Tuesday 20 May 2014

H&M Wish list!


So to ease myself back into blogging I thought I'd just have a look through some of the sites I'd banned myself from whilst doing my university assignments and list all the things I'd buy... so it's basically a wish list... but quite an extensive one. I did go through the entire H&M ladies items.





I actually made this list a few weeks ago so some bits and pieces may be gone now or prices changed, so my up-most apologies if that is the case! But I think for SS14 H&M is on the ball with some absolutely gorgeous pieces and as you can see I love, love, love the pastel/monochrome trends for this season!

I tell you, If I had the pennies these would all be mine but alas student living has meant I can only make wish-lists for now and purchase just one or two pieces I simply must have! (in this case it's the No. 1's from both lists!)

So what trends are you feeling this season? Anything on this list caught your eye like it did mine? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

Hey, I'm Back!

 So, I've been gone for way over 2 months without a word on the blog... you can thank university for that! Since January it was virtually non-stop assignments, exams and deadlines, talk about a stressful time! 

However I actually finished my second year of university on the 2nd of May and was super excited to get back to blogging, so that evening I sat at my computer and went to write a post and I kind of drew a blank and freaked out at the same time, it seemed like so much time away from a blog that I had just started before taking a sort-of impromptu hiatus had made me a little self conscious of blogging and I just couldn't bring myself to write a post. 

So rather than let it upset me or make me worry I just went away from the laptop for a while, hardly even going on social networking sites or anything and just focused on idle tasks I had been putting off due to uni work; I tidied and organised my room, sorted my wardrobe out, decorated the room a little bit and generally let myself chill after the stress I had been through and that's where I am now, back to myself and chilled and I just feel ready to get back to blogging! 

So here I am! At first I may just post little bits and bobs to get myself back into the groove so please bear with me, I may be a bit wobbly and unorganized, even slightly irritating at first but blogging is a hobby I really want to focus on this summer as it feels like an extension of me and my interests, and I just find it so fun! 

Thank you for reading this and I'll be posting some things pretty soon!
Birds in Blossom x

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Lush Easter Collection!








 

Okay so by now you've probably realized I am a HUGE Lush fan, and when I saw their Easter/Mother's Day collection I fell in love, it's all so CUTE! You may also have noticed that this collection came out a few weeks ago so I'm slow of the mark with this post, but I did take these photos literally the day after the line was released, but university has been swallowing up all of my free time so this is the first time I've had an hour (I'm having a break from revision) to write a post. 

When I walked into the Lush shop it truly felt like spring had arrived with gorgeous floral bubble bars and a variety of egg shaped bath bombs. Some of my favourite aesthetic products are the 'Mum Tulip' because my favourite flower is the Tulip and I think the 'Bunch of Carrots' are super cute. 

As for the ones I actually purchased, I chose 'Brightside Bubble Bar' (£4.50 each), it has a lovely citrus-y scent, which is more tangerine/orange rather than lemon or anything, and it turns your bath really bright orange (here's an instagram vid of when I used it)I also bought the 'Golden Egg' (£3.50 each) I got this one purely because of its smell, it's SO delicious, it smells of chocolate, honeycomb, toffee and all that yumminess, very reminiscent of a crunchie bar! 

However I have yet to use it because I'm scared of how glittery myself and the bath tub is going to be, and I've mentioned in a few of my reviews how much I detest glitter... so buying this one may have not been the best idea, but I'll have to wait and see once I've used it. I'll probably say how I felt about it on twitter and then post a video on twitter of what it looks like in the bath, so if you're interested keep an eye out for that!




That's all for now, my breaks up and I have to get back to work. Hope you enjoyed this post!

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x




Friday 21 February 2014

30 Random Questions Tag!

So Ellie from Elephantstoriesandmore has tagged me to answer 30 random questions!

1) What are you wearing today?

Well I've been wearing Pyjamas all day, but I had to go to my parents to look after the pooches tonight so right now I'm wearing this Topshop Smock Dress and some plain ol' black tights.

2) What are you listening to right now? 
Like literally? Because Aladdin is on TV whilst I'm writing this out. But in general I've recently rekindled my love for Sufjan Stevens, I fell in love with his music years ago due to it's chill vibes but have got his album out of my cupboard again since hearing one of his songs on a TV advert.

3) Do you like the beach?
You know, I'm not sure, I have a very love-hate relationship with the beach. I love taking the dogs for a walk on the beach in spring or autumn (I find in summer it can be a tad too busy most days to walk the dogs!) and I love chilling on white sand beaches when on holiday sometimes (if they're quiet). But I hate salt-water and sand gets everywhere! I can't stand it! Also, I often get uncomfortable in busy places like the beach at summer so they're not always my favourite place!

