Current Favourites #1

HI! There's a combination of reasons why I don't post about my favourite products every month.  One, I'm incredibly fussy when it comes to products and I don't often find things that I can truly call my favourites! & two, when I find a favourite product, I tend to use it until it runs out meaning that it's my favourite for a couple of months! PHEW, how many times can I use the word favourite? I've wrote it so much I've forgotten it's meaning. Anyway, ON WITH THE POST!

First up is my favourite Primark find this year - a white pineapple candle which obvs i'm never going to burn because it's too pretty! It set me back a teeny tiny £3 and I just love it so much! Primark have totally upped their novelty candle game.

I've actually had the Lauren's Way bronzing lotion since December. I picked it up in two shades - Medium and Dark both in the lotion forms as I find mousse leaves my tan looking patchy. The reason why I'm including the medium tan instead of the dark is because it's just such a natural looking tan, especially for pale girls who aren't wanting the total Essex orange glow. It lasts for around 5 days before starting to fade and unlike a lot of other fake tans, you don't get that scaley tan look.  It is a tad on the pricey side at £15.95 but it's well worth it.

My hair's so long now that it looks a little limp when it's down and I was in a desperate quest to find an alternative to backcombing as that just tends to ruin my hair completely.  I tried just using dry shampoo but it wasn't quite giving me the volume that I wanted so I purchased Batiste's XXL plumping powder. OH MY GOD, I love this product! All you do is sprinkle a little bit of the powder into your roots and massage it in with your finger tips. It's literally as simple as that and you're left with voluminous locks! There's absolutely no trace of the powder too, it massages in completely. For £3.99, I don't know why you wouldn't want the plumping powder in your life.

There's a funny story about the Vera Wang Love Struck perfume. I actually bought this months ago but lost it whilst tidying my house! I was convinced my boyfriend had thrown it out and even made him root through the bin *insert sick emoji here* and erm, then I found it in a box of products to review under my bed. AWKS. I'm not going to lie, I bought this perfume for the bottle - seriously, look at it! It's so princessy and beautiful but the scent is amazing too. It's very fruity but has a subtle hint of vanilla. I've got a feeling I'll be wearing this a lot over Summer.

I don't think you can buy either of these necklaces in shops anymore but for some reason, I've been trying to find excuses to wear one practically everyday! I just love the way they can transform an otherwise plain outfit and will make you feel all fancy when you're wearing it. The mint green one was from New Look and the blue one was from a little outlet sale so I have no idea where it was originally from.

I can't get enough of fresh glowy makeup at the moment so I've been reaching for a highlighter almost every single day.  I've fallen head over heels in love with the Makeup Revolution vivid baked highlighter in 'Golden Lights'. I love the way it glows on your skin and the fact just a sweep makes a difference.  It's also a really nice product to layer and build up to your desired amount of glowy-ness and it stays put all day! You literally could not ask for a better product for £3.

I feel like I can't stop talking about Seventeen! Every single product of theirs completely appeals to me and I just want EVERYTHING! Seventeen's Mirror Shine Lipstick in 'Barely Blush' has been my lipstick of choice this month purely because of the colour. I don't think I own any other shades as natural looking as this. It's quite sheer when applied but you can also build up the colour if you want to.

My final fav is Models Own's Pink Fizz nail polish. I have a bit of a problem with wearing certain glitter polishes in the Summer as I think they look quite christmassy. With Pink Fizz, I feel comfortable wearing it in any season with any colour of nail polish. It always looks good! It's my fail safe, back up glitter polish without a doubt.

What's your current favourite product?

The Body Shop Banana Shampoo and Conditioner

So this is a little bit of a delayed post considering I actually received the Body Shop Banana shampoo and conditioner as a gift at Christmas! At £4.50 each for 250ml of product, they're not exactly the cheapest hair washing duo around but as you don't come across banana scented products all that often, my heart just wanted them.

My first impression was that the banana scent in the bottle wasn't as strong as I'd hoped.  It actually reminded me of a banana milkshake that I always used to have at a cafe which was mixed with honey. You can really smell the honey in this product so if you're not a fan then steer clear.

The shampoo doesn't lather much at all. I always think products aren't working properly when they don't lather much so that was a little disappointing, however, once washed off, my hair did feel squeaky clean.  The banana scent is a lot stronger once you get to massaging it into your scalp, it's heavenly.  I'm lost for words regarding the conditioner, there's really not much to say about it at all. It's truly average.

