My February Buys/Gifts

I went a little cray cray in February, I'm so bad at saving money but in particular I seem to have bought quite a lot this month, now I could try and justify myself by saying it's stuff I need but who would I be trying to convince here, me or you? definitely me. Now this post isn't meant to come across as I'm  bragging,  it's just something I thought I would share, I don't normally buy this much stuff and i've put myself on a spending block for a while!

Yankee Candles

You should all know by now that I have a slight obsession with candles, yankee candles in particular. I love how strong the scents are and how they linger making your room/home smell gorgeous. I got an email through saying they had some of the range on special offer so I jumped at the chance *Naughty Becky* the left jar is called After Dark, it smells kind of like mens after shave, but I like that smell so it's not too bad, but after a while it is a little overpowering, I probably won't buy it again though. On the right we have Stargaze which is my personal favourite out of the two, it's a very unique smell, it's slightly citrusy with a hint of vanilla and has a musky perfume base, yeah I think that's the best I can do at describing it. These are medium jars from the Pure Radiance set which I'd never heard of so I was eager to try them, I think they were originally £19.99 but they were on offer at £12.99, I also found a 20% discount code online too.

The four in the middle from left to right are, Turquoise Sky, River Valley, Midnight Oasis and Black Coconut, these are called samplers, they're perfect for trying out new fragrances, they were £1.80 each. My favourite out of the four is probably Turquoise Sky, but I love them all. Treat your home to some lovely candles - http://www.yankeecandle.co.uk/en/uk/page/home

Earplugs

This is just a random buy which probably isn't interesting at all. Ever since I was younger (when I shared a room with my sister) i could never sleep when someone was snoring, it drives me CRAZY. So I use these when I go to bed, even though I've had my own room for a while I still struggle to get to sleep without them. I think it's like a comfort thing now, I feel like somethings missing and I like silence when going to sleep. So yeah basically without my earplugs I struggle to sleep lol

Skincare

The cotton pads on the left I did need as I use them to clean my face with at night, I also needed a new nail file as my other one had pretty much had it. I invested in some new eyelash curlers to as my old ones were also worn out.

At the beginning of February my skin took a turn for the worse so I found the Botanics Ultra Calming Serum and Soap and Glory's Beauty Sleep Accelerator 24h Moisturiser which both featured in my last blog post and I'm still loving the results.

On the right is a medical cream that my Aunt bought me, she came across it as she uses it for her dogs paws, (yes it's animal friendly) she recommended it as it's got wonderful reviews for treating and clearing up acne. it's a moisturiser for dry itchy skin, so at first I was dubious about using it with having oily skin. Anyway it had a medical smell to it kind of like savlon, so I thought it would work similar to sudocrem. Unfortunately this product didn't help my skin at all, in fact it made my face super oily and caused more breakouts. Once I stopped using it my skin was much happier. 

Books

On the right is a book by Sarah Butler, "Ten Thing I've Learnt About Love" I started reading this mid february after I picked it up in Tesco for £2 and it's very confusing as it switches between two characters via bullet points, it takes a while to get use to. I only read 5 or 6 chapters because I then bought the book on the left by J Lynn "Be With Me" which I've been waiting for since september last year, it's a follow on to "Wait For You" which I read last year on holiday. I couldn't put the book down and it was the same with this one, I'm a pretty slow reader but I read "Be With Me" in two days, it's a personal record. Honestly it's an amazing book, I highly recommend you read the series. I now have to wait until september for the next one...boooo!

Hair

I go through Batiste dry shampoo like there is no tomorrow, it's one of my must have products. I bought two cans at the beginning of the month (buy one get one half price at boots) and with my sister stealing it and me using it, the first can has already gone, I probably get through one can every 2 weeks which is quite a lot of dry shampoo haha. I have greasy hair, no matter what shampoo or hair products I use, I always get greasy hair a day after washing it, I don't like to wash my hair too often as it's not healthy for it so this is where this beauty comes in. It freshens up your hair removing the oil in your hair and it makes it smell nice and clean too, if you have dark hair though it might take a while to work in, or you could be left with grey roots which isn't a good look.

I bought a hair donut on a whim as I always struggle to get my hair to stay in a high bun, and as I go to the gym a couple times a week, I like to have all my hair pinned up so it's not sticking to my sweaty neck and forehead....eww. They're actually quite easy to use. (I'm so bad at doing my hair).

