January Birchbox

Hey everyone, Happy Wednesday! 

Today I wanted to talk about my first ever Birchbox. I have wanted to try out this service for a very long time but ummed and aahed and never got around to ordering one. This year however I decided I was going to bite the bullet and set up my account. 

If you don't know what Birchbox is, where have you been for the past few years?! Basically Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that costs £10 a month, and you get a box each month with 4-5 deluxe size beauty samples. You can take surveys every month which help to tailor the beauty samples to you and your needs and skin type etc. the products are mainly high end products so it's a great way try out new brands and products that you might not have even heard of otherwise, which to be fair is a great idea and for the price its just a wonderful idea.

On to my box :-

I am extremely excited to try out the Delarom Face Mask as it is targeted at dry skin, but the Benefit Porefessional is another product I am excited to try, however the silicone in the formula makes me worry about breakouts as I have sensitive and dry skin. Overall I am extremely happy with my January box and I can't wait for my next box!

I hope your all having a fabulous week! Thank you for taking time to read my blog! xx

Boots Haul And An Apology

Firstly I'd like to make a huge apology for the lack of posts over the last few weeks, I know its going to sound like excuses but I've been really poorly, I got a bad case of the flu and was off work for a full week and haven't been wearing makeup or shopping or doing anything beauty related, in fact I haven't really done anything except snuggling up on the sofa playing my new Zelda game. But yeah, I just wanted to apologize for being MIA, But I'm back now with a very exciting, at least for me, haul from Boots.

Oooh pretty things!

Balmi Raspberry Lip Balm - £4.99

Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in Dragon Fruit - £3.99

Collection Smokey Eye Pallet - £2.99

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Rockin' Curves Mascara -£4.99

Soap & Glory Brush With Greatness Cleansing Brush - £6.50

Seventeen Back Lash Eyeliner - £1

Super Beauty Shower Gel - £2.49

butter LONDON Nail Polish - HRH - £3

butter LONDON Nail Polish - Jack The Lad - £3

butter LONDON Nail Polish - Big Smoke - £3

butter LONDON Nail Polish - Victoriana - £3

Nivea Deodorant-£1.85 

Finding the butter LONDON Nail Polishes in the clearance bin for £3 was amazing, and completely luck, I'd walked past the stand a few times before looking down at it. Of all my purchases today, these are the most exciting, I cannot wait to try these out.

I hope you've all had a wonderful week, and hope your all well! 

Hair Care Haul/Mini Review

Starting the day the right way!

As you know if you read my blog, I recently had my hair 'dip dyed', now if you don't know what that means, in its most basic form it means I had the ends of my hair dyed/bleached blonde, leaving the tops of my hair my natural brown. You can see pictures here so you can get an idea of what I mean.

Because of the bleach I decided to actually buy a proper shampoo, for too long I'd be using cheap shampoo because, as bad as it is, I wash my hair daily because of my job, I want my hair to look good, not dirty, but because of that I didn't want to spend a lot on shampoo. However, like I said, I'd bleached my hair so I want to keep it healthy.

Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave In Spray

£15.95

£12.95

£4.49

I picked up the shampoo and conditioner set from the salon where I had my hair done, They used most of the range on my the day I had my hair done, however I asked about the prices and nearly fell through the floor, £12 for a shampoo just seems ridiculous to me, but to keep my hair healthy? Well, I guess I'll give it ago. The shampoo is lovely, as is the conditioner, however the lady who did my hair told me "you don't need a lot of shampoo, just add water and it creates a lovely lather' now I took this to heart, and couldn't make the shampoo to work for me for the first few days, however I decided to use slightly more shampoo and when you have very wet hair, it does lather, and is lovely. The smell is very light, but it does linger which I really like. It is also a daily shampoo which is perfect for me because I can use it on my working days and not worry about drying my hair out. Like I said these products are very expensive, for me at least, and I'm not sure I would repurchase, but I will keep you posted! 

