Pizza Party evening + my thoughts on Scream Queens!

Hey guys, hope you're all enjoying this cloudy and murky Tuesday. So last night to celebrate the start of Scream Queens in the UK myself and my sister had a cute little pizza and movie night. We ordered dominoes (literally the best pizza ever, am I right?!) and watched a few movies to get us in the mood. Naturally we watched Twilight (team Jacob, obvs) and then we decided to rewatch Vampires Suck which is a Twilight parody. It's so funny and also one of the weirdest movies ever... but nonetheless we had a great time. 

Personally I love movie and pizza nights especially in AW. I'm not the sort of person who enjoys going out into town drinking etc so being all cosy at home is my idea of heaven. Honestly I swear I'm basically middle aged! 

So after we'd watched two movies and eaten our way through an entire pizza and box of cookies (what's that about 'healthy eating' I hear you scream?!) we finally sat down to watch Scream Queens. Ever since this started in the US I've heard nothing but good things about how darkly comical this show is. So safe to say, I was super excited. 

If you haven't heard of this show its a sort of similar concept to Pretty Little Liars. An elitist sorority house is plagued by a stalker known as the Red Devil (as they where a devils costume) who begins murdering off members. It all started with a murder 20 years and since then the house has been 'haunted'. It's kind of a horror / comedy at the same time! If you live in the UK it's on E4 at 10pm on Mondays. 

And it did not disappoint! Whilst it was quite weird in places I found myself really enjoying the dark comedy aspects. One of my favourite scenes was when Arianna Grande's character died tweeting about her death. I thought the writers did a good job of making the script comical without being overly stupid. 

I'm really looking forward to where this is going as a show. I'm thinking down the PLL roots with the whole Red Devil thing but hopefully it won't be quite as drawn out as PLL is! At the end of the day I will definitely be continuing to watch as I really enjoyed myself!

I also have this theory: (now it's only been 1 episode so I may be very, very wrong, but here goes:) The Red Devil is the baby who was born at the very start of the episode back in 1995. This would make him/her 20 years old and the perfect age for college. My theory is that one of the sorority girls murdered the mother so the Red Devil is getting his/her revenge for being abandoned. 

Have you guys watched Scream Queens? If so what did you think?!

Battle of the Micellar Waters! La Roche-Posay VS Garnier

Good morning everyone! It is such a lovely day today in sunny old England so I thought I'd shoot a few pictures outside. Honestly I'm so happy with the way this photography turned out - natural lighting is just so stunning! 

Anyways. Today I wanted to discuss something with you guys that is quite close to my heart: Micellar water. I first discovered these back in august 2014 pretty soon after the first of the Garnier ones began to gain some hype. As someone who doesn't like using makeup wipes I needed something that was going to take off my makeup and not leave my face like an oily mess. Micellar water sounded lovely. It also sounded like something I couldn't pronounce but nonetheless a fabulous product. 

For the past year and a bit I've been cleaning my way through four bottles of various Garnier formulas however when I was last in Boots I saw the La Roche-Posay one, for some reason just knew I had to have it. It retails at £11 so it's not at the budget end of the spectrum like the Garnier (£4.99) but it's not a bank breaker either. So I decided to try it and share my thoughts with y'all as to how I got on with it. 

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The Smell

Garnier: 

This cleansing water really doesn't have a scent at all. It's super gentle and as it claims to be hyperallergenic I'd presume this is why. 

La Roche-Posay: 

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the smell. It's a gorgeous lemon citrus scent that's not too overpowering but still smells fresh and clean - lovely! 

The Product

Garnier: 

With this one, you get a lot more bang for you buck. The bottle is 400ml as opposed to 200ml and as you only need a few splashes per day I've found that these last me about four months or so. The actual product is similar to splashing a softer kind of water on your face. It's non greasy (big thumbs up) and does remove all my makeup, including mascara and eyeliner. 

La Roche-Posay: 

As I've only had this for a few days I can't say how long the bottle would last me however as it is half the size of the Garnier I'd have to say probably two to three months or so. Again the formula is non greasy but I do find it harder to get a good sized amount onto a cotton pad due to the dropper style of the packaging. In general this takes of my makeup equally well as the Garnier one. 

