Tuesday 27 November 2012

My New Favourite Shop - TKMaxx

silver shop exterior with sign 'TK Maxx'
four shelves stacked with lots of multi-coloured boxes of different sizes
stack of flat white boxes with eyeshadow palettes inside
five stacks (blue, green, pink, white and multi coloured) below forward facing pamper sets with 3 bottles in each
shelf of boxed Christmas lights with wall of silver hanging baubles behind
Hey Everyone!

To me, TK Maxx has always been a shop that's just kind of 'meh'- I would buy something occasionally, for a fair price. Either my vision was badly hindered or recently TK Maxx has become a whole lot better. 

Firstly, I love their clothing. They stock an enormous range of brands, often small boutiques, meaning your unlikely to be wearing the same as someone else. They strike the perfect combination between great quality, stylish clothing and an affordable price. 

I think TK Maxx is absolutely amazing for Christmas shopping. If I had to get all of my gifts in there- I would probably manage it. They have beautiful gift sets from many different brands including Cath Kidston and Baylis & Harding, all of course at a discount price. I also discovered while browsing a couple of weeks ago a great selection of elf cosmetics Christmas sets (my eyes were popping out of my head as you can imagine). Also, their Christmas section is like a winter wonderland- ooh you get excited just looking at the selection of baubles and stockings. And the home decor section is beyond describable- shabby chic galore.

I love the very strong American theme running through the shop. As a avid (verging on obsessive) viewer of many YouTubers from across the Atlantic, I often find myself thinking 'I wish we had that here' but TK Maxx meets that wish, stocking brands like elf and NYX. 

I can say, without doubt, that it is my favourite high street shop at the moment because of its huge variety and affordability.

Where is your one stop Christmas-shopping store?
pink and green floral text with thin brown stroke outline reading 'Julz'




Sunday 25 November 2012

Wishlist | Winter Woollies

There's nothing better than snuggling into cosy knits on cold mornings. I'm loving fair isle at the moment- its so pretty and seasonal. In my book, the key ingredients of winter (which is probably my favourite season) are amazing tv, hot chocolate (yep, still addicted) and woollies like these.
collage of knitted items: grey hot water bottle with silver satin bow, navy and white fairisle snood and hat, pink long cardigan, white earmuffs, navy and white fairisle fingerless gloves and red and white fairisle cushion with trees and reindeer
I absolutely love the studded pink cardigan from Topshop- ooh if only I had the £48 (ouch) to pay for it. I also really like the cushion- I've been looking for ways to winter-ify my room but so far I've only put a winter Me to You teddy on my shelf!

What's on your winter wishlist?
pink and green floral text with thin brown stroke outline reading 'Julz'
P.S Is it just me that thinks 'woollies' looks weird with a double l? Blame chrome spell check!

Monday 19 November 2012

Instagram | The Last Fortnight In Pictures #12

This was meant to go up last night as usual but I forgot to publish it- I'm so silly :P


Hey Everyone!

How has your week been? I kind of lost motivation to study this week which is bad, but starting tomorrow I will go back to my crazy busy girl again :) I have been absolutely loving I'm a Celebrity- I might have mentioned (many times) that it is my favourite program ever! I'm quite liking The X Factor too even though this year I've watched less than I ever have- tonight's result was crazy! 
selfie of girl in grey onesie, chocolate muffin on floral rim plate, large paperclip holding together sweet wrappers, folders and stacks of paper on desk with hot chocolate in paper cup in middle, mountain against burnt sky, white firework with navy sparkle filter, white hand with short nails painted red, white firework, white book with various 50ps inside, two burgundy nail polish bottles, selfie of girl with brown hair and red lipstick, hot cookie dough dessert
From left to right and down:
all cosy in my onesie | yummy chocolate muffin | yea I collect starburst wrappers | my library set up- of course a cup of the best hot chocolate in the world | there was a spiders web outside my window- found it amazing to watch haha | bonfire night | red nails | not the best firework picture in the world | olympic 50p collection complete | burgundy love | curled my hair last night | Pizza Hut cookie dough yuum!
pink and green floral text with thin brown stroke outline reading 'Julz'

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Hey Everyone!

