LIFE: #fmsphotoaday - Instagram

14 - Edible

9 - 3 Things

12 - A Bad Habit

11 - I wore this

2- Shoes

4 - Red, White or Blue

5 - Love

6 - Fave Smell

My Instagram: @Liviaa_Clack 

A sneak peak in to my month so far curtsey of @fatmumslim's photo a day challenge on Instagram... I only missed one day so far! A new record lol. Does anyone else love challenges like this?

REVIEW: Nivea Daily Essentials BB Cream (Light)

For almost a year I have been using BB cream instead of foundation and in that time I have thoroughly tested five different brands.  Most recently I've been trying Nivea's version of BB cream from the daily essentials. Of the five I've tried, I'd say that this was in the middle in terms of how much I liked it.

Positives:

• Decent coverage: this is quite thick and slightly build able so does cover up minor blemishes and redness quite well.
• Price: this is quite cheap at around £5 for 50ml (price from here).
• SPF: This has SPF10... not very high protection but better than none!
• All of the goodness of Nivea: as a brand I find Nivea quite trust worthy and believe that this is actually good for my skin and it does deliver on this expectation, my skin feels rather good after using it.
• Better under eyes: this is better at covering darkness under my eyes than my preferred BB cream (Garnier).

Negatives:

• Colour: The colour of this is a bit too dark for me even though it is the lightest shade. It says on the tube that it gives a "hint of colour" however I certainly think there's more than a hint.
• Application: I certainly find this harder to apply than some other BB creams that I've tried; it's quite a thick cream and absorbs quickly so it's a bit fussy to apply as I feel like I have to do separate areas at a time rather than just being able to simply rub it in every where with my hands. It's also quite hard to blend at the jaw line/neck, because it's a bit dark my face can sometimes be obviously a different colour!

Over all: I probably won't buy this again as it's not a good all round performer in my opinion but I'll use up the rest of the tube that I have by using little bits of it to build over my Garnier BB cream if I need a bit of extra coverage.

Weekly Wish List #4

Ok so this weeks wish list is actually more of a shopping list! Since I got to Germany a month a go I haven't bought any beauty products or clothes and I'm starting to feel a little desperate now. With things running out and needs cropping up all over the place, I really need to go shopping!

• Garnier BB Cream: I've been through a few tubes of this since I started using it; out of the five BB creams that I've tried this is definitely my favourite!
• Body Shop Aloe Day Cream: I've talked about this so many times; I'm just about to run out of the lotion version of this but it hasn't lasted very long so I'm going back to the day cream which is more cost effective!
• Revlon Colour Stay Ultimate Suede: I want to try this lipstick despite some of the dodgy reviews, I just need to choose a colour!
• ASOS Sandals: I'm still looking for a new pair of sandals, the colour of these caught my eye today.

 Any suggestions for which colour of the Revlon lipstick I should get?

REVIEW: Garnier Skin Naturals Summer Body Light Moisturising Lotion

Summer has crept up on me and after the temperature reaching 36 degrees for a day last week I have had no option but to dare to bare my legs! I'm not the kind of person who wants the hassle of proper fake tan so year after year I pick up a gradual tanning lotion to make my pasty (and often purple!) legs a little more summer dress friendly. Previously I have always gone for the Johnson's variety of tanning moisturiser but I decided to try this Garnier one when I noticed it because I had never been particularly impressed with the results of the Johnson's lotion and thought different one was worth trying.

• APPLICATION: this lotion is so easy to apply, just make sure everywhere is covered and well rubbed in and it's pretty much fool proof and in my experience, streak free. As you can see in the picture, it's white and easily rubs in clear as it's not very thick. It does take quite a while to feel "dry" but seems to soak in quickly in reality. I have put leggings on after applying when my legs still felt a little bit dewy but I didn't notice any adverse effects :)

• RESULTS: it says on the bottle that you can apply every day for a natural looking tan however after applying for two days in a row my legs looked lovely and my boyfriend commented on how natural it looked when I confessed that it wasn't a real tan! With this result after two days I'm really impressed and now use it once or twice a week or for a couple of days before I'm going to be showing my legs if I know in advance for a fuss free natural look. It is also very moisturising. For me, after not using it for a few days the tan faded evenly with out going patchy unlike some "proper" fake tans.

• SMELL: a lot of people complain about the smell of tanning products... This is not the best smelling body lotion in the world and honestly, it does have a slightly lingering smell but credit where credit is due; I do find that it smells slightly apricotty (which I guess is from the apricot extract in there) so at least it smells a little bit nicer than other tanning lotions which don't have anything like that to make them smell nice.

I will almost certainly buy this again although hopefully not until next year as I'm still hoping for a natural tan to magically appear whilst I'm wearing factor 35 sun screen... I can dream!

