Review | H&M Lemon Cream Collection

Hey Everyone!

I'm a complete sucker for a matching bath and body set- I don't know about you, but for me, using products with all the one scent appeals to me a lot more than mismatched; I feel like they would overlap to the point of sickliness. Another thing I love, like probably all of you out there, is a bargain. So put the two together and we've pretty much got my ideal range.

While in Barcelona at the beginning of the summer H&M had a massive sale and these products were only €2 each, that works out as about £1.50, which considering the size of each is fantastic. 

They all share the 'Lemon Cream' scent, a luxury smell of lemon curd or lemon drizzle cake. I think its more of an artificial lemon than the fresh, zesty kind of lemon which means if you use too much it can be overpowering. As a general rule, I use around 3 pumps of each product per limb, which ensures I strike the right balance between getting the most of the smell and ensuring it isn't sickening.

The Body Scrub has a great grainy texture which is perfect for essential exfoliation. Its texture reminds me a lot of the Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub in that it is so gritty and it leaves specks of product at the bottom of the shower. I especially like the packaging of this product, the wooden lid is really retro and unusual as is the bottles general design.

The Shower Gel is pretty much everything I'm looking for; it lathers well, smells good and leaves my skin squeaky clean. The only slight fault with it is the yellow colour seems to separate and cling to the top and bottom of the bottle, but after a shake this disappears.

The Body Lotion is almost identical in consistency to my H&M Strawberry Snoopy Body Lotion- its somewhere between a lotion and body butter which I think is ideal for this time of year because we're not quite into the super dry months yet but we are needing a little extra moisture. The lotion absorbs reasonably well and nourishes my skin nicely.

Overall, I really enjoy using this range of products, and would give it 8/10. It isn't ground breaking or anything but it does what it says on the tin (or bottle).

Have you tried this range? What do you think of it?

Instagram | The Last Week In Pictures 6

Hey Everyone!

Oh my, this week has been so hectic! I literally haven't stopped and its only one week into the new school year- I'm getting worried about how stressed I'm going to be in a few months! I've just got a baby instagram post this week since my days have been pretty much the same.

From left to right and down:

fresh peas are the most amazing snack- ever | Sunday consisted of catching up with X and Xtra Factor- my obsession with the Flackster has returned | yummy tea and lemon drizzle cake | a little 'congratulations on your exams' gift | school work | tried this on in Primark today- wasn't that impressed | cute nails- what nail polish ban? | I love this blazer- I need it!

Well I better get to sleep, I have a lot to do tomorrow. I took the whole of today off which was great. I done a bit of shopping and tried some things I've been wanting for a while on. I do this thing where I try stuff on to try and put me off it so I don't spent unnecessary money. It worked with the dress above but it made me want the blazer 100x more! Then tonight was great- eating Chinese food while watching The X Factor. I also wrote a few posts so if I'm busy again this week (which I think I will be!) I have a stock.

How has your week been?

NOTD 6 | Solid Glitter

Hey Everyone!

As you might know from reading this post and this post, I am head over heels with glitter nail polish. When I was in Barcelona I saw that Claire's were having a big sale so I decided to pick up some of their glitter polishes. I picked up the solid gold, red with gold flecks and black with silver flecks and they were €2 each and so far the gold is my absolute favourite. I like to do two coats of gold glitter then Maybelline Express Finish as a top coat.

The thing I love most about this nail polish its opacity. Unlike the Topshop glitters (which I now think are just a top coat for a hint of glitter), two coats of this and your nail is solid glitter. I think its amazing and absolutely love when it catches my eye and I'm like ooh pretty! Its also the perfect gold colour, they've really got the metallic spot on; its not orangey or brown at all. In addition, the brush is really easy to work with. Its square which works well with my short nails and it picks up heaps of the glitter. The consistency is verging on thick but surprisingly its not gloopy and again, applies well and dries within a few minutes. The great thing about glitter nail polish is that it barely chips, and this lasts at least 3 days without peeling which I think is great. Also, unlike many glitter nail polishes, this doesn't feel rough to touch, especially with the topcoat. 

Rating: 10/10 

Yep- top marks for Claire's glitters- from the excellent payoff to the tiny price tag, I can't find any faults with this little bottle of wonder!

Have you tried any of Claire's glitter nail polishes? Which is your favourite?

Bargain | Latest Thrift Finds

Hey Everyone!

