Saturday 31 August 2013

August Favourites

Hi everyone! Welcome to my August Favourites - if it doesn't seem too long since I posted my July Favourites that's because it isn't, I only put them up a couple of weeks ago (HERE if you haven't read the post yet). But alas, the end of August is upon us and here are a few of my favourite things..


A pretty obvious favourite from August is my beautiful new kittens, Marcel and O'Malley, who joined our little family on the 10th of August. As a bit of a cat lady I have really loved spending so much time with these guys this month, it has been absolutely crazy! I will do a proper post introducing them soon.


My first beauty-related favourite is the Lush Lacquer Snow Globe top coat. If you've been reading my Fabulous Nails posts this month you'll know it's been all about the top coats! Snow Globe is one of my all time favourite top coats, and I reviewed it HERE.


Next up is another all-time-favourite of mine, Revlon's Fire and Ice Lustrous Lipstick. This was featured in a blog post a while ago (HERE) where I said that this is one of the best true red lipsticks I've come across, and I still feel this way! Classic red lips have been an easy look for me this month and I've reached for this every single time.


Now for something new - the Nivea Creme. Just before I moved house I started having the strangest rash on my face - it was awful and really knocked my confidence! When I took to Twitter asking for product recommendations which might help, a number of girls recommended Nivea and so I popped out and picked up this tiny tub. Needless to say it has worked wonders and I will be writing up a full blog post on this soon.


Moving house makes your skin and lips really dry and disgusting, it must be something to do with all the dust in the air! I have been using my Reve de Miel holy grail lip balm every single day this month to soften my lips and protect them from chapping, and I still love it. Read my review HERE.


On to homewares, I recently picked up this Colony Reed Diffuser in the fragrance Buttercup in the hopes that it would fill our spare room with a beautiful scent instead of the musky weird smell that was lingering in there when we moved in. It's worked wonders is by far the best of the 4 reed diffusers I've been using in my new house, and Buttercup is such an amazing smell! I bought it from TK Maxx for £5.99 but you can get it from Amazon for just under £10 HERE.


Another scent I've been loving this month is this Yankee Candle in Midnight Jasmine. I am huge fan of scented candles and went a bit crazy buying lots of different Yankee Candles from Campus Gifts when I saw they had 30% off (HERE). Midnight Jasmine is the perfect pretty floral scent and we have been lighting this every evening and it fills our living room with fragrance. This large jar was £13.97 HERE.

What do you think of my favourites this month? Which of my picks is your favourite?
xx


Friday 30 August 2013

Mini Soap and Glory Haul

Hi everyone! So if you follow Bee's Knees it's probably no surprise to you that today I'm posting a mini Soap and Glory haul. I have been a massive fan of S&G for many, many years - especially their skincare offerings. I picked up a few bits and pieces when Boots had a 3 for the price of 2 event on recently.


I managed to restrain myself and only picked up three items - this must be some sort of record! I always end up getting more things than I need but this time I bought just what I needed...


I always use S&G body wash in the shower, and Foam Call is one that I haven't tried before. I find these to be incredibly good value and even better when they're on offer, because they last so long. £6.50 HERE.


My old night cream ran out a little while ago and since I'm approaching my mid-twenties I can't really go a night without using a night cream, so I decided to grab this Beauty Sleep Accelerator from S&G as it was £13 which is pretty reasonable for a night cream (HERE).


Finally I ran out of eye cream last month and had heard good things about S&G's Puffy Eye Attack - I was really drawn to trying this product because it's a gel and I have only used eye creams before. This was £12.50 for a pretty small tub HERE.

I have already started using most of these products because they were bought to replace things that had run out, so watch this space for reviews coming soon!

