Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Mask review

A few months ago GlossyBox sent a sample of the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, I honestly didn't think what they had sent would be enough but it was. This clay mask is designed to draw out the impurities, revive and refined your skin. Of course being that it is from Body Shop it is 100% vegan and free from parables, paraffin, silicone and mineral oil. It's packed with natural ingredients including green tea leaves (everything about green tea is just good) and tea tree oil which we all know helps with spots.

Last minute Christmas gifts

Have you left it really to the last minute to buy something for a female? Well I've created another little list of things you can get last minute. If you can't make it into the stores a lot of places still have delivery options to have it in time for Christmas with of course delivery charges or some of them are offering free delivery of orders over a certain amount.

Making memories

A few days ago I was sorting out one of my cupboards and I came across a Forever Friends note book. I completely forgot but when I was leaving school I had an idea to get some pictures through school and various days/nights out and ask anyone to write something about us and any funny memories. I will be honest I was reading through it and I did get a little emotional, it just made me think back to some really good times. I'm not in contact with everyone which happens when you leave but I still see some people from time to time but I am still best friend with the same girl, Sharna. We have been friends for so many years we have laughed and cried together and made some brilliant memories and still have loads more to make.

 

"The best is yet to come" Sinatra

Christmas gift ideas

Christmas is creeping up on us very quickly don't you think? There is only two Saturdays left of shopping. I love trying to find presents for people especially things they would like and use. I have created a little gift ideas for her. I'm quite lucky this year I already know what I'm buying and I now only have two more gifts to buy (organised or what!).

Lush face mask and cleanser review

About 2 months ago I popped into my local Lush store as I wanted to try a new face mask, if you are a fan of Lush you will know that if you take any of the 5 black full size pots back you receive a fresh face mask absolutely free. Over the years I have tried a few different products some I've liked and some that didn't agree with my skin. I had over 5 so I thought I would take a trip and see what else they have.


I have combination skin and where I have dryer patches on my face I sometimes find it a little hard to find anything that will keep this area moisturised. I actually asked someone what they would recommend for my skin and with the colder months coming up what would be best. She talked me through a few different ones and some facial cleansers to use before the mask but the ones that caught my eye was Aqua Marina and Cupcake. Both of them were tested on my hand before I bought them.

Barry M nail varnish and eyeshadow palette

I popped into my local Boots last week with no intensions of buying anything just to have a look and see what's on offer honestly I was getting some ideas for Christmas. Of course I did have a look at the Barry M nail varnishes to see if they had more colours in the Coconut infusion collection and if they had a silver glitter. So as you can see I did it, I bought three nail varnishes(naughty of me I know), I chose two new coconut infusions, (Oyster and Fever) and silver glitter one. I am liking a little bit of grey colours on my nails at the moment this will most likely change again to a matte red soon though.

My collection of the coconut infusion nail varnishes is growing quickly, I have a majority of the like nude colours and more from the other ranges they do. I just loveee their nail varnishes, I find they last long and the colours are just amazing, the application is so much easier with the flatter brush. If anyone asks me I will always recommend Barry M and the best thing is they don't take that long to dry either! With the amount of them I own I might as well be an ambassador for Barry M nails lol.

How I style my over kneed boots part 1

For a little while now I had been eyeing up over knee boots which are appearing all over but always struggled to find any that would fit my calves. That was until I see that River Island were now doing a wide fit range but I couldn't justify spending £75 on them not knowing if I was actually going to wear them. I was browsing through Primark where I saw these "suede" over knee heeled boots at less then half the price, only £22!!

 



New Ted Baker bag

Ahh my favourite accessory!! For the last 5/6 years Ted Baker bags have caught my eye, I love the styles they look so smart and they look very structured. A few years ago I would no way have bought one as they are a little pricey but you are also paying for quality not just the brand. I've bought bags from all over the high street, some brilliant and some not so good. As much as I love River Island unfortunately their bags I struggle with, they always break or stitching comes apart, so I have stayed away from them but my favourite high street brand has to be H&M they last the absolute longest and are so spacious.

New stationary

I see so many blogs with such beautiful pictures all the time when I'm browsing and I've been on the look out for some additions for when I take flat lay pictures. There is so much choice out there of things you can use, from candles to postcards. I've been meaning to look for little bits but I often get distracted and don't end up buying what I intentionally wanted to. Over the last few weeks I have managed to buy a few things that will enhance my pictures but I will be slowly building up the collection so I can have options.

