Holland and Barrett Haul

I think it's no secret that since getting back from Florida I have been on bit of a clean eating/lifestyle kick, so where does one go to get all the bits and bobs they need? Holland and Barrett of course! Here is what I picked up.

If we start off with the Slim Pasta and Zero Noodles because they are very similar products. They are noodles and pasta that are made from vegetable fibre meaning they have 0 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein but a fair bit of fibre and they are only 7 calories a portion, making them a great pasta substitute for when your dieting (which I am).

I also got some milled flax seed. Flax seed has loads of lovely health benefits, lots of good fats, fibre and they also have a nice amount of protein. The main reason I got these though was for my weekend protein pancakes!

Last but not least we have nakd bars. Nakd bars are raw and vegan, with very few ingredients and no added sugars, so great for anyone on a clean diet. I actually ordered Pecan Pie, Cashew Cookie, Banana Bread and Berry Delight, but the Berry Delight and Cashew Cookie where left out of my order. The Holland and Barrett customer care team where really good, they didn't have any Berry Delight left, so they asked me which variety I would like to replace it with, I went for Pecan Pie and they actually sent 2 Pecan Pies and 2 Cashew Cookie as an apology.

None of the nakd bars are actually left because I may have eaten them all.....

That is everything I got, and I now have a Holland and Barrett loyalty card, which could get dangerous! 

Florida Series - Sephora Haul

Why is it you always want what you can't have? This is most definitely the case with a lot of the products in Sephora, so obviously I went a bit mental when I got to visit one when I was in Florida, and I not only got to once, but twice, so there is quite a few bits I purchased....

Lets start with the blushers, because I have been blush obsessed recently!

I picked up two of the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, one in Tipsy which is a very pretty pinky coral colour, and one in Frisky, which is a darker berry colour, quite different to anything I have in my collection! 

These blushes are fabulous and I would recommend everyone pick one up when they get the chance. The colour selection is lovely and flattering, they are super pigmented and last so well.

I picked up a Stila Convertible colour in the shade Lillium. This remind me of a slightly darker Nars Douceur colour so I think this will be great for sculpting cheekbones.

Lastly we have a couple of the BECCA Beach Tints. These where sat by the till and where calling to me when I was in the queue.

The shades I got where fig, which is quite brown toned, and watermelon, which, as the name suggests, is very berry in colour. It's not too dissimilar to the Frisky blush.

From L-R Tarte Frisky, Tarte Tipsy, Stila Lillium, BECCA Fig, BECCA Watermelon

Next up, the eye products!

I purchase a couple of brow products because I have heard fantastic stuff about Anastasia brow products and my hair has lightened a bit so I wanted lighter products to go with it. I got the pencil in soft brown and a tinted brow gel in brunette.

I picked up a couple of mascaras. Make Up Forever Smokey Lash is my favourite mascara ever so I always have to pick it up, and by the till they had a mini Benefit They're Real which is another mascara I liked so picked it up too.

I also got a Make Up Forever Aqua Cream in the colour 13, its a gorgeous shimmery champagne colour that will be great for using on the eyes on lazy summer days.

The last eye product I got is Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre. This is incredibly bright and shimmery and I think it will make a great inner corner eye highlight on nights out. You can also use it as a base or over your eyeshadows to make them shimmery.

From top to bottom, Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre, MUFE Aqua Cream 13, Anastasia brow pencil in Soft Brown

Here we have some truly special products.

On the left is Hourglass Ambient Powder in Dim Light. I actually ahhmed and ahhed over this product for a while, and when I finally decided to go for it, I had a even harder time picked out which shade to go for. 

In the end I went for Dim Light, a soft pink that I can use all over my face to create radiant looking skin.

On the right is Dior Amber Diamond. This is the first Dior product I've ever owned and one I have lusted after for quite a while as so many blogger seem to have it and love it.

I've been using it quite a lot since being home and can definitely see the appeal, it is gorgeous on the skin.

Last up is the lip products!

I got the Buxom lip gloss in Delia which is a really pretty pink and I can see me wearing it loads in the summer. I'm not a huge floss fan because I don't like the way it feels on my lips but I love the way it looks, and I'm a sucker for anything that is plumping.

