Wednesday, April 06, 2016

Mini Life Update

Yet again blogging has been put on the back-burner for sometime. My last post went up maybe 9-10 months ago!! So I thought I'd write a mini life update in an attempt to get myself back to posting on my blog again.

In March I visited Berlin once again with my Mum and we had a lovely time. It was so different to when I had previously gone in December 2014 and all the Christmas Markets were there and it was -5c! We did less sight-seeing this time, but enjoyed more of the day-to-day cultural aspects of the capital city. 




Easter was a three-day affair for us this year. The Saturday was spent with friends, Easter Sunday was a quiet Sunday Roast with my family and on Easter Monday we had a huge coffee and cake afternoon with both my family and Andy's. I think we consumed enough cake and chocolate that weekend to last the rest of the year!




Since then my postgraduate assignments have filled my days and will do for the foreseeable future. I am currently feeling rather overwhelmed with all that I need to get done by the time I hand in my dissertation in September. 

I guess one of the reasons behind beginning to blog again is to be able to procrastinate from doing my coursework! 

Here's to (hopefully) more frequent blogposts in the near future ... !

Love & Kisses,

Vicki
xoxo

Sunday, June 21, 2015

My Skincare Routine with Dermalogica

So, I'm officially in love with my skincare routine! I've been wanting to switch-up my skincare products for a while. Now I'm in my twenties I want to protect my skin from any damage or wear-and-tear that could age my skin. I've wanted Dermalogica products* for a while but did a lot of research before I committed myself to one skincare system. 

I'm a fan of Chloe Boucher's make-up looks and some time ago she shared her skincare routine using Dermalogica products. After I saw her video I was 100% sold and followed her advice on getting the travel-size set first. 

When you go on the Dermalogica website you can find out what your skin-type is and choose your products accordingly. I have combination skin - prone to getting little dry patches, but with an oily t-zone ... annoying! So I chose the normal/oily skin kit so that I can tackle my oily zones and then in the dry areas, I add an extra layer of my normal Nivea moisturiser (which I find really moisturising on the driest areas but it doesn't leave the skin feeling greasy).

So here are the products I use on a daily basis ...



Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel

First I use a pea-sized amount of the 'Special Cleansing Gel' and lather it with water all over my face. You only need a small amount for this product to do it's job!


Dermalogica Mutli-Active Toner

I then spritz my face with about 3 pumps of the 'Multi-Active Toner' and gently pat this into my skin.


Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub

I don't use the 'Skin Prep Scrub' every single day as I don't feel that my skin needs it (I also love the scrub I have from St Ives).


Dermalogica Active Moist

I then put 3 pea-sized drops of the 'Active Moist' cream gently all over my face and neck before dabbing the 'Total Eye Care' cream delicately around my eyes.

Dermalogica Total Eye Care




I also use the Dermalogica 'Precleanse' sometimes, which is great for when you've used more make-up for a heavier 'night-out' face, and also the 'Soothing Eye Make-Up Remover' for any stubborn smokey-eye make-up and mascara. Both of these products aren't included in the travel set, but are definitely worth purchasing in addition to the skincare system if you're someone who wears make-up everyday or experiments with heavier looks. 






I'd love to hear what other skincare products people are loving!


Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo


*This blogpost was not sponsored by Dermalogica or any other brand. I purchased all of the products shown myself. 

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Birthday Celebrations

It was my birthday last week and I had such a great time! I can't believe the love and effort my friends and family put into the celebrations they held for me and the gifts and cards they gave me. 




On my actual birthday morning I woke up and went downstairs to find the breakfast-bar in the kitchen covered in pink heart post-it notes with wonderful words written on them. Everyone had written what they loved about me or a little memory they had of me - it was such a surprise and I've kept them all as keepsakes!


Andy had got me my favourite ever chocolate cake from a little local farm that I constantly obsess over and dream about. He somehow convinced the owner to give him the cake even though it was only supposed to be sold per slice in the farm's cafe.

I had really wanted to go for waffles for my birthday breakfast, but after weeks of researching, my Mum and Sister couldn't find anywhere decent nearby that did any. My mum bought a waffle maker and I woke up to fresh, homemade waffles with little bowls of fruit and chocolate toppings - heaven!




Once we'd finished breakfast and I'd opened my insanely generous gifts, my Mum took my Sister and I into town to get our nails done. I got some cute baby pink acrylics as I'd bitten off all of my nails the week before due to stress. The lady in the nail bar thought I was 16!! I definitely don't think I look as young as 16, but I guess when I'm older I might appreciate that youthful look a bit more!

