Cleaning out my closet

I'll admit I'm a bit (ok, a lot) of a clothes hoarder. This has resulted in me having a wardrobe full of items I don't even wear, some items have never even been worn. Its hard to see what you do have and don't have and its also not much fun getting ready when you don't actually like most of the pieces you own. I have some things that don't even fit properly.

I was scrolling down my feed earlier this week and saw this post about starting a minimal wardrobe. I thought now was the perfect time to start with it being a new year and all. My goal here is to only own prices I actually wear, that means no hanging onto pieces I love but know deep down I will never wear. How many items do you own that were bought only to be stuck in the wardrobe and never taken out again. I know I have a LOT. Also my style has changed over time and I'm more interested now in buying more quality pieces rather than buying a lot of cheap stuff. Not only will the better quality pieces last longer, it also means that I'll have to think a bit more before I buy something, rather than just buying it on impulse.

Today I cleaned out my wardrobe, I do this quite often but this time I ACTUALLY got rid of things I know I wont be wearing. My wardrobe looks pretty empty now, but I actually love that, its like a blank canvas.The basic idea of having a minimal wardrobe is that everything you own is something you love, its also a general rule that everything you buy should be something that is versatile and can be paired with other pieces you own. Also 1 rule is that you're only allowed to buy 5 pieces of clothing for every season (WHAT!) At first when I read about a minimal wardrobe I thought it meant only owning a few pieces of clothing, which frankly, I would not be able to do. But after further reading I discovered that it simply meant getting rid of things you don't want in your life to make room for new. That I can do!

The main reason I am doing this now is that I feel like after a few years of trying different things out, I have found my style and I know the kind of things I like to wear. My style has changed a lot and I really dont like a lot of the items I own now so I am basically starting from scratch. Which personally I think is great. I have been in need of a long awaited clear out for a long time and now's the time!

xxx

Simple Eye Make-up Remover

In this post I'm going to talk about a product that I haven't had for long at all but I already love it and I wanted to share. Its make-up remover, maybe not the most exciting product but its something we all use. More specifically its Simple Eye Make-up remover. 

Let me start by saying that I have really sensitive skin in general and the skin around your eyes is extra sensitive. My eyes also tend to react badly to products they don't like, they go all puffy and red and its just not a great look. So I am very cautious now when buying anything meant for my eyes. Annoyingly though, my eyes are the place where I probably wear the most make-up and all that eye-liner and mascara needs taking off at the end of the day! 

I have previously just been washing my face then cleansing and that gets rid of a lot but not all of my make-up. So I picked up the Simple eye make-up remover. I chose to go with the Simple brand because I've never had a problem with any of their products and find that they usually do the job without irritating my skin. They're perfume and colour free, I think these two factors are usually the biggest culprits irritating my skin. I love products that smell great but for products I use everyday, particularly ones I use on my face, I like to go as natural and gentle as possible. 

This make-up remover is great! Its very gentle, sometimes I get a bit of stinging around my eye when I wipe it but with this I don't get anything. It literally feels like I'm just using water on my face. It still does the job though and does it really well. I struggle to remove all of my liquid eye-liner with my usual methods but this honestly makes it so easy! Its so gentle that it doesn't really even sting when you get some in your eye. I'm not going around pouring this stuff in my eye and I don't recommend that you do either but its inevitable that its going to get in there a some point, especially if you're as clumsy as I am! 

Price wise this is also great as its only £1.49 at Super Drug and the bottle should last a couple of months, depending on how much and how often you use it of course. I would really recommend this, especially if you have sensitive skin like me. 

xxx

This weeks make-up buys

I went into town earlier this week and inevitably ended up in Superdrug. I was there mostly just to stock up and replace products I'd run out of but I still thought it would be nice to share my buys. 

Maybelline Falsies Mascara - I have been using this mascara almost everyday for quite a while now and I really like it. It curls as well as lengthens my lashes. Its also only £8. It does need replacing every few weeks, like most mascaras, as it does get clumpy. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer - This is a new purchase. I needed a primer because I don't actually use one and my foundation usually wears off pretty easily over the course of the day and by mid day my skin looks pretty much how it did pre-make-up. So I decided to give this a try, I actually got a sample of it in a Feel Unique order and I liked how it felt on my skin. Saying that I haven't really had it long enough or tested it out enough to tell you how I feel about this one. The real test will be seeing if it can make my foundation last all day while I'm at work. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - I've used this concealer in the past a lot and I really like it so that's why I've gone with this one again! It doesn't give the best coverage ever but it does help to make your skin appear a bit brighter, which is exactly what I need first thing in the morning, especially under my eyes. I also use the Wake Me Up Foundation and I quite like my concealer and foundation to match, is anyone else like that?! Maybe I'm just a weirdo!

Lottie Tweezers - Not much to report here! I just needed some new tweezers because I had 'misplaced' mine. I'd been searching for them for a couple of days and of course as soon as I bought these new ones they turned up!

Burt's Bees lip balms - I actually got these from Holland and Barrett. I don't usually go in here but my boyfriend wanted to go to look at protein (so boring). I had no idea they sold Burt's Bees lip balms, i picked up a cherry one and an ultra conditioning one. My lips are a big problem in that they're always chapped and dry. The ultra conditioning lip balm is working really well so far though so maybe I can finally sort them out!

