Why Switch to Disqus?

Google+ Comments – Problems 

For a long time, I had major problems with the commenting system throughout my blog. I realised that people could comment if they were using google chrome but not if they were using safari. I had no idea why this was and tried very hard to fix the problem, as the amount of views my blog received was starting to increase I wanted to make sure people were able to leave a comment if they wanted to. 

After a while I found that even I couldn't access the comments through safari. I looked at other people's blogs and found they didn't have the same problem as me. I was using google+ comments and from the start I really disliked this system as it was very confusing. 

I thought that maybe there was something wrong with the CAPTCHA, but I attempted everything I could to put it right, but to no avail. I even contacted apple to see if they could help me but unfortunately not. 

Therefore, I decided to move over to Disqus. 

Disqus 

I'd seen discus on many other blogs and already had an account with them. The commenting system was getting more and more popular and I decided to research it a bit more. Integrating Disqus onto my blog was very easy and the instructions straight forward, unfortunately though they are unable to access my google+ comments and therefore these were lost. 

The set up part was straight forward and I hoped it would encourage more and more people to comment on my blog. Over the past couple of weeks, I've read a few posts on why Disqus has not worked for people and others on why they love it. 

What drew me to Disqus was it's easy commenting system and straightforward login. As I was already a member of Disqus for commenting on other blogs I didn't have the hassle of signing up again and going through that boring process. I was worried that people would not comment because of it but I have found that those who comment either use this system or already have an account.

The signing up process, however, is hassle free as all you have to do to comment and apply an email address and a password, then verify your email and you're done. Allowing you to comment not only on my blog but also a number of other blogs. If you choose to be kept logged in then you will not have to log in when on other blogs – simple. There's also the option to sign in using other platforms such as Facebook, twitter, google etc. 

Another aspect of Disqus which I really like is there is the option to guest comment if you did not want to log in. Under the same log in as Disqus you will see the option to guest comment, this way you put your name and email address but will not have to sign up to anything. The email address is so you can be notified if I, or anyone else, replies to you. 

Overall I know that lots of people have different opinions for Disqus and other commenting systems. I personally really like it, but I would love to know what you think of it. 

What are your opinions of Disqus? I would love to know! Do you like it? Do you think that it is easy to use? 

Or 

Do you prefer an alternative commenting system? 

Let me know! 

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The Red Magazine Freebie

To add to my magazine freebie series, I have the latest edition of Red Magazine for you. Inside July’s month you can receive a duo of the Rodial Luxury Eyeliners worth £34. I had not seen this magazine stocked in any of my local stores and it was not until I was in M&S did I see it. This is one of my more expensive magazines that I have purchased at £4.10, but still worth it considering the two products you receive. 

Inside you get the Rodial Smokey Eye Pen in black and brown. These are full sized products so excellent value for money. They are beautiful to swatch and feel very creamy on the skin, the black is a very intense, deep colour. Whereas, the brown is a very dark and yet warming colour, I even think the brown could be the perfect colour for my eyebrows! 

Due to their creamy nature they do smudge quite easy, so if this is not for you I would not suggest purchasing the magazine. However, because they smudge so well they would be able to make a smokey eye pop, by smudging the product into the crease and along the lash line. 

Have you tried any Rodial products before? 

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The Cool Summer OOTD

Through living in England it's inevitable that our Summer is pretty much non-existent. While it's not blowing a gale, or feeling like we are in the depths of Antarctica there are days where it can be chilly but at the same time not too cold. It's on these days that I still want to appear summery but at the same time practical. 

I love the outfit I've put together here; it's perfect for the cool summer days as you can easily remove the jacket if it gets warm enough (yeah right). The jacket is a very lovely light weight material that still provides a bit of warmth. I purchased this from H&M very recently so I'm sure it will still be in stores. I love the khaki colour as it complements the grey of the jeans perfectly. 

I have actually lost quite a bit of weight recently which meant none of my clothes were fitting properly. All of my jeans were falling down so I decided to treat myself to some new ones. These are the Jamie Jeans from Topshop and they are my absolute favourite jeans, they hug in all the right places and also fit perfectly on my thighs and waist. These are actually an ankle fit cut but I have bought them in a slightly longer leg so I can turn up the ends. 

