Gettin' my glow on // Honey bronze

Hello lovelies,

Like any twenty-year-old girl I absolutely love having a tan but as much as I'd love to hop abroad a catch a real one that just isn't possible. This is where the trusty bottle of fake tan comes out but to be honest I've just never found one that leaves me with a glowing tan. That was until I saw the Honey Bronze range from The Body Shop...

 With the sun finally making an appearance and The Body Shop having a 3 for 2 offer I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get my glow on and try out some of their products. I picked up the Shimmering Dry Oil, the Honey Bronze Drops Of Sun and the Highlighting Dome.

1. Shimmering Dry Oil - £18

Now this product isn't to be confused with your bog standard fake tan because it doesn't give you that kind of intensity. Instead the oil leaves you with a more of a sun kissed shimmery tan which is a lot more subtle but much more realistic looking. I much prefer this instead of my normal tan because it leaves my skin feeling hydrated but doesn't leave a greasy feel like most oil based products do. Even though it is quite pricey I've found a little goes a long way so I reckon this product will last me quite a while and will be perfect to apply over a real tan in the summer!

2. Drops Of Sun - £12

This product can be mixed into anything... but preferably in moisturiser or foundation to give you a golden glow. I find this is perfect to use on my face after I've applied my shimmering dry oil so that my face actually matches the rest of my body! One of the things I love the most about this product is that it is shimmer free. I find a lot of bronzed face products contain shimmer which I find on me makes me look totally OTT but this one leaves me looking glowy as hell! Again this product will last me forever because one drop is more than enough.

3. Highlighting Dome - £9

I just couldn't resist yet another highlighter! I'm obsessed. The shade of this highlighter is 01 and reminds me of Mac Soft and Gentle but in a cream version (heaven I know). The shape of this product is perfect because I can just swipe the tops of my cheek bones so easily and it leaves a shimmery highlight. I also find this product to be easy to blend and for only £9 I've definitely been getting my moneys worth.

I can't wait to try more of The Body Shop's products as I've only just got into shopping there but I'm sure I'll be writing up another review on their stuff soon! I hope you enjoyed this post and I'd love to see some of your comments below<3

Love B x

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Blog switch up // The pill

Hello lovelies,

This post is going to be very different to anything I've posted on my blog before but I really want to start talking about real life situations and personal experiences because I absolutely love reading posts like this and find things like this can be super helpful. The other week I asked you guys on twitter if you'd like more personal blog posts and the majority voted yes, so I thought I'd kick this off with my month from hell thanks to the pill.

The contraceptive pill is something that thousands of women use and even though so many of us take it, it isn't something people really talk about. I was first put on the combined pill when I was 15 to help regulate my crazy periods. The doctor said it would make them lighter, shorter and less painful. How amazing?

For years I haven't even thought twice about being on the pill. I went to all of my check ups and did the usual weight, height and blood pressure checks and always walked away happy a larry with six more months of pills. This was until I was randomly put onto a different brand called Rigevidon. I was told by my nurse that my doctors have stopped stocking my original pill so this was the exact same ingredients and that everything would be the same. As much as this was true in the sense that the ingredients were the same, the quality of this pill was not and it made me feel AWFUL. 

Week one was full of mood swings and breakdowns. Week two was pretty much the same. I couldn't pin point what on earth was actually wrong with me but I just didn't feel good at all. And by week 3 I felt exhausted all of the time and the headaches and bloating I suffered from were insane. Me being me I decided to google my symptoms and see if anyone else has had the same problem and oh my god the internet was full of horror stories. Quick tip: Don't google symptoms EVER. It's never going to be good news!

 I finally decided to book an appointment with my new doctors who thankfully did stock my old pill but I was told to finish the packet before changing. I'm now back on my original pill which is Ovranette but I didn't skip my 7 day break like I should have. Woops... I've never really had any problems with this pill before and find I'm much more relaxed taking something I know I'm familiar with. 

My advice would be to go and talk to a nurse or doctor about any questions or concerns you have about contraception because it is perfectly normal to want to discuss your options. Nurses and doctors are there to help you and no matter what you want to ask they will try to help you.

