A Birthday Wishlist

Picture credit to Amazon, Zara, ebay, Liz Earle and google.

1.A ticket to California to see him. (I'd trade everything for this one).
2. Liz Earle make up which I have been wanting to try for a while. Also the Liz Earle tonic as I'm almost out and absolutely love it.
3. I feel naughty for taking this picture from ebay but it's a fringed bag I am loving. I have a bag problem...a addiction.
4. Books! I have a huge list of books I want to read such as Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Uglies, Sweet Shop of dreams.
5. A blouse with studded/spiked collars. I have seen someone on You Tube with a nice one from Urban outfitters but I can't find it/justify the price so I  may end up doing a DIY version.
6. A new DSLR would be amazing, not sure if I want a Canon or Nikon second time round but alas I can daydream about this one as I highly doubt I'll be getting it anytime soon.


So on the 2nd of June I'm another year older but I don't tend to care so much about my birthday anymore, it just feels like another day but I thought this would be a fun blog post to do. More of a general wishlist than a birthday one. Books are on the top of my list to get, I miss reading.
What's on your wishlist?

<3

A USA Beauty Swap Haul

This is a super long overdue blog post, I just haven't had the time and my beloved camera until recently to do a blog post this topic dserved. As many of you may have read I have been shopping for a swap for the lovely Andrea all the way in my favourite place called America. She got her package incredibly quick which is a shocker for Royal Mail. Anyway you can read her sweet post here if you want to see what I sent her. She also has an amazing blog so follow too if you like :).
 Andrea didn't have many specific items she wanted to try so I had free reign pretty much but as I love the US and I know what they have that we don't I of course had a list of things which she kindly got for me (along with surprises she picked).
So this lady got SO much into one tiny little box...skills right there.

Terrible picture but I lost the dslr pictures I had taken. Just wanted to show how she wrapped everything up in tissue and cute stickers! It was like opening Christmas presents but better.

 Some dainty little forever 21 necklaces with a spoon, bird and I think a moose.

 Bath and bodyworks pink chiffon body lotion, sephora OPI nail art pen, Nyx orange blusher Kerastase elixir ultime, and maybelline eye tattoos.

 A smashbox eyeshadow quad (I was SO surprised and excited she sent me this, my first smashbox make up) Sephora liquid eyeliner, a smashbox eyeliner, a presitage eyeliner and a lip brush.

 These products above are some that I requested and was super excited to try, Baby Lips lip balm, Eos lipbalm, wet n wild lipsticks and revlon lip butters (these weren't on sale in the UK at the time)

Some funny and random things like perfume samples, a fake fly haha, bobby pins...a letter..

My most anticipated product...Buxom lipstick in Bombay!

I'm so pleased with everything she sent me and superrrr grateful she did this swap with me and I can't wait to try everything. Yep, I've avoided using most of them till I had done this post.
I have done swaps before in the past and I love them, there exciting and fun. I'm one of those people that loves to shop for others, buying presents and making sure they LOVE everything.
Also like Andrea said, swaps are a great way to meet people and I too have felt like I've made a friend. Our never ending chats about shopping and make up...and everything else..priceless! If you have never done a swap before....do one! It's definitely a great experience.
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Nail Polish from Marks & Spencer's New Limited Collection Beauty range.

So I know M&S isn't the first place younger people think of to go for clothes or beauty products, I know many don't go at all but over the years they have definitely started to improve their range of products bringing in more to attract a younger crowd. I can honestly say they do sell some really nice things now which I probably wouldn't have found in the past.
Recently they have improved their beauty section by adding a lot of branded products such as Nuxe, Fllorga and many more.
They also now have a new beauty range branded the Limited Collection which seems like a more chic and younger generation targeted range just like the Limited Collection clothing they sell.
They have a great range of products and colours especially for lipsticks and the other thing that caught my focus.... their nail polish range, SO many pretty colours

I got a little carried away...just a tiny bit....

The normal price is just a fraction of the well known brands...at £3.50 a bottle but they have a introductory 25% off the entire range so at £2.63 I thought it's the perfect time to grab the colours I want. I got 6 of the 24 shades they sell.

