Thing's I've Been Loving This Month

Hello lovelies,

Well hasn't it just been forever seen I've written a post! Things have been very busy recently but I thought I would share with you some thing's I have been loving this month.

Let me know if you have also been loving any of these as well. Enjoy!


Oribe Dry Texturising Spray
Now if you're not new to my blog, you will know I used to have very long hair and found this very hard to style. I have recently had my hair cut into a middle parting, with a lot more layers so find it much easier to style.

This spray didn't work so well on my long hair as it was all one length, so therefore didn't give me much style. However, with my hair hair it makes SUCH a difference. I now use this EVERYDAY without fail.


Rings
I have never been a huge jewellery wearer, but recently I've got really into rings, especially big statement ones. Here is a photo of a few of my rings.

I wouldn't recommend wearing them all together.. 

Game Of Thrones
I LOVE THIS SHOW. Now ordinarily this sounds like something I would hate but it's incredible. What I love about this show is the characters, every one of them has a hidden depth and qualities you either love or love to hate.

Who's your favourite character? I love Arya!

JON SNOW FOR KING!



Fairy Lights
I've been doing a bit of redecorating lately and went on a spur of buying lots of fairy lights. These ones from my fireplace are white wicker hearts and are so adorable! They really add something and look so beautiful all lit up.

The one's I have around my mirror, I have since taken down as it looked too much like a dressing room mirror. What do you think?

So, what have you been loving this month?

Are you a Game Of Thrones Fan?

Cya x

My Little Break..

Hi All,

Firstly I just want to apologise for not posting in a few weeks now. Things have been super super busy and crazy and I haven't had any free time to post.

I don't want to rush posts and do a quick one whenever I have the spare minute as I want to really put effort into them and I love to edit them to make sure they are the best they can be. 

So apologies for not posting and I will soon I promise!!

I hope everyone is well and I'll speak to you soon!

Cya x

MUA Nail Polish Review

Hi all,

Out of every beauty product, nail varnish is my favourite. I don't even know how many I own, I can never stop buying them. There just never seems to be a limit as to how many colours I need.

I don't know if anyone else is the same, but whenever I go into a beauty store I normally come out with a new nail varnish or lipstick and recently it was no different.

Now, I normally have no preference to nail varnish brands, as long as the colour is pretty. I actuallt have a nail varnish regime of 2 coats, then a coat of clear and re do this every Sunday night. One of my favourite colours to wear is a mocha colour but I also love pastel colours, especially in the spring/ summer.

When shopping recently, I saw a gorgeous baby pink colour in the MUA range that I just had to pick up. To top this off, it was only £1. How could I not!?

I have heard a lot about this range but never used anything from it and I am very impressed by this nail polish. It stays on your nails a lot longer than many other more expensive brands and there is hardly any chips!! I am very impressed and will definitely be purchasing more colours it in!

Another good feature of this is how quickly it dries, this is huge benifit for me as I like to apply more than one coat and I hate waiting for it to dry!

If you would like to see more about this product you can find it HERE

What do you think of this colour?

What's your favourite nail varnish?

Cya x

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Hi All,

A few weeks back I went to the Harry Potter Studio's in London so thought I would share some photos with you.

Around 2 years ago now I went to Harry Potter World in Florida which is absolutely incredible. If you haven't been to any of them I recommend going!!! They are both quite different, London is very much props & parts of the set whereas Florida has been built so you can walk into Hogwarts, Shops and down Diagon Alley, which is amazing and very surreal.

London studios was fantastic as you got to see the effort that went into the films, you don't realise there is so much to do!

Anyway the best way to share my experience of the day is through photo's I snapped along the way. So I hope you enjoy them!

The cupboard under the stairs

Uniforms in the Great Hall

All the main character's costumes

In infamous Weasley car

All the wands!

I thought this was the cutest photo's of them!

