Shopping for Summer | Contest Give Away

I hope i'm not the only one already shopping for summertime outfits. Summer is definitely the best time of year for me, since i am always cold as it. And theres nothing better than wearing cute outfits and being able to go out in them, rather than covering it all up with a massive coat! You may hopefully have noticed by now that i work for New Look, so everything i buy/want to buy will be from there. I absolutely love the stock we get in throughout the summer, and i always spend way too much money on new things. I also spend endless hours on their website, putting together cute little outfits that i always end up buying. So today i thought i would share one of them with you. 

I know it's still not quite warm enough to wear it just yet, but i will still be buying it in preparation for the summer. I really love the festival look of these clothes, and it's what i had in mind when picking them out. I've never been to a music festival, but i would like to think that when i do go, i would wear something like this. I love the fact with these picks too, they can be reused in other ways. You can never have enough jewellery or shoes either! 

1. Denim Gilet- £14.99 

2. Aztec earrings- £2.99

3. Strapless playsuit- £12.99 

4. Gold plated sandals- £24.99 

5. Aztec cuff bangle- £5.99 

6. Dented gold necklace- £7.99

Voucher Give Away

I want to do a small give away for three lucky people. I have been given three 25% off vouchers to give away to my fellow bloggers, which i thought was nice of New Look. All you have to do is use the widget below and you can be entered up to 5 times!

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mid Week in Pictures #1

                    

        

I've had quite a productive week this week. So i decided to share my week through pictures. On saturday, i got dolled up and went out with a few friends. It's the first night i have been out to clubs properly since my birthday in December. I had a really good night! Nights out like these have become rare for me since coming home, so i really do try to enjoy them as much as possible when i manage to go out. 

The shop i work at (New Look if you hadn't already guessed) was having a cake sale to raise money for charity. So i did my bit and made some cakes. I had forgot to stock up on cupcake cases, so they ended up as gigantic muffins, but nobody complained! I decorated them afterwards (The pink cake in the fourth picture) and got told they were the best homemade ones. Altogether, from the cake sale, we managed to raise just over £80. Considering we are a relatively small store, i personally thought that was a great achievement! We only ended up taking six of the cakes home with us afterwards too!

I've come to realise a lot of my pictures on my phone, camera and laptop are actually of my cat, Grace. And surprise surprise, she has managed to end up on my phone again this week. It is unbelieveable how photogenic she actually is for a cat!

My fifth picture may be confusing to some of you. I am an accessories specialist at New Look, and every time i update the layout of my area, i feel the need to take photos of it. I've racked up quite a big collection of designs, which i can say i am very proud of, considering i've not been doing it for very long. I'm a self taught OCD accessories specialist. 

Lastly, i've been eating these little beauties nearly every day for the past fortnight. I just can't get enough of them, especially when they are completely smothered in maple syrup. Yum! I think i like this combo too much to actually come up with any other ways of eating them. So tell me.. how do you eat your pancakes?

Eyes of the Day

Rather than outfit of the day, or make-up of the day, i decided to focus on my eyes today. Mainly because i was having a lazy day, and i don't wear much make-up as it is. It doesn't bother me when i don't wear my foundation or concealer, but i do hate the thought of going out without doing anything to my eyes. I like to highlight them the best i can. 

So focusing on my eyes, i'm only wearing two products today. This look is usually my everyday look- i absolutely love wearing black eyeliner. Rimmel London 'Scandaleyes' to be precise. It is quite possibly the best pencil eyeliner i have ever used, and is extremely cheap at only £3.99. Considering i wear it every day, it has lasted me quite a fair few months, and it's still going strong. The eyeliner itself is so smooth to draw on, it feels almost like a cream eyeliner instead. It's also waterproof, which i can fully say is true. A little too waterproof for my liking though, as i find it quite hard to get off at the end of the day, without scrubbing my eyes off. Apart from that, it is just an all round amazing eyeliner pencil! It's this exact product that has stopped me from ever trying liquid eyeliner too.

