Happiness Is...

I have had a really stressed week and a bit what with one thing and another but some things have still made me happy so I thought I'd share them with you

Fresh and Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables - A bit of an odd one to start with but this week I have really been enjoying some gorgeous fresh fruit and veg. Unusually for a snackaholic like me in the past week I have turned to juicy English strawberries and blueberries, and fresh pea pods to stem my hunger pangs and do you know what I have thoroughly enjoyed them - nice fresh fruit and raw veg is the way to go


Weight Loss - It might not sound a lot but over the last two weeks I have managed to lose 3lbs this is really good for me considering I have been so stressed out and when I am stressed I eat so the fact that I am still making progress is a huge plus point for me and a huge motivation to keep going




The Body Shop MTV Yes Yes Yes Tantalising Lip Butter - To be honest when I got this a few weeks ago I didn't really need it but now I am so glad I picked one up - It tastes amazing which is supposed to be down to the dragon fruit extract - I don't know what a dragon fruit tastes like but this has an amazing tropical passion fruit or mango type taste and it's moisturising without being sticky or too greasy - A huge thumbs up for me I am only hoping it isn't a limited addition. Even better than that though all the proceeds from this product go towards raising funds for AIDS and HIV awareness - Read More Here

MAC Brave New Bronze Lipstick - Need I say more about this fabulous lipstick from the MAC Style Warrior collection - I absolutely heart it - I am obviously not the only one since it has already sold out on the MAC UK website. If I can get to a store before they disappear completely I am definitely buying a back up spending ban or no spending ban


Tilquhillie Pure Oat Muesli With Cranberry - As you may know I am Coeliac I can't eat wheat or gluten containing products. Up until recently the only gluten free muesli you could get contained all sorts of bits like millet flakes and so on and to be quite honest it tasted like bird seed not very nice at all. Then I stumbled on this product containing clean oats. The majority of cereals tend to be mixed up so even some oats can trigger an allergic reaction thankfully these oats have been tested to Coeliac UK's standard as being pure and are therefore safe for the majority of people with gluten allergies to eat. Yum proper muesli at long last :)



ME ME ME Poppy Tint - I bought this product from Superdrug a few months ago and haven't really touched it until this week. It's basically a pretty good dupe for Benfits Posie Tint i.e. a lovely bright barbie pink lip and cheek stain. To be honest it scared me a bit as it looks a little bit bright but I tried it this week and I am so impressed. It actually goes on quite sheer and looks especially good on the lips when blotted down a bit with some clear or pink toned gloss over the top - another drugstore winner :) (sorry for the crappy picture).

My Mum Being Out Of Hospital After a ridiculously stressful few days involving casualty, ambulances and occupational therapists my mum is home recuperating again. I was so stressed at the beginning of last week but I am at last starting to calm down and feel secure again

My Family and My Friends - Its always at stressful times when you find out who really will be there for you and I certainly found that out this time. My best friend Dawn is exactly that - 2 and half hour phone calls and lifts to the hospital she is a real star and I am so lucky I know her. Several family members also came up trumps and really helped me out x

You Lot - Huge thanks to all my new and existing followers I really appreciate your support - Also huge thanks for producing such fabulous blogs, tweets and you tube vids which have really helped me relax in a tough week - Thanks peeps x

Lancome Juicy Tube Help Needed

I'm just wondering if any of you fab blog readers and followers can help me. I have a Lancome Juicy Tube that is nearing the end of its life and I am starting to have trouble squeezing the gloss out, although there appears to be loads stuck on the sides of the tube. Is there any way to loosen it or get it out apart from cutting the tube in half. Any advice appreciated x

MAC Style Warriors - Brave New Bronze Swatches

I received my MAC Style Warriors bits today despite paying ordinary delivery - thanks for the upgrade MAC UK. I have to say I heart both bits tempting is everything I thought it would be but Brave New Bronze wow! I am so disappointed that I can't get a back up of it because of my spending diet - I heart this colour it is simply the most gorgeous shade of nude I have tried and believe me I have tried a lot. I've tried to do a few pics but I am not sure how realistic the colour is with my lousy mobile camera. Just for the record I am an NW15 - 20, and the pics were taken without a flash.

