Liebster Award :D

I can't quite believe it, my 2nd award for this blog, it is really really appreciated! Thank you so much to the lovely In Her Daydream who nominated me! Her blog is amazing so definitely go and check it out, especially if you're a student and/or into beauty.

This has honestly made my day, I nominate the following blogs for the Liebster Award as I think they are really great and definitely deserve it:

http://themasterandmargaret.blogspot.co.uk/
http://thingsipurchase.blogspot.co.uk/
http://weareunderthewillowtrees.blogspot.co.uk/
http://themefashion.blogspot.co.uk/
http://textbooksandtofu.blogspot.co.uk/

Rules:

1.Link the person who gave you the award in your post.

2. Put the award in your post.

3. Choose 5 blogs with under 200 followers to receive the award.

4. Let them know you awarded it to them.

Again thank you so much In Her Daydream and now I go back to revision but with a big smile on my face :)

xx

Philip B...I take it all back!

So in my recent GlossyBox post, I said that I didn't think this Philip B Drop Dead Straightening Baume would be useful for me, and thought it would just make my hair sticky and greasy (after a horrific experience with some John Frieda Serum :s). However I used it yesterday and today after washing my hair and i'm pleasantly surprised. Now I didn't put any of it near my roots mostly because I needed to go out yesterday and didn't want to look like a Slick Rick! I used the product on about the last three inches of my hair (just as a side note, I have quite long hair) and then blowdried it and oh my gosh it made my hair so soft! I felt so lovely after having taken a battering in this horrendous weather we've been having it was so nice to have it feeling soft and smooth at the ends again. I wouldn't use it on my roots as I think my hair gets too greasy on top and this product definitely does create a sleek look to your hair. It's also paraben free which is good and as far as I can tell its unscented which is great because it doesn't mask your shampoo smell which is a pet peeve of mine about hair products!  Another good point is that a little goes a long way with this so if you were to buy the full size product which is £17 then I think you'd be getting value for money. Personally I wouldn't buy the full size as I think despite it being a nice product its not something my hair desperately needs but if you do struggle with dry or frizz prone hair I'd definitely recommend it!

Versatile Blogger Award :D

I actually cannot believe i've just recieved the Versatile Blogger Award from the lovely Demi-Mist. I am so so grateful as i've only recently started my blog but so far i'm really enjoying blogging and reading other blogs!

Okay so let me tell you 7 things about me:

1. I study criminology at university.

2. I love Winter, my favourite thing about it is that it gets dark so early.

3. I adore watching the ocean and listening to the tide break.

4. I'm very superstitious about magpies even though I know its irrational!

5. The smell of freshly cut grass is my favourite scent.

6. New York City is my favourite place.

7. One of my nicknames is Slug lol.

I want to nominate the following blogs for this award as i've really enjoyed reading all of their posts:

http://mui28.blogspot.co.uk/

http://duckandegg.blogspot.co.uk/

http://happygolucky10.blogspot.co.uk/

http://scholarlifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/

http://missemmawalker.blogspot.co.uk/

http://asteria-sparkle.blogspot.co.uk/

http://joyinastrangeplace.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dashof-this.blogspot.co.uk/

http://faceofthunder.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.sophee.co.uk/

http://hellofrances.blogspot.co.uk/

http://threemultipliedbyseven.blogspot.co.uk/

http://lipslikesugaredkisses.blogspot.co.uk/

http://louisamaryy.blogspot.co.uk/

http://violeteli.blogspot.co.uk/

Rules:

1. Nominate 15 bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.

2. Let them know that you have nominated them.

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the bloggers that have nominated you.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post.

So thank you once again to Demi-Mist for nominating me and I will continue to blog hopefully for a long time :)

xx

A day in the life...

So its Saturday, I thought a do a bit of a day in the life type post. Mostly because i'm incredibly bored of revision and i'm taking a little break so why not make a post. This is purely little bits of my life from today.

 Stacks of revision, is anyone else feeling the pressure of looming exams or essays? My second year assessments start on the 9th May so definitely starting to get the fear! I've spent most of my day in my room reading through notes and making revision cards, also researching for my dissertation proposal. I don't hate revision, I do like learning and studying, as lame as that sounds but I hate the thought of having to remember everything for one single exam, makes me very anxious, oh well preparation is the key!

So I've had this on in the background today, really good film, it's based on The Borrower's by Mary Norton but based in Tokyo. I adore Studio Ghibli films, particularly directed by Hayao Miyazaki, my favourite is Howl's Moving Castle. Definitely give these a go if you're looking to watch something a bit different, the artwork is amazing and the music is always good.

Okay so I was a bit naughty, I took a walk this morning just to get some air, and somehow I ended up in Boots with this in my hand...Anyway its Revlon's Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, I saw it when I bought Berry Smoothie a few weeks ago but held off until I'd tried Berry Smoothie. Well I loved the product so I picked up this today. It was £7.99 which i'm happy to pay because I don't often find lip sticks or glosses that I like. But I love these so much, mositurizing and the colours aren't too in your face. Peach Parfait is a lovely buildable peachy pink colour with a slight shimmer but again as with Berry Smoothie not highly noticable.

