My New Blogging Routine..

Following from my 'What I've been up to' post, I decided that my blogging routine needed a bit of a shake up. Therefore I'd just like to let you all know what kind of schedule I'll be following..

Monday - Mani Mondays

These posts will be about different nail art I've been trying out as well as nail polishes I've been using.

Wednesday - What I've Been Wearing Wednesday (Make-up as well as outfits)

I'll be summing up what I've been wearing, on my face as well as my body!

Friday - Fitness Friday

I'm becoming a mega fitness/weight loss/health freak and will be sharing my progress as well as helpful tips.

Sunday - Summary Sunday

These posts will just be a summary of what I've been up to and what I've been loving that week!

There'll be odd little posts here and there with reviews and things I've been getting excited about but those are the main posts I'll be writing every single week! This will start as of next Monday (3rd June)!

Hope you like all my upcoming posts and hope you enjoy these types of posts!!

Blogger Birthdays..

I just saw this cute blog and thought it was such a good idea!! Basically it's a calender which has lots of blogger's birthday on, so you can keep track of them all! (You make so many friends via the #bbloggers community it's hard to keep up sometimes)

Blogger Birthdays

Definitely check it out! xx

Where have I been??

Okay so, I've been MIA lately (well since January) and I thought I'd just update you all on what I've been getting up to and exactly what happened.

So as some of you who follow me on twitter may know, I was made redundant at the end of December and my boyfriend had been made redundant the previous month, so we had to move out of our house and move back in with our parents. Some people may not see it so badly, but when you've been living independently for so long, having to move back in with the rents is stressful stuff. Needless to say, with no cash coming in and therefore no cash to spend, our lives revolved around sitting on the couch and watching TV from morning til night.

However, very luckily we both managed to get full time jobs, starting within 3 weeks of each other and with coinciding pay days for both of us.. So we've started to get the spring back in our step and finally can see the light at the end of what has been a very dark, upsetting and hard tunnel.

These last four months have been very hard, and has really made me appreciate the free simple things in life, and that money and a job needn't be the centre of your universe. Things like good company, a sweet text or even  long walks by the sea are what is really needed in life.

But onwards and upwards, and I will be starting to blog again! I was going to start a couple of weeks ago but I dropped my phone down the toilet and lost all of the photos I had taken.. Typical!!

What have all you guys been up to since I've been MIA?? xx

Giveaway Winner...

So, the winner of my 150 follower giveaway is *drumroll please* 

I've emailed you Louise, could you email me back with your address and confirmation of the colour lipstick you'd like!

Thank you for everyone that took part!

Mwah xxx

First Wishlist of 2013

I love getting new things. I think everyone does don't they? There isn't anything better than coming home after a long day shopping with arms full of shopping bags, or hearing the sound of packages through the door. However, as many people are feeling the pinch after spending too much over Christmas (or in the sales) leaves us feeling blue. Therefore after adding way too many things to my basket on various websites, I thought I'd share with everyone what's on my wishlist. Plus I'll be starting my own spending ban at the beginning of February, I thought I'd get all this out of the way. 

Nars Laguna Bronzer

Urban Decay Oz Palette in Theodora

Rimmel Apocalips in Luna

Benefit's The Porefessional

Ugg Classic Short Boots in Black

MAC lipstick in Politely Pink

I can't believe my wishlist at the moment comes to over £200!! It really makes you see how much money you can spend on only a few items and makes you feel silly when you could pay for a holiday instead of all of this!! 

What's on your wishlist this year??

Aussie Haircare 3 Minute Miracle Review

For those who don't know me, I am obsessed with long hair.. I had long hair til I was 18 and in some bizarre moment of madness I chose to chop it all off.. Since then my hair hasn't grown.. Well past shoulder length and since I was dying it so much it was in terrible condition!

Therefore in April last year I took the plunge and chopped all my dead ends off and I'm on a one woman mission to look after my hair so it will grow! In my plight I decided to start using conditioner (I've never used it before this year, shocking I know!) however I still keep forgetting to condition every time.

