Happy New Years Eve!

Happy New Years Eve lovelies!

I honestly cant believe how quick 2016 has flown by! In a sad way, I'm going to miss 2016 - I know some crappy things have happened but some pretty awesome things (for me) have happened as well.  I got engaged, I got promoted, I got to see Jurassic Park at the Royal Albert Hall, I got to see the Cinderella ballet at the English National Opera House and I finally got to go to Harry Potter World! I'm so thankful blessed for my Fiancé and the friends and family I have around me.

I know I said I'd be sad to leave 2016 behind but I'm still excited for 2017! I have some pretty grown up stuff coming up you know! Me and the fiancé are hoping to buy a house, I'm buying my first car(!), and I'm really hoping to work on my blog more! I don't really dedicate as much time and energy in to this little space as I could...

Whether you're staying in tonight and ringing in the new year in your PJs or whether you're dressing head to toe in glitter and seeing the new year in on the dance floors - I hope you have a cracking night! Happy New Years Eve my loves, heres to 2017 and all the possibilities another year holds!

xoxo

*Image: Pinterest

Mini Superdrug Haul

You know what its like, when you're shopping with your best gal and she recommends a product that you just cant stop staring at, you just need to get it... and a few extras because its 3 for 2! lol

What I Got For Christmas 2016...

I know these types of posts are a bit hit and miss, but for me, I love being mega nosey and finding out what everybody else got for Christmas, so I'ma show what I got!

To Me, From Me ... My New Tattoo

I know, getting a tattoo is not the most practical thing to get so close to Christmas, especially when you're trying to save your pennies because you need to spend them all on Christmas presents, BUT I just couldn’t help myself and I guess I'm just gunna go with it’s a Christmas present to myself! Isn't she a beaut of a Christmas present though?

Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide/Wish List

At this time of year when we're spending more nights in than "out out", and especially with Christmas literally round the corner and all the brands bringing out their Christmas gift sets, I just seem to want EVERYTHING!

I thought I'd share a few of my current beauty wants with ya'll in case you need some inspiration or simply just want some ideas of what to add to your Christmas wish list…

A Mini Beauty Routine While You Sleep?

In the colder months my skin gets dryer and dryer and I find myself needing to do more to please my skin, but these days who has the time during the week to come home and do a full on spa/pamper session? Well I certainly don’t! What with overtime at work and trying to cram some time in to see your boyfriend/fiancé and friends in the evenings, by the time I'm finished I'm ready for bed and the last thing I want to do is spend half an hour putting on a face mask, waiting for it to dry, washing it off, you know the drill – I wanted something that will work its miracles on me while I'm catching those much needed zzz's.

November Favourites

Wow, I can honestly say that November has been one of the craziest and best months of my life! And hasn’t it just flown by? Does anyone else out there feel like we've been robbed of yet another month of 2016 too soon? I had zero time to dedicate to my little blog in November, but I just couldn't miss doing a monthly favourites post. They're my favourites, not just to write but to read too!

(Late) October Favourites

Well, hello November! You've certainly crept up on us! Am I the only one who feels like October has been a bit of a blur?

It don’t know whether it was because I spent the beginning of October in an out of hospital and generally feeling rather shit, or whether it's because the leaves have only just started to change colour – it just feels like I've been robbed of a month and I haven’t really had much of an October, although I bloody loved Halloween (I didn’t love the hangover I had the next day!)

Anyway, before I get too deep about the loss of October 2016, here are some things that I've been LOVING …

The Halloween Outfit // Stranger Things

Yes, I'm going there... for Halloween this year I've decided (like many others out there I'm sure) to go as Eleven from Stranger things. Stranger Things is one of those CULT shows on Netflix that I really didn't want to like because everyone raved about it but it drew me in and I became instantly and completely OBSESSED! I mean c'mon, who doesn't love this show and wouldn't want to be a part of it (or pretend to be) in some small way?!

I found a few pieces to help get me lookin all Eleven and decided to share them in case any of you awesome lot out there fancy getting your Stranger Things Halloween costume on:-

What Happiness Is To You #3

I woke up this morning and thought to myself that today WAS going to be a good day! I'm determined to have a positive mental attitude and to not let things get me down! I'm a huge advocate of finding the silver linings in situations and finding happiness in all the little things in life.

Mini Boots Haul

After my last "Debbie Downer" blog post, I now bring you a little "I need to pick myself up out of this funk" mini Boots haul.

Now I've been off work for about 3 weeks and spent some of that time in and out of hospital.  Its impossible to be off and not trawl through blog posts and youtube videos hearing all about the latest and prettiest beauty products that everyones loving - I just couldn't handle it anymore so thought I would pull myself out of my sicky post-op funk with a little Boots haul, I fancied trying some "drug store" products out that people seem to rave about and ones that I hadn't tried before...

