October favourites

I Absolutely cannot believe that we are at the end of October! It makes me so sad but so happy at the same time because it means CHRISTMAS! 

Here are a few little bits and bobs that I have been loving throughout the month of October! 

Firstly, as I absolutely love to get into the festive spirit of course I have dived, literally head first into the halloween bits. 

One of my favourite things about Halloween is the yummy snacks, I honestly could eat them all year! The Mr Kipling toffee terror whirls and the chocolate and slime bars are amazing! Both great with a cup of tea. I am also a big fan of the Jaffa cake bars in lemon and slime and zingy orange. They are yum. 

Following the halloween theme, I totally adore my new little candle burner from yankee. I decided to get a tart burner as I am always wanting to try out new scents and I thought this would be the cheapest way to do it. 

This month I have been loving three tarts; fireside treats, candy corn and ghostly treats. All three of them smell very sweet but also have that smokey October sent to them. Perfect to burn when you're doing work at your desk. 

Super excited to try the winter ones of the next few months.

Another candle I've been loving is Zoella's Lets Glow candle. This is a much lighter scent but great for relaxing and chilling out. 

As it's been getting a bit colder and my wardrobe has been more darker colours I have loved having more of an opportunity to wear my Topshop boots. They are so comfy but still a great height and just look good with a causal or more smart outfit. 

Had to mention my amazing Lisa Simpson pyjama leggings from Primark. They are just so comfy for a cold evening when you get home and just want to chill out. 

Also this super super cute phone case which I got from ebay for 2.99. It's dinsey, what more needs to be said? Also I've also worn this jumper quite a bit over October. It's pretty thick and the hearts just add some nice detail. 

Finally a few beauty/skincare products. Over the last few months I've been really enjoying the Bourjois bronzer. It's just great to add that bit of colour to your face in the transition between summer and winter. As my skins really pale it's just nice to brighten my face up a bit as my summer tan fades. 

Lastly, I've been enjoying using these two products on my face each morning and night. The Liz Earle cleanse and polish hot cloth cleanser is a really nice warm wake up for your face. It just makes your face feel really clean and it's great to help with spots. 

 Similarly, I've been using this Body shop, tea tree skin clearing toner. It's really refreshing to wipe onto your skin before you go to bed and gives you a really natural and clean feel to your skin and it's also great for spots. 

Those are what I'm really enjoying this month. I would love to hear about what you have all been loving too.

Love 

Alice May 

XXXX 

University room year three

As I've finally had time to get round to it (yes, I've been very absent over summer) I thought I would do another blogpost showing you the ins and outs of my university bedroom. For the past three years I have done a post including pictures and bits and bobs inside my room to give anyone some inspiration  about how to style a uni room. Or, if you're just nosy, like me it's always nice to have a look inside people's bedrooms.

I put a lot of effort into decorating my room each September as I feel that it's nice to have a area where you can chill and feel relaxed when you are doing your work or just laying about. I like my room to feel cute and homely and just a sweet place to be so I am always collecting little trinkets and odd bits to put in it. 

This year my room is up in the attic, right at the top of the house. It's been weird having to get used to the sloped ceilings but I think they actually add to the cosiness of my room. 

Most of the items in my room will be mentioned in the previous years blogposts which I will leave below, anything that is new I will leave details about here. So this is my bed, I love how it is next to the sloped ceiling as it gives it a nice tucked in feel. I struggled to find space to hang too many pictures because of all the low walls but I hung a picture above my bed and a dream catcher which I bought when I was on holiday. I hung some bunting to the ceiling which I think gives the room a bit of a festival feel to it.

As I had a lot of floor space this year I got a rag rug from John Lewis for about £20 and I love it, it really fills out the room and adds lots of bright colours! 

When I first moved into my room I had too many bits and bobs which made my room look untidy and cluttered. I went to ikea and got this fab storage shelf for £20, it's great for shoving all those bits and bobs you have no where to put! 

