Monday Musings

photo featured above is my own

Happy Monday!

I'm not normally one to write inspirational posts. I like the simplicity of writing a post about my current favourite face cream or my lipstick collection, but today I feel different. I've woken up somewhat positive and feel like spreading that positivity. 

I've had this blog for a few years now and although it is mainly just my hobby and not my full-time job, I feel like I'm always happy with the direction it's headed in. I love having a little play every now and then to decide how I feel about the layout or the content, and I adore the fact that it's something very personal to me and it's all mine to do what I want with. 

Something I don't speak about often (mainly because this is a beauty and fashion blog rather than a detailed insight into my life) is that I write novels on the side of my job as a beauty advisor. In the same kind of way, the time I spend writing fiction is similar to the time I put into my blog, apart from the fact that the ratio of how much time I spend on each is completely incomparable. It's the chance for me to spend a little time switching off from the stresses and pressures of life and focus on what I really like to do, but also I get something out of it. I'm planning on getting my latest book published. It's a teen fiction or young adult novel with a hint of a thriller attached to it. I've been posting chapters of different books I've written over the years on Wattled and am soon to begin doing that with the latest one. Once its finished (I've given myself a three month deadline) I will be sending it off to a few publishers to get an insight into what may need improving. Hopefully one day somebody will enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it and just like this blog, it will get me somewhere I could never have dreamt of going. 

For now though, I will continue using my random little bursts of inspiration and positivity to focus on what I love doing, and enjoy it while I can. 

Always focus on you, no matter what it is you love, and never give up. 

xoxo

The Game-Changer Miracle Cream

Just as any avid beauty blogger, I'm always open to any new 'wonder creams' on offer, whether it be a pricey skincare routine staple worth every penny or a bargain cream which is underrated and worth more than it's RRP. A friend recommended this bargain cream from none other than Aldi, at a steal price of £6.99 and I couldn't stop thinking about her rave reviews until the moment I added it to my basket. I tried it straight away and fell in love with the immediate effects. 

The brand is Lacura, which I've never heard of before and the cream is called Caviar Cream. The reason is that one of the main ingredients is caviar extract. Having never knowingly tried a cream with a caviar extract, I was interested to see what different kind of effects it would have on my skin. The jar recommends use for people between the ages of 40 and 60, as it's main intention is for cell renewal and wrinkle reduction. Obviously at only 21 I wasn't too bothered about achieving anti-ageing benefits, but I'd heard it was good for problem skin in general. 

You apply the cream like a mask using the small soft brush to do so. I applied it quite liberally to begin with and only left it on for 3 minutes like it suggests. It stung a lot and I worried I might have been experiencing a reaction, but apparently it's just because it gets to work so quickly and removes dead skin cells to reveal fresh, younger looking skin. The first thing I noticed when I washed it off was how soft it left my skin. I left it for a while before applying a gentle night cream. It wasn't until the morning that I realised just what it had done for my skin. 
The next day my skin was brighter, softer and smoother and definitely had a lovely glow. The few blemishes I had on my skin the day before had dramatically reduced and looked less red and on the road to healing. I couldn't believe the effects after just one application and wanted to apply it again immediately the next evening. 
Of course it would have been silly to apply it too frequently as the packaging suggests it works best if you only use it twice a week. I will continue to use it and see the effects it has in the long term as well as immediately. 

I will be back very soon with a brand new post, thanks for reading! 

xoxo

Summer Fragrance Favourites

Hi Lovelies! 

It's been a while since I've done any posts, and believe me, I have missed it! Life has kind of got in the way of blogging for me at the moment, and as my blog has been (and kind of still is) under refurbishment, I haven't been able to put fingers to keyboard since before Christmas! I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with a lovely summery post, and what better way to celebrate summer than with fragrance?

I'm a huge fragrance fan, and find that I'm always discovering new fragrances to fall in love with. Just lately, I've swapped my winter scent wardrobe (yes, that's right, I have fragrance wardrobes) for a summer one, and I couldn't be more excited about it. 

Pretty Summer Day Out Fragrance - Miss Dior 'Blooming Bouquet'

Miss Dior EDP (the original) has long been one of my very favourite fragrances. I loved it so much that I didn't even see the point in trying any variations, as to me, I just wouldn't love them as much as the good ol' original. I was wrong. I tried blooming bouquet - which is a lovely, fresh, light EDT - and completely fell in love with it. It's a delicate, pretty fragrance which is light and easy to wear, and supplies you with a beautiful breezy scent which smells just like spring flowers. It's perfect for a summery day out, be it a picnic, lunch date or even just a walk in the park. 