The Tonsillectomy!

I know my little space on the world wide web is mainly talking about beauty and other crap I like, but I wanted to put this post out there in case there was someone else in my position who wanted to know what its like to go through something like this.

As you can probably guess by the title (and from my lack of posts, if anyone actually follows my little blog), I recently went through a tonsillectomy (yes, its as gross as it sounds!)... I'm so glad I had it done, but if I'm being brutally honest, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my life!...

3 Hair Products I'm Loving Right Now

Say hello to the three hair products that I cant live without right now! Also, can I just say, isn't all the packaging just stunning?!

My Skin Care Routine For Sensitive & Allergic Skin

Since having an allergic reaction to a Lush product (if you fancy finding out what happened, you can read that post here), my skin has been a mega sensitive mess, so I've had to be real careful with what I put on my face. Over the past few months I've developed a simple, stripped back, no faff skin care routine that my skin has been seriously loving.

Non-Beauty Haul

As well as a big beauty haul (aka. my last mahoosive post!), I've also picked up a few new non-beauty things lately that I wanted to share too! Don't worry; this isn't going to be as long as the beauty haul haha!

I found myself browsing Amazon one too many times - is it just me or does anyone else think the recommended section on Amazon is a dangerous place?! lol For some reason I ended up browsing the American groceries section, so I have a few American food goodies to share ...also the majority of this haul revolves around coffee and chocolate!

My Biggest Beauty Haul!

I'm not kidding with the title here people, I think this is probably one the biggest hauls of beauty stuff I've put into a blog post! I was lucky enough to get a fair amount of birthday money last month and rather than just buy one great thing with the dollars, I bought myself lots of little great things (and a few were bought without using birthday money, but I'm still going to include them). I'm not gunna do a full review of every single thing I bought, that would be madness and hella long! But I'm probably gunna write a few words about each one, because I just can't keep my mouth shut when I love something! SO you should probably go get yourself a coffee or a snack to keep your strength up.

Ok, let's start this thing...

Top 10 Budget Beauty Buys

So, I think its pretty obvious that I've been on a bit of a budget makeup kick at the moment, so I'm carrying that on and talking about my top 10 budget beauty buys.  I looked at my makeup collection and thought what do I use on the reg thats budget/purse friendly but also amazing quality... these 10 have are what i gravitated towards:-

July 2016 // Favourites

Pre warning: the start of this blog post is going to be so "favourites post" cliché but... Where the hell is this year going? Seriously, someone please tell me how the hell we're at the end of July already?! I'm gunned blink and before I know it we're gunna be celebrating the end of the year and getting ready to start the next.

This month has been pretty crackin if you ask me! I've had my birthday, which means GIFTS! I've been to London, I went to the Star Wars Celebration (if you read my"30 facts about me" post, you'll know I'm a loud and proud big ass geeky nerd!), I've seen the ballet and we've had some beautiful weather.

Now, back on to the topic of what products I've been loving this month - As its been fucking Boiling with a capital B in the UK this month, I've not really been wearing much makeup (although I don't wear a ton of makeup on the reg anyway), I've been keeping things simple and going back to the good ol' basics! Although there is something new I've been loving thrown into the mix too...

Top 2 Budget Friendly Concealers

If you're a regular reader of my little space on the internet you'll know that my ultimate ultimate all time favourite can't live without concealer duo is the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque and the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla - these 2 are my 2 holy grail ride or dies, BUT, I've been on a bit of a budget/drug store kick at the moment and have been trying to hunt down a cheaper eye concealer combo... well, say hello to the Rimmel combo thats been doing it for me lately!

That Summer Glow

I've been rocking the pasty skin look recently - well lets face it, we've had like 2 days of summer so far this year and when you work in an office you only really get the weekends to appreciate the sunshine!  I decided that I needed to get my tan on, the fake way. I wanted something that would give me a nice summer glow, just a hint of tan and a glowy complexion.

I'm not a regular fake tan user, I can't deal with the whole moose and mit thing, I've tried it before and I ended up looking like a tanned zebra with dodgy orange hands! I think anyone can agree thats not a great look! I'm more of a gradual tanner type of gal so the St. Tropez In Shower Gradual Tanner (in light to medium) is perfect for me!

The St. Tropez In shower Gradual Tanner is perfect for giving the skin a natural healthy summer glow thats not too obvious and OTT, but gives the skin that lil boost of somethin' somthin'!