After a yummy Chicken Caesar Salad and glass of Prosecco at Prezzo's, we drove back home so that I could quickly pack an overnight bag. My Uncle and I share a birthday; he lives in Texas and was here in the UK so we were able to spend our first birthday together in 24 years. My cousins live in Surrey and my Uncle had gone to stay with them. They had arranged a party for us for that night and we had booked ourselves into a nearby hotel. It took us longer than normal to drive up to the hotel, but once we arrived I was able to get ready for the evening's festivities in peace.





At the family birthday bash we drank lots of champagne and indulged in some chocolate and banoffee cupcakes. I think everyone had a fun time and it was so good for the whole family to get together as we are rarely even in the same country at the same time!





The Saturday after my birthday I had arranged for a few friends to come over for a barbecue. Quite a few friends were busy and said they couldn't make it, so when all these faces that I wasn't expecting turned up, I was shocked!! 




My Sister made cute '25' letters for the party and put flowers from the garden in a few glasses. My Dad hung these cute lanterns from the house to give it a country-summer feel (they are from Ikea in case you wondered).






We made copious amounts of Pimms which we filled this cute keg-like decanter with. We had to top it up several times as people were loving the traditional British beverage!




Once we'd all eaten, my Sister had bought a hilarious unicorn piñata which she'd filled with sweeties and hung from a tree. We all thought we were a bit too "grown-up" to play such a childish game, but once we started to play everyone seemed to have a fabulous time!




My third and final birthday cake (yes, third!) was this amazing creation my family had had made for the BBQ. The chihuahuas on top are supposed to be my boys, Bambi and Rio. I thought the cake was absolutely adorable and I think all my guests did too!


Looking back on the pictures, I feel so lucky to have been so spoilt this birthday. Everyone really tried hard to make it the best birthday ever, and it really was. I won't forget this birthday ever!


Love and Kisses,

Vicki xoxo









Friday, May 01, 2015

Maybelline 'Fast & Fashion Look' Travel Set

How cute is this little Maybelline make-up travel set? It has products in it which I will actually use on a daily basis - which isn't always the case when you get a set of products sold together. My Mum picked it up for me from the airport - she's forever surprising me with little presents which I am so grateful for. She actually got me another one of these Maybelline travel sets the week before which is full of other stuff which I'll also put up very soon.




Inside this travel set there is:

- 1 x Rocket Volum' Express Mascara
- 1 x Dream Fresh 8-in-1 BB Cream
- 1 x Superstay 14hr Lipstick
- 1 x Mini Make-Up Remover

I've tried all of them, except for the make-up remover so far, and I'm impressed. The lip colour is really flattering and I can imagine it being a good shade for all skin tones. I'd never tried the BB Cream before so I think I'll use it a few more times and perhaps write a review for it once I've given it a good testing!


 
 




Do you use any of these products? What do you think?

Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo

Thursday, April 09, 2015

Easter Weekend

It's been a few days now that we're all back to work after the long Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, and I thought I'd share a glimpse of what my weekend looked like.

Cute Lindt Chocolates {Easter Day - 2015}
Easter Treats!
Friday wasn't too eventful for me; I went to the gym and had my hair trimmed by my trustworthy hairdresser. 

By contrast, Saturday and Sunday were long and busy days. After gymming again (had to pre-burn some Easter chocolate calories!) on Saturday, Andy and I went shopping for a few last minute ingredients and to stock up on soft drinks and alcohol for the next day's festivities. The afternoon consisted of peeling, chopping, slicing, dicing and mixing. We had driven to Andy's parent's house to help his Mum prepare some of the dishes for Easter Day. It was nice to give her a hand, but I was definitely pleased to see the knives and peelers go into the dishwasher at the end of the day! With tired eyes we painted a few boiled eggs and then made our way back home to go and watch some Netflix in bed.

Andy, Bambi and I {Easter Day - 2015}
Andy, Bambi and I {Easter Day - 2015}
My Sister and I {Easter Day - 2015}
Lindt Chocolates {Easter Day - 2015}
Bubbles {Easter Day - 2015}
Late Sunday morning we headed to my Mum's for an Easter brunch with my family. It was relaxed and easy-going - with lots of chocolate, of course! Towards the evening we drove back to Andy's parent's house with my family in tow. We had a 4-course European Easter Feast with family and friends of many nationalities - Lithuanian, Russian, German, Italian, Irish, Ukrainian and Latvian! We played a few games with the hard-boiled eggs, as we do every year with Andy's family. The evening was busy, loud and joyful. Everyone seemed to have a really wonderful time and we all left with our bellies full and big smiles on our faces.

Easter Nests {Easter Day - 2015}
Amazing cake that my Mum made {Easter Day - 2015}
Cakes! {Easter Day - 2015}
Bank Holiday Monday was another chilled-out day for me. I went on a walk with my Dad and did some gardening, but mainly relaxed.

What did you get up to over Easter? I hope you all had a lovely time!


Love & Kisses,

Vicki xoxo