My 5 Favourite Lipsticks

I have quite a collection of everyday colours, but there are times when I like to pop on a brighter colour such as an evening out or just because it's a sunny day and I feel like wearing one. There are also days when I just like to stick on a clear lipgloss or a lip balm, usually when I'm at home or I've over slept in the morning and haven't got time to put on a nice glossy lippy.
I've been having so much fun playing around with different lipstick shades lately. However it did go a bit wrong the other day as I bought a deep plum lipgloss which I'd swatched on the back of my hand whilst in the shop and thought ooh that's gorgeous. Unfortunately when I got home and tried it on my lips I realised it was completely the wrong colour for me. Oh well, you live and learn! So I gave it to someone who I know will get far more use out of it than it being sat in my draw for the rest of eternity.

Superdrug Haul

If you're following me on Twitter already you may have seen that a few weeks ago I mentioned I'd been into town and treated myself to a few things. I usually get really excited when I end up coming home with some pretty new products to play around with. I also picked up a few items to replace ones that were almost finished.
My local Superdrug is one of their smaller stores as I live in a quiet little town in Hertfordshire. I do have the option of going to their Stevenage store which has a much larger range of brands in stock, and of course I can always shop on line.
I've not done a Haul post before but I actually love reading them on other blogs or watching haul videos on YouTube so I thought I'd show you what items I picked up.

What I Wore to The Swiss Gardens

It was a gorgeous sunny June day and I'd got all excited that the sun was out which meant I could finally wear a summer's outfit. So I went riffling through my wardrobe and found just what I was looking for.
I was going for a day out at The Swiss Gardens in Bedfordshire and I just knew this was also going to make the perfect setting for taking a few photos for my next outfit post.

The Beauty Blogger Tag

Last week I was tagged by Sarah from Writing Rambling to do The Beauty Blogger Tag. I've not done a beauty tag before and it's one I'd love to do, all you have to do is answer the questions. So I won't waffle on too much and get straight to it.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette

Makeup Revolution Ultra Blush Palette
I thought it was high time I got a new blusher as this is one thing I don't seem to have enough of, so while I was in town a few weeks ago I popped into Superdrug to check out what they'd got. I'm already a fan of Makeup Revolution as I have a few of their eyeshadow palettes, which I absolutely love, and I'd been wanting to try a few more of their products for a while so of course I was immediately drawn to the Makeup Revelution section first. I'd decided on getting a powder palette and not the cream as I'm not particularly very good at applying cream blushers, or maybe I just need more practice! I was expecting to purchase one or two single blushers but the Sugar and Spice colour palette caught my eye immediately as I think the pretty pink tones seem to suit my skin tone and hair colouring.

May Beauty Favourites

Well what an exciting month May has been. I've been out and about with my husband for those long walks that we both really love and find so relaxing. I've been on a few lunch dates with friends who I haven't seen for ages, plus I went for a coffee date with another friend who I'd not seen in 5 years as she'd moved away but we've kept in touch, so while she was down this way visiting her family we thought it would be a great idea to have a catch up. To end the month off I went to a friend's daughter's 1st birthday party where I ate far too much food and even attempted to sing Happy Birthday!
So Monthly Favourites time again, yes I know, it does come round so quickly!
I've been trying a few new products this month and these are the ones I've enjoyed using the most.

My Favourite Summer Nail Polishes

I was having a huge Spring clean a few weeks back and one of the things I did was sort through all of my nail polishes. I seem to have built up quite a large collection, actually I think it's probably an addiction alongside nude lipsticks as I can't seem to go too long without buying one or the other and I really don't need anymore. Maybe I should write a list of goals for the rest of the year and number one should be "Must not buy anymore nail polishes"! Ha, ha! Now that really would be a challenge.

One of the things I love about Summer is being able to paint my toes nails in a lovely bright colour and have them on show wearing a pair of summer sandles. Let's hope the weather stays nice enough for me to do this.
I am rubbish at being able to grow my finger nails though. I manage to get them to a certain length and then they either brake or I end up filing them down. I did try having gels for a while last year but I found they completely ruined my nails, maybe I kept having them for too long without a break in-between.

Well, with Summer not that far off now it was time to put away the darker colours for winter and dig out some brighter colours. I thought it would be nice to write a post and show you some of my favourite nail polishes for this time of year.

Pretty Prints

I don't think my style has changed too much over the years, I'll always be a girly girl. I've got a bit more adventurous as I've got older though and bought things that I wouldn't have a few years ago.
However each year I love to get out the floaty summer dresses, they're just so comfortable to wear, and each year I'll buy another one to add to my wardrobe. I'm really loving this pretty floral midi dress right now with the combination of blue and green in the print. I'm sure if everyone was wearing zebra print I'd still be wearing florals!

Baker Days Letterbox Cake Review

I do enjoy sitting down to a cup of tea and a slice of cake, particularly on special occasions such as my birthday. I think it's great that you can send flowers or gifts through the post but now you can even send a personalized cake to someone, delivered straight through their letterbox.
I'd seen Baker Days come up a few times on social media, so when they contacted me asking if I'd like to try their letterbox cake I thought what a lovely idea.
Baker Days is a company that specialises in personalised celebration cakes and they provide a delicious range of fillings and sizes for any occasion.

The Weekend Outfit

You may have seen in a previous blog post that I enjoy taking a stroll in the countryside as often as I can, and that's exactly what I did over the May Bank Holiday weekend. We went to Hitchwood in Hertfordshire and the bluebells were out in full colour. It was so peaceful and great to get out in the fresh air just listening to the sounds of nature. The day wasn't quite warm enough for me to go bare legged as there was still a spring chill in the air and my feet were going nowhere near a pair of open toe shoes until I'd had a pedicure, or at least stuck some nail varnish on my toes!
I fished out my denim knee length skirt as I thought this would make a nice change to wearing jeans for a casual weekend outfit.

