It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Tuesday 23 December 2014

It's me and Leon's first Christmas together in our flat, and in Edinburgh! I am so excited to wake up on Christmas morning here with my favourite person *cheese. We haven't had much time together recently because of my exams and with both of us working so I cannot wait to have Christmas Day together. Following are some pictures of our decorations in the flat as well as some snaps from when we visited Winter Wonderland when I broke up from University :) We decided to go with a gold and white theme to keep things quite neutral to match with our living room colour scheme!









Hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!

Indie
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tip Tuesday: Winged Eyeliner


Back with a quick Tip Tuesday and this one is for the girls! 

Ever have that struggle with winged eyeliner? Of course you do, all of us girlies do unless we have totally perfected it! If you are like me and still struggle to get both eyes matching then here are some of my tips!

1. Firstly find the liner that works for you. Whether it is pencil, gel or a liquid liner.. Find what is easiest for you to work with and stick with it.

2. Use tape at the corner of your eye, just like you would use for creating a perfect eye shadow look in order to get that perfect flick.

3. If you have problems with trying to get the liner as close to your lid as possible then DO THE MASCARA FIRST! Trust me on this. Applying mascara to your lashes causes them to become thicker and harder meaning that you can get right down the bottom of your eyelid along the lash line so there are no gaps in the liner!

4. If you make a mistake do not use anything wet to remove the liner. This always just makes the liner run and makes a great black mess. Be sure to use a dry piece of tissue or a dried cotton bud as they work wonders.

5. Always apply the liner with your head pointing downwards but so you can still see in a mirror. This prevents a build up of liner (especially liquid) from building up on your eyelashes and causing them to clump together... Yuck!

Hope this help girls!!

x


Tip Tuesday: Skinny Jeans

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Do you ever get stuck into that skinny pair of jeans that you absolutley love? 

After spending ages wriggling, yanking and pulling to get them on for a long day and when you try to get out of the them when you're home you find that you just can't budge them?

Have you been 'in the moment' and have to get them off but you just can't and end up doing crazy yoga positions in order to try get the jeans off in the least sexy way possible?

Well beautys for this Tip Tuesday I am going to tell you one of the little tips that I have came across that will help you get your favourite skinny jeans off, no bother at all!

The easiest way to take your skinnies off is to simply take them off inside out.

Yes people, that is it - as simple as that! Simply roll them down from your waist and they will come off so much easier than trying to take them off normally. 

Hope this tip saves some girlies some time and agony as it has done for me! Comment below to let me know if this helps you or if you have any other tips for getting off difficult skinny jeans.


x

My Liebster Award Nomination

Monday 15 September 2014

Happy Monday people! My Monday has not been great today but I am turning that round now as I have been nominated for the Liebster Award! It's always fun to be nominated for an award that helps connect us blog lovers and it came as a great surprise to me :) For those of you that don't know, the Liebster Award is used to recognise new and upcoming blogs in order to welcome them to the blogosphere.
 


 So without further ado I would like to thank My Spoonfull of Sugar and get on with my nomination...

1. What got you blogging in the first place and what's your blog content all about?
I have been an avid user for years now and after following the likes of Zoella, SacconeJolys and PointlessBlog so I decided I would make my own blog to give me a hobby to take up in my spare time. I also love the idea of having an online 'diary' almost, of what I have been upto and what I was feeling at a point in time. So I created this blog in order to store my memories and give me something to look back on.

2. Describe yourself in three words
This is a hard one, three words to describe me would be...
Organised
Focused
Vulnerable

3. Favourite Word
Serendipity - The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

4. Favourite TV Series
There are so many TV Serires that I LOVE! But to name a few.. Friends, Breaking Bad, Prison Break and Gossip Girl! Doesn't everyone long for a relationship like Blair and Chucks <3


5. What's your all time fear? 
My all time fear is failing in what I want to do. After working so hard to achieve my degree and now going on to complete my MSc, I hope that all of the hardwork pays off and I manage to get myself the job of my dreams. Yet if worst came to worst and I didn't, as long as I have my boyfriend and family by my side then I will be okay. Another fear of mine is to feel lonely in life. No one should feel alone as somewhere out there in this world there IS someone that cares about YOU.

6. Biggest regret this year?
 One of my biggest regrets this year is being vulnerable. I often wear my feelings on my sleeve and let small things get inside my head that makes me feel extremely self conscious, stressed and anxious. This means that I have a very hard time letting things go. This affected me both physically and mentally, which made me extremely tired, rundown and highly emotional. Next year I want to become a stronger individual and when life throws those lemons at me,  I will make lemonade! Aint nobody got time to dwell on the past as it can no longer be changed, so heres to the future bitches!

