Collective Haul - Boots, Urban Decay, Michael Kors

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past month, I've just been bogged down with work and college. I hardly have time to think nowadays at all, hopefully I get some spare time soon to get back to blogging. I thought I'd show you guys some of the bits and pieces I've bought over the past while. I'm considering just doing Collective Haul posts in the future as I think it's better than doing numerous ones throughout the month. At least this way and give you guys some feedback on how I like everything.

I spotted these candle holders in Carraig Donn and I fell in love with them straight away. I'm forever picking up bits and bobs so I thought these would look great in my room. They weren't too expensive at €4 each so I'm really happy with them, the colours are perfect for this time of year. I haven't been using these for candles though, I've been using them to store my makeup brushes, lipglosses and whatnot.

As you all know I love Urban Decay Decay palettes, I have quite a few. The Smoked and Naked 2 palette would be my favourites. To be honest when I first seen the Vice Palette online I wasn't too blown away. When I went it store to have a look though it was a totally different story. The Vice  Palette contains twenty shadows that are exclusive to this palette. The majority of shades in the palette are neutral with a pink, purple, blue and greens thrown in. I like how there is a bit of a mixture though, for this time of the year especially you don't want to be rushing out to pick up one pink shadow for a fancy dress. All the eyeshadow are extremely pigmented in this palette, I haven't been having any problems with fallout like with previously palettes. My favourite shadows so far would be Provocateur, Jagged and Muse. I've been using the latter in the crease with Provocateur as the base and it looks so pretty.

I went to Boots on two seperate occasions as they have their amazing 3 for 2 on makeup offer on. I bought quite a bit both times as you can see, there are still some bits I haven't got around to trying yet. I've tried all three foundations I bought and I can't say I think too highly of the Max Factor All Day Flawless 3 in 1 Foundation, it's so thick and doesn't sit on my skin too well. The shade I went for doesn't match my skin tone either so just a bad purchase by all accounts. I may give this to my Sister as she may like it more than me who knows, I just don't want it to go to waste as I paid like €16.99 for it which is shocking. I'm undecided on Maybelline's Superstay 24hr foundation, so I'll keep you updated on that on but my favourite foundation by far was Rimmel's Match Perfection foundation. It has such a lovely formula and blends beautifully into my skin leaving a glowy finish. If like me you have oily/combination skin just add a bit of powder I use Rimmel's Stay Matte powder which is great and affordable. I picked up an assortment of nail polishes from Barry M and Rimmel which I've been loving lately. My two favourite polishes would have to be the Barry M glitter and sparkle ones, there so pretty but a nightmare to get off.  Other purchases I made that are definitely worth the money are the Loreal Colour Riche eyeshadow palettes. I picked up three as the 3 for 2 promotion meant I'd get one for free and I'm so glad I did. I haven't seen too many reviews on these around the blogosphere but they are so pigmented and I've been using them alot so expect a review very soon.

Over the last while I've wanted to treat myself to something for doing so well with Slimming World. I didn't want to buy another makeup palette or expensive beauty products as they'd come and go like everything else. I wanted to have something that would stay with me forever so I decided to splurge on a Michael Kors Rose Gold watch. I was undecided between the diamond and plain face but I finally went with the latter as I thought it would go with way more. I was definitely right, this watch has not left my wrist since I bought it over three weeks ago, it works really well with everything and I couldn't be happier with it. I may start doing fashion posts soon as it's something I've wanted to do for a while now so I'd love to know what you guys think.

Have you treated yourself to anything nice lately?

Laura<3

Here Comes Halloween!

Don't be fooled by the title of this post, I'm sure you all already know Halloween isn't my favourite holiday. Dressing up has never really appealed to me at all. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've dressed up for Halloween, I can remember going out as a witch and a princess when I was younger, I know how original. This year some of the girls and I are going to a Haunted Farm in Meath this Sunday which doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all as I hate being scared. My sister went last week and it sounds TERRIFYING!! I'm not going to lie I'm a tad bit on the scared side about the whole experience so I'll let you how I get on. I went to a attraction like this in Florida called Skull Kingdom and let's just say I didn't last 2 mins in the place, I'm curious to see will I be the same this time.At least my sister came back alive which is the main thing as I know I'll definitely come out okay.

