What's in my bag

I just purchased myself a new bag and purse (finally)! When I tipped everything out of my old bag to transfer it to the new one I realised that I always carry around so much unnecessary junk with me everywhere I go. Whether it be just popping to the local shop or travelling home.

I try to make sure its empty of bus tickets, shop receipts, general rubbish but it always end up full of it - why haven't I binned the empty Ted Baker body spray????? I'm such a lazy, slobby person aren't I!

Amongst the rubbish at the bottom of my bag you'll always find a collection of make up, my old bag was no stranger to this. Looking at it all now it seems ridiculous - carrying mascara and liquid eye liner round with me everywhere JUST IN CASE! But I know all this Superdrug bought stuff will get added to the new bag at some point! Below are links to my 3 favourite things in this pile!

Barry M - Cor Balmy in Current Bun £3.49 - saving my lips life in this cold weather and makes them  a lovely tinted dark red colour!
MUA - Cover and Conceal wand in Natural £1.50 - best coverage I've ever had with a concealer! I have dark circles around my eyes and freckles that I hate and want to hide and this really does the trick!
2True - Effortless Eyeliner in shade 1 £1.99 - I used to struggle putting liquid eyeliner on (my hands shake a lot for no reason!), but this is a dream! SO easy to apply and no matter if my hands are shaking it won't go wobbly! 

Are you as bad as me with the amount of stuff in your bags?

p.s. I strongly recommend reading the A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones books.

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DIY Night Light

I love sitting, watching films/tv shows, in a dimly lit room. I aren't ~supposed~ to light candles in my Uni room but I sometimes do, but I struggle with lighting them a lot of the time (I know what you're thinking - what king of idiot can't figure that out???). So my next idea was to try fairy lights! But wait! I aren't allowed to stick things on the wall without glue dots! I don't know if you've tried to pin up fairy lights with glue dots but let me tell you - it's ridiculous, they just don't stick! 

I've seen a lot of different things on pintrest to do with fairy lights and this idea was by far my favourite! 

Just stick them in an empty bottle! I love Fireball so it was obviously going to be the only empty bottle I had lying around :(

A lot of the pintrest ones (probably all of them) instructed you to drill a hole through the glass to thread the lights through. Glass + drilling = NO THANK YOU!! I aren't afraid to admit I am a wimp, there was no way I, or any of my family, was going at a glass bottle with a drill. 

I just threaded the lights through the top and left enough wire out so the battery pack can sit behind the bottle. You can't even notice it once you place it correctly! 

I think it's lovely, it gives off just the right amount of light and makes a really cosy atmosphere. Can't wait until I've drunk my Jäger and I can use that bottle, I've got a skull decanter thats currently not being used so that will probably get turned into a light as well.

Have you tried this? Was you brave enough to drill?

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Go give it a follow to keep up to date with me, if you wanted to of course!!

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10 Favourite Game of Thrones moments

Game of Thrones announced the season 5 premier date in the past week. I am unbelievably excited for it to start as I'm a huge fan of the show and the ASOIAF books - I'm still on A Dance with Dragons: Dreams and Dust so I probably are up to where the show will be based on but I have no issue with reading after its happened, after all I did started reading the books after I'd watched 3 seasons. I'm always reading up on the newest conspiracy theories - even about the silliest things! I just love this who franchise so much.

Anyway, the announcement got me thinking about my favourite characters, moments, quotes, dresses etc... I decided to try to make my own Top 10 lists (I love making lists like this). I've gone with my favourite moments from the show, so here they are! Obviously if you aren't up to date with the show there will be spoilers and probably some distressing images which is why I've put it all under the cut!

Anyone reading this who is still in two minds about watching GoT, I would strongly advise you too but only if you can hack all the gore/sex. 

If you watch/read what are some of your favourite moments?

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Top 10 Golden Globes looks

I tried to stay up as late as I could to watch the Golden Globes yesterday morning but finally gave in to the burning eyes and fell asleep shortly after Amy Poehler and Tina Fey's amazing opening monologue. I managed to catch majority of the red carpet show though, in-between revising and making cups of tea so I've complied my own top 10 list of my favourite looks from the night!

