Lush Haul ~ Christmas Time!

Hello everyone! As many of you know, I love a good Lush haul; whether it be bath bombs, skincare or soap, I'll always find an excuse to buy myself a few extra bits & pieces to add to my collection. As I'm sure you'll have read round about this time last year, one of the things I particularly like about this brand is their holiday ranges. With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it was time to get my hands on a few festive goodies to share with you all!

Rouge Edition Velvet ~ Christmas Treats

It's that wonderful time of year again; We hit the first of the month & the countdown begins, ticking off the days until it's Christmas Eve. The thing I love most about this time of year is not only the sense of excitement which seems to hit everything & everyone, but the fact that shops everywhere restock to welcome the festive season, especially the big beauty brands! I spotted these wonderful lip colours a few weeks back, & in a variety of shades, I thought they'd be perfect for this year's festivities!

A/W '15 Makeup

Hello lovelies! We've reached my favourite time of year, where the nights get chillier, the socks get fluffier & our beauty routines get a drastic overhaul to help us prepare for the colder weather. However, it's also always a fantastic excuse for a little bit of shopping! One of the best things about autumn & winter, in my opinion, is the changes in the beauty trends we see on a day to day basis; the summery shades we've seen for the past few months are packed away in favour of much more autumnal tones, such a golds, coppers, tans & berries. Read on for a few little bits I've got my hands on recently! 

Bodyshop Party ~ Haul & Review

Hello everyone! I'm feeling very guilty knowing it's been far too long since I last posted on here, what with work & such, & finding the time for blogging just hasn't happened; However, enough with the excuses, I'm very excited to be back & have so many ideas for the coming months! This particular selection of products are so long overdue that it's actually embarrassing just how unorganised I've been, but now here's my Bodyshop haul & review, & I hope you enjoy!

Springtime Makeup

The sudden burst of beautiful weather, topped with the influx of fresh new shades & styles seen on catwalks, has inspired me to go out & find a few treats for myself to ease myself into the new season! Spring has definitely sprung!

Magnitone Lucid Trial & Review

I hope everybody's having a lovely Monday as I come to you with another, extremely overdue blog post! For Christmas {yes, that overdue} I was thrilled to receive this as one of my gifts from my family. I'd heard so much about facial cleansing brushes & knew they could work wonders for your complexion, promising deep pore cleansing & gentle exfoliation, but I always thought they were well out of my price range. However, I discovered the Magnitone Lucid, & simply knew it would be at the top of my Christmas wish list!

Herbalife Results Kit Review

For the past couple of weeks now, I've been trialling this little box of goodies from Herbalife {if you read my last post, you'll know how much I adore these products}. I'd been so excited to get my hands on my own kit after hearing all about it at the pamper night {again, mentioned in the last post}, & so when I got the message that my order had arrived, I was ecstatic. I had such high hopes for this product, after seeing the results achieved for past Herbalife customers, & I have to say, I was not disappointed!

Valentine's Day Treats

Barry M Nail Polish in 'Poppy Silk'

Barry M Nail Polish in 'Nude'

Rimmel London Glam Eyes Palette in 'Pinkadilly Circus'

Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer in 'Celestial'

Rimmel London Wonder'full Mascara in 'Extreme Black'

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche 'La Palette Nude' in '02 Biege'

B. Rich Intense Colour Lipstick in 'Rose Quartz'

Bourjois 'Little Round Pot' Blusher in 'Rose De Jaspe'

Herbalife Mask & Scrub Review

Hello lovelies,

I hope everyone's having a fabulous Wednesday as I come to you with another review post, this time on a few skincare bits & pieces I've been very excited to share with you all! I was recently invited to 'Herbalife Pamper Party' by a lovely friend of mine, Roxy, who works in partnership with Herbalife to promote the brand & help everyone achieve a healthier & happier body, inside & out. It was such a good evening, & we had a chance to try out a variety of the goodies on offer, leaving with a glowing complexion & a deeper insight into better skincare. Two of the products I bought myself were the 'Instant Reveal Berry Scrub' & the 'Purifying Mint Clay Mask', which we tried on the evening & I knew I simply had to get my hands on to trial & review over the coming weeks.

