March Favourites

Can you beleive it's the end of March already?! Crazy! with the end of March comes the much expected March favourites! So this month I have been loving:  1) MAC eyeshadow in 'Star Violet': I think this has surpassed sable in rankins to be my all time favourite MAC eyeshadow. Thank you viviannadoesmakeup for mentioning this and thus it ending up in my life! 2) Fudge Urban range - the 'Iced coconut hairspray' - I got this with a dress I ordered from Motel and it's love. This smells amazing, usually I hate the smell of hairspray but this smells like happy hour in my hair and I LOVE it.  3) Blistex 'happy lips' in strawberry - I was gifted this( along with mango) at the blogger meet up and have been turning to these to help my lips out. They smell and taste amazing, really soft on the lips! ( expect a lip balm post in the next few days!)  4) lastly I have been loving the Illamasqua vintage metallix collection. these are just so soft and creamy and look amazing on. You can read my separate posts on these here and here What have you been loving this month? Ciao x .  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty: Illamasqua Vintage Metallix 'Courtier'

My second delve into Illamasqua was just as exciting as my first. I'm so in love with the vintage metallix collection that I had to get ' courtier' as well. It's a light pink with a rose gold tint, like ' Bibelot' it's full of glitter this time gold and silver that continues that rustic and romantic theme - If you love rose gold this is for you! It looks so different on than it does in the pot it was such a gorgeous surprise!  Although I am pale I still think 'Courtier' looks stunning on me but I think it would look great on any skin colour. It blends really nicely with brown shades to add a little more depth. These have great lasting power and like 'Bibelot' it has great buildability. I think having 'courtier' has convinced me that next wage I am adding 'Embellish' to my collection which is a brown kind of cocoa shade.  Please Illamasqua add some more!! A taupe or golden shade would be amazing!!  What are you favourite Illamasqua products? I think I need to get some more in my life.  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Fitness - Bouldering

One of my new hobbies to help with toning and building muscle is bouldering. If you don't know what that is ( I didn't at first) it's basically rock climbing without any ropes. Before you panic, you don't climb that high up so it is still safe to jump down from a certain height! Bouldering requires strength, balance and flexibility ( some of the foot placements are tiny!); you have to wear particular shoes to help you use the tip of your feet to balance on some of the rocks. Bouldering also makes you use your mind a lot, figuring out where to put your feet, how to twist or position yourself and ultimately how to get to the top. Essentially each climb is a route to the top where you touch both hands to the top rock and then you get yourself back down. Most routes are not a simple straight up and down - they are all like little puzzles for you to solve. You have foot swaps, using the wall alone for balance, climbing in the ' cave' ( like climbing upside down on a roof) climbing sideways, on an incline - there are tones of possibilities! If you are in Manchester you should absolutely check out Rock over climbing where I go. They change up a route/colour every week so you can't ever get bored. At the moment I am still on the easiest routes which there are purple with black dots and the orange ones but I am testing myself by doing some on the incline. It can seem quite hard and daunting at first watching everyone climb up with ease and men hanging around with one arm but after a few weeks I feel a lot stronger. I try to push myself on some inclines to give myself a challenge and now watching the other climbers just inspires me to get to their level. Bouldering is a great activity to start in a group and so far everyone we have met is lovely and willing to help you figure out a route if your stuck. Being a shortie I have struggled to get to the top of some routes and struggled to do others as it's hard to reach some of the rocks - cue some serious height envy. I think once I have more confidence I can take a 'leap of faith' and trust myself to get to those hard to reach places. My only downside is there is some seriously painful hands after a session as mine haven't built up any hardness so my hands are so sore after an hour or two - make sure you have some good hand cream at the ready! Have any of you tried bouldering or rock climbing?  ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Review: Primark Hair Rollers

