The Last Days of Summer!

With September just around the corner, I've been trying to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible. Here in Ireland, people tend to give out about the weather regardless of what it is. When it's a heatwave you'll hear people saying it's too hot but on the flipside of the coin when it's miserable you hear people complaining that it's way too cold. What I've learned from this is that you can never please everyone. All that out of the way I have to say I love the Sun. I seriously don't think we get it enough so when we do finally get the odd ray of sunshine I never take it for granted. Both Paddy and I have been extremely busy with work lately so any spare minute we get we've been spending outside. Over the past few weeks the weather has been extremely changeable so it's hard to know what to wear at times. When we recently headed to Trinity College for a walk this is the simple casual outfit I put together which I think is perfect for the weather we're currently having.

Hoodie - New Look

Vest - Yoursclothing.ie

Shorts - Penneys

Aviators - H&M

Flower - Accessorize

Sneakers - Penneys

When I finish work I like nothing more than to wear clothes that are comfy and this ticks all the boxes for me. I picked up these shorts in Penneys at the start of the Summer and even though they are miles too big I solved the problem with a belt from Dorothy Perkins. My favourite item of clothing from this picture is my hoodie from New Look. I have it in Navy, Burgundy and Grey, I just think these are handy to have as they do tend to work well with any casual outfit. New Look is my favourite store, they have such a good range of clothes and there's always something to suit everyones tastes there. Not going to lie their student discount is pretty good too and I always take advantage of it. With my holiday to Spain right around the corner, I know the coral vest from YoursClothing will work perfectly with a lot of the shorts I picked up recently. There's lovely frill detail around the next which does make it kinda dressy and I think it would look lovely with black shorts. I have to admit I have been finding it super hard to find holiday clothes I'm guessing I left it to way too late to pick anything up. The vest itself in my opinion is a tad bit long which honestly doesn't bother me too much as I usually just tuck vests into my skirts/shorts anyway. Working in Retail I've learned that what doesn't bother me may bother someone else though so I just thought I'd add that in. My pink sneakers from Penneys (Primarks) have definitely seen their day I've had them for ages. They were less than €10 when I bought them so they were such a bargain. I want to pick up another pair soon as I got so much wear out of these.

Before I wrap up this post I just thought I'd tell you guys I finally got Instagram. I've had the same Samsung Young for nearly two years now and I literally only found out today I could get Apps on the thing. The phone may not be the best but it still takes fairly alright pictures in my opinion. I can see myself getting addicted to Instagram really quickly like everyone else that uses it, so if you want to see what I've been getting up to on a regular basis you can follow it here. I've already posted quite a bit on there already and I've only had it for a day.

What have you guys got up to over the Summer? 

Laura<3

The Body Shop Camomile Makeup Removal Collection

I'm a big fan of The Body Shop, since I started All-Made-up-21 I've done many a review on this lovely brand. When some products from their new Camomile Makeup Removal range* popped through my letterbox I couldn't wait to try them. After giving makeup wipes the oul' heave ho a couple of months back I love finding new products that remove my makeup without leaving a trace behind. The range consists of four products, three of which I have to show you all.

I'm going to start off with the Camomile Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover. This is one of those bi-phase formulas that you shake to mix and I have to admit in general I'm not their biggest fan. I feel like they leave my eye area super oily. If I make a mistake whilst applying my eye makeup, I don't tend to reach for this because it takes a while to dry into the skin. However this stuff is perfect for taking off stubborn eye makeup at night, even mascara that doesn't budge.

The Body Shop's Camomile Gentle Eye Makeup Remover is my favourite out of the two eye makeup removers. Aswell as being super gentle on my eyes, this is great for speedy makeup corrections for when I'm in a rush. I literally fold a cotton wool pad in half and use a drop of this and because it isn't oily I won't make a mess of my makeup. I love this stuff, I've been using it every night to remove my eye makeup. If I'm still having a nightmare taking off stubborn mascara I usually use a small amount of the Waterproof Eye & Lip Remover to get rid of it. One of my friends even commented on how big this bottle is, I still have over half of it left so for €5 you can't go wrong. I know I'll be picking up some more if I run out.

If you want to give your skin a bit of a pampering whilst removing your makeup, their Sumptuous Cleansing Butter is worth a try. Though not the best at taking off eye makeup, this is a great one to use all over the face. In the tin this is a solid butter but when warmed up and applied to the skin it turns into an oil. This is perfect for removing all my makeup as it literally just melts away. When I'm tired after a long day I apply this to my face (post removing my eye makeup) and wash it off in the shower. If I have a bit more time on my hands, I apply this to my face and remove it with a muslin cloth for a deeper cleanse.

After trying the Camomile Makeup Removal Collection, I have to give it two thumbs up. If you want to give your skin a bit of a treat I'd check out the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter. All the products are suitable for every skin type which I'm always happy to hear. Having combination/oily skin myself I hate using anything too heavy. I've already set my sights on trying the new Silky Cleansing Oily from the range, if it's anything like these products I know it will be a winner for me.

Do you use makeup wipes to remover your makeup or like me do you prefer cleansing oils and micellar waters?

Laura<3

July Favourites!!

I can't believe August is already upon us, where did July go?  I was just talking to my brother yesterday about how it's the last month of the Summer holidays before he heads back to college which is crazy!! For me July will be remembered for the amazing weather we had here in Ireland and of course going to see Justin Timberlake in concert! We don't get the Sun a lot but when we do we never stop talking about it. For two weeks straight the sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky. Fast forward to the first week in August and already the clouds are back, I miss the nice weather already!  On a brighter note I'm heading to Spain with my family next month. It's the first holiday I've had with my familia for years, I have to admit I'm really excited. Sun, Sea and nice food for a week whats not to like?! The city we're staying in is close to Gilbratar so I'm looking forward to going there to do a bit of shopping of course. Before I start rambling on about my upcoming holiday to Spain, I better start with my favourites as I do have quite a lot to show you this month.

