THE MAMMOTH HAUL

So in my time away from the blog, I've been spending money - booooo. I'm now taking a much needed spending ban until I move to uni, I think! But I've been down to London and I couldn't resist picking a couple of things up.

The main things on my list were another bottle of Bioderma - standard - and I really wanted a new foundation. I popped into Selfridges where the most wonderful guy called Buddy on the Nars counter matched me up to a perfect shade of the Sheer Glow foundation. I've used this a few times since getting it and ooooooh lord, how have I lived without this?! Absolutely amazing!
I had a couple more things on my list like a new highlighter, I tried the MAC ones and I just really don't like them! I had my heart set on getting theBALM Mary Luminizer but of course &Other Stories were aaaall out, so I came away empty handed. I nipped into the Lush in Covent Garden when meeting someone and had to pick up another tub of Ultrabland.

I'd been after a gradual self-tanning product for a while and the most obvious seemed to be the Palmers one. Unpopular statement here, but I HATE the smell, absolutely vile! Otherwise, it's a great foolproof lotion. Origins GinZing moisturiser has been on my list since it was released, then when I saw it in my local Boots (which doesn't have Origins!) I felt it was fate and I needed to pick it up. More on that in my next post!

I saw that YSL, Lancome and Giorgio Armani fragrances had an amazing offer on lately - if you spend £50 on at least two products there was a brilliant gift with purchase consisting of the Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover, the YSL Baby Doll mascara, Armani Code, Lancome Hydra-Calm moisturiser, a Lancome lipstick and the YSL Youth Liberator serum (which my mum stole before I even bought it!). There's been two YSL products on my list for a loooong time now, and that the Touche Eclat foundation and the Sheer Candy lipstick in shade 6, so when I saw you could get the foundation and a cream blush in a set for £29 it seemed ridiculous not to get it! No?

I've been wanting to try some more mascaras lately, and the high street wins every time for me, so I was eager to try the Falsies mascara and a recent release, The Rocket Volume Express. For now, I'm absolutely loving these! I picked up another Colour Tattoo as well as these have been amazing in this heat!

Yes, yes, I now have over 60 nail varnishes, but a girl can never have too many! I couldn't resist picking up more of the Gelly Shine ones and the Maybelline Colour Show ones are fast becoming a favourite of mine. The Butter London polish and Nails Inc one I managed to get through Boots/Debenhams sales for only £3 and £5!

After getting some money through, I wanted to buy myself something really special to remember my late Nan by, and as she always bought me perfumes for Christmas, I thought this was the perfect thing.... and in went Diptyque Philosykos to my basket. This has specially been reserved for special occasions though!

Christ, what a massive haul! Add four pairs of shoes into the mix too, I really went crazy... The sad thing is, I know there are more things but I just can't find them. I also have one more product on the way, yep you guessed, theBALM Mary Luminizer will be mine!

You can find Hayley Loves on BLOGLOVIN' and TWITTER

A LONG OVER DUE HELLO

Hi guys!
Christ, I can't believe it's been about a month since I actually sat and wrote a post! It's been raaatther hectic here lately, and it will be for a few more months yet.

If anyone follows me on twitter, you'll have seen that I am moving out soon and I've been sorting out all of my University things/Accommodation tenancy agreements etc etc. I've also been working a lot more often lately and well, to be honest, I've just not had much motivation to get writing anything. If my hearts not in it, why do it?

But I've been reading blogs a lot more and watching YouTube videos 99% of the time and I feel a lot more involved and I have so much more want and need to make my blog be the success I've wanted it to be for a long time now.

So hopefully I'm gonna be here for a lot longer now. I can't promise anything, I move out on the 15th September and start on the 25th (or something like that) so I do need to settle in and actually make some friends haha! I'm looking forward to it but I am pretttty nervous, so if anyone has any advice then leave me some comments.

So just a quick update, I'm gonna be writing up a few posts now ready for the week. I've been spending a LOT lately, so I'm sure you'll be inundated with reviews and posts, but more of that in the next post...