It's super easy to apply! As its an in-shower thang I always use a body scrub before I apply it (my favourite is the Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub), I then scrub a dub dub with my shower gel, put my conditioner on, pin my hair up and then apply the tanner.  I use a generous helping to cover myself and it says to stand for about 3 minutes or so - I tend to stand for about 5 - and always make sure I have my iPad in the bathroom with me, standing for 3 - 5 minutes in the shower can seem like forever, at least with a youtube vid on in the background or a bit of music to listen to/have a dance in the shower to can make the time go by a little quicker.  Once i've given it 5 minutes or so to settle in, I rinse and I'm ready to glow! - This doesn't have that dodgy fake tan/biscuit smell either, it actually smells quite nice! It has almond extract in it don't you know! You can pick up a big bottle of baby in Boots on offer right now for £9.99!

I went out for work drinks last night so have no idea why I'm up ridiculously early (8:30AM!!) - so I've decided that I need to make myself a pillow fort and have a really lazy day today - wine heads the morning after are the worst, why do I drink white wine?! - Hope you're all having/have a beautiful weekend! xo

Ps. When I hit 500 followers on Bloglovin I'll be doing a little giveaway of a few of my favourite beauty things - which may or may not include a Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick ;) xo

The Budget Brush Cleanser

Nobody likes brush maintenance! It’s a necessity (even though I'm guilty of putting it off for a long as I can get away with) and it's basically just fucking boring! I try and give my brushes a proper clean at least once or twice a month (I don’t actually use my makeup brushes every day, I don’t really wear makeup every day!) but when I need to give them a spruce rather than a full on wash I like to use this, the B. is for Beautiful Makeup Brush Cleanser - A conditioning brush cleanser that disinfects and cleans - I picked this up in Superdrug. I like to think that spot cleaning my brushes means that when I do actually give them a proper wash, they're not actually that dirty, so it won't take as long!

I use this by spritzing a bit on a cotton wool pad (I love the Boots own brand big double face oval ones, they're usually on offer), and then swirl my brush in it in circular motions until it looks its best again. If the brush has been "well loved" and there's quite a bit of makeup build-up, I repeat this. Also, as the cotton wool pads are double faced, once one side is done with, you can just turn it over and use the other side – waste not want not as they say!

Now, there are some pricey-er more fancy brands out there that do exactly the same thing, but I wanted to show this one some love - and why pay mega bucks when this one doesn’t break the bank? It does a pretty good job at getting the makeup off my brushes, dries quite quickly, smells quiet nice and when I use my brushes after using this product on them it doesn’t break me out, I'm not allergic to it and it doesn’t irritate my skin! Not bad for brush cleanser that’s only £4.99 ay?! xo

June 2016 // Favourites

How crazy scary is it that we're officially over half way through the year?! Also... we're now in my birthday month!!!

I've had a major blog drought in June - things have been a little crazy with work, I've not been well blah blah blah - but I've pulled myself out of my funk for this post.  I love doing monthly favourites posts, they're also my favourite ones to read/watch!

Skin Mists // Budget vs High End

These two really are heaven in a pretty bottles.  I first started getting into face mists because I have quite dry skin and wanted a product that was great for "on the go", well, both of these certainly are! And if you have dry skin like me, trust me, you need to get on the ol' face mist band waggon!

Both of these have featured in numerous favourites posts since making them part of my beauty stash, but the other day, as I was holding both in my hands trying to make the decision on which one to spritz on my face... I literally couldn't decide! That was when this blog post was born.  I clearly love them both and need to show them some serious love on my blog!

May 2016 // Favourites

Ok so the first time this post went live, I didn't actually write any kind of intro... I blame that on being sick! I think I say this at the start of every favourites but this year is flying by.  I can't believe we're half way through they year already, its madness! Anyways, these are a few of things i've been loving this month...

A Little NYX Haul

A NYX counter FINALLY came to my local Boots store and the inevitable happened!...

I just couldn't help myself, I got a whatsapp from a friend of mine saying that the NYX counter had at long last got its ass to Boots and I was like a moth to a flame.  I'd been toying with the idea of making an online purchase but I'm so glad I waited, being able to swatch makes its so much better!

UD Naked Skin Concealer // Review

After hearing all the blogger/YouTube gals continuously rave about just how good the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer is (longest name everrr!), me being the concealer addict that I am, NEEDED to try it out!

The Primer That Everyone's Talking about...

If you haven’t heard about the Too Faced HangoveR X Replenishing Face Primer by now, where have you been? Seriously? Everyone's been raving about this, and I for one now totally see why!

My Newest Tattoo

If you read my "30 Facts About Me Post" then you'll probably already know that I have a pretty decent collection of tattoos. I hadn’t been tattooed in ages and was forever banging on about getting my lower shins tattooed so I though this pay day I'm just going to put my money where my mouth is and do something about it!

