Sunday 13 October 2013

I'm Back!!

A massive sorry to everyone for the lack of posting over the past months. I seemed to have hit a bit of a rut. Fell out of love with blogging and began to become less confident and inspired with the whole concept. Don't get me wrong I still was a loyal reader to other's blogs, however I started to resent my own. I know of course that my little blog couldn't just gain followers and viewers overnight, with a few measley posts about things that interest me... those with great inspirational/ popular blogs had got there with hard work and persistence. Yet, being ever the lazy toad I am I decided that my blog was boring, and few people would find the time to read it, yet alone want to read it!! But after gaining new found confidence from the likes of those good old YouTubers, bloggers- and a new phone that will make blogging on the go a breeze....I've decided to try and give it another crack! You might get another ramble in a few weeks about how the whole thing was an awful idea and that I should delete this blog from the history of the interweb, but for now I'm going to think positive and have another go!!
Many thanks for reading....
Sarah xx

Sunday 5 May 2013

Recommend Me #1

Apologies again for the unacceptably massive time gap between this post and my last (I would ramble on and give excuses but I think there are too many to name!) I wanted to come up with a new type of blog post that can be repeated (much like the cult "monthly favourites YT videos) and something which can benefit both you lovely readers and myself. So I have created the new Recommend Me post (as far as I know no one has written posts like this before- but lazily I've done no research to say that there aren't any others out there). The idea of this post is that when I run out of a product, I will recommend you either the one I've been using or a favourite I've used before, and as being ever curios to try new things, I'll ask you to recommend me your favourite (of whatever category the product is in) for me to try. Hope this sounds like a fun idea!? Lets get started...
 
I've adored my St. Ives Apricot Scrub for a long time. It's cheap, smells pleasant, made from natural ingredients (the exfoliating particles are made from ground apricot kernels- hence the name) and this product also doesn't break me out. The product is also available in 4 formulations depending on your skin type which is a big bonus, there's sensitive, oily, normal (the one I go for) and mature skin. However, I've used this for a while now and am interested to try something new. I have normal skin, with both dry and oily patches, and my budget leans towards the drugstore side. St Ives Scrubs are available from Boots, Superdrug and Supermarkets- priced at £4
Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading,
Sarah xx
P.S- Please feel free to copy this post idea on your blogs. Just let me know if you have in the comment section below, and put a link to my blog in the post when you write it.

Apologies for the picture, I threw my packaging away due to being old and wet from my shower. Image courtesy of: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=EtvVv5Jnytue2M&tbnid=KAmkEvj3L5FafM:&ved=0CAQQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthebijoubride.com%2Fst-ives-facial-scrub%2F&ei=hEiGUbStEMWc0AXIpIGIBQ&bvm=bv.45960087,d.d2k&psig=AFQjCNFnji8yRc2lCrwaFpKTiYX1NhWZlA&ust=1367841280951396

 
 
 

Friday 12 April 2013

Easter Foods

I'm so sorry for the lack of love on my blog lately, I've been super busy- and blogger also wasn't cooperating with me and wouldn't let me post anything :(
I ate a rather glorious selection of goodies over the Easter break, and also though that a nice light (less word heavy post was due) -or maybe I'm just lazy?!!. So as a massive cooking (and eating!) fan, I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.....enjoy!!




Drinks at Las Iguanas- I highly recommend the Virgin Fizz
(non-alcoholic cocktail) pictured at the front




Homemade Simnel cake
 
 
Homemade hot cross buns




The beginning of a smoothie (berry, banana, apricot and
orange)

The end result






Homemade chocolate cake





Me trying to be arty with flour!!

I hope you enjoyed this different style post. Would you like to see more like this? Have you been eating some yummy foods lately which you'd like to share?!
Love always for reading...
Sarah xx

Friday 29 March 2013

Product Empties #1

I love reading these type of posts/ watching the videos so I thought I'd do one of my own! The products featured on here are ones I've used up in the past few months or so. I'll do little reviews as I go...enjoy!
 
First up, the Elizabeth Arden Double Density mascara (phew, that was a mouthful!) The thing I like about this mascara was that it has a small wand (this quality would normally be a downside for most people) but I have little eyes so a massive "volumising, lengthening" brush just results in me having a bit of a black, smudgy panda situation! I also like that this mascara is more volumising than lengthening, as I find I can look a bit like a doll with long lashes. Would I re-purchase? I think I might try some drugstore offerings as this wasn't cheap, but if I don't find a better alternative I'll definitely buy it again!
 