The final part of my outfit is the top which I purchased on holiday from Bershka. I love Bershka because their clothing is so affordable and always on trend. The off the shoulder look is so flattering and attractive. I also wanted to quickly  mention my shoes, these are a comfortable pair of heels that are perfect for a Summers day and I got these from Monsoon during last Summer's sale! 

What is your favourite thing to wear during the cool summers day? 

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The London Haul

Another haul from London. This haul post is quite small in comparison to my birthday trip to London, which can be read here, so I do hope you enjoy it. There is a mixture of items and I loved everything I was able to pick up. 

The first store we went to was Selfridges, this was completely massive and overwhelming but I did manage to get exactly what I was looking for. The store had a really amazing sale throughout and I was able to pick up a pair of Topshop Boots for only £25, I wore them to the Coldplay concert and my feet were fine the entire time! The next two items I got from Selfridges were from the brand Zoeva, I'd obviously seen this brand floating round the blogging world but had never actually tried, or purchased, any of their products. My boyfriend actually treated me to the Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette, £18.00, and the 231 Luxe Petit Crease / Precise Blending brush, £9.00, which I think will be perfect for defining the crease and blending a dark colour along the upper and lower lash line. The palette itself is super beautiful with a few matte shades but mainly shimmers, what I love most about it is the colours are all on the darker spectrum – perfect for me.

The next, beauty related, item I purchased was in the store Muji. I was really happy when I saw it along Carnaby Street. I'd not planned to go into this shop – partly because I have no idea what shops are where, but it makes it so much more exciting when you random upon one! In this store I just picked up the Acrylic two drawers case. I was quite surprised at how cheap they were, £14.95, as I believed them to be more expensive. I got these to live near my desk for my day-to-day make up. 

The final thing I purchased was from Topshop and it's a beautiful duster/slouch coat with a checked design. I really liked this coat and it was exactly what I was after. In the UK it's still slightly cold and some days I still feel like I need a jacket to throw on. This is slightly more formal but light enough to use during the summer. It was also on sale for £35.00. 

This was everything that I purchased, not too much and if I had more time I probably would have purchased a lot more. 

What do you love about London? Have you ever been? 

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The London/ Coldplay Adventure – Part 2

Day two saw us getting up slightly early and having breakfast in the hotel. Myself and my boyfriend went off on our own for the day and our first stop was Buckingham Palace, I had seen this before when I was much younger but I could't really remember it. It's a beautiful palace, made even better by the changing of the guard event we were able to witness. My Great Grandad – or Popeye to me – was once one of these guards and it was whilst he was working at Buckingham Palace he met my nan. It was amazing to witness and, in a way, be close to my Popeye. 

After Buckingham Palace we took a leisurely stroll through St James' Park before walking over to Downing Street. This day we did so much walking that we were unable to do as much shopping as we had initially hoped to. What we were able to do was walk through and to many places including, Trafalgar Square, Shaftsbury Avenue, the new Harry Potter Play theatre and many more before ending up in Carnaby Street and Oxford Street. 

Before going to the last two we did go back to Southbank to find a little bit of food and stop for a sneaky Pimms. The food we found was delicious, and I even managed to get gluten free sweet potato fries – my favourite! 

Carnaby street was a lovely little walk – my boyfriend wanted to go here to find the Pretty Green store. On the walk towards Oxford street I found a Muji store and was instantly pulled inside. What a beautiful store that I could have spent so much money in! – But I didn't!! In Oxford Street the only store we had time for was the absolutely massive Topshop – oh my days is this store big. I literally couldn't believe my eyes and got so overwhelmed that I picked up one things before leaving!!

The final stop we had to see was Baker Street - being the avid Sherlock fans that we are it was a must!

All in all I had the most amazing time in London and cannot wait to go back there again!! 

What is your favourite part of London? Let me know in the comments below! 

