Beauty | The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector 100ml - £10.00
Long time, no see?! I know I haven't blogged in so long, but since starting Uni I would never have believed how busy I've been. It truly has been crazy, but I love it. Uni really has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm constantly motivated and doing so much uni work and when I'm not studying I can't bare to look at a computer screen and I'm off out living my life, which is why I haven't blogged in almost a month, but I haven't left you! I'm just trying to blog when I can and get some quiet me time.

Throughout my travels as I travel to and from University in Oxford my hands are really effected from a combination of cold weather and the central heating on transport and in buildings. My hands were so dry that they would be incredibly sore, itchy and almost raw looking. It was a complete fluke that I stumbled upon The Body Shop's Hemp Hand Protector, and I haven't looked back.

Firstly with this product, if you're not aware of Hemp like I was then you'll find it very odd that there's the Cannabis logo on the front of the packaging. Hemp is sourced from Cannabis, but isn't illegal. It is the oil which is extracted out of the Hemp seeds which makes the hand cream so conditioning.

As you can see the hand protector is very thick compared to more hand creams which is why it is so ideal for those who suffer with dry hands. Most hand creams don't even touch the surface but this product does. If I use it in the morning I won't have to reapply the hand cream again till the next day, or possibly even the day after as that's how deep conditioning it is, and only a small amount is needed.

The only thing I would warn people about is the smell. It doesn't have a pleasant girly smell like most hand creams and some people even find it off putting, but because I know how good it works the smell doesn't put me off, and it soon wears off.

Stumbling across this hand protector has been my life saviour for this winter and I'd even go as far to say it's my holy grail, no other hand cream compares!

The Body Shop also sell a Hemp Lip Balm which I'm going to have to try if it's anything like the Hand Protector! Have you tried any products in the Hemp range by the Body Shop?

Beauty | MUA Lip Liners

A little while ago I went on a massive MUA spending spree, and in that spree I brought (nearly) all of the MUA Lip Liners. I was never one for a lip liner, until my red lipstick started to smudge and bleed all down my face!

For £1.00 each of these Lip Liners are hardly bank breaking, and they're the perfect colours to what I use most of too! I brought the Lip Liners in Pink Me Up, Red Drama and Softly Lined. The final colour which is Brooding Plum I decided against as I don't have any dark lipsticks. (See I can be sensible with my purchasing sometimes!!)

Red Drama is a perfect red which will go with most lipsticks which I own and is a lot more matte compared to Pink Me Up and Softly Lined which are rather shimmery. I know quite a few people don't particularly like shimmer, but I have to say, I don't really have a preference between matte or shimmer, I tend to just go with the mood I'm in!

Finally, my next favourite thing about these lip liners, other than their price is their packaging. I adore how the lids of the liners are sharpeners too. I'm forever searching around for a sharpener when it comes to my eyeliner or lip liner and 9 times out of 10 I've lost it! So the design of these are just perfect!

As you can tell, I'm a massive fan of the MUA Lip Liners! Have you tried them yet?! 

Beauty | I Just Can't Help Myself

Vitamin E Body Lotion 250ml £8.00, Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream 50ml - £10.00, Spa Wisdom Africa Ximenia & Salt Scrub - £15.00

I am now pretty sure that shopping and beauty products are my biggest weakness, I just can't help myself, especially when it's this time of year and there are so many bargains to be had alongside with Christmas shopping!

My recent purchases from The Body Shop include two 250ml Vitamin E Body Lotions which are brilliant for everyday use. I don't really know why I have two?! I might include one in a giveaway of lots of goodies?!

Next, I brought the Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream. I've been wanting to try the Seaweed range for ages, and I mean ages, I've head so many good things about this range that I just had to own at least one product from it! I've recently been suffering with really oily skin, (which could also be due to my current poor diet!) With mattifying in the name, I'm hoping it will be able to help, even if it just slightly helps, I'll be happy. Nothing seems to be working at the moment. I hate having combination skin!!

Finally, I treated myself and my Mum to the Spa Wisdom Africa Ximenia & Salt Scrub. We had this product in the past and loved everything about it, the smell is to die for and the consistency of the scrub is just incredible. This has to be my most favourite Body Scrub of all time!