Last but not least i've been stuffing my face with these bad boys today. I consider myself to have a reasonably healthy diet...and then exam period comes along and it goes out the window. These are soo good, ridiculously unhealthy but oh well, they taste amazing. I don't know how readily available this flavour is in the UK I buy mine from a retro sweet shop in Taunton and apparently they also stock them at Fizzy Lips in Bristol so i'll have to have a look!

Anyway I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend :)

x

Blog Hop!

Head over to BlogLoveTherapy for the Blog Hop! It's a really good way of finding new blogs and its just a bit of fun really :)

Not pale enough!

So CuteCosmetics is an awesome website, they stock eco, organic and cruelty free make-up, skincare, and make-up tools. Including vegan products. So definitely check them out if you are interested in organic or vegan products, they also do free shipping on all UK orders and their customer service is brilliant from my experience! So anyway on to the point I recently noticed that they sell tester pots of BM Beauty Mineral Foundation for £1.25, and they have eight shades to chose from. Now i've been wanting to try a mineral foundation for the longest time so I thought i'd give this a go.

Sorry for the image quality :s my camera doesn't like it when its grey and raining! Anyway I got the lightest shade which is Stripped from the Vanilla Rose collection, described as light with neutral undertones. First off let me say that this product is really nice, it applies really well and I really love the finish it gives and how it makes your skin feel. Its quite a matte finish but not so much as to make you look flat, and it feels so smooth and soft. So hats off to BM Beauty because the quality is lovely. However I will not be using this particular mineral foundation again....epic epic orange tideline occurred! It was not a good look and no amount of blending would get rid of it, fact is i'm far too pale for this which is such a shame because I really do like the product. I'll definitely be on the look out for an ultra pale mineral foundation and if anyone has any recommendations i'd really appreciate it! But i'd definitely recommend testing this product if you're looking for a mineral foundation with good coverage but i'd say definitely more for medium to dark skin tones!

First GlossyBox April 2012

So I just got back from a quick stop into uni to pick up a shed-load of books for my revision and dissertation proposal and I was greeted with the April GlossyBox, which is my first experience of the GlossyBox's so needless to say I was quite excited. This won't be a review of any of the products because obviously I haven't had time to try them, but once i've given them all a try i'll give a review. So first off this month's is described as the 'Natural Beauty' box.

Obviously not the usual pink colour which I was expecting, but I actually really like this packaging. It's like homemade paper, in an oatmeal colour which is nice for spring and fits very well with their 'natural' theme, plus its 100% biodegradable, which is great, however I will probably keep the box to store bits and bobs in as its a cute size for on my shelves!

These are the products;

Caudalie Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum, which i'm very excited to try as i've heard good things about Caudalie but never tried any of their products.

Inika Organic Eyeliner in Number 11 Sapphire, this is a a deep metallic navy colour, i'm not a massive fan of moving out of the browns/blacks for eyeliner but its such a nice looking colour that i'm willing to give it a go!

Monu Enriched Body Cream, This sounds like an interesting product as it's got marine collagen, vitamin A, E and B5 in, so it should be pretty good. It's got quite a strong rose smell which might be offputting to some but I quite like it.

Figs and Rouge Lip Balm Peppermint and Tea Tree, Now this I have tried on my lips already as I love anything to do with peppermint for the lips and I like it a lot. It's a multi-purpose product always a bonus so you can use it on your body and face if you have a really patch of skin anywhere. It smells so good and its quite an oily consistancy which is good if your lips are super dry. So i'll definitely be using that a lot.

Philip B Drop Dead Straightening Balm, I feel that this might be the least useful product in this box for me, I've got dead straight hair naturally which is always quite limp so i'm not sure how i'll get on with this, but it could be good if my hair is being particularly frizzy or uncontrollable when the weather gets warmer so I'll give it a try and see how it goes!

All in all i'm really happy with my first box, and will definitely continue to subscribe as its a great way to try before committing to the full size price (also another good thing about GlossyBox they give you the full size prices on the product list, which is always good to know incase you want to purchase after trying the product). So I'll enjoy trying out these products and would definitely recommend GlossyBox, if you're interested you can subscribe at http://www.glossybox.co.uk/.

An old faithful

So this is a product i've been using for years and will probably always have it to hand. Its not something I use everyday but I think its good staple product to have (a bit like Vaseline and Sudocrem!), and it is this: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturiser.

First off if like me you are a bit partial to chocolate then you'll love this, it smells  divine. It's not sickly smelling like some cocoa butter products its just lovely. Anyway on too the important bits this moisturiser is enriched with vitamin E and its quite an intensive moisturiser that relives dry skin. It also helps to reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks. The best part; it really does work. I started using this to try and reduce the appearance of a bad scar on my leg and it worked miracles, yes the scar is still there, it always will be but it is far less scary looking than it was, the redness reduced very quickly and it's definitely not as big as it could have been, which I attribute to using this product on it everyday once it had fully healed. I also use it as a moisturiser if i've been swimming or been in the sun for a long time to combat dryness or tight feeling skin and it makes your skin so soft and quickly sinks in so there's no horrible sticky feeling.  I have also recently been using it on some stretch marks (yes I have stretch marks no shame here!) around my hips and its definitely helped. All in all a big ten out of ten for this product. It retails at £3.77 in Boots for 250ml, in my opinion that's a bargain and I would definitely pay more for it if it were more expensive.