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The London/ Coldplay Adventure – Part 1

I could open the post with a cheesy line from one of the Coldplay songs and carry on like that. I want to, but I won't. Watching Coldplay on at the Wembley arena felt like paradise (see what I did there.) Sorry! I had to. 

This weekend myself, along with the boyfriend and our friends, ventured down to London. We explored, wondered and listened to great music. London as a whole is a wonderful place, somewhere you can get lost exploring all while spending way too much money.  

Unfortunately, due to limited time we were unable to do everything that we had planned to. And, due to my Gluten Intolerance, meant I was pretty limited on food choice when it came to our speedy trip. 

I want to start with my only disappointment of the trip and get this over a done with in time to move onto the good stuff! Upon arriving to Paddington and dropping our bags off at the lovely Novotel Hotel, we ventured out to find some breakfast. The first place we found was Garfunkel’s, brimming with people and so we believed the best choice for a quick meal before out adventures started. Unfortunately, when asking about Gluten Free, they were less than helpful directing me to a website in order to find what I could eat. This was extremely limited and didn't actually show everything I could have, upon asking the waitress if they had any gluten free bread I was swiftly answered with a no. I settled upon an omelette, which I will admit was lovely, light and tasty. But the lack of helpfulness will prevent me from going there again. 

Onto the adventurey bit! On the first day, after the stressful breakfast, we made our way to Big Ben and Southbank. For a Saturday we were extremely amazed to see that there was hardly anybody around. Whilst it was the morning it was also a weekend, I loved Southbank, it was very arty place. With wonderful food – which I will explain more later. We even managed to see a part where Sherlock was filmed (extremely big Sherlock Fan here). 

After Southbank we moved onto Oxford Circus to find Selfridges, I'd never been there before so I was excited to see what it was like. The only thought I had in my mind was Mr Selfridge, clearly different now to then but I was excited nonetheless. Upon walking into Selfridges I was greeted by lots of different ‘stores’. I loved the fact there was so many different brands with a varying prices. We carried on wondering around, found a ridiculously expensive speaker for over ￡300,000!! Then we found the affordable make up department – my heaven. Stay tuned for my haul of the weekend. After this we made our way back to Paddington and found a little pub to have a drink before going back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. I will be sharing with you my OOTD (or night) for Coldplay and that will be in a separate blog post. After getting ready we ventured to Wembley, the tube was packed and walking up to the stadium was an amazing sight. People after people, selling T-Shirts, tickets, asking for tickets from the crowd, selling food. People standing on their apartment balconies watching – it just felt like a buzz. Walking into the stadium I was amazed at the vast variety of food and drink. 

Then the concert itself, the different stages allowed us to stand smack bam in the middle. Allowing a great view of the main stage and also the b-stage. 

Coldplay. Wow, this was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I'd never actually seen a concert like this before, I had seen Muse in Dublin – but we sat down so it was a very different experience. I videoed quite a bit so I had put a montagey video together – be warned it is very jumpy, and I have mainly done this for my own memories. 

Afterwards we just went back for a little drink before heading to bed! Be sure to stay tuned for part 2! 

What is your favourite city? I'd love to know in the comments below!

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The Nyx Lip Review

Left to Right: Sugar Glass, Nude Suede Shoes, Cannes, Soft Spoken, Vintage

With the launch of NYX in many of the boots stores across the country it was only a matter of time before one of my local ones decided to grace us with it's presence. So upon entering the boots in Bath I was filled with joy upon seeing it – though I'm sure my bank account wasn't afterwards. I went with the anticipation to browse the stand and to maybe find some lip products. I was hoping to see the Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks but they seem to be out of stock in most places but I did manage to find a few alternatives that I am happy with. Testing them out I instantly wanted to write a review as I knew there may be some of you who, like me, want to find a cheaper alternative for the more expensive lip products.  