As you can probably tell, I currently have an addiction to The Body Shop! What's your current Beauty favourites?!

 

 

Beauty | The Body Shop Honeymania Collection

 

250ml Honeymania Shower Gel - £4.00, Honeymaina Lip Balm - £4.00, 200ml Honeymania Body Butter - £13.00

 

Now you may or may not know that The Body Shop is one of my favourite brands when it comes to skin and body care. Their products are fantastic, and the best thing about them is that they're all made using natural, community fair trade ingredients such as Honey from Bezamar in Ethiopia which is in the Honeymania and Honey Bronze products. And finally, they don't test on animals.

 

Honeymania is one of the latest collections to be released from The Body Shop and despite not liking Honey in the slightest I just had to have it and try it. Now I really cannot stand Honey. I find the smell and taste to be very off-putting, so I was incredibly surprised when I instantly fell in love with this fragrance. I would say that is has a very delicate Honey scent with the slight hint of floral. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I love it!

 

"We source our Community Fair Trade honey from Bezamar in Ethiopia. The honey is made in the Bale Eco-Region, where hives are handcrafted from locally grown bamboo. The raw comb is harvested and the honey is separated, filtered and tested for quality. These traditional methods promote strong, healthy bees and deter logging."

 

Personally, I think it's brilliant to know that the products I'm buying are made from natural sources and that the money which I've used to buy them is going to a good course such as the Bale Forestry Enterprise to help protect the bio-diversity of the Bale Eco-Region.

 

Of course the products don't need explaining themselves, everyone knows how brilliant The Body Shop Body Butters are, along with their Shower Gels, and my new favourite; with a less concentrated fragrance is the Lip Balm.

 

For as long as The Body Shop continue to keep these amazing values, they will always have a customer in me. Plus, I've already been eyeing up new products to buy such as the Honeymania Bath Melt!

 

Have you tried anything from the Honeymania collection yet?!

 

Update | Where have I been?

It feels like it's been forever since I last sat down and wrote a blog post. I had planned to do the September blogging challenge, but that didn't quite go to plan and as usual, life got in the way!

 

These past few weeks have been so hectic for me, with the biggest change of all being starting University. University seemed like such a daunting experience to me, I was so anxious about what was waiting for me, but I love it and I couldn't be happier. I'm not your normal uni student who lives in halls or in a house with a whole load of students. I commute about a 45 minute train journey twice a week, but there's no price to pay when it comes to the fact that I get to keep my normal home life with my family, friends and boyfriend in my hometown. Some may say I'm missing out on the who uni experience, but I'm really happy and content with it.

Through mid September it was my boyfriend, Tyler's birthday and we celebrated it by going away for the weekend and exploring places such as Portsmouth, Littlehampton and Chichester. This was probably one of the best weekends of the year and we didn't want it to end. It's nice to just escape to somewhere which is unfamiliar to the both of you and just explore and get lost in each other without having to worry about other commitments and other people

 

Another change you may have noticed is that my blog has had a revamp! It was getting me down; my old blog design. I had designed it and very poorly at that. I wanted something professional looking and I just can't get the hang of this html stuff, and this was when I came across Steph from Bonjour Belle. Thanks to Steph, I now have a beautiful new blog design and something which actually makes me feel proud to blog on, I just now need to sit down and start writing these posts! As well as a lovely new blog design, I was also treated you a gorgeous new laptop from my Mum, after my very old, out-dated laptop died on me I've been boring a very small Netbook and getting very frustrated at the size and quality of it. For doing so well with my A-level results and getting into uni Mum treated me and I feel totally spoilt. So yes, there are no more excuses for me not to blog anymore!

These are probably the biggest changes in the last few weeks, I'm thinking of doing a monthly roundup series rather than weekly, (as I'm really not that interesting) but perhaps it's something I'll look to add to my blog come 2014 when I reflect on my blogging achievements and goals?

 

Tyler and I, being totally photogenic and posing before going out to dinner.

Image taken from www.weheartit.com

Beauty | What Was I Thinking?

