Monday, 27 July 2015

Beauty | Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue



I'm so late to the party on this one but I am absolutely freaking in love with Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue. I really should have picked up on this sooner than I did, but being a massive fan of mineral powder foundation and trying to stay away from liquid bases it just wasn't appealing to me as much as it usually would have. Saying that I couldn't resist when my girl Ashton tried it on me in the Bristol House of Fraser. It had such an instant WOW impact on me and it's impressed me so much ever since also. I don't quite know what it is about this product that's made me fall so in love; I love how dewy it makes me look, how flawless it applies to my skin and how little product I need to give the perfect finish. I apply this with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (which is also all of a sudden my favourite brush) and just buff (ha didn't see that coming did you?) this into my skin using literally the tiniest bit of product ever all over my face and neck. It's a lovely light foundation, which I find to be quite tacky to the touch and I believe it was designed to be a pre-foundation before adding the Bare Minerals Powder foundation which makes it the perfect coverage for an everyday wear. Being called Complexion Rescue obviously I was a bit dubious over it's skills when it came to evening out my skin tone but again, amazingly I've been extremely impressed by this product. Even with blemishes, dark circles or the pesky redness that creeps on me of a morning, this bad boy has been covering it so well and blending out my complexion. I've been so so so impressed with this product and Bare Minerals could not have done much better here - Repurchase is definitely on the cards here!

Have you tried BM's Complexion Rescue? Do you think of it as highly as me? Let me know in the comments below.


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Monday, 20 July 2015

Fashion | Edgy & Affordable with Zaful.com


Dresses like the one I'm photographed in above are the kinds of dresses that I have always stayed away from. They're skin tight, hug every part of my body and actually look flipping amazing on the models online... But they've never been the kind of dress that I thought I could pull off. I work out a lot and I put a lot of time and effort into keeping myself slim (because let's face it breakfast donuts do happen at least once a week at work) yet I have still never thought that I look good enough to pull off a dress like this. So recently, I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone with my fashion and so when I was contacted by Zaful.com to see if I'd like to try one of their pieces I jumped at the opportunity to choose something so much out of my comfort zone that I almost regretted it as soon as I'd sent off the link to the piece I had wanted to try.

Zaful.com is an online brand of edgy and affordable fashion and with free shipping world wide (yes you read that correctly) you can't really go wrong. They have so many amazing items and the above Black Spaghetti Strap Cut Dress* has instantly become one of my favourite dresses and my go-to night out wear!  I really love how the material clings nicely, yet how it isn't super tight - when you're tottering around in 5" heels it's definitely a plus having a dress that's easy to move in! The only thing that I would say about this dress on a slightly negative side is that there is no padding in the boobage area at all, a bra is definitely required and if you have slightly larger tatas, the material provided might be a tad too small to cover all of your bra. I haven't found this an issue though, I have a gorgeous Chloe (I think, please don't quote me on this one) bra from Boux Avenue that looks really nice with this dress even though it does occasionally pop a little out of the bottom! I love this dress so much (at £9.36 it's an absolute bargain!) and I can't wait to get my hands on some more of their items. With such amazing value (and did I mention the free shipping) I don't think you can really go wrong with Zaful.com at all!

Check out my wish list below for some of the items I'll be thinking of getting next pay day!
- Floral Sleeveless dress - £7.30
-Slash Neck Ethnic Print Dress - £8.50
-Striped 3/4 Sleeve Crop and Skirt Suit - £7.55
-White Lace Bodycon Midi skirt - £8.39

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Saturday, 18 July 2015

Lifestyle | MiniV:Nutrition NEW Additions!




A couple of months ago I wrote a review post on Vicky Pattison's Mini:V Nutritional Supplements and although I had a reaction to one of the products, I absolutely loved all of the others and couldn't wait to get my hands on some of the new releases as soon as they were announced.  I find that I spend a lot of my time doing exercise, whether that be at a bootcamp class, at a Personal Training session or just carrying boxes back and forth at work and I've found that taking supplements like these from Vicky's range have definitely given my body that extra boost that it sometimes needs. I've been a huge fan of Vicky's since the first season of Geordie Shore and (as I've previously mentioned) her weight-loss and fitness regime has been an inspiration to me to get my ass into gear a little more to see the results I've always wanted. Mini:V Nutritional Supplements have been a lovely helping-hand in reaching my goal of a slightly slimmer and toned physique.