The Results

Garnier: 

When I first started using this I was still suffering from light acne. I definitely went through the spots stage in my early to mid teens and whilst it was never atrociously bad I'm glad I got it over and done with early. I do think this product was one of the first things that helped get my skin back on track. I remember noticing less breakouts and my skin in general felt a lot healthier. 

Massive 5 stars in terms of formula - for me this is for sure a product worth the hype.

La Roche-Posay: 

I've been using this for three days now and I've got to say i'm a little disappointed. I woke up on Saturday morning with a spot on my cheek - which hardly ever happens to me now - and since I've changed nothing else in my skincare routine, I've got to put it down to this. I might persevere for a bit longer as my skin sometimes doesn't react well to new products but if not, this micellar water might be making a trip into my sisters bedroom! 

The Verdict

For me, on this one the winners got to be the Garnier. I'm usually a firm believer of you get what you pay for, but in this case, the budget buy wins hands down! 

Thanks for reading my loves, let me know if you've ever tried any of these products and what you thought of them! 

Beauty Haul: Selfridges & Boots!

This Friday my mum and I had a cute girly day shopping in Birmingham. We spend the day having lunch in Selfridges, gazing at designer handbags and sipping our Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Originally I was going to post the whole haul in one shot but because I bought a lot of stuff (who's surprised?! no me neither) I decided to split it and do a beauty one and then a fashion post separate. The fashion one will be coming probably Monday or Tuesday! 

Okay so onto the haul. All these things were either bought at Boots or Selfridges and I'll leave links if you're interested in any of the products! 

The first and only skincare item I picked up was this micellar water by La Roche-Posay. I've never used anything by their brand before but have heard loads of amazing things. Personally I'm obsessed with micellar water but have only ever used different variations of the Garnier one. Hopefully this will make a pleasant change for my skin! This little bottle of love retails at £11 at Boots.  

The next things I bought was also from Boots and is this lovely Chanel mascara. Now I'm obsessed with this product and have talked about it in my Holy Grails post and in my June Favourites however I didn't realise until I got home that I accidentally picked up the waterproof version *cries* so I'm going to try it and pray it's not too difficult to get off! 

From Selfridges I got two new Charlotte Tilbury gems, the first of which being this lip liner in the shade Berry Naughty. I asked the lovely lady at the counter which one she thought would go better with my Glastonberry lipstick and this was what she recommended. If you haven't read my lipstick review then I talked a bit about how I found it quite difficult to use without a lip liner so I'm super stoked to get this! 

One of the last two things I picked up was a L'oreal eyeliner. I actually get it in the colour 'Pure Expresso' and use it as an eyebrow pencil. The formula is so creamy and lovely and matching my brows perfectly. This is actually the third one of these babies that I've owned! Unfortunately I couldn't find this on Boots.com for some reason. :/

Lastly is another Charlotte Tilbury. I think I'm following the trend of a lot of Beauty Bloggers and saying that I'm definitely becoming addicted to her products. This is really a case of the beauty blogger made me buy it!! This eyeliner is a black liquid pen liner and as soon as I swatched it on my hand I knew I just had to have it! The line was so thin and precise and the colour pay off amazing! 

So that's it, let me know if you've tried any of these products in the comments and I'll see you tomorrow with another post! 

Book Review: Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

So if you have any interest at all in the Twilight books then you may know that about a week or so ago Stephanie Meyer did a freaking Beyonce and dropped a new book without telling anyone about it. Well played Stephanie, well played.

Now, after screaming and fangirling a lot on twitter I knew I just had to have it. I read Twilight back in 2009 and was utterly obsessed. If I recall correctly, I used to try and get away with reading it in class and more than once had my book confiscated.

I'm a firm believer that the reason why Twilight has such an unpleasant relationship is down to the movies. Kristen Steward just couldn't act and Rob Patterson (god love him) hated his character. So really, there was no hope. With a string of bad directors, frankly dire scripts and tragic acting I completely get the bad vibe surrounding Twilight. But for me, I just feel for Stephanie Meyer. She's an amazing writer who's quirky characters and lovely storylines just don't translate well into movies.

