Lush dragon's egg bath bomb

Today has been a very hard day for me. I won't bore you with the details but it's fair to say that I was feeling very down and exhausted by it.

I decided the best way to lift my mood and rejuvenate myself was to have a nice relaxing bath. It was also a good opportunity to take advantage of the fact I actually had a bathtub for once (you really miss them in student digs). 

I chose to use Lush's Dragon Egg which is a large white bath bomb with coloured blobs in it. It smells like lemon sherbet which I love. 

It turns the bathwater a golden colour and smells citrusy, which is so uplifting. And the best part... It's full of gold glitter! 

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved the glitter. I felt like an angel surrounded by a magical, heavenly aura! I just wanted the gold glitter to follow me everywhere forever. That glitter really helped to make me feel special and a lot better after my horrible day. Another plus was that the glitter was not difficult to clear from the bathtub at all, just a quick rinse with the shower head will do it.

If you love lemon sherbet and glitter as much as I do you have to check this out. They cost £3.35 each.

Rocket Volum' Express by Maybelline

Let's play a game...

I spy with my little eye a new favourite high street/drugstore mascara beginning with R

Rocket Volum' Express by Maybelline 

This mascara really surprised me with how good it is. I have owned it for ages but didn't open it because I had so many other open mascaras which needed to be used up first. It is sensational at adding length and building volume and is one of the better ones I've used at separating the lashes. It is a wet formula so it can take a little bit of playing around with to make your lashes fan out nicely but it is still easy to work with. It even made my rebellious outer lashes fan out the correct way, which is a hard task indeed! I would recommend always starting from the very root of the eyelashes and wiggle the wand through the lashes to avoid clumping.

It costs £7.99 at Boots, which to me is a very good price for lashes this good.

Christmas with Kira

Merry Christmas my beauties, I hope it was enjoyable and fantastically festive! I can honestly say that mine was incredible and I loved every minute of it. I find that Christmas is a time of traditions so I thought I'd inform you all of my typical Christmases.

 

For me, Christmas traditions start well in advance of Christmas. In my mum's Eurasian culture food is a huge part of Christmas and so Christmas cakes and biscuits of all shapes, sizes and tastes must be prepared. This year I couldn't take part in our usual cake production line (it is literally industrial-like) but I can assure you there were jars and trays full of all those devishly tasty treats! I have been tempted by them sitting in my kitchen ever since, it's dangerous living in this household.

 

An important day for Christmas food prep was obviously Christmas Eve, where it is my annual job to prep all the vegetables and pigs in blanket so they're ready for cooking the next day. I peeled two sacks of potatoes, two bags of carrots, two bags of parsnips, prepared one bag of brussels (because no one really likes them but we have a 'must eat at least one' rule in our house) and made 3 trays of pigs in blanket. Why so much food you ask? Because we had 18 people for Christmas lunch...

Christmas eve outfit:

Jumper- Topshop

Jeans- Dorothy Perkins

Frilly Socks- Accessorize

Boots- Charlotte Russe

 

I know, I know, it seems ridiculous but in all fairness that was a quiet Christmas lunch for us! I think the most important aspect of my Christmas which makes its special for me is how family orientated it is. That's the reason we have so many of my family over for lunch (although unfortunately some people were missing this year).

 

Table for 18 (well two tables stuck together)

 

Don't be fooled into thinking that's all my family though, the rest come after Christmas lunch or the next day. Boxing day at my house is pure craziness. There were around 40 people in my not-so-big house on Boxing day! Lots of people had slept over from the night before and more people arrived to come and see the rest of the family. I think the reason it works so well is because my family all get along and love the rare occasions we can all get together. We really don't care about the chaos that ensues because we've grown up with it, being such a big family.

