Figs & Rouge Cherry Blossom Tinted Lip Balm

Natural lighting, flash

As soon as I laid eyes on the new lip balms from Figs & Rouge, I knew I had to try one. The other two varieties, Coco Rose and Mocha Orange, are shimmery, so I gave them a miss. Cherry Blossom sounded right up my street though.

How beautiful is the packaging? I think it's the prettiest product I own. The scent is delicious. It smells like sweets, but I can't pin point which ones. I thought it was going to smell more floral, so I was pleasantly surprised. As you can see in the third photo, the formula is thick, which I was pleased about. This means it stays on longer than other liquid lip balms. It's also tinted, and I love tinted lip balms. My lips are a very pale pink, so even this subtle tint shows up on me. I'm not sure how pigmented it will be on darker lips though.

This lip balm is normally £4.95, but it's currently on offer for £3.96 on the Feel Unique website (click here to view). They also have free delivery on all products. Although it's more expensive than your standard lip balm, I definitely think it's worth it. It's 100% natural, beautifully packaged, smells delicious, tinted, stays on for hours, and works. If the new Cherry Blossom hand cream smells like this, I'll be purchasing that too!

Favourite Books of 2012

2012 was the year I submerged myself into reading again. I love reading so much, more than ever before. I've just asked for 9 books for my birthday this month. The books above are the ones I loved the most. As you can see, there's quite a few! I will also be mentioning a few more that were either read on my dad's Kindle or were from the library. I won't be giving you the blurbs because this post would be even longer! Amazon and Goodreads should provide you with everything you would like to know.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - This was the trilogy that got me into reading again. I think I read them in May and then created my Goodreads account just after. Even though I can't remember everything in them right now, I remember that I love them, and I know that as soon as I start reading them again, the details will come back! This trilogy had a perfect amount of action and romance for me.

The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner - I only read this trilogy last month, so my love for it is still fresh!  From the Amazon and Goodreads ratings, I thought these books were going to be good, but I didn't expect to love them. I can't tell you what they're about because it would ruin them for you. As you go through the books with the main character, you learn the answers to so many questions. I think that's why I was hooked - I had so many questions I wanted answering. These books are purely action, and great for both genders.

Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth - The third book is coming out this year! I'm so excited! Here's the basis of what the books are about: They are set in a dystopian society. Within this future society, there are 'factions'. Factions are groups within the society which consist of people with the same characteristics. There are five factions: Abnegation (selfless), Dauntless (brave), Erudite (intelligent), Candor (honest) and Amity (peaceful). Once a teenager turns sixteen, they take a simulation test, which determines the faction best suited to them, and then they have to decide which faction they want to be apart of. Tris' test results show that she has characteristics suited for multiple factions. She's a Divergent. She has to decide how she would like to live her life. Once her decision is made, she is put through her paces to see if she can survive in the certain faction. Corruption then breaks out across society, and the decisions Tris makes from then on will determine who lives, and who doesn't. Insurgent then carries on from this. Society is in a state of war, and you get to see each faction in depth. Again, they are a mix of action and romance, so they definitely kept me on my toes!

Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - The third book is also coming out this year! I love, love, love these books. They're set around a dystopian society believing that love is a disease. The main character also believes this, until she falls in love herself. They do not fall directly under the romance category, especially the second one. They are full of action. The ending of both of these books left me surprised and wanting more.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - I'm loving Lauren Oliver. This book is just beautiful and gets you thinking about your own life. It's about this girl who dies, and then she lives her last day over and over again. Each day, she tries to do something differently to save herself. Putting it like that makes it sound morbid, but it's really not.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - Another book that gets you thinking about your life. There's this girl who has a small life, has never done anything exciting and just goes about her days. She ends up working for a family whose son has recently been in an accident and is paralysed. The relationship they develop changes both of their lives. The ending was sad and happy at the same time. It really does leave you with mixed emotions.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I was initially skeptical about this book because it was so different to anything I had read before. The reviews were so positive though, so I decided to give it a go. After the first chapter, I was not convinced. However, I continued and really got into it. It gives you an insight to what it was like to be black in the 60s. A truly beautiful story.

