Summer NOTD

I've been reading a lot about yellow nails on blogs and in magazines the past few weeks, and I let my lovely little brother choose a colour, and he said yellow (he's very on trend!). The only yellow I own is Barry M Yellow Ice Cream which I always believed to be a pale colour. However, as I needed three coats, it ended up being a lot brighter.

It is, however a gorgeous colour, and perfect for Summer. I'm always a fan of Barry M's nail polishes as they look great, last long and only cost £2.99.

What are your nail polish must have's for Summer?

My Quest For Radiant Skin

Early mornings, long days and stress have all taken it's toll on my skin. I always look tired, and my skin constantly looks grey and dull - something that no amount of make up can hide. I went out in search for products that could banish my dull skin and found two great products. One was from Lush (review coming soon) and another was from The Body Shop.

If you are a Love Your Body member, not only do you receive 10% discount at The Body Shop, but you also receive a £5 voucher in your birthday month. I used the voucher to buy The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver as it claimed to do everything I wanted.

I apply this after moisturising and it goes onto my skin so easily and sinks in without leaving a sticky residue. It instantly made me look more awake and my skin looked radiant all day. I couldn't ask for a better product, especially as it made me smell of oranges. :)

I would thoroughly recommend this product to anyone looking for more radiant skin as it really does work. It also works even better teamed with The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion - a product that has been a firm favourite of mine ever since I purchased it. The microdermabrasion leaves my skin feeling fresh and radiant, and is a perfect weekly treat. As you can see, I've used up quite a bit of it.

The Skin Reviver costs £13.00 and the Microdermabrasion costs £12.00. Am I going to buy more products from their Vitamin C range? I definitely will.

Have you tried any of their Vitamin C range? What products do you rely on for radiant skin?

Sunday Ramble 006.

New laptop and Filofax. Inside my new Filofax. Pretty flowers on mine and Aiden's walk. Hungry Horse menu (yummy).

- Funny fact. Every time (and I mean every single time) I have written one of these posts (except the first two), I have to go back and check what number I'm on. Okay, so it's not funny but it's a fact. How's everyone's week been? They seem to be going super fast lately, hmmm.

- First thing's first. What is up with Glossy Box?! Now I haven't seen what I've got yet as I'm at my boyfriend's so expect a longer post in the next week or two but I am seriously annoyed at how long it took to get delivered! Come on, it's almost July. I couldn't have praised Glossy Box more last month, but this month I'm less than happy. And why why why add delivery charges when your service is so rubbish (enter worse word here instead if you like)? I've heard a lot about another company who plans to do the same thing, but are we really going to fall for the hype again? Yes, because I've added myself to the waiting list. Shame on me.

- This week I signed myself up to Style Journals. Now I wouldn't call my blog a fashion blog, but it clearly states "Anyone from any blogging platform can join as long as your blog is related to fashion and style in one way or another; that could be clothes, shoes, bags, nails, hair, beauty, photography, inspirational photos, fashion shows and models are just some examples." So I joined! Please help me out by clicking the little button at the top of my blog, and don't forget to sign up yourselves. There are also some amazing blogs on there.

- I crossed another thing off my 101 Things in 1001 Days list! (Number 46) On Tuesday, my dad took me to Comet to buy a new laptop for my birthday and I love it. My old laptop had no battery life and no sound, so I have spent most nights watching all you lovely Youtube ladies and walking around the house with my laptop!

- I noticed that I never seem to be on my laptop on Saturday's, therefore I tend to not schedule any posts for then either. So I decided that I'm going to have bloggers take over my blog every other Saturday (perhaps every Saturday in the future) I already have a few people interested and they are currently writing blog posts for me. If you are interested, please e-mail me at jesswd18@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you. :)

- Blog of the week: Zoe is a lovely girl and her blog is just as lovely. I adore her cute layout and my favourite posts would have to be 'The Love List'. :)

x

My New Filofax

Filofaxes are everywhere, especially in the 'blogging world'. I've never considered myself to have 'enough of a life' to buy a filofax as I wouldn't have anything to write other than 'school' lol. But now, as I work shifts, I have various appointments, plus a lot of blogging to organise, I decided to get myself a Filofax.