4) What is something you really want right now? 
For my uni assignments to be magically complete! Nothing would make me happier!

5) Who was the last person you added to your contacts? 
Erm... I think it was a local taxi service because whenever I'm out I can never remember or find a cab number!

6) Do you have any piercings? 
Only on my ears, but I have 7 of them, at one point I had 10 but I let the upper 3 piercings on my left ear heal because I sleep on my left side and used to forget to take them out and then they'd throb in the morning. So I just couldn't be bothered with them anymore!

7) What are your favourite stores? 
Topshop, Primark, Urban Outfitters and ARK. Also I love ASOS and boohoo online! I'm such a shoppaholic!

8) What is your favourite nail polish brand? 
Not too sure, I use a lot of nail polish but don't venture into brands and such. If I see a colour I like and the price is reasonable I buy it no matter what brand. Though I do own about 40 topshop nail polishes, and I love them, but I think I have mostly this type because I'm always in Topshop and they catch my eye.

9) Have you ever failed a test? 
I've failed one Maths module test, but not the whole unit, I resat it and passed though!

10) Do you prefer shorts or skirts? 
Skirts! I always feel exposed and self-conscious in shorts, that's something I want to change! but I do love skirts because they're so pretty and feminine and you can get all sorts of styles, colours and patterns!

11) What is your favourite social media site?
Twitter mostly, then Pinterest. I hate facebook (other than to organise uni work with other students or keep in contact with friends) and I used to love Tumblr but I have practically stopped using it all together because Pinterest is more my style.

12) Do you play any sports? 
Not really, I go kayaking a lot in the summer and used to do loads like football, cross-country, netball, fencing, judo, thai kick-boxing all sorts, but then in college I got super lazy and then in uni I just don't have the time and money! *sigh*

13) Do you prefer long or short hair? 
LONG! I've always wanted long thick luxurious hair and did have just that in year 7 but I cut it to just above shoulder length in year 8 and it just hasn't grown back properly, mainly because when I try to grow it out and ask for a 'trim' at the hairdressers it's never just a trim is it... I must say at the minute I have major hair envy over Zoe's hair from the blog/youtube Zoella!

14) What is your favourite quote? 
I don't have one, I'm not a huge user or reader of quotes.

15) What colour is your bedroom? 
Well the one at my parents is a light brown on two walls (it's looks good I swear!) and the other two are wallpapered with a floral vintage style print with light green, brown and pink tones. Mine and my boyfriends room is white and blue though, a bit more unisex!

16) Are you an outgoing person or a shy person? 
Shy mostly, but outgoing when I'm comfortable around you.

17) What is the last text message you sent? 
Just those three little words to my boyfriend that everyone wants to hear -  'I got pizza'

18) Have you ever won a competition? 
I won an art competition in like year 6 for an anti-bullying campaign, the whole year 6 class met the Wigan Warriors as the prize (they're an English Rugby Team for those who don't know) but I hated rugby and had no idea who anyone was. I don't think I've won anything else?

19) How many pillows do you sleep with?
Well we have like 10 million on our bed, some decorative but mostly functional but I only use 2 to sleep (and the boyfriend only uses one) so the rest end up all over the floor.

20) Who was the first person you talked to today? 
My boyfriend, he had to go uni so was up and getting ready at like 6am, he tried asking me where his work bag was, but as I didn't have uni today I was planning on staying asleep and only half woke up to say 'Have you tried asking Mickey?'... mickey is the family parrot.

21) How many hoodies do you own? 
Er... one I think, it's a University of Lincoln hoodie I got for free when I enrolled, but I don't really use it. Does this mean I'm bad at being female?

22) What should you be doing right now? 
My uni coursework! Though I have been working all day on it and this is being done in a break and whilst I'm eating dinner, so I think it's okay!

23) Can you keep your shoes clean?
Nope, I wear them until the fall apart with no maintenance, such a bad idea, I really need to look after my shoes better, would probably save me some money too!

24) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Not sure, I don't like my name, and never have only because Rebecca (Becky) is super common there was always loads of Rebeccas in my classes growing up so I felt so unoriginal, and always wanted a unique name. However I would never change it as it's the one my parents gave me.

25) Do you prefer dark, milk or white chocolate? 
White chocolate's my favourite but sometimes it can be a tad sickly and so then it's got to be milk chocolate. I can't stand dark chocolate though!

26) Open a book closest to you and turn to page 13. What does the first line say on that page?
'These various examples show that genetic differences between individuals can lead to differences in behaviour (mating behaviour, learning, singing, foraging and migration).' - As I'm doing uni work I'm surrounded by animal behaviour books.

