SHOPPING: Beauty Boots Haul

You know when you have an awful week at work and you just feel like eating a whole load of chocolate? Well I had one of those weeks a couple of weeks ago but instead of eating the chocolate (trying to be healthy and all that) I went to Boots and spent far too much. But it's my wedding and honeymoon coming up, so it's completely justified.

I was after a new skincare routine, as the one I had was making my skin worse. There was a 3 for 2 deal on almost all skincare, so I bought a set of three products to hopefully transform my skin. It's early days buts it's going well so far! 3 for 2 offers are so stressful though - does anyone else spend ages trying to find products they want that are the same price so they don't get something a lot less for free? I hope it's not just me. My other latest obsession is all things make up, partially because I'm 'researching' products in readiness for my wedding and partially because I've well and truly been sucked into the beauty YouTube and blogger world!

On to the haul....

^This is the base of my new 'pre-wedding' skincare routine - Nivea Daily Essentials Sensitive Cleansing Milk (£4.10) and 3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Water (£3.69). Almost all of the skincare in Boots was on 3 for 2, so I bought these two and the next product...^

^Nivea Daily Essentials Express Hydration Primer (£4.99) was an interesting find, I've never heard of anything like this before. It's a moisturiser but a primer but a source of hydration for the skin but instantly absorbed. It's a strange one but I really like it so far, I've been using it for just over 2 weeks and I can really see a difference in the dry patches on my face.^

^naked Volume Passionflower & Grape Weightless Conditioner (£4.39) was actually on offer at my local Boots for 98p. I'm not sure why, it was on its normal shelf but the label said clearance. Then, when I looked closer I noticed a number of hair products had been reduced dramatically. It's worth looking along the aisles for 'clearance items' as there are some bargains to be found! I liked the sound of this conditioner and I love the naked range, so I have high hopes.^

^Herbal Essences Bee Strong Strengthening Conditioner (£3.99 for the full size 400ml) was another reduced hair item. This was reduced to 49p - it's the smaller version, so it will be ideal for our honeymoon if I like it. I always love the scents of Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners but the effect they have on my hair can vary. I'm looking forward to giving this a go.^

^Natural Collection Juicy Lips Gloss in Caramel Shortcake (£1.99) - a trip to Boots wouldn't be complete with a Natural Collection purchase. I've been looking for some nice lip glosses to try for our wedding but haven't been so impressed with this one so far. It doesn't really have much of a pigment and it's quite tacky. I'm going to persevere and see if it can prove me wrong!^

^Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Ivory (£5.49) - now everyone in the beauty/blogging/youtubers world must have either heard about this, seen someone rave about it or tried it themselves. I had wanted this for ages but hadn't gotten around to buying it. First impressions - impressed. It's such good coverage and does lighten the under eye area, I'm so glad I finally gotten around to buying this.^

^Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara in Waterproof Black (£8.99) is very much part of my quest to find the perfect waterproof mascara that doesn't sting my eyes as soon as I start to tear up, runs down my face or smudges around my eye area. Unfortunately so far I don't think this is the 'perfect waterproof mascara', the formula is very dry and I don't like how short the wands are (because it's double ended). Any recommendations for fantastic waterproof mascaras?^

^Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl in Black (£3.99) is by far my favourite kohl eyeliner I've ever used. It lasts so well, is waterproof, doesn't smudge (however hot the day is) and glides on beautifully. It's an eyeliner dream.^

^Maybelline Super Stay 24H Waterproof Powder in Ivory (£5.99) is part of my other main quest - the perfect long lasting powder. As this states to be waterproof I thought it would be perfect for when I'll inevitably cry on our wedding day. Initial thoughts - I don't like the feeling of applying this powder but it does last really well. I'm loving it paired with a non-waterproof powder.^

^Mini TRESemme Extra Hold Salon Finish Hairspray (£) - does anyone else get ridiculously excited about buying 'minis' for holidays. I do. The honeymoon mini purchases have begun, aided by the 3 for 2 deal Boots had. Hairspray is an essential, nothing too exciting but a mini none the less.^

^Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Backcomb in a Bottle (£) intrigues me. It sounds like a volumising spray/hairspray combination. I've not tried this yet but I'm excited at the possibility of it adding ridiculous volume to my hair. Oh, and it's a mini.^

^Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush (£) is again an essential and a mini. You all know the wonders of batiste dry shampoo, so I won't bore you with them again. But if it don't know about it, just know it's amazing and you need it.^

^Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze (£) was actually free because I spent over £9 on Rimmel products, which was a complete bonus as I was looking for a bronzer! It's also waterproof and has SPF 15, ideal for summer.^

And that's it for this Boots haul. I predict there will be more mini's and beauty hauls featuring on my blog as the run up to our wedding/honeymoon gets ridiculously close.

