Friday 30 November 2012

Holiday Hair


Good Morning Beautiful,

When I'm on holiday, it's all about the easiest and quickest way possible to make myself look presentable. After all, who wants to spend hours getting ready when you could be out there in the sunshine?
For me, one of the quickest routes to that is some sort of messy braid. It's especially great for the daytime when you want to keep your hair off your face and yet still look pretty.







I really enjoy the first and last inspiration in particular. I like how they don't look perfect, and they have a textured quality to them. A tip for when you're on holiday is to take a spray bottle with you and fill it with sea water, then spritz it through your ends for that beachy texture. 
It's better than any salt spray you can buy in a bottle!

Have a wonderful day everyone,

Lea
x

Don't gorget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE - It's the last day!

(Images via weheartit.com)

Thursday 29 November 2012

My fairy lifemother...


Hello Sweet Pea!

One of the ideas that was presented to me on my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway was to do a post on:

'Your thoughts personally about what your future plans are? E.g. a future fairy wish post! If your future fairy could grant you 3 wishes what would they be? Career? Marriage? Family? Visiting / moving to a new place?'

This was given to me by Carley from Talons and Posies, who's blog seems to have done a disappearing act and I'm gutted! I really hope it's a glitch because she's one of my favourite bloggers, and she's absolutely gorgeous! 

I thought this idea was fabulous, and so original. I love that she's gone to so much effort to think of something, so how could I not do it??

Wish 1 - Moving to a new place

I want to move over to the States ideally. I wan't the life with the beautiful old colonial house; think Bree from Desperate Housewives. I love the lifestyle over there, and I want to be somewhere where the sun shines on a much more regular basis! 


Wish 2 - 'Marriage'

It's no secret that I don't want to get married, you can see my views on that in this post. (I may however be tempted to marry if it involved Rachel Weiss. And Alex, I know you're reading this, so don't be coming home giving me grief. Two words; Penelope Cruz!) 
In all seriousness though, I do very much want to have a civil partnership. Although my relationship is not 'traditional', I myself am. As far as things go, I think you'll all have made the assumption that I'm the woman in our relationship, you're not going to catch Alex out in a dress on a Friday night at any point soon. I do have a very stereotypical female role in our house, and Alex is very much the male figure. We really are just like any other couple, and I would love to make our relationship official. We've been together over 2 years, have a beautiful home together and I can honestly say I can't imagine ever being with anyone else. 


Wish 3 - Career

Within the next year I will have won the Euromillions and will live in the lap of luxury for the rest of my life.

Or not.

It's always been expected that I'll go into Law as a career, since I mentioned when I was 14 that I might want to be a lawyer, the whole family latched on to it. If I'm honest, the idea fills me with both dread and despair. In my ideal world, I would love to have my own business. I thrive on common sense and I'm very streetwise, while education is incredibly important to me, I don't believe that you have to have a degree to be successful in life. One of the reasons why I love my blog so much, is that it's my own shot at something that I've grown myself. I hope in vain, that my blog might save me from my fate of a desk job.


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And that, would be my ideal life! Hopefully, I might even manage to achieve all 3 rather than just 1 and 2. But that's something I'm working on. I have to say though, I love my life as it is now. I'm very fortunate and it's not something that I ever forget. 'Life passes you by while you're busy making grand plans' so I'm going to make sure I make the most of every single day, then even if I don't get these wishes, I'll have no regrets.

Have a wonderful day everyone,

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.

(Images via Google Images)

Wednesday 28 November 2012

What's in my bathroom cabinet?


Hello there darlings,

I thought I'd take the opportunity to share with you what is in my bathroom cabinet today. This has purely my products in, as the en-suite has all of Alex's products in it (I say all, there's about 3 and they're all hair gels).  
These are the things that I reach for on a daily basis. I have a large box that I keep in my airing cupboard which is filled with products, so when I run out of something or fancy a change, I swap them around. That way I get to try lots of different products! There are however a few staples in here which never leave, I'll mention them as we go along.

 This is my bathroom cabinet, I believe it is from Ikea although it was installed in my flat when I arrived.

 And this is the overview of what's inside my cupboard. I split them into rough categories for each shelf. 
The top shelf has my simple necessities, the cotton pads and the Sudocrem never leave my cabinet. 
The middle shelf has hair and body products.
The lowest shelf has Lush products and skincare.

 In the packets along the left hand side, there are Toner Tabs. My favourite Lush product has to be the Mint Julips lip scrub, and it never leaves.  

 I always use Johnson's Dreamy Skin makeup wipes, I have done for years and nothing compares to them. In the small pot to the right, there's a lip balm, an eyelash growth serum and some hair grips.

