September Skincare

Happy September guys!

I love Autumn and while I'm sad to be saying goodbye to the last of the British Summertime, I am ready to embrace all the things I love about Autumn. I can't wait to start wearing chunky knits and winter boots, sipping hot chocolate and crunching through the Autumn leaves!

Hope you guys all had a lovely Summer, mine was very up and down but good things are on the horizon :) 

I thought for my first September post, I would share with you my current skincare routine. My skin is normal/combination but recently has been more on the oily side with huge breakouts of spots..... (not fun.)

 

My daily skincare routine at the moment begins with cleansing my skin or removing makeup at night with the Loreal Paris Micellar Water. I love this product, it removes eye makeup so easily, even mascara and leaves my face feeling refreshed. 

When I'm showering,  I'll give my skin an extra cleansing boost with the La Roche-Posay Effaclar purifying foaming gel, this is a lovely cleansing product. You only need to use a small amount and it foams up nicely,  it is great for oily skin and helps to prevent breakouts from occurring. 

After cleansing, I'm currently using the Garner softening toner as it's important to include toner to keep the skin firm but soft. 

I've also been using the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo gel to treat the breakouts and I've noticed within a couple of days a visible reduction in the size and redness of the spots, I'd recommend it to anyone. 

Also I use the No7 day cream to add a little moisture and find that this leaves my skin lovely and soft.

I've also tried out the Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask from Lush this week as an added treatment for my oily skin. It states that it will give your skin a radiant glow and it is very exfoliating. I've only used it once so far but I find it leaves my skin lovely and soft and with an added glow/freshness. It also smells divine with the scents of almond and lavender and I recommend it to anyone with normal/combination skin like me. 

So that's my September skincare favourites, is there anything you guys can recommend for me to try for next month? 

Thanks for reading :)

Adele x

This Week I.....#1

Hey guys,

I've decided to start a little series of lifestyle posts about what I've been up to over the past 7 days as I know that these are the posts that I love reading the most on other lifestyle and beauty blogs. So here's a little round-up of what I've been up to this week.

This week I have been.....

Watching: Orange is the New Black

I'm a little bit behind everyone else but this weekend my friend Sophie and I had a Netflix binge and started watching Series 1 of OITNB. I have to say I'm hooked already. I love the fact that every episode focuses on a different character's back story and why they have ended up in prison and the witty dialogue and quirky characters have got me hooked! Give it a watch if you haven't already.

Eating: Bills

I'd heard of Bills in London and have been regularly perving at other bloggers' food porn on Instagram, so when a new Bills restaurant opened recently in Nottingham, I knew I had to try it out. I had a chicken and chorizo burger with avacado and skinny fries and it was so delicious I forgot to Instagram it before I tucked in, oops. I had just enough room to squeeze in a warm chocolate brownie with milk icecream and it was so good. I loved the sound of everything on the menu so I'll definitely be heading back there soon.

Listening: Banks

If you haven't already heard of Banks, Jillian Banks is a 26 year old singer-songwriter from LA. 

She came third in the BBC's Sound of 2014 list and she is on her way to major stardom. I absolutely love her RnB/electro sound combined with her very personal lyrics about relationships. Personal faves of mine include her acoustic cover of Aaliyah's ''Are You That Somebody?'' and recent single ''Brain''. Check her out and let me know what you think. 

Running: Race for Life 10k 

On Sunday, I ran my first ever 10k race and after a few months of training I was very happy with my time of 1hr 3 mins. It was for a great cause and my family and friends came down to cheer me on which definitely helped when I started to get a bit red faced, sweaty and tired. It was a brilliant experience and it was so lovely to see so many girls and women turning out to run for their loved ones that have been lost to cancer, it was an inspiration to me and I'm definitely going to be running again next year.

What have you guys been up to this past week?

Thanks for reading

Adele x

Home update...

Before....


Hey guys,

I haven't written for a few weeks and I've really missed blogging so I'm now officially back. I'm aiming to post more regularly from now on and I have lots of ideas for blog posts coming up soon. I've had a very rough few weeks which have been difficult for me but I'm now starting to come through the other side and I'm starting to feel much more positive.