This time around Vicky has introduced two new tablet supplements and a new Mini:Shake flavour to the very popular collection. If you can remember from my latest post (or if you can't you can catch up here) I absolutely loved the Mini:Shakes with even the chocolate one taking my fancy (I usually hate chocolate shakes) and this new flavour has definitely kept the standards high. The latest addition to the trio has been Caramel Macchiato*, again this was something that I didn't think I would like (I am definitely not a coffee person!) however the balance of flavouring within the shake is perfect enough for me to not really taste the coffee at all. I really liked this flavour and after a sweaty HIIT session this was perfect to get my energy levels back up and get me moving again! I think I'll always be a massive fan of these Mini:Shakes - they're definitely unlike any Protein / Fitness shakes I've tried before and I love how easy they are to prepare for a pre/post workout pick-me-up!



Next in the line up of Mini:V Supplements have been Mini:SuperGreens* and Mini:Vitamins* - two things that I have definitely needed in my life for far too long now! I am terrible when it comes to eating more greens and getting enough vitamins within my food. I am very subjective when it comes to my food and I tend to stick to the same kind of meals every week. I promise I am trying and I am branching out into eating more varieties of foods but for now these tablets are my absolute saviours. Packed with 5 super food extracts including Broccoli, Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Barley Grass and Spinach, Mini:Supergreens ensures that I have all of the goodness I need within one tablet. I personally wouldn't eat any of the above out of choice (except a tiny bit of spinach in a smoothie every now and again), I absolutely detest broccoli (insert vom emoji here) and I wouldn't even know what the other ingredients looked like so packing them into one tablet is a bit of a genius move for Vicky and Mini:V! I've definitely noticed my energy levels have been up since taking these and Mini:Vitamins and at £19.99 for a 2 month supply, I think these are well worth it!

Mini:Vitamins* is another new product that I am so happy to have in my life, I am so bad at ensuring that I have all of the correct vitamins in my diet also and so a nifty little tablet like this is quite literally the best thing ever. I must say I think these are so much nicer to swallow (even though they are a tad larger) than the Mini:burn/collagen/ detox capsules from the Mini:V collection. I like that they are a solid tablet as the taste transfers less as you swallow it down! Mini:Vitamins has been a very welcome addition to my morning routine and as with Mini:Supergreens I have definitely been noticing little changes since taking these. Just little things like having a bit more energy, my nails and hair growing at a healthier rate and just feeling that little more alive throughout the day! Taken alongside Mini:collagen and Mini:detox these two new tabs are the perfect way to get a day started! Mini:Vitamins are £12.99 for a 2 month supply and can also be purchased in the Mini:Lifestyle pack (all 5 Mini:supplements for £69.99)- an absolute bargain!  

Have you tried out any of the Mini:V Nutrition range yet? If you have, let me know which have been your favourites in the comments below!


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Monday, 13 July 2015

Lifestyle | Life Lately


It may only be the first week of July, but this Summer has already been one of my best so far. I'm increasingly getting more and more excited about leaving my little Wiltshire town and moving to Manchester and in the process I'm making so many great memories here with Jordan, my family and friends. I think one of the biggest things that have happened over the last couple of weeks has to be that I bought Jordan a pet Hamster. If anyone knows me at all, you'll know that I really am not an animal person. I wouldn't quite say hate (as that's a pretty strong feeling) but me and animals just do not gel. So for me to buy Jordan a Hamster after repeatedly telling him no for months has to be one of my best memories. The look on his face when he came home and saw the cage was priceless and something I will always remember.. He was so happy!

I met Tanya Burr last month. Did I mention that on here already? It was one of those really nice afternoons where I could shop around London, spend time with Melody and meet someone that I've been watching on Youtube forever. It was a really nice afternoon put on by Origins and although I won't babble on too much here (you can read the full post here), I will say that it was so nice meeting someone like Tanya in such a relaxed situation! The next photo above is from a day out at Thorpe Park with Jordan! We took a day off of work and drove the hour and a half down to one of my favourite theme parks! It was such a scorching day and because of the terrible accident at Alton Towers, there weren't actually many people there compared to usual so the queues weren't that bad at all.. I got extremely burnt - queue lobster red back, chest and shoulders and a shit tonne of after sun required! It was such a lovely day and days like that for me and Jordan are some of the nicest I think!

As you can see from the last photo above, I'm still working towards my end goal of my dream body. I'm getting there slowly but surely and the photo above has been such a milestone for me! Finally I can see some progress with abs and muscles. I've actually started to see the definition in my legs more and also in how slim I'm getting. We have a new WellBeing machine at work and it's been helping so much to keep a track of my weight loss, my BMI and my body fat percentage. It's literally a dream in a machine for me right now as I'm trying to tone up and lose a tiny bit more of my fatty areas! I'm really happy with my body lately and can't wait to start more defining results now that most of my fat has gone!

