NOTD - Essie & OPI Combo

Hello everyone! Two days off work so I've got the nail varnish out, woohoo. It was a hard decision trying to choose which nail polish to wear (white girl problems), but eventually I decided upon a two brand combo.

Firstly I applied my Essie Off The Shoulder on all of my nails which is a lovely hot pink which I love and have mentioned on the blog before. I applied two coats of this polish as I thought it looked best. Next I applied one of my favourite polishes, OPI's Teenage Dream which is from the Katy Perry collection and again, is a polish I've mentioned before.

Absolutely love this combination and think its perfect for summer. Also, pink is my favourite colour when it comes to beauty products and I love adding glitter to the top of my polishes at any given opportunity.

What are you wearing on your nails today?

Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Moisturiser

Before I begin this post I would just like to inform everyone that this is my 200th post, yay!

I mentioned this briefly in my post on my May Birchbox and said that I loved it so much that I might have to purchase the full size. This is the Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Moistuizer. 

The sample size that I received in my box was pretty generous and has actually lasted me so long that I still haven't bad to dip into my new pot. 

I opened my Birchbox the day I arrived home from my trip to America and after all the travelling my skin was horrible and so dry. As it was sitting right on my desk I decided to try it right there and then, and instantly, yes, instantly, my skin soaked it up and it brightened up my appearance. I have quite red skin and it calmed it right down and over time has evened out my skin tone. 

I'm not going to lie, I've been using some new creams and gels on my face to try and sort out my skin (I hate it so much) and so haven't been using any products other than make up on my skin other than what I have been prescribed. However, as soon as I can ill be back to using this again!

It retails at £42 and I purchased mine in the e shop on the Birchbox website. However, during my purchase I was able to get 20% off, free shipping as it was a current product of the month, and I also had £20 worth of points to spend so I ended up having to pay very little! 

If you can get your hands on a tester of this product I highly recommend it as I absolutely love it and my skin has appreciated it. It contains some form or rose water or oil so has that lovely rose/Turkish delight smell which I love!

Another little extra that I loved was that Birchbox put in a free sample of Molton Brown perfume which I also really love and now think it may be my next purchase!

Have you tried this product before? Or any other moisturisers which you would recommend for dry skin? Let me know! 

OOTD - Town Trip

Just another outfit of the day for you all since I was off work and had to go into town to get my sister a birthday present. 

Skirt - H&M

Top - Hooters

Tights - Urban Outfitters 

Shoes - DCs

Jacket - MuuBaa

Bag - Rebecca Minkoff

Hope you're all having a great day!

NOTD - Essie's Miami Nice

Little nails of the day for you all. I love nail polish so much and I never get to wear it. I think I need a job where it's a requirement to have nice nails all the time so I can do whatever I want!

Today I'm wearing Essie's Miami Nice on my nails, and it was actually by accident. I have all my Essie polishes in a box and I meant to lift out Super Bossa instead as I haven't actually got to use it yet. I was painting them while watching YouTube videos and didn't even notice until I'd already done the first coat! 

Anyway, I still love this colour (I didn't actually know I owned it but sure). It's a lovely hot pink with blue undertones as is perfect for summer. A big pro with this polish was also the fact that it dried a lot quicker than I expected it too. 

What colour are you wearing on your nails today?

OOTD - Ice Hockey

Not a big post, but I'm so sad at my lack of posting that I wanted to put even something small up! The police and fire games are being hosted in Northern Ireland this year and my friend invited me to go last minute to one of the ice hockey games (Las Vegas vs NI Tridents, so good!) and this is what I decided to wear. The weather has been rather temperamental lately and it's always too warm, but with spouts of torrential rain and thunder/lightning, so this is what I choose to wear!

Dress - Henry Holland

Tights - Urban Outfitters

Cardigan - Abercrombie & Fitch

Shoes - Steve Madden

Bag - Rebecca Minkoff

Nothing super exciting on my face. I'm wearing the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, MAC Pro Longwear concealer, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, Urban Decay Naked palette shadows, Benefit They're Real mascara, Avon Super Shock gel eyeliner and then finally Rimmel Apocalips in Celestial. 

