Hello again! This post is very long overdue, i'm sorry! I wish I could explain why, but lets just say, life is stressful at the moment. Very stressful.
However, it's here now, and that's what matters, right? So I loved the previous month's Birchbox so much (blog post you can read here) that I decided to keep it going for another month, and I was pleasantly surprised at it's contents this time! As this post is overdue, I can give you a proper review of what I think of the products. So lets dive in, shall we?


I just want to say, how absolutely adorable is the box it came in? I love the colours!


 First up is a sample size of Benefit's Bad Gal Lash mascara. I was super excited to receive this, as I've never tried any of Benefit's mascaras. Despite hearing brilliant things, I couldn't bear to part with the large amount of money, incase I didn't like it.
I was really surprised with this, as it is really amazing. I tend to use it if i'm going on a night out as it's very dramatic, and adds a lot of length to my lashes. Overall, i'm really pleased with this.




I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this perfume smells. I'm awful at describing scents, but just trust me, it's great. It's by Catherine Malandrino, and for the full sized bottle it's £70, but I might need to ask for this for my birthday, as i'm getting through this sample size fairly quickly.



This was just a little book we got with the box, just telling us all about Habitat (as I assume they were sponsoring it this month). It was a nice read, but nothing particularly exciting.

Next up is this shower scrub by Janira. Not a brand i'm familiar with, but I love the packaging. The product itself, i'm not a huge fan of the scent, but it works as a great scrub. Not one i'll be purchasing though, i'm afraid.

Next up is this Lord & Berry eyeliner in black. This was really convenient as I was actually after a new eyeliner. I was really pleased with this, it glides on really smoothly, smudges nicely, but lasts all day. I will definitely be buying the full size of this once I run out.

 The next thing was unusual. It was an extract from a book. I hadn't heard of it, or the author, but honestly, I have yet to read it. I've been reading other books, and somehow this has just ended up tucked away, and i'm not sure if I will read it.

Finally, I got this "pre-shampoo" treatment from Philip Kingsley. I'd never heard of the concept of a pre-shampoo, but I will be definitely be looking into it! This made my hair feel so soft, and smooth, and I actually got a few people comment on how shiny my hair looked! Bonus! Definitely another one worth repurchasing.

So that's what I got! What do you think?
Thanks for reading.

I know I am so late to the game, but on the 27th February, I finally caved, and bought a Birchbox. I only decided because I had a code that got me it for only £7, rather than the usual £12.95 including postage. (Absolute bargain!)  I'm only just getting round to writing this post now, but better late than never, right? I have to say, I was really pleased with it! So much so that I got the March one as well! (post on that coming soon!)
So as you can see above, I got a lovely selection of things (all for under a tenner!), and i'm going to talk you through them all. Enjoy!


 First up is a hydrating shampoo from "Electric Hair". Retailing for £17.50 for the full sized bottle, I was really happy to get this. I've never heard of this brand before, but I am excited to try this. If it's any good, i'll put a full review up on my blog, so look out for that. Birch box claims that this shampoo boosts moisture and restores shine, which would be lovely. Fingers crossed it works!


 Next up is this radiance serum from "Caudalie", another brand I was unfamiliar with. This retails for a whopping £45 for the dull version, so again, I was super happy to get this. I've tried this once or twice, and it feels so smooth on my skin. I will continue to use it, and let you know how I get on!


I also received this really cute bath and shower wash from T London. This is scented as chamomile and green tea, which i've never been a fan of, but this smells really nice! It's very subtle, but nice none the less! This is £6.50 for the smallest full size version, if anyone was wondering.


Next up, a product I really wanted to love, but I didn't. It's mixed berry oats, and it sounded delicious, but I tried it today, and I just wasn't a fan. That's not to say others won't like it obviously, sadly, I just didn't.


I also received this fat eye stick from Eyeko. It's £16 for a trio of them, so again, super pleased to have got this. I really love this, it's such a shimmery, beautiful shade, perfect for adding a subtle amount of glam to your makeup. This is perfect for both evening and daytime wear, but i'm wearing it most in the evening. I think the shade is "Gilt", but i'm not 100% sure.


Last but not least, it's a beauty bloggers favourite, that I have yet to try until now, it's the "Benefit High Beam" highlighter. I have yet to try this, but i've heard great things from it, so I have high expectations! This retails at £19.50 for the full size of it, so again, super happy to have received a sample of it.

And that's what I got from Birchbox, i'm super happy with everything I received!
Thanks for reading!!