Of all the great things I have taken from being part of the blogging community, I would say what I am most thankful for is loosing my 'snobbishness' towards thrift stores. I am constantly inspired by many of my favourite bloggers/ YouTubers putting together amazing outfits with second hand bargains. I am lucky enough to have a great area of vintage/ charity shops around 20 minutes from me and last weekend my mum and I took a little venture to them so I thought I would share my luckies. (Prepare for denim overload!)

Denim Shirt (Originally Primark) - £2

Denim Shorts (Originally Next) - £2

Dark Wash Skinnies (Originally H&M) - £2

Ornamental Glass Bottle - £1

Pretty good huh? I originally just wanted a pair of jeans to customise which is where the H&M ones came in but they are such a good fit I am just going to wear them as they are. I also came across the denim shirt and thought I could style it up really nicely. Then I got the shorts (I plan to cut, distress, dye and stud them!) and the glass ornament which actually sell for like £25 on fancy decor sites! 

Have you found any gems in thrift stores lately?

Instagram | The Last Week In Pictures 5

Hey Everyone!

Well that's the summer holidays officially over- back to the school routine! Sadly, that means slowing up with posting and permanent fatigue. My first day back was Friday, and it was actually ok- really long but it was good to see everyone again!

From left to right and down:

yummy cake display | new brown brogue shoes | had a little bracelet making session on Wednesday | went to a vintage tea room for a delicious snack | my new black booties | another of the bracelets I made | solid glitter nails woo | cute shabby chic decor from Poundland | my spare time | off to Pizza Hut for a meal | all set for school | the cutest keyring and card from Meghan (notice how the keyring matches my blog?!)

I think I'll start putting up my instagrams on a Sunday rather than a Thursday since its the end of the week and just makes more sense. It's currently the early hours of Sunday morning and I am watching Friends. Today I just did bits and bobs- a bit of thrifting, collected contact lenses etc. Hopefully tomorrow will be a quiet day and I can get some posts written and videos filmed.

How has your week been?

Top Tips | Using Fake Tan

Hey Everyone!

After writing this post, I found that I had a load of tips for the perfect fake tan application that I have picked up over the years that I thought some of you might be interested to know. Unlike my usual posts, I'm just going to pretty much bullet point my tips. Just for reference, I use St. Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse.

• Exfoliation is key to even application. A body scrub or exfoliation glove are great.
• Moisturiser will soften dry skin making a more even distribution, but at the same time it will dilute the tan, so you are best focusing it on dry areas (knees, elbows etc).
• Definitely use something over your hand to apply the tan- orange hands are the worst tell tale.
• In my experience, a fake tan mitt gives the best and most natural tan. 
• Apply in circular motions rather than up and down/ side to side
• Add a coat of Vaseline to your nails as it will prevent them being stained
• In the case of stained nails- whitening toothpaste does wonders
• For instant tans- leave for at least 8 hours for the tan to develop before washing it off
• Avoid tanning your face with a body tanner then using your everyday foundation- yep I learned the hard way that you'll look like an alien!

So in my experience this is what works best! 

Have you got any extra tips?

OOTD | Casual Dress & Denim

Hey Everyone!

How are you? Today I have had a lovely day of absolutely nothing, which is quite unusual for me as I seem to always be on the go lately. I'm pretty much trying to savour the last few days of summer before school starts again on Friday (sob).

Dress: Primark

Jacket: H&M 

Tights: Primark

Necklace: Gift

I mentioned in one of my videos a while back that I planned to start wearing dresses as more of an everyday thing rather than reserving them for special occasions and taa daa- I've stuck to it! In attempt to accommodate this unpredictable weather we've been having, I paired this light navy dress with black tights. I added my denim jacket to make the look a little more casual and the statement necklace for a focal point. I kept my hair simple with a ballerina bun (tutorial here). 

I usually play it quite safe with fashion and tend to stick to the same kind of thing but lately I've been interested in branching out a bit so if you know of any good fashion/ style bloggers or YouTubers be sure to let me know!

Review | Primark French Nails

Hey Everyone!

For as long as I can remember, I've had the habit of biting my nails. I have kind of accepted them after countless attempts of trying to stop though it doesn't stop me lusting after long, beautifully manicured nails.

I have tried press on nails before, though I got tired of them being uncomfortable and constantly popping off. A while ago whilst in Primark I picked up their French Nails and I have to admit I am really impressed!