Weekly Wishlist #3

I'm currently lusting after every fashion and beauty item I see because of my inability to shop in English shops. Here's what I particularly like this week!

• I love the splash of yellow and collar of this Ted Baker top, just what I need!
•  I'm not in love with the print of this Miss Selfridge crop but I'm a sucker for anything that ties at the waist!
• I've realised that I really need another pair of sandals, this simple white pair from ALDO seem like they would be easy to add to my existing summer wardrobe.

Today I'm off to have a BBQ and to play rounders with all of the neighbours on the patch where I used to live. It should be lots of fun, even though I hate rounders so I hope the erratic weather we've been having  holds off!

Friday's Five Fabulous Things #5

Today's picture is one my mom took of me walking my dog on the bridle path near our house - everything looks so lush and green!

So after taking a while to settle in at my new house I have finally managed to take the time to write a few posts for the next week or so. I thought I would start off with five fabulous things so we can catch up a bit :)

1. PONIES!: My new house is right next to a huge equestrian centre so I was keen to start horse riding again after around six years out of the saddle. I have only managed to have one ride so far but it was great fun and I'm now looking forward to a summer full of hacking in the woods.
2. BB: Big Brother has started for the summer and as much as it pains me to admit that I love it, but I do. The house looks awesome this year and I'm already hooked. The only problem being that the Channel 5 on my TV has no signal at night so I will always have to watch it on catchup the next day!
3. MINI BREAK: This weekend my lovely mom booked a mini break to Budapest for the two of us + my boyfriend. We're not going until after my graduation in July but I'm so excited already!
4. OLD FASHIONED FUN: On Monday night  I spent about two hours playing board games with my mom and it was a refreshing change from my usual iPad obsessed evenings.
5. NEW GLASSES: For the past couple of months I have been the sad owner of broken glasses... the sad owner of broken glasses who was too poor to buy some more... Of course my mom came to the rescue (what would I do without her?) and bought me two lovely new pairs of glasses. I have never liked wearing glasses but one pair of them is particularly growing on me and I am wearing my glasses more than I ever have before. Hooray for being able to see!

I hope you have all been having a lovely time since I last posted, I can't wait to catch up with all of the posts I've missed on here!

BRB: I'm taking a break!

I just thought I'd let all of you lovelies know that I won't be around for the next week or two. As you must know by now I am in the midst of moving out of my flat in Portsmouth and back home to Germany after finishing uni so I'm really busy! If it was up to me I'd be back here blogging by Sunday but unfortunately my Mom's new house won't have Internet until the 6th of June due to a complication (or just Deutsche Telekom being generally rubbish!) so I won't be able to blog... In the mean time, I'll be reading The Great Gatsby and trying/failing to fit all of my clothes in one suitcase.

See you soon! X

LIFE: My Wardrobe Clear Out #3

It's now only 3 days until my mom arrives so that she can help me move out. Cue: me rushing to get stuff done before she comes and makes all of my stuff disappear. Today I decided to tackle the two boxes from the bottom of my wardrobe...

(Clear Out Post #1 & Post #2)

Weekly Wishlist #2

I really want to add a nice blue and white dress to my wardrobe to wear over summer but I haven't chosen one yet. These are three that have been added to my "maybe" list so far... 

• Ok so I lied, this lovely ASOS number is not on my "maybe" list, definitely the wishlist though. It's beautiful but way too expensive for daytime wear *cry*
• The Topshop dress is a much more reasonable price and close to what I want but not quite... a lovely dress!
• I don't often look in Matalan but this dress seems like an affordable option that I could happily wear in the garden. I'm still on the hunt for my perfect blue and white dress though!

Do you have a blue and white dress to wear this summer? 

Liebster Award

A couple of days ago the lovely Merilin (merilinzz) nominated me for the Liebster award and I haven't done many posts like this so it was a pleasure to answer some questions about myself and pass this on.

The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award is for blogs with less than 200 followers.

The word Liebster is german and basically means 'sweetest', 'dearest', 'welcoming', 'endearing', 'kind', 'lovely' etc.

I was nominated by Merilin.

Rules

1. Each person nominated must list 11 things about themselves.

2. Anwser the 11 questions left by your tagger.

3. Create your own 11 questions. 

4. Tag up-to 11 people.

5. Let the person, you tagged know that you have tagged her/him

6. NO TAG BACKS.

11 facts about me

1. I love tapas

2. I can't wear real gold earrings

3. I can't drive

4. I have a soda stream (and I love it!)

5.My favourite colour is orange

6. I love Jay-Z

7. My middle name is Margaret (gah!)

8.I hate my hair touching my face and neck

9.Giraffes are my favourite animals

10. My nails are currently painted with a colour called "macaron noisette"

11. I am half Hungarian (but can't speak the language :(:( )

Merilin's questions

iPhone or iPad?

