An alternative to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting blushes?



Ever since laying my eyes on the ambient lighting blushes from Hourglass it has been hard to keep them off my mind. Baked blushes have always intrigued me yet I was sceptical of spending nearly £30 on something that I may not even like. Don't get me wrong the raving reviews on the Hourglass blushes suggest that I wouldn't be disappointed but I am always willing to try a drugstore alternative.

I discovered that Max Factor had brought out their own versions of a baked blush through another beauty blog and I knew instantly that the next time I visited Boots I would be buying one of these blushes.

Similarly to the Hourglass blushes, these Max Factor blushes are gorgeous just to look at in the pan. The shade I chose is '05 Lovely Pink' and is a mixture of pink and golden tones which also features some shimmer. I think it is this shimmer which gives a highlighting effect when applied to the cheeks as well as a healthy flush of colour from the shade itself. What I love about this blush in particular is that it is so buildable. I love the way that it can be used to add a subtle highlight and flush but I can also see how it could be easily built up to give a stronger look. At first I wasn't sure about the shimmer but it really does give your skin that extra glow without making you look obviously glittery or sparkly. The  formulation of this product is also great as it doesn't feel heavy or chalky on the skin. I find that my Real Techniques blush brush picks up exactly the right amount of product and it applies so well to the cheeks.

Another bonus of this product for me is the no-nonsense packaging. I love the very simple round compact and the fact that the clear lid showcases those beautiful shades. I also like that Max Factor haven't fussed around trying to squeeze a mirror in and has focused entirely on the product itself. Although these blushes are relatively small, I have been religiously using them every day for around a month now and it doesn't even look like I've touched the product aside from the fact that admittedly you can see where my brush has been swirling around the pan.

If anyone I knew was looking for a new blush I would steer them immediately in this direction. There are so many shade variations in this range and the product itself is fantastic. At only £8.99 they are considerably cheaper than the Hourglass blushes and will be a firm favourite of mine as we move into the Spring months. 

Welcome to 2015

Another year has gone and 2014 becomes the past, a memory. Now people are filled with the optimism that a new year brings, with plans and resolutions making up a list that would go on for miles. It is also a time to reflect on the past year, remembering both the good and bad that 2014 gave us.
 
University is still influencing my life, even though I'm not there:
For me, 2014 was a good year. On reflection is was filled with more happy moments than bad ones and yet I still want to make sure that 2015 is even better. If we rewind to the very beginning of the year it saw me celebrate the New Year with some of my closest friends. Unbeknown to me, it was also the last time that I would be celebrating with some people. With University becoming an ever more important and influential milestone in their lives some of my high school friends weren't around this year to celebrate. Everything in that aspect of my life has radically changed this year especially since everybody went back to Uni after the summer break in September. Out of everybody that moved away in the September of 2013 I can count on one hand the people I still regularly speak to. I've never voiced this but I suppose if you haven't made a significant impact on a person's life before they moved away, you never will. Perhaps the closest to a friend you will be now is on Facebook. It's scary to think that 20 years ago you would have lost contact with them altogether. 
 Sometimes I regret not staying it contact with some people, other times I don't. We are still all so young with the rest of our lives to figure out and so what will be will be. I like to think of it as a brilliant chapter that has now come to an end and all of the people I am thinking of whilst typing this have made it brilliant even if they don't know it.

A thousand words cannot describe what we witness with our own eyes:
The New Year started off a bit of a slow burner. I remember myself just being generally busy working and actually starting to enjoy spending time by myself every once in a while. However, the second part of the year was definitely the most enjoyable for me.
  I finally decided to take some deserved time off work and started doing more things that didn't include washing my work uniform or getting my alarm set for the Monday morning back to work feeling.
 There are so many highlights from July onwards including Sundown Festival, my 19th birthday and seeing both Ed Sheeran and OneRepublic at the O2 Arena. There were also so many memories made with friends even on a weekly basis from generally just spending more time together. In 2014 I had my first ever experience of both playing and winning Bingo in a way that was actually considered serious gambling. 2014 was also the first time ever that I joined a gym and was also the first time that I bought a brand new car.
 With June bringing us the highs and lows of the World Cup, it also brought trips to the pub with friends to watch games as well as spending two weeks house and dog-sitting for my mum and stepdad whilst they were on holiday. June soon faded into July and included a girls day out at Lakeside shopping centre and preparations for the festival in August.
  Sundown festival in August was incredible. My first festival experience consisted of 3 nights of uncomfortable sleep, dodgy port-a-loos & a fair amount of alcohol alongside incredible music. Getting caught up in multiple mosh-pits during Tinie Tempah's set and having John Newman confront a idiot in the front row of his set were memories that have stuck with me from that weekend. I also can't forget how we stood in the queue to get in on the Friday afternoon for nearly 4 hours, convinced that my arms and shoulders were going to fall off. Overall though a drama free weekend which resulted in a case of the post festival blues.

