Guest Post - Instaa_Sam - November Favourites

Hello Again,

Today we have a guest post by the wonderful, the funny, the ever so handsome (I have to say that, he's my fiancé) Sam Donaldson from Instaa_Sam - you can find his blog here: instaasam.blogspot.co.uk although he doesn't blog a lot, the posts he has are really good! Take it away Sam ...

So it's been a been a while since my last Guest Post here on BlogsVlogsEtc and last time I hit you up with my Top tunes of that specific week. I've been invited back and Sarah originally asked if I would do another music based post. I've decided to do something different and do "My November Favourites"

In keeping with the original music theme, my favourite album this month is "Born In Echos" by The Chemical Brothers. It's been 5 years since they last released an album and this one is definitely a return to form from the British electronic duo. The first song release from the album is "Go' which features the silky smooth vocals of Q-Tip. If you haven't already heard it, make sure to check out the video below, and hit up the album on Apple Music and Spotify.

Second on the list is my favourite TV program of the month. Recently I've been watching a lot of YouTube and have round myself strangely enjoying "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" clips like "Lip Sync Battle" and Daniel Radcliffe's incredible "Alphabet Aerobics". I found out that it air on CNBC UK (Sky 505) so I've now got it set up as a series link to catch up with the hilarity!

Numero très on the list is my newest pair of sneaks that I picked up at the start of the month. You might have seen in a previous post by Sarah that she got a fancy new pair of trainers as a gift, so I decided to by myself a counterpart pair too! These are my Adidas ZX Flux Weave (Red/Purple/White). These are the second pair of ZX Flux that I have bought, and they are super comfy, have great ankle support, and make you stand out from the crowd. I will definitely be wearing these at the "Fruit Stand" over Christmas.

And then finally to finish of my list of November favourites is my favourite photo of the month. Sarah won a competition on our local radio station to see Jesus Christ Superstar at His Majesty's Theatre. Now I'm going to be honest, I didn't enjoy the show. It was not what I expected and was not my cup of tea, but I'm no critic so that's just my opinion. What I did enjoy however was getting to spend some time with my amazing fiancée without any distractions. She's funny, caring, and incredible mum and a little bit mental but I love her to bits and can't wait to see her in that white dress!

Anyway, enough with the smoosh! That was 'My November Favourites" and I hope ya'll enjoyed. hopefully this becomes a regular thing and she'll let me back again, we'll have to wait and see.  

Peace.Love.Over&Out.

x

November's Glossy Box

Hello Again,

It's that time of the month again where my beautiful little Glossy Box pops through the post - this month's theme is Lipstick to Lashes! This is my favourite Glossy box for sure (pretty sure I say that every month so they must just keep getting better and better). As per normal there are five products and this month two of them are Travel-sized products. Let's dive on in ...

So last month Glossy Box told us that there would be a Revlon Lipstick in November's box and they let us choose which shade we wanted. Now as I have said before, I am not a massive lipstick fan but I have been using nudes and light pinks so I chose the shade 'Pink in the afternoon', it's a lovely pinky - your lips but better colour and it's a creme lipstick and it's from Revlon's Super Lustrous collection. This will be great for every day and or going out! All the shades in this collection are beautiful, they are each £7.99 and you can get them here: www.boots.com

Next is some Naturalites, natural volume lashes from Eylure! (Going to admit that I have already worn these and then put them back in the box. The day I received my box I was going on date night to the theatre with Sam so I thought that would be a great time to try them out - I just couldn't wait). These are the second pair of Eylure lashes I have worn and I wasn't disappointed. Like I said I wore them to the Theatre and it didn't feel like I was wearing falsies, they gave me such a nice natural boost in volume - I definitely recommend these if you're looking for the lash that looks natural. You can get your hands on these lashes (which are £5.00) along with more here: www.eylure.com

Up next is the travel sized Diamond Heart Primer from Emite, I am a Primer convert now and I love trying out new ones so I'm looking forward to giving this a try. It's a lovely peach primer which helps to balance skin tone - which I'm very happy about because my face is very red toned right now because of the time of year so if this helps ill definitely be looking a purchasing a full-size tube! This is £25.90 for full-size and you can get this primer along with more products here: www.emitemakeup.com

Next up is a eyeshadow palette from one of my favourite brands - MUA! I love Make Up Academy products as they are great value and really really good! I am a definite neutral eyeshadow kind of girl so this palette is right up my street! It has twelve eyeshadows (for only £4.00 which is incredible), a mixture of matte and shimmer. I really like the look of Lion which is a really nice shimmery gold and Fuel which is a deep navy with glitter through it - it will be perfect for the up coming Christmas Period! If you like the look of this palette or fancy having a ponder at their other products you can find them here: www.muastore.co.uk

Last but not least is the travel sized Body Lotion from Royal Apothic. I have never heard of this brand before but going on first impressions, the packaging is beautiful and the lotion smells wonderful! As it is now November the weather is really harsh on our skin so having a good lotion really helps to keep your skin smooth and subtle so fingers crossed this does exactly that! You can get a full sized tube for £14.50 from: www.royalapothic.com

So folks that's what I got in November's Glossy Box, I'm looking forward to trying out all these products! Have you tried any of these before as I'd love to know your opinions!