After hearing a million and one rave reviews on Aussie's 3 minute miracle I thought I'd give it a go! Since its such an intense conditioning treatment I thought it would be better to use it only once a week, thus it doesn't matter if I forget! If I'm honest I was truly disappointed with this product. I washed my hair on the morning, yet about 8pm my hair was feeling really limp and greasy.. Normally I can leave it 2 days without washing it, yet when I woke up the next day, my hair was like a chip pan. I thought maybe I had left it on for too long (my hair is naturally oily) so I waited to give it another go. I only left it in for a minute now ( same as my normal conditioner) and I got the same results..

I do have naturally oily hair, so maybe it was just my hair it wasn't compatible with. However I was majorly disappointed as I had heard so many good things about this!!

Have you tried this product before? What were your thoughts on it???

Edit: I only applied this to the bottom couple of inches of my hair.

Bourjois Health Mix goodies

Last week, I was super lucky enough to win some goodies from a Twitter contest run by Bourjois! I was really excited that I got to try these as I loved their Healthy Mix Foundation, so was excited to try other products from their range!

I won:

Health Mix Serum 

Healthy Mix Correcting Concealer

Healthy Balance Unifying Powder

Healthy Mix Illuminator Brush Concealer

I can't wait to try these goodies! Has anyone else tried any of these??

NOTD: Multi patterned with Barry M

So I was VERY bored last night so I thought I'd play around with some nail polishes from my favourite brand Barry M! I used their Gelly nail polish in Prickly Pear, Foil Effects Gold and Peach Melba.

Thumb Nail - Spotty

First finger - Ombre

Middle finger - Glitter

Ring finger - Fishtail Braid

Little finger - Coloured french manicure

If anyone wants a tutorial for any of these, let me know :) Or if you'd like a nail polish collection let me know too!!

Mini Haul...

I really wanted to do the 100 day spending ban, I swear. HOWEVER with me having worked so hard over Christmas, and now not having a job, I thought I'd treat myself to a few goodies before I couldn't afford them.

MUA had a great deal on their website where you got the MUA artiste palette free when you spent £5 or more (I think that was the deal). So I decided to treat myself to a few goodies. I picked up the individual eyeshadows in Shade 25 pearl (apparently a dupe for Mac's Cranberry??), Shade 16 matt, Shade 11 pearl and Shade 30 pearl. I absolutely love their singles, as they are just super pigmented for £1! Then I picked up a lipstick in Shade 14 Bare as I was desperate for a nudey lipstick. Then I also picked up a couple of their eye pencils in Starry Night (a black liner with glitter) and Pink Sparkle (a pinky colour).

I ordered a Burt's Bees mango nourishing lip balm as I'd heard so much about them and I really wanted to try a stick lip balm rather than using my Vaseline all the time as my lips were becoming immune to it!

I picked a couple of bits up at Superdrug, I got a Sleek blush in Rose Gold. It is the most amazing colour! Apparently a dupe for NARS Orgasm but I've never seen it first hand so can't really comment! But it is the most gorgeous colour and I got it on the lovely Gemma from Button's Blog recommendation! I also got a new Barry M topcoat and one of their Gelly polishes in Prickly Pear (see my review of their Gelly polishes here ). I got this limited edition Gold Glitter polish free as I spent over £6 so was chuffed!! I love me a freebie!

Last but not least, I popped to YSL and asked for a sample of their Shocking mascara as I am desperate to try it. I'll give a good review once I've gave it a good try out!!

Unfortunately, as I haven't managed to get a new job just yet (redundancy sucks), I think an involuntary spending ban will be coming soon. So I thought I'd treat myself while I could!!

Shade 25 Pearl, Shade 11 Pearl, Shade 30 Pearl, Shade 16 Matt, Sleek's Rose Gold blush  

 MUA Artiste Collection Palette

MUA eyeliner in Pink Sparkle (top), Starry Night, lipstick in Shade 14 Bare. 

No-one likes a 'tache.. Review

No female likes having a moustache.. That tricky hair that sits just upon your top lip which is the bane of many a girl's life, especially if you have dark hair like myself. I wanted rid of mine, but I'm very sceptical of facial hair removal creams and such methods as I'm scared how the hair would grow back. I know mine is dark but at least it's fine hair. 

