A Lush Christmas Wish

Lush UK have literally JUST posted a link to their Christmas products and here I am already blogging about them. I hope this shows you just how excited I am about their products this year, because I don't know how else to go about it!


Naturally, some old favourites have returned - So White, Lil' Lush Pud, Satsumo Santa, Gingerbread House, Cinders, Angel Delight, Snow Fairy, Glogg. 


But there are also some pretty amazing looking NEW products available. Here are a few (HA!) of my favourites, chosen just by a glance on their website:


The Melting Snowman - LINK

This is said to have a scent much like that of Christmas cake, which although I don't eat, smells GORGEOUS. It's not Christmas until you walk into your Grandparent's on Christmas day and smell turkey and Christmas cake.

Golden Wonder - LINK

This sounds AMAZING. The Lush website states that much like a present, time is needed to reveal the full extent of this gift. Shaking it will bring the sound of rattling to your ears and popping it into your tub will result in a wash of all kinds of colours and little stars floating in your bath. 

Northern Lights - LINK

I don't think there is much to be said about this soap. Just look at it. I have been well and truly drawn in by the bright colours of it and probably will purchase it just because of this. 

Magic Wand - LINK

This is a fab idea. It's a solid version (a bubble bar) of Snow Fairy shower gel - on a stick. That means you can wave it around in the water until you have enough bubbles, take it out and save the rest for next time! No more saving bubble bars until you want an exceptionally bubbly bath!

Abombinaball - LINK

So cute! This ballistic is supposed to make your bathwater Alpine Green - sounds a bit gross but I like green so we'll soon see! 

Candy Cane Soap - LINK

Again, another product that I pretty much just like the look of. I hope it smells as much like candy as you'd expect it to and I especially hope this is not a picture of the huge version! If the individual pieces of this soap look like this, I fear I may end up with a tonne of soap after Christmas. 

Some of these products are unavailable on the website but I have it on good authority from Lush staff (at least in my local store) that the Christmas products are all in store around the beginning of October if not now. 

Tag: My Life in Make Up

I'm feeling a little uninspired this weekend so I thought I would do a simple, not much effort kind of post. I have a very hectic few months ahead of me; I'm back at uni this week and have something planned for every weekend, bar 3, up to Christmas! The thought of it is making me feel exhausted and so this weekend I've tried to chill out as much as possible. That being said, here is a quick tag I spotted on a blog a while back but forgot to do. Enjoy! 

1.       How old were you when you started wearing make up?

I don't even think I know the answer to this! I think I started wearing it on and off when I was around 14 but I could never really be bothered. I never really saw the point in wearing it all the time, so for me it became a special occasion type thing. 

2.      How did you get into make up?

Just by watching my Mum put it on when we were going to a family function. Then I started getting little bits and pieces in gift sets at Christmas and it went from there. I REALLY got in to it in my last year of college. I read an article in a magazine about a youtuber - lollipop26 - who I immediately subscribed to and found out about others from there. I found it so incredible that you could do so many amazing looks with such simple products and wanted to be able to do that for myself. 

3.       What are some of your favourite brands?

It depends what type of product it is but at the moment I mostly use ELF and Sleek. I have bits and pieces from other brands but not enough to favour them over others. 

4.      What does make up mean to you?

For me make up is a way of being creative. I love having the ability to make different looks depending on my mood or my outfit. I also enjoy that I can transfer the skills I learn in make up into fancy dress as my birthday is the day before Halloween! Being able to look incredible without having to get an expensive outfit is always handy!

5.       If you could only wear four products on your face what would they be?

Foundation, Blush, Mascara, Eyeshadow (as you can use it as an eyeliner too! sneaky ;-) )

6.      What is your favourite thing about make up?

Hmm, I don't really know! I guess my favourite thing is that little confidence boost you can get from wearing it :)

7.       What do you think about drug store make up vs high end make up?

At this moment in time, being a student, I think that drug store make up is the better way to go. Although I do believe that with some things, you do get what you pay for, the price of one piece of high end make up for me can pay for a week or two of shopping. I think perhaps in the future when I am in a full time job and earning a fair bit of money I would purchase more high end products but for now, I'm quite happy to stick to my drug store brands! They are still excellent value and you can always find really good products.

8.      What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?

Watch others. It's the best way to learn! 9 times out of 10 you're able to learn a better way of doing something by looking how someone else does it. It's how I learnt to do my make up well!

