Denim Shorts Hype

Denim Shorts - All Nasty Gal

At the minute I am loving denim shorts! Since Britain's had the odd week of sun, I've been living in my Levi shorts as they're the most comfy thing ever and so easy to add to an outfit. Whenever I go shopping I can't help but get drawn to the shorts section, especially in Miss Selfridge, and I literally have to drag myself away. I own about five pairs of denim shorts but I always find myself wanting more when it comes around to summer, and its even worse now I'm going on holiday in a few weeks! 

I think my all time favourite shorts are found on the website Nasty Gal. Its an American-based website that sells all the usual clothes you'd find on any website, but they just have such an edge and a look to them. Now I know the prices above may be a bit steep for a pair of shorts (I'm thinking that myself) but a girl can dream, can't she? They look so different from the average pair you would find in our high street stores, and I know they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm lusting over a pair at the minute. 

Even if you're not a fan of the items I've shown you, you should definitely go and have a little browse through their pages and pages of items - I can guarantee you will be lusting over something just like I am from one look. The delivery is about $15 and takes an average of 2-4 weeks to arrive, which is another thing that puts me off buying. I'm definitely going to have to find some shorts that match up to these beauties.

Have you bought from Nasty Gal before? What do you think?

My Daily Want #3

Marc Jacobs Dot - £37- £63 (approx)

Marc Jacobs perfumes are my all time favourite brand and I've started up my own little collection over the past few months. They are all such summery fragrances and they really do last agers. I have two 50ml bottles of Lola and Oh Lola! and a huge 100ml bottle of Oh Lola! too! I'm going to try and collect them all.

Dot is the newest fragrance and it smells amazing! I had a little sample the other day and I had to tare myself away before I bought it and broke my bank. Again it is very floral (statement Marc J) and its one of those things where when you first smell it, you just have to keep smelling over and over again - its that nice. Prices range from about £37 on wards, which to be honest is my normal perfume budget anyway, so I'd say its pretty decent depending on what size you buy. Another great product from my all time favourite brand!

I Love Jelly Pong Pong

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Frosting - £10.00
Jelly Pong Pong Jelly Flush - £12.00

I discovered Jelly Pong Pong at the Clothes Show Live last year (2011) after being offered a bag of goodies. I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it, but I know for sure it wasn't more than £10. I didn't really pay much attention to them and with the millions of other bags I got from the show, I ended up stuffing the products into my makeup box and forgetting about them. A few months ago I had a huge clear out and found all the products, so I decided to try them out.

I did a little research on their website and when I discovered the prices of the products, I realised that I really did grab an absolute bargain. There were four different items in the gift bag, which total up to at least £50 or more! The two sample images above are both products - the top image is the Jelly Flush and the second is the Lip Frosting. You can actually use the Jelly Flush on your cheeks and lips too, which is a really handy combination. They are both kind of the same colour to be honest, but they give different finishes. The Lip Frosting is a lot more shiny and slightly paler than the other product, so its really good if you just want a bit of colour on your lips.

My favourite of the two is definitely the Jelly Flush. The colour is lovely and the phrase 'a little goes a long way' really counts in this instance. I use it mainly on my cheeks and it gives them a little bit of colour, just if I'm going to work or popping out and don't want too much colour on my face. Its sort of a balm that blends in really well and it smells amazing too!

I really like both of these products and I'm definitely going to start using them more. Jelly Pong Pong are actually really amazing in my opinion, and I think that everyone should try or at least own one of their products! I know most will now from the Lip Frosting sample in this month's Glossy Box, so what are you opinions?

Are you a fan? What products do you love?

Latest In Beauty Samples - July

Latest In Beauty Samples - £1.50 

I haven't ordered any samples from Latest In Beauty for a while, so I decided to make a sneaky order while I had some spare time. To be honest when I looked at the choice of samples to order, I wasn't exactly jumping for joy at anything. Half of the products are things I have already tried, and the other half are things that I either don't like or don't suit me. So after reading lots of reviews I ended up ordering these two new samples and a random one that I don't like. Latest In Beauty doesn't let you order the same sample twice, or it won't for me, so anything that I'd like to try again is out of bounds.

