Literature: girl online by zoella

Hi guys!

When I heard Zoella (zoe sugg) had written a book I was very excited to see what it was like!
I will start by talking about the cover, and I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it was very super cute and very zoella!
The story itself is actually very good, it is very much a chick lit type of story which I love, and it was one of those books where I didn't want to put it down but at the same time I didn't want to read it too fast as I didn't want it to end!
The story is based on a girl who starts writing a blog which becomes quite popular. At the same time, we learn about the girls life and her friends. Some embarrassing things happen to her, and honestly similar things have probably happened to us all at some point so the character is very relatable! But, she ends up being able to go to new York to get away from it all, and there's some love and some drama! I don't want to go into too much detail as I don't want to ruin the story! There was also a meaningful message in the story about what you write online, which I thought was good as it makes you think about your own life and what you write on the Internet. Basically if what you are going to say about someone on the Internet isn't nice and won't make someone happy then why write it? I think this is a very important message and I am sure that both alfie and Zoella have mentioned this on their vlogs in real life so the fact that she managed to work it into her novel was impressive!
I found that it was very predictable in places, especially the ending, but in a good way!
I honestly loved this story so much and I really hope zoella will write a second book soon!!

Well done and congratulations to zoella on her first novel! She should be very proud of herself!

X

Lush butter bear

Hi guys!
As I have mentioned before (either in a tweet or blog post) I am loving baths at the minute but haven't had anything to put into the baths so when I went to leeds with my sister I went to lush!
I will be honest here and say I went a bit mad and bought a few things! I got the butter bear, Christmas hedgehog, penguin, Christmas pudding (which is actually a present for my mam) and another one which I can't remember (there was also the green one which I got for hubby as he loves it!!).
So far I have only used the butter bear one. It is in the shape of a bear and is so cute! It smells a bit like vanilla and it is more of a melt than a bomb so there were no bubbles but the bath left my skin feeling so soft.
I put it into the bath while the water was still running and it fizzed a bit while dissolving, the bear is white so the water didn't really change colour at all it just looked a bit more shiny than usual.
I think it was about £3.49 which is quite cheap and it was worth the money I just wish there had been just a few bubbles!

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

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trying to blog on my new laptop

hi guys!!

Hubby bought me a very early Christmas present and got me a new laptop as I am doing more portfolio work for my job and my old laptop doesn't work.
I have been blogging using my phone since I started this blog and I haven't been able to put photos where I wanted them to be, they all just appear at the end of the post so I am hoping that now I have my laptop I will be able to start blogging properly!!
I can also now add links to posts!!

I will blog very soon with photos and everything :-)

xxx

Estee Lauder double wear foundation

I have been using this foundation for the past three weeks, mainly because I have a tan and when the lady in the shop matched me before I went on holiday I think she gave me the wrong shade as it suits me more when I have a tan than before. I had heard some really good reviews of this foundation and a lot of people called it their 'holy grail' foundation.

The packaging is very cute, and it looks like a high end product. It comes in a glass bottle which feels like it wouldn't break, with a gold top. Unfortunately it doesn't have a pump which is something I don't like about it.
The foundation itself is a lot more liquidy than I thought it would be. A lot of people had compared this foundation to the revlon colorstay foundation which is a lot thicker so I was a bit surprised. I'm not sure I like the consistency of it as most of the foundations I use are on the thicker side.
I apply this foundation with a sponge applicator, I did try using my real techniques brush and then my fingers but it didn't apply very well with either. I only use a small amount of foundation as using the sponge makes a little go a long way, plus because I am tanned I don't need the super full coverage that I usually go for.
I do apply a small amount of powder over the top of this to make it last that little bit longer.
I find that this foundation gives quite a matte finish, which is what I like, and so far does seem to last all day. Although this could be because my skin is very tanned still so I can't really tell that I'm wearing foundation much. I did get very sweaty the other day (tmi) and this foundation still managed to look flawless!
I am very impressed so far with this foundation, and have found that when I apply it with a sponge (I am going to have to buy a beauty blender!) It doesn't begin to look cakey later on in the day like some foundations do.

Overall I will continue to use this foundation for a while I think, but once I lose my tan I might do an update as I'm not sure if it will still work as well for me. It is quite expensive (I think it was over £30) and there are foundations that are just as good out there, including the revlon colorstay foundation, but if you're looking for a good quality foundation that lasts all day and you're prepared to spend a bit extra, then this will be great for you!

X

My first time tag

Hi guys!
This is an old tag but I wanted to do it anyway :-)

1) what was your first word?

My first proper word (not counting saying mamamamama) was actually dinner. Apparently I used to sit in my high chair banging my little fork shouting dinner all day!

2) what was your first teddy?

My first teddy was a green/blue bear that my gran gave me when I was born. She was convinced I was going to be a boy!