This is Grace. Grace is a lovely girl that I met last year (left photo) in Ibiza. Grace was the holiday rep for 2wentys and we hit it off like a house on fire! Although the photo on the left doesn't show her looking too happy, this photo was from the best night of my holiday. Grace, myself and Beki all deserted the bar crawl and went off on our own drunken tangent (much to her boss' dismay) and ended up running round the St Antonio main strip trying to get to Lineker's and finding Mario Falcone - let's just say that after stopping for a very classy wee stop mid strip, lipstick application (to make ourselves appealing in our drunken state) and getting a tad lost we didn't actually end up meeting Mario, but it did lead to one of the best nights out  I've ever had and all because of this girl. Skip to exactly (yes literally to the day) one year later and the photo on the right shows me and Grace fully reunited in Manchester earlier in June. It was so nice to meet up with her and I honestly cannot wait to move to Manchester and be closer to her! It's crazy to think that a friend I met in a different country will soon be one I can see on a regular basis! Absolutely love this one and was so nice seeing her again!




Had to whack in a couple of selfie's here didn't I? I've been loving stepping out of my comfort zone recently with clothing and can't wait to step further out again. With losing a bit of weight and toning up my stomach recently I've been a lot happier with wearing tighter fitting clothing on a daily basis and I am loving the shameless selfies that that comes with! It's only natural right?! The top outfit is of a New Look bodycon, high waisted pencil skirt and a gorgeous AX Paris Lace top (which is very see-through so a little New Look crop had to be added for work!) and the bottom dress is a new favourite of mine from Zaful.com  - such an affordable piece that is just lovely on! I recently wore this on a night out and it's just co comfortable and fitted - I love it! If you have any favourite (affordable) websites where you think i'll be able to find more fitted fashion for everyday wear please let me know in the comments!


Lastly for this life lately, I thought I'd include this picture of me with my copy of ' Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter'. This lady has inspired me so much over the last couple of years and without her and her ever lovely videos and blog posts I don't think I'd be the kind of blogger I am today. Louise Peatland is the kind of girl I relate to in a lot of ways and I am absolutely in love with her life. I haven't ever really gotten star-struck when I've met famous people or celebrities in the past, but Louise is probably one that I would go all gushy over. She's been a massive influence on my life decisions, on my blog decisions and on things that I just do without thinking about every day. I am so unbeliveably proud of her for this book and I cannot wait to get stuck into it. Louise, I doubt you'll be reading this, but in case you happen to stumble across it, well done. I admire you a lot (in such a non-obsessed way, promise) and I so hope I get to meet you one day to chat all girly and ditsy!

I hope you've enjoyed this life lately post! I love doing little catch-up posts like this! Until next time!


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Saturday, 11 July 2015

Fashion | Festival Style



The Sun is shining, July is getting well under way now and that can most definitely only mean one thing. Festival season is upon us! With Glastonbury and Wireless just behind us there is definitely an eye on the festival fashion right now and along with Wynsors I'm here to give you 3 of my favourite festival fashion looks! I've only ever been to one festival myself (Boardmasters when I was 17) and honestly, I don't really think more than one night is really my thing - definitely not good when something like Glastonbury is one of those things you just have to experience in life, right?! Festival wardrobes however are 100% my thing and I almost wish that it was acceptable to wear some of these get ups on any other day of the year too! Fringe camis, crochet, denim shorts, kimonos and of course a classic pair of wellies. I think we can all agree that a good pair of wellies are definitely a festival must-have! Saying that, here are my three festival looks featuring these cute Platino Fleur Wellies*!

I absolutely love the first outfit - A gorgeous bohemian off the shoulder dress with spaghetti straps to keep a bit of modesty in tact whilst you're dancing away to your favourite band! Pair this with the Platino Fleur wellies and it's the classic festival dress outfit, crazy print and all! This is perfect for a hot day and with some shades and a floppy hat has the ultimate festival feel to me.
Outfit number two is another classic for me. Denim shorts are a staple when it comes to the festival season and it wouldn't quite be the same without a pair. I've matched mine with the Platino Wellies and a see-through/mesh American jersey from Primark (last year's stock), it's a cool outfit for a chilled day walking round site and not too hot and stuffy like a normal t-shirt will be in the heat of a July weekend. Hair in a pony, sunglasses on and you're good to go with this one!
My last festival inspired outfit is some crazy running-esque shorts and a cropped-tee. By this stage, (we're talking day three here) my shoulders are normally a little burnt so it's best to cover them up, I love how a crop like this can do the job but also keep you feeling cool and festival ready! Of course, if we were also to be having to style three day festival hair, a messy high bun is also your best bet! This is probably my favourite outfit of the three - it's so chilled and I love how the print of the shorts clash with the wellies - festivals are all about slumming it and throwing things together after a rough night after all!

Click the links to check out the Platino Fleur Wellies from Wynsors and also check out some of their other great wellies too! They're the perfect companions for festivals and perfectly priced to match the festival budget! How will you be styling yourself for your festivals this summer?