The application was pretty straight forward. The glue that comes with the nails was super sticky- in fact it came with a warning that it could immediately stick fingers to eyeballs (!) which I was a tad horrified by. I also had a little difficulty getting the glue out of the tube, but I just cut off the top and hoped that was what you were supposed to do. I spread an even layer of glue onto my nails and they held the falsies on securely. I really likes the size of the nails- they weren't huge and unusable like most drugstore sets but petite and a good size for my fingers.

After a day or so of wearing them the full length the came (see above) I decided to file them down as they were a little uncomfortable (eg. pins and needles in the morning and I had difficulty writing).

So this is the final result! The nails lasted a good few days although a couple popped off but I reapplied with an extra layer of glue and they were fine. They probably would have lasted a lot longer had my fidgety habit not kicked in and I pulled them all off (eek I know, nail torture). 

Admittedly, falsies are probably not the best for your nails as in time they will weaken them, but to be honest I put my nails through so much what with all the biting and peeling off nail varnish that it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference. However, I will only use these once in a while as I think my nails deserve a bit of a break to recover.

I love how polished and neat my nails look with them on. Also, when filed down they were incredibly comfortable and I didn't even notice they were there. All in all, I think £1 is an excellent price and they're well worth trying, as in my opinion they look almost as good as salon ones at a fraction of the cost.

Have you tried these? Have you any tricks to strengthen my nails after use?

Bargain | Poundland Beauty Buys

Hey Everyone!

If you told me a couple of months ago that I would now be going into Poundland to pick up a few make up bits and bobs, I'd probably think you were crazy. Although I've always been a bargain lover, I have always had a bit of a sceptical attitude towards Poundland makeup, believing that you truly get what you pay for.

However, unless you've been living under a beauty blogging rock for the past few weeks, you will be aware that Poundland are infact currently stocking Stila make up. For those who don't know, Stila is an American make up brand now available in the UK. It is classified in the higher end region, grouped with brands like Benefit and Clinique.

How did it end up in Poundland you may ask? Well, after discontinuing certain shades, presumabley Stila wanted rid of the excess stock hence Poundland to the rescue.

(Apologies for the quality of the pictures- I took them on my phone)

So, while in Blackpool last weekend, I picked up 'Oil Free Tinted Moisturiser SPF 30' in shade warm, dark 02 (not my ideal shade but hey, for £1 I'll make it work) RRP £25 and 'Angel Light Whitening Powder Foundation Refill' RRP £18. You're getting high quality make up for a miniscule fraction of the original price, and it also shows the mark up of high end brands.

Whilst in Poundland, I also got a ChitChat Juicy Lipstick which is a kind of a tinted lip balm after seeing a review on JetleyMess. Far from my expectations, this lip product was amazing, from its suberb colour payoff to its moisturising feel, I would definitely recommend picking up one of these bad boys.

All in all, my critical preconceptions of Poundland have well and truly been shattered and I am majorly impressed with their offerings.

Have you found any cheap treasures there lately?

Instagram | The Last Week In Pictures 4

Hey Everyone!

Its safe to say it looks like my 'Post-Everyday-In-Summer' plan has gone out the window. I did well for a couple of weeks there though, and I'll try get a post up per day till I go back to school. My week has been quite hectic again- this year has been so different from others because I have actually done stuff in the summer! So I went to Blackpool for a long weekend and I have just been enjoying the sun since I got back. Tonight was meant to be a night of like 6 blog posts but I got distracted by Big Brother (who is your fave?) and editing videos for YouTube.

off to Blackpool yay | major munch for the train | TATLER magazine- didn't enjoy it to be honest but the free mascara was good | rock shop yay | how postcardy is this aha? | sun sun sun | like my glowstick glasses? | Blackpool tower | my prizes from the amusements | cosmo which I enjoyed a lot | haulage - to record or not to record that is the question | orange nails

So guys its pretty late and I'm not making a great deal of sense any more so I'm going to finish up and go to bed (getting up early tomorrow to use time productively!)

How has your week been?

DIY | Multicoloured Glitter Nail Varnish < £2

Hey Everyone!

Recently, I've been feeling pretty creative, and have so many craft projects I'm excited to try out (eg studding shorts, tie dying/ombre shorts) and one of my must DIYs was glitter nail polish. I saw a post (here) on The Beauty Department and decided that it seemed simple enough. Of course, being me, I kind of strayed from their guide and made up my own rules. 

