Wednesday 29 February 2012

Review: Mascara Mascara Mascara




Mascaras are one of the products that I go out and always seem to have a good collection of and can't decide which one to use on a daily basis. I love full, thick lashes like everyone else I suppose.
I have three that I tend to use the most and prefer out of the rest. As a colour reference for the mascaras I also buy black or extreme black, I'm quite wanting to try a brown/ black mascara just to see the difference in my lashes.

The three mascaras are No7 Exceptional Definition, Maxfactor False Lash Effect Fusion and Maybelline One by One Volume Express.

The first No7 Exceptional Definition is a really good mascara, it separates lashes nicely.The brush also has many 'nifty' features to it, as one side has a long combed brush and the other has the 'teeth' closer together and shorter. I'm guessing each side of the brush are for the top and bottom lashes, lastly the ball on the end of the brush is handy for getting into the corner lashes easily, which is something that I struggle to do with most mascaras without putting it all over my eyes and nose somehow. I've found this mascara quite easy to remove but not as easy as some.


The second is Maxfactor False Lash Effect Fusion, this is my all time favourite mascara! I love the size of the brush, it isn't too small and it isn't too big which is always useful when it comes to mascaras. Also no matter what mascara I have I always seem to put this one in my make-up bag and use it no matter what. I just love what it does to my lashes, it makes them look big, adds volume to them and separates them easily. It also lasts all day which is also a big plus and is easy to remove.

Lastly the Maybelline One by One Volume Express mascara, another one of my favourites. It doesn't make lashes look clumpy, it adds volume, adds length and is just lovely on the lashes. This is my favourite when it comes to non-clumpy lashes. The brush is also a perfect shape as its oval and it allows for easy distribution of the mascara on all of the lashes. The only problem that I have with this mascara is that it seems to remove easily at night time, however when it comes to the next morning I find that I have black smudges of mascara around my eyes. I also seem to purchase any of the Maybelline mascaras and I've liked them all other than the 'falsies' mascara, it just didn't seem to work for me.

What are your favourite mascaras? 
All of the above can be found in Boots, Superdrug and other stores e.g. supermarkets. Other than No7 which can only be found in Boots. 
I hope your all enjoying your Wednesday and this lovely weather (:
ox

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Recent Purchases

(£8.50)
(£4)
(£4)
Ebay

I decided the other day that I wanted a few new piece of jewellery, so off I went to my local Topshop store and then came out with these little bits. As soon as I spotted the first necklace I knew it had to be mine, I love moustaches for some strange reason and then the glasses just made it even better. I got told a few times on Sunday that it reminded people of Mr Potato Head from Toy Story which I don't mind. It's just a fun and quirky piece of jewellery that will add abit of fun to an outfit.
I have a thing for crosses at the moment, so instantly I knew I had to get the ring and the earrings as I love rings and have an obsession with them and the earrings I'd be looking for some for a while, its like it was fate! I'm also after a long silver cross so if anyone sees one then point it my way please (:

Lastly I'd been after one of these for a while but they had been over £9.99 on eBay and I really didn't want to pay that much, so at the weekend I found this one for £3.00 and 50p postage, I was so happy, then it turnt up today and this made me even happier how beautiful it looks and its just something abit different. (Yes I do have a little scratch on the front of my Macbook, but its in pretty good condition to say I've had it nearly 3 years!)

If you'd like the link for the decal then comment below and I'll add it into the post. I hope your all having a lovely week and enjoying this little bit of nice weather that we're having right now!

ox

Monday 27 February 2012

Sunday Summary 005

001. Happy Monday :)! Yes I know this should have been done on a Sunday but I was busy and didn't get round to doing it.

002. I got One Direction tickets this weekend, yes I am super super super excited and yes I'm 21 but oh well. Louis is my favourite, he's also from South Yorkshire (Doncaster) so he has to be my fave right?

003. I have two days off uni (monday and tuesday) so will sort lots of posts out for this week. This is what I say every week I'm sure of it but I think I'm just lazy and need some sort of 'plan' that will make me do it every single day, or most days. I have 15 followers which isn't alot I know but its nice to know that some people just come and read my blog. So I thank you all.

