Autumn

Today is the first day of autumn (as I was shocked to find out on the google homepage this morning) and gosh it seems to have come round so quickly this year! Anyway, I love autmn almost as much as I love summer and winter...okay it's my joint favourite season leaving spring but now I feel bad for spring..I need to stop talking now. I love the fairy lights and cosyness and colours, I even slightly like the rain in autumn because you can put on a nice cosy jumper, a raincoat, wellies and grab an umbrella and become a child again playing in the puddles. Is that just me..? Apparently so...okay then. Another thing about autumn is the food, it's all warm and homely and comforting. Things like cinder toffee and nutmeg and cinnamon and parkin. I don't know if all of you will know what parkin is, it might just be a northern thing i'm not sure but I sure do love it. Its sort of like a spicy cinnamon gorgeous cake thing. I'll do a recipe for it at some point, you have to try it its ermerzing.
One thing I don't like about autumn is I always get ill! Every year, it's so annoying. This year I thought no. I'm going to stay healthy this autmn but no, it's the first day of autumn and I already have tonsillitis.
Another post with some autumnal pictures and stuff will be (hopefully) up soon when I finally recover!!
What are your favourite things about autumn?
Enjoy the rest of your week ❤️

Quick skin tip #2

First of all, I am so sorry it has been so long!! I have been away for a while recently so I couldn't post and I have been really busy - but that is no excuse!

Anyway, I'm going to do a sequel to my first skin tip today.

One thing I cannot stress enough is DRINK LOTS OF WATER. I know that everybody says this, but it seriously works, it basically cleanses and purifies your skin from the inside. I started drinking more water when j gave up fruit juice for lent (nobody can understand my obsession..I used to drink it all day everyday) so instead I drank water and I noticed the difference straight away!!

Next tip is GO OUTSIDE and get fresh air. You need to let your skin breathe sometimes, just a 20 minute walk or half an hour of yoga or something outside is enough..whatever floats your boat!! Don't spend all of your time sitting inside on the internet..read this first though ;)

Hope you are all having a great summer and I promise I will be back soon this time!!
❤️

Quick skin tip #1

Just to start, I would just like to clarify that I am not promising that this tip will definitely work for you, it all depends on what your skin type is and how severe your skin problems are.

I have normal to combination skin but I often struggle with breakouts, specifically around my forehead and t-zone. I have had this problem for a few years and have gone from product to product to priduct trying to cure it. But recently I started to try somehing new and different and holy moly it has worked wonders.
The first step in my tip is DON'T WEAR MAKE UP. I know all too well how difficult it is to go without make up when you feel self concious about your skin esoecially as all you want to do is cover your spots up and hide them from the world. No. Wear your spots with pride. (Okay maybe not but try to go out with minimal makeup or find a time when you don't have to wear make up and don't wear it unless you absolutely have to.) I went for two weeks bare faced and wow it was worth it, I couldn't believe the difference it made!
Next is DON'T OVERDO IT. I used to use huge amounts of  'spot clearing' products on my face but over the time when I was going without make up I got a bit lazy with my skincare routineand surprisingly it actually helped my skin to calm down. I suppose when you think about it, if you are constantly using really strong, skin stripping products, your skin will just start to produce more oils and grossness to replace the stuff you just stripped off. I'm not saying you should give up completely on skin care but just take it back to basics with just a gentle cleanser, toner (optional) and gentle moisturiser. Specifically for the moisturiser I recommend the Simple spotless skin anti-blemish moisturiser.
Just to warm you, this may take a while to be noticably better and your skin may become worse before it gets better but give it a try and stick with it. I had a week of terrible skin (that may vary depending on your skin) but after that week, my skin was far more radient and my spots had almost disappeared.
Around five weeks on, I am wearing hardly any make up and my skin os better than ever so it has lasted well.
I will some more tips soon but until then give this a go and see what happens. Let me know in the comments if it works for you or if you have any quick skin tips to share.
Would you like a specific list of good, gentle products I like to use and some nice light make up to cover your spots but avoid breakouts?
Hope this helps you, more tips are on their way!
<3

I love spring tag

Since spring seems to be finally on its way here in Britain I thought I'd do the I <3 spring tag (hopefully I'm not tempting fate and it actually stays warm..!)


1) Favourite spring nail polish?