I've been trying to keep busy recently and one project I've been working on is redecorating my bedroom. My bedroom walls were a shade of dark red and so the room never had much light and I found myself limited to homewares to suit the red walls. So I decided to lighten up my bedroom as this will make my bedroom a calmer, lighter place to be.

I decided to paint the walls a neutral shade and then incorperate colour with accessories and bedding. The shade I chose for the walls is Ivory White from the Dulux Once range. I painted all of the walls in this shade with a couple of coats and then focused on the accessories in the bedroom.

I then focused on accessories. Firstly,  this lovely new floral bedding is from the Range and cost £16 pounds. I love it because it's very Cath Kidston-esque but at a bargain price and it really brightens the room up. I then hung up some pictures and photographs of friends and family to brighten up the walls and inject some colour into the room.

I also treated myself to a Yankee Candle with a Vanilla Frosting fragrance. I love Yankee Candles and as I'm a fan of sweet smells this one is perfect for my new room. It was £13 from Asda.

I've still got a few things I'd like to add to the room, such as new cushions and I'd like to buy a new bedside table but for now I'm loving the result. I find it so much more relaxing and bright and my mood reflects this.

A vase I picked up from The Range, now I just need someone to buy me flowers....



Yankee Candle in Vanilla Frosting: £13 from Asda

Photos of friends and family...

I moved my chair by the window to create the perfect spot for reading.



This really does sum me up...

Any tips on what else to add to my bedroom? What are your favourite stores to shop for homewares?

Thanks for reading :)

Adele x





Bath Time Bliss......

Evening all.... I've just got back from a lovely, long weekend away in London and I decided to have a pamper night tonight in preparation for going back to work in the morning. After a weekend of festival fun at Field Day (Pixies blew my mind), I was ready to have a bath, read a book and drink a ridiculous amount of tea. So here's what I used during my pamper session.

Lush: You've Been Mangoed Bath Melt

This bath melt smells absolutely divine, it has a very fresh citrus scent and moisturised my skin beautifully. The scent lasted for my entire bath and it made my skin lovely and soft, I recommend Lush Bath Melts if your skin is dry and in need of moisture. 

Lush: Cupcake Fresh Face Mask

This face mask from Lush is great if you have oily/combination skin or spot prone skin. I have combination skin and find that this mask is a life saver when I'm having a skin crisis. It is quite thick to apply but you can add a little water to make it easier and I tend to leave it on for about 15 minutes whilst reading a book in the bath. As a self confessed chocoholic, I find the scent of this mask heavenly and it leaves my skin feeling brighter and much less oily. 

Soap and Glory: Butter Yourself Body Cream

After my mango bath melt, I decided to treat my dry skin even more and apply this body cream from Soap & Glory. I absolutely love this product because it absorbs really well, it isn't greasy at all and it leaves my skin feeling really soft. 

A perfect bath for me isn't just about the products you use but you also need a good book to help you forget life's daily stresses and a good soundtrack in the background. For me today the book I chose was Game of Thrones, which I'm finally getting round to reading after watching the TV series and my soundtrack was First Aid Kit's new album Stay Gold. I'm now feeling completely refreshed and ready to take on my first day back at work tomorrow (after some much needed caffeine in the morning!) 

Thanks for reading! What products do you guys recommend when you are pampering and treating yourself? Any recommendations? 

Adele x

Beauty favourites: May

Evening everyone...This post is slightly late as I wanted to post it at the end of May but time got away from me this week so here are my beauty favourites from May (better late than never!)

I've featured four products in my favourites this month, 1 of which is a trusty old favourite of mine the Benefit Dandelion blusher. The other 3 are 3 new products that I've tried out and loved in May! I've also featured a lovely little handmade box I purchased from Ivy Cottage Homeware to store some of my beauty products in an attempt to be more organised. 

The first new product I've loved this month is the Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist. First of all the packaging as you can see is just beautiful, it's just a shame it's made of glass as it can make it a bit of a pain to carry about. It has a beautiful floral scent and if you are a fan of sweet scents like me you will love it.

I posted about the next product Bourjous Rouge Edition Velvet in 02 Frambourjoise in my payday haul post and I have used it several times since then and I love it. It is a beautiful shade perfect for the day or for a more dressed up evening look and has a lovely matte finish. It lasts really well with few touch ups needed. 

