On wednesdays we write wishlists

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE // SIX

It has been so so long since I wrote a wishlist post or even browsed at homeware online in all honesty. I kinda wish I didn't look because now I have about a million and one things that I want to buy but don't have a house to put them in. So sad.

I particularly love the little plant pot with 'grow up' written on it because how ironiiiic! Also, New Look homeware are literally winning at life because they have SO many pretty things - seriously, check them out if you haven't already. Found it pretty odd how I included a bath towel in this post but look at it, it's such a babe.

What's your favourite place to shop for homeware at the moment?

OMG you've never met your real dad?!

I don't really know why I'm writing this post but I want to actually talk about real life things on my blog instead of just makeup reviews and list posts.  I always see people blogging about their travelling tips, that time they swam with a shark or how they got to interview Brad Pitt twice (I might be exaggerating here but I know you get my drift) and I just feel like I'm not interesting enough to write about things that have happened to me. I'm just a gal who loves the internet, who's not necessarily fussed about going on fancy holidays or interviewing celebs (unless Harry Styles, if you're reading, pls let me interview you xx) but I do have real life things I can talk about so I'm going to talk about alllll of them instead.

So, you know when you meet someone new and you start talking about your family and you never mention your Dad and then eventually they're like so what's happened to your Dad and you have to tell them you've never met him and they feel really awkward and you spend the next twenty minutes trying to convince them it's absolutely fine? Nah? Ok.

I'm so sick of people feeling like they have to apologise because it's really not sad that I haven't met him.  I was a one night stand baby, conceived in a car apparently (stay classy, Mum! - jokes, I know you read this) and my Dad didn't really want anything to do with me. I saw him once along with his parents when I was really young but I can't remember any of that because I was about two. My Mum was 2o when she had me and my Dad was maybe, a couple of years older so they were both young and I know that's not an excuse but sometimes these things just happen.

I remember texting him briefly when I was about 12 just because there was something inside me that thought maybe I should get to know him. We text for about two months and he told me how he had a girlfriend and children that had no idea about me but apart from that we just chatted normally. I actually felt very weird about it all, like I was texting a strange old man. I had absolutely no intention of meeting him nor did I even want to know what he looked like so I just didn't bother sending him my new number when I got a new phone and I've not heard off him again since.

The way I see it is that he has a whole family that are probably really happy - why would I want to be the one to ruin that?! If I'd known him, I probably wouldn't have spent as much time with my grandad, uncle and aunty when I was younger and wouldn't have the bond I have with them now. I wouldn't have my brothers and sisters if him and my Mum had stayed together and I wouldn't swap them for the whole world. I might message him now though and ask for all the missed birthday and christmas presents I should have got - JOKES! I don't need him in my life to make myself happy.

I'm really happy with my life the way it is and I like being me. 

FEBRUARY FAVS

Can I just be really generic and say - WHERE HAS THIS MONTH GONE?! We even had an extra day but it feels like it's been super short.  I've not done a favourites post in forever but I'm going to make them a regular thing from now. I'm not wasting any more time babbling on because I've got a lot to say about these products and I don't want to bore you senseless! 

Twinsters Documentary - Not many people know this about me but I have a massive thing for documentaries. I discovered Twinsters by chance on Netflix and thought I'd give it a go. Turns out to be one of the best documentaries I've ever seen! I don't want to spoil it but it's basically about a girl who finds her identical twin sister on the internet. It's a lot more interesting than it sounds. It's one of those things that makes you cry but makes your heart feel all fuzzy at the same time. I think you should watch it if you've got a spare hour and a half (basically the amount of time you spend searching for something to watch on Netflix). 

Emporio Armani Diamonds - I've had this perfume since September and I've always loved it but I've just been more into this month for some reason. It's one of those perfumes that makes you feel instantly stronger and more fierce - do you get what I mean or am I not making sense?! It's very fruity and feminine whilst being grown up at the same time. I even love the bottle despite it being the worst thing to photograph ever. An instagram lovers nightmare. 

