April Favourites

It's that time of the month ago where I waffle on about my favourite beauty,fashion and a bit of homeware so if you want to see what I have been loving keep reading because this month I have loved a lot of new things especially in the beauty department. So my lovelies ENJOY!

 So at the start of this month I bought a few new products to try out and after giving them a fair review I decided to add two of them to my favourites for this month. Starting with the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair, this is super good coverage and so creamy. For £4.19 this is so worth and is actually highly raved about online from beauty bloggers to Youtubers and everyone in between. Next up a newby for me is the Nivea Men Post Shave Balm £5.95, I had heard amazing things about this that it made makeup stick to your face like glue and it was just amazing. After about a week of testing this I can confirm the rumours and I love this stuff it smells awesome as well which is a bonus. A fond old favourite of mine is the Urban Decay Naked Palette £38.50 I love the shades in this as they are all warm nuetrals. I love to use a matte colour like Naked in the creased with Sin on the lid and Sidecar on the outer part of the lid. Finally, I have took a fond liking to the Mac Mineralize Skin Finish £24 in Soft and Gentle as it has a warm shimmer to it and is the most gorgeous highlight. This is a compacted powder highlight with a frosted metallic finish, Mac describes it as a 'gilded bronze peach' but a champagne tint is apparent. This suits many skin tones but as a pale pale pale girl a little goes a long way. 

Next up I have been LOVING the Primark PS Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayon £2 each I think these are so pigmented and just feel really nice the word Velvet is a perfect description. They have such a wide range of colours but I am more of a pink/brown nuetrals kind of girl, I just believe I don't suit reds and like purples so these are in my comfort zone for me. At first I wasn't sure about browns like dark browns but I have really come round to them and I really enjoy them now. Anyway, these are amazing as well as the lipliners and for £1/2 definitely worth a try. 

Talking about lip products I have been loving this little lip combo starting with the Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses lipliner in Cappuccino £2.99 but once combined with Mac Viva Glam II £15.50 gives the best full lip look I have tried in a while. The lipstick is described as a pinked mauve/muted pink-beige with shimmer and it is so beautiful. I love these two together they are perfect and so soft I also like the ombre this lip look the the Primark Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayon in Brown and it makes my lips look so big as I have naturally small lips. 

Recently I have been loving these sleeveless knee length jackets especially with a rolled sleeve t-shirt, jeans and Timberlands. I have three of these the khaki one above (Primark £7), a burgundy one and a grey and I just love them for a super easy casual look as I have a massive issue with showing my bum. It's really weird but I just like having a baggy top covering it or a jacket haha (weight issues haha) but anyway these are just super cute and go with anything.

Next up is patterned socks like the ones above I just love things with patterns all over and cute things like animals mainly elephants. These were all from New Look and mentioned in my Spring Sales post but they just make me super happy.

I have been loving Pep&Co jeans a lot recently, for £7 a pair these are awesome I have 3 pairs a darker blue which are currently in the wash but I love them so so much. They are comfortable go with anything and just for the price you can't complain. As I am loosing weight I don't spend a tonne on clothes because I wanna be able to spend more money on nicer clothes when I am around 2/3 stone lighter I have already lost 5 stone so I am almost there. Anyway, back to the jeans yeah I love them I want to buy some to rip the knees on because I think they could look really cute.

I bought this jewellery stand recently in a shop called Thunder Egg in Manchester, when I saw it I was instantly in love and for £16.50 it was utter perfection. This could work without jewellery as an ornament but the colours work perfectly with my room and it is just completely stunning. 

Next up is my Lush fruit bowl, so this works wonders for me in so ways I get to display all my favourites and its like a room air freshener so I love it. This is a favourite for me as I add a few new pieces to my bowl this month like Intergalactic and Yuzu & Cocoa shower gel so the smells in my room are so nice and soothing. I sometimes just stick my head in the bowl just to have a calming smell I know I'm odd haha. 

I bought this candle from Primark for £3.00 purely for the jar as it is adorable and so modern and pretty. I love the little cork but my reason for putting it in my favourites was the smell it is so clean and fresh and I love fresh scents so I have burned this a lot this month.

I made this tray as a little DIY with marble contact paper (£6 B&Q) but I love it. It looks seriously cute and I have loved this piece for the past month that's why it is a favourite. Especially blended with copper it works perfectly with marble and I am sure I will love this for the next few months. 

