Iceland land of fire and ice

Hey everyone,

Well it's been a pretty long time huh?! There's probably just been tumbleweeds rolling past for a while.. yeah sorry about that! Anyway here I am with another post... Finally! My boyfriend and I have just come back from our holiday to Iceland and it was AMAZING, I mean I couldn't not share it with anyone. If anyone is looking for somewhere new to visit I'd highly recommend this beautiful place! My top tips if visiting would be:

1. Definitely rent a car- we stayed about an hour and half outside of their main city of Reykjavik so a car was pretty much a necessity for us. However even if you do stay in the main city a car would give you so much more freedom. Iceland is pretty large so there is a lot of ground you could cover if you wanted. We rented a little Suzuki Jimny from Lagoon car rentals, our car was a fairly new model and had little to no damage. With regards to insurance we made sure to get the sand and ash cover and gravel cover (some of Icelands roads are gravelled but you could stay on the ring road if needed) this did us absolutely fine and I would recommend this being the options you go for if any! We managed to give our car back as we found it so that was pretty good going. Lagoon car rental I would definitely recommend. I read lots of horror stories of car rental companies before we visited so was a bit hesitant when booking but I was pleased with the treatment we received.

2. Go to the Blue Lagoon- The Blue Lagoon was something I was really excited about when we booked our trip and I knew that it was something on the 'to do' list. I read up lots before visiting and lots of posts I came across said that the Blue Lagoon was a bit 'overrated' and overcrowded and you would be better off visiting places like the Secret Lagoon (which while in Iceland and talking to other travellers I heard wasn't so 'secret'). I'm sure it is also a lovely place to visit but I don't think anything would really compare to the Blue Lagoon. The facilities were pretty on point and the experience was just awesome, I especially loved the swim up bar! You get a band when you go in so any extras you want to buy they just scan your band and you get a bill at the end when you exit. The one thing I didn't try was the silica mud mask which looked good but we were visiting Reykjavik in the afternoon and I didn't want to look too much a mess!! We went during Easter holidays so you'd expect it to be pretty busy at these times in particular, yes there were people there but I definitely wouldn't say it was too crowded. There are lots of different areas for people to visit so your not all in one place together all the time.

3. Drive the Golden Circle- Even if you don't want to hire a car for your whole trip I'd definitely recommend it for a day to do the golden circle tour. I can't imagine much worse that being stuck on a coach for it as it takes quite a few hours to visit all the places. Also you should definitely go outside the golden circle and visit some of the other waterfalls, although maybe not on the same day as that might be a bit too much!

Finally just enjoy it! This country is beautiful and I love all the natural wonders you can visit. I really wish we could of had more time here but I think the time we had we used well, it was a pretty action packed adventurous holiday! If you do visit then please leave a comment on this post would love to hear other peoples experiences and tips because we're already said we would definitely visit again one day! 😊

lake district

Easter round up.

So once again here I am apologising for being a little absent! I'm not sure why as I don't particularly have a schedule for my blog, it's just something I do as a bobbie. Yet I feel like I owe you guys when you follow me to keep posting regularly! So I'm very sorry!

Firstly it was the Easter holidays. Where I work in a primary school this meant two weeks off .. wooohoo!! It was great, I just relaxed most of the time! My friends came down from the mainland and we all met up which was lovely as we haven't been together for so long. It seems they all come to the island at different times but luckily they were all down for Easter. I spent some time with family also, looking after my little cousins, which was great! Plus a picnic, digging, nights out and lots of time shopping!!

Besides all the Easter holiday fun I've got my dissertation to do and the deadline is looming so I'm now starting to panic a little but I'll be so glad when it's all over as I'm graduating this year!!

Here are some snaps I took of what I've been getting up to!

 <-- trying out my extentions!

Hope you all enjoyed the easter break!! 

Models Own // Speckled Egg

Models Own nail polish range have really been catching my eye lately! I'm going to do a series of 3 posts as I've purchased some rather beautiful polishes in recent weeks!

Firstly due to the fact that it's Easter weekend I thought we'd start with the speckled egg range! These polishes are a great representation of mini eggs, which are delicious mmm! I chose the shade 'swan' although it was difficult as they're are a range of beautiful shades as you can see from the picture above.

The varnish goes on well, requiring a few coats to guid it up, it has a variety of different size 'speckles' creating an authentic look. The only downside was that it didn't seem very durable however saying that I didn't apply a topcoat so maybe I was at fault there! It only chipped away at the edges of the nail the rest was fine, and when it came to taking off, my was that an effort! It's like glitter nail varnish, now we all know it looks pretty but god is it a b*tch to get off!

At £5 these affordable pots of polish are definitely worth picking up, why not treat yourself to some perfected pampered nails in preparation for the easter weekend?!

 Speaking of which Happy Easter guys, I hope you all get some yummy chocolatey treats!

Happy Beauty Day!

