Sunday, 28 February 2016

THE FAUX FUR SCARF

Although it's still February and still very cold outside, the other day we had a not so cold day and it got me so excited for Spring so I decided it was about time I did another outfit post. I mainly put this outfit together to wear one item in particular because I hadn't worn it before, it's my Topshop pink faux fur scarf! I'm in love with this scarf, I've wanted a faux fur scarf like this for so long because they just look so chic, not to mention because it's soft and fluffy. I wanted to wear quite a simple outfit, well mainly an outfit consisting of black clothing because I didn't want to clash with the scarf and I wanted the scarf to be the main focus of the outfit. I think faux fur scarves like this are great for an easy and chic transition from winter to early spring, they make a simple outfit look much more stylish and less casual, I'm excited to wear this in London when I go in March and hopefully there will be some posts about what I get up to when I'm back.
I paired the scarf with my black raw edge blouse from Topshop, which brings more texture to the outfit and I picked this up in the sale for £15 which was an absolute bargain! I also wore my black oversized blazer which is my favourite jacket to wear at the moment! They're just so easy to wear and pull off, they make a casual look, look smarter and more tailored. This one is actually from a charity shop but originally from Marks & Spencer's, I'm pretty sure my mum payed about £3 for this and it's in great condition and I really like how it fits slightly bigger and longer on me. Charity shops are really great for items like this and are definitely worth a good look in every now and then, if you know what your looking for then it will be much easier to find a good item.
I recently bought the Adidas Stan Smith trainers in white and navy, purely because I already have the Adidas Gazelle trainers in black but I'm not sure if I like them anymore and thought these would be a better suit for me. I prefer the Stan Smith trainers much more because they're a slightly chunkier trainer which I rather, I haven't stopped wearing these since I bought them, and they're the only shoes I have that don't rub me and give me horrendous blisters so that's always a plus.

I hope you enjoyed this post and like the outfit, keep an eye out for more outfit posts coming soon, and if any of you have any tips on taking outfit photos and want to leave a comment down below that would be super helpful.

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Topshop Faux Fur Scarf - similar here
Adidas Stan Smith trainers - white & navy
Topshop Raw Edge blouse
Black Blazer - similar here 
Primark black jeans
Topshop black oversized bag


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Wednesday, 24 February 2016

FEBRUARY BIRCHBOX

I received my lovely February Birchbox the other day, so I thought I would make this a regular post just so you guys can see what you get in each month's box. This month's box is so pretty in all it's lovely marble glory and has some great products. The first item that caught my eye was the Spectrum Collections Tapered Powder Brush, purely because of how bright the packaging is! It's great that you get a full sized brush included, I now use this to apply my highlighter because it's a great size for this because it's really precise and such a soft brush. Another product is the Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster, I'm quite curious about this because I never use stuff like this but I'm interested to see if it would make a difference to the quality of my skin. It's meant to smooth fine lines, plump and protect your skin when you use it after cleansing so I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on.
They also included a Birchbox exclusive which is part of their first Birchbox make-up brand, it's the Loc One and Done Shadow Stick in the shade Perfect Cents which is a lovely gold, bronze colour. I love shadow sticks, they're my favourite because they're so quick and easy to use but still create such an effortless great look. This is a great product because it lasts so long and is waterproof, it's so easy to just blend with your finger and not need a huge amount of brushes to blend it in. I think these are pretty good for the price (£8) although this is a full size product and it is rather small, but it's great quality.
They also included a sample of theBalm Cosmetics Frat Boy blush, this a lovely warm pink blush to give your cheeks a rosy glow. I've been using this tiny sample pretty much every day and now there's nothing left so I might have to look into getting the full size product because it's such a lovely blush and so pigmented. They also included a sample of the Ayres Body Butter in Patagonia, this is a lovely body butter and really softens and hydrates the skin unfortunately it includes lavender and jasmine which I really hate so I'm not a fan of the smell so I have given this to my mum and she's really enjoying it. Another thing they've put in is one of the L.Erickson Grab & Go Ponytil Holder, these are quite pricey bobbles, I mean I usually just get mine from Primark so I don't think I'll be buying these at £11.50 for a set of 15, but it's nice to get to try one. 