I was inspired to get these after seeing Leanne Lim Walkers video, it just looked so easy. I am extremely lazy when it comes to my hair and lately I just do the whole bun thing because I can't be bothered to sort it out and it's also super quick in the morning. I have frizzy and thick hair and anytime I try to do anything it always looks the same. One of my resolutions was to start looking after my hair more and learning to do more with it so this looked easy enough....right? 
First attempt.... I'm not sure if it was either 1) my hair was too wet 2) it was too thick or 3) I am just THAT rubbish at doing anything with my hair. I like to think it was too wet because I didn't really blow dry it; I just towel dried and then blow dried with the rollers in and it then probably came out dry enough to put them in after I took them out. I found they didn't velcro well probably because the hair was too wet for them to take to. I did find my hair sticking to it and if I wanted to pull one out to redo it was like ....running a hairbrush through knotted hair... I think that's the best way to describe it. I got a slight twist in some pieces and some nice little waves at the bottom of my hair and even a nice little bit of volume and style in my fringe but learning my mistake, I was optimistic that next time I would get some juicy curls. Second attempt.... I didn't get to leave them in long enough, one hour though one curler did curl beautifully the rest just seemed to give me volume. Here's to third time lucky! 3rd time, oh god, I think it may just be I am THAT bad at doing hair, I think it was maybe too dry this time? theres no denying I get good volume but I don't seem to get that much curling. I have to pin each one in as well as they don't really stick to my hair. I think it is a combination of it being too soft and thick. I am determined to get this too work, considering they are only £2 for the larger ones and £1 for the smaller they are absolutely worth it and you can't really complain about them! I'll have to update you as soon as I've mastered it! Any tips?  ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Recipe: Sweet potato & Kale egg bake

Ingredients: ( Serves 1) 1 sweet potato 1/2  tin mixed beans ( I would maybe recommend just kidney beans as some of the smaller ones did get a little hard in the oven - still tasty!) 1 - tin(or box?) chopped tomatoes ( with herbs to add more flavour!) 2 handfuls of Kale 1 eggs Paprika Coconut Oil ( or normal oil if you don't have this) You could even add like butternut squash, all sorts! Step 1: Wash your beans and put them on to boil & boil them for 4 minutes ( check what the tin says!) Step 2: peel and cut your sweet potato into little cubes and microwave for 4 minutes. Step 3: Chop up your Kale and fry then add the chopped tomatoes once cooked.  Step 4: Mix the sweet potato, kale, tomatoes and beans together, add some paprika ( and any other herbs)  Step 5: pour into your round casserole and then make a hole in the top Step 6: Whack your oven on gas mark 6, crack your egg into the hole and put in the oven for around 15-17 minutes. Et voila a tasty egg bake!  Let me know if you try this!  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Book: The Rosie Effect

This book is the sequel to ' The Rosie project' which was a great first novel by Graeme Simsion so SPOILERS( I guess?) if you haven't read that. Though I'm sure like most Rom-coms you can predict the ending that Don and Rosie end up together.  The Rosie effect (which I won't lie I wish he had called ' The baby project' instead...anyone else?) is basically what happens when Rosie and Don move to America and Rosie finds out she's pregnant. If you read the first novel you know Don is all about structure and rules so he basically tries to implement this to Rosie while pregnant. Due to Don's nature he doesn't tend to show excitement and instead devises the baby project where he tracks the babys progress and researches the best way to look after it while in the room( I.e what Rosie should be eating...). Rosie now becoming a mother starts to realise how Don's introvert personality may affect his father skills and starts to see him as unfit. You basically see how Don copes with trying to learn how to be a father which put him in some interesting situations and how he copes with the possibility of loosing Rosie whilst trying to be a good friend. - I hope I didn't give much away there?  There is something so genuine and lovely about Don you can't help but feel for him throughout this book. I really love the way Graeme has created in such detail his personality and traits. Overall if you loved the first you're gonna love the second. It's a great sequel and although the general ending is predictable Graeme puts Don in some pretty funny situations. It's a great light read if you don't want something too heavy.  Have you read this?  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Lifestyle: 14/03/2015 NW blogger meet up

Taken from Liv

The only photo I remembered to take - on my phone!

