2019 || JANUARY FAVOURITES

Origins Night-a-mins £32:

This is hands down my new favourite night cream. I used to really enjoy wearing Decleor Neroli Oil or Night Balm but I’ve been completely diverted. Night-a-mins has recently had its formula changed to fruit-derived acids to make it more effective as a treatment and more environmentally friendly. The cream consists of grape, apple and beetroot acids which help resurface the skin as well as peel the dead skin cells off overnight. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to this product as I found it a bit tightening at first which gave away an uncomfortable sensation on my cheeks, but now I use it daily and can’t imagine myself going back to anything else.

MAC 217s blending brush £21:

I don’t know what I did before I got this brush. It has honestly changed the way I apply my eyeshadow, making it so easy to blend any harsh lines or shadows together. I bought this brush exactly a year ago for my 22nd birthday and I got another for Christmas last year which will make my life much easier because I won’t have to wash the brush as often if I’m in a hurry (I try to wash my brushes at least once a week). Even though this brush is very expensive, it really is worth every penny. Especially now that the bristles are synthetic instead of real hair (much more environmentally friendly) it makes it a lot easier to blend all sorts of eyeshadows and it doesn’t shed at all. I think this is definitely a great brush to add to your collection and a staple in my daily routine.

Papier Disney dotted notebook £12.99:

I first came across this brand after seeing it on the Tribe app and once I saw that Papier sells Disney themed notebooks I had to get one. They offer quite a big variety of different styles and types of notebooks and diaries but for my first one, I picked this Alice in Wonderland one. I’ve been wanting to start a proper bullet journal for months now so when’s the best time for one if not now? I started filling this one out in the last week of December last year and I can’t seem to put it down. I also use another dated diary for everyday use but I enjoy the fact that I can customise my bullet journal to my needs. You can get £10 off your first order when using this link.

Heather Morris’ The Tattooist of Auschwitz £4:

I bought this book back in October and attempted to read it twice but couldn’t really bring myself to sitting down and focusing on a book due to some personal issues I was going through. Now that I have finally made time for myself I managed to finish this book in a couple of weeks time and wow, it is bloody brilliant. The writing is phenomenal and the way that Heather described Lale’s story is so personal and made me feel all the emotions in the world! If you haven’t read this already, please do - you won’t regret it.

Soap & Glory The Scrub of Your Life £7:
This is a gem that I re-discovered at Christmas when I received a large Soap & Glory set from my partner. I forgot just how good this smells and makes my skin feel after cleansing. Thankfully, the brand has stopped using microbeads in their products in 2014 (according to their Twitter account) which is why I was happy to start using this product again. I find that the product works well on its own, however, I prefer to use it with exfoliating gloves for a super smooth effect on my skin. If you haven't already tried this scrub then I suggest you do as it smells great and will make your skin feel brand new!

What have you loved this January?

*This post includes affiliate links.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

FOOD || CURIOUS MANOR AFTERNOON TEA IN NOTTINGHAM

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of trying out a boozy afternoon tea at Curious Manor in Nottingham, thanks to the lovely team at Gemini. This was a part of a very fun day out which included a mini flashmob style fashion show (which was bloody amazing).

I've been wanting to go to Curious Manor for a while but the price has put me off (it was around £20 pp), so you can imagine how excited I was to finally try it out with some fellow blogging gals. 

We started off with a glass of prosecco each (I don't drink alcohol so I passed mine on) and then we were asked for any dietary requirements. At the time I did not have any special requirements so I was given the standard afternoon tea to share with another blogger. 

My platter included: cream cheese and salmon or cucumber sandwiches, and egg mayo sandwiches. There were also a couple of different savoury pastries but I'm not the biggest fan of pastry so I didn't give it a try. Obviously, there were scones (do you say sconnes or scohnes?) which were very yummy, alongside macaroons, red velvet cake, pain au chocolate and a coffee & walnut cake. I believe that all platters had different sandwiches and cakes because we all had different dietary requirements, but there was something there for everyone including vegans, celiacs and lactose-intolerant people.

Of course me being me, I had about 5 cups of tea with my food hehe. I find that tea outside of home always tastes better, would you agree? Now I really want to get myself a cute set of teacups and saucers to serve when I have some friends around. I’d love to host my own little afternoon tea party! I’d feel like such an adult 😂

The décor inside was absolutely beautiful. It was so different from anything I have seen before and gave me proper inspo for when I have my own house!