I know this post is completely different to anything I've wrote on here before but topics like these are things I could ramble on about for days and I love reading stuff like this. So, every month I'm now going to be uploading a more wordy and personal blog post because I have so many things I want to speak about that normally just get swept under the carpet.

I hope you enjoyed reading my experience and remember that everyone has different experiences on the pill.

Love B x

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L'Oreal Pure Clay Masks // Review

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Hello lovlies,

Face masks are something I've had a constant hit and miss kind of relationship with. With ridiculously sensitive skin I have to be super careful about what kind of masks I use. The days of sleepovers and boots own face masks were never good!!! So, because of the bad experiences I've had, I've never been the type of person to do weekly face masks. Until now.

The L'Oréal pure clay mask range are made up of three different kind of masks. A glow mask, a detox mask and a purity mask. I picked up the ones that suited my skin. When reading about the purity mask I felt it wouldn't benefit my skin so I went for the detox and glow masks. I've been altering the two on a weekly basis for the past month and have actually noticed some changes!

The detox mask is more liquid based than the glow one and doesn't contain any micro beads. The packaging is really informative so I 100% recommend you read it before purchasing! This mask deep cleanses your skin and I did find it made my skin feel very clean and fresh after using it. 

The glow mask was a lot thicker and contained micro beads to exfoliate. I found this mask made a lot more of a visible different to my skin. My skin looked and felt softer and brighter. It didn't feel too tight on my face and I didn't feel like I had to moisturise too much afterwards.

I would 100% recommend these masks to anyone who is looking at trying to incorporate face masks into their skins routine. They are normally £7.99 each but you can often find them on offer in either Boots or Superdrug!

Has anyone else tried these masks or any others recently? I'd love to read your thoughts!

Love B x 

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Photo diary // Amsterdam

Hello lovelies,

My photo diary posts are my absolute fav to sit down and create so I thought I'd do another one on my quick New Years trip to Amsterdam. Me and boyfriend booked this trip back in November and I'd been desperate to go ever since. 

We only spent three days in this beautiful city but managed to get so many touristy things done! I loved taking photos of the streets and of our food ect. (watch out for a mouth watering pancake pic!) However, as I've said before I am by no means a professional photographer and all my photos were taken on my iPhone 6s. 

I hope you enjoy taking a look at some of the memories I have made and I hope to carry on blogging about my travels later on this year! 

Love B x

The beautiful canal during sunset

Brunch at a cute little cafe

Quick pit stop at an adorable coffee shop

A street snap on the way to the zoo!

Amsterdam's hard rock cafe!

Ice skating in front of the museums and the I Amsterdam sign

Entrance to the Vondel park

A very dark shot of me and my boyfriend inside the Ice Bar

Entrance to the Ice Bar

One of many beautiful shops in the city centre!

The best chips I have ever tasted!!!

The cheesiest, most touristy photo I could get!

One of many hot coffees (We are defo a coffee kinda couple...)

A gorgeous walk into the centre

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Hair transformation // Grey hair!

Hello lovelies!

This week I decided to chop my blonde locks off and go for a brand new look. Grey ombre!!! I absolutely love this look and want to thank my hairdresser so much for achieving it (even though she'll never read this...) because my hair was a total mess before she worked her magic on it.

After the hairdressers

I thought I'd do a blog post on how she achieved this look and how to maintain the grey, because it does tend to fade quite quickly and it does require you toning it at home yourself.

After a week

Before applying any grey dye to my hair I had blonde highlights put through my hair so that the colour/toner would take more. I had sliced foils put through so it was more natural looking. (Basically one layer highlighted, then the other not, then another highlighted)

After having the highlights done my hairdresser mixed a silver/blonde toner with Crazy Colours Granite hair dye. This was applied to wet hair and was applied all over. The dye was left on for about 20 minutes because I have thicker hair but you can wash the dye off in around 10-15 minutes if you have much lighter or thinner hair!

When it comes to maintaining the colour purple shampoo will become your best friend! I use an intensive shampoo and condition once a week and any other washes I just use the daily ones. On top of this I tone my hair by using the Granite hair dye and mix in some of the Silver hair dye just to dilute the colour. This is just my personal preference. For lighter hair you can just use the silver or if you prefer it darker just use granite!

