My O.P.I Nail Varnishes

At nearly £12 a nail varnish, I've always asked myself if it's worth it. I have 6 O.P.I nail varnishes at the moment and I am hoping to get more. 

If I'm honest, they're overrated. In my opinion, they're not actually that good. They are obviously quite good but there's so many high street products that are about the same quality. 

I'm a bit of an obsessor when it comes to nail varnish. I have a whole stand of Barry M ones! 

O.P.I are very good, just not my favourite. 

Mother's Day

Once a year is definatly not enough to let your mum know how much you appreciate her. I know my mum does everything for me and I'm not thankful enough. I spoil my mum every Mother's Day and it is a big day in my house. 

I know some people, including my cousins, don't have a mum so it really is a day to reflect on how lucky you are. 

My New Favourite Shower Gel

I am probably one of the only people who has never tried anything from Soap and Glory. I don't know how, just never have!

I've had my eye on this shower gel, Sugar Crush, for a while but I've always been very resistant as it's very pricey and I keep asking myself if it's worth it. 

My answer, yes. It is worth it. I finally bought it and I'm flipping glad I did. Boots had 3 for 2 on at the moment so I also bought Foam Call and Clean On Me but this one's by far the nicest. 

It has a very tangy smell and it's lemon scented. It's honestly the nicest thing I've ever smelt. I keep opening it and sniffing it!

RRP: £6.50. 

Fake Bobbi Brown

After my foundation brush pretty much falling apart, I decided it was time for some new make-up brushes. I didn't want to splash out on expensive brushes as I just don't feel it's necessary so I went on eBay and ordered some.

I found just a plain 9 piece set for £6 so I thought let's just give it a go. I completey forgot about them as it had been a month and they still hadn't arrived. Yesterday, I had a parcel in the post so I opened it up to my brushes. 

 

My mum came over and said 'Bobbi Brown? How on earth did you afford that?' 

I don't know how, but I've never heard of Bobbi Brown before now. I went onto the website and saw a set of brushes for £144. It wasn't a brush roll like I had but it was a set like mine. 

I realised mine were fake after looking through a few posts about fake Bobbi Brown. Even though they are fake, they are great quality brushes and I will continue to use them. 

Brushes left to right:
 ♥ Powder
 ♥ Foundation
 ♥ Ultra Fine Eye Liner
 ♥ Blush
 ♥ Eye Contour
 ♥ Touch Up
 ♥ Eye Shadow
 ♥ Eye Definer
 ♥ Eye Liner

Clumpy Mascara?

I'm not the best at doing my mascara, infact I'm probably the worst. I'm always looking for tips to stop getting such clumpy lashes as I think it's more my technique than the mascara I'm using. 

My older sister knows a lot about makeup so I went to her and asked for some help and she said that my mascara (Maybelline The Falsies' has dried out and that I should add some salvine solution. At first it really helped but after a few days, I found my clumpy, disgusting lashes returning. 

The other day I was flicking through a beauty magazine that my mum bought during her lunch break and I noticed it said 'clumpy lashes?' So I started reading. 

It said that to stop clumpy lashes, you should put a bit of olive oil on a cotton bud and just run it through your eyelashes. I went into the kitchen and asked my dad if we had any olive oil. His reply was 'yes, we have loads. Why do you want it?' I explained as best as I could that it stops clumpy mascara and he, the absolutey hilarious man he is (sarcasm!), said that he gets that problem as well. 

I poured a bit of olive oil into my old eye makeup remover bottle as I was instructed to not put cotton buds into the bottle of olive oil as we need that to cook. 

The next morning I tried it and the results are so noticeable! It really does stop clumpiness. 

However, the only downside is that it's very greasy and feels horrible if you accidentally get it on your skin, like I did. 

Excuse the awful pictures, I'm not a photographer (as you can probably tell!) I didn't realise how hard it was to take a picture of your own eye!

Before:

After:

My Pamper Evening Essentials

Every now and then, it is nice to just relax. People relax in different ways but I find for me, pamper evenings are the one.

I like to use a lot of products when I have a pamper night. I like to have a really bubbly bath but then use a few more skin products than I usually do. I chose these ones:

Products left to right:
 ♥  Facemask - Manuka Doctor website
♥ Vanilla Rose bath soap - Christmas present
♥ Snow Fairy shower gel - Lush (no longer available)
♥ Body Lotion - Christmas present (in set)
♥ Candy Mountain bubble bar - Lush (no longer available)
♥ Ted Baker body scrub - Christmas present (in set)

In the bath, I get quite bored. I find that when you have to leave a facemask on for half a hour, it can get a bit boring. A book or your phone/tablet is perfect. I'm currently reading Looking For Alaska by John Green and I'm really enjoying it! 

I like to turn the lights and light some candles. I find it really relaxes me and sets the mood. I also like to put some music on, I'm currently loving Bastille. 

