Sunday Summary #52

52 weeks of these! A whole year, wow wee! This week has been crazy with the UK being snowed under. I've loved having a white blanket and even though the temperature has plummeted I've been wearing six layers inside, adding my Superdry coat, hat, gloves and snood for outside. I've been toasty with just a cold face haha. Luckily transport wise its been ok getting around, the roads could have been better but could have been worse. Its been snowing all day today so it isn't going away anytime soon. 

I made a little trip back to Primark this week to get a refund on some of the items I showed you last week. I hate the way all shops size their clothes differently and Primark are truly awful. I always have to look at the design and material to work out the size I might need. As I haven't shopped there for a while I'd forgotten how to size myself, my favourite item the blue bird shirt didn't fit my bust, wah. I did look at it buttoned up to under my bust but it looked hilarious. Praying I find a bigger size as they're currently sold out of it. I kept popping into Boots this week for cold relief and throat soothers for my boyfriend and nasal sticks, make up and eye drops for me and resisting the Rimmel Kate Moss matte lipstick in 107 even though I want it so badly. Since seeing it pop up on Instagram I want it even more and think I should just be brave and go for it - I can wear red so surely I can wear this deeper purple red?! 

Last night me and my boyfriend finally had our long awaited first second date (the same as our first, but second time round to celebrate reaching a year) and we had an amazing meal before cinema. We went to Frankie & Benny's and I picked dough sticks for my starter - INCREDIBLE! Who knew such pleasure. My main was ruined by the overuse of salt, I hate salty food and I just couldn't eat it :( I went for the cajun chicken melt wrap and had such high hopes too. We skipped dessert and headed to the cinema. It was so cold even though I was bundled up that as much as I wanted an ice blast I didn't get one but also as we were seeing Les Miserables I didn't want to need a wee as I refuse to leave during a film. We got a bottle of water because my mouth felt horrible from the salt and we didn't have any gum. The film was amazing, I wasn't sure what to expect having seen it in the theatre but it is so well done. An amazing cast, playing their characters spot on. I loved the little Cosette, so cute but outstanding in her role. I can't believe Russell Crowe can sing, or Hugh Jackman or Anne Hathaway! A must see especially for Les Mis fans. I want to go and see it all over again. Should be seeing Gangster Squad on Tuesday which I'm excited for as I love Ryan Gosling and I think Emma Stone is really doing well for herself. 

I've had the worst period pain this week. It started on Thursday and honestly I can't remember it being so bad recently. I've always suffered and tried every medication including IBS tablets (to relax stomach muscles, suggested by a doctor, they did ok) Nurofen Plus has been doing the job for the past year or so. I don't remember much pain from my first pill prescription. I had to change following a health scare and my current pill has been ok but I've still needed a high dosage of painkillers. This time was so bad I couldn't sleep and have ended up with a badly burnt stomach from so many hot water bottles and a burnt arm, where I fell asleep clutching the bottle to me one night. My boyfriend has told me not to have such hot water in the bottle but nothing else helps. If anyone has any tips or ideas I'd appreciate them :) I've also tried raspberry leaf (natural remedy). 

This weeks buys:

Hello Kitty Liberty Of London shopper bag £12.99 (£6.49 at WHSmith, not online I just looked so only in store)

It has lots of London landmarks on it and Hello Kitty and her friends dotted around :)

Variety Club Monsters Inc pin, I got mine in Cineworld 

 Schwartzkopf Osis Dust It Texture £8.95 cheapsmells.com

Dorothy Perkins cat hat £8 - I live in these in the winter and not bought one this year!

Dorothy Perkins Pearly bead collar £7.50

Dorothy Perkins Peace bracelet £2

Dorothy Perkins Reindeer earrings £2

 Boots VO5 Give Me Texture spray £3.49

 Primark nail wraps £1

Primark Anchor pumps £6 - I wanted these SO bad, my Mum got me a pair the same day I did so I have two :) which saved me going back for a second pair haha

Primark lace and stud collar £7

 Primark hoody £8 - I changed the grey one for this and sized down

Primark polka dot and bow vest £8 - love the bows on the shoulder

Primark cotton polka dot skater dress £5 - bargain or what! This looks so cute on and will be perfect for a more casual occasion when I still want a dress

Ted Baker shopper £22 ASOS - This should be £29 but is set at £22 on ASOS. I love this little puppy print and I couldn't resist it. I love the little details on this bag such as the city names down one side of the bag and "no ordinary designer bag" down the other side. The puppy is on the back like the make up bag. I love little shopper bags as you can tell! I rarely take plastic bags and if I do its because I've gone shopping by surprise or mine are all full. I wish we had the law like Wales to pay for plastic bags as I bet we'd cut usage so much

Minnie Mouse shopper 99p Card Factory - another bargain!! This bag is quite strong and sturdy for the money (that light plastic with a foamy backing) its slightly bigger than A4 size. I used it to carry a days worth of clothes about the other day and they only filled it about two thirds with a bottle of drink and at one point had my bulky snood and hat in too. I look bag obsessed also in this post!

