Wednesday 18 December 2013

Week Review #7: 15th December 2013


// Revision & Johnny English // Nan & Gramp's 50th Anniversary // Stole Boyf's Cap //
// Starbucks // Knackered Boyf // New Scarf //
// The Hobbit // Puppy Williams // Mum's Christmas Tree //

Sorry for the late week review (again!). Been having some health issues lately so blogging took a bit of a back seat. Last weekend was spent revising for an exam I had Monday but I couldn't resist watching Johhny English while it was on TV! Sunday I had my Nan and Gramp's 50th Wedding Anniversary meal to go to. It was so nice to be around the family because, since I've been at uni, I've spent any time with them. Considering I'm in my third year of uni that's a lot of time I've missed! One thing I will miss over Christmas is the hot chocolate in the uni Starbucks, they spare no expense on the cream! You get an absolute mountain and don't get charged for it. The last week of term is always hectic and the fact that we had 3 assignments in that week really did take it's toll on Roche, flaking out under the Christmas tree! Although he did manage to get me an early Christmas present in the form of a Topman scarf which I love; he couldn't have me being cold! (Or just got sick of me complaining about how cold I am...). Then Friday night we went to go see The Hobbit which was amazing! And featured a pug cameo which made my day. Pugs are taking over the world I tell you! Then this weekend I spent at my mum's with my dog following me round acting like my shadow (I've missed being stalked by her...) and we put up the Christmas tree! Still don't feel Christmassy though, despite typing this at my Nan's house, which resembles Santa's grotto, while watching White Christmas. It has to kick in at some point surely?!

Saturday 14 December 2013

Feeling Festive #3: Christmas Pyjamas


One of the things I love about this time of year are Christmas traditions. Those things you do every year without fail or else Christmas just doesn't feel the same. I also love that everyone has different traditions so I'm here today to share one of my family's things that we do every year which maybe some of you do too. And that is Christmas pyjamas. Every Christmas Eve, after we've had our tea and we're about to wind down for the evening, we all get to open our "Christmas Pyjamas". I think the theory behind this is that we wake up fresh on Christmas day with brand new pyjamas, especially since my Dad insisted on filming us open our presents every year so we couldn't just wear any PJs! Despite the fact that I've now moved out, my Mum still insists on us having new PJs, which I'm glad about because I would hate to see that tradition fall by the way side. For the past few weeks my Mum has been pestering me to choose a pair so she can buy them, wrap them and I can act surprised when I receive them, but I'm still yet to find a pair (within our budget anyway!).
So for anyone like me who hasn't had chance to find their annual PJs or for those who feel like picking up a new tradition this year, here are a few Christmas-themed pyjamas (how many times can you say pyjamas in one blog post?!) to get you started:



Details:
1) Felicity Father Christmas Shorts & Vest Set (Boohoo.com, £10)
2) Katie Keep Calm Mistletoe Shorts & Vest Set (Boohoo.com, £10)
3) Santa Says Relax Pyjama Set (Topshop, £26)
4) Courtney Fairisle Shorts (Boux Avenue, £18)
5) South Penguin Fairisle Christmas T-Shirt (Very.co.uk, £16)
6) Sorbet Stag Print Pyjamas (Very.co.uk, £15) 
7) Betty Boop Fairisle Pyjamas (Very.co.uk, £16)
8) Minnie Mouse & Mickey Winter Hugs Pyjamas (Very.co.uk, £24)

And I'd love to know what your Christmas traditions are, so feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Feeling Festive #2: Dressing the Part!

This year I'm not feeling the most festive, whether that's because I haven't got an advent calender (how old am I?!) or because we haven't got any decorations. So starting from now I'm going to do my best to feel as Christmassy as possible, starting with plastering myself head to toe in Christmas clothes...Well maybe not completely but a Christmas jumper wouldn't go amiss. Trawling through the internet I found so many cute festive things and, if I had the money to do so, I'm sure I would've been throwing things aimlessly onto my debit card. But since I don't have the funds to do that I thought I'd just post a few of the things I've found, so here are my favourites!


I just thought this was adorable, not sure if I'm cool enough to pull it off but I want it!

2) Beluah Reindeer Christmas Jumper (Missguided, £16.99)
3) Acenitha Snowman Christmas Jumper (Missguided, £16.99)
Two really cute (and affordable) Christmas jumpers from Missguided. Considering you can only bust them out once a year I find a lot of these jumpers are expensive but at under £20 I think that's a reasonable price to pay.

4) Black Reindeer Light Up Christmas Jumper (New Look, £29.99)
Thought I'd include this in case you wanted the jumper to match your reindeer bobble hat! Too much? Maybe. I saw this in store and couldn't work out how it lit up but I'm sure for all of you more savvy than me about this kind of thing it'd make a cool jumper.

5) Fun Pudding Sweater (Next, £28)
Last of the festive jumpers, I just thought this was cute, albeit a bit pricey. (Yes the New Look one was more expensive but unless the pudding lights up I can't part with £28!)