I wanted geometrical type flowers on each of my lower shins; I wanted them to be different on each shin and original so I spoke to my tattooist before booking to make sure that was something he would be able to do. Side Note: My preference when it comes to tattoo styles is pretty traditional with with tick outlines and a darker shade pallet. 

So about a week ago now I got this baby done. I wasn’t man enough (and didn’t really have the funds) to get both shins completed in one session so for now I just have my right shin tattooed. I love her!... I'm booked in at the end of the month to get my other shin tattooed though eeep!

A lot of people we're like "ooo isn't it going to hurt on your shin, there's no meat there". Well getting any tattoo hurts and it really depends on the individual, I mean for me, when I got my back tattooed, I cried, whereas my boyfriend found his back to be fine.  For me personally, having my shins tattooed was really, easy! Obviously it was uncomfortable and still a bit painful but it was totally bearable! I was able to sit there have a chat, go on my phone, it was completely fine for me.  I think thats why Im so excited to get my next one done.  

I will just briefly mention that a day or 2 after having my tattoo done my ankle swelled up like a bitch! It wasn't painful or anything, I think it swelled up because my lower shin took a pretty good pounding for about 2 and a half hours. The swelling went down in a couple of days though... my tattoo has now gone through that itchy stage (its the worst!) and now its going through the dry stage, but its still looking beautiful!

For anyone wondering, I get tattooed at Sharp Practice in Salisbury and my Tattooist is Darren (you can find him on Instagram, his user name is @redbeard_tattooer).

If ya'll have any questions about tattoos, just leave me a comment below and I'll answer them as best I can.  I'm thinking about doing a post about all my tattoos and piercings, but I'm not sure. xo

The Sephora Haul // Another One

Surprise surprise, I'm featuring another Sephora haul on the blog! It's safe to say that I'm now a full blown member of the Sephora Addicts Cult! I just can't help myself I think it’s the allure that I can get my hands on things that I wouldn’t normally be able to in the UK… and the fact I get to shop in America without actually having to pay the cost of a flight out there and back! (Not that I wouldn’t give anything to travel to America!!)

I'm just going to jump right in and tell you what I picked up…

April 2016 // Favourites

It feels like only yesterday I was writing my March favourites and now I'm writing up my April favourites, madness! This year really is flying by.

April has had some ups and downs for me (you'll know this if you read my allergic reaction story!) So I've had to be really selective with what I've used/put on my face this month! There are a few things that made the cut...

01.   Prada Candy Perfume // I tried a sample of this perfume at the start of the month and fell head over heels for it! I couldn't wait to get my hands on a bottle... so ta very much Escentual! Its a very sweet yet grown up scent, I just love it!

02.   Sephora Collection  Pearl Eye Mask // This mask is a miracle worker! I've written a whole blog post raving about it - you can read that here.  I've actually just made another cheeky Sephora order (so keep your eyes peeled for that!) and it resulted in me picking up 4 of these babies... plus 2 other eye masks from the Sephora Collection range. This was hands down one of the best, most comfortable eye masks I've ever used, EVER! I can't rave about these masks enough!

03.   E45 cream // When I had my allergic reaction (if you want to know more - you can find out here) this was the only moisturiser I could use on my face that didn't make my skin worse or feel aggravated.  I bloody love this moisturiser and still use it now my skin has gone back to (sort of) normal. It just suits my sensitive skin so well, it doesn't turn my skin red, it doesn't break me out, its just so soothing and hydrating -  would recommend this to anyone that is struggling to find a moisture to help combat dry and sensitive skin!!

04.   Tatcha Skin Mist // I mentioned this in last months favourites and for good reason... this is just beautiful! Like I said before, I've had a tough skin journey this past month and this has been a great help to combat the dryness and dullness that the allergic reaction left behind.

05.   Glam Glow Mud Mask // I'm head over heels for this mask! Not only does this leave me with "really good skin day" skin, but just gives my complexion that little boost.  My skin feels super soft and is definitely more radiant looking after applying this mask!

06.   Liquid Lipsticks // If you've been reading my blog lately, you know I'm having a liquid lipstick moment.  If its not the Kylie Jenner liquid lipstick in Candy K its the Kat Von D liquid lipsticks in Vampire and Nosferatu.  All totally gorgeous shades and ones that you all need to get your hands on in my opinion!

