Autumn Loving

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I may be stating the obvious here but autumn has definitely arrived! Personally I've been a bit shell shocked with the weather, it seems to have dropped really cold very suddenly, what with the hottest day of the year being mid-September in the UK (typically I was abroad that week!). I think I am really feeling the cold at the moment, this might be because I've had a cold and arriving back to home soil where the temperature had suddenly dropped was a bit of a shock to the system! 

But even with spending the last week feeling ill and constantly cold, I do still love autumn, and it may just be my favourite season. So I thought I'd post in photos why I love autumn, and these pictures make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! A couple of these pictures are mine but the others I found on Pinterest and I will post the links below. Prepare to want to grab a cuppa, some cosy socks and a book!

The cold nights are creeping up on us. The view through my kitchen door.

I love autumn fashion! You don't have that struggle of being too hot and having to show off a load of skin to stay cool anymore!

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Heavy makeup doesn't feel as heavy in the autumn and you don't have to worry about it slipping off in the heat! I love flawless skin and dark red lips, I've been reaching for those berry shades this month.

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Snuggling up in big oversized jumpers, although I still need to purchase one this year!

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Cosy nights in anyone? Staying in is the new going out!

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I should confess I have fairy lights up all year round.. But in autumn there is no excuse not to!

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Need I say more?

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Those hot drinks to warm up chilly days out and about.

Yes to cosy feet!

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Autumn walks are the best and my doggy loves them too!

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The views!

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And finally... Halloween! I think I may actually love Halloween more than Christmas.. Shock, horror! I'm not even doing anything this Halloween weekend as I'm going to a wedding, but I still can't stop looking at makeup ideas anyway!

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The Perfect Mauve Matte Lipstick?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks you'll know that Urban Decay recently released a few new lipsticks and lip pencils. 100 new lipstick shades to be exact and 50 pencils! The Vice collection has so many different shades to choose from, and I didn't know where to start when I approached the counter!

Many, many swatches later and I finally chose "Backtalk" which is a lovely mauve shade from Vice's "comfort matte" range. Apparently this is their most popular new shade. If you tend to stay away from summery corals and pinks in favour of browns like I do, I think Backtalk is a good compromise for summer. It has a hint of pink but is still nude and toned down enough to keep us in our comfort zone!

On the first photograph in this post the colour came up really light, but these photos show the colour better. I like this matte because it really is "comfortable". I always apply lip balm underneath my mattes anyway which always makes them a bit glossier; I can't stand dry lips! In terms of durability I would say I've had lipsticks that have lasted longer, but it was okay and I only had to reapply after eating or drinking really,

I wasn't keen on the mauve lip liner that goes with Backtalk as it has glitter particles in it, so the counter assistant showed me "Liar" which is not from the Vice collection, but the brown actually works really well under the mauve, giving it a slightly darker tone. It will also work well with a lot of my other lipsticks.  

Along with the new products, Urban Decay also released this amazing guide. I love this! It makes choosing the right lipstick so much easier, and all the colours are matched with a pencil! These are available for free at the Urban Decay counters. The new collection is available here.

Have you tried any of the new Vice collection? Which one is your favourite?

The Scent of Summer

I've recently stumbled upon a couple of summer favourites to add to my ever increasing collection! Korres - The Santorini Vine Collection, are a bit pricey, but oh my are they worth it! The shower gel is hands down the best shower product I've ever smelt. Its a blossoming, fruity smell which lingers on my skin afterwards. But just incase, I use the body milk too! The body milk is light and great for summer as it doesn't leave you feeling sticky at all. These products would be great for a present as they sell them in a nice set. I had never heard of Korres until I received a sample in a Feel Unique box, but then I spotted the full size versions in Oliver Bonas and had to have them!

My second new favourite summer scent is Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess which marketed as an Eau Fraîche Skinscent. The top notes include Amber, Vanilla and Coconut Milk amongst others. 

As soon as I smelt this perfume I said oh my god that is summer! Something about it just reminded 

me of summer instantly. I had to have it! Tip: Wait until shops like Debenhams have discounts on,

usually a few times a year such as 10% or 20% off. Brands like Estee Lauder also do events where you

can get a free small sized products, or sometimes even full size if you buy two products, etc. I would 

never pay full price!

I have a firm rule with these products - I only use them on beautiful days, so that they'll always remind me of summer!

What's your favourite summer scent?

How I Curl My Hair

Recently I have had trouble curling my hair. I used to swear by GHDs, but it got to a certain length and they just stopped holding the curl and they would drop out within minutes. But I recently discovered a new favourite, which gives a big, loose wave which I don't think looks too done, which is just the look I wanted!

 I was originally going to just write this post about the Nume curler, but I recently treated myself to some Bumble and Bumble products (I'd cast them as a luxury!) as I had a lot of points to spend on my Boots card (yay!) 

