New Nail Varnish ...

Today we went round to my mams house for Sunday lunch so I decided to try out one of my new nail varnishes. First  up is NYC quick dry, from Superdrug in Rainbow. Now like I said in my cosmetics haul page this one is a lot lighter in person then on the website.

Its a really light sky blue colour which I think will be perfect for summer, nice and light to contrast with a hopeful tan hehe

I've got a few NYC colours and they have all been fine, but for some reason this one was a little bit gloopy. It was almost like an old nail varnish that is starting to turn. I wasn't overly impressed as it meant that the first coat was really uneven then the second was streaky. I put a third coat on tonight when I got home and this one went on much better ... so I'm not sure if it was just that the bottle had been sitting out in the warm or what. This has however encouraged me to invest in a proper nail varnish thinner so I am going to keep an eye out for a good deal on one.

Anyway a side from the slight issues with application, I really like the final colour and its actually covered really well in the end. I will write an update when I come round to trying this colour again to see if I have the same problems.  I will also include an update about how well this colour lasted when it comes time to try the next one. Fingers crossed it lasts a while, this week will be a real test not only am I going to the gym a few times but I also plan on going swimming and every girl knows that swimming is the natural enemy of nail varnish hehe

xXx

What to wear for a wedding mark III

So in my last post I talked about finding my outfit for my friends wedding. I also mentioned borrowing a fascinator from my mam as it was white ... well since then I came across some alternatives. 

I found these three clips that can be used as a pin or clipped into your hair, I thought they would look really cute and negate the need for a headband. When I bought them the two with brooches in the centre had rather tacky giant diamantes in that looked really cheap so I removed them and used some embellishments I had instead. I bought these from a company called the handcrafted card company where I bought the brooches for my wedding bouquet. 

Now the problem is that I am not sure which one to wear.

I really like the spiral one with the 3 feathers but again I like the other 2 as well. Hmm might have to wait until I decide what to do with my hair then I can see which one will fit best.

What do you think? Which one is your favourite? Ps what do we think of the red lipstick I'm trying something new.

xXx

Whats in my handbag ...

After seeing Fizzy Peaches and couple other people post things like this I thought I would give you all a look inside my handbag.

As most people know, handbags and their content are very personal ... to the point that fiancé isn't overly keen on going into mine even when I tell him too hehe honestly you would think I kept a man eating monster in it.

So here goes .. from left to right ...

Filofax ... £15
Cath Kidston Purse ... £28
Primark Bag ... £9
Make up bag ... £free
Sanctuary Spa Eau de toilette ... about £6
Vaseline ... £1.99
Hairspray ... £1.50
Primark floral brolly ... £4
Kleenex ... £?? multipack
Pound coin ... £1
Hair pins ... £1
Keys ... probably upwards of £100 to get a new car key, 3 house keys and my mini memory card

Total - 167.49 then add in my iPhone £200 ish thats £367.49 yikes

Inside my makeup bag ...

I'm quite good on this front I dont tend to carry a lot of extra make up around with me any more.

Nail file ... £2.50
Coverstick ... £3
Eye liner ... £5 (a very battered Avon one I think they have stopped making :( )
Eye liner ... £2
Mascara ... £1.99
Lipstick ... £1.99

Total £16.48 .. now that is really surprising ... I think its the avon eye liner thats pushed it up.

So all together I am probably carrying around about £383.97 worth of stuff in my little cheap £9 handbag. 

Looking at whats in my bag I think the bits that really drive up the cost are my phone and my car keys. Which is to be expected as a new car key has to be matched to your car these days so is mega bucks, normal house keys run upwards of £5 each to cut. Then a mobile phone ... well unless I start carrying around a basic call and text model this is always going to push up the value of your bag. Hence why I try to keep a very close eye on it.

One thing this doesn't take account of is sentimental value or replacement time and energy... fiancé bought me that purse for a christmas present and inside it there are a lot of cards to call up and cancel, ooh speaking of which replacing your drivers licence can cost over £20.  

