ShopSpring - Spring Time Picks

Clockwise L-R : Raybans, Watch, Patch, Pin, Lipstick 

"Inspired by the season and the street, Spring is a single shopping destination where people can discover amazing products and buy them directly from the brands and designers that make them. We want to make Spring a highly personal experience that captures the fun, beauty, and social joy of going shopping in the physical world"

So, I was recently introduced to Spring - a website that connects you to hundreds of products for women, men and kids. There are cool accessories, clothes, bags and shoes for every occasion, and it's a pretty easy to navigate website. You can choose to use the old fashioned internet browser, or you could swipe through on the app, too. 

I've picked a couple of pieces that I absolutely LOVED from the accessories section, but I chucked in a lipstick set too, just for good measure. Lots of items are already on sale, but you can also get free shipping regardless of the amount in your basket.. that's good for those "Budget? What budget?" days as well as the "how long 'til payday?" days!

Let me know if you pick any of these items up, I can see the 'Bad Bitch' patch going ever so well with my work ensembles ;)

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I was not paid or compensated for this article. All thoughts are my own.

Still Loving : Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

Here it is again, the coveted holy grail skincare product from Liz Earle. I repurchased this a couple of weeks ago after a little break, and as soon as I used it again I remembered why I used to love it so much. When I first tried the Cleanse & Polish I wrote about it here back in 2012 and loved it.

The 100ml tube comes in a mint green bag with two muslin cloths folded around it, and even as I unzipped the outer packaging I could smell the familiar smell of Eucalyptus. 

Everything about this product is the same as it was when I last bought it, which is no bad thing! It still has the thick creamy consistency which glides onto the skin easily, and still doesn't cause any irritation. That's one thing I've always loved about this product - even around the eye area (and, on a couple of drunken occasions in the eye...) there's no soreness or sensitivity. Every scrap of make-up is removed and the muslin cloth exfoliates to get rid of any dead skin.

I use this with the cloth and have used it with my Clarisonic. It's most effective with the cloth that's provided, but when mine's in the wash it's not too bad with the spinning face brush too.

Ultimately, this is the same as every review you've probably already read; buy this product and then use it until it's empty and then buy it again etc, etc, etc.

You can grab one from the Liz Earle website here for £15.50, plus there's a couple of limited edition fragrances which would be perfect for Mother's Day.

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There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

Illamasqua Gel Sculpt - Silhouette

I was spoilt rotten this Christmas, especially when it came to beauty products. I got heaps of contouring products, but this is one that stood out.

Looking a bit like a big crayon I was a little apprehensive about this at first, but after a couple of attempts I realised it was incredibly easy to use! There are three shades, Silhouette, Charm and Fluster. Charm and Fluster are more appropriately used as blushers, with apricot and cherry like shades. Silhouette is a brown shade, perfect for adding dimension to the face.

It creates a sheer, brown line wherever it's rubbed against the skin, enough to be visible but not so much that it looks too Ru-Paul's drag race. The above photo is after about three swipes and as you can see, even after a heavy swatch isn't an opaque shade of brown.

I use this just in the hollows of my cheeks, along my hairline and on occasion just along the front of my nose. It's easy to blend and doesn't leave any harsh lines when blended in with either a beauty blender or a stippling brush which means it's almost fool proof!

I don't need to add any extra bronzer or darker contouring shade, as for me, a whiter than white girl, this is perfect for a simple every day cheekbone boost and can be easily built on for a sharper 'night out' look.

You can grab the Illamasuqua Gel Sculpt for £22 from the Illamasqua website here, from Net-A-Porter here or from everyone's favourite - ASOS here.

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There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

I Love... Christmas!

I Love... Cosmetics is ready for Christmas and these smell beautiful! 

These three bath and shower cremes turned up at my house today(*) and I was excited to have a shower as soon as I smelt the Cherry Almond Sparkle. 

These three all smell so good, it's like washing in a sweet shop / bakery and they have left me feeling so clean too.

You can grab all three of these from Superdrug in time for the festive season with the little ones priced at £2 and the 500ml for £4. These will make perfect Secret Santa presents for your pals or lovely little stocking fillers. I'm already coveting Mixed Berries and Iced Cookies!

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(*)These products were sent to me free of charge. I have not been paid to review them and, as usual, 

have been honest about my opinions and experiences with the products. 

All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of I Love...Cosmetics or Fluorescent PR.

There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

The Teacher Training Chronicles // Pt 1.

Last September I began my journey as a trainee teacher, and I'm now just days away from finishing my course and being able to say "I'm an English teacher" without feeling like I've got to justify it with a "well, I'm a trainee...".


I can honestly say that the course I undertook was challenging for a range of reasons, one of which was just the personal side of things... coming to terms with the position of responsibility I'll have, realising that between the hours of 7.30 and 4 I am not a kid, I'm an adult and finally, realising that there is so, so much still to learn.

