How to have a cosy night in!

The days of being a party animal and staying up until the early hours of the morning are well behind me now and I would much rather swap my dancing shoes for a cosy night in in front of the TV! Yes, I'm only 22 and much rather going on 40 but I did probably way too much partying whilst I was at uni and with not being able to drink alcohol and being poorly a cosy night in is just the right medicine! I know a lot of people my age also feel like this and would much rather stay in, going out for a meal etc and there really is nothing wrong with that, I think there really is too much pressure on our age range to drink and go out all the time and I personally think it's ridiculous! Without further ado here is how to have the cosiest stress free and alcohol free night in...

Run yourself a lush bath - There really is no better way to start a night in than with a lush bath of some kind, my recent lush haul means that choosing what to bathe with has never been so hard. Light some candles, run a hot bath and relax with a magazine - I can usually spend up to one hour in the bath..at least!

Pamper - Whilst I'm in the bath I make sure I've got some kind of face mask on and use a body scrub. I'm currently loving the above Body Shop face mask which I featured in a post last week (read here). Once I'm out of the bath I apply a yummy smelling body butter - I'm currently using boots extracts Brazil nut butter which smells amazing FYI! Pamper nights are the best.

Cosy PJS - I put on some cosy pjs and a big fluffy dressing gown. These Paddington Bear pjs have to be my favourite pjs to date - from primark too, the slippers are too! As soon as I get home from work the comfy clothes are on and it always makes me feel much better!

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No social media - The only rule of the night in is no social media, with the only exception of instagramming the treats that are yet to follow, that is totally allowed because else did it really happen? Who knows.. A few hours detox from the world of the web is just what we all need, I for one know how much it can make us compare ourselves to others, I find I sleep much better if I haven't been on my ipad for an hour before bed.

Treats - No night in is complete without treats of some kind, on Friday I conjured up the above little chocolate fondue. Ridiculously easy, not expensive to do, the presentation looks amazing and its sooo delicious!! Plus it even contains fruit, balanced diet right there. The list for treats goes on, popcorn, crisps, chocolate, sweets, you get the idea!

Pretty fairy lights - Before the evening of films start it's time to get cosy by turning all the lights off and switching on some pretty fairy lights, I love the above Branch lights* from LED Hut, they have such a fab selection on their site and I also have some cute star fairy lights from there that I featured in my Christmas homeware haul. They are great quality and a few battery's in them last for ages.

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Movie/series marathon - Once you're cosy it's time for the film marathon to begin or alternatively a series marathon watching back to back episodes of your favourite show! I'm currently loving American Horror Story!

Of course these are just my main top tips of having the best cosy night in, other things that could be on the agenda too are;

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Building a fort - How amazing does this look? One of these days I will be able to build a fort that is pinterest worthy! All you need is a bed, sheets and some fairy lights!

Reading - I'm currently reading Tanya Burrs book and loving it so far, I never get much time to do reading whilst I work and the fact that I probably spend way too much time on social media, so it makes a really refreshing change! 

Dinner date - Take it in turns to make different courses for each other or make something from scratch together, like homemade pizzas!
Living room camp out - Invite your friends round, bring sleeping bags and plenty of blankets and camp out for the night watching lots of films in the dark!
Hot chocolate - So this one goes without saying, a yummy sweet drink just before bed, with hundreds of marshmallows, cream and even some chocolate mmm!
Board games - We are going old school with this one, I think I really should revert back to my childhood as I used to absolutely love monopoly, and the games can last for hours! Cue the next night in...

With Valentines Day fast approaching a cosy night in is the best cost free option! Do you prefer cosy nights over going out? What are your top tips for having a cosy night in?

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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Spring clothing haul!

Okay, so its definitely not Spring yet..But as soon as the new stock flies into the stores in the middle of winter I've already had enough of chunky knits, coats and boots. I feel like it's already been an eternity without wearing pretty pastel/candy coloured clothing and I am so ready for all the new trends this season. This is more of a collective haul over the last few weeks or so as some of these bits have already been featured in some outfit posts, but nevertheless there's some real beauties that I've been haulin'!

Too many pretty pastels...

Pastel blouse BikBok

Skirt BikBok

The top three items are all from BikBok - best shop ever FYI! I discovered this shop when I lived in Finland and it is by far the best Scandinavian shop out there, I absolutely love their stuff and the prices are very reasonable, it's probably most like Forever21. I always thought how strange it was that I would be buying spring clothes from there when it was like -30 degrees outside but hey it gives us something to look forward to even when we are freezing to death! The shirt has to be my favourite purchase ever! The colours are spot on for me, I'm definitely a pastel princess throughout spring/summer. The floaty style of this shirt will be great for dressing over skinnies or over shorts in the summer, I think it might be a bit too short to get away with it as a dress, but either way I really cant wait to start wearing this when the weather warms up. The skirt and the top are just a couple basics that I also picked up, the baby blue pleated skirt is beautiful and I haven't really seen anything like this in the UK. Anyway, BikBok is definitely worth checking out if you've not heard of them before, it's not that clear on the website whether they even ship outside to the UK but it would probably cost a lot anyway. It definitely makes those trips back to Finland worth it!

Raw hem Topshop Leigh Jeans

Cropped Tee Topshop

 Topshop is always my go to place for jeans, either joni or leigh, they are the perfect fit for me and these light coloured wash ones are the ideal colour for spring and for dressing with pastels. I love this cute little cropped tee too, I can imagine this will look great with an added bomber jacket or a denim shirt for a double denim look.

