Beauty, lifestyle etc. Collective Online Haul

I feel like I haven’t done a beauty haul in a good while, these are collective items I needed to either stock up on or wanted to treat myself to. My biggest splurge of the haul is the Armani perfume, I have got into the habit of buying a nice perfume a few times a year and now A/W is now upon us I wanted to get an appropriate scent.

I’ve been drinking lots of hot chocolate lately but wanted a healthy alternative or something for when I fancied a change. The Heath & Heather one was perfect because it included cranberry, which is so seasonal. Pukka love is a repurchase, I’ve been loving this one as it’s so calming.

I also bought some new shower gels which I’m looking forward to using as the rhubarb and vanilla one in particular smells heavenly. I was in desperate need of a new mascara, this one by Max Factor looked pretty good and got positive reviews, look out for my further thoughts in a review post for this and other items. And finally I got a shower mop and a sleep mask, which I was hoping would help me drift off to sleep more easily.

So what’s your fav thing I bought? Have you been online shopping recently? :-) Xx

Holland & Barrett Website

Pukka Love Tea £2.39 (Buy Here)

Heath & Heather Echinacea & Cranberry Tea £1.79 (Buy Here)

The Fragrance Shop Website

Armani Code Satin 30ml Perfume by Giorgio Armani £33.99 (Buy Here)

Wilko Website

Clump Defy Extensions False Lash Effect Mascara £11.99 (Buy Here)

Wilko Varsity Eye Mask £1.50 (Buy Here)

Fruits Shower Gel Passionfruit and Watermelon 250ml £0.95 (Buy Here)

Fruits Shower Gel Rhubarb Vanilla 250ml £0.95 (Buy Here)

Fruits Body Mop Purple £0.50 (Buy Here)

Halloween Inspired Baking

So Halloween is less than one week away and I decided I wanted to do some related baking. I made triple chocolate fudge cake with mini smarties on the top. It was made from a ready mix but there were quite a few elements that needed doing including creating the icing at the end.

The ready mix was by Asda and the name of it was ‘Great to Bake Chocolate Cake Kit’. The pack says just add milk, butter and eggs. I highly recommend trying out there range or even just having a Halloween inspired bake off. The smarties came separately, I just thought spelling ‘Boo!’ as the design would be a cool twist to a normal chocolate cake.

They claim it serves 8 but those would be very large pieces, the cake kept going a good few days in a family of four. Naturally I had taken lots of documentary photographs to include in this post so you get an idea of the process as well as the finished result.

Have I inspired you to do some Halloween baking? Do you like chocolate cake too?  :-) xxx

This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less Roller Ball

I thought this product review would be perfect for this time of the year as I’ve noticed This Works are really on the ball with their Christmas gift sets and people would benefit from me sharing my thoughts. I bought this product as a gift set back in the January sales, it came in a gorgeous Christmas cracker packaging design. I originally heard about the brand from Lily Pebbles YouTube channel as she thought very highly of the pillow spray.

So onto the review….I’m in love with the idea of this range, helping people to relax and unwind before bed. The 5ml bottle is perfect for travel. The scent is actually quite concentrated and has a menthol aroma. It’s a bit overpowering smelling it from the bottle but dabbing it on the wrists and neck is a lovely way to use the product.

In honesty I don’t know how much this product helped me to get to sleep but I think it’s a nice product to try and I’m in love with the gift sets they have come out with in Boots, I recommend you go over to check them out here. The prices of the sets are reasonable and a great way to try out the range.

So are you tempted by this? What products do you use to unwind? :-) xx

Castleton, North Yorkshire Tearoom Tour & Review

Today I wanted to share with you a lovely café I visited while on holiday. I really enjoyed the food and experience of the place and would definitely recommend to others who are visiting the area. And if you are not you can eye the lovely food and drink we had :-)

It was our first visit since the refurbishment and I loved the shabby chic cosy style. It was raining at the time and being inside this café was quite comforting. I noticed there were a lot of decorative mirrors which I had fun making into a photo experiment of mirrors within mirrors.

