Zara Fragrances - Apple Juice and Zara Woman Gold

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's almost the weekend! I've got plans to go to Tenby with friends so I hope the weather holds out and we can go to the beach.

I was absolutely gutted when my perfume was discontinued a few years ago. I have managed to buy it off a few different sites for a while since then but now the stocks have well and truly gone and it was time for me to find a new one.

Winter Wardrobe Updates

Morning pals!

Another Friday is here and we're another week closer to Christmas! It only gets more exciting from here and it's my favourite type of year. Winter clothes are also my favourite kind, layering is the best thing and I love all of the patterns and colours associated with autumn/winter clothing.

Here's what I've been buying to update my wardrobe this year:

First up I picked up this belt from Dorothy Perkins. I've had a belt for dresses very similar to this before and I wore it until it fell apart so I knew it was a good buy. It's definitely good for wearing at any time of year but as has been happening for the last few years the trend for wearing a belt to cinch in your coat is back and this one is going to be making it back into my wardrobe.

Secondly I snapped up this BEAUTIFUL scarf from Zara. I touched it in store and couldn't leave it behind. I love the patterns in tartan and the red is gorgeous and goes with all of my coats, it's a winner and was something I had no idea I needed and now cannot live without. It doesn't leave my neck during the week now!

My latest shoe purchase is from New Look and I had to order them from in store as they didn't have any left. The heel height is perfect for most occasions and the gold buckle detailing is enough to give it a bit more pizazz. These can be worn with leggings and jeans and I look forward to wearing them to the pub over the next few months.

Capes are big news and this blanket cape cardigan type garment is absolutely fabulous. It's super comfy, warm and goes with everything, literally EVERYTHING. The colours mean it complements many outfits but there are also many tartan type patters and colours available too and if I was rolling in the spare cash I'd probably get another.
This one is from New Look and I'm so glad that fashion has produced and comfortable, wearable and warm item of clothing for the winter months. I've always wanted to look chic in a cape, jeans and boots!

Lastly is my new bag also from New Look (they've clearly got a lot out of money out of me recently!) This beautiful bottle green bag has replaced my tired looking black bag for work purposes.
It's awesome, the colour is lush and it holds it's shape really well too which is perfect as I seem to be lugging a lot of paper back and forth to work at the moment!

What have you been buying to update your wardrobe? Do you have anything else on your wishlist?

I'm looking to add another coat, a lovely thick wool one would be lovely but I may have to wait until the sales for the type of quality I would be looking for. I'm fed up of buying important items like coats and finding out they are cheaply made! If you have any suggestions for some hardwearing well made coats leave them in the comments section below!

L xxx

Life Update

Hello there!

I hope you enjoyed your bank holiday weekend and stuffed yourself with a considerable amount of chocolate! I've got a few pictures from my life over the last few weeks that i thought I'd share with you.

You might have noticed I've been loving the pancakes recently; absolutely loving them! So many different toppings and ways to make them that can be really healthy considering they feel like such a treat. Yogurt and blueberries are my favourite way to eat them but when I'm extra hungry I have a banana and and peanut butter or apples, cinnamon and walnuts. Whenever I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally need a sugary boost I do have to get the Nutella jar out, but I try and save it as a last resort!

I've been running a lot recently and trying to increase my distance. I reached my first 6 mile run in the last few weeks which I was extremely proud of but unfortunately ever since it has all gone to pot! My running buddy hasn't been around much because of work so its been harder doing it on my own and this past weekend I've felt awful and I'm not really sure why. Hopefully after a few days off I can get back into it. The weather certainly helps and running past things like Cardiff castle helps!

These were my Easter treats this year; a white chocolate Lindt bunny and Reese's pieces! I do love peanut butter, me and my brother had a bag of white chocolate and milk chocolate pieces to share between us.. I was like a kid splitting up the bags!

