10 Things I Do On My Day Off

Today is my day off (yes, I know a Monday!). I'm currently at university, and so taking some time off to myself, and spending the day just chilling is always needed! So, I thought I'd let you know what I get up to on my day off

1. Having a Pamper Session - I feel like it's important, when you get time to yourself to really relax. So, I take a nice long shower, paint my nails, put on a face mask, just generally look after myself. And doing this once a week really helps my unwind before I start my University week.

2. Going for a Walk - I love going for a walk. Unfortunately at University it's not quite the same, being in a city and not having my dog. But I still find it really relaxing. Plus, I'm one of those people who get's a headache if I'm inside all day.. so...

3. Reading - whether it be a blog or a book, I find reading really relaxing. I love learning things, or escaping into another world. At the moment, I've just started the Southern Vampier Mysteries/True Blood Novels/The Sookie Steakhouse Novels (gees that's a lot of names!) and I'm loving them!

4. Music - That isn't degree related. You have no idea how nice it is sometimes to listen to music of your choosing (if you didn't know I take a music degree, and although I love all music, it's still nice to have your own). So I stick my headphones on, play my favourite tunes and usually end up half skipping round the house singing at the top of my lungs (whoops!).

5. Catch up on YouTube Videos - When I have Monday's off, this is what I spend a lot of time doing. Everyone's uploaded their videos Sunday evening, and so I have a lot of material to catch up on. I love watching these to find new tips, tricks or things to try out/buy!

6. Sorting Stuff Out - I love to organise stuff! I know to most people this doesn't sound like something fun to do on their day off. But I love to tidy something up or move stuff around. I know, I'm sad.. I'm currently reorganising the posters/photos on my wall.

7. Take Photos - whether it be for this blog, or just for my own personal benefit, I love to take photos. I love my camera, and after all the money I spent on it, I feel like it gives me good reason to.

8. Online Shopping - I know, I'm a student, I really can't afford it. I really don't know why I do it. But it's always something I end up doing on my day off. I think my favourite websites are New Look, Feel Unique and Cult Beauty.

9. Plan Next Week - Ok. I love to organise. I'm sad. I get it... but it's something I have to do at the beginning of every week, so I know where I need to be, and what I need to do. Without doing this I'd probably forget to screw my head on in the morning... I'm over exaggerating, but it's still something I need to keep up to date with

10. Boyfriend - My boyfriend is luckily at the same University as me. And we love to spend time doing anything from watching films, to playing PS3 games, to literally just lying there talking rubbish.

Trip to Belfast 2015

Day 1

Victoria Square and Walking Around

Day 2

Brunch, Queens, Botanic Gardens, Museum

Day 3

Big Fish, Aunt Sandra's Candy Factory, Belfast Giants Game

Day 4

Shopping

I am currently in a new relationship (we've been together nearly 3 months now), and after showing him the excitement that is Blunham (a tiny little village with nothing in it, and miles from anything at all), he wanted to show my his home town; Belfast.

Highlights include:

Harlem Food and Wine - if you find yourself in Belfast city centre, this cafe/restaurant is amazing! A little pricey, and it was pretty hectic when we went. But, the food is amazing! The chips are literally to die for, and my chicken Caesar wrap was super nommy!

Belfast Botanic Gardens - I love Botanic Gardens, not living far from Cambridge, I've visited their one on numerous occasions. Although Belfast's is significantly smaller, it's free, and there are still some great photos to be taken!

Aunt Sandra's Candy Factory - Ok, after we got there we discovered the average age of attendees were 7... but it was still good fun! There's a man with the strongest Belfast accent telling you he's Willy Wonka's Cousin, telling you his story. Before demonstrating how to make bubblegum sweets and candy floss (which you get to eat!)!

Belfast Giants - Although I had no idea what the rules were, and for the large majority of the match couldn't work out why people were being fouled.. it was great! The atmosphere is amazing! They give out free food, and have silly competitions during the intervals, you get your selfies up on the big screen, and you sit with all the local Belfast supporters to watch one of the most popular Ice Hockey teams play! 

Shopping! - I guess you can theoretically go shopping anywhere... and although that may be the case, shopping in Belfast is really nice! Victoria Square is the main shopping centre, with nearly every shop you could need, in a nice, modern, clean space. And if you go to the top floor (which we did on the first day), you get a great view of the city centre!

Milton Keynes Haul

I popped into Milton Keynes for the day with my best friend to do some shopping, partly to pick up some new clothes for the new University year, and partly because... we just both love to shop! 

But here's all the things I managed to pick up in the day, and I love every item and really happy with the bargains I managed to pick up.

BOOTS

No.7 Stay Perfect Lipstick in Hot Copper 655 - Free
-- This is the lipstick I picked up with my free No.7 lipstick voucher, and I'm exited to see what it's like... I picked a coppery, more autumnal colour, as that's the season we're going into.