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - I feel like everyone is aware of the existence of wake me up. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I'm a huuuge fan of Estee Lauder double wear. I don't wear anything but that normally but recently I've been trying to use a cheaper foundation on days where I'm not really going anywhere special. I love wake me up because of the glow it leaves on your skin, it makes it look illuminated and fresh as if you've drunk gallons of water instead of twelve glasses of vodka. Love it. 

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry in 'Pit Stop' - I'm heavily into grey nail polish at the moment and I can't get enough of this bottle in question mainly because of the brush. The brush is thick and covers your whole nail making application an absolute breeze. You probably only need two coats of this but I like to make sure you can't see any nail whatsoever so I just give it three in case. It dries really quickly anyway so you don't feel like your wasting any time! 

Illamasqua Precision Gel Eyeliner - I appreciate £20 for an eyeliner is quite excessive but this is honestly a DREAM. The eyeliner comes without an applicator so I just use a Maybelline brush I got with an eyeliner once to apply. I've never experienced such perfection, it glides on to your eyelid with ease, no need for a heavy hand. It's the blackest of black and literally doesn't budge all day. It stays the same as when you've first applied it. Well worth £20! 

Duo Eyelash Adhesive -  I've actually a written a whole post on this beauty which you can read here. I had a meltdown last weekend because I couldn't find it anywhere. Thankfully, me and my baby have now been reunited. 

Fake Bake Flawless Darker Self-Tan Liquid - I usually prefer cheaper fake tans ie St Moriz, Cocoa Brown but I've been really into Fake Bake this month. What I like most is how easy it is to apply - literally spritz on the skin and rub it in. It's a lot easier to apply than cheaper tans and the application is less streaky. I really love the colour - it is definitely dark - I wouldn't recommend it for people who are just starting out in the fake tan world because the shade will scare you off for life. Longevity is also great as it stays looking perfect for a good 4 days. 

Superdrug Cucumber Peel Off Mask - This mask takes me back to being about 9 years old when I stole my mum's peel off mask and applied too much of it and stung my eyes so much I thought I'd be blind forever. It couldn't have scarred me that much since it's made it to my favourites though. This one is super refreshing and leaves your skin feeling so clean. It dries pretty quickly too. I love that really tight feeling where you can't wait to just rip it off! 

Have you tried any of these products?! If so, did you love them as much as I do? 

12 things all drunk girls can relate to

One of my favourite things to do at the moment is to get white girl wasted so OBVS I needed to write this post, like really really needed to. If you can relate to 3 of these points, we should be best friends, just saying.

1) Having a few glasses of wine whilst getting ready, feeling super confident and wearing a brand new lipstick that looks incredible until the next day when you check your tagged photos on Facebook and mistake yourself for Ronald McDonald.

2) Meeting girls in the toilet who you literally want to be bezzies with for life then seeing them the next day in town where you both completely blank each other.

3) When you get completely blinded thinking a boy is really funny and really gorgeous and then you wake up with him the morning after and want to drink an ice cold pint of bleach because you need cleansing from the inside.

4) Taking an umbrella out with you because you don't want your fake tan to run but then you get to pub number four and the jagerbomb kicks in and makes you think you're beautiful, wet hair is a good look on you and nobody will even notice that your skin looks like it's covered in Bisto. FUCK THE UMBRELLA.

5) When you wake up vaguely remembering kissing someone the night before and asking him to add you on Facebook only to log into Facebook and see that 40 year old beer bellied Roger has liked all your photos and commented "thanks for last night xx" on your wall.

6) MOVE OVER ZOELLA. In fact, fuck it. Let me spend all my money on triple vodkas, my snapchat story shows I'm a good vlogger and it'll make me famous in the morning anyway. Zoella WHO?

7) Accepting a drink off a boy and then feeling like you have to talk to him for the rest of the night just in case he thinks you're a money grabber.

