Housewarming hamper!

My friend/university housemate has recently moved into a new home with her boyfriend, so I decided to buy them a few small presents to make one big hamper/parcel. Normally, I would have got her one big present, but seeing that I used to live with her, I know she pretty much has everything she needs. Plus, I just love the idea of making hampers.

I started off the hamper by buying some cards. Obviously, one card had to be a 'new home' card seeing that this is the reason why I am making the hamper. And the second card happened to be a 'Congratulations' card as she has recently passed some exams and got into Brighton University to do her PGCE for primary education. So proud of her!

Let me just mention here, me and my friend are obsessed with Cath Kidston. In our University house, you would have found it so hard to go into a room without finding something by Cath Kidston. We had teapots, cake stands, cutlery, the lot. So to keep with our old University theme, I got her a Cath Kidston keyring as I believe with every new house key you get you also need a new keyring to hang alongside it. And the Cath Kidston travel tag will be useful for her whenever she flies back to her homeland in Southern Ireland. 

Here are the things I actually bought for the house. The first, which you may find a bit random, is some hand wash. Hand wash as a present you say? Well, when it smells like strawberry laces it is totally understandable, especially when my friend went her whole University life munching on the sweet laces. Plus, hand wash is always guaranteed to be used. So yeah, I've convinced myself it's totally a good idea to include this into the hamper. I may also have to buy myself some, as well as the coca cola and orange chocolate scented ones. 

The second homely item is a porcelain milk jug in the shape of a milk carton. So cute! As soon as I saw it I just had to get it for the hamper....and one for myself. I thought she could either have it as a decoration in the kitchen, or use it for milk whenever she uses her Cath Kidston teapot when guests are over. 

These two gifts were cheapies from Primark. £1 for each of them. And for the price, I just could not leave them. Seeing as it's summer coming soon, and I know she is a huge fan of a BBQ gathering every now and then, I knew these would be the perfect addition to the hamper. I thought the ice cubes would be a great idea seeing that every time we used to have a BBQ we'd always forget to make ice, so now she can just simply put these away and not worry about warm cocktails. 

The ice cream scoop speaks for itself really. It just looks amazing, and even though my friend hardly ever has ice cream I know she'll still love this and will most probably buy ice cream just to try it out. I got to admit I can't imagine it being very strong seeing as it's plastic, so I just hope it doesn't snap straight away.

This small watering can decoration is a bit of a joke. My friend recently sent me a picture of a bit of flower planting she had done in her garden which came as a bit of a surprise as I never knew my friend had green fingers. So yeah, this cute watering can is included so that it can be placed in the soil amongst her pretty flowers.

The heart shaped decoration is made out of loads of small bells, which actually really annoyed me as I walked around the shop with it. It's just so noisy, but so pretty. Plus, you can't have a hamper without a small decoration for the bedroom or lounge. 

This pretty paisley lunch bag was actually bought for my friend as a well done present for getting onto her PGCE course. On this course they are required to carry out a placement in a school, so I thought buying her a lunch bag will allow her to keep her sandwiches fresh during those long work days. Even though this is a well done present, I thought I may as well include it into this hamper.

And finally the chocolate. You simply cannot have a hamper without some sort of food, and in this case it is all chocolate. 

To finish off the hamper I wrapped up every present in brown paper, and then tied up a few with some pretty string to give it that old fashioned parcel vibe. 

Now all that's left to do is to send it and wait for her surprised reaction. Let's hope she likes it. 

x x

How to deal with oily skin

For as long as I can remember, I have suffered from oily skin and I know I am not the only one. It can be annoying trying to deal with greasy skin everyday, especially when you are a makeup fanatic. Though I am still looking to find a product that can stop my pores from producing an unfortunate amount of oil forever, I have instead learnt many different ways that can help reduce an oily look which many of us dread.

Have a good and effective night routine -
Don't just use facial wipes, instead make sure your routine includes scrubs, cleansers, and toners. Scrubs are a brilliant way of getting rid of any dirt and dead skin cells, whilst cleansers get rid of the bacteria on your skin and in your pores. The toners will help to close your pores which is where the culprit of your oily skin is created. So by closing your pores will hopefully help tone down the oil. I would recommend to stay away from alcohol products as they strip the skin which can be unkind. Instead try and go for a micellar water or a gel cleaner.

Use an oil free moisturiser -
After your scrub, cleanser, and toner routine, use a moisturiser. Even though you may think that your skin is hydrated enough with all the oils leaving your pores, you should still moisturise morning and nighttime as even oily skin needs to be hydrated. But make sure your moisturiser is oil and alcohol free.

Use a makeup primer -
Using primer before applying your makeup will help keep your makeup at bay throughout the whole day, which is exactly what us oily skin people need. For my oily skin I personally prefer to use a silicone based primer as I think it creates better and longer results to help make my makeup look less greasy. It is great to use all over the face, but do make sure to focus on applying it to your oily zones.

