New Years Eve

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and ate lots and had a generally great time with all of the festivities. 

Although I love Christmas this 'limbo period' between Christmas and New Year is always a little boring (although I'm working a few days in the Nursing Home; so it's not all slobbing around eating the last of the quality streets and watching trashy TV for me).

I always go to Newquay for New Years Eve and everyone dresses up in fancy dress. I used to think everyone did fancy dress for New Year until recently when I found out that quite a lot of people wear really nice ball gowns or party frocks!

Therefore this is always a time when I need to plan my costume, although in reality it is a panic buy at about 4pm on New Years Eve and I end up going as something terrible.

This year we have decided upon an 'Army Girl' theme, so that should be fairly easy (I hope!) with lots of camo, green, brown and black. I won't be wearing combat pants however. I'm thinking more along the lines of this. 

What do you think? 

Here are some of my previous costumes! Be warned I do not look great in these!

'Greek Goddess'

'Cave Woman'

'Bee'

I also dressed up as 'Wonderwoman' one year, however I could not find a picture where I looked even remotely ok. Think Summer Roberts in the OC but a lot less graceful!

What are your plans for New Years Eve?

Do you have any dodgy fancy dress pictures?

Christmas Tag

What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

Eating lots of delicious food, giving people presents and watching all of the specials on TV. I also love that everyone celebrates it so I enjoy it more than my birthday!

What's your favourite makeup look for the season?

Red lipstick and glitter!


Real tree or fake tree?

Real but we always have a fake one in our house. I love the big ones that you see in shopping centres and towns which are covered in beautiful lights. I really want to go and see the massive one in New York that is always in movies.

Giving presents or receiving them?
Giving them! I like receiving them as well though! Who doesn't?

Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?In the morning. I did used to open one on Christmas eve when I was little too. I have no patience! 

Handmade Christmas cards or bought?

Handmade, but as I am not very creative I buy my cards. I do try to buy the charity ones though.

What's your favourite Christmas film?


Elf. "Buddy the elf whats your favourite colour?"

Warm Cinnamon Nights

I love trying new bath and shower products especially when it is winter and you can have a nice hot bath. 

So when I saw the Limited Edition treaclemoon Warm Cinnamon Nights bath and shower gel, I was so excited to try it.
It smells like Christmas in liquid form... sort of sweet but with a Cinnamon smell to. It's not overpowering or anything, although I love Cinnamon scented things sometimes they are a little strong for me, but this is perfect and smells lovely.
The colour is beautiful (my picture doesn't do it justice really) and it is a nice creamy product which leaves the skin smelling and feeling amazing!

Unfortunaltly I think this is only limited edition ... sob! So I will have to make the most of it whilst it is still available.

If you haven't tried anything buy treaclemoon before I would suggest you do because I'm a huge fan. Not only are the products really good value but they are also not tested on animals which is great!
I know they sell it in Tesco and on their website but i'm not sure if you can buy it anywhere else yet not not.

Do you like Cinnamon Scented Products?

Maybelline FIT me!

I saw this in Superdrug and liked the look of it to be honest with you. It is in Classic Ivory for my super pale skin! It applied really easily and doesn't leave any powdery bits like some pressed powders I have tried in the past! It was £5.99.

Inside is a little mirror and a round circle puff thing that you can apply it with on the go, but I prefer using a proper brush for a lighter application. 

I don't know if this is new or not, but I have never seen it before! I really like using it and I think it will now become something that I repurchase when I run out because it really works for my skin.

Update: Just a little update on the serum that I got from Superdrug and blogged about a couple of posts ago- well it brought me out in a lovely burny rash all over my face! I was definitely not impressed with that at all, especially as it is being advertised as being hypo-allergenic and dermatological tested and all that jazz! So I won't be buying that again :( 

Although saying that just because that happened to me it doesn't mean that it will effect you skin in that way.

Red

As it is almost Christmas I have been loving all of the red and sparkly things that have been cropping up. 

Although I do wear red nails at other times of the year, I feel that they are especially appropriate at Christmas time. 

