What I Got For My 20th Birthday | Part One

Hi guys, I cannot believe that I haven't posted anything on my blog in seven days! I have been quite ill over recent weeks which is extremely unfortunate as it was actually my 20th birthday on Wednesday! However, despite feeling incredibly unwell, I still had a lovely low-key day at home and I received some lovely presents too - which is what I want to share with you all today. I know that some people find these posts to be a little 'braggy' but if you're anything like me (aka nosey,) you love snooping at what other people got for their birthdays! I am very grateful for all of the gifts that I was given and I am simply excited to share them with you. As it's the end of the month, I would usually be posting my monthly favourites but as I have been sick and have not been using many products lately, I have decided to skip the favourites post this month. So, without any further ado, let's jump right in!

First up, my parents kindly bought me a couple of clothing items from Forever 21. I picked out two of these outfits a couple of weeks ago as my Mum knows how fussy I am when it comes to buying clothes! I picked out both of the floral items above; on the left is a floral bodycon dress and on the right is a lovely floral playsuit. However, my parents also bought me this black & grey bodycon dress in the middle as a little surprise. I love all of them so much, I cannot wait to wear them!

My parents also bought me two new Real Techniques brushes to add to my collection; an Expert Face Brush and a Blush Brush. I am so excited to use these as I adore how soft new brushes feel, plus Real Techniques are just such a great brand. Not only this but they also bought me this gorgeous 'Lovestruck Floral Rush' perfume from Vera Wang, which I have had my eye on for a while now. The scent is, of course, a beautiful floral smell which lingers on the skin for absolutely ages. Plus, the bottle is so cute that it's going to look great on my shelf!

Next up, my older brother bought this beauty kit from Benefit called 'Do The Bright Thing.' I have been wanting to try some more Benefit products for a while now and so this kit is absolutely perfect for me. The kit contains five items including the That Gal brightening primer, High Beam, They're Real mascara, Bad Gal Eyeliner and the Dandelion blusher. As an extra little gift, he also got me a couple of bits from Lush too; a Think Pink bath bomb and two bubble bars, The Comforter & Pop In The Bath. Also when my brother opened the Lush delivery, it came with a little note saying that they had thrown in an extra product for free to spread some kindness (how cute!) So, I luckily got a Ceridwen's Cauldron bath melt thrown in for good measure too. Yay!

Last but not least for part one of my birthday post are the presents from my lovely boyfriend! Firstly, he bought me the How I Met Your Mother box set which features seasons 1 to 8. This is one of my all time favourite programmes and as well as this, I encouraged him to start watching it when we first got together too. So, this is definitely a present that we are both going to enjoy watching when we have our lazy nights in (which happen a lot!) Also knowing what a Lush addict I am, Kieran also bought me a little gift set called 'Relax... Take A Bath.' This set includes a Dorothy Bubble Bar, a Twilight Bath Bomb and a Dreamtime bath melt. They all smell amazing and I cannot wait to use them! Plus, he also got me a few bags of my favourite sweets and chocolate too... yum!

I hope you all enjoyed reading part one of 'What I Got For My 20th Birthday.' I am so grateful for all of the presents that I received and I have been thoroughly spoiled by all of my loved ones! I cannot wait to start using everything, I'm so excited! Thank you for reading and part two will be up at some point in the near future :)

My Favourite Fake Eyelashes: Ardell's Demi Wispies

Hi guys. I have been a fan of wearing fake eyelashes on nights out and for special occasions for years now, ever since I first wore them four years ago to my Year 11 prom. As I have naturally short and fine lashes, mascara just isn't enough for me at night time to get the dramatic look that I desire. I have tried many different pairs of fake lashes over the years but this pair that I want to talk about today are my absolute favourites. So today, I thought that I would do a quick little post talking about these lashes.

I first heard about the Ardell Demi Wispies in one of Tanya Burr's videos a little while back, so I decided that I wanted to try and hunt them down immediately! I tracked them down in my local Sally's Beauty, which I luckily have a trade card for as I took a three day nail course with them last October (which you can read about here.) As I own a trade card and it was VAT free day in store too, I got these lashes a lot cheaper than usual but they retail at £5.49 from Boots.

Initially, on the tray, the lashes looked a little different to what I would usually go for. My lashes of choice before I converted to these lashes were usually Eylure's Katy Perry Cool Kitty Lashes (£5.95,) which are a different shape and style entirely. However, once I applied them, I was in love. The Demi Wispies add amazing length and volume without being too in your face or over the top. One thing I especially love about this particular pair is that the lash band is virtually undetectable, unlike some other high street brands where it is really obvious that you are wearing fake lashes. I absolutely love the fluttery and full effect that these eyelashes give, especially paired with some nice winged liner too, which is always my go-to evening look. The only down side to these lashes is that the version I bought did not come with any eyelash glue. However, I luckily have multiple tubes of Eylure glue that I have stashed in my drawer that I can use instead!

Overall, I absolutely adore these lashes and I highly recommend them. They are both lengthening and voluminous, which gives the most amazing end result. Not only this but the lashes hold their shape really well too, which means that you can get multiple uses out of one pair if you look after them properly! Have you ever tried these or any of the Ardell lashes before? What are your favourite fake lashes to wear on a night out? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. Thank you!

Lush's Ultrabland Facial Cleanser

Hi guys. On a last minute trip to Lakeside on Saturday morning, I decided to pop into Lush in search of a little treat for myself. I have only ever used Lush's bath products before 
and seeing as I have asked for a lot of that stuff for my birthday, I thought that I would check out what else the store had to offer. The shop assistant was very helpful and led me around the store talking to me about various scrubs and soaps. However, I eventually decided on picking up a new cleanser. So today, I thought that I would post a mini review letting you know what I think of it so far. Let's get started!

Ultrabland is a gentle cleanser which contains ingredients such as almond oil, rose water, beeswax and honey. The product comes in two sizes; the 45g pot is £6.95 and the 100g pot is £10.95. I opted for the smaller size as I thought that would be the best option for me, just in case I did not get on well with the product. Although Ultrabland is described on its packaging as an oily cleansing cream, the assistant assured me that it would be fine to use on my oily/combination skin and that it would in fact help to balance it out and boy, was she right! Of course, I have only been using this product for three days but so far I am absolutely loving it!

Upon application, Ultrabland feels very luxurious and despite its thick consistency, it is incredibly easy to massage into my skin. I tend to apply it dry, emulsify it with some water and then remove it with either a muslin cloth or a flannel depending on what I have on hand. The main reason that I have been loving this cleanser so far is due to the fact that the ingredients are so natural. I really feel like the product is doing my skin the world of good as I use it. Plus, it leaves my skin feeling ridiculously soft and nourished too. I have also read some reviews that claim Ultrabland has calmed down their problematic skin and has dramatically reduced oiliness, although it may take a bit longer for me to see those results as I have not been using the product for long enough yet! So, I will keep you posted on that front.

Although I love my Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean 3-in-1 Deep Purifying Cleanser (£8.00,) I feel like this product could overtake it (and that's a pretty big statement for me!) I just love the results that Ultrabland has given me after just a few days. My skin has been going a bit haywire lately and I'm hoping that this cleanser will continue to work wonders and that hopefully, my skin will be a lot calmer for my birthday. Fingers crossed!

Overall, this cleanser is absolutely amazing so far and I definitely recommend to all of you. A little goes a long way with this formula, so it is great value for money too! Have you used Ultrabland before? What did you think of it? What is your favourite cleanser? Please let me know by leaving a comment below. Thank you!