Month in Review

This month has gone far too quickly! I moved out of my university halls for the summer yesterday, 2 months of being semi-homeless and living out of a suitcase, a couple of bags and several glossyboxes full of (absolutely necessary) stuff. 

I can't wait to move into our new little studio apartment in August (bit posh sounding but it's really not) I prefer to live away from my parents, as much as I love 'em, I'm quite independent it would seem. I like doing my own shopping, making my own tea and doing my own washing and cleaning, am I odd?

On an actual post related note, todays post is something new! I'm going to start doing a month in review post (hopefully) monthly. Sharing my favourite blogs, posts, purchases and other bits 'n' bobs from the month. Sharing is caring right? :)

Top 3 Purchases: 
Ombre jeans - These were a gift actually, they're topshop Jamie jeans which are usually skin tight on even my skinny legs, but these are a little looser for once, I love the ombre effect though, I'm ombre mad at the moment! Oh and I apologize that my legs are ridiculously stick thin, it's just the way I am. I'm most definitely not a fashion blogger!
Daisy print bag - I actually only got this yesterday but what the heck it deserves a spot here because it was a complete bargain, £12! I think it's the first thing I've ever bought from george but I couldn't resist as the print is really sweet.
Real techniques brushes - I got the core collection in Manchester this month and that good ol' buffing brush has changed my life, not even being dramatic ;)

3 Blogs I've loved this month: 

And Peaches - A beauty blog run by the lovely Kelly, I love her lovely layout and posts, so informative . And she always posts about products that I actually want to read about!

Essie-Button - I really enjoy watching Estee's videos, she has such character and makes me laugh. Even my boyfriend likes watching her videos with me! Her posts are really engaging and her photography makes me cry a little inside it's so amazing.

Raspberri Cupcakes - Sweet mother of all things cake and sugar. This blog makes me drool and want to be a fancy little baker all in one. To top it all off the photography and set up is practically perfect, I've spent hours looking through every recipe, they're all so imaginative and yummy looking!

3 Posts I enjoyed writing: 

Clarins Gel Cleanser review / Wiggin' it / Jewellery creations

3 Posts I enjoyed reading:
DIY denim and lace shirt / The Weekend Post #21 / Starry eyed

The top 3 items (out of many) I'm lusting over:

Origins GinZing eye cream - I'm a tad Origins obsessed and this eye cream is next on my list (followed by several more things from them). There's a lot oh hype around this product but it seems to get good reviews everywhere, brightening and refreshing!

Sleek contour kit - I don't have anything to contour and I lost my benefit highbeam months ago so I really want this! it's never in stock in my local superdrug which is driving me insane! I know it's back in stock online now so I'm really tempted! 

Living Nature Deep Cleansing mask - Quite pricey but you get what you pay for. The mask comes in sachets which I think is handy to stop germs spreading. The ingredients are completely natural which I love and it's a clay mask to draw out all those nasties while still leaving skin soft and nourished with essential oils.

Looking back on your month what has stood out to you?
xo Annabel

Weekend post - Wiggin' it

I love (non-traditional) coloured hair, any colour, it's amazing. It honestly makes me genuinely happy! When I see someone out 'n' about with wacky hair I get slightly envious though now-a-days as I miss the little rebellious streak of colour I used to have.

I got it towards the end of my last year of high school (4 years ago now!) I was the quietest little mouse, I think about 12 people knew my name. And one day I came in with a huge blue chunk of hair on one side of my head... don't worry, it sounds bad but it was pretty awesome. I went to an all girls school so the rules were pretty strict and a few days later I finally got noticed and asked to remove it (I didn't ooooh!... my mum just dyed it a darker blue to try and hide it haha) and that was that, I remember walking down the halls and hearing people talk about me constantly, mostly bitching about how I got away with it, which was cheery... teenage girls are mean.

