January

Despite literally posting less than an hour ago promising a beauty post, I have decided to get this out there before it gets too far into February and then consequently looks like a daft post. Generally I am late for most things but this will not be one of them! (If you ignore the five days we have already had of February.) For me January has been actually alright, I normally get so angry with the first few months of the new year, they just drag on and onnnn, plus its constantly freezing and permanently black outside. I know Instagram recaps are a common theme on blogs, soooo this might seem pretty dull. But I think its a sweet way to remember all the little things I haven't mentioned on here already, plus I love Instagram and don't need an excuse to regurgitate everything I have already shared. You can find me here @lauramcatherine 

forever a crumpets girl / promised myself these will be the last new boots of the winter season / being a domestic dream as always / a lovely evening of cocktails / and the aftermath / glossybox wedding edition (dreamy) / eyeing up the eye make-up of a MAC make-up artist / new bedroom edition / avoiding uni work selfie / got me some lychee / fresh flowers / close up of my loaf cake / with my beautiful nai nai / ladies night / annoying poopie on a hangover / DISSERTATION DONE AIIIAIAIAI / discovering the joys of muffin break/ missing miley 

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The Last Weekend for a Little While

     

I'm feeling a little guilty for writing this post, I have so many beauty themed tutorials in the pipework, but because I have been in dissertation destruction for the past week I have barely had time to apply lip balm let alone blog about it. So instead I'm sharing some photographs from last weekend. My dissertation is now, finished, done over! And I could not be more relieved. The past week has been a slice of hell and I am so glad to see the back of it. Not only did I have to say bye to my boyfriend for five months but  I had a good 85% off a 8000 word essay to get finished. A major happy bubble swallowed me up once I had handed it in and I'm so excited to get back going with my final project.

Anyways back to last weekend..since this was going to be mine and Tarans last weekend before he left for Afghan we decided to make it a little more of a special one. For the best part of six months he has been based in Germany, so whichever weekend he has been able to come home for we have always made a bit of an effort. But seeing as this one was the last weekend for five months of course I was going to push for a hotel! 

We ended up booking a 'deluxe studio apartment' at the Fraser Residence City, This hotel was in the perfect location for us, I live fairly close to central London anyway and  for some reason whenever we do visit we always end up in The Liverpool Street area. The hotel is fairly close to this part of London and it worked out amaaazzingly cheap in the end, only £114 for the night when booked online. Pretty decent considering you have a gorgeous room which is generously sized, a kitchen (which although wasn't used properly did come in handy for pesky appliances you always forget you'll need like bottle openers etc) and a pretty bathroom. Which came stocked with cute L'occitane mini's I am fuming I forgot to pinch!!  
In the evening we went to Las Igunas for dinner in Spitalfields Market, again we aren't a stranger to this place, but mexican is a fave and I would happily live off their re-fried beans and calamari for life if I could. 
After here we planned on going for drinks at the Drift Bar in Heron Tower. Unfortunately we left Las Iguanas a little later than planned because Taran had 'mislaid' his bank card earlier on the evening (well done babe.) So we missed last orders by a smidge and returned back to the hotel instead. As much as I adored our apartment, once we were back in the room it became pretty obvious they had a night club smack bang next door. Fraser Residence is perfect for a little luxury stay, but you aren't going to be over the moon if your kind of light sleeper and staying there on a a busy weekend.

After checking out at 11 we made our way into Shoreditch, we walked and it took an absolute trek to get there. But I'm sure it would be a shed load quicker if your with someone who genuinely does know the way, Taran likes to think he has a great sense of direction but I am yet to be convinced. We ended up having brunch at a place called Franz and Evans, somewhere I have wanted to go FOREVER. It is only teeny and super duper popular but the food is absolute heaven. You can see the cakes and bakes in the photographs above, I didn't get any of the salads but even they looked to die for. If I was a dedicated health bean I would have definitely gone for one, but I'm not and went for the 'Trecolore. A combo off sourdough toast, 2 poached eggs, spinach, smoked salmon, crispy prosciutto & hollandaise sauce. What I would do to have it all over again!! I love this place, and although the size means you generally do have to share tables and sit on customers laps (not really) I would loovveee to pay it a visit again. Especially after eyeing up the belly pork on the dinner menu. YUM.  

I think I'm just about over sulking that the weekends is over and Taran is now 29438492002 miles away. I'm occasionally like what on earth?!  How has it only been a week since he left, but I'm sure the time will pass eventually and I'm happy knowing we will be back together by the summertime. 

(Beauty post to follow I PROMISE)

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Harmony Smoothie Serum & Creme Balm

Premae Harmony Holiday XMAS Duo Gift Set £12.99

It feels a little mental to be using the word xmas right now, Christmas feels forever ago! And although there is while to go before we all start crackin out the tinsle again it is still properly wintery out there. For me this means my skin is breaking out left right and center, my skin loves sunshine and so the lack of it right now means my skin is in a sorry way. I haven't had a proper chin breakout of spots in forever, but the combination of alcohol mixed with being too merry to take ya make-up off has meant my chin spots are back with revenge! Luckily for me I caught sight of this the other week and immediately got it ordered. This gift set is down a stonkin amount as it was originally £27.50. And absolutely perfect if you are after trying Premae products for the first time. 

