Show Me Your Teeth

Last week the lovely ladies at Forever Jewellery sent me a package with some of their jewellery to review and as soon as I opened it I fell a little bit in love with this necklace. The Teeth necklace is made from a gorgeous little quartz cluster. It's no secret I'm a huge fan of gemstones and crystals so this was right up my street! Most of my necklaces are on really long chains so it's nice to have one on a shorter chain to wear with outfits that don't work with 'big' jewellery. Even though it's made of spiky quartz and wire, this is actually a really delicate little necklace. I can see myself wearing this a lot, I love it!

I also received two bracelets, a suede effect one with a little peace charm and a friendship bracelet. I remember making friendship bracelets like this one when I was younger but I have completely forgotten how to make them, so I'm loving wearing this one and pretending it's the mid-nineties again! I really like the charm bracelet too, it will be perfect for wearing with denim shorts and oversized tees for relaxed summery outfits (once summer finally arrives!).

I would definitely order more bits and pieces from Forever Jewellery in the future, the package arrived really quickly and I loved the little handwritten note inside. It's little personal touches like that which make me want to use companies again. I've got my eye on the Poison necklace and Wire ring. Absolutely everyone seems to have a 'jewellery shop' these days and a lot of them sell exactly the same things, but you can tell a lot of thought and time has gone into finding the materials and making the jewellery here. Everything on the site is under a tenner and there's free postage & packing in the UK - what's not to love?!

You can also follow Forever Jewellery on Twitter, and read Jessica & Josette's blog here.

Have you ordered from Forever Jewellery before? What is your favourite piece from the shop?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #9

1.Shots 2.Pizza 3.Sneak preview of Forever Jewellery goodies, blog post coming soon! 4.Ebaying my wardrobe 5.New bargain hi tops

I've noticed a distinct pattern happening with my Sunday Summary posts - all I seem to do is moan about how I'm a bit hungover and how bored I am of writing my dissertation! I did indeed go out last night, but I'm feeling surprisingly bright and breezy so I've had a (sort of) productive day. Which makes a change from my usual Sunday routine of lying in my bed with the blinds closed, watching a film and trying not to move my head! As for the dissertation, I've finished writing another chapter so only have one chapter and the conclusion left to write of the first draft.

On Thursday I met up with Zoe and we headed to the pub for a catch up and a couple of drinks. This inevitably turned into shots and we ended up going out, it's always the way! I'm looking forward to Lauren coming down to visit us in a couple of weeks, I'm sure Zoe and I will manage to show her the sights (i.e. bars) of Edinburgh! Trying to decide where to go on a Saturday night is proving difficult though, the only place I ever seem to go nowadays is the student union. I'm going to be so sad once I graduate and can't go to the infamous Big Cheese anymore! :'(

This week I've been busy tidying out my wardrobe and sorting out things to sell on ebay. It's ridiculous the amount of stuff I have that's never been worn, so I'm being ruthless and trying to get rid of as much as possible. Have a look here to see what I'm selling, most stuff is starting at 99p, bargain! Lots of dresses in sizes 12, 14 and 16, and if you mention the blog/twitter I'll give you a cheeky wee discount!

I've recently signed up to Pinterest and I can see how it could quickly become addictive! I'm always looking for more people to follow, does anyone have an account? You can see my profile here. I also signed up to HelloCotton this week. Let me know if you have an account there too, here's mine!

What have you been up to this week?

Gillian x

Review: Benefit Porefessionally Pretty

A few weeks ago I ordered some things from the Benefit website with one of the £5 off Diet Coke codes. I was all set on getting The Porefessional, when I noticed this kit which includes a full size Porefessional along with a mini Erase Paste and a mini Girl Meets Pearl - all for the same price as the Porefessional on its own! Obviously I couldn't say no to that, as essentially you're getting 3 products for the price of one.

The Porefessional
Benefit describe this as a 'PRO balm to minimize the appearance of pores'. It's basically a primer, so is great for creating an even, smooth base to apply foundation on top of. I definitely think it reduces the appearance of pores (see the before/after photo above) and it also helps to even out skin tone. It's slightly tinted but once it's applied you can't see any colour at all, so no need to worry if you're pale like me! I don't think it's enough to wear on its own as although it evens out skin tone it doesn't really cover up any blemishes etc. Benefit say you can also apply this on top of your foundation if your pores start to re-appear, but I don't think this would work very well so I just stick to using it as a base when I put my makeup on in the morning. It has got pretty good staying power, but by the end of the day it does wear off a bit.

