Lush Christmas Haul

So yesterday I was shopping near the nearest Lush to me and just had to go in. I haven't been to a Lush shop in ages and have definitely missed my lush products. I walked in and there were so many people but I managed to find all the Christmassy type products I also got 1 non Christmas product.

So to start I got Candy Mountain which is a pink and white bubble bar which smells like Snow Fairy. I love Snow Fairy (they had sold out so I couldn't get any) so I picked up this instead and because I love the sweet scent.

Next I got the Christmas Eve bubble bar which smells nice and looks like a crescent moon which I thought was sweet. I think I shall save this one for Christmas Eve.

Next I got Drummers Drumming bubble bar which is so cute its pink and yellow and has little bells attached either side. It's a bit like the star one which I have always wanted and you just swirl it around your bath so I can't wait to try that.

Then I got a non Christmassy item which is the bubble gum lip scrub. I got this because I've notices now that it's colder my lips are becoming dryer and this would be perfect to get rid of the flaky bits of skin that no one wants to see.

Then I got the melting snowman which I have to get every year because he is so adorable and makes my skin feel lovely and soft.

Then I got the Butterbear which I believe is new this year I could be wrong so don't hold me to that but at the price of £1.95 I thought this little cutey was perfect.

L'Oréal lipstick review

So I have been admiring these lipsticks for for awhile now especially the collection exclusive/privee. Everytime I walked past them in Boots or Superdrug I picked it up and ummed and urred but didn't buy them until now. I brought mine from Superdrug on a 3 for 2 for £6.99 each but like I said I had looked and wanted them for ages so it wasn't just an impulse buy. I have recently really wanted to start wearing lipsticks and I felt if I got some good quality ones that didn't feel sticky it would make me want to wear them.

I got one collection exclusive by Eva in the shade Eva's nude, the second in is from collection privée by Julianne in the shade Julianne's nude and the third is a normal Color Riche in the shade 302 bois de rose. I chose this because they are quite muted tones and are very nutural. I love the each of the colours even though they are very similar. Underneath is a picture of the swatches I took of each lipstick
 

They are super creamy and smell quite nice and they really aren't sticky which is what I want in a lipstick. I found them to have long lasting ability and so am really looking forward to wearing them.

Personally I love the packaging I have to say I prefer the black packaging to the gold but I think they feel sturdy so could get knocked around in my handbag and still be fine. I like the fact there's a sort of clip on the lid so it doesn't fall off which means you can just throw it in your handbag when your leaving because who has time to make sure it's all ok in your bag before you leave. 

I would definitely recommended these however I feel it's better for those who aren't just beginning makeup because of the price and other things I feel that for a beginner a collection or a rimmel lipstick might be better.

Top Tip Tuesday | Stress Relief

I'm terrible with this. I find so much in life stressful especially with all the work I am having to do at college then applying for university and thinking about moving away from home it all just get's a little bit too much sometimes but that's ok because I am learning how to beat this stress and you can too so without further ado I give you my top tips for stress relief.

1. STOP!

 

Take a minute and just breathe there is no need to get worked up over everything going on, you can handle it I promise. It's just a matter of balancing everything. So stop and breathe if you get yourself all panicky it will only make things worse. Trust me I have done this far too much.

2. Talk to someone

If it's school or college work go and speak to the teacher it concerns after all we are all human and they will understand. At first I was too shy to go and tell my teacher that I have been overloaded with work and can't do all of it for the deadline but when I did they completely understood and helped me work out what I needed to do and for when and even said I didn't need to do some of it or extended deadlines. Or go and talk to a friend they will understand and if they are anything like my friends they will always try and help. I mentioned my friend Jess in one of my favourites posts and we have a code we use and it works and I know if anything goes wrong I can just talk to her. So surround yourself with good people plus if you are with a friend they can make you laugh which is another known way of relieving stress.

3. Make lists your new best friend

Grab a piece of paper and write down everything you need to do. Then start from the top and focus on that item of the list and do each one at a time because if you start trying to do everything all at once it won't work and it will stress you out even more. Plus there is nothing more satisfying then crossing things off of your list. I recently helped a friend who was getting herself worked up because she said she had so much work that I just sat her down and made a to do list and she instantly felt better and said that she had less to do than she first thought.

