Nivea Essential Care Lip Balm Review

 This post is more a rave about this product more than a review. I've used this product since I was about 11 years old, in fact it was probably my first beauty product! I've tried many other lip balms over the 10 years since, but I always, always come back to this one. 

The claim:

"Essential Care lip salve that locks in moisture, providing long lasting lip moisturising care and protection. It effectively helps protect your lips from drying out. An all-round lip moisturiser."

I am one of those people that cannot stand dry or tight lips, I always have lip balm on me, and I must apply it at least every couple of hours. So of course it's preferable to have one that lasts a bit longer! 

I really don't know how to explain why I like this lip balm more than others. It's not a case of it being less greasy or sticky (although it is!) It's more that it just feels comfortable. Make any sense?! It makes my lips feel so smooth and soft, and it really does lock in moisture. It makes my lips silky soft and it has a nice fresh smell too.They also don't feel tight or dry for a long time after applying either, whereas others I've tried (Baby lips, Vaseline, Palmers, Body Shop, other Nivea lip balms...) all seem to leave my lips wanting more and seem to disappear pretty fast. Also when I apply it before bed I wake up and my lips are still soft! 

Sometimes I don't like to wear anything on my lips, and this product just leaves my lips with a nice sheen and makes them look plumper. I also like to apply a small amount before applying lipstick because I hate the drying effect that most lipsticks have and this stops that. I also must add I never get chapped or dry lips, and I thank this product! But I am a lip balm addict. 

The tube usually lasts me a couple of months, but I use so much so I wouldn't be surprised if it lasted anyone else even 6 months?! Ingredients wise it contains Jojoba Oil and and natural Shea Butter. Can't really go wrong there can you?

Nivea Essential Care is available at Boots for £1.64 and £1.10 at Superdrug (currently on offer). However you can also get it at Poundland and other cheap shops for £1! How do they get away with these price differences?!  

What's your favourite lip balm?

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Her

Makeup Bag

Roses

Every Day I Love You Card

Cook Your Date Into Bed

iPad Mini

Pink Pyjamas

Alexa Chung: IT

Small Bambi Toy

Hey Girl Journal

Tiffany Necklace

OPI Couture De Minnie

Stella McCartney Underwear

Made in Chelsea Box Set

Satchel Bag

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 

Yankee Candle 
(20% Fresh Cut Roses by Yankee Candle is currently being donated to Breast Cancer Care which is a great cause).

This is the second post in my Valentine's gifts for Him and Her. Compiling a list of gifts for a man was quite difficult, but this list was super easy! I would love any of these gifts myself ;). Again I tried to think of presents that varied in price and type so there's something for everyone. However there seems to be a theme of red and pink, only a couple of those were intentional!
Since my boyfriend and I aren't buying each other gifts this year, I may have treated myself to the Hey Girl journal - I couldn't resist! There were so many lovely gifts on ASOS, I could have compiled my whole list of there really.

Are you celebrating Valentine's Day this year? What are you planning?

Being Happy...

I know this is a bit of a random subject, but it's just something I've felt like writing for a while and I'm feeling philosophical :). This isn't a post on "how to be happy" I'm no expert on that! But I just though I'd write about what I feel about happiness. After all, life is about being happy, right?! 

Being happy, it sounds so simple. But I know for many people it's not. Different things make us happy, whether it's the big things in life, or all the simple, little things that all add up to make our lives what they are. I know when I was younger, in my teenage years, sometimes I just felt I struggled to be happy. I wouldn't go as far as saying I was depressed, but I think you're teenage years are a very confusing time; you're riddled with hormones, you don't really know who you are and you're under a lot of pressure to be and look a certain way. If you're in this position, I think you just have to remember that you're situation is not permanent, things will change and get better and those people who put you down will most likely end up being losers later on in life. Horrible people have very few true friends remember.

As I got older I just seemed to wake up feeling happy more often. I'm not sure what changed to be honest, my confidence has improved a lot and I know that if I want something in life then I just need to go out and get it. I've also learnt not too worry too much, things do have a way of working out. I also do try to believe everything happens for a reason. If your boyfriend breaks up with you, just try to think that he wasn't the one. Obviously you don't just get over someone in a day, but it does help to stay positive. 

There are some things in my life that are big and scary, and could get worse anytime soon, and although sometimes I do get really upset about the situation, I try not to panic and live every day being happy. Even if it just means watching your favourite tv programme at the end of a long hard day, if it's something that you can look forward to and will make you happy, then do it. 

I think self confidence does determine a huge amount of how happy we are, of course along with having a loving and supporting set of family and friends. If you are confident you do feel like you can take anything life throws at you. Confidence is something I'm still working on. It's important to love your family and not take them for granted, as they are truly the only people in your life that you know will stick around. As for friends, I find it's better to have a small group of close friends, rather than a large group of extended friends. I know my friends will always be there for me when I need them, and I can honestly see us still being friends when we are old biddies. 