Boots

In January I bought some awesome metallic chelsea high heel boots, I literally loved them but after wearing them a couple of times the metallic came off, I was gutted, anyway I returned them and got a full refund. I had my eyes on these from the end of January and they were half the price of my other boots (Good old Asda £22). Anyway I put off buying them, not really sure why but in the end my Sister bought them for me (after hassling her for weeks) we went shopping and I tried them on and I would of probably bought them myself anyway but I did feel kind of bad as I felt I'd bullied her into buying them, I offered her the money afterwards but she said it was fine. I love my sister she is so lovely and thoughtful.

Tops

I picked these two tops up in primark while shopping with my friend Lucy and my Sister. I fell in love with the left one and then just bought the plain pink one on the right as I needed some new tops.

Lush

My second obsession is Lush, I nipped in there and decided to treat myself to a couple of goodies. I first bought the limited edition "Love Locket" bath ballistic which was out for valentines day, it smelt lovely as most Lush bath products do and it was also 3 bombs in one, I instagramed a picture of that. I also picked up "Melting Marshmallow" bath melt (On the left) I've used this before it smells like sweeties and it makes your sink fell super soft. On the right is "Lord Of Misrule" which I have never seen before so I'm not sure if it's a limited edition one or not. It smells great, I think it's my second favourite smell from Lush it also has popping candy in it so I'm excited to try this one. If you like baths then check out Lush - https://www.lush.co.uk/

Underwear

On the top is a sports bra, I find it really hard to find sports bras that fit as I have rather large bresticals. surprisingly this fits fine and it's not a huge struggle to do up - result. 

Having large boobs (I shall not tell you my exact size but it's larger than what most "pretty" bras go up) I find it hard to find nice bras that are comfortable and actually look nice. 

While searching for a sports bra, I came across this sexy duo and was surprised they went up to my size, the bra was only £14 which is ridiculous price when you're use to seeing/paying almost £40 for a bra. I think the underwear gods have realised they're are a lot more bigger busted women out there, at last! 

Beauty

This really was a reckless buy, one day I was feeling really down and found myself on boots looking at the offers. L'oreal makeup was on buy one get one half price and I've always wanted to try the true match foundation so I thought I'd give it a go, it's not that bad but it's a lot heavier than i'm use to. I also chose the L'oreal Glam Shine Balmy Gloss in Bite the Marajuca which is a coral shade. I have reds, pinks and purples so I thought I'd try a coral shade, I'll probably use it a lot in summer. I also bought the Glam Shine 6hr Lipgloss in Infinite Desert ( A bronze shade with golden sparkles) and Immortal Pearl ( A clear gloss with subtle pink sparkles). I thought i'd give the lip gloss look a try, I quite like these glosses, considering they have glitter in they don't feel gritty. 

Later on in the month, I needed a new topcoat as mine had gone thick and gloopy - yuck, I read some reviews on the "Save the nail wet look top coat" by nails inc, at £6 I didn't think that was too bad, and it's lived up to the reviews, it really is amazing, so I think i've found a new fav top coat. While looking for a top coat I also noticed Barry M was on 3 for 2 and their nail polish is my all time fav high street brand so I snapped up some of the Gelly Hi Shine in some new colours they've brought out.

Clothes

Me and my Brother went shopping on Saturday (Technically March 1st but I'm including these anyway) I decided I was going to buy some new clothes and I haven't updated my wardrobe in over a year (minus the two tops I bought earlier in the month) with my weight always going up and down, I tend to not buy clothes as I never know what size to get and my current ones had worn out.

I picked up these two tops in primark, the light blue one is very similar to my pink one, and the flower patten one is a crop top which looks really nice with the jeans. 

I also picked up a cute necklace and a group of bracelets as I need to accessorise more.

I really like these kind of dresses, I find them very flattering on my figure. I have a few dresses but i've worn them so many times it just looks stupid when I go out in them now, so I thought I'd treat myself to a new dress.

I haven't worn jeans in god knows how long, I find it very hard to find jeans that fit me, I'm bigger on the legs and quite small on my waist stomach area, I don't like low rise jeans as they push all my fatty bits up ewww not a good look. I decided I would be a bit more adventurous with my look and step away from the leggings and try some jeans, I love this acid wash patten and I just had to get them. Admittedly I didn't try them on in the shop because the queue was too long and I couldn't be bothered to wait. Once I got home a tried them on I was surprised at how comfortable they were and how well they fit, I still have to wear a belt otherwise they fall down ha.

The sweetest thing was when we went to pay, my brother was like I'll just stick it on my card, I was like no it's ok i'll pay but he insisted he was putting it on his card. Once again I offered him the money but he wouldn't take it. I seriously have the best Siblings ever. I'm so lucky and I love them both very much.

