Vinyl Record Coasters

We received these as a joint secret santa gift for Christmas and I absolutely love them. Before I moved I was looking at decorations and saw these vinyl records as place mats and I really wanted them but had bought too much already. Usually I'm really spontaneous and just buy things anyways but I think I had just bought a pink soda stream and thought I'd better not spend anything else!

So when we opened this gift up I loved them straight away. I love diner style kitchens and these will go perfectly with our retro diner canvases and jukebox. I even bought a cd with 50's music on it to embrace the whole atmosphere. I love the whole ice cream parlour look with pastel colours so these were a perfect pressie. After a little Google search I found them for £12 at John Lewis' here.

 I'd not seen the bowls or the bookends before!

 I love how the packaging opens up like a little record player!

 6 vinyl coasters were included in the pack :) They are sturdy and look like they will  be long lasting.

Hope you all have a fantastic New Year,

Love Laura xoxo

A sparkly New Years Eve outfit plus update

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas. I have been down to England and got back home yesterday. I spent the time catching up with my family and went to my grandad's funeral. I saw some family that I hadn't seen in years which was bittersweet. I got super spoilt with gifts and I love seeing people's face when I've bought them a present that they will love. I am also now engaged- oh my goodness- which is probably why I have been living in a dreamland and not blogged for 11 days! On Christmas Eve I also went to my hairdresser and had my hair dyed dark! Eek very brave!
I have missed blogging and wanted to post all about my outfit for New Years Eve which is the next big celebration which is approaching fast!

I was very kindly gifted this gorgeous *Ribbon Sequin Top Maxi dress from the PR Executive at Bank Clothing which is perfect for New Years Eve. I always shop at Bank for a special occasion such as New Years Eve, Weddings or nights out as the quality is amazing, it's my favourite shop and for me they always guarantee that I will find the perfect outfit  to look glam.

I thought I would show you what my dress will look like and what I am styling it with before it gets to New Years Eve as by then it would be too late to buy it or a similar one for yourself from Bank. I will then pop some pictures on when I've worn it on New Years Eve.

 Here's the length of the dress which focuses upon the chiffon-esque overlay. I originally loved a turquoise sequinned bodycon dress but thought this one would flatter my figure more after eating chocolates all Christmas!

The back of the dress is sheer and features a key-hole.

I only own a couple of purple pieces and the shade of this is perfect for my colouring. I love sequins and it compliments the black excpetionally well. I just love the floor length maxi design as it will look super glam for NYE.

My outfit complete with accessories.

Here are some of my Christmas gifts too off my mum and dad that I am accessorising with.

With this dress these black shoes that I own from New Look will pair perfectly. I need some added height for the extra glamorous factor. If I was to wear this dress on holiday I would wear it with sandals.

My new gorgeous statement necklace form Primark for £5. I love the chunkiness and the diamantes but most of all the rainbow crystals that have a hint of purple.

My mum knows me so well. Heart - shaped ring with rainbow crystals <3

These are from the Clothes Show Live in their goody bag. I love glitter polishes as they last longer than regular polishes on me. I adore the Clothes Show Live- Showstopper on the left.

I adore this rainbow crystal hairband. It reminds me of Ozma from Return to Oz.

A rainbow crystal clutch bag from Primark. Do you notice a pattern here !!

Et Voila. Super glam , rainbow crystallised and sparkly just how I like it <3

Thank you so much to Bank for the amazing dress to base my accessories around and I wish everyone a Happy New Year.
I can't wait to blog about my new gifts and reviews <3

Laura xoxo

What I won from the London Perfume Co and FD Avenue

Hello everyone,

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas now :) I'm so excited but it's also tinged with sadness as my grandad has just passed away. Christmas to me is family time and I can't wait to spend quality time with the people that I love. I will be going back 'home' for Christmas so will be taking a little break from writing. I may write another couple of posts before I leave but if not I wish you a very Merry Christmas or happy holidays :)

So todays post is all about a competition that I saw on The London Perfume company website, entered and won. You can see my post here. My favourite colours are pastels and this is reflected in the wishlist choices that I made. I started out by choosing a perfume and chose Katy Perry Meow £13 as I absolutely loved the pink cat bottle with the diamante eyes. I thought this would compliment the clothes that I chose from FD Avenue.