I also picked up a OCC Lip Tar in the colour Queenie. I have wanted to try lip tars for ages, and although we can now get them from Selfridges, I decided to save purchasing one for when I was in Florida.

This shade is a super bright blue toned pink, once again I think this will look great on a night out.

So that is everything. I know it's a lot but really, how often do I get to go Sephora?

Florida Series - CVS Haul

Like most beauty addicts, the first thing I thought of when I knew I was going to Florida is what make up should I get in the drugstore!

We visited CVS on the first day which obviously made me very happy.







I picked up the Revlon Nearly Naked foundation in Ivory, something that we have at home and that I've wanted for a while but I put myself on a spending ban before going away, it was also the same price out here in dollars as it is in pounds at home, yay for savings! It was also buy one get another product half price so I picked up the matching Revlon Nearly Naked powder in fair because I don't actually own any face powders.



I also picked up one of my favourite mascaras, CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume in black. I would've picked up a couple because it is such a cheap and amazing mascara, but they only had one black mascara left in stock.







I was also on the hunt for the new Revlon Lip Butter shades, so when I couldn't find them I opted for trying out the Maybelline Vivids line. These are lovely velvety lipsticks that are very opaque in colour.

I got Shocking Coral, a bright pink coral, and Hot Plum, a gorgeous purple orchid shade. I have already worn Shocking Coral out and was very impressed with the formula and wear time.



The last item I picked up was the L'Oreal Caresse Aqua Lacquer Lipgloss, which I think is the equivalent to our Glam Shine Stains (if that is what they are called, I can't remember the exact name!). I got the shade Lilac Ever After, a great daytime colour that is different to other colours I own.

It's a pretty nude with a slight lilac tone, but when switched it looks more brown than in the bottle.





From top to bottom, Shocking Coral, Hot Plum and Lilac Ever After.



So that is everything I picked up at CVS. I'm still on the hunt for the new Revlon lip butter colours so you should be warned, expect a few more hauls soon as I have all the outlets and Sephora to visit too!

Urban Decay - Glinda Palette

When I saw that Urban Decay, who I love, had made some palettes for the upcoming Oz film, I knew I had to have one.

It was a tough choice between the Glinda palette and Theodora palette (which should totally have been called Elphaba!) but Glinda stood out to me the most because Theodora has a lot of browns in it, and I don't really need more browns! The Glinda palette also was a bit more romantic and ethereal looking. It also reminded me slightly of Once Upon a Time, which I have been obsessively watching!

So here are a million and one pictures of the palette, what it comes with and some swatches:

Tornado - Lovely buttery deep purple shade. Acts just like all good Urban decay shadows do.

Aura - A duo eyeshadow. Quite light and I was pleasantly surprised by this duo. I expected it to be slightly chalky, but it was another lovely smooth eyeshadow, and the colours are almost duo chrome, they are very pretty!

Magic - Slightly disappointing. It's a lovely pink, and the slight purple tone in it stops eyes from looking sore when worn, however it is slightly chalky and needed a bit of layering for the colour to show up.

Illusion - Once again a lovely smooth shade, very light and fleshy in colour though so doesn't show up too much. Good transitioning colour.

Oz - The second duo eyeshadow. They both turn out gorgeous and look a bit like molten metal, however I found the gold shade has that chunky glitter that Urban Decay is known for, and there was a bit of fallout on some of the chunks, I didn't have this issue as much with the silver shade.

South - Once again another gorgeous good Urban Decay shade. Can't find anything wrong with this one!

Rockstar 24/7 eyeliner - Great purple eyeliner. Nice and smooth and creamy too. Stays put well, it took me a while to scrub it off with make up remover!

Glinda Super Saturated Lip Pencil - Gorgeous shade and very flattering, one of those my lips but better colours. Reminds me a bit of Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stain in Honey. Looks 

slightly glossy without being too sticky.

And here is my attempt at recreating the look that comes with the palette: 

          

I'm quite happy with how the look turned out, it's very girly and pretty, although it could be considered slightly evil too if I go too heavy on the purple eyeliner!

The shades in the palette also seem to really make my eyes look bluer, which I love.

Overall I would say this is a great palette, and definitely worth the money.

