Sephora Formula X Nail Colour in Enigma

Ever since these first came out in Sephora, I wanted to try one. I saw many bloggers write about them but you cannot ship nail varnish therefore I couldn't get my hands on one. Until I went to France at the end of Summer, I came across a Sephora! I wasn't actually looking for these in particular but when I saw them I knew I had to pick one up. The colour range was insane though making the decision very difficult.

After a while I settled for this colour called "Enigma" which is a gorgeous deep teal, green shade. I tried to think back to my nail collection at home whilst choosing but that also was a hard thing to do. I'm pretty sure I don't own a colour like this, although I still haven't checked. I could have easily picked up more than one shade and looking back I probably should of but with not knowing whether I would like them or not, I didn't.

The formula of these nail varnishes is super duper, with two coats it is fully opaque which as you may know is a winner with me. The application was easy and it went on smooth. The shape of the brush is also great for me personally as it is slightly bigger than the normal. Therefore you can literally nearly do one nail in one sweep.

I applied this nail varnish on my toes when I went to Greece and it honestly lasted the whole 8 days with NO chips! I didn't think this would last not because of the nail varnish but with going in the swimming pool daily and the sea. I thought it may have just worn down but the colour was still vibrant at the end of my holiday which I was impressed with.

This is the perfect Autumnal teal colour for your nails, and toes not that you'd get them out in the cold weather. I absolutely love the formula and if I come across these again then I will definitely pick up another shade or two. They are quite a pricey nail varnish but you definitely get the quality here. If you're near a Sephora or are going to head to one I definitely recommend picking one up. Let me know your thoughts if you have tried one :-)

High End Beauty Wish List

Marc Jacobs fragrance
debijenkorf.nl

Sunday Riley anti aging skin care
£52 - net-a-porter.com

Bumble and bumble hair brush
£19 - bloomingdales.com

Clarins beauty product
harveynichols.com

Benefit blush brush
£18 - sephora.com

Lips makeup
£3.90 - nyxcosmetics.com

I cannot stop lusting over a load of new make up recently but with Christmas just around the corner I may just pop these on my list for Santa. These are all beauty products that I've personally never tried before but have always heard/read good things about them. Also some of these products have been on my wish list for a very long time so it would be nice to finally get my hands on them!

Boots and I believe Feel Unique have now launched NYX Cosmetics which made me very excited. It was very difficult to get hold of them in the UK, if at all, so now you can simply find them online is super news. I've always wanted to try something from this brand, and although not classed as high end, I had to include it.

Let me know if you've tried any of these products I've featured in this wish list and your thoughts on them :-) I hope you all have a lovely weekend filled with Halloween festivities!

Rimmel Rita Ora Nail Varnish in Roll In The Grass

Now we are definitely in Autumn in the UK, this seems like an inappropriate nail colour to be posting about. But if we can put that to one side, although it's a great colour, I'll be telling you about why I love this nail varnish from Rimmel.

I purchased this a while back as it was on offer when I purchased the Kate Moss Rimmel nude lipstick, I think it was buy one get one half price on lips and nails. I didn't want to get two lipsticks so I opted for a new nail varnish, not that I need one. As I said this was a while back, probably nearing the end of Summer which made the colour appropriate then. I am a teal lover and I do think the colour looks great with a tan therefore I must be getting the fake tan out over the colder months for this nail varnish.

This was a really affordable nail varnish and I hadn't tried this particular formula before. If I'm honest I wasn't expecting a lot because of the price tag but this nail varnish is great! The colour was fully opaque after two coats, which is the max number of coats I will go to with a nail varnish. I used a base and top coat and found that this lasted quite a long time on my nails. I also wore this colour on my toes on my holiday to France and it lasted the whole 8 days without any chips! I was really impressed with that but I know you can't really expect that on your hands.

