A Glossy Death...

Aloha, bloggers! How are you all this fine day? I just wanted to do a quick and simple post on why I have unsubscribed from GlossyBox this month. I haven't been very happy with these beauty boxes for a while now, but I kept on hoping that GB would listen to their subscribers and pick up their game...but they didn't. 

GB is supposed to be a beauty box that allows its subscribers to try high end and luxury products that we wouldn't otherwise come across. Well, this month none of the items are 'high end' and I was left feeling very deflated and let down. 

A quick summary of the products;

BALANCE ME Wonder Eye Cream - We were given a sample of this with Glamour Magazine a few months ago so I didn't see why they had to be in a beauty box. I understand that not everyone may have gone out to buy Glamour, but all I could think was that these were probably left over samples that Balance Me was trying to fob off. 

THE BODY SHOP Vitamin E Moisture Cream - Again, this is not a luxury product for me. I could easily go and get a small potted sample of this from my local Body Shop. I mean, it's a great moisturiser, it is light, smells great, and hydrates the skin. BUT, like I said, I don't consider it to be a contender for a beauty box.

L'OREAL PROFESSIONAL Full Volume Mousse - I don't consider L'oreal to be a high end brand. Wow, I must sound like such a snob! But I want what I paid for, and this is not what I paid for! It id a great product but not what I was hoping for.

L'OREAL PROFESSIONAL Smooth Control Gel - This isn't even on the GB site as a product - I guess that shows how proud they are that this is in one of their products. I would have preferred to have any OTHER hair product in the box - grrrr!

LADY GAGA Perfume Sample - I have noticed that some bloggers have started to become a bit more content with getting perfume samples in their beauty boxes, but I am the annoying one that just.won't.settle! I can pick this up from Debenhams, and I probably will - because - it's - free!

RODIAL Glamoxy Snake Serum - I don't have the energy to continue to write about how much I disliked this box, so I will stop typing.

I realise that this is the most negative blogpost I have ever written, but I think that some people need to write this so other people aren't conned into thinking that it is more than what it actually is. The bloggers that swayed me into buying into the beauty box hype are Ambassadors for the beauty boxes, so they get them for free. I have nothing against that, but when it is your money going down the drain every month then it feels a little bit different.

What are your views on beauty boxes?

Holy Grail Skincare?

Oh, hey there! How are you this fine day? I am feeling a little bit broke! 

It's my birthday on Saturday! Woohooooooo! So I felt like treating myself (yep, it's going to be another one of THOSE posts). Do you remember a few months back when Glamour magazine gave samples of L'Occitane skincare? I was rather baffled by why such an established company would want to give samples of their products in a magazine. Well, I found out when I got all three samples to try out, and fell head over heels in love with them...

Before using the Angelica skincare range from L'Occitane, I used to use the Clinique 3 Step (and boy, did I hate it). It stripped my skin and made it drier than it originally was; I thought my skin was always going to be like that! However, when I used the Agelica skincare range, I was blown away. My skin felt cleansed, fresh, it went back to combination skin because it wasn't being stripped, it felt hydrated and it was just so much better. 

It's always easy for bloggers to profess their love to anything and everything, but the real commitment is shown when you go out and repurchase with your own pennies. And boy, did I spend a lot of pennies!

First, I will tell you about the free gift I received because I purchased 2 L'Occitane products. I got mini samples of the cleanser and toner, a mini foot cream, and a shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair, with a lovely little toiletry bag. I have obviously tried the cleanser and toner before, so I am pretty pleased I got those, because I know they work and they are perfect travel sizes. I am going to be re-dyeing my hair pretty soon, so I look forward to trying out the shampoo and conditioner. And last but not last, I know how much hype L'Occitane foot creams get, so I cannot wait to try this one out. I think that for a free gift, this is above the standard I expected! It kind of makes me feel a bit better about the money I spend in total.

I bought the Angelica Cleansing Gel and the Hydrating Cream. Both of these products worked wonders for my skin, so I knew that I needed them. 

The cleansing gel has water and oils from organic angelica; this is what helps fight the impurities and remove the make up without irritating your skin. It also works to hydrate your skin [which was a great selling point for me] and leaves it feeling radiant and refreshed. 