For prom I had it shocking red, and then towards the end neon pink. I carried on the epic ever changing   streak through my first year of college, until the section of hair was practically begging me to stop because it was pretty much ruined.

I miss it a lot though and have been recently thinking about getting the tips of my hair bleached , or the underneath to dye amazing colours. Even my dad misses my wacky hair, he thought it was great I was "expressing myself"! ;)

Anyway! I discovered these amazing wigs on ASOS today and that's what got me lusting and reminiscing. I don't know if I could pull off a full head of pink hair but they sure are cool. My favourite has to be the purple dip dye, I love that colour! The wigs are synthetic and not that expensive at £35, but obviously I can only guess on the quality unless I buy one. You can see the rest of the wigs here, there's a great selection of colours, but the majority of styles are the cropped kind of bob.

xo Annabel

Red Lips.

You can't really go wrong with a lipstick that costs just £1 can you? I've been experimenting more with lipstick, and MUA has been coming in handy with this.. 

First up is red. Shocking pinky/blue toned red actually. I don't think it's all that bad! First application was terrible and I smudged it in 20 places, but you forgive me right? I had fun with photo booth, making fun of my new pouty red lips, and this image emerged, sorry if it hurt your eyes, but it made me laugh! (MUA shade 13)

xo Annabel

Vitamin E Skin Oil

Insta-Tuesday

1. A few snacks  2. Hello :)  3. Graze! 4. Rocking one of my necklaces  5. Snuggles  6. urgh so cute!7. My d.i.y converse  8. Cafe Nero mmm :)  9. Painting my nails ritual
A few snippets as usual, I don't post many to twitter, so you should follow me on instagram if you can, my username is fragmentedsplendour :) 
I got my first Graze box the other week too, I was really apprehensive as I'm not a fan of seeds and such, but I've really loved my two boxes so far! Especially the apple and cinnamon flapjacks and huge chocolate buttons with mint infused sultanas, mmmm. If you want a completely free box to try you can use the code CXT5Q4D (Michael did this and then cancelled after it arrived, I wish he'd of liked them more so I could have eaten them too ha!).
The rest of the images are the usual obligatory pictures of my gorgeous furry friend Seth, my gold striped converse in the sun (yes, sun!!) cheeky visits to caffe nero and the weekly nail painting shot!
My days are blending into one now that uni is over! I have to be all packed up and ready to move out by next Monday! then it's just a very long summer spent dived between 3 houses, so I will constantly be living out of a suitcase gah! Mikey and I have decided our 'holiday' for the summer will be a quick trip to London and visiting the Harry Potter studio tour (yeah!!!). 
xo Annabel
P.S. Wanna ad swap for the month of June? Send me an email or comment here! :)

Coming soon!

I have been meaning to update my little shop for nearly 2 weeks now! But the sun has just not been shining for me to take nice shots, I thought it was good enough today but every image had a grey cast to it so I gave up in the end.
I've been making lots of quirky shorter necklaces that look fab with shirts, but I also have a soft spot for long draping necklaces, the camera, crystals with blue chain and chunks of amethyst are especially long and lovely! As you can see I've become a little obsessed with stones and crystals, so that's the theme I'm running with now :) Not everything is shown here though, so you'll have to keep your eye out! 
I hope to have the pieces in my etsy shop soon... I'm thinking about fully switching to big cartel though, as I love the customisation it has, I have a layout set up with a few pieces which you can see here! Give me your thoughts, which shopping method do you prefer??

