week over :1

The first and most exciting thing to happen this week is that I have a new job! I haven't signed the contract yet so can't say a huge amount. I will tell you that It's really exciting and I will be a working as a beauty therapist for a massive cosmetics company, more will be revealed later. I'm starting to feel like all my hard work is paying off and doing a part time course in beauty was the right thing for me to do. Really happy I'm not going back to uni. 

Been out and about generally seeing people this week, wednesday was cocktails and Men in Black 3 at the cinema. Not my first choice of film but thats what the boys wanted to see, it was easy to watch and pretty entertaining. 

On thursday my best friend little Lucy came to see me for Pizza Express and gossipy goodness which was great, living an hour away nowadays means we don't get to see each other as often as I would like :( 

Friday Sam & I went to dinner with a few of his workmates, it was lovely to meet everyone and the food was so good. I would recommend The Thali cafe in Clifton to everyone who loves Indian food. They do great simple curries made with really fresh ingredients in a street food style, very different to your usual local curry house. 

I feel like I've been neglecting my hair a little this week, its mostly been up in a topknot everyday due to dry frazzled ends making it look a little poop. so this week my aim is to give it some TLC and do something with it!

New Glasses + Rimmel Wake me up

excuse the messy hair but I'm wearing Rimmel wake me up foundation, I actually love it.

Frames £45 Specsavers

So I lost my perfect vision *cries*

I had noticed over the past few months that after spending too long reading on my ipad or looking at the tv screen for a while that my eyes started to ache and I was getting regular headaches. My boyfriend suggested I go get my eyes tested as I hadn't had an eye test for about 5 years! The lovely people at specsavers confirmed that I had one dodgy eye and this was probably the cause of my eye strain and headaches. cue new glasses.

Sam thinks they are, quote, "silly". But I like them. 

on the down side we now look like some matchy matchy glasses wearing couple!

In my shopping bag: Bourjois & Rimmel purchases

 Bourjois 1 Seconde instant nail polish remover, Healthy Mix concealer (52) & Volume Clubbing Black Jack mascara 

 Free Sunglasses with any 3 Bourjois purchases (Boots Stores)

Rimmel Wake me Up Foundation (200 Soft Beige)

Still well within the grips of pauperism. is that a word? Anyway, not having the spare cash at the moment to splash out on high end make-up, I tottered down to Boots in search of some baragins. And bargains I found....

All Bourjois cosmetics were 3 for 2, if you take advantage of this offer there are also a free pair of sunglasses thrown in, lovely. In need of my much beloved Volume clubbin' mascara after mine dried out I spotted the new "Black Jack" version of my old fave. At £7.99 It's the same price & brush wand as the original but this formula has tiny golden flecks added to the mix. anything with a little shimmer is always a winner in my eyes! 

I have been using Collection 2000's lasting perfection concealer for some time now, I do really like it but once it had dried up, like the fickle cosmetic junkie I am, I went in search of something new. After a recommendation from Megan of Lips so Facto I decided to give the Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer (£7.49) a go,  I do love the Healthy Mix Serum foundation so I  have high hopes for this! 

I grabbed another Bourjois 1 seconde Nail polish remover pot as my freebie ( Normal price £4.99). I already have one of these for my own use but I think it's fantastic and am happy to have another to add to my manicure kit for work. 

As I mentioned before, 3 Bourjois purchases in Boots and you get a free pair of sunglasses in this very cute case (pictured above) I was pleasantly surprised to find I actually like the style & shape, waheyyy! Just need some sun now to be able to use them!

I had a couple of free samples in various magazines of the new Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, after hearing great things about the product I ripped open one of the sachets to see what all the fuss is about. It was love at first sight. The finish is very flawless & radiant, It gives an instant lift and glow to the skin and has a decent amount of coverage, whats not to love ehy? I liked it that much that I used both the samples and shed a little tear when they ran out. Not really but it is very unlike me to stray from my BareMinerals or Healthy Mix Serum foundations, but gotta be said I am secretly enjoying my little fling with Rimmel Wake Me Up. I paid £6.99 in Boots and am in the colour 200 Soft Beige. RRP £8.99. 

What have you been buying from your local chemist this month?

The DIY French Manicure

 O.P.I Avoplex Cuticle Treatment   Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover

O.P.I funny Bunny   O.P.I Barre My Soul    Seche Vite Top Coat

Recently all I have been wearing on my nails is a classic french manicure, nothing makes my nails look so neat and "done" without using colour.  First things fist, getting rid of overgrown cuticles. The first thing I do is apply a blob of Sally Hansen cuticle remover on each nail and leave for 3-4 minutes. This product helps to break down the dead skin of the cuticle for easy removal, I then use a cuticle remover to push them back once the cuticle remover has worked it's magic.  To keep my cuticles in good shape I use the O.P.I Avoplex Cuticle Treatment which contains avocado oil to keep cuticles hydrated and nourished. For the white tips I use O.P.I Funny Bunny, a muted soft white for a more natural looking tip with O.P.I's Barre My Soul (NYC Ballet Collection) all over the nail, again a very natural looking pink which makes the nails look lovely and healthy. To top it all off I always use my favourite top coat, Sech Vite, the only top coat which gives me chip free nails for 4-6 days. Sech Vite top coat will set you back around £11 but I think it's worth every penny. 

Getting older ( My Birthday)

 Dress: F+F at Tesco, Yes, Tesco! Jacket: Primark Earrings: Asda

How cheap, I mean Chic!

 Favourite shoes of the moment: Ballet pumps from H&M 

MY CAKE!

 So last friday I reached the grand old age of 22! I actually feel like a little bit more of an adult now (Even though our next door neighbour thought I was 16 the other day!)

I'm not much of a "birthday" person & don't really like making a fuss. So my plans consisted of going out for lunch & a sneaky bottle of prosecco on our lunch break with friends & going for a meal with my lovely family & Sam in the evening. Lucy & Mitch threw a bbq in their back garden on the Sunday which pretty much consisted of sitting in the lovely sunshine with all my besties, drinking gin, eating chicken and strawberry cake. It was the perfect round up to my birthday weekend. 

O.P.I & Essie Purchases

L-R Essie LadyLike, Essie Cute as a Button, Essie Topless & Barefoot

L-R O.P.I Barefoot in Barcelona, Lincoln Park after Dark, Funny Bunny, Barre my Soul

Yesterday was a long and tiring but hugely exciting day at Beauty UK 2012. Held at the NEC Birmingham its one of the biggest trade only exhibitions for Beauty Therapists in the UK. Being a Beauty student, (I'm doing a part-time course) I thought I would take full advantage of trade price nail polish! 

Shop mac, Cook mac, Innocence Beware! lipstick

MAC Innocence Beware! Lipstick £13.50

'cus I really needed another nude pink lipstick.

Innocence Beware! is a limited edition creamsheen formula lipstick that came out with the Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection around a month ago. why did I buy it? First of all I'm a sucker for pale pink/nudey lip colours, I love mac's creamsheen formula for my dry lips and quite frankly I liked the aesthetic of the whole collection. Theres not a huge amount I can say about this, its another pale pink lipstick. It's not hugely pigmented, more a sheer wash of colour which I was initially a little annoyed at, however the more I wear it, the more I like it. As it is a very milky nude colour, I think a highly pigmented formulation would make it a very harsh, washing face out kinda nude. I love wearing it on minimal make-up days like in the photo above, this one will definitely be sticking around for summer.