The Best of 2014

Dare I say it the year of 2014 absolutely flew in (although some parts did drag a little), something I realise is becoming more common as I'm getting older unfortunately and there were plenty of ups and downs so I'm happy to have a restart in 2015. If you read my blogiversary post (link here) you'll know 2015 is a big year in terms of things happening and I couldn't be more excited for them to play out. 2014 was a massive year beauty and skincare wise as I branched out a heck of a lot more than usual so I thought I'd share a few of my favourite things. 

Skincare is something I hold my hands up about, until last year I didn't have a proper routine and I didn't know how bad my skin was so at the start of 2014 I told myself that would be fixed, and it was!

The Body Shop has some amazing products and between their Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and their Tea Tree Facial Wash my skin has improved and then some! Both are incredible and well loved for a reason, the tea tree fights blemishes and spots (which everybody gets) and the cleanser makes my skin silky smooth - what a duo! I also invested in more face masks and I now have a whole drawer full to get through so I'm well set for this year and this Quick Fix mask was one of the first I'd tried, one of the cheapest and one of the best so I thought it needed a mention. Soap & Glory is another brand that I've been loving this year and not just for its unique smell, the products actually work and smell gorgeous as well, plus the pink packaging definitely makes everything more fun.

2014 was also the year that Babylips and the Revlon Colourburst Balms arrived and I'm ever so glad that they did, I always have my trusted Cherry Me in my handbag for on the move and my Revlon matte balm in Sultry which is probably my most used lip colour ever and you're probably all sick of hearing me raving about it but its gorgeous! I also discovered The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer which I wrote a post about a long time ago now (link here) but basically it caters for paler gals as well which is so hard to find in the drugstore these days.

Also I had to give a shout out to my Collection concealer which will probably be with me until I'm old and grey - its incredible and I still haven't find a concealer up to par with this and trust me I've tried a fair few. I also tried a few bases cause you know its all about that base and the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (the gel version, not the foundation) really stood out in the drugstore. I'm usually a Rimmel foundation gal so this was definitely a bit of a change up but a good one at that, I always wear it to work and know it won't fade.

I also took the plunge this year and bought things higher end a few times as a little treat, one of them being a YSL lipstick. I'd wanted one for ages but couldn't justify the price but in the end I gave myself one final pep talk and pressed 'add to basket' and I'm so glad I did - the formula is amazing and it looks stunning. My absolute gem of a beauty favourite of this year has to be the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation though, I know its a bit of a love / hate depending on your preference on coverage but for me I absolutely love the fact that it won't budge for 12+ hours plus and its pale enough for my pale skin! A tad pricey (as are most foundations) but I will definitely keep repurchasing it! That's them all, hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo
P.s what are your absolute favourites of 2014?

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

December Non Beauty Favourites

Last month I didn't even post one favourites post, let alone two but since this is my last chance to write up a favourites post for 2014 I thought I'd be extra nice and do my typically non beauty and beauty faves. I always like to chuck in some lifestyle as well because I love reading little snippets on other peoples blogs too and its a tradition I'll be keeping regularly on the blog, in the New Year. I usually post my beauty favourites first so I thought I'd do the opposite, so alas heres my December non beauty favourites of the month, enjoy!

It wouldn't be a December favourites without a few Christmas movies, the ones that I've had on a loop are definitely Elf and The Holiday, even Love Actually's taken a backseat this year but I just had to give these a mention. Another favourite this month which isn't pictured is maybe a bit strange but its fluffy socks - I think I've made a new challenge to myself to own as many pairs as I can in every pattern and colour under the sun. I'm definitely set for the rest of Winter but they're unbelievably cosy and I'm all about comfort! In fact I'll probably end up buying more, if I'm honest....

Chocolate is always a favourite but even more this month, there's so many snacks and treats that its hard to not eat them at every opportunity and I've been doing just that. A tub of celebrations and numerous selection boxes should not have my name on it, who really needs a New Years diet when you've enough chocolate to last you until Easter! As with all chocolate binging my skin might be suffering from the odd spot or two but for the amount I'm eating it should be a full scale breakout so I'm counting myself lucky, however my new Origins face mask has come in pretty handy.

I've only used the drink up intensive mask overnight to give my skin a bit of a lift and revitalize it a little and surprisingly its worked and my skins on the road to recovery, thank goodness, but I can definitely see myself using these masks a lot in the new year. Another favourite would have to be Soap&Glory's Hand Food, I've been working a lot and my nails have been all bleh as a result until I found this in a drawer and I remembered just how amazing it is and within a day or two they're all back to normal and this has its place now on my bedside table so I can use it constantly.Lastly I picked up a ring from Urban Outfitters and its the cutest thing ever, I love finding little pieces of jewellery that I can mix and match - usually all sorts of silver rings and this is perfect.  

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo
P.s what non beauty things have you been loving lately?

 Bloglovin'  //   Twitter  // Instagram  

August Non-Beauty Favourites

The Summer has dissappeared? With it being the end of August and September right around the corner I think its safe to say Autumn is on its way and I'm both happy and sad about it. Although we haven't had too much sun, its been nice to have no routine & simply relax before we all get back to the boring 9 to 5. Anyways less ranting, more favourites. This is my non beauty favourites because nine times out of ten I enjoy writing these more as there less common & it lets you know more about me and my interests and such so here we go. 

Not too long ago I was looking lusting over mid year diaries and planners in Paperchase for writing down all my blogging thoughts in for the next year and a half, I thought I would upgrade from planning on my iPad but walked away without one. Then I stepped into Poundland, not quite the same but they had a bunch of mid year diaries for you guessed it, a £1 and I thought why not. It can easily just be chucked in my bag, its a bit dull (I'm having a monochrome moment) and small but it does all I need it to do and honestly its made blogging, planning and organising so much easier having it all down on paper. 