4. Exercise

This may not seem important especially if you have a long list of things to do but just take 10 minutes to go and have a little walk because this can be important however it is the most important thing there is you just have to look on the NHS website to see it cuts the risk or early death by 30%  and cuts the risk of major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and strokes by up to 50% (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/stress-relief-exercise.aspX). So exercise really is important and could be great if you did it with a friend as you can walk and talk and feel so much better.

5. Get a good nights sleep

This one I used to be terrible at but now I make sure I get the recommended amount of sleep for my age group. Also you must lower you caffeine intake as this can affect the amount you sleep.

6. Don't procrastinate

If you put things off then more and more things will build up and then you'll be even more stressed which will not help so go start whatever you need to do and get it done because it won't get done by itself and then you can always get an early night as I've already mentioned.

7. Drink Green Tea

I personally do not do this as I don't like the taste but this is meant to really help with stress so it may be worth a go.

8. Listen to music

It's been proven to help relax someone if they listen to music. This has got to be one of my favourite tips as I love to listen to music and am rarely without earphones in my bag. It's great to just put them in and forget anything that's happening at that point in time.

So just remember things will get better in the end and you will get through whatever's happening. If you have any tips leave them below as I am always looking for new ways to relieve stress and I'm sure anyone else reading this will love to see anymore tips.

Favourites Friday - 2 in 1 Nivea Cleanser and Toner

I decided about a week or two ago that I would really like to get into skin care because I was fed up with having horrible looking skin that got far too oily but the problem was that no product would jump out of the bottle and apply itself to my face. I decided to order a bundle of products from Superdrug and see what works best and one of the products I ordered was this 2 in 1 Cleanser and Toner by Nivea and even though I have used other products such as new day cream and night cream my skin looks so much better and I have definitely noticed that my face doesn't get as oily and all the little imperfections have cleared up and bit and considering it was quite cheap I am so happy I stumbled upon it. I also love the fact that it's a 2 in 1 because if I'm running late in the morning or evening than I just use this and it is so was to use and is a nice consistency and doesn't smell bad. I would definitely recommend this product if like me you are rubbish at keeping up with skin care or just don't have time as it only take a few seconds to apply and it's so important to use cleanser and toner.

Top Tip Tuesday - Interviews

Recently I have been successful for a sales assistant temporary job and I found the interview extremely nerve racking especially as it was my first interview. So I felt I would share a few tips that I found helpful from my research before my interview.

1. Do your research!

 

Look at the companies website what can you find out about what sort of company it is, if it sells products what sort of products do they sell? If you look at a "working with us" type section and see the job you are being interviewed for look at what sort of qualities they are looking for in a potential employee and use this knowledge and apply it to what you have done that makes you the number candidate they should hire.

2. Look the part

Make sure you choose an outfit the night or few days before that is suitable and meets the standards they are expecting. For my interview I wore a black and white skirt that came to below the knee with a smart blouse and cardigan. If you're a girl try not to wear anything too revealing as they will be judging you on the way you look and you do not want to give off the wrong impression.

3. Prepare a question

During my time at college we have always been told that the one main thing that could change an interview from a mediocre one to the one that they will definitely hire is a good question! So when you are doing your research think of potential questions you can ask so when they say "Do you have any questions you would like to ask" you can say yes.

4. Practice

Everyone knows that old saying "practice makes perfect" well it's never been more true. If you search potential questions on YouTube there are so many helpful videos that tell you how to answer a question and what the interviewer will be looking for. Get your friends and family to give you a mock interview and just practice what you might say because this way you will appear confident when answering because you have practiced and there will be less awkward pauses and those occasional "umm"s won't slip out because you'll know what you want to say.

5. Be yourself

An interview is a great way to show off that you are the best person for the job but the interviewer will want to know why. What is it about you that makes you, you and what makes you good for the job. You just need to show them your amazing personality and to do this just be truthful, smile and keep breathing.

 

I hope this helps and if you have an interview soon, good luck! You'll be fine just remember to smile :) 

Top Tip Tuesday - Nail Tutorial

So this is simple yet effective way of creating these nails which can be changed and modified to look great for everyone. So here's a photo step by step guide, enjoy!

First off you will need white, red, orange, yellow and black nail polish, top coat nails polish, a makeup sponge and a nail file.

