Leanne Marie.

Few to Follow #8

2012-02-24T10:00:00.001Z

Much Love

My Lush lust list!

2012-02-20T10:00:00.001Z

Bloggers seem to go crazy for LUSH products. Admittedly I do like them but I really dont purchase any that often. I think in the whole time I've been blogging I've maybe made 2 orders online and never shopped instore. Because we dont have a store where I live I just find it easier to pop into boots or superdrug to pick up something I need rather than placing an online order! (Even if I am missing out on the yummy smelling products!) I was just browsing their site the other night and had an overwhelming urge to purchase some items, so here is my Lush lust list for the moment!

1. Big Shampoo.

I have bought this before, and even reviewed it here (I cringe at the post as it was when i was first starting blogging!) As I stated in my review, I felt it was a great shampoo to use for product buildup as it did leave my hair feeling lighter and thoroughly clean! This isn't a shampoo I would use regularly only every so often so I can justify the price. If I remember correctly it smelt lovely too so that's a bonus!

2.Lemony Flutter.

Another product I have owned.. and you're probably thinking 'How has she managed to get through an entire tub in that amount of time?' Well the answer is, I haven't.. I've lost the tub. Literally no where to be seen. I thought I would find it when I moved but it never surfaced so I have no clue where it is. I really liked this for my cuticles and as my nails are in dire need of some TLC at the moment, I've just this on my lust list and no doubt I'll be purchasing soon!

3.Volcano Foot Mask

This isn't something I like to admit, but I suffer with dry skin on my feet terribly. I do try to keep on top of keeping my feet well moisturised and smooth using numerous lotions and potions and foot files but I'm never happy. I hate my feet in fact. Hence why I had never had a pedicure before until the end of last year. After reading reviews on the site of this foot mask I really want to try it. It's had some good reviews. So maybe its the answer to nice feet that I'm not embarrassed of!

4. Flying Fox Shower Gel.

Back in 09/10 when Tom and I travelled New Zealand we had a Lush store literally right on our doorstep when we were living in Auckland. Every day there would be a girl outside handing out 'The Lush Times' with a free sample attached. I picked up a sample of this shower gel and remembering totally loving it. I really want to purchase it because I know it will bring back memories of our trip. Tbh that's the only reason I want it, theres nothing else to say!

So that's it! My lush lust list... which will probably all get purchased between the months of February and March I'm guessing! You will notice that there aren't any bath bombs or bubble bars there (which could seem unusual as I think they are their best sellers) To be blunt, I don't like baths... I get bored! Honestly I'd rather have a long hot shower than lie there in a bath surrounded by bubbles! However on the odd occasion I have has baths I've used The Comforter and its AMAZING. So i recommend that!

Much love

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Weekly Ins and Outs #7

2012-02-19T18:48:00.001Z

Ins

+ This week I have reached the grand total of 780 followers! Thank you and hello to my new readers! Like always, thank you for taking the time to read/comment and follow my little space on the internet! :-)

+ Tom and I visited our wedding venue and 'provisionally' booked our date. EXCITING. We just need to contact the reverand of the church to check to see if he will marry us as we arent part of the parish and all that Jazz. Hopefully there wont be any problems, I think the normal thing is to make sure you attend at least 6 services in the lead up to your wedding date?! So yesh, excitingggg!

+ Also this week Tom and I have made some decisions to ensure that we can save as much money as possible for the wedding and pay it everything off (hopefully) before the wedding so we dont have any 'debts' to pay after we become man an wife. The saying "Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards" fits this situation perfectly! - Oooh cryptic...well not really.

+ I received my Kerastase Elixir Ultime hair oil that I bought from buyapowa the other week. Just in time really as my other hair oil had run out! I've only used it twice so I cant really comment on what effect it has had on my hair yet. But I will tell you this... it does smell nice! More of a 'grown up' scent compared to the V05 one I was previously using.

+ I went out for my lovely (IRL) friend and blogger Robyns birthday last night. It was nice to go out but I felt SO OLD....Also overdressed as I hadnt squeezed my body in the most clingy body-con dress that (quite literally) barely covered my bum...or in one case... hadnt gone out in basically MY KICKERS & a top. Seriously...what are these girls thinking?!... Anyways it was a good night even though I was super tired!

+ This week I realised I do actually have a spot for LDNLUNCH on the 3rd March. YAY! Admittedly I may be pretty tired as I am going out the night before for a friends birthday but it will be fun, Ill get to see some girls I met in London at the TOWIB event and then some new faces who I have spoken to for a while now and finally get to meet. YAY so excited! Now I need to decide if I want to stay over in London or come back home on the saturday night or not. Decisions, decisions.

+ It was lovely to see that so many of you followed the blogs I mentioned on Fridays post. Dont forget to check my blog button page as I am always adding new buttons to it! Also if you do use my button on your blog, please let me know so I can return the favour!

Outs

- Last night I had a bit of a silly girly emosh fit which resulted in texting Charli sad texts moaning about how none of my clothes fit me! THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE. For a start, sorry love for bombarding you with those texts and secondly.. I want to tone up anyway so I need to stop saying I will and actually do it. I may go jogging.. its free and easy.. I just need to put together an awsome playlist to jog(power walk) along to...

- I have low funds in my bank account... BUT THATS NOT ANYTHING NEW IS IT.

- This may be a bit controversial but... I got the Real Techniques Core collection through the post and have been trying out the buffing brush to apply my foundation as so many people rave about it being excellent for that... well.. Im not so sure at the moment! I dont know if it 'works' for me. I've tried it with 2 different foundations and I am not getting that 'flawless' look everyone else is claiming to have. I'll give it a few more tries and maybe with different foundations too but I cant help but feel I may have fallen for the hype and possibly wasted my money! :-/

Much Love

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Fridays Few to Follow #7

2012-02-17T10:00:00.001Z

Much Love

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Individual product reviews: January Glossybox.

