May '14 Favourites

May has almost been and gone in a flash, it has seriously gone so quick I can't believe we will be in June (half way through the year!) tomorrow. Only seems like yesterday I was wrapping chrismas presents, but anyway - on to the favourites!:

+ Vaseline Spray & Go in Aloe (£5/4.99, various places) - why this hasn't been thought of before I don't know as it is genius. You know I've been loving this as I've posted about it before, the consistensy is so light and non greasy, its marv.

+ Molton Brown Rose and Rhubarb hand cream (recieved in Birchbox) - this has just been keeping my hands so soft and the scent is so nice and uplifting. Its perfect for this time of year as its moisturising but not heavy and overly greasy and the smell is also summeryish.

+ Bath and Bodyworks Fresh Strawberry hand sanitiser (bought of ebay for £1.50) - I just love these hand sans anyway but the smell is just sooo summery and lush. Its deffinately gracing my work jacket pocket and I get so many compliments from the smell, they think its a perfume I'm wearing.

+ Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 51 (10.99, Boots) - I love this for the hotter weather as its light. I really like the smell of this as well (maybe its just me) but I find other foundations during hotter weather can feel cakey and make your face feel a bit greasy, but this is not like those. It almost has a cooling effect when you put it on and its definately a go to foundation for me.

+ Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya (£7.99, Boots) - These are gorge as they feel so nourishing and this shade is just nice and sheer to give you a coral sheen to your pout. I generally love these formulas.

+ Miss Manga Mascara (8.99, Boots) - This mascara has recieved mixed reviews, I personally really like it. My lashes are naturally long so I don't need a lot of help in that department but it gives me lovely volume and doesn't flake like others I've tried.

+ Yes To Cucumbers Facial Wipes (4.99, Birchbox) - These were a godsend when I was on holiday as they are just a quick way of getting the majority of make-up off of my face and they don't feel drying and seem to get the most stubborn crap off my face too. Super refreshing and definately not like anything I've tried in the face wipe area.

Well those were my favourites for May, hope you all enjoyed my post and given you some ideas on these items.

Emma x

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Candle of the month - Yankee Candle 'Turquoise Sky'

I'm not really one for lighting candles in the hotter months, I guess I just assosciate them with the colder time of the year but the summery scents Yankee Candle does are enough to tempt the money out of my purse. This caught my eye as I walked past the Yankee store nearby and I saw they were something like 25% rrp so naturally I went in and purchased. This is so fresh smelling, it reminds me of mens aftershave as its really distinctive and almost citrussy. It is a true summery scent and its also invigorating in a way as it is so sharp and yummy. This cost me about £16 I think and these big ones last forever and smell strong so they are deffo worth the money if you live near a Yankee store.

Emma x

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Mini Boots Haul

So it was payday last Friday which can only mean one thing - a trip to Boots. I was rather good this month and didn't splurge massively spending something around £40 for these babies.

First up I bought a new Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel foundation in shade 51 (Vanille Clair) for £7.99. This is the best low end foundation you can buy, it just glides on, gives you lush coverage and smells awesome. For my dry skin, I feel like this actually seems to hydrate (?) my skin and sometimes feels like its soothing my skin in some strange way too. The gel like formulation of this is just gorge and is really nice to apply. I definately recommend this as for the price you pay - you are really getting a quality item.

I also bought a Rimmel Scandaleyes khol pencil eyeliner in the shade Black for £3.99. I love these pencils as they have a weird (but nice) texture and give you a nice boldness in your water line. They're also super long lasting and the price is pretty reasonable.

I also bought a new blogger favourite Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in Fair for £4.19 as I ran out :(. I have been using the Rimmel Hide the Blemish concealer just recently but thought I'd return to my original as the Rimmel seems overhyped to me and didn't really do the job for my blemish hiding needs. This stuff, for the cheap sum you pay really is quality and I think it perhaps could be the best drugstore one money can buy.

