10 great things from 2012

Hi <3

I thought I would share 10 things from my year that I really enjoyed doing as a little pick-me-up and what better way to end the year than reminiscing on the good times? :)

1. In February, me and my boyfriend went to Venice for a weekend break. It was amazing <3

 

2. In May was my university Summer Ball. This was going to be the last one because in June I was graduating!

 

3. Me and my boyfriend Ollie went to have photobooth pictures taken 4 years on from the ones taken on the right!

4. In June 2012, I graduated :)

 

5. In August, my best friend Karina and her boyfriend Luke came to stay with me and my boyfriend from America. On the 24th, we met up with some of our closest online friends, some of which we'd known for over 5 years.

6. Me, Karina, and Kat. They have been my best friends for over 6 years, Kat is from Norway and Karina from the US.

7. At the end of August, me and Ollie went on a summer holiday to Turkey <3 This is us on a pirate ship!

 

8. At the end of September, me and Ollie moved out of a shared house into our own studio flat. This is a very (crappy) picture of our kitchen haha.

9. In December I started a 3 week job at a christmas market which was at the Sky headquarters on their campus. I was working as a Barista and hadn't made coffee's since the year before and I really enjoyed it :)

10. I started my blog!

:) What did you enjoy from your year? Did you have a good 2012?
I hope you are all well! Do you have any new years plans? I am going to see some old friends which will be nice!

Please check out my december favourites post which has reviews & swatches here :) <3

Love,

Prompt blogger challenge!!

Hi everyone!! I hope you had a great christmas; leave your christmas haul links below so I can see what you got!
I have been planning to set up a blogger challenge on my blog since I first started my blog and I've been jotting ideas down for a while. I thought that I would finally open the challenge and get started! I am really excited about this and hope you are too :) All the rules are listed below, if anything is unclear, just let me know!

Use this hashtag for discussing this challenge and sharing links to your posts!

#promptchall

Challenge closes on 11th JANUARY 2013.
The aim of this challenge is for bloggers to choose two prompt topics from the table below. You will then create a post of that topic subject and post it in your blog as well as a guest post on my blog. The aim is for you to come up with two posts relating to that subject topic and submit them before the end of the challenge.

When the challenge is over and everyone has submitted their posts, everyones posts will be voted on by readers. There will be one overall winner for the best post of the prompt blogger challenge and they will win a beauty box from me but all the participants will win a prize.

There are SIX places in this challenge and I am looking for 5 bloggers, you don't have to be a fashion or beauty blogger, you don't even have to have your own blog! Please before you choose your topics and apply below, make sure you have the best intention to carry out this challenge and submit both posts for your topics. It would be great if you would choose topics that are perhaps different to what you would usually blog about: this could encourage your blog readers to vote for your post as it is different to what they would usually read. This is a great opportunity for you to post 2 great blog posts on your blog for the challenge as well as participate to win a prize.

How do I submit my posts? You will submit them as a guest post on my blog, and you can also post them in your own blog if you have one.
Can I use old posts? No, the blog posts you submit have to be written for this challenge.
Who can participate? Anyone! You do not have to be a blogger at all.
How long will I have to submit two posts? You will have 30 days from the start date - which could be any time within a few days or a week depending on how fast the 5 places fill up. Please try and stagger your submission posts, if all 5 bloggers submit their posts all at once it can get overwhelming and confusing for the readers, and myself! :)
How can I promote my posts? I really want to win! Great! Remember this challenge isn't all about the prize; all the participants will get the prize! The best way for you to promote the blog posts you write for your post is to tell your followers and subscribers, tweet your blog posts on twitter and also use the hash tag created for this challenge: #promptchall. Your posts will only be voted on AFTER the challenge is finished.
How will I be voted on once the challenge is closed? Once the 30 days are over, the challenge will close. I will open a voting post on my blog where readers, my followers and yours, can vote on the best posts. The voting will be open for 3 weeks.
What is the prize? All participants will receive 1 skin care product, 1 make-up product (foundation, nail polish, eyeshadow, etc of my choice) and a thank you card. The winner will receive a beauty box created and put together by me and a congratulations card. I haven't chosen the prizes yet as I am still collecting them, but the box will be similar to my first giveaway beauty box.
I will be including: 2x nail polish, 1 mascara, 1 lip stick, 2 lip balms, 1 foundation, 1 eyeshadow palette, BB cream, 1 moisturizer, pack of make up remover wipes, 1 notepad, 1 magazine. Brands I will include will be some of those of my favourites including Origins, Revlon, Rimmel, Maybelline, PURE, Burts Bees and L'Occatine. I will be updating this post with pictures of the prizes in a few weeks. :)

