A Night Off

 Sometimes, we all just need a night off, and that's exactly what I am indulging in tonight.

Now with only a couple of weeks to go until deadlines, it may not be the wisest idea, but after two weeks of late nights and early mornings, a stomach bug, period pain, and being ahead of schedule work-wise, I feel like I deserve it! 

Tonight I'm snuggling up in my favourite PJ's with a cup of tea (Whittard's Peach and Raspberry), some sweet treats and Butterscotch, my long term teddy bear friend. I'm going to binge watch old episodes of Top Gear, read a book, and not think about work!

Until tomorrow morning when I get up and do it all over again.

Don't forget, no matter how much you have to do, there's always time for a little R&R.

Good night! x

The Best Affordable Haircare

Whilst I have a few high-end haircare loves, there are some seriously kick-ass hair products available in your local Boots, Superdrug, even Tesco! Haircare is something I don't talk about too regularly here, but I'm pretty loyal to a lot of products, so they deserve a little attention!

The newest addition to my budget haircare line up is the Richard Ward Argan Hairspray, which has made it into my loves list for a few reasons. Firstly, it smells good, which is rare for a hairspray, and secondly, it's infused with argan oil, which means it gives your hair shine as well as hold, and my hair needs all the help it can get when it comes to looking healthy.

From the newest member of the haircare shelf to the oldest, the Frizz Ease Secret Agent Styling Creme is something of a family secret in our house, even my dad uses it! Us Rockett's are definitely prone to frizz and flyaways, and this stuff just smooths your locks, without leaving a trace. A real essential, I couldn't even tell you how many of these I've used up!

I'm now the proud owner of two Tangle Teezers, one of the compact ones for on the go that I got in a stocking years ago, and a more recent purchase of a full size lilac one! This by far my favourite brush, it's gentle on the hair but really gets rid of knots and tangles easy!

I bang on about the Colab Dry Shampoo a lot here, but it deserves all the attention. This removes any traces of oil or grease from my hair without leaving any hint of powder. It's so light and it smells amazing too!

I talk a lot about the Herbal Essences Clarifying Shampoo that I love so much, but I rarely mention the Herbal Essences Soft and Smooth Conditioner which is just as good. This leaves my hair feeling soft and hydrated, without weighing it down or making it feel greasy. I love the mandarin scent too!

And lastly, my new found texturising love, the Tresemme Dry Defining Spray. Thick, voluminous, textured tresses, in a spritz!

You really don't need to splash the cash for good haircare, but a bit of trial and error can be involved!

Do you have any affordable haircare loves?

Worth The Hype? Stila Eyes Are The Window To The Soul Palette

Every now and then, a product comes along that gets a whirlwind of hype in the bloggersphere, and a lot of the time, it's hard to know what's PR fodder or initial excitement, and what's true.

Recently, I've heard a lot of good things about the Stila Eyes Are The Window to the Soul Palette, and after watching this Hey Claire video, I made a decision. I needed me that palette.

So after much hunting, the damn thing was out of stock everywhere, I got lucky and found it on Beauty Bay with 10% off, and free two day delivery.

And holy mother of makeup dreams the thing is beautiful.

Firstly, the packaging is MUCH more practical that any of Stila's previous packaging which is either battered cardboard, or plastic that falls apart. I worry about how fragile it is but not many palettes are easy to travel with without fear of damage. It's so purrrrdy though.

So important stuff, we've got 12 shades, four mattes and the rest shimmers. It's worth noting that there are a fair few shades in this palette that also appear in the In The Light Palette under different names. Cheeky Stila.

The general tone of the palette is comparable to the Naked 3, they're mostly warm toned with a few pinky purpley shades in the mix. You get a decent amount of product in each pan which is nice to see.

TOP ROW: Light - a matte cream shade, perfect for highlighting the browbone or creating a base. Individual - a warm matte brown, great for in the crease. Being - a dark matte brown, perfect for deepening the crease, or using as a liner.

SECOND ROW: Kitten - the cult classic shimmery champagne, gorgeous all over the lid or as an inner corner highlight. Affection - a warm pinky mauve shimmer, gorgeous all over the lid for a warmer look. Character - a dark purple black with flecks of golden shimmer. Comparable to Urban Decay Blackheart.

THIRD ROW: Thought - golden shimmer, a great summery all over lid shade. Heart - a matte taupe, great for in the crease with the more taupey shades. Peace - a warm mauve purple shimmer, again, gorgeous on the lid or in the crease.

BOTTOM ROW: Vitality - shimmery pewter taupe, my favourite shade in the palette, gorgeous swiped over the lid on it's own. Substance - a blue toned silver shimmer, again great all over the lid. Essence - matte black, great for deepening the crease or as a liner.

What really strikes me about this palette is how versatile it is. At first glance the colours look quite samey, but in actual fact, there's a lot of range here, mauves, browns, golds, taupes. I know a lot of people don't like to see a matte black in palettes, but I personally find them really useful. I love the pewter shade, and the golden shades, I often find golds don't suit my skin tone, but these work great for me.

As someone with colour changing eyes, sometimes hazel and sometimes green, these mauvey shades really compliment them, and make my eyes really pop.