Oh you so fluffy! The much loved lilac matching bag to this has now got a new friend, I found the last one of these in the sale marked down to £15, so naturally it had to be mine. Ask any of my close friends and family, I am a total magpie when it comes to fluffy things!

Primark are on point with their jackets this year and I picked these two up quite recently. I've already styled the bright one in one of my latest OOTDs (here). The pastel checked one is perfection and I am already planning some sickeningly, sweet, pastelly (definitely not a word!) outfits with this one!

Primark

 I'm also a magpie when it comes to stripes, it looks vaguely familiar to one I used to dress up in when I was a child but it works for me! I love the pleated hem to this top too which makes it totally different to my 101 other striped tops...

Striped Jumper New Look

Again I featured this in my last nautical outfit post, so you can see how I've styled it there! It's such an effortlessly chic jumper which can be styled in so many more ways.

What do you think of my spring haul? Whats your favourite thing? What have you been buying lately?

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OOTD | Nautical

Jumper - New Look

Shirt - Primark

Jeans - Topshop

Brogues - Charity Shop (originally Primark)

The background of these pictures makes it look like a perfect Spring day, but don't be fooled as it was freezing!! I just don't know how the bloggers with bare legs do it in winter brr. It was such a calm sea day and it was the perfect light for outfit pictures so it made my day off on Monday even better. The jumper is from New Looks new spring collection which I am absolutely loving, it also helped that I picked it up when they had 20% off everything for students, my Unidays discount runs out at the end of the month so I am having to make the most of it while it lasts! I love how the nautical theme comes out every year and stripes, blues and monochrome will forever be my favourite colour combinations. I'm a big fan of the jumper this winter and love doing layering with different shirts/textures, it makes it look much more put together. These little brogues were originally from Primark but I picked them up brand new in a charity shop for £3!!! Definitely the bargain of 2014, I absolutely love their quirky colours and think they strangely go with this outfit?!

What do you think of this outfit? Do you like the nautical trend? Whats your opinion on brogues?

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The Body Shop Seaweed Skin Care Review

Oh I do love the Body Shop. Despite being a massive fan of them I have only ever purchased their body butters, I'm one of those people that loves everything else they have to offer but can never make an actual decision on what to buy in the fear that it's something that won't work for my skin. But then the The Body Shop Seaweed Skin Care range came into my life and it all changed... The products in this range are designed for those with combination and oily skin types, yep that's me right here! The Seaweed skincare claims to help combat excess facial oils which can cause those nasty, angry spots and to help achieve that shine-free, matte finish that we all long for. I was expecting great things from this range as it was my first time trying some facial products actually targetted for my skin type. It's fair to say my skin has lovingly welcomed some seaweed into my skin care routine...

Meet my two new besties...

Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask* 100ml £13.00

I've said it a numerous amount of times on my blog but face masks really do excite me the most when it comes to skin care and I have tried a lot over the years. As I said I do suffer from skin which alternates between combination and oily and I do struggle to find products which help to combat that. This mask has already become a part of my skin care routine and I have been using it once to twice a week. It's not too dissimilar from your average clay mask which all help to draw out impurities from the skin and to clarify your skin. It doesn't state how long to leave it on for but it's a good indication to wash it off when you can no longer crack a facial expression! After using the mask my skin has actually felt quite sore but after lathering some face cream on after it quickly subsides and it gives my face a really clean and dry base to work from. Even with just using this on the day and an average face cream I found that it helped to keep my face relatively oil free throughout the day. I definitely think this would be too drying for my skin to use more than once a week though and it is definitely targetted at the right skin types as it would be far too drying for someone with dry/sensitive skin. However, once we finally arrive into the summer it might be more of a fixture in my weekly skincare routine to help banish excess oils. It is slightly pricier than some of your high street face masks but it's a massive tub and with only using a small amount once a week it's going to last a long time! 

Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion* 50ml £12.00

With problematic skin I am very much one of those people that finds something that works and sticks with it, and this really is through fear of making my skin worse or my acne returning, but I really do need to be more open about testing things out as I have been missing out on some wonderful products. Simple skincare is the moisturiser that I have been using daily and which I do sometimes find too greasy for my skin. I was intrigued to try this one out which is targetted for my skin type and which states to both hydrate and control excess oils and which also has SPF15 inside, surely this is too good to be true?! I expected a very heavy formula which would be greasy as that's usually what facial creams with an SPF do BUT I couldn't have been more wrong. I have been using this daily for 3 weeks now just in the morning before I apply my makeup. For a mattifying formula it is incredibly moisturising, it feels thicker than your average cream but quickly sinks in and it is in no way greasy. My makeup has been going on better than ever, I have had no nasty reactions to it and it has considerably helped with controlling the excess oil on my skin and the fact that it has an inbuilt SPF means that I am prepared for any winter sun.. and the long search for a non greasy facial SPF has been found for the summer! 

I am so thankful for being introduced to The Body Shop Seaweed skin care range and these two products are now permanent fixtures in my life. My skin really does seem to have reaped the benefits of using something which helps to combat that excess oil, as my spots do seem to have improved, for now anyway (*touches wood*). There are 6 other products in this range too which I am very temped to try out next, maybe the Seaweed night treatment or the Seaweed pore perfector, my list could go on! 

Have you tried any products from the Body Shop Seaweed range? What are your favourite Body Shop products? What products do you use to combat combination/oily skin?

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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