The girls blogging for this challenge are:

Lauren at Peachycurves: Lip makeup product review & Make up tutorial 

Becca at Becca's fashion and life: OOTD & December favourites 

Louise at Swirlicious Beauty: review & Collective haul

Kelly at KelLoves Body/other review & Skin care review 

Emily at One way beauty Fashion favourites & Skin care routine 

Grace at Belle Mode: OOTD & Staple pieces

Here are some banners which you can use for your blog and in your posts if you are taking part:

This challenge sign-up is currently CLOSED with 6/6 participants. (29/12/12)
I hope you are excited about this as much as I am! I can't wait for people to enter this challenge so we can get started :) *I am running this challenge completely by myself and no one is sponsoring this or providing any of the prizes.

December favourites reviews, swatches & more :)

Hi everyone :)

I've found in the past that my favourites/empties posts are huge and I don't think many people enjoy them for that reason. Maybe it looks fake that the products in that post are all my favourites of that month because there's always so many of them it looks like I just pulled out all my make up collection... but honestly, I have a lot of stuff! I want to point out as well that I like to mini-review all of the products I mention in any of my favourites/empties posts. I know this can make the post long and wordy but I think it's better for you guys to actually get an explanation why I enjoyed this product so much and why it worked for me, as well as what you could expect if you used it yourself. I try and provide swatches when I can.

Although it's not the end of the month yet, I won't be purchasing anything else until the new year now, and with christmas I know I wouldn't get around to posting this if I don't post now. And, my favourites won't change for the rest of the month anyway. :) I have been loving...

• Lemon tea 

• Joliebox & Glossybox December boxes

(Joliebox)

• Oxblood wool tights

Beauty favourites...

 Miss Sporty glitter nail polish "sparkle touch", Seche nail polish "magnifique", dermalogica daily microfoliant, Origins skin tone correcting moisturizer, Maybelline eye shadow colour tattoo 24hour in 64 Pink Gold, Burts Bee's lip shimmer in Rhubarb, NYC glossy lip balm in Applelicious, MUA palette "Glitter Ball" (two shades in this palette) and Garnier soft essentials rose face wipes.

 

 Miss Sporty sparkle touch on top of Seche magnifique. The Seche polish was in this months Glossybox and omg, it's one of my favourite colours! I've been wearing it non stop since I got it :X. It changes colour in the light and has sparkles of green and blue. The application is really good and I love it with glitter on top. I have been using this standard glitter poish from miss sporty, but I'm sure any blue and white sparkle polish would be just as nice!

 

I got the dermalogica daily microfoliant in November Glossybox and I have been using it all of november and all of this month too. I have been loving it and it has made a big difference to my skin. It was also featured in my November favourites and still deserves to be included in this months. One of my favourite things about this is how it changes from a powder exfoliant into a cream; this is perfect for me because I have super sensitive red, irritated cheeks so when I exfoliate it can really hurt my cheeks and make them even more red and irritated, because this is so soft and turns very quickly into a cream it means I can exfoliate without the problem of it hurting my cheeks! :)

The Origins Brighter By Nature skin tone correcting moisturizer was recommended to me by a friend because my skin tone has been giving me huge problems lately. I've only been using this a day (I received it in the mail just yesterday) so I haven't really had chance to tell a difference if this is working, but I just wanted to include it because although I've only used this twice, I love the feel of it and it is really moisturizing, it doesn't hurt my skin so it's perfect for my sensitive skin, and it left my face feeling really moisturized and healthy without the cloggy heavy feeling that some moisturizers leave.

