9 July 2014

Momma Got Married!

On the 28th of June my Momma finally got married to her sweetheart. 
So we decided to make a full weekend out of it with a meal the night prior and a hotel stay with the wedding on the Saturday. I took it even further and decided to doll myself up to the hills, seeing as she would only get married once. The night prior we went out for a family meal including my mums side of the family and my other half.  
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Dress - Backless lace number from New Look
Shoes - Primark last season
Necklace - Vintage stall
Lipstick - Dita Von Tease Art Deco
I adore this dress, it makes me feel fabity and I don't have to bear much flesh (aside from my back and bra strap ha!) That night me and my mum spent the night at the hotel where she would be getting married the next day -Lazaat's. We had a queen(?) bed with room for 4 people and a gorgeous bathroom with a walk in shower. The next morning involved us getting our hair and make up done, drinking wine and getting nervous! The following pictures are from after the ceremony. 
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Pictured 1st is my dress from the night do. It consists of a white material dress and separate under skirt, both from eBay and my staple chunky heels from Primark and pearls from Matalan. Pictured second is the dress I wore for the ceremony The dress is from Quiz (a prom dress store?) sailor heels from Schuh and my pearls. Both dress were super comfy and surprisingly light and airy. In my hair for both outfits I wore material like red roses with my hair curled and swept back. 
The day turned out to be fabulous, my momma looked gorgeous and she was super happy. We had lots of cake, a photo booth and a candy cart (so I made quick work of all the goodies on offer!) Best of all I got to tumble into bed with my man after a long night of dancing yay!
Here's one of my favorite photos that got taken with a film camera!
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27 June 2014

June DEGUSTABOX

Hello guys, I've never really heard of this box before, I just saw an add on facebook  for 50% off your first box (normally £12.99) and thought "Damn I have to try that" and after reading Hayley's post about the May box I was super excited to receive mine. I use to be subscribed to boxes such as Glossybox and Graze but they never really did anything for me and more often than not I wouldn't use the products. However this box sends you 9-14 full sized products you can munch or slurp your way through. How great is that??
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Even the box it comes in is cool. 
For starters there was a big bottle of Lambrini's new flavor of Strawberry, little confession here, this was all I use to drink when I was at family parties, it's so sweet so I'm excited to try this new flavor. Next up was Estrella Damm if not for the info sheet packed at the bottom I wouldn't have a clue what this was... It is in fact larger, I don't actually drink beer but I will try it, let's hope it's sweet! The Be Fast breakfast drink's would have been great as in the morning's I'm ever so lazy, I'm not keen on Banana flavored things but I'll give it a try.  
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There was a big box of Alpha Bites and Tyrrells Proper Popcorn slipped down the side as my 'extra treat' as it was my first box. I can't wait to try these two, the popcorn looks scrummy in the packaging so I'll be popping that in my bag for a work snack. They also included some Veetee Rice with a nutty under flavor, I don't eat rice but my boyfriend does so I'll pop that his way! 
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I've seen these in the May box and really wanted to try them for myself and they were the Elizabeth Shaw Milk Chocolate Amaretto Flutes, I'm actually munching on them as we speak! They taste amazing, I didn't know what to expect with the amaretto but it just adds to the chocolate flavor, mmmh. The Urban Fruit Pineapple snacks look a treat, something else to take to work with me. Finally I got sent the Dr Oetker Vanilla Grinder which comes at a perfect time as I'm obsessed with making brownies, next time I'll have to add a little vanilla to the mix and see how it tastes!
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Overall I'm really impressed with my first  Degustabox and I can't wait for next months to arrive already!
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26 June 2014

Hello New Shoes!

