Bloglovin test!

I haven't been posting recently because bloglovin hasn't been working for me! I've tried speaking to someone about it & no one could find anything wrong! So today I set up a new blog in the hopes that, that will work & all of a sudden all my previous posts are on bloglovin! So this is a test to see if whatever was wrong is not fixed! 

Love Louise

15 weird facts tag

I thought this would be a good way to get to know me a bit better! I got this tag from pinterest because I haven't seen any recently on my blog feed. If you see any that you'd like me to do, please pass them on!

1) What's a nickname only your family calls you?

My husband calls me 'souffle' 'puds' or 'pudding' & my dad calls me 'sweetpea' but that's it! Everyone else just calls me Louise.

2) What's a weird habit of yours?

I twirl my hair when I'm tired, rub my feet together when I'm tiring to get to sleep & I like to 'online shop' & add loads of things into my basket & would buy if I won the lottery!

3) Do you have any weird phobias?

I'm scared of heights - like I can't even stand on a chair, scared of heights & I'm scared that once I get pregnant & have my baby, I won't love them like a mother should. 

4) what song do you secretly love to blast & belt out when you're alone?

There's quiet a few! At the moment I like anything by Iggy Azalea, need you tonight by Inxs, anything by No Doubt & f*** the pain away by Peaches.

5) What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
I hate mess, but considering I'm one of the messiest people in world, it's a weird pet peeve! I also hate it when someone says they'll do something & they don't! 

6) What's one of your nervous habits?
I bite my nails but I do that a lot not just when I'm nervous. I'd probably bite my lip (my husband says I do that when I'm about to give him bad news) & cry! I'm a huge hormonal wreck 99% of the time & even the slightest thing can cause tears!

7) What side of the bed do you sleep on?
I sleep on the right. I used to sleep on the left but my husband swapped with me when I broke my foot 3 years ago & we've never gone back!

8) What was your first stuffed animal & what was its name?
I had a bear, called Bear! I was very unimaginative with names & I liked B's. I also had a rabbit called Bunny & a doll called Baby! 

9) What's the drink you always order at Starbucks?
Strawberries & cream frappachino without cream!

10) Which way do you face in the shower?
I move around & thought everyone did?

11) Do you have any weird body skills?
I can hula hoop like a pro!

12) What's your favourite comfort food that is bad but you eat it anyways?
There's so many! Pizza! Mash Potatoes with loads of butter! Macdonalds!

13) What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
I say "aces" a lot!

14) What do you wear when you go to sleep?
It depends how cold it is! In winter PJ's & a dressing gown, most of the year PJ's & those rare summer nights when it's unbelievably hot, nothing!

15) What did you used to wear that you thought was cool, but now you realise it isn't?
I was big on the skirt over jeans combo, & this was before skinny jeans so bootcut or flared jeans with a skirt on top!

So thats the 15 weird facts tag! You now know a little bit more about me! I tag all of you & let me if you do it so can know more about you!

Louise XxX

Where I've been!

You probably haven't even noticed I haven't been around recently but I've been M.I.A for over 6 months! But there's been a lot of stuff happening!

I'll be updating properly over the next 3 weeks to explain everything!

1) I've been undergoing fertility treatment for the past 3 months & having weekly blood tests for the 3 months before that! I'll be posting about my fertility story so far after my next hospital appointment later this month. 

2) I GOT MARRIED! In May when I first started seeing the fertility doctor, Rob & I decided to get married & because I had such high hopes the fertility treatment was gonna work I set the date for September! So didn't have much time to plan everything! I'll be posting pictures next week! & maybe talk about how I planned everything so quickly!

3) Enjoying my honeymoon, being a Mrs & Christmas! There has been other things as well but there are the highlights!

I've spent the last week preparing some posts to help me get back into the swing of things!

If you have any blog posts you'd like to see, let me know & I can try & accommodate! 

Small Boots Haul

The other week I received my Christmas boots points booster vouchers & decided to treat myself!

I'll be doing full reviews of individual items as & when I've used them properly but thought I'd give you a sneek peek of my naughty pre-Christmas spending!

The benefit "real cheeky" gift set. 

In this set you get dandelion-a ballet pink shade, rockateur-a dusty rose with gold shimmer, sugarbomb-this has 4 shades that when I swatched looked like a highlighter, hoola-a great matt bronzer, coralista-a shimmery coral, watts up-a cream golden highlighter & minitures of their famous they're real mascara & push up liner. 

From the swatches I'm rather disappointed because you don't get as much colour payoff as I was expecting! I'm gonna wait till I've tried them properly before passing too much judgement though!

