My Favourite Christmas Films

The Santa Clause, Chronicles Of Narnia-The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Love Actually, Elf

Christmas is almost upon us (6 days to go!) and to get myself in that festive mood I love to watch my four favourite Christmas films.

I'm sure many of you will have seen or at least heard or these films but if you haven't you should definitely check them out. A few more that are usually on around this time of year which are always worth a watch include The Holiday, Home Alone and Miracle On 34th Street.

What's your favourite Christmas film to get into the holiday spirit? :)

Review | Let The Good Times Roll Cleanser

Let The Good Times Roll Cleanser | Lush £5.95/100g

I think I may have found my new favourite cleanser! This product is new to Lush this year and although it was released as part of their Christmas range I *think* it's going to become a permanent addition to their line of cleansers, which is great news for those of us who now can't live without it!

It doesn't exactly look like a regular cleanser, but it certainly does a great job at cleaning your skin. All you do is break off a small amount, get it wet with a bit of warm water and rub it between your fingers until it looks like the photo above. You can use more product for a thicker consistency or less for a watery cleanser. Then just wash your face as normal. It's slightly exfoliating so it feels like it's really getting rid of any dirt or make up on your face. Rinse off with hot water (I use my muslin cloth too as it wipes the product off quite well) and you're done. Feel free to marvel at how soft your skin is and how it actually smells like a combination of cake and popcorn.

After my first time applying this, I was hooked! My skin has never felt so good and after using this it felt so moisturised that I could have sworn I'd already applied my moisturiser. Definitely one to add to your Christmas list.

Have you used this or any Lush cleansers before? :)

Review | Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Real Techniques Stippling Brush £11.99

I'm currently sat in bed with a rather large cup of tea and some Millies Cookies as I've been pretty ill over the last few days, hence the lack of posts. I've been meaning to write this review since I picked this brush up last week so as I'm feeling a little better today I thought I'd get this up. So let's crack on!

Real Techniques brushes have been available for a while now, I know a lot of people say they are good but I just never got the hype about them...until now. 

I've always applied my foundation/BB cream with a regular flat foundation brush and I must say I've never had any problems with this. It got the job done so I never thought to change it. Browsing blogs on here I noticed a lot of people using this Stippling Brush to apply their foundations which left their skin looking pretty flawless! I finally caved when I saw this was in stock in Boots last week so I picked one up to try out. 

So far I have not been disappointed! This brush is a miracle worker, it blends my Garnier BB Cream in so well and leaves my skin looking amazing. I've even had a few compliments on how nice my skin looks after using this brush! It's so quick to do and as it blends so well you're not left with any awkward lines of foundation anywhere on your face that haven't been blended properly.

If you have yet to pick one of these up or are currently thinking about it, I highly recommend that you do. I was doubtful at first but now I know that I'm never going back to a regular foundation brush after using this!

Have you tried this brush before or own it yourself? What do you think? :)

Etsy

I'm sure most of you will know about the website etsy but if you don't, it's a site where people sell their handmade items and where you can also pick up supplies for your very own craft projects.

This had got to be one of my favourite sites EVER! The amount of talent on there is insane, also with the items being handmade they are all very original so they make great gifts for family and friends (and yourself, of course)!

I thought I'd share a few stores I found on there recently which have some pretty awesome things for sale and hopefully give you a few ideas for some Christmas gifts.

The Angel Diaries

This store has some amazing cases for both iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5. I love customizing my phone so these cases are great for adding your own personality, there's also plenty of designs to choose from so there's sure to be one to suit everybody. These are a few of my favourites:

L to R- Sparkle & Glitter, Mint Green & Anchor, Police Box

That last one is especially great for all those fellow Doctor Who fans out there ;)

Lola Blossom Clothing

I LOVE 50's inspired dresses. The big skirts, the amazing styles, the patterns. Everything about them is amazing, yet I still don't own one! I have a few weddings to go to next year so I'm thinking of getting one to wear to those.