Well what do you know- winter is upon us already and its exactly 6 weeks today till Christmas day (eek where has this year went?). I love this time of year- getting all cosy in my onesie at night, lighting candles, the influx of Christmas adverts, I'm a celebrity is back (favourite tv program ever woo!) and becoming dangerously addicted to hot chocolate. 
unfocussed photo of half way finished cream candle and pink candle
Talking of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, isn't it just the most entertaining programme of the year? I absolutely love Ant and Dec, they are utterly hilarious and I'm enjoying getting nightly fashion inspiration from Get Me Out of Here Now's Laura Whitmore. I'm sad to see that Russell Kane isn't back though- I thought he made the after show. Any thoughts?

On another note, I had a burst of inspiration for posts last night, and I am so excited to share all my winter wishlists and themed posts with you in the coming weeks. I feel like this year, because I'm so busy Christmas will just kind of by pass me, but I'm determined not to let that happen by marking the occasion with festive posts and of course the usual Christmas preparation (I've usually got my shopping done by now but I haven't even started!)

Also, on the blogging front, I'm thinking of a slight change of direction- I want to make posts a bit shorter, with more good quality pictures, not so categorised and hopefully more flowing. I'm quite an organised, structured person but I want my blog to be a bit more arty, a kind of creative outlet, rather than an extension of study.  So yep that's the plan- we'll see how it goes!

I'm looking forward to the Coca Cola advert- that's when you know its Christmas!

What's you're favourite thing about this festive season?
pink and green floral text with thin brown stroke outline reading 'Julz'

Sunday 11 November 2012

Review | NYC Showtime Waterproof Mascara

blue tube with silver writing 'Showtime' on white shelf
straight thin mascara brush
close up of girl's face with her eyes closed
girls face with hair up with mascara on eyelashes
close up of green brown eye with long mascara coated lashes
I picked up NYC Showtime Waterproof Mascara in Superdrug for £1.99 as a kind of 'you will do until I find something better product' after my L'Oreal Telescopic ended smudging to the top of my cheekbones after only a few hours wear. I thought either it had a very short prime time or I needed something a little (or a lot) more long wearing. Without the £10.99 price tag (ouch!)

I was pretty much bang on the money with my first impression. This mascara is pretty much your average, not bad, not great product. The packaging is admittedly quite nice for how much it was. So far the writing has stayed intact and everything has stuck where it should be (classic signs of cheap packaging). The wand is pretty standard; straight, strong and brush-like without much flexibility or movement (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The formula is quite dry which I like as I don't end up with mascara on my lid from blinking too quickly, yet it isn't too dry that it flakes. It definitely lives up to it claim of being waterproof, as it doesn't budge from my lashes even after a day at school (the ultimate test) and, what is most impressive, is that it is actually just as easy as a normal mascara to remove! No red eyes or endless scrubbing. 

However, it really doesn't do anything amazing for my lashes. It gives them a bit of definition, and can look decent if you apply 3 or so coats (I'm sorry, but who has time for that?) but it doesn't volumize or lengthen. For a natural, day to day, long wearing, affordable mascara, this is good. But, if you are looking for a bit of oomph- this isn't the product for you. 

I am still searching for a mascara that ticks all the boxes, and I now wonder whether I will need to wear a waterproof one all the time or whether there was just some weird smudging thing going on with my Telescopic.

