Conceal that Spot! 👌

Is it me or do you always seem to get breakouts when you have something coming up!? Well if your skins like mine, it seems to time it that way. Now as much as I advocate letting your skin breath and not caking it in makeup. There are times when you need a good concealer to help you and Urban Decay's is by far one of the best I've used. It's available in 8 shades to suit a range of skin tones. Not only is it lightweight it also blends perfectly, even if you put too much on (I've learnt from my mistake!) better yet it stays on all day. I've tested this to the max, on my wedding day it stayed on perfectly for 18 hours, need I say anymore. For £17.50 it's worth a purchase, If you're not sure about which colour to get it's worth popping into one of Urban Decay's makeup counters to try a tester :)

Currently my favourite product of the month so far! X 

Cute Cardigans ❤️

Firstly I'd like to start my blog by apologising for not posting for ages! I've been slightly preoccupied moving into my new home and decorating (Painting myself more than the walls!). I promise to write some more posts soon and show you some sneaky peeks of the house, most importantly my beauty room ❤️ Now to get back to my short and sweet post.....

I always struggle with finding nice cheap cardigans for work, because let's be honest when you buy a house you're broke and don't want to spend money on work clothes! After a little bit of bargain hunting I came across some cute cardigans in New Look, that come in a wide selection of colours and they're a steal at £10, I of course had to buy 2! They fit really nicely and the sizing is accurate. Problem is now I want to go back and buy more! 

I have to say my fave is the pastel blue, as I'm still clinging on to summer. X 

www.newlook.com

My New Favourite Product

How I came across my new favourite product. 

As usual I had left things to the last minute, the day before our friends wedding I decided I needed a tan, the fake kind of course! I went into Boots on my lunch break to grab some trusty St Tropez when I came across the New St Moriz fast self tanning mousse. As soon as I saw the fact it developed in as little as 1-3 hours I had to buy it! The thought of not having to sleep in fake tan was far to appealing! I have to admit I was a little sceptical about the developing time as I wasn't sure it was going to give me much of a tan, but decided to give it a go nether the less. 

Following the instructions I exfoliated, showered and allowed my skin to dry. I then applied the mousse using a tanning mitt and allowed it to dry for 3 hours as I wanted a darker tan! Fast forward....I rinsed the tan off without using shower gel as recommended and patted my skin dry. The tan was the perfect sun kissed glow I was hoping for, so my risk paid off! If your in need of a fake tan this is a must have, it ticks all the boxes. It develops super quick, doesn't feel tacky while it's drying and it's only £5.99 in Boots bargain! Just make sure you leave some on the shelf for me! X 

 

My secret to smooth and frizz free hair!

For those of you that suffer with frizzy/dry hair especially during the Summer months, I have found the perfect product to keep your hair perfectly maintained. The IQ Argan plus + oil is an easy to use spray, which helps to hydrate and keep frizz at bay. I find I tend to use the spay on my hair when it's dry, but it can also be applied when wet. Not only does it smooth the frizz away it also smells amazing and only costs £15 bargain well worth the money.
Tip: Apply to mid-ends of hair, a couple of sprays goes along way, don't make the mistake of applying too much a little really does go a long way!

Conclusion: The cheats way to soft, smooth and frizz free hair, I LOVE this product and highly recommend. 

It's currently on Amazon reduced to £10.95 :) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Argan-Plus-Hydrating-Repair-Unique/dp/B009GJ915G

The Perfect Coverup

Ok so I've never been a massive fan of liquid foundations, mainly because I've always found them too heavy on the skin. I remember feeling like my pores instantly clogged and the coverage looked somewhat cakey. For the last 5 years or so I've stuck to using soley loose mineral foundation powder. Since having Urban Decay as my wedding makeup, I've become a tad obsessed with their Naked skin foundation, It's amazing! It gives a perfectly flawless finish, without clogging your pores better yet you can't even feel it on the skin, it's so light.