Hope you're all having a lovely evening! 

June Favourites

 

I can't actually believe we're in July already, we're flying through the months. I'm very excited for Christmas already, it's over halfway there! Today, I bring you my June favourites. I've decided to write them down as I go through the month as I always find myself having to look around my room trying to figure out what I've been using a lot.

 

I'll start with my make up favourites of the month, and these are ones I've been really loving. Firstly is my Urban Decay Naked Palette, which has made an appearance quite a few times and is one loved by many. I've used this every single day for all of June, and it's been brought over to July as well. I absolutely love this palette, with the shimmery shadows being my favourites.

 

Another eye product is my favourite eye liner. It's the Avon Super Shock Gel Eyeliner. I'm a big fan of gel eyeliner pencils and this gives a nice thin line and is great for both the top and bottom lash line. It's also really inexpensive and has great lasting power.

 

My favourite lip product of the month is one of the Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet. This was released a few months ago as part of Revlon's new line of lip butters. As someone who was a huge fan of them when they were released in the UK last year, and couldn't actually wait until they were in stock in Boots and had to order them online, I was super excited when I saw them in store around the same time as they arrived in the US. Sorbet is a beautiful hot pink, and I have a post ready to talk about it in more detail.

 

 

Next is my two favourites moisturisers. The first is the OPI Avo Juice in Jasmine. This line of moisturisers smells glorious. I hadn't actually heard of any lotions by OPI until I saw one in TK Maxx back in May. It was the coconut one and I really regret not buying it at the time as it smelt delicious and reminded me of Summer time. I went back to get it a few weeks later and it was gone, but instead I found this one. I really love the smell of jasmine, and this is such a nice hand cream, and not a scent I often find in moisturisers.

 

For my face, Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Moisturiser has been the one. I mentioned this in my May Birchbox post as I received it as a sample, and ended up buying the full size product. Again, another product which I have a post prepared for to discuss in full!

 

 

Lush's Rose Jam perfume is one of my all time favourite perfumes as well as my favourite for June, and it greatly depresses me that I have to ration this tiny bottle. If you have ever smelt the Rose Jam bath bombs from Lush then you will know how delicious this smells, good enough to eat! Every time I wear this perfume someone compliments me and asks what I'm wearing, and I really wish I know I could repurchase this so I could wear it more.

 

 

My miscellaneous favourites for June have been my Bath & Body Works Lavender Vanilla candle and my iPad. This candle is one that I would love to have all year around, and it's definitely not one specially for Summer. I'm not a huge fan of vanilla, but with the lavender they compliment each other well. I've been lighting this at night time before I go to bed as I love the smell of lavender before I go to sleep.

 

My iPad has been a huge favourite with me since I bought it. I have the mini and I love that I can carry it around with me as it fits in my bag so easily, and is very light and takes up no room at all. I'm also a bit addicted to playing around with too many apps...

 

That's it for my favourites of the month, and I know it won't be at all long before I'm writing my July favourites, crazy!

 

What have your favourites of the month been?

 

Nails Of The Day - Essie's Bikini So Teeny

 

Here it is, my favourite nail varnish for this Summer! I know, it came out in Essie's Summer collection last year but I have only managed to get it this year, and I absolutely love it.

I managed to pick up a really good deal with this and actually got it for only £1.99 on Fragrance Direct along with a few other polishes by the same brand. 

 

The colour you are looking at is Essie's Bikini So Teeny. It is a gorgeous sky blue colour and is even nicer in person than in the photos. I'm not a big fan of super bright colours (unless they're pink), but I thought this was really nice and could really brighten up any outfit. 

 

The consistency of the polish is also really smooth and it can be applied really easy. It's one of those polishes that I never make a mistake with, which is a big plus in my books. It also stayed on very well, and didn't really chip. The main photograph of me holding the polish shows my nails 2 days after applying the polish, and as you can see, there's only a few little chips, but its pretty perfect otherwise.

