Holidays are comin'

Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well. It's currently 01:58am & as you can tell, my body clock is non-existent. 

Oh my gosh, Christmas is coming up - 23 days. It's crazy. This year has literally flown by. Seems like just yesterday I was almost stranded up in uni just before Christmas due to the snow - nightmare! 

I've got high hopes for this festive season :) last year there was a loss in the family so it was quite a sad time but this year it's looking up. 

I've invested in a 'Happy Christmas' yankee candle (which I've not stopped burning yet) and am currently listening to Michael Bubles - Christmas album which is definitely making it hard to contain my excitement.

I've been Christmas shopping with my mum, which was lovely... Although I'm mega jealous of my boyfriend at the moment as he's up in London doing his Christmas shopping for a few days! *sob* 

I'm looking forward to spending Christmas with Greg. This is the third Christmas we'll have spent together (such a long time!) & I've just got a feeling it's going to be a good 'un. I've also got quite good shifts to work with at Zara so more family/ friend/ boyfriend time, woohooo! :) However, for some (unfair) reason we get a week less off for Christmas than we did last year. Hmph - sort it out uni! 

I'm praying it doesn't snow this year, however, it probably will. I just hate it. Like really, really hate it. It's just so inconvenient. The year before last I was almost stranded at Greg's house for Christmas because it snowed so heavily on Christmas Eve and then I couldn't get back up to uni after the holidays. Then last year as I mentioned before, I was stranded up in my uni house 'cause there was no way I'd be able to drive in such conditions. Literally, nightmare. Fingers crossed the fluffy white stuff won't make an appearance this year *FINGERS, TOES & EVERY OTHER BODY PART CROSSED* It makes it so difficult to see Greg as we live an hour apart & there's a big huge ginormous mountain between us, which closes at the first sign of a snow flake. NOT GOOD.

Anyway, enough of my moaning about snow - SCROOGE. Hope you all enjoy the run up to Christmas guys!!! I'm sure I will! :)

HN x

Crest whitening strips

Hey guys :)

I had a new laptop today, a Sony Vaio, as my old one decided to s-l-o-o-o--w right down to an unbelievably annoying speed making it difficult to revise etc & seeing as it was my birthday a couple of weeks back and I've been saving my birthday money to get something I really needed, I thought why not. It's lovely & now that I'v brought it home, I've realised it's glittery & now cannot stop looking at it.

Anyway, as promised, I thought I'd do my review of Crest whitening strips.

I bought the Crest 3D White Advanced Vivid whitestrips.

"If you suffer from yellow discoloured teeth or you just want whiter teeth, then Crest 3D Whitestrips Advanced Vivid with thenew non slip strips will remove your surface tooth discoluration and you will be able to enjoy a brighter, whiter and healthier smile in the convenience of your own home."

In each box, you get 14 sealed pouches (28 strips) - 14 for your top teeth, 14 for your bottom teeth. You apply a strip to both top and bottom teeth for 30 minutes, once a day & they claim you'll begin to see results within 3 days.

I've got 7 days worth left, so I've not yet seen the full effect, however I took a picture before I started using them & I took one today - half way through the treatment..

Before:

Half way through:

As you can see, my teeth are considerably whiter than before! Before they were really quite yellow, but they are beginning to become more white! Definitely cannot wait to see the end result :)

So far, I love them! The only down side is is that they make your teeth quite sensitive - However, I bought the Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste for a mere £1.84 in Tesco and it has worked a treat!

I'd definitely recommend these to anyone considering undergoing a whitening treatment as they can be pretty expensive and I paid £29.99 for mine from here.

I'll be sure to do a post after the whole 14 days :)

HN x

My attempt at hair modelling

Hiya guys!

Sorry I've not posted, I've had exams & loads of stuff has been going on, so I do apologise!

A couple of weeks back, I was approached in work (Zara) by a guy asking if I'd be interested in doing hair modelling. This would include having my hair done for free, so being a student, I jumped at the opportunity!

