The Fault In Our Stars.

Heey,

In August I was given The fault in our stars by John Green (TFIOS). This was a birthday present from Amber and at the time I was reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but I finished that near the beginning of January (I'm a slow reader, I know) but as soon as I finished it I started reading TFIOS and literally, it took me 2 days to read it. Now because it was short, it is actually an average sized book but because I couldn't put it down!

I'm not going to spoil it for anyone but I think most people know that somebody does die. It's kind of obvious who will die at the end but still it makes people cry when John Green wrote the words saying that the character died :(. I didn't cry and at first I thought it was because I already knew that he/she would die but I did feel very sad!

I am extremely excited for TFIOS movie because I have seen the leaked trailer (who wouldn't?) and it looks AMAZING. I can't wait until it comes out June 20th 2014 which is later than America and I'm very jealous!

Have you read The Fault In Our Stars?

Hugs and kisses

Liv xoxo

Shop my Stash: Nail Polish

Heey,

I recently watched an old video made by Louise (Sprinkle of Glitter) and Zoe (Zoella), it was called 'Shop my Stash' and what they did was go through all of their beauty products that they had forgotten about and shared what they were, making the promise to use them more in the future. I think this is a very good idea because it's almost like buying a new product but without the price tag. I have a few beauty things I want to use but recently I sorted out all of my nail polishes and I had over 100! I found ones that I had forgotten about and some I had never used before, I can't wait for the weekend when I will almost certainly be painting my nails using one of the colours from today's post !

I have picked 6 of my nail polishes that I want to use more. I'm not sure on the prices of some because they were mostly presents and/or came in a pack but a few I did buy for myself.

329 Magnetic Violet Nail Paint by Barry M I bought this colour a while back in the Summer when the Magnetic style was really on trend. I love the colour purple and I think that this is a very unique shade. I was confused at first as to how you used it but what you do is apply the nail polish and as it's half way through drying, you put the small bridge on the cap to the cuticle area of your nails, hold it there for about 30 seconds then when you take it away, the nail polish has become (in this case) stripy. Most of the colours have different effects but liked the combination of this one.

44 Parma Violet 60 Seconds Hot Looks by Collection This nail polish was a birthday present from my Auntie and Uncle (as well as other things) I have never worn but I love the colour, I know it' more of a Winter colour than a Summer colour so I would have to wear it sooner rather than later but I really love this shade of purple. I've heard from my friends that the Collection nail vanishes aren't too bad and that it's a bit too watery, however I will just have to see for myself! These polishes are very cheap and you can get them from Boots.

Grapefruit Gelly Hi- Shine by Barry M and Lambada by Strictly Come Dancing Another birthday present but this time from my sisters. I asked for the Gelly nail polishes this year and I received 3 from my half sisters. The other 2 are 'Blueberry' and 'Guava' if you wanted to know and the reason they aren't in this post is because I have used them quite a few times! I do love the colour of this nail polish but I've never been brave enough to wear it and seen as I got it at the end of summer I though that I would save it until this Summer. You may have noticed that there are 2 nail polishes in the picture and sub-title and that is because they are basically the same colour! I was given a set of 12 nail polishes last Christmas from my parents and I are for some reason by 'Strictly Come Dancing' (a UK dancing celebrity talent show) but the formula and colours are surprisingly good. Because they were the same colour I put both in because I haven't used either of them before.

W7 Nail Polish Top Coat/Clear It seams that no one knows what to get me other than Nail Polishes for my birthday! This was in a set with 4 other colours from W7. The other 4 were really pretty colour but they weren't solid, they were crackle! Anyway, I haven't really used any of the colours so I can't say if W7 will be any good, but the reason the whole set isn't here is because a) it will take too long to write and b) I can't really be bothered. However I am including this one because in 2014 I am on the search for the best top coat under £5! That is what I am calling my 'Nail years Resolution' ;) Do you get it?

246 Park Ave by NYC For once I actually bough myself a nail polish! This is one of my most resent additions to the collection and the reason I bough this was because my Mum recently won a nail polish in this colour and it was really nice but expensive. My Mum won't let me use it so I went out and bough one in the same colour but obviously a lot cheaper! After I bought it (on a Sunday I think) I put it on to see what it was like and I loved it! But because I had school the next day I had to take it off and put it in my nail vanish box, never to be seen again... UNTIL NOW! This is defiantly a winter colour and I think it may be the net one I will be sporting ;).

