Clothing Calculator #2

Here is another clothing calculator post, I posted the first one last week (click here to see the first post) and it went down really well. If you haven't seen the first one, then this series of posts is just going to be  outfits I have put together from the new clothing/accessories online - from a range of UK online stores. It lets me be a bit creative and it shows you some of the new items online and how I would put them together. This post should have been up yesterday but I have been super busy with my dissertation - it is due in tomorrow!

All images from Topshop, Newlook and Zara

1. Zara Star Print Blouse: LOVE THIS BLOUSE! I am not usually a blouse kind of girl (I only have one in my closet/wardrobe). But this blouse is just gorgeous, I love the star print and I love the sleeves - I am going to buy this online in the next few days (everyone needs a treat now and then...that's my excuse!). £25.99.

2. Topshop Milo Round Sunglasses, Black: I saw these a few days ago online and I instantly fell in love. I am going to go to Primark at the weekend to see if they have some like this but if not I will get these. £12. 

3. Newlook Petite High Waisted Skinny Jeans: Newlook have started making petite clothing (finally) and some of the stuff looks great! I haven't bought anything from the range yet (well done Heather) but I will have to look at the clothing in store. I love the look of these high waisted skinny jeans, I think I own one pair of high waisted jeans - I think I need another pair. £22.99.

4. Topshop Alliance Harness Boots: now, I can't buy these as the smallest size they make is a UK 3 and I am quite tiny so I only have UK size 1/2 feet (gasp, I know). But these boots look so gorgeous and I think they would look great with this outfit. £85.

5. Topshop Edge Paint Satchel: LOVE this colbolt blue shade, I need more of it in my life and this bag is gorge! I love bags, satchels in particular, and it is perfect for spring/summer. Although it looks a bit too small for all of my stuff. £28.

6. Topshop Nail Polish 'Aurora': Gorgeous shade, it looks like polishes bought out by Chanel and OPI - you know the ones I'm talking about. Love the shade but I haven't had a good experience with topshop polishes. £6.


Most of this is from Topshop...not planned - hope you like this post! x

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Week in photographs #18

My week has been a little bit more exciting than just uni work and shopping (I'm kidding, there is nothing more exciting than shopping). This week has consisted of: winning competitions, receiving prizes, yummy yummy junk food, lots and lots of coffee, uni work, reading, fall out boy obsession and booking tickets and spending money...

Firstly, uni, I have been working my bum off with my uni work as my dissertation is due in about 4 days time! Nervous and excited at the same time, I don't want uni to end but I will be glad when my dissertation is finally submitted. Graduation soon now! Because of the massive uni work load I have been loading up on the lattes, Krispy kreme doughnuts and Reese's peanut butter cups - so healthy I know but comfort food was needed!

Also this week I have been a bit naughty and I made a slightly large order from H&M - in which I have bought three jackets (and socks, and a top) - everything was in the sale and it was just too tempting but I think I have gone a bit overboard with buying three jackets at once! Haul coming in the next couple of weeks. I have been watching a lot of Primark hauls too, I really want to go now, love the look of their spring/summer clothes and accessories.

Also I have been obsessed with two songs from Fall Out Boys album 'save rock and roll' - I love the song 'the phoenix' and 'young volcanoes' - I have been listening to them non stop! Now onto the exciting news, we booked tickets to go and see the musical Wicked yesterday - excited but it is playing in the Manchester Palace Theatre in October (long wait) but most of the tickets were already sold out! We also signed up to do the Race For Life - a sponsored run/jog/walk to raise money for cancer charities - I will not be running (I don't do running) so I will probably be walking and jogging in my pink top and sweatbands! But the run is two days before my graduation - I hope I will be able to get to the stage!

Oh and my blog is nearly at its 1 year anniversary or birthday whatever you want to call it! On the 9th May my blog will be 1 year old! Very exciting and I will be holding a giveaway for that so stay tuned (possible hint to the some of the prizes in the photographs above)!

I hope you all had a great week x

Don't forget to follow via Bloglovin' as GFC may be going soon!

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Makeup Collection: It's all about lips!

Here is the fourth part of my makeup collection (there are two or three more parts to go, don't worry we will get there in the end)! This part features everything to do with lips!