While I was at university, one of my house-mate's had a similar problem and sorted me out with this product. Jolen. Jolen is a creme bleach which aims to lighten excess dark hair on face, arms, body and brow. You get a pot of bleach creme, accelerator powder, a little mixing tray and a spatula. You mix a little of both the powder and the cream to form a paste which you apply to the clean dry area where you would like to lighten the hair. You leave it on for ten minutes, scrape it off and hey presto! No more caterpillar on your lip! 

Yes, if you look extremely close, you can still see it, but who really gets that close??

I would definitely recommend this as an alternative to hair removal. Quick and easy and I usually do it whilst in the bath or the shower!!

You can buy Jolen here for £4.39.  

Favourites of 2012

As if it's two weeks into 2013 already?? The time is literally flying over! I know it's quite late to post a 2012 favourites, however with not having a job I'm spending all my time job searching and trying to wonder why I can't get a job?? Anyway, here's what products I fell in love with in 2012 and I still love even now!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

This was a massive surprise for my birthday from my amazing boyfriend. I absolutely love neutral colours, therefore this palette was made for me. In particular, my favourite shades are Tease, Suspect, Pistol and YDK! Since this is an everyday staple for me, I doubt I'm gonna fall out of love with this product any time soon. 

John Frieda Radiant Red Enhancing Shampoo

2012 was the year I was on a mission to get the reddest hair possible and this is the most amazing shampoo ever if you ever dye your hair red. Never have I had a shampoo that makes me hair even redder AFTER I've washed it, normally washing it means it fades. John Frieda's Brilliant Brunette is great too but the Radiant Red is a lot more vibrant. 

Soap and Glory Hand Food

The only hand cream I have kept up using. I always buy them and mean well, but never follow through. However this one smells divine and you only need the smallest amount to make your hands baby soft! Plus their travel size is perfect for your handbag and majorly affordable!!

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

This I only discovered at the beginning of December but it's made such a big impression that I HAD to include it. I was a bit wary about trying a gel foundation as I have oily skin, however this didn't disappoint. It is more like a liquid than a gel I think, and it blends really well. You literally only need the smallest amount, and it's quite good coverage. However it is definitely buildable. 

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

It makes my eyeshadow last all day and this small pot has lasted so long! It doesn't make my eye feel heavy like some other primers do and I love the look of the bottle!!

MAC Studio Fix Foundation

Possibly the best foundation I've ever used. It makes my skin look really matte (which I like as I'm super oily) and it is buildable so you can start off light and build it to what you need that day. This is definitely worth the money and I'll definitely be repurchasing this again and again and again!

MUA Single Eyeshadow Shade 24 Pearl

This is a gorgeous pinky shade. I love ALL of MUA's eyeshdadows and for £1 you really cannot go wrong. It is really good pigmentation and it's one of the only coloured eyeshadows (as in not brown, beige etc) I use on a regular basis!

Avon Glimmersticks in Blackest Black

These eyeliners are a gorgeous soft texture, more like a crayon than a pencil so it's really soft on your waterline. It also blends really well and smudges like a crayon. 

All About Nails Bellini

I wanted Model's Own's nail polish in Tropical Sun but couldn't justify the cost! This was only 99p and it is a perfect dupe! Can't wait for it to be summer again to have this permanently plastered on my nails!!

Chanel Coco Rouge Shine Lipstick in Boy

Another treat from my amazing boyfriend, my first ever Chanel item. It is so soft and moisturising on the lips and it gives a beautiful pinky sheer colour. I just wish it wasn't so costly so I could use it everyday!! (Anyone know any good dupes for it??)

OPI Nicole Sparkling in the S-Kylie

I love the Kardashian/Jenner clan like nobody else. Therefore when they had their nail polish collection with OPI, I HAD to try it! I chose this gorgeous multi glitter polish and it can build up to such a beautiful colour!

Remington Pearl Curling Wand

This has been a saviour to me this year. I love having curled hair, however I have poker straight thin limp hair. Nothing has ever managed to curl my hair and make it last a full day/night. Until now! Literally curl your hair round it for about 10-15 seconds and it creates a beautiful curl and it lasts all night! I'm pretty sure it's only about £20-£30 which is so affordable for the quality of this product!!

