Monday 3 December 2012

Empties | November

Ladies ladies, I've been a bad blogger haven't I?! I've been so busy lately, with starting my new job & having my old uni girlies stay at mine for the weekend. Sorry the posts have been lacking as of late! But, I'm starting to settle in at work, & so I'm hoping I'll be able to find more time on the evenings. Here's a little collage of the weekend just gone. Love these girls! :D

I'll start off slowly with the monthly empties post! I love doing these, & keeping a record of products I've liked & disliked. Sorry the image is a little pants. Natural lighting was far far gone by the time I got home from work!


  • Dry shampoo by Batiste in tropical & cherry. These little bad boys are a regular in my empties post! & now that I've started work I have a feeling they will be even more so. I'm trying not to wash my hair every day in order to promote its growth (& for more time in bed on a morning!) & these are just fab. Both the tropical & cherry scents are quite sweet, but I like them :) Would I repurchase? Already have!
  • Hair growth shampoo by Lee Stafford. I usually love Lee Stafford products, but me & she just didn't get on! I felt like I needed so much product to get a good lather in my hair, with the usual amount of shampoo my hair just didn't feel clean. I also don't think it did much in the way of hair growth. Would I repurchase? Nope. 
  • Heat protection by Aussie. I never have anything bad to about Aussie products! Though I don't really know what to say about heat protection sprays.. I can't be sure whether it works or not, but I trust Aussie ;) Would I repurchase? Yeah.
  • Seaweed deep cleansing facial wash by The Body Shop. This is my day-to-day cleanser, & I love it for my combination/oily skin. Check out my review on the seaweed collection here. Would I repurchase? Already have :)
  • Extra firm control hairspray by Tresemme. I usually hate hairspray, but I bought this little one when I went to the states in the summer & I loved it! It has such a strong hold, but doesn't make the hair stiff & hard-looking. Also, I love the little nozzle on it...as weird as that sounds. It's really sensitive & easy to control how much spray you are applying. Would I repurchase? I wish I could, but I can't find this exact one in the UK & our nozzles are different. Boo!
  • Colour & care enrich shampoo by Clynol. I'm so boring when it comes to talking about shampoo. My hair never notices the difference! It cleans my hair & smells nice... what more can I say. Would I repurchase? If it was on offer ;)
  • Smooth lock shampoo & conditioner sachets by Redken. I love Redken, so was excited to see these in one of my beauty boxes :) Again with the shampoo, I didn't really notice a difference. However, I loved the conditioner! It's such a weird texture & really left my hair feeling amazing. Would I repurchase? Maybe on pay day!
  • Moisturising wipes by Simple. These little babies are a staple in my day-to-day life, I can't be without them! I use them to remove the bulk of my make-up, particularly mascara, before cleansing etc. Would I repurchase? 1000x over!
  • Rich moisturising body butter by Gorgeous by Gok. I love a thick body butter, & this was no different! The only thing with this butter is that it's very heavily fragranced, so I'm guessing it isn't too freindly to your skin! Would I repurchase? Probably not. 
  • Daist EDT by Marc Jacobs. Ohhh my! I bloody love Marc Jacobs fragrances! It always makes me so sad when I finish a Marc Jacobs perfume, haha. It's a good job Christmas is only round the corner ;) Would I repurchase? Hell to the yeah!
I promise to try harder & find time to post girlies! Hope you're still enjoying reading :) 





Tuesday 20 November 2012

Glossy Box | November

This month my Glossy Box was a little overdue, but it was perfect timing! I'd had a bit of a rubbish morning & just as I'd started to cheer up I saw the lady pop my GB in the porch. Definitely picked me up some more! :D

I'm really pleased with this months 'Stocking Fillers' GB, it definitely sums up why I chose to subscribe to GB. The products are a little more high end than in other beauty boxes & they're all of great quality. As well as this, the box includes a few well known brands & a couple that I've never heard of. It's nice to get a mixture- to recognise brands, but also to be introduced to new ones.

Plus fact, look how cute & festive this months leaflet (& sticker) is!!!

So let's take a look at the products I received...