Firstly, Gloss and Liner: I have quite a few lip liners/lip pencils and a few lip glosses too. Now I am a lipstick kind of girl, I don't wear gloss that often (most of these glosses were free or part of gift sets) but I do like them from time to time. For example, if my lips are really dry and I want to wear a lip colour, I find that even the most hydrating lipsticks and lip liner are far too drying so I like to wear glosses. My favourite lip gloss is definitely the Laura Mericer Lip Glace in the shade 'sweetheart' - I received this as part of a sale gift set for only £12 and I adore it (link to haul here)! I don't like all of them, for example, I hate the Collection soft matte lip creme things - I only have one and I really hate it! On to liners, I love the Kiko lip liners (the ones with the lip brush on one end)! I also keep lip stains in this draw too and I love the Revlon just bitten balm stains and the loreal glam shine splash thing, in the shade 'lolita' - seriously, what is the actual name for this product?!

Lipstick #1: These are my cheap/high street/drug store lipsticks that I use most of the time. I have lipsticks from: Yves rocher, Rimmel, Revlon, Duwop, Avon, Body Shop, ELF and so on. My favourite long lasting cheap lipstick is probably the Avon Extra Lasting Lipsticks (I have three - reviews of them can be found here, here and here)! I also love the Rimmel Colour Show Off Lipsticks! 

Lipsticks #2: Now these are my more expensive or limited edition lipsticks. I have lipsticks from Loccitane, Shu Uemura, MAC, Estee Lauder, Lipstick Queen, Burberry, Lancome and By Terry. I love the By terry lipstick in the shade 'tough cookie' and my L'Occitane lipstick in the shade 'pivione delicate'. 


My makeup is all stored in my Muji acrylic drawers - I will have a post soon about my makeup storage with a review of the Muji drawers too x

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Empties #4

1. Body Shop Ginger Sparkle Body Polish: I received this body scrub as part of a gift set at Christmas (see my 'what I got for Christmas' post to see the gift set. I love the scent of this product, it smells like gingerbread and cinnamon - it is not heavy though. This product is called a 'body polish' so it is supposed to be a body scrub but for me this product is just a body wash with bits in - it is not exfoliating at all! Overall, mice scent and it lathers really well but it is not exfoliating at all.

2. Vichy Eau Thermale Water Spray: I think this was included in a Birchbox and I have been using it as a facial toner. I would use this as a makeup setting spray but the spray isn't fine enough (as with the Avene water spray). A good toner, it doesn't irritate my skin and it is quite soothing.

3. Avon Soft Musk EDT: This is a oldie but a goodie from Avon, this has been around for a while. The scent is as the name suggests, musky but it is a soft musky scent. It is not overpowering and it is definitely an old fashioned, slightly grandma scent but it is quite nice - I wouldn't buy it again though.

4. Palmolive Naturals Nourishing Delight Bath Milk: I bought this from Superdrug a while ago as it was priced at something silly like 95p for a 500ml bottle. I have been using it for a while and it is a really nice product - it lathers well, it smells nice and it is fairly moisturising and softening.

5. Kiehls Crème De Corps Body Lotion: I received this in my Selfridges Beauty Advent Calendar and I have only just got round to using it as I have so many body lotions. This lotion is quite thick but nothing like a body butter. It applies well and it is a yellowy lotion which leaves my skin smooth and moisturised but it does feel a bit heavy on my skin. It absorbs fairly quickly and it does feel nice but I have tried a lot of other cheap products that work just as well (or even better) than this!

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Clothing Calculator #1

Here is a new series on my blog called 'clothing calculator' - let me explain. Once a week I will create a couple of outfits with clothing items that I love and want that are new in stores/online. I think it is a good way of seeing what is new in stores/online and I get to have a change from beauty posts and experiment with styling! I'm not sure about the title of these posts yet but I think clothing calculator is quite good as I will add all of the clothing info such as pricing in the post. 

1. Blue Aztec Collarless Jacket from Newlook: This is part of their new stock - I saw this jacket and immediately fell in love with it! I love the colour, design, cut...everything about it. And even though it is spring in England, it is still chilly so a jacket is always needed. £29.99.

2. Sexy High Waist Skinny Jeans from Next: I have had Next jeans since I was about 14, I really like them. I thought these high waisted dark denim jeans would look great with the dark blues in the jacket making a slightly formal structued jacket more casual. £28. 

3. Essential Camisole Top from Matalan: You can't go wrong with a basic white cammi can you? I always have camis in different colours to layer with other tops or jumpers. And if you have a printed or statement jacket a plain top stops the print from looking too much. £3.

