Recent Beauty Haul

6 November 2012

I seem to have done an unhealthy amount of shopping over the last month or so. I'm calling it final year degree stress which can only be solved with retail therapy! So here's my recent beauty purchases, I might follow this up with a fashion haul if you're interested:



1. Nail Dotting Tools from Amazon. I saw these over on Lily's blog and at £2.27 including delivery had to try them! I've been wanting to buy some nail art pens for a while but this seems to be the cheaper option.



2. Ardell Lashes in Demi Black from Boots. These three products were on 3 for 2 in Boots so I thought I'd stock up on lashes. 
3. Skin Art Temporary Tatoos from Boots. This set of Temporary Tatoos comes with individual letters for designing your own words so I thought I'd have a play around and see if I'd fancy a real one. 




5. Models Own Wonderland Collection. I'm really getting into glitter topcoats at the moment and I couldn't decide which of the collection I liked most so I bought them all! This is my nails of the moment - Models Own Beth's Blue with the Blizzard Top Coat. I can't wait to try Snowflake which has flecks of gold foil in it.

6. Superdrug Dry Shampoo - I heard it's better than Batiste and so far so good! I love the smell of the Chocolate brownie one. 

7. Okay so this isn't a beauty purchase as such but Cheryl Cole is pretty beautiful! I bought this in Tesco for £7 and it's my light relief from linguistic textbooks. 



8. Estee Lauder Free Gift which came free when you bought 2 or more Estee Lauder products. It included a really generous sample of their Daywear moisturiser which I've grown rather attached to and am horrified to see it's £39 for the full-size, eek! 

9.  Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. Having heard a lot of good things about this foundation I had to try it and I have to say I think it's my favourite foundation of all time. I've previously tried the Maximum Coverage version and I love that but this one is more wearable day to day. 

10. Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer. I was coerced by the sales lady into buying this and I succombed, mostly because it would give me £7.50 of Boots points and the free gift. I'm not overly impressed and think my Collection 2000 concealer did just as good a job.



11. Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion. I've been wearing these liners for years now and have gone through so many. I usually buy Zero but the sale assistant said Perversion was a new product and designed to be even blacker than Zero. It is 'more black' somehow but I also find it more likely to smudge so I think I'll be going back to Zero next time.  



12. Snow Fairy Shower Gel from Lush. This is my favourite shower gel of all time and every year I buy 2 or 3 bottles to last me through the year. 



13. Foxy Locks Extensions in Chocolate Brown. I mentioned these in a previous post but I finally bought myself another set of extensions, I haven't worn extensions for atleast a year as my hair was constantly changing colour but now I've settled back at my natural colour I felt like treating myself. 

Well, that was a marathon. Have you tried any of these products? What do you think?

H&M Oxblood Red Dress

4 November 2012






 Dress: H&M
Collar: H&M
Watch: River Island
Bangles: Custom Made and Disney Couture
Hair Extensions: Foxy Locks

This is my first outfit post in a while as the room I normally take them in is stuffed with Alex's clothes to make room for my best friend who's living temporarily in our spare room!

I wore this outfit for a spot of shopping and meal out at Wagamamas with Alex last night. I'm really embracing the maroon/oxblood red trend this season. It's not a colour I've worn very much before but I now own quite a few pieces. 

I love these boots so much, definitely my favourite recent purchase. They're high enough to give me a little extra height but not too high that I can't wear them in the day. 

I also got new hair extensions whoop! I haven't worn any for a while as my hair was constantly changing as it got blonder and blonder and then I had it ombred for a little while. Now I've dyed it back to my natural colour and am certain I'll be keeping it this way for a while I thought I'd invest. My hair is naturally quite long but it doesn't seem to grow past a certain point and I'm always dreaming of waist-length hair so clip-ins are the perfect way for me to acheive this. I can definitely recommend Foxy Locks extensions - this is the second set I've had from them and they are the best I've tried. 

Hope you're having a great weekend. 


Happy Halloween!

1 November 2012

Okay so I realise this is a day late! We celebrated Halloween at the weekend with a house-party at ours followed by a club night at my universities union. I don't think there's ever been a year where I haven't celebrated Halloween. When I was a teenager, my parents were definitely the most relaxed parents I knew and would always let me have house-parties - it was taken as a given amongst my friends that I'd be hosting Halloween. I used to go all out with the pumpkins and decorations but I didn't do very much this year and regretted it - next year I'm definitely going to make more of an effort.

Here's a couple of photos, they weren't taken with the blog in mind though so excuse the background!



 


Peplum Top: New Look
Leggings: American Apparel
Wedges: Ebay
Watch: River Island


Yes this was my fiance's costume. He said he was Dumbledore/Gandalf/God haha!
He got lots of attention in the club, especially from those dressed as Harry Potter!

