the collection!

At the end of March 2017 they decided to release a second shade, Neptune which is what I’ll be talking about next.

Neptune is a blue lipstick that turns a raspberry pink/purple shade when applied to the lips. Although Genie will always hold a place in my heart, this is a shade I adore due to it being near to being purple. I LOVE purple lipsticks so much!

Neptune, a magical new sibling for Barry M’s signature Genie Lip Paint. Neptune is blue… but turns lips a miraculous, personal shade of dark pink! Like Genie, Neptune reacts to the Alkaline of lips, creating a unique shade for everyone. Neptune also stays put for up to eight hours so it’s magically long lasting too!

My only problem with Neptune is I find sometimes when applying it to the lips the blue shade will stay around a while and I’ll have to use my finger to blend the lip paint into my lips a little more to help create that gorgeous raspberry pink/purple shade.

Like Genie this does last a long time on the lips and the more you apply the darker the shade will become. I would say it’s more of a raspberry pink shade than purple, but I sometimes feel I apply so much it becomes purple more than anything.

All of the colour changing lip paints are really comfortable to wear on the lips and I always find myself applying lip balm over them to keep my lips hydrated. This doesn’t affect the colour at all, which is great!

Finally we have the newest edition to the colour changing lip paint family! Unicorn was released recently at the end of May for Barry M’s 35th birthday!

This of course is the last colour changing lip paint I’ll be writing about on this post.

Following on from the magic of Genie & Neptune, Unicorn is the latest launch in Barry M’s family of beaut magical Lip Paints! This time yellow magically turns your pout an ultra-long lasting personal shade of pink.

Like Genie Unicorn is a lip paint that turns into a light pink shade, but it’s originally yellow! This isn’t as dark a pink as either Genie or Neptune, it’s more of a light soft pink which I really like for the summer months when you don’t want to wear a heavy or strong lip colour.

I was hesitant to pick this up when I first heard about it a couple of weeks ago because of it being pink. My first thought was, “But you already have a pink shade… Why make another?” I mean I’m surprised Barry M didn’t go for a coral colour to coincide with the summer.

This being said this is a lighter pink than Genie and it’s gorgeous! I love it and I can’t wait to wear it more over the summer here.

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but these don’t really have much of a scent. If anything it reminds me of aloe vera, that sort of refreshing smell. I really like it but I’m glad it isn’t strong otherwise it might have put me off.

Overall I LOVE these lip paints and I don’t think any other high street beauty brand in the UK will be able to pull it off and say it’s a unique idea.

These cost £4.99 each and are worth EVERY PENNY. If you have never tried these before and want to then get on it! Boots currently have 3 for 2 on Barry M, so you could get all of these if you wanted to.

If you want to read more about them or have a look on the official Barry M website, then here is the link for that.

What do you think of the Barry M colour changing lip paints? Do you own any or want to own any? If you own any what shade(s) and if you want any which shade(s) would you like to pick up?

I hope you enjoyed this review, I’ve really missed doing them lately! My lips are really sore still and due to this I couldn’t even take pictures the day of writing this review. BUT that was actually due to allergies, which still sucks. 😛

ANYWAYS… Until next time, take care all.