The two things I do like about Halloween that gets me by, is decorating the house and Lush goodies. My Mom goes all out when it's Halloween and she picks up the cutest decorations, we must have tonnes in our Sitting room. I think they just give such a warm feel to the place and my little nephew loves them too. He's dressing up as Woody from Toy Story this year and he's so excited so unlike his Auntie. My Mom always has two candles on the go at once, this time of the year is no different. I adore the two she's burning at the moment, Blissful Autumn and Candy Corn & Buttercream. My Sister picked me up the latter as I loved it so much in the store, it smells amazing and I love the illustration on the front. When my Mom seen mine she went to the store the next day and got one for herself and my Aunty. It's different to any other Yankee candle I've seen as it contains different coloured wax (orange & ivory) swirled together. If your near the Yankee store in Carrickmines I'd definitely pick one up as they are half price. At the moment I think there around the €10 mark which is really good value considering how much they usually are. My Mom bought me a little holder for mine which you can see in the picture above, I love it and I'll definitely be putting my Christmas candles in it. Candy Corn & Buttercream is always burning in my Sitting room and the smells to die for, it has such a gorgeous sweet scent.

At this time of the year Lush bring out their Halloween and Christmas collections which I always pick up a few bits from. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself talking about the festive season so I'll show you some of their Halloween bits. The Enchanter* is one of their limited edition bath ballistics for Halloween which smells amazing. I bought a few Lush Bath products when I was in Manchester during the Summer as I never get to try them at home as I don't have a bath. I remember buying a few of their bubble bars, Rose Jam and The Comforter. I was literally was on a mission to go to Lush and buy a couple of their bath products as I never get to try them not having a bath. I must of had a hundred baths in the hotel I stayed in over the five days I was there.  I bought a couple of bath products but the two I just mentioned really stood out for me and if I was going to buy any again I'd buy these. I haven't gotten around to trying The Enchanter yet so I can't wait to stay in my Aunt's house to give it a go. I haven't used Lush's Bath Ballistics before, what do you guys think of them? I really can't wait to use this as it has such a gorgeous citrusy scent and going by the website it changes colour as it fizzes which sounds pretty cool to me. On the other hand I've been using their Twilight shower gel* a hell of alot. I'm a big fan of their shower gels already, my boyfriend already bought me one of their Christmas ones (Ponche) which I love and I can't wait to pick up Snow Fairy next. When I first smelt Twilight I wasn't too keen on it, the strong lavendar scent was a bit too much. After using it in the shower a couple of time I've done a complete 360 and I really like it. It's a nice relaxing shower gel that I've been using mainly at night and the scent sticks around for ages. I love the colour purple so me and this product was a match made in heaven, it also little bits of silver glitter in it, don't worry it doesn't show up on your skin at all. The only thing that I'd say is if you don't like scented products, Twilight may not be for you.

Lastly seeing as I had Friday off work I decided to do a bit of a clean out of my room. I was surprised at the amount of clothes I had to throw out now, they are all miles to be big. This is a good thing but I have to wait til Friday to buy some more, I really want to get a new Winter coat I may have a look in Zara. I tidied up my makeup collection and made a little gift bag for my Sister with alot a products. I always buy new stuff at this time of year so there was no point in me keeping lots of makeup that I may not necessarily use if that makes sense. I'm hope she likes everything but I have a sneaky suspicion she will.

Do you like Halloween? What are you getting up to?

Laura<3

Fearne Cottons Favourites Hatbox

Last week seen the unveiling of the second Star Gift from Boots which was Fearne's Favourites Hatbox. I love seeing what gift set is on offer as the selection of Christmas goodies this year in Boots is amazing. I always pick up their Soap & Glory sets as all the products come beautifully packaged and make great Christmas presents. I wasn't planning on buying Fearne's Favourites Hat Box last week, I came home from work to find that my Mom had bought it for me. I'm glad she did, it was a wonderful surprise and I probably may not of picked it up myself otherwise as I'm so broke til payday!

Usually €47.00, last week this beautiful set was on special for €22 which is slightely over half price and such amazing value for what you get. First off if you don't know who Fearne Cotton is she's a very popular TV and Radion presenter from England. She has her own clothing line which has some beautiful pieces that I've had my eye on recently. Every year in Boots at Christmas, they bring out a Fearne Cotton Beauty Collection. I haven't tried anything of hers before as I've always been drawn in by Soap & Glory and Ted Baker so I'm glad my Mom picked this up for me.