April Beauty Favourites

These months are going way to quickly, where on earth did April go?
First I thought I'd just mention a personal favourite as on the 14th April my husband and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. We went out for a lovely meal at a local pub called The Fox and both enjoyed our food plus a few glasses of wine to toast the day.
Another happy occasion was that we attended a family wedding. Oh I do love a good wedding! Or maybe I just love the food and party afterwards, ha ha! Anyway, even though it wasn't my special day I still had my hair done especially for the day and put on my best party frock. It was really good to meet up with relatives who we hadn't seen for ages and have a good natter too.

So back to this months beauty favourites. I think this post is probably more like a drugstore haul as they were all bought on one of those days when I'd popped in for one thing and came out with a few extras but anyway these are the products that I've loved using during April.

What's In My Spring Makeup Bag

Like everyone , I have my absolute favourite makeup products that I seem to reach for everyday. This year I have made a concious effort to play around with colour a bit more and there are some beautiful pastel nail polishes and lipsticks in the shops at the moment. There are some days when I just want to wear a light, natural look or maybe brighten it up with a lovely bold pink lipstick. If I'm not doing much at the weekend then I tend to wear just a tinted moisturiser, mascara and a lip gloss or if I'm pushed for time then I will keep it to the bare minium. Usually though as the weather warms up I will swap my heavier makeup colours for lighter tones and try out a few new season products. So after having a good sort out of my makeup collection I thought I'd show you a few favourite items in my Spring makeup bag.

Blue Floral Skirt

 You probably already know that I wear a lot of neutral colours. My wardrobe is full of blacks, creams, beiges, browns and greys, so occasionally I love to introduce some colour to make it look a bit fresher for whatever season we're in. Sometimes I can be a bit of an impulse shopper and go right ahead and buy something without thinking what do I already have that it will go with, but when I came across this beautiful blue floral skirt I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I just had to have it. As I held it in my hand I could visualise outfits I'd be able to style using the skirt and items that I already owned. The skirt is really versatile and would be great for any occasion.

March Beauty Favourites

I can't believe it's monthly favourites time again! Where did March go? I've been extremely busy and with Easter being earlier this year I've also enjoyed spending time with my family over the extra long weekend. I did manage to find some time to reorganise my makeup storage area which was quite relaxing plus it will be much easier to find things on a daily basis.
So back to the things I've been reaching for the most this month. There are a few new products and an old favourite that I've found a new use for.

Denim Flares

Over the last few weeks I've been packing up my winter clothes, sorting through anything that I can still use while we're mid season and to make room for a few cheeky purchases I've made. I'm really into denim at the moment especially with so many great pieces in the shops to choose from and a pair of jeans will always be on my list of wardrobe staples. I would normally go for a pair of stretch skinny jeans but I came across these ones which are slightly flared and when I tried them on I absolutely loved them.

Blue Eyeshadow Makeup Look

So far I've really been enjoying 2016. At the start of the year I set myself a few personal goals and I'm slowly working through them one by one. Being a bit more experimental with certain things also featured on my list so I thought why not be a bit more adventurous with my makeup as well.  I treated myself to the Elf Eyes 100 Eyeshadow Palette and I've been having great fun playing around using the eyeshadow colours to create different looks. With it being a new season I wanted to do something a little bit brighter with my makeup and move away from my favourite smokey eye look so I decided to do a makeup look using blue eyeshadows.
I thought I would share my finished look and show you what products I've used.

Things I love about Spring

Spring has to be my favourite time of year. After months of cold weather, dark days and being wrapped up in several layers of clothing. Spring really does make me feel more optimistic and full of energy. I start to make plans and feel much more positive about actually achieving them.
So I thought I'd do something a little different to my usual fashion or beauty post and tell you why I love the Spring.

The Liebster Award

You may have already seen what the Liebster Award is. It's not an actual award but when a blogger shows a token of appreciation and nominates you, they ask you to answer their questions and then you nominate other bloggers with your own questions. I love getting to meet new bloggers and finding out more about them. I also think it's a great way to have bit of fun too!

I was honoured and excited to have been nominated by the lovely Aisling from Aisling's Apparel. I love reading her fashion and beauty blog and finding out what she's been up to. I'd like to say thank you Aisling for the nomination, it was such a lovely surprise.

Things I Do To Relax

Sometimes i get so wrapped up in everyday life that I forget what's important and what isn't. Life can become so stressful with all those everyday tasks that need to get done and I end up feeling so overwhelmed with it all and struggle to keep up.
I try not to dwell on things too much and remember that my personal well-being needs to come first. So as often as I can I spend a few minutes or a few hours having some "me time" to unwind and relax.
Here are my top 10 favourite things to help me relax.

1970s Inspired Outfit

1970s fever is hitting fashion again and will be staying well into Autumn Winter 2016. The Seventies gave us Hippie Chic, Glam Rock and even Punk and eventually becoming an iconic decade for fashion. Charlie's Angels, big lapels, flares and the "Farrah" flick, not forgetting corduroy, suede, denim and velvet were all big in the Seventies. People were inspired by what they saw in Jackie magazine or on Top of The Pops, then shopped at Camden Market to buy their own version or made it themselves at home whilst listening to vinyl on their record players. Designers are still inspired by some of the original icons of the time, Stevie Nicks, Farrah Fawcett and Bianca Jagger to name a few.
Now I love wearing vintage inspired outfits and I'll try not to wear all the pieces at once as I don't want to look like a reject from Pans People!