Leeds Shopping Haul

Last week, I got to spend a whole week back in my home of West Yorkshire - On the Wednesday I got to spend a lovely day in Leeds with my mum shopping and visting the handmade burger co. (honestly, best place ever).

I, as always, thought I'd show you what I ended up buying and with the high street in Mid Season Sale, whats not to love!...

 Primark

 Door hanging hearts - £2.50 for 3
Our house seems to be lacking much in decoration as we're currently renting and don't want the post-move deposit scandal that landlords love - but I think these are so cute for like doors or something in our hallways

 

Hufflepuff T-shirt - £6

I adore these shirts! I've been after the hogwarts one for ages so couldnt resist this! I obviously geeked out and got my house ;)

Floral Lantern Lights - £6

Again with the decoration thing, These are perfect for our bedroom as its currently very very bare on the walls but I'm hoping I can somehow put them round our unused curtain rail (we have a blind).

 

 Wonder Towel Dress Thing - £7
This is one of those things that's either gonna be awful or a complete genius idea! I'm that girl that after a bath or shower spends ages with a towel wrapped round her whilst trying to keep it secure the whole time. I will report back with my thoughts :)

 The Simpsons PJ's - £6
I love any clothes that refer to popular culture, especially pajamas as I spend all my non-work hours in them! I also love The Simpsons and seem to have a growing collection of things with bart on!

 

Handbag - £8

I love love this bag! For Primark, its such a good quality. I'm quite a snob when it comes to Primark and do normally buy things that still look more expensive - and when the stitching looks tatty I won't buy it!

Victorias Secret

In the past I havent posted what I got from Victorias Secret but I dont see the issue now, I've only taken pictures of underwear patterns rather than wasting your time showing you my knickers!!

 Coral and Pink Nightie - Was £45 Now £21 -
I adore this so so much! I wouldnt normally spend that much on a nightdress but its so so pretty and the colours are beautiful and its quite understated but the lace gives it that slight bit of something.

 Underwear - Was £9each Now £3 each
These are honestly the nicest underwear ever!!! I bought 3 pairs at full price a few months back and I can't believe how cheap they are now!!

Debenhams

Benefit Agent Zero Shine - £18 (Used debs points) - BUY

I've been after this for months now! Theres some really  good benefit products just come out but I decided I needed to get this as the warm weather has been making me shiny too so if theres a good time to review this on my skin, its now! 

Topshop

 Underwear - 3 for £10 (£4 each) - 
Rugrats - BUY
Eeeee how amazing are these!! I only wanted the Rugrat ones to start with but then I saw the Mermaid ones then I thought for £2 I'll get more haha!

Henry Holland Eye Test Tights - Was£12.50 Now£3 - BUY
So so happy I saw these! I wanted these back in March time when I saw them in the Nottingham branch and was debating buying them for full price and whilst having a mooch whils my mum was trying clothes on, I spotted the last pair of these are refused to let them go! So happy with this buy! 

 Dolly Shoes - Was£22 Now£10 -
I spotted these quite late on (and had put things back) but thought they were adorable and perfect for nice weather!

ZARA

 Addicted to Black Top - £9.99 

Pizza T-shirt - £7.99


Urban Outfitters

AJ Morgan Sunglasses - Was £16 Now £8
I was actually on the hunt for some new sunglasses after losing mine! I guessed I'd be spending over £15 as its prime sunglass season so was rather happy to find these!!

Why Taking Timeout Works

I'll be the first to preach the good old saying 'You get what you give'....When it comes to blogging this sort of thing is key - the more you blog the more you'll get out of it.

When I first started this blog, I pretty much threw myself in at the deep end and wanted to post all the time and spent everyday blogging away!

The flipside to this was I got my life balance all wrong especially now I work full time/ try to squeeze in what social life I have/ spend time with my better half/look after my 2 dogs/sell my life on ebay and try to run and maintain our house - This massively suffered.

It seemed to really bother me when I didnt blog like I wasnt good enough or people were expecting things and I'd loose followers but then my house was a mess which I then felt like that was way more important (which in reality it is).

Making sure the rest of my life was content before sitting to blog is something thats few and far between and again, I felt everytime I got to write something I was apologising for not blogging more when I really shouldnt.

3 weeks ago, Jamie was super lucky to work over in Brazil so I took the time to get everything sorted. 2 weeks I still worked full time but I completely cleaned our house and I think I got a few posts in just to keep up with my Beauty Box writing.
Last week I took a week off work to go back home to Yorkshire and I didnt turn my laptop on once and just took a break from everything and it was simply just what I needed.

I love blogging so much and its something I really enjoy for me. I've decided to take the pressure off myself and regain some control over my life again - everything is starting from scratch and I refuse to make myself blog as I want to enjoy it - not feel i have to to please everyone else.