I also thought I'd mention some of my favourite blog and bloggers of 2012 as I've discovered so many that I absolutely love reading!

Gemma at Button's Blog.

Gemma is such a lovely person and does great reviews on fashion and beauty. There have been SO many products I've gone out and bought just because of her reviews on them. 

Louise at Confessions of a Secret Shopper. 

Louise's blog is one of the first blogs I really started following religiously. She always has series posts on, comparing brand against brand and I love keeping up to date with all her missions (Project Pan and Shopping the Stash). 

Helen at Beautifully Superfluous.

Helen not only has her blog, but also has a Youtube channel which really made me take notice of her. I absolutely love her voice and can listen to it for ages (does that sound creepy???) I love how thorough she is with her reviews too, totally 100% honest!

Shona at Fresh Beauty xox. 

This girl is such a fighter and her constant positive outlook is inspiring. I love how the majority of her reviews are of drug store products and she makes you realise you don't have to spend mega bucks to look good!!

MAC lipstick giveaway...

I wanted to do this a while ago when I hit 150 followers, however I didn't really have the money at the time and didn't want to have to say to someone 'Sorry can you wait for your prize til I've been paid??' Therefore I thought I'd start 2013 with a bang by giving away a gorgeous MAC lipstick!! Even better you get to choose which one you get!!

This giveaway will run for three weeks and will end on the 28th January 2013. 

Sorry but it will only be open for UK entries!

Please ensure you leave your email so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck everyone!!!

source

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013.. so the world didn't end.

So despite those pesky all knowing Mayans convincing everyone that the world is going to end, it looks like everything ended up alright doesn't it??

source

I honestly cannot believe it is New Year's Eve already. Cannot believe just how quickly this year has passed by, it only seems like two minutes since I was starting my master's degree in 2011, and me and the boy were only just starting out. I'm not going to lie though, I'm glad to see the back of 2012. It was the year me and Anthony both lost our jobs, we lost our beautiful little house and I failed my degree. 2012 has been a pretty shit year with me and my man. However, always the optimist I believe that 2013 will be our year. 

My new year's resolutions you say? I usually have some stupid generic one like 'I will give up any food that has anything naughty in' or 'I will lost 10 stone'. However, I only have two this year.

1. Get my life together.

I want to have a steady job again, pass my master's with flying colours and to have a new house to spend Christmas in. One step at a time though, and lots of saving to do over the next few months!

2. Be Positive.

Most people who know me know that I'm a generally happy person. I don't see the point in being negative. However, these last few months has really made me struggle to stay that way. So in 2013 I promise to myself I will be a positive person once again :) 

HOWEVER

I don't want to be all doom and gloom. I have had some amazing times this year. Lets leave 2012 looking at the high notes!

And saving the best til last.. 2012 has meant everything as I have spent it with the love of my life :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!! Hope everyone has had a lovely day and was spoilt by what Santa brought!!!

Just a quick one to wish everyone a merry christmas!!

What did Santa bring everyone???

NOTD: messy little snowflakes

Just a quick nail of the day!! I used Barry M's Gelly nail polish in Blueberry for the base, a white nail polish from George at Asda, and finally the glitter topcoat is Barry M's Silver Glitter!!

Is everyone starting to feel Christmassy? :)

The Christmas Tag...

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. I love the cold weather, and snow and Santa of course!! Therefore after seeing the Christmas tag floating around, I couldn't help but join in! 

(Questions I used were taken from Shona over at Fresh Beauty XoX )

When do you start getting excited about Christmas?

In the January sales?? haha, I'm so bad for buying stuff for the next Christmas in the sales. Especially Christmas cards and wrapping paper. Massive bargains to be had!! But properly, it's got to be about a week before Christmas when all of the last preparations are taking place. 

Do you still have advent Calenders?

Erm yeah. I got so mad at my boyfriend when he didn't buy me one til 1st December. However, he did spoil me to make up for it and I am a bit of a brat all the time sometimes.

What are your favourite Christmas films?

