sparkles, biatch

yoyoyo! today for the mayphotochallenge on instagram i had to show a pic of my nails (@beautyphoebs) so i thought i'd paint dem and all (been so busy lately i havent been able to pay much attention to meh nails)! i really like the look of white nail polish (especially with a tan, faux or natural, its just gorg!) and cos i'm an avid accent nail kinda gal, i added some gold glitter to spice things up a bit. i used Ciaté's ''snow virgin'' and Essence's ''make it golden'', with a coat of MUA's clear top coat to set dem nails. 

i'm off to london again tomorrow (CANT WAIT EGIOEUGOEIGU) so hopefully these nails will hold up during our 10 day stay as i pass 3 exams, see friends and family, walk around the city, shop (hahahah) and revise for the following exam-ios. im pumped!

Px

lusting over these babies

lusting over these babies by beautyphoebs-1 featuring disco pants

obviously not buying all these things but perhaps someday i'll own them.. hahah - consumerists ftw -this is a selection of good products and my favourite dogs EVER are chow chows. one day i'll have 4 dogs including a chow, a grey french bulldog, a chocolate labrador and a golden retriever. i love animals ok. 

i be pretty darn tired rn, had a migraine for several hours now which aint much fun but i be used to dem what with my migraine gene and all. woop woop! first proper exam in 3 days so i'm revising and taking it easy and will be back in ldn in 2 days, can't wait! being there feels so wonderfully good, my true home!

Px

cool kid

tavi's really got it goin' on.

Px

beauty goodies from london

hello beauties! 

as most of you guys know i left for London on friday morning to pass all my a level speaking tests and see Lana Del Ray (aka my wife) in concert - which was last night in Birmingham and was incrediiiiiible, cannot express how happy i am about it all but it still hasnt actually sunk in that i genuinely saw Lana live, touched her hair, own her sharpie, heard her sing for almost 2hrs etc, just perfect basically!!! - but also to catch up with some fam and friends. i got back this evening and am absolutely shattered after walking and travelling all over the place with real heavy bags and a big agenda! hahah 

though, knowing me, i managed to fit in a little shopping ofc and took advantage of the awesome offers at boots and superdrug:

i got the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in shade 51, (the new one woop - never used it before on myself but oh my lord this foundation-ish product is phenomenal, no wonder it receives so much hype! so glad i picked this up!) a cheapo - but very good - MUA pressed powder and clear top coat nail polish (which i have yet to try), the Bourjois Volumizer mascara (on another day -which i cannot wait to try as i hear so many good things about it) and the a bourjois round pot blush in '"Rose Mandarine'', (a gorgeous matte colour - bourjois products were on offer so it was free, woohoo!) the Palmers Dark Chocolate and Peppermint lip butter (i stupidly forgot to bring a lip balm with me - so ofc my lips got very dry and chapped - although i own literally dozens of them so picked this up as i love the smell, it really is a great lip balm and smells incredible!), the Avon Glimmerstick Brow Definer came with Marie Claire magazine (hopefully this wont be too dark for my brows) and i got the Benefit They're Real mascara (aka the best one on the market) mini in Glamour mag which my uncle very kindly bought me! 

 these are just a couple of bits and bobs, some chewable multivitamins from boots and a pack of Simple  Cleansing facial wipes! 

i'm off to London again this weekend for around 10 days to pass more exams and see more friends and family, i cant wait especially cos it'll be more relaxed this time as we wont be rushing all over the place and not managing to properly sit down for long! hahah 

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

tiffany rothe workouts

heya lovelies! 

