Friday, 25 September 2015

Autumn Fashion & Beauty Haul | Cookie Bow


Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!

I went to the shops recently and went a bit crazy because there was so much Autumn stuff I needed! I purchased a few fashion and beauty items while I was there and in this post I will be showing you what I got. Let's get started:


The first shop I went to was New Look and to be honest I was a bit disappointed with their Autumn collection. The generation section basically had no stock and the adult section only had clothes in the colours I would never wear. However, I did manage to fish out this really nice blue denim shirt for £17.99 which I spent my new look voucher on. I've been looking for one of these for a while now and I finally found one in a nice colour and in my size. I think that a denim shirt suits most people and is a must have top for the Autumn months.

After that I went in H&M and in the kids section I found these really nice black and brown Aztec leggings. I can't remember exactly how much these were as my mum bought them but I think they will go really nicely with most tops whether they are plain or patterned.


Also from the H&M kids section I got this dark grey top and it is a mixture between a jumper and a regular top so it will keep me nice and warm when its cold! I really like it because it has the lace around the bottom and will go with most bottom halves. It was £9.99.


Next from Topshop I got these Black Leigh Super-soft Ankle Grazer jeans. They were £38 which I know is quite expensive but they are very good quality and will last me a long time. I didn't have any jeans so that is why I got them and I am really excited to start wearing them especially with the denim shirt!


I wasn't sure if I needed to show you this but I also just got some normal black leggings from H&M because my others had gone all holey! And also please excuse the grains on this photo it was because I was wearing a black top as well;)


Onto beauty and random things! For make up I just picked up two things because I ran out of primer and concealer. As usual the Collection lasting perfection was out of stock so I decided to try another concealer. I had seen Eve Bennett talk about how much she likes the Seventeen Stay Time concealer so I decided to try it out. It's really really good as it gives a good coverage on spots, really illuminates under your eyes and doesn't cake unlike the Collection one. I also picked up my holy grail primer which is the Maybelline baby skin instant pore eraser which gives a really smooth base for your make up.


Everybody needs tic tacs so I just picked up the cherry passion ones as these are really tasty (the cherry flavour are my favourite)!


I picked up 2 new lip balms, (if you didn't know I like lip balms and I collect them) the new baby lips winter edition in Sugar Cookie and a Chapstick Mix Stick in Strawberry and Banana Smoothie. They both smell amazing, especially the banana side of the Chapstick!


As I've been getting a lot of blackheads and blemishes recently I really wanted to try out a nose strip and spot stick. If you don't know what a nose strip is, it is a strip you stick on your nose and when you peel it off it removes dirt, oil and blackheads from your skin. I bought both items from the Superdrug tea tree skincare range as my friend recommend it and tee tree is good for spots.


I was running very low on lush products so I went into lush to pick up some bath bombs. The ones I chose were Avobath which smells so citrusy and Sex Bomb which has a sweet and floral scent. I can't to use them as I haven't tried these before!

That is everything I have purchased recently. If you liked this post and would like to see more please feel free to follow. If you are in the Autumn mood I'd love it if you could share your Halloween plans in the comments and I will reply as soon as possible:)

See you in my next post,

Cookie Bow (Jess) x

Monday, 14 September 2015

50 Things To Do When You're Bored | Cookie Bow


Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!

Sorry for not posting as much recently but school just started so I have been busy with homework and clubs so I have not had much time to write some good blog posts for you all. Quality not quantity remember!

Anyway, I don't know if you remember back in the summer holidays I wrote a blog post called 'Things to do when you're bored'. It had a few ideas for bad weather and good weather but not one big long list of loads of things to do when you're bored. So this blog post will be 50 things to do when you're bored and I hope it helps some of you:

1. Invite a friend round
2. Go shopping
3. Prank call some people
4. Go on your trampoline
5. Learn a popular dance routine on YouTube
6. Learn all the lyrics to a song
7. Do a live broadcast on YouNow
8. Watch some other YouNowers
9. Take your dog for a walk
10. Make a blog!
11. Make a YouTube channel
12. Film some videos for your YouTube
13. Make a mug cake
14. Bake your favourite thing
15. Make a smoothie or milkshake
16. Tidy your bedroom
17. Snapchat all your contacts and chat to everyone who replies
18. Make a scrapbook
19. Do some dares and film them
20. Do fun challenges with your friend
21. Go to the park
22. Play around on Dubsmash
23. Write and schedule some blog posts
24. Make DIYs for your room
25. Pin loads of stuff on Pinterest
26. Do some online clothes or make up shopping
27. Make a collage of stuff you love
28. Teach your pet a new trick
29. Watch Netflix and films
30. Sort out your make up and tidy it up
31. Try out hairstyles on YouTube
32. Watch Youtubers
33. Read a book or magazine
34. Give yourself a pedicure
35. Watch Disney channel or Nickelodeon
36. Have a bath with a bath bomb
37. Go to Bounce or a trampoline park
38. Go outside and practice a sport you like (netball, football, gymnastics etc.)
39. Go to an indoor swimming pool
40. Go rock climbing
41. Play on the Sims
42. Listen to music
43. Play on your Nintendo DS
44. Go on social media
45. Revamp your social media profiles
46. Make a new themed Instagram page
47. Play Hide and Seek
48. Do homework and projects
49. Paint your nails or do some nail art
50. Read other blogs or useful tutorials online

That's all for my 50 things to do when you're bored list. I hope it gave you some ideas of fun things to do when you are bored out of your mind! Please leave a comment of any fun activities you like to do when you are bored and I will make sure to check them out:)

See you in my next blog post,

Cookie Bow (Jess) x

-

Picture credits:

Dog photo - www.dognotebook.com
Netflix photo - news.yahoo.com
Mug cake - food.allwomenstalk.com

Sunday, 6 September 2015

10 Autumn Essentials | Cookie Bow


Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!

Autumn, the season of all things red, brown and orange has finally come around. I am constantly reaching for products during the Autumn months so in this post I thought I would share ten of my must haves for Autumn. Let's get started...

 
So the first essential for Autumn is an intensive moisturiser. I recommend an intensive one because in the colder months my skin gets really dry so you'll want something to really nourish your body. Also, this one is perfect because it is cocoa scented which is one of my favourite Autumn/Winter scents as it reminds me of yummy hot chocolates (more on that later)! I really like the Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Continuous Spray as it is so quick and easy to apply.
 
 
I love painting my nails deep purple and orange in the Autumn so another essential would have to be dark coloured, glittery or red/orange nail polishes. My favourite brands are probably Rimmel and Barry M as they last a long time and have a nice finish. The nail polishes from left to right in this picture are Mirror Mirror gold nail varnish, Barry M matte polish in Expresso, Rimmel lasting finish in 193 Black Cherries, Rimmel 60 seconds in 403 Orgasm and a purple Technic nail varnish.
 
 
I don't know about you but in the cold seasons my hair gets very dry and frizzy. The perfect cure for this is L'Oreal Elvive extraordinary oil miracle hair perfector. You hardly need any of this to notice a difference as it instantly tames your hair. This is a definite Autumn must have.
 
 
My next essential is a night cream because again my face gets very dry when it's cold weather. Before I go to bed I just dab a bit of this on all over my face and once I've massaged it in it leaves my skin feeling really soft and moisturised. The night cream I use is the Nivea regenerating night cream for normal/combination, I highly recommend a regenerating cream because it repairs your skin while you sleep so it is fresh by the morning.
 
 
My hands are so dry in Autumn and Winter because of the cold and also the heating especially at school. So I always carry my Soap & Glory Hand Food mini around with me so that way I can always have super moisturised hands! This is a really good hand cream and it smells just like marshmallows.
 
 
Orange, red and purple coloured lip products are vital for Autumn. In the picture above are some of my favourites. Starting at the bottom and going clockwise, the first lip product is the MUA lipstick in the shade 'Nectar' which is a really nice vibrant orange once on your lips. Next I have a lipstick by Technic which is really pigmented and a gorgeous classic red colour. The next product is actually a tinted lip balm and it is the Baby Lips 'Cherry Me' which comes out as a nice sheer dark red. After that I have the Seventeen lip lustre in the glittery purple shade. I then have another Seventeen lip lustre but this is in the shade 'Wild One'. The last Autumn lip product is another Baby Lips but this one is called 'Grape Vine' and is a beautiful berry colour.
 
 
The next essential is a piece of clothing and it is a gilet or body warmer. I think these are perfect for Autumn because if one day it is too hot for a coat but you still want to be warm then a gilet keeps your actual body warm but lets your arms breathe. I like this red gilet from Hollister because it has tartan inside and a big furry hood!
 