Overall I'm super impressed with this nail varnish and I love the formula. Unfortunately the collection is aimed at Summer colour so they aren't perfect for this time of the year but I would recommend checking them out. As I mentioned they are super affordable, I believe around the £3 mark. Let me know your favourite Autumn nail colour so I can get into the colder months better :-)

My Week In Pictures #20

What a mad week it's been this week! It was the first time this Autumn that I've had to de-ice my car which is mental. It seems way too early for that to be starting here in the UK but on the other hand today it is 2 months exactly until Christmas - also mad.

I've met up with my school friends this week and had a lovely 2 course meal at a local restaurant called Wine Vaults. It was bloody lovely and so nice to catch up considering that one of them has just got engaged!!

After a year I finally found the perfect camel coat and I found it in Primark would you believe. I always find it hard to find anything really nice there as my local one isn't great. But when I spotted this I couldn't not buy it. It was a bargain at £25 and I've been wearing it a lot since purchasing it.

I've been spending a lot of time with my nieces and nephews recently which has been lovely. That socks and shoes combo is my youngest nephew and just how bloody adorable is it?! I couldn't help but snap it because I love it so much. On the other hand, my nephew didn't so much as he's not a fan of socks, bless him!

I've been naughty and buying even more from Boots which is terrible but a haul is up on my blog of this photo. But I have also been shopping today and purchased even more - yes I'm slapping the back of my hand right now. It's all for good reasoning as Boots are now stocking NYX make up so of course I had to buy some things - expect a haul soon.

Hopefully this week will be slightly more chilled but I'm sure it probably won't be simply as my work load is huge. I hope you've all had a lovely week and weekend with an extra hour in bed :-)

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in Fairy Godmother

When Tanya Burr's beauty collection first came out, I couldn't resist purchasing something from it. Recently she has rebranded and released new products, again which I couldn't help peeking at and then ended up purchasing just this one nail varnish.

To begin with the packaging is all new and a whole lot better than when it was first released if I'm honest. The gold packaging is beautiful and I love the rectangular shaped bottle. It just looks a lot more sophisticated than it did the first time round.

The colour of this nail varnish is what caught my eye and it's in the shade "Fairy Godmother" - all hail cute names. This is the perfect pastel cornflower blue which I absolutely love. I think a colour like this, although maybe slightly more summery, can still be worn all year round.

The application of this nail varnish isn't the greatest unfortunately. To get fully opaque, which is what I like from a nail varnish, you really have to apply three coats. I can find painting my nails a chore so having to apply three coats just makes the process slightly more painful. On the other side once it is applied the colour is just what I wanted. It's such a lovely colour and it looks even better with a tan which I luckily had when I wore this colour recently.

Overall I love the colour of this nail varnish but the formula unfortunately isn't my favourite. The packaging and rebranding is pretty and I love the look. I would love to try other products from the range as I've heard good things :-)

Lusting Over Zara

Zara top
£45 - zara.com

Zara jacket
£45 - zara.com

Zara cropped jeans
£19 - zara.com

Zara loafer shoes
£19 - zara.com

Zara black tote
£23 - zara.com

Zara scarve
£17 - zara.com

I've been a lover of Zara for a really long time and there is always something I am lusting over. It's been a long time since I shared a wish list on my blog so I thought sharing all things Zara would be the perfect come back.

The jacket is probably my favourite item featured in this wish list. I love fashion items with borg material as it is super soft and perfect for the colder months! The bag is also high up there as I find a tote bag the most stylish and easy bag ever.

I also used Polyvore for the first time to share this wish list with you and it was the perfect and easy way to do so. If you haven't checked them out before then I would definitely recommend doing so!

Batiste Stylist Smooth It Frizz Tamer

I saw a lot of YouTuber's film videos all about this new range from Batiste called Batiste Stylist. They products they used looked great to me and I actually wanted to pick more up but did only settle for one to begin with. Although I definitely think I'll be going back to pick up at least one more from the range. I don't always suffer from frizz but when I do I didn't have a specific product to help me out, hence why I purchased this one.

