Moving to Uni Chronic Illness Style

Moving away from home and trying to pack is scary and hard enough without having to factor in a crappy body as well. I was terrified for like the whole month before moving in day. It didn't help that I was a shy person anyway (still am) but knowing I would have to pretty much look after myself all whilst my body had a temper tantrum about over doing did not sound that enticing.

Now I will say you probably will over do it in Freshers week. No matter how much you try not to it's kind of inevitable. It's a big shock for your body and there is a lot to do. I'm going into my 4th time at moving in and I still haven't managed to do it without over doing it & I don't even have to do all the administration stuff 1st yrs have to do. Out of the 3 Freshers weeks I have done so far I have only managed one without getting ill, mainly tonsillitis. I'm pretty sure my tonsils prepare themselves to only make my life hell when I'm supposed to be having fun - Freshers week and New years eve. 

Anyways moving on, I thought I would give you a few pointers and let you know what it will be like to try and reduce any extra stress. 

- In my uni our halls move in over 2 days, the Saturday & the Sunday. This is the hardest weekend of the whole of uni so prepare yourself. I still live in halls and I am now allowed to move in on the Friday to give me an extra day to pace myself. If that's something you think would help you could email your halls department & explain but I understand that moving somewhere new on your own is scary. 

- Pace your packing. Packing is a killer task. You have to pack you whole life into one room. I think the first year I started packing about a month before moving (I get to keep my kitchen stuff there now so not as much to do). My house was just full of boxes and crates. It did help though as whatever I bought new I just packed straight away. 

- Moving in day is a long day. I would suggest getting there as early as you can because cupboard space goes quickly, there are never enough cupboards. Although once you get to know each other you usually start sharing space. Plus getting there early gives you longer to unpack & get to know everyone before people start going out. On my first night our peer guides got us to go out at 6pm to meet the people on our courses.

- If you have a long drive maybe stay somewhere closer the night before so you don't have to get up as early and spend as long in the car on a busy day. In my first year we stayed 20mins down the road to make it easier on my body as I live over 3hrs away.

- Take slaves (siblings are good). I'm so lucky that my parents are amazing and they come with me every year to help me unpack. I tend to just sit on the bed and point where I want things now,  it's great. 

- Pace unpacking. Unpacking seems to take me longer every year. One year I think it was nearly Christmas when I finally unpacked my last bag. Just do a bit everyday plus bags make great storage so technically you don't need to unpack. 

- Make your bed first. This way if you crash you have somewhere to rest

- Take food with you. Everyone will descend on the supermarkets on moving in day and I mean everyone. Obviously it's great if your parents offer to buy your first shop so do not turn them down. It is worth braving the crowd but make sure you have the essentials with you in case you cant hack it. I now take the essentials with me & do my shop a few days later. By essentials I mean coffee obvs, tea, sugar, milk, pasta (student staple), few tins, bread, peanut butter (I cant cope without) and obviously alcohol if you drink. I took wine and any left over spirits we had and made loads of new friends. Also take food to eat on the go because it's going to be a long day

- Have some of the essentials to hand like mugs, tea, coffee so you don't have to unpack everything before having a cuppa. If you move into my flat I have extra on hand for grumpy dads and flustered mums. Offering people a cuppa is always a great conversation starter. I mean everyone loves a good cuppa

- Now the most important part - I know you are exhausted and probably in a lot of pain and just want to curl up in bed but you have to get yourself out there and meet your new flatmates. These will be the people who you will see the most (except that one weird person that your not sure if they died or not as they never seem to come out their room). Prop open your door, bond over the ridiculous amount of crap you have to unpack, how awkward your parents are being and how nervous you are. I bonded with one of my best friends over how many tins we had courtesy of our parents (didn't want us to starve) and another one over the fact that we had no idea how to set up our internet so my dad went & found out & did it for us, cheers dad. 

There is a huge thing about how in Freshers week you have to go out every night and get smashed but I have never done that. Now don't get me wrong I love a good party and I have more than my fair share of drunken stories and I do get drunk but I'm just not one of these clubbing people. It's a lot of effort when you could have a flat party in your slippers with your bed nearby. 