I'd love to hear some of your tips for maintaining grey/silver hair in the comment section below!

*Disclaimer*

I know I have some explaining to do because I have fallen off the radar completely but blogging and drowning in uni work definitely took its toll on me and bloggers block was real! But I'm back and I have loads of drafts waiting to be publishing so watch this space.

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Duty Free Got Me // Revlon Moisture Stay 5

One of the best things about going abroad is shopping in the duty free section. Every time I go I can't help but pick myself up something and this time I went all out. 

I've never been a dedicated user of Revlon products but these lipsticks really stood out for me. I loved the idea of having a full set and found the quality of the product looked high. The set came with five of the moisture stay lipsticks as well as a free super lustrous lipstick in the shade 'Blushed'.  Altogether the set was around £30 however, the set isn't available in the UK as I brought this in Lanzarote.

Top - bottom: Crimson, Buff, Toffee, 

Violet, Dusk and Blushed

The five moisture stay lipsticks definitely do exactly that. Moisturise. They are very glossy on the lips and don't dry the out at all. As they leave a shine on the lips it does mean the colour can be quite sheer on the nude colours. However, the shade is easily build-able. All of the shades are easily wearable for both day and night time looks. My favourite shade is 'Dusk' as it's the type of nude that looks like your own lips just better.

Has anyone else brought anything in duty free recently? I'd love to hear below!

Love Briar X

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Turning Twenty // Photo Diary

Hello lovelies,

Last Saturday was my birthday and this year I turned the big two zero! After mentally preparing myself for it all week and being told over and over again that I will now be a real adult, I finally began to get excited! I thought it would be nice to share a few snaps of the weekend!

20!!!

I am a sausage dog enthusiast

Before our night out... I didn't want anymore photos!

After a bottle of wine...

And another one...

Reunited with boo

I have recently moved to Leicester as I started studying at De Montfort University last month. Since moving away I haven't seen any of my old friends, family or my boyfriend therefore I couldn't wait to go home for the weekend and see them all. My boyfriend came down a few days earlier to spend the night in my flat and meet my new friends. We went shopping (because Leicester has the most amazing shopping centre) and also went out for a meal and some cheeky cocktails. I may have had a few too many as I was dreading turning 20... Finally on my birthday I went home for the weekend to see my family. My mum pulled out all the stops by surprising me with one of her lush homemade cakes and as any normally teen I went for a very drunk night out with my pals!

I thought I should update you all on why my blogs been so empty over the past couple of weeks. With everything going on and me moving away I'm still finding my feet and trying to get my life together. (How dramatic do I sound haha!) BUT... blog posts will finally be back to a weekly thing. YAY.

Has anyone else recently moved away to uni? Or had a birthday? Let me know below, I love reading your comments.

Love B x

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Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo // Review

Now I'm very late onto this band wagon but I thought I'd give the Colour Tattoo eyeshadows a try! I've heard a lot of other bloggers raving about how well these last so I thought I'd put them both to the test. 

Now I'm trying to push the boat out here a bit and start wearing more eyeshadow. I'm fairly lazy and I love the idea of finding a colour that I can quickly swoop onto my eyelid, blend a little and then wa-la. Done. Well look no further, I have found two little pots of gold (literally) that work so well for my early and rushed mornings.

I picked up two in the shades And On Bronze and Eternal Gold. And On Bronze is 100% my fav out of the two as it's more of a day to day wearable shade. Both colours are really pigmented, so it only takes a tiny amount on either a brush or your finger. (I find finger works best for me!) You can build up the colours really easily and like it says on the tin they last a super long time. I wouldn't go as far as 24 hours, because who even wears makeup for that long? But they do stay put. 

Has anyone else tried any of these? Let me know below!

Love B x

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Keeping The Brow Game Strong!

If there is one thing I would go back and tell the 15 year old me it would 100% be DON'T PLUCK AWAY ALL YOUR EYEBROWS. I know everyone does it, but thin brows are no longer the thing and well... every single photo I find of myself below the age of 18 contains almost non existent eyebrows. *Weeps at the thought*

I have a brow product for almost every achievable look and I love mixing it up depending on how strong I want my brow to look because a night on the town brow and a day in the office brow are two completely different things. (If that makes any sort of sense!!) So here is a list of my top brow products that I seem to reach too more than others! Enjoy!