I was over the moon to have won and received the bottle of perfume which smells absolutely gorgeous and also £75 to spend at FD Avenue. I really wanted the blue dress shown on my wishlist but when I went on the website it had sold out of my size and so had the pink. The two jumpers were available but as I searched through the whole website I found pretty dresses and managed to buy 5 for just over the £75 credit. I had to put 95p towards the total.

The perfume arrived so quickly last week and I'm delighted with it. My dresses arrived on Monday and here's what I chose.

My five pretty dresses :) All the same style! I chose the skater style as this suits my figure the most.

This is my favourite. As soon as I saw this sequin chiffon dress I knew I was getting it straight away! This was the most expensive item I chose at £29.99. I love the multi coloured sequins and the white skirt part. Think I will wear this out on Christmas Eve. 

 Love love love the sequins <3

 I adore mint and added it to my basket straight away. I decided to choose one party dress and four day dresses as I will get more wear out of them. The lemon one I added right at the last minute and swapped a leopard print dress for it. I don't have many yellow items really and I knew I would like the style so that was my decision made. These dresses are only £9.99 each and come in s/m or m/l . I chose m/l. I don't like the belts on these as they are rather cheap looking so I will take them off and swap them for others that I have.

 This Leopard bow skater dress is my favourite day dress that I chose. The material is thick and the leopard bow sets the blue off really nicely. It's gorgeous and another one I'm going to be wearing over Christmas. This one is £12.99.

I liked this dress as soon as I saw it as it's really me but I nearly didn't end up getting it. I chose it in cerise and they had a coral too. I love the little bow and the cats face with the whiskers it's cute. This was £12.99 from here.

Here is my Meow perfume that I chose.

I adore the bottle so much it's so pretty.

 Thankyou to both companies for hosting the competition and for choosing me as the winner <3

I love my items so much and will b wearing them all very soon.

Laura xoxo

Glossy Box December - Christmas Unboxing

Hi everyone,

My Glossy Box and Birchbox arrived two days apart this month. I love receiving beauty boxes as they are like presents to yourself. I love the little boxes and the presentation of them and the fact that they contain surprises inside.
(I've just got rally distracted as my persian Cinnamon has decided to literally climb into the sink head first for a really good look! Now he has tapped his catnip packet onto the kitchen floor. He will start rubbing on it soon. It's as though they are drunk when they smell catnip they go wild! My puppy is being as good as gold as he is usually really mischievous) I'm also sat with my new Midwives Christmas collection CD on. It's got 30 old-fashioned Christmas songs on and I absolutely love it! As soon as it finishes I press play again. It's making me feel excited for Christmas.

Back to the box. I love the red festive box and the Christmas tree design on the front which is made up of illustrations of beauty products. I always keep the limited edition boxes and this one looks more luxurious compared to my Birchbox. I subscribe to this box and it costs £9.99 + £2.95 P+P. I'm disappointed that Miss Glossy will no longer be made. I loved that box and bought all of them! I've just realised that I haven't received the magazine, I receive two products and price cards instead. Was there a magazine for this box? There's usually an introduction isn't there?!

Glossy Box December Christmas box.

 Here is the red festive box and you an see the Christmas beauty design on the front. This box looks really special.

 I love the candy cane tissue paper and the colour co-ordinated ribbon that is tied into a bow.

Even the crinkle green paper used to keep the products safe is a Christmassy colour. This box has been designed extremely well.

So this is what I first saw when I opened my box up. My first thoughts were that is was full.

Here are all of the products that I received inside my Christmas Glossy Box this month and I'm really pleased with this box. I love it. Three full sized items is brilliant.