♥ Pink Sands Yankee Candle
♥ Pink Dragon Fruit Yankee Candle
♥ Looking For Alaska by John Green
♥ Mum's old HTC headphones

Blogging Buddy

One of the best things about being a blogger is the blogger community. There's so many girls, and boys, around the same age of me that share so many interests and hobbies with me.

Social media is the biggest form of advertising nowadays and most people use sites such as Facebook and Twitter daily. 

I started my blog just over a week ago and I've already made some friends over Twitter, one of which I've talked to everyday since we found each other again, just over a week ago. 

My new friend, or Blogging Buddy as we've decided, is called Joanna. She is such a beautiful girl with a great personality. We've got loads of common and share so many interests. 

There's not been a day we haven't spoken and I can't wait to learn even more about her! 

You can check out her lovely blog here!

How beautiful is her logo?! 

(She did give me permission to write about her!)

Spring Snaps

Sitting in the garden in the sun = perfect photo opportunity.

Today in the UK it was around 20 degrees and it was lovely. I spent the day sat in mine and then my nan's garden. I thought 'why not take a few pictures'. 

Prepare yourself for a heavy picture post. 

Front Garden

My beautiful Magnolia Tree

Daffodils growing around the tree 

Hanging baskets add a bit of colour to my nan' s garden

Spent most of my childhood on that bench..always thought of this as the fairy tale area and it's filled with many childhood memories. Before I started going to school, I'd go to my nan's in the daytime and we'd sit inch  bench eating cheese sandwiches and reading stories. 

More daffodils

Not even a cloud in the sky

Make The Most Of Your Products

I was always brought up to not throw anything away until it's defiantly empty. In my family, we all hate wasting stuff. 

My mum always told me to make sure everything was definatly finished before throwing it away, it started years ago when I had my L'Oreal kids shampoo and carried on from then. 

Me and my older sister were always told to cut the bottle when it's started to get empty, then fill it with water and use what's left. 

Most skincare and beauty products come in plastic bottles which are surprisingly easy to cut open. Most people just take the lid off and give it a shake but you'll get much more out of it by cutting it open. 

Please be careful when cutting your product open! 

You're A Wizard Harry

After visiting the Harry Potter studios in 2011, I promised myself that I'd make some sort of effort to watch the films or read the books. I haven't until now.

I've seen bits of the films from when my dad's watched them as they were all on tv not long ago, but I've never actually watched any of the films. 

As part of my New Year resolutions, I promised myself I'd read more and I made a reading list. Having ADHD, I find it hard to stay focused on just one thing at a time meaning it's very hard for me to watch films and read books. 

I decided to watch the films and not give up. I promised myself that if I got bored and needed to get up, then I'll just pause it and come back to it and so far, so good. I'm currently near the end of the second film and although it's taken me about 3 weeks to get here, I am really enjoying it. 

As much as I am finding it slightly confusing, it is so well put together. The effects are just mind blowing and it's no secret that J.K Rowling has done a very good job. 

I've always found that reality is more in my comfort zone than surrealism and fantasy. As much as I'm a strong believer in unicorns and fairies, I find myself hating fantasy films! I don't know why this is but I think it's because I like things to make sense in my head. Sometimes the things that come out my mouth, only make sense to me. 

I can honestly say I am absolutely loving these films and I've actually found myself saying that I want to go to Hogwarts! Last night my family and I went out for dinner in a nice posh restaurant and I went into 'Harry Potter mode'. I started asking my dad how many people have tried running between platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station. My dad actually works on the railway and he said he sees it everyday. Apparently there's actually now a sign that says 9 3/4 at Kings Cross! He also told me that someone once turned up with a shopping trolley and white owl!  

I can't wait to see the rest of the films and I am going to dig the books out - we have them all..somewhere! Disc 2 has just finished, as I type, time for disc 3!

The High Street Holy Grail

As I've said before, it is really nice to have an alternative to high end makeup products. At 13, I don't work. My monthly income is dependent of my parents and I get a lot more than most people my age do, but not enough to always afford nice high end makeup.

After using Nars Sheer Glow for so long, me and my skin were so used to it. I was desperate to repurchase it but just couldn't afford it. I decided to buy a cheap foundation to keep me going until payday. 

After hearing so much about Rimmel's Wake Me Up, I bought it. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who hasn't actually tried it until recently!

This foundation is occasionally used by people like Tanya Burr and Zoella and I can see why. I think it's a great foundation, it's got amazing coverage and the packaging looks so nice. 

It gives an amazing glow and an anti-fatigue effect. It makes my skin look so healthy and shiny. It also blends really well and looks really natural. 

If you read my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer review, you'll know that I have awful undereye circles. I've never actually found a foundation that covers them as well as this one. With a bit of concealer on top, they're completely gone! 

I've decided that this one is going to be my everyday foundation for now. I can see why everybody loves it so much! 

At just £8.99, to me it's worth around £20.

Hello Spring

To some people, spring starts in February, to others it's starts as late as April. To me, spring starts mid March, around now. 