004. I've got an exciting couple of weekends ahead, this Friday I'm off to London with my best friend for the weekend with will be so good, and we're off to see Jersey Boys aswell. I'm sure we will spend alot of time on Oxford Street aswell as its 0.5 miles away from our hotel ;) Definately going to make the most of this weekend because its not everyday you get given the chance to go away for the weekend in London, to the West End aswell is it?! I'm also off to Belfast for St Patrick's Weekend which will be scary as I've never flown but its all for ice hockey and I'm amazingly excited for this. Also got alot of university things happening which I could mention on this blog as it would allow for you to see what I'm doing.

005. Went on a 'date night' with my boyfriend this week. It was also our 3 year anniversary (we've been together 6 years unofficially) and it was so lovely, we went for food at a little pub in Sheffield city centre and then to the cinema to see The Woman in Black, oh dear such a jumpy jumpy film but the storyline is just brilll! Was weird seeing Daniel Radcliffe as a different character and he wasn't playing Harry Potter, he's definately one of my favourite actors!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend whatever you did! Enjoy your week (:
ox

Monday 20 February 2012

Review: Vo5 Instant Oomph Powder

Vo5 Instant Oomph Powder (£4)

I wanted a product that would add more volume and texture to my hair without using wax or hairspray and wanted something that would give me better results, so I purchased the Vo5 Instant Oomph Powder. At the time I got two products from Asda for £5 rather than the £4 which the powder normally retails at.

I had initial 'fears' before I used the product as I didn't want it not to be rubbed into my hair properly and to look like white 'dandruff' and I didn't want my hair to feel hard and sticky after the use.
I've used the product numerous times and found that neither of these things happened which made me very happy, other than the roots of your hair do feel a little sticky and another time I think I'd used too much powder which then built up in my hair and during a night out I found it so hard to even brush it through.

The bottle contains 7 grams of product which might not seem alot but you need a tiny amount of the product to make a difference to your hair so the amount is really good.

When using the powder its important to make sure you shake the bottle first because the ingredients within the powder start to active and this is what makes the difference to the hair. 

My overall thoughts of the product was that you don't need alot of the powder to make a difference to the hair, I only have short, quite fine hair and I noticed that you don't need that much, also the fact that the powder goes clear and can't be seen, this was an initial worry of mine and I'm sure some others out there maybe be worried about the same. The powder is such a better alternative to backcombing, as it doesn't damage the hair, there is a nice smells that also comes with the powder which is again a plus, as it doesn't smell chemically like some hair products, I like it and I'm sure some people don't and finally the little gem turns flat hair into voluminous hair in minutes! What more could you ask for?

Have you used the powder before? What are your thoughts and opinions?
ox

Meet Ruby


I thought I'd introduced my dog on here before but I haven't!

Her name's Ruby and she's 2 years old and she's an American Bulldog, your probably wondering out of all the dogs in the world why that breed? and aren't they aggressive? But like I say any dog can be aggressive it just depends on how the owner brings them up. But she is one of the most adorable, dopey dogs I have ever met (you can tell by just looking at the photos of her above). She can be rough and playful but thats for about 20 minutes a day, because as soon as she's played she just falls asleep and gets into the strangest of positions.

I'm sure you'll see my doggy popping up in a few posts in the future so I thought it would be best to introduce her :)

ox

Sunday 19 February 2012

Sunday Summary 004

001. Well its Sunday yet again! I missed this last week and have alot of exciting things coming up and that I'd like some of your help on perhaps :) Happy Sunday!

002. I got the most amazing news this week, my best friends grandad has given her a trip to London for the weekend for her 21st birthday. I love London and have always wanted to go there for the weekend at some point, and I've been asked to go with her :) It's Friday- Sunday so we have alot of time there which is great, and the most exciting part of this that on the Saturday night we're going to a West End show to see JERSEY BOYS! I love them so much so I'm really happy its that show. I'm just wondering what do you think are the best attractions to go and look at in the city? We've seen the usual ones before so is there anywhere special we should make a trip to? Can anyone recommend any nice/ cheapish places to eat? I will be so grateful if you can help.

