Sunday life | Blogging Set Up

Since I got back into my blogging groove, if you will, back in January, I've gotten myself into a little bit of a routine that I'm loving quite a lot. Probably because it means lazy mornings in bed once or twice a week.

photo from my instagram; nikkiyvonne_

I think it's really important that blogging is something that I look forward to doing. I get stressed so easily at the moment; combine that with a new job and essay deadlines and you have yourself a very tired and likely to be grumpy student. I fell out of love with blogging in the past because I became more focused on the wrong parts of blogging, and tried to force personality into what I was writing, as well as putting up things I thought people would like instead of writing what I wanted to.

These days, I have myself a little notebook that I organise myself by, and plan out posts that I want to write. If something inspires me to blog, then I'll write it then and there, either on my laptop of phone. I set up a schedule so I know roughly what I'm posting and when. Since I started doing thing how I know they'll work for me, I have a million ideas about what I want to write, not enough days to post it all in. And I'm loving every second of it.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

ps- happy mother's day!

n xx

Review | Vitamin E Overnight Serum Oil

I know! You've all heard the rave reviews that came with the launch of this newest Body Shop wonder, no doubt. I picked it up way back in February, and I haven't regretted it for a moment. You can find it on the Body Shop website here, but if you've managed to hear nothing about this, it's a Vitamin E serum-in-oil that's supposed to leave your skin looking refreshed, rested and feeling softer.

I wasn't originally going to pick this up, but do my standard jumping onto the bandwagon a safe 6 months down the line when everyone's assured me it's become a staple in their skincare. But I went shopping on my birthday, and it was part of a Vitamin E skincare offer that my mum wanted. Everything else were bits that she wanted, and this was basically thrown in for free so she gave it to me!

I love, love, love the whole of the vitamin C range. It's a staple in my mums skincare so it was some of the first things I used properly, and for me it's a range of products I can always go back to when my skin is feeling under the weather.

This bad boy is no exception; it's not half as oily as I expected, and sinks into your skin an absolute dream without leaving you feeling like you have to wait hours before touching your face again. When I woke up in the morning and carefully inspected my face in the mirror, it didn't feel oily or greasy in the slightest, but instead quite dewey and refreshed. I've noticed that the longer I've been using this, the longer my face stays feeling softer and generally nicer.

The only con I would possibly say is that I've noticed the skin around my nose, which can be super sensitive and the best judge of what a product is doing to my skin, has been feeling a little dry, which only becomes more noticeable once I've put on make up. I don't think it's entirely this serum (looking at you winter winds and runny flu-y nose), but all the same I don't think it gave my slightly ill skin the moisture it needed.

Apart from that, I've been absolutely loving this and using is most nights!
Have any of you tried this?

n xx

Holiday Planning | Outfit Choices

Recently I booked a very important holiday; it's my first holiday abroad in about 5 years, it's with my best friend, and it's the first one that I've paid for entirely out of my own money! With all that in mind, I've been really excitedly planning things like outfits and what kind of things I want to take with me.

I'm headed to Sorrento in Italy, so it's going to be pretty different weather to what I'm used to here in Derby, and I'm likely going to have to pick up a fair few things! Here's a few things that I've been lusting over ( even though my budget definitely doesn't stretch to half these!)

Boohoo Sandy Scoop Neck Maxi Dress £10

La Moda Rhianne Black bag £20

ASOS Olivia Burton Blue Big Dial Watch £72

Topshop Gingham Treggins £28

The first thing I was excited for was comfy plane wear... probably not normal when most people would think of sunshine! I think either this dress, which would also be perfect to lounge by the pool in, or these treggins with a baggy top would be perfect and comfy. I was looking at getting a watch so I'm not constantly flashing my phone off when I'm checking the time, and this bag is definitely being shipped my way soon because I'm so in love with it.

Boohoo Alice Swing Vest £6

Miss Selfridge Daisy Printed Skirt £25

ASOS '90's Skater Dress £25

ASOS Planet Demi Wedge Sandals £17.99

Obviously I've also been looking at some more sun appropriate outfits that involves getting my legs out. I want a few key pieces, that are loose and floaty so I don't feel like I'm stuck in a sweaty tight top! I also really love these shoes, as I don't have that many flats, or any sandals at all.