L to R- Rose Garden, Light Blue Polka Dots, Brown/Baby Pink Polka Dots

Have you bought anything from Etsy before? Got any favourite items or stores on there? Let me know in the comments :)

Christmas Wishlist

1. Kindle £69

2. McFly- Unsaid Things £9.49

3. Tokyo Doll Dress from New Look £29.99

4. NARS Nail Polish in (L)Purple Red and (R) Diamond Life £14 each

5. Hello Kitty Satchel £110

Here's my Christmas wishlist! Let me know what you think about my choice of products and also if you've got a few similar items on your own wishlists! I know the Kindle has certainly been a popular product again this year so I have a feeling that one might pop up a few times.

Glitter Nail Polish Wishlist

Everyone likes a bit of sparkle at Christmas and these three nail polishes from Barry M are high on my to-purchase list right now! At £2.99 per polish they're inexpensive and also great for stocking fillers too! These pictures really don't do them justice so it's worth checking them out in store to see just how pretty they are. 

What's on your wishlist at the moment?

A Little Bit Lost

Carrie's YouTube

 “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

one of my favourite Harry Potter quotes

This video was uploaded this evening by the lovely Carrie Fletcher (who you should all subscribe to, link is under the video) and it couldn't have come at a better time.

I've recently been finding it hard to remember what I want to do or where I want my life to go. I often feel like I have no direction or purpose and it scares me. A lot. At 23, I think that most people will have some idea of how they want to spend their life, whether it's what career they want to work in or where they want to live but sometimes it's just not that easy. When I look back on what I thought about when I went to college, I pictured myself in a full time job, living somewhere other than home and maybe even be in a relationship. So as none of this has happened yet, it makes me wonder whether I went wrong somewhere. If I'd put in a bit more effort here or saved more money there, would this have happened by now? Probably, but you can't turn back time or change what's already happened so I have to learn from those mistakes. I just want to start feeling like me again.

Has anyone else ever felt like this?  What helped you? How did you figure out what you wanted to do or where you wanted to go? What made you feel like YOU again? Leave me a comment or if you'd prefer to email, my address is purplekaytee@googlemail.com

Katie x

Has it really been that long?

image from weheartit

So the last time I posted anything on here was August. It's now November. Where did those last three months go?!

Anyway, just wanted to stop by and say I will be back soon. Life has certainly had it's ups and downs lately and I've just not had the motivation to blog. I'd rather take my time and post something which I have thought about rather than just rush something out just for the sake of keeping it active and consistent. 

A little about what I've been up to: I finally got a job, working as a Christmas temp at LUSH. It's so different from the retail jobs I've had before, sometimes a little too different but I'm slowly adjusting to it. I'd been unemployed for seven months prior to getting this job and it was starting to affect me a little bit. Having little to no money meant that I couldn't go out as much, so I spent a lot of time at home. Me being the huge over thinker that I am meant this wasn't as fun as it sounds. I started thinking about everything and over time this caused me to be withdrawn and quiet. I snapped at people a lot if they tried to talk to me and I found myself crying a lot for no reason. 

This all sounds a bit silly now I'm writing it down and it's hard to explain exactly how I felt but I know that I wasn't myself. Having a job now and being able to spend the day talking to people is starting to help, although everyone who works there is very confident and I've never had the highest amount of confidence so I sometimes find myself thinking about how I'll never be as good as them or people won't like me as much. This is something that needs to stop, I know this and I hope I can do it soon and enjoy work and just be me.

Enough about me, hope you're all well and like I said at the beginning normal blogging will resume soon! Thanks for taking the time to read this and to check out my blog, if you have any questions or just want to chat, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

Katie :)

Job Interviews

Job interviews. Two words that can strike fear into most people, that feeling of nervousness and absolute dread when you have to answer questions such as "So tell me a bit about yourself" and "Tell me about a time you have provided exceptional customer service". These are the type of questions that may sound simple written down, but when asked in an interview your mind goes blank and you find you can't think of anything interesting to say.

Maybe it's just me. I just don't feel comfortable in these situations where there's no guarantee of the questions you'll be asked. And what about the interviewer? Will they be pleasant and friendly, or strict and professional?

