How to: Autumn Leaf Candle Holder!

Hello everyone!

If you read my first Crafty Haul post you may know what this is going to be about! I bought the bits I needed to make some Autumn and Winter candle holders and thought I'd show you how I made it. The pictures are pretty self explanatory so I''m not going to waffle on about it, it'll be like picture instructions! :D

Also I'd like to quickly mention that if you don't want to make this yourself or you just don't have the time to you can visit my Etsy shop HERE and buy one for yourself at only £3.00 each. I'm also in the midst of designing some Wintery candle jars so keep your eyes open for them if you're interested!

Anyway, on with the show...

First you have to pick your leaves! I live in a pretty leafy place so I just walked down the road for these but you could make a walk of it and go to your local park and pick some up! As the Autumn has only just set in there wasn't a great colour variation but in a few weeks there will be some really colourful leaves out there! You'll also want to press these overnight so they're nice and flat to work with. The next day, pick your favourites that you want to work with.

I like to gather everything I may need, some people may get things as they go along but I like to have everything ready from the kick off. Then, if you use the same jars as I did from Ikea you'll want to remove the lid to make it easier to work with. It comes off very easily and can be put back on at the end if you'd like. 

Position your leaves and get them ready for gluing! 

I covered the whole glass jar with glue then coated over the leaves too. 

Leave it to dry. This takes about 3 hours for it to be fit to work with again but it will need to be left over night for it to completely dry. 

When it was mostly dry I started to add the string around the top. I just glues all the way around the top and started from the bottom and worked upwards. 

I didn't glue over the top of the string because I didn't want that to be shiny. 

Whilst that was drying I added some glitter. I just applied it in the places where the leaves weren't completely flat. As in where the glitter would naturally land if it happened to be raining glitter... does that make sense? 

I left the whole thing to dry over night and the following day I applied a finishing spray to make sure the glitter etc. stays in place. By the evening it was ready to be used! I really like the effect it has, it's very Autumny and cosy. I think they'd make really lovely gifts :)

Are you going to be making your own Autumn candle holder? 

Thanks for reading!

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VISIQ Electric Facial Sauna

Hello everyone!

I recently picked up the Visiq Electric Facial Sauna from Argos, I've wanted one of these for a good while now but I've always put off buying it thinking I'd use it once then it would just sit there doing nothing. However over the past few months I've been having a lot of sinus problems and headaches related to that and steam really helps to unclog my sinuses so that's what pushed me in to buying this. 

I looked on eBay and Amazon for one of these but I found that Argos was definitely doing the cheapest deal at only £11.99. The product can be used as either a whole face steamer or you can just use it on your nose. 

It's very quick and easy to set up, you just add a little water into the base using the provided measuring cup, turn it on and wait for it to heat up. I also have been adding some Vicks in to the water to help with my sinuses and that works brilliantly. You might want to try that especially if you have a cold. You could also use tea tree oil or other facial products if you'd like to do that. 

As far as the results you get from using this product, I think it does a great job of hydrating your skin and leaves it very smooth. I think to see long lasting results you'd have to get in to a routine of using it regularly. It says you should only use it 3 times a week but I think you could get away with using it as often as you want as long as you use it right. I.e. don't rest your face on the plastic like me... it will burn you! 

This product does clear my headaches while I'm using it but it's not a long lasting effect unfortunately it just provides a temporary relief. It's by no means designed to be a medical cure but it does provide relaxation and skin cleansing. 

I really do like this product and I'm pleased that I picked it up and for £12.00 it's definitely worth it. I like it's ease of use because if it was something that took me 10mins to set up I'd never use it. It's also easy to clean you just have to empty the water out and dry it off which is great! 

Price: £11.99

VISIQ ELECTRIC FACIAL STEAMER

Thanks for reading!

See you next time, 

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A Crafty Haul... (Part 1)

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, I got my student loan. Most people go for a good old clothing shop, not me. I hit Hobbycraft. 

I've seen some really pretty candle holders that people have designed on blogs and YouTube and I decided to make one for myself then thought 'oo wouldn't they be nice Christmas presents' so I stocked up on a few bits and pieces to make them and thought I'd show you! 

