Little Eight.

Here's an outfit from the other day which I quite liked, as well as some recent things that I've bought and liked ♥. I'm so pleased because I couldn't fit into these shorts six months ago and now I do. I feel like I was channelling my inner child a bit with this one, but sometimes it's nice to not worry about carrying off a certain look.

T-shirt: New Look
Necklace: Gift
Shorts: Peacocks
Socks: New Look
Shoes: Converse


Excuse my nearly makeupless face, I'm only wearing Dermablend, and despite my tired eyes I don't think I look too bad.


Nails: Models Own: Soda Pop Pink, Aciiied
I mainly only painted my nails for the sake of having the day off, I really want to get my nail art back up to scratch for my holiday next week.

---

So, like I said on Tuesday, I went a little crazy on the ASOS sale. I'm actually sending a couple of things back, but it's alright because what I have left is still nice. If you're interested, the items I'm sending back are the bag I mentioned a couple of Tuesday Tabs ago - it is a bit more fluorescent than I would have liked, which is sad because the teal zip is mainly what made me fall for it, I also picked up elephant print jeans which as with most trousers on my 5'3" body, were just not a good fit, plus I didn't like the print in real life as much as I thought I would, sure I love animal-prints but I'm still particular about them.


Timeless for ASOS [x]
I love these shoes, it's always the best when you first put on a pair of shoes and they're comfy straight away and don't really need any wearing in. I wore these all the way into work and was blister-free by the time I arrived. I'd definitley recommend them, especially for the price they're at now.





[x]
This was my second choice after the bag I'm sending back. I thought it would be good for the holiday. The colours are nice and light so it's a good summer bag, it's mainly a rucksack but can be either two straps or one, which is pretty neat. It's also really roomy, which is something I always need in a bag, just so I can opt to put my SLR in there if I need to, so this will be great for Turkey.
You might also notice that I was a bit cheeky and popped out to get the map-print Tee & Cake t-shirt from Topshop that I mentioned earlier this week


[x]
This was kind of on a whim but I've been kind on edge over scratching my new phone's face so at least I have a nice way to not do that now. ♥




If you subscribe to Glossybox, you'll know that The Garden Pharmacy are offering 20% off Dermablend products until July. I snapped this up, as with the discount is was still £19 and as you're only using a small amount at a time, I feel like it will last forever. I was also surprised to learn that the sample pack in this month's box was £4.99! The Garden Pharmacy were also nice enough to include this sample of Vichy 24hr moisturiser.

Have you snapped up anything nice in the ASOS sale yet, or grabbed any other bargains?

The Liebster Blog Award.

Awh, it was nice to wake up this morning to being nominated for an award. Lovely Charlotte from Suitcase Packer has nominated me for The Liebster Award, so thank you very much! I'm pleased anyway, but I just love this kind of thing.

---

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The Meaning; Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. Remember, no tag backs!

---

Here are my 11 things about myself:

1. I need to start driving again.
2. There are two reasons I haven't cut my hair in the last year; I'm indecisive about the style and I can't choose which hairdresser to go to.
3. I often feel terribly nervous.
4. I'm so excited about my first proper grown-up holiday with Moon that I could burst!
5. Since starting work with Vue, I haven't been interviewed for a job that seems like more fun than working at Vue, even if it's a low-skilled job compared to my skillset and overall ambition.
6. I'm such a neat-freak.
7. I owe my love and knowledge of animals to David Attenborough and visits to The Natural History Museum and London Zoo.
8. I love making lists - I like to know what I've got to do by when and what I've done and when.
9. I kind of regret my degree discipline because I think I would have been capable of something more academic; although that's the only reason why, I loved University.
10. I wish I could spend afternoons drawing, the way I used to.
11. I cannot fathom how to plait hair.

Charlotte's questions:

1. Sweet or savoury? I'm a fan of both but I think savoury wins overall.
2. Three things that irritate you? Starting things halfway through, when pettiness is given ruling over common sense and unnecessary loud noises.
3. When are you at your happiest? When I'm not worrying/ when I'm eating.
4. Proudest moment/achievement to date? It's a toss-up between getting my degree and moving out.
5. Something you wear everyday. My watch.
6. Describe your style in three words. Colourful, quirky, high-street.
7. Are you a tea drinker or a coffee drinker? Tea, but I do love a good cup of coffee.
8. What would you most like to do if money weren't a problem? Travel the world, buy a few houses, get a Panasonic GF3, sort out driving - I can't really think of anything else I want at the moment.
9. What is the first thing you do in the morning? Lately, I've been hiding from the cat.
10. What is the last thing you do at night? Read.
11. What was the last film you watched? The Boondock Saints - which I didn't really like.

