Beauty Bits :)

My mum's birthday was this week so I'd been gradually picking up little gifts for her. So, naturally, when picking up beauty things for her, I picked up a few things for myself as well.

As you can see, I picked up quite a few beauty bits from various places. 

Nicky Clarke - SmoothSilk Frizz Calm Treatment

Nivea - Pearl & Beauty Deodorant

Along Came Betty - Pore Goodness Sake, Hot Cloth Cleansing Kit

Along Came Betty - Oat Extract Radiance Moisturiser

Nivea - Pearly Shine

W7 - Cover Stick (with tea tree oil)

Collection - Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer (shade - Fair)

Collection - Colour Pout Lasting Lip Stain (shade - 2 Kiss)

Technic - Volumising Mascara

Technic - Lengthening Mascara

W7 - Lip Twister 

Nivea - Raspberry Rose Lip Butter

Nivea - Blueberry Blush Lip Butter

Max Factor - Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint (shade - 07 Coral Crush)

Max Factor - Weightless Foundation (shade - 30 Porcelain)

I'm excited to try all of these products out, especially the Pore Goodness Sake Cleansing Kit because my skin has been quite bad recently with dryness and breakouts. Some of these products may even appear at the end of the month in my May Favourites, you'll just need to wait and see xxx 

April Favourites :)

The first thing that I did when I finished my second year of uni was to catch up on all the TV shows I watch; I may also have started to re-watch some as well. This is the reason that the majority of my favourites this month are television related.

The 100 is a show that my friend Laura introduced me to.The show is an American, post-apocalyptic drama that is set 97 years after a nuclear war wiped out the majority of life on Earth. The only know survivors are surviving in twelve space stations bound together; there are around 2500 people living in this ship. Resources are becoming limited so a decision is made to send the 'criminal delinquents' down to Earth in specially designed pods to see if Earth is habitable. The teenagers arrive on Earth and set up camp only to find out all communication with the other survivors in space have been compromised and also that not all humanity was wiped out because of the nuclear war and that Grounders, Mountain Men and Reapers survived the war. This show is amazing and if you watch The Walking Dead or Under The Dome you will absolutely love this show, the characters are so unique and different but you love them all. There is gore, romance, fighting, adventure and very attractive people, what more do you want in a show?

Okay so a huge volume of the population watch Coronation Street I know and I used to be one of those people until about a year ago when I stopped watching. Recently I started watching again because of leaked rumors of potential storylines and they sounded intense; from 13 years olds giving birth to old characters returning. I do have about a month of episodes lift to catch up with but because I have finished uni, I have a lot more time on my hands to spend relaxing and watching even more tv!

Desperate Housewives is another show that my friend Laura introduced me to a couple of years back and I became completely hooked on the show; watching all eight seasons in six weeks. Recently I managed to convince my mum (finally) how great a show it really was and how I thought she would really like it. She agreed to watch as long as I watched it with her. We have watched two and a half seasons in just over three weeks and I even think she has watched a few more episodes without me because she loves all the characters and storylines that much! I have definitely become re-addicted to Desperate Housewives.

My friend Laura is going to absolutely love this blog post since two of her favourite things ever have been mentioned; Desperate Housewives and now Harry Potter. I have all the Harry Potter books in their original, hardback cover printing but have only read the first four and a half books out of seven. I have been avoiding the last film for two years now until I read the last book. I have even managed to avoid all spoilers! This month I decided to re-read all the books and finally finish the entire series. I have read the first three books this month and I forgot how much I loved the series. Reading the books takes me back to my childhood when I first read the books. I will definitely finish the series once and for all this time.

I have two more April Favourites, including a pair of Jeans and an App. First I will talk about the jeans. I have never and probably will never pay full price for a pair of Topshop jeans because of how expensive they are but this month I managed to get a pair of acid wash leigh jeans for under £10 and I have been wearing them constantly. They have become my new staple, go to jeans. They are so incredibly soft and don't feel like denim at all, they look great with all styles and I definitely understand the huge popularity with the Topshop jeans. 

