Hco Fragrances

I've never been a massive fan of the Hollister/Gilly Hicks clothing brand and in fact I'd never even been in a Gilly Hicks store until November/December when I was up at Bluewater with my sister. You probably all, already know but Gilly Hicks is shutting down and so they have got quite a good sale on and I happened to go over and look at their Body Mists. And I quite liked a few of them and so at £5 I brought one, Linden Wylder. It's very fresh and summery and I must say it's now one of my favorites! The size of the bottle is also decent as every spray covers a large area as it's angle of trajectory (is that the right word?) is very wide.

One of my best friends (she has a blog here) will always have a bottle of spray on her at all times and recently it's been Hollister's Tidelands Beach. Which again is quite fresh, flowery and summery and I instantly fell in love with it, and although we don't necessarily want to smell like twins, I couldn't not have it, to spray at my leisure. This bottle is a little more expensive than Gilly Hicks at £12, but lets be honest is hardly extortionate.

Also a quick side note, I know they're only stickers on what are essentially just plastic bottles but I think the packaging looks quite cute and summery (do you see the theme here?)

Hollister Tidelands Beach and Gilly Hicks Linden Wylder

Do you own a Hco fragrance/body mist? What are your thoughts?

♥

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The Ted Baker Purse

Ted Baker leather purse

I have wanted to have this purse in my possession for so long, but every time I came close I convinced myself I couldn't afford it as at full price they're quite a hefty £75! However a couple of weeks ago I found out Ted Baker actually accept student cards, with 15% discount! It was now that I decided I couldn't talk myself out of it and the next thing I knew, it was mine!

I got it in a nude and it's such a gorgeous colour, with rose gold trims, that really finish it off well. You can't fault the quality of these purses, and they're extremely easy to keep clean, as they're real leather and so therefore are wipe clean.

The fastening is also so decorative, unlike the fastenings I've seen on other purses. However, this is where the one fault in this product comes in. The oval shaped hole in the 'cover flap' isn't big enough for the fastening and therefore it catches everything damaging the trim that's making the purse look finished. This sugests to me that there is a slight design floor, that said however, in no way am I put off this product, I will continue to use it until it physically falls apart.

Do you own/want to own this purse? What are your opinions?

♥

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Little Duck - Tanya Burr Nail Polish

Tanya Burr Nail Polish - Little Duck (ignore my disgusting fingers)

I originally said I'd post this sooner than I am, so apologies for that, but here is my review of Tanya Burr's new range of Nail Polishes (I reviewed her lipgloss in Vampire Kiss here). I've been a subscriber of Tanya Burr's for ages, and was super excited when I learned she would be releasing a line of lipglosses and nail polishes. When they were released I brought one of each, and oh my god wasn't that decision difficult! 

There are 10 nail polishes to chose from in Tanya's range, all of which are completely different making her range appealing to an extremely wide range of people with incredibly different tastes.

I chose Little Duck, because we're coming into spring now and I felt this colour was perfect. This colour is appropriate for everyday wear, it's subtle yet still noticeable (if that even makes sense?)

This nail polish retails at £5.99 for 12ml which, just like the lipglosses, is incredibly good value for money. 

I can be very lazy when it comes to nail polish if I'm not in the mood, if a nail chips it could be days before I do anything about it. I would probably put it down to that I only touch up my nails when I'm going to work, and if I were to be unemployed this bad habit may even be worse. However after going of at that tangent the point I'm trying to make is that this nail polish must contain some sort of magic potion as I've been wearing it for around 5 days now and it is still yet to chip. It also only takes one coat to cover the nail to 'full colour' and it's relatively quick drying! What more could you want from a nail polish?

Tanya has since reveled that her line will be introduced to Superdrug stores across the country and let me tell you, I'll 100% be in there purchasing her entire range.

Have you brought/tried anything for Tanya's new range? What were your thoughts?

♥

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Real Technique Brushes

I read Jemma's post on her Real Technique brushes, and felt I had to share mine with you. I've been a lover of these since I can remember and at this present time own around 17. I won't bore you with them all, instead just a few of my favourites that I use daily.

Real Technique Brushes By Sam and Nic Chapman

Powder Brush

I love the feel this brush has on my skin and the way it'll hold enough powder to cover just over half of my face in one go. I also purchased the MAC powder brush not long ago as I'd seen someone rave about it and if I'm honest I wouldn't even rate it against this masterpiece created by Samantha Chapman.

Retractable Bronzing Brush

This brush is so handy, it fits perfectly into my clutch for a night out and unlike other retractable brushes I've tried (i.e. eco tools) the quality of the brush isn't affected by the retracting motion and I've yet to lose any fibres.

Brow Brush

I've found this is be the prefect size for my eye brows, and evenly fills them in, the fibres are ridgid to give the brow it's shape, yet they still effortlessly glide through the brow.

Expert Face Brush

I've recently seized using my loved Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation and switched to the Bare Minerals Foundation Powder (review coming soon!) My skin is naturally quite oily and so I found liquid foundation made my t zone quite shiny after a couple of hours of wear. This brush is now such a god send. It's great for the coverage, and leaves the powder on my faces stroke-less.

Foundation Brush

This brush is angled perfectly for me and I'll occasionally still use my liquid foundation and when I do this is always the brush I'll use, since converting from using my fingers, I've never looked back, there's very little 'mess' and this brush makes it so easy to blend the foundation into my skin and give my face an even coverage.

Buffing Brush

I'll occasionally still use my liquid foundation and when I do, this is great for buffing it into my skin to minimize shine and again remove any stroke marks left by my foundation brush.

Deluxe Crease Brush

I'm well aware that I don't use this brush for it's intended purpose, however I've found it perfect for blending in my concealer. The head is just the right size to evenly hide any blemish, making my skin look 100% more even across my entire face.