My questions:

1. What made you start blogging?
2. What do you like to do in your spare time?
3. What is your favourite TV show?
4. What was the last book you read?
5. What did you want to be when you younger?
6. What is your favourite item of clothing?
7. What is your favourite song at the moment?
8. Describe your style.
9. Last awkward moment?
10. If you were given £1,000,000 right now, what would you spend it on?
11. Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

My nominations:

Hannah Curson

Rachel T Beauty

Vanity Frills

Goodnight Prudence

Neeny's Wishlist

A Scholar Life

Jenni ~ My Style

All The Pretty Things

The Weekender Trender

When Flowers Fall

Chelle's Beauty

---

Tuesday Tabs #23

Happy Tuesday! I'm feeling much more pumped and ready to start the day than I was yesterday, so I'm doing this and I'm going to get stuff done. I'm wondering whether it's too soon to start thinking about changing some money over for my holiday and buying cute travel-sized products, I think I'll be waiting until payday, but I'm getting more excited by the day!

This week I've been thinking about Android apps; loving map-print things and thinking about how I should get my hair cut.

---

Pug & Bulldog Cushions, £30, Urban Outfitters (1, 2)
These cushions are adorable, I don't think they'd quite go with my cat cushions but that pugs face is too much.


Cat Nightlight, £75, White Rabbit England
I've really been taking note of Fab since they launched their UK site last week. It seems to be a bit more decor-orientated than it's US counterpart, but I'm not complaining, they have some amazing stuff on there at the moment, including this cutie for a £20 off! White Rabbit is a children's lifestyle interiors company set up by sisters, Charlotte and Victoria. Okay, so this lovely bone china lamp is for kids, but I love it, they also have rabbit, owl and dog lamps that are equally adorable. They have some amazing other products too all featuring their signature critters, from bedding to crockery, I'm in love.


Was anyone else excited by the Monsters Inc prequel teaser? Everything Pixar does (except for Cars) is the greatest.


Do They Half? Shorts, $49.99, Modcloth
My fat bum wishes there were less hot-pants around so I could actually get away with going bare-legged in shorts every now and then. Why do these pastel lovelies have to be so nice?


Mapped Crusader Leggings, $34.99, Modcloth
I think that Modcloth might have lowered their international shipping, which is nice as I was pretty surprised after seeing a post Charlotte did about ordering a necklace from there and it arriving in a larger than shoebox-sized package. This recent development has had me seriously umming and ahhing over these, they're so good, I'd just be worried about them fitting so fingers crossed somewhere like ASOS will bring them over here to make for easier returns.


Map-print tee, £25, Tee & Cake for Topshop
I spotted this in-store and in terms of Topshop prices, Tee & Cake generally stick to being fairly good value and I love their designs. I just don't know about spending that much on a t-shirt at the moment, even it it would be lovely and light to wear when I go away and would go great with my green maxi skirt, it's a real thinker.

Atlas Bunting, £15.78, Gritty City Goods


This Bell Will Ring Necklace, £210, Rob Ryan for Tatty Devine
I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough of Rob Ryan's 'Bell' series, everything in it makes me feel like everything is good in the world.



'I Miss Being A Small Girl' Silk Scarf, £105.17, Rob Ryan
I love the colours of this, they're pretty patriotic. I do wear scarves quite often actually, especially when it gets to Autumn. I don't want to wish the year away though, but I would definitely like this scarf.


This is my favourite song this week, after seeing Brian Wilson live I was put off The Beach Boys for a while, but then I remember to forgive a little and just enjoy them.

---

Link Love: ♥

Fab UK — If you're not familiar with Fab, they recently launched themselves in the UK after having Moon and I drooling over their US site for some time. The idea is to help you discover new designers, bringing exclusive daily deals. It's such a simple but clever idea, I love it.

Caturday Tunic

Silverware I Come From Pin — This is so cute, but I never really know how to wear pins or when I do, I forget about them and they get ruined in the wash. :(

Kris Atomic's iPhone Photo App review — I don't have an iPhone but it was useful for looking for the Android equivalent on the Google Play store as I wouldn't have known where to start. I've only just discovered her blog, but it's full of lovely photos and illustrations and it might be my new favourites, her drawings are fantastic!

---

I hope to get Moon and I on a similar timetable soon, we are in need of a rug for the lounge. Do you have any fun Internet finds this week, I'm trying to keep away from my bubbling online shopping addiction, but it's always nice to look isn't it?

6.

I've actually no idea how it's the evening already, I've totally wasted today's day off, and it isn't as though I got up late or anything. At least I've done some hoovering and the laundry, as well as taking the cat for a walk - productive enough for me. I had a meeting at work earlier, I'm always a bit on edge when I have pop out places for short amounts of time, the meeting's wasn't a big deal, it was just because it was all the way over there and I'm all the way over here. Aside from chores, I also spent a lot of today browsing the ASOS sale, some incredible bargains to be snapped up!

This weekend, Moon and I saw in our six year anniversary, which is mental! We've been together for six whole years, I don't even know where all that time has gone. We've accomplished so much together and been through so much. We've definitely grown up, but sometimes I get a glimpse of the goofy 17 year-old who sent me a text asking me to be his girlfriend and I just feel lucky.