10 - 
Emily Blunt
The dress is amazing but her make up was gorgeous - definitely something I'm going to try and recreate and cry about when I can't get it right.

9 - 

Lorde

8 - 

Pedro Pascal

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this guy so of course he was going to be in this list. He just looks so dapper and fancy (love heart eyes emoji). 

7 - 

Uzo Aduba

6 - 

Emma Stone

I love the beaded top and giant sash. Emma's always one of my favourite people to look at when she's at award ceremonies - she's just absolutely stunning.

5 - 

Gina Rodriguez 

My girl crush. The look is so simple but so striking, I love it!

4 - 

Amal Clooney

A lot of people don't like the gloves but I do! The dress would have been lovely without them but I think they really make the outfit 10 times better. I can't wait to see what she'll look like when she attends the Oscars!

3 - 

Amy Adams

The woman I wish I was. The look is just so effortless and beautiful. I adore her hair and simple make up. Ohhhh why can't I be you :(

2 - 

Kate Hudson

This doesn't even need any explanation. Pure sexiness.

1 - 

Jessica Chastain

When I turned E! on this was the first look I saw and no other dresses could beat it. It's just stunning. I can't even explain why I like it, everything just works so well together and she looks amazing. 

What were your favourite looks of the night? 

And how did Game of Thrones not win the best drama tv series???

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New nails!!!

For the first time in my life I've gone and had Acrylic nails done! There was an offer on them at my hairdressers, Dazzling, £10 for a set! I've seen them normally average at £20 and i've been thinking lately that I'd spend that and have them done, so you can imagine how happy I was when I saw the offer!

I went with a darker colour as I'm not really into bright ones on my nails, think it was "Starburst Blue". They used Shellac varnish, its supposed to last a lot longer than your normal varnish - not as likely to chip.

I chose the stiletto style as I've seen them a lot recently and love the way they look! I also really don't like the more square styled ones, not my cup of tea at all. I wasn't sure if there was any other shapes available apart from the square and stiletto but I just did a quick Google image search and found this handy little guide!

If I have them done again after this I think I'll ask for almond style, stiletto are a bit too pointy for me - forever scared I'm going to rip my eyes out or cut my skin open!

I love the little gem detail she put on them! They was 50p extra each nail and it was £3 extra for the shellac varnish as well, so altogether it came to £14, still a bargain when other stores charge £20+.

They're definitely taking some getting used to! Scared I break one! It's also proving really difficult to type with them! Do I just use the tips of them or do I try and use the palm of my fingers... I can't even remember how I used to type before, it's not something I ever payed attention too! I do love them though, make me feel girly :)

Have any of you ever had acrylic nails done? Whats your tips on how to do everyday things with them on?

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Jumper wish-list

I love jumpers, particularly ugly jumpers. They're probably my most favourite item of clothing, easy to style and extremely comfy! 

I found these 4 on Romwe, they're all one size which is a bit disappointing because of how different "one size" clothes look on different sizes/body types. I've never used this site before but I think I might in the future! I've read a reviews on them and it seems like a mixed bag... For the price though it is tempting to buy from them, I'm a student I love cheap stuff what can I say!!!

The Simpsons jumper here

Six pointed star jumper here

Aztec jumper here

Geometric jumper here

These 3 are from Rokit, a vintage website. I love second and third, they are just lovely, I might have to save up and buy one!  

Green, Red and Grey Fairisle jumper here

Navy, Red and Yellow Fairisle jumper here

Black, Blue and Red Fairisle jumper here 

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Dream Cream, Lush Review

As previously mentioned in past blogs, here and here, I've been struggling with a skin issue. I went into Lush mainly to buy a face/body scrub but as I was talking to the assistant she recommended I try the Dream Creams and gave me a sample of both the Self Preserving (S.P) and standard versions. I was a bit hesitant at first because I don't often use moisturiser or lotions but as it was a free sample I went with it! 

So far I've mainly only used the standard version of Dream Cream. I can't really see an obvious difference between the two.