I'll have to say iPad - I've used my iPhone less and less ever since I got one!

Favourite beauty product at the moment?

BB cream, it's a life saver!

Favourite makeup brand at the moment?

MUA - I'm trying out a lot of their stuff at the moment.

Do you prefer TV or computer?

Computer (although I'm often watching TV on the computer so it's hard)...

Do you like where you live?

I love it but I have to move :(

What's the weather like right now?

Overcast but it is getting dark

Favourite thing about blogging?

It gives me something slightly constructive to do but isn't stressful

What is your favourite food?

Spaghetti

Have you ever thought of starting your own youtube channel and making videos?

Not really, I wouldn't want everyone hearing my voice!

Have you met anyone famous?

Nope :\

Who is your inspiration?

It's cliche but my Mom, she has done a lot in her life and she's still only young :)

Holly also nominated me so I have answered her questions too:
What made you start your blog?

I needed to do something a bit more constructive with my time, I was spending far too long procrastinating on the computer doing "nothing" so starting a blog gave me something to work on instead of just wasting my time.
What's a pet peeve of yours?

Un-neighbourly neighbours, like the one I have now!
Gold or Silver?

Silver
If you could only use one beauty product on your face for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

My favourite aloe day cream
What's your favourite high-end beauty brand and drugstore beauty brand?

I love clinique (but I'm too poor to afford it) and as I said before, I like MUA at the moment :)
Morning person or night owl?

I guess as I'm a night owl as I hate getting up in the morning but I have to admit I drop off to sleep if I try to stay up too late these days!
Describe yourself in three words :)

 Indecisive, Pessimistic and Truthful (doesn't sound too good but it would have been big-headed to put nice things about myself, perhaps I should have put modest haha)...
Your favourite actress?

 Cameron Diaz :)
What's your guilty pleasure?

Eating tomato puree straight out of the tube :P
Tea or Coffee?

I don't drink either!
What's your favourite item of clothing to wear? 

This is probably not the answer people wanted to hear but my dressing gown... there is nothing better than putting it on at the end of the day (or at any time)... 

My questions

What is your favourite lip colour?

Why did you start your blog?

Do you like baking cakes?

Do you have any pets?

Where do you like to shop for clothes?

Who are your favourite band?

What was the last book you read?

What are your favourite shoes?

What country do you most want to visit?

How many languages can you speak?

Who is your "favourite" celebrity and why?

Tags

GlitterView

Little Swirl's Nifty Notes

Georgia: on my mind

RAVES 'ND RAMBLINGS 

The Last Broken Road 

Lauren Sibs 

Daydreams & Daisy Chains 

Army Wife. Style. Life 

The Curious Ginger 

Sorry if anyone I nominated has already done one of these posts, it was hard to tell! And thanks again to Merilin for nominating me :)

REVIEW: MUA Power Pout in "Crazy in Love"

Top Line: the colour layered up a bit
Bottom Line: one layer of colour

I have had this for quite some time and have been waiting to review it so, here it is! The Power Pout - MUA's £3 lip balm which, ultimately, copies the Clinique Chubby Stick for a fifth of the price... Firstly, I'll apologise for the absolutely rubbish quality of the swatch photo, any other I took was making it look bright pink in colour which it isn't at all!

On first impressions, I'd say this looks good, especially for £3, it's not too tacky but when I first applied it to my lips I was slightly put off. It felt really greasy like it was melting! After wearing it a few times I don't mind that feel so much, it makes it easy to apply and it's not really dry on your lips (although I wouldn't really say it's moisturising, just that the product isn't dry like some lipsticks).

The colour it's self is really nice. The "swatch" on their website looks brown and the packaging looks a bit brown too but the actual tint is a nice berry tone and definitely not as pink as some swatches on the other blogs make it look. You can wear it quite sheer but I like to layer it up a little bit. It doesn't last for a particularly long time but I wasn't expecting a whole night's wear for £3, I'll look elsewhere for that.

In comparison with Clinique's Chubby Stick and Revlon's Just Bitten balm stain which are similar styles, you can definitely tell this is the cheapest but that's fine, you get what you pay for. It feels generally lower in quality than the chubby stick but is more similar in texture as Revlon's effort is really dry. However, the Revlon balm has the longest lasting colour of the three, by far (however it is a stain rather than a tint so not the best comparison).

Overall, I like this. It's one of my favourite balms/tints now, I actually use it more than my favourite chubby stick at the moment because I like the colour so much! I'd buy another but only if there were more colours, as it's quite a small range. The others they have aren't really the kind of colours I'd wear or I'd be buying the same colours I already have in other products if I bought the ones I do like. For me, this is definitely one of the better MUA products I've tried.