Overall, it's a pretty good primer and it does make your skin feel really silky and smooth. I don't know if I would pay full price for it, however, as I don't think it's any better than the primer I usually use (L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional) which is about half the price. As part of a set I think it's a pretty good deal though, and I will definitely get lots of use out of it.

Girl Meets Pearl
I wasn't too sure about this before I tried it, as I already have quite a few highlighters which I always seem to forget to use! But this has definitely turned out to be my favourite item from the Porefessionally Pretty set. You can use it all over your face or mixed in with your foundation/moisturiser to give an all-over glow, or use it as a highlighter along your cheek and brow bones. I tend to use it to highlight my cheekbones at the moment, but I think I will use it a lot in the summer mixed in with a tinted moisturiser. The colour is a gorgeous rosy gold, it's quite subtle but really pretty and I think it would suit most skin tones. I definitely prefer this to Benefit's High Beam! It was quite hard to photograph, but have a look at the last photo for an idea of how it looks when applied.

Erase Paste
Unfortunately the Porefessionally Pretty set doesn't come with a choice of shades for the Erase Paste. All kits come with Shade 2 Medium, which is way too dark for me. I haven't even opened the Erase Paste as I know it won't be right for my skin tone, even though I think the product itself is really good. I use Shade 1 Fair as my everyday concealer and I love it, it manages to conceal and brighten at the same time without being to heavy or cakey. It would have been nice if you could choose which shade of Erase Paste you received, but I guess as it was essentially 'free' I shouldn't complain too much! I've noticed this is the case for a lot of Benefit gift sets though, they tend to include Medium shades in everything, instead of including Fair and Dark versions of the sets too.

Overall, I think this kit is great value for money, especially if you would use the Medium Erase Paste! I'm glad I got the Girl Meets Pearl in this set as I probably wouldn't have bought it on its own, but I really like it. The Porefessional is a pretty good primer, but I can't help but feel there are better ones out there for less money. It's by no means bad, however, and I don't think I've wasted my money as I definitely will use up this tube - not sure if I'd bother buying another though.

Have you tried the Porefessionally Pretty set or any of the products in it?

Gillian x

Glossy Box: February

I don't usually bother doing a full review of the Glossy Box as there are so many other blog posts about it, but I'm really disappointed with this month's box so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it. As I said in yesterday's post, I'm trying to save money at the moment and this box has definitely prompted me to cancel my Glossy Box subscription.

Como Shambhala Invigorate Body Lotion
Let's start with my main reason for disliking this box - I've already received this product in a previous box! I understand that not everyone will have subscribed to every box so many people won't have received this before, but it's kind of a kick in the teeth to 'loyal' customers who have subscribed since the very first box to be given the same products again. I wouldn't have minded if it was another product from the Como Shambhala range but it's literally the exact same thing! As you can see in the photo above, I've barely used the first bottle yet so I really don't want another one. The product itself is quite good (although I'm not a big fan of the scent, hence why I haven't used it much) but I'm very annoyed that Glossy Box sent this to me again. Perhaps it would make sense for them to keep a record of the exact items customers were sent so this wouldn't happen in the future - rather than shoving random things in a box without any reasoning behind it, or without consulting the 'beauty profiles' we had to fill out when signing up. (Seriously, what was the point of those? Don't think I've ever received products that were tailored to my skin type, hair/eye colour etc...)

Dr Bronner Magic Liquid Soap
My next annoyance is this, mostly due to the packaging. There is so much writing on it, but none of it really tells you what this is actually for. It says it is an 18-in-1 soap but it doesn't tell you what these 18 uses are. I'm sure there will be more detailed information on the website, but when I'm using a new product I like to be able to read simple instructions on the bottle/box so I get a general idea of what I can use it for and how often I will be able to use it. I also think the label is written in very poor English, which really puts me off. Some of it doesn't even really make sense, for example: "Enjoy body rub to stimulate body-mind-soul-spirit and teach the essene Moral ABC uniting all free in the shepherd astronomer Israel's greatest ALL-ONE-GOD-FAITH!'. Maybe it's just me, but WTF?! It has a really nice scent and I'm sure it's a good product but it's just really unappealing to me.

Paul Mitchell Round Trip
I'm not usually very interested in hair products, but I think this is actually the thing I'm most excited about using from this month's box. It's described as a liquid curl definer so I'm hoping it will make my naturally slightly wavy hair a bit more polished looking without the effort of having to use a curling iron. I haven't used it yet so can't comment on how well it works, but I'm looking forward to trying it. The only problem I have is that the 'peel here' label with the instructions underneath won't peel off as it's trapped under the main label. I have issues with badly designed packaging!

