My three favourite perfumes

Hello and welcome to a new post, this week we’re talking perfume. 

I've only recently gotten into perfume but I have three which I love and wear one every day. 

I don’t tend to have a distinct scent which I go for, for me it all depends on how the scents are matched up. However, I don’t usually like anything too strong and really love fruity scents and adore musky base tones.

Below I'm going to show you each perfume and list what the key scents are, for this I'm going off the perfume shop website (just because it seemed most informative) and will list the best price I can find for them. I bought two of them from boots and the other was a gift, but I'll search for the cheapest price I can find, as I know perfume can be expensive!

Amazon

This is One Direction's first fragrance and one which I LOVE! Whenever I wear this I get a compliment on the scent and people are always surprised when I say that it's this scent. I got this as part of a gift set alongside a body lotion and the roller ball (handy for your handbag).

Top notes: pink grapefruit, red currant

Heart notes: Jasmine petals, fresh freesias, frangipani

Base notes: musk, sheer woods and white patchouli

Amazon

I had my eye on this perfume for a while when it finally went on sale! I love this scent, it's my favourite out of the Marc Jacobs range and is an easy to wear fragrance which is really pretty and floral but has a great base tone.

Top notes: red berries, dragon fruit and honeysuckle

Heart notes: jasmine, coconut water and orange blossom

Base notes: vanilla, driftwood and musk

This final perfume is a scent I'd never tried before receiving it as a gift and absolutely love it! It's again easy to wear and doesn't carry a heavy tone but is different from the other two, as it is more citrus-y and doesn't carry the musk undertone. I love the gold bottle and this one is easier to travel with as the glass is protected by the plastic outside.

Top tone: aquatic iris, citrus

Heart tone: barringtonia, peony, violet and jasmine

Base tone: sandalwood, cedar, amber and vanilla

I hope you liked this post, comment to let me know your favourite perfumes and I'll be back next week with a post all about bedroom decor! Stay golden, Gracie xo

June Favourites!

Hello all welcome back! Sorry for the missed post last week, I was so busy that blogging slipped my mind, however this week I'm back on track with my June Favourites, I've tried to include a little bit of everything and I hope you enjoy it!

First up, fashion! June has been a month of all seasons in North East England (where I live), with some days being hot sunshine and other days just being wet and windy. However, there have been a couple opportunities for me to get out my summer clothes and dust off my sandals!

L: TKMaxx, £19.99 // R: Tu Sainsbury's on sale £8

I seriously love both these pairs of shoes and they were both such a great find that I've been wearing them as much as possible this month. The sandals on the left are the Tropical Print footbed sandals from White Mountain available from TKMaxx. I got these while on a hunt for a pair of Birkenstock sandals, they've been in fashion for a while now and I've had my eye on some big time. However after trying a pair on, decided that these were more comfortable and for £30 less I couldn't say no! I love the tropical print, it gives a bit of colour to my more boring outfits.

The loafers on the right were a real bargain from Sainsbury's as I got them on 1/2 sale for only £8! I love pairing these with ripped jeans and a simple tee or my black dungarees. 

Casio unisex watch, TKMaxx, £6.99 // bulldog clips, New Look, £3.99

I've never been one for wearing a watch but saw this one and couldn't resist, I love how simple it is and the plain black doesn't clash with anything I'm wearing. I got this from TKMaxx for the bargain price of £6.99 but it's also available here.

As the weather has been a little bit warmer I've been really enjoying letting my hair air dry. If I'm in a hurry I use a diffuser, however I find my hair curls nicest when I let it do it's own thing. To keep it out of my face I've been loving using these bulldog clips from New Look. The top clip in the image is one I've been using for years, but any little clips are great for keeping the front sections of my hair neat and tidy!

Next, beauty! I've been all about glowing skin in June which sometimes even meant ditching foundation and reaching for a great face scrub!