Lastly, for my mascara. I only put two coats on my top eyelashes today, as i find it really hard to remove it off my bottom lashes without pulling them all out. I usually leave that for when i have a night out, and decide to go all out with my make-up. I recently purchased Seventeen 'LashBlast', which i am finally growing to like. It does promise a 93% increase in lash volume, but since i don't think that is even possible, i was originally turned off. The smell didn't help it's case either. However, i'm starting to like the product, and i'm adjusting to applying it, since i find it's a bit wetter than others i have tried. By this, i mean it seems to take a while to dry, and can sometimes transfer above my eyelid if i open my eyes too wide before it has dried. 

Cheeky selfie

Make-up Wishlist | February

I've been getting into blogging and reading reviews a lot more recently. And through that i've read about quite a few different products that i would love to try, if only i had unlimited money! I am quite picky with my make-up and usually just wear the basics; concealer, foundation, mascara and eyeliner. I really really hate things on my lips, other than lip balms, so lipsticks are out of the question for me. But i have been struggling for ages to find my perfect foundation. So with that in mind, i thought i would share with you a list of my possible next purchases, based on reviews i have read. 

Foundation

I think my next purchase foundation-wise is Rimmel London Match Perfection. Reading many different reviews on this makes me think that i could possibly have found the foundation i have been looking for. Hopefully! And at only £6.99, i wont be completely devastated if i don't get on with it. 

Concealer

I think my favourite concealer will always be Collection 2000. So the only way i'll have a concealer on my wishlist would be when i wish the product is in store. And by this, i mean it is never in any store i go to! Probably because it is so popular.

Mascara

There are quite a few different mascaras i would love to try; Loreal 'Miss Manga Eye' (which is relatively new), Urban Decay 'Cannonball' (which is very pricey for a mascara) and Covergirl 'Lashblast'.

Eyeliner

I have only ever used pencil eyeliners (i'm using Rimmel 'Scandaleyes' at the minute) and i get on with them, but they don't last as long as i would like. I also think it's about time to try liquid eyeliner instead. So since i own no Mac products either, why not combine them? I'd love to try Macs 'penultimate' liner or Eyeko's 'Skinny Liquid Eyeliner' next. 

If any of you have tried any of these products before, do let me know what you think of them and whether it is worth the testing. Or even suggest a few different products for me to try!

Get To Know Me | 35 Facts About Me

I noticed i haven't really introduced myself that much to my followers, so today i thought i would do something different and tell you a few facts about myself. Nothing to personal or deep however, and i'm sure these facts will also be completely useless to you too. But on with the show!

1. I dislike all fizzy drinks except for sprite/7up.

2. Anything sold in New Look will instantly find it's way into my wardrobe. 

3. I laugh at my own jokes for hours after i've said them. 

4. I am absolutely obsessed with Harry Potter and Pitch Perfect. I watch at least one of them every single day!

5. I am a wiz at Rubiks Cubes, and can do them within minutes. (This is a big achievement for me!)

6. Although i blog about beauty and fashion, i would love to work with animals one day. 

7. I can't play any instruments at all, and probably never will be able to. 

8. I have extreme mood swings where i can be happy one minute, and fuming the next. 

9. My cat is so spoilt because i love her so much. In fact, i just love cats in general. 

10. I really dislike dogs. 

11. I am so bad at cooking, it's unreal. I can just about microwave things. 

12. When i was younger, i used to write teen stories, but get a few chapters in and get bored, so start another. 

13. My current phone case is Batman.. Get it?

14. I used to post a lot of youtube videos with my friends, which were quite successful. But now i'm way too scared to start them on my own. 

15. I prefer online shopping. I really hate the thought of spending hours walking round shops, trying to find something. 

16. I get really mardy when i have to get up early, or if i get woken up on my rare days off work. 

17. I have three tattoos: Left foot saying "You light the skies up above me", left wrist saying "Dad", and right rip saying "Illigitimi non carborundrum".

18. I use a Fujifilm Finepix T camera, which is apparently one of the worst cameras for vlogging. Whoops. 

19. I absolutely love Graze boxes, and have one every week. For anybody who doesn't know what these are, you're really missing out! Google it!

20. I often go shopping in my onesie. (Yes, i'm one of those people!)

21. I recently brought a 42" flat tv, even though i only watch three tv programmes. (Pretty Little Liars, Two and a Half Men and Nothing to Declare). 