BM Beauty Pure Mineral Eyeshadow
I received the shade "Storm Cloud" which is a dark green colour with tiny gold flecks through it. It's slightly shimmery without being too glittery, and is quite pigmented. I think it would be great for doing a slightly different smokey eye, with dark green instead of black shadow. Unfortunately I don't really wear eyeshadow all that often, but I definitely will try and use this as much as I can. If you're an eyeshadow kind of person, then I'm sure you'll love this product!

DuWop Venom Gloss
Like the eyeshadow, this is another product that is nice enough but not really for me. I understand that the products in the Glossy Boxes can't please everyone all of the time, so I don't mind too much about receiving the occasional product I won't get much use out of. I never ever wear lipgloss so I don't think I'll use this at all, but it seems like a good product. I received the shade "Buttercup" which looks lovely in the tube but is way too light for me, it just looks like I'm wearing a clear gloss when it's applied to my lips. It smells really nice but I find it has a bit of a funny taste on your lips, plus I'm not a fan of the lip-plumping tingliness!

Overall, this was a very disappointing box for me. Usually there's at least one stand-out item which makes the whole box worthwhile, but there was nothing like that in this box. There was one product which I liked the look of, two which were nice but I don't think I'll get much use from, and two which I am not at all interested in. I also don't see how these products fit into the theme of 'London Fashion Week' - to me that would suggest statement makeup and products to create stylish hairdos, not soap and moisturiser. A very uninspiring box, and I'm so annoyed about receiving a product I've already been sent before. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure there will be lots of people who really liked this box.

Did you get this month's Glossy Box? What did you think of it?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #8

1.New shoes 2.Domino's feast 3.Road trip? 4.Me & two litres of wine (doesn't look that big here, but seriously SO MUCH WINE) 5.Tequila time

I was going to post this much earlier but to be honest all I've managed to do this afternoon is lie on the sofa and watch TV, mostly thanks to the two litre bottle of wine pictured above! Had a great night out but I'm definitely paying for it today. Even going out for lunch and having a cheeseburger and massive plate of chips didn't help, currently surviving on ibuprofen and lucozade!

My flatmate and I have been wanting to go on holiday for the last couple of summers but have never managed to organise it, but as we're graduating this year we figured it was now or never. We're hoping to go on a road trip around parts of the USA, which is something I've always wanted to do. Whether or not this will actually happen or not is another matter, but I am SOOOO desperate to go! It would cost a small fortune but would be such an amazing ~experience~ so I really hope I'll be able to save enough money to do it. This means cancelling my beauty box subscriptions, no more buying clothes whenever I fancy it, and I'll be selling as much stuff as possible on ebay. Have any of you been or a road trip or done anything similar - I'm looking for as much help/advice as possible!

Other than my new road trip obsession (I've started making a playlist already, so prepared), this week hasn't been very exciting. Still plodding on with the dissertation, I'm now half way through my first draft so hopefully I'll get the rest written next week then I can relax a bit. It's not due in until the start of April but once I've got the first draft finished it will take the pressure off a bit and I can concentrate on my essays/coursework.

Please tell me some of you went out this weekend too and are also suffering today?! What have you been up to this week?

Gillian x

Outfit: Black & Gold

Jumper: H&M
Skirt: H&M
Boots: Ebay
Scarf: H&M
Ring: H&M


Yet another slouchy jumper/black skirt outfit! I really need to do a massive wardrobe clear-out and sell lots of stuff on Ebay so I've got room to buy myself some nice new spring/summer clothes. I'm dreaming of lacy white tops and candy coloured jeans, can't wait for sunny days and being able to go outside without a jacket.

I didn't realise until I was uploading these photos, but this outfit is pretty much a walking advert for H&M. I would definitely say H&M is my favourite high street shop as it's relatively cheap without being bad quality and they have a great mixture of classic basic pieces as well as more "on-trend" clothes. The only thing I don't like about H&M is their weird sizing, I swear everything is at least a size smaller than it's supposed to be?!

I love this jumper, it looks quite brown in these photos but it's much more gold and sparkly in real life. The glittery thread running through it isn't too over the top though, so it looks good for a daytime outfit. This seems to be my uniform at the moment (when I'm not in my jimjams!) as a jumper and bodycon skirt requires no effort yet it looks like you've at least put a little bit of thought into your outfit! I love the little fox ring too, so cute!