I was a very happy girl the other day when I walked in to boots and saw this little set 'happy beauty day' by Benefit! I've always wanted to try out benefit products but due to the limited amount of shops and the fact that I'm one of those people who likes the real shopping experience as opposed to online I've never got round to trying any out! This little kit came with 3 sample products;

1. BAD gal lashes mascarra 
2. The PORE fessional 
3. Posie tint liquid blush/lip tint 

1. Bad gal lashes I have used the least really, this isn't due to the fact it's a bad product, it's due to the fact that along with this set I also purchased Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara (post up soon!) which is amazing!! It's very different to this as the wands are different, with Bad gal lashes offering a thicker bristled brush, whereas They're Real uses a comb like brush, which I find is better as it gives less clumps, however thicker brushes I find can sometimes offer better volume. It just comes down to what you personally prefer. I have used this a few times and I do like it but compared to They're Real it's not a massive contender in my opinion.

2. I've used this product a few times now and it's not necessarily one I would go out of my way to buy. Although it's good, I think there are cheaper alternatives out there that do the same job. There wasn't massive noticeable differences in my skin but I did like the fact that it is slightly tinted as I think this helps with the covering up of pores. Maybe with a few more uses I might notice more of a difference but it just doesn't wow me really!

3. This is by far my favourite out of the three. This is such a good product and I'm now considering buying the full product when this runs out, as well as wanted to try the other shades. Its a lovely pink stain which blends really well on to the cheek (which is what I mainly use it for). It's well pigmented and gives you a lovely cheeky glow. it has a small brush that you can just sweep acoss the cheek and then just blend with a brush or your finger and vola perfectly pink cheeks! Even better it's a multipurpose product as you can also use it as a stain on your lips. It gives a lovely natural pinky tone to your lips without it looking like you've really got anything on, it just enhances them naturally which I really like.

At £9.95 this little set is definitely worth a go, especially if like me you've never tried benefit products. I think it gives you a nice little taster for a reasonable price! I've definitely been won over and I will be purchasing some full size products in the near future :)

High Street vs High End // Foundation

So I've recently started trying out a few more high end brands instead of just sticking to the comfort of Boots!

I've tried and loved the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation for probably about a year now! I am constantly repurchasing because its just amazing.

Now I'm not sure whether this can be a true comparison as the two foundations I am going to discuss are quite different in a way. But hey ho... here we go...

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation- £8.99 //Mac Studio Fix Fluid- £21.50

I was matched for my Mac foundation by a lady at the counter who suggest I needed pinker toned foundation rather than orange due to my complexion. So she picked out the shade NW15. It was quite exciting to have someone who actually knows what they're talking about pick out what suits you best. With the Rimmel foundation and my very little knowledge I usually go for shade 200 in soft Beige... I do sometimes flit between that and the nude though depending on how I'm feeling really.

Now the Mac foundation is more of a Matt finish and the Rimmel has more of a dewey finish to it. I really loved the Mac foundation when the lady applied it for me in Mac, I felt it wasn't too heavy and still looked natural yet covering. However when it came to me applying it myself, I couldn't seem to get the look she gave me. I feel with the Rimmel that the coverage is better than the Mac, yet it still doesn't appear heavy and caked on. Both foundations have SPF15 which is good and they are both 30ml glass bottles. The Mac one retails for £21.50 and you have to pay extra for the pump (this I could not understand why!!) whereas the Rimmel one comes in at a much more affordable £8.99 (with pump!). One plus about the Mac foundation is they're huge selection of shades. You don't get such a variety with high street brands, so if you often struggle to find the perfect match then it might be worth a try!

I do like both of these foundations and I tend to use my Mac one when I want more of a natural look. However I do find myself returning back to the Rimmel one again and again! With all the similarities and differences between the two I would say Rimmel has it in the bag for me! I don't think the Mac one particularly excels over the Rimmel and especially with the big price difference theres nothing that I don't get from the Rimmel one that I get from the Mac.

SS14 Pastel Wishlist

1. River Island- Tote bag
I am a huge fan River Island bags and this beauty is no exception!  I love the sophisticated look about this bag. If I could justify the fact that I need more bags in my life then I would definitely be investing in this baby!

2. Asos- Pink heeled sandals 
I feel the need to change my shoe collection a bit now. A few years ago I was going on nights out a lot so my wardrobe consists mainly of heels or flip flops! I really like the sandals that are around at the moment and this cute pair from Asos are right up my street! I have nothing like them either, so these need no further justification really!

3. Topshop- Gingham bralet This cute gingham crop is perfect for Spring and Summer. I'm a sucker for crop tops! I love the frills and bow on this it makes it a really cute piece I think!

4. Missguided- Jumpsuit with lace detail
This gorgeous Jumpsuit is a lovely colour and has a lace panel along the side. It's from Missguided which I love looking at but every time I order something from there I nearly always send it back because of the fit! (Sometimes I hate being so small)! This looks beautiful in the picture though!

5. Boots- Models Own speckled egg nail polish
I love painting my nails and buying new colours so I think I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on the new models own speckled egg collection. Perfect for Easter and the colours are so pretty!!

6. Shelly's London (Asos)- Mint Boots
I'm loving chunky boots at the moment and these caught my eye due to their lovely mint colour! I think they're subtle yet stylish and fit right in with the pastel trend for Spring.

7. Topshop- Yellow Satchel
Now I couldn't finish off the wish list without the beautiful Topshop satchel. I popped in to Topshop the other day and saw these all lined up in an array of beautiful spring colours! I might just have to make this a new edition to my bag collection!