I'm usually a wash my hair at night person but on the occasion when I do have to wash my hair in the morning, that's when I normally suffer from slightly frizz. I think because I tend to try and air dry my hair, although I do have to give it a slight blast otherwise it would honestly takes hours to dry. Then when I leave it, especially the back of my hair, it can get quite frizzy. And if I'm going to be totally honest with you, I'm not really into properly styling my hair unless I'm going out. So I do tend to just leave it and rock the "messy" look.

But since having this product in my stash, I've been reaching to it quite a lot. As mentioned I've used this after washing my hair in the morning and I was really impressed with the results. On the back of the spray it gives you a little tip which says once sprayed on to use your fingertips to run through your hair. I did exactly this and it really helped my hair. It made it look really quite sleek although still having that messy look that I like.

I've also been using this even when I have the odd annoying fly away on the top of my head near my parting and it has worked wonders on those too. I believe I'm like getting a load of new hair or something mad because I've had quite a lot of fly away's. Therefore this product has come in super handy to sort those right out!

Overall I've really been enjoying using this product and I believe it works really well on my hair. I did wonder whether it would work so well on me as I do have really thick hair. But if you're thinking of that then I can honestly say you should go and buy it to try it out for yourself. I highly recommend this product and will definitely be checking the rest of the range out!

Vichy Normaderm Night Detox

I first heard about this product through Sammi from the Beauty Crush and knew I wanted to give it a go. When Escentual recently had 25% off everything, I couldn't help but pick it up to try out. I've previously tried skin care products from Vichy and have enjoyed using them so was hoping that this product would also live up to those.

I've been using this product for over 3 weeks now so have been able to get an all round view of this product. Firstly the packaging is a simple, sleek tube which I personally really like. The pointed nozzle allows you to easily get the right amount of product out and therefore not waste any.

The consistency of this product is like a serum and easily sinks into the skin. I take a small amount and spread it all over my face before I go to bed. It feels nice to apply and once applied on the skin and it also doesn't irritate my skin which I like. It's pretty lightweight so once applied you can pretty much plop your head straight down on your pillow.

When I wake up in the morning the first difference that I could easily see my face was a lot less oily. Normally when I wake up the first thing I need to do is clean my face because I wake up with a lot of oil build up but when using this product I find that it really doesn't feel clogged with oil. It feels like my skin can breathe slightly, and of course I still wash my face, but there's no rush to do it first thing.

I did find however that this product didn't help with my spots or spot marks. In the morning there was no change in my spots at all which I was disappointed about considering this was the main reason why I purchased this product. Although this doesn't help my spots it does leave my skin feeling clean in the morning and as I mentioned a lot less oily.

Overall this is a mediocre product and although it does have positives for my skin, it doesn't do the main thing I want it to do unfortunately. It is quite expensive at £15 and you can buy it from many different places; either online or in store, such as Escentual. As always skin care products work differently on everyone so this is my personal opinion. Let me know your thoughts :-)

Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser

I've actually been wanting to purchase this product for a long period of time but for some reason I have only just got around to doing that. I think with me going on two hot holidays, my skin has needed a lot of moisture. Also with wanting to keep my tan and now with the weather turning colder here in the UK. I'm usually terrible with moisturising my skin so I figured that this concept may keep me on top of doing so.

The gist of this product is to make moisturising easy therefore doing it in the shower. You simply apply this after your shower gel/cream and then wash it off. It really is that simple and super quick. I thought there may have been some waiting time, which I wouldn't be a fan off, but thankfully there is not. You can apply it and then wash it off straight away which is perfect.

I find even after washing this off my skin, in the shower, that I can feel the difference. My skin does feel soft within a minute and I really love that I can feel the difference in that short period of time. As I mentioned I have recently been on two hot holidays therefore I've been through my peeling stage and wanting to desperately keep my tan. Through this stage I did find that this product wasn't enough and didn't moisturise my skin enough to stop the peel. I know sometimes you cannot stop it and it does happen courtesy of whatever. But after applying this in the shower and then getting out, drying etc. I found my skin just didn't feel full of moisture therefore in some areas I did apply another moisturiser on top of this product.

