How One Little Thing Can Left Your Spirits

I haven't had the best couple of days if I'm being honest, thankfully my cold / flu thing appears to be on the way out, and the antibiotics are over - hello real tea with MILK. However as I got better my mum took a turn for the worse. She has been having problems with her ears for a little while now so when she got my virus it was inevitable which part it was strike first - her ears! On Tuesday morning she was in an absolutely awful state, dizziness, nausea, slurred speech and eventually continuous vomiting, she wasn't in a good way at all. I called the doctor and she came straight out, diagnosing vertigo caused by an inner ear infection, so she gave her a prescription for anti nausea and dizziness tablets which thankfully some relatives managed to collect for me, and thankfully that seemed to do the trick. She is still pretty tired and her head still feels fuzzy  but she's managed to eat something today, and she's feeling a little brighter, thankfully she still has the medication in case it happens again  and she has an appointment to see the ENT team in a couple of weeks time so hopefully she'll get it sorted once and for all.

I have to say everything that happened yesterday left me utterly drained, I swear I have never seen her so poorly, I had an awful nights sleep and I've felt really weepy all day :( - I really don't know what I would do without her.

I've spent the day doing a bit of tidying, making a few meals for my mum, eventually posting the first of my MUA posts, and trying to chill out. I was feeling pretty down but then an email popped up in my inbox. No doubt you will see a few of these posts popping up but I felt it deserved a post. I was contacted by So Feminine, the largest online magazine for women about their first ever Beauty Blog Awards - they informed me that LouLouLand features in their top 100 list of Best Beauty Bloggers

I am so flattered it untrue to come 75th in the list is pretty amazing for me, especially when I don't consider LouLouLand 100% a beauty blog I am so grateful to everyone for reading and for their support (comes over all teary and sniffly) However as you can see the list only contains 90 blogs, it therefore up to us who we want to see filling the remaining 10 spaces, all you have to do is email fashion@sofeminine.co.uk with the url of the blogs you want to see added to the list. I can certainly see a few major omissions which I want to put right x Thanks to everyone at So Feminine and of course thanks to you guys xx Hopefully normal posting will resume soon x

Goods and Bads

Hey my loves welcome to this weeks goods and bads x - just one bad today x

Bads

• Put another pound on this week :( I have started some new medication so my doctor says that may be making me eat more I am a bit disappointed but at the same time my doctor told me not to be disheartened it will be hard for me to lose weight because of medication and lack of activity but I can do it

Goods

• Less than a week to my birthday :) - have a few little events planned including a meal with my bestie and a shopping trip with Mummy Lou which I am excited about  :)
• It was my godfathers birthday yesterday so I had a nice day with some of my family :)
• Finishing Project 10 Pan - I really didn't think I could do it but I've proved I can - thanks to all the lovely people who have left me such sweet comments on either the blog post or the videos xx
• Blog Sales - thanks to everyone that bought from my previous sale update all you goodies should either be with you already or on their way x I will be posting an update probably on Wednesday night so I'll keep you posted x
• Mummy LouLou is thankfully feeling much better now - whatever virus she had has really taken it out of her but shes definitely on the mend thanks for all the well wishes x

All in all pretty positive from me today :) I have a few posts planned for this week including a little product rave, a little ASOS haul , and maybe a little product review and giveaway - thanks for sticking with me and a big hi and thanks to my new followers x`

Gift From My Mummy - Sleek Primer Palette

Hey my loves I got a lovely surprise this morning, my mum had ordered me the new Sleek Primer Palette.

