To Australia or not to Australia??

A bit of a different post today, looking for some opinions!

I have no idea what I'm doing with my life haha! Does anyone else ever feel like that? I graduated with a First Class Honours in Primary Education in 2010, and completed my probation year by summer 2011. My boyfriend Scott is due to graduate in summer with an Honours Business Degree with Human Resource Management. Since summer, I have been doing supply teaching and have been in a P4 class since February. I love teaching, but I hate supply work and don't think I can hack another year of it if I don't get my own class after summer.

Me and two of my besties at graduation. :)

So Scott and I, we were thinking - why not got to Australia for a year?? He's not got a job lined up, I don't have a job after summer so far, what's holding us back?

Except money, being half way across the world, leaving family and friends, no security of a job there etc... :(

Scott and I lived in California for four months two summers ago and it was the best time of my life.

We stayed in Orange County, and since then have dreamed of going back. However, after research it seems like an impossible dream. Australia is so much more do-able.

Have any of you guys done any travelling before??

So what do you think? Should we go for it? Have you ever taken a big risk? Am I the only one with no clue where my life is going?!

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

My Eyebrow Saviour - Christian Brows

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my eyebrows. For the first few days after I have them 'done' it's love, the other 90% of the time it's hate. They are blonde and shapeless and grow in far too quickly. UGH.

You can catch up on my exciting adventures with my eyebrows from these posts:

HERE to read about (and see a wee video of) the torture that is threading; and

HERE to read about my salon HD Brows experience with before/after pics.

But to summarise, my eyebrows, left untamed and undyed, look like this:

AAAARGH!

Once threaded, they look like this:

Not too bad.

Once HD-ified, they look like this:

That's better!!

The only problem is, the tint fades so quickly and my eyebrows grow in so fast that ideally I would have them re-done every two weeks, but I clearly can't afford that. So I invested in a 'brow tidying/shaping' kit.

Ta da - Christian Semi Permanent Eyebrows in 'Taupe' (comes in other shades)

It comes with instructions, your chosen shade of wax, a double ended brush for precision or shading, and three stencils for your eyebrow shape - thin, natural and thick.

The idea is that you position the stencil over your eyebrow and shade in with the wax, which enhances your natural shape and tidies it up. I got blonde because I use this kit. once the tint fades and my eyebrows start to become unruly.

My current eyebrows without using Christian Brows:

And after using it:

The left brow has been shaded in completely using the foam end of the brush , the right brow has had 'strokes' of wax applied using the angled end of the brush.

What do you think? I like that it makes my eyebrows look a little neater, especially when I just shade them in like the brow on the left, and helps me prolong HD Brow sessions! The kit is not cheap, I got mine for £18.50 at FeelUnique, but it's probably gonna last me about five years and the wax really stays put until you remove it with makeup remover - it even stays on in the shower!

Do any of you guys have any eyebrow tips for me to keep these bushes under control? Have you tried a different brow kit? And also, have any of you tried dying your eyebrows at home??

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

New Favourite Mascara - Bargain!! :)

I am on a constant quest for the best mascara ever. I have quite long, naturally curly eyelashes but I only have about three of them haha. So I look for a thickening mascara, which obviously still adds a bit of length, too much tho and I look like I have spiders legs on my eyelids - not a good look.

I've tried all the 'favourites' - Lancome Hypnose, Dior Diorshow, Benefit BadGal - I liked them all but I didn't LOVE them. I currently use Urban Decay Super Curl which was a surprise hit for me as I got it as a wee trial size thrown in when I bought some other UD goodies. It gives me a nice, natural look for day-to-day wear.

Here are my natural eyelashes:

Top pics are without any makeup, bottom pics are with all other eye makeup.

So although I was pretty happy with my current mascara, I always crave a bit more!!

And More! Magazine provided this. :) I am part of the More! Beauty Hot 100, where we give suggestions/feedback to the magazine about products, are given the opportunity to contribute to the magazine, win goodie bags (like I won HERE!) and also test and review new products. They recently sent us 17 Peep Show to try and I was quite sceptical, as I tend to go for high end mascara.

How cute is the packaging??

I actually really like this mascara!! What do you think?

It goes on nice and evenly, with no clumping, even after a few coats. I wore it for a full day and had no smudging either. Although I was sent this mascara to trial, you can buy it in Boots or online for £6.29.

Have you ever tried 17 mascaras? What's your favourite mascara ever?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Puuurty NOTD & Sparkly Jewellery!! :)

I am still glitter obssessive when it comes to my nails but I tried to tone it down a wee bit today. Today's nails are:

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have already seen these (and if you don't, why don't you?? I'm ThinkPinkLauren on there. =p )

I used Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor in It's All About the Glam for the base, and Models Own Pink Fizz for the tips, finished with Seche Vite. Yes, it's not my neatest job ever, I wasn't actually expecting it to turn out so pretty.