Then a bit like Fizzy Peaches I also carry my iPad round at times which is over £300 or our Nook £60, I feel like walking round with a personal body guard who's main job is to hold my bag when I'm busy. I dread to think of the price it would be if I was still at uni and carrying around my Macbook!!! 

What do you keep in your bag? considering leaving any items at home in future? 

xXx

Make up summery update ...

So a couple of weeks ago I posted my 7 step make up routine, I have a little addition to make. Bronzer!

If you are like me and you tan quite easily you will know that once you get a tan your makeup all goes to pot. See the colours you would normally wear don't look quite right and your foundation isn't the right shade.

Enter bronzer ... this can even out foundation and add a little extra tan tint. The only downside can be finding the right one. Its a bit like finding a blush they come in shades, tints and types. I've always had a bit of  a problem finding a nice bronzer thats not too sparkly or orange!

Last summer it was so warm that I decided to forgo foundation most days and just wanted a powder but most of them were too light for my newly bronzed skin. I tired using my usual bronzer as an overall powder but its a it too sparkly for everyday wear. Now if you read my above post you will know I'm a bit fan of drugstore make up and so I searched in every Boots & Superdrug looking at different shades and tones. I couldn't find anything!!

Then when we were on holiday down south with fiancés family I went into superdrug with his sister and she showed me the 2true collection. This is usually on a turning stand so I hadn't looked at it before, they have a lot of nail varnish (which you will note in a previous post I have some of)  and other face bits, everything is about £1.99 so really good price. V was looking for nail varnish but I spotted the bronzers and picked one up. Just so happens this was exactly what I was looking for!!

This has a really nice colour and isn't shiny/sparkly at all so you can use it as an overall power without getting the tanned twilight vampire look going on hehe At the minute I'm a little bit tan but its not nearly warm enough to just be rocking bronzer and sunnies so instead I have been using it to contour.

This is basically where you use a different shade to define different areas of your face, its a bit like highlighting your cheeks with blush. I take a blusher brush and apply a little bronzer to the edge of my face by my hair line then down the side of my face then along my jaw line. I also use just a little either side of my nose ... not too much or you look a bit odd and we dont want random mide face tide lines where foundation ends and bronzer begins hehe

So if your looking for a summer tan powder for a light coverage or just for a bronzer to contour with take a look at 2True in Superdrug.

xXx

My mini cosmetics haul ....

So today I had to pop into town to get some birthday cards, 3 inside a week! So while I was in I took a look about since it had turned out to be quite a nice day. I first took a look in New Look and found quite a few nice pieces, I'm really liking the tribal prints in at the minute ... But that's for another post.

After I had taken a look in a few shops I decided to take a look at some make up .. I wanted a clear mascara for day to day wear. My normal clear mascara is natural collection from Boots but I passed Superdrug first so popped in there. 

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, though I did fancy a new bright red lipstick so just had a general browse. After Superdrug I took a look in Boots and would you believe it they had a deal on, buy one get one half price mix and match across nearly every cosmetics range. I took a look at the more expensive stuff but at the minute I just can't justify spending much on non essential make up. So I stuck to the 1.99 ranges of Natural Collection and 2True. 

So here is my mini haul from today ... 

1. NYC Expert last nail varnish in Mint Macaroon - £2.49 Superdrug 

2. Natural Collection LashCare Mascara in Clear - £1.99 Boots 

3. 2True Colour Drench Lip Gloss in Shade 9 - £1.99 Superdrug 

4. Rimmel Instand Tan, 24hr Water Resistant - £3.49 Superdrug (on offer) 

5. Natural Collection Moisture Shine lipstick in Crimson - £1.99 Boots 

6. 2True nail varnish in Shade 15 - £1.99 Superdrug 

7. 2True nail varnish in Shade 18 - £1.99 Superdrug 

8.  NYC nail varnish in Rainbow - £1.79 Superdrug (a lot lighter more pale sky blue in person) 

Total = £17.72 

Except I got: 

     

                      3 2True items for £5 

                      2 Natural Collection items for £2.98 

                      2 NYC items for £3

                                                                       BARGAIN!!! 