Models Own ASOS Exclusive Models Own in Party Pieces £5 - I found this by accident and am so pleased with it. Its full of rainbow coloured glitter pieces which I expect will look amazing on. Reminds me of OPI's Rainbow Connection, for a much lower price. 

ASOS collar tips £4 (sale) - I love collar tips and wish more tops came with them. I found these in the ASOS sale and they are so beautiful. They have pink, blue and clear crystals so will go with almost any top I attach them to. They had ones with different coloured stones too. 

Primark heart fleece blanket £3 - another bargain. Mum got me this. I already have about ten blankets but they are so useful as I get cold so I've always got one in the bed with me, on the bed over the duvet while I sleep, my boyfriend often sleeps with one, and we put one on the end of the bed frame because its metal and its cold on my boyfriends feet and for when we're watching DVDs in the lounge.

And some snow pictures -

So that's my white week. Hope you've stayed safe in the snow and its not affected your day to day routines too much.
Hope you've all had good weeks

November/December Favourites

I didn't have enough favourites for just November so let it tick over into December to give me a few more. 

Avon Nail Experts Peeling & Brittleness Solver £5

In recent years my nails have been very strong and tough but in recent weeks have been peeling quite badly. It was not only ruining my nails but after two or three days it would chip my nails and look awful. I tried cutting them shorter and filing them but it didn't solve the problem. I spotted this in Avon and ordered it right away. I've used it every time but once under my nail polish and it really did help. My nails are still peeling but not as much and my polish is lasting longer. I'm hoping with continued use the peeling will stop altogether and I'm looking for ways to reduce it further with diet etc. 

The Body Shop Love Etc EDP (discontinued)

This was/is my favourite perfume which I'd been wearing recently as my boyfriend got me a bottle for my birthday (I'd been saving it ha) and TBS go and discontinue it. Gutted. I've stocked up on this little beauty as I adore the scent: a musky vanilla with jasmine, neroli, pear and sandalwood. I'll be so sad when I have no more. They reduced everything to clear so this will be quite hard to get hold of now.  

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Gentle Exfoliating Wash £3.99 & Blackhead Eliminating Wash £4.69

I picked this up on a promotion in Boots on a whim. I fancied a new facial scrub and I am more likely to try new products if they're on offer. I'd also heard positive things about these two for years so it seemed a safe purchase. I enjoy both of these and couldn't see myself not re-purchasing. I tend to mix my facial care up but I'll be returning to these in between different products. I love the clean smell and they don't leave my skin feeling tight which is a massive plus for me. They don't dry my skin out either. I don't have spots that need clearing so can't comment on if they helped but they're lovely alone as facial wash/scrub. 

Lush Snow Fairy shower gel £10.25

The beautiful smell that signals Christmas is coming. Words cannot express my love for Snow Fairy. I stock up and use it sparingly randomly during the year to keep me going until it gets released again. The smell is intoxicating, I'll always remember it being marketed as "fairy dust, candyfloss and bubblegum". Its stuck in my mind but its exactly what this is, a very sweet, glittery dream to shower in. They have done lip tints and perfume in the Snow Fairy scent which I wish they would bring out every year!  

Topshop Lipstick in Mischief £8 

I used to think red was something I could never wear and it was too risky. However its become incredibly on trend to have red lips and after adoring the look for years I have been looking, googling, swatching and determining the best red for me. I have dark hair (usually dark red or my natural dark brown) with pale skin, green eyes and freckles. This is such a perfect red for me, a clean, blue red. I love wearing it and its made me look at other reds in my venture to be braver and bolder. 

Yankee Candles 

Not a beauty product but nothing beats the smell of these burning away. My boyfriend loves burning them as much as I do! All Yankee candles give off a very noticeable but not over powering smell and have decent burning time. I don't know why I ever wasted so much money on other candles that only burn for a fraction of the time of Yankee. I bought a Yankee Candle votive holder as I was buying the sampler size "votive candle". You simply pop in the chosen sampler then burn away. You really get your moneys worth as they burn right now so you just have to scrape out the metal wick holder and a tiny layer of wax on the bottom. I just use a flat knife and pop the next votive in. I have burnt a votive candle on a candle plate and it melted into a pool so got wasted which is why I bought the holder. The votive candles sell relatively cheap between £1.50-£2.00 but I've found them cheaper in independent shops (£1.13). You get about 15 hours burning time which is insane for the price! 

Avon Naturals Black Cherry body lotion £3 & Vaseline Cocoa Butter Deep Conditioning body lotion £2.99

My skin gets so dry during the winter that I've been smothering myself in these two. I hate the feeling of dry skin so finding products that work is a must for me. The Avon Naturals range is all lovely, leaving my skin feeling soft and moisturised with the Black Cherry range being my favourite. The Vaseline lotion is brilliant for my dry hands, it really sinks in and will last for ages even through hand washing. It smells nice too and feels creamy when applied.  

