Beach day essentials

Well hello to you my reader chums! Salty air, sandy hair and beaming sunshine are what beach days in the summer are all about. I live on the coast so am forever down the seaside especially in the warmer months. Nothing makes me happier than getting a group of friends or family together and spending the day at the beach, relaxing, chatting and enjoying a swim in the sea. It's my favourite place to be, I love where I live and the freedom I have to be by the seaside.

As I'm a pro at beach days, I've put together my must have essentials to bring with you:


Beach day essentials

Sun cream - The first and most important essential has to be sun cream. If you're spending the entire day under the sun's rays, you need to ensure your skin is protected with regular sun cream application. My favourite one to use is Nivea's tan enhancer factor 30 because it helps slowly build your tan but also provides the necessary protection.

Sunglasses - Ensuring your eyes are protected from sun damage is vital. When the weather is warmer and I'll be out all day with the sunshine glaring at me, I like to wear some sunnies. The beauties shown above are a Primark number I love to pair with all my summery outfits.

Tangle Teezer - Salty, tangly hair can be a nuisance after a swim in the sea so I find carrying my trust Tangle Teezer with me is forever a must. It makes untangling hair a breeze and I love the travel friendly size of it - too cute.

Hand sanitiser - Sandy hands, melting ice creams and salt sea water; as much as I adore the beach sometimes things can get a little messy. I like to always have hand sanitiser and tissues with me for any 'just incase' scenarios that go ahead - it's always best to be prepared!

Beach day essentials

Book - As I live so close to the beach, it's lovely to escape from life's everyday hustle and bustle, to simply relax. When soaking up the beautiful sunshine, I find it's the perfect time to enter the world of a brand new story and fully unwind.

Headphones - Topping up my tan is the best time to completely relax so I like to pop in my headphones, listen to all my favourite tunes and maybe even have a cheeky nap! Headphones are a necessity I bring everywhere, you never know when they'll come in handy.

Water - A day in the sun, leaves the body dehydrated so it's vital to continuously drink water. Whether that means packing water in a cool bag or buying water bottles when arriving at the beach, it's a must have to ensure you're hydrated.

Coin purse - Instead of bringing a bulky purse to the beach, a coin pouch is an alternative to store your card, cash and keys in without the heftiness of the usual accessory. I also find if the coin purse is big enough, you can tuck away your phone to prevent sand and water damage.

Beach landscape

I hope you enjoyed my beach day essentials post. What do you like to bring?

Thank you for reading <3


Beauty review: Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette

Well hello to you my reader chums! After lusting over Too Faced's chocolate bar palette for a long while, I took the splurge and finally got my hands on it. Excited was an understatement, I couldn't wait to put it to the test and see what the crazy obsession with this chocoholic's dream palette was all about. I wasn't disappointed to say the least, it truly lived up to all the expectations and even held the addictive chocolate scent!

Too Faced chocolate bar palette

Packaging - Bringing every chocoholic and makeup lovers fantasy to life, the design captures a real life chocolate bar! Closed with a magnetic seal, wide mirror and thin size, the sleek design provides security, perfect to take along when travelling. I love how alike to chocolate it looks and the elegant font style used, certainly living up to the upmarket status.

Too Faced chocolate bar palette

Colour selection - One of the reasons I wanted to purchase this (aside from the obvious chocolate love) was it's wide selection of neutral shades. As a big fan of gold/bronze eyes and bold lips, most of my palettes are neutral based so I couldn't wait to add this to the growing collection. From creamy golds, soft bronzes, sweet champagnes, pops of autumnal and bright pink colours, it offers something for every season; the versatility is endless. Two shades I was intrigued by were 'Amaretto', a cranberry shade and 'Glided Ganache', a dark olive toned colour because I'd love to embrace a more darker eye when the cooler months hit. My favourite by far have been 'Crème brulee' as I adore gold colours for my blue eyes, 'Marzipan' to use on an every day basis and 'Salted caramel' as a natural crease colour.

With the colour selection comes the vast range of different shade names! I love how Too faced are not only creative with the entire concept, design but also the names chosen. They picked a wide variety of adorable ones, truly fitting with the entire chocolate theme; I love it.

Too Faced chocolate bar palette

Pigmentation - I've heard a lot of amazing words about Too Faced eye shadows and they haven't disappointed. The richness of the shimmery shades is stunning, one swipe and you have an abundance of colour on the lid. The matte shades are similar, however not as intense and take a tad more building up to create the full on defined look.

