OOTD- Blushing Pink

                                       Jumper- Topshop, Jeans- Urban Outfitters, Boots- H&M, Nail Polish- Boots 17

Sorry for the rubbish quality guys! I had to take these pics in the evening as I spent the whole of my birthday day in pyjamas! I enjoyed blueberry pancakes and just had a really relaxing day. In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant and I decided to wear my studded jeans again (obsessed much..), this time I paired them with this super soft Topshop jumper in a blush pink colour. For my birthday my boyfriend gifted me this amazing pearl necklace which was so sweet of him, I think it goes really nicely with the girly feel of the jumper. My boots are the same as always..never.coming.off.my.feet! The eye makeup is a smokey combination of the pinks and purples from the Urban Decay Naked Palette, another amazing product which I have got so much use out of since I purchased it over a year ago. It feels like everyone and their dog owns this palette, but if for some reason you don't, go out and get it now, you wont be disappointed. Hope everyone is having a good week,

Thanks for reading,

 

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

I built up a few points on my Boots card, and asked myself the very tough question, what shall I spend them on? It was only £10.00, so there weren't many options, but it was between an essie polish, my favourite nip and fab body butter  and something from Bumble and Bumble. I went over to the hair section and stared intently at all the pretty bottles until I finally gravitated towards the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, who doesn't want wavy beach hair in the middle of winter after all?  Having tried out the Surf Spray I have to say..I wish I got the nail polish! Maybe its just me, maybe I'm using this stuff wrong, I have read so many rave reviews on this product and my expectations were high, this just isn't what I wanted it to be. Firstly the smell isn't great, not unpleasant, but not pleasant either really. When you first spray it, it dampens hair a little and gives a nice beachy wave, so at first I liked what I saw. But 15 minutes later, my hair looks exactly like it did before application. It might be because I have naturally wavy hair anyway, maybe for someone who's hair is poker straight, it could provide some added volume, but the effect doesn't last long at all, not on me at least, for the price it's hard to see what the fuss is about. Let me know what you guys think of this? Have you been impressed by this product?

Thanks for reading,

OOTD- Studs and Horses

I thought I would shoot a quick outfit of the day to share with you guys (I know Fridays are supposed to be all about health and lifestyle, expect that type of post over the weekend). I had to get up at 7.15 as I had a 9am lecture this morning, luckily the day picked up with a nice yo sushi lunch with friends later in the day (plus red lips always boost my mood :)). I managed to snap these photos when I got home, just before the light died completely. The jeans and the shirt are new purchases as I couldn't help popping into Urban..again...on my lunch break on Sunday. Both items were £10, just the kinds of deals I can't leave behind! Thick shirts like this one are great for this colder weather and I just though the colour and print was quite different to anything else I've got. It's my birthday tomorrow so I'm looking forward to relaxing all day and then going out for a nice meal in the evening, birthday landing on a Saturday=bliss!. I hope everyone has a great weekend,

Thanks for reading,

 

What to wear to Uni #1

This is the first in my 'what to wear to uni series' which will give ideas on what to wear to Uni/College. I love to dress up, so could never see myself wearing sweatpants and a hoodie to Uni, I'm not knocking that look as it must be seriously cosy, however due to my obsession with always wearing some sort of heel I tend to steer away from sportier outfits. When you have to wake up at 7am and its still dark outside, and you've never felt comfier in bed its easy to just throw any old thing on, but later I'll look down at my outfit and wish I had forced myself to wake up properly and put something decent on.
    This post is all about the boyfriend shirt; long, baggy and super comfy this is the perfect choice for cold Uni days. To balance out the over-sized shirt I paired it with a tight pleather skirt and thick tights to keep my legs warm. I would throw on a big coat and a scarf before heading out the door in this freezing weather. These boots are my buy of the season, I've worn them nearly everyday since I got them, they don't even feel like heels as they're so comfy to walk in, who knew h&m did such good quality shoes, not to mention the fact that they only cost me £25.00!! Never underestimate the power of the boyfriend shirt, there are so many styles to choose from, you could go for something that literally look like its been stolen from a guy in your life (a more formal style, striped or plain pale blue or salmon). Alternatively it could be heavily printed, which would also look great with plain black on the bottom, I found this shirt in the sale in Urban Outfitters for £12.00 so that explains my choice. What do you think of the over-sized shirt?

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MAC Haul

I was lucky enough to receive a few MAC goodies over Christmas, including my first MAC blush and eyeshadow and a new lipstick (I really rate the MAC lipsticks as the ones I've got have all been really good in terms of colour payoff and staying power).