It's no secret, I love shoes!!! This summer I thought with the few weekends away I'm having I was allowed some treats, those being in the form of new shoes as I don't actually own any flat shoes that I can wear on nice days out. So away I went shopping... 
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From Top to Bottom
bag is from justfab.com (do not recommend!)
red dolly shoes - £8 & black cuts outs - £12.50 were from primark 
white flowery wedges are hush puppies from shoe (reduced £35!)
brown sandals & black pointy cut outs are also from justfab.com

Not the most expensive haul in the world but I'll tell you what, some of these shoes are the comfiest ever! The Hush Puppies have a padded sole so they score extra comfy points. The bag is huge, heavy yet also perfect. It's a shame it's from justfab.com because I would not have paid £35 for that baby (it was gifted to me) but all the same I love bags. Now to just wait for my weekend's away, it's going to be fun!
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25 June 2014

Summer Reading List & Update

Hello guys, 
It seems I'm back from a very long holiday, or so it seems. My personal life as well as college caught up with me and well me being lazy I just didn't bother. It didn't help that I had lost my way with blogging. However I AM BACK! I have returned with a new blog design (which I love) and hopefully a new direction with blogging. I felt as if before I left it was just makeup everything and I was getting bored, I mean I love makeup yet hate reviewing it because I don't wear it every single day. Meaning my direction comes in the form of book posts (which I'm trying to do more of), OOTD posts (as now I have my own place!!) and just normal everyday lifestyle posts. Don't get me wrong, I will still talk about beauty it just won't be all the time as I'm not actually buying that much makeup anymore. 

I have so many posts I want to share with you, including a tour of my very own flat and the weekend I spent away in Peterborough, but for now I'm going to give you a taste of what I'm going to be reading this summer!
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Apocalypse Now Now By Charlie Human
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantle
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin

Also including some kindle books I just haven't had chance to read (I'm trying to save up for the HD fire)... I haven't included many on this list as I'm slowly getting myself back into reading as I haven't done very much this year. Hopefully when September rolls around this list will be complete and I'll have had to make a second post for all the other books I've read! As I seem to have tons of spare time and spend most of it in bed... so I may as well start picking up a book again.

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30 April 2014

6 Months Worth of #OOTD's

Looking back on it now, I've been gone for a very long time with fewer posts inbetween. In that time I bought probably a full wardrobes worth of clothes and never showed you all. However rather than post a super duper long haul video/post I'm just going to show you all a few ootd's from instagram from the past few months.
 (@ellelouiseexo if you don't already follow me).
So enjoy :-)
1. How cool are these onesies though? I had to include them! They are super duper comfy and only £7 each from the Primark sale. I now wear them nearly 24/7...

2. The dress is from the Primark summer range and now one of my favorites and the bow from Claire's accessories. It was a gorgeous sunny day so I got my arms out!
3. This was from my school placement before Easter. The stripey top is from New Look, the pinafore from Topshop (eBay) and the bag from Next. I feel like an kid in this dress and I love it!

4. This is from a night out to say goodbye to my friend going to Africa! The dress is from the new Primark range and the shoes are real Jeffrey Campbell Lita's, they are so high it's scary!
5. This is from a recent night out and I decided to glam up! The dress is vintage from a charity shop and the heels from Primark last year, the dress also has a huge bow at the back which makes it even better ♡~♡

6. The dress is from New Look last year, the heels are the same as above and the coat is vintage. I love this coat, it's so thick and soft and makes me feel so vintage it's unreal!

So that's it for now guys, I love taking outfit pictures so I hope once my exams are over I can get into full swing with the summer sun and show you guys some more of the clothes I bought! :-)
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28 April 2014

50 Books That Will Change Your Life - I'm Back!

Hello guys & girls, I'm back!
So it seems I went missing for quite a few months, it seems college and work got the better of me again! However I'm going up to my A2 exams and in 3 months time college will be over (yay!!). Anyway, I saw this post on Hayley's blog and I though I just had to do it, I always love finding new books to read and I though the best way to restart off 'ellelouisee' was to be with something I love.
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Books that will scare you
Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
The Rats by James Herbert
The Shinning by Stephen King
1984 by George Orwell
Lord Loss by Darren Shan

1/5
Wow, that is really bad. I'm not a massive fan of scary books, I'll only read Stephen King however I really do want to give 1984 a try.

Books that will teach you about love
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Forever by Judy Blume
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

4/6
I'm pretty impressed with myself on this one woop! I love classics so Jane Eyre and P&P were not a problem for me. I read Twilight when I was about 12(?) and it was terrible. Anne Frank's diary forever to me will be something I can re-read, it really is an amazing piece of literature and history. I don't really care for Judy Blume seeing as she wrote awful children's books!