Smashbox shape matters palette

I've recently got into contouring my face (I know! Only about a year behind the times! But I alway thought I'd look stupid & it wouldn't be for me!) & thought this would be good starter kit!

Inside you get: 

a huge mirror! I used this mirror at work yesterday to curl my hair & do my makeup! For the mirror alone I'm gonna take it away with me from now on!

3 brow products, 2 powders & wax, the powders look too light for my brows but I'll give them a go!

9 eyeshades - I haven't even swatched these yet but I love smashbox eye shadows so am expecting good things.

A matte contour shade, a matte highlight & a shimmery bronzer & highlighter!

Kate moss for Rimmel lipstick in 107

While doing my makeup at the beginning of the month, I realised I own very few berry shades of lipstick & decided to rectify this & get into the autumn/winter spirit! 

Also not owning any rimmel lipsticks seemed sacreligious for a beauty blogger! I haven't tried it yet but it does smell oddly of cucumber?

Batiste dry shampoo in fresh

Dry shampoo is probably a staple in most women's homes & im no exception! I always have a can in the house! This seems ok, kinda powdery compared to others I've used & doesn't really have a scent!

Imperial leather sherbet lemon shower cream

Having the surname Lemmon has made me obsessed with lemon scented, flavoured & printed things! & as soon as I saw this I knew I had to try it!

It's very much a novelty item, the smell doesn't last out of the bath or shower but it is really creamy on the skin & smells great at the time!

Rimmel wake me up mascara in extreme black

I've been umming & arring about this since it came out. On the one hand I loved the idea & using this on days when I'm tired & just want a slick of mascara, on the other hand, don't I already have 100 mascaras that could do the exact same thing? 

But this time I bited the bullet! I haven't used it yet but I've noticed this also smells like cucumber? Do all rimmel products smell of cucumber?

Maybelline lasting drama gel 24 eyeliner pencil in sapphire strength

This is a lovely jewel toned blue eyeliner, I bought it because I had an idea of blue winged liner but I couldn't find a blue liquid eyeliner at boots anywhere! This seemed like it might fit the bill! I'll let you know once I've tried it!

Revlon super lustrous lipstick in black cherry

This was another "I need more berry lipstick shades" purchase. Darker than the rimmel, I am a little worried it may wash me out? But we will see!

Revlon colorstay concealer in 01 fair

Expect a full review on this soon but so far I think it's amazing! 100xbetter than my nars creamy concealer! I think this will be my go to concealer from now on!

Revlon colorstay foundation for normal/dry skin in 209 nude

I've only used this once & was disappointed! With all the hype I was expecting great things! But for me the coverage was practically nothing, it clung to dry patched & only lasted about 3 hours! I will be trying it again with a different sponge & brush to see if that makes a difference!

Swatches: L-R rimmel Kate moss in 107, maybelline blue eyeliner, revlon lipstick in black cherry, revlon colorstay concealer & revlon colorstay foundation. 

Have you tried any of these? Do you rate any of these items?

Louise X

What I've been reading this month

The Girl on the Train By Paula Hawkins

This was a little bit of a slow starter, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down! It kept me guessing all the way through & I liked how it was told from different views & different times to keep you confused & guessing! Don't think I'd read it again because I now know who did it!

Wild By Cheryl Strayed

I started reading this a couple of months ago, but it got a little heavy & my mum wanted to read it. So I took a bit of a break while my mum read it & finished it recently. This has become the book I will reach for when I don't know what to read. It's a raw, powerful & passionate true story that evoked a lot of emotions within me. Especially as I'm also very close with my mother. It scares me a little if this is how I'll react when she dies. Read it & love! (Plus it's 100% better than the film & I really wanted to like film because I love reese Witherspoon & the lead singer of my favourite band has a cameo role.)

The Duff By Kody Keplinger 

I read this after watching the film & again thought the book was better than the film (they nearly always are!) I loved the message of this book & found it to be a nice easy read. Which is sometimes what you need from a book, something that isn't to taxing on your brain. Will probably read again & might enjoying it more a 2nd time round!

Saint Anything By Sarah Dessen

I've been reading Sarah Dessen books for over 10 years. There's something so comforting about reading a book by an author you know is good at what they do! Sarah is incredible at what she does. She creates a world I never want to leave, even though I'm no longer in high school. The characters will remind you of someone you know & feel like family. For as long as Sarah is writing, I'll be reading her books! This is one of my favourites of hers!

The Princess Diaries 9 & 10 By Meg Cabot

Again an author I've been reading for over 10 years & will continue to re-read for at least another 10 years! I decided to re-read these because a new book to the series is being released in July & wanted these to be fresh in my mind! Of the whole series 9 & 10 are my favourite. I read them again & again!

