Wishlist : Home Decor

Bunting, John Lewis // Strawberry Buttercream Yankee Candle // Biscuit tin, Cath Kidston // Photo frame, Not On The High Street // Towels, Cath Kidston // Perfume bottle, John Lewis // Heart fairy lights, Next // Cake stand, Cath Kidston 

I'm moving into my first house at the end of the month so for the past few weeks I've been busy searching for new bits for my room. My four house mates and I are just the girliest of girly girls so I'm expecting floral prints and cupcake motifs galore :) Of course, being a poor student I probably won't be able to spend £30 on a Cath Kidston cake stand but I thought it would be fun to put together a wishlist post for inspiration! I had a lot of fun adding a personal touch to my room in halls so I'm looking forward to doing it again in my new house. Promise I'll take lots of pictures before the nights out resume and the place is littered with beauty bits and empty bottles ... 

Hope you all had a lovely weekend x

Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash

A few months back I found myself in need of a new facial cleanser and ended up eyeing up the aisles in Boots (as always). I constantly hear great things about the store's Botanics range so I decided to purchase the All Bright Foam Wash due to it being on offer. I've been using it on and off since featuring it in a Haul post back in April and thought it was about time I let you know how I got on with it!

Claim: "This lightly foaming soap-free wash gently lifts away make up and impurities, leaving skin feeling detoxified and beautifully cleansed. Hibiscus is nature's brightness booster and a wonderful hue of pink. Natural AHA's from the flower act as mild exfoliators to help leave skin smoother and brighter. Our beauty scientists use active plant extracts approved by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to bring you beautiful skincare that's proven to work." - Boots.com 

I'm a big fan of foaming cleansers as they always leave my face feeling completely fresh and clear, and this product was no different. At the end of the day I removed the majority of my make-up with a facial wipe before gently massaging the wash into my skin. It comes out of the tube in a thick gel-like consistency but transforms into a light foam when you apply it to your face (hence the name!) which gave me a very satisfying squeaky clean feeling. It did a wonderful job of removing any remaining make-up and making my skin feel nice and fresh, but unfortunately this was overlooked by how much product went up my nose! At first I just put this down to shoddy application, but each time I used the cleanser, no matter how careful I was or how many times I rinsed I found myself with soap-filled nostrils which left me feeling irritated and uncomfortable for ages after. Not good ... 

As I said, I've been using it on and off for a few months now and have noticed no visible difference in my complexion. Despite it effortlessly removing the remainder of my make-up and making my skin feel nice and clean post application, after frequent use it dried my skin out quite a bit and left it feeling pretty dehydrated, not to mention the very unpleasant clogged-up feeling in my nose! The product itself is also quite heavily scented which means it probably isn't a fantastic match for my super-sensitive skin. I've used up about half of the tube and can safely say it will be staying at the bottom of my skincare basket from now on, unless I donate it to my sister or one of my house mates! 

Overall I didn't find the product to be completely terrible and it hasn't put me off the rest of the Botanics range. However I can safely say I probably won't be repurchasing!

Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash is currently priced at £3.99 for 150ml and is available to buy in Boots. 

My sister's make-up bag

If you're a regular reader of Vivianna Does Makeup (which if you're not, you should be!) you may have  come across an entry she wrote a few months back detailing  her sister's make-up routine. I thought it was a great idea for a post and felt inspired to do something similar myself. While my own sister, Amy, and I are both equally obsessed with cosmetics, we are complete opposites when it comes to our appearance (while I'm blonde and favour a tan, she is fair and sports a sleek black bob). Therefore I thought it would be interesting for you all to hear about her beauty essentials rather than my own for a change, and grabbed her for a quick chat.

Disclaimer: I have very dry and thirsty skin while Amy's is quite oily. She rarely gets spots/blemishes (unlike me!) but tends to suffer with a bit of redness from time to time.