A recent addition to my Palmer's collection is the Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Lip Butter, which I picked up a couple of weeks ago in Superdrug for £2.99. Oh my gosh I love this already, its another cocoa butter formula that soothes and softens the lips, but it does have a glossy finish which is really nice if you're having a bad dry lip day but still want to have a bit of shine, it saves using a drying lipgloss or lipstick and makes your lips feel so nice. Plus it also smells amazing. It is also a squeezy tube applicator so its so easy to apply and just throw in your bag for on the go. I'll definitely be repurchasing this when mine runs out!

Rings

I love rings, they are probably my favourite type of jewellery as its easy to wear and you can change the feel of an outfit just by which rings you are wearing. I'm a magpie in stores or stalls that sell rings, I make a swift beeline for them. So these are just some photos of some of mine, these are one's I wear often, everday basis. I do have other but most are currently at my parents house as I didn't feel like I would need to accessorize for my uni exams and needed to not bring too much stuff back with me. Although I feel like I came back with more stuff than I had before...its a good job i'm not moving house again this Summer! Anyway onto the photos.

The two patterned silver rings in this pic are from H&M they were part of a ten ring set which was £2.99! Bargain I thought, there's 6 patterned ones and four just plain silver but I like that. The turquoise stone ring (which I love sooo much) is from LLY MLRS shop and it was £4, pretty good I think as you'd probably pay about £8 in Accessorize for something like that, also super fast delivery for this, I ordered it late afternoon and it arrived the next day, very impressed!

These two I wear everyday and have done for years. They are both silver, the star ring was from a stall at the Sidmouth Folk Festival about ten years ago now and it was £2, for those that don't know every year in Sidmouth, Devon there is a Folk Festival, its basically tons of little stalls selling jewellery, clothes, decorative items, and loads of other things, plus live music, dance and a lot of cider! But its great for finding quirky little gifts and knick-knacks. The hammered silver ring was a Christmas present from my boyfriend two years ago, it was part of the Paloma Picasso collection for Tiffany & Co and I believe it was around the £70-80 price mark, me and boyfriend do tend to go a little overboard on the gifts. I love it, its very me, he got it right with this one. There hasn't been a day that I haven't worn it since I got. Its really subtle but I really like it. I don't think Tiffany actually sell this anymore, there is a rose gold and yellow gold version but they are obviously much more expensive.

Now this ring I have had for years again and it was bought from the Devon County Show from a trader and I think it was about £4. Now this isn't the best photo of it, I couldn't get my ancient camera to truely capture it well, but this ring is amazing. The stone/resin (i'm not sure what its made from) looks like a galaxy, its so pretty and changes with the light from being the purpley colour to being a turquoise/green colour. I love it so much and yes it does look a little bit like those mood rings everyone used to have (mine always stayed that horrible dark brown colour!) but I don't care I've never seen anything similar to this is shops and I like that its a bit different. I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for more like this!

Does anyone else love rings as much as me?

Another Lush fave...

So you may be able to tell that I like Lush. I know loads of people hate it (including my mum, who sends me in to buy presents for people because she can't stand the smell! haha) but I love it. I love the fact that its natural, against animal testing and just a bit different from standard soap/shampoo/skin care products. Anyway enough of my rambling. I suffer from dry lips, that get so chapped during the weather change between Winter and Spring which drives me a little mad. As many things just do not work. So when I came across Lush's Lip Scrubs in my local store I was eager to give them a try.

There are three flavours, Bubblegum, Mint Julips and Sweet Lips. I have Mint Julips because I wasn't a huge fan of the sweeter ones, and this smells amazing, its like peppermint creams. Basically the product is made from sugar and oils like jojoba and peppermint and you just rub it across your lips to get rid of dry and dead skin and because it hasn't got anything nasty in it you can just lick the excess off if you want, I know some people don't but I do it doesn't really bother me. It leaves my lips feeling very smooth and its perfect for using before applying lipstick. It retails for £4.95 which I will say is a bit pricey but I have had mine for a few months now and it does last a long time, as you can see from the photo, I use it probably 5-6 times week, basically when I notice my lips chapping or if I want to apply a particularly drying lipstick. I would recommend this product if like me you suffer from dry/flakey lips, if you don't like minty flavours or scents maybe try one of the others, but I love this is very refreshing and feels slightly tingly which I like.

Helplines

Okay so this is a more serious post, stemming from a personal conversation with a very dear friend of mine who said that she thought it was important to spread the word about these helplines. So I thought I'd do just that, this is basically a list of some helpline numbers in the UK and the USA. This is very important to me. These exist to give support to people in times of crisis, mental distress and bereavement. These issues can effect anyone of any age and at any time. I believe that with the ever growing internet and anonymity that comes with it, it is increasingly important to remember that behind all the blogs, channels, websites, vlogs etc that there are people. People who have feelings and we do not always see what they are going through or how they are really feeling. I've seen a lot of hate recently, on various sites and in particular Youtube. I don't make Youtube videos but I do love Youtube but reading some of the comments on various types of videos has made me quite angry actually. I don't like the fact that people can hide behind usernames or anonymous and basically bully other members of a site. I know a lot of people say they just ignore it but you shouldn't have to ignore it, it just shouldn't happen. The aim of this post is to say, please always think before posting and always stick up for fellow vloggers/bloggers etc, strength in numbers I always say.