I also love the blue insert drawers which were £2.50 which add a pop of colour to your bedroom! On top of these shelves I love to put candles which make your room look really pretty at nighttime! 

Here is my very cluttered desk but you get the idea, I like to get lots of colourful bits to make a dull room seem a bit more lively. I also added some fairy lights  to my pin board to brighten it up.

I just have a very simple plain mirror which is hung up on the wall, and around it I have some sweet little flowers which were from Amazon just to add a more girly touch. 

I also added some more fairy lights which were £5 from tesco home. I got them in spaceships theme as I thought this would look super cute at night time with the sky window.

Lastly, my favourite part of the room is this little right hand corner where I just put lots of ornaments and bits and bobs. 

I love this turquoise blue colour as I think it's bright but calming at the same time. I have three little tea light holders from Tiger, and a cute teacup and teapot set from Marks and Spencer's. I also bought a vintage style clock from ikea and filled a Amazon jar with some fairy lights.

I think it looks very relaxing and cosy when I'm tucked up in bed with all my candles and lights on!

 Finally, I made a little display of polaroids hanging above the chest of drawers, I purchased some heart shaped pegs and just attached them with string to give it much more homely feel!

Thank you for taking a look inside my room, if you fancy looking at the other two years here they are; 

Year one; http://yayalicemay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/little-uni-bedroom.html

Year two; http://yayalicemay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/university-room-year-two.html

I would love to take a look at some of your bedrooms or some homeware items so leave me a comment. 

See you soon, 

Alice May 

Xxx

March favourites

Have to say it's pretty scary that March has already been and gone. Therefore the dreaded exam time is already looming. However, likewise summer is on it's way yay. 

Thought I would share some of my favourites from the past month! 

 Absolutely loving this Barry M nail polish. I love the gel nail paints as I think they give your nails that extra shine. I thought this light green was very spring like and I just really liked it. 

I've also really been liking this Revlon colour burst lip pen. It seems everyone's been talking about these and I have to say they really are amazing. I really like this orangey/coral colour as again, it is very with the approaching time of year. 

Okay, I love these socks pretty much all year round. However, the sunny weather has allowed me to replenish my sock stock and also pick out some nice pastel colours! 

I've used this eyeliner for about a year now however, it still manages to amaze me. It's the seventeen, lacquer liner with a wet look finish. What I love about it is the size of the brush. It's absolutely tiny which is great because it allows you to get really fine and neat lines for your eyes. 

 

Finally, as summer is slowly approaching it's time to start the regular moisturising process to make my skin super soft and smooth in time for summer. This Soap and Glory body butter cream comes in such a large tub which is great and it smells so fresh and spring like. It smells like lime but with a sweet fruity hint and it actually makes me kind of hungry

Anyway, that's been my favourites this month. I would love to check out yours!  

Alice May 

Xxx 

Birch box

So recently I received my second ever beauty box! It was only in the past few weeks in which I stumbled across the concept of beauty boxes and of course I had to jump on the bandwagon. 

My first beauty box, you beauty discovery is mentioned in a previous post, this post will feature Birch Box.

So this box is a monthly beauty box in which you pay £10 for the box itself and £2.95 for packaging, obviously paying £12.95 in total. 

This months Birch Box had a special Lulu Guinness theme, a designer who had picked a few items for the box. The sleeve of the box therefore was decorated in a Lulu Guinness style which I thought looked very smart. 

 

The box itself comes with some leaflets and vouchers explaining the products and giving certain money off vouchers. 

The products come in this cute little pull string back and are nicely packed away. 

And here is what I saw when I opened the little bag. 

This month I received 6 items in my box which I thought was a really decent amount of products for me to test and try. 

Firstly, I got this Lulu Guinness designed stick of rock, I'm not really a big fan of rock but it has a heart with Lulu Guinness running through the middle which looks pretty cool however I'm not really sure if I will eat this. 