Phew, finally finished, I hope you enjoyed this post or maybe gave you a craving to paint your nails, I certainly have! 

Have you tried any of these colours? 

Hugs and kisses

Liv xoxo

Carrie and her Hair!

Heey,

I wasn't planning on doing this post but I just watched a video by Carrie Hope Fletcher and it really inspired me to make this post.

If you didn't know, Carrie is a YouTuber and has over 433,000 subscribers. She is know really for her big, blonde curly hair and she is doing something really special. She is donating most of her hair to The Little Princess Trust. This is a charity that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair to some kind of illness.

Carrie is an actress and is starring as Eponine at the moment in Les Miserable. She can't cut her hair until Les Miserable finishes because she needs it for her character but when she finishes the shows, she will be chopping it off.

I think this is a great cause and I think it's well worth a mention over the internet. Carrie is cutting off her hair and she isn't asking you to do the same unless you would like to (I personally wouldn't but I admire those who would!) however she is asking if anyone could donate to a different charity, close to her heart.

You have probably heard of it before but her chosen charity is the Great Ormond Street Hospital and she talks all about it in her video.

DONATE HERE: http://www.justgiving.com/CarrieHopeF...
The Little Princess trust: http://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/

I really hope you can donate, I will be asking my parents if I can!

Thank you for reading I hope that I have persuaded you to donate, by the way, Carrie is an amazing YouTuber, singer and actress and she would appreciate it if you could subscribe as well!

Hugs and kisses
Liv xoxo

P.S Carrie, if you're reading this, I love your videos :D

It's Simple!

Heey,

(Brace yourself it's a long one...)

So today I wanted to share with you a mini haul type post where I'm going to show you all of the Simple things that I got a few weeks ago. I asked my Mum if she could get me some Simple products and I went onto the Boots website to see how much it would cost and the things I wanted came to about £15 so my Mum went out the next day and bought them for me! I hadn't really had a skincare routine before although I did do a post on my nightly routine HERE and that did include some skincare stuff but not much from Simple. A lot of my readers are from America and you might not know what Simple is, you may have grasped that it is a skin care brand, and you would be correct but the reason that I love it so much is because it's reasonably priced but also, it's simple! Nothing fancy, just great products that do wonders for your skin.

The first thing was a face wash. This is the triple action anti - blemish facial wash and I love it! I saw results from day one and when I say results I mean I saw a difference in my skin where some spots used to be, they had either disappeared or started to go away. I don't want to stop using this product because I forgot to use it one night and the next morning I did have a few blemishes sprouting - not my best look!

Following on from my facial wash I asked for some oil - balancing face wipes. Now, I know that face wipes aren't great for your skin and you should use them rarely but these ones help to balance the oil on my skin. Unfortunately I was born with quite oily skin which I inherited from my Dad (thanks Dad) and I used to just have to use a bit more powder than anyone else which was quite inconvenient but now after using the wipes my skin has defiantly been a lot less oily! I don't use the wipes everyday but when I have been wearing a lot of make up or I'm sleeping over at my friends house then I do use them but now I'm thinking of getting an oil balancing facial wash?

I also received some toner. Now, I didn't really know what toner did to your skin, and I don't really understand now but I do know that it is good for my skin and I use it morning and night (if I can remember). I use the toner on a cotton wool pad and apply to my face in circular motions. The toner is from Simple's normal range and I believe it is the only toner they make but it's good enough for me!

The last thing that my Mum bought was the anti - blemish moisturizer. This is in the same collection as the face wash and a few other product that I am yet to own but I think this is the best moisturizer that I have ever tried! Obviously it isn't the best in the world but for the price that it is I think that it is amazing value. I don't use much because I don't want to waste it and I hate having excess moisturizer on my face. Again I saw results from day 1 and I will defiantly be repurchasing this product.

Now, for Christmas one of my best friends and fellow blogger, Amber, gave me a Simple foaming cleanser as well as some other things, but I use this daily. I love this cleanser because it is very easy to use and can be applied using my fingers whereas with some other cleansers I had I found that I got my best resulting using a cotton pad which was a bit annoying after a while. I don't know the magic behind how it foams but what I do know is that it goes from a water-like liquid inside the packaging and comes out as a foam! Amazing.