No. 7 Rapid Spot Rescue - £9.95, but I paid £4.95
-- Using my £5 off voucher, I bought this to help clear up spots on my skin, simple as.

NEW LOOK

Cardigan - £24.99

-- I've been looking for an oversized, knitted cardigan in this sort of colour for the longest time, and have never found one I loved. But this one, this one is amazing, it's super warm and comfy and I love it!

Black High Waisted Jeans - £22.99

-- I love New Look jeans, they're really comfy, and fit really well. My old black jeans are now so old they're more grey than black, so I thought it was time to pick up some more. Plus, high waisted jeans are my fav!

Daisy Necklace - £5.99

-- I saw this in New Look at the beginning of summer of a mannequin, but then couldn't find one in store to buy, and I've been looking to find one like it for ages, and then I found it, again, in New Look, but this time they were in stock! I just love the coppery colour of this!

Blue Gem Necklace - £5.99

-- This is a really nice, gentle statement necklace, and I love it.

H&M

Black and White Blouse - £14.99

-- I've got really into blouses recently, and I just thought it was really timeless. 

White Blouse - £14.99

-- Now this is just so pretty, and it's that classic white blouse, which you can never have enough of.

Simple Grey Top - £3.99

-- I've grown out of my old one, and so I bought another one. I love to use tops like this round the house, or to layer up over Winter.

TIGER

Cake Plate - £4

-- I couldn't believe how cheap this was, and thought it would be great to show off my favourite jewellery pieces.

4 Scented Candles - £2

-- I just love candles....

PRIMARK

Double Duvet Set - £16.00

-- I absolutely love this design, and I'm back off to uni soon, and so I needed a new bedsheet for uni...

White Fitted Sheet - £4.90

-- Very boring, but essential

Cat Glass - £2

-- Me and my best friend saw these.. and just couldn't leave them behind. They are adorable.

Scented Candle - £2

-- More Candles..

Heart Shaped Candle - £1

-- And another one..

OUTFIT

Light Pink Top - £10 (in Sale)

-- I really like this colour, and I love collars, so its a win win! Plus, it was in the Sale, and I still get 10% student discount ontop, so I only paid £9 for this. Bargain!

Superdrug Haul

MUA Cream Blush, Scrummy - £2 I have one of the powder brushes from MUA which is absolutely stunning, considering it's only £1, so I thought I'd try a cream blush. I am yet to try a cream blush, and don't know if they'll be entirely my thing, so I thought I'd try a cheaper one to start of with. Even though it's only £2, MUA products are actually incredible.

MUA Trio Eyeshadow, Innocence - £2 These are baked eye shadows, and look absolutely beautiful. I went with the trio of more neutral shades, as these shades are the ones I use most often, and so I thought they'd be the most wearable.

MUA Lipstick, Tulip - £1 I have heard great things about these lipsticks, and I really wanted to try them, because if they really are as good as they say, then it will allow me to try colours (such as dark purples) that I would've probably not for a smaller cost. To start off with I tried a relatively 'safe' pinky colour, as I absolutely love wearing these shades and so I thought it would be a really nice shade to start off with

Collection Blush, Cheeky - £2.99 I don't own many blushes, but this pink blush will be a great addition to my collection, and it is really buildable and blendable. 

Collection Deluxe Lipstick, Prohibition 01 - £2.99 The packaging of these are not incredible, but they were less than £3 and their creamy formula felt really nice when I swatched it on the back of my hand, so I had to pick them up. This is a dark, almost berry toned, red, so although it's quite a wintery colour, I still really wanted to pick it up.

Collection Deluxe Lipstick, Talullah 02 - £2.99 This is a far more summery colour, its a dark pink, nude colour, and it looks beautiful, so I picked up this shade as well, not more I can say really.

Rimmel Long Lasting Lipstick, Drop of Sherry 058 - £4.99 I've bought many of the Kate Moss range of lipsticks from this company and absolutely love them, to pieces. But, I don't own any other ranges of lipsticks from this range, so I thought I'd pick one up. It's a slightly shimmery, berry tone and looks absolutely stunning. I love this lipstick, and I absolutely love Rimmel lip products, I think they are my favourite as a whole.

Rimmel Apocalips, Atomic Rose 206 - £6.49 I am yet to own one of these, I know I'm very late on the whole band wagon. but, I picked one up now. This is a matte shade, and is a dark peachy pink, I was put off these at first because the way they apply on your lips is like a lip gloss, and I don't really get on with lip glosses, I find my hair ends up getting stuck to them, and they drive me nuts. But this, on the lips, is more like a moisturising lip stick, and so I actually really like these, which surprised me. 

Boots Haul

There was 3 for 2 on both Max Factor and Maybelline makeup, and so, I just had to make use of it. 

