Music Favourites; September

Hey guys! Crazily, it's that time of the month again where I have to consider what I've been loving. It's super clichéd to say but genuinely this month has gone so unbelievably fast? However it has been a great month for music, so without further rambling- let me show you what I loved!

The entire new 'Catfish and the Bottlemen' album ((but especially Fallout and Cocoon)) 

I Forget Where We Were // Ben Howard

I Will Remember You // Sarah McLachlan

Let It Go // James Bay

Shake It Off // Taylor Swift

Monster // Kanye West

Centuries // Fall Out Boy

Zombie // Jamie T

Take Me To Church // Hozier

Recover // Paolo Nutini (Chvrches Cover)

There we have it, this months favourites! I'll have a monthly favourites up in the next few days, but until next time- have a lovely weekend!

Evening Routine!

Hey guys! I hope you've all had a lovely week, and a nice weekend planned. I thought I'd show you what I usually do in the evening and what products I use, for this weeks post! This is going to be long, so let's get down to it!

I have music on in my room pretty much constantly, but particuarly when I get home from school or a day out. I love just lounging on my bed for a while before actually getting stuff done. I'm adoring the new Catfish and the Bottlemen album right now, and there will definitely be a couple of songs from it in my Monthly Music Favourites!

Time to shower and remove my makeup, the picture above is a little overview of the products I use, before I go into detail about them all!

First off, makeup removal. I use the Garnier micellar water on a face wipe, and run that all over my face. I think this stuff works so well, and although there's a lot of debate over how good face wipes are for your skin, I like these ones from St Ives a lot!

Now into the shower. I was having a 'hair pampering' evening last night so I cracked out some of the products I'd received in recent Glossyboxes as well as my favourite shampoo/conditioner. The Elasticizer is applied to damp hair pre-shampoo and sits on the ends for 10 minutes. The product was developed for Audrey Hepburn I believe and it works wonders on my hair, leaves it so conditoned and smooth!

I actually apply the hair mask I'm about to tell you about between these two products, but I took a picture of them together so I'll talk about them first. I'm trialling the 'Glad Hair Day' shampoo from Soap and Glory and loving it, and the Herbal Essences 'blue' conditioner has always been a favourite of mine. It's worth noting that the shampoo version of the HE's does make my roots really greasy, which I find really interesting. The conditioner however, is fab!

 As I mentioned, pre-conditioner I applied a generous dollop of Mythic Oil hair masque from L'Oreal to the ends of my hair and let that sit for another 5 minutes. I'm really noticing today how shiny and easy to work with my hair is! 

Now that I'm out of the shower, I use a cotton pad to wipe the Neutrogene Blackhead Eliminating Cleansing Lotion all over my face, especially problem areas like my chin. This stuff is majorly alcoholic so you do really have to watch for your eyes and I would NOT recommend this if you have sensitive skin, I'm convinced it literally burns the blackheads away! This is more of a toner than a lotion!

I finish up with two products that are a little bit softer on the skin, Simple are arguably the best 'drugstore' skincare brand, and there moisturiser is renowned, but I also love there cleansing lotion. Both of these are very creamy and skin easily into your skin!

 Post shower and skincare, time to brush my teeth. This is fairly obvious and (I hope) self-explanatory. 

 Before I put my PJ's on, I moisturise with a thick lotion, like this Soap and Glory 'smoothie', which smells 100% like baked cookies. I'm not kidding, it's the best thing in the world. This is a truly massive bottle too, so it will last me forever! 

Post moisturising, the only way to go is jammies. I challenge anyone to find me a better feeling than pulling on a pair of comfy PJs at the end of a long day. I love these bird print wool PJ bottoms from Primark!

Time for bed. I'm currently reading Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, which is really fab. I haven't read a thriller in a while so this is great! Will definitely review it when I'm finished! Add a cup of tea and some more laptop time, and I'm ready for sleep!

There you have it, my evening routine! If you'd like to see specific reviews of any of these products then tell me below, but until next time- have a good Friday night!

NEW RIMMEL APOCALIPS

Hey guys! I hope you've had a nice weekend and that your Monday hasn't been too awful! I went into Superdrug last week to chat to a friend who works there, and ended up leaving with six different products. Excellent. Two of these were Rimmel Apocalips lipstick/glosses, which I've spoken about on here before and have been one of my all time favourites forever!

Rimmel have recently released a new matte range of the Apocalips, which features five shades from a nude pink, to a very Autumnal purpley shade! Most of them have similarities to the regular range, for example- the nude pink (Apollo) is really similar to the shade Luna!

I picked up one of the original formulas in 'Across the Universe' which is a dark pinky purple, and as expected it's a beautiful formula which is super super bright on the lips. You do run the risk of having this smear slightly onto your teeth, but it's a minor risk. White tea cups and glasses beware, this stuff is bright.

Across the Universe

 The other shade I picked up was from the Matte range, in the shade Meteoric Matte. This is a really really dark, plum colour that feels a little different on the lips to the regular formula. It's still creamy, and doesn't dry your lips out, but there is a definite feeling of almost a fine 'graininess' on the lips. It's not unpleasant, but if you only apply a thin layer and allow it to go fully matte, your lips do feel a little funny. It certainly wouldn't put me off this product though, and it is almost certain to be my new Autumn favourite colour!

