Cup O' Coffee | Lush Review

Up until now all the lush products I've bought have been for the bath, bath bombs, bubble bars, soap etc. I don't know why I've never ventured into buying any of their skincare or face products before but I regret not looking into them sooner. As you can already tell from my blog, I'm a huge Lush fan. I was in the market for a face mask / face scrub to help clear up my skin, as my skin is awful. The wonderful lady in Lush recommended loads of products and tried them out for me so I could test them and I really had a hard time deciding which one I wanted to try out first (I will try them all eventually). After smelling and trying the products for ages I finally decided on the face mask, Cup O' Coffee.

It doesn't look like the most appealing thing you want to smother all over your face, but trust me it smells good. I liked this product as I am a huge coffee lover and it smells just like your regular cup of coffee (as the name suggests). It's perfect to smoother over your face to give you a good skin wake up, just like coffee in the morning. The product contains coffee beans and I was interested to see how this works on the skin and if it's any good for it. 

The product itself feels more thick than I imagined it would be and it doesn't blend that smoothly. I tend to put it in places where my skin is bad and leave it for 10-15 minutes to set, I then wash it off in the shower normally. I think this does clean the skin quite well and it leaves it feeling super soft and smelling faintly like coffee. I often get it in my mouth by mistake and it tastes just like coffee and it's so weird to have a face mask feel like that, I overshare weird points okay. 

I love how natural the product feels and I think it does wonders for the skin, and the environment. I already know I'll be investing in more similar products soon. 

Has anyone tried this Lush product before? What are your thoughts?

Sleek Makeup | Au Naturel Eyeshadow & Solstice Highlighting Palette

I've been eyeing up this brand for such a long time and wanted to test out some of their products but I had no idea which products I wanted to try out. At the same time I was looking for a good highlighter palette as I haven't really got one and I liked the sleek ones while trying out the testers. There was a deal on at the time so I also splurged and bought an eye shadow palette too, nothing wrong with a good ol' natural eye shadow palette. Spoiler alert, these are like my favourite make up buys ever.

   

I spent ages in the shop comparing which palette I wanted to get because there's a lot of choice, which is great. Most of them were really similar though which kind of confused me. I knew I wanted a pure highlighting palette though because I suck at proper contour and it makes me look silly. I decided on a neutral eye shadow palette to go along with this, it seemed fitting to bring out my natural glow.

   

(Swatches are Ecliptic, Hemisphere, Subsolar and Equinox.) 

Starting with my main purchase, I got the Sleek highlighting palette in Solstice, such a pretty name too. When I bought this I didn't know it came in a gold packaging so when I took it out for the first time it's safe to say that I fangirled over how pretty it was. Seriously though, the packaging and product look so beautiful, you can tell I'm obsessed. The shade that made me fall in love with this palette was the pale pink toned shade Hemisphere, which is for your cheekbones. The first shade, Ecliptic is the only creamy shade and is for your browbone and I also use it on the inner corners of my eyes. The third shade Subsolar and last shade Equinox, are for the bridge of your nose and cupids bow. 

   I love every shade in this palette and it covers every area in your face with each different shade which I love, I also love how they are named after the solar system. It makes your face glow and sparkle and who doesn't want that? It helps me feel like a princess, yes this post is getting weird now.

   

My second purchase was the i-Devine Au Naturel palette. These are mineral based eye shadows and I find them super super easy to blend and apply. They're very pigmented but subtle at the same time, if that can be said. I find that I normally only apply one eye shadow from this palette onto my eye and it gives me a super nice look. Half of the palette is very subtle colours and the other half are darker which is a nice mix, especially for everyday looks. 

(Swatches are the colours in the top row of the palette, in order Nougat, Nubuck, Cappuccino, Honeycomb, Toast and Taupe.)

The top row of colours as you can tell my the pictures are very opaque and very subtle, also very hard to get a photo of. They're all prefect for bases or a natural make up look. They're mostly matte colours which I love right now. Taupe is the only shimmer colour in the top row and is probably my most used one from there along with Cappuccino, if I want a more natural look. 

(Swatches in this photo are of the second row in the palette, in order Noir, Regal, Mineral Earth, Bark, Moss and Conker.)

The bottom row of the palette is my favourite. They're half shimmer half matte, it's a good mix. I love how they blend on my eyes, especially the shade Regal, which I sometimes use on its own all over my eyelid. My favourite shades in the bottom row are Conker, a red-y brown shimmer, always a must have and another brown shimmer Mineral Earth. They're both just really pretty.

The only con to this palette is how un-pigmented the top row of it is, it doesn't make much of a difference on your eyelids but I still love the palette otherwise. The Au Naturel Eye shadow palette and Solstice highlighter palette go so well together and I'd highly recommend them!

Has anyone tried any Sleek products before and have any recommendations? Let me know!