Vinted is an App similar to eBay and Amazon in the concept that you buy and sell items via the app, except Vinted is purely for clothing and jewellery. I absolutely love this App and have not only been able to sell a few items of my clothing, but also find some incredible bargains for myself. I would recommend this App to anybody and everybody that has too many clothes (which is most girls) because you can sell the unloved clothes from your wardrobe and find some great bargains as well.

I hope you liked reading my April Favourites and that I have possibly interested you in watching The 100 or Desperate Housewives if you have never seen them before because you will definitely have no regrets. I have lot's and lot's of blog post ideas and maybe even a video, so keep an eye out, thanks xxx

Update :)

Whoever said the first two years of university is a breeze better be wrong because the amount of coursework I have had over the last month has been insane.

I am a little bit annoyed at myself for not blogging at all during March as I had quite a few posts planned out and I was eager to write them. Unfortunately, I have had quite a lot of tests, coursework, group projects and reports to complete for university and that had to come first. For me, I finish my second trimester of second year studying Psychology in two weeks time, so I will be able to focus a lot more on my blog which I'm excited to be able to do because I love writing and posting.

Another thing that has also been a little bit of a problem and taken up quite a lot of my time and attention is my general health. I have been having migraines again despite not having any in three and a half years (since discovering my allergy to chocolate), I have had random sickness bugs and a few bouts of anxiety as well which isn't too good. I do currently have a bad head cold and a mild throat infection but I feel nearly back to normal - I just hope I don't get ill again anytime soon.

Anyways to make up for the severe lack of blogging in March I plan to kick of April with a bang! My first few posts are going to be a three part haul along with my March Favourites and a Lent Challenge Update, with many more posts to come :)

Keep an eye out for an April full of blog posts :) xxx

January Favourites :)

I cannot believe that January 2015 is over already, this year is flying by so far! January for me was reasonably eventful, with four family birthday's, volunteering, two university exams and then going back to university at the end of January, it's safe to say I was kept well and truly busy. Despite this, throughout the course of the month I did find myself absolutely loving a few different items.

 

A purchase from last month and a rediscovered item from one of my drawers are the first things I am going to talk about as I have been wearing them both constantly! I have trouble getting to sleep normally but even more so this month and something I have found to be helping is an eye-mask I had purchased a while back from New Look. This simple little thing has not only been allowing me to fall asleep a lot quicker, but to stay asleep as well. The thumper jumper I purchased from Primark for a measly £2 has been worn nearly every day since I got it. It is so soft and oversized, keeps me warm and looks cute as well which is always an added bonus. 

 I decided to switch the type of shampoo & conditioner that I was using from TGI Catwalk to TIGI Bed Head instead and so far I love this product, from the way it makes my hair feel to the sweet smell it has.

 Nivea is a staple company for me when it comes to skincare and they never disappoint. One of my aspirations for 2015 (which I have written a blog post on) was to develop and stick to a proper skincare routine. Three of the products that I use are the Nivea Make-Up remover, Exfoliating Scrub and Night Cream which makes your face feel incredibly soft when you wake up in the morning.

 

Kylie Minogue is a music artist that I heard a lot around the house growing up so naturally she became one of my favourite artists to listen to. Back in November 2014 I was lucky enough to see her perform live for the second time (the first being in 2011) and she certainly did not disappoint. Since then I have been loving her music even more, especially her most recent album 'Kiss Me Once'. Jessie J is also one of my favourite artists and I was lucky to be able to purchase a ticket to see her this month but unfortunately her concert was postponed until next month, however, that didn't stop me listening to her constantly the past four weeks and having her newest album 'Sweet Talker' playing all the time (not pictured).

 

Make-Up wise Rimmel London has definitely been creeping back into my collection. I was becoming less keen on the foundation I was using previously by the day and decided to start using the Rimmel Lasting Perfection Foundation in Ivory that I received for Christmas. This product is much better than the foundation I was using before, giving me more coverage and moisture at the same time. The shade also fits my skin colour a lot better than the old foundation as well, which is a difficult thing for me to find in a foundation as I have very pale skin. Paired with the foundation is a staple that I have been using for years and it is the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 Translucent. As for eyes and nails, something extremely affordable and really good value for money is the H&M Eye Shadow Duo with a slightly shimmering gold and a brown colour, paired together, a very natural but pretty smoky eye look can be achieved and from New Looks nail polish range Pure Colour, the shades 'Sweet Rose' and 'Shell Pink' can create a lovely Rose Gold shade when used together. 