Sun cream, Boots, £7.50 (full size) // Cleansing lotion, Boots, £2.79

These two products have been top of my list throughout the month, first up is this handy travel size sun cream from Garnier. I try to wear SPF all year round however I amp it up in the summer to protect my skin even more. I am super pale which means carrying round sun cream on a sunny day out is a must. This one is from the Garnier range 'Sensitive advanced' and is specially formulated for people with 'fair, sensitive and sun-intolerant skin'. This is SPF 50+ and protects against UVA and UVB rays. I love this because it's light on your skin and doesn't leave you feeling greasy at all.

Next up is this cleansing lotion from Boots. It's colour and fragrance free and enhanced with aloe vera. Despite its cheap price I find it removes my full face of make-up (inc mascara/eye liner) really well and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft.

Finally non-beauty! Some random non-beauty favourites for me this month range from plants to music and I thought I'd share a couple.

My boyfriend and I recently took up bouldering. For those of you who don't know, it's basically the same as indoor rock climbing but you're not attached to any ropes or harnesses. We had a lesson at our local centre and have been loving it! It really works your whole body out but doesn't leave you feel gross and sweaty. Plus, climbing up 12/17 foot walls really gives you a sense of achievement!

I also have been buying things to add to my university room once I go back in September. Last year I had a few personal touches but I really want to add to that in year two. One thing I really wanted was plants to give a bit of colour and life, but didn't want anything which I was going to have to care for properly which is why I've opted for succulents! They're perfect to keep in containers and are really hardy (especially the varieties I've chosen).

I've been all about girls when it comes to music recently and have been catching up on albums I've missed out on such as Taylor Swift, 1989 and Little Mix, Salute. But I've also been listening to Beyonce's self titles album (still) and really enjoying more pop in my iTunes playlists!

Let me know what you think of my favourites in the comments below and I'll be back next week with a new post! 

Stay golden, Gracie xo

The Top 5 Books in my To-Read List!

Hello all and welcome back! Today I thought I would share with you the top 5 books I've got waiting in my ever growing to-read list! I tend to buy books faster than I can read them (especially if I find a sale..) which means that I always have stacks of unread books lying around my room. I've managed to sort them into an order to try and inspire me to read some more and thought I would share my top 5 with you!

My most recent purchase is 'this book will save your life' by A.M. Homes and I found this in Sainsbury's for £1.99! I have heard of this book before and the blurb sounds really interesting, I was looking for something a bit different to read and this sounds like the book I was looking for!

The next on my list is a recent release and is 'Us' by David Nicholls, as the cover says Nicholls also wrote 'One Day' and 'Starter for Ten' both of which I've read and seen the movies for so I'm pretty sure I'll like this one too. One of the things I like about Nicholls is that he writes the scripts for the movie versions of his books which means there aren't many changes. I found this on sale at Morrison's for £3.99 and couldn't resist.

This next book was a gift from my mum who gave it to me after she and her friend read it and that is 'one small act of kindness' by Lucy Dillon. It's an easy read chick-lit style novel and my mum has told me it's a really lovely story which won't make me cry, so I'm hoping it'll be more uplifting than some of the books I've been reading lately.

The next book is called ‘Skeleton Cupboard’ by Tanya Byron and is a book all about patients that Byron experienced during her training and career as a clinical psychologist. I'm studying psychology at university at the moment and really want to work with people with mental illnesses when I'm qualified which means I'm super interested in reading this. I bought this from a small, local bookshop for £7.99.

The final book on my list is 'The Rosie Project' by Graeme Simsion and is one which has been on my list for ages! This copy actually belongs to my boyfriend who recommended this to me months ago after reading it himself. I've read and heard so many good reviews about this book so I'm excited to start it, hopefully very soon! This copy was bought at Waterstones for £7.99.

I hope you found this post interesting, as I live in England and study in Scotland, these prices are all UK based and bought from UK stores but I'm sure they're all available online if you can't find them at your local bookshop!

I hope you have a good week, please feel free to leave a comment and stay golden! Gracie xo

New Purchase: Pastel Nail Varnish!

Hello and welcome back! This is a shorter post to talk about two new nail varnishes which I've been loving! I was going through my nail varnish collection and realised that I didn't have many bright colours and had no pastel colours at all. One shade which I did have was Cyan Blue by Barry M (an amazing bright blue) which made me add a pastel blue to my collection.