Blush in 'Peaches'- I really wanted a peachy blush as I don't think pinks suit me much, I like to bronze my face up quite a lot and I feel like a peach colour on the apples of the cheeks really complements the tan colour of the bronzer. You need very little of this as it's highly pigmented, just a great colour which I can imagine looks good on most skin tones.

Lipstick in 'Rebel'- I love a deep plum colour and this one is gorgeous, the fact that it works just as well as a stain as it does applied heavily with a lip brush, is the reason I think it's so great. Great for this season when dark purples are everywhere, it also transitions well into spring as the stain it leaves is more of a fuchsia colour.


 Eyeshadow in 'Satin Taupe'- I definitely don't need any more eye shadows, but all the talk in the beauty world is enough to drive a girl crazy, especially when products are recommended by makeup artists and hyped by bloggers. This shadow is no exception, hyped in the beauty world, this colour was an easy choice as my first MAC eyeshadow. The brown/purple tone is something that I know I'll get a lot of wear out of as I find these colours easy to wear, they're a fail safe as I know they'll always look good. Now I just need to fill up my little palette (more excuses to suck me into the store).  What colours would you guys recommend as my next 3 shadows from MAC? I'm considering cranberry, beauty marked, charcoal brown, naked lunch, all that glitters...and so on...and so on...there are too many to choose from!

Thanks for reading,

FOTD- Natural Makeup

I'm going to share a quick round-up of my everyday makeup for you today. When I've got 10 minutes to get ready (which happens often...due to repeat pressing of the snooze button)I usually do an easy natural look, which basically means no eyeshadow and a bit of colour on the lips (you know..to make it look like you put a bit of effort in).

Base- I have found that the best way to wear foundation, if you've got dry skin like me, is to mix it with your favourite light moisturiser. I love Nars 'sheer glow' foundation but I don't need that much coverage, mixing it in with moisturiser gives the dewy finish I am always striving to acheive. The Collection concealer is a beauty blogger fave, everyone raves about this and for good reason.

Bronzing- I received the Chanel 'soleil de tan' cream bronzer for christmas and I have to say, it's one of the best products I've ever used. I apply this everyday without fail to bronze up my whole face, especially when I've fake tanned my body and my face is looking a little pale in comparison. It leaves that dewy glow, it blends perfectly (I use the real techniques stippling brush to apply it). Someone actually asked me if it was sunny where I had been over New Year as they thought I looked tanned...I was in Brussels so no on the sun front...but it made me love this product even more.

Eyes- Not much to say on the mascara front, this definitely isn't my favourite, it's actually a bit of a pain to remove, it sticks to your lashes like tar...seriously...I had to go and buy a new eye makeup remover (review coming). The curlers however, I couldn't live without these babys!

Eyebrows- I run through them with the spooly on the benefit eye pencil, and fill them in with the dark brown colour from the sleek palette, I'm really glad I bought the 'oh so special' palette as the colours are great for all kinds of looks and I discovered a new eyebrow colour!

Freckles- I love them and I don't have them, simple as that. But that's the beauty of makeup, faking what you don't have. The brown eye pencil from Rimmel works really well for drawing them on, just remember that if you're going to attempt this, you need to pat them with your finger after you draw them on, otherwise they'll look obviously fake. Also try and make the sizes uneven and the spacing random for a true freckly effect. This works best when you're tanned as lots of peoples freckles come out with the sun, I sometimes do it but not everyday.

Lips- Mac Rebel is a great colour if you want a bold statement lip, but applying it with your fingers can also look great, the effect is a berry coloured stain. In the pictures above I also applied a clear gloss on top. 

Thanks for reading

 

Instagram Life Lately

OOTD (topshop jeans, urban outfitters shirt, primark gillet)-Gluten free orange muffins- topshop necklace- avocado salad- red berry smoothie- gluten free pizza- courgette fritters, peppers with halloumi- candy king-curly hair day

Healthy Smoothie Recipe..

As it's Friday, I thought I would share a really delicious smoothie recipe, smoothies are incredibly filling making them great for when hunger pangs start to creep up..and your hand starts to reach for the cookie jar. There is nothing unhealthy here, it's all just pure fruit, the best snack you can have. You'll need to juice the oranges first (if you don't own a juicer this recipe can be made without the orange juice as the banana is what thickens it up, alternatively you could also add some live yogurt.) Just pour the fresh orange juice into the blender with the other ingredients and blend, blend, blend until your delicious drink is made. Smoothies are best made in the morning for breakfast as they contain fibre, so you're getting the majority of your daily nutrition before you've even started your day, kiwis are a really great fruit to add as they contain Vitamins A, C and E. The best thing of all...this recipe tastes amazing!! Give it a try, it'll wake you up and get you ready for the day much better than any sugary cereal...guaranteed!

