Favorites of 2013!!

Heylo!!

I cant believe that we are so close to the end of 2013 and closer to starting 2014! I don't know about you but I feel that this past year has just gone flying by. So with that in mind I thought I would do a post about my favorite products I used and loved this year! As I only started blogging at the end of October there will be products that I wont have mentioned before so this gives me the chance too let you know on what other lovely things I have enjoyed this year.

 So to start we have my bathroom items:

For body lotions I have enjoyed many Soap and Glory items, mainly the Sugar Crush Body Butter £10.50 I love the thick luxurious consistency of this body butter and the smell is so lovely and zesty. Another popular lotion was my Body Shop Mango Whip Body Lotion £3.00 this stuff is not only super moisturizing it smells amazing!! I bought this the body spray and the little bottle of perfume so i could layer the smell and it lasted all day, whenever I smell it now it reminds me of summer adventures with Gordee.

At Cleansers we have the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish £14.75 the is jammed pack full of natural ingredients its gentle to the skin and removes stubborn make up perfectly. My everyday cleanser has to be my Cetaphil £8.35 I just love this stuff, its fragrance free and does not irritate my skin.

I had to add the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub £5.50 for perfectly soft smooth lips plus it tastes yummy.

On to the skin 

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver £14.00 is still very much a staple in my morning routine, I love that it wakes my skin up in the morning, prepping me up for another day. I done a full blog post on this here. For my moisturiser I have tried a few different ones however I always go back to Superdrugs Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream £2.99 its thick and creamy, smells beautiful and is packed of healthy vitamins which I feel has really helped heal my skin from scarring and keeping it healthy looking. For a full review on this I blogged about it here. My night time moisturiser has to be the Soap & Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator £13.00 to start it smells of peaches! and its super moisturising to the skin. Since using this my skin has felt a lot more plump and looks a lot healthier. I featured this in one of my first blog posts and go a bit more in to detail about it here. And lastly where would I be without the Origins Super Spot Remover £14.00 I would be a spotty stressed out mess that's where I would be! This stuff has well and truly impressed me and without a doubt I will continue to purchase. For a full review I blogged about here.

Lastly hair!

I cannot live without a can of Batiste Dry Shampoo £1.48 my hair can get terribly greasy so in the days between washing this stuff is a savior. Making my hair feeling fresh and lasting another day. This year I have really cut back on drying my hair with a hair dryer and letting it dry natural when it dries naturally it tends to go wavy at the ends. I used to find this frustrating but this year I decided to embrace it, I spray a little bit of Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturising Spray £6.50  to the ends to add a little bit of texture. Before I wash my hair I like to treat it once or twice a month with a VO5 Hot Oil £4.29  just to give it a bit of a boost with moisture, it always feels silky soft and shiny after I use one.

So that's the end of my favorites of 2013 part 1 hope you wonderful lot have enjoyed it, part 2 will be shortly with my fave make up and nail treats. Whats been your favorite products you have used this year?

Lovies 
SparklySJ
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Nailed it!!

Aloha!!

So I know Christmas is over now (sad face), I hope you all had a fabulous day and were spoiled rotten with lovely and fantastic treats.

In my Christmas tag I mentioned how I had a nail look I wanted to try out and if it was successful I will share with you beautiful bunch.You be glad to know it wasn't too shabby at all! So here is my post on what I done to achieve my festive nails.

 A few months back I noticed these Nail Art stickers in the Avon book for about £3 and I thought why the heck not try them. I'm not the best at doing my nails but I figured I would try my best.

I noticed when I peeled the sticker off that there was clear sections in between the red stripes, as I was looking for the candy cane look I rummaged around my nail polishes I found a white polish that would be perfect.

 I started by using my Rimmel 5 in 1 as a base coat then once that was all dried I put 2 coats of the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in white.

Once the white was all dried I carefully peeled off a sticker then cut it down to size, placed it over the nail smoothing it out. Then filed it down.

Resulting in looking like this!! For my first time I thought i done not a bad job at all. I really enjoyed doing it as well, makes me want to try out some other ranges of Nail Art stickers.