First, I picked up some glass paint. I thought it'd be nice to paint some Christmassy designs on them so I bought the colours black and a pearly white (it's showing up silver), yellow, red and blue. That way I can just mix other colours. The pearly white isn't as pure white as I'd like so I might go back and pick up a plain white. 

These were £2.69 each.

You can see them HERE.

Next, I bought some basic PVA glue and glitter glue. All the glitter that was just in shakers or pots was so expensive so I thought these would work just as well. They were also on 3 for 2 :)

The PVA glue was £3.00, you can buy it HERE.

The glitter glues were £1.99 each and they were on 3 for 2. You can see them HERE.

We also nipped to Ikea for the glass jars. I've seen these in there loads of times and debated picking some up for storage but never did. I picked up 4 small jars and 2 large jars. I just wanted to start with a few and see how it goes then I'll go back for more if it works out well. 

Small Jars were only 80p! You can see them HERE.

Large jars were £1.25, you can see them HERE.

I also bought 4 small jars. These will only fit a single tea light in them but they're ideal for just cute little gifts.

This set was £1.90, you can see them HERE.

Lastly, I saw these tweed sting things and thought they'd be nice and decorative too! 

These were 75p each but unfortunately I couldn't find a link for them on their website, sorry about that. 

Hope you enjoyed reading this and I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of craft related posts coming up soon.... 

See you next time, 

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How to make a simple blog header!

Hello everyone!
I make a lot of headers for my blog. I don't think it's stayed the same for more than around 3 weeks. I think because I spend so much time on my blog I soon get bored of it. Anyway, I like this design a lot, I wanted to use watercolours because I think it looks pretty cool and I'm really happy with the way it turned out! So I made a recorded version to kind of show how I made it and maybe help some people who might be struggling as I was when I first started on the Blog, I didn't even know how to download new brushes! 
It's very very quick and simple, I know that there are a lot more advanced designs and ways of doing this, this is just the very minimum.
Hope you enjoy!



Thanks for reading / watching!

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John Frieda Everlasting Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner

Hello everyone!

I recently picked up the new John Frieda Everlasting Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner. As my hair is purple at the ends I try to make an effort to keep the blonde looking light and vibrant so the ombre effect looks good. I saw these on a few different blogs and thought I'd give them a go and share the results with you! 

I've only used them twice up to now and I think you can see a bit of a difference:

Before

After

It's not a dramatic effect and it definitely doesn't make your hair more blonde like a toner would but I think it does a decent job of diminishing some brassy tones and yellowness. I don't know whether this is a product which works over time and uses or whether the first result is the best you're gonna get but I do like it and I can tell a difference. 

Having said that, my hair is very dyed anyway, I have blonde highlights put in my hair about 3 times a year. That may not seem a lot but I have a whole head of them and I've been having highlights for over seven years so there is something there for it to lighten. So basically if you don't already have blonde hair I don't think it'll have an effect unfortunately. If you want to really lighten your blonde I'd recommend the Colour Restore Iced Platinum Toner which you can see HERE, that's a really good way to instantly lift your blonde and it's a lot more effective than any shampoo and conditioner.

I think this is an efficient and easy way to keep on top of your blonde highlights. You don't have to add an extra step in to your hair care you just have to change the products you're already using which I like. I would not recommend this if you're looking for a dramatic lifting effect because you're really not going achieve it but if you're just looking to keep on top of the colour and keep the brassy tones at bay this will work for you. Again, if you don't have a lot of colour on your hair in the first place I don't think you're going to get the best results out of this product.

Also, I'll mention that although this shampoo and conditioner pulls off what it's designed to do really well, it also says that it leaves hair 'feeling soft' which I don't overly agree with. I think they should have just left that bit out really. It doesn't leave my hair feeling like wire wool by any means but it doesn't really leave it feeling particularly 'soft' either. If you have damaged hair I think you'd maybe want to use another more conditioning product too. 

Price wise, I think it could be considered a little over priced for a shampoo and conditioner. Granted, you get a fair amount of product, I think you get 250ml but at the end of the day it's just a shampoo and conditioner, it cleans your hair and brightens your blonde a bit and there are a million other products out there that do the same thing. If you are looking to buy these I'd definitely look out for any deals they have on the brand, I got these on 3 for 2 so I picked up another conditioner too. 