I'm slightly shocked to be writing about how much I love a liquid foundation, but I really do and genuinely can't imagine not using it!

Recommendation: If you're worried about what colour to get, it's worth going to one of the Urban Decay counters and having a trial, which is free if you spend over £35. It's well worth having a trial as the foundation is £27. I'm sure you won't struggle finding something else to buy, as you'll end up wanting everything that they used on you. I quite literally came away with half the shop! I would consider getting the foundation brush as it makes application super easy it's £21, plus it allows you to buff the foundation in perfectly. 

You can find your nearest counter by visiting the website (link below):

www.urbandecay.co.uk

Hope you found this post useful, much love x 

My new tea of choice

As some of you may know I'm a big fan of green tea, can't get enough of the stuff! I find it amazing for my skin, plus it's perfect for good cleanse....If you know what I mean! I've tried many different brands of tea over time and to be honest they're all much of the same! I'm writing this post to tell you at present my new favourite is the Clippers Tea - Decaf Jasmine and green tea. I love it, it's easy to drink and I just can't get enough of it, plus its only £1.59 for 20 un-bleached teabags, bargain. As this is my new flavour of choice I have treated myself to the new Twinning's Jasmine petals and pearls green tea ones to try. I'll have to let you know my thoughts once I've given them a go.

I know this was rather short and sweet, but if you're looking for something new to try this is worth a go! X  

A cute little hideaway

Sanuk - Potten End (in between Hemel Hempstead & Berkhamsted)

If you're looking for a place to enjoy a cup of tea and a nice homemade cake, Sanuk is your answer. It's hidden away in the woods, for this reason be warned the road isn't great but that's part of the fun! I love coming here, it's one of those places where your mind drifts away and you forget all of your worries! The smell of the fresh country air and the beautiful scent of the outdoor flowers for sale and it's peacefulnes frees your mind.

It looks like a shed from the outside, but inside its a Moroccan/Indian haven, there's a little shop selling unusual furniture, bracelets, ornaments, dream catchers and much more! 

However my favourite part is the little coffee shop tucked away out the back. They have a selection of beautiful fresh cakes, I always opt for the carrot cake it's delicious, thinking about it is making me salivate, although they do an amazing rich chocolate cake also yummy and another one of my favourites. 

My lovely friend Emma posing with her wedge of chocolate cake! 

The tea cups are all mismatched with the saucers, which adds to the theme. The music playing gently in the background is magical combined with the incense sticks burning. 

It's my secret little haven and the perfect place to catch up with friend without the hustle and bustle of city life. If you manage to find it, you may just see me in there especially on a summers day sitting outside in the sun. X 

Our Minimoon - The Crazy Bear - Stadhampton

As we're currently in the process of buying a house, we decided to postpone the honeymoon and go on a minimoon instead. We chose to go to the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton and opted to go for an upgrade and booked a suite (best decision). It's completely different to the Beconsfield venue, it's situated in a quaint village on a farm, the perfect escape from town life!

Once we had unpacked the car we headed in via the carpark/back entrance. We noticed a bright red London transport bus, but admittedly missed the reception sign on it and walked straight passed it, only to realise that it actually is the reception! 

Once inside the bus, we were greeted by 2 glasses of Tasarine champagne and guided to our suite, by a friendly receptionist. Our suite was located down the road in one of the cute cottages. 

The suite was amazing! I love how quirky the Crazy Bear is and the rooms most definitely lives up to expectations created by others! 

Excuse Nick lying on the bed, I couldn't take one quick enough! 

My favourite part of our room had to be the wet room, which compromised of a shower and infinity bath! I've never even heard of an infinity bath before, but I now want one in our house, it's pure luxury I didn't want to get out! 

As we were staying the night we booked the Thai restaurant located in the main building. The service was inpecable, when we arrived we were greeted by a friendly front of house gentleman, who guided us to our table. The dining area was insane! All padded walls, large eccentric tables and dimley lit. Obviously I had to go for a pornstar martini for pre drinks the best cocktail! The food was to die for, both myself and Nick love Thai food and have been for many a meal and this hands down had to be the best! For starters we had soft shell crab and tempura prawns (the portions are large!) and for mains I chose chicken green Thai curry and Nick had venison, both of which melted in your mouth and were cooked to perfection. 