Diagon Alley

The sweet shop in Diagon Alley

Almost lifesize model of Hogwarts

Props Department

Arogog

A motorised Buckbeak

Dumbledore in his office 

Making potions in class

Chamber of Secrets

Props Department

If you haven't been yet, I would definitely recommend going. Prices are reasonable and you even get on a Harry Potter themed bus!!

Let me know if you've been and what you thought of it?

Cya x

Matilda The Musical

Hi lovelies,

Me and my sister and HUGE Matilda fans, so for her birthday recently I got us both tickets to see Matilda the musical.

I know a lot of people who have been to see this and said it was EXCELLENT!

It did not disappoint..

If you haven't seen this already. GO SEE IT!

At first I was quite sceptical of this. If you've seen the movie/read the book, you'll know it's not a musical. However, they managed to incorporate so many songs whilst sticking to the original story.

Where Did I See It?

I saw Matilda at Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden and they decorated the inside of the Theatre beautifully!! There were chalk boards everywhere and it really had a school like feel which I thought was very amusing.

I paid for dress circle tickets for me and my sister as I wanted to get a good view & they were pretty expensive but worth it!!

What Was It Like?

The production and the show was BRILLIANT!! So so good! The actors were fantastic, especially Matilda! For a young girl she was amazing. I know there MANY Matilda's and we had Lollie. 

If you have seen the performance, the stand out scene for me was the Alphabet one. It was SO cleverly put together!

I wasn't allowed to take photos during the performance for obvious reasons, but I took a photo of the stage which was decorated with hundreds of books and looked amazing.

Coming out of this musical, made me miss going to the Theatre so much. I used to go a lot when I was younger, but not so much anymore. I definitely want to see more!

If you haven't heard of this musical before, he's a clip of a performance on Children In Need:

Have any of you seen Matilda the Musical yet? 

What's your favourite musical?

Cya x

My Ombre Hair

Hi All,

Since my last blog post about my BaByliss Curl Secret I have had a lot of questions about my hair.

If you have seen this post, you will know I have extremely long ombre hair and a lot of people have taken an interest in it so I thought I would do a post on it.


Ombre
I wanted to dip dye my hair for ages before I finally did it!

My natural hair is mousy brown, the same colour as it is at the top currently but I always thought this was a bit plain.

I have dyed by hair blonde and chocolate brown before but the blonde washed me out too much so I decided I only wanted it at the ends.

Ombre is a perfect combination as it is not as damaging as a full head of colour.


What I Used

• I used Loreal's Wild Ombre in the No. 3 Shade. I used this as it was recommend by a friend who had a similar hair shade to me. This product was great and so easy to use! My friend actually did this for me as it's easier for someone else to do it rather than looking in the mirror and trying to gage where to put it.

How I Did It

• This product comes with a brush to comb the dye into your hair with. This makes it so simple! 

• I recommend getting someone else to do this for you the first time, but you can do it yourself after. 

• The dye started just over half way down my hair. It is important this colour isn't in a block and it is different lengths to match natural tones.

How Long Have I Had It

• I have had Dip Dyed hair for nearly a year now and have only had to do it 3 times. The first time I did it, it stayed on for around 40 mins and I did it again 3 days later for a further 30 mins to get it even blonder. I then left it for around 4 months before I did it again.

• I'm surprised how long the dye has stayed, it has really stuck to my hair now and it's blended to such a nice natural colour.

My Ombre Hair March 2013

Length
I have super super long hair, it's past hip length now! I get asked a lot how I maintain it but there's no secret really!

I have ALWAYS had long hair, never had short hair and it's also very thick. I'm pretty lucky with it actually.

The only issue with having such long hair is that is gets flat so I have to backcomb it quite a lot for it to get volume, and when I get volume, it's often been compared to a mane!! I love love love volume!