Appreciate the little things in life. That's where I think happiness lies. Take everything a day at a time and try not to overthink things. It will work out :).  Always have hope, even when things are looking really dark. Get rid of the negative things in your life, if they are bringing you down you don't need them. Whether that be a job or a boyfriend or anything else. Look after your body too, that will give you confidence. Hold your head high, you're just as important as anyone else. Embrace what you have and remind yourself what you're good at and what makes you, you. Be the best version of you, not a poor copy of someone else. Everyone has down days when you just don't want to get out of bed. This is normal and sometimes it's just your body's hormones reaping havoc. Do what makes you happy, even if that means taking a risk, you'll only regret it if you don't. 

Being independent can make you happy, I took a risk when I went to uni, I was terrified but I went out there, completely out of my comfort zone, I used to be terrified of getting the bus alone but I got on the train to the nearest shopping centre and went out there and got myself a job. I felt proud of myself for doing something that scared me.  

I'm sorry if this post was a bit deep for some of you, but I want my blog to be honest and have some depth to it for those who need help. It's also quite a reflective post on my part too, as I think some of the things I've mentioned I've managed to overcome in the last couple of years. I promise my next post will be nice and light ;).

Becca 

xx 

Casetagram Review

Not the most conventional of beauty posts today, but our phones have to look beautiful too right?!

Why Casetagram?

I heard about Casetagram through a few different blogs, and decided to visit their website. What I found was completely unique and special designs unlike anything you can find on Amazon or Ebay, which is where I usually buy all my phone cases! They were so beautiful that I felt I had to splash out seeing as I knew I was getting a new phone!

How it works:

Most designs cost $39.95 (£24.33 for you UK readers if that makes you feel any better!) however there is some variation on this price on some cases I do believe?

Casetagram caters for a range of different phones: iPhone 5S / 5C / 5, iPhone 4S / 4, iPad Mini, iPad 4 / 3, iPad 2, iPod Touch 5, iPod Touch 4, Galaxy S III, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note, HTC One .

You can choose from different plastic case designs, such as the Classic Snap (which I went for) or a more protective Bezel Bold which encases the phone more fully but I thought this looked a bit heavy.

You can choose to either design your own case (how cool is that?!) which could be virtually anything, most use Instagram photos, (see the play on words with Casetagram?) However you can use anything you like really, you could even do a drawing, take a picture and use that for a totally unique case! But you can also just pick one that someone else has designed from their collection gallery, which I chose for my first case.

I literally spent hours choosing my case, I wanted the perfect one for me because I thought this was a lot of money to spend on a phone case! I went for the blue sparkly design, as I thought it was so pretty and reminded me of winter, but it wasn't too girly.

I ordered this and was happily waiting for it to arrive (which can take a while, 10-20 days and may vary depending on where you live) and I completely forgot I'd actually entered a competition on Kerry's blog OhSoAmelia before I ordered the case. Of course I didn't think I'd win, but a few days after I ordered mine I got an email saying I'd actually won a case of my choice! So thanks for that Kerry and make sure you check out her blog!

This time I decided to design my own case. I just picked some of my favourite photos from this year, with a winter theme in mind, and threw them together on a design I liked! It gives you some ready made templates to place the pictures in. I recommend having a play around on it just to see how it works.

The phone cases took a couple of weeks to come as they were dispatched from outside of the UK, but once they arrived they were wrapped up lovely (I'm regretting not taking a picture of that now!) and I was all excited opening them. The finishing is actually really matte rather than shiny which I wasn't expecting, but I love it! They feel really sturdy and like they would last a while too. I sent my friends a picture of the montage case and they all replied saying they loved it so I think it's a hit!

Oh and before I forget it's free delivery for them too!

I would definitely recommend getting a case from Casetagram if you want something different. I've left a link here if you'd like to have a browse.

Have you got a Casetagram case? If so what do you think?

A Little, Exciting Update..

Just a little update today as I have some exciting news! (You may have already guessed by the photos!)

So this week I've been super, super busy and haven't managed to blog much. My new camera that I worked crazy hours over Christmas for arrived on Monday morning. I was so excited to use it but was heading out to a spa with my mum for the day when it was delivered, and later I visited my boyfriend down south for a couple of days and today I went to Manchester so I haven't had chance to even use it yet!

But the little update is actually about where I went today: Manchester. I went there because there was a recruitment fair being held for Camp America. I applied back in November as I would love to spend my summer in the US as I have never been and I want to have some fun before I get a real job! So anyway, I got hired on the spot!!

It was a horrendous experience to be honest, I had to queue outside for an hour and a half and it was freezing and hailing. It did just feel rather unorganised as we weren't given information on what positions the camps actually needed to fulfil to a lot of time was wasted queuing to speak to camps that didn't even have the right placements! But I was really lucky in that I managed to find one that didn't have a queue and the Camp Director pretty much offered me the job straight away! So as of June the 8th I'll be spending my summer as a photographer in Wisconsin! That job is literally perfect for me as I just love taking photos and all my friends call me "the photographer of the group" when we are out! I am really, really scared.. But also excited beyond words! I really hope it is a great summer, and although I won't be able to blog much, I'll have a ton to write about when I'm back yay!

