Lifestyle: #NorthamptonBloggerMeet

Last Sunday I got to go to an event I had been looking forward for ages, my first ever blogger meet! I was so excited to meet people who like me were stupidly into make up and skin care, clothes and nosing into other's lives. 

We started the day in Vodka Revolution with cocktails and general chit chatting and getting to know one another. I ordered a really berry flavoured cocktail called A Jammy Bas**** which didn't taste like alcohol at all (never a good thing). We had a lady called Becky from Harlequin Cosmetics come to talk us through all her products and we got to ask her some questions. I was really interested in how she started her business as I feel I'm very business minded and find it fascinating that young people have the guts to start from nothing. The brand itself is slightly Lush-esque in a sense it's soaps, shower gels and lip balms; all products which can be made from mainly natural ingredients and at home. My favourite product was the California Daze Body Butter, it was orange scented and so thick and creamy. Becky explained the process of how she makes the soaps and some of their upcoming products. Their prices are very reasonable and I can't wait to see what Becky brings out at Christmas. She left us with some samples; a coconut soap and a mint chic chip soap. Upon trying them I do have confess I found them a little drying on my hands but I was really impressed in testing out the other products.

 

We had a raffle which had amazing goodies such as a Gel Nail Kit worth £150.00 and lots of lovely bath products. I won a Balance Me Radiance Face Mask which I can't wait to try out. We headed to Pizza Express for lunch (about time too I was starving) and I had dough balls, a sloppy Giuseppe Leggara Pizza and raspberry sorbet. It was eaten way to quickly. I loved how it was so normal for us all to have our phones out at the table, taking pictures and sharing our favourite blogs and twitter names for a later date. Most people find it weird I take pictures of everything all the time! 

Being one of Mia's most oldest and uh hum best friend (who organised the whole event btw) I got a sneak peek at some things that went into the goody bags so knew the rest of the girls would not be disappointed. They were amazing we had brands that have a huge following (Champney's & Benefit anyone?) along with brands that are new to me such as Kiss Air Candles. My sample draw is overflowing and I can't wait to get stuck in. Rather than do a post on everything I got I am going to test them all out and write a mini review series. I will write a small review based on some of the samples given as I feel I won't have enough product to give it a real in-depth review.

After paying for lunch we had a mooch around Topshop and Superdrug before hot chocolates in Costa. It quickly turned to 17:30 and we headed to Lush for our private party. Sophie, Martin & Maddie were our hosts and took us around the whole shop giving us an in depth insight into almost all the products as well as sharing their personal favourites with us. So many products have special little stories that are really important to how the brand progressed from a little family run because. I really felt like the guys were so passionate about their jobs and loved working for Lush which is really nice to see. I always find the staff so helpful and knowledgable about the products they are selling.

I may have got a few too many purchases so will do a little haul post for you. We all said our goodbyes and I headed home to eat my cupcake and a cup of tea. It was so lovely to meet so many other bloggers. It's nice to have a large group all with shared interests! I had the best day and feel like I made some new friends which is always a nice feeling!

Here's a list of all the lovely girls that attended so make sure you check out their blogs; you may find a new favourite!

Mia - Pretty Eclectic

Amber - Amber's Beauty Talk

Danielle - Miss Sunshine and Sparkle

Sarah - Apparently Sarah

Amy - Paperbacks and Postcards

Kate - Keights Beauty and Fashion

Ruth - Excuse me for a while

Natalie - Natalie's Beauty Blog

Shanaz & Kamarla - La Belle Aventure

Ngoni - I am NRC

Sophie - Iyaa Sophie

Jasmine - Jasmine Hearts

Kiran - Kirandeep Bassan Fashion Blog

Jemma - The Name of Beauty

Iqra - The Blushing Giraffe

Who's looking forward to the Bank Holiday Weekend? 

Beauty: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Unapologetic

I say it every time I buy a lip crayon but seriously I love them. They are just so easy to use and there are so many types. When Revlon launched the matte formula I was intrigued but I have been let down by so many matte products I decided to lay off buying one. I spotted Unapologetic one lazy afternoon and was looking for something a bit bright and different. 