What I Use

• To maintain my dip dye and stop damage I use John Frieda Moisturising Blonde Shampoo 
• I use Gold GHD Straightens and for curls, BaByliss Curl Secret 
• For hairspray I use Pantene Extra Strong to keep it volumised
• I am a huge fan of dry shampoo and use Batiste original 

I hope this has been helpful for you and if you have any questions about maintaing, dying your hair, let me know!

Have you ever dyed your hair?

Cya x

Beautiful New P&G Advert

Hi all,

I'm always on the lookout for fantastic adverts to share with you and this one is just beautiful.

A few weeks back now I saw an article on the new P&G advert for the Winter Olympics, so watched it and I was mesmerised. I have also seen this on TV in the last few days so look out for it!

If any of you remember back to the 2012 London Olympics and the P&G - Thank You Mum advert, you will know exactly why this is such a beautiful advert. For those who haven't seen it or would re-live it. See below:

Warning.. it's an emotional one..

Is anyone else crying?

The whole advert is perfect, everything about it. It is just amazing, it's so emotive and pulls at every heartstring.

I absolutely love the mum angle they have taken because so many people can relate to it and P&G's products are all household related so this advert will really reach out to Mums. 

The ends gets me every time, especially when the mum is crying hugging her gymnast daughter, that's the bit that sets me off. And the music.. the buildup! Ahhh it's all just lovely really. Warm and fuzzy feelings all around.

So..  Winter Olympics

This year is the 2014 Winter Olympics and P&G have recently released another 'Thank You Mum' in regards to the Winter Olympics. See the perfectness below.

Stats
Views: 12,270,103

Published: Jan 5, 2014

Likes: 26, 986

What do you think of these adverts? I'd love to know your thoughts?

Cya x

Review - BaByliss Curl Secret

Hi All,

This post has been requested so many times and good news, it's finally here!

If you haven't read my previous post about why I wanted to Curl Secret read that HERE first so this makes more sense to you. Today's post will be the review of this so if you just want that, carry on reading!

So this beauty to my right is the BaByliss Curl Secret a curling tool which was shown to suck up your hair in some magical way and produce a curl in a few seconds. So, does it work?

YES! Is the answer..

I have tried to think of all the questions you would want to know in the post, which are pretty much the things I wanted to know before.


First Thoughts

At first, I was absolutely terrified of this I'm not going to lie. I am very precious about my hair and the one thing I was worried about is it getting tangled because it sucks up your hair so quick. I read the instruction booklet over 5 times and I reccomend you do this because I did not want to get to wrong. I practised the motion a lot before doing it also, as I was aware it could go wrong.

At first, I didn't even look in the mirror to do it, I had my eye glued on the bit where your hair is zapped up. However, as I got into it, I wasn't even looking at it anymore and was seamless. It is also quite a nice size and not too bulky.

Does It Curl Well?

Below I have I included a before and after shot of my hair. I never usually have curls as it takes me foreever due to the length of my hair, so it curled really well for me. I was unsure where to start the curls due to the length but as you can see I went quite up with the curls, which is what I wanted. 

You can create 3 types of curls with the Curl Secret, which I found very handy. The setting I used for this review was defined curls as I wanted a dramatic effect, but there is a loose waves setting which I am very interested to try.

                       BEFORE                                            AFTER

How Is It With Long Hair?

This is something I was very worried about. As you can see my hair is extremely long as I wasn't sure how well it would do with it considering the mechanism. However. it coped a lot better than I was expecting. I started from just above half way to be safe and still got a really nice finish. The barrel that your hair is kept in does seem quite small, but it keeps wrapping until it is done. It's funny you can hear it doing it!.

My hair is completely natural so I am not sure how well this would be with extensions, but if they are secure, I see no reason why this should be an issue. Please read the instructions though!

Does Your Hair Get Caught

This was the one thing I was TERRIFIED of happening. The mechanism in this quickly zapped up your nail and wrapped it around a tong inside so it is clamped in. At first I did this was very thin strands of hair as I didn't want to get it caught, but once I worked out how to do it I got used to it.

