My Weekend ...

This weekend I went to Preston to visit my boyfriend's extended family. We go every year for a late Christmas gathering, and it is always lovely to catch up with everybody. Although we live in Manchester everyone is so busy it's hard to meet up frequently, so it's lovely to have a set time of the year when we know we will all get together. Pretty much as soon as we got there we had to rush off to watch Preston play football, which I was actually really looking forward to because I love watching football. Although Preston lost :( it was still a really good day out and I definitely want to go more often! 

Mike's brother, Mike and me freezing but still smiling :)

After the football game had finished, we went to visit a relative in the hospital, and then we went to a lovely Italian restaurant for some food. We ordered loads of garlic bread for the table, and I had fishcakes with sweet chilli sauce for a starter, followed by a vegetarian pizza. The food was lovely, but boy were the portions huge! I couldn't even manage a dessert which is normally my favourite part :(

Today, we got up late and pottered about for a bit. I did some more work on my essay :( and then Mike's family came over for a lovely lunch! Now, I'm back at home sorting everything out from Christmas and then I'm back on my essay :( and ..... I have to pack for DUBLIN!!!! I've always wanted to go and Mike is taking me for New Year's Eve. It was a surprise Christmas present and I had absolutely no idea. I'm not a huge fan of flying but you can't let these things put you off doing things so I'm going to man up and get through it! I'm so excited!!!!

Cupcakes made by Mike's cousin! Absolutely gorgeous!

I thought I would also include a quick outfit post. I wore my big warm coat from River Island, a red scarf that I made myself, my River Island bag, some topshop leather look leggings, and my boots from Brantano (I think, but they are a year or two old and the brand has worn off). Underneath my coat I wore a pale pink woollen cardigan and a white sparkly top which are both from River Island as well. I love this cardigan! It is so soft and cosy!

xxx

Empties and Repurchases - Toner

I've finished quite a few products in the last couple of months, so I thought I would share them with you and also if I've repurchased them or gone for something else. The idea behind this is that it will highlight the products I've loved enough to finish, and then whether I love them so much I've repurchased them! First off, I thought I would start with toners. Now, I seem to have gone through a lot of toner in the last couple of months but it really is something I can't go without. I know some people don't see why it is necessary, but I personally love how clean and fresh it makes my skin feel. So, these are the toners I have used up ....

L-R - Top-Lancome Douceur Hydrating Toner, Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Toner
Bottom- Simple Soothing Facial Toner, Garnier Soft Essentials Comforting Toner

Lancome Douceur was a sample I received when I bought the Lancome Hypnose mascara, and I absolutely loved it. It was so refreshing and I felt like it got rid of all the last bits of my make up. It had a lovely light scent, but I got through it quite quickly as the sample was only 50 ml, and at £34.00 for 200 ml I couldn't justify it when I hadn't tried any cheaper ones. 

So, the next toner I tried was the Nivea Daily Essentials Toner, which was quite a bit cheaper at £3.59 for 200 ml (in Boots). I did really like this one as well, however, it just didn't match the Lancome one for me. It didn't leave my skin feeling as refreshed, or prepare it for my moisturiser as well either, but at almost a tenth (yes a TENTH) of the price I still couldn't justify repurchasing the Lancome toner. So, I thought I would try another cheaper toner before I ran back to the Lancome counter. 

The next toner I tried was the Simple Soothing Toner, which was £2.99 for 200 ml at Superdrug. I love Simple as a brand, and this toner didn't disappoint. I was sad to see it go, but not sad enough to repurchase it. It did the job well enough but nothing special so my hunt continued... and I ended up picking up Garnier Soft Essentials Toner which is my last toner that I've finished. It has a really lovely scent, as it is enriched with rose extract, and is really refreshing. It is £3.40 for 200 ml at Tesco, so still in the same price range as the Nivea and Garnier toners but it is my hands down favourite out of the three. It is also for dry skin, and although my skin hasn't been dry recently, this toner really helps reduce that tight feeling you can sometimes get in between cleansing and moisturising that I really hate. It makes my skin feel much cleaner and I am really sad to see the end of it. However, you may have thought my journey to find my holy grail toner was over, but alas it is not so. I wanted to see if I preferred the Garnier toner to a more middle of the price range one, because if I do I will be repurchasing the Garnier one in a flash and I think it will be in my skincare routine for a while. So ... the toner I have just bought today is ....

