GlossyBox Review

I have been subscribed to beauty box subscription GlossyBox for a couple of years now and want to use my blog as a platform to share with you just how good I think this service is!

GlossyBox is a monthly subscription service that delivers a box full of 5 different beauty products that range from well known brands, high end brands and new, emerging brands. 

They have 4 different payment plans and you can decide which one works best for you - check them out here. Personally, I pay £10 a month (+ P&P) and the best part about this subscription is that you can cancel it at anytime, hassle free. 

I've found that every month I receive great value for money. You will either receive sample size products or full size products. Sometimes the full size products are worth more than the price you pay each month, which in my opinion is great! Each month will vary from loving all 5 products or sometimes I will only use 1 out of the 5 products. If this is the case, I'll pass products on to friends or family who will make better use of them. 

Another aspect that I love is the packaging! Each box is reusable and well made (I actually use mine to store all my nail polishes) and I keep all the ribbons as they come in handy when crafting. Typically each box is the same design - a beautiful dusty, pale pink, printed with the GlossyBox logo - however, they often release special edition boxes that are equally, if not, even more beautiful. I've had a sneak peak on the GlossyBox website and I've noticed that April's box will be a Collectors Edition Iconic Hollywood box edition which looks amazing! Have a sneak peak for yourself here.

I'm going to review each box I receive from now on and I can't wait for April's to arrive! :D 

I highly recommend GlossyBox and would love to know if you subscribe to any other beauty boxes?

Emma

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*This post is NOT sponsored and all opinions are my own* 

Nail Care Routine

I try really hard to take good care of my nails so they stay strong and healthy. I much prefer growing out my own nails over wearing false ones as I feel it's quite an achievement to grow strong, healthy nails. 

You don't need to be a trained beautician or own expensive products to be able to keep your nails pretty and healthy. 

When I'm starting my DIY manicure I always make sure I've removed all trace of previous polish and washed my hands. 

I then file and shape my nails to make them look more identical and neat. I only ever cut my nails down short every now and again so they have a chance to regrow and gain strength. 

After filing, I use my cuticle pusher to push my cuticles back. From past experiences, I've learnt to be really gently at this stage. Next, I use the cuticle nippers to trim away all the dead skin. Again, this needs to be done carefully otherwise it can hurt! You can buy both these tools in high street drugstores or online. 

At this stage, I either dust my hands off or wash them again to get rid of the dead skins/nail filings. It's important that your nails are clean and dry at this point.

I then use Sally Hansen's VitaSurge Growth Gel which is brilliant for brittle nails. It has multi-active beads within the gel formula that release a surge of vitamins A, C & E to help nourish and treat nails to grow healthier and stronger. You can use this on bare nails or before/after you've painted your nails. For the best results, use it for 5 continuous days on bare nails. 

Once I've massaged the gel into my nails and allowed it time to absorb, I use the Sally Hansen's No More Breaks clear polish. It has an ultra-hardening formula that seals in moisture to strengthen and prevent nails from breaking. It's perfect for dry and brittle nails. It can be worn as a base coat and/or a top coat. Once this coat of polish has dried, I will move onto the last step in my routine or choose a coloured polished from my insanely large nail polish collection!

Last but by no means least, I will moisturise my hands. The lotion I've been using lately is the Fig & Rouge moisturising and soothing hand cream which I received in a GlossyBox. It smells incredible and reminds me of the sherbet dip sweets I used to love when I was younger! It absorbs into your skin really quickly and leaves your hands soft and smooth. I've been suffering with dry hands lately and this has really helped. It's also the perfect size for your handbag! 

What do you use to keep your nails strong & healthy? Leave me a comment below 😊 

Emma 

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*Disclaimer - everything was bought with my own money and all opinions are my own*

Alphabet Dates - 'C'

March was the month for date 'C'. (Yes, we've not done 'B' yet but that's because I've been so stressed and preoccupied with coursework that February just disappeared so we may just skip 'B' lol!)

After having a homemade curry, we went to Cineworld cinema to watch the latest in the Divergent trilogy - Insurgent. 

I'm not the biggest film fanatic and I have to be in a certain mood to sit down and watch one (Am I the only one who feels like this?!) however, when we watched Divergent on DVD, I really, really enjoyed it and surprisingly for me, found the story line easy to follow. It was surprising because these films aren't usually my type. 

I had high hopes for Insurgent and was looking forward to watching it.

I enjoyed the story line however, it was action packed and I was on the edge of my seat for pretty much the whole film! As an anxious person, I found it difficult to take it all in. We watched it in 3D and some of the scenes made me feel a bit queasy. 

I won't go into the story line because I don't want to give away any spoilers. 

It was nice to stare at a screen for a couple of hours that didn't involve typing 4000 words! 

Now I need to make a huge effort for date 'D'! But I'm seriously stuck for ideas! 

Help me out and comment your ideas below?! (Maybe I could combine B&D!)

Emma

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Mother's Day D.I.Y gift

I love buying my Mum gifts because I know exactly what she likes and I actually really enjoy shopping for her. I had an idea way back in January (thanks to Pinterest), of a gift idea for Mother's Day this year and it was something I could make myself which made it even more appealing to me! 

