The Sunday Post #1

Hey Everyone! 

I've decided on yet another post series- The Sunday Post. Sunday is the day where I almost always post as I stay up on Saturday night (like now), writing. So on a Sunday I thought I'd do a kind of general, chatty post consisting of my week, instagram pictures (if I get back into it!) and my week's favourite! And who knows, perhaps I'll actually keep up with this themed post!

Update

You might have noticed I added some pictures to the sidebar. I thought it'd be nice to pick a few which represent my blog best! There's also a poll (ooer!) which I'd appreciate your votes on! The next aim in terms of design is coming up with a better blog description, as I think the current one is really old and doesn't accurately describe my blog.

My Life

In short- stressful! My prelims (which are like practice/ backup exams) are this week (OMG HELP!) and to be perfectly honest I've never been this busy/freaked out/unstable in my life! To give you an idea, I spent today (Saturday) in school then the library then my house studying maths for about 12 hours. Eek!

Weekly Favourite

Ok, I know I'm extremely, latest of the late on the bandwagon, but recently I have been loving One Direction! I liked them when they were on The X Factor (especially Zayn) but since they got so big I kind of lost interest. However, mostly thanks to my favourite Youtubers, I think they're amazing again! I particularly love 'Kiss You' which is such a silly, happy song! I just want to run around doing the swimming dance listening to it haha!

How has your week been?

New Makeup Storage

Hey Everyone!

For ages, my makeup lay hidden in a bag: out of sight, out of use. For Christmas though, I received this amazing acrylic makeup organiser which I am 100% in love with. It takes pride of place on my shelf, and its is so easy and convenient to find what I'm looking for. There is nothing I love more than different size compartments in an organiser. I think its really visually attractive too and is great decor. What I also love is that as I buy new products/ shop my stash I can alternate products so they get a fair usage. Perhaps I'll even post every time I switch up my current products.

The storage is available on ebay.

London Baby! What I Bought...

Les vêtements et le visage de la journée

Hey Everyone!

Its been months since I did an OOTD! This was Saturday's outfit- really casual but with quite bold eye makeup.  This is a really everyday, fling it on outfit. Its comfortable, easy but I think the colours (especially of the top) make it really cute.

Top- H&M

Jeans- H&M

Necklace- H Samuel

Eyes- MUA Trio in Innocence, No7 Amazing Eyes Liquid Liner, Benefit They're Real

Lips- Revlon Lip Butter in 050 Berry Smoothie

New Camera- Woohoo!

Hey Everyone!

Some of you may know that over Christmas my camera broke- sob. I guess that's what I get for letting my family use it! But anyway, we got a new one and I love it! Its the Canon PowerShot SX15 1S. It takes amazing pictures yet isn't overly complicated (though I have to get the hand of filming with it!) But the best news? It was only £69.99 in the Argos sale! Yay!

And just to show you how it compares to my old camera, here are two pictures of the same lipstick, the first with my old Fujifilm and the second with this!

So expect a whole lot of amazing pictures coming soon- I am loving using it and I'm taking heaps and heaps of pictures! 

The Fashion TAG

Hey Everyone!

Yesterday I was tagged by the lovely Melanie from http://makeupisdelish.blogspot.co.uk/ to do the fashion tag and I thought it looked like a great one do to!

1. How would you describe your style?

I don't know an exact name but definitely girly, oxford style. I might try and incorporate different trends as they pass but mostly I stick to the same kind of thing. 

2. What are your wardrobe staples?

Peter pan collar blouses!

3. Most expensive item in your closet?

I thought about this for ages and I don't actually have an extraordinarily expensive items in my wardrobe. They're mostly in the under £30 range! Maybe my Hollister cardigan actually which was about £60, but I don't wear it very often and actually I'm not sure if I still have it!

4. Most wanted item?

Pretty much everything from Topshop. More specifically though, I would like new tops and another good pair of jeans.

5. Favourite designer?

Again, since most of my clothes are high street I have little experience of designers! I'll say Dior as I did a project on Christian Dior for school a few years ago and I got a Dior skirt (age 12) from TKMaxx about 5 years ago for £15 that I often still try and squeeze into!

6. How much do you spend on clothes?

It depends how much I go shopping that month or if there are sales on etc but in general I don't spend a lot on clothes maybe £30 a month!

7. What are your favourite stores to shop at?

There are heaps- I was actually considering a blog post on this? But H&M, Primark, New Look and Forever 21.

8. Favourite fragrance?

In my current perfume collection its Marc Jacobs Daisy but I have samples of Dot and Lady Million which I love too.