The first is the Nude Suede Shoes Lip Liner, a beautiful creamy consistency, a lovely nude with subtle pink undertones. It really reminds me of my favourite lip liners from Urban Decay ( Ex-Girlfriend) and  MAC (Staunchly Stylish). And for £5.50, I really don't think you can go wrong as they're a fraction of the cost. I also picked up a lip liner in the colour Sugar Glass, this again is a nude with brown undertones. It's slightly lighter than the other one though the packaging doesn't suggest this. Once again it's beautifully creamy but I think I would wear the other one more as it matches more of my lipsticks. But both lip liners have excellent staying power and claim to be waterproof, which is great, as it will not remove when having a drink.

Matte Lip Cream in Cannes is next, when applying this product, it felt super creamy on the lips and glided on effortlessly. The finish did appear to be matte but not overly that my lips felt dry. The formula is beautiful and I love the nude colour, it matches the lip liner in Nude Suede Shoes perfectly, save for it being slightly darker. My only, minor, problem is it doesn't completely dry and can smudge slightly if it catches on anything. 

The next is the NYX Liquid Suede lipsticks, the first one I have tried is the colour Soft Spoken, this is a beautiful mauve colour that matches the liner Nude Suede Shoes perfectly. The difference between this and the Matte Lip Cream is it dries much faster and also feels more like a matte lipstick. I love this colour but my problem with it is the application. The doe foot applicator is incredibly long making it difficult to apply the product to the lips without making a mess. My final product is Vintage, the darkest of the lot and probably slightly more out of my comfort zone than I would have liked but I wanted to be adventurous and experiment some more. However, when I tried this I was actually pleasantly surprised, whilst I stand by the fact that I think the application is incredibly difficult to use, I love the colour. I would say a liner in the same colour is needed and would benefit me, but one layer of this is perfect and good to go! 

What are your favourite liquid lipsticks? Are there any more affordable ones out there?

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The L'Oreal Hair Routine

Haircare was something I struggled with for a long, long time. I'd found it incredibly difficult to find a product that would help with greasiness and at the same time damaged hair. But also something my hair did not instantly get used to. I have a common problem with products, whereby if I use them too much my face/ hair will instantly start to reject it - this can be a right pain in the backside. 

Luckily, I came across the L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay collection and was instantly intrigued. The idea that I had found a product to help combat the grease in my hair but also protect the dry ends was something I needed in my life. I had seen a few reviews on these products and at first was sceptical as I knew they had been promoted by the company. 

I have to say upon using these products I was instantly surprised and thrilled. The clay in the products really helps to soak up any of the unwanted oils in my hair, whilst at the same time, making sure to leave the natural ones. 

There are four different products in the range that I know of and have used. There is a routine to using them and it suggests how to correctly use the product on the back. The first item it states to use a few times a week. Or in my case, every few washes. Is the Clay Masque, this was a very strange consistency as it felt as if I were rubbing a body butter into my hair, but at the same time it had a slight jelly texture. At first I was slightly horrified as it left a tinge of blue on my fingertips – however, this is removed as soon as you get into the shower. I like to apply it to the roots of my hair before brushing it backwards with my hands and waiting for around 5-10 minutes. 

After washing this out, I move onto the shampoo and conditioner, again these are beautiful products – but they do not come out blue. Woohoo! They feel very luxurious when applying them and when stepping out of the shower and drying my hair, it feels silky smooth to touch. 

I have repurchased these items a number of times and am sure I will continue to love them, 

the one product in the range I am not a fan of is the Dry Shampoo, whilst I was sure I would like it I felt as if I were apply a weight to my hair. The dry shampoo was not clear and did leave a white mark – so be sure to rub it into the roots of the hair. I like my dry shampoo to feel light and natural, but this one just left me feeling more dirty than when I applied it. 

I would not repurchase the dry shampoo, but as I said I love all of the other products. The great thing about them as well, is they always seem to be on offer and I know currently they are on 3 for £10.00 in my local boots. 

What is your favourite haircare products?   

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The Marie Claire Magazine Freebie

In the month of June Marie Claire had a St Tropez freebie within their magazine. This excited me terribly so I had to pick it up, I actually have since repurchased the magazine as I loved the product inside so much. At the amazing price of only £2.50 you got to test the St Tropez Instant Healthy Glow Everyday Tinted Body Lotion. 