- I would say do try to go out once, just to get to see whats about. My first night out I was back home by half 10 because I was just too exhausted but I still had fun. I preferred going out with my new flat mates because we all really got on and we had an amazing time & we weren't with complete strangers. 

- Don't feel like you have to drink. Don't make yourself ill just to try and fit in. Alcohol doesn't mix well at all with some chronic illnesses and meds. There may be a few people who make a joke but for the most part no one cares. More alcohol for them. Plus you get to be the person to tell everyone the stupid things they did and waking up without a hangover. 

If you have any questions or worries or you just want someone to let you know it will all be okay leave a comment or you can email me at mermaidindisguise@outlook.com. 

Beth...x

Expendables 3

I'm a huge lover of action films and anything with Jason Statham in is kind of a must. I love the Expendable films so obviously I had to go see the third one. I went with my brothers last week and I have to say it didn't disappoint but it could have been so much better.

Source

Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team comes face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill... or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables -- but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables' most personal battle yet

There's a few new additions in this film including some rather attractive younger guys and even a gorgeous badass girl which creates some friction within the team causing an old vs new divide. I loved Mel Gibson in this and I think he was one of the best villains out of the 3 films as there was a history and he knew how the team worked. Although it was a tad disappointing that the old team didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked especially Terry Crews. Antonio Banderas plays such a funny character though and you can't help but fall in love with the new members. There is a lot of action in it and there are some funny parts but not as many one liners as the first film. As usual you cant have an action film without a big fight seen at the end which wasn't quite as dramatic & drawn out as they usually are. It's great to see the old guys try and learn all the new technology and how they can do things differently but the old school style is still there.

 I'm not really sure what this film was lacking but it wasn't quite as good as the first one but I would still watch it again and will probably get it when it comes out on DVD as I did really enjoy it.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Beth...x

Sunday Summary

Time seems to be flying by at the moment and this time next week I'll be doing last minute packing for my holiday and next thing you know I'll be heading back to uni. This summer has flown.

So things that made me smile this week

1. We finally booked our holiday (technically last week). I'm going to Nice for 5 days with 2 of the most awesome people ever. I cannot wait. Last year we went to Berlin and had the best time ever. It was amazing

2. I somehow joined a wheelchair basketball team. Yep I have no idea how that happened either. I took my brother for a taster session as it's something he's wanted to do ever since he had to start using a chair and somehow I got talked into having a go even though I had a huge migraine & thought I was gonna puke. Next thing you know I'm a member of the team. 3 dislocated fingers and a head that felt like it was gonna explode later and I had played my first game. I had so much fun though and everyone was so lovely, never thought I'd be able to play sport again and I loved it. Need to work on my aim though.

3. I had a sibling day out with my 2 brothers one of which I never get to see because he's a chef and is crazy busy and it was so good to all be together again, plus we saw expendables 3 and Jason Statham always makes the day good.

4. Someone said my pictures of the Charmed Ivy jewellery I posted were amazing and oh my god I have never been so happy. My photography has a long way to go but that made my day.

5. I painted my nails with the most amazing nail polish. Its so sparkly and it looks different colours in different lights. I cant stop staring at it.

6. Friday night was spent curled up on the sofa with my brother drinking lattes, after his new found love for them, and watching crime shows

7. Today I am going to watch my first wheelchair basketball game. Fingers crossed my team wins.

Things that did not make me smile
- My carer shrunk my favourite cardigan
- I had to sleep in a onesie and socks the other night because it was so damn cold. What the hell happened to summer.

What made you smile this week?

Beth...x

Charmed Ivy Jewellery

Sorry for the lack of posts. I haven't been feeling too great and I've been crazy busy. Anyway as you may know I love my jewellery and after spending many nights browsing Charmed Ivy and drooling over their really well priced items I finally made an order and I'm so glad I did. I'm really into necklaces with a longer chain and a bigger pendant at the moment so I picked these 3 and I am so in love with all of them.