7. If there was one thing you had to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Curry. Easy as that. I love spicey foor and could not live without a hot curry. Could literally eat it all day err' day.

8. Are you more inspired through Beauty or Fashion?
I like both but I'd have to say I am more inspired by Fashion as you can immediatley tell a lot more about a person through what they wear on their body rather than on their face.

9. One thing you'd like to tick off your Bucket List before 2015?
Before 2015 I would like to go to Paris and add a lock to the love lock bridge


10. One country you've always wanted to visit?
America! Due to my studies I have not had the time to get myself over the pond yet but I am due to go to Florida for three weeks with my boyrfriends family in 2016  

11. If you had once chance to change the world, what would you do?
I would discover the cure for cancer.

 x

Well I have officially finished my first Liebster Award nomination and would now like to nominate...


My Questions
 1. What inspired you to start your blog?
2. Name three of your favourite blogs?
3. What is your favourite highstreet and highend brand?
4. What is one random fact about yourself?
 5. Who is your idol?
6. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
7. What is your biggest fear?
8. What is your favourite quote?
9. Where is one place you would like to travel to?
10. Where in the world are you right now?
11. Name three items on your bucket list?

 Hope you enjoy as much as I do. I cannot wait to hear your answers!

Indie x

Ance Face Mapping: Understanding Your Spots!

Wednesday 10 September 2014

The most important way of dealing with any breakouts is by first understanding what is causing them. One of the best ways to do this is by identifying where your breakouts are happening on your face and using this in order to determine the primary source of the spot.

Here are a few different problem areas of the face, and why you may be getting breakouts at theses places:




Upper Forehead
The upper forehead is directly linked with your digestive system, the large intestines and the bladder.  A poor digestive system will begin to struggle breaking down food resulting in a large build up of toxins. In this case it is important to eat more antioxidant rich foods such as green teas, lemon water and berries. 

Lower Forehead
This area is associated with your mind and spirit. Breakouts in this area are often a result of lack of sleep, stress, depression or even bad blood circulation.  In order to prevent spots in this area, it important that you maintain a good sleep pattern (approx 8 hours a night) and you make time for yourself in order to relax. Whether you are busy at work, school, college or university, or even have personal issues that are causing you stress, take time to relax and clear your mind before solving the problem. Stressing over something does not change the outcome, e.g. if you are stressing over an exam, you know that you are still going to have to do it so just take a breather and get your mind set on the problem you are facing, and find away to solve it. 

Nose
Again, the nose is a problem area affected by blood pressure and stress. Make sure you make time for yourself to relax, even by putting on your favourite film, having a long bubble bath with candles or even taking some time for retail therapy (a personal fave of mine!).

Eyebrows
Spots in the eyebrows, yuk! Who wants spots in their eyebrows right? But it does happen guys! Spots in the eyebrows can be an indication of a poor diet or the consumption of too much alcohol. In this case, detox and clear your body of all the bad stuff that you have been consuming. I am not saying completely change your diet and cut out the food you love, I am just saying do this in moderation. It is important to balance the bad with the good.

Ears
Breakouts in your ears may be a cause of liver problems. This may be due to not drinking enough water, or consuming too much salt or caffine. Make sure you drink your 8 glasses of water a day and cut down on caffine and salts.

Cheeks
Spots on the cheek are caused by lung problems. These lung problems may occur from smoking, respiratory stress and allergies. In order to tackle this area, try to avoid smoking or smoking areas and get plenty of fresh air in order to relieve any respiratory stress. If you have allergies ensure that you are aware of what is causing the allergy (do this by making an appointment with your GP) and taking a regular antihistamine. 

Mouth and Centre of the Chin
The mouth and the chin are related to the stomach and the small intestine. Again spots that are appearing in these areas may be a result of a poor diet such as eating too much fast food or consipation. Try to introduce fresh food with higher fibre into your diet such as, vergetables, fruits and whole grain food. 

Sides of the Chin
The sides of your chin is linked to the reproductive organs and the kidney. This means that breakouts may flare up here during the womans menstrual cycle or even due to the kidneys working overtime due to stress. Ensure that you give yourself plenty time to relax and during that one week a month girls be prepared with sudocream and your favourite spot fighting products to deal with any unwanted spots!

Something a bit different today but I hope you all liked it!
 

Couples First Home

Sunday 31 August 2014

If you read my blog you will know that I recently moved through to Edinburgh with my boyfriend. It has taken a while to get fully settled and to finish all the last bits and bobs that we needed to. After three weeks of not working and spending all of our time in the flat getting it how we want to, I can finally call it home. 

