CORNWALL, UK

Hellooo! This summer I visited so many amazing places so it's about time to share it all with you...

So here's the list of the places I went to this year and have some pretty cool photos from (after all are posted, they will have links to each post)

1. Cornwall, UK

2. Chamonix, France

3. Geneva, Switzerland

4. South of France: Nice, Cannes and Antibes

5. Monaco, Monaco

6. Brighton, UK

Hope ya'll had a good summer!

Natalia x

TOP 7 BEACH ESSENTIALS

Hello! It's been a while since I've written a blog post - I've lost the plot and creativity but now summer is coming up and I have one too many posts & products to share with you..

Here are a few of my beach/holiday essentials which should be in your beach bag!

1. The Body Shop Fijian Water Lotus Body Cream £14

I think we all know that The Body Shop is the best with their seasonal ranges.. Now that it's summer, we have a Fijian Water Lotus range which smells of breezy fresh goodness. Trust me, go smell it. 

This is a Body Cream rather than a Body Butter which means it's much lighter and thinner so it absorbs very fast therefore you won't have that sticky moisturiser can't-touch-anything feel. The range also includes fragrance mists, shower gel, eau de toilette, and lotion - all you could ask for.

2. Mac Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation £22

Usually, no one likes wearing a full face of make up during the summer. This product is perfect to just swipe on for a little bit of natural coverage if you're going out in the evening and you don't want the hassle with foundation etc. It also isn't heavy or thick looking which is good.

3. La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC Anti Shine Matte Fluid SPF 30 £12

If you have oily spot prone skin and you want to protect your face from the sun at a reasonable price, stop right here and purchase this in your local Boots. The consistency of this sun cream is really thin and white, when applied it absorbs very quickly. It doesn't make me less or more oily than I already am, it also doesn't break me out at all unlike a usual thick sun cream would. Can I also mention that this is water resistant? Amazing.

4. Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray £22 

So for the days when you wear makeup, this product will help your makeup stay on and look good all day. It also removes any powder residue in your makeup for a flawless finish. It is also oil free so it's perfect if you have oily skin.

5. Barry M Gelly Nail Paint 'Lychee'  £3.99

I made a post talking about the Coconut Infusion Nail Paints which you can read here. I really liked those and I thought I'd try the original range. I picked up a similar shade to "skinny dip" since I really like natural nude shades for nails. Both ranges are perfect for summer with the different range of shades at a small price.

6. Graze Subscription Box £3.99/month

I have been subscribed to this box since mid May and I loved every box from them. These are simply little boxes of joy. You can pick out what you like, dislike, want to try, and what you'd like them to send you in the next box. My favourite snacks have been: The Graze Brownie, Brilliant Banana Bread with Dates and Hazelnuts, Original Fruity Flapjack and last but not least the Herby Bread Basket. I highly recommend this subscription! They also give a lot of offers and free boxes when you sign up!

7. SPOTIFY! £9.99/month premium

Recently I purchased 3 months of Spotify Premium for 99p which was the best decision ever! And I know I will carry on my subscription with the full price after it ends. It just feels amazing to be able to click any song you want without ads and shuffling the playlist! 

Here are my Top 10 Summer Upbeat songs which you probably never heard of.. 

1. Don't Need Your Love by Lucas Nord

2. U Know by Fossa Beats

3. Borderline (Vanic Remix) by Tove Styrke

4. 3 Strikes by Terror Jr

5. Indian Summer by Jai Wolf

6. Gold by Kiiara

7. I'm In Control by Aluna George, Popcaan

8. Able to See Me by Hippie Sabotage

9. Stay by Kygo, Maty Noyes

10. Never Be Like You by Flume

Let me know what your favourite Summer Vibe songs are. I'd love any recommendations!

***

I'd like to recommend a brand that retails things like swimwear and sleepwear. They have every style, colour or shape of swimwear that you would ever want! I've had a long browse through their lovely swimming costumes and I'd love to let you know about it too! If you click HERE you will be redirected to their shop and HERE to their Instagram page! Let me know what you think of their gorgeous items!

***

Natalia x

 Here are just a few more 'artsy' close up s

hots of products mentioned in this post :)

EYLURE LASH DYE KIT & L'OREAL BROW ARTIST PLUMPER

We all want our eyebrows to be perfectly neat and our eyelashes to be fluttery and curled. Reality is, you don't always have time to fill in your eyebrows fully or put mascara on neatly without smudging it. That's why i picked up two things from Boots that will come in handy to conquer those problems and will obviously share this with you now. 

L'oreal Brow Artist Plumper £5.99

I was always a Benefit Gimme Brow girl and repurchased that two times as if it was incredible - but it wasn't. I know that now after finding this product i will never go back! This product is a dupe for that brow gel for a fraction of the price. I will make a separate blog post comparing both of these products don't worry. I have so many positive reasons as to why i love this so much. Firstly, it keeps your brows in place - i mean, i wish it was waterproof but it definitely doesn't come off easily in water. While it keeps your brows in place, it doesn't feel too hard or so that you can literally feel your brows on your face stuck on like glue. 