Turquoise Small Horn Necklace - £3.50

I wanted the bigger version of this which can be found here but they didn't have a turquoise one so I went for this one instead but I think it may actually better because it's perfect for layering with others. The horn is such a gorgeous colour and I have worn this so much since buying it. The chain is 25" but you can customise the chain length on any necklace if you want to.

Catch Your Dreams Necklace - £5

I am obsessed with dream catchers. I went through a phase of my meds giving me the pleasant side effects of nightmares so my brother bought me a dream catcher and I have never been happier with a present from him. They're just so pretty and this necklace is no exception. It also has blue stones on it which could not be any more perfect as it is my favourite colour. This was the necklace that prompted me to make my order. As soon as I saw it I needed it in my life.

The Spear of Isis Necklace £5

This necklace is so gorgeous. As it's black it will go with everything and it goes perfectly with the earrings I got from Black Tied a few weeks ago. I can see this being worn all the time in winter. For a fiver this is such a bargain.

Charmed Ivy has so many gorgeous items for really good prices and even better postage is only a £1. What more could you ask for? There are so many more items I want like this headchain and these arrowhead earrings I know I'll end up making another order soon.

You can also follow them on twitter and instagram for even more temptation

What jewellery are you loving? 

Beth...x

Makeup Rumours

I was recently given the opportunity to have £10 worth of products from a new make up site Make Up Rumours. You can get a lot for you money from this site and I have to admit I was a little sceptical at how good they would preform considering how amazingly cheap they are. I am pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised by their performance and am now a massive Make up Rumours convert.  I picked a selection of things that I use most days to compare to my existing collection. 

Gel Eyeliner* - £1

I can't find this on the site any more but as you know I am a massive eyeliner addict and wear gel eyeliner a lot. For a pound I had to give this a go. It gives a pretty good colour pay off but I found it did smudge a bit and didn't have an amazing wear time. The brush it comes with is also pretty good quality and works great on the waterline. This was probably the product I was least wowed by, but for a quid it's great to chuck in your bag for top ups & emergencies etc. 

Liquid Eyeliner* - £1.50

I wasn't expecting too much from this but I love my liquid eyeliner and I'm always looking for a bargain. I was so amazed by this. The nib is a tad harder than I usually go for but I could work with it and it actually makes it easier to do the wings. All the times I have used this I got my wings as even as possible for me first time. It is a really black eyeliner and has an impressive wear time. None of that transfer to the upper lid annoyingness (yes this is now a word) that some cheaper eyeliners seem to do. I did find on one day I seemed to loose a wing but that was the day I spent with my face against a cushion watching criminal minds all day so it was not the eyeliners fault. Apart from that it lasted really well. I would highly recommend this eyeliner especially if you want to try liquid for the first time & don't want to waste money if you don't like it.

Swatch time. The top line is the gel eyeliner and the bottom line is the amazing liquid eyeliner. Look how black it is.

Nude Pressed Powder* - £1

I've nearly run out of my powder and the catch on the pot is broken anyway so I can't take it out with me. I don't tend to spend a lot of money on my powders as I find the cheaper ones perform just as well. This one is no different. I got nude but there are 2 other shades - satin & truffle. I use this with my new Wilko Powder brush that you can see in my haul post and I love it. It keeps my foundation in place & shine at bay. Plus it has a cute lil heart on it. Only downside is there is no mirror in the pot.

Nail Polish Shade 41* - £1, Hot Pink Nail Treats* - £2, Nail Art Metallic Tape* - £1

I haven't tried the false nails yet but they feel pretty sturdy and they come with 2 different transfers so you can pick which design you want. I did some nail art (post soon) with the polish and the striping tape and I loved the effect. The striping tape is good quality and great for nail art beginners like me. My only downside to the polish is the smell. It kinda smells like diesel fumes but it is so strong & my room stank of it afterwards. If you don't mind the smell this is a great colour but is kinda thin in consistency so requires a few coats.

