so last week i went to my work on my day off for afternoon tea. i've worked at olive & bean, a cafe right in the centre of newcastle for nearly two years now and have never actually had afternoon tea there before! so i decided it was about time i tried it as it always looks so yummy. we chose just an english breakfast tea which you get endless refills of. i got my sandwiches all vegetarian and shaun got all MEAT because he is a real man. we got a really nice selection of our homemade cakes, my favourite that we make at work is the raspberry & hazelnut baked cheesecake brownie (what a mouthful!) to my delight we got loads of that in our selection, i'm guessing it's because the people i work with know how much i love it haha. we also got some carrot and walnut cake, chocolate and caramel slab and a cranberry tiffin. yum yum. the homemade fruit scones and clotted cream were delish but i couldn't finish mine as they're huge and so filling! :( they'd been made fresh that morning by my boss so they were super good. i think i'll definitely be going back on my days off to get another afternoon tea, it's the perfect amount of food to fill you up and the fact you get endless tea/coffee is great for those lazy afternoons when you just wanna sit and chat about nothing for hours on end. :) (afternoon tea - £13.99 @ olive & bean on clayton street in newcastle!)

outfit #2

dress - topshop petite (£28) / boots - primark (£10ish?!) / necklace - gift / belt - accessorise (£5)

i am in love with this dress, i don't usually go for bodycon or midi length but this dress is just yes. it's perfect to wear out shopping or to go for a wander round town but at the same i could wear it out to a meal or for drinks, you can easily change it from casual to a bit more dressed up just by changing shoes or adding some different accessories! it's super comfy and i love that it isn't that cheap bodycon material where it just goes all misshapen after one wear. i'll definitely be wearing this one to death over the coming months.

recent buys

apologies for the awful iphone photo, my camera battery has died and i couldn't be bothered to find the charger! 

 i've bought these makeup items over the past few weeks or so. the best purchases i made have got to be the blush and the middle lipstick. they're both by 'dainty doll' (nicola roberts pale skin makeup range) which sell for around £20 per item in boots. i was wandering around town one day and realised this little makeup stall was selling all sorts from the range for only a few pounds! i grabbed myself a powder blush in shade 001, this pinky cream blush also in shade 001 - which i'm in love with! and a pale pink lipstick in shade 005. i also picked up my favourite rimmel lipstick in 006 'pink blush'. this was probably one of the first lipsticks i first started using when i was younger and i still love it and wear it all the time. it's the perfect go-to every day baby pink, and it smells and tastes amazing too ha! i then went to mac and picked up the lipstick 'please me' which i've been trying to get my hands on for ages but it's always out of stock arghh. i finally managed to get it though and i really like it. finally i got this barry m glitter nail polish which is shade 349 'rose quartz'. i love glitter nail polish at the moment. i haven't actually been able to try this on yet because i can't wear glitter polish where i work, but i have a week off coming up very soon so i'm excited to try this out then!

what have you been buying over the past month? give me some good products i should look at when i get paid on friday! :) xo

random purchases!

real techniques expert face brush - boots (£9.99) / real techniques blush brush - boots (£9.99) / nars sheer glow - space nk (£30.50) / heart dish - ikea (£2 ish?!) / gavin & stacey box set - hmv (£10 sale) / umberto giannini root boost - boots (£5.49) / speed dial lipstick - mac (£14) - mandarin clove & cinnamon oil - m&s (£3) / floral bed set - ikea (£10)

here are some things i've bought over the last two or three weeks. :) i finally caved and thought i would try the real techniques brushes and it's safe to say i am not disappointed! i'll definitely be purchasing a few more when payday comes around. while in boots i also bought myself a new bottle of root boost by umberto giannini, it's amazing! i've never used a root boost spray that really makes a difference but the tiniest amount of this goes a long way. i bought some more sheer glow foundation by nars because it is my one true love and i can't be without it! 

my mum got me this mandarin clove & cinnamon oil from marks & spencer to burn in my bedroom, it's a pretty wintery festive smell and it always reminds me of christmas because my mum used to burn it in pretty much every room of the house when i was younger around december time. i love it. :) i couldn't resist the hmv sale and got this complete gavin and stacey box set for just a tenner, an absolute steal! while in town i also popped in to mac for a new lipstick and went with 'speed dial' i tend to always wear a really nude baby pink lip but this is a slightly darker and brighter colour than i would usually wear on a day to day basis, but it makes a nice change when i want to look a bit more done up if i go out after work or something. :)

finally, a few days ago my mum and i went to ikea and i got this cute little pink heart shaped dish which i've decided to use to keep all my bobby pins in. i have a serious love/hate relationship with bobby pins, i feel like i'm always buying more even though i constantly find them all over my house ! i swear they just vanish when they know you need them and then reappear EVERYWHERE when you don't. as well as the little heart dish i also bought myself some new floral bed covers. ikea does some great bed sets and it took me ages to pick which one i wanted but in the end i went with these white sheets with little pink flowers all over them, cute. :)

xo

my everyday skincare routine

all purchased from boots!

hello everyone. :) i've been a bit mia when it comes to this blog recently but i've just been working so much and honestly haven't had the time to come up with anything to write on here. it's my day off today and it's snowing outside so i thought i'd hide indoors and be productive, stop watching crappy daytime tv and get blogging! 

my everyday skincare routine is nothing exciting or fancy, but it works for me. i've tried countless different things on my skin but boots botanics seems to work a treat on my face! in the morning i use my 'all bright cleansing cream' on some cotton pads just to refresh my skin and to prep it for my makeup that day. i then use my 'ultra calm day cream' to moisturise, this is also great for reducing any redness. 

on an evening to remove my makeup, i again reach for my 'all bright cleansing cream' on some cotton pads. i then take a couple more pads and use the 'all bright eye makeup remover' to get any stubborn bits of mascara off my lashes. next i put a dollop of my cleanser on to my 'no7 beautiful skin cleasning brush' which i only just recently purchased (currently at a special price of just £15!) and this really gets every last bit of makeup off and makes my skin feel really clean and refreshed. i love it! i then reach for my 'botanics organic facial oil'. i massage a few drops in to my face and this works way better than any night cream i've ever tried, even by the time i've woken up the next morning my skin still feels really moisturised and looks nice and plump and fresh which is just what i want!

xo

wowww i haven't posted on here in far too long! i've been so busy with work and things i literally haven't had the chance to sit down and blog properly. i have just finished a couple of posts which i have lined up for this week though so keep your eyes peeeeled :) !