4. Topshop Lipstick in the shade 'The Damned': I saw this shade and I was like 'your mine'! I really want this shade it looks gorgeous although I will have to work my way up to get this as it is quite...bold! I love the combination of a denim palette and a slightly formal look with a bright pop of colour on the lips. £8.

5. Pretty Small Shoes 'Poppy' Heels: I have wanted these heels for a month or so and I will have to get them. I have super tiny feet as I am only 4ft 9 and these shoes are made for women with small feet - and they look gorge! £65.


Hope you like this new type of post! If you have any blog posts you would like to see, just leave a comment below! x

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Week in photographs #17

1. vegetarian pasta. 2. Chocolate Cheese cake. 3. Lucky Streak. 4. Sun. 5. Magazine freebie nail polish. 6. Uni work. 7. Primark nail wraps. 8. Marc Jacobs Coke. 

My week has consisted of: cooking, winning lots of competitions, sun, uni work and occasional window shopping. 

Firstly, uni, my dissertation is due in on the 1st May (nervous) so I have lots of work to do! 6000 words done, 2000 words to go! I received a booking form for graduation tickets a couple of days ago which made me even more nervous than I already am about graduation - Prof Brian Cox and Sir Patrick Stewart might be there...

Now, cooking, I have been cooking lots of vegetarian pasta and noodles this week (drools) - the pics about show my homemade pesto and samphire pasta. Myself and my sister also made a chocolate cheesecake yesterday - recipe coming soon as I was asked quite a few months ago to post a chocolate cheese cake recipe...oops

I have also been on a really lucky streak for the past couple of weeks. First, two of the horses I picked came 2nd and 3rd in the grand national, then myself and my sister won a £50 free bet from William Hill, then I won three separate hair sets from John Frieda (facebook comp), then I won two online magazine subscriptions and I won a blog competition for an organic face cream...I hope my lucky streak lasts long enough for my uni results!

And look out for a giveaway soon! 

I hope everyone had a great week x

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Review: Primark Polkadot Nails Wraps

I bought these nails wraps from Primark back in February for £1, I said I would review them soon but I forgot...They have been in my nail polish box for ages and I remembered them a couple of days ago so I thought I would review them (better late than never!). 

I tried them a few days ago (standing up in the kitchen - as you do) and I was really surprised at how easy and quick they are to apply. You just peel the 'nail polish' stickers off the paper and place them on your nails, smooth them down and file off the excess! How easy is that! And obviously they are stickers so there is no need to wait for them to dry - which is the part I hate most about painting my nails. Some of the stickers were too big for my nails so I had to cut a couple to make them fit but overall, they were fanastic - now for the disappointing part.

I applied these on Thursday and I added a small amount of my Seche Vite topcoat to the tips (it doesn't say to do this in the instructions) as even after a couple of hours the stickers did start to peel away from the tips of my nails slightly. After going about my day, typing, typing, typing, cleaning etc, I noticed that some of the stickers were 'chipping' or peeling away and flaking off - this is only after about 5/6 hours! After one day they had really worn away from the tips (as you may be able to see from the photograph above) on five nails. 

Overall, a great idea but in practise it isn't! They did apply super quickly and easily and there is no waiting. They also looked great in my opinion, like something from Cath Kidston! And they were only £1. But the longevity was very poor, they only lasted one day and they started peeling and catching on things before then. I think they would be great if you had a party to go to or an evening meal but anything that is longer than one day and they will look awful!

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Recent Buys!

1. Asos Red Petite Skater Dress (UK size 6): I love the Asos petite skater dresses, they fit so well and if you are really petite like me (5ft) then you know how hard it is to find dresses etc that are not tent-like! Most dresses are far too long for me but these petite asos dresses, especially the skater dresses, are above my knee which is rare. This was in the sale for £15. I have a polka dot one and a couple of plain ones already. 

2. Topshop Plain Vests: I bought a couple of plain vests in the Topshop sale a month or so ago as they were only £3 each. I bought them for my sister as they come down too low at the front for me. 

3. Topshop Black Beanie: Again this was a sale item, I think is was £2 or £3 a month or so ago. I like beanies on other people but I can't seem to find the right one for me but this one is nice. 

4. Topshop Black Scarf: Again a sale item, I think it was £3 which I think is a great price for a scarf - especially a Topshop one. The colour is a mix of black and brown which I don't really like (not as described on the website).

