Home Decor Update

After moving in to my first home, I said I wanted to photograph and write more home and lifestyle type blog posts. Since moving out, my house has been slightly upside down every now and then, with painting, decorating, new carpets etc. Therefore, it's been pretty tricky to actually photograph anything without half painted background walls or basically without a mess. However, recently I've purchased a couple more decorative pieces from here, there and everywhere that I thought I would share with you.

Recently I've been shopping in T K Maxx and B&M and have found some great bargains. Both of these shops are perfect for finding cheap, discounted home decor items. The mirror pictured was on sale for only £10 and I couldn't resist putting it up in my hall way, and yes that's my beautiful new grey carpet in the background ;-) I've been looking for a, relatively decorative, key holder for a while now and had been struggling. Until I went to T K Maxx and found this lovely one for only £8. My spare car keys may look ugly in this picture, but I love the actual holder as some of the other ones I had seen were just plain wood which were too boring.

Now I also had to feature a picture of my graduation present from my Mum in this blog post, maybe not a home decor but as more of an update. After recently graduating from my BA Honours Degree in Children's Care, Learning and Development, my mum bought me this gorgeous watch from Michael Kors. This is the Ritz Glitz watch in Silver and I am absolutely in love with it. I love bigger, statement watches so this one is right up my street. I could not be thankful enough for this present from my Mum and definitely wasn't expecting anything. I am also thankful that I have completed my degree!

I hope you enjoy having a sneak peak at a few of my home decor items throughout my home and I will definitely attempt to photograph more when I finish painting and decorating. Also when I purchase new items. I'd love to hear your favourite places to purchase home decor items :-)

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Anti-Blemish System

La Roche Posay is a brand that I have raved about in the past, so when I received this 3 step system as a present, I was over the moon. You get three full sized products within this set, which is amazing, and they're all clearly targeted at blemish prone skin. I've tried several of their products in the past, one of those being the Effalar Duo which I have previously spoken about so I won't go into too much detail about that one. You can read about that particular product here and here.

The second product you receive in this trio is their clarifying toner. I really loved using this product, I felt like it really cleaned my face. It got rid of any left over make up that my cleanser may have left of my face, which was super satisfying. I found this product was also really soothing on my blemishes and also helped with the redness. Over time, after using this product, I would say I saw a difference when I finished using this product. Using a toner is the one of the steps of a 'skin care routine' that I honestly do not normally do. However, I thoroughly enjoyed doing so whilst using this particular toner.

The third product is the purifying foaming gel which is effectively a foaming face wash. Unfortunately this is the product that I don't rate very highly out of the three. I simply found that it did nothing for my skin or my blemishes and I don't really have much else to say about this particular product if I'm honest.

Overall this is a great trio set, I personally just cannot warm to the face wash however, it may work for others. I cannot rate the Effaclar Duo enough, it is by far my favourite La Roche Posay product and if you haven't tried it already then you definitely should. Let me know your favourite La Roche Posay products, as I would definitely like to try some newbies!

The Devil Wears Prada | Book Review

I love a good read, especially when there's a sequel. When you think of The Devil Wears Prada, I bet your mind goes to the film, mine definitely did. I absolutely love the film and Anne Hathaway is one of my favourite actresses. But quite a while ago now, I discovered the book to this film and that the book has a sequel.

Normally I tend to prefer reading the book before watching the film however, that was not the case with this particular book. It had been a while since I had seen the film when I began reading the book, so I had to settle for that. As I mentioned, I love the film so the book actually had a lot to live up too in my eyes. I actually really enjoyed the book and yes, I still would have liked to read it first but it was very similar to the film, with not much missed out which is what I normally find. If you haven't seen the film, or read the book, then it's about a girl called Andrea who goes to work for Runway magazine but turns out to have the boss, Miranda, from hell. The second book carries on Andrea's journey as she works her way up the magazine ladder, forming new friendships and relationships, but Miranda is still making appearances.

If you love fashion, magazines and an easy read then these books are for you. Also if you were like me and had just watched the film, you won't be disappointed reading the book afterwards.

Direct Cosmetics Haul & Reviews

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at Direct Cosmetics and was able to choose some products to review for you guys. They offer a whole range of brands on their website, which is definitely worth checking out.

As I said, I was able to select which products I received which I was thrilled about. Firstly I picked up the Lacoste Touch of Pink solid perfume which is just a perfect size for your bag. I picked this because I remember my sister using this perfume when I was younger so it took me back. I actually really like the smell and it's perfect for those little touch ups on the go. I then picked the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream lip balm, which is something I've wanted to try for a while. It's a really thick balm but applies smoothly. I like to apply this before I go to sleep to keep my lips hydrated. I also think this product will be perfect for the coming Winter months. I then picked a NYC nail varnish in a deep coral shade, which I actually think will be great for the Autumnal months, as it's not too vibrant.