My new Mac highlighter

So over the weekend I went to London and done some light shopping as it was my birthday last week. When I'm in London, I always end up in Mac and the last few times I've been I have often some out with something, it's so dangerous me going to be honest.

Sudocream Skincare cream review

With the winter months approaching I was looking for a more of a moisturising cream to use as the ones I currently use are quite thin and more ideal for the summer months, I didn't have to look far as I was very kindly sent Sudocream's skincare cream. I was very excited to try this as you know the original cream is thick and protects the skin as we all know the most common use for it is a nappy rash cream. I didn't actually realise how many years Sudocream has been around for, since 1931 and still going strong.
 

Birthday Wish List 2016

My birthday is coming up very soon, 1st November to be precist, I do love when my birthday it's not too cold and I'm not stuck inside doing nothing! I'm having the week off work and will spend some time with my mum as she has the week off too and will at some point hop on a train to London and do some shopping and visit my favourite place, V&A.

Of course everyone has ideas of what they want and I thought I'd share with you a few things I would love to have some of them are a bit out there but a girl can dream.

10,000 page view give away!!

Oh wow I've had 10,000 page views! This is something so big for me I didn't think I would still be doing this. I started it back in April 2014 as a bit of fun and something new as I've never done anything like this before. It took a lot of thinking and planning but I can honestly say I love blogging. If i'm not working then I am always thinking of new posts to write or when I'm shopping what to buy or what products are out there for me to try.

Anyway getting to the point I decided few weeks ago when I see I was getting close to 10,000 views that I would do a beauty give away. I am giving the chance for one lucky person to have all these little goodies belwo. This is my first ever give away and I am so excited.

The lucky winner chosen at random will win:

NYX Dewy finishing spray

Revlon volume + length mascara

L'Oreal Collection exclusive lipstick by J.Lo

Mini Garnier Micellar cleansing water (this is my favourite)

Glitter compact mirror

Collection speedy highlighter

To Enter: All you need to do, is to complete the compulsory steps in the Rafflecopter below.

This competition is open to UK residents only

It will end 26/10/2016

One winner will be chosen at random once the competition ends and you will be contacted by me

Good luck!
 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

 



P.S

I want to thank you all for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy it too!! Maybe there will be some more give aways in the future.

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The longline check shirt

Over the weekend me and my family got together and we went out Saturday evening. It was a casual night not something to really get dressed up for so I decided to wear my new RI red check shirt. I see this last week when I passed through, I was mainly excited they had something in stock in my size!

 

 

 

My first Libbie Club box

At the end of August I signed up to the Libbie Club which is a beauty box which gets sent monthly. This month I was sent Dr Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel Pads, Evolve Hyaluronic Serum 200 and Paul Yacomine Micro Duo oils. You can see all the products and my reviews over on my page here.

 

Empties of Summer 16

I've been thinking for a while now to post and share what products I've used up recently instead of just showing you the new things I buy. I see a few people do it and it is interesting, I often find I try new products and I either don't finish them and just leave them or they don't do what I want them to. When I decided I would do this post I had no empties so it was a little bit of a waiting game, I started to feel like the little kid of the Fairy washing up liquid adverts who wants the empty bottle lol.
 

My bank holiday weekend away

Wow this past week has been very busy and now I'm back at work time flies when you're having fun. On Saturday (before the bank holiday) me, Sharna, Pauline (Sharna's Mum), Shonola had made our way to Nottingham for the bank holiday weekend and visit Leeds Carnival on the Monday. We stayed with Pauline's friend Mandy luckily she had enough space for all of us.

This had been planned for quite some time and we was all looking forward to it so much, mainly to get out of Ipswich and do something different. We got there early evening Saturday and we had gone out that night to see what Nottingham it was like. It was a good night but the event we had goe to was not aimed at our age even though we enjoy the music, it was more older reggae don't get me wrong some good tunes were played but we wanted something a little more up to date. We did take the oppourtunity to take loads of pics though, below are the better ones *hands over face*.

Green pesto chicken and roasted veg

Sunday I made something I haven't made in while but its got loads of flavour and something so simple straight forward to make. If I'm honest I really had no energy to be stood in the kitchen for hours to make something because my mum was colouring my hair later in the day and if you've seen how long my hair is it takes a while!

I got the idea from a Jamie Oliver's hit'n'run tray baked chicken but over time I have adjusted it and now I make it to my preference. All it is, is roasted veg and chicken and spices/herbs, simple right?

