Christmas Lush Haul 2015!

I'm finally back again! I started writing this post a couple of weeks ago but never got round to finishing it until now... Oops. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! <3

Now don't get me wrong, I shop at Lush frequently throughout the year but only for special treats as it can be a bit pricey when you're trying to save money... However, December is different. Not only do I buy things from there for other people, I also love to treat myself as it's the most cosiest but the coldest time of the year meaning me-time bubble baths are a must!
The first thing I saw when I walked in was The Magic of Christmas bubble bar which I'm sure you've seen pictures of all over Instagram. How could I resist this?! It's orange, it's sparkly, it's on the end of a cinnamon stick, it smells of sweet spices, it's star shaped, it's just everything a girl needs in December. It's also reusable so it's worth the price (£5.95) and all you have to do is run it under the hot tap until you've got enough bubbles!

Next I bought the classic Luxury Lush pud! I love this one as I had this last year and used it on Christmas Eve so it brings back happy, cosy memories. It's a Pink bath bomb with multi-coloured circles covering it, a white top, and a holly leaf to top it off. As you can probably tell just by looking at it, it leaves the water so pretty and colourful! It also has a really relaxing scent.

I'm obsessed with all things sparkly so I obviously had to get the Five Gold Rings, which I think are a super cute, unique idea. They are 5 individual bubble bars on a piece of string and you can use however many you want depending how many bubbles you need. They have a sweet vanilla scent and leave your water gold/yellow with tonnes of gold sparkles. 

I know this one isn't part of the Christmas range but I wanted it just purely because of how big it was and how strong it smelt. It's called The Comforter and it's a huge bright pink/purple bubble bar that smells just like blackcurrants! Bubble bars are really easy to cut with a knife and because this one is so big, you're best cutting it into a few pieces so that you get a few uses out of it. It's mega easy to use, just crumble it under running water and You're left with bright pink water with lots of bubbles!

One bath bomb which I'd bought that I'd never seen before was called Intergalactic. It has a very strong, yet sweet peppermint scent and turns your bath water bright blue and shimmery. It also leaves swirls of pinks, purples and yellows on the surface of the water which look so dreamy. I'm afraid I don't have a picture of this one as I used it as soon as I got home, but there's plenty of pictures on Google if you haven't yet seen it.

Products I regret Buying January - March 2015

Hello again! :) 
I'm sure most of you have bought products before thinking that they'd be great and they just aren't what you expected them to be or they just don't work for you. Well these are my products that I regret buying over the last few months and please don't be offended if you love any of these things because they might be really good, it's just that they don't suit me. 

Nivea Sensitive 3 In 1 Micellar Cleansing Water:
I absolutely love cleansing waters as they're so cheap and easy to use, especially if you're lazy when it comes to taking your makeup off at night-time like me. I usually use the "Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water" but mine ran out so I popped to Morrisons (My nearest supermarket) to find out that they don't sell the Garnier water so I grabbed Nivea's cleansing water instead as I couldn't wait until the next day to buy another else I'd have to leave the house with panda eyes!  The Nivea cleansing water isn't awful... It doesn't break me out or sting my face so I do use it when I have nothing else to use. It just takes so much longer to take my makeup off than usual and I also have to scrub a lot more around my eyes which isn't good.

Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser:
For the last few years I've suffered with my pores and I've been trying to find a relatively cheap product that will work before turning to more high end products. I bought this on a whim without looking at any reviews and I was so gutted when I tried it! I applied it to clean skin and waited for it to soak in/dry before applying my foundation, but it just left my skin feeling so oily and it felt just like a thick layer of silicone all over my face. It also made my foundation wear off really quickly and made no difference to my pores. This may work for other people but the only good thing for me was just the cute packaging.

Maybelline Volum' Express Mascara: 
I bought this mascara as it was near Christmas and I was trying to be careful with my money. This was one of the cheapest mascaras on Superdrug's website that didn't have awful ratings (though it did have a few bad ones). The actual mascara is pretty decent for the price as soon as you've applied it, however, after a few hours it starts to flake really badly and irritates my eyes. I've also discovered that I'm allergic to it as every time I wear it I get really red swollen eyelids that are covered in really sore flaky, dry skin. I've never really been allergic to any makeup before so it came as quite the surprise.

Carino Firm Hold Hairspray:
This was another product that I bought on a whim because I'd ran out of my normal hairspray. I normally use the "Wella Silverkin Maximum Hold Hairspray" as my hair is really fine and does not stay in place what so ever! But this hairspray has no hold at all unless I spray tonnes of it which is just a waste and it's still nowhere near as good as my normal go-to hairspray. It also smells so strong! I used to hate the smell as it reminded me of a perfume that somebody in their 60's would probably wear... And it's so overpowering that you can smell my hairspray instead of whichever perfume I'm wearing that day.

