Life Update | I have a new job - Life after redundancy


Life Update | I have a new job | Life after redundancy
This is me walking into the weekend with my big girl pants on ready to live my life.

It has been two and a half months since I took redundancy from my previous employers and what a month and a half it has been! I am a creature of habit and don't enjoy change very much but this month I have just embraced everything. If you have read my previous post you will know why I took redundancy and that it was the best option for me. Two months on and I still don't regret my choice, if fact I am even more proud of myself for the decisions I made at the time because I am in a much better place right now.

Lets go back to the end of May. I had been care free living off my last pay for a month and a bit and loving life, I had kept myself busy not worrying too much about finding a job because I knew I wanted to find somewhere prefect for me, not just a place to stay with until something better came along.

A few days before the end of May I decided I had taken enough time to refresh myself and decided it was time to start properly looking. The first thing I did was message a load of recruitment agencies in my area with my CV hoping they would contact me back to meet them. I don't know how but I managed to email one agency and get an immediate response to meet them the next day. That was on the Wednesday and by Friday I was having my first trail shift in a office down the road from me. How the hell did that happen??

I never thought I would find something as quick as that and it all seemed a little fast to me so I didn't get my hopes up that they would like me or if I would even like it. When you are used to managing a floor and running around after staff and customers, sitting at a desk for 7 hours a day can be a shock to the system.

Much to my surprise the company I joined were absolutely lovely and so nice to me right from the start. Because they are a relativity small firm office wise I only share an office with a few people, I get my own desk (which I have taken over completely) and it is such a relaxed and friendly atmosphere I couldn't be happier.

I have now been with the company three weeks and I have just been asked to stay permanently working full time which I am over the moon about. It was initially suppose to be a six week temp contract but they have told me that they like me so much and that I have fitted in with them so quickly, they would love me to stay with them. You don't understand what this means to me after a month of feeling completely unmotivated and useless.

As far as working in an office goes, I get to sit at my desk and eat chocolate biscuits all day what girl doesn't love that? But seriously it is so nice to sit down and not get pulled from pillar to post every five minutes. In retail I never really got a lunch break and I almost always got texts or phone calls on my days off so it is so nice to finish work and leave it in that space. The lack of stress attached to this job is heavenly and the weekends with Cal and my family are great. This weekend Cal and I went to Bourton on the Water and it was just lovely.

Anyway the moral of the story is don't ever be too scared to make a change if you are unhappy, yes I could have stayed at my old job where I got more money, was in a higher position and got half price clothes for life but I wasn't happy. You never know what is round the corner and yes I could still be looking for a job right now if I hadn't have found this company through the agency, but that is fine too.

Happiness is the most important thing in life.Yes I know that sounds cliche like it should be on some kind of greeting card but I have been on the other side and know what it feels. Never be too scared to take control of your life if you aren't happy.

Summer Skincare Saviours

This summer I am on a mission to have banging skin and so far, the skin gods have been nice to me. I have very dry skin as I have told you all before so I get flare ups of dry skin in both the cold and the heat so I'm quite unlucky. I have a bunch of products that are really working with my skin in this heat wave we are currently having so I thought I'd share them with you.

Summer Skincare Saviours


F A C E
For my face I am currently loving a simple skincare routine of three products, which all have pastel pink packaging which pleases me greatly. First up I have my Loreal Fine Flowers Gel Crea Wash in Rose and Jasmine which sadly doesn't smell as amazing as you would think from the name. I really like this cleaner in the mornings because it doesn't stripe my skin or dry it out after ward but it still leaves my skin clean and clear for my next products.

Once I have washed my face I use the Glossier Super Bounce serum which has really mad me feel in love with these types of products. I have never used a serum before this and now I want to try every product going. I used to think that serums would clog my skin and make me feel like I have too many layers on my face but this serum just sinks into my skin and leaves it with this super dewy moisturised glow.

When I then layer on top my Clinique Moisture surge moisturizer then I am living my best life and have no dry patches in sight. I know a lot of people use this moisturizer for long haul flights and travelling because it is so luxurious on the skin and that is what first attracted my to this product. I am at the stage now where I am scrapping the bottom of the tub to get any product out so I will definitely need to repurchase this soon!

On the days when it is just too hot to even think about putting any makeup on I like to use face mists and sprays to give me a little glow, keep me refreshed and to stop a sun burn. I love using the Newlook refresh and prep spray which I are only £4.99 and you can use them on days when you aren't wearing makeup to refresh your skin and underneath your makeup to prime your skin. Sometimes you just need a little spritz of something to cool you down and this spray is perfect for that.

B O D Y
Once my face is all ready for the sun its time to sort my body out! I have a lot of shower gels and creams in my bathroom because I always get them for birthdays and Christmas so I have a lot to choose from but my favourite have to be the Lush shower gels. I am currently using Snow Fairy which is my second bottle now and I love the smell of it. It is great to use in the summer because it is a time when you have more or your flesh out so you want your skin to smell nice. Plus you tend to sweat more so when I shower I like to use something that has a really powerful smell so that I feel more clean afterwards. If I use a shower products with no smell I don't feel that clean afterwards, anyone agree?

I also need to show some love to my feet during this time of year because I suffer from the worst dry feet in the world. Sad but true. So I like to use the Soap and Glory Heel Genius foot cream most nights before I go bed so that I can wake up with some what softer feet. The tub is huge I think so I know it will last me for a long time and I like to keep this on my night stand to remind myself to use it. I'll be honest... I don't always remember and then I really regret it the next day when I have to get my feet out.