I decided to try Lavera Organic Rose Eye Gel and Yardley Peony EDT. I like the idea of these two samples and I always like to smell new perfumes, so I guess they were okay for me. The Rose Eye Gel is created especially for dry and 'mature skin' and is supposed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Its safe to say that I don't yet have wrinkles but my skin does get quite dry, so this could be good for me.

The Yardley Peony EDT smells lovely and is really summery. It has tones of green leaves, peony flower, red currant, geranium and amber - these all help to bring out its floral scent. I actually really like the smell of this perfume, but I'm not so sure that I would buy it. I put three or four drops onto my wrist to test and it was so over powering, which totally ruined the smell altogether. I tried two drops the day after and it was a lot better, but I can see it being quite over powering and heavy if you accidentally put too much on. 

I shall get back to you with my review on the Eye Gel, but overall I do quite like the scent of the Yardley perfume. I wouldn't buy it for myself but as a sample it was nice to try, and I will definitely keep it just in case I ever need a little backup spritz.

Glossy Box - July 2012

Glossy Box 2012 - July Festival Edition 

It is that time again bloggers... Glossy Box day. I never reviewed the June box as I was super busy with various holidays and work commitments, therefore I didn't really give much thought into this box either. I saw that people have started to receive theirs, so I made sure I didn't peek at any ones blog posts or pictures. This box is by far one of the best in my opinion, because I literally just love all of the products. This month's theme is Festival Beauty, which I think is a brilliant idea and these minis would be perfect to pack away if anyone is going to a festival this summer. 

Okay, so down to the products. There are a couple of different Glossy Box's around and all the products look really good, but I was so excited about the HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette - I literally blogged about it about an hour ago in my Daily Want #2. I said that I wanted the 'Vamp' palette, but from seeing the 'Foxy' palette I got sent I think it is definitely the right colour for me.

There are also some nice Elizabeth Arden goodies, which are from the Skin Balancing Skincare range. I got the combination skin samples, which are the Skin Balancing Lotion and three little sachets of Clenser, Skin Serum and another Skin Balancing Lotion. I've heard very good things about skincare products by Elizabeth Arden, and seeing as my skin is quite bad at the minute I'm looking forward to trying these out.

I received something that I already love too, which is always a bonus in my eyes, and thats the Jelly Pong Pong Lip Frosting. At the Clothes Show Live I got a gift bag full of their goodies, and to be honest I had never heard of them so I wasn't too bothered. When I got home I used a few of the products and I absolutely loved them. I intend to do a post on the items I got, but this little handbag-sized lip frosting will be perfect to slot in my bag or my car.

I am looking forward to trying out the Monu Golden Glow Bronzer. Glossy Box says that this will give you a safe, natural-looking tan in 3-5 hours, and it smells really good, so I'm definitely going to get some use out of that. The moisturiser is also a yellow colour too, which I first found really bizarre and I think it made me want to try it more!

The last product in the box is Cyncol Enrich Colour Shampoo. Again, I have never heard of this product so I am looking forward to trying it out. My hair has recently been dyed too, so this is the perfect product for me at the moment as my hair will soon be starting to fade.

Overall, from first glances this month's Glossy Box is extremely good in my eyes. There isn't a product that I don't love the idea of and don't want to try, so well done for that! I will no doubt be reviewing all of these products in the next few weeks, so I will let you know how I get on.

What did you get in your Glossy Box this month? Have you tried any of the products featured?

My Daily Want #2

HD Eye and Brow Palette - £19.50

Since I dyed my hair dark brown I've been darkening and filling in my eyebrows, for the pure fact that they're quite light and I think I look silly. In all honesty I have stopped doing it as much now, just because I tend to work early shifts and I can never be bothered to wake up early to do them. I've always longed for a HD Brows palette, just from the purely amazing reviews I've read, but I just haven't gotten round to buying one yet. From some research I think I would definitely buy the 'Vamp' shade, as I love dark eyebrows. Hopefully blogging about it will keep it on my mind and remind me to get one soon!

A Little Weekly Update

I've been quite bad and not blogged a lot recently, and to be honest I don't really have a good enough reason for it. Except maybe work, does that count as a reason?! My little eight hour weekend job has blossomed into a 30 hour a week job, so more money for me but less time to do other things.