*I have since found out that sadly, Curious Manor does not offer afternoon tea anymore. This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own, however, I was treated to the afternoon free of charge by Gemini PR & Marketing.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

SS19 || HOW TO STYLE A MIDI SKIRT THIS SEASON

Throughout my childhood, I always thought that midi skirts were for Grannies as my beautiful Great-Grandmother (bless her soul) always wore them with a T-shirt and a big chunk cardigan. One family member, in particular, kept telling me to wear either full length or short skirts to make my legs look longer - being 5ft3 clearly has its downs, but now I'm embracing my height and rocking the midi skirt trend (if I do say so myself)!

I now own 5 (I think) midi skirts which I have collected over the past year and I can't wait to get more wear out of them this season. This particular snake-print one is my new favourite as it is the softest thing I have ever touched and looks amazing on. It's from H&M and is only £12.99 - I managed to get mine for only £7.99 as I'm a member of the H&M club and had a £5 reward to use up (it is free for anyone to join and you get unlimited free delivery with no minimum spend).
In this picture, I'm wearing it with a cute 'You Glow Girl' slogan tee (similar here), and these gorgeous croc style burgundy boots from Topshop.

I feel like a cute slogan tee will always look really good with a midi skirt, however, I also like to style them with an oversized jumper tucked it. At first, I felt really silly wearing a long skirt with a big knitted jumper but I received so many compliments when I wore that outfit that now I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures to share with you!  But I do have a couple of pictures of a different skirt and t-shirt combo that I thought you'd appreciate:

The 'Honey' t-shirt is from New Look which I bought a while ago (similar here) and the Burberry style skirt is from H&M (similar here, here and here). I absolutely love this combo and it upsets me that both original items are sold out so you can't get your hands on them anymore, but if I were you I'd definitely look up the skirt on eBay as someone might be selling one!

As you can probably tell, I really like to wear my midi skirts with t-shirts, but as I previously mentioned they also go great with oversized knitted jumpers or even sweatshirt style jumper! I'm definitely down for this trend this season and you should be too!

What are some of the trends you're loving this season? 

*This post contains affiliate links.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || SUPERDRUG VITAMIN E SKINCARE REVIEW - DUAL PHASE CLEANSING OIL, MICELLAR SOLUTION, OATMEAL EXFOLIATOR & HOT CLOTH CLEANSER

If you’re like me then you’re always looking for good and affordable skincare. We’ve all heard of Origins, Clinique, Liz Earle etc but these labels also carry a high price tag with their great products. Since coming across Superdrug’s Vitamin E range a few years ago I wanted to pick up a few of their skincare products and give them a proper go before reviewing them for you guys.

Vitamin E Gentle Oatmeal Exfoliator £2.99:

I have previously tried the Oatmeal Exfoliator and loved the smell but didn’t really remember the product so I had to buy it again and see if it was any good. As I already mentioned, the scent is really nice - it reminds me of a Lush soap I’ve had before. It feels very gentle on the skin as it’s sort of creamy but the oat grains are effective enough to scrub away the dead skin cells and sebum. I do find that the grains get stuck in the tube a bit making it harder to squeeze the product out but as long as the little nozzle is cleaned after every use it shouldn’t get blocked.

Vitamin E Dual Phase Cleansing Oil £2.99:

When I picked this cleansing oil up I was really excited to try a new cleanser that will remove my makeup properly - including my waterproof mascara. I thought of this as a more affordable and cruelty-free alternative to Clinique’s Take The Day Off makeup remover which is one of my favourite products, but for obvious reasons (not being cruelty-free & price) I want to find a perfect alternative. At first, I thought that this oil was a bit rubbish as the bottle would leak after I applied some product to a cotton pad, it really got on my nerves as this would happen every time I used it!

The instructions say to shake the bottle to combine the two oils and then apply to a cotton pad ready to use to take any makeup off as well as to cleanse the skin from any impurities to leave the skin feeling clean and soft. I can say that this oil does work in a very similar way to the Clinique makeup remover, however, it doesn’t take waterproof mascara off as well which is slightly disappointing. It feels lovely on the skin as it glides on over the face and melts the makeup away but I feel like I need to double cleanse after (which I always do regardless of the makeup remover I use) therefore this might not be the right product for you if you want something fuss-free an easy to use, but at only £2.99 I think it’s definitely a product worth trying.

