Louise Loves #11

H&M Necklace

I bought this necklace a couple of weeks ago from H&M for £7.99.  Now, I am the sort of person who wear the same 2 costume necklaces on rotation so I thought I would mix it up a bit and get some new ones.  I am on the look out for longer ones as the ones I usually wear are short chunky pieces.  I got a lovely one from Topshop but it broke the day I got it so I took it back and didn't bother getting a new one.  This H&M one caught my eye because it looks much fancier than it is.  You can't see in the photo but chains are actually beads which are multi-facetted which makes them really sparkle in certain lights.  I love that I can just wear a plain top and throw this on and it looks like I've made more of an effort!

Gosh Nougat Crisp Lip Liner & Make up Revolution The One Lipstick

I wanted to find a product which would give me the sort of nude/brown 90s style lips that are all over the place at the moment but I have quite strongly coloured lips so I wasn't sure if it would suit me.  I found this combination in Superdrug for a total of about £5 so I could try it out without spending too much money!  The liner is really nice, it's a softer version of the colour of my lips and it applies easily.  The lipstick is a semi-matte nude and works well on top of the liner in the middle to lighten my lips slightly.  I will do a separate post on this with photos of them together on my lips.  I also got another lipstick which is more nude and true matte but I haven't tried this properly yet as I loved the first one I tried so much! 

Illamasqua Precision Brow Gel

I've had this for a while now but I'm going to be honest, it scared me a bit!  I was really excited when it first arrived in the post but when I tried it out I realised you can't just paint it on as you would with a pencil or eyeshadow, so I took to youtube and found some gel brow tutorials and now I am loving it!  I am going to do a post soon to show you how I use it, what tools and other products I use it with.

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Louise Loves #10

Back in 2012 (oh my god *faints*) I did a weekly series called Louise Loves where I just shared a few items that I was enjoying at the time.  I thought I would resurrect this series again - 3 years later... - as it's fun to do and I love reading similar posts.  I'm not sure whether this will be weekly, fortnightly, or what yet, I'll just go with the flow and see what happens!

Once Upon A Time

[source]

Recently Netflix added Once Upon A Time which was a series I started watching years ago on LoveFilm until they took it off so I was really excited to see it!  I've started watching it a few episodes in a sitting, which is the normal way to watch Netflix, right?!  I'm currently on episode 21 and really enjoying it so far.  It sounds quite childish when explaining the storyline to people but it is far from it, it's really quite dark and sinister at times!  I've got 5 series to get through and it's still going so it should keep me busy for a while!

Nando's Creamy Mash

Normally when I go to Nando's I get chips or spicy rice - or both.  However I recently tried the creamy mash for the first time after hearing someone saying it was really good, and oh boy, it's really good!  It's probably majorly unhealthy and full of cream and butter but it's definitely worth it!  I could just eat a whole bowl of it, mmm!!

White Rabbit Lime & Coconut Cleansing Water

I blogged about White Rabbit Lime & Coconut Cleansing Water recently and you can read my full review here.  It smells amazing and feels so fresh and cleansing on the skin.  I will definitely repurchase and look forward to trying other products.  You can get this from the Etsy shop here.

Have you got anything you are loving recently?  Share your links in the comments!

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Louise Loves #9

I finally finished college for Christmas, yayy!  We had our night out the week before and it was actually amazing; we went for dinner, had giant cocktails, did karaoke, had too many Jägerbombs then had to attempt some compact spooning with 4 of us on the one couch! We had a class at 9am the next day but didn't make it in...  I didn't want to risk driving at that time anyway, the police are really cracking down on people driving 'the morning after' this year - terrifying!

Sadly now I need to concentrate on studying for my Linear Algebra exam on 14th January, the thought it just so depressing I can't even tell you!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

I have been using this every time I wear eyeshadow, which has been a lot more often than usual due to all the Christmas dinners and nights out!  It just creates such a smooth, even base for you to apply eyeshadows on top of.  It also really intensifies the colours in the shadows as well.  You can get these from a few UK stockists such as Amazon, Cocktail Cosmetics and Love Makeup which is where I got mine from, they also have their own UK website which I have linked below.

[£4.50 from NYX uk]

My Christmas Decorations!