So for me, as a firm Meyer supporter, the excitement was real when this book was released. And it did not disappoint.

Initially, when I heard about what it was I was kind of disappointed. Of all the things Meyer could have picked to write about she was essentially just giving us Twilight but with all the genders swapped around. Oh yeah, if you didn't know, the new book is a rewrite of Twilight but Bella is male... Edward is female and so on.

Before I enter the spoiler section I just want to give my overall rating: 5 stars and a 98%. For sure. I loved it!

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When I started this book I didn't really know what to expect. I wasn't sure if we were getting a new story or just a literal gender swap of Twilight. What we actually got was somewhere in the middle. At first I do have to say that it was very similar to the original story, but as soon as the plot began to develop you could really tell all of the differences in characters... and dare I say it I actually prefer Beau to Bella!

Character wise I loves Beau. He was so funny and awkward and definitely a lot less confident than Bella. I wouldn't have described Bella as a self confident character but Beau was 100% lacking in this department. However he made up for it by being super funny and quirky and in general very likeable. 

And then there was Edythe. Okay just quickly before we talk about her I wanted to mention the names... Oh my gosh did Steph literally just pick random words out of the dictionary?! Every time a new character was introduced (particularly the Cullens) I had a little giggle. It was just too funny. Okay back to Edythe. Now, she seemed a lot more like Edward than Beau was like Bella. And that's okay because I love Edward. I really enjoyed reading about her and the way she protected Beau especially in the scene in Port Angeles. And in all honesty I think if Twilight had been written this way with the main protagonist as a boy it would have gotten a whole lot less hate. Which is a shame because if you haven't got it yet, I think Meyer is a fab writer. 

So... who else had a minor breakdown at the ending?! I was not expecting that at all! When male Alice (I've forgotten his name already omg) said that the only two futures remaining were Beau as a vampire and Beau dead I was like 'yeah lol watch her suck out that venom' and then it didn't happen and she bit him and I almost died a death! Like holy what?!! Beau's becoming a vampire I AM NOT READY FOR THIS!!? And then we skip to his freaking funeral?! And Charlie and Renee think he's dead and holy bejesus it's all too much! 

For me, I loved the ending! I kinda wished it had stayed true (because I want more books from Beau's POV) but it was so interesting to see the future as what would have happened if Bella had died at the end of book one. 

All in all I loved this book, I do think maybe it would have been better if Meyer had only swapped Edward and Bella's genders and kept everyone else the same (anyone else get so confused over which Cullen was which?!) but nonetheless I enjoyed this little surprise a lot! Cheers Steph! 

Would just like to apologise for the extreme fangirling in this review!

Beauty Review: Temple Spa Repose Night Cream

I'm back guys! OMG five days without blogging was literally torture for me! To give you a quick insight as to why I've been gone a few days, basically Friday was my nan's funeral, so we've had loads of family staying over which meant I haven't really had time and/or access to my camera equipment to do any blogging. But now I'm back and itching to get going!

So today's post is another beauty review, this time for a skincare product. I've been debating about whether or not to review this for a little while now as I didn't actually purchase it myself and when I looked it up online I found it to be quite expensive. Okay, let me explain. When my family goes and stays in London, usually a couple of times a year, we always stay at this absolutely gorgeous hotel on Charlotte Street. And last time we were there they had pots of this night cream in the room for guests to use and take away with them. Naturally I'm not going to say no to a beautiful pot of aromatherapy cream so here we are today.

Now onto the review:

The Product: Temple Spa Repose night cream

The Price: £39 

Quick Picks:

The packaging: 5 stars

The product: 3.9 stars

Value for money: 2.5 stars

As you can see this product is definitely in the luxury end of the market. It does feel that way as soon as you open the pot and the smell hits you. Personally I adore the scent. It's gorgeous and fresh and definitely makes me a little dozy! However I do think it's a marmite smell, as in some people probably wouldn't like it as it can be quite overpowering. But for me, I love it - five stars if we were just judging on scent!