Linked below // £2.99

Surprise, surprise I ended up with two shades rather than the one I went for, however I am very happy with the colours I got and would recommend them heavily! They’re both from the Rimmel London collection by Rita Ora and are both shades named after music festivals; Peachella and Bestival Blue. Peachella is a really easy to wear peach which is nice and summery without being too imposing if you worry about your nails clashing with your outfit. Bestival Blue is similar to a light cornflower blue shade and looks super pretty for spring/summer. Both lasted really well on my nails (I have short nails so they don’t chip as easily and had on this top coat/base coat) and were opaque with two coats.

I hope you enjoyed this post, feel free to comment below with your favourite summer nail varnishes! New posts go up on Sundays!

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

2015 Reading challenge: Update!

Hello all and welcome back! Since finishing my first year of university I've been reading like mad and that means that this week’s post is an update of the 2015 reading challenge I'm taking part in. Now, I’ll stop babbling on and let you guys decide for yourselves whether these three books are good or bad!

If you want to catch up on my reading challenge, check out THIS and THIS.

Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig

(A memoir)

Reasons to stay alive is a book written by fiction author Matt Haig, it's different from what he usually writes as this is a non-fiction book and is kind of a memoir. The book is all about the authors struggles with mental illness, more specifically depression and anxiety. Haig starts the book when he was a teenager and goes right through to present day, the story is incredibly well written and really lets you understand what it must have been like for him to suffer from such illnesses. Despite the topic of the book being something you would usually associate as being bad, somehow the storytelling is still funny and the way it is written makes the content interesting. I think that everyone should read this book as it really does make you think differently about not only mental illnesses but life in general.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

(A book that made you cry)

I originally bought this book before Christmas but have only just gotten round to reading it, and I'm so glad I did!

It's set in 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska and follows the story of Eleanor, who is the new girl at school and Park who is just a regular kid, he's not super popular but isn't cast out either. Eleanor comes from a big family and lives with her mother, step-dad and younger siblings but has just returned after being kicked out. Eleanor's mother doesn't have a lot of money and is abused by her step-dad, it's through Eleanor's life that the author brings to light lots of issues which aren't usually talked about, especially not in YA novels. I really loved this book, you learn a lot about the characters especially as it's written from both of their points of view which let's you learn information about them and their backgrounds. I wasn't expecting to cry, however in the last few pages I really did, but don't let that put you off reading this, if you like other YA novels like those written by John Green, Gayle Forman and E. Lockhart then you'll enjoy this.

Paper Towns by John Green

(A book set in a different country)

I've been meaning to read this book for ages and with all the buzz surrounding the movie eventually got round to buying myself a copy. I've read Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars and really enjoyed both of those so I already knew this was going to be good. Despite really enjoying the characters and the plot of this book, I couldn't get into it as much as I have done with other books which meant it did take me longer than usual to read. That being said, I thought that it was really different from other YA novels and it was really really well written. I love John Green as an author, he always writes in a way that makes me want to just carry on reading his books forever and I really could of with Paper Towns. What I liked most about this book is that it wasn't all focused around Q and Margo as a possible couple, and instead portrayed Q as almost obsessed with the idea of Margo he had inside his head. I would really recommend this book if you're looking for something slightly different to read.

I hope you enjoyed my Reading Challenge update and if you have any comments about these books then please leave them below, I love getting book recommendations so leave those too! I'll be back next Sunday so please come back! Stay golden, Gracie xo

Summer Make-up Essentials!

Hello and welcome back! For me there are 3 things which I always finding myself turning for from my make-up bag as the weather heats up. That’s why this week I thought I would share with you this year’s picks for a light, dewy foundation; a warm, matte bronzer and a dark brown eye-liner!

Linked below // £8.99

The first thing I swap once the weather turns sunnier is my foundation. Through the winter I like using more high coverage foundations and use more powder, this year I've been using the Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 hour foundation which provides great coverage but isn't too heavy. However in the summer I like a more natural look, and therefore chose the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation. I love Rimmel foundations as their shade 'light porcelain' matches my skin perfectly and they're not very expensive. Their Wake Me Up foundation isn't a new release, however this is the first time I've used it and so far I'm loving it. I find I don't need to use powder to make it last and it's sheer enough that you can still see my freckles, but you can't see my dark circles or blemishes! It's also got an SPF 15 which is an added bonus.