Winter Denim | Outfit

I love denim jackets so much. As soon as I see someone wearing a denim jacket I'm literally eyeing them up to see which kind of denim jacket it is, because I always wanted to find which one I wanted to buy, I'm pretty much obsessed with the whole look though. They're so casual and edge-y and they always make everyone look ten times cooler than they already are, doesn't really work for me but that doesn't matter. Eventually on my hunt for the perfect denim jacket for me, I found it.

   

The jacket I finally bought, well got for Christmas actually, was this one from the mens section in Berskha. It was fifty-five or fifty Euro, which was good enough for a good jacket. I liked this jacket because it wasn't too long and wasn't too short, the defining factor for me. It's really heavy and sturdy, it actually has stones inside it and I'm not too sure if it's to add weight or to keep creases out of it. The inside torso is lined with fur, which I think is super cute and great for winter for warmth, but it's also not too heavy to wear in summer. It also has some nice purple plaid designed detailing underneath the collar which you can't really see in the photos but in person it adds a splash of colour. 

   I do find denim hard to match with things sometimes though but other than that I wear it a lot, it makes me feel cool.

Anyone have any denim pieces in their wardrobes? What do you think of this look?

Lush Gift Boxes | Little Snow Fairy & Buttercup

I am always behind on writing and finishing posts I've half written ages ago or started and I need to keep more up to date with my blogging. I've tried a few Lush box sets over the past few months and two cute ones I've used are Little Snow Fairy and Buttercup. They're both completely different and contrasting in scents and vibes. Little Snow Fairy is sweet and fun, I also think this is only available around Christmas time, I'm not sure, you can see how far behind in writing I am, while Buttercup has a more relaxed and chill feel about it.

Little Snow Fairy contains one pink fun bar and one small Snow Fairy shower gel. The fun bars are multi-purpose play-dough like substances that can be used as shampoo, shower gel, bubble bath and just to mess with and make fun shapes out of, perfect for younger children. It smells a lot like Snow Fairy, which makes sense in a Snow Fairy box next to Snow Fairy shower gel, how many times can I say the words Snow Fairy in this post? The Snow Fairy scent smells like bubble gum and candy floss and it's Lush's sweetest scent that I know of. I'm obsessed with this scent and think it smells just like a candy factory. I use the shower gel as a bubble bath and it makes a decent amount of bubbles. 

Buttercup contains one Butterball and one piece of Honey I Washed the Kids soap. I have reviewed butterball previously and I continuously purchase it. It's one of Lush's most calming bath bombs and it contains cocoa butter which is soothing and moisturizing for the skin. It smells citrus-y and I would consider it one of Lush's most adult feeling bath bombs. I know that's an odd comparison but it has a de-stressing and relaxing qualities plus it leaves your bath a plain pale white colour, that a younger child might not find exciting enough for a bath bomb, I'm a sucker for sweet smelling colourful bath bombs anyway but. As for the Honey I Washed the Kids soap I haven't used it as I'm not a huge soap fan and don't really know where to keep them after one use. It smells like caramel and just delicious and it has really good reviews on Lush's website here. I know I'll love this product as soon as I get around to using it.

Either one of these products would be perfect as a gift depending on whether you're looking for a sweet and fun box or a relaxing and soothing box of products! Plus the boxes look super adorable.

Has anyone tried these boxes or products before? What do you think?

Tips On Dealing With Anxiety

This is a different type of post for me. I feel more vulnerable writing it but I want to share my tips and what gets me through things with other people. I like to think it will help someone out there similar to me. I've had this written for about 6 months and haven't had the courage to post it.

I've not been 'diagnosed' with anxiety but out of all the sorts of mental illness' you can suffer from, I'm pretty sure you'll know yourself how you're feeling, you don't need someone else to justify it for you. They won't ever know exactly what you're feeling anyway. I'm not super severe also so. Anyway, I get anxious a lot. Most of the time I can't even explain why I get it. Other times it makes more sense. I know everyone deals with anxiety and some people do more than others so I think we should all be more supportive of one another and if someone feels anxious about something we should know better than to give out or tell them to get over it, but to understand and listen a little.

I don't know how to stop feeling nervous about certain things but I know somethings that help me and calm me down or distract me. For example, I know that being near or seeing the ocean helps me feel at peace and calms me down, there's something relaxing about it, if it's calm.