I have used the Bourjois So Laque! Polish in Rouge escarpin. Then over the top I painted on a layer of beauty UK 'Posh Polish' which I got from Superdrug for £3.99. It is so sparkly and applies really easily. The glitter bits in it are all red but not overally shiny and sparky, just enough to catch the light every now and again and make my nails looks festive!

I really wish I could do some nail art like little snowmen or reindeer, but unfortunately I am so very uncreative that anything I draw looks like a splodge! Therefore I feel glitter nails are the way forward for the less arty among us!

Sorry about the bad lighting!

.

What nail polish are you going to be wearing this Christmas?

Bad Santa

It's nearly Christmas! Which means... dun dun dun... Christmas Shopping!

I thought that I would put together a little Mens Gift Guide, so here is a little inspiration for all the men in your life!

 Mens Gift Guide 2012

1

2

3

4

5

6

1) Jon Richardson 'Funny Magnet' DVD- £12.99 (Amazon).

2)  Nikko Radio Controlled Vaporizr (Green)- £44.00 (Amazon).

3) Oud & Bergamot Cologne £95/100ml from Jo Malone (jomalone.com)

4) Superdry Highlander Scarf £34.99 (Superdry).

5) Aesop Soar Gift Set - £55 (aesop.com).

6) New Balance 30th Anniversary Trainer - £160 (hanon-shop.com).

I knew you were trouble

I needed some new eyelash curlers so I went to Superdrug and bought some QVS ones. I have never heard of them before, so I will keep you updated as to if they are worth buying or not. They were only about £4 so quite cheap really.

Whilst I was at Superdrug, I noticed a new range of products called 'Simply Pure'. As they are new they were on offer at the moment, so I'm going to be trying out the Oil balancing serum. It is supposed to hydrate combination skin without clogging pores. I quite like the packaging which is part of the reason that I bought it! I'm a complete sucker for nice packaging on anything really!

The other item that I got whilst I was there was the Bourjois Concealer Stick in Light Beige number 71 (£7.49). The yellow and white pigments are supposed to hide dark circles and imperfections and my skin is looking awful at the moment, so I need all of the help that I can get! I usually really like Bourjois products and have been using the Healthy Mix foundation for about a year now and I think it applies really well and smells quite nice too. It is a creamy texture and comes as a twisty stick, so it goes exactly where you want it to and don't end up losing lots of product which is what I normally do. 

Above top left: Simply Pure Oil Balancing Serum. Top Right: Bourjois Concealer Stick.

Bottom Left: Bourjois concealer stick swatched on my arm. Bottom Right: QVS Eyelash Curlers.

I really need to start drinking more water to try and re-hydrate my skin, as it is starting to look really zapped. Probably due to the time of year, being quite windy and cold and being indoors with the radiators on. If anyone has any tips on keeping their skin nice in winter, then please share them with me as I hate my skin at the moment.

Tonight my plan is to have a nice bath with my Lush Snow Fairy and then watch I'm a Celebrity get me out of here with my Vermonster Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream. I think Vermonster has overtaken Cherry Garcia as my all time favourite.

Which products do you use in the winter to hydrate your skin?

Have you tried any QVS tools before?

Princess Night

I love a nice new perfume, so when I was in TK Maxx a few weeks ago I was really excited to see that the Vera Wang Princess Night perfume was only £19.99. Seeing as how it normally retails at £45 I feel that this offer was to good to pass up and therefore I had to buy it... would have been a crime not to really!

I had never tried any Vera Wang perfumes before, so I did really choose it because of the name and super pretty packaging (I'm an advertisers dream customer clearly)!

The perfume comes in a shiny purple box with a nice little purple glittery heart on the front... it is too cute! 

The bottle is heart shaped and is covered in black/dark purple glitter. The lid is a silver crown with purple gemstones dotted around it.

The perfume is quite sweet I would say and is designed to wear of an evening, but I've been wearing it everywhere including to work so I think you can wear it where you like to really!

My photograph taking skills leave a lot to be desired, but in real life the bottle looks much prettier!

Which perfumes have you been trying lately?

Have you put any on you Christmas list?

Movies

I haven't done a movie review before so I thought that I would for a change. The other night me and a friend went to see the film 'Silver Linings Playbook'. Other than watching the trailer I wasn't really sure what to expect, but as it has Bradley Cooper in it I thought it would be funny.

