The Star Gift For Skincare Lovers

Everyone seems to be going nuts about the half price Soap & Glory gift set this week but, whilst I have to admit it does look pretty good, there was another star gift that caught my eye in Boots this week. Since introducing Liz Earle into my skincare routine at the start of the year, I've fallen in love with her products, so when I saw The Botanist's Cabinet reduced from £60 to £30 I had to grab it as a pre-Christmas treat to myself!

The Lifestyle Gift Guide

I've had so much fun trawling through the internet putting this gift guide together - it's actually become more of a bit of a wishlist for myself too! So if you're looking for a bit of last minute inspiration (it's not that long after all!) then I hope you find this guide useful, with 30 different lifestyle options to choose from.

HUGE Beauty Gift Guide

So I'm back with my first beauty related blog post in a very long time, and as we're getting close to the big day (three weeks, I can't believe it!), I thought what better post to do than a gift guide. I absolutely love reading them and I've had a lot of fun researching, even stealing some ideas for myself! I've gone all out this year, with 75 of what I think are the best gifts on the market for the beauty obsessed person in your life (or yourself of course!). I've covered a range of gift types, and price ranges, so hopefully you'll find this useful.

Baby Gender Reveal & Mini Haul

This post is a very long time coming - I've actually known about this for nearly 8 weeks,,,,and had another scan since! Life has kind of gotten in the way a bit recently, so sitting down to blog has been the last thing on my mind. But I said I'd do a gender reveal post and here it is - better late than never...

I Have Some Exciting News!

So it's been a very long time since I wrote a post on Kizzy Hearts, or was present on any of my social media but, as you've probably already guessed from the photo, I have a very exciting reason for this - I am having a baby!

Slimming World Sunday - The Best Motivational Tools

When you're on a weight loss journey it's inevitable that at some stage you'll hit a wall, which can often be difficult to get past. It's important that when we get to this point we've got something there to push us to keep on going, to keep us motivated. I tried all sorts throughout my journey, and also gained some great ideas from fellow group members, and these are the tools I've found to be most effective.

New In Beauty Wishlist

After what I think was a bit of a lull, there have been loads of really interesting beauty releases recently. With payday yesterday, and my birthday less than a couple of weeks away, I'm hoping to get a few things crossed off my wishlist with some serious shopping over the next few weeks! Here's what I'm currently lusting after.

Origins Clear Improvement Mask

My skin has been playing up quite a bit recently. Having lived with very dry skin for years now, it's been quite a shock to have a forehead resembling a bumpy oil slick at the end of the day. I've got an idea why this is happening, but that's a whole other blog post. I've needed to do something about it, and remembered I had this mask from an Origins gift set I received, so thought I'd give it a go as it was already in my stash.

Drugstore Five Product Face

Most days I don't wear a lot of makeup. When I'm getting ready (and usually running late!) in the week, I want as few products to apply as possible to make sure I'm out of the door asap. These are the products I'm currently reaching for on a minimal makeup day. Even better, they are all from the drugstore so they'll cost you less than £10 each.

Time Saving Tips For Bloggers

Blogging is quite a time consuming hobby to have, as there's a lot that goes into it than simply just writing a post. Quite often, especially if you're like me and have a full time job too, it can be difficult to juggle your time and still get what you want from your blog. Here are a few little time saving tips that I've picked up along the way to help you get the most out of your blogging time and not let it take over.

Recent High End Beauty Purchases

These purchases aren't so recent any more, I made them about three weeks ago on our anniversary trip, but I still wanted to include them as a haul post as I'm so in love with everything that I picked up. Everything here was paid for by my lovely husband as my anniversary gift, which I am so grateful for, I'm definitely a lucky lady!

Slimming World Sunday - How I'm Spending My Syns

It's been a while since I did a Slimming World Sunday post. Unfortunately, the lure of Euro /2016 has been too much for me, so I haven't had much time to sit down and actually write any blog posts recently, let alone anything Slimming World relating. Luckily I had a day to myself yesterday and had a mammoth blogging session, so they'll be plenty of content up for you for a while.