Last Friday me and M went to a Urban Decay event in Cardiff for their secret launch of the electric palette.
I wore this top I bought from Zara last year (and hadn't cut the tags off until now....) as it was so nice and sunny and I felt like being in a bright electric colour myself! It's a gorgeous top and although it's loose and flowy the back is split which is great for hot weather and you can easily wear a vest underneath like i did.

We met up earlier before the event as I had a £10 Cafe Rouge voucher to use up before May so we met there for lunch and in true fashion we ended up ordering the exact same thing! 2 waters and the fishcakes later (which were very yummy by the way!) we legged it over to Tiger Tiger to be early and bought ourselves a few pints, the classy ladies that we are! It was perfect weather for a pint in a beer garden so we decided after the event to go for a 'quick drink' in our favourite bar before going home.

Naturally one turned into three, and after tucking into some very generously sized bar snacks at 10 Feet Tall we managed to consume a Long Island Iced Tea, Zombie and a Cosmopolitan without even batting an eyelid. We do love their cocktails especially as they always seem to be hangover free ones!

I had a pretty quiet Saturday as i had to work but I did watch Frozen with my mum. It was good but I'm afraid the hype had built it up too much for me and i didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. Maybe I'm just a lover of  Disney classics!

On Sunday we were supposed to be going zip lining after buying a Groupon deal:

We were super excited and after driving all the way there we were GUTTED to find that it was too windy for it as it would have been 'terrifying' and not enjoyable. The line is over a quarry so i definitely didn't want to be zooming over that too fast!

For example this was my hair after walking from the cafe to the car....a few gusts as you can see!







I had planned a proper Sunday Funday and me my dad and my brother also had tickets to 'Judgement Day' which was a South Wales derby of rugby teams. It was a double game so was effectively 5 hours of rugby which was a long time but it actually didn't feel like it.





Unluckily for my dad his team lost the first match but the second game was won by our faves so at least it wasn't all doom and gloom. We had a few pints throughout the afternoon and it was a lot of fun, I'd definitely want to go again but I'd wear warmer shoes! My feet were freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!





So that's what I've been up to recently, I've been quite busy!

What have you been up to? Have you been zip lining? Do you go to sports matches with your family?

Send me your recent life updates to read!

L xxx

Empties 4

I've been meaning to write this post for ages. I've been collecting them up for a while now. My last empties post was back in August. As I move on Saturday it seemed silly to take empty products with me. Moving has also prompted to me really use up as many products with small amounts in before the move.

Sebastian Penetraitt Shampoo and Conditioner

This is my all time favourite shampoo and conditioner. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone with dry, damaged or dyed hair. It really bought my hair back to health and helped it grow. I will definitely be repurchasing this. Some people can find it to heavy but for my hair even though it's fine it was perfect.

Collection Fix Me Up

Not a fan, works out more than UD setting spray on price per ml and definitely isn't better.

Batiste Tropical

This will always be a product I turn to time and time again. Not found a dry shampoo better. The tropical is my favourite scent.

Percy & Reed Totally TLC Hydrating Mask

This was a magazine freebie. To be honest I didn't find it helped a great deal. For me there is only one hair mask I really like and that's the Macadamia one. I try to use others but I've not found one that compares yet.

Philip B Katira Hair Masque

This has a weird consistency. I feel like my hair felt better after using it but feel like it felt better as it was coated and not actually helping the hair.

Ralph by Ralph Lauren

I love the sweetness of this perfume and find I'm really drawn to it especially in the summer months. An easy to wear scent that's not to over powering

Zara Women Black

I wanted the Zara Oriental but picked this up by mistake. A similar scent and has notes that remind me of my Viktor and Rolf flowerbomb perfume which is my all time favourite. Reasonably priced and will be repurchasing other Zara Perfumes.

Sassy Swirls Vanilla Berry

This is just a little Avon perfume I keep in my bag. Simple sweet scent. Love the size of these to just keep in my handbag and the plastic packaging makes them perfect for this.