This saturday I got to go to my second blogger meet up which had been in the pipline since around January time! I wasn't as nervous as last time 1) because I already knew Gemma and 2) because a lot of us had been chatting in a FB chat so I already knew I was going to get along with these girls just fine and 3) last time I turned up late in a room of strangers I was welcomed so nicely.  The event was held at Kabinett in Liverpool which is a stunning little bar, I am in LOVE with the decor and they played such an amazing album( I had to ask the bartender what album it was - turns out it was a spotify playlist of acoustic covers!). Being the ever professional blogger - I left my SD card at home so I'm sorry about the lack of pictures! We each got a cake each ( From Hello and...) which was delicious and everyone grabbed a drink and started chatting, we were pretty much laughing from the word go! Admittedly I didn't get to chat to everyone so hopefully I'll get to chat to them all soon! Though I spent quite a bit of time falling in love with Carrie's life and shop Junkbox ( Where I got a lovely t shirt from). There was also a lovely girl from Natalie Roche who was testing out some of their amazing products on the girls. Later on we held a raffle to help raise some money for two charities - We raised £80 in total( for freshfields and claire's house) - I won a lovely candle from ArranAromatics and also a jar of coconut oil from Lucy Bee - which I can't wait to use for some hairmasks!

At the event we got a goody bag filled with so much! I couldn't believe it! so many companies have been so kind and generous! Beauty, food, stationary - allsorts! ( some of the food maaaay have got eaten before the pictures were taken....#sorrynotsorry). I got a little crazy excited about the stabilo pens and the busyb stationary...I'm just a bit of a stationary freak. There is just so much here to mention, I am going to do a few separate posts on products so keep an eye out for them in the next 6 weeks!

We also got a gorgeous little goody bag from Utility( which had a pineapple car freshner which I am SO excited to put in my little brum when I get it!) and Natalie Roche which had some amazingly soft brushes and products to test!  Afterward we went to Las Iguanas in Lpool One where we didn't get the best service from the staff ( though the manager was lovely and made up for it) we did have some delicious food. It was such an amazing day - my throat hurts from laughing, I can't wait to see these girls again!  To see some amazing photo's of the event check out Hannah who captured it beautifully! Ciao x  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Fitness: MIC Fit DVD Review.

I'm not ashamed to say I am a big MIC fan, don't ask why, there is something about watching ridiculously rich posh people that I just love. When I saw a fitness DVD was coming out I joked to my mate about buying it, I didn't really take it seriously but I kept going back and looking at it as I did want a new fitness DVD and this did have 4 workouts I genuinely wanted to do. I read the reviews all saying it was surprisingly good and decided to bite the bullet!  Yes, they do have slightly cheesy intro's but what is MIC without it? All the workouts are surprisingly really good and not all that easy. I find myself doing the easier workouts and still struggling - I'm going to defend myself here because I hadn't been to the gym for 3 months prior due to being ill with chronic sinusitis for what felt like all the time.  The DVD has 4 workouts: HIIT & Tabatta which are both excellent fat burners and great cardio. I had become slightly obsessed with HIIT workouts after seeing them constantly mentioned on @thebodycoach 's instagram and how doing it 3 times a week seemed to help so well with weightloss. It also has a Pilates & a yoga workout for toning. So a perfect little balance for a beach body.  I think I may have jumped head first into this DVD because I decided it would be a GREAT idea to start with the HIIT class not thinking how hard it was going to be,,,. it was really hard. I did the easier option, I took a few more breaks then I should have and I could barely walk down the stairs after. My thighs felt like they had been punched for days, which tells me it was super effective.  The Tabatta class was surprising, I wasn't sure what to expect because I only knew Tabatta was doing an exercise for 4 minutes. You do a fair bit to help tone before and after and literally only do 4 minutes of heavy cardio. THE WORST 4 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE. I kid, it wasn't that bad but considering I can run for four minutes I struggled! I faired much better at the yoga and pilates classes which isn't surprising as I do tend to do more of this anyway.  Overall the coaches are really good and so are the workouts, it's easy and clear to follow. I actually really rate this DVD and would recommend it to anyone debating a fitness DVD and they want a little bit of a mix and a challenge.  Have you tried it? What do you do for fitness?  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Review - Illamasqua vintage metallix 'Bibelot'