So today I'm going to be taking about Syns - probably the best part of the Slimming World plan! I'm always scouring places like Instagram looking at what people are using their Syns on. If I can find something with a low syn value that's going to keep my cravings at bay, I'm more likely to stay on track, so I always make sure I;ve got my cupboards stocked with tasty treats. Here's what I've been loving spending my syns on recently.

My New Favourite Eyeshadow Palette

Quite a bold claim to make, I know, but certainly in terms of travel makeup this little quad fits the bill nicely. I'd never tried any makeup from M&S before, it seemed to be quite expensive for what it actually was, so it had never tempted me before. But, with so many people raving about the Rosie for Autograph collection, it thought I'd take a look at least. This beauty, the "I Feel Like A Million Dollars" palette, caught my eye straight away, and I was really pleasantly surprised after swatching it. It was so pretty I had to have it, and I have to say the name is very apt.

Primark Haul June 2016

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days, I've had a rotten cold and unfortunately had nothing prepared in advance that I could share with you. But now I'm back with one of my favourite posts - a Primark haul! I told myself when I got back into blogging that Primark hauls would not become a monthly thing again, but it's looking like that's actually going to happen again - oops! Here's what I've been buying over the last few weeks.

AC Hotel Birmingham - Anniversary Break

As I mentioned in my life update earlier this week, it was our second wedding anniversary on Tuesday, and to celebrate my husband wanted to take me away on a day trip shopping. We thought we'd make a full day of it and, rather than travel back at stupid o'clock at night, decided we would stay over. Now, I've stayed in Birmingham several times before, but always somewhere cheap and cheerful. As it was our anniversary we wanted to go for something a little more special, but without completely blowing the budget. After much searching online, I came across the AC Hotel, which is part of the Marriott hotel chain.

What's In My Makeup Bag - Anniversary Break

As I mentioned in yesterday's update post, it was our 2nd wedding anniversary this week, and my husband & I decided to stay overnight in Birmingham. As we were only away for one night, I did pack pretty light, but I thought I'd share with you that makeup that I packed to wear when we went out for dinner in the evening.

This Was May

So I thought with my return to blogging I'd also bring back the monthly updates, but with a bit of a twist - let me know what you think to this new format! May was a pretty good month for me. The weather has warmed up a little after the miserable start to spring we had, and I've been making the most of the sunshine and being back in my hometown. I didn't really get up to many exciting things, but it's been an enjoyable month all the same.

Blogging Every Day In May - My Thoughts

So here we are, the end of May. I cannot believe I've actually done it, but after a long break away, I've managed to upload a blog post every single day this month. As well as the surprise that I've actually managed to achieve the goal I set myself a few weeks ago, I've had a few more thoughts along the way, which I though I'd share with you all.

Quick Fix Facial Calming Clay Mask

I love a good face mask, so I'm always scouring the shelves of Boots & Superdrug looking for something new to try. My skin has been dry ever since I left my teenage years behind, and it's always prone to redness, particularly around my cheeks and nose, so after spotting this mask which promises to calm the skin and reduce redness, I was keen to give it a go, especially as it was so cheap at just £4.99 for quite a large 100ml tube.

Slimming World Sunday - Nacho Style Feast

I was really late on the bandwagon when it came to this recipe, but those of you that follow me on Instagram will know that I've become obsessed with this dish since I tried it a few months ago. It's so tasty, just like having a naughty Mexican dish, and is really fillling.

Mini Essence Haul

Essence is a brand that I think often gets overlooked. Yes, the packaging is not the most aesthetically pleasing, but the products are really affordable and very often good quality. I was lucky enough to try some products when the brand first came to the UK, which I loved, and I thought it was about time I saw what else Essence had to offer in my local Wilko store.

20 Things To Do This Bank Holiday Weekend

This weekend is the last bank holiday we'll have in the UK for a good few months, and I for one am determined to make the most of it. If you're still stuck on what it is that you want to do, here are just a few ideas for whatever mood you're in. As we're never usually blessed with particularly good bank holiday weather, most of these are indoor friendly too!