Find something you enjoy and you'll never have to work a day in your life:
2014 has also been good to me in the form of work. It's been a great year for working hard and productively whilst also enjoying it at the same time. The company has been getting busier and with that has brought challenges but it has all been worth it. I couldn't have asked for better people to work with and they all help to make each day that little bit better. 2014 was definitely the year that I started to feel more confident and relaxed in my job and I think that has shown through, especially during the second part of the year. I have been learning and developing all the time and the hard work was recognised through the 100% mystery shopper pass rate. My goal for next year is to continue that high standard of work and to just continue to get better.

It is better to have one friend that you can trust than to have fifty that you cannot tell anything:
My job is responsible for more than just paying the bills and earning a living. It has also introduced me to some of the greatest people that I have in my life. One of my biggest highlights of this year has undoubtedly been the friendship that has developed between myself and now one of my best and most trusted friends. She has helped me through so much this year whether that be making a bad day at work better or just listening to any problems I've had I am so thankful for everything. I am especially grateful for the way that she has helped me to get on the way towards my personal goals by introducing me to a healthier way of life and becoming a huge inspiration for me.
  As well as a handful of new friends, the friends that have been there for me through everything over the years have been a huge part of my year. These people are all special to me in their own way and I appreciate everything that they have done and continue to do for me. My birthday was just a small reminder this year of all the people I have around me and how lucky I am to have them too. Even though I may not see them everyday like when we were at school it doesn't change anything.

Just because you are alone doesn't mean that you are lonely. After all you are the only person you spend your whole life with:
One thing that I have learnt this year is that I am starting to feel more comfortable with spending time by myself. Before I always felt the need to be around people and have someone to talk to constantly either through text, phone or social media but now the thought of spending the day alone or going somewhere by myself is actually quite relaxing. Of course I still love spending time with others and going out and doing exciting things but I also know that it is normal to want to spend a few hours alone to clear your mind. For the first time ever I've actually wanted to turn my phone off for a few hours and drive the long way home from work every once in a while. I find it so easy to find the perfect balance between the two and although it was scary at first it has been worth it. I love the freedom of being able to do what I want without having to tell everyone what I'm doing and answering endless questions. I feel great after being able to say that I have done something because that's what I wanted to do rather than because I had to or was asked to do it.
 I would also like to think that I've become a more balanced person this year in that I have kept my life as stress free as possible and removed any unnecessary drama too. There are moments this year that I could have let some situations become full of drama but I kept a cool head and carefree approach which brought positive results! Life is too short to be caught up in situations that belong in a high school & I've found that the best way for me to enjoy life is to keep it simple.

