A Belated NARS Haul

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I recently took a trip to Las Vegas. As well as spending far too much in Sephora, I also ventured into the NARS store. Big mistake. I had myself a little makeover and ended up spending $120.. Well, when in Rome and all that (or Vegas in this case).

Sephora Haul

If you're a reader of this blog, you'll know that last month I travelled to Vegas with my boyfriend. There will be a full post on this, but I'm still sorting out photos so bear with me. For now, you can have this. I went overboard in Sephora, my first time in the shop and in America so why the hell not?! Buckle down, this is going to be a long one.

We read to know we're not alone.

If you know me at all, you'll know that I'm a huge book lover. Waterstones is a dangerous place and I try to avoid it at all costs, otherwise I will leave with at least 4 new books. I don't need 4 new books as I have a set of shelves in my bedroom dedicated to my books that are 'waiting to be read'. I should probably read those first, before spending 8 hours dragging Stuart round book shops. 

However, here are 4 new books. In my defense, I only brought two of these. Starting from the bottom we have The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare. The writer of both the famous Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series, which I am a insane fan of, has written something a little different. Keeping with the magic theme it seems, but a little more, shall we say 'fairytale' like. The cover of this takes me back to feeling like a child and there are little illustrations above some of the chapter titles which fills me with a childlike joy. Another Cassandra Clare book (I seem a theme here) that I was dying to get my hands on last year was The Bane Chronicles. Again, if you're a lover of her stories, you'll know that Magnus Bane is an extravagant, cat-eyed warlock who has been on more adventures in his 300 years than you've had hot dinners. The hardback contains 10 short stories of his journeys and mis-fortunes and again, I am dying to read this. Also, can I just mention, is there anything better than a hardback book? I think not.

Moving onto a more serious genre, I picked up Just what kind of mother are you? by Paula Daly. This is about a mother who was looking after a friend's daughter, who is now missing. Since Christmas, when I got my Kindle, I have been loving thrillers so I can't wait to get my teeth into this. It has been described as 'hypnotically gripping' and as that's a huge compliment, I'm hoping it lives up to it! Lastly we have Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Apparently this is now a film? I wasn't aware of that when I purchased it, but I now need to watch it! I brought this for a friend for Christmas and decided to get myself a copy as well (I do this countless times) and it has been described as 'addictive' and a book that I will be 'begging people to read'. That is some praise. Again, another thriller that I can't wait to get started on!

I'd love to feature more posts like this on my Internet space, I am an insane book fanatic and if it's something I love, I want to share it with you guys. Let me know if you like this sort of thing! If not, I'm probably going to post it anyway :) 

- Charli, xo

A Mini Paperchase Haul

I am a stationary addict. Walking through the doors of Paperchase sends my heart into overdrive and this is exactly what happened when I was shopping at Christmas with the mother. I went in for sticky labels, you know the ones that stick out the top of books? So you can use them as little book marks? Yeah? Well, that's what I went in for and I spent £17. 

This might not look like a lot, but I need NONE of this. Well, I do need it, but I don't need it. You get me? I treated myself (obviously Christmas is the time for treating oneself) to a sticky notes pad, a List Book (who doesn't need one of these) and an Address Book (because obviously having a smart phone isn't enough). I brought the address book, purely because it had an owl on it, I think this was £6? So not that bad, I guess. I have written 4 contacts in it so far.. The sticky notes are what I went in for so I don't think I should be made to feel guilty about these, alright?! And finally, the List Book. I live by lists. Shopping list. Blogging list. To-Do list. Wishlist. List, list, list. I'm a list maker. How many times can we say list in one paragraph? 

MORE STICKY NOTES. All I need. Underneath those we have a sticky note pad, just incase 4 lots (plus the pad I brought) of sticky, stickyout labels weren't enough. Next we have, what I use as, a shopping list. IT EVEN HAS TICK BOXES. Ahh, life. Lastly, a bigger list pad for, uhhh, bigger lists? I have used this so many times, it's actually really useful, so I don't regret this impulse purchase at all!

Have you been to Paperchase lately?

Want to enter my first ever giveaway? It's right here!

Holiday Haul

So I've (sadly) been home from Menorca over a week now, straight back into reality, feels like I haven't even been away! I can't believe this time two weeks ago, I was lying in the sun complaining I was too hot, why oh why.

Anyway, whilst away (and at the airport) I treated myself to a few goodies!