I love bright colours and am really eager to start wearing them as soon as spring comes round the corner so I would say at the moment my favourite is Jack Wills Coral. I have a bit of an obsession with the Jack Wills nail colours because they go on really well and stay on for ages.

2) What is your must have lip colour?
In spring I like to wear a neutral goldy brown eye with a pink or coral lip colour to brighten it up a bit. I prefer to leave really bright colours to summer which is why this year I have been using lip glosses rather than lipsticks and I have been obsessing over the Rimmel Apocalips in the shade Nova. It is a really pretty pink which isn't too obvious but has a lovely springy feel to it. The pigmentation is almost as good as lipstick and it has a gorgeous long lasting gloss without being sticky. (I am using the shop picture because I spilt foundation all over mine.. :3) 

3) Show us your favourite spring dress

Because I live in freezing England it's usually too cold to wear a dress in spring but sometimes it's just about warm enough and when it is i'm the first to bring out my spring/summer clothes. My favourite spring dress at the moment is probably this one I got last spring from Jack Wills and have loved ever since, I love it so much I may well still be wearing it when I'm 90..not sure that would be the prettiest sight though..

4) What's your favourite flower?

I love pretty much all colourful flowers that come out in spring but I think my favourite is probably daffodils because in my village and garden we always get a lot of them in the spring and the bright yellow always seems just a really happy colour (yes I know it sounds weird..)

5) Favourite spring scarf/accessory?

I love messy and natural looking hair and can't stand having my hair all scraped back and flat (not having my hair go flat is a constant struggle for me as my hair is very thin and straight) so at te moment my favourite accessory for spring is this basic flower hairband I got from Primark.

6) What spring trends (fashion/makeup are you most excited for this year?

Well, I lurvee me some black and white because it always feels so flattering and is so easy to wear and pull off so i'm very excited to see that the traditional b&w is going strong. I'm also loving the pastel colours trend and am very excited to wear some. (I have my eye on some icy pastel blue converse..)

7) Favourite spring candle?

If burning a gorgeous scented candle doesn't relax you and calm you down I don't know what can. Personally I find there is nothing better after a stressful day than getting home, running a nice hot bubble bath and relaxing with your favourite scented candle (and obviously some chocolate :3 ). I don't know where this candle is from but the scent is French Cedar and in my opinion its freaking perfect. The smell is really fresh and clean with a little bit of sweetness but also a kind of citrusy hint to it. I'm not very good at describing things but trust me it smells amazing!!

8) Favourite body spray/perfume for spring?

I don't really use body spray that often so I'm going to go with perfume. My favourite spring perfume is Laughter by Space NK. As i've said i'm hopeless at describing so i'm not going to bother..lets just say its fresh, flowery and lovely.

9) What is spring like where you live?

I live in England. Enough said.

No seriously, most of spring is cold, wet and cloudy. We do get the odd hour of sun every month or so though...

10) What's your favourite thing about spring?

I live in the country so in spring its lovely to see all the new born lambs, calves, ducklings etc. That is actually probably my favourite thing about spring! Ok cheesyness over, although waking me up is never pretty I must admit my heart is warmed when I am being woken up by the bleating of lambs in the field next to my bedroom. Yes I'm so lovely i will give you a picture of cute animals. I present to you my ducks, Pebble, Petal and Lavender (who I now think is a boy but I dont want to offend him/her by giving him/her a boys name in case he/she really is a girl..) But anyway, there you go: cute picture: 

11) Are you a spring cleaner?

Not really..I am a bit of a clean freak so clean all the time. Clean is a completely different thing from tidy though..I am clean but not exactly tidy..

12) Any plans for spring break or an upcoming holiday?

I'm currently on my Easter holidays but due to exams I have in May i've basically been left to rot in my bedroom revising..

Well..that took a while! But I hope you liked it and I tag anyone who wants to do it!

P.S. Sorry, I know I said it would be up yesterday but I might have kind of forgotten...

Have a lovely holiday if you're on holiday, if you're not I'm sorry but all I can say is: ha! (Soz) <3

People

I thought today I'd do something a bit different. We all know that there are some people in the world we don't like, and lets face it there are probably some people who don't like us. People can be bitchy and be honest who hasn't been bitchy. I'm not saying it't good to be nasty or two-faced or anything like that but occasionally you feel bad yourself so you think bad about someone else to make you feel better. Constantly pointing out other peoples' flaws and problems isn't going to make you any better or stronger or prettier, its just going to make someone else feel just as bad as you. This works both ways, some people might feel like this towards you. Sometimes its because of what you once said or did but usually its for no reason and they pick on you because they can. Never will everybody like you and there's nothing you can do about it so what's best is just to remember those who do like and love us.