8) Falling over, shielding yourself with your hair, feeling like Mariah Carey minus the sunglasses but your friend politely reminds you the morning after that you actually looked more Humpty Dumpty and everyone was laughing at you. Fab.

9) "Have cheesy chips and mayo always tasted this amazing? Why have I not been eating this every single day?!" then you go back the next day, order exactly the same thing and your chips are dry, the cheese tastes like plastic and you even get a stray dog hair thrown in for free.

10) Going through your whole wardrobe before you go out while looking at previous night out photos on your phone to make sure you don't wear the same outfit as the week before because that would be devastating.

11) Waking up the next morning, going through your phone only to realise you've messaged your Mum at 3am telling her you love her, repeatedly told people 'i'm dying' and sent a photo of you trying to look sexy with patchy lipstick and rolled back eyes to the boy you fancy. Thanks, alcohol.

12) That moment when you get home and rip your fake eyelashes off, feeling like the absolute Queen of the world, nothing feels better than what you do right now. Fast forward four hours to you waking up dribbling with one eyelash stuck to your cheek.

LASH UNLIMITED | Bargain Lashes?!

YO! I've been meaning to blog about these lovely lashes* I was sent by Lash Unlimited for a week or so now so while I'm waiting for dinner (I can't cook), I thought now was the perfect opportunity. 

I stumbled across Lash Unlimited on Twitter. Normally, I don't like to stray from my beloved Eylure falsies because when you know what you're getting and something is consistently good, you kinda seem to stick to it, right?! but then at the same time, you're like OH, there could be something better, why don't I try something new etc etc. Anyway, my curiosity got the better of me when Lash Unlimited offered to send me some of their lashes and I was excited to see how they'd compare. 

First of all, I want to mention the price.  They're £2.50 a pair, 3 pairs for £6 or 5 pairs for £9. Also, if you spend over £10 you get free postage. SUCH A BARGAIN! I don't normally talk about the cost first because what's the point in a bargain if the product is rubbish, d'you feel me? but I want you to keep it in mind while I'm talking about these beauties. 

I actually really like the packaging - sleek, sturdy, compact and simple. The lashes are stuck on to the plastic so you just peel them off, cut to size, pop on a bit of lash glue and they're ready to plonk on your eyelid (not plonk, carefully place unless you leave it until an hour before you're going out like me and have to manically rush your makeup). I find it really handy that they have the number written on the plastic too so you can easily re-order your favourite style through the Lash Unlimited website. It's worth mentioning that the lashes don't come with glue - personally I prefer this because Duo is the only glue that's ever managed to keep my eyelashes in place all night without having to touch up. You can buy Duo here for £4.37 currently, such a bargain and lasts about a year - can't recommend it enough. 

Ok, so this is a horrendous photo but I don't have any that aren't blurry that show what the lashes look like on! This pair are #2 - they're very natural. I think you'll agree that they don't even look fake?! The lashes were extremely easy to apply and didn't stretch or fall apart when I removed them from the plastic (Primark lashes, i'm looking at you). They're really well made. 

All in all, I would one hundred percent replace my Eylure babies with these. I can't wait to order a million more pairs from Lash Unlimited. I'm thinking about #6 and #9, might just buy all of them. 

You can also follow Lash Unlimited on Instagram - @lashunlimited and Twitter - @lashunlimiteduk.

Have you heard of Lash Unlimited?! If you've tried them, what did you think? 

13 things you don't realise until you live alone

YO YO YO! I actually say yo in real life despite me being the most non gangster person you'll ever meet.  So after moving back home to live with my Grandad, I was like GOD, there are so many things nobody tells you about living alone and then this blog post was born. Hope ya like it!

1. You actually have to do the washing up every single day unless of course you leave it 'til the next day meaning you have DOUBLE the amount of washing up.

2. Get ready to face your fears because you will need to confront those spiders/moths/wasps/other creepy crawlies head on. Lets face it, there will probably be tears.