Of the 3 Vintage Metallix shades this was the last on my list when I initially looked at them but when it came to buying them this one ended up in the basket first. I have this weird love for green shades right now and I don't really have any green shades at the moment let alone one like this and thought it would be a great addition!   This isn't just your average olive green shade though- The whole collection was designed around ageing layers which I think they captured. This green has a vintage grey-y feel to it with gorgeous little gold and brown specs to add even  more depth and dimension. As you can see from the second photo this eyeshadow has amazing build-ability ( I apologise about the blurry pic I've had to resort to a Macro lens that I can't seem to figure out!) One stroke and you've got an amazing base colour to build on but if you do another layer this looks fantastic as a standalone shade. I like to do one layer and then some more in the outer corners to blend light to dark with some white in the inner corner.   The pot isn't as large as the Maybelline colour tattoo's and at £16.50 this is a hefty amount more but I feel like this is worth it? The texture and depth to this just trumps Maybelline for me. I haven't seen a shade like this anywhere and I really love the formulation of it. I also really love the packaging of this and it's romantic/vintage feel. I just wish they would bring out some more colours! - Currently they have 3 colours, a pink and a brown as well as 'bibelot' - the pink 'Courtier' I will be reviewing later in the month! Have you tried any of these out? Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Review : Maybelline colour tattoo x 3

Every blogger and I mean every blogger is talking about these, after trying a few creamy potted eyeshadow's and liking them I decided I needed to expand my colour range.... enter in the colour tattoo's. A lot of people had gone on about 'permanent taupe' but when it came to picking them out I felt ' Vintage plum' was a little more me. Since it was 3 for 2 in boots I felt it would be rude not to get the two other shades I had been lusting after ' Pink gold' and ' metallic pomegranate'. After my initial swatch pink gold is absolutely in the lead for my favourite shade. It's got a great pigmentation! I won't lie I didn't really read these properly so I didn't realise that ' vintage plum' was a leather effect. What does that even mean?! Leather effect?! Am I missing something here? Is this a posh way to say Matte? anyway all I know is it didn't swatch as half as well as the other two and I did wish I picked up permanent taupe. I wore pink gold and it lasted all day and just a smooth as if I had just applied it right then. 'Metallic Pomegranate' is just as strong and beautiful by itself. I haven't had a chance to wear 'Vintage plum' but the second time I have tried to swatch it the colour pay off was much better so I am a little more optimistic about it now it is a really gorgeous grey-y lilac colour. I think it will make a perfect base to build a smokey purple eye on.  I tried to show you all a swatch of them but my lens has broken and my other doesn't want to co-operate with me :( sorry guys! (I'll try and get a pic up soon!) For a £5er I think these are really worth it, the pots are a great size and they are worth the money. They make an excellent base/eye primer to build your make up on. I think I am going to invest in the taupe and bronze shade!   Which shade is your favourite?  Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Beauty review MAC Angel lipstick

This was the first MAC lipstick I ever bought, I was in love with this colour, nude-y pink( more pink!). I just couldn't make it work for me at the time and ended up giving it to a friend as it suited her more. Over December I had been toying to going back to trying a shade similar to this because I did want to start wearing lighter pinks again, it's just hard when you have giant lips! I received this as a gift and I was in love with this shade all over again.

Although this can look great by itself I do find sometimes the pink goes in my creases and settles which is what I didn't initially like about it. Excuse my chapped lips, I tried to put on some lip balm on top of this as you can see this lipstick can be a little unforgiving if you don't have perfect lips, it also sits on top of my lip.

 I decided that in order to make this work for me best a lip liner was needed in a neutral shade to mix in with the light pink.When I bought Rimmel's ' east end snob' and CT ' pillow talk' I knew they would be perfect bases and I was right! For me this really does work best with a pencil colour underneath, it also means the two colours blend together so the pink is not too pink for me. Perfect for that bold smokey eye grunge look. ( I couldn't get a picture of it with the lip liner as my normal lens has broken and I'm stuck with a Macro lens that insists on being difficult!)