That's all I have so far for my new Simple stuff but I know somehow that I will have more soon!

What's your favourite Simple product?

Hugs and kisses
Liv xoxo

My Collection: Rimmel London Part 2

Heey,

I have already done Part 1 of my Rimmel London products were we saw Nail Polishes, Lipsticks and Lip Lacquers, now I have foundation, concealer, eye liner and powder to share with you :)


Powder

From up to down: Stay Matte Powder - 003 Peach Glow and

Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal eye liner - 001 Black

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder has saved my life (not literally, in make up terms). I have unfortunately inherited my Dad's oily skin and I had tried quite a few powders but never found one that really worked. I had seen a lot of hype around this product so I knew it would be good. Myself and Zoe both bought it when it was on a special offer (buy one get one half price or something) so we both bought one and halved the total. I would recommend this product to anyone! The only thing I don't like about this product is the packaging! It's one of the reasons I didn't buy it in the first place but I looked behind that. The lid doesn't fall off or anything, it just doesn't look very nice and the writing scratches off very easily. 

Eye Liner 

Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal eye liner is actually a product I have heard very little about and I have no idea why. It's probably the best eye liner I have ever owned. It is JET black and glides onto the waterline and lid so smoothly. The fact that it's waterproof is great but at the same time can be annoying when it doesn't come off! Very cheap and very underrated but amazing in reality. I do find that in the morning when I wake but I have dark grey lines from where the eye liner had smudged during the night. This is a downside but one that I'm willing to overlook.

Foundation

Top left picture: Left to right: Match Perfection Creme Compact Foundation - 100 Ivory, Wake Me Up liquid foundation - 100 Ivory and Wake Me Up Liquid Concealer - 010 Ivory

The Match Perfection Creme Compact Foundation was my first ever creme foundation and Rimmel foundation. I am so glad that I bought this as I really enjoy wearing it and I find that it blends well, apply's easily and good value for money. I bought this quite a while back, in the Summer I believe, and to be honest I didn't know what to expect, I hadn't really gotten into makeup but I knew what I was on about, if you get what I mean(?). The only downside to this particular product is that there isn't much of it, only 7g. I didn't realize this at the time, the product is quite deep and I thought that the foundation went all the way to the bottom and to me what's why I bought it, the fact that it was great value for money. When I opened it i pushed back the lid and that released a small compartment with a mirror and sponge. I was pleasantly surprised but still would have enjoyed more product. 

Wake Me Up foundation. Well, what can I say? Best. Foundation. Ever. All of the You-Tuber make up guru's that I subscribe to rave about this product, Zoella, Tanya Burr, SprinkleofGlitter etc. all say that this is one of their all time favourite drug-store foundations. Everything about this product is great. It is defiantly more of a Summer foundation because it's got SPF 15 and it's a lot more dewy and make's your skin glow, sometimes that can be too much for Winter so I'm excited to use this at it's full potential in the Summer.  

What I love apart from the formula is the packaging. I have always wanted a pump foundation because I find that the squeezey ones are really annoying sometimes and hard to use when I can't always control the amount of product coming out. Some people don't like the glass but I think it's professional and the orange is somewhat appealing. 

Wake Me Up Concealer, is an amazing concealer and I use it as my everyday one. It's a big step from MUA and  small step from Collection 2000, their concealer is probably the best drug-store one but I decided to get the Wake Me Up one. This concealer goes very well with the Wake Me Up foundation but I would expect it to seen as it comes from the same range. I haven't hear too much about this from YouTubers and bloggers but I find that it is very brightening and, believe it or not, 'Wakes me up' ;). This concealer is not one to be used on spots because it is brightening it will attract people attention to them even more than if you had nothing on them. 

And that ladies and gents, is my Rimmel London collection! I hope you enjoyed these posts and maybe I influenced you to go and buy some of these products?

What collection would you like me to do next?

Hugs and kisses

Liv xoxo

My Collection: Rimmel London Part 1

Heey,

I was sat on my bed the other day and I was just going through my make up and I saw that I owned a small collection of Rimmel London products and most of them were bought recently but I haven't shown them to you because I have been a bad blogger! I have altogether 12 things so really not much but I thought I'd share them with you anyway! 

