Illamasqua Nail Varnish Review

On a spur of the moment trip to TK Maxx a few days ago, I happened to spot these two Illamasqua nail varnishes in a set in the reduced beauty section for £5. I couldn't believe my luck because these babies usually retail at £30 for a duo set!

I absolutely love the purpley-black glittery polish and find that the glitter is noticeable but subtle, so isn't too in your face and is perfect for day or night. The teal polish is an absolutely stunning metallic shade, and this photo definitely doesn't do either polish justice. I think these will be perfect for Autumn/Winter time. I have worn both colours and find that the polish applies beautifully and one coat would be enough, although with the glittery colour I think two coats looks prettier. These didn't chip for several days and I was really impressed with their lasting appeal. I have never tried high end nail varnishes before and usually stick to Barry M or Ciate, but I will definitely be on the hunt for more Illamasqua nail varnishes in the future.

♥

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The Body Shop Tea Tree Skincare

In my latest Body Shop splurge I picked these up after hearing brilliant things from friends, and because my skin has been absolutely dreadful lately! I have been so impressed with this skincare trio from the Body Shop. Even though it looks like I haven't used any in the photo, I have actually been using this for a week. A little does go a long way!

The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser has been brilliant at reducing breakouts. I will warn you the smell is really strong, especially compared to the other two products, but I'm a fan of Tea Tree so I don't mind. I find this is really gentle but effective.

The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner was something so many of you told me you loved, and you definitely didn't let me down! This is really effective at removing any final dirt or make up and I find that my skin tingles and warms up slightly after using this. Not in an 'oh my god I'm having an allergic reaction' kind of way, but in a 'goodbye spots' sort of way!!

The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion is a perfect end to the trio. This is non-greasy but really hydrating.

Within a few days I noticed my skin was considerably clearer and I was experiencing less breakouts. I find that it has a brilliant mattifying effect without overly drying out my skin, so this is perfect if you have oily or combination skin and are prone to breakouts. My skin feels refreshed and hydrated and for the price I think it is absolutely worth every penny. I will definitely be repurchasing!

I have posted the links to the products above, but when I popped into the Body Shop in Leamington Spa, I noticed they did a bundle of all three in a bag with a discount off RRP. I would definitely recommend heading to your local store first and seeing if you can find this in yours!

♥

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15 Facts About Me

1. I am currently studying Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, and I specialise in Gender and International Security

2. I am obsessed with Take That, especially Gary Barlow *insert emoji with heart eyes* and Olly Murs. 

3. I love anything with Bambi or Swallows on it

4. This year I will be celebrating my 21st birthday

5. I've watched every Friends episode at least five times 

6. I passed my driving test exactly 27 days after my first lesson, which I still can't believe!

7. If you asked me when I was little what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say Baby Spice or a postman
8. I have six nephews and nieces and love being an Auntie
9. I was constantly mistaken for Michaela McQueen from Hollyoaks for about 2 years several years ago, to the point I would be followed into toilets and asked for photographs and autographs!
10. My favourite make up item is either mascara or concealer
11. If I could own any three designer items in the world right now, it would be a Vivienne Westwood handbag, Vivienne Westwood Purse and a Moschino belt
12. I am like a magpie when it comes to jewels, sparkle and glitter
13. My biggest fears in life are failure and spiders
14. I sleepwalk, sleeptalk, and have even started sending texts in my sleep?!
15. I have decided that after my exams in June when I will be leaving uni forever, tbat I want to take up a new craft hobby, reread the Harry Potter books and purchase the Sex and the City boxset and watch every episode

♥

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Life Update: April 2015

Hi everyone! My Mum has just dropped me off back at my flat ready for my final ever term at University. I thought I would take this opportunity to do a little life update and explain what will be going on over the next month or so as well, as I will be largely absent from all social media *having withdrawal symptoms already*

So I had the most amazing five weeks at home. I had a lot of work to do, including writing my Dissertation, but I also made some amazing memories and had some relaxing quality time with the people I love most. As well as seeing Phantom of the Opera and enjoying a few days away in London for my Mum's birthday, we went on a Spa Day and I had far too many yummy meals out with friends and family (diet definitely starts again tomorrow I promise). I spent a day dressed as Bambi for my niece and two of my nephews joint birthday party and had fun reliving games such as Musical Bumps. As always, I went shopping far too many times, I bought far too many things, and now my bank account is feeling far too sorry for itself. Bring on Student Finance tomorrow is what I say!

