Most Wanted #1: Feel Unique

I don't know about you, but I'm forever browsing beauty websites such as Feel Unique and making wishlists of things I love.  These are the things I'm currently lusting after.

Despite having lots of it, my hair is actually quite fine and therefore tangles very easy, resulting in my freshly washed, sleek and straightened 'do looking all matted within five minutes of leaving the house. According to many a review, the Tangle Teaser is the way to go.  I've been considering getting one for a while, but the price has always put me off a little bit,  although it's price worth paying if it's as good as they're made out to be I think! I like how the compact ones like this have a protective cover to help protect the teeth when it's in your bag, as I've heard the teeth can easily be bent if you're not careful.

I've always just used an inexpensive eyelash curler to curl my lashes, but now my current Boots own one has gone to eyelash curler heaven (i.e. I've lost it!) I want to invest in a good one.  I've heard nothing but good things from the Shu Uemura one, and lately also this Shiseido eyelash curler has been getting good reviews.  Still, £18 is a lot to pay for an eyelash curler, so I still may take a look around to find a cheaper alternative.

Now that Christmas and New Year are a distant memory. I'm starting to think about summer and how it'll be here before we know it. I'm naturally pretty pale and my legs are as white as they come.  This Works' Perfect Legs Skin Miracle is a serum that is supposed to perfect, repair and enhance our pins, making them look 'perfect' for the warmer weather.  This would be great for someone like myself, who is a little cautious of fake tan, and just wants a hint of colour as we're going into summer.

Despite my fake-tan phobia, there is still a little part of me that whishes I could apply it successully, even if just for nights out and special occasions.  I've heard that the Sienna X range is supposed to be good and to be honest I think it's about time I manned up and got to grips with fake tan! I like the idea of this Instant Bronzing Gel because if things go horribly wrong, I could simply wash it off and revert back to my pasty self!

I've been having my hair coloured red for the last six months or so, and as much as I love it, it's a pain in the backside to keep up with as it fades so quickly.  I've been following my hairdresser's advice and have been using a Sulphate-Free shampoo to help reduce fading.  This Kerastase Cleansing Balm has recently caught my eye.  This is a rather intriguing product; it's not advertised as a 'shampoo', there's no conditioner in the range, and no mention of using one.  It is also said to produce little to no lather, and you're to leave it on your hair for a few minutes like you would with a conditioner.

I absolutely love the design on Marc Jacobs' perfume bottles, and Dot is no exception.  I love my Stella McCartney 'Stella' perfume, and wear that pretty much every day.  But a girl can never have too many perfumes, can she? Ever since smelling this while shopping in Manchester back in September, I've wanted it and since nobody bought me it for Christmas (sniff!) I may just have to treat myself!

Lastly is the Stilla 'In the Night' palette which I think every blogger and their dog has and/or has reviewed.  I've swatched this goodness knows how many times in Boots, and I love it.  I'm currently debating whether to get this, or whether to go for the Naked 2 palette.  I love the original Naked palette, and as yet I don't own any Stilla, which is why I'm kind of leaning towards getting this one, but I'm still undecided.

Have you tried any of the products in my wishlist? Would you recommend it, or is there an alternative out there that is better? Let me know!

Little Nail Haul

 

I own a ridiculous amount of nail varnish for someone who doesn't wear it all that often. It's not allowed for work so I only really wear it if I have a couple of days off together, or when I'm on holiday.  This doesn't stop me from adding to my 60+ collection,  so I thought I'd share my latest additions with you all.  While reading the lovely Louise's blog post on which nail products she was lusting after, I followed her lead and ordered some nail dotting pens.  They were an absolute bargain at less than £2 so I couldn't resist! I love nail art, but as I only really wear nail varnish for a day or two at a time usually, it's never worth having anything super fancy on my nails 'cos it'd be a bit of a waste! Plus I'm not very artistic, so anything too complicated would be beyond me! For under £2 you get five double ended, dotting tools. I'm not sure if they're all meant to be different size as at least four of the points look practically identical to me.  There's still plenty of variety in  size though so it's not the end of the world!