3. SORRY, HOW MUCH IS THAT CHEESE?! I'll just buy those plastic cheese singles instead.

4. Remembering to pay bills is hard but finding the best deals on internet/sky is even harder. Comparison sites will take over your life!

5. The cleaning aisle in Tesco will be the most exciting yet overwhelming place ever. What's the difference between multi surface and multi action?! Do I buy wood polish or glass polish or do I just buy a multi one?! LIFE IS HARD!

6. Your heart drops when your friend drops a bit of his food on your floor. DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW LONG I SPENT HOOVERING THIS?!

7. You will buy countless amounts of tea towels that all seem to disappear whenever you need one.

8. The feeling of cracking out a brand spanking new washing up sponge will brighten up your day.

9.  You will seriously consider eating 32p noodles for a week just so you can afford that £25 lipstick.

10.  Being ill and having nobody else in the house is the worst. You have to make your own soup and drinks and there's nobody there to just go out and buy you lucozade!

11. Why did nobody teach me how to change a bulb and more importantly, what replacement bulb do I need to buy? THERE ARE HUNDREDS.

12. You will quickly learn that nightmares = sleepless nights and ten trips to the front door to make sure it's locked.

13. Cleaning a toilet makes you gag and accidentally touching the toilet without gloves will actually make you full on vom.

Are there any more things that you didn't realise about living alone?!

Seventeen Define and Conquer Contour Kit Review

It's been forever since I posted a beauty review which is odd since I talk about makeup 80% of the time.  I came across photos of the Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Kit when browsing through some forgotten folders and I genuinely cannot believe I haven't already blogged about this little beauty gem!

If you've read my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm a massive fan of Seventeen. Every single product I've tried from the brand has ended up as a makeup staple and since i'm a contour enthusiast I needed this nifty little kit in my life.

I particularly like the packaging - it's sturdy, black, photogenic and small enough to pop in your makeup bag.  The kit comes in either fair or medium. In hindsight, I kind of wish I'd bought the medium one as I fake tan quite a lot so it'd probably be more effective. However, at the time of purchase I was reppin' the pale gal look so I shouldn't moan too much. The kit contains a highlighter and contour which are both SHIMMER free. It's so difficult to find both highlight and contour shades that are completely matte so well done Seventeen, you complete babes.

As you can see, both the highlighter and contour are quite subtle which means you can layer to your hearts content until you reach your desired shade and you won't look cakey - massive plus point!  The kit is perfect for those just starting out with contour and for it's teeny £5.99 price tag, even if you decide it's not for you, it won't break the bank.  Try it, I dare ya.

13 things you'll be all too familiar with if you're a regular Tinder user

One of the most exciting parts since recently becoming a single gal is being able to download Tinder.  Gone are the days of playing Tinder on my friends phones and I'm now living the actual life of Tinderella.  Naturally, since I live for list posts, this one is dedicated to the most seedy dating app around.  Here are 13 things you'll be able to relate to if you're a regular Tinds (yeah, I just abbreviated that) user:

1. Feeling soz for someone who has super liked you and liking them back despite you not even fancying them.

2. When you run out of people in your area and panic because NOW YOU'VE GOT TO ACTUALLY SPEAK TO PEOPLE YOU'VE MATCHED WITH.

3. Matching with the most beautiful person you've ever seen only for them to message you with 'how r u hun, luv ur legs wrapped round my neck'. Dream over.

4. Getting a seriously long paragraph message whilst you're busy doing something and thinking you'll reply later, only you forget and then get a really abusive message about how you've ruined their day. Awks. Unmatch, UNMATCH, UNMATCH.

5. Matching with someone purely because they're your mate in real life. To then receive a message asking how long you've wanted to sleep with them for...pass me a bucket, I'm gonna vom.

6. Meeting someone out in public who you didn't respond to on Tinder and feeling totes guilty because they were actually cute. Sob.

7. You have to regularly change your bio in a desperate attempt to stop all the samey messages. USE YOUR IMAGINATION, BOYS!