H A I R
Lastly we have hair but not hair on your head, no hair removal. Not a lot of people talk about hair removal because it is not a glamours topic but we all suffer from it and if any of you are dark haired like me then you will know the constant struggle!

Starting with the typical hair removal I still, after how many years now, use Lush's D'Fluff strawberry shaving cream to shave my armpits and legs. During the summer I tend to shave my legs and armpits every couple of days because I like to feel comfortable and free when it is hot. This can be quite grooling on your skin but with this shaving cream, i have never hurt myself or caused a rash and my skin is always smooth and soft afterwards. Plus a tub lasts me so long considering I used this product up to 3 times a week so it clear how much I love this.

For the more unconventional hair removal, I like to use Veet sensitive hair removal cream and I have been using this since my teens. Having dark hair and Italian heritage I have dark hairs allllll over my body which used to really get me down but now I've learned to get over it. Some of the places I use Veet cream is mainly around my belly button and on my chest. As embarrassing as it is to say... we are all girls here. The cream is really easy to use, the process is quick and it doesn't leave me any red patches or rashes after wards so I can go out straight afterwards. Please tell me I'm not the only one???

Once I have sorted out my unwanted hair I am set to put on my dress, get my legs, arms and chest out and catch that sun.

Do you have any tips or tricks to get your skin really for summer?

New In Primark Makeup | First Impressions


Swatches: 1. Insta Girl Iridescent Highlighter 2-5 Glow Palette
Swatches: 1 Instant Radiance in Goddess, 2 Instant Radiance in Paradise, 3 Face and body highlighting cream in Rose Gold, 4 Face and Body highlighting cream in Oyster Rose


I had a cheeky little shop in Primark last week and I thought i'd treat myself to some of their new makeup range. I haven't bought any Primark makeup in years, the last product I bought from them was the PS... 9 Shade palettes for £2.99. I really liked them at first but after a while I did realise how rubbish they were....

A few years later and I'm back at it giving them another go. I'll start with my bargain products!

On the clearance rack I noticed the PS...Insta Girl Banana Powder which I have heard a lot about when it first came out. I tend to stick to the same powders so I wanted to change it up a bit and give this a go since I have never tried a loose banana powder before. I've tried the powder once so far and I liked it but the packaging isn't great. I tap some powder into the cap of the bottle but once I had used enough powder I didn't know what to do with the excess powder. A part from the packaging flaw the powder is really finely milled so it doesn't feel like I am wearing anything no matter how much I apply. On first impressions I really like this powder but to be fair, I've never found a powder I haven't liked.

My second sale item is the PS... Insta Girl Iridescent Baked Highlighter which is a beautiful icey crystal tone. I find with baked products brands really can't go wrong in my opinion, every baked product I have tried has been really good and this highlighter is no exception. It isn't a shade I could wear on a daily basis as it is too light for me, I tend to go for more golden shades for highlighter but I thought in the winter when I don't have a tan I could make this highlighter really work for me. For £3 you can't say no.

Sticking with the highlighters I picked up two Strobe Face and Body Highlighting Creams in Oyster Pink and Rose Gold. Oyster Pink gives a light shimmer whereas Rose Gold comes out much more pigmented and acts like a fake tan. From first impressions I think these are a great product to have for a night out or in a travel bag to either mix in with your foundations or use underneath. I don't have anything like these in my collection and when I wore Rose Gold underneath my makeup for a BBQ a few days ago my skin looked sun kissed and flawless so I am a big fan so far!

I also bought some PS... Bronze Instant Radiance Highlighting Drops in two shades, a light creamy shade  called Paradise and a gold bronze shade called Goddess. From first impressions these seem amazing for adding a glow to your foundation to give you a super healthy glow. I have tried the more golden shade on top of my foundation on my cheekbones for that BBQ and the glow it gave me was amazing. It does look quite scary in the bottle but it blended out like a dream and didn't budge my foundation one bit. The lighter shade is definitely more suitable for everyday but the bronze shade is just to die for. I am definitely loving the bronzing shades this summer. The packaging of these drops is very fancy as well with the glass bottles with the pellet, Primark have upped their game with this packaging.

The last highlighter I picked up in Primark is the PS... Glow Palette Highlight and Sculpt Cheek Palette which is a perfect dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Palette.  It was only £5 so since I don't have the original palette I thought this was a good start. The packaging is the exact same as the Beverly Hills version so it looks gorgeous and definitely stands out in my collection but it will get dirty very easily.  The highlighters feel so creamy on the skin so they blend in really easily and can be built up depending on how much of an impact you want. The golden shade is my favourite of the four but they are all shades that I would wear and I have used it a lot already since I purchased it.

The last product I purchased in Primark is the PS Bronze Metallic cream eye shadow in this gorgeous metallic golden bronze shade which is just up my street. I love cream eye shadows because they are so easy to apply and they look like you have spent a lot of time on your makeup. During the last 3 months I have been growing my finger nails so now they are super long and healthy but it means getting product out of tub can be frustrating so I have adapted using a small brush to get the product onto my eye lid and then using my finger to blend it out. This cream eye shadow is as pigmented as the Maybelline and Loreal cream eye shadows I've been using for years so I've intrigued to try more shades.

So far I have been really impressed with the products I purchased and I've been using most of them on a daily basis. I'm excited to see what else they have in store next time I pop in to Rushden Lakes. Expect to see these mentioned a lot during the summer months when all I care about is having the best glow ever.
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