Tadaaa! It's the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic. It was £12.50 from Boots for 200 ml, so nowhere near as expensive as the Lancome toner but not as cheap as the Garnier one. I decided to go for this one because I wanted something in the middle of the price range, and I already use (and love) the Cleanse and Polish so I thought it would be a good one to go with. I have only just bought it today so I will have to update you on whether I like it or not, but first thoughts are that the scent is not as nice as either the Lancome or Garnier one. It is quite an earthy floral scent rather than the fresh rose scent of the Garnier toner. It also has a screw top sort of contraption rather than a simple lid, but I will see how I get on. 

I thought I should add that I do use the occasional spray toners as well, but not really as a staple part of my skin care routine, more of a when I fancy it sort of thing, so I didn't think it was really appropriate to include them in this post! I was going to talk about more than just toners in this post but I think we would be here all day so I think I will do another post like this for some of my other empties, rather than one long one. Let me know of any other toners you have used and loved and maybe I will find one that will beat the Lancome one! If I had the money I would never have strayed, but until that day I will carry on searching for an alternative :) 

xxx

Long overdue update ...

So guys I know it has been a seriously long time. I'm sorry! I had a lot of thinking to do over the summer and since September I have been doing midwifery so I have been super busy, and so I have seriously neglected my blog! I've been thinking about writing a post for a while but I didn't want to come back to it too soon, so I've been reading lots of blogs again and slowly getting back into it :) 

I have been doing so much that I don't even know where to start, but I think my trip to New York will be a good place! I was lucky enough to go with my parents and my sister in August and it was amazing. I have never been anywhere else like it! We went for 5 nights and I would love to go back there. 

L-R - Top row - Me, my dad and my sister on a boat going round the whole of Manhattan. The weather was beautiful and the tour was really interesting and funny.

The police on their motorbikes. We definitely thought we were trying to be sneaky but I highly doubt we succeeded.

Bottom row - We were all sat in a park up by NYU and there was a man playing this stunning grand piano (as you do). It was so surreal but one of my favourite memories from the trip.

Me, my dad and my sister outside the diner attached to the hotel where we ate every day. The food was always lovely but jeez the portions were huge! 

I think I will leave it at that for now but I'm sure I will show you some more pictures from my trip at some point! 

xxx

Excuses excuses ...

I would firstly like to apologise for the lack of posts recently. I will only make this quick but I started blogging because I really enjoyed it, and oddly enough it helped me focus during my final exams for my degree, so I made sure I would only do it when I wanted to and never make it become a chore. Unfortunately, recently, writing on my blog no longer felt like a priority and so I decided to not force myself to do it if I didn't want to. However, now I feel that it is the right time for me to get back on the horse and so I thought I would do a quick post apologising for my absence to get me back into the swing of things. I would also like to dedicate this post to Alice and Charley, who will always have all of my love. 

'You can shed tears that she is gone

Or you can smile because she has lived

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,

Or you can open your eyes & see all she's left

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,

Or you can be full of the love you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow & live for yesterday

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember her & only that she's gone,

Or you can cherish her memory & let her live on

You can cry & close your mind, be empty & turn back,

Or you can do what she'd want; smile, open your eyes, love & go on.'

I promise the next post will be more cheerful :)

xxx

Clinique Chubby Stick ...

I have to admit that this is my first ever Clinique product, and I'm not even really sure why. I've always been attracted towards the Chanel stands and more recently Mac as well, and consequently other make up counters get neglected. My mum really loves their skincare, and rarely buys her high range products from anywhere else, so I thought I would have a quick browse when I was last in a department store. I was initially interested in their moisturisers, but quickly got distracted by their chubby sticks. I have heard quite a lot about these and I really like a sheer, subtle red lip. I have also seen the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, but none of the colours piqued my interest so I didn't pick any of them up. However, I loved so many colours in the Clinique range that I couldn't resist temptation any longer, and I bought 05 Chunky Cherry. 

