Primark Haul July 2015

I've been doing a lot of shopping in Primark over the past few months. It's definitely become my new favourite place to shop - they've really upped their game over the last year and although I swear their prices are creeping up, they are still really affordable compared to other stores. Rather than bombard you with a massive haul of everything I've bought since my blogging break, I thought I'd just show you my most recent purchases, so you're more likely to still be able to get the products I'm showing you.

Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue

I'd seen a lot of positive reviews about this product when it was launched a few months ago, so I knew this would be heading straight into my basket when I went on my birthday shopping trip this month. I'm a huge fan of light bases during the summer months, especially for day to day wear, as I don't want to feel like I've got a tonne of product on my face. And I think I've now found my new favourite summer base.

Makeup Revolution Iconic Pro Palette

Makeup Revolution are the kings of high end dupes. Their Naked palette dupes have been huge successes, and when I saw that they'd released a dupe for the gorgeous Lorac Pro palette I had to get my hands on it. I'm a little late on the bandwagon, but I finally bought it earlier this month. The Lorac palette is not the easiest of things to get hold of here in the UK, so having a cheaper alternative available is great, as the original always looks stunning whenever I see it in blog posts or on YouTube.

Slimming World Sunday - Speedy Chilli

My new Slimming World consultant is the queen of speed food, and is always reminding us that for our main meals we should have at least a third of our plate full of speed foods, where possible. For some meals this is easier than others, though some dishes can be easily adapted to include more speed foods in them. Chilli has been one of my favourite evening meals to cook ever since I started Slimming World way back in 2012. Since joining my new group, and thinking more about what I put into my meals, I've changed my recipe slightly to ensure I'm getting the speed that I need.

Mini Lush Haul

I love Lush! I love the smells and the cute products they have. I really cannot wait to get a place with a bathtub so that I can buy more of their stuff - I'm kind of limited at the moment and I'm really missing their Comforter bubble bar! I did however pop in recently and pick up a few bits that I can use at the moment, no bathtub required.

My Favourite Ways To Relax

One thing I was always told in my CBT sessions was that I need to take time out for myself to do something I enjoy. When I was having a really stressful time, I would often sit there and let my worries get on top of me rather than trying to do something to help me relax. Now I know just how important it is just to have a little time to yourself, I've found quite a few things that I actually enjoy doing during this time. Here are my favourite ways to relax.

The Body Shop Virgin Mojito Range

When The Body Shop release a new scent to their bodycare collection, I'm usually all over it like a rash. The release of the Virgin Mojito range was another one to grab my attention and I couldn't wait for my birthday shopping trip to get my hands on some of the products.

Slimming World Sunday - Lunch At Coffee Architects, Leamington Spa

The great thing about Slimming World is that you can fit the plan around going out and socialising. You don't have to miss out on the fun but you can still stay within your syns allowance. Some places can be trickier than others to find a Slimming World friendly meal, but most are happy to adapt a dish for you to cut down the calorie intake. One place where finding a SW friendly dish isn't a problem is a little cafe quite local to me called Coffee Architects. My consultant has raved about this place a lot, and I often see pictures on our facebook group of various members visiting and their food always looks so good. I went with a friend a few Sundays ago, but unfortunately it's only breakfast all day on Sundays, so my husband and I took another trip yesterday to sample their lunch menu.

New MAC Lipstick Purchases

Ok this seems like a ridiculous amount of MAC lipsticks to be hauling in one post. But, they weren't all purchased in one go, plus I spent my birthday money on some of them, so I feel like I can get away with it haha! MAC lipsticks are definitely my "thing" to collect, it's becoming a bit of an addiction now. I've got close to thirty in my collection, and I love nothing more on a lazy day than to scroll through swatches online looking for my next purchase - maybe I need to get a life! Here are my most recent purchase and my first impressions.

l-r: Pure Zen, Brave, Faux, Please Me, Flat Out Fabulous, Ruby Woo

Pure Zen (Cremesheen) I'm not really sure about this one if I'm honest. It applied quite patchy onto my lips and looked a little concealer like on me. I think it's too close a colour match to my skin, but it would probably look good on slightly darker skintones. I'm going to try it with a lip liner and see if I can make it work.

Brave (Satin) This is a slightly pink toned nude, which is my favourite lipstick colour for everyday wear, so I'm loving this lipstick so far. The satin finish means that it's really well wearing but not drying like the mattes can be. I think this is my favourite of the bunch.

Faux (Satin) This is quite similar to Brave, but has a slightly peachier tone to it. I bet if I showed these two to my husband he wouldn't notice a difference at all! Again I really like this one, it's quite creamy so it was really easy to apply.

Please Me (Matte) I really wanted to get this ages ago when Debenhams had an offer on (we're talking around a year ago now!) but it was sold out and others have pushed their way past to the top of my wishlist since, but I finally have it! This colour is beautiful - it seems to look a bit darker in person than it does on my photo - a slight rosey pink. It's quite similar to Revlon's Elusive which I have used to death since I bought it, so I think I'll get a lot of use out of this too.