Switched, Torn and Ascend by Amanda Hocking (not shown) - I read all three in less than two days. I barely ate and slept! I want to buy these in paperback form soon. It's hard to describe it without giving anything away. I'll just roughly say what the blurbs say! When the main character was younger, her mother believed she was a monster and tried to kill her. Well, later she finds out that there may be some truth behind it. She learns that she was switched at birth and belongs to another species and society. We then follow her journey of learning about this society and her history. Again, this is a mix of romance and action.

Angel and Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly (not shown) - The third book of this is also coming out this year! I need to buy these in paperback form. I checked them out of the library, you see. I don't know why because the titles and front covers are awful. However, these books are great. In these books, there are angels and angel hunters. The angels are not your typical ones though. They feed on humans. The main character is half angel; something that everyone thought was impossible. An angel hunter finds her, and then you follow their relationship from then.

With the 8 books I've recently bought and the 9 I should hopefully be receiving for my birthday, there will certainly be more reviews to come! What books would you recommend?

Resolutions

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I didn't have any resolutions for this year, but then one popped into my head, and then another and another. I know some people believe that if you want to change something in your life, you shouldn't wait until the new year. I agree, but the new year gets you thinking about your life and what you would like to do differently. 

My resolutions for this year are:

• Tone up my stomach
• Strengthen my arms (seriously, I'm so weak!)
• Drink more water
• Moisturise my body and face every day
• Use/get rid of a product before buying another
• 
  

Now, I'm not concentrating on every one straight away. At the moment, I'm going to concentrate on toning up my stomach and moisturising every day. I'll then add in the strengthening of my arms and drinking more water. I won't need to put much effort into the last resolution because that will happen automatically, as long as I remember the 'one in, one out' rule.

I think I'll be able to achieve these resolutions if I introduce them gradually. A lot of people try to change so many aspects of their lives at once, and it becomes too much. I think I've intentionally done exercise about... 3 times in my life, and they were only 10-20 minute sessions, so that's why I'm not doing both of the exercise resolutions right now - my body would go into shock!

To make these resolutions successful, I'm also going to make time in my routine for them. For example, I've decided to do sit-ups before I shower, and moisture after I've showered. Personally, I need this organisation. I can't just say 'oh, I'll do it at some point today'.

I'm thinking this is why my drinking more water resolution fails every year. You can't have one allocated time slot to drink an entire day's worth of water. You need to drink it throughout the day. I've tried drinking a certain amount up until midday, and then another amount up until tea time, but I always forget. I'm used to being dehydrated, so for this resolution, I'm going to have to really, really put the effort in and be concious about drinking all the time. Maybe I could set alarms on my phone to remind me? They wouldn't be very practical for uni though. I'll work it out!

Do you have any resolutions for 2013?

The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Shower Gel

The scent of a product is an important factor for me, especially with shower gels. With that in mind, let me introduce you to my new favourite shower gel! It smells delicious. Think of fresh, juicy peaches and you're there. It smells even better once it's lathered up too. It serves its purpose of cleaning my body, but that's not why I would repurchase it, if I'm honest! It's all about the heavenly scent. I don't know if I'll be able to keep my hands off of the bottle I bought my mum for Mother's Day...

It's normally £4, but I bought it for £2 in the sale (which is still going on). I don't think I would pay full price for it, but that's the same for all of The Body Shop products because there's usually a generous discount code floating around the internet.

The Vineyard Peach products were/are in the sale with the Christmas scents and I heard that they're limited edition. I really hope this isn't true! I would buy the body butter, but I have so many tubs already. I can justify buying shower gel because I use it every day, but I rarely moisturise (naughty, I know), and I've been using body oils if I do.