3) who was your first friend?

Other than my sister my first friend was a girl called tiffany but sadly when we were 3 years old she got ran over and died outside of where we lived.

4) who was your first school crush?

When I was in reception at school I had a bit of a crush on a boy named Marc. We all used to play catchy kiss in the playground and he always used to try to catch me!

5) who was your first kiss?

This depends on what counts as a kiss, when i was 2 years old i kissed a boy called matthew and we were 'boyfriend and girlfriend' for a couple of years. If a peck counts then marc when I was in primary school playing catchy kiss! If it doesn't count then a boy named Dan.

6) who was your first celeb crush?

I actually don't know, maybe nick carter from the backstreet boys or his brother Aaron carter!

7) who was your first boyfriend?

Again this depends on what counts, I had a 'boyfriend' when I was 2 which was Matthew, but I can't remember this but my mam keeps telling me about it.  then marc in primary school which was basically us playing catchy kiss and that's it but my first proper boyfriend was when I was 10 and was a boy named Perry who was a year older than me and kissed another girl when he went to secondary school and I was still in primary school! (although when I first started going out with my now hubby, Perry messaged me on Facebook asking me to go out with him again...after about 7 years of not seeing him! I said no obviously).

8) what was your first job?

Working in a bakery, it was actually not a bad job and I left it to become a lifeguard then worked there again in my final year of uni. I first got a job when I was 16, it was just a weekend job, but my parents wanted me and my sister to earn our own money as soon as we left school so we would learn the value of money. My first full time graduate job is the one I'm in now which is a biomedical scientist.

9) what was your first car?

A brand new volkswagon golf, limestone grey in colour and was the sports version :-)

10) what was your first blog post?

I have deleted it now as it was embarrassing, I think I just introduced myself and said what I was going to blog about.

That's it for the tag, hope you guys have enjoyed it! I tag everyone who wants to do it

X

Fcuk body wash and lotion

Hi guys!
As most of you will know I have a slight obsession with soap & glory, I will probably have owned everything by them at some point. And I will continue to love them...but currently they have been replaced in my usual shower routine by fcuk.  I never thought this day would come.
My sister bought me some fcuk things for my birthday, and I have become addicted to the smell! It has vanilla and Oriental tones and I am in love with it!
The body lotion is clear in colour when you pump it into your hand, but looks a bit like a clear cream colour in the bottle. I use three pumps for the whole of my body, and it is so soft to rub all over your body (not a good description but if you use it you will know what I mean) and leaves my skin feeling silky smooth and soft.
The lotion is white and I use more of this than the lotion. I use about three pumps on each leg, 2 on my arms and two for everywhere else.  It takes a few minutes to sink into the skin but smells gorgeous and leaves skin feeling hydrated and soft.
I use these every time I go in the shower, but the bottles are lasting a very long time. I'm not sure how much these cost but at the minute I am sure I would think any price is reasonable!
I will probably go back to using soap & glory every day and use these for special occasions or for pamper days as that's what usually happens but for now I am so in love with them!
Have you tried these?
X

My evening routine updated. ..not a shower night

Hi guys!
So I don't think it has been too long since my last evening routine but it has changed slightly. 

I start by removing my makeup using the clinique take the day off balm (which I have done a review of and have mentioned in a favourites post). This is amazing, and I love using it! I get some of the balm onto my fingers and massage onto my dry face. It feels a bit weird at first but I actually end up liking the feeling! Once I have massaged the balm all over my face including my eyes, I rinse it off using a flannel and warm water.

I then use the soap in the clinique 3 step system and use the clinique purifying cleansing brush as described in my morning routine post. I tend to only use it for 30 seconds on a night time.

I use the clarifying lotion from the 3 step system, which I apply to a clean cotton pad and gently rub over my face. I will be honest and say that if you have sun burn and use this, it can sting slightly which I don't like.

I then apply the clinique serum, which actually soothes the skin if the clarifying lotion has made it sore. I quite like using this, as it is quite a nice texture.

I then apply the clinique eye cream, and the moisturiser from the 3 step system. Once this has had time to sink in, I apply another moisturiser, at the minute I am using the clinique moisture surge. I know this sounds like a lot of moisturiser and I'm sure some people will tell me that it is stupid or bad for my skin but currently I am finding that the dramatically different moisturiser just isn't keeping my skin as hydrated as I would like and I don't like having dry skin. By using the moisture surge, I find that my skin is sufficiently hydrated and is left feeling soft and smooth when I wake up.

I apply the body shop lip butter just before I go to bed as I like to keep my lips hydrated too and this is very moisturising and helps to stop my lips from cracking after a long day working with the air conditioning at work. 

This is working for me at the minute and I love the way my skin is feeling right now.
I realise that nearly everything I use now is from clinique but that wasn't planned!
Do you guys use any of these products?

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