Sprucing Up Your Space - A Mood Board

In September, I'll be moving in to a new house with my boyfriend and some friends while I study for my MA. At the moment, my new bedroom isn't quite my taste (I'm talking thick, red velvet curtains... ew!), but as it's a student house, there isn't very much I can do to change that! I thought quite a few people might be in my position, and as this will be my fourth year in student housing, I felt I could offer a bit of advice - so, I've put together a little collection of ideas to help make a room your own without dramatically altering it. Although some of these items are a little out of my - and the majority of students' - price range, this is just a mood board, offering you ideas and inspiration. A really great place to find lovely bits and pieces is TK Maxx or HomeSense - just go in and have a wonder around, and I guarantee you'll find something! I hope you like my choices and find my advice helpful :)

A Week in Pictures #3

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely week :) Here is my week in pictures... I have tried to cut down the amount of puppy pictures, but it turns out having six dogs is a bit of a full time job and takes up a lot of my week/memory card!

American-style meal with the family / Mentioned in Essie Button's video! / Exercised...ish / Hector
Tired puppies / Harper helping me write this blog post / Harper and Compo frolicking / Daisies in the garden
Summer! / Lunch / My degree certificate arrived!! / Chester
All my dogs in one picture! / Dexter... / Primark purchases / Cuddling my little girl

What've you been up to this week? Thanks for reading!

Five Brands, Five Summer Outfits

I'm just going to come right out and say it: I am addicted to online shopping! More often than not I don't actually buy anything, so it doesn't really count... right? Anyway, I've put together a few summer outfits from some of my favourite brands - Topshop, Miss Selfridge, River Island, and New Look, and then my imagination went wild and I ventured on to the Whistles website, too! I love summer clothing as there is so much variety, and all of the shops I've chosen are definitely nailing it at the moment! I hope you like my choices :)

Sephora Wishlist (and possible shopping list...)

Hello, and happy Friday! I'll be going on a two week holiday to Florida with my family next month, and I am soooo excited to hit Sephora, and hit it hard! So, here is my Sephora Wishlist, which may or may not be a little bit of a shopping list, too... 

 (Click the prices to take you directly to each item on the Sephora website)

Tarte

1. Cheek Stain in Blissful $30
2. The Slenderizer Bamboo Contouring Brush $32
3. Lights, Camera, Flashes Statement Mascara $23

4. Amazonian Butter Lipstick $16
5. Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Achiote, Charisma and Captivating $26

Face

1. Diorskin Nude BB Creme $44

2. YSL Touche Éclat Radiant Touch  $41

 3. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer $29

4. Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette in Native Pink $30
5. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta and Golden Fuchsia $35


Eyes

1. Bobbi Brown Sand Eye Palette $65
2.  Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - Plush Shadow in The Lolita 206 $59

3. Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 - Plush Shadow in The Dreamer 212 $59

4. Urban Decay Naked3 $54

5. Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Cocoa $26

Brushes & Brows

1. Anastasia Brow Wiz in Soft Brown $21

2. Sephora Collection Pro Flawless Airbrush #56 $32

3. Sephora Collection Pro Angled Blush Brush #49 $32

4. Benefit Gimme Brow $22

5. Sephora Collection Flatter Yourself Contouring Brush Set $48

Skincare

1. Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Mineral Enriched Renewal Cream $39.50 

2. Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream $30

3. Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Oil $27

4. Glamglow POWERMUD Dualcleanse Treatment $69

Nails

1. Formula X Translucents (remarkable - sheer blush porcelain) - $10.50

2. Sephora Collection Color Hit Nail Polish (31 pink paradise) - $5

3. Formula X New Classics (Harmonics) - $10.50

4. Formula X New Neutrals (exclamation) - $10.50

I hope you've enjoyed my Sephora Wishlist/shopping list! Is there anything I've missed off that you think I should check out? What are you lusting after at the moment? Thanks for reading!

My Beauty Firsts TAG

Okay, I'm definitely on a bit of a roll with these TAGs... but I just really enjoy reading other people's answers, and it turns out filling them out is just as fun! Here is the My Beauty Firsts TAG :)
PS. The flowers aren't related, but the weather is so beautiful that I thought they were perfectly suited!

Currently Obsessed - Monochrome

Is it just me, or everyone else obsessed with monochrome, too? I just think it always looks so classy and elegant. Here are just few of my favourite monochrome pieces for this lovely weather we seem to be having!  

I hope you like my picks! What are you loving this season?

Quick Review - Dove Invisible Dry Deodorant

Hello everyone, and happy Monday! Hope you all had a lovely weekend :) Today I thought I'd review something that I really struggle with finding... deodorant. As a sweater (just getting it out there), I have a lot of difficulty finding deodorants that a) actually work, b) don't smell disgusting, and c) don't break the bank. After much trial and error, I feel like I've finally found the one for me!

How a Sunday Should Be

Good evening! As you probably already know, today is Sunday, and it was a very typical Sunday indeed for me. So, I thought I would share with you what exactly a typical Sunday for me entails (have I said Sunday enough times yet? Sunday). Enjoy!

Sunday Beauty - Apivita Express Beauty with Pomegranate

Hello, and happy Sunday! As it is a Sunday, I thought it was a good opportunity to try out a new face mask that I bought last week: the Apivita Express Beauty with Pomegranate. I have very sensitive skin, so I'm always a bit apprehensive when it comes to trying out new products, which is why I only bought the sample sizes of this mask - £3 from M&S - before splashing out on the full sized tube. Anyway, on with the review!

I really liked the consistency of this mask - it was thick and didn't just slip off my face, but still felt very moisturising and liquidy. My skin looked and felt instantly brightened and rejuvenated, especially after a tiring week, so the mask definitely does the job! I'm not really sure what the little beads in it did, but they were a nice dark pink colour, so that counts for something, right? I also don't know if it was supposed to feel hot on my face, but I quite liked that it did because it felt like it was doing something!