22. I currently have 7 different lip balms in my bag (i just counted them all), and i'm sure i have at least one in all of my coat pockets. 

23. I love singing, and if you've been around me, you'll have heard me. But i assure you, i'm not very good at it. 

24. My eyes are green, so i love wearing purple eyeshadow to make them stand out more. 

25. I get bored of reading fashion and celebrity magazines, yet never miss a Take a Break mag. (Don't judge) 

26. Gary Barlow is in love with me. Unfortunately he doesn't quite know this yet, but he will understand eventually. 

27. I still live with my dad. 

28. I am a twitterholic. 

29. I hate going out without wearing eyeliner or mascara. 

30. I can't handle romance. Not at all. Nope.

31. I have a body shape most girls would love (big boobs, small waist), yet i absolutely hate it.

32. I absolutely hate when people post attention-seeking statuses on facebook. I immediately block their posts or delete them off it. 

33. Snapchat is my best friend.

34. As well as beauty, i'm also a girl gamer. Yep!

35. My female crush is, and always has been Rihanna. Who wouldn't?

I'd love to get to know my followers better, so feel free to answer below and link me to your blog. Use this as a big of a tag too if you're stuck for blog posts! I hope to hear from you all soon! :)

False Eyelash Hassle.

It's just a quick one today, as i'm off out. But i just wanted to highlight the effort us girls go through when putting on false eyelashes, and the hassle it is too. To any girls who decide to wear these, i applaud you!

I had never tried to apply them until i this weekend, when i thought i would make a bit more of an effort to dress up on a night out. Since it was the first time i had applied them, i asked my friend for a bit of help, and we stayed in her bathroom for the next 45 minutes, trying to apply one eyelash. 

I really don't know what possessed me to want to try them, since i absolutely hate anything going near my eyes, and i always flinch or.. wobble my eyes. I'm sure thats not the correct term for it, but it'll have to do! I tried applying Eylure Naturalites, and picked up quite possibly the thickest, longest eyelashes they do, which also made applying harder. I must admit though, they are very good quality, and at just £5.99 for two reusable pairs and glue, i would definitely recommend them!

But what i want to ask today is: How do girls manage to apply these things on a weekly basis? and does it get easier?! I got there eventually, though sorry for the awful quality picture. 

February Favourites | Nail Polish

I absolutely love nail polishes and nail art, so i thought i would show you a few of my favourites. Well, when i say favourites, i could only dwindle the pick down to about ten of my favourites though, because i just have so many. 

I'll start with my latest purchase, a Kelly Brook range, which i haven't seen around much before. These little beauties are only £2.99 each and come in so many different pretty colours. The polka dots are so cute too. These colours would be so cute in the summer too! I have found though that you do need to apply a few coats of polish for it to properly show up. 

Colours from left to right: Mint, Nautilus and Blue Winter Rose.

The rest of my favourites are all from a website called Cosmetics Fairy, which sell popular brands of nail polish at ridiculously cheap prices, and i can never deny a bargain. You can search through their stock here. So lets begin with them:

I hadn't heard of the brand Constance Carroll- Diamond Gloss, so i can't say whether or not it is a popular brand. But the two colours i bought for 49p each were such a bargain, i couldn't refuse! They are really highly pigmented too, and do not need more than two thin coats to look good

Colours from left to right: 354 Neon Yellow and 351 Neon Green.

These little gems were also just 49p each, another bargain! I thought these colours were super cute and i can never have enough shades of purple and blue. I love the shape of the brushes too, they're very long and flat as they're meant to cover your whole nail in one sweep. I use these colours a lot, especially the purple one.

Colours from left to right: 840 Blue Eyed Girl, 294 Pink of Me and 312 Ultra Violet

I also picked up some darker colours from the Sinful Colors collection. I brought my little bundle just before christmas, so these two beauties were perfect for christmas nail designs. They have a lovely shine to them too, and at just 49p each again, i couldn't resist!

Colours from left to right: 957 Cross My Heart and 1105 Exotic Green.