And there you have it my festive nails!! They did only last 2 days but that's all I needed as I got more nail polish for Christmas that I was desperate to try.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know if you had any fancy nail art I would love to have a nosey.

Lovies
SparklySJ
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Spot of Bother

So I don't know about you guys but coming up to the festivities can lead to a lot of eating naughty treats, drinking some cheeky drinks and if your anything like me can cause a little stress with the present shopping. With all these things going on my skin sometimes can have the odd break out. So in today's post I'm going to share the 2 items I have been using over past few weeks to help combat any spots that come creeping up!

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil & Origins Super Spot Remover

Origins Super Spot Remover £14.00 this stuff is an absolute must have! Its a light clear gel that you dab on the blemish area. And the salicylic acid in it helps to speed up the healing of the spot along with Skin-calming Caffeine and Red Algae which help calm and relieve any irritated skin redness. It really does both those things it reduces the size of the blemish and it most defiantly calms any redness I had around the blemish area. The only thing I would say is that it can dry out the area a little so once its all dried in I usually slather on the moisturiser. It is in a very small 10ml bottle but you only need a small amount so it can last you along time. Worth the money!

Balance Me Radiance Face Oil   £15.00 (rollerball mini) I mention how much I am loving this stuff in my winter skin care items post which you can read here. I do usually apply this stuff after I have used the Origins Spot Remover once the blemish has gone down in size and redness is less angry looking. Oil is a great way to combat congested areas which is what i can sometimes suffer from which then leads on to a break out. However I find using this after a break out it calms it right down or at the early signs of one the break out isn't as nearly as bad as it could have been. I have almost finished my little rollarball bottle and I'm seriously considering on investing in the 30ml bottle that's £30. Sounds like a lot of money but I have noticed such a difference since using it and when you notice something working thats good for the skin why the heck not splash out and treat your skin!

There you have it my 2 spot treatments that I am loving at the moment to help combat any breakouts.

Hope you are all sorted for Christmas and feeling all festive!!!

Lots of Lovies

SparklySJ

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The Christmas Tag

 

Now that we are well and truly through the festive month of December I'm going to do The Christmas Tag, the lovely Freya over at Beauty and the Button done this and tagged me in it, you can check out her blog here. Now that I'm all in the festive spirit I figured why not do it now! So here we go, I answer 10 questions all about Christmas then to finish I'm going to tag a few bloggers I think might enjoy doing this.

1. What's your favourite Christmas song?
Oooo now I do enjoy a good Christmas song but one of my top festive tunes has to be The Pogues song Fairytale of New York featuring Kirsty MacColl. Whenever I first hear this song when its slow to start then all the instruments get going I'm like Yes!!! Christmas is coming!!

2. What's your favourite festive drink?
This has to be hot chocolate. I don't drink it much throughout the year, however when it starts getting cold I make sure that the cupboards are stocked up nicely with lots of hot chocolate sachets.

3. Any favourite Christmas films?
I have 3! First is The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton, this is one of my favourite films that I watch quite a lot more in December. Home Alone would be my second, you cant not watch this film at Christmas time its one of the best Christmas films. My third favourite is The Grinch! I love Dr Seuss and I think this version is so good Jim Carrey does such a good Grinch.

4. What's at the top of your Christmas wishlist?
I am going to be honest here I haven't actually made a list of things I would like and I'm not overly fussed either. I have given Gordee a few hints of some nice skincare or fragrance sets I would like but Christmas for me is about spending it with my family eating all that lovely food having a few drinks and having a laugh. This year is the first year Gordee and I will be spending Christmas together, so I'm excited that I get to spend it with him and my family up here in Scotland.

5. Favourite festive make-up or nail look?
This has to be dark lips, I love the barely any eye make up with a bold dark lip look. I do have a nail look which I am waiting to try a little closer to Christmas so I will be featuring that up on the blog.

6. Favourite outfit at Christmas? (LBD, Christmas Jumper, Pjs)
I live in my winter cosy pjs throughout December, unless I have to leave the flat then I layer up. I do have a Christmas jumper but I'm not wearing that yet till the last few days of work ;).

