30 before 30

Not too long ago, the idea of being 30 meant absolutely nothing to me. It was some faraway mystical age which I thought I'd never have to deal with. But just the other day I realised I'm over two thirds of my way there! I'm supposed to be in my prime at the age of 21 (almost 22, eek!) but I really don't feel like I'm living my life to the fullest. To me, my life is pretty mundane and so I want to compile a list of 30 totally realistic things to make my 20's more fulfilling.

1; Visit the theater.

2; Buy a house.

3; Attend the Burning Man Festival.

4; Get professional photo's taken.

5; Master the winged eyeliner.

6; Knit an actual people-sized blanked.

7; Start up my own business and begin my career.

8; Adopt a puppy.

9; Get in shape + peak physical condition.

10; Get a degree.

11; Make a piece of art and hang it in my home.

12; Get engaged.

13; Try yoga.

14; Hike up a mountain.

15; Learn a language.

16; Grow something edible in my garden.

17; Have a spontaneous party - just because.

18; Learn to run.

19; Run a 5K.

20; Decorate an entire room - without the help of Ikea.

21; Give blood.

22; Learn how to cook.

23; Volunteer.

24; Own a designer handbag.

25; Go on a spontaneous drive to someplace new.

26; Change my hairstyle - dramatically!

27; Own a classic car.

28; Get a tattoo.

29; Stay out of debt.

30; Stay hopeful and optimistic in difficult situations.

What do you want to accomplish before your next milestone?

S.

wish; wish; wish;

It's a lazy Sunday evening and I have full reign over every single online shop with a very limited bank balance. Woe is me! My wish list is forever growing, and here is just a snippet..

a; Revlon Bare Bones

I heard about this on EssieButton's blog a little while ago, and I still haven't gotten around to picking it up. I really must get on that. Although I don't paint my nails very often (work issues!) I think I'd make more of an effort for this.

b; Lily-Flame Candle in Fairy Dust

I haven't bought any new candles all season so I am well overdue a candle purchase. I'm in the mood for something light and sweet, and surely I'm not the only one interested to know what Fairy Dust smells like ;)

c; Printed Rabbit Dress

I am in love with Holly Willoughby as a person, and so naturally I'm in love with her clothing line at Very. This dress is absolutely perfect though and it saddens me to see it sold out in my size! 

d; & Other Stories in Pointelle Flesh

This looks like a 'my lips but better' sort of shade, not a necessity but still, somehow, totally necessary! I really need to make a purchase from & Other Stories very soon though.

e; Rock and Rags Spikey Boots

I saw these on sale as I passed USC just the other day and I came so close to buying them, if only they had them in my size! So today when I checked online and seen they still stocked a size 6 I got a little excited. There's a high chance these will be making their way to my feet very shortly.

S.

sunday spark

Something to remember

S.

Notting Hill Nude

I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect nude lipstick - who isn't, right? On my search I came across Rimmel's Moisture Renew lipsticks which were inspired by the streets on London. The nude of the trio is Notting Hill Nude, a dusky rose that runs more so on the brown side.

The formula is just like the any other Moisture Renew lipstick. It's nicely hydrating whilst leaving a subtle sheen. Not too glossy, but certainly not matte either. If you're at all familiar with the was the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder smells, this range of lipsticks smells just like that. A little bit old school, and I imagine a little something like the 1920's.

I think it's mostly down to the silky hydrating formula, but this lipstick just doesn't stay stuck! It's not going to last on your lips more than a couple of hours, and it transfers like crazy, but for the price you can afford to top it up a couple of times a day.

This still retails for £6.29 at Superdrug, but there are tonnes of sellers on eBay who are practically giving this lipstick away from as little as £1.99 (with free postage)! Whenever I get my heart set on a new lipstick I always always check on eBay first because the price difference is just phenomenal.

I can see this shade quickly becoming my everyday lipstick, and because it's not overwhelming, it can be worn with practically anything. If you're looking for a nude which doesn't double up as a concealer, Notting Hill Nude could be perfect for you!

S.

My Month In Pictures

I don't feel like I take many pictures at all, a habit which I really must improve on. Because of my laziness, I think I can justify putting my entire months worth of pictures into just one post! Hopefully I can start taking enough snaps to warrant a weekly blog post!