Secondly the Neutrogena Pure Glow Summer Boost moisturiser (another long one!) This is a gradual tanning moisturiser for the face. I think I got this in TKMAXX and I believe it's only available in the US :( I really liked this and it gave me a nice healthy glow to match my subtle tan I'd receive from the product I've talked about below. Anyway enough blabbering, I would re-purchase if I could but I think I'll have to try some things on offer from the UK.
 
Next up, the Garnier Summerbody. A lovely gradual tanning moisturiser that gives me a nice subtle colour and soft skin. I steer clear of fake tan because I'm very pale and it looks a bit scary, so this is a great option. I will re-purchase this for a long time to come!!
 
More moisturiser up next (god I get through a lot of this stuff!) and it's the Johnsons Face Care Daily moisturiser. I nice affordable drugstore moisturiser with spf. 15 and suitable for normal skin. It's a great safe daily moisturiser that didn't break me out and gave me nice moisture throughout the day. I'm going to do a bit more hunting and try some other options, but I will be coming back to this one if I don't find anything more effective.  
 
Finally, it's the Atrixo hand cream. Another inexpensive, bog standard product that I think was introduced to me by my Mum. It has a nice light scent and comes in a variety of sizes. I'm not a major hand cream guru so I tend to just buy what's on offer, but like some of the other products mentioned I would happily re-purchase this if I don't find something I love.
 
 
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. Apologies about the uneven image sizes. Which products have you recently used up?
Thanks for reading, love Sarah xx
  

Wednesday 20 March 2013

New In: Topshop Goodies

A little "haul type" blog post for you today, featuring some fairly recent Topshop purchases! So when I say fairly recent, I mean about 3-4 weeks ago : / ! I did a cheeky online order from Topshop and then last week I popped into a store and spent some of a gift card...anyway the good news is, I have lots more lovely Topshop goodies, yippee! Firstly I'll start with the order, where my main priority was to buy some jeans. For about the past 4-5 months (so basically most of winter) I've been almost constantly wearing leggings, as the one pair of jeans I own are just too baggy to tuck into boots, and make me look a bit like a farmer- hmm strange!! The plan was to return one of the two pairs of jeans I ordered once I'd decided which colour I prefered, but in the end I decided to just keep them both (typical)! The jeans I ordered are Topshop's Supersoft Leigh's which are very skinny, soft and stretchy- so my idea of a perfect jean! They have little turn ups at the bottom, and the usual jeans pockets. The burgundy colour is called wine and the moss green is the colour khaki. Both colours suit many different clothes options regarding the top half, though the wine ones look particularly great with anything grey/ black or navy/ blue and the khaki colour just look gorgeous with soft pinks! Finally, I'd just like to add that I ordered coloured jeans as opposed to regular denim blue ones because I own A LOT of blue tops, and I do often find that my outfits just look too blue! The jeans were both in a saleprice of £30 from £38, I'm unsure about the availability of the colours here, but I know that some different colours are still in stores/ online.
 
The final two things I ordered were a nail polish and some socks. I've been on the hunt for a pastel toned orangey peach varnish for a while now and when I found this one I was very happy! I'd never tried a Topshop nail polish before so was also eager to give it a road testing! I've only worn it once so far though my first impressions were very positive! They have a wide brush, which is a mahoosive upside for me, and they have quite a good wear time (about 4-5 days with a topcoat). The only downside would probably be that they are a little streaky, so depending on the shade you might need to apply 3 coats. But with gorgeous packaging and a good price of £5 for 8ml, I'll definitely be trying out some of the other lovely colours in the collection.The shade is called Peaches and Cream (how sweet!?)
 The socks I ordered are very cute and girly (reminding me of the ones I wore in primary school with little checked summer dresses). They're cornflour blue with what I can only describe as a sort of knit detail- basically some sewn/ knitted patterning, and they have a cream lace trim at the top. I think they will look really cute for spring/ summer or could be worn under ankle boots in the winter. They also have loads of other styles/ colours available so I'd advise checking out your nearest store or the site.
Finally, I went shopping not long after this order was made, and after being on the hunt for a denim shirt for a while I finally found one. Ok, so it's not denim, it's actually a chambray shirt. But I think I prefer that it's chambray as it will be cooler in summer, and overall a bit more comfortable to wear. It looks great open and worn with tops underneath, or also great done all the way up to the top with a little necklace under the collar. It wasn't super cheap  (£29) for what it is, but I had a gift card so I thought that was a good comprimise!
 
