September Primark Haul

Hi and welcome to a new post, today I wanted to share a few bargains I picked up in Primark this month. I went at the beginning of September, mainly to get onto my Christmas shopping, if you’ve been a reader for a while, you know I like to plan early. I had a really successful trip, I bought some Christmas presents for family, and bits for myself to go away to be wrapped up. So not to spoil the surprise, I decided just to show you the things for now, and I found some fabulous bits.

I’ve been more into buying loungewear lately, Marie Kondo from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying book mentioned having some investment pieces for general loungewear instead of just recycling old, and shabby items. I thought it was an idea that could work well for me, with being a bit of a homebody, and spending quite a bit of time in our van camping/travelling. When I went in, they seemed to have a lovely selection of hoodies etc., I went for two hooded sweatshirts in flattering and autumnal colours, and they are so soft/cosy.

I was in desperate need of some general wear socks, I picked up two packs in alternative prints. Other essential items included bobbles, they came in autumn appropriate colours, and the velvet ones are so pretty! My eyes were led to these gorgeous real leather gloves with a bow detail on the wrists. They came in different sizes, the medium fitted like a glove, ha! Their stationery section was looking good too, I can’t wait to use my lips design weekly planner and metallic notebook.

What I got:

Blue motif hooded sweatshirt £7.00

Plum hooded sweatshirt £7.00

Polka dot socks 5pk £2.50

Floral print socks 5pk £2.50

Pink bow detail leather gloves £7.00

Velvet bobbles 3pk £1.50

Plum colours elastic hair bobbles £1.00

Pink lips design weekly planner £2.50

Metallic pink lined large notebook £3.00

Have you been in Primark recently? 

What things have you been loving lately? :-) Xx

An Autumnal Day In Saltburn: Chocolini’s Café & Wander

So last weekend we visited Saltburn-by-the-sea for a wander, my mum had heard good reviews of Chocolini’s chocolate shop, and café so we headed there first. We sat in the café, they had a range of drinks but naturally I opted for the hot chocolate with all the trimmings. It consisted of hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, then whipped cream and on top, chocolate buttons. It was really yummy, the chocolate buttons made it for me, which isn’t surprising coming from a chocolate shop. The prices were okay, and the staff were friendly and helpful.

I asked to take some photos of the shop and café for my blog, and they were very accommodating. We bought my brother a chocolate mouse, as a souvenir, which went down well. The chocolate shop was really nice, it has a cosy, inviting quality to it, as did the café area. We had a fun time, we sat in the café for a bit, with views of Saltburn town.

My parents had to do some errands, so I had a walk around the town centre for a little bit. I had my camera with me, and was aiming to document my day a little. While walking past Greg’s bakery, I looked into the shop window, and was excited to see mince pies were on sale, which made me smile! I didn’t go in though as I was full up on my hot chocolate…! They have a Teesside Hospice charity shop in the centre, so I popped in for a visit. I spotted a fur coat which was very stylish, and had a browse of the books. 

We had a lovely little outing, it was rather autumnal with having a hot chocolate in the chocolate shop. If you are looking for somewhere to visit this autumn, I would recommend you check them out! 

Have you been on any interesting outings lately? 

Let me know if you like hot chocolate as much as me! :-) Xx 

Lily Lolo Cheek Duo In Naked Pink

Today I’m going to be reviewing a make-up product by a natural brand called Lily Lolo. To my knowledge I think this is the second item I’ve tried from them, the first was a loose mineral eyeshadow which I got free with a large order on Naturisimo. I’d been eyeing this particular blush palette for a while now, plus I wanted a subtle pop of colour in the autumn and winter months. It comes with two shades, a gorgeous darker pink and a lighter pink with a shimmer. The product retails for £14.99 on Naturisimo, which seems rather pricey, but I wanted to take positive steps towards having a cruelty-free make-up stash. I’ve tried a number of natural products now, and really love the quality across a variety of brands.

So let’s talk about how the product works for me. My first thought when I received this item, was the palette seemed a lot smaller than I had expected. But with it being a small compact, it’s actually handy for popping in your bag and the packaging is well made, with a large, good quality mirror. It has a perfect pigmentation for a blush, and it layers up well. The two shades are natural, yet pretty, and suit my pale skin really nicely. They can be used together, I’ve found the darker shade is perfect for the apples of the cheeks and the shimmer makes a wonderful highlight. The overall quality is impressive and I’m over the moon with it!! :-) View product here.

