Cookies, yes please!

For those of you that haven't heard my constant moping about how unwell I feel- be prepared to hear a lot of it today. Not a beauty post, as per say, but it's nice to have a change! When I get colds, I always know that Christmas is coming. It sounds strange, but last year I had a cold over the Christmas Holidays- so now, flu is related to my favourite time of the year. And, to quote DailyGrace, you know what that means! Christmas is definitely the time for baking lovely treats and to not really care about how much weight you gain. So, as a result- this weekend has been absolutely devoted to baking lovely treats for me to devour in my self-pity. Besides, I think I should jump on the Christmas Bandwagon! If Boots can start putting out Christmas shelves, I can start singing jolly tunes and spending my weekends watching TV and eating!

I know it's bad. I shouldn't get myself into one of those 'Why bother dieting' ruts, especially with a gym membership- but when you feel ill, who doesn't want to cuddle watching Jeremy Kyle and eating tasty chocolate chip cookies? So, on Friday evening, left completely to my own devices, I made a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies- half white chocolate and half milk chocolate.

•

 

It's okay to be naughty sometimes, but I think as soon as my cold has subsided, I'll definitely be getting back into a strict gym router! 

Hope you're all having a lovely day and that you avoid any sort of illness for the longest of times- but if you do, make cookies, wrap up warm and think of Christmas! Also, if you're wondering- Christmas is 93 days away. Who's excited? 

Cardiff Haul!

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? Since my last post I've juggled going to school with working super hard to earn some money for that wishlist I mentioned a while ago! As promised, I went shopping in Cardiff and got a huge amount of stuff to show you guys, so I think I'll just get straight into it- you've suffered enough banter-orientated posts! Just as a heads up, this is only a beauty and jewellery haul. I did get a couple of fashion items, but only basics!

Above you can see a multitude of bits and bobs. I managed to chuck a few nail varnishes into my basket, namely Barry M's Pink Flamingo and Matt White, that Matte Top Coat I always go on about from H&M and two nail polishes from Models Own (my first ever Models Own purchase, as a matter of fact)- Balearic Cool and Beach Party (the orange one everyone mentions!). As it has been I while since I endulged myself in Cardiff, I have managed to try on every single on of these nail varnishes and I must say, I loved each and every one. My favourite has to be Beach Party, mainly because it's been my turn-around point since disliking orange to loving it completely and utterly. It's a shame darker colours are coming in now, due to the groggy weather and the change in season!

Other items that you can see include two Body Shop products- a Grapefruit Scented Body Butter and a Mango Lip Butter. The Body Butter has been the first thing I reach for after having a nice shower, making me smell all sweet for the day. This scent might not be for everyone- it certainly grew on me, mainly because I remember going into the Body Shop a while back and smelling it and I did put it down rather quickly in distaste but now, I own it. Funny how things change! The Lip Butter has been a new resident of my school bag, believe it or not. If I'm having a day where I can't be bothered with lippy, I chuck some of this on and walk around sniffing my lips all day! I'm a strange sight, I tell you.

You see the white compact with little gray stars on it? That's my new highlighter from Topshop. Cost me £10 and it's a new holy grail product of mine. I used to be the sort of person that wanted a completely matte make-up look, but recently all I want is a glowy face! Not easy to do when your only foundation is excessively matte! So this baby makes me shine like the sun. What an oddly vain metaphor!

You might know that I'm infatuated with crosses. I don't think I go a day without wearing an item of clothing or jewellery that doesn't have the infamous cross symbol. So, without little apprehension, when I was having a gander at New Looks 'Buy One Get One Free' offer, I snapped this little cross ring up in a jiffy. It was only £2.50 and you'll soon find out that I got it for free anyhow!

The other item that I got from New Look can be seen much more clearly here. See those little golden skulls with small crosses dangling from them? Those cost £2.99 and allowed me to get the cross ring free. New Look might not be as on-trend as Topshop when it comes to clothing, but you've got to love their cheap fashionable jewellery!

Whilst in Superdrug, along with the Barry M nail varnishes, I picked up some Accessorize make-up. Now, I've never really shopped in Accessorize itself, but I'd seen Pixiwoo's Drugstore Haul and they had shown these adorable products! They had also mentioned the pigmentation was decent and they resembled the Mac baked blushes! I know you can't see them properly, but I'll be doing a review on them shortly so you'll be able to see them in much more detail and you'll know my opinion on them too! 

Remember how I always go on about how my skin needs a primer and the cheapest one that I've found is from MUA for £4? I picked that up again and in three weeks, I've almost ran out completely. I love love love this product! I won't go on about it any more though- you'll all be sick of it, I'm sure!

The same time I purchased my highlighter, I also picked up a couple of jewellery items that were on sale at the time. I had a bit of a skull-overload whilst in Cardiff and I saw these and swooned. This silver bracelet was only £2.50 and the earrings were £2. Need I say more?

I was weak. I saw Urban Outfitters and I ran in. I'd never shopped in Urban Outfitters before, but I knew they did the most gorgeous on-trend jewellery and I needed some, pronto. I picked up a pair of Hamsa Hand earrings for £6 and some teenie tiny cross earrings for £6. I think that the cross earrings are perfect for my second lobe piercing, mainly because they look super nice there and they don't look silly!

Whilst in the Body Shop, I had a bit of a Mango overload and bought a body mist too- another school bag essential. The main perfume that I use is my Chanel Chance, but I don't really want to use all of that at school and I definitely don't want to carry it around in my bag! So, this does the job nicely. Makes me positively stink of mangoes, but who doesn't love that smell? I've not had any complaints, anyhow!