Both of us felt suitably full after dinner so not suprisingly we gave desert a miss and retired back to our room to pass out in a food coma! 

It was a struggle getting up the next day as the bed was so comfortable. Needless to say the breakfast was calling us, a quick stroll down the road was well worth the reward at the end! I've never seen so much food before, it ranged from cereals, crossaints, doughnuts and cooked breakfast. Too many decisions to make first thing in the morning! We both opted for the cooked breakfast, which we didn't regret it was the perfect start to the day. 

We spent a little time after checkout at the Crazy Bear farm, which is a short walk, 2 minutes to be precise! The shop is worth a visit, it offers a wide range of locally sourced produce along with a lovely atmosphere. I do love a good farm shop! 

I loved having a little wander around the farm after, the little piglets are too cute I wanted to take them home with me! 

In conclusion, we both enjoyed our stay at The Crazy Bear and will most definitely be back. Thank you to all the staff that made or minimoon a special experience. 

Wedding - The Dress, Makeup, Hair & Nails - The Essentials!

Seeing as I've written about the wedding suppliers and venue. I figured it would be nice to follow on with the wedding prep!

My dress - Jasmine Couture - Brides of Berkhamsted

It stills brings a tear to my eye when I think about the day I found it! I loved my dress so much, it's true what they say you know when you've found 'the dress'. Brides of Berkhamsted stock a wide section of gorgeous dresses all of which vary in price I believe from around £750-£2000. Lucy and her mum that own the shop are lovely, If you're looking for great service and a friendly atmosphere then look no further. I was made to feel welcome as soon as I walked in the door and offered a cheeky glass of Buck's Fizz! As well as a wide range of dresses, they also have a great selection of headpieces and veils (mine pictured below both chosen by Lucy). The Jasmine Couture dress I chose was made up of double layered chantilly lace, with the smallest amount of beading around the middle. I truly felt like a princess in it, the veil I chose was delicate with tiny little crystals dotted on the edges. The head piece was made up of crystals, pearls and beads, it was perfect with my dress :) 

I can't thank both Lucy and her mum enough, your service was amazing. I wish you did more than just wedding and bridesmaid dresses, just so I could come and shop with you again! You really made the dress shopping experience a fantastic one. I will most definitely recommend anyone getting married to visit the shop! 

Bridesmaid dresses - Jenny Packham - Debenhams - £150 

I really struggled with my colour theme initially, which made it a tad bit of a problem when trying to find dresses for the bridesmaids. I'm a little indecisive.....! Anyway after months of deliberating on which colour to go for, I came across the Jenny Packham dresses. As my bridesmaids are all different shapes and sizes, the dresses ticked all the boxes and looked perfect on all of them. I wanted all of my girls to feel and look amazing. I've been to too many weddings where the bridesmaids end up in a dress they're not comfortable in (and it shows!). I fell in love with these dresses instantly and had to have them, plus even better they were the perfect colour for a spring wedding. If you're looking for chic and sophisticated dresses then look no further, it also comes in a dusty pink if you're not a fan of the green.

The beautiful bridesmaids :)

My little nieces dress was from Monsoon and was a bargain in the sale for £27.50! 

My gorgeous sister aka maid of honour & me. 

Alterations - Perfect Fit - Jacqui Walsh

My dress needed a few alterations to make it fit, especially on the length (I'm not blessed with long legs!) To make all of our dresses fit, we visited Jacqui, who is amazing and reasonably priced. If you need any alterations and your based in Hemel Hempstead or nearby I highly recommend. 

