Beauty News and Reviews: The Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream

Today is a bit of a speedy review on something that I think is the most talked about beauty product of 2014. Yes, the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream. Now, I have been hearing about this cream non stop from Youtubers, beauty bloggers and various magazines. I left it for a while because I usually wait to see how long the hype lasts around a product. Well after over a year of reading about it and considering that it is still being discussed, I took the plunge a couple of weeks ago. 

One major factor that was stopping me from buying it was the price. It usually retails at around 26 euro but I bought mine in duty free for like 21 euro, I think. I suffer from extremely dry skin and my lips are constantly cracking, even in the warmer months. Those of you who suffer from this will also know that it comes with the frustration of lipstick just not looking good when you apply it. 

After using it for over three weeks now, I can't imagine my life without it. After two days of regular application, there was a drastic improvement. My lips have not felt dry or cracked since I've started using this product. There is a specific lip version but I've heard through the grape vine that the regular one is actually better. And it's a multi purpose product as it can be applied to any dry areas on your skin. Now that I know how good it is, I would pay double the price because it really does guarantee amazing results!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Be Lovely with Loverly

Afternoon everyone! So who here likes weddings? Well, I for one adore them. My Pinterest is full of wedding DIY, dresses, cakes, you name it! So last week when the amazing Carolyn from Loverly got in contact with me, I was only thrilled to help her out with the launch of their new collection.

First of all, Loverly is a one stop shop for all your wedding needs. From the initial plan making to the dress itself. It also has some serious secret tips on how to make your big day as stress free and enjoyable as possible. Loverly is the place to go if you're in need to things to hire, trinkets to buy or plans that need to be made. It truly is the new way for planning a wedding. 

Now having been established for three years, they have just launched their first ever bridesmaid collection! They so kindly asked to to help introduce the Eva Franco collection for Loverly and I was only delighted to help out. I know that what I'm about to say is a serious cliche, but I'm okay with that. I am beyond obsessed with weddings. I think that every girl subconsciously thinks about what their own wedding will be like during many points in their lives. I know for me, my debs was a huge "oh that would be nice for a wedding" sort of occasion. There was one girl there with the most beautifully cut dress. Just the fit, the style, the fabric. Oh my goodness it was gorgeous. In my mind, I was picturing it with a veil, a mauve band around the waist and instead of it being a charcoal colour, it was a beautiful crisp ivory shade. Even thinking about it I get excited...... 

Getting asked to be a bridesmaid is a serious honour. It's the bride's way of letting you know that she trusts you enough to help make her big day as special as possible and that she values your opinion. As of recently, I've been working part time in a bridal shop. I deal with bridesmaids mostly. And when they come in, you can see how much the bride relies on them. And it really is quite lovely. I think that this collection has the perfect amount of romance but is also very contemporary. 

But before I get down to the critique, here are a few photo's from the new collection.

Let me just start by saying that I love the meeting point between traditional and modern. The last coordinate crop top and skirt ensemble is exquisite. I could imagine it to be perfect for a beach wedding with a floral crown or something similar to what is in the picture above. It is just such a elegant piece and could so easily be worn again. I know that it's not to everybody's taste, but I adore the blush pink lace and bow detail dress. I'm a serious girly girl at heart so this ticks all the boxes for me. The lace material has such a lovely liquidity to it and the colour is a subtle nod towards this seasons popular coral shades. This dress falls under the "Pretty in Pink" collection and it is without a doubt my favorite! The colour is gorgeous, the fabrics used are both unusual and classic, they flow and let's face it, they're absolutely stunning. The navy strapless dress that can be seen in the first image above, is a beautifully tailored fit. The lace bodice is divine and this style is very wearable. This dress in particular is from the "True Blue" collection which I think would be perfect for Autumn and Winter weddings.

I've had a look at the prices and compared them to the materials used. Seeing that the fabrics are of excellent quality and considering the amount of detail in many of the pieces, they're a steal! I've seen other bridesmaids dresses that were not as carefully made as these, and cost a heck of a lot more. Another thing that I love about the collection is that they're gorgeous bridesmaids dresses, but could all be worn again with a little bit of styling. The team at Loverly with the help of Eva Franco have managed to tackle this seasons most popular colours and make them look even more incredible. It's predicted that subtle tones of pink and bold navy colours will be this season's most popular palette and with the help from these beautiful dresses, they most certainly will be!

Want to see the entire collection? Click the link below!

Eva Franco for Loverly

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I hope you guys enjoyed this post and that I did the collection the justice it deserves!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

DISCLAIMER: I was not paid or offered any freebies to say these things. All of these opinions are my own.

Oh Look! We're in Germany!