 There is no secret pill or shortcuts. Hard work and dedication is the key to a healthy life as well as the correct mindset:
Weight and appearance has always been a tough subject for me to come to terms with. Throughout school I was picked on and although thankfully never seriously bullied I still had to deal with the pressures of not having the 'perfect' body. One of the hardest parts of my life has been to deal with comments from people who I actually considered friends at the time. Ever since I can remember I have never been happy with my body or the way I look yet I have never fully disclosed this to anybody or even written it down until now.
 However it was around July of this year that I decided to do something about it. Not because of those people who made me feel like shit all those years ago or because of the obsession with the 'perfect' figure splayed across the media but because I actually wanted to do it for me. I wanted to feel great within myself and I have two of my closest friends to thank for finally making me decide to adapt my lifestyle.
  I started my Protein World journey in July after discovering them through a friend. I researched the success stories and also the company before taking the £60 plunge. I purchased their 'weight loss collection' which consists of two sets of tablets named the 'fat melter' and 'multi vitamin' & 1kg of protein powder 'The Slender Blend' dedicated to aid weight loss. The pack also came with two booklets containing recipes and guidelines as well as the shaker to make these shakes. The concept was simple, you replace two meals a day with these shakes and then for your meal you have something lean and clean which basically means either fish or chicken with lots of vegetables. There are loads of variations to the shakes you can make and a list of foods you should and shouldn't avoid as well as meal plans and a great support network on social media to mention a few advantages and I managed to stick at it for a good month.
  After the first month I started to notice some results but felt that I needed to be doing more and more so my friend introduced me to the gym. I actually joined a gym 20 minutes away from my house where I didn't know anybody so that I wouldn't bump into anyone I knew whilst I was there. After the gym induction I went through a phase where I became obsessed to an extent where I was going to work followed by the gym up to 6 times a week. A typical day would start for me at 7.30am getting up for work and after finishing at 5.30pm I would be at the gym to at least 8.30pm. I would then not get home until at least 9pm and then was too tired to do anything so regularly went to bed at 10pm.
 Over the past few months I've realised that I can't maintain that intensity and with Christmas and New Year I have slipped up a bit which I do feel guilty for. 2015 is going to be a year where I make a plan and stick to it as well as continuing to work towards my goal weight. I still have a long way to go but I'm now feeling refreshed and ready to start again after a short break from it all. At the beginning of December I felt the best I had ever felt and this was confirmed by a trip to the nurse where I had lost 11kg in 5 months. I was also getting compliments from friends and family members and this was the first time I realised that it was because I actually wanted to become healthier for myself that I was seeing results. Weight loss isn't all about the physical side though, it does affect you mentally and physiologically and it has completely changed my attitude and thoughts towards eating and drinking. For example I am now conscious of everything I eat and drink but I also find sleeping much easier and I have so much more energy throughout the day.
  The hardest part I've found is the feeling of guilt when you do slip up occasionally and also the frustration when you realise how far you could be if you didn't have that treat or didn't put off the gym that one time. However one unhealthy meal isn't going to undo the all the hard work just as long as you don't let it become a habit.
 In 2015 I hope to continue to work myself towards my target goal weight and achieve the other fitness and health goals that I have set myself. In particular I really want to stick to my goal of drinking at least 2 litres of water a day and to go to the gym at least three times a week. I'd also like to try out a few of the new 'celeb' fitness DVD's and I've set myself weekly and monthly weight targets as well as created some challenges to make it all a bit more fun. I think I will also be documenting my progress a lot more this year because I found it to be a huge help during the second part of 2014 and it is good to look back and see how far you have come.

I may sound like a broken record but now it is time for a compromise:
Since I created this blog a few years ago it has always been a personal target to make it as good as I can. A 'good' blog meets so many different criteria ranging from its content to the analytics to the appearance and so much more. Back in the Summer of 2013 I really got into the rhythm of writing and posting regularly and then other parts of life became a priority. I still wanted to write posts but every time I sat down to start typing I wouldn't know where to begin. I would type a few words, delete them and then repeat until I was frustrated with myself and gave up. Blogging has always been a hobby for me and a form of escape similar to way that you can forget about the rest of the world when you are immersed into a book. However the more I didn't post or even write or draft a post the harder I found it. So I had a break. I stopped feeling guilty about not posting because at the end of the day this is meant to be something fun. It doesn't matter if you have thousands reading your blog or just one, there is still pressure I feel to create content that you feel proud of.
  Therefore, another of my resolutions for this year is to rediscover the feeling I got when I was posting stuff I was proud of and to not just post any old thing that would mean that I was posting everyday. I would now rather one brilliant post a month than a quick 5 minute rushed post everyday.

So here is to 2015. A new year, a new chance to make memories. The year can be as good as you choose to make it. After all, no-one else is living your life:
I hope to make 2015 one of the best. I know although some parts of the year will be influenced by factors that you cannot control, at the end of the day I am responsible for making things happen and so when I look back this time next year I hope I will be able to say that I made the most of every opportunity that comes my way. 
  I wish all of my family, friends and colleagues all the best for the new year & hope that they have a blessed and memorable year too, full of happiness & good health.

We are all given the same blank canvas called 'life.' How we choose to fill it is our decision. If I look back at the end of my life and remember more positives than negatives, I'll be happy.

Would You Rather Beauty Edition

Today I thought that it would be fun and a bit different to do one of the many 'tag' posts floating around on the Internet. With so many to choose from I was spoilt for choice but I decided on one called the 'Would You Rather tag.' If you'd like to read about others responding to this post be sure to check them out simply by typing the tag name into a search engine such as Google.
 Without further ado, I shall start the tag!

QUESTIONS:
1.) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and lipglosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows? I think if I had to choose between the two I would say eyeshadows and palettes. This is because I have a lot of lip products and it would probably cost more for me to replace those than it would the eyeshadows and palettes I have. Also I could probably survive without eyeshadow but mascara and eyeliner are two of my biggest must have products.

2.) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again? Probably never be able to cut it again. Although saying that if I cut it all off it would all eventually grow back... but I still think I'd rather not cut it.

3.) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek? A lot of the blushes I own are pink so I'll go with pink.

4.) If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup? $1000 is a lot of money to spend in one go on either of these things but I don't think I could justify spending it all on makeup so clothes.