Hope all you beauties have had a great weekend in the sunshine! This post was supposed to go up on Saturday but it was so beautiful I ended up going to Durdle Door in west Lulworth (if you want to see pics, I might pop up a little post about it, or you can go stalk my Instagram @hayl5t0rm) and then spent the day out in the countryside seeing friends on Sunday xo

Ps. Don't forget, I'm planning to do a little giveaway when I hit 500 bloglovin followers!!! ... It may or may not include a few goodies from Sephora ;) xo

Kat Von D Liquid Lipsticks // Vampy Reds in Spring/Summer Time?!

Ok, (1) I know I'm waay late to the party on this brand and (2) I know, I know, we're coming in to spring/summer and the vampy reds should be put away, but what can I say, I'm "literally" a vampy moment with these Kat Von D Liquid Lipsticks.

Now when I say I'm "literally" having a vampy moment, I don't mean I've suddenly spouted fangs and glitter in the sunlight (although Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire, yum!)...I mean the shades I've picked up are not only vampy because of their colour, but their names. When I read the names of these 2, I just knew they would be comin home to mama!

Sephora Collection // Pearl Eye Mask ... A Product That Really Works!

I love a good sheet mask, whether it be for the face, the eyes, wherever - they are just the easiest masks EVER!  Which makes them perfect for us lazy galls that just can't be bothered to go clean our faces after we put a mask on - all you have to do is peel it off and just massage in the excess product thats left over on the skin! Easy peasy!

I picked up the Sephora Collection Pearl Eye Mask in my recent Sephora Haul (you can see that here).  I spotted it, it was like $5 (£3.69) and I though why the heck not! I love the Elemis eye masks and thought, on a whim, that I would give this one a go to see how it compares - well I tried this out last night and today I'm full on raving from the roof tops about it! I freakin love this eye mask!!!!

This is a perfecting and brightening fibre/cotton eye mask, enriched with natural origin white pearl.  On the packaging it says it evens out eye contour skin, helps minimise irregularities and illuminates the skin for more beautiful eyes for a look that is uniform, fresher and radiant.  You put them on, peel off after 15 minutes (although I left mine on for more like 30 minutes - hello, I wanna milk the crap out my products and I wanna get my moneys worth!) and massage in the excess product - It even says on the packaging "IT WORKS!". Well, I completely, totally and 100% agree!!!! Don't you just love it when you find a product that actually works?!

Like I said, I popped these under my eyes  and carried on about my business for about 20 - 30 minutes (I always leave sheet masks on a little longer than it says too) and when I peeled them off my under eyes felt so firm and hydrated, it was crazy! My dark circles didn't magically disappear, but my under eye area was definitely looking a lot brighter and I swear some of the fine lines under my eyes and in the outer corner were gone... even my mum noticed a difference! She's asked me to get her some the next time I make a Sephora Order!

So there you have it folks, this product seriously works! I already have like 4 of these babies in my online basket - literally just waiting for a fresh wage packet to drop in my bank account before I buy the crap out of Sephora! Do yourself a favour and pick one of these up! And for the price, these are definitely worth it!! Sephora also do several other of these eye masks...I'm tempted to pick up the Orchid one next to give that a go too!

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend! xo

PS. Like I said in my last post, I've decided to do a giveaway when I hit 500 Bloglovin followers, as a little thank you to all you beautiful people who take the time to read my blog - I think I'm going to pick a few of my favourites from Sephora to give away and this mask will definitely be included! xo  

The Perfect Foundation For Dry Skin?

If you're having trouble finding a foundation that doesn’t cling to the dry patches on your face, has a dewy finish, is medium coverage but doesn’t look too cakey, doesn’t irritate your skin and also helps protect against those pesky UVA/UVB rays, then look this way - I know what you're thinking, can there be such a foundation? - Well, say hello to the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Colour Correcting Full Coverage Cream + Anti-Aging Hydrating Serum (the longest name EVERR!)

My Sephora Wish List

I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one who loads their online baskets with things they REALLY want, but just can't hit that "PAY FOR ME RIGHT NOW" button! These things have been in my Sephora basket for probably a little over a month - I know, my heart is like just buy these things right now, they'll make you so happy, but my bank balance is telling me oh no you don't, you have zero funds for this transaction! ugh!

First up in my basket is the Kat Von D Shade + Light Palette (1) - hello cheek bones! I've wanted to get in to contouring for a while (I mean who wouldn't want a perfectly sculpted face?!) and this looks like a pretty great palette to start with.  I'm also digging the bananna shade to brighten and set your under eye makeup (aka. dark circle coverup)! & you can't get yourself a contour palette without picking yourself up a contour brush, like this Sephora Pro Contour Brush #79 (6) - I reckon she'd do the trick!

I'm having a bit of a Tarte moment and I'm completely head over heels lusting over their Amazonian Clay 24-Hour Blush in Exposed (2), it looks like the perfect "my cheeks always look this pretty" shade and don't even get me started on the Tartlette In Bloom Palette (3)... 12 shades of neutral hue-y beautifulness! I would use every shade in this palette, and thats rare! I've heard great things about Tarte eyeshadows!