  • Sandalwood face cream by Ayuuri. This is the BIGGEST product I've ever received in a beauty box. It's fab to get full sized products :) I'm always a little weary of face moisturisers though because I have combination/oily skin. This one has lots of goodies in it so I'll give it a whirl & if my face doesn't like it I'll use it as a stay-at-home hand cream or a body lotion. Waste not, want not! 
  • Burberry Body eau de parfum by Burberry. I'm loving the size of this perfume sample.. so much better than the little vials! Will be perfect for chucking in my bag :) As for the perfume itself - I'd say it was quite a mature scent but very very feminine & lovely. It's smells expensive too (which it is!). May I add, how cute is the bottle?!
  • Mango body butter by Alison Claire Natural Beauty. I'm always a sucker for trying a new body butter! & this one does not disappoint! I love the pump application, I love the mango scent & I love how quickly it absorbs (for a butter!). A definite win. 
  • Top coat by Nails Inc. Like many other girls, I'm sure, I am always on the look out for great top coat. So receiving one I don't already have is fab! This top coat is apparently award winning too - which is always a good sign. 
  • Daily microfoliant by Dermalogica. Dermalogica is known to be a great skin care brand, so I can't wait to try this out! It's a strange little product though... It's a rice-based powder that you mix with water to create a paste, which is then used as a facial exfoliator. I've never used anything like this before, so fingers crossed :D
I think this months box is fab, & I'll definitely be using every product. If your interested in GlossyBox go take a look at their site. You'd receive this box too if you sign up before December :)


Monday 19 November 2012

Versatile blogger award (:

The ever so lovely Rachel from Blush & Brunch (isn't that 1 of the cutest beauty blog names you've heard?!) nominated me for the versatile blogger award! Thanks so much :D


The versatile blog award is to be nominated to blogs that you enjoy reading. & is one of those where you share little secrets about yourself :) So here are 7 things you may not have known about me...
  1. I start my new job next Monday (26th Dec) & I'm soo nervous! 
  2. I'm a graduate of biomedical science. 
  3. I have a tattoo that reads 'love life' in Latin. 
  4. On my 12th birthday I did my 3000m swimming badge! I miss swimming..
  5. I met my boyfriend on a college trip to Yorkshire.
  6. I'm signing up to a gym tomorrow for the 1st time in ~1 year. I'm dreading it!
  7. I CANNOT WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!



Sunday 18 November 2012

Xmas party outfit | Blogger challenge

So, for the 2nd time I was contacted by FashionVouchers.com asking if I wanted to participate in their outfit challenge. This time the challenge was to put together your ideal outfit for a Christmas party worth £100, or less, from any one of their featured retailers. The competition closes on the 17th December & Fashion Vouchers will choose 3 winners. Each winner will receive £100 in vouchers for their chosen retailer (featured on the site.

I had a browse through their retailers & debated over using ASOS, Joy, Miss Selfridge, Motel or Urban Outfitters. After a little browse I decided to go with Miss Selfridge. I'm guessing like many other people, I tend to gravitate towards red & gold around the crimbo period! So here's my chosen Christmas party outfit :)

The total of this gorgeous outfit is £93.50!

If you too want to have a go at their xmas party outfit challenge check out this link for the rules & go for it!


Saturday 17 November 2012

Can you smell that?

For the past 5 years my answer to that question has 9/10 been 'no'. My sense of smell just disappeared! I won't bore you with the details; but basically, with a mixture of rhinitis, a few different allergies, untreated symptoms & the wrong medication I suffered with cold symptoms every single day, as well as a loss of smell & impaired taste. Not to sound like I felt sorry for myself... but, it was pretty shite! However, after finally being referred to a specialist I'm now on the right medication. Good meds = good sense of smell!

I can finally smell everythinggg :D Though in some circumstances I've realised this isn't a good thing... we won't go there! Since my sense of smell has came back I've also realised just how yummy some of the products I use are! If you guys already use any of these products you'll know how great they smell. But, I'm so excited I can smell again I just had to share this post.