It also has a very small wand which helps to be precise with your brows. Although, it doesn't have the smallest brush ever which means you can get the job done fast. This also contains little fibres so it gives volume to your brows - yay.

Eylure Pro Lash Dye Kit in Black £9.49

I have a love hate relationship with this product although i like the concept and process of it. Let's say don't expect your lashes to be like a 'jet black freshly applied mascara' lashes, because they won't. So for the first time you do this, you will have faint definition (i have dark blonde top lashes and very light bottom lashes, so different lashes may have different results). I re applied this product every week for about 3 times and i finally got a shade that i was satisfied with. Although its still not mascara black, it does the trick to some extent - it's better than having no mascara and almost invisible lashes right - and also, its permanent. Try it out for yourself and let me know how you like it.

natalia x

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SPACE NK HAUL

It's been a while since I bought any makeup - or anything to be totally honest. So one day I stumbled across a Space NK just to get a restock of the Nars concealer and come back with an extra makeup tool. I also signed up for their rewards card which is cool.

If you want to read a full detailed review on this concealer click here. Shade: Light1 Chantilly.

Long story short, favourite concealer and an upgrade from my old favourite Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. (I want to do a post comparing both of these concealers so let me know if you'd like to see that). I love how this concealer brightens under my eyes and blends seamlessly, it's quite a thick texture but not too thick so it doesn't look cakey and textured at all (well to an extent, if you put loads of layers on then obviously..).

...And I also got the original Beauty Blender. This has changed my makeup game if i say so myself. The £18 i paid for this is totally worth it I'm telling you. It's the most softest and squishy beauty blender ever. You can use this damp or dry, it works amazingly both ways it's just up to personal preferences. I always do dry application and occasionally I will use it damp. The pointy tip on this beauty blender eases the blending of concealer around the eyes without poking your eyes out - we've all been there. 

I would say that this is the most successful yet the most smallest purchase I've made in a while. These are my ultimate favourites as for now!

Natalia x

Also could i say, thank you for 70+ followers over on Bloglovin'. I literally remember having 50 in what feels like a week ago??

LEE STAFFORD HAIR GROWTH PRODUCTS REVIEW

Lee Stafford, let's say, it breaks the bank but I am thankful for all these offers. So recently, I wanted to try out this Hair Growth line and so I got a few for christmas, then I saw a 3 for 2 offer in Boots and so I bought 3 more products. Let me tell you about each product in more detail - and of course the prices. Besides the prices and the really small shampoo and conditioner bottles than honestly last you about 3 weeks or less, I love how all the Lee Stafford products have 9 different product ranges as you see in the photo below. (screenshot from the boots website)

So back to the products that i have..

Hair Growth Shampoo - 200ml £7.49

This shampoo is a protein based complex to fertilize your follicles which creates a healthy environment on the scalp to help hair grow faster and reach its maximum potential length. After using this product joined with the Conditioner, your hair smells amazing and also feels so soft and nourished. All of that is great but you have to keep using this product until your hair grows out to your wanted length and this means that you may have to spend a lot on this to get your through it. This 200ml bottle lasts less than around 3 weeks.

Hair Growth Connditioner - 200ml £7.49

So similar thing, these two product need to be used together to get the maximum potential out of this process. The shampoo and conditioner really leave your hair feeling really nice and soft but it doesn't weigh your hair down.

Hair Growth Treatment - 200ml £8.49

This treatment is like the cherry on top to the Shampoo and Conditioner, but instead you use it in between those rather than on top. Yeah I make no sense. This is the product that works the most wonders, you lather on an 'egg sized' amount and massage your scalp with it for around 5 minutes. It's the most daunting task but the most effective. Now that both my shampoo and conditioner ran out a while ago now, this has still helped me out. "If the earth's not nourished, you'll never grow beautiful flowers" is the philosophy behind Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment

Hair Growth Leave In Treatment - 100ml £11.99

This is another treatment that you can optionally use after all of the others. You don't wash this product out so it is continuously working on stimulating and strengthening from within. To use this effectively, you towel dry your hair and then spray evenly throughout roots to ends and brush through. 

If you want to get your hands on this collection - well only 3 different products - then head over to Boots because its on sale so it's a great opportunity to get a whole batch of them for less!

natalia
xXx

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YOUR HAIR GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 3 of 3)

Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:

Part 1 - Makeup

Part 2 - Beauty

Part 3 - Hair

This is the short but sweet and to the point guide for hair. I don't know about you, but in the summer when it's hot I don't feel like doing anything particularly great with my hair. So here are the three great products that will help you out.