 

I highly recommend anyone to try this nail polish if they see it, and also to check out Fragrance Direct for Essie nail polishes as they are super cheap! They also ship worldwide so this isn't just for my UK readers!

 

What are you wearing on your nails this summer?

May Favourites

 

This is my first favourites post in months, and it's a bit late, but here it is! It's been hard trying to figure out what my favourites where during the month of may and what is going to be part of my June favourites, but this is what I remember.

 

 

Firstly, I'll start with my eye favourites of the month. I'm still using my beloved Make Up For Ever smoky lash mascara, so I haven't included it as I've mentioned it before. It'll have ran out soon though, so maybe a new one will make an appearance! The Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo's  have been a firm favourite with me throughout May and I literally used these two every single day. The first one I got in Superdrug and it is called Pink Gold, I'm not completely sure what it's named in the US but it's a lovely rose gold shadow. The second is one I picked up last year when I was in California and is called Pomegranate Punk. I've never seen this one in any of my shops so unfortunately I don't think it's available to anyone in the UK, which is such a shame as it's a gorgeous dark red/purple shadow.

 

 

Next is my lip favourites, and lip products are my ultimate favourite! I picked up this MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner last year in Petting Pink, used it only a few times, and then forgot about it for a while. After my Baby Lips lip balm got ran over by a car a few months ago, I needed to find a replacement, and this has been it! It's been amazing at keeping my lips soft and moisturised, and I also love the little bit of pink colour it gives. Second, is another product from the same brand, and is the MAC Daddy's Little Girl lipstick from the Archie's Girls collection. I've done a separate post on this if you'd like to take a look by clicking here.

 

My nail polish favourite for the month has been Essie's Bikini So Teeny which I'm sure plenty of you know all about. It is a bright sky blue nail polish and is perfect for Summer. My favourite scent has been Victoria's Secret Such A Flirt, and I'm almost finished this bottle. It contains starfruit and white orchid if you'd like to imagine how it smells, as I doubt I'll be able to explain! My final favourite for make up is again, another MAC product, and is the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish. I've never been one to use powder, but for all of May, and now again in June I've added it to my daily make up routine and have found it really helps in keeping my make up on throughout the day. My shade is light if you're interested.

 

Finally, a random favourite, and is one I've never been able to find in the UK! It's a Luna bar, and my favourite has been White Chocolate Macadamia. I bought these last year while I was away, and loved them, so of course I had to buy a few more while I was in Ohio, and I still love them!

 

What have your favourites been in May? Have you done a post? If so, let me know so I can read it!

May Birchbox

 

Well, well, well, it definitely has been a while! As you know I was in Ohio for two weeks and so this is why I've abandoned my blog. Hopefully now ill be back to regular posting (hopefully). I signed up to Birchbox a few months ago and currently am now onto my third box. I did have photos of the first two boxes but then unfortunately never got around to actually posting about them!
 

 

Firstly, if you don't know what a Birchbox is, it's been around in the US now for quite a while, but only actually reached the UK at the start of this year, and was previously referred to as Joliebox. It is a monthly beauty box which contains samples, and some full size products which are matched to your profile. As I have quite dry skin I have had quite a few face moisturisers sent out which I have been absolutely loving!

 

 

This month I received four products, and two extras which was nice. The first product is my absolute favourite, and it's the Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Moisturiser. I have used this every night since I got my box (which I only got to open last Sunday as I was away when it arrived) but it has worked really well. I don't know if its because of this product but the tone if my skin seems to have really improved and evened itself out. It smells quite like Turkish delight, because it contains rosa water, and its made my skin so super soft. It retails at £42 which I think is pretty pricey but as it seems to be working so well I may have to buy it. 

 

Next is the B/Attitude Body Soufflé, which I haven't actually tried yet. My first impression is that it looks really rich and moisturising and may lead to soft skin. I don't regularly moisturise however as I naturally have quite soft skin everywhere apart from my face, and I don't want to start messing with it! If I end up loving it you all will be the first to hear!