Hope you enjoyed this quick overview of this month's Birchbox, keep an eye out for more posts coming soon!

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Spectrum Collections Tapered Powder Brush
Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster
Loc One and Done Shadow Stick - Perfect Scents
Ayres Body Butter in Patagonia
theBalm Cosmetics Frat Boy Blush
L.Erickson Grab & Go Ponytail Holder
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Thursday, 11 February 2016

SEPHORA HAUL

So I did a bad thing...I spent a stupid amount on shipping and taxes to ship a few products I have been wanting for so long and it was so worth it! It was clear I wasn't going to America anytime soon so what other way than to order from Sephora, who do ship internationally but it does cost quite a bit, it was something like £20 and that's halved between me and my friend, let's hope Sephora sort it out I mean why don't we have one in London?! So I know I may have ordered an eyeshadow palette not that long ago, but I couldn't resist buying another one, and I mean you can never have enough eyeshadow palettes! Especially when the Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay eyeshadow palette is new in, I couldn't pass the opportunity up, it's just so pretty! The packaging is beautiful not to mention how amazing the shades are, you've got a great choice of shimmers and definitely enough matte colours to choose from. I mainly ordered this because of the shimmery shades but now I've got it I mainly use the matte shades. They're just so creamy and pigmented, my favourite shades that I use non-stop are Smarty Pants, Sweetheart, Rebel and Leader. This is my favourite look to wear at the moment, pretty matte pinks over the eyelid with dark brown almost cranberry shades for the crease and outer corner. This is honestly such a nice palette and it has all the matte shades I could need, the quality of this is amazing and it wasn't too pricey (£30), I really need to try some more Tarte products as well. 
I couldn't order from Sephora and not buy any of the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks, especially after hearing from what seems like everyone how good they are! I managed to get the shade Double Dare which is the main colour I wanted, it's a lovely pink shade and quite easy to apply as long as you don't smudge them and they dry quickly into a matte texture. The only struggle with this product is that they are so popular and never have that many shades in stock! The one shade that I really wanted was Bow N Arrow but it was out of stock *tears* but I guess there's always next time. The other shade I bought was Lolita, and it was a pretty hard decision deciding between Lolita and Lolita II. They're not completely different and are quite similar but that tiny bit of difference makes it so much harder to choose, I ended up going with Lolita because it was less of a brick red/orange colour and more of a chestnut rose. These are really great quality and I definitely recommend having a look at them if your near a Sephora or ordering from Sephora anytime soon.
Obviously ordering two liquid lipsticks wasn't enough, I had to order 3 of the Sephora Cream Lip Stains! I picked one up in Paris last year in the shade Always Red and this is the perfect red lip shade for my skin tone, it's such a great product so I had to pick up more shades. I really wanted a dark berry colour but didn't want to invest in a high end one because I'm not used to wearing dark lip shades so I wanted something cheap and cheerful but still a great quality product. After loving Always Red, I picked up the shade Blackberry Sorbet to ease myself into darker lip colours, I'm so glad I did, it applies so easily and it's a beautiful berry shade and I absolutely love wearing this especially around this time of year. A slightly more spring/summery shade now, I mainly got the shade Strawberry Kissed after seeing it on the lovely Estee Lalonde, it's such a lovely bright, pink shade and it looked so lovely on her. I don't usually like colours like this but I just got excited about wearing this in spring and on hot summer days, so there's no way I wasn't ordering this! The last thing and shade I ordered is Marvellous Mauve, which is the usual shades I go for, it's a lovely light pink, nude shade. These Sephora Cream Lip Stains are great quality and for this price (£9.60) why wouldn't you buy all of them. The only thing is that they can rub off a bit when you touch your lips, but I find this with pretty much every lip stain.  
I hope you liked this haul and that it was helpful if any of you are heading to a Sephora or ordering from there anytime soon!