5. Topshop Polka dot Charcoal Jeans: I bought these in the Topshop sale about a month ago (can you see a pattern here!). I think they were either £15 or £20, a bargain either way. I wasn't sure whether to get them as I don't have anything like this but I am glad I did. I think they look good but the material is really thin, they don't feel like jeans. 

6. La Redoute Brown Ballet Pumps: I bought these a few weeks ago and I have worn them quite a few times, most recently to the Trafford Centre last weekend. I love them, I think they look really chic, simple and they go with almost everything. I think they were about £6!

7. Topshop Apple Necklace: Another sale buy, it was only £1.50 from the Topshop online sale. I bought this to put with a friends present - it looks so cute. 

8. Burts Bees Radiance Toner: There would have to be some beauty items in this haul! I bought this from an eBay auction and I love the Radiance day cream but this isn't great so far. I have only used it a couple of times and it isn't amazing, I will have to use it more and my eczema is still going a little bit crazy especially around my eyes so I can't test this properly yet. 

9. The Body Shop Moisturising Foundation (shade 02): I have featured this in a couple of posts already. I have wanted to try it for ages and I finally did when I had a code. It is a great but it is no where near as moisturising/dewy as I thought it would be. 

10. Dainty Doll Lipstick (Shade: Storm in a tea cup) and Barry M Nail Polish (Shade: Lychee): I have wanted to try both products for a while and I bought them from Amazon.co.uk. They were both pretty cheap and the nail polish shade is great but the formula for me is quite streaky (definitely a two coater). The lipstick shade is really nice, it is a browny pink. 

11. Dome Z Palette: I bought this a week or so ago and I have already filled it with my dome and normal eyeshadows. It comes with metal circles to attach the eyeshadows to the palette - its great so far but a little pricey and it feels a bit cheap because it is made from cardboard. 

12. Gap Contrast Sleeve Top: I bought this top from the Trafford Centre Gap store and it was only £5.99 in the sale. It is cute and super comfy and soft! I bought it in an S.

13. Gap Navy & White Stripe Jumper: Another Gap sale item, this gorgeous chic french style jumper was £14.99 in the sale. I bought it in an XS and it fits well (slightly baggy but it fits well). My sister bought the same one but the stripes on hers are a gorgeous bright coral colour!

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Empties #3

1. Lush Let The Times Roll Facial Cleanser: I bought this cleanser at Christmas time, it was a Christmas exclusive, but you may be able to find it on eBay. I really love the scent of this cleanser and it was quite exfoliating - but gentle. I have already posted a full review of this product (link here) and the Lush popcorn lip scrub (link here). 

2. Mama Mio Mighty Moisturiser: I took this on holiday with me last year and I have been using it on and off since, I finished this product up a couple of months ago. I love the moisturiser, it doesn't irritate my skin at all, it has a lovely lavender scent and it is very moisturising but light! Love it and I would buy the full size but it is really expensive.

3. Redken All Soft Shampoo: I had high hopes for this product as it has been raved about so much but it did work really well. It smoothed, soften and kind of detangled my hair. I really like the scent, the formula and the packaging (I was able to use every last bit). But I find it didn't lather amazing well and the price is a bit high in my opinion. 

4. Ojon Damage Reverse Restorative Conditioner: I bought this mini ages ago from Boots and I have since bought the full size (250ml) for a whopping £21. I love this conditioner, it leaves my hair so smooth and really well conditioned but it doesn't weigh my hair down.

5. Korres Little Guava Shower Gel: I freaking LOVE the scent of this product! The scent smells just like sunscreen/sun tan lotion to me and I love it. I am going to buy the full size when I have used up some of my stash of shower gels! This is definitely on my re-purchase list!

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April Birchbox!

1. Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser: Its a 20ml sample so it is a good size but I have never tried anything from this brand before so I am a bit cautious as my skin is sensitive - and my eczema is going a little bit crazy right now so I probably wont try it yet. It smells quite nice and floral but this product does contain parabens which isn't great. 

2. La Societe Parisienne De Savons Savon Surfin Greco-Deco Soap: phew! Firstly, the packaging is gorgeous so I may give this to my mum as it looks so nice. The soap is packaged beautifully and the soap smells really nice too!

3. Mirenesse Glossy Kiss Pencil (shade: 14 perfect kiss): This is a glossy lip pencil and the packaging looks really nice. The shade is a bright pink with lots of gold shimmer. I tried this today and the shade is really pretty but the gold shimmer stays on the lips when the colour has faded which is disappointing and the shade isn't very wearable. 