2012-02-15T10:00:00.006Z

Everyone is always in such a rush to post about what they got in their glossyboxes, which I admit is great because you get to see all the different variations that were sent out that month. However, no one can really give a proper review of the products they recieved. So I decided to wait a bit, try out the products and then share my thoughts with you all.

January's box was a Valentines themed box. This did confuse me a bit as it was January and whenever the Valentines Glossybox was metioned I had to remind myself it was still only Jan not Feb! Just like the December box, they changed the colour to a very bright pink colour to suit the theme, added a heart sticker inside and the zigziag paper was in a pale pink. I really liked this touch and felt it fitted in well with the theme they were going for.

I'll admit this right now, (and some of you may already know this) I actually unsubbed from Glossybox after Decembers box... I couldnt afford it, plus at the time preferred the Feel Unique box.. then their marketing worked on me, and I NEEDED to get my hands on this pink box and give Glossybox a chance to win me back. So after spying a discount code and realising I could actually pay through paypal I signed up back up! I'm glad I did because I was really pleased with the selection of products I recieved in the box.

So what did I get?

Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream | Night Cream.

I was really happy that I got these in my box because I am always on the hunt for a good day/night cream. This couldnt have come at a better time as I had just run out of the products I was currently using. I know some people seemed to have problems with the amount of products in the tubes, but mine seemed completely full, so I guess I didnt get a dudd pair! The two creams are different in consistancy. The Night cream is slightly thicker than the day cream. They do feel slightly 'wet' when blended into the skin, however both sink in at about the same rate. Scent wise, from what I have seen other people mention, its a bit of a hit and miss, some love the scent, others not so much. I personally love it! I dont know about firming up my skin (I dont think it needed much firming in the first place) but my face feels a lot more moisturised and my complexion overall is much brighter since adding these to my routine. I really do like these creams but £46 -£48 a pot it would stretch my purse strings a little so I dont think I will be able to purchase them full sized.

FAB Body Moisturiser.

Like everyone else who recieved this particular box I was a bit confused as the card actually stated that we should have got the wash. Glossybox reassured us it was a typo and it was the moisturiser was the correct product to have in our boxes. Now I hadn't tried anything from this brand before and I actually used this straight away after recieving it in the post (usually body lotions from these kind of boxes get chucked in a basket in my bathroom!) It moisturiser is really thick so after the first few squeezes it was quite hard to get the product out of the bottle. It did sink into my skin fairly quickly which I was pleased about as I hate having to wait around for body lotions to sink in before getting dressed. The twos things I wasnt to keen on was the fact it doesnt have a fragrance. To me that was just strange! Im so used to having a scent linger on my skin after using a lotion! I am also not the biggest fan of the packaging. (As I said before, it was a struggle to get the product out of the bottle) Apart from that though it is a nice moisturiser but purely due to the fact there isnt a scent, I dont think I will purchase another bottle of this.

Murad Skin Perfecting Primer

I was really excited to see this in the box, to be honest I didnt realise that Murad actually did primers. I liked that it was a generous sized sample with a pump. This meant I could get a good few uses out of it rather than one or two if it had come in sachet form. The primer itself is tinted which I was a bit wary about, however once blended into the skin it matched perfectly so that was the first plus. It sank in realy quickly and didnt leave a greasy feel to my face which I have found some other primers do in the past. When I started trying this primer I also switched foundations back to healthy mix. I found that my foundation lasted really well with this primer, better than past primers I've used. I would be very tempted to purchase a full size version of this if it wasnt for the price. £29 is a lot of money for a primer!

Eyeko Skinny Pencil Liner.

I dont know how I feel about the whole rebranding of Eyeko. I used to love the kawaii inspired packaging and multiple products they had avaliable to buy, since the re release of the mascaras and eyeliners I havent been to fussed by them - Especially with the major price increase! Anyways.. I originally got the Emerald green liner but I used twitter/Beauty Box Swaps facebook page to track down the pale pink version and managed to swap. It came at a good time as I was looking for a pale eyeliner for my waterline to 'wake up' my eyes a little. This eyeliner is slightly waxy and does need reapplying halfway through the day which is a bit annoying. At first, like many others I couldnt understand the point in the very long pointy handle, Not very makeup bag friendly. However I am now aware that the sole purpose if this is so when you sharpen the pencil you always have a long handle to apply. Which to be honest is a fab idea, but how many of us waste that end bit of pencil due to the fact we cant sharpen it any lower! I dont think I would repurchase this due to the price of it and there are other nude/pale eyeliners on the market that I would rather try instead.

So overall I was happy with this box and actually managed to try out every product sent which never happens no matter what beauty box it is. So that was a big thing for me. I'm going to try to do this every month because otherwise..what is the actual point of me subscribing to these boxes? I actually had enough Glossydots to get a free box, so I have used those for the February box so thats handy! In regards to this box being valentines themed, like I mentioned at the begining of the post the packaging was brilliant and spot on, however the items provided didnt scream valentines to me... If they had included something pink/red makeupwise, whether it be a nail polish/blush or lip product then maybe I could have looked at it as a v.day box. But with the products that came it didnt seem that way to me. But I liked the majority of the items so Im not too fussed.

Kudos to you if you have read all this post, as I'm sure some may have seen the title and just skipped reading the post, as they may have thought they had heard it all before. So if you have taken the time to read my ramblings, thank you! Did you get this box, what did you think of your items?

Much Love.

