July Favourites

What a month July has been, after the excitement of June (getting older, holiday and engagements) I thought July might have been a bit of anti-climax. However Ive still managed to cram lots of exciting things in-between working lots and lots to save for my final year. So seeing as we are now in August I thought it was time for my July Favorites. 

So without further delay....

Beauty and Beauty Accessories

July Beauty Favourites

Brush Cleaning Mat

Firstly I must apologize for how dirty it is but that also shows how much I use it, this little mat has become part of my weekly brush cleaning routine. This mat works wonders, it has six different textures that help clean all your different make-up brushes without damaging the bristles. It has suction cups on the reverse that means that it attaches to your sink for easy cleaning. This little gem was a present all the way from Canada from my beautiful Canadian Soul Sista, and it was well worth the long trip that it had to travel to get to me. 

NYX Photo- Loving Primer

On a recent trip to the NYX counter in the Boots at Fosse Park, if you live in Leicester you and you like makeup you need to take a visit to the Boots there its massive. Like a Bee to pollen I headed straight to the NYX counter which is stocked with pretty much every single NYX product you could ever dream of trying. I recently decided that I needed to add a primer to my routine so I picked this one up, I highly recommend this product it keeps my makeup on all day and makes putting on foundation a dream. 

NYX - Lingerie

 In the very same shopping trip I picked up these two matte lip products from NYX, they are slightly heavier than the NYX Matte Lip Cream (which I love) which makes them perfect for a night out. I'm a huge fan of nude lips during the summer, I move to a much darker lip in the winter. They have fantastic staying power and could easily be a cheap dupe for Kylie Lip Kits. 

Clinique Beyond Perfecting

Ah Clinique...I tried so hard to stay away, I even tried to find your replacement but alas it was not to be. As you may or may not know I tried to find a replacement for this that was slightly cheaper from NYX, and I lasted all of one week before I had to return to my old friend. I wont beat around the bush I simply hated the NYX foundation from my Pay Day post, the shade was flat and washed me out, the coverage just wasn't good enough and it felt like it just didn't sit right. So I reinvested in my old friend, and to be honest one bottle lasts me around 3-4 months so I don't feel too bad about it. 

 Food and Drink

Edamame Beans

Edamame Beans and Rock Salt

Before my lovely Canadian Soul Sista returned to her snowy home land she got me ridiculously addicted to these beans. If you have been to Wagamamas, Yo! Sushi or any other Japanese restaurant you've probably come across these pods of deliciousness. They are soy beans still in there pods that you can eat hot or cold (but they must be cooked), you pop open the pods and munch away on the beans (I cover mine in either salt or a sprinkle of Parmesan). Recently I found them in the Chinese supermarket next to DMU for £1.70 per frozen bag, and I just had to bulk buy and stock my freezer. These are now my favorite snack food, and better for you than crisps. 

Hazelnut milk

I have had such a massive sweet tooth at the moment, I ate an entire bag of cookies on the walk home yesterday (much to Simon's amusement). The one thing that has helped curb it is Hazelnut milk, I've been popping this on my cereal in the morning for a morning burst of sweet goodness. Normally I'm a sucker for Almond Milk but being the rock and roll person I am I decided to mix it up. It successfully transforms your boring healthy bran flakes into a morning treat ..so for that its made it into my favorites.

Brambles Favorites

This month Miss Bramble discovered that she rather liked the taste of our door frame, we decided that while she might like the taste we preferred it teeth mark free. So to curb this new chewing habit we picked up some bitter apple spray from Wits End  it works an absolute dream, she hasn't gone near the door frames since spraying it on. I've even managed to protect my plants from her sharp little puppy teeth with it. 

The second thing on Bramble's list is the Ruffer and Tuffer rope toys  we picked up two toys from this brand and she loves them, the rope colors make it easy for her to see. The second bonus is that it helps with her teeth coming through and saves our furniture from destruction. So this brand gets Brambles paw of approval! 

So that's all of mine and Bramble's favorites this month, next month's favorites will be slightly different so stay tuned for that. Let me know what you've enjoyed this month, and if you have tried any of the things in this post. As always you can follow me on Blog Lovin,or FaceBook you can hit subscribe :). 

Sending lots of Leicester cuddles

Lady Law Student & Bramble 

xx
 

  

 

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June Favourites

Good Morning it is a very rainy Monday morning here in Leicester, so I thought i'd write a blog post to cheer my self up. I've seen lots of bloggers post their favourite products each month so I thought I would do the same. 

