Operation cosy, homely room!

I’ve been feeling a tad down in the dumps today, boo-hoo, living away from home is tough at times, so I have decided to give my room a winter (???) clean and organise all the home items I have bought as of late. I am definitely of the ‘tidy room, tidy mind’ mindset and I find when my room is organised and tidy, it makes me feel so much more positive and motivated.

my wooden chest of drawers (+ my lovely valentines flowers!)

It’s difficult living in a rented house, there are a myriad of changes I’d love to make to my spacious, bare room, but I'm not quite sure my landlord would appreciate me pulling up the hideous carpets and painting the bare walls! Thus, I’ve compromised (I say this like I had a choice, ha) and made the most of the features I do have in my room. There are plenty of features in my room that I do love, my vintage looking chest of drawers and my huge wardrobes, painted duck egg blue and white, to name a couple. My room has a real ‘shabby chic’ potential and slowly but surely I am building towards my perfect bedroom. I have based my room mainly around the colours: white, duck egg blue and a touch of pink. The white gives a really simple yet elegant feel whilst the blue is calming (perfect for my anxiety!) .........and well, my room would just not be complete without a bit of pink!

my huge blue and white built in wardrobes

BEDDING

I recently bought a bedding set which I have had my eye on for a good while now! In fact, my sister has wanted it for a while too! It's from Morrison's of all places and was around £14 for a double duvet set, I believe. It ties in with my duck egg blue wardrobes and I just love the Cath Kidston vibe, so pretty and girly.

FAIRY LIGHTS

I am of the belief that fairy lights make everything cosy and homely, they really transform a room. And you don’t have to shell out a huge amount on them either! Bog standard battery operated lights will do, I got mine for a ridiculously cheap price HERE on Amazon and I really love the way they gently glow, perfect for cosy nights in with a glass of wine in hand and some good TV, gosh I sound old.

LAMPS

On a similar note to fairy lights, lamps also transform a room. This one caught my eye for a mere £18 in Wilkinsons, in the shape of a birdcage with a glass bird perched on top. It’s a real statement piece and is a perfect mix of classy, pretty and vintage.

Another of my Wilkinsons purchases was this wooden lettering, adding to the bird theme I seem to have accidentally adopted.

all ya need is

PERSONALISED TOUCHES

Photo frames with pictures of loved ones inevitably add a personal touch to any room and this week I finally got round to printing out all those instagram selfies with my friends and family. Actual photographs have such power and presence, it’s so rare for me to actually hold a photograph these days, so these are pretty special to me. I went for a mixture of frame designs, mainly wooden to add to the vintage, shabby chic look and to match the wooden drawers; effortless yet effective. I also have two small canvases in my room which are in black and white of my friend Hollie and I, they were a gift for my 21st birthday, I love these!

CANDLES

I am a sucker for candles, Yankee, plain tea lights, cute candle holders, anything. I am a huge fan of Christmas scented candles in the winter, the cinnamon Yankee candle is my all time favourite, I have various different candles dotted all around my room. I also own fake flame candles which were also from Wilkinsons which can be popped on with a switch on the bottom and glow just like a real candle, perfect for the forgetful candle lover such as myself!


Thanks for reading! What colour scheme is your bedroom? Where do you get inspiration from? I'd love to hear any tips!

Katherine x

Bonfire Night

I love the atmosphere at this time of year and everything that comes with it: warming food, hats, scarves, gloves, the cosy dark nights, sitting by the fire etc. However, this day, 5th November has, for lack of better words, a love/hate hold over me. Everyone loves fireworks they are beautiful, romantic, exciting and everything associated with fun. However, the associations with fireworks for me are greatly of contrary connotations. I hold awful memories of my Dad putting me on his shoulders to see the bursts and almighty bangs of colours properly over the sea of tall people in the local park. Of course, he was simply being a loving Dad, aiming to aid me get over my fear, but I hated it. I would duck down and cry until he put me down. Since then, my attitude towards them hasn’t changed. I also have memories of a party at my Grandparents with my uncle setting off fireworks in the back garden yet I stayed in on my own, petrified until I heard the final bang. And relax. Similarly, a couple of years back, my ex-boyfriend’s family threw a bonfire night party in their house and I tried my hardest to stay out and 'ooh' and 'ahh' with everyone else but of course, pathetically at the last second I raced inside, watching from the window (a step further at least!)