Meteoric Matte

Incredibly hideous photo of some swatches of the products!

I love this lip lacquers, and at only £6.99 each they are a definite bargain product. I'll be picking up some more in the future, but if you're looking for a bright lip shade, these are definitely the way to go. I'm not a nude lips kinda gal, but from what I've heard, these are definitely best for bright, out there shades!

Have a lovely week!

POLAGRAM

Hey guys! Sorry about the length of time between posts this week, as many of you will know- Scotland voted in a referendum for Independence this week, and disappointingly chose to remain part of the Union. With the last few days of campaigning/the aftermath of the results, blogging was put firmly to the back of my mind!

Anyhow. Last Saturday, very late at night, I ordered 10 Polaroid style prints from the app Polagram, which you can download free from the app store. This allows you to then select photos, directly from your Instragram, camera roll, and Facebook pages! 

I've been meaning to do this for a while so I found 10 of my favourite pictures and put in my order, it was so quick and incredibly easy! They told me it would take 3-5 business days, and since I ordered on the Saturday night, they gave me an estimated delivery of Thursday/Friday

I was updated via email throughout the process and the photos arrived on Friday, in the cutest little pink envelope. I'm not entirely sure how safe your photos would be if you had a really careless postman, but mine survived just nicely!

There you have it, that's the final result! I'm so so pleased with what they came out like! I'll leave links to the sites and prices etc below. 

The Website!

The Link to Download (iTunes)

The Link to Download (Google Play)

Until next time, have a lovely week!

UNBOXING- September Glossybox!

Hey there folks, as predicted my Glossybox arrived this morning, and while I've not tried any of the products yet- I'm not overly impressed. Let's have a look inside..

The box is sponsored (I think) by Karen Millen, possibly for London Fashion Week- but that's just a guess, because the cover of the box is a beautiful monochrome watercolour type pictures of the London skyline. In terms of first impressions, this looked good. 

However upon opening, I thought it seemed like a lot of skincare type products- which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they also looked suspiciously small, which is definitely a bad thing!

 SkinPep Enzyme and Acid Peel/Peeling Gel 

Peeling Gel
Glossybox says; This highly effective peeling gel uses Pineapple and Papaya extracts to create gently exfoliated, soft and bright skin. (£3.05 for 3.5ml- comes with 2 sachets)
I say; Wow. That's expensive stuff. It's £89.99 for 180ml
Eye Cream
This powerful dark circle eraser uses anti-oxidant ingredients to boost collagen in the delicate undereye area. (£6.49 for 2ml)
I say; Again. Woah. This had better give me the best under eyes the world has ever, ever seen.

Vichy Normaderm Night Detox and Hyrating Care

Night Detox
Glossybox says; Skin looks purified, balances excess serum production. (roughly £1.20 for 3ml)

I say; honestly, what's the point? The full size products are hardly extravagant and the price is nowhere near high enough to justify such a tiny size.

Hydrating Care

Glossybox says; Blemishes appear reduced, complexion looks radiant. (about 70p worth of product.)

I say; bleurgh.

L'Oreal Professional Mythic Masque

Glossybox says; This masque is designed to intensely nourish and replenish the hair, for an effortlessly glossy-looking result. (roughly £6 worth of product)

I say; I've tried this before and loved it, so I'm glad to have it back- as far as hair masks go, this is perfectly decent!

 Nails Inc Westminster Bridge Matte Top Coat

Glossybox says; This matte effect top coat gives you two very different looks for every one of your nail polishes. The perfect way to add a unique twist to your favourite shades. (£12)

I say; I've been meaning to pick up a matte top coat for ages so in a relatively poor box, this really stands out as a great product! I love Nails Inc too!

ModelCo MORE BROWS Fibre Gel

Glossybox says; This innovative brush-on fibre gel gives the appearance of fuller, thicker brows instantly. (£14.95)

I say; this looks extremely similar to the Benefit Gimme Brow, so I'm excited to try it, I have crazy brows so if this proves to be a miracle product you guys will be the first to know!

Box Value; £43.45 (roughly)
Box Cost; £13.95 (£10+P+P)

Saving; roughly £30 

There you have it, this months Glossybox. I'm a little disappointed, although the items certainly aren't cheap so the saving is still brilliant. And as my sister said, if all else fails, it is  very very pretty box!

Favourite Bedroom Decor

Hey folks, I hope you're having a lovely weekend and are hopefully doing something exciting this Sunday. I've spent the last couple of weeks lusting over some home decor things on Made.com and other websites, as well as watching more than my fair share of 'Apartment Tours' on Youtube. Despite this, I am actually really happy with how my room is looking at the moment- and I've picked out a few of my favourite 'pieces' from my room decor to show you today! Where possible I've included links to the product, or at least something similar too!

Harry Potter Lithograph  (Spineless Classics)

One of my favourite things I own, this poster contains the entirety of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the immortal words 'The Dursleys, of Number Four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal.'' to the last line 'I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer.' Fandom stuff tends to look a little tacky and not very grown up, but this is so pretty that it actually looks amazing in my room, despite it being a book aimed at 8-12 year olds. Plus, hey- it's Harry Potter?

