THE BODY SHOP HAUL

Yesterday I was out Christmas shopping with my family when I saw an offer I simply couldn't pass up. For anyone who doesn't know currently The Body Shop are doing an offer on one of the voucher apps whereby if you spend over £50 you get £25 off.. half price! 

I saw this as an opportunity to treat myself and grab some bits that I've had my eye on for a while so I thought i'd share these with you. 

Camomile Cleansing Butter: £12

I've mentioned before about how much I adore the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and the whole concept behind it. My favourite way of removing my make up is to use a cleansing balm/lotion that I can just work straight into my face and then wash away as I find it so much quicker than using a cotton pad and separate eye make up remover. I had recently seen people raving about this product so I am excited to give it a try. 

Almond hand cream: £5.00 

Shea lip butter:£4.00 

Who doesn't love to stock up on hand creams and lip butters during the colder months? I was on the hunt for a handbag sized hand cream that I could carry with me on the go and couldn't resist this cute little tube. I love the body shop lip butters so when I saw that they were by the till I just had to add one of those to my basket, not only do they smell delicious but are also super moisturising and non-sticky. 

Peppermint smoothing foot scrub: £7.00

One thing that I've been missing in my Sunday pamper routines is foot care so I decided to pick up two things to add to my routine. This first product is a pumice foot scrub which will hopefully help to smoothen out my feet get them feeling fabulous this winter.

Intensive foot rescue: £9.00

The second product I picked up is the intensive foot rescue moisturising cream for after I've used the scrub, the peppermint fragrance is to die for and is not too over-powering.

Seaweed iconic clay face mask: £13

I am particularly fond of clay face masks and so when I saw this one I was determined to pick it up and give it a try. This looks very thick in the tub and smells good considering it's sea weed so hopefully this will calm the break outs I can't seem to control! 

The total of this little haul was supposed to be £50.05! Woah, pretty steep but I ended up picking up all of these for £25.05 what a bargain. 

Have you tried any products (skincare, make up, fragrance, hair care) from the Body Shop that you would particularly recommend? Please comment below as I'm itching to go again!  

COMING HOME & A SMALL HAUL

I have to apologise for recently being MIA but uni work has quite literally taken over my life but now I'm home for the weekend I thought i'd post about a little clothing haul that I picked up mid-week. 

After posting my h&m wish list I decided to pop into the store to see whether I could grab anything I had featured but when this proved to be harder than I thought I ended up purchasing a black and white striped skater style dress and a cosy grey jumper. When I go shopping I always attempt to justify my purchases by thinking of what I can wear them with and in terms of these I imagined the dress would look great layered up with a black polo neck jumper, cosy scarf, tights and some ankle boots. The jumper, I imagined would look great with a light wash pair of skinny jeans, white trainers and a check shirt tied around the waist. 

The next place I went to was Primark, the Primark in the town centre at university is huge and always has the best stock so I just can't resist picking something up. This time it was a white and grey check shirt which I can imagine being paired with black skinny jeans and a pink lip and a aubergine coloured high neck jumper that's super soft which would also look fab with black jeans! 

My plan for the rest of the evening is to try and get on to the topshop website as I'm itching to look at their black Friday sale. 

Happy shopping! 

Have you purchased anything for black Friday?  

SUNDAY PAMPER SESSIONS

*yes to tomatoes scrub,*yes to tomatoes cleanser,*neutrogena visibly clear wash and mask,*facial sponge,*soap and glory righteous body butter,*nivea regenerating night cream,*lush cosmetics h'suan wen hua,*essie first base,*essie good to go,*essie lady godiva,*yankee candle vanilla frosting,*the croods,*asda jam and cream biscuits* 

I've never been a big fan of Sunday nights because to me it meant the dreaded Monday morning was just a few hours away. So why not focus on something I love doing and that is having some me-time with a good pamper. 

I love having pampering sessions, there's nothing better than kicking back with a face mask on under candle light and indulging in a bit of relaxation. 