This post is going to be quite long so i'm splitting it into 2 parts. Part 1 is going to have Nail Polishes, Lip Sticks and Lip Lacquers then Part 2 will include Foundations, Powder and Eye Liner.

Nail Polishes

From left to right: Space Dust - 006 Moon Walking, 60 Seconds - 600 Deliciously Dark, I <3 Lasting Finish - 702 Marshmallow Heaven, 030 Double Decker Red, 280 - Sunshine

Moon Walking was my most recently purchased nail polish and it's apart of their new collection: Space Dust. I have it on my nails while i'm writing this and I love it so much. It's not a top coat so you don't have to wear a colour underneath. The texture of the nail polish is quite gritty but at the same time it can be quite smooth (?) It dries quickly and don't chip easily.

Deliciously Dark is a deep purple nail polish and it was actually my sisters and she gave it to me but unfortunately I spilled a coral nail polish on it, which really annoys me for some reason. I like this colour in the Autumn/Winter time because I find that the dark colour goes with most of my warmer clothes that I was wearing around this time of year. I can remember having to but a top coat on because it chipped easily but other than that the promise to dry in 60 seconds is a bit of an exaggeration but i'm fine with having to wait as long as there is something on telly to watch while I wait!

Marshmallow Heaven was a birthday present from my best friend Zoe. I love this colour, a light lilac with a hint of pink, I think this would be a great colour to use during the Summer months. It shows of your tan because of the lightness of the colour so another great reason why you should go and buy this! The finish on this range of polishes is shiny so a top coat isn't always needed if you do a second coating of the nail polish.

Double Decker Red is a beautiful red colour, very vibrant and very eye catching. Another Summer nail polish but could also be worn in Spring or late Winter. It is quite hard to remove the polish after it's been on for about a weak and I find that this colour and the next one, both stain my nails. Again the I <3 Lasting Finish range doesn't need a top coat but another application is needed. 

Sunshine, what a pretty colour. Unsurprisingly another Summer colour that would look lovely against a floral dress or play-suit. As I said before the range is very good but you do need to apply a second layer. This colour and Double Decker Red are hard to remove but if you're only wearing it for one or two days then your nails should be fine!

Lip Sticks

From left to Right: Lasting Finish Matte by Kate Moss - 101,

Lasting Finish Spring Collection by Kate Moss - 19

These 2 lipsticks are probably one of my favourites. They are both £5.49 from Boots. Sorry the picture make them look the same colour but they are actually quite different.

101 is a baby pink colour with a slight hint of coral. The colour has a matte finish and this is one of my favourite colours from the Kate Moss range. The lipstick smudges well on the lips but after about 30 seconds the lipstick stays on your lips. If I was wearing is out and about in town the I would keep the lipstick in my handbag because it lasts from about 2 hours and then comes off. The only way they could improve  this lipstick is to have a long wear on it. Otherwise the packaging a beautiful as always and the red stands out from my other lipsticks. 

19 is a beautiful berry pink colour. Very pretty on the lips for a day out. This is from the Spring Collection but I would much rather wear it in the Autumn months. Berry was very on trend this year so I was glad that I bought this colour. Same as before with the smudging and last of the colour but what I would say is that this colour does last a bit longer although because the berry is only a few shades darker than my own lips, it's not so noticeable when it's on so it's not as noticeable if it comes off. 

Lip Lacquer

Apocalips Lip Lacquer - Nude Eclipse 

Nude Eclipse is my first ever Lip Lacquer and it's one of the only ones I know of. I saw a lot of youtubers and bloggers go mad for them when it came out especially people like Zoella and Tanya Burr. I always wanted one but never took the leap and bought it. When i'm at boots and at the Rimmel London I always found myself testing the Apocalips and especially the Nude Eclipse. When Boots did 3 for 2 on Rimmel products I did it. Took the leap and bought it. I also purchased a foundation and concealer but more about that on Part 2! I would defiantly recommend the Apocalips Lip Lacquers and I want to go and buy more now!

