Wednesday 30 July 2014

Ikea/Home Haul and Weekend Fun

Hey everyone! So I recently took a trip to IKEA, just for the hell of it (because I can now drive :D) I didn't buy much because I'm currently skint but I did get a few things and thought I'd share them with you, along with some other photos from my weekend!

I had to have this cute flamingo glass!! It was only 50p! Amazing.


This candle holder is gorgeous on its own, but looks even better all lit up!


Had to get some colourful straws!


And the BEST purchase of the day:


I couldn't resist this cute cuddly panda toy! Seen posing here with some strawberry candles and a box of strawberry jubbly ice lollies (so many of my favourite things in one photo!)

I had such an awesome day at IKEA! I always love going there. We had to get the meatballs too, obviously. They're just too good!

Here are some other photos from the day, including afterwards when we went to play mini golf at Soar Braehead. It was so much fun, I loved the Tiki Island theme!

My outfit of the day:


Top: TK Maxx - Jeans: H&M - Shoes: F&F - Bag: Mango


Craig with a new moose-y friend


Putting the 19th hole at Paradise Island Adventure Golf!


Finally, some other photos from Monday which was a beautiful sunny day! Taking some flowers up to my Granny:


Dining "al fresco" with my friend Lucy at the local pub:




When the weather's this good, you could be anywhere in the world! Barcelona, Glasgow, same thing! ;)

Thanks for reading! Look out for an upcoming foundation review, skin care routine and some other beauty related posts! 

Later xxx


Read more »

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Commonwealth Games!

Hey everyone! So if you live in the UK, or even if you don't, you might be aware that the Commonwealth Games are currently in full swing in my home town city of Glasgow! It's been really exciting having them on our doorstep, seeing all the athletes milling about and the events happening in familiar places around the city! I was lucky enough to attend the badminton today at the brand new Emirates stadium, and thought I'd share some of my photos from the day!





Cheering on Team Scotland at the badminton!






Making friends with "Clyde"



Overall I really enjoyed my day and getting into the sporting spirit! These games have been excellent for Glasgow - for bringing everyone together and getting us feeling all patriotic and proud! Also it's presenting Scotland in an excellent light to countries all over the world.

Go Team Scotland! :)
Read more »

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Yesstyle.com Haul!

Hey everyone! Today's post is a recent haul from one of my favourite online fashion stores: Yesstyle.com! It's been a while since I ordered from them, and I was perusing the beauty and skincare section when I decided to get some cheeky tops too! Because why not! Yesstyle is always a good idea. As they say. I love it because it's such good value and because it's all Asian brands, their stuff is different, a bit quirky, and no-one else will have it! I love Asian fashion. I can't wait to visit Japan and Korea one day and go mad shopping! In the meantime I'll have to settle for online orders. I got so excited when the package arrived!



First I got this cute t-shirt, I love the navy blue and the material is soo soft! I can't wait to wear this.


I got this gorgeous sheer top which is like nothing I've ever seen before! I think it will look really cute with a pair of smart trousers or jeans and heels.


Next up was my Korean beauty sampler box, which contained lots of goodies!



This little kit from Etude House with moisturiser, toner and eye cream


This Skinfood nail varnish - loveeee


This strawberry yoghurt face mask - can't wait to try this!


Finally this cute little box of cleansing pads from Skinfood

Like always, I'm so happy with my order from Yesstyle and I would recommend them to anyone, even if you don't like Asian style. They have soooo much stuff, I could honestly spend hours (and all my wages) on there! I'm intrigued to try more Asian skincare products so I thought this little sampler box would be a good way to start. I've tried Skinfood before and I absolutely love it - I think next time will be a skincare splurge! Also they had a lot of really cute homeware and stationary items which I obviously need in my life...

Thanks for reading guys! I am planning on doing a summer fashion post which may feature my clothes from here, along with some other bits and bobs I got recently!

Happy Wednesday!


Read more »

Monday 21 July 2014

Weekend Fun! OOTD, zoos and feeding the ducks!

Hey everyone! So this has been another crazy busy week for me. I just don't know where the time is going! I can't believe we're halfway through July already! It makes me sad that Summer will be over soon :( BUT it isn't over yet! And in the meantime I plan on enjoying as many summery activities as I can on my days off!