She for once took notice of my hints and ordered it all by herself from the Sleek website #prouddaughter , intending to keep it for my birthday but she thought I deserved a treat and gave me it this morning :)

I have to say as soon as I heard about this I wanted it - I love eye primers and cream shadows so this palette really appealed - it features 12 shades ranging from the brights to the neutrals, they seem really smooth and pigmented and probably wearble in their own right not just as shadow primers

The colour names in the palette are shall we say wrong, the green as described as peach, the blue as Ultra Violet and so on - brilliant quality control Sleek - erm not - any way swatches in the order they appear in the palette x

Pretty eh - I am so pleased with this and can't wait to try it on my eyes, I really hope it doesn't crease, for £6.99 it has the potential to be a really great must have palette - thanks Mummy LouLou xx

An Elemis Surprise

I mentionned a few posts ago that my lovely mummy had bought me something, well it was by Elemis. Last weekend me and my mum watched a few Elemis shows on QVC it was their 15th anniversary on the channel and their 20th anniversary overall so there were loads of good prices. Well after or before one of the shows my mum must have ordered me something that I said I liked - how fab is she :)It was the Elemis favourites collection - I can't wait to have a play with this it contains a few of my essentials but also a few bits I haven't tried

Elemis Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser 50ml
Elemis Balancing Lavender Toner 50ml
Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream 15ml
Elemis Exotic Frangipani Monoi Bath and Shower Cream 50ml
Elemis Skin Nourishing Milk Bath 60ml
Elemis Vitamin Rich Body Lotion 50ml

They are all perfect sizes for holidays (I need a holiday at the moment so badly) or for trying out new things - Thanks Mum x Any questions on anything please let me know x

Shopping Trip :)

Well I made it to the Metro Centre yesterday - sorry the post is late but I really was beyond exhausted last night and I'm still in a bit of pain today - with ME every positive is followed by a negative :( Still I had a nice day (despite the kids still being off argh) and spent just under £20 of my own money and also some of the funds kindly donated by my mummy :) I also got some other stuff which my mum is putting aside for my birthday next month :) Anyway with my own money I picked up a few bits -from Superdrug I got the new Collection 2000 Mascara Big Fake False Lash Effect

Fingers crossed it performs better than the last Collection 2000 one I tried - the tube is certainly more streamlined but I'll let you know what I think x I also got a free liquid eyeliner with it but I don't use it so I'll be passing this on ;)
I also went to Lush and picked up some Tea Tree Water and a Space Girl Ballistic (this smells gorgeous it's been in my room overnight and wow!) - I also handed over 5empty black pots and got a free Cupcake Face Mask - freebie :)

My next stop was Accessorize :) I'm sorry I can't get a decent picture of this but it was a wishlist item - a tiny little Statue of Liberty and an I Heart NY on a thin gold tone chain

These little bits came to just under my £20 limit for the day but I did dabble a bit with my Boots advantage card and picked up this - my hyped, much talked about and now much loved the new Revlon Lipgloss in 150 Peach Petal - thank you Boots points - free lipgloss :)

The rest of my bits were paid for by my amazing mummy love her lots and lots xx and a rather useless checkout assistant in Primark more on that later ;)
Anyway I'd wanted this bag for a while initially in black but when I saw it in the lovely summer cream - I had to have it

I also got this lovely nude /blush petal top


This floral vest / dress


This gorgeous floaty blush top

These sandals which I've seen on lots of blogs and you tube hauls


and these super cute bow pumps


I also got some other things but it wasn't till I got home and checked my receipt that I realised I hadn't been charged for them!!! To be honest I wasn't surprised the lad on the till just grunted and was too busy talking to his mate on the next checkout - their loss!
Anyway I got these nude stud pumps


and this cute Love pendant that I know a few bloggers have.

I was desperately looking for the lovely Primark ring that the lovely Topshop Princess has but alas I couldn't find it :( If anyone sees it in a large I would be eternally grateful if you could pick me one up I would of course reimburse you for costs x
I also got some not so interesting bits including this months Hello Kitty magazine with a free comb and mirror ;), some razors and these

Galaxy Counters - faint - these were the sweet of my very early childhood large ish chocolate buttons that used to be in white packet with animals on - anyway due to pressure from the Facebook group Galaxy have reintroduced them although they are no longer in the cute packaging I remember :(

