Long Hair Inspiration

Now that my hair is (finally) longer, I love trying out hew hairstyles and experimenting. I only learnt how to french plait properly last year, and though it's still a matter of trial and error, I've become a bit obsessed with any hairstyle that involves a plait. Pinterest is my favourite place to look for hairstyle inspirations, and here's some that I've got on a short list to try out. My long hair board is full of plait inspiration, I love how simple and easy they are, and the messier they get, the better they look. Plus I think they're so autumnal!

DIY hair bow

Fishtail braid

Flower braid

Pigtail plaits

French plaits

What's your favourite hairstyle at the moment?!

n xx

Review | Clinique Lash Power Mascara

Clinique lash power mascara

long wearing formula £19

I picked this up because I've always loved Clinique mascaras in the past, especially the High Impact ones. Most of the time I tend to pick up mascara from high street brands like Rimmel or L'Oreal, so Clinique mascara is more of a treat. I chose this one because of it's claim to be 'long wearing', something that's useful for long days at work.

The wand it quite small (probably the closest comparison I have is MAC Extended Play), and the main thing I notice as I apply it is how evenly it applies, and how it individually coats my lashes really well. It doesn't really layer up, so if you like big lashes this might not be the one for you, but I really love the relaxed, kind of off duty feel that it gives. I've also taken to wearing it just on my top lashes, just because it's so easy to wear.

The biggest down side of this that I've found is that it can be a bit stubborn to remove some days, and when it does come off it's a bit flaky so goes everywhere. I don't really mind it, you just need to find the right cleanser for it! I find using Liz Earle cleanse and polish works really well.

Have you tried out any new mascaras recently?

n xx

Lush Haul

Magic Wand £5.25

Sparkly Pumpkin £3.65

Dragons Egg £3.50

First Snow £5.95

Star Dust £2.95

Cinders £2.95

Damaged £6.50

Shimmy Shimmy £4.95

Santa Baby £5.95

When Lush launched all their Hallowe'en and Christmas products, it would have been just rude to not go and pick a few things up, so I made a quick trip to the store in Nottingham (reluctant Jay in tow). I'm really in a bath loving phase at the moment, so most of what I picked up shows that! I'm loving glitter in particular, so of course I had to pick up a Sparkly Pumpkin. I heard that Dragons Egg is also secretly glittery so I picked that up too. I'd forgotten how much I love the scent of Magic Wand, though last year I never actually bought it! I'm excited to see how many baths it'll last for.

Shimmy Shimmy is a long term favourite (and hatred of Jay's) for adding a lot of glitter, but First Snow also caught my eye so I'm excited to try that out! Santa Baby is another new try, but so far it's super soft and leaves my lips feeling lovely. Damaged hot oil hair treatment was recommended me because of my frizzy hair, and I'll definitely be putting up a review when I've used it!

I know I've picked up so many bath bombs, but I'm already so excited to go back and try more! 

Have you been in to Lush for their Hallowe'en and Christmas bits yet?

n xx

Barry M Pink Silver Glitter

Barry M pink silver glitter £2.99

You might notice that my nails are looking distinctly shorter than in my last nail varnish post. I have a love/hate relationship with my nails, and can go from stumpy little nails to acrylics in a heartbeat. After months of  loving long nails, I'm so happy to have my little man hands back.

The first colour I decided to go for was this beautiful Barry M pink silver glitter, which I'm in love with. It's super princessy and cute, and catches in the light beautifully. I love that it's a silver sparkle rather than a gold one, though it does take two, maybe three coats to get it opaque.

What are you wearing on your nails at the moment?!

n xx

Make Up Brush Deep Clean

Dove original beauty cream wash

from Boots £2.30

I'm actually one of those strange people who really loves washing my make up brushes. There's just something so very satisfying about seeing all the make up come out of them. I've always used Dove soap to wash mine out, and it leaves them soft and fluffy every time. I've also used the fine silk scent before, but I've found that even when I've been in the routine of a weekly wash, the soap lasts for absolutely ages. I mean months and months, because I definitely remember buying this probably about last summer, if not before. In between washes I use the No7 make up brush cleanser, which does a good job for mid-week concealer brush cleans.

What do you clean your brushes with?!

n xx

Carrie's Book Club | October

one box £16

three month subscription £48

here

If you're a book lover like me, then you'll understand why I find this so exciting. Carrie Fletcher started a monthly book themed subscription box, Carrie's Book Club. It's pretty similar to beauty boxes, but book themed. This month's box is only my second (and my first was way back in January), but I've decided to treat myself to a few over the next few months.