Today's post is a 'what was I thinking' post. But to be honest from the picture I'm about to show you I don't think I was thinking. Oh bless the young, naive 15 year old me. Feel free to laugh too!

Yes, the brunette on the right is me, almost five years ago! Look at all the disasters going on! Those foundation lips?! The ridiculous amount of orange Bronzer, and don't even get me started on the comb-over! Starting from like my ear!! What was I thinking?!?!

Oh Crikey... What are your disasters?!

In The Home | Primark Candles

Now, I am such a sucker for a pretty or amazing smelling candle. If they look nice I'll buy them and if they smell nice I'll buy them. I'm now always buying candles! Last Christmas Primark came up top trumps for me with their candles, especially in the scent Sweet Champagne which I blogged about. That has been my all-time favourite scent and candle, and only now is it just running out on me, I just can't seem to let it go!

However, on a recent trip to Primark, I fell in love with two new candles. A three wick round tin candle in Juicy Blueberry & Blossom, which has a very similar design packaging to Sweet Champagne from last year, and Lime & Sandalwood, which is in a glass jar. However, both candles come in jars, three wick tins, pillars and tea lights.

Now, lets talk about scent. The Juicy Blueberry & Blossom is a lot more sweet and fruity than it is floral. However, this isn't too overpowering when burning the candle, and I find that it creates a nice light aroma and is perfect for burning during the day. Lime & Sandalwood I prefer to burn during the evening as it has a more musky scent, yet still rather refreshing. It really reminds me of one of my boyfriends shower gels, when he's just gotten out the shower and smells all warm and fresh. That might sound crazy, but that's what it reminds me of!

The candles in the jar retail at £2.00 which is an utter bargain, especially when they have a burn time of 30 hours. Personally, it's this which I find so irresistible about Primark candles when on shopping trips, their price tag, good range of scents and the time they burn for. The tinned candles retail at £3.50 and burn for 20 hours. Now I'm not too sure why they're more expensive when they don't burn for long but they're still so incredibly cheap!

Also in the range for the Primark candles are Vanilla & Coconut Creme and Sweet Berries & Patchouli, which are both equally as nice, it's just that these two were my ultimate favourites! With Christmas just around the corner Primark are sure to be releasing a Christmas range and I cannot wait for it!

Have you tried Candles from Primark before?!

Lifestyle | Dear Younger Me..

Today's September Beauty Blog Challenge is a letter to your younger self, and I have plenty of things I wish an older me and told and taught me.

Picture taken aged 15, nearly 16!
Dear Younger Me,
There are so many things which I want to tell you or that at the time, an older me had told you because it would have saved you from going through so much.
Firstly, I want to tell you that nothing is ever the end of the world, the bullies, our dad, everything we went through together was never the end of the world. Right now, everything is perfect and we are so happy. Please remember lots of things..
1. Boys are not everything in the past five years the boys which you've been with are definitely not worth the tears, energy and effort which you put everything into to either not receive it back or to be utterly used. In the future you will meet a boy who makes you the happiest girl in the world, who shows you what it's really like to be loved and who you hope to share your life with one day.
2. Family is everything. No matter how annoying you may find them, our family is a close one and will always be there for one another and one day you'll need them and even though you think you don't they will be there despite all you put them through and they will forgive and love you unconditionally, they are the best family, make sure you always have time for them.
3. Don't you ever, ever let those bullies get to you. Don't give them the satisfaction of your tears or unhappiness. If only you could see how great your life now is and how there's is far from perfect. It's very cliche, but one is now just a Tesco Shelf Stacker. Always hold your head high and know that you are better than them, inside and out. You'll soon meet the best friend you've ever had and you won't even give them a second thought.
4. Don't worry about how 'fat' you are because you're not! Learn to accept and embrace the fact that we are curvy, we can still be slim, we just have perfect child bearing hips! And even if you're not stick thin, you can still wear the latest fashions. Just learn to wear what suits you, and what you feel confident in.
5. There are endless opportunities and we can do it! I know that we were dead set against education, hated it and couldn't wait to get out of it. We didn't believe we would ever do well or get anywhere, but you better believe we can do it because we did, and we're off to University in a few weeks! Always have hope and believe in yourself.
Love,
Your Older, A Little Bit Wiser, Me.

