Review: The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid 5%
18 December 2017 • skin talk, skincare, skincare hero, The Ordinary
I'm finally back to blogging, I've been taking some time away from blogging to settle into my new job and also for just a bit of self-care, however, I really wanted to get this post up as I'm in love with this product. It was also meant to be up a long time ago, as I was meant to review it alongside The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA, so I'm really slacking! By now we know what The Ordinary is about, but if you're not sure they focus on quality key ingredients without the expensive price tag, but more info can be found by reading here and here.
[guest post] It’s the Holiday Season: A Lazy Girl’s Glam Guide
27 November 2017 • skincare
The holidays are coming, yay! Between all the gift-giving, partying, booze, and fun time with friends, putting together great outfits can get exhausting for us lazy gals who just want to chill out a bit and have a good time. Who are these crazy people who spend more than two hours getting ready and why are they so damn flawless? Well, for you, our darling lazy fashionista, here are some great hacks that will have you looking smokin’ hot with minimal effort involved.
Amsterdam - Day 3
14 November 2017 • amsterdam, holiday, travelling, trips
I'm so excited to share the pictures from day 3 in Amsterdam because we stumbled across a gem that day! I actually woke up in a horrific mood but taking the ferry, finding this place and sitting by the water helped me out so much. I feel like this post also contains a lot of pictures that are just so classic of Amsterdam - I'm just in love with the city!
Amsterdam - Day 2
6 November 2017 • amsterdam, food, holiday, travelling, trips
Day 2 of my time in Amsterdam, I really wanted to combine day 2 and 3 but there are just so many pictures that I didn't feel okay with spamming my one post with them!
We were in Amsterdam when the red sun was all over England but it seemed it hit Amsterdam the next day and it was also super chilly. Whereas we were fortunate with the weather the day before, Tuesday was cold because there was so much wind - however that didn't stop us going out to explore.
Amsterdam - Day 1
30 October 2017 • amsterdam, food, holiday, travelling
I have truly caught the travelling bug! My plans for this year were to actually travel outside of Europe but tbh everywhere I’ve been this year has been great so I can’t even complain. What I thought was my final trip of the year (it’s not I’ve managed to sneak in a quick trip to Disneyland Paris in December) was to Amsterdam. I visited Amsterdam last year September and when a friend wanted to go back this year I was like yes! I absolutely loved it last time so I was more than happy to use up some of the free time I had, in what I like to call one of my favourite cities.
This time I stayed in Amsterdam for 3 nights and arrived in the afternoon on a Monday, we stayed at The Grand Hotel Downtown – I will hopefully do a review of that if I haven’t gone overboard on the Amsterdam posts! We stayed in their penthouse and had a lovely terrace that I admittedly didn’t make much use of but still, it was affordable and provided great views of the city!
This time I stayed in Amsterdam for 3 nights and arrived in the afternoon on a Monday, we stayed at The Grand Hotel Downtown – I will hopefully do a review of that if I haven’t gone overboard on the Amsterdam posts! We stayed in their penthouse and had a lovely terrace that I admittedly didn’t make much use of but still, it was affordable and provided great views of the city!
Review: The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA
24 October 2017 • skin talk, skincare, The Ordinary
I'm finally back with a blog post and I'm back to talking skincare! I'm back to talking about The Ordinary as I stated in my last post when I reviewed the Niacinamide 10%, I wanted to try a couple more of their products so I ordered the Alpha Lipoic Acid and Alpha Arbutin at the end of May and I’ve used them long enough to give my final opinion on both of them (Alpha Lipioc Acid review is coming soon). I’ve blabbed on about The Ordinary and their aim and who they are, so definitely have a read if you want to find out more about the brand. Briefly, though - they aim to provide high-quality skincare ingredients at a fair price and their products range between £5 - £12.
Exploring the UK: One night at Hotel Du Vin, York
9 October 2017 • travelling, UK, York
As promised in my last post I wanted to talk about where I stayed whilst I was in York. We ended up choosing Hotel Du Vin, which is a chain of hotels, because I fell in love with the mezzanine double room. It had the bed and toilet on one floor and the bathroom with a shower on another. It was adorable and I fell in love with the roll top bath as expected so we decided this would be our choice of lodging for our time in York.
Exploring the UK: A trip to York, England.
2 October 2017 • travelling, trips, UK, York
I’m back with another trip – this time to York. We arrived at Kings Cross, had a lovely breakfast on the train before arriving into York at around lunchtime.