After months of applying for various jobs, I finally found myself with a couple of interviews. That's right, I ended up with two in the same week. I was nervous, as I haven't had an interview for over three years! One of them was then rescheduled and they ended up on the same day just hours apart, which worked out well really as it meant they were both over and done with on the same day.

I'd like to think they both went well. I was nervous but not too bad and the questions weren't too difficult to answer (for once). I should hear back soon so I'll update with that at some point.

Have you ever had a really good/bad interview experience?

Photo Retouching

I've decided to start using my deviant art account again. It'll be where I post any of my photography as well as my photo retouches. If you're interested in any of this, please feel free to check it out and if you have an account yourself leave me a message to let me know you're from here!


Just to warn you now, I am still learning a lot about photo retouching so they're not quite at a professional standard yet, although I'm practising on as many images as I can using different techniques to see what works best.


My profile can be found at http://kaytee-elizabeth.deviantart.com/


Thank you for checking it out and as always, comments are appreciated :)

Daily Make-up Products

 

Hello! Thought I'd do a quick post about my make-up routine and the products I use on a daily basis.

I always start by cleansing, toning and moisturising and for that I use Liz Earle. I've been using this for about 2 years now and I can honestly say it's one of the nicest cleansers I've ever used. My skin is combination/oily so I can be prone to small breakouts every now and then, but using this has helped so much. It's a lot more natural than other products and definitely less harsh on the skin. You can get this from http://uk.lizearle.com/ and if you've been thinking about trying it but don't want the full size products there are travel-size kits available featuring these three products.

When that's all done I move on to foundation. I've been swapping between the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation in Ivory (£8.99 http://www.boots.com) and the new Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector for combination/oily in Light (£9.99 http://www.boots.com). This BB cream is my new love, it's really that good! It's oil free which helps my already oily skin and it lasts pretty well throughout the day. Definitely recommend it. After this I apply a bit of Porefessional by Benefit (£23.50 http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk) on the tops of my cheeks by my nose and also just above my nose on my forehead as these are the areas my pores are most visible. It's a little pricey and I have yet to buy the full size as I'm currently using a sample from an issue of Glamour magazine a while back! When it runs out though I'll definitely think about purchasing the full size.

Mascara is just the Colossal Volum' Express by Maybelline (£7.19 http://www.boots.com). This is probably my second favourite mascara, the first being the Mascara X by MAC, which I can't seem to find on their website so it looks like it may have been discontinued :( 

The blush is one I have used for years (obviously I've bought replacements, I haven't been using the blush pictured above for years)! The shade I use is Dame (£17.50 http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/156/329/Products/Face/Cheek/Powder-Blush/index.tmpl).

Then finally, I pop on some lip balm (this chap stick one is my favourite, I always buy it in Strawberry). If I'm going out anywhere I'll wait a few minutes after applying and then use the Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting (£7.99 http://www.boots.com) and then I'm all ready to go!

It's all stored in the very bright Hello Kitty make-up bag which I got a few years ago from a shop in Barcelona. It's Tokidoki for Hello Kitty, eBay could be worth a try if you'd like a similar bag.

Let me know what your daily make-up products are in the comments below :)

Also, I just wanted to say that the links I've added in the post are just there for price and more information about the product, I hope no one thinks I'm forcing them to buy everything from Boots! I personally get the majority of my beauty items from there so it's the first website I'll link to.

Ibiza|My Pictures

It's been over a month since I had a lovely week away in Ibiza and I've just realised I haven't shared any photos yet. This is just a selection of what I took, as it was really just a lot of the same scenes. Enjoy!

Top to bottom-the beach, full view of the beach, boats, the amazing cocktails, a rock that looks like an elephant lying down, this apparently looks like the Batman symbol, view from the bar where we had the cocktails, the incredible view from our balcony, lizards by the pool that kept climbing on the sun loungers, the harbour at Es Cana, our hotel (the building on the right), Cala Llonga from a boat, panoramic view from the balcony.

A Bit About My Blog

I've been posting on this blog a little over two months now, and i'm going to be honest with you by saying it's not exactly going how I planned. It's not because of followers or anything like that- i'm so happy that there are people out there who take the time to check out my blog and i'm grateful for every comment i've received so far. What I am unhappy with is the content.