I was never one of those children who had no concept of fear. I was scared of my own shadow, literally. I hated swings in the park, to the gymnastics club my Mum took me to (that didn’t last long- tears, tantrums, the lot.) I was even (and still am to a certain extent) afraid of stepping on escalators! Since I’ve got older, I’ve tried to embrace life more and branch out into things I would previously never have dreamt of. For example, I now am no longer afraid of swings, wahooooo (possibly 15+ years too late on this one ha ha ha.) But on a serious note, for me, one major step of stepping out of my comfort zone is this blog. Throughout my school life, I was always afraid to show anyone, even my teachers, my work. As a teen I was forever doubting myself, scared of the reaction I would get. I have also wanted to create a blog for a very long time but again, I was scared of the reaction. What if people thought my writing was terrible? What if they laugh at me? But, growing up has made me realise it doesn't really matter in the end. I decided it was time I threw myself into it and to quote a popular Coldplay song: ‘if you never try, you’ll never know’ (so sorry, this post is cliché city, and now this song is in my head, ha ha grr.) So, here I am, almost a month into blogging and I can truly say I feel like a different person. Sounds completely dramatic, but it’s true. I spend far too much time in my life, creating scenarios and plans in my head that never actually come to light and what is the point in that? Bit of a deep one today but with my oh so ancient pearls of wisdom I bring to you on this wonderful (?!) Bonfire Night a: go for it. Do that thing you always planned to do, but never did. And heck, I may even venture out and set off a firework myself this year... watch this space.

Zoella Beauty (featuring a little Sprinkle of Glitter claim to fame!)

I have been watching beauty YouTube videos for longer than I can remember, back in the days of Lollipop26 who has a blog still, but no longer makes videos boohoo (you can read her amazing blog HERE, I absolutely love her). In fact, I have a screenshot below of an 18 year old me messaging a pre- famous Sprinkle of Glitter back in 2011 (she has a new facebook account now, this one is deactivated!), back when she called her fans ‘YouTuberinos’ instead of ‘Sprinklerinos’ (check her old videos if you don’t know what I’m talking about.)  I saw her wandering around Liverpool One with Baby Glitter but I was too shy to approach her. I really wish I did now and doubt I will just bump into her around Liverpool again, she probably gets hounded by her countless fans! 

hardcore/ lifelong fan award!

I find it amazing how much the YouTube community has grown over past few years, no longer is it a small niche community for makeup and beauty fans, but the big YouTubers and bloggers have really become celebrities in their own rights. Tanya Burr, another beauty YouTuber and blogger, made her own makeup range earlier this year, I believe and now it is the ever popular Zoella’s turn and I was curious to discover what she had come up with.

A bunch of the 'big' YouTubers at the launch of the products, picture taken from Zoella's blog

As you all most probably know, the lovely Zoella has recently launched a line of bath products (which you can buy HERE and HERE) and of course I had to try something! Now, due to a slight mishap, my student loan has not yet come in (grrr) so I settled for something fairly cheap and opted for the bath soak and shower cream suitably named 'Soak Opera'

Scent

For me, this was the best feature of this shower gel, I love the scent! It’s a floral-ish very clean smell (how technical of me!) and I was pleasantly surprised. However, that’s not to say my Soap And Glory products are going to get thrown out of the window just yet...

Price

The bottle which is 490ml costs a fiver, which I think is a pretty good deal!

Lasting powers

I shall be honest here and say its lasting abilities are certainly nothing to write home about, however, for only a fiver I can’t complain. Perhaps teamed with the body lotion or the perfume, the scent would be of better quantity and quality.

Design/ packaging

Well, it’s pink! I personally love it; the pink and gold with lace detailing I think is really pretty. Also, the actual colour of the cream is a pretty pearlescent baby pink. Not that this particularly matters, of course it won’t come out this colour on skin but at least it looks nice sat in my bathroom!

photo taken from the feel unique website

Effect on the skin

It contains vitamin E, shea butter and aloe extracts which claim to soften and condition the skin. Admittedly, I have only used this a handful of times so I cannot comment on long term results but conditioning and moisture wise I can’t say I noticed anything particularly outstanding but I wasn’t expecting to for a fiver. But knowing it contains these ingredients is a plus for the skin, I suppose!

Overall I can’t say I was completely blown away by this product but I don’t dislike it by any means and I will certainly use it up. As for the other products in the range, I’m unsure as to whether I’ll purchase them. I did have a little sniff of the candle and it just wasn’t to my taste at all, I prefer the cinnamon, cosy Christmassy type scents and this one was a tad too 'blah' for me. But I’m not ruling out buying more, perhaps I’ll have a read of some more reviews and weigh out whether it’d be worth it (please link me to your blogs if you’ve reviewed any!)