Books that will make you laugh
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  by Douglas Adams
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend

2/6
I've read Adrian Mole and also Angus & Thongs (as well as the whole series) both books being brilliant. I've been wanting to read the Hitchhiker's Guide for a while and the other two sound very interesting. However I will not be picking up Diary of a Wimpy Kid - sounds way too childish for me...

Books that will transport you
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
Percy Jackson (series) by Rich Riordan 
Harry Potter (series) by J.K.Rowling
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

4/6
I've read the Great Gatsby (A2 Lit) and the full Northern Lights series, both of which I fully enjoyed. The Harry Potter series and LOTR books are both at the top of my list which I do re-read probably twice a year (oops), so yeah I really like this category! I really want to read Life of Pi too.

Books that will change the way you think
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
A Streetcat Named Bob by James Bowen
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack

4/7
That isn't too bad, however the books I have read in this one (aside from Perks) I read about 3 years ago, so I can't actually remember them... However Noughts & Crosses is part of a great series. This category also has a few on my to read list which I'm desperate to start which are Wonder and The Book Thief.

Books that will make you cry
Before I Die by Jenny Downham
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
War Horse by Micheal Morpurgo
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audret Niffengger
My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult 
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

3/7
The only book out of these ones that actually made me cry was My Sister's Keeper so yeah... Of Mice & Men (GCSE English) just annoyed me rather than upset me and the Time Traveler's Wife I haven't actually read I've just seen the film did nothing for me either. I can't help but wonder why The Fault in Our Stars isn't here, I cried for the last 2 chapters. 

Books that will help you to understand
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Outsider's by S.E. Hinton
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I Captured the Castle by Dodie Smith

1/5
Wow, the section was bad for me... I guess I don't like upsetting books? The only one I've read was the Fault in Our Stars, which I cried buckets at but will always re-read. The others are on my to read list but not near the top. 

Books that will thrill you
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Gone by Micheal Grant
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Divergent by Veronica Roth 

4/7
This section contains some of my favorites such as The Hunger Games and City of Bones (full series is faaab). I've also read the Skulduggery books, kind of for kids but I still enjoyed them. I've seen the film for Clockwork Orange so that counts right considering it's such a hard book to read. I also want to read the only I haven't so yeah, hello to read list! 

Ultimate Score: 23/30
Wow, that's rather bad considering how much I love books ha! I'm definitely going to make more of an effort this year to read the rest of this list as they all sound rather interesting. Have you guys read any of these books? Tell me your opinions, I love talking books!
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19 January 2014

Looking Towards The Future..

It's that time of year when everyone starts to panic. They start to revise for exams, they constantly check UCAS for offers and they hate college at the same time. I'm not different and it sucks. So today I thought I would share with you something that scares and excites me madly!
The idea of going to university this year.

It scares me so much, not because I have no offers or I'm such a bad student. Just the fact I'm growing up so fast and in 6 moths or so I will have left home and will have gone into the big bad world all by myself. But also getting there in the first place. I find college hard and boring. I just want to get going with Uni and my career (without finishing college please!).

(I went out on Saturday and celebrated getting all my offers woo!)

I'm also thinking about my wonderful student loan and how may gorgeous dresses or how many MAC lippies I can buy with it...heh ;-) But yeah anyone else scared shitless for starting A2 exams and accepting Uni offers? 

Or anyone else already there and want to offer advice?
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17 January 2014

'I Wanna Be Loved by' Ted Baker

There are always some gifts sets I constantly lust after in the Boot's Christmas range and this year was no other! It is always Ted Baker. Always. The sets are just always so gorgeous and girly and pretty. Not to mention the products inside always live up to the hype. This year I received two gifts sets (woo!) The first one being matching lipstick and nail polish (both of which I adore but didn't photograph) and the next which I'm about to show you all.
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(look how gorgeous it was wrapped! I may actually be sad enough to keep the tissue paper..)
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The set contains; a candle, lip balm, body spray and hand cream. 
Not to mention the gorgeous bag it all came in! Which I'm now currently using as a makeup bag for when I'm out and about, it's big enough for the bare essentials and it's gorgeous. Back to the products. I haven't actually used the last three products, but they all smell divine so I'm excited to use these when my current products have ran out!