In recent news, I bought a new car! As you can see above it is a beaut, and I feel so so happy that I actually bought it with my own money. I've been saving for a little bit now and seeing as my old trusty Corsa was becoming not-so trusty, I thought it was time to upgrade. Its like anything new though, I just need to get the hang of driving it and stop over-reving everywhere I go. I've been passed three years now and these past few days I've felt like a first time driver again. I also realised how nasty some people can be on the road, I get so annoyed when driving. Anyway...

So the week ahead consists of more work, and hopefully a lot more blogging and social time with my friends. I haven't been out to do something in what seems agers, and its pay day on Tuesday, so what more of an excuse do I need?! Hopefully there will be lots of blog posts coming your way this week!

Hair Repair On A Budget

From the amount of different colours I've had on my hair, yet alone the four or five years of bleach and silver toner, it is safe to say that it isn't in the best condition. I usually wouldn't touch any other hair treatment than the VO5 Hot Oil treatments, but after stumbling across this for less than half the price I thought I'd give it a try. I tend to use the Deep Nourishing treatments from VO5, which are about £5 usually. This substitute was from Home Bargains, which I think is amazing for little beauty and hair buys if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Usually I'm all about spending on my hair as it definitely needs taking care of, but I thought it won't hurt just to give these a try.

You shampoo your hair as normal and first put an unopened Treatment 2 sachet into hot water, where it will heat up for about one or two minutes. Treatment 1 is a wheatgerm conditioner, which you apply first to damp hair and leave in for one minute. After you have washed that out, you then apply the Treatment 2 and massage it into your hair. This is the hot oil treatment and only needs to be washed off after a minute.

My honest opinion? I found them brilliant! Admittedly they aren't as good as the VO5 treatments, but that goes without saying. For £1 I would definitely buy these again if I needed a quick and cheap hot oil treatment. You get three treatments in a pack and I only tend to use them every couple of weeks when I can feel my hair drying up. They leave your hair so soft and shiny, and they aren't the best smelling products but I can cope with that for amazingly soft hair.

My Daily Want #1

Black Studded Bag - £29.99 (H&M)

I was literally a click away from ordering this bag from H&M, I was hovering over the checkout button for a while deciding whether I need another bag. I have two Mulberrys which I hardly ever use anymore, and this would definitely take the focus away from them, but its so tempting! They also have it in a beige version on their website too which is also really nice, but I'm a sucker for black bags.

Getting To Know Me

I seem to have developed a few more followers over the last couple of weeks, so hello :)) I saw this on another blog I read, and decided it would be a good idea to share a few little facts with my new readers. If you have any questions or want to comment, feel free, I'd love to reply.

Vital Stats:

Name: Terri Bacon

Nicknames: Tez, Tezzey, Bacon, Tee

Birthday: May 31st - which makes me 21

Place of Birth: Chesterfield

Zodiac sign: Gemini

Occupation: Just finished University, and I am now working in retail

Appearance:

Hair colour: Dark brown

Hair length: Quite short

Eye colour: Blue

Best feature: I like being quite petite-sized.. is that a feature?

Braces: I've never had them

Piercings: My nose, belly button, and seven various piercings in my ears

Tattoos: Four - an anchor on my wrist, shooting stars behind my ear, latin on my hip and cherry blossoms on my foot

Righty of Lefty: I'm a righty

Firsts:

Award: I never win anything! 

Sport: I used to play netball, but now I'm probably the least sporty person. Ever

Real Holiday: My Mum and Dad took me on holiday loads when I was younger, but my first holiday by myself was to Magaluf

Concert: Steps when I was younger, retro! But my first 'proper' gig was You Me At Six about four or five years ago I think

Favourites

Film: I have absolutely loads of favourite films!

TV Show: 2 Broke Girls - funniest thing I've seen in agers

Colour: I don't really have one, just phases of different colours

Song: Not really individual but again, I have loads

Restaurant: TGI Fridays, every time!

Store: Topshop or Ark

Book: Stephen King - The Shining

Magazine: Company 

Shoes: Currently either my Converse or my Vivienne Westwood pumps

Currently:
Feeling: Tired, its far too early to be up!