And lastly, i topped up on my white nail polish, since i use it so much to do different types of nail art. Although i must admit, i don't think i will be buying these again since they are very thin and watery. It takes around 3-4 coats of polish for the white to fully hide natural nail colours. Plus, once it has been coated so much, it starts to become tacky looking. So i mainly use this for nail art, rather than painting my nails wholly. P.s. These were both 49p each. 

Matt White

I'm sure you can now see why i spend so much time on Cosmetics Fairy, for the amount of bargains you can get on their website. I really do recommend you check them out if you are looking at bargain polishes, or make-up for that matter. I hope you liked my little beauty share. Let me know if you would like to see some of my designs! xo

Revlon Colorstay 24hr Review | 110 Ivory

I have seen so many blog posts recommending Revlon Colorstay foundation, so thought it was about time i purchased it now i have ran out of my old Wake Me Up foundation. So i've been using my new foundation for around two weeks now, and i don't feel it's as good as other people feel it is. However, I do love the fact that there is such a vast range of colours for every skin type and tone though, which made it easier for me to match to my skin. 

I must mention before i start, i didn't realise at the time, but i accidently picked up the combination/oily skin range, rather than a plain type. I do not, and never have had oily skin, so maybe this is why i don't get on with the foundation as much as other people do. 

With that being said, the foundation overall makes my skin dry up after a few hours of wear, to the point where my skin starts to become flakey. Has anybody else had this problem with it? Or is this just because i picked up the wrong kind? I also can't seem to get on with the fact the bottle doesn't have a pump. Obviously i knew this before i bought it, but i didn't realise i would dislike it as much as i do, as it is a chore having to shake the bottle and hold it upside down for a few minutes before it decides to move. 

I also didn't like the fact the foundation feels really thin when applying. I always felt like i had to put a few layers on, or apply the foundation thicker to achieve the full coverage i wanted. But because of the foundation being quite thin, it seemed hard for it to actually settle in place, and instead smears around when applying. It's almost like you have to wait for it to dry on your face. This, together with it smelling like paint, just made me feel like i was basically painting my face with the foundation.

For £12.99 from Boots or Superdrugs, i don't personally think i would rebuy the foundation. However, i had managed to shop around beforehand to find much cheaper shops to purchase the foundation for around £6.99, but i wanted to find the perfect colour match. Remember, everybody's skin is completely different though, so it may be the perfect match for your own skin. 

Soap and Glory | Mini Set

Soap and Glory sets are way too popular in the beauty industry, and in all honesty, i've never really understood the hype around it. I've noticed with beauty products that most of the time, things are brought because of their name, rather than their quality. But since receiving a Soap and Glory set for Christmas, i thought i would finally give it a try!

The first one, as you can tell i use a lot, is 'The Righteous Butter', which is basically a moisturising cream. I love the little instructions running around the edge of the lid, because i'm useless at understanding the use of most lotions. But this moisturiser is so soft to apply and smells scrummy! I use this every single day with my skincare routine because it really does do the job, and lasts all day. I must say, this is definitely a keeper and rebuy for me!

Next is the 'Flake Away'. You may notice below that i haven't actually tried this yet because i don't really understand what to do with it. The lid says to massage the cream in, except it looks more like an exfoliator, since there are small grains of god knows what mixed in there as too. The colour has also put me off as well, which is a shame because it may actually be a good product. If anybody knows how to use this, do let me know, and let me know if it is any good before i agree to use it on myself.

Lastly is the 'Girligo' spray-on body mist. I was half expecting the spray to turn me even more of a ghost because of the colour in the bottle, but i'm happy to say it doesn't! I've only used this a few times, and i'll be honest, i haven't seen much of a difference. I don't know whether i'm putting too little on, or if my skin is moisturized enough anyway. Though i like the smell of this too, so i'll continue to use it anyway, just to make me smell yummy. haha.

Let me know below what you think of Soap and Glory, and whether or not you think it is a tad overrated like i do? I'll continue to use the products, but i'm completely unsure whether i would buy them again, other than the body butter that i've now added to my daily routine. 

21 Questions | Get To Know Me

I wanted to do a short 21 questions blog tag to let everyone get to know me a bit better. Granted, none of the information below will make a difference, but i thought it would make a change to my usual reviews. 