GLAM GLOW YOUTH MUD - My BFF Sian kindly let me use her Glam Glow Super Mud and I was instantly hooked. On the plane on the way to Menorca, I was flicking through the duty free magazine and literally squealed when I saw their Youth Mud advertised. I was all over that like a rash. I only brought the smallest pot at 15ml, as that is all they had and it cost me £22.50 which is around £2.50 cheaper than the retail for this size. So I didn't save much, but I was on holiday and got a bit cer-ay-zay. I've used this once - I'm not going to say too much because I will have a review on each of these coming out over the next few weeks, but I love it! And I'm now a hooked Glam fan!

TAYLOR SWIFT - WONDERSTRUCK - Whilst there weren't that many shops where I was, there was (much to my joy) a perfume shop. It's always cheaper over in Spain (well, from my experience) so I was straight in there. Surprisingly, the Bear took longer at deciding what to purchase than I did! I was originally looking for Taylor Swift - Enchanted, but this was all they had and I am not disappointed. Again, a review will be out soon, but this smells divine. I purchased the 30ml bottle and it cost me €19 and seeing as it's £20 over in the UK, I made a pretty good saving! 

LIP SMACKER - COCA COLA COLLECTION - Again, I first saw this in Sian's drawer. Damn that girl, making me spend my money. I saw this in the duty free magazine along with Glam Glow and knew I had to have it. There are 6 different flavours inside; Coca Cola, Coca Cola Vanilla, Coca Cola Cherry, Sprite, Fanta Orange & Fanta Strawberry. Each and every one smells incredible and I don't want to use any of them, I just want to keep them in the tin forever and ever, looking pretty! 

Not much of a haul, but good enough for me!

Have you tried any of these products?

- Charli, xo

Meadowhall Haul // 02

For the second time in the space of a few weeks, I ventured to Meadowhall with the best one Sian and did too much damage to my bank card. In all fairness, I have spent barely anything since my last haul and so me and Sian decided we'd have a blowout. And boy, did we. It was a lovely, relaxing day which I really needed just before the 4 weeks of hell began on Monday. We shopped for hours and finished off the day in TGIF - perfect or what? Here's what I brought; 

The Meadowhall Haul

Morning!

Last weekend I took a trip to Meadowhall with Bear and we had a lovely few hours of shopping. I had some birthday money that I wanted to spend and what better place than Meadowhall?! We also stopped at TGIF (obviously) however I didn't take any photos as I was too busy stuffing my face. Not everything I brought is featured, but this is most of it; 

I've wanted a new make-up bag for ages as mine is seriously gross, so I dragged Bear into Cath Kidston and came out with this little pretty! Bigger than the one I have now, this is a beautiful pale blue with floral (obviously) and I adore it. I haven't even put anything it it yet cause it's too nice! I also took a trip to Boots and purchased two of the new Speckled Egg collection from Models Own. I brought Magpie (green) and Duck (blue) and my lovely friend Kerry brought me Swan (lilac). There will be a review coming up on these in the next couple of weeks!

Bear also let me wander into MAC. What was he thinking? I've been wanting an empty pro-palette since, forever so I took the plunge. At £22.50 I was actually really impressed and the girl told me that the refills are only £10 - then she gave me a £5 gift card! Definitely going back next month for my first eyeshadow! I've also been wanting a new, spring blush for a couple of weeks now. I love my Rockteur but it's being used up fast and I want something a bit brighter. In comes Satin Taupe. Oh my days, what a beautiful colour! It's a very, very light baby pink (it looks dark in this picture, it isn't) so light in fact, I wouldn't wear it on a night out. But for natural days, or days where I don't want to wear too much face cake, this does the job! And at £18, it's cheaper than Benefit!

All hail the Hunters! These are actually what I went to Meadowhall for. My brilliant Bear brought me these for my birthday. What kinda girl asks for wellies for her birthday, I hear you ask? Well, the kind girl that wishes she was a farmer. To be honest, I've needed some new wellies for about a year, the ones I wear to Uni are ditched and, well, cheap. How pretty are these! At £85, they were a bit of a splash, but if you can't buy expensive wellies, what can ya do?!

I also brought two crop tops from Topshop, a black and a stripey one that are currently in the wash, hence no picture. I purchased some Lush items - Fizzbanger, Cosmetic Warrior and Mumkin, but these will have separate reviews. But anyway, a lovely little haul! I loved my day out with my handsome man and shopping makes me want to sqeal with happiness - especially when it's not my money, ameeenn.

What do you think of my products?!