 
I hope you liked this haul type post. Would you like to see more posts like this? Have you recently purchased some nice new clothing pieces?
Thanks as always for reading
Lots of love,
Sarah xx (apologies- this is quite long and picture heavy!)
 

Thursday 14 March 2013

J'adore les Fleurs

Ok, so I understand I've gone a bit french on you here, but I just wanted to spread the love of fresh flowers!! These were given to me by my Dad a while ago (since taking the picture they've had to go in the compost- I'm not a fan of rotten plants) but I though they looked so pretty that I'd do a quick blog post about them! I think these were carnations, so they didn't have the most pungent of scent, but they brightened up my room helping it to look more fresh and Secret Garden "esque"! I always think flowers look very romantic and girly, so I've decided that I'm going to try my best to visit my local florist more often and pick out some flowers perhaps once a week as I really think they helped to brighten up my day! Finally I would just like to add that I was impressed with this old clay vase my Mum rooted out for me to put them in, flowers look great in any containers- I love the deschevelled tin can look filled with bright pretty posies. Not a fan of flowers? Why not try keeping some pot planted herbs in your kitchen window- actually that's a much more environmentally friendly thing to do come to think of it!
What are your favourite flowers, do you like to have them in and around your home? Thanks as always for reading, come back soon... and follow me on Twitter for further updates on my blog, I'm @apricotamethyst
Thanks again for stopping by, love Sarah xx



 

Sunday 10 March 2013

A Little Inspiration.....

Just another little post to mention those bloggers and Youtubers who've inspired me to start this little blog:
  • Fleur de Force
  • Zoella
  • Tanya Burr
  • Sprinkle of Glitter
  • Pearls and Poodles
  • Beauty Crush
  • Miss Glamorrazzi
  • Elle and Blair Fowler
I know none of the beautiful ladies above will be reading this but thought I'd let whoever's reading know how amazing they are....go check them out before my posts get any more soppy and cringey! Haha
Thanks for reading
Sarah xx

Review: Dr. Jart BB Cream


I've had this little gem for a while now...so I thought it was time to do a review! BB creams stormed the UK back in 2011 (don't quote me on that!) and I immediatley jumped on the bandwagon. The high end brands did (and still do) have lots of offerings, though not willing to stretch to their price tag, I purchased the Garnier BB cream. After being un-impressed with the shiny finish and poor wear time, I steered clear of BB Creams for a while. Though after purchasing "the original Asian" offering from Dr. Jart, I am back in love with this type of product once again. This BB comes in 4 different formulas; Water Fuse (the one I own), Premium, Platinum and Regenerating. The formula I use claims to even out skin tone, minimise the appearance of pores as well as hydratig and maintaining moisture. Even though this product is essentially a tinted moisturiser, I still apply my regular moisturiser underneath, as my skin is quite dry- especially in the colder months. I think that when we're into the hotter months I will probabley be able to use this alone as my skin is a bit more oily then and less dry. Anyway enough babbling on, here are my thoughts:
  • Added SPF25 makes the need for slimy, greasy suncream unneccessary-which makes me very happy
  • Sheer but buildable coverage looks totally natural and flawless, whilst still evening out skin tone
  • Super easy to apply and blend in, there's no need for a brush- though I do use one because I don't like having product on my fingers!
  • Beautiful metallic turqoise packaging
  • Didn't break me out- yippee!!
  • A moderate price tag- £18
  • Stays put with a little help from a light sweep of powder for setting
The only issue I have with this brand is that all four different formulas are only available in one colour. The colour will blend in to most white skin tones easily, though I think it's unfair that their isn't anything to cater for darker tones!?
 
The Dr Jart BB creams are available here http://www.boots.com/en/Dr-Jart-/Dr-Jart-BB-Creams/ at Boots
Which BB cream is your favourite? Have you tried any other products from the Dr. Jart skincare range?
Thanks for reading
Sarah xx

Hello!!

Oh hi there! My name is Sarah and, well, I guess this is my blog now ....(oooh doesn't that sound sophisticated!) This blog will be mostly based around beauty, lifestyle and fashion. With reviews, favourites, hauls and ootd's (all my favourite things!) There will also be the odd crafty and cooking post as these are two things I also enjoy to read about and partake in!! I would finally like to say a huge thank you for even reading this post. The fact that you've even stumbled accross my funny little blog in the first place really means a lot to me! If you want to really make my day please subscribe, comment and share! Please come and visit again soon...the door is always open
All my love
Sarah xx