[guest post] 7 Fall Beauty Trends Revealed
18 September 2017 • beauty, make-up
Depending on what kind of calendar you rely on – meteorological or astronomical, Fall has already arrived with the arrival of September 1st or will arrive come the 22nd. Regardless of what belief you cling to, the reality is this – the minute temperatures dropped signified the arrival of glorious Fall, and the season comes with its own set of unique rules and trends to abide by, in terms of fashion, skincare, makeup as well as hair. This is a huge shift and you should welcome it fully prepared.
Exploring London: The Hive, Kew Gardens
11 September 2017 • town: london
Last month I went to Kew Gardens for the first time ever! I went to see The Hive which is described as 'a unique, multi-sensory experience designed to highlight the extraordinary life of bees. A feat of British engineering, it stands 17 metres tall, set in a wildflower meadow.'
Exploring London: August eats
4 September 2017 • food, town: london
So as someone who spends a lot of her income on food (I don’t even want to find what % it is) I thought I’d share some of the places I’ve eaten in during August. Hopefully doing this series will force me to bring my DSLR more to get some quality pics. I don’t think I’ll be going down the route of reviewing places just yet, but I think my food choices are banging so I consider it a duty to share.
1. Zeytin Restaurant – Greenwich
Crossing the river in search of Turkish food on the recommendation from friends that this place is “so good”, led me to Zeytin, and I concur it was great. Four of us pitched up here and basically ordered everything on the menu. I went all out and ended up taking some chicken and lamb shish home because shish is too good to leave behind.
Harry Potter gift guide
28 August 2017 • bedroom interior, gift guide, Harry Potter
I was going to post today about housewarming gifts as I'm in the process of buying one for my friend who has moved into a new place, but I got really sidetracked by all the Harry Potter stuff I found on Pinterest. There are so many gems and I just had to share, as I think I basically have a gift guide for every interest and it's never too late to start with the gift guides now that we're on the final bank holiday before all the Christmas planning comes in!
[GUEST POST] Infographic - 6 easy thing you can do to get rid of oily skin
14 August 2017 • skin talk, skincare
Today we're back to talking about skincare and I have guest blogger Hannah Do talking about what you can do to get rid of oily skin - enjoy!
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For most people with oily skin, you need to have guts if you want to use makeup products on your skin. Apply anything that’s too occlusive or harsh and you can end up not just with excessive shine and grease, but acne and clogged pores, too.
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For most people with oily skin, you need to have guts if you want to use makeup products on your skin. Apply anything that’s too occlusive or harsh and you can end up not just with excessive shine and grease, but acne and clogged pores, too.
The truth, however, is that it’s possible for you to use cosmetics without compromising your skin. The trick is in finding the right products with the right formula and ingredients that can match your skin type.
Foundations, for example, should be lightweight and oil-free. You should also look for something that’s mattifying to help curb your skin’s oil production.
You can consider investing in a non comedogenic primer, too. Primers are a great help in creating a smoother canvas and in keeping your makeup in place longer.
As for blushes and bronzers, it’s best to stick with powder formulations. Apart from that they won’t add more shine to your skin, they can also absorb excess oil.
Set everything with a translucent powder. You can use a powder brush to lightly dust off some powder on your face or use a puff or sponge to press the product on your skin.
Now, to tackle the root cause of the problem, you have to consider starting a proper skin care routine. Here’s an infographic to help you get rid of oily skin for good.
Nice, Côte d'Azur - Day 4
7 August 2017 • holiday, Nice, travelling
So this is my final post on my wonderful trip to Nice. I did stay for one more day but I really didn't do much as my flight was at 3pm. The 4th day was a really lovely chilled day, after much drinking the night before we had a lazy morning and breakfast in the garden. We then went on to the beach via a lovely little walk through the park.
Nice, Côte d'Azur - Day 3
31 July 2017 • France, holiday, Nice, travelling
So instead of having this post up during the week, I decided to stick to my usual Monday posting because I just did not have time during the week to get these all up! Today I'm sharing my day 3 in Nice. It's so lovely to look back over these photos because I can safely say this was the best holiday ever! The sea was so blue (and cold), the weather was beautiful, I was in great company and I ate amazing food! Day 3 features breakfast in the Airbnb garden, walking along the promenade and going to Castle Hill. We did this all in the afternoon after a lazy morning. The views from Castle Hill are so so beautiful, scroll down for the beautiful pictures!
