I love beauty subscription boxes. I love trying different k-beauty brands - and the innovative ingredients their products incorporate. I also love sheet masks. So this cute AF box - from Mask Time is pretty much the perfect combo for me; blending all of that into one cute monthly subscription service. JUST LOOK AT THAT PACKAGING 😍

The box I'll be featuring in this post is Mask Time's May Glow Starter* edit - which you can order using that link [non-aff] for £12.95, if you like the look of its contents! Which I'd better hurry up and reveal to you, I guess. The May Glow box has been curated to help us get festival ready, with a collaboration with Duft & Doft; a bestselling sheet mask brand whose products are designed to soothe, plump and brighten your complexion. And my half dead, half fossilised face defo needs some of that action.

I've been to a few weddings this year, with more to come - all my friends are growing up & I can't cope with the cuteness! 😍 I've been helping out as much as I can... I've designed Save The Dates, organised sten do's and done research on wedding venues / different areas of the UK [and abroad!] that'd be good shouts to host these cute festivities.

As much as it's fun and super exciting, it can be really difficult to narrow down venues... I don't know how these super-organised Bridezilla's manage to be so efficient with it! Even just narrowing down places to stay / rent in Wales for a sten I planned recently [which is a hybrid of a stag & hen do, in case you're unfamiliar with the term] was incredibly difficult in terms of seeing all available options for the date range clearly and in one place. You may remember seeing my slightly over-excitable / Jagermeister-fueled Insta stories during my time in South Wales & the wedding themed festivities I planned - that time.

As part of my research looking into places to stay, points of interest, sten-themed activities and venues, I discovered WeddingBooker.com - who are a bit of a game-changer when it comes to locating South Wales Wedding venues. The struggle of having about 3000 tabs open trying to co-ordinate venues and weigh them up against each other is no more - the site has everything all in one place, it's easy to use and you can see multiple wedding venues clearly & well presented.

You may have read about my experience getting subtle lip filler recently - it's something that's helped boost my confidence so much and makes me feel so much better about the general state of my face. I'll definitely be revisiting for another appointment soon. 

I've been keeping up-to-date re: the world of aesthetics and in terms of the latest treatments & procedures on the market recently - I find it fascinating and so clever what can be achieved these days with a little filler; in the right hands. Which leads me on nicely to the topic of today's post -  which combines my new interest in the world of aesthetics with a procedure I've had myself... and Korean beauty trends [which are always proper one-step ahead].

Introducing 'Cherry Lips’ anti-aging lip fillers, courtesy of Dr Nina Bal.

I'm broke huns. Properly poor. But what's new 😂 I've massively overspent on Jagerbombs and McDonald's over the past few weeks [zero regrets] so my 'new makeup funds' have been depleted. For at least for the foreseeable future; if not for all of time. 

Here's a lil wishlist of some of the goodies I'd splurge on from Cult Beauty if I wasn't brassic AF. Picks I either love but wouldn't ever feel able to justify paying those prices for [unless my gambling efforts paid off & I came into some actual moola] and others which I'm hoping, one day, I'll be able to treat myself to. 

I think I've touched on this before - in this new era of home interior & improvements posts I've been enjoying creating recently... but I properly need new carpets in mine. 

As part of my Home Goals 2019 list [which maybe I'll share at some stage, as part of another post] I've scribbled 'RUGS' and double underlined; mostly because I assumed getting decorative rugs would be the most inconspicuous way of looking stylish AF without people realising my extensive collection is to cover all the drinks stains on the carpet.

But I'm starting to realise now, as I continue spilling, the answer may actually lie elsewhere - in getting new flooring... be this carpet or vinyl. I'm keen AF on the vinyl idea tbh, as this'll be so much easier to clean next time I slop my morning coffee down myself & across the floor. Constantly ordering rugs, I've learned, isn't necessarily a sustainable lifestyle... especially as there's a very real chance I'll spill me brew on them too and end up in the same situation but 2x worse.

I did used to question 'Why am I like dis?' each time I had a carpet crisis with a beverage, but I think I've just accepted it now. Maybe I need to address this issue - as well as new flooring - as part of Home Goals 2019, hey?! Cup Filling Judgement Goals 2019 might be the next list I'll have on the go.

One of my most used mottos these days seems to be 'better late than never'... so on that note, let's crack on with this post; a review of Little-Known Box's June 2019 edit. Despite it now drawing towards the end of July. This #girlboss life is harder than they make it out to be, huns!