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Tarte Tartelette In Bloom Clay Eyeshadow Palette
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick - Lolita
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick - Double Dare
Sephora Cream Lip Stain - Always Red, Blackberry Sorbet, Marvellous Mauve, Strawberry Kissed
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Sunday, 7 February 2016

JANUARY FAVOURITES

There aren't that many new favourites this month, but one I have to start with because it has to be my new favourite palette, is the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette! I didn't think I would like this palette but after keep seeing it everywhere I had to get it, and I'm so glad I did! Although I have quite a few eyeshadow palettes this one is completely different and that's how I justified buying this as well as it being a treat for how much I worked over Christmas, well more of an excuse. I love how different all the shades are, you've got so many different shades to work with and this is the only palette I could justify buying because I have nothing like this not to mention how nice the packaging is. A few favourite shades include Harajuku for a crease colour as well as Serious for the outer corners and then my other favourite shades are Zone and Pop which are lovely peachy toned shimmer colours which look lovely all over the eyelid.
A lip favourite this month has to be the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade London, I have been obsessed with lip stains this month, they have been my go to lip product all month! They're so much easier to wear, they last longer even when I'm eating I rarely have to re-apply but they are slightly harder to apply than lipstick as it's so easy to smudge the product. These NYX lip creams are a great first lip stain to try out because they're so easy to use not to mention cheap and cheerful. I love the shade London and did originally think it would be too light but it's my perfect nude shade and I have now gone and ordered the shade Cannes which is a slightly darker brown nude, but I need so many more! I prefer using lip liner when using lip stains because they're easier to apply and smudge less throughout the day because of the lip liner, a lip liner that matches this shade perfectly is the New Look Pure Colour Lip Pencil in the shade Mink.
A product that I don't quite understand why it wasn't mentioned in my 2015 Favourites is the Nars Bronzing Powder in the shade Laguna, I really can't believe I didn't include this! This has to be my all time favourite and go to bronzing powder, this is the perfect shade for me and great for contouring to make it seem like I actually have cheekbones. You can't go wrong with this, when you apply it, it doesn't come out too dark and patchy so you can either go for a natural look or really build it up to contour, I don't actually know what I would do without this and it's starting to hit the pan so I may need to stock up pretty soon! An old perfume favourite that I've started wearing again and been wearing non-stop this month is Chanel Chance Eau Tendre Eau de Toilette, this is such a lovely fragrance and I love re-discovering old favourites and getting obsessed with them all over again. I bought this a few yeas ago on my 'girls holiday' in Spain so every time I use this that's all it reminds me of, its such a lovely subtle, fresh scent and perfect for going into Spring, which I know we're not quite there yet but here's hoping it comes around early this year!
Now into the non-beauty favourites, I have a favourite person this month, as odd as it seems...this month I have been loving Alexa Chung! I am officially obsessed with her, I have been watching her Youtube series on the 'Future of Fashion' on British's Vogue's channel non-stop. I think it's really interesting to get an insight into the fashion industry from so many different people with different roles in the industry, it's really good and I recommend you give these a watch if you're interested in fashion and you want to pursue it as a career. They're also great just to see a little behind the scenes for all things fashion, and they also feature sneak peaks into celebrities closets like Suki Waterhouse and Olivia Palermo which are great to get style inspiration for outfits. My other Alexa Chung favourite is her book IT which I have now had to order a second copy because I need prints of her lovely illustrations to go on my wall! This is such a great, easy read and such a lovely book filled with lovely illustrations and photo's, so if you don't already have it you need to order it now!
A social media favourite this month has been Pinterest, I find myself constantly on the app whenever I'm bored. I think it's such a relaxing thing for me to do, to just sit there and pin beautiful images of Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid in amazing outfits and lovely photos of great interior and bedroom inspiration. If you've already got Pinterest leave your names down in the comments and the same if you know of any lovely Pinterest boards/profiles I can check out.
My last favourite is something I always buy each month but never really mention, it's Elle magazine but the February issue I got this month is so good not to mention the cover includes the beautiful Kylie Jenner so I had to pick it up. I love the cover of this months issue, I think they've also re-edited the layout of the magazine and some of their usual pages and it's so much better and I've just really enjoyed reading the February issue this month so I had to mention it. I hope you liked this late January Favourites, let me know what you've been loving this month and keep an eye out for a very special haul coming soon!