9.      What is one make up trend you never understood?

The really pale lipstick look. Fair enough if it's a nice kind of pale, but the kind where your lips start to blend in to your face is not nice at all! 

10.   What do you think about the beauty community on YouTube and Blogger?

I think it's a really good place to get your skills and talent out there. Being a make up artist isn't for everyone, some people have other ambitions, but they may be amazing with make up and want to share it with others. Having a platform to make something of your loves and hobbies is always a plus, especially with the feedback you receive from others. 

Is it worth it?

My post today comes hand in hand with a question I'm intrigued to know the answer to - 

What do you deem too much to pay for a nail varnish?

Normally when I buy nail varnish, they come at a price between £1 and £4. I don't think I have ever paid anything more than that, except for when I bought an OPI limited edition colour. 

Yesterday, whilst browsing Fenwicks in York, I came across Peridot by Chanel. 

I was instantly drawn to the unusual shade, something I've never really seen before. I fell in love. Then I saw the price tag. 

I know that prices can sometimes be justified if it's a high end brand but what about the type of product you're looking at? Is £17.50 just too much for a nail polish? 

What do you guys think? 

Are there any good dupes for this polish out there to save my bank from going into a state of shock?

I'd rather die young, than live my life without you.

The title has nothing to do with this post, but I've fallen in love with Beyoncé all over again lately, so thought I'd use one of her lyrics seeing as I couldn't think of a better title :) 

This is just a quick post to show you guys a recent purchase I've made. 

A blogger many of you may be aware of - VIPXO - has recently been doing a series of blog posts on ebay finds. They have all been designer inspired and occasionally on her tumblr, general pieces that people have asked her to find. 

She blogged this skater style dress a while back and I purchased it almost instantly. 

The dress comes with a belt already but I wore my bow belt instead as I felt it added a little something to the outfit.

I absolutely ADORE the mustard yellow colour and think it's going to be a perfect autumn dress. It is fitted at the top and then flares out skater style from the waist. It's such a flattering dress for my pear shaped figure (for sizing purposes, I'm a size 10 on top, 12 on bottom) albeit perhaps a little short. 

One bad thing I will say, be careful getting out of taxis in the wind! Several men stood outside a bar saw right up my skirt last week in that very situation. 

This dress can be purchased here: LINK for £19.99 and is available in a variety of colours.

There are also many similar dresses available in numerous high street stores for similar prices. 

Review: ELF Beauty School Palette - Natural

This gorgeous little palette from ELF has been in my collection for quite a while now - so long I've actually forgotten when I got it, woops! I'm 99% certain seeing as I can't find an invoice for it, it was a free gift with an order I placed around Christmas time. 

It's a collection of shimmery, neutral tones - golds, browns and a creamy/white colour. All shades have a reasonable level of pigmentation although some took a few swipes to achieve the swatches below:

Without flash

With flash

They all contain little specks of glitter which I actually find quite annoying. Although I am a fan of eyeshadows like this, there is a LOT of fall out. In fact, when I took this out my drawer to use the other day, the casing was in such a state I had to wipe it down before use. You can imagine what it's like to use if it's doing that whilst in storage. And glitter is a royal pain in the arse to get off your face! 

I also found that the darker shades did need some building up to achieve a true to pan shade on the lid. I would definitely recommend patting the colour on more than blending it on. Otherwise you will just end up blending it all away really easily. 

 Here is a look I achieved using this palette: 

I think I only used the gold in the centre on the top row and the gold/brown in the centre of the bottom row. Possibly a little of the brown in the bottom right of the palette. (Terrible memory, I know)

And for the first time ever, a full face shot! I wasn't sure whether to include this as you can't actually see my eyeshadow due to hooded eyelids/glasses, grr. Nevertheless, here it is :) 

Other products used:

• Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation - Ivory (£8.19, LINK)
• ELF Corrective Concealer (£3.50, LINK)
• ELF Complexion Perfection Powder (£3.50, LINK)
• MUA Face Primer (£4.00, LINK)
• Urban Decay Primer Potion (£14.50, LINK) 
• ELF Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder - Luminance (£1.50, LINK)
• Benefit Sugarbomb Blusher (£23.50, LINK) 
• MUA Extreme Curl Mascara - Black (£2.00, LINK)
• ELF Makeup Mist & Set (£3.50, LINK)

The ELF Beauty School Palette is available in Natural and Smokey online at:

LINK

and is £3.50.

Book Review: Millennium Trilogy I & II

I wasn't intending to write this post until I had finished all 3 of the books but I don't think I can actually wait any longer. 