 

Of course presents feature a lot in Christmas and it's a family tradition for my brother Nyle and I to open our presents from Santa (yes I'm 18 and still receive presents from Santa) first thing in the morning and then to open the presents from the family when my aunt and my grandparents had come round. Before they come round, however, Mum, Nyle and I visit the cemetary to go and see my Mama's (my mum's Mother) grave. Unfortunately my Dad's father, who I call Dada, is too ill for my aunt to bring to our house anymore so it's now just my Ba (Dad's mum) and my Grandad (Mum's dad- sorry this is confusing!) who open presents with us at home. This is always really sweet and it's nice to have this time with my grandparents before everyone else arrives. Since Dada is too ill to travel, we've made it a new tradition to go and see him when we drop Ba back home to open a present with him and pull crackers together.

Dada and I

 

I received a lot of lovely gifts but I think I might make another post (or possibly a video?!) devoted to that as well as all the Christmas sales shopping I did.

 

I think the one last thing I have to share with you is my Christmas outfit. I opted for a loose dress (tactically chosen to hide post-roast food babies- I think I had triplets going on, I ate THAT much) with gold accessories.

Dress: Topshop

Tights: Uniqlo

Boots: Charlotte Russe

Necklace: Topshop

Assortment of rings and bracelet: Topshop

 

I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas, stay tuned for a Christmas haul and New Years post

 

Kira <3



A Post-Deadline Treat

I feel like the majority of my posts have started off with some apology for not being more frequent with posting on my blog. The problem is, however that I'm just so busy all the time that it has been nearly impossible to fit anything in!

 

A small list  of things I've had going on to make you pity me and forgive me for not posting more often: I've had to write 3 coursework essays all of which were in for the same deadline and all of which required extensive extra reading and serious planning (I wrote an essay a week! As soon as I finished one, I had to start another), dance rehearsals for a competition, dance auditions for a dance show (which I didn't get into- boo!), Latin exams, a presentation to prepare, reading for seminars, Latin translations and grammar work, lectures and trying to fit in some sort of social life so people don't think I'm a boring person who doesn't want to hang out with anyone.

 

But now the first term has ended and I have finished all my essays and can finally relax. In celebration of this, I decided to go shopping today and treat myself. Usually, I would be hesitant to spend so much on the stuff I did but I think I deserved it for the amount of work I'd been doing. There were some weekends when I just wouldn't leave the house at all! I'd just be inside for days and days.

 

I've actually surprised myself with the things that I bought. If you could have a peek at my wish list you'd find it to be 80% clothes and make up and 20% other stuff but when I went out today I didn't buy a single piece of clothing. I think the reason for this was that I wanted to buy things which symbolised my freedom to me, so I bought books and films and CDs (the freedom to read something other than history books and articles, the freedom to spend time watching good films and let yourself be moved by the emotion and imaginative thought of them and the freedom to sit and listen to music while letting your mind wander). These items represented pure bliss to me.

Passenger- All the Little Lights
OneRepublic- Native
The Worlds End
Titanic
Forrest Gump
The Yellow Birds- Kevin Powers
Will Grayson, Will Grays- John Green and David Leuithan
The Boy who Could See Demons- Caroline Jess-Cooke
The Night Circus- Erin Morgenstern

 

 

Okay so I'm sure many of you are judging me for the fact that I'm so old-fashioned and buy hard copies of DVDs and CDs but I just like having physical copies of things! Think of me as the person who is single-handedly trying to keep HMV alive. My dad and I are quite big movie collectors- we may not have the 'best' range of DVDS (there are next to no romantic comedies or pure romance films-rom coms are too cringey for me and romance is boring) and we're missing some vital classics, but we still have a huge collection of DVDs which we love. It's nice to display them all and people always comment on how impressed they are by it.
 I have never actually seen Forrest Gump before so I felt like it was one that was imperative to buy, especially at the price of £5.99!
 I have seen Titanic before, but it's one I feel like I could watch again and again and for £2.99 there was no question of whether I was going to buy it or not. I love the film so much- it's based on a historical event, it has the most powerful love story (I know I just said that I don't typically buy and watch romantic films, I find them boring except when there are other interesting factors in the plot to make it more than a gushy romance), and it's full of so much emotion and tragedy and the fact it is based on a real event makes this even more poignant.
 The Worlds End is a film that I didn't get to see in cinemas but I really think I'll enjoy- it has Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in it, who are just the best duo (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are great films) so I'm looking forwards to watching it. The soundtrack also sounds incredible!

