Saturday edit; January Sales

This morning I cheekily went out for a little retail therapy to have a look around the January sales! Unfortunately for me as hard as I try I can never be a window shopper due to the fact little things here and there always seem to catch my eye and I feel like I need to bring them home with me! All in all it was a good day due to the fact I didn't spend as much money as I anticipated but I actually did spend a little money when I originally went there only to window shop... Oops! 

So here are the bits and bobs I decided to spend my money on and their links!

- Yankee candle tart burner and tarts. As we have learnt I am an awful shopper as I buy everything so when my legs accidentally drifted me into the candle store I was more than thrilled to leave the shop with no candles. Alas I did buy a wax burner which has these gorgeous multicoloured pieces of glass infused into it which reflects the light, shining pastel colours throughout. A beautiful piece that I simply couldn't leave on the shelf. To go with this gem I also bought a few tarts; Honey Blossom, Honey & Spice and one that I am burning as we speak Merry Marshmallow.

- L'oreal Paris Mousse Absolute hair dye in the colour 1021. I had heard many mixed reviews about this product but I felt I should give it a shot and give you all a little review on it which will be up this coming Tuesday. As my hair is rather yellow from bleaching it once a month I thought it would be a good idea to tone it with a boxed ashy dye. 

- Deborah Lippmann nail polishes in Stormy Weather, Brick House and Happy Birthday. As I was mindlessly browsing through all the (super un-organized) beauty products in TKMAXX, I caught my eye on a set of 3 nail polishes by Deborah Lippmann in these fabulous colours that I popped into my basket with no hesitation. As we all know these polishes have a retail value of £18 each so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this set of three polishes at only £8!!! That's better than 3/4 of the price, you find so many bargains if you know where to look in TKMAXX.

- Benefit Full Glam Ahead set. This cute little set was once again bought on a wim as I approached the cash desk at boots to pay for my hair dye, those gifts at the tills are so dangerous for someone who has a problem with buying things on a wim! (Ooh, I'll take that and that and that...) In this set you receive a mini High beam highlighter, a mini Stay don't stray primer and a mini Bad Gal Lash mascara. All of which I've been keen to try so why not buy the miniatures to see if I like them or not, ever so handy! 

- The Body shop eyeshadow quad in Smokey Plum. Unfortunately when I went into my local body shop they ran out of this so I asked when if they would have anymore in, to my disappointment this was a limited edition christmas item. But to my luck the lovely lady serving me found an unused tester in the back that had never been opened and she gave it to me for free!!! Now this really is my lucky day. I first noticed this cute palette when Victoria from Inthefrow reviewed it on her blog showing off the beautiful plum shades and champagne shades in HD. So I knew at that moment I had to get my hands on this beauty!

So that was everything I got in the January sales if you want a full review on any of these products do let me know because I will be more than happy to do one for you! I'm super excited to try out everything I purchased and hopefully I will love them all!

What did you buy in the January sales?

Danielle xxx

My pamper day essentials!

When it comes to pampering myself, I am the queen of making myself feel relaxed and rejuvenated. I usually allow myself around three to four days out of the month to take as pamper days! (Usually once a week... Whoops!) 

Now we all know that pamper days at the spa can get very expensive very quickly, so why not do it yourself at home for a quater of the price, in a familliar environment and just as calming as you would experience in a salon.

Here are my tips and products I use for a soothing day at home! 

- Run yourself a bubbly, hot bath; I enjoy using the Niels Yard Seaweed & Arnica Foaming Bath oil. This product is beautifully scented with the fragrence of seaweed and menthol reminding you of the seaside. It's so hydrating for your skin and due to the aromatherapy like scents in this genius bottle it really relaxes your muscles getting you ready either for bed or a non stressful day!

Making sure your all lovely and smooth for your fabulous day ahead, I adore the Lush Rub Rub Rub body scrub as it removes all the horrible dead skin revealing beautiful soft skin underneath, the menthol fragrence in this reminds me of the ocean once again and it's perfect pared with the bath oil.

A great way to hydrate you face during a steamy bath is to use either a sheet mask or a cream mask. One of my favorites to use is the No7 Beautiful Skin Hydrating mask for dry to very dry skin. This creamy pot of luxury will make you feel like a goddess with baby smooth skin (honest!!) 