Sizzling Summer Beach Date Fragrance - Estee Lauder 'Bronze Goddess'

Estee Lauder are no stranger to their beautiful, successful fragrances, and Bronze Goddess is certainly no exception. Everyone and their mums absolutely adore Bronze Goddess and as its a summer exclusive and only limited edition every year, there's always a mad scramble to grab a bottle before it all sells out! It's warm, soft and sweet, with a fruity, coconutty base note which just takes the brain straight to sizzling summer days and nights. It's not the strongest fragrance, so I would say it's more of a day time scent, as it's technically not an EDP or EDT, it is described as an Eau Fraiche Skin Scent. I can always imagine spritzing this over warm, sun kissed skin for a hot day trip to the beach.

Hot Summer Evening Out Fragrance - Lancome 'La Vie Est Belle Absolu'

Lancome are yet another brand which tend to wow with their fragrances. They have a plethora of well-known, well-loved scents which never disappoint. I have loved the original La Vie Est Belle EDP for many years, and only recently tried this stronger, richer version, named Absolu. It's a more intense version of the widely popular, sweet-shop smelling La Vie Est Belle and gives an extra kick of spiciness, zing and warmth. It's perfect for an evening out as because it's so powerful, only one spray is needed. 

These are my firm summer favourites, what will you be wearing this summer?

See you soon! 

xoxo

New Favourite Cleanser | Organic Surge

Although in the UK we have been lucky enough to (somehow) avoid the freezing cold winter weather as we've been experiencing the mildest winter temperatures for years, there is still always a call for a good range of nourishing products to protect your skin from the elements. I'm a big fan of cleansers and have always used them to clean my skin morning and night, ready for bed. Liz Earle cleanse and polish has always been high on my list, although I've tried many others, but until now, there has never been a cleanser to truly open my eyes to the way I care for my skin. 

A few months back, I was lucky enough to be able to try out some fabulous products from a well-known skincare and beauty brand called Organic Surge. I fell in love with the range of products I tried and was thrilled to be able to try out the cleanser. Needless to say I had high hopes, and boy was I right to. 

I suffer with the odd monthly breakout, which at the time is incredibly uncomfortable and painful, not to mention confidence-shattering, and I will do everything in my power to make sure I'm taking good care of my skin so the scars from the spots repair a lot quicker. A cleanser is always a good place to start, and since I discovered I prefer using them regularly to exfoliators, I knew I'd be a fan of this one. It smells lovely and fresh, with a warm, soft undertone and the texture is amazing. It's creamy and light, with a balmy texture that really deep cleans the skin and leaves behind touchable, baby-soft skin. It's fairly obvious that I enjoyed using it from the first go, and along with a sink full of hot, steamy water and a soft muslin cloth, it did the trick for making my skin feel clean and soft. 

I thought I was on to a winner with this product from the first use, but it wasn't until the next day when I realised the fresh new cluster of red, angry spots had shrunk to almost nothing, leaving behind the tiniest little scabs, ready to begin healing. After not even a day of a breakout and only one use of the product, it was powerful enough to deep clean my skin and shrink my spots without drying out the skin or leaving it flaky. For me, this makes it a miracle product and I'm sure for many other people who suffer with the same or similar skin problems, it would be just as perfect. 

This product will definitely become a stable in my bathroom cupboard and I will reach for it daily. If you haven't already, check out Organic Surge for their fantastic range of luxury skincare and beauty products at affordable prices and with the use of organic, trusted ingredients and methods. They're a fantastic brand and definitely worth trying. 

I will be back in the new year with a fresh new look for my blog and lots more post ideas and possibly even a youtube video ??? (nervous giggle). 

Thanks for reading, 

xoxoxo

Organic Surge Product Review

I was recently very lucky enough to be sent some products from the luxury organic skincare brand Organic Surge. The first thing I noticed was how lovely the packaging is, with smooth, soft plastic and a white, red and silver colourway, the packaging alone sold the products for me before I'd even tried them! 

I decided to replace my current skincare routine for a month, and feeling a bit dubious about this decision as I'd been suffering with ugly breakouts, I had high hopes for these products. The product I used the most was the Blissful Daily Moisturiser (which I'm nearly out of! *sobs*). Out of the whole range, it is perhaps my favourite product, as I really can't fault it in any way. 

It's a smooth, velvety formula which glides onto skin like silk, and soaks in almost straight away, leaving no greasy, sticky residue but softening the skin just the right amount. I have quite oily skin and would usually use a super creamy moisturiser at night and a mattifying moisturiser before applying my makeup in the morning. However, with this little beauty I literally only have to use this morning and night. You only need a little bit which is perfect because it makes the product last a lot longer than most moisturisers. The only thing I am not uber keen on is the strong lemon scent, but only because I'm not usually a lemon scent fan! It is definitely bearable though and is very fresh smelling so I can see that many people would be more than happy with it's scent. Overall, it is a four star out of five moisturiser, and I will happily repurchase and continue to use!