All About the Glam is a gorgeous pearlescent shade which I have reviewed in more detail here, and Pink Fizz is just the best pink glitter EVER which I have reviewed here.

I think this look is super delicate and feminine, and for some reason it feels quite bridal to me haha?!

Goes nicely with my phone riiiight? =p

I also wanna show you by new cute Shamballa style bracelets. Yes, I have jumped on this trend but they're just so pretty! :)

The left is inside, the right is out in the sun. They really sparkle, but they're not showing up very well in the photos. The multicoloured one also has these colours at the other side:

Do you like my girlie NOTD? And what do you think about the Shamballa bracelets that everyone's wearing?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Primark & New Look Haul :)

I showed you two of my pretty pastel dresses (only £17.99 each!) from New Look in this post, so now I'm gonna show you the rest of the things I got from New Look and some things from Primark. They might be all of a similar theme haha - a bit pastelly and a LOT girlie. =p

Dress - Primark, £13

Blazer - Primark, £18

Shoes - New Look, £25 (not new)

I think this dress is super cute for like a semi-formal summer event, or a summer wedding. It's sheer but has an under-layer, and the drape at the front is really flattering! I also LOVE this blazer, it has padded shoulders and a structured lapel, with runched sleaves. Again, a really flattering fit I think! :)

Top - New Look, £16

Skirt - Primark, £8

Blazer - Primark, £18

Reeeeeally unsure about this. I don't mind it too much with the blazer, but don't think I have the confidence (or the figure) to wear it outside my own garden haha! Maybe by summer I'll feel a little bit better about it. =/

Dress - Primark, £13

Blazer - H&M, £24

Shoes - Missguided, £32

I don't know why I'm posing like a mental for this outfit. It's so pretty tho, I can actually see myself wearing it to work with tights as it's kind of a shirt dress. The little pockets have bows on them, which is adorable. This blazer has got a lot of attention from my last post, I can't believe I haven't featured it before! I got it in H&M a few months ago, but as far as I know it's still available in store. :)

Dress - New Look, £17.99

Shoes - ASOS, £50

Necklace - York Market, £4

Cat - Priceless

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed I wore this dress on my night out in London. It's another New Look kids dress, love their selection just now!! Dana is in this because a) my cats were trying to get in all my photos anyways and b) because I had a frame left in this collage haha.

EDT: I scheduled this post on Wednesday, but then I went shopping in Primark and got more goodies haha! I got a cute little top which I haven't photographed cause I'm gonna use it in my next OOTD, but I got two more blazers - oops. I'm a blazer addict!

Blazer - Primark, £15

Bracelets - (left) Swarovski and my sister's creations, (right) Forever 21

This blazer is exactly the same as the lemon one but in black and for some reason cheaper. I tried to get in the structured sleeves, they look much better in real life. And it's definitely BLACK, even though it looks blue in the second pic.

Blazer - Primark, £15

I just kind of threw this on on top of this dress for speed, I probably wouldn't wear them together. This blazer is turquoisey and a lot less structured than my lemon and black ones. Even though this is a size 6, it's still a baggy fit but I quite like that about it. It's a lot lighter too.

Well I hope you liked my Primark and New Look goodies, probably gonna be my last haul/OOTD post for a while cause I'm now skint!! What outfit is your favourite? have you found any cute bargains recently?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

My Trip to London Town. :)

Just a wee quicky with some photos from my London adventure. I went for five nights, and spent three nights with my sister and her boyfriend and then the last two nights two of my friends from Glasgow flew down and we all stayed with our best friend and her boyfriend who moved to London last year. I had a great time! :)

There were big Easter Eggs near to the London Eye you could choose a wee stickers to put on, I chose a red and wrote on it 'SMILE! Love, Lauren from Glasgow' so if you see the eggs, look for my sticker! =p
We went to the Chocolate Festival on Southbank, there were sooo many samples, it was awesome but so busy!
It was lovely and sunny so we went to Spitalfields Market and then a park to have lunch. Do you think I look like my sister?? People always say we look alike.

As a surprise, my sister took me to see Legally Blonde the Musical! I just about DIED. It's my favourite movie ever and we had a fantastic night! Thanks, Alie!! <3

I had some time to myself, so I did some shopping, went to Hyde Park, and had a wee breakfast in the sun at a pavement cafe. :)

When I met my friends for the second part of my holiday, we went for lots of 'lunches' (i.e. drinks) and went to see Jersey Boys. We also didn't know you weren't allowed alcohol on public transport - oops! You are in Scotland haha!

We went a night out into Camden - can you tell which is the before and which is the after?? =p

On our last day we had lunch at the most random cafe ever just off Oxford Street, called Allan's of Mayfair. The decor was SO random; a flatscreen TV, Christmas decorations, fruit, faux fur on the walls - very bizarre but fun!

I had a great trip, mainly because I got to see my sister and my friends, but I do enjoy a wee visit to London! Has anyone else gone anywhere fun over the holidays? Or are you planning to?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

CUTEST Pastel Dresses Ever. Fact. :)

Aaargh, I feel like I've been starting every blog post recently with an apology for being so absent. This time, it's because my boyfriend's dissertation is due this week and I have been putting in crazy hours proof reading, editing, formatting etc. We had to cut out 4000 words, eeeek, but hopefully it'll be ready to be bound tomorrow! Exciting. Hope everyone else having dissertation panic right now is managing ok!! =p

So anyways, I spent a wee bit in London last week which was lovely. I stayed with my sister in Kensington & Chelsea for three nights and then my best friend in West Hampstead for two nights, so I got to see lots of London. The weather stayed mostly nice too, so I got to wear my new pastel dresses! I'm gonna show you two of them today (I went a bit mad and bought a few haha). My next post will have my adventures in London with me wearing these cuties, so I wanted to show you them properly first.

How cute are these?! I got them both from New Look kids!

This dress also came in lilac, and is available for £17.99 (including belt) from here.

Necklace is from Claire's Accessories

Boots are from New Look from Christmastime

Nails are Models Own Juicy Jules with Nicole by OPI Kardahsian Kolors in Kendal on the Katwalk (aaaand take a breath!!)

 Sorry I forgot to take a pic of this dress with blazer off! This dress was £17.99 and is available here.

Blazer from H&M

Bracelets (left) from Swarovski, (right) made by my sister :)

LOVE ring from H&M

Cat shoes (can be seen in full pic above) from Misguided and blogged about here

London necklace (can just be seen) from Accessorize

Hope you like these cuties as much as I do! Are you enjoying the pastel trend? Do you ever shop in the kid's sections haha??

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

MUA Lipgloss Review & ELF Goodies

I'm just back from London town, yay! Had a wee six day holiday there, will blog about it soon but for now here's a post I thought I'd scheduled for when I was away, but clearly didn't get posted. Hm. Oh well! =p

Some of you may have read about the awesome goodie bag I got sent from More! Magazine (check it out here) and I wanted to share a few things with you over time. Today, I'm gonna show you the MUA lipglosses I received, which retail for £1 each. I have tried some MUA products, but never lip products. I was sent three of the new Out There Plumping Lipglosses:

L-R Sienna, Peach Shimmer and Shocking Pink

They come with the standard applicator, but I had to work quite hard to actually get any product onto it.
Here are the swatches:

The most wearable for me is definitely Peach Shimmer. The colours go on true to swatching, and sit 'on' the lip rather than kind of adapting to your lip tone like some lip products do. They lasted a decent amount of time, nothing startling. They made my lips tingle a wee bit, no noticeable plumping action tho, although I rarely find lip plumpers to actually work.

These will not become my go-to lipglosses. But to experiment with some different colours, for £1 you can hardly go wrong.

I also got a few ELF products recently. One is the Mint Green nail varnish, which I posted about in my last NOTD here, and I'm gonna show you the other two now. One is an eyeshadow primer because I'm desperate for one after my UD Primer Potion ran out and my ELF Eyelid Primer turned out to be just 'meh'. I thought I'd give ELF another try, and bought the Studio Eye Primer and Liner Sealer (£3.50).  Here it is:

I actually really like this style. On one side is 'prime', which is a twist up solid, crayon style primer that glides on fairly easily, with a very small amount of dragging. One the other end is 'seal', which is one of those little nibs that you can dip into any eyeshadow to make it a liner. I doubt I'll use this side. Here's an example of some eyeshadows over the primer:

Left of each photo is without primer, right is over primer.

Left photo shows Urban Decay Naked/Naked2 Palette shade Half Baked, and right photo shows Urban Decay Naked2 Palette shade Bootycall

I'm impressed with this, the colours look much more intense. And here's the test results, photo on left is five minutes after I've put my makeup on in the morning, and pic on right is about eleven hours later:

Sorry about the lighting differences, just due to different times of day.

Not too bad huh? There was a bit of creasing on the lid but I think I have unusually crease-y eyelids anyways haha!  I'm actually quite excited about this product! I think it could defo become a staple in my daily routine! :)

I had to buy one last thing to get free delivery in ELF haha so I opted for the All Over Colour Stick in Golden Peach (£1.50). I have yellow undertones and in summer I tan really well, so I figured a nice peachy bronzer would look nice!

It has a lovely smell (in my opinion anyways) and is quite shimmery. I've read mixed reviews on this, but it was only a few pounds and I'll need to wait until I have a bit of a tan before I can try it out for myself! The swatch looks quite pretty tho:

So what do you think of these products? Are you a fan of cheaper brands, like MUA and ELF (they love abbreviations, don't they??)?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