This month I tried a hot cloth cleanser for the first time and I had heard great things about the Liz Earle one but decided to try No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser which I had read lots of positive reviews for. I have used this several times now and I'm really impressed with the results. It cleanses the skin very well and removes makeup easily, leaving my skin refreshed and clear. It doesn't dry my skin out, feels very luxurious and smells lovely.

Finally, my trusty favourite has been a regular in my makeup bag this month. I just love Benefit's Dandelion Blush, it leaves skin looking beautiful and bright and is perfect for a glowing complexion that still looks natural.

So those were my favourites for May, I'm sure it won't be long until I'm posting June's favourites as time is flying by, I can't believe we are half way through the year already. My mini goals for June are to blog more, read more and finally manage to run a 10k in preparation for race for life in July so wish me luck!

What are your goals for June and which products do you think I should test out this month?

Thanks for reading :)

Adele x

Payday Haul

Hey guys. It's almost the end of my 2 weeks off now (sniff) but I still have the bank holiday weekend to play with and yesterday was payday for me so I decided to treat myself to a few little purchases to try out over the weekend. I wanted to purchase some new makeup and decided to have a little splurge and thought I'd share with you what I bought. 

So here is a little list of the products above:

1) Benefit Dandelion Face Powder: I have used this little beauty before but repurchased it because I just love it. It is a beautiful pale pink colour, it's very subtle and is great for adding a natural looking glow. You can sweep it on your cheeks as a blush or add a light dusting all over to perk up your skin and give it a natural glow.

2) Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen WOW Brightening Makeup in ''Believe in Me'' Ivory: This is another repurchase but again I just absolutely love this foundation. I have tried lots of foundations in the past but I just find that this one really brightens and hydrates the skin beautifully and just gives you a glow. It blends really easily and can be used for a light to medium coverage. It gives you a dewy, natural look which I personally love, however if you prefer a matte look it may not be for you.

3) Bourjous Rouge Edition Velvet in  02 Frambourjoise: I love trying out new lipsticks so I thought I'd give this little beauty a go. I'm yet to try it out but I've read that it gives a long-lasting matte finish for up to 24 hours so I'm excited to try it out as I hate having to keep reapplying lipstick. You can either use your fingers to blend for a more subtle pout or use the applicator brush for a more intense look. I'll try both methods and review on the blog very soon!

4) Rimmel 60 Seconds Rita Ora Nail Polish in 873 Breakfast in Bed: This is another new purchase I'm excited to try. I normally use Topshop nail polishes but I'm excited to give Rimmel's 60 second range a try to see if they really do dry that quickly. I chose this shade because it's a beautiful mint shade and I'm loving pastels at the moment. I'll review this for you on the blog soon :)

Kimono: New Look £19.99

I also treated myself to this beautiful Kimono from New Look for £19.99. I'd been looking at lots of different ones on the web and really wanted to find a lovely one to wear to a festival I'm going to in June, so when I spotted this one in New Look yesterday I was pretty chuffed. I absolutely love the beautiful pale colours and I'll be throwing this on over some shorts and a plain top or a summery dress.

I'm pretty pleased with all the purchases I made and can't wait to try them all out. Have you guys tried out any new products you can recommend to me? Let me know. Thanks for reading :)

Adele x

Life lately...

One of my favourite places....

Hey guys! I haven't written a post for just under a week as I've been pretty busy. Life has been a bit up and down recently for lots of reasons and I guess this post is just a way for me to focus on the positive parts of my life at the moment. So I thought I'd write a little list of 10 things that are making me happy right now.

1) Annual Leave: I absolutely love my job but at times it can become quite stressful and tiring, so it's always lovely having some time to catch up with friends, family, my boyfriend and just having some ''me time.'' 