TRESemmé Instant Refresh Dry Volumising Shampoo

This isn't like any other dry shampoo that I've used in the past, you know when you have that horrible dry shampoo feeling in your hair and you can't bare to touch it or put your hands through it. Those make your hair feel dirtier than it was before you put it in your hair. So unlike other ones, this one leaves movement in your hair and also masks excess oils. It is very weightless and fine but one downside to this product is that it doesn't volumise your hair to the maximum - but if you needed that you'd buy an actual volumising product. This product just lifts your hair slightly but still manages to keep your hair feeling fresh. This Instant Refresh Collection comes with three different products that suit best for you. There is a Cleansing, Translucent and Volumising one.

L'oréal Curl & Gloss Curl Mouse 

Any lazy hair girl out there? This is what you need. Wash your hair, put this foam in your hair, plait two dutch braids either side of your head, sleep, wake up and you're ready to go. Overnight heatless curls have been a life hack for girls since I can remember. But no one really put anything else in their hair when they did that. This product will keep the curl in your hair for about 2-3 days. It will also leave your hair with a natural shine but not greasy or oily looking - it is very subtle. I love to use this because it never leaves my hair feeling crunchy and I found many products like this one that always feel hard and unnatural. 

Toni & Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray

Do you ever look at photoshoots on a beach and you see a girl with amazing wavy hair - sort of a beach vibe. Well this will kind of help with that in minutes. This product creates texture and body with light to medium hold so unfortunately it won't be intense and looking as if you just curled your hair and messed it up slightly. You can use this on damp or dry hair and it will leave your hair looking, lets say, 'beachy'. You can use this on the days where your hair is looking particularly dull and just boring.

natalia x

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YOUR BEAUTY GUIDE TO SUMMER (Part 2 of 3)

As promised, here is the beauty part of this Guide. I could've put all of these into one whole post and just titled it "your ultimate guide to summer" however it would be extremely long and I doubt that anyone would want to sit and read over 1,000 words of my rambling. So this part of the guide is about body sprays and face creams etc. Keep on reading to find out what I think are some of your summer essentials.

Click one of these to be redirected to another part of this guide:

Part 1 - Makeup

Part 2 - Beauty

Part 3 - Hair (available on 18-04-16)

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Delight - Eau De Toilette

I've really been enjoying wearing this scent for Spring, but before I try describe how this smells, I'm just going to copy and paste the description from the Debenhams website: A lush and fruity floral, Daisy eau so fresh delight edition puts a twist on the original with an enticing rush of blood orange flourished with exotic tiare tahiti, mingled with the sweetness of raspberry. Velvety apricot leaves a lingering impression. Have you pictured the scent yet? I like how its not too over powering or too sweet, it's the perfect fresh and fruity scent.

Lush Tea Tree Toner Water

This is another refreshing, wake me up product in the morning or just throughout the day, however it has the benefits of making your skin better. You can spray this directly onto your face and then let it dry or wipe away with a cotton pad. Alternatively, you can spray it on your cotton pad and then apply to your face to help remove any left over makeup or cleanser. I like to use this because it has Tea Tree which is antibacterial, anti fungal and antimicrobial, which in normal words means it keeps away the bacteria that can cause spots. 

Hollister Crescent Bay Mist

I really like this mist too as an addition to the perfume throughout the day as a touch up. Again with the bad scent descriptions, here is the description from the Hollister website: Juicy watermelon and California poppy come together to create a brilliant, playful scent. I definitely think that this scent is watermelon, poppy and sugary woods combined into one. This scent isn't sickly or too sweet but it's more fresh and enlightening. Since this is a mist, it won't stay on as long as a perfume would so bare that in mind that it doesn't last very long. 

Mitchum Pure Fresh Anti-Perspirant Roll On

This is the best deodorant that I have ever used and I mean it. I've repurchased this about 3 times now - it's also good to mention that it lasts a fairly long time e.g. it doesn't dry up or run out. You know when you feel like you really need to reapply your deodorant through out the day. Well, now you won't because this will keep you smelling fresh all day - or 48hours as they say. You will no longer have to worry about if you're the one that smells really bad.

Olay Complete Sensitive Day Cream SPF 15

This is a new and recent purchase of mine but i've really been liking this demagogically tested moisturiser. It is suitable for normal to dry skin and it hydrates any areas of your skin that are dry. This claims to be a 3in1 moisturiser in the sense that..

1) it has a SolaSheerTM technology with broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection SPF15 gently protects the surface of your skin from daily incidental UV exposure. 

2) It has many nourishing vitals such as B3, E and Pro-V B5 which help strengthen your skins natural  moisture barrier

3) The 24 hour moisture hydrates your skin 7 layers deep to let your inner glow come through.

Now, if that doesn't tick all of the boxes of a normal simple moisturiser with all the benefits that you need then i don't know what else will at the price of only £4.99 (on offer now as of April '16 - costs £9.99 when it isn't)

Stay tuned for the last part of the guide next week :)

Natalia x

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