Laugh Often By Rees Witherspoon

I love the name for starters. The smell is one I really like and for a cheap perfume has impressive staying power. The downside is the smell can be a bit overpowering at first. It's one of those that if you spray more than two spritz you'll have a headache. Saying that now it's empty I miss it so definitely one I'll purchase again.

Benefit They're Real

I know everyone loves this mascara but for me I do think there is better. Personally I hate how hard it is to get off and I prefer a bristle brush. Having said that it definitely grew on me with use. Not one I'd personally repurchase. I prefer BadGal

Bourjois Volumizer

This was another product at first I didn't like. I loved step one to separate my lashes but hated step two. This was a formula that got better when left for a month. Then when I used it I got great volume. So far I've loved all the Bourjois mascaras I've tried.

Origins Cheeks and Balance

This is a favourite with both L and I. I love the fresh minty scent and the fact a small amount goes such a long way. It really foams up to make my skin feel really clean. The downside is it can feel too clean and a little tight but this hasn't put me off buying the full size.

Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash

I really like this as a morning cleanser. I don't like to use cloth cleansers in the morning (I think it's a lazy thing), I really like the lightness of this on skin and the scent is fresh. Was a random buy one splurge day in boots but I really like it.

Soap and Glory Peaches and Clean

This product is the reason I won't be repurchasing the Neutrogena one above. I love the creamy texture of this, the smell and how soft my skin feels. A perfect morning cleanser for me.

No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleasner

For me I wasn't a fan. I didn't like the scent and I felt my skin didn't feel as clean as it did after using others. It did help my skin not break out though and is reasonably priced.

Bioderma Sebium

I'm a bioderma convert. I thought how can anybody need this water product. Then I tried the minis and I'm now almost through my full size bottle. Love the stuff perfect for lazy days or after I've been wearing lots of make up. I only like the Sebium one though not the original.

Vichy Micellaire Solution

Nothing wrong with this product just personally prefer bioderma. Worked well, felt light on the skin and was fragrance free.

(apologies for the awful photo!)

Bioderma Samples

I've been so impressed with all the bioderma samples I've tried and even though some haven't been suited to my skin type I've not broken out. Especially love the Sebium Hydra Creme Hydratante this is a cream for weakened oily skin. Love it. Felt light and left my skin moisturised without being oily.

Balance Me Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve

This reminds me in texture of the amazing Dr Lipp Nipple Balm. A great thick lip balm that leaves lips feeling super soft. I'm not a fan of the rose but as it's such a good lip balm I forgive it. One I feel actually does something unlike to vaseline which only feels nice on my lips when it's on them.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion

I have a full size of this somewhere but have never got around to using it. After testing out the sample I've been trying hard to use up my current day cream. The perfect base for under foundation. Leaves skin soft, super light weight and it's oil free.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream

This was one of those products I didn't want to use up. Really love this for brightening in the morning. Currently preferring and Avon one but I think it will be on I go back to.

Avon Solution Complete Balance Day Cream

Anyone with oily skin this is a great moisturiser. It slightly mattifies the skin without it being too much so that make up applies smoothly. It provides a perfect amount of moisture and doesn't leave me oily at the end of the day. Also a great price.

Origins A Perfect World for Eyes

I love the scent of this. I also love the thickness of the product and really felt like it was beneficial. Due to how heavy the product was it was only one I used at night but I look for different things for my eyes in the day and night so rarely find an all round eye cream.

Soap and Glory Wish upon a Jar

I love this product. Super thick, super boosting and leaves skin feeling incredibly soft. I love to use this a week before a big night out or an occasion so my skin is super plump.

Wow that was a long empties, do you have loads of products with just a little left in? I've still got more to hopefully use pre move.

Love M

xxx

Wedding Fever!

Hi all!

I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Today I will be off to my friends wedding and I'm so excited!

It's the first wedding out of all of my friends and I think all of us are really looking forward to it.

