A VISIT TO MY FAVOURITE CITY - LONDON

I finally got to visit my favourite city again on Wednesday this week, London. I especially love London at this time of year, it's so festive everywhere you go with Christmas lights hanging on every building and street. My main reason for my trip to London was to see the Basquiat Boom for Real exhibition at the Barbican. Basquiat is my favourite artist and I love his work and I had to make sure I went to see this exhibition. The exhibition was well worth the wait, sadly I wasn't allowed to take photos but I did sneak one or two in. I, of course, paid a visit to the gift shop and managed to pick up a poster and a few postcards even on my student budget. If any of you are in London and fancy a visit to the Barbican this exhibition is well worth the entry fee, it's on until January the 28th. You also have to make sure you check out a piece of work from the Banksy which is under the tunnel around the corner from the Barbican, it's pretty much on the way to the Barbican from the underground station, so you can't miss it!

We headed to Carnaby next and our first shop was, of course, Crumbs & Doilies, because who doesn't love cake for breakfast! There's always time for a pit stop for cake when you're in London. Some of my favourites include Primrose Bakery, Peggy Porschen and of course Crumbs & Doilies. I love that each bakery is slightly different, I love where Crumbs & Doilies is, right in the middle of Carnaby in the Kingly Court. And is Carnarby looking oh so festive with it's Christmas Carnival! I love that I'm only a couple of hours away from London and it's so easy to jump on a train which next year I'm planning to do much more often because there's always something going on in London!

We didn't really have much of a plan of what we were doing for the day but it was nice to just have a wander around London and just see some things that I might miss on times where I come to London with a fully loaded day planned. We walked through Soho and I did manage to resist all of the magazine shops for once. Soho is such a great place and there's always something interesting to look at, another favourite is the Photographers' Gallery. 

Although walking around London is great, it was so cold and I definitely didn't dress that well for cold weather. We wandered over to the Tate Modern which is quite a nice walk but a very long walk. I do love the Tate Modern because there's always something new to look at and again a visit to the gift shop is always great. We did have some great fun on the swings they currently have on the ground floor at the entrance of the Tate. Anything childish and fun is always great!

It's been quite a while since I've been to Covent Garden so I thought we'd head there for the end of the day. I love the Christmas decorations at Covent Garden and with all the market stalls not to mention the beauty shops. I did pop into the Deceim pop up shop and picked up The Ordinary coverage foundation, so I will try this out and let you know what I think. At this point, it had gotten especially cold and dark so we took refuge in the Covent Garden Grind for a good few hours. I love the Grind coffee shops and it was definitely a great choice of place to chill out for a bit before my train back to Birmingham. 

I'm thankfully back in London pretty soon for a lovely festive day at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park on the 15th of December so there will be another London post very soon. I honestly can't believe how fast this year has gone, there are still some posts to come so keep an eye out! 

SKINCARE UPDATE

My skin has been looking a lot better than usual and there are a few things that's down to. I'll start with my favourite which is the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser which sadly I've finished but is definitely on my Christmas List. I love this cleanser and it's gentle on my skin and doesn't dry my skin out at all. I definitely noticed a difference in my skin when I started using this cleanser and then when I stopped using this. This is a product I will continue to use and I especially love their Christmas packaging and scents!

I do have blemish prone skin but black-heads are definitely the bane of my life. Whatever I use or do they're always there, but a product that has reduced them is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear pink grapefruit face wash. I leave this in my shower so I remind myself to use it. I love using it on my face in the shower and it leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean. Another cleanser is the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser which is a new favourite thanks to Glossier coming to the UK! - I did do a haul and review on some Glossier products so I will leave it linked below! This cleanser is definitely not a tough cleanser and it's soft and gentle on my skin. I use this with another cleanser as personally, I don't think this cleans the dirt and leftover makeup out of my skin completely. However, I do think this is worth the purchase and is a great gentle cleanser. 