I first saw these books back in 2009 when I had a brief stint of employment in Waterstones. They always seemed quite intriguing despite not being the type of book I usually go for. I didn't actually purchase the first one until a year later and was given the other two for Christmas the same year. It has taken me until now to get round to reading them so you can see precisely how much I was putting it off. Something I really regret...


The first in the series is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. There are two central characters within the plot (who also appear in the other two books) Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. To summarise the plot without spoiling it it, Mikael is a publisher of a political magazine in Sweden. After writing and publishing material that caused him to be sentenced to prison for libel, he is offered a job from a former family friend in a small Swedish village. The job entails the search for a relative, Harriet Vanger, who disappeared without trace 40 years previously. Along the way, not only does Mikael become friends and lovers with Lisbeth (who is hired to be a research assistant), he uncovers family truths buried for over 40 years and almost gets himself killed. He is then given information to allow him to successfully republish the work that previously got him in trouble, except this time it catapults him to fame and brings back his magazine from the depths of despair. 


The second in the series carries on from the first except this time the main focus is on a young journalist doing freelance work for Millenium magazine. He comes to Mikael with an article on sex trafficking in Sweden that uncovers many high profile people who have had some sort of involvement in the abuse of young women. Before publishing, the journalist is murdered and Lisbeth is named as key suspect. Mikael, not believing this to be true, uses all his will and power to uncover the truth. A truth he does not expect to find. The book ends on a huge cliffhanger that I won't even begin to ruin for anyone. 


These books are a fantastic read, although not normally something I would reach for in a book shop. Apart from Harry Potter I don't actually think I've managed to read a book so quick and am very far into the third instalment already. The characters, although not people you might associate with in reality, leave you empathising with them and willing them to achieve certain outcomes. Almost as if they are a friend or someone you care about, you are able to build a connection with them you would not expect to in a book like this. 


Although confusing at times with the sheer amount of characters involved in each plot, the book is never a slow read and can become very quick and easy to read during the action scenes. The plots are clever and I'm so gutted that Larsson died before managing to write the other 7 there were supposed to be. 


I would recommend these books to everyone, even if you don't think you would be into this type of genre, you may be pleasantly surprised! 

House Accessorising

In about 9 months time I'm going to be moving into my first official own home. Not as life changing as it sounds, I'm only going to be renting. But I'm still super excited and have already started looking for bits and pieces to make it my own :) 

Upon my constant internet browsing, I stumbled across a little online shop - hosted by folksy - called Sparklehen. LINK

Sparklehen is run by Heather Scott, a former graphic designer who is now a busy mum selling her pieces online. There are various items ranging from prints to cushions and are all reasonably priced between £7.50 and £12. 

It's been pretty hard to choose a favourite but I think I've finally narrowed it down to the following three:

Giraffe in a teacup - £7.50

Street - £7.50

And for our next trick - £7.50

I think my favourite is definitely the giraffe in the teacup! But then again, they're all really nice! I can't decide! 

So you're about to start university?

Image courtesy of google images search.

It's that time of year again when everyone starts to head back to school - unless you're like me who still has another TWO WEEKS till you even step foot back onto campus again - and so I thought I would do a little series of posts on the subject of university life.


I am about to go into my 3rd and final year of university and feel that I've picked up some top tips along the way. Either through learning from my own mistakes or being told by others. Tips that I feel it is only right to pass on to others to help them in any way I can!


First and foremost - FRESHERS. 


This is probably the most important week of events in any student's calendar. This is the time to make friends, make mistakes and spend all your money. And don't even think you won't because you definitely will.


So here are my top tips for freshers:

• GET SOCIALISING: there are usually a million and one events taking place during freshers week - this is generally the point of it. Go to them all (or as many as possible). These events are going to be teeming with people in exactly the same boat as you, people looking to make new friends. The people you meet during this week could potentially be friends for life - don't miss out on this chance. 
• GET SPENDING: fresher's week is most definitely NOT the time to try and save your money. You're a student, you WILL end up in debt. There is no point trying to fight it because it will happen. Freshers will cost you big money but the rewards and the fun are worth it. And besides, who doesn't like Tesco value noodles?
• GET ONLINE: the majority of universities will have an online presence. Get on Facebook and find groups to join - freshers 2011, course groups, student accommodation groups etc. There is even a group for people living down a street in my town! It's the easiest way to make friends. Especially if you make them on a course group - you'll have someone to sit with on your first day then!
• GET DISCOUNTING: most universities will have some form of welcome bazaar/market. There are generally a couple of different ones and these will vary between uni's. At Hull we have a welcome bazaar where you can sign up for an NUS card as well as meet employees of various bars/nightclubs who are there to sign you up for discount cards as well as give out promotional discount vouchers. There will also be a variety of businesses giving out vouchers. 
• GET INVOLVED: as well as the welcome bazaar, there will also be some form of bazaar for the societies at your uni. This is your opportunity to join as many societies and sports clubs as you want! You will also get to meet members of societies from other years that are there to get you interested and sign you up. Just be warned - some of them will not take no for an answer! (eg, my house mate who stood and badgered me for a good 20 minutes to join me up to the kayaking society!)