When you meet new people its easy to make first impressions but one thing i've learnt fairly recently is that you never know what peoples' personal lives are really like and something you say to make a huge difference to them whether it be good or bad. People can look at someone else's life and think they wish theirs was more like it but often these people have their own problems. What i'm trying to say is that however cliched it is nobody is perfect, everybody has their problems and if you straight in there telling them how perfect their life is and constantly compare everything you could just make something a whole lot worse for that person. Also though you could just make their day with any little compliment or smile or just keeping your comments to yourself. One lovely quote I once found is:

"Be nice and smile to everybody because they might just need and treasure that smile"

I hope you take something from this and i'm sorry it seems a bit cliched but its something I hold close to my heart. Respect peoples feelings and know that whatever people think of you although it is not easy try to be a stronger person and don't sink to their level.

Have a lovely weekend <3

Review: Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream

  This product has lately been my skin saviour..no joke..

I have been using this for about a month now and can honestly say I absolutely love it. As I have combination - oily skin, I don't like wearing really heavy foundations - they make breakout soo badly that they just make it so much worse. So I was out shopping in Boots (actually looking for a brow pencil but I get distracted easily..) and walked past the Maybelline bit. Having heard great things of it, I stopped and picked up the BB cream; on the back of the bottle it says that it does 8 things (coceals imperfections, helps protect against the appearence of blemishes, oil-free non-greasy, minimises the appearence of pores, clarifies the skin's look, conceals redness, hydrates and smoothes, complements skin tone). I must admit I didn't have that high hopes for it..I don't really know why, maybe because it claims such a lot surely it can't really do everything?! Apparently it can..

I first put it on with my fingers and literally was amazed, I hardly needed any concealer which was a shock having had to use loads of concealer with other foundations. It looks even better when applied with a brush.

So yeah, it has amazing coverage, doesn't make me breakout, has SPF, does everything it says and more. Also, I think its quite good value - I bought it for about £6.99 I think (maybe £7.99) which is actually really good for everything it does.

I must say though, I wish it came in more colours. I have very pale skin *especially in winter* and it only comes in light, medium and dark. I actually find that even the lightest shade is slightly too dark for me but after I have put on my powder and everything else I can just about get away with it.

Hope you liked this and just saying that these are only my opinions and it may not work for you but I just thought I'd share it because I love it sooo much.

Have a nice week <3

19 questions tag

I couldn't really think of anything to do this week so decided to do a tag *as you do*. There aren't that many you can do on a blog but I found this one so here it is, hope you like it:

Where were you born?

I was born in Yorkshire, England. I'm a yorkshire lass through and through.

Where you named after someone?

No, not that I know of. People always think i'm named after the song which has my name in it (secret for now :p) but i'm not and I can't tell you how much it annoys me!!

When was the last time you cried?

I think it was a few days ago when I stubbed my toe really really hard. Yes i am a bit of a cry baby when it comes to pain..

Do you have any kids?

No, I think i'm a bit young for that..

If you were another person would you be friends with you?

I'd like to say yes definitely but I don't know to be honest, no i'm not a horrible person or anything - i'm friendly but i think it depends on who the other me would be, she might not like me..that made no sense..

Do you have any pets?

Yes I have one beautiful doggy who is soo cute and is an English Setter. I also have 3 mucky duckies.

Do you use sarcasm?

Meehhhh...a bit, I use it in obvious situations but I can't really be that clever with it.

Would you bungie jump?

Only if you carried my to the jump, forced me into the harness and threw me off...

What is your favourite cereal?

I'm quite boring with my cereal..its gotta be corn flakes.

What is your eye colour?

I have blue eyes.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Definitely happy endings, I absolutely HATE scary movies.. 

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Yes, I have 1 older sister.

Computer or TV?

Computer all the way, I couldn't live without blogs and youtube!!

What is the first thing you notice about someone?

Weird as it is, what they're carrying.

Favourite smell?

Umm..I don't really know. Maybe fresh homemade biscuits..

Furthest you've been away from home?