1. Benefit Gimme Brow - £18.50

First things first, lets talk about how freaking cute the new Benefit eyebrows packaging is! I love their revamp so much. This is by far my favourite brow product but is also the most expensive meaning I do use other cheaper but just as good products. I love how small the applicator is. It shapes my brows perfectly and gives them a fuller look. The applicator gets each individual brow hair which is something I love because nothing is worse than a block brow.

2. Rimmel Brow This Way Kit - £3.99

This kit includes a wax and a powder. I have never used the powder just because I feel it dries out my eyebrows too much and doesn't look as good as the wax. I love using a wax on my eyebrows as I feel it doesn't just give them a fuller and stronger look but also holds them in place well giving them a really good shape. For £3.99 it's a great little kit if you are just starting to fill and shape your brows.

3. KIKO Infinity Eyeshadow in Dark Oak - £5.90

This is probably my least used eyebrow product but I do sometimes use this powder as it's the only one I found that hasn't dried out throughout the day. I find this powder gives my eyebrows a softer and more natural look so I tend to use this if I'm just staying in. I use this with an angled brush to fill in the front of my eyebrows.

4. Primark Eyebrow Gel 

This gel is a complete life saver for when you don't have anything on your brows. It's so good at holding my brows in place and keeping any stray hairs at bay! I love how small this product is so I can just pop it into my bag whenever I need it. I can't remember exactly how much it was but I know it was a complete steal.

5. NYX Sculpt and Highlight Brow Contour - £8.00

I am in love with this product. I haven't ever used any other NYX products but I really wanted to find something that would fill and highlight my eyebrows. I love how easy this product is to use and how creamy both parts are. The contour part works so well on my brow bone and leaves them looking so good. I love how small the nib on the end of the sculpting part is. I can easily draw on without making it look too dark or heavy.

6. Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil - £2.99

This was the first ever eyebrow product I brought. For £2.99 this pencil is 100% worth it! I find this works best when the pencil is sharpened because then you can draw on your hairs and shape your brow precisely. They do other colours so you'll be sure to find one that suits you.

What eyebrow products have you been using? I'd love to find more! 

Love B x

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KIKO // One for the eyes

Since KIKO opened their store in MK shopping centre I haven't stopped splurging on their amazing products. *Sorry bank account* From many other posts you can tell I am a big KIKO fan and I have tried quite a few of their products. When I last visited they had a huge sale on eyeshadows and I have been wanting to try experimenting with using eyeshadow more so what a perfect opportunity! You can find the eyeshadows on their website here and here!

This beautiful pearly white is so good for using in the inner corner of the eyes to make your eye colour really pop. I also love using this for mixing with darker colours to stop my eyeshadow looked too dark. It has a shimmery finish which looks beautiful under the light.

The second colour I picked up is this khaki colour. In the photograph I does look more brown but when you apply it you can see the green tones more. I love this colour as I don't tend to go for greens but feel that the brown undertones make it a lot more wearable. The shade is very matte and blends beautifully. 

Everyone needs a charcoal black eyeshadow. I use this across my lash line for when I do a smokey eye. It's very pigmented and the colour pay off lasts really well. I find this shade works so well if you don't want to use a liquid liner but want a more softer liner on the eye.

Next up I brought a silver/grey colour. I fell in love with this colour. I find silver works so well for me as I have blue eyes and feel it really brightens my eyes and brings the blue out. I tend to use this for a lighter smokey eye which is more wearable in the day time but you can also build the colour up for a night time look.

The last colour I picked up is this gorgeous champagne colour. I use this colour the most out of all of the eyeshadows as I feel it looks beautiful for an everyday eye look. I also used this as an eyebrow highlighter as it is so shimmery and picks up a beautiful highlight in the light. The colour isn't as pigmented as the others but is easily build-able. However, it blends beautiful and works with almost every colour!

Has anyone else tried any KIKO products? Comment below 

Love B x

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