Similar product linked below

The next product I use mostly in summer is a bronzer. I'm super fussy with bronzers as I'm pale and think it's easy with a fair skin tone to over bronze, which is why I prefer a matte bronzer which I find to look more natural than one with a shimmer. I don't use a bronzer in winter - I prefer a more grey shade - but I like one in summer to add a little warmth and create a little definition as well. The one I'm using now I've featured in past blog posts and bought around Christmas time, and that is the L'Oreal Paris Glam Bronze, in the shade 00 Blond Sun. This is a really great bronzer and is very pigmented but still blendable which means you can either go for a natural or bold look super easily. Since buying this from boots I've not been able to find it online in the same style i.e. one colour in a compact packaging with a mirror underneath, however Boots online do sell the L'Oreal Paris Glam Bronze Duo Powder which I assume is similar.

Linked below // £5.99

The final product I turn to in summer is a brown eye-liner. I do still love and use a black liquid eye-liner but on sunny days I think that using a brown eye-liner, either pencil or liquid, can just add to that summery-bronzed glow and look beautifully natural. The one I've recently purchased to try out is the Maybelline New York Master Precise liquid eye-liner in the shade forest brown, this is a super dark brown but just looks more simple and undone than a solid black and has a super fine tip to make a cat eye really easy. 

I hope you've enjoyed this post, please feel free to let me know what make-up you enjoying using in the summer months! New blog posts go up on Sundays! 

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye Makeup Trilogy: Brows!

Hello and welcome back! This week is the third and final post in the eye make-up trilogy I've been doing and that means its brows time! I don’t do a great deal to my brows in the summer as I prefer and overall more natural look, however depending upon what I'm doing I switch between products. My brows are naturally in shape and require little maintenance, however they’re sparse through the arch which is where I focus on if I'm doing a fuller brow look. For more info, keep on reading!

£3.99 // £2.99 // £4.95

For a natural look - I go for the Rimmel Brow This Way tinted brow gel, this is really great to give some more colour and definition quickly and easily!

For a fuller look - I use a brow pencil, this one by Rimmel is a really great colour for me and lets me fill in my brows in the areas they're sparse without looking too drawn on

For a dramatic brow - I use the w7 brow twister, this is in the same style packaging and texture as the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz but for a fraction of the price, this creates a full and more dramatic look and I use it on days when I'm feeling more brave with my brows!

I also use a clear brow gel/clear mascara to set my brows when I've used a pencil/brow twister, however mine has run out at the moment

I hope you liked my little trilogy! I use highstreet/drugstore products as they suit my student budget, let me know if you have any favourite eye make-up products you'd recommend! 

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye makeup triology: Eyeliner

Hello, welcome back! This week I'm back with the second post in my trilogy series which focuses on my favourite eye-liners, one for each job and a couple of coloured ones to brighten up my make-up look!

£1.99 // £2.99 // £2.99 // £2.99 // £3.99

Black pencil liner: Collection Kohl Eye-liner, this lines the waterline and tight-line really well without fading, but also is super soft and blendable so you can use it along your lash line too.

White eye-liner: Rimmel soft Kohl Kajal liner, I use this in my waterline and my inner corner to open up the eyes making them look bigger, and making me look more awake!

Black felt tip liner: Collection extreme 24 hour felt tip liner, this is a really great liner for people – like me – who aren't very good at the classic cat eye. It’s not too thick or thin and is easy to use.

Coloured felt tip liner: Collection extreme 24 hour liner, no 3, blue. I love using a coloured liner on days when I feel like injecting more colour into my look, by using a felt tip liner it’s easy and lasts all day.

Coloured eye crayon: Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in Emerald Sparkle, no 250. I usually apply this under my eye and use a brush to smudge it out, this eye liner is a soft crayon like consistency but is also waterproof so lasts all day.