This product was amazing, I tried it before I went on holiday and continued to use it whilst I was there. It provided me with the most beautiful, natural looking tan and it did not look orange or fake at all. I do not tan natural and therefore this was an absolute steal for me. The price of the magazine combined with this product was excellent value for money. The size was also perfect to take away with me as it didn’t exceed the 100ml restriction. The fact the product is tinted means it will already give you a glow as soon as you apply it, you only have to wait a few minutes for it to dry before putting your clothes back on. 

Unfortunately, this product was only available in the June magazine which is now no longer for sale. 

What is your favourite tanning product? 

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The Summertime Glow

The summertime glow is highly sort after, and there are so many different products which are loved and are excellent for this. In this video I wanted to show you my favourite products to achieve that summertime glow. 

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The Desk Tour

In this video I wanted to take you on a little tour of my desk area, my background for videos and also the storage area around my desk. I am extremely pleased with how it has turned out and I hope you enjoy the video! 

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The Travel Handbag

Over the past few years I have become a frequent flier with Ryanair, along with my family I have ventured to the south of Spain numerous times to visit my Uncle. He owns two bars in Fuengirola so it is no surprise we like to holiday there. 

For as long as I can remember I have been stuffing everything into my carry on case, which can get so annoying and confusing. Before they allowed you to take on a separate handbag I would constantly be annoying the person in front whilst I opened my case to try and get my tickets and passport out. Then it moved onto being allowed to take a handbag through with you, I went through many sizes and shapes before I landed on this one here. 

What I felt I needed was separate compartments for different things, this way I would know where everything is and not have to rummage around trying to find something in the bottom of a cavernous pit. This bag delivers on so many levels, I found this bad boy stuffed away behind many others in TK MAXX. 

This bag came in at £24.99, a definite bargain price. I do love a good deal, especially when it is everything I was after. I really love the camel colour and I have so many belongings which are this colour in different shade variations that it was just perfect. The bag has so many different pockets and sections it is easy to see how things could get lost, however, I worked out quite early on which pockets I wanted for what item (sad I know!).

The strap is extra-long to fit over the shoulder making the hands free experience even easier when travelling through an airport. The inside pockets have a variety of security; some are just gaps whereas others have actual zips for items which need to be securely tucked away. There is even a secret part which is very handy. The back of the bag has another pocket which is also very quick and east to access, I particularly like to keep headphones in this section. The thing I love most about the bag is I can not only easily fit my phone, purse passport etc. in but also a tablet and a book as well! 

What is your favourite bag for travelling? 

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The Body Shop Haul

I cannot believe that this will be my first ever blog post for The Body Shop. The Body Shop is a store I have loved for a while but never been able to write a haul on because I have never had enough products in order to do so. On a recent trip I had a few bits and bobs I wanted to purchase, this coincided with a couple of offers the store had on so I managed to save a lot of money and also receive a free goodie bag of products! 

The reason we went into the store was to take a peek at the new Pinta Colada range, for obvious reason they could not name it Pina Colada, but the scent of the products are all absolutely amazing. They remind me so much of holiday: lounging by the pool, walking along the beach and sipping cocktails in the evening. 

I picked up the Body Butter from the range and have used it every day since, it’s only limited edition so I may have to pick up another before they sell out! The next three products are from the beauty section, I have heard about two of these products a lot and know they have fast become cult favourites.  

The first is the All-In-One InstaBlur – this primer is truly incredible, the texture is a little iffy, something I found extremely strange at the start but learnt to get used to it. It literally blurs all of my pores and imperfections away. Next comes the All-In-One BB Cream, which reacts perfectly to the primer, where the primer blurs the BB Cream covers. It’s not high coverage, so do not expect miracles, but what it does do for me is tone down those nasty red patches. It comes in a number of different colours but what makes it so interesting is it comes out like a moisturiser and feels like, what I can only describe as, rubbing grains of sand on to your face. This is only slightly mind, I feel it must be these ‘small grains of sand’ that react and allow the colour to come through. The finish of the product I love as it gives an instant healthy and radiant glow. 