They both look very thick when in the tubs but once you touch them you can tell they aren't thick at all! They spread very easily across my skin and leave it feeling lovely and smooth. 

I have found that the S.P takes a little longer to go into the skin and keeps the smell - a lovely Rose Oil scent, for a longer period. The standard soaks into the skin almost straight away and the Rose Oil scent doesn't stay for long, which is a bit of a shame because I love the smell. They both feel fine though, neither feels like its heavy or clagging up the skin. 

I currently use the standard as a sort of primer before I put my make up on just because it's the quickest to soak in out of the two. It works really well as a primer! I wait around 5 to 10 minutes before I start applying my foundation just to give my skin plenty of time to soak it in. I haven't ever really used a primer before but it has helped my make up stay on a lot better than usual. I had dry patches of skin from the dermatitis and after a few hours it would become visible through the make up but once I started applying this, my make up would stay for a lot longer! 

It has certainly helped my skin to calm down. Before I got the testers my skin was so painful and itchy, yet as soon as I applied the cream onto the area it calmed down immediately and I couldn't believe it! It's packed with soothing and calming ingredients but I (have no idea why) didn't expect it to be so effective. As I mentioned in previous posts I have been using a lot of different things on my skin to try and get it under control and better but this was the first thing I used as soon as I got home from my shopping trip. 

I will definitely purchase one of the big pots one I'm done with these testers, it's likely that I'll buy the standard as I'm impatient and hate waiting for things to soak in my skin (I'm awful with fake tan!!). I can't wait to get another product from Lush, they never disappoint! 

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Bûche de Noël, Lush Review

I am a huge fan of Lush. I love their morals, the staff are always so friendly and helpful, they only use natural and organic ingredients if possible - the list goes on! I've bought a lot of their products in the past (and still buy them, though theres a few I would wish to never have a repeat of - henna hair dye anyone????) and theres still so many that I want to try out! So obviously Lush is my number one shop for a face and body scrub. As previously mentioned in my last two blogs, here and here, I bought Lush's Bûche de Noël face and body scrub and got two tester posts of Dream Cream and Self Preserving Dream Cream to try out (which I'll review in a separate post). I got them mainly to try and combat the awful skin issue I have going on.

    

 I originally went into to purchase the Dark Angels scrub but when I got in there and started talking to one of the lovely assistants I was reminded of how harsh that one is on the skin. As my skin was so painful at the because of the dermatitis I needed something that wouldn't be so rough. She showed me two alternatives, Bûche de Noël and Aqua Marina. As lovely as Aqua Marina was, it was just too soft and as I wanted to get something to get rid of the dry, flakey skin I needed something a bit more rough. 

 

 The Bûche de Noël is packed with almonds, cranberries, satsumas and nori seaweed amongst all the other stuff. It smells oat-y, like Aveeno, which is to be expected. Its, apparently, a limited Christmas edition to the store and they had it last year but I never knew! The assistant claimed that the fruit it in makes the skin glow, I'm not sure if I'm doing it wrong but I haven't seen my skin glow since she did my hand to help me choose between this or Aqua Marina.

Once you take a small section of it in your palm, you add water and mix it till it creates a paste. I'm guessing it's supposed to look a little like the image below.

It is very gentle on the skin because of the almond oil but just rough enough to take off some dry skin. It's great for people who have sensitive skin or painful skin like I did, but if you're looking for something a bit more tough I'd go with the Dark Angels. I do love this product and I will probably buy it again at Christmas if it comes back! However I think now my skin has toughened up, I might have to go and purchase Dark Angels as that will be a lot rougher and hopefully get more of the dry skin off.

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Skin Salvation, Pure Potions Review

I don't have any before pictures because I never imagined myself writing a blog about it, I'm quite personal so writing this and the previous blog post is a big step for me but I'm hoping that it may help someone in a similar position in the future! However if you click here theres a picture which is very, very similar to how my skin looked before I started using Skin Salvation!

I started using Skin Salvation on the 22nd December after suffering with what I think is Perioral Dermatitis for many months and the things doctors was subscribing me didn't seem great and definitely wasn't for long term use. I was recommended it in Holland and Barrett after asking if they had anything for it. I was also drinking Activa, eating Actimel yoghurts (the mango one is amazing) and taking an all in one vitamin, I don't know if any of this helped but thought it would be best to mention it.