I've been getting ready pretty much all week, as you can imagine! I've been scrubbing and scrubbing so my skin is buffed to perfection before my tan was applied last night so fingers crossed it won't turn out to be patchy or streaky!

I had a pedicure the other week that I am hoping will still be in tact by Saturday. I went for gold glitter for lots of sparkle as choosing an actual colour was so hard!

For my fingers I have been playing all week with different nudes and effects. I am sure I will be tweeting a picture of my nails if you'd like to see the end result...

I previously wrote about my dress choices in my post here i you'd like to see them, but I eventually picked this pink shift dress from LK Bennett:

It's such a classic cut in a bright colour and I think it will be perfect!

I'm teaming it with nude heels and bag and this jacket for when it goes colder in the evenings:

What do you think of my wedding outfit choices?

I've also got a diamante comb for my hair, I always curl it but never do anything else with it so am planning on pinning it half up with the comb so it's a bit more special.

Any tips for weddings?? Do you have any friend's weddings to go to coming up?

I have another in a month or two after so I'll be planning my outfit for that one soon enough!!

L xxx

Tea Time!

Both me and M have been so busy the last few weeks and lots of things have happened, so I decided to do a catch up post instead of a product review today. So get yourself a brew and settle down.....

I am absolutely loving my new job and it's everything I've been hoping for....but helllllllllllllllllllll is it hard work!

There's so much to learn my brain feels like its about to explode every evening I come home, I've even got into bed at 7pm and completely crashed out til the next day.

I'm still training but now that I've got the basics I'm getting to do a lot more fun things (if you can call analysing drugs a fun thing?!) so fingers crossed my brain won't be so bombarded soon.

They've even offered for me to a PhD next year...eeeeek!

The biggest event this week was of course M's birthday! We had a lush day at the spa on Thursday, we started off in the gym knowing that we had a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge afternoon tea to follow:



Look at those sandwiches, warm scones and welsh cakes, pastries and even jelly and strawberries!

There must have been 1000s of calories on this tray so I was pretty glad I'd been to the gym before it.

 

Afterwards we got glammed up and went for a few cocktails before M met her family for food.

I wore out an animal print jump suit with nude court shoes, and M had on a dress she got for her birthday which was a gorgeous burgundy lace dress from Lydia Rose Brights collection.

 

We have the same plan of attack whenever we go for cocktails, first drink is a Cosmo followed by a Long Island Iced Tea. After that we tend to grab whatever else is on the deal (ha!) but we thought we'd try a different one called a Kentucky Jewel which we would 100% recommend ;)

We also went shopping last weekend and I picked up a few naughty pieces!
First up was an unplanned dress purchase....a beautiful red dress from Oasis in the sale for £35. I couldn't resist it as it was so beautiful on, a classic shape and colour......and in the sale!

The blazer was a cheeky Zara purchase. I did need a blazer for the weddings I have coming up, and although this beauty was £50 I know it will be worn a lot and will go with every dress that I have to wear to weddings and other summer events. Hopefully this will be worth the cash!

I've been working hard at the gym recently so I decided to pick myself up some new trainers. I know everyone loves the super bright coral Nikes and I would love to get some for myself but at £90 with crazy delivery I will have to wait for now!
I picked these up from the Nike Factory store for a bargainous £38 and cannot wait to rock up to the gym today with them on.

What have you been up to recently? What have you been spending on and looking forward to?

Me and M have a night out planned for next week.....I'm thinking of wearing the red dress! Do you like it?

Hope you're all having a gorgeous weekend in the sun!

L xxx

Style Staple: Blazers

Happy Thursday!

I'm not normally one to put a lot of photos of myself onto the blog as I like to keep to myself and find taking them more complicated than others seem to. However I'm getting better at it so thought I'd branch out and write about my Style Staples.
As well as beauty I am also a massive fan of clothes, as you would expect. I find blazers the perfect accompaniment to most outfits and they seem to finish them off without being too overly smart.

