31 January 2014

Sexy Mother Pucker REVIEW

Hello there everybody, so today I'm doing a review on the marmite of beauty products, the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Extreme Plump XL lipgloss. What a mouthful. Due to my spending ban I'm not buying any more products so I'm pretty much going through the 'Yule Monty' gift set, sorry! 

Excuse my nails, anxiety ruins them!(
Getting the right lighting is hard in winter:(
 This product comes in a squeezey tube with 24M of product. I got this in the shade 'Pink Out Loud' but they also do a 'Very Berry' and 'Clear' which i prefer, and they all retail for £10 in Boots. The lid and the packaging feel fairly flimsy which isn't common for S&G products so is a bit of a let down. 

Pink Out Loud has a peculiar chocolatey smell about it, at least i think its chocolate, and is a lovely pink colour. The formula is a little sticky but not unbearable, even for someone who doesn't like lip glosses, and it lasts on the lips for a fair amount of time leaving a noticeable plumping effect and a little tint of pink. 

This is where the product divides people though, after a couple of minutes there is a noticeable tingling sensation on your lips which can be uncomfortable if your lips are a little broken, or they're just sensitive. I personally quite like the sensation however i know it does divide a lot of people. 

Overall i like this project, I'm not incredibly excited about using it but it looks nice, feels nice and has a lovely scent, i just don't think it'll be my first choice for lip products. 

So, do i like this product? Yes. Would i buy this again? No, its a little bit expensive just for a lip gloss in my opinion. Have you guys tried this product? What did you think of the tingling sensation? 






30 January 2014

Monochrome Madness - NOTD #2

Everyone is going bonkers for monochrome lately, including me. Having investing in a get dotting tools a little while back I've been absolutely in love with having polka dots on my nails, and seeing as my outfit was black and white, it seemed fitting that my nails would be too.

Excuse the shortness of my nails, and the raggedness of my cuticles. When i get uncomfortable i end up ruining my nails.



To make this mani i applied Sally Hansen's 'Hard As Nails' as a base coat followed by Barry M's 'Matt White' which isn't actually matte. I did two coats for this and allowed it to dry overnight as it tends to smudge quite easily. I then used one of Barry M's Matte nail paints in 'Espresso' to do the black polka dots, i used the matte rather than the glossy finish as i find it dries flatter on the nail. I did small dots on three fingers, ad then large dots on my accent nail and thumb.

I really love the way this looks and i know its not perfect but looks pretty good from a distance and thats good enough for me, and anyway painting short nails is really difficult. I can't wait for them to grow again.. 

I love doing posts like this, what do you think of them? Hope you're all having a lovely day! 


29 January 2014

Weekly Roundup - Week 4

So this year seems to be flying by already, we're already onto our fourth week of 2014, how crazy is that?! My week has had ups and down, but it could've been worse. Its so weird to think that its nearly the end of January and only just over 120 days till my birthday! No I'm not counting at all.. Anyway, heres my week for you.

Top Row (L-R) - Walking to the bus in the pitch black, My photos from the train stations arrived, Scrubbing down my bedroom walls ready to be painted, A random hilarious file i found on my laptop.
Bottom Row (L-R) Selfie of my monochrome outfit, cartilage piercing sorted, mini haul photo, cosy evening in with Pandy!
To start this week i had my theory lesson at college on thursday for two hours. It was a little dull and didn't result in getting too much work done but it could've been worse. I then got the bus to work at 12, popped in to drop some stuff off then headed home where i settled in bed for the day to do my college and whine about the miserable weather outside and how my photos hadn't yet been delivered. Lets not mention that i only ordered them on wednesday night. 


Friday was pretty good if I'm honest, i woke up feeling really good as id been getting a decent amount of sleep for the past few nights and headed off to college a happy girl. We had a photoshop workshop scheduled for the day so that was really fun and made the day go so quickly. I got home at about 5ish and spent my evening doing my coursework. Im so boring aha. I also order a few pretty things from New Look as i had a 20% off code and can't wait for them to arrive! I'll hopefully be doing a mini haul post soon! I went to bed pretty early again which was nice.