Finally, is this little bauble terrarium £6.50 from Oklahoma in Manchester. This is adorable and one of my top homeware favourites for the month, these look cute suspended from the ceiling but I keep this one on my desk on a little marbled tray with a DIY jar I made. I love how small and cute this is so it was definitely worth the price as I have seen them everywhere else for around £17.

Well that is all my lovelies for this month, feel free to let me know your monthly favourites in the comments I would love to hear them.

All my love, 

To the military spouse that is a little different..

I currently have some blog posts in writing however they just aren't ready yet however this one for my 80th post just seemed the right time to write this. I am one of these army partners, I don't think anyone should just be defined as an army spouse just because their married because some people don't choose to get married or they don't have the money too. So I class a girlfriend, fiance, or wife/husband as a spouse that's my choice and my personal opinion so don't hate me for this haha. ENJOY!

To the spouse that doesn't always rave about their soldier...

To the spouse that doesn't always wanna be an amazing chef...

To the spouse that doesn't always clean the house spotless...

To the spouse that isn't classed as a brilliant housewife...

To the spouse that isn't baking yummy treats and worshipping their soldier...

To the spouse that got married young...

To the spouse that got married old... 

To the spouse that refuses to give up her education to live of her military partners wage...

To the spouse that doesn't need to talk 'smack' because it's the military spouse way of life...

To the spouse that leave rank out of conversation...

To the spouse that does cook,clean and act like a domestic god/goddess...

To the spouse with a million kids...

To the spouse that is childfree...

To the spouse that has lost a child with a soldier by their side...

To the spouse who dated their soldier for 15 years before they got married...

To the spouse that dated for 2 years before getting married...

To the spouse that may not agree with the military rules sometimes...

To the spouse who is a dude...

To the spouse who is a lady...

To the spouse who doesn't hate on other spouses...

To the spouse who defends their soldier...

KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

I noticed that a lot of military spouses from my area have a different attitude to the others, we couldn't care less what age we are when we get married or if we can cook an amazing dinner or just a standard dinner. However, our spouses appreciate everything we do because they know that like all the others we deal with constant judgment and speculation. So maybe we get married young then time is on our side and we have the rest of our lives to share it together. So we got married age 30 we chose the right time and spent enough time together know we wanted to do this as mature adults. So maybe we only do a basic tidy around the house but the week later we do a head to toe full house clean doesn't make us lazy because maybe we have a job or a house full of kids. So maybe we don't have a house full of kids maybe we lost a child and are waiting for the right time when they aren't deployed or in the field so they can meet their first child with us. Maybe we got married after 2 years maybe at that time we had the money to do so and we wanted to be married before we had kids, or maybe we didn't get married for 10 years after we met because we had a kid and couldn't afford it. Whatever a military spouses chooses to do is their choice because things aren't that easy we sometimes have to make decisions on our own for both of our futures. To the spouses keeping their business to themselves and defending their spouses GOOD ON YOU because I'm right up that street, people talk far too much waffle these days for you to care about every single thing said about them

Well that is all my lovelies for this post, I just wanted to let people know whatever choice you make for your future with your partner is your choice never someone else's. I salute all of you for doing your own thing and not being a typical stereotype. 

All my love,

Spring Sales

There are so many sales at the minute especially New Look and Primark, so during me and my mums 2 day shopping spree I picked up a few bargains mostly clothes in khaki green because it is my favourite colour haha. I do enjoy the sales as you pick up some really nice stuff even if it is all jumbled up. Anyway my lovelies ENJOY!

Beauty

I started off by visiting Boots and they had my favourite offer on the Bourjois products 2 for £14. I love this sale offer as the foundation alone costs £10.99 and the Rouge Edition Velvet in Cool Brown is £8.99. I think this offer is great especially if you wanted two foundations as I use their foundations more than any other so for two foundations without this offer it would be £21.98 so really you save a lot. I just think they have amazing foundations and they create such good bases to build onto, so I picked up the 123 Perfect foundation that is supposed to correct dark circles, dull complexions and redness which is really promising. I have used this one already and I really like it, it works well and I didn't have to use much concealer afterwards. The Rouge Edition Velvet is soooo soft and smells so nice, I love the colour of this as the selection they have are all gorgeous but I enjoy the pinks and browns more than anything. Finally, I picked up the Collection Last Perfection Concealer which was full price at £4.19 but for that price and how amazing the coverage is it is well worth it.