Texture - With intense pigmentation, the texture didn't fail to impress me! Each shade is truly creamy, that when applied feels soft on the lids. The texture is quite thick meaning it doesn't take a lot of layers to build up the true colour pay off. The shimmery shades are especially incredible with their flecks of glitter shining through.

Blending ability - Seamless, beautiful and easy. When layering the matte shades through the crease, I found building up colours and blending them through to be brilliant. They'd buff in enough to give a natural look or smoke it up for that more intense, darker eye.

Too Faced chocolate bar palette swatches
Above are all the shades swatched.

Too Faced chocolate bar palette swatches close up

Swatch close up - From left to right ( Glided ganache, white chocolate, milk chocolate, black forest, triple fudge, salted caramel, semi-sweet and strawberry bon bon)

Another swatch close up - From left to right (Candied violet, amaretto, hazelnut, crème brulee, haute chocolate, cherry cordial and champagne truffle)

I hope you enjoyed this review. Have you tried the 'Chocolate bar' palette?

Thank you for reading <3



Book review: 'After the Crash' by Michel Bussi

Well hello to you my reader chums! If I'm not shopping with friends, at the beach, scrolling endlessly on social media, or writing up a blog post, I'll ultimately have my head in a book. For as long as I can remember, I've been a bookworm and with the busy world working life brings, it's hard to get the time to cosy up and enter the land of a story. Over the past few months, I've rekindled my love of reading by having a nose in a story either on the way to work or before bed. 'After the crash' has become an addictive read, a book I would certainly recommend to everyone.

When it comes to picking a new set of novels to buy, I head to my local book shop spend a while reading a variety of blurbs and make an online order. In my last book shopping spree, a novel which caught my eye was 'After the Crash' and I have to say I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

This post contains affiliate links.


To summarise, the plot is about a plane crash, where every passenger is killed instantly with only one miracle survivor - a three-month-old baby. Two families claim her as their own but the tale unfolds to where she actually belongs; but which family is it? On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, the detective who investigated the case deeply discovers something that can change everything!


As you can see by the blurb, it's a very intense read, however, that's what I loved about it. The addictiveness of finding out the next clue, plot twist beyond plot twist, and the uncovering of many secrets. Set in Paris, you were able to discover all the distinctive factors that make the area such a treasured place, falling in love with the charming features. The characters are described with every intricate detail and how their relationships blossomed throughout the two decades the book was written in. There are various time changes ranging from present-day, flashbacks of when the 'miracle survivor' was growing up to the detective's tale, where countless facts unfold. You are transported to a different world, embracing the romantic French atmosphere and the heart of what family really means. The tale describes the difference in lifestyle, focusing on the small details, which bring the heart of the story to life.

I love reading and even though I enjoy an array of books, this was definitely one that stood out. The author writes in a way that's so gripping, you can't help but continue to read on and on. With the break up of different time frames, clues that get deeper and deeper, there's more to this tale than meets the eye. When I initially started reading I thought the ending would be completely different from what the final outcome actually is. Many changes are revealed towards the end of the novel and the journey you follow is an incredible one. You're able to question throughout and there are many gasping moments where you think, 'NO WAY'?! The overall story is truly intense and the ending leaves you feeling completely satisfied - Escape into a crazy whirlwind of this plot because I can assure you, you'll truly love it.

Established 'Thriller of the year' for a reason, the novel was beyond sensational and I couldn't hype about it more. If you like books with a tragic, yet complex storyline, this is for you. It had me hooked from the off, a definite recommendation!

I hope you enjoyed this book review. Have you read this novel?

Thank you for reading <3



First Impressions: Benefit's High Beam highlighter

Well hello to you my reader chums! A few years back, the adoring hype of Benefit's High Beam was everywhere and after lusting over it for so long, I finally got my hands on one. Excited was an understatement, I couldn't wait to try out the highlighter and see if it lived up to the raving expectations!

Benefit cosmetics highbeam highlighter review

Packaging - When it comes to Benefit products, I absolutely love the packaging; each one is designed with such a unique, creative flair. High Beam is no difference and reminds me of an upmarket nail polish bottle; very sophisticated and the perfect size to take around.

