Ruffles & Pearl Bag

H&M Cardigan // Dresslily Top* // Topshop Jeans // Skinnydip Pearl Bag // Topshop Loafers

(Similar: White Cardigan, Ruffle Top, Black Loafers)

These pictures are from my birthday, when we went out for dinner. The top is gifted from Dresslily and Dot got me my pearly bag. It's also probably one of the times where my hair has been the longest ever.

xo

PS. Here are some Dresslily Coupon Codes for some money off your next shop.

3 Rose Scented Products To Take You Back To Summer

With the days getting shorter and colder, we can't avoid feeling nostalgic about the gone warmer days. However the comforting scent of rose can make you feel a bit closer to summer than winter. My current picks to take me back to summer are:

L'occitane Rose Hand Cream: with shea butter, coconut and sunflower oil, it moisturises without feeling greasy or sticky and the addition of rosa damascena and rosa centifolia flower oils gives it a subtle warm rose scent. 

Pacifica Rose Solid Perfume: this versatile perfume is made with organic soy and coconut wax, and features a blend of bulgarian rose, violet and myrrh. It's easy to apply and I don't mind that the warm scent isn't that long lasting, as I enjoy reapplying it throughout the day, but you could also layer it under other perfumes to create a personalised scent.

Lierac Hydragenist Pink Lip Balm: It has a buttery texture that melts onto the lips and makes them feel very soft and hydrated thanks to the rose wax and shea butter. It has a faint rose smell and leaves a slightly glossy finish that turns into a pink tint on the lips thanks to its pH technology. 

Have you tried any of these rose products?

xo

Crop Top & Trainers

H&M Crop Top // Adidas Stan Smith // Wool Cardigan // H&M Jeans // Fabric Bag

(Similar: Black Cardigan, Floral Bag)

This outfit might look quite similar to one of my recently posted outfits, but hey I was on holiday and that's when you have to get a bit creative and mix and match all the clothes you brought with you in order to have lots of space left in your suitcase to fill it up with gifts, souvenirs, and most importantly: delicacies that you won't find in your new country of residence.

xo

The Inkey List Now Available At Boots

So it's not only Superdrug surprising us with all these new affordable skincare launches (exhibit one and two)- they're also happening at Boots. 

They have released 16 The Inkey List products, divided in 4 categories according to your skin concerns: hydrated skin, younger looking skin, brighter looking skin and clearer skin.

With the slogan "quality ingredients made simple", they have specific hard-working formulations for different needs that won't break the bank. 

Above are the ones I'm most interested in trying: the skin renewing Retinol serum, the plumping Hyaluronic Acid serum, the tone smoothing Vitamin C serum, the unclogging BHA serum and the redness-reducing Snow Mushroom moisturiser. 

Will you be trying The Inkey List products?

xo

New In: September 2019

It was our wedding anniversary last month and Dot got me some heart hoop earrings from Pandora, the Issey Miyake ROSE & ROSE perfume and some flowers. 

From Primark I got a hair scrunchie for just 50p, and a L'oreal Botanicals Coriander Strength Potion from the Boots clearance, which was only £3.

Found a mohair jumper in the H&M sale and I got it for £12 (originally £40), and a stationery set from Typo sale, it was just £3 (I think ha!).

Four our anniversary we got a glass jar and colouring book from my in-laws and the last picture is a couple of free gifts that came with magazines: a benefit mini roller lash mascara and a lixirskin universal emulsion. 

Also last month I got a few skincare items from Superdrug, which I posted about here. 

xo

Super Facialist Retinol+ Anti-Ageing Serum

A few months ago, Dot got me the Super Facialist Retinol+ Anti-Ageing Restoring Serum and I finally have used it enough to be able to write about it.

Thanks to the use of retinol, hyaluronic acid, white lupin seed extract, vitamin E, apricot and white tea extracts in the Super Facialist Retinol+ Serum, the skin regains firmness, elasticity and vitality, by targeting wrinkles, uneven skin tone and lack of radiance. 