Lipstick Shade 01* - £1, Lipstick shade 13* - £1, Lipstick shade 14* - £1

Its no secret that lipstick is my biggest addiction. For a £1 I picked 2 colours I wouldn't normally go for and of course my favourite colour - Red. I wasn't really expecting a long wear time but thought it was a great way to try new colours. Boy was I wrong. The red lasts 4-5 hours with eating (including a warm gooey brownie with cream) and then starts to fade slightly to a gorgeous even pinky red stain. I had it on for 9 hrs without topping it up and I still looked like I had colour on my lips.

The nude is a great every day I don't want naked lips colour and has really got me into nude lips. Shade 13 is a plum colour and will be great for autumn and I'm so glad I picked it. These lipsticks are so creamy & moisturising and glide on. I was a bit worried that as they were so creamy they would slip off my lip but they have amazing staying power and didn't end up all over my face. A great choice if you want to experiment outside your comfort zone with colours.

The packaging is a sleek matte black tube with a clear window in the top so you can see the shade. The shade number isn't written on them and they don't have names which would be nice but for an amazing price and quality I can't complain

I would definitely recommend giving these products a go and I'm pretty sure that they have a 50% offer until midnight tonight so what are you waiting for.

Have you tried any of their products

Beth...x

*  I was sent this product free of charge from the company in order to review it. However the opinions expressed in this review are independent and my own

Boots & Wilkinsons Haul

I dropped my brother off at the train stupidly early the other morning (if you follow me on twitter you would have seen me moaning). I went into Mcdonalds for breakfast & the first thing the bloke on the till asked me was if I wanted a large coffee and when I went into Boots a woman came up to me and asked if I wanted her to do my face. I was officially convinced I looked like a zombie. On the plus side I had my first benefit experience and had a full face of makeup done with no effort from me. I am however now in love with lollitint and want to cry at the price that my bank account will not let me pay.

I went into Wilkinson's to pick up some vacuum pack storage bags for my mum and kinda got sucked into all their amazing deals and new releases. So here's what I got.

Wilko Eye Makeup Brush Fuchsia - £1 - I needed a new eyeshadow brush and for a quid I couldnt really say no plus I love the pattern on it. If it's any good I'm going to pick up some more of the collection.

Wilko Premium Powder Brush - £4 - I've seen loads about these brushes on twitter and I desperately need some new makeup brushes and after feeling how amazing soft this brush is I couldn't put it down.

Wilko Premium Concealer Brush - £3 - I'm fed up of using my finger for my concealer and making a mess so I thought I'd give this brush a go and see how I get on.

Collection Deluxe Lipstick in Prohibition - £3.99 £2.99 - I saw this in tesco when I was getting smoothie supplies and it's such a gorgeous autumn colour at such a bargain price it just kinda jumped in my trolley.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight -£6.48 - I've been looking for a nude lipstick for ages and so many people recommended this one I thought I'd give it a go, plus I love Rimmel lipsticks

Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturiser - £2 - I asked on one of the #bblogger chats for moisturiser recommendations and Simple was by far the most mentioned one so I thought I'd give it a go and for £2 you cant really go wrong.

Nivea Soft Moisturising Cream - £2 95p - This was just inside the door and at 95p I had to give it a try plus its the perfect size for travveling so will be going in my suitcase for my holiday in September.

Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Facial Wash Gel - £2.98 £1.40 - My brother used the last of my clean & clear face wash so I thought I'd try something different and this was on offer & I love Nivea so I thought I'd give it a whirl

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser - £3.55 - I just tried some samples of this and I fell in love so I just had to pick it up

Essence Studio Nails Moisturising Cuticle Cream - £2 - Free with 3 for 2 - Obviously I had to try some of essences products although I have already tried some that I picked up in Germany last year and loved. My cuticles are a state so for a couple of quid I thought I'd see if this helped

Essence Express Dry Spray - £2.50 - Im terrible for being impatient and smudging my nails so this sounded perfect. I used it for some nail art the other night and it is amazing. I will do a full review soon

Kiss Light Reflecting Primer - £4 - Im running low on primer and this brands packaging caught my eye. I've never heard of them before but all their products sound really good and has cute pink and whit packaging. Full review to be up soon.

