February Beauty Favourites!

Hey beaut's!

It's that time again....monthly favourites time! And unlike January, February seems to have gone relatively quick for me, I cant quite believe we're on the verge of the third month of the year already, crazy hey! I'm also feeling very Spring-like at the moment, the weather has been absolutely beautiful recently, I've just got back from a few days away in London and it was 19 degrees, I couldn't believe it!

My first favourite this month is by Redken and it's their Pillow Proof  Blow Dry Express Treatment Primer! I've been having so many conversations about the condition of my hair with my hairdresser and she suggested quite a few products that would help by Redken, I've got a few bit's on order but one product I already had but wasn't using was Pillow Proof, so I dug it back out and started using it again and my hair has really thanked me for it! The formula works to strengthen and shield hair from breakage, speeds up drying time, provides heat protection and delivers twenty-four hour volume, it's also great for static prone hair which I used to really suffer with until I used this, in a nutshell it's an amazing blow-dry-in product that leaves my hair sleek but manageable and I've noticed a huge a difference!

I have three major makeup favourites this month starting with the Barry M All Night Long Full Coverage Concealer, I bought this on a total whim and wow I'm in love! The coverage is amazing, it's blends into my skin and under my eyes like a dream without creasing at all which really impressed me and it lasts all day with no need for touch ups, and it's affordable too! Next I've been obsessed with the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock, this is the sort of shade and formula that you can just whack on all over your eyeballs and blend with your finger or a brush in matter a seconds and then your ready to rush out the door, it's incredible and now I can see why so many people rave about it, you can literally achieve a smokey eye in like 20 seconds! For lips I've been loving Spring pinks so I dug out my Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Color in the shade Devotion which is a gorgeous neutral rosy pink very similar Mac's Mehr, it's been my go to shade recently and I can see me getting so much more wear out of it over the coming months! 

My final favourite this month is Ariana Grande's Moonlight Perfume, I have had soooo many compliments since I started wearing this, the most compliments I've ever had regarding a perfume before so Ariana must be doing something right! If you like your fruity, floral fragrances with splash of vanilla then you'll love this one, it's also really long lasting even though it's not overpowering, it's lovely!

 What's in your favourites this month beaut's? I'd love to know!



*This post contains some gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

What I've Watched On Netflix Recently!

Hey beaut's!

I think I'm actually a little bit addicted to Netflix ya know guys and gals, I seem to be watching so many things on there recently, but I mean who doesn't love a relaxed evening (or day off lol) all cosy on the sofa filled with endless things to choose from on Netflix and plenty of sweets to gorge on...I know I do, so here's what I've competed recently! 

Sex Education - Ok Sex Education did take me a couple of episodes to get into, for me it wasn't a series that grabbed me from the off but once I was a few eps in I loved it! It's all about socially awkward high school student Otis and bad girl Maeve who set up their very own sex therapy clinic to deal with their classmates problems. The thing is Otis isn't exactly experienced in the lovemaking department himself, but he gets good guidance on the topic in his personal sex ed course -- by living with mum Jean, who is a sex therapist. Being surrounded by manuals, videos and conversations about sex at home, Otis becomes quite an expert on the subject and him and Maeve start earning some good money from all the advice Otis is giving. It's a funny series but serious in parts, it discusses taboo subjects and takes you on a rollar coaster of emotions, I really enjoyed it in the end!

13 Reasons Why Season 2 - Finally I got around to watching this and to be honest I think it took me a while because it can be quite intense to watch. Season 2 picks up five months after Hannah's death and at the start of students complicated journeys towards healing and recovery. Liberty High prepares to go on trial, with each episode focusing on one student at a time, but someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth surrounding Hannah's death concealed. It's quite emotional at times, and the last episode of the season was actually really brutal!

Punisher Season 2 - I absolutely LOVE the Punisher and season two for me was so much better than the first season, and that's really saying something because I loved the first season! Season two starts off with Frank Castle living a quiet life on the road until he suddenly becomes involved in the attempted murder of a young girl. As he is drawn into the mystery surrounding her and those in pursuit of the information she holds, Frank obviously attracts a new target on his back as well as an old enemy too! It's such a kick arse series, it's definitely quite gory in places, more so than season 1 but the story throughout is amazing and I love seeing the real protective side of Frank too.