Thanks to Glossybox I've had the delight of using both of these products before. For me the serum was amazing and I used the whole thing pretty quickly. As much as I love Glossybox I am ever so cautious about trying new the cremes and potions sent out as my skin is a tad on the sensitive side, but because Premae is entirely allergen free you can guarantee there is no aggravation to thy pretty face. I tried these products ages ago back in the summer, and as fantastic as they where I didn't go back and repurchase. But as fate would have it I ended up at an event in December for Beauty Bloggers that was at the Premae Store in Carnaby Street, here I was re-united with these super duper products and got my hands on them a little later from the website.

Smoothie Serum: As I mentioned I scraped the bottle clean with my first one of these and whimpered a little when it had all gone. This product is perfect for me because the light weight shine control means it helps my oiliness out loads and gives it a matifying effect whilst moisturizing at the same time. I love applying it in the morning before make-up and the zingyness of the lemongrass is just what you need on a dark zombiefied morning.

Moisturizing Creme Balm: I tend to use this a little less than the serum, simply because its super thick and I don't feel the need for it everyday. But of course with it being winter at the moment when my skin is crying I'll slather it on. With similar intentions of the serum it leaves my skin refreshed and soothed, without all the oil and shine I often find you get with other moisturizers. The lemongrass scent graces the balm also, so I like to apply it at bedtime and I am gradually getting a lemon grass scented pillow. Amazing!!

Please believe me when I say I do get breakouts from using products that aren't right for my skin. Premae is a fantastic brand and I have a genuine belief in there products, get in touch with the website for help and advice. Shopping for skincare with sensitive skin can be an absolute minefield, but Premae offer honest and irritant free products. No nasty bits! 

The Body Shop Best Bits Beauty Bag

Technically The Body Shop Best Bits probably isn't its correct name, but I forgot to take any notice of details when this AMAZING Body Shop treasury caught my eye. I wouldn't call myself a frequent Body Shop shopper but I picked this up the other day and couldn't believe how great the value was and how considering it was January, the Body Shop wasn't trying to fob off naff products no one really liked...these where the real deal!! Popular products which I can hand on heart say I will use (or at least try) all of. The price of this bag is £20, but I think the product value of everything is something around the £75 mark. COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES. I even asked the cashier girl whether this seemed crazy to her also, and she told me that when she saw the promotion first come through she thought it was a mistake. So there you go how could I say no! And I'm here now to give you my first ever blog post ever review ever ever on the SEVEN FULL SIZE products you can find inside the pretty pink bag. I'm not sure how long this offer is running for but if you like what you see I would get a shuffle on pretty quick because I can't imagine The Body Shop being oh so generous for much longer.

Hemp Hand Protector £5
I am on big on hand cream, have about 3 tubes of the stuff rattling around in my handbag. And I have to say this stuff may be just worth the money!Personally I make my way through hand cream pretty speedily, I apply it more often than probably recomended but dry hands just make me miserable! The hemp hand protector comes in a pretty hefty amount, and on top of this it is super duper thick. You only need a tiny bit to cover your hands so it will definitely last you a lot longer than your normal nivea/vasaline/whatever you may use. Scent wise it isn't as pretty as I would normally go for, reminds me of candle and incense shops that you visit in the lake district. I'm guessing that it is because it is made from hemp seed oil and hemp seed oil smells like this. But anyway this 'hard working moisturiser' is GLORIOUS and I will be purchasing in the future. 

Vitamin E Gentle Facial Wash £8 & Vitamin E Moisture Cream £10
Cautious are the first words that come to mind when I use this. It smells stingy. My skin is a combination of sensitive and oily so I often get breakouts on my chin no matter what kind of product I use. I sometimes can also get breakouts on my cheeks if I use something that really does not agree with me. Only had the chance to use the pair of these twice but so far so good, no volcanoes just yet. Hopefully the fact that these two are best sellers mean they are pretty decent, not sure if I wanna go out and grab again but we shall see. I am terrible for cleansing my skin on a daily basis so its nice to give the wash a proper go. 

Lip Butter Chocomania £4 & Cocoa Butter Body Butter £13
Need I go into much detail? I may be wrong but I am pretty certain that a large percentage of the population know that these products are iconic! Currently writing this part of the post with my feet, one hand is manicly applying lip butter to well...my lips, whilst the other is glued to my thigh from the sheer amount of body butter I have applied. Basically I CAN'T GET ENOUGH. 

Strawberry Shower Gel £4 & Elder-flower Unperfumed Eye Gel £7
I am 50/50 on these products. To begin the strawberry shower gel is gorgeous, already knew what to expect with this one because I have occasionally somehow ended up using my housemate's....not sure how that happened?! It smells delicious and gets super foamy like a good shower gel should! I'm reluctant to pay so much for an item I use on a day to day basis but still its great for those days I wanna smell like a strawberry of course. In the case of the Elder - flower eye gel I was a little like huh? What does this do? But I have had a browse on the website, and after initial confusion fallen a little in love with the product! I like my elder flower...especially in my vodka...and now as it turns out around my eyes also. For those of you who end up with runny eyes in the morning and awake looking like a mole rat I would highly recommend.

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