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani eyeshadow palette
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - London
New Look Pure Colour Lip Liner Pencil - Mink
Nars Bronzing Powder - Laguna
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre Eau de Toilette

NON-BEAUTY:
Alexa Chung - It by Alexa Chung
British Vogue's YouTube Channel
Alexa's Series 'Future of Fashion'
Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/caitlin3831 
Elle Magazine
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Tuesday, 26 January 2016

BIRCHBOX JANUARY 2016

Ok so I know I may have made a post about how I subscribed to Glossybox last month but I might of unsubscribed and subscribed to Birchbox instead, so I mean I did...it just seemed like a lot more people were subscribed to Birchbox and that it included brands that were more popular and well known. They do not disappointment I'm so happy I subscribed, they're January box is so nice with much better products and if you are subscribed to Glossybox I would definitely recommend having a little look at the Birchbox subscription!
I was so glad when I saw that Benefit's They're Real Tinted Primer was included in this month's box, it was the first thing that jumped out at me because I've been wanting to try this for a while after hearing good things about it but I didn't want to dive into the deep end and buy it full size before trying it. I've only used it a couple of times and I have noticed my lashes looking much longer and thicker, you just apply one coat on your lashes from root to tip before applying your mascara. I do think this is a great product, however there is a but...I'm not sure whether I would fully commit to a full size product because the one thing I hate about spending money on mascara is that they just dry up in the end. I think with a lot of them you see a great difference when you start using them and your lashes look so much thicker and longer but then this first effect sort of wears off and then your back looking for the next great mascara and I think this could be the case with this one. Although I will still continue to use it to see whether the long and thicker looking lashes last, if any of you have tried this please let me know what you thought.

The next product I have tried is the Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle which is a spray that helps condition and detangle your hair as well as minimise frizz. This product does do all three as well as protect against UV and heat styling which is such a good thing for my hair as I frequently straighten my hair which is a habit I really need to get out of. The reason I was most looking forward to using this was to see if it made a difference in how static my hair is, and I'm so glad to say it does because I was about to shave my hair off because of how irritating it was, as soon as I had dried or straightened my hair it immediately went static but after using this on my hair after washing it when its damp it's much less fine and static. I may need to buy the full size of this once I've used this all up!
Another product I have never tried or heard of is the Rituals T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel, I haven't tried any of their products before but a lot of their products are about taking the everyday products we use in our daily routine and turning them into more meaningful, indulgent moments. The majority of their products contain a lot of natural ingredients like white lotis and yi yi ren which are two ingredients of the T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel, so I am looking forward to giving this a go and seeing if it relaxes me ever so slightly so that I'm in a better mood going to work. The other product I was unsure about was the Absolution L'Eau Soir et Matin, this is a purifying cleansing water to remove your makeup and the dirt in your skin and uses ingredients such as hazelnut oil and aloe vera to leave your skin looking and feeling refreshed and soft. I haven't given this a go yet because I'm slightly weary before trying new skincare products on my skin because of how sensitive it is but maybe I'll give it a go and you might see this in a monthly favourites, I will let you know how I get on.
My favourite thing from this month's box is the Eyeko London Fat Liquid Eyeliner, this may have actually saved me because I hadn't realised I had ran out of my eyeliner so it's a good thing this was included! This has to be my favourite purely because you can never have enough eyeliners, plus I haven't used a nib this big before so it was interesting to see if it would create a different look, and it's great at creating a thicker bold cat eye. This is a great eyeliner and I love using this when I want a bolder eyeliner look because its so easy to use the thicker nib with just one sweep of it across your eyelid, I definitely need to have a little look at their other eyeliner products possibly their Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner which is much thiner nib compared to this one. 