4. Gerda Spillmann Anti-Aging Serum: Its only a 3ml sample but it may be nice. I haven't tried it yet as I said my eczema is being annoying so I can't try any new skincare yet - and I don't really need this as it is anti-aging and I am only 20 (well 21 in a few months). 

5. BirchBox Let The Sunshine In Mirror: A pretty mirror and it is useful but it isn't made very well because I can move the mirror in the case! In my opinion, this is an unnecessary cheaply made addition. 

6. Welda Skin Food Cream: Yet another skincare product in this box - how many skincare samples do they think we can get through! This is made for dry and rough skin so it may work for my skin but I'm not going to start using it yet - but I have heard good things about this brand. 

Overall, I am not very happy with this box - in my opinion the previous boxes from Birchbox have been amazing! But this box is a disappointment.

My thoughts go out to everyone in Boston x

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Week in photographs #16

Left to right: my new Z palette, Depotting into my Z Dome Palette, next months Elle mag freebie, Haircare buys, Lots of empties to review, my hair last year, new pink ipod, Selfridges food hall, New ASOS dress, OOTD, Millies cookies, Reeses chocolate, Trafford centre, Manchester church.



My week has consisted of: my Dome Z Palette, Shopping, the Trafford Centre, American chocolate, Uni work, eczema, reviewing empties and making cake pops!

Firstly, Uni, I have a lot of work to do on my dissertation and it is kind of endless right now - I have my dissertation meetings on Mondays and the rest of the week seems to fly by. But uni is nearly over for me and I have my graduation on the 16th July - very nervous! As well as annoying uni work I have also been having eczema flare ups which are no where near as bad as they used to be but they are still itchy and horrible.

Anyway, to cheer myself up I have been doing a bit of shopping, firstly, I bought a shampoo from cheapsmells.co.uk and they were having a promotion where if you bought anything from Schwarzkopf then you received two full size hair care products. I also bought a Z palette finally - I bought the Dome Z Palette as I have quite a few dome baked shadows from my Front Cover gift sets. I also bought a jacket and dress from the new Asos sale, I sent the jacket back as it just didn't look right but I kept the red dress as you can see from the photographs above. I always buy Asos petite size 6 dresses and they fit so well  - LOVE them!

Also speaking of shopping, myself, my sister and my parents went to the Trafford Centre yesterday and I bought a few things. Myself and my sister (Aimee) went to Gap, we have never been in a Gap store, but I was looking online and they had some really nice tops and jumpers. I bought a navy and white stripe jumper and my sister bought the same jumper but it had gorgeous coral stripes (£14.99 each). I also bought a short sleeve raglan style top which was in the sale for £5.99. Then we went into the Selfridges Food Hall - I bought some Reeses chocolate as I love their peanut butter cups and we got some Millies cookies *drools* from one the the standings in the Trafford Centre. Oh, and we saw three Buddhist monks in the trafford centre, dressed in orange and one of them had an orange superdry shopping bag. Recent purchases post coming soon!

That was my week, oh and I bought Elle magazine this week and it shows that in next months issue there is going to be a free Benefit They're Real mascara! Very excited! Just a note - the picture of my hair above is from last year, I haven't had it cut yet, I think I am going to get it cut to the same length as last year though.

I hope you all had a great week x

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OOTD #1

We went to the Trafford Centre today, which is a massive shopping centre with a titanic style eating area, roman like columns, angels and water fountains - not to mention lots and lots and lots of shops! It was very busy when we went today but I did manage to get some goodies, firstly, here is my outfit of the day. Oh and we saw three Buddist monks there too, dressed in orange, not something you see everyday in Manchester. And the Elite Model casting were there too.

As you can see from the labels above my blazer was from Forever 21 (a while ago but you may be able to find it in store - I didn't see it in the F21 store in the Trafford centre though). My top is a short sleeve breton/french stripe top from Monki - an amazing brand, I love their tops! My jeans are the ones I always wear from Dorothy Perkins, the skinny petite jeans. My shoes are dark brown ballet pumps from La Redoute. Finally, my bag is from Urban outfitters (bought last year, or the year before) and I love it!

I hope you are all having a great day/evening - stay tuned for my recent purchases post and my week in photographs post! x

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Late March Favourites

Here are the products I have been loving through out the month of march and into April. I haven't done a favourites post in a while as I have been trying out a lot of new products and I haven't been sticking to the same products - but these four have just been constantly in use through out march and April.