So about four weeks ago, a friend of mine rang me to see how I was as it was the night before my boyfriend left for America. We got to talking about my best friend, Jean, who is currently living in Germany and how much we missed her, etc. We knew that another friend of ours was going over to visit her at the end of January so we made the impulse decision to book flights that evening. But we all decided that we wouldn't tell Jean that myself and my other friend were visiting too. She was only aware that one of us were going. So we had to keep it from her for weeks. We talk everyday so not being able to tell her about how excited I felt was so difficult! But that moment, when we walked up from behind her on the train platform, is truly something I will never forget. There were tears and then the "why didn't you tell me?" questions. It was just so amazing to be able to surprise someone you love that much. 

Well we spent a total of 5 days in Hanover. It is such a beautiful city and the shopping! Oh my god the shopping. I was not prepared. The food was also delicious. My favourite day was without a doubt our last one. We went to the zoo and ice skating. We really made a day of it all. So below are a few pictures of the trip, some outfits and what I bought.

Dress: Littlewoods Ireland, Boots: Simply Be

Top: Penneys, Pants: Zara, Duster Coat: New Look, Boots: Simply Be

Dress: A German shop that I can't remember the name of...

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Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

My Gel Nails History

So this evenings post is a quick one. Over the last year, I have received so many compliments and questions over my nails. I've been getting gel nails on and off over the last year and a half. They're my little piece of luxury every month and they always make me feel a bit special (pathetic, I know). The lady who does them for me is so incredibly talented and can literally do anything. Her attention to detail is incredible and no matter how long her day has been or how tired she feels, each set is equally as perfect as the last. Her page can be found HERE and she regularly uploads pictures of her latest creations so that you can choose from them. After going to her, I can't imagine anyone else doing them. Here are a few pictures of he nails I've gotten done over the last year!

Be sure to check her out on Facebook if you're interested in having some fabulous fingers!

DISCLAIMER: I was not paid or offered any freebies to write this post. I wrote it because this woman is genuinely amazing at her job.

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Ambitions for 2015

Happy new year to you all! I hope you had a wonderful and food filled Christmas. I did any way, but we're not going to talk about that... I know it's been a while since I've posted but I'm still in a bit of a rut in terms of blogging. But I thought I'd make the effort this year to try and remember why I got into it.

Well to begin, I survived the Next sale. It was actually the calmest sale I've ever experienced. Now, it was busy and there was a continuous flow of people, but they were all generally quite pleasant, helpful and chatty. And as an added bonus, no ambulances were called this year (yes I know, but it happens). I've also started a small internship in a wedding shop! It's something I've always wanted to do and it's actually something I'm considering as a potential career. I've always wanted to work in a magazine so I would strongly consider one that specialises in bridal wear and weddings. I had my first day last Monday and it's amazing how much I learned in the 7 hours. I dressed three bridal parties who were looking for bridesmaids dresses. They were all so lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding a dress that all bridesmaids agreed on, including the bride of course. 

Things I would like to achieve in 2015

Well for one, I'm back on the weight watchers programme. And it's something I've actually quite looked forward to over the last few weeks. So yes, in 2015, I would like to do really well in terms of weight loss and having a healthier lifestyle. I even bought myself some new gym gear to motivate myself and to help me get excited about going back to zumba.

As a few of you will know, I'm taking a year out this year to work and what not. But I don't just want to spend the year solely working and doing nothing else. I've set a goal to go over to London and spend quality time with my cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. I've been loads of times because my parents are both from Camden town, but I've never actually seen the city for real. Like, I'd love to do all the touristy things too. I'd also love to visit my best friend in Germany so I'm going to try and save up for that to hopefully go over in April. I just want to make the most of this year, especially considering that my boyfriend has just left to spend 5 months studying in America, so I don't want to spend my time moping about feeling sorry for myself!

Another thing that I'd like to focus on again is fashion illustration. Last year, you'd walk into my room and it's all I would be doing. And I miss it. So that is something I'm going to promise myself that I'll do because I love it. 

And lastly, I want to start really getting back into blogging. I was looking through my home page the last day and it's been a while since I've done any fashion or beauty posts so I'm going to whip up a few of them. They've all been mainly lifestyle but you guys seem to really enjoy them too. But yes, there will be a flow of posts from here soon!

Well that's all for this little update post. I hope that all your goals for 2015 are off to a good start and if yours are similar to mine, let me know how they're going!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Why Did I Choose the Weight Watchers Programme?

Welcome back everyone! Since publishing my last post, I've been getting a million questions about the programme, how it works and why I chose to start. I know that I've been posting a lot about this topic lately but it's been getting such a huge response and you all seem to like the personal side of it! So here we go.