Single or Taken: Taken, it'll be a year in October

Eating: Nothing, but I'm half way through a cup of tea

Listening to: Jeremy Kyle

Thinking about: Cars - I'm looking for a new one

Watching: Jeremy Kyle

Wearing: Zara jeans & a Miss Selfridge slouch top 

Future:

Want Children: One day

Want to be married: Definitely. 

Careers in mind: I'd love to go into fashion through journalism or PR, proving quite difficult at the minute

Where do you want to live: I don't really mind, as long as the area and the house are lovely

Do you believe in: 

God: I can never make my mind up. I don't think I do, really

Miracles: I don't think so

Love at first sight: 'Lust at first sight' is probably more appropriate

Ghosts: I can never make my mind up 

Aliens: Not really 'aliens' as such, but I kind of believe there's something out there...

Soul Mates: I guess so, but maybe not in the same way as everyone else

Heaven: No

Hell: No

Kissing on the first date: Yeah, I don't see why not

Yourself: Sometimes; there are always times when I do and don't, like everyone

Bikini bargains!

Neon bikini top - £1.50, Neon bikini bottoms - £1.50 & Striped bikini bottoms  - £1.50
(All Tesco)
Fruit print bikini bottoms - £1.50 (Matalan)

I know its about seven weeks until my next holiday, and I have MORE than enough holiday clothes, but I can't help buying more. My Aunty came home with lots of lovely bikinis, and I was really shocked when she said they were from Tesco. Even better... they were £1.50 each! I couldn't believe it, so my Mum ordered that we got straight to Tesco to have a look for ourselves... and I came back with more than enough for at least seven holidays. For £1.50 you really can't grumble and if you only wear them once you've almost got your moneys worth. There were so many more I could have bought, but I did have to limit myself.

Another really good place for bikinis at the minute is Matalan, who are also in the first stages of their sale. Working there, I obviously get a first look at the sale stock and as soon as I saw the fruit print bottoms I had to save a pair. They were only £1.50 too, which is an absolute bargain, and they are so cute too. Plus the white and the bright colours will all look better when I've topped up my tan.

So if anyone is looking for some holiday bargains, I more than urge you to take a look at Matalan or Tesco. These shops, Tesco in particular, definitely wouldn't be the places I would look but this just shows that you can really find some bargains where you least expect.

My nails today

Models Own, Barry M Top and Base Coat & Miss Sporty.

I decided to do something a little different with my nails today, as I get a bit bored with just one block colour after another. I've been recently looking at loads of posts about gradient style nails, and I've been meaning to try out the technique. I got everything together and started experimenting, but found that I was really useless at mixing the colours together to get the gradient look. I decided to try and fix my messy nails to save me taking all the polish off, but still using the sponge and the two colours. This is what I came up with:

I applied a Barry M basecoat to clean nails, then painted two coats of the Miss Sporty polish and let them dry completely. They were a lot messier than in the picture, as I quickly tidied them up with a cotton bud and some nail varnish remover. All the gradient tutorials I have looked over say to start painting your nails with the lightest of your chosen colours, but because both were quite bold, I decided to go with the purple as the base. 

I then got my small piece of sponge to make the effect on my nails. You can use any kind of sponge, this one is a normal kitchen sponge cut into a little triangle. I dabbed a blob of each colour polish onto separate ends of the sponge, then dabbed the colours across my already painted nails. I started with the blue, and added purple on top to even out the colours. I then let the colours dry completely, and touched up with whatever extra colour was less visible on my nails. I'll warn you now, this can get really messy, so have lots of cotton buds, pads and nail varnish remover handy! When everything was dry, I tidied up my nails again with a cotton bud and some nail varnish remover, and then applied the Barry M top coat. 

And here is the result! Admittedly the picture really isn't that good because of the light and the fact it was taken on my iPhone. You get the effect from the sponge on your nails, with little clumps of the different colours on each nail. Obviously you can use as many colours as you like in your nails - I think multi-coloured smudges would look amazing! 

Bye bye breakouts!