In terms of it getting caught, out of doing my whole head, which was many many many strands I only struggled once. I wouldn't say it got caught, but it pulled and made a loud beep that wasn't like any of the other ones and the clamp was released, meaning it was caught or the hair was too notty or something. In my case, it was caught on another bit of hair so didn't want to go further.

I found this VERY useful as it didn't carry on and could identify before it happened that it may get caught, so it avoided it. It beeped at me about 3 times like this meaning I had put it in wrong and it wasn't going to curl it for me.

If getting your hair caught is something you are worried about if you really look inside the curler there is little wand like a curling tong and once you released the clamp and turn it off at the plug you could just unwrap it. Luckily this didn't happen with me because the curler already identified it was caught. A fantastic feature!!

How Does It Work?

Now, I'm not exactly sure is the answer. At first I thought it was magic but I had a real good look when it was being extracted and I'm pretty sure once its clamped in it is then swirled and placed around a curling iron like rod. This is curled round until all the hair is covering it and you can hear this working. For me it went on for longer because of my long hair. 

Your hair is then kept there for 4 seconds you will hear 4 beeps and then you release the clamp. Simple as that! If you hear a louder sharp beep, you must take your hair out as there is a problem.

There are various setting depending on your stength of wave, which I liked and there is also a switch for thin and thick hair. I have very thick hair so I thought this was a really nice feature!

Below is a video of me using the BaByliss Curl Secret:

Benefits

1. Speed - The speed of the curler is amazing, in 4 seconds you have a perfect curl. In total to curl my hair using this took me about 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it!
2. Features - I really liked the fact you could choose your wave as I used to curling using a straightener where you only get one style. 
3. Design - I really like the design of this product. You can't see inside the mechanism so you never see you hair being curled, it just makes it that much more seamless.
4. Warning - Something that really impressed me was the tangle warning. I think this is something most people are worried about, so very glad they put this in.
5. Ease - Once you get into it, it is very simple to use, almost effortless, all you have to do is hold the curler. It's almost easier than straightening! 

Weakness'

1. Burning - As you might be able to see from my video, a lot of smoke comes from this and my room was actually very smoky after using this. I am not sure if this is because it was the first time using it, it was on the highest setting on that I had some product in my hair, but it did seem to smoke a lot. 
2. Weight - This is not a huge issue, but because of the mechanism it is obviously not as light as some of the other curlers or straighteners used to curl. 

Overal

Overal, I am thoughrally pleased with the BaByliss Curl Secret, I couldn't wait to show my family how it worked as I was so amazed by it and that cool mechanism doesn't take away from the curl you do get a perfect curl with it. What I was super impressed with was the speed, it completely shortens down the time it takes to curl and this is now management for me to do in the mornings. 

I would definitely recommend this! The price is a bit of a stretch as is around £120 but for the amount of time you save I think it is worth it. All of my hair took me only 10 minutes to do!! With a normal curler it would take me over an hour!

The steam issue is the only problem I had with this, but it could be because it's the first time I've used it so I will keep you updated.

After Curling

The images of my hair were taken directly after curling so they still have the defined curl. I would finish this off with hairspray and I like a more natural curl so I would brush this through a little either with my fingers of gently with a hairbrush so the curl isn't so set. 

Have any of you ever used this? I would love to know what you think. 

Also if any of you have any more questions regarding this please ask and I would be happy to answer them.

I hope you enjoyed this review and stay tuned for the next Char's Insights post.

Cya! x

My Favourite Advert Of 2013

Hi,

As some of you may know I work in Advertising and did my degree in Advertising, so it's safe to say I always keep an eye out for good adverts, and 2013 was a fantastic year for adverts.

A lot of you seemed to like my 'Favourite Advert Of All Time' post, in fact it's the most viewed post of my entire blog. So I hope you enjoy my favourite of 2013!