I thought i'd put this post together to give you an insight into what I like to do on a Sunday pamper evening with some product suggestions. To begin the evening I like to take a bath (if i'm at home for the weekend) usually filled with some kind of bubble bar/melt. I'll then light a candle and grab a book, and pop on a hair mask (i'm loving this one from lush) for a good 15 minutes, whilst the yankee candle is burning away at the side of the bath.

Once I'm out of the bath I'll smother some body lotion on (soap and glory righteous butter) and then slip into some snuggly pyjamas. Then it's time to set about giving my face a bit of a pamper. 

I'll start off by cleansing using the yes to tomatoes cleanser which I have only recently started using with a facial sponge. Next up is exfoliation, I find exfoliating so important when it comes to getting rid of any pesky blackheads and dead skin. Currently I am using the yes to tomatoes exfoliating scrub and so far I'm very impressed! Once I have exfoliated I like to apply a face mask for roughly 15 minutes (neutrogena visibly clear wash and mask) I particularly like this mask as it is amazing at clearing up my skin and leaving it feeling extremely fresh and finish up with a night cream (nivea regenerating night cream). 

Now my face is feeling fresh I like to move on to my nails, painting and filing them until they look respectable once again and finishing off with a polish which happens to usually be one of the Essie nail polishes. Once the pampering is all done and dusted, you can't beat snuggling up in bed with a good book or DVD and some snacks. For me tonight it's The Croods and some jam and cream biscuits from Asda.

Does anyone else devote their Sundays to pampering? What products do you use to pamper yourself? 

Happy pampering! 

  

THE LIEBSTER AWARD

I was nominated to do The Liebster Award by Angelina at angelinaarose.blogspot.co.uk so please check out her blog. 

The Rules 

Mention the person who nominated you with a link to their blog.

Post eleven facts about yourself

Answer the eleven questions provided by the blogger who nominated you

choose five to eleven blogs to nominate and link them in the post

create eleven of your own questions for them to answer

Let the bloggers know you have nominated them - No tag backs

Nominate blogs with under 200 followers

 now we've got that out of the way lets get started.

Eleven facts about me: 

1) I am addicted to watching series and I have to be committed to one series at a time, at the moment it's Gossip Girl. 

2) I have been obsessed with anything from Lush Cosmetics since I was 11 when my aunty introduced it to me. 

3) Clueless also has to be my favourite film of all time and is what I watch fashion-wise if I am lacking creativity. 

4) I hardly ever finish a full plate of dinner. 

5) I once broke my foot on the Wii fit board. 

6) I got my first tattoo when I was 18- a feather on my ankle. 

7) My favourite dinner has to be chicken fajitas. 

8)My ideal evening would be sat in front of the telly with my boyfriend Drew.

9) I go through candles like anything and my favourite scents are vanilla based.

10) Winter is my favourite season; I love fluffy blankets, cosy jumpers and Starbucks seasonal lattes. 

11) I hardly ever wear earrings- I find them so uncomfortable. 

Angelina's questions: 

1) What is your favourite season? 

My favourite season has to be winter, strangely it used to be summer when I was younger but winter for me means seeing my family. 

2) Tea or Coffee? 

It has to be tea- two sugars with no milk! 

3) If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? 

I'd have to go to Tokyo-that's a dream. 

4) Favourite song right now? 

Admittedly it has to be Taylor Swifts new song Blank Space-it's so catchy!

5) Mornings or nights?

Nights for sure, I love coming home from a long day at uni and spend the evening relaxing.

7) What is your favourite meal of the day? 

Dinner time! 

8) Favourite blogger? 

Oh I really can't decide I like so many.

9) What made you start blogging?

I'm obsessed with all things style and beauty related and so I thought what better way to share my opinions with likeminded people and learn some things along the way. 

10) What is your biggest fear? 

This sounds strange but being lost, I literally go into panic mode at even the thought.

11) If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring 3 things what would they be? 