So on Monday, off I trotted to the hairdressers situated in Cardiff.

I was there for a whole 7 hours... & there was a proper photographer and everything, so scary considering I'm not the biggest fan of having my photograph taken.

Anyway, this was the result -

Apologies for the awful quality but the photographer is going to send me the real images on a disk so I'll upload them then! I had about 200 pictures taken! So much fun, although I'm not too sure how a model does that day in day out..

I had my hair coloured 3 different colours - Copper, red copper and copper plum. It's really bright considering my hair was a dull auburn colour before. Every time I walk past a mirror I'm like "AH!" haha. He also trimmed my hair 'cause it was quite dry... & then the BIG OTT hair obviously haha. Had such a fun day!

Oh, and I have a post on Crest whitening strips coming up really soon! :)

HN x

Red red red

In line with the redness of Comic Relief, I've decided to do a review on a product I've recently bought.

Just over a month ago, I decided to dye my hair red. Well, to begin with it was proper ginger, but it faded loads and I couldn't find a toner the right colour in order to maintain the colour :( So, I went a little bit darker - a little bit more red. However, I still found that the colour faded a lot, and the water in the shower was always orangy/ red. I searched the internet for something that could help, and I finally came across 'CHI Organics tone & shine'. I could not find a review of this product for the life of me (although since I have come across one, but not for the colour I use), but I decided to bite the bullet and pay the £17.99 for the 350ml bottle, in hope that it would prove to be good.

On the bottle is says to shampoo your hair with CHI shampoo (although I just use my John Freida radiant red shampoo) and then towel dry. Then apply tone & shine evenly through your hair. Leave in for 1-5 mins and then rinse. Or to achieve longer lasting results leave in for around 20-30 mins and then rinse.

I did the above, I left it on for about 30 minutes first time and I actually couldn't believe the colour difference, it was insane! It left my hair looking a lot more vibrant and shiny.

To show you just how well this works, I've taken pictures. Today I went swimming, and after getting out of the pool and washing my hair, it had faded quite a bit. It was a lot more orange/ pink than it had been.

So I came straight home, took a picture of my dull faded hair:

Washed it, and applied the tone & shine, left it on for about 5 minutes, and this was the result:

As you can see, my hair is a lot more red, vibrant and shiny. & this was after only 5 minutes, imagine the results after the whole 30 minutes!!

I use the colour 'red auburn' although I can't see the auburn at all, pure red if you ask me.

(quick swatch of the product for you to see the colour of it)

The only downfall of this product is the smell. It's very very strong (although as you can probably tell from the name there's no artificial perfumes or anything) and I really don't like it. However, the quality of the product makes up for it :)

I urge any of you 'fake' redheads who have trouble keeping the colour to try this out! I promise it works!! I bought mine from e-bay so go have a look!! :)

HN x

Happy Tuesday

Today has been a good day.

I woke up to a brightly lit bedroom - as the saying goes, the sun had his hat on. That itself was enough to keep me in high spirits. I woke up a couple of hours earlier than I needed to (was planning on a lay in, however my boyfriend had to wake early, resulting in the hair dryer roaring, deodorant spraying everywhere and drawers and wardrobe doors slamming shut - all may I add, seemed to be a lot louder than usual), meaning I had time to chill for a bit & not rush to get ready (which is usually the case).

I also didn't mind the loooong walk into uni today either. It was warm, and the park I walk through seemed so much happier, with dogs racing around, to a whole group of new-mums jogging around the park with their babies in prams (which was quite amusing to witness!!). The sun sure does a lot of good :) my house mates also had the first BBQ of the year (granted it was absolutely freezing by the time they had it, but hey ho) - I'm not the biggest fan of BBQ food so I steered clear and opted for a bagel with turkey ham and cherry tomatoes - amazing.

I've also booked a holiday with my boyfriend this evening. Gran Canaria in July, yay :) so unexpected!