Next I recieved a sample of the perfume English Laundry. Most people hate perfume samples but I find they are quite handy to put into your handbag on a night out or something, however you can get them in most shops for free. 

Next I got this Korres, citrus body milk, this is quite a big sample and body butter is always something that is needed so in looking forward to trying this one out. 

I was really impressed with my next sample product which was the Benefit, stay don't stray eye primer. I absolutely love benefit and have not actually tried this product properly so I'm really pleased that this was in the beauty box. 

Another great sample was this Dr. Brandt, pores no more pore refiner. This is normally a really expensive product in full size and therefore I think the sample is great to test out and again to slip into your make up bag. 

Finally, I recieved this Molton Brown, Rhubarb and Rose, hand cream sample and I have to say it smells absolutely amazing. I love rhubarb and this is like the dream smell. I may even consider purchasing it after this. My item however was damaged when it arrived as I had a faulty plastic tube. I contacted Birch box and straight away they sent me out a replacement of the sample by first class post. I was really impressed with this quick service. 

Overall, I am really impressed with my Birch Box, although it is slightly pricey I am certainly going to keep it going for the next few months to see what else arrives at my door. I just love having little packages to open. 

If you're interested, take a look at my older post on the other beauty box I ordered and compare the two, both at different price scales. 

Alice May 

Xxxx

e.l.f Haul

So a few months ago a brand new e.l.f store opened in Cardiff and last weekend I thought I would buy a few things.

I've previously bought some elf products online as they are always really good value and a pretty decent brand. However, the store is really nicely designed and laid out in one of the arcades in the city centre. 

They have plenty of space and plenty of items, if I had more money I would of definitely bought more than I did but luckily I will be able to pop in anytime now! 

Firstly, I bought the elf mineral infused primer. I've previously seen this mentioned on a few blogs and I was really keen to give it a try. It was priced at £6.95 which is a bargain and it is quite a good sized bottle. 

The primer is a really nice consistency and makes your skin feel so smooth and lovely once you put it on. The pump mechanism is really handy as in one pump you get the perfect amount needed for your face. So far I am really impressed with it and would certainly buy it again. 

 

Next I picked up several make up brushes, I was really in need of a new foundation brush I also got a eyeshadow brush. Both of these were £3.95. 

The foundation brush I chose was the angled foundation brush. I'm still not to sure on my opinion of this, I find the brush quite firm and hard to blend make up with on my face. However, I'm continuing to try it and will see if it softens up. 

I also got the eyeshadow 'c' brush, this a really good petite size perfect for eyeshadow palettes. However it is also quite a hard and firm brush to use where as I prefer something a bit softer. 

One of my top items which I bought was this moisturising lipstick in the colour coral cutie. At only £3.95 this lipstick is a really nice creamy sort of texture. I am also a massive fan of the orangey summer colour which is not to full on and adds a nice nautural summer look to your lips! 

I also got the elf contouring blush and bronzer which was also £3.95 in the colour Turks and Caicos. I really love the size and shape of the set and it also comes with a mirror which is always handy. 

I really like the blush as it is a nice light and nautural colour for the cheeks however I found the bronzer quite heavy and dark, although in the summer months I think I will get more use out of the bronzer shade. 

Finally, I had to pick up one of these eyeshadow sets for £10. This is the baked eyeshadow palette which I got in the colour California. 

The palette consists of ten different eyeshadow shades which works out at only a pound per colour which I think is amazing. Although in comparison to the naked pallete the eyeshadow is not as soft, the colours are still really pigmented and they are blend nicely together to create a lovely effect. I love all of the brown and shimmery shades and I think it is a great palette to have on a budget perhaps whilst you are saving for the naked one. 

Overall, I am really impressed with elf cosmetics and I think at the price they are it is a great brand to test and try out perhaps before buying more expensive versions of things. 

Alice May 

Xx