Moisturising, It's Simple

Merry meet, bloggers! :-) 

Today's blog post is about moisturising, if you couldn't tell by the title. It has taken me a while to find a moisturiser that I'm happy with, unfortunately having combination skin that's very sensitive, but now that I've finally found my perfect product, moisturising couldn't be simpler. 

Wondering what it is? Simple's kind to skin hydrating light moisturiser--and yes, I totally tried and failed to make a pun above! 

 

I absolutely love this moisturiser, I use it near enough every morning and night, and it's effects are definitely long-lasting--Simple claims it works for twelve hours, but I'm not too sure if it lasts that long. I apply it throughoughly to my face, and sometimes my neck, too, as I can get dry skin around the throat area. 

The moisturiser itself is light, odourless, smooth and sinks into the skin quickly. My skin feels refreshed, hydrated and soft to the touch quickly after use. It contains pro-vitamin B5 and vitamin E, along with glycerin and borage seed oil, which are described as 'skin loving ingredients'. Best of all, there are no artificial perfurmes, colouring or harsh chemicals, so for sensitive skin types like myself this moisturiser really is a perfect treat!

I bought the 125ml bottle at Boots for £3.79, an absolute bargain in my opinion as not much is needed for each use and it really ticks all the boxes. There is also currently a three-for-two offer on all Simple skincare products, and so I purchased two packets of the Simple kind to skin cleansing facial wipes too, which I love and have done for a couple of years.

I really can't fault this moisturiser! I would highly recommend this product to anyone wanting an affordable, light, hydrating moisturiser that won't irritate or upset your skin. It really is simple goodness!

Have a lovely day, and until next time! :-)

NOTD: A Tropical Touch

Merry meet, bloggers! :-)

Today I thought I would share with you a 'nail of the day'--my very first, to be exact! 

The nail polish I'm using is the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, in the shade 317 Guava, which was a bargain if you ask me at £3.99 from Boots. Now, I'm sure everyone has heard nothing but praise about the Gelly Hi-Shine range, which, if you haven't, you must have been living under a rock these past couple of months because it is uh-ma-zing! So, instead of writing reems about it's thick, long-lasting, sheeny shiny-ness, I thought I'd focus on the colour.

As soon as I reached the Barry M stand in Boots, this particular nail polish caught my eye. My favourite colour is duck-egg blue, and I love all greeny-blue colour variations, including turquoise. If I were to describe this colour, I would say 'tropical turquoise'. It's summery, bright, different from the usual pastel shades, and it has a tropical touch that I just fell in love with.

Argh, the camera wouldn't focus properly! This was the best shot of about 500000 tries!

This polish is named Guava, which, if you ask me, doesn't make much sense, as you'd expect a shade called Guava to be either a coral-pink or zesty-green shade--here's a picture of some guavas if you're not entirely sure on what they look like (in my opinion, they are a very pretty fruit!): 

Image Source: weheartit

The shade doesn't make much sense, does it? However, the name does quite suit the shade, in my opinion, and I'm not quite sure why. 

I've been wearing this shade a lot ever since I bought it--it matches perfectly with some jeans I bought from Primark a while back, and it's perfect to spruce up a more neutral outfit by adding a tropical, summery flare. The shade also looks fab with an accent nail--I've used Barry M's Croc Nail Effects in black with this nail polish and it looks wonderful!

I hope you're all having fabulous summers, and until next time! :-)

A New and Motivated Me :-)

Merry meet, bloggers! :-)

How are you all? Enjoying your summer, I hope! Long time no see, hey?

I'd like to start off by apologising for my long-time absence, these past few months have been crazy, and I just haven't found the time or motivation to sit down and churn out some blog posts. However, this all changes today!

Recently, I was browsing through my Tumblr dashboard and I came across an image that was really, really powerful to me. As soon as I saw it everything just kind of, clicked. This is it:

Credit: Tumblr

This, for me, basically means that if I sit around my 'dream' life isn't going to come to me. I'm going to have to work hard to live the life I want, I'm going to have to take the decision to change and put plans into motion. For me, this simple image is so motivating and inspiring. I have quite a few goals I want to achieve in my life, and I'm going to start small and begin working towards them, powered by this image and a vision in my head. 

