Planning my holiday swimwear choices

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Last Summer I didn't really have to overthink my swimwear choices, as we were in a private villa, where no one could see me, but I still wanted to be comfortable, so I opted for a nice swimsuit and didn't care much about getting the right two piece option.

Health update



I thought I should update you all a bit after a long break... First of all...I can't believe it is now the end of January and I am still not back to my normal routine. I just need more motivation. I think I have to switch it up a bit. I apologise in advance,  if the post turns into a ramble :) Here's what I have been up to.

4 Rituals To Help You Unwind


After a stressful day, bingeing on your favourite show or scrolling through your social media pages can seem like the ideal way to relax. However, engaging in a night-time ritual before retiring to bed can help you rest well. These sets of activities typically last from 30-60 minutes. They aid in adopting healthy sleep practices, reducing anxiety, and cultivating positive habits. Here are four simple rituals that will prepare you for bedtime.


L'Oreal #TXT Volume Supersizing Spray


My hair is naturally extremely flat and thin and I struggle to add volume to it. It recently became even more annoying and I have to use lots of different products immediately after washing and drying my hair (if I don't want to look like I haven't washed my hair for two weeks). That's why I am always on the lookout for volumising sprays and the L'Oreal #TXT Volume Supersizing Spray ended up in my basket as soon as I noticed it in Boots. I must admit... I am quite impressed!

MAC Humid and Lucky Green Eye Makeup Look


Another MAC makeup look :) My MAC palette is definitely getting a lot of love! This time I used a super bright green shade called Lucky Green and a dark/medium green called Humid. I also added a little bit of Nylon to blend out the edges. 

Magnitone Pulsar Brush Review

Magnitone Pulsar* (RRP £129.99)

I mentioned this brush in one of my Christmas Gift  Guides and my December Favourites post, but it is finally time to review it properly and tell you more about it. I was kindly sent the Magnitone Pulsar brush back in November and started using it immediately, but I had a bad reaction to a MAC foundation and got tons of breakouts, so had to stop using the brush and let my skin recover from the allergic reaction. Once my skin was back to normal, I started using it again and... I absolutely love it. 

NEW! Benefit Lollitint (review and swatches)



Oh Benefit, I adore your lip & cheek stains and the new Lollitint simply stole my heart. I am not sure, if I mentioned it before, but my first ever Benefit product was their Benetint and I used to be addicted to it! I still love it and use it quite often on my 'no makeup days', but I have been dying to get my hands on a pink shade. Posietint was a bit too light, but  Lollitint is just perfect! 

Depotting some of my eyeshadow palettes

  
I was a little bit bored last night, so I started a big makeup clearout + prep for a blog sale. While deciding what palettes to keep, I thought I should depot some of the bulky ones (looking at you Sigma!) and put them in my lovely Z Palette (from www.beautychamber.co.uk). I used it for cheap blushers and eye shadows in the past (read my original post here), but they are now past their expiry date, so they went in the bin. I made exceptions for my most loved (and old) Urban Decay Singles though and kept them :)

Marie Reynolds Ti Amo Candle Duo


Created by a professional beauty therapist Marie Reynolds, the 'Ti Amo' candle duo would make a lovely gift for Valentine's Day. It consists of two massage candles: Indulge and Passion and comes in a lovely gift box. Each candle burns for approximately 10 hours and contains 5oz of wax.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushers


More stunning products for Spring 2014, this time from Hourglass. I am obsessed with their Ambient Lighting Powders, so the new blushers are definitely something I will be investing in. They will be available from the Hourglass website on the 24th of January for $35.00 and we should be able to get them in UK at the beginning of February. I am not sure about the UK price, but they are $10 cheaper than the Ambient Lighting Powders, so they might cost around £30.00 each. There will be 6 gorgeous shades to choose from.

My 2013 Makeup Favourites


It's time for my last instalment of 2013 favourites.The makeup category was the hardest one and it took me ages to decide what products were my definite favourites last year. If you are interested in my favourite makeup brushes and tools, I wrote a separate post about them here.

Beyonce 'Mine' inspired makeup look


Whenever I mention that I am not really a Beyonce (or Rihanna) fan, I actually get abuse on Twitter, which I find absolutely hilarious :) We all have different tastes and values, right? I respect someone's opinion, so they should respect mine. Anyway... When lovely Danielle mentioned a makeup look Beyonce wore in her 'Mine' video, I really liked the sound of it, so I watched the video and decided to give the eye makeup a try. It is not exactly the same and the shades used on her look totally different against my skin tone, but I used similar colours and I quite like how it turned out. The only palette I used for this eye makeup look is Urban Decay Vice 2, plus bright blue eye pencil, mascara, liner and falsies.