9. What's your favourite way to do your hair?

Ideal situation, curly, though I rarely curl my hair and when I do it usually fails so I get someone else to! On a day to day basis I have 3 hairstyles:

Hair down with side pattern, high ponytail, messy bun (those are in order of easiest to most time consuming, bearing in mind hair down takes less than a minute and messy bun takes 5 minutes)

10. What is your go-to outfit when you have nothing to wear?

Probably my trusty H&M skinny jeans and a collared top- I'm so predictable!

11. One fashion trend you wish would come back or stay?

I want peplums to stay because I really like my peplum. I also want to see the kind of tie-dye trend come back in summer as I bought dye and a pair of cheap shorts but never dyed them!

12. Show us your most prized possession in your wardrobe.

H&M skinny jeans- I never have them off, particularly at this time of year!

13. Tag some people.

Instead of tagging specific people, I thought I'd tag you all- anyone reading this! Be sure to let me know in the comments if you do so I can read yours!

Review | Benefit They're Real

After hearing so many good things about Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara, I was delighted to discover it in my stocking this year. 

Not only did the box include the full size mascara (8.5g) but a mini too (5g); perfect for travelling.

With claims to be the 'World's #1 Mascara' I had pretty high expectations, and it does not disappoint. The formula is thick but not at all gloopy and glides onto the lashes with ease.

The wand is great- quite large and extra spiky. Its shape is pretty unusual, having a round tip with longer spikes which you are supposed to apply vertically to your lashes for length (or is is volume- one or the other!). 

Personally I like to apply my mascara the traditional way: wand horizontal. Anyway, despite my slight confusion, I manage to achieve amazing results with even one coat of this. Not only does it darken, lift and volumize my lashes, it makes them look so long! Its the best mascara I've ever used- its the 'do-all' mascara! 

A slight drawback is that for me, it ends up under my eyes in a few hours. I think I have exceptionally oily eyelids, because this seems to be happening with all my mascaras, but I've found a simple solution is to powder the eye area before and after application, and it'll stay in place. Another thing which is a bit of a pain is that its really difficult to get off- I find it worse than my previous waterproof one and I never manage to get it 100% off and always have black residue. Finally, I realised it definitely isn't tear/ water proof when I went to see Les Mis wearing it- not a good move!

However, I definitely think the pros out weigh the cons and the effect that can be achieved with this mascara is fantastic. It really frames eyes and does everything a mascara is supposed to do and more. Being the mascara junkie I am, I don't think this will be the only mascara I will use for the rest of my life, but it has and will remain to be a staple in my makeup collection and I am currently using it everyday!

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

Weekly Favourite!

Hey Everyone!

Today sees the beginning of a new post series/ category woop woop! I have been thinking lately that I'd like to have a post (more frequent than my instagram one) to give updates as well as tell you what I've been loving (or obsessing over if you will) that week whether it be a makeup product or a song.

This weeks favourite is the film 'Les Misérables'. I went to see it last night and oh my, I've never cried so much at a movie in my life (yep, that includes Marley and Me and Titanic- which is saying something!) It was truly epic and up there with the best movies I have ever seen. I would never have thought I'd have enjoyed a film that's whole script is sung, but I did! There was not one part I thought could have been done better. I came out of the hall with the biggest panda eyes you ever did see (They're Real mascara didn't fare too well with tears to say the least). I'm going to see it again, this time with my mum, on Friday and until then I will be mentally building myself up for the roller-coaster again haha! The casting was amazing and it was so compelling.

I would definitely 100% recommend that you go and see it if you haven't already! 

What have you been loving this week?

Bubblegum is LUSH

Hey Everyone!

You will know if you follow me on instagram (julz_obsessions - hint) or youtube (Julz' Obsessions - hint hint) that a few weeks ago I purchased my first products from Lush. Looking back, I find it quite odd that I've never tried any of their products as I am quite into bath products on the whole. If you know Lush you'll know that they offer an endless variety of scents, but I decided to pick up a selection of bubblegum themed products, and boy am I glad I did!

Snow Fairy Limited Edition Shower Gel 250g- RRP £6.25

Partly due to the hype and partly due to the fact I can't resist a yummy smelling product, I got Snow Fairy. Getting straight to the point: this is amazing. The packaging is really bright and cute. The bubblegum scent literally makes you want to eat it and it actually looks really pretty- a kind of salmony pink with blue sparkle. I get on really well with the formula- it lathers well and you don't need a lot (meaning hopefully it will last me till next Christmas when it reappears in store!) Its not the most affordable shower gel I've ever bought, but I made an exception because its just so luxurious.

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Magic Wand Limited Edition Bubble Bar- RRP £4.95

This is simply a star product (excuse the bad joke)- its pretty, smells amazing and actually works. My bath taps have really weird pressure meaning bubbles are usually impossible- but not with this! I actually get a proper bubble bath (no bubble beards- honest ;-) ) and the most amazing thing ever- the water turns pink! I was so, so amazed when I first used this- it was definitely the best bath I'd ever had. The scent is a very powerful bubblegum and it makes my whole upstairs smell amazing. I was a bit apprehensive to spend nearly £5 on something that I could only get a few uses out of but so far I've used it 3 or 4 times and I think I'll get another 1 or 2. It is definitely my favourite Lush product.