Let's start from the beginning...

July 2014 I was 22, finishing my first year as a Learning Support Assistant. I'd done alright given I had no previous experience in schools or with young people. I'd had my fair share of work-cries due to some difficult situations and survived my first Oftsed inspection as an "additional adult". Things were going really well until the last week of term when I suddenly realised I didn't know if I was making the right decision by deciding to train as a teacher. What if I wasn't smart enough? What if I was too young at 22 to choose to educate people who were only 9 years younger than I was? What if the sixth form didn't take me seriously as a teacher, especially as there was less than 5 years between some of us? What if the experienced teachers didn't take me seriously because I was so young?

Mainly, what if I was shit?

So, I let those questions hover over me. I did a moderate melt-down over other personal issues which hindered my ability to do...well...anything for a while. Once I'd got myself together I did a bit of research into my chosen career and training path, read some books from the exam specification but mainly, I enjoyed my summer holidays with some of my favourite people before facing reality.

The 4th of September looked a lot like this...

The 5th of September was more like this...

And then September - June was a mixture of 

There's a slight pattern.. my laptop, pyjamas, lesson plans lots of paper and just enough time to Instagram it all too.

But, I survived! As a terrible student at 15, an okay student at 18 and an "out-of-my-depth" student at 23 I think I've done alright making it this far; just two days away from getting QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) and embarking on my NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) year. 

I'm so, so pleased and proud of myself but mostly I am TIRED! I'm tired physically, mentally, emotionally but I'm loving life at the front of the classroom every day.

Part II is in the pipeline - what would you like to know about my training path? Let me know!

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Burt's Bees // #SaveYourPillow

There is nothing more frustrating than leaving remnants of mascara, eyeliner or lipstick on a pillowcase after a night out. I always take my make-up off before I go to sleep, but I don't always use products that will help my skin.

Make-up wipes might be the cardinal sin of beauty bloggers everywhere, but sometimes they're the easiest, most convenient and quickest way to remove the war paint.

Last week I received two new products from Burt's Bees, both designed to take your make-up off quickly.

Firstly, the Orange Essence Facial Cleanser(*).
This is designed to make it super easy to take of make-up or cleanse the skin of any dirt left over from the day, and is used by massaging onto the skin and then washing with warm water or a damp cloth.

With a consistency similar to that of Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, you can feel this product on your face. It's thick but not greasy with a gorgeous citrusy scent.

It removes base makeup as well as heavy duty eye products too.

Next, is the Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream(*).

Working in a similar way to the other cleanser, this is applied to the face, massaged on and then removed with warm water or a damp cloth.

This cleanser is a thick, white lotion similar to Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser. It has a strong scent, similar to Parma Violets or Swizzlers Fizzlers. I find it quite refreshing and pleasant, though it might be too strong for some people. I did get a little bit in my eyes when rinsing and it was a little unpleasant. This isn't recommended for eye make-up!

I have loved using both of these products and I really don't have a favourite at this point! I'll continue to use both regularly. I'm most likely to use the orange cleanser daily and the deep cleanser once or twice a week to make sure I'm giving my skin a good looking after at the end of a long day.

The Orange Essence Facial Cleanser and the Soap Bark and Chamomile are currently available for £10.99 each (RRP). They can be bought from Marks & Spencer (click!), Holland & Barrett (click!) and of course, Burt's Bees (click!). There are two other products in the #SaveYourPillow campaign - a Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub and Facial Towelettes with White Tea Extract.

Have you tried these? Let me know!

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(*)These products were sent to me free of charge. I have not been paid to review them and, as usual, 

have been honest about my opinions and experiences with the products. 

All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Burt's Bees or Fluorescent PR.

There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

Primark // Floral Vs. Plain Towels

I haven't ever been "big" on Primark, but recently I've realised there's certainly enough in there to save me blowing money uselessly in more expensive shops. 

I popped in to the nearest Primark this weekend and while I was there decided it was time to buy some towels. I have my own towels at home that are on rotation -  a baby pink set of Ralph Lauren towels and some fuchsia towels, but I've decided the fuchsia ones have reached the end. It's time for us to part ways!

 Naturally while I was there I zoomed in on these pretty floral towels, a bath towel, a hand towel and two face cloths coming in at under £20 for all of them. Similarly, I grabbed this "luxury" 100% cotton extra large towel in grey which was only £11. The face cloths are a pack of three and were £4.

These both fit well on my towel rail meaning that there's always a towel there for myself, or for a guest.

The hand towel looks really lovely next to the sink, though if I'm honest it's more likely to be used as a hair towel so it will probably end up on the towel rail with the others!

I think the patterns on the floral towels and the plain grey go really well together, neither making the other look out of place.

What do you think of the Primark home range? What else should I keep an eye out for??

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