Weekly Wishlist

I've decided that I'm going to start doing a small, weekly, wishlist as there are always so many things I want (and want to share with you) so I thought doing it every week would be better than just trying to fit it in with other posts like I have been doing so far. I'm going to keep it fairly simple so this week I am sharing three dresses which caught my eye this week :)

• The black dress is a pencil style pinafore from River Island. I saw it on ASOS and it looks much better on a person than it does on the River Island site. I've been trying to decide if I want a pinafore for ages now and this is the one of the best ones I've seen (for me). It's a little pricy for my liking as it's not denim like most pinafores that are priced at £40 but I really like the style and may have to try it on (and buy it)... Find it on ASOS or River Island
• The coral dress is also from River Island (here) - It's a lovely summery colour and a great price at £22. I can see myself taking my dog for a walk in the park wearing this, in the sunshine, of course.
• The geometric print tunic is from Dorothy Perkins (here). I don't usually shop in Dorothy Perkins but this is another thing which I might have to go and try on as it's only £28 and I love the pop of lime. It's the style of dress that I like wearing as an every day outfit so it would get plenty of wear.

Which one do you think I should get? (please say all of them haha)

Friday's Five Fabulous Things #4

I can't believe it is this time again already, the week has gone so quickly! Today's picture is a baby panda on a rocking horse... I saw it on Pintrest and thought it was cute, I love all kinds of bears!

Here's what's made me happy this week...

1. Lots of Love: I'm still a little under the weather after over a week so my boyfriend has been very kind and sympathetic towards me. Of course, he's nice all of the time any way and it sucks that I'm ill but a bit of extra attention never goes a miss.
2. Visitors: My dad visited me this week to catch up with me before I go to Germany for the summer. It was nice although we never get up to much when we're together; having him stay is a little like having a cat, he sleeps all day and occasionally wakes up for food and conversation. It was nice to seem him so all is well.
3. Sweet Pastry: At the beginning of the week I made a goat's cheese and spinach tart but I wanted it to be really quick and easy so bought a ready made pastry case from the shop... It turned out to be sweet pastry. It did not say on the packet that it was sweet so I didn't realise until I tasted it. Cue me being very disappointed but having to laugh; you have to laugh at yourself sometimes, don't you? :)
4. Dinner with Friends: I talk a lot about food, don't I?... Tonight my friend is having a few of us round for dinner which should be lovely. I'm not sure what she's cooking - I like surprises!
5. Getting Organised: If you have been reading my blog you'll have gathered that I'm moving out of my flat at the end of the month so obviously, I have tonnes of things to get sorted. The removals are booked and I'm gradually sorting out our utilities but one of the most difficult things is going to be chucking out junk and old clothes. I'm feeling better about it now though as I have started thinking of things that I want to get rid of before I look for things so I'm prepared for when I do dare to sort the rest of my stuff out!

I hope all of you have had a great week!

SHOW OFF: Body Shop Bargains

Today I went to my local Body Shop outlet to pick up a few things. These outlets are such fab places; I got 40% off of my bill because I bought 4 things... it would have been £16 but it was £9.60!

I bought:

One Vitamin E Facial Cleansing Bar - I would recommend this to any one. They are EXCELLENT value for money; I have been using the same one near enough daily since SEPTEMBER and it's still not run out. I only got a new one because my current one is getting a bit small now and I'm worried I won't be able to get another (at such a discounted price) while I'm in Germany. They are also far less drying than any face washes I've tried, are great at washing of make up and are perfect to use in the shower (and to take in hand luggage as it's not liquid!)... I will never  buy face wash again!

One Facial Buffer - I have been meaning to buy one of these for a while as they get great reviews, can't wait to use it!

One Handknit Cactus Mitt - I originally wanted to replace my old Smooth & Renew Body Loofah Mitt which I loved but when I saw this cactus mitt I chose it instead; it feels a bit rough but in a god way, like you will get a really good scrub with it. It also seems like you will really get a good lather when using body wash with it which you sadly didn't get with the loofah mitt.

And lastly, one Born Lippy Stick Lip Balm in Pomegranate - I have been using the strawberry one of these for months now and it's so "addictive", I feel like I want to apply it over and over again because it feels heavenly on my lips. So, I thought I'd try another. This pomegranate version smells gorgeous and leaves a slick hint of red on your lips.

Have you tried any of these? If not, I urge you to go out and get the cleansing bar!

LIFE: My Wardrobe Clear Out #2 - Give and Makeup Donation

Today is just a quick post to update you all on my pre move clear-out and to highlight a charity which I have chosen to donate some of my unwanted items to.

