It's been a while!

I haven't blogged in what feels like forever! But this week has been a true nightmare, I've got a little bit of time to spare this evening so here's a small post about my week and the very few photo's that I've Instagrammed, just so that you know I'm still alive! 

On Friday, I sat my AS French speaking exam. So unbelievably stressful, especially when knowing it's my last chance! I've also been trying to balance this with work, revision and leisure. But as of 7 weeks on Friday, my A Level life will be over, and will just leave me with the daunting thought of getting my results back in August! Hopefully the work I'm doing will pay off!

         

On the positive side, this week my boyfriend got hold of tickets for us to see Mumford & Sons, Vampire Weekend and Ben Howard in London this July! I cannot explain to you all just how excited I am, it's going to be truly amazing. Seeing both Mumford & Sons and Ben Howard is a dream come true for me, I've been wanting to see both acts for years now, and it's finally going to happen! As well as going to Summer Stampede 2013, in the Olympic Park, I'll also be spending that weekend in London. This is helping to get me through exam season and take my mind off of everything, yay! 

This post wasn't worth while at all, but it will do for now! Hopefully over the next couple of days I'm going to be putting a review up of the Real Techniques brushes! 

See you soon,

25 Facts About Me

Hi, this is a slightly old photo of me, but anyway... The 50 Facts About Me post gets done a lot! And normally in the form of a video, but here I am doing a text post and only 25 facts, hopefully it'll be a nice change from my beauty posts!

I'm 5' 8", the worlds most awkward height! I 'm neither tall nor small, just at an awkward middle ground that I hate!

I study Maths, Further Maths and French at A Level. I used to love Maths, but that love has long gone since doing Further Maths! 

I'm hoping to get into Sheffield Hallam University this September to study International Business with French. What I'll do with this degree in the long run, I don't know. But I do know I'll make it worth my while. 

My favourite TV advert is the Stella Artois advert. I love the time period, the music and the mans goal! The music always makes me want to watch Up though!

My favourite Disney film is Basil the Great Mouse Detective. No one ever knows what I'm talking about when I go on about it, my boyfriend thinks I've made it up. I haven't, it is amazing. 

I'm extremely excited to move to France in around 23 months, providing I get on to my University course!

I'm part of a very odd friendship group. We are all so different it is unreal, but it works. 

I would love to work in the Fashion industry when I'm older, but chances are I'll end up in a boring office job.

I have a part-time job working on a customer service desk, I actually quite enjoy it. 

I have a little doggy, he's 5 and his name is Brian. He's a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Papillion. He is by far my favourite little man in the world! 

My next favourite man, aside from my dad, granddad and brother is my boyfriend. He's rather wonderful, I haven't known him long but he is my bestfriend. I see him everyday, we practically live together and he is just fantastic. We have so many weird little things in common, it is bizarre.

I'm a vegetarian, I have been for around 8 years now. My boyfriend is also a veggie, what a coincidence!

I have a little red car called Percy, he's pretty.

I am very particular about my milk. I like whole milk on Cheerios and Coco Pops Croc Prints, but only on those 2 types of cereal. For every other type of cereal and to drink, I will only entertain semi-skimmed milk or the purple/orange top 1% milk. Super picky!

Since I was little I have had an obsession with the silk labels in clothes. I always have to 'twiddle' them. I even had to have ribbon on my dummy when I was young to play with. My boyfriend also shares this similarity, weird.

I have to eat all meals in a particular order. So, a standard meal, I would eat the peas/sweetcorn/assorted veg first, then the main part of the meal, ending with whatever type of potato. For a Sunday Dinner, I eat peas, then carrots, then stuffing, then Yorkshire puddings, then the potatoes. Something else myself and my boyfriend have in common. 

Terry's Chocolate Orange is my all time favourite chocolate.

I only like Peanut Butter Kit Kats, although I will eat the others if that's all I have. 

I love raw vegetables, especially carrots and mushrooms!

I love the films Apollo 13 and Ladder 49.

I don't enjoy reading unless it's non-fiction. My favourite book I have read is The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz. I highly recommend this, but it is graphic in parts. 

I went to Auschwitz last year, it was by far the most incredible and touching experience.

I studied History at GCSE were we were taught about the abolishment of the death penalty, we watched a film about Albert Pierrepoint, since then I have been fascinated by this type of film. 