Here's the list i've compiled of some hotlines/helplines:

UK

Samaritans - 08457 90 90 90

Victim Support - 0845 30 30 900

BEAT - 0845 634 1414

Panic Attacks - 01273 776 770

Cruse Bereavement Care - 0844 477 9400

Mind - 0300 123 3393

USA

NEDA - 1-800-931-2237

Suicide Prevention - 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)

Grief Recovery - 1-800-445-4808

SOS Teen Hotline - 1-800-949-0057

National Victim Center - 1-800-FYI-CALL (1-800-394-2255)

This is not an exhaustive list but if you or anyone you know ever needs advice or support please don't hesitate to call a hotline or just find someone to talk to. It's important to remember that no one is ever truely alone and the great beauty of the internet is that there will always be someone willing to talk, regardless of time of day or what is going on in their life. Anyway this is a bit random and a diversion away from normal posting but I felt it was important and I hope others feel it is too.

'Always choose life'

Not just a bargain...

Marks and Spencer...now I know what everyone is thinking 'old people'. Yes for the most part Mark and Spencer is known for being a place where little old ladies shop, at least it is where I live. I don't think many of my friends ever step foot in there unless its for the yummy food. Now for any international readers I don't think Marks and Spencer exists anywhere else (correct me if i'm wrong), they do deliver internationally but it comes at a price. Anyway as I was saying not a typical store for younger people, however I sometimes have a wander in there just to see what's on offer and well I came across these this morning.

These M&S's Natures Extracts shower gels, and at the moment all the Natures Extracts products are buy one get one half price. However that is not the best part, these products are ridiculously cheap but smell amazing. These shower gels are £2 for 250ml so togther they cost £3. I think that's a bargain, and they smell really nice, I like the Peach and Almond scent the best as it's quite a calming smell, nice for an evening shower. The Fig and Orange is bit more fruity and invigorating I think, probably due to the orange oil. Also I like the packing each scent has a different colour which is carried through the whole range which is really nice, and I like the floral patterns. The most expensive products in the range are only £2.50 which are the Body Butters and the Bath Foams, so you really can't go wrong. I'd definitely recommend having a browse if you're near an M&S in the next few days!

Another M&S find was this Lift and Curl Smudgeproof Mascara from their Perfection collection.

I've been using the Lash Extend and Separate Mascara for a few months now and have really liked it so thought i'd give this one a try as it has better reviews online. I've just tried it and I'm quite impressed, no clumping and easy to apply, it has a curved brush which I like, it makes it easier to reach the inner lashes. I got it in brown/black, but they do also do black but it was out of stock. I'm not too fussed about using brown/black as it doesn't make too much difference on my lashes. This was £5, and the Lash Extend and Separate is also £5, pretty good if you ask me, considering some of the drugstore brands are heading for £10 now. So i'm pretty happy with these as an alternative. Plus they are BUAV approved which is something I look for in new products.

So there you go just a little nod to Marks and Spencer for their nice and non-bank busting products :).

Bags, Bags, Bags...

Okay it occurred to me I haven't done a post about handbags, i'm a bag-aholic. I love bags. Basically any kind, size, shape, colour, if I like it chances are i'll buy it or just lust after it for a long time. Honestly my love for bags knows no end. Anyway because of this I thought i'd show you my favourite bags. I do own others but these are ones I reach for most often. I do have a little black going-out type bag that I also use a lot but I left it at my parents house so it had to be left out of this post.

Anyway my absolute favourite bag of all time is my Mulberry Alexa. (Just to let you know I did not buy this myself, it was a gift for my 23rd birthday, very very generous gift and was a complete surprise and shock, but i'm so grateful). Its gorgeous, its the chocolate soft buffalo and I just love it.

Slightly shoddy camera work here as the light was bad, but anyway I love it, the size is perfect, I like larger bags, I hate when you have a small bag and you're trying to squeeze everything you need into them, so this is the perfect size. The detail on this bag is lovely, I love the postman lock and the belt buckle straps. I also like that you can wear it on your arm or on the shoulder with the long strap, which makes it look more casual. I also love the inside of this bag, its got the classic Mulberry tree lining and its huge inside. So yes this is my favourite bag and its worn amazingly well, i've had it almost a year now and the quality is unquestionable, you definitely get what you pay for with Mulberry. This bag currently retails for £795, the Mini Alexa is £550 and the Oversized Alexa is £925. So very pricey and not something to be bought just on a whim, but I would save money to buy this bag if I didn't own it already just because I adore it.

Okay so moving into high street (i.e my price range!) bags. First of my favourites is this White and Blue fold over bag from River Island.



 I got this last Summer before going on holiday to Greece as I thought it was the perfect holiday bag. As far as I can remember I think this was £24 which in my opinion is pretty good. I love the silver hardware against the bright blue. It looks so pretty and summery. It's simple without being dull I think. The blue is definitely what attracted me too it and I love that the lining is the bright blue as well. It has a long strap and the bag folds over in the middle and joins with a magnet hidden under the outer fabric (very clever imo). So yes I used this a lot and as such it is a tad dirty, the only problem with white bags and i'm seriously hoping I can clean it with something, not sure what though, and hopefully it will look as good as new again because I really like this. Also its not too big and its very light even with things in so its good for sightseeing and travelling. I did see one similar to this in River Island today if anyone was interested, couldn't find it online but it may be new season.