Oh my days, I freaking LOVE LOVE Christmas films. I absolutely love Elf, Home Alone, The Snowman and of course Jingle All The Way!!!

Do you have any funny Christmas memories?

When I was younger, I got the big Melanie's Mall shopping centre and it came with all of the figures and little clothes. However if anyone remembers these dolls, their clothes were the size of your little fingernail! So my Grandma trying to be helpful, mixed with me being messy, ended up with all the clothes going in the bin! Luckily we realised in time and managed to get them, however they were gravy stained til the end of time!

Talk us through your typical Christmas day.

I'm 23 year old and I still get up about 6.30/7am and wake my parents up. They tell me that it's too early but I'm still wide awake. So I just sit in my bed waiting for them to get up. I keep going back every 10 minutes until they get sick and wake up. My parents still set my presents all out in the sofa downstairs, and I wait for them to be ready to go down first (to make sure Santa isn't running late of course!!). Then we open all of our presents, taking turns so the attention is all on the present opener. Then my Mam makes dinner for about 2pm, we usually watch a film we've just got or standard Christmas telly. After munching on the dinner, we relent to the sofa to slob out as we've probably all ate a bit too much! Then have a snooze, then awake to a buffet type tea (I always make the chocolate cornflake cakes), then watch all the Christmas soaps and specials. Then off to bed!!

I'm especially excited for this Christmas, as I'm spending it with my boyfriend and his little boy and I'm more excited for Stephen to open his presents than my own!!

Do you have any Christmas traditions?

Not really no, my Dad has to be the first one in the living room Christmas morning and on Boxing Day it's always turkey, chips and gravy for dinner!

What are your favourite Christmas songs?

If I had to choose one, it would probably be Last Christmas by Wham. However I do love a good screech sing to Mariah's All I Want for Christmas!

What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?

Probably my Friends DVD boxset. Classics. 

Real or Fake Christmas tree?

We've always had a fake tree, and even though I'd love a real one. I don't think I'd love the cleaning up you'd have to do with one. Therefore fake is best!!

Obsessive Nail Polish Organisation..

Hello. My name is Jennifer and I'm a Nail Polish-aholic. I just can't stop buying them. So when my collection was nearing three figures and with no proper storage for them apart from in my drawer, it seemed such a faff on when I wanted to paint my nails with choosing a colour without dragging them all out. I liked the ideas of colour wheels, but didn't know how I would label them. That's when I saw nail sticks on ebay for hardly anything and I thought they'd be such a good idea and I couldn't help but share! (I bought mine from here)

I started off with the sticks and some white labels so I could write on the names of all of the polishes!

 Then I cut the labels to the right size, wrote the name of the polishes on them and stuck them to the stick. 

After this, I painted the stick with the nail polish. I also used a top coat on all of the sticks. 

Finally, I put them all in colour order, and put them on the holders to create a nail polish rainbow!

Now I can find any colour, without having to make my room and drawer a mess! Yippee!

Guest Post: Alternatives to the LBD

The lovely Sophie over at Pretty Passions, Fine Fashions has wrote a lovely post all about the alternative options to the LBD over the festive season!!

Christmas Party Dressing Alternatives

I LOVE dresses. I thought this would be a useful fact to mention before you read any further because this is about wearing anything but dresses. Do you find yourself wearing something quite similar every year? A variation of the same dress. Perhaps, this year the colour is different or it has a collar or if you’re really making a change, it might be longer or shorter (woah, hold on there, don’t get too drastic.) Are you getting bored with this dress pattern? If you wear something a little different people are sure to commend you for your style endeavours. Here are some stylish solutions to any winter wardrobe woes:

     The Sequin Tux

I have wanted one of these for a long time now. I think I saw Arizona Muse wearing one a couple of years ago and it looked so good on her. It can be worn more formally with a cream chiffon blouse or more laidback with a t-shirt. For a feminine look, wear with patent black point toe stilettos with a skinny heel and for a more edgy look wear black wedge heeled creepers. Keep the accessories to a minimum and make sure the suit is black in order to not hurt people’s eyes or make the outfit look too busy.