Are you a fan of Soap and Glory? What's your favourite product?
xx


Thursday 29 August 2013

Balance Me Radiance Face Mask

Hi everyone! Quite a few months ago I was lucky enough to be sent a little gift from the kind people at Balance Me. They got in touch and asked me what kind of products I like, and ended up sending me the Radiance Face Mask* because it's a nourishing mask ideal for use all year round, but especially in the winter times when my skin gets very dry.



It's taken me a while to get around to reviewing this because I haven't been able to use it as often as I'd like, and I only wanted to review it after I'd used it enough to test it!


I've reviewed a Balance Me lip balm before (click HERE) and after being less than impressed by that product I was a bit skeptical about this face mask! But after using it the first time I was relieved to find it did exactly what it said on the tin, and left my skin feeling soft and nourished. I was a little concerned that this mask might leave my skin a bit clogged and result in break outs, but I can safely say after using it on and off for about 3 months that my skin soaks up the moisture and looks glowing after use with no adverse effects.



The texture of the face mask isn't quite what I expected - it's creamy but also has little bits in it (ground walnut shell) which act to exfoliate you skin when you rub it into your face. I tend to use this face mask on a Sunday night when my skin is tired from a week's worth of make up and find it really does give my face a fresh start. When I received the face mask I originally thought it would only be useful in the winter months but after using it throughout the summer it was a saviour after hot sunny days when my skin was parched from being exposed to the sun.

Overall I have loved this product and look forward to continuing to use it. Because I only use a tiny amount each time I expect this 75ml tube will last me a long long time, and certainly see me through the winter! You can pick up this Balance Me Radiance Face Mask for £18 from Look Fantastic HERE.
xx

*PR sample


Wednesday 28 August 2013

ASOS Sale Haul

Hi guys! Today I'm sharing with you some of my recent ASOS sale purchases (and by 'recent' I mean these things arrived yesterday!) I haven't done very much clothes shopping in the past 6 months because I've been so preoccupied with moving house and buying things for my new house, so I was in desperate need of some new additions to my casual wardrobe!



The whole reason I placed my order with ASOS in the first place was for these jeans. Living with two excitable and playful kittens has its drawbacks, especially for my skinny jean collection! They have ravaged two pairs so far which meant these Ridley bargains were an essential purchase. Only £14 reduced down from £35, they're a perfect snug fit and I love the dip-dye effect. Link HERE.


Cold shoulder jumpers have sort of been and gone already, but I never got on board with the trend. Until now - a little late in the day but this simple oversized grey sweatshirt is by Glamorous but available in the ASOS sale for a mere £11.50 (reduced from £26) and will be great for lazing around on weekends once autumn hits. Link HERE.


I wasn't massively keen on the acidic tone of this green vest top when I opened it up (especially because it's so creased!) but once I tried it on and admired the nice fitting and pretty studs I was sold. Primarily because it was only £9.50 down from £16 and will look great with jeans and a leather jacket. Link HERE.


Another simple vest top, this Vila top was only £10 and I can see it being a staple in my casual wardrobe in autumn, winter and in the warmer months too. It's a lovely fit and the crew neck is a bit different to other vests I own. Link HERE.


Another grey sweatshirt - how exciting(!) This basic grey sweater is the nicest fit and looks so flattering on! I find it tricky to buy jumpers that flatter my shape as I'm quite top heavy, so when I tried this on and it was the perfect fit I had to keep it! And it's only £6.50 - link HERE.



By far my prettiest purchase, this gorgeous sheer 3/4 sleeve blouse is absolutely adorable and will be great for my work wardrobe. When I saw it was reduced to £10 down from £32 I couldn't resist buying it and I'm so glad because it's very simple but so chic. Link HERE.


As you can see I invested in quite a few basic tops - I really don't have that many tops in my wardrobe and struggle to find things to wear on the weekend! I bought this slogan baseball tee quite randomly but found it was actually the best fitting baseball tee out of the three I ordered, so it's a definite keeper. £8 reduced from £18 HERE.