June's box has been curated to refresh our skincare routine & makeup bags for the warmer weather - and as I type this post, we're smack bang in the middle of a heat wave; so this sentiment is defo appreciated! LKB HQ - being the mega babes that they are, realise that Summer is a social time that's typically home to holidays & travel adventures... and with that in mind, have chosen travel-friendly, flight-safe goodies to spoil us with this month. WOT HUNS 🙌

I love fashion. I love shopping in clothing departments like a madman every bit as much as I love going pure rogue in the makeup aisles... and almost as much as I adore perusing the 'Whoops!' bit in Asda. 

It might not look like it most of the time - I'm aware I look a bit like a smackhead, but honestly... if money was no object, I'd be unstoppable; splurging both online and in store. Though I typically find more online that I like these days.

The absolute dream would be for me to be more involved in fashion - I've had years of experience working in fashion retail and absolutely loved every second of it... and now I've gone full #girlboss and dipped ma toes into the world of self-employed life, these two things combined make me consider wanting to start my own lil fashion boutique business. But where can you get stock that's profitable? Apart from sites like AliExpress and [as I discovered in my Expectation vs Reality series a few years back] that's not at all viable.

From sizing, to quality, to looking like something from a porno; AliExpress and the eBay type shops that sell stock sourced from these kinda retailers are not the one. BUT I've been doing a bit of digging on this topic and have found a lil site based in the UK who look properly good when it comes to buying in stock wholesale. 

Direct start; but I love a good red nail and Leighton Denny's brand new Wanderlust SS19 Collection is home to one of the brightest, sassiest & bad-ass reds I own - as pictured throughout this post, in the shade Flight Club*. So obv I've had to run to my [somewhat neglected of late, sorry] blog and word vomit all over the shop about how much I love it... and the Wanderlust Collection itself.

This new SS19 capsule of iconic nail polishes has been named the 'Wanderlust' collection; with aptly chosen names, which I love a bit lot. Perfect for a Summer getaway [lol pls, I want a holiday on a Greek island so bad] the range is a mix of new, rich and versatile classics that go with everything & add a splash of understated glam to ya look. They're available to shop at John Lewis and M&S.

Let's be real. Feet are not okay / aesthetically pleasing. I know some people don't mind them - and some people have pyar fetishes surrounding them *shudders* but I'm not a fan. The worst part for me are the toes, and the nails... especially if they're not well maintained. Brb, these mental images are making me want to do a sick.

I've used Kiss / imPRESS Pedicure kits [aka false toenails you stick on without needing to get ur trotters out for a beautician] for years; buying them off eBay as I had no idea that they were actually a wide-spread thing. I just rly have strong concerns about the aesthetics of feet. But it turns out this life hack / toenail trickery is actually a thing - a thing stocked in Superdrug - and ma baes at Alex Silver sent me some of their new SS19 designs to try out. FEET ON FLEEK, HUN.

If you work on a freelance basis and you're a lone wolf [I guess technically what you'd call a sole-trader, if you're being pure profesh like] / work from home, life can potentially get a little lonely during the working day.

You may speak to 10, 20, even 30 people a daily basis... but as you're pretty much chained to your laptop, the majority of these interactions are likely to be virtual, remote conversations; via apps and / or phone calls. Ya pals are likely to have different shift patterns and availability than you, your other half may well work in an office block an hour away & arrive home knackered every night just at the time your creative juices start flowing... generally - in terms of social shiz, freelance life [depending on how you manage it] can be pretty awkward. Which is the general consensus I've got when speaking to my other self-employed huns about their experiences, too.

Where most people work 9-5 type shifts & are able to switch off at the end of the day [unless your job is insanely sh*t / stressful & you end up bringing work home with you - and kween, I've been there like 😷], self-employed #girlbosses can find themselves working all kinds of hours, all days of the week... cos where do you switch off, and how do you draw a line under your day when your office is your front-room, your bed, your desk in your bedroom?

Hair may technically be dead, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to look after it. Something I totes need to start doing 😂 When it comes to hair, everyone is different, but following these five tips should lead to an improvement in its general health. Which, after about 234 boxes of bleach, mine defo needs!

Photo by Element5 Digital from Pexels

I never thought I'd become this person, but here we go. 

