Saturday, November 5, 2022

BAKING HAUL | B&M BARGAINS


My impulsivity can be a blessing and a curse. In this instance, though, it was definitely a blessing. My boyfriend and I were wondering what to do one weekend and decided we wanted to bake a cake. We’ve both never ever really been into baking. We’re both incredibly big foodies and really enjoy cooking breakfasts and evening meals, but baking is an entirely different kettle of fish! They always say that “cooking is an art, but baking is a science”, and that truly terrifies me, as when I’m doing dinner I’m extremely off-piste and creative. Baking is far more disciplined, which has never really appealed to me, but for some reason, this weekend, we decided it was!

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Saturday, October 29, 2022

THE OUTFIT #2

 

I don’t think there’s anything better than a simple all black fit. I love the effortlessness and knowing that it’s a timeless and elegant way putting an outfit together. I always feel like a bad B in all black. Part super villain and part Morticia Addams. I’m also loving that the weather is cooler and the maxi dresses and coats are OUT! Layering up and getting all cosy, whilst still looking glam and expensive is one of my favourite ways to dress.

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Saturday, October 22, 2022

L'OREAL PURE CLAY DETOX MASK + GLOW MASK REVIEW

Picture this: it’s the weekend, you’ve had a productive week and all your laundry/dishes/idiot hamster jobs are done. It’s time for a self-care Sunday. I wanted to review the omnipresent L’Oreal Paris masks, of which I have two out of the range of six. The whole range is pretty exciting; mixing high-end ingredients with very low prices, and universally available. The masks in this range I’m yet to try are the blemish rescue, purity, smoothing and brightening masks – all of which are on my to-buy list. I think it’s great when an affordable brand bring out something that feels really luxe and indulgent, especially since we’re all brassic on account of our stunning government at the moment. But let’s not mix politics with beauty posts – let’s have a good ol’ fashioned product review…

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Saturday, October 15, 2022

THE OUTFIT #1

Something about autumn gets me so inspired to take my camera out and shoot some outfit pictures. It’s also the time of year I feel suits my style the best. The layers, the knits, the chunky boots. Ahhh, and not to mention the neutral tones. I’ve been super motivated and have truly found a new sense of creativity and commitment to my content this season. It’s definitely something that peaks and troughs – I can sometimes go months without even thinking about picking up my camera (or wearing anything other than jogging bottoms and hoodies, for that matter). But this month I’m vlogging, blogging, instagramming, and wanted to start a bit of a new series on my blog where I detail my outfits for a post; just a bit of a cheeky style diary.
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Friday, July 15, 2022

IN PHOTOGRAPHS | A WEEKEND IN LONDON

London is my favourite place in the world, and somewhere I was lucky enough to call home for a few years. Nothing sets my heart on fire like the beautiful city streets, the architecture, the sense of adventure that came with every morning, the anticipation of what was to come. All the different people, the hustle and bustle of the underground, the incredibly diverse array of food, drink, places to go and things to do. I loved people watching, running to catch the tube, sitting in a beer garden or taking myself on a little day out. One of my favourite things was taking a stroll to Greenwich Park, just 10 minutes from my flat. Or catching the bus to the O2 and treating myself to lunch. I’ve a very complicated relationship with my former home; I’m constantly toing and froing within my own mind about moving back there – about what it would cost and what it would mean – in the bigger sense of the word. So, to be honest, I try to push it to the back of my mind. For now, my priorities are elsewhere. And while I always like to think that someday I’ll win the lottery and buy a home in South East London, for the time being, all I can do is visit and admire my city from afar.

Back in April, I visited for the weekend with my family and had a fantastic time. We stayed in an old converted Victorian house in Knightsbridge where the photo opportunities are on every street corner. We enjoyed a lunch of Spanish tapas and my first ever visit to the incredible V&A Museum. We followed this with an amazing evening at Proud Cabaret on Embankment – a five course meal and drinks, served with a backdrop of the most spectacular burlesque, circus and dance performances (something I never thought would be my thing, but I had one of the most incredible evenings of my life!). We then followed up with a walk around Central London, a picnic lunch in Trafalgar Square, and finishing up in Soho before heading home to Bristol. Of course I roped my sister into taking some outfit photos for me too! I had such a memorable and special weekend, and took the opportunity to snap as many photos as I could. What I love about London is that it really speaks for itself in all its majesty. I hope you like my photos from my fabulous weekend in the most fantastic city on earth. 