I could ramble on for ages about what I wish I could say to my younger self but we'd be here for ages, so that's just a little snippet and insight to what I wish I could have told myself!

What do you wish you could tell your younger self?!

Beauty | Beauty Pet Peeves

I'm back with another post from the September Beauty Blog Challenge, I realise I haven't posted everyday, but I try to and I'm also picking just my favourites from this challenge. So here are my pet peeves!

Image taken from www.weheartit.com - edited by myself.

1. Eyebrows - I don't get two things. The first.. Why girls like this 'scouse brow' look. YOUR EYEBROWS LOOK LIKE SLUGS! Why are you all so obsessed with having thick black bushy brows? And the second, why girls like their brows so thin that they draw them on with what appears to be a sharpie. Why don't people leave their brows alone?! What's wrong with the natural look?

2. Chipped Nail Polish - I can't stand it when my nails are chipped or other peoples. I think it looks horrible and messy, I get so self conscious of my nails when they're chipped. It also frustrates the life out of me when I've just spent ages painting my nails for me to go and smudge them. There's just nothing nicer than a nice clean manicure!

3. The Ompa Lumpa Look - I have to admit that I have committed this sin and worn a horrific shade of foundation and then not blended it down my neck, giving myself a lovely tide line. Girls, this is not a good look, please blend your foundation and find one which matches your skin!

4. Foundation Lips - Why oh why do girls do this?! Foundation for lipstick?! There are no more words...

5. Eyeliner Pens - I love eyeliner pens, I think they're great, practical and easy to use but what I cannot stand is how quickly they dry up, like within a matter of a few weeks from when they're open, and they're not all exactly cheap either. Why design a product which only lasts a few weeks?! I don't get it?!

So there you have my pet peeves, just little things which other people, myself or beauty products do to annoy me!

What are your beauty pet peeves?!

Lifestyle | The Autumn TAG

After seeing this TAG done by so many people and reading the original post by Makeup- Pixi3, I just had to do it as it reminded me of so many reasons as to why I love Autumn!

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it? - My favourite thing about Autumn is the change in temperature and weather. I love the cooler air as it gives us an excuse to wrap up warm in layers and jumpers and Ugg boots. It also begins to get dreary, wet and darker which are perfect excuses to get all snuggled on the sofa watching films and trashy TV, eating Roast Dinners and drinking Hot Chocolate! It's also a very pretty season to see all the changes taking place in nature.

2.  Favourite drink? - I love a good cuppa tea as much as the next person but I love Hot Chocolate in Autumn and Winter, it's just such a cosy drink and I love the packaging they come in from Costa during the winter months!

3.  Favourite scent/candle? - I love warm, wintery, spicey scents during this season. Perfume has to have a more musky scent to it and candles need to be spicey or have Vanilla extracts in them!

4.  Best lipstick? - I wouldn't say I have a best Lipstick for this season but the two darkest shades which I own and love to wear around this time of year, more than ever are two Lipsticks by Elf in Posh and Gypsy, both have been reviewed on my blog!

5.  Go to moisturiser?  - Currently my skin has been rather oily, so I'll carry on using my everyday light Simple moisturiser. However, I am also prone to dry skin which is where I'll use a combination of Liz Earle day and night creams, they're the best!

6.  Go to colours for the eyes? - My favourite no matter what season for eyes has to be brown and bronzed, except darker in Autumn. There's nothing more satisfying than a rich, dark chocolate smokey eye and a red lip to go with!

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to? - I'm not entirely sure why, but I love to listen to Ed Sheeran when it's cold and dark outside. There's something warming about his voice. Does anyone else find this or am I the only strange one?

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)?  - I don't have a specific favourite outfit to wear. However, I do have must have items such as long boots to go over skinnies or leggings, chunky knit jumpers and a chunky knit scarf, and finally, a gorgeous coat to die for!