1. Bioderma Ultra Soothing Cream: I bought two products from Bioderma a couple of months ago now and one of them as worked its way into my everyday skincare routine. I have been using this facial moisturiser from Bioderma for the past month and I love it. It is a moisturiser for irritated, very dry sensitive skin which describes my skin almost exactly. The moisturiser is 100ml and I have used up about a quarter (or just over) in a month. Love this product, I will write a full review as soon as I can. 

2. Yves Rocher Sexy Plump Mascara: A long standing favourite of mine, I have had this sample longer than anyone should probably but I just love it! This has to be my favourite mascara of all time (I also love the Diorshow waterproof mascara but it is quite expensive). This makes my lashes look volumised, defined and lengthened but natural and gorgeous!

3. Benefit Fake Up Concealer: I received this half way through March (I won it in a Debenhams competition) and I really like it - although it is not without its faults. The shade is great, it applies nicely (when applied in a certain way) and it doesn't really look caky - full review soon. 

4. Cosmopolitan Beauty Sponge: My last favourite of this month has to be my Cosmopolitan Beauty Foundation Sponge which I have been buying for years (maybe three years now). I have been using this sponge to apply my foundation all of this month as my skin has been super super dry and flaky because of an eczema break out and this sponge (when damp) is the only way I can apply foundation when my eczema flares up. I don't know what I would do without this product! 

What are your monthly favourites? 

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How to get spring/summer ready pins!

The weather has been a lot better the past week or so, so I thought it was time to create a post about getting spring/summer ready in a vague hope of getting some more sunshine! The weather in England, even during summer, is no where near the temperatures I experience while on holiday so I do only use these products and tips mostly before and during my holidays in august. Firstly, exfoliating and prep!

The first thing I do before hair removal (gross I know but it has to be done unfortunately) is exfoliation. Exfoliation smoothes the skin, removes the stuff that would otherwise reduce the effectiveness of the hair removal method. I have been using sachets of the Sanctuary Spa Salt Scrub for years (even though it is not my favourite). I receive it as part of gift sets and it is a nice scrub but it leaves a greasy film on the skin. I also have a scrub from Caudalie, the Caudalie Crushed Cabernet Scrub which is good and I just love the packaging for this product! I also find that scrubbing mitts and body brushes are great for exfoliation before a moisturiser is applied. Now onto the unpleasant and mostly painful experience of hair removal...

Hair removal, we all hate it and it can be quite expensive and painful. Before removal I do exfoliate in the shower and exfoliating gloves are one of the easiest ways - just use your normal body wash but with the exfoliating gloves your skin gets a good scrub as well. I mainly shave (as I am too scared to try other methods that are painful - waxing...). I use wax strips for my eyebrows and that is fine but anywhere else and I cringe immediately! I use the Venus Breeze/Spa Breeze razors which are fantastic and almost fool proof (great for me!). I have wanted to try laser hair removal for a while but it is pretty expensive, however there are many devices on the market - for example, Tria Hair Removal Laser (link to the Tria site here). Now after exfoliation and hair removal I usually use an ingrown hair lotion as I can get red bumps on my skin after shaving which can be quite irritating - I have been using the Urban Retreat Anti Bump After Shave Lotion which is fantastic! The lotion is light, it absorbs super quickly and it seems to work! Now onto body butter and moisturising.

After body scrubs, exfoliating gloves and painful hair removal, what the skin needs now is a good dose of moisturiser to smooth and soothe the skin. Before and during my holidays I always use a good firming body lotion (anything that helps is welcome!). The Nivea Q10 firming lotion is good, the Clarins Firming Body Cream is good too but my favourite (and most effective) firming body cream is definitely the Jergens Firming lotion! I also really like the Rituals Magic Touch Body Cream which smells gorgeous and it absorbs super quickly! Soap and Glory scrubs and body butters are great too and they smell delicious. Then when it is time to go out in the sun I find that I need a little bit a help (well a lot of help as I am as pale as a ghost!). I love the Jelly Pong Pong Hawaiian Sun Body Bronzer - it is great for my pale skin and it looks natural and leaves my skin looking sun kissed in a matter of seconds!

Do you have any spring/summer ready tips?

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Week in photographs #15

Some of the pictures aren't missing - I just didn't have enough for the boxes!