I was more excited about buying the hydrating cream than anything else...however, I did not realise that it cost nearly £30! I nearly died when I went to the till. As much as it pained me, I still bought it because I had seen the benefits it had for my skin. The woman said that this should last me for about 6 months, which made me feel a bit better. This moisturiser is rich without being too greasy and clogging up your pores [like the Benefit one], it works to moisturise your skin throughout the whole day, smells amazing, and really does make your skin look and feel radiant.

The woman behind the counter clocked onto my shaking hands as I paid and was kind enough to give me a few samples. She gave me 2 samples of the eye roll-on, ex foliating gel and a body cream. I am really looking forward to trying more L'Occitane products.

This all came to £45; which probably won't seem a lot, but when you have no money it is the worst feeling in the world parting with the little money you do have. I highly recommend that you try this line of skincare if you are looking for something new because it really does make a difference. You can try out the starter kit if you don't want to part with too much money.

What are your holy grail skincare products?

Have you tried any products from L'Occitane?

A much needed holiday!

Oh, hey there! It has a really long time since I last blogged and it is safe to say that I have missed it like crazy; every time something exciting has happened I would immediately make a mental note *mustblogthismustblogthis*, but alas, I never blogged. Why, you ask? Because I was on holiday in Pakistan, where I had no.internet.connection! 

I want to do a quick post about my holiday before I start with my beauty and cake [nom] posts because it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

My parents are from Pakistan but they both came to the UK when they were children. They go back to Pk every few years because we still have family there, but us, the children, have never had any sort of connection or love for Pk. I mean, we went on holiday there, but that was 9 years ago! This holiday was going to be a chance to reconnect with our family there, see how they live, gain a bit more cultural understanding and really value what we have.  

I don't even know where to begin. Let's just say that on our first day there we had the biggest culture, climate  and any other shock that we could have had. 

It was hot and sweaty that we would shower twice a day...and it still wouldn't be enough. 

The Government took the electricity every other hour so the fans wouldn't work - and we nearly boiled to death on many occasions.

It was too hot to leave the house during the day!

There really was not much to do in the village we stayed in.

I know what you're thinking, 'Wow, she is a little Moaning Mona!' And that is exactly what we thought after the first few days. How dare we go to a different country and not appreciate what they had to offer. It was their way of living but we couldn't see past our excessive lifestyle! 

Once we embraced the way of life there, we LOVED it! The people were amazing; they were so simple and forgiving (my attempt at Punjabi had them in giggles). They didn't take ANYTHING for granted. It was really humbling being there and having them give us an insight into their lives. We were showered with so much love, more than we deserved! It was lovely seeing all the girls I remembered from the last time I went and seeing how we had all grown up. We went on a gazillion road trips and sight seeing, and got to see the beauty of Pakistan that we didn't even know existed.

It really makes you take a step back and appreciate what you have. I found that some people there didn't have much money but they were so happy, because, even though they weren't materialistically wealthy, they had the love and support of their family and local community which is so much richer and more valuable.

How was your summer?

A slob on a Sunday with a Strawberry&Cream Cupcake...

This past week has been a whirlwind of work, numbers, maths, students, low bank balances and procrastination.

Slightly tortured by all this craziness, I decided to take a few hours out of my day yesterday and do something I wanted to do.

So, I baked!

These are vanilla cupcakes with strawberry icing and a chocolate covered strawberry on top.

What inspires you?!

What do you do to unwind?

GlossyBox redeems itself...

Hey Ladies!

I got my Glossybox today! I have been so disappointed these past 2 months so it was a nice surprise finally getting a box worth blogging about. I had a little sneak peek at other peoples boxes yesterday so I knew what products were doing the round and what I was hoping for. This morning the postWOMAN knocked on the door at 8:45am and I was up and out of bed like a lunatic, running down the stairs to get my GlossyBox. Unfortunately, I didn't get the HD palette which I had wanted but I am still pleased with my box. (Sidenote: I think it is incredibly unfair how not everyone gets to try out products by high end brands like HD Brows and Caudalie - GB works in strange ways.)

This is my box!

I will give you my initial thoughts on the products and then review them as I use them.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Moisture Mist

I have never heard of this brand before so I was very excited to try this out! This is a hydrating spray for the hair and for the skin which will be perfect for the summer days. I tried this on my face (are you meant to?) and it felt really light and was refreshing. It has no detectable scent to it either which is a bonus for me. It doesn't say whether it has any benefits for the hair or the skin but it seems to do what it says on the bottle. I am going on holiday in 3 weeks so I am saving this little bad boy for that.