7. Play out in the snow or enjoy from the inside?
Defiantly enjoy from the comfort of my own home. I live in an area where when it snows it can really snow! I love looking outside and seeing a blanket of white, I do not enjoy walking in it cause I would hate it if I slip fall and look like an idiot!

8. Wrapping presents - love it or loathe it?
Ah! I loathe wrapping presents its so time consuming and I make such a dogs mess with it. I apologise to any of my friends reading this but yes your presents wont look the best haha.

9. Favourite Christmas food?
Mince pies! I love mince pies! I only have them coming up to Christmas times. Heat them up a few seconds in the microwave with a smidgen of cream, yummy.

10. What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
Spending it with the ones I love and having a lovely time together.

And there we have it.

Next up a few Bloggers I nominate to do the Tag
Bethany
Katrina
Steph

Enjoy guys!!

Lots of Lovies
SparklySJ
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Taking that face off!

Hello Lovelies

Now I'm not sure about you guys but coming up to Christmas means a few more nights out than normal along with the odd Christmas party. This results in many outfit planning, deciding what to have your hair like and what make up look to go for its all very time consuming yet it can be fun. However coming home (maybe a little bit tipsy) the one rule you should do no matter what state you might be in is take off that make up!! With this in mind I'm going to share what I use to take mine off.

Just these 2 beauties here is all I use when I'm needing to take off the evenings make up!

 

So if my make up look is more in the eyes I use my No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make Up Remover £8.50 first just to try and remove as much as possible, its dual action formula cleanses the area while removing stubborn make up and its Phthalmologist  tested so it is kind to the eye area. All you need to do it just shake it so the 2 formulas mix then dab a bit onto cotton wool pad, I place it on my eye for couple seconds then wipe away.

 

After I have done that I go for my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish £13.25, this stuff has been raved about on so many different blog posts and I have to say after reading all the fab reviews I too was sucked in to give it a try and it does not fail!! What is so amazing about this stuff is you apply it to your full face of make up (that's right dry skin not wet) then you massage it in circular motions round your face, its thick and creamy texture feels so lovely and gentle, and it smells so good as its full of natural ingredients like eucalyptus and cocoa butter. You then rinse your muslin cloth that you receive with your Cleanse and Polish with warm water, wring it out a little then just wipe away, leaving your skin feeling all clean and fresh!

 

Once I have done this I usually slather on some moisturiser, get myself a glass of water then head straight to bed.

 

I do find it a lot easier using these 2 items than having a whole routine to get through when I just want my bed! And its a lot better to your skin than just using a wipe.

 

What items do your use when it comes to removing your make up?

 

Hope you are having a good weekend, not long till Christmas comes now is it :)

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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My Winter Skin Care

Hellooooo!

When it comes to Winter I don't know about you but my skincare routine changes quite a bit. My poor skin gets all dry and sometimes from all the Christmas shopping stress I can suffer from the odd breakout. So with that in mind todays post I will be sharing with you lovely lot is which products I use to combat these problems.

Here we have my Cetaphil Cleanser, Aloe Vera Gel, Balance Me Facial Oil and Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturiser!! All my holy grail winter skincare.

 
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser £8.99, this stuff has to be one of my top favourite cleansers. Its a perfect daily cleanser for dry, sensitive skin. I love the fact its soap free and fragrance free which is fab for the rather sensitive skin types. You can use this on a cotton pad and just wipe away the excess or you can massage it into your skin then rinse off with water. I use mine to remove my make up with a cotton pad and then rinse away. It leaves my skin feeling lovely soft and clean.

Aloe Vera Gel £3.99, this product can help soothe, moisturise, soften dry skin, can be applied to stretch marks, dry or chapped skin and skin irritations. With all these aims of a product why wouldn't I use it! I find it especially helps with my skin being sensitive or after I have had any skin allergies this stuff seems to do the trick. After cleansing my skin I apply a thin layer all over my face to help soothe any irritations and moisturise. I have been using this for few months now and I can now not live without it. 

