Crochet Presents!

Hello Lovelies!

I've been super busy recently creating some lovely presents for Christmas! I recently taught myself to crochet using a magazine! This is a big thing for me as I've tried soooo many times to crochet and failed miserably (not quite as bad as my attempts at knitting though which always end up triangular!)

The great thing about crochet is once you get the hang of it you can make things pretty quickly - it took me a little while to get used to the double crochet stitch - I still haven't quite got the idea of reading a pattern or other stitches yet but I'm really happy I can do this now!

I started off making a few very boring, single colour scarves to practice the stitch. I then tried making a single colour snood and following the success of that I tried out a purple snood for my beautiful friend in America to go in her present box.

Then I tried making a Sailor Moon inspired snood for myself. My youngest sister like it so much that she asked me to make her a Chibi Moon scarf! By this point I'd more or less got the idea of what I was doing and felt more comfortable winging it!

The last few things I've made as gifts I love so much I'd quite like to keep for me! Especially the turquoise and glittery pink snood! The colours are so bright and cheerful.

Can any of you crochet? How about knitting? Do you like to make presents for your friends too? Let me know on the comments below!

Ta-ta for now,

x

Mini Korean beauty haul!

Hello Everyone!

Today as promised I'm going show you my mini beauty haul! (I'm not sure why the photos are so washed out, sorry!)

So here was the first lot I ordered - this is Tony Moly's Luminous Goddess Aura Perfume Make-up Mist and Saemmul's Pure CC cream. The package arrived very quickly and was accompanied by these cute little samples! I've been wanting to try out the Panda's dream range for awhile so this is a great bonus! (The Panda's dream range comes in these adorable little containers which might be influencing me in my want to purchase them!)

So here are the two items I ordered on their own - I've ordered the Goddess Aura before - probably over a year ago and as mine had run out I decided to order another - I was a little apprehensive about re-ordering this as they seem to have changed the packaging since the last time I ordered and I was worried it wouldn't have the same scent as it has before. I really loved the perfume used for my original bottle, its very fresh and floral. I've not used anything by Saemmul before but desperately needed some sort of CC or BB - I just can't find anything light enough to match my skin tone here (Seriously, Rimmel's Light BB is so, so orange!!) This CC has microbeads which burst and change colour to blend into your skin tone.

The back of the CC cream - for some odd reason I don't seem to have the front! Handily the back of the tube has Korean and English writing with ingredients and usage directions.

There isn't much of a scent to this which is great, as you can see in the picture on the left, the product goes on white. It's very silky and smooth and blends in very easily as shown on the picture on the right. I found that it did even out my skin tone rather well but didn't feel heavy on the skin. I've also tried mixing it with an orangey foundation for extra coverage which worked quite well too and lightened the foundation.

Here is the Goddess Aura - again the back of the packet has Korean and English - this mist can be used to set make-up or just as a refreshing mist. I tend to use it as both and as a perfume too - the scent is VERY similar to the original one I had, and might actually be better, it's very light and refreshing.

It adds a slight glisten before the spray dries - this is it on top of the CC cream. 

(The red patch on the side of my hand is a swatch from the lipgloss below!)

The third item I ordered was this cute little Tony Moly Blueberry tinted lip balm/gloss! The company sent me a couple of samples to try out as well as a full size sheet mask! The samples look super fun - I like a lot of these products are fruit based.

Look how cute this is! The actual blueberry is a metallic purple colour and really looks like a giant blueberry.

The pot splits in half and has a Tony Moly seal above the product to stop it moving about in transit should it get too warm and melt.

The lip balm/gloss - it's a lovely subtle colour. It's very easy to apply and glides on smoothly - I've been using a lip brush for it as I hate getting gloss/balm all over my fingers, and I can be more accurate with where I am applying it with a brush.

It's quite hard to photograph the swatch for this as it is a very sheer colour - but it moisturises well and isn't too sticky - it adds a very lovely coloured sheen to lips.

I'm really pleased with my latest purchases and can't wait to try out the samples soon - maybe I'll have an at home spa day! Have you tried out any of the above cosmetics? Have any spa day tips? Let me know in the comments below!

Ta-ta for now,

x

Kawaii & Cute on a budget! Lunch time apparel!

Hello Everyone!