Boring as it is, i've not really been very far. The furthest i've been is France but i love France so its fine.

Do you have any special talents?

Not really...i can play the saxophone and am alright at some accents..

Do you have any hobbies?

I love horse riding and have been going to lessons once a week for about 6 or 7 years now. I would love to have a horse of my own but just don't have the time to look after one properly. I also like cooking..i'm not exactly a pro but i do it anyway!!

Are you in love?

No not at the moment, I never really have been either..

Ok so that was that, i tag anyone who wants to do it.

Have a nice evening <3

January favourites

I'm sorry this isn't really a 'proper' post with loads of writing but as the saying goes 'a picture is worth 1000 words' enjoy!

My hands get soo dry in winter so a good hand cream is essential. I have recently started using this one and am loving it, it soaks into the skin really easily and isn't greasy at all...there is nothing worse than havin to just sit for ages waiting for hand cream to soak in..

This is just great to get rid of the massive dark circles I wake up with when getting up unnaturally early every morning.

I mentioned this cleanser in my skin care routine and like I said then, I just love it.

This is another from my skincare routine, it gets all my eye makeup off in a jiffy, love it.

The Clinique high impact waterproof mascara. All the writing has rubbed off it..shows just how loved it is. I have very pale blonde eyelashes naturally but this looks so natural and doesn't budge all day. I use the colour 02 black/brown.

These have been a favourite of mine for a long time and they're just amazing. 'Nuff said.

Another to hide my disgusting under eyes. Does a great job, not quite as good at hiding bkemishes though...is that just me?, I know a lot if people rave about it.

I love this scent for winter. I'm sorry to say but I can't really think of what this smells like..I just like it.

These are my favourite nail polishes for winterin general because they just feel so festive. I decided to be a bit more adventurous with colours this year and having recieved the Barry M dark green (I think the colour is actually called GNP 3) for my birthday in summer from my friend I decided to pair it with a red and use them together (on alternate nails obviously)

This has been literally what I live in throughout winter. Although the sleeves are 3/4 length it is so warm and I love the little snowflakes at the top. (From Jack Wills)

A random one I know but it is called january favourites and I have been loving wagon wheels throughout january. "Ew thats carbs and sugar" comment if you know where thats from..;)

                                        

                       This has been going round my head for weeks now, but I like it so its okay

Hope you liked it x enjoy the rest of the weekend *dreading monday tomorrow* <3

Skincare routine

Ok so my skincare routine isn't one of those really complicated 20 step what you'd get at a spa routines. It's just my basic 4 step get the job done routine. My skin is by no means flawless and i'm not saying that if you do this you'll have immediately perfect skin. It just keeps breakouts under control and keeps my skin nice and healthy. I have tried many other products in the past but these are definitely the best and I have been using them for about 8 months.

I think my skin type is probably combination/oily so the products i use are more for controlling breakouts and shine than anything else. Anyway shall I just get on with it?! Ok.

Morning:

I start off with cleanser to get any dirt and oil off my face from overnight (I know what you're thinking, face wipes are good enough. No. Never. Bin them all now. Only ever use them for cleaning up little makeup mistakes, they do nothing to cleanse your skin). The cleanser I use in the morning is  Clinique anti-blemish solutions which is a foaming cleanser. I wet my face with warm water and then put 2-3 pumps of the cleanser in my hand and dot it around my face. Next i use my Clarisonic Mia 2 on the cleanser and wash it of with a wash cloth using cold water. Then I move on to toner and use the Clarins Toning Lotion with iris. Then I moisturise using the Body Shop Aloe Soothing Day Cream (not forgetting my lips using baby lips pink punch) and my skin is all prepped and ready for makeup.

Evening:

My evening routine is pretty much the same as in the morning so I won't be too long winded repeating everything. I use a different cleanser in the evening - Clarins Cleansing Milk with gentian but still use my clarisonic and do all that the same. I use the same toner but moisturise with the Body Shop Aloe Soothing Night Cream instead and use the Lush Grease Lightning on any breakouts I have. Also, don't forget to take your eye make up off. For this I use the Clinique take the day off makeup remover. I honestly have never come across a better makeup remover and it removes even the toughest waterproof mascaras, couldn't live without it!! Then i use the same baby lips and don't forget to moisturise your hands! This is something I am very lazy with and have extremely dry hands to pay for it but your hands go through a lot during the day, it doesn't take much to give them some love every evening. 