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Review : Mac Reflects Glitter : 'Reflects Blue'

2012-02-13T10:00:00.001Z

I have always lusted over Mac's 'Reflex Pearl' from afar but I never seem to be able to find it, maybe its discountinued or a Pro product? (Let me know if you know I'm not that clued up on Mac tbh!) Tanya Burr uses it a lot in her 'Night out' Make up tutorials and I just think its looks so pretty! I am extremely jealous of anyone that owns it! When browsing what there was to offer in the Mac section of my local CCO (I say local but it isnt really, I go to the one in Swindon as thats the closest one to me!) I cam across 'Reflects Blue' Not one ot shy away from from sparkle for a night out I decided to pick it up.

Now I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of pigments as they can get so messy and I hate fall out, its just a big pain the bum! And yes because this pigment is so finely milled it does fall out a bit, but I'll live with that because the effect it gives is just so pretty! I know some people can be a bit wary of the Mac Glitters because you may worry about going too overboard on the glitter (when I say people I mean me, but I'm sure there are others out there that thought/think the same!) Thankfully because this isnt a chunky glitter at all it looks stunning on, it gives you more of a shimmery effect and then (heres where the name comes from) in certain lights you catch a glimpse of bluey/purple shimmer which looks gorgeous over the top of a smokey eye! It's quite similar to Illamasqua's Static pigment so if you cant get hold of this I suggest picking that up instead.You only need the tiniest amount to make a big impact so its a dead cert that this will last me absolutely ages! I'm still lusting after Reflects Pearl even though I've found this gem!

Do you have any of the Mac Glitters? If you say you own Reflects Pearl I will be very jealous of you!

Much Love

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Weekly Ins & Outs. #6

2012-02-12T18:54:00.000Z

Ins

+ This week the highlight for me was meeting other bloggers at the TOWIB event that went on yesterday. There has been a lot of mixed views on the whole day, I think some people really liked it and others didnt. Personally for me...it wasnt what I expected so I was a bit dissapointed...after seeing the photos on the FB page of the previous meetings I thought it was going to be completely different to how it was. It felt too formal, (more the layout of the room in conference style more than anything) and even though there were cakes and biscuits with tea on offer, it would have been a bit nicer to have had somwehere where we could easily purchase some food to munch on. There were a lot of hungry bloggers about. There were some helpful tips at first in the talks but then it just turned into making money from your blog and thats not what I blog for so a couple of us left to go find somewhere to chill for the day (I say chill, we ended up walking around for ages in the cold!) Overall though I had a lovely day, made completely by the girls who I met up with. I was a bit crap at 'networking'and throwing my blog URL around/Collecting others URL's, so I've been checking the twitter hastag for it to discover some new blogs.

These are the lovely girls I got to meet....

Kat, Lizzie, Sundrai, Katrina, Chloe, Katherine, Christina, Leanne, Lisa, Abby, Tamsin, Alice, Sophie, Katy, Annie, Steph, Kim, Michelle and then my hometown lovlies, Sarah & Aisling.

(I'm sure I've missed some girls out so If I have Im sorry! Let me know in the comments and I'll add you to this list!)

+ Also decided on a day to go to Cardiff and reunite with the lovely Charli! So at the end of March I'll be hopping on the train to see my twin. I'm going to be really good at saving money (well try) so that we can go on a relatively big spending spree! I'm sure I'll take my Flip camera again to no dount there will be some video tags /vlogging happening!

+ Today Tom and I had a couple of laughs putting together our entry for a comp River Island are currently running on their twitter to win a £500 voucher! I'll have to tweet them our entry so rather than show you it here look out on my twitter for it. (I'll tweet it tomorrow) You basically had to recreate their ad image.. We look a bit ridic in it but hey its fun and at the end of the day we could maybe get some vouchers out of it! They wanted something Unique and creative and I think we have done it well!

Outs

- It's too cold!!! Simple as!

- Lacking funds (What's new) however I have lots of things coming up during feb and I now dont know what to do as I'm low on the pennies! Numerous birthdays, nights out and such. I really need to learn how to manage my money. I am rubbish!

- Not chatting to new bloggers enough at TOWIB.. Pretty annoyed at myself, not gonna lie!

Much Love

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Fridays Few to Follow #6

2012-02-10T10:59:00.000Z

Recent Purchases : Nine West Petrie Shoes

2012-02-08T18:00:00.001Z

Now this wasnt a planned purchase but a necessary one! I'm the kinda girl that will settle for picking up a pair of cheapo black flats from Primark/Newlook for a few quid...wear them till they fall apart and then repurchase the exact same pair. Its a vicious cycle. For a while I had been contemplating spending a bit more money on some good quality simple black flats so I have a pair that will last me a decent time and in the long run save me a bit of cash.

While browsing Debenhams at the weekend with my mum I strolled over to the shoe section... Those big red SALE signs really do work like magic dont they! Browsing the shelves trying to find the size 3 section I came across numerous pairs of Kurt Geiger shoes.. even the wedges I blogged about here (They were down to £19! But none in my size!) Then I found the size 3's. Quite literally a small group of shoes perching on the edge of the shelf! There were many ridiculously high brightly coloured designs and then at the back I spotted some flats.. upon inspection i found they were FUR LINED!! You know Like Uggs... but they were a flat pair of shoes! It literally turned to my mum and squealed 'OMG MUM THESE HAVE FUR IN THEM!' My mum (who is a cool Mum) responded with "OMG! They are amazing! You have to get them...ooh they are in your size.. ITS FATE!...Tom's never going to want you to come shopping with me again"

So the shoes in question are from Nine West. I had heard of the brand but never even thought about having a look online to see what sort of shoes they stocked. The only time I'd really ever seen one type of shoe they had was when I sold a pair on Ebay for Tom's mum! Anyways, as you can kinda see from the photos the lining is furry. Now obviously - just like uggs, they arent going to always be super soft and fluffy...once they've had a lot of wear they will reduce in quality a bit. However for the time being I am so happy I found them.. warm feet for winter! Yay.