The Revlon Balm Stains cost £7.99 in Boots, but seem to be on an introductory offer of £5.99 in  most shops, whereas the Clinique Chubby Sticks cost £16. Although there is quite a price difference, I'm perfectly happy that I bought the more expensive one because I really like the colour I chose, and I didn't find one I liked in the Revlon range. Personally, I would rather spend £16 on something I liked, than £5.99/£7.99 on something I wasn't that bothered about. Well, that's my logic anyway. I'm not sure my boyfriend would agree though. :)

At first I wasn't overly keen on how bulky the Chubby Sticks are, but it has grown on me, and I quite like how substantial they are now. Another thing I was concerned about was how big the end used for applying was, and if it would be accurate, but I've found that as long as I have a mirror I can apply it with no real problems. However, I did try to do it without a mirror once, and it may be due to my inadequate make up expertise, but I resembled a five year old that had stolen their mum's lipstick. 

Another thing to add is that you don't sharpen the end (this would result in a chubby stick related disaster), you twist the other end to move up the amount of product. You also need to take care to keep some sort of pointed end, because I imagine if that goes completely it would be really hard to apply accurately. 

It has shown up more golden in this photo, but in real life and on my lips it actually appears more red. I really like this colour, and I think the colour pay off is pretty good, although they aren't super long lasting. I also like how moisturising the chubby stick is, and really leaves my lips feeling soft. Overall, I will definitely be looking at the range again to see if any other colours catch my eye, as Clinique do a huge range from nudes to purple, and I would recommend these to anyone looking for a quick and easy to use lip product. I'm also really interested to hear what people think about the Revlon Balm Stains, and I might buy one to compare with the Chubby Sticks if I see a shade I like.

xxx

Books I have read 2 ...

I actually bought the first book of  this trilogy without realising it was an erotic novel (honestly!!!). I was at the train station getting ready to go back to Birmingham from Manchester and thought I would pick up a book from WhSmiths, and this was high up on the fiction book chart. I'm also a bit of a sucker for a moody man, so thought that from the blurb on the back this would be right up my street. Cue a rather embarassing moment with my boyfriends mum when I was reading the book in my living room a few pages into the book, and she walked in and said 'oooo I didn't know you liked erotic novels, I've got that on my iPod so let me know if it's any good'. Up until that moment I had no idea it was an erotic book but a few pages later, boy did I find out. I would actually recommend this book to anyone who is tempted to read it. In my opinion, the erotic sections of the book distract from the storyline and the plot could have been made much stronger. Also, towards the end of the last book, I found I was almost desensitised to the erotic parts. Almost like 'blah blah yes you like to be tied up' , and found I wanted to know the characters in more depth instead. However, the books may have not gained the same notoriety if they had not been quite so outrageous. 

I picked this book off my mum's bookcase at my parent's house, as I had heard that the film was very good, and was looking for an easy read. I actually really enjoyed this book, and it was very interesting to look at the atrocities that happened during the Second World War from a German aspect, both teenager and adult. It also highlights other issues, which I would like to talk about but could ruin the book for people who want to, but have not yet, read it. :( Overall, I would definitely recommend this for anyone with any interest in the topic, as it is a quick and easy read. 

I picked this book up as light read for a weekend away with my boyfriend's family.  I have already read a couple of other books by Jane Costello including 'Bridesmaids', I don't think the film is based on this book but it is a similar sort of theme, which I really liked so I thought I would like this one. Although the plot was pretty predictable, it was good as a light chick-lit read. 

I also picked up these two books for the weekend away with my boyfriend's family, and I downloaded them on my kindle and read them in the car. I'm not even exaggerating I was laughing the most I've ever laughed with a book. The first one especially is hilarious, and the second one carries on the same theme. The first one is about the trials and tribulations of dating, and like I said earlier, I was chuckling the whole way through. Out of all of the books I have read recently, I would recommend these the most, and really enjoyed reading them. 


xxx

Graduation ...

Last week I had my graduation ceremony. It was a really good day, and felt like a turning point in my life, so I thought I would share some photos with you! My mum, dad and boyfriend all managed to get time off work and I was so pleased they could share the day with me! I had to hire my outfit prior to the day and oh dear god they were expensive. It cost £44 just to hire them! But they have you in a bit of a bind because you can't really rock up to the degree congregation without them, so I begrudgingly paid my £44 and dressed up in my ridiculous gown, sash and mortar board. It was actually quite nice wearing them because they were so unusual, but I don't think the mortar board suited me at all. Haha. The degree congregation ceremony was really nice as well, and the speeches didn't drag or anything, and in other circumstances I would probably have found a lot of the pomp and tradition a bit too much, but actually it made you realise how much an achievement to graduate is. Anyway, here are some photos. A word of warning; blame my mother for some of the poses because she is a bit of a nutter :)

xxx