I'll freely hold my hands up & admit I've started spending more time than I thought I ever would looking at home decor pins on Pinterest... as well as [even more shockingly] considering spending my [rare] spare ££ on home furnishings & cleaning products rather than Glenn's Vodka and £5 entry into Popworld on a Saturday night. Am I okay? Dunno. But here we are. 

Here's a few of the home interior trends, looks & ideas I am all about and need in & around me gaff immediately. 

Image Source: Pinterest |  Article link

I've wanted lip filler for proper years. As I've aged, my face has changed shape & my lips have too; as a result of this. Although they've always been alright & I've never hated them, their changing appearance and loss of symmetry was something that bothered me. Namely on me top lip - the area I feel most gals seem to have beef with.

So when I was offered the chance to have a consultation & treatment to address these concerns at White Swan Aesthetics in Wimbledon, I jumped like no other at the opportunity. One big thing that had help me back from enquiring about these treatments before was worrying about how legit, professional & qualified the practitioners administering filler locally actually are... something I didn't have to worry about with White Swan. 

White Swan's doctors are each insanely qualified in what they do - and picking out a clinic you can trust, with good reviews & recommendations was very important to me when even debating the lip filler path. I knew I'd feel comfortable having my treatment done there - with doctors I'd done my research on, in a highly recommended clinic; so I hopped on dat coach down to London asap to see the sights & boost my confidence with a treatment I really wanted and fuller, more symmetrical lips.

As someone who is constantly putting together bits of graphics, designs, branding & creating logos, I'm always on the look out for new websites & pieces of software to inspire me, those which bring new things to the table & those which are easy to use. A big part of my job these days involves creativity & designing stuff [which I love]  - I've created branding, logos & ebooks for several clients now. And it's rapidly overtaken my love for writing; which I wasn't expecting but am fully embracing.

You don't have to pay a small fortune to get access to some of programs, software or apps to help you with design ideas and you don't need to go back to uni or train up for a qualification... these fab resources are online, often free, reasonably priced and are properly intuitive for the user to pick-up. And can produce professional looking, gorgeous graphics & imagery when used effectively. 

I'm a huge advocate of sites like Canva [actual bae] and Photopea [free online Photoshop basically] - and another useful one I've discovered recently is monogrammaker.com; which I wanted to share with you absolute worldies in today's post. So grab a brew & 15,000 biscuits [Chocolate Digestives are like my new version of crack atm] & get settled to have a lil read. If you want like. No pressure.

Now, I'm going to sound like, fully-fledged fossil here [but that's okay, with my birthday approaching I guess I need to accept my ripe old age at some point 😑] - this is going to be one of those 'back in my day' type post; something which I always say in my mind in the voice of Fred Elliott. If you know, you know [#GrowingUpManc, #ISayAshley]

Today we're reminiscing aaaaall the way back to my days of youth; back in my day when proms were quite a new concept and a good old school disco [with kids trying to sneak vodka into the bogs and our preferred currency being those mad yellow polos - the citrus ones] was much more familiar territory. Which was pretty much what our prom was in all honesty; a slightly pimped up school disco, just pulled out of the sports hall and plopped into a hotel instead.

Times have changed so much since we all raided the Debenhams' posh dress section & applied patchy AF fake tan in an attempt to channel our American rom-com prom queen idols - these days there is a lot of money spent on dresses, beauty, hair & makeup for gals attending their prom [pretty much a posh leavers do, right?]... with custom made dresses & Louboutins galore. Like, I've seen cases of over a grand being dropped and CANNOT COPE.

The idea of having this sorta ball was such a culture clash for us at the time - we'd only just got past Adidas popper pants and Helly Hansen bubble jackets, proms were pretty new ground and a far cry from dancing to Robbie Williams' Angels in a big circle at the school disco; with teachers supervising our every move. Parents had no idea what was expected ££ wise, and I don't think I've ever seen a limo in my hometown until the idea of prom arrived there.

My baes at Alex Silver always hook me up with the cutest pamper parcels - and today's feature is yet another glowing example of this fact! 

They very kindly sent over some goodies from Hempz brand new SS19 Citrine Crystal & Quartz collection for me to try out recently - and lemme spill that tea RIGHT now [if this was real life, I'd be pouring a massive mug of the stuff on ya pure white carpets for dramatic effect] ... they smell SO EFFING GOOD that I can't cope.