as most of you guys know i've been eating healthily and working out and have been managing to lose a significant amount of weight which i'm very pleased about. i'm gone down 20lbs in the last 6-8 weeks which honestly i'm proud about because i've put a lot of work into it. i eat really well now (apart from the odd treat when im craving something ofc) and tend to walk everywhere i go when i can but i also love working out. i never thought i'd say that, or say it and believe it hahah, but after trying all sorts found on telly, on dvd's which i found exhaustin and just hard really, i tried a bunch on youtube and thought they were good but then a mate of mine showed me a Tiffany Rothe video and my lord they've changed my workout life tbh. she's fabulous! (no i'm not sponsored or anything hahah, i wish!) i've tried most of her workouts yet i've only started doing them since the weekend and all of them are so fun, they give me so much energy and aren't hard to do at all! they're even better than Zumba dance classes! the workouts tend to be around 10mins max so you can do the same one a few times or switch it around and do some different ones which is great. i was originally shown the booty shaking one to slim down and tone one's waist which is defo one of my faves as i'm concentrating on toning up my stomach, it's a lot of fun, not tiring and you really do feel all the work you've done, the next day! hahah i'm also a big fan of the get your sexy back video which i did a few times in a row yesterday and also this morning to warm up before my absolute fave (for the moment ;) which is the bikini abs workout. what can i say.. its great really! it's short but if you do it right, put all your energy into it and pull your tummy in tight, you really feel the work. i do it 3 times in a row - and will try to keep on doing that everyday - with a minute's break in between each time so that i can have a sip of water or whatnot and am so glad when i'm finished to feel my muscles really hard and strong. so motivating! i'm hoping to see some results from the workouts in the next week or two but i really do recommend her videos out of everything i've seen! she does all different types is one's focusing on a specific body area to tone up/shed some weight but the key is to get your whole body moving really. 

i might post a bit about some recipes at some point but in case you wanna know what i'm up to and often eating hahah, i really recommend giving me a follow on instagram (@beautyphoebs) as i'm a bit of an addict. heheh 

i'm off to london from friday till monday as i'll be passing my a level orals, seeing some of the fam and.... LANA DEL FUCKING REY! YEAH BABY, MY FAVE SINGER WOOHOOOO i cannot wait.. :D i'll be going back to ldn the following week for exams and then another couples times.. cant wait to move back to the UK for uni in sept though.. ahhh, good things are coming!!!

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

let them eat cake!

hello lovelies!

my mum organised a little tea party for this afternoon at our house, she invited a bunch of her friends over - sadly none of mine were available because like me, they're all revising like crazy - and made a bunch of delicious yet oh so naughty treats! i baked some gluten-free (and guilt-free might i add) black bean brownies which were, to my pleasant surprise, a real hit! 

as you guys know i've been awfully good lately with all my weight loss and working out (after this morning's weigh-in i've lost in total 20 pounds over the last 6-8 weeks which i'm over the moon about, but there's more to go! hahah) but for a break in between revising, i did have a nice cuppa tea and a mini slice of some of the cakes. yes, some of them, but eh, i deserve a treat and my good god they were incredible! i made up for it after though by doing my 250 squats (except i actually ended up doing 280 cos i was feeling guilty for the cakies) and have thus completed the 30 day squat challenge! woohoo! starting the 30 day crunch challenge muy soon. 

this gateau succes was absolutely mind blowing. really. mum, you outdid yourself!

she might not like me too much for uploading this pic but i thought she looked like a proper cutie (as always) sitting talking with her girlies.

i was good and didnt have any of these! heheh

what did you do this weekend? i hope it was a nice one. anyways, i'm off to watch an ep of skins season 5 and back to revision woohoooooo

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

pampering sessions

heya lovelies! i've been working crazy hard everyday at the mo, revising and doing practice exams (i'm passing all my speaking tests next weekend and my proper exams start the week later) and then in my free time, i've been working out a lot (30 days squats challenge + walking + different ab workouts) and   after that, it's time for princess phoebs to have a bath. anyone who knows me knows i bloomin love my baths. i can stay in them for hours as long as they stay warm and i've got some music or a tv show on. honestly don't understand how some people don't enjoy baths but anyway, they're missing out - and i shall be once i'm at uni and have to use a shower everyday, but eh, it'll be fun!

here are some of the products that i love:

i've got a couple of Lush products including a bath bomb from xmas thats on the go, and the bubble bar i made last week at the event, yum yum! also a Philosophy bubble bath which is bloody amazing and really creates SO many bubbles, and a tinkerbell shower gel from a french brand called Corine de Farme, it smells of red fruits and is totally transparent!

i've been using these hair products for the past 3 weeks or so now and i really am very keen on them, i wash my hair every 2 days and it tends to be quite dry but these are fab because they nourish your hair but help a lot if you tend to lose your hair (i dont mean chunks of it or anything, but i ALWAYS have strands of hair all over the place, all over coats etc, god bless lint rollers!) or if it's fragile in general but doesn't mess it up, get it greasy or anything. i've got the shampoo, the ''detangler'' and the ''instant miracle'', the last 2 are rather like conditioners and they all smell delicious! i'm loving these at the mo but can't wait to be able to get my hands on Herbal essences, Aussie etc when i'm back in the UK!

these are actually 3 products i always keep on my bedside table, i use the soap and glory moisturising body mist whenever i get out of the shower or the bath, the hand/body cream whenever needed (although i try not to use too much as Penhaligon's is not cheap hahah) and the famous eau thermale by Avene which works like a dream in all sorts of situations. 

i'm rather obsessed with my Liz Earle cleanse and polish, hot cloth cleanser, at the mo and think i'm gonna need to buy another tube when i'm in the UK (i'll be off next weekend and again another 3 times until mid june for my exams) as i'm starting to really get into it! also my Bebe milk cleanser which one of my greatest of friends, Alicia, got me in Germany at one of the amazing DM stores. Bio-Oil is fab, so nourishing without being extremely greasy but is great to be used at night, real fan of this product! (also lovely to have a bit in the bath) and my darling Cetaphil - i've had this bottle for almost 2yrs and have been using it every single day for months now (keeping the double pack of Embryolisse lait creme concentre, that i had bought in Paris, for when i move back to the UK)  and it really is lovely. it's cheap, is hydrating, and the ingredients are so wonderfully simple that it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. it's also great for anyone suffering from acne as it's very neutral! i recommend it to all!

that's it guys, these are some of the things i love to use when i'm having a pampering sesh! this sort of thing tends to happen after a long day but when i have more time, say on the weekend for example, i tend to light candles, get a cuppa t ready, a nice film on etc so that i can have a nice relaxing time, a well deserved one after all the work i've been pulling through! i'm almost... excited for my exams.. i guess i just really can't wait to be done with high school (not many fond memories hahah) and onto my new life, back in the UK, back homeee, at a great uni where i'll have an amazing time, meet loads of people and end up, 3yrs later, as an official make-up artist! woohoo! ahhh it's going to be a rollercoaster, but my god it's going to be worth it!

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

thrifty find: taupe vintage doctor-style handbag

hiya lovelies! last saturday i popped into a car boot sale with my friend Nastasia before going off to the local shopping centre, CAP3000 for a bit of shopping - unfortunately the car boot wasnt as good as previous ones ive been to at the church that hosts them but i did manage to find this gem and an amazing jacket (which i'll probably feature soon) and a cropped shirt, me likey!

there was a table with all sorts of bags laid out but this one immediately caught my eye, i saw it and knew it had to be mine and when i asked the price, i was very happy to hear the lady would give it to me for 2 euros! successful shopping? i think so! 

unfortunately it isn't photogenic and really does look better irl, obviously it has quite a few scratches but that tends to happen with vintage pieces, it's probably had a few owners heheh but i love anything with a story to it. it's a doctor-style handbag which you can see from the opening, has a couple of pockets on the front and is a grey-ish taupe colour, i love it! it's basic but not your average black/white handbag yet i can still pair this with anything - although im not really a matchy-matchy type of person actually hahahah

i love the clasp, you just push down to open it and voila, you have a massive amount of space for a bag that looks so small from the outside.. handbag tardis.

it has 2 inner, open pockets and an extra zip-up one which is very useful and as you can, can easily fit books, a makeup bag etc, keep in mind that i barely used up 1/3 of the space so it really is nice and roomy. i cant wait to wear this out (maybe sound a little weird but i havent left the house for almost 4 days now as ive been working my socks off!) and it'll definitely be useful at uni! - extremely, extreeeeeeemely excited for uni. ask my mum or friends if you want proof, i'm going nuts with joy and anticipation! 

here's a quick back view of the bag, check out dat booty yeah. 

so glad i got this bag and for such an amazing price, it's so useful and i find it absolutely gorgeous!