6) Red & White Snowflake Fairisle Brushed Leggings (New Look, £9.99)
I've been desperate for a pair of leggings like this for so long but no matter where I look they never have my size. Maybe next year!

7) Brown Christmas Pudding Slipper Socks (River Island, £8)
Well I did say from head to toe! Don't think it gets more festive than walking around with Christmas Puddings on your feet.

8) Photographic Pug Boypant (Topshop, £4)
Maybe it's not necessary to be festive right down to your knickers but I couldn't resist a pug in a Christmas hat so these had to be included!

9) Reindeer Fairisle Ankle Socks (Topshop, £3.50)
Sort of a similar pattern to the legging but I just think festive socks are a must.

10) Christmas Character Nail Wraps (Topshop, £6)
And finally some Christmas nail wraps. I've never used nail wraps or fake nails or anything like that, I'm strictly a nail varnish kind of girl but I may be persuaded by these! They include Penguin, Santa, Gingerbread Man, Christmas tree, Rudolph and Snowman wraps. If you're going to be festive down to your knickers you may aswell do your nails too!
And the record for most uses of the word "festive" in one post goes to....

Monday 9 December 2013

Feeling Festive #1: Gift Ideas for £15 and Under


I've already done a post about how to tackle the "I don't know what to get for So-and-So" (see here) but I thought I'd do another gift ideas post because there are some great little bits and pieces out there that won't break the bank. Whether you're looking for a stocking filler, Secret Santa or just a little something, there are so many things you can get for £15 and under. It may look like I've gone a little bit Urban Outfitters mad in this post (and maybe I have!) since 50% of the items I've listed are from there but I just think they have some really nice gift ideas. I do branch out a bit near the end I promise! So here goes...

1) Monkey Nail Dryer (Urban Outfitters, £8)
This may seem like an odd one but for someone who loves painting their nails, hates waiting for them to dry and is too lazy to sit there frantically blowing their fingers for ten minutes, this seems like a winner! And come on, look how cute it is!

2) Fuck Off Floral Eye Mask (Urban Outfitters, £8)
Excuse my language there, I suppose this is more of a joke present for that one "Do not wake me or you'll be sorry" friend that we all have. There are other eye masks on the Urban Outfitters website (including an owl and a cat) if you're not a fan of all things offensive but I'm all for acknowledging those grumpy sleepers!

3) Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal Hot Water Bottle (Urban Outfitters, £10)
Living in a student house where we can't exactly be as forthcoming with the heating as we'd necessarily like to be, I'm all for hot water bottles and I just think they're good to have in the house; everyone should have one! That with the added festive vibe I'd say this would be a pretty good stocking filler.

4) This Is Not A Book (Urban Outfitters, £8.99)
This is another book (or is it...) by Keri Smith, who also created the Wreck This Journal. I got a Wreck This Journal a few years ago and loved it, even though I'm not in the slightest bit creative. This is along the same sort of lines where each page contains an instruction or task for the reader to carry out. It's just a fun, interactive gift that makes even the least artistic people (i.e. me) look creative!

5) "Girls With Class Don't Need A Glass" Hip Flask (surprise, surprise: Urban Outfitters, £12)
Another great Secret Santa or stocking filler present for those who like a drink. It's just a really pretty take on the traditional "old man's" hip flask and you never know when you're going to need one!

6) Shot Roulette Game (River Island, £13)
Bit of a different gift idea compared to all my other ones but staying on the alcohol-theme, this just seems like a fun game, whether you use it to pre-drink with before going out or just to add something different into a social gathering.

7) Make Your Own Lip Balm Kit (notonthehighstreet.com, £15)
This is something I hadn't seen before but thought it would make a pretty cool gift for anyone who wanted to try something new. Each kit comes with enough ingredients to make 5 of your own natural lip balms. They offer four different flavour kits: strawberry, spearmint, orange and unscented and everything has already been weighed out for you so it's a really easy way to get creative!

8) Reindeer Votive Candle Holder (Boux Avenue, £5)
Again going for a festive present, I thought this reindeer candle holder was really cute and I can only imagine how lovely it would look in a dark room with a candle burning away in the middle of it.

9) A Little Scented Something Drawer Sachet (Boux Avenue, £6)
Another little stocking filler (not that we're saying any of our friends have smelly drawers!), I thought this was really pretty and I just remember my Nan always used to have little potpourri balls in all of her drawers so I guess this is just a prettier, more modern version of those to leave your drawer and underwear smelling nice.

Sunday 8 December 2013

Review: Origins Super Spot Remover



What is it?
Blemish treatment gel. It's a clear gel as pictured above.

What does it claim to do?
To "heal, fight and fade" blemishes. It uses Salicylic Acid to speed up the healing process, Caffeine and Red Algae to visibly relieve redness and super exfoliators to eliminate excess oils and pore-clogging debris.

How to use it.
Just dab a small amount, as and when needed, directly on to any blemishes on the face.