I love the colour; it's a coral but almost sways a bit red/pink on the lips. It's really stunning especially against a monochrome outfit or all black. I find it goes best with a flawless base with black eyeliner and no other colours on the face. I don't own a colour like this but I would say it's a little similar to MAC's Viva Glam Nicki but less pink and more orange or MAC's Impassioned.

Formula this is one of the best matte lip products I've used. It doesn't cling to dry patches at all, isn't flaky and stays on for ages without budging. It is completely matte so I would still recommend prepping your lips before wearing because everyone's attention will be drawn to your lips and you want them to look good! I love how creamy the product is (it contains triple butter; shea, coconut & mango) so it doesn't completely set dry to your lips which is a good thing to keep it looking freshly applied.

I frickin' love this product and it's definitely my statement lip of choice for Summer 2014...now point me to the nearest beach.

Lifestyle: Easter Weekend 2014

As you know I was busy last Saturday at a baby shower but I woke up early on Easter Sunday to head down to Winchester with Mia and Lyn for a little getaway. This was the journey down:

I don't think we thought the weather would be that bad and we also didn't think about the fact all the shops would be closed. Lyn's boyfriend is training in the Army down there so we met him for a roast dinner at Pitcher and Piano.

After a mooch around the places that were opened and getting drenched on the way back to the car we headed to the hotel got our cossies on and chilled out in the sauna, steam room and messed around in the pool for a few hours. We booked in for a late dinner at 8:30pm which was too nice for us to wait and take pictures. We had a little bit too much wine throughout the evening and were all tucked up in bed by midnight. We are wild.

After we had a huge breakfast on Monday morning we headed down to Portsmouth. We had a mooch around the harbour and Gunwharf Quays where I picked up a few bits from The Body Shop. The weather was a lot warmer until about 4pm when it start to get a bit overcast. We even sat outside for our lunch at Wagamama's watching people abseil down the Spinnaker Tower. We went on a search for ice cream around the Dockyard but we didn't have much luck. I really liked Portsmouth but then again I fall in love with any place by the sea. 

My friends and I are on a mission to visit more places in the UK as we do the same old week in week out and being only 23 that makes us very boring. Does anyone have a town or city we should visit next?

Beauty: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in 11

I finally did it! I got a YSL lipstick; she is beautiful non? I have been saving my Boots points since November last year so I could treat myself to one and finally managed to get to a store which stocks YSL a couple of weeks ago. After many a swatch and a slightly miffed off sales assistant huffing and puffing I decided to go for something subtle and something I could carry around with me everyday. 

Number 11 Beige Instinct is a brown nude which is sheer and shiny; almost gloss like. The colour is very subtle but enough to make you look like you have colour on the lips. I find it is a very wearable colour but perhaps at is around the £25 mark I should have got something a little louder. There's always next time. I'm thinking a bright pink?

Formula wise I always find the more pigmented the colour the longer lasting it is which means Beige Instinct doesn't last as long as I thought it would. However I have no problem whipping out the beautiful packaging out of my make up bag. It's very moisturising and softens the lips well almost like a balm. 

I do love the lipstick but it isn't my favourite lipstick ever. I think I prefer a more matte finish in my lipstick but this can definitely be in my top 3 glossy products.

Fashion: Primark Statement Necklaces

I love a statement necklace. I don't like how because they have now become a thing the shops seems to be charging a fortune for them. Now I'm not one to sit trawling through eBay to find cheap but really detailed versions in the shops because I am too lazy for that. Plus if I want a cheap version I find Primark is the place to go. 

If my memory serves me correctly I got all three of these for £12.00; that's still a fraction of the price of Topshop or Zara where I've seen necklaces go for around £40.00. Ain't nobody loving a glorified piece of metal covered plastic enough to spend £40 on it!

I really like the latest ones I picked up last week; I think they are all quite different so can go with a variety of outfits. I find the turquoise one is a brilliant pop of colour for an all black outfit whereas the black rope and hoop one is the best for a night out as it's really detailed and sparkly.

It makes me smile a little bit when I open up my jewellery box and see all these style of necklaces alongside the super long pendant necklaces that used to be in fashion about 5 years ago; it's so funny how much my style has evolved and changed.