9.  Autumn treat?  (i.e. a new scarf or bag you have your eye on) - I always love to have a new cosy jumper, some lovely boots and a gorgeous handbag. Bit extravagant? Well what else are those hard earned pennies there for?!

10.  Favourite place to be?  - During this time of year, I am a true home girl. I love how cute, girly and cosy Mum and I have made our house, it's always nice and warm with pretty fairy lights and the smell of good food cooking, and of course my gorgeous boyfriend and lots of catch up episodes of The Vampire Diaries makes it even more perfect!

So they're my answers to the Autumn Tag! I tag each and every reader to do this tag!

Beauty | My Favourite Eyeshadow Palette

Good evening bloggers and hello September! Woah, where has that time gone?!

I recently stumbled across a post called the September Beauty Blog Challenge which has been constructed by the lovely Girl Friday Blog. The challenge has two different categories - beauty and lifestyle, and each day there is a different topic to blog about. Now I'm not going to stick to one category as I like the posts from both categories, so sometimes they'll be beauty related and sometimes they'll be lifestyle related. If you want to be a late entry to the challenge like myself you can find the challenge here! This will also be great for any of you bloggers who have lost their blogging mojo! So without further ado here is today's post!..

This is my all time favourite eyeshadow palette, Heaven and Earth by MUA and is apparently a great dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette. The palette consists of creams which are great for base colours and highlight, golds and bronzes and then a range of light to dark browns.

As you can see I have already hit pan on some of the eyeshadows which shows by daily smokey eye routine. For someone who is rather fair like myself I prefer a bronzed smokey eye to a black smoke. I think it goes better with my skin colourings and isn't too harsh

My final love for this palette is the great quality. The colours are really strong and bold which is great when they're a mixture of shimmer and matte eyeshadows, and to go with the great quality is the brilliant price tag of £4.00. This has to be one of my all time favourite products which MUA has ever released!

What's your favourite eyeshadow palette?

Life | Happy 2nd Birthday!

Wow, I can't believe I started this blog off this day two years ago. I've been blogging two whole years? Where on earth did that time go, I still remember sitting their reading all my favourite blogs and then deciding to create my own. I was looking back at my first blog posts the other day and cringing so much at my style of writing, what I posted about, my photography and blog layout. I'm so glad to say that I have improved and come along way since then (although there is still and always will be room for improvement!)

In the past two years I have achieved so with my blog and although it may sound weird but it's also given me so much more confidence in the real world. I'm not afraid to voice my opinion about what I like and what I don't like. I don't pretend to like things for the sake of other people and trying to 'fit in' I have embraced me, my loves, my hates and have incorporated it all into my personality. I am no longer afraid to be who I truly am, and that, that is all down to you guys, my readers, other bbloggers and my of course, my blog.

I also would like to say a massive thank you to all my followers, old and new for supporting me, for leaving comments and all the things which you guys all do. It doesn't go unnoticed and I appreaciate every bit of it. It's so nice to be able to talk to people who love all the things which you do, which no ones else gets, like why we have to own 20 shades of pink lipstick and why we always impulse buy on new products.

These two years I've definitely seen a big change in myself and my blog, and do you know what? I've never been happier! I'm so content with life at the minute and I hope it stays that way, and that you all continue to follow me on my journey through life.

Here's to many more years blogging!

Image from WeHeartIt

Much love, and a big thanks!

Beauty | Sinful Colors Cotton Candy

Sinful Colors is starting to become a well recognised brand which are becoming very popular amongst the beauty industry and blogging community. As far as I'm aware, the best place to purchase Sinful Colors nail polishes apart from their website, is Boots. I'm going to keep this review short and sweet because I could go on forever with my reasons as to why I love this brand.

As you can see from the pictures above I chose Cotton Candy which is a gorgeous, bright, bubblegum pink. It has been my most go to colour this summer. I've even put aside my usual Barry M Gelly Hi Shines. That is how much I love this colour!

The polishes are easy to apply, are very bold and have great lasting power. I have found that these polishes can last up to a week before chipping, and even then; it's only little chips at the tip of the nail. If you have the time to give yourself a good manicure then do it as the rewards will be in your favour by not having chipped nails and not having to keep touching up. I'm currently on day 6 and have only just touched up the tips on 4 of my fingers! What more could you possibly want from a nail polish?!