Let me know if you’ve watched any of these TV shows beaut's and if you enjoyed them, also I'd love some more Netflix recommendations too!

February Degustabox Review + £5 off Discount Code!

Hey beaut's!

I have a subscription box review for you all today but it's a subscription box with a difference.... it contains yummy food and drink, so say hello to Degustabox*. Degustabox works very much like how beauty subscription boxes work, for £12.99 a month (postage included within the £12.99 price) you will receive 10 to 15 surprise food/drink products, many that are completely new to the market! So if your a bit of a foodie like myself and you love subscription boxes your going to love this beaut's!

The shortlist for this months box is:

- CHOC CHICK Quinoa Pops and Plantain Bites £1.85.
- Appy Kids Co Whole Milk £1.00.
- ClearSpring Seaveg Crispies Multi-Pack £2.59.
- Snaffling Pig Pork Crackling 75p.
- Deli Kitchen Folded Brioche Flat breads £1.25.
- Salca Reduced Fat Basil Pesto £2.50.
- Explore Cuisine Organic Chickpea Fusilli £3.00.
- Orangina £1.30.
- Bebeto Watermelon Jelly Gums 50p.

Overall I'm really chuffed with the contends of February's box, theres a good mixture of things to try from sweet and savoury snacks - to those delicious looking flat breads which freeze really well by the way. 

If you like the look and sound of Degustabox you can grab your first box for just £7.99 with the code 039DB HERE.

*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

My First Beauty Wishlist Of 2019!

Hey beaut's!

It's been absolutely ages since I done a beauty wishlist and seeing as theres so much on my wishlist right now I thought it was the perfect time to get back on the wishlist train! Theres so many new things out at the moment and surprise, surprise they're all catching my eye, firstly the collaboration between Morphe and Jeffree Star is ticking all the right boxes for me, I mean just look how stunning those brushes and beauty sponges are, I need them in my life asap! 

Urban Decay have a whole new brow collection out that I'm really wanting to try, I'm really into my brow products these days and I actually love sculpting my brows to perfection, it's become one of my favourite makeup steps and Urban Decay's whole collection looks amazing and the packaging is super pretty too! I'm a HUGE lover of Too Faced eyeshadow palettes as the quality is always incredible so the new Pretty Rich Diamond Light Palette was always going to go on my wishlist, and the fact it's shaped like a trinket box is just everything!

Soap & Glory's new haircare line is something else I'm chomping at the bit to try as well as Pixi's new Glow Glycolic Boost Sheet Masks, I bet their bloody epic! And Revolution as always have tonnes of new launches that I'm after trying but particularly I want to give their dual-ended liquid eyeshadows a whirl as they look beautiful!

Whats on your beauty wishlist at the moment beaut's?

This post contains affiliate links.

By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Eyeshadow Review!

Hey beaut's!

I've wanted to try the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Eyeshadow sticks for years, I've seen blogger and their dog rave about them not to mention just how absolutely beautiful they look but unfortunately for me they come with a bit of a hefty price tag however....their actually all discounted on the Perfume Click website for £19.95 which is such a good saving as their usually £29.00! If you haven't heard of Perfume Click before their a fragrance and beauty online retailer which have amazing discount prices on some of the biggest brands, theres everything from makeup, skincare, bath and body and even tanning products on the site, I mean who doesn't like a saving, I know I do. They also have a loyalty points system too which I always love, it's always nice when your points add up and you can nab yourself something even cheaper! 

I opted for the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Eyeshadow in the shade Misty Rock which is a stunning yet unique shade, it goes on looking quite bronze but blends out to this smokey pewter colour with ultra fine micro shimmers within it that are super twinkly, it's insanely pretty and probably the easiest smokey eye I've ever achieved! It's the sort of shade and formula that you can just whack on all over your eyeballs and blend with your finger or a brush in matter a seconds and then your ready to rush out the door, I love it!