Wilko Backcomb Brush - £2 - I cannot backcomb with a comb. My hair just doesn't agree with it. This magical creation however works amazingly and I can now have awesome volume.

Elegant Touch Nails - £4 something in Tesco - I also saw these in tesco on my frozen fruit run and I loved my aztec elegant touch nails so much that at £4 I had to have these. They'll be great for freshers week when Im too lazy to redo my nails

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Cocoonut and Pink Punch £3.99 each but I got £1 off with my boots card - I'm gradually attempting to own the whole Gelly collection so when I saw on the boots app that I could get £1 off I went to get mu next one but I couldn't choose so got both. I used them both in some nail art the other night so will put a post up soon.

What have you been buying recently or are you being good?

Beth...x

Clinomyn 14 Day Challenge

I have just taken part in the Clinomyn 14 day challenge for whiter teeth. Clinomyn Anti-Stain toothpaste* was originally marketed for smokers but it also works on stains other than nicotine. I really hate my teeth as they're definitely not pearly white and I have a few stains. I'm also a huge coffee addict which doesn't help. I have tried so many whitening toothpastes but none have ticked all the boxes so I jumped at the chance to try this one. 

Vaseline Spray & Go Cocoa Radiant

I have to admit I am so so lazy when it comes to moisturising. I get into a really good routine if I'm ever on holiday and then as soon as I get home it goes out the window. I'm trying to be better at the moment mainly to try and keep my tan up. However when I was in hospital I fell behind and I now have that weird patchy peely look which is always a good look but I'm trying to get back ontop of it and praying for sun to even out the weird patchy bits.

Anyways I digress, I picked up this Vaseline Spray & Go when it was on offer in Superdrug and it has changed my life (may be a slight exaggeration). Now my biggest bug bear with moisturising is being too slimy afterwards to get dressed or into bed etc. This moisturiser eliminates this completely. It is not slimy at all. It's kinda in the name, you just spray, rub in and off you go to live your life not being held back by your moisturiser.

It also smells aaa-mazing. I can put this on before bed and wake up still smelling of this gorgeousness. I was worried that because it was so light it wouldn't actually leave my skin feeling moisturised but I was so wrong. My legs feel super smooth and I can't stop stroking them. You can also spray a light cover on your back and then you don't have to rub it in as it sinks in on its own. Magic and now none of that awkward stretching/dislocated shoulder nonsense. Another plus is you can draw pictures whilst spraying, I'm easily amused.

I thought as this was a spray it wouldn't last very long so I was a bit nervous about paying £4.99 for something that might only last a few weeks but I've used this loads and I still haven't made a dent in it. It still feels full. Definitely worth the price and as it's a spray you don't end up using too much which I am really bad for doing with body butters.

Overall I am massively in love with this and actually look forward to moisturising. It's got my lazy ass into a kind of routine and it doesn't make me feel like a slug. Yay

Anyone else in love with this?

Beth...x

West Midlands Safari Park

Warning this post is photo heavy.

I am a proper child and love to do things that you usually see kids doing. Trip to the beach to eat too much ice cream and mess about in a rubber ring in the waves, yes please. Animated films cuddling my fave teddy & eating all the popcorn, of course. Trip to the zoo to see the animals and get my face painted, hell yeah

Last week me and my family decided to take a trip to West Midlands Safari Park and have a fun day out after the chaos of the previous week. I somehow managed to drag my ass out of bed at 7am put on my face & clothes and fall into the car where I took my duty of car DJ very seriously although I'm not sure my family appreciated my collection. We went from frozen to charts to rock to spice girls and back to disney. I had a wail of a time belting out Hakuna Matata. My mum just laughed at me & my dad slept.