Normally, after cleansing, I use just one pump and apply all over my face under my moisturiser at night. After using it continuously for several days in a row over the course of a few weeks I did notice that in the morning my skin looked more even in tone and texture, as well as more plump and felt softer. 

It is not irritating, easy to use and quite affordable compared to high end offerings, so I would recommend it if you are looking to get started on retinol.

Find Super Facialist Retinol+ Anti-Ageing Serum in Boots.

xo

Blue Jeans, White Shirt

Affordable Skincare Brand Me+ Now At Superdrug

Superdrug keeps surprising us with so many new releases - first I saw it a couple of days ago on their Instagram, and last Saturday found the products already in store.

I'm talking about a new brand called Me+, with super affordable skincare products, all priced under £10. 

The collection is divided into groups designed to address different concerns: Moisturise, Pro-Age,  Exfoliate, Refine and Calming.

The products I'm most interested in trying are the Peptide Booster, Niacinamide & Zinc Booster and Lactic Acid (AHA) Booster. Pictured above are also the AHA Fruit Acid Booster and Acacia Collagen Booster. 

Find the Me+ skincare line in Superdrug.

xo

How To Be Pretty: A 1940s Guide For High School Girls

This video was on my "recommended" videos on YouTube and I was curious to see if the tips given in here would be outdated but they were anything but that, they're actually really good general well-being, lifestyle tips and I thought I'd share it here as they are still current. Let me know what you think!

xo

Superdrug's New Affordable Retinol Range Under £15

Recently Superdrug have launched a new Optimum range featuring the anti ageing gold standard skincare ingredient retinol. The range consists of 5 products, including a serum, night cream, eye cream, booster drops,  and day cream. 

Every product is priced under £15, and contains up to 0.4% retinyl palmitate and up to 2% encapsulated retinyl palmitate, plus extra ingredients to help minimise irritation and help restore barrier function such as tulsi and lady's mantle. 

I think that for the price (especially with the current BOGOF and free gift offers) they are worth trying out if you are looking to smooth out skin tone and texture.

Find the new Optimum Retinol Range in Superdrug.

Will you be trying any of these products out?

xo

Black & Beige

H&M Top // Rosegal Straw Bag* // H&M High Waist Jeans // Adidas Stan Smith // Wool Cardigan 

(Similar: Straw Bag, Black Cardigan)

Outfit from when I was visiting my family in Mexico. These jeans are super high waisted and quite flattering, I think. I'd been looking for a pair of super high waisted jeans for a while and these ones fit me really good. 

The cardigan is one that I used to wear, then gave to my mum (apparently, I can't even remember that) and then borrowed as when we went in March it was still a bit cool and needed some extra layers (which I didn't bring) as I thought it would be warmer.

xo

Favourite Dresslily Halloween Outfits + 25% Off Code

Dresslily's Halloween dress collection is here, and above are my picks of their cutest ones. From left to right, top to bottom: 

The first dress has a black long sleeve top, waist cinching bow and wide skirt - it's super classy and flattering. The second dress is another prim and proper dress with a lovely rose and skull print.

The third dress is repeating the skull and rose elements but with a more casual, rocker vibe with the sweetheart neckline and adjustable buckle straps.

If you like more contrasting colours, the fourth dress is for you: with its orange print on purple background you are sure to be the centre of attention. And I couldn't pass this dress up, with the cutest Peter Pan collar and sheer sleeves it is a super feminine design.

My favourite Halloween outfits from DressLlily!

#Halloween #dresslily  @dresslily

Shop here https://bit.ly/2luSx0i with code DLKOL25C (25% OFF for orders over $30)!

Which one is your favourite?

xo

Superdrug Skincare Haul + Free Gift

You know I can't resist a bargain, especially if it involves skincare, which means I had to take advantage of the Superdrug offers going on right now: buy one, get one free on Simple Skincare and also the Naturally Radiant range. 