But I'm back now and I'm feeling a little empty and sad. I always hate readjusting to coming back, I am such a home bird and wish I could stay surrounded by friends and family in a place that is familiar and comfortable. I only have around four and a half weeks left though and then I will have finished my degree. How scary is that! I honestly can't wait to relieve some of the pressure and to not have to worry about exams anymore.

Over the next month I will be adding the finishing touches to my essays and dissertation, and will be revising like crazy for my dreaded exams. But being the organised girl I am, I've scheduled in two blogs posts each week until my exams have finished. They will be published every Tuesday and Saturday for the next four weeks. I had so much to talk about and review over Easter that I realised I had so many drafted posts that I would be able to keep my blog updated. I am so glad because I didn't want it to suffer while I was busy working. I hope you all keep reading and enjoying everything, if you would like regular updates while I am away please follow me on Bloglovin here.

In the upcoming weeks, I will be going to see Olly Murs and Take That which I am SO excited about, and I have been planning my 21st birthday celebrations for early June, so I literally can't wait for all of these things.

Good luck for any exams or deadlines you have! 

♥

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Avon Sleep Therapy Sleep Balm Review

If you struggle to get a good nights sleep, then look no further! As someone who always struggles to sleep, discovering this little gem has been a huge help in improving the quality and quantity of my beauty sleep.

The Avon Sleep Therapy Restful Night Sleep Balm resembles Vicks Vapour Rub which you may have used before if you have had a bad cold or cough. It has a Vaseline like texture But this is a balm which you can rub into your wrists and temples to help you nod off. A little goes a long way and so I think this is great value for money. The fragrance is really gentle but noticeable, and I find it so relaxing. I also dab a tiny amount directly under my nose so I can really smell it. That probably sounds really odd, but when I haven't slept properly in a while, I'm willing to try anything and take it to extremes! I have really sensitive skin and often find that balms irritate my skin and give me a slight rash, but I have had no problems with this product whatsoever. 

I'm not going to say with absolute certainty that this will cure any case of insomnia. But as someone who overthinks and over worries before I go to sleep so I never feel switched off, and as someone who sleepwalks and talks and so usually has really disturbed sleep, I find that this does help me unwind before bed and I do tend to sleep better when I remember to apply this. I think all sleep therapy products should be used in conjunction with other techniques you can use yourself - such as not using technology for at least an hour before you go to bed, not working or laying in bed all day - only using your bed to sleep at night so your mind knows that bed = sleep, and so on. 

I picked this up for around £1.50 in an Avon sale a while ago. I've been told it has been discontinued but it is still available to purchase on Amazon and eBay I think if you would like to try this.

If you have tried this what did you think? Can you recommend any other products or techniques to improve my sleep?

♥

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Beauty Wishlist

After asking all of my Twitter followers what their favourites blog posts are, several said that they love reading Wishlist posts. So I thought I would share with you the beauty products I am lusting over most at the moment. I swear as soon as I work my way down the list and starting purchasing things I just end up adding more and more! 

Amazing Cosmetics Concealer

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet - #10 Don't Pink of It

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

MAC Lipsticks in (from left to right)

 Lady Danger

Brave

Vegas Volt

Models Own Chrome Nail Varnish in 'Rose Gold' 

Urban Decay All Nighter Make Up Setting Spray

Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter

What are you lusting after this month? If you have used any of the products on my wishlist, would you recommend them? 

♥

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DIY Fancy Dress: Bambi

Hi everyone! This afternoon I went to my niece's 5th, nephew's 7th and nephew's 9th joint birthday party! It was fancy dress and most of the children were going as Disney characters so I thought I would stick with that theme and chose my all time favourite - Bambi! 

I thought I would blog about how I Bambi-fied myself. This is great if you're not a fan of full on fancy dress or are just looking for something quick and easy.