Last but by no means least is this gorgeous beige trench coat. I have a lovely little red trench that I've owned for about 10 years and wear to death. I have been keeping an eye out for a more work appropriate version in a neutral shade for a really long time. I can't really pull off double breasted jackets because as I said, I'm top heavy and look ridiculous with any added bulk in that area, and it's much harder than you'd think to find a trench coat that's not double breasted! When I spotted this belted beauty I had to have it, and it fits like a dream. So happy that my search is over, especially because this was a mere £33 reduced in the sale. Link HERE.

What do you think of my sale bargains? Have you had any ASOS splurges recently?
xx


Tuesday 27 August 2013

Tuesday Tales #13 - Where I've Lived in London

Hi guys! Today's post is one that I have thought about doing quite a lot. I've had a number of emails from girls who are moving to London asking for my advice on different areas. Now I've moved out of London after living there for 3 years, I thought it might be a good idea to type up a post about my experiences. Obviously this is completely objective and based solely on my own time in London - London is a big place and there are so many lovely places you could make your home!



Finsbury Park

Finsbury Park was the first area I lived in when I moved to London. Although I knew a few people who lived south of the river, for whatever reason my friend and I decided against that and pinned down some areas in north London instead. We ended up in Finsbury Park because it was a short Picaddily Line tube ride away from Holborn, where we were studying, and because it seemed like a really good compromise between being in a suburb but still accessible for central London!

Transport
There are loads of buses which serve Finsbury Park, including a number of night buses which are easy to get to. I used to get the nightbus home from Trafalgar Square and Clapham a lot, and found the night buses brilliant. Finsbury Park also has Piccadilly Line and the Victoria Line links - it's less than 10 minutes away from Kings Cross by tube or overground which is handy if you're a Northerner with friends visiting. There's also Arsenal which is a smaller Piccadilly Line station that was closer to my house. In terms of distance to central London, it's definitely walkable which is something I did during tube strikes (just over an hour's walk to Holborn).

Area
Finsbury Park, the namesake of the area, is a lovely wide open green park which is an amazing resource to have on your doorstep - especially if you're a newbie to London who likes a bit of calm! Handily there is a big Sainsburys about 15 minutes walk from Finsbury Park (or you can get the bus if you have a lot of shopping), located at Haringey Green Lanes. Overall I found the area and street I lived on to be a really nice place to live, but like most areas of London there are some dodgy bits and places you'd want to avoid if you're alone and it's late at night. It's not an extremely popular area with young people in comparison to other places in North London, like Camden, but it is more affordable. There is a mix of people, including a lot of middle class families.

Price
I paid £650 per month for my (tiny) room in a (tiny) 2 bedroom flat, sharing with another person, in a Victorian terraced house. Our flat was a bit of a dump but we paid to be in a really nice street - a compromise we were willing to make because of the close transport links.


Kennington/Oval

I moved to Kennington a year after starting out in London, when we looked at a number of areas south of the river including Brixton and Clapham. Kennington is a really good place to live if you're not a student but still want to be close to busier places because it's so easy to get everywhere!

Transport
Kennington is served by some good bus routes, including direct buses into central London and to King's Cross, as well as buses taking you to Brixton and Clapham in less than 15 minutes. There are Northern Line underground stations at Oval and Kennington which can whisk you to Clapham Common for a night out in a few minutes, or you can walk 10 minutes down the road to get the Victoria Line from Stockwell tube station. This is what I did to get into Chancery Lane for work (I changed at Oxford St for the Central Line) because it's a nicer line than the Northern Line and is super fast!

Area
Kennington is a really really nice neighbourhood, and there are a lot of good local shops including off licences and takeaway shops, as well as more upmarket delis and coffee shops. Again there's a big Sainsburys (in Vauxhall) about 15 minutes walk away, which is handy for big food shopping trips. Kennington is incredibly popular with twenty-something young professionals because it's very close to central London but also within spitting distance of social hot spots like Brixton and Clapham. I really enjoyed living here.