Max Factor Colour Elixir, English Rose 510 - £7.99 These are a mixture between a lip butter and a lip stick. They are really hydrating, and I often forget I'm even wearing any colour on my lip. Unlike a lip butter, the pigmentation of these is incredible, and the colour range is right up my street. English Rose is like a classic shimmery pink, it is absolutely beautiful, and shades like these are what I wear as an everyday lip, so it will get a lot of use.

Max Factor Colour Elixir, Dusky Rose 830 - £7.99 This is still a pink, but much darker, much closer to a red. It's still an 'everday' colour. Although this shade and the previous are quite similar, I love the formula of these lipsticks, and so just had to have another one.

Max Factor Colour Elixir, Pink Brandy 825 - £7.99 And because of the 3 for 2, I picked up this third shade, which is a more coral toned pink. Coral shades are perfect for summer, and so when I saw it I really loved it, and had to pick it up

Maybelline Colour Sensational, Stellar Pink 150 - £4.99 I know a lot of people who own these, and love them, but apart from that, I know little about these lipsticks, and so wanted to pick one up to try it out. I bought it in a purple toned pink, which is a shade of lipstick I am yet to own. The colour swatch for this showed that their pigmentation was incredible, and I am really exited to use these. 

Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Gloss, Stellar Berry 360 - £6.99 I've never been one for lip glosses, I find they make your lips sticky, and your hair then gets stuck to them. But I really want to get into them, and so I chose to try out this, as I actually picked it up as my third item to give it a go. It has a really high pigmentation, and it's berry colour makes it ideal for winter... which it isn't right now, but it still doesn't mean I'm not exited to use it.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo, Creamy Beige 98 - £6.19 I already own three of these, all in very shimmery shades, and when I saw this I had to pick it up. It's a beige colour, and is more of a matt shade than the other three I own, and so would be more ideal for an every day, neutral eye base.

Norfolk/Summer Holiday Haul

While I'm on holiday I really can't help but shop, I never buy things here I need, just things I want, or things that really interest me. I went away with my boyfriend, who reads books ALL THE TIME, and it sorta rubs off on me when I'm with him, so there are a lot of books in this haul, but I thought you'd like to see what I've been reading/planning to read. 

PAPERCHASE

Butterfly Pencil Case/Purse - £3 This was in the reduced section of Paperchase, but I absolutely love it. Since leaving school I've never needed a pencil case because I just go to lectures with a pen and a highlighter, but I thought this would be great to carry them in. It's really cute, and a perfect size to carry the few essentials I need on campus at University!

PRIMARK

Sunglasses - £2 I already own 5 pairs of Sunglasses, but this year they've become a true love of mine, and according to the weather people, Summers from now on are just going to get hotter and sunnier.. so... I'm one of these people who buy lots of cheap glasses rather than one expensive pairs, I love wearing them as accessories, and find most the time I'm using them as a head band.. but I really like these glasses, they're really stylish and I don't have a pair like this.

Hair Accessories - £2 I have such long hair that I love to buy things to put in it. I love elastic headbands like this, because they're so easy to wear, keep the hair out of my face while I'm doing stuff, but also make it look like I've made an effort with my hair, when literally all I've done is washed and brushed it!

QUIZ

Jumpsuit - £19.54 (£22.99) OMG! This jumpsuit, there was a dress in the same pattern that I loved as well, but I couldn't afford both. Below is a picture from the website, but I absolutely love this! It's so stylish and fits like a dream, and I am literally obsessed.

NEW LOOK

Kimono - £14.40 I love this, it's made out of a sorta silky material, and it really light weight, and bright, and so summery. I love Kimonos, they can really add an element of style to any outfit and make great cover ups to protect my shoulders against the sun, because I burn really, really easily, because I'm as pale as a sheet of paper.

JARROLD

Filthy Gorgeous London Magnetic Nail Polish - £3 I bought this because it was in the sale, and so was really, really cheap. But mainly, because it looks fascinating, it's a sort of metallic red, which you apply like a normal Nail Polish, and then use the magnet in the lid to give it an interesting effect. I don't entirely know what's going on, but  I will write a blog post when I get an idea of what you actually do, because this looks so different.

Game of Thrones Books - 3 books for £24.97 I'm already reading the second book, and I've been watching the TV Series, and I am in love! So I bought three more books so that I can keep reading.

Diary of a Shopaholic (Book) - £3.99 (£.7.99) I'm sure I read this like 5 years ago, but I couldn't actually remember when I was in the store, and so I decided I had to pick it up, I absolutely love the author, I think her writing is hilarious, and the film is also great fun. This is just one of those light weight books I love to read for a bit of fun

THE BOOK HIVE

Light (Book) - £7.99 I read this series while I was in school, but the last book wasn't out. When I was in this store, I saw it in the Teen Section, and it suddenly all came flooding back. This series is really good. The idea is that there is this area in the States, which they fall the Fayz, where all the adults disappear, and only the kids under a certain age are left. The books are all about how they deal with it, and the heirachy that forms, there are some great twists and turns which I won't tell you, because I don't want to ruin anything. But it's a really easy read, but with a great plot line, and I know I'm now an adult, but I really wanna know what happens..

