Friday, March 31, 2017

ROSE GOLD OVAL BRUSHES | REVIEW


I’m a sucker for an Instagram-hyped-product. I’ve tried applying my foundation with a condom (gross), I’ve tried eyeliner stencils (crap), and now I’ve finally got around to reviewing the Oval Brushes I received for Christmas. I’m a slave to the wisdom of my favourite bloggers and YouTubers, and whatever they love, I end up blindly adding to my birthday and Christmas lists.

I unwrapped my Oval Brush Set on crimbo morning (Jesus, am I still reviewing Christmas gifts?!?) and I was reeeeally excited. Like, I nearly spilled my prosecco and choked on my Lindt Lindor. There’s around ten brushes in the set, and since it was from the WISH app, it cost less than £10. I had asked for a cheaper set; I’m a true believer in trying a cheaper version before splurging on a real thing. So, at £1 per brush, it’s a pretty good deal.

Out of the ten brushes, five are larger sized and the other five are, well, an eclectic and random mix of smaller shapes.

I’ll start off by saying that I love the look of these brushes as a set. They’re sleek and feature a pretty rose gold accent on the handle. It’s only when you actually try using them that you get a bit…confused.

The larger 5 brushes are pretty good. They apply foundation nice and smooth, concealer goes on well and blends out nicely. Powder application with these brushes is a little patchy, but it works.

The smaller 5 brushes are a mess. They are so random and stupidly shaped and I’ve got no idea what on earth they’re for. I did a first impressions video over on my YouTube channel (that I’ll link down below!) and I ended up just giving up. I am so baffled and annoyed by the useless smaller brushes that I’d quite like to set them on fire and do a sacrificial dance in my pants.

There’s been a few blogger-recommended products that I’ve ended up absolutely adoring; the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser, my beloved Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette. THEN, there are a few that get an “…ehhh..”.

Or maybe an “..ehh..” is a little harsh. I’d probably give this Oval Brush set a 5/10 overall. Worth a buy if you’re wanting to try them out, but beware on splashing ALL the cash straight away!


Lots of love,
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Monday, March 27, 2017

IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE THING THIS MONTH...



Let’s keep this short and sweet. I flipping LOVE this mascara. This is the best mascara ever, in the world. The end. I was so unbelievably late on the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara bandwagon, and I can’t believe I even survived this long without it. It was £19 from Selfridges, and if you only buy one thing this month, make it this!

I included this beautiful, pink chrome tube of goodness in my February favourites. I’d definitely say that it is comparable to Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara, however, where Benefit’s option left me with quite clumpy lashes, this one doesn’t at all. The lashes feel thick and smooth; elongated and curled, and lifted at the roots. My eyes look about ten times larger. It’s comfortable to wear all day, and the packaging looks too pretty in my blog photos.

My one and only gripe with this, is that I’d only really had it about a month before it started going a bit dry in the tube, and felt like it was running out. It’s still quite dry, but I can still get product out and onto my lashes. I know I’ve been using it a WHOLE lot, but I’d hope that a £19 mascara would last me more than 30 days! I’ve put a drop of saline solution in the tube to make it last longer, but it does seem to have started running out rather quickly. This makes me and my bank account very, very sad because we cannot possibly live without this mascara any more.

I’d also say that this is an extreeeeemely smudge proof mascara. It’s super longwearing, even to the point that it’s a bloody job and a half to get it off. It takes about a litre of micellar water to get anywhere near clean eyes, which is sort of annoying, but it’s a sign of how great the mascara formula is. It doesn’t budge all day, and doesn’t fade out to that horrible grey-ish looking mascara that some of them do.

Despite my little whinge mid-blogpost, I would completely recommend that you try this mascara if you haven’t already. I know it’s a bit of an investment, but I’ve never looked so awake and fluttery in my entire life.

Lots of love,

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Thursday, March 23, 2017

WHAT I ATE TODAY #1

Since I’ve embarked on Operation-Summer-Bod, my weightloss has been slow but steady. I’m also adopting a very ‘flexitarian’ diet, which means that most days I eat meat-free meals, some days I’m vegan, and other days I still love to rip in to a big fat burger. I’ve been much more creative in the kitchen lately, just because my diet has changed so much lately. Eating meat-free meals makes you want to add in flavour where you might be missing it from meat, and when I cook vegan meals, I go crazy experimenting with new spices and flavours. I wanted to start this ‘What I Ate Today’ series because it might be really fun to photograph what I’m shovelling down my neck. As well as this, if I come up with a wicked recipe, It’ll be easy to share it with you!

When I started this weightloss mission, I weighed 9st 4lbs. This is the heaviest I’ve ever been. I’m about 3 weeks in, and although I have enjoyed about 4 cheat days, I’m now dead on 9st. So here's what I ate today!


3 egg + ham omelette
I took 3 large eggs and a splash of semi-skimmed milk and whisked it up in a mug. Then I shredded a slice of honey-roasted ham and a sprinkle of black pepper. I just chucked this in a pan on a low heat and made myself quite a humungous omelette. I calculated the calorie count of this to be around 350 calories, which is pretty good going. I’d usually smother this in cheese and bbq sauce, but as I’m being healthier recently I’m trying to cut down on the unnecessary fat and sugars.


Tesco Healthy Living Lentil + Vegetable soup
I’m absolutely obsessed with soup!! And when I realised that lots of supermarkets do a low-calorie option, I immediately stocked up on the various calorie-counted soups. I literally just throw this in a bowl and zap it in the microwave (no unnecessary dishes to do! Bonus!) for about 3 minutes. There’s technically 2 servings per tin, but since they’re so low in calories, I don’t feel too guilty about eating the whole tin. The whole tin contains 156 calories, and I don’t have any bread or anything with it. I usually feel really satisfied after a big bowl of soup, so I’m happy to only have this small amount of calories.


My DIY Burrito Bowls
This is an old photo but I re-made this recipe that I came up with/stole from Tortilla. It’s a wrap-less burrito which makes it a lower carb option, and is packed full of vegetables, beans, rice, guacamole and cheese! It is quite a calorific meal for me, coming in at 461 calories, but it’s full of goodness and is so unbelievably filling. I know you’re meant to eat a smaller meal in the evenings, but as I’ve stopped eating late and ain to have dinner between 6pm and 7pm, I feel better about nomming this down. The full recipe blog-post (which I’m super proud of!) can be found here.

I had a couple of sugary bevvies throughout the day, though. I’ve had a can of coke which is about 140 calories (oops) and now I’m sitting here sipping on Lambrini. Luckily, Lambrini, despite being completely embarrassing to admit you drink, is very low in calories. It’s roughly 100 calories per most-of a bottle (yes I’ve drank most of a bottle what about it?).

This means that my day’s calorie intake was 1206. I’m pretty pleased with that. I like to aim for between 1200 and 1300 calories per day, because it definitely means that I’ll be losing some weight somewhere, even if I can’t be bothered to go for runs. I really hope you enjoyed this blog-post! I’ll be doing more of them in the future; partly to keep me on my toes and conscious of what I’m shoving down my neck, and also to hopefully inspire and motivate others who are on the weightloss-bandwagon!

Lots of love,
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