PanOxyl 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Acnegel (£4.50) - Amazon

Recently my skin has been completely awful, due to a mixture of sun, heat and lots of makeup from my holiday to Egypt. It has constantly been in awful condition and for about a month now I've had one big continuous breakout. I was researching some tips and hints to try and clear my skin when I came across this little beauty. A few years ago I was prescribed this by my doctor to help tackle my breakouts, and it worked within a week of using it! When I found other ways to tackle my breakouts, I stopped using this cream, but I've found that recently I'm really needing it. So to my amazement, they actually sell this on the internet. I bought this from Amazon, which I was wary about because on all other occasions I have needed a prescription for it. Within a few hours of buying the product, I received an email from the seller on Amazon, asking the initial questions any doctor would when writing a prescription. So, after a few questions and a few days wait, my cream was here.

This is what the cream looks like. You only need a small amount, and you only need to add it to the problem areas on your skin. ie the places where you have breakouts. Top tip - make sure you moisturise a LOT if you decide to use this cream, as it does tend to try out your skin massively. It comes in two different percentages, 5 and 10, and obviously the more severe your breakouts the higher cream to go for. Make sure you research this cream if you have not used it before, and if in doubt go to your doctor or GP. I only ordered this online because I have used it in the past and I know it works for me.

I have been using it for about three days, applying before my moisturiser morning and night, and absolutely ALL of my spots and problem areas have gone. It is amazing! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is suffering with their skin, but just make sure you do your research.

Has anyone used PanOxyl before? What results have you had?

Instagram

Sad to be leaving Liverpool/Off to work I go/Liverpool Albert Docks/The Stone Roses/Sunny Heaton Park/When in Manchester/Amazing American food/Graduating with a 2:1 :)/Before&after Egypt/Three Marcs now/Showing off MAC/Amazing Poptart breakfast.

This week hasn't really been very interesting for me to be honest. I finally got my boyfriend back from his boys holiday in Zante (enter soppy comment here) so I've been spending lots of time with him again, when I haven't been working. Matalan seem to be giving me 4 times the hours I used to get a few weeks ago, so I'm super happy to actually have something to do with my days now uni is done - and extra money, woo! I've also started to look for full time and graduate jobs, which is REALLY scary actually. I'm used to my little weekend job, which has now turned into 22 hours a week... having an actual full time job will be so weird. 

Me and the boyfriend have also been looking at holidays for next year. Yeah I know, it might be a tad early, but I don't think there will be any chance of England having any sun this year... so we are going to make up for it and have two weeks in Cuba next summer. Has anyone been to Cuba before? Any tips for me?  

My Dream Foundation.

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation (£24)

You heard it right, I have FINALLY found my dream foundation, and its only took six months and about £60 worth of drug store products. If any of you read my post a few weeks ago, you will be aware that I've been having a nightmare and a bit of a war trying to find a decent foundation that I'd happily wear and not complain about. I have used MAC foundation before when my skin was a lot paler, but I really did not like the effect it had. I couldn't work with the product and I didn't like the after effect when the foundation was on my skin, so I gave up and went in search of something else. After a browse for a lipstick, I caved and asked to be matched again... you have to give something a second chance right? Well, I'm so glad I did.

Now I'm darker I feel like the foundation blends a lot better into my skin, weird I know, and in general just looks so much better. I was matched up to NW30, which is quite a step up from my first NC15. I was looking for something that wasn't going to be too matt, but would still have really good coverage. I'm really prone to breakouts at the minute, and before MAC foundation made my skin worse, so I'm hoping that this won't happen again. I've been using it for a few days now and I am honestly so happy I gave MAC a second chance. I swear by everything of theirs, so I think I was just being too harsh.


I will probably end up writing a bit more about how I get on with this foundation in a few weeks, and after a good use of it. But I'd honestly recommend this foundation to anyone who is looking for a really good coverage.  

Today is D-Day

Just a little post from me today as I've been super busy working, sorting out appointments and getting my little car fixed. Today was 'D-day', in the sense that I got my degree mark today. Scary times, but as you can see from the picture above, I'm going to be graduating with an Upper Second Class Honours (it sounds super good when you say it like that!) This just proves that all the stress, tears and nervous/emotional breakdowns I suffered, especially these last few months, is worth it.

I now have the stress of looking for a full time job, even though I don't graduate and get my certificate till November. Very scary times ahead!