So today for Fashion Friday I thought I would share with you an OOTD from my trip out last night to the theatre.

A bit of a different post from me today but you know what they say, a change can do you good! So embrace it people and hold on for the ride. Following the Midlands Blogger Meet up which I attended last saturday (which you can read all about here) I was contacted by the lovely people at Swizzels Matlow who had been one of the sponsors of the event asking if I was interested in writing a blog post all about the exiting things they have going on for the 60th Anniversary.

Now I have been a lover of Swizzels Matlows sweets forever! Sweets are my thing and I love a lot of their sweets! In fact I remember quite vividly walking home from Primary school and mum used to let us call in the shop and get 20p worth of sweets (back in the day when you could have a couple of things for 20p!) on a friday as an end of week treat! Remember those teeth and toothbrushes you used to get and I always used to pretend to brush the mini teeth with the tooth brush! Apparently you can still get them - who knew! And of course who could forget the famous drumstick lolly! You just can't help but love it!

To be honest I was actually shocked when I found out that love hearts were celebrating their 60th Anniversary! Who knew they had been around that long!
To celebrate this milestone anniversary Swizzels Matlow are holding a fantastic money can't buy competition where you could win the chance to have a VIP tour of their factory and also see a love heart which you design be created!! They are giving 10 people this fantastic opportunity and not only do you get to see your sweets being made, the sweets will also go on sale!!! I mean that really is a money can not buy prize - Imagine nipping into the shop and picking up a packet and seeing your very own sweet staring back at you! The winners of the competition will also receive overnight accommodation for themselves and a friend and spending money!!! What more could you actually want!

If you fancy entering this amazing competition (I know I will be - I would LOVE to visit their factory - can you just imagine the smell of sweets!!!) then all you need to do is click on the image below and it will take you right to the page on their website! Good luck lovelies!

So as promised I thought I would share with you all of the goodies that I picked up on my trip to Nottingham on Saturday. Have you got a cup of tea? If not go and get one... Im not going to lie we may be here a while!

First up when the meet up finished the Make up Mafia headed over to the Body shop to spend the lovely voucher we were given. I went with the girls because to be honest I had NO clue where I was going. We were greeted at the shop by the lovely Sophie and Autumn who were the lovely ladies who had been at the Meet up.
I was glad they were there as it gave me chance to chat to them a bit more about the products we had seen.

Sophie had mentioned a few of the products which I was keen to pick up so I got chance to discuss a little bit more about these. I was keen to chat about their Vitamin C Microdermabrasion scrub. Sophie has said how much she loved this scrub and I was keen to have a look at it because I am always on the hunt for a good scrub. When Sophie tried this on the back of my hand I was amazed by how it felt! Definitely something I needed as part of my routine. The scrub itself was £12 (although the website says £13) and then I spotted this set was £16 which contained a skin reviver from their Vitamin C range. According to the website this is £14 so I got myself a good bargain here. I also picked up another set which was from their Vitamin E range. I know there were a lot of us at the event who were excited about this Facial oil. I have been looking for something like this for a while. My mum uses the sanctuary one but it didn't agree with my skin so to pick this up for £16 (again for the set) was a bargain. The set should have contained a moisturiser but they were all out so the lovely Sophie put together a set with the night cream instead.
The final thing I wanted to pick up was their Camomille Cleansing Butter. I have read lots about cleansing butters recently and I was interested to try them. A lot of the ones I had read about were high end in the market so when I saw this was £12 it fell straight into my basket!


When I got to the till, Sophie told me about the Rewards card. She explained that it was £5 for the year to join and that I would get 10% off my purchases for 12 months. I signed up and was greeted by the added bonus that because it was still the month of my birthday I would get £5 off so in effect I paid nothing for the card. Also I got a few free gifts for signing up too which is always a lovely bonus!



Next stop was the Mac shop. I knew I wanted to head to the Mac shop and pick myself up a Pro Palette in the 15 size. I also wanted to get a few new shades - I had my eye on Cranberry for a while so I picked up that. I also wanted a nice neutral shade so I picked up Phloof and Vanilla.



