A/W nails

Hey guys. Firstly I need to apologise for being gone for so long. I started a new business and have been so busy with that. But I'm back now, I know you guys have missed me :-) 

So today's post is about autumn/winter nails. I don't know about you but I L O V E this time of year and get so excited and giddy for all things coming up. Halloween, bonfire night, Christmas!! And all the dark cosy nights sat by the fire. I just love it. You also get to invest in a new winter coat and start layering all your clothes! So I've done some of my favourite nail polish colours for this time of year. 

Last year berry was BIG and I still absolutely love it! So the first two colours had to be in this colour. The first one is by 17 and is in the shade Ruby gem it's a lovely deep red/purple. Second is actually by miss sporty but it is fastly becoming my favorite for nail polish. I think it's in the shade 12 this picture really doesn't do it justice though it's such a lovely colour.

The next three colours are Barry M in the shades Grey, Black, and Dusky mauve. Dusky mauve is a deep purple colour with a hint of metallic when it catches the light. It's such a lovely colour especially for this time of the year! 

The next two colours are from Topshop and are basic nude colours which again I think suit this time of year when the leaves are falling. They are in the shades Play for keeps and Mannequin they are simple and go with most outfits. 

The second to last colour is my all time favorite colour of the moment it's the Barry M Gelly in Lychee. I really can't get enough of this colour at the moment I've been wearing it since my birthday and just keep re applying it! I definitely recommend the Gelly hi shine range from Barry M. 

Lastly is another of my favourites. It's topshops Gypsy night. It can be used as a topcoat or on its own but the glitter is amazing and makes me think of fireworks or Christmas so again it's very appropriate for this time of year. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this. What are your favorite colours for this time of year? 

Lauren :-) xoxo

Grounded hearts

This week I received this lovely package from an online shop called grounded hearts. 

It came in a little pink bag, wrapped in amazing leopard print tissue paper and a business card with all the details of where to find them. 

Inside was the most beautiful silver bracelet with a hamsa hand on it. I absolutely love it and will definitely be purchasing more from the shop!

I recommend you all go take a look at their website. Every piece of jewellery is unique. really good quality and totally affordable! 

You won't find these pieces anywhere on the High street which is what I love about it. Sometimes it's good to be the one standing out with something different. You could even start your own trend within your friends 

You can find grounded hearts on etsy at 

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Groundedhearts

Or on Instagram at 

@groundedhearts

Let me know if you order anything I'd love to 

know what pieces you order 

Lauren

Xoxox

Topshop AWOL dupe

If you asked me my all time favourite nail polish colour it would for sure be topshops AWOL. 

It is a gorgeous electric blue colour and looks amazing on your nails. 

I just wanted to share with you all this great dupe I have found for it. 

It is by the brand miss sporty which is a much cheaper brand and is in the shade 320

I have done a swatch of both polishes and seriously cannot tell the difference at all. 

The top one is AWOL and the bottom is miss sporty. 

They are also both an amazing dupe for the much more pricey nails inc baker st so grab yourself a bargain now girls. 

What is your all time favourite shade?

AWOL nail polish - Topshop £5

302 nail polish - Superdrug/boots £1.99 or three for £5  

Soap and glory top 3

Hi guys, firstly I just want to apologise for my lack of posts recently. I have been back and forth to London for just under three weeks now so haven't had time to think never mind blog. 

Anyway to get back into things I thought I'd do my top 3 favourite soap and glory products. 

So the first one is cheating a bit because its two products but I think if you use one you have to use the other. They belong together. 

It's the hand food and heel genius 

Hand food is an amazing hydrating hand cream. Where can I start with this. Well the packaging is lovely, I love that everything from soap and glory is pink! 

So, you can apply it as often as you want I usually put it on after I've had a shower before bed and let it soak in all night. It really does work it makes your hands so soft. 

Hand food smells amazing, as said before I'm not the best at describing smells but trust me on this one. 

Heel genius is pretty much the same thing but for your feet. It also smells amazing and really does work. It says to apply a generous amount onto clean feet every night and then pop some socks on to let it soak up while you sleep. 