003. It's mine and Danny (my boyfriends) 3 year anniversary this week which is super super super amazing and exciting! I think we're gonna the cinema I think and for food, I think we're going to see The Woman in Black but I've heard its really jumpy and quite scary so I'm abit nervous about that. I don't want to buy him a present I want to make something any ideas as to what?

004. I've been so busy this week it seems and I haven't had time to blog. So I will try my hardest to get into a routine and if I have a day off I'll schedule some posts and do alot so I'm not a bad blogger as I enjoy this so much :)

Thanks for reading. :)
If you'd like to see any posts in the future comment below and I'll do them!
ox

Uni: Being an Undergraduate 002

The previous post of this series seemed popular so I thought I would carry on! Lately we've been made to think more about dissertations/ applied projects for our final year, work experience and placements for now and in the summer and more importantly this has led to what we want to do in the future.

I have this all sorted out as I know in my own mind what I plan to do when I've finished university and everything I want to do in the lead up to this, I just need a 'proper plan' and then to put this plan into action. There's two words social media. I spend half of my day checking Facebook, Tweeting, going on Tumblr and checking blogs so I don't think theres a better career that would suit me. I'm not very good at 'thinking' so corporate PR or crisis management would be a suitable career me for, I prefer being more creative and too be honest this has been shown through my marks in my modules in the last two years.

I'm currently on the path of sorting myself out either some volunteering work, a placement or a job where I would learn about the role that I want to be in eventually. This excites me being able to be out there and do things that will allow me to better myself but then the other half of me is scared, scared of rejection and the fear of actually doing a job or a placement where I'd know no one, wouldn't no what on earth I was doing. But this is part of the excitement in a way, I like to learn really, yes weird but I've been in education all my life, never had a break so whats the point in stopping.

I get so down when I get rejected or get told that I'm not very good at something but I need to learn how to deal with this myself and how to put up with this. I've been rejected many times by jobs, even part time jobs so in a way I'm used to it now. Even though I've not had an interview in about a year, quite annoying really the amount of CVs and emails I send out and then I get no responses.

Are you in your 2nd year and feeling the pressures of dissertations? or even in your final year and in the final stages of putting it together? Do you have any tips to help me manage the stress next year?

Thanks for reading! Hope your all having a great weekend!

ox

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Uni: Being an Undergraduate


I wanted to blog today but really didn't know what to blog about.. I thought instead of doing a review of a product or a wish-list, I'd write about my university life and my course. Some of you may find this quite boring but I really just wanted to write and to 'chat' today.

Well I'm a Public Relations and Media student at Sheffield Hallam University. I'm also from Sheffield and decided when I was applying for my courses that it was between staying at home or going to Newcastle, where the course didn't really interest me that much and I was worried about leaving home, knowing it would cost more money, I'd lose contact with my friends and family as I'm a very family/ friends orientated person and one of the other important things was my boyfriend, he would have understood my decision to leave Sheffield and I'm sure we would have tried to make it work some way, as other people manage to do this! I also had a great life in Sheffield so why leave all this behind?

Many people sometimes wonder why I chose to stay at home and live at home, the simple reasons are because it saves me money in the long run and I didn't want to be in more debt than I will be anyway and it just suited my lifestyle more. I'm not a typical 20 year old as I don't really enjoy going out and drinking 3-4 times a week like some university students do. I prefer odd nights as it won't get boring and in my eyes they just seem to be much more fun.

I'm currently in the second semester of my second year and the stress levels are starting to increase even though I'm only a week into the semester. It just feels like there is so much pressure as we have to start thinking about our dissertations now and I'd rather not think about that yet tbh. I love my course public relations is definately the route for me, the media part I don't really enjoy but I'd being doing this since secondary school so it only made sense to take a degree which included this in. 
So back to my second year, this is the year that begins to count and parts of the marks which you achieve go towards your degree (for my course anyway). For some reason I struggle to write essays, I really have to put alot of effort and hard-work into writing a good essay and getting a good mark for it, in my first year I'd been getting 50s-60s which yes is good but I wanted to push myself and get the better grades that I could be properly proud of and be like yes that shows how much work I've put into this essay.