I found these earring on Bury Market for £2.50 and they just reminded me of Nathan because there are little poppies. I wear a poppy all year round to represent my soldier so these are perfect as I normally never wear an earring my right ear as I have a stretcher in my left. These earring are so small and dainty and just look over really cute. 

Fashion

Silly me didn't realise that when I took a photo of this top that it was inside out haha. I really liked this top and for £4 this will look super cute for summer especially with a skirt or high waisted jeans. I love stripes so this was a definite purchase for me, I picked this up in the Manchester Arndale New Look as my mum is obsessed with there sales when they are on. I didn't expect to find anything but this top was just too cute to pass up.

Another New Look purchase this spotty halter neck top was just £3!! I was thinking of wearing this underneath an off the shoulder long sleeved top that I have because it looks super cute when it shows through.  I really like spots as well as stripes and this just looks really sweet I can see this paired with my off the shoulder top, a black skirt,tights and chelsea boots with maybe a long wavy hair look.

I am a huge fan of the New Look socks as they are so cute and I love reacquiring patterns like this. I bought the orignal three pairs on the left in the 3 for £4 sale offer and of course I picked the two elephant pairs. My mum then later went back in to get a top she liked and bought me two pairs of pineapple socks as she knows I love pineapple socks and for £1 a pair these are super cute and cosy but are also rather thin so your feet down feel overheated.

I really liked to look of this top when I saw it in New Look for £4. I love the wrap effect of the top and the tiny little buckle, I'm not too sure what to pair this with yet but I am sure it will look nice with a skirt or high waisted jeans. Once again it is in one of my favourite colours khaki as I find it flattering and honestly I think I like khaki because it reminds me of Nathan's army uniform with the camouflage haha.

Onto the Primark sales, I have a lot of these skirts from Primark so I know these are flattering for me. The zip detail down the front is really cute and it looks so sweet with a blouse and ankle boots, I love burgundy along with Khaki Green as it such a statement colour and although it is bright it really looks nice paired with subtle colours like white,cream and black. For £3 this was a steal as I have payed more for skirts like this in the past. 

These are super comfy as I am wearing them now, these remind me a lot of the Pink jogging bottoms and for £3 from Primark they are super cute. I love the colour of them as the darker stripe down the side and the two toned pink and black draw string on the front is a really nice detail to these pants. I slept in these and they didn't make me too warm and they just felt really nice.

Another Primark bargain for £7 in khaki green I have already worn this and it looked awesome with a rolled sleeved white t-shirt with black jeans and Timberlands. This was super flattering and made me feel a lot thinner, it was just super casual and pretty looking. Super glad I stole this up in Primark as I was so unsure at first and even though you can't see it on the picture there are big brass buttons along the front of it. 

It's a pinafore it's khaki it's perfect. I intend to pair this with a long sleeved white t-shirt, black tights and my chelsea boots as these are super sweet and feminine. I love the gold zipper detail down the side and for £10 this is a lovely bargain as it is soft in a suede material that is really flattering and cosy.

Bits & Bobs

While in New Look I came across this cute little mason jar cup that has a little mermaid mocktail recipe on the other side. It was 25% off so for £5 it was well worth it especially as the ombre glass looks really cute contrasted with the pink lid. I have used this none stop since I bought it yesterday, I love there drinks wear/homeware as the cups/bottles are really useful and pretty as I use my large mermaid bottle for the gym and everyone asks me about it. 

This was a little gift from my mum from a shop called Factory Outlet in Bury I think it was around £2 and it's the fluffiest pompom with a diamante elephant. My mum and pretty much everyone knows I love elephants so this was the perfect gift for me. THANKS MUMMY!

Finally, is a little H&M purchase my mum pointed this out to me as they had flamingoes and pineapples too and I absolute fell for this. For £2.99 I had to add this to my keys I mean it's a cactus and the little gold hoop as two charms on a little cowboy boot and a moustache which I thought were super cute details so this was a perfect purchase that made me super happy.

Well that is all my little lovelies for this Spring Sales post seriously hope you enjoyed and let me know if you find any sale steals while you are on your shopping travels.