Floral Mirror

I couldn't find anything like this online, but I got mine from Gardening Scotland (I'll link a post about my time there this year here x) which probably means it's from an independent seller. I use this to do my make-up in and it also stores a lot of my earrings and other little bits of jewellery. The mirror is removable too which is extra handy.

Dunelm Mill Parisian Clock

I love Dunelm Mill for home stuff, and they're so cheap that it makes it impossible to resist. When I redid my room when I was younger, this clock was really high up my 'WANT' list, and I still love it. I was aiming for a Parisian theme with my bedroom when I started so this kind of tied it all together.

Amazon Fairy Lights

I adore fairy lights, and although I first put these up around Christmas time, they've stayed there ever since. As luck would have it, they actually ran out of battery last night- hence why the picture shows them unlit, but they have lasted almost two years before that, so I can't complain. I'm yet to see a bedroom that couldn't be improved by some twinkly lights.

Ikea Hemnes Bookshelf 

Up until a month ago, I didn't have a bookshelf in my bedroom. Which is insane, since I have a lot of books and even had the audacity to write a book blog for a year. However due to some other house renovation, I have managed to secure myself this beautiful darkwood bookshelf, which is doing a fine job of housing my books. The only problem is that I now want to buy a shit ton more books to fill it with.

I'm thinking of doing a Bookshelf Tour soon, so you may well see that go up in the next few days (or weeks..) and I think my Glossybox is due to arrive on Monday so I'll put up an Unboxing for you then. Until next time, have a lovely Sunday and enjoy your week!

Autumn/Fall Lipstick!

Hey there folks, today's post is all about my favourite lipsticks for the Autumn time, I have a bit of an obsession with lip products so I've just selected my favourites to show you, here are my top five!

my selections!

Swatches of (from left to right) Rimmel Apocalips, Rimmel Moisture Renew, Elizabeth Arden Ceremide, Loreal Color Riche and Maybelline Color Sensational

Rimmel Apocalips in Apocaliptic 

I've spoken before about how much I love the formula of these, and the wear is so unbelievably good- but I especially love them in Autumn/Winter since this is such an extreme bright colour. I'm definitely planning on picking up some more of these as I only have a couple of shades! I cannot recommend these enough though!

 Loreal Color Riche in Feric Fuschia

I got this lipstick in a Loreal Christmas box from Boots a couple of years ago, and it is this amazingly glittery pigmented dark pink colour that doesn't pick up well on camera but looks unreal on the lips. I didn't use this much at the time since it was such a crazy fancy colour, but I'm getting much more use out of it now. Definitely a Christmassy favourite!

 Rimmel Moisture Renew in Dark Night Waterl-oops!

This is my favourite vampy purple colour, although it is definitely pink based so it's the right balance of wearable and 'scary'! The formula of these lipsticks gets a lot of stick because it transfers easily and can be really messy but they actually do have great staying power, and I get masses of use out of both this and my other shade, 'As You Want Victora'. This is my current favourite and it's the colour I'm carrying in my bag!

Maybelline Color Sensational in Fatal Red

I've written about this before in several posts, and it's my favourite red lipstick, which I wear all year round. However I feel like it looks best in the colder months as darker lipstick colours come into fashion. I can't fault this and you can see how much I've used it. Well loved.

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Ruby Rose 

One of my new favourites, this has been hanging around the bottom of my makeup bag for months and I finally tried it out earlier this month. I'm loving it. Obviously these are a little more expensive as EA is a high end brand but they're worth it when the lipstick is this good.

There you have it, my 'Fall' Favourites for lipstick. Until next time, have a wonderful week!

Review; Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Eye Shadow Quad and Cream Blush Palette

Hey folks! This weekend my Mum picked up some makeup and gave me up a new Elizabeth Arden palette from their Beautiful Colour range, so I thought I'd do a little review of it for you. This looks like a really summery palette but the colours are actually really neutral and grown up, which will do me right through Autumn and Winter too. I'm pretty sure this is just a treat with purchase type product, but it's lovely none the less.

The palette comes with a little mirror on the top, and it opens up like a card wallet or a filofax, it's incredibly slim too so that's extra helpful, making for an excellent wee handbag product.

 The four eyeshadow shades are Bronze Lustre, Glisten, Sunset, and Café Au Lait, however it doesn't specify which one is which! There's also a handy little double ended applicator too! The shades are super creamy and they glide right on to your eyelids. The dark shade works as a contour and the bottom right cream shade is a great highlight for both your inner eye and your brow bone!

Swatches of the four shades!

The cream blush is also lovely, it's perhaps a little dark for me at the moment as the sun makes it stand out a bit on my cheeks, but as the weather gets suckier it will look gorgeous, as it's a really pretty natural colour. I love the formula and it's very buildable too!

Blush shade in 'Nectar'

There you have it, a lovely little addition to my make-up collection. If you have any Elizabeth Arden recommendations, feel free to comment below! Until next time, have a lovely week and don't forget to +1!