I would recommend this product, I wouldn't overly rave about it but I do like it for what it is. If you have really high expectations for it I'd definitely lower them before you buy it because it's not anything ground breaking. Having said that, it does just advertise itself as a 'colour preserver' so you can't knock it as it does do what it says it's meant to.

Price: £5.99
JOHN FRIEDA EVERLASTING BLONDE

Anyway, that's it, I'm going before I waffle on! 

Hope you're all having a great day enjoying a bit of September sunshine, look how sunny it is outside and I'm sat here making headers for my blog and writing about shampoo! #dedication 

Any questions or thoughts please leave them in the comments I'd be happy to answer them!

See you next time,

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The Autumn Tag!

Hello everyone!

It's been so long since I wrote a tag post I can't actually remember what my last one was. I love writing tag posts, I like the conversational writing and thinking about my answers, they're one of my favourite posts to write. I wasn't tagged to do this, I just saw it and thought 'ooo that looks interesting' and proceeded to write it! But I tag everyone who reads this to write one too and leave a link to them in the comments so I can have a read! 

So, let's get on with it!

1. Your favourite thing about Autumn?

I like the Autumn fashion, although I hate being cold I really love getting a big thick coat on, a pair of boots and scarves and gloves! I just love that at this time of year. I also love the colours, everything's all orangey and deep red it makes me feel so festive. And Halloween! One of my favourite holidays, if not my most favourite! 

2. Favourite drink?

During the Autumn/Winter season Costa Coffee bring out their 'festive' drinks and my absolute favourite is the Blackforest hot chocolate. Ohh gosh they are amazing I hope they're out again this year. I think they're one of Tom's favourites too! 

Strange fact: I have never tried a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte but it's my aim to try one this year!

3. Favourite scent/candle?

Last year Glade brought out some seasonal candles and one was called something like 'Spiced Orange' and it was gorgeous! I have to have it again this year. You can get them a lot cheaper at places like Wilkinsons, I must have gone through about 10 last year. 

4. Best lipstick?

Last year I was very in to deep pinks for some reason but I definitely think the plums and red lips look great throughout the colder months. I think I might pick up MAC's Rebel for this season.

5. Favourite moisturiser?

I have a few that I like, my number one simply being E45. But the Sanctuary Mandelular Body Souffle is amazing too. 

6. Go to colours for the eyes?

To be honest I like to wear quite neutral eyes especially if I'm going to be wearing something bold like a plum colour on my lips but if I was going to wear something colourful I'd try a deep brown smokey eye maybe with some forest green eyeliner...

7. Favourite music/ band/ singer to listen to?

I'm not one of them who's going to be buying Michael Buble's Christmas album I'm afraid. I just continue to listen to my normal music all year round really. Maybe I should change it up a bit this year? Autumn song suggestions anyone? 

8. Favourite outfit to wear? (e.g. boots, scarf)

I like to wear some skinny jeans with up to the knee boots, a thick knit jumper, a long parka coat a scarf, gloves and sometimes a hat. I don't like to feel the cold! 

9. Autumn treat?

I usually treat myself to a new Halloween costume haha. I'm not really sure. The whole 'Halloween' thing is a treat for me, I love it! Can't wait to buy my pumpkins and carve them! Woo Hoo! 

Last year's pumpkins! Left: mine Right: Tom's.

10. Favourite place to be?

I like to be out and about during Autumn and the run up to Christmas, everything is so much more exciting and pretty! Even though I don't like to be cold everything seems so fresh. I love them cold fresh mornings, do you know what I mean? I always feel incredibly festive at the Manchester Christmas Markets. I've been going for years and they sell the same s**z there every year but I suppose it's just the novelty of it really... and the food. I like the shopping despite the ghastly crowds and queues. I don't know I just like to see all the decorations and things! 

A 'fresh' frosty day from last year!

I am now feeling the most festive I've felt all year. I feel like I should go and put the Christmas tree up or something! Can not wait! I saw a jumper in Primark last week with a ghost on it, I need to have it for the autumn! 

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this! 

Don't forget to leave me a comment with your Autumn tag if you write one!

See you next time, 

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MaxFactor Whipped Creme Foundation

Hello Everyone!

As you may have seen a couple of posts ago I bought the new Whipped Creme foundation by MaxFactor. I bought the product out of general interest as well as the potential review aspect for here on the blog. I love a lot of MaxFactor products, you may have noticed I mention them a lot, I don't really know why I've just never had a problem or been disappointed by anything the brand has produced which is great.