The candle on the other hand is only small, but it smells amazing and seems to last forever. I'm going to be quite sad when it runs out. I'm not sure how much this retails for and how long Boot's are going to keep stocking it for, but this set s ever so gorgeous next Christmas I'll have to ask for my TB sets!
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16 January 2014

The Lipstick Tag

I saw this tag on Hayley's wonderful blog and I though 'Ooh I'll give this a go!"
Seeing as I adore lipsticks here are my answers :)
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(These aren't all of my lippies, just a few favorites to show you all)

How many lipsticks do you own?
Currently I own 16 lipsticks and 5 lip stains. It was a much smaller amount when I started blogging but alas Christmas & my birthday have been as well as a few paydays.. ;-)

What was your first ever lipstick?
Oh deary me, I can't quite remember, I'm thinking one of those gross lip palettes with the little brushes from Claire's Accessories?

What is your most worn lipstick?
For lipstick I constantly wear Revlon's Matte 006 which is a gorgeous deep red colour with a perfect finish. On 'normal days' I tend to grab a babylips or Revlon's Balm Stain in 'Honey' which is such a gorgeous colour.

What is your favourite brand?
Definitely No7 or Revlon, I do like Rimmel but only the matte finishes. I really want to splash out on a Mac lippy because they are the goddesses of the beauty counters. Hopefully it'll be soon!

What is your favourite finish?
Matte, all the way yes. I do have some sheer lippys and I need to branch out into them, however the one's I have tried I'm not too keen on.

What was the last lip product you bought?
The 3 shades from Collection's Gothic range, I just had to have them for winter! I love berry shades. I also treated myself to the new 'Pink Punch' babylips, not keen on the colour though!

How many glosses and balms do you currently have in your handbag?
I carry a lip balm wherever I go and normally the colour I'm currently wearing, sometimes there's more because I forget to take them out.

What lipstick do you wear to rock a red lip?
My favorite red at the moment is one of Revlon's matte finishes in number 006 Really Red but I hope Mac's Ruby Woo will soon be gracing my lips!

How do you store your lipsticks?
In one of the drawers of my make up box, because I don't have too many I tend to find exactly the colour I want quickly. Although I am thinking about the clear plastic holders for when I move to uni.

What lip products are you constantly lusting after?
I adore the look of the Lime Crime lippys (but what colour to get??) And I also really want to add my first Mac lippy to my collection, I'm thinking Ruby Woo?

Many of you have probably already seen this tag, so link me if you've done it yourself! I always love a good read :)
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5 January 2014

you're a diamond honey

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I remember the day when I said I'd never own a Pandora bracelet.... never mind a ring! Yet here I am owning them both, which I'm very grateful for. The charm which I have been lusting for since last year came from my mum (you're the best) and it's the most gorgeous/cute/awwwh charm in the world. The rose ring which I picked myself came from my wonderful boyfriend Tom.
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(ps. the cute little silver kitty was a Christmas present, it's actually a ring holder - how cute!)
One of my favorite parts of Pandora are the boxes! (how saaaaad is that) But the thing I love the most about some of their charms, this lucky cat included is the flick of colour on all of the silver. The little pink heart makes the piece, looks gorgeous and I love it. Both of them have only come away from my wrist while I've been at work.
Hallelujah jewelry that I love!
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4 January 2014

NY Eve OOTD!

blouse - primark // jeans - primark // lipstick - art deco's dita von teese 
I recently went sales shopping and well here we are! I decided to dress down and casual for NY's eve with a little bit of colour as I attended a family party. For months last year I lusted after the huge blouses Topshop were selling and I never got my mitts on one. So I settled for second best with this gorgeous blossom one from Primark (they had a gorgeous orange print on too!)
I paired it with a strappy white top to hide my boobies and plain black jeans also from Primarni & on my wrist I have my Pandora bracelet. Like I said, nice and casual but also ever so comfy. I thought I'd show you a FOTD picture as well as I felt (not like you can tell) my make up went perfectly for a change. By that I mean my eyeliner flicks matched, yay!
Last but not least have the picture I shared on Instagram of me and Tom!
happy new year everyone xoxoxox
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