- Moisturize everywhere, post bath I really take pleasure in completing my routine by plumping my skin with a bit more moisture. For the majority of my body my skin just drinks up the Bath and Body works Twilight Wood body lotion, a musky scented lotion that I lather myself with. Unfortunately for my UK readers this lotion is only available in the US or on eBay, so have a ponder around online and you might just find it.

To hydrate my face after a relaxing bath I love the Biotherm Blue Therapy serium-in-oil (night). Due to my ghastly dry skin I have to make sure I endeavour the best of the best oils/seriums (especially in the middle of winter) So this beauty has been my knight in shining armour and my saviour from my horrendous dry skin! 

Lastly (again due to the weather) I have to take extra care of my hands as they get cracked and sore easily especially when it's cold and windy so I love The Body shop Almond hand creme. As it thankfully does what it says on the tin, I now don't have to suffer from cracked and bleeding knuckles! (Hooray!!!) 

- Have a good book and nice cuppa! To finish off my pamper day I really enjoy cosying it up in front of an open fire with a good book and a hot cup of tea. My choice for today? One of my all time favourite teas Knightsbridge green tea with lemon, this box of heaven is my go-to tea when I'm feeling a tad stressed or a bit down. The herbal in this calms my stress and the lemon really does a good job of refreshing me when I need a little pick me up!

This book is one of my all time loves to just flick through and admire, 'Things a woman should know about style' by Karen Homer. It's a great beauty if your wanting something you don't have to give a whole lot of concentration with. But if your more of a reader i really recommend 'The secret' by Rhonda Bynes, this book is a great read and really gives a whole new perspective on life especially if your feeling down!

So that's all my pamper day essentials, obviously I switch it all up now and then and maybe in the future I'll do an updated version but for now these products and items that I find works best for me!

What are your pamper day necessities? 

Danielle xxx

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

So, it's that time of year again where everyone looks back and shares their highs and lows of the past year. For me, I will be no different to the rest so I thought it might be interesting for you (and potentially my future self) to review the past year. Highs and lows.

Unfortunately 2013 was deffinatly not my year due to the fact that I got diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety issues (more details on that on a later note) became jobless due to my health, and had all happiness taken out of me. I personally want to move on from this as soon as possible due to the fact that it takes over your whole life and personally for me I get weeks even months where I can't even leave the house without having a panic attack or working my self up with stress that I exhaust myself out. If any of you want me to do a blog post or a video about my issues then feel free to let me know because I'll be happy to talk about it even if it helps one person get to grips with theirs by relating, it's worth it. But on a more positive note 2013 was the year I started this little blog and my youtube! So lots of hits and misses! To be perfectly honest I'm ever so glad this year is finally over due to the fact how rubbish it was for me and I'm determined to make 2014 my year!

Looking forward onto the year ahead I have a few resolutions that I thought I could share with you all and maybe you can use these for yourself as well!

1: (obviously) Get over my issues. Now this is probably my biggest and most unrealistic of my resolutions but there's no harm in trying even if it's just getting out the house once a week.

2: Pay more attention to both my blog and youtube. As you know from Wednesdays post I did quickly mention about my new schedule and I'm determind to stick with it, considering I'm not doing anything else with my time why not put all my energy to something useful rather than mindlessly watching pointless tv shows for hours on end with a vacant zombie expression on my face in my pjs.

3: Eat more healthy. Ie fruit & vegetables and 3 meals a day, unfortunately since I've been home I've gotten into the rotten habit of snacking all day and never having a decent meal thus under eating. Which on a plus side has helped shift my weight but not good for my body and even my health is taking an effect from it now!

4: Start having a normal body clock and sleep at normal hours. Ironically I'm writing this at 1am but i know that I'll wake up tomorrow around 2pm which is a really really bad habit I've left myself slip into!! So from now on I am setting a strict rule of sleeping at 11pm and waking up at 8am (eep, gunna be hard for a night owl like myself!!) 

Hopefully come December, I can look back and see how well I did with my resolutions! What are your resolutions did you stick to yours from last year? Let me know!!

** image curtesy of bitstrips**

Post soon! Dannie xxx