I Wish He Was My Boyfriend

Blouse - H&M
Shorts - Topshop
Tights - Primark
Rosary - Rome
Pretty casual outfit from yesterday when I just sat at home watching the royal wedding. Gosh it was so magical, I was just sitting on the sofa squeeing with delight the whole time. I got up at 8.30 so I could watch it from the very beginning. I've always wanted a quickie wedding in Vegas but I found this occasion just glorious to watch. After the main ceremony my family arrived from London as they wanted to come and see Chloe. Then we went out to a nice Italian restaurant and I had a lovely pepperoni & jalapeno pizza. They had to go again at 5pm though seeing as it takes so long to travel all this way. Its always nice to see them though, not least because my mum always comes with a suitcase full of goodies for us. My mum and sister went to Rome for Easter and got me this rosary. Like I said before I'm not religious so its just a fashion thing for me. Best present was obvs the royal wedding tea towels though haha.

I bought this shirt in Manchester earlier this week from H&M. I wanted that sheer blouse from Primark that everyone in the world has in ivory but they didn't have it in stock (boo!). So I went hunting for something similar and found this shirt. I really like the lace bits on the shoulders but I'm thinking I should've bought it in a size 8. This is a size 10 but because its oversized I think it makes me look bigger than I actually am. This week I've pigged out on doughnuts & Easter eggs and I'm starting to get really fed up of people calling me fat. I was bullied from infant school onwards for being fat so for it to be happening again now when I am a size 10 & nearly 23 years old, is really starting to piss me off. I have a naturally fat face so I look fat whatever my size. So yeah this is just a note to say that the hardcore dieting starts on Monday. Lol I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant but wotevz, I hate people judging me because of my weight.

Swedish Hasbeens x H&M

Yesterday I went to Manchester for a much needed shopping trip. As well as a box of Krispy Kremes I also came away with these beauties. I'd wanted some Swedish Hasbeens for ages, specifically these t-bars but the £150 price tag was a bit out of my reach! These bad boys were only £35. They are so amazing I can't stop staring at my feet! They're really comfy too, they're one of the few pairs of heels I own that don't kill my feet after an hour. And how cute are the tote bag and care instructions they came with? I love extra touches like that, it makes my purchase seem all the more special. I think these have sold out on the website now but the Manchester store had loads in stock. So glad to have found my shoes for the Summer!

Ice Cream Shoppe

Shirt - American Apparel
Skirt - American Apparel
Tie - French Toast
Tights - Primark
Hairbow - Argos
I have no idea whats wrong with me today. I don't quite know why I'm dressed like a demented ice cream seller or why I'm pulling some really random faces in these pictures but nevermind eh? I'd wanted this lilac shirt from American Apparel for absolutely ages but I actually found it hard to dress it in a way that didn't make me look like a bank cashier. So I took it the other way and now I look rather twee haha. How cool is this tie? You might recognise the style if you're a Gossip Girl fan. I actually bought it from French Toast which is an American school uniform retailer and its where they bought the uniforms in the show (minus all the designer add ons obvs...). I'm sure most people loved all the looks Blair rocked in the first couple of seasons. I've not watched it since the crapfest that was the first few episodes of season 3 but I'm intrigued by all this Dair stuff so I'm considering catching up. Is it worth it GG fans?

I actually would really like to own an ice cream van when I'm older. Partly inspired by Duncan Bannatyne, the epic video for Today by Smashing Pumpkins and the film Trees Lounge (which I only watched because my fave actors Chloe Sevigny & Steve Buscemi are both in it, I did not know that they disturbingly get it on). Thats kind of my dream for when I'm retired, just driving around town selling whippys. If you've not seen the Today video, you must! Its one of my faves, wish I could drive around the desert going mental with a young Billy Corgan. Enjoy!

Tiny Hearts

Blazer - Primark
T-shirt - American Apparel
Tap Shorts - American Apparel
Tights - Topshop
Hairband - Primark
Necklace - Right In The Family Jewels
Finally found myself a nice Spring jacket. I decided the denim jacket I wanted from Miss Selfridge was too long on me and a bit pricey at £45. I found this blazer in Primark the other day which is really comfy and cheap as chips at £10 too. I've wanted a soft boyfriend blazer for ages but since they were all the rage last Summer I figured I'd never find a nice one now. This was tucked away on a rail at the very back of the store so I guess I was lucky to find it. Anyone remember back all the acrylic jewellery shops back in the scene days? I bought this necklace from one of those godawful myspace stores but I still wear it to this day. Shame that most people who see it seem to think I like OXO cubes rather than hugs & kisses...

I wore this out on Saturday with the full intention of visiting the Huddersfield Holistic Health Fair which was supposed to have loads of psychic bits & bobs, tarot readings, crystal jewellery etc. as I'm totally into all that kinda stuff. Well not so much as I used to be but I still like crystals & have bought myself a tarot deck in an attempt to learn how to do readings. I don't really follow any organised religion but I am interested in spirituality. Anyway I didn't go in as it was 3 quid to get in and it looked a bit dead so I didn't want to pay money just to be the only person in there haha. I just did some food shopping & went to the park instead.