The basic story line is that Pat (Bradley Cooper) has been in a mental institution after he went on a little rampage when he found his wife with another man. He is released and the story follows him trying to win back his wife Nikki. Along the way he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a girl with a few issues of her own and they become friends through dancing. 

I wouldn't say that this movie is the best of the year or anything and to be honest it does drag a little (however I did go to a 10pm screening and started to get tired!). I would definitely go and see it especially if you have two for one orange Wednesdays and just to see Bradley Cooper really.

In other news Magic Mike is out on DVD in the UK on Monday 26th November... I pretty much love Channing Tatum! 

Are there any films that you are looking forward to being released?

Lush

I love Lush at Christmas time, with all of their lovely gift sets and seasonal products. I went on a mad shopping spree yesterday and decided to stop by at Lush and buy myself a few treats as a sort of it's almost my birthday/Christmas present to myself!

I love the little melting snowman bath melts that you can get for your bath so I bought one of those. He looks too cute to destroy in my bath, but smells divine and at only £1.95 I think he is a bargain. I love the fact that it has chocolate buttons on it (obviously you can't eat them!). The scent reminds me of Christmas/Winter as it is like cinnamon! Amazing!

I also bought the Shower Gel which I think everyone loves at Christmas 'Snow Fairy'. I'm not sure why they only sell it at Christmas, but I suppose that it makes it extra special and on a par with the likes of Christmas pudding and marzipan. If you haven't tried it before (where have you been?) it smells like candyfloss and is really sweet and lovely.

 The Shower Gel costs £6.25 for 250g but you can buy a smaller and larger size.

What is your favourite Christmas bath product?

Do you like the Lush items?

Christmas Kisses

I have been AWOL from my blog recently due to work and assignments etc so I thought that I would write a little post about a new product which I have purchased for the Christmas season.

I saw on  Fleur De Force Vlog a really nice Lip stain by Yves Saint Laurent in No 10.  The colour was so perfect that I just had to buy it, so today I went to my nearest Debenhams and bought myself a little present. 

At £22.50 I would say that it is a little extravagant for me but I think that the colour and feel of it are definitely worth the price tag. It is like a lipstick but with a nice sheen to it and wears really well. I have so far had three cups of tea and eaten a meal and it is still in place! 

The colour itself is an almost red/raspberry colour and really stands out, so perfect for christmas nights out!

The floor that you can see in the back on that picture is my bedroom. I wanted to have bare floorboards and had the vision on them being beautiful, in reality I have had quite a few (painful) splinters and am looking for a new carpet (despite saying that I hate carpet)!

I will definetly be buying more of these lipstains in the near future and have my eye of a more pink tone one, which I think will be great for the spring time.

Have you tried any YSL Glossy Lipstains? 

Why do you wear Makeup Tag

After seeing this Tag on Marta's Chubby Love Blog, I have decided to do the 'Why do you wear Makeup Tag'.

 

1) When did you begin to wear makeup?

 

I didn't start to wear any makeup until I was in Year 11 at school, so I must have been about 15. My friend Laura introduced me to loads of products and I was hooked! I can remember that we used to go to the toilets at school (how classy!) before maths and she would apply different makeup to me. One time she even applied this new 'lip sting' which actually burned! Since then I have really enjoyed putting makeup on and now won't leave the house without it.

 

2) How do you feel about makeup?

 

I love makeup! It is such a great invention, in particular Foundation. I just don't know what I would do without it... sounds a little dramatic! I can make you feel great and ready for the day even if you are half asleep! I would never dream of going to work or uni without any on! I like how you can create different look depending on your outfit/how you feel!

 

3) What do you like about makeup?

 

I like that you can create different looks depending on what you are doing or where you are going. I also like the fact that makeup gives you confidence and makes you look good and feel great!

 

4) 3 Holy Grail Products

 

• Vaseline- any kind. I love it for my lips and to tame my eyebrows, I also use it to strengthen my eyelashes!
• Foundation- makes me skin look flawless.
• Mascara- Gives my eyelashes a good colour and makes them look thicker and longer, in the process making my eyes look bigger AND more importantly making me look awake!!

