Sunday 3 November 2013

Shopping Basket #1

1 Navy Coat | 2 Peonie Lights | 3 Paisley Scarf
4 Ipad Cover | 5 Stag Wall Decal | 6 Grey Bag









I'm sure I'm not alone, but I am not great at controlling myself when it comes to impulse buys. I tend to see something I like and try to justify the purchase with excuses like 'I can afford it', 'it's just this one thing', 'I'll use/wear it all the time', but then its just sits collecting dust.

So I figured I would start writing posts filled with everything I'm currently eyeing up. I'm hoping that doing this will help to curb impulse buys, and instead inspire future purchases that are actually worth while investments, rather than just wasting money.

The idea is that I can look over this posts and see if my thoughts have changed, or whether I can piece together great items I actually want. As Christmas isn't too far away either I'm hoping this will also help with gift ideas!

What products have you been lusting after?


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Thursday 7 February 2013

Bedroom Inspiration

One of my new years resolution was to be a bit more organised with my room and try and get rid of some clutter. But I've decided thats not enough, so instead Im going to have a complete overhaul of my room!

My room worked well for me whilst I was at uni - I had all of my work, stationary and design supplies there, plus (obviously) my clothes, makeup etc. But its become so cluttered and so full of stuff that I don't really like to spend time in my room, and the way it is just encourages more clutter.

Now Im no longer at university I want a clean, pretty and spacious bedroom. I'm planning on redecorating it, getting rid of old furniture for new, and completely changing the layout.
The annoying thing is that I've realised at least 75% of the stuff in my room needs to go.

I thought I'd share some images that are inspiring the design for my new room:

I've already bought a double bed (finally! No more being cramped up in a single) and a few bits and bobs to go around my room. 

The only problem is I've realised for the double bed I obviously need a new mattress, duvet, covers etc!

Whilst Im in the process of changing everything around I'll be posting regular updates of things I find, and keep you updated on the progress.
In the meantime you can see more on my Pinterest board as I'm always updating it with images that inspire me.

If you have any links to bedroom inspiration, or similar posts you've written, I'd love to see!



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Sunday 3 February 2013

Fitness February



After dedicating January to getting organised, February is going to be the month where I'll be focussing on fitness and becoming more active.

After years of failing at keeping my resolutions, I've realised that changing everything all at once is just going to lead failure. This is why I've decided to focus on one thing per month, hopefully this will lead to things becoming a habit, not a chore.



I really do need to focus on fitness asap because I just eat rubbish all the time, and spend most of my day sat down. The only time I'm 'active' is walking to and from my car, and walking to and from town on my lunch break. Seriously pathetic, I know. I can feel myself slowly turning to jelly, it's not cool.

The trouble is, when I get back from work in the evenings, I know that as soon as my backside hits the sofa I'll be stuck there for the rest of the night. I have no willpower from that point to get up or do anything.

I need to be more proactive with my time and plan workout sessions. I do have exercise equipment at home, as well as workout dvd's. Plus Youtube has a tonne of fitness videos, so there's really no excuse for not doing anything.
So my goal for this month is to fit in one session of exercise a day - even just 15 minutes on my Yoga app will be better than being a couch potato!


By the way I really like this Yoga app. I have it on my Macbook, but you can also get it on the iPhone/iPad and the Android market too! I would definitely recommend downloading the free version and seeing how you get on with it.

Feel free to join me on my mission to get fit - It would be great to know Im not suffering alone have some moral support!
How are your resolutions going so far?



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Tuesday 22 January 2013

Hydraluron Review


After reading about this product on Caroline Hirons blog I went straight out and bought this in the hope that it would be the answer to my skins prayers. My skin is very dehydrated so I figured this would definitely help to re-hydrate it and hopefully add some plumpness to my skin.

I saw so many people commenting on how they saw results from using this product almost straight away, so I was disappointed when I didn't see any to begin with. But I persevered with it, knowing that everyones skin is different, however I just didn't seem to be noticing any difference with my skin.

For Christmas I received another serum by REN and decided to stop using this serum in favour of my new serum to see if that worked any better. I noticed my skin gradually looking more and more dehydrated, so I decided to use both Hydraluron AND my new serum to see how that worked, and Im so much happier this second time around.
I apply this serum after cleansing, followed by my REN Radiance Perfection serum, and I then apply my moisturiser on top.

I've realised that Hydraluron had actually been working for me all along, it's just that the improvement was so gradual that I didn't notice it. I've noticed as well that, if I have the odd lazy day where I use face wipes instead of a cleanser, that my skin doesn't seem to suffer as much as it usually would.

All in all I'm really happy with this little tube, and I'm so glad I gave it another chance. It has lasted me a while too, so I don't mind its price tag. When it does eventually become summer I will most likely just use just the Hydraluron alone before my moisturiser, but with the cold harsh weather as it is at the moment the added moisture can't hurt!