Have you tried this mascara? Which one would you recommend?
pink and green floral text with thin brown stroke outline reading 'Julz'


Wednesday 7 November 2012

Review | ELF Eyelid Primer

beige thin tube with black lid
beige tube with black writing 'elf eyelid primer'
white hand holding up sponge applicator of cream product
As you may know, I love a smokey eye, but what is insufferably annoying is when your eye makeup rubs off in the course of a few hours. There are a great many high end eyelid primers available which I have heard raved about constantly (hello Urban Decay Primer Potion) but for a lot of us that is way out of budget. At that point I turned to ELF and found the Eyelid Primer in Sheer for a tiny £1.50.

The packaging is fairly simple yet durable- so far no leakages or faded writing. It has a really nice formula; I apply one 'swipe' onto my crease and blend all over the lid and up to the brow. I love how it gives a very even surface and colour to my eyelid and provides a great base for shadow. It sounds weird, but it actually feels soft on my eye- like a blanket or something, and is therefore really smoothing. It slightly enhances the usual colours of the eye shadow and reduces creasing, though doesn't prevent it all together. Although it doesn't work exactly as I'd hoped, this product has still become part of my everyday routine because it provides a beautiful base for eye shadow.

Have you tried this? Can you recommend any other drugstore eye primers?
pink and green text with thin brown stroke reading 'Julz'


Sunday 4 November 2012

Instagram | The Last Fortnight In Pictures

navy blue nail polish with ring finger pink all coated in silver glitter, selfie of girl with brown hair, red rose bush, angus thongs and perfect snogging dvd, girl with brown hair smiling wearing large green hat and green eyeshadow dressed as leprechaun , yellow stretchy man toy, blurry A5 pale blue benefit catalogue, orange yoyo, mirror selfie of girl in sleeveless burgundy chiffon dress, pearl painted nails with sparkle filter, clothes hung up in changing room, street from car window with heavy navy sparkle filter
From left to right and down:
glitter nails yay | hi there | last hint of summer? | yup, still watching this constantly | top o' the mornin to ye | I'm stretchy and I know it | new Benefit catalogue- so tempting! | me + yo yo = life complete | tried this on in TKMaxx- I wish I'd bought it- and it was the last one- never going to find it again :( | pretty pearl nails | Saturday shopping | edited to the max :)

I'm keeping this post short and sweet as I tend to ramble on a lot- have you noticed? :P 

How has your week been? My homework is overloading and I have the cold boo! 
green and pink floral text with fine brown outline reading 'Julz'

Friday 2 November 2012

Cheryl Cole A Million Lights Concert

Hey Everyone!

Remember me? I'm back to normal life after a crazy last two weeks (I was in a musical woot!) so hopefully regular(ish) posting will resume. In saying that, today's post is not beauty or fashion related but instead I thought I'd share with you some pictures of when I went to see Cheryl two weeks ago.
woman in gold beige outfit walks on stage with green spotlights
woman in black dress sings to crowd with dancers behind her
woman smiles holding microphone wearing purple dress
woman singing wearing purple dress and purple boots surrounded by audience
This is how close we actually were! ^
woman in pink and black military outfit and cap dancing with backing dancers behind
'I SALUTE YOU' in white letters lighting up stage
It was absolutely amazing and it made me love Cheryl even more. We had really good seats and at one point Cheryl came and stood on this big platform just in front and she was so close! The concert made me realise just how much she has done as a solo artist and what an incredible dancer she is. And in case you're wondering, my cousin and I did try to sneak round the back of the arena and we got really close to the tour bus but we were sent off by a security guard (spoil sport!) I really hope Cheryl returns more to the public eye as I often (weirdly) forget how much I love her! I think she's got a knack of pulling off whatever she wears or does- like she had in side braid kind of things which I have never been a fan of but they looked great on her and it made me want to try them (odd example I know! :P)

Do you like Cheryl Cole? Would you like to see more of this kind of 'what I'm up to' post?

On a side note- I would like to try and write up posts on my phone but my Blogger app is stuck with posts from like 10 weeks ago and will not refresh even after reinstalling it- any ideas why this is?
green and pink floral text with fine brown outline reading 'Julz'