Next I was drawn in by Cath Kidston. I try and be restrained when I go there but I just cannnnnt! Everything is so pretty and my birthday money was burning a whole in my purse! I fell in love with this bag as soon as I saw it, I had wanted one of their satchel bags for a while and this is perfect as it fits my filofax and all my things in I lug about with me everyday.


On my way to the till I noticed this gorgeous purse. I love my red Cath Kidston purse but when I spotted this and how many card pockets (why do purses never seem to have enough for all the reward cards you have - just me??). This one has a flap with card slots and also the inside part has card slots too.


I then spotted some lovely make up bags which popped together! Cute!!



I then hot footed off to John Lewis. I wanted to pick up Nails Inc in Porchester Square in a full size. I got this in the Boots Advent Calendar and fell in love. While there I also wanted to head to the Bobbi Brown stand as I wanted to have a look at their Corrector. I know this is loved by a lot of beauty bloggers around. The lovely beauty assistant sat me down and matched my shade and then she tested it on me. She also showed me their Concealer on top. Again I had heard fantastic things about it So decided to pick up the both of them.




 Finally on my way back to the station I spotted H&M and I love to have a mooch as we don't have one in Stoke.

I picked up this gorgeous spotty top and this peach star scarf.

So I thought I would treat you to the delights of another tag! I have been collecting these via Blog loving when I have seen one of the bloggers I read do one and I saw this over on Celinas blog  - its the blogger love tag - basically a chance to gush over all the blogs you love.

So unless you have been living under a rock for the last few weeks you will know that on Saturday I headed off to the lovely city of Nottingham for the Midland Blogger Meet Up (or Midsblogmeet as you may have seen me on about on twitter)

So last week we took a look at the lovely new season offerings of Next - This week I want to shine the spot light onto New Look!
I have been a massive fan of New Look for a long time and always seem to find something yummy hanging on their rails! Taking a look at their website to put this post together I sense there may be some New Look bags coming home with me!

• Tribal Print Trilby - £9.99
• Sunglasses - £4.99
• Floral Playsuit - £19.99
• Orange T Bar Sandal - £22.99
• Butterfly Blouse - £17.99
• Coral Mini Tote - £15.99
• Floral Skirt - £14.99
• Orange Strappy Skater Dress - £17.99 
• Mint Jeans - £22.99

Finding a hair dresser that you are truly happy with is like finding your soul mate. It really is one of those relationships where you have to put complete and utter trust in the other person.

Now I won't lie, I have worked my way through my fair share of hairdressers over the years. I went through a period of my life where I just bounced between the different salons in my area going where they were looking for models and where ever they had the best offers on!

I thought I found my soul mate a few years ago,  a hair dresser opened up a salon around the corner from my house and I went to her for ages. Then gradually things started to slip and I went to her twice in a row and hated how she had done my hair; once with the way she had cut it and once, just before Christmas 2012 when I was daring enough to go and get my first ever highlights done and she made a total mess of it - Blonde highlights instead of the coppery coloured ones I wanted!

Anyway needless to say I was in the market for finding a new soul mate! So I spent the christmas hating my hair and one day at work while browsing the intranet on my work break I came across an offer that one of the local hairdressers, part of the Francesco Group was running.


I forget how much the voucher was now but it offered considerable discount to the normal pricing in the salon and included a cut, cut and colour, blow dries and treatments.

As soon as the voucher was activated in the January I booked into the hairdressers and was excited for when my first cut came along. When I went at the end of January last year for my first cut I knew instantly that I had fallen in love with the salon. The staff were all lovely and Matt the salon owner who cut my hair made me feel instantly at ease. I have always felt a little uncomfortable at the hairdressers - spending all that time looking at yourself in the mirror and often it can be a real effort to have a conversation.
My first cut started with Matt sitting down on a chair next to me (rather than just standing behind me and looking in the mirror and chatting to me about my hair. He asked me all kind of questions about how I did my hair, what products I used and I really felt like he was interested in me and my hair instead of just lopping off what he could. We chatted like I had known him for years and I came out of the salon feeling amazing. Every time I have gone back, whether it be for a colour or fringe trim, the staff are always lovely, even when I bob in unexpectedly the staff are always willing to try and fit me in.