So today has been an all around good day.

It's my 21st birthday in less than 2 months, and I have no idea what to do for it. I think me and Greg are going to go to London again, and hopefully see a show. We saw Wicked last time and it was honestly the best show I've ever seen.

Any recommendations?

I've already seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (twice), Grease (twice) and the mouse trap, so any other suggestions would be great!

I've been mega excited for my birthday for the past few days, eeeeek.

Here's a few pictures I've come across this week and have loved them enough to save them as favourites. Hopefully you'll like them just as much.

(all images sourced from weheartit.com)


HN x

100 things | part 1

I've just realised that the majority of this post is to do with food, excuse my greediness. But it's true, these thing's are definitely on my list of favourite things.

#10 - croissants. since our trip to london, i've loved these & have found myself craving them regularly.

#11 - margarita pizza. honestly the most boring pizza orderer ever. my boyfriend always shouts at me for not being adventurous enough.

#13 - neon trees - animal.

#14 - doughnuts. it's not only krispy kremes anymore, i love them all.

#15 - greg, my boyfriend.

#16 - my bed.

#17 - my iphone.

#18 - pandas. i've always loved them. my first teddy was a little panda, and i've loved them ever since.

#19 - the prospect of going on holiday this summer.

#20 - cwtches.

all pictures sourced from here.

What's in my makeup bag

I've never done a post giving you an insight into my make-up collection, & even though this is nowhere near my whole collection, I thought I'd show you lovelies what I carry around with me on a day-to-day basis.

• 17 Photo Flawless skin primer, which claims to prolong foundation wear and minimise the appearance of pores. Personally, I like this product, it gives my skin such a soft feel after applying it & at such an affordable price, I really do think it's worth it.

Retails at: £4.99. Available at Boots.

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• Benefit 'That Gal' brightening face primer. Absolutely love this product, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It really illuminates your skin giving you a glowing look, and in weather like this, it's a saviour.

Retails at: £21.50. Available at Debenhams, Boots, House of Fraser and other dept stores.

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• Benefit 'Booing' concealer in '02', which states to give "Industrial-strength concealer". This product does indeed provide heavy coverage for spots, blemishes and dark eye circles.

Retails at: £16.50.

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• Benefit 'it stick' which is a concealer pencil. This product doesn't provide as much of a heavy coverage as Booing, which comes in handy when I'm not wearing any foundation.

Not too sure if they sell this product any more as it's no longer on the website & I've had it for longer than I can even remember.

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• L'Oreal renewal lash serum. According to sources this product makes your lashes look the best they can. Unfortunately, I cannot comment fairly because I always forget to use it before bed.

Retails at: £11.29. Available at boots.

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• Benefit 'Some kind-a gorgeous' in colour 'lite'. This is a creme foundation compact. I love the coverage as it isn't heavy at all and allows for the glow of 'That gal' to shine through. It makes my skin feel gorgeous after application. It also adapts to your skin tone, meaning you'll never really look too orange or too ghostly. However, my one complaint about this product is how long it lasts. I purchased it approx 3 weeks ago and already there's a huge circle in the middle of the product where I've hit pan. It's important to note that I don't wear this every day, and on days that I do, I do not wear a lot of it, as I don't like a matte look on myself. So, I doubt I'll repurchase, as much as I love the product when it's been applied, the price tag and how long it lasts just doesn't go hand-in-hand in my opinion.

Retails at: £23.50.

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• Revlon ColorStay foundation for Combination/ Oily skin in 180 Sand Beige. Really like this product. Stays on all day, and product lasts a long time. I apply it with my GOSH Professional Art foundation brush, which leaves me with a flawless long lasting finish.

Retails at: Foundation - £12.49, Brush - £10. Both available at Superdrug.