I hope you liked this post, next week I'm going to post the third and final post all about eyebrows! 

Stay Golden, Gracie xo

Eye Makeup Trilogy: Mascara

Hello, welcome back! This week I've decided to do something a little bit different, focusing on my favourite part of my make-up routine: eyes!

For me make-up is all about the eyes and I love how the dramaticness of your eye make-up can affect your whole look. I've made this into a trilogy of posts each focussing on one element of my eye make-up collection, first up is mascara, followed by eye-liner and then brows! I'm going to do a full eye shadow collection post later on in the month too.

I hope you enjoy and let’s get started!

£19.50 // £7.99 // £7.49 // £4.99

The prices for these are all for the full size versions from Boots.com and are correct when this gets posted

For length: I opt for the Benefit Roller Lash, I got this sample from Elle magazine and I really love it, however the full size is expensive for what I usually pay.

For volume: Maybelline Rocket Volum' express is my favourite, I find that you can't build this without it getting clumpy, however it's great for thickening your lashes.

My Favourite: Rimmel Kate Rockin' Curves, I love this mascara! It's a really great all round mascara for everyday but can also be layered up to create a dramatic evening look.

Great for everyday: Rimmel Extra Super Lash is a great mascara to give a casual everyday look, it has a curved brush which gives a natural curled look.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at my current favourite mascaras, let me know what yours are below and come back next week for a look at my favourite eye-liners!

Stay golden! Gracie xo

2015 Reading Challenge: Update!

Hello all and welcome back. Today I'm doing an updated ‘2015 Reading Challenge’, if you want to catch up on the two posts I've done on this so far you can find them HERE and HERE. I've been super bust with uni over the past month but wanted to do one of these posts so I've chosen two books which are two of my all-time favourites and one which I read in late December 2014. I'm just about to start One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey so look out for that one in my next update!

Waterstones // £8.99

The first book I've chosen is The Ladies Paradise written by Emile Zola. This fits the category, a book set in a different country, as it is set in France. I read this after watching the TV show The Paradise (On UK Netflix), the show is very very loosey based on the book and is set in Britain rather than France. The book follows the idea of a town getting its first big department store and follows the story of Mouret, the owner of the store, who falls for Denise a shop girl. Denise is kind of portrayed as an underdog character who gets picked on by some of the other girls in the shop, who see themselves as better than her. I really love this book, it’s a classic and is one I go back to time and again if I'm not wanting to start something new.

Waterstones // £7.99

The second book is the one I read – for the second time - in late 2014 and that is Looking For Alaska by John Green. I read this after reading The Fault In Our Stars, and it was recommended to me by my boyfriend who read it before me. I find after reading John Green that his style of writing is so captivating that sometimes the only book that can fill the gap of finishing one of his books, is another of his books! I really enjoyed reading Looking For Alaska, it was better than I was expecting it to be and I ended up not being able to stop reading it once I had started – my favourite quality in a book. If you've read other book by John Green I would definitely recommend this one.

Bought from TKMaxx for £14.99

The final book is one I read 2-3 times a year, or whenever I have nothing to read or just when I'm not in the mood to read something new, and that is, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Now I'm completely obsessed with this book, not just the story but the language used, the characters and really everything it involves! The version I have is the complete Lewis Carroll collection which includes both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, among other Lewis Carroll stories. The category I'm fitting this into is a book with non-human characters and that is simply because not only are many characters non-human but they’re also completely made up!

I hope you enjoyed this reading post, stay golden!
Gracie xo

Seaside walk..

Hello all, welcome back! Spring is my favourite season and recently my boyfriend and I thought we’d make the most of nice spring day and went down to the stretch of beach near us. The sea makes me feel so relaxed and I love collecting shells and bits of sea glass that have been washed up. It was super windy but the sun was out and it was a really lovely day! I hope you enjoy the photos I took and have a great week!
Stay golden! Gracie xo

The last photo is of the sea glass I collected (along with a couple of pebbles), sea glass is basically glass from smashed bottles, windows etc. which has been bashed around by the sea against rocks which smooths away the sharp edges, I find it really pretty and my mam has a jar filled with it in our bathroom so it's a nice reminder of home when I see my little collection.