I love my little light, I got it last year from Dobbies, it gives the room a lovely warm glow.  On my wardrobe I've got all my cards, advent calendar and a candy cane.  I've also got a tiny real Christmas tree with lights to go in but we haven't go a proper base for it yet :(

Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Paramaribo

I actually bought this in a blog sale for about £10?  I can't remember how much exactly, but much cheaper than the full price anyway!  This is in my favourites because it has become my go-to eyeshadow duo for going out, it's so quick and easy to apply.  Also because of the colours it is very versatile.  The only thing I'd say is that for some reason the gold/olivey one has a weird texture and sort of seals itself as if I've got it wet - which I haven't!  I'm not sure if this is a one off or if they all are a bit funny, I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it!

[£24 from NARS]

Eyeliner Brush

I've been using this for ages but again, I've been wearing eyeliner a lot more over the festive period.  This is actually a paint brush (hahah) but it applies gel eyeliner like an absolute dream, I love it!  I got this from The Art Store in Glasgow and it's an oil painting brush, number 0.  It probably didn't cost more than a few pounds as well.

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Louise Loves #8

I have had quite a busy week.  I had my tattoo covering project to hand in for Monday but couldn't actually do the work for it until the Friday before (my concealers didn't arrive!), was babysitting 3 kids on Saturday, then on Monday I had a singing rehearsal - my friends and I are singing at the last Christmas concert in my old high school before it gets pulled down!  Anyway, I passed my tattoo project - yay! - and I am going to do a basic tattoo covering guide on here too which should be up tomorrow.  I mentioned last week that we are now onto Fashion Makeup at college, so we started with a smokey eye, and I'm pleased to say my model did not end up looking like she'd been punched!

I'm afraid this week's favourites are fairly boring but never mind, enjoy!

River Cottage Veg Everyday! Cookbook

I bought this book from The Works a couple of months ago as someone (maybe my auntie?) had said it was really good.  So far we have made quite a few things from it.  Last night we made a spinach spoufflé (soufflé with pasta in it!) which was really tasty and you can also replace the spinach with courgette for a different flavour.  The night before that we had tomato and mozzarella risotto.  I noticed that beside some titles there is a V and it took me a minute to realise that that must mean vegan, so it will be interesting to try out some vegan dishes (my dad will be disgusted!).
[£12.50 from Amazon]

Lush Northern Lights Soap

I did a short post on this along with my Lush soap storage a while ago, but I think I will do a review of it quite soon by itself.  This is probably my favourite soap full stop, I just love the smell and the colour of it, it's so bright!  Oh and apologies for the stock photo, I tend to avoid them but my one is not looking attractive right now haha!
[£3.25/100g from Lush]

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Louise Loves #7

I had this week off and I'm so glad, the weather in my area was horrendous on Monday and Tuesday, I would've hated the 40 minute journey driving to college!  Next week we start fashion makeup so that should be pretty good, although I'm glad we started with basic it was starting to get rather tedious!

Neve Cosmetics Mineral Blush in Noblesse

You may have seen this in my Neve Cosmetics swatches post here.  I only got this a few days ago but I really like Noblesse and I've been wearing it quite often (although I'm still trying to finish up a crappy Covergirl one which just seems to last forever!!!).  I am going out for lunch today - Wagamama, soo excited! - and I'll be wearing it for that :)
[£10.50 from cutECOsmetics]

New Look Ankle Boots

I actually bought these off my friend Ashleigh for £7 (bargain) as she bought herself "proper" ones and wanted these to go to new home where they would be worn!  They are from New Look a good wee while ago.  At first they weren't very comfy and the zips were playing up but now I've broken them in and they are pretty much my everyday boots (for when minimal driving is required!).  The heel is fine as it is really thick so it's not uncomfortable.  I think these were about £20 full price, however as it was age ago they're not available online but I did find these similar ones reduced to the same sort of price.

Face Off

In case you haven't heard of it, Face Off is a programme on Syfy which takes a group of prosthetic and special effect makeup artists and gives them various challenges to compete against each other.  I didn't love it to start with but now I am really enjoying it.  Although that is not a side I could see myself doing (it's far too creative and they are all amazing at art!), I do find it really interesting and it might even give me some tips for if I ever need to do anything like that.  Face Off is on Syfy on Mondays at 9pm.

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Louise Loves #6

This week has been rather stressful as my first two portfolios were to be handed in on Tuesday!  We had a bit of a panic as the printer broke, and then ran out of ink the night before it was due and I hadn't printed it out yet... yes very disorganised, I know haha!