I think Too Faced have really worked their way into the lime light recently and are having their moment!  I've heard so many people rave about their Hangover X Primer (4) and how great it makes their skin feel and, most importantly, look! Any primer that claims to take that "hungover complexion" we get get after a late one and give us that "I've had 20 hours of sleep and drank a bajillion pints of water" hydrated and youthful look - sign my up for that! Another thing from Too Faced I've got my eye on is the Mr Right - The Perfect Powder Brush (6), I saw Tati from GlamLifeGuru on Youtube using it and it just seemed like the perfect all-rounder brush for blush, powder and highlighter, also it just looks super pretty!!

The Dr Jart + Firming Sleeping Mask (7) is another Tati inspired want! She hauled this mask in a recent video and this really peeked my interests! Im not getting any younger here and feel like I need to start investing in those firming masks - I mean every little helps right?! Who wouldn't want younger firming skin when you wake up in the morning?! And if it's Tati approved, thats good enough for me!... You guys got anything thats been permanently resting in your Sephora online shopping baskets? Hope y'all are having a great weekend! xo

Ps.  How insanely good does the Doom beta look! xo

Lush // Million Dollar Moisturiser // My Allergic Reaction

I want to start off by saying that this isn’t going to be a post bashing this product, or Lush, in any way – I'm gutted that my skin didn’t agree with it - I just wanted to write about my experience with this product and perhaps maybe help someone out if they find themselves in the same position I did.

I said in my latest haul video that I had recently bought this, the Million Dollar Moisturiser, from Lush and said in that post that it had brought me out in a horrible allergic reaction – well this is how things went down!...

Kylie Jenner Lip Kit // Candy K

I was planning to do another post before this one, but I just couldn’t wait to share. I FINALLY got my hands on one of the coveted, "sells out within minutes", Kylie Jenner Lip Kits! Meep!

Never have I ever stayed up till midnight to wait for a lipstick launch, so that was a new experience for me! I was actually nervous waiting for the website to restock and go live – after having the website crash on me like 5 times, I finally completed my order and am now the proud owner of the Kylie Jenner Lip Kit in the shade Candy K. I've heard this is one of the favourites!

Beauty Haul // Boots & Lush

Another fresh wage packet, another haul! I just can't help myself.  Me and the boyf took a trip to town at the weekend and I did just a little bit of shopping...

March 2016 // Favourites

Dum dum dum, and other month bites the dust!...I'm not loving how fast this year is going, but I am loving these totally babe'in products that I'm just about to talk about...

30 Facts About Me

I realised that I hadn't done a proper personal post in ages, and this is MY blog! I know I started this blog as a place where I could talk about makeup, beauty and all the crap that I love to my hearts content but realised the other day that, thats all I'd posted for a while. So I though fuck it, I've seen these sorts of posts floating around a bit and decided to do one myself and let you guys (or whoever reads my space on the internet) get to know me a bit more... so here you go, have 30 random facts about me...

Glam Glow YouthMud Mask // Review

So I think everyone and their mother has heard about this mask by now, and yeah I know, I'm pretty late to the game, but I wanted to try this out for myself; find out if it really is worth all the hype it gets!  I had a Friday night of doing nothing this week so thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try this mask out and give myself a bit of a pamper evening.

After cleansing I applied a thin layer to my whole face (I have sensitive skin, so I wanted to be careful) - this is a mask you would want to apply when you're alone, it makes you look a bit like a sea monster, well it did me anyway, sexay!

As soon as the mask was on my skin I could feel it tingling, not a bad stingy tingle, but a manageable tingle, it felt like the product was doing something ya' know.  I'd say the tingling only lasted for about 2 minutes or so, so it wasn't that bad.  I also found that the mask actually started to dry quite quickly and I'd say like 3 to 4 minutes in the mask was almost dry all over - like if I moved my face it would full on crack!

I will say though that when this mask dries, you can see every single little pore, which is a bit like "holy crap" at first but then you think, well if its getting in to every tiny little pore, that must be a good thing for clearing everything out right?!  I left this mask on for about 15 minutes and when washing it off I did it in sort of a circular motion to exfoliate my skin that little bit more.

My first impressions after using this mask are that it left my skin feeling a lot soft and smoother and definitely more firmer which surprised me and it really does give a little somethin somethin to the complexion, I can't put my finger on it but its like my complexion was boosted and just overall looked a lot better.  I think this mask would be great for "that time of month", I feel like this would really help sort out the hormonal breakouts and it also feels (and smells) like a mini spa treatment at home.  This mask is a massive thumps up from me!!!