 
I was in Topshop one day last week and found myself browsing the makeup stand, and somehow came away with three nail polishes. Damn, I hate it when that happens!  ;) The three that happened to make their way into my nail collection were Prim and Proper, Granite and Threadbare.  Prim and Proper is a lovely mid toned pink  It's a bit more muted than the other pinks I own, making it perfect for this time of year when you don't feel quite right painting your nails with bright, pastel colours, but you're getting a bit bored of your 'winter' nail colours. Next up is Granite which I believe was part of the 'Darkside of Nude' collection, so it may not be still available in your local store. It's a deep, dark blue grey colour that wold look amazing with a glitter top coat. Threadbare is described as a creamy nude; I'd say it was a very pale, milky coffee colour with a tiny hint of grey. To be honest, both Granite and Threadbare are both shades I wouldn't normally reach for; Granite is a little dark for my liking, and I'm not usually a fan of nude polishes like Threadbare.  But I really liked how these three colours looked together; I thought they complimented each other nicely and I thought they'd make for some pretty designs with my new dotting pens.

L-R: Threadbare, Granite, Prim and Proper.

So far I've only had time for a quick play around with my new goodies. The dotting tools seem easy enough to use, and for a rushed first attempt, I don't think I did too badly! I found it easier to carefully pour a tiny bit (you don't need much at all) of your chosen colour onto some paper, then dip the tool into that, as opposed to dipping it it into the bottle itself. I've not been very imaginative so far, just doing a simple polka dot effect. But hopefully with a bit more practise I can do something a bit fancier!

Review: Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub

I've mentioned before how much I love Soap & Glory, and I've been lucky enough to reveive the giant gift set for Christmas each year that they've been doing them.  This year was no exception, and one of the products I was most excited about was the Sugar Crush body scrub.  The body scrubs are possibly my favourite Soap and Glory items, Breakfast Scrub being a particular favourite of mine, so I couldn't wait to give this new offering a go. I even skipped exfoliating for a good week or so to really put it to the test... the things we do...!

This scrub is actually quite an old product, but is not one I'd tried before.  It used to come in the old style blue packaging when Soap and Glory first came out.  I'd never really tried any of the 'blue' range so I don't know if this is the exact same, or whether it has been reformulated.  Either way, I'm glad it's back because it's blummin' fab! Sugar Crush contains smashed brown sugar & sweet lime, almond oil and macadamia grains.  This is a brilliant combination, as you get the exfoliation from the sugar, a lovely fresh fragrance from the lime, and the almond oil which is great for your skin.  Sugar scrubs are gentler than salt scrubs, but I still found this to get rid of any dry patched,  and with the added almond oil, my skin was left super soft.

As usual, the packaging is great.  Obviously we all know how to use a body scrub, but with Soap and Glory products, you have to read the directions anyway, right?!

Use your Sugar Crush in the shower once, twice or three times weekly, depending on the level of scaliness you struggle with. (Four times - even - if you've ever been labelled 'old lizard legs'.)

Soap and Glory descirbe this scent as 'Fresh, Zesty and Irresistable'. And they're not wrong.  This stuff smells incredible.  It's so fresh and fruity, and it is fast becoming my favourite Soap and Glory scent.  It smells kind of like sherbert and it also reminds me of Opal Fruits* Starburst sweets! The scent even lingered in my bathroom for ages afterwards. It's definitely worth a sniff if you've not tried it yet!  There's also a shower gel and body butter in the Sugar Crush range which I'll be sure to try out soon.  I have loads of Soap and Glory already, but with the advantage points vouchers that came with the Best of All gift set, it'd be rude not to wouldn't it?! ;)

*showing my age there!

My Cupcake Journey

You may have noticed from my blog description that part of the reason for starting this blog was to show some of my baking creations, and apart from a couple of 'cake-spiration' posts, I've not really done that yet! So as this blog is still relatively new, I thought I'd do a post showing off some of the cakes I've made so far i.e. all the ones I've took photographs of!

I started making cupcakes a couple of years ago when a friend bought me the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for Christmas.  My first attempt didn't turn out particularly great, I think I ended up with about 8 cupcakes, instead of the 12-14 I was supposed to! I persevered, and it wasn't long before I got better results, and I started experimenting with the more interesting recipes in the book, including the delicious marshmallow cupcakes! I also own the Cake Days book which has even more recipes, some of which are very strange indeed! I've now started making cakes for friends if they're having a party or something, which I really enjoy, and who knows, maybe I'll have my own little business one day!