So, these are just a few things I'm using at the moment that I think smell divine! 
  • 3 minute miracle & miracle hair insurance by Aussie. Words cannot express how much I loove the smell of these products! Every time I smell these I get bombarded with childhood memories. It really reminds me of a chewing gum that use to be around in the 90s - it was pink & squeezy, came in a container kind of like a travel sized Soap & Glory hand cream. If that makes any sense?! I tried searching for it but no luck. For those who don't know what I mean.. they smell like a pink tasty bubble gum! 
  • Hair oils! (Pictured: extraordinary oil by L'Oreal & MoroccanOil). I really don't know how to describe the hair oil scent. But, I think they all smell so luxurious! Like a really expensive salon..? 
  • Daddy-O shampoo by LUSH. This has got to be one of my most favourite smells in the world! It smells just like palma violet sweets. & also reminds me of one of the rooms within the Centre Parcs spa I went to in April with the boyf! When I use this the scent completely fills the shower & mmmm, smells so good! It really lingers to your hair too, so it's still detectable throughout the day. Definitely recommend! 
  • Vitamin E moisture cream by The Body Shop. To me this product smells like a just-cleaned-baby! I'm aware of how strange that sounds... but it smells so good! A really subtle clean, girly smell.
  • Cocoa butter formula by Palmers. I guarantee about 99% of you already knows how good this smells.. but I didn't! I didn't think I was a fan of cocoa/vanilla type scents, but I definitely am. This stuff is gorgeous. 
  • Soap & Glory. Even though I only pictured 'the righteous butter' this refers to ALL Soap & Glory products! They all have that same signature scent. If you don't already know then quick, run to Boots! 
  • Marc Jacobs. I currently used up my Daisy perfume, which is why the body lotion is pictured. But I love all Marc Jacobs scents! Every single one of them. I'm hoping for the new Dot perfume this Xmas, hint hint ;)
  • Kate Moss lipsticks by Rimmel. This is a bit of a random one, but for lipstick I think these smell fab! They remind me of Cherry VK. Which doesn't sounds great for a cosmetic, but it's definitely better than some other plough-doughy type scents that lipsticks tend to have. 
  • Truth serum collagen booster by Ole Henriksen. I received this in the exclusive Glossy Box recently & have only used it a few times, but I'm loving it! It has quite a fruity (particularly orange) scent, which I wouldn't usually go for. But, in a morning this smells so fresh & really wakes you up.
So they're the products I've not stopped sniffing recently! I'm loving it :D There are however cons to having a working nose... it's so bad for my bank balance! Not only am I wanting more products after smelling them in Boots, I've also not stopped buying Yankee Candles! Anybody who follows me on Instgram (jlo_321) will already know this.. As you can see in the picture I've gone a bit crazy over the Christmas scents. Currently buring 'red apple wreath' ;)


I hope you've enjoyed this post :D Let me know your favourite smelling products, so I can catch up on the delights I've been missing out on, haha! 



Thursday 15 November 2012

She Said Beauty | November & UPDATE

Hi girlies! Sorry that my posts have been, somewhat.. lacking recently. I've been a bit of a busy bee &, if I'm honest, I lost my bloggin' mojo! But I'm back! ;D & with plenty of posts planned.

I'll start with my little update... some of you may have noticed that the name of my little blog has changed. It's gone from 'All things bright & beautiful' to 'Things bright & beautyful'. There are a couple of reasons for this... for starters, I had a few comments from readers saying that my blog title reminded them of that Christian hymn - All things bright & beautiful, all creatures great & small... Know the one I mean? That's not particularly a bad thing; however I'm neither religious, nor is my blog about religion. So it didn't really feel fitting. But, I didn't want to change it entirely, so I stuck with the whole 'bright & beautiful' shebang! As a bit of a play-on word I also changed 'beautiful' to 'beautyful'... yanno, with my blog being a beauty one & all that! So, lemme know what you think about this - hit or miss?! Just for reference... the URL is still the same :)

Now onto the beloved beauty box that is She Said Beauty. I'm a little behind on this months SSB, but better late than never! 


  • Smooth lock shampoo & conditioner by Redken. I looooove Redken. & I'm all over trying out any of their products. But can you really get much of an impression from just 1 sachet? I guess I'll find out. I'll share my thoughts in the next empties post!
  • Wild rose soothing night cream by Welda. This is probably my least fave product of the box. I'm not very fond of rose scented products & I don't really like switching up my skincare, especially when it isn't aimed at combination/oily skin. I'll give it a go tho & let you know what I think!
  • Enhance shimmer lip gloss by MakeBelieve Beauty. This is a gorgeous lip gloss. The colour is a really pretty pink & it shimmers like no other, I tell thee! I will add though, it's quite a sticky one.
  • Royal English daisy EDT by Yardley. This is the 2nd Yardley sample I've had & I'm really quite impressed. It has a really fresh scent & is perfect for daytime wear. Plus, the full sized EDTs are sooo cheap!!
  • Brit body spray by So..? So..? is a brand that featured in my early teens, so I feel this is a little teeny-boppy for me. Nether the less body sprays always come in handy & this will be chucked into my bag! 
  • Matchbook nail files by Murrays Manicure. Love this product, so handy! I'm a big nail fan & always like to have a nail file on me wherever I go. So these little numbers are perfect to put in bag. Infact, they already are in my bag :) 
So, what do I think? Although this months SSB is nothing to write home about, I think its up there with the boxes I've gained most use from. The only product I probably won't use is the Welda night cream. Apart from that bring it on! 

Hope you girls are okay! Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I am backkk ;)

Tuesday 6 November 2012

GlossyBox | Think Pink Exclusive Edition

This month Glossy Box began their Exclusive Editions, with the 1st entitled 'Think Pink'. The exclusive editions boxes are available to only active subscribers. They are a little more expensive then the monthly subscription box, but in my opinion the contents were completely worth it this month! :) Each exclusive box will have a contents theme - this months theme was great skin & great hair.

So, I thought I'd show you what this little beauty contains... 