The owner of the place was so friendly and kind. We had a little discussion about how I like my eggs on a hot sandwich and I replied scrambled, she had never heard of this before but she catered for my wishes and made me smile! I was impressed with the menu in general as there were lots of choices and you could mix and match what you had.

My mum had the homemade soup which was mushroom and my dad had a seafood sandwich with side salad. I had a sausage and scrambled egg sandwich with side salad and a hot chocolate. It was all very nice, my hot sandwich was particularly yummy and my Mum was impressed with her soup. I can’t wait to return and try something else on the menu. The prices were so reasonable.

Have you been out to eat somewhere nice? Did you enjoy this post? :-) Xx

Carmex Lip Balm In Pomegranate

It’s that time of year when we need to change up our skincare just a little now we are getting into those colder months. I’ve found I have to pay closer attention to moisturising my lips so this product has been my go to and have been reaching for it daily.

Really this product is an essential for any time of year but with an SPF 15 it’s handy in summer also. I love the Carmex brand for lip balms, the tingling sensation when applying evidently shows its doing some good to my lips. The pomegranate scent seems fairly new to the range and I find it appealing!

My lips are softer and in better condition as a result. I bought the item online at Superdrug, the prices can vary but like I did search for offers. Click here to buy. Have you been using a lip balm more recently? What brand do you reach for? Xxx

Monochrome fashion haul, what I found In the Men’s department for myself.

A couple of weeks back I popped into Peacocks to do some Christmas shopping (Yes Its very early but love to be organised!). I was browsing the men’s department and spotted a few pieces that could easily have been worn on a female. The first item I saw was a bomber jacket, I loved the design and thought it would be easy to style. My eye was also drawn to a black ribbed jumper with a grey panel, I thought this look would fit the masculine vibe that you see on the women’s catwalk shows.

I had a scan through the men’s sale rack, often Peacocks do a really good selection. I saw this blue t-shirt, the colour was divine and at £5.00 decided it would work well as a lounge top. I had a potter into the women’s section and found a simple grey knit with a heart design on the front and after that I headed into the changing rooms. I had a few other items to try on but felt the three items described earlier were keepers.

So I’m getting into the habit of going into the men’s department, actually the tailoring and fit is really good plus men’s fashion is often more classic. I can’t wait to wear the items out and maybe pairing them with jeans or in contrast something quite feminine to balance out the look. Would you wear any of these pieces? What are your thoughts on unisex fashion? Have a great week! :-) xxx

Peacocks

Men's Baseball Jacket £18.00 (Buy online here)

Men's Colour Block Knitted Crew Sweater £16.00 (Buy online here)

Men's Blue Print Slouchy T-shirt SALE £5.00

Grey Speckle Knit Top £12.00 (Buy online here)

North York Moors Holiday Photo Diary

Today's post is a photo diary of my two week holiday in the North York Moors with my family during the summer. I’ve been doing my blog for a good few years now and have slowly been adding more lifestyle posts as it is something I enjoy. I had taken lots of photos so thought I could share them again like I had done previous years. There’s a few more photos you will get to see as they are coming up in separate café review posts.

My holiday was fairly chilled but we went for picnics, to cute cafes, beer gardens, art exhibitions and played some tennis. We stayed in a beautiful cottage where they keep horses and just next door they kept some farm animals. We stayed by the cottage quite a bit. I caught up on my reading and jigsaw etc while my Mum enjoyed baking and playing tablet games. My Dad went on early morning scenic walks and saw lots of nature/animals. My Brother joined us for the second week too!

I wanted to share a link to a guest post I have done on JustEmma.co.uk blog including Helen's Top 10 Photography Tips for Beginners. I would really appreciate it if you went over to have a look and comment. It was my first guest post :-)

So how was your summer? What did you get up to? :-) xxx