First successful attempt! / Marshmallow Cupcakes in the background / Easter Cupcakes / S'more Cupcakes

As you can see,  I got a lot more from my second attempt! I kept the colours and decorations similar to the Hummingbird style too.  The second picture is vanilla, along with marshmallow cupcakes.  The have melted marshmallows in the centre, along with mini marshmallows mixed into the icing.  S'more cupcakes are more adventurous still; chocolate cupcakes with melted marshmallows on top, which are then toasted and sprinkled with crumbled digestive biscuits. Yum!

Caramel Cupcakes / Back to basics with paste colouring / Rocky Road / Cookie Monster!

Caramel cupcakes were a recipe from the Cake Days book. This was my first try at piping the icing on, as opposed to smoothing it on with a knife like they do at the Hummingbird Bakery! As you can see the next cakes are a lot brighter, thanks to discovering paste colouring! The Rocky Road cakes went down very well, not surprising when they were decorated with marshmallows, maltesers, fudge pieces and melted chocolate! Very naughty indeed! The Cookie Monster cupcakes were for my Godson's 5th birthday party were a lot of fun (as well as very tricky!) to make, but I think they're my proudest creation to date!

Easter again / My Birthday /Naming Day Cupcakes / Bit of a mix! / 30th Birthday Cupcakes

I made these Easter ones purely to get another use out of the nozzle I'd bought to make the Cookie Monster cupcakes with.  I had the help of my boyfriend for these ones, and you can just make out the smiley face cupcake he insisted creating! The next ones are the ones I made for my birthday and were the most I'd ever made in one go; I did three batches which got me around 45 cupcakes and it took me forever, I don't know how the professionals do it because I was shattered! I blogged about being asked to make some for a Naming Day ceremony and these are the cakes I eventually made! The mixture of designs in the next picture were actually just before the Naming Day cakes, and were a bit of a practise run as I'd not made any in a while and also an excuse to use some of the decorations I'd got as a birthday present! Lastly are my most recent creation, a mix of chocolate and vanilla I'd made for my friend's 30th birthday party. I went all out with these ones, using pretty foil cases and decorating with glitter which is rather messy but adds a lovely bit of sparkle, and we all love a bit of sparkle don't we?!

As you can see, they're by no means perfect, but it's something I do really enjoy doing and I'm always trying to improve.  I think I have improved a lot since I first started backing, but I wouldn't say I was ready to open my own business any time soon!  I quite like being a hobby baker, and making for friends and family if and when I can, fitting it in around my hours at work.  If I can't make some cakes for someone because I'm working, I can say no, and that's fine.  Maybe this will change in the future, but I'll stick to honing my 'talent' for now I think!

La Roche Posay Micellar Water Cleanser

Up until now I hadn't been too bothered about micellar water cleansers, despite them being raved about on many a blog and You Tube video.  They just didn't appeal to me for some reason. I felt  eye make up remover and/or a makeup wipe, followed by cleansing was enough. I also assumed they'd be really harsh against my skin, which isn't overly sensitive or anything, but there was just something about these products that made me a little dubious.

After getting a bit lazy with my skincare, and sometimes just using a wipe to remove my make up before getting into bed, I decided to give these micellar waters a go.  While on a recent trip to Boots, I had a look to see what they had to offer in this department.  I didn't want to buy it online for now, as I wanted to actually 'see' the product first, with it being something totally new. Although there were a few to choose from, there were obviously none of the more well known ones such as Bioderma. After much deliberation, I went for the La Roche Posay Solution Micellaire Physiologique.  This set me back around £11 for 200mls, which seems about the going rate for these products.

I've been using this for quite a while now. In fact, since taking this product pretty much as soon as I bought it, I've now almost finished the bottle. This particular one is targeted to those with sensitive skin and while, as I said before, my skin isn't all that sensitive,  I wanted something that I knew wouldn't be too harsh.  It has a really gentle formula and doesn't feel at all harsh on my skin like I had feared.   The smell is quite delicate and pleasant; I can't quite put my finger on what (if anything!) it smells of, but it's quite sweet yet not at all overpowering.  To use, you simply pour some onto a cotton wool pad and sweep over your face.  I've found it useful to use the larger cotton wool pads for this, as it saves using two or three pads each time.  Plus they also seem a bit more durable  I picked mine up from the baby section in Boots for about £2.50.