What are your favourite books? What have you been reading recently?

Espa Optimal Skin Pro Cleanser & Oil

The cleanser is described as an "advanced tri-phase cleansing for naturally radiant beautiful skin"

I don't know what "tri-phase" means! But whatever is in this it works for me! This has a gel like consistency with little waxy beads (apparently these are jojoba spheres) that exfoliate & melt into the skin as you massage into your face. 

This can be used in 2 different ways. 1) as a daily cleanser, removing once all the "jojoba spheres" had melted. 2) how I use it, as a mask that you leave on for 15 minutes once or twice a week. 

I can tell you it contains moringa seed extract & pumpkin enzymes, I don't what these do for the skin but whatever it is, my skin has never been better!

I bought this on a recommendation from an assistant in Liberty while my skin was incredible bad. The worst it's been. Dry & covered in red, angry acne that caused my makeup to cling to my dry patches & not cover all the redness. 

Now, my skin still has acne, it probably always will because of my pcos, but now it's smooth, hydrated & makes me feel confident enough to go out without makeup!

The oil was given to me as a sample when I bought my cleanser to try. Before I tried it I thought all skin oils were created equal! Boy was I wrong! I've tried a few skin oils, boots botanics organic oil, kiehls midnight recovery oil to name a few & could tell the difference. 

This however leaves my skin feel plump & hydrated without feeling greasy & can be used both at night or in the morning. I've had to start rationing myself with this after my cat knocked the bottle over, & as the sample doesn't have a lid, I lost  about 70% of it!

I'm definitely gonna be trying more products from espa as my experience with these 2 has been nothing but godsend!

Have you tried anything from espa? Do you have any holy grail skincare products?

May & June Favorites

I'm really gonna try & blog everyday from now on, even if its just a little daily update! I've also been thinking of vlogging? But I'm not sure. Let me know what you think!

So on with my favorites!

My mum bought me this from a shop in Germany where she lives. Its nice & soft & perfect to use for everything! foundation, powder, blush, highlighter! Its the only brush I've been reaching for & it was the only brush I took to London with me!

I've been alternating between 2 mascaras recently. Lancome Hypnose Star & Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart mascara. Both curl, lengthen, thicken & give a fuller looking lash effect that I'm always looking for! If I had to pick only one, I'm not sure what I'd do!

I recieved a sample of Healgel Intense in a beauty box ages ago! But because I have sensitive skin, I'm always wary of trying new things, so this hung around for a while! Until I went to Germany in March. Flights, even short haul ones, always dry out my skin more than usual. So I wanted something to help & with this being called Intensive, I figured it might do the trick! I was so right! My skin was a dream for the entire trip! I loved this so much when I ran out of the sample, I made a special trip to my closest Space NK to make a purchase! It is a little pricey at £37.50, but I think this will last me a while!

Another eye product I've had difficultly choosing between recently is eyeliner. I love a 50's style cat eye & generally its my go to eye look! I love both of these for different reasons. The Bourjois Liner Pinceau eyeliner has a fine brush like tip that is great for precise, thin lines. It give a satin, almost wet look finish that I wish was matte. The Benefit They're Real Push-Up liner has had countless reviews about it, with various opinions. For me this is great for lazy days or when I've woken up late & am in a rush! The tip makes it easy to get the right shape without making a mess! The only thing I don't like is how fast it dries out! Both last all day even though I'm an eye rubber!

This is the only Nars product I own & because of how much I love it I will be buying more things to try when I get a chance! The blush I have is Deep throat. It provides a sheer sweep of pink with slight sheen going through it so you look healthy, natural & glowy. Its my all time favorite everyday blush!

This Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Poppy is my new favorite everyday red lipstick. It provides a rich moisturizing wash of colour, that although isn't very long wearing, does wear well & is a joy to reapply because of the moisture hit it gives my lips. Its like wearing a highly pigmented lip balm! I am definitely going to be looking at some of the other colours, especially when summer finally hits!

The My Beautybox bag I got while I was Germany. I've been wanting something to put all my daily makeup bits into quickly after I've applied my makeup to help keep the lounge tidy & when I saw this I couldn't resist! Its bit enough to keep all my daily essentials in & any extras I pull out of my full collections before I tidy it away properly!

My last favorite has been Jo Malone - Wood Sage & Sea Salt. I wasn't sure I was gonna like this when it first came out because it didn't sound like any of my usual fragrances. This has a clean, fresh scent that makes me feel like a proper grown up when I wear it!

Swatches left to right: Nars deep throat, Benefit they're real push up liner, bourjois liner, Revlon ultra HD lipstick in poppy.

What have you been enjoying lately? What Nars products do you recommend I try next?