I don't know about you, but I'm feeling twenttyyy twoo

Soooo yep. Tomorrow is my 22nd birthday. The big two-two. A decade since I was 12, carefree and in year 8. 

Blimey, I feel so old. 

Once you hit 20 life seems to go so quickly, and every week, and month and year blurs into one. Looking back over the past 4 years since I turned 18 I know I have changed monumentally, and yet also I don't feel that different. I look different, act different, have different interests and goals in life, but so much has remained the same. My friends for example. I've had a certain group of friends since I was 13-ish, and since sixth form my entire extended social circle (excluding my gorgeous uni friends) has remained pretty much the same. I love that, but it's weird thinking about nights out with the same people which happened four years ago now. 

Anyway to mark the date, I thought I would share a few old birthday pics that I found! I don't have too many that I can easily get to, but enjoy the ones I have found! :D

Are YOU a fan of Topshop/ Adidas' StellaSport?

The fashion blogging world seems to have blown up over the past few days about TopshopXAdidas' collaboration StellaSport. With a tagline like "think high performance technology wear in statement silhouettes and explosive colours" they have created high expectations. Indeed I have seen bloggers tweeting/blogging/instagramming this collection to kingdom come, and so I must say, I was intrigued. 

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Giving up makeup??

#JustOliviaNYE

If you've been following me on twitter at all recently, you will have noticed me spamming your feed with my New Year's Eve plans & preparations. New Year is my favourite celebration, I just love the excitement, seeing all your friends who are home for the holidays, and yes I love the glitter!

Every year we seem to have an amazing soul who hosts a massive house party where everyone is welcome, and this year my friend Ellis hosted an incredible cosmic themed one. It was insane, and everyone went all out with their costumes. Beforehand I went for drinks at my friend Katherine's, and us lot all wore bright wigs, and looked like we were in a band. It was amazing.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you the best from my NYE hashtag, and a few pictures from the party. I would love to hear how your various New Years Eve's were, and what your resolutions are? My resolutions are to connect more to people and to look after myself better!

HAPPY 2015!

Pep Up Your Winter Skin

Happy Sunday everyone! Today has been wet & dreary, and I'm ill as well, and this has got me thinking about my skin and skincare routine. Winter is notoriously harsh on skin, and even worse on already dry skin such as mine. 

Changing weather, the cold, heating, illness - these all contribute to wrecking my skin, by drying it out more, congesting it and breaking it out. However this year I have found a few great ways of pepping my skin up, and I want to share them with you!

Faux-Fur X Wood-Pile

Heading to University? Then you MUST watch this!

So you're heading to Uni and don't know how to act? I've got you covered! Watch this video where I reveal my top 5 tips about heading to uni and your whole first year in general. Don't forget to like the video & subscribe to my channel for more beauty/ style/ advice etc. videos! xxx

Tanning for Pale Skin #1: St Tropez - Classic Bronzing Mousse vs Dark Bronzing Spray

Garnier Olia oil-Powered Hair Dye // Review

L'Oréal Miss Manga Mega Volume // Review

L'Oreal CC Cream: Anti-Redness // Sample Review

The CC cream on its own // Under makeup

This Or That: Pinafore Style

Floral Print: £22 // Black: £20
Both River Island

Rituals Sensational Soft Cleanser // Review

Rituals is one of those brands which I have heard a lot of rave reviews about, and has a sort of 'aspirational' edge to it. Therefore when I found myself in need of a new cleanser, it was one of the first brands I checked out. I was surprised that this Sensational Soft Cleanser was only £11.50 from Feel Unique, so I snapped it up!

This is a gel to oil cleanser which you massage onto dry skin, and then wash off with warm water. On your skin this feels super luxurious and soft, and it melts your makeup off instantly. I mentioned in my haul video that I didn't think it was great at taking off makeup, and I would like to retract that, as after more uses I actually think it does a wonderful job! However, it isn't good at removing some of my eyeliners and mascaras, and does irritate my eyes. So it is not an all-in-one makeup removing cleanser! The fragrance is very subtle and inoffensive, and claiming to contain 'calming botanical extracts', this feels very gentle on your skin, and also does seem to reduce some of the redness on my face that tends to crop up when I remove my makeup. I follow this up with my No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream, and my skin feels clean, refreshed, plumped up and soo, so soft. I do find washing it off an annoying hassle, but overall this product is simply lovely!

Dainty Doll [on the cheap] // Haul & Review

L-R : Blusher in My Girl //  Lipstick in Storm in a Teacup // Lipstick in Saucy Sailor // Blusher in You Are My Sunshine

So something is up with Dainty Doll. There are epic reductions to be had across the whole range on the internet, and having read this blog post about this, I decided I needed to take full advantage of this, being the pale girl that I am! I purchased these 4 beauties for £1.99 each from fragrancedirect.co.uk , which is a reduction of about £12 per item. I am still in shock at the price of these to be quite honest! The website also delivered in good time, and had fair p&p pricing, so I think I got all this for around the £10 mark.