Read More

My Current Skincare Routine

Side Note - I just want to thank a few people who have encouraged me to carry on this blog and made me feel as if it's something good and it's nice to know people are actually enjoying it! So Anna-Laura Michael Jackson Hitch if you're reading this then thank you for reminding me and pushing me to carry on as I'm pretty lazy and always put things off! I'm dedicating this post to you!
Lucy, thank you for reading my blog and telling me you like it and encouraging me to do more posts, and last but not least, thank you to my sister Abi for helping me choose what I should post next and constantly giving me advice when I need it.

Now on with the show!!

So over the years i've constantly tried numerous skincare products, probably from about the age of 13/14 when I started to get acne. It's hard to find a good regime that actually helps/keeps your skin in check, there are so many products which promise to improve your skin no matter what type you have, yet a lot of them are a bunch of crap (excuse my language) I dare to think how much I've spent over the years on phony products; eventually after sitting in my draws for months, either get passed down to my sister or chucked because they are useless to me.  

I guess it all depends on your skin type because I know certain products, for instances Garnier; I think if my skin had an arch enemy it would be Garnier products. Every Garnier product I have tried has made my skin super oily, broke me out in hundreds of spots and made my skin itchy (I think I might be allergic to it) so naturally I stay clear of anything made by Garnier. Sorry Garnier, it's nothing personal.

I've heard/read so many people rave about Garnier's bb cream and other products by Garnier which have done wonders for their skin and how it's a "must have item". Basically what I'm trying to say is it's about trial and error with skin products, what suits my skin, might not suits yours, which kind of sucks because it can cost a lot of time and money. Although if I had to suggest any product I would recommend going for ones that are naturally made.

Step 1 - Cleanse 

These are my morning/in the bath cleansers, on the right we have Lush Fresh Farmacy, now for a cleanser I guess this is on the pricey side, for 100g it's just under £5 but to be fair it does last a very long time. I bought this roughly around the end of november at just over 100g, I think it cost me about £6.50, I would say I've used about 2/3 of it now but I don't use it everyday as somedays I will just wash my face with water. I have quite sensitive skin and I find if I use too much product it can actually irritate my skin rather than help it, so I probably use Fresh Farmacy about 2 to 3 times a week. I really like the fact it's a solid bar, rather than a gel/cream, it's a very thick cleanser it kind of feels like a clay (it might be a clay but I don't think it is) It's made up of calming essential oils which help cool and soothe the skin. I also like this because I feel it helps with my oily patches (I have combination - oily skin) and it smooths out my skin. There are two downfalls to it though, 1) the smell, It's not exactly a nice smell, It's not terrible but yeah It's not something you want to smell all day and 2) It doesn't come with a tin or container and the reason I don't like this because it could get contaminated by germs/bacteria, I store mine in a plastic container, you know one of those chinese take away ones haha, I find it a little too big/bulky to take it with me if i'm travelling, so yeah it would be nice if they gave you an option to buy a container for it. https://www.lush.co.uk/product/5913/250g-MEDIUM-Fresh-Farmacy-Cleanser. The second cleanser (on the left) is once again from Lush, it's called Angels On Bare Skin I love this cleanser but it's more of a once a month one, sometimes my skin can get a little dry under my chin and around my nose, my cheeks get a bit red from scarred acne so that's when I tend to use this, it's kind of solid but once you add a little bit of water to it it turns into a milky paste, it really helps tone down redness and even out your skin it lightly exfoliates as well. It's meant for oily skin, but weirdly I prefer to use this when my skin isn't that oily. This costs £6.35 for a small tub but once again it goes a long way, you literally only need the tiniest bit, i'm actually ashamed to admit I've had this product for over a year now (probably isn't hygienic but it still seems okay to me) it doesn't have a use by date but it probably is out of date (still works the same though). Once again not keen on the smell, to be fair most of Lush's face products don't smell that great (except Cupcake mmmmm.) https://www.lush.co.uk/product/6433/100g-Angels-on-Bare-Skin-.