 In the last few weeks I have shown my potential and have realised that I can do good essays as I've been getting mid 60's and 2:1's which is what I eventually want to graduate with. Yes it takes me 24252 hours to do an essay, reading books, internet journals etc and then hours of reading through and correcting essays to get good marks but I wouldn't change any of this because I want something to come of my degree and I will continue to pushing myself to get the degree I know that I can achieve in the long run. 

I'm at the stage where I'm sorting out my career and life plan, but then part of my worries about this, when I graduate in a year and 4 months time, will I enter the working world and never be able to get a job in the PR industry? I'm currently looking for interns and work placements that I can do over the summer in order to get myself some experience and in order to bulk up my CV and to be able to stand out from the rest that might apply for the same position. I've been in education for 10 years (2002 I started secondary school) and that is a scary thought, what if this doesn't pay off and I'm stuck doing something I don't enjoy. At the moment I'm also looking for volunteering opportunities as I don't want my summer to be boring when I could be helping better myself and my CV.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this, I know it all seems a little bit disjointed but this is what was in my head and I'm wanting to become more personal with some of my blog posts so expect alot more of this!

Thank you for reading, I hope your all having a great week so far! If you have any questions about anything I've mentioned either comment below or don't hesitate to send me an email :)
ox

Monday 6 February 2012

Life: What My Weekend Consisted Of...


Just a few photographs that show what I've been up to this weekend, Friday night consisted of Propaganda in Sheffield for a friend's birthday, Saturday and Sunday was filled with my favourite thing.. ICE HOCKEY!
ox

Soap & Glory's 'A Great Kisser'


This is the latest product to be launched by Soap & Glory in their new cosmetics line, this is the luscious lip-balm called 'A Great Kisser'.

Personally I am a huge fan of the Soap & Glory lines, I love the quirky packaging and the names of the products they just stand out and are so different from most of the cosmetics which are around. 
Some of my favourites products from Soap & Glory include the 'Kick Ass' Concealer - such a great concealer, The Righteous Body Butter - one of the best body moisturisers around and Clean on Me shower gel - I love the scent of it.

The lip-balms claim to contain mango butter to moisturise, apricot butter for weather protection, lingoberry oil to boost barrier repair (and prevent water loss) and pomegranate extract to renew your 'dewy'. What more could you ask for from a lip-balm?

They are some in three different flavours:
Juicy Peach (a gorgeous coral)
Sweet Coconut (clear with a hint of shimmer)
Chocolate Cherry (a sheer, popsicle pink)

The lip-balms are now available in all larger Boots stores. I'm definately wanting to pick one, maybe two or all three of these lip-balms :) 

At the moment I'm suffering from dry lips, so this may help unless anyone else can recommend any other products as Vaseline doesn't seen to be working that well for me this time.
What are your favourite Soap and Glory products? Whether they are cosmetics or bath/ shower products?

ox 

Sunday Summary 003

001. HAPPY SUNDAY! (even though its monday, when I'm posting this... so HAPPY MONDAY)

002. I have really been MIA (missing in action) this week, I'm so sorry. Things have just taken over and I haven't really had much time to blog. I've been back at university for the first time in 6-7 weeks and it's just taken it out of me, aswell as trying to perfect my CV and apply for work experience placements for the summer to bulk my CV up a little bit. I'm eventually getting there. I love having alot to do in the days it makes you feel like you've done something rather than just sitting around.

003. So SNOW happened this weekend. It's so pretty when it comes down and how everywhere looks but then its such an inconvience and it just looks ugly and dirty when it starts to melt away and get slushy.

004. I've been nursing a bad cold this week, well its probably not bad but in my eyes I'm dying. Its not clearing up earlier because of the cold which makes it even worse. Everything feels so much more effort to do when you've got a cold, its so annoying.

I hope you've all had a great weekend 
ox