As we are only renting we never decorated ourselves, but we were happy enough when the flat came with all laminate flooring and cream neutral walls throughout. The flat also came unfurnished so everything in the following photos is our own :)



 


     
 

Its quite simple but its everything we could hope for and more for our first little rented flat so we see how we get on living together!

Thanks for reading x 

My First Haul: What I've Been Buying This Week

Friday 29 August 2014

 First haul post


So me and my boyfriend decided to go into Edinburgh town this week for the first time since we have moved through to the city in order to do a spot of shopping! Originally I only wanted to go in for the boots but came home with just a bit more... Woops! Keep reading to find details of what I got :) 

Firstly we went into the Princes Street Primark which is five floors of amazingness! So many bargins to be had here so I just couldn't help myself:

I picked up a pair of cute gold and cream shoes for £10 that would be perfect for wearing casual or dressed up! I am usually a size 5 in shoes but seem to be a size 4 in primark shoes. They are kind of grecian style with gold detailing and a zip up the back.  




Next I picked up another similar pair of shoes this time in black. Again I got these in a size 4 and they are a classy style - black with silver detailing. Can never go wrong with a pair of flats girls ae? These are perfect again for dressing up or down and were a bargain at £8. 


 

 I then picked up a few essentials whilst still in primark such as some white underwear, a basic maroon coloured t-shirt and primarks eyelashes which I have been dying to try after hearing great reviews! The lashes were only £1, the maroon t £3 and the two bras and pants cost £10 for the 4 pieces :) what a steal!


 

Next we moved on to H&M where I picked up another few items...

Firstly I got the boots I had originally wanted. I've been looking for a nice pair of black inexpensive boots for winter and these ones are perfect. They have an awesome chunky heel which makes them stylish and comfortable to walk in, and also have a suede animal print detail at the back of the boot. I am totally in love with these and think that they will add that extra bit of style to any outfit. At £24.99 I just could not say no.



Then I came across the following little beauty. A grey sleeveless cardigan. This was only £12.99 and is totally my style. Looking forward to pairing this up with my new black boots for my winter wardrobe!



Lastly at H&M I flung in a pair of gold midi rings that were only £2.99...



To finish off my shopping trip I nipped into Superdrug to pick up some necessities such as my favourite simple makeup wipes, and bourjois healthy mix foundation as I was running out.




 The last thing that I am including in this haul is a simple tattoo style choker necklace that I picked up from ebay for around £1.50. I love the fact that these are coming back into style and can add a sense of rock to even the simplest of outfits!


Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about any of the products I have mentioned in this post please leave a comment below and I will try to answer your queries as best as I can.

x

Tip Tuesday: Dry Shampoo

Tuesday 26 August 2014

For my first  Tip Tuesday I am going to talk about something that is almost a 'go-to' item for most girls and maybe even guys too - dry shampoo! I am not going to go into details about one particular dry shampoo as I am pretty sure this is the case for all dry shampoo spray products out there!

Has your dry shampoo ever just stopped working for no reason? There has been a few times when I have been in need that I have grabbed my dry shampoo and sprayed it to see that it makes no difference to my hair what so ever. Why? As I have been using dry shampoo for sometime I have noticed that if you leave the lid off of the spray can for a lengthy time and then try to use it, it simply will not work. As it is a pressurised container by leaving the lid off of you will cause the product to evaporate which means when you spray the product it will literally just spray air onto you hair. 


There have been a few times I have left a lid off of a bottle by accident after recently buying the can which means it is utterly useless and a waste of money. So if you have ever had this problem make sure you pop that lid back on so you can have your daily burst of freshness for your hair that you need!

Thanks for reading xo

How I Whiten My Teeth

Monday 25 August 2014

Recently I have been asked the question 'how do you whiten your teeth?' .. So I thought I'd share my tips for keeping teeth white in the comfort of your own home without having to spend lots of money!

So first of all, I hate my smile. I have always hated my smile and used to always smile with lips closed and no teeth showing. There is no better way to combat this lack of confidence than by having nice glowing white teeth. Straight away this will brighten your smile, give you confidence, make you look healthy and let people know that you take good care of yourself. Nothing worse than horrid teeth right?

There are two main methods that I use to whiten my teeth. 

Method 1: Dial-a-Smile Professional Home Teeth Whitening Kit
This first method is more expensive than the next one that I will get round to. The kit costs around £50 on the web but I was lucky to recieve a package including the full kit, two Whitening Lightning lipglosses and two Whitening Lighting touch up whitening pens for $50 (£30 approx) with a discount code I came across on youtube - so definatley do your research before spending money on the package alone.
The kit comes with three treatments in where you have to swab your teeth first then apply the whitening gel with a brush. After doing so you then have to hold the small handheld UV light in your mouth for half an hour in order to complete the process. After half an hour you then brush your teeth and that is you done! The process does work BUT it is quite a lengthy process including what you have to do prior to applying the gel to your teeth.