5.) Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick? Eyeliner as a lipstick because you could be more precise and even be sneaky and try to get a eyeliner that would be a similar colour to a lipstick?

6.) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora? I've never shopped in Sephora before so MAC.

7.) Would you rather only use one eyeshadow color or one lip color for the rest of your life? One eyeshadow because I love lip products too much to commit to one.

8.) Would you rather wear winter clothes in summer or summer clothes in winter? Winter clothes in summer because in England it would probably be cold and rainy anyway. haha.

9.) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round? Bright nails!

10.) Would you rather give up your favorite lip product or your favorite eye product?Favourite eye product!

11.) Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a ponytail or a messy bun? Messy bun because at least then all your hair is out the way.

12.) Would your rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?
I'd rather never use lipgloss because although I am a bit lip product addicted I am not the biggest fan of glosses and I find painting my nails relaxing so I would like to be able to do that.

13.) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or sharpie them in everyday?
Eyebrows frame your face so as much as it pains me to say it, I'd rather sharpie them in although I know that it probably would look horrendous.

14.) Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?
Definitely nail polish.

Throwback Thursday Week 5: Christmas 2013

For the final post in the 'Throwback' series that I have been posting I thought that I would go back to a fairly recent event, that being Christmas 2013. It seems like only last month we were getting into the festive spirit and every shop going was pulling in last minute Christmas shoppers. In reality Christmas was a good 6 months ago and in 6 months time we will already be in 2015 which is a really scary thought because Christmas again would be over.
  After Summer, the festive season is one of my favourite times of the year. Although I'm not a huge fan of the cold weather and the evenings getting dark really early I love that at this time of year get into the spirit, whether that be by organising secret santa at work or just by decorating their houses, it is a special time of year.
  One of my highlights of Christmas is putting up our tree in the living room. Although it is artificial me and my sister have lots of fun putting on the lights and decorations. It is one of those times that you can put aside our busy lives and spend some family time together. However I seem to always get stuck with the job of putting the lights on which is a task and a half as I either run out of lights half way down and have to start again or I have loads of lights leftover and so I desperately try and bunch them all together at the bottom. My sister then gets the nice job of putting on the tinsel and other decorations before putting the angel on the top.
  For our decorations we never used to have much of a theme. It tended to be to just chuck whatever was in the box onto the tree and hope for the best which often resulted in a huge array of colours and it was a little overwhelming. However in 2012 we bought new lights and decorations and we love them. We went for a blue and white theme because it represented the colder weather yet still looked festive. The lights are a mixture of blue LED and white LEd and I thought that they worked together really well. They also look gorgeous when all the main house lights are out and they are flashing away. The tinsel also helped to reflect the light and make it seem bigger and brighter.
  My sister gets a bit OCD when decorating the Christmas tree and her ballerina decorations get pride of place near the top of the tree and must always be on the tree. They do add a nice touch but when you have about 5 of them it can be a bit too much. The rest of our tree is filled usually with loads of white, silver and blue baubles which all are reflective. The tree itself is also quite unique because my dad decided to go against getting a traditional green tree and get a chocolate brown one instead. Although at first I wasn't sure about this when it is decorated it actually looks lovely.
 All of these pictures were taken back at Christmas 2013 and I was experimenting with a technique called zoom bursts on the DSLR at the time. It is achieved by starting with the lens zoomed either all the way in or out and increasing the exposure time to a few seconds. Then whilst you are taking the picture you zoom the opposite way and you are left with this beautiful flashed effect. Although it isn't a traditional technique, it creates some beautiful abstract images especially when light is involved.
   I found that last Christmas suddenly snuck up on me and I was not organised at all. I know that I was still frantically buying and wrapping up Christmas presents on Christmas Eve and this was mainly down to the fact that I had been so busy in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas Day that I hardly had time to think.
 I spent the 15th of December driving from my hometown to Nottingham for a work course which lasted two days. I remember spending the second night in my hotel room ordering Christmas presents for my sister to be delivered whilst I was away and also to try and find a dress for the upcoming work Christmas do.
 When I returned home from Nottingham on the Wednesday evening it was time to unpack before working on the Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday was my meal with everyone from work and I still hadn't found a dress to wear. Me and my friend rushed into Ipswich to find something and luckily I found a gorgeous dress in River Island.
 We then spent the rest of the day getting ready and having a few drinks before heading to a hotel where our Christmas do was being held. It was a brilliant evening and it was good to see everyone there.
  When Christmas day finally rolled around a few days later I was so excited. I had managed to get everything done and sorted and was looking forward to spending the next few days with my family. On Christmas morning my sister and I went round to my mum and stepdad's house to spend the morning with them before my sister, dad and I went round to my nan's with my aunt and cousin to enjoy our delicious roast dinner and to finish off the day.
  Our Boxing Day was very chilled and was again spent with family eating far too much food and watching films on the TV.
 I was very spoilt this Christmas and I am very lucky to have such a loving and wonderful family and it was nice to have a few days off work to just relax and enjoy the company of others. I can't believe that in less than 6 months we will have the chance to celebrate all over again and it has been good to look back at my last Christmas to remember what a lovely time I had.