Next on the list is this dark tan satchel bag from Topshop, this is also a fairly old purchase and was about £40 (overpriced I think but I loved it).

Do excuse the clashing purple duvet cover :/. So this is another fold over bag and its on a hinge type clasp (no idea what these are actually called!) but I like that makes it easy to open, and it has a zip so things don't fall out everywhere. This has a long shoulder strap and the size of this makes it perfect for uni as I can get a notepad in it and my pens and other stationery type items in comfortably. I like the details, especially the buckles at the bottom. This is just quite a plain casual bag, which is good for all seasons and goes with a lot of different outfits. These bags are sort of timeless i think as satchels always seem to be around, they're just very versatile and I like them for everyday use.

Last but not least is this...yes this will not be to everyone's taste as its a bit out there, but I saw this in Accessorize and just fell in love and my lovely mum bought it for my birthday. It was £18.99 I believe.

Ah its just lovely, its an amazing coral pink colour which is faded towards the top, and its got this amazing gold sequin detail on it. This is definitely a Summer bag, I wouldn't use this any other time of year as I feel i'd look a tad odd, especially in England where the weather is so bad. Its an over shoulder bag, and it just has a magnet popper close, inside is a cream silky lining and there's just one inside zip pocket but this is perfect as a beach bag. It's nice to wear with white linen trousers or denim shorts and a white vest, well at least that how I like to wear it. But yes Accessorize definitely know how to do a nice Summer bag, they've got some gorgeous bags in store at the moment, so definitely check them out if you're looking for one. I do find they can be overpriced so unless I truely love something, like this one, then I don't tend to buy from there.

Anyway those are my most used/favourite bags. Hope you liked this post and are having good days. I also hope the weather is better where you are than where I am...never seen so much rain in my life!

x



GlossyBox has one new subscriber :)

So I'm very excited, I just ordered my first GlossyBox after reading countless reviews and watching youtube videos about their service. I've been tempted for months but finally took the plunge and subscribed today. I must say i'm excited, I think i'll see what the first few are like and then decide whether to continue my subcription. That's one of the main benefits, you can cancel your subscription at any point so you're not tied into some hideous contract! I just think its a good way to try different products without committing to spending vast amounts for a fullsize product that you'll never use. Its £10.00 plus £2.95 P&P in the UK which I think its pretty good for five sample products, of make-up, skincare, haircare, fragrances etc, which if you bought instore could cost a fortune depending on the brand. Basically it just sounds like it might be quite nice and a bit of fun to get little testers for a tenner a month. (btw this isn't my image). Does anyone else subscribe to GlossyBox? Any good/bad things I should know?

Anyway aside from doing this today i've been at work which was fine but freezing! What is wrong with the weather in England at the moment?! It's utterly horrible, but anyway I did go a do a bit of shopping after work..eep, I bought two things, I wanted to do a post but unfortunately the light is awful and I can't get any decent photos so I'll do that tomorrow instead. I now have to get on and do some uni work otherwise my exams will not go well! Hope everyone has had a good day!

Current Skincare Favourites

Okay so i'm back in Bristol now, journey was fine, despite the embarrasment of how much stuff I had to squeeze into boyfriends car, but we made it so thats all that matters. So in true student form i'm procrastinating already by making this post but hey nevermind. So this is on my current most used/favourite skincare products. This is facial skincare, I do have body products but that might be better in a different post. Now I do use other products sometimes but these are my top four that I use regularly and always have to hand.

So my first product is the ever faithful Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. Sigh I love this product, a firm favourite and a product i'll continue to use for probably well ever. Its lovely both in packaging and in the product itself. It's a concentrated cream that has eucalyptus and cocoa butter (smells lovely) and basically you rub the product into your skin, on a dry face (rather odd I know but trust me it works!) and then you take a muslin cloth and run it under the hot tap, wring it out and then use it to take the make-up and just daily grime off your face. It leaves your skin feeling amazing and so soft. It's helped my skin so much, eased the dryness and definitely helped with my oily t-zone which is amazing because nothing i've tried before has worked this well! You can buy the starter kit which includes a 100ml bottle of the Cleanse and Polish and 2 muslin cloths for £14.25, the Cleanse and Polish on its own is £12.75, both of these I think are bargains as its honestly the best skincare product I own by far. I buy mine from John Lewis but you can order it online from Liz Earle .

The next two are both Clinque products. First is the Superdefence SPF 25 moisturizer, this is my favourite moisturizer ever, it just works for my skin. It doesn't leave that horrible sticky feeling on your skin like some moisturizers do it sinks in quickly leaving your skin feeling really smooth and it's easy to apply make up over this product. It's fragrance free which I like because i'm not a fan of really heavily scented moisturizers for the face. It's designed to combat the signs of aging...now i'm only 23 so I don't know if this actually works or what but hopefully it will do! This retails at £35, which yeah ouch but it lasts a really long time and its a great product, so i'd definitely recommend this if you're looking to splash out on a good moisturizer.