June Favourites

(I know its not quite the end of June but I'm off on holiday on Thursday so I thought I would post this before I jet off on my holidays)

 Makeup & Beauty Products

Benefit shy beam dandelion

• This is my current go to highlighter, its the dandelion shy beam highlighter from benefit, it's a liquid highlighter which I apply with either my beauty blender or my highlighter stippling brush from real techniques. It gives just a gentle touch of highlighter and it is perfect for creating that beautiful strobing effect that all the bloggers and MU are going raving about. 

Garnier Micellar Water

• My second favourite this month (and probably this year so far) is the Garnier Micellar water, this has been a skin life saver. I suffer from really bad skin at times and this makeup remover has cleared by skin up no end. I use it morning and evening with a cotton pad and I cannot recommend this highly enough. It takes off all makeup easily and leaves my skin feeling so refreshed. 

Keratin Oil

• I always use Argan oil when I wash my hair to protect it from the heat that I (and most people) subject their hair to when styling. I recently ran out of my favourite oil and I thought that I would try one with keratin (hair protein) as well as Argan oil. I love love love this oil, I use it before I blow dry my hair, after straightening to smooth and after styling for a sleek finish. The other great thing about this product is that its often on offer (which is super important if your a poor student)

Food & Drinks

Ultra Cleanising Matcha Green Tea Powder

• This month I've given up coffee and tea and I've swapped to a morning Matcha Green Tea Almond Milk Latte instead. I mix 1tsp with boiling water and mix until its a dissolved and then I add almond milk and ice and I whiz it my blend active. I've only recently started drinking it but so far I'm a huge fan it wakes up in the morning but doesn't make me feel like I'm wired. I also sometimes add a tsp to my lunch time smoothie if I feel i need a boast later on in the day. (This is also currently on offer in Holland and Barrett)

Homeware 

Table ware - Naomi Battersby Pottery

• My super talented friend has just finished her degree at DMU (De Montfort University Leicester) and invited us all to her degree show on Friday. She has created the most stunning range of table wear, I absolutely love her large bowls with the speckled grey effect. I highly recommend checking out her designs and following her on FB and Instagram  She has also earned her self a place at the Younger Designers Show in London, so if your around London time go check it out. 

Peonies 

• My favourite flowers used to be Lilies however I've recently fallen in love with Peonies, I picked up these stunning flowers from Lidl of all places. The sweet Williams were £1.50 and the Peonies were £3.00. I know that flowers are realistically a luxury for a student but sometimes you just feel like treating your self and I just fell in love with how big and beautiful they were. 

Clothing & Accessories

H&M Gym Leggings

• Can we just take a moment to fall in love with how bright and jazzy these work out leggings are. I'm obsessed with jazzy gym wear, I find it motivates me to get off my bum and go work out.  H&M's activewear collections are pretty much my go to gym wear at the moment I love all their different designs and collections. So go check them out!! 

Present from my Soul Sister

• I love this ring far too much, it was a leaving present from my Canadian Soul Sister before she flew home. It's a vintage map of her home town so that she's always with me and I'm reminded of her. I've no idea where she got it from but I think its the perfect present for long distance friends. 

Bramble's Favourites 

As I'm sure your aware we recently extended our furry family and brought home the cutest little cocker spaniel called Bramble Liddi (or Reese's Pieces, Brams, Fur ball, Naughty Spaniel, or Bramblelicous). In honour of this I've added a Puppies favourite section of all of her favourite things. 

My other owner - Simon

• This is probably Bramble's favourite this month (year/life/ever), her other owner (and my partner) Simon. As you can see she is a bit in love with him and gets super excited every evening when he comes home. I guess he is also one of my favourites too. 

Crate beds from Pets at Home

• Being the naughty little spaniel that she is, she has been rather terrible at chewing her beds. We bought Ruff Tuff pet beds originally but at one point they only lasted two days, which for £30 a go it was not economical at all. So on a recent trip to pets at home I found these crate mats for £8.00 (BARGAIN!!!).  The designs are a little bit bright but so far they are holding up well, they also fold in half and velcro together which is great because they also fit in her travel crate (massive plus) and as you can see they seem to get her snooze of approval. 

• Her final favourite this month is the Natures Menu meaty treats, we were recommended these by our puppy class instructor (Wits End Training School, Leicester). They are grain free, free from artificial flavours, gluten free and are made with real meat. She loves loves loves them, which makes training way easier (especially for recall training in the park). I also love the fact that they are softer which means you can tear them up in to smaller pieces so that they last longer. 

So thats all from me and Bramble this week, I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I hope you all have a lovely week and this maybe brightens your rainy Monday. If you have  any questions about anything in the blog then drop me a comment. You can also follow me on Instagram @katdolly, Twitter @haines_cat and on Snapchat @katdolly. 

Peace and Love 

Lady Law Student 

xx