Saturday was the start of my big bedroom clear out. Im redecorating to finally get the 'beauty blogger' room I've always dreamed of. aha no, I'm just sick of all my teddies and bright pink walls. 6 bin bags later and a very confused mum, and its finally clear. Now all we have to do is order the furniture and get the paint and we'll be well on our way to finishing my room!

On Sunday i began prepping my bedroom walls for painting by washing them down with sugar soap. Horrible, horrible stuff. I then went to work which was pretty standard and spent most of my evening finishing off my bedroom walls. I had a horrible nights sleep with grown pains in my leg, which made for a very grumpy Anya in the morning.

I started Monday very grumpy and lazy, but headed off into town to pick up my New Look order, more on that later, and grab a few bits and bobs. Ran into my college tutor as well which was interesting trying to explain why i wasn't at home doing private study. I also got my cartilage piercing changed after about 5 months of having a CBR without the ball! Oops! I then went home to my mums and my dad picked me up and took me to the stables, which was very cold and wet, but fun nonetheless. We then went back to my dads and watched telly for the evening and had a nice catchup!

Tuesday was okay. I had college and for the first time in ages it was actually light when i was walking to the bus stop, well, not light, but lighter. College was pretty average. We had a printing workshop which i left early and went home from because id finished everything i needed to do. The evening was pretty dull, i was really tired from getting up early and cosied myself up in bed watching films. Thank god for netflix. 

Today, wednesday, I'm posting this early as i want to spend the rest of my day writing new blog posts and doing my art seeing as i have a day off. I found out this morning that i had been nominated for a Liebster award and did my post on that. Im still chilling in bet as well and its just turned 12. I should probably get up soon but oh well.

So this is how my week has gone, how has yours been? Id love to know! 


LIEBSTER AWARD

I woke up this morning and checked my emails like i normally do, only to find a message from the lovely Chelsea over at Sea Of Ivy letting me know she had nominated me for a Liebster Award. What a fabulous way to wake up, eh? Only having a handful of followers and thinking nobody even knew about my blog this is such a huge honour and I'm so grateful. The award is given to new up and coming bloggers with 200 (i believe) follower or less. 

So creative, haha.. 

There are some rules to be followed with this awards and these are-: 

1. Post about the Liebster award and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Write 11 facts about yourself.

3. Answer 11 questions created by the blogger who nominated you.


4. Nominate 11 other bloggers with around 200 followers or less as the aim is to help people connect 

with more blogs (and get even more followers).

5. Write 11 new questions for your nominees.


11 Facts About Me


1. I love the beach, i live on the South Coast in the UK and you can find me down there pretty much every day when it gets a bit warmer.
2. Im studying Art & Design at the Arts University in Bournemouth.
3. I have an obsession with buying lib balms.
4. I hate wasting money on food.
5. I run an art blog, where i post all my free time work, GCSE work and college work. I also give advice.
6. Im new to the beauty scene and have very little makeup, but far too many mascaras.
7. I love fashion but have no style, one day i rock a dress, ballet shoes and cardigan, the next day i rock up in biker boots and a leather jacket. It varies.
8. I have a hamster called Hammy and she is giant.
9. I procrastinate. A lot.
10. My favourite colour is actually pink. Its just so girly and pretty!
11. Im terrible at thinking of facts about myself.


Chelsea's Questions For Me-:


What's the story behind your URL? I made a youtube for my art blog with the name "AnyaMayDesign" so thought it would be fitting to have a running theme through the names of my blogs. Anya is my first name, May is the month i was born and beauty is what this blog is about! Kinda..

Where in the world do you live? 
I live near Bournemouth, in Dorset on the South Coast of England.

Who are your top 5 favourite bloggers?

Gerry Leanne; of Floral and Freckled.
Kirstie of A Yellow Brick Blog.
Becky of Lipgloss and Lashes.
Maddy of Unstitched.
Kim of Kim Radley.

Beauty thing you absolutely suck at? Choosing the right shade of foundations if that counts? If not, probably winged eyeliner.

Any advice for new bloggers? (based on your experience) Just do what you love and if you enjoy it then the readers will find you!