It's time for another Kawaii & Cute on a budget! Today I'll be showing you where you can find cute lunch time apparel - It thought this would be a great idea as this is something everyone can do whether you work in an office like me, are still at school or spend your days at home, everyone can have a cute lunchtime! My favourite places to buy this kind of thing online is eBay, Aliexpress and Taobao. I'll be concentrating mostly on eBay for this post as this is probably the place where most people have access too. It's probably work noting that you can also find Kawaii & Cute lunchtime bits offline in quite a few £stores, Paperchase & Paperchase (Likely to be expensive unless in a sale),  and, oddly Primark.

So let's start with lunch boxes! These are a pretty good staple for any lunch time - you can transport your food about without worrying about it getting squashed and ruined. The other great thing about using a box is that unless its a big single space type, you don't need to use individual sandwich bags which a) saves your money and b) saves the planet as there is less waste! I have quite a few lunch boxes now - different types for different foods. I have a couple that are air tight,  a few stackable and one thermos one (I won't be sharing this one as it's boring and really doesn't keep the food that warm! I'm looking for a new one).

I found quite a few cute lunch boxes on eBay very easily (you'll get a better selection if you set the search to world wide and don't mind waiting around 2 weeks for it to be delivered. Most range from £2+ but if you watch a few of the auctions many start at £0.01! You can quiet easily get a bargain - its worth looking at the store as well as you may be able to find the item with a relatively low buy it now price if the auction goes above your budget.

Just an example of what you can get if you look world wide - I bought this kawaii hamburger lunch box for a whole £1.42!! That included shipping as well. It has 3 sections plus a little fork and spoon included. I'd really recommend the store uarenice - They have a ton of cheap cute items and the people running it are very lovely - there was a problem with the delivery of my lunch box, the shipping label was damaged by the rain and returned to the store. They contacted me to let me know and to ask if I still wanted the lunch box or whether they should refund me. Since I was in no rush I opted to have it resent so they re-packaged and resent it out and it arrived around two weeks later. wrapped up securely in bubble wrap and cellophane. It's exactly as it looks in the picture, and is made out of a very durable plastic, so for the money it's an excellent buy as I think it will last a very long time.

Something else I've seen pop up a lot recently is insulated bags - these are a cheap and fantastic option for keeping your food cool with an ice pack in the summer months or for keeping thermos pots warm that little bit longer. I bought the bag on the left in pink from Glasscitypool - this arrived mega quickly considering it came all the way from Hong Kong! This fits my round pots and keeps soup or porridge warm for a couple of hours at a time. If I use it with my thermos pot it does keep soup just warm enough till lunch time if I heat it up at 7:30am. There are quite a few different bags like this on eBay at the moment and most are £2+ - if you buy one make sure you buy one with a foil lining to keep it insulated! The one on the right is really cute and I may well buy this one for keep sandwiches and drinks cold in the summer months as it looks like it might be a little bigger than the one on the left.

On the subject of drinks how about one of these cute bottles or mugs? I will point out though, that there is no point in buying a cheap bottle or flask - it'll just leak ever where and soak everything (Been there, done that!) You'll probably want to spend around £5+ for a decent bottle - preferably one that is leak proof or at least has a rubber seal around the top. For mugs and glasses though, go nuts! You can find super cute ones starting from as little as £0.01 and a lot will offer free postage, so you can really spend as much or as little as you want. Again changing the search parameters to world wide means you will get a better selection in your search results - there are some absolutely adorable cups from Japan available for world wide shipping.

On the subject of cups, how about one of these cup covers for £0.99? They come in a variety of designs and will keep dust and other nasty things out - they'll probably keep your hot drinks warmer for longer as well.

For those of you that just want a quick sandwich and don't need a whole lunch box, try looking for cute cellophane bags - there's a whole load of different baggies available to keep your food fresh in! These are usually very cheap too and can bought be bought in multiples of 10-100. You could also use these for giving cookies or treats to friends in.

Lastly I found these kawaii bento accessories! You could make all sorts for your lunch with these - just search for Bento accessories and see what you can find!

I hope you've found today's Kawaii & Cute on a budget fun and helpful! If you'd like to request a segement for K/COB you can let me know in the comments below or on the sites facebook page - I love getting requests from my readers so please don't be shy!

Ta-ta for now,

X

An early birthday present! Apple iPhone 6s - Rose Gold

Hello Everyone!

How lucky am I?! My lovely Husband bought me an early birthday present of the very new rose gold iPhone 6s and a case too! I have never had a new phone so close to launch before, and this one is so pretty I had to share! Mr Lock was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to reserve one for me (The rose gold is pretty much sold out everywhere, and I was saving to buy one around Christmas so hadn't pre-ordered it yet).

