2014 check list

Hello!!

After a morning of total procrastination and realising how close to August we are I've had a little panic and think I may have wasted most of the year. Don't get me wrong I have done some of the things I've wanted. I've done lots of exciting courses with work and of course started my blog but there's a lot more that I planned to have done by now that I haven't even scratched the surface of. I'm hoping that if I write all my plans down and share them with you then I'll be more likely to follow through with them. Consider this my 2014 check list and I'll let you know when I've ticked each one off and how I found it.

1. Pass my driving test. This is something I have been working towards for a long time and it's not that I've not been trying. I am currently on my third driving instructor, 4th test and have had more lessons that I can count but I finally feel like I'm on the right track. I've just bought myself a little car and think that getting out and about for lots of practise is helping. I think that if I didn't have to do a test I'd be totally fine but sadly nerves seem to get the better of me. I'm determined with this one though, 4th times a charm....or something like that.

2. Learn the guitar. I've always wanted to play an instrument. I started learning a few things when I was younger but never really got past a squeaky rendition of hot crossed buns on the recorder and a grade one cello exam that I'm still not quite sure how I passed. Back at the start of the year I decided I really wanted to learn to play the guitar. My boyfriends really good and I thought it would be really cool if I could play a bit too. I've never made the effort to actually learn and want to at least be able to play a few chords before the end of the year, even if  I could just play a shaky version of Wonder wall I'd be really pleased with myself.

3.Learn to take good pictures. When I look back at my very first blog posts I can see an improvement in my photos but I would really like to learn some proper photography skills so I can help my blog to grow and look really snazzy.

4.Grow my blog. I'm pleased with how my blogs been going so far and I'm still really enjoying doing it but would really like to see it keep growing in the future. I'm going to have a look into making it look really great and possibly working with a web designer to help me with this. I'd also like to advertise it a bit more. I know the lovely sprinkle of glitter offers this and I've started reading lots of great blogs I've seen on there so think it would be a great way to get my blog out there a bit more.

5.Plan. Me and my boyfriend are the champions of making hypothetical plans and not following through with them. By the end of this year I want to make sure some of those plans are put into action.

Well there we go. I hope this didn't seem like a negative post. I just wanted give myself a little bit of a shake and get motivated. I'll make sure to let you know when I've worked through these and tell you how they all went. Thanks for reading.

Robyn xx

Wish list

Hello!!

Some months the money just doesn't seem to last as well as others, and typically those months I want to buy every single thing I see. #firstworldproblems I thought I would put together a little list of a few things that I'm really pining for in the hopes that I'll get it out of my system and won't bankrupt myself as soon as I'm payed.

 

Aaah Pro-collagen marine cream, it's truly the stuff of skin care legend and all I can think about is how beautiful this would look on my bathroom shelf. I've mentioned this beauty before but they currently have a 100ml version out for breast cancer which is double the size of the usual one. At £99 a pot this is by no means cheap but it is for a good cause so we'll see how spendy I'm feeling come pay day.

 

These cute, little shorts are from Zara and are a total bargain at £12.99. I haven't got any holidays planned for this year yet but the weather in England is currently really good so I would still get the wear out of them. I love the whole outfit in this picture to be honest and wouldn't mind having the legs to match, a girl can dream.

 

 

 I've always loved a good kimono. I think they make any look fancier and it's always my go to look if I'm rushing out and don't know what to put on. Now long ones are all the rage I need one in my life and this one from Topshop looks right up my street. It has a beautiful pattern but I think the colours are subtle enough that it could still be worn with most things. I think I need this in my life.

 

 

This is another that may seem a little extravagant and to be honest it is but I've been thinking about getting canon for a while spotted the canon EOS 1100D digital SLR while on amazon the other day and they have a really good offer on at the moment. It would definitely still be a splurge but I have some amazon vouchers saved up and I keep telling myself it would be an investment! I still want to do a little but more research about this one to see if it's right for me but keep an eye out for beautiful pictures coming from this direction in the very near future.