The Yonka Paris Pamplemousse was in this months Joliebox, so again I haven't been using it more than a couple of days. It is a morning moisturizer and has been leaving my skin with a glow after using it in the morning. It claims that it can be used as a make up base, too. I haven't noticed that yet because my BB cream that I use works as a primer for me. It has helped with removing the feeling of grease and over night left over night cream. I could predict that if I wasn't going to blog my December favourites until early January, this would in there!

 

I have been loving these gold and blue shades from the MUA Glitter Ball palette.

 Maybelline colour tattoo in Pink Gold

This is lovely and moisturizing, slides onto the eyelid and does last all day and night. Although it is wet it is NOT sticky at all and doesn't stick to the eyelashes or feel heavy. I have used this just on its own for light make up days because it really does make a lovely glow to the eyelid that looks really natural, but it is also great for a base for any eyeshadow looks.

If you've been reading my blog before you will have seen this NYC glossy lip balm in applelicious before. I has been a favourite of mine since I purchased it in my 10 for £10 challenge (read here! I've been told it's one of my best posts :]). This stays in my bag whenever I go and I use it all the time, it tastes absolutely amazing... yummy apple, it's very moisturizing, I love the packaging and the smell and the glossy look of it.

The Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer is a new product I've never seen before. Burt's Bees has to be my favourite lip balm and I'm pretty much addicted to Burt's Bees lip balm and have for years! When I saw this I just HAD to get it, and I have fallen in love with it. I believe there are around 12 shades to choose from and I will be ordering more in other shades. It leaves a tingly, menthol feeling to the lips and tastes minty while being super moisturizing like Burt's Bees always does but has a great pink shade like a lip gloss! :)

The top swatch is NYC applelicious glossy lip balm. The bullet has an apple running through which is a darker shade to the rest of the lip balm so you get two different shades of pink when you first apply it, cute right? :) (You can see more pictures of this HERE)

Burt's bees Rhubarb is a lovely colour. 

You can win a brand new packaged Burt's Bees lip shimmer in Rhubarb as shown above as well as the Origins skin tone correcting moisturizer, plus a Revlon foundation and a BB cream in my latest giveaway HERE.

I hope you enjoyed my December favourites and reviews. I know my favourites post are much longer than most that other bloggers post and should be called monthly reviews, but I really do love reviewing all of my favourites. I am thinking of making a product review directory because I do a lot of mini-reviews in posts like this.

This is probably going to be my last post before christmas, so happy christmas everyone, eat lots of food and have a great time. :)

surprise giveaway :]

Hi everyone! :) I bought a few things on ebay the past couple of days and have been collecting a few other things that I would like to give away! Prizes are fun, and I thought it'd be cute if we both tried out some new products! You don't have to do anything other than follow me on GFC chat to enter :)

I will be updating this post with pictures of the prizes once I receive them in the mail! I didn't buy them just for this giveaway, I bought a duplicate at the same time as buying the product for myself ;) It would be great if, whoever the winner is, could write a review on any of the products won because I will be trying them out for the first time too!

It is not a sponsored giveaway and all the prizes were bought by my own money. This giveaway is open internationally, there is one winner and the giveaway is open for 3 weeks. I can't wait to try these products and hope you can't either! I thought these products that I ordered would be nice to giveaway because I am excited about them myself :)
The prizes you will win are:

* Pure BB cream in the shade "light" see my review here

* 1 tube Origins brighter by nature skin tone correcting moisturizer

*Revlon PhotoReady foundation in shade 05 Natural Beige

*Burt's Bees lip shimmer tinted lip balm in Rhubarb

Good luck :) a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pure BB cream in "ultra light" review

Hiiiiii <3

A couple of weeks ago, Pure sent me their BB cream in the new shade ultra light. Their BB cream is one of my favourite products of all time and I have spotlighted it in previous posts many times! It's definitely been in my monthly favourites almost every month in the past 4 months and I continue to love it and I can't find a better BB cream (I have tried others, including more expensive ones such as Dr. Jart). I purchase mine from Savers and at only £1.99 I really have to say it's a fantastic bargain for such a great product.