On another note, hope your weekend is going well! I updated the blogs layout last night and nearly had a meltdown in the process as everything seemed to go wrong! It's all fine now, though I'm not sure about having the sidebar on the left, might switch everything round again (I apologise if you were browsing here late last night and everything went crazy!)I'm currently typing very carefully as I've just painted my nails for the week (too lazy to do it more often unless it gets completely ruined) Pastels with a golden shimmer over the top, very unique! Will do a post on the polishes eventually, as they really are lovely together! 
Until next time..xo Annabel

A wreath banner

Recently, the lovely Nat from Modern Buttercup contacted me about updating her blog banner to give her blog a new lease of life for the summer! Of course I said yes! If you've been following my blog for awhile you'll know I gave her blog a makeover a good few months ago now, it was my first go at a bit design work that wasn't for my own blog, so I was quite nervous about making everything just so, I learnt a lot, including how to make a roll-over nav bar which was impressive even for me! ;) 

For her new banner she wanted something light and floral, a sweet summer wreath. After she showed me a few examples I got to work drawing lots of flowers! I had initially wanted to draw and paint it all by hand with my watercolours, but as I drew so many flowers separately to put together in photoshop, I ended up colouring it digitally with my tablet for a change.

I then had a nightmare with my scanner not cooperating and pencil lines turning out pure black, but after  fixing that, everything was smooth sailing and the wreath came together quite nicely! :)

If anyone's looking for any design... things, I'm free for the summer so send me an email! I don't do full blog designs, more mini make-overs .. much more affordable!

Hope your weekend is starting off well!!
xo Annabel

P.S. Can you see the last tab? I had to google how to print screen on a mac because I forgot, what a fail!

Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel

I've been looking for a new cleanser, one that wouldn't break the bank, strip my skin or cover it in silly chemicals. Oh and most importantly, come from a cruelty free brand! And I think I've found a good 'un! My research into animal testing has made me (according to my boyfriend) a bit of a snob when shopping now! As I'm always pointing out who does and doesn't test... I just can't help it!
Anyway! I did a little bit of research before buying this cleanser. The Daily Energizer range is a new(ish) range from Clarins aimed at younger skin (18-late 20's) and aims to leave skin refreshed and radiant. The particular product removes make-up and pollution gently and also neutralises the effects of hard water leaving skin soft & perfectly cleansed. The range also includes 2 moisturises for different skin types, a lotion with SPF and a 'wake-up booster' AKA toner. Prices range from £11-£20, which for quality products, is not all that bad! 
I chose this gel cleanser because it wasn't promising the earth, and seemed like it would be gentle on my suddenly sensitive-combination skin, and also I could afford it! ;)The sales lady pushed a hard sale, which I swear has scarred me for life. I had to say no I only want the one thing about 20 times! However she did give me samples of the Wake-Up Booster and Cream-Gel moisturiser, so that was okay!
The cleanser is obviously a gel... it's quite thick in consistency and feels lovely to massage into damp skin, it also lathers up really well with more water. Afterwards, my skin is left feeling so clean and soft! there's a slight tightness once my skin is fully dry, but it's not uncomfortable and I kind of like it, I know that my skin really is clean.I've been following it with my sample of the toner and the cream-gel (both of which I'd like now!) that are equally lovely products, the toner is refreshing and feels very light, while the cream-gel is perfect for my combination skin, plenty of moisture for my dry areas without making the rest of my face greasy.And I have to add all three smell amazing! so fresh, not overpowering and really... energizing! ;)
If you're looking for a new cleanser to try, I really would recommend the Clarins energizer range, I would repurchase in the future, though there is just one more cleanser I need to try first.. :P
Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel comes in a 75ml tube for £11 from Boots
xo Annabel

Out 'n' about in Manchester + spending all my pennies!

Last Tuesday we took a little trip on the train to Manchester! It was good to have a day out there again as we hadn't been for over a year! 

Luckily the sun was kind and popped it's head out for the day making it all the more enjoyable (though I wasn't exactly dressed for that much heat!)

My first stop (dragging Michael in tow) was to Zara to have a look at the bag that everyone except me and my cats own. Unfortunately.. I didn't love it, the strap was too thin to lug all my junk about without breaking my shoulder.. plus I felt the material had the strangest texture. After that fiasco we spent most of the afternoon wandering from shop to shop having a look around, or in my case fawning over Nars in Selfridges and Bliss in Debenhams... 