We arrived had a quick toilet stop for my tiny bladder which I'll have you know made it the whole 2hr journey without stopping, I'm quite proud and went straight for the safari part. As we got there not too long after opening at 10 the safari bit was quite busy as everyone was heading there first. We made up for this by doing it 3 times rotating who was in front (my back windows dont open so everyone got a chance).

This place is pretty good for disabled access. You can have a free carer if you have a blue badge, none of the toilets require a radar key (they are a tad on the small side but my electric chair did fit) and you can get to all the animals in the actual park in a wheelchair including in the bats and reptile house. There are a couple of hills but plenty of seating and of course the main animals you see from the comfort of your car. There is also a lot of disabled parking spaces.

I made friends with and fed a giraffe who had fabulous eyelashes. I then got slobbered over by another less fabulous giraffe. I also got slobbered on by a cow/ox thing, I dunno what it was but it had a serious dribble and slimy nose problem. I also fed a Nilgai which is an Asian antelope who was pretty adorable until it decided to lick the full length of my arm. I fell in love with the white tigers and Dholes. They are so adorable I want one.

The thing that dribbled and snotted all over me. Such a slimy nose

The one sticking out his tongue was the dribbly one. Still had fabulous eyelashes though

Dhole, look at his lil face

N'aww look at his tongue

Exciting part was baby animals obviously. We saw a baby elephant, baby deer & a baby camel

I did find the bit where you walk about a tad disappointing. There was more games, rides and stands to buy stuff than animals. It just seems a bit greedy that they are trying to sell you stuff when it only actually takes about 20mins to walk around the animals there.

 I did however agree with the face painting stand and of course I got mine done. I was a tiger this time and my brother begrudgingly agreed to be a leopard although I secretly think he wanted to really. Parents seemed to be more jealous than their kids because we looked that cool. We did however get some weird looks when we stopped in B&Q on the way home. Obviously tigers don't do DIY.

Also I found Nemo and either Simbas mum or wife

And I got freaked out by an ostrich, it would seem that they kinda terrify me. They're weird and creepy and scary

What's your favourite animal?

Beth...x

It's Okay...

After my surgery I've been having some seriously bad pain days, it was definitely expected but didn't make it any easier. I think I'm finally coming out of the other side of this flare and hopefully things will settle down a bit but obviously good days are still not good compared to other 21 year olds.

The other day I didn't know whether to laugh or cry about all the silly little things I couldn't do myself so I thought I would do a post to show you guys you are not alone and maybe show my healthy readers what life with a chronic illness is like and raise a bit of awareness. Also healthy people may think us awesomely ill people are horrificly  gross and you may be right but we are also exhausted & in pain.

It is perfectly okay

 - to stay in bed all day for a few days in the same pyjamas. Some days moving is just too damn painful & if your family & friends love you they don't care that you look gross & smell bad.

- to not actually be able to remember when you last washed your hair. All that arm lifting is exhausting and there's always dry shampoo and a hat. No one will ever know.

- to febreeze your clothes and use a lot of body spray for the same reason as above. If your going through a flare & only need to pop out for milk no one cares if you've showered and have done your laundry

- to be in your 20s and have to get your mum to wash, dry & dress you. My mums done it for me for the past 2 weeks and I feel like a child and it does feel a tad odd but I am so grateful. Although she did nearly give me concussion with the hair dryer. Plus my parents had a plaiting competition on my hair and loved it.

- to have a wet wipe bath - best things ever invented

- to have to have your food cut up for you - just pretend your a Royal and its beneath you not that you're too weak to attack your chicken

- to drink your coffee out of a sippy cup or through a straw - mugs are heavy and spillages are hot

- for the only thing you eat all day to be a smoothie and ice cream because appetites like to hide and nausea is a bitch

- to eat out of a jug because you can't find the energy to wash up & it hurts like hell

- to scream & cry all over your teddy because it hurts too damn much - thats what they're there for and they always give awesome hugs and if you don't have a teddy, why the hell not?

- to have so many cushions to prop you up and hold joints in place while you attempt to sleep that there is barely enough room for you in bed.