I noticed that WHSmith had a 50% sale on, so I jumped straight on that, and purchased a lovely Filofax reduced from £50 to £20. I ordered this on Thursday 16th June with a big hope that it would arrive before my birthday (18th June). However, this Monday, I noticed a few people had mentioned WHSmith's rubbish delivery service. I looked on my account to see that my order was 'waiting for stock'. No thanks. I immediately cancelled and headed straight to the Filofax website. Please note that I normally love WHSmith, and it seems people have only had problems with ordering Filofaxes and not anything else, so don't give up on them just yet. :) A big thank you to Sofia for highlighting the problem (although she doesn't know that, I read it on her blog)

I ordered the Apex organiser in the Personal size (which is perfect for me - not too big, not too small) and of course I had to get it in Pink. It was dispatched the day after ordering (and I ordered in the evening) and arrived two days later. My filofax cost £26.00 and delivery was £3 something but if you spend £30 you get free delivery, so I bought extra To Do lists (my best friend) and website addresses (which Sophie bought with her filofax and I agree is a great way to keep track of blogs).

I am officially in love with my Filofax, and I can totally justify spending £26.00 as from now on, I only need to buy refills which are cheap. Plus, I spent more than £12 a year on a diary anyway.

I'm now heading back onto their website to find some more things to add to my Filofax - I'm thinking maybe some stickers or even a mirror!

Batiste Go XXL!

As you can tell from my last post, I am a very big fan of Batiste dry shampoo, and I'm an even bigger fan of their new big bottles. So when Batiste offered me the chance to try their new XXL Volume Dry Shampoo, I couldn't resist.

The XXL Volume works in exactly the same as their other dry shampoo's, but obviously with added volume. I must admit, I was a little bit worried that it would either, a. not work, or b. turn my head into a beehive - something I didn't want.

I allowed my hair to go very greasy before using this, in order to see exactly how good it was. I didn't get a photo but my hair was extremely greasy, and flat - almost stuck to my head! (cringe) I sprayed this all over my head and then brushed it.

The results were fantastic! My hair immediately lifted and like all other Batiste Dry Shampoo's, it looked like I'd just washed it. It also gave it the boost it needed, plus a little more to make it look full of volume.

The only, only downside (and this is me being extremely picky), is that it wasn't too good for my fringe. It wouldn't go flat, which is my fault really, as I shouldn't spray XXL Volume on it if I want it flat...

To see their full range, visit their website.

x

Recipe: Millionaire's Shortbread

You all wanted the recipe so here it is. These are surprisingly easy to make, although it does take a long time as you need to allow it to set. There aren't many pictures as I wasn't planning on doing this post as I didn't think it would be popular. Sorry for the bad quality too - it was taken quickly.

Ingredients
For the base:
3oz/75g plain flour
2oz/50g unsalted butter
1oz/25g caster sugar
For the caramel:
14oz/397g condensed milk (there is a tin this exact size)
2oz/50g unsalted butter
2oz/50g caster sugar
For the top:
8oz chocolate (I used Dairy Milk but you can use whatever you want, you can even use two types)

1. Grease a 7 inch square loose tin (silicone worked a treat as it was so easy to get out without breaking the shortbread).
2. Mix the flour and butter until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the sugar and mix until it is like dough.
3. Press the mixture into the tin and make it an even layer. Bake in a preheated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 20 minutes (or pale golden). Leave to cool.
4. For the caramel, put the condensed milk, butter and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently until the mixture becomes thick and pale golden. Pour over the shortbread and leave to set for 2-3 hours.
5. Melt the chocolate and pour over the caramel. Leave to set and cut into squares.
6. Enjoy!

Sunday Ramble 005.



- I hope you've all had a great week! I was lucky enough to have the week off work and boy did I enjoy it! I've decided that Sunday Rambles from now on will include a few pictures from the week, you know, just to make it look a bit prettier. I hope you all like it.

- If you read last week's ramble or follow me on Twitter, you'll know I went to Cardiff on Tuesday to see Take That. I was so excited, and I didn't even mind the 3 hour journey there, although it took 4 hours to get back as we were stuck in the car park for over an hour! Anyway, Take That were amazing and I hate to admit it but Robbie really did prove me wrong. I was slightly anti-Robbie beforehand, but he had me screaming my heart out to 'Let Me Entertain You' whilst sweating a little too much, but hey ho, it was the best night ever.