Have you tried this serum? I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

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Sunday 13 January 2013

Mark Hill Glam Goddess Hot Air Review

One of the main things I struggle with is getting any kind of volume in my hair. I’m pretty uncoordinated so if I’ve never been able to get the hang of blow drying my hair, and can guarantee that if I do attempt it I will hit myself in the head/face with either the hairbrush or dryer at least once!

I've been wanting something like this for a while now, and originally went into Boots to get the BaByliss Big Hair, however I saw that this was down from £59.99 to £28.99. I took a bit of a risk getting this as I'd not heard of this before and couldn't find any reviews either. It would either turn out to be a huge bargain or big waste of money.


The box contains a large barrel brush, as well as two curling wands with the option to use them with or without the clips.
I will definitely be reviewing the curling wands at a later date, but my focus for this review is the brush.
On the front of the box is a QR code that brings up a youtube tutorial when you scan it, which I love. 



The styler works as a hair dryer, so the brush has holes/vents to direct the air flow. This way it blow dries your hair without all the faffing around. I dried my hair in layers working from bottom to top and, as you can see, the small section of hair I have done has already gained some much needed lift.  Naturally the hair at my roots falls flat against my head, so it's great to see a bit of volume there for once!


This is the final result, and it is a vast improvement from how it usually is - I don't have to worry about straightening it after either. 
I have to be honest and say that I didn't expect a lot from this, however I'm really pleased with the outcome and am glad to say this turned out to be a bargain! Before I dried my hair I used volumising mousse, however I didn't apply it to my roots so I'm sure I will get so much more lift if I apply it there next time.
One thing I will warn you though is, if you have long hair, you will need to keep pay attention when you use this as it's so easy to catch your hair in the air vent and rip out a load like I did towards the end. 

I'm really glad I got this, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the curling wands work out compared to normal wands.

What's your go-to hair tool for adding more oomph to your hair?


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Wednesday 2 January 2013

Jewellery Haul






Just before the new year I attempted to find some bargains in the sales (typically everything I liked was full price!) and came across these beauties in New Look.
As much as I love the look of gold jewellery, I only really wear silver. I've been really struggling to find nice statement jewellery as everything nice seems to be gold.

Finally I came across these so I snapped them up straight away. I've also been looking for collar tips too so stocked up on a few of those too! I don't feel so bad that they weren't in the sale as I know I'll be getting a lot of use out of them.
The collar tips are £4.99 each and the necklaces were around £13.

I can't wait to get styling with these, and will definitely be featuring them in upcoming outfit posts too.

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Tuesday 1 January 2013

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2013 is already here! Is it just me that thinks 2012 went by way too quickly?
I'm really looking forwards to this year, and I'm hoping to achieve a lot more than I did last year. I will definitely be back to blogging regularly! 

I have come up with a few new years resolutions for 2013, and I'm going to try my hardest not to break any of them! 

 New Years Resolutions


Utilise Wardrobe
I recently had a huge clear-out of my wardrobe to make room for new buys, but ended up re-discovering items that I didn't even realise I owned! I've realised my problem with clothes is that I'm too lazy to look at what I already have, so I get stuck in a rut playing it 'safe' and wonder why I never have anything to wear! I'm going on a spending ban with clothes so I'm forced to make outfits out of clothes I already own.

Stop Hoarding
I am a massive hoarder, and my boyfriend recently looked around my room and said to me "...You just love stuff, dont you?!" I really need to be ruthless and get rid of about 60% of the crap I'm holding on to. I do not need to hold onto boxes from products I've bought, and I definitely do NOT need 3 desks in my room (sadly I'm not exaggerating). Even Tereza has told me I need to make this one of my resolutions haha.
With regards to clothes - any items of clothing that either I cannot make into an outfit or that I have not worn by April (excluding summer wear) will be sold or donated.

Fitness
This is the one resolution I make every year but always break!
I NEED to strengthen my core at the very least. I also want to make fitness a part of my daily routine - even if it's just a small amount a day. 

Blog
Of course I need to blog more! I've neglected my poor blog for too long. I also want to take more outfit posts and focus a little more on fashion, and make it more 50/50 fashion and beauty focussed. 

Live!
I need to do more with my life. You only get one, so I want to do as much as I can with it. Whether thats socialising more, going on more days out or focussing on the future. As long as I waste as little time as possible I'll be happy. I spent way too much of 2012 doing nothing, I definitely want to look back on 2013 and say I spent it well!


I wish you all an amazing 2013 and hope it brings you everything you wish for!
Have you made any resolutions for the new year?


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@ Beauty Not Just Skin Deep.