My collection has been growing recently so I decided to share it with you and which styles I find go better with which outfits.

First up is the old favourite. This is a black/grey blazer from Dorothy Perkins which I bought quite a few years ago now. This is what I call my 'Slouchy Blazer'.
It was black and it still is mostly, but from wear it has turned into a more grey black, as you'd expect a more vintage like blazer to look, which makes me love it more.

It has a waterfall front with two large pockets on either side which I suppose don't serve much purpose as they're too big and slouchy but they're so comfortable to rest your hands in!
It's easily thrown on with any outfit as it doesn't do up so I mostly wear this with jeans for every day wear and layer it with scarves and leather jackets when it's colder.

Next up is the newest in my collection; the orange Jogging Blazer from Zara.
This is my 'Bright (and BEAUTIFUL) Blazer'.

This jacket is absolutely amazing and I'm so pleased I bought it. I've worn it out to many things since I bought it at the end of March; lunch meals with family, pub meet ups with the girls and on my birthday night out with my Lipsy Dress.

It just seems to go with EVERYTHING! It brightens up every outfit and can be worn done up or left undone  and the slightly shorter sleeves make it great to wear in any weather.

It's definitely going to be a firm favourite for the summer!


This next one is one of my most prized possessions.
The timeless classic that is the Ralph Lauren military blazer. (i.e. my 'Military Blazer' - duh!)



I absolutely LOVE it.
The shape is beautiful and its made with such thick and good quality material I am hoping it will last a long time. The sleeves are lovely and long, the shoulders and waist tapered and fitted, and the length of the blazer sits perfectly on my hip.



The pocket is of course a primary feature of the blazer, and the crest is beautifully stitched and looks very regal with the feathers and crown. It's one of my favourite parts of the blazer along with the buttons which are gold coloured and feature the same sort of detailing.



I love it pulls together any outfit and makes it look smart but it's so comfortable it doesn't feel like you're all dressed up over the top.
I've worn it out with family for my birthday meal with jeans and with a dress and leggings and it looks great with all of them.
It was a birthday present so is fairly new to my wardrobe so I expect I will be wearing it a lot in future, especially as I feel like Kate Middleton knowing she's a bit of a fan of Ralph! (I wish!)

This one is another Dorothy Perkins buy as I loved the black one so much that I went back last summer and picked up the cream version with black collar detailing.
This would be my 'Summer Blazer' I suppose.

It's a little harder to wear as although its pretty much the same as the black one the material is thinner and I don't feel it has quite the same look as the black one.
This one should get more wear than it does as I always seem to steer towards black (as you may notice considering this post contains three....) but I need to start varying my wardrobe as it does seem a little bit boring sometimes.

You can see in the photo above that this blazer has the same waterfall front and large pockets, but the front is a little more waterfall than the black and maybe why it gets worn less.

Finally we have the Warehouse blazer, which is one I picked up after Christmas when they had 20% off and I have quite honestly never looked back. I'd term this one the 'Classic Blazer'.

I have been looking for a black fitted blazer ever since I bought the Dorothy Perkins one. The other got so much wear I knew I needed a fitted one for smarter occasions and snapped this one up when I got the chance!

It has super long sleeves which is lush when you're tall as it doesn't always happen, sits perfectly on the hip and tapers in all the right places.
The longer collar seems to elongate the body making you look slimmer and I love wearing it out with dresses.
I do love my Ralph one but I think that will be for smarter day wear occasions as this one has a similar effect but I wouldn't mind taking this one out on the town with me as they sell very similar ones still and i know the style that will fit me to replace it.

The only downside to this one is that it doesn't do up which would have made it even better. A hook and eye would have finished it perfectly and I'd be tempted to add one if i had any idea how to!

So what are your style staples? I think I will be doing more of these posts as I'm getting more confident in taking the pictures and I absolutely love blazers.

Which one of these is your favourite? Do you favour colour or classic? Military or slouchy?

L xxx