What do you think about makeup?

What are your favourite products?

Champagne Showers

I'm a huge fan of Vaseline and am always excited when a new one comes out! So you can imagine my excitement when the new Vaseline Limited Edition Pink Bubbly Lip Balm was advertised in a magazine.

 

When I finally got my hands on it on Saturday I was barely out Superdrug when I immediately opened my tin. I think that it is a lot like the Rose Vaseline Lip Balm but there is something about the fact that there is grape extract that makes it oh so appealing!

One of my friends has been using it for a little while as she has had dry lips due to some meds she is using and has given it rave reviews!

It isn't cheap for Vaseline- £3.49 from Superdrug! But I would defiantly recommend it.

 

Have you tried the new Limited Edition Pink Bubbly Lip Balm?

What do you think about it?

Pink October

As you may well know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Unfortunately Breast Cancer affects so many people including men and the number of people being diagnosed is increasing. However, the good news is that due to targeted treatment, earlier detection and better breast awareness, survival rates are improving.

 

Breast Cancer UK is a charity that provides both emotional and practical support for anyone affected by Breast Cancer. In order to continue to provide this level of support the charity needs to raise much needed funds. Fortunately there are lots of ways to support the charity including buying some lovely items on the high street.

 

Marks and Spencer has a really lovely range of items with 10% of each sale goes to     Breast Cancer UK.

Above are just some of the items that Marks and Spencer are selling for Breakthrough Breast cancer but you can shop the range here.

There is a lot more information on the Breast Cancer Website.

www.breastcancercare.org.uk

Music makes the people come together

I thought that I would share with you a few of my favourite songs at the moment. Now that the weather changing and the nights are drawing in, I enjoy nothing more than having a nice hot bath (with soap and glory bath stuff), a hot chocolate and listening to some good tunes.

Sweet Nothing by Calvin Harris ft Florence and the Machine.

 

Just Be by Paloma Faith. I heard this song on the ITV Autumn Drama adverts and really liked it so I did a little search.

 



 

Let me Love you by Ne-yo.

 



 

Finally, I really like this song on the John Lewis Advert... sweet!

 

Which songs are you enjoying at the moment?

 

Classic

Its been a little while since I posted last and a little has changed. First of all I'm starting uni in about 2 weeks!! I know how exciting! I'm going to be studying towards a Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Education at the local college where they do higher education. After the two years I can 'top-up' to a full BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degree at the big uni across the border into Devon! Then I plan on doing a PGCE to become a teacher. I'm very excited...cue lots of lists of things to buy! I'm sure I don't REALLY  need to buy a new wardrobe of clothes but I feel like I do!

Then theres stationary! Don't even get me started on my new planner. It's multi-coloured but mostly pink in the pattern of a union jack. It is so pretty, plus there is so much space to write in it...I'm finding any excuse to write in it at the moment!

I thought in honour of my new student status, today's post would be a 'college bag essentials' post.

First up lip balm. Dry lecture theatres and all that nasty heating plays havoc with my lips and I hate having chapped lips! That's where Carmex comes in handy, tastes quite nice too!

Carmex £2.69 Superdrug

Hairbrush. For those windswept days, I always have a small brush in my college bag for those hair emergencies.



Perfume of some description. I am planning on buying the Benefit So Hooked on Carmella perfume on payday as a little treat to myself. New season. New Scent! Smells so lovely and the bottle is just so cute!

Mints/Chewing gum. For obvious mouth hygiene reasons. For the record I like spearmint not so much peppermint!

What Essentials do you have in your college bag?

Is there a new perfume that you think is perfect for the Autumn term?