Finally, the thing which I love the most about this brand is that they have such a huge collection and variety of colours. The polishes also come in 5 different finishes including matte, cream, shimmer, pearl and glitter. There's something there for everyone, especially when they only retail at £1.99. They are one of the best highstreet Nail brands I have ever come across and I'm definitely going back for more!

Have you tried Sinful Colours yet?

Haul | Bit Of This, Bit Of That..

- Fudge Urban Hair Spray £2.47, usually £4.99 - Fudge Urban Styling Mousse £2.97, usually £5.99 - Fudge Urban Sea Salt £3.47, usually £6.99

L - Rock You, Louis R - I Wish, Zayn. Both £3.00 each

Happy Monday bloggers, today's been a beautiful day, even though some of us had work. It was lovely to walk home in the sunshine. At the weekend I made a few cheeky purchases. However, I have been rather good recently and not brought anything, and I thought I'd treat myself to one of the things off my wishlist which was the Fudge Urban Sea Salt. I didn't intend to come back with 5 things...

I've been wanting to try Sea Salts for a while, even though I do have naturally beachy curls already, I just wanted something to emphasise them and I'd read a good review on the Fudge range. The Fudge range is currently on offer in Superdrug for 'better than half price' so when I saw that they had a Mousse and Hairspray which I'm running low on I snapped them up too. From the prices above you can see that they're total bargains, and that I saved lots of pennies! Both the Hairspray and Mousse are Raspberry and Vanilla scented too which is heavenly!

Finally, yup, that's me, a follower, and not always a leader. However, I would just like the to state that I am not a huge 1D fan, I only learnt who was who the other day and I think that only some of their music is okay, sorry to any 1D fan girls out there, they're just not my cup of tea. However, I am a huge MUA fan and have to buy all of their latest products, although I didn't go too crazy with the 1D range and didn't buy every colour just because it was by them. No, I was rather respectable and only brought two gorgeous coloured lipsticks. And it is only through writing this post that I have found which lipstick is by what band member, - I'm terrible! When swatching these in the shop they were gorgeous and I definitely want to try out their Lip Polish too if it's anything else like the Love Hearts range, other than that I wasn't too keen on the rest. I also disliked the fact that MUA hiked their prices up a little just because it's One Direction, what was wrong with charging the usual £1.00 for a Lipstick?

What have you been buying recently?

Beauty | Barry M Lipstick 146

Sorry, it had to be an iPhone selfie!

I am currently loving Barry M! In April I reviewed their lipstick in shade 140 which was a gorgeous glitter pink and seemed popular with my readers and with family and friends. Which then lead to me buying this beauty. Once I find something I like, I have to have it in all the colours. So this is the start of a beautiful Barry M Lipstick collection!...

Unfortunately Barry M didn't come up with very inventive names for their lipsticks and named them purely after numbers. However, I love their packaging so they score points for that. It's a very original, sleek and sophisticated packaging which I love. Yes, gimmicks can be fun, but sometimes they're too tacky and over powering. So call me boring, but I love their sleek look.

146, is a vibrant pink, yet again, a girl can never own too many! However, upon application it has more blue tonnes than I realised and expected, leaving me with a lovely fuchsia pink - not complaining! Some people say that they don't suit certain colours of they believe that certain colours don't suit certain skin colourings, but I believe that if you like it, then you wear it! No one has the right to say what does and doesn't work for you. What I love most about this lipstick is how creamy and moisturising it is along with the great pigmentation. I often suffer with dry lips, but with 146 I never worry, plus there are always lip balms on standby!

Finally, the last thing with Barry M got so right was the price. Each lipstick costs £4.49. What a bargain?! That's easily affordable to own one of each colour! I love this brand and find it hard to fault!

How do you rate Barry M?!  

Hair | I Got Bangs!

