Empties | November

Ladies ladies, I've been a bad blogger haven't I?! I've been so busy lately, with starting my new job & having my old uni girlies stay at mine for the weekend. Sorry the posts have been lacking as of late! But, I'm starting to settle in at work, & so I'm hoping I'll be able to find more time on the evenings. Here's a little collage of the weekend just gone. Love these girls! :D

I'll start off slowly with the monthly empties post! I love doing these, & keeping a record of products I've liked & disliked. Sorry the image is a little pants. Natural lighting was far far gone by the time I got home from work!

• Dry shampoo by Batiste in tropical & cherry. These little bad boys are a regular in my empties post! & now that I've started work I have a feeling they will be even more so. I'm trying not to wash my hair every day in order to promote its growth (& for more time in bed on a morning!) & these are just fab. Both the tropical & cherry scents are quite sweet, but I like them :) Would I repurchase? Already have!
• Hair growth shampoo by Lee Stafford. I usually love Lee Stafford products, but me & she just didn't get on! I felt like I needed so much product to get a good lather in my hair, with the usual amount of shampoo my hair just didn't feel clean. I also don't think it did much in the way of hair growth. Would I repurchase? Nope. 
• Heat protection by Aussie. I never have anything bad to about Aussie products! Though I don't really know what to say about heat protection sprays.. I can't be sure whether it works or not, but I trust Aussie ;) Would I repurchase? Yeah.
• Seaweed deep cleansing facial wash by The Body Shop. This is my day-to-day cleanser, & I love it for my combination/oily skin. Check out my review on the seaweed collection here. Would I repurchase? Already have :)
• Extra firm control hairspray by Tresemme. I usually hate hairspray, but I bought this little one when I went to the states in the summer & I loved it! It has such a strong hold, but doesn't make the hair stiff & hard-looking. Also, I love the little nozzle on it...as weird as that sounds. It's really sensitive & easy to control how much spray you are applying. Would I repurchase? I wish I could, but I can't find this exact one in the UK & our nozzles are different. Boo!
• Colour & care enrich shampoo by Clynol. I'm so boring when it comes to talking about shampoo. My hair never notices the difference! It cleans my hair & smells nice... what more can I say. Would I repurchase? If it was on offer ;)
• Smooth lock shampoo & conditioner sachets by Redken. I love Redken, so was excited to see these in one of my beauty boxes :) Again with the shampoo, I didn't really notice a difference. However, I loved the conditioner! It's such a weird texture & really left my hair feeling amazing. Would I repurchase? Maybe on pay day!
• Moisturising wipes by Simple. These little babies are a staple in my day-to-day life, I can't be without them! I use them to remove the bulk of my make-up, particularly mascara, before cleansing etc. Would I repurchase? 1000x over!
• Rich moisturising body butter by Gorgeous by Gok. I love a thick body butter, & this was no different! The only thing with this butter is that it's very heavily fragranced, so I'm guessing it isn't too freindly to your skin! Would I repurchase? Probably not. 
• Daist EDT by Marc Jacobs. Ohhh my! I bloody love Marc Jacobs fragrances! It always makes me so sad when I finish a Marc Jacobs perfume, haha. It's a good job Christmas is only round the corner ;) Would I repurchase? Hell to the yeah!

I promise to try harder & find time to post girlies! Hope you're still enjoying reading :) 

Glossy Box | November

This month my Glossy Box was a little overdue, but it was perfect timing! I'd had a bit of a rubbish morning & just as I'd started to cheer up I saw the lady pop my GB in the porch. Definitely picked me up some more! :D

I'm really pleased with this months 'Stocking Fillers' GB, it definitely sums up why I chose to subscribe to GB. The products are a little more high end than in other beauty boxes & they're all of great quality. As well as this, the box includes a few well known brands & a couple that I've never heard of. It's nice to get a mixture- to recognise brands, but also to be introduced to new ones.

Plus fact, look how cute & festive this months leaflet (& sticker) is!!!

So let's take a look at the products I received...

• Sandalwood face cream by Ayuuri. This is the BIGGEST product I've ever received in a beauty box. It's fab to get full sized products :) I'm always a little weary of face moisturisers though because I have combination/oily skin. This one has lots of goodies in it so I'll give it a whirl & if my face doesn't like it I'll use it as a stay-at-home hand cream or a body lotion. Waste not, want not! 
• Burberry Body eau de parfum by Burberry. I'm loving the size of this perfume sample.. so much better than the little vials! Will be perfect for chucking in my bag :) As for the perfume itself - I'd say it was quite a mature scent but very very feminine & lovely. It's smells expensive too (which it is!). May I add, how cute is the bottle?!
• Mango body butter by Alison Claire Natural Beauty. I'm always a sucker for trying a new body butter! & this one does not disappoint! I love the pump application, I love the mango scent & I love how quickly it absorbs (for a butter!). A definite win. 
• Top coat by Nails Inc. Like many other girls, I'm sure, I am always on the look out for great top coat. So receiving one I don't already have is fab! This top coat is apparently award winning too - which is always a good sign. 
• Daily microfoliant by Dermalogica. Dermalogica is known to be a great skin care brand, so I can't wait to try this out! It's a strange little product though... It's a rice-based powder that you mix with water to create a paste, which is then used as a facial exfoliator. I've never used anything like this before, so fingers crossed :D