2015 ~ Your Year

Hello everyone! 

I've been meaning to do this blog post since the start of 2015, & had planned what I was going to include even earlier than that, as it's something which I think alot of people think about during the festive season, & that is; What are my New Year's resolutions?

Before now, I'd never been overly keen on making New Year's resolutions, mostly because I'd attempt half-heartedly to stick to them before resolving to my chocolate munching, exercise dodging ways, feeling even worse about my unhealthy habits & kicking myself for not trying that little bit harder. However, something changed in 2014...

I was ever so slightly unhappy. Not only was I unhappy with the way I felt within myself, & my general health & fitness, but unhappy with the way certain aspects of my life were going. I knew something had to change this year, but I had no idea where to start; How do you go about making so many huge changes towards a better way of life? And that's where the key lies; I realised they didn't have to be huge.

If one of your goals is to live a little bit healthier, start small. Make little everyday changes which you can carry forward week by week until you start seeing a difference & it starts becoming a the everyday norm. The key is to cut out the word 'diet' & exchange it for 'way of life'. I know, it sounds tough, & it certainly still seems like a huge obstacle I need to overcome, but choosing to enjoy healthy food everyday has been a huge eye opener for me. Why restrict yourself to boring, calorie counted meals & turn eating into a chore by constantly telling yourself what you 'can't' eat instead of allowing yourself to enjoy trying new things? I've certainly changed my outlook on food this year ~ I still allow myself treats & cheats when I want them, I'm not missing out on those, but in between I make sure I eat healthily, so not only do I enjoy the chocolate & pizza more than ever before, but  also feel fantastic at the same time! It's win win!

I'm also trying to up my fitness a little bit my staying as active as possible. I know a lot of people solely try & amp up their regimes in the new year to achieve that perfect body in time for summer, & don't get me wrong, I honestly wouldn't mind having the physique of a Victoria's Secret model come the warmer months, but for me, it's so much more than that; Everyone I've ever spoken to has said that they always feel a lot better within themselves once they've finished a work out. Sometimes just knowing you've been out & worked hard to take a step towards achieving your goals is enough to put a smile on your face for the rest of the day. The hardest bit is always starting, but once you get into a routine, it does become easier.

I've tried to apply this positive outlook to many other areas of my life too, including my work life & my hobbies {this blog being one of the main focusses; good things come to those who work hard!}. I'm trying to stick to one mantra; Life's too short to be unhappy, & I'm going to do things to reap the benefits of what living positively can do. I'm not going to lie, it doesn't happen overnight, & some things haven't gone the way I wanted them to, quite the opposite, but the key is not to let slip ups effect you in a negative way, & instead see them as a learning curve.

It's time to make 2015 the best year of your life. Have fun, work hard & be happy. Life's too short to be anything less!

Until next time, my lovelies,

Alice xox

The Versatile Blogger Award

I don't know what to say, except a huge thankyou to the gorgeous Beth who has very kindly nominated me for the 'Versatile Blogger Award'! This is such a shock, I've only been blogging for around a couple of months, & so to receive something like this, it's such a step for me; It amazes me that people actually take time out to read the things I talk about on here! This is my first ever blogger's tag, so here goes!

Flicker & Fizz Haul

Before I even start going into the products I've chosen for this post, I have to apologise profusely for the horrendous lack of any activity on this blog for the past few weeks or so; Christmas & New Year have taken up all my time & energy, & I just simply haven't been able to sit down & get anything done! However, I am now back, refreshed & ready for 2015, which I just know is going to be a fabulous year!

This particular post is something I've wanted to do for quite a while now after discovering a gem of an online site earlier in the year & I simply had to share; Let me introduce 'Flicker & Fizz'!