I hope you're all well!Take care! :-)

GUEST POST: TOP QUICK FIX BEAUTY TIPS

Leah Hutcheon is the founder of appointedd.com, a brand new site where you can book salons and spas online, 24/7. She was recently featured in the BBC documentary, The Entrepreneurs. Appointedd also features salon reviews and has a hair and beauty blog, appointedd.com/blog. It's a pleasure to have Leah on Hayley Loves, so lets find out what her Top Quick Fix Beauty Tips are!

We all want to look gorgeous but when we have a constant manic schedule at least five days a week, taking time to perfect your make-up and hair is sadly not always possible. However, coming into work resembling someone who just fell out of bed and on their way also fell backwards through several hedges is also not an option. Do not dismay! I have compiled a range of products and top tips to help make your beauty routine quick and easy and will still leave you looking flawless all day! 

Quick Beauty

Blotting Paper is a great beauty tool everyone should be aware of, especially for the summer months when your skin may get a little shinier than normal. Concentrate on the t-zone and simply press the paper onto the skin. It will do the same job as your powder but with half the fuss! Many brands, such as Anna Sui, are now doing their own blotting papers but you can find just as effective cheaper versions in

A Concealer Stick is a small but effective beauty product that you can throw into your bag in the morning and will quickly conceal any disasters you may have throughout the day. It can quickly refresh your look, to go from the office to the bar. A small amount under each eye will re-awaken your look after a tiring day at work. My favourite is YSL Touche Eclat Radiant  Touch by Yves Saint Laurent. It has been branded as a top beauty secret by top make-up artists and it is a must have beauty item, which can be applied easily and gives a flawless finish. 

Eyelash Curlers are a simple tool to have, especially if you don’t have the time to be touching up your mascara and eyeliner all day. Curling your eyelashes will instantly open up your face, make your eyes look bigger, give you long luscious eyelashes and will make you look more awake. If you want to give an extra boost to your curl, blast your curlers with a hairdryer for a few seconds so they are slightly heated. If you were gifted with naturally dark eyelashes you will never need to think about applying mascara in the morning again!

Tinted Moisturiser is a simple all in one beauty secret,  it will moisturise your skin, provide coverage and most will also include a SPF. It will be your daily morning skin routine in one tube! My favourite is Benefit You Rebel TintedMoisturiser, for me it really is the ultimate 3 in 1 tube of coverage, moisture and sun protection. 

Quick Hair

Dry Shampoo is always a great product to have in the cupboard, whether you slept in past your alarm and don’t have time to shower or your hair needs a bit of a boost after partying three days straight at a festival.  Many brands are doing there own versions which all vary in price, my favourite is still the original which made dry shampoo popular with many; Batiste Dry Shampoo 

●     Quick Mermaid Hair. If you fancy having curly locks but don’t want to fuss about trying to curl your hair in the morning try a simple braid to sleep in the night before. The most effective way I have tried to create natural beachy waves is to separate the hair into pigtails,then separate the hair into three strands and twist each strand before creating a normal braid. This will create a loose wave look, rather than the tight crimped effect a normal braid can have on the hair. This works especially well if the hair is slightly wet when being styled. The same look can also be achieved by twisting your hair into small loose buns. To finish the look off, use Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray to help hold and enhance loose beachy curls.

Speed Blow Dry. If you like to wash your hair in the morning before you rush out the door but don’t have time to style and blow dry your hair, simply focus on the t-zone blow dry. Blow dry along your parting and your hairline, this will focus on styling the most important areas so it doesn’t look out of control. Consider sweeping the rest of your hair into a loose low bun to dry and add a bit of hairspray to tame any fly aways

Grab a doughnut. The quickest and most effective way to achieve the perfect up do is by using a doughnut. Simply create a ponytail and put the doughnut through the ponytail and then spread the hair around the doughnut securing with pins. I prefer mine to be slightly messier and less perfectly placed and so it appears as all my natural hair. You can pick up a doughnut very cheaply and they come in different sizes depending on how much of an impact you want to make with your up do!