My ears are handmade by my sister in law, because I'm rubbish at this sort of thing! She made the ears out of two long leaf shaped pieces of brown felt, and sewed them on by folding each one around the headband. She then sewed the sand coloured felt on top to look like the insides of the ears.

I applied my usual make up and then took my bronzer and applied it all over my forehead, running down my temples and then along my cheekbones like blusher. I then used my finger to apply dots around the side of my face with white eyeshadow. Taking an eyeshadow brush, I then traced brown eyeshadow down from where my eyebrows start down the edges of my nose and coloured in around my nostrils with the same eyeshadow. 

I wore a plain brown tshirt which I picked up for around £2 on eBay and that is all there is to it!

What do you think of my Bambi fancy dress? Next time I'm invited to a fancy dress party I think I will go as Tinkerbell! (I love Disney, can you tell?)

♥

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W7 In the Nude Eyeshadow Palette

At the Clothes Show last year I picked up this W7 In the Nude Eyeshadow Palette because it was on offer for £5 and as someone who rarely wears eyeshadow, I thought I would purchase it to play around with before making the leap to an Urban Decay palette.

First of all, apologies for the fact that I am incapable of doing anything in a straight line and that the swatches turned out really lopsided! I think the range of shades in this palette is really good, especially considering the low price. This is a pink and gold toned palette compared to the other W7 palettes in the range, and would say in comparison with the Urban Decay palettes this is most like Naked 3. Very suitable for anyone who is fair skinned or a blondie like me!

I think the pigmentation is fair considering the price of the palette, and the eyeshadows are easily buildable. I find that the glittery ones are more long lasting than the other shades. I think some are a little too glittery and remind me of the sort of look I gave myself when I was 12 or 13 and playing around with make up, but if you blend well and create a smokey eye look, I find that the glitter isn't too overbearing.

The almost rose gold packaging is right up my street, although the quality of the packaging is quite disappointing as my tin broke the day I purchased it.

Overall, I would say I was happy with my purchase, although I have heard amazing things about the Make Up Revolution eyeshadow palettes which are also a complete bargain so I would recommend checking those out. This definitely doesn't compare to the UD Naked palettes, but considering the difference in price, I think this is a perfect product for anyone starting out in make up or someone on a budget.

♥

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Johnsons Baby Products

When I mention how much I use these little gems to people, they always give me that "but you're not a baby?" look. I thought I would do a quick post about the Johnson's Baby Shampoo and Powder because I use them almost every single day.

The Johnson's Baby Shampoo is perfect for me because I have very greasy hair, so wash it every day. I use this every other night, alternating this with my usual shampoo and conditioner throughout the week. I find that if I use the same shampoo and conditioner every night throughout the week, my hair starts to feel heavy and clogged up with products. This is very gentle but great for refreshing my hair. I'm not a huge fan of the smell but I think you can now buy alternative fragrances. I also actually use this to clean my make up brushes. After trying numerous brush cleaners, I found that they were very overpriced and didn't get my brushes looking brand spanking new. I now run my brushes under a lukewarm water to remove the excess make up, and then massage in a pea sized amount of this shampoo, before rinsing again. My brushes have never felt softer or cleaner.

The Johnson's Baby Powder is my ultimate post-shower product. Once I've showered and dried off, I apply baby powder all over my body. For some reason, whenever I've showered, my skin goes bright red in patches all over me (and it's not because I have the water too hot). I tend to get really itchy as well - it is almost like I'm allergic to the water! Not only does this smell incredible in my opinion, but it is perfect if you have oily or shiny skin. My legs are always really shiny and so this is great to apply to tone that down. At the same time, it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry. This is really gentle and I find that I'm no longer itching away and causing skin irritation.

Do you have any products you treasure that are not your usual beauty products? I would love to find some new hidden gems! 

 ♥

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The Five Product Face

Lately I have been going for a really minimalist look with my make up. These five products have helped me to create a really simple look which takes less than ten minutes to complete. It's perfect for when I am just running a few errands or visiting family, and with a little more definition to the eyes and a nice lip product I think it can be transformed if you are going out in the evening as well.

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser Eye Concealer

Soap and Glory Love at First Blush Blusher

Benefit Brow Zings

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

♥

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