Tipi Adventure

Hollaaaa! I feel that my blogging entries have become a lot more sparse recently which sucks, but unfortunately i've been busy working literally all the shifts i can. My friends are all off to uni soon as well so when i'm not working, i've been trying to spend as much time with them as possible. Life will die down at some point though. Until then i thought i'd share an experience i had a couple of weeks ago along the River Wye. Most of you will know i have just completed my final year of 6th form, and it tends to be a tradition that in the summer, you go on a wild crazy hot drunken holiday, maybe like Zante or Ibiza? Well, always wanting to be different, my friends and i thought we'd go on an adventure holiday instead. 

The way it works, is you are supplied with a map, canoes, paddles and life jackets, you are placed along the river, and you canoe downstream until you find the tipi you will be staying in overnight. There are pubs and cafe's along the way as well as beautiful scenery and thank goodness, we were fairly blessed with warm weather. We stopped off at every checkpoint, having a pint or two which made it feel like a giant pub crawl down the river! We had a lot of fun travelling down the water and then building campfire's and toasting marshmallows back at our tipis.

I obviously went with my friends, but i've also done this holiday with my family a couple of years ago and it really is a lot of fun! And fairly inexpensive when you go as a group. Being a fashion and beauty nerd, i'll admit it was difficult to feel attractive as you put on a sexy waterproof and sling your hair back into a topknot! But sometimes it's nice to just wind down and enjoy spending quality time with friends. There's also sunglasses which work well at concealing a lack of make-up. I literally only took the essentials - foundation, mascara and a tiny bit of eyeliner. I also chose to wear comfy clothes like leggings, shorts and t-shirts - I wore my Orange Circle unicorn top a LOT! Oh and my waterproof!

I hope you don't mind this post, it's something a little different and normal fashion and beauty related posts will resume shortly! If you are interested in looking into a Tipi Adventure holiday, the company is run by the nicest people you will ever meet - they have a website here.
Have you been away this summer? Where have you been?

August She Said Beauty Box

So it's that time of the month again, another She Said beauty box review! And after July's box, August had a lot to live up to. At first glance I have to admit i was slightly disappointed, and now after trialing the products, i have a mixed review...

After posting a picture on instagram of my box, it was brought to my attention that the Balance me rose lip slave was in fact a freebie in this month's issue of Glamour. It's said to be worth £12 and this is a full sized product.. i could have bought Glamour for £2 and got this free. Anyway, setting that aside, i went on to trial the product and personally, i really don't like it. I hate the rose scent and it's really strong! The smell really clings onto your lips, i had a few comments when i wore it saying that i smelt like medicine? Too overpowering in my opinion, but i am more of a fruity girl than floral. The texture and consistency of the product is quite nice, but i did have really dry lips these past few weeks and wearing this has not had any effect on that, so im really starting to question how useful this really is. I wouldn't pay £12 for this.

The Papier Poudre powdered paper (what a mouthful!) was a strange product to receive, i have heard of blotting paper before but have never tried using it myself. Also i don't feel like this product is suited to my skin type because i never get particularly oily skin. With this product you're supposed to detach a leaf and press the smooth powdered side over your face to remove excess oils. It can also leave a matt finish to make up if you use liquid foundation which is actually quite useful to me, so i may try using it that way and see how it goes. This product retails for £7.95 for a 20 leaf pack, but i don't think i would pay that much for it to be honest! However, with these first two products combined, you already have over the value of your entire beauty box which is a bonus.

Next up are the Absolutely Flawless nail foils which come in a variety of different patterns and colours. I received the black and white crackle type pattern, which isn't what i would have chosen if i had the option, but i did get a lot of compliments when i wore these. I've tried the nail rock foils and i was really disappointed because they didn't last more than 2 hours, but these lasted 3-4 days which i think is pretty good! Especially because one pack of 32 foils retail at only £1.90. I would actually consider getting these again in a different pattern.

The Redken colour extend radiant-10 was probably my favourite product in the whole box. I've almost used the entire sample already and am considering re-purchasing full size. The only description i have of this is that it's a nourishing lotion in the form of a spray for easy application. The reason i like this so much is because it's had such a good effect on my hair. My hair has been coloured so much and it's pretty damaged, but from using this, it is finally on its way to recovery. Not only that but this product has really enhanced my natural curls, so if i let my hair dry naturally and spritz a bit of this on it, there's no reason for me to use heat. It almost acts like it's adding texture to my hair if that makes any sense? It says on the bottle that it's a multi-benefit treatment spray, if anyone knows what that means please let me know, but to summarise, i liked this product a lot!

I'm not sure how i felt about receiving a toothpaste sample in my box this month, i wouldn't really class it as a beauty item but hey ho! Because this is travel sized, i took it away on my tipi adventure last week (post coming up shortly about it!) And there's not a lot i can really tell you about this.. it's toothpaste, it's nice, refreshing and minty! It's supposed to be extra whitening, i didn't really see the effects of that but maybe it's because i didn't use it for long enough? A full sized tube retails for £4.07.