Interesting posts will resume this next week but for today you have this boring long post about why you should never feel the pressure to blog or if youre going to not put everything you love into it, then just wait til you want too and keep your love and passion for the tiny bit of internet that belongs to you alive!!

until next time,

Stevie xXx

The Beauty Box Challenge: Glossybox Box 2 June 2014 *Spoiler*

It might seem a bit soon after my last box, but because of when I signed up my 2nd box has already arrived at my doorstep (answering the door in my Muppet Pajamas too) ;)

I knew I was going to receive a product from So Susan as part of the box either a blusher or a concealer quad
Heres a quick rundown of my Glossybox June 2014

Brazilian Keratin Novex Extra Deep Hair Care Cream (100g) - £24.99 for 1kg

Too look at this doesnt look all that special but for me, its a product I'm really needing! Having dyed my hair since I was about 14, and now 8 years later my hair isnt in the best condition so having a hair repair product is perfect. It also smells super fruity which is always a bonus!! Also for a sample its a decent size pot

Nail Girls 3-in-1 base/topcoat & nail strengthener (10ml) - £13.50 for 15ml

Again, a product I really love owning, I think base and topcoats are always needed and Ive never used this brand before and for only 5ml less, I think its a pretty good item for the box.

Teeez Trend Cosmetics - Flat Stiff Brush - 19Euros

I know I keep saying it but honestly, this is a product I need too! Its ideal for powder and cream eye shadows and given my obsession with my Maybelline Colour 24hr Eyeshadows, I can't wait to try this. I read somewhere that someone will use this as a concealer brush which is def my 2nd plan if the eyeshadows fail!

 Roger& Gallet Fleur De Figuier Eau Fraiche Fragrance (10ml) - £32 for 100ml
`Even though I love the smell of this, its my least favourite in the box (because I figured I should have one haha) its perfect for summer, its light,fresh and packed with lots of floral notes! Its actually a scent from a range at Marks and Spencers which I'd never even think to go too for perfume!

So Susan Cosmetics Concealer Quad - £20
Out of the 2, I'm happy I got the concealer mainly because I've bought loads of blushers lately. This little quad has four shades so its perfect for experimenting and finding my perfect shade. The only downside I found (although I got it all for £10 so I shouldnt moan) but the quad is REALLY small and for a normal price of £20 I hope this is going to be a miracle product!




Have you tried any of these products??
If you have Glossybox, please link me to your June box below as I'm super nosy with these things!

xXx

Garnier Cleansing Micellar Water Review

 Garnier Cleansing Micellar Water - £3.32 - BUY

The Micellar craze isnt exactly new but I was pretty late on the bandwagon. This is mostly because everyone was banging on about Bioderma and being too lazy to order anything online, I didnt bother with it and I wasn't going all the to France for some. Whilst I was doing my usual lunchtime rounds, I spotted this in Superdrug and for 400ml for under £4, I couldnt say no.

You've probably guessed from the photo that I obviously like this product! In hindsight I should've taken this photo at the start of use.

Its so perfect if you're like me and the ultimate lazy girl when it comes to your evening regime or prefer that extra 5 minutes in bed of a morning. It melts make up straight off your face and leaves it silky smooth.

The bottle states it provides about 200 uses and thinking about it, its probably right which again, is pretty good going for the price tag!

I've been using this for a few months now, my only downside I noticed is my skin has become drier recently (I'm taking the ever-changing weather conditions into account) and its not doing my skin many favours and I'm pretty much lapping my face in moisturiser before I put my make up on.

Overall if you're looking for a quick fix way to keep your skin clean and fresh then honestly, Micellar water in general is the one. I've now finished this and even though I'm going to try something new - I just don't think you can go wrong with a bottle of this in your cabinet!

Have you tried any Micellar waters? How they work on your skin?

xXx

The Beauty Box Challenge: Glossybox Box 1

I mentioned last week that I was going to venture into the world of Beauty Boxes and subscribe to each one for 3 months and give a verdict at the end of each one. You can read that post of my plan here.

Well last week, my first box arrived (May 2014). Because of when I signed up I got my box at the start of June which I didnt mind, I think it took about 9/10 days from subscribing to arrive at my door. It also arrived with my free box too so that a good post day (I'll be posting about that one at the weekend).

I'll admit, I knew what I was probably going to get - due to me signing up later in the month, regular glossybox-ers had received theirs already and I was actually weirdly excited as there was so many mixed reviews on there in terms of products and what was worth it or not.

If I'm honest, I'm grateful for anything that I've paid £10 for when its worth more and I have realised that the whole 'discover a new brand' thing does work as my products that I was sent I shamefully wouldnt look at normally on the shelves.

The theme of this one was 50 Years of Superdrug which I think is a nice British touch to celebrate it especially with the decline of the high street, its nice to see some form of success somewhere. However, I do feel there was a slight cop-out as this meant they could give out 'own brand' products - that makes me sound like a right snob but GlossyBox pride themselves on having the 'better' brands out there and I dont think a hair doughnut kinda makes that grade personally.

