WHAT MY MUM GOT ME FOR MY 24TH BIRTHDAY

My favourite time of the year (and quite possibly my mum’s too) is my birthday. I get showered in gifts, so, what’s not to love? Plus, it allows my mum to swan around the expensive makeup shops and provides her with an opportunity to absolve herself from some of the guilt she harbours from living in Australia away from me. *sob* *weep*

Year after year, she goes completely over the top ~not that I’m complaining~ and I always really look forward to seeing what I have to open! 

This blog post really is not meant to be braggy or spoilt; I only see my mum once every two years, so these are kind of ‘saved up’ gifts. I’m always just so grateful, and since they’re beauty bits and pieces, they fit quite well into my blog. And they make for some really pretty pictures.

SPRING NEW LOOK HAUL

Having not shopped with New Look for a long, long, long, LONG while, I was pretty impressed when I went for a little browse. I had been seeing so many of my favourite bloggers with their bits and pieces from NL, so I wanted to see what I could pick up. Spring is seriously springing and I am so over wearing big teddy coats and my Dr. Martens. Overall, I am hella impressed with my little haul. I didn’t spend an awful lot; New Look is actually on the higher end of my budget when it comes to shopping (Oh, Primark, how you have spoiled me!) but I did find three pieces that I am in definite *lurve* with.

NYX LIP LINGERIE LIQUID LIPSTICKS COLLECTION + SWATCHES

It’s hard to imagine a time where I didn’t have a liquid lipstick plastered on my face…well, unless you count the 6 days a week I exclaim “I can’t be bothered!” and head out bare-faced. But the fact still stands, when I can be arsed to get some slap on, trust and believe I’ll be using a liquid lippie. The hype boomed in 2016, and we saw loads and loads of brands try to jump on the bandwagon that was dominated by the likes of Kat Von D, Jeffree Star and Huda Beauty’s products. 

I wasn’t about to clean out my bank account investing in the whole collections of the giant brands, and I really wanted to find more affordable options. Some of the cheaper ones were okay for a while…I remember dabbling in Gerard Cosmetics’ offerings, along with some La Splash and Sleek variations too. But even after frittering all those pounds, it wasn’t until I discovered the NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks that I really fell in love.

MY NIÇOISE SALAD RECIPE

If seeing the words ‘niçoise salad’ doesn’t immediately make you think of Heather and Megan Vandergeld from White Chicks, then please go, now, and watch White Chicks. We’ve been having a few really beautiful sunny days in February so far, and it’s making me crave ice lollies, Pimm’s and 99s with flakes. And for the first time in literal years, I’m starting to fancy a salad. Now, I completely live by the Bible passage that states: Thou Shalt Not Go Into A Restaurant And Order A Salad, because as eeevvvveeeryyyyone knows, it’s not real food; you’ll want to demolish a burger within an hour or so of polishing one off. And no salad on this earth is worth some of the prices you see on menus nowadays. However, I am definitely of the opinion that for about six or seven quid, you can make a family-size version of one of the most delicious salads around. 

SOME REALLY GOOD HIGH-STREET FACE MASKS

Between eating Scotch Eggs, crying over who was eliminated on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars last week and having various existential crises, I like to give myself ‘pamper nights’. These usually involve running a bath (at a comfortable hundred-degree temperature), a bath bomb, a true crime documentary and definitely a face mask. I’ve tried loads and loads of face masks in the past, and like to think of myself as a bit of connoisseur. My bathroom cupboard is filled to the brim with half-empty tubes of face masks; high end and high street ones. I thought I’d write a couple of posts on my favourite from each of these price points. These are the more affordable options, but ones I really love…