Topshop Wrap Front Bralet £22

Bohoo Lauren Metallic Trim Square Sunglasses £12

 Boohoo Daisie Strappy Swing Playsuit £10
Obviously in the sun, sunglasses are a must! I really love these, but I can't decide if they'd suit my face all that well. This playsuit is another something that's very likely to come my way, I love that it's loose enough to look like a dress; black may not be the best colour for sun but I'm willing to take the risk!

ASOS Paper Dolls Petite Lace Dress £54

Topshop Turquoise Bead Triangle Necklace £4.50

Missguided Augustina Faux Suede Heeled Sandals £32.99

Finally I was looking at these bits with the idea of if we decide to go out for a nicer evening meal to a restaurant. I really love this dress and shoes, I think they'd both be perfect as a causal outfit or dressed up for something a little bit nicer!

I hope you liked this post! Is there anything you're lusting after for the summer?

n xx

Review | The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner

Despite having one of the longest titles ever, I'm super glad I picked this up. If you're a Body Shop lover like I am, you might be familiar with their Love Your Body rewards card. I have one after my mum decided I'd make good use of one and bought me one, and one thing that you get with this little wonder is a free birthday gift- anything from the shop that's £5; you can find it for yourself here. I forgot about the free gift and was reminded on my birthday when I was in store. I hurried away to find something, and this caught my eye.

I wouldn't say I have particularly blemished skin, which this is aimed at, but I am a great lover of the Tea Tree range. I like to keep something based around preventing blemishes in my skincare routine, so this seemed like a perfect addition to my night skincare, which I'm spicing up a little at the moment.

You have to shake the product before you use it, to mix in the green more solid part that falls to the bottom; the sales woman I spoke to said that it's the most important part of the product. I sweep it over my skin after cleansing, and it leaves my face feeling fresh and clean, as well as slightly tingly- the kind where you can kind of feel things working. I've noticed fewer breakouts since I've been using it on a regular basis, and any that I have had are being cleared up a lot faster than normal.

I really love this product, and the whole of the Tea Tree range; I honestly would recommend it to anyone who gets breakouts but doesn't want to spend an absolute fortune on skincare. I think it does what it says on the bottle, and keeps my skin feeling clear and gorgeous. If I had to name any cons, it's that because it leaves your skin matte, I can sometimes find it a bit drying. 

I'm thinking of putting up a new evening skincare routine post, please let me know if that's something you would like to see!

Are you thinking of trying this, or any of the Tea Tree products, out?

n xx

Outfit Of The Day | Sunday Rambles

I've always been a bit rubbish at outfit posts, lets not lie about it. Luckily this time I roped in my housemate when we were out for a walk in the park, so welcome to (hopefully) my first half decent outfit post!

 Jacket- American Apparel 

Bag- Accessorize

 Jumper- Topshop

Skirt- Topshop

Watch- G Shock (stolen from my boyfriend)

Shoes- Primark

Ring- Pandora

Nail art from Nouvelle Daily here

I've been loving this gorgeous weather, so I couldn't resist a cheeky little outfit post! This jumper is perfect for the sunny but not quite summer weather, I have a feeling it might be making a comeback in my wardrobe this spring.

I hope you guys liked this post! Would you like to see more outfit posts on my blog?!

n xx

Sunday life | Cheeky Boots Haul

If you follow me on instagram you might have seen a Boots haul that I put up not so long ago. I spent far more than I meant to, but I needed it all... honestly! As it was a 3 for 2 I decided to treat myself a little bit, and I'd been left unsupervised (for some reason my boyfriend didn't fancy perusing the make up aisles with me).

I picked up the Garnier Refreshing Toner for normal to combination skin, because I've never tried their skin care before but I've seen so many people loving the cleansing water, so I thought I'd give this a go! I use Simple Face Wipes for after nights out and cleaning my make up bag, so having another pack of these is always a must! 