Recently, i've been so brilliant at this whole "posting regularly" thing.. (can you sense the sarcasm?) I'm really sorry, I explained in my last post why (read that here), but today is all about spending money!
I handed in an important essay to uni on Tuesday, and what better way to celebrate than with a bit of retail therapy? I spent too much money considering i'm a poor university student, but i'm going to show you what I got anyway!



First up was Primark, where I got a few things. First things first, the bag. It is absolutely beautiful. I spotted this on the shelf, and knew I needed it in my life. I've been looking for a really bright bag for ages (as I mostly wear black, and something bright would add a pop to my outfit) and this was perfect. It was also super affordable. It was only £8. Eight pounds!! What a bargain!
Next up, I needed a head band for a Great Gatsby themed night I was going to (blog post coming soon!) and I just picked up this pretty one for a mere £3. It was really comfortable, and it stayed in my hair the whole night!
Finally, saving the most boring for last, I picked up some kirbies. (Because mine always go missing! Where do they go?) And these are so cheap, and great for £1.



 Next it was off to Superdrug for a few essentials I needed. First up is this face scrub, which I absolutely adore. This is my second tube (I have a blog post planned for this!) It is seriously amazing, and also super affordable at under a fiver.
I also needed dry shampoo, so I picked up my go-to one, which is of course the Batiste one. I picked the cherry one, just because cherry is my favourite scent. However, I can't make up my mind about this scent.







 Lastly, I popped to H&M, and I found that they have some really lovely stuff in right now. I ended up picking three things.
The first thing was this dress, which was £13, and I think it's so versatile. It's easy to wear all year round, either with tights, leggings, or bare legged. It's also really easy to both dress up, and dress down. I really like it.
Next was this cardigan. It doesn't look much in the photo, but it's really nice, and it literally goes with most of my wardrobe. I've been pairing it with a simple t-shirt, light ripped jeans, and chunky boots. It also looks really nice thrown over the previous dress.
I also got this simple black t-shirt, because I don't own anything like this, and it's honestly so useful to have something like this in any girls wardrobe, as you can just shove it on and go. I really like it.

So that's all I purchased! For once i'm actually really happy with every single thing I purchased! Yay!
What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Hey guys, it's been a while, hasn't it? I apologise for my absence, I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted (which was my 50 in '15 Update) but i've had a super busy, stressful and eventful month, which i'm going to try my best to explain here.
I don't want to go into detail, because it's quite personal (maybe one day!), but long story short, back at the end of January I went to the doctors, and i'm seeing her regularly, as well as taking medication. That all sounds okay, except, well, the medication is making me feel rubbish. (And my dose has just been increased, so that doesn't help things.) It means that I feel more tired, dizzy, sick etc, so in all honesty, keeping my blog up hasn't been top of my list!
As well as that, university has been keeping me occupied in all my spare time, and any free time I have, i've just been wanting to sleep! (And if i've not been sleeping, i've been at the gym, to prevent me from falling asleep!) Also, we were looking for flats, and I have an essay to write, and there is all sorts of factors contributing to why I have not been online.
However, i'm feeling much better now (except for a cold, nooo!) and after Tuesday, my workload will be majorly reduced, so i'm hoping to get back into the routine of posting that I was in at the start of 2015.
I also haven't been reading, and i'm trying to read 50 books this year, so i'm going to try and read a few more, and then there should be another post on my blog soon all about that!
Thank you for reading, sorry for being away, and sorry this was such a short post!!

Posts to look out for in the future:

• Makeup Revolution Haul

• 50 in '15 Update 2

• Birchbox Review

• Current Hair Routine

• My Necklace Collection

So, the first month of 2015 (it still feels strange writing a 5 at the end..) is over, and it's been a really mixed month for me, but that's not what I want to talk about today. I want to update you on my reading challenge! For those of you who don't know, i'm attempting to read 50 books this year! (i'm crazy, i know..) I wrote a full post on it, which you can read here. I actually read quite a lot in January, because I had a lot of free time before I went back to university on the 18th. I managed to read a grand total of 6 books this month, and I would like to talk to you about my opinions on them, while trying not to give any spoilers.