Nice, Côte d'Azur & Monaco - Day 1 & 2
24 July 2017 • France, holiday, Nice, travelling
Review: Deceim The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
26 June 2017 • Deceim, skin talk, skincare, The Ordinary
Today's review is a product from The Ordinary. This is the newest brand from Deciem (the parent company) with the aim of skincare that works at an affordable price. They took the beauty world by storm by offering treatments that typically cost a fortune from other brands at a fair price point. The simple deal with the products in The Ordinary’s range is that they are products that contain one or two key active ingredients that you can combine with others from their range to create the most effective skincare routine for yourself. By using the most concentrated form of an ingredient you should theoretically see results quicker. The aim to show that skincare doesn’t have to be expensive and that a lot of what we pay for with other brands is packaging, marketing and branding. The products in the The Ordinary brand range between £5 and £10 (aside from Buffet which is about £12) and can be bought through their online store or other online retailers.
Kilmainham Gaol - Dublin, Ireland
19 June 2017 • Dublin, Ireland, travelling
So as I mentioned in my last post I visited the Kilmainham Goal on my birthday. I love doing cultural things on my birthday (last year I spent it in the Natural History Museum in NY), so I decided the Goal in Dublin would really interesting (spoiler it was).
Kilmainham Gaol is now a museum but it was a former prison until 1924. The tour covers the political history of the prison and Ireland and also touches on how it was built and restored. The prison played a large part in Irish history, holding a lot of the leaders Irish Republic and even one of Ireland's presidents. The prison also used to perform hanging which took place at the front of the prison, they also carried out executions. We ended our tour in the yard where they have marked out graves for four Republican prisoners, who were shot in that yard. It was a really sombre moment when our tour guide said this and then said it was the end of the tour. The history behind this place is fascinating though and as you wander around it, you can't help but think about how awful it would have been to stay here but also how cold it would have been. I felt that walking these ground you couldn't help but feel how sad life was within these walls. There were, of course, people who were treated quite well in this prison but all of that is spoken about on the tour!
Just before the tour began! |
A birthday trip to Dublin!
12 June 2017 • birthday, Dublin, holiday, Ireland, travelling
Last month I celebrated my 26th birthday in Dublin. Dublin is one of my favourite cities - Irish people are so friendly and the Temple Bar area is just great for talking to random people (Irish and not) and having a lovely time. Having been there before, I have seen most of the sites Dublin has to offer, but I did make a trip to Kilmainham Gaol (on my birthday of all days) and pictures of that will be up in my next post.
Snapshots - London
22 May 2017 • snapshots, town: london
A couple of weekends ago in Carnaby Street, Kingly Court and Soho. I have loved playing around with Lightroom to edit these photos and I've decided to share my favourites.
Review: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Moisturiser
15 May 2017 • feature, skin talk, skincare, skincare hero
I don’t tend to post about a skincare product unless I’ve tested it for more than 8 weeks, but I had to make an exception for this newest product because it acted so quickly, that I have to share it with you all.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Moisturiser - £12.99 for 50ml
So over a month ago, I was suffering with some very dry skin, it was mainly around my nose, my mouth and particularly troublesome area – my left eyebrow. Nothing I had in my arsenal was working and for some reason I remembered that when this Neutrogena range came out it was heavily focused on hydrating and boosting the skin. So I managed to pick it up in the beginning of April and no joke, it cleared up those dry patches in a matter of days! Honestly, I was rejoicing because dry patches are an absolute drag, they are so noticeable on your skin and when you put foundation on it, it only seems to cling onto the dry patches!
Review: Sunday Riley Good Genes
24 April 2017 • skin talk, skincare, Sunday Riley
So I'm finally back with part two of my review of the Sunday Riley products I've tried, my first post was on the Luna Sleeping Oil and it's still a firm product of mine. I mentioned in that post that I managed to get my hands on two products because I purchased the Power Couple Duo: Total Transformation Kit from Sephora which is priced at $85.
Day 2 - Cornbury Park, Chipping Norton & Bourton-on-the-Water
17 April 2017 • Oxford, travelling, UK, weekend break
Happy Easter Monday! With the long weekend afforded to me, I thought it was only right that I get this blog post up. So, after we left our lovely hotel room on Saturday that I spoke about in One Night at The Bull Inn, we decided to explore the area, so today here is part 2 of my Oxford visit.