'Till next time ...

My October Favourites

Hello Again,

See I'm back, told you! Since I've been gone I have actually bought and received quite a couple of things that I have been absolutely loving so, even though its now a bit into November I am still going to do my October Favourites! So I'm going to go and dive right in, by the way this is going to be such a long post so I do recommend grabbing a drink and a pack of biscuits (there's no point in getting a couple because we all know you're going to get up and get more so save yourself the trip - absolutely no judgement from me as I would do the same)...

I am going to begin with a present I got from Sam (he's my fiancé if you weren't aware) I'm the kind of woman who lives in my converse, I wear them to work, for the nursery run, for date nights yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah, you get it I wear them non stop. So Sam bought me this cheeky pair of Adidas Originals ZX 700 W trainers (such a long name for a pair of trainers) and it's like walking on clouds! They're the comfiest pair of trainers I have ever worn and I love the design of them, I've never owned anything like these before! If you're looking for a great pair of trainers which are both comfy and look good I recommend these! (The photo doesn't really give them justice).

Next up is one of my make up favourites which I bought a few weeks ago and I have been using every day that I have been wearing make up and it's the Loreal Paris Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer. I have now tried out a few primers but haven't had any of the results that I get when I use this. I have dry to normal skin but when applying this under my foundation it leaves my skin looking fresh, dewy and young! Who doesn't want to look like that?! Can I please also add that the pump on this is rose gold - dammit I'm a sucker for anything rose gold!! Like I said I have been using this most days of the week for a few weeks now and there still seems to be a lot of product left which is a plus so when it does eventually run out I will definitely be buying this again.

Next up is my favourite favourite of the month. It's my brand spanking new iPhone 6S Plus in - yeah you guessed it - Rose Gold!! (let the angels sing) I have had my old iPhone 5S for 2 years and the last few months has been a struggle - it was running so slow and the screen kept making a clicking noise so I was over the moon when EE emailed me saying my contract was up! This phone is the best phone I have ever had - it's beautiful! I also really like all the features it has like I can now take a live photo so it makes a photo into a GIF type of photo. Basically if I press on the screen the photo moves! How cool is that?! I just love the overall feel of the phone and it's very aesthetically pleasing!

My next fave actually goes with my new iPhone and it's a Skinny Dip London phone case. I chose the popping popcorn one - with the googly eyes!! (I am a 23 year old woman and I got excited about googly eyes). I really like it as it's different and not like your every day case I also like that the case is see through so along with the cute boxes of popcorn I can still see the rose goodness of my phone. It is a little pricey for a phone case - £15.00 but I'm not going to be buying one every other month so I can justify the price. (Please note the rain drops on my pictures - I had my front door open to try and get some good lighting and it was raining. The things you do to get good photos on a dull and dreary day).

Next up is the GloLite Hocus Pocus Abracadabra candle from Party Lite UK. As I have said in a previous post I actually won this on HannahHeartss giveaway and I have loved this from the moment I first lit it. It fills my home with fresh, citrus scents with hints of coconut, it's amazing! I love the colour of the candle, the sugar skulls on the jar which I will be re-using once it's finished and it has a 50-60 hour burn time which I have lit it almost every single day since I received it and I'm only just half way! I highly recommend checking out Party Lite's candles if you're a candle fan as you won't be disappointed.

Next is my Airbrush Blending Sponge by Nicka K which I actually received in my October Glossy Box. I have been a big fan of the Real Techniques Complexion Sponge but what I like about this little one is the shape. I really like that it's got a nice dome shape for applying my foundation in a rolling motion to make it look more flawless and that it has a pointed end for helping with the under eye area and around the nose. I also like how firm it is compared to the Real Techniques one, I fell that makes it apply the base better.

