February Wish List

Striped Sweatshirt, Pull & Bear, £17.99 // 3D Globe Pendant Necklace, Urban Outfitters, £12 // Heart-shaped Print Pink Skirt, Romwe, £18.12 // Coins Bracelet, Asos, £6 // Reve de Miel Ultra Nourishing Lip Balm, Nuxe, £9.50 // MOTO Faux Leather Fronted Leigh Jeans, Topshop, £42 // MOTO Folk Embroidered Hotpants, Topshop, £34 // Origami Animal Earrings, Love Hearts and Crosses, £10 // Pink Tribal Print Friendship Bracelets Pack, New Look, £6.99 // Geo Darling Boxy Tee, Forever21, £11.50

Slowly but surely the spring collections are seeping into shops (the first month of the year is over now, after all) and I'm all over them! I always struggle to find clothes I like in the winter months, as everything tends to be black and grey and really, really dull. 

And just because it's still winter doesn't mean I can't start looking for a new pair of shorts. That's what tights were invented for, after all!

I also couldn't help but sneak in a Valentine's themed item, either. The heart print Romwe skirt looks like it's the perfect cut to do an awful lot of swirling and swooshing in.

The Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm was featured on pretty much every beauty bloggers 2013 favourites and as I'm in dire need of an intense over-night lip balm ever since I finished my last tube of 8 hour cream, it's about time I give this one a go.

Two other items on this list are also completely down to other bloggers. First of all, we have those faux leather Topshop jeans. I've always wanted some leather trousers, but was a bit weary about pulling the look off. Then I saw these over on Lily's blog (click here for the post) and fell in love with the half denim, half leather design. Unfortunately, they seem to have sold out online, but you might be able to still find them in stores. Over on Sailboat (click here for the post) Jenny introduced me to Love Hearts and Crosses and I want pretty much everything from the site, but I settled with the Origami hummingbird earrings for now. The site seems to be slightly temperamental with direct links, but they're definitely still there, so you might just need to search for them manually.

The globe pendant necklace holds special meaning to me, as one of my goals for this year is to save some money to finally go travelling. It would be a constant reminder that I need to get out and see the world!

I've also seen a similar bracelet to the coin one above a few months ago, but then I couldn't find it anywhere and regret not having made a purchase when I had the chance. I'm not doing the same mistake twice!

Pharmacy Beauty Goodies

When shopping for beauty supplies, pharmacies are usually the last place I think of snooping around in - I tend to do the bulk of my shopping in drugstores and will occasionally treat myself to a more expensive treat from a department store. But come to think of it, online pharmacies can actually be a good place to look for more unique, niche brands that won't be stocked anywhere else. I have recently been contacted by Farmaline to try some of the goodies they stock and here are my top picks.

1) Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

I think this was featured in one of the first beauty boxes to hit the UK and I've been curious to try it ever since. The thought of putting oil anywhere apart from in my food used to seriously freak me out, but these days I've quite come around to it. This one is multi-usage, so you can apply it on your face, body or hair. I've been using it on my body after showering, as that's where I'm struggling the most with dryness.

As it's a dry oil, it won't leave any of that slippy, greasy feeling on your skin, but it seems to almost evaporate immediately, leaving skin nourished and moisturised. It's only on my hands that it tends to build up and I do have to wash my hands after applying it, as they tend to get quite greasy. This is also where the packaging is a little flawed - as pretty and sleek as the glass bottle looks, try twisting it open with slippery hands!

The scent of this is really rather strong. It's got quite a spicy, warm scent to it, which is just perfect for winter, but you'll be able to smell it on yourself literally all day, so make sure it's one you like before purchasing! Having said that, it layers beautifully with some of my perfumes and somehow holds their scent much longer than they'd last on just bare skin.

2) Apivita Express Beauty Nourishing Mask with Carrot

I've seen Apivita featured on quite a few blogs, but never tried anything from them, as I couldn't get hold of the brand. These little sachets contain about one application each. I suppose you could scrimp a little and get two out of each packet, but I preferred to really slather it on and let it do good for my skin.

The mask feels deliciously creamy and smooth on the skin. It is as a matter of fact bright orange, but fortunately it doesn't have a punchy carrot smell (I don't imagine the smell of carrots being overly relaxing, unless you're a rabbit, of course). Due to my ridiculously unhealthy lifestyle - bad role model here - I've been battling the same cold for several weeks now, so the skin around my nose is really red and sensitive. Upon application it was those sensitive areas where it did sting a little bit, but once I'd rinsed it off, all redness was soothed and felt a lot less sore.

The rest of my skin didn't experience quite such drastic changes, but overall my face felt a lot more refreshed and a tad more healthy if that makes any sense. I imagine this one would be great for anyone with sensitive or slightly irritated skin in need of a bit of TLC.

3) Talika Lipocils Eyelash Treatment Gel

Now, this is quite an interesting one: A gel that you apply onto your eyelashes that's meant to promote their growth, make them darker and thicker. My initial thought was that it was basically just a huge pile of bullsh*t and another completely unnecessary step in my already lengthy morning and evening beauty routine. The thing is, I've been using it for about three weeks now - and I might just be imagining it, but I'm pretty sure there have been some actual changes to my eye lashes.

Apparently it takes four weeks for the full effect to come into force and I am really, really kicking myself for not taking any before and after pictures, but it does seem that my lashes are a tad thicker and darker than they used to be. I wouldn't say they've become any longer and they were already pretty curled before, so again no major changes here. But something has definitely happened. 

I wouldn't say my eye lashes were ever a great concern to me and if I want to bring them out, I'll just apply some mascara - but for anybody who is really worried about short or very, very fine lashes, this might just make the difference you're looking for.

What are your favourite pharmacy beauty buys?