Well that's everything. We'll see what happens on pay day but I'm sure once it actually comes around I'll have changed my mind about most things. Hope you all enjoyed today's post. I have a few ideas at the ready so keep an eye out on here in the near future and I'll be back soon.

Robyn xx

weekend adventures

Hello!!

I normally work every weekend which sadly means I don't get a lot of time to see friends and do fun things but the last couple of weekends I managed to take some holidays and visit my lovely friends.

My first weekend off I ventured to York where my best friend Annie lives. It was a very brief  visit but we had a lovely girly day with good food, Prosecco and shopping and then went out for a bit of a boogy later on. We went to a place called Lucia's for lunch which was really cool! We sat out side under little shelters which were surrounded by heaters so you were kept nice and toasty, they give you really cute fleecey blankets as well!

I'm not really one for taking selfies, there's actually hardly any pictures of me on this blog at all but I thought I'd conquer my fear and show you what I looked like for my night out in York. (cringe)

 

 

York was great. It's honestly one of the prettiest cities with loads of cool little bars and shops. It was really great to see Annie as well, I'm definitely gonna try and visit more often.

The next weekend I went down to London. Me and some friends had tickets to Barclay card British summer time in Hyde Park. We were there for the Sunday which was definitely the cheesier day of the weekend and right up my street. I got to see quite a few different acts including the Vamps, the Backstreet boys and the the one I was most excited for Mcbusted. I was the biggest Busted fan when I was younger and still love Mcfly so I was so happy I got to see them. I literally just jumped around and sang for the full 2 hours they were on and had the best time. I'm not sure I'll ever get to see them perform as Mcbusted again and actually felt a bit emotional after (so dramatic).

 I would just like to point out that under my friend Adele's Backstreet boys t-shirt was a Mcbusted t-shirt, brilliant! I had a lovely couple of weekends and it was really great to see all my friends and so some different things. Please forgive me for wearing the same dress in both pictures, I had completely forgotten until I started uploading my pictures, I promise I do own more clothes!

Hope you all enjoyed this post, I'll try and get back to blogging a bit more regularly too.

Robyn xx

Elemis I love you

 

 

 

Hello!!

 

After recently doing a little bit of work with Elemis I can safely say that I am in love with the brand and thought I would share with you why that is! All Elemis products come with a promise of no animal testing, animal derived ingredients and no nasties aka parabins, artificial colours and artificial foaming agents. What more could you want than that! They also never advertise and choose to put their money into finding really great, natural ingredients and clinically trialling  them to make sure the products are as effective as possible. This can bump up the price a bit but I am much happier knowing that I'm paying for active ingredients rather than an advertising campaign and nasty chemicals. As you can see from the pictures I've got a good little stash of products now and have definitely seen a massive improvement in my skin since using them and will definitely be keeping a few in my routine from now on.

 

My top picks:

 

-Balancing lime blossom cleanser
-Pro-collagen marine cream
-Exotic cream moisturising mask
-Papaya enzyme peel
-Gentle rose exfoilator
-Skin nourishing milk bath
-Aching muscle super soak
-Frangipani monoi body oil
-Instant refreshing gel

Hope you enjoyed today's little post. I can't recommend Elemis products enough so hope some of you will give them a try.

Robyn xx

V05 rave

Hello!!

First off, it's been a little while since my last post and I did plan to have something a little different coming up to finish off my top 5 series but sadly I couldn't manage to put it together how I'd of liked so I'm gonna give it a miss for now. Today I thought I'd do a little rave about a brand that has been creeping it's way into my life one volume boosting product at a time. V05 have fast become my favourite hair care brand and I'm gonna run through a few products that I think give my barnet all the va va voom it needs.

First up is the V05 miracle concentrate elixir with argon oil. I got this bottle ages ago when hair oils were just starting to get big and it has lasted me ages. While I don't think the ingredients are great and it probably won't actually treat the hair it does leave it feeling really smooth and soft and that's good enough for me. I mostly use this as a finishing product after I've styled my hair but do sometimes use it on wet hair too and both work really well.