Throwback Thursday Week 4: Music

In true 'Throwback Thursday' style today I wanted to look back at the music I listened to whilst I was growing up. I remember listening to cassette tapes, followed by CD's when I was younger and music has been and still is a huge part of my life. I've never really been a TV or film addict and would much rather listen to a new album in the sunshine or whilst driving my car instead of sitting in a cinema.
  I have also always loved the thought of having a physical CD in front of you. With technology taking over most of our lives it is so easy now to download the music straight to your phone but I love the concept of seeing a CD and the album cover. I do still download a lot of the music I listen to but if there is a particular CD I want I will go out and buy it. 
 The music I listened to growing up was inspired by the music that others around me was listening to. My mum has always been a huge fan of Robbie Williams and Take That so I've been familiar with their work for a long time. I also obviously developed my own music taste as I was growing up and I wouldn't particularly say that I have a particular genre of music. I'm open to listening to any song and if I like it I will play it again and again regardless of who it is sung by or how old or popular the song is. 

  I remember at one stage growing up I was a little obsessed with buying the 'Now That's What I Call Music' CD's and would always get them as birthday and Christmas presents as well as buying them myself with my own pocket money. The first CD of this collection I got was Now 54 and this was released 11 years ago back in 2003. I was 8. After this CD I didn't get another until Now 57 but I have every single release from Now 57 all the way up to Now 80 I think. 
 Another huge part of my music collection when I was younger was dominated by the band Blue. I was literally obsessed with their music and I actually have all of their albums. I remember buying one of them in Woolworths and playing the Guilty album all Christmas Day one year. I even saw Blue in concert at the old Wembley Arena and this was one of my earliest memories of a concert. Their album Guilty came out again in 2003 and I'm surprised the CD still works considering how often I listened to it.
 I love rediscovering old albums that I loved and so when I came across this one last year when sorting through my music it was played solid for a good two weeks. My 18 year old self loved it as much as my 8 year old self all those years ago. 
 Atomic Kitten was another band that I used to listen to a lot. Their favourite album of mine was Feels So Good but when I listened back to it I found that I didn't recognise a lot of the songs on there. Along with Atomic Kitten I also liked the Sugababes but I was never a huge fan of Girls Aloud and I don't own any of their albums or particularly like any of their songs. I have bad memories of their performance on the X Factor when they all wore gold glittery dresses and didn't sing that well!
 The final band that I remember listening to a lot was Steps. I discovered this band through one of my childhood friends and remember watching the tape version of this album showing all the music videos round my friends house multiple times.
 Although Steps got back for the TV show 'The Big Reunion' I didn't watch it because I wanted to keep the memories of when I used to listen to them as a kid and I knew it wouldn't be the same as when I loved them all those years ago.
  Although I haven't featured them here there are so many other artists and bands that I listened to throughout my childhood and whilst growing up such as: The Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Busted, McFly & S Club. Although music has changed over the years and my taste has developed I really enjoy listening back to the old albums and reliving the songs that I used to play on repeat on the good old portable CD player or even on a tape in the car.

Lakeside Shopping Haul Part 2

As you may know, a few weeks ago I went shopping with my friends in Lakeside. It is fair to say that I may have gone a little overboard on this day investing in a lot of makeup especially. Therefore I have dedicated this part of the haul to primarily makeup and beauty items but have thrown in my biggest and best purchase of the trip at the end just to top it all off! Let's go!
  You know that you are in trouble when you walk into Boots and they are doing a 3 for 2 promotion across their whole beauty and cosmetics range. This means you can get makeup, brushes and accessories included in this deal and I needed no invitation to make full use of this offer. I may have accidentally ended up buying 6 products but I am so pleased with them.
 One of the first things I wanted to do in Boots was to check out the Sleek makeup. I have been a huge fan of their blushes over the past year and for the past two months have fallen in love with their eyeshadow palettes. Where I live the Boots and Superdrug stores aren't big enough to sell Sleek so it was time to stock up in Lakeside.
  After looking at the palettes in the flesh I opted for the 'Ultra mattes v2 darks' palette because I have been all about matte recently. This palette contains entirely matt shades and the pigmentation of them is incredible. Like the Au Naturel palette the shades blend really nicely and I love the range of colours here. The huge mirror also is really handy if you are on the go and I love that each shade has it's own name like 'Villian' and 'Orbit.' The palettes are also so affordable, costing just £7.99 for 12 shades.