Have you tried these products or do you just think they’re gimmicky? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

not a good picture of the product, but look at that sky outside my bedroom window! <333333

Tangle Teezer Review

A little while ago, a friend of mine told me that she had bought a new brush which has changed her life. This got me excited! I love a new brush which revolutionises the way I apply my makeup (Real Techniques buffing brush, I’m looking at you.) However, upon further conversation it became apparent she wasn’t talking about a makeup brush at all, she was talking about a hairbrush, the Tangle Teezer. I was baffled. A hairbrush is just a hairbrush, right? After much deliberation on whether £10.99 was really worth it for ‘just a hairbrush’, curiosity got the better of me and I proceeded to pick one up at my local Boots. And oh boy, I’m glad I did!

When debating with myself today what to write my next post on, I considered writing about my hair routine in general .However, The Tangle Teezer is such a massively underrated product in my opinion and it is just too good to stick in a post about hair care. It is undoubtedly worthy of a post all of its own.

I have been using my tangle teezer every day without fail for over a year now (bar the times I’ve clumsily misplaced it, eek!) and it is safe to say brushing my hair has been a dream ever since. Long gone are the days when I have to spend what seems like a lifetime pulling and dragging a bog standard brush through my hair, this brush literally does all the hard work for you, it really is in a league of its own. I can rag it from top to bottom of my knotted mess without it hurting in the slightest! It also seems to make my hair shinier and smoother: win, win!

But why is it so good? To tell the truth, I have pondered this question a lot myself and I didn’t really know the answer. So, I took to their website and found their official information. Tangle Teezer claim it’s their ‘innovative teeth configuration’ (whatever that fancy wording is meant to mean) which enables the brush to work so well. So to be completely honest with you, I still have absolutely no idea how/why it works, but it does, it really, really does. The design of the brush itself doesn’t feature a handle as such but you sort of just grip the whole thing, giving great control over it and this I believe is what helps aid the no dragging and pulling through the hair. Another bonus is that it is extremely light weight and compact, perfect for carrying round in your bag! The company claims there is ‘no hair it can’t handle’ and I’d expect this to be very true. At times, I have very unruly hair, pesky knots seem to form just from me breathing but that is no task at all for the Tangle Teezer, it glides through them with ease, ahhh.

The range even features a little brush especially designed for children, shaped as a pretty little flower, perfect for those of you with little ones, making hair styling before school an absolute breeze, no more tears of pain! How I wish this brush was around back in my primary school days of my Mum doing my hair every morning! One word: ouch! 

I have wracked my brains for downfalls on this product and I can hand on heart say there is only one which some may perceive to be a negative: price. I understand £10.99 sounds absolutely ludicrous for a hairbrush but to me it is certainly a wise investment and one I do not regret, in fact I’d go as far to say this is my best ‘beauty’ buy to date.  As previously mentioned, I have had mine for over a year and there is absolutely no sign of any wear and to put it bluntly, I would be totally lost without it! This is something which you’re not going to need to replace regularly and it is much more of a sensible purchase than another MAC lipstick!

Have you tried any of the Tangle Teezer range? I would love to hear your opinions! Personally, I really want to try the Aqua Splash Blue Lagoon brush. 

The original Tangle Teezer

Lip Voltage by Dreamweaver review

Insecurities - we all have them and one of my (many, sigh) body hang ups is my teeny weeny lips, especially my pesky non-existent top lip. Do not get me wrong, I could make this into a post about how we should all love ourselves just the way we are, which for the most part, I definitely agree with, so many of my insecurities as a teenager I have now decided are not such a big deal. For example, stretch marks, most of us have them and they are completely normal. But is that to say I don’t want to try and reduce their appearance a little with bio oil? I'm not saying we should all become ‘plastic fantastic’ and change every single self diagnosed flaw, of course not, but easy, safe remedies and products to enhance/ slightly improve what we already have and make us feel more confident, there’s no harm in that, is there?

Today’s post is about a little gem I've recently discovered called Lip Voltage by a company called Dreamweaver. I had wanted to buy this product for some time now and a couple of weeks ago I finally plucked up the courage to purchase it. As you may have noticed on the blogosphere, there is a lot of hype at the moment surrounding this product, but is it lived up to? After testing this for a few weeks, I have decided to write a little review on its pros and cons and if it is really something you need in your life. 

The box comes with a standard looking lipgloss, a scary looking injection tube and instructions. Firstly, it tells you to squeeze one or two drops of the peptide solution into the lipgloss tube then mix it about a bit and apply it to lips, simple. 