- I baked Millionaire's Shortbread this week after finally finding a recipe. It was actually pretty easy to make and they tasted delicious. I'm tempted to post the recipe on here, should I? :)

- On Saturday, it was my 19th birthday. I celebrated by going out for a meal on Friday, then coming home and dancing my heart away in the living room, ending up with some hilarious pictures of me, Aiden and my brother. Then, on Saturday night, I went to my local pub, and had such a laugh, although I did trip up the stairs after drinking a shot of Tequila followed by Sambuca. Overall, an amazing birthday.

x

Lush Review: Volcano Foot Mask

I'd always considered myself a big Lush fan. But considering I'd never purchased anything other than bath products, I believed that in order to be a true Lush fan, I'd need to buy different things. So I put it on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list, and I can happily say I completed it. :)

I purchased two items, one of them was Volcano foot mask. This may be too much information, but my feel are awfully dry, to the point where I can pick off dead skin pass the sick bucket. I'm never sure why my feet are so bad, as I exfoliate and cream them all the time. I'm putting it down to footwear and genes. Anyway, whilst looking at footsie things in Lush, I didn't want to buy a simple cream as I have so many, so I was intrigued when I saw the foot mask. The lovely sales assistant explained what it did, and luckily the potato ingredient didn't put me off. I took it home and tried it out.

It was a bit of a messy situation. I had to apply the mask all over my feet, then wrap them in plastic bags (or foil) and then left them for 10 minutes. It was just my luck that I had forgotten so many things yet couldn't walk and get them (thank god for boyfriends ay?). After my time was up, I rubbed in the mask so it exfoliated my skin, then I rinsed it off.

The result was amazing. I had no dead skin, and my feet were extremely smooth and soft to touch. Obviously, the pressure points were still a little dry but the results were still far better than I expected. They are still a lot softer now (I used this four days ago). The only downside would be the smell, only because I don't really like the smell of cinnamon that much, but push past the smell and you've found yourself a brilliant product.

I recommend this to anyone looking to treat their feet. It costs £5.25 and you can buy it online or in store.

What non-bath Lush products would you recommend?

Sunday Ramble 004.

- Hope you've all had a lovely week. This is the first week that I've felt properly proud of my blog. Yes, I loved it, but I feel like this week, all the hard work is starting to pay off and I'm really happy with the way things are going. This is down to all of you reading this right now - thank you for being so lovely on here and Twitter. :)

- There won't be any blog posts until at least Wednesday as I'm going to Cardiff to see Take That on Tuesday night! I am so so so excited! Anyone else seeing/seen them on their tour?

- I'm also really looking forward to turning 19 next Saturday. I don't really have anything planned for it, but I'm actually really excited about turning 19. I think it's going to be a good age!

- I've bought a fair few magazines recently, mostly because of the amazing freebies that come with. You all know about Glamour and Benefit, but also check out Company and Instyle, along with I think Red? There's so many! Definitely take advantage, I have.
- Blog of the week: I find myself always looking forward to Bee's posts. Her blog vivatramp is always full of inspiration and it was her who inspired me to create my 101 things in 1001 days list. Her blog will most definitely leave you feeling positive.

PS. Sorry for the short Sunday Ramble post this week. :)

x

May Favourites 2011

I was hoping to do this at the beginning of June/end of May but I got a little side tracked and like they say, better late than never. For the past month, I've been trying out a lot of new products, plus sticking to a few firm favourites so I have a lot of favourites for the month, but I decided to wittle it down to a few rather than bore you with endless opinions on various products all in one post (plus, I may need some of them for June's Favourites!)

Urban Decay Naked Palette - I ummed and arred about getting this as it was quite expensive and I was worried I wouldn't use it that much. I couldn't be more wrong! I might as well sell all of my other eyeshadows (I won't though!) as I've only used this since I bought it. The colours are all perfect and the make up brush applies them perfectly. If you're considering it, get it. You won't regret it. :)

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - I reviewed this here so I won't talk too much about it as you can read my opinions on the blog post. I've really enjoyed using this and I've noticed quite a difference to my skin.

John Frieda 3 Day Straight -  Anything that controls my hair in the slightest is a miracle in my eyes and this product is amazing. It doesn't leave my hair perfectly straight, but it does save me over half an hour each day as I don't need to straighten it as much. Last week, John Frieda was on offer in Boots (2 for £7.50) and so I managed to get two instead of one for £6.99 - bargain! (I did tweet this and I hope you all took full advantage of a practically buy-one-get-one-free situation!) The offer is still on now so get there while you can!