27) Do you still watch Disney? 
Totally! They're all I watch when doing work, I even forced my boyfriend to watch Frozen with me (sorry!). I'm such a big kid when it comes to disney!

28) What do you usually eat for breakfast? 
I don't tend to eat breakfast during the week as I don't have time before uni, but at the weekend if it's just me eating I have natural yogurt and red berry granola, but if there's a few of us eating I make anything requested, pancakes, french toast, omelettes, scrambled eggs, you name it I'll make it!

29) Do you have any pets?
Yup! My two pups ozzy and amber! 

30) What is your favourite holiday? 
Christmas obviously! It's so festive and I love decorating and buying gifts for the ones I love and the food, THE FOOD! Though I don't like the after Christmas blues and stomach!

So as for tagging others... er... if you've read this I TAG YOU! Lazy I know but I need to get back to work now, sorry!!

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

Tuesday 18 February 2014

H&M Mini Haul!

Just a quick one today as I am completely swamped with uni work so I haven't had any time to do a proper blog post, but I thought I'd just show you what I bought from H&M yesterday.

(sorry that it just looks like a black blob in the photo!)
6. Grid Print Wool Skirt - £12.99
(I can't find it on the website but there's a similar, but more expensive one, here, though there were loads in store)
7. White Floral Knit Top - £9.99
(another I can't locate, there's this, which is  as close as I could find meaning it's just a monochrome floral knit. Again plenty of these in store)


You can see I definitely had a monochrome with a hint of pink thing going on, which is a combo I'm totally loving for this spring by the way. I have a love/hate relationship with H&M as I find they can be very hit and miss with their products but they were absolutely on the ball yesterday, there were so many other things I wanted to buy but these were the ones I just had to have!

However, even though I've been looking for a reasonably priced pink blouse for a while, I think I'm going to return the one I bought for two reasons, 1. the pink is a bit more salmon than I would like, I really want a pastel pink and only noticed how bright this was when I tried it on at home, 2. When trying it on, due to it being VERY fitted it was tight around my chest, I'm a size 10 but if you have any form of boobs you may want to try a size up. 

Everything else is perfect, especially the kimono, this is another thing I've been after for a while, a pink-y floral kimono that is, and I instantly fell in love with this one! It also comes with a detachable belt which I use as a cute matching headband (though you have to wrap it around your head a few times!).

That's all for now though, got to get back to work. *sigh*

Keep Smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

Monday 10 February 2014

Tanya Burr Lips and Nails!



Most of you probably heard about Tanya Burr releasing her lip gloss and nail polish range on the 30th of January. But if you've been living under a rock, at least by bloggersphere standards, Tanya Burr is a top beauty, fashion and lifestyle Blogger and Youtuber, and is actually one of the first blogs I started reading regularly. Then when she released her products just over a week ago I couldn't wait to order a few of them to try them out!

I decided to buy one of each product type. So for lip gloss I chose Aurora, as it's such a flattering colour for my lips as it's only a shade or two lighter than my natural lip, and I had just run out of a similar coloured gloss so the timing was perfect. It smells delicious, just like strawberry sweets and has glitter in it to make your lips sparkle. It's not very sticky either which is good because I hate it when lip glosses almost make your lips stick together! They retail at £6.99 each, so are very reasonably priced. 


As for nail polish I chose Little Duck (what a sweet name!) as I am really into mint greens/blues at the minute and it's one colour I don't have in my nail polish collection. When applied to your nails it is true to the bottle colour and like most polishes, only needs two coats to achieve the perfect colour. These guys retail at £5.99 each, so again, they're super affordable.

Definitely going to invest in a few more of each product when I get paid next week! You can check them out on feelunique.com!

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

Thursday 6 February 2014

LVNDR Rings!

Hey guys!


You may have noticed I've not posted for a week and this has been due to having a lot of really important university assignment and presentation deadlines coming to a close these last few days, but now that's done with I can get back to posting!



So today I just want to show you a little purchase I've made!


This sweet little package arrived yesterday from an online shop called LVNDR. They do lots of really cute and not to mention super affordable jewellery, definitely worth checking them out here - lvndr.co.uk


 I love how personal the package feels with the hand written card, and rustic materials (I'm a sucker for a twine bow!). 


Once you open that package you get another super cute bag with links to their twitter and instagram (i highly recommend you give them a follow, also how cute is that mini-peg?!).


Anyway, here's what I bought, and as Valentine's Day is just around the corner I thought I'd buy two rings with a bit of a romance theme!



They are exactly what I wanted and are just as they appeared on the website I couldn't be happier with them.