March Skincare Favourites

Hi all, welcome back! This week I wanted to share with you some constant skin care favourites which I have been using throughout March and which I have been loving! Some are new products and others are old favourites

These first two products are ones I have been using on and off since January (I've done a blog post on the body lotion here) however I really got into them in March. It’s been unseasonably warm recently which led to me being very pale and unprepared and getting slight sunburn on my shoulders, the Sanctuary body lotion really helped with this, not only does it smell lovely but it’s super lightweight and moisturising which helped with the sore skin 100%! The hand cream from Vaseline is one that I have again been using loads recently to keep my eczema at bay, it smells lovely and soaks quickly into the skin.

The next three products I have been using are face products, starting with these Simple Kind to Skin brightening face wipes. I use these on days when I've not been wearing make-up to clean my face before bed, they make my skin feel clean and are super sensitive. Next up is the Q10 face cream from Aldi, this is a really nice face cream which isn't too thick or thin and it also has SPF 15. Finally, my holy grail lip balm which is Vaseline, this is such a multi-purpose product and this conditioning version is especially great to heal your lips if you share my terrible habit of biting them!

I hope you liked my skin care favourites, check back next week for a new post!

Stay golden! Gracie xo

New Years Resolutions update

Hello all and welcome back! This week I'm going to be updating you on my gym routine and overall fitness. Earlier on in the year I did a post all about my New Years Resolutions and one of those was to get in the gym and improve my fitness and health and maybe even lose a little weight in the process.

Before I tell you about what I do and show you some of the clothes I wear to the gym let me tell you a little about my overall fitness/weight loss journey! I've always been plus size and naturally gain weight very easily, but I'm also not a naturally active person and have inherited a killer sweet tooth from my mam, thanks for that!

I work out in the gym for an hour, 3 times per week but sometimes I do choose to go for a walk/jog outside instead, I find if I've been in lectures all day I'm craving fresh air and a leg stretch so that works better for me. I had a shock aged 16 when I found myself just finished my GCSE’s and gaining not only qualifications but also weighing 13 stone 9lbs, this was the heaviest I had been in my life and I was only getting heavier, my plan of action was to go on a very strict diet (mine before this was shockingly unhealthy), lowering my portion sizes and going to the gym 3-4 times per week. 

I lost 3 stone in just over three months at which point I was nearly 10 stone and a lot happier with myself, the diet I was on wasn't ‘me’ enough to be long term so I slowly started increasing treats (but still kept them low) and kept on with the gym, this got my weight to level out at 11 stone and it has remained pretty stable ever since. Fast forward 2 years and due to exam stress from my A-levels (I eat when I'm stressed) I’d gone up to 12 stone 8lbs and although this isn't much over what I had been I knew if I didn't act I would soon be unhappy with my weight again. 

Now I'm at university I have a cheap gym 3 mins away and I'm in control of everything I eat all day every day. I try to eat as much fruit and veg as possible and try to keep my diet balanced and healthy while still having the odd treat- I'm a sucker for Cadbury’s chocolate! Now let me show you what I wear to the gym…

Everything here has now been discontinued (typical) however I'll attach links to the brand website or to similar items!

Trainers - Avia, these have curved soles to work your legs more while you train

Sports bra - Sports Direct, I have a seriously flat chest so wear this more for comfort than support

iPod touch, 4th generation

iPod case from eBay

Running headphones from Best Buy in America

Running leggings - Matalan, these have a tiny zipped pocket on the back perfect for putting a gym card/house key in

I don't buy expensive gym gear since I can't afford it but I love the stuff from Matalan and also from Sainsbury's. When you're working out the most important thing is that you're comfortable so don't worry if you're not in branded stuff. Also remember that you should do whatever you're happy with, whether that's working out 7 days a week or none. Body confidence isn't about other people, it's about you and if you're happy with your body and yourself then that's what's important!

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into my life and fitness and I'll have another post up on Sunday!

Stay golden! Gracie xo