Review // Dior Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a list of beauty brands I want to try in 2016 and Dior were high on that list, specifically the Diorskin foundations. When House of Fraser asked me to review some make up from their site, I seized my chance and went straight to the sizeable selection of Dior products to choose a foundation. Eventually, I settled on Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation simply based on the novelty. As the name would suggest, this is a spray-on foundation. Intriguing, right?

Review // Lush Breeze on a Sea Air Toner Water

I have a thing about sea salt. Breath of Fresh Air toner was amazing and, when I recently finished it (by which I mean, lost the bottle somehow), I turned my thoughts towards which toner I would try next. As luck would have it, Breeze on a Sea Air popped up in the Kitchen and, as it seemed so similar to my previous selection, I decided to give it a whirl.

Meeting the Pointless Chaps

Everyone loves Pointless right? I know I definitely do. In fact, I've applied to be on the show. Twice. I didn't hear back either time so maybe I should just take the hint. One of the reasons I want to be on Pointless- aside from wanting to assert my authority as a bloody amazing contestant and winning that coveted Pointless trophy- is because I love Richard Osman more than I love my own husband. True facts. Turns out, I didn't need to be a contestant to meet the love of my life because I only went and bloody did it anyway!

Book Wishlist // Victorian Society

It seems crazy to me that so many bookworms aren't into non-fiction. For me, there is nothing more fascinating than developing new knowledge, and learning is the best way to do that. The vast majority of my Amazon wishlist is non-fiction and, in fact, around 41% of my TBR (yes, I did the maths) is factual. It will come as a surprise to nobody that the topic I read about the most is death but I'm also completely enamoured by Victorian society. For a time, I planned to study Victorian history at university (until I realised I'd have to complete both years of my tedious Tudor history A level and I was not down with that!). I have a fair few Victorian-themed books waiting to be read, but also have a lot more on my wishlist. 

How to visit Amsterdam for £200

As you may have already seen, Ami and I recently visited Amsterdam. We chose the Dutch capital predominantly because it's so affordable. As much as we both would have loved a trip to Paris, since Ami is a student and I'm in a weird unemployed-before-studying limbo, we don't exactly have the funds to visit the more expensive destinations. We set ourselves a budget of £200 for flights and accommodation but, remarkably, we pretty much managed to keep our entire trip below this figure. If you're looking for a super affordable European city break, Amsterdam is the one! Here's how we did it...

Review // Lush Ice Blue Shampoo

Lush haircare is one of my favourite things. It takes a lot of willpower not to buy every single shampoo and conditioner that pops into the Kitchen. Sometimes I just have to yield to the tempation, and when Ice Blue appeared on the menu, I had to have it. 

FF CLXX

Whitstable is one of my favourite places in the world and Jordan just looks adorable there!

48 hours in Amsterdam

When Ami suggested we go for a European mini-break, I immediately thought of Amsterdam. I'd been before (a couple of months before I started blogging) and wasn't particularly enamoured with the city but it was very cheap, so seemed like the perfect place. In the end, I had a much better time than I'd anticipated, perhaps because I went with low expectations following my last, rather disappointing trip. We managed to have a great time and spent very little doing so. Bonus!

Review // Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil

Like every other blogger in the UK, I hunted down a copy of June's edition of Elle to get my hands on the brand new Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil. Benefit have completely overhauled their brow line, with a bunch of new products and giving existing favourites a makeover, and issued free Goof Proof pencils to mark this event.

Birthday Twitter Giveaway // Tatty Devine necklace and Harry Potter book

Since it was my birthday this week, I thought it would be nice to host a little giveaway. If I'm getting presents, so should you, right? I've got two- very different- prizes up for grabs: A Tatty Devine necklace and a Harry Potter book.