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a; The boyfriend and I took a drive to Whitley Bay on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

b; A behind the scenes at Whitley Bay. Inception, anyone?

c; I had a major sick day and spent the entire day in bed feeling sorry for myself

d; Father's Day! I decorated his gift with a couple of hand made paper bows

e; I couldn't possibly take a trip to Ikea without grabbing a treat from the supermarket! Is anyone else the same?

f; After a long day, I was soso happy to finally be relaxing in bed with a book and green tea

g; Finished work mega late so I took a midnight trip to Asda

S.

Back to Lush - My 5 Empties

If you aren't already aware, Lush runs a similar scheme to Mac where if you collect 5 empty black pots you can pick up a fresh face mask absolutely free of charge. I don't find it all that difficult finishing up Lush products, especially their face masks, so here are my current 5 empty black pots waiting to be recycled!

Catastrophe Cosmetic;

I picked this up because I am utterly obsessed with blueberries! It claimed to give my skin a good deep cleanse without causing puffiness - leaving the face cool, clear and calm. And it delivered. My skin definitely looked brighter, felt cleaner, and the crushed blueberries running through the mask gave a lovely exfoliating action when it came to rinsing. Just be sure to apply a good moisturiser after as it may be a little drying.

The Sacred Truth;

I was looking for a face mask to help hydrate my tired looking skin, and this is what I picked up. I'm glad I did! The coconut oil and shea butter really helped to moisturise while the papaya gave a little chemical exfoliation to remove dead skin cells. The Sacred Truth made an instant noticeable difference to the dry patches on my skin and I couldn't be more pleased! 

Turkish Delight;

I received this in a gift set for Christmas and honestly had no idea how to go about using it! According to Lush, you just scoop a good handful straight out of the pot and work it over your body in the shower, rinse, and marvel at your softness. I tried it, and I liked it, but I felt I was using a lot more than my regular shower gel. At over £15 a pot, I don't think I'd be able to justify it. However, it did leave my skin incredibly soft and clean and even my boyfriend commented on how lovely it smelt! Imagine walking through a garden of roses. Yep, that.

Dream Cream;

Can we all just take a moment to marvel at this magnificent product? Even after using up this entire pot, which might I add, seemed to last me foreverrrr, I still can't get over how amazingly well this worked. The cream is surprisingly light, more like a lotion, which enables it to soak into the skin incredibly well. I felt like my skin just drank this stuff up. Because of how thin it is, I really wasn't expecting much. Oh, how I was wrong! I can't remember the last time my skin felt so soft and hydrated and silky and soothed and velvety etc etc etc. This cream is by far one of the most hydrating things my skin has ever seen. And all of this without any greasy residue! It's perfect! 

Breath of Fresh Air;

And finally, the  mysterious black container with no label! I bought this toner to spritz over my face after cleansing and throughout the day whenever I felt was necessary. I hated the packaging with the harsh, direct squirt (not at all a refreshing mist!), but loved the product itself so I simply decanted it into an empty container I had lying around with a better spritzer. This light and gentle toner did a great job of removing any excess dirt and oil while providing just a little extra moisture!

And now the hard part... which fresh face mask do I try next?! Any suggestions?

S.

Le Volume De Chanel

I managed to get my hands on a sample of Le Volume De Chanel Mascara which naturally got me mega excited. I haven't heard much about this mascara so I really didn't know what to expect, but still, it's freakin' Chanel so it's gotta be good, right?

How chic is this packaging?!

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Straight off the bat I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it because I don't often get along with these plasticy brushes and I much prefer the more bristly ones (like my Maybelline Colossal Volum'). Regardless, I persevered and I was pleasantly surprised!

The formula was quite wet (it may dry up a little over time?) which meant that I had to work with my lashes a little to get them from going clumpy and looking like I had only 5 individual eyelashes. In this sense, it's already a higher maintenance mascara than my regular, but the final results are so worth it.

After a few minutes clarting on with clumps and splodges, this is what I ended up with, with just one coat on my stubby blonde lashes (I very rarely go for seconds). As you can see, I unintentionally ended up with mascara on my eyelid too which I really cannot avoid but this is so much neater than usual, trust me! Does anyone have any tips to prevent this though? 

Despite its pretty impressive staying power, my usual Peaches and Clean cleanser removes every trace of the mascara with no problem, I'm just left with bigger panda eyes halfway through the process!

I don't think I'll be heading down to my nearest Chanel counter anytime soon, but this really is a nice treat which I'm going to savor for the next couple of weeks. I seriously enjoy having lashes which reach to my eyebrows if I try really really hard, and even my boyfriend commented on them which is also a pleasant bonus.
If you want to treat yourself, you can pick a tube up from Boots for £24.

S.