 

 

Balance Me extra care facial oil £15.00, this is a new edition to my winter skin care. This little miracle worker was in the Latest in Beauty Glamour Edit Box which was filled with lovely and amazing treats I got last month. Its packed with 100% natural oils and its aim is to bring back radiance to skin that's looking rather dull. Now I have oily to combination skin so the thought of putting oil on oily skin seems really odd but it can actually help the skin as oil is a fab way to combat those congested areas. It smells heavenly and leaves the skin feeling lovely and soft. I use this every night after applying my Aloe Vera Gel I roll it onto my face and neck let it soak in a bit then I apply my moisturiser.

 

Superdrug Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream £2.99, as a sufferer of rather dry skin I like my moisturiser to be quite thick in the winter times. Now this moisturiser aims to give 24hours moisturisation. Its rich in natural vitamin e, high in antioxidants and defends the skin against environmental damage and aging. Also included is a skin conditioning multivitamin complex of a variety of vitamins combined with horse chestnut extract which is created to help care for dry skin. The smell is amazing it reminds me of holidays (suntan cream) and my skin is always soft and smooth, I use this every morning and at night just before bed.

 

That's all my wonderful treats I have been using over the past month or 2 to help prevent my skin from going crazy with the winter weather. Saying that the temperature up here in Scotland the past few days has been weird and warm, how crazy is that?! Considering its December we usually have snow by now.

 

If any one is interested in the Latest in Beauty Glamour Edit Box which contained the Balance Me facial oil here is the link :)

 

What's your winter weather skin care routine? 

 

Hope you guys have enjoyed this post comment below, I would love to read them.

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Christmas is Coming!

Hello Lovelies

Hope your Monday wasn't too much of a struggle from the weekend. Just think that's it over and done with and only 4 more days to go and its the weekend again. Or even better we are getting closer to Christmas. On that note I seen a few blog posts from other bloggers showing their Christmas decorations so I thought I would share with you guys some snaps of the flat all decorated for Christmas Times!!

 

Cute little gingerbread man on the Christmas tree

 

Sparkly cupcake my mum bought me for the tree

 

A little robin

 

A nutcracker

 

Little Christmas soft toy family under the tree

 

 

I love having a fire place its the main focus in the living room so when it comes to Christmas I cant wait to decorate it!!

 

I am a huge fan of candles, they just add a touch of cosiness.

 

This Christmas candle is from Asda and it smells amazing, the living room smells just heavenly!

 

Once the flat is all decorated it defiantly puts me in the Christmas mood, which means its now a great excuse for me to light the candles watch some Christmas movies and drink lots of hot chocolate all cosy in my soft cosy pjs.

 

Also to get in the Christmas spirit over on Instagram JustSteph has created her own Instagram Bloggers Christmas Challenge and I thought I would participate in it. The aim of the challenge is you take a photo a day in the month of December but it has to have something to do with that days theme. Head over to Instagram and have a looky you can search #bxic to see what other bloggers have posted up. Also have a look at mine search for me SparklySJ.

 

 

 

Hope everyone's getting into the Christmas spirit if not I hope some of my photos have helped :)

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Very Berry Lips

Hi Guys

So one of the in looks this season for lips is deep red almost purple berry shades! I'm going to show you beautiful bunch how I achieve this look using my Avon products.

To start off I like to scrub my lips using my Lush lip scrub in bubblegum (yum) to make sure my lips are smooth I then apply a little lip balm for a soft surface to apply the lip liner and lipstick.

I use the Avon colour rich lipstick in shade Deep Orchid and Avon ultra glimmerstick lip liner in shade Deep Plum.

 

On the right is the Deep Orchid lipstick and on the left is Deep Plum lip liner.

 

So to start off I draw round the edges of my lips with the lip liner.

 



I then shade in the rest of my lips with the lip liner.

 

To finish off this look I apply one slick of lipstick.

 



 

This has to be my favourite lip look this season, I find it works best with barely any eye make up just a slick of eyeliner and a dash of mascara and I'm usually good to go.