I thought I'd try the new Full Potential range, which claims to preserve and invigorate the hair to make it look fuller and stronger. This should also help reduce hair loss from breakage. The BB Styling Creme adds body, lifts the hair at the root and defines curl, which is what I bought it for. 

I'm not sure about the BB Full Potential range preserving my hair, but it definitely makes it look fuller and it makes it a lot more manageable and smoother. When used with the BB Styling Creme it seems to straighten or curl much better, when its straight it looks much smoother and has more body, and the Styling Creme helps hold the curls well too. I usually apply the Styling Creme when my hair is damp, although it can be used on wet or dry hair.

The Nume 32mm is the styling wand I went for, which is the largest barrel I believe, as they have a few variations. The Nume website is actually really helpful and has a Results page showing real life styles the wands create. The wand is so easy to use, some days I have been in a massive rush and had less than 5 minutes to curl it, but it still creates a nice, soft wave, even when rushed. After curling I brush them out slightly using my fingers and spray with hairspray. I haven't included a hairspray in my routine as I am yet to find a favourite. I'm currently using a Tony&Guy medium hold one, but I also like the V05 range and Elnett. 

I bought my Nume wand directly from the Nume website at a discounted price using Anna Saccone's 50% promotion code (not sure if this is still valid!). However I've seen that they often have discounts. Mine ended up costing me less than £40 I think with shipping and VAT which was an incredible deal! Plus they included a UK converter plug (I didn't think they would) and they work perfect. I recommend getting a discount code, don't pay full price if you can avoid it! 

What do you use to curl your hair?

Life Lately.. Back From a Break!

Long time no blog! Four months to be precise, which I think is the longest I've ever had a break for. It actually scares me how fast that time has gone, these last few months have been crazy and I could have sworn it was only two months since I last blogged! The annoying thing is I am inspired and have so many ideas, it's just finding the time and being the perfectionist that I am I refuse to rush posts and post anything I'm not 100% happy with! I'm off uni for the summer now so hopefully I'll post regularly at least over the summer!

What I've been up to...

I'd be lying if I said I've been up to loads of fun things, the truth is my life has been pretty boring recently! In January I found out just how intense my MSc course is, and I was given an absolute ton of work to do, whilst trying to juggle a full time job, boyfriend and fitness, blogging just didn't really stand a chance! I couldn't justify spending time writing a post when I could have been writing assignments.

This is what my reality was like, not so glamorous!!

So because of all this, I haven't done much.. Here's a few random snaps of what I did manage to squeeze in though!

Yummy Easter brownies and cakes baked by yours truly, partly inspired by this post I wrote last year. I think these are actually the nicest cakes I've made, they had mini creme/oreo eggs in the middle, and the icing turned out nice for once! They went down a treat with my work colleagues.

 Managed to see the boyfriend a bit, but seeing as he is on the same course as me, most of our time spent together recently has involved working on assignments!

I haven't been on as many runs as I would have liked, but I've been doing HIIT classes twice a week and get in a run when I can! I have been making sure I walk at least 10,000 steps a day too, using my Fitbit for guidance.

 

Nights out have been few and far between, and I have missed getting ready to go out-out! We managed a couple of bar crawls and Curious Manor is a new favourite of mine for cocktails! They also do lovely food too which is served throughout the day.

I have managed to try a few new recipes, Deliciously Ella Every Day is my new favourite recipe book. I did have to stock up on a few ingredients first, but once you have a few staples you're good to go! I have been trying to eat a lot more vegan meals lately, for a few reasons. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully commit (I love pizza and cake too much!) but I am trying my best to eat vegan a few days a week, and my diet is mainly vegetarian anyway so this hasn't been a massive change. 

Look who grew up!! Theo turned 1 on the 3rd of April and here's how he's changed, he's a big boy now!! Still as crazy as ever though, I feel like we should get him a bandana with "unstable" written on it, just to warn people..

He's so cute though, how can you be mad at that face?!

What I've been loving:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nostalgia! I was watching this a lot whilst designing maps for my assignments, it was easy to watch in the background without paying much attention. I was obsessed with Buffy as a child and wanted to see if I'd still love it as much now, and I do! 

I've also been watching American Horror Story (although only with the boyfriend) I love it but I warn you don't watch it before bed, or you'll have some messed up dreams!

Electronic books... I downloaded a load on the Kindle app when I got sent through offers of them being 99p etc, and I never read them so now I am getting through them all, at about 1-2 a week! I'm obsessed! And they're so easy to read as the Kindle app is available on any device, so I switch between my phone, ipad and kindle! I'm thinking of doing a post reviewing some of the books soon, so watch out for that.

Matte brown lipsticks. I feel like I have been loving this trend for a while (and I hope it doesn't go out of fashion anytime soon!) I have literally abandoned all other shades. My current favourite is Underground by Gerrard Cosmetics. 