On Saturday, after I finished work I picked up Craig and we went for a Nando's (strangely the FIRST time we've ever been for a Nando's together in over 6 months of being together- what's up with that?? We are clearly weirdos) I am still so excited to have finally passed my driving test so taking the car anywhere is an absolute thrill for me. I had my first experience of driving in very heavy rain which wasn't the best - accidentally driving through a massive puddle happened :( But soon we got our Nando's which was worth it! I thought this cute artwork in the restaurant was really fun:


After dinner we went across to the Amusements arcade and spent far too much money trying to win a baby meerkat toy out of the claw machines! Those things are definitely fixed. Eventually we gave up and decided to play a game of air hockey instead. To our surprise (and my delight) it was a Pac-man version of the game, which fired out dozens and dozens of multi-coloured pucks at us! It was highly entertaining!


On the way home we stopped off at Big Licks in Shawlands for some yummy ice cream! I got raspberry ripple and cookie dough, with sprinkles, obviously ;) It was soooo good!


We rounded off our Saturday night by watching Prisoners, a movie starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall (whom I love) It was really gripping, and it had an awesome twist at the end which I didn't see coming at all but kicked myself for not noticing it!

On Sunday the weather was much better so we decided to get up, have breakfast then get in the car (:D :D) and drive to E.K. to go to Calderglen Park! I haven't been there in years and years and I was excited to see if the mini-zoo was still there! It was, and it's been all done up so it was looking much prettier than I imagined. The summer flowers were in bloom and it was lovely to wander round listening to all the different bird calls and peering in at the animals in their enclosures.




We were lucky enough to arrive in time to see the animals being fed! We got to see Ring Tailed Coatis from South America, one of whom was climbing up and down a rope which the zoo-keeper had smothered in honey:


We also saw the pigs (who really will eat anything!) It was amazing how big they'd grown from tiny micro pigs in only 1 year! Next we saw the meerkats, running and jumping around to catch their crickets snack. And last (but by no means least!) we saw the guinea pigs! They are just soooo adorable. I would love to have my own 2 wee fluffball guinea pigs, like Zoella!


After we saw the animals we wandered round the park and down by the river. It's so beautiful at this time of year, I loved the wildflowers that were cropping up everywhere around us. We headed over to the loch to feed the ducks! It was like a game trying to get the bread to the ducks without the seagulls getting any! Evil seagulls. After Sydney I have such a hatred for those birds!


On Sunday night I was working night-shift :( so we had to go for an early dinner! We went to Zuccas in the village because we've wanted to go there for ages, and it didn't disappoint! We had half pizza, half pasta and OMG the portion sizes were insane. I ate sooo much food but it was awesome. Definitely going back there! Such a good way to end an awesome little weekend :) Making the most of days when I'm not working! How did everyone else spend the weekend?

Finally, here was my outfit of the day for Sunday! I wore an H&M crop top, Zara skirt and my black ankle boots, and I'm loving hair bows at the moment! Very "girl next door"








Read more »

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Battle of the gradual tanners!

Hello everyone! So I have something to admit... I'm a little bit addicted to fake tan. I love love love having that sun-kissed summer glowing skin! It looks so healthy, like you've been frolicking outdoors when actually you've been inside watching Netflix while the rain pours down... However, despite this I do not enjoy the hassle of the fake tan process - I always feel like its a lot of effort to go to for something that's just going to disappear once you get in the shower! For this reason, I am a die hard gradual tanner fanatic. You get the benefits of fake tan without all the mess and effort, and it lasts longer! I don't really mind about my tan being really dark as I'm quite fair skinned, I just like to have a bit of colour.



Gradual tanner suits me for my busy lifestyle (and when I can't be bothered) I can just apply it after the shower, 2 or 3 times a week, in place of my usual moisturiser et voila! I'm good to go. Over the years I have tried and tested many a gradual tanner, and I thought I would share with you my findings on the four best ones (in my opinion)! These are all high street brands and very affordable.

Ranked in order, from least favourite to most favourite!

1. Tesco Sunkissed Gradual Tanning Lotion in medium bronze

This was a recent purchase for me, always on the look out for new gradual tanners! I was enticed by this and wanted to see if Tesco's own product measured up. I was very pleasantly surprised! The best thing about this product is the colour pay-off - it has the deepest tan out of any of the products I've tried and I found it more comparable to an instant tanner. It also smells of cocoa butter and feels very moisturizing and luxurious on the skin, which is a plus!