Okay, so the first book, I may have cheated a little, as I started it before 2015, but i'm still going to include it. It's "The Child Bride" by Cathy Glass. if you haven't heard of Cathy Glass, she's an author/foster carer who tells real life stories of children she's fostered. She has loads of books out, and I have read most of them, but I believe this is the newest one. Most of her books are very moving, and emotional, and this one was no different. Throughout the book many more disturbing elements of this poor girl's (Zeena, her name was) life were revealed, each more upsetting than the last. I love the way Cathy Glass writes, and this book was no different. I cried at this book, but overall, I really enjoyed this.


The second book I read was "Secrets Of The Tides" by Hannah Ritchell. I have read one other book by this author called 'The Shadow Year', and it's one of my favourite books ever, so I was really excited to finally get my hands on this one, and I was not disappointed. Much like 'The Shadow Year', this book tells the story of 3 different people, all in different timezones (two present, one past) and they all link together, and eventually overlap. Without spoiling anything, there was a 'tragic event' that the main characters (Dora, Carrie and Helen) are all involved with, and they each have to face the consequences of their actions. It's hard to explain this book without spoiling it, but I really do recommend this book, I loved it! I actually read it in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. It's definitely a page turner.


The next book I read is a controversial book that i'd seen all over the internet, and reading the blurb, I wasn't that sure I wanted to read it, so I didn't. However, after it popped up in a magazine I was reading recently, I had a look online again, and curiosity got the better of me, and I bought it on a whim. The book i'm talking about is "Tampa" by Alissa Nutting. If you haven't heard about this book (where have you been?) it's had very mixed opinions, understandably. It is about a female teacher called Celeste, who grooms boys. 14 year old boys in particular. She takes a fancy on a boy named Jack, and the book is written from her point of view, meaning you get a real insight into her perverted mind, as she sets out to groom Jack. Let me tell you, this book is very graphic. And I mean very. I think it needs to be like this though, to get the point across that these things happen. It is definitely a book that makes you think. I was thinking about it for days after I finished it. It also made me feel very uncomfortable, and I honestly absolutely hated Celeste. I thought it was really unusual reading the book from the point of view of the bad person, but I liked it none the less. This book is definitely not light hearted, and it will leave you with confused opinions, as on one hand I thought the book was really cleverly done, but on the other, I really didn't like it. This is a book I cannot make up my mind about.


I also read the highly praised, and really popular book called "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. Now.. where do I start with this? Well, I thought it was brilliant. I absolutely loved it. It is one of those books where you'll be confused for the first bit, but then become so engrossed in it that you literally can't put it down. It's really hard to say anything about this book without containing spoilers, but there is such a big twist in the middle, that completely threw me, and messed with my mind, but I loved it none the less. It made the book so much more interesting. However, if you've read the book, you will have opinions about that ending. Personally, I absolutely hated the ending. i was so annoyed at it! But I guess it keeps you thinking about it, eh? Overall, this is a book that is a definite must read, it is up there with my top books ever, I highly recommend it.


However, the next book I read, I have to say I really didn't enjoy for the majority of it. It was "Swimsuit" by James Patterson. My mum actually recommended it to me, and I was excited to read it, as usually my mum has pretty good recommendations. It's about a supermodel called Kim who goes missing on a shoot, and the main point is finding out what happened to her. Sounds okay, but wasn't my cup of tea, which is a shame, as I usually love crime thrillers (which is what this book is supposed to be.) I just found this book quite boring (except the middle bit-it was okay!), not easy to follow, and I feel like the characters were underdeveloped. This book was really difficult to finish in my opinion, but I hate leaving books unfinished! So i'm afraid I won't be reading this book again.


And the last book I read in January was actually one i've already read quite a few times, but only on ebook. I got the paperback for Christmas and I decided to re-read it. It is "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. It's one of my all time favourite books (and the film based on it is one of my favourite films, it's beautifully done.) So as usual, I was not disappointed. It's kind of hard to describe this novel, but i'll give it a go. It's described as a 'coming of age' book. The main character, Charlie, writes various letters, describing his experiences 'growing up'. He leads a difficult life, and he, like many young adults, made many mistakes. He's very shy, and he isn't popular at school, but that all changes when he met Sam. (Sounds like a love story, it really isn't.) Amazon describes Charlie as being "Caught between trying to live his life, and trying to run from it", and this is completely true. However, this book has a really deeply effecting plot twist to it, which never fails to make me cry, no matter how many times I read it. I 100% recommend this book. It's a really short read, so no excuses, pick it up if you can!

So that's all the books I read in January, 6 down, 44 to go! What have you been reading? I'd love more  recommendations! I have a couple ready to start, but i'm always looking for more!
Thanks for reading.