This is a tricky one for me as I hate sleeping in my socks but I think I can let it go as it makes my feet so lovely and soft. I absolutely love this product 

The next thing I can't live without is the righteous butter. It is a body butter that you put on damp skin after showering or bathing. This stuff is great and makes my skin feel so soft and smooth. The smell is divine It has got to be one of the best in the collection. 

Last but definitely not least is the sugar crush body wash. Wow. What an amazing product! It Is a conditioning body wash. You don't need much, I do a couple of squirts and that's all you need because it gets really foamy. The smell of sugar crush is just wow! - if you could eat it mine would be long gone! It's a sweet lime smell which doesn't sound too appealing but please trust me on this one and go and have a smell if you can. 

I definitely recommend all of these products they all really do what they are supposed to and leave every part of your skin feeling super smooth and smelling divine! 

What's your favourite soap and glory product? 

All products from boots - individually priced   

Breakfast in a glass

I've seen so many people on Instagram Making this so I thought I'd give it a try. 

It was super easy to do and took less that five minutes to prepare. 

If you google "granola yoghurt" about a million different recipes come up but I have made mine to fit my personal taste. 

To make my granola yoghurt you will need:

Jordan's country crisp - chunky nuts

A banana

A handful of strawberries 

Greek yoghurt

I have been messing about for a few days using different ingredients. I started off using natural yogurt but it was quite runny and spoiled the layering affect. It also didn't have as much taste as Greek yoghurt, which is also quite thick so helps it all stay in place. 

I also used frozen berries but because they were frozen they just caused a giant mush. 

So after a few days of trying I have finally found what tastes and looks best for me. 

It is so simple to do. 

The first step is putting some of the country crisp at the bottom of your glass. Then add the yoghurt, then the fruit and just repeat until you've run out of space 

It's as simple as that. 

Have you ever made this or think you might try it? 

Lauren 

Xoxoxo

Summer nails

Now the weather is getting a little nicer (some of the time) it's time to ditch your blacks, greys and dark colours and reach for the bright,colourful summer nail polish. 

I thought I'd show you my favourites. I am a big lover of painting my nails and usually do it every day to coordinate with my outfit. These will be seeing me through the summer. 

The first four on the wheel are a mixture of Topshop and Essie. 

 

Left to right the colours are:

Air kisses, bond with whomever, muchi muchi, mint candle apple. 

The next four on the wheel are:

Tart deco, bees knees, celestial, in the cab-ana. 

 

The last three are all Topshop and are:

Milkshake, Parma violet, green room. 

You all know my love of Essie, it usually takes two coats but then tends to last for  two to three days without any chipping. They are a little pricey but definitely worth the money in my opinion. 

Topshop nail polish are also one of my favourites. The pastel colours can sometimes take two to three coats but then the colour really stands out and they look amazing. They tend to last around two days before chipping too. These are still quiet expensive compared to some other brands you can get but again I think they are worth it. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please give me your feedback. 

Essie polish - boots £7.99

Topshop polish - topshop £5 

Nail wheel - eBay £1.99 for two 

Lauren

Xoxoxo

Review: soap and glory arch de triumph brow pencil

I thought I'd do a review of this eye brow pencil as I have picked it up recently and have been using it religiously since. 

It is by soap and glory and is called arch de triumph. 

It's a double ended crayon. One side is in a taupe ( dark brown ) colour which is for shaping your brow and the other end is for highlighting. 

I have used a rimmel eye brow pencil for as long as I can remember but it was starting to annoy me and wasn't good at defining the shape of my brows and when I saw this in boots I had to try it out    and it was the best thing I've ever done.

It is really good at filling in and shaping your brows and looks really natural - it doesn't haven't that drawn on scouse brow type look. The colour is a little bit too dark for me but I just put a little bit of bronzer on top to lighten them a bit. It would be perfect for a dark blonde/ brunette. 

That's the only downside - it only comes in one colour 'taupe' 

The highlighter end is amazing. It is rich and creamy and really pigmented. You only need a little bit and then can blend  it in on the arch of your brow. I put a little bit on the top of my brows too. 

I also use it for the corner of my eyes to brighten them up, it blends really well and gives your eyes a little sparkle.

This photo just shows you how to colour in your eyebrows.  

I would defiantly recommend this to anyone. If you try it out please let me know your thoughts. 