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Friday, July 8, 2022

THE ORDINARY COVERAGE FOUNDATION | REVIEW + SWATCHES (1.2N)

If you’re like me, you’ve got two very defined stashes of makeup. One stash is comprised of exquisitely packaged, masterfully formulated and, not to mention, extortionately priced products. These are the products we save for special occasions; my face of makeup for my graduation, family members’ weddings, date nights and Christmas Days must’ve been worth an absolute fortune. Between my lavish and treasured collection of NARS, Charlotte Tilbury and Fenty Beauty, I dread to think what I must have spent over the years. The other is our everyday collection; the Monday to Friday in the office, the Sunday morning coffee-run, and the odd schlep to Aldi…if I can be bothered. And I simply cannot bring myself to waste my Estee Lauder Double Wear (at £32 a bottle, no less!) for a casual trip out. The pang of fear I get when I’m squirting out my boujie foundation – even when I am using it for a special occasion! – at the thought of washing it off in a mere few hours’ time is a reminder of my new-found frugality. And frugality is going to help me buy a house one day!

But where on earth am I going with all this? Well, I am a firm believer that just because you’re using a cheaper foundation and being a frugal queen does NOT MEAN  you need to resign yourself to a poor-quality orange cake face for all your days in the office. If you do anything for yourself this month, then you need to buy The Ordinary Coverage Foundation. I’m sure this won’t be the first time this foundation has made its way onto your internet browser, Instagram feed or YouTube ads; it was so incredibly popular and hyped around the time I was getting super in to makeup. It really was the wonder-product. Despite it creeping up slightly in price since back then, the consistent four-to-five star review holds true, and it’s been a staple in my makeup bag for around 4 years now. The undisputed ‘foundation’…get it?...of my casual makeup collection.

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Friday, May 27, 2022

WHAT NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT COMING OFF THE CONTRACEPTIVE INJECTION | DEPO PROVERA

 

Contraception and hormones are something 50% of the population will have to deal with. We all have an opinion on it, we’ve all agonised over which method will be the best for us. We’ve all worried about a potential negative experience or reaction. We’ve all lamented that there are no male-pills! Now, I will preface this whole blog post by saying that I’m not an expert. But I most certainly am a girl who has experienced what so many of us dread; a terrible response to a new method of contraception, and a real sense of withdrawal after coming off a method that I’d been so happy with for years.

For context; I was 13 years old when I got my first period. I remember being shocked by the amount of blood. I remember trying for over an hour to insert a tampon but finding it too painful and overwhelming. I remember crying from the bathroom that I couldn’t come out, and my mum trying to speak to me through the door. I think I tolerated about three periods before I decided that it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t able to function properly whatsoever. Between the searing cramps, the (what seemed like) fifteen litres of blood leaving my body daily, the money spent on sanitary products and pain relief, I had absolutely had it with periods after THREE. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t – and shouldn’t have to - put up with it. The contraceptive injection, for some people, stops periods entirely. So I was in the doctor’s office like a shot, and thankfully it worked in stopping my period almost immediately, and I carried on for years as – what felt like to me – as normal.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2022

BIRTHDAY OUTFITS TRY-ON HAUL


As I’m typing this I can barely believe it’s my 27th birthday next week. I’m thinking about officially entering my ‘late’ twenties and all the amazing experiences I’ve had within my twenties so far. I genuinely sit here with the mental age of a 25 year old (maximum), especially given the two years lost to the pandemonium. But the clock is ticking and I’m growing older, and it’s time to get on with it!

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Tuesday, May 10, 2022

EXPLORING | BRITAIN'S BEST BEER GARDEN


Whatever the opposite of ‘getting out a lot’ is, that is what I have spent the vast majority of the last two years doing. I am sure I almost became fused to my sofa at one point. There were hundreds of weekends lost to Judge Judy marathons, long Aldi trips and (my new favourite) mould time-lapses on YouTube. Yup, they’re a thing… 


I have a real bone to pick with the pandemonium-that-shall-not-be-named because it took up two years of my twenties. Those were years that I feel should have been filled with travel, adventure and new experiences. So now the world has finally started to open up again, I’m grabbing life by the balls and am determined to make up for lost time.  I’ve already been on holiday to Dubrovnik, Croatia and spent a fabulous weekend in London. But today’s blog post is all about my day-trip to explore the beautiful village of Pensford and visit Britain’s Best Beer Garden at The Rising Sun. 