The best part of this purchase was the discount. These shoes were originally £90, now I dont care if they were lined in pure gold. I would NEVER spend £90 on a pair of simple flat shoes, I just couldnt do it! But.. these were knocked down to £35. Now thats a more reasonable price for me! The good thing is, as they were a lot more pricier to begin with you know you are paying for a good quality shoe. So hopefully these will last me quite some time! The only worry I have is if they stretch a little and then slip off my feet when I walk then I wont be able to wear them!.... Lets just hope that doesnt happen! I've tried to find these online to link to you, Unfortunatley they arent on Debs website anymore but I did find them on the Kurt Geiger site... in limited sizes though! However You never know you may be able to find them instore if you look. They also come in brown!

So it seems you can still pick up some good New Year sale bargains into February! Did you pick up any shoes in the sales this Jan/feb? Let me know!

Much Love

P.S... On a side note, I have made a facebook page for my blog. Go 'like' it if you wish! Also I am so buying this Kerastase Elixir Ultime that's on buyapowa at the moment. I've wanted it for so long!! :-D

Will you be there? TOWIB 11th February.

2012-02-07T20:41:00.001Z

So its nearly time to head off to London to meet with lots of lovely bloggers at the 'The Only Way Is Blogging' event being held at The Montague on the Gardens Hotel. I'm so excited about this. There are so many bloggers I have chatted to for ages over twitter, so it will be lovely to finally meet them face to face!

I am going to be traveling with Sarah and Aisling as we all live in the same town, Then I think we are timing it so Katherine and Chloe get on the same train as us.. Then once in London...well im not too sure about the plan but I think we may meet other bloggers, I DONT KNOW IM JUST TOO EXCITED TO THINK!! :-)

I know its not the most important thing, but I couldnt decide on what I was going to wear. I'm not dressing up or anything, I just wanted to look nice and look like at least put a little bit of thought into my outfit. I bought this top, from ASOS a few weeks ago, when it arrived I was dissapointed as I thought it was going to be longer, so I decided against it. Then I found this dress at the weekend on there and I knew I had to have it! So I used their 20% off and the money from my blog sale and make a purchase. I bought it in a 10 because on Sunday night they suddenly went all out of stock - PANIC - so I kept refreshing the screen hoping a 10 or 12 would become avaliable..it did and I have never orders so quickly!.... Then fast forward to Monday morning...and all sized were back fully stocked.. I panicked for nothing!

So this is my outfit, if you want to know how to spot me on the day!

Black pleather jaket from Forever 21
Chelsea girl for River Island dress.

Modalu Pippa Handbag.

Mustard chunky scarf from Forever 21
New Look black ankle boots.

So will you be going on Saturday? Let me know in the comments! :-)

Much Love

Review: Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish hot cloth cleanser.

2012-02-06T09:46:00.000Z

"Not another Cleanse & Polish post" is probably what you are thinking right now, and yes I used to think the same before I had actually tried this product. However now, after using it over a long period of time I completely understand why it gets all the hype and why so many people want to say their bit about it on their blogs!

I was kindly sent the starter kit for consideration and wanted to get full use out of it before doing storming ahead and reviewing it. I have to say I am really impressed, for those of you that may not be aware of what this product is exactly, it is an award winning plant based cleanser which you use in two steps. First you apply the product to your dry face in circular motions to start working its magic on removing your makeup. Secondly taking the muslin cloth provided within the kit, you run it under warm water and ring out, then gently remove the cleanser from your face with the cloth, this is the 'polishing; stage. After doing so, you are left with lovely clean and refreshed skin! The starter kit comes with a 100ml pump, 2 muslincloths and a small carry pouch to store it all in. It's such a quick and easy process that it takes next to no time to remove all your makeup thats been on your skin all day.

I know some girls like to use this morning and night but I personally only use it at night before I go to bed. (Hence why it has lasted me such a long time!) At first it felt really strange putting the cream onto my face without getting it damp before hand, but I got used to it! What I do like is that its fine to use on your eyes, being someone who loves their gel eyeliner and dark black mascara I was amazed at how well it removes it! I did wonder if I would have to go over my eye area a second time to remove everything but there was no need. A big plus for me! I dont often get any blemishes so I cant comment on whether it made a difference in that department but from what I have heard from other girls it cleared up their skin a treat!

There is one thing that I am a bit dissapointed with and thats in regards to the pump packaging. As it isnt transparent packaging, you dont have a clear idea of when you're running low on the product, yes you can sort of guess by the weight of it in your hand, but I'd rather be able to tell just by looking at it if I needed to restock or not. Thankfully I can sort this little niggle out immediately by ordering it in a tube formation rather than the pump style. The tubes start at 200ml rather than the 100ml from the pumps, so they are slightly pricer but you are paying for more product and can easily see when your running out, so you can place a quick online order for a back up!

Since adding this to my skin care routine I am interested in trying out some of the other products (Toner, Moisturiser & Eyebright!) I may invest in the travel sized tubes/bottles before fully commiting to full size! Do you use Liz Earle products, is there anything in particular you would reccomend?

The cleanse and polish 100ml starter kit retails for £13.75 from the Liz Earle website.

Much Love

Weekly Ins and Outs #5

2012-02-05T17:57:00.000Z

Ins

+ I'm sat chilling now feeling good because I spent the majority of today re arranging our bedroom. Ive not liked how our room was set up for a while now, woke up this morning and decided today would be the day to re arrange! I only moved a few bits of furniture around and then attempted to organise all my stuff! Seriously it looks more like a girls room than a mixed sex room, the only manly items are toms aftershaves and a hoody hanging on the back door! lol. It's not girly as in decor but more girly because of the sheer amount of beauty items I own and bags/shoes! Woops!