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

lush event: creamy candy bubble bar making

hey lovelies!

yesterday morning i went to an event at the local lush store in nice, (france) for a free workshop style session where we got to sign up in advance to make the famous (and rightly so) creamy candy bubble bar. i'm a big fan of this product but they kept what exactly we'd be making as a surprise, but it sure was a nice one! i managed to get a few snaps while we were creating our bars but obviously couldnt take shots of every single process as we were getting stuck in! hahah 

below you can see some of the procedures and also some of the ingredients which are basics for lush bath products, obviously animal testing free (woohoo!) and they dont harm your skin at all which is sooo nice for a person like me who suffers from sensitive skin+ eczema+keratosis pilaris, oh what joy! anyway, all in all i love lush products and have been testing all sorts of bits they do for the past 10yrs - and recommend them to everyoneee :) 

we each were able to create 2: one that would (hopefully) resemble the creamy candy bubble bars they sell in the shop, that would eventually be displayed, and then one to take home. we got to play around with our personal one and make a funky shape etc, i decided to make mine into a dome. dont ask why, i felt.. dome-y. yes phoebe, cos clearly that is a state of being... 

i do look like a real silly billy here, i find, but i like having a pic with all the lush goodies in the background and obviously, showing off my prodigy bahahah 

i very carefully took it home to dry properly but although i was muy careful when in transit, it still squished so when i got home i re-shaped it heheh. it's now been left to harden for over 24hrs and i must say i cant wait to break a chunk off for my bath tomorrow night. wahey lush, you did it again! and i must say, the fact that in france, they had an actual lush event AND for free blew my mind. this sort of stuff is real rare down in the South so yeah, got Phoebs' impressed. hihihi 

oh and the bubble bar smells ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! like god's punjabi.. dont think ive ever said something like that on my blog before but eh.. there's a first time for everything i guess!

enjoy my lovelies,

Px

french pharmacy products: homeoplasmine

             hi lovelies! 

i've been working my socks off this week, getting through the last lessons in my A2 folders, (i study from home in case youre new :) revising and preparing things for my speaking tests (which im passing in just over 2 weeks! eeek!) and in my spare time; working out, going to the beach with friends and relaxing soooo havent been wearing too much make-up while i sit at home working away but my lips have been all chapped and cracked (sexy, i know!) for some reason and although i have a rather massive make-up collection and a ridiculous amount of lip balms, i tried all of them and this time nothing made the cut... apart from the miraculous homeoplasmine...! props to you Boiron! 

you've probably all heard about this little gem before as its a cult favourite for celebrities and a staple in make-up artists' kits, but it really is worth the hype! a tube of homeoplasmine costs around 3€ and its available in pharmacies all over france - im lucky to be able to get my hands on it easily so when i move back to the UK im gonna need to stock up on a few of these bad boys! - but there are all sorts of sites selling it, though unfortunately, mostly at very high prices..

it works wonders on irritated skin, - especially if you suffer like me, from keratosis pilaris which i've had since i was a child unfortunately and it just wont go away, but this really helps with it! - mild burns, superficial wounds, abrasions, nasal irritation due to colds/allergies etc but it's also an antiseptic. 
and of course, it's amazing on lips. i have quite a large lower lip and a medium sized upper one so they get chapped and cracked easily, as soon as i feel they're getting a little dry, i whip a pea sized amount on! also absolutely heaven after a sunburn, it soothes, moisturises and helps the skin heal a lot faster! i always use it after i'm in the sun too long cos, being an english rose, i practically always get sunburnt! hahah 

now i must warn you about the texture which some people arent a fan of, it's thick, like a paste as it's a pommade so it can use some rubbing into wherever it's applied and is best used at night, before getting into bed, if you want to avoid it transferring onto anything. it's transparent and has a matte finish which i'm a big fan of and really is a wonderful product all around. cheap, simple packaging (a metal tube as you can see with a small plastic cap) and so incredibly effective! a total must have for me, and many other women annnnd men!

                                                   enjoy my lovelies,

                                                               Px