The quality of the By Terry Ombre Blackstar's has always been so hyped up and now I can see why, the formula is literally fantastic and the best I've tried in terms of cream shadows! The thing with cream eyeshadows is that they do usually crease very quickly but oh no, no, no - not this bad boy! Misty Rock literally melts onto my eyelids straight from the bullet, it's so smooth and creamy and blends like a absolute dream, and I haven't experienced any smudging or creasing what so ever, this stuff isn't going anywhere once it's blended onto my lids I tell ya! The pigmentation is good, it does sheer out a bit when you blend it but it can be built up easily if you wish but personally I like the wash of colour and the twinkly look it gives!

If your after trying the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Eyeshadow's then I really cant recommend Misty Rock enough, it's a quick and easy way to achieve a gorgeous smokey eye and the quality of the formula is incredible, I'm now going to have to collect the rest of the shades that's for sure!

You can find the By Terry Ombre Blackstar Cream Eyeshadow in Misty Rock for £19.95 HERE.



*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

CaseApp Review + Discount Code!

 Hey beaut's!

I love switching up my phone case between the seasons, and now that I'm really wishing winter away and hoping for those Spring vibes I thought it was about time for a new phone case, so of course I had a good old browse on my favourite site...CaseApp!

I've had quite a few phone cases from CaseApp now because I absolutely love the concept, the site allows you to design your own phone case or laptop skin however you would like, not only is this an epic idea but so unique and can be personal to you if your making a case for a friend or loved one as a gift! CaseApp also have hundreds of ready made designs you can choose from on their website if you don't fancy fully customising your own, but you can still edit their own designs to suit you more if you’d like. Theres also the option of whether to have a matte case or go for something glossy and you can go for a standard case or a tough case depending on how accident prone you are with your phone ha ha!

This time around I wanted to go for a more Spring appropriate case so I picked out the Strawberry case (£22.00) in the matte finish, this one is so cute, it has the prettiest pastel pink background with cute sketched on strawberries all over it, it's so girlie and I absolutely adore it! The second case I got for my boyfriend, he actually used the design tool and fully designed this one himself, being the Marvel/super hero addict that he is he obviously opted to have a few of his favourites merged together on the back, I think this so cool and like I said before it's totally unique to him! As always with CaseApp the quality of the cases feel fab, their both very sturdy and robust, they fix onto your phone so tightly and I definitely feel like their protecting my phone well!

If you fancy treating yourself to a phone case or laptop skin from CaseApp then save yourself 20% with my discount code 20HAYSPARKLE ! Or you could treat someone to a customised case or skin for any special occasion coming up, it's such a fun concept!

Check out the CaseApp website HERE



*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

Ariana Grande Moonlight Perfume Review

Hey beaut's!

Is anybody else so over their warm, musky winter fragrances now, because I know I am, I'm ready for all things Spring, and today's post on Ariana Grande's Moonlight Perfume has got me feeling those Spring, fruity - floral vibes! I absolutely love Ariana Grande but I've never tried one of here fragrances yet until now, I guess I thought they might be quite young for me but after trying it I can confirm it's actually very universal!

Moonlight by Ariana Grande* is a fruity, floral fragrance with splash of vanilla sweetness so it basically has a little bit of everything going on and I love it! It has top notes of blackcurrant and juicy plum for that fruity feel, heart notes of fluffy marshmallow and peony and the fragrance finishes off with base notes of sandalwood, amber and sensual vanilla! The notes in this fragrance all work amazingly well together, it's such a feminine scent without being too overpowering or young feeling and as I said before personally I think it's really universal! As for the lasting power - I felt the scent held up really well and I definitely always get whiffs of the fragrance on me all day long, I do go slightly mad when spraying perfumes on myself though, I'm one of those gals that has to spray perfume on my clothes as well as my neck and wrists, I feel like that always helps the longevity of a scent though, don't you?

And finally can we just take a second to admire how beautiful the packaging is, the bottle itself has a jewel like look to it with an iridescent finish and lilac accents, and how cute it that pom pom detail, I'm pretty sure these little pom poms come on all of Ariana's fragrances and they can be removed so you can attach them to your handbag, makeup bag etc if you wish! If your after trying out a new perfume for the Spring time I cant recommend this one enough, and with Valentines coming up this could be the perfect gift too a loved one or to yourself he he!

Moonlight is available in three sizes - 30ml, 50ml and 100ml and can be found from £22.45 on the Perfume Click website HERE.



*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

Valentines 'Jammie Dodger' Biscuit Recipe

   Hey beaut's!