Pritt Stick Glue in Pink

This was the only one they had, I swear!!  I've not used glue since about 5th year when I did Higher Art!  This thing has been very handy especially on Tuesday morning when I was cutting and gluing about 45 minutes before I needed to leave for college!  I also used this to cover my eyebrows when I did a Hallowe'en makeup practice, but I didn't bother doing it on the actual night.

Rory the Kitten!

A week ago this little bundle of fluff (and claws and teeth!) moved in with us.  Although he is very bitey and scratchy, and isn't quite litter trained yet, there is nothing cuter than a tiny little kitten cuddling up to you and purring away!

Gym Class Membership

Last week my friend and I decided to join our local gym as they do unlimited classes for £25/month and it covers 3 of the leisure centres in our area.  So far we have been to Hips, Bums & Tums, Boxercise and Kettlercise!  My favourite was definitely Boxercise, it was so fun!  I also want to go to yoga as I've not done it since the 8 week block I did a while ago.  Ideally I'd like to go to three classes a week, one being yoga, but life gets in the way!  This week we only managed one, never mind!

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Louise Loves #5

I totally forgot to do this last week, OOPS!  I knew that would happen haha, never mind.  Anywayy here are some favourite bits from this week :)

Phone Cover

I got this phone cover from eBay, it's so cute!  It also comes a few different pastel colours too but I went for the mint green one.  I don't think it will last very long though as the lace is real and will probably fray and get dirty.  I've already had to cut some bits off and seal the edges with clear nail polish!  The wee flower is also from eBay if you just search for 'dust plug', I think it cost £1.29.
[£2.99 from this seller]

Pretty Little Liars Book Series

I love the TV series and I was quite curious about the books as some of my friends have read them.  Instead of buying them I've been getting them from my local library as they are £4.99 each and there's about 11 of them!  I have just finished book 7 and it is starting to get really interesting - yes it took 6 books haha.  It is different from the TV series which can get very confusing if I watch an episode one day then I'm reading the book later!  They have actually killed off or cut out half the current TV cast!

Kit Bag

The bag I was using was getting too small so I bought a bucket bag which is a cheap alternative to the professional Charles Fox or Wigs Up North bags.  It came to just under £20 including P&P.  It's really nice and spacious and has little pockets all the round the outside - which does make me slightly paranoid about people stealing stuff from it!

Inside I have two clear bags, one for skincare, one for my palettes; another bag for tools such as sponges, spatulas, spoolies (lots of ssssss!!); my brush belt and then a few loose items which don't fit in the pockets.  The only thing is that the strap is squint... like it's been stitched on the wrong way??  I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it, might try email the seller and see what they say.
[£16.80 from this seller]

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If anyone is interested I could do a post on what I have in my kit at the moment but unfortunately as the college basically forced us into buying Bobbi Brown the majority of it isn't cruelty free, however I have added in a few bits of my own.

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Louise Loves #4

I wondered how long it would be before this post went up late...  I was really busy yesterday as I went into Glasgow to spent some of my vouchers then that evening I had the Scottish Bloggers Quiz which was organised by Paula!  So it was a great day, however I did not plan in advance so the post wasn't ready to go up...

Vivienne Westwood Orb Earrings

Multi-coloured nails haha!

I got these from a few of my friends for my birthday.  I had wanted the middle sized ones but they seem to have discontinued them!  I just said to my friends to pick me some nice ones instead and they chose very well!  I have been wearing them almost everyday since I got them on Thursday!
[£50 from Vivienne Westwood]

Harry Potter

In case you didn't know, my actual birthday was on Friday and we went down to the Harry Potter Studios for the tour which was amazingg!!  I nearly cried so many times but as I was with my parents I held back haha!  Also a few of my other friends got me a Harry Potter boxset with all the books in it, with pretty covers!  So I am totally overwhelmed by Harry Potter - in the best possible way!

Grey's Anatomy

I started watching Grey's from about series 4 or 5 I think??  I decided that over the summer I wanted to start from the very beginning and catch up, but this didn't happen!  However Lovefilm have got series 1-7 on Watch Now, so I have started getting obsessed :D

Have you got any obsessions favourites this week? :)

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Louise Loves #3

It's my birthday tomorrow :D It's my 21st and my parents are taking me to the Harry Potter Studios for the day - I'm such a big kid, but I really can't wait!