These are my nighttime cleansers aka my lazy ones haha. On the left we have L'oreal Skin Perfection Purifying Cleansing Wipes, I only use these if i've worn make-up that day, as it takes majority of it off. I really like these wipes as they keep my skin balanced, they don't dry me out or make me feeling oily afterwards. They're £2 at Asda which I don't think is bad at all. http://groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml?cmpid=ahc-_-ghs-sna1-_-asdacom-dsk-_-hp#/product/910000299918. On the right we have Simple Kind To Skin Pore Minimising Toning Cleanser, out of the all the products I think this one is my favourite. It's a gel type cleanser but you don't have to wash it off, it melts into your skin and after a few minutes it's pretty much untraceable. I just squeeze a dollop onto a cotton pad (as seen in the picture) and sweep it over my face, it removes so much dirt from your face that it's visible on the pad, kind of gross really, but at least you know it's doing a good job. Since using this I've also noticed my pores seem a lot smaller, and my acne is no where near as bad, when I do get breakouts they're small instead of the really big skin deep ones that hurt which is brilliant, I also like this because it's a toning cleanser which means it's two in one, it saves, time, money, space and effort because I don't have to use a toner. I love simple's range I find it's great for sensitive skin. http://www.superdrug.com/simple/simple-pore-mini-cleanser/invt/584630&bklist=.

Step 2 - Tone

Now i'm not really sure if this is a toner or not but I use it before my moisturiser so I'm classing it as a toner lol. This is a recent product I've been using and so far I can't fault it. Botanics Skin Relief Serum Ultra Calm is a serum which you apply before your daily moisturiser, it's suppose to reduce redness, even skin tone and calm down sore spots and honestly so far it's done all the above. I love the way it just melts into the skin, it makes the skin feel so soft and smooth like a babies bum bum hehe. It also smells amazing, it's kind of an orangey fragrant but I can't really describe it, its just nice okay, so take my word for it. This was a little on the pricey side, but Boot's always seem to have this range on offer, I think I got 1/3 off and I'm glad I bought it because so far I'm in love with it. http://www.boots.com/en/Botanics-Ultra-Calm-Skin-Relief-Serum-30ml_1261985/.

Step 3 - Moisturise

On the right we have Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser which I pretty much use every day, even though I have oily skin it's still important to moisturise as your skin can become dehydrated and in turn produce more oil as your skin needs it. What I like about this moisturiser is it's a light 12 hour one which seems to be just about right for me, I've tried oil free moisturisers which have actually dried my skin out, I've tried heavy moisturisers which make my skin to oily as my skin doesn't need that much moisture and pretty much stops absorbing it. It sinks into my skin pretty much instantly so you're not sat rubbing it in for 10 minutes which can be a pain, I also like that it give a matte finish, so it's perfect if you want to apply make-up straight after. It's very cheap for a moisturiser as well which is always a plus! http://www.superdrug.com/simple/simple-hydrating-light-moisturiser-125ml/invt/949073&bklist=. On the left we have Soap and Glory's Beauty Sleep Accelerator which is a 24 hour nighttime moisturiser. Since it's winter and I've been out walking the dog quite a big I've noticed my skin has started to get a little dry so about once a week I will use this before I go to bed, and when I wake up in the morning my skin feels amazing, it drinks up all the goodies and feels ready to face the week. The smell of this product is to die for, it's got a peachy/citrus smell and I think it's my favourite smell out of all my products, it's so yummy I want to eat it. It's quite pricey but if you're using it in small amounts like me then I reckon it's worth it as it will probably last a long time. http://www.boots.com/en/Soap-Glory%C2%99-Beauty-Sleep-Accelerator%C2%99-Night-Flight-Moisture-Miracle_1364180/.

Step 4 - Treatment

Back to trusty old simple. Here we have the Rapid Action Spot Zapper. I find it's near enough impossible to find a spot stick/treatment that actually works, but I guess this is the best of a big bunch, It's not perfect and it doesn't always make a difference, it's kind of a 50/50 product, half the time it helps reduce the spot and the other half it just doesn't touch it, but the reason why I use it, is because unlike other spot treatments it doesn't dry out the skin, so if it doesn't affect the spot then it's not a big deal because it doesn't make it worse. I find it works best on my cheeks, and not so good on my chin/forehead. Still it's not that bad of a price so I think it's worth given it ago. http://www.superdrug.com/simple/simple-spotless-rapid-action-spot-zapper/invt/205719&bklist=.

Step 5 - Lips

Moving onto my lips, yes it's just as important to take of your lips. On the left I use Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub, this comes in a variety of flavours but bubblegum is by far my favourite, it exfoliates your lips and removes any dead flaky skin, it's really good. It's also made with sugar so of course it tastes divine, it's almost a struggle not to eat the entire pot, I use this every other night before I go to bed and before I apply lipsticks/glosses. It's not that pricey when you think about it because it does last a long time, but as it's just sugar, you could make it at home for 1/3 of the price. https://www.lush.co.uk/product/67/Bubblegum-Lip-Scrub. On the right is Vaseline which is just a standard lip balm I apply after the scrub, it helps keep my lips nice and moistruised, I like this one as it's has aloe vera in it which is a natrual antibacteria so if you sometimes get cold sores like me, I feel it helps keep them at bay before they fully flare up. http://groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml?cmpid=ahc-_-ghs-sna1-_-asdacom-dsk-_-hp#/product/1528095.