What I bought in Mac

A couple of weekends ago I went London and I was on a bit of a make up hunt, I wanted some new things I have no idea why as I already have loads but heyyyy. I passed by Mac and with intentions of buying their Cream Colour Base in Midtone Sepia (mainly for contouring) but sadly they didn't have this in store. I carried on looking around at the other products and came across the concealer and I remembered one thing I am looking for is a under eye brightening concealer.
 

The one piece

Are you going on holiday abroad this year? or having a staycation and finding somewhere nice in the UK to stay for a few days or so? Well either way you will be near some form or water whether it be the sea or a pool to cool down. So you've got the location sorted and the weather is lovely, you're packed for the days and evenings out but now you're thinking what do you wear by the pool/sea? A one piece. Why not?

Bodysuits

Over the last few months or so I've been shopping most weekends, finding bargains and slightly changing/updating my style a bit. I wanted to update my wardrobe a bit but also buy things that are basic items all girls should own. About three weeks ago I had popped into Primark and see that they had some bodysuits in various colours and styles. To begin with I was a little conscious about wearing them but I thought you know what, just buy it, so I did and since then I've been back and bought three more in other colours. I've been wearing them with high waisted jeans, they are superrrr comfortable and I don't have to worry about a top underneath rising up and being annoying. I have just fell in love with wearing them. If you're thinking about getting one go to Primark, they are no more than £5 so you can't really go wrong can you?! The poppers are something I'm slowly getting used to, it can be a nuisance when going to the toilet but it's something you get used to.

 

My first time on radio!

If you have me on Watsapp, Instagram or Twitter you will know last Friday I was on Real Talk with Sharna, as Shonola was away last week. They have a show on every friday at 9pm for an hour, honestly they need a longer slot, each week a different genre of music is played and there is talks on anything inbetween. I will always listen as much as I can gotta show some love and support to my girls.

We had a bit of fun on Snapchat

Is summer on its way?

Last Saturday I had popped out for a late lunch with a friend and a bit of a catch up. I wasnt feeling all that great Saturday and if I'm honest I'm still not quite a 100% but I thought I needed to get out have some food and I also wanted to get a couple tops from Primark. It was a lot warmer then it had been, I hadn't got any of my main summer clothes out my wardrobe because I've been managing with just my 'general' ones. I really wanted to stay away from wearing black, one we all know wearing black clothes attract the sun more and two it was a lovely sunny day so why would I want to be head to toe in black?! It was quite hot and I just found myself in front of my wardrobe and shouting (more of a cry for help) "what do I wearrrr????".

Want to try some Benefit's brow products??

Recently Benefit had re launched their brow range and brought a couple more items out, they have changed the packaging to all silver it is really nice but personally I would have preferred it in gold or rose gold I just love when any make up products have either of these colours involved. You may of had a look at some of the products before and thought they are a little bit highly priced the amount of product you get or you're wondering what the hype is all about. Don't get me wrong I will spend money on make up products but I do research to make sure what I'm spending my money on is worth it. I do own two of Benefit's brow products which are Browzing and Gimme brow (which I got free when I had an brow wax), I don't use the Browzing so much these days and it's slightly annoying that I don't but I can never be bothered to do my brows fully or a more intense look. Gimme Brow is perfect if you have some unruly hairs that you just want to tame with a little bit of colour, my mum even loves it!!

Shopping in Westfields

Last weekend we decided to stop by Westfields on Sunday on our way home from seeing Beyoncé on the Saturday. First thing we did though was have a cheeky Nandos, it had to be done (and we kind of skipped breakfast so we was hungry). Pretty much every shop we had gone into had a extra long queue, I have no idea why but everyone thought it would be a good idea to go shopping at that point. I did ideally want to pick up a few things mainly tops, as I seem to have enough jeans, skirts, trousers and leggins and I'm starting to think of late that I'm struggling to find tops in my wardrobe or I find myself wearing the same things on the weekends. There is not many (if any) stores that have plus size clothes in Westfields in Stratford but at the moment where I am loosing weight I am starting to find myself being able to shop in some of the "normal" high street stores which is a good thing and personally it makes me happy. I will never be skinny, partially because that's not how I am built and who wants to be skinny, like common really? 

Beyoncé's Formation World Tour

What a weekend, me and a friend of mine were lucky enough to get tickets for Beyoncé's Formation World Tour for the 2nd July show, we bought them back in February which now seems like such a long time ago. Before we knew it was like 3 weeks away (where I started looking for an outfit), then 2 weeks (waiting for things to be delivered), then 1 week (buying last minute things) and then it was the day!