Have any of you ever done Camp America? If so I'd love to hear about your experience!

Tag: 10 Beauty Mistakes I Used to Make

Hello Lovelies! Bit of a random post today, but I fancied doing something light hearted and amusing as I'm rather stressed with my work load at the moment, but doing this made me giggle! Anyway, this is the 10 Beauty Mistakes Tag. I was tagged by no one in particular, but fancied doing it myself! I've learnt a lot over the years from trial and error, as do we all.. But here are my top 10 beauty fails! Wish I could go back and tell myself: "NO!"

♥1. Wearing foundation... and nothing else

Foundation was one of the first things I started wearing. I went through phases of wearing bright orange ones and white ones, one thing was for sure, none of them matched my skin tone! I eventually realised I was going wrong when I saw a close up picture of my face, which was just a white, patchy, shiny mess.

♥2. Wearing too much eyeliner... and just foundation

This was the next stage after my "foundation only" stage. I then entered a sort of gothic phase and loaded on the black eyeliner. With no mascara..

♥3. Dying the underneath of my hair black

Yep I was well ahead of the dip dying craze! Not sure what possessed me to do this, maybe my gothic phase?! Just picture this with the pale foundation - panda eye look. And I wondered why I didn't have a boyfriend..

♥4. Straightening my hair every day

Aghh I was so guilty of this! Once I got my hands on a pair of GHDs I literally straightened my hair every single day from the age of 12-17! Bad Becca! I swear my hair has only just recovered.

♥5. Washing my hair every day

Another thing I now realise was really bad for my hair! Only stopped doing this after going to uni (and becoming much more lazy with my hair) but my hair has thanked me for it!

♥6. Not plucking my eyebrows

Oh dear, man brows anyone?

♥7. Over-plucking my eyebrows

Discovered tweezers aged 13, consequently had about 6 hairs left per eyebrow.

♥8. Pink eyeshadow

Again I'm probably not the first to make this error, but one of the first eyeshadows I bought was a No.7 one I believe, which was a set of 3 pinks, and had a guide of how to use them. Baby pink all over your eyes, right up to the eyebrow, slightly darker pink over the main lid, and really bright shimmery pink in the crease. Why do this No.7?! Gullible, 13 year old me looked like a clown.

♥9. Going way OTT with hairspray

When I decided to kill my hair via curling it instead of straightening it, I then proceeded to spray it so much that it actually went rock solid and there was no way a brush was going through it. Stiff, sticky curls: lush.

♥10. Dodgy fake tan

Ahh I think we've all been there with this one. At least my pale phase was over! Whilst on the search for the perfect fake tan I tried many that looked absolutely awful! I'm talking orange streaky legs, awful smelling skin, orange hands, scaly brown elbows and wrists, just lovely... God knows what our teachers thought during P.E!

I tag you all! Would love to read more of these so leave me a link to yours in the comments!

Becca x

New Year's Resolutions and 21st Birthday Celebrations

Happy New Year guys!

I know it's a bit belated, but I wanted to write this post, even if it is a little behind everyone else's! Anyway, as for incorporating my 21st birthday into this post, my Birthday is actually on New Year's Eve so I had a little party because I never had one for my 18th. It was nothing massive but I had a really good night and spent it with my closest family and friends, you can't ask for a better way to start the new year really! I wore a dress from French Connection and heels from New Look (however you can't see those!)

Onto my resolutions! I actually haven't thought too deeply about them this year, they are more just some guidelines about how I want to live my life this year. I am going to be completely honest, I'm not just going to say "oo can't wait for 2014 bring it on etc etc." I'm actually really scared about this year! I have a lot of hard work to do to finish my degree, and frankly after over 15 years of being in education I'm running out of steam!! I cannot wait to finish. Although I know I'll miss my university friends and the lifestyle, the workload is just too stressful! So that's one resolution, to work hard and get my degree. I also know I'll have to get a job this year, whether that be a job concerning my degree or a job just to get some money whilst I'm looking, I will have to leave the job that I'm comfortable in at the moment and go on the job hunt again, which like most people, I dislike!

On a happier note, but still just as scary, I'm hoping to go to America this year to do Camp America. However if this doesn't work out I'll have to think of something else to do, but my resolution is definitely to go to a country that I haven't been to!

Overall I just want to be happy! It doesn't matter what I'm doing as long as I'm happy!

The last couple of years have been good ones, I really hope 2014 is just as good, and brings me exciting opportunities, even if they are scary! I will continue to blog too and it will be interesting to see how this blog and my YouTube channel changes over the year! Speaking of, my latest video is a summary of my year through photos:

What are your New Year's Resolutions?