Figs & Rouge balms

Pomegranate - £4.95 from Feel Unique and Super Smoocher.

Rambling Rose - £3.49 from Feel Unique and £3.50 from Super Smoocher.

Feel Unique and Super Smoocher offer free delivery to UK addresses with any purchase. Boots also sell Figs & Rouge balms.

I've been loving these 100% natural and organic balms from Figs & Rouge (They will be making an appearance in my 'New Favourites' post - Keep an eye out!). The packaging is absolutely beautiful, and I must admit, one of the reasons that encouraged me to purchase them! The scents are great, too. The pomegranate balm has a subtle fruity scent. Rambling Rose has a stronger scent and smells similar to turkish delight. They have a grainy texture in the tins, but once they come in to contact with your skin, they are smooth. I've been using them on my face at night once or twice a week as a deep moisturising treatment. Because they are balms, they do leave a greasy residue on the skin, which is why I use them at night (Or during the day if I use them on my lips). I don't normally like tinned lip balms, but these are clear and suitable for the body, so I don't mind wiping the excess on my arm.

I've already used quite a bit of the Rambling Rose balm, so I may have to repurchase it in the near future!

H&M Dresses and Other Treats

H&M Summer dresses - £12.99 each

"I'm not in the shopping mood" I said to my sister. Five minutes later, I'm trying on these dresses. Fifteen minutes later, I'm buying them. I couldn't resist! I'm a size 8/10, but I bought these in a size 6. I find H&M clothes on the larger size. I have a little trouble getting them over my boobs, but once they're over, they fit perfectly. Oh, and, my camera photographs clothes better when they're outside in the sun, but the wind had other plans, so I couldn't get a decent photo of them!

Here are some other things I bought today:

Pink flower clips - H&M - £1.99

Elephant academic diary - Paperchase - £4.50

Floral headbands x 3 - Primark - £2

I love cute stationery, so cannot wait to use my new diary!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

I don't regulary moisturise, but when I do, I like to use an intense moisturiser, even though I have normal-oily skin. This is where The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream comes in. The cream is thick, feels like silk and leaves your skin incredibly moisturised. Although it's thick, it sinks in well and doesn't leave a greasy residue on the skin. I use this product at night, but you could use it during the day because of the factors I've just mentioned. The full price of this cream is £11, which I wouldn't pay myself (You guys know I'm not keen on paying over £10 for a beauty product!). I bought this when it was half price. The Body Shop regulary have offers on and codes floating around, so you can probably buy it for less, too.

I'm on Pinterest!

I've joined Pinterest today and am already getting into this pinning malarky, so if you would like to take a look at my pins, or follow, my profile is: http://pinterest.com/loubie20/

If you have a Pinterest account, please leave me your link!

Nails of the Week!

China Glaze For Audrey and Models Own Nail Art Pen in White

These are the nails I've been sporting for the past week. I wasn't going to post about them because they're not the neatest, but I've just thought: "Why not?!". I don't have the patience for nail art, so this is some fancy work for me, haha.

I hope you're all enjoying your Sunday! I'm currently eating chicken nuggets and watching Soccer Aid - Hello there ;)

My Week in Photos and Someday Summary

Hello! I thought I'd do something new this week and show you what I've been up to through the eyes of a camera. I'll also be having a natter. Before we start, I just thought I'd say that the photos do not show everything I've been doing, and I kept forgetting I was meant to be taking photos! Also, I won't be doing one of these posts every week because my routine pretty much stays the same! My life basically consists of my animals, food, parcels and revision, and this is displayed in the following photos.

Monday

1. I presented my media presentation. I became nervous a few minutes before it was my turn, but I didn't let my nerves get to my voice, and it went okay :)

2. I bought this yoghurt drink from Lidl and it was delicious! I love peach yoghurt.

3. The bag I ordered from New Look arrived. It's my first 'grown up' bag. The bags I've previously used for school and university have been of the shopper variety.

4. I painted my nails with China Glaze For Audrey and the Models Own Nail Art Pen in White.

Tuesday

1., 2., and 3. After uni, I took Jessie for a long walk :)

4. and 5. The online food shopping arrived! I added mango & blackcurrant sorbet and lemon cheesecake ice-cream to the basket, and oh my! They are delicious! Tesco, 2 for £3.50, go!

Wednesday

1. Revising for my English exam.

2. I had lunch at lunch time, for once!

3. My The Body Shop order arrived. There was a 40% off and free delivery code floating around the internet, so I took advantage and stocked up on the hand gels. I also ordered some other bits, but they're birthday presents.

4. The aniseed balls and chocolate brazil nuts I ordered for Father's Day arrived (I buy presents early!). The person I order my 'not easy to get hold of' sweets from is great. This is their website and this is their eBay store.

5. 'The Help' arrived from Amazon. It doesn't sound like my kind of book, but it has a lot of positive reviews, so I thought I'd give it a read.

6. Battered sausages! They look disgusting, but they taste so good.

Thursday

1. After uni, I went to Lidl and bought yoghurt and fruit to make healthy snacks.

2. A healthy snack made from the yoghurt and fruit!

3. and 4. I took Jessie for another walk.