Although saying this I find now that this product really does work and is enough for my skin. I still have my tan, just, but I'm all peeled and "normal" now and am really enjoying this product. I picked up the largest bottle which I would definitely recommend as if you are wanting to moisturise your whole body then you do use quite a lot of product. I would definitely recommend this if you're like me and are lazy when it comes to moisturising. It's a cheap, quick and easy product to use. It also smells great in this cocoa version.

Let me know if you've tried an in shower moisturiser and your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you think :-)

Cannot Stop Haulin'

When Boots have so many offers on pretty much all their products, I find it way too hard to resist picking something up. In this case it was 3 for 2 on hair care and skin care so in true beauty blogger style I did one 3 for 2 in each, of course I could have done more. I also had a voucher to spend so it made this haul a little bit better for me.

Lets first start with the hair care items and I picked up the Batiste Smooth It Frizz Tamer which is part of their new style range. I picked this up because on those "can't be bothered hair days" when I literally don't do anything to my hair, I can find that the top layer of my hair can become a little bit wild. So I like a product to help tame it and keep it a little bit more sleek. Next I picked up the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Luscious Long Deep Treatment which I have actually had before and I've gone back to it, clearly. I don't know why I haven't purchased it earlier, I believe I thought it was a lot more expensive than it actually is. It's only £4.99 and I loved using my last one of these so couldn't help but buy it again. It leaves my long hair, smooth and the damaged ends actually feel soft. Finally, hair care wise, I picked up the Schwarzkopf got2be Mind Blowing Styling Spray. This is a product which aims to cut down your blow drying time and this reminded me of my Redken version of this product. This one is a fraction of the price of the Redken one so I thought I would pick it up so I can contrast the two.

Onto skin care I picked up my beloved Clearasil Ultra 5in1 Cleansing Pads which again is a product I've had many times before. These are pads which you wipe over your face morning and evening which help with blemishes. Next is the Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser which is something that I've wanted to try for a while. Since not being off holiday long I thought this would be perfect for moisturising to keep my tan but doing so whilst in the shower. I find moisturising a bit of a chore so I'm excited to see if this works. Finally I picked up the Eucerin Intensive Lip Balm as recently I've been having really sore, chapped lips. I thought I would pick up a lip balm which is, hopefully, a little more intense and hopefully will cure my dry lips.

And that's it for my hair and skin care haul. I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you've tried anything I purchased and your thoughts :-)

What I've Learnt From Blogging So Far

Image sourced from Pinterest

 

In the years I have now been blogging I've never actually written any type of post like this. I know a lot of top bloggers have written posts about how they got to where they are and their personal tips and tricks. I have also seen and read a lot of these posts recently, which is kind of what spurred me on to write my own. I'm by no means the greatest or most dedicated blogger but I'd like to think that I've learnt some useful tips which may help any of you who are relatively new to blogging.

 

 

1. Don't stress
Personally I'm prone to stressing about pretty much anything so for me I find this one particularly hard, some of you may not. I don't like the feeling that I haven't produced something for you guys to read, for any reason, therefore this produces me to stress over it. I have however learnt to not stress as much. It's my blog therefore I can write and publish a post whenever I want. I tend to try and schedule a post every two days but there are times that this doesn't always go to plan. I can plan as much as I like but sometimes finding the time to actually write the posts can be tricky. I work full time and am also now in my final year at university so juggling the two can be difficult and time consuming. So my life is stressful enough without stressing over my blog. Basically I have learnt there is no point in stressing over your blog. It's yours, you've produced it, you've made it on your terms. If you want to miss a blog post out in the week then do it, if you want a week off let your readers know and go and recharge!
 