I love everything about spring, the lovely weather, the beautiful sunsets and to me it's the start of summer. Everyone is a lot more cheerful and happy when it's sunny and it makes you want to get out of bed in the mornings!

However, one of the things I love most about spring is the beautiful pastel, bright colours. I've found that bright, light pinks and duck egg blue's are often highly in trend. This year, I've found coral colours being really popular. 

I can't wait to go shopping for some new clothes. I think it's time to push all the black's and white's, that I wore during winter, to the back of my wardrobe and replace them with some more colourful clothes. 

Beautiful spring evening and my Magnolia tree starting to blossom. 

MUA Lipsticks

As much as I love my Mac and high end lipsticks, I think it's nice to have a cheaper option as well. My sister told me about MUA and said the whole brand really cheap but really worth the money. 

After buying more foundation on the Superdrug website last week, I saw I needed to spend £3 more to qualify for free delivery. I thought I might as well spend £3 on makeup than £4 on delivery.  I looked on the MUA section and looked through the products and decided I have enough bronzers, blushers etc and don't need anymore as I won't use them. I clicked on lipsticks and picked out 3 colours I liked. 

These lipsticks are good for the price but I was a bit disappointed. My expectations were so high as I'm used to high end lipsticks. You have to put quite a lot on for the colour to show and it comes off very quickly. 

I really do like the packaging, I also think it's really cute how at the end, they have a screw-on screw-off lip balm in the same colour. 

My mum has always told me that you get what you pay. At just £1 each, they are pretty decent. They can be a nice alternative if like me, you can't always afford high end stuff. 

 (From left to right. Shade 3, Wild Berry, Scarlet Siren.)

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

It's no secret that this concealer isn't unknown to the 'online beauty world'. It seems as if every beauty guru has loved it at some point or another. I decided that it was time for a concealer change, before I was using the Barry M Correction Pen and I realised that it just wasn't enough coverage anymore. After searching around for a bit, I decided to try the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. The only other Collection product I've owned is the Collection Lasting Perfection powder and to be honest, I wasn't the slightest bit impressed with it.

I've inherited very dark under eye circles (thanks Dad!) and they make me feel really insecure sometimes. This concealer definitely has a lot more coverage and covers them up better, but it's still not good enough. I do have to use another concealer underneath to make sure it's fully covered.

Although this concealer is no good for under eye circles, it's great for spots and blemishes. I do have quite a lot of spots, 13 is an awkward age for spots and hormones, and it works miracles on them.

This concealer does claim to last for 16 hours but I find it rubs off within about 3, which was very disappointing. Even with a ton of Stay Matte powder over the top, it just tends to rub off. I would actually be very impressed if a concealer did last 16 hours.

The packaging is very basic and can also be opinionated as looking quite cheap. I found the writing rubs off really easily and quickly. The wand brush applicator style is also really unhygienic and can spread bacteria around your face, however, it is very easy to apply and blend.

This concealer is just £4.19, which I think is great for a concealer and I would really recommend it for covering up spots and blemishes. You could probably even use it for light under eye circles.

You can buy this concealer here and it is currently on sale in superdrug for £3.99.

Beauty Stockpile

Whilst helping my mum to tidy her room up on Monday whilst we were both at home, we came across a little beauty stockpile that my mum didn't actually know about. It was stuff that she had got as presents over the years, bought and forgot about or stuff she had got from her mum's house when she sadly passed away.

As my mum isn't really a 'beauty person', she gave a lot of stuff to me. My mum only wears makeup on nights out and doesn't really use any sort of skin stuff. She is very much a 'shower person' and has a very demanding job, meaning she works long hours and doesn't have time for baths. She gave me a lot of bubble bath, moisturisers, skincare products and perfume. However, one perfume really stood out to me.

This is a Lancome perfume, I know they are a very expensive, top end brand. I took this from my mum's room after smelling it and really liking it. This is very much a scent that is hard to describe and definitely one that is very out of my comfort zone and one I usually don't wear. I normally like sweet scents but this is very strong and fruity. Not sweet at all.

I know this is a very old perfume but I found the exact one here on the Harvey Nichols website for £50. I got a right bargain.

Cotton Candy Frappucino

Whilst waiting for my mum to finish work and meet me in town today, I thought I'd pop into Starbucks. I haven't actually had anything from there since December when I went in at least twice a week to get a Christmassy drink.

After reading rumours in summer on Tumblr about Cotton Candy Fraps and the 'secret menu',  I thought I'd go in there and ask for one. The man serving didn't know what I was on about! I was too embarrassed to ever ask again even though I thought it was just the man serving, not knowing.

A few weeks ago, this was somehow brought up into a conversation with me and a very good friend of mine. She told me that you actually have to order a Vanilla Cream Frappuccino with 2 pumps of Raspberry Syrup. I did it and the lady actually knew what I was on about!

Now, I've probably tried every drink Starbucks do and I promise this is the nicest one I've ever had. Mmm..