This ring is the Baby Heart Ring (£3.49) I thought it looked so dainty and cute, and it would be complimentary with a combination of rings as it isn't too overbearing. 


Next is the Love Ring (£3.49) I just adored how the cursive font wraps all around your finger. This particular ring comes in three colours, bronze, silver and gold. I specifically chose silver to go with the baby heart ring, and another ring I have (the one in the photo below with the purple gem), but all the colours are gorgeous, I may just have to buy one of each in the future!


This is my favourite way to wear them, they really compliment the ring my boyfriend bought me for Christmas, and are a perfect choice for Valentine's Day (you may want to hint to your other half to buy you some for V-day! Definitely a apt gift!), I just love them!


When buying rings from this shop, they do only come in one size that will be stated on the products individual page. 

For example the Baby Heart Ring comes in UK size P (US 7.5) so is on the bigger side, but I like to wear it with the Love Ring on my index finger or on it's own on my middle finger. The Love Ring is UK size N (U.S 6.75) and for me is on the smaller size but as I just said I wear it as a midi-ring on my index finger or on my little finger on it's own.

Delivery is very reasonably priced, in my case it cost something like 89p (I think) and they arrived quickly and in perfect condition!

Lvndr don't just do rings though they have a great selection of all sorts of beautiful jewellery, I even have my eye on a few more necklaces and bracelets! I definitely recommend you check them out!

Keep Smiling,
Birds in Blossom x


Friday 31 January 2014

January 2014 | Loves and Loathes


Since it's the last day of January (can't believe how quick this month has gone!) I thought I'd do a quick little post on the things I've been loving this month and also the things I haven't been enjoying so much.


Loves!

(original source edit by me)

If any of you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have seen a few of the great deals I've managed to pick up in this years January Sales! (Though there are a few others I haven't posted on either of those sites which I do want to show off... maybe I'll make a small post maybe not though). Who doesn't love a bargain?! 

(original source edit by me)

This is just a little thing, but this month I've really felt like I've been getting into a good routine with university and I'm a lot more organised with uni work, and in general, at home (which was one of my resolutions!). It's just something that makes me feel good... I don't know why. Organised space = organised mind, perhaps?


My last love for January is Blogging! I've really enjoyed getting into blogging this month, and though I'm yet to fully get into a groove and have been occupied with university assignments and other things, I've tried to put as much effort into this blog as possible and I hope this can continue!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Loathes!

(original source edit by me)

Gotta love the student life, right? Work load has been my biggest downer this month, it's left me with virtually no free time and I've literally had sleepless nights over these assignments. One is due in this Tuesday (Feb 4th) and is accompanied by a oral presentation on the same day (which have given me mild panic attacks in the past, so not looking forward to that).
You know, I wouldn't mind the work if they were just essays or revision, but it's because we have to write up experiments we have conducted in true scientific paper style, with results, statistical analysis, references to other papers, the whole shabang. It is NOT FUN. I have, like, 5 more that need doing as well, but they are all in for March 21st so if I start now and pace myself I should be all good... hopefully.

(original source edit by me)

Okay, okay, I know a little weight gain over Christmas happens to a lot of people, but I just feel really sluggish and groggy. I mentioned wanting to be healthier and lose weight in my new years resolutions post, and I am eating healthier, but I've yet to notice any weight loss, which I know it is to be expected as it is still very early days (and I've yet to fully implement my exercise regime!) but some days I just don't feel like myself, you probably know those days too though! 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That's about it... not that much has happened this month, and like I said, due to uni work I haven't been out that much, so there's not been that much to love and loathe, but I think I'm going to do one of these every month since it's nice to reflect as you go along!

Anyone else had any particular loves or loathes from this January?

Keep smiling!
Birds in Blossom x

GIVEAWAY | 100 blog lovin' followers!






Hi everyone! 

Well, a few days ago I hit 100 blog lovin' followers! I honestly never thought I'd get even one reader of this blog, and so, never ever thought I'd see the day that I'd hit a milestone that would justify a giveaway! Yet here we are!

Anyway down to business, as a thank you for all of you who have followed my blog on blog lovin', I'm hosting a little Giveaway!

(You must be following me on Blog lovin' to enter the giveaway. Also, unfortunately it will be a UK ONLY giveaway this time.)

I've decided to give the lucky winner a One4all voucher, now if you don't know what that is it's a gift card like any other but you can use it in a wide range of shops and restaurants. For example Boots, Debenhams, Miss Selfridge, New look, Oasis, Pizza Express, River Island, Topshop and so many more!! Check out their website here to see where else it can be used! 