When I decided to start a blog, I had a pretty good idea about how I wanted it to go. I already knew I would include posts about items i'd bought shopping, do some reviews and write some personal posts. Unfortunately, these ideas disappeared when I lost my job. At first I wasn't too bothered, I knew that it might be a little while before I could buy anything new or do any reviews on new products. But time has ticked on and four months later I'm still without a job.

I'm not giving up, I will find something soon! It just starts to get you down a little bit when you can't do the things you love (shopping!) and are pretty much confined to the four walls of your bedroom as you can't afford to go anywhere! By being on my laptop more though I have come up with a few ideas for some posts which will be up soon.

Once again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you'll stick around for future posts.

Katie

x

Bloglovin update + a little thank you!

I've finally fixed my Bloglovin link, so if you have an account you can follow my blog HERE.

Thank you to all my readers so far and to everyone who has left comments, I read them all and from now on I'll be keeping on top of things a bit more by replying and writing some longer blog posts.

Youtube Nostalgia

Ever had one of those evenings when you've been on Youtube, searched for a song and then spent hours on there listening to all the related videos and being taken back to another time in your life?

That's what I've done tonight. Thought I'd share a few of the songs I've listened to, they remind me of when I was 14-15 (around 2004).

Why Not- Hilary Duff

Leave (Get Out)- JoJo

Let Me Love You- Mario

Pieces Of Me- Ashlee Simpson

What music did you listen to back when you were at school?

Feel free to leave links in the comments :)

Ibiza

*image*

It's now only 8 days until I'm off to Ibiza for a week! The middle picture above shows Cala Llonga which is the part of the island I'll be going to and the resort in the middle of the very badly drawn circle is where I'll be staying.

As you can see, my suitcase is nowhere near ready yet. Pretty much everything in it clothes-wise has to be washed, dried and somehow made to fit in there. I've also got to sort out my bathroom bits and pieces, makeup and try and get a few pairs of shoes in there too. I can see this being a bit of a nightmare already but fingers crossed it'll work out somehow...

Going anywhere awesome on holiday this year? Leave me a comment below.

Thanks for reading :)

Just a few bits and pieces (haul)

I had a bit of an urge to go shopping a few days ago and even though I can't really afford it at the moment it's always nice to treat yourself once in a while! So, here's what I bought:

1. Black Skinny Jeans from New Look (HERE) 

I've been after a pair of black jeans for a while now and these fit perfectly. Only £14.99 too which was great for my bank balance!

2. Clear Mini Elastic Hairbands

Bought these for holiday as I'm going to be plaiting my hair a lot, they look a little better than standard black hairbands which was all I had. These were from Boots but you can find them in pretty much any beauty/drug store.

3. Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

I probably don't even need to explain why I bought this as it's been talked about online for quite a while now! I have yet to try it out but my current nail polish is looking a little rough so I'm thinking of trying it tonight and maybe putting a review up tomorrow.

4. Topshop Bubble Hem Dress 

This is a actually a recent purchase from ebay which came in the post yesterday. Got it for the great price of £4.99! I've also won a couple of other bits which I'll do a post about once they're here.

5. Books- Divergent by Veronica Roth, One Perfect Summer by Paige Toon. Also latest issue of Company magazine

I've been wanting to read Divergent for ages and as Waterstones currently have a buy one get one half price offer on for summer (in store only) I thought now would be a great time to pick it up. One Perfect Summer was also in this offer so I grabbed that to take on holiday with me, seems like a perfect by the pool/on the beach kind of book.

6. Awesome notebook and purple pen

I've bought myself a fancy notebook and pen for jotting down thoughts and ideas especially for this blog. The notebook has loads of little pockets and sections inside so it's super easy to keep organised, theres even a little zipped up pocket at the back, which is pretty cool! I chose a nice purple pen to write in it as purple is my favourite colour! Both of these were from Paperchase.

Do you have any of these products yourself? What do you think of them?

As always, thanks for reading :)