Do you prefer savoury or sweet? I used to always love sweet things but I'm definitely more of a savoury girl now. Minus chocolate. Chocolate is always a winner.


Favorite thing about blogging? The freedom. You can post what you want, when you want. It doesn't have to be strict and monitored unless you make it that way.


Blog post you're most proud of? Probably my weekly updates, because i never thought i'd keep up with them


What are you listening to right now? Nothing, I'm sitting in my bedroom in silence, how boring! 

Who is your favourite fashion designer? I dont really follow fashion too much but my favourite designer is probably Marc Jacobs.

Most worn shoes? My flowery chelsea boots from New Look.

I nominate-:

WhatAbbyLoves
ThePerksOfMeg
ItsReneeAllen
TheFudgeCake
Natalie-Yasmin
BirchieBeauty
DaintyScribbles
KatieeMay
MissBeccaBeauty
FloralAndFreckled
BeautySpotxx

My questions for the nominees-:

1. How long have you been running your blog?
2. Whats your most treasured items?
3. Have you made any friends through blogging? 
4. Whats your most popular blog post? 
5. Do you have any pets?
6. What do you want to achieve from blogging/Why did you start this blog?
7. Whats your favourite beauty related item?
8. How do you like to spend your days off? 
9. Do you have any hobbies?
10. Whats your favourite item of clothing?
11. If you could dye your hair any colour right now what would it be? 

Have fun lovelies, hope you enjoy being nominated as much as i did!





27 January 2014

The Body Shop Born Lippy REVIEW

Hello there my lovelies, son  i did my post the other day on called 'Blogging Blues' about the weather and what better way to follow it up than with a review?! I know what you're thinking.. yes there are plenty of other ways, but I've noticed more so this winter than ever before that my lips have been dry, chapped and sore due to the cold. Ive been struggling to find something that actually works on my lips until i came across the body shops 'Born Lippy' selection.

Flash, eugh.
I don't often venture into Body Shop, i was in fact looking for something for my mum on this occasion but i came across these little beauties instead. They're the Born Lippy lip balm pots. When i bought them they were on offer; 2 for £3, so i obviously snapped up two of the raspberry ones. Raspberry is my favourite scent for things like this! Each pot contains 8.5g of product and although this doesn't sound like a lot you won't be running out of it too quickly as a little goes a long way! 

Only noticed this was slightly out of focus when i got it on my laptop, sorry!
Blurry, bleugh..
These photos are horrible, right?!
Let me start by saying the size of this is a godsend and you can pretty much fit it just about anywhere from your pocket to your purse. It has plastic packaging and a screw on lid but it doesn't look like it'll be breaking anytime soon. Also, with the sealed lid, the scent doesn't go anywhere any time fast. 

The scent and colour are amazing! This has such a sweet, sugary raspberry scent about it. Its definitely something i will never get tired of and it even makes me want to try the other scents, which although sound unappealing probably smell amazing! 

I am still unsure about the consistency of this lip balm, I'm not sure if its because its always been kept warm but its rather gloopy and can sometimes feel a little gooey when you put your finger into the pot. It applies to the lips well and you can instantly feel the effects of softer more hydrated lips. You can taste the raspberry a little but not enough to be noticeable. 

This is definitely one of those products i'll be keeping on me in case of a lip emergency as i love it so much and its just such a convenient size. It doesn't dry out my lips either so is perfect for this kind of weather.

In short, do i like this product? Yes. Would i buy it again? For £2? Definitely. Its a no brainer! Have you tried any of the body shop lip balms? What was your opinion?



26 January 2014

The 'My First Time' Tag

Hey there everyone, so I've seen this tag going round youtube for a while now but because i dont do youtube videos i thought i'd do a written version. Ive come across a few now and i can't remember who tagged me, but as they did, i tag anyone who reads this! I dont normally do tag posts but i thought this was fun and seeing as Sunday is my day off of blogging normally, i thought i'd just do something fun! 


Do you still talk to your first love ?
Im still with my first love luckily! I had a couple boyfriends before but it was nothing really seriously, and certainly not enough for them to be called my first love but yeah. Im still with him and its great!