Last Pre Spending Diet Haul - AVON

I received my AVON haul today (which was ordered before my spending diet started so it doesn't count ;p)I got...

Spectra Lash Mascara - this looks really interesting - 3 looks in the one tube - the tube and wand seems a bit bulky but we'll see how I get on


True Colour Eyeshadow Quad - Purple Haze - I can't believe how Chanel a like these look - very, very similar palettes and a similar layout- see for yourself


The AVON Palette (the colours are truer in the full haul pic)




The Chanel palette (pic courtesy of Boots


AVON Nail Expert Cuticle Balm

AVON Brazil Beat Body Mist

Bronze Sun Protection Anti Shine Face Cream and Sun Screen Stick

Also included a pic of my Benefit A Little Bit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

I Heart My Mummy - Part 2

Some good news today my mum will hopefully be out of hospital tomorrow - her physio has been out to assess the house and will be providing us with some things, e.g. chair heighteners, bath boards and so on to prevent this happening again while her hip heels :)She has been warned though, she isn't to do anything!!! Anyways my mum asked me to do a bit of shopping before she comes out and she said if I wanted anything such as magazines, DVDs, etc. to keep me occupied or to cheer me up (she knows how stressed I have been) just to pay for them with money she left me for shopping. I couldn't no matter how much I wanted to let her buy DVDs for me (as much as I want to see Slumdog Millionaire) so I settled for a couple of magazine and used the rest to buy her a bouquet of flowers for when she comes out. I got this months GLAMOUR and Marie Claire both of which came with a fabulous free gift. Marie Claire came with a novel by Cecelia Ahern, author of the fabulous PS I Love You, and even more excitingly GLAMOUR came with a free half size (4g) Benefit Bad Girl Lash Black Mascara worth £9.50- hurrah.
I am a happy and relieved LouLou tonight :)

£26 Spent Already - Whoops!

As I said in my last post I made my first purchase of the month yesterday -£2 on a magazine! I always new today would be harder with the launch of a new MAC collection - Style Warriors. Although I wouldn't have minded another lippy and some nail polish I was a good girl and stuck to just the two items I had planned to purchase

The first thing I've ordered is Brave New Bronze Lipstick - Although I love the look of Sunsational - it had to be Brave New Bronze - a nice deep nude which is hopefully a little bit darker than the ones I already have - really can't wait for this to come :)



From L-R - Brave New Bronze,Purple Rite, Sunsational, Tribalist

I also ordered Tempting eyeshadow - I have wanted this for ages after seeing it used in loads of YouTube tutorials (YouTube is dangerous - lol) so I thought I would get it in the limited edition style warriors packaging (I don't depot my shadows - I prefer portability)


My pictures are courtesy of the fabulous Temptalia Her site is well worth a look especially for the drool worthy MAC collection pics :)

Well there you go 4 days in and £26 spent - £4 to last me the rest of the month and one magazine still to purchase- hmm this is going to be harder than I thought - damn you MAC collections!

More Pre Spending Ban Purchases

Sorry for the pretty bad photos as per usual but my necklaces came -sorry they aren't too clear, and my earrings but they seem to have sent me a coral orange pair instead of the creamy white I ordered. I wasn't sure about them initially but they are really growing on me, they look lovely and summery and coral is right on trend for this season a definite keeper :)


I also got my super metallic reddy, orange havaianas from Powder Rooms Havaianas are probably the comfiest flip flops known to humanity I have quite a few pairs (erm about 10 :) )in all sorts of different colours - they are really fab. I tend to buy mine from Powder Rooms, the owner Soraya has really good prices and really good selection of colours and styles, including children's. Her shop sells some really quirky fashion, home, and beauty goodies, including brands such as Lola Rose, Ciate (the pic also features a Ciate cuticle oil pen ;) ), Billy Bag and Kings and Queens. Everything is always beautifully wrapped in tissue, and you usually get some Powder Rooms candy rock sweeties. Highly recommended and well worth a look :)

I also made my first purchase of the month today - £2.00 on Red magazine in Tesco (£3.50 if bought anywhere else this month)It also came with a free cute Cowshead Make Up Bag (also pictured)which is available in black and also in white :) - Fab - only £28 left to spend this month -argh!!!!