Of course, nobody can go walking around with rose-tinted vision, I know that I won't achieve everything, but as long as I'm happy with what I've achieved, that will be enough. Now that it is the Summer break, I can really work on areas of my life I think need improving. 

One particular place I feel needs some love and care is this blog. This summer, I plan to really kickstart my blog into action. With weeks of free time, hopefully my blog will come out of Summer a livelier, loved place! Oh, and have you seen my new theme? It's so bright and pretty! A fresh, new theme for a fresh, new start!

So, readers, hopefully this quote will motivate you to go out and work on achieving some goals. Some can be big, some can be small--one of my goals for this summer is simply to become more sociable! 

Until next time, bloggers, and be sure to watch this space, as I have a lot planned! :-)

Bloglovin'?

Merry Meet, Bloggers! :-)

Now, I'm sure that over the past few days, you've probably come across a lot of posts about Bloglovin'. Due to Google Reader being deleted soon, everyone is flocking over to this nifty little alternative blog reader, myself included. 

I suppose I should count myself lucky, as a fairly new blogger I haven't accumilated a large follower base yet, so for me, the news isn't too upsetting, but I'm sure for others it is. 

So please, lovelies, follow me on Bloglovin!

And don't worry, there will be a proper post coming out later today, I think. :-)

Until next timeeee!

The Liebster Award!

Merry meet, bloggers! :-)

On Monday, as I logged onto my  blog, I had a lovely suprise! The lovely Accent Girl 100 had nominated me for the Liebster award! Now I'd seen this floating around the blogosphere, but never thought I'd be nominated. :-) In a nutshell, this award is for blogs with less than 2OO followers (on Google Friend Connect), and that the award will give some support and shed some attention to up-and-coming bloggers. :-)

The Rules:

1. Share 11 things about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions that your tagger has given you.

3. Choose 11 fellow blogs to nominate. The nominees must have under 200 Google Friend Connect followers and be told in a comment on their blog.

4. Think of 11 questions to ask the bloggers you have nominated.

5. Thank the person that nominated you and link back to their blog.

1. Share 11 things about yourself.

1. I live in Wales, and I can speak Welsh.
2. I'm shorter than the average fifteen year old, psh.
3. There is one single strand of my hair that doesn't have any pigment--meaning that it annoyingly grows through white, and I have to pluck it out when it grows, gah.
4. I have an adorable eight months old puppy, who has one eye. 
5. My favourite shop in the worldddd is New Look.
6. I have an obsession with owls! 
7. Seven is my lucky number.
8. I lovelovelove dance and musical theatre.
9. I have braces, and have had so for a year.  Unfortunately.
10. My favourite colour is duck-egg blue.
11. I'm kinda-sorta-maybe a bookworm. 

2. Answer the 11 questions that your tagger has given you.

1. If you could only have one social site out of facebook, twitter, youtube, blogger, instagram etc, which one would you pick?!
Ohmygosh, this is soooo hard! I DON'T KNOW OHMIGAWD. Could I say...a social site from the future that combines them all? ;-)

2. Given the choice, would you rather buy cheaper things and have more, or buy more expensive things and have less?! For example, would you rather go into Primark and buy 5 vest tops for £10, or would you rather go into Topshop and buy 1 vest top for £10?!
Well, that kind of depends on the quality of the things, and how much I like them. So I'll say I'd rather have lesser, but good quality things I really love than more of things I just buy for the sake of it and aren't good quality.