My Current Favourite Fragrances

When it comes to fragrances I don't think I have a particularly large collection. I know what I like and I tend to stick with the same brands (Marc Jacobs in particular!). They are often quite a pricey product to invest in, so I always want to know I've made a good choice before purchasing. Here are my current top three fragrances from my collection that I'm currently rotating between,

Latest In Beauty Weekend Away Beauty Box

I've fallen out of love with beauty subscription boxes recently. Having been subscribed to both Birchbox and Glossybox in the past, I felt that I was becoming more and more disappointed with what I was receiving and could have better spent my £10+ each month. I do still however keep an eye out for Latest In Beauty's Collections to see if any of them take my fancy, as I know what I'll be getting before I part with my money. Their Weekend Away box looked to be really good value for money and had a lot of products I've wanted to try, so off into my online basket it went. So, what did I get inside...?

My Favourite Neutral Single Eyeshadows

When it comes to eyeshadow, the majority of the time I stick to my palettes. It's so much handier to have an array of colours at my disposal for those days when I fancy doing something a bit more experimental, or I just no idea off hand of exactly which shades I want to use. However, when you're staying over somewhere, or going away, it can be much easier to go for the fuss free and space saving option of just chucking one single eyeshadow into your makeup bag, As I'm a big fan of the neutral eye look, I thought I'd share with you my favourite single neutral shades.

Spring Clothing Haul

I know we are well onto our way to the summer months now, but with the unpredictable weather we've been having in the UK recently, I've only just begun to think about switching up my wardrobe for spring/summer. Being a dress size or two smaller than I was this time last year meant I was in need of a few new pieces in my wardrobe, which was the perfect excuse for a spot of shopping! Here's what I've picked up recently from New Look and H&M.

Slimming World Sunday - Back To Basics

I am going to be completely honest with you now. I've really struggled with any kind of Slimming World plan these last few weeks. In order to maintain my weight after reaching target, I was going to have one evening off plan, and stick to it 100% for the rest of the week. Well.....so far that has not been the case! One evening, turns into a whole day, which turns into a whole weekend, you get the picture. At the moment I'm a couple of pounds outside of my target range and I'm determined to stop it there. I don't want to go back to how I was, so this week I'm making an effort to get back into target range, or as near as I possibly can.

MAC X Caitlyn Jenner Finally Free Lipstick

When it comes to MAC products, I try not to get suckered in to the limited edition collections and the celebrity collaborations unless I see a product that I genuinely really like. After seeing swatches of the Finally Free lipstick, from their recent collaboration with Caitlyn Jenner, this was one I was going to have to snap up.

Bourjois City Radiance

I feel like Boots have had some amazing offers on Bourjois products recently. Whilst browsing I spotted a 2 for £14 offer and, with the massive saving I'd be making, thought it would be the perfect time to try a couple of their base products out. One I'd seen crop up a lot quite recently was one of their new releases, the City Radiance Skin Protecting Foundation. I'd read some quite mixed opinions though, so I was going in with an open mind.

Vlogs - Why I Love Them & My Favourites

I've been watching YouTube videos for years now. One of my favourite things to do on a lazy day is to snuggle up in bed with my iPad and make a serious dent in my Watch Later list. I've found that recently my Watch Later is being taken up more and more by vlogs as opposed to the typical beauty & fashion sit down videos that I used to watch so often. So why do I love them so much? And who do I enjoy watching?

My Spring Beauty Favourites

Spring is probably my favourite time of year when it comes to seasonal makeup. I love the light airy finishes and pretty pastel shades. Since I've not done a monthly favourites on my blog in a very long time, I thought I'd show you some of the makeup products I've been loving this spring.

My Happy List

A few days ago I talked about the steps I've taken to becoming a more positive person, one of those being to think of those things in life that I'm truly grateful for. Since I started doing this, I've put together a "happy list" on my phone that I look back on when I'm having a bit of an off day, just to remind myself of all of those little pleasures that make life great. I now have fifty things on this list, all just little things that make me smile, so as I'm at a nice round number I thought I'd now share that list with you. So, aside from the obvious friends, family and home, here's what else makes me happy in life.

Barry M Mani Mask

If you read my recent post you'll know that I am a huge fan of Barry M nail polishes. When they released their recent nail care range, I was really intrigued by the Mani Masks. They are formulated to condition and strengthen weak nails whilst adding a hint of colour, and have be labelled as a "tinted moisturiser for the nails". Sounds strange, but having pretty weak nails myself I was interested to see how this would work.