All my love, 

DIY Bedroom Decor

I honestly love doing this kind of post because it means I have made some lovely new pieces for my room and come across new techniques and methods to either upcycle a piece or make something out of nothing. I have spent a lot of time on Pinterest look at interior design or DIY's that will inspire me and I did find a few things that fit to my tastes and would be of an easy level to recreate. So ENJOY!

Marble tray upcycling

 I had this little tray that I bought from B&M for around £2.99 and I do like the quote but I think I could change it up a little bit and make it more appealing to my style with some marble contact paper. I purchased this paper for £6 at B&Q and for two metres on the roll that's really good as I am only going to being using this for small things like this tray. It was pretty much straight forward by tracing the underneath onto the paper cutting it out then making sure it fit properly and applying it to the base. It really does look pretty especially on my side table with my copper lamp as copper and marble go together really well. 

Watercolour Z

This was a spur of the moment creation, I was wondering around Hobbycraft when I saw this giant Z for £2 and after my copper Z that I created I knew this would look awesome with a water and paint mixture sponged/dabbed onto the Z. It came out quite well but was a little time consuming as I had to do all the inside and outside rather just the front. But for a £2 creation this looks really sweet sat on my vanity table and gives it a littler personal flare. 

Wire Notice Board

I had found this while surfing Pinterest and Youtube and knew I needed to make my own. I began searching online for single wire panels that I could use that didn't cost an absolute fortune like there is nothing worse having to buy more than you need to make a tiny DIY. So I finally came across this wire panel at Wickes for £3.99 and thought well for that price if it is too big I can trim it down because the measurements seemed big. I also picked up some binder clips (Home Bargains 49p) to hang up my polaroids (Lalalab online photo app) and a few other pieces like my tassel garland. When I had got the panel home I measured it against my door and although it fit I wanted to trim it down so I only took off one side just so it fit more evenly against the door. Silly me tried to actually stick it to the door with stick back tabs but I eventually used the sticky back hooks which work wonders as my wire was bent so by putting hooks on the top and bottom it straightened it out nicely. After it was hung up I pretty much just began decorating and placing my pictures where I wanted them and trimming my tassel garland as it was a little too long, and then finished it off by adding fairy lights. I love this DIY as it is probably one of my largest so far but it looks so awesome and much better than my previous way of displaying my polaroids. 

Cactus/Succulent Bunting

I came across this on Pinterest and decided to make a small version for my notice board as it needed some decorative combinations. I began by making the different shapes on various shades of green card and then cutting them all out. Once done I had a dozen different types of plant shapes and then painted onto them with mixed paints to represent the spikes of the cactuses and succulents. Once complete and dry I hole punched each of them and began laying them out into the order I wanted them in, I tried not to have two of the same shade next too each other and I was really pleased with the overall result. Once I was happy with my layout I began tying each piece onto the string with a simple knot so they did not slide around like my tassel garland does. I then hung my knew cactus garland onto my wire board and I actually love the pay off as this was so simple and looks really pretty. 

Cactus & Terrarium notebook

Whilst shopping the other day I noticed the notebooks i get from Home Bargains have larger A4 sizes so I decided to buy one to make a larger cactus notebook print. This Time however when I began drawing out my plants I did them inside tiny terrariums and things rather than just pots as I wanted it to be quirky. Once complete I began painting my sketches in various shades of green and adding the odd cute pink flower here and there. Once done I went around everything with a black biro to emphasise the cactuses/succulents and it was ready for us. This is super simple and the notebook is only £1.89 so it was a super cheap DIY. Sorry I know it isn't home decor but I just loved it!

Marble Nail Polish Jars

This was something I had known about for a while but didn't think to try it out with jars or anything. The jist of this DIY is to fill a container with water and then add a few drops off nail polish and swirl it around with a tooth pick to make a marbled pattern. Once you have a pattern you like then roll the jar into the water and the nail polish will stick to the outside of the jar. I used dolmio pasta sauce jars for this as I got the idea when cooking tea with my mum as I saw the empty jars. After letting the jar dry I was left with these cool looking jars to put flowers or my makeup brushes or art supplies like paint brushes into and I absolutely love it. Due to the colours I used this worked perfectly with my rooms colour scheme and I am really happy with the effect. 