Makeup - Jade Denwood 

I am a massive perfectionist so I found the makeup part paticularly hard, being a beauty therapist I find it hard to trust or let anyone else do anything for me! However I am so glad I came across Jade, she is AMAZING! She uses Urban Decay, which I'm now a convert to! The makeup stayed on perfectly all day, so many of my guests commented on how flawless it was! I cannot recommend Jade highly enough and I will most definitely continue to have my makeup done for special occasions with her. Thank you! 

Hair

I'm a massive pain when it comes to hair, I must have changed my mind about a million times! Thanks to my boards on Pinterest I managed to decide on a style! Debbie a family friend, who has been doing my hair for years did all the hair for the bridal party and she was fab! My recommendation for for finding a hairstyle is to use Pinterest, but make sure it's something you're going to feel comfortable in all day! Don't forget updo's involve a lot of pins! 

My lovely cousin & I, sporting our lovely hairdo's! 

Nails 

Incase you didn't know, I do Calgel nails, so of course being a control freak like I am, I did all the nails (including mine!). I managed to find a colour that matched the bridesmaid dresses perfectly - ticklish pear to be precise! As I tied peach into my theme I decided to be creative and put some peach rose transfers from Hail the Nails on their ring fingers. 

For my nails as I didn't want to go with the classic French. I decided to go for a nude peach - Calgel's hide and seek. It worked perfectly with my peach and green theme. I love this colour :) 

For all you lucky brides to be, I hope you find my blog useful and have the most amazing day x 

The best day of my life

Where to start! They do say a picture is worth a 1000 words...... This just about sums up how it was!

Photo courtesy of Neil Sampson who was our photographer, he was brilliant I've loved the photos I've seen so far can't wait to see the rest! http://www.neilsampson.com

I truly can't thank the staff at Sopwell House enough, the events manager Joe Carter is amazing and his team are trained to the highest standard. Mine and Nick's wedding day wouldn't have been anywhere near as perfect had it not been for the staff, we were treated like a King and Queen all day. The set up of the room was outstanding all the prep was well and truly worth it! I would also like to thank Mandy, who was there right until the end of the night. 

The flowers were organised by Sopwell House's preferred florists - they were brilliant and created the most beautiful arrangements within the colour scheme. They even managed to put in sweet peas, in memory of my Grandad.  http://weddingvenuedecorators.com/about/

The wedding breakfast was thoroughly enjoyed by all of our guests, in fact comments from many of them were that it's the best wedding food they had ever had! We chose ......

All of our stationery was provided within our package by Kelly at Big Day Designs - who got the green from my colour scheme perfectly matched! http://www.bigdaydesigns.co.uk/bespoke.php

The cake, neither of us are paticularly massive on cake, although I am partial to carrot cake and Nick to chocolate cake! I decided not to go for the traditional three tier cake, but to go for three separate cakes - fruit, carrot and chocolate - I wanted something a little different plus it went perfectly with my shabby chic theme. 

Debbie from Cake of Herts made the cake, compliments as all three tasted great and looked gorgeous - http://cakeofherts.co.uk

To keep the guests entertained, especially my niece and two nephews throughout the drinks reception and meal. We hired Mick Smith a magician from the inner magic circle, the guests loved him and are still trying to work out how he did some of the tricks! It definitely kept our guests busy while they were waiting for food! I even managed to watch a few, I have to say I find Mick fascinating I could watch him for hours. If your looking for entertainment then look no further - http://www.mikemagic.co.uk

For the ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast we had a saxophonist Raymond Jaeggi who was superb. Both myself and Nick love the saxophone so it was the perfect choice for us and everyone loved the music he chose. 

www.saxophonewedding.co.uk 

For the evening reception we hired The Lowriders from London - we opted for the 8 piece band although they have various options - www.thelowriders.co.uk

They played two one hour sets (they specialise in Motown, soul and funk) In between the sets they dj'd. I'm so glad we booked them for the wedding, the dance floor was full all evening. The feedback from our guests, not one person wanted them to go home, if the party could have stayed past midnight everyone would have carried on dancing away! One word to describe them - AMAZING, can we get married again just so we can hire them please!?  