The give me texture instant oomph powder does exactly what it says on the tin. Whenever my hair's feeling a little bit flat I just shake a bit of this in and my hair is left big and bouncy! I find less is definitely more with this one, I have been a bit heavy handed a couple of times and been left with hair that feels a bit questionable but a little bit in in the roots and it's completely undetectable. Big thumbs up from me.

The Plump it up dry shampoo has been a regular re-purchase of mine for a while now. It's the only thing I reach for when my hair's not looking as squeaky clean as I'd like. Not only does it mop up any un-wanted greasiness but it also adds loads of  volume which makes my hair look like it's just been washed. It doesn't leave much of a residue ether, once it's been worked in a little bit you can't see it at all. I honestly use this most days and it makes managing my hair a lot easier.

Next is the high volume hairspray. I've mentioned this one in a post before which you can read here. Basically this hairspray has managed to win me over when no hairspray before ever could. It's great at holding my hair in place but is still light enough to keep my hair feeling soft and bouncy.

That sums up my little V05 rave. I love everything I've tried from them so will definitely keep you posted with anything else from them that catches my eye. It's a very reasonably priced range that's nearly always on offer in Superdrug so you can afford to go a bit wild and try out a few things. Hope you enjoyed today's post. I'm hoping to get back to being regular on here so keep a watch out for a new posts coming soon.

Robyn xx

Top 5 bargain tans

Hello

Continuing on with my little series today with a look at fake tans. Now that it's starting to warm up a bit  I thought it would be good to have a little look at something to get glowy and bronzed. I've focused on the more affordable tans because these are genuinely what I use and don't really feel the need to spend more. Hope you enjoy!!

5. First up is the Simple kind to skin, sun kissed moisture cream. This is basically a gradual tan for the face. Whilst this only leaves a very subtle tan to the skin I really like the idea that it's designed especially for the face and has all the benefits of simple's usual moisturiser. It doesn't cause any nasty break outs like using a body product on the face can do. Of course this is a bargain too at £4.99

4. Next up is the Solait tinted bronzing lotion. This one came as a pleasant suprise. I bought this on a whim just to see what it was like but didn't really expect to much but it actually applies really well and leaves a nice bronzed look that's not orange at all. This one goes on with a little hint of colour then develops over the next few hours. This makes it so much easier for applying and doesn't leave you with any nasty streaks or white patches. I haven't noticed any biscuitey tan smell with this one either so you won't spend the day craving ginger nuts! Another bargain at £6.99, need I say more.

3. Next up is probably the most well known bargain tan. We all know St. Moriz is just a snidey version of St Tropez but that doesn't stop it being a good tan in it's own right. This is definitely easier to use that St Tropez as it goes on dark so you don't miss any areas by accident. The mouse texture blends really easily as well and doesn't feel heavy or greasy on the skin. I normally use this one before bed (sorry bed sheets) as you do look a little bit like an umpa lumpa at first but after a quick shower in the morning your left with a lovely all over tan with no nasty smell. I would say that this one can leave the skin feeling a little bit dry but at just £3.99 I'm sure you'll have plenty left over for a body lotion.

2. Next we have the Loreal Sublime bronze self tanning gel. Again this one goes on with a hint of colour (are you sensing a theme) I just fine this way so much easier. The gel texture with this one means it glides really evenly onto the skin and doesn't cling to any drier areas at all. I use the tinted and shimmering version but find it leaves more of a glow than full on shimmer, it smells amazing for a tan too. This ones slightly pricier at £8.99 but I think it's worth it.

1. Today's big winner is the Garnier body summer body moisturising lotion (these tans all have very long names!) I've raved about this product before which you can read here if you like. I really, really like this tan. Not only does it leave the skin silky smooth, it also gives a really natural looking tan that can build up over time. I always buy the 400ml bottle and fine it lasts me ages. This is around £7.99 but is nearly always on offer, total bargain!!

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you've now got some ideas of how to get bronzed for summer. My next post is going to be something a little bit different that I'm really excited to share with you.

Robyn xx