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Bubblegum Lip Scrub- RRP £5.25

Ok I know this isn't technically one of the seasonal limited edition Lush products but I thought since its bubblegum too I could include it in this post! Until now, for lip exfoliation I have simply used my tooth brush (I still think this is a good technique) but I am a sucker for a product and when I tried this I knew I had to get it. Essentially its just dyed sugar, but it is a great pick me up for chapped, flaky winter lips. You rub it all over your lips then lick it off. Not only does it get rid of those dead cells, it tastes amazing! I frequently have the urge just to snack on it! The only thing I don't like about this product is, for want of a better word, its a bit 'crummy'. Its a dry formula so it can sometimes drop on the journey from the pot to your lips. Other than that though, I think this product is really good and will last me ages as you use a small amount at a time.

What are your favourite Lush products? I want to try more!

Review | Barry M Dazzle Dust

Hey Everyone!

After much umming and arring over the Barry M counter in Superdrug for the last few weeks, I decided to pick up Barry M Dazzle Dust in Bronze for £4.49.

The reason I had been apprehensive to buy the eye shadow was the loose nature of its consistency- I had visions of it going everywhere at the slightest movement. However, to my relief, the powder stays firmly in its pot and even on application there is little fall out (as long as you're careful!)

The packaging is cute and simple, allowing you to see the colour of the shadow through the tub and holding a good amount of product but being dinky enough to take up almost no room in your makeup bag. It has a beautiful bronze colour; consisting of dense copperish powder with gold/metallic glitter flecks. I didn't think this colour alone was very flattering on my eyes as it was a little orange, so I blended in some matte brown which toned it down. The colour is massively pigmented- meaning a little goes a long way and it balances even with a bold lip.

I think this is a lovely product for a party or evening out and is great value for money. I definitely want to try out other shades!

What are your recommendations?

Review | Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

Hey Everyone!

I've been meaning to post about this foundation for a while, as I actually bought it a few months ago and have been using it since, but never actually got around to it, so with the new year comes good posting habits including frequent reviews (I am having deja vu just now, I feel like I've said that before!

I was initially attracted to this because of the affordable price and the fact that my current foundation was very nearly finished. Unlike with my usual makeup purchases, I had not seen many reviews on this, but in my opinion it deserves as much credit as other Rimmel foundations. 

It has a really nice consistency, very smooth and sinks into the skin easily, giving a medium coverage and feeling light on the skin. It is a perfect formulation for my normal/dry skin. Since using this I realised my Bourjois Flower Perfection had actually been drying my skin out. What is also great about this is that it really lives up to its 'transfer proof' claims and stays intact all day (I've not put it to the 25 hour test though as, let's face it, I need sleep!)

Its exactly what I need; its brightening, gives me an ideal coverage and is super affordable. It has lasted me around three months, which is pretty good, and I will definitely be considering repurchasing this in future!

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation is available in Superdrug or Boots for £6.99.

Have you tried this? What are your thoughts?

Instagram | The Last Few Weeks In Pictures #15

Hey Everyone!

In all honesty, I somehow cannot grasp the basic principles of instagram. Instead of taking a picture, adding cool effects and sharing it on the spot, I save 2/3 weeks worth of pictures and post them all in an enormous bundle late on a Saturday night (ready to post the next day.) This takes heaps of time, and I imagine my followers are a bit disheartened when 324837832 of my pictures come up in their timeline/ newsfeed (instagram equivalent?)

Therefore, over the next two weeks I aim to post pictures as I take them, which will make things a lot easier and ensure I use the app as its meant to be used.

Little rant over, onto the actual post! I have been so, so busy over Christmas and New Year; the homework I was given was off the scale which really sucks since Christmas is the time of year you have the least motivation to work. I planned to write heaps of blog posts and film videos etc but none of that happened. Its a shame that my blog gets pushed aside so readily as it really is something I enjoy, but I suppose its ultimately a hobby, and school is more important.

Ok I'm just going to stop myself rambling right there so this post doesn't turn into a novel (as my late night drafts so frequently do!)

Left to right and down:

Christmas decorations- all gone now! | shower time! | I'm so mature on trains | glitter gold tips | chocolate cake yum | Christmas eve | love this so much right now | MUA Christmas goodies | candle lantern | sleeper train cabin | almost Julz- woop | pretty papers | floral | BBC television centre | iconic | LONDON BABY | very healthy snack of course | new years resolution

How has your last few weeks been? Normal, non rambly posts will return soon I promise!