February 2015

I started this blog way back in 2013 and got so much enjoyment out of taking pictures, typing posts and publishing them on this little space. I've been meaning to upload a post since forever and seeing my last one was over a year ago is shameful and I really want to motivate myself to make blogging a regular thing. One of my new years resolutions was to blog at least twice a month. We're now approaching the end of February and again, it is shameful that I haven't uploaded a single post in 2015. I've had so many ideas and things I want to write about and I'm always taking photos but I just haven't sat down and done it. I can't wait to use this space to document the things I love and things I want to share.

Ellen x

Benefit Makeup Brushes // First Impressions

Hello Everyone!!

My sister got these brushes a while ago and never got round to using them so she lent them to me and I thought I'd give you my first impressions. I have the standard flat foundation brush and an angled soft eye shadow brush. At around £20 each they're pretty expensive but as most benefit products are it doesn't really surprise me. First off, to get the negatives out the way I don't think they are worth the price tag they have, and you can find a lot cheaper alternatives e.g Real Techniques for just as good or better and with a lot more to choose from.
Despite the hefty price tag I really enjoy using the angled shadow brush, its lovely and soft and perfect for blending shadow through the crease. However I've never been a fan of standard flat foundation brushes as I find they take too long to blend all my foundation without any streaks and aren't good for applying product to your whole face, although this one left a nice finish eventually I prefer a buffing brush that I can quickly work the product into my face with.

Thanks for reading, I'd love it if you dropped me a comment :)
Love Ellen x

First Beauty Buys of 2014 // Mini Haul

Hello Everyone!!
So I nipped into town today after collage and I obviously couldn't resist Superdrug! I always find the bargains in super drug amazing and today they were on top form. So I picked up a few essential bits and thought I'd share them with you. Obviously I've only just bought them so this won't be a full review but I'll explain a few thoughts behind my choice and what I think of them so far :)

Aussie conditioning spray//£3.00 - This has to be my all time favourite hair care product and I must have bought it numerous times. If you have long and not prone hair and are looking for a lovely leave in conditioner that is quick, easy, leaves your hair smelling amazing, doesn't weigh your hair down and de-tangles too - this one's for you! 

Garnier cleansing wipes//£1.48 - I find with face wipes that they are quick and easy to use but don't always leave my skin feeling very nice, I've previously just picked up the cheapest ones (i.e primark, superdrug own) as I get through them so quick, but I notice in the long term they dry out my skin and sometimes make me break out. I've tried these ones before and I like them because they have double the amount of cleanser so they last longer and feel nicer on my face. What I've learnt from this is there's no problem to spend the smallest bit more if it will be for the benefit to your skin :)

Clearasil skin perfecting face wash//£1.99 - I bought this simply because I needed a new face wash, I am yet to find a skin care routine that suits me the best and one of my new year resolutions is to try and find it. That being said I didn't want to spend a lot of money so I thought I'd see how this one goes(review possibly soon)and see if I notice a difference.

L'Oreal eye make up remover//£3.49 - I realised after I got home that by mistake I picked up the wrong product, but after seeing a blog post about 'L'Oreal absolute make up remover - eye and lip' I really wanted to try it, the packaging was so similar I just assumed they were the same. I've used this once and I all ready love it, it does the job even better that the L'Oreal Bio Derma dupe!! Definite re-purchase :) 

Thank you so much for reading and make sure to drop me a comment on what you've bought so far this year!
Love, Ellen x

Current Soap & Glory Collection

Hello Everyone!! So Soap and Glory are probably my all-time bath and body range, I find there is nothing not to love about their products. Every scent is amazingly delicious the packaging is the cutest and prettiest. They have a huge range of things to buy for different skin types, facial products, scents and even make-up and they are reasonably affordable. Not to mention they all work like a dream!

The Righteous Butter

This was a lovely birthday from my lovely friends back in May.. As well as being Soap and Glory’s signature smell and original product I believe this is one of their best selling products, and I can see why! Although when I first began to use this product I wasn’t totally blown away, as it says for ‘very dry skin’ and I have a normal skin type I found It a bit too thick and difficult to totally rub in at first. Until I discovered ‘smooth onto damp skin’ (always read the label!!) since then I use after the shower before I’m completely dry and once all the product has time to dry and sink in I’d never seen of felt my skin better! So lovely and soft leaving my skin smelling lovely too!