2. Dove Summer Glow

A cult favourite of mine - this is a product that I keep coming back to and I have many bottles of this stuff in my bathroom! Moisturising and never fails to give a great colour. The smell isn't as good as some of the others but I don't mind it- it reminds me of summer time now anyway! I prefer the one without shimmer, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of a sheen to your skin!

3. Garnier Summer Body

This product is such a winner. A lightweight, fast absorbing formula that smells of apricots and sunshine, providing an even, all over sun-kissed glow. Love love love. I switched from using the Dove one to this because not only do you get more for your money, the smell is 100% better and I love how easily it applies- I can get ready so much faster!

4. St. Tropez Gradual Tan Firming 4 in 1

This stuff is amazing. I purchased it recently out of curiosity and I can honestly say I'm converted! A little bit pricier than the others but well worth it. Not only does this give you an amazing colour, (not too dark, super natural and healthy looking) but it also moisturises well, smells great and according to the packaging, it also tones and firms your skin! The jury's still out on this one, but anything that claims to give me better looking legs in time for my summer holidays is something I'm willing to put to the test. In the meantime I'm enjoying using this up! You only need a small sized amount to cover your whole body- a little goes a long way. All I can say is, hats off to St Tropez!

These are my top four gradual tanners for Summer 2014, but I'm sure there will be more added to the list in the future as I always like trying out new ones! If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them :)


Read more »

Saturday 12 July 2014

Kiehl's Glasgow - Store launch event night!

On Thursday I went along to the brand spanking new Kiehl's store in Buchanan St, and was lucky enough to be one of the first to see inside the beautiful shop and all the skincare delights on offer! Kiehl's is a brand I've always been intrigued about but never tried, (I always think of them as "the one with the skeleton"!) and I was interested to hear more about them and their products.


Started in New York, they've been on the go since 1851, which is quite a long time to be in the skincare game- and in that time they've learned a thing or two about making quality products. Kiehl's don't advertise in the standard way- they're all about word of mouth and the "tried and tested" method which proves they're serious about what they do. Originally, Mr. Kiehl's famous product was his hand rescue cream, which he created for the laborers of New York who built the skyscrapers. From there to now has been a long journey- Kiehl's is now a worldwide brand which is particularly favored in Asian countries (so you know its good - Asian skin is more sensitive so if it works for them, it will do wonders for western skin!) Yet even today, the hand rescue cream is still one of Kiehl's cult best-sellers.

The Glasgow store is now the second largest store in the world, next to New York! If that isn't something for us Glaswegians to get excited about, then I don't know what is. Over two levels, the store even has its own men's skincare section (Kiehl's was one of the first brands to launch a men's skincare line) complete with in house barber! And a gloriously luxurious VIP room where one can sit and have one-to-one skincare consultations with the experts on hand.



I had my skincare consultation, and it confirmed that my skin is producing oil, which is positive, but it may be slightly on the drier side. As I still have quite young skin (for now, yey!) I was recommended the Kiehl's ultra facial cleanser, for all skin types. It's gentle and removes all make-up whilst thoroughly cleansing skin. The most important step to having good skin is to make sure you remove make-up properly each night! I have a tendency to be lazy and reach for the wipes, so I'm happy to be getting back into a proper skincare regime again, starting with this product!

I also received a little goodie bag which had some mini samples inside a cute travel bag. I'm excited to try the moisturizer and midnight recovery - if they're any good I might purchase the full size ones! I was also really interested in trying the creamy eye treatment with avocado, since I've heard so many good things about it. And the creme de corps soy milk and honey whipped body butter - OMG!! The smell of this was so divine, I was so tempted... the price is a bit much though- it's on my wish list!


I had so much fun at this event, there were mini muffins, champagne and strawberries, coconut waters galore! And they even had a photo booth! (don't know if this will be a permanent fixture in the store? If so, awesome!) I met a lovely lady named Chris who I have to mention - here she is showing me her vintage sunglasses (real vintage - she actually bought them in the 60s!) She was so nice and I don't know if she'll ever read this but if she does, hello!




Next time you're in Glasgow city centre definitely take a look at the new Kiehl's store. It's worth a look around even if you don't buy anything - it's so pretty! And Kiehl's are always super generous with free samples so you get to try things properly before you invest.

I've started using my new cleanser and two days in my skin is already looking and feeling better! I'll do a full review on it soon, so stay tuned for that.

You can purchase all of the products I mentioned, and more lovely things, here!
Read more »