This cleanser does a really good job of removing my make up, although a few tiny scraps sometimes remain if I've been wearing a lot of eye make up.  I usually follow up with my No7 hot cloth cleanser though, so this isn't really an issue for me.  Plus it removes a hell of a lot more than a make up wipe would, so on the odd night I've skipped a second cleanse, I haven't felt too guilty!  That said, I don't want to get into the habit of  doing this every single night, as I can't see it giving my skin a thorough cleanse.  But as a quick fix after a long day, or a night out, it does the job well enough for me.  It leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed, and leaves no residue at all.

All in all I'm glad I finally caved and ventured into the world of micellar cleansers and would definitely recommend giving this particular one a go, especially if you have sensitive skin or, like me, were a bit dubious that they'd be a bit harsh.  How it compares with similar products, I can't say as this is the only one I have tried, and as much as I like it I don't know if I would repurchase straight away simply because there's so many micellar cleansers out there and now I've tried this one, I want to try them all!

Which micellar water cleansers are you loving? Do you recommend any? Let me know!

New Year, New Start

Wow, it's been a while hasn't it?! I seem to do this a lot. Start a blog, do a few posts, stop posting, delete blog and start again. And repeat... and repeat again. I love the idea of blogging, I get serious 'blog envy' when I come across a really good blog, loads of great posts and a pretty layout. But to be honest, I think I've always under estimated how much work goes into writing a blog post, and just got a bit lazy and gave up with mine. Well it's a new year, and I thought what better time to come back to this little blog of mine, and I thought I'd start with sharing my new years resolutions with you all.  

Image from weheartit.com

Blog More

Like I've said above, I tend to get lazy when I've started a blog and give up before they really get going.  I love finding new blogs, and going back to my old favourites time and time again to 'catch up' with what can feel like an old friend, and see what they're up to and what they've been buying, just like you would with a real life friend.  I'd love for this blog to become a bit like that, with people (not necessarily loads of people, although that would be lovely!) coming back time after time, and perhaps even recommending this blog to others who are looking for new blogs to find!   I'm really going to try and put the effort in to make this blog something to be worth reading, and most importantly something for me to be proud of.

Image from weheartit.com

 Take more photos

Not so long ago, I was extremely snap happy. A night out wouldn't be complete without taking 100s of photos, and spending my hungover Sundays going through them all and uploading the best to Facebook, then looking at my friends' photos of that same night on their Facebook and cringing at the state of us, or finding the rare gem where we're all looking at the camera, all have our eyes open, and all look reasonably sober!  However, as we've got older and a lot of friends have got married and have had babies, nights out a few and far between, and the occasions we have gone out, I've never bothered to take my camera.  This year I'm going to make the most of the nights out that we do have, maybe not quite to go as snap happy as I once did, but I'm definitely going to whip out my trusty old camera more often!

Image from weheartit.com

 Get fit...ter

 I'm just over 5ft tall and I vary between a size 10 and 12, although more towards the 12 lately.  Obviously a size 12 is no way huge or anything like that, but I just feel that because I'm quite short, I may not 'carry' those few extra pounds than a taller person would.  My cousin is getting married in June and I'm bridesmaid and I can't think of a better incentive to shed those few extra pounds and just be in the best shape I can be in for all the photos.  I'm not talking a major crash diet here, firstly because I don't have enough willpower to be able to stick to it and secondly I like my chocolate too much! I just want to cut down on all those unhealthy things we've indulged on over Christmas especially, and start doing a bit of exercise again.  I love Zumba, but have been neglecting it a lot lately so my first step is to get back to it when classes start again next week!

Image from weheartit.com

 Drink more water

Pretty self explanatory really, but recently I've not even come close to the recommended 8 glasses of water a day.  Some days I only drink one or two glasses which I know is terrible! My skin has really suffered as a result, it's dry, dull, and I have horrendous dark circles that no amount of concealer can cover completely and also my hair and nails could be in better shape too.  So in 2013 I definitely plan to cut down on sugary, fizzy drinks and drink more H20!

I'm certainly going to try and keep up with these resolutions, I definitely think they're all easily acheivable! Have you made any resolutions this year? Have you managed to keep them up in the past? Let me know!