I also used my Directions silver dye on Friday night but it doesn't seem to have done anything to my hair colour. Ah well my roots need doing soon so I'll just have to get my hairdressers to tone it silver for me. Might still add in some lilac because I am literally so bored of my hair. Seems like I'm perpetually stuck in that awful growing out stage, don't know whether to keep on growing it or just get it cut dead short like it used to be. I even bought some silica complex tablets in the Holland & Barrett penny sale in an attempt to make it grow faster, but only time can tell if that will actually have any effect!

Favourite Mario Badescu Products

I've always had combination skin that is prone to breakouts and not much would work on it, even my many attempts to clear it with expensive brands such as Dermalogica and Bliss. I heard about Mario Badescu online 3 years ago just before my first trip to New York. Mario Badescu is not exactly a household name in the UK. In America his products are well known as many celebrities are devotees of the brand. Seeing that they had a spa on East 52nd Street I decided to pop in one day and try some of their products. I originally purchased the Acne Repair kit and the effect on my skin was nothing short of miraculous. Now I hardly ever get spots! Since then I've tried various other products in the line, some great, some not so great. Here are 7 of the products that I really love.


Glycolic Foaming Cleanser
To get my skin feeling really clean I prefer gel based cleansers to creamy ones. It might just be me but I think they leave my skin feeling a lot cleaner. This is a really powerful one for when your skin looks really dull. It does make my skin feel quite stripped so its best to only use this once or twice a week, anymore than that and I would imagine your skin would feel quite sensitive. It contains glycolic acid which will completely remove any build up on the surface of your skin. This acid actually helps to exfoliate your skin so it looks really smooth and fresh afterwards. Although it can be used on all types of skin, I wouldn't say this cleanser is for everyone as it is uber-powerful. But it is ideal for when you're having a really crappy skin day or if you haven't been looking after your skin properly for a few days.

Special Cucumber Lotion
This is my favourite skin product ever! Nothing beats this. When I bought my acne repair kit I got a free sample of the normal cucumber lotion and I was really impressed with how it removed any makeup I had missed whilst cleansing and was clearing up my spots. Then I heard that they did an even more powerful version called the special cucumber lotion. I bought this and have never looked back. This is basically a toner which is perfect for combination or oily skin. As well as cucumber it contains sulphur which is brilliant at drying up any existing spots. I've found that I don't get as many spots either since applying this to my skin day and night. Now I only get the odd hormonal one on my jawline. You might think that such a powerful spot fighting toner would be harsh on your skin but this is actually quite gentle and doesn't dry out my skin at all. I don't actually use a moisturiser at night because my skin feels perfect just after using this. This product is a godsend, and it lasts absolutely ages. I think one bottle normally lasts me about 9 months. Cannot recommend this enough!


Drying Cream
This stuff absolutely stinks of sulphur but don't let that put you off. This is a thick peachy coloured cream that is pretty good at sorting spots if you've popped them and are left with a big red bump. The best thing about this is that it also conceals your spots. Its a perfect base for when you want to wear makeup but have a horrible spot you don't want to aggravate any more. It will help to clear it right up and look a lot better too.

Silver Powder
This is a really interesting product. Its an oil absorbing powder that actually unclogs blackheads. To apply it you have to dip some cotton wool into some water and then dip this into the powder. Then you pat it onto your nose, chin or anywhere else with blackheads, leave it for 10 minutes then use toner to wipe it off. It can be difficult to remove and I often end up with a patchy white face if I don't wipe it off enough. I find this does get rid of most of my blackheads for a couple of days but then they do always come back. It is also great at making your pores look a lot smaller. Its perfect for special occasions when your skin has to look flawless.

Healing Cream
This green cream is really soothing on your skin. Its main purpose is to aid your skin's natural healing process. It is great at reducing acne scarring and minimising general redness. It also helps to prevent spots from forming on areas where you normally breakout. I find if I've gone overboard with spot treatments and my skins feeling a bit raw this soothes my skin and makes it feel normal again. I wouldn't say this product is essential for spot fighting but it really helps to calm down my skin after a spot has cleared.


Drying Lotion
I think this is the product that Mario Badescu are known for. This product is meant for whiteheads and it basically gets rid of them overnight. The bottle looks really weird as theres loads of pink stuff at the bottom and some kind of liquid on top. To use it you mustn't shake it up, instead you have to get a cotton bud and dip it into the pink stuff at the bottom. Then you dab this onto a spot without rubbing it in. It contains calamine which helps to dry up spots and calm the area around it. I think this is a fabulous product but I don't really get whiteheads so don't find much use for this. However when I have had them it gets rid of them in no time flat. It does sting when you first apply it but it soon dries and you just forget about it. Its stays a bright pink colour on your skin so I wouldn't recommend wearing this during the day unless you want loads of obnoxious questions about the random pink dots on your skin!