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Birchbox
#No filter Birchbox compact mirror
Rituals T'ai Chi Foaming Shower Gel
Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle
Absolution L'Eau Soir et Matin
Eyeko Fat Liquid Eyeliner in Black
Benefit They're Real Tinted Primer
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Sunday, 17 January 2016

THE CAMEL, TAILORED COAT

I love cold weather and this time of year is my favourite, even though Christmas is over, I love January because usually it's the start of cold, dry days where you can just wrap up in the biggest and cosiest coat and scarf. This tailored, camel coat is my new favourite and I love the length on it because although I have a similar coat it's also completely different in a few ways because of the length. This camel coat came from the wonderful cheap and cheerful Primark and for only £25, Primark have some great coats in at the moment and I may have picked up about 10 different coats when I was in store but limited it down to this one and a lovely grey coat that fingers crossed you'll see in another look. But honestly you should really consider buying a camel coat, they are everywhere at the moment and I mean why wouldn't they be, they make every outfit ten times 'chicer' and will no doubt be back in next year so they're a great investment!
I'm also loving scarfs at the moment especially this grey Topshop one, I honestly haven't taken this off since I bought it and for good reasons. It's such a lovely soft cotton scarf and great quality, but I may also have to purchase it in camel as well, not to mention it's great at hiding a bad hair day by easily just tucking your hair under the scarf. I love layering clothes in winter, cosy sweaters, oversized coats and scarfs, with a pair of chunky boots like these River Island oxblood chelsea boots. I love the heel on these, it's not too high but high enough to make me look like an average sized person but still easy to walk in, it's quite a chunky, square heel as well, these are my favourite because they suit my figure better and give the illusion that my legs are longer. I love the colour on these as well, I don't have anything like them and I wear them everywhere! Keep an eye out for another 'Tailored Coat' post coming soon!

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Primark camel coat
Primark black jeans
River Island chelsea boots
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Saturday, 9 January 2016