I think this months box is fab, & I'll definitely be using every product. If your interested in GlossyBox go take a look at their site. You'd receive this box too if you sign up before December :)

Versatile blogger award (:

The ever so lovely Rachel from Blush & Brunch (isn't that 1 of the cutest beauty blog names you've heard?!) nominated me for the versatile blogger award! Thanks so much :D

The versatile blog award is to be nominated to blogs that you enjoy reading. & is one of those where you share little secrets about yourself :) So here are 7 things you may not have known about me...

1. I start my new job next Monday (26th Dec) & I'm soo nervous! 
2. I'm a graduate of biomedical science. 
3. I have a tattoo that reads 'love life' in Latin. 
4. On my 12th birthday I did my 3000m swimming badge! I miss swimming..
5. I met my boyfriend on a college trip to Yorkshire.
6. I'm signing up to a gym tomorrow for the 1st time in ~1 year. I'm dreading it!
7. I CANNOT WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!

I tag Burkatron, Ellalogy, Purely Beauty, Lisamello & Under Blue Lights. 

Xmas party outfit | Blogger challenge

So, for the 2nd time I was contacted by FashionVouchers.com asking if I wanted to participate in their outfit challenge. This time the challenge was to put together your ideal outfit for a Christmas party worth £100, or less, from any one of their featured retailers. The competition closes on the 17th December & Fashion Vouchers will choose 3 winners. Each winner will receive £100 in vouchers for their chosen retailer (featured on the site.

I had a browse through their retailers & debated over using ASOS, Joy, Miss Selfridge, Motel or Urban Outfitters. After a little browse I decided to go with Miss Selfridge. I'm guessing like many other people, I tend to gravitate towards red & gold around the crimbo period! So here's my chosen Christmas party outfit :)

The total of this gorgeous outfit is £93.50!

If you too want to have a go at their xmas party outfit challenge check out this link for the rules & go for it!

Can you smell that?

For the past 5 years my answer to that question has 9/10 been 'no'. My sense of smell just disappeared! I won't bore you with the details; but basically, with a mixture of rhinitis, a few different allergies, untreated symptoms & the wrong medication I suffered with cold symptoms every single day, as well as a loss of smell & impaired taste. Not to sound like I felt sorry for myself... but, it was pretty shite! However, after finally being referred to a specialist I'm now on the right medication. Good meds = good sense of smell!

I can finally smell everythinggg :D Though in some circumstances I've realised this isn't a good thing... we won't go there! Since my sense of smell has came back I've also realised just how yummy some of the products I use are! If you guys already use any of these products you'll know how great they smell. But, I'm so excited I can smell again I just had to share this post.

So, these are just a few things I'm using at the moment that I think smell divine! 

• 3 minute miracle & miracle hair insurance by Aussie. Words cannot express how much I loove the smell of these products! Every time I smell these I get bombarded with childhood memories. It really reminds me of a chewing gum that use to be around in the 90s - it was pink & squeezy, came in a container kind of like a travel sized Soap & Glory hand cream. If that makes any sense?! I tried searching for it but no luck. For those who don't know what I mean.. they smell like a pink tasty bubble gum! 
• Hair oils! (Pictured: extraordinary oil by L'Oreal & MoroccanOil). I really don't know how to describe the hair oil scent. But, I think they all smell so luxurious! Like a really expensive salon..? 
• Daddy-O shampoo by LUSH. This has got to be one of my most favourite smells in the world! It smells just like palma violet sweets. & also reminds me of one of the rooms within the Centre Parcs spa I went to in April with the boyf! When I use this the scent completely fills the shower & mmmm, smells so good! It really lingers to your hair too, so it's still detectable throughout the day. Definitely recommend! 
• Vitamin E moisture cream by The Body Shop. To me this product smells like a just-cleaned-baby! I'm aware of how strange that sounds... but it smells so good! A really subtle clean, girly smell.
• Cocoa butter formula by Palmers. I guarantee about 99% of you already knows how good this smells.. but I didn't! I didn't think I was a fan of cocoa/vanilla type scents, but I definitely am. This stuff is gorgeous. 
• Soap & Glory. Even though I only pictured 'the righteous butter' this refers to ALL Soap & Glory products! They all have that same signature scent. If you don't already know then quick, run to Boots! 
• Marc Jacobs. I currently used up my Daisy perfume, which is why the body lotion is pictured. But I love all Marc Jacobs scents! Every single one of them. I'm hoping for the new Dot perfume this Xmas, hint hint ;)
• Kate Moss lipsticks by Rimmel. This is a bit of a random one, but for lipstick I think these smell fab! They remind me of Cherry VK. Which doesn't sounds great for a cosmetic, but it's definitely better than some other plough-doughy type scents that lipsticks tend to have. 
• Truth serum collagen booster by Ole Henriksen. I received this in the exclusive Glossy Box recently & have only used it a few times, but I'm loving it! It has quite a fruity (particularly orange) scent, which I wouldn't usually go for. But, in a morning this smells so fresh & really wakes you up.