And as a quick side note, a couple of top tips from my best friend Jamie, also a 3rd year student just at a different university :) - 

• Don't put vodka into a water bottle - when you wake up the next morning and reach for water, it will not end well. Same goes for Jager in a Ribena bottle. 
• If you have the king cup in ring of fire, down it like a man and earn some respect from your friends. 

Don't say we didn't warn you guys! 

Anybody else have any good tips for those starting university? Or even those already thinking they know it all? :) 

Review: Sleek Oh So Special Palette

A couple of days ago I decided it was about time to treat myself to a new Sleek palette. I had a couple in mind that I wanted, however, the biggest Superdrug (and only one that stocks Sleek) in my city barely had any in stock. And those they did have in stock were mostly all damaged :-/ In the end I went with this palette - one of the only ones in perfect condition. 

Luckily for me this was actually one that I quite fancied getting :) 

I absolutely love the design on the box it came in, wish they did this actually ON the palette itself! 

This palette is filled with quite neutral colours although I think the variety of pinks and browns are better than what has become the norm of neutral palettes. I much prefer to have the option of colour - even if it is still a soft, pastel colour as opposed to something brighter.

Here are some swatches, all taken with my iPhone 4 in natural lighting.

From bottom to top:

• Bow - a matte, cream colour that can be used as a highlight shade.
• Organza - a shimmery, light/medium pink
• Ribbon - a matte, barbie pink colour. This comes out quite sheer upon first application but can be built up into a nice colour with as little as two swipes from the pan. 
• Gift Basket - a shimmery, light/medium brown colour
• Glitz - a shimmery, metallic blue almost grey colour
• Celebrate - a dark, shimmery brown. This is one of my favourite colours in the palette. 

From this row I think I would use Bow on the inner corner to brighten up the eye area then Organza as the lid shade and one of the browns on the outer corner and blended into the crease. Me being me, I would probably go for Celebrate and blend it out quite a lot in order to tone it down within the crease. Going back over the outer corner with a little bit more would add a slight smoke to the eye. 

This picture above is my quite poor attempt to show how gorgeous the blue is. I wouldn't go as far as calling this a duo-chrome type shade but in different lights you definitely pick up slightly different colours/shades of blue/grey. 

From bottom to top:

• Pamper - A matte, light pink. I feel this is a shade that will need building up should you wish to use it on the lid or anywhere else. I personally would use this as an inner corner highlight. 
• Gateau - Another light pink but this time a shimmer. Nothing to say except that it's gorgeous.
• The Mail - A light, matte brown. This would be a perfect lid shade for achieving a "natural" day time look.
• Boxed - A medium, matte brown.  
• Wrapped Up - A dark, matte brown. 
• Noir - A uniform shade within any palette - the classic matte black shade. 

 The bottom row contains the majority of matte shades that are all ideal accompaniments to any make up look. Unlike the top row, I don't think I could create an eye look purely from the bottom row. Especially as I don't feel I could wear a purely matte look. I would perhaps pair Gateau and either the medium or dark brown together but it looks 

This is my second poor attempt at capturing the different shades of Gateau. Much like the blue, it appears to be different colours in different lighting, giving multiple dimensions to a make up look.

At the moment I don't feel I could pick any fault with this palette until I have given it a bit of a longer trial run and shall probably do a "review: take two" to update on how it fairs. I find sleek to be a very consistent cosmetics brand, particularly with it's line of palettes, something which is a huge selling point to me. I'm very interested in purchasing the curacao palette next to test out the gorgeous looking red eyeshadow - if anybody has a review of this to leave a link to in the comments I would be very interested to see! 

As you probably ALL know by now, Sleek is available online at Link and in various retail stores at a price of £6.49. 

Disclaimer: I have purchased this palette using my own money and am in no way affiliated with Sleek.