One thing that is always consistent with GlossyBox is their gorgeous packaging! & these exclusive boxes look even cuter. I'm loving the hot pink box too - definitely a keeper. Like JolieBox, the exclusive GlossyBox's come with a little 16 page mag. I'm loving this feature! The mag contains a few beauty articles & plenty of information on the products received. 

Here's what I got ...

Clean Slate high protein aloe-rich cleanser by Mama Mio
Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask by REN - CANNOT wait to try this! Seen soo many positive reviews. 
Truth Serum collagen booster by Ole Heneriksen
Radiance 24/7 Youth Booster by Kosmea
Moroccan Oil Treatment by  Moroccan Oil - Couldn't love this anymore!

Love love love this box! All of the products are highly raved about, so I'm expecting good things :) Particularly pleased about the REN & Moroccan oil products, but I'll be putting them all to good use. 

So, what do you guys think about their first exclusive editions box? I'm loving the concept & will definitely be looking out for their next one :)

Sunday 4 November 2012

OPI | Skyfall collection

If you guys saw my last post you'll already know my love for James Bond (more importantly - Daniel Craig! Mmm). & if you're a frequent reader you'll definitely be familiar with my love of OPI! So when the 2 collaborated I died & went to heaven! Well, maybe not.. but I was a very happy girl! 

I'm such a saddo that I was checking my local beauty warehouse on a weekly basis, waiting for these bad boys to hit the shelves! Then when they did, I didn't hesitate on chucking the majority of them in my basket. The collection contains 12 different polishes, of which I own 9. (Only 8 are pictured below, I may have bought another 1 after taking these pictures ;) ). 

L-R: You only live twice, the world is not enough, the spy who loved me, casino royale, on her majesty's secret service, the living daylights, goldeneye & live & let die. 

The additional polish is Skyfall & can be seen in a NOTD post here

Now, lets take a closer look at these gorgeous polishes :D

L-R: Goldeneye, Live & Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me & Casino Royale.

Goldeneye. Goldeneye can be seen swatched in a NOTD here. This polish contains gorgeous gold foil flakes. I initially thought it would work only as a topcoat, over a base colour; but actually it is fully opaque after just 2 coats. It's a really beautiful polish with a very glam finish!
Live & Let Die. A gorgeous dark emerald/green with tiny gold flecks running throughout. 
The Spy Who Loved Me. Can be seen swatched below. I love this polish! It's a really vibrant orange-toned red. It almost has a jelly affect & leaves a lovely glossy finish. Tiny gold flecks run throughout the polish, making it perfect for the Christmas season ahead :D
Casino Royale. A berry purple shade, with a creme finish. 

L-R: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Living Daylights, You Only Live Twice & The World Is Not Enough. 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A silvery-blue base with green, blue & silver flecks running throughout. 
The Living Daylights. Can be seen swatched below. I love this polish! It makes a great top coat, but can also be layered to full opacity. It's a clear polish containing hexagonal glitters of blue, gold, bronze & silver. The glitters are flat, therefore leaving a smooth surface, unlike many other glitters. 
You Only Live Twice. This is one of my faves! It's a base of magenta pink, with gold flecks running throughout. Like The Spy Who Loved Me, it leave a lovely jelly finish. Gorgeous polish if you're a pink lover like me :) 
The World Is Not Enough. This one is quite hard to explain. It's base colour is almost a bronze/taupe shade with tiny pink, green & brown flecks running through. The colours combined gives it a kind of rose gold finish. 

As well as the 12 Skyfall polishes, OPI also created a limited edition masterpiece! The Man With The Golden Gun is a topcoat polish containing real 18K gold, can you believe?! 18K gold on your nails?! Wow. I just couldn't resist. This is going to look PERFECT during the Christmas period :D


After my massive splurge I just had to go home & try some of these bad boys out! Below is The Spy Who Loved Me with The Living Daylights on my accent nails. 


I get way too excited over OPI collections! But, the Skyfall collection is, by far, my favourite. Lemme know your opinions on the Skyfall collection & other OPI collections you'd recommend. 


Friday 2 November 2012

NOTD | Skyfall

My lovely boyfriend took me to see Skyfall on Monday night. It was ahhhhhh-mazing! I love a bit of James Bond, me. I definitely recommend it, it's best Bond I've seen. & Daniel Craig...


Mmm, what a dream?!

Anyways! I enjoyed the film so much I couldn't resist painting my nails in Skyfall from the new OPI Skyfall collection. It's quite a nice colour for the Autumn, with it being a dark red, & now that Halloween is over I feel it's appropriate to say it's nice & Christmassy too!? Taking the Christmas theme a little further I added Goldeneye to my accent nails. Goldeneye is also a polish from the OPI Skyfall collection.