Flat Out Fabulous (Retro Matte) This is my first delve into the world of Retro Mattes, which I have been scared of buying in the past because of my dry lips. This one does take a while to apply, as it drags across the lips a little, but the end result is gorgeous. This is a really bright fuchsia pink which I think will look great on a summer night out.

Ruby Woo (Retro Matte) I've had my eye on Ruby Woo for ages, but have been scared it will look awful on me and dry my lips out really badly. Oh how I wish I'd bought this sooner! I found it a bit easier to apply than Flat Out Fabulous, though it did still drag a little. I have to say though it's nowhere near as uncomfortable than I thought it was going to be. As I write this I've been testing it out for a few hours, and my lips aren't in the greatest condition today as it is, but it feels no worse than I would with any other lipstick, and it still looks pretty good. I've bought the Ruby Woo liner to, so hopefully next time I come to wear it I'll get a much neater finish!

What's your favourite MAC lipstick?

Drugstore Beauty Haul

Whilst I did enjoy splashing the cash on a few higher end products during my birthday shopping trip last week, my heart will always belong to the drugstore, and a little trip to Boots was very much in order. I'd had my eye on a few products for a while now, so had the perfect opportunity to pick them up, plus a few sneaky extras!

Latest In Beauty Get The Gloss Summer It Kit

I absolutely love Latest In Beauty - I think it's the best subscription box service out there at the moment. It's really flexible, as you can choose which boxes to have and when to receive them, instead of being tied into a monthly service where you're not really sure what you're going to get. There's also the choice of whether to build your own box based on the samples they have available, or buy one of their special collection boxes. Whilst I don't really look into building my own box, I do have a little nosey at the collection boxes when the emails pop into my inbox. When the Get The Gloss Summer It Kit came up at the start of the month, I was really excited by the contents and thought it would be the perfect birthday treat to myself.

Slimming World Sunday - Four Ways With Oats

Having porridge oats for breakfast is one of my favourite ways to use my healthy extra B on the Slimming World plan. They are really easy to make up when you're in a rush in the mornings, plus they are really filling, so they can quite often last me right through until lunchtime. Sometimes though, just plain oats with a bit of fruit on top can be a bit boring so I like to mix things up from time to time and do something different with them. Here are my four favourite ways to eat my 35g allowance.

Baby Girl Haul

Before anyone gets carried away, I'm not pregnant - this stuff is for my sister!! She told me she was pregnant right at the very early stages, and it's been a long, torturous wait to find out if I will be having a little niece or a nephew. Last Saturday, my sister went for her 16 week scan and discovered she was having a baby girl! This didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone in our family, as all anyone ever has on my mum's side is girls (seriously!), but it was the confirmation we needed to go out and start buying some clothes - quite handy then that the scan came two days before my big birthday shop!

My Birthday In Pictures

So Monday was my birthday and I turned the grand old age of 27. Many of you will be thinking that's not old at all, but now I can feel my thirties approaching I am starting to feel that way! Having a birthday on a Monday would normally suck, but luckily my workplace introduced something new this year where you get you birthday as an extra days annual leave - pretty cool! I was going to book the day off anyway - I've never worked on my birthday - but at least I didn't lose any holiday entitlement this time!

OOTD - A Day At The Carnival

Saturday was carnival day in my hometown of Kenilworth, and it's tradition in our family for us all to walk down and watch the procession (which I have to admit seems to be getting smaller with each passing year!) and then go for a wander around the fair afterwards. Despite the stormy weather the night before, it was a beautiful sunny day, so summer appropriate attire was very much needed, and today I thought I'd share with you what I wore.

Slimming World Sunday - My Favourite Low Syn Snacks

I'd say around 90% of the time the main meals that I eat are completely syn free, so a lot of my daily syns get spent on snacks. When I first started Slimming World, I was worried that I'd have to cut out my favourite chocolate and crisps. Whilst I don't eat them to the extent I used to (I could demolish three packs of Walkers chicken crisps in one go!), I've found ways of getting my fix without overdoing the syn intake. Here are some of my favourite ways to spend my syns.

My Favourite Tanning Product

I'm not a big fan of fake tan. I'm not very patient, so standing around waiting for the product to dry just for a bit of colour really doesn't appeal to me. Plus, I'm quite pale skinned, so quite often fake tan can look out of place on me and like I've just overdone it on the sunbed! I have, however, found a product that gives me just a subtle hint of a tan, and doesn't take forever to dry, and it's been my go to for years.

Summer Nails

Yay the gorgeous weather has decided to make a return! Now that we really do seem to be getting our summer here in the UK, I've decided to ditch the pastels and neutrals, and go for a bit more of a pop of colour on my nails. Here are some of my favourite nail polish shades that I'll be sporting this summer.