Since discovering the Real Technique makeup brushes, it has transformed the way that I apply my makeup. The contour and buffing brush have been two of my favourites so far and so I decided it was time to invest in a new blush brush. The Real Techniques blush brush cost £9.99 I still can't get over how soft it is and how easy it is to apply makeup with this. It makes product blend so flawlessly and it is the perfect shape and size.

As I've mentioned a thousand times before, I love sleek blushes. Everything to the packaging to the colour range to how easy they are to apply and the beautiful finish they give, it is hard to fault them. Whilst I had to make the most of stocking up on Sleek products I decided it was time to invest in some more blushes. Three to be exact. The first was a shade called 'Coral' which in the pan looks to be a really unique orange/pink colour. It reminds me of the shade 'Flushed' because it looks matte on first inspection but it does contain the slightest bit of shimmer.

 

The next shade that I bought was 'Pixie Pink' which is a gorgeous light pink which is very matt. However from first impressions it doesn't seem at all chalky and I'm expecting this to be great for the summer. It isn't half as bright as 'Flamingo' but it looks a much cooler tone and is so beautiful to look at in the pan. 
 The final Sleek blush I bought on this shopping trip is another matte shade called 'Life's a Peach.' In the pan this shade appears to be a very bright and slightly scary orange. However, I didn't let this put me off when I first bought Flamingo and I turned out to love it and so I thought that I would give this shade a spin. Although this may not be a shade suitable for all year round (well it could be, we will find out when I test it out!) I think it will be great for summer, especially when you have a little bit of a tan. One of the biggest advantages of these blushes is that they are so affordable at only £4.49 each and this is part of the reason why my collection of them has grown so big so quickly.
  My final purchase to finish off my Boots splurge I decided that I would buy a product that I had never previously tried. A lot of my drugstore purchases recently have been lip products, so much so that my storage is getting a bit overrun with lipsticks, crayons and balms. Nevertheless, I still decided that it would be a good idea to buy another lipstick(!) After trying and really liking the Revlon Matte balms recently and having never tried a Revlon lipstick I opted to go for a shade from their 'Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick' collection. To be honest there wasn't many shades in this collection but I picked up the shade 'Stormy Pink' because it thought it looked the best on the back of my hand. Haha. This cost me £7.49 but it turned out to be one of the free items in the deal.  
 By the time we managed to get round to going into Superdrug, it was near the end of the day. Out of a matter of interest I innocently went to look at the Sleek counter in Superdrug just to see if they were selling anything different to Boots. As a matter of fact they were. To celebrate 50 years of Superdrug Sleek have released a limited edition eyeshadow palette called the Showstoppers palette. This palette consists of 7 shimmery and 5 matte shades. Honestly I probably didn't need this palette but because it was limited edition and I loved a couple of the shades especially I decided to buy it. Superdrug were also doing a 3 for 2 on all cosmetics too and so I thought that I might as well take advantage of the offer. This palette cost £7.99  