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• Barbara Daly for Tesco, one step powder foundation in 'warm ivory'. This product is great to use on it's own or on top of foundation to reduce shine. You get 12g of the product and it lasts such as long time. I have been repurchasing this item since I was in comprehensive school which was almost 5 years ago now. Definitely a must have!

Retails at: approx £7 I think

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• Barbara Daly for Tesco glow-up. Basically a creme highlighter. Hardly used to cannot really comment fairly on this. On the odd occasion that I have used it, I have liked it.

Retails at: approx £7 I think

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• Laura Mercier pressed powder in 'golden bronze'. Absolutely stunning bronzer, ideal for the summer. Just the right amount of shimmer so you don't look like you've been attacked by fairies.

Retails at: £26. Available at John Lewis, Space NK, Selfridges and other dept stores.

Rating: 4.5/5

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• NARS 'orgasm'. I'd heard so many good things about this so had to try it out for myself. It didn't disappoint. I've had it for well over a year now & there's still plenty of the product left.

Retails at: £20.50. Available at John Lewis, Space NK, Selfridges and other dept stores.

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• Benefit 'Coralista'. This is quite a recent purchase, as I dyed my hair ginger and wanted a blusher that would compliment my hair. This is absolutely gorgeous. It kind of reminds me of a less shimmery/ less pink version of NARS orgasm. This is definitely my fave benefit blusher.

Retails at: £23.50. Available at Debehams, Boots, House of Fraser and other dept stores.

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• L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes - extra black. Love this. Really does provide extra volume, and is a very deep black colour. Will definitely be repurchasing this. On par with my Max Factor false lash effect mascara I think.

Retails at: £11.29. Available at Boots.

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• 2true effortless eye liner. Not the worst liquid eye liner out there, but certainly not the best either. But at this price, I wasn't expecting miracles.

Retails at: £1.99. Available at Superdrug.

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• Benefit 'Bad gal' eye liner. I really like this eye liner, but sometimes I'd rather if the big hefty pencil was a bit thinner. Despite that, very good eye liner, with good staying power.

Retails at: £14.

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• Benefit 'Brow zings' which is a brow shaping kit. It comes complete with a hard angled brush to apply the wax, a blending brush to apply the powder and a mini benefit tweezers. Love this product as I have really thin eyebrows which look 100 times nicer when I've applied this.

Retails at: £22.50.

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• Tweezerman pointed tweezers. Best tweezers I've owned. I wouldn't buy them for myself as the thought of spending that amount of money on tweezers when I already owned a pair of mister mascara ones really put me off, but my lovely mother surprised me with them on Christmas day & for that I am grateful :)

Retails at: approx £18 I think. Available at Boots.

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• Carmex cherry lip balm. Fantastic product! This is the only lip product that works on my horribly dry lips!

Retails at £2.65. Available at Boots.

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• Cheapy eyelash curlers that need replacing ASAP. Anyone know of any good ones?
• A really cheap lipgloss, probably from a make-up set I had off a family friend for Christmas. It's such a lovely colour though.
• A blusher brush from a set my nan bought me a couple of years back. Despite not being a certain brand, it's sooo good. Extremely soft and applies blusher well.
• Flase eyelashes. Again, no idea what make they are as I had them for Christmas and have thrown away the box - oopsies.

Hope you've all enjoyed this post :)

HN x

What's in my bag

I thought I'd do the 'what's in my bag' tag as I'm feeling a little under the weather today and fancied updating my blog with something light hearted.

Firstly, I had my bag for Christmas. It's a brown wrinkled-leather satchel from Topshop (no idea on the price, sorry).

& inside you'll find...