THE PRIZES
Tatty Devine Pretzel Necklace

Rich bought me this necklace for my birthday as it will be perfect for my jaunts to Austria. Unfortunately, it took a long time to turn up so he called them and they sent a replacement. In the meantime, the original one arrived but the very lovely people at Tatty Devine said he could keep both as a gesture of goodwill. Of course, I don't really need two pretzel necklaces so thought it would make a nice little giveaway prize.
The necklace in question is now sold out but was worth £25 and is made from laser cut tortoiseshell acrylic with a gold-coloured metal chain.
Harry Potter The Character Vault Book
I accidentally bought two copies of this book around January time but kept hold of it to give away the duplicate. This hardback book by Jodi Revenson discusses how the creative departments of the Harry Potter films developed visual aspects of the characters through the use of costume, props, make up and sets. It sits alongside earlier books by Revenson such as The Creature Vault and Magical Places from the Film. The Character Vault has an RRP of £24.99 

London Aquarium Sea Life Centre

Every year, Rich's work rewards some of their workers with a fun day trip. Last year we went to Thorpe Park and this time, the trip was a Wagamamas followed by a visit to the London Sea Life Aquarium. For reasons I'm not entirely sure about, one of my 101 in 1001 goals was to visit the aquarium so that was very handy!

Review // Soap & Glory Archery DIY Brow Bar

Since I'm always looking for ways to up my brow game, I'm forever trying different products. I picked up Soap & Glory Archery DIY Brow Bar in Boots on a whim since it was affordable and looked to have everything I needed in one, easy-to-carry compact. 

Nails // Essie Urban Jungle and Gemporia Emerald Ring

Since I'm heading to Amsterdam the day after I write this (by the time you read this, I'll be there!), I wanted to travel with nice, fresh nails. I splashed out on a new set of acrylics but kept the pointed shape I love so much. In fact, they ended up even pointier than usual and I am thrilled to bits with them!

Spring Empties

I actually remembered to post my empties this time! Are you proud? I'm completely baffled by how few items I have to include this time. I'm very close to finishing quite a few products though, so I should have more by the end of summer!

How I treated my dry skin

As you may have gathered from, well, pretty much all of my skincare reviews lately, I've been plagued by a pesky patch of dry skin on my left cheek. It's not visible and it's only small- maybe an inch in length at the most- but it has been really annoying, especially when make up clings to it. Thankfully, right now, it looks like it may have decided to leave for a little while so, since I've been banging on about it so much lately, I thought I would discuss what seems to have made the difference. I don't claim to be a skincare expert and I'm not saying these will necessarily work for you, but it might be interesting to see what I've been doing.

Review // Lush Fathers' Day: Superdad Bath Bomb & The Modfather Bubble Bar

I was mighty excited when Lush brought out their Fathers' Day collection this year. They've been creating Mothers' Day products for years but, as far as I know, have never done one for the dads so I couldn't wait to try it out. Now, admittedly, I'm not a dad. Neither is Rich. But I needed to try these products, so I got them ok?

Why I'm voting to remain in the EU

Before the General Election last year, I wrote a couple of political posts and they went down really well. I feel pretty strongly about politics- not necessarily my political leanings (although of course I have strong feelings on those too, despite my current political identity crisis), but that everybody should be informed about the politics of our country and have some form of opinion. For this reason, I like it when those with a platform, such as blogging, share their political views and just generally open up a discussion on current issues.

FF CLXIX

I've really loved Charlotte's New York photo diary. I want to go!

Toaster adventures with DeLonghi

Confession time: I am pathetic in the kitchen. Rich does all the cooking so I probably wouldn't even set foot in the kitchen if I didn't have to walk through it to reach the bathroom. So when House of Fraser asked me to review one of their toasters, I figured I would be the perfect person to write a completely honest, from-an-idiot's-perspective post! 

Review // Lancome Miracle Cushion Foundation

When I was asked to write my BAFTAs style post, I was very kindly sent a goodie bag from House of Fraser which included a host of beautiful Lancome beauty products. In that post, I promised I would review them all so I'm kicking off with the Miracle Cushion Foundation- a base that, rather than being dispensed from a bottle or tube, is produced from a sponge that has been saturated with foundation.