2017 || APRIL FAVOURITES

April, April, April... What a rollercoaster of emotions you were - just like the weather you brought to us this year! I must say I loved quite a few of the same items this year so it might look like a review - but I promise you they are so worth it.

First up, I've been really enjoying using the Kerastase Voluminifique Spray. I have very thin hair and it's difficult to keep it looking volumised and thick. I've been using this spray after every wash and then blow drying and styling my hair as usual, and I have noticed a change in the volume even after sleeping with my hair down. This is honestly a Holy Grail for me and I highly recommend it to all who haven't been blessed with thick hair.

The Collection Glam Crystals Dazzling Gel Eyeliner in Glitz was my first glitter liner from this collection. It makes creating glam cut crease looks so much easier and it's great for those who aren't very good at using loose glitter as it sticks to the eyelid without any extra glitter glue. I try to use these as much as I can, but the turquoise shade is hands down my favourite and will get a lot of use this Summer!

Bell sleeves - my true love this Spring. How beautiful is this top from Topshop though? Not only has it got bell sleeves (which are so in this Spring - read my 'What's fashionable this Spring' post here), but also the oh-so-cute pie crust neckline! This is the top that's in my pictures however, the teal colour seems to be sold out on the website. I know for a fact that I'll be getting some more colours soon!

What have you been loving this April? Other than the hot days of course!

Lots of love,

Maya xo

HOW I FACE MY FASHION FEARS - TRY-DAY FRIDAY - IT'S OKAY TO STEP OUT YOUR COMFORT ZONE

It feels like forever since I last spoke about fashion - I'm very sorry about that as I know how much you love these kinds of posts. I promise I'll do more of those from now on! It's just hard to find the time for photo shoots and the right kind of person to take them! Once I'm done with my 2nd year at uni I will focus 100% on blogging so I hope you're all as excited as I am!

*Jumper, Mom Jeans, and Choker are from Primark

The idea behind this post is to share with you my fashion fears, and believe it or not there are quite a few... For example, I find it very difficult to have my arms and shoulders out because of my post-acne scars, but since being challenged by Dia&Co to step out my comfort zone and try something different this Friday, I wanted to show everyone that we all have our own insecurities even though we might seem confident.

Many people (including myself), feel like they can't wear a certain outfit because of their insecurities. I personally don't feel like I can pull a maxi dress off because of my height - I'm only 5ft3". But why does it actually bother me? I've been put down by people I used to call my 'friends' and I guess it stuck around with me that I'm 'small and tubby', but being a size 8-10 I know it isn't true.

*Leotard - H&M, Bra - Pink at Victoria's Secret

The company Dia&Co specialise in 14+ size clothing where they send you a Dia Box that's styled up by one of the team members and if you don't like something you can exchange it for something else - the great thing about this company is that you don't have to pay until you decide which items you'd like to keep! Erm, sign me up now, please!! I'd love for something like this to be available for petite girls like me!

*Loafers - H&M

How many times have you felt like you can't wear something because of your own insecurities or having other people's thoughts on your mind? Well, hear me out now, stuff them! Who cares what they think? If they think negatively then it shows that they're insecure about themselves, but I can guarantee you will receive a lot of compliments if you wear that floral skirt or those pointy kitten heels - trust me! Us women should empower one another instead of bringing each other down, so I say rock that outfit girl and make sure you pay others compliments too because it will make you feel good knowing that your little gesture could have made someone's day!

I now challenge all of you, my lovely readers, to rock the outfit you've been wanting to for ages but never got 'the chance' to wear ;)

*This post isn't sponsored and all opinions are my own. I was asked to share my fashion fears by the brand and decided to mention them independently. 

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || S+ BY RESMED - HOW TO GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP (AD)

So, I bet you're all wondering 'How can I get a good nights' sleep?' well, listen up folks because I think I found a solution!

I was recently sent a monitoring advice called S+ by ResMed which has been designed to detect your breathing and monitor your sleep cycle.

I couldn't wait to try my S+ out and when it finally came I opened it up straight away. I went through the instructions with Kieran as we both suffer from sleep deprivation (his is much worse than mine so I thought it'd be best for him to try it out and see if it made any changes).

We set the monitor up next to our bed pointing towards Kieran's chest so it can monitor his breathing and movement. It has two charger ports so you can charge your tracking device (you have to download the app to see results) as well as turning on the S+ by ResMed.

It didn't come packaged quite like this, but I do try to keep it in the box as it is a valuable product to both myself and Kieran. The cable is long but I feel like it would benefit from being slightly longer as I do have to use an extension lead to place it comfortably near our bed (sucks not having closer plug sockets).

This is what the app looks like when you open it up. I have already registered and got Kieran to answer a short(ish) quiz about his sleeping habits, such as if he sleeps with the light on or if he watches the telly before bed.

As you can see, the S+ is a small monitoring device which (to me) is quite stylish. I would easily keep it out the box and store it on my bedside table but with my OCD I prefer to keep it in the box ha ha.