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

One Republic, Girls Aloud, Pharrell Williams - 3 for £10 I love music, I'm a University Music Student, so this really shouldn't be any surprise. But I love to buy CDs, I have a slight problem. I have 100s of CDs that take over my room... but.. yeah. So I added 3 more to my collection while I was in this shop in Norwich, because they were 3 for £10... so...

I know these aren't all beauty items, which is the main theme of this blog, but I like to share other things with you, and I really loved this holiday, and really love shopping... :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I bought while I was away (obviously I bought food...but didn't think you'd really wanna know about milk, bread and chocolate...)

Mini Boots Haul

Everyone loves a good Boots haul, it's where I buy all my makeup from (as I've never been a hi-end makeup girl). And I had 2 vouchers for money off at No. 7. There was also a sale on in my local Boots. All really exiting!

SALE ITEMS

Rimmel 'I Love Lasting Finish' Nail Varnish - This nail varnish is usually £2.99, which is a pretty standard price for a drugstore nail varnish, but I picked it up in the sale for £1. BARGAIN. I got it in the shade '502 Hot Tropicana' and it's this bright, hot-pink, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I've never used this range of nail polish before, and so for £1 I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try them out. 

Collection 2in1 Top Coat - This is also normally £2.99 and I picked it up for £1. I still have my Barry M 2in1 Topcoat, which I absolutely love, but, to be honest, a top coat is a top coat, they don't vary hugely between drugstore brands. So, when I saw this for only £1 I picked it up because I get through clear nail varnish fairly quickly.

Bourjoir Volume Clubbing Mascara - This is usually £7.99, which is a fairly decent price for a drugstore mascara, and it claims to stay in place even when you're getting hot and sweaty, like you would when you were clubbing. I picked this up in a sort of spur of the moment thing because it was in the sale for £1. It is in the colour brown, and I don't own a brown mascara and so I thought it would be another basic I needed. However I find the formula really sticky, and the applicator really strange, and so I don't know how often I will use this. A review might be coming later it ends up growing on me, or not.

Collection BB Secret Beauty Balm - This product is usually £5.99, but this was only £1!! It's in the perfect shade for me (light), and it provides the perfect light coverage for summer, and it makes my skin feel really soft. The SPF 15 is also ideal for the summer to protect my face against the sun. I am so happy I found this and picked it up, and when this runs out I may even repurchase this in the future at full price!

NO. 7 Items

No. 7 Soft and Soothed Gentle Toner - This is £8 currently in Boots, but I had a £5 off No. 7 skincare voucher and really needed some more makeup remover and so decided to pick this up. It's really good at removing face makeup and makes my face feel fresh. However, it is terrible at taking off eye makeup, which may be because no. 7 do a separate eye makeup remover, but I like my makeup remover/toner to do both, so, not sure I'll be repurchasing this. 

No. 7 Stay Perfect Eye Pencil - I picked up an unusual shade of eyeliner this time, picking up the shade 'Bronze', which, as the name suggests, is a bronzy toned eyeliner. It was £7.50, but I had a £3 off voucher. I really like this, the texture and staying power as well as the colour pigmentation of this is really nice and I think I'll be picking up some of the other colours in the future. 

No. 7 Precision Lip Pencil - This lip pencil is only £6.75, and I also had £3 off this, and it is incredible. There are loads of shades, but I picked up the shade 'Soft Blush', which is a nudy-pink colour. I love the fact it's not a pencil so you don't have to sharpen it, and it really prolongs your lipstick as well as making my lips look fuller. This is now my favourite lip pencil and I am really intending to pick up some more!

Everything Else

Rimmel Stay Matt Pressed Powder - Yes, I know, how the hell do I not have this yet?! but I've been absolutely loving my Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder and reluctant to move on. But, everyone has been raving about this for AGES, and so I went and picked up the shade 'translucent'. It was only £3.99, and so really cheap, and for the price you pay for it, it is flawless.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24 Hours - I already own two of these and absolutely love them, and so I picked up another shade, 'Metallic Pomegranate', which is a metallic red/burgandy colour. It's absolutely gorgeous, and another great addition to my makeup collection. 

I love going to Boots and looking at all their items, and if you pick up their magazine that comes out every other month you can pick up some great vouchers in their for extra points/money off, and the Boots near me was having a great little Sale on, which.. I can't resist a Sale! I hope it was helpfull seeing what I bought :)