September Favourites

Let's all take a moment of mourning for the end of September, my birthday month (silence). Now, let's celebrate the beginning of fall! Hoorah! Being a fall baby, I don't feel in my comfort zone unless I can step out in some ankle boots, wear a deep cherry red on my lips, and layer a cute jacket on top of my outfit. My favourites for September fall into the beauty/skincare kind, and most of them are super affordable!

"Workwear" Fashion Haul - H&M, Forever 21, and The Gap

With a new job starting later this week, I had the sudden realization that I didn't really own any "office casual" clothing. Working at The Body Shop meant I could wear black leggings and a black t-shirt to work every day, super comfortable but not exactly a good base for working in an office setting. So as I heard I got the new job, I decided to treat myself by getting some new pieces that I could work at work. I managed to spend less than £40 at every store, which is a really good bargain when I've come out with seven tops and one bottom. Read below to see what I got!

Life Update: September

I am two days away from my 4-month mark living the UK, and already some things are changing. The biggest news? I got a new job! Today is my last day working at The Body Shop store, and I am very sad to go. I will forever be grateful that they gave me a chance, allowing me to land a decent job less than two weeks after I landed here. The girls at the shop have been welcoming, sweet, and I hope we do stay in touch. I'll definitely miss the free samples, the mini-makeovers, and the general friendliness of everyone I worked with. I never thought I would enjoy working in retail again, but the team at the shop made my time there really fun - especially during a time where I felt like such an outsider.

Birmingham Blogger Meetup Haul

I wanted to write an entirely separate post about the goodie bag I got at the Birmingham Blogger Meet, hosted by Abbigayle Warner. Just look at my stash! I would have never believed I'd get all of these goodies for free, and I'm super grateful to Abbigayle and the sponsors for being so generous with us. Anyway, read more if you want to see the products in detail!

Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate

The Body Shop have actually been dropping in a lot of new products lately, and as an employee, sometimes I get the pleasure of trying things out before they get released. One of their last releases was the Drops of Youth Eye Concentrate, which is a serum that comes in the form of a rollerball. It's meant to reduce lines, bagginess, and tiredness in the eye area. It retails for £19,which is a little pricier than most Body Shop offerings, but not as crazy as some high-end products. Plus, with the small amount needed to do both eyes, it'll probably last you a good while.

Birmingham Blogger Meet Up

I had the pleasure of attending the "Back to School" Birmingham Blogger Meetup last Sunday, which was organized by the lovely Abbigayle Warner. This was my first ever blogging event and I have to say, it was so amazing! I really had a lot of fun, I only wish I could have had more time (and been a little less anxious) to meet more of the girls. A small group of us met at Primark about an hour before the event, which was nice because I like meeting people one-on-one than in a big group better. We then went to The Slug & Lettuce where the event was held and sat down in an area just for us. Anyway read below to see what else I got up to that day!

Mini Boots & Paperchase Haul

I was feeling a little spendy the other day, so I decided to go to Boots to pick up some essentials (aka razors, deodorant, etc) and I was sucked into the beauty aisles - typical me. I managed to control myself and only picked up three things (yes, I forgot to photograph one, that's how unorganized this post was) and then went to Paperchase because I needed a new diary for the year. 

Maybelline ColorDrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils

I noticed these little beauties on the Maybelline stand at Superdrug the other day, and since they had a big "NEW" sign above them, I had to have them. Obviously, right? These are the supposed dupe for the NARS Velvet Lip Pencil, which I've never used so I won't be doing a comparison. They're called the Maybelline ColorDrama Intense Velvet Lip Pencils, and I love them.

Nostalgia & Comics

A few weeks ago, the boyfriend and I decided to explore a little bit of Birmingham, since we never go into the city centre that often. He didn't want to go to a clothing store, while I didn't want to go to a video game shop - so we settled on finding a comic book store in Birmingham. After a quick google search, I found the address for Nostalgia & Comics. After a quick drive we entered the store, and wow! I was so impressed. 

Torrevieja, te Quiero

For my birthday week, the boyfriend and I whisked away to Torrevieja, Spain with the boyfriend and his parents. The next post is super photo-heavy, so it's under a cut. Anyway, I took about 300 pictures during the entire week, and no, I wasn't going to post them all because no one wants to scroll through so many. I've managed to "condense" it to about 60-something photos, showing you guys how we went our vacation.

Spain Shopping Haul

While most of my trip to Spain was spent on the beach, soaking in the sun, we did manage to take a little detour to a local shopping center - because we all know how much I love a good mall. I only had to go to three shops before I decided to halt my spending, otherwise I would have never been able to bring everything back! I went to Bershka (an old favourite that dates back to my first trip to Spain three years ago), Lefties (a new favourite) and Kiko (the makeup mecca I don't have access to in Brum).

Soap & Glory's Drama Clean & Peaches and Clean

During a random trip to Boots, I picked up these new products from Soap & Glory. I've never tried anything from their skincare range before, and I'll be honest - I wasn't wowed. I got the Peaches and Clean (a cleansing 3-in-1 wash) and Drama Clean (micellar water). The products themselves have beautiful packaging, that great S&G smell we all love, and decent ingredients. Plus, S&G is fairly affordable, so I thought I had found some great high street products to use in my skincare routine. 

My Birthday Wishlist

Oh, it's been a while since I've done a wishlist post, hasn't it? Sometimes these are the best things to do to prevent yourself from shopping. Plus, I like seeing these list because that means I won't spend money on silly things and save for things I really love. Here are a few high-end products I've had on my wishlist for a while, and what better theme than my birthday? I'm turning 23 today, and I'm celebrating in sunny, beautiful Spain. The only thing that could make today any better would be to have my friends and family from Canada around me because I miss you guys so very much! (/end of cheese <3)

August Favourites

Another month has gone by, can you believe it? I don't mind too much because September is my favourite month, so it's my favourite month of all. I had plenty of favourites this month! I don't have a lot of new products, just some old everyday favourites that I can't live without. It's a nice mix between beauty and non-beauty favourites, and if you've got your own favourites this month, let me know in the comments!