Summer Reads | 'The Help'

It's every bit as fantastic as the film.

Beauty | Topshop Lipsticks

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to try these.

Recipe | Cheeky little snack

I do try my best to eat as well as I can, but finding tasty, healthy snacks is a bit of a challenge...

Life | Things I've been loving recently

Summer Reads | The Fault in Our Stars

Possibly a little bit late to hop on this bandwagon... 

Life | Looking After Yourself

Don't be swayed by the title- I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, that's your business, but I am going to take a wee bit of your time to emphasise how important it is to look after yourself with a bit of 'me time'. I'm a huge pioneer of this on my days off or on a boring Saturday night in. If you find yourself with a rare whole day to yourself, like I did last week, here's a few things you could do!

Life | Why we all need to just slow down

Last week I started an internship in London. Now, I am no stranger to the city, not a tourist but also not a resident. I live about 45 minutes outside London, which means a fairly lengthy commute  and therefore the growing daily frustration of using the beautiful, expensive curse that is the Underground.

Recipe | Guilt Free Burger and Fries

Summer. It's all fun and games until you're faced with a barbecue of greasy meat, very few vegetables and that salad you made with all the right intentions, but in reality, it will sit, uneaten in the fridge until it changes colour. The notorious barbecue, throwing a spanner in the works of your perfectly crafted, completely fool-proof plan of obtaining that Summer body you strive for year after year.

Not anymore. 

Beauty | Back to Where it all Started...

Wow... so it's been a while, I've neglected my blog for a bit too long....

100 Days of Healthy: Motivators!

If you read my last post/ follow me on Instagram, you'll be well aware of the #100daysofhealthy that I've been doing for the last two weeks and I am pleased to say I haven't had too much of a failure yet! I'm still making sure I find something healthy everyday (apart from today awkwardly). My gym going has failed a wee bit but I put that down to returning to university and trying to get back into a routine!

Anyway, so I've been seeking motivation from the blogging and YouTube world, so thought I would share a few of my total favourite go-to, super motivational, "I can totally do this" blogs with you guys this week!

100 Days of Healthy

So, if you've been reading my blog for a little while now, you may recall my numerous attempts at a health kick and trying to shed a little bit of weight and tone up in the process. With a holiday booked to the Dominican Republic in September and 5 months in Australia to think about, this time, I'm so motivated, I think I might actually be a bit successful! I think I'm doing okay so far, I even turned down a free Dominoes the other day!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my "100 Days of Healthy" posts this week. I started this feed after seeing half the people I follow doing "100 Days of Happy", which I think is lovely and contemplated doing, but, after deciding to get fit and healthy, I thought changing it up a bit would keep me motivated and also keep me on track!

I can probably guess what you're thinking- "good for you Becs, but why are you telling us this?" basically, I am thinking about doing one post every week or two either updating my progress or sharing a healthy recipe that I have loved that week with you guys.

So, today marks the start of this little idea which I will hopefully stick to. Here is my first week  (well 5 days) of "100 Days of Healthy", fresh from my Instagram feed (I know it's alongside the posts but shhhhh :P).

"Happy Hair Days"- Review

I've been a dedicated user of Aussie hair products since I was about 16 and have never really strayed from their "Miracle Moist" or "Frizz Miracle" ranges. I know. Call myself a beauty blogger and I don't even change up my shampoo and conditioner every now and then. Well, no more.

I was perusing the shelves like I do most weekends, but with Aussie not on offer and my last few student loan pennies in my pocket, I had this sudden urge for a change. So I had a look elsewhere. I was instantly grabbed by Happy Hair Days and they were on offer. What's a girl to do?

So, after much deliberation and picking up and putting down various bottles, I went for their Argan Oil Intense Repair shampoo and conditioner. I have been tempted by Happy Hair Days before, purely because of the professional and expensive-looking packaging, but had always stuck with trusty old Aussie. But, with my new found spontaneity, into my basket they went.

Back to Basics- Skincare

Recently my skin has been feeling really dull and just generally icky, so I thought it was time to start making a habit of carrying out a full and thorough skincare regime every morning and evening. To do this, I had to go out and buy a few little additions- in other words, the time has come when a face wipe and a quick smear of moisturiser just isn't enough anymore!

My eyes in particular have been pretty needy recently because I suffer from hay fever and my eyes bear the brunt of my allergic reaction. I end up rubbing them until they are so sore, puffy, red and dry that I actively contemplate plunging my entire head into a bowl full of ice cold water to soothe the pain! With this firmly in mind, I knew I needed a couple of products to try and combat this problem (as well as making sure I took my hay fever tablets!). Because my eyes are now pretty sensitive, I did go back to basics and purchase some Simple products. I've used at least one product by them in my skincare routine since I was about 13, be it face wipes, moisturiser, skin clearing products and so on, so they are a brand I do trust, but also a brand I do forget about from time to time.