I cant wait to try the new colours, I really like the light pastels in at the minute. Didn't think I would but recently I've been wanting an everyday colour that can mix and match with different outfits but that isn't beige or brown base. Don't get me wrong I love my bright colours but its nice to have a change every now and then, mix it up a bit. I will be sure to post some pics. Same with the lipstick which I plan on wearing either alone, with the gloss on top for some shine or even just the gloss alone depending on how strong the colour it is. 

                                                                                xXx

Venturing into the world of protein shakes ...

As I am now in count down mode until the Race For Life 5k next Sunday I am trying to really push my gym sessions. 

Earlier in the week I had a bad session my running didn't go as well as I had planned, I tried to push through but it just wasn't happening. I was really disheartened as I want to do well in the Race and I want to prove something to myself. I tried all my motivational tools but sometimes no matter how hard you push you hit your limit. Afterwards fiancé was a bit worried about me as I was a bit shaky ... this is probably because I'm not eating enough protein and calories for how many I burn of. 

So in preparation for next week and in support of my increased training we decided I should try getting some protein shakes for after my work outs. Now I'm not going to start doing shakes and supplements all the time, this is just for after my work outs as a boost. I know some people will say to just eat more but I actually eat quite a healthy diet its just that food isn't the be all end all. Plus to get increased protein in your meals you have to buy more protein which costs a lot more then a 1kg bag of powder hehe

Giant delivery from MyProtein

Anyway on wednesday my protein arrived. We ordered me a 1kg bag of impact whey protein in Latte flavour from MyProtein.Com, this is the company fiancé has been using for the past year. He also started taking whey protein after his workouts when he first start training and it really helped him... so hopefully this will give me the boost I need.

Overly packaged?? 

I tried my first shake after we opened the box, its 1 large scoop of powder with either water or milk. I went for water, started out with 200ml. This was ok, the latte flavour is really great its like drinking an iced  coffee almost. But at the same time it was a little bit too watery for me personally so I decided that I'm going to use the minimum amount of water which is 150ml.

 

Latte Protein Powder 

I tried one with this amount of water after my work out yesterday and it was a lot better, I think it also helped that the water wasn't ice cold.

Girly pink mini shaker!!

Anyway I am going to keep taking my shakes after my sessions and I will let you know how it goes. 

As a side note the fiancés free protein cookies are really nice, he got them with a code and will be reviewing them on his From Fat to Fit blog in the near future. We got a box of chocolate orange and he let me try a bit of one, it smelled amazing and actually tasted really nice. 

Oh and the giant blue thing in the box is a foam roller - I will post more about this after I have had a play with it.

xXx

Gym Motivation ...

Had a session in the gym tonight, decided to mix it up a bit and go for weights first. Did a little bit of research and found that there are a whole host of advantages to doing your weights first. Not sure if it helped me or not but I shall give it another go and see what happens. 

Any hoo whilst I was running on the treadmill I hit my wall, I'm not a distance runner and haven't really bee training enough for my 5k which is annoying ... but sometimes life gets in the way of things so you just have to push through. 

This got me to thinking about my motivation ... specifically little phrases we tell ourselves to just do one more or go one minute longer. You know the ones I mean they are dotted all over Pinterest ... well here are a few of my favourites ... 

Think about the achievement but dont settle ...

If you believe you can do it your half way there ...

Work Hard - Get Results ... 

and always remember ...

Other sources of motivation for me are obviously my fiancé for his achievements over the last few years    and this is a random one but you have to check out the Rock on Instagram. He is immense some of his pics working out are insane .. the guy is a machine ... The Rock!

xXx

New look blog!!!

