Showing posts with label yankee candle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yankee candle. Show all posts

Monday, 10 September 2012

August Favourites



Bumble & Bumble Texture Hair (Un) Dressing Creme
I normally hate my hair the day its washed. If I didn't add a plethora of hair oils to the ends & smooth it round with my Babyliss Big Hair styler I would probably resemble Worzel Gummidge. But once I've made the ends look good again the roots can become greasy and flat. I used to use volumising powders or dry shampoo to sort out my roots but I was never satisfied with how they made my hair feel. I've been using this product in my hair recently and it adds the perfect amount of volume and texture without overloading it or making it look greasy again. Its great for creating messier hair styles and gives your hair that unwashed look without making you look dirty. It also works really well as a base before backcombing. I just rub a small blob between my hands, tip my head upside down and pull it through my hair concentrating at the roots. I then blow dry my hair upside down and finish off with the Big Hair styler. My hair is left looking balanced with volumised roots & well nourished ends.

Essie Lilacism
Like everyone else I've completely fallen in love with the Essie diffusion line at Boots. The great colour choice, fast drying formula & wider brush make these polishes well worth the £7.99 price tag. One shade that I keep going back to is Lilacism. This pretty purple shade is just irresistible to me and since I've bought it all my other nail polishes have been totally neglected. I can't wait to get my hands on the new Model's Own Mirrorball collection and add some purple glitter to a Lilacism base.

Treacle Moon Her Mango Thoughts Body Butter*
I try not to buy too many body butters or lotions because I always forget to moisturise. Its so much easier to just whack on some of my Lush Ro's Argan body conditioner whilst showering. But I was given this in one of the goodie bags from the Leeds blogger meetup and I can't stop using it. Thats really weird for me because I normally just can't be bothered but the gorgeous mango scent makes me want to slap it on every day. It does a decent job of keeping my skin hydrated but the smell is the real selling point. I think it only costs about 4 quid for big tub. They also do a mango shower gel so I'll definitely be trying that out next.

Yankee Candle Red Velvet
I'm such a Yankee Candle addict! My dream is to have a whole shelf dedicated to them. They last for ages and they come in some incredible scents. I'm a sucker for sweet smells and the Strawberry Buttercream one is my all time fave. I'm always looking in department stores fantasising about which one to buy next (yes my life is that sad!) and I recently spotted a new candle called Red Velvet. Now I love cupcakes, especially red velvet ones so I did a little jump for joy when I saw it. It smells quite similar to the Vanilla Cupcake candle but with more of a chocolatey/brown sugary scent. Its such a delicious smell and when this one runs out I think I'll be getting the large one to replace it.

Boux Avenue White Chiffon Room Spray
If you've ever purchased any of the gorgeous lingerie they sell at Boux Avenue you probably will have noticed the divine smelling white rose petals scattered in your shopping bag. That smell is Boux Avenue's signature scent White Chiffon. Its a light, fresh scent with gentle notes of lily, jasmine and elderflower. I'm completely obsessed with it, having coveted it for months. I spray it around my room every night and its really relaxing before bed. I also bought some of the White Chiffon beads to keep in my clothes drawers. The room spray only cost £10 and is one of the best smelling products I've ever bought. Boux Avenue also sell bubble bath, hand cream, candles, reed diffusers and much more all with the White Chiffon scent. If I had my way I'd buy it all!



Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains
I just can't resist trying out new lip products and these Revlon Balm Stains are the only thing thats caught my eye recently. I love their Lip Butters so I knew I had to get my hands on some of these. I absolutely detest traditional lip stains. You know those felt tip ones? They always bleed, make your lips look like they belong to a 90 year old smoker and taste revolting. So the balm formula seemed to be a good alternative for long lasting lip colour. I actually really like these. They keep your lips moisturised, are easy to apply and last pretty well. I like that you can apply them like a normal lipstick or smudge them a bit so its more like a stain. The only thing that I find disappointing with this product is the shade range. Honey and Rendezvouz were the only colours I liked the look of as the others just seemed a bit gaudy to me. Hopefully Revlon will bring some more of the US shades over here.



Spector - Enjoy It While It Lasts
I love a good indie disco. My friends and I were always going to Frog, Club NME or White Heat back in the day. One of the bands I fell in love with at the time was Les Incompétents. Their song How It All Went Wrong was always a high point of our nights out. Sadly they disbanded back in 2006 and the golden age of indie disco soon died with them (in my opinion anyway!). Then one of the singers Fred MacPherson started another band called Ox. Eagle. Lion. Man and I was also obsessed with them. I saw them live countless times and it was a sad day when they went on hiatus. Then Fred started another band, one you might have actually heard of, called Spector. Again I absolutely love their music, showing that everything Fred touches is gold. They recently released their debut album Enjoy It While It Lasts and its really brilliant. I pre-ordered a copy from Play.com where they had signed loads of albums. I'm totally jealous of Olivia who actually went to one of the signings but I guess this is better than nothing haha. This is the best album I've bought all year & if you haven't heard of Spector already go watch some of their videos on YouTube because they are amazing. Catch them live soon before they start selling out arenas!