We spent the LONGEST time in Topman, honestly I didn't know it took so long to buy jeans! and then I finally made my first purchase of the day in Lush with a lip scrub (The most delicious edible lip scrub I've ever tasted). Lunch/Tea at Nando's, Lemon & Herb chicken for me and a burger for Mikey. It was his first time at Nando's and I think he thought it was a bit odd! 

Finally a trip to Boots came next where I died of happiness at the Origins 'corner' and got my paws on their Out of Trouble face mask that smells like vicks vapor rub! I also got the Real Techniques core collection after all the hype, damn peer pressure.

A quick trip to Primark for some bargain £5 shorts and to New Look too then it was time for the train home!

A quick snap of my goodies as well as a few other bits (Sandals from ASOS that I've sent back) Black batwing 'Meow' top off of ebay and finally my ombre jeans from Topshop! (I had a 20% off code so Michael treated me! bless his little cotton socks!)

All in all a good few days for craving my spending needs, however as is usual, I have a list already made of things I'd love to purchase, thanks blogging world for your terrible influence!!

xo Annabel

A weekend Lust-List

Ah, If only I had a spare £160 or so then all of this could be mine, alas... I do not. There's not much of a cohesive theme for this lust list, it's just a few bits that I need want, and to be fair I could have easily made it 10 times bigger with Origins products... 

Caudalie Cleansing Water (200ml) £13.50 - I've been looking for an nicer alternative to the bioderma water, and this seems peachy. Everything I've tried from this brand has been lovely so I imagine this would be too!

Topshop Lips in Whimsical £7.00 - Described as a 'Pinky Nude' this just looks lovely! I'm trying to branch out into wearing lipstick, you know, like a proper grown up ;) & I have no idea where to start or what colours actually suit me! 

Origins Mega-Bright Skin tone correcting serum £46.00 - The priciest thing on my lust list today and also out of everything I'd like from Origins! I've read so many lovely reviews about this though, it seems to be good at fixing everything!

Topshop Cropped Jacket £38.00 - I have wanted this for so so long! I have too many American  Apparel  jackets that are too warm for hot summer days, I need a denim one. I keep looking out for this jacket on ebay but have missed out about 12 times now because I always forget that the listings are ending.

Topshop Speckle top £26.00 - I nearly bought this in Manchester the other day, but I couldn't find it in my size luckily! A frivolous purchase indeed! I'll search ebay for it eventually I'm sure ;)

ASOS Denver Plimsoles £15.00, New Look Studded Ballet pumps £15.99 & Coral knotted sandals £19.99 - I just really like shoes... but I'm extremely picky! I don't actually buy shoes all that often, even though I find some I'd like every other day. I've been on a mission to find at least one new pair of shoes for summer so I don't have to wear converse or primark pumps everyday.. but I've been failing. I bought some sandals off of asos a last week, but I'm sending them back because they look odd on my equally odd feet. ;)

What are you lusting over this weekend?
xo Annabel

Insta-Thursday

1. Dinner at Cafe Nero  2. Researching for my essay  3. Addicted to choc dips4. Got some Clarins and lotsa samples!  5. Playing with the VSCO app  6. Puppy dog eyes 7. Avengers!!  8. May the fourth  9. The case of the missing shoes (Note. I eventually got them)10. 2 hands 2 colours  11. Sisters  12. Little trip to Manchester
So yes, That has been my life for the past 2 weeks condensed into 12 images for your viewing pleasure.   It started out quite stressful with a lot of deadlines and has ended blissfully with me completing my first year of uni alive! huzzah! I'm not going home for a few weeks yet though, sticking around seeing as I've paid to live here! Mikey & I went to see the Avengers last week too, we made it a 'date' by going to pizza hut first (Addicted to their salad bowls!) The film was seriously amazing, I wanted to see it because Joss Whedon directed (Yes, I'm one of those kind of geeks ;)) & also we love How I Met Your Mother & Cobie Smulders played Maria Hill! Took a trip on the train to Manchester on Tuesday as a treat, I think Michael bought more than me for once! I only really wanted to go to the Origins counter at boots anyway. I ended up getting a little something, but left feeling unhappy, you know when you're just pressured and rushed into making a purchase? I wanted to have a good look at everything and take my time but that didn't happen, so that was disappointing. Luckily there's a new counter opening in the Debenhams where I live so I won't need to go there again! :)
Hope you're having a fab week (Don't be pressured into buying things!)xo Annabel
PS. I'll be rearranging my blog layout this coming week, so if you visit and things look odd don't be alarmed! :)