That's all I got this time! There's a few more products I'd like to try out soon, maybe I'll post a wishlist!  

xxx

New year goal #1

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely night :)

The last week (or two) has been a week of food, food and more food. Its been great for me but not so great for my hair, skin or anything else for that matter. My skin particularly is suffering, its feeling dry and looking dull. Thankfully by some miracle I haven't broken out in tons of spots! I haven't been drinking a lot of water at all and my skin really suffers when I forget to drink a lot, on top of that I've been eating lots and LOTS of sugar. I also stopped taking my vitamins which definitely had an impact! 

My skin routine has also taken a bit of a bad turn, I've been getting a bit lazy and its just adding to the whole problem. So I've been promising myself that come 1st January I will get back into my usual routine. Looks like the 1st January has come! and its only 3 more days till I'm back to work, how did that happen?! 

So with that said, my first goal of the year is to get myself back into my routine and to start getting properly back into eating healthier. I'm not about to start any drastic diets or anything, I've already had a text trying to sell me detoxing tea! 

Before the new year I also started a bit of a workout routine, I didn't stick to it all that well I'll admit but hey, it was December and its hard to stick at a healthy lifestyle when delish food is being thrown at you left, right and centre. I also have no willpower, especially when it comes to chocolate, my sweet tooth is ridiculous! But now is the time to get back on track. I wasn't planning to loose any weight, just to tone up but I think I'll do a little bit more cardio now, just until the extra Christmas weight is gone! I'll probably blog a bit about it on here, mostly to keep me motivated, if I know I have somewhere to come and kind of measure my progress then it will hopefully keep me from giving up!

Now I'm off to eat some porridge, down a load of water and have a bit of a pamper session! 

xxx

Urban decay naked palette

I was so excited this Christmas when I unwrapped an urban decay naked palette! This has been on my wish list for a while now and honestly if I hadn't been lucky enough to receive it as a gift this Christmas I would have probably gone out and bought it myself eventually! I asked for the original palette as that's the one I could see myself using most often. 

I've used it pretty much every day since Christmas and I've barely made a dent. My favourite shades for everyday use are Virgin, Buck and Naked. I didn't know if I would be a massive fan of the more sparkly shades but I actually love them. I love all the shades and I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of all of them, even the darker shades that you probably wouldn't use for everyday wear. 

The palette also came with a brush, which is actually really great. One side applies the prouduct while the other is meant for blending. 

In the box along with the palette was also some samples of urban decays primer potion. I don't know why but I have always thought there was only one primer potion, but turns out there's 4 different types?! You get a little sample of each. The info says that each sample gods over a weeks worth of primer. When I first read that I looked at the little samples and thought, pshh yeah ok...but I've used the original primer every day and I only have to use a tiny amount so it will probably actually last longer.

So far I've only used the original primer, but I'm looking forward to trying the rest! It definitely makes a difference so I'll be getting the full size primer once the samples are all used up! 

I won't bang on for too long about this as no doubt many of you already own at least one of the Naked palettes but let me know which one is your favourite. I'm thinking of investing in another soon! 

Xxx

Fresh start for the new year!

I decided that in 2016 I am really going to focus on my blog. I finally got my new laptop today and have spent most of the afternoon changing everything around, when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING! I am pretty happy with it now though and I'll probably tweak a few more bits but this is a good start for now! let me know what you think?

I'm looking forward to developing my blog over the next year and to see where I get. I really enjoy blogging and I seem to have stuck at it over the last couple of months. which is a real surprise considering my track record at sticking to things I start! I have a billion projects and ideas that are still yet to be finished, some haven't even been started! 

I think I'm all blogged out for today, there's only so long you can stare a one blog for! I'm going to go and enjoy the rest of New Years Eve. I'm just staying in this year and have already demolished a pizza hut takeaway. I'll probably sit and watch a bit of Jools Holland then stick the London fireworks on at midnight! I would really love to go there one NYE. I have been meaning to do it for the last couple of years but being my usual un-organised self I haven't gotten around to sorting it. I love London and it would be great to make a weekend of it. But for now I'll sit and watch it on the telly, at least I'm warm and cosy! 

Have a lovely night and a happy new year! 

xxx

Lush Snowfairy Shower gel!

In one of the lovely lush gift boxes I received this year for Christmas was the Lush Snowfairy shower gel. It's sparkly and pink...need I say more! It's from the Lush Christmas range and as far as I know it's not available to buy any other time of the year, which makes sense as its a Christmas shower gel! 

This one contains Carrageenan Extract, which after a look on the lush site I discovered is used as a moisturiser. Sounds good to me! 

The best thing by far about this though, is the smell! It's candy floss scented but the smell kind of reminds me of something else, I just can't quite pin it down! I've been sat for a good few minutes before writing this post trying to figure out just what it is but I can't get it! 

Although I find the smell doesn't really linger around on your skin for long after you've been in the shower it is still amazing and fills my bathroom with a sweet scent. If someone put it in a candle, I would buy it.

I will definitely be purchasing this come Christmas time next year! What's your favourite Lush shower gel? 

Xxx