This was a HARD choice, but I chose the one that I probably watched the most, shared with the most people and which really captured my heart.

So... My Favourite Advert of 2013 is Chipotle's -  'The Scarecrow'

Stats
Views: 11,802,315

Published: Sept 11, 2013

Likes: 61, 103

What It's About
This advert is for the Mexican restaurant 'Chipotle' and primarily promoting their restaurant and new app 'The Scarecrow.' The advert promotes a healthier lifestyle and how Chipotle only use natural ingredients/sources for their food. It follows the story of a Scarecrow working for 'Crow Foods' who source their ingredients unfairly whilst hiding the truth & he wants to make a change.

Style
The style of the advert is quite unique. It is almost a short animated film which follows a journey and you are entranced right until the very end. It's funny how you can feel emotions for animated characters. The one part that gets me every time is that poor cow, the look in his eyes is heartbreaking.


Why I Like It
Firstly I think the music is incredible. The Fiona Apple Cover of 'Pure Imagination' is haunting & fits with this PERFECTLY. It's so creepy and emotive & even has the little up beat part of the song where the healthy food starts to kick in.

Another thing I like is the message. I myself am vegetarian, for no other reasons apart from the fact I don't like the taste of meat.. but even so.. it puts the restaurant in a good light. They do things differently which I like.

I like the fact it's animated, it's not so much a shouty message as it would be with real life animals, people & factories.  It's such a powerful message they are trying to portray; that we don't know what is going on behind closed doors, and it is done so cleverly. It in no way seems like it is shoving a message down your throat or preaching something. It is done with style that really makes you think.


I shared this advert AS SOON as I saw it and everyone loved it just as much.

Chipotle was honoured to see I chose them as you can see below:

So were the animation studio who made the advert:

So that's my favourite advert of 2013. What do you think?

Do you like it? What's your favourite advert of 2013?

Cya x

NYE Fireworks - London

Hi All,

I hope you all had a lovely NYE. Without fail every single NYE I watch the London Fireworks on TV as I think they are just amazing and what better way to start the new year - with a bang. I always dreamt about what they are like to see in person and seeing as I now live in London.. Why not go!?!?

Well.. There are in fact many reasons why not to go as I would find out..

I was warned by a LOT of people who have previously been or live in London not to go. Not because they weren't good but the sheer amount of people and chaos it causes.

So, I did my research into it.. If you know London well or have been to the fireworks before you will know you either stand on Embankment or Westminster for the prime view. Initially I decided to stand further away, but we discovered that most of the tube stations shut at 8pm & the one we wanted to stand outside wasn't even open due to large crowds expected!


So last minute, it was decided we would go all out and go to Embankment, face the crowds and do it right. Welcome to the madness..

Because the areas & tube stops were shut at 8pm and over 250,000 were expected, we got there at 6:30, do not ask why we did this but we thought it was a good idea at the time.. We actually got a really good spot and were pretty much near the barriers & by 7 most of the Embankment was covered. So all well & good we were there, but one issue.. The fireworks weren't until midnight..

THE LONGEST WAIT EVER!

The Wait
I was expecting a lot more.. On TV they cut in around 11pm when the crowd is cheering, there's loud music & it's brilliant. There's a reason they cut in at 11, it doesn't get like that till half 11. Everyone's exhausted from the wait & I'm sure most are just cheering to get home! This was the LONGEST wait ever & the hours really dragged!

The Music
I don't know how I felt about this, it came on at 8 which everyone cheered at as something was needed to get everyone going. But it was quite mellow.. I was expecting music to get everyone going, whether that be singing along or dancing, but it was neither. It wasn't bad, just not as good as I thought. It also wasn't very loud, if the crowd had been singing it may have been a better atmosphere.