 
The next item is pretty simple but VERY important and that is hot chocolate. Whenever it is a cold Autumn day I will come home from school and most likely have a mug of this yummy stuff. I just use this Cadbury drinking chocolate which smells amazing and tastes just like Dairy Milk. For a more fancy treat you can always add whipped cream, sprinkles and mini marshmallows:)
 
 
The next Autumn essential has to be candles. They make everything feel so much more warm and cosy and if I am having a bath I will always surround my self with them. My favourite candles for Autumn are by Root Candles, a company I discovered at the Ideal Home Show in London. The scents I like are Sampaquita (left) which smells like Jasmine and French Vanilla (right).
 
 
My last essential is bath bombs and bubble bath! There is nothing better than getting into a hot bath filled with huge bubbles and a colourful bath bomb fizzing away on a cold Autumn day. Ooh that rhymed! Go with whatever your preference is but I love lush bath bombs (the one above is called Frozen) and the Soap and Glory Calm one Calm all bubble bath.
 
That concludes my 10 Autumn Essentials post. To see more of my blog posts follow me on Bloglovin or by clicking the Google follow button on my homepage. I hope you liked this Autumn themed post, comment your number one Autumn essential.
 
See you in my next blog post:)
 
Cookie Bow (Jess) x

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Big Beauty Wishlist 2015 | Cookie Bow


Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!

Today's post is a 'Products I Wish To Own One Day Wishlist' and I got this idea from The Sunday Girl because she did a 100 Beauty Blogging Prompts which was actually really helpful so go and check it out! I've split it into 5 different sections: make-up and brushes, skincare&body, fragrance, nails and hair.

Make-up and brushes:

- Mac lipsticks
- Mac warm neutral eye shadow palette
- Mac tinted lipglass
- Benefit roller lash
- Benefit they're real
- Benefit bene balm
- Benefit lolli balm
- Benefit customised package
- Benefit rockateur blush
- Benefit high beam
- Bourjois rouge edition velvet
- Bourjois chocolate bronzer
- Bourjois little round pot blusher
- Chanel lipsticks
- Urban Decay Naked 3 palette
- Rimmel Kate Moss lipsticks
- MUA eye shadow palette
- Tanya Burr lip gloss
- Soap and Glory Supercat black liquid liner
- Soap and Glory solar powder
- Revos
- Real Techniques expert face brush
- Real Techniques bold metals
- Lottie London brushes
- Zoeva brushes

Skincare & Body

- Soap and glory sugar crush body scrub
- Soap and glory body lotions
- Zoella scrubbing me softly
- Garnier micellar cleansing water
- Liz Earle cleanse and polish
- Body shop mango body butter
- Pocketbacs
- Body shop mango hand cream
- Make up setting spray
- Toner
- Blackhead strips
Fragrance:

- Victoria's Secret body fragrances
- Hollister body sprays
- Calvin Klein One Summer
- Chanel perfume
- Sephora perfume

Nails:

- O.P.I nail polishes
- Essie nail polishes
- China glaze nail polishes
- Essie apricot cuticle oil
- Detail brushes
- Tanya Burr nail polish

Hair:

- GHDs
- Collab invisible dry shampoo
- Frizz ease serum
- Higher end shampoo and conditioner
- Toni and Guy sea salt spray
 
That's it for my Big Beauty Wishlist 2015, I hope you liked it and maybe gave you some ideas of what you can buy next time you are at a drugstore or beauty shop. Please leave a comment if you recommend any of this products.
 
See you in my next post:)
 
Cookie Bow (Jess) x

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Favourite Drugstore Make-Up | Cookie Bow


Hey everyone, welcome back to my blog!

This post was requested by one of my friends Kate so that is mainly why I am doing it but also because I was actually thinking of doing some kind of drugstore related post the other day. I am a big fan of make up from the drugstore as you can get really good products without spending loads of your money. Since it is nearly time to go back to school (sad times) I thought this post would also be helpful if you want to get some good inexpensive make up for school.

Best primers:

I've only tried one primer from the drugstore and that is the Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser. I really recommend this because it is slightly cheaper than most of the other primers in the drugstore (it's £7.99) and it is so smooth and hydrating. There are 3 different primers in the Baby Skin collection: instant pore eraser, instant fatigue blur in rose and instant fatigue blur in apricot. I think any of them are good to try it just depends on your skin type.