Lauren

Xoxoxo

Arch de truiumph - £8 boots 

Giveaway

I have decided to to a giveaway on my blog. I just want to gain a few more followers so I feel like I'm not just writing these for myself and that someone out there is actually reading them. 

Originally I Decided to do one after I reached 100 followers but I have now changed it to 1000. 

I will write down every name by hand ( ill probably regret that ) and put all the names into a hat and let my daughter pick one out. I just think its a bit more personal that way instead of using a number generator. 

The prizes will include a large Yankee candle of your choice, two essie nail varnish of your choice, three pairs of topshop frilly socks, and some lush goodies. And because I have changed the rules I have decided to throw in a £50 topshop voucher and an urban decay naked basics pallet 

All you have to do it follow this blog for a chance to win. 

I just need to point out that a lot of people are adding me on google+ which isn't the same as following my blog so these wont count. 

Good luck everyone :) 

May haul

Hey guys, today I thought I'd do a post on what I've been buying recently. 

I haven't included clothing in this haul but if its something you'd like to see I could do a separate post. 

So this month I have been loving essie nail varnish and have picked up a few recently to add to my collection. The colours left to right are:

Muchi muchi, bond which whomever, ballet slippers and mint candy apple. 

Essie polish just seems to glide on your nails so effortlessly it usually does take two coats but its just so easy to do. I am not one for doing neat nails, it usually ends up around all of my fingers and then I have to pick it off for a day or two but this doesn't happen with essie. I will be adding a lot more to my collection soon. 

The next thing I bought was a new cake stand. It's got three tiers which I think makes it a lot more appealing as you can fit more things on it. I use mine to store my lush products at the moment but might use it to hold all my Yankee candles or nail varnishes. This one was from dot com gift shop but can be found on eBay too. 

When it comes to girly DVDs as I have said before I am such a sucker for them, it's weird because I don't really like romantic films. I have seen LOL everywhere so thought I'd pick it up. It was actually really good and a lot better than i expected. 

I also bought so undercover which is another Miley Cyrus film. I saw an advert for it at the cinema and secretly got really excited. I am yet to watch it but people have told me its really good 

The next thing i got we're some new Nike blazers. I have wanted some for so long. I have been eyeing up the burgundy/pink ones forever but they are never in stock so for now I have settled with these ones. I actually love the colour of them and will wear them with leggings and a hoody for comfy days. It was typical that the day I got them I went to visit my step sister after and she gave me a pair of grey ones too. So I've gone from having none to owning two pairs in a day. I'm still keeping my eye out for the other colour though. 

The next thing I picked up was something that I cannot love without. It's batiste dry shampoo. It is such a great thing to use in between washing or on those days you just can't be bothered to wash your hair. I also love it because it helps me achieve a perfect bun in my hair. I have such thin fine hair but a little spray of this just gives it abit of volume and helps keep it in place. It comes in different smells but I love this one it smells fresh and fruity. 

I had been using the same perfume for about a year which was the juicy couture 'viva la juicy' which I still absolutely love but I thought it was time for a change. Not that much of a change though as I have just ended up buying the new juicy couture one called 'La la' it smells delicious though. I'm not very good at describing smells but I recommend you all go to your nearest boots and have a whiff. 

The other one I picked up was Marc Jacobs 'daisy eau so fresh' it is the limited edition summer one. I know daisy is really popular and everyone loves it but I've never been a fan of it. This one however smells a little different and I can't get enough of it. The scent lasts for ages too which is really good. Also the bottle pretty much sells itself it is amazing! 

The last thing I got was a new phone case. Again this is very popular in the Instagram world and I had to jump on the bandwagon because I love it so much. I ordered it in mint green and pink but from different places so the pink one hasn't arrived yet. They are really cheap and the quality is fine, it's a lot more lightweight than some cases including my old one. 

I think the best thing I bought were these cups from The Disney store. The Tinkerbell one was originally for my milkshakes but Millie has somehow stolen it off me so I'm going to get another. I couldn't love a mug more than I love this Marie one. It's supercute. I just had to add these to he haul 

This post has ended up a lot longer than I thought so I will leave it there. Another thing I have been loving this month is primark socks. They are almost identical to the topshop frilly socks but a fraction of the price so I definitely recommend picking some up. 