Simple Oil Balancing Moisturiser:
I think this moisturiser would be good if you have really oily skin as it does mattify your skin, but I wouldn't call it a moisturiser as it doesn't seem to moisturize my skin at all, I'd just call it a mattifying primer. I have combination skin so maybe that's why it doesn't work for me but it does nothing to help with any dryness, and also the product is a really strange texture as some parts are just pure liquid and some bits are really lumpy, even if I shake it for a while before using it.

xxx

February Favorites 2015

Hello again! I've just uploaded a February Favorites video which I'll link in this post but I thought I'd write a blog post to go alongside it so that I can write things that I forgot to include etc.

                               
My Favourites:
Eyeko Blush in "My Coral Crush" 
I've had this product for quite a few years now (Yes, I'm a bit naughty when it comes to keeping makeup way longer than you're supposed to) and I hardly ever used it as I didn't think blush suited me as I had naturally rosy cheeks. However, now that I'm older I've branched out into using more high coverage foundations which completely cover all natural colour in my face. I normally would just use bronzer, but recently I've really got into using blushers and this shade is so natural looking. It compliments my skin tone and it's just such a beautiful colour. Unfortunately I can't find this blusher on the web anymore so I'm assuming it has been discontinued :(.

L'Oréal Colour Parfait Lip Liner in "Rosewood" I first found this lip liner when I was trying to recreate the Kylie Jenner look. I wanted a colour that looked similar but also one that would match my own skin tone. I'm trying to be careful with my money at the moment so I didn't want to branch out and buy a M.A.C Lip liner so I settled for a drugstore one and this is perfect for me!  It is a nice nude, matte shade and it looks natural if I over line my lips slightly with it, plus it stays put for quite a while on me compared to other lip liners that I've used.

Lush Lip Scrub in "Bubblegum"

The weather is still really cold here in England and as a lot of you have probably experienced, cold weather almost always equals chapped lips. I know that it's super easy to make your own lip scrub but I'd never be able to make it smell as delicious as this one. It also tastes really nice and it does the job perfectly so this saves my lips during the winter months!

Touch of Silver Purple Shampoo 
I've been using purple shampoo for years now, however, for the last few months I haven't used it just because it was cheaper to use normal shampoo. I've recently started using this again and it's made such a difference, my hair is no longer brassy, it's now toned down to a more white shade which is how it looked when I first got my hair done. It also leaves your hair smelling really nice afterwards, especially if you use the matching conditioner.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum
I've had this for a really long time but I've never been one for hair products. I'm one of those girls that washes their hair and lets it air dry and never does anything special with it. Until recently that is... I've started taking extra good care for my hair and styling it using heat-free methods. I've always suffered with frizzy hair so I'm annoyed at myself that I've only just started using this as it could of saved me from so many bad hair days! I just apply it to my hair when it's wet, then once it's dry it looks so much silkier and less frizzy so it really does do the job.

Brittney Spears perfume
I think a lot of people own this perfume and considering how cheap it is, it's one of the best perfumes that I own. It's staying power is ridiculously long and it's so strong! You can tell if anyone's wearing this as soon as they enter the room which can be a bad thing, but for me personally I love strong perfumes as I feel it's pointless wearing a perfume that nobody can smell. I also think that this perfume's perfect for winter as it's quite heavy and I prefer more lighter floral scents in summer.

Dove shower gel in the Nectarine and White Ginger Scent
I'm mega fussy with shower gels as a lot of them don't make me feel clean and they can leave a weird scent on my body. This one though is quite strongly scented and smells really clean and fresh and even once you get out of the shower it leaves a delicate peachy scent on you which makes you feel cleaner than ever. 

Morrison's reduced fat peanut butter
I know that peanut butter is not that good for you and I didn't buy this one because it was reduced fat as I know reduced fat products normally have even worse ingredients in them that the original product. I used to hate peanut butter as it's so dry and thick. This one though is quite runny and sweet and it's not dry at all (I know that sounds bad but it's a good thing for me haha).  I love this as a treat if I'm craving something sweet spread on slices of banana, it feels just like you're eating a bag of chocolate.

Yankee Candle of The Month - February 2015

I can't believe that it's now March! It's crazy how fast February has gone this year!
I wanted to do a blog post on Yankee candles as they're one of my favorite obsessions (as well as makeup and perfume) and I've decided that instead of just doing a normal review, I thought it'd be more fun to review my favorite candle of the month as it will be changing depending on the season and my mood etc.