My week has consisted of: a girls night out, curly hair, hair envy, spring nails, hair dye, uni work, sun and gardening!

Firstly, the hair pictures - I tried my Redken Ringlet 07 hair cream. I have had it for a while, I bought it in August last year as it was on sale. It is supposed to help enhance, define and make your curls/waves bouncy. I tried it a few days ago, I applied to my towel dried hair and then let my hair dry over night - in the morning I looked like curly sue! My natural curls/waves were definitely enhanced and very bouncy. As you can see from the piastres above the curls were really defined and when you pulled them taught, they bounced back into place. Overall, I am very happy with that product - and carrying on with the hair theme, I dyed my hair a couple of days ago with another Garnier Nutrisse dye, hopefully this one wont fade as quickly as the previous one I used. 

Other things that have happened this week - snow last weekend but then the weather so far as been great! It has been really sunny for most of the week but it is still pretty cold. I went shopping and we stumbled upon some white strawberry bulbs - I didn't even know there was such a thing as white strawberries! 

I have been getting into the spring mood because of the sun and the new stock in shops so I created some spring themed nail art this week - pastel pinks and nude nails with shimmery gold tips - LOVE it! Also the spring feeling has made me think about my hair more and in particular - getting it cut. I just adore Demi Lovato's hair in the picture above - I love the dark layered bob! I think I am going to get my long hair cit after graduation!

I hope everyone had a great week! x

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Review: Garnier Nutriesse Creme Hair Dye

 

Prep and application

The hair dye shade I bought was medium dark brown 4.5. I also get all of the things out that I will need from the box and I also have a clock and hair bobble/hair tie handy. I also open the window before I start dying my hair so otherwise I may suffocate due to the horrible strong chemical scent of all hair dyes. I brush my hair well before I apply the dye. I have given up wrapping a towel around my shoulders so it always falls off and it is just unnecessary in my opinion as the hair dye doesn’t really go anywhere other than the skin and the old top.

The application and waiting have to be the worst parts of dying your hair (at home and in the salon). The application of this product was not great, because of the scent but it was fairly quick and easy. The formula of the dye is quite thick so it doesn’t really drip and it applies to the hair well. I don’t apply the dye straight to the hair, I dispense the dye onto the gloves and then I apply it to the hair as it allows me control over where the dye is placed and it makes working the dye into the hair much easier.

The only downside to the application is the horrible smell of the hair dye – in my experience of hair dyes, they all smell strongly of chemicals (which they are) and it can make my eyes water because of the strong scent. This product is no exception, having the doors and windows open in the bathroom is a must really with this hair dye as it is so strongly scented. After a thirty five minute wait, the hair dye is ready to remove. I rinse my hair until the water runs clear, which doesn’t take long.

Results

In my morning my hair was dry and it was dark brown all over which is what I wanted – it had covered all of the colour and my natural roots evenly and well. The colour is just what I wanted, a dark brown which wasn’t very ashy and it wasn’t warm/red toned either. The conditioner had made my hair smooth and manageable and over I was really pleased with the results from the dye. It has now been about two weeks since I used this dye and the colour has faded quite a lot since I use this product

Overall

Overall, the Garnier hair dyes I have used in this past were a lot better than this one. The dye was cheap, it applied easily, the colour was gorgeous but the product did smell very strongly and the scent was horrible; the conditioner wasn’t great and the colour faded fairly quickly within two weeks which is disappointing. I think I will be sticking to Schwarzkopf or nice and easy dyes from now on.

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Empties #2

Here is another empties post of items that I have used up over the past month or two. Today there is quite a mix of fragrance, candles, skincare etc. Enjoy!

1. Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose EDP: I received this fragrance as a gift and I just adore the scent! It is a sweet floral fragrance with strong musky notes. I Love this perfume, I have another bottle of it which I won in a Debenhams competition last year. The bottle of gorgeous, the scent is gorgeous but the longevity is not! Th longevity of this perfume on me is about four to five hours maximum! The poor longevity is a real let down with this fragrance as otherwise it would be amazing.

2. Benefit Foaming Clean Facial Wash: I will have to get some of the full sized products from Benefit - their skincare as they have been amazing! I have tried the total moisture cream and this wash as samples and they were amazing. I was quite surprised that they didn't irritate my skin. Love this face wash!