House of Fraser Style Challenge

House of Fraser are currently running a competition for bloggers to put together an outfit from the House of Fraser websites new season range. I have had a go at this myself although might have gone a little off the new season range with some of my pieces. However, I absolutely love this outfit that I have put together and quite frankly want every single piece! The cardigan can be both dressed up which is sort of how I have done it here or worn casually with a nice pair of skinny jeans. The dress is pretty amazing, I'm loving the sheer bit a the top and it fits nice and tight to the body, perfect for dressing smart/casual with a cardigan and flats as I have styled it here. I know that it is a formal style dress and most people would pair it with heels/boots/wedges but I am a flats kinda girl, so these ballet pumps are perfect! The bag is pretty cute and big enough to carry all of my worldly goods... i love the tassel detail and the pattern all over it, very chic. Finally the hoop earrings help to make the outfit a little dressed up but not too fussy.
I would wear this outfit out for dinner, if it was maybe a family meal or a casual meal with friends. I think it could even work for shopping or maybe even to work. When the weather gets a bit chilly I could even pop a pair of nude or thick black tights on and either would work really well.

 Label Lab Twist Knit Jersey in Grey Marl £45.00

JS Collections Sequin Bust Panel Dress £105.00

Head Over Heels Maybelle H Metal Bow Ballerina £14.00

Biba Blair bowling bag £239.20

Melissa Odabash Rose Gold & Crystal Lotus Hoop Earring £45.00

If you would like to enter the bloggers competition go here you can win £200 worth of House of Fraser voucher.

What do you think of this outfit?

Are you a heels or flats kind of girl?

Bloom

Bloom is an Australian brand first introduced by Natalie Bloom in 1993. Bloom is all about the natural ingredients and pretty packaging which makes the cosmetics a huge hit internationally.

Some of the products which I would like to try include the Smooth as Silk Texture Eye shadow in Antique Gold (not shown). See here.

Bloom as has a range of 80+ nail polish colours, so you are bound to find one that suits you. I have my eye on Kate, Ava and Zooey.

I would also love to try some of the Organic Body Oil, it looks and sounds amazing!

With a choice of Calming or Uplifting each contain a Jojoba, Macadamia & sweet almond blend. They sound divine!

You can buy these products online and also in selected Superdrug stores.

Have you ever tried anything from Bloom?

What would you recommend?

Finally Good Luck to everyone getting their exam results!

Her Mango Thoughts

I have posted previously about my love for treaclemoon and was really excited to try the new Her Mango Thoughts* Body Butter.

I have tried body butter before and like how they nourish the skin and smell divine at the same time. The treaclemoon Her Mango Thoughts body butter is just like The Body Shops but at fraction of the price... bonus! At only £4.05 for a large tub 250ml or £3.03 for the equally delicious Her Mango Thoughts bath and shower gel 500ml.
It sinks in really well and the scent lingers on your skin whilst keeping it nice and mositused which is exactly what I want in a product! Perfect for summer.


I love the packaging on the products on Her Mango Thoughts it says:

"something about mango made the girl see the magic in everything... its happy scent filled her heart with an invisible sunshine."



Something that is great about treaclemoon is that they do not test on animals and make sure that none of the ingredients that go in to their lovely products has been tested on animals either! On top of that they also have their own charity called Khandel Light which you can find out more about here

You can buy treaclemoon products at Tesco or Online at their shop here

Whats your favourite body butter?

Have you tried anything from treaclemoon?

*PR Sample

Tally & Hoe

I love pretty Jewellery and have recently come across a lovely website called Tally & Hoe. The cute little website sells a range of Hand made Jewellery and bags which I really like. The whole range of products are really unique.

One of my favourite pieces is this cool necklace with an anchor... I have a thing about seaside style jewellery.

Only £14.00 which I think is such good value for money as it is Hand made.

Have a look at the website, there are so many cute items on there.

http://www.tallyandhoe.bigcartel.com/

 

What style of Jewellery do you like?

Cath Kidston

Having dry hands is horrible and as I work in a job where I need to wash my hands a lot I often end up with dry hands.

Therefore I am always on the lookout for a new hand cream. At my local garden centre I came across a section of Cath Kidston products and after trying out the testers decided to by some Blossom Hand Cream.

The smell is really light and delicate, not overpowering at all which is always something I worry about with hand cream. After all you don't want it to taint your sandwiches!

The tube is the perfect size to fit into must handbags plus it is rich in Shea butter. The Packaging is so pretty to as with all Cath Kidston products.

I can honestly say that this is the best hand cream that I have used and now I have lovely smooth hands.