So I decided to give the blog a bit of an update. 

Changed a few things around and made a few up dates. 

Let me know what you think?? 

If you like reading my blog give me a follow on Bloglovin or leave me a comment so I can check your blog out. 

You can also find links to my other social media down the right hand side of the blog. I look forward to hopefully reading some new blogs :D 

xXx

Check this out ....

For anyone who happens to read my ramblings, I think you should check out my Fiancé's blog - From Fat to Fit. He will be doing a guest post at some point soon about his training regime ... he's training for the Great North Run.

From Fat to Fit

xXx

Outfits of the week ...

Ever just throw together an outfit that really works but your not going anywhere for people to see! I do it a lot, but as I'm 24 I feel a bit old to just post it on fb or instagram #OOTD and dont quite feel the need to embrace what I wore today as most days what I wore is boring hehe

As such I have decided to start posting my top outfits of the week. Some weeks there might be a few, others there might be one or non, might even just be something I have bought that week. So here we go ..

This first post has some outfits from a few different weeks.

Primark sugar skull vest, skirt is actually emerald green, opaque black tights and black zip detail  boots. Skull bracelets, links bracelet and dream catcher earrings. 

Primark long sleeve grey crop top, Primark black maxi and sandals. With tripple strand East leaf detail necklace and tripple tear drop beaten effect earrings.

Primark paisley detail vest, Topshop cobalt blue pencil skirt with leather effect waist band, orange Peacock heels. With  teal chunky bracelet, skull bracelets and teal drop earrings. 

New black and gold sandals, I find it hard to find sandals I like in black these aren't too garish. 

Primark pink pleated maxi skirt, New Look black tube top, H&M crop vest, Primark red & gold sandals.

Skirt is Tesco sale £5, left is mustard Primark vest & hunter green New Look cardigan with barely black tights and hush puppies. Right is new look purple loose fit vest with back detail, black Primark cardigan, black leggings and zip detail ankle boots. 

Black Primark sandals with silver stud detail.

xXx

Training update ...

After posting about my new gym gear thought I would also pop in a quick update on my gym progress.

Running is not going as well as I had hoped which has me nervous with Race For Life being just round the corner. Think it's time for a massive push for the finish line. 

Aside from that its going quite well, my arms are starting to look more defined and I can almost make a muscle which had fiancé in giggles as his arms are huge! 

Shoulders are looking really good from found the pull down which will be good as my wedding dress is strapless. 

Still working on my thighs and legs, calves looking better not as wobbly lol my thighs need more work, think I need to go back to squats and barre plies to get lean toned thighs. 

Here is a quick post work out tummy pic from the other day. If I keep at it hopefully it will look like this all the time. 

Motivation. Hard work gets results. 

xXx

Bits and bobs, clothes and shoes!!

So this is another round up of some bits I have bought recently. I know it seems like I spend an absolute fortune but I honestly dont, a  lot of my stuff is from cheap shops like Primark or H&M. 

First is a really cute dress I bought like a month ago from TKMAXX for £14.99. So far the weather hasn't really been bright enough for me to wear it that much but I have managed to wear it once. I changed it up a bit due to the weather and swapped the blue under dress for a black one and black leggings, then put on the little blue van style shoes. 

I love the lace and the shape, its almost a skater skirt so really flattering. 

Next a little grey crop tank top from H&M that was £1.99, so far I have worn this a few times. For work I paired it with high waisted trousers and a tube top as the sides are low cut. Also worn it out with shorts and with a maxi skirt. 

Here it is with the my pink maxi skirt. I like that this one is loose and not too cropped, only just shows the midriff.


 I love this top, its from Primark think it was about £4. I have worn it soo much since I bought it. I love how bright and colourful it is, also its a really nice shape on, not too tight or billowy.

