Reflecting Back on 2010

Sorry I still haven't uploaded my 'What I got for Christmas' post yet, I've still lost my camera. I've probably put it in the washing machine knowing me :').

Anyway, I don't know if I've ever mentioned this but I love writing things down to motivate me to do anything. I have one notebook which I write down all my to-do lists, one for all my goals/dreams for the year, one for creative ideas and thoughts, my diary and finally my blog which is another outlet for me :).

 Since it's the end of the year I decided to write in my goals/dreams book to see how far I'd came that year. I wrote an entry really late last night summing up 2010, just writing whatever came to my head. I don't usually show any of this stuff to other people as it's a bit lame aha, but I thought I'd share it here:

2010. 

Although I did not achieve all of the goals (or barely any of them) that I had set out to do, I still achieved a lot this year, so they're the things I'm going to mention.

I learnt to drive, set up my own campaign, have kept my blog running a year, got through my first year at uni, and my best achievement has to be getting Millie and knowing she is relying solely on me.

Poppy (who went to kitty heaven last week) and Millie snuggling together

I also organised the entire trip to Amsterdam, learnt to be a stronger person, to admit when I'm wrong and apologise, to learn a lot about the beauty community and to adapt to new situations.

Amsterdam

Although I haven't lost weight like I aimed for, I went through major periods of fitness DVD's and running, and learnt to be wiser with my money.

Sometimes I learnt things the hard way but I have still learned. I have came to realise you should do what you like and not what you should.

I found a good job and met some cool people there. I was in a newspaper article and got to spend my last summer with Smudge which I adored.

Molly and Smudge (who went to Kitty heaven this summer)

So my room is still a state (another goal fail), but it's still vastly improved in organisation.

I made 'adult' like steps this year too into the big bad world; I set up direct debit for contact lenses & a phone contract, as well as managing my own finances fully.

Some parts were hurtful or cruel, such as assholes trying to put me down and Smudge and Poppy dying. In all these moments, it allowed me to see my true friends and the supportive people in my life.

Life can be harsh and make me feel like quitting what I'm working hard for, but it can allow me to do some amazing stuff too.

The biggest lesson I learnt is: believe in yourself & trust you instincts.

_______
Ta-da :'). Am I the only sad person who writes things like this...?
Em x

REVIEW: Max Factor Pan Stik

BEFORE:

Flattering close ups :/

AFTER:

I've always wanted to try the 'Max Factor Pan Stik', so I decided to go for it when it was on a special 3 for 2 in Superdrug (which is still on now), but normally it's £6.99.

What is claims to be:  

A full coverage foundation for normal to dry skin

Full coverage? Check. 

To a point where you can feel it sitting on your face :'). Personally I don't mind this at all to know that my flaws are more covered than usual, but I know this would annoy a few girls who like a more fresh faced feel. 

Appropriate for normal to dry skin? Fail.

Stick foundation is normally aimed at dry damaged skin, but I found this product further dried out the normal to dry sections of my face. On the oily parts of my face though, the product worked well.

Size:

Good, I think it would last quite a long time so worth the price for sure

Colour range:

Maybe it's just the Superdrug website, but I ordered the lightest one available (25 Fair) and it's still maybe a shade too dark as you can tell from the photos. I'm not sure if this is the case for all shops though?

Overall Thoughts

I wish I had this foundation when I was suffering from a fairly severe case of acne. 
It hides blemishes well and is very similar to a concealer consistency so if you're after high coverage this is a good product to consider. This product makes you lose your natural dewiness, but I think this would be a very minor drawback if you are mainly attempting to cover up damaged skin.

Em xxx

Hello lovelies, just to let you know I wont be blogging for a while. I had the most awful Christmas of my entire life. Everything was lovely, we woke up, give the pets their presents and then opened our own. I got some fab things, we had Christmas dinner, got ready and then went to my Nana's.

We locked the two kittens in my parents room (away from the dog) and came back a few hours later. Anyway, when we got back the door had been barged open and Poppy was dead. I couldn't stop screaming and crying, it was so awful. What had happened was that my Mam had originally put Poppy in the room and didn't want the kittens together as they tend to rip things like the bed sheets when playing, but Millie was crying at the door so I went behind my Mam's back, got my brother to open the door and put them in together. I made sure he closed it properly, but it turned out it didn't catch properly.