These brushes around £5.99 to about £16.99 and are available from most beauty retailers.

Do you own any Real Technique brush? What are your thoughts on them?

♥

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Macadamia Natural Oil Shampoo

Macadamia Natural Oil Rejuvenating Shampoo

I've seen this floating around several YouTube Favourites videos for a while now and it always received rave reviews and so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It's not readily available over here in the UK and does tend to retail at around £15 however, I did find it on Amazon for £8.95.

On Amazon it's advertised as an 'everyday shampoo' however I would disagree with this, I wouldn't wash my hair with this product more that once a week. I felt it left my hair feeling a little greasy the following day, something I haven't experienced with my normal Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner.

Although it left my hair smelling great, I don't think I'll be re-purchasing it, this product and me just aren't suited, for quite a high price tag I just don't feel it's worth it.

Have you tried any Macadamia Natural Oil products? How did you find them?

♥

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Mini Me

So my parents decided that tonight they would dig though all our old family photographs (my dad's made it is mission to create a 'full and detailed family tree' by August!) Looking at some of these pictures I can vividly remember what what happening before and after the photo was taken and it made me realise that I grew up far too quickly. I mean I'm 18 and come September I'll (hopefully) be living in the North East of England with a bunch of people I hardly know. (for those that are unaware I live in South East England, so that's a pretty big move) 

Looking at pictures from 1995-2000, although many of my facial features still remotely resemble those shown here, I can see that a lot has changed and I have actually grown up! The picture on the left was my first day of Pre-School, aged nearly 3 - 1998 and the picture on the right was my first Primary School picture, aged nearly 5 - 2000.

The prospect of moving away from my parents, sister and friends is so daunting and after having a heart-to-heart with my 2 of my closest friends yesterday, I've been an emotional wreck since.

I know it's not a permantent move and strong friendships won't be affected by distance but it is a lot for an 18 year old, leaving school, leaving the normal daily routine and entering 'the real world'

Have you ever looked back on your early days? 

♥

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Liebster Award

I've seen this award on several of my favourite blogs before, Beth's Adventures in Wonderland to name just one. So when I was nominated earlier today, it honestly made my day. I was nominated by the amazing Jemma from Oh So Jem (definitely check her out).

This award is not only the best way for smaller blogs with under 200 followers to gain in recognition, but also for us all to discover new blogs, that we once didn't even know existed.

Here are the Rules for receiving this award:

Each person must post 11 things about themselves

Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.

Choose 11 people and link them in your post

Go to their page and tell them.

Jemma's Questions:

What is your favourite film?

I've been a Mean Girls fan from the start, I just love that film! However I did recently watch That Awkward Moment in the cinema, and I'm a sucker for Zac Efron, so that film was also a hit. I also love the 'classics' of my generation High School Musical 1-3, The Hannah Montana Movie and The Lizzie Maguire Movie!

Favourite shop to buy shoes?

I have several pairs of Converse and Vans that I wouldn't buy from anywhere but Office (Student Discount plus Lakeside Staff Discount who's going to say no to that?) However I also many pairs of heels, pumps and boots that I'll always buy from Topshop or River Island, you can't beat their quality (personal opinion)

If you had to wear one lipstick for the rest of your life what one would you choose?

Thinking practical I need one that it good for everyday wear and that would have to be my MAC - Chatterbox, it's so easy to wear and feels great on my lips.

What's your favourite wild animal?

I love dolphins, swimming with them in Orlando, Florida with always be my favourite memory.

Favourite Actor? (Male and Female)

Adam Sandler has me in stitches everytime, however I've also seen everything starring Zac Efron and Alex Pettyfer.

I think Cameron Diaz is great, she's been in many amazing films!

If you've been watching it, what is your favourite sport in the Winter Olympics 2014?

I really enjoyed watching the Mens Halfpipe Final on Tuesday and even though I've no idea what's going on I watched the entire Women's Curling yesterday, where Great Britain beat the USA in their heat.

(Side note - I thought they're opening ceremony had nothing on London 2012)

What was your first word?

(I've had to call upon my mum for this who was extremely unhelpful) 'Well it could have been a number of things, Mum, Dad, Moo you loved the cows at Farming World, you also tried many times at Grandma, however it was more like Manma.' So there's my first 4 words because my mother didn't care enough to take note of the order they came in ;-)

Nails - do you prefer square or claws?

Claws 100%, they just look a lot nicer!

That one song you would request at a party?

Macarena (although that's normally always played anyway, it's a classic!) so Shaggy - It Wasn't Me

What item of make up could you not leave the house without applying/putting on?

I've always got my MAC Finishing Powder on, without fail.

Cats or Dogs?

Cats! I've got a cat and couldn't imagine swapping him for a dog, cats mind their own business where dogs definitely don't!

I Nominate:

http://imkatiethompson.blogspot.co.uk

http://zoewithumlauts.blogspot.co.uk

http://lucyloves9.blogspot.co.uk

http://paigeoffashion.blogspot.co.uk

http://frozeninfashion.blogspot.com

http://twinstalkbeauty.blogspot.co.uk

http://www.drugstorediary.blogspot.co.uk

as much as I'd love to nominate 11 people, almost all the blogs I follow have over 200 followers!

My Questions:

If you had a year to live what would you do with it?

What is your 'go to' beauty product?

What song would you consider 'the soundtrack to your life'?

Do you prefer your summer or your winter wardrobe?

You're given 3 wishes, what do you wish for?

What one item never leaves your handbag?

What TV series are you hooked on and can't go without watching?

Where would you travel in the world if your budget was endless?

Which shop is the majority of your wardrobe from?

What's your favourite perfume?

What's your favourite film and why?

♥