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I watched Kelly's youtube video where she mentioned buying it & I instantly logged onto Amazon & purchased my own copy. However, I've been so busy trying to catch up on all of the University work that I missed when I took a month off ill that I've not really been able to read much of it yet.
• Cath Kidston 2011 diary. Absolutely love her designs and this is just so so pretty. Recently, I've had so many things to remember, and appointments to attend that I literally had to purchase a diary... & this lovely thing just happened to be quite cheap (about £5.70 I think it was). Definitely love this.
• KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON - Good advice for hard times. Ever since my Boyfriend first mentioned that his old workplace had this poster up, I've loved it. I think the history behind it is interesting (if you don't know it click here). This book is good to have around whenever you're feeling a bit down, with statements such as "A LIFETIME OF HAPPINESS! NO MAN ALIVE COULD BEAR IT: IT WOULD BE HELL ON EARTH. - George Barnard Shaw", it definitely raises spirits & makes you feel that everything will eventually be alright.
• Rowntree's Randoms - yumyumyum.
• Cath Kidston make-up bag. (What's in my make-up bag coming soon) - again LOVE the print.
• Old tatty-cheapy purse. I've come to the conclusion that forking out quite a bit of money for a purse just isn't worth it, especially in my case as I ALWAYS end up braking them. Whether it's the zip that ends up snapping or the material ripping, they never stay pretty for long. So this old Primark number shall stay with me until it is no longer fit to hold a penny.
• Primark umbrella. I thought this was very cute & at a mere £4, it was definitely worth it considering the lovely weather we have here in Wales.
• Little hair brush that I had to buy whilst in London 'cause I'd forgotten mine. I didn't realise how expensive brushes were. I think it was £4 for this tiny thing from Boots.
• My keys. I have 3 Disney keyrings - Tinkerbell (who has sadly lost her wings) that my boyfriend brought me back from Paris, Woody from ToyStory & a Lego Jessie from ToyStory. I also have a massssive foam rubix cube which I have purely to help me find my keys in my bag.
• Tablets - flucloxacilin & rehydration sachet's because I always forget to drink enough water which leads to a migraine... & that's when the paracetamol, ibuprofen and nurofen migraine relief come in handy. Just call me 'Superdrug' haha.
• Carmex
• Barry M lipstick in a pillar box red, number 121
• Airwaves
• A bobble
• A mini 3,5m Versus by Versace eau de toilette that I had as a present from the restaurant that we went to on Valentines day.

So yeah, those are the contents of my bag :)

Hope you're all well.

100 things | part 1

#1 - the sun seems to be shining a little bit more than it has for a while!

#2 - my mum. she's amazing.

#3 - krispy kreme. enough said.

#4 - 'keep calm and carry on'. love.

#5 - cath kidston. her designs make smile, a lot.

#6 -a cup of tea.

#7 - exciting new places. i visited london at the beginning of february for 3 days & absolutely loved it.

#8 - love hearts. my boyfriend first asked me out using these little beauties,

and for Valentines day, he bought me a sterling silver one :)

#9 - books. currently reading lolita.

#10 - fresh fruit. raspberries, grapes & blueberries are my fave!

photo's all courtesy of weheartit.com

Ginger hair

So my excuse for my disappearance this time is simply that I'm ill.

Basically, since September I've been feeling quite unwell - I've lost a bit of weight, I'm constantly exhausted & breathless, and I'm fainting a bit. I'm also having pains in my stomach & chest - I'm in the wars!! Haha! I'll survive ;)

But this all means I am going to have a lot more time on my hands to blog, because I'm taking some time off uni & work until all is well again! 

Anyway, I have also dyed my hair recently. A brave shade of ginger. I decided to go this colour as being a red-head seems to be very fashionable these days, plus I've always been jealous of my 6 year old sister for being a 'ginge' cause I've always longed for fiery locks, and finally I had to confidence to just do it :) - luckily my illness has 'graced' me with pale pale skin too so it looks quite natural if I do say so myself.

Here's a picture of the back - I'll have to take one from the front, but I've not felt upto wearing make up recently, and I wouldn't put any of you lovely people through seeing me look as I do now haha.

So yeah, I hope to be back blogging regularly soon as I'll be as bored as anything doing nothing with no excuse not to :)

Oh & a VERY belated Happy New Year all :)

HN x