ZOEVA 'ROSE GOLDEN LUXURY SET'


OMG! How gorgeous is this brush set? The new 'Zoeva Rose Golden Luxury  Set' launches on the 27th of January and it is a beaut! It is inspired by the 'dazzling explosion of pink and gold 'and comes in a sleek clutch. For 58.00 € (under £50), you get eight stunning brushes, which is amazing! The quality of Zoeva brushes is exceptional and comparable (if not the same) to MAC and Sigma. 

Brand focus: Zoeva (+giveaway)


When a little Zoeva parcel arrived at my doorstep all the way from Germany, I couldn't wait to play with my new brushes and liners. I already own the Luxe Colour Blush in Last Love, so I decided to give the new one away to one of my readers :)

2013 Favourites: Makeup Brushes and Tools


I was planning to include my most loved makeup brushes and tools in my 2013 makeup favourites, but... the post would be far too long, so I decided to split it into two separate edits. I own 50-60 good quality brushes and use most of them regularly, but I managed to pick 6 favourites from my entire collection and...one amazing tool I can't live without :)

Neom Refresh Body Wash


Neom Refresh Body Wash* 240ml, £18.00

I love Neom's Refresh range, especially the gorgeous room spray and candle. I use them, when I want my house to smell very fresh, but not overpowering and they work really well in the kitchen as well. That's why I was very excited to try the Refresh body wash and I must admit - it is a  gorgeous product.

January Birchbox Review


There is a nice little selection of products in the January Birchbox*, including makeup, skincare, body care, hair care and a lifestyle extra. I also love this months theme. 'Tiny Tweaks' are exactly what we need to make positive changes in our life and see a big difference by the end of the year. Here's what I received in my box:

January 2014 Love Me Beauty Box review


 Love Me Beauty started the year with yet another fantastic box. I don't think I've ever complained about their service and I always look forward to see their monthly menus. In my January box* I received three full size products and two samples including:

2013 Favourites: Body Care & Hair Care


Just like my skincare favourites, these were super easy for me to pick :) Out of 6 body care and hair care products featured in this post, I already repurchased 4 of them and the other two are on my 'to buy' list, once I use up other alternatives. 

How To Make Your Next Trip Even Better


Photo by Vlada Karpovich


Travelling is a great thing to do, and you can get so much out of it, but only if you make sure you do what’s necessary to learn, enjoy, and really make the most of your time away from home. It’s fantastic just to go and have fun and come home with some wonderful memories, but what if you could actually make your next trip (and every trip afterwards) even better? Well, that’s exactly what you can do, and here are some ideas to help you.

2013 Skincare Favourites


Yay! I am finally sharing my 2013 favourites, starting with skincare. I had the list ready in December, but I only got a chance to photograph everything last weekend :) There will be two other instalments: makeup + tools and body care + hair care. 

Escentual's #FragranceAmnesty campaign


If you are a beauty addict like me, you probably own far too many perfumes. Some of them might be unwanted gifts collecting dust on your dressing table, some might be sitting in a drawer - still in the original packaging. To help us solve this problem and support a fantastic cause, Escentual are running their #FragranceAmnesty campaign, starting from Monday 13th of January. To take part, you can simply tweet a picture of your unwanted scent to @Escentual with the #FragranceAmnesty hashtag and some info about the fragrances you normally go for.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC20 Review


After having a horrible reaction to MAC Studio Fix Fluid, I was very sceptical about trying their concealer, but... I had some Debenhams points on my card so I decided to give Pro Longwear Concealer a go. It was mainly for camouflaging my under eye circles and blemishes, so I didn't expect it to cause any problems. 

BECCA bargains


I love bargains, so as soon as I found out that Fragrance Direct is selling Becca products at insanely low prices, I placed a small order. Most Becca products retail at £20-£30, so getting a chance to try some of them for only £3.99-£5.99 was too good of a deal to pass up.

December Favourites


I am a bit late again with my monthly favourites, but there are many products I have been loving and I wanted to share them with you, so let's get started :)

Convenient Ways to Add Value to your Property

Do you feel as though your property isn’t quite as valuable as it could be? If so then now is the time for you to do something about that. By taking action now, you can make sure that your home stays profitable, for when you decide to sell.