Second product by Clinque is the Anti-blemish solutions moisturizer, this is meant to be step 3 in Clinque's anti-blemish solution kit but I just use this by itself. If I start to have a break-out i'll use this usually over night for a couple of days and it really does help with blemishes and pimples. I can definitely see a difference even just using it for a couple of days, especially around the time of the month, thats when I tend to use it most. It also controls excess oil, also good for when your skin is feeling the effects of extra hormones. So this is another favourite that I'll continue to buy, also another fragrance free product. This is £17.50 for 50ml, which again is a tad expensive but in my opinion worth every penny!

Last but not least is Lush's Ocean Salt facial scrub. This is a fairly recent addition to my favourite skincare products but i'm so glad I found this. Its a sea salt based scrub which has lime, coconut, seaweed, avocado butter and vodka! It removes dead skin and acts as an antiseptic, also good for blemishes. It smells amazing, kind of like a cocktail, and it's an amazing blue colour when you stir it all together. One thing I would say is go easy with the scrubbing as there are some quite large salt pieces which could be quite abrasive on the skin but apart from that its a great product. It's £6.75 for 100g, which isn't bad, I don't use this everyday as it would seriously dry my skin so its lasted me a while. It's great for when you want to feel really fresh and feel like your skin could do with an intense exfoliation.

So there you go my top four skincare products, i'm in no way appose to trying new things but these i've found work best for me at the moment. Oh in case anyone was wondering my skin is combination, tends to get dry on the cheeks but quite oily around the t-zone, so if anyone is similar to me i'd recommend any of these products :).

Heading back to uni....

So today was my last day at my parents house before heading back to uni tomorrow. I should probably be packing (that can wait a bit). I'm going back for the exam period, I don't have any more lectures this year which is a bit scary but heyho bring on 3rd year! Anyway I haven't really put together any fashion/beauty posts for today but here's a few photos from my time at home over the Easter break. Because who doesn't love a good picture :).

Couple of pics of the beautiful flowers my boyfriend bought me as a good luck gift for my exams :) <3

Work for my dissertation proposal eeek!

Just a few of the random bits and bobs around the house, including my mum's hearts, my dad's Buddah and my sister's cactus, who is inexplicably named Norbert :).

So not the most exciting post but today has been a bit manic with sorting out things I need to take back with me. I have planned however a 'What's in my bag' post which will be quite fun. I also picked up the Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner today so i'll do a review on that in the next couple of days. I got it on offer in Tesco for £5.99, and i'm looking forward to trying it. Anyway hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I've had a great time at home for the past two weeks, but i'm looking forward to heading back to Bristol, despite the building anxiety about exams :s, anyone else got any coming up? If so I hope revision is going well and good luck!

Mini Haul

So yesterday I did a bit of shopping, mostly for a friend's birthday present, but I did pick up a few things for myself. I had some Easter money from my Gran so thought I'd have a little spending spree before going back to uni on Sunday. So anyway incase anyone is interested here's what I got.

I'll start with the clothes, I went to Republic and got a couple of things in their 2 for £30 offer. I think that's a pretty good deal to be honest, as most of the items in the offer are around the £25 just by themselves. Then I headed to the good old favourite Primark, however it was a bit disappointing, I have definitely been spoilt by the Bristol flagship store, 4 floors of anything you could ever need but my hometown Primark is tiny so it doesn't stock a great deal of variety. But I did manage to bag a bargain.

So first of all apologies for the bad image quality, Devon is currently experiencing some lack of sunshine, making natural light scarce! But hopefully they'll give you some idea of the clothes. So in the first photo, the trousers are part of what I bought from Republic, just plain black linen trousers, nice and light for Summer (if it ever arrives!). I literally lived in my pair from River Island last Summer, as you can pretty much wear them with anything. Anyway I liked these from Republic they don't feel really thin and cheap like some of the linen trousers around and they have a proper fly zip and buttons which I like. The second thing I got from there are the shorts in the second photo, really nice soft cotton material, and they are a dark grey/blue colour, again nice for Summer with a cami top. So both of those came to £30, pretty good as they were both individually priced at £25.

The skirt in the first photo is what I bought from Primark, just a plain black jersey maxi skirt, and it was only £8, its basically identical to one's you can get from New Look but they retail at £19.99 so I was pretty happy to find this! Comes with one of those slightly cheapy looking belts but you can take it off, which I will be doing, I'll probably wear it with a dark brown thicker belt and a top tucked in. I know some people won't be a fan of the maxi skirt, but I love them. I'm not a fan of my legs and rarely get them out, unless i'm wearing tights or leggings. I'm very very pale and the endless talk of how unattractive 'pale white legs' are has shot down my confidence so I tend to stay covered up in Summer as I don't tan at all! So anyway I love maxi skirts for Summer.

Onto make-up type items, I didn't get too much, these were all from Boots, so advantage points ahoy!

First of all I got a new can of Batiste dry shampoo, this one is the tropical scent, which I find myself going back to over the others. I don't use the one's designed for fair hair as there isn't much point, and if you spray under the first layer of hair and rub your fingers through well enough I don't find it leaves white residue. Anyway this was £2.99 so not too bad and its a lifesaver when I have early starts at uni, I'll wash my hair the evening before and then if its looking a bit flat i'll spray on a bit of this. Basically it means I can get up at 7am instead of half 6! Haha.