Here’s some details you might find useful: 100% natural. Vegan. Not tested on animals. Cruelty Free. Gluten free. Free from nano particles, parabens, bismuth oxychloride, talc, synthetic dyes, fillers, fragrance and preservatives.

Have you come across Lily Lolo make-up before? What blush palette do you use? :-) Xx

Recent Reads Reviewed #3

Chocolat by Joanne Harris - 4/5

I’m a little behind with my recent reads reviewed posts, I read Chocolat around Easter time. The story is centred on Vianne Rocher who moves to a small french village with her young daughter to set up a chocolate shop. Some of the village residents are against the shop, and see it as a religious sin. Slowly though Vianne makes friends, and people come around to her ideas. I loved the descriptions of tasty treats being made, and in general the writing was a delight and the characters came across very genuine. However there was a chapter or two half way through that felt a bit slow, the writing was quite dense from time to time, and I knocked it down one star for this reason. I would recommend to give it a go nonetheless, great to read at Easter (or anytime really!).

When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman - 5/5

Like Chocolat, I picked this up in a community free bookshop around Easter this year. The blurb was very mysterious, but intriguing nonetheless. Based around a brother and a sister, this is a book about childhood, growing up and friendships. I was pleasantly pleased to find I enjoyed this book very much, I was captivated by the writing style and endearing characters. I would say it’s a character driven novel, which appeals to me, and yet I felted engrossed and keen to read on. I loved the sentimental and loving representation of family and relationships. I could imagine a range of people enjoying it so I fully recommend. 

Front Roe: How to Be the Leading Lady in Your Own Life by Louise Roe – 5/5

Louise Roe is known for presenting ‘Plain Jane’ a makeover TV show, she also does some other TV work and now has a YouTube channel. She brought out this fashion, beauty and lifestyle book in 2015, I purchased it while it was fairly new but only recently finished it this year. It’s one of the nicest self-help, beauty manual type books I’ve read. Louise shares some in depth extremely helpful content but in a fun and chatty way. I would say I favour it over Lauren Conrad’s books, although I love those too! Louise covers all sorts of topics, such as how to find your style, daily life advice and inside beauty tips. One of my favourite non-fiction reads of 2017!

Here’s a sneak peek to see what you can find in Louise’s coffee table book….

Do any of these books interest you? What coffee table books would you recommend? :-) Xx

Autumnal Baking: Choc and Seed Cookies

Cookies are one of the easiest recipes out there, so I thought I would kick off my autumnal baking with these and adding my own adaptions to it. The basic recipe was found in my much loved The Hungry Student Baking Book by Charlotte Pike (View here), I find her recipes reliable, easy to follow and the photos are great too. In the recipe it mentions to add 200g of chocolate chips, instead I added 100g and then 100g of nuts and seeds. This way it’s a little healthier, and a chance to put my own spin on things. They had more of a bun type texture which was unexpected but the results were lovely. My batch came out tasty, the mix of chocolate chips, nuts and seeds worked nicely. My family enjoyed them too!

Let me know in the comments what things you wish to bake as autumn is coming upon us. Do you adapt recipes too? What extra ingredients are your favourite in cookies? :-) Xx

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation

Welcome to a new review post, today I’m chatting about a foundation by Maybelline. I’ve actually been using it for ages now but haven’t yet shared it on my blog. Maybelline isn’t a cruelty-free brand sadly, and my search for an alternative goes on. It still is a lovely product though, so let’s get into the review.

The first time I used the matte mousse Maybelline formula was when I was in my teens at school, and till this day I find it super easy to blend into the skin. It can be built up or applied sparingly for a more subtle finish. The selection of shades is pretty dam good, I went for 04 Light Porcelain which suits me best in the summer time. I have very fair skin so it’s always a struggle to find a colour match. The formula is SPF 15, perfect to protect the skin throughout the day.

The glass circular packaging is attractive and small enough to travel with. It retails for £7.99, I bought mine on the Superdrug website, and they have free delivery for card members. It’s a good foundation overall, view product online here. I received some beautiful natural and cruelty-free make-up for my birthday – so watch out for reviews soon!

What foundation brands work for you? Do you have any recommendations? :-) Xx