I've only ever purchased two serums and they're both my favourites and have had such a great impact on my skin. Both serums are from the brand The Ordinary, the first one is the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution and the second is the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. Both are serums for blemish prone skin and I use them after I've cleansed my skin and then moisturise after. These have definitely cleared my skin up and have help to heal scars and marks from previous spots. They're my go-to skincare products! Another serum I want to try is the Glossier Super Pure serum that apparently fixes 'junk food skin'!

A Glossier product that I can't seem to put down since I got it, is the Rich Priming Moisturiser. This is such a lovely moisturiser and a fair enough price considering a small amount goes a long way. If it wasn't for my eczema I would use this every day, I will definitely be purchasing this again when it runs out although I definitely have some time before that!

My last product is the Clinique All About Eyes cream that is meant to reduce dark circles and puffs. I can honestly say it does! I am someones who have very dark circles and puffs under my eyes and I have definitely seen a difference since using this cream. It is slightly pricey but I was lucky enough to get one free in Sephora but I will be splurging on this when it runs out which won't be long now!

I hope this post was useful to some of you and if any of you have any skincare recommendations please do comment down below. I have linked all the products I mentioned down below!

Links:

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

Neutrogena Visibly Clear face wash

Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Glossier Rich Priming Moisturiser

Clinique All About Eyes cream

Glossier Haul & Review post

MAGAZINE FAVOURITES

I thought I'd do a favourite magazine post seen as I'm studying a course that requires me to buy endless amounts of magazines which is definitely my favourite thing about this course. I'm currently studying Fashion Branding and Communication at Birmingham City University which looks at magazines and the layout as well as fashion journalism and will eventually go into styling and so on. I've always enjoyed spending my money on magazines and collecting them and now I just have a reasonable excuse to continue buying them. I do love your traditional fashion magazine like Vogue and Elle and back home they were the main ones you could buy, if you were lucky you'd get some of the more niche independent magazines in WhSmiths on a good day. I mainly pick up magazines if I like the cover, take December's issue of Vogue with the beautiful Adwoa Aboah on the cover, there was no way I wasn't buying this issue. This month's Vogue is especially exciting as it's Edward Enninful first issue as the new editor.

I love going to London not only because it's my favourite city but because you can pretty much get any magazine you could ever want! I like picking up other countries Vogue's and Elle like Elle USA below with the lovely Rihanna on the cover. I think it's interesting to see the different layouts but for the same magazine such as Elle, and another one I recently picked up was Vogue Paris as well. 

I love using magazines around my room, stacking them and then layering pretty makeup and jewellery on top. I use them almost the same way I do books, and will keep them until I get to a point I cant move in my room anymore! I like spending a bit more on magazines such as £12 for Cereal magazine because I know I will keep it and go back to it and read it again. 

I've left some links to magazines websites that consider my ongoing favourites, I hope this quick post was barely interesting - keep an eye for more!

Links:
Elle
Vogue
The Gentlewoman
Suitcase
Oh Comely

OCTOBER FAVOURITES

It's time for my October Favourites even though we're well into November now, but better late than never. There haven't been that many new favourites this month other than pretty much all of the Glossier products that I mentioned in my previous post so I'm not going to ramble on about them again, but if you missed my Glossier haul and review I will leave it linked below! My first favourite this month has been this Sephora Cream Lip Stain in the shade Pink Tea 40 which is a lovely nude shade, which is right up my street. I need to get my hands on some more shades because the formula of this is great, it dries matte so quickly and is easy to apply and lasts all day! It's definitely my favourite lip product at the moment. 

My next favourite I bought on a whim and thought I may as well give it a go, it's the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray. Setting sprays are one of those products that I can never really tell if they make a difference or not, but this one honestly does! I wear this mostly on nights out or days where I'm really making an effort with my makeup and need it to last all day. I picked up the travel size for £10 and plan on purchasing the bigger size when it runs out. Another random favourite this month are my eyelash curlers, a product I've always had but always forget to use. But now since using them again I can't stop reaching for them, I'm thinking of investing in a decent pair seen as mine are only from H&M so if any of you have any recommendations do comment down below.