3. What is your 'song on repeat' right now?
Natalie by Bruno Mars, it's so upbeat and catchy, I can't help but dance around like a maniac and sing along, I loveeees it!<3

4. What is one of your pet hates?
Grammar, spelling and punctuation. Enough said.

5. Who are your top three youtubers?
Marcus Butler, PointlessBlog and Zoella.

6. What one make up item could you not live without?
Mascara, or my anti-dark circles roll on...I'll say mascara.

7. Do you prefer your hair straight, waved or curled?
Waved or curled...waved or curled...um, waved?

8. If you were to go on 'Come Dine With Me' what would your 3 course menu be?!
Ooh, okay then! For a starter, minestrone soup with a soft, buttered bread roll, main course would be a Sunday roast, and pudding would be a chocolate fudge sponge cake with cream! Mmm.

9.  What are your guilty pleasures?
Well,this is a funny one. I'm not actually a fan of the term 'guilty pleasure', because I think that if doing something gives you pleasure (lol, that sounded way too innapropriate), then you shouldn't feel guilty. But I suppose spending too much would probably be mine.

10. What is the best holiday you have ever been on?
I've been on so many great ones! Although I have to say the annual Haven trips with my family and friends are sooo much fun, I have so many great memories!

11. Which day of the week is your favourite?!
Friday! :-) 

3. Choose 11 blogs to nominate, etc-etc-etc.. 

1. http://themishyears.blogspot.com/
2. http://bethloux.blogspot.co.uk/ 
3. http://sunglasses-and-daisychains.blogspot.co.uk/
4. http://ninaandhernotebook.blogspot.co.uk/
5. http://brainybeautyblog.blogspot.co.uk/
6. http://myvtgworld.blogspot.co.uk/
7. http://girlswithblondecurls.blogspot.co.uk/
8. http://februaryairr.blogspot.co.uk/
9. http://aimeemoore.blogspot.co.uk/
10. http://katiesteaparty.blogspot.co.uk/
11. http://lifes-glitters.blogspot.co.uk/

4. Think of 11 questions to ask the bloggers you have nominated.

1. How would you describe yourself in one word?
2. How would you describe your blog in one word?
3. What do you like to do to relax?
4. What's your favourite beauty product?
5. How often do you wear make-up?
6. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would they be?
7. What's your biggest ambition?
8. Do your emotions effect the way you dress and your make-up?
9. Morning bird or a night owl?
10. Do you prefer looks or personality in a boy/girl? (if you had to choose!)
11. What the craziest thing you have ever done?

5. THANK-YOU, ACCENT GIRL 100! You have no idea how much this nomination means to me! You're so sweet for nominating me, everyone should check out her lovely blog! :-)

 

Ooo, and guys, I know this blog doesn't seem very beauty-related yet, but I promise you, I have lots of posts planned, so keep your lovely eyes peeled! Farewell, lovelies! :-) xx

DIY: Mother's Day Cards!

Merry Meet, bloggers! :-)

Tomorrow in Britain, it's Mother's Day. Me and my Mum get along really, really well, and along with the usually gifts of chocolate, flowers and perfume, I wanted to do something a bit more unique. After wondering what I could do for a while, I decided to make a Mother's Day card with a bit more of a personal touch. 

First, I browsed around online for some funny Mother's Day verses. There were a few, but then a particular website caught my eye, which allowed you to make free eCards--and insert your mum's face into them! I thought this was a really great idea, especially since there were a some good cards on there. You can view the website here.

Once I had chosen my card, inserted in my mum's face, and tweaked the verse a little, I wasn't satisfied--it was a little too plain--so I print-screened the card, and printed it out on some glossy photo paper. I also went onto dafont.com, selected a pretty cursive font (Always In My Heart) and printed out the word 'Mum' on a plain piece of paper, along with three adorable little heart shapes, which came with the font.

I next got some pastel card, crinkle-cut scissors, some PVA glue, acrylic paint and my craft knife and cutting board, all from my cupboard of art supplies (GCSE Art Student over here;-)!). I then set about making my card.

I may have possibly forgot to put the scissors into the shot...oops?

I folded my pastel card in half, turning it landscape. After cutting out the words 'Mum' and the little hearts using my craft knife, I used the paper with the cut-out words and hearts to create a stencil, using my acrylic paint (if you wanted to try this out, readymix would work too) to stencil the text and hearts onto the front (and later on, inside) of my card.