You may be wondering what's inside this hatbox, there's quite an assortment of products to tickle your fancy.  I've start off with the two makeup products, a mascara and eyeshadow palette. You can buy the latter individually on its own in Boots for €10.50, so if you managed to get this set for €22 you've made good savings. The palette itself wouldn't be my favourite item from this set, two of the siz shades (olive green shades in particular) wouldn't be what I'd usually go for. Maybe they'll grow on me, I think for this time of the year you could incorporate them into any look. The packaging for this palette is gorgeous too so I wouldn't mind pulling this out of my makeup bag either.I was pleasantly surprised by the mascara, I wasn't expecting anything amazing from it. It doesn't clump which is rare for mascaras from gift sets, I hardly ever use them. It leaves my eyelashes seperated and natural with maybe a added bit of volume The rest of the goodies consist of  full sized body products e.g body wash, body polish, hand lotion etc. which all have a gorgeous light musky vanilla scent. As you can see all the products come in beautiful matching packaging, I absolutely love the design. I think these products would look good in any bathroom or bedside table. I can't wait to start using them all myself, I have already popped the body spritzer and hand lotion in my bag. I'm going to keep the hatbox for storage as it's just too pretty to throw away I think. The drawstring bag will also come in handy, when I travel I'll probably use it for toiletries. I really like this set and though I didn't pay the full €47 for it, thats the joys of Boots Star Gift as you may purchase something you wouldn't usually go for as the offers are just so good.

What do you think of the Boots Star Buys so far? Do you have your eye on anything?

Laura<3

A Whole Lotta Reading

When I don't have my head stuck in my college books these days, I love to spend some time reading. I recently went to Easons and picked up a few books I had my eye on. I know I have a Kindle but I seriously prefer to read real solid books. When I'm travelling I don't mind bring my Kindle along with me but when I'm at home I just grab a book off my shelve. Over the past few weeks, I've bought s few new titles so I thought I'd share them with you guys. It's quite a mixed bag, I don't tend not to be drawn to a particular author as long as the cover description is good I'm sold.

Like alot of people I was pretty excited to see that J.K. Rowling was releasing a new book. I was a huge Harry Potter fan so I'm looking forward to seeing what The Casual Vacancy is like. I've heard quite a few mixed reviews so far but they never put me off reading the book in question so I'll let you know my thoughts on it. The only book I actually finished on my Kindle so far is John Green's The Fault in our Stars which is such a great read and well written, I'd definitely recommend it. I wanted to pick up another one of his books for a while, the blurb on the back of this book looked the best out of the three in stock. I'm expecting really good things from it. You & I is written by an author that I'm not familiar with. I read about it in a magazine and decided to pick it up as it sounded like something I'd like. After researching the book I found out that Emma Gillmor Murphy is a student here in Dublin so it's nice to support an Irish author.

My Mom gave me Friends Forever by Danielle Steele to read as soon as she finished it. She absolutely loved it and thought I'd really enjoy it too. My Mom is a big Danielle Steel fan and has read pretty much all her releases so if she says something is good she means it. I can't wait to get stuck into this one. 5 Peppermint Grove is again by an author that I'm not too familiar but I've seen an interview with her recently on TV and her books sound good. One of my favourite authors is Cecelia Ahern, I loved P.S I Love You and I must admit I cried a little through the movie aswell. When I saw she was releasing a new book I had to snatch it up. I've read all her books so far and I've really liked them. I was lucky enough too meet her in Easons on Saturday and she was beyond lovely.

When I was down the country visiting family friends recently, I came back with all these. My Aunt's friend runs a Book Club in her town which is such a good idea I think. I wish we had one in my local area. When I was leaving to head home to Dublin she gave me all these books which I can't wait to read when I have time soon. I've heard such amazing reviews on A Game of Thrones so I'll probably start off with this, I can't believe I haven't read it already to be honest. I only pictured the first book in the series here but she actually gave me the whole collection, there just wasn't enough room to get them all in. I know it will take me a while to get through the whole series as each book is ginormous but if I do manage to finish them I will let you know what I think.