Therefore, when I saw this new foundation I knew I definitely had to try it. Using it was also a bit of a learning curve for me too as I've never used a actual cream foundation before so that was interesting. 

Anyway, I thought I'd let you know how I've been getting on with it, hope you enjoy reading! 

 It's actually a really interesting formula, it's extremely light weight and the consistency is so smooth and easy to blend it's really nice to work with. I find that as I'm applying it, it looks a little too dark for my skin however when it's settled and properly blended it seems to set to the typical 'ivory 40' shade from MaxFactor. It does set to a matte finish but I would recommend taking some powder out with you to touch up after a few hours as it does get a little glowy throughout the day. 

I would say that this foundation definitely doesn't give a high coverage, actually I'd say it's quite a light coverage which I didn't expect from something that looks quite thick. However after I'd applied it I realised that it wasn't thick at all and the formula goes on quite sheer. As far and building coverage I don't think you'd get away with applying any more than two layers before it looks cakey and powdery. I've also noticed that despite it having an initial matte finish as the day wears on it tends to turn a little darker and glowy than when it's first applied but it's nothing some powder can't sort out.

When I apply it I tend to just dip my finger in and dab it around my face then blend it with my Expert Face Brush. That seems to be the easiest way to use it as you can't just squeeze a bit out like you can with a foundation in a tube. I wouldn't really recommend going in to the pot with your brush to get the product out because you'll definitely get too much on the brush. If anyone's worked out a different way to use this foundation let me know in the comments I'd be happy to hear it!

Overall, I do really like this foundation, it feels like you're using a much more expensive product when you apply it as its texture is so light and smooth and very blendable. I like the matte finish although I think applying a little powder on top as well would do no harm and it definitely needs touching up throughout the day even if you have dry skin. I'd say the shade of it is pretty much the same as the other MaxFactor foundations even though it looks a little darker in the pot.

I'd recommend giving this foundation a go if you're looking for something a little different and I definitely think you'd enjoy this product if you're a fan of the more creamy foundations. I wouldn't recommend it if touching up through out the day is something you don't like to do.

I hope this was helpful if you're thinking about buying the new Whipped Creme Foundation!

Any questions I'd be happy to answer them in the comments,
Also, let me know how you've got on with this foundation if you've been using it.

See you next time,

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A Primark Haul!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday, the Mother and I took a trip to Primark. I haven't been in there for ages so I was looking forward to seeing the new autumn/winter range and the new layout as the Manchester Primark has just been refurbished. They now have a Costa Coffee in there, it's crazy!

I picked up a few bits and bobs, I didn't see a great deal of things I liked in there to be honest, I think the prices are slowly increasing yet the quality of clothes is staying the same. I did want to pick up a few jumpers for uni but I just didn't see any I liked yet they had a vast amount of Christmas jumpers out already which I think's waaayyy to early, we're only in September! 

Anyway, I thought I'd show you the few things I did pick up so let's get on with it:

First, I saw this skater style skirt, It's kind of woollen and I thought it'd be a nice Autumn piece to wear with some thick black tights and a jumper. It came with the thin black belt which I really do like, I'm usually not too keen on the little belts that come with things in Primark but this one's matte black with a brassy coloured buckle. Also, I picked this up for only £5.00 reduced from £10.00 and for a fiver I think this is really nice.  

Next, I picked up a pair of jeggings and a pair of skinny jeans. I already have a couple of pairs of these and I really like them, They fit really well and they're a little thicker than leggings which is ideal throughout the winter. I just think they're nice to have to throw on for uni or when you don't want to get really dressed up but still want to look half decent! Plus, they're only £7.00 each which is really reasonable. I like them a lot!

For the first time ever I had a mooch around the cosmetics department. I like how the new area is set out for cosmetics, they used to just be in random places or in boxes as you were queueing at the till. Now they have a whole area set out for cosmetics which makes it much easier. They did have a lot of makeup and nail items but I didn't pick any up because I really don't need any more makeup, however, I did see a really nice eyeshadow palette which I might pick up next time I'm in there. 

I did buy these two brushes though. I'm in need of some new eyeshadow brushes, at the moment I just use my Urban Decay ones from the Naked palettes but having only two brushes when you're working with a lot of different colours can get messy. Anyway, I saw these and for £1.00 you can't go wrong, can you? So I'll give them a go and let you know what they're like!

