A Day In Hyde Park

Last week I spent the day in Hyde Park with two of my best friends, and it was such a lovely day. I've been to Hyde Park a few times including on my London Scavenger Hunt last year, but I've never spent a whole day there and I've always wanted to go on The Serpentine's pedalo's! So we jumped on a train and found our way to one of the parks many entrances.

We wandered along the paths and past some of the beautiful fountains and statues before finding a spot on the grass to set up camp. We got an ice-cream from the stand in the park and they were delicious, I went for double chocolate and caramel honeycomb.

After a bit of sunbathing we decided we better grab some lunch. We packed up our things and went back to Victoria. After a bit of debate we had Zizzi's (I didn't want Wagamama's, much to Becca's disgust).

Next up was the main aim of the day... the pedalo's!!!


Photo Credit to Becca

Photo Credit to Becca

Photo Credit to Juliet

It did not disappoint and was really fun, despite being quite hard work! It even gave us the opportunity to take some cute pictures. We literally took hundreds so these are just a few of my favourites. Also shout out to the ticket man who gave us 10 minutes extra free!

Photo Credit to Becca

Once we'd got back onto dry land we went on the search of scones, because we're THAT English ;)

Photo Credit to Becca

And we were successful! The Serpentine Café and Restaurant served scones with clotted cream and jam, alongside a lovely view  of The Serpentine.

 

After we lay on the grass enjoying the lovely evening (we were very lucky with the weather)! We must of chatted for ages before wandering back to the station to catch a jam-packed train home. It was one of my favourite days of the summer so far and hopefully we can return next year with the rest of our group of friends!

 

Thanks for reading xxx

Wicked The Musical

On Wednesday my mum and I headed up to London to go and see Wicked. I've already seen it however my mum hasn't and she doesn't get to go to see lots of West End shows like I do, so it was a nice treat!

Source

 

We made it a proper day out with lunch and shopping before going to the Apollo Theatre for the show. Considering we only bought our tickets a few days before, our seats were really good- near the front of the dress circle.

A blurry pic of the stage!

 

I love the story of Wicked so much because it has lovely themes within it such as friendship, and it is portrayed so magically. The costumes, the lighting and of course the music! Everything together makes it an experience to remember. I loved the show more than I remembered and my mum said it was brilliant and she really enjoyed it! Once you've seen the show you can understand why it is so hyped and has won so many awards- it really does deserve it! I don't want to say too much about the storyline of Wicked in case anyone hasn't seen it yet, but I'm sure almost everyone has.

So if you're one of the people that haven't seen Wicked... I really recommend it! We got our tickets from this site, and when we were looking there were lots of cheap tickets available at late notice for a range of shows.

Thanks for reading xxx

Favourite Lip Combo

Today I'm going to share with you the lip combo I've been loving recently. It's a lovely pinky nude, that actually has a subtle brown undertone that hasn't picked up that well on camera.

So I like to prep my lips using the Hourglass Lip Oil and the Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub. I use the lip oil daily to keep my lips moisturized and soft because I can't stand having chapped lips! If you struggle with dry lips I really recommend this product, it's expensive but worth the investment if you're lips get very dry.

I don't use the lip scrub all the time because I don't always feel the need to, but if I'm going out or wearing a bold lip I will put in the extra effort. Again I really recommend this if you have dry lips because it gets the job done, but personally I don't find this to be an absolute necessity.

L-R: Eastend Snob, Faux, Parfait

For the actual lip combo I like to use three products. Firstly I line my lips with the Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Eastend Snob. This lip liner is really soft so you can blend out the edges, which I do as it's slightly too dark for this particular lipstick. And apparently this is a good dupe for Miss Tilbury's Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, so if you're not willing to bite the bullet and invest in that, why not give this one a go?!

Next I apply Mac's Faux, which is a gorgeous brown tone nude. It's very creamy, with a satin finish. It is quite a deep shade, so if I'm going out quite often I'll leave the look here. Also I must add that Faux doesn't really require a lip liner, quite often I'll just throw it on but I prefer it looking a little more put together.

I like to top of this look by applying a little bit of Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Parfait to the centre of my lips. I do this for two reasons: 1) it lightens up Faux for an everyday look and 2) it adds a bit of extra moisture to my lips, as sometimes just the liner and lipstick can dry my lips ever so slightly.

And that is my favourite lip combination! Like I mentioned, I do chop and change the products e.g. for school I just use Faux and Parfait. I really love all these products together because they look very natural but you still appear to have put a bit of effort into your makeup!

Thanks for reading xxx

Lush Fresh Face Mask 'Cupcake' | Review

Today I'm doing a review of Lush's 'Cupcake' Face Mask, as I'm sure you gathered from this post's title.

'Cupcake' is aimed towards oily teenage skin so I thought it would work well for me, seeing as I have combination skin. Lush claim that the mask cleanses, tones, softens and moisturizes the skin, so I had high hopes!

It's described as chocolate heaven which I really didn't get to be honest. Now the main ingredient is cocoa butter and powder (along with rhassoul mud, linseed and fresh mint), and the colour is chocolaty, but I expected it to smell like chocolate or something which it definitely does not! It has a fairly strong smell that I have no clue how to describe! I have mixed opinions on the scent, it certainly wouldn't be my first choice and I can see why some people would really be put off by it; I personally don't find it that offensive and can get past it.