Silvery Lilac nail varnish by Barry M 

This was the first time I'd worn it and it's so pretty!  However, the main reason it's in my favourites this week is that I painted my nails on Friday night and it was still going strong on Tuesday when I took it off - I only took it off because I wanted a different colour on!  This is verging on a miracle for me!  Nail varnish literally lasts about 48 hours on my nails, I've no idea why but I have just accepted this fact and it doesn't really bother me now.  So when it was still intact after two days at work, I was very impressed, and it continued!

Obviously I used base and top coat and I doubt very much that this would have lasted that long by itself but I used exactly the same products I always use!
[£2.99 from Boots or Superdrug]

Asda Duo Chocolate Spread

Although I'm sure this will be a long-term favourite for me, I thought I'd add it in anyway as I got a new tub this week!  This is another really good vegetarian treat.  After finding out that Nutella wasn't vegetarian (although they did email me to tell me that now it is, however I won't be happy buying it until the packaging states that it is!) I went hunting for an alternative.  A lot of the main brand's spreads are not vegetarian though, Asda included I'm pretty sure.  Tesco's are veggy so I tried them, they were alright but not amazing.  Then randomly I decided to check Asda's and it now states that it is vegetarian!  I got this flavour and the normal chocolate hazelnut, which was nowhere near as nice.  The duo one is a winner, it's really sweet, but not too sweet.

I am a massive weirdo and eat it with sliced apple - it tastes amazing!  But it would be good on toast or however you usually have spread.
[£1.54 from Asda]

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Louise Loves #2

Here are some things I've been loving this week...

Bdellium Tools Vegan Tapered Blending Brush

I bought this for my kit as I needed a blending brush, it only arrived on Monday and I love it already -  I've only used it once!  Great CF/vegan dupe for Mac 217 albeit slightly more tapered but does pretty much the same job.  I also love how it's green, makes it stand out from all my others!  I would really like to try out more of their brushes.
[£7.50 from cutECOsmetics]

Busy Bee Candles - Crisp Red Apple

This photo is from before I lit it obviously...  I have been using this one more than my Yankees!  I love apple scents and this is no exception.  I also have the Watermelon Explosion one but saving that for later!  I am going to do a full review once I've used it for a bit longer.  Also I'd like to point out that this company uses soy wax so I'm pretty sure they would be vegan friendly, although double check about specific candles before you take my word for it!
[Small candle £7.95 from Busy Bee Candles]

Downton Abbey

I've been meaning to catch up on this for ages, a lot of my friends watch it and always get a bit obsessed.  So when it came up on Lovefilm Instant and I decided to take the plunge and start watching. I'm now halfway through the second series and really enjoying it!  Maggie Smith is hilarious as Granny (Dowager Countess)!

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Louise Loves #1

I have decided to try and do a series of weekly favourites, which will include a few things I have been really liking, but not specifically beauty or make up items.  I'm kind of scared about doing this incase I will feel pressured to do it religiously and get myself all stressed if I forget (which is silly!)... Anyway I'm going to just go for it, I guess if it ends up not being weekly it's hardly the end of the world :)

Dorothy Perkins earrings

I won these earrings from Jen at The Big Burd's blog giveaway and I love them!  They're not something I would have picked up myself so I'm really pleased I got them.  They sort of look like small stretchers but obviously the actual pierced bit is just a normal earring size!
[Price unknown from Dorothy Perkins]

Tesco Jelly Sweets

I had heard about these through Karris I think?  But where I live we don't have a Tesco nearby, however now that I have to commute to college a couple of days, it takes me past a huge Tesco Extra.  So every couple of weeks I pop in to get my fix of vegetarian jelly sweets! They also come in cola flavour, and the ones which look like multi-coloured astrobelts are veggy too!  Morrisons also do fizzy strawberry sweets but they're not as nice as these ones.  I am totally addicted!  According to this website, they appear to be vegan too which is amazing.

[3 for £1 from Tesco]

Butter London Disco Biscuit

I've been really loving this polish recently, in the photo it is layered over a neon pink which you can see in a NOTD post here.  It's so bright and pink, with a subtle blue shimmer.  My gran disapproves hahah.
[£12 from www.cutecosmetics.co.uk]

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