Recently, I've been stuck in such a rut with my hair. I wanted to grow it out nice and long from having it cut from a bob. I'm always quite drastic like that. One minute I've got nice long hair and then next I'm cutting it all off short, or even shaving bits off! I just get so bored when it comes to hair and I love a change, as I feel it also changes my appearance too.

Anyways, I've manged to now get the length of my hair to just past my shoulders and almost reaching my collar bone, which is fine. Except it's just blonde, curly (because I can't be bothered to brush or straighten it and I have natural beach curls.) Lifeless and lacking some serious style. The middle parting look just wasn't doing it for me any longer. 

So when my hairdresser came over last Monday I decided I need some style, some flair and a bit more of an edgier hair cut. So I went for it, I went and got my full fringe cut back in. I was a bit apprehensive as I think thick, full fringes look best on brunettes, like when I used to have mine. I hadn't had a fringe like this in 3 years since being blonde. But if I didn't like it, it would grow, wouldn't it?

But I would never have guessed that I love it so much! It makes me look a whole different person. People always say to me 'Oh you're so brave getting a drastic haircut' but really, it's just hair! It grows! You can cut it or dye it again if you don't like it. So here's the final outcome!

Don't be afraid of change!

Yes, this is a shameless Instagram selfie!

Beauty | NARS Nail Polish in Madness

NARS Nail Polish in Madness* - £14.00

I have never brought or tried anything from NARS before, even though there are a few of their products which I'm seriously lusting over, I think it could be my student bank balance hindering me from purchasing any products! So when the lovely Beka from HQhair got in touch with me I was delighted. I am also a massive Nail Polish junky and couldn't wait to try out the quality of the NARS Nail Polishes.

Madness is part of NARS's Opaque Nail Polish range and is a limited edition Electric Orange, which is a perfect colour for the beautiful summer weather we have been having recently.

The application of the Polish is easy and smooth. I found it applied really well, without streaking and it left a nice bold colour. I only used two coats to gain the colour above (because I'm impatient!) But it could of done with three. The finish of the polish is rather matte, and personally I prefer a more glossy finish which just meant that I added a top coat to gain that look, which makes this polish ideal for both matte and glossy lovers. Finally, the thing which impressed me the most about this polish is how long wearing and chip resistant it is. It was only after about day 4/5 after application that it started to chip, which I personally believe is fantastic! There's nothing more which I love than low maintenance nails. I know for some people, you may think that £14.00 is a bit steep for a nail polish, but when it's this good quality and means that you only need to paint your nails once a week and not every few days, then personally, I think it's very much worth it and I can't wait to purchase some other colours. I already have my eyes on a few perfect for Autumn!

The NARS polishes can be found here to buy with a great range of colours!

What's your favourite NARS product? Have you tried their Nail Polishes?

Skincare | Clean Mary Cleansing Milk By Soap & Glory

Clean Mary is available to purchase from ASOS

You may all be fully aware that Soap & Glory have had a bit of a product revamp when it comes to their skincare, and I have to say I am a big fan of their new look. However, I am also still in love with their original products which they brought out and you can no longer buy in places like Boots. Unless you're a bit internet savvy and manage to find your old favourites in places such as ASOS.

Clean Mary is a brilliant, milky, cleansing wash which contains Andiroba Oil and Acid-Free Exfoliators, which makes it perfect for using in your daily routine, like I do. The cleanser is easy to apply and works really well to remove all traces of my make up from the day. Sometimes with other products I find myself having to cleanse twice to make sure all my make up has been removed, but not with Clean Mary, once is enough. However, it's not that strong to remove stubborn Mascara, I'll always use eye make up remover for that. The consistency of the cleanser is also incredibly milky, which to begin with I thought I might struggle with as I'm more used to my cream based cleansers such as the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. But it still went down a treat and soon enough became incorporated into my daily routine.

And of course, where would we be without that classic, great packaging from Soap and Glory. I have to say, compared to the new packaging, I much prefer the original with the pin-up girls and witty catchphrases and slogans.

Even though Clean Mary can no longer be brought in Boots or online from their website it is available on websites such as ASOS where you can buy 18oml of product for £6.15. It is even currently in the sale for £4.00! It's a bargain not to be missed.