Friday, 30 December 2011

Christmas Presents


Kindle & Hairbows
Every year when I go shopping for everyone else's presents I can't resist buying myself a few items as well. This year I bought myself a Kindle & a couple of hairbows from Georgie's shop Beauxoxo. I love how small the kindle is and I can't wait to start filling it up with books. So far I've only downloaded the A Song Of Ice & Fire series, really enjoying those so far. I used to ruin all my books by dog-earing the corners to save my place so I love that it remembers exactly where you were in the story for you. Brilliant invention. The hairbows are so gorgeous & sparkly, I'm really tempted to buy some of the other colours too.


Thorntons Chocolate Hamper
My mum likes to fatten me up so she got me this HUGE hamper of chocolate from Thorntons. Shamefully I've already managed to polish off a few of the packs in here. Can't resist anything with a caramel centre, nom.




Estée Lauder Makeup Artist Professional Colour Collection
She also got me this beautiful makeup kit from Estee Lauder. It's worth over £300 but you can buy it for £50 when you buy one of their perfumes. My sister wanted the perfume so win win. The bag is really gorgeous, it comes with two smaller bags containing a mirror and some brushes. The palettes have some decent colours in so I should get a lot of use out of this kit. The lippies are especially lovely.


Space.NK Goodies
My sister bought me some things from Space.NK. She got me the By Terry Touche Veloutee concealer (which is basically Touche Eclat x 1000), the By Terry Blush Terrybly in Rose which is a super pretty pale pink colour, the Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder & a little Ren body set.


Candles
These were all gifts from various inlaws. One of them asked me what I wanted so I chose a Cherry Yankee Candle. I've been burning it every day and theres hardly a dent in it. As with most Yankee Candles, it smells divine. The other day his partner decided to dump loads of recycled gifts on me in the form of a mug, a diary, a body scrub & a calendar of hunks which my boyfriend promptly chucked in the bin. The scrub looks okay I guess lol. My mother in law got me a little mirror with my name on it & this lily & magnolia candle set.



Lingerie
I asked Andy to get me some lingerie because hes always moaning about my M&S underwear. He got me these from La Senza. He paid like £60 for these sets and now they're down to a tenner in the sale, fail :( They are lovely though so he did well this year.


Angry Bird!
He also got me an Angry Bird! He knows I love Angry Birds and he probably thinks I am a bit of one so its a very appropriate gift haha.

I love seeing what other people got for Christmas so feel free to link me to your post :)

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Crimbo Haul

I know Christmas was quite a while ago now but my mum and sister got me some stuff in New York that I wanted to show you as well and they only got back a couple of weeks ago. First of all heres some stuff I've bought myself lately:


Liz Earle - I went to the new Liz Earle shop in Leeds because I was desperate to try Cleanse & Polish after reading so many reviews on the stuff. It definitely lives up to the hype. The limited edition tin is really cool. I love the toner I got too, it feels really refreshing on my skin. I also got the Bust Treatment because having a baby is not good for your boobs! Not tried it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes ;)


Yankee Candle - I really wanted wanted one of these massive candles after watching one of Fleur's videos. I totally fell in love with the strawberry buttercream one in Clintons, it smells delicious. It reminds me of the birthday cake body butter I got from Dylan's Candy Store a couple of years ago.


Sigma Brushes - I ordered these on Black Friday because they had free shipping. I really wanted some brushes for contouring my face. Unfortunately they sent me the large powder brush instead of the tapered face brush and I had to pay more money for it afterwards because of their mistake. Bleh. Although I like the brushes I'm not gonna order from them again. I didn't like my experience with their customer service.





MAC - I was quite excited for the Cham Pale collection and was tempted to order the special highlighting powders but when I tried them instore, I didn't really like them. Instead I just got the NC15/NW20 & I Get No Kick pencils. I love both of these, perfect for the waterline without looking too fake. I also got Harmony blusher for contouring as recommended by Pixi2woo and Amber Lights & Naked Lunch for my eyeshadow palette.



Bow Satchel - So this is the fake Miu Miu Vitello Lux I ordered off ebay. I'm not very impressed with it, it was a bit of a waste of money, so it might end up back on ebay. Its too hard and looks very cheap. I also got this weird coin purse free with it, at least that made me lol.

On to the stuff I got given:


Marmite Mug - My friend got me this epic mug! I love Marmite, I always add a thick layer of the stuff to crumpets and toast. Now I can drink hot marmite in my mug too :D


Bones - My boyfriend got me the Bones season 1-5 box set. So excited to finally watch it all!



M&M Pillow - Last time we went to New York I got the massive Reese's Peanut Butter Cups pillow so this time my mum got me the M&M one from M&M World. Its so soft and lovely to stroke. She also got me loads of American sweets such as Lifesavers, Tootsie Rolls & Cookie Dough Bites. Yum!


Sephora - My mum knows how much I love all the stuff in Sephora. I didn't ask for any of these, she just has fab taste. I got By Terry Touche Veloutee which is the best concealer ever. Its like Touche Eclat but about a million times better. Theres also a mini Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, Lorac liquid eyeliner, Marc Jacobs Lola rollerball, mini Nars Orgasm Illuminator & two random Sephora nail polishes. I've been using the Orgasm Illuminator every day since I got it and it looks amazing on my skin. It gives your cheekbones a beautiful peachy pink highlight. Its a wonderful product.


Chanel Bag - Okay its a fake but what a good fake it is! Its really soft, well made and looks just like the real thing. Plus my mum haggled with the seller so she bought it for the grand total of $20! Thats like 12 quid! Love love love this bag and love love love my mum :)