My second favourite product (and second most regularly used), was the Tropical Bergamot Skin Perfecting Body Scrub. I use body scrubs very often as I can't stand dry skin, and as a phantom fake tanner, my skin dries out quite quickly and begins to get a bit patchy after a few weeks (ew). I was a bit unsure about the scrub's abrasive power as at first glance it's incredibly creamy. However, once used, it not only buffs away any dull, dry bits without much scrubbing, but it also leaves the skin feeling silky smooth as it's such a creamy consistency. Until using this product, I hadn't found a scrub that leaves my skin silky, as most of them require a moisturiser afterwards straight away. However with this beautiful scrub, you can wait a little while after scrubbing and not worry about dry skin, perfect! 

When it comes to skincare of the face, I'm never really sure where to turn to give my skin the best care. Many different companies will tell you different things to avoid spots, such as micellar waters, cleansers, toners, buffers and serums. But to get rid of dead skin cells, even out skin tones and prevent spots, everyone knows that the best thing to do for your skin is to exfoliate with a good, natural product and a hot flannel. This (Perfecting Face Polish) is by far the best exfoliator I have ever used, with a creamy, smooth texture and only tiny, grainy beads which don't stick to your face for ages afterwards. I found that when I was having a particularly bad breakout, if I washed my face with this morning and night, the spots would shrink almost immediately and feel a lot calmer and cleaner. Without harsh chemicals, you know that when using this, your skin is thanking you for giving it nutrients and not pumping it full of things it doesn't need.

If I didn't have enough time to exfoliate or cleanse, and my skin wasn't particularly very bad, I found this face wash very useful. It has the illusion of being a runny, difficult to apply soap but when you rub it into your hands it lathers up perfectly, almost sticky to the touch but foaming when it is warmed up. It's brilliant for on-the-go, in-a-rush application, and leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and perfectly cleansed. This product will last me a long time, as I've used it quite a lot in a month and I still have nearly all of it remaining!

Next up is the Gentle Cleansing Lotion which is great when you follow it up after the exfoliator. It's smooth and creamy, and easy to apply, again, just like the others, leaving the skin clean and clear and smooth to the touch. I used it with cotton pads and followed up with the moisturiser before bed, as it's a perfect night-time product. It's not particularly light, so I would rather use it at night but if you're a fan of super nourished skin in the daytime (perhaps if you have naturally dry skin or don't really wear much makeup), it's perfect. Again, like the other products, you don't need to use too much, which means it will last you a long long time, even if you do use it daily!

Last, and certainly not least is the Deep Cleansing Face Mask. There is absolutely no reason why I have reviewed this one last, as I believe it was one of my favourites. When you fancy a pamper, it's nice to be able to pop on a face mask and look forward to seeing the benefits afterwards, and the easiest way to use a face mask is to get it from a bottle, meaning it will be a long long time until you run out and there's no need for any fiddly little packets! I left this on for ten minutes but I believe you could leave it on longer as it doesn't go dry and crackly like other face masks do. It settles on the skin and dries out a little, but it almost goes invisible as it sinks into your skin so well, so you can tell you skin is really getting the benefits. After washing off with warm water you can instantly see how much brighter your complexion looks and I can 100% confirm it is worth every penny. 

Overall, I was really impressed with the Organic Surge product range and I can definitely confirm I will be purchasing more products as they have an abundance more on their website. I have my eye on the Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Reviving Eye Gel. They have a huge range, from creams and lotions to shampoos and shower gels, so there's plenty to choose from for all types of customer. The prices are reasonable and they are undoubtedly worth every penny. I urge anybody who is interested in skincare products with no nasty chemicals and humble, honest labels and values to check out Organic Surge, as I can assure you won't be disappointed!

xoxo

H&M Beauty Haul & Review

So just a few days ago I shared a post about the production of the very new Beauty department at H&M Norwich. As a member of staff (and a beauty fanatic) I thought it was only right I delve in and buy a few bits to try out and share my thoughts on. Clearly I went a little overboard, but never mind, you only live once! There are many different products, ranging from nail polishes, lipsticks, eyeshadows and bases (foundation, concealers and primers), to body and hair products and tools such as creams, lotions, shampoos and brushes. There was so much to chose from that I thought I'd begin with colours, as I find they're the most exciting products to try out! I stuck religiously to nail polishes, lipsticks and eyeshadows, and I can honestly say they didn't disappoint! 

So the first products I spied were the pallets, which are so so beautiful. There's about six different pallets, each with an incredibly pretty and different colourway. I chose one to begin with which was difficult as I was toying between this one (Ready, Set, Glow) which is mainly golds and bronzes, and a khaki toned pallet. I wanted to go for something I wouldn't normally wear but which would compliment my eyes. Golds always look good with blue eyes, and as I don't have many, I thought this would be easy to start with. The pigment is fantastic, with no need to pack loads on the brush before you see a drastic change of colour. I favour the glitters more than I do the matte colours, as I feel they're a lot richer in colour. My favourite colours so far are the two golds on the bottom left and the mauve-toned matte brown in the middle of the top row. At £9.99 a pallet, you really can't go wrong, and I'll definitely be grabbing another one! 