This is the phone and case! The case is the pink silicone one an the iphone is the 64gig. I've always loved Apples packaging, it's very neat and stylish. There's also not a lot of wasted space which is great too as it requires less materials to make.

Upon opening the box the phone is sat right at the top! It's covered in that special plastics that stops the phone and it's screen getting marked in transit. They are packaged very well so there's not room for the phone to slide about in the box. The front of the phone is white with a rose gold band around the home button.

Under the phone is the plug, USB cable and the headphones all in Apples standard colour of white!

Here's the back of the phone (still in the plastic as I was worried about putting it face down). It's definately pink! Though under some lights its more gold when you take a photo of it. I quite like the white lines that break up the colour.

Here you can see the phone with out it's plastic protector - you can also see the inside of the silicone case, it appears to be lined with a suede like material to make sure the phone doesn't get scratched whilst its in it.

Fitting the case is really simple - it's quite a tight fit which is good as it means it won't come off if dropped or in a bag. The screen is nice and bright and it's so much fun to use!

I'm really loving this phone - I've really missed using Apples OS on a phone, it's so straight forward and really simple to use. The camera is fantastic which is great as I can use it for photos but also to start making videos for you! (I have a few planned out, and hopefully they'll be come a reality soon!) The system is really fast, I've not noticed a lag when switching between apps, the finger print scanner works perfectly - Apple pay is really handy too. I really like the force touch feature with photos - it takes around 3-4 seconds of video when you take a photo so that when you use force touch with it it plays a little clip, which is perfect for trying to take a decent photo of Harry. The fact its an awesome kawaii pink colour just makes it perfect too!

Thank you to my lovely Husband, Mr Lock for the early birthday present!

Ta-ta for now!

x

~*~ REVIEW ~*~ Etude House Dear Girls Oil Control Pact - Positive

Hello Everyone!

I recently purchased a small haul of make up! After posting a photo to the sites Facebook page quite a few people asked me to review my purchases when they arrived, so as promised, here's a review for the first that arrived, Etude House's Dear Girls Oil pact.

Now, my reason for purchasing this is quite simple, I suffer from combination skin and usually use a UK purchased coloured powder compact to combat this, which was all fine and dandy until I realised that despite trying several different brands, both high and low brand, NONE of them match my skin tone. Not even close. (Don't get me started on foundation, that's a story for another day!) The closet match I could find was oddly Poundlands own brand, but it seems like this is never in stock in the right shade.

So off I set on the internet to try and find something that was suitable for combination skin that wouldn't leave me looking like a can of Tango. I did consider buying the same pact I had before from Etude house but I couldn't find any for sale and came across the Dear Girls pact and Zero Sebum. I went for the Dear Girls powder as I wanted a compact I could easily throw in my bag and take out and about with me. So I placed my order online (This was not direct from Etude but the AU Rose Rose shop.) Then waited for my make up to turn up! This didn't take very long to arrive at all and came wrapped up in bubble wrap in a sturdy box.

First things first, look out how cute the packaging is! I really love Etude's attention to detail with these boxes, they are always bright and happy looking. The box also has the ingredients list and other useful information in Korean and in English.

Inside was the compact! This is made of a smooth plastic with the Dear Girls logo on it. It feels very well made and is easy to open, but not so easy that it would come open in your bag.

Opening the compact you'll find a mirror, a sponge for applying the power and the powder itself. The mirror is great, it's very clear and not blurred at all.

The powder has an adorable bird design on it! It smells quite delicate and isn't heavily fragranced.

The puff is perfect for picking up just the right amount of powder and lets you apply it where you need it smoothly. It's very easy to apply as it just glides on. 

Being white I was a little worried this would wash me out as I am already quite pale, but it didn't at all. (I didn't blend this in so well on my hand so you could see where the powder was, else it's fairly invisible!) I was really pleased with how long this lasted - I usually apply make up before leaving for work (around 6:30-7:15am) and this lasted till about 3:00pm before I needed to touch it up! It's also very light so it doesn't feel like your skin is caked in powder.

I'm really pleased with this purchase and I'd definitely buy it again. At just under £5 I think this is well worth the price as a little goes quite a long way too!

Have you tried out this compact before? Let me know you thoughts in the comments!

Ta-Ta for now,

X