January & February Favourites

Hello lovelies,

Can you believe we are almost in March..!? Like, seriously, where has this year gone?!

March always makes me think Spring & Summer are on their way, however, I'm currently sitting here writing this post with snow flurries whirling around outside my window! It's actually bizarre. I'm staying at my parent's house as they've gone away for the night & it's in the middle of nowhere - no idea how I'm going to get to work tomorrow if it carries on like this!

Anyway, onto my favourites for January & February. I've actually not been changing much up this year so far with my beauty products. I struggled to find some I hadn't previously mentioned, hence the 1 lipstick featured in this post & apart from obsessing over my bullet journal & finding a new love of fiction, there isn't much else to add!

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No7 Matte Lip Crayon
Cathy kindly bought me this shade for Christmas & it's honestly one of the prettiest shades I own from No7. I'm usually a gloss girl, but I've noticed I've recently been wearing matte shades alot more. This one is called Dusky Rose & retails for £9.

Bullet Journalling

Since I got given a bullet journal for my birthday in January, I've been obsessed with designing my pages & creating content. I've got a full post coming up on my journal, so keep an eye out for that! But in the meantime, you check out my Pinterest Board that I use for inspiration!

Strawberries
I mean, I think this obsession started again when I had my first pancake of the year. Nothing beats a  pancake with bananas & strawberries on top! They have become my go-to snack at work as I'm trying to take at least 1 item of fruit with me each day!

Books
I made an order with The Works back in January to encourage myself to read more. I've been absolutely loving losing myself in a book in the evening, I just find it so relaxing. You might have noticed I've started reviewing my reads of 2018, starting with The Fifth Letter. Keep an eye out for my post coming soon reviewing Three Amazing Things About You! This book has deifnitely made my top 10 favourites!

Marc Jacobs - Daisy Dream Eau De Toilette
I was kindly given this eu de toilette for Christmas by my Auntie & I'm in love with it. The scent is absolutely perfect for me & I'm loving wearing it for special occasions.

A Little Something Hand Cream - Apricot
I can't for the life of me remember who gave me this hand cream! (I apologise if it was you, but please know how much I love it!) The apricot scent is so delicious, I have to resist eating it when applying it! It makes my hands so soft & has helped me out so much in these cold winter months. I'm quite lucky in the sense that my hands aren't particularly dry, but this helps keep them extremely hydrated.

Labyrinth
This board game has to be one of my favourites ever. James was given it for Christmas & we haven't gone more than a few days without playing it! It's so much fun & easy to understand (good for me) & a game usually lasts about 20 minutes, so it's perfect for us to do in the evenings just before bed. 

Events

I turned 27! As always, I filled the 5 days around my birthday with celebrations, including a trip to Brighton, West Wittering & Sumners Pond. It was amazing as always & I was thoroughly spoilt.

I met baby Rupert!

James & I visited Shere for the day (blog post coming soon!)

Valentine's Day was extra special this year. I worked with Cathy during the day who completely spoilt me with flowers, balloons & lots of beautiful gifts. James also cooked me a surprise dinner when I got home.

I got made full time at work! I'm currently on a 25 hour contract, but work between 37-40 hours a week doing overtime, but I finally have the 37 hours confirmed! It will make such a difference knowing what I'm doing months in advance & have the security of more hours.

TV

Friends
I genuinely thought I'd seen every episode of Friends, but since we've started watching it on Netflix, there's a few that have cropped up that I haven't seen! I absoutely love this show, it's one of those programs that can instantly make me smile, whatever mood I'm in.

Music

Craig David Feat. Bastille - I Know You

Clean Bandit - I Miss You

Lauv - I Like Me Better

How has February been for you lovelies?

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July & August Favourites

Blue Vanilla Check Top

I lived in this when we were in Lanzarote, it was perfect for throwing over my bikini at breakfast time & creates that perfect 'I don't want to look like I've made an effort, I've just chucked this on' look. I paired it with denim shorts & it looked so cute.

Zoella Candy Cream Body Lotion

Anyone else suffer from dry skin on their legs in the Summer? I do in the winter as well, but I've noticed it more this year as I've been on holiday & I've had my legs out a lot more (woohoo!) I just can't get over how delicious this lotion smells & it clears up any dry skin on my body.

Inflatable Pillow & Eye Mask

I could seriously talk about this pillow & eye mask set all day, but I won't as I know how boring that would be! I can't imagine travelling any distance without them now, they really are ideal for a flight or long car journey. The pillow is easily blown up & can be stored away when you're not using it & hardly takes up any space in your bag.