What's your favourite high street shop? Are you looking forward to dressing for summer?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #7

1.Full moon over Edinburgh Castle 2.Chocolate brownie bars 3.Friday night film 4.Southern Comfort 5.Edinburgh at night 6.Wannaburger meal & milkshake.

This week has been another pretty uneventful one, which has mostly involved eating and watching films/tv shows in my bed! I'm about a third of the way through the first draft of my dissertation though, so at least I've done something productive as well.

Earlier in the week my flatmate and I went out for a meal at Wannaburger. I'd only been once before (it was a few years ago and I wasn't very impressed so didn't bother going back) but really glad we went as the food was great and so cheap! I had a chilli burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake and it came to just over £6. Will definitely be going back again to try out some of the other burgers on the menu!

I seem to have done a lot of baking this week - the diet has well and truly gone out the window! I made some orange cupcakes as well as the brownies in the picture above. They are soooo good, I've eaten about half of them already! I make brownies quite a lot but this was the first time I did them with a chocolatey topping. So easy to do and really yummy.

Today I've spent the entire day in bed as I went out last night and had rather a lot to drink! I'm only a student for a couple more months so I might as well make the most of it, right?! I used to go out 3 or 4 times a week but with everyone having lots of uni work to do (and running low on funds after 4 years!) I only really go out on Saturday nights now. Only going out once a week definitely makes it feel like more of an "event".

How has your week been?

Gillian x

Review: Benefit They're Real! Mascara

I don't know about you, but I'm constantly on the quest to find the perfect mascara. It has to be volumising, lengthening, separates lashes, non clumpy, and very very black. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up the search yet, but Benefit's They're Real is pretty close to being perfect. I was a bit reluctant to spend almost £20 on a mascara (especially as I tried Bad Gal ages ago and wasn't really impressed) but I'm so glad I did as this has definitely become my firm favourite.

As you can see from the picture above, it gives serious length and definition to lashes without making them look clumpy or overdone. The packaging claims to make your lashes look "beyond real" and I think that's a pretty good description - they don't look like fake lashes, just your own lashes but better. The best word I can think of to describe the way this makes your eyelashes look is "fluttery"!

I usually apply a coat of this mascara on one eye, then do the other eye, and then go back and run the brush through the first eye again before the first coat dries completely. I find this is the best way to get lots of volume without my lashes sticking together or going clumpy. I love how jet black this mascara is, it really makes your lashes stand out. The wand is plastic and covered in tiny spikes which are really good at getting between your lashes to separate them, and the rounded tip is great for reaching corner lashes.

Overall I think this is an amazing mascara and I will definitely be repurchasing once I've used up this tube! I've never really used any high-end mascaras before so I'm not sure how this compares, but it's so much better than my usual favourite msacara brands like Max Factor and Rimmel.

Have you tried any Benefit mascaras? What's your favourite mascara at the moment?

Gillian x

Outfit: Bright Eyes, Blue Denim

Shirt: H&M
Dress: Peacocks
Leggings: New Look
Belt: H&M
Boots: Rocket Dog

I've been after a denim shirt for ages but could never find one I liked and suited me, but I was in H&M last week and found this one which I quite like. Unfortunately I don't have the body shape for button-up shirts, forever jealous of people who can button up shirts all the way to the top and not look like a complete idiot! Me and shirts just do not get on. I can't even get the top few buttons to do up (thanks boobs) but I think I like it worn open like this anyway. I can see myself wearing it a lot with summer dresses instead of a cardigan, so I don't think it'll be one of those things I think is a good idea at the time then gets shoved to the back of the wardrobe and never worn again.

Boots, leggings, a black dress/skirt and some kind of cardigan or jumper seems to be my staple outfit at the moment, it's too cold to wear anything else more exciting! I'm well jel of everyone who's had snow over the last week, there hasn't been any in Edinburgh at all. I love the snow, as long as I don't have anything important to do! Despite the lack of snow, it's still rather chilly, my phone is telling me it's -1°C just now brrrr. I wore this outfit to go to class this morning, dragging myself out of my cosy bed was certainly a challenge!

I love these boots as they're really comfy and actually quite sensible/weatherproof but they're starting to fall apart because I wear them so much. I liked them so much that I bought an identical pair in black when I saw them in the Schuh sale a while ago, so I think I'll have to switch full-time to the black pair soon! Hopefully they'll last a few more months then I can forget about boots for a while and break out the sandals and flip flops.