I haven't looked back since! I have to say I have not only have I found my soul mate I have found my soul salon (Does such a thing exist? Apparently so). I have had my hair cut by several members of staff at the salon now, each one as lovely as the other.

I feel like since I have started going to Francesco's my hair has never been better. I have never been happier with my hair than I am at the moment. I am hopeless when it comes to my hair and when I go into the salon with an idea, gentle suggestions are given but never forced upon.

If your in the market for a new hairdresser I would definitely recommend trying the Francesco group - find your local salon here

Have you met your Hair Soul Mate???




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It is probably one of the most debated questions in the blogesphere? High end or High Street??? Do you get what you pay for or are you just paying for a name.

When it comes to both beauty and fashion, I have always very much been on the side of the high street. Maybe it is because I don't live in a town where high end stores are widely available... we have no Mac, no Illamasqua, no Nars! So I have always used high street and drug store products when it came to beauty. The same could be said for Fashion, even the stores we have here are very limited - roll on the new shopping centre being built!

Only recently over the past couple of years did I start to add a few High end products into my make up collection with a few benefit products and then a few Mac products but I made sure that before splashing out on these products I did a hell of a lot reading up about what products to pick up.

More and more we see the introduction of dupes for the high end products appearing in the market. Clinique the chubby sticks and Revlon were not far behind with their own offering, Maybelline brought out their 24 colour tattoo pots to rival Mac paint pots and even recently they brought out their Baby Skin Pore eraser - a dupe for Benefits Porefessional.

So do you really get what you pay for when it comes to high end beauty products. There are certain products in my make up box that I wouldn't dream of going to high end. I love the Rimmel stay matte powder and wouldn't even think about spending more than the £5 on a powder. However I have to say I am totally in love with the high end eye shadows which I have in my collection - I really love my Urban Decay palettes (Now 1, 2 and 3) and find the colour pay off on these is brilliant, as with the Mac eye shadows. Now that I have discovered the Maybelline Baby Skin I would think twice about buying the Benefit Porefessional but I wouldn't be without my Benefit Hoola Bronzer.

I think high end vs high street is always going to be one of those debates that will forever go on! There is always going to be those who love the high end and those who stick to the high street. For me I like to think that I lie somewhere in the middle. I think it is about finding the perfect balance for yourself.

What do you think? Which end of the scale do you sit on? Which High Street and High end products could you not live without??


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So I thought today we would shake it up a little bit... I have been browsing some of the latest styles which have been popping up all over the place over the last few weeks ready for Spring and summer and so I thought I would share with you what I am loving of the spring and summer styles this year!

You may remember last year I wrote this post way way back in January about how much I loved the offerings that Next were offering last year and this year is no different! Next have once again delivered and have some seriously gorgeous things in! As I am sure I have mentioned we are off to Ibiza for 2 weeks in May and so its that time to having a look for some pieces to add to my summer holiday wardrobe. This year will be very different from the holiday I had last year, last year was all theme parks, combats and trainers.. this year I am swapping that for flip flops and lying by the pool!

First of all can we just take a moment to just appreciate how awesome this tshirt is! I will defiantly be picking this up next time I am in Next!

Even this early in the season there are some beautiful pieces coming through ready for the summer season. I love all of these pieces and the gift card I had from one of the doctors at work is burning a serious hole in my pocket waiting to be spent however I wanted to save it to get something for my holiday! You know I am partial to a spot or 2 and I love both the spot dress and the bikini! I don't normally wear bikinis owing to my flabby parts but when your on holiday and you don't know anyone who wants a white belly?? I am sensing lots of cute dresses and a cute alternative may be one of these jump suits which I fancy trying. And this hat! I had a hat very similar in my hand last year from h&m which I didn't end up picking up and then regretted! I definitely want a cute hat like this, this year! If this is the start of what Next has to offer this year then I am excited to see what other beauties start to filter through as the season goes on!

Do you have any loves in Next this year??



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Ah don't you love a good wish list!

As you know I am off to Nottingham for the Mids Blogger Meet up on the 22nd of this month and I have already made a cheeky look at the shops they have to offer and left a bit of shopping time when booking my train tickets! So I thought I would put together a wish list of things I am keeping my eyes peeled for while I am there.