Sigma F80 Brush - I received this brush from Sigma and I haven't stopped using it. I had previously never used a brush for foundation but now I don't know why I didn't! It applies perfectly and as soon as I get enough money, I'm going to get my hands on this brush kit.

Nars Illuminator - I received this with GlossyBox and I knew I would love this. It provides a perfect glow and lasts all day. For a better review see here.

What are your May favourites? Feel free to leave your links to them below.

Leopard Print Nails

Finally, a post on nail art. Ever since I started blogging, I've been mesmerised by the amazing skills of some of you bloggers out there when it comes to nail art. I promised myself I would at least try some kind of nail art and improve my skills. Those of you who followed my old blog would know I tried polka dots but this time I went a little further.

Leopard print nails are really simple to do. All you do is paint a base colour and leave to dry, then paint dots of another colour and leave to dry. Then using a black nail art pen, do two curved lines around each dot, then when it's dry, paint a clear top coat.

It is surprisingly easy to do, and you'd be surprised at what colours go well together. I had a fair few amount of oversized false nails, and decided to experiment.

My favourites would have to be these three:

If you want to know specific nail polishes used then let me know, and I'll happily inform you. :)

Tips:

You could try using a cotton bud to create the dots (although just using nail polish is fine)

No nail art pen? Use black eyeliner or use a cocktail stick dipped in black nail polish.

Batiste Dry Shampoo

I am a big fan of dry shampoo. I am going to put it out there and say it - I only wash my hair once a week *watches the follower number go down*. The reason is, I don't need to wash it more than that, and it takes too long to do it all as my hair is one crazy wild thing and I hate doing it. Anyway, for this reason, I am a big fan of dry shampoo, it leaves my hair looking like I've just washed it, all the time.

I recently purchased Batiste Dry Shampoo in Floral and Flirty Blush. I wasn't too sure which scent to choose as there were quite a few but I went for this simply because it was pink! (I had to choose somehow!). The scent is gorgeous, I almost didn't need perfume.

I'm sure most of you know how great the dry shampoo is itself. It always leaves my hair looking and feeling clean and soft. I'm not sure if anyone else notices this, but my hair always feels amazing when I wash it. Normally, it's dry and 'ratty' but if I've used dry shampoo, it feels great and a lot easier to wash.

What's your favourite Batiste Dry Shampoo? And what one should I buy next? :)

PS: I still can't reply to comments, but I forgot to mention this is a new bottle and they are bigger than the previous ones. :)

Sunday Ramble 003.

- Good evening girls. I hope you've all had fabulous weeks whatever you've been up to. As you know from last week's ramble, I had a lot of hours at work, hence the lack of blogging, and I've got the same this week, but I've also got so many post ideas so I'm going to hopefully get a lot done today and on Tuesday (my day off!). Thank you for your support regarding the girl at work who keeps taking extra long lunches. It turned out a few people were annoyed at this, so I had a word with my manager and she's going to keep an eye on her.

- On Friday, I went to visit my great grandad. I normally only see him on his birthday, but my family decided to surprise him and he was so happy to see us. He really is an amazing man, and I idolise him so much. He also told me the most amazing quote and I will remember it forever. He said "I'll eat when I'm hungry, I'll drink when I'm dry, I'll cry when I'm sad, and I'll sing when I'm happy. And if you don't like me, you can leave me alone" <3

- I'm very excited for the #bbloggers chat tonight on Twitter. I'm sure you've all heard of it but if you haven't then get involved - you will learn so much. Tonight's topic is photography, which I think is great as I think it will help those, like myself, who don't have an expensive camera and Photoshop. (I use a Blackberry/N8 phone camera and Picnik! And I think most of my photos come out just as good sometimes.

- Blog of the week: This week, I'd like to mention Sofia's Journal. I am currently sponsoring her blog, and you'll see my little badge in her sidebar, but I seriously love her posts. I read her blog almost every time I'm on the laptop and I find myself going further back to her older posts and reading about so many amazing things. Definitely check out her blog!

River Island Wishlist

River Island is one of my favourite shops. Every time I go in there, I see so many things I want to buy there and then. It's only downfall is that it is slightly out of my budget. I'm the sort of person that would rather buy four or five items than one expensive one, therefore I don't normally buy much from River Island. However, it is my birthday this month, and so I thought I'd treat myself at some point to a few things from River Island. I've spent a while browsing their website and could have had a wishlist that went on for hours, but I decided to show you just a few.

1, 2, 3

4, 5, 6