 Rimmel Wake Me Up £8.99

I adore this foundation. Its everything I would want: creamy, blendable, soft, light but covers well, smells amazing, lasts all day and leaves a beautiful dewy look to the skin. Just this morning I was admiring the tiny shimmers sitting along my cheekbone despite sleeping through half an hour of my alarm and pressing snooze in my sleep (how!?). It seems everyone is raving about this and I can totally understand why. Its inexpensive too. I will wear this forever.

Dove Damage Solutions Intensive Repair spray £3.59, Dove Nourishing Oil care spray £3.39, Pantene Instant Damage Defence spray £4.49

Part of taking really good care of my hair has included venturing into leave in sprays and conditioners. I LOVE the Dove ones, they smell incredible and leave my hair feeling soft. I've used so much of them but hardly any of the bottle is gone. The Pantene one is nice but may be discontinued as I can't find it online now but I got it on offer in Superdrug. This doesn't smell as nice as the Dove ones but is still nice to use as my hair get look quite dry despite not using heat on my hair, every little bit of care helps. 

So that's it! I definitely tend to buy products on reviews or raves so its nice to have my own input on what I've found. I also tend to buy most things on offer or multi-buys :) every penny counts and all that. The more I save the more I have to spend on other things be it more beauty products, clothes or socialising. 

Sunday Summary #51

I've had such a rough week being ill I can't wait to be back to my usual self. Losing my appetite has to be the worst thing about being ill and my weight always plummets so fast from it. I seem to get such rotten colds nowadays. I was smothered in Vicks Vaborub the last few nights which helped me to fall asleep but I was blocked up a few hours later. So tired and weak, woe is me. My boyfriend has been a gentleman making me smile and suggesting food to encourage me to eat. Its definitely an illness thing to become clingy and I just want my boyfriend or my Mum. He even watched the Notebook with me this week which I've been asking him to ever since we got together and he's always said no. He told me he'd watched the start years ago and thought it was boring but was wrong after all. I was crying my eyes out so much at the end, because I knew what was coming. My boyfriend had the snottiest, soggiest arm! I also forgot to say we finally got round to watching Michael McIntyre's Showtime, I have never laughed so hard. At times my whole body was tensed up and I couldn't breathe and laugh at the same time - odd but worth it. I had such jaw ache by the end and its not even that long a show. I'm quite difficult with comedy as I only find certain people/shows/films funny. For example I HATED the film Bridesmaids, yet everyone else seems to love it. Lee Evans used to be my favourite but Michael McIntyre is closely rounding on him.
I was so naughty this week and happened to trip into Primark. Since spending a fortune in Oxford Street in November I hadn't gone in. Curiosity got the better of me - I just had to know what beauties they had. I wasn't disappointed as it seemed like they had loads in. I couldn't remember my sizes as it varies on the type of top, material and if it has buttons (they seem to have not realised girls with boobs need extra room!) so I may not keep everything.
I was waiting for my boyfriend's train to get in last night so watched Sleeping Beauty. I can never find anything on TV so was great to watch an old favourite Disney film. We watched The Adjustment Bureau today which was quite good. Took me a while to get my head around what was going on and its such a clever story. Doing really well on watching more films! Just placed an order on HMV for the LOTR trilogy and some other dvds so looking forward to those arriving. Plus lots of films appearing at the cinema so as I've got an unlimited card can't wait to get down there and see them. We're seeing Les Miserables next Saturday so excited for that and really want to see Gangster Squad.

 Why do they make these tops so wide and floaty at the bottom?! Makes me look wider, so if I keep this I'll run it through the sewing machine to bring it in. 

 I couldn't resist this little blouse with bows on 

 Look at the cute little hearts and beads on the shoulders!

 This looks a horrible colour with the flash, its a very dark grey, very American Apparel. I tend to size up as I prefer my hoodies baggy

 Panda pjs!

I LOVE this shirt! So so so pretty and looks divine on 

I adore the top part of this but the bottom is just so baggy :(

Love the horse shoe print on this

The collar detail is just too cute 

I'm a little on the fence about leopard print. I like it but not sure its really me. Reminds me of Kat Slater haha

I love the flowers on this chest section and will look so cute dressed up and down

I love blouses and bird prints so this was an obvious choice 

I couldn't decide about this one but got it to try on anyway. Loved the leopards on the collar :)

And the worst part of my week was discovering the Body Shop have discontinued my FAVOURITE perfume! Gutted isn't the word. I bought two more bottles as I got one in my sales order and my boyfriend bought me a huge bottle for my birthday which I've only just opened but I don't use it everyday. Everytime I find a perfume I love it gets discontinued!

Love etc £7 each, half price

So I've done really well again except the little big Primark slip. I've just placed a few orders online but they are all for things I know I'll use/enjoy/love so I feel better about it. Nothing worse than spending hard earned money on something that gets wasted. Its ridiculous that we're already halfway through January. Time certainly does go quicker the older you get. 

Hope you've all had good weeks