- to talk about the gross things our bodies do. a) its hilarious if people are squeamish and b) its natural for us

And a few that are more positive 

- to bed dance at 3am with your iPod blasting because insomnia strikes again, might as well have fun & it might help you sleep (but probably wont.)

- to have a better friendship with other chronic illness fighters on twitter than some of the people you know in real life

- to name your mobility aids, they're pretty much pets anyway. I have Betty the manual wheelchair and Boris the power chair. Need names for my walking stick & crutches though

- to spend more time choosing super cool pjs than normal clothes - they are so much comfier & lets be honest we spend more time in them

- to make an effort with your clothes & makeup to go to the Drs. Hey sometimes is the only time we get out plus theres always the chance an extremely hot Dr will fall for our crazy bodies

- to buy crazy high heels you are never going to be able to walk in without a dislocation or injury just because they look pretty plus everyone needs wheelchair shoes

- to enjoy yourself even when you're in pain - This is a big one, I sometimes feel like people won't believe I'm in pain if I'm laughing & having fun but the pain is with us every day we need to still enjoy our lives.

Beth...x

Rimmel Wonder'full mascara

I received an email a few weeks ago from Marie Claire to say they had a chance for a certain amount of people to try a full sized sample of the new Rimmel Wonder'full mascara*. I filled in the form and kinda forgot about it until I received an email to say I'd been selected.

I really wanted to try another Rimmel mascara after being disappointed with the clumpiness of the Scandaleyes one and with this promising to give you full, perfectly smooth, clump free lashes I was excited to try it.

This mascara is being marketed as the secret weapon to full volume without clumps which thanks to argan oil will leave lashes feeling smooth and conditioned and the ultra-flex brush gives definition & prevents clumps.

Important things first, packaging. I quite like the coppery metallic packaging and the shape is different to anything I own. I always love Rimmels packaging & this one did not disappoint.

Now I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when I saw the brush because I never seem to get on with the more rubbery ones plus they look terrifying. However, I have to take back all my issues with this wand because I couldn't fault it. It grabbed every lash.

As I mentioned earlier, after being let down by the clumpiness of scandaleyes I applied this mascara holding my breath. I didn't have to worry at all. This mascara gave me such long lashes without a clump in sight. I was a tad disappointed by the volume but the amount of length this mascara gives makes up for it and I tend to use different mascaras for length & volume anyway.

As for the Argan oil. I found that I didn't get crispy eyelashes at all with this mascara but I haven't really noticed much change in their condition.

Over all a big thumbs up from me and for £5.99 at boots (with buy 1 get 2nd half price) and Superdrug (free thick & thin liner) at the moment you can't really go wrong.

Has anyone else tried this mascara? Thoughts?

Will you be buying it?

Beth...x

*  I was sent this product free of charge from the company in order to review it. However the opinions expressed in this review are independent and my own

Sunday Summary

Two posts today, aren't you lucky. Another week, another Sunday Summary.

So 7 things that made me happy this week

1. My shoulder is feeling better so it's out the sling

2. 3 out of 4 of my wounds have healed fine - we'll just pretend the last one which seems to be getting wider and looks infected isn''t happening

3. We went to West Midlands Safari Park and I got my face painted - Post to come soon

4. I've discovered Criminal Minds and I'm addicted. However they just took it off love film. Boo

5. Went to a BBQ and had a few (+ a few more) drinks and fell in love with the blackberry and elderflower Pimms and I normally hate Pimms and I didn't get a hangover which is always a bonus

6. My MAC lipsticks arrived. Does this mean I'm finally a beauty blogger as I now actually own a MAC lipstick? Kinda gutted that Lady Danger was out of stock and Ruby Woo went out of stock after I made my order and I got a refund instead but at least I have started my MAC collection.

7. Had steak last night and a huge roast tonight. All the food

Have to try and get to the Drs tomorrow to make sure my stomachs not gonna go too gammy. I'm also desperate to finish my book which I spent all day reading yesterday as it's so good and I have the next one in the series. I also might drag my brother to see How to train you Dragon 2 because I still haven't seen it yet.