Zoella Body Mist

& simply because I love the lotion so much, I picked up the body mist in the same scent. I already own the Zoella Blissful Mistful body mist & loved it, so thought I'd pick up one of her newer scents to add to my collection. What are your thoughts on Zoe's range?

Salad pot

Salads. You either love them or hate them. I used to hate them, up until a few years ago. I couldn't think of anything worse than eating a plate of lettuce, cucumber & tomato when there was a McDonalds down the road. I mean, they just taste so boring don't they? However, I have recently been preparing my lunches the day before work & found salads are one of the easiest, healthiest meals to make. I wanted to purchase a pot like this one for the longest time so I could easily transport & store it at work & when I caught a glimpse of this one in the window of Tiger, I knew I had to have it! It even comes with a pink fork & a small cup in the lid if you wanted to take dressing with you & for £3? You can't go wrong.

Plastic Ice Cubes

Now these I dig out every Summer as they are my perfect hack to keeping a drink cold, but not watering it down. Nobody wants watery wine! They come with water inside them & all you need to do is pop them into the freezer till they are frozen, pop them in your drink & just wash them before putting them back into the freezer again. These have lasted me the longest time & I can't recommend them enough.

Events

At the beginning of July I held my annual Summer BBQ, which as always, was so much fun. I bought a marquee & set up games which included football, cricket & badminton. We had the most beautiful sunny day!

At the end of July, Cathy & I went on holiday to Lanzarote for a week! I had such a lovely time & I've written a whole post about our hotel if you'd like a read.

August is one of the busiest months for birthdays in our group, so I'll give a quick recap. Mils had a lip sync party, we had a BBQ at Cathy's, Gail's was an evening of games & gossiping around her firepit, Lorna's we went to Drusillas (post coming soon) & finally Elisa's we went for a meal at our local curry house. All involved our big group getting together & catching up which is so lovely as we all have such busy lives & it is near impossible to get us all in one place at one time!

Oh & last Monday, Gem & Ollie announced they were pregnant! I seriously am so excited by the news, I can't wait to meet their little one! & of course, it means Lily will have a little friend in our group now! Ahhh, bring on March!

& finally, James & I went to visit Longleat last week. We stayed in a beautiful B'n'B for two nights & explored the local countryside as well as the animals on safari. I'm going to write a full post about our mini get-a-way so make sure you check that out next week : )

Music

We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth

Perfect Strangers - Jonas Blue

Make Me - Britney Spears

This Girl - Kungs vs Cookin’ On 3 Burners

What have you been loving this month? : )

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Travel Perfume Bottle

Hello lovelies,

 

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me mention I'm going on holiday to France with James in a few weeks time. I really wanted to get my hands on a travel perfume bottle for my handbag. I have always found them so useful, especially when travelling. I mean, who wants to drag around a massive perfume bottle on holiday? 

 

Ebay was the first place I thought of looking for one & I found this adorable heart-shaped bottle.

 

 

 

Ebay - £1.34 - Rose Red

 

It's so affordable & perfect sized for your handbag. The seller also does different designs, so you can also order the regular bottles or go for these cool heart designs if you prefer. They come in a wide range of colours.

 

I find these perfect for travelling or nights away from home, as well as being lighter than a full bottle, you can also use them when you feel you need to top up your perfume throughout the day.

 

Which is your favourite scent to wear in Summer? : )

 

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Lacoste - A Touch Of Pink

Hello lovelies!

 

Struggling to find that perfect scent for Valentines Day? I think I've found it!

 

Today I wanted to post about a gorgeous eau de toilette I got for Christmas & it's called Lacoste; A Touch Of Pink.

 

I actually got this in a gift set called Girls Night In, which came with slippers, toe separators, nail file, makeup bag, headband, eau de toilette, shower gel & body lotion. I can't thank James enough for this, everything is so pink.. I love it!

 

A Touch Of Pink is the perfect girly eau de toilette, perfect for any occasion, especially those romantic days out. It's quite a fruity-floral scent & I love wearing it in the day but it would also be lovely for garden parties in the Summer time. I think of it more as a Spring / Summer scent, but I can't keep it hidden away till then!

 

What scent are you wearing this Valentines Day?

I've also written a Valentines nail art post which you can check out here if you like, for more inspiration for the big day! : )

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Next Paradise & Just Pink

Hello lovelies,

 

Is it just me, or do you feel the need to splurge out on a new perfume the moment the sun comes out? I'd usually buy a floral, light scent regardless of the time of year, but Spring just screams at me to go & buy the girliest, pinkest perfume I can find! Please tell me it isn't just me..

 

On a recent shopping trip I found these two diamonds. I had a Next gift card left over from Christmas, so I couldn't resist.