You get a eyeliner, 6 shadows (technically 8 with the duos) and a super saturated lip colour for £35, which I don't think is bad at all!

The palette is available from Debenhams. 

Will you be picking either of the Oz palettes up? Glinda or Theodora? And Theodora should be called Elpheba right?!

Yarn Haul - Gnome Acres

I have been lusting after Gnome Acres yarns for quite a while, but have never managed to catch one of her shop updates, but when she moved from Etsy to her own shop in the new year she had a massive restock, so what better time to order from her! Here are the ones I limited myself to:

This one is Ninja Cupcake. It is a fingering weight in her House Gnome base which is 75% super wash merino and 25% nylon. It is super soft and squishy.

I think this is probably my favourite colour out of the ones I got, I absolutely love it. I have no idea what to make with this, but I think this will make a awesome pair of socks.

House Gnome is $21 for 100g.

Next up is Unicorn Freckles, which was her new colour way that she introduced with the shop update.

Another colour that I love! Well I love everything I got, but you know what I mean.

This yarn is a tweedy one, so it felt slightly softer then the House Gnome ones, which is hard to believe because the House Gnome is so soft as well. It's a fingering weight again, and I have no idea what to knit with this one too!

This is her Scruffy Gnome base which is 85% super wash merino and 15% donegal tweed.

The Scruffy Gnome base is a bit more expensive at $23 for 100g.

Being a Potter fan I couldn't pass up on some of her Harry Potter themed yarns.

This one is Bertie Bott's which I think is a perfect name for this colour.

Another fingering weight in the House Gnome base.

This one I actually have an idea for, I want to knit the Hermione's Everyday Socks. The yarn goes with the pattern which I love, and I think it will make some gorgeous looking socks. 

Gah I love looking at this yarn, there is so many gorgeous different colours in one skein.

The last colour I got is another Harry Potter inspired one, it is Polyjuice Potion.

The blue in this is so pretty and vibrant, and I love purple too so this seems like the perfect coupling of colours to me.

This once again is the House Gnome base, so yes another fingering weight!

For this yarn I'm thinking of making the Hogwarts Express Shawl. I love the look of that shawl and what would be more perfect then knitting it in Harry Potter yarn!

I am very happy with all the yarn I got from Gnome Acres, and despite it being shipped from America just after Christmas, it didn't take too long and the shipping wasn't too expensive, however I did have to pay custom fees which are around £17, which is quite pricey, so if you are making a order make it cheap enough that you avoid the custom charges or order a massive quantity, maybe a group order, to make the shipping and customs charge more worthwhile. 

Knitting Project Bags

I have often seen knitting project bags pop up in podcasts, and I often admired them but never got around to getting myself one, until even my nan piped up that I should get myself one to keep my knitting safe.

After spending ages searching on Etsy, and I mean ages because there is so much choice, this is the one I decided to go for.

It is an absolutely adorable gnome themed box bag. 

It has a red and white polka dot handle and the inside is polka dot too.

It has the most adorable bee charm for the zip, little details like this make the bag really special.

It also came with a handwritten thank you note which I always appreciate. It also came with washing instructions and a couple of business cards.

The bag is big enough to fit smaller sized projects in, such as hats and socks, but I even think I could fit my cowl in that I am currently knitting.

The stitching seems strong and it feels like it is very well made.

I got this from Stitched by Jessa Lu.

She posted it out quickly, it was a fair price and I didn't have to pay customs charges on it! I would definitely recommend ordering from her as she had loads of lovely designs.

After getting this bag, I decided I need one for my hexipuffs, especially as I mainly knit them when I'm travelling, so it would be stupid not to have one!

I got this one from John Lewis:

It's a pencil case and the fabric is designed by Pip Studio.

I love their designs and actually have a couple of their quilt covers. They are like a better Cath Kidston.

I love this pouch and its perfect for my hexipuffs.

I love both these knitting project bags and think they reflect a bit of my personality.

I can now take my knitting on the road with me in style.

I'm slightly worried acquiring new project bags may become a new addiction though....

Any Etsy shops you would recommend me checking out?

The Knitting Goddess Mini Skeins!

So I caved and bought more mini skeins from The Knitting Goddess.