Second and I think the best thing I picked up is the Revlon Colour Burst Lip Butter, I got number 50 which is Berry Smoothie and I love it! It was £7.99 but so worth it. It goes on so smooth and is very hydrating, I suffer from quite dry lips so this is perfect as an alternative to a lipstick. It goes on quite sheer but is very buildable.

I also love the packaging of these, the sheer quilted design of the case is so pretty, and the top is clear so you can see the true colour of the product, big big plus! I also liked Peach Parfait but held off buying it as I felt that i'd see how this one wore first but I'm impressed and will definitely be picking up more of these!

Third item is a Natural Collection blush, now I know these are not the best, its not highly pigmented but for £1.99 you can't really go wrong, for something to wear on a daily basis if you're just pottering around. I got Rosey Glow, which is a pinky colour, I tend to stick to more pink based colours as it looks more natural on my skin tone. It looks quite dark in the photo but it blends well, its a little bit dusty but nothing that would put me off it, well not at that price! If it were more pricey then I probably wouldn't repurchase but I like it, its just a standard everyday blush and I have soft spot in my heart for Natural Collection as their Pressed Powder in Cool (also £1.99) is perfect for me. I don't think i've ever had a better powder that I feel matches my skin as well for such a bargain!

Anyway finally I picked up the Loreal Lumi Magique foundation in C1 Rose Pearl, which was £10.99.

Hmm what can I say about this, first impressions are not that great, it's a tad yellow-y in my opinion, when I tested it in store it blended well on my hand but trying it on my face this morning I wasn't as convinced by it. But I will persevere as I may be having an off skin day today and see how it goes over the next couple of weeks. It's meant to give you more radiant looking skin so maybe that is the reason for the yellow tone! I usually wear Loreal True Match foundation in Rose Ivory which so far is the closest match I can get for my skin without spending a small fortune. To be honest I think i'm more likely to continue using that as I don't think i'll be swayed by the Lumi Magique. One good thing however the packaging is a lot nicer than the True Match, and it has the ever faithful pump which is a big thumbs up from me!

So there you go my little pre-university exam period haul. Hope you liked it!

Lifeless hair be gone!

Used this today and thought i'd sing it's praises a little bit. This is Big by Lush, it's a sea salt shampoo, which is designed to add volume. This has done wonders for my hair, my hair is currently quite long, i've got naturally dead straight hair which can become a bit flat and lifeless. I tend to have to wash it everyday because it gets quite greasy quickly, (I know you're not meant to but I just prefer it, feel sort of grim if I don't). So anyway I was browsing in Lush and saw this and the sales advisor told me it was good for giving volume and getting rid of any product build up so I decided to take the plunge and try it.

First of all on appearance this could put people off, it does look a bit weird, its kind of like an off white jelly looking substance, but you just have to look past it. I think it smells lovely but my sister hates it! It smells fresh and clean which I like, Lush state that its neroli, mandarin, orange flower absolute and vanilla. Because it's made up mainly of sea salt there are no synthetic preservatives which is a plus. Secondly it's best to shampoo and rinse with this twice, the second use makes it lather up really well, and your hair will be literally squeaky clean! Finally I would say to use a little bit of conditioner after this just so its a bit easier to comb through afterwards but honestly this is the best hair product i've had in a long while. I tend to use it once or twice a week as it gets rid of any build-up from other shampoo's and gives my hair a bit of life if its looking flat.

Oh it's also a vegan friendly product! It retails for £10.95 for 330g, but it lasts quite a long time, and I wouldn't recommend using it everyday, I've found that I go through a tub every month or so. I have heard that Seanik one of Lush's shampoo bars is a good alternative if you don't want to spend as much, Seanik is £5, I haven't tried it myself yet but might be worth a go if you'd rather not fork out nearly £11! Overall though Big is definitely going to be staple in my hair care routine for a while.

A-Z of Rae

So I saw this on Sprinkle of Glitter and thought it was a cute idea, I like getting to know people so thought I do this so people could know a bit more about me. Probably nothing overly exciting but ah well.

Age: I'm 23...24 this year though which is a scary thought!

Bed Size: Double bed, wooden frame with Laura Ashley covers because i've developed my mother's taste in interior design!

 

Chore you Hate: Cleaning the bathroom, one of the most tedious jobs ever!

Dogs: I don't have a dog but I like Kelpies and Malamutes.

Essential start of your day: A cup of tea and a shower :)

Favourite Colour: Duck egg blue and coppery colours

Gold or Silver: Silver or Rose gold

Height: 5"7.5

Instruments I play: I can play clarinet, been playing for about 13 years :)

Job Title: professional lay about, e.g student, but I am an Ambassador for Aim Higher

Kids: No children yet

Live: I flit between Bristol and Devon

Mum's name: Janice

Nickname: Rae, Ray-Ray, Rach, Rachie-Ray

Pet Peeve: People who make noise when they eat ugh!

Quote from a movie: "What fisticuffs?" - Oliver!

Right or left handed: Righty

Siblings: One younger sister called Emma

Time you wake up: Usually about 8-8:30am. I'm a morning person.

Underwear: I'm all for the comfy underwear to be honest, not a fan of barely there undies.

Vegetables you dislike: Cooked carrots :s, but I will eat them raw!

What makes you run late: I can honestly say i'm never late, I think I actually have a phobia of being late i'm usually at least ten minutes early for anything.