 Maybelline New York - Volum' Express Colossal Smokey eyes Mascara. £7.99 full size. I was over the moon to receive this full sized mascara. It's one I would have bought myself and I will love using this. I love Maybelline mascaras as they make my eyelashes look fuller and my eyes wide awake.

Seche Nail Lacquer- £9.95 Another full- sized excellent quality item. An extremely festive colour and I received the shade 'Signature' I'm more of a pastels girl but this is perfect for this time of the year.

Beautiful Movements Cosmetics- Nude Lip Gloss 4ml. 8ml would cost £12 and that would be the full sized products so my sample is worth £6. I don't have any / many nude lip colours this makes a nice change. Whether it suits me is something I will discover.

Wilkinson Sword Intuition- Naturals Razor £6.49. I was extremely pleased to see this in the box as it will be really useful and it's another full sized- item :) 

Dr Bronner - Baby Mild Liquid Soap. £5.49 for 237ml. This product is completely biodegradable and vegetable based and is great for people with allergies or sensitive skin.

Overall this month I am extremely pleased with my box. My favourite items are definitely the mascara which is brilliant and the razor.

Do you purchase Glossy Box? What did you receive in yours?

Laura xoxo

Birchbox December - Christmas unboxing

Woo hoo my Christmas Birchbox arrived on Friday and I'm about to show you the contents!

First up let's talk about the box! It;s got a geometric Christmas tree zig zag effect which makes me feel all Christmassy and I'm going to keep this box. (I keep nearly all the plain ones too but this is definitely a keeper!)

December geometric design Birchbox

 The contents were in the drawstring bag and as you open it all the goodies are inside.

The box came with a $20 promotional card for use with the launch of the Baublebar jewellery launching in the UK.

The card says a Christmas message and introduction to the box and on the reverse the products and prices are clearly shown.

 A close-up of my Birchbox products I received this month.

 Sin-Care Party girl serum ould cost £46.50 for the full sized product. This is to brighten up your skin after partying. I've never seen this brand and I like the retro packaging and the tube that the product is contained in.

Aromatherapy Associates - Revive morning bath & shower oil - would be £39 full sized. Now whilst I love oils this would be too expensive for me to think about repurchasing. I would rather get lots than one quality item. This has grapefruit, rosemary and juniper inside and I bet that a little goes a long way.

 Alima Pure- Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow- £12.50

This is an all-natural eyeshadow and I love the look of the colour. I've not heard of the brand before.

 Twistband- You can get a pack of 6 for £10 . This will come in handy if I wear my hair in a bun. The colour I received will go with my navy outfits. I'm more of a pastel girl but I like the actual product.

 Here we have my absolute favourite item in the box that makes it all worthwhile. The Nail Rock- Nail Glitter £6.99. Love the colour <3 The other one that was available was the nail velvet so some people may have received that. I love glitter so I'm really happy and I have a colour I love here.

Finally I received the Number 4 Non- Aerosol hairspray which would cost £18.50 to buy it at full size. I've not heard of Number 4 before and I hope it's amazing as it is expensive. This will be great to hold party hairstyles over the Christmas period.

So overall this month I'm happy with what I received and I think that is because of the Nail Rock which is glittery and fun! I think this would make a lovely little stocking filler or an excellent Secret Santa pressie for a beauty lover .

Laura xoxo

Floral, Monochrome and Oriental Batiste - Dry shampoo review

Hi everyone :)

Today I have new editions to show you from the Batiste brand. These being the *Floral, *Monochrome and *Oriental versions. On their website I love how they have the woman's hair blowing and moving from the freshness of Batiste. Check it out here. I'm also a fan of their Facebook page which has a massive 122k fans here.