It costs £8.00 and can be purchased from any Cath Kidston store or online here
For a bargain of £6.79 you can buy it from the sale at Campus Gifts

What is your favourite hand cream?

Surfers and Sunshine

This weekend is when the little Cornish town of Newquay welcomes a whole host of international surfers and musicians.

Yes its that time again guys... Boardmasters! From the 8-12th August Newquay will be Buzzing!

On Friday and Saturday there is a big festival of live music on the beautiful cliffs at Watergate Bay where you can also camp! (Bring your wellies!) Such an amazing venue overlooking the sea!

In the line-up this year there is:

• Ed Sheeran
• Dizzee Rascal
• The Ting Tings
• Donavon Frankenreiter
• Maximo Park
• Maverick Sabre
• The Big Pink
• Delilah
• DJ Fresh
• Zane Lowe and Loads of others!

There is also the actual surfing competition featuring the worlds best surfers! ~You don't actually need to know anything about surfing to enjoy watching these guys!
Some of these fine sports men include:

Austrailians Soli Bailey, Matt Banting and Cahill Warren-Bell.
USA Ian Crane, Nathan Joseph Behl and Nat Young.

There are loads check out the list here.

If you can't get here for the festival you can always watch the live streaming on the website!

Lets hope the weather picks up for the weekend!

My favourite Dizzee Rascal song Holiday...
 

Have you ever been to a surf festival?

Summertime

Living in Cornwall it is not uncommon to see lobster red coloured people coming from the beach. Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I have never been sunburned in my life (I am guilty as charged)!
However it begs the question as to why people do not wear sunscreen. It is very easy to get hold of literally EVERY Superdrug and Boots sell a whole range and at fairly reasonable prices.
Everyone loves having a bit of colour to their skin, but you should still wear sunscreen at at LEAST factor 15 to minimise the damage.

I have found a few of my favourite sunscreens that aren't sticky and will protect your skin from the harmful rays!

In Sun Piz Buin In Sun Lotion SPF15 200ml £8.99 (Above)

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Sun Defence for Face SPF50 50ml £14.59 (Below)

Heliocare advanced SPF20 Gel £16.95

Do you know of any sunscreens that smell and feel nice on your skin?

Wear Sunscreen. I Love this song!

Minty

As the sun has decided to grace us with its presence once more, I have decided that is time to unleash the summer wardrobe!

Yes that's right the time has come to bare my Lilly while pins and visually abuse the rest of Cornwall with my 'lovely' physique.

I have bought a few items recently to help me with my summer overhaul these include:

Pretty dress from a local 'pre-loved boutique' (a shop where you can buy and sell things- a bit like ebay you give the shop a cut of what you sell). Only £5.00 and it looks brand new.



Beige trousers (Zara) from ebay £6.99 including postage and packaging.

But my favourite has to be this absolutely lovely minty colour nail polish from Boots. It is from Rimmel and was £4.99! Bargain! Though I need a little more practise applying said nail polish and perhaps slightly longer finger nails!

Finally I went to see the very lovely Channing Tatum in 'Magic Mike' the other day and I must say that I was not disappointed. So you if you haven't seen it yet, I would strongly advise that you do!

What summer items have you purchased lately?

Careers

I have been studying this week. When everyone else I know seems to be graduating from Uni, I have decided that I want to return! I did go to uni back in 2009 but only lasted for about 5 months as I just hated the course. I studied at University of Gloucestershire and I loved the social aspects and made some lovely friends- but I just couldn't justify spending 3 years studying English Literature when I hated it so much.

So after spending the last 2 and a half years working as a Care Assistant in a Nursing Home, I have decided to study an Access to teaching course through the Distance Learning Centre. I did think about going back to traditional college to do this, but I can't really afford to give up my job.

Studying from home is going to take a lot of motivation and organisation of my time- but I really want to become an early years teacher so I know I can do it!

I have also managed to line up some volunteer work at a primary school, one day a week starting in September :) I'm very excited about this!

This post has nothing to do with fashion or beauty, which is what I am basing my blog around. However, I do think that it is important that everyone knows that life is to be lived the way YOU want it to be! I will be 25 when I graduate if everything goes to plan... but that still leaves plenty of time to pursue a long career!