The actual product is very, very thick. I honestly can't imagine rubbing this all over my face, even if I was just using a tiny amount. Personally I like applying a tiny bit of this onto my eyelids like an eye cream. As it claims to have aromatherapy properties I'd like to think this is going to aid my sleep. And honestly when I have used this, I do feel like I've slept deeper and for longer and woken up revived. 

Now onto the negatives. As I mentioned above the consistency is incredibly rich. I can imagine if I used this all over my face I'd wake up very oily and gross. I'm not sure if they're marketing at dry skin (they claim to be for all skin types?!) but for my combination, it just wouldn't work. Another problem I've found is that it just does not sink into your skin. I wake up in the morning with a layer of cream still sitting on my eyelids. It's kind of nasty and annoying because it has to be wiped off before I can start my skincare routine. For a product charging £40 a pot I would expect better honestly.

So would I repurchase? No, in a word. It's ridiculously expensive for what it does and whilst there are some lovely positives it's just not for me. I will continue to use the tub I have, but will not be repurchasing. 

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Okay, thanks for reading my loves!

The Versatile Blogger Award!!

Hey guys hope everyones doing okay! I did have another post planned for today but sometimes things don't go exactly as we think they will! But hey ho, here are are. So I thought considering I've been nominated for this twice now by the lovely Lauren and MeetMeInMelford I'd do this post a little earlier than I'd scheduled. 

Enjoy loves!

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The Rules:

1. You have to thank the person who nominated you at the start of your post.

2. You have to comment on the blog of the person who nominated you.

3. You have to link their blog somewhere in your post.

4. You must nominate 15 blogs that interest you or that you have recently found and like.

5. You have to tell the person who nominated you 7 facts about yourself.

7 Facts About Me:

1 - I get very disappointed in myself when I don't succeed at something. Even little things can seem like the end of the world. Failure makes me feel completely worthless and useless, which I honestly put down to going to an incredibly competitive school where not succeeding wasn't an option. 

2 - I really want to get my belly button pierced but am scared of getting an infection or catching it!!

3 - If I could be anywhere right now, it would be somewhere super chill like the Maldives.

4 - I'm very introverted and don't mind spending time by myself.

5 - But having said that I love acting and performing on stage. It gives me such an adrenaline buzz I absolutely adore it.

6 - I have a fifteen year old sister who may sometime be featured on my blog. 

7 - I suck at maths. Like I'm really bad! I managed a B at GCSE but that was after a year of having a private tutor (thanks parents) and even then I still didn't really understand it. 

Bloggers I Tag:

http://lipstickandconfetti.com

http://leonnilittleblog.blogspot co.uk

http://shoesandglitter.blogspot.co.uk

I'm only tagging a few blogs because I don't religiously read a tonne of smaller bloggers. 

 

The Autumn Tag!

Hey guys, today's post is something I'm actually super excited about! As autumn is my favourite season I couldn't resist doing a tag all about it. The photos above were taken on my iPhone (so excuse the quality) a couple of days ago when my dad and I went on a cute autumn walk around our village together. And lastly before we get onto the tag, if anyone was wondering my scarf is from Primark! 

Now onto the questions! 

Ok we’re talking coffees – what’s your favourite seasonal drink from Starbucks/Costa/Cafe Nero, etc.? 

Guys okay, don't judge me for being such a white girl, but I genuinely love the Pumpkin Spice Latte! It's so sugary and moorish and cinnamony... Ahhh I love it so much! But that's like a treat, if I'm just getting a coffee I'll have a vanilla latte or a caramel macchiato. 

Accessories – what do you opt for, scarf, boots, gloves?

Well, if you can tell from the photo I'm all about the scarves. The one I'm wearing is so soft and cosy - it's like a wearing a blanket. All things considering, it was £7 from Primark so basically the best purchase ever?! I'm also a guilty lover of Ugg boots. I have two pairs, a short black pair with one button on the side and the traditional tan colour with two buttons up the side. They're just so warm and comfortable! 

Music – what’s your favourite music to listen to during Autumn?

Something relaxing and gentle. I've never really been one to follow the top 40 and honestly couldn't even tell you who's the 'it' artist at the moment. But for me, at the moment I've been loving listening to Gabrielle Aplin, her songs are so melodic and perfect for this time of year!