What made you smile this week?

Beth...x

Black Tied Jewellery

I am a magpie when it comes to shiny things and seriously obsessed with jewellery. I am rarely seen without rings, earrings and necklaces. I recently discovered Black Tied. There is so much gorgeous jewellery on this site.

I first went on there to find some midi rings. I love my Shop Dixi rings but their midi rings are quite chunky whereas Black tied have some gorgeous sterling silver (essential) and nice and thin midi rings in a set of 2 which is exactly what I wanted. Could not have been more perfect. These rings have been attached to my fingers ever since I bought them and for £12 for the set of 2 they are a really good price.

I also got this gorgeous pair of Black Hematite Gemstone Arrowhead earrings. I am so in love with them. For £10 they are amazing quality and they look so good. I was really lazy and didn't put the rubber backs on them the first time & they fell out a few times but they come with backs so I do suggest keeping them on. They are really comfy to wear and not too heavy which is an issue with a lot of dangly earrings. It is however very difficult to photograph mirrored earrings but look how gorgeous they are.

I have my eye on so many other pieces from this site so any time I have spare pennies I know where I'm going. I love the Silver Feather Pendent necklace and the Tribal Arrowhead necklace and I think they would look amazing layered


The lovely Laura from Black Tied has given me a discount code for my amazing followers so if you want to treat yourselves you can get 15% off with the discount code 'MID15' until the 31st August.
You enter the code at the last step of the process which is after the PayPal step. You fill in your PayPal details, confirm them and then it will take you back to the Black Tied site where you enter the code.

What are you lusting after from Black Tied or do you already have some pieces? 

If you buy any thing let me know what you got.

Beth...x

Bubble T Bath & Body

Bubble T is a company I had never heard of before I discovered them on Twitter. They were inspired by the Taiwanese drink bubble tea, hence the name. Their products are a combination of tea based infusions mixed with fruit essence and extracts complete with amazing packaging.

The lovely people from Bubble T sent me 2 items. One from the Reviving Moroccan Mint Tea collection and one from the Stimulating Lemongrass and Green tea collection and they both smell delicious.

Moroccan Mint Tea Reviving Shower Gel*

I adore the colour and design of the packaging of this product and it has a nice push up lid which is so much easier for my crappy fingers.The gel itself is a gorgeous colour and nice and bubbly, you know the important things. Now onto the more important things, this shower gel is from the reviving range to energise and of course revive. I'm not normally a fan of minty scented products but paired with the jasmine it smells delicious and is refreshing and definitely reviving. It feels so great on the skin and my dad has now stolen it and keeps hiding it from me. 

Lemongrass & Green Tea Stimulating Fizzing Bath Bombs*

These are from the stimulating range and oh my god they smell amazing. I am actually sat writing this sniffing the tube because I can't get enough. Now I'm not a bath person as I can't get in and out on my own and my body doesn't seem to like them. However my family are bath addicts and there was a fight over who would test them for me first. My brother won. They don't colour the water, so your bath will be free from staining but it doesn't really look like you've put anything in the water. For fizzing bath bombs they don't fizz as much as I would like. I couldn't get out of my brother whether they left his skin soft as he was too hung up on the lack of fizzing and coloured water but they do smell A-mazing and when my mum gets round to having a bath I'll update you on skin hydration.

I think these would be a great gift as the packaging is gorgeous and they smell delicious, great for a pampering evening. I really want to try something from the restore range which is Hibiscus and Acai Berry scented and comes with red packaging. I'm desperate to try a body lotion in wither restore or stimulating because I think that would smell so good.

You can get body lotion, shower gel, hand wash, hand cream and bath bombs and The lovely Bubble t team have given me a discount code for my amazing readers so if you use 'thankyou' you can get 20% off

Let me know what you get if you treat yourselves

Beth...x

*  I was sent this product free of charge from the company in order to review it. However the opinions expressed in this review are independent and my own.