Heres what was in my box:

Rimmel ScandelEyes Retro Glam Mascara (full size) -  £6.99
I Love... Strawberries & milkshake Lipgloss (full size) - 
2true 3D Candy Nail Caviar (full size) - £3 - BUY

I'm quite pleased with the mascara as I love trying out new ones. Although the scent of the lipgloss is very me, if you read my blog youll know I hate lipglosses so I think I'll probably just give this to someone. and you can never go wrong with nail polish.

Black Hair Doughnut - £1.79 - BUY
Solait Bronzing Face Cream Self Tan 

Okay, so these are superdrug own products but not awful. I cant use the doughnut ring sadly as I have bright ginger hair even though I told them I didnt have darker hair!
and the bronzing cream is actually quite useful as I'm trying to make myself a bit more sunkissed this summer!

Samples!!!
I've not tried the body oil yet as oil seems to hate my skin and make it spotty but for beauty sakes I will try it! The perfume is actually really nice! I always thought Ghost as a bit cheapy but this one is lovely!!

Overall I think its a pretty decent box! I know they don't normally give as many full size products but I think a nail varnish / lip gloss doesnt matter if its full size or not. I do like what I got and I'm not completely dissapointed with it.

Did you receive this box and love anything in particular? Whats been your best beauty box gift?

xXx

How to: Transform a T-Shirt into a vest.

Now I'm not taking you for an idiot, I get that this is super easy to do. However, theres so many ways to do it and in fairness - so many ways you can get it wrong.

Personally these days I just like a nice sleeveless vest top - gone are the days of cutting my t-shirts so you can pratically see the entire side of my body.

When cutting off the sleeves there are 2 ways you can go about it - by cutting either before or after the seams. For me, I love the worn, flimsy look - its pretty much on loads of summer vests these days and you can create this look for £0.

What you'll need is simple, a steady hand and a pair of scissors.

I opted to cut up this band t-shirt, i always seems to be my shirt of choice as having slightly bigger arms I often feel pretty closed in, in t-shirts so I like the freedom of no sleeves.

 Start by making a cut on the line of the stitching - preferably somewhere unnoticeable, I always go for under the armpit as its easy to tidy up later and no one will (or shouldnt be) looking at that part when you wear it.

I then cut slowly along the fabric through the stitching one large cut at once. If you cut in small amounts you can snip into the fabric or create a chunky cut and it causes easy mistakes or a larger tidy up job at the end.

The hardest part (and the main decision to make) is the shoulder - on some tee's, particularly those of less quality if you snip the seam out of the shoulders it can try to pull away the stitching on the shoulder - personally I take this risk as I think it looks abit rubbish leaving that one chunk of seam left but its entirely up to you.

The one on the left is the seam left in and the right one without on the shoulders

Purely for purpose of this post - I cut each sleeve before or on the seam to show you the difference - however, deciding to cut before the seam made for a messy job. However on both cuts, some errors like these were made....

 

These can just be cut out afterwards but keep an eye on the shape of the sleeve to make sure you dont get chop happy!

These are the results from both kinds of cuts...

 

On / Pulling out the seam and stitching

Leaving the seam on the edge of the t-shirt

In the end I cut out the seam on the other sleeve and the final thing looked like this...

Not much of a difference but it makes a boring t-shirt a bit more on trend and for me personally, its so much more wearable now.

I've been doing this for a while now (since I was 18? so for like nearly 5 years) an for some reason I used to be better at it haha! Heres some of my others....

This was the first one I ever did and I was pretty adventurous going for the neckline too!!


So there you go - a summary of how to cut off the sleeves for an on trend vest! I know its simple and I've not worded it amazingly but if you have any questions at all - please leave them at the bottom and I'll get back to you!!!


Have you ever got scissor happy on clothing??? What transformations have you created?

xXx

Mini Primark Haul -June 2014

So for some reason, I seem to have no money lately! This is probably due to me having some form of life at the moment - the downfall of this is seeing everything I've ever wanted right in front of me in every shop!

Since the lack of shopping bug finally hit me, I decided to go into Primark and just have a mooch around - I was on the lookout for a t-shirt but typically what I went for, they didn't have.

However I saw so much I liked but I was good and picked up a few bits I liked and a simple £30 (ish) later I was happy again (yes I really do have a problem), heres what I bought;

 The Simpsons Baseball Shirt - Was £8 Now £3

I bought this purely to sleep in as its really big and lightweight and I love The Simpsons clothing!

 Iron Man Shirt - £6

 Floral Tea Dress - £8

I've already worn this out for a meal with friends and its so so lovely! I actually spotted this on an older lady a few weeks back and thought it was gorgeous and was so so happy when I saw it was a Primark find!! The neck line is something I've not gone for before and it sits so nicely!!

Pug Wash Mitt - £1

Because why no?

 The Muppets Pajama Set - £8

I find it impossible to go into Primark and not buy Pajamas - but considering I spend my life either in my work uniform or Pajamas - its a winner either way!

Not Primark....my bad!

Trevor Sorbie Small Radical Brush - Was £8.19 - Boots Clearance - £1.50 - BUY
Bleach Swamp Spray - £6 - BUY

Have you had a high street haul lately???

xXx