As I had not bought a new nail polish in a while I decided to have a little look at what Rimmel had on offer. I was aware that Rita Ora recently bought out a range of nail polishes and Colour Rush Balms, but one of the repackaged lasting finish polishes actually caught my eye. This shade is called 'Fancy a Dip' and is a lovely blue shade. I think it is really unique because it isn't a pale blue or a royal blue but it looks slightly lilac and is completely different to the other shades I own. This retails at £2.99 which is so affordable and I'm really excited to try this shade out really soon.
 After buying a lot of the Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly collection nail polishes last summer it was good to see that they have released some more shades for this summer. I've noticed a lot of the new colours focus on pastel shades and these really appeal to me. I've been really attracted to blue tones and shades recently and so whilst browsing the new shades on offer 'Huckleberry' stood out to me. It is a really pale almost white blue shade and I think this will look absolutely amazing alongside tanned skin. It is really similar to the shade Blue Moon from the original Barry M nail polishes but I'm sure the added shine will make a big difference to the appearance of this shade. It costs £3.99 like with the other Hi-Shine polishes in the collection.
  Now on the way to the checkout in Superdrug I noticed that they were selling the Tanya  Burr Cosmetics. I've really wanted to try out some things from her collection ever since they were launched but this was the first time I had seen them in the flesh.
 I decided to try out just one product to start with because I didn't want to go crazy buying a product that I had never tested before and so opted for the nail polish in the shade Little Duck because I had seen some photos of this shade and loved it. I plan on writing a full review on this product, especially because it has been receiving some incredible hype over the blogging and Youtube world recently. This nail polish set me back £5.99 which I thought was quite a bit for a polish but until I try it out I won't know if it is worth the money.
 Tanya Burr's nail polish concludes the beauty and cosmetic part of my haul and I have a load of products now that I will be vigorously testing over the coming weeks and months. There is just one more product that I bought in Lakeside as a treat to myself.
About 5 years ago now my mum and step-dad got me a iPod Nano as a Christmas present from New York. I have had so much use out of my iPod over the years and I have loved using it but now it is starting to show signs of age because the buttons have started to become temperamental. I have been thinking about buying a new one now for about 6 months and decided in Lakeside that I would make the investment. I went into the Apple store and it was so easy to pay and get hold of one and I love it. Once again I went for the limited edition Red and Apple puts some of the money you pay for the iPod towards helping people in Africa who are suffering with AIDS. I haven't had a chance to properly set it up yet because I want to organise all my music first but I am so excited to start using it. It will be going everywhere with me when it is ready to go and I was actually impressed that the 16GB version only cost £129. I seem to remember my 8GB one cost me around £100 when I got that so I definitely got a lot for my money.  

OOTD: Possibly the beginning of summer

  Therefore I fished my trusty black skirt out from my wardrobe (was relieved when it still fit and was actually slightly loose) and then started to consider what I would wear with it.

We are finally starting to move into my favourite time of the year, Summer! As soon as the sun makes an appearance the people of Britain strip off, whack out the BBQ and enjoy a beverage or three in the company of friends and family.
  Last weekend we were lucky enough to experience just a little bit of sun and by that I mean one day, where temperatures were unusually high for May. Traditionally, the BBQ's were dusted off and the beers cracked open, followed by the shirts coming off in hope of getting a tan that looked as if you had just come back from two weeks in the Caribbean in just a few hours. Of course we had to make the most of it, especially because whilst I write this post just a few days afterwards it is pouring down with rain with potential floods on their way. The joys of British weather.
 To mark the start of warmer weather, I decided to abandon the leggings and jeans for one day and start to experiment with some new additions to my wardrobe ready for this season.
  I was so happy a few weeks ago when I went shopping and realised that maxi skirts would be making a reappearance in the trends, especially because I bought three of them myself last summer. I think they are a great addition to any wardrobe, as they can be worn casually throughout the day and also look great dressed up for the evening. They are also perfect for the warmer weather, flatter almost every shape and are a great alternative if you don't fancy flashing any leg.

  In the end I opted for a blue tie-dyed vest from New Look, which I picked up at the start of Spring for around £10. I love the colour of this vest and it was something a bit different to the other things in my wardrobe. On the front it also has the letters NY printed and I have been so excited to wear this. I had also worn it previously with leggings, a black leather jacket and studded pumps for a recent visit to the cinema, but I think it also works well with the maxi skirt. My skirt was also from New Look and I remember picking it up in the sale at the end of August last year for just £8!

  I kept my jewellery quite simple in this look, wearing one simple banded ring on each hand, my link chain silver bracelet and my silver Fossil watch. I decided not to wear a necklace because of the print of the vest and I wanted the focus on the outfit to be on that.

  Although it was a beautiful sunny day I wore a cropped denim jacket when evening started to set in and the temperature started to drop. I think it tied in well with the rest of the outfit and it kept me warm when it got chilly. The denim actually complimented the tie-dye really well and the length of the jacket was perfect as it came down to just after where the top was tucked into my skirt. I actually got this jacket a few years ago now, but I think it was originally from Next for around the £20-£30 mark.

  It was a lot of fun documenting what I wore and how I put together an outfit. I had never written an OOTD post before and now that I have done one I am a bit more confident in creating more. Over the summer I am going to try to experiment more with my style and start to wear things that are outside of my comfort zone. I'm hoping that England will be lucky enough to have at least a few weeks of lovely weather, especially because I don't think I will be going abroad this summer.

Lakeside Shopping Haul Part 1!