There you have it, my current skincare routine. I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you next time! 

Read More

An Amazing Day At The Making Of Harry Potter!

So as you may or may not know, for christmas I was given tickets by my wonderful sister to go to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour London (The Making Of Harry Potter) I had mentioned to her at some point how'd i'd like to go there. I'm a big fan of the movies and I have to admit I haven't read any of the books (I know shocker!) but as I grew up with the movies I thought it would be very interesting to see how they were made. I'd seen videos, pictures and heard people talk about the tour and it sounded/looked amazing.

THIS POST IS FULL OF SPOILERS, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OR ARE PLANNING TO VISIT THE STUDIO'S SOON AND WANT IT TO BE A SURPRISE/UNIQUE EXPERIENCE THEN I SUGGEST YOU STOP READING.

Luckily for us we had tickets for the last weekend of "Hogwarts In The Snow" which excited me even more. C'mon it's snow, snow is awesome haha. Here we are starting our day:

As we arrived at the studio our excitement was bursting, seeing the Harry Potter sign and some of the chess pieces out front with the background of the Harry Potter theme tune, it kind of felt like we were at an amusement park. The sky was so blue it kind of looked like we were in Orlando, but don't be fooled we were in London haha.
We walked through the entrance, where we joined the queue to start our tour. This took roughly 20 - 30 mins which I thought was quite a  long time considering when you buy your tickets you are given a time slot. I guess it being a weekend and the last weekend to experience the snow it was that extra bit busier I'm not 100% sure.
We were then moved into a room which we saw all the posters from every country that Harry Potter had be shown in. Afterwards we entered a plush cinema style room where we watched a 10 minute feature film which was like a trailer for all the movies smashed into one at the end the screen lifted up revealing the big golden gates which was the entrance to the great hall. The great hall was magical, it was set just like it would have been for the films, I expected it to be smaller because near enough everything you see on TV is but I was actually quite shocked at the size of the hall, it was pretty huge!
I guess you could say the tour had probably started, we entered the exhibit room to the left of the hall in which at this point onwards you go round on your own, taking as long as you like. At times it got a little crowded which didn't do well with my anxiety, but I wasn't going to let it ruin the day. The one thing I didn't like about the main exhibit room is it wasn't planned out very well, everything was kind of just jotted about everywhere, it started off as a line, going into a circle but then there was stands everywhere, I felt a little bit like I was in a Harry Potter maze. There was so much to get around and towards the end I was struggling a bit and could really need a drink and sit down to calm my nerves but we were informed that once you leave the room and enter the court yard you can't enter back in so the last bit was a little rushed but nethertheless it was still amazing.
The courtyard was probably my favourite place, it was out in the open, there was refreshments, toilets and i just felt more at ease. Every 15 mins they would make it snow, which was pretty cool. Of course we tried butterbeer but we didn't like it that much. It's very peculiar because it's fizzy with a dollop of cream so I kind of thought it would be like an ice cream float but it wasn't, I think if the actual texture of the drink was more creamy like a milkshake then it would taste a lot better, but then I guess it wouldn't look like beer. Also in the courtyard they had the triple decker bus and the car which we got pictures with.
Now on to the second exhibit room, I prefered this one more because it was a clear path which you followed round and it was just set out a lot better. Each time you entered a new room there was always something mind blowing and spectacular to see. I really enjoyed Diagon Alley, I could just picture Daniel, Emma and Rupert running around in their uniforms on set for the filming of The Philosopher's Stone.
The most jaw dropping moment is when you're looking at cardboard models of Hogwarts and then you turn the corner and see the actual model used for filming. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be and it's crazy to think how they made this model look like a life size castle using green screen and a few special effects.
The gift shop was any Harry Potter fan's dream, you could buy everything from souvenirs to the actual uniform for each house, the only letdown was how expensive it was, I understand places like this make a lot off the merch but this was excessive. The scarves were £25 and the jumpers £70, I honestly think if they were to knock off 25% then they would probably make more money.
Overall it was an amazing day and I'm glad I was able to do it. Thank you to my sister for this amazing gift, and now when I watch the films I will see them a different way, all the hard work and effort gone in to them is hard to even comprehend. If you're a Harry Potter fan, even slightly then I would recommend you to go there at least once as it is a very magical and mind boggling place.

I have attached a widget which shows some of the picture taken on the day. I couldn't upload them all, there is far too many.

Read More