     

I've found myself reaching for about 3 different candles over February but the main one that I've been reaching for is my "Snowflake Cookie" candle.  I bought this in November to use over the Christmas period as it's in their festive range, but I already had a lot of Christmas scented candles so I didn't end up burning this one as much in December.
As the weather is still really cold here in England, I wanted to get my use out of this candle as it's a really cozy, warm scent. It smells like you've got a batch of homemade cookies cooking in the oven, which as you can guess smells delicious!
I have the medium sized jar and it gives off enough scent to fill my bedroom, it's not overpowering, but it does give off enough scent so that you can actually smell it.
Also let's not forget the fact that it's pink which is my favorite colour! It's a very typical girly, vanilla, sweet scent and also a typical girly pink colour, so that combination is perfect for anyone that loves girly things like me (though obviously it's not just for girls, many guys may love this candle as well).

       

Stay tuned for my next "Yankee Candle of The Month" post <3

Also don't forget to follow me if you've enjoyed this post, thankyou! :)

Pink Sugar Perfume Review.

I absolutely love this perfume! I'm now on my fourth bottle of this which I find quite amazing as I've never re-purchased a perfume that many times before.
  When wearing Pink Sugar, I get complimented by people so much, and I don't know about you, but it boosts my confidence quite a lot knowing that people think I smell nice as I'm very self aware and paranoid about how I look and smell.
Everyone that's complimented it has said that it smells really sweet like candy floss and sugary but not in a sickly childlike way.   Now I don't know whether it's just me but when I spray this I can't smell candy floss what so ever, I smell a sweet scent but it's quite a clean, fresh, mature, mega-sweet smell rather than something that would be aimed for kids.

Lasting power: It's a very strong scent and out of all of my perfumes that I own it has the best lasting power. It's also one of the only perfumes that I've ever used which I don't have to keep reapplying a million times throughout the day, though I do tend to over apply as I have a habit of just spraying perfume whenever I get the chance, even though it makes it way too strong haha.  Packaging: It comes in a stripy (pink and white) cardboard tube which is a similar size to the perfume so it doesn't take up much room in your bag and it's a lot sturdier than the flimsy cardboard boxes that most other perfumes come in.
Price: There's a slight vary in price depending on where you get it but at the moment from Amazon it costs £19.24 for a 100ml bottle which is a bargain!!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sugar-Aquolina-Toilette-Spray-100ml/dp/B000C1Z1HE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425127367&sr=8-1&keywords=pink+sugar
Negatives: As it's a very sweet perfume it's not something that's suitable for everyone and a lot of people may find it a bit overwhelming.

Quinoa Salad Recipe.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to include more healthy food in my diet, though if I'm honest I've had quite a few days of junk food binges.

I've been into quinoa for a few months now and at first I thought it tasted really bland, but after experimenting with different ways of cooking it, I've found it to now be one of my favorite healthy foods.

It's really simple and easy to cook so I thought I'd share my salad recipe!

Feel free to change it up using your favorite things, these are just what I like to use.

Depending how much salad you use this recipe makes enough for roughly 2 people or enough for you to have leftovers for lunch the next day. :)

To make the salad I used: 

1/2 a cup of quinoa

1/2 a red onion

A couple handfuls of baby spinach

2 beetroots

1/2 an orange pepper

1/4 of a cucumber

7 cherry tomatoes

Garlic powder and salt

1/2 a lemon

1. Pour the quinoa into a sieve to rinse it just like you would with rice.

After rinsing, add it to a saucepan and add double the amount of boiling water (Always keep it at the ratio of  2:1) so if you use 1/2 a cup of quinoa then use 1 cup of boiling water.

I also added salt and garlic powder to the water to give the quinoa lots of flavor.

Cook following the instructions on the back of your pack as they all vary... Mine took about 20 minutes.

2. Once the quinoa's on the boil, carefully dice the onion and put it into a big plastic bowl and add lemon juice which takes away some of the strong taste of the onion.

3. Chop the rest of the salad up into small pieces and mix everything together in the bowl.

4. Once the quinoa is cooked you can either leave it to cool down or leave it warm depending on how you like it and then add it to the bowl of salad.

Mix everything together thoroughly and add any extra herbs or lemon if needed.

UPDATE
  Hello again! :)  My first/latest blog post was quite a while ago and everybody's probably thinking I've forgotten about my blog already but I promise you I haven't.
I've had a mega busy few weeks, but a good kind of busy... The kind where you're with friends and family and being social. I've being doing things every single day which is really rare for me as I normally sit around the house bored and fed up so please forgive the fact that I haven't made any posts for a while.
I was planning on doing a blog post today but ended up having another busy day and I also have a busy day tomorrow as I'm going out for the day and then have a friend sleeping over, BUT I'm going to start writing tonight and then I'll add to it tomorrow whilst I have a few spare minutes so should be able to publish either tomorrow or the day after, and then as it's now the summer holidays I'm going to be uploading very frequently. :)
Sorry for the rubbish update post, just wanted to let everyone know what is happening.
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xoxo