2) SUNSHINE! If you're from the U.K like me, you will have noticed that we've had a mini heatwave for the past few days. Apparently it's set to change this week, but it was lovely having a few days in the sunshine at the park eating icecream, drinking ice-cold drinks in the sun and topping up my freckle tan ;)

3) First Aid Kit's new song: My Silver Lining. It's beautiful and summery, has a little bit of a country feel to it but stays true to the duo's folk sound. I have listened to it on repeat for the past few days and their new album Stay Gold is out in June, can't wait! :)

4) Running: Now this may seem like a weird one, especially for any exercise-phobics out there! I started running regularly back in February in an effort to improve both my physical and mental health and I have to say I'm becoming addicted. I'm a red, sweaty mess during each run but the benefits I've gained from it have made me feel more confident, stronger and healthier. I'm also running my first 10k in July and I find it easier to keep going with a goal in mind. I'd advise anyone to give it a go.

5) Game of Thrones: One of the best things about annual leave is actually having the time to catch up on my favourite shows. I spent a good three hours yesterday catching up on GoT and I'm absolutely loving it. I have the first book which I want to start reading soon, but I'm a bit worried I'll end up confused reading the 1st book and watching the 4th season at the same time, ha!

6) Being able to paint my nails pretty colours because I'm off work, yippeeee!

7) Saturday night's curry night: I went for a curry on Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday with some friends and the boy and it was lovely, I had Lamb Bhuna and garlic naan and it was AMAZING!

8) Having some exciting things planned for the next few months definitely helps me when I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps. I'm going to Field Day in June to see Pixies, Metronomy and Sky Ferreira to name a few and I'm ridiculously excited. Then I have a lovely spa day coming up in July and hopefully going on holiday with the boy in September, eeeep.

9)  Having cuddles with cute animals always cheers me up; I met my friend's cat called Lucy the other day, she's a cute, fluffy little Persian and I got to have a little cuddle which made me pretty happy.

10) My bed: It may sound weird, but I'm loving being able to just catch up on sleep while I'm off work, I love naps and lie-ins and I rarely get to have them when I'm at work so I'm being extra lazy and treating 

myself!

I feel pretty positive after writing this post and I hope you've all enjoyed reading it too :)

And I'd love to know what's making you happy at the moment?  

Adele x

Beauty Favourites: April

Happy Bank Holiday Monday everyone and hello May. April has flown by as per usual and I can't believe that we are almost half-way through the year already, it'll soon be Christmas again! (Kidding!) I have tried and loved some new products in April and thought I'd share what I'm currently loving with you guys! :)

I decided to give the new Garnier Ultimate Blends Haircare products a try as I like switching up my shampoo and conditioner regularly. There are a few different products to try suitable for different hair types such as for coloured hair, however as I have a daily battle with the frizz and my hair is easily damaged I decided to try  'The Sleek Restorer' after hearing that it states that it can keep hair sleek for 72 hours! (Wow!) I've been using this for over a week now and I have to say I love it. It was on offer in Boots and it was a bargain. The scent of coconut oil and cocoa butter is gorgeous and has left my hair smelling like a pina colada! I'm really impressed with the results after using this shampoo and conditioner, it left my hair feeling smooth and manageable but not weighed down and felt as if I had been to the hairdressers and had a treatment. I'd recommend this product to anyone with a similar hair type and there's also a treatment and a Sleek perfector oil which I need to try out next.

As a huge Soap & Glory fan, I was excited to try the new Orangeasm Body Wash and I wasn't left disappointed. The scent of mandarin, Sicilian lemon and sweet orange peel oils is fresh and lovely, it smells of summer! It's a very light body wash and I love it so much I'm going to invest in the body spray too.

Until recently I was a La Roche-Posay virgin and after a particularly bad breakout of spots and a lot of moaning, a friend of mine recommended their Effaclar Duo (+) anti-blemish cream so I gave it a go. This product is a life-saver; after the first use I already could notice a difference, my spots were less angry and red. It is suitable for those with sensitive skin like myself and helps to unclog those pores. I'll always reach for this product when I'm having a breakout and would recommend it to all you ladies out there!

I absolutely love buying new lipsticks and a large percentage of my wages is spent investing in my lipstick collection. I wanted a new colour for Summer and chose Rimmel's Lasting Finish lipstick in 210 Coral In Gold. It's a beautiful shade, only costs £4.99 and really does last with few touch-ups.

So there you have it, feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you've tried these products and what you think. Or if you have any recommendations on what I should try this month then let me know!

Adele x