- Small Superdrug Haul

It's been over two weeks since I last blogged and all I have for you is this teeny tiny haul. Sorry. Being a student again has meant a lack of time (and money) so I've not shopped much recently but I did go into town the other day and picked up a few things in Superdrug. I was planning on staying in town longer than I did and having a good look around the shops but it was so busy and hectic with Christmas shoppers that I didn't hang around. I definitely plan to do as much of my Christmas shopping online as possible (if I don't leave it too late)!

Nice N Easy Colour Blend Foam Medium Brown - £6.99

 Zoella Fizz Bar - £5.00

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner Black - £2.99

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

Thanks for reading.

Julie x

- Mag of the Month | Benefit in Elle

I will hopefully be starting a new series on my blog called 'Mag of the Month'. I do enjoy reading magazines but to be honest I am like a child and am more interested in the freebie. Every month I'll be showing you what magazine I've picked up and what beauty product I got with it. I'll try to do it as close to the issue's release date as possible in case you want to grab one yourself although as I am in the UK it may be different if you are elsewhere.

Today I picked up a copy of the December issue of Elle magazine. This month Elle comes with a free travel size of Benefit They're Real push-up liner. I have previously tried Benefit's They're Real mascara (which I also got free in Elle) and posted about that on my old blog here. I loved the mascara from this range so I definitely have high hopes for this. The eyeliner shape is very unique and not like any others I have tried before so I am keen to give it a go.

Have you tried this eyeliner?

P.S Happy Halloween!

Julie x

- An Insider's Guide to Blogging

Earlier this week I was contacted by the lovely people at luxury fashion brand Farfetch. They've recently put together a new infographic with advice for bloggers, by bloggers. As someone who is relatively new to blogging, I am always on the lookout for tips and as I know many of my followers also run their own blogs, I thought I would share it with you.

As well as the infographic, I thought I would give you some of my own tips.

Be organised - For many bloggers (like me), blogging is just a hobby and not a full-time job. This can mean juggling blogging with studying, working and everything else life throws at us. If you do post weekly, you've probably been shocked in the past at how quickly the week goes by and before you know it, you're due to post again. I've found planning your posts a few weeks in advance helpful to stop any last minute panic.

Make the most of your drafts - I have tons of random drafts saved on Blogger. Some are just vague ideas that I might do one day and others are posts that are practically finished and ready to go. This means if I have a particularly busy week I can at least post one of them as a 'filler' instead of posting nothing. If you are going to do this though, make sure it's not a post that will quickly go out of date and be irrelevant by the time you post it.

Take photos in bulk - For me, photos are one of the most important and enjoyable parts of blogging but taking photos can be time consuming. I find when I come home from uni/work it is already too dark to take pictures with natural lighting so I prefer to take photos in bulk on my days off. This way I have them ready to edit and add to the post when I need them and helps posts come together a lot faster.

Make the most of tutorials - When you're first getting into blogging, trying to get your blog design the way you want can definitely be a little confusing and overwhelming. You can always pay someone else to do it, but if you're feeling creative you can have a go yourself. If you're trying to find out how to do a particular thing, just google it and you'll usually find an answer within seconds. I've found tutorials by xomisse to be incredibly helpful and easy to follow.

So, what do you think? As a reader, do feel these things make a difference to the blogs you visit?
If you blog, what advice would you give your fellow bloggers?

Julie x

- Liebster Blog Award Nomination

Thank you very much to Claudia from the blog Crafts and Spices for the nomination! The Liebster Blog Award is created for smaller bloggers. Liebster is a German words that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved. There are several different versions of this floating around the web, but I'm just carrying on the version I was tagged in. It's just a bit of fun and is a great way to discover new blogs!

The Rules:

- Post 11 random facts about yourself.
- Answer 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you
- Nominate 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to do the same.
- Let the bloggers you have nominated know they have been nominated.

11 Facts About Me:

1. My favourite animal are hedgehogs
2. I have no idea what career I want
3. I want a tattoo but I'm too scared to get one
4. My favourite band is McFly
5. I have never had a nose bleed
6. People watching is my favourite thing
7. I have never been to Nando's
8. I am not a morning person. At all.
9. My favourite Ben & Jerry's flavour is Phish Food
10. My first job was in McDonalds and I started there when I was 16
11. My current favourite programme is The Job Lot

Answer's to Claudia's Questions:

1. Coffee or tea?

Neither! The only hot drink I like is hot chocolate.