Price
I paid £700 for my (huge!) room, sharing with another person in a gorgeous spacious two bedroom flat in a Victorian terraced house. Our flat was lovely and big, and my bedroom was ridiculously large but it was quite chilly in the winter!


Camberwell

Camberwell was the last place I lived in London, and by far my most favourite place and where I felt most at home. It's definitely an underrated area but very close to the trendy, popular and expensive suburb of East Dulwish but at the same time equidistant from the somewhat notorious Peckham. I will always have a special place in my heart for Camberwell.

Transport
Camberwell has really good connections to pretty much everywhere in London via the overground or regular rail network at Denmark Hill or Peckham Rye stations. Taking a regular train to City Thameslink station in 13 minutes instead of cramming on to a rush hour tube to get to work was a revelation for me, and I never looked back! There are surprisingly good buses serving the area, especially from Camberwell High Street and Peckham High Street. It's close by to Elephant and Castle (one stop on the train or a short bus ride) which is a real hotspot for transport and really useful to have nearby. 

Area
Camberwell as a whole is a bit hit and miss but if you have a wander around you will soon suss out the nicer streets, which can be really special! A notable Camberwell resident is the gorgeous Florence Welch! There are a great deal of trendy young people in Camberwell, mainly because of the art college and its arty, bohemian credentials but because it's close by to Peckham there are some gritter, 'real' places too. I loved that mix, it gives the area a really interesting personality. There are some really beautiful tree lined streets and gorgeous parks. Add to that a nice amount of convenience stores, pubs and takeaways and you have a really great place to live in your twenties. There are buses to take you to Brixton or you can hop on a train and be in Clapham in about 5 minutes, which is handy for nights out. Clapham Junction is an overground train away, making Camberwell a well linked place for getting pretty much anywhere in or out of London. Of course I have to identify the closest Sainsburys, which is about 10 minutes walk on Dog Kennel Hill in East Dulwich.

Price
I paid £1200 for a gorgeous 1 bedroom flat which had been developed less than a year before I moved in (the building was formerly a pub and just stunning). Hands down my favourite home in London, it was on a totally different scale to anywhere else I've ever lived!


So there you have it, my experiences of 3 different areas of London. I hope this is useful to anyone moving or considering moving to the big smoke - if you have any questions or need some advice please do get in touch in the Comments, via Twitter (@ElspethDaisy) or drop me an email!
xx


Monday 26 August 2013

Introducing Georgina

Hi everyone! I'm very excited to introduce Georgina from her blog, PicturePerfectMakeup06 who will be guest blogging on Bee's Knees in September. As you may know, Monday is usually the day I post my SAVE don't SPEND series but as my spending habits are slightly irregular at the moment, I thought it would be a better idea to have another beauty blogger step in and share some of her wisdom with you! Georgina will be posting Mondays from next week for 4 weeks. Check out Georgina's blog HERE. Here's a little bit about Georgina:

Hi there! My name is Georgina and I am a beauty blogger from PicturePerfectMakeup06. I love makeup and absolutely love sharing products I enjoy with other people! Something else about me is I love reading books, I recently just read the hunger games triology which were amazing! I look forward to writing more posts and I hope you enjoy reading them!

I hope you will enjoy Georgina's guest posts! Happy Bank Holiday Monday to those of you in the UK.
xx


Sunday 25 August 2013

Soap & Glory Super-Colour Fabulipstick Collagen Boosting Lipstick in Guava Rama


Hi everyone! So when I was organising my make up ready to move house I realised I never posted my review of the Soap and Glory Fabulipstick in the shade Guava Rama. In fact, my last review of S&G lipsticks was well over 18 months ago (HERE if you're curious)!


As always I love the packaging of the lipstick - I know S&G have redesigned the packaging of some of their skincare range recently but I'm hoping the make up doesn't go the same way because I'm a big fan of the quirky, vintage style.