 I always use Heel Genius on my feet, it just works really well for me. The Cashmere Moments shower gel is lovely, and it doesn't aggravate my eczema on my arms, so it's something I tend to always have around, although I do try others. 

I'm really not loyal to hair products, and I don't really use these all that often. I very rarely wash my hair in my bathroom as I prefer the power shower in the ensuite. These are just a couple I grabbed from the box for me to use if I happen to be using that bathroom. My favourite shampoos and conditioners are the Joico K-PAK range, and have been since I worked in a salon. 
As far as deodorant goes, I really like Sure, although my favourite is the pink perfumed one, I really love the way it smells!

I'm really nosy so I'd love to know what's in your bathroom cabinet, let me know if you have a post on it!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE. 

Mentioned me?


Hi There Sweet Pea!

In the past few months, I've been privileged enough to have been mentioned by a few bloggers in their posts. I can't even begin to say how grateful I am that they have done this; in the blogging world we are (on the whole) all trying so hard to improve on our own blogs, that sometimes we forget to say thankyou to those who've given up a leg up on the way. After all, what did they get out of it? 
To me, it's a sign of someone being truly selfless, and let's be honest, as women, we don't tend to have that reputation do we! This community could be so bitchy and backstabby, but it's not. We all meet, and write about shared interests, we're kind to each other (with the exception of one or two trollops who feel the need to spread negativity) and we encourage each other to keep at it. 

The blogs that I love, and the girls that I gravitate towards naturally might not be the biggest bloggers out there, but I'm drawn to them because of their personality and their kindndess. The genuine and personal comments they leave on my blog, and the clear effort that they put into each and every post. 
To me, that's more important than how many followers they have, or whether they're one of the 'biggest' bloggers - who says that just because they've got 20,000 followers they're the best around here? I've seen blogs with 100 followers that are just as good, if not better - they're just waiting to be discovered. 

So where is this all leading? Well, what I'm going to do, is every now and then, pop up a post recognising each of the people who have mentioned me in one of their posts, and also once in a while give someone a leg up who I think really deserves more followers than they have, by featuring them in a post on my blog.

We're all here for the same reason, so I don't see any reason why I can't help some of you out, even in a small way. If you've mentioned me in a post and you think I haven't realised, let me know in the comments. Also, if you have a blog, leave me a link to it - I'd love to check it out.  

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With all that being said, I want to kick this off with sharing someone with you today; Line from Picture Noergaard. 
She has mentioned me a few times now, with the most recent one coming from her post of the 'Can You Admit Your Weaknesses' TAG of mine. 

She's a student from Denmark, who does part time modelling and acting when she's not studying. Her blog is a great mix of personal posts, fashion, accessories and makeup, and every now and then she posts backstage photos from her modelling jobs, which are really interesting.

You can find her over at:

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I hope you all have a wonderful day, I'll probably be back later with a more personal post so keep your eyes peeled!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE


Tuesday 27 November 2012

Jewellery and Candle Haul


Good Evening My Darlings,

I've had quite a productive day career wise today, I have finally decided on the direction I am going in when I graduate at the end of this year. When you have a qualifying law degree a couple of your main options are to go and do a BPTC, or to do an LPC. I've decided on the latter, and am looking at doing it in Leeds, perhaps with BPP. I feel like I have just thrown a load of letters at you, so I shall move swiftly on, however I thought it was worth a mention as I know a few of you study Law at Uni in the UK, and let's face it, most of us don't have a clue what's going on when we graduate!

So, after I'd finished in Uni, I popped in to a couple of places on the way home. I knew I wanted a plain grey T-shirt, and also that the candle stocks had run low. 

The obvious place for me to head for a plain tee, had to be H&M, and I was right. It has the perfect neckline for me (I don't like them coming up too high), and hits at a nice spot just below my hip bones. It was just £3.99, which is a complete bargain, especially when I know how much wear I'll get out of it. I love to pair a plain grey tee with some jeans, a bright red lip, and minimal makeup for a relaxed yet chic daytime look.   

On my way to H&M through Primark I was sucked in by their jewellery. I'm finding at the moment that they have some brilliant pieces in, and at such low prices! Jewellery that would normally be found in Topshop for £20, can now be found in Primark for around the £5 price point!
As most of you know, I'm headed of for the Tropical Island of Cape Verde in no less than 8 days now, so I got a few things that I really thought would pop with a tan.


 Gold and Silver ear cuffs. I'll be wearing these with my bikini's to rock poolside chic.

 This was reduced from £4 to just £2. I love statement necklaces, and I think this is going to look great with a bright white tube top and bronzed collar bones. 