Verdict.
So it's been a while since my last product review (apologies!) but what better way to get back into it than with an Origins product. I've made no secret of my love of Origins as a brand; I find their products faultless, which is always hard to find with skin as sensitive as mine, and this product is no exception. I apply this on any spots I may have in the morning after cleansing but before moisturising, again when I get home from uni and then lastly right before I go to bed (after cleansing but before moisturising again). When I do this I find the next morning that the spot has pretty much disappeared, if not completely, at least enough to make it easier to cover with makeup. The reason I say to apply this before moisturising is because spot gels (although this one to a lesser extent than others I've tried) have a tendency to dry skin out a bit so just to re-hydrate my skin and to help the gel sink in quicker I moisturise after.
The biggest tip I have with this product is: use it early! I can't stress this enough; as soon as you see the beginnings of a spot get some of this Super Spot Remover gel straight on there. It is an absolute miracle worker for spots that are only just starting to appear because it immediately stops them getting any redder or bigger, resulting in a "speedy recovery" as it were. I have a real problem with the marks spots leave behind. I tend to have a darker mark, where the spot used to be, lingering for weeks after the spot has gone. For those marks I don't find this product is a quick fix (and with problem skin like mine I wouldn't expect it to be!) but continually applying this gel on those marks has resulted in them only lingering for about a week as opposed to the usual three weeks. Like I said the key to this product is early and multiple applications.
Ok so lets talk numbers! Origins Super Spot Remover is £14, which I know sounds pretty pricey for 10ml and I was hesitant about putting my card details into the Origins website. That being said I am so so glad that I did because my skin would be a lot worse off without it. Also don't let the size of the bottle fool you! I've been using it multiple times a day for the last 3 months and it hardly looks like anything has left the bottle so I really do think this will be a very long-lasting product.

Sum Up.
So to sum up, those are pretty big claims Origins are making about this product but I can honestly say, for me at least, they tick every one of those boxes. When using this, my blemishes heal faster and are almost instantly less red and visible. I'd definitely recommend this Spot Remover because, if used correctly, the results are unquestionable. Now I know everyone's skins different so I suppose I can't generalise it to everyone but I honestly think it's worth a go if you're struggling with spots. If it doesn't get rid of them completely, it will at least reduce them to a more manageable level.

And just quickly, sometimes spot treatments can be harsh on skin, this one is really mild. As I've mentioned before I have really sensitive skin and I can use this no problem, so just thought I'd add that to reassure any other sensitive skin sufferers out there!

Anyone else tried Origins Super Spot Remover? I'd love to know how you got on!

Saturday 7 December 2013

Week Review #6: 8th December 2013

//Train Essentials // Train Selfie // Liverpool was Christmassy //
// Roche // Star Wars Purchase // Costa //
// Liver Building // Dinosaurs at the Museum // Roche Again //

A very much overdue week review! So last week I went to Liverpool for a few days with my boyfriend to do some more sightseeing and Christmas shopping in a city that we both love. We got to do a lot more this time round and it definitely seemed less rushed. On the Wednesday we just wandered round and hit the shops because the 4 hour train journey killed us off; who knew you could get so tired from just sitting on a train for 4 hours?! I didn't buy a whole lot but I did pick up a Star Wars top that's got the characters as they would be in the 70s if they were in their school year book. Then just had a chilled evening of food and drinks. After the last couple of weeks of uni it was definitely a welcome break, just to relax away from Cardiff and spend some quality time together because, despite being on the course and seeing each other every day in uni because of that, it felt like we'd hardly actually spent any time together (weird).



// Couldn't resist train selfies! //
// Chilled evening with the pub and a wander round looking at festive things //

Thursday was when the real sightseeing happened. We got up early to make the most of our day because we had to get the train back at 5pm. Started with yet more shopping (how could we resist?!) then we walked down to see the Liver building, think we must have taken a photo of it from every single possible angle between us!
// Morning of shopping! //
// Liver Building // Museum of Liverpool //

From there we saw the Museum of Liverpool and thought what better way to learn more about the city than find out about its history which was actually really interesting. After that we took a wander down to Albert Dock, which I can imagine looks so pretty at night, where we stopped for a much needed Costa! There's a definite Beatles vibe in a lot of the places we saw around the city (understandably) yet this time we didn't manage to actually do any of the Beatles tours or go to the Cavern Club which I reeeally wanted to do.

// Costa // Dinosaurs! // Ancient Greece // Roche //

But hey ho there's always next time! Finally we had a bit of time to kill before our train so we went to the World Museum (two museums in one day, how cultured do we think we are?!). Couldn't resist going to see the dinosaurs first, we're suckers for anything prehistoric so standing infront of a dinosaur skeleton for five minutes was enough to turn us back into excited children on a school trip. There was also a little aquarium in there and I loved the Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek exhibitions (yes, Disney's Hercules songs were playing in my head the whole time I was in that one!). 

Then we had the looong train journey back which, after all that walking the last two days, I found it very difficult to stay awake in. Next time I'd love to visit the Cavern Club since we missed it this time round and I'd definitely want to do the Sightseeing Bus, not only to save my little legs, but because I like knowing all the inside information the tour guides tell you.
All in all a much needed few days!