Assuming I already had the bare essentials I would bring mascara, a good moisturiser and a photo of me and Drew. 

My Questions: 

1) Are you a spender or a saver?

2)Whats your worst makeup/hair habit? 

3) Whats your favourite season?

4)What is your favourite scent? 

5)Where is your favourite place to shop?

6)Who is the person you look up to? 

7)Favourite make up brand? 

8)Favourite celebrity? 

9)Favourite tv show?

10)Chips or chocolate? 

11)Favourite blogger? 

I nominate funny fashion, laurabeautybutterfly, Ella Melbourne, 

Gill McLaughlin and Jacklyn. 

THE CHRISTMAS TAG

After an unexpected shopping trip where I ended up buying lots of Christmas decorations for my uni room I'd now say that I am fully in the Christmas spirit ( bit early i know). So what better time to do the Christmas tag!

1. What is your favourite Christmas Movie/s? 

My favourite Christmas movie has to be Santa Clause 1, 2 but mainly 3. I've watched it every year since I can remember so it's become a bit of a tradition within our household. Other Christmas films I like are Love Actually and of course ELF. 

2. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Usually we open half of our presents on Christmas morning and then the other half in the afternoon when the rest of the family have arrived. 

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

My favourite Christmas memory has to be when I was about 6 or 7 and every year we would go to my nans house after dinner and having cheese and biscuits and acting out plays with my two cousins in front of all of the family. 

4. Favourite festive food? 

Oo this is a tough question.. I'd have to say chocolate as it's the one time of year where you can binge on treats and not feel bad. I love Terrys chocolate orange, Celebrations and Lindt are my particular favourites. 

5. Favourite Christmas gift?

I think as a child gifts are more exciting, so I've had to think back to what stood out to me when I was growing up. I think my favourite gift had to be a fashion craft book I was bought one year where you had to make mini clothes out of different craft paper. Not the most wildly exciting or expensive but nevertheless I loved it and can still remember what it looked like now. 

6. Favourite Christmas scent?

In terms of a nostalgic scent I'd have to go for tinsel but I love burning candles around this time of year and have recently discovered a Yankee candle in the scent 'Fireside Treats' it's like nothing I've ever smelt before and is just amazing. 

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

Christmas eve in my household usually consists of all of the family sitting down and watching a film in our blankets with the fire on and drinking warm drinks with the occasional snacking on chocolate. 

8. What tops your tree?

An angel tops our tree in a silver glittery dress.

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

I can't really remember anything in particular but at a guess I probably asked for some kind of pet. 

10. What's the best part about Christmas for you?

Christmas to me is all about being with family and the people I love. I also love seeing all of the Christmas markets, speciality hot drinks and decorated shop windows. Sitting with only the christmas tree lights on and watching films in a warm blanket and of course being at home as I've moved away this year. 

TIME TO CLEAN THOSE BRUSHES

When I want my brushes to look as good as new i'll do what i call a 'deep brush cleanse' and this is usually about once a week. I'll do this to my brushes and the brushes I use for the make up part of my degree. 

I use Johnson's baby shampoo (£1.69) and mix it with a tiny bit of antibacterial hand wash which varies depending what i've purchased in my shopping this week it's the Simple moisturising hand wash to create the cleanser. 

STEP 1: Pump some of the cleanser into the palm of your hand, dampen the brush and proceed to swirl the brush into the cleanser 
STEP 2: Keep doing this and adding cleanser until the water runs clear 
STEP 3: Every other brush cleanse I tend to condition my brushes after the cleanse, this helps to make the bristles extra smooth and depending on what I am using in the shower depends on the conditioner I will use for this. This week its the Garnier Ultimate Blends conditioner
STEP 4: I then lay the brushes flat on a towel in the windowsill to dry 

What do you use to clean your brushes?   

REMEMBER THESE?..

A few blog posts ago I was talking about my favourite pieces from TOPSHOP for Autumn/Winter and I mentioned these Brighton Buckle boots which were sold out. I was devastated, I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. Last Friday was mine and my boyfriends anniversary and he surprised me with them! What also made it nice is that he had them delivered to my university halls and it was the first parcel I'd ever received here.