We're in the best place we've ever been, and we're basically grown ups now, co-habiting and everything - I know we did before, but now we're on our own (with a cat!).

I had Friday night off so went to the cinema (lolz), to see Chernobyl Diaries. We definitely should have stuck with romancing it up and watched Five Year Engagement instead because at least that might have been good. I can't even find anything decent to say about Chernobyl Diaries other than the location was great and they didn't even use that properly. I like horror films too, don't get me wrong, but I can't remember the last time I saw a good one, they all seem to be either improvised and/or reality-style. Feeling thoroughly disappointed and bouncing off each others criticisms we drove around searching for somewhere to eat and ended up at this amazing little gasto-pub in Donnington, just outside of Newbury, called Harry's Bar & Kitchen. I don't even want to think about the calories I consumed, but the food was amazing and the staff were incredibly attentive.


I thought this was a nice touch, even it was only tab water, it was much nicer presentation than a jug.





This is what I mean about calories! Deep-friend brie, it was incredible though. I was so hungry by my main course than I didn't snap it, but I had stuffed aubergine with rice *nomz* ♥




This is what I had for pudding but it was just too sweet for me so I swapped it for Moon's sticky toffee pudding. I think it was called a parfait.



Some of this afternoon was spent letting Dolly out in the garden without a lead, it was nerve-racking but okay. Her fur is still not grown back from her operation and I don't think I'll even think about letting her out unsupervised until then.



I hope that parts of this post weren't as soppy as they seem to me. <3

June Glossybox.

This was a pretty welcome surprise, as it doesn't seem like that long ago since I received my last Glossybox, it's not just me that it's so irregular for is it?

I'm going to start off by being honest and saying I was a little disappointed at first glance of this month's box, and reading through I can't say that I was excited by it that much either. I was almost ready to throw in the towel for cheaper alternatives and give up on Glossybox altogether, but that's what's so great about these sample boxes, they give you a chance to try things and that's actually a really good thing.

---

I'm actually really happy with all but one product this month, even if Glossybox' tailoring remains slightly at question and I didn't get a shower gel this time around.

---

I guess I was getting kind of used to these special edition boxes, as I've only had two normal ones before and at intervals. The month's box was to the theme of 'Summer style', showcasing smaller replacements to things that would normally take up a lot of space, as well as fresher essential products, exactly how we want to be feeling at this time of year, even if the weather disagrees.


Glossybox Serie Exclusiv Pro Beauty Brush, RRP: £15
I don't actually have any make up that I can use this brush with, it feels nice though and is made of goats hair. It also matches last month's Glossybox birthday mirror quite nicely.
('scuse the cat hair)


Mini Mascara, ultra-volume Sexy Pulp, Yves Rocher France, Full-size: £16
Sadly this was this month's let-down. Firstly, the applicator for this sample size was clumsy and quite difficult to use, but also, it doesn't - in my experience - do as it claims to. My eyelashes weren't any more plumped with this mascara than with my standard Maybelline one, which is a third of the price and does a slightly better job.



Summer Warmth Bronzer, BM Beauty, Full-size: £8
I used this as an eyeshadow, but now see you can use it all over, which isn't really my style. I don't really get on with loose powder either as it just goes everywhere and I get so stressed. I used Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in Original) to help me out a little. It has a nice shimmer to it and closely matches the colour of eyeshadow I tend to go for out of my everyday palette so I should get some good use out of it and it being mineral-based is a nice bonus.

Here's how I wore it:



Day/Night 3-Step Mini Kit, Clean Start by Dermalogica, Full-size: £12
I was really unsure about this product, but having given it a proper go this week, I really like it. I haven't used such a good cleanser in ages, and I find my skin is much brighter and has less tendency to be greasy since using it. I really trust Dermalogica as a brand but always saw it as a bit out of my price-range, this seems really affordable though and it actually works! I think I'll see the kit through before making a decision as my skin is incredibly temperamental. I must mention the toner too, which was a bit unusual as you just spray it directly onto you face, even though it's a bit different to what I'm used to it's pretty refreshing and smells amazing. Lastly, the moisturiser is lovely, I actually look forward to putting it on in the mornings, so despite it's slightly medical box and being so initially sceptical, this is probably my favourite this month.



Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation Cream Stick, Vichy, Full-size: £18
I feel like this is where Glossybox' tailoring really fell down this month, and I was about ready to full-on blast them for including this product when anyone could use it because *blah blah blah*...
But, it's incredible! I don't actually have that bad skin, I think that I think it's a lot worst than it is anyway, and yes I have the odd spot but nothing to hide about, not often anyway. I'm genuinely thinking about investing in this wonder-product, more so than any of the others mentioned above. It's much nicer to wear than over-all foundation as you only put in on blemished areas, which it covers up incredibly well, so it feels almost like you're walking around bare-faced.
I've included some before and after photos below for you to have a look for yourself.

---

So there's my thoughts on this month's Glossybox, I'd love to hear what you think. Do you subscribe to any beauty boxes? What products did you get this month?