As much as I love my multi coloured hexipuffs, I decided my blanket needs some more solid coloured puffs, so of course thats a perfect excuse to order some more adorable mini skeins. 

Here are the ones I chose: 

September Semi Solid Mini Skein Set (now sold out)

October Semi Solid Mini Skein Set

Two Step Rainbow Mini Skein Set

I know I said I was after more solid colours, but I saw this one on the site and couldn't resist!

This is actually my favourite set, they are all just so gorgeous and vivid, I think I actually gave a squeal when I unwrapped this one.

The mini skein sets are £10 for 7 mini skeins, and the base for the yarn is 75% super wash merino and 25% nylon. 

I love the variety mini skeins give you, and The Knitting Goddess yarn knits up lovely, I definitely recommend!

I am hoping to get my hands on some GnomeAcres mini skeins soon, but even when they come back into stock I would have to wait ages for them to be delivered, where as The Knitting Goddess is a UK company so I only have to wait a couple of days, win!

Do you know of anywhere else that does good mini skein bundles?

Haul!

OK I admit, I have a shopping addiction, but as long as I share what I have got in a post that makes it OK right? Anyway, here are some bits I have picked up in the last few weeks.

First up is the Antipodes H2O Intensive Skin - Plumping Serum.

I have been obsessed with skin care recently, and my current moisturiser isn't cutting it in the cold, harsh weather we seem to be having recently.

Originally I was looking for a night cream, but I saw this when browsing in Zest Pharmacy (amazing pharmacy with lots of great beauty brands in Soho), I thought it looked interesting and I have never tried anything from Antipodes and I've never tried a serum either so I thought this would be a good way to try out both those things at once.

I'll still keep my eye out for a nice night cream, but hopefully this will keep me going until then.

Next up is my Diptyque candle.

I got the scent Opopanax after spending ages sniffing it in Liberty.

I know it seems ridiculous spending that much on a candle, but it is a luxury and I totally believe in the aromatherapy benefits. I got a Ambre Diptyque candle a couple of weeks ago and it really does uplift and relax me after a hard day at work, and personally I don't think you can put a price on something that can affect your mood so positively. 

Unfortunately I now have a cold so I can't describe the scent, but it is in the woodsy family, which is the same family as Ambre so I have high hopes for this candle too. 

Finally we have a few bits from Pixi.

I went in there looking for the Glow Tonic after Caroline Hirons from Beauty Mouth raved about it, but due to her praises the Glow Tonic had run out.

Not wanting to leave empty handed I decided to check out the rest of the skin care range.

I am currently using a Alpha H moisturiser that I'm not crazy, but it is nearly run out so I decided to get a moisturiser to replace it.

The sales assistant tried some of the Face Shield on my hand, and I fell in love. It felt lovely and soft, is unscented and has SPF in it so I decided to go for it.

I was then told that the skin care was buy one get one free, bargain!

After a bit of debating I decided to go for the Quick Fix Face Mask, a mask to perk up your skin and only needs to be left on for 3 minute, I thought it would be great for mornings when I'm not looking my best (or I'm hungover).

I also picked up a nail polish that isn't pictured as it was a gift for someone, but for getting 3 products I got a free eyeshadow palette.

They had 3 palettes but I went for the Pretty Punk palette because it has some nice smokey colours.

So I got, a face mask, face moisturiser, nail polish and eyeshadow palette for £32, not bad! 

I promise not to buy anymore skin care before Christmas....

Yarn Haul

At the weekend I went to iKnit in London with Rachel (allthingsrach) and Estée (essiebutton).

I wasn't really meant to pick up any yarn, because I was waiting on the Malabrigo to come, but out of the corner of my eye I saw this gorgeous ice cream coloured yarn that I just had to have.

It is a fingering weight yarn by Araucania and is 100% sugar cane, I didn't even know you could make yarn out of sugar cane!

It is incredibly soft and I think it cost £9.99. 

If I can't think of another project for it I will be using it on my Beekeepers Quilt.

The Malabrigo I ordered as I already had projects I wanted to make with them.

I ordered them from Fabstract, which I was a bit dubious about ordering from because I couldn't find anyone who had purchased from them, but I went ahead anyway and I'm glad I did because I actually received the package the next day! I was super impressed with the service.