Moroccanoil vs. all the rest.

 

I totally caved and purchased this a few weeks ago. I finally splurged on the feelunique website thanks to a tempting 10% off code. (I'm a sucker for discounts... there was a 20% off of topshop code sitting in my email on friday so bam there went a small fortune...)

Anyway, I've been using this little 25ml bottle for over 2 weeks now and it's safe to say it's amazing. I've only been using a tiny amount to be cautious about over-doing it, because I cannot stand greasy hair, yuck. I apply it to damp hair, focusing on the ends at first but then running my hands through the bulk of my hair (still avoiding the roots). When using it I sometimes feel like it leaves my damp hair feeling really strange, sort of squeaky? Hard to describe but it goes away after a short while (I suppose once it's sunk in). 

Another bonus is it smells amazing! I wash my hair every other day and have been using a tiny bit on the in-between day, and when I use it on dry hair the smell just surrounds me... I have been caught sniffing my hair a few times really randomly because I love it! On dry hair the oil really calms down all my stray hairs and makes it look a little sleeker compared to it's usual natural flick/wave-tastic mess. 

I'm not sure I'll be purchasing the full size bottle just yet as I'd like to try some other hair oils, I have my eye on the other higher priced oil - Macadamia Healing Oil to try too, but there are so many others. Ojon's version is another that looks lovely, and comes in a smaller size to try out without breaking the bank.

A quick look on the feelunique website and there's quite a few oils there that all claim to do the same thing ( Orofluido Elixir - Caudalie Divine Oil - Marrakesh Oil - John Masters 100% Argan Oil - Osmo Berber Oil Treatment ) I'd love to try them all... except maybe Caudalie's Divine Oil because apparently it smells like rose, and that just puts me off which is a shame because I love Caudalie!

So much oil, so little hair.

Maybe I'll start a series reviewing them all if I ever finish this bottle! It's going to last for a while! :)

xo Annabel

Skincare post #2

In March I posted about my skincare 'mission' - simply put, I want better skin. And so far it seems to be working! I have seen a vast improvement generally in the appearance of my skin, not had nasty blemishes at all and can see scars are beginning to fade. All thanks to a more regulated routine.

My routine has already changed since planning this post, as I'm working on finding products suited to my skin type more. I need to control the oil and calm down the red areas. So my next update will have a few new things added and a few things removed!

I've been using a combo of two cleansers this past month, Liz Earles' Cleanse and Polish and Philosophy's Purity, both sample sizes I was given by my mum when I went home for a visit, how nice of her :) I used to use Liz Earle religiously in my teens as it was always readily available in the bathroom thanks to mum. However, I never felt like it helped my (at the time) pretty terrible skin. I would hear wonder stories about teen's who now had lovely skin thanks to Liz and I did not, so I gave up on her range eventually. This month I haven't been wowed by either cleanser, firstly I was dying to try purity and had an a-okay time with it for a while, but have you seen what's in it? I read the ingredients last week and haven't used it since. Secondly was Cleanse and Polish, a much kinder cleanser that I have enjoyed using, especially when my skin was  dry last week, however I'm still not in love with it and probably won't be buying a full size just yet. 