New ELF Haul

Took advantage of yet another ELF code a few days ago to get a few more bits before my spending diet started :)

Travel Brush Kit With Pouch - first impressions are pretty good on this, the brushes generally feel pretty soft and workable but we'll need to see how they perform, plus the case is pretty cute - The only problem seems to be with the blush/powder brush. It doesn't feel quite as soft as the other two and there was a bit of glue on some of the hairs (thankfully its washed off) but again I haven't tried it yet so I can't really judge it

Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15 - 2806 Pink Kiss - A lovely neutral pink

Brightening Eye Colour Quad - Ivy - I heart green eyeshadows - again haven't tried it yet but they feel nice and soft

Sheer Foundation SPF 15 - 6001 Tone 1 - I have heard good and bad reviews about this product but for £1.50 I thought I'd give it a go - I like tinted moisturiser during the summer months and this is supposedly more like a tinted moisturiser than a foundation

Just my AVON to come now and that's all my pre spending diet goodies :)

Upsy Downsy Days

I have had a really odd couple of days. As you may know about a month ago my mum had a hip operation, everything has been going pretty well up until probably the weekend. Her hips, leg and groin became incredibly painful and she was finding it really hard to walk, and stand on the operated side. I quick phone call to her surgeon and her GP lead to an ambulance escorting her to casualty! The big news was that the new joint hasn't popped out (this is common, serious and very painful). So after much poking and prodding, fluid draining and x-rays her surgeon thinks she has probably pulled a muscle or has tried to rush her rehab. So she is going to be in hospital for at least a few days so they can keep an eye on her and make sure doubly sure nothing is seriously wrong - argh!!! Needless to say over the past two days I have been a bit all over the place - less than 3 hours sleep last night means I am pretty wrecked! Still my best friend offered to take me to see my mum so I could take her some clean clothes and things. So for hospital visiting I decided to make an effort dress wise, and I needed to plaster the make up on so I didn't look so tired - hmm - here's what I wore :)

Clothes
High Waisted Jeans - Oli (My new faves)
White Spaghetti Strapped Vest - La Redoute
Coral, Pink, White and Burgundy Psychedelic, Floral, Chiffon Top - ASOS (pic of pattern)

Black Havaianas
Gold Tone Necklace With Tiny Rings On - ASOS

Handbag
Black Slouchy Leather Toe - Next
Natural Canvas Shopper - Urban Outfitters via ELLE

Make Up

Face
Laura Geller Balance and Brighten
ELF Mineral Booster - Sheer
Lancome Palette Mix Concealer Kit 01 - Light and Medium Shades Only
Smashbox Blush - Super (part of Super/Model Blush Soft Lights Duo)

Eyes
UDPP
MAC Eyeshadow - Gleam (all over lid)
MAC Eyeshadow - Shockwave (Fafi Eyes 2 Quartet - outer crease blended up)
Smashbox Cream Eyeliner - Midnight Brown (upper lid)
Revlon Black Eye Pencil - Black (upper and lower waterline)
Maybelline Lash Stiletto - Black

Lips
This sounds a little odd but I got the colour I wanted
MAC Lipglass - Shine Manish (blotted to take away shine and tackiness)
MAC Lipstick - Pleasureseeker (on top of blotted lipglass = perfect, peachy coral)

Nail Varnish
OPI Mod-ern Girl on fingers on toes (bad pic again I need to use my camera not my phone)


Perfume
DKNY - Be Delicious

Everything today was coordinated around my nail polish -coral - with peach and pink tones - sad, anal who knows - it made me happy and that's whats important :)

I Heart My Mummy!

Well my spending diet starts today, so typically what happens, the QVC TSV today is a super cute, gorgeous OPI set with mini designer series polishes. I was so mad because purchasing it would max my months money out before I have even started but my fabulous, lovely mummy ordered it for me as a present for looking after her after her operation. So hug , huge thanks to her - one day down no money spent :)