Now I have never tried Dainty Doll before, which may surprise you as I am a very pale girl, and this range by Nicola Roberts is tailored precisely for girls like me. But to be honest the price always put me off. However I can now fully vouch for the quality of the brand, and that it is worth it!
Starting with the lipsticks, I chose a deep but bright true red in the form of Saucy Sailor, and the muted grey-brown toned nude of Storm in a Teacup. The actual colour of the red is almost my perfect shade. The consistency is nice, if not a little dry.

However I have not had a proper use of it yet, so I can't comment wholly! On the other hand Storm in a Teacup has fast become my favourite lipstick! It is the perfect nude for me! It is pigmented enough to erase the pinkiness of my lips, which tend to shine through most nudes and looks really odd. The finish is super glossy, and the cool tones are really flattering. A definite win!

Moving onto the blushes, I am overwhelmed by the pigmentation of this cheeky pair! I tried My Girl for the first time and packed it on with my blusher brush as per usual, and was alarmed by the line of pure pink on my cheek! ahaha A gentle hand and only a little product is needed in future! hahaha. My Girl is a pale bubblegum pink with a slight shimmer through it. It is very pretty, and cool toned, which is very flattering on my pale skin. However it also worked well dusted over my bronzed cheeks and looked super natural! You Are My Sunshine is plugged as a peach, but I would say it is a peach-toned pink with gold shimmer. I haven't had a proper run of this yet, but it just as pigmented as My Girl. It is a super pretty colour which is definite dupe of Benefit's Bella Bamba, which coincidentally is my favourite blusher for evening looks! Therefore I have high hopes ;)

Anyway have you tried any of Dainty Doll's range? Will you be saddened if it is discontinued?

Rimmel London Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara // Review

If you have followed my blog for a while, you will know that the one thing I always wear (makeup wise) is mascara, and I have accumulated a fair few in my time! One might say I am a mascara connoisseur. Maybe. Anyway, I bought the newest mascara release from Rimmel, the Lash Accelerator Endless, as soon as I could having heard rave reviews from various bloggers who were lucky enough to sample it pre-release. However, me being the total numpty that I am dropped it on the Durham Uni Night Bus and I believed it lost to me, after only owning it for about a week.

Luckily for me though the lovely people over at Rimmel ran a Twitter competition to win one of these mascaras, and having previous knowledge of the amazingness of the mascara I entered the first day, and won! Yay! :D So thank the Lord I have the mascara again, and am able to give you guys a full (and glowing) review of it!

So what do I think? Well in short I am a massive fan! This mascara is a godsend if you want exaggerated, long and fluttery lashes. My lashes are well defined and separated, but most of all the length is incredible. I usually wear this on its own, but I can really see it working wonders layered underneath a volumising or curling mascara. That would just be epic lashes! Apparently this has a 'Grow Lash Complex + Fibres' which means it is meant to physically add length to your natural lashes. Whilst I am not 100% sure of the validity of that statement in the long run, as you wear it it certainly does emphasis and exaggerate your lashes so that they look long and perfected. Overall a great mascara that has worked it's way firmly into my top 3 ever!

This OR That: High-Waisted Skinny Jeans

Topshop Joni Jean in Indigo: £36 // American Apparel Easy Jean in Dark Wash Indigo: £64

Since my old pair of Topshop semi-high waisted jeans decided to fall apart, I have been without a pair of dark jeans! The longer I got without them, the more I wholeheartedly believe that they are one of my wardrobe staples, and a new pair needs to be purchased ASAP! I favour the super high waisted styles floating around at the moment, like this Topshop Joni pair, and American Apparel Easy Jean. The reason for this is purely because this shape is so flattering, versatile and feminine. I also like the dark indigo wash in both styles, even though both come in various shades. I cannot wait to team whichever pair I choose with a flowing white shirt, a cropped patterned jersey top or black lace-y strappy top. I am torn between these two pairs, but am leaning more towards the Topshop pair purely because of the price! However some of the reviews online claim the quality is not all that, whereas the Easy Jean has a 5* rating online... Which do you prefer? How would you style these jeans?

Mac Fix+ // Review

Mac Fix+ : £13.50
 for 100ml 

Mac Fix+ is a product which I had been lusting over for literal months, to the extent that when my birthday rolled around at the end of January, my gorgeous housemate knew exactly what to get me! 'Fix+' as a name is misleading as this is certainly not a fixing spray, or a sort of 'hairspray-for-the-face' product. What is is, is a "skin refresher/ finishing mist". This means that when you spray it on a clean face your skin feels refreshed and if you spritz it over makeup your makeup appears to sit better on your face, and look overall better applied.

What I love about this product is how it really helps to create really dewy skin, whilst making your skin feel fresh and not at all weighed down with products. It also smells lovely, light and fresh, and it feels beautiful on bare skin. I cannot claim that it makes your makeup last any longer than it would do without it, but it does boost your makeup and finish it off wonderfully. Overall I have been loving this over the past 2 months, and would thoroughly recommend it, as it is a real makeup-pick-me-up product!