What I got for Christmas and My Birthday 2015

I know it's a bit late, but I really wanted to write a what I got for Christmas post and since it was my Birthday on New Year's Eve too I thought I would do a combined post. This is in no way bragging, I love reading these posts because I'm super nosey and I also just wanted to remember what I got in 2015! Also I haven't included everything here, I also got some pjs and slippers but I had already wore those when I photographed this, I got the most beautiful and softest dressing gown I've ever felt and of course chocolate but that was quickly demolished! I also got a bit of money which I used to buy some new Nikes for the gym, I'll show them off in a fitness post which I will be writing soon! I was very spoilt and loved everything I got so I am very thankful. So here goes... 

Cannot go wrong with eyeshadow palettes for me! I actually picked out the MAC Cool Neutral and Urban Decay Gwen Stefani palettes myself as I work somewhere that I get great discount on beauty products and at certain times they have promotions on so I got these for a really good price! This applies to a lot of the beauty products that my dad got me, it was much easier for him if I just bought them for him!

Left to right: Vino and Edge to Edge lip liners and Viva Glam III, Twig, Verve and Diva lipsticks. More presents from my dad! I am absolutely loving brown tones and matte lipsticks at the moment, I'm so glad they have come back in fashion.

Urban Decay Perversion mascara and eyeliner and and All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray both from my brother which he picked out himself, I'm impressed! Also Benefit's Porefessional which I have wanted for so long!

These two were gifts from friends, a lovely eylure set and this beautiful Ted Baker set. I didn't want to throw out the box so I kept the bottom half which is sturdy card board with a floral pattern and kept it as a tray for storing my perfumes on!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate and Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Moisturiser. I've tried a sample of the Kiehl's concentrate so I know I like it, but the Elizabeth Arden moisturiser was a first and I absolutely love it, new favourite! It has been a god send to my skin during this time of year. (Both from dad again).

This was one of my favourite presents this year, from my best friend. If you can't already tell, it's a basket filled with lush products! She got all the best ones in there and my baths will definitely be sorted for the next few weeks! She also threw in some cute little soaps and a candle. All my favourites!

More gifts from friends. St Moriz is a great low cost self tan, I've used it for years! The beautiful set of draws contains Baylis and Harding products which I am excited to try. 

More presents from friends, they know me well!

I've never actually read any Sophie Kinsella books and have been wanting to for ages, these will keep me entertained on my way to and from work. My friends also bought me these recipe books, which will really help with my journey to lead a healthier lifestyle.

More presents from friends! Cute fingertip rings, a penguin eraser that is too cute to use so I'll keep on my desk! And a banana protector, which I have actually wanted for so long, it can even clip onto things! Handy on a run..

Ted Baker undies, love them! And Bambi socks how cute?!

My main Birthday present was a Fitbit Surge! I wanted a small but really struggled to find one that wasn't a lot more money! I have been using it a lot and may write a review soon. I'm very impressed by it in some ways but also a little disappointed in other ways. It definitely encourages me to move more though!

What did you guys get for Christmas? I love all of my presents!

The Standard New Year Post!

One of my favourite photos that I look in America, I think it sums up 2015.

I know this post is really late, but I've just updated my blog and I didn't want to post until it was all finished! I really like it, I think it reflects my personality a lot better now as I had outgrown my old template. Let me know what you think!

Normally I am really good at having a good old ramble, but so much has happened this year, good and bad, and I just don't know where to start! I don't even know if I want this to be a deep and emotional post or a light and fluffy post. Maybe I'll just throw in a bit of both?

I've just had a flick through all of the posts I wrote in 2015 (and since I didn't write many it didn't take long!) but this summarises exactly why I love blogging, because I had forgotten half those things even happened in 2015, some of them felt so long ago, and it's great having an online diary to look back on. This was last year's post and I didn't realise how much of a better place I'm in now until I actually went back and read this.

2015 was a difficult year. Although I can happily say I think it ended with me in a better place than the place I was in when it started. January-May was a manic blur, mum was very ill, I was trying to block this out really and get on with life, working 36 hours a week when I probably should have taken some time off, I didn't even tell my colleagues that she was ill. Maybe part of me was in denial, but I think it was more the fact that I didn't want to be asked about it constantly, I didn't want to bring that part of my life to work and maybe I also used work as a form of escape. But I did go to work every day dreading having that phone call that she had gone. I felt like I was living in limbo, I've never said this before but I wanted my mum to die. She wanted to die, she had said as much and for such a strong and amazing person to be destroyed by cancer, hardly able to speak or move near the end, and when she did speak it wasn't her at all. She had never said a mean thing to me in her life until those final months. It was just so awful for all of us. I just wanted her to be let free of her pain and I knew we could never get the old her back, instead we were left with a shell of a person that was just waiting to die. I don't think anyone can ever understand unless you have been in that position yourself. For me it was about preserving the good memories of her that I had and trying my best not to let these terrible new memories take over. I think I will write a post on grief soon. Because personally a large part of my grief happened before my mum died, because in my mind I had lost her a long time before she was actually gone, and that was very difficult to deal with alone because very few people knew what was going on. 