Perfume – what’s your favourite scent for this time of year?

I've actually done a post about this which you can read here. But ATM I've been loving Jimmy Choo Illicit which I don't actually own so I've just been spritzing the testers at work! Also I love my AW staple Dot my Marc Jacobs.

Candles – what scents will you be burning this season?

Most likely my usuals... Yankee candles in scents like Salted Caramel, Fireside Treats and of course Christmas Cookie! What do you mean it's not Christmas yet?!

What do you love most about Autumn?

Autumn is just the best. Even looking out of my window right now I can see golden leaves, all different hues of burgundy, orange and green. I adore lighting a fire and having cosy nights in watching Strictly and Bake Off (cries that it's over and Tamal didn't win). Not to mention the fashion and beauty at this time of year is just so. on. point. 

Favourite makeup look?

Definitely warming to a super bold lip! If i'm not feeling so wild as to wear my Charlotte Tilbury Glastonberry lipstick I adore MACs Capricious as it's the perfect touch of plum! Also I'm a massive ambassador of the bronze / gold eye look. I think it's so beautiful especially with blue eyes as it really makes them pop! Add a touch of rose gold blush and you're good to go!

What are you looking forward to most in Autumn?

The weather cooling down... halloween... cosy pamper and pizza nights... As Christmas is approaching fast also looking forward to Christmas shopping as it's one of my favourite activities!! 

Okay, so that was my Autumn Tag! I tag all of you who read this to do the tag and then leave me a comment with your post linked so I can check it out. Much love!

5 Things You Don't Know About Me!

Hello everyone, so today's post is going to be a little different. I realise I've been going pretty beauty content crazy recently so I thought I'd switch it  up and do something different. Personally, one of my all time favourite posts to read is 'about me's' or 'FAQs'. Basically I'm super nosy. So I thought today, I'd indulge your nosiness. Enjoy loves! <3

1 - I'm vegetarian 

I don't think this is a super shocking fact as vegetarianism and 'eating clean' seem to have taken the market by storm recently. But for me, I've been vegetarian my whole life as both my parents are too. Well technically I believe the word is pescatarian as I do eat fish but not meat. In fact (here's the shocking part:) I've never, ever even tasted meat in my entire life and honestly the thought of it makes me feel kinda sick. I'm not judging you at all - everyone can make their own decisions - but I don't think I would ever / could ever eat meat. 

2 - I'm a dancer

Ever since I was four I've done both ballet and modern dance. I've worked through the grades so now I'm working to taking the equivalent of another A level (in terms of UCAS points) in dance. And I absolutely love it!! 

3 - I'm basically middle aged

Trust me, when my friends suggest going out into town I suppress a groan. I. Hate. It. Why, oh why would I only be leaving my house at 11? I'm usually tucked up in bed by then! Going to clubs is boring, drinking excessively is just disgusting, and let's face it, I'm always the friend who has to sort out my intoxicated friends. No thank you. I'd much rather be watching Bake Off (still gutted Tamal didn't win) or a really good period drama with a cup of tea and a slice of cake! 

4 - I really want to start eating healthier

As it is, I usually eat pretty healthy when my parents are cooking. Like we never have ready meals because they're all about eating natural etc, but when I'm in charge of what I'm eating, I tend to lean a little more towards chocolate and pizza. However because I always feel so much more alert when I'm eating healthily I'm trying to change my diet slowly! Part of the problem is that I've never really struggled with my weight so I'm content in knowing that if I have a massive slice of chocolate cake (AKA the dream) then it won't really effect me on the outside. But I know it's bad for my general health so I'm trying to cut down. 

5 - I love writing

One of the things that inspired me to write a blog was my love of words. Storytelling is my first love and it always will be. A dream of mine (ever since I was five and my english teacher told me I was good at creative writing) is to publish a novel. I'm currently working on a first draft of one which I hope someday to publish.  

So there you go guys! I hope you enjoyed that post and please feel free to tell me something about yourself in the comments below! <3

Smashbox #SHAPEMATTERS palette - My thoughts + review

So I'm here with another beauty post! Are we really surprised? No, not all. 