So thank you Drew, and expect lots of styling posts featuring these little beauties in the near future.  

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H&M WISHLIST

Whenever I purchase new clothes I always go to Zara, TOPSHOP, Primark or New Look. As I can usually get a lot for my money and find some good dupes of things I've previously seen. This of course, being until now! I have to admit I was a little bored last night and so went online and looked at the H&M website and surprise surprise I've found some pieces which I really like and will be making their way into my wardrobe very soon (hopefully). 

THE MAKE UP TAG

WHAT FOUNDATION DO YOU USE? 

I am currently using two different foundations that I switch between on a daily basis. The first is Studio Fix Foundation by MAC for when I want a more full coverage as I know it will not budge throughout the day and the second is the L'Oreal True Match foundation as it's quick and easy to apply. 

HOW ABOUT CONCEALER? 

For my concealer I use the MAC Pro Longwear but this is something I like to switch up every time I need a new one. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF FALSE LASHES? 

I think false lashes are great for when you want to make a look stand out, for example on nights out or special occasion make up but I think they're a bit much for everyday make up. 

WHAT BRAND OF MASCARA DO YOU USE? 

This is another product that I love to switch up every time I run out, recently I have tried the Benefit They're Real, Rimmel Lash Accelerator and now I am currently using the Maybelline Rocket Volume Express. 

SEPHORA OR MAC?

I live in the UK so I haven't tried anything from Sephora before but I have to say I am a total MAC girl.

WHAT MAKE UP TOOLS DO YOU USE? 

My real techniques brushes, cotton pads and tweezers. I couldn't live without any of these!

DO YOU USE AN EYESHADOW PRIMER?

Yes I do, I use the Urban Decay Primer Potion. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EYESHADOW? 

It's so hard to pick one eyeshadow but i'd probably have to say the shade Trick from the Naked 3 palette. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PIGMENT EYESHADOWS? 

In all honesty I don't think I have used a pure pigment eyeshadow before so this is something I need to try out. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVE LIPSTICK? 

Oh goodness this is so hard for me as I'm a total lipstick addict! I'd have to say that my favourite everyday shade has to be Kinda Sexy by MAC. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVE BLUSHER TO USE?

My favourite blusher has to be Peaches by MAC as it is extremely versatile. 

DO YOU LIKE DRUGSTORE MAKE UP? 

Absolutely! Some of my favourite make up items are from the drugstore as you can find some real gems there. 

NAME A MAKE UP CRIME YOU HATE

Hmm this is kind of tricky.. I'd probably say for me it's eyeshadow fall out. When I know I am doing a look using eyeshadow I always have to do that first and my base after as I find it so annoying. 

DO YOU LIKE COLOURFUL SHADES OR NEUTRALS? 

I love neutral shades. 

IF YOU COULD LEAVE THE HOUSE WITH JUST ONE MAKE UP ITEM WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

I'd probably have to say mascara. 

IN YOUR OPINION, WHATS THE BEST MAKE UP LINE? 

I'd have to say for me it's MAC, I am a huge fan of their lipsticks and everything is such good quality. 

#1 INSTAGRAM

 #1 Christmassy pyjamas are out

 #2 Green H&M jumper & MK watch

 #3 Lottie, my sisters puppy

 #4 1st proper blog post

 #5 Walking through the uni park 

 #6 Big fluffy coat day

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STYLING| THE PERFECT A/W BOOTS

One of the things I love the most when it comes to dressing for Autumn/ Winter time is to go out and purchase a good pair of boots. Usually I am a complete trainer type of girl, I live in them but they're not ideal for keeping your feet warm and dry.  
This year, I purchased these little black boots from H&M and they're a complete styling staple for me. Not only are they extremely comfortable and great at keeping your feet warm but they finish off any winter outfit and give a bit of added 'coolness'. My favourite ways to wear them are either styled up with dark ripped jeans and a thick fluffy jumper or with a dress, tights and a warm coat (as pictured here). 