What was your first job?
My first job is again, something i am still currently in. I work as a sales assistant at Matalan, glamorous, i know. I got the job 2 months after my 16th birthday! 

What was your first car?
Im still 16 so can't actually drive yet, but I'm saving up to start learning in june and then I'm going to be sharing my mums Ford Fiesta Zetec! 

Who was the first person to text you today?
No one yet! *sobs* Nah, its only 10:30 and all my friends have sense and stay sleep until 12.. 

Who is the first person you thought of today?
I was trying to recall who was in my dream to no avail. Failing that, my mum because she brought me a cup of tea into my bedroom. 

Who was your first grade teacher?
Im pretty sure Mrs Evans was my Year 1 teacher, but i can't actually remember. Hmm.

Where did you go on your first ride on aeroplane? 
I went to Spain when i was teeny tiny and i went with my parents! 

Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
Probably my cousin Jazz, were the same age so we got alone really well. We dont talk that much anymore though.

Where was your first sleepover?
Probably at Jazz's house, i can't remember. 

Who was the first person you spoke to today ?
My mother as she came and woke me up with a cup of tea. 

Whose wedding were you in for the first time ?
My uncles, i was a bridesmaid and i never want to go to a wedding again, it was so boring! 

What was the first thing you did this morning?
Try go back to sleep. 

What was your first ever concert? 
Green Day in London at the O2 arena in like 2009.. 

First broken bone?
My right ankle, it was more of a feature than a break though. 

First piercing ?
Just my ears, a pretty standard piercing! 

First foreign country you went to ?
Spain.

First movie you remember seeing?
The Winnie The Pooh movie, i think? Or the Tigger one? Essenially, the one where Tigger looks for all his family members and gets stuck in a tree in a storm. 

When was your first dentition? 
Never had one! I was good at school.

Who was your first room mate ?
Never had a room mate, fortunately.

What were the first lesson you ever took?
I did ballet. I regret doing ballet.

Who was the first person "beauty-related" you watched on you tube ever ?
Im pretty sure it was either MeganHeartsMakeup or HayleyIsTCB.

So this is my 'First Time' tag, if you decide to do it leave me a link and id love to check it out! 



25 January 2014

The Bedroom Makeover Post

For as long as i can remember my room has always been pink and purple and full of memories. As nice as that it, it just looks so cluttered and messy. Ive recently been looking at a lot of bloggers bedrooms and found myself in envy of their beautifully co-ordinated rooms and have taken it upon myself to redesign mine!

None of these images are mine and all have been found on tumblr in the 'Shabby Chic Bedroom' tag.




I've been looking at images of bedroom to gain inspiration and these three are some of my favourite. They all express a personality without screaming it, and all look incredibly well planned and coordinated. I love the whole floral and simplistic theme as well as shabby chic and am really trying to base my room around these ideas. I want to create the perfect pretty space that I'm happy to be in, and I'm also hoping that if i make it perfect ill be more inclined to keep it tidy, which i currently fail at doing all the time. At least i keep my wardrobe tidy nowadays though! I also want to display memories without just having them blutacked to the wall, and i want to have makeup storage to be proud of, instead of just having things stuffed in various different makeup bags. I just want the perfect bedroom, and I'm pretty sure everyone can understand me there. 

So those are my thoughts on what i want. Ive pretty much spent my whole day clearing out my bedroom, 6 bin bags later and its safe to say i keep a lot of memories and things i dont really need. Ive also been looking at a lot of furniture online and i have to say, ikea is a god. Ive moved into the spare bedroom for now and I'm in a double bed, oh how i wish i could fit one into my bedroom! Its so spacious and i can keep everything on it which is beautiful. A little cold, but so comfy. I need one of these permanently in my life.

Im sure ill do a post showing my made up bedroom but for now its underway. Im hoping to have it completed by midway through february!

Have you done a bedroom post? Id love to see your rooms and the way you have things organised. Leave me a link and ill be sure to check them out! 