+ I've been on the hunt for some decent flat black shoes for work and I managed to find some this weekend, so look out for a post soon. They are AMAZING and were such a bargain too! YAY!

+ I found my old camera while organising today. I've currently got it on charge because I want to see if it does Autofocus while filming. I have said I want to start doing videos on YT and I do have a flip camera, but if anyone watches Maxines videos you will know that it doesnt autofocus, which will really annoy me if Im filming a video and I cant show something up close! lol So if it does autofocus we may be onto a winner. I think I may have a area suitable for filming too (shocking) So we shall see!

+ I'm excited that its TOWIB next weekend! Who am I going to see there? Please come and say Hi if you see me! I'm terrible with faces /Names though so I apologies in advance if I look at you weird or call you buy your blog name! haha. I dont know what I am going to wear but I have my eye on a dress from asos.. I have a blog sale at the moment and any funds from that will be going towards a last min purchase, so help a blogger out and buy something! :-p

+ We now have light in our bathroom - our light fixture was a bit broken but my Dad came and fixed it! Also thanks to my parents we now have an electric blanket! Our flat gets SO COLD. Robyn even turned up at mine with a hot water bottle the other day! lol So going to bed all toasty and warm is lush!!

+ Im adding more and more blog buttons to my Blog love page, so please let me know if you would like to do a button swap and I can add yours. I think swapping blog buttons is a great way to get your blog noticed for free! Some people do charge to advertise on blogs and I'll admit I was thinking of doing it. But I didn't have a clue how much to charge and I just thought it would be easier and fairer to go down the whole blog button swap route!

Outs

- I bought some bargainous French Connection boots at the beginning of the week from the Littlewoods Outlet shop on the good old Bay of E! £145 Originally & I got them for £32 with postage. I love them. Perfect flat cowboy-esque boots HOWEVER.. I made the mistake of wearing them to work and my feet were ruined by the time I got to work.. I didn't wear them at all during the day - walked around in my socks! Not good when there is swarf all over the floor so I had to be careful! Putting them back on to walk home was horrible. I need to wear them in so I can actually wear them because I really like them BUT they hurt way too much. They are just really tight around my toes and heels - They aren't too small its just the nature of the boot. Any tips would be grateful.

- I haven't done any exercise this week (ha after I was so keen to be on the shred last week!) Due to injuring my foot last Saturday on my night out its still a bit sore! But hopefully I will get back into it soon!

Much Love

Fridays Few to Follow #5

2012-02-03T10:00:00.002Z

Dont forget to have a look at my blog button page, you may discover some other new blogs!

FOTD 'Time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings'

2012-02-01T10:00:00.001Z

I got a couple of comments in my last post reviewing the No7 highlighting powder to show the product on my face.. I know its a bit of an annoyance to some if theres a review and no images of it actually in use, I think the same when I read some posts! Sometimes when you've got limited light and time isnt on your side its easier to do a quick swatch on your arm rather than slapping on a full face of makeup just for one picture! Anyways I did my makeup and then took a nice poserish photograph for you all to see the highlighter in action.

As you can see its really subtle which I love, it just gives you that right amount of 'glow'. I highly suggest you all go buy it now! Ha! In regards to what else I have on my face..

J Kidd Light as Air foundation in shade 02
Topshop Bronzer

HD Brow palette.

Bourjois Volumising mascara

Topshop gel liner.

Much love

P.S Remember to check out my new blog love/blog button page, You may discover some new blogs!

Review : No7 Vital enlightening Highlighting powder.

2012-01-30T13:03:00.000Z

I know, I know I said I wasnt going to buy anymore makeup and start making sure that I used up what I had... well clearly I didnt stick with that and picked up this beaut while having a casual browse in boots. But who can blame me, look at how pretty it is! I couldnt just wander past the stand and ignore it!

This is the No7 Vital Enlightening Highlighting powder which is part of the limited edition Floral Brights collection by Lisa Eldridge, it became avaliable on the 25th January so the chances are if you pop into your local boots you will be able to purchase one!

Unlike the lipsticks in the collection this powder did not come in a box, however the No7 stands are always immaculate so I knew that there wouldnt be any damages to the product or the packaging be messy so all was good! The packaging itself is really nice, i love the floral details on the top of the compact, Inside houses a large mirror which is a bonus, I really dislike compacts that dont have a mirror in for some reason! If the outside is pretty it's going to mean the product itself is pretty in my books and No7 delivered. Its a gorgeous peach toned velvety powder with subtle shimmer to provide you with the most perfect highlight! I LOVE how it is in the pan, so pretty! I'm a sucker for any makeup product that is a bit three dimensional, so that was a bonus!

When swatched the highlighter gives a really nice healthy glow to your skin, the shimmer/glitter isnt chunky at all which I find can be a bit of a problem with some highlighters. It's such a versitile product, not only is it great to highlight your cheekbones and under the brows it could also be worn as a subtle eyeshadow. A quick sweep of this across your eyelid and some winged eyeliner and you'd be good to go!

It retails at £13.00 which I feel isnt bad for 10g of product compared to other prices some highlighting powders avaliable. There are some other bits in the collection which are well worth a look at, There is a 5 shade eyeshadow palette, which was mainly neutrals, 2 cream blushes which looked quite bright in the pan but when swatched and blended they werent so scary! Then two lipsticks, one in a bright barbie pink shade and the other was a coral pink. If I'm honest I would have picked up the bright pink lippy as it was so beautiful but I limited myself to the one item as I am trying to use my makeup up afterall!