5. After I took Jessie for a walk, I took Shadow for a short walk down the road (She's old and cannot handle long walks any more). On our journey, I turned around to see three of my cats following us! I wish I had taken a photo of the two dogs and three cats walking in a row.

Friday

1. Last minute revision before my English exam. I think it went okay, but I won't know for sure just yet.

2. My Figs and Rouge pomegranate balm from Feel Unique arrived.

3. I wrote a post about The Body Shop Hand Cleanse Gels.

4. Chicken dippers and onion rings - Yum!

Saturday

1. I had grapes, scones and tea for breakfast.

2. My giveaway prize from Sian arrived! Thank you so much, Sian :)

3. Planning my final assignment.

4. and 5. I was bored, so decided to curl my hair. The photos show only half of my hair curled. The curls made my hair look so much shorter!

5. Pizza and cauliflower cheese :)

Sunday

1. I reviewed the Remington Pearl Curling Wand (It's the post before this!)

2. Lunch. In my sandwich was ham, cheese, tomato and cucumber. The cheese is from Farm Foods and is amazing! It's really creamy and extra mature. You know you have a good block of cheese when you squidge it and it's soft.

3. What my hair looked like 24 hours after curling it (It still looks like that now, actually).

4. I'm now planning and starting my final assignment. I shall be occupied with this until the 6th June.

What else?

• I've started buying things for my sister's birthday present box, even though her birthday isn't until August!
• I'm going in town Wednesday and I'm so excited! It feels like I haven't been shopping in ages. I'm mostly excited about buying a new academic diary haha
• Oh, I finished reading Insurgent a few weeks back (The book after Divergent). I absolutely loved it. The next book in the trilogy doesn't come out until next year :(
• I'm thinking about learning how to embroid, seeing as I'll have a few months spare soon!

Did you watch the Eurovision Song Contest final last night? How unpopular are we?!

Remington Pearl Curling Wand

Price: £25.49 from Boots

I've had this curling wand for over a year and a half, so thought it was about time I reviewed it!

I absolutely love it. I love the packaging, the digital display, the temperature it heats up to, the amount of time it takes for it to heat up, the auto shut off, the pouch and glove that come with it, the curls it produces and the length of time the curls stay in for.

It produces the most amazing curls. They look much more natural than the curls you get with a normal barrel curling tong, and that is because of the decreasing size of the wand. The curls really are long lasting. After 24 hours, they are still in tact.

My hair tends to slip towards the end of the curling wand, which is annoying, but I think it's just the way I curl my hair.

You can curl different sized sections of hair to create an effortless look, you can curl large sections of hair to create a natural look, or you can curl the same amount of hair each time to create a neat, structured look (I did this on my sister's hair for her prom last year).

Here is the result of quickly curling different sized sections of hair:

And here is what it looked like 24 hours after curling. The curls have dropped, but are still in shape:

I love this curling wand and would definitely recommend it!

The Body Shop Hand Cleanse Gels

Strawberry, Mango, Coconut, Sweet Lemon and Pink Grapefruit

Price: £2.50 each (The Body Shop always has offers on and codes floating around though, so you can probably buy them for less. I've never paid more than £1.50 for each of these.)

I love these hand gels! When I first saw them, I thought they would leave my hands sticky, because of the fruity fragrances, but they don't at all. They don't have a strong alcoholic scent either, but natural, true to name ones. My current favourite is the coconut one. The scent lasts on your skin, so it smells like you're wearing a beautiful Summer fragrance. There is also a Satsuma variant, but I have yet to purchase that one. I would definitely recommend these (I've bought my sister a couple as part of her birthday present!).

Wordless Wednesday

EcoTools 5 Piece Brush Set from eBay

I bought the EcoTools 5 Piece Brush Set from here, for just £3.78, including P&P. Boots are selling it for £19.99, so that's a hefty saving. However, I'm not sure if they're authentic. You can never be too sure with eBay. They look and feel authentic, but there are people who go to great lengths to deceive their customers. It's hard to tell whether they're fake or not because even the real ones vary from brush to brush because of the natural materials they are made from. My little cosmetic bag is different from some photos I've seen, but some authentic sets also have the same bag, so I'm not sure. Regardless, I'm still going to use them. They're really soft and feel like good quality. I'll use the powder brush and baby kabuki the most. I don't apply concealer with a brush and I rarely wear eyeshadow, so the two smaller ones aren't of much use to me. I would never use fake make-up though - You don't know what it contains! An eyeshadow could be bulked up with some cheap powder. Overall, I like the set (and the price!).

Toothbrush holder!

Random, I know, but I just wanted to show you my new, and very cute, toothbrush holder! It's the little things, eh? Unlike the pot I was previously using, it will give me more shelf space. It will also keep my toothbrush head protected from dust and whatnot! I bought mine from this eBay seller for £2.50, including P&P. She also sells other animal variants, such as pandas and pigs :) Or, if you type in 'animal toothbrush holder' or 'children's toothbrush holder', other holders will come up :)

Outfit of the Day and Cuddly Cats

My camera really doesn't like taking photos of clothes!