Slimming World Sunday - Free Body Magic

Whilst I think that the key to successful weight loss primarily lies with the food you are eating, getting in a decent amount of exercise also helps to give it that boost, and builds towards living a healthier lifestyle. When I first joined Slimming World, I also signed up to my local gym. It wasn't the most expensive membership in the world, but with a wedding to save up for and other more important commitments to pay for, it wasn't the best use of my money. I also found that I wasn't really getting my monies worth, particularly in the winter months when motivation to get up and go was at a low, so I soon found myself cancelling my membership. Since then I've found much more purse friendly ways to get a bit of body magic into my routine.

A Lush Bathroom Restock

If you saw my Instagram post recently you'll know that my bathtub of Lush goodies was in great need of a restock! I like to keep it as full as possible so I've got options for my bath! I've been a very lucky girl recently - as well as doing my own little top up haul, my husband also braved the Lush store to pick me up some goodies he thought I'd like too, so I thought I'd put them all together into one big haul.

Becoming A Positive Person

Two years ago I was in a pretty bad place. I'm not going to go into why, but if you're a long time reader of Kizzy Hearts, you may have a rough idea as to what was going on in my life at the time. As a result I was down all of the time, and struggled to find any positivity at all. It wasn't until I began attending Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions last year that I really started to feel like I was getting somewhere. Even since then, it's been a long road to recovery, but sat here writing this now I feel like a completely different person to who I was two years ago. That's all down to training myself to think in a more positive way, even in tough situations.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Souffle De Velvet Lipsticks

The original Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks are some of my favourite liquid lipsticks I own (and there's a fair few!). Whilst I never tried the Aqua Laque version, as I didn't think they'd be the type of product for me, the Souffle de Velvets looked right up my street, so during a recent Boots promotional offer I decided to pick a couple up and give them a go.

Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Palette

Usually I'm a lover of neutral eyeshadows - I'm completely obsessed with my Naked palettes, but having seen pictures of this online it had really caught my attention. I wanted to swatch before buying, as this was a slightly riskier purchase for me with it being a more adventurous shade range than I'm used to, but my naughty husband went and bought it for me anyway! I literally squealed with delight when I saw thing on the sofa when I got home from work (then promptly told him off for spending so much money!). So here's what I think of the palette so far, baring in mind of only had the palette for a few days!

CDs I'll Never Throw Out

I know we've turned into a society where digital music is the norm these days, but I personally still love a good CD. There's something about having a physical copy of my favourite albums that I like, and they're especially handy to have in the car when you're fed up of the radio. My own music tastes are pretty mixed, though I'd say the majority of what's in the charts I'd listen to. I recently had a huge clear out of my CD and DVD collection before I moved house in February, but there were some that I just could not get rid of. Here's five of my favourite from my remaining collection, that I honestly could not ever see myself throwing out.

Seventeen Skin Wow Concealer

For God knows how many years now I've been using the same old concealer duo on my face. I'd occasionally dabble in something different for a few days but then they will just get shoved to the back of the drawer and I'd be back to my same old routine. I was in Boots, about to restock on my usual Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer, when I spotted this in the "new in" part of the Seventeen makeup stand. I'd not really heard anything about it, but instantly the words "Touche Eclat dupe" sprang to mind. I've never tried the YSL product myself, despite wanting to, but I decided to give this cheaper alternative a go.

Slimming World Sunday - My DIY Recipe File

I think one of the keys to Slimming World success is to make sure you've always got inspiration to hand when you're completely lacking in ideas and are bored of eating the same old meals week in week out. It's always good to try something new now and again to keep interest in the plan. I used to keep a stack of my Slimming World magazines in my bedroom to dip into whenever I needed some recipe ideas, but it wasn't exactly the greatest filing system in the world. It took up a lot of room, and took a lot of flicking through to find something that took my fancy. It was time my stacks of magazines went off to the recycling, so I needed a new plan to make sure I still had my inspiration to hand.