2. What is your favourite colour?

Purple or blue

3. If you could move to a different country for one year, where would that be?

Probably England! Quite a boring answer considering I could go anywhere in the world and I'm picking my next door neighbour but I wouldn't like to move too far from Scotland I don't think and I actually really like Britain!

4. Favourite season?

Autumn (but Winter is a close second because I love Christmas).

5. What's your dream holiday destination?

Probably somewhere in Italy.

6. What do you love most about blogging?

I really like that you can follow people from all over the world and see a little part of their lives. It's interesting to compare their style and thoughts to your own. I also really enjoy blog design and taking pictures. I'm not great at either of these but hopefully I'm getting better with practice!

7. What's the last book you read?

To be honest,I don't read very often. The last novel I read was probably The Fault in Our Stars (the same as every other girl I know). Last month I started uni so I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more reading very soon!

8. What do you do to relax?

Change into my pyjamas, watch YouTube videos or tv (and eat a load of unhealthy snacks probably). Sometimes I'll have a bath if I'm in the mood for one.

9. Name one thing you can't live without.

My family. Awww so cute! (to be honest it was a tough call between family and internet and family only just won).

10. What's your favourite food?

Pizza pizza pizza. Easiest question ever.

11. What's your favourite blog?

I don't have one favourite I like loads of different ones for different reasons.

Questions for my nominations:

1. What is your dream career?
2. What is your favourite film?
3. Who is your celeb crush?
4. Something you are looking forward to?
5. Do you have any pets and if so what are they?
6. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
7. What is your favourite time of year?

8. What is something you are proud of?

9. What is your favourite social media site?

10. What is/was your favourite school subject?

11. How long have you been blogging?

My nominations are:

1. Nicole Lee from Hey Let's Makeup
2. Hana from Rimmel Smudge
3. Kayla from Sunshine Problems
4. Marina from Marina's Closet Blog
5. Katie from Katie Lily Blog
6. Darleen from Darleen Marie
7. Gillian from Ready Steady File

8. Beth from Sparkle Eyes 101

9. Hayley from Hayley Loui

10. Fay from A Little Bit of That

11. Michelle from Michelle Louise Love

Thanks again to Claudia for nominating me! If you haven't already, check out her blog as well as the people I nominated! If those of you I have nominated do decide to do it then comment below with the link so I can read your answers to my questions. Sorry if I've tagged anyone who's already done it. Obviously if you have been nominated and don't want to do it, you don't have to!

Have fun!

Julie x

- One Lovely Blog Award Tag

I've been nominated to do the One Lovely Blog Award tag by Nicole Lee from the blog Hey Let's Makeup. All you have to do is share 7 facts about yourself and nominate 7 other bloggers (remember to let them know you've tagged tagged them). It's a great way to learn more about your fellow bloggers and to find new blogs!

7 Facts About Me:

1. I have three dogs
2. I was 18 the first time I went abroad/on a plane
3. When I was 15 I was vegetarian for a few months
4. I have never broken a bone (touch wood)
5. I am an extremely fussy eater
6. I love documentaries about prison/crime/murder (weird?)
7. I have lived in 7 different houses

Who I Nominate:

1. Claudia from Crafts and Spices
2. Allie from You Gotta Be Gorgeous x
3. Emily from Style Lobster
4. Jelena from Simple and Sparkly Life
5. Ami from Ami Rose
6. Karis from Beauty by Karis
7. Estelle from Let Me Go xo

Thanks again to Nicole Lee for tagging me! If you haven't already go and check out her blog and the other people I tagged! If I've nominated you and you do decide to take part, leave a link to your post below so I can have a little nosy at it! Sorry if I've tagged anyone who's already done it!

Julie x

- Drugstore Skincare Routine

Today I thought I'd share with you some of the skincare products I've been using recently. All of these products are from 'drugstore' brands and are really affordable but I've found that they seem to be doing the job. Everyone's skin is different and your skin may react differently to a product than mine does. My skin is generally quite clear although can be a bit oily. I do get the odd breakout every now and then but fortunately I have never had any major issues such as acne. If you do, these products may not be effective for you and you may need products created specifically for that.