Use oil free makeup -
This may seem obvious to many of you, but some people who have oily skin do not realise that it is down to the fact that it is because their makeup has oil in it, especially their foundations and concealers. So if you avoid makeup with oil in then you may find that this could be your main culprit.

Use colourless powder -
I'm sure we are all familiar with the quote "powder my nose", well this is indeed a good way to help reduce the appearance of an oily nose. By applying a powder to your skin with mop up the oil allowing a less greasy look. However, if you are doing this then please stay away from tinted powder. I know tinted powder matches your skin tone perfectly, but by using this it will just create a cakey look. Instead, go for a powder that appears colourless. This will get rid of the oil whilst also keeping your makeup looking natural. Rimmel sells a good powder called 'Stay matte pressed powder' which can be bought here.

Blotting paper - 
For a quick fix the best thing to do is just blot the oil away with some blotting paper or tissue. This will immediately get rid of the oil but it is likely to come back a few hours later. So make sure to keep a packet handy in your bag, or if you're desperate just lightly dab some tissue paper.

Facial masks -
Try and use a facial mask once or twice a week as they are a great to tighten the pores. As said up above, if you can tighten the pores then it is likely less oil will be produced. To get the best results then I would recommend using a clay mask.

x x

Ideal shoes for high heeled haters

Top left to right 
1. Topshop - Naive cross through sandals - tan - £45

2. Kurt Geiger - Block heel sandals - black - £95

3. Asos - Humour heeled sandals - £40

Bottom left to right 

4. Missguided - Genna flatform sandals - Nude and black - £27.99

5. Bank - Ribbon scrappy mega platform - white - £30

6. Asos - Harrow heeled sandals - Off white or Aqua - £30

If you, like me, dread the day you have to go to an elegant celebration because you know this means hours of agonising feet pain from the high heeled shoes that women are expected to wear these days, well good news is here, the past year or so mid heels have come into fashion, and they don't all look like a 12 year olds first pair of kitten heels.

It is a cliche that all women have to wear high heeled shoes to look good with a dress. I admit we do look pretty darn hot in heels, but for some, wearing heels is pretty impossible, and I am one of those girls. All of my life I have lusted after every pair of heels thinking that one day I may be able to finally walk in them longer than ten minutes. I don't know if it's due to the fact that I may have weak ankles, weak foot muscles, or maybe a weird foot structure, but all I know is that after ten minutes the balls of my feet are in unbearable pain. It feels like I have suddenly acquired huge bruises on the bottom of my feet. I have tried all sorts to help: wearing foot cushions, walking around the house on tip-toes, and even trying to 'wear in' the shoes whilst doing the dishes.

Because of this annoying pain I would dread nights out, parties, and pretty much all celebrations that required me to dress up. I remember my sixth form ball where I wore stilettos just for the sit down meal and then they were kicked off as soon as I hit the dance floor. When it came to friends birthday parties, I found myself being the only girl wearing sandals or ballerina shoes. But luckily when it came to university nights out my friends were also like me, so I didn't mind so much wearing some flats. Though I couldn't help being jealous of seeing all the other girls in the club tottering around as if they were walking on pillows. Honestly how do you girls manage it?

When it came to my graduation last year however, I just knew I couldn't wear flats to this occasion. This was my big day and I really wanted to walk across that stage in high heels proudly. In reality, that was never going to happen. So instead I went on a search to look for some mid heels that could create an illusion that they were higher than what they actually were.

Luckily, I came across this one pair of shoes from Topshop that have become my saviour. Without them I do not know what I would have worn to graduation, nor what I would have worn to many occasions since. This pair of shoes do look chunky, but the platforms on them create an illusion that they're much higher than they are. Exactly what I wanted! And what's even better is the fact that my feet did not ache one bit, which means I not only looked and felt great for all the graduation photos, but I also managed to walk across the stage to accept my degree without looking like I was walking on a path of fire.

I think I got them for around £45 and although they are no longer sold on Topshop's website, I have included a similar pair on my recommended list up above. I also decided to include some other shoes that I believe would look more comfortable to wear than high heels whilst also managing to look hot enough to wear during nights out or to celebrate special occasions. Although they do still have a heel, they are actually much more comfortable than 5 inch high heels.

x x

Bedside beauty

Most girls will be all too familiar with their bedside table being taken up by an amount of beauty products that get applied whilst they lay in bed just before their head hits the pillow. Every night I do my normal scrub and cleansing routine in front of the mirror, but then when I get into bed I can't help but apply some last minute products whilst I catch-up on my tv programmes that I have missed.

1. Tweezers -
Bedtime is most probably the only time I get time to pluck my bushy eyebrows. I know it seems daft doing it when light is at its minimum, but I have a bright lamp shining right next to my bed that will allow me to see any stray hairs.