Another product was a mini OPI nail polish. As someone who is a huge fan of the brand, I was very happy to find this in my box, and in one of my favourite nail colours, pink! It's a lovely shade, but the only downside was they never included what colour it was, so if I decide I want to buy the full size it's going to be a problem.
 

Finally is a lipgloss by Make Believe. It is called Enhance and is a shimmer lip gloss. It seems okay but I prefer a bit more colour in my lipgloss instead of just shimmer. It reminds of a lipgloss I would use when I was younger and excited to be putting any form of make up on. It does have a nice fruity scent though. 
 

 

One of the extras was a Doctor Duve Anti-Aging & Firming Eye Cream. This was actually two sachets worth which was pretty good as it actually gives you a chance to try the product twice to give you a better idea. Another one I haven't used yet but I may try it tonight and see.

 

 

Finally, the second extra was a Kusmi Tea,  a Detox Tea to be exact. It contains green tea and lemon grass which sounds like it could be good... If you're into that. I'm not a huge fan of tea so I don't know if I'll like it but ill give it a go! 

 

 

If you'd like to try a Birchbox simply visit www.birchbox.co.uk or www.birchbox.com to sign up. There are packages if you'd like to pay for it in bulk, but I currently pay it monthly at £10 plus p&p.
 

I've heard quite a few people complain about the samples in beauty boxes but I've been pretty happy with mine so far.
 

Have you tried a beauty box before? If so, please let me know what you thought and which is your favourite!

Help With My American Shopping List!

A lot of you may not know, but I'm going to Ohio next Friday on holiday, and I need some help with my shopping list! As always, there's plenty that America has to offer that unfortunately, has never made it to the UK, e.g. Maybelline Baby Lips or Bouncy Blushes... I usually try to watch as many YouTube videos as possible and read lots and lots of blogs before I go, but so far, I haven't really seen too much hype surrounding big products, am I missing something? Anyway...please comment below with any products you think I definitely need to by, and any links to reviews on them.

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

Nails Of The Day - Essie's Off The Shoulder

Finally, I've been able to wear my new nail polish! I recently bought this and have been dying to try it as pink in any shade is my favourite choice of nail colour, and I absolutely love this one.

I was going out for my friends birthday last night and decided to try out this shade of Essie called Off The Shoulder. I've used lots of Essie polishes before, but I really like this one. This didn't chip all night and stayed perfect all today until I had to wash my hair.

It goes on so easily and for once I made absolutely no mistakes so it gains points with me.

It looks best with two coats, but if you're in a rush one coat would still look fine.

What's your favourite nail colour at the moment?

Dr Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm

Another product I've been meaning to blog about for ages, my much loved Dr Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream. I always used a moisturiser on my skin, and then for a while I tried out Benefit's That Gal primer. When I ran out, I moved over to trying BB (Beauty Balm) creams, and first started with Maybelline Dream Fresh. However, I decided I wanted to spend a bit more on my next one, and choose to try out one from the Dr Jart + range.

There is quite a range of different BB creams to choose from, and for my first attempt I decided to go with the Water Fuse. This sounded like it would be more moisturising for my very dry skin, and promised to give me fresh and natural looking skin.

To use, apply a small amount to your fingertips. The amount I have pictured may even be too much for you, as some days I definitely don't even need this amount. Then, blend over your skin. The BB cream will even out your skin tone and give a nice glow. I highly, highly recommend this product as even after the first use I noticed my skin felt immediately hydrated and was much softer. Unlike the Maybelline that I tried, this actually gave me coverage, and I love this as I have quite red skin. I would definitely say that this could be worn in replacement of foundation and concealer, but unfortunately as I don't like my skin, I don't think I'd be brave enough for this!

Another aspect I love is that it has SPF25 in it, and as everyone should always wear some form of sunscreen, this makes it a lot easier to remember.

I have been using this since January and still have quite a lot left, and I use it every single day. At £18 you may think it's expensive, but I think it's worth it. Whenever this one has ran out I'd like to give the regenerating one a try, so if you've used it before, please let me know what you thought.