So these were the three products I picked up:

Beauty Redsicoveries

One of the beautiful things about living at uni but still coming home for the holidays is the amount of rediscoveries of products during those holidays. I'm heading into my last week of the Easter break before returning to university until the summer. I was rummaging through various make up bags and boxes of beauty products that had been forgotten about and found so many little gems! Make up, skincare and hair products were all amongst these rediscoveries and I've chosen my favourites to share with you!

Spring Make-Up Treats!

With the turn of the season comes the inevitable strain on the bank balance as the shelves of every Superdrug, Boots and all the rest of it become laden with a sea of pastel colours, welcoming the transition from winter to spring.

Seeing as it's a little too chilly to be parading around bare legged (although I am guilty of doing that as soon as the sky turns from grey to blue, regardless of the temperature), a wardrobe revamp is still on hold, but the make up revamp is well and truly in full swing.

I had a mini beauty binge this week starting with a discounted beauty store near me which sells NYX, Essie, Revlon, Butter, Tigi and a hell of a lot of perfume for a fraction of the RRP (past seasons, limited edition stuff, that kinda thing) and ending up in Superdrug, frantically tracking down Tanya Burr's new range of nail polish and lipgloss.

Here are the little treats I got myself!

Life Update

Hi everyone!

Firstly, I can't remember the last time I posted and that makes me an awful blogger! Unfortunately, all my time has just been eaten up over the last few weeks but I am hoping to get some sort of blogging routine in place from next week!

As I'm in my second year at uni now, everything gets that little bit more intense and that little bit more ridiculous in terms of free time. It doesn't help that I am one of those people who can't say no and then finds themselves in a right pickle when they realise that, by saying yes to everything, they don't actually have the time to do everything. Yes. That is me. And for that reason, my blogging has suffered immensely and I'm sorry!

Popping my Essie Cherry

Good morning my lovelies!

Okay. I admit it. I have only just, after almost a year of blogging and a life long love of nail varnish, purchased my first Essie Nail Laquer.

It's taken me so long for a number of reasons. But predominantly, I am a cheap skate. I don't like spending more than about £4 on a nail varnish because I have so many and Essie's are £7.99. But the other day I just fancied a change and the Essie counter was calling out to me and I was feeling very reckless and spontaneous and thought it was high time I owned one. Afterall, it seems one cannot call oneself a beauty blogger without an Essie lurking in their collection.

Dupe Alert!

Hello there my beauties,

Yes, I know. I am rubbish. Again. I have been suffering with a major case of writers block recently, so felt a break was needed!

Now, I'm sure many of you are aware that one of Benefit's best selling products in the Porefessional. Nope, I'm afraid this is not one of many recent reviews on the new Porefessional powder, instead I am sharing a magic dupe that I found for a fraction of the price. I know there aren't many of us out there who can afford the luxurious products all the time, so this might make your bank account breathe a sigh of relief...

2013 was defo the year of Baby Lips. Maybelline released the lipbalms here in the UK after huge success across the pond in the US. Much to every blogger and their cats delight, I might add (myself included. I have too many...).

At the beginning of January, I was perusing the shelves of Superdrug, as I do far too often, and I found a new product in the range. "Baby Skin" is a pore erasing primer. (Do you see where I am going with this?) As I read the packaging I realised this product was claiming to do essentially the same job as the Porefessional. I looked at the price tag and within seconds I had swiped the last one and legged it up the the checkout. It was £7.99, a complete bargain when the Porefessional retails for a (rather extravagant for what it is) painful £24.50 for the exact same amount of product.

Camera didn't fancy focusing today...

Golden Globe Fashion Favourites

I do love the award season. We get bombarded with beautiful gowns that we can only dream of owning, but love to look at. And then there are the slightly less beautiful gowns that make us feel that tiny pang of smugness that it wasn't us, but lets not focus on that.

Sunday night was the Golden Globes, one of the biggest nights in the movie and fashion calendars, so here's my top five fashion champions from the night!

The New Love of my Life!

So I think I must be one of the only girls in this country who has never owned their own pair of hair straighteners. For years and years I have begged, borrowed and stolen from anyone who would let me. Thankfully, I'm not one to straighten my hair often because it is naturally curly and I'm lazy so I do tend to just leave it, however recently I discovered a magic way to make my hair a bit curly and completely frizz free, but alas it required a sacred pair of straighteners.

My Mum clearly read my mind and treated me to these little beauties for Christmas.

Top 5- Boots Beauty Advent Calendar

So last Christmas (God it feels weird saying that!) I thought it was high time I invested in a beauty advent calendar. About 5 years later than everyone else I know, but I got there in the end! I went for the Boots one (simply because it was the cheapest) and was actually pretty happy with all the products I got.

But it would be tedious of me to blog about each individual product, so I've just selected a top 5 for you guys to ponder.