 

Slay

My recent beauty haul

The last few weeks have been a little busy for me with a few things going on and not being in Ipswich over the weekends, I've finally got some time to show you what make up I've bought recently. I had intentions of just buying one new mac lipstick and their Soft and Gentle highlighter whilst I was in London but that kind of didn't go to plan. I've found my new favourite lipstick and discovered NYX and Ben Nye (late I know but better late then never at all).

 

Top 10 beauty tips every female should know!

Over the past two maybe three years I've come across many little hair and beauty tips, some of them very useful. I've created a list of my favourite tips.

From the office to after work drinks

Have you ever been invited for a few cheeky after work drinks on Friday with you work colleagues? I know you’re thinking what a great way to start the weekend but what do you wear that is suitable for the office but can still look good for a few drinks?! Of course you don’t want to look too glammed up for work but you want to find that happy medium. The outfit is the key thing and you feel like you need to get that on point but there is also a couple other ways you can change a little for example: add a bit of make-up, change from flat shoes to heels or if you're wearing tights remove them (it is now spring ladies get your razors ready!). 

So what do you wear?

Finally found a bomber jacket!!

So last week I finally bought a bomber jacket, I’ve been looking for one for ages but just trying to find that right one. You know when you have this vision of what you want but everywhere you look you can’t find it. To be honest it got a little frustrating in the end but one day I just found it and loved it. I found it on Asos Curve and I have been in love since it arrived. They are so versatile and can be worn with pretty much anything! Last week I was meeting up with Nowara for a catch up and I just wanted to be casual, it didn't take me long to decide what I wanted to wear. I dug out my light jeggins, black t-shirt and my trainers and finished with my lovely new jacket and off I went. I have a thing that when it's like winter (technically it’s now Spring) I don’t feel right wearing light coloured jeans/jeggins, don’t ask me why but it has always been that way with me and because the days are not so gloomy I thought I could get away with it. And I did! It wasn’t the warmest of days but it kept me warm without being too thick. This has definitely now got to be my go to jacket except when/if we get a good summer. Also I’ve had some compliments since I’ve been wearing it too!

 

Beauty buys of February

The last few months I’ve lacked in buying beauty products but that’s because I haven't seen anything that really catches my eye or something I’m in need of. Throughout February I’ve slowly got back into buying little bits and pieces. Here is a few of my favorites :)

A casual Friday

The other week (on a Friday) I popped out very briefly to get my eyebrows and lashes tinted, on my days off I do like to look nice not necessarily dress up with a full face of makeup and heels but you know just like you have made an effort without making an effort, if that makes sense. Scanning through my wardrobe for something to quickly put on become a bit of a mission but I remembered I bought this long tunic/top from Tu Sainsburys that would be perfect with a pair of leggins or jeans and boots. 

 

Myself and my mum often have a little browse in the clothing section in Sainbury’s they often have some lovely items and they are not badly priced either. She loves a bit of TU clothing, I’ve had to tell her she needs to venture out to the town centre now and again! Also Gok Wan’s collection is there and every season he brings out a new range I fall in love, in my opinion he caters for real woman and in his dresses there's often detachable control wear included. 

 

Topshop jewellery haul

The other day I had popped into town to meet a friend and catch up on a few things and how we can possibly work together in the near future. After I had gone into Topshop just to browse and see what was about mainly to look for some jewellery. They still had a sale going on which I was quite surprised at, anyway I had seen some rings which caught my eye I went to pay for them and the sales assistant had said all jewellery is 5 for £5 and the rings I had were £2 for the sake of another £3 why not. 

If I was to buy all of these separately it would have cost me £38.50 but getting this all for £5 was a real good bargain! I know you may see that I have got two sets of the same rings but you can never have enough of these types of rings, stack them up or wear them on their own. They don’t appear to have this offer on the website but check with your local store if they have, it’s worth having a look.

Afternoon tea and drinks with my family

As a little extra for my mum’s birthday I decided to get all the females in the family to join me and my mum for afternoon Tea at the Salthouse, well all that could make it. Myself and my mum have been to afternoon tea in the past (including The Ritz which is amazing), for some members of the family it was their first time. We all enjoyed it very much catching up with each other and having a laugh and we all agreed we would do it again but in the summer as it was a little cold. If you are in the area and you like a cup of tea, mini food and a beautiful view in summer I would highly recommend you book a table with some friends and enjoy. The family members that couldn’t make the tea came round that evening and we all had a few drinks and music playing, my dad had cooked some food. My mum has enjoyed her birthday celebrations but is now happy that we can go back to normal!