Following cleansing I've been spritzing the Caudalie Beauty Elixir all over, I am in love with this product and really think it's had a big hand in my spot-free skin. After that I've been using a mix of either Estee Lauder's Night Repair or Caudalie's Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum. The night repair sample is something I'm just using up, I'm not a fan of the smell and even if it was amazing wouldn't be repurchasing as it's not animal friendly, it's helping fade my scars for now though, so that's handy. The Caudalie serum from this months glossybox feels so light and lovely on the skin, I've been loving it a lot!

I got a sample of the Benefit moisturiser when I got my foundation this month and it came in handy for my dry cheeks at night, but is too rich for the rest of my face as it's quite oily. It does smell lovely though. My go to moisturiser for day is still the No7 Beautiful Skin Day cream for Normal/Oily, however I would like to find a more mattifying one soon :)

And Lastly my mask of choice has been the Good Things Five Minute Facial Mask which has left me with good results but does actually sting a lot upon application, so I'm not sure if I should continue using that? I have also been using the No7 Purifying Exfoliator as I still really like it and it leaves my skin so smooth!

Phew that was long winded!

xo Annabel

Gemstones

  
I got a little order of gemstones in the post the other day.. and I can not wait to get making! I have so many ideas for my little jewellery line. I love creating these one of pieces with the unique stones I find. I love natural jewellery like this, I've been collecting crystals since I was little and I now have a pretty bowl full of big chunks of glittering quartz, amethyst and pyrite that I wouldn't give up for the world. I will have to take some pictures when I go home for summer..
Let me know if you have any requests, I'm free for summer now and my shop is going to explode with goodies in the next month! :)
Happy Friday!xo Annabel

What I enjoyed using in April

With everything university related coming to an end in the past few weeks, I never got to do my monthly skincare post, so that's coming in a few days (Note - I have turned into a skincare obsessive)
But today! I'm doing a sort of 'monthly favourite's' post as these are pretty popular posts for everyone to do aren't they?! I enjoy being nosy into what people have actually been using and not just bits they reviewed. I'm also including a little added 'honourable' mention at the end, because I no longer feel like I should enjoy it but everyone loves it!

Natural Collection blush in Peach Melba
For £1.99 you can't complain really can you, but it's also a bonus when it's genuinely nice! I think it compliments my skin so well, I hate the barbie pink cheeks look, so this is a win for me.
Bliss Blood Orange + White Pepper Body Butter
HEAVEN, yes it deserves capitals. I want everything Bliss does in this scent! Plus it's honestly a lovely moisturising but not-too-heavy body butter! I need the full size but it's price makes me cry a little.
Hello Flawless in I'm pure for sure
My splurge this month, and I'm so glad I did! I'm not a fan of heavy foundation and this is nice and light, not cakey but buildable. I was colour matched for the first time in my life (I know, that's quite bad!) and I'm really pleased with the results as I was actually going to choose another colour!
Caudalie Beauty Elixer
Cult product maybe?? But justifiable! I'm smitten with how natural it is, anything without chemicals is something I must try!
Moroccan Oil
I caved and bought the baby one because I'm weak willed... I have enjoyed using though, my hair is so shiny now. It's still an uncontrollable mess though because I need a hair cut!! ;)


Honourable mention - Bioderma Sensibo H2O
I'm not sure what to say about this, I purchased at the beginning of April and really enjoyed using it, it's so gentle and is fragrance free which I like. HOWEVER, doing my post on animal testing has lead me to find out that Bioderma do test on animals! I was really miffed at this as I was planning on getting the oily skin version as soon as I've used up this one, but now I wont be! It's not all that bad, there's several cleansing waters I've got my eye on that I'm sure will be just as great, if not better because they don't inject theirs into bunnies! The two I'd like to try at the moment are This Works Clean Skin 5-in-1 water and the Caudalie Cleansing Water, so we'll see what price my purse can stretch too this month :P


PS. I'm off to see the Avengers now, AHHH, I'm such a geek and haven't been this excited since Harry Potter!
xo Annabel