The Jumpsuit

Bring back an ‘80s Christmas in a dark purple jumpsuit with wide leg trousers. Purple is this season’s most popular colour as far as runway shows are concerned. I’m thinking of Gucci’s autumn/winter 2011/12 show for inspiration but dark shades of purple were in abundance at an array of fashion shows. Purple exudes beauty and royalty and Christmas is surely the best time of year to feel royal and it’s always nice to feel beautiful when welcoming in the New Year. Wear with purple platforms and a purple clutch.

3     

 Black Playsuit with Peter Pan Collar

Alexa Chung is my inspiration for this one. This is a very simple outfit so to inject some glamour, throw on a pair of super high heels; like six inches high. If it looks like you’ll have trouble walking in them then they are the right height. However, practice walking around the house in them before the planned party or Christmas Day. Walking in heels burns more calories than walking in flats so this can aid any pre-Christmas diets for a guilt free day. Wear huge dangly earrings too and make then silver and chandelier like. Don’t worry, the big earrings and either bigger heels won’t look trashy because, remember, you’re wearing them with a plain, understated monotone playsuit. 

Secret Santa Surprise!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I took part in a Secret Santa swap arranged by the lovely Sammy over at Bellini Beauty and received my presents on Friday! Unlike Sammy, I was too impatient and didn't take pictures of them all wrapped up, but it's what's inside the wrapping paper that's exciting!!!

Lush Candy Mountain Bubble Bar: I love Lush, and even though I worship the Comforter bubble bar, I've been wanting to try some of the others so this is perfect for me!

Barry M Supersoft Eye Crayon in No 3.: If anyone knows me at all, everyone knows I am a big fan of neutral colours, especially for my eyes. I think there isn't anything better than sticking to the classic earthy tones of green, gold and brown. This is perfect for me!

Barry M Emerald Green Lengthening Mascara: I've read a lot about coloured mascara making a comeback, and green mascara is meant to be perfect to bring out my hazely/green eyes so Sammy has either been stalking my pictures or she's a good guess :)

Collection 2000 Skylash Length & Definition Mascara: I have been wanting to try this for soooo long! I hate my eyelashes and am still on the hunt for my miracle mascara, so hopefully this will bring me one step closer.

Accessorize Nail Polishes in Damselfly and Ultra Marine Green: I am a nail polish addict, these have taken my collection to over 90! I'm especially excited to try the Damselfly Speckle nail polish!!

MUA Lip Boom in Doin Good: I've wanted to try a Lip Boom for so long as I'm such a fan of MUA products. So excited to try this!!

MUA Nail Constellation in Pisces: MUA's version of the Caviar Manicure. Wanted to try this since it came out, but it's always out of stock. So pleased with this!

Barry M Dazzle Dust in 32: This is such a gorgeous pink shimmery colour. I'm a massive fan of Barry M's Dazzle Dusts so excited to add this to my collection.

Barry M Lipstick Touch of Magic: Definitely my favourite product! This is amazing. I'll do a full review on it so as not to ruin the surprise!

Rimmel Traffic Stopping Shadow Trio in Speeding: Again, Sammy must of done her research knowing I love my earthy colours.


I am so happy with what Sammy sent me. She has totally spoilt me and I'm so glad I took part in this! If you want to see Sammy's post on what I got her, just click HERE.

Just want to say a massive THANK YOU to Sammy for organising all of this! :)

My #bblogger mojo is back..

So if anyone follows me on twitter, you'll know I've not been a very happy bunny recently.. I've been made redundant and my boyfriends had to leave his job as couldn't afford the petrol to travel there anymore. With Christmas coming up and a six year old to buy for, it has been stressful to say the least. I had a total melt down, and spent about a week barely speaking and bursting into tears at anything.

I originally had planned to blog everyday in December as part of blogmas however after I found out the news, my blog kind of became neglected unfortunately.. So today when I received a parcel in the post with some amazing goodies from a Secret Santa the lovely Bellini Beauty organised!! I'll do a full post on it separately. It just put a smile on my face, which is a rare occurrence lately!

Therefore with this, I think I've found some motivation to be positive again and blog all the things I had planned!!

So look out as I'll be getting blog happy up until Christmas ❄⛄🎁🎄🎅