We both had the best day and didn't want it to end. Thank you to everyone that came and all the people that helped to make it so special. 

In conclusion I highly recommend all of the suppliers we used and the venue couldn't have been more perfect thank you. X 

The perfect way to spend an afternoon

Despite some of the negative reviews online, I love the Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield. I've been there on 3 occasions for afternoon tea and had an amazing time with great customer service. It truly is the perfect way to spend an afternoon, although make sure you have a light breakfast! As you'll be thoroughly stuffed otherwise. They're definitely not short of food when it comes to sandwiches and cakes! 

For £20 per person or £30 (with champagne) it's worth a visit. My Nan even loves it there, She's already talking about our next visit! Even if you're not up for afternoon tea, I hear they serve amazing dinners and you have the choice of 3 restaurants!

My sister and I had a pornstar martini for starters, which I have to say is my highly recommended cocktail, it might have something to do with the shot of champagne! 

As well as the food and cocktails, the design of the crazy bear is fab! The best way to describe it is an up market tarts boudoir! It is one of the only places I know that it's acceptable to take a toilet selfie. Ladies in case you get confused, as the toilets aren't labelled the women's one is the one on the right!

I loved my surprise afternoon, pre wedding with my Mum, Sister and Nan. Thank you Amy (best sister ever) Roll on the wedding, 2 sleeps to go eeeek! 

X 

Hen do activities (the best bits!)

Apologies I haven't written anything for a little while, I've been slightly pre-occupied enjoying the best hen do! My sister Amy pulled out all the stops not only planning my hen do in Marbella, but organising the awesome activities! My sister didn't have the easiest of times trying to find companies that organised affordable activities for 22 people, until she came across Graham and Donna from Escape to Marbella. I was keen to write this blog as a massive thank you to my sister but also to both Donna and Graham for helping to organise the best weekend. My sister sent about 50 odd emails back and forth and recieved fantastic customer service. As you can only imagine it's slightly daunting organising activities abroad for somewhere you've never been, especially when transferring large amounts of money. We decided to go pole dancing and quad biking as the activities. With the booking Graham also organised the coach transfers to and from for an additional fee along with a transfer for one of our nights out. The pole dancing was hilarious, when we arrived we were greeted with some bubbly, which definitely helped loosen us up! As there was such a large group of us we got to do both pole dancing and lap dancing. The instructors were brilliant, they helped to put everyone at ease. I don't think I've ever laughed so much and loved the certificates and photos at the end. Be warned though pole dancing uses a lot of muscles so you might want a nice chilled day after!

The following day despite being rather  achey and bruised we went for our quad biking excursion with Graham, I have to say this was my favourite! Graham was really thorough when it came to safety and made sure we were all happy and comfortable. The excursion was fab, we got plenty of time on the quads and photos. The route was a little bumpy in places and muddy, which added to the fun and the scenery was beautiful. I can't wait to get back on a quad bike again! After the quad biking Graham and Donna provided an amazing BBQ, It's definitely worth spending the extra money on. They couldn't have made us feel any more welcome if they tried. Both myself and all my hens had the best time and we're already planning the reunion. Thank you for making my hen do extra special :) 

I truly have the best sister and had an amazing time. I highly recommend Marbella as a hen do destination - more hen do blogs to follow, keep your eyes peeled x 

My new sinful addiction....

Despite trying to be healthy and toning up for the wedding...... I recently came across the salted caramel sauce in Marks & Spencer's. I couldn't resist buying a jar to try, at only £3 it would have been rude not to. Unfortunately for me it was as good as I had expected and I'm now addicted! It's beautifully sweet with a subtle hint of salt. It can be easily heated in the microwave to drizzle over ice cream or even a chocolate brownie (if you're feeling like splashing out). My preference is to have it hot, but it tastes just as good cold.

In conclusion if you're going past Marks & Spencer's it's worth popping in to buy a jar, or avoiding at all costs if you're on a diet!