So will you be picking up this highlighter or maybe something else in the collection (FYI the 3 for 2 offer is on at the moment) I know Charli has already, solely on a text message I sent her! (I'm such an enabler!) To be honest its too pretty to say no to, right?

Much Love

Weekly Ins & Outs #4

2012-01-29T14:07:00.000Z

Ins

+ Friday was payday.. always a winner.

+ I started back on the exercise this week... remember a while ago when every blogger seemed obsessed with the 30 day shred (myself included - nearly managed the entire 30 days last time) Well I started it again. Now as I havent exercised in an absolute age, I decided to ease myself back into it so I did it every other day this week. It wasnt as bad as I remembered and didnt seem to take as long as it used to (I know its not going to be shorter but I think this time round it doesnt feel like its dragging on, if time can actually drag in 20 mins?!) So yeah, as of tomorrow I am going to do it every day again. I had positive results last time so fingers crossed I repeat that success. The only difference is that before I was walking for 45mins to and from work each day and shredding, now Im only walking 20 mins to and from, so that may effect my progress, but we shall see!

+ I may have mentioned before that I want to start doing outfit posts on here but not having decent lighting or a pretty garden to go stand in to take pictures makes it a little difficult. Plus I feel I need to So to ease me into the whole taking pictures of my outfits I joined WIWT. Basically it's a site to upload pictures of your outfit and share it with others. Some people on there take their photos with tripods and their images look all profesh and then there's the majority that just take a quick snap on their phones and upload (this is what I do!) So if you would like to see what I am wearing on a (kinda) daily basis then you can follow my profile here.

+ I have finally got around to making myself a blog button! You may have noticed that my header, twitter and YT buttons have all changed, I did like how it all was before but I prefered this font! So on my side bar theres the code for you to use to add my button to your blog if you wish. I have created a page up the top there to share blog buttons. If you click on it now you will see that I already have a few girls buttons on there for you to click. If you want to swap buttons, just leave a comment or tweet me and we can sort it! :-)

+ I went out last night and those that know me well will agree that this is a shocking announcement. I only really ever go out on a night out if its someones birthday! Last night was a spur of the moment night out with some girls who I hadnt seen for an age. I had a right laugh and I'm even tempted to go out more often and not be such a social hermit! One downside is that I full on stacked it and now im nursing a sore ankle! :-(

+ I'm thinking of making a facebook page for my blog...but I have no idea where to start. If any of you girls have made pages please let me know in the comments what to do and such because I'm absolutley clueless (it's probably not that hard but my brain is refusing to function at the moment!)

Outs

- I have been getting on well with using up the makeup items featured in this post and have already finished one pot of 7th heaven face primer HOWEVER...I really dont like using the stila palette! I mean I do like it, but I have other shadows I want to wear, so I think I am going to change it up a bit and just make sure I use a different eyeshadow palette /shades everyday. Then I am still using up products but varying it up a bit. I do feel like a bit of a failure in the 1st week though! I also hate the vital radiance eye primer... so I just binned it and now I'm back using my paintpot.

- I had to spend £32 on postage the other day for ebay items. That wasnt very nice.

- Photos of last night have just been put on facebook.... I need to tan for nights out.. and my smokey eye look made me look like a zombie.... Jesus christ.. I'm slightly depressed right now.

- My ankle really hurts and I just stubbed my toe on the same foot on my kitchen door.

Much Love

Fridays Few To Follow #4

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000Z

Sarenza Ambassador Entry : The Mordern Day Jelly Shoe for the Fashionista.

2012-01-26T18:30:00.001Z

If you’re a late 80’s/ 90’s child then there is no doubt about it you will remember (and also probably owned) the ever popular Jelly shoe. The practical choice of footwear our parents bought us to prance around in during the summer months. I know I did and I loved them! The fact they came in a huge variety of colours & that they even had chunky heeled versions was brilliant (you know... When ‘platforms’ were big thanks to the Spice Girls) I was in love. But then you grow up, the days of wearing the jelly shoe is a distant memory... until now that is...I give you the ultimate stylish jelly shoe for us 20+ somethings..

Melissa are famous for their trademark rubber shoes, or as I like to call them, “the modern day jelly shoe for the fashionista”. They are made completely of recycled plastic however are Hypoallergenic meaning there’s no smelly plastic smell at all, completely odourless! (Yay!) Now we can relive our childhood memories while sporting some more mature/ fashionable versions of the shoes we all once loved. There’s a variety of styles to choose from, you’ve got heels, flats, boots and even bridal shoes. There’s something for everyone. However my personal favourite are the Jason Wu for Melissa Ultragirl flats.

A classic flat, sensible shoe with a twist. With the dainty little peephole toe combined with the owl ribbon bow they scream perfection. If I were to throw on the most simplistic outfit for work, my hair and makeup be a state, I would still feel fabulous about myself because these pretty’s were on my feet. You may as well be stylish while being practical, am I right? These glossy black numbers need to be added to my shoe collection immediately....

Much love

If a shoe is named after you....

2012-01-25T14:00:00.000Z

you should buy them, right?

'Leanne' flats from Kurt Geiger.

£45.00

Nude | Black

Much Love,

Items I want to use up/ Hit pan #1

2012-01-23T09:54:00.000Z

If you remember my 'Current Makeup' post, I made a point about how I rarely finish any makeup products anymore so I have set myself this task. I have looked through my collection and picked 6 products that I would like to completely finish. As you can see, I havent completely changed my daily products so I will still keep some items the same and possibly switch them around but when it comes to mascara, highlighting, face/eye primers these will be the only products I will reach for.

Stila Eye & Cheek Palette.

I used to use this palette everyday untill I added Urban Decay and Nars palettes to my collection. It now just gets neglected at the back of my palette stack. I've decided I want to at least hit pan on the blush and maybe one of the shadows, so I am going to use this palette more often.