Nivea Lip Butter Raspberry Rosé REVIEW

Hey there my lovelies, so as you all know; the other day i was out taking photographs for my art project in the bitter cold and as a result of this my lips got very dry and sore. I headed over to Boots to find something to sort them out and came across the highly praised Nivea Lip Butters, and i picked this up in Raspberry Rosé due to the amazing smell. These are just £2.10 in Boots, bargain! Im actually quite scared to use this due to how amazing it smells and how pretty it looks as well, also, apologies for the icky cloudy day photos.




Lets get the boring bit out of the way first shall we? This comes in a lovely pastel pink coloured metal tin with a rather secure lid. The tin is rather thin and only contains 16.7g of product, which isn't a lot, but for the price isn't bad. This comes in three other 'flavours' - Original, Vanilla, and Creme Caramel.

The scent of this is absolutely to die for, its so sweet yet has the sharpness that can often be found in raspberries but isn't at all unpleasant. In fact its so good I've just sat here sniffing it for a good 10 minutes. Although i adore the scent i wouldn't recommend it for those of you who aren't a fan or sweet things!

When i first tried to apply this i noticed it had a lot thicker texture than anything i had tried before and is most certainly more of a butter than a balm. It takes a little bit of effort to work up the right amount of product to put on the lips but after the first applications i can't see this being a problem. 

Once applied you can instantly feel your lips being nourished and moisturised unlike some other products that claim to do. It softens your lips to no end and doesn't wear off within a couple of minutes. Its left my lips feeling so much nicer. 

I would recommend using a lip scrub before this to get rid of all the dead skin then apply this to have lovely soft moisturised lips. I can see this working really well.

Overall i really love this product, from the packaging to the texture, to the smell, there really is nowhere you can fault this. So do i like this product? Like? I think I'm in love. Would i buy it again? Definitely and i can't wait to try out the other flavours too! 

Have any of you tried this product? What was your opinion on it? Do you like it as much as me, id love to know!?


24 January 2014

Soap & Glory Heel Genius REVIEW


 Hello there my lovelies! So its been a week since my last Soap & Glory review, and here i am today with my second part, the Heel Genius foot cream review. Having used the other 'Yule Monty' products over the past week i can definitely say that S&G products are growing on me, and may possibly begin to be one of my favourite brands, but hey ho, on with the review.



Heel Genius comes in very similar packaging to 'Hand Food' shown in the top photo, and they make a brilliant pair. The bottle is again £5 for 125ml and unlike Hand Food i've been unable to find a smaller version. I really like the design on this packaging, its very typographical and looks really interesting and full, the swirls are a lovely touch. 


To use this you apply it generously to your feet and cover them with cotton socks and go to bed. I'd never used anything like this before but it was definitely interesting to try, even if it did feel a little weird with the socks on. 


The formula is rather thick and a little manages to cover a lot of area, so you won't use this up quickly. It again has the typical Soap & Glory smell, a little sweet but not overpowering, and seems to remain on your feet for a little while after which is nice.  

It feels greasy to say the least, while its soaking into your skin under your sock. I didn't find this to be very pleasant and was squeaking every time i took a step because of how funny it felt, but if you're less squeamish then you should be fine. 

I went to bed and let this soak in, i can't explain how excited i was in the morning to take off my socks! .. sad i know. I was not disappointed, okay maybe i was a little, but i'll explain that in a bit. My feet were left feeling smooth and soft, just like my hands after using the hand cream. There were parts of my feet that were still rough, but i think that more down to needing a pumice stone than anything else, even if i was hoping for the Heel Genius to magically sort out my feet.

Overall, did i like the product? Yes. Would i buy the product again? I don't know, how important is it to have soft feet? I mean really, ill probably use this once or twice but its not an essential. 

What did you think of this product? Do you have more of a use for it than i do? Id love to know! 



23 January 2014

Scandaleyes Precision Micro Liner REVIEW

Hello there everyone, have you ever bought a product that you've really wanted to like, yet just been bitterly disappointed? Well for me it happened with Rimmel London's Scandaleyes eyeliner. I had seen all the ads on tv, the packaging looked smart and there was the whole 'Scandaleyes' series so i didn't think this product would be bad. Even my dad said it looked good, which is saying something! Anyway, i picked it up in Boots for £5.49 (now £3.49 ugh.) to replace my long loved Seventeen eyeliner.