The colour pigmentation is amazing and the application is smooth. The wand has a weird shape with a small hole at the end and a bulge either side (no innuendo intended). I would say that the Lip Lacquers do stay on for longer than lipsticks but I inhance the wear on it by using a matching lipstick underneath. I use Natural Collection - Apple Blossom, I find that it's a very good match and I can see that the product stays on for longer when paired with the lipstick. 

That's all for today part 2 is going up later on in the week. I hope you all have a lovely day!

BTW my best friend Zoe did a post similar to this (I didn't copy her, we just have great minds that think alike) and I will link that HERE.

Have you tried any of these products? Tell me in the comments :)

Hugs and kisses

Liv xoxo

My Collection: Soap & Glory

Heey,

Up until a few days ago I was a Soap & Glory virgin and didn't own any of their products. But when I went shopping with Zoe (as always) in the sales after Christmas, I saw in Boots that most of their Soap & Glory products where half price or less. I took the chance and purchased 'Bubble Barrelled'.

Soap & Glory Bubble Barrelled includes:

Scrub of your life

Glad hair day

The righteous butter

Hand food

Clean on me

Heel genius

Soap & Glory headband

So from being a Soap & Glory virgin I had bought the essentials and I haven't even told you the best part. It was originally £18. But Zoe and I (in Burger King) worked out that if you added up all of the products inside (all mini's were £2.50 - sold separately and the headband would have been around £7 then there was the bag that it came in - £8) even £18 was a bargain! But to make things better it was half-ed down to £9 in the sales! 

There was one product that unfortunately wasn't in the Soap & Glory Bubble Barrelled gift set, and that was the 'Rich and Foamous' body wash. I really loved the scent of this body wash and I thought that because I saved so much money that I could treat myself (even more) and buy the full sized 'Rich and Foamous' (£6.50), and I still would have saved money! 

I've been using this body wash almost everyday since I got it and I love it so much. I'm really glad that I bought the full sized version because I've heard that it can last for up to a year! Which in my books is amazing! I really love the scent of this because it has one of my favourite scents in it, almond oats and brown sugar. 

Have you tried anything for Soap & Glory?

Hugs and kisses 

Liv xoxo

Presents 2013!

Heey,

I have seen a lot of videos on YouTube and posts on Blogger of what everyone got for Christmas this year and I thought that I'd do a post as well. I am in no way bragging or showing off about what I got but I did get quite a lot of little things this year and I think it will bore you all to see every little thing. So I'm just going to share with you the main gifts that I recived!

Harry Potter DVD Set

This year I have been watching a lot of Harry Potter but I've been borrowing my sisters DVD set and she wanted it back so I had to give it up :(. Fortunately I was given the Harry Potter DVD set from my grandparents and I am so freaking excited because it means I can watch them whenever I want to and I don't have to worry about giving them back :D

One Direction - Our Moment Perfume

This was a present from my Nanny and I had completely forgotten I even put this on my list so to get it on Christmas day was a big surprise. I got the 50ml perfume and full sized body lotion. This has fast become my favourite ever perfume and I want to wear it everyday but at the same time I want to savor it!

Babyliss Ombre Hairdryer

I already had a Babyliss hairdryer but it was past it's best so I asked for a new one. This was a gift from my sister and her boyfriend. I was very happy when I opened the box to see it was the Ombre hair dryer and it was one I had seen in the shop and really wanted! It's VERY powerful and drys my hair in about 5 minutes or less, whereas my other one took about 15 minutes!

Remington Sleek and Curl Hair Straighteners/Curlers

I already have a pair of Remington hair straighteners and I love them. But what I really wanted this Christmas was hair curlers because I went to the hair dressers and they curled it for me I people said that I really suited it so I thought that I would get hair curlers so I could recreate the look! However my Mum (and Dad) bought me straighteners and at the beginning I was a bit confused because I already had some but I saw that it said 'Sleek and Curl' then read on to see that you could curl straighten and do other things with just one product!

Christmas Leggings

This wasn't a very big gift and most people already have these but I got some Christmas leggings from my elderly neighbours that my Mum looks after. I got a top as well with a little lace/pearl collar and it's really cute but my favourite thing was these Christmas leggings! They're from Primark so probably won't last very long but I love them all the same!