I decided to clear out some of my beauty storage yesterday and when doing so I piled up 11 bottles of barely used Simple stuff (cleanser, toner, moisturiser etc which my Nan always buys me even though I have tried to tell her I don't use Simple any more, bless her)... I have put them all  in a box along with a few other bits and will be posting them to a great charity called Give and Makeup which I heard about a while ago. They take donated toiletries amongst other things and distribute them to Women's Aid and Refuge which means that women in need can get their hands on every day essentials. It's going to cost me a fortune to send the box (thanks to Royal Mail! /rant) as it's quite heavy but, I thought it was a really worthwhile charity. Hence why I also decided to share this on my blog as I know many other of you bloggers must have so many products lying around that you've hardly used, too - go and have a look!

Here is a quick list of what Give and Makeup accept as donations:

• Hair products (eg. Shampoo, conditioner, hair dryers etc)

• Skin care products (eg. Cleanser, soap/shower gel, face or body moisturiser etc)

• Other Essentials (eg. Toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, deodorant etc)

• Makeup, nail polish, perfume and make up tools

• Women's and children's underwear/pyjamas and children's clothes 

• Any baby products

They accept anything new or lightly used, clean items (unless it has an applicator wand, for hygiene reasons) as well as gift/sample sizes!

For a more detailed list on what to donate and how to donate go to their website: here
They also answer any questions on their twitter page  @GiveAndMakeUp

I hope that some of you found this useful as I think it's great :)

REVIEW: L'Oreal False Lash Flutter Mascara

Today I'm reviewing False Lash Flutter Mascara which I'm currently trying out after I put it on my spring wish list. I'm a very loyal fan of the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes range but decided to try this, partly because I was hoping that it wouldn't be too different and that I would get just as good if not better results with it (how very unadventurous of me)!

The photo above shows my eyelashes with the mascara applied after one dip in to the formula and minimal "messing around"; it probably took all of ten seconds per eye to apply and achieve this effect. It probably could have looked better if I had spent longer combing through (although this brush is not very good at that) but I prefer to show what a product can do with minimal effort! If you want to see what my lashes look like without mascara, go here.

In terms of the brush, it's the plastic kind which I personally like. It seems that mascara settles in some areas of the brush more than others, as one side is "deeper" than the other, which could lead to over applying if you don't wipe it off a bit but this is hardly an issue. If I'm being picky, I also thought the brush was a bit fiddly because you can only really use it one way round and I'm not good with my left hand. Over all, the brush is decent, it doesn't cause many clumps and scoops up all of your lashes quite nicely as it's quite big but it's a tiny bit too fiddly for my lazy self.

The formula is also good; it doesn't seem extraordinarily different to Volume Million Lashes (if it is different at all!) and it's a true black. It does an average job of lengthening my lashes (definitely not as good as VML) and just generally emphasises them. I do find that I get a little more fall out (mascara bits on my face) at the end of the day from this compared to Volume Million Lashes (with which I get none) but compared to cheaper mascaras it's practically nothing.

In general this is a good quality mascara (however at £10 that is what you would expect). Although, I don't prefer it to Volume Million Lashes or even some cheaper mascaras which I used to use a lot. I don't want to completely slam it as it's a great step up from a cheaper mascara if you're stretching your budget and looking for something new and of a higher than average quality but it's unfortunately not a very good alternative to VML (for me) so I wouldn't spend £10 on it again. Looking at the picture, I feel like my lashes look a bit like they needed curling which I would never usually do but there is just something about them with this mascara on that's not quite up to my expectations. I'm a bit disappointed but will use it until it runs out as again, it's not awful, just not for me.

LIFE: My Wardrobe Clear Out

Hi everyone! Today I've got a post for you which some of the nosier ones of you may find a little interesting... others not so much. Basically, I'm moving out in 20 days (eek!) and will be going to stay with my mom in Germany over summer before finding my own place again so I need to slim line my life in order to minimise packing. I've started today by sorting out a section of my wardrobe and thought I would document it via my blog in a series of posts.

Friday's Five Fabulous Things #3 + Mini Wish List

Skirt and Top: River Island - Bag: Ted Baker

First of all, apologies for hardly posting during the last few days; it has been a whirlwind of lunches and other fun things. The week has been dampened a little by the fact that I have had a sore throat for a few days and have now lost  my voice but over all I have had a pleasant week. This week I am sharing a mini wish list, I'm dying for the coordinating skirt and top (as well as any other matching tops and bottoms)!

1. Blogging: I have had lots of new followers and nice comments this week, thanks everyone! I'm going to write and schedule lots of posts this weekend to make up for my absence, I promise!

2. Baking: this week was my Nan's birthday so I made her some flapjack and sent it to her. It was the first thing I have baked in a while and was lots of fun. There was even some flapjack left over for me, yum! Here is the chocolate and cherry recipe that I used!

3. Bad Dancing: last night I went out to Liquid (a large night club for those who don't know) which I haven't been to for a while and saw some things which I think I'm going to be chuckling about all weekend. I know you shouldn't laugh at people but when a girl on the dance floor busts in to what seems to be a truly terrible ballet routine, it's hard not to and I don't think I will be forgetting it in a while!