Next file down your nail and apply a base coat (unfortunately I did not have any so I skipped this step). Then apply the white nail polish making sure it is not sheer and is opaque as it will not work if it is.

Next take the three colours and apply them to the sponge slightly overlapping each of them. You may need to apply a few coats.

Place the sponge over your thumb and rock it back and forth then dab it until you are satisfied with the way the colours are blended.

Warning it does create a mess over your skin as you can see in the picture so after you will want to take the excess off but first complete this step on all nails. You may need to add more coats of nail varnish onto the sponge.

Here you can see I have repeated the steps over all my nails and it does get quite messy.

The next step I have cleaned around the nails and this picture shows you better the outcome I was happy with. You can leave it here and like I said you can change the colours to suit the occasion or outfit. If this is what you wish to do apply a top coat just to protect the nails.

Next I painted triangles onto my nails just to add a little bit extra. Next you'll want to apply a top coat just to add a protection and then bam you're done with your nails which with a little more effort look amazing.

I hope you enjoy these nails and if you try them out tweet me a photo. You can find my details at the "About Me" page.

Autumn Nail Designs

As autumn is in it's peak all the summer colours are out and the fall ones are in we need to change things up a bit like putting on a few more layers. So just to add a bit of sparkle and colour to your outfit I thought I'd show you some nail designs you can copy and enjoy yourself. If you would like any tutorials of these just leave a comment below telling me which one. Hope you enjoy them!

Favourite Friday

Ok, so here I'll talk about something I loved during the week or over the month. This is the first week and I think it is only fair to mention the amazing friend that got me into blogging. She's been my rock not just for this last week but for the last few and I know if I'm ever struggling or need someone she'll be there. So Jess thank you for everything I will always be here if you ever need me because I could never repay you for everything you've done.

You should check out her blog at http://jessicabensonn.blogspot.co.uk 

Hunting the best drugstore palettes | Collection All About TheEyesPalette (Little Mix edition)

I was shopping the other day and noticed this small little palette which I though was quite cute and perfect for the autumn/winter time. It's retailed at £3.19 and I brought mine from Boots but I'm sure you can get it from Superdrug too. Personal I love Collection as they do some great makeup for beginners and is cheap too.

 

If you do get this palette the first thing you may notice about it is that it's quite small. However I do like this about it as it fits in my handbag and is great to travel with. The packaging is quite cardboardy which means it could break easily which is probably my only concern about it. 

 

 

Here I done some swatches the colour is buildable so you may not get the pigmentation you want first time. The colours are also very shimmery especially the gold colour as it has larger glitter in so if you are not a shimmery shadow person this palette will not be for you I'm afraid. I personally don't mind shimmer but I found it very shimmery.

 

 I think this palette will be great for beginners and has great lasting power especially the black and for the price you can't really go wrong.

 

My rating? ★★★★☆

Top Tip Tuesday | How to survive a cold

Now that it's getting colder most of us will start feeling under the weather and it's the time of year we all start catching colds. I had one last week and it was horrible! So I am going to tell you my top tips to survive the cold and fluy weather.

Tip number one is that you should make sure you wrap up warm this might prevent you from catching a cold in the first place but the last thing you want to be doing whilst you're out and ill is being stuck in the cold.

Tip number two is to make sure you drink lots of water. Yes this does include hot chocolate mmm a nice cup of hot chocolate will definitely help because it's warm and tastes scrummy.

My next tip is that even though you feel horrible you should get up and make yourself feel nice by maybe doing your hair and makeup nicely because you'll feel so much nicer, I know I did.

The next tip is to get lots of sleep, your body heals best when your asleep and you need more of it when you're ill.

My last tip is don't get stressed or worried! It'll only make it worse so don't rush just take things one step at a time and you'll be fine

I hope you feel better soon!

September Make up Haul!

Some how I ended up with quite a lot of Rimmel products opps? I did this over 2 shops one online on amazon the other in Boots. I have put each product under a subtitles if there is only one item you want to know about in the picture above then go to the appropriate section. If there is anything you would like me review separately just leave a comment below.

Face

The first face product I got was a No7 Protect and Perfect foundation in the shade "Deeply beige" as this is what the match service told me I was. This foundation would normally be £16.50 however Boots have massive sales on and I got mine for £5 so I am very excited to try this out.