Bananas- High in Potassium, great for lowering blood pressure
Oranges- Excellent source of Vitamin C- The important phytonutrient found in Oranges is actually contained mostly in the peel and pith, so make sure to peel the orange carefully leaving the pith on before juicing to get all the benefits.
Kiwis- Another excellent source of Vitamin C- Also has antioxidant protecting properties.


Thanks for reading

 

OOTD- Flying The Flag

Quick outfit post for you all as it's fashion Wednesday. I've had a great day scoffing down sushi and watching a great movie called 'Gangster Squad' at the cinema. For UK people, yo sushi are doing 40% until the 25th of January, it's a pretty good deal, all you have to do is go online, quickly make an account with them (I know...annoying..but if you like sushi as much as I do..it's totally worth it), then you redeem a code and show them at the till when you go to pay.
    I can't get enough of these River Island heels, they're the perfect winter heel as they're open toe but not too much like a sandal. All I can say about the bag is 'thanks mum', I found it at home over New Year and it was love at first sight, a real leather, structured, feminine bag like this could not be left to gather dust, so I have given it a new home. As for this jumper, well...I am embarrassed to say that I got it from the kids section of New Look (hey...its cheaper), it's so cosy that I have to stop myself pulling it off my clothes rack everyday, sometimes when it's this cold, all you can think about is being warm, maybe its an excuse to raid the last of the January sales for some more knitwear..what do you think!?

 Thanks for reading,

P.S. If I look bronzed it's because I'm wearing the Xen Tan Dark Lotion, a fake tan which may have changed my life...ok I'm exaggerating...but seriously, this stuff is incredible, a rave review is coming soon so watch this space!!

Origins Super Spot Remover

Lets be honest with ourselves girls (and boys) no product is going to completely vanish those pesky spots overnight (and if you know of one...please tell me immediately). However, this spot treatment gets as close as I have found to this elusive miracle we all wish we could find. A little pricey at £13.00 for this tiny bottle, it's worth every penny, you only need a tiny bit to cover the area and it visibly reduces redness and size by the morning. Meant to be used after removing makeup and cleansing, it's the perfect treatment to leave on overnight, when you awake you will find a visible reduction making the spot so much easier to conceal with the magic duo, foundation and concealer. As one of their top selling products, this little beauty has received much praise in the blogging world. Origins claim that it is the Salicylic Acid in the gel that helps speed up healing and the caffeine is the ingredient which helps reduces redness. It does sting a bit when applied and dries out the area quite significantly, now I don't know about you, but I would much rather deal with a little bit of dry skin than a huge red spot in the middle of my forehead. If you suffer from the odd breakout it's definitely worth a try, you have only to visit their website to see the rave reviews posted by satisfied customers, they speak for themselves.      
   This product is my first dip into the origins pool, and it definitely makes me curious to try other cult products like the overnight moisture mask, the charcoal mask and the high potency night-a-mins cream. 

What do you think of Origins and the hype that surrounds many of their products?

Thanks for reading,

A healthy breakfast idea

As a little extra post this Sunday, I thought I would share a quick and easy breakfast idea with you all. Porridge is the best if you need to stay full for a long time, long uni days with no chance for a bite mean that I always try and get a big breakfast in the morning. However, I will be the first to admit that when the alarm goes off at 7am  its tempting to just run out the door... this always backfires as I end up paying for it later when I'm starving hungry in the middle of a lecture.
  This breakfast isn't only tasty, the fruit means you're already getting one of your five a day, not to mention how delicious bananas and blueberries taste!! The fruit flakes are a great snack, they're gluten free and free of nasty ingredients (it's mostly just pressed fruit), great for when you need a quick sweet fix and don't want to reach for a chocolate bar, and they taste damn good on porridge too!

Benefits

Blueberries- These little wonder berries are high in anti-oxidants
Soy Milk- Proven to promote weight loss, strengthen blood vessel integrity and doesn't leave you with that sluggish feeling that dairy milk does
Banana- The potassium in bananas has been shown to lower blood pressure and the prevents the weakening of bones.
  I hope you enjoyed this quick recipe, for anyone trying to live gluten free, gluten free porridge is great as it's a great alternative to sugary, wheat based cereals. You could also add lots of honey and cinnamon if
you like it a bit sweeter.

Thanks for reading,