For make up, I didn't really have in mind to pick up anything but the No7 Instant Radiance Highlighter after seeing Kate (gh0stparties) review it on her blog here. I was sold from there, look out for a review soon! I'm searching for a new staple primer, so I picked up the Seventeen Stay Time Primer but any recommendations are very welcome. Another few basics I needed restocking was concealer, and I still use Collection Lasting Perfection (I love this!) and mascara. I'm trying out this Natural Collection Lash Definition Mascara after my bestie recommended it. Her lashes always look perfect so I'm hoping  it'll work the same magic on me, and I'll put up a review soon! Both the Barry M Matte Nail Paint in caramel and Maybelline Baby Lips in pink punch were just things that I like the look of so I decided to treat myself to them while everything it on offer.

I picked up the Real Techniques Setting Brush because I could never have enough of these brushes, I am totally in love with them! My final pick up of these Kleenex tissues isn't really interesting, but the packaging is so cute I just couldn't not show you guys! I always have tissues in my bag just in case, and these make having them just that little bit cuter!

I hope you liked my haul! Hopefully my next sunday post will be a little more personal; I've been so weighed down with work that I've not been doing anything much exciting!

Are you thinking of picking up any of these pieces?

n xx

Review | Soap &Glory Smoothie Star

I'm a great lover of a good moisturiser. I never realised I have sensitive skin until I came to university, but fortunately for me it doesn't seem to be something that's affected by specific moisturisers; it's more keeping my skin moisturised that's important. I've only recently started using Soap & Glory moisturisers, and this one is only my second, but I'm completely in love; I've definitely got some serious Body Shop skin lovin' rivalry. 

Why am I loving this so much? I wouldn't say it's anything overly special in terms of what it does to my skin. It's not bad, but I wouldn't say it's exceptional either. It leaves my skin feeling gorgeous and soft, and I do notice when I go a while without using it. It's not overly heavy and sinks in quite fast, and I'll  use it most nights while I'm getting ready for bed.

I do love the packaging that this comes in; I think you might be able to get it in a slightly thicker buttercream/ thicker consistency in pot form also, but I find that like this its so much easier to get just the amount you want out, and not have the problem of too much moisturiser, too little skin.

The main reason why this is so amazing is the smell. With almond, cocoa, yoghurt, oat and honey in it, not only has it got a whole load of goodness for your skin, but oh my. It's a keeper. I would try and explain the smell better to you, but smells are really not my forte. Just trust me when I say it's amazing and you need to get yourself to Boots just to smell it.

You can find it here, and it's £10, which I would say is a complete bargain for how much you're getting. I've been using it nearly every day for the last two months and I'm barely a third into it! At the moment it's in a 3 for 2 at Boots, so I would definitely be heading to buy some more if I didn't already have a stockpile!

Are you thinking of trying this, or have you got it already?

n xx

Review | Wild Rose Hand Cream

Recently, I've become a bit of a hand cream lover. I've always wanted to use it endlessly, but I have to be careful because I have eczema on my hands, so sometimes it's just too risky. However it's cleared up a lot in the last few years, and now this is my newest obsesion! 

I picked this up because it was half price as I walked past The Body Shop in Nottingham; how could I resist that?! The 100ml size is normally £10, but I got it for £5, which is actually the price of the 30ml size! You can find it on the website here. Although I bought it because it was on offer, I would definitely still buy this for its full price because I love it so much.

I've sampled it a few times before I bought it, and every time it left my hands feeling absolutely amazing. I'm not a huge fan of wild rose, but it's growing on me the more I'm using it and I'm starting to quite like it. I think it's a very relaxing smell, and I try to use it before I go to bed so I've started to associate it with unwinding. It's not an overpowering scent, but I find I can sometimes get a whiff of it still a few hours after I've put some on.

There are also other scents; absinthe, hemp and almond, but wild rose is by far my favourite of the lot.

The actual cream isn't very thick once you apply it, and it sinks in to my skin so much faster than I expected it to. I don't feel like I have to sit there with my hands out waiting for it to dry. I've noticed a definite improvement in my skin since I've been using it too- it's a lot smoother and less irritable. I've found it's especially good for getting rid of redness too, especially at the moment when it's such cold weather! Another total bonus is that it has SPF 15 in it, so it's protecting your skin from even the few and far between rays of winter sun. I'm a strong believer in using SPF products all year round!