• My number one tip is to control your breathing. If you're in anyway panicked about something, finding it hard to breath will make the situation worse. Even if you're anxious and breathing normally, focusing on your breathing should still relax your nerves a little. It helps you focus on yourself and not your surroundings and helps you distract yourself from whatever is bothering you, while calming your body. I normally breath in for about seven seconds and out for five. Taking deeper breaths helps a lot I find.
• Depending on what I'm anxious over, I'll most likely try and talk to someone close to me if I can. It helps a whole lot knowing you can talk to someone and feel more comfortable and knowing that someone's willing to understand. If there's no one I feel comfortable around with me or I'm in a situation makes me uncomfortable, the only thing that's best is to remove yourself from the situation if you can.
• If I can I think the best thing to do if your feeling overwhelmed is actually to cry and let it out. There's no use bottling emotions if they're upsetting you. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to stop myself from crying in public because it's difficult when there's a lot of people watching, even if they're not actually.
• If you're around people who make you uncomfortable, try and avoid them as much as you can. If you can't, avoid as much contact as you can. Give yourself space. If it's a certain place that makes you uncomfortable, again, avoid it.
• If you need to calm yourself listen to some sort of music. See which type of music suits your mood. It could be heavy or quiet, different music will sooth different anxieties and emotions. Sing your favourite song or get lost in the emotions of the lyrics, especially if they match your own.
• Do something to distract yourself. Do something you love doing and use these emotions for something useful like painting a picture, writing a song or putting them into whatever hobby you have. You'll find yourself forgetting the problem and getting into whatever you're doing.
• Reassure yourself over and over that it's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay and it always will be. The things we worry about are never normally a reality. We need to take a step back from the situation. 

I find when I over think I get anxious and I'm trying hard to stop thinking so negatively about things, it's really hard to stop doing things unconsciously but it's definitely worth a try. Sometimes it takes time to know why and figure out why things make you feel a certain way and you need to put thought into where and when you have anxious feelings and try and see if it makes sense in anyway, speaking for the random bursts of anxiety/panic attacks. That would be my main advice for trying to control our emotions and avoiding similar outbursts.

Recently I've been trying to be more open about it and to feel less stupid when talking about this topic, being personal it's kinda hard. I would much more likely talk to one of my friends to help me sort it out now rather than by myself. I also know that sometimes no matter how hard you try you can't always be in control of your feelings and it's okay to be able to let it all out and not stop it. 

If anyone needs someone to talk to about anxiety or panic attacks or anything really please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to help. Please note I am no where near a professional and can only offer advice and understanding, basically all this post is. All I want to achieve from this post is to be able to speak about this openly and see if it helps other people or is just a reassurance for anyone that they're not alone. I really love seeing other people post about this as it makes me feel less irrational and annoying and more normal, especially because it is a completely normal thing.

MAC Lipsticks | Velvet Teddy & Media

Up to this point I have not owned any MAC products as I'm always broke and never want to waste so much money on make up. This has changed now and I've become more into 'higher end' makeup. For Christmas I asked for two MAC lipsticks, in amazing shades. I asked for Velvet Teddy, which I have seen all over the blogging community and fell in love with, and Media, a dark berry red shade which is totally me.

          

Velvet Teddy is one that I've seen on a huge amount of blogs and I really loved how it looked on everyone so I decided I wanted to try it out for myself. It's a dark beige kinda brown nude lipstick and I think it suits everyone I have seen it on. It's perfect to go with a really natural or simple make up look. It's such a good lipstick for every day wear and I think I'm pretty much obsessed with it, I've been wearing it almost every day since Christmas. It's subtle and has long-wear and I think it's gotten me really into nude lipsticks, something I haven't been really into before. 

Media is a dark purple red shade but looks more red on the lips, it looks similar to MAC's Rebel lipstick but it's a bit lighter. This lipstick looks amazing with party looks and for nights out, it stays on really well and barely fades even after eating food. It glams up any make up look super quickly and it's become one of my favourite lipstick colours. 

Swatches are in order Velvet Teddy and Media. 

I'm so impressed by the quality and stay power of these lipsticks and can't believe it took me so long to get some. I can definitely see myself buying some more soon. So if anyone has some shade recommendations please let me know! 

Has anyone tried these MAC lipstick shades before?

New Years Resolutions 2016

Hello. First post of 2016 and it's a generic one. It doesn't even feel like a new year to me, sometimes I already feel like the new year has passed before it even has, Christmas was a bit like that too. I haven't really thought about my New Years resolutions properly, what a great post so far, but I know when I go to write them down I'll know exactly what they are and at least I can look back at the end of the year and see if I've actually managed any.

(I know the pictures have nothing to do with this post but I'm still getting into taking photos and I want to put them somewhere, queue more posts.)

• I guess my first resolution should be blog related. I want to write more things that I want to write and to be able to feel comfortable with everything I publish. I want to put more time and effort into my blog and keep making the content better with practice. I also want to take more photos and get better at taking photos, in life and for my blog. 
• I want to put more effort in to keeping up with my college work and trying to engage more even when I'm really not interested. I have the opportunity and I should make the best of it. I also want to get better grades but that's probably not going to improve.
• I want to try and make more people happy and look after my friends more. I don't think I'm a bad friend I just want to be more involved and support people more. 
• I hope I can gain more confidence in being able to do things for myself and feel more comfortable in just doing the things I love without being self-conscious or paranoid. 
• The main thing I want to do this year is to stop being my own worst enemy by taking the worst out of things and I want to try and take happiness out of things even when there is none, I want to try and be as happy as I can be and not be so negative, even though it will be hard.
• My last one should be to eat healthy but we all know that will never happen. 

Here's to a happy 2016 everyone! What's everyone's New Years resolutions?