Also in the cosmetics section I spied these little vials of Argan Oil. They had lots of different variations of this, I suppose they were all aimed at different hair types etc. But this seemed like the 'original' one and I've been meaning to try it for a while so this seemed ideal. They are £2.50 each and they had all different kinds so I'd definitely recommend having a look at them if you're umming and ahhing about buying a whole bottle.

Lastly, I saw these boots! They're Dr Marten style but obviously no where near the real thing. I really love this style of boot but I don't love them so much that I want to part with £90.00 for the real thing if you're getting my drift... 

If I did part with the money for the real ones I'd just be too scared of wearing them anyway through fear of ruining them whereas with these I can throw them on for uni or even a night out and I really won't be bothered if they get scuffed. These were a very reasonable £15.00 and I like them a lot! They also had them in burgundy and a floral pattern. I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of them!

So that's everything I picked up in Primarni I think I spent a total of about £38.00 which I'm pleased as punch with!

Hope you enjoyed reading this!

See you next time,

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This Year's Uni Supplies!

Hello Everyone!

It's that time of year again, the start of the academic year. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. It's a chance to start again, do something differently to how you did it last year, make some new friends, start learning different subjects, yet the first day/week back is always a killer isn't it?

I know the schools have been back for a few weeks now so they'll all be settled in but now it's time for university students to get themselves sorted. I have been doing just that so I thought I'd show you the bits and pieces I've picked up, hope you enjoy!

First of all, I bought this academic diary off eBay. I'm on a mission to be a bit more organised this year, I have a lot of coursework and a dissertation to work on as well as this blog and I'm not up for the challenge of only having a mental plan for all that. 

I'm not going to lie, I'm definitely not your most organised person, I have genuine issues when it comes to sticking to a plan, I'm just too laid back for that but I am going to give it my best this year to stick to some sort of organisation. Failing that, at least I can fill in my timetable and turn up to the right room.

The diary I bought is really usefull, it's week per view which I like and it has sections for your timetable, exam timetables, term times, subjects you're studying etc. It's a really nice, compact way to keep you life in order. I'm feeling very motivated by it... for now. 

Price: £1.70 (£3.00 with P&P)

ACADEMIC DIARY

I love the Oxford Refill Pads! The paper feels amazing! I've been buying them for the past 4 years throughout uni and college and I wouldn't use anything else, unless they were discontinued. I bought two of them and they'll probably last me the year. I'm not a big note taker. 

I also bought five small folders. I bought five thinking I'd then have one for each subject but then I realised I only have 3 subjects this year and a dissertation so I have one too many. Nevertheless these are one of the best ideas I've had all year. Last year I used to just keep all my notes in the note book I wrote them in then when it came to revision all the lessons and weeks were mixed up and I had to spend a day sorting them out. That was not ideal. So this year I'm going to sort them out by subject and hopefully make my life easier. 

Oxford Refill Pads

Price: £2.00 each (Tesco)

Small Folders

Price: £1.00 each (Tesco)

This years reading list. I bought the books as soon as the reading list was released thinking I was definitely going to read them in advance. I haven't. I just bought a pretty shelf to put them on.

Having said that, a few of these I have already read. I chose the units 'Reading and Writing Children's Literature' and 'Shakespeare' so a few of the children's books I studied at school and I studied a few Shakespeare plays in college. So I'm not completely clueless haha. 

When I was looking at where was cheapest to buy these books I priced them up on Amazon, eBay and a few other places and I found a website called The Book People. You can visit their website HERE and they were definitely the cheapest to buy all the books in bulk. I would highly recommend this site if you haven't used them before, they have a great range of really affordable, brand new books and they provide a very quick delivery service which is free if you spend over £25.00. I got all my Children's Literature books for just over £25.00, I was very pleased. 

Lastly, my Samsung Galaxy Tab. I haven't got as much use out of this as I would have liked throughout the summer but I know that when uni comes around this will be super duper useful to fill up time when I have gaps and when I'm travelling to and fro.

And that's everything! Other than pens and a bag that's all I really take to uni with me.
I hope this was enjoyable to read and it was somewhat helpful or interesting.
See you next time,

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