A home favourite this month is an all time favourite that I've been lighting again as its gotten colder and darker, it's the Diptyque candle in the scent Vanille. I love the smell of this and it fills my room which isn't much of a challenge seen as its my uni dorm, but it's just such a lovely scent especially for this time of year. It also makes my uni dorm so much cosier and makes it seem so much warmer as well.

My style favourites this month have to be my Asos Mom jeans and my Vans Checkerboard slip ons, this has been my favourite combo all month long. Talk about dressing for comfort, I love the fit of these mom jeans, usually I'm not a huge fan of any jeans that aren't skinny or high waisted. However these jeans are perfect for me, they're different and refreshing to any other jeans I have and still faltering on my legs which is a must with jeans for me. My slip on Vans are my go to uni shoes that I never seem to take off, they're so comfy and easy to slip on and go which is ideal for student life.

A jewellery favourite this month has been this Pandora silver star ring, I bought this recently when I stupidly lost my original ring from Pandora which was similar to this one. I always get so annoyed at myself when I loose things especially jewellery, the ring was also a present from my boyfriend so it was sentimental as well which never makes you feel great when you loose something sentimental. So I had to replace it, luckily they had this one that was on offer at the time as well so it was perfect. I love the Pandora stacking rings and they make such lovely gifts, which is great seen as its really not long until Christmas now. 

Links:
Glossier Haul and Review!

Beauty -
Sephora Cream Lip Stain - Pink Tea 40
Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
H&M Eyelash Curlers
Diptyque Vanille Candle

Style -
Vans Checkerboard Slip ons
Asos Mom Jeans
Pandora Star Ring

GLOSSIER HITS THE UK

It’s finally the day I get to do a lovely Glossier Haul and believe me I have been counting down the days that Glossier comes to the UK! Glossier is a brand I knew a lot about and I’d already had a pretty large wish list before there was the hint of them coming to the UK! I ordered a few things not everything sadly now I'm a student I have to prioritise being able to eat and live, I know it’s very boring and responsible of me! So I’m going to get straight to the part you all want which is the lovely products themselves, the first thing I clicked on was the Phase 1 set, which includes the Milky Jelly Cleanser, Priming Moisturiser and the Balm Dotcom which of course I had to get in the Birthday Cake scent. It’s hard not to love Glossier products and resist the Glossier hype before you’ve actually tried the products, I mean people have you seen the packaging! The cardboard alone had me hooked with it’s cute pink inside presenting the ever so coveted pink bubble pouches and of course the stickers, how can you not love a brand that gives you free stickers?! The first product I reached for was the cute glittery Balm Dotcom which only makes you crave cake, I had high expectations for this but wasn't so sure how well this would work with my lovely chapped dry lips. I can honestly say this does work, I know it’s a universal balm but I do use this just for my lips. It’s great on its own but even better when I pair it with my Nuxe lip balm which my lips will always need because of how dry and chapped they get but the Balm Dotcom is the product that I use throughout the day which keeps my lips smooth and it’s not too thick and sticky so it doesn’t look greasy on my lips. I like using this on its own with no lipstick because of the glitter in the Birthday Cake scent it almost works like a lip gloss so it’s great for days when my makeup is more natural and its cold and I have no effort to even think of lipstick.