Method 2: Crest Professional Whitening Strips
Crest Whitening Strips are a much simpler and more inexpensive way of whitening your teeth which has now became my go to routine. I buy the strips from ebay - 10 packets for approx £16 (within each packet is an upper and lower whitening strip). 

For this method all you do is open the packet and stick the top and lower strips to your teeth (they stick straight away) and fold them over your row of teeth in order to keep them in place. They are then left on for approx. 20 minutes before they are removed and you have to brush your teeth. I can't explain how easy this is, they cause no hinderance whilst in place as you hardly notice that they are there which is why the strips have become my preffered method of whitening. I mean pop them on before you jump in the shower or do your make-up and by the time you have finished you just take them off and brush your teeth then you are good to go! :)

*Note - Neither of these methods have cause me any sensitivity during the whitening process but that does not mean that it will be the same for each user so do your homework before using.

A few more tips:

It is important to have a good whitening toothpaste that will help maintain the pearly whites that you have, I use Blanx although it is a tad expensive for a toothpase. 

Try avoid any foods or drinks that may cause discolouration to your teeth such as fizzy drinks, coffees, harsh coloured foods (eg. curry) or if you do eat or drink any of the above make sure that you brush your teeth as soon after as you can in order to prevent your teeth from becoming stained.

That is all the tips that I have for keeping your teeth white. Disclaimer, I am by no means an expert on teeth whitening but this blog post is to share products and tips that have worked for me although this may not work for everyone. Teeth whitening can however, damage the tooth enamel so it is important to whiten your teeth safely and in moderation.

Make sure to comment below with any tips you have for teeth whitening!

'A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear...'

xo

Birthday Wishlist

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Something a little bit different this post round people! It's one month today until I am 22, so I thought I would start a little collection here of things I'd like for my birthday or may spend my birthday money on :) 


Links -

xo

Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Instant Tan Review

Whether it is for a night out on the town, a bronzed summer glow or to keep that skin golden brown through the cold winter months, every girl need a good 'go-to' fake tan that they can rely on.

I have always been a dedicated of St. Moriz as it is so cheap (£2.99), easy to apply and has a great colour yet I decided to try the Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Instant Tan by Marissa Carter in order to see what the fuss is about.

Firstly there are a few reasons I would like to point out that made me so hesitant to try this product. Not only is it a little pricey at £7.99 at Superdrug (currently on sale for £5.32 - here), a 1 hour tan is not something that I have ever thought of trying. The thought of applying a product to have to sit around and wait for it to dry for an hour to then jump in a shower to wash it off is only good if you have the time to do so. BUT in saying that, after its application the product did dry quite quickly which meant I could shove on some pjs and twat around for a while, keeping busy whilst I waited on it drying.


The tan claims to:
- Give beautifully bronzed, radiant skin in just 1 hour
- Provide a tan that will last for 5-7 days
- Have NO fake tan smell

I tried the tan out for the first time last Friday and it is now Tuesday and the tan is going strong although I do feel the urge to top it up with another coat. It does contain NO fake tan smell much to my and my boyfriends surprise, which meant he was happy to help out on my back with those areas that we just cannot reach - even after trying in every yoga position possible! The colour does turn out really nice which I did not expect when the product came out onto my fake tan mitt; WARNING the product does come out quite quickly so make sure that you take note of this depending what area of your body you are applying it too so that none goes to waste! :)


As you can see the product comes out quite light looking (excuse the state of my mitt! A new one is defo on my shopping list!). But don't be fulled as it does give a nice bronzed glow to even the palest of skin, and it is super easy to apply. It seems as though it dries super quick on your body but is still easy to blend leaving no harsh lines on areas that you have to go back to. 

Overall I am quite happy with this product but I don't know if it worth paying the extra few pounds when the trustly old St. Moriz achives the same finish.. Yet I will more than likely nip out and grab a few now that they are on offer. One thing that I was disappointed with was the security label. Just look at this...


Not only is it plastered over the information I like to have a good read of before using any product, it is also impossible to remove as you can see from my attempt :( Get it sorted Superdrug!! 

If any of you have any favourite cheap go-to faketans please comment below and let me know as I am always on the lookout for new products to try. Any excuse for a splurge ae girlies??! Can't have too many faketans! ;)

x


Back To Top