My first impressions of this lipgloss were great! My lips tingled more than any ‘plumping’ gloss I've tried before but I was glad of this, I liked the feel of it ‘working’ and my lips rather instantly appeared fuller and redder. However, after a few goes, I felt I was sort of becoming immune to the effects and I decided I perhaps needed to change up the way in which I applied it.

Thus, I decided to fully exfoliate my lips as it always makes such a huge difference to the application of anything I put on my lips. Firstly, I dug out my baby toothbrush I use exclusively for exfoliating my lips as I don’t like the thought of brushing my teeth with dead skin, eurgh and I, admittedly, rather vigorously brushed my lips to ensure any trace of dry skin disappeared. This also helped as it got the blood rushing to my lips which is essentially what the lipgloss does, I believe. Next, I applied a moisturising lipbalm, any will do, I used my trusty EOS balm and waited for that to sink in so to speak. I wanted to apply the gloss directly to my lips for maximum results,so, after a few minutes I rubbed the residue left from the balm off with a towel and proceeded to apply it all over my lips.  This time the gloss tingled/ hurt more than before, but nothing unbearable. It was official, I was converted! To put it simply I felt like I’d transformed from a pre-surgery Kylie Jenner to a mix of post surgery Kylie Jenner and Angelina Jolie. Of course I am being rather dramatic here but I absolutely loved the result. I have inserted before and after pictures below which really demonstrate the drastic difference. It can also be applied just to and a bit above the cupids bow which also gives amazing effects, there are pictures below of this also. This is a perfect way of using for me as it is the area I most want a little oomph and I only need a tiny amount of product applying it here which means it lasts longer- result! 

This product is ideal for a needle-phobe (I’m sure there’s a correct medical term for this!) as it really does give the effect of fillers without the need for painful and pricey injections. It is also bigger lips without the commitment of actual fillers, or the dreaded risk of the botched Pete Burns- esque trout pout, shudder.

Like anything, there are of course some down falls to this product, I am an avid lipstick wearer and I wouldn’t feel too comfortable applying lipstick over gloss, to me this is like putting foundation over finishing powder; a no go. ,However, I did apply a little lipliner to add a touch of colour over it and this worked nicely.  Another con is that it is not readily available in stores (that I am aware of), I had to order mine online and it was quite pricey. Along with the posting and packaging it added up to over £20 (eek!). Still, cheaper than lip fillers! 

Nevertheless, I am very impressed with this product and I would go as far to say that I would repurchase this time after time, solely because I don’t think there is anything else as good as this on the market and I have fallen in love with the results it gives me. I undoubtedly think the pros outweigh the cons but it is definitely a splurge and something that should only be used on nights out or special occasions (note the should, of course I personally have zero will power to use it that sparingly.) This product is forever selling out due to popular demand but keep an eye on the LipVoltage’s twitter page to be updated on stock availability! Their twitter also features many other before and after pictures of various different lip shapes and sizes.

Thanks for reading! Have you tried this product? What do you think of it? Would you ever be tempted to try lip fillers?


For all the facts about the product and to see what else Dreamweaver sell click HERE for their official website

Before and after, only applied to cupids bow

before and after, applied to full lip

Forest greens, deep berry reds, maroons and deep chocolate browns

It’s that time of year again, the fire is lit, the leaves are falling and the nights are beginning to get colder, darker and cosier. But most importantly, the bright orange toned reds of the summer are tucked away for another year and out appear the vampy, deep, berry lipsticks, the Barbie pink blushers are replaced for deep rouge to emphasise that cute natural rosiness from the bitter cold and all the cliché autumnal drinks are finally back in stock (did someone mention pumpkin spiced latte?!).  Without a doubt, Autumn is my favourite season, as I write this I adorn my deep green jumper, comfy, trusty black leggings and long thick slipper socks; autumn in an outfit.

Just recently, Zoella uploaded a makeup tutorial (see that here) epitomising everything beauty wise that I love about this season: dark lip, goldy/ bronze eye. In my opinion, a dark lip suits all walks of life, as long as it’s teamed with the correct base and eye makeup. For example, a pale complexion should be warmed up with a light bronzer and I would never wear a dark lip without adding a little something to my eyes, for fear of looking weird and washed out. If the thought of a dark lip is too daunting, another alternative is to lightly apply the lipstick to make a stain and blotting it. Below are light swatches of my top 3 favourite autumnal lipsticks and links to them, all of these colours are totally buildable, with a couple of layers a real vampy effect can created. What about you, what are your favourites? I personally am desperate to try a Nars dark lippy. Perhaps a splurge with my good old student loan is on the cards...

(Please excuse the poor picture quality, iphone problems...)
From top to bottom:

MAC Rebel 

Barry M 160 

Topshop Beguiled