• BASE: I'm currently using Estee Lauder Day Wear to moisturise before applying Smashbox Photo Finish primer.  I was using the Clinique Stay-Matte Oil-Free foundation for a while but I find it doesn't last well on my skin so I've recently switched to Estee Lauder Double Wear. I then finish with Double Wear Stay In Place Flawless Wear concealer to mask any blemishes.
• CHEEKS: My favourite blushes are 'Stay By Me' and 'Rosie Outlook' by MAC which are gorgeous colours. I find MAC blushes always apply well on my skin and last all day. I'm quite pale so I prefer to contour with a darker face powder rather than a bronzer; I like to use MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Deep. I then apply highlighter to my cheekbones, nose and brow bone - I'm currently using MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in 'Lightscapade.' I finish by setting my make-up with MAC Prep and Prime in Transparent. 
• EYES: I love a brown smoky eye and always use my Naked 2 palette to achieve one. I'm not a fan of pencil but will often use a liquid liner on the lid - I'm currently using MAC's Super Slick Liquid Eyeliner but I wouldn't recommend it as I find it tends to smudge (Rimmel's is better!) I always finish with a black mascara; I use Studio Fix Boldblack Lash by MAC. 
• LIPS: I'm a huge fan of MAC lipsticks and my all-time favourites are 'Please Me' and 'Ravishing.' I recently purchased 'Diva' to wear when I want to go for a bit more of a dramatic look but I'm a bit nervous about wearing it! The most recent addition to my collection is Chanel's Rouge Allure in 'Pirate' - it's the perfect shade of red and I can't wait to wear it, although I'll be a bit sad to spoil the inscribed nub! 

What is your favourite make-up brand? MAC - I think they cater well for younger people and they have so many products and colours to choose from. 

Who is your celebrity beauty icon? Probably Dita Von Teese. I love the whole 50's pin up girl look.

Have you ever had a beauty related disaster? The last time I had my eyebrows threaded I was left looking as if I had none left - they had been completely butchered! 

What do you believe to be the most underrated beauty product? Any mascara by No7. You only need a tiny bit to achieve your desired look and they make lashes look so natural. No7 also have some lovely nail varnish colours, and the top coat and base coat are definitely worth investing in. 

If you could only take one item of make-up to a desert island, what would it be? Probably something for my eyebrows. Or maybe mascara. 

Finally, what's one of your top beauty tips? Use two different shades when filling in your brows - a darker colour through the ends and a lighter one towards the middle will give them a nice natural finish.

Cue cheesy family pic!

Hope you're all having a wonderful week so far x

Life Recently

Relaxing by the river in Ludlow // The best burger in Southampton // New leopard print H&M flats

Favourite breakfast // A bit of posing // Tea and cake in the Costwolds

Film and treat night with the boyfriend // One last pamper night before heading back to uni // Cocktails for my birthday weekend

Orea cocktail (best thing I've ever tasted!) // Birthday meal with the boyfriend // Cake and presents off my lovely housemates

It's been sooo long since I last posted due to life being a bit hectic recently, so I thought I'd do an Instagram entry for a quick update. In the past few weeks I finished my first year of uni (no more deadlines, yay!), got a brand new job and as you can probably tell by the pictures, turned 22! I was hoping to do an entire post dedicated to my birthday like I did last year, but I didn't end up doing much for it so there wasn't many opportunities to take photos. My boyfriend and I were planning on having a day out somewhere but the weather was a bit rubbish as always so we just went for dinner on the evening. On the Saturday night my housemates and I went for cocktails before returning to the flat for a bit of a surprise party and lots of cake :) It was such a lovely way to celebrate and I'm a bit gutted to be leaving halls of residence, my first year of uni has been pretty great. However I am looking forward to moving into my first house with my girls in the Summer :) 

As you can probably tell by the pictures my diet has been a bit rubbish recently ... can't seem to give up the junk at the minute! If you live in the Southampton area I definitely recommend visiting The Cellar and trying one of their burgers; they're literally the best I've ever had. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Hope you're all well and are enjoying your week so far :) x

Weekend Picnic

You're never too old to sit and drink cider in the sun, so since the weather was gorgeous yesterday my flatmates and I decided to stock up on treats and head to the park. We prepared ourselves with Disney Princess paper plates and stuffed our faces with sausage rolls, jam tarts, party rings and chocolate brownies. Yum! Much more satisfying that sitting in writing essays, anyway. 

Also, what do you think of the playsuit I bought from Miss Selfridge earlier this week? I tried it on months ago and fell in love with it but didn't have £40 to spare at the time, so you can imagine how happy I was when I clocked it online for half price. They only had my size left so I snapped it up straight away. After paying for it I noticed it became 'Out of Stock' so I must have nabbed the last one - I also got 20% student discount so I only paid around £16 for it. Lucky eh? I'm hoping to wear it to my birthday night out next month :)

Hope you're all having a great weekend whatever your plans are x