8. You see enough 'hey, hows you x' messages to make you want to drink a pint of bleach. Ok, maybe not that extreme.

9. Matching with someone seriously hot who you have no mutual friends with and slyly trying to message them cryptic questions to make sure they're not your sister/ex boyfriend/work colleague.

10. Getting angry at a message because it's a blatant copy and paste that they spam all their tinder hoe's with...I WANT TO BE YOUR ONLY ONE *imagine broken heart emoji here*

11. Having tons of laugh out loud bants with a hottie so you give him your number only to get instantly whatsapped a dick pic.  Throw me that Bridget Jones dvd, I'm gonna be single for life.

12. Speaking to a guy for a while and thinking, I'll have a cheeky stalk browse of his Facebook...married with three kids and a dog. Thanks, life.

13. The guys that won't give you their facebook profile because they "hardly go on it"...YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE, JACK, 28 AND YOU KNOW IT. At this point you can either stop talking or become Sherlock...I become Sherlock.

Soz, can't write anymore...I'm off to POF.

11 pieces of life advice for 2016

AS IF 2015 is basically over! I wrote a facebook status earlier about how the only thing I've managed to achieve this year is how to wing my eyeliner and it kinda just made me want to write on my little, accidentally abandoned blog.  I did actually learn how to wing my eyeliner but I also learnt a lot of life lessons.  Saying that, I go from a thinking I'm on top of the world, completely in control of my life, basically Beyonce kinda person to wanting to be 9 years old again. Life, you're really weird. 

So while I'm waiting for my fake tan to dry, here are eleven things you can do in 2016 that will make you a happier you:

1. Always trust your instinct - 99% of the time you will be right. 

2. Be happy you're an adult - you're allowed to have chocolate for breakfast and nobody will question you (do it in secret). You can leave your house at whatever time you want and nobody will tell you you can't. THERE'S LITERALLY SO MANY PERKS TO BEING GROWN UP. 

3. Be more forgiving - it's silly to hold a grudge. It's even sillier when you miss the person you're holding the grudge over and I bet they miss you too. 

4. If you like someone, tell them - life is too short for games unless they're Scrabble or Cluedo, obvs. Just be real because at the end of the day, you've really got nothing to lose. 

5. Give a conversation your full attention - I'm so guilty of having my phone in my hand 24/7. I'm making a conscious effort to stop what I'm doing and put my phone down when somebody speaks face to face with me because lets face it, that person isn't going to be in the world forever. 

6. Be thankful - always always always be appreciative of what you do have. There's always someone in a worse position than you. Be thankful even when you've just applied fake tan, have eaten some cereal, tried to drink the rest of the milk out of the bowl, have dribbled milk down your chin and it's new years eve and now your tan is going to be patchy (thank you, God). 

7. Don't expect people to understand what you're going through - whether it's a family member, friend or person you've just met, some people just can't relate and that's ok. Don't hold it against them. 

8. Act on impulse - everyone thinks this is a bad thing but if you want something in the moment, you want it. If you don't do it, you're left thinking 'what if'. If the thing you do on impulse is wrong, you've learnt a lesson. There is literally no down side. 

9. It's ok for a girl to make the first move - we live in a world where a boy can get criticised for holding a door open for a girl (erm, what?) but a girl won't text a boy first? Girl, you text him and then text him again when he doesn't reply, then phone him and then leave him an angry voicemail. Joking, but seriously, do text him first. It's refreshing and exciting. 

10. Be happy for people - when everyone is getting promotions, getting engaged and having babies and you've only just accomplished the perfect water to pot noodle ratio, it's easy to be bitter. DON'T BE BITTER. Be happy for them because that will be you soon. You just need to wait your turn. It's not about competing in life. 

11. Love yourself - anyone else singing Biebs right now? Seriously though, you're you. Nobody else can be you and nobody else will love you more than you love yourself. This sentence confuses me a bit but I think it makes sense (please tell me it does). 