In May mum died, and I wrote a personal post saying goodbye. Although how I felt was horrendous, I want to look back and be able to remember those feelings one day. Maybe when things get bad I can reassure myself I've been through worse. We spent a lot of that month crying and pulling together as a family. But I didn't let the pain stop me living. Me and my best friend had booked a trip to London a month before which fell a week after Mum's death to the day. My friend of course said we didn't have to go, but I thought about it and Mum would have said well why wouldn't you go?! So we went, and I had an amazing time. You can't stop living just because someone has died, and you know what, living is actually a brilliant distraction. 

I then convinced my Dad to let me get a dog. Now I'm not exaggerating, I'm 23 and for 22 years of my life I had asked and asked my Dad for a dog. I think I finally gave up aged about 20. And I know it may seem a bit insensitive to put that pressure on my Dad at such a difficult time. And I do know he only caved because he felt sorry for me because Mum was my best friend, but I honestly knew it was the best thing to do for me, my Dad and my brother, not just myself. Theo arrived in our lives and instantly proved a massive distraction, something that needed constant care and attention. Our house had been so hectic when mum was alive, there were constantly carers and nurses rushing in and out, and suddenly when she had gone it was so silent and empty. Theo came charging into that silent and empty space and filled it up again. He is the most loving and adoring dog, he's so happy all the time and you can't look at him and be sad. Of course he quickly turned into my Dad's dog rather than mine, and even though dad claimed to not like dogs, Theo sleeps in Dad's bed with him every night. But I'm still the one he comes to if he wants a cuddle and a fuss. 

The summer consisted of me trying my best to get back into a normal routine and living my life. I had been accepted onto an MSc course, booked a holiday to Zante, went to see Taylor Swift in Hyde Park which was amazing and we were blessed with the weather! I actually visited London four times in 2015, mainly to meet up with friends that I met in America. Me and my best friend then decided to take the plunge and signed up for a half marathon in September! We didn't have that much time to train as we were used to just running 6 miles every couple of weeks, and we had to up this to 13.5 in just a couple of months! But we managed to run the whole thing and raised over £900 for Macmillan Cancer Support, which I am still over the moon about! I did actually write a whole section about fitness, but it was huge and I decided it needed its own post. So that's what I've done and I'll be posting that soon! But to summarise the second half of 2015 was a good year fitness wise, and I have some good plans for 2016! 

Zante

Berlin Zoo

The Robin Hood Half Marathon

Ready to race!

Hyde Park

September saw me start back at university, only part time which is one day a week as I still work 30 hours a week, but it was still a shock to the system! I found the step up to MSc very hard, but I still enjoyed being back at uni, there's just something about being a student that I love! It also gave me a sense of purpose, knowing what I actually want to do in life and having a goal, which is nice. I haven't done that much since September to be honest, I've met up with some friends, had workout classes during the week, went to some Halloween parties and enjoyed the Christmas festivities! Although Christmas was a hectic blur this year as working in retail it always is, but add assignments due December/January to that and there wasn't many spare minutes!

2015 seems to have flown by, but then when I look back at some of the things that happened, they do seem so long ago. Here's a few random things that I loved in 2015:

The Walking Dead
Theo
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
MAC Velvet Teddy
I found a new love for lip liners, particularly MAC's Whirl!
French Plaits/Braids
A spontaneous trip to Berlin
Not having to defrost the car (although I've had to the last few days!)
Being back at uni (part time)
Reading more
Having more confidence

What I want to achieve in 2016

So in my Blogger Planner there was a page for New Years Resolutions, which I wrote down and I'll type up here too, but I also added my own little list of things I don't need to work on this year, just as a little boost to my confidence to remind myself I am doing alright! Here's what I wrote:

2016 Resolutions:

1. Start assignments earlier (after having the horrendous experience of writing 9,000 words over Christmas!)
2. Continue working out
3. Eat healthier
4. Cook more meals and a greater variety of healthy meals
5. Blog more
6. Use my planner more
7. Do more kind things
8. Visit a new country
9. Do another fitness challenge
10. Walk the dog more
11. Get some planning experience

And what I don't need to do...

1. See friends more, I've seen them all a lot last year!
2. Say yes to more opportunities, again I said yes to a lot of opportunities last year.
3. Get a boyfriend! There's so much pressure these days, and I refuse to force anything.
4. Get up earlier, I did a pretty good job of that last year!

I hope you all had an amazing 2015, and have an even better 2016!