A few weekends ago, four of my friends and I decided to have a girls shopping trip. As we don't live in a very big town, shopping is very limited to a New Look and Dorothy Perkins and so we decided we wanted to go somewhere with a bit more variety. A 90 minute car journey with the help of my Australian voiced Sat Nav and a playlist of music later we turned up at Lakeside. I had never been shopping there before so I was really excited about our little shopping trip. It is fair to say that I went a little overboard on the shopping and was definitely feeling spendy that day so I thought that I would share all the bits and bobs I picked up.
 One of the first shops we went in was the massive Primark. I think it actually covered at least two floors and so it was a bit overwhelming when we went in. However we had such a laugh trying on the funny hats, sunnies and clothes and we also found some bargain buys. I never seem to have much patience with Primark and it doesn't take me long for me to become bored of shopping in there and so I was really pleased when I found a few things I liked. 
The first two things I got were these shorts. I actually got a grey pair and purple pair for my holiday last summer and they were so handy for going to the beach and pool in and were comfy and light enough to wear sleeping too. So I was so thrilled when I saw these have returned this year. At only £3 a pair they are a fantastic buy and so I got a red and a beautiful royal blue pair too. Each pair has the white detailing around the bottom and a logo on the right leg and these will be perfect for chilled summer days even if I don't go on holiday this year.
 The next thing I bought in Primark was this bright pink pillar candle. I've really been into candles recently and wanted a few to accompany my scented Yankee candles. The colour really appealed to me and although these are scented I actually like the Mango & Citronella scent as it is different to what I usually go for in a candle. It really is a fresh, uplifting summer scent and this was another bargain at only £2.
 My final purchase in Primark was picked up whilst I was waiting to pay for my items. I hate the fact that shops put little items around the queuing area because it makes you want to buy pointless stuff that you don't necessarily need. On this shopping trip this is exactly what happened to me because I picked up this huge pot of Tic Tacs for only £1. To be fair they were rather refreshing and different to the typical mint or lime and orange flavours I'm used to and plus I hadn't had Tic Tacs in a long time so this justified buying them.
 Another shop that we went into on our trip was Forever 21. Up until this day I had never really shopped in Forever 21 or even been interested in the clothes they sell. I don't think I had even ever looked on their website but as soon as I walked into the Lakeside store I knew I had been missing out.
 They have some lovely pieces in there from their dresses to tops to bags and jewellery that I kind of regretted spending so much money before I went in this shop. It was so hard to resist buying from here and I had my eye on a gorgeous pair of sandals and a necklace but in the end was good and only bought two things.
 The first thing I got was this casual logo vest costing £9.50. I love the print of this top and the text of 'Fortune favours the brave' and I think the cut and shape of it is really flattering too. It is cut quite deep at the sides and so my second purchase was a little bandeau top which I thought I could pair with the vest. I thought the hot pink would contrast well with the navy blue and make it look more interesting.
 The bandeau itself is a really pretty lace floral print and was a really good price at £3.15. Overall I was really impressed with the prices of the items in Forever 21, as they were much cheaper than I expected them to be.  

Of all the shops we went into that day, I was expecting to come out of New Look with some serious damage to my debit card. As it happened I only came out of the shop with one thing. This however, was a beautiful kimono that since buying it, I haven't stopped wearing. It is made from a sheer material which makes it so light and wearable for summer and the floral pattern is interesting yet not too in your face. The colours are also lovely and I am especially liking the royal blue shade in there. Costing £24.99 I wasn't sure if it was a little overpriced but I knew I couldn't leave it on the shelf.
 My next purchase was in River Island. After scouting the bag and purse section as is tradition when I go in there and having nothing in particular catch my eye, I thought that I would have a peek at the jewellery.
  Although I am a huge fan of rings, I don't own that many necklaces, especially statement pieces. I was attracted to this silver piece because of the beautiful detailing and the slightly 'tougher' look it has. I also thought it was reasonably priced at £7 and this had been a welcome addition to my wardrobe. So far I've worn this with the above kimono and a plain white tee and it has worked really well.  

My final clothes/accessory buy during this shopping trip were these aviator styled sunglasses from Dorothy Perkins.
 I have always been a fan of this style, yet have never found a pair to suit my face. I have loved wearing the retro styled sunnies for the past few summers and bought a new pair from RI at the beginning of the season but I was still looking for the perfect aviators.
  I was actually about to buy a different pair of sunglasses when I saw these and I tried them on just by chance when my friends said they suited me. I agreed and so these are my first pair of silver aviators costing me only £8. They have a grey graduated tint in them which I think looks great and they even came with this beautiful floral case to keep them safe and clean.
Although this is the end of all the fashion and random things I bought on this shopping trip, I did go a bit over the top on the cosmetics and beauty items and so will be posting a part two of this shopping trip over the next few days. I had such a good day at Lakeside, not just because I went shopping but because I got to spend the day with some of my favourite people and catch up with them because I don't get to see them as much as I used to.