All we know is that the kitten had saliva all over her from the dog, she'd been frightened (there was poo at the other side of the room) and her ribs had been crushed, so basically the dog has rolled on her. There was no teeth marks or anything, so I think it was a frenzy thing from the dog, but I completely lost it. Even writing this is making me cry I just can't bear to think about it. It's all my fault. We couldn't find Millie for ages, but when she did she was okay. It was so horrible having to bury her, but she was starting to go stiff so basically the dog must have done it straight away. She's not here at the moment as I fear what I would do if I see her, so she's staying at my Nana's until Wednesday. Poppy had her full life ahead of her, she was so soft and cuddly and it's all been robbed away. I'm devastated, Millie's lost a sister she has basically spent every minute with since we got here, they were so inseparable. She kept on whining all night, just thinking of Poppy in the ground makes my skin crawl.

I just can't bear to write up about the things I'm up to etc. like nothing has happened and she didn't exist, but I'm sure I'll feel differently in time. Hope you all had a nice Christmas

Hope you's understand xxx

Merry Christmas :)

Hope you're all have a lovely Christmas :)
Em xxx

REVIEW: Accessorize "With Love" Gift Set

Wow -  really impressed with how quick postage was for the Accessorize sets I ordered - 3 days woo :). 

Before I ordered this set, I looked around on trusty Youtube and google trying to find reviews and swatches but couldn't find any :S. I took a chance anyway though and bought it, but for anyone else who is having the same problem here are some swatches and a review :).

So this is what it looks like inside. It comes with a palette of 12 eye shadows, a lip gloss and a pair of false eyelashes. Ummm is it just me or are those eye lashes totally different sizes to each other? Strange! Haha. 

This is the lip gloss on my lips:

And this is it just on my hand (if you were just after a swatch). A lot of shimmer so quite hard to catch on camera!

 The packaging is quie cute with a gold butterfly on the outside :). It smells like coconuts which is quite nice and I really like the colour. This is for sure a thumbs up from me.

 Next thing I was excited to try out was the palette. 

The packaging is so damn cute, but the palette inside is fairly plain and finger prints are really obvious because of the material, so it looked a little dirty straight away haha. Still though it's really sturdy and feels like it wouldn't easily break which is the main thing! Also it has a fairly big mirror which will come in handy for all those last minute makeup jobs (on the bus aha)

Packaging for the palette

Here are the colours inside, all shimmers. Totally would not recommend this if you like your mattes!

The top left colour looks the nicest and I can't wait to try this out. The only thing is that fall out is a little bad so you'd have to probably bring out a kabuki brush to wipe it away from under your eyes. Though with that said it's nowhere near as bad as the fall out for the Urban Decay palette :). 

The purple was probably the worst pay off for the amount of product (second left) and the peach (first from top) and gold brown (3rd on bottom) were the most impressive. There's a nice range of neutrals and some colours which would add a nice pop. Despite the shimmer I think this would work really well during the day, and the darker colours could always make it more night time-ish.

Overall thoughts: I don't think the gloss is a good match with such shimmery shadows - wayyy to much glitter going on! I'd also say it was better for younger skin maybe, but still it's an amazing bargain for £5 and would make a really nice presents. It really reminded me of the Urban Decay palette so if you like that kind of thing I'd go for this for sure!

Emxx

Blog Award: The Versatile Blogger :)

Yayyy I received this award off the lovely Christina :). She wrote some really nice things about me and my blog which totally made my day - she's such a sweetheart! Check her out here

With this award comes some RULES:

- Say thank you and link back to the blogger who gave you the award.

- Share seven things about yourself with your followers.

- Pass this award along to seven blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy.

 Seven things:

1) I have no idea what I'm going to do in the future after my degree.

2) I really want a dermal anchor piercing in my finger. This is the best photo to show you guys but her finger is all red around since she's just had it done, so just imagine it without that haha. What do you think, yay or nay?

3) I would love to have a nice organised girly room, but I'm very messy!