St Ive's - Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub

Garnier - Pure Active Daily Energising Gel Wash

Clean & Clear - Oil Free Dual Action Moisturiser 

Dirty Works - Vitamin C Brightening Mask

Simple - Kind to Eyes Eye Make-up Remover

Lush - Grease Lightning Spot Treatment

Have you tried any of these products?
What's your current skincare favourites?

Julie x

- Autumn Pamper Night

I love pamper nights no matter what time of year it is but knowing it's a cold Autumn night outside seems to make a night in even more cosy & enjoyable. I thought I'd show you some products I enjoy using for a relaxing evening. Top it off with a hot chocolate, snacks and a cheesy chick flick for the ideal pamper night in.

Bath & Shower

Radox Berry Burst Shower Cream

St Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub

Soap & Glory The Daily Soothe Bath Float

Skincare

Montagne Jeunesse Nut Oil Face Mask

Dove Nourishing Body Cream

Lips

Lush Mint Julips Lip Scrub

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm - Hibiscus

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lip Balm - Dark Chocolate & Mint

Okay, there's really no need for two lip balms but I just love both so why not include them? I love mint lip products so the Lush lip scrub and the Palmer's lip balm go really well together. The Burt's Bees lip balm is tinted it gives a lovely 'your lips but better' colour (although I admit it's a bit unnecessary for a pamper night).

Nails

Lush  Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

Rimmel London Finishing Touch Ultra Shine Top Coat

Technic Nail Varnish - Mad Alice

Rimmel London Salon Pro - 402 Urban Purple

The Technic nail polish is gorgeous but (like most glitter polishes) needs another colour as a base coat. Urban Purple is a perfect Autumn shade so I used this and just added the glitter on my ring fingers.

And what's a relaxing evening without candles? I have no idea where any of these are from I just seem to have accumulated a massive candle collection over the last few years (trust me I have a lot more than this).

What are your favourite products for pampering yourself?

Julie x

- Small Jewellery Haul

For me, earrings seem to be like hair ties and bobby pins. In my life I must have bought hundreds but somehow they manage to disappear into thin air and I can never find any (or I can only find one half of the pair). Because of this, I usually just buy cheap earrings (even though they're probably no good for your ears) but it means I can change them about more often and try different combinations as I currently have three piercings on each ear. So, the other day in town I picked up some packs of earrings from New Look and some bracelets from Primark.

6 Pairs of Earrings - New Look - £4.99

Re-born 3 Pairs of Earrings - New Look - £3.99

Opia 6 Pack of Bracelets - Primark - £2

What's your favourite high street store for accessories?

Julie x

- George at Asda Haul

Yesterday I went a little trip to Asda for some *ahem* essentials. I was mainly going to have a look at the clothes in George but nothing really took my fancy so I thought I might as well pick up some make-up items. Since I was already there, it was really the most sensible thing to do, right?

George Super Boost Foundation No.1 Ivory Silk £4 - I always enjoy trying new foundations and I think this caught my eye because the packaging reminded me of the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation packaging which is the foundation I'm currently using. I'm not sure how great it will be as it was pretty cheap for a foundation but I'll give it a go.

George Velvet Eye Palette No. 9 Earthquake £4.50 - The next little bargain I picked up was this neutral eyeshadow quad. I haven't properly worn these eyeshadows yet but I swatched them on the back of my hand and the pigmentation isn't the best. It may be better with a base or primer underneath but I'll just be using this as a day-to-day palette for a quick sweep of colour over the lid so I'm not that bothered if they come out a little more subtle.

Mini Clock £2 - So I'm sure you've spotted by now that this is in fact not a make-up item but I decided to include this random purchase in my haul anyway as it's just so cute. It's probably hard to tell from this picture how small this clock is but if you look at the first photo in this post the size of it compared to the nail polish bottle shows how tiny it really is. I'm sure I can find a big enough space on my desk for it!