Last night, on actual Halloween, I went to the cinema with a friend to see Skyfall which was ah-mazing! Plus I saw the trailer for the last ever Twilight - anyone else looking forward to seeing it? I really want to go to the Twilight marathon they're doing at my local cinema but nobody will go with me!
Tonight I'm walking 13 miles in the dark to raise money for local charities, wish me luck!

What did you do for Halloween?


Where Are My Knees 10 Week Pledge Week 2

29 October 2012




So, I posted about the 10 week pledge last week and I hadn't done so well... so guess how I did this week - I gained another 3lbs oops! It was not a good week for me, I've got essays due and study snacks were too tempting - added to which it was the time of the month where copious amounts of chocolate seems very necessary.
But, I'm not going to be defeated and I have sworn to myself I will buckle down this week! I can't believe it's only 8 weeks til Christmas aaah!
Sorry I haven't blogged much lately, I have a big list of blog post ideas but I have to focus on my studies at the moment. Fingers crossed I'll have more time after my essay hand-ins.

Where Are My Knees 10 Week Pledge Week 1

19 October 2012



I've been following the Where are my knees guys for ages now and find their weight-loss posts really inspiring. So when I saw they were encouraging readers to join them in a 10 week pledge I thought why not! 10 weeks will take me to Christmas (started it last week) and what better motivation to lose a few more pounds!

I've already lost almost 4 stone over the past 2 years and would ideally like to lose another 18lbs. I think that might be ambitious before Christmas so I've decided on 10lbs in 10 weeks instead. I'd also like to get back into my running routine (3/4 times per week) and get my 5k time back down to around 30 minutes. 

So how did I do in Week 1? Well I gained 1lb doh! We had a really indulgent weekend with family (see my Nutella cheesecake post!) and I actually gained 5lbs (!) so atleast I've lost 4 of those. I'm still confident I can do it though :)

Will you be joining the pledge? What would you like to achieve by Christmas?


Nutella Cheesecake

18 October 2012




Mmmmm anything with the word 'Nutella' in it is bound to be amazing in my eyes but this really is something else! I first saw the recipe on Nigella's new TV program Nigellissima and thought it looked surprisingly simple. I think that anyone could make this, whether they've baked before or not.

I made it for a family occasion at the weekend, along with a few other cakes as it was a buffet for quite a few people. I made sure I got one of the first slices and no more than five minutes later it had all gone! I received so many compliments for it, lots more than my much more skill-required coffee or lemon drizzle cakes! 

I used half full-fat and half low-fat cream cheese just to make it slightly healthier. If divided into 16 servings it's 350 calories but I defy you to have just one slice!

Ingredients


  • 250 gram(s) digestive biscuits
  • 75 gram(s) unsalted butter (soft)
  • 400 gram(s) nutella (at room temperature)
  • 100 gram(s) hazelnuts (toasted and chopped)
  • 500 gram(s) cream cheese (at room temperature)
  • 60 gram(s) icing sugar


Method

  1. Break the digestives into the bowl of a processor, add the butter and a 15ml tablespoon of Nutella, and blitz until it starts to clump. Add 25g of the hazelnuts and continue to pulse until you have a damp, sandy mixture.
  2. Tip into a 23cm round springform and press into the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge to chill.
  3. Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and then add the remaining Nutella to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined.
  4. Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the Nutella mixture over the base. Scatter the remaining 75g of chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Serve straight from the fridge for best results.

Recipe taken from Nigella's website and can be found here. 

So Starstruck - Cheryl Live

10 October 2012

I'm not embarrassed to say I am a massive Cheryl Cole fan. I don't go round shouting about it because I know she's not everyone's cup of tea but especially since she started her solo career I have been following her, buying her albums, reading her biography and ultimately aspiring to be that little bit more like her (what girl doesn't). So when she announced her UK tour I was ecstatic and begged my FiancĂ© to accompany me and luckily he obliged although I think I owe him one! 

To say last night was amazing just doesn't cover it. We had pretty good seats, the back row of one of the blocks on the floor. Directly behind us there was this big structure with security stood around it and Alex said "look at that, it looks like a second stage" I poo-pood him and said it was just the sound desk. Imagine my surprise when she left the stage and walked down an isle and onto this block! I literally leapt over my chair (I couldn't do it again, must've been adrenaline haha) and was stood right at the front of this second stage. I was less than a metre away from her and she kept singing to us and even touched the guys hands either side of me (damn them and their long arms). At one point I was so starstruck that my legs and hands starting shaking so bad - there was a rather camp guy next to me threatening to faint! 

It was so amazing to see her 'in the flesh' - she looked so real I guess! Anyway I'll stop going on about her and leave you with a few photos taken on my iphone. 

My outfit for the evening (excuse the hoover, hula-hoop and washing basket!)
Top: Primark | Shorts: Vintage Levis | Bag: Primark | Jacket: Miss Selfridge 


My makeup.

Alex doesn't look too impressed!


This is a screenshot from a video Alex was taking on his phone which I'm so glad he did as it means I can keep reliving the moment! 