What books do you have your nose in at the moment?

Laura<3

Slimming World Update #6

I can't believe this is my sixth update, the time has flown by so fast. I'm glad I started these posts as I can always read back on them and see how much I've achieved so far. At the end of this month a half a year will have past since I started the Slimming World program and I seriously couldn't be happier with the results. The last month has been pretty hectic for me, I started college and that has taken up so much of my time. I already have like a million assignments to do, YES I'm being a bit over dramatic but it seems like alot. My days seem much more fuller now, I literally rush from college to work on Mondays and Wednesday, then I have my Slimming World Meeting on Tuesday.  Nearly half my week now consists of college and the rest is left to more work and assignments. I was pretty happy on my way to college last week, I got a text on my phone saying I was Slimmer of the Month for September which is a big deal I guess. When I went to the meeting last night I was given a little fridge magnet that says Slimmer of the Month, I was beyond happy about it and it's definitely going on my fridge. Since my last update I've lost four and a half pound which I'm really happy with, I'm super close to my target now, something that I thought would never happen over five months ago. My Food Optimising book is full up with award stickers now as you can see, I'll have to start using the back now too. Something I've been eating more of this month is salad, which I surprisingly I really like. I was never a vegetable person growing up, I couldn't stand the look of the stuff but now I can't get enough of it. The only thing I don't like about it is the price, it's so much more expensive to eat healthy. I paid nearly €8 for a salad that consisted of lettuce and chicken, how shocking is that. I haven't got in as much exercise as I would of liked over the last month. I did alot of walking when I went to Kilkenny over the weekend, that place is seriously beautiful. It's so relaxing compared to busy Dublin so it was nice to have a break. I did a bit of shopping down there so I may stick up a haul soon. Let me know what you think.

Again I'd like to tell you guys that I'm glad I shared my weight loss journey so far with you, reading back over your comments has actually given me so much more motivation. I seriously can't thank you enough.

Laura<3

The Body Shop Christmas Launch

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I've been unbelieveably busy. Firstly I started college which is certainly a new experience for me, I've been enjoying it so far and I can't wait to get into it now. I also went down to see some family family friends in Kilkenny this weekend, I love it down there as it's totally different to Dublin and so relaxed which is a nice change of scene. Last week my friend Sinead and I attended the Body Shop Christmas event. Even though it was September, we immediately got into the festive spirit when we seen the lovely Christmas tree as we walked through the door. All the new products were laid out across the room, our first stop was the makeup corner. The Body Shop always come out with beautiful products for the festive season, think sparkly and pretty and they always seem to go down a treat. I'm in love with the two new eyeshadow palettes coming out, they are both gorgeous and contain shades that could take you from day to night.. I can't decided which one I like more so when they get launched instore I may need to go back and treat myself. One of the lovely Body Shop staff touched  up my makeup for me and used one of the palettes too. Sinead and I were in love with the look she came up with, quite a dark smokey eye which I wouldn't really wear myself but it works. None of the lipsticks really caught my eye but after the makeup artist used one to finish the look off it looked perfect on, I'll definitely be picking one up for sure. While I was getting my makeup done, Sinead took up the duty of photographer, having not looked at some of her snaps til now, I think she did a really good job. I also got my eyebrows threaded for the first time, it was seriously not as sore as I expected to be, it's just a weird sensation like gritty sand or something. From there, Sinead and I had a look at all the gift sets, there's so many this year which is great as it keeps your options open. Two in particular caught my eye, the Scents of the World set and the body butters lollipop. The latter contains five mini butters in a lollipop shaped box, I think this would be lovely gift for someone in work or even for yourself. I love the Madagascan Vanilla Flower fragrance from the Scents of the World collection, the Christmas sets for this range are beautiful. The products come in little boxes shaped like books, for me personally presentation is key so this definitely ticked all the boxes for me. Let's not forget the limited edition festive scents, Vanilla Bliss, Cranberry Joy and Ginger Sparkle. Vanilla Bliss is my outright favourite out of the three, saying that though they all smell lovely so there'll be something for everyone. Before we left we got to fill up little gift bags for Barnados which is a children's charity over here in Ireland. It was such a nice gesture from The Body Shop and it's nice to know this Christmas some child will wake up with a lovely gift from them this year.