The next product I was excited for was the Milky Jelly Cleanser, I’m currently trying out a few cleansers and have really made an effort with my skincare routine so for a better review I will keep you posted on how well this works. First reviews though is that it does work well to get your makeup off but I do use makeup wipes first because of my eyeliner, I mean nothings getting that off! It’s definitely not harsh on my skin and there’s not much of a scent to it and I love how clean and fresh it leaves my skin. The last product in this set is the Priming Moisturiser which is definitely more of a primer and not a heavy moisturiser at all so if that’s what your looking for you should look more towards the Rich Moisturiser. I do like this though as a primer and use it on days where I don't need a heavy moisturiser and it tends to make my skin look dewy and fresh which is what of their products do. Like I mentioned the Rich Moisturiser is definitely much more hydrating, the clue is in the name. I love the packaging off this and it makes it feel a lot more high end, it is one of their more pricier products at £29 but honestly worth the price tag! I don’t need to use a lot when I put this on my face and a little goes a long way with this product. 

I have recently been getting more into face masks and have been making the effort to use them more often and honestly with some masks I can’t really tell if their working or even make a difference in my skincare so I did want to try at least one of their masks. But me being me I convinced myself I desperately needed the both of them so the Mask Duo is the next product I’m going to babble on about. Again with the packaging goals, I mean you have to get the both of them it would be unfair to split them apart. I tend to use them both together so use the Mega Green Galaxy pack first as it’s a detox mask and can definitely see a difference when I wash it off. A lot of masks can dry my skin out so the Moisturising Moon Mask is great to use straight after, it rehydrates my skin and leaves it feeling moisturised that I don't tend to use a moisturiser after. A lot of bloggers have also recommended using them both as a duo so I would recommend buying the duo rather than the masks individually.

The last product had to be one of their makeup products and although everyone hypes about the Boy Brow I don’t think this is a product that I would love as my eyebrows aren’t that thick so I’m going to stick to my trustee Soap and Glory Archery pencil. However their Cloud Paint cream blushes did speak out to me, it was hard to resist buying more than one but sensible me kicked in at this point. I picked up the shade Dusk as I don’t really wear cream blushes so I didn’t want to overwhelm my cheeks with the brightest shade there is. This is such a lovely shade and perfect for my skin tone and again great for more natural makeup days because of the dewy look it gives your cheeks. I already want to pick up the rest of the shades! 

Next up on my wish list is the Face Serum Super Pack, Haloscope in the shade Quartz, Cloud Paint in the shade Puff, Stretch Concealer and Perfecting Skin Tint so pretty much everything. Of course a trip to their New York showroom is on the list but thats more of a long-term target! 

I hope this was helpful and urged you to get you Glossier orders in, do look on their instagram and a couple of their ‘reps’ lets call them, as if you shop with them you get 20% off your order and free shipping over £25 is definitely a reachable target. I’ll leave the instagram links below. 

Links:

Phase 1 Set: Milky Jelly Cleanser, Priming Moisturiser, Balm Dotcom - Birthday Cake

Priming Moisturiser Rich

Mask Duo - Mega Greens Galaxy Pack, Moisturising Moon Mask

Cloud Paint cream blush - Dusk

EXPLORING BIRMINGHAM CITY

I've finally started university and honestly it's about time! I currently study Fashion Branding and Communication in Birmingham City University, and it's my first time moving away from home unless you include travelling which I definitely don't as I travelled with my boyfriend. I love change and moving around so moving to a brand new city that I've never really been to was really exciting to me! When my mum came up to visit we had a wander or shall I say trek around Birmingham mainly in the centre. I thought I'd just share a few photos you never know you might be off to Birmingham soon. Any Birmingham bloggers do comment down below your favourite spots...

There's definitely some interesting spots and some great shopping to be done here, my favourite has to be Birmingham's take on the love lock bridge in Paris, Pont des Arts. It's by the Mailbox and runs over the canal, there's some cool bars and smaller restaurants here and I've already spotted The Gin Vault!

Another favourite is the Ikon Gallery, I wanted to find some art galleries and museums and Birmingham did not disappoint. There's definitely a different atmosphere and 'vibe' shall we say going on compared to back home and Cardiff. I never realised how big Birmingham is which is ridiculous to say seen as it is the second largest city in the UK.