George Gel Pro Polish No.3 £3 - As Summer seems to officially be over and we are now coming into Autumn I thought I would embrace it with a gorgeous dark nail polish. One thing you should know about me is that I love nail polish. I have so many bottles yet I can never resist picking up another one*

Orly Nail Polish Luxe Freebie - *or two. Here we have further evidence that I am a sucker for nail polish. In my defence, I didn't technically buy this as it came free with October's Cosmopolitan magazine. I saw a few bloggers posting about this freebie and got nail polish envy so decided to grab myself one. I've never had an Orly nail polish before so I'm looking forward to trying it. In the mag there are four available shades: this one (Luxe), Monroe's Red, Passion Fruit and Nude. I went for this one as, despite my massive nail polish collection, I've never really had a shade like this.

Have you tried any of these products or purchased any little treats recently?

Julie x

- My First Graze Box

I realise I am extremely late to the graze box party but last week I finally jumped on the bandwagon and ordered my first box. When the graze box craze first began, I was tempted to get one but I am a very fussy eater and thought I probably wouldn't like many of the snacks. However, a couple of weeks ago I received a voucher code (I think it was in a magazine) to get my first box free (normally £3.99) so I decided to go for it.

As part of my healthier eating/weight loss journey, I decided to opt for the light box. As the name suggests, the light box contains a selection of their lowest-calorie snacks which are all between 50 and 150 calories each. When I've heard about graze box in the past, I was always under the impression that the snacks you receive are totally at random but, as a fussy eater, I was very impressed at how much control you can have. When ordering, all the products will be selected as 'try' which means you are 'happy to try' this snack and you may be sent it in a future box. If you don't like something you can 'bin' it and they promise never to send you it. You can also select 'send soon' if there's something you really fancy and they will try to put it in your next box where possible. You can also rate products as 'like' (send occasionally) or 'love' (send regularly) and you can decide how often you are sent a box.

1) Herby Bread Basket

"basil baguettes, garlic crostini and oregano rice crackers"

2) Toffee Apple

"toffee sauce with granny smith apple" only 74 calories

3) Lightly Toasted Pistachios

"whole pistachios toasted with a little salt"

4) Rough Blend Peanut Butter with Pretzel Sticks

the name says it all really...

Overall, I was very pleased with my first graze box experience. I think it is a great way to try a variety of snacks and is great value (especially as a lot of healthier snacks can be expensive in shops). The website was easy to use, I received my box quickly and it fits through the letter box so you don't have to be in when it is delivered.

Do you receive graze boxes? What's your favourite snack you've tried in one?

Julie x

- Frozen Yogurt Pops

This summer we have had some surprisingly good weather in Scotland (which of course didn't last and I can now hear the rain bouncing off my window as I type). The sunny days made a great excuse for plenty of ice cream but I'm sadly not going to lose weight munching McFlurrys so I wanted to make myself a healthier alternative - Frozen Yogurt Pops.

I decided to use cake pop moulds so that they were a nice small snack size but if you wanted to make them bigger you could always use normal ice lolly moulds that you would normally freeze juice in. I got the cake pop moulds and sticks from Poundland and you can use whatever yogurt you like. Today I went for one tray of Yeo Valley Peach & Apricot and a second of Muller Light Smooth Toffee.

Making these is simple:

- Spoon the yogurt into the bottom half of mould

- Place the top half of the mould on

- Insert the lolly sticks

- Put in the freezer for a few hours

As you can probably tell from the picture below, I filled up the moulds a little bit too much with yogurt so they spilled over the edges when I put the lid on but I'll know for next time!

The cake pop moulds are designed to have cake which will rise into the shape when baked so because I am not doing this the yogurt pops can turn out a bit skew-whiff but they still taste great. I am really pleased with the result and think they are the perfect refreshing snack on a hot day (and with only one ingredient they are also really cheap and easy to make). 

Julie x

- Welcome

Hello!

My name is Julie and I am a 20 year old student from (three guesses) Glasgow in Scotland. I began watching beauty videos on Youtube and reading blog years ago and decided that I would have a go at blogging. I previously had another beauty blog but haven't posted on there for over a year. I really missed blogging and wanted to get back into in but decided it would be best to have a fresh start and so here I am! I'm a full-time uni student and work part-time as a Sales Assistant but I will try to post weekly on my blog. Please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments section of my posts. I really appreciate everyone who visits and reads my blog and I hope you enjoy.

Julie x

Updated September 2014