Yesterdays Goodies and Spending Diet = Fail

OK as I said yesterday I went shopping with Godmother to a Boundary Mill Stores close to where I live. For those that don't know Boundary Mill Stores is an huge outlet store located in various location throughout the UK, my local one is in Shiremoor. They sell fashion, shoes, homewares, and some beauty items. The clothes aren't always geared toward the younger generation but you can sometimes find a few bits. Anyway I received a little bit of cash from my Godmother and my mum so I didn't have to break into my own money too much. My generous contributions paid for a few bits including a lovely Yankee candle, and some candle plates, a piggin figure (yes I still collect my piggy's), a lovely chunky cream scarf and some black Pretty Polly opaque tights and also a couple of tops from a company called CMD Womenswear I hadn't heard of them before but on reflection I've noticed I do have a couple of thing by them already. First of all I got this sparkly grey sequin detail vest / tunic - I like the random distribution of the sequins as much as it won't matter if they start to come off because the pattern is so random (sorry it's a bit blurry too sparkly I guess)



I also got this long slinky tunic style top with black sequin detail on the shoulders - it looks blue in the pic but its actually a gorgeous royal purple - oh and it also comes with a skinny black patent belt - I'm not to keen on the belt so I might cut the loops off but I'll have to wait and see


Both of these tops were just £5 each which was a bargain x What was a bigger bargain though was something I bought myself - they had a huge box of By Caprice bras which were only £3 each - after pulling virtually half the box out I eventually found a gorgeous black and white floral one in my size - alas I couldn't find the matching knickers but I am sure plain black will look fine - see as it was originally tagged at £20 I was super happy with my bargain but then I got to the till there was another surprise - there was another 10% off it meaning I got if for £2.70 result :)
I also bought another ickle thing - you've guessed it make up :) Now my local store doesn't usually have that many beauty goodies but I was delighted to see that they had a few NYX palettes :)Well I had little look and I decided to get this - it was £6.99 and it's the Smokey Look Kit


It's a super cute little compact which is ideal for on the go - it contains 9 little eyeshadows ideal for doing various smokey eye looks not only that but in a little drawer underneath you get two gorgeous lip colours in a pale milky pink and a peachy nude - I am super happy with this kit x



So as it's now blatantly obvious by those last two little purchases my spending diet for February is now an abject and utter fail - so what did I do I made it worse and placed a couple of orders one with ELF who were giving away a free lipgloss set with any purchase and Littlewoods who offered me a lovely £10 discount on my next purchase -sod! I've always said I am sucker for an offer -I'll stick pics etc, up when they come - so what do I do in the meantime try and reign myself in for the rest of February or do some more shopping - we'll see xx

A Day Of Remembrance

Apologies in advance for the personal nature of this post but my blog has always been about expression of thought - normal posts will resume as soon as if you don't want to read this x
7 years ago today I lost one of the two most important people on my life - my dad. It's hard to believe it's been 7 years. So much has changed in my life since that awful night. I'm not the same person I know that for certain - experiences change you sometimes for the better, sometime for the worse - with me its hard to say. In some ways I grew up very quickly and matured from what was a 23 year old girl to what I am now a 31 year old woman with life experience, who had experienced pain and heartache but above all overwhelming love. 7 years seems such a long time and then sometimes it seems like the blink of an eye. I still remember sitting in the hospital in the night of November 4th / 5th listing to fireworks going off -maybe that's why they give me the creeps now - they say remember, remember 5th November - it's one date I am unlikely to ever forget now. My mum and I have planned a quiet day of reflection - we are going to go to the cemetery later to lay some flowers and then we are coming home to a nice curry I've made and a good bottle of wine. Time is no healer but it helps you to cope and above all accept - Rest In Peace Dad I'll love you always xx

MAC Goodies

Well my budgeted for MAC order came this afternoon

Smoke and Diamonds Eyeshadow



Strike A Pose Eyeshadow




OMG I love the MAC Starflash formula it is sooo soft and sooo pigmented - I want them all!!!!