So far my favourite look for this top was this one with my emerald green jersey pencil skirt. Got this from top shop last year, I really like it but like I've said my office isn't very smart so haven't worn it to work. Most of the time I wore this skirt with a bright yellow floaty top but then I saw a pic on Pinterest where a girl had a normal grunge T on with a pencil skirt and chunky cardy so thought I would try that.

That pic is also the reason I bought this next T shirt. It was like £2.50 from primark mens wear, I bought it in an xs and have taken the collar off. Think I am going to take a little more off the collar not sure need to take another look at it.

I like the colour and the pattern pocket, its a bit blown out in the pic but actually its a dark maroon. I know its mens wear but sometimes I like to customise stuff. 

Here are the shoes I mentioned above, also bought these from Primark £6. I love the colour, light blue denim effect. I would really like some real vans but at the minute our budget doesn't extend that far so I will settle for fake ones. 

These last two I bought from Primark in Guildford when we went though for a flying visit. I think I might have a look in the one up here for more of the plain vests, I really like the shape and length is nice for with leggings. Its almost short dress length which I like as it covers my bum hehe

extra long grey retro style vest

Love this pattern

I love the pattern on the black one, it was a fiver and the grey £2.50. The white pattern is raised and feels almost painted on, I am going to try wearing this like the sugar skull one with a pencil skirt not sure which one yet as I have a few coloured ones.

I also just bought this envelope style handbag from Peacocks, £7. I love this style of bag though it doesn't have a handle so I am thinking of buying some loops and clips to go on a gold handbag chain so I can put it on when I fancy it. Might also buy some extra loops for some other bags so I can use the one handle for a few bags.


As you can see I might buy quite a bit but its spread over a few weeks and with most of it under £20 doesn't exactly break the bank.

Let me know where you find good bargins and what you have picked up recently.

xXx

New gym wear ...

So recently I've been doing a lot of training in the gym for my up coming Race For Life, as such I have been investing in new gym gear. (see previous posts)

When I'm in the gym I like to wear legging fit bottoms as they stay out of the way and dont bunch up etc. I had been wearing some really old school black capri length ones from years ago and this first pair of Karrimor capri running leggings. Then I bought a pair of cheap Primark black capri leggings to rotate in as well, see we tend to go to the gym a few times a week so its hard to keep on top of the washing without it looking like we live in a laundry.

Anyway I forgot to post these Karrimor ones when I got them so I decided to post them now since I have bought some more hehe. I bought the newest ones the other day as my plain black ones have a zip at the knee which can dig in on some of the machines and they are ancient. Also the grey and blue ones are a bit thicker round the thighs so can get a bit warm in the gym with the warm weather we have been having recently.

These grey ones have a lining from the seam at the knee up and vents at the gusset. They also have a zip pocket at the back and gel stuff round the leg holes to stop them riding up. However this stuff makes pulling them on od so I tend to roll the end back when I pull them up hehe they are really nice and comfortable but can be a bit warm in the gym. Got them in the running section of Sports Direct and at £10 much better value then any of the Nike Dry Fit normal gym leggings. 

Next up are my newest ones I picked these up the other day again from the running section they were under  £10 too. They are a thinner material and dont have the lining or vent but do still have the pocket at the back. They are really comfy and look quite nice on. They also had these in all black and in general Sports Direct have a great selection of running leggings and capris which would work for normal gym wear if you dont fancy forking out the Nike and Adidas prices. Even in Sports Direct with 30-40% off they were about £30, which I find a bit steep for gym leggings. 

If you have read my previous post you will know that I get all my gym gear from Sports Direct, its quality brands but at up to half the price. I think both of these were 70-80% marked down. I like being able to have a nice selection of stuff to mix and match without having to worry its going to break the bank. For us that is really good as we are trying to save up.