The next one is the Rimmel stay blushed liquid cheek tint in the shade "Sunkissed Cherry" for £2.69 but I think it's more expensive in highstreet shops. I've never used a cream blush so I'm quiteexcited to see how this turns out.

Lips

I will start with the 3 Maybeline Baby Lips, there has been so much hype around these that I thought I'd try them out and they were only £2.99 each with 3 for 2 so I got a clear one which was the intense care one in the picture it's the yellow packaging with pink writing. The next one I got was a coulored one which was the "pink punch" which has a slight pink tint to it and this is the one with the pink packaging and yellow writing. Finally I got the neon pink one which is known as "pink shock" and is a neon pink. I have tried it and it does  feel nice on the lips and does leave them soft.

Next I got a Calvin Klein lipstick in the shade "clear rose off of amazon for £2.92. When I swatched it on my hand it seems pigmented and I can't wait to use it.

Finally I got a Rimmel "Apocalips Lip Laquer" in the shade "meteoric matte" for £2.98 on amazon otherwise they are around £6.49 at other retailers such as Boots. It seems quite nice and very pigmented.

Eyes

First I brought 2 Soap & Glory carbon black extreme eyeliner pens (as seen in pink boxes either side of the No7 foundation) which are £6 eye however I got mine on buy one get one half price and couldn't see anything else I wanted so that's why I have 2. I have swatched it and found that it is very pigmented and black.

Next I brought Rimmel's "Volume Flash Scandaleyes mascara extreme black"(£6.99) which is the black and orange one. I personally always use Rimmel mascaras and quite liked the look of this one because I always go for ones that volumise.

Finally I got the Rimmel "wonder'full mascara with argan oil" (£7.99). I'm not sure what the argan oil does but this is the latest mascara by Rimmel so I'm looking forward to use it.

Hunting the best drugstore palettes | Sleek i-Divine Vintage Romance

I brought this palette from my local Superdrug for £7.99. I have always heard how good the quality of these shadows are and so am so excited to try it out.

 Personally I love the packaging because it's nice and slim and easy not only to store but great to travel with. It's so nice and clean and for the price you would think it was a high end palette. Another thing I love about this palettes is the names given to the colours inside.

The names make me want to take the palette away on holiday and use it abroad.

Here I swatched the shadows and the pigmentation is very good for the price though "Pretty in Paris" didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to.

My rating? ★  ★  ★  ★  ☆  

Top Tip Tuesday! | Make a bad day a good one

We all have those days where we wake up in a bad mood or come home from work/college and are not in the mood for anything. Trust me I've been there many times but there are ways to cheer up because it has been scientifically happier people live longer so if that's not a reason to be happy I don't know what is. So lets get into my top 5 tips for being happy. 

1. Put your favourite music on (these can be those old guilty pleasure tracks we all have them your secrets safe) and I mean put them on loud and dance and sing along! You can even grab that hair brush that's laying on the side and sing into it! Make sure you put on a performance for yourself after all no one's judging you.

2. Tip two is have a nice warm drink like tea or coffee. Personally I'd opt for a nice big cup of hot chocolate. 

3.Ring up friends or family I love speaking to anyone I'm close with because somehow they always make me smile 

4. Remember your favourite memory or if you don't have just one you'll think about all your best ones and thinking about it should help 

5. Simply just smile! Go look in the mirror and pull faces at yourself. This tip seems crazy but it will make you laugh and when you laugh everything is 100 times better .

 Here are some of the things and people that make me happy

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Hunting the best drugstore paletes | MUA Pretty Edgy

In this series I will look at different drug store brands and give my opinions on them so you know what's what in the world of palettes. To kick us off I have my MUA Pretty Edgy palette which I brought from Superdrug for £8.

The packaging is a hard plastic which looks very durable and is small enough to store but large enough for the product to last a long time. Like in the name it is pretty edgy but I think it looks pretty cool having the little studs on it and it sets it apart from the rest of my palettes.

Here I have swatched it and I'll be honest the pigmentation isn't the best especially with the shimmery eye shadows however I don't think it's the worst and I do wear this a lot and I think it's good for beginners.Below I have put a look from this palette.

My overall rating?   ★  ★  ★  ☆  ☆