Hope 2016 is the best year for everyone! 

13 things that only girls who are obsessed with makeup will understand

1.  You have to make a conscious effort not to let your jaw drop/eyes widen when your friend doesn't know what contouring is. 

2. When you swatch a lipstick in Boots and fall head over heels in love with the shade only to get home to realise you actually already own it. Oops. A backup never hurt anyone though, right?!

3.  You might already own 30 highlighters but this one is just different, OK?!

4. When you ask your sister if you can borrow some makeup wipes and she gives you a single wipe. ONE WIPE?! You think it took me an hour and a half to apply a wipes worth of makeup? Get real, sistaaaa.

5. You spend most days tired because you stay awake until ridiculous AM screenshotting hot girls' makeup on instagram. 

6. You actually want to cry when your MAC lip gloss starts smelling like vinegar and you have to throw it away. Sob. 

7. De-cluttering your makeup collection is the worst time of your life. YOU JUST LOVE EVERYTHING! 

8. Your MAC lipsticks are like your children. Literally. 

9. Your boyfriend edges away from you when you go to cuddle him because of those 2048293 times you ruined his t-shirt with foundation stains. Sozza. 

10. You don't even blink when the cashier in Debenhams tells you your makeup purchases are £237 but you turn around and your mum's fainted. 

11. You go into Superdrug with the intention of buying a deodorant and tampons and come out with 6 lipsticks, 3 nail polishes, 5 bronzers and a beauty blender. 

12. When you spend two hours on your makeup and finally master the perfect winged eyeliner to then find out it looks horrendous in photos. Camera, why you deceiving me?!

13. You can't properly focus on the story line of any film/tv show because you're too busy trying to work out what shade of lipstick your fav character is wearing. 

REAL TALK

Hiiii! Remember me? 

I've not blogged for almost four months. FOUR MONTHS. That's like, 120 days. It actually makes me feel a bit sad and a bit mad but the only person I can blame for the lack of posts is myself.  I think when you don't blog for a long time, it's harder for you to get back into it.  Even now writing this post, I've written and deleted about 20 sentences - it's almost like I've forgotten how to string a sentence together! What's even harder is when you stop reading blogs too which obvs I have done because I go from one extreme to the other - there's no in between with me! I feel completely out of touch with the whole blogging world. I've even stopped tweeting which is odd for me as I think twitter is my fav social media site ever - actually maybe second after instagram. 

I didn't think it was right for me to delve straight in with a normal post like I haven't even been away because that'd just be weird wouldn't it? Not just for all of you but for me too. I feel like I needed to write a bit of an explanation post although I'm not sure this is an explanation post it's kind of just me writing my feelings down and hoping you understand (please say you do).  

I started writing this little blog when I couldn't cope with my anxiety. I wrote it so I had something that was mine to focus on. I've always loved writing and I've loved makeup for as long as I can remember so it just made sense! I remember how excited I would get when I'd stay up late writing a post and refreshing the page constantly on my phone to see if it had got any comments.  I remember reaching 10 followers and feeling like the most popular blogger in the world. I remember the first time a company sent me a product to review and feeling so proud that they cared about my opinion. I miss that. 

I'm not going to lie, I have thought that maybe I should just give up on Glitter and Carousels now. I would question whether this blog is really any good and whether people enjoyed reading it. I'm one of those people that compares themselves to everything and everyone. I'm never content with being me but I'm working on it because the only thing I really want out of life is to be happy.  I mainly have these thoughts while listening to James Bay's sad songs so maybe I should just quit him instead.  

When I really think about it - I don't want to give up on this blog! I know I don't have a massive following but 900+ bloglovin' followers is craaaazy for an inconsistent blogger like me! Although I don't want to give up on this blog, I want to take it into a new direction. I want to do more talk-y posts like this one. I want to talk about real life experiences. I want to talk about stuff that other people don't. I basically just want every post to be 100% me. I don't want to feel like I'm writing about things because they'll get a lot of views or because every other person in the world is writing about them too. I also need to be more consistent and sort out designated days of when to post and write posts in advance. 