Sugar Crush Body Buttercream

This was part of my lovely Christmas present from my best friend who knows me extremely well J  As the name would suggest, this product is a lot more light weight and creamier than the righteous butter, still gives the lovely same finish to your skin but maybe more suitable for those with less dry skin. However the smells are very different, this one took me a while to get used to as it’s quite unique but now I really like it, I would say it’s exactly as it says very sweet and very limey!

For someone who finds it mission impossible to finish a tub of body butter I think this is a bit excessive, however in my defence this is the third and final one and all three were gifts and I share this one with my sister 

Butter Yourself Butter Cream

This one is the same texture as the sugar crush, but again with a different distinctive smell, personally my least favourite but never the less still amazing. This one smells less sweet and more clean (infamous blogger quote – ‘I’m not good at describing smells’) 

Foam call body wash: I really like the soap and glory body washes as they come in such huge bottles they’ll last a really long time and aren’t too expensive. I find with them they give off a lovely smell in the shower/bath but it won’t last on your skin for very long, but paired with a body butter they’re superb J

Scrub of your life: I’ve raved about this product previously back in summer (so go and check that post out if you like) I think and I love it all the same, this must be re purchase no.2 and I shall continue to buy it J

Thank you so much for reading, I really enjoy reading and appreciate all the comments I get, so drop me a line if you're feeling kind :) I would definitely recommend these soap and glory products and just the brand as a whole, I'd love to know recommendations on what to try next so let me know your favourites :)

Love Ellen

Little Mix Make up // Perrie Lipstick Review

Hello everyone!!

I'll start this post by saying Happy New year and hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas period as this is my first post of 2014!

I received this lipstick as part of a gift from my secret Santa within my group of friends and they must know me incredibly well or seen me lingering around it or swatching it in super drug on many occasions, first off I am a huge little mix fan and I am obsessed with their new album 'salute' I love every song and there's the perfect mix of girl power, sass, and just super beautiful and powerful songs. 

I must say I'm not very brave with experimenting with lipstick but something about this made me want it so much, it is the perfect purple, not too bright or neon but also not too dark and vampy - the perfect medium (apologies the camera settings are slightly off and aren't showing the exact colour) and I really enjoy wearing it. With it's amazing price of £2.99 the formula is lovely, so pigmented and nice semi-matt finish, not that long lasting but with the price you can't complain. Personally I am also a fan of the packaging for what you pay, I think the individual stickers for each of the girls is cute, original and quirky and not tacky at all :) 

Thanks for reading, drop me a comment or if you've tried any more of their collection let me know :) I'm also looking for '2014 blog post ideas' to add to my list :)

Love Ellen x

A festive fun evening...

Hello to anyone reading!!

Christmas is my favourite time of year and I love when it gets dark and cold and I can snuggle up on the sofa in my jim jams, light some candles and watch a christmasy film, to me that is the perrrrfect evening! So I thought I'd share with you some of the things I like to do on that kind of an evening :) 

First off the fire would be lit but I was home alone and a bit scared to do it by myself!(haha) But I love candles to make a cute festive atmosphere and make the room smell nice which is always a plus.

I love love love my pyjamas from Primark, they're so soft and cosy even after several washes and the pattern is too cute. And obviously a festive hot beverage is needed so I like either a big mug of classic hot chocolate (options is my personal favourite!!) or a cranberry and blood orange tea which is super yummy and cosy tasting (if that's possible!) And while I'm watching a film I find it very therapeutic to paint my nails and of course have Iphone to hand for instagramming and all that jazz!

 So these are my all time favourite Christmas films and can't stop watching them during the holiday, love actually is perfect for a girly sleepover and Nativity I find is hilarious and a perfect family sit down film :)

 Killing two birds with one stone on this picture, found this cute festive phone case in poundland would you believe and I'm obsessed with it, it's like carrying round a bit of Christmas with me wherever I go!(sad but true) and very cute. I can never stop scrolling endlessly through my phone whether it be catching up with vlogmas on youtube or reading blogs - it's addictive! 

This is my go to Christmas nail job I recently discovered it's barrym 'red black' with a channel top coat which is insanely good, I can wear this for well over a week staying perfectly shiny without any chipping at all!

Just thought I'd show you a super cute Christmas decoration I bought the other day :) 

Thank you for reading, I love reading the occasional comments I get so please drop in some feedback if you liked :) 
Love Ellen x

A weekend away...

Recently on a cold weekend in November I spent time with my family for a weekend in Leigh-On-Sea in Essex and thought I'd share some of the scenic snaps I took.. Enjoy :)

...and of course I had to take a picture of some of the yummy food we had :) 

Ellen x