Have you tried any of the Vineyard Peach products? If so, do you love the scent just as much as I do?

dotcomgiftshop purchases

 

Toadstool Night Light £3.95, Rabbit Night Light £4.95

 

Metal Rabbit Hanging Decoration £1

 

Metal Ivory Heart Hanging Decoration 39p

Set of 3 Wooden Heart Decorations £1.50

"MORE buys?!" I hear you say. Yes. I have no justifications haha

I came across dotcomgiftshop last week and just had to place an order. Delivery is £3.95, so I had to make it worthwhile. I ordered the items above and a few other bits for birthday presents. The night lights are so cute! Only some of the spots on the toadstool were painted though (from what I've seen, they're all like that, apart from the image they use on the website!), so I used a white nail polish to fill in the remaining ones earlier. The metal rabbit hanging decoration... I love it. It's what pushed me over the edge to place the order! And I was surprised it was only £1. The rest of the decorations were also a bargain. I mean, 39p for the ivory heart?! It has gone straight on my beauty chest of drawers with the rest of my ivory/white decorations. I don't know what I'm going to do with the wooden hearts yet because I have things hanging from every available space at the moment, but I'm sure I'll find a place for them. I would have ordered more decorations, but like I said, I have no where for them to go :( I need more hooks!

So, yes, I very much like dotcomgiftshop. It has a variety of little bits and bobs (I have my eye on some glass bottles, but don't know what I would use them for!) which are perfect for presents or yourself. 

Barry M's Gelly Blood Orange and Essie's Beyond Cosy

 

Barry M's Gelly Blood Orange

Essie's Beyond Cosy

Once I've painted my nails, I take a couple of photos on my phone and then plan to take 'proper' photos the following day. Well, sometimes a nail chips or my actual camera doesn't pick up the colour well, so I don't bother blogging about it. I was going through my phone earlier though and thought these photos were okay to use. Even though they were taken on my phone with a flash, they're still a good representation of how the polishes look.

I rarely wear red nail polish. In fact, Barry M's Gelly Blood Orange is my first bright red. The only other red shade I have is Barry M's Raspberry, which is definitely not a true red. I like it! I just hope it doesn't stain the hell out of my nails. It was opaque in one coat, but I added another just to be sure.

I wore Essie's Beyond Cosy the week of Christmas. It's so pretty! It's a pale gold which is gold in some lights and silver in others. The glitter is finely milled and opaque in two coats - Win!

I hope you're enjoying January so far. My birthday's on the 20th, so I always like this month. I'm going to be 20 this year! No longer a teenager. Scary stuff.

I also just have one more assignment and a couple of exams to do (I've already completed 2 assignments, an article and a presentation).

Oh, and I bought a new camera today! The Nikon D3100. I'm just waiting for some accessories, including memory cards, to arrive so I can use it.

Have a good evening!

Boots Sale Purchases

In my Christmas Sale Purchases and More post, I said I'm always underwhelmed by the Boots sale. Well, this post completely contradicts that statement! I love Boots Extracts and Botanics, so thought I'd buy some sets for birthdays throughout the year, as well as Christmas.

The Boots Extracts Collection was £11 down from £22. It contains a variety of mango and coconut scented products (all large 200ml sizes). I worked out that the products separately come to around £35, so I'm very pleased. I'm going to split the products up, put them into organza bags, and give as presents.

The Boots Extracts Cranberry set was £8 down from £16. It contains a 200ml tube of body wash, 200ml of body lotion, a 50ml tub of body scrub and a 50ml tub of body butter. I love this set. The bag is beautiful and the products smell delicious. I think it will be perfect for a Christmas present!

The Boots Extracts Cocoa Butter Mini Mix set was £2.50 down from £5. It contains a 75ml tube of body wash and a 50ml tub of body butter. I think this set is a perfect little stocking filler (or birthday gift bag filler!). I wish there were more scents available.

The Botanics Men's Face Care Regime was £6 down from £12. I didn't take a photo of this separately because the products are on the front of the box. It contains a 150ml tube of face wash, 150ml of shave gel and a 75ml tube of moisturiser. This will either be for my dad or grandad, I think! I love how it's presented - the box is lime green inside, too :)

The Boots Extracts Mango Selection is in the Christmas Sale Purchases post, linked at the top, so you can see it in more detail there. It was £5 down from £10 and contains 200ml of body wash, 200ml of body scrub and 200ml of body butter. The body butter alone is £7.95, so this is a great little bargain!

So, the Boots Christmas sale isn't that underwhelming after all! Only because of the Extracts and Botanics sets though. I wasn't interested in anything else.