Do you have any Mac eye shadow shades? What are your favourites?? Any I should keep my eye out for?


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Now I know I said the other week when I did this tag that tags isn't something I have done very often but it seems at the moment there are a lot of tags floating around on the internet and youtube and I think a lot of the Youtubers that I follow have done have cracked this one on their channels so I thought I would share this with you all as it seemed quite a good one! Since there have been quite a few floating about recently I have decided that if I find one I fancy doing, I am going to post it on a Tuesday and call it Tag Tuesday! That way it doesn't interfere with my normal blog schedule and become boring! So here goes:



What are you wearing?
Well right now I am wearing a Tshirt, a pair of comfy house trousers and a hoody because I am freeeeezing!

Ever been in Love?
At the age of 25 this is probably going to sound really sad but no I haven't.

Ever had a terrible break up?
Nope

How tall are you?
5ft 5"

How much do you weight?
Too much!

Any Tattoos?
Nope

Any piercings? 
Just my ears

OTP?
To be honest I have never really followed the whole OTP thing....

Favourite Show?
At the moment I am loving Mr Selfridge. I always love Downton Abbey when that is on. I also love Glee which I am waiting to come back!

Favourite music artist/band?
Hmmm thats a hard one, I quite like a lot of different things. I am loving passenger at the moment.

Something you miss?
The sunshine! Hurry up summer!

How old are you? 
Just turned 25

Zodiac sign?
Aquarius

Quality you look for in a partner?
Honesty, Someone that can make you laugh,

Favourite Quote?
Live, Laugh, Love

Favourite Actor?
Hmmm so many!

Favourite Colour?
Pink, Purple, Red

Loud Music or Quiet?
Depends on the situation.. I do like to sit earphones on and listen to music and blast it out!

Where do you go when you are sad?
I find going for a walk when I am sad rather therapeutic! Not necessarily anywhere in particular, just pounding the pavement with my headphones on!

How long does it take you to shower?
Depends if I am washing my hair or not... usually about 10 minutes.

How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
About 45 minutes although I can get ready in about 15 minutes if I don't mess about (or have to dry m y hair etc)

Ever been in a physical fight?
Eeeek NO!

Turn on?
I love men with nice eyes!

Turn off?
Arrogance! I can't stand man who are arrogant!

The reason you started blogging?
When I finished uni I was at a bit of a loss of what to do and was applying for jobs left right and centre and getting nowhere... I started blogging to keep me sane!

Fears?
Loneliness, failure, not being happy

Last thing that made you cry?
I can't remember - It was probably something daft - I do cry quite easily!

Last time you said you loved someone?
Today

Meaning behind your blog name?
To be honest it was just one of those random things that just popped into my head. I am quite crafty and love anything with buttons - especially those buttons that are just random and unloved that you can bring back to life by adding them onto something else.

Last book you read?
Im currently working my way through the Harry Potter Books, Im about half way though the Goblet of Fire so the last full book I read was the Prisoner of Azkaban

Last show you watched?
Currently catching up with the Voice from Saturday

The relationship between you and the last person you text?
She's my brothers fiancé

Favourite food?
Probably chicken

Last place you were?
Well the last place I was that wasn't my home town was Manchester

Do you have a crush?
Maybe

Last time you kissed anyone?
Today

Last time you were insulted?
Nothing sticks in my mind

Favourite flavour of sweet?
Cherry

What instruments do you play?
None although I would love to be able to play the piano

Favourite piece of Jewellery?
I have a few special pieces...

Place you want to visit?
I realllllly want to go to New York! I think someone needs to take me!

Last song you sang?
Probably something I was warbling along to on iTunes with my headphones in!

Favourite chat up line?
I am crap at this kind of stuff

Have you ever used it?
I don't think I have ever used a chat up line!

Last time you hung out with anyone?

Who should answer these questions next?
So I tag the following people...

Sarah from Mums Little Beauty
Charl from Ginger Girl Says
Bicky from Tastes like Glitter
Kelly from To become mum
Charl from Secrets Behind the Closet Door


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Ok girls lets talk foundation. I don't know about anyone else but I seem to be in a constant battle to find the perfect shade of foundation. That was until No7 launched their Match Made Service in 2012 (you can read my review here).