 These are looking a little pink on camera, but they are an opal white shade with a pink reflex in them in reality. I love dangly earrings, I find they suit my face shape as they can help to soften my square jawline, and I love anything in the clear gemstone family. A little bit of sparkle can bring so much light to the face.

 I couldn't resist this (although I do wish the chain was silver). I really think this will look amazing with a tan. I'm going to wear it with a plain white strappy top and a bright tulip skirt, with hues of pink, yellow and blue running through it. 
A little tip for you if you find that you lose gems from your jewellery from Primark; is to coat the edges with clear nail varnish. It helps to lock them in to place. I'm not sure how well it would work on such large gems, but it works wonders on smaller pieces.

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And now on to the Candles.

There are certain rooms in my home that I like to have scented in a certain way. I can be fickle with both my bedroom and my living room - the living room scent fluctuates on the time of the year, so whatever is seasonal. My bedroom is the place where I burn scents that I wouldn't normally place in the living room as they are personal to my tastes specifically, rather than something that is universally liked. These are typically musky, oriental spiced, or woody scents. 
With this in mind, when my stocks run low for the rooms that I like to have scented in a particular way, I hot foot it out of the door pronto. I have no idea why it's so important to me, it's just one of those things! 


I'm burning tea-lights like they're going out of fashion at the moment. I love to see the warm flicker of light coming from a dark corner, it makes the place seem so cosy. The only problem is, I've been using Ikea scented tea-lights and they've been competing with my Christmassy scents. I picked up 100 unscented ones for £4 from Dunnes Stores, and I can see them lasting me for a fair while. They have an rough burning time of 4 hours, so fairly average. 

 I always have my bathroom scented with Lavender and Vanilla. This is from Dunnes Stores and has a burn time of literally forever. They just keep on going! They are just £1 each. I bought 3, to make sure I wouldn't run out at any time soon. 

The Star Lytes candles are available from Poundland, and are (surprise surprise), £1 each. I absolutely love these. They are soy based, and have a good scent throw, while burning for a good 20 hours I would say. Once they have burned out, the glasses make great tealight holders. I actually use mine as yoghurt bowls!
I picked up the cinnamon one for my bedroom.

I always like to have Alex's Bathroom smelling of something soft and fresh. It's the only room in the house without a skylight, and so I like to do everything I can to keep the air circulating nicely. This scent really helps to lift the room and ensure it always smells fresh, airy and clean. I love the fact that Baby Powder is a beauty product, so it smells very organic in the bathroom. 

I always like my guest room to smell of fresh linen. I believe when you have guests to stay, it's important not to induce a heavy scent in their room. People have very different tastes, and you can't be sure whether a certain candle, while it smells lovely to you, won't make them run to open the window. 
Fresh linen creates the impression of a clean and well kept bedroom that your guests will look forward to staying in. All you have to do it make sure your room does actually match up to the scent!

Finally, I picked up this Candy Cane scent. This isn't for anywhere in particular, I was just intrigued. It's quite hard to describe the scent, but I would say it smells like an old sweet shop. I'll most likely be burning this in my kitchen.

I hope you've all had a wonderful day, and let me know if it's just me with this fussy scent obsession won't you? I'm beginning to fear I'm not normal!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE

Sunday 25 November 2012

A Makeup Inspiration


Hi Darlings,

How has your Sunday been? I've had the ultimate lazy day, watching TV programmes that I've not had chance to this week, whilst snacking on White Cadbury Fingers. 
Last night my family came up to Leeds for a pre-Christmas meal, and we had a wonderful evening; Alex cooked some beautiful food, and everyone had a great time - it's made me all the more excited for Christmas Day!

I've been using the same makeup every day in the last week almost, with perhaps a different lip depending on what I was wearing. It's just been so much quicker to grab my makeup bag and throw my face on with all the products that are to hand - which is exactly what I've needed to do. While I love them and they undoubtedly work for me, it's time to shake things up a bit this week, and this is what I came up with: 

 You might recognise this from the Dream Matte Mousse advert, and while I'm of the opinion that it's potentially one of the worst foundations on the high street, what I do particularly like is the softness of the lips, and the highlighting of the cupids bow. I also like how the blush is very subtle and matches the lips very closely.  

 This is my absolute favourite look. I really go on for the light eyes and the red lips. I may be re-creating this in the next couple of days.

I love the heavy crease contouring and soft fluttery eyelashes. I also particularly like the high gloss black nails. 

Let me know if you have any other inspiration for me, I love to try new looks!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE

(Images used are not my own and are Via Google Images)

Thursday 22 November 2012

What's goin' on?


(Kudos to you if you got the Marvin Gaye reference!)