Vitamin E Gentle Micellar Solution £2.99:

I really love the scent of this micellar water, it smells very fresh and sort of sweet (similar to the exfoliator). This micellar water is designed to remove makeup and any impurities from the skin but I used it as a toner after double cleansing my skin. It’s an okay cleanser, I don’t think it takes off any makeup off however it feels great on the skin as a toner but that’s the only use I get out of it. I've noticed that my skin felt softer since using this product but it still has quite a lot of texture so personally, I don't think this works as a very good toner either, so for £2.99, I can’t be mad but probably won’t buy this again.

Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser £4.99:

Well, where do I start? I had really high hopes for this cleanser, especially after hearing that it’s a great dupe for the Liz Earl one. When I opened the box this cleanser came in, I found a cloth inside which I thought was a very good addition to the product as not everyone owns a face cloth (I have around 10 because I obviously lack self-control). The first time I tried this product I thought it was okay and it did cleanse my skin nicely but I had a feeling like it wasn’t enough so I’d always use a scrub after because I didn’t want to leave my skin feeling congested. Another time I used this was a completely different story and, to be honest with you, it was the last time I used this. My face was burning and carried on stinging after I removed the product. I don’t know what it was that made my skin react so badly but I haven’t touched it since. It does say on the bottle that it’s suitable for sensitive skin but I wouldn’t recommend it if you suffer from acne, rosacea, dry flaky skin etc. So this little guy will definitely not make it back into my bathroom cabinet unless they change the formula or create one for very sensitive skin!

Have you tried any products from the Vitamin E range? I know there are so many more, so if you’d like me to review any please let me know in the comments section down below!

*This post contains affiliate links.

Lots of love,

Maya xo

2019 || NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

So here it is, 2019 has finally arrived and I couldn’t be happier to say ‘goodbye’ (and fuck you) to the previous year. 2018 was honestly one of the worst years of my life, even though I still made some amazing memories. In this post I will share my highs and some of my lows of 2018, as well as my aspirations and goals for 2019.

2018:

January - I turned 22 and celebrated my birthday with my friends and boyfriend.

- I travelled to Birmingham for work by myself.

February - I went to the re-launch of Las Iguanas in Nottingham with my boyfriend.

- I celebrated my friend's engagement party.

March - I had my first freelance job in months and modelled for a new brand.

April - I handed my dissertation in - a whole lot of words that I now have forgotten.

- I attended a fashion show and met lots of lovely bloggers thanks to Judi from Gemini.

May - I handed my last bits of coursework for my final year of uni.

June - I and my other half went on a fabulous holiday in Majorca.

July - I started a new job at Origins.

- I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Criminology and Social Policy.

- I injured myself in the second week of my new job which resulted in some time off.

- I moved to a new house with my boyfriend.

August - I found out that my Master's application was unsuccessful.

September - I worked with one of my favourite brands (Sanctuary Spa).

- I travelled to London for the first time ever (by myself) and got lost on my way to the building and also lost my train ticket for the journey back.

October - I travelled to London again for work, this time with a colleague and I loved every minute of it.

- One of my closest friends at work handed her notice in :(

- I and my partner hosted our first Halloween party at our new house.

November - I found out I was going to lose my job (a job I really love) because the department store I work at is closing down.

December - I met some more gorgeous girls at a blogging event (Thanks to Judi).

- I celebrated being with my boyfriend for 6 years.

- Got spoiled at Christmas with lots of presents, but also had my mood spoiled.

- Celebrated NYE by staying in and ordering a takeaway with my best friend.

So, as you can see my year was full of surprises - from graduating to losing my job. Like I’ve said I mentioned all the highs but only some lows as they are too difficult and painful to talk about at this moment. I am very grateful for everyone who made 2018 special but also glad that I cut out toxic people out of my life. There is nothing worse you can do to yourself than keeping nasty people in your life.

Moving on, here are my goals and aspirations for 2019:

1) Get a graduate job

2) Start doing yoga daily

3) Eat well

4) Go to Paris

5) Start saving up for a house

6) Start driving lessons

7) Stop eating dairy

8) Eat less meat

9) Visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour

10) Reach 10K followers on Instagram

11) Re-launch my blog

12) Read at least one book a month

13) Start writing a novel

14) Educate myself on SEO and web design

15) Drink more water

16) Go on a summer holiday

I think that’s pretty much it for now, I will probably add a few more goals to my list as I tick off the others (finger’s crossed). I just really hope that 2019 will be my best year yet and I cannot wait to share my journey with you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE ❤️

What are your goals and aspirations for 2019? What did you do for NYE?

Lots of love,

Maya xo