Chapped Lips - The Worse Part Of Winter

I dread winter because my lips become a sore mess. It's not pleasant and we can all experience it for different reasons.

I've spent years looking for a great lip balm and I've never come across one that has done the job. Until now... although let me warn you it's not a lip balm.

Yeah, weird right?

Well I never knew what this was until a couple of months ago, I had a scab/burn that wouldn't heal and this worked wonders over night. I grew up using Sudocreme and I find this to be a stronger version.

The instructions say that it can be used for "chapped or rough skin". I did a quick Google search and people have recommended this for chapped lips to others elsewhere, so my idea wasn't completely bonkers.

It's quite a tacky consistency but is easy to rub into the lips. It dries quickly but if you apply too much it can be a bit tacky, but it still absorbs after a while.

This works wonders.

I've never been so happy to find a product that works. My lips have never stayed soft for so long and you only need to apply a little to revive them.

Germolene retails for £2.19 and the tube makes it a great on the go product.

I cannot recommend this enough!

What is your go to lip balm?

What's In My Handbag? Autumn 2015

Hello, 

today I thought I would do a pretty generic blog post because I just enjoy being a little nosey.... sometimes.

Bag - I love this bag because it's slouchy. But I never realised it would be so ridiculous to photograph. Saying that it has been my go to since I bought it a couple of months back. It's the Asos Leather Shopper Bag with Skinny Straps. When I was looking for a bag I wanted something brown. This was ideal and the fact its real leather should mean it's pretty hard wearing. 

Ted Baker Purse (black Titiana patent wallet) - Let's just say I'm in love. I've wanted a black Ted Baker purse for a while now and I could never find something that was just right.. until I saw this. A patent black purse with rose gold detail and a French bulldog print interior. I bought this on Depop for £25, what a bargain! 

Bottle of water - I try to carry a bottle with my at all times. I am really trying to keep hydrated, thus to keep my skin clear. 

Silver iPhone 6s - I got a new phone and it is so handy, the bigger screen makes a huge difference compared to my iPhone 5s. I grabbed the case in TK Maxx the day I bought it just to keep it safe, its a champagne colour on the back and black around the edges.

Diary - I have been trying to keep myself organised by buying a diary and I'm kind of getting the hang of it. Anyway this beauty is the PaperBlanks Alhoa Laulima, I love the paperblank diaries for the layout plus the little pocket at the back.

Glasses -  Boring but true. I'm blind (aka short sighted). I need these for driving mainly or watching movies.

Lip combination - I always keep my current lipstick in my bag so I can top up if need be. At the moment I've been loving the Lime Crime Velvetine in Riot with a Primark lip liner in Dark Pink.

I hope you've enjoyed todays post,

What are your bag necessities?

Primark False Nail Review

Hello!

I cannot believe I am only just writing this review. It feels like I should of been writing this a lifetime ago.  To me the Primark beauty section is totally underrated, can you tell I'm excited to talk about these? 

First of all I have tiny hands so therefore I have tiny itty bitty nails. I can very rarely find false nails that go small enough for me. The Primark ones do however go small enough and have larger ones too (which I normally give to my mum). I don't rate the glue highly but I just buy the Elegant Touch Nail Glue which is about £2.59, it dries super quick, sticks well and a little goes a long way so it lasts forever. These nails can last anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks on me.

They retail at £1 - £1.50 and if I ever see any I like I always stock up. They are my go to nails and if you are into more high end nails I would definitely urge you to check them out!

I also bite my nails and the skin around them, too much info? When I start to realise it's getting bad I always stick these on and it totally stops me from doing it.

Thanks for reading,

My Current Blog Design - Elora

Hello!

Today I just wanted to mention my new blog theme. Boy does it look pretty!

I have played around with editing, adding widgets, changing this and that on my blog from day one but it just never looked how I expected it too. It never looked finished.

Whilst online reading blogs I realised how a lot of people had bought their designs online. To be quite honest I didn't even know this was an option. I had a look around and I think Etsy really has a great selection, I spent ages looking for one that was right for me. I was looking for something sleek, that looked semi professional, which I could also add aspects of my style within it. 

I came across a shop called Best For Bloggers, it has so many beautiful designs.

I decided on a design named Elora. 

When choosing a design there is a link to a live demo blog, where you can open the page as if it were a real page so you can see how it works. I find this really helped me decide which one was right for me. 

The design I chose was £3.23 

Yes, I know.  So cheap. I was so happy and I personally think my blog has never looked better. I'm now happy with how it looks and I cannot wait to share my posts online.

I hope you have found this post of some use.

Thanks for reading,

What I've Been Up To - October 2015

Hey,

here is another overview of my month!

I went home from maybe the 8th to the 11th, I can't really remember. I had a lovely time at home, here you can see when I went out for lunch with my dad. It was in a local cafe called Petit Fi,  I chose the red pepper and butternut squash filo tart and boy was I impressed! Whilst I was at home I also purchased a new camera, it's the Canon EOS 5d mark ii. I'm still yet to seriously play with it but I've been loving it so far.

On the 17th I went to Sprinkles with a uni friend, which is a dessert restaurant if that makes any sense!? I had a crepe with crushed oreos, bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. So tasty but so sickly.

Then from the 20th to the 25th I went back home again. On the 20th I carved pumpkins with my mum. Then on the 21st we used the leftover innards to make soup, which was actually so much yummier than I expected.