Any products I need for our honeymoon?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

BEAUTY: EcoTools Six Piece Everyday Collection Make Up Brushes

When I decided to improve my make up brush collection I didn't realise the whole world I'd unearth. For years I didn't even think about the make up brush I used, it would too often just be the sub-standard free one products come with. It was time I updated/improved the make up brushes I use, after all the amount of YouTube videos I watch with people saying how important a good brush is, I should have known the importance. Visiting America earlier this year was the perfect opportunity to pick up some higher quality make up brushes in readiness for our wedding (I'm doing my own make up).

I've read so many good things about the EcoTools make up brush range that I just had to give them a go. In America the prices are so much cheaper than here in the UK, almost half the price in some shops! In Walmart I picked up this EcoTools Six Piece Everyday Collection for $10.97 (about £6.40), I can't seem to find this set in the UK but the EcoTools Bamboo 6 Piece Brush Set (£15.99 from Boots) is almost identical (expect for the price!)

These are the brushes included in this set....



I had been wanting an Angled Eyeliner Brush for so long because none of the brushes I used to use were that shape. This brush is ideal for applying eyeliner/eyeshadow to the lower lash line, as it's small and tightly packed bristles mean you get good accuracy. I loved how soft this was though, it wasn't harsh on my eye but still gave that precision I was looking for.

The Concealer brush is a longer bristled brush, again very tightly packed and not particularly flexible. It isn't very 'fluffy', which is a shame because it's really hard to apply gently. I found that I had to hold the brush at a really strange angle, almost parallel to my face, in order to smooth out concealer. So instead I've been using this brush for eyeshadow and it's perfect. It's great for patting on eyeshadow across the eyelid, as you can really build up the pigment.  

The Angled Blush Brush is great for blusher, as well as contouring and highlighting. The fact that it's angled means you can contour in your cheek bones with precision. Personally, I prefer using a blusher/contour brush that is angled because then I can put the product where I want it rather than using a big brush which covers a larger area. This brush is the softest brush I've ever used, it helps the product to glide onto your face.

This cute little fluffy Eye Shading Brush is so soft and perfect for blending eyeshadows. There's barely any fall out when I use this brush and it's just so lovely to use.

The Detailer brush is small, tightly packed bristles and less flexible. This means it's good for applying detail in specific places, I loved using it for applying eyeshadow to the crease or under the lower lash line.

Which other EcoTools brushes would you recommend?




Feel free to leave me a comment :)

PHOTO A DAY: Day 175

^My Dad has kindly sorted out some speakers for our wedding, so I went round to listen to them today. They sound amazing! I had such a surreal moment when I realised the next time I listen to music on them it will be our wedding day and we'll be surrounded by people we love and care about. I can't wait.^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 174

^I decided to cook Tom dinner from the limited array of ingredients in our kitchen (we've literally had no time to go food shopping!) but as a vegetarian, cooking bacon is just horrible. I was almost hanging out of the window trying to get rid of the smell!!^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 173

^Our wedding planning notebook has so many 'to-do' lists, timelines, people to meet, things to organise, layouts and guest names - you wouldn't believe it.^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 172

^Today was spent being productive. I spent the morning at work, went for Sunday Dinner with my family for a belated Father's Day celebration and we finally ticked off some of our many wedding things to do.^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 171

^My car failed it's MOT and needed a new wheel bearing, Tom's Dad offered to fix it for me so we spent Saturday at their house. Ploughman's lunch outside, in the sunshine was just beautiful.^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 170

^Swooning over the beautiful items in the Tesco Home magazine. I can't wait to own our own house, so that we can put our personal touch on it.^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 169

^The England match meant only one thing - a picnic in the living room. We had tapas, fresh bread and wine. It made the football more bearable!^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 168

^My Dad text me and asked if I wanted to go out for tapas this evening. I text back pretty sharpish saying YES!^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 167

^A relaxing bath is what was needed after today - there's just so much to do and so little time!^

PHOTO A DAY: Day 166

^A day off work so I treated myself to a lovely lunch!^

HEALTHY RECIPE: Banana Milkshake

Every now and again I get cravings for certain foods, I've read that this is because my body needs the nutrients that that food has but who knows? Recently I had been really wanting a fresh banana milkshake, which is unusual as I'd always go for a chocolate milkshake. I remembered making a really easy milkshake when we were children, using up the slightly 'over ripe' bananas we hadn't eaten. This is the easiest and most simple recipe ever but I thought I'd share it with you just in case you don't know how to make a healthy banana milkshake really quickly!