What have you been wearing for the winter weather?

Gillian x

Sunday Summary #6

1.Pear Cider yummm 2.Panda Express takeaway 3.Chocolate raisins 4.Valentine's Glossy Box 5.One of many vodkas from last night 6.Last night's outfit - black version of the dress featured in my last post!

I can't believe it's Sunday again already. Even though I haven't done very much this week, the time seems to have flown by. Still plodding on with the dissertation - 1,000 words down, only 11,000 more to go! I'm also trying to decide whether or not I want to do a Masters next year, I think I'd quite enjoy it but I don't know if it would be worth it money-wise/job-prospects-wise. For those of you who went to university, what did you do after you graduated?

I'm sure you will have seen lots of Glossy Box posts already this week so I won't go into too much detail, but overall I thought this was a pretty good box. I got the black Eyeko liner which I'm pleased about as it's probably the only colour I would actually wear. I'm a bit disappointed with the primer, I was expecting it to be really good but to be honest I don't think it really makes my skin look any different. Maybe it's just because it gives a dewy finish, I'm much more of a matte fan. I was going to cancel my Glossy Box subscription this month, but I'm tempted to keep it on to see what's in the next box as I liked this one. I feel like I'm wasting so much money between this and the Jolie Box, but I love getting them in the post every month, arrrgh decisions!

On Tuesday I met up with Zoe for a drink and a catch up, followed by a trip to the cinema to see J. Edgar. I'm ashamed to say, as a history student, I'd never actually heard of J. Edgar Hoover before even though I knew about pretty much all of the events in the film. Obviously I wasn't paying attention in class that day! I really enjoyed the film though, even if it was reeeaallly long (and I made the mistake of getting a massive bucket of Coke too, had to dash to the toilets as soon as the credits started rolling)!

I've pretty much given up on exercising this week, I'm just too lazy haha. I think always I eat pretty well (aside from the Chinese takeaway earlier in the week, and the chocolate raisins I've been snacking on) but failing to exercise is definitely my biggest downfall. If I found a sport I enjoyed I wouldn't mind exercising but I just find it so boring, would much rather stay in my bed for an extra hour! Drinking too much alcohol is definitely my other big weakness, went out last night and had rather a lot of shots and VK's. I go out a lot less than I used to, but I think I drink twice as much to make up for it - which is very bad, I know!

What have you been up to this week?

Gillian x

P.S. Scottish ladies - have you seen the get together Kirsty is planning for International Women's Day? I loved the last blogger meetup I went to, so it will be lovely to see some of the same faces again and hopefully meet some new people too. Plus it's all for a good cause, so if you fancy coming along make sure to email Kirsty and register your interest before Friday 10th February. Hope to see you there!

Summer Wishlist

1.Jersey Dress 2.Bright Eyes Rabbit Ring 3.Moss Crepe Drape Dress 4.Gold Wishbone Necklace 5.Blue Colour Block Tshirt 6.Moto High Waisted Kristen Hot Pants 7.Lioness Blonde Wood Sandals 8.Lace Skater Dress 9.Zip Satchel Bag 10.Gold Snake Arm Cuff 11.Aviator Sunglasses

So it's only just February but already I'm wishing it was summer. I'm usually much more of a winter person, but the thought of some sunshine and not having to wear multiple pairs of socks is quite appealing right now. I really like the pastels trend that's going around at the moment but it's not very "me", so here are a few of the things I've been eyeing up to purchase for wearing in the summer months.

I bought the black version of the Topshop v-neck dress the other day and I love it (even if it is rather boobtastic) but this coral one is a really pretty colour and much more sunshine-friendly than my usual uniform of head-to-toe black. I love the similar shade of the New Look bag too, and adding a bright belt to a summery dress like the H&M striped one is a great way to liven up an outfit a little bit.

I can't believe I don't actually own a pair of nice denim shorts, they're such a wardrobe staple so I think I'll have to invest in some soon. My favourite jeans are the Kristen high-waisted skinny jeans from Topshop, so I think the shorts version of them would be perfect. They would look great with loose t-shirts, some nice sandals and a pair of aviators for a no-effort summer outfit.

As for jewellery, I always think gold is nicest in the summer when you have a bit of a tan (LOL TAN...I know right, what's that?!). I've had my eye on the Me & Zena rabbit ring for aaages, think it might be time to cave in and finally buy it!

What's on your summer wishlist at the moment? What style of clothes do you go for in the warmer weather?

Gillian x