The bonus item in this months box was this little cologne sample by 4711 - another brand i haven't heard of before. I feel like I've been complaining this entire review, but again, this product really didn't wow me. I don't like the smell, it reminds me of quite a herbal scent maybe a little bit like TCP? and the packaging is really strange! It looks like some kind of foreign remedy! But it is the bonus item which means i can't really complain! A full sized bottle of this stuff retails for £17.00 but i have absolutely no idea where you can buy it if you'd be interested!






So overall, this was really a mixed bag. A few products i really didn't like, but the others were okay.. I hope next month's is a little better. I hate to give negative reviews, but there's no point in pretending that i liked something, i'd rather give my readers my honest opinion. If you'd like to view my She Said beauty profile, you can find me here.
Do you have a beauty box subscription? What are your thoughts on this months box?

CyberCandy

Long time no blog! With the summer holidays, i really thought i'd have more time to spend working on my little space of internet, but unfortunately that just hasn't been the case! I have got loads lined up though, you can't get rid of me that easily! Today I just wanted to share with you an exciting (and delicious) delivery that i received last week from Cybercandy. 

So my blog is predominantly fashion and beauty related, but i really am i sucker for American treats, so when Cybercandy asked for blogger reviews, i jumped at the chance! Cybercandy are a British company that sell treats from around the world that are difficult to get hold of here in the UK. They have a handful of stores around the UK, but can be accessed online and i can't fault them in any way. Even the packaging is amazing!

In my box of goodies i received Vanilla Milkshake Poptarts, Watermelon Poprocks, Cookie dough bites in fudge brownie and peanut butter and Raspberry marshmallow fluff.. mmmmmm! They were all so tasty! I've got such a sweet tooth it's unreal. I've sent my reviews on over to the company so they should go up on the website in the near future if you're interested in having a look. I'd definitely recommend the cookie dough if you're a sucker for licking the spoon when baking! 

In other news, I went away last week for a tipi adventure holiday, and i'm still recovering! I'll be doing a short blog post about it soon, but my room and everything in it currently smells like campfire! I also got my A-Level results last week and was really pleased to achieve ABB in textiles, english and sociology. So i've managed to get into my first choice university and will be studying fashion buying at De Monfort in September 2013 - Thank you so much to everyone who congratulated me on twitter :)

Did anyone else get exam results? How did you do? What's your favourite treat on CyberCandy?

Wishlist: Penny Talk

1.2.3.4.5.6.7
1. My mum bought me a similar variation of this bracelet in a chrome-ish colour and i've found that i'm wearing it to death! With the recent rose-gold hype, i think this bracelet would go with anything! Badass.
2. I saw Jennie wearing a variation of this dress on her blog and i just thought it looked super flattering, great for everyday wear as well as dressing up a little. Sometimes the simplest of things can look the nicest!
3. After searching high and low for some new dresses to wear out to town, i stumbled across this on the missguided website and i just love the stud detailing! Not sure how well this would stay up though, it does look a little flimsy! Missguided prices tend to be so reasonable it's hard to resist splurging.
4. So, one of my random lusts this month are the White Fudge Flipz, i received an exciting box of goodies from cybercandy this week and now i pretty much want to try everything on their website! These look like they taste so delicious!
5. I'm pretty bad when it comes to biting my nails, but lately i've been really good and kept them in a really good condition.. which just gives me the excuse to buy more nail polish! I know the famous Essie polish is Mint Candy Apple, but i really love this colour which is "Penny Talk" I think it's a really wearable colour, but girly and feminine at the same time.
6. I really need a new fragrance seeing as my Loverdose recently ran out (sob sob!) but i loved the scent still, so my friend recommended blackXS by Paco Robanne which is similar because it's got that sweet, but musky smell to it, and it's much cheaper than splurging on Miss Dior Cherie! I wish.
7. Finally, i've been lusting after these adorable skull bracelets that are everywhere right now. Topshop do some pretty awesome ones, but i find that ebay is the place to go for cheaper variations and i love the pastel colours as they make them look more girly. 
What's on your wishlist? I'm going away on a Tipi Adventure holiday so things may be a little quieter around here for a while, i'll update you when i get home!

Cosmic Unicorns

I am totally in love with this new T-Shirt from Orange Circle. I was actually lucky enough to win Kim's giveaway a few weeks back, meaning i could choose my own Orange Circle Tee. Now, i've been actually looking over their site for a few months now and every now and then i'd be tempted to place an order, but i've never been a huge t-shirt wearer and thought they'd just make me look well.. frumpy. But ever since this bad boy arrived, i've found every excuse to wear it, i even wore it out on a dinner date last week! It's just so cute and comfy, and i absolutely love the design and print. Orange Circle have such a vast selection of designs and prints, it was hard to decide on this one, i love their "Ice Cream" tops.