 

What's your favourite make up look for this wintry season?

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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Elemis FreshSkin Skin Clear Overnight Serum

Hi Guys

Skincare can be an absolute nightmare, especially when it comes to what skin type you have and what products can help. I know for a fact that my skin is sensitive, and oily/combination and I thought I would share with you lovely bunch some of the products I swear by. Todays little treat is on a serum I use when I suffer from a bad skin breakout.

Elemis FreshSkin Skin Clear Overnight Serum £17.99

 

A while back I was suffering with a pretty bad breakout and I was desperate to try anything that would help. I was browsing through Superdrug and came across the Elemis FreshSkin range and the Skin Clear Overnight Serum was just calling out to me. The products aim is to de-clog those pores, shrink those nasty spots, reduces the swelling and the redness. All without causing any sensitivity (always a big plus for me). Not only does it do all that its packed with anti-oxidants properties that aid skin repair and help minimise post blemish imperfections! Well that was me sucked right in, I had to buy it and see if it would help.

 

It is save to say that this is now in my range of items that I go to when I'm going through a breakout, I love it that much. I notice that the redness calms down a lot, my skin always feels really soft and looks lot more radiant. Now you can use this in the morning as well as at night, on its own or under moisturiser. I use mine at night time after I have cleansed my face, I apply a thin layer all over my skin then once that's soaked in I apply my moisturiser.

 

I do notice such a difference when I use this product and I would recommend anyone who was going through a bad break out to give it a try. To some £17.99 might be a tad pricy you can always look online to see if can be found cheaper, I got mine on a 3 for 2 skincare offer in Superdrug. The amount you get in a bottle is 30ml however you do only need the one pump of serum each time you use it and I only use this when my skins at its worst so I can defiantly say that it is worth the money and lasts a good long time.

 

Is there any skincare serums that you cant live without? leave me a comment if you like, or even just say hi, I do love replying to them and discovering new blogs.

 

Hope your all having a lush weekend

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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The Forgotten Gem!

As some of you guys may or may not have noticed I mentioned in my post about the Dr Jart BB Cream that I had recently taken an allergic reaction which resulted on my skin being super sensitive so I really had to watch what I was putting on my skin for a while.

Well when I was doing my make up one morning I figured it best to not use my Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver as my primer, on the fact that it smells super strong of citrus. When my skin takes reactions and goes all dry I try to avoid any strong smelling products cause I don't want to irritate it even more. So I rummaged in my vanity case and I came across my Rimmel Match Perfection Fix & Perfect!! I forgot how much I love this product so I thought I should share my love for it with you lovely lot!

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro £6.99

 

This fab little product aims to smooth, restore, brighten, mattifies and protects all in a oner!! You can wear it alone or under foundation. I wear mine under my foundation so my make up has a smooth surface to go on. You only need a little bit of this and as its only in a little 30ml tube it does last you a long time, it is a white light texture, it does have a little scent to it but nothing too strong for us sensitive skin types. I do also think this helps my make up last on my face for a lot longer which is fab for me when I'm at work. I would defiantly recommend this stuff, plus its a good alternative to the high end priced ones which is also a bonus.

 

 

 

Is there any primers out there that you really love and cannot live without? comment below, or even leave a comment saying hi :)

 

Hope your all having a lovely week so far

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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The Sunshine Award

Hiiiii Guys

 

I am so sorry I haven't been blogging much since last week, I actually have no idea where the week had gone. I am back though and I have a notebook bursting with ideas for future blog posts. To start back in to the swing of things I have this lovely post :)

 

So the beautiful Bethany over at http://missbethanyx.blogspot.co.uk/ nominated me last week for The Sunshine Award. This is where other bloggers nominate 11 bloggers that they find creative inspiring and positive blogs. So to start I just want to say a massive Thank You to Bethany :)

The rules are: 

Post 11 random facts about yourself

Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you

Nominate 11 beautiful bloggers

Write 11 questions for them

Inform the 11 bloggers you nominate them!