Once I'd dried my hair, the banana scent had completely disappeared and there was no noticeable difference to my hair. Obviously it looked clean but there was no extra shine and it wasn't easier to manage etc.

I am glad I tried the Body Shop banana shampoo and conditioner purely for the scent but I won't be repurchasing this duo ever again.

Have you tried any of the Body Shop's shampoo and conditioners?

10 things to do to prevent a panic attack

Anxiety is something that I suffer with on a daily basis and will probably live with for the rest of my life.  I used to get panic attacks quite frequently but after having anxiety for around 9 years, I've learnt quite a lot of techniques to distract myself when I can feel them coming on. Panic attacks are horrific, by far the worst thing that has ever happened to me and I know how scary it is especially when it's your first one and you have no idea what it is. These techniques work for me so I'm really hoping you'll be able to find at least one that works for you too!

•  Go outside - focus on the clouds and the outdoorsy sounds around you.  It'll help you feel less trapped and the change of scenery will distract you. 

• Think about how many things you've already overcome - often when we get panic attacks we feel silly and half of the time we're not even sure what we're panicking about! Just lie down and think about all the other panic attacks you've had and all the great stuff you've achieved in life. This panic attack will not win, you can beat it. 

• Pinch yourself - I know this sounds ridiculous but this is actually the most effective way for me to stop a panic attack from coming on! Whenever I start feeling a little odd, I'll either pull a strand of my hair or pinch myself - not very hard but hard enough to feel a little bit of pain. It stops my mind from panicking and puts it on to the physical pain I'm feeling instead. 

• Tweet about how you're feeling - there are tons of supportive people on Twitter who can relate to exactly how you're feeling and will offer you so many words of wisdom when your anxiety is at it's worst. It'll make you feel 10 times better knowing you're not alone.

•  Paint your nails - This is a pretty difficult task to do when you can feel a panic attack approaching, you might be shakey and it'll take serious skills to paint your nails but stick with it because you'll be using 100% of your concentration meaning that that pesky panic attack is going awaaaay.

•  Quotes, quotes and more quotes - I have a whole load of quotes I stole from Pinterest saved on my phone. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I'll read ten or so and they'll instantly improve my mood. 

• Ring someone who understands - this is one for when you're alone! Don't ring a friend who doesn't understand anxiety and will just tell you 'you're fine' and to 'stop worrying'. Ring someone who's suffered with panic attacks before, just knowing they're at the end of the phone will be a comfort even if you just spend the whole of the phonecall crying.

• Rescue Remedy - My mum introduced me to the Rescue Remedy pastilles but it also comes in a spray. I tend to keep a tub of the pastilles in my bag for when I'm feeling particularly anxious. There isn't any sort of medicine in Rescue Remedy, it's all natural ingredients so I don't know how it works but it does! 

• Get more sleep than usual - I know it's all well and good saying go to sleep earlier particularly if you have trouble sleeping because of anxiety but a good nights sleep will make you feel calmer and more rational.  I tend to notice my anxiety is at it's worst when I lack sleep.

•  BREATHE! - Make yourself a cup of tea, hot chocolate or any other drink that takes your fancy and sit yourself down on the sofa and breathe. Breathe in and out until your heart stops racing and after a couple of minutes you should feel a lot more relaxed.

I really hope these tips were useful to you, please let me know if they are! Do you have any other tips for dealing with panic attacks?

A peek into my week #4

HELLO! I haven't done a post like this in ages and since I actually did something other than work this week, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity!

I went to TK Maxx yesterday (Saturday) and picked up this floral to do list pad complete with a little clipboard. I thought it came with a pencil but the pencil is actually a pen - totally fooled me. I did originally go in for some pretty notebooks with quotes on but there weren't any unfortunately, still, £4.99 for this little baby isn't too bad.  I also bought the pink Tangle Angel brush from TK Maxx for £7.99.  I love my tangle teezer but it doesn't have a handle so I'm hoping this is basically a tangle teezer with a handle?! I'll let you know when I know.

On Tuesday evening, my boyfriend and I went to see Derren Brown. We hadn't planned to go but his Mum had tickets and decided she didn't want to go so we jumped at the opportunity! I've watched Derren a few times on tv and was a little scared I'd get hypnotised and majorly embarrass myself but thankfully I was fully in control of my mind! There were two parts to the show - one where Derren would correctly guess words people had written down, guess what type of Quality Street random people in the audience were eating, he even ate glass and also convinced a lady to do the same (wtf!).  The second part of the show was all about healing, everyone had to stand up, close their eyes and imagine exactly what Derren was reciting (something about being on a beach and feeling the sand in between your toes and seeing the best you walk across to you). A handful of people claimed their aches and pains had miraculously disappeared and Derren obviously guessed which part of the body the pain had disappeared from.