Long sleeved top - H&M

Scarf - Tesco

Shorts - New Look

Tights - Primark

Dolly shoes - Shoe Zone

I'm wearing the shorts and tights again today, but with a different top. The top is thick and warm, so I feel comfortable. The weather is terrible, so I arrived home from uni soaked! The tights don't absorb water like jeans, so they're actually quite practical to wear in the rain.

After I took these photos, I went past my sister's room and found Puddin' and Mysti snuggled up together:

Aww! Mysti always uses Puddin' as a pillow haha. I don't blame her - Puddin' is fluffy and podgy!

Outfit of the Day

T-shirt - H&M

Cardigan - H&M

Necklace - Accessorize

Shorts - New Look

Tights - Primark

Dolly shoes - Shoe Zone

Today's outfit is out of my comfort zone. I wear jeans 99% of the time, so wearing shorts is a big deal for me! I like the outfit, but I have felt self conscious today. Hopefully, I should get used to wearing outfits like this. I love the Primark tights. They're not completely made out of cotton, so they don't go bobbly when washed, and they're really thick, so don't ladder easily. The shorts fit really well and were only £5 in New Look's sale, so I'm one happy chappy! The necklace is one that I wear quite a lot. The branch snapped off though, so now the bird is perched on a stump!

I hope you're having an enjoyable Tuesday,

Louise xo

Nails of the Week!

Natural light

Flash

ASOS Olivia, Barry M Coral, China Glaze Make Some Noise, Barry M Pink Flamingo and Barry M Bright Pink.

Whilst in bed last night, my mind wondered off to what my next manicure could be. I thought a gradient/ombre design would be fun and allow me to use many bright colours. I really like it and can't wait to try it with other shades!

Short Book Reviews: Unwind and Divergent

These are my short, but sweet, thoughts on the books. I thought I'd review them in one post to make it a worthwhile read. I've tried not to give any significant spoilers away. Hopefully, my attempts have worked!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

What is it about? 'In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would unwind them. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed - but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, is wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.'

This blurb sums up the book perfectly, so I don't need to explain it any further!

My thoughts: I liked it. It didn't leave me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, but it was still a good read. As far as I'm aware, this book is not part of a series. Because of this, the ending was conclusive and answered most of the questions I had. I see this as both a good and bad aspect. Yes, it left me fairly satisfied, but it didn't leave me wanting more (I didn't mean to make that sound sexual, I promise). I read one review that said Unwind was too disturbing. I didn't find it disturbing at all! In fact, it could have done with a few more uneasy scenes, if you ask me. Some people are so fragile. So, yes, it gets a thumbs up from me.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

What is it about? 'When sixteen-year-old Tris makes her choice, she cannot foresee how drastically her life will change. Or that the perfect society in which she lives is about to unfold into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected romance.' 

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.

My thoughts: I loved it. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished the book earlier, I ordered the second one, Insurgent, which was released two days ago. I thought that the majority of the book was going to be about Tris deciding which faction she would choose to be apart of, but the decision was made within a few chapters of the book. I could no longer predict what was going to happen, so curiosity engrossed me. Divergent contains romance, which I absolutely loved. In these moments, I felt like I was the one experiencing the intimacy of the story line. However, romance only makes up a small portion of the book. The majority of it is filled with action, so it's suited towards both genders. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to read the next one.

New Look purchases!

The other day, New Look's sale went live. I didn't bother looking until the evening, so was surprised to see that the items I wanted had my sizes in stock! That rarely happens! Size eights and tens usually go first, leaving all the larger sizes. Not only did I get everything I wanted, it all fits! Woop.

Kelly Brook Lace Edge Pleated Bra £6 down from £14.99 and Lemon Two Tone Lace Balconette Bra £4 down from £11.99.

I love these bras! The Kelly Brook one is one of the prettiest bras I've ever owned. Kelly Brook, you beaut.

Multicoloured Tribal Print Scarf £4 down from £7.99.

This will look great over a plain white top :)

Formal Denim Shorts £5 down from £14.99.

I've been looking at buying these for about a year, and was very nearly going to order them a few weeks back. I'm glad I waited now! They fit perfectly.

Zip Pocket Cigarette Jeans £9 down from £22.99.

Along with the bras, these are my favourite item I ordered from the sale. I initially had a pair of size eights in my basket, but then the website froze. Once it was back up and working again, the size eights were out of stock! I wanted the jeans so much that I took a risk and ordered the tens. They fit like a well fitting glove! I'm so happy. They look really short when off, but the leg length is fine when you wear them. The material is soft and not like any of my other jeans.

Coral Panelled Gold Edge Purse £9.99.

I ordered this and the next item before the sale, but thought I may as well include them in this post. This purse is a lot bigger than my previous one, but I like it. I've just been on their website and found a blue one that I'm tempted to buy.

Striped Sweatshirt £12.99.

Annoyingly, this went in the sale after I bought it for full price! I really like and will be wearing it a lot.

I would say that 60% of my wardrobe consists of New Look clothes now!