Now it's going to be a £20 voucher up for grabs and you can enter via the rafflecopter widget below! You have a week to make your entries count!

Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keep smiling,
Birds in Blossom x

Sunday 26 January 2014

Favourites | Mascara & Liquid Liner

Today, I thought I'd share with you my favourite mascara and liquid liner, they are both Rimmel products and both are black in colour. I use them every single day, practically without fail, and they never let me down, so yeah, I've decided to do a quick post on them!

Oh, by the way, I bought them both from Boots, but obviously that isn't the only place to find them and as there may not even be a Boots near you, so I've put links to the actual product page on the Rimmel website as they tell you all places where is available for you to buy them, hope that helps for anyone who is interested!


I have only just started using this particular mascara, the Rimmel ScandalEyes Lycra Flex Mascara (RRP £6.99), but I have instantly fallen in love. I do have naturally long lashes (though you couldn't tell from the photos!) so mascara does tend to work really well for me, but this product is on another level in comparison to mascaras I have used in the past. It truly lengthens my lashes and adds volume to them, just what you want from a mascara, and as a person who actually never wears false lashes but has considered wearing them, ScandalEyes makes me think that I really don't need them!



The applicator brush is large and thick (and a conventional shape, I don't really understand the benefit of all these strange shaped mascara brushes) just what I want, as it means good coverage of mascara on your lashes in just a few quick strokes of the brush.

However, I do find if you're not careful with application, it can start to clump a little if you apply more than one coat (like mine did today a bit). The best way to avoid this is by making sure the mascara isn't too thick at the end of the lashes and to 'wiggle' your brush as you are applying it, so make quick short side to side movements as you go up and along your lashes. Also let it dry after the first coat and use a clean eyelash comb (which I didn't have on me today) to separate the lashes, then carefully apply another coat if necessary. But just look at the difference it makes to my lashes!


Note that mascara does go 'off' and won't work like it should so it will probably clump a lot more that you'd expect and it'll be thick, so it won't spread nicely over your lashes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


Now this product is now an good old friend of mine, I've been using Rimmel Glam'Eyes Professional Liquid Liner (RRP £.5.29) for years and it's by far the best liquid liner I've come across for two reasons; Firstly, the liner itself, it's matte dark colour and lasts all day, very rarely do I have to do touch ups. Secondly, the applicator, which is actually a brush, you know with individual hairs like a paint brush, rather than a felt-tip nib type thing you often get which is good as I tend to find the nib ones to be too solid and stiff to get the smooth lines you can achieve with a brush style applicator. 

My eyeliner isn't perfect today and is a little messy (as you can see from the photo below, I had still to do the clean up on the smudged mascara below the water line and on my top lid), but like eyebrows, the eyeliner on each lid, doesn't have to be identical, just a similar style (otherwise it would just look odd). So I just go with what works from day to day, which tends to be a pretty simple cat eye look with a not too drastic flick.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Anyway, that's that for now, I would highly recommend these products if you don't mind very obvious and dark make-up. It's probably a little to heavy for most people, but it's what I do everyday and it is pretty quick and easy to do. Though, obviously if you did a thinner eye-liner line, and just one coat of mascara it would be more subtle look. They aren't too expensive compared to other products around, they do last a while and definitely have the quality. Thanks for reading! (and sorry for all the gross, high quality, up close pictures of my eyes!)

Here's a little start to finish comparison photo set!
         
Keep smiling,
BirdsinBlossom x

Saturday 25 January 2014

Mixed Prints. Love it or Hate it?

4. Graphic Flower Tee - £18.00

I was flicking through a magazine last week and came across something that I hadn't really seen before in a commercial piece of clothing, it was three completely clashing prints all on one dress (number 9. in my list). Now, I didn't know what to make of it because the magazine article had a plain image of the dress, like seen above, and then next to it was a photo of a model actually wearing it and it definitely looked far better on her than in it's picture, but I still wasn't sure what I thought about it. 

Then a few days later, I was browsing online and saw even more clothing with this mixed print look and I think I've come to the conclusion that, at the minute, I'm not really a fan, some of them are alright, like the oversized check shirt (8.) and maybe the smock dress (6.) but overall I've not seen anything that I would wear myself. Maybe I'm missing the point? I thought I'd show you guys as I think I'm still on the fence, perhaps I'm waiting for a piece that I like before I make a proper decision. 

Though, I must say, I've only picked out a few examples as I don't think this style is very common yet, but each time I look there seem to be more and more, so maybe it's a trend that's going to catch on (or is it already a thing? I don't know).

So, what do you guys think? Do you like it, and would you wear any of these?

Keep smiling,
Birds in Blossom x