The worst thing for me is that in January I told myself this year would be the year I'd really make my blog work and put in allllll my effort but it hasn't worked out like that and it's made me feel like a bit of a failure. Still, if at first you don't succeed, try try again...right?!

If you've read this whole post then THANK YOU! If you've followed my blog while I've not been posting then THANK YOU! and lastly, if you've stuck with me this wholeeeee time then a massive THANK YOU. You have no idea how much it means. 

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.

13 reasons why your mum will always be your BFF

It's my Mum's birthday today and unfortunately, I haven't been able to spend it with her thanks to living 230 miles away.  I know it sounds cliche but I honestly didn't appreciate my Mum as much as I thought I did until moving away! I'm not good with emotional stuff so instead of writing a long gushy facebook message (like my sister did!), I thought I'd write a little post dedicated to my Mum that I think a lot of you will also be able to relate to. Here are 13 reasons why your mum will always be your best friend!

1. Whether you want a rant, cry or just need someone to talk to, you can call your mum at absolutely any time for a chat and you know she'll be there to listen.  A chat with your mum will instantly brighten your mood.

2. She will always cook you your favourite meals when you go home to visit and won't complain about having to make multiple trips out to buy forgotten ingredients!

3. You can tell her your deepest darkest secrets and she won't judge you for it.

4. She makes the best cakes. I think Mum's just have a secret ingredient because I can never get my cakes to taste like hers *insert heart broken emoji here*

5. You know that lost MAC lipstick that's been missing for ages? YOUR MUM WILL FIND IT IN ABOUT 0.10 SECONDS!

6. She will give you the confidence to do anything your heart desires, be it an interview for your dream job, wearing that dress you don't think looks good or conquering the world single handedly.

7. When you've got a weird rash on your hand and you don't know what it is, your mum will be able to give you the answer instantly. I mean, she's practically a doctor with the amount of Casualty she's watched in her time.

8. You can sing your heart off in front of her and instead of laughing at you, she'll just join in instead.

9. She would give you her last £1 in the world because she'd rather herself go without than you.

10. She'll support you with anything even if she doesn't necessarily agree with said thing!

11. All she ever cares about is your happiness. She'd never bitch about you behind your back and would put anyone straight if they even tried.

12. She may be double your age but you still have so much in common - perfumes, makeup, clothes & music!

13. Your mum will always be there for you and will be the one person you can rely on for life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!

L'oreal Infallible 24 Hour Matte Foundation - Is it really an Estee Lauder dupe?!

After reading reviews that the L'oreal Infallible 24 hour matte foundation was a great dupe for Estee Lauder Double Wear, I knew I had to have it. Estee Lauder double wear is my absolute favourite foundation EVER and I'd pretty much given up hope on finding a drugstore alternative.

L'oreal Infallible 24 hour matte foundation retails at £6.99 and comes in six different shades.  It'd be nice to have a few more shades in the collection as I couldn't find one that matched my skin perfectly. The closest shade to my skin tone was 'Vanilla'. I find the bottle really useful as it tells you exactly what to expect from the foundation - medium texture and high coverage.  I also like the fact it's in a see through bottle so there's no element of surprise when you're about to run out!

I've applied the foundation with a beauty blender and a makeup brush and there's not much difference in the way it applies.  As the liquid is quite light, it blends easily and smoothly.  The only thing I would say is that you need to use a good primer underneath the foundation as it does stick to all your dry patches - sigh!

As for the coverage, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. If it wasn't for me thinking I had the Estee Lauder drugstore alternative right in my very hands, I think I'd have liked it more. I set my expectations waaay too high! Personally I think the coverage is more on the medium side than high.  One layer doesn't cover my blemishes so I tend to apply two unless I'm having a fab skin day.  Once applied, the foundation does look very natural and I do love the way it sits on my skin so I've been wearing this for work during the week. The packaging states that the product should last 24 hours but I'd say it starts to go patchy after around 7 hours.