Hope this is useful to you, have a lovely evening x

Disclaimer: all products were bought with my own money

My favourite life sayings

Okay so this is probably going to be cheesy as hell but I thought that it would be nice to share with you some of my favourite little life sayings just to get you through the day ;) :

"Be who you are and say how to feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"

"I always knew looking back on the tears would make me laugh, but I never knew that looking back on the laughs would make me cry"

"Live for the moment, because right now it's all you've got"

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the rain"

"There are always people who hate, but sometimes we let them stand in front of those who love"

"If you want to find a silver lining, theres got to be a cloudy day"

"Never allow someone to become your priority, when you're just their option"

"You've got to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Life is too short to be living with regrets"

"If you want to find the stars, you can't be afraid of the dark"

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why its called the present"

Any requests for posts? x

Have a lovely day <3

Review: Lush Emotional Brilliance Powder

I know that I did a Lush review last week so sorry for the repetition but I thought that this product would be a good one to review because as far as i know, it is not very well known.

Anyway, so this powder is made to go with the Lush colour supplements (which i have never tried) but I find it works really well with any concealer/foundation. It is basically what it says on the lid - a translucent face powder. I have quite oily skin but this powder never causes any breakouts, nor is it drying on the skin. When you apply it, it makes the product literally disappear into the skin and look completely natural. I have been using this for a few months now but I have also used multiple other powders which are meant to do the same job but have always gone back to the emotional brilliance powder as I am yet to find a product which does a better job.
It does have its downsides though, it is hard to apply. I am a very clumsy person which makes the application of this powder even harder. As it is loose powder and in a very small and deep circular container rather than larger and less deep, it is quite hard to put the brush in to get the powder but then when it is on the brush, it is then very difficult to tap the excess off (there is usually a LOT of excess on the brush). Most days I end up with a huge cloud of powder all over my dressing table.
Another issue is the price. It is sold at £12 for an 8g container (2014) which i think is slightly overpriced for what it is but I suppose it is Lush so it must be all natural good quality etc. It does last ages though.

Hope you had a lovely holiday <3

Bye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 was an amazing year for me, to be honest I'm sad to see it go. I can't say anything huge changed in my life but it's the little things that matter. All these things that make your day and put a smile on your face add up to make something so special, irreplaceable memories that, in my opinion, really make life so much better. 

It makes me feel quite old how quickly this year seems to have gone, it feels like only last week that we were saying goodbye to 2012.

A new year, however always brings the chance to have a fresh start. You can forget all the things that went wrong last year but hold on to all the good moments *cringe at the cheesyness*. This brings me on to resolutions...lets be honest who actually can last longer than a day or two without breaking their new years resolutions..not me. Even though I know that I won't keep them, every year I create 2 or 3 new years resolutions for myself which are usually broken by about 6pm on new years day. So for 2014 I've decided to do some slightly different resolutions other than the typical study more eat less chocolate ones.

Be a happier person: This one is quite important to me as there are things in life that get me down at the moment, some more serious than others, but if you let one thing get you down it becomes a vicious circle and then the next thing makes it even worse until you just want to curl up in a dark corner and cry. Obviously that isn't the best option so I've decided to forget about the bad little things in life (of course there are somethings you can't forget but maybe try to think of them less) and focus on all the better things which are around you all the time but are sometimes clouded over by pointless bad things.

Be more confident: This kind of links to the first one because I find that the more confident and happy you are in your own skin, the better you feel and the more people treat you with respect. After all, if you don't believe in yourself, people will start to agree with you.

Get more sleep: Yes, this one is slightly more down the traditional route of resolutions that I probably won't keep but it's worth a try...

I just thought I'd share a few of  motivational sayings I love which really help to keep me positive when I'm feeling a bit down: 

'Keep your chin up because if you keep looking at the ground, you'll loose sight of the sky'

'Sometimes good things fall apart because those parts are needed for something better'

'Making a hundred friends is not a miracle.  The miracle is to make a single friend who will stand by your side even when hundreds are against you.'

'No matter how many mistakes you make, or how slow your progress, you will always be ahead of the ones who aren't trying'

So, sorry for the general cheesyness of this post but it really is true, the amazing little things in life do matter because they add up to something bigger than any one thing could ever be.

Happy New Year everyone and I wish you all the luck in the world for an amazing 2014.

<3