John Green is an amazing writer. He has such great expression and has a way of thinking in a beautiful, unique way which he portrays in his writing. I've read Looking For Alaska and The Fault In Our Stars and adored them both so I cannot wait to dive into this collaboration with David Leuithan.
 The Night Circus is a book that I have been wanting to read for years but never got around to buying but I have finally done it and the girl at the till in Waterstones exclaimed when she saw what I was buying and swears it's the best book she has ever read, so that can only be a good thing!
The Boy Who Could See Demons is a bit of a darker book but I love me a real mix of genres and moods in books so I think I'm going to enjoy this one a lot.
 The Yellow Birds is one that I saw on the 'buy one get one half price' table with The Night Circus and I'd never heard of it before but I think it will be a good eye-opener about life in Iraq for soldiers and really help me see it from an important perspective, that of a soldier. I think it's good to read things like this to try and understand what others have had to live through so we have a better perspective of the world as a whole, not just what we think of it.

 I did by some make up too (I just cannot help myself- it's a problem)...

Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo Eye shadow- Pink Gold
Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquers- Eclipse, Galaxy, Aurora

I was given a Rimmel Apocalips lip colour in Big Bang (bright red) as part of a secret Santa gift and I loved the formulation and staying power of it so much that I decided to go and check out the colour range. As you can see I liked it so much that I bought three other colours which I have tried on and love the way each one looks on my skin tone. I also keep looking at and never buying the Colour Tattoo eye shadows from Maybelline and so I decided to pick one up, opting for this pink colour because I feel like there is a lack of pink in my eyeshadow drawer at the moment

So that is everything from my haul! I will possibly post some reviews of both the Apocalips (so you can see the colours) and the books once I've read them so stay tuned for that (but be patient because I'm a slow reader!)

Love love love,

Kira <3



OOTD 25/11/13

Hi guys! This is just a small little post to show you the outfit I wore yesterday because I really liked it. It was an extremely simple look but I just think it was perfect for a cosy day in my halls, chilling with my floormates.
 

turtleneck top: Missguided

 treggings: Uniqlo

 cardigan: Primark

necklace: Next

 

As I said, it was a very simple look but I still got lots of compliments, especially on my cardigan. I loved this cardigan, the colour is not one I usually wear but I have to say, I think periwinkle blue (and paler, more girly colours in general) are becoming a new obsession of mine. The pastel colours are so nice for the winter! This jumper feels amazing too. It's so soft that it just gives you instant comfort and feels like you're being hugged by a cloud.

 Me in blue fluffy heaven!

P.S. I'd like to apologise for the bad quality of the full outfit photo, unfortunately in my halls we only have small mirrors in our wardrobes and it's restricting my self-photography ability, and I am yet to invest in a camera stand so I couldn't just use a timer.

Bubblegum Lip Scrub

This is just a quick little post on a product which I used to own ages ago, that has recently been brought back into my life- Lush's Bubblegum lip scrub.

 

This smells and tastes ah-mazing! If you have a sweet tooth, you will not be able to get enough of this. It smells very sweet and bubblegum-y and frankly it just looks great with it's bright pink hue. The basic idea is to get a bit of this on your finger and rub it on your lips to exfoliate them and the great thing is you can lick off the excess when you're done! Of course, if the idea of that doesn't appeal to you, you can always wipe it off wipe a tissue instead.

 

I personally love this lip scrub. There is a high sugar content so it is very abrasive which I appreciate since my lips are prone to becoming dry and flaky. It also contains Jojoba oil to help moisturise them, although I would recommend using a lipbalm afterwards (I use Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant). It is quite pricey at £5.50 for 25g of the lip scrub but for me it is worth it because lipbalms alone can't get my lips this smooth and soft.

