STEAL OF THE WEEK: BOOKS FROM WHSMITH OUTLET.

I was casually going round the Designer Outlet Village at Cheshire Oaks and thought I'd pay a visit to the WHSmith store. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, just having a browse, so I kinda bumped into the clearance section by accident. They had a specific offer on that caught my eye: 3 for 2 on all books in the clearance section. So I was having a nosey at what books they had and I luckily spotted these three by Michael Grant. Bzrk and Fear are both paperbacks and Light is a hardcover. I had some of the books in the Gone series already, but not Fear and Light, so it just made total sense to pick them up - besides, the rest of the books in the clearance didn't really appeal to me very much.

When I turned each book over, I was shocked but super pleased to see that they were only £3 each! They weren't damaged in any way at all, so I'm not really sure why they were in the clearance section, but I wasn't about to complain! So those prices put together with the 3 for 2 offer meant that I only paid £6 for three brand new books - a complete bargain! This was even cheaper than Amazon, which is where I normally order my books from!

TRIP TO PORTSMOUTH.

I went to Portsmouth for a few days on another university-related trip; it was a long drive from home but it was definitely worth it. The Spinnaker Tower (the big white pointy building in my photos) is a pretty famous and incredible structure in Portsmouth, so naturally I took a lot of photos of it - at night and day! I even went right to the top of the tower and walked across the skywalk (that's what the last photo is… it's not just a random photo of my feet!). But there were other things about the city that caught my eye, and subsequently my camera lens, like the many different styles of buildings throughout Portsmouth and even just some graffiti that I found near the university. So I thought I'd share some of my favourite snaps with you all… hope you like them! :)

£1 MUA MATTE LIPSTICK IN WILD BERRY.

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a darkish lipstick to wear to a 1920s themed party that I'd been invited to. I had a nice dark plummy colour in mind, so I just went round all the makeup sections in Superdrug trying to find the right shade. I'd just about lost hope once I'd passed the Rimmel, Maybelline and Barry M sections empty-handed. But then I caught sight of the MUA section, remembering that some of their makeup products had been recommended by bloggers as being a decent quality for the low prices that they are. I spotted this gorgeous deep plum red colour - Wild Berry - amongst all the other lipsticks and just thought "this is the one!" And for only £1 I wasn't exactly going to leave it in the shop now, was I?

Okay, so the first thing I like about this lipstick is the packaging. I think the simplicity of the design is quite sleek and professional looking, despite the fact that when you actually pick it up it feels incredibly plasticy. But you can't exactly expect world-class packaging materials for a £1 product, so I'll leave it at that! The quality of the lipstick itself is okay - it's not incredibly pigmented, however it does darken up the lips a reasonably noticeable amount. I would definitely recommend using a lipliner too, as the lipstick doesn't have enough pigmentation to create totally crisp edges. The packaging claims it is a matte lipstick - I would slightly disagree with this, as it does leave a slight sheen on the lips that I wouldn't have expected from a matte lipstick. Also I find it quite a stiff product to apply - it isn't very creamy, so I would definitely wear it with a moisturising lip balm.

So ultimately, I would say that for just one pound it's a decent lipstick. Also it's quite a good choice for a beginner, who wants to go for something a bit darker than normal without having to go completely out their comfort zone. Plus, it's literally the cheapest lipstick out there!

Are there any MUA products that you would recommend? Feel free to leave a comment below! :)

SPRING OUTFIT.

For this outfit, I took a simple white vest top and paired it with a dark blue skater skirt from Primark. Although it was quite cheap, I think this skirt is made of a pretty good quality material that falls really nicely. It has a soft texture similar to the peplum top from this outfit.

For shoes, I chose my brown moccasin ballet flats as they add a hint of festivals and summery-ness (is that an actual word?!) to the outfit. The skinny brown belt helps to add a pop of the same brown colour further up the outfit as well as emphasising the waist.

And seeing as it's not quite hot enough yet to have bare arms all day, I decided to add a denim jacket over the top. Mine was from M&S and you can read more about it here. You could also add a long pendant necklace to jazz the outfit up a little bit!



Disclaimer: I bought all of these items of clothing with my own money and photographed them myself.

DAY TRIP TO LINCOLN.

On the day of my interview for the University of Lincoln, I took my new camera along because I knew that Lincoln had a gorgeous cathedral and adorable streets that I wanted to take photos of. I really love the little boutiques that have cute little signs hanging above the doors!

MY NIGHT-TIME ROUTINE.

I used to be really bad when it came to my looking after my skin because I was just too lazy to even slap a bit of moisturiser on my face before bed. However, since the start of 2014 I've been using some products to try to improve my dry skin and lips and the dark circles under my eyes.

I start off by removing my make-up (I usually just wear a bit of concealer day-to-day) with the Garnier Simply Essentials 2 in 1 Make-up Remover with a little cotton pad. This make-up remover is pretty darn good because even after I've been to a party with a full face of make-up on, it removes the make-up extremely quickly and without you having to manically scrub your face for hours. It says on the bottle that the blue liquid on top is the bit that removes the make-up; the transparent liquid below it is a cleansing water, so obviously it treats your skin very well and leaves it feeling nice and soft.

The second step is especially important if I've just had a bath and it is to moisturise my face. When you have a shower or bath, the shower gel or soap usually strips your skin and makes it feel really dehydrated and for me, kinda flaky. Ew. So I use the Dove Beauty Body Moisturiser to rehydrate my skin and it just makes it feel so smooth and much more healthy. This moisturiser is designed to be used on the face and body, so it works wonders on dry hands in the winter too.

I then use this Wonder Eye Cream by the brand, Balance Me, around my eyes. This little tester product came with one of my magazine subscriptions through the post. I have to say, although it does leave the skin around the eyes feeling moisturised and soft, I don't really feel like it delivers on its claim to smooth away dark shadows, as I haven't noticed any difference in the appearance of the dark areas around my eyes. Also, at around £20 per 15ml, I don't think I will be purchasing a full sized product, but I will keep using my little bottle until it has run out.

Finally, I moisturise my lips with whatever lip balm I'm using at the time. Currently it's the Passion Fruit Lip Butter from M&S. I've had it absolutely ages and I'm still only about a third of the way through it - a little definitely goes a long way! It smells amazingly fruity but I don't think that really translates into the taste of the lip balm, as it does taste a little bit bizarre. I can't really describe the taste more fully than that - it's just a bit strange! Nevertheless, it is a great product that leaves your lips feeling very smooth and soft when you wake up the following morning.