 

I love the packaging of all the Fresh Face Masks. The little black round pots are very simple, and considering they have to be kept in the fridge, they're the perfect size to take up minimal space! Also the pots have all the info on them that you could possibly need, so if you've been sold it in the shop and have forgotten some of the details you were told, there's no need to worry.

 

 

Okay so I applied this onto dry skin, left it for 10 minutes and then removed it using warm water with a flannel. It applied easily and felt like it was gently exfoliating my skin due to the grainy texture and bits of linseed in the mask. It removed easily once dry but my flannel did need a good rinse after!

A couple of days after using the mask for the first time I did break out, but I'm assuming that's just because it was cleansing all the gunk from my skin. Once that cleared, my skin was so clear and soft. I found it calmed the redness in my skin and did make my T-zone less oily. I think when I use it again I might just apply it to my T-zone as that is my main problem area.

You can get Lush's 'Cupcake' Face Mask for £6.50, which I think is such a great price for such a fab product that does actually work and has I'd say about 6 uses. Oh and it's vegan!

Once I've used up this pot I will definitely be repurchasing this product, and I highly recommend it for oily/combination skin.

Thanks for reading xxx

OOTN | Girls Night

So the first week of the holidays has been named 'fun week' by my group of besties. This involves meeting up every day and doing something together. Yesterday involved us going out for dinner to a new restaurant that's just opened in our area. It was a really lovely evening with good food and of course even better company, so I thought I'd share what I wore. My outfit was very simple and in my opinion perfect for a summer evening.

 

Top- New Look

Shorts- Hollister (Similar)

Shoes- Primark (Similar)

Jacket- River Island (Similar)

Bag- Nica (No longer available)

 

 

 

 



 

Thanks for reading xxx

Cancer Research Pretty Muddy

In my Catch Up Post I mentioned that earlier this year my brother's girlfriend text me asking if I wanted to do Cancer Research's Pretty Muddy Run. Seeing as I've been desperate to complete a Tough Mudder for the past three years, I couldn't turn her down! So we signed up, set up our Just Giving page and began training...

When I say began training I went for A run :) When I was 12 I used to love cross country but I stopped because I didn't find time to do it. However now I genuinely feel like I've caught the bug again and plan to continue running.

Anyway so after having 'trained' the big day arrived and we trekked an hour away from where we live. We arrived at the park where it was being held to see a swarm of pink- what's not to love?! There were loads of different stalls set up and music blasting. We set up our picnic blanket, gave my brother a quick photography lesson and then headed off for a huge group warm up, army style!

 

 

 

 

So the run was 5K and had 10 obstacles including tunnels, tyres, cargo nets, hurdles, a giant climbing frame and more! Some were harder than others but all of them were so much fun and I was so proud that we completed the entire course and finished together.

 

 

 

 

 

When we finished we were given our dog tag medals along with so much needed water! And of course I used most of this to try and rinse of some mud before the journey home (by the way, it took me two showers to get rid of all the mud!!).

I want to thank Cancer Research for putting on such a brilliant event. It was so well organised and I really enjoyed the whole experience. If anyone would like to donate it would be really appreciated, as it's for a brilliant cause so we can all beat cancer sooner, no matter how much you are able to give. You can donate on my Just Giving Page.

Thanks for reading xxx

Maybelline Super Stay Nail Polish | Review

Today I'm going to do a review of the Maybelline Super Stay 7 Days Gel Nail Polish. I don't think I've ever done a specific review post, so let me know if you like seeing reviews!!

 

 

Okay so first off I have 5 of these nail polishes in the shades Divine Wine, Berry Stain, Pink in the Park, White Sail and the base and top coat, Crystal Clear. In my opinion all of the colours apply really beautifully. The brush is flat and fairly wide, quite similar to the Essie brushes. This makes application of the polish quick as it literally takes two strokes ( perhaps a third just to neaten up the edges!).

 

R-L: Crystal Clear, White Sail, Pink in the Park, Berry Stain and Divine Wine

 

Their formulation is great too. They're nice and thick meaning you can get away with just one coat but if you're a perfectionist like me you'll go for the second. They dry relatively quickly, but what i would say is be very careful when you're nails are touch dry, seeing as the polish is so thick it's so easy to get those tiny indents from reaching into your bag etc. They apply evenly and smoothly, with a shiny finish whilst giving an almost gel appearance. However like any nail polish claiming to have a gel finish- it's faaarrrr off the real thing! Honestly I've stopped acknowledging every brands claims of 'gel-finish'.

 

These polishes last very well on me. In general I do struggle with finding nail polish that doesn't chip after a couple of days- I think it's washing my hair that does it, does anyone else find this?! Anyway the seven day claim I so nearly achieve as I can get five to six days, which for me is a bloody miracle!

 

Additionally they're really affordable at £4.49 each and they're always on offer, and I mean ALWAYS! My mum use to only use the Estee Lauder nail polishes, but she says she actually prefers these, and considering they're £10 cheaper she's not complaining...

 

 

My only complaint with the Maybelline Super Stay polishes is the colour range in the line. Online there are loads but in store there never seems to be much choice even when fully stocked. Even then quite a few, that are available, don't really appeal to me.

 

Overall these nail polishes are brilliant quality and affordable and I intend to buy more (of those that do take my fancy). You can buy the Maybelline Super Stay 7 Days Gel Polishes here.

  

 

Thanks for reading xxx