Here's what I made! 

3D initial collage

I bought the cardboard initials from Hobbycraft and used PVA glue to stick the pictures of me and my brother on them ('E' for Emma, 'D' for Daniel and the '&' has pictures of both of us).

I printed the pictures from home and if I was going to do this again, I'd definitely recommend using a a better quality of paper and maybe even a better printer! 

I was hoping to have more pictures to fill all the gaps but as I did't have time, I opted for glitter instead.. of course :D 

I'm really excited to give this to my Mum! What have you got your Mum's for Mother's Day?!

Emma

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*Disclaimer - everything was bought with my own money and all opinions are my own*

Little Miss Sunshine D.I.Y 'costume'

So I'm not a huge fan of fancy dress and I'm definitely not the sort to go all out with make up and expensive costumes! However, if I get the chance to make something, I'm going to take it! 

It was World Book Day on the 5th March and I had two choices for my costume this year. Hermione Granger or Little Miss Sunshine. Considering my time frame and the fact I've never read any of the Harry Potter books (I adore the films!), I choose Little Miss Sunshine as she has a special place in my heart. 

I really enjoyed making this costume and I'm so incredibly proud of myself. If you wanna know how I made it then please read on! 

You will need*:

Yellow t-shirt (mine is from Primark)

Yellow felt 

Scrap of black felt

Black embroidery thread 

Needle 

Yellow wool 

Red ribbon

Wonder web 

Little Miss Sunshine template 

Black sharpie 

Scissors

PVA glue (optional)

At first I tried to draw my own template but being a perfectionist and not brilliant at drawing, I opted for using a Little Miss Sunshine colouring page - you can find lots of these on Google. 

Luckily, I could trace the outline of her through my felt using the sharpie. 

I then traced and cut out her 'hair' so I could make her more 3D. I also did this for her hands, nose and eyes (black felt). 

After cutting her out, I decided to flip the felt over so the pen marking weren't visible. 

Next, I started to sew on her nose and hair pieces, followed by sewing on her smile.

Then I attached her hands and used some PVA glue to attach her eyes.

Another 3D aspect that I decided to add was her hair. I made this using the wool. I unravelled the wool until I had a really, really long strand. I then folded it in half and half again until it was roughly 9 inches long. Then, using 3 separate strands of wool, I tied it to make the bunches in her hair. I then added a red bow and trimmed the wool to a neaten the ends. I attached the hair to her by sewing it with the embroidery thread, it was quite tricky but eventually seemed secure. 

After all that, she was ready to attach to my t-shirt. I did this using the embroidery thread again because it created her black outline. Due to making her hair 3D, it was too thick to sew so I used the wonderweb to attach the top part of her to the t-shirt. 

Lastly I used the black sharpie to draw on her freckles. 

I was so proud of myself and was so excited to wear her! I'm keen to make the whole Little Miss and Mr Men collection!! 

What character did you dress up as for World Book Day 2015?!? 

Emma 

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*Disclaimer - everything was purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own*

World Book Day!

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY!

Thursday 5th March 2015 was World Book Day in the UK and working in a school means I really get to celebrate it! 

Reading was a huge part of my childhood and I am slightly disappointed in myself that I don't read much - if at all - now as a young adult. When I was younger, I read for pure enjoyment, it would actually help me fall to sleep at night but now I'm guilty of being addicted to my smart phone!

As a child, I strongly remember reading the whole Mr Men and Little Miss collection by Roger Hargreaves. I adored my collection that we built up and remember sitting at the foot of my bookcase making sure they were all in order after reading one or two before going to sleep. My Mum still has the full collection, ready to share with her future grandchildren!

As I got older, I discovered Jacqueline Wilson and the Animal Ark series. As a family, we'd spend most Sundays at car-boot sales, where you'd find me searching through boxes and boxes of peoples books, to see if I could find anymore to add to my collection. It was mine and my Mum's mission to complete the collections! We did a fairly good job, but as I grew into my teenage years, my interest in Jacqueline Wilson fizzled out so I didn't keep up with her new stories. 

As a young teen, I fell in love with Louise Rennison's stories about Georgia Nicolson's confessions and her typical teenage drama's.

*apologies for the rubbish picture quality!😔*

 Again, I read and collected the whole series. I would laugh out loud in bed at the stories and my brother would constantly asked me what on earth I found so funny about a book?! I always had to wait for the next book to be published, I remember getting really excited when it appeared on the shelf and I'd have to stop myself from reading it cover to cover in one night! Once I'd read them all, I was gutted!

I think this is when my interest in reading slowly faded; MSN messenger and Facebook made an (huge) appearance in my life and the last time I read a book (an actual, real, hardback book) was over Christmas and New Year. Girl Online, written by Youtuber Zoella was on my Christmas list and reading her novel re-established my love and enjoyment for reading. 

I've made a pledge to myself to cut down on the amount of time spent on my iPhone, to pick up a book and lose myself in a story... 

Hopefully, I can bring some book reviews to my blog in the near future! Any recommendations?!

Watch this space!

Emma

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