The Aussie Miracle Colour Insurance, is a product I have used before, I love these products, the smell amazing, the packaging is lovely and girly and they just work. I bought this for days I don't want to condition my hair because my hair doesn't react well to being overly conditioned, and the spray is so convenient for me.

I'm looking to add a few other products to my hair care routine, but as I mentioned, I am not good with taking care of my hair, and it does stem from the fact that I don't really do anything with it, I wash it and blow dry it, done and done, so I never really stepped out into the world of haircare, so if you guys could recommend to me some amazing products for colour treated hair, I'd be really greatful!  

Talk to you soon guys!

xx

New HairCut and Colour

So as I mentioned in my New Year post I mentioned that I wanted to make a change to my hair, because I have had the same style for a few years, and I was just bored of it.
However, the style I went for hasn't really changed, it has to be practical for my job role and I told my stylist I didn't want much taking from my length as I am trying to grow it, but the colour was the main thing, I wanted a change, but I didn't want something too drastic so this is what I decided to have done..

I decided to have my hair 'Dip Dyed' or Ombre'd, I went for a slightly warmer blonde tone for now because it was the first time I'd had it bleached and I didn't want to damage my hair any more than I was about to, plus I wasn't sure how I was going to like it, but! I am going back in 6 weeks, and I am planning to go lighter on the ends. I will keep you updated on the progress of my hair, and any new products I introduce into my routine.

Let me know what you think guys, I'd love to hear from you.
Talk to you soon. xx

Nailed it! Sea Escape

For todays post, I thought I'd share with you a quick review of the the ELF Nail Polish in Sea Escape.

In the bottle, and on the website this looks beautiful, a gorgeous deep blue with green and purple glitter, on the nails however, this disappoints.

On the nails the polish leaves a sort of matte finish, which takes away from the colour and sparkle in the bottle, it's also a lot duller in real life, and a lot darker than I would have hoped.

Looking at my nails now they just look dark blue/black, nothing special, and certainly not as beautiful as the colour looks in the bottle. I'm so disappointed as I was really excited about this colour.

If you would like to try this for yourself, you can pick it up here for £2.50!

Hope you enjoyed this, talk to you soon guys! 

Book Haul

Whilst shopping at my local ASDA, I noticed some books that were just £1 each and decided to pick up a couple to add to my reading list, which is getting quite large as I have a habit of buying books and never finding time to read them.. But for £1 is was an offer too good to pass up, so I thought it might be fun to do a little book haul for you, I picked up three books yesterday and one book about a month ago, but they all came from the same shop.

I'll start with the one I picked up a few months.

'She has just two weeks. Two weeks to teach him how to fall in love - With his own life. Adam Basil and Christine Rose are thrown together late one night, when Christine is crossing the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin. Adam is there, poised, threatening to jump. Adam is desperate - but Christine makes a crazy deal with him. His 35th birthday is looming and she bets him that before then she can show him that life is worth living. Despite her determination, Chridtine knows what a dangerous promise she's made. Against a ticking clock, the two of them embark on wild escapades, grand romantic gestures and some unlikely late night outings. Slowly Christine thinks Adam is starting to fall back in love with his life. But has she done enough to change his mind for good? And is that all that's starting to happen?' 

'Have you heard? The place to be this summer is in love! Life in the sleepy island of Glenmore is filled with tranquil lazy days. Bliss! But this summer the gossip mill is running overtime - Love is definitely in the air... Poor Evanna has been infatuated with her boss forever - to him she's just a part of the furniture. Rumor has it that this summer she's decided to get noticed. No more sensible suits for her.. She's bringing out the stilettos! Kyla can see Evanna is in love with her brother and if she had her way she'd knock they're heads together. Oh well.. Kyla has other, more pressing distractions - the new island doctor is gorgeous! Dr Ethan sticks out in the picture perfect island like a v. handsome sore thumb. Ripples are running through the tranquil waters of Glenmore - Secrets, scandal and more than a little flirtation. It's going to be a summer to remember!'