2. Nail varnish -
If I ever decide to apply a nail polish, then it will normally be applied at nighttime when I'm in bed. This allows my nails to dry and set properly whilst I watch catch-up tv. If I apply nail polish during the day then I always manage to muck the nails up by feeling the need to do tasks whilst they dry. I have just got to keep busy during the day. I also have the nail polish on my bedside table to do some touch ups whenever it is needed. At the moment my nail polish of choice is Topshop's 'Disclosed' which I have done a review on here.

3. Mvala nail hardener -
Before I apply any nail polish I will always use this nail hardener to make sure my nails don't get dry and brittle from the layers of nail polish. But if I am having a lazy day and decide not to apply a nail colour, then I will still apply this hardener when it looks like my nails need it.

4. B. Nourished night serum -
I am constantly trying out facial moisturisers to help my oily t-zones and some random patches of dry skin on my cheeks and in between my eyebrows. At the moment I am using this cream after reading up on some good reviews. At the moment I am liking it for controlling my dry skin, but it seems to be doing nothing for my oiliness.

5. Soap & Glory body cream -
This smells so nice which is why I apply it to my hands. I absolutely hate applying moisturiser to my hands as they just get all greasy and it seems to take ages for the cream to be absorbed into the skin. Because of this I always try and apply the cream at night, hence why I leave it near my bed.

6. Vaseline petroleum jelly -
This is most probably the very last thing I apply before I try to fall asleep. I normally smack on a huge layer onto my lips so that a lip mask is created in order to nourish my lips over night. Sometimes I will also add some castor oil to the mix to hydrate and protect my lips even more. If you are interested in the use of castor oil on lips, then read my blog that I typed up recently.

7. Simple spot zapper -
This is a new addition to my table, so I am yet to give a good review. I am always on the hunt for a good spot zapper that works and doesn't leave the skin dry. So, every night I use a hand held mirror to help me apply this roll-on pen onto any blemishes that are visible with hope that they will disappear by the morning.

x x

Wishlist - Spring dresses

It has come to that time of the year where I have found myself continuously browsing the internet looking for outfits that I can add to my spring wardrobe. I have now put away all of my chunky knits, my uggs, and my coats and brought out all my flowy dresses and tops. But like every year I seem to have gone off  most of the items and finding myself wanting a whole new spring and summer wardrobe. So here is some of the dresses that I am now lusting for:

1. Zara - Thin strap polka dot dress - £35.99
I am really into strappy dresses this year, and I believe this dress would not only look great during the sunny weather but it could also be worn during nights out. I love the flowy skirt near the bottom too,  it makes it an alternative to the normal shift dress

2. Motel - Penny baby doll dress in acid wash denim - £42.00
Denim dresses seemed to be everywhere last year, but I was never taken in by it. This year however, I am dying for this one from Motel. I have no idea if denim dresses are still in this year but I so want one as it would perfect just to throw on when I am feeling a bit lazy. Just accessorize it with a nice necklace and voila!

3. River Island - Yellow checkerboard t-shirt dress - £28.00
This checkered tshirt dress has had my eye for a while. I wouldn't normally be attracted by something like this because it's got that 60s fashion vibe about it, but I think it would look perfect with some white sandals on a hot day.

4. Zara - Jumpsuit with sequin embroidery - £39.99
I know this post is called 'Spring dresses' but I just had to add this playsuit to the list. I can't normally pull off a playsuit because of my wide hips, but the fact that this one is a straight style I think it would fit my curves easily. It's simple yet the embroidery really makes it look unique. And once again, I think it would look great during the day and night.

5. Asos - Smock dress in gingham and lace - £45.00
I am so into smocks this year! I just think they are perfect for all shapes and sizes, so they are perfect for when I am feeling a bit bloated. This one in particular looks so cute without looking too pretty, and it will also let me embrace my guilty love for checkered patterns without going the whole hog.

6. Topshop - Moto babydoll tropicana print dress - £36.00
I have got to admit that I am really into the tropical hawaiian type print that is all over this years summer fashion. However, I am not someone who I believe could pull off all those bright colours. So when I came across this neutral coloured dress with a tropical print I just fell in love and thought it would be the perfect way that I could express my love for the tropical print without looking too bold.

7. Motel - Patience babydoll dress in huge paisley red - £38.00
I have just bought this patterned dress but in a shift style. I am adding this skater dress to my list because I just love the pattern so much that I am actually thinking that maybe I could buy it in this style too. Or is having two dresses in the same pattern too much?

8. Boohoo - Debbie solid colour smock chiffon dress - £20.00
Even though this dress is plain it actually has me written all over it. I am a sucker for a plain skater dress which I can accessorize till my heart's content. I have been looking for a nice yellow dress for a while and this one is definitely my winner. It's just perfect! And with that price tag it's made me even more happier.

x x