Tanya Burr Rosy Flush Cheek Palette

I don't often buy blogger/YouTuber products. In fact, with the exception of my Real Techniques brushes, the only products I recall buying in the past have in fact been Tanya Burr products. A lot of the products I feel are aimed towards a much younger audience than myself, but when I spotted this palette set on the shelf in Superdrug, I took a quick look inside and loved what I saw.

Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Colours

When the MAC Retro Matte liquid lipsticks were released, I really wanted to get my hands on some, but they seemed to be ridiculously overpriced in my opinion, and with the mixed reviews they had been receiving, I didn't want to risk so much money on a potentially disappointing product. When I saw the Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolours I thought these would be the perfect affordable alternative - buying these four on offer costs me little over what one MAC product would've done! The only trouble was they were so difficult to get hold of at the time, especially the nude shades, but I eventually managed to track them down online.

Primark Haul Spring 2016

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I love a trip to Primark. Most of the items in my wardrobe get changed out at the end of each season and replaced with new ones, so I don't really want to be spending huge amounts of the majority of my clothing, and Primark has really stepped up its game in the last couple of years - I always manage to find some great pieces and best of all it's super cheap. As I haven't done a haul post in a while, I've managed to accumulate quite a bit of stuff. Here's what I've snapped up from Primark recently.

My Current Wishlist

This is definitely not the most affordable wishlist I've ever created but, what can I say, I have expensive taste at the moment! I'm not sure when I'll actually get chance to cross any of these items off the list, but it's nice to dream! Here's what I'm currently lusting after....

My Top Five Barry M Nail Polishes

Barry M is my all time favourite brand for nail polish. It's not the sort of product I'd ever want to spend massive amounts of money on, and Barry M is at a really affordable price point but the quality is still not compromised. In fact, the quality is often greater than high end polishes worth three times the price! If you took a look inside my nail polish drawer, I'd imagine around three quarters of the collection was from Barry M, I rarely opt for any other brand. Today I thought I'd give you a run down of my five favourites from my collection.

Kiko Haul

I literally squealed with excitement whilst I was out shopping in Birmingham with my friend Alison and discovered that now had a Kiko store - I had no idea it was there! I'd never tried anything from the brand but had been so deperate to pick something up for a long time, after seeing all of the amazing reviews online. The store was really crowded - it was at Saturday in the cnetre of Birmingham after all - so I didn't get a chance to look at everything I wanted to, but I did manage to pick up a few bits to try. Admittedly, I have had these products for a while now - these pictures were taken before I took my last blogging break - but I still wanted to share with you what I bought, and now I've had a real chance to try everything out, I can share my thoughts a little more.

Slimming World Sunday - 10 Weeks At Target

I'm back!! I considered writing a whole rambly post about why I've been away etc, but I wasn't sure how interesting you'd actually find it, so I decided as it was a Sunday just to crack straight back on with my Slimming World Sunday posts. Whilst I've been away though, I've been putting together a big list of blog post ideas, and to put it to good use I've decided to blog every day during the month of May, so if you're following me, expect to see a new post pop up on your Bloglovin feed every morning at 8am!

This Thursday marked 10 weeks since I reached my target weight at Slimming World, and I thought I'd share with you how this new part of my journey has gone so far.

Wardrobe Rules I'll Now Be Sticking To

Moving house last month prompted a very much needed clear out in our household, and I think the biggest de-clutter of all came from my wardrobe. When it actually came to looking at everything, I was astounded by how much I'd actually held on to that I was never going to wear again, whether that be because it was now too big, or I just didn't like the piece anymore. By the end, I had over two huge bin bags full of clothes to go to charity - what a massive waste of space! I decided that going forward I was going to be much more ruthless with my wardrobe and curb my shopping habits a little too, just by following these simple rules, with the aim of having items in my wardrobe that I'll actually wear, not a pile of stuff I'm holding onto "just in case".

Lush Haul

As you can probably tell, I'm absolutely loving living in a place with a bathtub again, and so it was only a matter of time before another Lush haul came along! There's been so many new products released over recent years, so I've been dying to see what I've been missing out on. My little Lush bathtub (if you follow my Instagram you'll know what I mean!) is now looking nice and full again after these purchases,