4. Bowling: on Wednesday I went bowling. My local Bowlplex do a decent student deal for a game and a drink so I went down there with a couple of friends and enjoyed a good gossip (and the bowling of course)... They let you bowl in your own shoes at this bowling alley, it's crazy!

5. Browsing in New Places (I tried so hard to get that to begin with B after the first four did, can you tell? lol): I've noticed a few clothing/jewellery websites this week that I have never come across so I have enjoyed browsing what they have to offer and I might order some treats this week (as if I haven't had enough already). It's nice to have somewhere new to look for goodies :)

Hope you have all enjoyed your week! Let me know what you got up to x

NOTD: Blue Reef

Today I'm showing you another L'Oreal Color Riche nail colour which I bought yesterday when I was buying mascara and L'Oreal products were on 3 for 2. This is Blue Reef (613) and I think it's lovely; the lady doing the hand stamps at a club I went to on Friday night even complemented me on the colour so there's some proof that it's a fab colour! I'd say that it's more green looking in real life compared to the photo but I just couldn't get it to show. Because of the green element, it becomes quite a summery colour, in my opinion, even though it's quite dark. I only needed one coat to get really good colour which, in comparison to the other color riche colours I've tried, is awesome since I usually need two or three coats with them. I've used two coats though (shown in the picture) because one is never very durable as I'm sure you all know!

What do you think of this colour? x

Friday's Five Fabulous Things #2

I have felt rather relaxed week this week, now that university is over for me. This week I'm sharing a photo of my dog in a party hat as I'm going to a birthday night out tonight!

Meet Monty

1. Lunch with Lady Friends: Yesterday I went for lunch with three of my friends and had a delicious pulled pork and chill jam burger. After that we sat on the grass behind our student union and enjoyed the sun whilst planning our trip to Thorpe Park. One of said friend's boyfriends turned up and bought us an ice cream each, lovely.
2. Sunshine: Need I say more? 
3. Birthdays!: Recently two of my friends turned 21 so tonight we are all going out to celebrate which I'm thinking will be a great night (it was also an excuse to buy a new dress) so I'm majorly happy and excited :D
4. Mother: It's been almost three weeks since I last spoke to my Mom on the phone as she moved house and has had to wait for her phone to be installed (we can't use mobiles as it costs too much to call abroad!). It should be getting connected today so I'm really looking forward to a good chat with her this weekend.
5. New stuff: getting new stuff is always exciting and today a parcel containing my new Kenwood Mini Chopper arrived. It's a bit silly to get giddy over kitchen appliances but I can't wait to use it!

 I hope all of you have had a great week! x

SHOW OFF: Grafitti Dress

Graffiti Dress: Cameo Rose (New Look Label Lounge) £15.99 - Can't find it on the website, sorry!

Chain: Part of a Pack of 4 from ASOS £20 - See my post about them here

Bag: ASOS (old)

Sunglasses: D&G available here

New Look is often hit and miss when it comes to finding things I like but when I found this dress the other day I thought it would be a fun addition to my spring/summer wardrobe. I've worn it with leggings here because it was a bit windy but it's not too short that I wouldn't wear it without so it will be perfect for when things warm up a bit more. I wore this outfit yesterday and was only going shopping -I didn't find anything really :( - so I just threw on one of my ASOS chains and picked up an old ASOS bag (which happened to already have my purse in it) which ended up being an alright choice with the dress. I also wore my sunnies for the first time this year, happy days!

MY FAVOURITE: Moisturisers

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I thought I'd share my favourite moisturisers with you as we all know how important they are.

For the Face:  I use an aloe day and night cream by The Body Shop which work really well with my skin. For the record, I'm not really sure what kind of skin I have; it's probably combination but I go through cycles of being dry/oily rather than being patchy so it's really hard to find a moisturiser that suits me all of the time. This duo are the best I've tried, when I get out of the shower I notice that I have quite a blotchy face but as soon as I put on either of these, the aloe vera calms my skin down right away and it's really good for any red blemishes too (although nothing's ever perfect!). The day cream is really light but nourishing enough and a little goes a long way. It sinks in easily as it's not too thick. The night cream lasts me forever; I don't use it EVERY night but you hardly need any to do your whole face and a pot has lasted me for pretty much a year so its been good value for what I want it for! I also rub the night cream on any little really dry patches I have on my body as it's gentle enough for anything slightly sore unlike something scented which would sting. The only thing I really dislike (apart from the slightly high price tag) is that it doesn't have any SPF so I'm currently looking for a new "summer" moisturiser which I'm quite sad about really because I love this so much. Although, all is not lost as I've noticed that there is a  lotion version of this with SPF that I might have to try!