I hope these time saving beauty and hair tips have been useful to you and allow you to happily press snooze on your alarm without any of the guilt later on in the day!

GUEST POST: SUMMER MUST HAVES

Summer is here - woo! I didn't even realised I had some Summer Favourites until I thought about the products I've been going to constantly now the weather is a bit warmer and I figured that this guest post for Hayley was a fab way to show you them all! I've included everything from lips to hair and I've been using some of these products for months, and some only a couple of weeks. I hope you can learn a little bit about me from my choices!

NIVEA IN-SHOWER BODY MOISTURISER: I saw this advertised on tv and I, maybe naively, hadn't heard of anything like it before! So purely due to this fact I went out and bought it. I actually bought it in a Co-op but you can get it in almost any high street store that sells toiletries. You apply it after shower gel, just as you would moisturiser, although to wet skin. You then rinse it off and get out the shower as normal etc. It leaves your skin feeling far softer than only using shower gel or body wash. I have really dry legs - even more so in hot weather - so this is particularly good for those areas. It smells wonderful too.

TRESEMME DEEP CLEANSING SHAMPOO: I suffer from greasy-ish hair as I fiddle with my bangs and parting a lot and in the summer, when I sweat, it just gets even worse. I can wash my hair in a morning and by the evening it's got little greasy areas! However, I've found that this shampoo really helps. It is VERY deep cleansing so I wouldn't recommend it if you have dyed hair (my mum wasn't too happy after using it on her dyed chocolate hair...) but if you suffer from oily roots too then this is the shampoo for you! It doesn't leave my hair dry but it doesn't leave it all limp and product-filled either. 

THE BODY SHOP LOVE ETC BODY BUTTER: I had a mega browse of the Body Shop sale the other week and this is one of the things I came away with, at a bargain price of £5! I love the Love Etc... range as it smells beautiful so this was an obvious scent for me to choose. The Body Shop body butters are glorious. This has been a god send for me over the past week as I've been a victim of major sun burn. But thanks to this there have been no blisters and the soreness was eased!

NAILS INC 3D GLITTER IN MARYLEBONE: I just love this glitter. You can build up a solid glitter colour with 2 coats and it's just so sparkly and cute. I just love it. Great with pinks for the ring finger trend.

BAREMINERALS READY FOUNDATION: A mineral powder foundation is perfect for the summer if you want a colour on your face but don't want to clog your pores too heavily. It is such a sheer foundation to say that it is a powder and it's coverage is really good. I actually reviewed this foundation on my blog!

SAMPAR PARIS EQUILIZING FOAM PEEL: I was given this sample at the Meadowhall Girls Night In and I had never heard of Sampar before then. This product literally strips your skin of impurities without leaving it too dry. It clears pores and leaves your skin feeling so so soft. I apply it once a week as a bit of a mask just before I shower, washing it off as soon get in the shower, after having had it on for a few minutes. As you apply it, it is a gel and it foams up as you add water. It has a gorgeous eucalyptus scent which adds to it's fresh feel. 

JILL STEIN LIP SALVE: I bought this last week whilst on holiday in Cornwall from Rick Stein's shop. I chose Pomegranate and Smearmint. It smells really minty yet you can sort of smell the pomegranate scent hiding behind it. It basically sinks into your lips, giving them moisture and not leaving them feeling all sticky like vaseline can do. I love my vaseline but for £3.00 this is my new favourite.

BOBBI BROWN HYDRATING FACE CREAM: Another freebie from the Girls Night In. Such a fantastic moisturiser and a perfect base for make up. It is thick enough to be a cream but it soaks in more like a lotion. Much like the lip salve it sinks in quickly and leaves a soft feeling behind. It isn't greasy or oily in the slightest - a very light cream. Perfect in the hotter weather.

And that's that! I hope you've enjoyed reading and if you fancy reading some more then please visit my blog at stephsinsidevoice.blogspot.co.uk and follow me on twitter at @stephsvoice!

Lots of love, lovelies!

Steph xx

GUEST POST: BEAUTY FOODS

Hello everyone. The lovely Hayley has very kindly allowed me to write a guest post here on her blog - I hope you all find it of interest!