The 21st was continued with cuddles with baby Gus Gus (kitten on the far left) and a takeaway pizza. This pizza is from Pizzarelli and is the best pizza I have tasted (in my home town) besides Pizza Express.

On the 23rd my family and I went to pizza express, where I had the carbonara pizza (one of my favourites). After that my dad and I headed out for cocktails. It was so nice to be home and to be relaxed.

This month couldn't sum me up more. Food, cocktails and cats.

I hope you enjoyed the insight, 

What Is The John Lewis Advert Really Advertising? #ManOnTheMoon

The Man On The Moon Advert doesn't advertise much. Not anything materialistic anyway. 

By midday on the day of release #ManOnTheMoon had already had 42,000 mentions across social media.

The song is a 2 minute acoustic cover of Oasis's "Half The World Away", performed by a 19 year old Norwegian singer Aurora Asknes. With lyrics such as "My body feels young but my mind is very old", I can't help but think this was a perfect match.

The scientific aspects of the advert may not be so technical, who needs oxygen? But this is a Christmas advert, its all about the magic. I get the impression the John Lewis advert doesn't need to shove their products in our faces. They want us to feel and not forget. Which is what I sure did!

The loneliness presented in the advert is there to move you. It's all about a gift that keeps on giving. A connection for lonely people, who need love the most. The familiarity also brings the audience closer. What stood out for me were the bright balloons which we commonly associate with children's parties, when they are delivered to the old man they so beautifully contrast against the dull moon.

An advert that is beautifully shot, emotionally binding and attached to a heart warming song is one thing I'm sure to remember.

What has your favourite John Lewis advert been?

Essena O'Neill: Revealing The 'Truth' Behind Being Instafamous

 Essena O'Neill was an Australian Teenager with over 612,000 followers on instagram. This week she has blown up the internet by revealing a video explaining how her instagram does not portray 'real life'.

She gave up her instagram as she believed she was false advertising. Her 17 minute video told her viewers how all of her images were constructed to make her life seem beautiful and care free, when in fact her life was the opposite. 

Essena deleted around 2000 photographs across her social media platforms, changing their caption to 'expose the harsh and often humorous reality being the instafamous culture'. 

She has been applauded by a wide audience for her video, many admiring her bravery and honesty

I feel that Essena was a big part of the Vegan community, I am not a Vegan but I do love when someone stands for what they believe in. Unfortunately through this the Vegan community has lost her, this is also something that has hardly been mentioned. Her diet was something positive and she deleted most of that to focus on the negatives.

Social media has a huge impact on everyone but this is solely down to how you use and abuse it. To me her issues started when she was young, posting revealing images to receive positive re-enforcement. This should have been more prominent in the media, how she was so young and vulnerable to be posting such things online. The internet is used to show only the highlights of our lives and to prove we are worthy. Something that can become poison if you then start comparing yourself to one another.

I understand social media isn't always real. People do this as their job and of course will persuade us things are great, so we buy them. That's advertising for you. Essena to me was warped and let her fame get the better of her then staying authentic to her followers. The media for personal use is meant to be positive, expressing yourself and what you want to be. It's a creative outlet to inspire one another.

Essena is young and it is admirable to see her understand her problems and take a step back. A lot of her statements are generalized and may only be of her own experience. To me switching off our tech more regularly and being present is the way forward.

Autumn Wishlist 2015

Hello, 

Today I thought I would do a post I haven't done in a while which is my autumn wishlist, I love reading other peoples and also they are so fun to make!

1. This is a bit peculiar for me. It is Benefits new-ish 'Theyr're Real! Push Up Liner' in purple. I have wanted to try colourful eyeliner for ages which started with LLYMLRS rocking a coloured eye, Then I watched a video where Hello October used a navy eyeliner to contrast her orange lip and I was in love.
   
   I love dark purples and cranberry shades around this time of year and seeing as I have green eyes I feel a purple liner would be perfect for me!
2.  I have been lusting over these Topshop black dungarees for what seems like months now. They just look some comfy.
3. I have noticed that the eyebrow makeup I've been using lately is just the drips and drabs of what I have previously chucked back into my make up draw. After asking a mua friend they mentioned the ELF eyebrow kit to me, which I have previously owned and loved. Plus it's just so cheap for only £3
4. I was nervous to mention this product and to purchase it, all because of the Limecrime scandal. However it seems to have all died down now and also this colour just looks perfect for me. I've wanted to try a velvetine for a long time and when I came along this colour 'riot'.... well I just don't think I can resist.
5. At this time of year all I think about is cuddling up in a blanket, fresh pjs and some comfy socks. Which brings me too pyjamas. I've been looking around for some for a while and I can't seem to find the right ones. These Chelsea Peers pyjamas are quite pricey but don't they just look dreamy?
6. I know I know, Halloween is over. But this will never stop me from loving pumpkins; the taste, the colour, the smell. These pumpkin earrings just look perfect and cute.
7. I understand, these pom pom keyrings are just everywhere. This is just one fad I cannot resist, I also love adding texture to items in my bag so I know what I'm searching for. I think this dark green pom pom is the perfect autumn colour.
8. Last but not least phone cases. I have wanted to have a new case for my phone for a while now as any I have either look too childish or are falling apart. I've seen Skinndip raved about so many times and I think it might be time to take the plunge. I really love the look of the Dinosaur or Krusty Print iPhone 5 cases. So cute.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, 

bye for now!