I got the Malabrigo Worsted in Polar Morn to make the Orchids and Fairy Lights hat, which is the current knit along on the Tiny Owl Knits group.

I'm very excited about this project, but quite nervous as well because not only is it my first project on circular needles, it's also my first cable project.

I thought it was out of my skill range, but as some one said to me, if you know how to knit and purl you can do anything, just take your time, so I'm very excited about this challenge and will be casting on tonight!

I also got the Malabrigo Chunky in Polar Morn to make the GAP - Tastic Cowl to keep me warm now that its getting to freezing point in the UK.

The chunky weight on Fabstract is buy two get the third free at the moment so a great excuse to buy and very helpful for me because although the pattern says you only need two balls, a lot of people commented that to get the right thickness they would've had to use three.

The Malabrigo itself is gorgeous. It is 100% Merino wool so it is very soft and buttery, and I can imagine it is going to be lovely and warm to wear.

One thing to note about it though is there is a lot of colour variation, the chunky in Polar Morn looks a lot different to the worsted in Polar Morn, although they are both gorgeous colours.

I can't wait to get stuck in to these new projects!

Malabrigo chunky in Polar Morn

Malabrigo worsted in Polar Morn

Araucania 

Home Fragrance Haul

It's no secret that I love candles, I like the ambience they create and I like making my bedroom smell clean and fresh.

I have just finished my Aromatherapy Associates candle (which I wouldn't recommend) so I decided to treat myself to some new ones.

Marks & Spencers had buy one get one half price across their beauty department which I saw as a good excuse to buy more than one!

I picked up the French Linen No 1 candle, which was £7.50. I think this is my favourite of the Marks and Spencers candles, it is gorgeous!

It smells a bit like baby powder, very clean and fresh with a touch of floral.

I have actually been burning this in my room at the moment and for such a small candle it has quite a large scent throw.

Next up is the candle and reed defuser in the scent La Maison De Senteurs Blanche. 

The scent is quite similar to the French Linen candle, but a bit more floral and sweet.

I decided to get the reed defuser as well as the candle because the price was right, £7.50, and I want to be able to fragrance my room at all times.

The candle was £5 which I think is a great price because it seems like good quality.

The last candle I got was bit of a splurge, well a huge splurge.

I have been lusting after a Jo Malone candle for ages, and actually visited the shop for the first time last week.

The shop itself is beautiful with lovely knowledgable staff and great products.

I think I tried most of their fragrances, my favourites being the French Lime Blossom and Nectarine Blossom & Honey. Both are gorgeous, however I felt the Nectarine Blossom & Honey candle didn't have much of a scent, so didn't really want to spend such a large amount on something that could be a dud so I opted for the French Lime Blossom.

It is such a gorgeous scent, once again it is very clean and crisp, with a slight touch of floral, but it also has a tiny bit of citrus in it, not enough to make it a citrus fragrance, but enough to keep it more clean than floral. I love it so much I got the cologne too!

I have my eyes on the Dipytique range next....

Mini Skeins

Is it me or is everything better mini? Mini cosmetics are so cute and great for travelling, it turns out that you can get mini skeins of knitting yarn, and yes, they are even cuter then the full size.

I just had to share this with you. 

These are mini sock yarn skeins from The Knitting Goddess. 

This is the October mixed set, she brings out a new batch every month as they hand dye them, and they have a subscription service where you can get them delivered monthly, they are so pretty!

Sock yarn is one of the main things I was looking for at Alexandra Palace knitting show, but there wasn't that many, and the ones their was where very expensive.

This set is £10, or you can buy them individually for £1.50.

They are 75% super wash merino and 25% nylon and you get roughly 10g a skein, great for if you are working on a sock blanket or want a variety of yarns for cheap.

Here is a close up of the colours.

I just had to share them because I love them so much! Hope you like them too. 

The Knitting and Sewing Show Haul

So this weekend I went to Alexandra Palace for the knitting and sewing show.

The show itself was pretty good, there was a huge selection of vendors there and lots of lovely things on display, however I am not sure if I would go again next year as the venue got so crowded and hot that it made me feel quite sick and at times irritated, especially when people stopped in the incredibly narrow aisles and blocked them!

Anyway, whilst I was there I picked up a few things, so here is what I got!