I write  How Hannah Does it and I focus on living life to the full while on a budget.  That means I focus on my passions - food, fashion and fun - and I throw in lots of money saving tips too.  After all, if you know how to make your money go further, you can spend more on the things that matter to you!

Hayley is a beauty expert and you all follow her for her beauty insight so I thought today I'd create a mash up of our blog themes - beauty advice with a food and finance twist!

That might sound a bit bizarre but think - we care about what we put ON our skin to make us look good but what about what we put IN to our skin with the foods we eat and drink.

I've compiled a list of the top foods for healthy skin AND the cheapest places to buy them currently in the UK.

Water.  Yes it's so important and I know you already drink it but do you drink enough? A woman should be drinking 3 litres of pure water every day. And for every half an hour you exercise, you should drink a further 500ml.I would recommend buying a 1.5 litre bottle and then refilling it every day at the office to make sure you drink enough.

Back up: green tea as it's full of antioxidants.

theardentcook.com

Fish contains Zinc which is key for keeping your skin soft and supple, and for repairing damaged skin. It is said to protect it against UV rays and can also help acne sufferers as it reduces the amount of natural oil produced in the skin.

Back up: red meat (Woohoo!)

mysupermarket.co.uk

Carrots are rich in Beta Carotene which is again a great antioxidant.  This means it helps to keep your skin healthy.

Back up: Sweet potato.

wikipedia.com

As it's summer the next skin treat is very appropriate - strawberries.  They like many other berries are a good source of vitamin C which aids in the production of collagen for keeping the skin firm  It is also said to help skin repair itself and its antioxidant properties slow the rate of fine lines and wrinkles!

Back up: oranges.

wikipedia.com

Avocado is rich in Vitamin E which is another good antioxidant and therefore it helps protect you against the elements that damage collagen causing wrinkles and skin dryness.  I know Avocado isn't many people's favourite food so a good back up would be hazelnuts - think Nutella!!

wikipedia.com

Tomatoes are also good for your skin.  They contain selenium which can help to protect against skin cancer, sun damage and age spots. An alternative to tomatoes would be brazil nuts.

So, where do you find these things cheaply? You use a nifty site called mysupermarket.co.uk which compares the prices of every item of your shopping list at all supermarkets to find you the best deal.  I did this for the items above and it turned out as follows:

mysupermarket.co.uk

Happy eating! 

Hannah x  http;//howhannahdoesit.com

Hey guys! Can we all just appreciate how amazing this post is? I've learnt so, so much from Hannah - she's definitely one to keep an eye on, so go over to her page and give her a cheeky follow for more amazing tips and advice! :-)

LUSH SHEFFIELD BLOGGER EVENT

On Friday the 28th me and a group of bloggers attended the Lush Sheffield event and boyyy was it a lovely night! Besides the fact I'd been on my feet all day in heels and were sporting a massive blister, there was a lot of laughter and frankly a ridiculous moment from me, but more on that later...

The evening was split into three station - Rochelle was introducing us to the Emotional Brilliance range, giving us make overs and exciting us all with the dry ice. After a loottt of consideration and natter, I let her try the lipstick in Perspective on me, a nude with just the right amount of pink to liven things up. It was absolutely gorgeous and gained me a fair few compliments whilst lasting me the entire night, I even had to get the ol' Bioderma onto my lips to remove it!

The second station was massages which very sadly I missed out on, it was aaalways busy (which definitely made me want it more!) so I moved onto the next station where we watched another Lush employee make the Angels on Bare Skin cleanser. I literally could not believe how simple and quick it was to make! 10 minutes later, we were walking away with a fresh pot stored safely in our pockets. Of course, I had to be an absolute idiot and say "so...it's all handmade then?!". All I'm gonna say is it was a very long day hahaha!


It was great to meet up with some bloggers and friends and I cannot waaait for them to hold another event (pretty please?!)
What are your favourite Lush products?

You can find Hayley Loves on BLOGLOVIN' and TWITTER