1. Are you named after anyone? No... My name was apparently chosen more because of the seasonal time I was born, rather than after someone in specific. I was born in the winter.

2. When was the last time you cried? It’s not very often I cry, so it’s hard to say when I last cried. I always try to hide my emotions.

3. Do you have kids? No.

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? I’d like to think I’d be friends with myself, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be! Ha

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes, in every other sentence.

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? I can’t think of anything worse than throwing myself off a bridge, even when it is controlled.

7. What’s your favourite cereal? Good old Cheerio’s. Yum yum.

8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? It’s most definitely eyes I notice first, as well as behaviour and general appearance.

9. What is your eye colour? Green!

10. Scary movie or happy endings? I love scary movies. Happy endings are way too corny and predictable for me.

11. Favourite smells? Petrol, DKNY, all food.

12. Summer or winter? Summer. There’s nothing worse than being cold, especially since I am cold all year round. So I always love when summer comes around, to help me be at least a little bit warmer.

13. Computer or television? Computer. You can watch programmes on a computer now anyway. And you can’t blog from a tv!

14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Sadly it’s only Wales, which isn’t very far away from me at all. I’ve never been abroad :(

15. Do you have any special talents? I used to be pretty good at netball, and I like to think I’m good at nail art. But other than that, I can’t say I have any talents at all.

16. Where were you born? England

17. What are your hobbies? Compulsively reading beauty and fashion blogs, working within fashion every single day, watching tv shows, cuddling my cat and reading classic books.

18. Do you have any pets? A cat and a dog for now, until I get my own zoo of course!

19. Favourite movie? The list for this is so big, and I can only manage on limiting it to Easy A, Iron Man, Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Holiday.

20. Do you have any siblings? Yes… One older brother and one younger brother.

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? Just successful. I would love to eventually have a popular blog and YouTube channel.  

I want to tag Mell and Paige, who have also both started blogs. Go check them out, and post your own answer below!

Leap Of Faith | Youtube

I know the title sounds cringey, but i literally do feel like i'm taking a massive leap. Since i can remember, i've wanted to make youtube video's. Just to be able to interact with everyone, and voice my opinions. But i've been so unbelievable camera shy, and i've always felt so silly talking to a camera, that i just sit there like an awkward giraffe. Or i just put it off altogether. 

So a few days ago, i finally gave in to myself and thought 'what's the worst that can happen?' I'll post it below for anybody interested. It's not amazing, and i'm not going to pretend it is. Now blogger likes to play up a lot for me, and will not allow me to link my Youtube in order to directly show my video, so instead i've had to post a link. I know, how much extra effort is that for you all! But i would appreciate it if you checked it out.

My first youtube video

If you make your own Youtube video's, please post them below in a comment. I don't want this just to be one sided. I'd love to check everyone's out, to gain idea's and just to pass my time! Also, let me know of any topic's you think would be interesting to cover.

Chow!

What's In My Bag | Make-up Edition

 Whats in my Make-up bag?!

So i thought i would show you all what is in my make-up bag. Though i should mention that i no way at all think that i am a beauty guru, nor will i ever will be- i care way too little about wearing make-up. That being said, i do have quite a few products in my little bag. So lets begin! 

I feel like i should mention beforehand that i have extremely pale skin, so when you see my foundation, you needn't freak out, because i really am that white- this means i always have blue veins showing under my eyes (i used to think it was from lack of sleep, but apparently it's a common condition for pale people). This leads me nicely to my first concealer. My Natural Collection stick in, you gets it 'Very Fair'. This goes on first to set my under eye base. 

Next is my liquid concealer, in 'Very Fair'. My favorite liquid concealer is the Collection 2000, but since i've nearly ran out, and i'm far too lazy to spend time scraping around the tub, i picked up the Seventeen version. I am yet to try it, and may possibly give a review later on. I only tend to use any concealer under my eyes, as i'm one of the lucky people that do not get many break outs. Though now I've said that, I've probably jinxed myself. 