What are your staple shoes/boots for the colder months and how do you style them? 

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REVLON COLORSTAY MOISTURE STAIN

The Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains have been very popular amongst beauty fans and so when I saw them in my local Boots I just had to pick one up in the shade 005 Parisian Passion. These stains have a new formula that offers the shine of a lipgloss, the hydration of a lip balm and the wear of a lip stain and colour intensity.

The texture is extremely unique, it's thick, but not sticky like a lipgloss and you can really feel it moisturising your lips. For some, the formula might be a bit too thick but for me this was not an issue.  And the colour? Amazing! The pigmentation is great meaning the colour is really intense and long lasting. This colour in particular is what I would call a classy berry colour as it's not too striking but perfect to spruce up a winter look. 

In terms of a marking out of 10 I would give this a 9. The colour is highly pigmented and has a lovely glazed finish to it, it's very long lasting-about 3 hours which isn't too bad at all and in terms of it's moisturising ability it's pretty impressive. 

So I would highly recommend that you try them! I will be heading out later to pick up some more shades as I am totally obsessed. 

If you have tried any of the other shades please comment below with your recommendations or perhaps you've tried a different range of lip products from Revlon? I'd love to know your thoughts! 

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WINTER ESSENTIALS

Who doesn't have a small cluster of essentials to help get them through these colder months? Every year is the same for me, a good lip care routine, some go-to lip colours, a favourite candle and some super cosy christmas themed pyjamas all help to get me in that christmas spirit and make the cold a little bit more bearable. Other things include the occasional Starbucks and one of their Christmas lattes, warm bubble baths and various Disney films. 

Do you have any winter essentials? If so, what are they? Whether they are beauty related or random please comment below as id love to know. 

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NIVEA SKINCARE/CURRENT ROUTINE

I have to admit that I do get rather bored of sticking to one specific skincare routine after a while and I am always itching to find something new. After experiencing acne at a very young age all I seemed to be able to use on my skin were products from the skincare brand Simple as I also suffer with quite sensitive skin. However, last month I fancied a bit of a change. 

Whilst in Superdrug I noticed that the whole Nivea skincare range was on offer and could not resist the urge to pick up a few bits (in fact a whole new regime). 

NIVEA 2 in 1 CLEANSER & TONER (NORMAL/COMBINATION SKIN) 

I am an avid fan of the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish but I do love the using the occasional cleanser to remove my make up from time to time and honestly this is the best one i've tried because it removes every scrap of make up and has an amazing fresh tingly feel. 

NIVEA REFRESHING FACIAL WASH GEL 

I love using this as an extra step after removing my make up and after using this product my skin feels completely clean without drying it out. 

NIVEA GENTLE EXFOLIATING SCRUB (NORMAL/COMBINATION SKIN) 

I only use this product once a week to remove any dry/dead skin off of my face and I love it. I am not a big fan of really grainy facial scrubs as they irritate my skin and are too abrasive but this does the job perfectly. 

NIVEA NIGHT & DAY CREAMS 

These are amazing, in particular the day cream. It works perfectly underneath make up.

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TREND FEATURE: THE RETURN OF THE POLO NECK

images sourced from vogue.co.uk

Each year I go out and buy new pieces to make sure that my wardrobe is all set for the colder months and this year was no different. 
Usually I purchase things such as jumpers, thick tights, wooly hats, scarves and mittens but this year I  purchased two polo neck jumpers in black and grey. 

I have to admit the last time I wore a polo neck was back in my childhood years when my mum used to shove them on me and I absolutely despised them but I have seriously been missing out! 

Since picking them up on a complete whim I haven't been able to take them off, not only do they look super chic but I seemed to have forgotten how warm and cosy they are and when I saw they were featured in a Vogue trend report I just had to blog about them.

LOVE LOVE LOVE! 

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