I stocked up on the old faithful Naturally Radiant Renewing Night Cream (which I have previously reviewed) and also wanted to try out the Simple Protecting Moisture Cream with SPF 30, so I got a couple of those as well. 

And thanks to my indecision (I'd been thinking about getting those Simple moisturisers for the last couple of weeks but kept postponing my purchase) I got rewarded as a new offer came up: buy 3 skincare items and get a free Naturally Radiant Heroes gift set consisting of their Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Glycolic Acid 5% Tonic. 

Get them while they're on offer!

xo

Autumn Wishlist 2019

The new season is only a few days away and I always get excited about the new colour palettes and cosy items dropping in stores. Some items that have caught my eye are:

H&M Chunky Wool Cardigan £50 - The fuchsia shade is a fail safe way to add some brightness into an autumn-winter wardrobe that can get a bit boring with so many greys and beiges. 

Fila Disruptor Heart Trainers £85 - I haven't gotten a pair of white trainers since my adidas Stan Smiths, and these ones with the chunky sole and red hearts could be a nice update.

Topshop Embellished Headband £18.50 - Even if I don't wear them a lot, I do love hair accessories, and the big, bright jewels on this headband look so glamorous yet refined. 

Ashwood Leather Tote Bag £50 - Been getting into a "career change" mood, with a more formal-environment in mind and a professional looking tote bag would help complete any outfit. Plus this one reminds me of the Birking bag, and the burgundy colour is ideal for autumn and winter.

Uniqlo Knitted Skirt £25 - I would really like to incorporate a knitted skirt into my wardrobe, so far these two uniqlo ones are my favourites. It can be dressed up or down and it would make a nice change from just wearing trousers all winter long.

Did any of these pieces catch your eye?

xo

New in: August 2019

Imperial Leather Cherry Bomb Foamburst x Skinny Dip

I’ve been interested in the new shower foam formats that have been popping up all over the shops, and when I saw the name (and new packaging) of the Imperial Leather Cherry Bomb Foamburst I couldn’t resist. The cherry  pattern and pink background looked cute and the thought of a cherry scented shower sounded great.

What I love about this product is that once you get the gel on your hand and start rubbing it, it lathers very nicely and more than quadruples in size, so you don’t need as much product (the bottle states it lasts for 40 showers).

What left me a bit confused was the scent - only when I first used it I realised it also mentioned vanilla, which is in fact the one that steals the show as I barely smelled any cherry blossom in there. Plus the mechanism is hard to work with one hand only, making it a struggle to get the gel out.

On a more positive note, it does what it says of transforming into a creamy lather that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. And it has an extra use as it not only cleanses but it can also be used for shaving.

Find Imperial Leather Cherry Bomb Foamburst x Skinny Dip in Superdrug and Tesco.

xo

Dr. Pawpaw Peach Lip Balm Watercolor Illustration

A watercolour illustration I made of the Dr. Pawpaw Peach Lip Balm. I've also written a review on this product, which you can find here.

If you like this watercolour design you can purchase stickers and other stationery items on my RB shop.

xo

Rodial Smokey Eye Pen

This duo of Rodial Smokey Eye Pens came for free in - you guessed it- a magazine. Having tried the black liner (along with the lip liner which I didn't like at all) I thought it would be worth it even just for the black liner alone. 

The Rodial Smokey Eye Pens (which are actually pencils) are soft smokey effect eyeliners which are easy to use: just draw along the lash line and gently smudge until you achieve your desired level of smokey-effect. 

I've only used them as eye liners so can't comment on the smokey part, though the pencils are very creamy and glide along the eyelid easily without any pulling of the skin so I don't doubt the blending capability these liners have. 

The colours are very rich: a true black and a reddish brown. The black is a classic for any occasion and perfect for my usual cat-eye liner, though the shade of brown I didn't love so much as I find it doesn't make my eye colour stand out as much as the MUA rich brown liner which I'm afraid is being discontinued. 

Either way for smokey eye or just liner, these pencils are good quality, and the inclusion of castor oil will be helping strengthen and lengthen lashes. 