Today I'm reviewing this stunning palette from Smashbox. I saw this gem at Boots and it was such a good deal I just couldn't let it pass. Originally it cost £60 (I know right, crazy,) but it was half priced to £30 and then had a further 10% off! So £27 for 9 eyeshadows, two contour colours, two highlighters, three brow colours and a double ended makeup brush is really not bad. 

As I said, I just couldn't let it pass. But be quick because it's sold out online and the offer ends on Thursday! 

Now onto the review: 

The Product: Smashbox #SHAPEMATTERS palette

The Price: £27 / £30 /£60

Quick Picks:

The packaging: 5 stars

The product: 5 stars

Value for money: 5 stars

I tried this set out the other day and got my sister to take loads of photos for me but unfortunately they were literally all out of focus so I couldn't use them! If you'd like to see a makeup look using this palette I'm going to do it again and post the pics on instagram sometime in the next few days! 

The first thing I tried out was the eyebrow colours. Sadly these shades are too light for me as I have really dark brown brows but I used the dark, matte brown eyeshadow (bottom left) with the flat angled brush and found that to be a great colour match. The quality of the brush was the first thing I noticed - it's seriously good! But the actual pigmentation of the eyeshadow was really amazing as well.

Next I tried the contour and highlight colour (I used the shade 'glow') these were so pretty with the highlighter giving a lovely, natural touch of light. The contour colour was great too, not orange or muddy looking at all which is something that usually worries me.

In terms of the eyeshadows I used the middle colour as an allover base, the aubergine in the creases and the silver grey in the outer thirds. To highlight, I used the pretty champagne in the inner corner. 

Again, just really amazing quality as you would expect from a high end cosmetics brand like Smashbox. I would highly, highly recommend! 

Let me know if you've ever tried anything from Smashbox and what your recommendations would be! 

Is Charlotte Tilbury Glastonberry Worth it?

The Product: Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution lipstick in Glastonberry

The Price: £23

Quick Picks:

The packaging: 5 stars

The product: 4 stars

Value for money: 4 stars

If you've seen my latest haul post then you'll know that I recently splurged on my first ever Charlotte Tilbury product! *Does excited / happy dance* I ended up choosing this lipstick as I'd seen Zoella wear it in a video and as always she looked absolutely gorgeous! As I bought it online I had to go by the colour swab on the Selfridges website which in all fairness was fairly true to shade.

Packaging wise, its absolutely stunning. The actual lipstick is this lovely almost rose gold colour which is ribbed the whole way around. Literally beautiful! 

Now onto the actual product: unfortunately I've found it to be quite drying even when applied over a lip balm. Because it's matte it has a tendency to cling to all the little lines and flecks of dry skin on your lips. I'm not going to lie I did find that quite annoying as it was so expensive I would have expected a better formula. I also found it quite difficult to apply as it is so dark there's no room for error. Unfortunately I don't have a matching lipliner, but I intend to get one because I really think that will help. 

Now you may be thinking that I didn't like the lipstick, but you're wrong. The colour pay-off is incredible! It really is a very, very, dark lipstick! With a lip liner I really think you could achieve a great finish and I intend to persevere with it! 

If you're looking for a dark lipstick for autumn and are willing to pay a little extra I would recommend. However I would say, maybe to take a trip to Selfridges and try it out first to make sure the formula would be okay work for you.

Outfit Of The Day: T-Shirt Dress

Hey guys, so today I was inspired to do an outfit post which honestly doesn't happen that often! I find it really hard to get someone to take photos of me that are of a good enough quality to put up online, as they can be slightly out of focus. (To be fair, DSLRs can take a bit of getting used to!) I've also been playing around with editing my photos recently and am super happy with how these turned out!

Todays outfit is this lovely t-shirt dress from Topshop which I've had for around about six months. I love the boxy, edgy designs coupled with the black lace as it gives an otherwise plain dress a cute girly finish. I paired it with black tights and a rose gold Sif Jakobs ring.

Generally, I find t-shirt dresses perfect as an alternative to wearing skinny jeans or leggings. They're equally comfortable and casual but have that perfect touch of 'dressed up'.