Soap and Glory lipsticks retail for £9.00 when they're not on offer, and in comparison to other lipsticks I've tried which are around the same price range, the packaging and lipstick tube is much nicer! The tube feels nice and solid in my hand, and I absolutely adore the S&G logo printed into the side of the lipstick itself.


I already own S&G lipsticks in the shades Perfect Day and Naked Beige, and this time I opted to purchase 'Guava Rama', which is the perfect daytime shade and a warm red/pink colour. The consistency is creamy and a dream to apply to your lips, with a nice amount of pigmentation that lasts for a number of hours without any need to reapply! The formula of the S&G lipsticks is not the most moisturising that I've come across, but they are definitely not drying which is a big selling point for me as I have quite dry lips. Overall if you haven't tried the S&G lipsticks before I really recommend picking one up, especially as they're currently on offer with £3 off in Boots.

You can buy Soap & Glory Super-Colour Fabulipstick Collagen Boosting Lipstick for £6 from your local Boots in store or online HERE.
xx

Saturday 24 August 2013

Fabulous Nails #50

Hi guys! Today is another summery nail look that I love. This has definitely been the year of obsessing over top coats for me, and the Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots range is no exception! The monochrome Polka Dots polish featured in my May Favourites (HERE) and another Fabulous Nails post HERE. I'm clearly a big fan!


This is the Maybelline top coat over the top of another favourite of mine, Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in the shade Prickly Pear. I am definitely a pastels girl when it comes to the sunnier days (and also in the winter...) and so this shade is perfect for me!


This is the nail paint on its own, with three coats. I am sure you'll have heard plenty already about the Gelly Hi Shine polishes - they've gone down a storm with the beauty blogging community and as a die hard Barry M fan I can't say I'm any different! The polishes come in pretty shades, they're a lovely thick consistency and dry in about 5 minutes, which is about average, but one of their real selling points for me is the durability - the Gelly Hi Shines last much longer on my nails with no chips than other polishes from Barry M.


Here is the finished look, with two coats of the Maybelline monochrome top coat added on top. I find the top coat can be a little tacky and difficult to apply sometimes, so I recommend storing it in the fridge for a couple of hours before you intend to use it. I apply the polka dots really slowly which gives me a bit more control over where they go, and try and obtain an even coverage all over the nail. Once I'm happy with the look I pop on my trusty Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat and in about a minute my nails are dry and looking marvellous!

You can buy Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paints from Superdrug or Boots in store or online HERE and HERE for £3.99. The Maybelline Color Show Polka Dot top coat range is £2.99 and limited edition. Unfortunately the range is not available online, but you may be able to find it in your local drugstore.

What do you think of the this nail look? Have you tried the Maybelline Polka Dots range before?
xx

ps. I am currently looking for someone to step in and take up a weekly guest post on Bee's Knees, to run for a month. If you're interested please drop me an email to elspethdaisy@yahoo.co.uk

Friday 23 August 2013

Tuesday Tales #12 - On A Friday

Hi everyone! A bit of a strange 'Tuesday Tales' post today, it being a Friday and all! I have only been posting sporadically lately and just wanted to sit down and type out a general catch up post, so here it is!


If you've been following Bee's Knees you'll know that I recently moved house, from my little flat in London to this lovely house in Leeds! In moving house I've also now moved in with my boyfriend, which is quite a big deal! And we have also welcomed two beautiful new kittens into our family, so a lot has happened in the past fortnight. We moved on the 7th of August and the following week and a bit was consumed with putting together flat pack furniture, unpacking, cleaning and generally organising our house. It took much longer than I had anticipated, mainly because we've moved to a three bedroom house which needed a lot of new furniture, and also because Neil couldn't get more than one day off work so I was doing a lot of the unpacking on my own.