I've cut my nails fairly short just this time round, as they were just driving me crazy with peeling! They never use to be like this. If anybody has any tips to stop the pain that is peeling nails, pretty please let me know :)




I have such a love-hate relationship with Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri topcoat! I love how it dries my nails soo quickly & leaves a great shine, but whyy do you keep leaving little bubbles all over my polish?! It really ruins the finish of the manicure. Everybody raves about this top coat, so I'm not sure if it's just me that experiences this? Lemme know if any of you girls use Insta-Dri & what you think!


Wednesday 31 October 2012

Empties | October

Another month, another empties post! It's quite scary how fast these months are flying by, but I'm so so excited for Christmas that I don't mind! :D 

Let's have a look what I've worked through this month...


  • Supersoft volumising hairspray by Schwarzkopf. My lovely mother bought me this hairspray, after I said I really liked the one that she used, which was obviously this one :) I never buy a regular hairspray, but I think this might just be the one. It holds really well but doesn't leave my hair sticky or crispy. It also has quite a nice scent - kinda fruit. Would I repurchase? Definitely.
  • Hair growth treatment by Lee Stafford. This is my 3rd tub now, I've been using this religiously & love it. It's really helped improve the health & length of my hair. Check out my review here :) Would I repurchase? 1000 times over!
  • Healing oil spray by Macadamia. I bought this little 60ml size so I could give it a try. I'm in love with hair oils & treatments at the moment, this is just another fab one I've found. I love that it comes with a spritzer, instead of just pouring oil into your hands, & it smells gorgggeous! Would I repurchase? Yep :)
  • Satin care pure & delicate shave gel by Gillette. I went through a bit of a lazy phase & stopped using shaving gel, but fear not girls, I'm back on it haha. My legs feel so much better using gel, I don't know why I stopped :\ Would I repurchase? I already have, but I bought a nicer fragranced one :)
  • Nourishing nail polish remover by Cutex. I don't really know what can be said about polish remover...? It takes off my varnish & that's about it. Would I repurchase? Already have done. 
  • Dermo sensitive deodorant by Sanex. This is a bit of a boring product, but I thought I'd include it. I've used this deodorant for so long, as I have sensitive armpits (aww) & I thought this was the only deodorant that I could use. Butt, I've found another! If any of you have sensitive armpits try out Nivea's pearl deodorant. Would I repurchase? Yeah, but sorry Sanex, I prefer my new shiny Nivea pearl. 
  • Romantic spark by Impulse. I always have a body spray in my bag & go through them quite fast. Currently I've been buying all different scents, to see which I like best. This is definitely one of my favourites, it's a real girly scent & reminds me of Palma Violets :) Would I repurchase? Definitely. 
  • Moisturising wipes by Simple Baby. Face wipes aren't suppose to be all that good for you skin, but I use these before I cleanse, so it can't be that bad! I choose the baby ones, over the normal ones; because they're cheaper, they contain loads more wipes & the wipes themselves are bigger. Would I repurchase? Always, always do :)
  • The falsies black drama mascara by Maybelline. I always repurchase this mascara. It's the best high street mascara I think I've came across yet. It elongates my lashes & really thickens them too. I use this religously for my day-to-day mascara (& They're Real! by Benefit for nights out). Would I repurchase? Already have!
  • Skin illusion foundation by Clarins. I got this sample from inside a magazine, InStyle maybe. I don't really know what to say. I don't think anybody could really have much of an opinion on something after only using it once. It was a nice foundation, smelt nice too! But, nothing amazing. Would I repurchase? Probably not. 
  • 5 minute facial by Radial. I had quite high hopes for this product, I'm not sure why.. maybe because of the expensive price tag for the full sized product, or the sleek packaging, hmm? But yeah, it didn't really do anything :S My skin didn't feel amazing afterwards, like it usually does with other face masks. Would I repurchase? Nope!
  • It's potent eye cream by Benefit. This little sample actually lasted me quite while! I loved using this. I'm not sure that it really did much to my eyes, I feel like it brightened the skin around them, so we'll say it did! But who knows?! Regardless, I really enjoyed using this. Would I repurchase? Yeah, I think I might add this to my Christmas list actually :) 
I wish you all the best November girlies! :D Ahh, December next month!! How exciting.


Monday 29 October 2012

Acrylic drawers from Wilkinson!

If I had a pound every time I read a post or watched a YouTube video of a beauty blogger with acrylic drawers I would be rich, I tell you, RICH! Annnd, well, being the easily led girl I am I eventually wanted my own. Most you will probably know the drawers I'm on about already.