 

Another thing I have been loving this month is candles. I have about 6 generously sized candles and a lot of smaller ones from various companies that will last me right through until spring time (I hope). This month in particular though I have been burning the Yankee Candle scent 'Vanilla Chai' with a Chupa Chup candle my friend did not want in the Scent 'Cherry Frenzy'. I love anything that smells of cherry, spices and vanilla, so these two candles where perfect for me to have. The two scents burning together create the perfect wintery smell for my room, a great scent for after Christmas that isn't to strong but is powerful enough to fill a whole room with the delicious fragrance. I will definitely be burning more of these candles before we exit the wintery season I think.

 

 

Tying in with my resolution to become a little healthier and fitter are my final two favourites. Strawberries seem to be in season at the moment as my fridge is constantly full of them. I have been eating strawberries with my breakfast, lunch and as a snack in the afternoon sometimes as well. I have also been doing a lot more walking outwith walking the dogs and I have been absolutely loving it, especially when the scenery looks like it does! (right). Where I live there are two reservoirs very close and they are both currently completely frozen over and look beautiful. I will admit I do have the temptation to stand on the ice but I promise I will just admire the views instead.  

 

 

Thank you for reading about my January Favourites despite how random some where and I'll upload another blog post soon xxx

 

 

30 Things About Me :)

I have always been interested in blogging, I just never got around to actually doing it. So this year, 2015, I'm going to make my blog happen. So what better way to start it off than telling you a little about myself.

 

 

1) My name is Lauren (which apparently means wisdom).

 

2) I was born on July 4th 1995 in Scotland, UK.

 

3) I have curly red hair, pretty similar to Merida from the Disney film Brave.

 

4) I have attended two primary schools and two secondary schools.

 

5) I have qualifications from school in Psychology (A), Human Biology (B), Chemistry (B), English (B), Math (C), Administration (A).

 

6) I am currently at a university in Glasgow studying Psychology.

 

 

7) When I was six years old I got my entire right leg trapped in a drain pipe in my school yard resulting in ambulances, police and firemen arriving at my school and taking 5 hours to free me!

 

8) I have anxiety.

 

9) I have a younger brother named Stuart, a black Labrador named Millie and a chocolate Labrador called Buttons.

 

10) I have a lot of allergies, including chocolate!

 

11) I once entered and won a local short story writing competition.

 

12) I have a weird fear of peacocks.

 

13) Just Dance, Guitar Hero and Mario Kart are about the only video games I'm any good at.

 

14) Basketball is one of my favourite sports to play.

 

15) I have won medals in athletics, cross country, skiing and figure skating.

 

16) When I was in the third year of secondary school, 29 other students and I went to Austria on a skiing holiday for ten days with three teachers.

 

17) October 2012 was the best month of my life.

 

18) New York City is my favourite I have ever travelled to.

 

19) I love candles.

 

20) So far I have been to 15 concerts: Girls Aloud x6, Cheryl Cole x1, Jessie J x2, Kylie Minogue x2, McBusted x1, X Factor x2, Cher Lloyd x1.

 

21) Tv Shows take up about 50% of my life.

 

22) I like to read.

 

23) I have a really good memory and can recall back to my early childhood memories at aged only 2.

 

24) My friends mean the absolute world to me.

 

25) My favourite YouTubers are Alfie Deyes (PointlessBlog), Zoe Sugg (Zoella), Louise (SprinkleofGlitter), Tanya Burr and SacconeJoly's.

 

26) I have an obsession with Demi Lovato, Girls aloud and Cheryl.

 

27) I cannot cope with noisy eaters!

 

28) I am a First Aid Volunteer with St Andrew's First Aid and spend hundreds of hours a year volunteering :)

 

29) For the future I wish to have quite a lot of children.

 

30) I have slight OCD, especially involving the number 3 (which is why this list ended on 30). 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this first blog post and the many more to come xxx