Valentines Day is just a week away so obviously I got back in the kitchen and rustled up another valentines inspired bake, if your after some cupcake inspiration I shared my white chocolate and raspberry cupcake recipe last week which you can find HERE, but today I'm doing the easiest biscuits I think I've ever made, valentines jammie dodgers! I did share my recipe of these biscuits a couple of years ago but I tweaked it slightly and obviously made them heart shaped for valentines!

What You Will Need For The Biscuits

100g unsalted butter, softened

175g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

A jar of strawberry or raspberry jam

love heart cookie cutters

Baking sheets

How To

1. To make the biscuits, cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until well combined, then add in the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat until fully incorporated. 

2. Tip the flour into the mixture and fold together until fully combined, then shape the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film and pop into the freezer to firm up for around 45 min's to an hour.

3. Once you dough has chilled completely preheat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a couple of large baking trays with baking paper. 

4. On a lightly dusted surface, roll out the dough as thick or as thin as you like and use your a larger love heart cookie cutter to cut out lots of heart shaped biscuits, once you have all of your biscuit hearts your going to want to separate half of them and use a small heart shape cookie cutter to stamp out heart shapes from the middle of your rounds. 

5. Pop the biscuits in the oven until golden, I made my biscuits quite thin so they only took  6-7 minutes but the thicker you go the longer they will take. If you like a nice crunch to your biscuits take them out half way through baking and sprinkle a small amount of caster sugar on them all, I did this and it makes such a nice snappy/crunchy biscuit.

6. Once the biscuits are cool, spread jam on the bottom biscuit and top with one of the heart cut out biscuits, sandwiching them together and voila. These biscuits will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container, that's if they last for 2-3 days because in our house they get demolished pretty quickly he he.

I mean just how cute do these look though, their so quick and easy to make and the ingredients are so minimal too which I love, and adding a sprinkling of caster sugar mid bake really does add such a nice crunch to the biscuits too, yum!

Will you be baking anything this valentines beaut's? I'd love to know!

LifeLab Testing Basic Intolerance Test + My Results!

Hey beaut's!

Today I have something slightly different on the blog but something I was really excited in doing and writing! Recently LifeLab sent me over one of their at home blood testing intolerance kits and I actually couldn't wait to try it, it sounds strange to be excited about doing something like this but it came at the perfect time for me because my health hasn't been the best it could be over the last year or so, my acid reflux seemed to hit a huge high, more recently I've had problems with bloating and stomach pain which I've put down to acute IBS and I've been a migraine sufferer for years, all of these things combined had me thinking....maybe it's something I'm eating that's doing this to me, because food intolerance's can bring on all of these symptoms I suffer from! So now you can probably understand why I was keen on doing this test, because I'm hopeful that it could result in my health improving!

LifeLab Testing sent me their Basic Intolerance Test* which analyses your blood sample against 40 of the most common intolerant foods including seafood, nuts, grains (including wheat) and a variety of dairy products like egg and milk. They also have four other at home tests on their site such as a Basic Allergy Test, Complete Body Test, Complete Intolerance Test and a Yes/No Test, all of which have a testing accuracy of 99.8% in their lab.

The Basic Intolerance kit includes absolutely everything you need to perform your at home test, theres 1 alcohol wipe, 1 plaster, 1 gauze/absorbent pad, 1 transport tube, 1 microvette 300 ql (sampling tube), 2 lancets, 1 activation card with adhesive label and a free post return envelope. Before taking your blood sample and sending it off you need to activate your test on the LifeLab Testing website, this is so simple to do, you either need to create an account or use your existing account, then follow a few simple steps and pop in your unique Test ID Code which is found on the activation card within your kit-box and voila, it literally took me around a minute to activate mine, it's extremely straight forward and quick!

Once your kit has been activated it's time to get your sample on the go, the kit comes with an instruction booklet which I followed precisely, the instructions suggest that the best days to do the test is either a Monday or a Tuesday and to post your sample on the same day that you take your sample. I must admit I did find the 'taking/collecting' my blood quite hard, mostly because my blood didn't want to be spared and my body was being greedy! What I learnt is that you really need to get your blood circulation going, the instruction booklet suggests holding your hand under warm water for a minute and then swinging your arm around in circular motions 5-10 times, I done this and then got my boyfriend to prick my middle finger with one of the lancets after using the disinfectant wipe and hardly any blood came out at all, luckily the kit comes with two lancets so I done it again but this time and I held my hands in warm water for longer and used my index finger which seemed to work so much better.