Last but not least I bought the Juicy Couture 'Couture La La' Malibu. I purchased this for the cracking price of £26.99, and almost bought other perfumes as they have like a 'summer smells' event going on at the moment. Ever since getting a sample of this and the other JC Malibu perfume I've loved it, it is just so fresh smelling and uggh I love it. It is perfect for this time of year and I did have this on my Birthday wishlist, but as nobody bought it, when I saw it was a reducey I just had to buy it and haven't worn anything since. I get complimented on this a lot by randomers saying how light and clean it smells. I definately recommend heading down to Boots if you are in the market to buy another perfume as its just so light and floral - just give it a try, you won't be dissapointed.

Emma x

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Vaseline Spray & Go moisturiser.

Vaselines new baby is a goodun... meet the 'Spray & Go' available in three different scents/flavours (essential/aloe/cocoa) providing a moisturiser in spray form. I am super impressed with this guy, the consistency is lush but not overly greasy or sticky.

This is an example of the amount it sprays out, it soaks in so well and you really are dry before you know it. Even my ezcema suffering mum loves it, she thinks it works wonders for her irritated dry skin. Also, this feels pretty hefty when you pick it up so \I reckon its gonna be quite well lasting and for £5 I don't think its much of an expense at all. The smell of this is amazing, its so fresh and cucumbery, I really like it. If, like me, you suffer from flaky, gnarly, dry skin and hate slapping on thick, sloppy moisturisers I recommend you give this dude a go - for the price you are paying I think its a fab product and can't believe the spray idea was only just thought of recently, it is pretty revolutionary.

Emma x

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Glossybox May '14 - Superdrug Colaboration Limited Ed Box

This months Glossybox was a let down, to put it lightly. For the last few weeks they have had people buzzing over this mystery colab with some company (turned out to be Superdrug, is this a good or bad thing, I can't tell) and how we were getting four full size items.

As you guys can see, I don't think I had the best selection of products as most of my full size items were of Superdrug own brand. :(

This own brand hair donut was by far the most dissappointing thing in my box as I hate the ballerina bun trend (it really isn't my cup of tea!) and it feels really cheap and nasty. I can't understand why GB thought it was a good idea to include these at all.

Next up we have cheapo depo 2true Candy nail Caviar - this also is really not very me, I feel like my beauty profile has completely been lost by GB. It was also open and had started to leak in the bottom of my box. As pretty as it looks I really don't like this brand as their nail products don't seem to ever last.

My third 'full size' product is this 'Strawberrys & Milkshake' pink lipgloss - something that my twelve year old self would've loved, but as I'm 21, I don't think a lot of this. It just seems very cheap and completely just thrown in without a second thought.

Finally, a product I might actually use! This is the Rimmel Scandaleyes retro glam mascara (non-warerproof - boo!) The wand on this looks interesting and I've heard good things about this so I am excited to add it to my mascara junkie stash!

This Superdrug Solait Illuminating facial bronzing *fake tan cough cough* cream. This is definately something that will get lost in my stash as I can never see me actually using this. Yet again I don't feel like my 'beauty profile' on GB was actually read by the person making my box. The smell of this is horrid but the texture is nice.

This little extra is a Garnier body 'oil beauty' nourishing lotion - I actually prefer this wee sachet sample to the majority of the full size products. I really like Garnier skin care I think it really works and leaves you super moisturised.

The last thing I recieved in my box is this sweet little sample of 'Ghost Eclipse' - I really like the scent of this, its just really warm and sweet, right for summer.

So as you can see, it was a poor show from Glossybox this month and I am definately prefering my awesome Birchbox this month. I really prefered the sample sizes in this box and feel really underwhelmed seeing as this was supposed to be a special 'colaboration birthday' box. I do feel like I got the bad end this month as some people have some amazing items in their boxes (Maxfactor Primer wink wink) and I got all own brand items. Sorry to complain but I felt like something extra was really needed here.