Hope ya'll have are having a lovely weekend - I'm have a total PJ & movies kinda weekend, loves it! xo

PS.  If you're wondering where I picked this mask up from, I bought it from M&S for £25.

Zara Perfume Lovin'

Do yourself a favour and get your arse down to Zara and go check out their perfume section! You won't regret it!

I get so many compliments when I wear their fragrances; I've even converted mama to wearing one of their perfumes! My two favourites right now are the Zara Oriental and Zara Dancing Vanilla. Urgh, they smell incredible!

Zara Oriental is quite a grown up fragrance and more floral than the Dancing Vanilla, which, yep you guessed it, smells like vanilla, but a deeper vanilla – I'm useless at describing scents but trust, these 2 smell amazing!

The notes for Zara Oriental are - Bergamot, Jasmine, Patchouli and Caramel.

The notes for Dancing Vanilla are - Pink Grapefruit, Sicilian Bergamot, Orange Flower, Ginger, Vanilla and Musk.

Another great thing about Zara perfumes is that the majority of their fragrances come in roller ball form too – perfect for chucking in your bag; I always have the Dancing Vanilla roller ball with me!

Lastly, I'm gunna talk about the price tags - I don’t know about you but I prefer to use my more expensive perfumes (like my YSL or Jo Malone) at the weekends or on special occasions, I don’t really want to waste them when I'm just spending the day at the office. Zara perfumes are so purse friendly, I always end up buying more than one – the full size Oriental perfume set me back £7.99 (100ml) and the full size Dancing Vanilla set me back about £3.99 (it was on sale! so naturally I picked up 2 bottles!). The prices go up and down depending on the size of the bottle you get, but the roller balls are usually around £3.99 and are kept at the tills section to tempt you.

I already have my eye on a few other perfumes they have… xo

Coffee Coffee Coffee

So this is a bit of a random post, its in no way beauty related, but I just feel like having a little morning rave about something I love... If it's not obvious from my Instagram feed (shameless self promo alert: if you don't follow me on Instagram, you should and I'd love if you would, link over in the side bar), I am one massive coffee lover, more specifically, Iced coffee, I just can't get enough of it!

Now this isn't something I've advertised on my blog before, but I actually suffer with IBS and have intolerances to quite a lot of foods and (sob) even certain types of Iced Coffees - I mean like some of the Starbucks Iced Coffees, like the low fat and sugar ones, I just can NOT drink, theres something in them that just sets my IBS off and I end up in a serious amount of pain.

I've recently discovered Jimmys Iced Coffees and I love them! The most important thing to me is that they don't set my IBS off what so ever, which is amazing! and they are SOOO GOOD! To find an iced coffee drink that tastes great and doesn't leave my in pain is a freakin miracle and I'm obsessed with them! I'm completely addicted to their Mocha iced coffees, they are all kinds of wow.  I have one pretty much every morning, they have truly become part of my morning routine and make me one happy chica! - Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the packaging!

I love them that much that I just had to give it a little shout out to the Jimmys Iced Mochas on my blog! ...Have a great Monday, keep your chin up! xo

Philip Kinsley // My Favourite Hair Duo

I'm gunna start off with a little back story about my hair... Its very long, dry and fine, especially the ends of my hair and recently I'd noticed that the longer lengths of my hair were looking a bit sparse and weren't as thick and full looking as they had been.  I needed to sort my hair out pronto!

I'd been doing some research on the different hair care products out there and the name Philip Kingsley kept coming up.  I had a look at the Philip Kingsley lineup and settled on these 2 babes (I actually picked these up in a little pay day haul the other month - you can see that post here).

The Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence is darn pretty great.  Its an anti-breakage, heat protecting conditioning spray (suitable for all hair types) and it's exactly what my hair needed.  I hold my hands up and admit that I do use a lot of heat on my hair like blowdrying and straightening, which is super bad for the hair I know, but since using this before blasting my hair with heat it really has made an actual difference to my hair!

When I use this, I spray this shit like all over! I've really noticed difference in the texture of my hair, its defiantly a lot less dry and frazzled looking! - on the website this claims to protect against daily environmental wear, such as UV rays and heated styling aids, but also instantly boosts your hair’s overall condition, manageability and shine - and it really does! Especially when used with the next product too...

I really wasn't expecting much from the the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, I knew everyone banged on about it but I was like "its just a hair mask isn't it?"... oh how wrong I was! The texture of this product is like a cream, like a moisturiser for your hair basically, thats how the product kinda feels to me.