As for skincare bits and pieces, I'm not sure if these should be in the beauty favourites or not but skincare is a bit different from makeup so they're here for now. I'm loving The Body Shop at the minute and have been raving all month about their cleansing butter, if you read my review here (link) and their seaweed mask. I'm a face mask addict, I think. They're the skincare item that I can't seem to stop buying but this tops all of them - I'll be doing a review soon on this but oh my goodness I'm in love and between these two my skin has been (touch wood) far clearer than normal. 

I always try and include an album or tv programme in my monthly favourites and although Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf are amaazing, I started watching Scandal this month and I'm already halfway through the second season. I love law programmes, murder mystery that sort of thing, and this is definitely more on the law side of things. It follows around Olivia Pope, her team and the drama in their personal lives as well, making it more light hearted and I can't wait to catch up enough to watch the third series. I just can't recommend it enough! Also Taylor Swift released a new song, Shake It Off which has been stuck in my head for the past two weeks and although I much prefer her older music this is unbelievably catchy and I love the message behind it! 

Lastly I purchased new sunglasses in the sale, I was hoping for sun and I love the design - when it comes to sunglasses the bigger the better and I'm going through a tortoise shell phase too so the first chance of sun we have in September (we all know its sunny when everyone's back to school) these will be my go to. I think that's all of my non beauty favourites for this month, I hope you enjoyed it :) 

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo

P.s what non beauty things have you been loving throughout August? 

 BlogLovin'  //   Twitter  //  Instagram  

April Favourites

At first I didn't think I'd had that many favourites this month and that I would be able to combine my beauty and non beauty faves instead of doing two separate posts as usual. Therefore this is going to be a pretty long one, I'm sorry, you might want to pop the kettle on and have a cuppa at the ready before you start. 

As you know if you read my other posts I went on a University fieldtrip to 

Cyprus two weeks ago and so I had to pack some beauty essentials, read: half my case full. Whenever I'm on holiday I barely wear any makeup but since I was going with my friends it was a bit different, I found myself reaching for my Maybelline BB Cream all the time as it gave me just the right amount of coverage, was surprisingly a really good colour match for me and the best part it had an SPF of 15. Therefore hand in hand with this was my 17 concealer with was perfect for covering the odd blemish or two and those dark circles after a late night. 

The entirety of the trip I had my nails painted in the new Barry M Aquarium polish in Mediterranean and considering the work we were doing I was surprised that they didn't even chip once - thats a first and in fact when I came home if I hadn't of taken the nail polish off myself goodness knows how long it would have lasted. Talking about space earlier I decided to cut down a little and brought my sleek face form with me instead of individual bronzers, blushes and highlighter - this little trio is definitely a life saver and I was constantly reaching for it, more so than normal.

As for my lip product of choice I wanted a pop of colour as my base makeup and usually eyes were kept quite neutral and so my trusted and favourite Revlon lip crayon in Unapologetic was constantly in my bag. The last beauty related product that I've been loving is the L'oreal Tangle Teaser for kids, this may be a bit of an odd choice but when I go on holiday the heat destroys my hair and especially after a day in the pool its all ratty and horrible which I hate so I bought this to save my hair and it did just that making my life a heck of a lot easier.   

For non beauty favourites for the month of April I had to include Malteaser bunnies, their my all time favourite Easter treat and I don't even want to think about how many I've consumed this past month, I have a weakness for chocolate and they taste superb. The last favourite is the Amazing Spiderman 2 Movie, I couldn't wait for this to come out as I've always been a Spiderman fan from way back when Toby M'Guire had the role but I love Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone just as much therefore I was an emotional wreck. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it but the ending killed me, bring tissues with you, just saying. Anyways its super :) 

I hope you enjoyed my monthly faves for April, thanks for reading, Jenny xo  

January Non Beauty Faves

Since I've already posted my Beauty January Favourites here, I thought it would be nice to also post my non beauty favourites. These posts are a lot less common throughout the blogging community yet they're still just as enjoyable to write and put together. 

The first thing I've been absolutely loving this

month is Demi Lovato's Staying Strong Book, I received this for Christmas as a gift and its one of the best presents I was given. It's lovely to read first thing in the morning as it sets you up for the day with inspirational quotes and daily advice lasting the entire year hence the 365 days a year part. Just an all round lovely book. 

I've also had Little Mix's album Salute on repeat the entire month, I know its been out for a little while and I had listened to it before but I've just really grown attached all of a sudden. All of the songs are so uplifting, happy or else have an important meaning behind them which I love especially Move, Towers and Nothing Feels Like You. Now I just can't wait to see them live again in early summer :) 

More of a fashion related favourite of the month would be my tartan scarf, I remember buying this in Urban Outfitters last year before tartan was the new thing and whilst everyone was looking about trying to get one this year I already had mine. It's 

so comfy, just the right height (I'm tiny so this is a big thing) and a combination of really nice colours. It goes really well with all of my coats and I just haven't been able to take if off whilst we've been having this wintery weather. 

The really good thing about Janaury is that all of the American t.v series start back again such as PLL, Teen Wolf, Suburgatory and the Vampire Diaries to name a few. I'd been waiting patiently for months for them to return to my screen (the laptop one of course) and within the first week or two of the month they were. My two favourites have been Pretty Little Liars and Teen Wolf, both of which have gotten considerably darker and scarier since their first series' but I still love them nonetheless. I would recommend these two t.v shows to anyone, Pretty Little Liars being the more girly of the two and Teen Wolf being more supernatural. If you haven't seen them, go watch them now! :) 

So that's what I've been loving this month! Let me know if theres any non beauty favourites you've been loving as well? 

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo