Sunday 16 November 2014

TAG: Festive Favourites.

TAG: Festive Favourites. 



As soon as I spotted this tag on Aimee's blog I had to do it! I spend all year getting excited for Christmas, I've been counting it down on my phone since last year. I tag anybody reading this that adores Christmas to do this tag!


What is your favourite Christmas song? I think for this year, the Frozen songs are going to fit so well for Christmas time. As far as the classic Christmas songs go, my favourites are; Jingle bell rock (I have to try to learn the dance from Mean Girls!), Santa baby, Walking in a winter wonderland and Rudolph the red nose reindeer. 


Favourite Christmas advert? For sure, my favourite Christmas advert this year is the John Lewis penguins in love advert. It is too adorable for me not to love. I also love the Coca Cola advert because you know when you see that, Christmas is coming!


Best Christmas present you have ever received as a kid? I had so many presents I loved when I was little. The toys I can remember were the Sylvanian families, fairy tale books, these dolls my mum made for me and Bratz dolls!


At Christmas, which Christmas drink are you mostly likely to have? I'm not big for alcoholic drinks so I would probably say Cranberry juice. I am forever drinking that around Christmas time.


Chocolate for breakfast on Christmas day? Of course! Who has time for a normal breakfast on Christmas day!?


Festive food? We usually have roast chicken or turkey with bacon wrapped around it which is lush. Also mum always does lots of baking like sausage rolls and fairy cakes. And you're sure to always get at least one box of chocolates for Christmas!


Christmas traditions? Our family don't really have any Christmas traditions I would say. We usually just open all the presents in the morning, have lunch, watch lots of Christmas programmes and movies on the television. Then later on we will have our Christmas dinner and open crackers. On Boxing day we usually either go to look around the sales or play board games. Just a nice cosy, family Christmas hehe I cannot wait for it!


Christmas presents you would like to receive? I love receiving gift cards so that I can pick out things I really like. This year I would love loads of Lush stuff.. is that obvious? I love receiving sweets and jewellery and I also love getting Christmas cards. 


Best Christmas cracker toy? I actually get more excited for the shiny hats inside! But I would say maybe plastic rings or pens?


Favourite Christmas decoration? The Christmas tree is my favourite decoration. I just wish it was socially acceptable to keep it out all year long, it's so beautiful. I love putting the angel on top. I also love fairy light decorations and the lights that you can buy to put outside.


Favourite festive candle scent? I love the sweet Christmas smells such as gingerbread and cookies.


One thing that is always left on your plate after you have had your Christmas dinner/lunch?
Nothing!! Unless my mum tries to give me too much vegetables.


Mince Pies or Apple Pies? Don't hate me but neither, I hate pies!

Christmas film? Home Alone, Love actually, The holiday and I love watching Disney movies at Christmas time. I have bought Lady and the Tramp to watch this year with my family.



- Kat Melladay x

Thursday 13 November 2014

My night time routine.

My night time routine.


For todays post, I thought I would show you everything I do and all of the products I use in my night time routine! Before I start to run my bath I would first remove my make-up. I didn't photograph this part as I just use standard make-up wipes from Primark. £1 for two packs of wipes to do the job you can't really go wrong!



For this evenings bath I was going to start using my Christmas hedgehog bubble bar from Lush. This means that you would break a small bit of him off and crumble it under your warm, running water to create a blue bubbly bath. This bit made me a little sad because he is too adorable. He has a very strong smell I would say, but it is great! He smells fresh and has a bit of a citrus hint to me. I tend to use a Lush product every time I have a bath now. Just because it makes me feel ever relaxed after a rough day or even happier after a wonderful day!



After I have ran my bath, I will then go on to wash my hands. When I went in Lush the other day, one of the lovely ladies working there gave me some freebies to try. One of them was a chunk of the Mangnificent soap. It works like any other soap but the smell is simply lovely. This soap smells like mango! Now I will lay back in the bath, day dream a little, then start to wash my hair. Currently I am using the L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil shampoo and conditioner combination. This was another product that I have seen positive reviews for and it claims to nourish your dry, damaged hair. When I am sure that I have rinsed out all of the shampoo from my hair, I will go onto lather it in the conditioner. If I have really damaged my hair during the day, such as using loads of hairspray or back combed it within an inch of its life I will probably use an Aussie conditioner instead. Because that is the best conditioner EVER! My hair savoir. However on a regular day, I will use quite a bit L'Oreal conditioner on the very ends of my hair and on my scalp. I like to leave the conditioner in my hair for at least ten minutes so I will go onto washing myself whilst I wait.


 

To wash my body I like to use one of these two products. The Flying Fox shower gel was actually another freebie from the lovely lady working in Lush. It is safe to say I will most definitely repurchasing this one. Absolutely love the smell of this, it is the best shower I have ever used! Beware: if you don't like either honey or golden syrup this isn't the shower gel for you. There are four different honeys contained into this shower gel. It is such a pleasure to wash yourself with, I just want to drink it out of the bottle! But I will stay calm. The smell is sweetly delicious and you can also use it in your hair which is brilliant. The other product I would choose is the Soap & Glory Scrub of your life body scrub. I know that this bottle is quite small, but I have already used it many of times you get a lot for your money! I use this when I want a scrub to wash myself with rather than a gel. I use a sponge that has a rough side on it anyway to remove any dead/flaking skin.



Once I have got out of the bath and dried myself down, I will get changed into a cute pair of pajamas! I purchase all of my pajamas from Primark, and they are mostly Disney. I love the leggings style of pajama bottoms like these ones above. Just paired with a plain tee and my new mouse slipper socks from the Christmas section in Boots.



I like to wait a little while before putting my moisturizer on myself after my bath, just so that I am fully dry. I usually just choose between these two products. Soap & Glory's body buttercream in the Sugar Crush scent is my favourite moisturizer that I have ever used so far. I wrote a review on it on another blog post but the cream is so thick and soothing. If I want to make my milk bottle, white skin a bit more tanned I like to use the Dove lotion in the shade Medium to Dark. I found that the pale to medium lotion didn't do anything at all on my skin. Whereas this shade after using it about twice or three times, makes me look natural just a bit more tanned. I also find it doesn't go patchy either!



Lastly, usually before I go to bed, I like to make my face feel nice by using a moisturizer. Recently I have been using the Nivea Q10 day cream in the morning and night cream.. well at night time! I know it is anti-wrinkle cream, but my mums advice was "you have to start using moisturizer on your face whilst your young, so that you don't wait until you get the wrinkles to start". And I think that is pretty good advice! It also just feels really nice on your skin. If you don't want to use an anti-wrinkle cream, I would probably recommend the Garnier Moisture Match cream. This one I have is meant to be for oily skin, which I wouldn't really say it is that much. But I just liked it because it smells nice. I also like to use the Boots Botanics eye wrinkle cream every night too as I have noticed some fine lines coming under neath my eyes.




Hope you enjoyed reading about my night time routine. It's nice to feel relaxed and to use lovely products on yourself after a long day! Here are a list of the products mentioned down below:

The Christmas Hedgehog.
Mangnificent Soap.
L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary shampoo and conditioner.
Flying Fox shower gel.
Soap & Glory buttercream.
Dove Summer Glow lotion.
Nivea Q10 night cream.
Garnier Moisture Match lotion.

- Kat Melladay x

Tuesday 28 October 2014

25 Facts about me!

25 Facts about me!




1. Are you named after anyone? Yes! I am named after my mothers aunty in Croatia.
2. When was the last time you cried? A couple of days ago, things have been a little rough lately.
3. Do you have kids? Oh hell no! I am not a fan of children.
4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? I would like to think so yes.
5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I do sometimes.
6. Will you ever bungee-jump? No thank you!! I am a total baby when it comes to things like that and roller coasters.
7. What’s your favorite cereal? I love cheerios, but I prefer cheese on toast anyday.
8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Whether they smile at me back or come across as rude or not. Such as using manners like saying "please" and "thank you".
9. What is your eye colour? Mis read this question and thought it said "favourite eye colour". But my eyes are blue and I love them!
10. Scary movie or happy endings? I have gone off scary movies, much prefer a nice happy ending.
12. Summer or winter? Winter! All of the best things happen in winter.
13. Computer or television? Hard question.. I want to pick television because of Hollyoaks (my guilty pleasure) but I can communicate with people and watch Youtube videos on the computer.
14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Only when I have been on holiday to Menorca probably.
15. Do you have any special talents? Haha! I don't really think I do, I have weird toes?
16. Where were you born? I was born on the 23rd of November. I'm a winter baby!
17. What are your hobbies? I would say my hobbies are reading, socializing, watching movies general things like that.
18. Do you have any pets? Unfortunately I don't have any. However I would love a puppy sooo much!
19. Favorite movie? I have so many favourite movies. Some of them are She's the man, Friends with Benefits and lots of Disney movies.
20. Do you have any siblings? No I am an only child.
21. What do you want to be when you grow up? I currently work in a clothes shop and I feel like I would like to carry on working in the fashion industry but I am not sure what doing yet.
22. Your favourite Drink? I drink just orange juice all of the time, I love it! When I go out for drinks, I know it's boring, but I love a simple Vodka and Lemonade.
23. Favourite Colour? My favourite colour to wear is black and my favourite colour in general is blue.
24. Favourite Food? I cannot choose one favourite food. I love pizza, green apples, white chocolate and many more!
25: One Item of makeup you cant live without? My black eyeliner! 


I tag anybody else reading this to do this tag!

- Kat Melladay x

Sunday 26 October 2014

PANTENE Breakage Defence shampoo & conditioner review.

PANTENE Breakage Defence shampoo & conditioner review.




I have been cruel to my poor hair. Due to having dyed my hair a lot in the past and using hair straighteners to style my hair, my hair is quite damaged. It tends to break and snap when I comb it after washing and when daily brushing. So I have been looking into getting better products for it to make my hair a bit happier and healthier. 

After seeing some bloggers really hype this product up I thought I would try it out for myself. As it says on the bottle, it is meant to be like a defence for your hair. It claims to stop the breakage of hair from combing/brushing. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed by this product. I have been trying it out for weeks now and I have seen no difference. My hair still breaks just as much as it did when I was using a different shampoo and conditioner combination. And it also falls out just as much too, thinning out my thick hair. I found that no matter how much of the conditioner I lathered into my hair, my hair would still be really tangled as well making it so difficult to comb through. And it was like this no matter what I did. Such as if I tried to really rinse all the conditioner out, brush my hair before going into the bath or leave the conditioner on my hair for a longer amount of time nothing seemed to make it better! I was really hoping that this product was going to do wonders on my hair, but I can honestly say it has done nothing. Therefore I personally would not rate this product. I know of other bloggers who have really liked this product, so it might have been different for my hair I am not sure but it certainly wasn't for me. 

Can anybody recommend any great hair products for damaged hair? 


- Kat Melladay x

Saturday 18 October 2014

Mini Lush haul!

Mini Lush haul!








It is officially my favourite time of the year again! This time of year is when everything 
great happens; halloween, bonfire night, my birthday and then.. CHRISTMAS! And Lush really know how to go all out when it comes to their products for this season! I fell in love with everything when I went in there last weekend. I spent way too much time in there, they must have thought I was moving in hehe. But eventually I decided on some of the things I was going to try. My nose has been treated to some truly amazing smells. I thought that I would share with you the bath lovelies I purchased because they are just too wonderful to not..

Dragons Egg: This bath bomb was my first decision and first to use. As you can see, it is pure white with rainbow spots on it. It smells citrusy which is why I had to buy it because that is my favourite kind of smell. I adore fresh smells. When I first dropped this bomb in the bath I was a little disappointed at first because it just rocked in the bath, there wasn't much excitement to begin with. However after a minute or so, the excitement began! The bomb started to move all around the bath with this beautiful orange coming out similar to a yolk of an egg! It made noises, because of the popping candy, and left my bath feeling very nourishing and glittery! This will definitely be getting repurchased.

Butter Bear: "A big softy!" Of course I had to get this little sweety, how could I not? I don't think he is one of the more exciting bath bombs that puts on a show. He is just a simple little pleasure for your bath. When you put him in your bath it is as though he has just given you a cuddle with all his conditioning ingredients. He even smells sweet with his vanila/slight buttery smell. He is the cheapest out of the ones I have purchased too!

The Comforter: Although the bath bombs make me way too happy like a little girl, I am in love with this bubble bar. You use the comforter by grumbling a bit of it off under neath the running water and it makes lots and lots of bubbles in your bath. It also turns your bath pink and smells incredible! It is a tiny bit more expensive than the bombs at £4.75, however it is totally worth it. I have had three baths with this bar so far, and there is still more than 3/4's of the bar left! The value is great, you hardly need to crumble any off to have an incredible girly bath. It smells like berries and I think it smells like sweets as well. I have been trying to rack my brains as to what sweets it smells like.. I think it is either Skittles or Jelly Babies? Either way it is gorgeous and it is my favourite.

The Melting Snowman: This is a bath melt even though he looks as though he has melted already! He makes me feel so sad to look at him but in an adorable way hehe! I am glad he doesn't fizz away and that I won't have to crumble him away either, but I will be sad to watch him melt away. He smells like christmas. Out of all of the christmas bath products in Lush, for me, the melting snowman smells the most of the traditional christmas smell. Which is just rich and a sweet, baking kind of smell. Lush do have some christmas soaps which smell perfect for christmas too.

