Sunday 30 June 2013

My Month: June

 
My month has been a great one, mainly due to the fact that it was my birthday so I have been treated a few nice meals and celebration drinks, enjoyed spending time with family and friends, ate a lot of cake and got some lovely presents!
I have been good with my spending this month and haven’t been buying much. To be honest nothing has really tickled my fancy so my bank balance is looking quite healthy! An unfamiliar but nice feeling. I need to start searching for a new laptop as the one I currently have is sooo slow and frustrates me a lot but I don’t really know where to begin. When it comes to technology I totally switch off, it’s not my area of expertise at all so I think I’m going to need some help.
June has brought us a few days of nice weather and sunshine – and a lot of rain - but really where the hell is summer at?!! There’s like 2 months left of ‘summer’ so I’m starting to worry that time’s going to run out and we’re not actually going to see the season at all, so depressing :-(
What have you been up to this month?
 
Holly xx
 
 
 

Tiramisu, birthday presents, me & the sister, ready for a run, birthday cake, cocktails, new book, diamante sandals, celebration drink.



Flopsy bunny, ready to party in Brum, Google on my birthday, yummy dessert, I need to start baking, best friend & me, peanut butter m&m’s mmm, pre-work out, sunbathing in the garden.

 

OPI nails & Dior lipgloss, pretty flowers, I LOVE marmite, new moisturiser, girls ready to party, banoffee cupcake, sticky toffee pudding, kisses from me, reading material.  


 
Healthy summer food, me, OPI Houston we have a purple, the best friend and I, Boots beauty haul, hot choc and marshmallows, OPI collection, more food, honey hair mask.
 

 


Friday 28 June 2013

The Beauty Detox Solution

 
 
I recently purchased this book when it appeared on my recommendations list on Amazon. I love reading and often read a couple of books at a time – when the cover caught my eye I decided to investigate further, after reading the description and the great reviews from other people that have read it I knew this book was right up my street and ordered it straight away.
One of my main interests is nutrition along with health, fitness and of course beauty -so the name of the book alone told me it would be my kind of reading. So far I have only read the introduction and started the first chapter but I cannot put it down and have found myself agreeing and nodding along with everything author Kimberly Snyder is saying – it just makes sense! I think I am going to learn so much from reading it.
The book teaches you how to improve health and happiness and provides an understanding of how to achieve natural beauty simply by eating clean, adopting a good attitude to diet and nutrition and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I am intrigued to read about Kimberly’s travels around the world and to find out about the amazing, natural beauty routines and remedies that women use in different countries and the ways that I can adopt these and incorporate them in to my lifestyle to improve my way of living and become a happier, healthier person.
I love learning new things, especially when it is something that will benefit me and something I can pass on and teach to others. I have been pescetarian my whole life - this means I follow a vegetarian diet with the exception of fish and I have never eaten meat. One of the first subjects the book covers is diet and how the human body is not actually designed to digest protein from another animal. Our digestive systems are designed for a plant based diet - just like that of a chimpanzee’s which is the species whose bodies are most similar to us human beings so this subject is very interesting to me.
 
 
 
I also follow Kimberly’s blog here where there are daily posts, great recipes and more great health and nutrition tips – check it out!
Have you read this book or Kimberly’s blog? What do you think?
 
Holly xx
 


Sunday 23 June 2013

Mini Beauty Haul

 
On Saturday I ventured to Boots with my shopping list in hand to stock up on hair and beauty essentials for the month ahead. I like to plan a monthly trip there so that I can purchase everything I need in one go rather than going shopping every time I need a new bottle of dry shampoo or I run out of lip balm, if I did that I think I would spend half of my life there.
I love that Boots has a great advantage card system so I can collect up points when I do a big shop and then when I have built up a healthy balance I can treat myself to something for free :-) They always have great in store offers such as 3 for 2 and buy 1 get 1 free which usually means I end up buying much more than I need but hey ho.
Anyway I didn’t buy as much on this trip due to taking advantage of great offers at Superdrug and Feel Unique earlier on in the month so I already have a healthy stash of hair and beauty products clogging up my room.
What have you been buying this month? Any new products I should know about?
 
