Birthday Fun!

Hi lovelies!

This is a bit of a photo diary post for you. I had my birthday on Wednesday (26 on the 26th ooh er!) so I thought I'd share my day with you.

Here are two of my favourite cards from some family members...they know me well!

I borrowed M's Lauren's Way rollers for the night so that I could give them a go. It was an interesting experience putting rollers in my own hair. I've never done it before as M is definitely a lot faster and its easier to do someone else's hair but wooooo, it took me over an hour to get them in mine! It was a big struggle as I'm blessed with a considerable mop on my head and needed so many rollers, plus it's so long at the back I couldn't actually reach the ends of my own hair! But I got there in the end and managed to put up with sleeping in them too which surprised me.

It wasn't exactly comfortable but the rollers squashed enough that I could sleep if only a bit restlessly.
It didn't curl my hair which was disappointing but I had lovely bounce and volume for the whole day and it was nice to have that 'just blow dried' look all day.

I treated myself to protein pancakes for breakfast, there were two of them so I smothered them together with Nutella and put a banana on the side for good measure and an extra energy boost for a busy day of shopping.

I met a friend who I'm planning to go to Thailand with later on in the year so we could make a few more travel plans, catch up over lunch and a cheeky birthday cocktail and go shopping.

This is a Jamboree Daquiri....lots of rum and berries and it was TASTY. We teamed it with a gorgeous home made fish finger sandwich and super crunchy fries and it was yummmm.

It was a lush day and although I didn't buy much I did have my brows done and wander around Debenhams browsing all the make up (specifically Benefit, Mac and Urban Decay). It wasn't long before we needed a pit stop and a frappuccino was the best idea ever, cold and sugary for a boost of energy!

I was an extremely lucky girl and was spoilt by my family.

I knew I was having the nude Dune handbag and Levi jeans as I'd already chosen them myself but the others I didn't. My mum had sneakily chosen me a Michael Kors black satchel handbag which was an amazing surprise and I can see it becoming a firm fave!

I also got a full size bottle of my perfume, a Ted Baker pencil case, Naked 3 palette (eek!) and some gold Havaianas which I cannot wait to wear.

Every year we get a Colin the Caterpillar cake for our birthdays and this year was no exception so I have been tucking into pieces of that over the last few days.

We went out to a Pan-Asian restaurant for my birthday meal and it had such tasty food, the table set up was lovely too. Are you good at using chopsticks? I'm normally fine but was far too hungry!

Last weekend me and M went out with another friend for my birthday. There was lots of dressing up and getting ready before we went to a bar for cocktails.

M definitely enjoyed herself on the dancefloor! We were pulling some 'shapes' as I'm sure you can imagine!

It's been a great week and I've got so much more planned. I went to Cabot circus with my mum on Monday, had a training session with my personal trainer, and to finish the week off, today me and M checking out a new eaterie in Cardiff and watching the new Captain America film. Cannot wait to see more of these films; I'm such a sucker for a superhero film!

What have you been up to? Do you have similar activities and rituals for your birthdays too?
Do you like my presents?


L xxx

NOTD: Essie Stylenomics

Morning lovelies!

I've got a long awaited NOTD for you today. I asked my friend in America to send me these beauties in a Christmas present in November but unfortunately they didn't arrive until the end of February! 

But all the same they are beautiful colours and I still need to show you them :)

These two polishes are Leading Lady and Stylenomics:

I've previously posted about Leading Lady in the Winter 2012 Collection here. I absolutely loved it and have been using up the bottle over the last year. Sadly it was only a limited edition one for us Brits and I was panicking that one of my favourites would never be in my collection again......I was SO glad when I realised they still had it in the US so begged my friend to send it to me. Now I can rest assured I won't be running out any time soon now that I've got a full bottle :)

Stylenomics is a beautifully dark green, almost black colour. I love dark polishes on nails and this one has been raved about so I couldn't refuse another Essie could I?

The formula is the same as always, easy to apply and super shiny.

It was opaque in 2 coats and I couldn't stop staring at how lovely it was.







Although it SHOULD be spring time, I find myself wearing darker colours still as the weather has been so awful!

Have you tried Stylenomics? Are you still wearing darker colours?

What's your latest Essie purchase?

L xxx

Spring Wishlist - Fashion

Evening!

Tonight I'm trying to distract myself from dreaded revision for a practical microbiology exam tomorrow! Online shopping is much more interesting than trying to learn different bacteria!

I'm getting inspiration for a spring wardrobe. I really like my style is changing lately but unfortuately I don't have the money to support so I'm day dreaming instead!

Lately I've been finding leggings annoy me. It's too hard to find the perfect pair. I can't seem to find any that are properly black, not see through, don't sag on the knees and are long enough because of this I've been eyeing up treggings. Topshop have an amazing range and some great patterns. 