X-rays you've had done: I broke my leg when I was 12 so a fair few for that.

Yummy food you make: I make a pretty tasty peanut butter, lime, shrimp noodle type situation. 

Zoo animal: Elephants! I've always loved elephants :)

 

 

Anyone who fancies doing this feel free it was actually kind of fun and something to procrastinate with haha!

Soap and Glory = Love

Okay so anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that I am Soap and Glory obsessed! I first started using their products a couple of years ago when I got The Righteous Body Butter and Hand Food as a Christmas present, I instantly fell in love! First of all the packaging is cute, girly and instantly recognisable as Soap and Glory, which I really like, it always pleases me when you can tell which brand you are looking at. Secondly the smell of each of their products is just amazing, I literally cannot get enough (oh one exception here have to say that I'm really not a fan of the Breakfast Scrub smell, sorry but it reminds of something I can't put my finger on but really don't like using it). Thirdly and most importantly these products do what they say they will!

So I recently made use of the fact that Soap and Glory are currently doing a spend £10 get the Foam Call body wash for free (good move by the brand i'd say!), oh this is at Boots in the UK, i'm not sure if this is case in other countries, I know they now stock Soap and Glory at Sephora in the USA. Anyway yes so you can get a 500ml bottle of Foam Call for free which I think is insane because it's a huge bottle but i'm not going to complain! So I bought Sugar Crush which was £8 I believe, again you get a lot of product for your money (300ml).

This smells so nice, a really fruity sweet lime scent which I love and its different to other S&G products. When you use the product you do get the sweet scent of the sugar and almond as well which is nice. This really works, especially on knobbly bits like knees and elbows and leaves your skin feeling super soft, I would recommend using a moisturiser after showering with this to avoid dryness but I haven't experienced any as of yet. I would definitely recommend this scrub if like me you're not a fan of the Breakfast Scrub.

The second thing I got was the 500ml Clean on Me clarifying shower gel which was £5.50, which I think is steal, I know that you can get shower gel for like £1 but this smells so so good and it lasts for ages due to the size of the bottle and it has a pump which means you don't end up using way more than necessary.

It is branded as their signature scent, I don't really know how to describe it because there is nothing like it, definitely go and check it out because its just lovely, a really relaxing smell. It makes your skin feel amazing as it has a built in body lotion, it also lathers up really well and you don't need to use loads. This is by far my most used product and one that I have continued to buy and use.

Onto Foam Call, the freebie! Again a 500ml bottle with pump, this is a dual use product for bath and shower, I've tried it out in both and I must say I preferred using it in the shower because its quite oily and I found I wasn't keen on the feel of it on my skin after having been soaking in it for a while but that might be just me. It's a more fruity scent than Clean on Me but it's nice all the same, this is going to sound bizarre but it really reminds me of the scent of the Hollister stores (once again this could just be me!). Anyway that didn't bother me because I do like that scent. I'm not sure if I would buy this, it retails at £6.50 out of the offer, hmm yeah i'm not sure about this one, I like it but not as much as their other products.

Anyway those were my recent purchases, but I do use many other S&G products on a regular basis so here's a quick run down of those:

Peaches and Clean wash-off deep cleansing milk - £7. This I really like, I have combination skin with quite an oily t-zone and this has done wonders for it, makes my skin feel refreshed and soft. Now I don't suffer with bad breakouts, I tend to get a couple of spots maybe once a month but this is gentle enough not to aggravate them and they clear up quickly when I use this.

Glow Lotion - £5.50. This was a gift but I love this, usually put this on if i'm going out because its a really good moisturer that has a bit of shimmer (don't fret its not like you've bathed in body glitter or anything its very subtle!) and it smells lovely, again I think its the signature scent and it lingers so you could just put this on a skip a perfume. Very nice product.

And finally Scrub Actually - £7. Oh my gosh this smells so good, its a sugar scrub with an apricot scent, ugh I could sit and smell this all day, definitely one of my favourites! Again as with the Sugar Crush its a brilliant exfoliator, and makes your skin feel very smooth. The only issue I have with this product is the packaging, because its a tube once you get close to finishing the product it is the devil to get out! Which makes me a tad stressed out in the shower when I can see that there is still product left but I cannot squeeze it out. But minor issue that I could solve if I were sensible enough to swap it into a different container!

So there you have it a run down of my current Soap and Glory products, definitely my favourite brand at the moment for shower/skin care products. I would recommend these to anyone, especially as they usually do some great offers in Boots.

To wedge or not to...?

So despite needing to revise and write a dissertation proposal, i've spent quite a bit of my day browsing online for summer clothing and shoes...my procrastination has clearly reached its peak! I have done some uni work though never fear. However I spotted these on Zara and I have to say I feel like I need these (not my photo, from Zara.com).

I'm not even entirely sure why! This is so not something I would normally wear and i'm not even sure what I would wear them with but I just think they are so cute. They're £29.99 which I think is quite reasonable as go into Office or Schuh and you'd probably be spending double that. Also they look like they will be really comfortable due to the platform size, which is a bonus. They come in three colours, orange, black and blue but the blue is definitely appealing to me the most, maybe with a playsuit or shorts and a loose t-shirt? I'm not sure but these are definitely going on the wishlist for Summer 2012!