For £6.99, I would recommend picking this up as it is a nice foundation considering how inexpensive it is but the search for the drugstore Estee Lauder dupe continues...

10 beauty tips you need to try!

A benefit to having a family full of girly girls means that we are always sharing our beauty tips and tricks with each other.  Today I want to share some of my favourite beauty tips with you in the hope that you'll find something new to revolutionise your beauty routine.

• If you've ran out of shaving cream, hair conditioner makes a fab alternative! Silky smooth legs, come at me. 

• Dabbing a tiny amount of toothpaste on a spot before bed will sting for a couple of seconds but you'll be thankful in the morning when it's pretty much cleared up.

• If you fancy a lay in, cover your hair in dry shampoo before bed. You'll look like a grannie but you'll have fresher than fresh tresses in the morning!

•  Cover your brows in Vaseline before plucking. It'll reduce plucking pain and slicks back the hairs making it easier for you to pinpoint the ones that need to go. 

• Mixing your foundation with your primer makes for the perfect application. Trust me and try it! 

•  If you've ran out of eyeliner and NEED that feline flick on your lids, dip a small brush into your mascara wand et voila!

• COCONUT OIL WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I've written a full post on the benefits of Coconut Oil here. 

• Popping your nail polish in your fridge for an hour will make the application process a lot smoother. 

• A face full of sudocrem may not look sexy but you will wake up with the softest skin ever ever ever. 

• Ever found a beautiful lipstick that you wish was made in blusher form? Sweep your blush brush across your lipstick and apply to your cheeks. It makes an amazing substitute for a cream blusher.

What's your favourite beauty tip?!

Current Favourite Pink Lipsticks

As mentioned a million times on my blog, I'm a huge pink lipstick enthusiast. I'm just instantly gravitated towards them and it's getting out of hand, is there some sort of support group for my obsession please?  I thought it was only right that I blogged about my current favourite pink lipsticks as they're basically all I ever wear!

From left to right; Collection Deluxe Lipstick in 'Speak Easy', Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Elusive', Rimmel Provocalips in 'I'll call you', Seventeen Lip Crayon in 'Playful' and MAC 'Pink Plaid'. 

Collection Deluxe Lipstick in 'Speak Easy' - I actually found this in a bargain bin in Tesco and couldn't work out the brand for a while. At first I thought it was Bourjois then I noticed the little Collection dotted logo on the lid. I snapped it up and we've been best pals ever since (yeah, I just referred to my lipstick as my 'pal', awks). It's a creamy hot pink shade that glides on to the lips with no effort whatsoever! Longevity is around 3 hours which isn't the best but for £3.99, it's well worth a buy!

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Elusive' - This is my current favourite out of the whole bunch. I'm a bit obsessed with matte finishes at the moment and this shade is PERFECT for spring! I've written a whole post on this beauty here if you're interested in reading more. 

Rimmel Provocalips in 'I'll call you' - I think the Provocalips range are a bit of a Marmite situation and as this is featured in this post, obvs I love them.  They're a little difficult to work with but after a few applications you get the hang of it! You pop on the liquid lipstick then seal it with the clear gloss type balm at the other end of the tube. It feels a little drying but nothing a little bit of lip balm won't fix. I love this darker pink shade and it stays put all day, literally ALL day.

Seventeen Lip Crayon in 'Playful' - This lip crayon feels and looks like a light gloss on your lips. It's sheer but buildable so perfect if you only want a little bit of colour but heaps of shine. 

MAC 'Pink Plaid' - Ok so Pink Plaid is my all time favourite MAC lipstick! It's a soft toned matte pink that will suit every skintone going. It lasts around 5/6 hours on the lips which is pretty standard for a MAC lipstick in my opinion. Revlon's Pink Pout is a perfect dupe for Pink Plaid if you don't fancy splashing out on this MAC baby. 

What's your current favourite lipstick?