For the Body: I've been using Garnier Intensive 7 Days Body Lotion for well over a year now so it's something I know and love as much as a lot of other people do. I have the aloe vera one at the moment but the honey is actually my favourite! This is perfect to use when you don't have the time to wait for a thick body butter to dry and it does its job perfectly. The aloe one is particularly cooling and refreshing and it's a good "go-to" moisturiser if anywhere is feeling dry. It's also a great price. BUT I told you in my spring wish list post that I really wanted to try the Body Shop Coconut Milk Body Lotion which I did buy and after a few uses, I love it. I'll have to admit that the cost of this is double what you would pay for the Garnier so there's a down side but it really is lovely and light and leaves you feeling silky and smelling of coconut. Heaven.

If any one particularly recommends any moisturisers with SPF please let me know in a comment! x

FOOD: Graze Box Number 2 & 3

My Thai

Herby Bread Basket

Eton Mess

Hi everyone, hope Monday is being kind to you :)

I'm giving you another peek in to my graze box again this week as I didn't last week. This week, I received My Thai (a sweet chilli sauce dip and baked soy bites), Copacabana ( big milk & dark chocolate buttons and whole brazil nuts), Summer Berry Compote (berry compote dip with shortbread dippers) and Herby Bread Basket (mini garlic croutons, mini basil breadsticks and oregano rice crackers). My favourite things this week were the Thai dips and the bread basket selection. The soy dippers were a bit average on their own but with the chilli sauce they were delicious and there was just the right amount of them. The bread basket bits were really tasty and very moreish even though I thought they'd be a bit weird! I've also put a picture on of my favourite thing from last week - was Eton Mess; meringue pieces, black currants, almonds and cranberries - YUM!

If anyone want's to try a graze box for free (new accounts only) feel free to use my referral code ;) "96JGZ4KD"

What have you been snacking on? x

NOTD: French Riviera & Nail Constellation Pices

MUA Nail Constellations: Pices (available here and in Superdrug)

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Nails.: French Riviera (available here)

I thought I'd paint my nails today for the first time in what feels like forever because now all of my essays are done I have nothing to do! I thought I'd try out my new MUA Nail Constellation beads and then decided on L'Oreal Paris Color Riche polish in 601 French Riviera. This is practically my most favourite nail colour of all time, I found it about a year a go but I've only used it a few times because the bottle is so small I want to savor it even though I could easily buy another. It's a shimmery pale blue which I thought would look good with the MUA beads. I've painted my nails with two coats of this today which has left the coverage a bit more transparent than I'd like but it gets hard to dry when I use more. I've talked about how much I love these polishes before (here) and I'll say again that I especially like the brush.

Now, on to the MUA beads that I got in my mini MUA haul the other day... they were surprisingly good! I have to admit that I've not tried any similar nail beads but I was shocked at how easy they were to apply; it took no effort at all, I expected much more fiddling. It said just to shake the beads over wet nail polish using the handy little funnel attached to the bottle, press any loser ones down and wait to dry. I also applied a top coat even though it didn't suggest it as my base nail polish didn't seem sticky enough to hold them on for long. They look fine but I probably wouldn't advise doing this unless you really have to because I did notice a bit of colour running from the turquoise beads. Other than that I was very impressed with them for the price and will be trying some other things with them soon! I was also pleased that it was easy to get any excess beads back in to the bottle by using the funnel the other way round to pour them back in. As you can see there are a few untidy bits in the picture but in real life it's barely noticeable and would hardly be worth trying to fix until a few more fall off!
Over all, YAY for easy nail art!

Friday's Five Fabulous Things

Ok, so this morning I realised I had a lot of blogging to catch up on as I have lots of stuff to share with you and I also missed my Five Fabulous Things post on the Sunday just gone because I was so busy... BUT I've now completely finished university now so I can do all of the catching up! I'm also changing Five Fabulous Things to Friday because, well, it's Friday today and I wanted to :)

Today I'm sharing an instagram of cocktails which I had yesterday at Las Iguanas, Yum!

On to the five things that have made me especially happy this week...

1. I'VE FINISHED UNIVERSITY: I can't believe it's finally over, I have many sad feelings as many happy ones. I'm mainly sad to be leaving my flat which has been a lovely home for three years. Once I've caught up on all of the tidying up I have to do I'll be taking some photos to remember it by and I think I'll share some on here so you all can see where I live :)
2. Pub Quiz: last night me and some of my friends went out for a quiet dinner which led to a pub quiz, which led to us WINNING! We won a £20 bar tab and so we ended up having quite a few drinks and a dance in the club upstairs to the pub even though we weren't really planning on that kind of night. It was quite a nice surprise, free drinks are always good!
3. Nando's Chicken Land: I went to Nando's for lunch yesterday with my friends (I needn't say more really, you can guess why this made me happy)... We saw a sign up in there about some kind of terms and conditions or something and the company was stated as "Nando's Chicken Land". We had no idea that it had ever been called that and found it quite amusing so it's no longer just "Nando's" to us haha
4. New Clothes: Also yesterday, I went celebratory shopping and bought myself a few new things and I have that new clothes feeling where I just want to wear them all!
5. Food: this one is about food, again. For the past four days, I've been so busy that I haven't had a home cooked meal and whilst I really enjoy cooking, eating junk for once has been SO good. There, I said it. I guess it's never too late to try being a "proper" student!

