The Balm Balm Voyage Palette Review ♥

Hello there lovelies! Hope you are all well. Today i have a review of the Balm Voyage! eye and lip palette which i purchased with my Birchbox points! It felt so great to save the points up to the point where i could completely buy something from the higher price range with out using any of my own money on top. The Balm is a brand i have had my eye on for sometime as all of their products have great reviews and super cute packaging!

How wonderful is this packaging?! The palette is based on traveling the world, hence the name Bon Voyage. On the front a variety of well known countries are mentioned featuring little photos of what those places are famous for. On the back all of the shades are displayed with their names underneath. At the top all of the women who are on the front of the palette packaging are featured inside a plane, traveling to their destinations!

When opening the palette up your eyes are treated to a beautiful array of colours for eyes and lips. The lid features a large oval mirror on top of a photo, set out to look like a passport. This mirror is such a great size as it makes it easy to create looks on the run, weather it be on a plane, in a car or on a train!

Playing on the travel theme all of the eyeshadows are numbered like seats on a plane, cool right?!

(Swatches are in same order as palette.)

Into the eyeshadows! The first two rows are more of the everyday shades that can be used to create a subtle everyday look to the classic smokey eye. All are shimmery apart from B3 & C3, which i find used lightly can be great base shades but are perfect built up in the crease and blended out too.

A firm favourite of mine has been D3 as a base colour, as its not too dark and can be built up from day to night. It also works really well with a pop of colour blended into it now we're into the Spring season!

A3 is a gorgeous high shimmer sliver shade which is perfect to use as highlight for the inner corners of my eyes. 

The next two rows are my favourite for sure! They're such beautiful pigmented shades that offer so many possibilities. I've already gone a little crazy with this bottom part of the palette creating looks inspired by mermaids and unicorns for my everyday life to nights out on the town!

B1 & C1 are another two shades in the palette that can be used for everyday looks easily, with one of the slightly darker shades in the crease and blended into the bottom lash line.

My all time favourites are A2, B2 & C2, they're the perfect shades to create magical looks. I mean i can't really express how freaking beautiful A2 is as my words will not give it the justice it deserves. For starters its a shimmery purple shade but the thing that throws it to the top of the favourite pile is that it features shimmery specks of blue!! It looks gorgeous all over the lid or simply blended in to my lash line and crease. I find it really complements my blue eyes too.

B2 & C2 look beautiful together or used with other colours. I'm not going to go into too much depth about them as i will have another look post up soon featuring the two shades! 

Finally in the palette there are three cheek and lip tints in the shades Second Office, First Office & Captain. I was a bit unsure of using these at first as i felt a certain need to keep them looking fresh and untouched as one would with any new palette but i got passed this. They are very pigmented so only a soft sweep in each colour is needed to create a red, orange or pink tinted lip or cheek. 

I find a couple of sweeps is the perfect amount to create a very bold, classic lip look. All are very moisturizing too so they are great for long wear.

Overall i think it was Birchbox points well spent! I can see this palette lasting me a long time as there is so much product to be used. I will definitely purchase more products from The Balm in the future as i suspect they are all great quality and i'd love to try more out!

I hope you've enjoyed this little review, leave me a comment with your favourite The Balm products, i'd love to know!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Much love,

Kim Xo

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'Hidden Fashion' Collective Bargain Haul ♥

Hey there! Today i'm excited to share with you another of my favourite budget sites, Hidden Fashion! This site is seriously insane! There is soooo much to choose from such as shoes, clothes and accessories etc and the best part is it all costs £5.00 or cheaper! I get excited butterflies when shopping on these kind of sites, its literally like an online Primark! 

Just a little bit of info for those of you who worry about the quality of cheaper clothes, you really don't need to, everything I've ordered is amazing quality.

This rose gold sequin skater dress instantly caught my eye on the newly added page of the site. Rose gold anything always draws the attention of my eyes, so when i saw this i was like yes! Get in my basket. The best part, it was £5.00!! For the beauty and the quality i really couldn't be more pleased, as for a dress pretty much of the same design from any well know online retailer would be at least £25 to £40.

I wore this beauty for New Years Eve and felt so comfortable and glamorous. The dipped neckline and just off the shoulder short sleeves add a sexy bit of cleavage and there's fabric under the arm pits so the sequins don't rub.

All in all a beautiful dress which i'm sure to get a lot more wear out of!

I love this mesh low cut skater dress, its so edgy and sexy! The mesh is quite thick so it makes the dress flare out quite a bit to the bottom but the slip underneath that can be seen  is more figure hugging, slightly exposing curves. 

The front and the back are the same with the low cut V, exposing some major back and cleavage action. I think this is the perfect going out dress for those nights when i'm feeling extra edgy and out there! I find it looks great with layered gold necklaces and a choker, knee high tights and black chunky boots.

If your noticing now there IS a cleavage exposing theme running through the dresses I've bought recently, this is just down to gaining a few pounds in the boobical region and actually having decent sized ones to fill dresses like this for the first time in my life! 

The blue, white and light pink marble detailing on this midi dress is so gorgeous, drawing the eye to view the whole dress not just a certain part. The material is nice and thick so it flatters the body perfectly and obviously provides a nice bit of needed warmth on these cold winter nights. I like that the straps are adjustable so i can make sure there won't be any surprise appearances! 

I love to pair it with high chunky metallic boots, a matching metallic bag and a black blazer. (I couldn't find the link for this one! Sorry! :( )

This has to be my favourite dress purchased. It so cute and vintage looking which are two of the things i love in a dress! The bright abstract roses are so eye catching against the white background and i think its just one of those dresses that can instantly make you appear put together.

The fit is baby-doll style so its naturally baggy, which is nice as it makes it super comfortable to wear for a long day and its quarter sleeves keep my arms nice and warm so a thin cardigan is only needed on top. I usually style it with black tights and chunky black boots and red lipstick of course.

Finally i just had to get this adorable Olaf jumper :') Its nice and long covering up my bum so i could wear it with leggings like a jumper dress although now its past Christmas time i doubt i'll wear it out of the house as i feel i just don't have that much 'swag', so it's designated a pajama jumper! Which is perfect really because its so warm and soft inside (I tried to capture the fluffiness in the above photo but failed so... Couldn't find the link for this either. Apologies). 

I hope this has been a enjoyable read for all you bargain lovers! Let me know in the comments if you too are a fan of this site or if you know of any other sites with the same prices, i'd love to know!

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Much Love,

Kim Xo

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January Birchbox Products Review ♥

Happy Friday All! I hope your well on this fine morning. Into another month we are and as usual here is my thoughts on my another Birchbox. Enjoy!

This month Birchbox teamed up with Women's Health Magazine which is very appropriate for January as everyone wants to get fit and healthy and burn off all that Christmas over indulgence! With this theme set all the products are linked around getting fit and feeling good.

Starting with my favourite product in the box! The Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum which is complexion correcting is just wonderful! The smell is so fresh and the texture is so soft when rubbed gently into my face and neck. I'm in love with how instantly better it makes my skin appear, making me look more awake and also moisturizes my skin perfectly to the point foundation can be applied straight after!

I will be using this product very sparingly for the next month or so as i want it to last as long as possible. I recommend trying this out, if you too like myself have dry skin. It just evens the skin out, moisturizes and makes it some much easier to work with! If your interested in the product have a search for tester sizes on eBay and Amazon, i think the cheapest I've seen is £6.00 for one the same size as mine, just saves you splashing £45.00 on the full size!

I don't think i've ever used Organic shampoo before so i was interested to see how this product would take to my hair. The Green People Intensive Repair Shampoo caters to coloured/ dry/ damaged hair which is 3 of the things i worry about hair wise. Initially it smells very zingy and refreshing, almost like a lemon green tea sort of smell. The liquid is a see though orange gel that foams nicely on the hair.

I used the product for a couple of weeks mainly because i liked the refreshing smell and not so much for any noticeable effect it was having on my hair. I do also like the concept that it is organic and made carefully but i don't think i'll purchase just due to not seeing any difference in my hairs well being.

Not much to say about this product as it is just a shower gel but i love Korres products and it smells so Citrusy good! Also it foams up nicely in the shower so you don't have to use a large amount.

This Activbod Cooling Finish Lotion is for rubbing into the skin after a workout to help cool the muscles down. It smells very refreshing and feels great to apply after i've been running. I think this is a really nice helpful product to help promote the body to chill out after a good workout!

The final product i received is a Stila Lip Glaze which is a nice pink shade with a hint of shimmer. I like to apply this gloss over a tinted lip balm just to add a bit more colour! I find its great for all day wear as its not sticky or uncomfortable when eating or drinking.

Birchbox also included a small pack of Embrace Matcha Green Tea, which is a powder you mix into hot water to produce a highly beneficial cup of green tea. This green tea is 4 times more effective than normal green tea! To me it tastes pretty much the same as normal green tea so i like to add some lemon to give it a bit more flavour. 

This month's life style gift is a bright pink Pilates Band which can be used for a bunch of different exercises and stretching. I think its a great little tool to have as the exercises that can be performed with it can help to tone the legs and bum, which is always great! Also it can fit easily into a bag so the exercises can be performed anywhere!

I hope you enjoy this little review and let me know in the comments if you've set/ reached any of the goals you set for the new year! 

I set out to lose some weight in the early months of this year and so far i am successful, losing half a stone in January! Yaay!

Have a lovely day!

Much love, 

Kim Xo

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Make Up Revolution Sugar & Spice Blush Palette Review! ♥

Hello there lovelies! Today i'm reviewing the gorgeous Sugar & Spice Palette from Make Up Revolution. This is a wonderful versatile palette which i feel will work for so many different looks all year round!

Like all Make Up Revolution Palettes the packaging is very sleek. When opening the palette a large mirror is on one side and the shades on the other. The mirror makes make up application so easy on the go or at home!

The palette has 8 shades. Two brown, which are great for contouring, four pinky peachy blush shades and 2 highlights.

I find the lighter shade of brown great for creating natural contouring under my cheek bones as its easy to blend and not too dark for my light skin. Obviously though if  i do decide to get a tan and therefore require darker contour the darker shade will be perfect for that.

The array of pink shades are VERY pigmented, which i learnt the hard way haha, first go i ended up looking like a smacked bum! But now I know a gentle tap of my brush into the colour once is enough to give my face a natural flushed glow. My favourite blush to use from the palette is the peachy colour as it looks most natural and subtle when i wear eye shadow. I think the darker pinks will look really cute in the Spring/ Summer with minimal eye make up and a pink lip.

Here be some swatches! Apologies for quality of photo, it was hard to get the lighting to hit my arm just right! Can't wait till the day i can get my dream camera too <3

These two highlights are my favourite part of the palette, they're beautiful! The pink gives a blushed look as well as a dispersed highlight. The light pinky sliver looks great when blended into the top of my cheek bones. Its looks so pretty when the sunlight hits my face!

Thanks for reading and i hope you have a lovely day!

Much Love, 

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥

The Best Birchbox Of 2014!

Hello there! Today i thought i'd share my favourite Birchbox I've ever received during the 6+ months I've been with them! This post will be a little bit different from my usual product review posts i do once a month, as it is about the November box and i feel a normal review would be irrelevant and very very late as there's probably thousands out there now.

I've left it a while to post as i  receiving a full sized skincare product i had never used before and i wanted to give it a good month or two to see the benefits thoroughly happening to my face.

I received the V7 Balancing Toner by Dr.Jart+, which when in its box took up half the Birchbox Alone! First of all, can i just express how excited i was to see this full sized, fancy looking product in my box, worth £18.00! The feeling of getting my moneys worth was definitely fulfilled! 

I felt quite intrigued by the product as i have never used a toner on its own before; I've always purchase the two in one cleanser and toner from various affordable brands. This toner comes in a glass bottle with a screw off, squishy top lid that when squeezed fills up the glass tube attached. I find one squeeze is enough, simply dispersing it from the tube onto a cotton pad.

I rub the pad all over my face after cleansing, mainly focusing on my eye area, forehead and neck. I leave the product to dry for a couple of minutes before applying a thin layer of moisturizer.

I have been taking these steps pretty much everyday and night since i received the product which i find pleasing noticeable on my skin. I tried to take photos to show how great its looking, although unfortunately i feel my camera doesn't do it justice! The main benefits I've experienced is clear, soft to touch, happy looking skin, reduced eye bags and dryness almost banished!

All in all i'm so grateful to have received a product that's done such wonders for my skin! I really do recommend Dr.Jart+ products, let me know if you too have been loving the brand!

Just a quick overview of the other 4 products i received. 

The Lord & Berry Bronzer in the shade Sienna, is perfect for contouring my light skin as its not too dark or orange. Love the English Laundry Perfume too, its such a sweet, floral summery me scent and the mini vile is perfect for throwing in my bag!

The Other two product i am just like meh about. The Weleda Wild Rose Body Oil just makes me think of old ladies and i found when applying it to my skin i couldn't really see any benefits. The Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle spray makes my hair feel okay and i love how many benefits it claims to have on the hair, although the smell again is not too pleasing.

Anyway! I can't wait to see what the boxes of 2015 bring! I'll be wrapping up and heading out now, so as always i hope this has been a somewhat enjoyable read and i hope you have a lovely day!

Much Love,

Kim xo

An Update! And A Happy New Year! ♥

Hello guys! A slightly delayed but none of the less wishfully Happy New Year to you all! I know I've been none existent, blog wise for the last 3 weeks due to lack of metal motivation but i'm back with a bang for the new year!

I thought i'd do a nice, easy read post informing you all of what i got up to during the festive weeks through a photo collage of my Instagram photos!

These first few photos are from about mid way through December. The top left photo is from my little brothers annual school play; he goes to a small school so they are normal quite quaint affairs, none of the less i enjoy them every year.. no matter how many words the tiny kids miss and how long they drag on.

This years play was base around the 1914 Christmas day trues between the soldiers. It was well played and made light with a lot of Christmas songs. The best part was seeing my little Harry smiling and singing and generally just having a fun time!

The other three photos represent silly family times, all the sparkly, bright decs got put up, and i spent many of those nasty rainy days curled up on the sofa watching a unhealthy amount of movies, mainly the classics like Matilda, Jingle All The Way and Elf.

My make up and outfits seemed to be inspired by the festive colours such as gold and deep reds. My go to make up has been a gold sparkly eye teamed with fluttery lashes and a classic cat eye. I also used a dark brown in my crease and under my bottom lash line to deepen and slightly intensify the look.

For lips i just line them with a red lip pencil then fill in with a deeper red lipstick. I think both compliment each other lovely and both give off a polished look!

I went to my favourite online store (everythingfor5Pound) mid November as i felt the Autumn winter wardrobe needed an upgrade. I ended up buying a bunch of gold, sparkly things i realized i couldn't really make justifiable until December time! Haha. The dress i'm wearing above is one of my purchases and has been a worn favourite through out the last month. I just love the snake skin effect that shimmers gold in different lights. I feel the leather detailing adds that bit of edge too!

Other statement pieces for me have been chunky knit cardigans and knee high socks/ tights. Tights wise, I think they pretty much go with everything at this time of year and i love the cheeky, sexy look they create. How beautiful are theses pictured above?! I've recently lathered them on a couple of messy nights out, (oops) sooo i'm going to have to repurchase another pair or two! 

These next 4 are from Christmas eve, which truly was a lovely day.  My mum, Lola, Alex and myself spent the day at a family friends beautiful house. How adorable does Lola look in these photos, especially the B&W one, i think she looks like shes out of an old movie!

 We all sat by this amazing fire above, listened to Christmas classics and sipped on G&T's. We finished the magical night off with a huge buffet and i quite frankly ate myself to sleep. Hahaha we got home around 6 o'clock and i had to sleep for a few hours, the soup and garlic bread was a cheeky mid night bit of comfort food.

These 4 photos are from Christmas day! A day that started with being awaken by excited kids and watching their faces when they see Santa has been :'). Harry plowed into his presents, where as Lola opened two, one containing a talking Olaf teddy and the other a cowboy hat which she was so happy with! It took her the whole day to go through opening the rest but i guess that just proves 2 year old's do not need a lot of things, a couple of presents will be just as loved and appreciated.

Around 4 o'clock hit, which meant fooood, as always if not more so i stuff my self with yummy veg, potatoes and meat to the point where i was ready to go in a food coma, hence the very sleepy photo of myself!

These next few are from Boxing Day night & New Years Eve. Both nights i spent my time with some of the best friends i have. It felt so good to reconnect with them and catch up after a few months of little contact. Alcohol wise, both nights i drank a little too much and paid for it the day after! Haha but i remember laughing so hard i was close to weeing, so a bit of sick and a headache is a small price to play for such fun!

The spring rolls were my hungover self's holly grail as i just needed little bits to snack on. It was great to mix it up this year by just breaking out the party food, instead of a traditional roast.

These final photos have you all up to date with whats been going on in my world as these snaps were taken in this first week of 2015!

The first 4 photos show some super cute bits and bobs i purchase with my Christmas money. I saw a unicorn clutch like the one above in baby pink on the Asos website a couple of months back and thought omg that is so adorable i must own it! Scolled down to see the price... £40.00!!! I was like okay, its cute but no way am i splashing out that amount of money on a clutch, even if it is shaped like a unicorn. 

But during a recent browse at cute things on eBay i came a cross the same thing, but better as its metallic and i really can't say no to metallic accesories for £7.00 including postage!! I snapped it up! 

Although it did take a couple of weeks to come as it came from China i'd say its totally worth it. Its great quality and looks so quirky with any night out outfit. Only downside is the pocket is quite small but if i just put my money in a coin purse and place my phone and ID close together it works fine!

Keeping on my obsession with the fantasy species i bought a unicorn pillow pet and I've decide to call him after something i love dearly... Noodles! I know what your probably thinking right, i turned 20 last month and i'm buying a pillow pet... Hahaha i know, my mum thinks i'm slightly crazy too but I've wanted one for years and when i saw this stuffed, lilac, soft piece of joy i had to get him.

My other two purchases are obviously cat themed because who doesn't love cats? A 2015 calendar is essential to starting a new organised year and i felt a nighty with cartoon cats all over and a glittery meow speech bubble on the front was needed too... you know for, um, better nights sleep! Teamed with my pillow pet nights have been very comfortable indeed!

Finally the photo of my vanity area is basically just displaying how clean and organised it is as i spent a good hour or two going through make up and nail polish, making sure everything was well organised in my draws and colour sectioned on my shelves (OCD life for the win!). Having everything organised makes me feel a lot calmer and obviously makes things easier when it comes to beautifying time. 

The final photo is the title page of a film I've watched a couple of times in the last few weeks, 'Girl, Interrupted'. I feel i can connect with it as the main topic is depression, which i myself have been dealing with for almost a year. The way the main actress talks about her feelings and what shes feeling is very relate-able and somewhat comforting to me. Anyway i'll keep this section short as i plan on sharing more light on my mental health journey in a post of its own.

I hope you enjoyed reading this little update into my life, i know its a little ramberly but thats just how i'm feeling and i felt i owned it to the followers i do have to tell you i havent totally vanished! Once again, i hope you all have a very Happy New Year, lets all try make this our best yet!!

Much love,

Kim Xo

♥ ♥ ♥

My 20th Birthday ♥

On December 1st i turned 20! It's seems time has gone crazy fast since i was a small child, maybe around the age of 7. When i was that age days use to feel like weeks, these days a day seems to be over with in a couple of blinks of the eye, metaphorically speaking of course.

None of the less i am 20 now and to be honest i feel it, in the best way. I was dreading the day the day before as making that transition from teenager to adult seems a little unnerving. Although birthdays can't avoided they come, they go and that's that.I plan to make this year more positive and productive than my last, which truthful won't be hard to do!

i spent my day with family in our local town where we got stuffed up on the Pizza Buffet at Pizza Hut and despite this i proceeded to have a cookie dough pudding which was A-mazing! We returned home after to put up the Christmas tree as my birthday has been our tradition date to decorate for a few years now!

Below are a few photos i snapped yesterday to document the day. Xo

(Undecorated)

(Decorated!) 

Yaay for December and the Christmas festivities! 

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