 

Looks a little plain, doesn't it? I thought so too, so I grabbed a sparkly pink gel pain and sketched on some sparkle-type things, dotting them around the blank spaces.

Finally, I used my crinkle-cut scissors to cut a boarder around the eCard. Once it was looking nice and pretty, I used PVA glue to stick it to the inside of the card, and then, voila! One pretty and unique Mother's Day card, the whole process taking about an hour at the most! 

And here's the finished result! 

(yes, I blurred out my mum's face, for privacy reasons.)

Looks adorable, doesn't it? Why not try this out for your Mum for Mother's Day? It's quite simple, and if you've forgotten to get your Mum a card (naughty!), this is a quick fix that I'm sure she'll appreciate more than those expensive shop-bought cards.

I'll let you all know in my next blog post of my Mum's thoughts, so hwyl fawr until next time! :-)

A Bathtime Blogpost!

(excuse the poor quality, and instead admire the adorable little bokeh hearts?)

Merry meet, lovely bloggers! :-)

Welcome to my second ever blog post! Quite exciting, ey?

Today I'll be waffling on about what is possibly the most relaxing experience there is: bathtime.

Ooh, doesn't the name just have you sighing in bliss?

Now up until recently, I never was one for a bath. If I'm honest, I considered baths to be a complete and utter waste of time, opting for a nice hot shower instead. About a month ago, we started having problems with our boiler, which cause the water to randomly blast from hot to cold when showering. Until this could be fixed, I was forced (well, forced is a tad strong) to take a bath.

I couldn't be more thankful, as I'm now addicted to them! I never realised how soothing and relaxing they could be, paired with the right smellies and some good 'ole bubbles. Being a dancer, I've now discovered the best remedy to aching and sore muscles is a long soak in the tub. Bathtime is now a much anticipated treat!

Now, I think you'll all agree, the best part of a bath is when you first step into the hot, bubbly bliss, and let the water wash over you as you sigh and sink down into a haven of warmth and comfort.

After just laying in the tub for a while (perhaps a while too long...), I then proceed to wash my hair--if I'm washing my hair that day--, as no one wants soap scum or dirt from washing in their hair, do they? No, most definitely not! Once my hair is all sweet-smelling and clean, I then move onto the main event: washing!

I usually use a shower gel or body wash, as I'm not really a fan of washing my body with soap, especially in the bath. Currently, I'm using Soap and Glory's 'Clean on Me' shower gel, and let me tell you, it's amazing! I'm actually using a mini version at the moment I got as a gift in a little Soap and Glory set, but I'm definitely going to consider buying it once it's all used up. It smells heavenly, and it's so creamy and smooth, leaving my skin feeling soft, smooth, clean (aha), and smelling great! Aaah, just lovely!

Once I'm all nice and clean, I like to exfoliate. Now, I don't do this every bath, as I don't think my skin needs it, I'll usually do it once or twice a month. Currently I'm using Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula - Cocoa Body Scrub. It's actually my mum's, but as I don't use it often it's all good. ;-) Now this scrub is just AMAZING. Even though it's an exfoliator, it's quite soft, and isn't too harsh on my skin. It does the trick wonderfully, and from what I have researched on the internet (my mum bought it, haha), it's good value for money! Not to mention it smells oh-so-wonderful, the cocoa butter smell gorgeous but not too overpowering, and the scent lingers on your skin, a definite bonus.

And then, once I'm all squeaky clean, it's out of the bath and into my bedroom for some mosturising! Once I'm dry I apply some body lotion all over my legs and arms, to keep them soft and mosturised. I'm trying to use up all of my 'smellies' products at the moment, so I'm just using a cheap body lotion I recieved in a gift set, but hey--it smells great and feels great, so who's complaining?


So, what are all your bath routines/products? Do you have any recommendations? A little bathtime routine, perhaps? Why not write your own bathtime blogpost, or you could always drop a comment below!

Until next time! :-)