I use this in a couple different ways - yes, I use it as a hair mask, I put this on my hair and leave it over night, or I put it on in the morning for a bit before I wash my hair, and it really has helped improve the condition of my hair, BUT I also pop just a pea sized amount through the very ends of my hair while its still damp before I blow-dry and straighten. It's since I've been doing this that I've noticed a real difference in the ends of my hair.  They're looking a lot less straggly and I swear my spit ends are just disappearing, I know they can't really disappear until you cut them off but my hair looks so much less damaged, it feels softer and, I can't quite believe it,  but thicker!

I will say that when I do this it does make the very ends of hair feel a little bit, not greasy, but like theres product in it. But once you finish blowdrying, the mask sinks into the hair and that greasy feeling disappears - I swear, this has really changed my hair, I just can't get over how much thicker and softer my hair looks and feels  - It looked so sparse before and I thought I was going to have to cut it all off, well, not now!!! - Side note: I didn't notice and instant instant change, it has taken a good few weeks, miracles don't happen overnight you know!

If you have long, dry and very fine hair like me, go and buy these, you need them... and you can thank me later!

Hope you're all having great weekend! xo

Sephora Haul

Yep, that's right, I finally caved and made my very first ever Sephora online purchase!  I've been wanting to make one of these for a really long time, but other things I wanted to buy always seemed to crop up (as you can see from my haul posts!) and I just couldn't part with my money for some reason...well, now it's a different story and after making this order my online basket is full up once again and I feel another Sephora haul coming soon! Gah, why don't we have Sephora over here?! Anyway, let's get to the good stuff and jump in to what I got...

February Favourites // 2016

Another month bites the dust and so we're already in March! This year really is flying by! I've actually got some new things to talk about in this month favourites post, I did a little payday haul at the start of February (you can see what I got here) and a fair few of them feature in this months faves!...

Pixi Hydrating Milky Mist // Review

If you read my blog on the reg you know I work in an office and in my office (like a ton of others out there I'm sure) they tend to crank the air-con up to severe skin-drying levels! By the afternoon my skin can sometimes be a big ol' dry mess and it can feel so tight and uncomfortable.

I've been hearing a lot of good things about these skin mists and I know quite a few of the other bloggers out there use them throughout the day to top up their  skin hydration levels.  I used  to have a little bottle of the Queen of Hungary Mist and loved it, but my purse strings can't stretch that far at the moment, so I wanted something that didn't quite break the bank - although i've tried cheaper alternatives in the past and the majority of them left my skin feeling tighter and dryer than before I spritzed.  I wanted something that my skin loved and would genuinely work.

I already knew my skin got on really well with Pixi (I use the Glow Tonic), so when I heard Caroline Hirons talk about this particular product in one of her Youtube videos, it caught my attention. I picked this up in M&S of all places - seriously, go check out the beauty section on their website or have a look in one of their bigger stores, they're a beauty treasure trove.

The Pixi website describe this as a featherlight mist that provides an instant surge of hydration with hyaluronic acid to plump skin. A blend of black oat, provitamin A, and linoleic acid makes this rejuvenator the perfect first layer of moisture before serums or makeup... and they ain't lying!

I love to use this in the afternoon., by that time my skin is lagging and I'm usually feeling a bit blah too, this helps to just perk everything up, its so refreshing and has such a lovely scent to it, sort of like cocoa butter. I've already gotten in to the habit of using it now and have really noticed a difference in my skin by the end of the day - no more dry patches!

This is a definite office beauty stash essential! xo

Those 70s Vibez

As you can guess by the title of this post, I have a bit of a thing for the whole 70s style at the moment... well my taste is actually a mix between 90s grunge and 70's accessories.  I'm just loving the tan colours and the different materials and textures.

Me and Tom decided to do gifts this year for valentines and not the whole flowers and chocolates sort of thing... He sent me a link to what he wanted and he gave me the dollars to go get what I wanted (as he's useless at online shopping!), thats true romance for you right there! lol

This gorgeous tan corduroy jacket is from Topshop. Its super soft and surprisingly warm and cosy with the borg collar and lining, I also love the button down front and the chest pocket detailing. It totally channels those 70s vibes!

Hands up who thinks this shopper is the prettiest shopper they've seen! I'm a big bag/shopper kinda girl during the day - theres nothing I love more than carrying everything but the kitchen sink around with me!

This suede little number with embossed croc detailing is from ASOS.  She's a beauty! Its an ASOS own brand bag - I just love the ASOS shoppers, I now own 3 of them!   My most worn colour is black and this bag looks great with an an all black outfit, it really makes the bag pop even more.

(I don't think this colour is available on the ASOS website anymore, but i've been able to find the grey version of this shopper here, which is equally as stunning!) xo