My lovely mummy also bought me a pressie - MAC Suntints SPF 20 Liquid Lip Balm - Pink Tinge - on the condition that she can steal it - LOL



It gives a really subtle milky pink colour, with a moisturising gloss texture. It tastes yummy, like the lipsticks - a vanilla, cocoa butter taste and fragrance, and its a definite for my hols :)

So despite my gift from my mummy - that is still a massive £22 of my monthly budget gone - argh!

7 Days of Happiness? Hmmm

Apologies that I am so late with this, this week, but I haven't been feeling too good. Caring for my mum, and catering for my birthday party has certainly taken its toll on my ME ridden carcass. I managed to miss the match on Saturday and to be honest I just about survived these past few days - ME related pains have riddled my arms, shoulders and back leaving me relying far too much on Mr Painkiller :( Added to that the recurrence of my earache and a trip to the doctors tomorrow - this week and being 31 in general hasn't started too well. Still lots of things last week made me happy and I need to keep up my happy thoughts



1)My Birthday -OK being a year older isn't a lot to be cheerful about normally, but I got some lovely pressies most of which you have already seen, and I got some lovely wishes from people on chat forums, facebook and so on their are some nice people out there :)Pictured here is one of my pressies from my bestie -OK maybe not the most obvious pressie for a 31 year old but I love my bright, shiny balloon - reverting back to childhood is good :)

2)My Birthday Carrot Cake - Since my mum is still a bit incapacitated it was left to me to make my birthday cake - I used her gluten free carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting and I have to say it was a total success and tres yummy! The pic really doesn't do it justice


3) Minstrels - yummy, yummy, yummy haven't had these for ages but I have just rediscovered them - Oh wow chocolate heaven - why haven't I shown these more love!

4)My Smashbox Stuff - Loving those nude lip liners especially - great colours and a good texture

5) Once again you - thanks again to you for following me on here and on twitter - it's very much appreciated and a big hello to my new followers x

7 Days - Relief, Baking and More

Its been an odd 7 days for lots of reasons but we are back to normal - well there or therabouts but in the last 7 days lots of things have still made me happy

1)My mum getting out of hospital - much of my up and down week was due to my mum being in hospital - her operation was a success but she had a bit of inflamation so they ended up keeping her in for an extra few days - but shes back now at home recuperating. Me and my mum are really, ridicuously close - probably something to do with me being an only child and I have to say I really missed her - On my bad ME days she really is my rock and I am so pleased shes back I really rely on her so much at times and probably take her for granted but I can't imagine life without her

2)Chocolate Caramel Nuggets - I have seen this recipe posted on a few foodie blogs namely Penelope's Pantry and originally Cherrapeno All I can say is thank you ladies! I mangaged to adapt the recipe pretty well with gluten free flour, and a touch of Xanthan gum, although I did find I needed some more liquid. Apologies that there are no pictures but there isn't any left but don't worry I will definitely be making these again :)

3) ELF Moisture Care Lip Colour - Baby Lips <3 - My first ELF purchase and its love with this item. I am loving the colour and the finish and the fact it doesn't leave my lips dry - a winner!


4) I've made loads of nice purchases this week but one had really stood out - OPI -Done Out In Deco Nail Polish - Apologies I can't get a good picture but there are plenty out there I've borrowed this one from ASOS- it is in fact a gorgeous creamy lilac - a perfect match for my new Mary Quant Eyeshadow

5) I made quite a juvenile purchase this week a copy of Hello Kitty magazine / comic - Ok its probably for 8 year olds but it came with a fabulous free gift a Hello Kitty mobile / iPod sock. How could something this cute by tacky :)


6) The final thing that has made my super happy is you - my blog readers thank you so much for everybody that has started to follow me both here and on twitter and for all the nice comments regarding my blog. I really, really appreciate it I never thought for one minute anybody would be interested in my ramblings - a huge, huge thank you and big love to you all x

Belated Greetings !

Belated Birthday Greetings for Helen for Saturday - Your Getting Old Chick! - One More Year Till Your Thirty! LOL!

Also Belated Mothers Day Greetings to My Fab Mum! I Don't Know Where I Would Be Without You x