The final beauty product I picked up was the Honey Bronze highlighter, I cannot see a name for this one but know it came in three different colours and I picked up the blush colour. There was also a regular highlighter colour and also a bronzer colour as well. I am in love with this blush as it works like a cream and blends seamlessly into my foundation/BB Cream/ CC Cream. It also highlights at the same time providing a wonderful glow. 

The make-up was on 3 for 2 so I managed to save myself a little bit of money. What made the trip even more worthwhile was the free bag of goodies I received. In my local Body Shop (I cannot say for all) they had a deal that meant if you spent over £25 you received a free goodie bag worth over £30. Inside I was greeted with a range of products for your feet, to provide you with beautiful feet for the summertime! They will be on show so look after them! 

Inside this bag of treats, I received a Peppermint Cooling & Reviving Foot Spray, a Peppermint Intensive Foot Rescue a Peppermint Smoothing Pumice Foot Scrub and finally a Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion. All of these products are full size, so they really were worth the free goodie. Plus, they were free so I am not going to complain! 

What are your favourite Body Shop products? 

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The Summer Reads – June Edition

Some of you may be aware that I love to read, but during University term time I don’t get much of an opportunity to read the things that I want. Being a student means I get a reading list as long as my arm and not necessarily including books that I will like. 

This summer I am setting myself the task of reading at least four books a month. That leaves me with three months to make sure I have plenty of reviews going up for you! I have, over the past few weeks, bought a fair few amount of books. Therefore, I am going to, at the start of each month, give you an insight into my summer reads. 

So for June… 

1. Broken Sky – following a similar path to the majority of the books I read Broken Sky is another dystopian novel. The front cover initially caught my eye due to the dark and simple layout. The line 'Trust No One' on the front of the book is engaging and draws you in. Flipping the book over I want to read it straight away, according to the blurb 'war is illegal' and 'harmony rules'  for someone who reads a lot of dystopia I can already tell that there is going to be an element to the utopian world which is far from perfect.  

2. Half Bad –I am sure with this list you will start to see a pattern emerging, yes again we are delving into the dystopian theme but this time we are moving more onto the side of mythical beings. The main character is half white witch and half black witch. His life is tied to two different sides and I am automatically intrigued by what makes you good and what makes you bad. 

3. Divergent – Many of you may be familiar with this book, and yes it is again dystopian. Made into a major motion picture I really wanted to read the book and see how much I enjoy it compared to the film. 

4. Death Comes to Pemberley – A completely different genre of book compared to the other three, this book is the sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and follows the supposed murder of Lydia Wickham's husband. I'm excited to read it as Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time favourite novels. 

What are your reads for the summer? 

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The Glamour Magazine Freebie

After I uploaded The Elle Magazine Freebie I found lots of other publications containing free items. These magazines were either an amazing price or contained an amazing product. A few days ago I found Glamour magazine at the cheap price of £1 in my local Tesco's. What caught my eye was the free ModelCo make up within. 

I picked up two magazines with two different products as I was excited to give them a test. I had thought I had picked up a lip-gloss and a lip liner but I actually picked up a lip liner and an eye liner. But they were free products so I am not going to complain! 

I have tried a few ModelCo products before and think they have very good quality. On opening the lip liner, I was instantly happy as it's a beautiful nude and the quality felt creamy and luxurious – just what I look for in a lip liner. It claims that 'one colour suits all' but I am sceptical about this. I am a big fan of the white packaging and pink text – it looks very sleek and expensive. It swatches like a dream and reminds me of my favourite Lip Liner, Ex-Girlfriend, from Urban Decay. When swatching them side by side there is barely a difference and I cannot believe I found this one for only £1.00! 

The next product is the ModelCo Black Eye Liner Pencil. Again I like the matte black packaging which is easy to differentiate from the lip liner. So many companies have the same packaging for lip liners and eye liners that it can get confusing. This, once again, swatches amazingly. It's a very creamy formula that I am sure will look great on the water line and tight line. 

Have you tried any ModelCo products? If so which ones? 

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