On my most recent visit, which was after the gym as its 2 minutes away, I also had a look for another sports bra. I've currently got 1 black Lonsdale bra shape one, a LA gear pink crop to style and a purple camo cropped style. So I decided to have a look see if they had any more as the LA gear ones are only £6, unfortunately they didn't have my size in a colour I wanted. So when I was over at the tills I had a look at the Lonsdale ones, they are done by bra size and seem like a mix between the cropped and bra styles. Anyway I couldn't see my size in any colours all they seemed to have were really big sizes. On a hunch I got one of them with my back size out to look at, it looked ok even if it was the wrong cup so I bought it to try on at home, £6.99. Again these are much better prices then the Nike ones which are 15-20 with money off, which is a shame as some of them are really nice.

Anyway when I got home I tried on my new top waiting to see how big it would be and would you believe it ... it fits!! now this had me in fits of giggles as you can see it is advertised as a 32D now there is no way in hell I am even close to a D cup so unless this has a lot of stretch and is supposed to be a really tight fit I dont wana see the D cup girl try it on. I took great pleasure in announcing to the fiancé that I am in fact a D cup!! and brandishing my chest at him.

I love the colour and fit of this the back has a bra clasp at the bottom of the racing back.

My new 32D sports bra lol 

xXx

New Tattoo .... what do to???

I love tattoos, they can be amazing pieces of art that decorate, a memento, bring closure or cover up a scar.

At the moment I have 6!! 

I'm seriously an ink addict! Due to the fact I'm training to be a barrister all of my tats are discreet and carefully placed. I haven't had a new one done in about 2-3 years which is really annoying but at the same time a tattoo should be personal and I didn't want to get a new one just to get a new one. 

Fiancé is also a bit of an ink addict he's got 4. Tribal piece top of his right arm, single star inside right forearm, three stars down the outside of his left arm and my favourite a treble clef with shaded background inside of his left forearm. He wants the tribal one cleaned up and I drew him a drum stick with music scrolled up if for the outside of his right arm to balance his left stars and because he's a drummer.

Anyway the time has come to finally get a new piece of ink!! There is one piece I have been working on for a long time, I would love to have this as my next piece but its big and I need to save up. So I am trying to decide what to get next and more importantly where to get it. This one is the real killer, I need it somewhere discreet that I can cover for court. 

This is what I would like for a back piece. 

This one would


The runs down at the minute is as follows:

My first tattoo, double rose heart, in nearly the same place as my mums tattoo which is a single coloured rose. I got this just after I turned 18 and my mum took me to get it hehe its the only one that I didn't draw my self. This is at the top of my left butt cheek hehe just under my waist band. 

Next up I have my dads initials on the inside on my right wrist and mums on my left wrist. My mums initials aren't amazing the same person did my back and they weren't very good but didn't know till after I got them which annoyed me. I have considered getting some twisty pattern round these but not too sure. 

William Russell and Brenda Louisa, my amazing parents!

This is my current back piece, a tribal double infinity. I need to get this looked at before my wedding to see if it can my neatened up, like I said above the girl wasn't very good. 

Double tribal infinity.
(ps pic is from ages ago, note I have black hair and this is my old room)

 I also have a tribal pattern on my stomach just up from my right hip. Also close up of mums initials when they were new and clean. 

Two little mistakes on this one

 This one is really special to me its a cat on my right ankle in memory of my cat. It sounds odd but I had a black cat called panther for as long as I can remember until I was 19!! it was really strange the first time I went home from uni and he wasn't there so this was so I could keep him with me. 

My heart and cat were done by the same person hence they are really good compared to the others. I should have learned my lesson after the girl made the first mistake on the others but I had seen other peoples work and it was really good so thought it might have just been the compact design, apparently not. Wont be going back there, going to go somewhere that I know does good work. 

Any way the reason for this post is to ask if anyone has any ideas where I can get my next one, I'm thinking on my side on my ribs ie where Miley Cyrus has her dream catcher. You can see I am running out of places, both wrists, centre of my back, ankle, right side of my stomach then the back piece will go down the right hand side of my back to balace my left bum cheek hehe What do people think??

xXx