Hope you enjoy it as much as me! X 

Something to brighten up your day!

Looking for something to brighten up that empty space on your desk at work or at home? I recently came across these cute quote postcards, I love how simple, yet effective they're. I picked the three below as they put a smile on my face when I looked at them, plus I loved the colours, my favourite is the home sweet home one. I've decided to put the smile everyday one in my office at work, for those days when I need a little pick me up. I might even get some frames from Wilkinsons to put them in. 

For £1.99 the postcards are a bargain and can be found on www.esty.com/shop/bhambina the only hard part will be deciding which of the 24 designs to buy! x 

Nail transfers - the cheats way to nail art!

Ok so as much as I love doing nails, I've never been a massive fan of doing nail art mainly because I find it a bit of a faff. Unfortunately for me nail art seems to have become much more popular over the last year, many of my lovely friends have been asking me to do some on their nails. I decided Instead of saying no I'd have a look around to see if I could find alternative ways to add a bit of art to their nails, without spending hours free-handing and that's when I came across Hailthenails on Etsy. They offer a good range of cute transfers and striping tape, which all come with easy to follow instructions and can be used with both gel and polish. The transfers are perfect for adding that little bit extra to your nails without having to freehand hooray!

The average cost on Hailthenails for the transfers is between £1.99-£2.25 plus delivery. I've recently bought the black lace ones and can't wait to try them! Keep your eyes peeled on Instagram for photos.

I recently used them on my sisters nails pictured below and I love them, hope you do too x 

The transfers in the photo below are the English rose decal pink and peach. 

Lush - Lip Scrub

This is my product of the week, mainly because as the weather has changed, my lips are yet again dry and flakey! After looking around I came across the Lush lip scrub, which comes in three different scents bubblegum, mint julips and popcorn. All three smell amazing so it was hard to choose which one to go for, but in the end I decided to go for popcorn. The lip scrub is really delicate to use it's made up of sugar, sea salt & coconut oil to help remove dead skin and moisturise at the same time. It leaves your lips feeling silky smooth and hydrated, I love the fact that my lip gloss now doesn't look bitty when's it's on. Better yet it's only £5.50 and if you accidentally get any in your mouth it actually tastes nice, not that i'm advocating eating it!

It's definitely worth purchasing, the tricky part is deciding which of the three scrubs to go for! X

Wedding Favours

So after much debating and ALOT of faffing around, I have finally sorted and ordered my favours hooray! I decided to go for paperbags with personalised tags and fill them with sweets, as I figured the guests might fancy a little sugar rush to get them up on the dance floor! 

I found the bags and tags on Etsy and ordered them through Ana at Burlap and Butter, who might I add has the best customer service, she has been so helpful. All the tags were custom made in my colour scheme and have personalised print on at no extra cost, plus the delivery was super speedy. I would highly recommend if you're looking for cute vintage esq paper bags, however it's best to think about what you're going to put in them first! As admittedly I went full steam ahead and didn't consider what I would need to put in them to pad them out! However after searching around I decided to go with sweets and some heart bubbles! Best places to look if your ordering in large quantities is either Amazon or eBay I managed to get all my favours including the bags for £100 (that's for 100 guests). Be warned it's so easy to get carried away and overspend, my advice is to set a budget before of what you want to spend and stick to it! 

If you want any help feel free to contact me x  

Batiste Dry Shampoo - limited edition Eden

If you haven't tried it yet the new Eden fragrance is worth a go, suprisingly it doesn't smell quite so dry shampoo esq. It's sweet in fragrance and not too heavy as I've found in the past, with some of the original scents they can be quite overpowering, it only takes the slight flick of your hair and you can smell nothing but dry shampoo. As with the others in the Batiste range it helps to freshen your hair up and add a touch of volume for those days, when you haven't got the time to wash your hair! Plus the packaging is really cute, admittedly that's what drew me towards it in the first place! It's a bargain in superdrug at £1.69 it would be rude not to buy. I hope you find it as useful as me x