Here you can see one of the nights when we used the product and Kieran's sleep score was quite high, bearing in mind he only slept for 6.5 hours. The recommended amount of sleep a person our age should get is 8-9 hours so you can only imagine how tired he felt when he got up that morning!

Here you can see the tracking of Kieran's sleep. It's hard to get a good nights' sleep being a student and living in a noisy accommodation!

The quality of your sleep also depends on your mental health, so if you suffer from anxiety then it's likely your sleep won't be as good as it should be. If you do suffer from anxiety and find it hard to sleep then I suggest listening to calming music/sounds or meditating before bed.

Here you can see that my details are included on the app which I had done to protect Kieran's privacy however, he filled out the survey and information (such as weight etc).

Overall, I think this device is great for monitoring sleep cycles and try to overcome insomnia as well as learn to get better sleep. It's very handy and doesn't take up too much room. Kieran has mentioned that he feels slightly better about his sleep knowing what it is that wakes him up throughout the night and how to improve, therefore we both think that S+ by ResMed is a great investment to those who suffer with sleep deprivation.
The only issues I have with this is that you need to use wifi overnight which drains battery (it is suggested you charge the device your app is installed on using the same port the S+ is connected to), and also it would have been useful if it monitored both of our sleep cycles rather than just one person's at a time.

You can buy the S+ by ResMed here.

*This post includes PR samples.

Do you struggle with sleep? Have you got any helpful tips on how to get better quality sleep?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

REVIEW || DENIVIT ANTI-STAIN INTENSE WHITENING TOOTHPASTE

After trying out many teeth whitening products, including the Procoal charcoal powder, I thought I'll give drugstore products another go. I bought this Denivit toothpaste for around £2 at my local Savers store so I wasn't expecting anything amazing to come out of it for that price, but I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right?

I have to say I'm not the biggest fan of the packaging as it's very awkward to squeeze the product out the tube, but I guess it's good for letting the product go down to the nozzle before application. I do prefer to buy kinds of toothpaste that are easy to squeeze out rather than come in thicker tubes that are impossible to get the product out. This toothpaste is quite small so with daily use it would only last around 1 month, so it might not be the best option for you if you're on a strict budget. However, I believe that it was under £3 so it won't exactly break the bank if you really wanted to try it.

The consistency of the toothpaste is really smooth and tastes like bicarbonate soda, so it should really be used alongside a normal minty toothpaste as an additional cleanse as often as you like. I personally did not replace my usual toothpaste with this one as I found that I didn't really get a fully clean feel after using this on its own. The taste did put me off using it a bit, so I never looked forward to using it and at times had to force myself to use it for the purpose of this review (not something you'd want to force yourself to do when tryng to look after your teeth).

I used this toothpaste for around 2 weeks and it claims to show results after the first use, and I must say that it did not work for me. I have been sceptical about this product to begin with as I've never found a teeth whitening toothpaste that worked for me. 

Honestly, I did not notice any difference in the shade of my teeth at all, I feel like it might work better on teeth with weaker enamel (Stronger enamel tend to be naturally more beige than white) but I know I won't be wasting any more money on drugstore products for teeth whitening. Hopefully, I will find a solution that won't cost me an arm and a leg haha, but if you have any recommendations then please let me know in the comments section down below :)

Update - I have tried two different types of whitening strips and one of the brands has worked well for me! You can find those strips here.

Have you tried any teeth whitening products that were really not worth the hype?

Lots of love,

Maya xo

2017 || MARCH FAVOURITES

Oh, well wasn't March an eventful month for me?! I have bought my own domain, updated my blog, did many collaborations with some amazing brands, went to a fashion show where I won the 'Best Dressed' award, got good grades from uni, and got rid of horrible people from my life! I can honestly say that March this year has made me stronger as a woman and I'm very grateful for all your support.

Moving on, March wasn't my best month for beauty favourites therefore I will say that the events mentioned above are a part of my monthly faves, but I did fall back in love with a couple of items I've had for a while.

First up, MAC's Paint Pot in the shade Painterly. I have previously reviewed this product here, but I started to reach for it more throughout the month to make my eyeshadow last longer. I really love the shade of this paint pot as it's very close to my natural skin tone so it makes it easy to blend any eyeshadow colour on my lid. I also have 3 more shades of these, would anyone like an updated MAC makeup collection? Please let me know!

The other product I've been loving this March is the glorious Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Eau de Parfum - 100 ml. I wanted to get this perfume for so long, and one of my closest friends bought me a bottle for Christmas last year! I was so happy when I opened it up - you should have seen my face! It smells great, it's suitable for all ages (especially teens and young adults, and anyone who loves sweet scents!). And can we just sit back and appreciate the packaging? It's so bloody gorgeous that I think I'll keep the bottle on display after I use the product up!!

*This post isn't sponsored but may include affiliate links.

What have you been loving this March? Have you tried any of the products mentioned above?

Lots of love,

Maya xo