When I first got to Birmingham it was slightly overwhelming and it was definitely not love at first sight. All I could see was endless traffic and it felt like where my accommodation is that it’s just on the side of a motorway! But now I've had a chance to settle in and actually walk further than my student halls reception and a good look round I definitely prefer Birmingham to back home. There's so much more going on here, and some amazing places to eat, I have a list of all the restaurants and cafes I need to go to...well I mean there's no rush I do have three years here!

I tend not to spend a lot of time at libraries but seeing Birmingham Library with it’s interesting wedding cake design I thought I’d better had a nosy. There’s something so cosy about it with its christmassy fairy lights which is perfect for this time of year and who knew about the “Secret Garden”. It’s great to get a skyline view of Birmingham and I mean there is of course a lot of construction going on pretty much everywhere in Birmingham like every big city but it’s great to get such an amazing view of the city I’ll be spending three years living in!

The Custard Factory and Digbeth has to be one of my favourite parts of Birmingham, everything is just so cool and grimy which is something you always need in a city. I love the little independent shops and cafes and not to mention the vintage shops that surround the custard factory. There seems to always be something going on in Birmingham and when I was thinking of what university to confirm this is the main reason I chose Birmingham. I enjoy being in big cities where you can get lost and you don’t know everyone where as back home I seemed to walk down a street and see pretty much everyone I was working with!

I hope this was actually interesting and useful rather than a continuous babble if not theres’s always the photos to look at! I’m thinking of writing a post to do with starting university and what I expected and the reality of it, as well as what other universities I applied for, so we’ll soon see!

CURRENT FAVOURITES

So I may have skipped my August favourites and my September favourites for that matter too because honestly these months have flown by. I think between coming back and getting back into work and then packing all my stuff up for uni and then finally moving up to Birmingham, these months have just disappeared without me noticing! If any of you would like to see a post on going to uni and what to pack do let me know but for now let's crack on with my current favourites. My first favourite is a blush that I completely forgot I ordered before I went travelling, it's the Benefit GALifornia pink blush. I've never really tried any of the Benefit powders but this really caught my eye mainly because of the lovely packaging but the blush itself is so beautiful. It's quite a bright pink shade with golden shimmers which is similar to the Nars Orgasm blush. I'm constantly reaching for this blush and definitely want to try some more Benefit products!

Another beauty favourite has been these Eylure lashes by Fleur de Force, I find these lashes so easy to apply especially the 3/4 lashes when usually I struggle with lashes and eventually give up on them. I prefer the slightly more natural lashes and these Fleur de Force ones are perfect! They're easy to put on and look so lovely that if I had the effort I'd wear them everyday! There aren't many new beauty favourites this month but an oldie I've started reaching for again is my Tom Ford lipstick in the shade First Time. I've recently been reaching for more pink nude shades over my darker nudes, I think these shades suit my skin tone better and darker nudes can wash me out a bit. Although it's getting colder and I do like a darker lip in winter, if any of you have any recommendations for a berry shade lipstick do comment down below.

My next favourite is an old birthday present that I didn't wear much when I got it purely because I didn't want to scratch it but it's my Cluse gold watch. This is such a lovely watch and I need to wear it more often which I have started doing but am very wary not to scratch it. Another non beauty favourite this month is another birthday present, it's a book which sorry to say I haven't received or bought a new book in a very long time if you don't count pretty fashion books. It's Get your sh*t together by Sarah Knight which I very much need to do. Any organisational books or "kick up the arse" books I am loving at the moment, I think it's about time I organised myself now I'm in university. Where I was working full time before but my hours weren't consistent I was all over the place and didn't have a routine but now I'm studying full time again it's about time I got a routine again. If any of you would like a post about starting uni, what to pack, how to get organised and so forth do let me know and also if you have any organising tips definitely comment down below I could use your help!

LINKS:
Benefit GALifornia pink blush
Fleur de Force by Eylure eyelashes
Tom Ford lipstick - First Time
Cluse Watch - Rose Gold
Get your sh*t together by Sarah Knight