So they're the products I've not stopped sniffing recently! I'm loving it :D There are however cons to having a working nose... it's so bad for my bank balance! Not only am I wanting more products after smelling them in Boots, I've also not stopped buying Yankee Candles! Anybody who follows me on Instgram (jlo_321) will already know this.. As you can see in the picture I've gone a bit crazy over the Christmas scents. Currently buring 'red apple wreath' ;)

I hope you've enjoyed this post :D Let me know your favourite smelling products, so I can catch up on the delights I've been missing out on, haha! 

She Said Beauty | November & UPDATE

Hi girlies! Sorry that my posts have been, somewhat.. lacking recently. I've been a bit of a busy bee &, if I'm honest, I lost my bloggin' mojo! But I'm back! ;D & with plenty of posts planned.

I'll start with my little update... some of you may have noticed that the name of my little blog has changed. It's gone from 'All things bright & beautiful' to 'Things bright & beautyful'. There are a couple of reasons for this... for starters, I had a few comments from readers saying that my blog title reminded them of that Christian hymn - All things bright & beautiful, all creatures great & small... Know the one I mean? That's not particularly a bad thing; however I'm neither religious, nor is my blog about religion. So it didn't really feel fitting. But, I didn't want to change it entirely, so I stuck with the whole 'bright & beautiful' shebang! As a bit of a play-on word I also changed 'beautiful' to 'beautyful'... yanno, with my blog being a beauty one & all that! So, lemme know what you think about this - hit or miss?! Just for reference... the URL is still the same :)

Now onto the beloved beauty box that is She Said Beauty. I'm a little behind on this months SSB, but better late than never! 

• Smooth lock shampoo & conditioner by Redken. I looooove Redken. & I'm all over trying out any of their products. But can you really get much of an impression from just 1 sachet? I guess I'll find out. I'll share my thoughts in the next empties post!
• Wild rose soothing night cream by Welda. This is probably my least fave product of the box. I'm not very fond of rose scented products & I don't really like switching up my skincare, especially when it isn't aimed at combination/oily skin. I'll give it a go tho & let you know what I think!
• Enhance shimmer lip gloss by MakeBelieve Beauty. This is a gorgeous lip gloss. The colour is a really pretty pink & it shimmers like no other, I tell thee! I will add though, it's quite a sticky one.
• Royal English daisy EDT by Yardley. This is the 2nd Yardley sample I've had & I'm really quite impressed. It has a really fresh scent & is perfect for daytime wear. Plus, the full sized EDTs are sooo cheap!!
• Brit body spray by So..? So..? is a brand that featured in my early teens, so I feel this is a little teeny-boppy for me. Nether the less body sprays always come in handy & this will be chucked into my bag! 
• Matchbook nail files by Murrays Manicure. Love this product, so handy! I'm a big nail fan & always like to have a nail file on me wherever I go. So these little numbers are perfect to put in bag. Infact, they already are in my bag :) 

So, what do I think? Although this months SSB is nothing to write home about, I think its up there with the boxes I've gained most use from. The only product I probably won't use is the Welda night cream. Apart from that bring it on! 

Hope you girls are okay! Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I am backkk ;)

GlossyBox | Think Pink Exclusive Edition

This month Glossy Box began their Exclusive Editions, with the 1st entitled 'Think Pink'. The exclusive editions boxes are available to only active subscribers. They are a little more expensive then the monthly subscription box, but in my opinion the contents were completely worth it this month! :) Each exclusive box will have a contents theme - this months theme was great skin & great hair.

So, I thought I'd show you what this little beauty contains... 

One thing that is always consistent with GlossyBox is their gorgeous packaging! & these exclusive boxes look even cuter. I'm loving the hot pink box too - definitely a keeper. Like JolieBox, the exclusive GlossyBox's come with a little 16 page mag. I'm loving this feature! The mag contains a few beauty articles & plenty of information on the products received. 

Here's what I got ...

Clean Slate high protein aloe-rich cleanser by Mama Mio

Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask by REN - CANNOT wait to try this! Seen soo many positive reviews. 

Truth Serum collagen booster by Ole Heneriksen

Radiance 24/7 Youth Booster by Kosmea

Moroccan Oil Treatment by  Moroccan Oil - Couldn't love this anymore!

Love love love this box! All of the products are highly raved about, so I'm expecting good things :) Particularly pleased about the REN & Moroccan oil products, but I'll be putting them all to good use. 

So, what do you guys think about their first exclusive editions box? I'm loving the concept & will definitely be looking out for their next one :)