Jewellery Box

I don't (well, didn't) actually have a Jewellery Box so I asked for one this Christmas! My Auntie got this for me and I love it. I used to just hang jewellery on a little stand from M&S that I got years ago but now I have this Jewellery Box and it's very vintage and well made. It has little side pockets where I keep my favourite necklaces as well as 3 draw to keep some bangles, bracelets and other jewellery.

Summer In The City Tickets

This technically wasn't a Christmas present that I opened because the tickets haven't come yet, plus I was the person that actually ordered it. I am going with Ambs, Zoe and their friend Laura who I have met before. The tickets were a present for Christmas so I included it in this post :) I am ssooooo excited for Summer in the City but I realized the other day that it's less than half a year until I go and see One Direction. I can't take it.

That's what I got for Christmas, what did you get?

Hugs and kisses
Liv xoxo

DIY Cookies Part 2: Decorating

Heey,

This is part 2 of a DIY Cookies post, part one is one Amber's blog. On Amber's blog we made the dough and on this blog (as you probably saw from the title), we are decorating and cutting out the shapes.

View part 1 HERE.

These are the cookie cutters we are using today. I was given these for Christmas from my parents and they are from Lakeland. You don't have to use these cutter you can use more traditional ones like stars or gingerbread men but I wanted to use these new ones :)

Flour the surface, rolling pin and your hands. Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the thickness of half a cm.

Now when the dough is the desired thickness, plan where you are putting your cutter. Try and make the most of your dough because you don't want to waste any!

Once you've greased the backing tray with a small amount of butter, place the cut out shapes on the tray and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown at 180 degrees C.

Be careful when you take them out of the oven because they will be hot. I would suggest leaving for 30 seconds before moving the cookies onto a cooling rack.

Now for the fun part, decorating your cookies, we used a range of products from rice paper snowflakes to royal icing. If you wanted to make proper glasses then I would suggest icing the sides to the main frame using thick icing. We left some un-decorated because some family members don't like sweet icing. 

Thank you for reading, please subscribe and comment if you like this DIY, I might do more in the future if you would like me too :)

Hugs and kisses
Liv xoxo

Bourjois Box

Heey,

At the beginning of December I went shopping with Zoe (what a surprise) and as well as getting a lot of Christmas gift I got myself a few goodies too. I can't remember everything that I bought that day but I did go to Boots and see that Bourjois had a deal on: Spend over £15 and receive a FREE Gift box worth over £29!

I obviously jumped at the chance but I had to spend over £15 which wasn't hard to do, I ended up getting my sister a blush worth £8 and myself a lipstick in shade 04 (if you want I can do a mini review on that soon) Zoe persuaded me to go through with this and when I got to the till I was given my box! This is what I got inside:

The first thing was the lipgloss 

Shade: 06 Rouge Democratic

The colour at first was hard to apply and was quite bright so I didn't know if I would use it but I was experimenting when I got home and found that it was very easy to use and apply to the lips and the colour pay off is great, I might wear it out one day to town but I think it would be great for parties because of the 8 hour wear on it. 

Then I opened the mascara:

Shade: 52 Ultra Black

The wand on this mascara is amazing and the formula makes my lashes have longer length and they look thinker.  The mascara I was given wasn't full sized, it was only a mini but that was actually better because it means I can take it to sleepover's without having to worry about space and also I don't need to use much so it will last long. Those are my eyes and I'm sorry about the quality!

Next I found the nail polish:

Shade: 24 Rouge Escarpin

The colour of this nail polish is number 24 and it's called 'Rouge escarpin' The colour matches the lip gloss and the brush on this is one of my favourites it's very easy to apply and I found that the colour pay off was great but I would still apply a second coat. As always use a top coat when the polish has dried so it lasts longer and looks more professional. 

Finally the eye shadow trio:

Shade: 01 Gris Dandy

The colours in this trio are all for a smokey eye and personally I'm not a smokey-eye type of girl. I prefer neutrals but the light grey colour if very nice and if I was going to take the leap and go for a smokey look then I would defiantly go to this trio. I comes with a small applicator but I don't tend to use them. As you can see from the swatches on my arm, they have great pigmentation. 

I hope you liked this small post, have you got this box? What are your thoughts? Tell me in the comments :D

Hugs and kisses
Liv xoxo