These three are my favourites at the moment! I tried to steer away from the usual colours I get and these are what I came out the store with.
My thoughts so far...
I have only properly used one of them so far and I've not had any problems, I tried the lavender polish which is in the middle above and it took me two coats to get a good even and opaque finish, I could have gotten away with one but I wanted a really solid colour so two worked a charm. The consistency is great, I had no problems with application. I have had it on for about four days and there's barley any chip's in sight but then again that could also be because of my Sally Hansen topcoat. I work in an environment which tends to ruin my freshly polished nails within an hour but I managed to go a whole day without chipping it so that is success to me!
I also did swatch each colour on my toes and most of them have good colour pay off with one coat but are better with two, also the swatches on my toes I did last week sometime and no chip in sight (but I guess it takes a lot more for polish to chip on toes right?).
Overall I am very pleased with them especially considering the price. I'll be doing more blog posts about the different colours soon including swatches.
Will you be trying this range?
<3

Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask review + Upcoming discount.

Despite the fact that I love using face masks, I seem to never think to put one on or I don't have the time. I have used a lot of Lush's fresh face masks which I really like, I tend to get them every now and again as a treat soon as they have expiry dates.

Lately (especially after the much needed organising of my make-up/beauty products) I have been getting into a better skincare routine which at the moment has a lot of Liz Earle (surprise surprise!).

The Brightening treatment mask* is exactly what my face has been needing,

 'Reviving, fast acting mask for instant radiance'

It comes in a cute little pouch with a 50ml bottle and a muslin cloth with the price tag of £14.25 or £13.50 without the muslin cloth.

This mask contains: Organic Aloe Vera, Witch Hazel (you can really smell this!) almond oil, camphor oil and purifying white clay.

Usage: You apply 1 to 2 pumps to clean dry skin and leave it on for 30 seconds to 2 minutes and wipe off with the muslin cloth soaked in hand hot water. The consistency is a semi thick clay like formula and it's not suitable for sensitive skin and you may feel some tingling which is normal. 

I have been using the Brightening face mask a lot lately and there's a number of reasons why..

Firstly it's in a little pump bottle, this really appeals to me. I love that I can just quickly pump some onto my hand put it on my face and there we go. It just makes life easier, no squeezing and mess from those sachets, which seem put me off bothering sometimes.

Secondly I like that you can leave this mask on for 30 seconds to 2 minutes...quick fix indeed! I have been using it before work every now and again which is crazy for me as I tend to be in a mad rush most the time but because I don't have to keep the mask on for a long amount of time for it to be effective this is perfect.

Thirdly and most importantly I like how it leaves me skin feeling...soft, refreshed and yes radiant. 

Verdict: I feel like it does what it say's on the bottle. I love how refreshed I feel after using it and the results are  noticeable to me. It is pricey for a face mask treatment but you do get 50ml in super handy packaging and it should last a good while depending on how often you use it.

Would I recommend it? Yes! 

What's your favourite face mask?

P.S Just a heads up to the lovers of Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth cleanser and to those who have been meaning to try it...on Wednesday 23rd of May till the 25th Liz Earle will be selling the 100ml bottle with 2 muslin cloths for the original launch price of £9.50 instead of £14.25. This is to celebrate how successful it has been and the amazing rewards it has received thanks to fellow users and experts! You can get it online and via telephone.

It's the little things that count...

This will be a short and random post but I just wanted to share a little thing that put a huge smile on my face yesterday.
So, I was at work which I'm finding incredibly boring and tedious. I guess I'm a little fed up of it and want something that's to do with my university degree or at least something I will enjoy but hey a jobs a job and in this economical climate anything is better than nothing.
Anyway towards the end of the day I came across two middle aged or probably a little older customers and I helped them with some things and as one of them was trying clothes on I was talking to the other lady sat waiting for her and within the conversation I mentioned how nice her necklace was which seemed to have made her smile.
I then left them to try clothes on and a while after, they had left the fitting room but she called me over and took her necklace off and insisted I have it (ignoring my pleads that I couldn't take it from her). She was even worried I'd be embarrassed or annoyed at her for giving me it (can you believe that?!)
This is the beaut below which shall be cherished. I have been wanting a spike necklace for a long time now too!

She literally made my day, I was so surprised as I honestly didn't expect that at all and obviously incredibly thankful she gave me it especially as it was something she was wearing and clearly liked. I guess this meant a lot to me as I meet nice (as well as damn right awful) people at work frequently but never in my years of working in this place someone to make such a kind and selfless gesture.
I made sure the lady knew how thankful I was and even went to find her to make sure she knew and to tell her she made my day.
I know people who work in retail will agree sometimes people can be so rude and make your day become a bad one. But yesterday was quiet the opposite, I guess it just shows there is some wonderful people out there, along with the bad.
What's the nicest thing someone has done for you at work?
<3