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Wednesday, 8 July 2015

Beauty | Nail Care with Bruzz and Nail HQ


Keeping my nails looking even half decent has been a mission of mine for a while now. For some reason I have absolutely cr*p nails and they are always splitting and breaking on me. Definitely not ideal when you're a beauty blogger and a huge nail polish fan! My nails just haven't been easy to look after and so for a while I just completely gave up on pampering them - I know, I know, completely the wrong approach Beky! Well, don't you worry your pretty little heads because Sparkle PR have sorted me out and my nails have never been better! The first wonderful tool to get my nails finally looking tip-top has been the Bruzz Nail Brush* (available in Boots for £9.99) - This nifty little thing is literally the mother of all nail brushes. With three sides of super soft antibacterial bristles this nail brush is like no other, effortlessly cleaning the top, tip and underside of your nails all in one go, minimising mess and spray. I've always struggled with cleaning my nails before and with regularly attending bootcamp classes where dirt is easily captured under my nails (whilst doing the dreaded burpees - thanks Jodie!) I've never quite found the right brush to make cleaning my nails a priority. Dirty, I know - sorry! I've found that regular nail brushes are all too harsh and just end up breaking my nails more or just hurting my nail beds too much. The Bruzz Nail Brush is literally the softest thing going and as sad as it sounds I actually look forward to giving my hands a good ol' scrubbing after a muddy bootcamp sesh! I also really love the fact that you can remove the inside of the brush (the bristley bits) and easily clean and dry it when its gets too mucky - so easy to ensure that all of your soap is removed and that the brush is squeaky clean for your next use! 10/10 in my books - I never knew a nail brush could be so bloody amazing!

The next product that has helped my nails in a million ways more than one is the sweet little pot of clear polish photographed next to the Bruzz above. Nail HQ are a brand I've featured on BekyLou before and absolutely loved and this bottle of Protect and Repair polish* (£7.99 in SuperDrug)  has definitely not tarnished that reputation. This nail polish has strengthened them and stopped my nails from splitting full stop. I have literally been amazed by the power of this little liquid, I mean I loved the All in One polish that I tried from Nail HQ before, but this is like love on a whole new level. Never before has a polish stopped my nails from splitting so quickly. I'm not even exaggerating when I say how much of an absolute state my nails were in before, but they were a scabby mess. Within about a week or so's use of this polish daily (taking it off and giving them a good file every night too) my nails showed such a huge improvement in their appearance. I'd been taking some Collagen Supplements at the time too, so I'm not sure if those had much to do with the health of my nails 'from within' or anything, but I definitely think that this polish had a big part in resuscitating my now healthy talons! I can't wait to apply this for a couple more weeks (just to make sure they're at their tip-topiest) and to finally start painting my nails pretty again!

What are your nail care treatments and favourite nail care tools? Do you have issues with your nails like mine? Let me know in the comments, I'd love some tips on keeping mine healthy!

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Monday, 6 July 2015

Beauty | New Found Love - Instant Tans




Tanning is something you have to have patience for and I for one do not have a lot of that. I'm a very pale girl and it is not easy for me to naturally tan so something out of a bottle is always my safest bet - I honestly prefer a fake tan to a real one as well. So what do you do for a lazy girl like me who likes to have some gorgeously tanned pins? Well, there's only one answer to that I think and this is Instant Tans. I have no idea why I've never thought of this before / tried them before, but here we are for my latest 'New Found Love' post. Instant tan came into my life last year when I found a bottle of St Tropez Instant tan in a copy of a Magazine thatI'd bought. Not being one for tans back then I chucked it into the back of my Alex Drawers to forget about it until just last week. There's something about being called a Milk Bottle at work that can really persuade you to get the tanning bug back, I tell you now. Everyday since then I have used this and have now used up the 50ml bottle, been out to purchase a couple more and can probably say I am now a little obsessed! St Tropez Instant tan (100ml) is around £10 depending on where you go, but it is definitely worth it (I actually think that's really reasonable for St Tropez) and a full bottle will last me about 3-4 weeks depending on how much of my body I tan daily. I usually only tan my legs from my thighs down as my shoulders tend to naturally brown a tiny bit and this Instant tan is so natural looking. I also picked up a tube of Rimmel's Sun Shimmer Instant Tan in light (which I think is about £6.99) and I honestly love this tan too! As you can see from my photo above they both give such a great result and look pretty similar. I think for colour though, I prefer the St Tropez for a natural glow and the Rimmell one is a favourite for shimmering flawless legs! They're definitely my new favourites for Summer and I love the fact that it easily washes off in your next shower too. Have you ever tried Instant Tans? Will you be picking up some of these soon?


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