I really wanted my own so I could organise my make-up in a way it can be seen & easily accessed. But all the posts & videos I'd seen contained drawers brought from Muji. Now, although Birmingham centre is only 20 minutes on the train, it just seems so much more effort than my close town... uhm, lazy! So I was going to wait patiently, like a good little girl, until I found myself in Brum. Buttt, behold! I was in Wilkinson the other day & look what I found :D Acrylic drawers. I thought I'd share this little find with you, cause I know Muji isn't a store located close to everybody.


This little beaute was £10 & is perfect for what I wanted it to hold! It has 3 drawers which are wide enough & deep enough to store all sorts of make-up. I'm using mine to store make-up I'd go for on a regular day, instead of rummaging through my big vanity case. 


& here's my little set up :) My jar of cotton pads is an old Yankee Candle. Check out this post if you wanna know how to recycle your candle jars :D

On a completely different note... have you girls had a good weekend?! Any Halloween celebrations? I mentioned in a previous post that I worked on Saturday night (at a bar) & we had our Halloween party. It was amaaazing! We had cage dancers, stilt walkers, fire breathers, shot girls etc etc. I was outside (freezing!) working on the garden bar. It was a fab night, but very busy & a little stressful. Loved it nontheless. I did say I'd show you a picture of my zombie nurse self. Unfortunately I was in such a rush getting ready that I didn't get chance to take a full length photo. I was far too busy setting my sister up as a zombie geek & my boyfriend as a woman/the joker, haha. But anyways, I managed to get a photo of my make up :)



Lemme know what you guys got up to!

Jen xo

Saturday 27 October 2012

I heart fall! | Tag

I saw this tag on one of my fave YouTubers channel - FleurdeForce. & as I couldn't agree with it's title any more I thought I'd give it a go :)

So, here goes...

Favourite fall lip product? Most of you will probably be familar with this lippy by now... it's the shade 107 from Kate Moss' matte collection. I'ts the perfect autumn/winter berry colour :) I love Kate's lippys too! Great formula & they smell like VK Cherry! Check out my gormy face sporting 107 ;)


Favourite fall nail polish? I haven't had these for long, but I know I'm going to be wearing them so much throughout autumn/winter. It's 'The Living Daylights' & 'Skyfall' from the Skyfall OPI collection. OPI is my fave ever polish & I just love Bond, so this was an easy decision :)


Favourite Starbucks fall drink? I haven't been to a coffee shop yet this Autumn, so I'm not sure. Can't wait to try them all out though! For now I'll say chai tea latte. 

Favourite fall candle? You'll all know this by now, but I looovee Yankee Candles! My fave at the moment is orange spice.

Favourite fall scarf? Well, I prefer snoods to scarf. I find scarfs to be so annoying & they never stay were you put them, but snoods just sit snug round your neck. I started a bit of a collection this wear, but haven't worn them all yet. So this one is my fave :) It's so thick & soft! It's from Dorothy Perkins, in case you were wondering ;) 



Haunted house, haunted hay ride or haunted corn maze? Ahh, none! They all sound horrible, haha. Thankfully we don't really have these attractions in the UK. I'll just stick to my Halloween parties ;) 

Favourite Halloween movie? I'm such a wuss, I hate scary movies! I know it's mostly a Christmas movie, but I'm gonna say The Nightmare Before Christmas. 


Favourite candy to eat on Halloween? They aren't entirely candy, but I'm quite a fan of toffee apples. In fact there's one in the kitchen waiting for me :) Apart from that I'm a sour sweet kinda gal!

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? I'm working tonight (at a bar) & it's our Halloween party. I'm so excited!! I'm dressing up as a zombie nurse, can't wait! 

What's your favourite thing about fall? This is so easy, but I could pick thousands of things! I love the snug clothes, & accessories like snoods. I love nights in the warm with a film & hot chocolate. I love getting excited for Christmas & buying presents. I love all the associated scents, like spices & cinnamon. I love the colours.Okay, I'll stop ;) 

I tag all you girls that love Autumn to do this tag :D Have a great weekend my lovelies! Jen xo

Friday 26 October 2012

What happens when I get left alone..

Happy Friday girlies :D I hope you all have something fab planned for your weekend. I'm so excited for tomorrow night. I work in a really busy club on the weekends & tomorrow we have our Halloween party! I lurrve Halloween & dressing up! This year I'm gonna be a zombie nurse, I'll post photos if I look any good ;)

Last weekend was a little different. I was left to my own devices. & like a little puppy, I don't like being on my own, haha. My parents had gone on holiday, my boyfriend was away with the Marines, my sister was out enjoying her new relationship (aww!) & all my friends seemed to be busy. Boo, lets get out the violins! It's dangerous when I'm left alone, I always seem to do the same thing... spend money! I always, always do this haha. Whether it's internet shopping or a trip to Merry Hill. I decided on Merry Hill over the internet & off I went...