- Charli, xo

London via Instagram

Morning walnuts;

As you guys know, I spent last weekend in London. It was such a nice weekend away and we're already planning a second, longer trip. We spent Friday night snuggled up in bed with McDonalds and TV which was perfect. Saturday morning we jumped up early, went for a Spoons breakfast (gotta be done) and travelled into London for the morning to do a bit (a lot) of shopping, haul HERE. Saturday evening we ventured down to Harry Potter Studios and it was truly magical. It was also Animal Week (just my luck!) so we got to meet a few critters including a gorgeous Fang puppy (no picture, sad face). Sundays original plan was to go back into London and visit London Zoo, but after a late night, neither of us could be bothered to travel an hour on a train so we decided to drive 20 minutes down the road and give Whipsnade a try! It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, it's SO spread out, which is excellent for the animals with big enclosures, but not so good for people who decide to wear new shoes. It's safe to say, my feet were in shreds. 

Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures on my camera, I'm not much a photographer, but I did give my iPhone a bashing and got some good Instagram snaps for you guys. 

Spent too much | Sleeping lions | Hogwarts

Off to Whipsnade | J. K. Rowling | Too many lipsticks

Haul | Olivanders | Off to Hogwarts

What's your favourite London experience? I'd love to know!

- Charli, xo

The London Haul

 

 Morning!

 

As you may know, I went to London over the weekend for a nice break with the Bear. Obviously you can't go to London without taking a trip down Oxford street, so here's a look at the damage I did to my bank card :)

 

(The most irritating thing when the picture bar stops coming up so I can't make this large, if anyone has a solution for this, please let me know in the comments as it always happens to me!)

 

I've been wanting some new Vans for ages so we took a trip into Schuh and I came out with some Fred Perry's. I didn't take a picture because, I'm lazy, but they're just plain black and I love them :) They're really cute. I then decided to wear them to the zoo on Sunday, that was what some people would say, a STUPID idea as my feet were ripped to shreds, to the point of me crying in the middle of the zoo, telling Bear I couldn't go on and that he should go without me.

 

3 new books. That's 12 books sat on my shelf at Bear's waiting to be read now. He tried so hard to avoid letting me in Waterstones, the poor boy, but in I went, with the intention of spending no more money (it was the last shop we went in) and came out with not 1, but 3 new books.

 

MAKE-UP. How could I resist. So I went to Selfridges and brought two new MAC lipsticks. I wanted Snob, to replace my other that went missing :( but then I saw Saint Germain, which I have in the lip glass, and decided I liked it better. Then I saw the new RiRi AND that the whole cost of the lipstick went towards an AIDS charity so that was my justification for buying those. I also brought a purple (I have never worn purple lipstick in my life) Topshop lipstick. I've never tried their cosmetics, other than nail varnish, so we'll see if this is any good! Also from Topshop I brought a lipgloss? I think it's classed as a creme, but never mind, in Cruel. Which again, is purple. What is wrong with me?!

 

Also from Selfridges, I saw the Ciate flower manicure that I have been lusting after for about a month now and obviously, to Bear's dismay, I had to have it. I will be doing a review on this when I can be bothered to take the time to do my nails nicely, so keep your eyes peeled.

 

So nuggets, as you can see, I'm an impulse buying, I have an extremely addictive personality, lipstick, nail stuff and books, and I feel sorry for my man who's house is now full of my shit. That's what you get for letting me loose on Oxford Street! Lesson learnt, eh?!

 

- Charli, xo

The Unintentional Haul

Hello there;

So, yesterday I went shopping with my lady, Sian for a few of my Secret Santa presents. This did not go to plan and the majority of what I ended up buying, was for myself. 

Models Own Lip Crayon | Models Own Velvet Gothic | Models Own Splash | Models Own Glitter Kit | Benefit Brow Kit

I went into Debenhams with the intention of buying some novelty socks for the man; I never even ventured into the sock department. I was struck by the Benefit sale in which I purchased an eyebrow kit. I don't even do anything to my eyebrows, so why did I purchase this? Someone please tell me, why I felt the need to buy expensive make-up, that I will not use. What is wrong with me?! Weak willed. 

I also ventured into Boots, for Secret Santa presents. The only thing in this picture that is for someone other than me, is the Models Own Splash. The rest is mine. Even the free glitter kit that was originally going to be for someone else, I have now claimed. I need to sit down and give myself a serious slap. What is my obsession with spending?!

Anyway - this was my unintentional haul and there will be reviews to follow! Including the brow kit as I'm determined to get use out of it! 

Does anyone else have a spending issue?!

- Charli, xo