Best foundations/BB creams:

I actually don't own any foundations or BB creams because I don't wear them so these are just ones that I always here people talking about. For foundation try Rimmel Wake Me Up, Bourjois Healthy Mix, Revlon Colour Stay and L'oreal True Match. For BB cream the one I am constantly hearing about is Maybelline Dream Fresh which comes in two formulas, one for oily and one for dry.

Best concealers:

The concealer I have stuck to is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer as it is such a bargain and really covers under eye circles and blemishes well. The one I am currently using was only £2.99 as it was on offer so don't forget to look at the Collection counter next time you're in Boots or Superdrug! I am always scared to buy a different concealer from this one as I never know if the others will be as good so please leave some comments of good drugstore concealers to try:)

Best powders:

I haven't been using powder very long and the one I use is Rimmel Stay Matte which is pretty good as it is inexpensive and mattifies oily areas quite well. I am sure there are better drugstore powders out there but I have only ever bought one so hopefully I will discover some more.

Best blushers:

I don't own many blushers but my favourite would have to be the MUA blush in the shade 'Lolly'. It is such a bargain as it is only £1! It is a nice natural peach colour, is really pigmented and makes your cheeks glow. There are also other shades in powder form and cream form.

Best bronzers:

My favourite bronzers have got to be Maybelline Dream Sun triple bronzing powder and Bourjois Maxi Delight bronzer. The reason I like these bronzers is because the dream sun bronzer is less pigmented so is good for when I don't want anything too bold and when my skin is pale in Autumn and Winter. The Bourjois bronzer smells of cocoa powder and is a lot more pigmented and a darker shade so is great for in the Summer or for a bolder look.

Best eyeshadows:

My favourite eye shadow palette from the drugstore is definitely L'Oreal La Palette Nude (Beige) because you get 10 very neutral shades and a mixture of mattes and shimmers so this palette is perfect for day and night. I use one of the colours to fill in my eyebrows and it works perfectly as the eye shadows are well pigmented and blendable.

If you are looking for a cream eye shadow then you have to try the Maybelline 24 hour Colour Tattoos. They are so creamy, last all day and give a really nice shimmer and colour to your eyelids. The shade I have is On and on Bronze which is a beautiful shimmery bronze colour.

Best eyeliners: 

For eye pencil I recommend Rimmel kohl kajal eye pencils and I have the shade Sable Brown which really makes my eyes stand out. I have only tried one liquid eyeliner and I know there are better ones which I will be trying out next but the Maybelline master precise felt tip eye liner is pretty good and lasts all day.

Best mascaras:

Any Maybelline mascara is bound to be amazing but the ones I have tried are Maybelline the rocket (waterproof) and Maybelline Great Lash. The rocket is better for volume and slightly more dramatic lashes but the Great Lash is more natural and really lengthens your lashes. So go for either it just depends what kind of look you'd like!

Best lip products:

For lip balms I highly recommend Maybelline Baby Lips. There are so many to choose from and a mixture of tinted and clear. They are one of the most moisturising lip balms I have ever tried and I love the packaging so much! A few of my favourites are Melon Mania, Peach Punch and Strike a Rose. If you want more natural looking, cheaper lip balms to really help cure chapped lips then try Nivea Lip Butters and Burt's Bees lip balms as they work wonders!

For lipsticks I really like Revlon lip butters as they moisturise your lips and add a pop of colour at the same time. I have two shades: Strawberry Shortcake and Juicy Papaya. The packaging is also really nice and I would probably say these are a dupe for Benefit lolli balm, bene balm etc. If you just want a not too pricey average lipstick Barry M lipsticks are amazing. They don't try your lips out and come in lots of great shades, I have the shade 53 Coral. The last lipstick I would recommend is for if you are more of a lip crayon fan. The Collection Work the Colour lip butters are amazing as they are such a bargain, are really moisturising and so easy to apply. I have the shade Vintage Rose and I am pretty sure they just released some more colours and matte formulas to the range.

My favourite drugstore lip glosses are probably Seventeen lip lustres as they are not sticky in anyway, really pigmented and come in a great range of colours. I have the mini sized ones because my sister got them for me in a set for Christmas. Definitely try these out if you haven't already.

That is all the drugstore make up I recommend, make sure to follow to be updated when I upload my next blog post and leave a comment of your favourite make up item from the drugstore.

See you in my next post,

Cookie Bow (Jess) x

Photo credits:

Rimmel wake me up picture: http://makeupmonster.ie/