It was casual dress but I still wanted to make an effort as The Salthouse is a lovely hotel, it's kind of posh but not posh if you know what I mean. I wanted to be comfortable in what I was very because we was going to be sat down for a little while so I decided to wear a black sleeveless belted jacket with my khaki flowered shirt some black treggins and my trusty Chelsea boots. 

Jacket - Dorothy Perkins (currently in the sale)

Shirt - Sold out in New Look but here is something similar

Trousers - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - New Look

Earrings - River Island

 

x

Celebrating my mums birthday

It was my mums yesterday and it was quite a special one. Myself and my dad decided we would go for a meal to celebrate, somewhere nice and different to where we usually would go. We decided to go to The Last Anchor, we had all been last year for another family member's birthday and we thoroughly enjoyed out meal. 

We decided as it was mid week that we weren't going to dress up majorly but still look like we made an effort. I had two outfit ideas in mind, both involved a sleeveless blazer either black or khaki and whichever I didn't choose to wear for the meal I would wear Friday for afternoon tea. My mum had to help me a little bit and she could understand my dilemma both would look lovely but which one for the meal. I didn’t want to wear anything that was fitted or restricting which is why in the end decided to wear black long sleeved roll neck stretch top, black treggins with a khaki belted blazer and black Chelsea boots. I felt this was more suited for a evening meal. Also it was very comfortable and wasn't over the top. Personally I think sleeveless blazers are a wardrobe staple, they go wish pretty much anything and ideal for all year around.

The meal itself was absolutely beautiful and I would recommend anyone to go there if they are around, you may wish to book in advance to avoid disappointment especially on weekends

A trip to Birmingham

Over the weekend I had gone to Birmingham, I needed some away time I haven't really been away since early December last year which is unlike me! I went Birmingham once about 5 years ago for a night out with some friends it was a good night and I always said I wanted to go back but never did until now. London is often/always my first choice of destination but this time I wanted a new place to venture to. This visit was more to get my bearings for future trips as I know I will be returning. 

I was up around 7am on my day off, as you can imagine that was not the part I was looking forward to, I had to straighten my hair and finished off packing well mainly decide what clothes I wanted to take, then I took a taxi down to the train station and that’s where the journey begun. The train left Ipswich shortly after 10:00, I then passed through London and left by 12:00 and arrived in Birmingham about 13:30pm. The journey itself was not bad at all, it went quite quickly to be honest, possibly because of the changeover in London. I had a little bit of an agenda on the way, I needed to complete my previous blog post, Maya, which had a few finishing touches to be made (now completed) and to read my book Strong Looks Better Naked by Khloe Kardashian, with some headphones in so I wasn't distracted by people talking. 

Maya : Black gold of the sun

Recently I was very kindly sent a new hair product which is on the market called Maya (see website here), by the lovely Michelle. She contacted me and asked if I would be interested in trying the product and of course I said yes, I love trying new hair products. 

Bacon and everything else crust less quiche

As on my previous post “Being happy” I did say I would share a some recipes which I have been enjoying lately. Slimming World have a bacon and mushroom crust less quiche  which took my fancy, now at first I didn't follow it completely as I forgot a couple ingredients. A few changes have been made to it over times and I’ve taken away a couple things but they have been replaced with other free foods. You can put what you want in it and have it your way. I often have it with salads for lunch and snack on slices when I feel peckish. It is filling and is very moreish! 

Being happy

Happy new year, hope you all had a lovely time over the festive period.

 

Ahh the first post of 2016 and it is a little different to the norm that is on here, it’s something I’ve always thought about posting for a while but I think now is the right time for me. If you know me well you will know that I suffer with awful migraines mainly whilst I’m at work but this affects my personal life and everything I do. I’ve been a little down in the last few months or so (possibly a lot longer to be honest) and it got on top of me quite a bit to the point I was putting on weight but I wasn't happy with how I looked, I wouldn't really go out on my days off I would spend most of my time at home and just worry about things that I don’t need to be, also writing blog posts they were not as frequent as I wanted them to be. I had no umph to do anything, I just wanted to be at home. Plucking up the courage to go to my doctors was a big thing for me, it’s like you don’t want to face it but you know you need to. Since going to the doctors and I have been on working how to stop being so stressed, depressed and have anxiety. It is hard at times but when you have been the same way for ages and now you need to get out of that, sometimes you find yourself swaying back towards how you was before but you just have to really focus and think things will get better. So this is me trying to be me again.

 

If you can’t help yourself who will?