If you'd like to know where to buy this product, you can find it in Boots priced at £18, although it is currently on sale at £12! If you're in the US I believe Sephora stocks it and is $34.

Have you used any of the Dr Jart+ BB Creams?

MAC - Archie's Girls Veronica Lipstick - Daddy's Little Girl

I can't believe I'm only posting about this now, I bought this 4 weeks ago! I have absolutely been loving this lipstick and have been wearing it any chance I get.

This lipstick is from the Archie's Girls collection at MAC. I had been reading so many posts from US bloggers on this collection and I was so excited when it finally came to the UK. I had decided I was only going to let myself buy one product as I really need to be saving and it was a choice between this shade and Ronnie Red. As I already have quite a lot of reds I thought this was quite different.

For a start, I love the packaging, I wasn't quite sure on it when I first saw it online but it's grown on me and I find it very cute. It's very bright and colourful compared to MAC's usual packaging.

The colour itself is completely gorgeous and I think it suits my colouring quite well. At first look at the lipstick itself it looks like its quite dark and very purple, but when applied its got a lot of pink to it and is nice and bright.

As my lips have been quite dry I've been applying a lip balm underneath and this adds a nice bit of shine to the colour. It is a very build able lipstick and you can make it as bright as you'd like. It lasts quite a while too and I don't need to apply it as often as I would with other lip products.

Did you get a chance to try anything from this collection? Has anyone got their hands on anything from the Hayley Williams range at MAC? I've been dying to try some of these out!

Weekly Graze Box

For the past six or seven weeks I've been receiving a Graze box and I love it. Don't know what that is? It's a weekly snack box which the UK have had for a while, but the US only got quite recently. It has a range of healthy and delicious snacks which you can get delivered to your door on whichever day of your choosing. I currently receive mine once a week, on a Thursday. You can choose to receive it more than once a week if you'd like to.

It comes in a very cute cupboard box, with your four snacks, a napkin, the nutrition information, and also codes for you to hand out to your friends to get a free box. It's displayed so nicely, and is all very secure so it doesn't get ruined during delivery.

As for the content of the boxes, there's lots to choose from. There's a range of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, olives, fresh bread, flapjacks and crackers. When I first joined I binned all the food I knew I definitely wouldn't eat straight away (olives) so that I knew I would like all the snacks in my box. So far my absolute favourite is the apple and cinnamon flapjack, but I'm very excited to try the new brownie they've brought out but lent has been stopping me!

You can choose to receive a nibble box with a variety of snacks, or else a nutritious box which is perfect for those who are dieting and want healthy, low fat/calorie foods.

As mentioned before, I binned all the food I knew I wouldn't like straight away. They have a rating system to let them know whether you liked, loved or want to bin something so they know not to send it. You can also request to receive an item soon if you really liked it or want to try.

You may be wondering why I'm telling you all this and think I'm being paid for this, but I'm not! I have decided to do a weekly post on the boxes I receive and whether I liked the snacks in my box. Just a little something so I can have a regular posts on my blog.

First was the ancient forest nuts which I wasn't a big fan of. I like almonds, but I'm not keen on hazelnuts and walnuts unless they're in chocolate. My mum and sister ate this so it didn't go to waste!

Next was the herby bread basket which is very tasty. It has garlic croutons, basil baguettes and rice crackers. Really nice, but I wouldn't advise eating in public because it smells quite strong because of the garlic and basil.

This week I received my absolute favourite, the apple and cinnamon flapjack. This is actually the nicest flapjack I have ever had and I wish I could buy them somewhere more often. Even after keeping it a few days before eating, it was still really moist and fresh.

Finally, popcorn with a hint of black pepper. I haven't actually tried this yet but I'll report back. I was so excited when I saw this because I've been really wanting to try the popcorn.

That's it for this week, if you'd like to try a free box for yourself then you can use my coupon code if you'd like! Its 6G77KHGD Sorry though, this is for the UK only. It costs £3.98 a box including delivery.

Have you tried a graze box already? What's your favourite snack?