I love finding products that are simple and easy to use, Benefit's Creasless Eyeshadow in No Pressure! is definitely one of them. I picked this up a while ago in Brown Thomas with a gift card I had floating around my bag for an age. It's gorgeous taupe shade with a few specks of gold shimmer. In the mornings I've been applying this to my eyelid and blending it out to create a quick and easy smokey eye. For night I layer it up and use Mac's Embark in the crease. This certainly has been a great addition to my makeup collection as I've been getting a lot of use out of it, well worth the €22.50 that I paid. I absolutely adore the new Colour collection packaging, this product comes in a really pretty art deco cardboard box which I have kept myself. I already have my eye on another shade Bikini-tini that I heard Essiebutton rave about so I know I'll definitely like it.

A nail polish favourite from July has to be Butter London's Cake-Hole*. It's a gorgeous neon pink shade that brightens up any outfit, it pretty much hasn't left my nails all month. I've gotten so many comments this nail polish when I'm wearing it, Cake-Hole is definitely one of those shades that stand out (just look at the name). Only two coats of this is enough to achieve the finish that you can see in this photo here from a previous post. I guess you could get away with one but I'm so used to doing two by now.

When I was in London in June I did go a bit wild and bought a lot of beauty products, two of which have made it into this months favourites. First up is this Crown Brush makeup brush (C45) I picked up at IMATS. It's from their new Infinity line and I've been using it to apply my foundation. Excuse it's appearance, I didn't get a chance to clean it before I took these pictures. The brush is similar to the Real Techniques Buffing Brush but the bristles are tightly packed making it a little more denser. I did buy a couple of brushes from the Infinity line but the C45 is definitely my favourite.

 There has been whispers that a Victoria's Secret store is opening in Dublin Airport which I'm super excited about even though I know it will probably be tiny. When I was in London I knew there was one in the Westfield Shopping Centre beside my hotel in Stratford. Of course I ended up dragging Paddy and if you've already read my Haul you'll know I picked up a lot. One of the products that I bought that I've been loving this month is the Sparkling Citrus Lemon Escape Fragrance Mist (pictured below). This stuff smells amazing, it's a mixture of sweet lemon and coconut which I've been using literally everyday. I haven't taken it out of my bag yet as you can see from the bottle I'm almost half way through the bottle. I bought this is a set for £20 which included a shower gel and a body lotion in the same scent. If you're in Victoria's Secret I'd definitely recommend picking up a set as there's such good value. Just be warned that this spray is 125ml so if you're travelling light with carry on luggage you may not be able to bring it back on the plane. I can't wait until I go back to Manchester at the end of the year as I do believe they're opening a Victoria's Secret store in the Trafford Centre. I'll definitely be picking up another bottle of this scent when I visit and check out some more while I'm there.

At night I've been using the Neal's Yard Beauty Sleep Concentrate*. I was given this at a Press Event a couple of months back and I stumbled upon it while cleaning up my room recently. I've been using this on its on at night but you can use it alongside other products in your nighttime routine. Apart from being moisturising, I haven't been using it long enough to see a significant difference in my skin but I adore the calming scent. It certainly makes me feel relaxed going to bed at night. This product is 90% organic aswell so I'm happy to know that I'm not putting anything nasty onto my skin. The bottle may seem small but you literally only need 3-4 pumps of this stuff so it will last a good while. After busy days on the go I think it's so important to give my skin some TLC and this has been working a treat.

With July being so sunny for the most part I had to include these two products from Hawaiian Tropics. Like everyone I know how important it is to use sunscreen even when the sun isn't shining (pesky UV rays and the likes) so I was using this duo a lot. They are both from Hawaiian Tropics Silk Hydration so aswell as protecting my skin from the Sun they are super moisturising too. Did I mention that they also smell amazing? The After Sun's Coconut Papaya scent reminds me of holidays and I can't get enough of it. I did buy these in Tesco on special offer a while ago so I'm not too sure if that is still on. I do remember it being a great bargain! Needless to say seeing as the Sun is no longer around I may not need these as much now but I'll be bringing them along on my holidays to Spain.

Here are two of my random favourites from July as you all know I'm big into reading. When I was given Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare I left it aside for a while I'm not going to lie. I thought it was going to be another Twilight kinda book which I knew I wasn't going to be interested in. Now that I'm almost half way through the book I couldn't have been more wrong. This has a really good storyline to it which I'm not going to explain as knowing me I'll definitely give too much away. I have a feeling there's going to be a love story in this at some point but the background plot is really good. If you're like me you won't want to put it down. Clock Angel is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series which is has been made into a movie that is going to be release this month. It stars the babe that is Robert Sheehan (The Misfits & Love/Hate) and Lily Collins, whilst the movie is based on the 1st book in the series the City of Bones which I haven't read yet I can't wait to go see it! Once I do finish this book I'm going to pick up some more in the series as they are currently on 3for2 in Easons. The other random favourite of mine is this bag I bought from Accessorize. I usually don't go for bags with short straps, I much prefer when they're long as I find them way easier to carry around. I was between to minds when I got this but I think I made the right decision in the end. This bag is huge and fits absolutely everything in it, e.g my camera, notebook etc. It also contains a removeable pouch which for me makes the bag more secure as I can put all my important stuff in there. Coming in two different colours I opted for the black/brown option as I think it would go with more compared to the green/navy offering. If you'd like to see a "What's in my Bag?" post in the future let me know in the comments.

What made it into your July Favourites? Did you get up to anything exciting last month?

Laura<3