Benefit cosmetics highbeam highlighter review

Applicator - Similar to the exterior, the applicator is different to any liquid highlighter I've used previously, like a nail polish brush. I love this design because it means you can either dab dots up the cheekbones or sweep it with the brush, having complete control over how much product is used. As it is essentially a brush, you can wipe off product back into the tube, not wasting any excess.

Benefit cosmetics highbeam highlighter review

Consistency - Upon first application, I was a tad surprised of it's liquid almost watery consistency. I found when dabbing it up my cheekbones through to the brow, it was best to start off with a little and build it up, otherwise it would take a longer time to set due to the formulation. Despite how wet the consistency is, I liked that aspect because of its blending ability and flawless finish. I would describe it as a thinner concealer consistency, which can easily be blended out either with your fingers or any brush.

Benefit cosmetics highbeam highlighter swatch

Pigmentation - No quality is better in a product than opaque pigmentation and High Beam certainly lives up to this expectation. Depending on how much is on the brush during application can vary the thickness of product you'll put onto the skin. However, I found with one stroke, using a fair amount of highlighter, it leaves you with a stunning, dazzling pink shimmer, ready to blend into the most gorgeous natural glow.

Benefit cosmetics highbeam highlighter swatch

Colour pay off - As I said with the brilliant pigmentation, once blended the finish is completely remarkable. The pure natural shimmer gives the perfect amount of glow for any type of look and when it hits the light, your highlighter will definitely be on fleek. I'm in love with this product and found it to be my go to when wanting a dewy finish onto the skin.

I hope you enjoyed the first impressions review of Benefit's High Beam. Have you tried this highlighter?

Thank you for reading <3



June favourites ❤️

Well hello to you my reader chums! With the exciting month of June now over, it's time to share all the products I've been enjoying these past few weeks. June was an incredible month filled with countless sensational moments including a girls holiday, Brighton and celebrating my 20th birthday! Now summer is fully underway ( lets hope the British weather gets the message soon), I can't wait to see what more fun adventures lay ahead.

Here's an overview of all my favourite monthly products:

June favourites

June favourites

The Body Shop Seaweed mask

The first favourite is a new skincare love of mine, Body Shop's seaweed face mask. I picked this up just over a month a go, following a recommendation on Twitter by a fellow beauty blogger. I'd ran out of my Lush face mask 'Brazened Honey' and chose to opt for something new - I have to admit, I was certainly impressed! As labelled, it's a clay mask so applies wet and sets like clay to the skin. This means when washing off, ( I use a circular motion), it helps exfoliate this skin at the same time as drawing out the impurities. I've been using it on a weekly basis and have found my skin to feel fresher, smooth and completely clean after a face mask. However, on sensitive areas such as my under eyes, if I use a lot of product, it can leave them feeling dry and tender, therefore I usually layer it more on oily stricken areas.


Zoella Sweet Inspirations body mist

The next favourite has to be an item from Zoella's new collection, the Sweet Inspirations mist. If you saw my review on her entire new range, you'd know I'm addicted to the heavenly sweet scent! The mist has to be my favourite product I've tried from the collection so far -  The smell is that delicious you'd want to eat it and it lingers all day long. With utterly adorable packaging and a scent that'll make your taste buds tingle, it's become an everyday staple.

Rimmel's BB cream

Another product I've been loving is an olden goldie for me, Rimmel's BB cream. This base is something I use every now and then when I'm having phases of how much coverage I need. As I went on holiday early June, I got a fair amount of use out of this due to it's SPF factor and light coverage. On the days I wore makeup, I applied this with a bit of concealer, powder, bronzer and mascara - a simple yet wearable, easy quick look in the beaming heat.

Mac's Lady Danger and Kiko lip liner

Lastly, this lip duo is the dream team of the orange lipstick world. When it comes to summer or the warmer weather shines through, a staple look I adore is orange lips. I find with a tan and glowing bronzy cheek bones, nothing looks better. My favourite to wear as pictured above is Kiko's lip liner in '306' and my beloved Mac's 'Lady Danger.' By pairing these not only have I found the colour to be more vibrant, but the lasting power is absolutely flawless. The products on their own are pretty long wearing ( especially the lip liner, nothing budges it) so when put together, you know it'll last throughout the evening. Even though both lip products are matte, neither feel drying upon application and blend really easily; couldn't fault them.

I hope you enjoyed this Junes favourite post. What products have you been loving?

Thank you for reading <3