All in all, I liked this mask - it wasn't spectacular, was it was a joy to use and did brighten my skin, so I can't complain! I might try out a few more of the express beauty sachets in different flavours (are they flavours?) before committing to a full sized tube though. 

Have you tried any of the Apivita face masks? What did you think? Thanks for reading!

10 Little Secrets TAG

I need all of these beautiful things in my life

Hello again! Hope you've all had a lovely Sunday, whatever you've been up to :) 10 Little Secrets is one of my favourite tags to read, so I hope you enjoy reading mine, too!

The 90s TAG

Hi! I couldn't resist this tag, I just love everything about the 90s so much! And, of course, what would a throwback be without a classic chubby childhood photo, or two? Yep, my face really was that spherical...

Closet Confidential TAG

Sadly, this isn't my wardrobe, but I wish it was! Image from here

Hello! I saw this tag a while ago on the beautiful Fleur DeForce's channel, and since then I've seen quite a few people do it - I think it's a really nice way to share your favourite items or bargains, and to rekindle a bit of love for some forgotten pieces! 

A Week in Pictures #2

Hello, and welcome to my second instalment of A Week in Pictures! I've had an exciting week - I was reunited with my boyfriend and best friends at the new house, graduated with a First, saw my beautiful friends graduate, and then attended the Graduation Ball (there was a chocolate fountain!). I'm now back home with my family and beloved dogs (the puppies seem to have suddenly become dogs - so grown up!!), but here is a little look back at my week :)

The British Tag!

Hello everyone! Hope you've all had a great week :) Sorry I've not posted in the last few days, I've been busy graduating and staying in the new house (with no internet)-but I'm back now, and armed with plenty of blog posts which will be coming at you hard and fast!

A Week in Pictures #1

Hello everyone! I thought this would be a nice way of keeping track of what I'm up to week by week, especially as I often taken about a billion pictures (spoiler alert: mainly of the dogs!), and they never really end up anywhere. I hope you enjoy this little snippet of my life, and look out for more posts like this - I'm thinking of doing one every week!

Next week I'll be seeing my boyfriend and my best friends, and then graduating (scary stuff!) and attending a graduation ball, so I'm exciting to share my pictures of all that with you! Hope you've all had a great week and enjoy the weekend :) Thanks for reading!

The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter

Okay, here's the down-low: I was given the coveted Clinique Cleansing Balm for Christmas, and knew immediately that we were a match made in heaven. Sadly, when the time came for me to repurchase, I was not only low on pennies, but it seemed to be sold out everywhere! Naturally, I furiously searched the blogosphere in search of an alternative - and came across this, The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter. I went straight to The Body Shop to buy it, and haven't looked back since. It was only £12, rather than twentysomething for Clinique, and it's virtually the same, just slightly more buttery, and it really does do the job perfectly, melting away makeup with ease, whilst being gentle on even the most sensitive of eyes.

Dove Hair Therapy - Nourishing Oil Care

I'm a big fan of Dove hair care, so when I saw that this line were on offer (£1.50 each in Sainsburys!) I just had to whip them up! Sadly, instead of buying a shampoo and conditioner, I accidentally bought a conditioner and an 'express treatment conditioner', so had to pay full price for the shampoo separately in Boots :( Anyway, I love these. I've been using them for a week now and, so far, I really love the results - my hair feels all silky and smooth and nourished! I'm not really sure what the express treatment does, but the effects of that would be more noticeable if I wasn't using the shampoo and conditioner already, or if my hair was in major need of some TLC. Anyway, I'll keep trying it and keep you posted! 

Have you tried any of the Dove hair therapy range? What do you think of it? 

Topshop Wishlist

Topshop have been producing some really wonderful pieces recently, and while I have been trying to spend less money by shopping at cheaper stores, Topshop will always hold a special place in my heart. I'm a sucker for their Spring/Summer items in particular, so here are a few (or more) items that I have been lusting over recently, as the links to each product page in case any of you have been too :)

Monochrome Abstract

Playsuit - £32

A few good reads.

There are no two ways about it: I love to read. If you're like me, you'll probably be on the hunt for some new reading material for the summer. Or, maybe you're not that into reading but you want something to take on holiday with you, but don't know where to start. Either way, look no further! I've compiled a list of some of my favourite books, all of which I cannot recommend enough, to get you through these next few months. None of them are too taxing, making them perfect for reading by the pool, or on a long plane journey, or any other time, really! Enjoy, and happy reading! 

The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak

[image from here]

This is an absolutely brilliant book! Written from the perspective of Death, it follows the journey of a young girl living in Nazi Germany during WWII, and her life with the foster parents to whom she has been assigned. A touching tale of love and loss, with a big ol' bit of history thrown in (don't worry, it definitely doesn't feel like you're reading a History text book), this is definitely my favourite book. 

A Summer Haul!

Hello! Hope you've all had a great week and have some fun things in store for the weekend! If you're lucky enough to have brilliant sunshine outside, then get out there and enjoy it, and if not ... here is my very first haul! These are a few things that I've bought (and have been loving) over the last few weeks.. .clothes, shoes, and even some beauty bits! Hope you like it! :)

Nike Flywires - £35 (I think)

Cranberry, White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Now, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but the other day I made some delicious cookies (toot! toot!), so I thought I'd share the recipe with you! I actually followed the BBC Good Food recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but substituted the chocolate chips for macadamia nuts, cranberries and some white chocolate, just to mix it up a little bit. Hope you enjoy this post, I certainly enjoyed making and eating these cookies :)