Just Pink & Paradise



Just Pink - "A fresh green floral fragrance with soft fruits & pink blooms."

 

 

 

Paradise - "A light fruity fragrance with white florals & green notes."

 

 

 

Both of these are Eau De Parfum's & are 30ml.

 

They're both quite similar scents (I'm rubbish at describing them I'm afraid!) but if you like fruity, light perfumes, these are the ones for you.

 

Have you tried any of the Next Perfumes? : )

 

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Fragrances From Next

Hello lovelies!

 

I've found people have already started asking me what I want for Christmas, have you been asked yet? It's still over 2 months away but I can't really blame them. Christmas will soon be here & the list of people to buy for I swear gets longer every year. Anyway, when people ask me this question, I really don't know what to say. You don't want to say the same thing to more than one person in case you get duplicates, but at the same time, saying nothing means you could end up with something totally random & a waste of that persons money.

 

One thing I've found to say to people when they ask me is perfume.

 

Obviously you need to know which one to ask for as everyone has different favourites & you could end up with one that your nan used to wear. (nothing wrong with that but if it reminds you of old lady smell, maybe it's best you write down the name!)

 

I blogged last year about one of my favourite day time fragrances by Next called Forever Love. I still stand by saying that is one of my absolute favourites. Since then, I haven't been able to resist popping into Next & testing their fragrances as I absolutely fell in love with this one. They are so beautiful & cheap, you really can't say no.

 

I went shopping yesterday & couldn't make up my mind so instead of picking just one, I chose three. They seem to have a big range in at the moment! So I chose the smallest bottles of each of the three fragrances to test them. What I love about Next is their sizing of bottles. They do a small, medium & large bottle of most of their perfumes (some just a large & small) & usually a large bottle is between £10-15. Perfect for a personal Christmas gift. I'd previously bought Forever Love in the largest bottle  (75ml) & that almost lasted me a year. 

 

Anyway! On to the ones I chose:  



£4 - Next Eau De Parfum - Sparkle



"A radiant floriental with sparkling citrus & luminous floral notes wrapped in precious woods."

 

£3.50 - Next Eau De Toilette - Diamonds

"An opulent white floral fragrance entwined with fresh fruit nectars & crystalline musks."

 

£4 - Next Eau De Parfum - Gold

"A dazzling fragrance with golden flower nectars, gloriously sweet vanilla & molten amber."

 

I have to be the most rubbish person at describing scents & besides, you'll never know the actual scent until you go & smell for yourself! But I've copied the short description on the back of each fragrance to give you a rough idea.

 

Have you tried any of the next fragrances?
What's your favourite if you have? : )

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Forever Love By Next

Every girl remembers their first perfume, right?

 

Mine was from Avon, in a tiny white plastic-looking tube, about 3 cm high. My mum gave it to me to try when we went out for a family meal one night. I remember it being so strong that I had to wash it off half way through the night as I was convinced people could smell it from the other side of the room & were looking at me funny! After that night, I tended to stick to body sprays for a while..

 

I always thought perfumes were just for posh nights out. Up to a couple of years ago, I would wear my trusty Impulse Body Sprays during the day & then splash out on a perfume if I was going to a posh meal or event. (Which happened once every couple of months). Now, I have a perfume for the daytime & one for evening wear.

 

Of course, finding the perfect perfume isn't an easy task. I remember going with my best friend to Boots, trying every scent on a tester & getting her to sniff them all to chose her favourite. Obviously a completely pointless exercise as she chose totally different ones to me..

 

I wanted to show you my new favourite daily perfume. I got a gift card for Christmas to spend at Next. I've bought perfumes from them previously & it's a bit mix & match. For a day time perfume, I don't tend to spend a great amount, (as long as it smells nice, doesn't matter how cheap it is) & Next perfumes are very reasonably priced.

 

So, here's the one I chose. It's called Forever Love.

 

Obviously, it is the smell that matters the most, (nobody gets to see the bottle when your wearing it) but I won't pick up a bottle to sniff it unless it has a girly, pretty edge. I absolutely love this bottle. How cute is the little heart, bow & shape?! Adorable.

 

Anyway, like I said, the most important part about a perfume is the smell. On the box, this is how it is described:

 

"A romantic floral fragrance with fruity top notes leading to a pretty floral heart of rose petals & magnolia with a white musk & amber base."

 

It is such a gorgeous sweet scent & not over-powering at all. If you love floral, sweet scents, you'll adore it.

It only costs £10 from Next, (you can view it or order it online here) they also do a smaller size bottle, but this is the large, holding 75ml. I think the smaller one retails at £6.

Do you have a favourite perfume? & wear different ones for day & night?

* Please note - I didn't get asked or paid for to write this review.