When I think of dry shampoo I automatically think Batiste. It encompasses freshness, fun and freedom.
I tend to wash my hair every other day as with my wavy hair, If I wash it too much I find that it goes too fluffy. That's where Batiste dry shampoo lends its role. In two weeks time I am having my hair coloured beautifully by my lovely hairdresser Charlotte who is back in England where I lived. I am under no illusion that my hair at the roots is an eyesore right now but that should soon be sorted out!  So with my hair I tend to find that the roots need some freshness sprayed onto them whilst the ends can be quite dry.

Batiste provides the freshness almost instantly after a quick spray at arms length and a quick scrunch of my curls I am good to go after accessorising with the perfect accessory to tame my mane.
The first time I came across Batiste I had seen the advertising and was drawn to the fun packaging that looks great out on display. The first one I bought was the Tropical version and that still today is my absolute favourite. Coconutty goodness and memories of holidays is what it portrays to me.

As my hair is blonde I find that the spray , because it sprays white, helps to blend my roots which is an added bonus and the array of different scents available make your hair smell fresh, clean and good to go.

Batiste dry shampoo L-R Oriental, Floral and Monochrome 

 Hairbands left- Choochie Choo and Mermaid - Inkie Pocious

 The design on the cans are beautiful, eye-catching and would suit a range of personalities.

These sprays are 200ml and cost £2.99

 On the reverse of the cans there are easy to follow diagrams to help you use the product correctly.
I usually lift sections of my hair, spray around 30cm away and then scrunch into my hair. I find that it adds volume and texture too.
This is how Batiste recommend you to use the product;

"How to use: Shake the can vigorously, then, keeping the nozzle about 30cm from your hair, spray into roots, lifting sections for maximum coverage. Massage through with fingertips and then brush and style."

 Batiste Oriental £2.99 for 200ml which I think is a great price as a can this size lasts me quite a long time so you are getting not only great quality but good value for money too.
The can design is gorgeous and intricate and really shows an oriental vibe.

This has fruity top notes which include Apple, Wild Berry and Grape, floral middle notes of Jasmine, and Iris and a base of rich Coconut, Sandalwood and Cedar. Lots of scents have been combined to create the fragrance trend of light floriental. 

Oriental is available at a wide range of stockists and you can find it online at Boots .

 

Monochrome 200ml for £2.99 Exclusive to Boots.
" With a retro 60’s vibe, the bold geometric monochrome look is inspired by Moroccan prints and is in perfect sync with fashion’s two-tone palette this season. 

The bold design is reflected in the spicy and dynamic fragrance with top notes of Orange Blossom and Pepper, a heart of Hyacinth, Iris, Lilac, Wisteria and Heliotropine with a warm base of Musk. "

This is the one I actually used in the picture and although I prefer fruity, chocolatey, coconutty scents I was pleasantly surprised with this one. When I look at this can it reminds me of Twiggy with the print of one of her dresses.

 Batiste Floral 200ml usual price £2.99 and exclusive to Superdrug on offer for £1.48 at the moment.
Look how pretty the design is! This has top notes of Blossom, a heart of  fruity Melon, Orange & Peach and a deep floral base of Rose, Muguet and Violet. What a gorgeous combination of scents that makes your hair smell fresh and ready to accomplish the day. This one reminds me of festivals and picnics.

 Here I have bed-head and no make-up although I have my dress on ready to go! I was at a Christmas party the day before and then had a house-warming on the Sunday so I used Batiste Monchrome after I had showered and dressed for speed and the results are in the final picture.

 Here I have the sparkly accessory ready but changed my mind to a different one as this one didn't sit right on my hair.

 Here I simply tipped my head upside down and you can see where the Batiste has sprayed on which is great to help hide my roots! I then used my fingers to scrunch an blend the Batiste in.

I popped the Bow hairband on to tame the mane, popped some make-up on, a little *Argan oil on by DGJ organics et voila!

Overall, I would highly recommend Batiste. It works, has a variety of scents, smells incredibly fresh and is fantastic to freshen up hair.

Laura xoxo
*PR samples kindly sent out to me to try, review and share my honest opinion.