One night at The Bull Inn, Chalbury
3 April 2017 • feature, Oxford, travelling, UK, weekend break
Last weekend my boyfriend and I headed off to Oxford for a belated birthday celebration for him. We were on a quest to find a pub room that had an amazing bath (his idea) because I frikkin love them, good food and nice places for walking. We ended up choosing The Bull Inn in Chalbury and it ticked all those boxes. I’m so glad he looks for these important things, I would have been happy with just a comfy bed! We had such a wonderful stay (with the roll top bath being the highlight, seriously look at my interior board to see how much I love baths) that I just had to review the place. I also took my DSLR with me and used the weekend to practice, so you'll have to forgive me for any out of focus shots! I shot on my 18-55m lens and a 50mm lens.
Spring picks
20 March 2017 • clothing, fashion, Minna Parikka, Missoma, NIKE, style, Topshop
Ahh, the change of weather only makes me want to pick up my card and shop some more and for some reason, I've really been drawn to colour. I think this whole spring thing is making drawing me to light and fresh look, rather than my usual black attire. So I've been saving things here and there in the hopes that I can get my hands on them, however, March has been an expensive month so a girl can always dream...
Skincare hero - Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil
20 February 2017 • skin talk, skincare, skincare hero
Today I'm bringing a post that has been on the cards for a while, it's just taken me a long bloody time to write it. I'm going to be reviewing two Sunday Riley products on my blog, but today will just be part 1 which is the Luna Oil and then my next skincare post will be on the Sunday Riley Good Genes. I purchased them together as part of the Power Couple Duo: Total Transformation Kit from Sephora but it's only available in the US, so my boyfriend kindly got this for me when he went in November. Lord knows I was not about to spend over £80 on one product but in this duo pack, I spent $85 and got to try them both and I'm so frikkin happy that I did. Within this pack you, get 15ml of the Luna Oil, the normal size is a 30ml oil which retails at £85.00.
Yoga - 3 poses to master
30 January 2017 • exercise, yoga
Last year I enrolled in two yoga classes at TriYoga, they were both so-so to me, but for some reason the second class really ignited a change in me. I’ve practiced yoga on and off for the past 4 years, but after the second class in October I was practicing at least three times a week. It began with a simple sun salutation (I) that was the homework of my class and then after that I was hooked. I’ve mentioned so many times that Sarah Beth Yoga is my go-to place for practicing on YouTube, for me personally she makes a great variety of videos that incorporate different types of yoga (Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative) and different lengths. Her teaching style is one that I can follow and I like her personality. So I began doing two 15-minute videos and then moved into 30 minute videos and then doing two 30-minute ones and soon my practice was up to an hour on the days I practiced. This month I’ve been taking part in the yoga challenge and I’ve missed about 7 days I think, but overall I’ve practiced yoga more this month than ever!
My current make-up routine
23 January 2017 • beauty, eye products, eyebrows, eyeliner, make-up
I tried to do this post back in 2016 but as I really wasn’t into blogging it just sat in my draft for a while (the only thing I’d written as the title). So I thought I’d give it a go again, it also made me revisit my 2015 post (My Daily Make-Up Routine + Swatches) and see what has changed and I’d say about 50% is the same. So we have progress and progress is good! As much hasn’t changed in terms of my tools, I didn’t go ahead and photograph everything, but I thought I’d share the new products that I’m now using.
My top 10 moments in 2016
16 January 2017 • holiday, learning curve, life lessons
I was originally going to talk about the things I learned in 2016, but I realised that would mean delving into some bad stuff and possibly offering advice on things I probably haven’t finished learning yet. So instead I decided to go with all the good things that happened in 2016! With it being “blue Monday” I thought it would be apt! I hope everyone is having an okay day today – personally I don’t believe in this “most depressing day of the year” crap as I guarantee you I will have more during the year!
ASOS Beauty Calendar 2016 - reveal
9 January 2017 • asos, beauty, beauty box
Happy 2017!
I know we’re in 2017 but, I thought I would kick off the month by rounding up all the products I received in my ASOS Beauty Calendar last year – I was sharing a lot of the pictures over on my Twitter and Instagram, but it was such a lovely calendar to have that I had to share it on my blog. I will have to make a mental note to myself to share this in November this year but until then, here are my thoughts about the calendar and a full list of everything I received.
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