Finally, i will be ready for my foundation. I have been using Rimmel London's 'Wake Me Up' Foundation. You can read my review of it here. It's not an amazing foundation, it doesn't personally make me look any more awake or vibrant like it insists. But like you'll soon notice a lot, i'm very lazy, so just didn't like the thought of trying different foundations. Though again, when i went to buy a replacement for my nearly empty bottle of this, it was out of stock. Shock. So i decided to try Revlon's '24hr Colorstay'. I'll probably also do a review for that once i start using it. 

The two foundations look completely different in colour next to each other, but that's only because they are. Using the Remmel foundation, i could only use a small amount, whereas the Revlon can actually be used properly. See, laziness.

Finally i use a powdered foundation to set my masterpiece. I don't like to spend a lot of money on make-up, as you can tell by now. But my cheap Natural Collection pressed powder, in 'Very Fair' seems to do the trick for me. 

Now to focus on my eyes! I like them to stand out, so that at least my whole face wouldn't disappear if i stood next to a white wall. I use my Remmel 'Scandaleyes' waterproof eye liner pencil nearly every single day, i absolutely love it, and it really is waterproof. Trust me, i stand there around 10 minutes per day trying to get this beauty off. The grey stick is Maybeline's 'Colour precision' eyeliner that i use on dramatic days.

I only use mascara when i'm not wearing eyeliner. I'm lazy, and don't see the point in applying it when my eyes are already black. So i try to stick to mascara on days when i am particularly lazy. I recently purchased Seventeens 'Super Lash' mascara, because i liked the bottle. That's the only reason. And after the first use, i realized i really shouldn't use my eye judgment in the future, because it's not amazing compared to cheaper ones out there. Review possibly coming soon.

So there you have it... That is what is in my make-up bag. I'm not one for base eye colours, or primers or anything. I like to keep it simple. I've realized this blog has turned more in to a daily make-up routine, rather than a what's in my bag blog. But never mind 'ehh. Let me know down below if any of you have tried any of my three new products, and if you of a good reasonably priced mascara that can replace this one!

Hair Care | Struggling Hair Growth

I should point out before i begin this, that my hair is very slow at growing. And by slow.. i mean ridiculously slow. To the point that i don't even think it is even growing! Now just to prove how slow i mean, I recently told one of my work friends about how i'm trying to grow my hair, to which she actually replied "I just thought you liked your hair that length, and regularly trimmed it". I wish i was joking.

The amount of sites I've been on to find hair growth tips is ridiculous, and they always insist on getting regular hair cuts, and i always used to believe that. I've had mixed replies off hairdressers; some saying it's true, and others disagreeing completely. I guess it's true to a point, because it gets rid of your dead/split ends, but it doesn't help with the growth at all. In fact, if they are too regular, you're only going to end up with shorter hair.

Since the age of about 10-11ish, i died my hair red. Well not me personally, i wasn't that advanced! But i've always had my hair died, streaked and straightened, which i know can't have helped my hair growth at all. I'm using that as the excuse as to why my hair isn't growing anymore, because i can't think of many other reasons. 

However, i recently stumbled on a new hair growth shampoo, called 'fast'. It was £15 for a 360ml bottle of the shampoo, which you are supposed to wash your hair with twice a day, every single day. Now i don't know about many of you, but i for sure cannot afford to pay that much money on a bottle of shampoo, which will not last long at all, regardless of whether it does or doesn't work. So i've decided to ignore their instructions and use the shampoo twice every other day instead, replacing it with my usual shampoo instead. 

I'll be sure to post a review, and give my own opinion on the product pretty soon, as you're meant to see effects within 28 days, and i've already been using this shampoo for around 2 weeks now. But for now, i'll give you a timeline of my hair growth. 

This was my hair in june, 2011. It was actually the longest my hair has ever been. Since then, it seems to have gone downhill rapidly. 

August, 2012. It's probably not the best photo i have, but i don't seem to have many from that year for some reason. My hair somehow became ridiculously short- it was just past my shoulders. 

May, 2013. I kid you not- it really did manage to get even shorter. Bearing in mind, i have around 2 hair cuts a year. 

This was taken a few days ago. Granted, my hair has somehow managed to gain back some of it's length, but not a lot. I've now stopped blow drying and straightening and dying it too, to help even further with the shampoo. 
How hard is it to grow long hair?!