Eyeko Highlight Cream

I bought this a while ago, so I hope its still okay to use!? I have about half of this tub left. Again it was something I used to use quite often and then other products came along and it got neglected! It is a really nice highlighter for your cheeks so it will be 'bye bye high beam, hello Eyeko!' lol

Dermalogica Lip Renewal Complex.
I'm sure quite a lot of you also have or had this lip conditioner as it came in a Glossy box (I cant remember which month) I've used it once, and as its a small sample I know I will use it up in next to no time! I basically chose it, as it's an easy product to finish! (possibly a bit of a cop out!)

MeMeMe Seventh Heaven

This face base also came in a glossybox (Decembers) I actually have two of these samples as I got one through the post a week before my GB from MeMeMe's Facebook page! Again its quite a small sample so shouldnt take me long to use up (I will actually use up both samples) I have already used it a couple of times and I do like it. There could be a possible full sized purchase in the future!

Bourjous Volumizer Mascara.
I have a lot of mascara's and I need to make my way through them. Even after chucking out the ones that have dried out I still have a fair few to get through! I'm not actually a huge fan of this mascara, it does make my lashes really clumpy but I want to use it up so I am using it in my every day routine!

Vital Radiance Smoothing Eye Primer.
As you can see I have actually hit pan on this eye shadow primer, which has spurred me on to completely finish it up. Since Mac Paint pots made an appearance in my collection this primer just got shoved in the back of a drawer. As much as I love the paint pots I want to use this up. So this will be my go to eye primer from now on.

So they are the first lot of products I want to use up! I know some will take a little longer than others but that doesnt bother me too much, It just means I may get through more items a bit quicker! So have any of you had a look at your collections recently and realised you need to start using up more of your products? I hope I stick with this as it will be a great achievement to finally use up some make up items rather than hoarding it all!

Much Love

Weekly Ins & Outs #3

2012-01-22T19:42:00.000Z

Ins

+ This week we decided on a date for our wedding which is really exciting. We are yet to book the venue but as our choice of day isnt strictly a traditional 'wedding day' I dont think it will be a problem when it comes down to booking it! Exciting!

+ Last night Tom and I went to the Ed Sheeran gig at the O2 Academy in Brixton. I had loads of fun, I never realised how big that venue was! I had found out that some other blogging girlies were going to be there but unfortunately I didnt get to meet up with any of them which was a shame! The gig was good though, I was so tired when I got home after travelling there and back!

+ I had a pretty productive day today, and finally did some cleaning and tidying up around the flat. I am terrible and let it all pile up till the point where I cant stand the mess and then do something about it. I think its because Ive got so much stuff, but its stuff that I cant bare to part ways with so I dont put it on ebay!

Outs.

- I went and had a look in my first (of many i assume) bridal boutiques this weekend but had no luck finding anything that appealed to me at all. I have been browsing online and have a particular style of dress which i do like the look of (which I hope suits me when I find it in a shop!) It made me realise what a challenge it is going to be to find a dress I like and if im totally honest I am not looking forward to it! :-(

- I have £1.09 in my bank account. Roll on payday on Friday!

Sorry that this isnt the most thrilling ins and outs post but I really dont have much to talk about this week! I havent even taken any photographs which I could use to jazz up the post a little. I'll try to make next weeks post a bit more interesting lol.

Much Love

Fridays Few to Follow #3

2012-01-20T10:00:00.006Z

Much Love

What's in my handbag?

2012-01-18T11:00:00.001Z

Whether we like to admit it or not, deep down I'm pretty sure we are all a bit of a nosy parker! I know I am. 'What's in my bag' videos and posts are my favourites to watch a read! Not only do I get to gawp at many gorgeous handbags I like to see what people carry around with them on a day to day basis! I'll be honest... a post or video is on on my 'to do list' for the blog of the contents of my own handbag, I just need to get around to actually filming or writting up a post/taking photos etc.

For the time being I will be getting my fix of lovely bags and the goodies inside from Whats in my handbag.com This is a site that I only recently discovered which is a little like WIWT. Once you sign up and sign up 5 friends you can start to browse the images that others have uploaded of their bags/makeup bags and their contents. (Like i said before. I'm nosey and want to look in strangers bags)

As you can see in the above image, some items are annotated, by hovering over the annotations with your mouse you can read a brief description on the product/item and then are given the choice of hitting the 'Have it' or 'Want it' button. These items will then be added to your 'Beauty Cabinet'. I do prefer the 'Want it' option as you can then have a list of things in your cabinet that you want to eventually buy (if your wallet allows it) So you can always refer back to it when you are in the mood for a bit of online retail therapy!

To be honest, the site is just a chance to procrastinate and look at other peoples handbags and the bits and bobs they carry around with them. It may not be something you are interested in but I know its definitley a good distraction for when you want to put off doing essays/housework/work in general! You may also become jealous of some members who have enviable handbags! (I know I have!) If it sounds like your sort of thing or you just fancy a browse all you have to do is sign up here and refer 5 friends to get you started! So what are you waiting for! Go procrastinate and look at handbags! :-)

Also I apologise if you saw the title of this post and thought 'YAY Leannes done a post on her handbag' .. Sorry to dissapoint.. soon girls.. soon!

Much Love

Dubai Hauling : Bath & Bodyworks #1

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000Z

So on to my second batch of goodies that I picked up while in Dubai. Just like Victoria's Secret, I had heard a lot about Bath & Bodyworks, and when I saw the name in the map of the mall (Yes you need a map to shop there because its so bloody huge!) I made a mental note to go there and have a look!