I then picked up the L'Oreal Youth Code Luminizer. This product intrigued me when I was browsing products and a serum is something I was missing from my skin care routine. I don't necessarily need this product for the 'youth' side, but there's nothing like starting early! I loved the illuminating aspect of this product as that's something that's difficult to get in the colder months. I then got another product from L'Oreal and it's their Triple Active day moisturiser. My current moisturiser is practically out so I was in need of a new one. Again as it's getting colder, my skin tends to get drier so I think this product will be a great match for my skin. It is a light moisturiser however, so if you need something heavier this one may not be for you.

I then got a Sally Hansen product which I've never seen before and it's the Colour Quick Dry brush nail varnish. This really intrigued me as I've never seen a nail varnish like this before, as I mentioned. It has a brush on the end of it and therefore makes application simple. I picked this lovely truffle shade too which again will be great for Autumn, which I know I keep saying! Finally I picked the Matrix Total Results Heat Resist Conditioner. I'm really trying to not apply too much hear onto my hair currently and I'm doing pretty well! However, when I do use heat I can really feel the affect on my hair. This conditioner is great at making my hair feel smooth and like I've never put heat onto it.

That's it for my Direct Cosmetics haul and first impressions reviews! I was super impressed with all the products I picked and have now tested out. I'm grateful to the lovely people at Direct Cosmetics and I would definitely recommend you check out their website :)

Oral B 3D White Luxe Perfection Toothpaste & Whitening Accelerator

For a while now I've been wanting to delve into trying out more and new teeth whitening products. Bar the normal everyday whitening toothpaste and mouthwash, I haven't tried that many other products to help naturally whiten my teeth. A while ago, I was browsing the Boots website trying to pick which product(s) to try.

I came across this duo of products from Oral B and they were on offer so I thought I would give these a go to begin with. Basically, you brush your teeth with the 3D White Luxe toothpaste and then brush them again using the Whitening Accelerator. I'm not sure on all the logistics behind these products but the accelerator supposedly has something in it to speed up the whitening process within the toothpaste.

I have now completely used up both of these products and can say that I thoroughly enjoyed using them both. However, there were some down sides to these products. I did see some improvement in the whiteness of my teeth when using these products, but it wasn't like an amazing transformation. I've heard many teeth whitening products can make your teeth sensitive, luckily for me, neither of these two products made my teeth sensitive. The down side for me was having to brush my teeth, theoretically, four times a day. Not for the extra time, but occasionally it made my gums sore which was a pain, literally.

As much as I enjoyed using these products, I'm not sure I would re-purchase them. Personally, I would like to spend a bit more money and see better results. I know results can take time etc, but that's just me being impatient, ha ha!

Empties #10

I actually enjoy hanging onto my empties to then share on my blog for you guys, but also for me to look back on and think "yeah, I actually really loved using that product". Within this bunch there are definitely some staple products which I would highly recommend.

Firstly the Dove Derma Spa Summer Revived Fake Tan which I purchased after watching Anna Saccone's fake tan routine video. This is now one of my favourite fake tan products and I've written a full blog post all about it here. Anything to help with spots/blemishes is right up my street and the Garnier Pure Active Anti-Spot Exfoliating Scrub. It's a really invigorating scrub which really feels like it's doing something to help my skin out. Again you can read more here. Another great spot product is the Out of Trouble mask by Origins. This I personally find really soothing for my spots and it also helps calm down the redness.

The Urban Decay Naked Concealer is such an amazing concealer. It's obviously slightly more expensive and there are great concealers which you can purchase in the drug store. However, I do really adore this one for everything - spots, blemishes and those under eye bags. Next the Rimmel Super Curler Mascara which is aimed at holding and improving the curl of your lashes. This is quite a natural looking mascara which I love for everyday. I'm not sure it really helps with the curl of my lashes, I did still curl them myself, but it was a great mascara.

Jimmy Choo Flash Perfume is a new favourite of mine. I got this on one of Boots flash deals, when it was half price. It was a bit of a whim, as I had never smelt it before, but I absolutely loved it. Finally I picked up this SPAtopia Argan Oil Body Scrub from TK Maxx. I was simply in need of a new one and spotted this one so thought I would give it a go. I'd never even heard of the brand before but now I've fully used the product up, it was a really amazing scrub. It was invigorating and actually felt like it was getting rid of all the dead skin.

There we have it, that's another one of my empties posts all done. There are some great products featured in this post which I would really like to re-purchase in the future. If you've tried any of these products before, then I'd love to hear your thoughts about them in the comments below!