The packaging is fairly standard for an eyeliner pen, with a plastic outer. It doesn't feel too cheap but will break with a lot of force. It also contains 1.1ml of product which i think is fairly normal. The eyeliner claims its waterproof but i have yet to find an instance when this is true as its run in even the lightest of rain.

On my first application i found that the nib was very hard and hurt to apply the first few times but with a few goes it softened up, but this was just the start of the problems. The eyeliner doesn't apply well at all, in fact it barely applies. Unless you press with a reasonable amount of force i have found that the actual eyeliner comes out streaky and pale. It takes quite a few coats to build up a place line and by that point you're looking like a panda. Not good. Also, because the nib is so thin, it is difficult to build up a smooth line along your lid, i have a fairly steady hand but still found myself having to cover bits over which i haven't had to with other eyeliners.

I love doing flicky eyeliner and this just isn't good enough for that, as it leaves the flicks patchy and pale instead of bold and bright like they're supposed to be. Its a disappointing product even for £5.49 as it had been so hyped up and celebrated on its release, however don't believe the hype and don't waste your money, this is certainly not up to Rimmels normal standards.

Did i like this product? No, but it'll do for college instead of wearing my nice eyeliners. Would i buy it again? Definitely not. I wish i hadn't bought it in the first place!

Sorry for the negative review ladies, i just feel people need to be more aware of how disappointing this product is. Alternatively, did you have a similar experience to me with this product? I'd love to know!




22 January 2014

Weekly Roundup - Week 3

Hello there everyone, can you believe it we've already completed our third week of 2014?! How crazy is that?! So this is my third weekly roundup and my week has been a little varied, if not boring at times, oh well, on with the post!
I didn't take many lifestyle photos this week.. oops.
Thursday was fairly boring, i wasn't in college, this time due to not actually having to be there. I ended up getting a little bit of my project done and watching 2 seasons of Supernatural. Super productive day there! 

Friday i did have college and thankfully my dad gave me a lift in. College wasn't enjoyable to say the least, but i left early and caught a bus home which made it slightly better. I managed to get quite a bit of work done at college though which was good, and got a little bit of work done at home too.

Saturday, back to work. I haven't been in what feels like forever! It was a pretty good shift if I'm honest, even if i do feel like i do more work than everyone else. I did more or less nothing other than collage work though, i wanted to go out in the glorious weather and get some pictures or go see my pony but no. Work instead. I dont like being old.

Sunday was very much the same as Saturday, i worked all day and yet again it was glorious weather. I debated phoning in sick so i could go to the stables but i dont really want to phone in sick because i dont know how aha. 6 months of working and i dont know how to phone in sick.. I'm useless. In the evening i had pizza with my parents and then settled into bed and watched a bit of tv. I also used a new cleanser on my face which brought it out all red and puffy, but more on that in another post!

Oh monday, the glorious weather, the day off college, how could you get any better? I spent all morning waiting for my mum to finish work and eagerly watching the weather. My mum got home at about twoish and we headed off to the stables and i went on my second lovely alone hack! It started badly, there was a fox and it spooked my horse and we went into a tree oops.. and that left my pony a bit on edge for the rest of the hack but overall it was good and we spent a long time out. The evening i just chilled in bed and got on with some of my college work and on my laptop. Not a bad way to start the week, eh?!

I really didn't fancy getting up on Tuesday, to the point of telling my boyfriend i wasn't going into college. Oops. But i did, a nice hot shower a huge bowl of porridge soon woke me up. College wasn't too bad, except people need to learn when to flirt and when to do their actual work, and not just leave everything to me to do because i will take most of the credit, and share credit when credit is due. The bus home was interesting, some guy blocked the bus stop and then got out of his car to have a go at the bus driver when he beeped his horn. I thought blocking a bus stop was against the law but apparently not in this mans eyes. In the evening i had dinner with my parents and retired to my bed for some art and blogging time, John Tucker Must Die was on too, perfect evening!