I've had the busiest week in the world, and to top it all off, this morning I had the dreaded visit to the dentist.  Luckily it wasn't so bad this time, but we'll see how I'm feeling after the 3rd of December - I bet I won't be feeling so chirpy after that one! 

I was up really early this morning, so I got plenty of work done. This means that I have the luxury of taking a few hours off this afternoon! It feels unnatural to sit down, I feel like I should be running around doing something.

Given this fabulous window of opportunity, this is how I'm choosing to spend it:

 This candle is amazing! It smells absolutely gorgeous and the scent payoff is phenomenal. My whole house smells delicious.

 I feel you may all be begging to see a slight obsession of mine...

 Christmas tree lights are the ultimate in creating a cosy atmosphere

 Cuddles with little dusty, she's such a softie <3

 A nice glass of white wine

One of my cosiest jumpers

What are you all up to today? 
I hear we're in for a storm, it's incredibly windy - make sure you stay safe if you have bad weather near you.

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Some snippets of Christmas in my home...


Hello Darlings,

Every year, we all put up the Christmas Tree and dance around it, trying to get the tinsel on straight and make sure the star on the top isn't wonky. But it's the little touches to a home that make it extra special; at least thats the way I've always felt.






Have a wonderful day everyone,

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.

Monday 19 November 2012

Red lips and easy basics


Hi Lovelies,

As I'm doing such a lot of running around today, I kept things simple and comfortable. Go to basics are fantastic when paired with a bright lip, it gives a laid back and very 'lived in' vibe.






  • I have used the MUA Heaven and Earth Palette, with Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner on my eyes.
  • I have used Chanel Fantasia Blush and the Sleek Contour Kit on my cheeks.
  • On my lips is Illamasqua's Drench.

I hope you've had a good day,  I know it's Monday so that's generally hard, but here's hoping!

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle HERE.

Sunday 18 November 2012

Is your Christmas Wishlist a personality indicator?


Hello Darlings,

Alex asked me for my Christmas list a few days ago and it's got me thinking. All of the things that I'm asking for seem to reflect a part my personality, or who I am. I was pondering on whether this is just me, or whether it's true for everyone?

Sweet Anthem Handmade Perfumes - Phoebe. $22 for the 10ml Eau De Parfum
I adore Sweet Anthem perfumes, and Phoebe is my absolute favourite. With notes of dirt, lavender, maple sugar, snow, tobacco and white amber, it's a classic woodsy scent that's perfect for me.
To me, this represents the 'old fashioned' aspect of my personality. I believe in good manners, kindness, and the classic grace and femininity of a woman. I also believe that a woman should always have an element of mystery, which to me, is at the essence of this perfume. 



Armande Amaretto - £13.42
Amaretto is probably my favourite alcoholic drink, I like it as a short drink with orange juice. But I also drink it with Coke.
To me, this represents the slightly 'different' side to me. While it's not completely random, it's also not something that is immediately popular with others in my age group - just like me. 



This matte classic red will never get old, and I'm in love with the decadence of it.
To me this represents the beauty lover in me (obviously). It also represents the part of my personality that can be difficult to get along with at times.



Gone with the Wind is my ultimate favourite book and film - my much loved copy is now so battered it has fallen apart.
This represents my family. It specifically represents my Grandad and also my Grandma who passed away almost ten years ago now. It's fair to say that she pretty much brought me up for the first 11 years of my life, and I can still remember her now as clearly as ever, she was a truly great lady and I miss her every day. She and my Grandad had the most amazing relationship out of anyone I have ever known, and that in itself inspires me to strive for that in my own relationship. 
My Grandma introduced me to this film; she absolutely loved it, and it's safe to say that I do too. My family mean everything to me; there's not so many of us left now (8 including grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins) and that makes it all the more precious to me. 


I think this is beautiful for Christmas Day. I'd wear it with dark wash skinny jeans and black peep-toe platforms. Throw on a statement bracelet and a red lip and you're party ready while still cosy and warm.
This represents the materialistic part of my personality - lets be honest, most of us are. It also represents the part of my personality who always believes in being presentable - I care about my appearance.


It's no secret to any of you who have read my blog for a little while that I'm a big soul fan. This often translates across to old Jazz for me, and Billie Holiday is simply phenomenal.
This of course represents the part of my personality that is in love with music, that music of course being old soul or jazz. It also shows the part of me that lives in the past. I often think I was born in the wrong era, so much of today I find brash and crude. I wonder, what happened to true talent, what happened to that slow pace of life? 


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So what do you think? Is there something in it? I know that some of you will think, well yes, obviously. If I want something, it's to my taste and so of course it represents my personality. But what about when you think about why that is to your taste? Does it then show what you're like as a person?

Have a wonderful evening everyone,

Lea
x

Don't forget to check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway HERE.