 

Finally, I wanted to mention that bubblegum is not the only flavour they have. There is also 'Mint Julip' and 'Popcorn' in their permanent collection and for Christmas they have also brought out a 'Santa' one which is cola flavoured, so hopefully there is a flavour there for everyone.

Halloween at Illamasqua HQ!

I know, I know I'm super behind on a Halloween post but I've been so busy lately and I'm not just saying that, I really have been. I'm writing this having handed in a coursework essay, read 5 books and 2 articles for another essay (which I am yet to write- oops!), partied twice, auditioned for dance competitions, done the usual lecture thing students are meant to do and suffered from extreme fever and stomach cramps all in the space of a week. See, I wasn't kidding!

One other thing I did this week which was pretty cool was go to the Illamasqua flagship store in Beak Street (which handily/dangerously, is very close to wear I live now) with my university's MUA society. Basically, we were given an hour tutorial on doing awesome Halloween make up by one of the teachers of Illamasqua's school. She was so nice and went into so much depth that you really learnt a lot of handy tips! For example, always do your eye make up before your face, that way if you mess up you don't have to wipe off your entire face of make up. It also means you can clean up fall out from eye shadows easily. Another really great tip was to use concealer above and below your brow before filling them in to give them even more definition- the brows really stand out when this technique is used. As you can imagine the make up look was amazing, here's a quick snap I was able to take (sorry it's a bit dark!)

The model has a really interesting 'cracked skin' effect going on here. A pale foundation was used as a base and a green smokey eye was done on her eyelids. The purple lipstick really contrasts this look nicely.

After the tutorial, we were given the opportunity to explore through the products and buy some things. We were even given a really generous 40% off all products so I just HAD to buy something. In my defence I have never tried any Illasmaqua before and had always wanted to so I think I could justify it. I was very restrained (considering just how obsessed with make up I am) and only bought two items- both of which the make up artist had used in her look. The first is their 'Precision Gel Liner' in 'Infinity' which is just a black gel eyeliner. Yeah, not the most adventurous product but I needed a new black gel liner and was interested to see how this one would do.

This gel liner has actually impressed me. It feels really creamy, like it will easily glide on the eye to create desired shapes. It's a strong, true black colour (not a weird grey-black colour that you can get with some 'black' products) and when this stuff dries, my word does it have staying power! Even when rubbing my hand really vigorously, this stuff just didn't move at all. This is great for longevity, but if you want to blend this out (say as a base for a smokey eye) you'll have to work very quickly. It is possible though, because I saw the make up artist do it pretty easily. So far, I like this liner a lot!

Next up we have an eye shadow palette called the 'Paranormal' palette. This palette is super exciting to me! Not only does it have four beautiful bright shades, it also has a duochrome finish thing going on which means it looks sick over a black base (see the reason for the liner now?). The eyeshadows feel so creamy and amazing. They feel like cream shadows but are powder, it's so bizarre! Just look at this beauty...

Okay so the packaging for my particular palette sucks but I'm sure I'm just unlucky. As you can see something freaky happened to my green shadow :( I must say I was a bit disappointed when, having played around with the one in the store and loving it, I opened up my own to see it slightly weird-looking and missing product. That green pan was actually falling out of the palette when I opened the lid but I fixed it. In all honesty though, even that disappointment couldn't keep me down for long- this palette is just too cool. The colours are gorgeous!

No base (left to right):  Paranormal (vivid cerise), Aura (warm copper/orange), Possession (cool green) and Trance (soft violet)

Each shade is honestly so beautiful and highly pigmented but look how they transform with a black base...

The black really brings out the glitter in each shadow. It also brings out a goldish tone in 'Aura' and a more blue tone in 'Trance' which you don't see as much without the black base.

I do like both the items I've bought from illamasqua so far and think I am going to venture into buying more, when I can make my mind up on what to try next! Any suggestions?

p.s. for any of you wondering, this was me on Halloween (I only had an hour after a dance audition to get showered, dressed and ready so I couldn't do anything fancy unfortunately but how crazy is my friend's sugar skull?! The only cool thing about my costume was that my batman top had an in-built cape)