Again i really didn't fancy getting up today, so i didn't. I stayed in bed till 9 and didn't go to college. Oopsy! But honestly, i dont think i couldve had a more productive day, I've managed to do so much college work! Essentially, i woke up, got the bus to my dads, picked up my camera, got the bus to my first train station and took photos, got the bus to my second train station and took photos, then got the bus to my third train station and took photos. My art project is on trains in case you couldnt guess.. The photos have come out pretty well overall, and i spent my afternoon in Costa editing them before heading back to my dads. What a lovely day well spent!

The outcome of my photography trip!
My weeks had some ups and downs, what about yours? I'd love to hear about them! 




21 January 2014

Where Art Meets Fashion - Will Cotton

Hi there everyone, as you may know, i am an avid artist and not so avid fashion follower. When i came across Will Cotton's work i instantly fell in love. He mixes food, fashion and art and creates the most dreamy images as an outcome and I am definitely in awe of his works.


Will Cotton is an American Painter who lives and works in New York City. In the 90's he based his works on pop icons  but in '96 it soon progressed onto Iconography featuring landscapes made up entirely of pastry, candy and melting ice creams, his work then further progressed onto this. He was also the Creative Director for Katy Perry's "California Girls" music video which as we all know is brilliant.

As you can see above, the images created are of the most adorable nature, and have an almost farytale theme. I love his works and find them so incredibly unique, yet all have an heir of delicateness about them which just adds to the effect.The way he has created the dress on the right with the icing is so beautiful and has an almost realistic feature about it as they're similar colours and patterns which could be found on a real high end dress. 

I only recently discovered Cotton's work due to a lovely Instagram user posting about him, since then i have been totally hooked and can't find another artist i like more. The dreamy images just do it for me and i can't find anything better.



20 January 2014

Wishlist #1

Hello there my lovelies! So this month i've been trying to save a bit of money and with this, not been buying myself and clothes/makup/handbags or really anything hat i don't deem to be essential. However with all the sales and having been paid and my christmas money i couldn't help but have a little mooch on all the websites, so here is my first wish list. I don't know how often i'll do these posts but probably whenever i find enough things that i want!

All of these photos are found on their respective websites.

1. Monochrome Colour Block Mini Satchel: £15.99 New Look - I saw this bag over at Lily Melrose's blog (LLYMLRS) and instantly fell in love with it. I always struggle to find small bags that fit enough in and go with a reasonable amount of outfits, yet this one looks like it will! I love buying bags though, and this is at such a great price i don't know why i haven't already bought it. I wonder if i can convince my dad to let me buy another one.. If not, i guess i can always go and admire it in my local New Look store.

2. Vera Wang Pink Princess: £18.95 - I have previously used the 'Princess' perfume and was in love with it, that is until it ran out and i couldn't afford to buy another, however i feel I'm at a place where i can afford to start wearing perfume again without having to rely on other to buy it for me. This has such a pretty smell and would be great for everyday and evenings and i cannot wait to get my hand on it!

3. Ted Baker Caranna Tote Bag: £159 Ted Baker - I got one of the Ted Baker makeup bags for Christmas and pretty much fell in love with the brand and it got me looking on the website where i found this gorgeous bag! Anything pink i love and considering this is Ted Baker it just makes it that tiny bit more beautiful. Its rather costly though however so this may be a bit of a dream for me to own, no matter how much i love it. It just looks like a perfect bag for me, in colour, shape size. Shame about the price tag but that won't stop me!

4. Urban Decay Naked 3 Pallet: Debenhams £37 - Having seen everybody raving about this in the blogosphere i've decided that i do actually want to try this. Im not a huge eyeshadow wearer if I'm honest, and i haven't been too attracted to the other 'Naked' pallets, but this seems to have more of my colour range and i think i could work well with it. Its a little more expensive than i'd want to spend on eyeshadow though so I'm not sure if this is particularly realistic.

5. Tartan & Floral Playsuit: Boohoo.com £12 - Never having been a fan of playsuits, i found it weird when i nearly ended up purchasing these two but i ended up stopping myself when i wondered if i actually needed them. What a mistake.. Ever since i nearly purchased these I've been thinking about them all the time, i just can't afford them at the moment. These stand out to me as they look more like dresses than the traditional frumpy playsuit you seem to find. I also love the floral pattern and the tartant as they're so easy to wear, and with a price like that theres no way you can fail.