This is how it looks today (06/01/2015) I am still in the process of treating it hence why I still have patches.

It's quite weird at first as you have to really scoop it out of the jar but once you warm it up in your hands its just like putting on a normal cream or moisturiser! It doesn't really have a smell - its not constantly noticeable anyway, you have to really sniff to smell it!

I think the feeling is fine, it isn't heavy on my skin at all but I do find it doesn't "soak in". At the beginning I was putting it on twice a day, one in the afternoon and one just before I go to bed. I aren't sure if it was related to the ointment but I often felt like a tingling/tickling sensation after about an hour of it being on. I say I aren't sure because just before I'd started using it, the area was extremely itchy and painful.  

I find that it can make the area look worse than it actually when its applied. 

After the first day I noticed an improvement! Not a lot but it was certainly better than the day before, from the angry, bright red it was it was now more of a deep pink. I'd read around about it before I used it just to make sure and I saw loads of people saying how amazing it was and how they saw a huge difference the next day so I was a little bit disappointed when I only had a very slight difference (stupid I know but still!). 

The second day, even more improvement. Again it was only a slight improvement but I was just happy to see it getting better and something working! I started using the cider vinegar on this day, a little bit mixed with water. This is because the ointment just seemed to sit on the area and because I kept getting a tingling feeling I was using the cider vinegar as a way to wash it off, instead of a face wipe incase they caused it to flare up more. 

After a week it was down to a very faint pink, as I've really pale it was still quite obvious there was something wrong but I never leave the house without make up on so once I had all of it on it was barely noticeable. It just looked like I had dried skin around my nose from a cold. I was still using the cider vinegar - it helps to dry the skin out. I was also putting on Dream Cream, which I got a tester pot of from Lush, before I put my make up on, I still am using it it makes a great primer! I can't believe how much it has improved in such a short space of time. I still have a lot of dried skin which I'm trying to get rid of by using the Lush Bûch De Nöel but I may need to get a stronger scrub. 

I'm still using Skin Salvation but only once a day, before I go to bed. I think I'm going to start doing it twice a day again though just to see if it can speed up and get rid of the faint pinkish colour thats left. It's an amazing product and I urge anyone with eczema or dermatitis to try it! You can buy it from Pure Potions here or from Holland and Barratt. They have a huge collection of products; rescue salves for burns, cuts, cold sores, bites, chapped skin etc... Baby products, sun cream, scalp oil.

I've just bought the Skin Salvation Bath and Body oil from Pure Potions as well and use it every day after I shower, I think its originally meant to be put into a running bath but I only have a shower in my university accommodation and the bath at home takes far too long to fill up! But you can definitely use after a shower! I've only been using this a few days but its great, it smells lovely and its great to help rehydrate the skin after a shower as water really dries the skin out! It soaks in almost straight away, I used 2 drops of it and it just goes right in! As much as I like the product I don't think it is helping a lot so I would definitely recommend someone trying the Skin Salvation ointment first and using the Bath and Body oil as an extra.

This is more than two drops, I wanted to show the colour of it.

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My struggle with dermatitis

I've recently been trying to treat, what I'm 98% sure is, Dermatitis. It started in July/August as 3 small spots on my chin clustered together, once they'd gone however they left behind a small patch of dried skin. I just thought it was eczema and just used Aveeno on it but it didn't seem to go away. I don't have any pictures of it before because I never even dreamed I would write a blog post on this as it seems quite personal to me and I don't really like to share information, but I'm hoping that if someone who is also struggling with this comes across my blog I may be able to help them. I would hate for someone else to suffer this and not know what to do! However, this webpage has a picture on it which is very similar to how mine looked at its worst.