I didnt go crazy, but in all honesty I really could have! I'm a sucker for novelty scents! Now, I am a big big fan of the Yankee Candles in 'Clean Cotton' they have such a fresh and..well...clean scent. Bath & bodyworks do two different ranges that are of the cotton/linen variety. Firstly they have the 'Fresh Linen' Range, from Slatkin & Co, which I was quite tempted to make a couple of purchases from. But then on the opposite side of the store I came across the 'Sea Island Cotton' range. And I knew instantly that I would be making some purchases!

So I only picked up two things...well three as one thing was a back up (Yes a back up, because I loved it so much!) Firstly I grabbed the Triple Moisture body cream. I tried the tester and I was hooked... so I picked up two! With the current exchange rate these worked out about £8 each. Its not too bad as the tubes hold 8oz of product, compared to the Body Shop Body Butters which only hold approx 7oz of product and retail for £12.50 I think I did well there! The second Item from the range was a handcream. I love handcreams. I have so many on the go at the moment, I dont seem to ever finish a tube, anyone else do that or is it just me? Anyway.. I picked this up (the last one on the shelf may I add!) its basically exactly the same as the body cream but smaller! It cost me about £4 for 2.5oz.. Soap & Glory's hand food is about 4oz and costs a little over £4, so S&G kinda win here, but not really beacause....

At the time, Bath & Bodyworks were holding a lot of offers, their Christmas stock were all BOGOF, but none of those items interested me. When I got to the till the girl at the till informed me that the handcreams were BOGOF, So i went back over the to the stand and picked up another handcream - but as I picked up the last Cotton one I chose one from a different range. I got one from the 'Warm Vanilla Sugar' Range and OH MY GOD WHY DIDNT I SEE THIS RANGE BEFORE. IT SMELLS DELISH!!! Quite literally kicking myself for not picking up some body creams! So as I got this hand cream for free I got 5oz of hand cream for £4 in two different scents therefore I 'won' again this time around! haha.

So they were my purchases of the cream variety! (lol) I do have some more items that I bought to share with you, but I like to keep you all in suspense, so look out for those posts soon! (No one likes to read a crazy long blog post do they?!) I have to say I will be pretty gutted when these products run out and will definitely be looking to do a international swap with someone so I can pick up some more goodies! Has anyone done one of those before? Any tips? How do you find someone to even do a swap with you!?!

Much Love

Weekly Ins & Outs #2

2012-01-15T20:31:00.000Z

Ins.

+ This week has gone so quickly! I haven't been up to that much as I am super skint at the moment! I did however manage to spare a fiver to buy my ticket to the TOWIB Event on the 11th Feb! So excited! I am already aware of a fair few bloggers that are going, it really will be nice to actually meet the girls in person! I just hope I am brave enough to go say hi! - Maybe if you're going and see me, come say hi first please?! lol Let me know in the comments if you are going. I now have the MAMMOTH task of trying to decide what to wear!

+ Speaking of events, There is also the LDNLUNCH that is happening on the 3rd of March that I may also pop along to (ha because I am so busy darlings!) Although in all seriousness I will be going on a night out for one of my friends birthdays the night before so I may not be in the right kind of state to travel to London on the Saturday! We shall see!

+ My blog is avaliable to follow now on another platform! It's on Hello Cotton, I've seen a couple of other bloggers on there and its relatively new, You can add your own blog just like bloglovin, folllow and like individual posts. If you want to follow my blog just click here

+ I went out for Shelleys birthday meal last night which was lovely. Lots of yummy food and good company! Unfortunately due to my current financial state I couldn't stay out after the meal, but the plus side to that is that I felt fine this morning! I also actually had a good hair and makeup night which I was happy about! If you didn't see my hair looked like this.. very kardashian esque! I just hope it wasn't a fluke and I can re create the look!

+ Today Tom and I went along to Hobbycraft to pick up some bits and bobs to experiment with creating our own save the dates/wedding invites. We both have lots of ideas but obviously we cant include everything so its going to be trial and error on what we finally decide! Currently looking for a pretty image or drawing of a thistle intertwined with a rose... DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS TO FIND! I wish I was amazing at art so I could just draw it myself! URGH!

+ Bit of a random one, but I know how light bulbs in our bedroom and living room... yes I told you it was random. For literally MONTHS Tom and I have just been using little lamps in both rooms because lets face it, we both were too lazy/kept forgetting to get new bulbs! However this morning after the one in our hallway blew too, we knew we had to pick some new ones up! So now we have a well lit flat (but not lit well enough for outfit posts / product photos in the evenings! but at least we can see what we are doing now)

Outs.

- Its bloody cold! I swear our heater isn't working in our living room! Anyone know where I can pick up a relatively cheap electric heater thing that we can plug in... Sick of sitting on the sofa wrapped in a pashmina and big hoody!

- Speaking of being cold... when you're cold you need to wear a coat.. well Clearly I need to exercise and eat less, as two buttons popped off my coat this week and the other ones are hanging on by threads. They actually have to be so stretched for my coat to physically do up. Yes I could just go buy a coat that fits but this coat was £80 in debenhams last winter and I bought it for the sole reason it would last me years! :-( I think what I am going to do is take off all the buttons and just re arrange them/stitch them back onto the coat so that they wont have to stretch to fasten! - That's effort though and I don't have a needle or navy thread... Ill be reverting back to my leather jacket it seems until i fix the problem - which also wont do up --- I think I need to start buying coats THAT ACTUALLY FIT ME. (I'm one of those girls that tells themselves they are a 10 when really are a 12 but in denial so buy the 10....hmph)

- I'm thinking of having a bit of a revamp of the blog. When I say revamp I really mean a new header and buttons. I'm terrible. I get bored so quickly! What do you think I should do, keep it how it is or have a bit of a play around with something new?

Much Love