I know a lot of people rave about a lot of the high street brand foundations such as the Rimmel wake me up and match perfection or Bourjois healthy mix and I have dabbled with a couple of these myself but I don't know what it is, no matter how much I swatch them,  I can never seem to find the perfect match. My mum is simple to match - 9 times out of 10 she can pick up the lightest shade that a brand does and it will be perfect but I just can't seem to do it!

This is what draws me towards high end foundations, or slightly higher end than normal "high street" brands. I find it easier to find a shade if someone else is matching it for me! Since first experiencing the No7 match made service way back in 2012 I have gone back to them time and time again. I have been matched several times, in both winter and summer and have found the perfect match every time.  I also had a similar experience when I was matched at the Benefit counter and the lady took the time to both remove my base make up - which lets face it is crucial if your trying to find the perfect match as what is the point of trying to match on top of what your currently wearing - and then she went on to try a couple of different shades eventually finding the perfect one.

Now for me - I know there are foundations you can pick up on the high street around £7 but when your foundation makes up the base of your face and make up, I honestly don't mind paying a bit more to get the perfect match.

I went over to the No7 counter a couple of weeks ago, drawn in by their new offering of the No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation. I have tried quite a few of the foundations over time, I use the Stay Perfect one for a night out as it has slightly more coverage, I use the powder foundation in the Summer or holiday for minimal coverage. I have also used the Instant Radiance and the Essentially natural ones.
I went to the No7 counter and decided to take a look at their new offerings. Now often I find that super light foundations don't offer a great amount of coverage but I was willing to give it a go.

I got the lady on the counter to use the machine to match my skin again and was given the shade Cool Beige. I swatched on the back of my hand and decided to pick it up - I also picked up one of their primers at the same time to make the most of the buy one get one half price offer.

I have been using this foundation for about 2 weeks now which I know the grand scheme of things is not a long time to get a proper test about a product or not the usual amount of time I would come on here to rave about a product but I am TOTALLY in love with this foundation. I was not sure about the Super Light aspect of this but figured if it did not have a good coverage I would save it for the summer. However I used it on a Sunday for a simple day look and was so impressed with the coverage I wore it for work the next day, then the next day and I haven't used anything else since. Considering this is a super light foundation the coverage is brilliant. The consistency of this foundation reminds me of the Benefit Hello Flawless one which I love. It is very runny and a little bit goes a long way and blends beautifully into the skin.

The Stay Perfect super light foundation is £14.50 and is available from No7 counters now. I can see this foundation being very popular over the spring and summer months.

Have you tried this foundation??



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I thought I would bob on and just share a few nosey photos with you from my birthday celebrations over the past couple of days - my birthday having been yesterday!

On Friday night me and my family decided that we were going to go out for a Curry. One of the curry places that we have our take away if ever we have one has just moved to a new bigger venue and we have never tried the restaurant part of it so we decided we would go here. Here I am with my Dad and mum on the left and my brother and his fiancé on the right! We had such a lovely night and a right giggle.

Yesterday we went out for breakfast - just the 4 of us which was lovely - obviously as we are growing up these occurrences of there just being the 4 of us are getting less and less and my brother obviously spends a lot of time with his fiancé so it is lovely when the 4 of us actually do things like this!

I opened my presents yesterday morning and was greeted with this gorgeous new ring - I knew this is what I was having as I had picked it a few weeks ago and had to have my ring finger remeasured as the reason I wanted to get a new ring is that my other one I had for my 18th was getting too big so I have swapped it on to my middle finger on my left hand for now.



 My brother and his fiancé got me a cocktail making set complete with recipe book, shaker and little umbrellas and we definitely had some fun with this last night!


And of course what is a birthday without cake? We had my Nanna and grandad round to our house last night and my brothers fiancé and had a buffet and cake and a good old giggle!

Overall a pretty smashing birthday I would say! And so far 25 is treating me quite well! Lets hope being a quarter of a century stays this good!


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 Once the cheese is golden brown on the top serve up.

I can't even tell you how yummy this was! This large portion served 4 of us for an evening meal plus 2 of us for lunch the next day! This is so cheap and simple to do and great if your into batch cooking! So simple!


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