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Birchbox May '14

Its beauty box subscription time, and Birchbox has graced my porch first this month! This month the guys at Birchbox have teamed up with Harpers Bazaar to create a really beautiful box.

As you can see, the design this month is just gorgeous and the theme is 'The Great Outdoors'. The box comes with all the usual garb (a.k.a. product info card, pamphlets, etc.) The product selection this month is just fantastic as well, there is not one item included in this box that I don't think I'll use (Shock horror!).

As ever, it seems Birchbox just love sending little Benefit minitures as we have a baby 'They're Real' Mascara, not that I'm complaining as I do think this makes my lashes longer, however it can be a total cow to get off my eyes at the end of the day!

Loving the inclusion of Aromatherapy Associates this month as I cannot get enough of this brand. I've tried many of the bath oil scents and I've also tried out a body gel from this brand. This is the 'Revive Morning' scent and oh my jeez, its like hypnotic - it is that lush.

Next up is a little duo of the Beauty Protector shampoo and conditioner, which looks promising as I like their protector oil as it makes my locks glossy and soft. These guys shall be exciting to use.

This month we were also treated to a full size Soigne nail varnish which came in a really posh box. I recieved the shade 'Creme Au Beurre' which is this sort of ballerina baby pink shade (which isn't really me) but I am sold on the quality of this varnish as it is a nice consistency, not sure how well it holds up against chips yet but so far so good.

Lastly we have this beauty - a travel size Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, complete with muslin cloth! This is just so cute and I love this cleanser, I'm sure I'm not the only one either as it has just recieved its 100th award. Congrats guys.

So overall this months Birchbox is going to be a tough one to beat, Glossybox. I feel like the theme was really considered and thought out this month as opposed to the crappy Lulu Guiness box we recieved in March. I'd love to hear what others recieved and see if it was better/worse than this box, but in my eyes this was just such a good box - possibly the best one I have recieved since joining last August.

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What I got for my 21st birthday...

So my first blog post! We are just under two weeks now since I turned the big 21! So I thought I would try to start writing a blog, I thought I would share what I got with my readers for presents.

So first up is my beautiful Kate Spade 'Gramercy' watch, my boyfriend Sam bought me this after me constantly pining after a fancy bracelet style watch. I'm so in love with this and I don't think there's been a day gone by where I haven't been donning this beauty. I decided that I wanted this in the silver as I feel like its more versatile and classic as opposed to a rose gold watch as everyone and their mums has one of those just recently.

My Sammy also bought me some Marc Jacobs (lovelovelove) perfume. Dot is my second MJ perfume, but I just adore Daisy, I wear it every day so it is nice to have an alternative MJ perfume that I can wear. It still hasn't beaten Daisy but it is something I have worn frequently after recieving. I just love the bottle, it is sooooo cute and ladybuggy. ;)

I also recieved some yummy Lindt chocolate from my boyfriend too. ;)

From my parents I got a Jo Malone 'Wild Roses' perfume, which at first I wasn't mad over as I thought it was way too floral for me... However aftef applying the scent becomes a lot less heavy and strong, instead it becomes more of a light floral - which is actually right up my alley.

My mum and dad also bought me this little Thomas Sabo jewellery box which reminds me of Lulu Guinness. Its a perfect little jewellery box to store all my odd bits of jewellery and has a nice compartment section so I don't lose my smaller, more petite items such as some of my necklaces.

From my sweet little Great Nan I got this tiny little silver heart locket, which is adorable. Its quite wearable and very cute. I shall get lots of wear out of this and it means a lot coming from my nan.

     
I recieved this Fenella Smith Pug mug from my Auntie and I just love it. For those who don't know I am pugsessed! I just would love one of these babies if I had my own place as I just think they're the most gorgeous breed! Anyway! I am currently using this to store my make up brushes and it looks lovely just sitting on my desk. I really, really love it.






Apologies for what seems like an infinite post, but you gotta start somewhere!

Emma x

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