Can you see my fingertips trying to reach her hand? Damn my short arms! 



Happy and tired going to bed in my new pyjama top.

So are you a fan of hers or not? Promise I'll understand either way hehe!


anniversary outfit

8 October 2012

As I said in yesterday's post, it was our 5th Anniversary on Saturday so I thought I'd do a little post to show you what I wore! Sorry about the lighting - photos were taken in a hurry and at night-time, not the best combination. 




Dress: Primark
Tights: Primark
Shoes: Garage Shoes
Watch: River Island
Bangles: Custom Made and Disney Couture



I'm loving my gold jewellery at the moment - my new River Island watch is a (temporary) replacement for the Michael Kors one I'm pining for. The first bangle was an anniversary present from Alex, it says "Have faith in your dreams" which is obviously a quote from Cinderella (hands up if your a Disney fan!). It goes beautifully with the bangle my parents had made for my 21st which is inscribed on the inside. 



You can't beat a posey face pic taken on iphone!

I'm so busy with uni at the moment and applying for Grad schemes eek! I will try and be a good little blogger and post more I promise!


happy anniversary to us

7 October 2012

Yesterday me and my fiancĂ© celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe how quickly 5 years have gone and how much has happened in that time. We met at High School and I had such a crush on him with his ponytail - he was a bit of a bad boy! It took til my first year at college for us to get together properly, fast forward 5 years and we've been living together for 2 1/2 years, engaged for almost 3 and he is all grown up with a proper graduate job! 



Last year we were so busy around this time that we didn't do anything for our anniversary so this year we pulled out the stops and had a fun-packed day. Breakfast in bed, a romantic walk in the Peaks then a delicious meal out. 


As luck would have it I started coming down with a cold yesterday morning, I was determined to let it ruin the day yesterday but today I feel so yucky! It's a sofa, ice-cream and lepsip sort of day!

Enjoy your Sundays!



winter coat lustlist

21 September 2012

I love coats. My problem is they never last me more than a year and this is mostly due to me being a different size every time winter rolls around. Two years ago I bought a gorgeous white wool coat with black rose buttons and I was in love. It's still in my wardrobe but the small problem is is that it's a size 16 and I'm now more like a 10, it swamps me. Last year I bought a navy quilted coat from Next in a size 12 and even that is too baggy on me now. I'm not complaining though because 1. It shows my hard-work is paying off and 2. It means I get to go shopping for a new coat :)


Winter 2010


Winter 2011

Here are just a few I've got my eye on. I'm going to the Meadowhall Student Lock-In on Thursday as most of my favourite shops are doing atleast 20% off so it's the perfect time to be investing in a new coat.



1. PU Panel Parka from Miss Selfridge.  I like this coat for 3 reasons - it's black, it's pu and it's quilted. The only problem I have with it is the parka shape - I've tried a few on before and I don't find them very flattering on me - they seem to be pretty shapeless.

2. Berry Full Skirted Coat from Miss Selfridge.  Loving the berry colours this A/W and if I did get this one it would be the first coat I've owned which isn't black/white/navy. I love the peplum shape too and the fact it's fitted.

3. Navy Faux Fur Hood Parka from Dorothy Perkins. Another parka so again I'm not sure about the shape. I have a thing for faux fur hoods though (in love with my Jack Wills gilet with faux fur hood).

4. Boucle Navy Skirted Coat. The same as number 2 but in navy. Again, I love the shape and I think navy is a great winter coat colour as it's flattering but not quite as bleak as black.

5. White Faux Fur Collar Coat from H&M. Oh my - there's a billboard with Lana Del Ray looking very beautiful in this coat practically round the corner from my house. I pass it every day and gawp. I'm not actually a big fan of her music but I love her style and she's so stunning. Problem with this coat is it's white and it's dry clean only. The coat in the photo of me above was machine washable and I was very grateful for that after I dropped it in a muddy puddle in Belgium. Perhaps not the most sensible buy..

Have you found your perfect winter coat yet? Which of these would be your favourite?

our york mini-break

16 September 2012

It's been a few weeks now but I thought I'd share a few of my favourite photos from mine and Alex's little break in York. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel called The Mount Royale which I would highly recommend. We only paid for a standard double but they upgraded us to one of their best suites with this huuuuge bed and a dressing room all to myself! Totally a dream come true!
We had a great few days, mostly eating and drinking but also exploring York and Whitby too. I spent a lot of my childhood/teenage holidays in Whitby - especially when I was going through my goth years (!) so it was nice to go back. The Harbour and the Old Town are so pretty - if you haven't been I'd definitely recommend a visit. 

















(Alex would like everyone to think I spent much of the holiday on my phone which I did not!)


The hotel had a lovely outdoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna/steam room and these are the robes they give you to toddle down the garden in!



On the last day we went to the National Railway Museum and then for a drink in the train station's excellent pub - The Tap. 



Have you ever been to York or Whitby? What did you think?