The lancet(needle) itself didn't really hurt at all, I mean obviously you feel it but it's not a painful experience and its over within a second, once the blood droplets start forming you need to scrape them/drop them straight into the blood collection tube until it reaches the 30μL mark, it MUST reach this mark otherwise the blood sample cant be tested. I would suggest working quick as my blood dried up super fast so once the droplets form keep massaging your finger to keep the blood flow going. Once the sample has been taken all you need to do is secure the lid, apply the QR code sticker to the blood collection tube so the lab know it’s your sample, then pop it inside the bigger transport tube and seal it up, before putting it into the pre-paid envelope and then post! I'd say the whole process took me around 5-10 minutes from start to finish so it is really quick to do! Your results should only take a couple of days to pop up on your LifeLab account, I literally posted my sample off on a Tuesday and had my results by Thursday so it's definitely a quick turn around! The results are scored out of six in a traffic light style – green means no reaction, orange means a low or medium reaction whilst red means an high reaction.

Now onto my results which where pretty good actually but there was a couple of shocks, out of the 40 foods I was tested for 37 where green meaning no reaction, 7 where low-medium and 2 where red meaning I had a high reaction... 

 As you can see from my results I have high intolerance to egg white followed by a medium intolerance to egg yolks, this was the major shocker for me because I bloody love eggs and not only do I boil them, scramble them and fry them but I use them loads in cooking and baking! My other high intolerance was mustard, which I actually hate so that wont be a problem for me cutting that out, but eggs could be a major for me! I then have a medium intolerance to sheep's, cows and goats milk, cows milk is something I wanted to cut down on anyway as I thought diary could have something to do with my bloating and stomach pain and after seeing this it's given me the extra push I need to cut down! Hazelnuts, banana and beef where my final readings that are a low intolerance, banana's are one of my favourite fruits so it's quite gutting if they contribute to why I feel crappy sometimes!

Overall I'm so happy I got the opportunity to do one these tests and I really cant recommend LifeLab Testing Kits enough, especially if your suffering from migraines, stomach pain, heartburn, excess gas or bloating and nausea and think it might be something so do with your diet or certain foods that you eat, this can give you the clarification you need! I'm definitely going to be cutting out on the food I have an intolerance to and see if I see an improvement in my health!

You can find the LifeLab Testing Basic Intolerance Test for £99.00 HERE.



*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

Soap & Glory The Rushower Dry Shampoo Review

Hey beaut's!

Soap and Glory have recently delved into the depths of all things hair, yup they now have shampoo's, conditioner's, a styling oil, leave in conditioner...the lot! I'm definitely going to be trying out the shampoo soon but firstly I wanted to give their dry shampoo a whirl! I do love a good dry shampoo for those in between days and also it works wonders when I wave or curl my hair as it gives me added texture, so I was looking forward to putting Soap & Glory's offering to the test!

The Soap & Glory 'The Rushower' Dry Shampoo claims to instantly refresh and revive your hair and to be honest that is exactly what it does, when my hairs looking a bit drab it gives it such a lift and shine and leaves my hair looking really fresh and feeling soft. The product itself jets out of the can pretty rapidly and smells absolutely divine, it features Soap and Glory's signature pink scent of Rose and Bergamot which I've always adored in their body products and I love it even more within my hair, it's lush!

The Rushower claims to be invisible for all hair types once massaged into the roots and I must admit I've never had any problems with residue or the dreaded 'talc scalp' look, I do have quite light-ashy coloured hair so I cant speak for someone with quite dark or black hair but for me it works really well. Overall I think Soap & Glory have made a really nice dry shampoo here and I honestly don't have one negative to say about it, I'm expecting amazing things from the rest of their haircare range now!

You can find the Soap & Glory The Rushower Dry Shampoo for £4.00 HERE however it is on offer right now at just £2.67 as part of an introductory offer along with the rest of the haircare line!



This post contains an affiliate link.