NEW! theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer aka the "Con-tour" artist


OMG! Did you know that theBalm released another stunning highlighter? Cindy-Lou Manizer is now available to buy in America and it should be arriving in the UK at the end of January and I couldn't be more excited! I adore their Mary-Lou & Betty-Lou Manizers and the only missing shade was a pink toned beauty! 

Ebay bargains: colourful watches


I totally forgot to blog about these last year, but better late than never :) If you are looking for cheap ways to accessorize your outfit, you can't really go wrong with a cool watch :) I got mine from Hong Kong and waited 2-3 weeks for delivery, but I noticed that UK sellers started selling them at the same price recently, which is under £3.00!!! Bargain! 

4 Benefits Of At-Home Workouts

Image Credit


Staying fit is a great way to ensure good health and well-being. However, as far as fitness is concerned, working out doesn’t mean you have to always be at the gym. You can also perform a lot of exercises from the comfort of your home. Whether you want to boost your endurance, build muscles, increase strength, or lose weight, at-home workouts can provide great benefits. Gone are the days when gyms were the only places to get a good quality full-body exercise. Once you are ready to put in the effort, an at-home workout can deliver benefits like those outlined below.


MAC 217 dupes - comparison


After hearing many good things about the MAC 217 brush, I finally ordered it. You can read my full review of 217 here, but today I would like to introduce you to some more affordable dupes of the brush, ranging from 99p to £10.50. Some of them are incredible and very similar to the amazing 217, some are simply ok and one is a bit disappointing. Is the MAC 217 THE BEST? I will give you a spoiler. YES!

11 Home Improvement Ideas for 2025

Photo credit: Pexels


It’s totally normal to want to feel pride in your home, especially when you’ve worked hard on home improvements over the last few years. It’s also understandable that even though you love your home, you’re always looking for ideas on how you could improve it further. Like many other homeowners, you might already be considering improvements you could make to get your home ready for the summer season. If you’re the type that loves having family and friends over for BBQs and social gatherings, now is the perfect time to get started. With that in mind, here’s some inspiration on how to make your home even better.

New Real Techniques Brushes

As a huge Real Techniques fan, I am very excited for their 2014 launches. When I say, that their brushes are the best I have ever tried - I really mean it. They are super soft, cruelty free and... affordable! The quality is outstanding and they do not shed a single hair! Amazing! The new launches include a Retractable Kabuki Brush, a  Retractable Bronzer Brush, a Retractable Lip Brush and a Silicone Liner Brush. They are already available in America and will be launching in UK at the end of January.

Changing my unrealistic expectations + some FITspiration :)



Every January, some of us make resolutions to eat healthy, start exercising and get fit in general. Healthy eating is something I am passionate about and I started exercising regularly last year, but... I wouldn't consider myself fit. If I had to run a couple of miles today, I would probably cry, because I never run during the colder months...  I would love to be able to run a marathon one day and it is definitely something I will consider in the future, but at the moment, I just want to be as fit and as healthy as possible. 

MAC Coppering Eye Makeup Look


I wore this look on Christmas Day and New Years Eve and I absolutely love it. It is super simple and you only need two eyeshadows to create it - MAC Coppering and Nylon. If you have similar shades from other brands- you can use them instead. I would definitely recommend picking up Coppering though, because it is simply stunning. Nylon is just a highlight colour and you can swap it for any light beige :) 

Tips For Taking Back Control Of Your Health

Source Link - CC0 License


Your health is not something that you should be ignoring. It’s easier to bury your head in the sand rather than deal with any potential problems that you might be facing, but this is not a productive way to take care of yourself, is it? Nope, you need to be looking at your health and thinking about what you can actually do to make it better! Down below, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the ways that you can take back the reins when it comes to your health, so keep reading if you’re interested in learning more. 

By Terry Or De Rose Baume Precieux


Please feel free to correct me, if I am wrong but... I think I am about to review the most expensive lip balm in the world. The limited edition By Terry Or De Rose Baume Precieux retails at £46.00, but I managed to get my mitts on this gorgeous little pot with a 50% discount in the Space NK sale :) The most important question - Is it worth the hefty price tag?

What I got for Christmas & Sale Purchases :)


I love reading 'What I got for Christmas' posts, so I decided to show you what I got from Santa too :) I am probably the worst person to buy for, because I own far too many beauty products and people don't want to risk getting me something I already have, but.. this year I asked for non-beauty stuff from family and money from my husband. I know... A bit sad, but I wanted a lot of beauty bits from the sales, so it was the best idea. So... Here is what I got for Christmas 2013.

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