2. Remember that certain things take time
I have definitely learnt this one and it has taken me many times to get to grips with this one if I'm honest. Some blog posts will of course be easier to write than others but when they are rushed then I believe you can tell. I've 100% rushed many posts previously and when I've read them back, I've thought "wow, that doesn't even make sense!". I believe that if you're not in the right frame of mind to write a blog post, then don't. Your readers want to read good quality posts with a truthful review, or whatever it may be. This can also link into photos that you upload on your blog. I must say that this is something I lack and I think it's because I don't own one of the huge proper photography cameras, which of course I'd love too. I simply just use my iPhone which is good enough quality but obviously nothing on the good cameras. But the editing process can take time so again don't rush it as it's going to be something that stays on your blog forever, pretty much.
 

3. Make it your own
This one is pretty self explanatory - I've seen bloggers have their content taken and used by someone else which of course is not nice. Bloggers, including myself, take time to write and edit their content which is published on their blogs. You gain absolutely nothing from copying and pasting from someone else's blog. Putting your own personality and writing style into your blog is what makes it your own and therefore separates you from every other blogger. It gains you readers as people will understand you as a person and as a blogger.
 

4. Vary your content
Again this one is pretty obvious, personally I like to read blogs that showcase a variety of posts. Including reviews, lifestyle, fashion, life snippets, wish lists, etc. I'll say it again - it's your blog so make it your own but incorporate a variety of posts to keep your readers reading basically. Again some posts will take longer to edit and write than others but that shouldn't stop you, unless you literally have no time. Personally I find wish lists can take longer than most other posts but that doesn't mean I don't write them it might just mean that I don't do them as often. Variety keeps readers interested and will attract new ones. This also links to point number three as you vary your posts continue making them your own.
 

5. Do what you want, when you want, how you want
Finally I feel the most important and I have touched on it already. It is your blog, you can run it however the hell you wish too. If you want to run a blog focused on one area or you want to incorporate every area, then do it. Don't hold back when it comes to something that you have built yourself, from scratch. As I've said if you want to take a week off, then do, no one is there to tell you not to. You are the boss of your blog and you control it. It doesn't matter what other bloggers are doing; some bloggers post daily, some monthly but you should post when you see fit. As I've said I try to post every other day but if that doesn't work out for me then I've learnt not to stress about it and just continue with my life. I know I will next post when I'm ready to and when I have the time. Your blog should be something you love, not something you love to hate. You should want to post, interact with your readers and love it. 

Graduating For The First Time

 

Yes me and my friend got caught in the middle of taking a selfie before the ceremony started!

It doesn't feel right to say that on Saturday, just gone, I graduated from my Foundation Degree in Children's Care, Learning and Development. I actually get to graduate twice in my degree, firstly the foundation degree, which is what I've now got, and then for my BA Honours (that is all being well that I get there! Ha ha). So in one respect you may think I'm lucky getting to go through this process twice and now I've been through it once, I do feel lucky.

I'm not going to lie in the upcoming days to graduation I wasn't really feeling it. I think my thought process was "why am I graduating now when I'm going to do it all again next year?" and "what's the point?". I can tell you now those feelings were very quick to disappear. Once I was fully involved in the buzz with my family and friends around me, I knew I was being silly in thinking these thoughts.

Seeing all your friends, all dressed up and making you laugh constantly honestly made me feel one hundred times better. Going and picking up my cap and gown, having hundreds of pictures taken, I actually felt excited albeit nervous too. The time started to fly by and soon enough I was split from my family and seated, alphabetically, awaiting my award. Luckily I got to sit next to one of my closest friends who was there to laugh and keep me under control. What I mean by "under control" is - it got to the point where we had to walk up and collect our award and I was stood on the side telling my friend I wasn't going to go up and collect it. My heart was literally pounding out of my chest, there were hundreds of people there watching and I didn't like it. People were getting called before me and then soon it was my name and everything just went, I just focused on getting back to my seat.

Soon enough that was all over and I felt normal again, I just didn't like the full attention on me due to the mass of people watching. Don't get me wrong collecting my "fake" scroll actually made me feel proud. When I finished my A levels I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do therefore I practically did nothing. Yes I had a job but it wasn't fulfilling in anyway and I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I feel lucky to have chosen to do my degree the year I did simply because of the friends I have met through it. If it wasn't for them then I wouldn't be where I am now however soppy that sounds. Going out after graduation was the cherry on the top of the cake with my three closest friends. There was food, sick, tears, hugs and lots of drink and I cannot think of any better way to have spent it.