3. M&M Scented Candle: I received this from a friend at Christmas and I was quite excited to try it. Unfortunately the scent wasn't noticeable! It was almost unscented, the scent was very very subtle. Not recommended, although it did burn evenly.

4. Elizabeth Arden Gentle Hydrating Cleanser: Another skincare sample and again I am surprised that it didn't irritate my skin! The cleanser was very gentle, kind of moisturiser and it didn't dry out my skin. Love this cleanser, I may look into the full size if it isn't very expensive. Also both of the skincare samples featured were only sachet but they lasted really well for me - nearly two weeks of use. 

5. I Love...Strawberries Face Mask: I received this mask in a beauty box and I tried a a couple of weeks ago. Firstly, it has a really strange gloopy sticky texture that I really don't like, it makes it messy and difficult to apply. The mask didn't irritate when it was on my skin really but the next day my skin was blotchy, red, sore, irritated and this mask was definitely the cause as I hadn't changed anything else. It seems to have either really irritated my skin and caused a reaction or it seems to have made my almost non existent eczema flare up badly! Hate this product, if you have sensitive skin so away from this!

6. Roberto Cavalli EDP: I had a sample of this fragrance and I thought I would leave it in my uni bag if I need it. I have used it a few times and I really don't like this fragrance. It is very musky, sickly and the notes don't work together in my opinion. It is a mix between a very musky aftershave and very sugary sickly sweets - hate it! Not recommended. 

7. Primark Nail Polish Remover Wipes: I usually use my Pretty Quik remover but I only had a few of these left so I thought I would use them up. They are fantastic! They smell nice! The scent is nice, it doesn't smell like nail polish remover at all and they remove polish without a lot of effort. Recommended. 

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Makeup Collection: Bronzer, Blush, Powder...

Here is the third part of my makeup collection (there will be a couple more), this one features all of my blushes (all three of them!), powder and bronzer/contour. 

Firstly, tinted moisturisers: I have tried quite a few tinted moisturisers and I have been using them for years. I did use the Natural Collection tinted moisturiser for a year or two while in secondary school. My favourite tinted moisturiser is probably the Nivea Young Be Beautiful Tinted Moisturiser as it is really smooth and it applies well - it is also moisturising enough for my very dry skin. However, the only problem with this product is the shade - there is only one and it is too dark/orange for my very pale skin. I also have the Origins Vita-zing which I received as part of a set but I don't really see the results of this - it just makes my skin darker (I may have to sell this as it just doesn't work for my very pale skin).

Illuminators/highlighters: I have a mini of the Nars Orgasm Illuminator, Benefit Sunbeam sample (from a glamour magazine a while ago), I have a Kiko powder highlight, Benefit Watts Up, the new Revlon Photoready skinlights pink face illuminator and finally the Soap and Glory Hocus Focus lotion. My favourite has to be the S&G Hocus Focus as I love the packaging, the lotion is very easy to apply and blend, it doesn't look obvious and it gives a gorgeous iridescent glow to the skin. 

Powders: I have the Rimmel Stay Matte powder, Loreal True Match powder, the new Revlon Nearly Naked powder, Smashbox hydrating powder (which is a bit too dark for me), Kiko Mineral compact powder and the Estee Lauder Lucidity powder which is in a set I bought at duty free. My favourite powder for not looking heavy or cakey is the revlon nearly naked or the Estee Lauder Lucidity powder. I also love my Kiko powder - well I love all Kiko products! 

Bronzer & Blush: I am putting these two together as I don't have many of either. I have a mini Benefit Hoola bronzer and a mini Nars Laguna Bronzer. I also have the ELF 'Cool' Bronzer which I love and I definitely recommend. I only have a few blushes and I am just not that in to them as my skin is naturally quite pink so I don't need blushes. I have the Kyrolan for Glossy Box blush (which I really like, it looks really natural), I have the By Terry Light Expert Compact (which I think is supposed to be a powder or foundation but I use it as a blush as it is far too pink for a full on face powder). I also have a mini Cha Cha tint from Benefit which is ok. 

Contour: I have been using my ELF 'Cool' Bronzer as a contour as the ELF compact comes with four shades (white, light brown, dark brown and a reddish brown) and I love it for contour and the shades are all matte. I also have a cream pigment from Illamasqua in the shade 'hollow' as a contour cream product which I really like as it isn't warm toned at all - it is grey. 


I'm selling my Smashbox Photofinish Primer (full size, only used once) on ebay now - auction ends in a couple of hours!

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