 
 
 
Babyliss paddle hairbrush
Toni & Guy mini salt spray
17 Pink glow shimmer palette
Pantene Volume mousse
John Frieda Frizz-Ease serum
Impulse body spray
Honey Hair mask
V05 Give me texture spray
Lee Stafford dry shampoo
Nivea vanilla lip butter
Garnier Intensive 7 day hand cream
 
 

 
The Newbies
Most of these are products I have used before but I also like to keep an eye out for newbies and products I have heard good reviews about to try myself. The new items I bought this month are the 17 Pink glow shimmer palette, Pantene Volume mousse, John Frieda Frizz-Ease serum and Honey Hair mask.
Is it sad that I get excited about testing new products? I can’t wait to try the honey hair mask – it smells delicious and looks so thick and creamy. I love anything honey flavoured it’s one of my favourite scents and is super nourishing for hair and skin so I hope it leaves my locks nicely moisturised as it’s in need of some TLC at the moment.
Another hair product I can’t wait to try is the John Frieda Frizz ease serum. The humid weather is making my hair un manageable and no matter what I try it goes frizzy within a few hours of leaving the house :-( This serum has been recommended to me and I have heard good things about it in the past so let’s hope it delivers!
Have you tried any of these products? What do you think?
 
Holly xx
 


Friday 21 June 2013

June Wishlist

 
What better way is there to spend a rainy day than surfing the web and browsing the various summer collections available? Especially when there are currently so many online sales! So many nice items are catching my eye at the moment and it was only the other day I was telling people how good I have been with my money recently and how long it has been since I indulged in some good retail therapy L However… I’m staying strong and resisting temptation… For now anyway :-P
 
 
 
 




 

 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Does anything take your fancy? What are you wishing for this month?
 
Holly xx
 
 
 

Sunday 16 June 2013

Garnier Moisture Match Moisturiser

  
I recently received a sample of this cream and was impressed with how soft my skin felt after just one use so when I saw it on offer in Superdrug I had to add it to my basket. I find that when I use the same moisturiser for too long my skin gets used to the cream and I start getting dry patches again so it’s good to change every now and again.
I moisturise my skin religiously day and night and at weekends when I have make-up free days I like to apply moisturiser throughout the day to keep my skin glowing and healthy. After showering I moisturise my body all over but obviously the skin on your face is far more sensitive so it’s important to find a facial moisturiser that works for your skin type.
The Garnier Moisture Match range offers 5 different options all for different skin types; Goodbye Dry, Start A Fresh, Protect and Glow, Shine Be Gone and Wake Me Up. I opted for Goodbye Dry as I have normal/dry skin – also loving that this one comes in the pink bottle!
The consistency is thick and creamy unlike some other moisturisers that can be too watery, it absorbs straight away and really sinks in leaving skin soft and hydrated. The scent is an added bonus, it has a slight oceany fresh smell – similar to Georgio Armani acqua di gio – I hate it when you find a product that works really well but smells awful it puts me right off but this cream smells fresh and pleasant.
 
 
 
 
The range is currently on offer at Superdrug for £2.98 RRP £5.99 link so I would definitely recommend trying the one that matches your skin type best an hopefully you will be just as happy with the results as I am!
What moisturiser do you use? Have you discovered any other impressive products?
 
Holly xx


Thursday 13 June 2013

Take a deep breath

 
 
 
 


Something I have had to do many times before - and will probably have to do a whole lot more.
 

Holly xx
 
 
 


Monday 10 June 2013

Partying in Birmingham

 
This weekend marked the final part of my birthday celebrations and the girls and I headed to Birmingham for a night out. We took the train which only takes around 1 hour, dumped bags at the hotel and went to get some food to line our stomachs for the alcohol that would be consumed that night.
 
 Pre drink
After food it was time to begin the preparations and pre drinks back at the hotel. Helen, Harriet and Claire all chose to wear navy dresses which was so funny as none of them knew what anyone else was wearing! I felt like the odd one out in my black and white combo but everyone looked gorgeous regardless :-)
 
  The girls looking gorgeous in navy

 
 
Me posing
 
 
 
 
Messing about on the bed before we went out
 


 

 
I love partying in Birmingham because it’s a big city and has a huge choice of good bars and clubs. We always start the night on Broad Street where most of the clubs are and then head to another area called Arcadia later on in the night where the best bars that stay open late are.

 
 
Poppin’ the champers ;-)
 
 
 
We were lucky enough to get to queue jump at the first place we went to and we also got a free bottle of champers - nothing like a bit of VIP treatment – as they say it’s not what you know it’s who you know ;-) haha.

We had a great night and didn’t even feel too bad the next day – apart from Claire who was still drunk in the morning haha. My birthday is now officially all over but I have had a great week that has included a couple of nice meals, time spent with family and friends, drinks and amazing presents. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it and who wished me happy birthday!
 

 
Holly xx
 
 

Saturday 8 June 2013

My Birthday!!