'How do you learn to love again? In one tragic moment, Holly Jefferson's life as she knows it changes forever. Now - to the external world at least - She's finally getting back on her feet, running her business, Cake. Then she meets Ciaran Argyll. His rich and charming life feels a million miles from her own. However, there's more to Ciaran than the superficial world that surrounds him and he too is wrestling with his own ghosts. Will Holly find the missing ingredients that allows her to live again - and embrace and unknown tomorrow?' 

'She's had men popping in and out of there all day. They're more regular than our cuckoo clock. When Rose escapes from London and her handsome charming ex lover, she has no idea her occupation as an aromatherapist will cause such a scandal in her new country village. All she wants is peace and quiet, but her new neighbors soon ensure that her life is more chaotic than ever before. But that may be because Rose is falling in love.'


I hope you guys like this kind of post, if you do I can make it a regular thing, with reviews of all the books I read! Talk to you soon guys! 

ELF Lash Extending Mascara Review

Today I wanted to do a review of the Lash Extending Mascara I picked up from ELF a couple of days ago.

The first thing I noticed about the mascara was the packaging, personally I really like the sleek black tube, and basic white print, I think it looks professional, and to be honest I don't think mascara needs fancy packaging, so this one gets major points in that department!
       The wand of this mascara is quite unique, it has longer bristles on the top which curve across the wand and shorter, stubby bristles on the bottom, the top of the wand creates the length and curve, whilst the shorter bristles are the prefect length for the lower lashes!
        The formula of the mascara is very black, and a little on the wet side, so its best to let it dry before blinking or moving your eyes, otherwise you end up with smudges!

The mascara leaves the lashes super long, and relatively separated, with a nice deep colour. I curl my lashes every day before applying my mascara which helps make a lot of mascara do a better job, especially if the mascara isn't known for its curling effect.
        Overall though, this mascara does a fantastic job, especially when you consider the price is just £3.75, I think mascara would be perfect for those of you on a budget, perhaps if your still in high school and don't have the money to send on a more expensive mascara. I would give this mascara a 4/5.

Hope you like this review! Whats your favourite mascara? Let me know, and I'll talk to you soon! 

Elf Cosmetics Haul

So after a pretty slow start to my work day (it didnt get any better afterwards) I went for my lunch break and text my fiance who replied with "Guess whos Elf order came?" I was immediately excited to come home and check out the stuff I'd ordered, sometimes I order things but forget exactly what I've ordered so it's a lovely surprise when it eventually arrives. So I thought you guys might like to see the things I picked up!  

Ooooh! box of goodies!

Small Smudge Brush - £3.75

Small Stipple Brush - £3.75

Flawless Concealer Brush - £3.75

Angled Foundation Brush - £3.75

Eyeshadow C Brush - £3.75

Blending Eyeshadow Brush x2 - £1.50 Each

Eye Crease Brush - £1.50

Luscious Liquid Lipstick - Perfect Pink

                                           - Pink Lemonade

                                  - Baby Lips

                                   - Raspberry 

                                             - 75p Each, 75p!! 

Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder - Antigua - £3.75

Blush - Mellow Mauve - £3.75

Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow - Whats Your Name

                              - First Date

                                - £1.75 Each

Nail Polish - Green Machine
           -Sea Escape
  -£2.50

Daily Brush Cleanser - £3.75

Lash Extending Mascara - £3.75

I just want to say I'm soo sorry about the quality of these photos, I really wanted to get this post up as soon as possible today and my camera battery was below flat so I tried to take the pictures as quick as possible.. however, I did manage to take a picture of my puppy which I'll post below! 

So there you have it, I cannot wait to try these products out, the nail polish in Sea Escape look freakin gorgeous in the bottle, I will have better pictures in the next few posts so look out for those! 

Have a fantastic weekend guys, talk to you soon! 

Bonus Picture of Hershey!