Next up is my favourite highlighter just now, its the Speedy highlighter by Collection in the shade 1. Pearl Sheen. If you're like me and either have a rush to get ready for work or have a little one around your feet when you're trying to do your make up products that a fast and easy to apply are a gods send and that's what this is! All you do with this is apply it to the areas that you want highlighted and simply blend it with your finger! It's as simple as that, this shade is also perfect for my skin tone, it's not too much it's just right. It's also only like £3 which for a highlighter as good as this - that's amazing!

Another of my favourites this past month has been Scandal!! OMFG! I have been obsessed with watching Scandal, I have been driving Sam absoluetly mad because as soon as one episode finishes I put on another. I normally don't watch box sets as I like my crappy reality programmes but this has taken over from all of that. If you haven't heard or seen Scandal then I shall give you a little glimpse into it. It is based in Washington DC and it revolves round the name Olivia Pope (such a great character name) and her occupation is 'a Fixer', she is the person who everyone goes to when shit goes down and, she fixes it. She's also very close to the President of the United State, Fitz, but that's all I'm saying about that. My favourite characters are Quinn, Olivia and Huck! Definatley give it a watch if you like crime shows or drama - it's a good mix of everything!

Last but not least is a recipe from Tanya Burr's book - Love Tanya! Sam and I have now made the famous Tanya Burr Triple Chocolate cookies a couple times now and they are AMAZING! Some of the best cookies I've ever ate - so gooey! If you like cookies, chocolate and/or baking then I recommend getting this book and making these cookies! I'd like to add that I'm not the best baker in the land but this recipe is a nice and easy one so don't be put off if you can't bake you'll still be able to make these! Also the rest of the book is great, it's a nice insight into her life, there's more great recipes and I really like the confidence she has and helps spread to women!

So that is my October Favourites, I told you it would be a long one! I'd love to know what your favourites have been?

'Till next time ...

Hello Again

In the words of Adele (and Lionel) Hello,

Who hasn't went crazy over Adele's new song - I have been listening to it non-stop! But Anyway, Hello Again, Oh I haven't typed that in a while! I have been missing in action for a little bit, I've just had a couple of things that have been keeping me busy, and I actually considered calling it a day on BlogsVlogsEtc (should probably change my name though as I don't really vlog anymore) but I have been missing it - so I'm Back!! And I'm so glad to be back.

So for my first post back I thought I'd catch you up on all that's been happening! Let's get the boring bit out of the way - Work. Work has been the usual stuff (meh) but a girl did start in my department and honestly now it's like we've known each other for years! I actually can't get rid of her (HELP). April turned 3 on October 24th, she was spoilt rotten and I was super duper emotional! We organised her a party - with a lot of help from my Mum -  a Mermaid Pirate Party and thankfully it all turned out brilliantly. All her little friends came from her nursery and the whole family was there, plenty of food, plenty of fun and even a cheeky bouncy castle (which I wasn't allowed on because it was just for kids - sad face).

What else has been happening? Oh, Halloween how could I forget?? First things first (I'm a realist - never gets old) I won Party Lite UK's Halloween collection on HannahHeartss giveaway (if you don't read Hannah's blog then you need to stop right now and click here! hannahheartss) When the box arrived I was so excited to see so much candles! There was a box of tea lights coloured bright green and purple and they smelled of the collections scent which was called Hocus Pocus Abracadabra, a Box of candles which was the Autumn Glow scent which smells a little like Christmas (eek 7 weeks and counting), two little votive's with colourful sugar skulls on them and the big beauty of them all, the Ginormous double wicked Hocus Pocus Abracadabra - this is honestly one of the best smelling candles I've ever smelled in my life. It's very fresh with coconut and citrus scents - but I'm going to do a full review on them so keep your peepers peeped! We took April out Trick or treating, she got all dressed up as a cat with a lovely sparkly dress with a cat on it and she sat and let me do some (squiggly) eyeliner and some little whiskers. All in all we had a great Halloween.

Also on Thursday we took April down to Aberdeen Beach with my Dad to see the fireworks, Aberdeen's display was really good again, we've went for the past few years and it never disappoints (even when it's raining which in Aberdeen is pretty much every time) April loved the sparklers and we actually have some left so we might let her do some more in our garden, she also loved jumping in the puddles while the fireworks were going off! It was also actually Sam's first time going down to the beach for the display so he thoroughly enjoyed it too!

So that is pretty much all that has been happening since I've been gone (who sung Kelly Clarkson's song there?! You know you did). So I am going to keep up my Blog as I did truly miss it and I actually enjoy doing it! I have also got a good few things I want to blog about including lots and lots of Christmas posts!! I'll pop a few photos from the past few weeks down below and I will be back on Tuesday with my October Favourites!

So 'Till next time ...