 

So here goes

 

11 Random Facts about Me!

1. I am rather petite

2. I have 3 stepsisters and 1 half brother

3. I am terrified of clowns

4. My favourite colour is a pale mint green

5. I have a rather geeky love for Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Harry Potter

6. I have a collection of momiji

7. I love pandas

8. I have some bizarre allergies from shellfish, chlorine along with some nuts.

9. I adore Studio Ghibli films (have a soft spot for anything Japanese really)

10. I drink a lot of green tea

11. My dream holiday is Bora Bora

 

My 11 Questions from Bethany

 

1. Who is your favourite blogger?

Has to be the beautiful Meg over at http://wonderful--you.blogspot.co.uk/ . I discovered this stunner last year, I just think she is just lush. She has gorgeous style and I love that she is 100% honest and herself. Check her out!

 

2. Favourite nail varnish colour?

Is a lovely dark plum colour I have from Nails Inc called Piccadilly Circus

 

3. Favourite TV Show?

Gossip Girl!! Just everything about this tv show is fab! from the clothes, the hair, the crazy drama and of course the lush Chuck Bass. I'm gutted its finished, but I do watch the box sets every year.

 

4. Could Meet anyone in the world who?

Has to be Surprise Surprise Katy Perry!!!!!!! I just love her, she is stunning. I love all her albums and she seems like such a fun and lovely person. We would go shopping and have cups of tea and chats.

 

5. Favourite Song right now?

Okay I only just discovered this song while browsing this artist's page on iTunes. It's Lana Del Rey's song Young & Beautiful from The Great Gatsby Soundtrack. I do love this woman's voice and this song is just beautiful.

 

6. Most expensive beauty product?

This has to be the Dermalogica Daily Resurfacer, I got this at the Duty Free (not sure what the price was as I purchased a few bits). However when I went on the actual site and it was £68.90!!! Now I don't normally spend much on skincare and I have to say I stretched these out to last at least 4 months. And it was well worth the money. God bless credit cards that's all I have to say haha.

 

7. How do you normally do your hair?

Normally I have it down just doing its own thing. When I hit day 3 I spray a bit of dry shampoo and pin it up in a bun.

 

8. How long do you spend on your blog each week?

At the moment I'm trying to spend at least 3-4 hours a day on my blog. However I am also trying to do my driving theory stuff so I decided to split it up, one day I do my blog then the next I do revision on my theory but blogs sometimes do distract me haha.

 

9. Early bird or Night owl?

I would like to say I'm more an early bird, I just don't like wasting my day in bed. Especially now that it gets dark so early now.

 

10. Any Pets?

Winston our black 6 month old male cat. I would say this but he is just the cutest cat ever!!! And he is so loveable, he loves meeting new people :)

 

11. Favourite hot drink?

I drink lots and lots of herbal tea, mainly green tea! At the moment I'm loving Green Tea with Pomegranate.

 

My Questions:

1. Favourite skincare product?

2. Favourite brand of nail polish?

3. Favourite high street product?

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where?

5. What's your favourite season?

6. What is your favourite film?

7. What look are you really into right now?

8. Is there anything in particular your looking forward too in 2014?

9. What product are you desperate to try out but haven't yet?

10. Favourite drink? (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, hot or cold)

11. What tv show or book (even both if you want) are you loving right now?

 

The Bloggers I nominate are:

1. Yasmin http://yasbeyou.blogspot.co.uk/

2. Freya http://beautyandthebutton.blogspot.co.uk/

3. Belle http://bellesplash.blogspot.co.uk/

4. Sophie http://sophiesbooksandbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/

5. Abbie http://daintylittledreams.blogspot.co.uk/

6. Dulcie https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/8145379/dulcies-beauty-blog

7. Carly https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11309169/the-fashionloulou

8. Dayna http://adaynasaur.blogspot.co.uk/

9. Hayley http://haysparkle.blogspot.co.uk/

10. Becky http://lipgloss-and-lashes.blogspot.co.uk/

11. Emma http://lifebyemmy.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Sorry about having to post all the long links up, I haven't figured out how to shorten them lol

 

I shall return in next few days with more posts

 

Lovies

SparklySJ

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