After setting up the polishes for what felt like a lifetime only a few days ago, I felt I needed a little treat to thank myself for working so hard on them! I could have gone so overboard with the polishes, as they are my true weakness, but I stuck to my guns and only bought two to try out. I love both of them so much, they're fantastic. Like I said in my previous blogpost, I have always been a fan of H&M nail polishes and I genuinely didn't think they could get any better! They are so easy and smooth to apply, and don't chip for days! The colour is rich and strong and they dry so quickly, there's no need for smudges! I chose a rust brown with the name 'Brickwork', and a very pale french-tip style pink in 'Sunlit Snapdragon'. I have made it my mission since I very first started painting my nails to find a subtle, pretty pink just like the extortionately expensive celeb manis you see in magazines. No pink I have found has ever sufficed, until this one. Both the polishes require about two layers, no more and no less. They're £4.99 and worth every penny! Plus, they come in almost any colour you could possibly think of! 

I bought two single eyeshadows, because these colours weren't featured in any pallets and I thought they were far too pretty not to buy! The far left is called 'Gala Gown', and it's just a really pretty silver-toned gold, very light and quite sheer, but perfect for highlighting or for applying to your tearducts. The second is 'Sahara Dawn', a brown-toned purple with a slight hint of shimmer. It's much less glittery than the other, but heavier in colour and much more pigmented. It actually looks lighter in the packaging than it does when applied, but don't let this put you off, when applied correctly it makes a blue or even dark brown eye look smouldering and beautiful! 

 (Left: Hayday, Middle: Penny Red, Right: Ember Glow) 

So now onto my favourite products, the lipsticks! There are many different lip products, such as lip stains, lip velvets and vinyls which all start off as lipglosses and have different finishes, but as more of a lipstick girl, I thought it made more sense to start off with these. Since talking to people who've also bought the lipsticks, it seems they have been the most favourable product of all the ranges. They're super creamy and incredibly pigmented, but I will say that the staying power isn't great simply because of how creamy they are. As someone who is very used to matte lipsticks and the staying power they provide, it's hard to get used to them, but as the colour is so amazing with each one, I will conform to change!

My favourite of the three is 'Hayday', which is a very creamy soft brown, very similar to MAC 'Velvet Teddy'. 'Penny Red' is much more of a deep purple than a red, which is confusing as the name doesn't seem to match at all, but it's still beautiful all the same. 'Ember Glow' looks like a rusty red, which is a colour I don't have at all, part of the reason I wanted it, and I was quite surprised when I swatched it and it was more of a bright-toned red, with no hint of rust-orange what-so-ever! But never mind, it's still a lovely colour, and all three lipsticks are great quality, you just need to be a little more optimistic with your colour choice! 

Overall, I'm really pleased with the beauty range and I will definitely continue to use it and try out new products. Next on my list will be the body range to try, with items such as shampoos and body sprays being first in line! 

xoxo 

H&M Norwich Beauty Launch

As I work for H&M as a Sales Advisor, I am lucky enough to be involved in every new venture our ever-growing Norwich store achieves. As most beauty addicts would be aware, H&M have recently launched their worldwide new beauty range, which stands pillars above the cheap-as-chips, grab-a-lipstick-to-go-with-your-top makeup range they have sold for years. Don't get me wrong, I was a fan of this makeup, particularly the nail polishes, but there is always room for improvement, so when I heard that the store I work in has the privilege of becoming one of only a few stores in the UK to sell the new beauty range, I couldn't wait. 

I was asked to partake in the night shift last night, which included working from 6PM to the following 6AM. The thought of doing such a long, gruelling shift wasn't too appealing, but with the promise of being one of the first in the store to see and touch the wonderful new products, and to set them up to perfection, I got stuck in.

Myself and a team of eleven other people worked incredibly hard ensuring the makeup was set up to it's advantage, showing just how beautiful the products really are. After the long, hard work was completed, it was only right to take a few snaps, and they look so beautiful, I just had to share them on here. 

As it was my job to line up and colour coordinate every nail polish in the wall, as well as paint a little tester nail for each one (which, needless to say, took hours), I think it's only fair to buy as many of them as I can, right? I feel like a proud mother seeing it all set up so so perfectly! 

I haven't purchased anything yet but I've written myself a list of everything I want already, and let's face it, it's not going to be a small list! If you're lucky enough to be near a store with the new beauty department, absolutely go and see it, it's worth every look! 

xoxo