The Crowd
The crowd wasn't actually as bad as I thought it might be. There were only 2 girls where I stood who were really drunk. I had drink with me but I didn't get stupidly drunk as 1 getting home was going to be bad and 2 there was a lack of toilets & going would mean losing your space. The crowd didn't get rowdy & there was not much pushing either. In fact the people in front shared sweets with us as we didn't get a pack and the people next to us gave us a flashing bracelets which was lovely. Everyone was in high spirits.

The Fireworks
After what seemed like a 6 hour wait.. oh wait it WAS a 6 hour wait, midnight was here. And I know I've moaned a lot so far.. but the fireworks were INCREDIBLE. They were breathtaking and the show that was put on was amazing. I was in awe and was screaming like a little kid at all the different fireworks. London really put on a show and the music and colours were all perfect. It seemed to go so quick, I wanted it to go on forever. The whole sky was lit up and for a second it made everything worth it.

Sensory Fireworks
Some people have asked me about this after I said I went, and YES the fireworks were sensory. You could taste and smell the fireworks due to them blasting out some sort of air into the crowd when the firework was released. These were fruit flavoured and actually tasted delicious!! There was also flavoured/edible confetti and balloons floating round during the show. London are the first to do these sensory fireworks so it was lovely to be a part of that on New Years Eve and you could honestly smell it SO much.

Getting Home
This was chaos, there is no other word to describe this, CHOAS. I love London, but on New Years Eve it's horrible. Embankment and Westminster station were shut so we kind of followed the crowd. We saw 1 sign for Victoria station and did end up actually going from there but along the way there was only that 1 sign which I thought was terrible!! Especially for tourists, I myself has no idea where I was going as this is a long walk!! Especially when you are being pushed a long with a crowd.

I was actually scared and this is one of the few times I have been scared in London. I witnessed so many fights and people covered in blood on the walk to the tube & it was horrifying to see that people were punching strangers.


Eventually when we got to Victoria, we had to walk round the station twice as each entrance was shut off and were in the queue for a while, but it was constantly moving. All in all, it took us about 2 hours to get home and I only live about 15 mins from where we were. It is good that London kept the tubes open later though as otherwise there is no way people would get home.

Would I Go Again?
Going to the fireworks in London on NYE is something I have always wanted to do and I am glad I went but I don't think I would do it again. It is so different seeing it on TV, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. The entrance & tubes shut at 8 so even if I was to go later I would still be stood around for 4 hours. The organisation was a bit poor in terms of getting home, the lack of directions after it had finished let it down, but it was absolutely packed with over 250,000 people in one space so I guess it could have been a lot worse considering.

I don't want the end of the night to take away from the fireworks though. They were BREATHTAKING and London really put on a show for New Year!

Below are some of the videos I managed to capture:

Have you ever been to the fireworks in London on NYE? If not what do you normally do NYE and what did you get up to this year?

Cya x

My 2013 Summary & A Happy New Year!

Hi Beautifuls,


This is just a quick little post to wish you HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So, I know a lot of people say this.. but 2013 really was one of the BEST years of my life. The amount of things that have happened this past year is mad and I am so lucky and grateful for everything. I will always look back on this year smiling and I only hope 2014 brings me as much happiness as 2013 did.

Here are some of the reasons why 2013 was so fantastic for me:

1. I had the most amazing final year at University
2. I Graduated University 
3. I passed my IDM exam with a Distinction
4. I moved to London
5. I got my dream Job
6. I travelled around Thailand
7. I went to Paris
8. I turned 21, which was the best birthday by far!
9. I got my new puppy Pepper
10. I started this blog 

I started this blog in September 2013 and it was one of the BEST things I've done. I started it on a whim, not sure what to expect, but as soon as I started getting into it I realised I loved it. Once I started interacting with more bloggers I found the community so lovely and helpful and it makes me so happy when I blog now! I am so grateful for everyones support and how lovely your comments are and can only hope it gets bigger and better in 2014!

I hope everyone has an amazing New Year!

Cya x