I mainly bought presents for other people (crimbo - ahhh excited!). Some of which I can't show you, just in case he see's this post, but I'll show you the others & what I bought myself :)

























  • Falsies mascara by Maybelline. Love this mascara! It's my go-to for day time wear. It really opens up your eyes & makes your lashes look full & long. 
  • Lip liner in Almond by Natural Collection. I grabbed this lip liner in the hope it will pair with my Kate Moss lippy in 113. It was the nudest-type liner I could find. I haven't tried it out yet, but hopefully it works! If anyone has any suggestions pretty please lemme know :) 
  • Eye liner in Nude by Rimmel. I saw Tanya Burr (Pixi2woo) use this in her latest make-up look for Taylor Swift. She used it on the water line & it really opened up her eyes & made them look brighter. Thought I'd give it a whirl!
  • Cleanser in Seaweed by The Body Shop. This cleanser is now a staple in my skincare regime. I love the seaweed range, it's great for combination/oily skin. 
  • Stay Matte pressed powder by Rimmel. The camera has washed it out a little, but I promise it's there :) I've heard quite a lot of good things about this powder by many bbloggers/YouTubers. Plus fact, my No7 powder is really big & bulky, so I thought I'd try out this one & it's more compact.
  • Love At First Blush by Soap & Glory. I bought this for my MommaBear for Crimbo. I caught her looking at it in the airport during the summer. Mental note was made & completed!
  • Rose & pistachio coconut delight by Pariya. I bought these for my sister from Harvey Nichols. They look absolutely gorgeous! Not a very gorgeous price tag to match tho.. I look forward to stealing one on Xmas day! ;) 
  • T-shirt from Topshop. It's a really long, baggy black tee & has slits up both sides. I'm thinking maybe over a pair of leggings/tights & ruffled up with a waist belt. Hmm, I'll have to have a play. 
  • Yankee Candles. Oh my, I just looooove these bad boys! I've became obsessed lately & couldn't resist picking up a couple a couple of the Xmas scents. I went for Christmas rose, Christmas eve, sugared apple & red apple wreath. 
  • Black studded cardy from Ark. I love Ark! If you guys haven't been to an Ark store yet, find one & go! They have such nice, on-trend clothes at really decent prices. I got this one as I don't have a black cardy & it's so nice & cosy :)
  • Black & white jumper from Topshop. A nice, simple jumper for the cold days!
  • Snood from River Island. This snood is a much nicer green shade then it looks in the picy. I love my snoods & I just had to add one more to more collection ;)
So there are my little buys! Hopefully I don't get left by myself again any time soon. My purse just can't take it! ;)

Have a nice weekend my lovelies! Jen xo



Wednesday 24 October 2012

The Comforter | LUSH

I know that the comforter is nothing new & has circled the beauty blogosphere plenty of times. BUTTT, I used it for the first time the other day & it was soo lush (literally!) I couldn't not feature it. 


So, what is the comforter? It's a bubble bar from Lush that retails at £4.25. It's used as a replacement to bubble bath. No ordinary bubble bath is this! When you crumble the bar under a warm running tap it completely transforms your bath into a pink fluffy dream! It creates a mass of bubbles, turns your bath water a gorgeous pink shade &, on top of that, smells deliciously like blackberries. 

Other bonuses are that the pink-ness of the water doesn't stain your tub & is easily cleaned. As a not-so-domestic girl this was one of my worries! The comforter, unlike some of LUSH's other bath products (for example Ceridwens Cauldron) can be used multiple times. So it doesn't feel like your paying a million pounds for just one bath... slight exaggeration. I broke mine into quarters, so I can have 4 amazing pink fluffy baths :)


How amazing does that look?! Anybody who thinks that that doesn't look incredibly inviting needs their head looking at ;)

Ahh, I just love it. Definitely recommend this product. I know I'll be repurchasing :D

Half way through the week girls, think Friday! Jen xo

Monday 22 October 2012

Recycle your Yankee Candle jars

I have a confession here girls: I have a major addiction to Yankee Candles!! I bloody love 'em! I always always have one of them burning in my room (& at my boyfriends!) & I simply can't walk past a Clintons without going in to have my sniff fix. 

My lovely little sister bought me one of the massive jars for my birthday back in July. It has lasted me soo long & it will be dearly missed, haha. Though I do already have a new one burning ;) But anyways, onto subject... I absolutely hate throwing things away. Especially when I know they could be used for storage. You'll already know this about me if you saw my posts on re-using beauty boxes & GU pots. So when I got the end of my Yankee Candle I couldn't bare to throw it away. So here's how I cleaned mine up & re-used it :)


It looks like there's still plenty of candle left but the wax is only at the sides of the jar & the wick had completely burned out. I just felt I had to justify that to you guys ;) 


So, I left the wax to completely harden & went at it with a butter knife! If the wax is completely solid it will easily crack when the knife is gently pushed into it. I emptied the hard wax & was left with tiny bits of residue  on the sides. With a bit of warm soapy water the residue washed away. Whilst I had the jar in warm water I peeled of the stickers & scrubbed at the sticky bits!