The reason why I didn't review it straight away is because I wanted to try it over several weeks depending on my foundation I wore above it, powders, my skin care routine, the weather, etc., etc., as you never really know!

My usual tube on the left in "light" and the new product I got sent to try in "ultra light" on the right.

The shade they sent me was in "ultra light" which is a new shade I believe is not for sale yet (at least it isn't on the shelves where I usually buy mine). After using the new BB cream for a few weeks, I have to be completely honest: I realized I just didn't actually have much of a review to write about. The BB cream itself is the same, it works just as well as the light shade I've been repurchasing over and over... I would repurchase my usual light shade as opposed to the ultra light if they were to stock it in my Savers only because it gives me more coverage which is what I prefer. I find I get more coverage from the light shade however the ultra light shade gave me a more dewy/glowy look.

 Nearly blended in swatches of both ultra light and light shades.

 Blended in swatches.

If you're looking for a BB cream to use under your foundation routine, the ultra light would work perfect for you as it is not as dark as a foundation and also works as a primer. In comparison, the light shade in this BB cream gives more coverage and personally I can rely on that as my foundation for days when I don't want to wear a full face on make up, however I would use both BB creams in the two different shades depending on my make up routine and skin.

I definitely can see the differences between the two different shades and the ultra light shade would work fantastic for those looking for a lighter BB cream or people with a very pale complexion.

Please read my full review and comparison of the Pure BB cream here to find out what I think of it HERE. & I also mentioned it here & here!

I still rate this product highly and continue to repurchase it other any other BB creams on the market. The fact that they sent me one of them to try does not change my opinion on them at all. I would recommend this to anyone and definitely do tell everyone I can.

Love,

Disclaimer: there was a surprise giveaway on this post, but it has been cancelled. Don't worry, there were no entries so no one's time has been wasted! :)

small haul feat. Stella & Dot ring, primark & savers

Hiiiii <3 Are you all getting in the festive mood?
It's my last week at work and on Sunday me and my boyfriend will be going to Sheffield, our home town, for christmas.

Last night I ordered some things on ebay as a little christmas gift for myself; I think I deserve it as my family are not celebrating this year so I've been feeling down about that, and I won't be receiving many gifts this year (not that this is the main focus or even important to me at all for christmas) so I thought I would treat myself to a few things. I will take pictures when I get them in the mail which I'm crossing my fingers will be before we go to Sheffield!! :D I also bought duplicates of the products for a giveaway I have planned ;) I have an idea for a blogger challenge!

Anyway, I've been meaning to show this ring on my blog for around a week. I'm currently working at Sky headquartes (BskyB; the tv / internet provider) as they have a christmas/winter market on their campus and I'm working at the espresso bar there; we also have gift stalls every day mon-fri, once of them last week was Stella & Dot. I've never heard of Stella & Dot before, and browsing the stall during my break I fell in love with the ring below. The woman running the trunk show there was so lovely to let me have the ring for a reduced £40 from the original £55 :).

Today I got a few bits, I repurchased my usual favourite hair spray, dry shampoo and bought this hair dye which I can't wait to use, I will definitely take pictures afterwards! I love this brand of hair dye and it was really cheap from Savers.

 I love these chunky tights - essential for winter and so cute for christmas, I had to get them for the christmas celebrations I have coming up because I will be wearing cute jumpers and dresses for lunches, dinners, parties etc! And the scarf is too cute, I love hedgehogs :)

 I got my Glossybox today and it's an amazing box this month! Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing what I got, I might try and add some pictures in with my december favourites.
If you have done a December Glossybox unboxing already, or a December favourites, leave your links below as I'd love to see them :)

Please follow me on GFC and check out my recent posts!

Love,