2015 FAVOURITES

It's about time I did my 2015 Favourites, and this is most likely going to be the longest post and the most rambling post I've done so I've limited myself down to 10 make-up products and 5 skin care products! But let's start by saying Happy New Year to everyone and thank god 2015 is over and let's pray this year is much better! I'm going to jump straight in with my first favourite, it's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette which is probably the prettiest palette I have and I'm obsessed with it and now need some more Hourglass products in my life because they're such great products not to mention how pretty they look. This is a great product purely on the basis that you get to try quite a few of their powders out, if you aren't sure where to begin or don't want to commit to a full sized product, here you get to try a bit of everything. Another quite pricey product that is so worth the price tag, is basically anything by Charlotte Tilbury! My two favourites are her Matte Revolution Lipstick in the shade Sexy Sienna and the Filmstar Bronze & Glow, not only is the packaging beautiful in it's rose gold glory but the products are amazing and 100% worth the price! If I had to recommend one high end brand to splurge on it would be Charlotte Tilbury, every one of her products are great and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about her products, she know's what she's talking about when it comes to make-up and has created such amazing products!
My next favourite is something I have no idea why I didn't buy it sooner, it's the Urban Decay Naked palette and I seriously cannot live without this! I'm so glad I went with the first Naked palette, there's so many looks you can create with this, everyday more natural looks and then the full smokey eye look which is probably my favourite. My favourite shades have to be Smog, Darkhorse and Hustle, I also love using the shade Half Baked as a highlighter because all the shades are so pigmented and just apply so well and I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on the Urban Decay Smoky palette! Another favourite look is eyeliner for me, I never not have eyeliner on and hate not wearing it, I think everyone has that one thing that they can't not wear and that's definitely eyeliner for me! I don't really invest in high end eyeliner's because it's something I use all the time so I constantly run out of it so it's not something I want to spend huge amounts on. My favourite eyeliner and the only eyeliner pen I use is the Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner, this is a really boring favourite for me because I use it all the time but it is a great product, affordable and I continuously buy this but if you guys have any other eyeliner recommendations that are worth mentioning let me know. Another everyday favourite that I have to mention is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation because this is the only foundation I ever really use, it has great coverage and it doesn't dry my skin out or go patchy so this has to be my favourite foundation of 2015! A high end foundation is definitely on my makeup list for 2016 so if anyone again has any recommendations please comment down below, so far I have the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation and the Nars Sheer Glow foundation on my list. I can't not mention a MAC lipstick in my 2015 favourites and this one is quite a new purchase but I have fallen in love with the colour, it's a matte lipstick in the shade Honey Love. This is such a lovely nude, brown shade and there was no doubt I was going to love it because MAC matte lipsticks are my favourite, they apply so well so I had to include one!
I couldn't do a 2015 beauty favourites without mentioning the Zoeva brushes! I think Zoeva as a brand is so great and so underrated, their eyeshadow palettes are amazing and such great quality especially for the affordable price tag. But the reason Zoeva has to have a mention here is because of their amazing beautiful brushes, I love their brushes, they're honestly the best brushes and when you think about how much they are, how could you not want to buy them all! I seriously need to buy more of them and have my eyes set on the Rose Golden complete eye set not only because of how amazing they are but also because of how pretty they are and you all need to try them! Another favourite I need to quickly mention and could not live without is the Soap and Glory Brow Archery pencil, my eyebrows would not be the same without it and I absolutely love it! My last favourite has to be a favourite fragrance and it's the Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir cologne, I picked this up in Paris on a whim and it's not something I might have picked up back home so it's a good thing I did! This is such a lovely fresh, fruity scent, I always get compliments when I wear this and it's so long lasting so this obviously had to be mentioned!
2015 has been a bit of a skincare struggle for me, my skin will be dry one minute and oily the next so there aren't that many skincare favourites for this year but I think a New Year's resolution will be to definitely sort out my skincare routine and if any of you have any skincare products that you love let me know and please comment down below! My skin is so tricky because I have eczema but also get allergic reactions to some skincare products so finding a really good skincare product is really difficult for me. But something I have loved using to take my makeup off is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, I was more of a Bioderma person before but the Garnier micellar water isn't as harsh on my skin and doesn't blind me if I get it in my eyes, not to mention it's much more affordable than Bioderma. This can sometimes dry my skin out because of my eczema but one thing I love to use when it does is the Body Shop Vitamin E sink in moisture mask, this is such a lovely moisturiser and so nice to use when your having a bad skin day, and just want to sit there letting it sink in while you watch a movie.

Another skincare favourite that has saved my poor chapped lips on numerous occasions is the Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra Nourishing lip balm, this is the best lip balm I have and is great for using under lipsticks because it's not greasy and more of a matte lip balm so it helps the lipstick not to dry my lips out and can make my lipstick last longer. Although I do love this I'm still not happy with how dry my lips are and it doesn't work all the time, so if any of you have any lip balms that you love please comment down below! My last skincare favourite is the Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque, this is another lovely high end product that I picked up in Paris not only because I loved the packaging but I had heard great things about it. This is such a great quality product and I love using this when I want a full kind of pampering day, I don't use this all over my face but instead use it in the main areas I get blemishes and redness, and it's great at calming my skin and helps to reduce my blemishes. This is definitely my favourite skincare product and although Aesop is slightly pricier they're such lovely products to treat yourself to especially if you're looking to better your skin because it's being slightly crappy! There are a few products I have on my list to have a little look at, especially the Aesop Fabulous Face Oil!

I hope you enjoyed this slightly long post and hopefully now it's 2016 I'll start to get organised with regular posts being put up, let me know what you would like to see next and if anyone has any tips I'm definitely open to some advice on the whole blog front!

2015 BEAUTY RESOLUTIONS:
- For my makeup collection to grow immensely
- Invest in a high end foundation
- Sort out a permanent skin care routine
- Organise my makeup storage
- If anyone has any recommendations to any products please comment down below...

THINGS I MENTIONED:
Beauty:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette
A few non-beauty favourites:
Zara bag
Topshop grey scarf
Primark camel tailor coat
River Island red oxblood boots
TV Shows: Made in Chelsea, Pretty Little Liars & The 100
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