I celebrated my 22nd birthday last Tuesday and had such a fabulous day! I was spoiled by my friends and family and the weather was beautiful, unfortunately now I have the post birthday blues as I have to wait a whole year for it to be my special day again :-(
I started by enjoying a relaxing day at home, after breakfast and a nice lay in I went for a run in the park in the sunshine and then spent the afternoon sunbathing in my garden until my family arrived home from work - then it was time for presents!!
I love getting lots of little surprises rather than one big gift so I was delighted with the little bits and pieces I got along with some money from my mum and grandparents to put towards a new laptop!
After enjoying a glass of bubbly and present opening in the garden my mum, sister and I went for a delicious meal at Pizza Express. I chose one of their new Leggara pizzas with goat’s cheese, caramelised onion, anchovies and rocket salad – truly scrumptious! Although I was full I wanted to sample a dessert so opted for a chocolate fudge cake with ice cream which I regretted afterwards because I was so full and bloated and it was served cold which was disappointing as I much prefer this dessert warm.
My best friend Helen came to meet us afterwards for a couple of celebratory drinks, due to it being a Tuesday night and the girls having work the next day we didn’t plan for it to be a late one but we enjoyed a few cocktails and met these funny guys who kindly bought me a birthday pitcher :-)
I had the next day off of work too so enjoyed some more quality time alone, worked out at the gym and cheered myself up with some retail therapy – I had post birthday blues and was on a come down after all of the excitement from the previous day!
On the plus side I only had 2 days at work until the weekend and now I am excited to travel to Birmingham with the girls tonight for late birthday celebrations.
Let the partying commence!
 
Holly xx  
 
Chocolate fudge cake
 
 
Sunbathing, me & the sister, blowing out candles, birthday cake
 
 
 

Pretty flowers from my best friend

 

Some of my gifts <3 span="">
 
 

Flopsy bunny, OPI nail polish & Dior lipgloss, cocktails, Ruby, me & Helen
 
 
 

Cook book, peanut butter m&m’s, Yankee candle & truffles, photo frame
 
 
 
Birthday girl


 
Sisters
 
 
Best friends
 
 


Tuesday 4 June 2013

Happy Birthday To Me!


 
 

Woohoo! The day has finally arrived and I am officially another year older – which isn’t exactly a good thing but hey it’s my birthday and I’m gonna celebrate and enjoy my day!
I have the day off of work as I refuse to work on my birthday and in my opinion it should be illegal :-) So far I have enjoyed a nice lay in, ate my favourite breakfast and right now I am in bed watching my favourite show Desperate Housewives. The sun is shining and it is a b e a utiful day so I may go for a nice run in the park later, have a little pamper sesh and then chill in the garden with a good book, stress free bliss :-)
I have to wait until my mum, sister and best friend get home from work later then I can open my presents and we are going out for a meal at Pizza Express then having a few cocktails after to celebrate. I can’t wait to blow out the candles on my cake and make a birthday wish too – I am such a big kid haha!
My dad came to visit me last weekend and we went for an early birthday meal at a lush Italian restaurant – the food was divine- especially the home made Tiramisu!
 Roll on Saturday as I am heading to Birmingham for a night out with the girls for lots of dancing, giggles and yummy cocktails! I am just waiting for my new dress to arrive any day now from ASOS – I really hope it looks good because I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it on the website! I will do a birthday post in a few days with photos of what I have been up to and hopefully show you the nice presents I get today hehe.
What is everyone up to today? Do you have anything planned for this gorgeous weather?
Have a fabulous day!
 




Holly xx

 


My first present from my daddy – how cute?! I have named him Flopsy haha
 
 

 

My sister made this poster for me, we LOVE Moleman from The Simpsons lol
 
 
Delicious Tiramisu
 

 
Even Google knows it’s my birthday ;-)

 
 
 
 
 

 


Sunday 2 June 2013

May Photo Diary

So another month has passed and we are officially halfway through the year 2013! I know I am not the only one who finds it surreal how quickly the year is passing. If anything it makes me realise how short life really is and how important it is to make the most of every day and every opportunity that comes our way.
 On the plus side we have started to see more sunshine, experience warmer weather and summer is finally visible on the horizon! And of course not forgetting that June is the month of my birthday - June 4th - make a note of the date guys ;-) hehe.
Here’s some of my snaps from May including lots of lovely food, the month's favourite beauty items and a trip to Brighton. What did May hold for you? Do you have any great plans for the month ahead?
 
Holly xx
 
 

Chocolate birthday cake, TBT my birthday last year, VS fragrances, what’s in my handbag? Home made pizza, work out time, current favourite shades, gym, Yankee candles.

 

Reading material, Zara tote, granola = my favourite, best friends, OOTD, MUA nail polish, it’s a new day, home made flapjack, selfie.


 
Pout, Celine tote, chocolate oatie cookies, I’m limited edition ;-), OOTD, view from my dad’s decking, prawn linguine, me and my bestie, dohnuts.

 
Follow me on Instagram for more pics @misshollyamber