And finally, I treated myself to a couple more Real Techniques brushes. The Powder Brush (the huge one to the right) is absolutely perfect for applying powder to finish your makeup and it's so unbelievable soft that I don't know how I lived without it. I also got a Stippling Brush just for a bit of variation from the Buffing Brush I use all the time. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely a good brush!

Okay, so I've been away a little too long. Forgive me- school has just been hectic! But I promise, I'm definitely going to start writing more posts again. Make sure you follow this blog if you've not already! Look out for my next post- spoiler, it's something to do with my bag! You might find out what's in it!

My Gym Essentials!

Going to the gym is a very taxing thing and doesn't really give you many rewards immediately, but it's important if you want to be healthy, slimmer and better and sport. Sadly, I'm one of those people that eat the regular amount and still put on weight- so I joined the gym. It's very difficult to stay motivated because it is definitely one of those things that you can get really tired of if you aren't seeing much difference in your body or health. So, I thought, why not make a post on things that you should take with you to make the gym a little bit easier and speed the hour or so up? So that's exactly what I'm going to do.
 

Okay, so it's no secret. The majority of us whilst at the gym, sweat most profusely. Sweating, whilst completely normal, is still really off-putting and makes you self-conscious! I always take a small towel with me that I can use to dab my face if I'm finding that it's covered in unwanted beads of perspiration and interrupting my running. It also feels nice if you've got dry skin so that nothing is interfering with your running and you don't have water pouring off you, making you look like a fountain!
 

 

  I always take a bottle of water with me to the gym. It's important to make sure you're hydrated when you're exercising because you lose so much of your bodies fluid when you sweat, so taking a bottle of water and drinking throughout your exercise regime is key. I make sure that when I get water bottles, the lid is easy to lift off- you don't want to be running and then realizing you need a drink so you're struggling trying to unscrew the lid to take a sip! Having a flip off lid means that you don't have to struggle and you don't have to stop to have a drink, so you don't lose focus!
 

 

This is a two-in-one deal. I always take my iPhone because I can access 3G- which means that I can access the internet whilst out and about, so I don't have to connect to wifi. Some gym's do have free wifi for their customers- so make sure you ask! This is useful because you'll be able to read blog posts, watch videos and do everything that you normally do on the internet- just via your phone! Also, if you don't have 3G/Wifi available, you can listen to music on your phone/ipod and play games (if you're cycling!) which makes the time that you're at the gym for go a lot quicker! Headphones are essential for me, as my gym has a choice of television programs you can watch whilst you're working out- so I just plug those in and watch the program whilst I'm running or cycling etc. They're also useful if you just want to listen to your music on your phone/ipod. Also, if you don't fancy wearing a watch to the gym, your phone/ipod can show you the time- so if you're leaving at a specific time, you won't get caught up in working out and you'll remember.
 
So, a bit of a strange post today. I hope that you enjoyed reading! Don't forget to follow this blog if you want to read more! Thanks for reading!

Recent Empties!

It's reached that time where I've collected a few tubs and tubes of products that I've completely used up over the past few months. Empties have been a huge craze in the beauty world recently, as they're a little bit more informative of products that people perhaps don't recommend and ones that they swear by, so I thought that I'd share with you the products I've collected up. I've only managed to get five bits together and most of them I've shared with you before, but I thought it would be good to go over them again to see if my opinions have changed or if there are products that I might try in replace of these.
 

From left to right, Clinique High Impact Mascara, Benefit Total Moisturizer, Dove Go Fresh Deodorant, Mua Primer and Scrub 'Em & Leave 'Em by Soap & Glory.

 

Clinique High Impact Mascara is a product that I've raved about in almost every single post. I'm definitely a mascara junkie- I can't go out without my lashes being coated in the stuff. If you want a mascara that doesn't give you clumps, increases the length of your lashes and makes them look long and lovely then this is the mascara you should purchase. I got this mascara in a pack of three two years ago and only recently just got into it and after three months, this had gotten a little bit unusable, so I've treated myself by opening the second one. 

 

See this? It's a sample that I got last christmas of Benefit's Total Moisture. I absolutely love the smell of this stuff, but when I saw that it was £26.50, I had to make do with the sample. If you read my post with my too-huge-for-comfort wishlist, you'll have noticed that this was on it. I'm determined to purchase the fullsize product, but for now I've got to make do with my non-scented Boots Essentials Moisturiser. Poor me! But soon to be poor purse!

 

 

A bit of a strange one, but relevant none-the-less! I love this deodorant mainly because it smells lovely and makes you feel fresh, if you know what I mean. This is a very hydrating deodorant that I will definitely be repurchasing in the future. I think mine is lime-scented, which is lovely because I'm a sucker for sour!  

 

 

You guys know how much I love this product. I need this on my skin before I put any sort of make-up on otherwise I just feel it's all melting off! When I realized that this had ran out, I started putting moisturizer on to replace this and it's doing a pretty solid job. I've been having a nose at different products that I could use, so once I've found one that might be better than this, I'll purchase it and give it a little review to let you all know. I've wrote in a little bit more detail about this product here.

 

 

Finally, the last product that I have to show you is my much-raved-about Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em by Soap & Glory which I've wrote a detailed post about here that you can read. I love the smell of this product and I've already repurchased it, that's how much I love it. Definitely recommended. If you fancy treating yourself to a new body scrub, try out this one. If you love smelling sweet and flowery, definitely give this ago. I love coming out of the shower smelling of this because all I want to do is smell myself for the rest of the day- I do look strange when I'm sniffing my skin for the rest of the day!  

Thank you very much for reading today's post! See you all tomorrow!