 

4) I worry way too much about everything, even though it always ends up okay in the end

5) I've became obsessed with the Misfits to a point of creepiness

6)  I love cheesy tacky TV programs such as Snog Marry Avoid? and magazines like Take A Break. Secret guilty pleasures for the win

7) Blogging, my pets and good food make me very happy :)

Seven Bloggers I've recently found and enjoy :)

1) http://theonlyfashionprincess.blogspot.com/

2) http://furryfurynailart.wordpress.com/

3) http://cull-candy.blogspot.com/

4) http://prettythingsandoldbeans.blogspot.com/

5) http://thisiscaz.blogspot.com/

6) http://patsoir.blogspot.com/

7) http://ireneandablog.blogspot.com/

:) 
Em xxx

Superdrug Savings

Hello lovelies :)

I subscribe to all the email newsletters from shops I like as most have fab offers that pop up every now and then.

I was so excited when I got an offer saying if I went in stores with the downloadable voucher I'd be able to get this set for £9.99 for £4.99. The set contains a palette, lip gloss and false eyelashes so I think this is a fab deal for all you beauty bargain hunters!

I also noticed it was 3 for 2, so excitedly I got 3 sets and headed to the till expecting it to be £10.... Um, this is where the shame began :'). 

Firstly, the voucher only allows you one (nooooo) set for £4.99, and also the 3 for 2 wouldn't work if I used the voucher, so the lady explained so it would've been £25 if I wanted three. 

OR if I just went through on the "3 for 2" offer instead it'd be £20 for the three which was better, but I just left it as I only had a tenner on me aha. I hate that walk of shame away from the tills :')

Anyhoo, I was browsing on the Superdrug website (anyone elses favourite past time? haha) and seen the sets for £4.99 without a voucher or anything :). 

Weird, the email said the £4.99 offer was only in stores but I was not going to complain as I could get now get a few for half price rather than just one.

I also noticed it said 3 for 2 so I ran them through checkout expecting it to not work but it did :). It  only worked out 3 for £10 in the end yayyy. I know it's £3 for delivery but this is still a fab deal I reckon :).

 I know it's a tad excessive to have 3 of the same set, but I plan on using them as presents for future birthdays etc :)  

Anyhoo I thought I'd let you all know in case you're a makeup junkie as I am and hadn't noticed this offer :) xxx

Outlet Shopping Haul : Matalan

Hiii -  a super big haul today :)

Firstly starting with Sports Direct. Not my kind of shop (AT ALL) but hello bargains aha.

 I'm sure you've seen everyone with these bad boys, I've been very tempted and was finally persuaded when I seen this one from £13.99 to £5.99. It's in the girls section here but fits my head perfect :). In fact I'd say this would be way too big for any child head or I could just have an abnormally tiny head :')

  I also got this cute Goldigga grey head band for £2.99 from the same shop

 I then went into good old Home Bargains for a look about and got this Maybelline Waterproof Mascara for £3. No idea at all what it's like but I'll let yous know :)

I also got these wipes. I really recommend them they're the best wipes I've ever used and are only 70p for 60. They're gentle on the eyes and don't dry out as badly as other ones I've tried woo :)

I then went to the Matalan Outlet Store - I can't get there by Public Transport so I took advantage of my Dad who took me along. 

I've got to say, I understand why some things didn't sell when they were in stock in the shops...  Either sizing's are crazy off or 'dresses' are NOT dresses aha. I'm 5"2 and some barely covered my ass cheeks :').

One of my favourite buys was this red skirt for only a £1 :O. I wore it already with a black 3/4 top, black tights and heels. It's so pretty but doesn't photograph well, so OOTD it is next time I wear it :). 

It rests on the waist and comes just above my knee, and is brick red in real life.

I also got this shirt for Steven for £2 shhhh

And this belt for myself (surprise surprise) - £2

This peach bag for Uni since mine broke :(. Even more cringe that when I got in I realised my dress had been tucked into my tights FML :')

I also got these bras £2 each oh yes

This pretty dress is also one that looks like crap when not on, so I'll show an outfit post for this too :). They only had a size 14 so I took a chance, and really because of the style you can't tell at all.
See how it looks on here

Sorry I'm jumping backwards and forwards, all the photos have loaded funny and they wont let me move them into place. So going back to Steven, this top is in the normal Matalan shops now, but was still £2.50 instead of a fiver. 