 Well that is all my lovelies feel free to let me know if you tried any out or tweet me your creations @ZoeySarah. I really hoped you enjoyed this as I loved making them especially the board as it was something new and big for me and I really do like how everything came out. Thanks for reading!

All my love, 

April Lush Haul

I noticed the other day my Lush collection was becoming alarmingly smaller, this horrified me a lot so I decided to stock up again and bring some colour back to my lush basket. I did change my Lush collection recently from a cake stand to a copper fruit bowl as overall I can hold more and I desperately need a new cake stand as the other became a little worn shall we say haha. Anyway I picked some of these up on different days one or two at a time rather than all at once as I like reading online about certain products so I know what I want in my bowl. I am picky with scents I love the sweet, fresh, fruity scents from Lush rather than anything spicy or woodland scented as it just reminds me of burning or something. My favourite scent recently as you can tell is the Yuzu and Cocoa smell as it reminds me of chocolate orange! But anyway my little lovelies, ENJOY!

So here is just a brief overview now of my Lush bowl looking lovely and colourful for spring/summer. I sometimes like to move my Lush products around just to make it look more presentable and appealing to the eye, I just love getting new bath bombs and stuff because my room smells unreal and so much like sherbet. 

A bunch of carrots reusable bubble bars £5.95

These are honestly some of the freshest and fruitiest carrots I have ever seen in my life these reusable bubble bars create a frothy lemon-bergamot bubble bath which smells heavenly. These are a little different to last years (2015) design as they were bright orange originally but I think that had something to do with it's lack of bubbles and scent when being used or so I'm told. These are an easter exclusive but last such a long time and for 3three bubble bars these are totally worth it. You can actually get 2 baths out of each carrot and as they can be separated into single carrots so the others do not get ruined, they do create some bubbles in the bath and make the nicest scent.

Yuzu & Cocoa Bubbleroon £3.75

Just like a bubble bar these work the same way, being crumbled into the bath you can in fact break this in half so you get two baths out of this one product so for around £1.80 per bath this is rather worth  the price. This is my absolute favourite scent! With moisturising cocoa and shea butter, and a blend of citrus oils and chocolate undertones this really soothes the skin and leaves you smelling great. After it's makeover from it's old appearance I find this so appealing and cute, the thing I find most appealing about this is yes it does smell of orange but to me not so much chocolate but much rather coconut which is one of my favourites. This in fact leaves the bath a lovely yellow colour (not like pee) but rather a warming colour which is said to sooth an aching and weary body. I do find this very moisturising that is why I bought another as it is really up there with my favourites from Lush. 

Sakura Bath Bomb £3.50 

This bath bomb is a Japanese themed product, released in 2006 the name of this ballistic actually means Cherry Blossom. With calming mimosa and jasmine oils they are complimented well with lemon oil and orange flower creating a light spring/summer scent, to me this bath bomb smells mostly of lemon which is always a winner in my books. However I was told by the guy that helped me in Lush that once released into the bath and infused fully into the water this becomes a more floral scent and leaving a very creamy lather along the surface of the water with some marbling of colour. This sounds super exciting to me as it is really strong scented and apparently really soothes the skin which is something I look for at Lush purely because i do have really sensitive skin. 

Yuzu & Cocoa Shower Cream £9.75 medium bottle 100g

I cannot wait to try this in a bath honestly as it would just be heavenly! Citrusy fresh Yuzu juice and Tonka absolutes create a fresh bath experience that smells according to Lush like chocolate orange. To me this smells more of orange with a chocolate undertone and once used a really strong smell of coconut. It actually makes me want to eat the stuff it smells that good but after seeing what Snow Fairy is like and how it makes such an amazing bubble bath I know this will be just as amazing creating a bubbly yellow bath heaven. 

Intergalactic £3.95

This is one of Lush' colourful bath bombs, literally like sitting in outer space. Once played into the bath this amazing ballistic creates a galaxy effect in the water with specks of shimmer. This interstellar wonder pops and swirls in the bath exploding into colour with peppermint and grapefruit oil this smells literally out of this world. I tried one of these a long time ago and was truly amazing at it's talent so obviously I picked up another and it is definitely worth almost £4. 

Well that is all my lovelies for this lovely post, feel free to comment your favourite lush products and I might give them a try.

All my love,