& Voila! You are left with a pretty jar that can be used for many many things. One idea that I had was to fill it with little gifts & give it somebody for Christmas. I also thought it would look fab (& yummy!) full of sweets. 


I opted for a more simple (yet efficient!) approach & have used it to store my cotton pads. To girlify it a little I tied a pink bow (from a GlossyBox) around the neck of the jar. It now sits beautifully on my dressing table :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend girlies, Jen xo

Saturday 20 October 2012

The Think Pink Tag

Many of you are probably already know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The lovely Rachel from Blush & Brunch tagged me in her post 'The think pink tag', & what a lovely post it is! The aim is to raise awareness of the disease & spread the word over our little blogging community. So that is exactly what I'm going to do :)


Here are the rules for the tag...

  1. Pick out your fave pink food, make-up, fashion, & random item.
  2. Spread the message about breast cancer to a female friend/family in your life - the awareness, the symptoms, the checks, the healthy foods that help prevent the disease... anything or everything! 
  3. Write a blog post about 1 & 2, linking back to Blush and Brunch. 
  4. Tag 3 of your blogger girlfriends to do the same.

Here are my faves :) 
Food - This may be cheating a little as I guess they're red, but shh ;) .. pomegranates!! I love 'em. They've just came into season too :)  
Make-up - My Rimmel lippy by Kate Moss in shade 20. It's quite a vibrant pink, but I wore it to my graduation ball & love it!
Fashion - Cause I have blonde hair I tend to stay away from pink clothing. Blonde hair + pink clothes = Barbie lookalike! But I do have a pink Topshop hoody that I love to wear when I'm lazing around the house.
Random - How pretty is that blossom?! I love this time of year when all the trees change colour & begin to fall. Just so pretty :D

Now for the serious stuff.. I figured instead of writing an essay on breast cancer & all it's factors, I would write just a few lines on one of things I think are most important... early diagnosis. As a biomedical scientist I'm very familiar with cancers & their progression. & breast cancer, like many other cancers, have a better outcome when they are detected early. So I found these little steps for us to all stay in tune with our boobs!
  1. Know what is normal to you!
  2. Look & feel your breasts (inc. upper chest & armpits too).
  3. Know what changes to look for (lumps, pain, dimpling of skin, change is shape/position of nippes, swelling under armpit).
  4. Report any changes without delay to your GP.
  5. Make sure you attend breast screening if you're over 50. 
I hope you guys liked this post & it's been informative :) Such a great cause! 

I tag... Jen from It's a Blondes Life!, Rach from RivaSoave & Helen from Helen Rambles On.

Have a good weekend girlies!! Jen xo 

Thursday 18 October 2012

GlossyBox | October '12

This months GB box was sent to help us brave these colder months with a few products for cosy nights in, or so that what the card states... I don't really think these are the best products they could have chosen, but hey ho! 



  • Don't Just Clean It Woman, Scrub It by Anatomicals. This scrub couldn't have came at a better time! I recently finished my Soap & Glory sugar crush & had no other scrub lined up. For starters I love the name of this scrub, & secondly it has a lovely pink grapefruit scent. It's not very abrasive, but is a really nice gentle exfoliator. Full size - £3.49.
  • 3 Step Day & Night Kit by Dermalogica. I think this is a great little kit to receive in a beauty box. But, I recently started a new skincare routine so I don't really wanna interrupt it. My motherhen mentioned last week that she'd like to try a new cleanser so I think I'll pop this in her Crimbo stocking. I've heard good things about Dermalogica too! Full size - £12.
  • Anti-Blemish by Skinetica. This product claims to clear blemishes quick sticks! I think it's on the same wave length of the Origins Super Spot Remover & the Clinique Anti-Blemish gel. Hopefully it will be just as good as those two! Full size - £ 6.99.
  • Moisturising Cream Lipstick in Framboise by Yves Rocher. I really like this brand, I've tried out their mascara before & loved it! This lovely lippy seems to be of the same great quality. It feels so creamy & moisturising on the lips. The colour is a little red for more, but I'm sure I'll put it to good use. Full size - £14.50.
I think this month's GB is pretty good & a lot better then they have been recently. Although I'll be giving the skincare kit to my Mom, I'll be putting everything else to use. Fingers crossed the anti-blemish product works! 

Hope you girlies are all well :) 

Jen xo