Buffering Lotion
This is my favourite spot treatment ever. As I said, I don't really get whiteheads, I get the horrible deep spots instead. Therefore this spot treatment is a lot more effective on my skin than the drying lotion. This one you do have to shake up and it becomes an opaque white liquid. You then squeeze a couple of drops onto the affected area and rub it in. It absorbs into my skin really fast so you don't have to worry about it getting all over your pillow. Sometimes if my skin looks really crappy I just rub it all over my face and by morning I look normal again. It contains nourishing B vitamins and amino acids for healthy skin as well as soothing anti-inflammatory herbal extracts to promote healing. It really penetrates deep into the skin to get rid of any cystic acne you have. It works really fast and my spots normally go in a couple of days. I also wear this under makeup as it doesn't really show up on your skin once its been rubbed in. Another highly recommended product for anyone with cystic acne.

I'm not quite sure why the brand isn't really well known over here. I imagine its due to availability since it is quite limited. Luckily when I lived in Leeds the Harvey Nicks there started stocking some of the range but the best stockist I've found online is BeautyBay. Hopefully this post will have introduced some of you to Mario Badescu because I really am a big fan of their skincare products. They're not too expensive compared to some brands out there but their stuff does work really well on my skin and every product I've tried lasts for absolutely ages.

One

Dress - Topshop
Cardigan - Oasis
Tights - Primark
Belt - In Love With Fashion
Rings - ASOS / Me & Zena
Necklace - Argos
Last Monday was the 4th of April which is a special date for me because it is my daughter's birthday. Its so weird to think about how much my life has changed over the past year. Its even weirder to think that instead of a tiny helpless baby I now have a one year old who can do so much. We decorated the house with garlands, cards & balloons and loads of family members came over to give Chloe her presents. We also made some vanilla cupcakes instead of a big birthday cake which were really delicious.

Needless to say I wanted to look nice for the occasion. Considering I looked absolutely atrocious this time last year I wanted to show myself & everyone else that I'm still my own person and can actually look vaguely pretty once in a while haha. So I wore my new red polka dot dress from Topshop. Can't beat a good polka dot dress I always say! I can see myself wearing this a lot over the Summer. Just need an ice cream, a pear Kopparberg & a nice little denim jacket now and I'm set. Theres one in Miss Selfridge that I really want so probably gonna buy that next week. I'm wearing the Girls Aloud Sarah lashes in these pictures which are definitely my favourite out of all the Girls Aloud range, proper full on glamour. Loveeeeeee them.

I think Chloe had a lovely 1st birthday, she deserves it because shes a wonderful little girly really. All the family members who visited seemed to enjoy themselves too, so that was good haha. It was a bit daunting being the one in charge of everything but hopefully I'll get better at it in time! Heres to many more wonderful birthdays together <3

Meadowhaul

Lol sorry for the title, I do love a bad pun! Anyways here some of stuff I bought during my many trips to Meadowhall last month. I also kept going for the amazing food they have. I must've gone to Chilango at least 4 times where I had these magnificent chicken quesadillas and bought 8 cupcakes from Fancie because they are quite simply divine, the chocolate peanut butter one was amaze! Theres even a new ice cream parlor called Marble Slab Creamery where they sell cake flavour ice cream, nom.






MAC - I made two trips to MAC. The first time I bought Enchantee Kissable Lip Colour from the Peacocky collection and Impassioned lipstick. Not sure why Impassioned looks red here, but really its a fabulous bright pink. The second time I went for some more classics so I got Angel & Hue lipsticks as well as adding to my eyeshadow palette (nearly full now yay!) with Woodwinked & Satin Taupe.




NYX - I wandered into BHS once and was pleasantly surprised to find that the one in Meadowhall stocks NYX makeup! So heads up anyone who lives near Sheffield, if you want NYX stuff go to BHS. They don't have the full range as they didn't have any of the round lipsticks but they had tons of fabulous eye shadow palettes. I picked up the Smokey Eye & Nude On Nude ones. If you're one of the unfortunate peoeple who still can't get their hands on an Urban Decay Naked palette, I whole heartedly recommend the NYX Nude On Nude palette instead. There are some really gorgeous colours in it. What I love most about these palettes is how dinky they are! They're so tiny which means they are the perfect size for your makeup bag. And they even contain two different lip colours in each, perfection. I also got some of the Jumbo Eye Pencils in Milk, Pots & Pans, Slate and Black Bean. These are perfect for creating a really quick and easy smokey eye or as an eyeshadow base. I think its quite well known that Milk is an especially good base for bright eyeshadows. I like to use it on my waterline and inner eye corners to really make my eyes look bigger and brighter.


Extras - I had my roots done last month and the guy who did my hair has made my roots slightly yellower than the rest of my hair (smh...) so I went to Extras and bought some of the La Riche Directions hair dye. I got the white toner and silver colours. Not sure which to try first. I quite fancy the idea of having proper silver hair or maybe even lilac (obviously all the lilac haired girls on tumblr are influencing my choices here!) I really cant decide. But my hair is all messed up at the moment so hopefully these will sort it.