The packing, from what I've heard, can be a bit controversial; personally, I love it. The main thing you need to be careful with is if you travel with it. The packaging is a soft metal-kind of material, meaning if you squash it, the next time you open it, you'll know about it. I've seen a few people struggling with the fact that they've gotten out far more than they intended! Mine sits on my desk however, so this isn't really a problem for me.

Would you give this a go, or have you already?!

n xx

Review | Naked 3 Palette

I know, I know. They're so raved about in the beauty world, but I just felt like I couldn't not share my first Naked palette with you! I've been lusting after one for so long, but I love all three so much I could never decide which I love the most! 

I was lucky enough to get the Naked 3 palette for my birthday, and I'm so in love with it! There's a lot of rose-gold based colours, which I've been obsessed with recently so it's a perfect addition to my make up bag.

Strange and Dust are two of my favourite colours; Strange is a beautiful all over lid colour, by itself or as a base, and Dust makes an amazing inner corner highlight colour.

Trick is another of my favourites, I love it as an all over colour or on top to add a bit of sparkle to one of the matt colours.

Nooner is my favourite matt outer corner outside, it's got beautiful slightly purple undertones to it, and Liar is my go-to crease colour for a night out.

Finally I think Mugshot is anotherone of my favourites, and another one of my favourite crease colours. Darkside and Blackheart are a perfect finish to the palette, adding just enough darker shade to make an amazing eye combo!

I'm totally in love with this palette, and I'm so tempted to eventually treat myself to another one because it's made me love wearing eyeshadow so much more than I ever used to!

Have you got a Naked palette, or are you still lusting over one?

n xx

3 Product Face

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach Glow

MAC Quad Eyeshadows; (top right) Omega and (bottom right) Espresso

I'm pretty sure everyone has those days where you don't want a full face of make up, but you really don't want to venture out with those under eye bags and if you're me, non-existant natural eyebrows. I've come up with my absolutely perfect no-make up minimal make up look, and more than once I've had comments about how nice my skin looks without make up when really I'm artfully covered in concealer to the hilt.

I'll start off with my normal morning face routine, and sometimes a bit of primer if I'm wearing this for something like a day at uni. I use my Real Techniques expert face brush with my Collection concealer, and follow tips that I got from Vivianna Does Makeup in a video here. Basically, just cover your problem areas, put a little few more blobs around your face (just to get an even finish), and blend to your hearts content. I follow this up with a dusting of Rimmel Stay Matte powder, probably my favourite powder of all time. Finally, I fill my brows in with Omega, and a light bit of Espresso if I'm feeling it, and hey presto I'm ready to go.

If you'll excuse my 'do I smile? I'll try a smile..' photo face, this is how my face looks when I'm done. It makes me feel a million times more confident, even though it only takes 5 minutes to pull off. For me, it's all about the brows; I'm happy leaving with nothing on if I have my brows done. Targeting the one main area you worry about is key to this, and it's great for letting your skin have a bit of a day off.

Do you have your own no make up look?

n xx

Sunday life | make up bag cleanse

Every once in a while, it's only healthy to give your make up bag a proper pamper of its own, right?! This weekend I'm going to be completely detoxing and cleaning mine out, as I know for a fact I've got a lot lurking at the bottom that I'm not using at the moment.

It's good to do something every once in a while in the way of clearing out, not only to see what you've forgotten you have, but also just to get rid of any bacteria that's lurking around. You can't see it that well from this photo, but currently I have a leaky concealer so everything is a little bit messy in mine at the moment!

These are my primary helpers; I use the Dove soap to deep clean all my make up brushes on a weekly basis, because it leaves my brushes feeling super soft and brand new. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something new to try, especially because it's not overly expensive and pretty easy to pick up.

The other thing I use is simple face wipes. I normally have some of these lurking somewhere for emergencies, and they also come in handy for things like exploding concealers! I'm planning to just go over everything with one of these to try and make it look a little less grubby than it is at the moment.

That's what I'm up to for a good few hours today, I hope you guys are all having a lovely weekend!

n xx