As far as formula goes, I'm not disappointed. Whilst they aren't quite up there with the likes of Urban Decay or Nars for me, they are pretty damn good, and with a good primer underneath, they hold up really well throughout the day.

For me, this palette is a total winner, I love it. And I think, considering the quality and diversity of the shades, it's a bit of a bargain too.

What do you think?

Tidy Desk, Tidy Mind

 I've had a real get shit done week this week, and I attribute it in part to the fact that on I took everything off my desk, and downsized a little.

There was so much clutter and unnecessary crap on my desk, it's taken me a long time to realise you don't have to have 40294 post it notes and paperclips to hand all the time. The world won't stop if you have to get them out of a drawer. 

I figured this was the perfect time to show you my little desk set up, because I'm sure it won't stay this tidy for long. I didn't realise how much pink there is going on until I was uploading these photos!

The desk itself is from Ikea, it's seriously basic and dirt cheap, the shelf on top for my screen actually cost more than the desk itself. When we moved into our flat it didn't have any desks, and since we weren't sure how long we'd be staying we just bought cheap ones, so it was no disaster if they didn't get used in our next place. Although I actually have ended up loving this desk, it's simple and you can't go wrong with simple. 

Underneath I have a little draw unit from Ikea (which I didn't photograph because right now it's rammed with junk. That's a job for a Sunday night with a glass of wine) and my computer tower. I've mentioned this before but my boyfriend actually built my computer for me, it's actually a Mac Pro, and it's my favourite thing in the world. It's got a 2tb hardrive, which comes in handy because I have SO many photos. It's not quite as pretty as an iMac, but it's much more powerful, so it was worth the sacrifice! I have a MacBook Air too for on the go, but I don't really ever use that at my desk!

I've stripped everything else back to basics. I've got a handful of my favourite pens in a little glass from Ikea, as well as my Donut Post Its and Washi Tape, I kept those out partly because they look pretty and partly because I use them so often! I've got my Ikea desk lamp (it's supposed to be a bedside lamp I think, but it's perfect for my desk because it's really powerful and doesn't take up much space) on top of a little stack of books. Most of my books are on my bookshelf, but I like to flick through these ones fairly regularly so I like to have them to hand. I also have my current perfume love on there, I always start my day at my desk and I'm useless at remembering to put on perfume so I thought I'd keep it here to remind me!

On the other side of the screen I've got a little cactus and my snowglobe from Disneyland in LA, cause everyone needs a happy memory on their desk!

There's not much under my desk, just my speakers, and a little stash of notebooks I use for schoolwork and blogging! I also have a little cord tidy that holds on to my camera cable, so I don't have to fish it out from behind the desk too. My iPhone cable is normally there too, but I just broke the one I keep in my computer, so I need to find another one!

 Above my desk I have a few prints, postcards and my wall calendar from Rifle Paper Co, where I write any important dates and deadlines.

And that's about it! I feel so much more productive with a tidy desk!

Project Eye Maintenance

So the day before my 21st I went and had my hair done, and as I was looking through the photos after, I realised something horrible. I had under eye wrinkles.

Now logically, I know I'm 21 and have nothing to complain about, but what I did know was that forgetting to wear my glasses, not using eye cream, bad diet choices and generally putting my undereye area through a lot of strain was starting to show up. Well it definitely gave me a swift kick into motion because, whilst I'm happy to grow old gracefully, I'm not quite ready to do that yet. So, over the last month, Operation Eye Maintenance has been in full swing, and I thought I'd share what I've been doing with you, since I've already seen an improvement.

First things first, being better about wearing my glasses. If I'm reading, sat at my computer, watching TV, writing, I need them. I can definitely feel my eyes straining to see if I don't, and one thing I definitely don't want to be doing is putting my eyes under unnecessary strain. I've also been keeping The Body Shop's Eyes Cube on hand at my desk to soothe the skin on my orbital bone when my eyes start to get tired.

Secondly, drinking more water. I know I bang on about this a lot, but water is essentially your body's most important fuel, and not getting enough H20 in your system has a lot of immediately obvious effects. I picked up some hydration stickers for my planner, so I can cross off each time I drink a glass of water, which is definitely helping me to remember!

Eye cream. I was already using the First Aid Beauty Triple Remedy Eye Rescue in the mornings, which is great for cooling, soothing and masking dark circles, but I needed to introduce something a little more hydrating in the evenings, to keep the skin looking plump and good. I've been alternating between the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream* and the Benefit It's Potent, I think I prefer the latter slightly more, but they both get the job done good. Thick, creamy, soothing and hydrating, I'm actually starting to look forward to this step in the evenings.

I've been making a conscious effort to be more careful with the products I use on my under eye in general, keeping masks, scrubs and anything stripping or drying away from the area. I've been sticking with The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter for removing my eye makeup, because it's incredibly gentle and soothing on the eyes. I've also been keeping cleansers and moisturisers away too!

I've been careful to have a lighter hand with products too, using less concealer around my undereyes, and skipping powder, just because I find the more I use the more likely it is to crease or settle anyway!

I've definitely noticed an immediate improvement, and it just goes to show, you're never too young to look after your eyes!