Late Night Shopping On A Thursday

So I went shopping last week just before Christmas to have a bit of a wander and see if anything took my fancy. It's normally dangerous when I decide to go shopping for nothing in particular, but I don't think I did too badly in keeping control.

So the first thing I got was this Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub. I got it from Boots as part of a 3 for 2, but retails itself for £8.  Now the smell of this product is divine, I mean it has more of a citrus scent than I would normally choose for myself but it is seriously moreish as it just smells so fresh and natural without having a chemically smell. The mixture of lime, almond and brown sugar seems like a strange mix and before I smelt it for myself I was apprehensive, but it's seriously seriously good! I have seen many bloggers rave about this product and always wondered what it was like, but I must say it is living up to the hype. I use it every other bath, I tend to bathe a lot so this is ample. I don't have to use a lot at a time, in fact I've barely made a dent in it and I've had it for a few weeks now and it leaves my skin feeling gorgeous. The only thing I would grumble about is I find it to be a tad sticky, but not overbearingly.

While I was in the Soap and Glory section I picked up the Hand Food, hand moisturiser, as I feel you can never have enough moisturisers! I got the 50ml for £2.50 which is perfect for popping into my hand bag as I always need one on the go in the Winter months. This again has an unbelievable smell, like most of the Soap and Glory range, with shea butter, macadamia and marshmallow, it has a real cute and girly smell. The Hand Food claims to be a 'non-greasy hand cream' and I must admit it isn't greasy in the slightest, again perfect for those who needs a quick moisturise on the go.

 I then popped into Superdrug just to pick up a few MUA eyeshadows, as I find this really inexpensive and great for everyday use. I picked up this lovely gold shimmery eyeshadow for just £1, it's surprisingly pigmented for the price and lasted all day when I chose to wear it for Christmas Day!

 I then picked up this pallet which I had been eyeing up for a little while, as I love the purpley plum shades, as I think I will probably steer this way for eye make-up in the Winter season. I picked this up for £4, which for 12 different shades is really amazing value. Again they are really pigmented and vivid colours and just what I want for going to uni or popping to the shops.

 Unfortunately I couldn't find either of these products to link for you anywhere! But they will most likely be in your local Superdrug store.

I then did a naughty... I went to the Barry M nail varnishes, the glitter ones to be exact.. This is dangerous territory for me, I really do have enough glittery nail varnishes, but I decided I needed another. This one is lovely though, and it was only £2.99. It has specs of blue, purple and silver shimmer through it, in large chunks so you can build it up for an all over coverage or just use a quick sweep for something subtle.

I am thinking about doing a blog post on my favourite products, what do you think?

Nicola Mai..x

New Year... A Better Me?

So it's the 29th of December, Christmas has gone, the turkey has been eaten and I for one am left with this impending doom on how to celebrate New Year. Do I go out into town where it will be packed mostly full of strangers and celebrate it with them, or do I sit in watching everyone elses festivities on the box? Neither seems outwardly appealing to me.

But, it is that time of year where we make false promises to ourselves! Although they are only false because they are unrealistic, I mean who's going to go from a size 24 to a size 10 in a year?! I am not going to put myself on some ridiculous diet and suffer for a month, just to end up crying into a family size bar of Galaxy and hating myself for not achieving.

This year I told myself I would set goals that are realistic and that will change me for the better, not just a quick change for 3 months of the year. So here they are:

• Save money each week- I am a terrible terrible shopper, I am horrific with money and I shouldn't be allowed to go near it... I'm just one of those people. But, this year I am going to try and save as much money as I can, even if it's a fiver some weeks and fifty on others I will save something each week. This is with good incentive as Oliver and I want to buy a house together, but it will also prove to me that I can save and can get something nice at the end of it. Besides, I have a million and one eyeshadow pallets... So do I really need another one? (My head is saying yes.)
• Organise my time- As I study English Literature at uni I have an awful lot of reading and essay writing to do, this first semester I ended up making myself very ill as I stressed myself out. I realise that perhaps some of this stress stemmed from the fact I did not take a step back from what I was doing and plan. I am a good planner, I love lists and I like to know exactly what is what, so that's what I'm going to do this year.
• Get more sleep!- I don't tend to sleep very often and when I do it's at weird times of the day and only for a few hours. I seem to have tried everything; sleeping tablets, relaxing before bed, making myself abnormally tired so I sleep through the night. It's frustrating and in turn not doing my body any favours so this is something I would like to tackle as soon as possible.
• Stop putting myself out- Take note that is putting myself out, not putting out ;) I have spent the past few years putting myself out for 'friends' who quite clearly couldn't give two fucks about me. This year I am going to be selfish. I am not going to get my bank account down to 0 to come and visit you in another city for you to not text me at all when I get back, I am not going to come to a family event and come to your house every time you call for you to disappear on me for weeks at a time. I do not need people like this in my life, they give me nothing positive.

 So there they are, what are your plans for New Year? What resolutions have you made?

Nicola Mai..x