As always The Body Shop has done it again and pulled out all the stops for this Christmas season, I'd definitely recommend going instore and checking out some bits yourself.

Laura<3

September Favourites

I'm going to grab just about the only free time I have today and show you my favourites from the past month. Everything has been all go for me over the past week or so getting things sorted for college. The first night of my course was last night and I had such a good time, I wish I could say the same for my student card photo which looks atrocious. I can't believe were in October already, the weather change has certainly given it away. I'm not going lie Halloween isn't my favourite time of year. I used to hate dressing up when I was younger for some reason, looking back I feel sorry for my poor Mom. Nothings really changed in the past few years, I still don't like dressing up but if I'm going out on Halloween night it's a must I suppose. This year I'm going to a Haunted Farm with some of the girls, I get creeped out really quickly so I doubt I'll last two minutes in it. I know photography isn't allowed at it but I may do a sneaky post to let you know how I got on. Well back to my favourites, all the products featured are new discoveries for me so I couldn't want to share them with you all. I also have two random favourites this month which I didn't want to leave out.

I'm going to start with everyones favourite part (I know it's mine) the beauty favourites. This month I've tried a number of new products and these ones definitely ticked all the right boxes with me. I'm going to start with the two palettes I've been loving this month, the Nars All About Cheek and Urban Smoked Palette. As the title of the latter would suggest this palette contains eyeshadows to create a smokey eye. All the shadows are really pigmented and I haven't had problems with fallout at all. There's a nice mixture of shimmer and matte shadows which I know alot of people will be happy about. I've been using this alot on night outs as it has basically has all the shades you could possibly need to create a smokey eye. It also comes with a brilliant tutorial book which includes pictures and step by step guides. The only thing that annoys me about this palette is the packaging and I'll get to that when I do a review. The Nars palette I've been loving lately was kindly sent over from the States by Chie as unfortunately there not available this side of the pond. It contain 6 popular blush/bronzer shades from the brand, my favourite being Luster. When I hit pan on this shade I'll have to buy a new one, it's the perfect peachy shade that gives a gorgeous glow to the cheeks. I've been using this one the most but I really think this palette is great as it gives me so many options. After running out of my Lingering Eyebrow Pencil from MAC, I've found something else to use on my brows and it may be even better. Fashionista's Eyebrow Kit* contains everything you need to get tidy brows. I have quite dark brows but I still find myself using the light shade on the top left hand side and it's a perfect match. I find using powder as opposed to eyebrow pencils much quicker to apply and you don't have the added issue of it breaking like a pencil can. It's also a much cheaper alternative to my old favourite the MAC Brow Pencil which is why I'd go out and buy this again. I've found a new mascara love this month in Max Factor's False Lash Effect mascara. When I first saw the brush (HUGE), I wasn't too keen but after using it once I fell in love. It makes my eyelashes look much fuller, maybe even longer. This mascara definitely lives up to its name in my books, I can't believe it's taken me so long to try it. My last beauty favourite this month is Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey. This hasn't left my page since I bought it last month. It's a gorgeous wearable shade that would suit everyone, I've picked up a few shades from this range and this is definitely my favourite. I love how there so easy to apply and don't take up too much space in my makeup bag either.

Now onto my two random favourites. The weather has been so terrible lately over here, it's unreal. In Ireland we have one cold day and then it could do a complete 360 and be gorgeous the next day. For the cold days I bought these snuggly pyjamas bottoms from Penneys/Primark, they are like slippers for your legs and whenever I wear these around my house I feel instantly warm and cosy. If I do recall they weren't too expensive at all and I got them in a set with a snuggly hoody. I haven't been wearing the hoody too much as I don't think all the heart print would look too good. My other random favourite is this candle from Woodwick. The scent is Vanilla Bourbon and it smells amazing. The sweet scent stays in my room for hours after I burn, it's so nice for this time of year. The other feature of this candle I love is the sound it makes while it's burning. Woodwick used a new innovation called Plus Wick which results in the candle crackling like a fire. I find this sound so soothing and relaxing. I'm thinking about buying some of these as gifts for people this Christmas as I think they'd be perfect.

What has made it into your favourites this month? Is there any products I've mentioned above that you'd like to see a review on?

Laura<3