You'll only need 3 ingredients:

If you ever have bananas that are starting to go too brown to eat then it's a good idea to peel and slice them, pop them into a freezer bag and put them into the freezer. You're not wasting any food and you'll always have a supply of banana milkshake waiting to be made. Perfect.


Some other optional ingredients you could add to this milkshake are: honey, chocolate milkshake powder (e.g. Nesquick), maple syrup, Nutella etc.

What to do:


1) Put 200ml Skimmed Milk (you could use any kind of milk), one frozen banana and around 14 ice cubes into a jug/blender. I used a hand blender because our blender is so weak and wouldn't blitz the ice up.

2) Blend until you get the desired consistency - I wanted mine to be quite thick so I made sure the proportion of ice to milk was higher. It's completely up to you though.

3) Pour into a glass and enjoy. It's really that simple.

Have you got any healthy smoothie/milkshake recipes?

I'd love to see them :)

BEAUTY: Revlon Colorstay Skin Foundation (Estee Lauder Double Wear Dupe)

Just before I went away to America my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation ran out (panic!), I thought I'd just buy some more while out in America as I presumed it would be cheaper. After doing a lot of searching it seemed it wasn't any cheaper and the fact that I have a £25 Debenhams gift card waiting to be used, it was too tempting to just wait to use that. I then had no foundation for my holiday, after a lot of searching around for a high street foundation that had a medium to full coverage I settled on the Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation in Ivory ($9). This foundation is available in 20 shades, it was quite overwhelming standing in the middle of Walmart trying to match my skintone without any samples to try. I settled on Ivory which isn't a bad match but I think I could have done with one slightly darker, as it's summer I will be fake tanning.

I'm seriously impressed with the coverage of this drugstore foundation! Every drugstore foundation I had tried previously never really gave me the coverage I wanted, hence moving to high end foundations. It's true to its claim, as  medium to full coverage foundation. It blends really easily, I've been applying it with the EcoTools Custom Buffering Brush and it's a match made in heaven. It sinks into my skin to make it look flawless.

(Similar to the Double Wear - a glass jar with no pump, which makes getting the foundation out of the jar quite hard!)
I was also surprised at how well it lasts, I don't use a primer on a daily basis yet this foundation stayed put almost all day long. I did need to 'powder my nose' throughout the day but that's not really a reflection of the foundation. This has become my favourite drugstore brand and it is a good dupe for the Estee Lauder Double Wear. Personally, Double Wear is still my favourite just because I love the consistency and full coverage look but for day to day use I'm now using Revlon Colorstay.

Do you have any other foundations that are good dupes for the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)

RECIPE: Chocolate and Oreo Cakenie

Firstly, let's address the word 'Cakenie' - I made it up. It's not a real word - yet - but I think it should be, as it perfectly describes the chocolate creation I made the other day. It's a bit like cake, a bit like brownie (that's where the 'nie' comes from) and is filled to the brim with chocolate. Yes, I've just described a chocolate lovers heaven. This is such a good recipe for using up any chocolate you have, it's so versatile and deliciously treaty.

What you'll need:

Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cupcake Mix

Eggs, Oil and Water in accordance with the packet instructions

The following ingredients are optional - just use whatever chocolate you have in. This is what I used:

1/2 packet of Oreo's

Handful of Cadbury Pebbles

Handful of White Chocolate Chips

Handful of Giant Chocolate Buttons

150g Galaxy chocolate, roughly chopped

What to do:

1) Make the chocolate cupcake mix up as instructed on the packet.

2) Grease and line a large, flat ovenproof dish - I used one we would usually cook lasagne in - you know the kind? Then pour in the cupcake mixture.

3) I then mixed in the Galaxy chocolate into the chocolate cupcake mix so that you couldn't see it anymore. Next I sprinkled over the other delicious, chocolatey treats all over the mixture. It's a good idea to slightly press some of the items down, just so that they are fixed into the sponge mixture.

4) Bake in a preheated oven (180'C) for around 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from cake batter. There will probably some melted chocolate on the skewer, so try to distinguish between the two when checking if it's cooked.

5) Leave to cool for 10 minutes and then carefully remove the whole cakenie from the container, using the sides of greaseproof paper. Place on a wire rack to cool. After its cooled for around 20 minutes cut it into squares and allow to cool completely. At this point it will be evident as to why I've called this a cakenie -  there is so much chocolate that it gives the gooey consistency of a brownie, yet it's a cake mixture.

Do you love all things chocolate related?


Feel free to leave me a comment :)