Latest Buys

When I've been doing some Christmas shopping the past few weeks I've not been able to resist picking up myself a few bits. After reading EssJays blog Mission Me which is one of my favourites I instantly fell in love with a coat she recently published about.

I was surprised to find out it was from Primark, and then made it my mission to find it in my size. I even braved Oxford Street Primark on a Saturday in Decemeber!! (never again). When I got back to Cardiff I found it in my size! I was really surprised in the difference in size between the coats. I thought I'd have got away with going one size bigger but I definitely couldn't.

It's an amazing gorgeous black double breasted coat. I love how soft the material is for this type of material and hasn't been at all itchy which I find some cheaper coats. The waist belt really pulls you in and the bottom half is a really full skater skirt style. I love this shape and find it looks most flattering on me! I was so drawn to it. Simple but classic and the sleeve detail just meant I couldn't leave it. I really love the stud detail and how they make a simple coat interesting. It does cost £32 which at first I thought was expensive but for a coat it's really not that bad!

Whilst in Primark I found myself browsing as I had a date to go on yesterday and even though I have loads of clothes I fancied something new. I was surprised when rooting through a sale rack to find these two amazing dresses and both of them were only £5!

I love the teal colour on this dress and the combination of the black lace with it. It fits great and has a soft flowing skirt. It has a ribbon to draw more attention into at the waist. It's really comfy and not to clingy!

I was instantly draw to the pattern on this dress. It's almost like a cross stitch pattern of the flowers. It drapes well when on and has an elasticated waist! I think this will be perfect for holidays and Glastonbury next year!

Lastly while picking up my nieces Christmas presents in H and M I ended up picking myself up some bits. If you've got any children's clothes to get I really suggest looking in there as there sale has some bargains in.

When in the kids section I saw these amazing tops and they looked pretty big. For only £2 each I had to grab them. The pink top is age 12-14 and the green one is 14+. The age 12-14 actually fits better. I definitely need to look in kids sections more for cheaper clothes. The tops are perfect for everyday with jeans or leggings as they cover the bum but are loose and comfy!

I couldn't resist picking up the Nars creamy concealer when I was in London. I'm sure I'll be sharing my thoughts on it soon with you!!

Have you managed to resist picking up treats when you've been shopping?

Love M

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

Life Lately

It's been a while since I've done a life post and after my weekend away I decided I wanted to do one. I feel like so much has changed these past few months and it really has been for the best.

Following the break up with my ex in the summer it's all been about spending time with friends and family as much as possible. I've not had a weekend on mine before this weekend since June. My weekends have been spent catching up with friends, going out, going away or seeing the family and it's great. 

With regards to relationships I've now been single for over 5 months, a new record for me. I was always the girl who was happiest in a relationship and never thought I'd been this comfortable single. I spent this weekend in London. I caught up with a friend on Saturday for a bit of shopping but had Sunday on mine. Whilst wondering around I realised I had finally reached the point where I was happy on my own.

Last week I saw my ex for the first time in months. I expected it to be weird but it was surprisingly not. It was easy to just chat to him as a friend without feeling anything, making me realise even more I held onto something I shouldn't have for too long. Walking away is sometimes the hardest decision and I realised I spent a long time fighting for something I thought would make me happy but it was actually making me unhappy!

Anyway that's not very positive. Lately I feel so much happier and settled and have some amazing things lined up. Hopefully next year I'll be buying my first house. I had found one but it unfortunately fell through. Who knew buying a house is so stressful. It definitely took a lot out of me.

I'm now really looking forward to the next year and doing things I wouldn't have done had I stayed with my ex including Glastonbury and tough mudder! 

Bring on 2014!!

Bit of a random post but felt like writing it. Back to beauty tomorrow :)

Love

M

xxx

OOTN: Christmas Celebration!

Morning!!

Last weekend me and M both went out for food and a few drinks to celebrate Christmas. We don't buy gifts for each other as we'd prefer to spend our money on a new dress and a night out on the cocktails.

This year was no exception and we managed to combine our festivities with the final of the Autumn internationals; Wales v Australia. As your typical welsh girl this was a standard thing for me, but M is only adopted welsh so it was a little harder for her to cheer on the 'wrong' team but she got into it!

We spent the match time in a local Wetherspoons eating your standard beer and a burger deal and joining the local oldies with their pints at the big screen. There were a few characters there and we had a good laugh with them.

After this we went back to mine and gave ourselves an hour to change and touch up our hair and make up which was a little push but we just about managed it!

We decided to both go for LBDs as we both had new ones in our wardrobe that we were desperate to wear!
You can see them both better in the picture below:

I am wearing a black knee length dress from LK Bennett that I picked up from the outlet a little while ago. It was on sale and after trying it on there was no way I could leave it behind. It was an expensive random purchase but something that won't date for a long time and I plan on getting plenty of wear out of it!

M's dress is from River Island and has a gorgeous cut out detail in the centre just under the bra area.

This was such a change for us to go out so covered up, long dresses showing minimal skin was definitely a big change (we're normally more likely to be seen in micro shorts or body con dresses with legs and boobs on show....why not eh?!)

I curled my hair as per usual but left the curls at the ends of the hair instead of all the way through. I wore my favourite Mac lipstick in Russian Red and teamed it with a smokey eye.

M also curled her lilac hair using a hot air brush to get root volume and a large curling wand on the ends. She wore a purple smokey eye her new MUA velvet lips in kooky reviewed on the blog this week.

We both enjoyed multiple cocktails including one called Kentucky Jewel (pictured above) which was amazing, bourbon, triple sec and juice....yum!

I was surprised I didn't feel as rough as I thought I would on the Sunday as we both drank quite a bit....however I did do the cardinal sin of wearing my make up to bed!

Unbelievable!


I never do that, probably done it 4 times in my whole life now so I was quite annoyed and have been applying face masks and spot cream ever since to ensure I don't get a mountainous break out on my face, ugh! 

What have you got planned with your friends this year for Christmas?

Will you be dressing up or keeping it casual?


We just couldn't resist an opportunity to dress ourselves up and do our hair and make up!

I didn't feel very festive when December struck as it felt too far away still...but now I cannot wait for Christmas to get here and am writing this whilst watching Home Alone - the ultimate Christmas kids film!

L and M xxx