Lord Of Misrule: After seeing a sneak peak video of this bomb on Instagram I had to buy this when I was next in Lush. This is one of the halloween bath bombs I believe, and you can really tell. It is bright green as you can see, with pink and yellow specks in it. When you put it in the bath, it makes your bath green and then puffs out pink! And then it cracks and goes a bit spooking making the water a gruesome colour and makes such a show! My mum and I were so excited watching it in my bath. The smell of it is so strong! I thought it smelt quite spicy and similar to a tea tree smell. My mum thought it smelt of a more burned berries smell though? So I guess it would be up to you. After I got out of the bath I could still smell it on my body and in my hair so that was amazing!

Golden Wonder: I purchased this today to try and make me feel better after a rough day. It is a golden present looking bath bomb, why wouldn't you want to pick it up? It smells like a citrus smell to me with a hint of sweets. I have not had a bath with this yet but on the Lush website it shows a preview of the bomb fizzing off into different colours? Also when you shake this bomb, it sounds like there is actually something inside so I am really excited to use this next! I hope there is a small surprise inside for me!


This is all I have purchased from Lush so far, but there are many more things I want to try such as the christmas soaps and also the very popular, Northern Lights bomb. 

Have you seen all the winter products in Lush? Which bath product is your favourite?!


- Kat Melladay x

Friday 10 October 2014

Book Review: BILLY AND ME by Giovanna Fletcher

Book Review: BILLY AND ME by Giovanna Fletcher




Blurb: " Sophie May has a secret. One that she's successfully kept for years. It's meant that she's had to give up her dreams of going to university and travelling the world to stay in her little village, living with her mum and working in the local teashop. But then she meets the gorgeous Billy - an actor with ambitions to make it to the top. And when they fall in love, Sophie is whisked away from the comfort of her life into Billy's glamorous - but ruthless - world. Their relationship throws Sophie right into the spotlight after years of shying away from attention. Can she handle the constant scrutiny that comes with being with Billy? And most of all, is she ready for her secret heartbreak to be discovered and shared with the nation? "


I was so sad when I finished Billy and Me. It is such a cutesy, homey book but with a few twists and complications along the way. Sophie is just a bit of a home bird. She has lived in the same village her whole life, in the same house and goes to work just down the road. But this is all because of what happened to her when she was younger. Throughout reading the story you get to understand more about how she thinks and why she doesn't want to do anything other than being comfortable. Sophie does show her more adventurous side when she meets Billy. With Billy, I feel like it was a bit of love at first sight moment for both of them. I love how adorable they are with each other at the start. She takes the plunge and decides to move in with him in his luxurious pad in London. As Billy is a very successful actor however, things aren't all cutesy and rosey all of the time. It throws a mixture of emotions for Sophie and questions whether she is actually doing the right thing and wondering what is she going to do with her own life? What has been her dream all this time? And what is her purpose now? I think this has become my favourite book so far. I was really drawn into the story. It seems to contain everything I like. Such as love, close family, home and lots and lots of CAKE! Even though there are some sad complications in Sophie's life so far, I still felt as though this was one of those "feel good" books. I found myself smiling at how sweet and lovely Sophie is. She has a heart of gold, she is always so caring to everyone. Which is why Billy loves her so much too.


Buy your own copy here: click here to buy!

- Kat Melladay x

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Glorious Soap & Glory.

Glorious Soap & Glory.






I have been so in love with Soap & Glory recently that I thought I would share with you my top picks from their brand. I have not tried many of their other products so I may have more favourites yet, that I don't even know about!

First up we have the body buttercreams. They are exactly how you would think, similar to a body butter but more like a thick, luxurious cream to put all over your body. If you haven't smelt the Sugar Crush range before, I highly suggest you give it an intense sniff when you next go into Boots. It smells so gorgeous. It smells like lime and has a hint of sweetness to it like vanilla. The buttercream feels super nice on your skin and leaves you feeling so relaxed. The next product I am loving is the Supercat eyeliner pen. It is so easy to achieve the perfect winged eyeliner look. I have had it for about three months now and it has not dried up either! I often find that with pen eyeliners they dry up so quickly but not this one. The last product I would definitely recommend you purchasing is the Sexy Mother Pucker (hehe!) gloss stick in the shade Nudist. It is like wearing a great lipgloss but it isn't as sticky and the gloss is highly pigmented. I am definitely going to try the darkest one of these sticks. I wear nudist all of the time it is such a great go to colour for the lips. 


Which Soap & Glory product is your favourite? And which scent is your favourite?


- Kat Melladay x