What I used:

Large piece of paper (as a mat)

Small piece of paper (for funnel)

Sellotape

MUA Clear Nail Varnish £1

The Works 4 Assorted Glitter Tubes 99p

What I did:

Roll the small piece of paper into a funnel shape and secure with sellotape.

 Remove the cap of the nail varnish and place the funnel in the top.

  Begin pouring in the glitter. I started with a cap full of each. As you can see, the silver glitter got away from me a little.

 Screw on the top of the nail varnish bottle and shake really well.

 As you can see, the glitter wasn't very dense at this stage- so add more!

 I had a bit of a problem with the green glitter kind of taking over, even though I had used them in equal quantities. Just judge how much of each colour to put in by how the bottle looks.

 Shake, shake and shake some more.

 Use the varnish. Even though I heaped the glitter into the bottle, I had to do quite a few coats for the nail to be covered. Note: I used a black base coat.

The varnish was SUPER runny and I stained my bed applying it- argh!

I realise I should have probably stuck to the one colour- as the four mixed in together is a bit weird looking, but hey ho there's only one way to learn these things. Also, since I made this, the red and green glitter flecks seem to have dissolved into the varnish (must be some chemical they contain) so now its pretty much a silver and gold glitter polish. But hey- not bad for £1.99! 

Have you tried making your own glitter nail varnish? Any other DIY projects on the go?

Instagram | The Last Week In Pictures 3 & News

Hey Everyone!

Well check me out- keeping up with my little instagram series ooit ooit :) I'm doing a bit of late night blogging whilst watching friends since I've been out all night! My week has been pretty mellow; it was meant to be full steam ahead then I got sick on Saturday and had to take things easy. I've been enjoying the Olympics- the opening ceremony was amazing! Its safe to say I was glued to the tv all night. 

From left to right and down:

what you see in my YouTube videos | still going to the gym a lot | blonde julz- haha like it? | what I see when I'm filming- hello mess | someone went a tad overboard with the make over website | 271 minutes left wuut? | tried on this skirt not expecting a lot and I actually really like it | the reason I watch the Olympics | yummy lolly- a present from Spain | hi there | finally found a school backpack yay | labelled my wii remote haha

So that's pretty much my week, its been quite quiet to be honest. Although, I have been really enjoying bloggers chats on twitter and I have reached 100 followers hip hip hooray! It means so much that even a few of you enjoy my blog enough to subscribe- so thank you! In other news (haha I'm going all fancy on you) my last post on MUA lipsticks (here) done well, I got a retweet from MUA themselves and they put the post on their Facebook page which I was extremely chuffed about!

I'm going away for the weekend tomorrow, so next week's instagram instalment will include a few piccys from then. That's also why I might be a bit lacking with posts over the coming days- unless I work out how to get the schedule thing to work? 

How has your week been?

Review | MUA Lipsticks

Hey Everyone!

Its probably well known to most of you that I absolutely love the brand MUA and my absolute favourite products from their range are the lipsticks. Since discovering them, I have grown quite a collection, and at only £1 a pop, I plan to expand it.

The packaging is a very simple, classic black and silver case. I like how the glass bit at the top has some of the product in it so you can see the exact colour before you buy. Because it is so cheap, I have had some problems with MUA packaging in the past but so far nothing except the lettering disappearing has went wrong with the lipsticks.

The formula of the lipsticks is amazingly creamy and long lasting, with super colour pay off. There are a huge variety of colours on offer- so whether your looking for a bold red or my-lips-but-better shade, there's a colour for you.

I currently own 9, with one double (shade 9, a really subtle everyday browny/pink which I wear a lot). The lipsticks were originally numbered but as MUA bring out more shades I think they're beginning to name them too (eg the new orange one: shade 16 is called 'NECTAR'). 

Instead of rambling on about how much I love these, I thought I'd do a little swatchathon and let you see for yourself. Warning: prepare to want!

Shades from left to right : 9,7,6,3,16,13,8,11

Flash 

No flash

Argh I love every single on of these- I would literally wear them all at once if I could!

The vast array of shades make them the perfect combination of everyday shades, bold statement shades and downright daring shades. What I particularly like about the price of these is that if I fancy experimenting, with for example a scarlet, I can get the MUA one knowing that if I don't like it (which hasn't happened yet!) I haven't wasted a lot of money.

Have you tried the MUA lipsticks? Would you recommend any shades I don't have?