I'll start up with the magazine bundle. 

Homemaker is a brand new magazine, so to try and promote it they had the magazine in a bag along with a Knit TV dvd, 3 different balls of yarn (they had different colours in each bag) and a set of knitting needles, you also got to pick either Knit Today or the sewing magazine, which both had free gifts with them, all for £6!

The yarn it comes with is 100% acrylic and is pretty awful, but considering Lets Knit is £5.99 and Homemaker is £4.99 it was bit of a bargain that I couldn't resist. I also picked one up for my nan.

Homemaker is a lovely magazine, and this one is full of Christmas ideas. It has a lovely mix of cooking, knitting, sewing and other crafts, and is great if you are into vintage things or the whole Cath Kidston style.

Next up are the very gorgeous Knit Pro needles I treated myself to. They are so pretty I had to take a close up of the pattern on them.

 

The ones I got are from the Symfonie range. 

I got double pointed needles in 3.5mm and 4.5mm and straight needles in 4.5mm.

These are the first wooden needles I have ever owned, actually they are the first non aluminium needles I have ever owned and now I know why people are so fond of them and why people don't rate aluminium.

As you can see I was so excited by these that I cracked them open as soon as I came home and started knitting up my latest project.

These feel so nice against my finger tips, hold onto the wool nicely but are also very easy to knit with, I can't get over how different they feel to knit with then my other needles!

I thought these where quite expensive, at £5.50 a pack, but after looking around other stalls I found that these where actually the cheapest by about £1. I got them from Knitting 4 fun which had a great stall there. 

Next up is the yarn I got from Jamiesons of Shetland.

Once again I opened it straight away as I was so excited to get going with my latest project.

I got the Shetland Spindrift in Peach, Royal (this is the most gorgeous, bright blue, the picture isn't doing it justice!), Crimson and Sholmit.

This is proper wooly stuff, and I am not keen on the feel at all, however I am using it for felting and I have actually already finished one of my projects this morning with the yarn and it works brilliantly for felting, they also have a huge colour selection.

I also have to say, Jamiesons had amazing customer service, the woman who was serving me was so lovely. There was a shade I was looking for and they had sold out so she offered to send it free of delivery, they already had discounts on the wool that day so it would've cost her the same amount to post it as the wool itself was, I told her it was fine and just picked another shade, but I really appreciate gestures like this, she also let me off 20p as I was searching in my purse for it, so I got these 4 balls of wool for £11, what a bargain!

The last thing I got was some gorgeous sock yarn.

This was bit of a splurge, £9 for 50g but its so gorgeous and thought I would treat myself for doing so well at work (to be honest the whole show was bit of a treat, but you know what I mean).

The yarn is from Tall Yarns N Tails and is 80% baby alpaca and 20% bamboo. 

They had loads of pretty colour choices, but I thought seeing as I am splurging I should go for shades of pink seeing as it is my favourite colour and I know I would always love it. 

I have bought this because of yet another project I plan to do, so many in the pipeline! Hopefully I can share them with you soon.

So there you go! Sorry for walls of texts and photos but I am just so excited to share this all with you.

The Knit Pro needles are probably my favourite purchase, just because they have completely changed my outlook on knitting needles, although the sock yarn is so luxurious its a close second.

I just have to mention Jamiesons again as the people where just so lovely and they have great products, so go check them out! 

My lovely new wool

The other day I went into town with my friend. I am really lucky that I have a lovely wool shop in town so we decided to visit the wool shop, our local independent book shop which is also very lovely, then head into Cafe Nero for a nice milkshake and gossip.

I only intended to get some new needles in the wool shop, but then I saw this wool and fell in love with it. It's the King Cole Galaxy DK, the colour I got is called Mercury, which is a light grey. They had a really nice one that went from light to dark grey, they also had black in the shop. I've seen on Deramores that they do a lot of other colours, I have my eye on a plum and red which would be great for the Autumn.

The yarn actually has tiny sequins attached, I have tried to capture them in this photo, but my photography skills aren't all that... 

I have plans to use this to make a pretty beret from a pattern I have seen on ravelry, hopefully the finished project will appear on here soon!

The make up of the yarn is:

65% Acrylic

31% Wool

4% Soft Payette