I can now say that next graduation is going to be doubly as special and although I won't forget this one, the next one is going to be the big one. In a way I cannot wait for it to get here so that I can say I am officially out of education. But in another way I don't want it to come because my university journey has been so full of ups and downs that I don't want it to end. The friends you make are friends for life and they honestly make everything worthwhile at university but also out. Make the most of your university experience, it's a bloody tough one but it's so worthwhile no matter how many tears or how much stress. I cannot express to you enough, I will never forget my journey.

Rimmel London Lip Conditioning Balm by Kate

When I recently ordered one of the new Kate Moss nude lipsticks online, I also really wanted to pick up this product. Unfortunately it was out of stock, therefore I felt that I needed it more and hunted it down on the Superdrug website. So I finally got my hands on it and I'm pleased I have as not many drug store make up brands offer a lip balm.

Firstly I love the packaging as I do with the nude lipsticks and it's basically the same. It's simply just the colour that's different, this one is white whereas the lipsticks are a nude colour. It still has Kate's signature on which I think is a nice touch. It's easy to throw in your handbag daily or on a night out.

I like how this product looks like a lipstick and not your typical lip balm. I think that's something unique and you really don't see many like that on the high street. The formula of this product is quite light to be honest and it does glide on the lips easily. You don't have to take care applying this as you do a lipstick obviously, it just seems weird as it's in the form of a lipstick (if you get me, ha ha). This product has no scent which I do like and I feel this would be the perfect base for then applying the Kate Moss nude lipsticks, or any other lipstick of your choosing.

At the moment I'm really suffering with dry lips and although I love this product, it is simply not enough for me. Currently I need a lip balm which is a lot heavier and creamier but I feel like when I have sorted my lips out this product will be just as good as all the other lip balms on offer.

Overall I do like this product and cannot wait to use this product more when my lips are not quite so dry. I like the packaging and style of this product as it's something different you can buy from the high street. I would recommend this product if you're after something to apply before your lipstick and maybe not something to deeply condition your lips. Let me know your thoughts if you've tried this product :-)

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Spot Wand

Another blemish/spot product I hear you say, well yes but I had actually ran out so this purchase was necessary. Although I feel I went into a bit of shock as I had run out so I now have three, just in case. I believe this product is actually a blast from my past as I remember using this back when I was a teenager. But recently a friend was talking about this exact product and it made me want to try it all over again.

Firstly I love the concept of this product, the fact that it has a day and a night feature appeals to me. It makes it a really easy product for travelling or just popping into your handbag when you feel like you might need it. This has doe foot applicators on both ends which make it easy to apply as you can apply the product right onto the spot easily. As you can probably tell from the name of this product it does have a tea tree scent but it's really not overpowering. Yes you can smell it but it quickly disappears and like I said not strong at all.

I have really been enjoying using this spot wand and I have seen a difference in the appearance of my spots. I find this works better on the smaller spots that I appear and maybe not on those pesky, huge ones. On application this can sometimes make my spots tingle, as most spot products do, but as I've said in previous posts I feel like this means it's working in some way. I find that you can easily apply this over your make up, obviously using the day end, and it works plus doesn't ruin your make up either. The night end is a lot more creamy and I am really impressed with the results when I wake up in the morning.

One downside is the fact that this product doesn't last very long, especially if you're going to be using it everyday. Although on the other hand it is a really cheap spot product, priced at only £3.59. So there are definitely pros and cons of this product, as there are with most, but I would definitely recommend this one.

Overall this is a perfectly good product which really does help with those smaller spots. If you haven't tried this spot gel then I would definitely recommend it. I know not all spot gels work the same for everyone but this one is cheap so not much is too wasted if it doesn't work for you. Let me know if you've tried this product before and if you haven't you can check it out here from Boots :-)