After the patch while it spread a little bit, from around 1 centimetre to 2 centimetres, I still didn't really think anything of it and continued to use Aveeno. One day I woke up and I now had two patches, one either side of my chin both around 2 centimetres big. I went to see my Nana and Grandad and they noticed the rough skin patch underneath my make up and my Grandad gave me some cream he uses for his eczema and it got rid of it! But after a few days of not using the cream the patches slowly creeped back up. And this time they was bigger, both was around 3 centimetres. I carried on using the cream and once again it disappeared but again came back once I stopped using it.

In October the patches spread a bit more to about 4 centimetres each so I visited the doctor about it and he didn't really tell me a lot, just subscribed me some Hydrocortisone cream and told me to use it 3 times a day for a week. It didn't work as well as the cream my Grandad gave me but it did calm it down and after the week was up, as instructed, I stopped using the Hydrocortisone. A few days later I woke up and the patches were back AGAIN.

I tried alternating days where I'd use Hydrocortisone one day and my Grandads cream the next and use Aveeno to act as a moisturiser as it is supposed to help with eczema - which is what I still believed it to be at this point. The patches where controlled, they'd disappear and I'd carry on using all of the creams to try and keep it away, Then I got stressed about my university coursework and my flatmates nearly got us kicked out of the accommodation and everything flared up again but a lot worse. Instead of being smallish patches on each side of my chin, it had become one big patch right across it. But I carried on with the creams and managed to get it back down again.

It's worth noting now that I hate going to the doctors. I also feel like I'm going because of some stupid reason that I can easily fix myself. Plus I always have a feeling the back of my mind that they don't really know what they're doing which was further proved by the last visit where he prescribed me Hydrocortisone, he never once told me what was wrong - whether it was eczema, dermatitis or something else completely. Just took one look, tapped away at the computer and shoved the prescription in my hand...

The patch kept flaring up but calming down quickly throughout November, then one day I decided to google Hydrocortisone and found out that the prolonged use of it can damage your skin (I know this is if you use it for years but it was enough to scare me) so I stopped using it. I carried on using the Aveeno and cream my Grandad gave me and it continued to keep it calm but it was spreading more and more each week. By December it had spread all the way up to my philtrum. I didn't have time to visit the doctor again between university lectures, workshops, coursework and my shifts for the nightclub I work at so I had to wait until I back home.

I'd googled it the day I got home because it was getting me so down and upsetting me, I couldn't even look in the mirror because I hated what I saw, my make up would cover it for a while but then it would start to crack and the flakey, dry, cracked skin would start to show through. Thats when I found the website mentioned at the start of the post, this one, and found that I probably had Perioral Dermatitis, my mum spent the whole night searching throughout the whole of the internet to figure out ways that we could treat it ourselves since I hate going to the doctors.

We found out that it might be due to a bacterial infection, lack of vitamins (quite likely since I hardly ate anything!) or stress (most likeliest cause as I have been having constant troubles with my flatmates and uni is pretty stressful itself!). We went out the next day armed with a list of things to buy to try and get me better. We stopped off at a walk-in centre firstly just to see if they could help... They agreed that it could be perioral dermatitis but didn't really say anything until I pulled out the webpage we'd printed off and showed them, they prescribed me Fucidin cream and again told me to used it everyday for a week.

We then went to Holland and Barratt for vitamins, an assistant was helping us and told us about the Skin Salvation ointment by Pure Potions. Made by a mum for her daughter who had severe eczema, its supposedly great for people who suffer eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. Next was Lush for a face/body scrub, I ended up buying the Bûche De Noël one as it was soft enough to not hurt my painful skin any more but also rough enough to get the dead/dry skin off. I was given little tester posts of Dream Cream and the Self Preserving version of it as well.

I tried the Fucidin cream for a few days but there was no change at all. I switched to the Skin Salvation ointment and the next day I noticed a small difference! I'm currently writing a review of it, I'll add the link in at the bottom of this post for anyone whose interested. It's absolutely amazing! I've also been drinking Actimel and eating Activa yoghurts, taking my all-in-one vitamin and using cider vinegar to cleanse my face.

It's still patchy but it is getting better. Hopefully this time next month it should be cleared up, or not recognisable at all when I have make up on. I have pictures of how it looks now on the Skin Salvation review post - Link below!

Here is my review of Skin Salvation.

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