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Sunday, February 6, 2022

GARNIER ULTIMATE BLENDS HAIR FOOD REVIEW | SMOOTHING COCONUT + NOURISHING BANANA

 

It feels like such a long time ago that I experimented with hair care. I’ve been known to be quite set in my ways when it comes to the stuff I out on my head given all the traumas it’s been through! For those of you who’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been bleaching and colouring my hair for years upon years. You’ll also probably know that about 2 years back, a ‘hairdresser’ melted off my hair into an attractive mullet. Since then, I’ve been super careful about what products I’m using, using heat, sleeping with it up, using hairbands and all that good stuff. I’ve generally used salon-brands or higher-end products you can get in the supermarket or Boots. This time, though, I seem to have made a bit of a mistake by choosing these Garnier products…

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Sunday, January 30, 2022

A HUGE ESSENTIAL CLEANING PRODUCT HAUL


I actually filmed the accompanying YouTube video to this an age ago, but recently remembered I took a load of blog photos to go alongside it - so here we are. You can actually tell that these photos were taken before we were plunged into the depths of winter based on how much brighter my living room looks! 

A cleaning haul isn’t something I’ve ever done on my channel or blog before, but I’ve been loooong into my cleaning ever since [like so many of you!] becoming obsessed with Mrs. Hinch in 2017ish. There’s just something about plonking down onto your disinfected sofa after scrubbing your home to within an inch of its life on a Saturday that hits different now. Maybe it’s a sign of my mid-twenties age? It’s honestly become one of the biggest joys in my life.

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Friday, January 28, 2022

VEGAN LUNCH + DINNER IDEAS #2

 

With Veganuary drawing to a close [and my god, how quickly has it gone??] I really cannot believe this is only #2 of this series. Considering all the delicious things we’ve had for dinner and how well we’ve stuck to it, I’m surprised I’ve not been churning these out every couple of days. But, to be honest, I really think that because we’ve just relaxed into it so well, it’s become a non-thing around the house. We haven’t really noticed we’re doing Veganuary and it’s just a normal, natural thing for us. That’s especially in the last couple of weeks of the month.

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Sunday, January 23, 2022

VEGAN CREAMY BACON + BROCCOLI PASTA RECIPE | OATLY, THIS™, VITALITE


This was definitely an ambitious one. Let’s be honest, nothing says ‘Veganuary’ like a cheesy bacon pasta, does it? But I really couldn’t see myself going a month without a comforting, melty and gooey bowl of savoury, creamy pasta. This was an entirely experimental recipe. I was really interested to see how far I could push the limits of dairy and meat alternatives. I wanted to see how close to a classic ‘normal’ dish I could get without using any animal products. Normally, I’ll make a creamy pasta dish for dinner once a fortnight or so, and I really wouldn’t want to go without it long-term. I do not think that a recipe like this would have been possible a few years ago, but with the incredible progress in vegan alternatives to things like double cream and bacon, it’s exciting to see what we can replicate. I actually ended up shooketh and impressed with the results of my playing about in the kitchen!

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Sunday, January 16, 2022

ASOS DESIGN ADA CHUNKY CHELSEA BOOTS | REVIEW


I did my best to avoid the Boxing Day and New Year’s sales…I really did. I’ve actually had a really good, productive month with decluttering and organising my wardrobe. The minimal, neutral fashion movement I’m seeing all over Instagram has really grabbed me. Plus, who doesn’t want a streamlined, easy-to-match wardrobe where everything goes with everything? Finally, it seems, I’ve discovered a style that really resonates with me. I’ve done away with all my needlessly floral, patterned or otherwise gaudy garms to make way for bold, statement, simple pieces like the one I am writing about today. I’ve always been a lover of a chunky boot, and it’s been a good six months since I added to my collection. I accidentally tripped and fell onto the ASOS website during their New Year’s sale and came across these boots…

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Wednesday, January 12, 2022

VEGAN LUNCH + DINNER IDEAS #1

 

When I decided I was going to do Veganuary, I spent a lot of time trawling through various recipe websites and wrote up the meal-plan for the month before January even started! However, what I noticed was that a LOT of the recipes were things I wasn’t familiar with…things I wouldn’t normally fancy making…things that looked incredibly involved and fussy! So with that in mind, I decided to keep a sort-of food diary so I could share what I personally ate for lunch and dinner during my attempt at Veganuary. These are recipes or meal ideas that I’d tend to want to eat any time of the year, including when I’m eating meat and dairy products throughout the rest of the year.