Lauren 

Xoxoxo

Essie nail varnish - £8 boots

Cake stand - £8.99 dot com gift shop/eBay

DVDs - £8 each CEX 

Nike blazers - £69.99 office 

Batiste dry shampoo - £2.99 boots 

Marc Jacobs daisy - £48 for 75ml boots

Juicy couture lala - £35 for 30ml boots

Phone case - £1.99 eBay

Tinkerbell cup - £5 the Disney store

Marie mug - £7 the Disney store 

My morning shake

Hey guys,

I thought I'd do a quick post on my morning milkshake as I have been asked a lot about the recipe and how to make it so this way it will be easy to follow. 

Firstly you need a good blender, mine is from Asda and was quite cheap. I think an electric blender is a lot easier than a handheld one. That way you can just leave it blending while you clean up the mess - that's what I do anyway. 

In my shake I like to use almond milk (250 ml) it is so good for you and tastes delicious also because of the diet I am on I'm not allowed dairy so this is a great alternative. 

The next ingredient is frozen raspberries (just a handful)  this just thickens it up and adds another great taste. There are lots of different berries you can use, blueberries tend to make the shake go a purple colour whereas the raspberries make it go pink! 

Then I add a banana (whole) it gives it an extra taste and also helps to thicken up the drink. 

The last thing I add is the juice plus shake powder which is the diet I am currently trying (Let me know if you'd like a post on this, or just more information) 

Once all the ingredients are added you just turn the blender on and let it work it's magic. I leave mine for about 3-4 minutes just because the frozen berries take a while to blend. 

Once blended it should be a lovely pinky colour. I make enough for two shakes as I have one for breakfast and one for lunch. They taste delicious and fill you up nicely until your next meal. If you are looking for a good diet I highly recommend juice plus, I can already see some changes! 

If you have any questions please ask 

Blender - Asda £16

Almond milk - Asda £1

Frozen raspberries - Asda £2

Get to know me

Hey guys,

I've finally decided to make a blog - yay!
So I thought I'd get things started with a get to know me blog

So my real name is Lauren but I have been called lolly most of my life, mostly by my family.
I am 25 years old but seriously have the mind of an eighteen year old.

I live in a small town in Yorkshire which is very much like emmerdale, but I like to venture out into the real world as much as possible.

I have a boyfriend - Damien. We have been together for just over four years now and we met down south which is where he's from, and where I was working as a nanny.

I have two little girls, Amelie who has just turned two ( we call her Millie) and Hayden who is eight months. They are my world.

If you have found me through my Instagram you will know I am obsessed with shopping. I have a thing for nail varnish and am totally loving essie polishes at the moment. I am also a big fan of lush and usually stock up every week on more bath bombs. Some more of my loves are soap and glory products, and of course Yankee candles!

I plan on doing some reviews of my current favourites. 

My favourite colour is actually purple but you would never guess. I wasn't really a fan of the colour pink until about last year  I think since then my whole house has slowly got more girly and pink ( to the delight of Damien) 

I absolutely love shabby chic, cath kidston, anything floral. Half of my house is shabby chic but the other half is very modern and simple.

I love to travel and have been lucky enough to visit some amazing places in My life. My favourite has to be Thailand. I have been there twice and fall in love with it more each time. Would love to go again soon. Another favourite has to be California. I can't choose just one city because they are all amazing! I have also been to the carribbean which was beautiful. Although I have been on some amazing holidays, every summer I still go to Wales for a little get away. I have been going to a place called shell island for my entire life now and I couldn't think of a more perfect place to be.

I am such a sucker for girly films I have such a sad collection which I like to pretend are for the girls but they are my guilty pleasure. I have recently watched LOL, freaky Friday and the princess diaries. I just love them all!

Every piece of furniture in my house is from ikea. When I was younger people would always say my mums house was like an ikea showroom so I've obviously got it from her. Ikea is heaven and I could spend all day in there.

I have an older sister who has recently moved to London ( yay for holidays). And my dad lives in Canada. It is such a beautiful country and will definitely be visiting again soon. My mum just lives down the road from me which isn't too exciting but great to see her.


Ok so I think that is enough information about me, I will stop there before I write my life story.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little more.

Until the next post.

Lauren xx