Ciao x

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Book: Eat Pray Love

I was thinking today.... many a post ago, I said I was going to start book reviews.... where did that go? Anyway I thought I wanna jump back on the bandwagon, so here I am! I am an absolute bookworm and I feel I should share this love with you all. There is something about getting lost in someone else's life and escaping your own that I just love.  A life I love to jump into the most? Elizabeth Gilberts! I LOVE like really love eat, pray, love. It's so inspiring how much she turns her life around from this bitter divorce and destructive relationship and goes after what she wants and hey! - who wouldn't want to go round Italy for 4 months eating all the pizza and pasta they want? I adore her writing style, I watched one of her interviews and she said she always aims her books at one of her friends. I think she really accomplishes this it also really inspires how I write on this blog and each post. I really do feel like a friend is talking to me and telling me all her inner secrets. The way she talks about each of the characters she introduces to you just makes you feel like you get them.  In the story she essentially starts in america and introduces how this all came to be, her divorce and realising she didn't want to be married, her relationship with a younger man that introduced her to yoga and the break up from that. She then goes to Italy for 4 months, India for 4 months and Bali for 4 months. In Italy she divulges in her love for all things Italian - the food and the language. In India she learns discipline and how to reach her inner self and finally in Bali she learns to love herself and well, I'm sure you guessed this part and to allow someone else to fall in love with her.  This book is an amazing pick me up, only slight downfall, and I mean slight is that it makes me want to pack up and travel which sadly isn't on the cards. I recently lent this to a friend from a bad break up for inspiration that no matter how hard life is you need to learn to love yourself and appreciate and go for what you want before you can let someone else in and let them truly love you. She hasn't finished the book it has 108 'chapters' before you gasp and think that's a lot they aren't big chapters. I also really love how she matched this to the 108 mala beads. Oh - slightly off track there, she hasn't finished the book but texted me and told me she was sobbing on the train because it was so relatable to her.  You should also watch her Ted talk Elizabeth is such an inspiring and refreshing person and if you hadn't read this book? go and get it!  If you have read it tell me what you think! Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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Homespiration

I'm in the process of looking for a new place to live and this means I need to plan my ideal home....naturally I headed over to pinterest for some inspiration. ( and also gh0stparties because I am borderline obsessed with her house...)  Here are some pins that have really inspired me from my home inspiration board

I've already picked out our sofa's, tables, tv stand, throw and bar cart! Still some accesories and extras to go! Obviously this is going to be quite pricey so I am aiming to get the house decorated over several months. So....check back in a few months time to see how I got on!  What has been inspiring you? Where is your favourite place for home buys? Ciao x Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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The NARS dolomites eyeshadow duo

Nars has a funny way of deceiving me, the box looked a good size, when I took out my eyeshadows I felt a little disapointed for £25 quid, it felt small. Open it up and there are two really big eyeshadows -relief! This palette got added to my lust list after seeing it on Latasha's blog ( whose photography is far superior to mine!), it just looked too beautiful to pass up! I wasn't disappointed with the colours when I opened this up, the light pink and brown both have a gorgeous light rainbow glitter to them, I don't think any photo could do this justice. The pink is very shimmery and the brown is a matte with glitter - does that make sense? I feel like they are going to make the perfect 1960-s cat eye with a glittery twist! ( I will be trying something like this in a few days - keep your eyes out!)  The pink shade is just stunning and the brown blends in beautifully and softly which is going to be perfect for your crease. was this worth the £25? -Yes I think so! When you think a Mac eyeshadow is £12.50 a pop; this is pretty much the same value and I haven't got any shades like this! Let's not forget that NARS packaging is just beautiful and simple, I think it's what's attracting me to NARS so much lately. This comes with a large mirror which is brilliant as well!  Which are your favourite NARS palettes I should look at?  Ciao x  PS. this is limited edition but John Lewis still had some online if you want one ( ASOS has sold out!) and you can get it delivered ready for collection by 2pm the next day!  Keep up to date with my latest posts by following me! :)
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