I’m a big foodie, and I couldn’t even whittle myself down to a favourite cuisine. I love cooking pastas, stews, Mexican food, curries, soups…all sorts! This blog post will be the first in a series of a few to come, so here’s a sample of some of my more successful meals since we started the month. I so so thoroughly appreciate you all tolerating such a lot of Veganuary content; I really find that keeping a record of what I’m doing, taking pictures and blogging about it keeps me on the straight and narrow! So, without any further rambling, [because I’m beginning to feel like one of those bloggers who writes their entire life story before giving you the f****** recipe you’re on their page in the first place for] here are some Vegan lunch and dinner ideas:

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Sunday, January 9, 2022

HAIR CARE FAVOURITES

Here’s an old-school-blogging blog post if I ever saw one! Remember when we used to just actually review products we’d been using? One of my New Year’s resolutions was to get back into blogging - but I don’t half miss the way blogging used to be. So I decided to write a ‘Hair Care Favourites’ blog post and share the products I fell in love with over the course of last year. I’ve had many ups and downs with this hair of mine [many of which have been chronicled over on my YouTube channel] and I finally feel like I’m in a good place with its look, feel, length, thickness etc etc etc. I’d consider myself to be a little bit of an expert considering all the trials and tribulations me and my tresses have been through together. So these are all the best bits to grace my scalp over the hellscape that was 2021, and they will definitely be coming into 2022 with me.

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Friday, January 7, 2022

LIFE UPDATE: BEGINNING MY CAREER


She’s only bloody gone and done it. She’s only bloody gone and accepted an offer for an incredibly promising job in the legal sector! I am writing this and I’m absolutely on cloud nine, and it’s only going to be a short and sweet one from me today. I’m incredibly pleased and proud to share that I have secured myself a position for a leading law firm in Bristol. I’ve had a couple of interviews since really knuckling down and giving my job-hunt a proper go, but none of the applications I’ve sent off have felt as exciting as this one. 

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Monday, January 3, 2022

VEGAN FOOD HAUL FOR BEGINNERS | VEGANUARY 2022

 

Does the word ‘Veganuary’ strike fear into your soul? Or does it make you feel inspired? For me, I think it’s a bit of both. The inspiration comes from the notion that I’ll be getting incredibly creative in the kitchen; breaking away from the routine spag bols, chicken curries and bacon sandwiches. Not to mention the expectation that such a post-Christmas detox would do wonders for my skin, my liver, my energy levels. I have visions of myself getting up at the crack of dawn, going for a jog and doing yoga before bed [absolutely NONE of which are ever going to happen, but that’s just the imagery that doing Veganuary conjures up for me]. The ‘fear’ portion of such a commitment undoubtedly comes from breaking away from my beloved spag bols, chicken curries and bacon sandwiches, and the absolute daylight robbery I’m expected to courteously smile and thank the cashier for at the supermarket for the next 4 weeks. 


In any event, I’m known to be on the obsessive side. Once I’ve got an idea into my head, I’m getting it done and committing to it 100%. Come hell or high water, [or drained bank account and the runs] I will be completing Veganuary 2022. I’ve only done Veganuary once before, and it was definitely before all the hype surrounding veganism took off, and certainly long before all the big brands jumped on the meat-free hype and started releasing their own options. So with that in mind, I do think that if you’re thinking of trying it, then it’s much easier to get involved now than it has ever been before. 


I’d definitely categorise myself and Kyle as home-cooks; we are both definite foodies and make most meals from scratch. However, I’d definitely say we’re beginners in the vegan-department as literally 99.9% of meals we have at home contain some form of animal product. It’s currently day 3 of Veganuary 2022 and we managed to drop around £70 on a vegan food shop yesterday. If I didn’t write a blog post I’d probably feel quite sick at the thought of that spend, so as long as I can squeeze a bit of content out of it, it’ll definitely take the edge off. Here’s what we got!

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