Monu Eye Cool Gel

This is another brand I haven't really come across before. I am only just getting into my skincare so this is perfect for me. This gel promises to revive tired looking eyes, reduce puffiness and dark circles. I don't get puffiness as such but I am hoping this will help with my dark circles. I still need to use my Benefit eye cream, then the Clinique, Dior and Balance Me, so this probably won't be reviewed for a while. 

Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics Lip Frosting

Again, another brand I have not heard of. I feel that GlossyBox are doing their job this month - introducing us to higher end brand products (I still shudder at the thought of the Collection eye liner I received a few months ago). This lip frosting smells devine!! However, that is where the positives kind of end - it is not very moisturising and it sits on your lips. I have had very dry lips these past few days so when I applied it, it just seemed to emphasise the chapped-ness (I know that sounds gruesome but I am being honest here). In future, I will make sure that my lips have been properly exfoliated before I apply this. You can also apply this on your cheeks but it is sheer and the colour pay off isn't that good - but then again I do have dark skin so it might work better on paler skin?

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

This is a dry oil for the face, body and hair. I am new at the whole oil skin care and hair care products so I am not sure how to use this or what it does. I will probably youtube some vids and google some tips before I try this but I am very excited. Do you have any tips for me?

Bex London Londoner Urban Fragrance 

I am not a huge fan of perfume samples in beauty boxes and this sample hasn't really changed my perception.   It is described as a 'modern fragrance' that is inspired by 'unique character and idiosyncrasies of London'. I'm just going to go ahead and put it out there that I have no idea what that means and that this perfume in no  represents the unique character of London, unless the unique character of London smells like a MAN! I kid you not, the first thing I said to my sister after I smelt this was, 'Oh my god, this smells like Dad.' I won't be using this...

Bonus Item Elizabeth Arden's Visible Difference Hydrating Line

The generous sachet containing samples of the EA new skincare range more than made up for the little perfume disaster. I am a massive fan of EA skincare and I love their 8 hour cream. GlossyBox said that if we took the pamphlet containing the product info on it to an EA counter then we would get a free deluxe samples of their skincare range. Being a complete sucker for freebies, I drove to my local town centre in my lunch break today and went on the hunt for my free samples. Unfortunately, there were no 'deluxe samples' in the store (gutted!) but the sales laydee kindly gave me three more sachets of the skincare range, a deluxe sample of the 8 hour cream and some mini serum tablety things. I was rather pleased with what I managed to blag!

Overall, I am very pleased with this box. I will stay subscribed for one more month to see what it is like next month and then I might pack it in. 

What are your thoughts?

My Little Cupcake Business

I want to start a baking business!

There! I've said it - I feel like it is somewhat of a taboo stating something so ambitious because there is such a massive chance of failure, but I don't care - is that crazy?

I have some ideas that I'm hoping will work but we shall see!

If there is anything in the world that you could do as a job, what would it be?

Talking of pursuing what you want - there is a fab giveaway over on Lexi Minty Fresh blog. It is for a gorgeous YSL lipstick that I have been drooling over for a while.

Listing your life away...

Howdy Ladies!

How are you all doing this fine day?

I have had a bit of a strange week. I have found myself in the same situation as many other graduates - I has no job. I went from being severely down in the dumps to enlightened. I realised that instead of focusing on the negative, which I can't change at the moment anyway because there are no teaching jobs out there, I should put my energy into something constructive.

I have had so many ideas buzzing in my head and this has led me to put together a list of 10 things I want to do before I hit 30. I know it sounds a bit silly but I am 22 and I feel that I have not done much in my life. I went from primary school to high school, to college, to university (under grad), to university (post grad). I had around 4 jobs while I was doing my undergrad degree. Don't get me wrong - I have loved all of it - I have achieved so much academically, I have great friends and family, I have had the most amazing experiences - BUT, I feel like I should have done more.

I have always wanted to travel, become more independent and go out in the big bad world and just go for it!

Here is a list of 10 things I want to do before I turn 30...

1. Go on a pilgrimage.

2. Road trip through the US.

3. Explore Paris.

4. Have my cake business up and running (to a certain degree).

5. Get a real job!

6. Get married and have a mini meeeeeeeeeeeeee.

7. Have my own happy family.

8. Anything that scares the shit out of me - bungee jumping, sky diving, skiing, anything!

9. Actually learn how to play my guitar! 

10. Stop caring what other people think.

So that is my little list.

What is on yours?

Do you make lists like this?

Or do you just go with the flow of life?