I don't watch much TV, unless it's a documentary or something about history. Having said that, my guilty pleasure is Geordie Shore.

I have a strange love for people like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, David Attenborough and Brian Cox. They fascinate me. How can one person know so much? 

To do 50 Facts About Me was just too extensive, and would probably not be that interesting! But if I ever find anything else about myself that I feel you won't be thrilled to know, I'll do another post similar to this! Hope you enjoyed it and didn't get bored! 

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub | Review

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub (25g) - RRP £5.25

Lush's lip scrubs... They truly are tasty little miracles! Available in Bubblegum, Mint Julips and Popcorn, all yummy products in their own right! Although I would normally opt for a minty and refreshing balm, for some peculiar reason I went for the sweetest of all!

Through the prolonged winter period this year, my lips have well and truly suffered, and for no reason! Had I have jumped on the lip scrub band wagon long before now, all this could have been prevented! Every morning, before I apply a lipstick or balm, I use this product in order to give myself an easy time for the rest of the day by having smooth lips. 

Like all Lush products, the smell just draws you in! Thankfully this delight isn't just a tease like everything else you lock eyes on in their stores, this is actually edible! After application, lick of the excess, and I can promise that you will not be disappointed! Delicious!!! The yummy bubblegum sugar crystals still get me excited every time I use this.

I don't think I could imagine living without this product now, and I cannot wait to try out the other flavours. Normally I wouldn't go back to a product more than once or try other flavours, but this has captivated me. 

5 out of 5, without doubt!

What I bought today...

So since the sun is now shining, I used this opportunity to have a quick look around town! Since I went to Meadowhall last week, and payday isn't for another couple of weeks, I only picked up a few new products that I felt were necessary to try out!

(Left to Right)
Real Techniques "Core Collection" - RRP £21.99
Real Techniques "Stippling Brush" - RRP £11.99
Real Techniques "Powder Brush" - RRP £12.99

Revlon Nail Art Moon Candy "230 Satellite" - RRP £7.99

As I said, I haven't bought that much! Bit of a change for me, normally when I'm let loose in Boots I go absolutely crazy! 

I've read so many great reviews about the Real Techniques collection, so knew I had to get some and give them a try! I also picked up this new Revlon nail varnish/polish. After seeing the adverts in magazines such as Look, the effect it gives looks simply amazing! I really wanted to try out either "Galactic" or "Orbit", two beautiful blue shades, but unfortunately both had already sold out! Boooo! But after seeing the swatches of what was left, Satellite looked stunning! So tonight, when I've gotten some work done for once, and I have time to relax, I'm hoping to give it a try then!

Reviews to follow both of my purchases will soon follow! 

Clinique 3 Step Skincare

For years I've been looking for a skincare routine that works for my skin, and until now I have never gotten it right. I have a Dry-Combination complexion, where I get a somewhat oily t-zone, but can still get patches of dry skin occasionally. Last month when being matched for foundation at the Clinique counter, I was given a large variety of free samples! My favourite! Amongst these freebies was the Clinique 3 Step Skincare for Dry-Combination skin. 

Clinique 3 Step Skincare
Liquid Facial Soap (200ml) - RRP £15.00
Clarifying Lotion (200ml-400ml) - RRP £16.00 - £25.00
Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion (50ml - 125ml) - RRP £17.00 - £29.50

Since being given these samples, I have used them twice a day, morning and evening, ever since! Because of this, I had to go out and buy the real thing once I'd used these up, which did end up being quite costly due to buying the largest size in all... But it'll last longer! In order to ration my use of this skincare regime I've transferred quantities of my newly bought products into the sample bottles and tubes (as seen above). Something I do with as many products as i can.

After only using this range around 3 times, my skin cleared up a treat! I had an even complexion, so even in fact that I was confident enough to ditch my make up sometimes! So easy to use and apply, they are an absolute delight. Like all of the Clinique range, these products are also fragrance-free, perfect in a morning when too many scents are just over-powering! 

I would highly recommend that anyone tries the 3 Step Skincare regime from Clinique, giving it a 4.5 out of 5! Fragrance-free, easy to use, with great results! The only thing I found to be against this product was the price, although it is worth baring in mind that for the price you pay, you do get a large quantity of the product, unlike some items on the market. 

