I have moved..!

After a VERY long break.. I've moved to http://purplesparkledays.blogspot.com

It would be lovely if you would like to come and join me :-)

xx

Hiatus..

Hope was but a timid friend;
She sat without the grated den,
Watching how my fate would tend,
Even as selfish-hearted men.

She was cruel in her fear;
Through the bars, one dreary day,
I looked out to see her there,
And she turned her face away!

Like a false guard, false watch keeping,
Still, in strife, she whispered peace;
She would sing while I was weeping;
If I listened, she would cease.

False she was, and unrelenting;
When my last joys strewed the ground,
Even Sorrow saw, repenting,
Those sad relics scattered round;

Hope, whose whisper would have given
Balm to all my frenzied pain,
Stretched her wings, and soared to heaven,
Went, and ne'er returned again!

Emily Bronte



There will be a short hiatus while I go through a number of huge life changes. I start a new job very soon, I am moving house, and, very sadly, my marriage has broken up. Things will settle again, as life always does - then I will be back..

Apothia

I have mentioned this candle before, it was part of my haul from Beauty Expert a few weeks ago. I absolutely adore scented candles, but this one is just something else, so much so that it deserves a post of it's very own. I've never understood why some candles are SO expensive, but again, I really feel that this one is worth it. It is absolutely beautiful, and so strong. It really fills the whole room with fragrance, you don't need to be standing right over it to catch a waft as sometimes you do! For example with the candle I have currently burning next to me on my desk - it's from Laura Ashley and wasn't particularly cheap, but I can't really smell it at all.



The image above is of the 'Wave' candle which is still available from Beauty Expert, unfortunately the 'Casa' is out of stock now, probably because it was on sale at £21.00 instead of £35.00. Casa is described as 'a fragrant bouquet of Casablanca lilies, newly cut grass and fresh air. I've found it online at 'Look Fantastic' for £35.00.

I always say that if I were wealthy I would fill my home with fresh flowers. Well now I would fill my home with fresh flowers and Apothia candles!

In other news, I think a celebration is in order! I have celebrated my birthday, and reached 50 followers, which is very exciting. So I'm going to put together some goodies for a giveaway, which I will announce very soon.

In the meantime - tell me, what's your favourite scented candle?

The Highway..

Every Day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrows
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.

Susan Coolidge

Beauty UK Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Child..

I've wanted a naked / earth toned eye palette for a while - and with the cost restrictions of the Urban Decay palettes that I have read such good things about, and from my previous good experience with Beauty UK's nail polishes, I bought this eyeshadow palette from the Beauty UK section of superdrug last Thursday and I've used it every day since.

Firstly, I tried layering some of the brown shades..



This is on top of No.7's eyeshadow primer. The Beauty UK shadows are lovely and pigmented, so you don't need to pile on the product to get a nice colour. The above picture was taken in the morning, freshly applied. This next picture was taken later that day, after a full day at work, with no touch ups to my makeup at all..



That's impressive! I haven't tried the shadows without the primer, but for me, a combination of the two products worked a treat.

Here is a mixture of the grey shades, my usual shade of choice, with Eyeko magic mascara...



And here with my eyes open!



I really am impressed with this product, especially for the price of just £3.99 from Superdrug or from Beauty UK's website.

Have you tried any other products from Beauty UK? Let me know what you think!

Becky :-)

Beauty Expert Haul..

Being a bit of a fan of moneysaving, as you might know, I was pleased to discover Tesco's new clubcard website - where you can look up past Tesco vouchers that you haven't spent over the past few years. That was one of my problems with Tesco clubcard, being a disorganised sort of person I tended to lose my vouchers, and then, I thought, lost out on the points.

I was very excited to find out that I had £15.00 worth of Tesco vouchers sitting on their website ready to use - and even more excited to find out that these vouchers were worth £30 on Beauty Expert. (I promise I'm just coming on to the interesting part, but I also have to tell you that you can also get 5% cashback through TopCashBack on Beauty Expert - and they offer free delivery on all UK orders!)

Right.. now onto what I spent those Tesco vouchers on.. this parcel of goodies arrived today..


Korres Lip Butter in 'Jasmine'


Essie Spring Collection Minis


Apothica Candle in 'Casa'. I have wanted an Apothica candle for a long time, and I'm not disapointed so far, it smells absolutely beautiful.


Jemma Kidd Foundation Brush and Bronzer - which came with a free Jemma Kidd Ultimate Lipstick Duo


And these samples, which were a gift for spending over £60.00, and include Eve Lom TLC cream and OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil.

I was very impressed with the quick delivery from Beauty Expert, their range of products and their prices. They sell very high end products but also have a sale room, which has some great buys. So my advice is - get over to the tesco website and check if you have any vouchers that you have forgotten about - it certainly cheered up my rainy day! And if not.. pop over to Beauty Expert anyway for a browse, it's a lovely site.

Becky :-)

Big Love..

Happy Valentines Day lovelies! I love Valentines Day. Because it's a good excuse to treat my loved ones, not just my other half - who, by the way, thinks its 'over comercialised' and 'can't be bothered with it' and other such cliches!

So, I treated my best friend to a care parcel, with sweets and a pretty soap and necklace, I treated my Mum to a box of Black Magic - and I treated myself, to a big bar of this..


Galaxy Smooth Truffle - delicious!

and a big bottle of this..



I am SO glad I got the chance to pop into Lush at the weekend for the 'It's Raining Men' Shower Gel, a Valentines Limited Edition. It's better than I could have imagined. It's in one of Lush's signature scents - 'Honey I Washed The Kids' - and gives lots of lovely bubbles. I showered with it at about 8am, and now, 12 hours later, I can still smell the fragrance on my skin. I love Lush's shower gels mainly because of their unique fragrances, but this one has a lovely formulation too, it was a really good buy. It's not particularly purse friendly at £7.95 for a 250g bottle, but as an indulgent Valentines treat then it's just perfect!

And to top it all of, I WAS suprised by my very own Mr Grumpy this morning, with a box of these..


Thorntons Classics - Yum!

So, did you treat yourself this Valentines Day?

Becky :-)