Find the Rodial Smokey Eye Pens in Space NK and Harvey Nichols.

xo

Flowers In The Garden

St. Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Body Lotion

This is another generously sized sample I got as a magazine freebie - a 50 ml tube of St. Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Body Lotion. 

The St. Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Body Lotion claims to provide sheer skin perfecting coverage for a sun-kissed golden glow that is streak free and gradually builds and hydrates for 48 hours.

You are supposed to patch test before use, which I did and the area didn't seem to darken so I was a bit shocked when I applied it over my legs and arms - the colour is slightly orange and it gets more orange as time progresses. 

In my opinion the tone it leaves skin with looks very unnatural, at least on me - they should have different tone options for warm and cool skin tones. 

It does contain glycerin and vitamin E but I would not rely on it to deeply moisturise the skin - also the scent is very peculiar, probably typical fake tan smell but I'm not sure as I don't normally use them. 

Overall I wouldn't use this product again (let alone buy it) as there are more inexpensive alternatives, but also because of the unnatural orange finish it left me with - I couldn't wait for it to fade. However, if you are a fan of fake tan then you might really enjoy this product as the results are visible almost instantly as consequence of this being a tinted product. 

Find St. Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Body Lotion in Superdrug.

xo

Sailor Moon Nails

Another take on a Sailor Moon Manicure, this time I chose a pearl polish as a base and added some gold stickers with shapes of bows and stars, and one that would look like a planet symbol. I used a Cutex nail polish that I found in Poundland, however, the Essie Pearly White one is very similar.

xo

Neal's Yard Geranium & Orange Body Lotion

This generously sized sample came free with a magazine (got to love free samples that come with British magazines!)

The Neal's Yard Geranium & Orange Body Lotion is a moisturising lotion for all skin types and is meant to leave skin "velvety smooth and delightfully fragrant". It contains no synthetic fragrance or colour, parabens, propylene glycol, silicones, phtalates or EDTA and is non GM. 

As I've used the hand cream form the same line I thought this body lotion would be very heavy and strongly scented but I was pleasantly surprised: the texture is much lighter and the smell is also less intense. 

It has a warming scent composed of geranium and orange essential oils, and leaves skin feeling very soft and moisturised thanks to the use of olive oil, beeswax, pumpkin seed oil, aloe leaf powder, and hyaluronic acid, all of which are organic, except the HA.

I quite enjoy using this body lotion however I'm not sure I would repurchase as it is a bit overpriced at over £21 for 200ml. However, if you are looking for a nice gift for someone or to treat yourself then I'd definitely recommend the Neal's Yard Geranium & Orange Body Lotion.

Have you tried this body lotion?

xo

New In: July 2019

Birthday Flowers

It was my birthday yesterday and my husband spoiled me with some beautiful flowers (and many  other gifts which I'll share on here soon). 

I feel like I could just look at flowers for hours - how can something so entrancing exist? The softest velvety textures, captivating scent and vivid colours - they're just amazing! If there's someone that says they don't like flowers I don't believe them ha.

xo

Pink Floral Nails

Been loving all pastel colours, especially pink and for my nails it is no exception. For this look I used the Leighton Denny nail polish in Rosey Posey, then a glitter polish by nails inc and finally a flower sticker.

xo

Balance Me Rose Otto Hand Cream

A few months back I started using the Balance Me Rose Otto Hand Cream, which came as a freebie with a magazine. 

The Balance Me Rose Otto Hand Cream, which claims to be rich moisturising and "velvetifying", all while being 90% natural, with no parabens, sulpahtes, petroleum, mineral oil, silicones, dea, pegs, propylene glycol, artificial fragrances or colours. 

As the description says it is quite rich, so it has taken me ages to use it up as I didn't end up reaching for it as often as I would like because I didn't love the greasy feeling it can leave my hands with. For that reason, I mostly use it before going to bed as I won't be needing to use my hands and the grasyness won't matter. 