February Favourites!

So what on Earth happened there?! I have only just got over the shock that it is February and now, BOOM, it's March! Woah! Hey 2013, wanna slow down a touch? hahaha Hello friends of the internet! Seeing as March has snuck right up on us, I thought it is about time I told you all about the lovely products that I have loved this past month :) This is coming to you a little later than I originally planned, as I was struck down last week with a nasty case of flu. Very convenient timing I can assure you. *grumblegrumblegrumbe*

It makes sense to work clockwise round this here image, so first up I will tell you about the lovely lip combination from Lush, of their Popcorn Lip Scrub and Honey Trap Lip Balm. These gorgeous tasting (and smelling) products not only wonderfully smooth dry of chapped lips, which I suffered from this month thanks to the Arctic conditions, but at made from all natural ingredients. This is a big plus! One product I have also been loving, which is in no way natural, however, is the Soap & Glory Dr Spot gel. This is an acid gel which works well at working deep into troublesome spots and, basically shifts them! I had a stubborn monster which graced my chin with it's presence early in the month, and at first I just let it do its thing until I remembered I had this lying around, and decided to fight it. I can assure you Dr Spot is a lifesaver, although it did take a few applications to work, and is by no means a quick fix!

This month I have been trying to shake up my makeup routine, and have begun to really enjoy using my Real Techniques Contour Brush to pat in my concealer, as I feel it makes very light work of blending it into my foundation, leaving a flawless finish. I have also begun to use my Benefit Shadow Liner more and more this month, to create more dramatic contoured eyes, and also to line under my lower lash-line to exaggerate the smokey effect. I have also reverted to using my Benefit Hard Angle Brush on my eyebrows, having had a brief flirtation with my old eyebrow pencil.

In terms of makeup, I have a few favourites I want to mention. My favourite lip product of the month has, hands down, got to be the Apocalips by Rimmel London. I love the whole line, but my favourite, and most worn colour has to be Galaxy. The colour is divine! It is super flattering, glossy, sumptuous and I have worn it almost every day. I have also been loving the Max Bold Curves Mascara by Rimmel, as it really does create long, curved lashes, which make my eyes look more awake and brighter.

Towards the end of February I purchased the new Collection Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer, and it has replaced their Lasting Perfection for use use under and around my eyes. Whilst it doesn't have the same coverage, it does make my eyes look brighter and healthier. All month long however I have been enjoying two Maxfactor products. The first is a nail varnish that I had lying around since the Jubilee, which was the Max Effect Mini Nail Varnish in Cappuccino. This brown-toned grey was my go-to colour for February, to be honest I am not 100% sure why, but it is a classy yet versatile colour, which worked for me all month. The second is the Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink. I love how this cream blush is extremely buildable, and also blends away really nicely so that you can create a pale wash of pink, for a healthy glow.

Finally onto hair products. I have been loving the surprisingly tea tree scented Bumble & Bumble Tonic Lotion detangler and leave in conditioner. This product is extremely good quality, and also a little really goes a long way. I have also been using the Frizz Ease Perfecting Creme to smooth away frizziness in between washes this month. This is a product that was my Holy Grail a few years ago, but I suddenly stopped using. I haven't fallen back quite so in love with it, but I have remembered that it is a good problem solver product!

Okay so those were my favourites! What have been your favourite products of late? Are there any new products that you have your eye on, or are loving?

50 Facts About Me // Video

So just a quick post featuring my newest video! I thought it was about time I told everyone a few funny and interesting facts about me, so you can get to know me a little better. :D

I am ill at the moment (again!) and so I don't know when I will be able to make my February favourite's post, but expect that within the next week. Speak to you all soon!

Barry M Textured Nail Effect // Review

Barry M recently brought out this range of 'textured effect' nail varnishes, and I couldn't resist trying one of them out! This is in 304 Atlantic Road, which is a pale cornflower blue with aqua undertones, I'd say. The colour is super pretty and makes me feel all spring-ful, even if the weather refuses to be so! haha. The other three colours are a really pretty pastel pink, a pale pastel yellow and another, paler blue which wasn't in store, but is online. The colours are also beautiful, but I don't reckon I would buy them because I personally don't think I need any more than one textured nail effect varnish in my collection. But that is just me!

The effect itself is really cool, and I do really like it. It dries to create a gritty texture which is also opaque with two coats. The effect is subtle enough to be wearable and stylish, but is also interesting and different. The finish is also matte, which is what you would expect, however I am tempted, if I'm honest, to apply a clear topcoat to seal the texture in and add a little glossiness.

Whilst I only bought this yesterday (for £3.99 from Boots) so therefore cannot comment on the lasting power, it feels durable on my nails. I don't think it will flake off easily, as the texture makes it feel strong. However if this proves wrong I will tell you :P For the price though I am definitely loving this nail varnish!

BTW this is my 50th post on this blog! :D yay! Thank you so much for reading (and following..? haha) it really does mean a lot xxx