Hope you have all had a lovely week!

MUA Mini Haul

This weekend I did the usual impulse purchasing of stuff, you know what we all do when we're bored... Luckily for my bank balance I just ordered a few bits from Superdrug/MUA (some how the first time I've ever bought something from that range!) and they came today :) I'll probably review most of this stuff "properly" soon but here are  my first impressions...

As you can see from the pictures I picked up the Undress Me Too Eye Palette for £4  which everyone raves about (better late than never lol) as I'm trying to throw away an older palette which is a bit dated so I only use a couple of colours out of it but I needed a decent replacement first and this seems to fit the bill. I'm quite interested to try the colour combination it suggests on the back as I always try out the "instructions" on eye palettes so I might do a post on that if I like it rather than just doing swatches because there are tonnes of those online (or perhaps I just need to get a life and stop reading the instructions on eye shadow haha).

I also bought the Pro-Brow Ultimate Eye Brow Kit for £3.50 as one of the things I used in the old palette that I'm throwing away was a brown powder for my brows so I needed to replace that too. On first impressions the brown colour in this kit seems a bit lighter than what I usually use and they don't do other shades so I'll have to see how it goes after a few tries to see if I like it (or just finally convince myself to buy Benefit's Brow Zings)!

I also picked up another lip tint/balm to add to my collection and first impressions of the MUA Power Pout (in Crazy in Love) are "meh"; it's very slippery to apply, a bit like it's melting so probably won't last long on my lips but the colour is good and quite intense and it's only £3 so again, I'll probably just have to try it a few times before I decide if I like it enough to buy another.

And lastly, I bought the Nail Constellation Pisces for £3 (and a cheap and cheerful £1 MUA Top Coat). The colours of these beads are lovely (turquoise, silver and a very pale pink) so I can't wait to try them to find out which colour polish they look best with.

Which MUA products would you recommend?  I imagine that I might be buying more!

FOOD: My First Graze Box

I have been excited all weekend about getting my first Graze box (for free!) and it has finally come! I'm a HUGE snacker so I really don't know why I hadn't signed up to this sooner as it was all so easy and I've really enjoyed it so far.

After you sign up, you go through all of the foods available saying what you want to bin or try and you can even ask for something to be sent "soon" if you're really hoping for it. I don't usually enjoy nuts/seeds/dried fruit so admittedly, I binned quite a lot of things which looked really healthy but weren't for me although, I kept a couple of dried fruit things. I was really glad that I could get rid of all the stuff I didn't like as I'd have hated to end up with a box full of pumpkin seeds! I also like that the little box they come in is so handy as it fits through your letter box so you don't even need to be in when they arrive; hooray for not having to go to the post office for something!

You can look at what you're going to get in your box the night before it's due to arrive and initially, when I saw mine, I was quite disappointed because I got mostly sweet things (my box = summer berry flapjack, jaffa cake, billionaires shortbread and salsa fresca) where as my boyfriend got mostly savory stuff which I'd have preferred. That disappointment soon left me when I opened my box. Everything was delicious and I was especially impressed by the orange raisins in the jaffa cake inspired snack as when I read the description online I thought they sounded a bit too good to be true and would just be normal raisins; in actual fact, they are really pleasantly orangey and smell a bit like Christmas! The dippers were also great (I LOVE dips); there was just enough salsa for each cracker. The only thing I think could be improved about what I got today is the size of the chocolate pieces in jaffa cake. I'd have preferred more little pieces of chocolate that a few big pieces but it was still really nice.

I've also added some pictures from my boyfriend's box - he really enjoyed the shortbread which smells excellent before you even taste it and the Korean Rice Chilli Crackers were also lovely, quite spicy and very moreish; considering they were so moreish we were shocked at how many were in the packet, quite a big handful.

I'm definitely going to have one of these a week until I leave uni now because at £3.89, I think I can afford to treat myself a little and it's very convenient. Now I just need to work out how to make it last a little while instead of opening everything in a frenzy!

 Have you ever tried Graze boxes? What should I look out for in them?

If any one would like to get a free Graze box (new accounts only) I'd love it if you helped me out and used my referral code! You can easily cancel straight after your free box so it won't cost you a penny even though they ask for your card details. Use the code "96JGZ4K" to get your free box at www.graze.com/uk :)