It contains glycerin, shea butter, sweet almond oil, beeswax, kukui seed oil, lanolin, rose flower oils and a series of essential oils including palmarosa, camomile, clary sage, bergamot and ylang ylang. 

The scent isn't strong and reminds me of baby products, it might be the palmarosa oil but I can't quite put my finger on it - it's not the typical commercial baby powder scent, but it's a soft, calming scent. 

Because of the heavy, rich ingredients, the Balance Me Rose Otto Hand Cream is a hand cream best suited for very dry skin or to use just before bed as the texture isn't ideal to leave on the skin during the day (unless you like leaving hand prints everywhere). 

Have you tried this hand cream? 

xo

Love, Want, Need

Floral Sticky Notes £2 // H&M Wrap Dress £40 

Lanolips Lip Water £15//  Pandora Heart Earrings £45

Superfacialist Rose Mist £5 // Ted Baker Heart Bag £129 // Issey Miyake Rose & Rose £41

Here are a few of the things on my wish-list this month: cute stationery, the perfect satin wrap dress for summer, yet another lip balm (can't ever have too many), silver heart-shaped earrings, a rose face mist, a leather heart shaped bag (another thing you can never have too many of) and a rose perfume. Just some of my obsessions, really: stationery, rose scented, heart shaped and lip moisturising things ha.

xo

Personalised Jewellery at Get Name Necklace

This is a sponsored post

Summer is in full swing and students are graduating from school - for this important milestone a very meaningful gift could be a personalised piece of jewellery, like the ones offered on Get Name Necklace.

As the name of the website suggests, you can get your name on necklace, but there are also many other options available, such as birthstone necklaces, monogram necklaces, tiara rings, photo rings, photo charm bracelets and even personalised earrings. 

You can also order your own Get Name Necklace picture necklace, in which you can include a picture of your loved ones and it is a very thoughtful gift to someone or even for yourself so they're always with you. 

In the picture above are some of my favourite designs, all of them very feminine and girly, however they have lots more designs on Get Name Necklace. Shown above are a picture locket with a zodiac sign front and engrave-able back, a more simple design of the heart picture necklace with engrave-able back for the minimalists out there, a winged heart picture necklace which reminds me of Sailor Moon, an enamel pink heart picture necklace, and a more detailed and sparkly cubic zirconium engrave-able heart shaped picture necklace. All of them are sterling silver and you can also choose the length of the chain. 

If you have any questions you can always reach out and ask anything on the Get Name Necklace Contact us page. Happy shopping!

xo

Nivea Micellar Water for Dry Skin

In the unlikely event that I wear makeup (nowadays rarely do) I'll use a makeup remover to get rid of it at the end of the day, and these past couple of months I've been using the Nivea Micellar Water for Dry Skin. 

This product features 'natural almond oil' and claims to be a 3 in 1 cleanser for face and eyes by removing makeup gently without rubbing and caring for lashes, cleansing deeply, and moisturising and soothing the skin. 

I don't really use it on my facial skin as much as I do to remove eye makeup, but I do find out that it gently removes makeup and leaves the skin soft. While it does need a couple of swipes to get all my eye makeup off it's something to be expected as it is a gentle cleanser. 

What I really like about the Nivea Micellar Water for Dry Skin is that I think my lashes have grown slightly since using it as it contains castor oil, which helps with lash growth. It also contains glycerin and panthenol, ingredients that also soften the skin. 

It's easy to use, as most makeup removers, just wet a cotton pad and wipe the skin until clean without the need to rinse it off once finished. Afterwards I like to wipe my lids with some water to get any residue off my skin to avoid it drying out and proceed to apply my eye cream. 

I would recommend the Nivea Micellar Water for Dry Skin if you want a quick and easy way to remove face and eye makeup while also caring for your lashes. 

Find Nivea Micellar Water in Boots and Superdrug. 

xo

Stationery Haul Video

The video is in Spanish but you can always turn on subtitles and see the items I showed in my last New In posts.

xo