This month's theme is The Hunger Games, a trilogy that I love, and my favourite thing in the box has to be the silver hair glitter that's inspired by Effie's hair. I can't wait to try it out! I'm just not sure that my manager will appreciate me turning up to work with glittery hair. I'm also really excited to try the tea alongside the dried fruit.

One reason I really love this box is the letter that comes with it, explaining why Carrie chose each thing and how it links into the theme of the month. The other box I got in January was Peter Pan themed, so I can't wait to see what I get next!

Are you a book lover like me? Will you be trying a book club box?!

n xx

Lunch at Rye

what we had:

mushroom, spinach and goats cheese on toast 

soup of the day - tomato and basil

latte 

hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows

With life being so crazy and hectic at the moment, I want to share a bit more of my everyday life and devote a little more time on my blog to things like outfits and lifestyle, where I've been and cafes that I've found along the way. So here's the start to a new type of post!

Last week I was up staying at Jay's, and we decided to go out to lunch at a cafe called Rye that his family are loving at the moment. It's in Beeston, which is just outside of Nottingham, and is really cosy and lovely. I've been there a few times now, and the staff and atmosphere are always so friendly.This time, I had a latte with tomato and basil soup, which was lovely (though you really have to like pepper), and Jay had one of my favourites, mushroom, spinach and goats cheese on toast. I've ordered it a few times but I've never been able to finish because it's so rich, but definitely worth it.

I hope you liked this post! Would you like to see more lifestyle posts in the future?

n xx

Mini Haul

Essie watermelon, left, and with the band, right

Lush creamy candy bubble bar £2.95

MaxFactor colour elixir lipstick in rosewood 833 £7.99

MaxFactor colour elixir lip liner in 02 pink petal £4.99

Essie nail varnish in watermelon and with the band £7.99 each

Topshop pom pom £5

Topshop fluffy beanie hat £14

 I tend to have more mini hauls that less frequent big ones, so I thought I'd share one for a change! I'm really, really loving bath bombs at the moment, especially with bubbles, so I thought I'd pick up one of my favourites from Lush. Let me know if you'd like to see more frequent bath bomb reviews! I also picked up this new lip combo that I saw in this video, and so far I've been loving it! It's really natural, but I've heard some not so good reviews about the liner, so I'll put up a full review soon. My love for Essie is also no secret, and I've been eyeing up the colour 'watermelon' for a while. I picked it up on offer with 'with the band' as a whim, and I've ended up falling in love with it completely. It's such a perfect colour for autumn! I've been lusting over pom poms for a while, though I couldn't find a link to my cream one, here is where you can find other colours. Lastly I picked up this super cute hat! Just because you can never have enough hats for winter.

What have you been buying recently?!

n xx

Outfit | Autumn in the Park

top £8 - tescos

skirt £20 - H&M

bag £30 - River Island (here)

shoes £22 - Next (here)

bag pom pom £5 - Topshop

earrings £4 - New Look

rings - Pandora

I really love how autumnal this outfit made me feel! My jumper was a last minute buy I'd seen the day before in Tesco, and I just had to get it because the colour is so pretty. Can we also please take a moment over this bag? It can switch between being a backpack and an over the shoulder bag, and might just be the cutest bag I've ever bought. Special thanks to my ever supportive boyfriend for taking a million photos of me prancing around in the park, and to the squirrel who was really curious about our shoes.

What's your favourite thing to wear so far this autumn?

n xx

Top 3 In My Make Up Bag

Bobbi Brown bronzing powder (here)

Rimmel wake me up wonderfull mascara (here)

Real Techniques setting brush (here)

Just recently, I've noticed that at the moment these three are things that I'm reaching for everyday, no matter what else I'm wearing on my face. This Bobbi Brown bronzer is one that I've been loving for a while, especially to bring a bit of warmth to my face when I'm wearing my hair up, which I do a lot of at the moment for work. I'm a big fan of Rimmel mascaras in general, and this is the second time I've picked up the wake me up wonderfull mascara. I love how full it makes my lashes, and it's so easy to layer for days when I'm feeling a bit more va-va-voom. The last thing I'm really loving is the Real Techniques setting brush for blending in concealer. It gives such a flawless finish, and is the perfect size to blend in around the under eye area. I actually have three because I use them so much (and I'm such a lazy brush washer).

What are your current favourites? Do you love any of these as much as I do?

n xx

October Goals

This year is flying by so quickly! I'm so happy that it's finally autumn again though, I've missed my coats and scarves! As autumn is my favourite, I want to make the most of every minute, so here's a little list of what I want to do more of in the next month.

♥ stop stressing over things you can't change

♥ read more books

♥ go conker hunting

♥ go to bed earlier

♥ make pumpkin soup at least once

♥ stretch more and try more yoga

♥ splash in every puddle and stomp through plenty of tree leaves

What're your October goals?

n xx