Sanctuary Spa Body Moisture Spray | Review

As I previously mentioned in my last post, I am bizarrely against body butters, moisturisers and creams... I detest them, I hate them, I cannot stand them! They are extremely time consuming, and I just cannot bare it, I don't want to have to wait to get ready in a morning, I just want to get dressed and go. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, it isn't, yippeeee! This product has become my saviour, I could not ask for more in such an item!

Sanctuary Spa Body Moisture Spray (150ml) - RRP £5.50

In a morning, whilst I'm sitting with a facial scrub on, to occupy myself I spritz this all over my body and by the time I've washed away my mask and cleansed, the moisture spray has soaked in already! I don't have to sit and wait after cleansing, applying my make up and doing my hair before I can get dressed. It is a miracle! I no longer find moisturising to be a complete chore, and never will I revert to my terrible ways of neglecting my skin ever again whilst this wonder is in my life. Although I do get away with neglecting my skin for periods of time, I can never ignore the dry patches I tend to get on my shins - what an odd place to get them! To get rid of these patches, usually I have to sit with thick layers of moisturiser on my skin, but with this, just one spritz is enough and my skin is left quenched and smooth! 

5 out of 5 without doubt! I cannot do this product enough justice, it is PERFECT! It soaks into the skin instantly, and what's more... the subtle scent of this moisturiser does not conflict with your perfume! The perfect morning moisturiser!!

Losing my Soap & Glory virginity!

So this week I made my usual "Post-Pay-Day" trip to Meadowhall, and as ever I paid Boots a little visit! Although being a little visit, it ended up with me having one very unhappy bank card after having only bought a few small items! As well as getting my Clinique skin care essentials, I also picked up a few new products that I thought were worth a try, and finally lost my Soap & Glory virginity!!!

Soap & Glory, one of the most popular products I'd say is available right now. I myself however, have never purchased any of the S&G range before to try them, other than as gifts for friends and family, and so now I felt it was a good time to start! I've read many good reviews on their range, and how delicious their products smell, but personally I've never found them appealing. 

Soap & Glory Scrub Your Nose In It (125ml) - RRP £7.50

"Scrub your nose in it", my first ever S&G purchase! Claiming to "help refine large pores and prevent blemishes", this seemed like the perfect product for me, considering the breakout I was having that week! So, when I got home, the first thing I did was take off my make up and slap this on...

Following the directions given on the back of the packaging, I put a pea-sized blob on my finger, ready to apply to a damp t-zone and extend out to the less clogged areas of my skin. This resulted in being the largest pea I had ever seen! Whether this is due to me having the worlds largest head or not is beyond me, but a pea-sized dollop was not big enough! After leaving the scrub on my skin for around 3-4 minutes, I washed it off and applied my normal Clinique moisturiser. After using this facial scrub twice a day for a week, I have noticed a slight improvement with my skin. The scrub leaves my skin tingling, feeling buffed and matte, great for when I'm applying my make up! 

Overall, I would give this a 4 out of 5. The packaging is adorable, the matte finish it leaves with me is what I look for in a skincare product, but the only thing letting this mask down is the time it takes for me to notice an improvement in my complexion.

Soap & Glory Butter Yourself Body Cream (300ml) - RRP £10.50

When I'd gone to Boots, they had a promotion on the Soap & Glory range, where when you spend over £10 on the S&G range, you get a free "Butter Yourself" body cream (300ml), which alone was worth £10.50! Being a super savvy shopper when it comes to cosmetics, I boosted my £7.50 spend up to £10 with a S&G hand sanitizer, and then this yummy body cream was all mine! 

Usually I would never buy a body cream, I hate the stickiness they leave behind after application, how they put a halt to your morning routine when getting ready and the conflict you get between the scent of your body cream and perfume. Because of this I haven't gotten much use out of this product, thanks to me being stubborn... But I do enjoy using this at night, overnight the cream soaks into my skin so that I wake up with super smooth, delicious smelling skin, with the sticky stage, that gets in the way of everything, avoided!

3 out of 5 in my eyes! Adore the packaging, how can you not? But despite smelling delicious, I find the scent just slightly too strong and sticky, but this is due to my very biased opinion of body creams and butters!