(Excuse my strange facial expression)

Top - Orange Circle

Jeans - Primark

Shoes - Topshop 

Bracelet - The Prettiest Things

Ring - The Accessory Stand 

Nails - Barry M "Shocking Pink"

I paired this tee with my mint coloured primark jeans which i think are just perfect for adding colour to an outfit. The galaxy print in the unicorn works well with the mint colour too in my opinion, and my trusty Topshop studded loafers to complete the outfit. Unfortunately they're getting a little worn out now, which breaks my heart! It's definitely a comfy, casual outfit, perfect for everyday wear and errands. 

In other news, not a lot has been going on in my exciting little life. I've been working a fair bit, and partying hard before i get my A-Level results next week. I've also been preparing for my little getaway holiday next week, any idea's where i might be going? You'll never guess! I'm off to the River Wye for a tipi adventure holiday with a big group of friends. It's going to be crazy, they literally put you on your canoe with a map and off you go! No technology for 3 days will be a little hard to adjust to, but a nice break all the same. 

I'm off to film a primark haul now for the 3BrokeGirls channel, so be sure to check that out if you get the chance!

Have you been away this summer? Or are you going? What's your favourite Orange Circle design?

Instagram 005: You're so saucy!

1. Prom Nails 2. Best card ever 3. £2 necklace from DP 4. Cocktail 'o' clock 5. TGI Friday's shots 6. Prom dress (Topshop) 7. All dressed up 8. Poor lil' dude. 9. Gold Crest award 10. Delilah Dust bracelets 11. Glamour & freebies 12. Pretty dress from Fast Fashion

13. July She Said Beauty Box 14. Work 15. Tapas in Cardiff 16. Montagne Jeunesse face masks 17. Rhubarb & Custard soda (M&S) 18. The Accessory Stand goodies 19. Best ring ever 20. American Beauty 21. Peanut Butter ice cream 22. Sunset 23. Leaving presents 24. The prettiest things

25. Watermelon 26. My favourite summer snack 27. Purity Organic Skincare 28. Orange Circle goodies 29. Pretty nails 30. August She Said Beauty 31. Graze Box 32. Love this shirt!
What have you been up to lately?

Purity Organic Skincare

I was very lucky to receive a few products from Purity Organic Skincare for review purposes and i have to say, i am a convert to this brand. They are not only fantastic quality, but also extremely affordable, each product being under £10. I've really enjoyed using these products, not only are they completely practical, but they have an element of luxury about them too.

The first product i'd like to talk about is the facial wash which is "a blend of sweet almond oil & aloe vera in a plant/sugar based foam to cleanse, soothe & protect your skin." I use this after removing the majority of my make up with a baby wipe, and then gently massage this onto my skin. It really does leave my skin feeling cleansed and soothed. My favourite things about this product is the texture and how it becomes a foam-y lather. It makes the application so much smoother. These products are also certified organic so it feels like you're giving your skin star-treatment. (£4.99)

Next, i'm really excited to talk about this product, it is most definitely my favourite in the range. The regenerating overnight moisturiser is the most rich and creamy moisturiser i think i've ever tried. The texture feels buttery, it really is just lovely and i will be re-purchasing this, i feel like it's one of those life changing products where once you try it, there's not turning back! Because it's so rich, you only need the smallest amount so it will last you ages. My friend tried some of this when she stayed over and agreed with me, it's a lovely product. All the products are fragrance free too, so they suit all skin types. (£7.99)

The anti-ageing moisturiser is also a lovely product, however if you've been following me for a while, you'll know i'm not a huge fan of anti-ageing products. I feel like it's always good to prepare, but my skin's still in the teenage-stage at the moment! I like the idea behind this product though, Purity have used only a handful ingredients which are supposedly "intelligent" ingredients to exemplify that "less is more" in beauty. A few of these ingredients include: coconut oil (my favourite!), sweet almond oil, avocado oil and cranberry seed oil. (£7.99)

I'm not a huge fan of mask's simply because i get really uncomfortable with things just sitting on my skin, but i gave the anti-aging serum and mask a try and i was pleasantly surprised with the effects. I don't think i'll be using this much, but i can appreciate the way it helps to repair and tone the skin. I'll be saving it for days when my skin needs that extra boost. This would probably make a lovely gift for mums, aunts, grandma's etc, for £8.99 it's still affordable and you get a really generous sized product.

I was pleased to receive the facial moisturiser because i don't have any good ones and i find that my neck can get a little grubby without using an exfoliator. However, because i have sensitive skin, i find it hard to find a product that's not too harsh. This purity one has been lovely to use, and it really deep cleanses my my pores. I only use this a couple of times a week though because i don't want to irritate my skin too much. This product also has coconut shell and coconut oil in it, placing it solidly in my favour! (£5.99)

Finally (if you got this far, give yourself a pat on the back!), another one of my favourites in the range is the conditioning cleansing lotion make-up remover. I love the feeling of this product, it's lovely and cooling on my eyes when i take off my make-up and it feels quite refreshing which is sometimes what you need after a long day. Sometime's i use this in conjunction with the facial wash and my face ends up feel cleansed, refreshed and moisturised.. perfect combination if you ask me?  (Super affordable at £4.99)


Have you tried the purity range? What's your favourite product?