I love this plain black version. They are £25 and are just easy to wear with everything. I love that they are thicker than normal leggings and still have the stretch to pull you in a little.

I absolutely love the print on these. They are slightly more expensive at £30 but I think the print makes them worth it. They are great for dressing up or down. I'm not sure my pear shape can pull them off but I really hope I can!

images from topshop

I absolutely love my latest primark leather jacket but it's not great for as the weather warms up. I've got a black blazer and really would love some coloured ones for spring.

I love this soft pink blazer and think it would be amazing the floral print treggings. I really want a softer coloured blazer for spring as black can be too harsh. I like that it's tailored as I need jackets to nip me in at the waist or I look big. This one is from Matalan and is £25!

I love the bright blue version too. This would be amazing with light denims!

images from matalan

I really want some distressed denim hot pants with frayed edges. I think they are great with patterned tights for while it's still chilly. The problem is I have a big ass and I'm not a fan of the shorts that show cheek! These look long so fingers crossed. They come in at £25 from Asos!

image from Asos

While it's still chilly I love a maxi dress paired with a jacket. I'm a maxi dress fan. They are so comfy and great for chubby days as they hide everything. I was really drawn to the back of this one from New Look which is £22.99 I'm not sure if the print is a little much for me though!

image from New Look

Lastly I really want some casual cami's that I can easily dress up or down. I really lack strappy tops which are dressy enough for an evening and these look like a happy medium. I love the bright colours they come in and think this one especially would be great with the black and white treggings! I love that it's not too clingy too! These are £12 for Asos!

That's my current spring fashion wishlist. What are you currently eyeing up?

Love M

xxx

 

Get Ready with Me - Dinner Date

Evening All

Another late post from me. I seem to only find time in the evenings to write lately! This weekend was an action packed awesome one!! I'll share more of that later on in the week.

My favourite type of posts lately seem to be get ready with me and face of the day! I love seeing these posts from people as you can pick up little tips and get new ideas!

Today's get ready with me was for a dinner date, I wear this look quite a lot as it's quite classic and easy!

My hair was straightened so I started off by putting in my lauren's way rollers pre shower! When my hair is straight if I'm doing something in the evening I like to pop the rollers in for an hour if I have time so my hair has a bit of body. I find doing them pre shower helps speed up the process as the steam slightly dampens the hair!

For my eyes I used a combination of palettes. I used Urban Decay primer potion in eden to start (I'm in love with this and use it all the time if I need my make up to be long lasting or more vibrant. As a base colour I used a combination of bootycall from naked 2 and strange from naked 3. As I wanted a slight bit of colour I blended Benefite Raincheck? through my crease and outer V. I Then applied Buzz from Naked 3 under the eye for some shimmer!

I was feeling classic make up so went with a black flicked eyeliner!! I love winged liner but I have to be in the mood to do it. This nights wasn't that tidy. For foundation I used Illamasqua Skin Base which is my all time favourite foundation for flawless skin. For concealer I used Nars Creamy Concealer. Another big favourite!

For my brows it was of course browzings! They are horrible unruley as I was letting them grow pre brow arch march wax! For masacara I used They're Real but I was having a bad mascara day. My lashes weren't playing ball as I hadn't got it all off post shower!

For bronzer it was none other than my new bronzer love of Make Believe! I can't stop using this beaut! It's so easy! I contour my cheeks and nose with this!

On my cheeks I used the blush and highlighter from naked flushed. I'm in love with the highlighter as it's finer than MSF so much easier to wear! The blush I love for days when I want more than dandelion gives!

As I was off to meet the guy I'm seeing I opted for a soft neutral lip. If I was out with the girls a red lip would have been a must here! I opted for Revlon Kissable balm stain in honey! I love this shade for easy to wear colour on the lips!

I love how the rollers when applied to my hair straight just give it soft bounce and body. After being in for 45 minutes they give the perfect result for me.

I had to share my new dress as I'm in love with it. It was a bargain £5 from Asda kids range. this is a age 12-13 and I'd say it was an 8 -10 so if your a 12 I think the age 14-15 would fit. I love the bright daisy print and I was instantly sold with the cut out back! I really love a cut out back and as I don't have a whole lot of boob I love to show back instead of cleavage.

My necklace was a bargain my mum found in boots at Christmas time and was only a £1! As it has gold and silver it's a great piece. Boots have amazing jewellery and great discounts when they go in the sale so I'd highly recommend checking it out.

I finished off the look with my ever faithful Primark coat and black tights!

What do you wear on a dinner date?

Love M

xxx

Reviews of products mentioned

Naked 3

Naked 2

Naked Flushed

Benefit World Famous Neutrals

Benefit Browzings

Make Believe Bronzer

Primark Coat