5. Mohair Textured Coat: New Look £54.99 - This coat looks so classy and sleek, as well as having such a pretty colour. I've been looking for a nice coat for a while now, something to stray away from all these 'parka' style coats to no avail. If it wasn't for the fact this coat cost £55 it would be in my wardrobe straight away but i just can't afford something like that at the moment which is a shame. The mohair makes this have a really lovely texture though and it feels so warm. I definitely need it before the miserable February weather sets in!

6. Monochrome Chunky Block Heel Boots: New Look £27.99 - Have you ever heard the saying you can never have too many shoes? Yeah? Well i live by this motto. Im loving all the chunky soled boots that have been popping up this winter and these have to be my favourite, at a reasonable price too! I love the contrast of the white sole on the black heel, but I'm just wondering how long it will stay that way? Oh never mind. They're pretty.

7. Real Techniques Limited Edition Duo Fibre Set: Boots £23.99 - I own barely any makeup brushes, but when somethings limited edition it instantly makes me want them. I've seen everybody raving about the Real Techniques brushes but somehow I've never actually bought them, but these brushes are limited edition so why wouldn't i?! I probably sound psychotic right now.. I just think these look a lot nicer than the original Real Techniques brushes and although they're slightly more expensive i still would love to have them.

This is rather expensive aha, never mind. I can buy a lot of cheaper things for that.. yay.

So this is my current wish list. I wonder if i'll still want any of it by time i do my next one? What would be on your wish lists?



17 January 2014

Soap & Glory Hand Food REVIEW

Hello there my lovelies, hope everybody has had a lovely week, i honestly cannot even begin to explain how excited i am that it's Friday! Anyway, so a little while back i managed to pick up Soap & Glorys 'The Yule Monty' in Boots for just £27. I hadn't previously owned any S&G products but when i saw everybody raving about this in the blogosphere i knew i had to get it. Two of my favourite pieces of the kit had to be the Hand Food hand cream, and Heel Genius, the foot cream so I'm going to review both of them. Today's review is of Hand Food, the cream. 


Also, apologies for the slightly out of focus photos, i was using my brothers camera to replace my rubbish phone camera which i had been previously using, and haven't quite grasped how to manual focus, or change the F-Stop. Any tips on my photos/backgrounds/lighting would be greatly appreciated!


The packaging for Hand Food is the typical S&G pink which features on most of their products. The tube i got was 125ml, and feels rather weighty to carry so may not be suitable for carrying around in your bag. However, if i can find a miniature of this i may.. However it feels very ergonomic to hold in your hand which makes it even nicer. The front says it features macadamia oil, Shea butter and marshmallow which is always a mix for a winner.


Along with the packaging the actual hand cream itself has the typical S&G scent, not too sweet, but it definitely smells 'pink'.. whatever that means. The formula is rather thick and you only need a little amount to go a long way, so you won't be running out of this anytime soon. 


I usually use a little pea sized amount, like on my toothbrush, and rub it in. It does sit on the skin a little bit but with a little bit of massaging in, it sinks in rather well. I have noticed that my hands feel a little greasy for around 5 minutes after applying but this isn't really a problem for me as i only apply it when I'm on my laptop/reading/watching tv, so don't have much use for my hands.

It leaves my hands slightly scented which may possibly be bad if you have easily irritated skin but i find it smells really refreshing. My hands feel a lot softer after using this, and it leaves them hydrated for a good few hours with constant use which i guess is what a hand creme is supposed to do. I wouldn't use this too much however as i think that it may begin to irritate my hands with too much use.

You can find this in Boots for £5, which i think is a little bit overpriced but for the amount of use you'll be getting out of it i don't think its too bad, and i would probably pay for it. They also do a 50ml version, yes i found it, for £2.50 so you get slightly less for your money. 

Overall, do i like the product? Yes. Would i purchase it again? Probably, but maybe the smaller version next time as i can't see myself using this all up. 

Have you tried any of Soap & Glory's products? Which was your favourite? Id love to know!