This is one of those dresses that barely covers my bum. I think I'd get arrested for indecency if I actually wore it as a dress :'). I was thinking dress and jeggings but totally open to suggestions my lovelies

 

 Pssshh look at Mill all attention seeking aha. Bless her lil' cotton socks she was in a mood because I had my other kitten in my arms, but that was because she kept on attacking her evilly.

 This is another dress that also only just covers my bum but I love love love the fit. I might try team a slip under? Not sure eee :S

 

 What a terror, I've let my sister Brogan look after my other kitten (without a name, my Mam can't decide haha) until Millie is less abusive

Finally ending on some pretty photos I took of Kitten :).

It's crazy how they already have totally different personalities. Millie is playful, naughty, cheeky and knows exactly what to do to have everyone round her little finger aha. 

Kitten though is dead placid and prefers to sit and cuddle :). 

Seriously she would not move from this cardigan for ages, and kept on climbing back on me for more love awww. 

Anyway, very photo heavy! If you got all through this well done aha.

New Addition To The Family

Coming across like a crazed cat lady? ...Yes? I thought as much aha. 

This is my new 7 week addition to our now complete family :). ADORABLE.

Em x

Hellloo :)

I got my hair highlighted at the hair dressers and thought I'd show you as a quick post, since I've been neglecting my lil' blog lately. My roots were awwwwwful but I quite like my hair now 

All I got was two shades of blonde, long layers and then feathering at the front.

I've been shopping A LOT lately so I have a huge haul to upload! For now though I have to tidy my room and get ready to go to the Story Book for a meal yum :)

My babies

Blogger Of The Week: Caz

Hello lovelies :)

Ahh sorry I'm later than usual with my blogger of the week. Today is another read I'm sure you'll love, and have probably heard of before, from Caz :). She has a good variety of posts, I'd say mainly beauty and life based, but there's no one better to describe her blog than the blogger herself :).

 ________

Blog Interview

Hii, what’s your name & blog address for anyone who doesn't yet follow you? :)

I'm Caz and my blog address is http://thisiscaz.blogspot.com/  <-- you can see I didn't have much inspiration for a blog name can't you!

& how would you describe yourself in 3 words? 

I'm quiet, creative and friendly

Obviously I love your blog, for everyone out there who might not have seen it yet, what’s your blog about? 

My blog is mainly about beauty with a mix of real life and music too. I suppose my blog name sums it up as it's just 'me' haha ;)

Put a favourite photo of yourself here: 

Your must-have fashion piece of the moment? 

Definitely scarves, they keep me warm when i'm walking to college and i'm always on the look out for pretty new ones. I've also got a H&M Snood on my wishlist!

& beauty product? 

Burt's Bees Lipbalm - I wear it everyday and it's a must have now it's winter! I'm also loving the Sigma F80 brush which makes my foundation look lovely!

Finally, your favourite blog? 

I can never answer this question! It changes every day - I love so many blogs and as I follow over 600 i'm spoilt for choice. Right now my two favourite blogs (I told you I couldn't just pick one!) are

Christina's http://xxcmgxx.blogspot.com/ and Ayden's http://mydollface.blogspot.com/ and I love yours too :)

Thanks for interviewing me :) I hope you're feeling better soon,
Love Caz xx

_______

Ah she's such a sweet heart :). One thing I've noticed with some popular blogs is that they talk to their readers like crap, but I have never, ever seen anything like this from Caz. She's always really lovely and takes the time out to respond to comments. Don't forget to check her out here.

Em :) xx

Online Ordering

All the things that I'm expecting in the mail from Superdrug :)
There's an offer on 3 for 2, so I got all three items around the £13 mark I suggest you girlies take advantage! My only issue is that they take a million years before they even dispatch an item which drives me mad :S.
(Update: took 7 days to arrive)

Max Factor Pressed Powder in Fair: £5.99. I've heard amazing things about this :)

Foundation Pan Stick Truly Fair: £6.99. This is very full coverage, so will be using this only on my damaged skin

Sleek Storm Palette: £6.49

I'm also expecting this straightener :

http://www.superdrug.com/hair-straightener/vidal-sasson-solutions-straighteners-2960uk/invt/609943/

It was advertised £20 instead of £69.99 but it looks like the offer is already off :(.

Reviews all coming as soon as I receive them :)
Em xx