I did enjoy watching Derren but I definitely wouldn't pay a lot of money to go again.  I don't believe he has special powers, more like a really good psychology degree. It just goes to show if you think something, you really can do it! Your mind is the most powerful thing in the world.

I took my first trip to Prezzo's yesterday as my boyfriend had converted our Tesco clubcard points into Prezzo vouchers. It's actually a pretty amazing deal - £2.50 worth of clubcard points is worth £10 in Prezzo vouchers! I'd definitely recommend doing it if you love eating out or fancy a little treat. 

I have to say, I do have a cold at the moment so I don't know if the food tasted better than I think! For my main meal, I had the Fusilli Gorgonzola whilst Andy had the Calzone. I thought mine was pretty average - pasta, chicken, really hard(!) broccoli, ham and leek but Andy's calzone was so nice, I definitely picked the wrong meal! For dessert I had the chocolate fudge cake with ice cream whilst Andy went for the honeycomb smash cheesecake. Both desserts were really good but I'm just not sure I'd ever pay full price for a meal at Prezzo's!

The most exciting part of my week was the return of Pretty Little Liars, eeeeek! I'm not going to write anything about the actual episode as I know a lot of people are still just making their way through series 1-5. All I'll say is that I hope this really is the season of answers because I have SO MANY QUESTIONS! I mean, do the producers even know who A is because it's hurting my head. If you want to chat all things PLL, follow me on twitter @glitzcarousels and we can DM all day long about it.

I used to live in Scotland and I fell in love with cheesy macaroni much to my Mum's disgust as she hates the stuff. I found it in Farmfoods for £1 so naturally snapped up a few boxes! I just absolutely love this, it's quite orange once cooked and tastes so cheesy and artificial. It sounds so unappetising and I guess it is so I can't really explain why this is the most delicious pasta dish I've ever tasted.

How's your week been?!

Bourjois Instant Dry Nail Drops

I've been a bit lazy with my nails lately. I don't know why but I started to dread painting my nails and instead of painting them around 3 times a week, I painted them about once every two weeks which is shocking if you look at the amount of nail polish I own.

I started to think about why I couldn't be bothered to paint my nails and the number one reason was because the drying time was just far too long. In a bid to restore my nail polish love, I purchased the Bourjois Instant Dry Nail Drops on a complete whim after reading zero reviews on it. I had tried a nail drying product before - Elegant Touch's Rapid Dry spray which I got in a Glossybox some time ago but I hadn't found it to work very well at all which is why I opted for the drops over another spray type drying product.

On first impressions, the bottle is packaging is pretty basic - nothing particularly special or eye catching but what I really liked was the little droplet, it kind of makes me feel like a scientist. The instructions say to add a droplet of the nail drying oil onto each nail after applying your polish so that's exactly what I did! I noticed that the oil also sank into my cuticles and spread quickly so that it covered my whole nail. I thought that the product would have quite a 'chemical' scent but it's completely scent free! It's as if you're just dropping a bit of water on to your nail with a slight touch of grease and although I say grease, the oil does absorb within a couple of minutes so you're not completely greasy.

When a product says it'll dry quickly, I expect it to dry quickly! None of the whole sitting around for 10 minutes just in case it hasn't dried properly.  I put the nail drops to the test and after two minutes brushed the nail polish against my skin. The nail polish was completely untouched, just as I'd applied it and I was pretty excited, I have to admit. Not content enough with that I decided to dig a nail into the polish to see if it'd leave me with any dents and to be honest, there was a slight dent but I definitely expected that since my nail polish had been on for a grand total of around three minutes.

I honestly cannot get enough of this product. For £5.99, I think the Bourjois Instant Dry Nail Drops need to be in every girls nail routine and I'm pretty hard to please so you know it must be good if I say that! Obviously you can't go and open shampoo lids and your Pandora bracelet clip (BEST WAY TO CHIP YOUR NAILS, EVERRRR) but you can do everyday stuff like go for a wee and pull your pyjama bottoms up after just 5 minutes of painting your nails and I think that is pretty fantastic.

Have you heard of this product before?! I hadn't before eyeing it up on the Boots website.