I then popped off to Edinburgh with my Mum last Sunday for a couple of days away - which was exactly what I needed! Now I'm back at home and able to enjoy the house and our lovely kittens because we're all properly settled in. Marvellous stuff. Hopefully this will also mean I have more time to dedicate to Bee's Knees because I just haven't had a moment spare this month. Fingers crossed I will be able to get back into posting regularly before I start my new job next Monday...

Thank you so much for continuing to follow Bee's Knees and for your patience in this momentous month!
xx

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Collection Cream Puff in Fairy Cake

Hi everyone! You may have read a haul post way back in May where I mentioned picking up the Collection Cream Puff in Fairy Cake (HERE). I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get around to reviewing it for you, but here goes...


I really like the packaging of this product - it's slightly smaller than your average lip gloss but larger than a lipstick. The matte black plastic lid is a real pleasure to hold in your hand (hey, it's the simple things in life!)


It has a pretty standard applicator and smells delicious - the Cream Puffs are vanilla scented which is one of my all time favourite scents!



I picked the shade Fairy Cake because it looked like the most pretty, delicate shade and wearable every day. It's quite a muted coral shade and unlike most of my other lipsticks.


The formula is very soft and smooth, I think there's a lot of silicone in this product which makes it feel very velvety on the lips. It's a dream to apply and give a natural looking matte finish which I love. Although it's a matte lip product it doesn't dry my lips out as much as I expected. Of course being prone to dry lips I always apply a lip balm before any lip product but I was impressed with this product because I expected it to be very drying.

Once applied the Cream Puff lasts on my lips for up to two hours, maybe more if I'm not drinking a lot. It's very easy to reapply so I don't mind that it doesn't last long, and for the price I am really happy with this product! 

You can buy the Collection Cream Puffs for £2.99 in store at Boots or Superdrug or online HERE and HERE.

Have you tried this product before? What did you think?
xx


Monday 19 August 2013

Avon Facial Sun Protection

Hi everyone! Although we're now in what can only be described as the back end of the summer, I bought a couple of Avon facial sun protection products a little while ago which I desperately want to review for you!


These are the Avon Sun Rejuvenating Face Cream SPF30, and the Avon Sun Anti-Ageing Face Cream Sensitive Skin SPF50 (left > right). I take sun protection quite seriously and I don't like the way I look with a tan, so I bought these hoping they would protect my face every day from the summer sun.


Here are the creams on my hand - the top one is the SPF50 cream and the bottom is the SPF30 cream. You can see that the SPF50 is much thicker and more dense than the alternative, which is something I expected. I wear the SPF30 religiously every day underneath my make up, and use the SPF50 on days when I know it's going to be a little bit sunnier.

Both of these products come in the small 50ml bottles, which makes them very easy to pop in your handbag for a top up in the middle of the day. I apply these to my face after moisturiser but before make up, and allow around 5-10 minutes for them to sink in. As with the majority of facial sun protection I have tried, these products don't feel as though they're completely absorbed by my skin and the products do leave a slightly filmy finish, but I use a mineral foundation in the summer anyway which serves to soak up any excess moisture on my face. When I'm holidaying abroad sans-make up, I use a light finishing powder to do the job instead.

Having used these products for well over a month now, I can safely report that they have not clogged my pores or affected the staying power of my make up. In fact once I've got my make up on and I'm ready to face the world, I've almost forgotten I'm wearing sun cream! I am aware that there are a number of other high end and more expensive sun protection products on the market which do sink into the skin better, but I simply couldn't afford to spend £15+ so these bargainous alternatives were perfect for me! They are excellent at protecting your skin against the sun, and as long as you use them in conjunction with a powder I really cannot see any reason to splash any more cash on a more expensive alternative.

You can pick up the Avon Sun Rejuvenating Face Cream with SPF30 for £6.00 HERE, and the Avon Sun Anti-Ageing Face Cream Sensitive Skin SPF50 for £5.50 HERE.

Have you tried these products before? What is your go-to brand for facial sun protection?
xx