First of all, those of you who are familiar with WW know that a while back it was done with something used Pro Points. Basically, you were allowed 49 points a week. Each food is pointed so if you were to exceed over the limit, you would not be following the programme. For example, a bottle of red wine is 19 points so if you were to have the casual vino once a week, you would have to automatically deduct 19 from your 49 points. As of recently, they have introduced this new programme called Simple Start. For me, the thought of pointing, weighing and watching everything that I would eat was kind of a daunting prospect, but the Simple Start programme is amazing. It's a little book filled with foods you can eat, treats you can have and how to build your meals. There's no weighing or pro pointing involved. And there are so many foods on the list! I love the Simple Start programme and as long as you stick to it, it will work!

Now, why did I choose to start? Like most ladies my age, I'm on the pill. So once every 6 months, I have to go back to my doctor just for a check up to make sure I'm not suffering form any side affects, high blood pressure, etc. I went on holiday in June and was due for another check up at the end of July. Getting weighed is apart of the check up and when I stepped up on those scales, for the first time ever I did not like the number that stared back at me. I've never been slim but I remember the feeling so well after I stepped off of those scales. I felt like complete crap. At that moment, something in me sparked. 

I always say to anyone whose thinking of dieting, if you can't do it for yourself then who can you do it for? All our mothers always tell us we should watch what we eat and our best friends will always reassure us that we're perfect just as we are. And to a certain extent that is true. But it gets to a point where you have to say "that's enough" and that is where I was in July. I was never able to stick with dieting in the past because I was never actually doing it for myself. I would always do it in reaction to something like my Mum telling me I shouldn't eat so much pizza or seeing how amazing some girls would look in their tiny, figure hugging dresses. The motivation goes after a couple of weeks and then you're just back where you started. 

You need to learn to love yourself enough to be able to say, I want my body to be well and healthy. That doesn't mean you can't treat yourself! I usually save my treats for the weekend. It might be going out for dinner or going to the cinema. But those small things will keep you going! 

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo

Weight Watchers Update No.3

Okay, Okay. I know it's been well over a month since I last posted but I needed to get some perspective. You know? Sometimes we need to take a step back from the things we love to realise what made us love it in the first place. But, I'm here. And back with a biggie! Well for me at least.

Obviously this is the third post of my weight watchers series and I'm rather excited about it. On October 23rd, I was officially down my first stone and two pounds into my next one! Honestly, I went into the weigh in thinking I had lost nothing. I had a bit of a "ron de vous" with pizza over the weekend followed by some damn good popcorn! Pizza has always been and forever will be my sworn nemesis! BUT ENOUGH ABOUT PIZZA!

Needless to say I was over the moon when my truly wonderful WW leader told me that I had hit my first stone. Those of you reading this who know me personally would have seen the picture I posted on Facebook on the day that I had received the news. For those of you who follow me on my blog page, twitter and instagram, here it is.

"Today, I have officially lost 1 stone and 2 pounds with weight watchers. This has been both the hardest and the easiest thing I've ever done. Some days, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball with a pizza and forget it all. But seeing the physical results, is just incredible. My leader asked me during my second week of the programme if I felt embarrassed about being a young weight watchers member as she had young members in the past who would hide their WW cards in the deepest part of their bags. I looked to her and said, "why would I be embarrassed about taking control of my own life". I still stand by that answer. HERE'S TO THE NEXT STONE!"

Please excuse the hair. The picture was taken just as I got through the door after Zumba. Such a glamorous life I live!

So yes. In the post I address what my leader said to me during my second week of the programme. And like I said, I am not one bit embarrassed about being a 20 year old WW member. It took a lot for me to join so no way was I going to hide the progress I was making. I do this hoping that I can maybe inspire just one other person to do it. I've tried dieting alone before. And I was never able to stick with it because I had no idea what I was doing. But this programme is just amazing! They lay everything out for you and the amount of foods you actually can it is rather surprising. I usually treat myself on the weekends with dinners out or the cinema so it gives me something to work towards during the week. I also bought a new little black dress from boohoo.com for a 21st and how I felt when I put it on, is how I want to feel all the time!

I'm not going to lie, over the last two weeks I have been very bold. They say that everyone will hot a wall where they think "why bother" and "what's the point", which is true. I had one of those last week and just spent it eating my feelings. But I had a little one to one chat with myself and remembered why I chose to do this. I know I'm up a couple of pounds but I am going to go back into that weigh in tomorrow and get back on the horse. I've come too far and worked too hard to stop this now.

Thank you all for your incredible support and let me know your progress if you're with WW too!

Much Love,

Shannon.

xoxo