March

Posted in Look Back by Hannah Conway

Instagram round up … follow me on instagram: @hannahelissaconway

Hello my darlings!

I came home yesterday for a break over the Easter period and to revel in some home comforts whilst I finish my dissertation. I am using this little break to re-charge and kick start a (slightly) more healthy regime of good food and regular exercise. I have been eating so badly lately – grabbing snacks rather than meals on my long library sessions, and my skin is suffering as a result! So expect this month to see some posts on tips for a healthy lifestyle, recipes to help us eat better, and beauty reviews of products that can rescue your skin and leave it flawless!

I am excited now that I am home to meet up with some friends and see my boyfriend more regularly, and I am already planning lunch dates and meals out (my favourite past-time). I will be uploading reviews of some of the best places to eat, and generally be social in Liverpool so I can share with you some of the reasons I love this city. I am keeping this post short and sweet this month because, as it is Mothering Sunday, I am going to spend some quality time with my lovely Mum.

I am also be uploading some YouTube videos this month so follow me on Bloblovin to stay updated with them. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

I have included some links below of all my posts from March if you want to have a little peak …

March on Promise of a New Day

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

28Mar2014

Friday Favourties // #6

Posted in Fashion by Hannah Conway

LOVE POWDER BLUE WAFFLE PLEATED COLD SHOULDER DRESS // £32.00

LOVE BLACK LONG SLEEVE WRAP DRESS // £34.00

LOVE POWDER BLUE BIKER DRESS // £32.00

LOVE BLACK JERSEY CROSS OVER JUMPSUIT // £36.00

Hello my darlings!

It has been a week since I last uploaded a post, I have been so busy with university work that I just haven’t had a free moment to spend on the blog. But from today I will be uploading again almost everyday so follow me on Bloglovin or via WordPress to keep updated.

This week’s Friday Favourites has been quite quickly thrown together as I am about to leave for an all-day stint in the library – YAWN! I have chosen my favourite items that I have been loving this week from In Love with Fashion. All of the items are available in various colours, except the black jumpsuit, so check out their website for all the options. Today you can also get 25% off with the code 25PAYDAY .

Hope you like it!

What are your favourites from In Love with Fashion?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

21Mar2014

Friday Favourites // #5

Posted in Life by Hannah Conway

Mother’s Day Gift-Set from Lush // £28.95

Not on the HighStreet ‘You’re The Best Mum’ Card // £4.50

Not on the HighStreet Tea For Mum In A Matchbox // £4.99

Thornton’s Mother’s Day Gift Collection // £20.00

Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster For My Mum Selection // £24.00

E-Florist Sweetness & Light // £29.95

Hello my darlings!

So Mother’s Day is coming up soon on Sunday 30th March, and I thought I would share with you some Mother’s Day present ideas. Although, there are many options, I prefer to stay safe with chocolates or flowers as my Mum & step-Mum always seem to enjoy them. What I have found is that the card is sometimes the most important part of Mother’s Day, as this is where you can tell them how much they mean to you and you can put a lot of thought into choosing the perfect card … so spend some time choosing an amazing card (and present) and writing a great, thoughtful message!

How are you going to treat your Mum this Mother’s Day?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

18Mar2014

A Word of Advice // Be happy … don’t worry …

Posted in Life by Hannah Conway

Hello my darlings!

As I have been scrolling through my Instagram feed lately I couldn’t help but notice the amount of people who are doing #100 Happy Days. The idea of #100 Happy Days is that you begin to see the beauty and happiness in every day, and cherish your own life. I love the idea and I keep meaning to start the challenge (do it here) but for some reason I keep putting it off. So, in the spirit of #100 Happy Days I want to talk about what makes me happy and what it means to be happy …

I feel that I am truly happy in where I am in life at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I still have insecurities, who doesn’t, but I am now confident in who I am. I have realised that I shouldn’t worry so much what other people think and focus on positivity not negativity. I read a blog post recently on katiesbeautyblog.com where she spoke of how you need to learn to love yourself and be happy in your own skin, as this is the only body and self that you will have to live your life – and life is too short to not grab it with both hands!

One the major things I struggled with was what being happy actually meant. I think we sometimes get too consumed with what is supposed to make us happy, and we lose sight of what it is that actually makes us happy. What I am trying to say is that it is okay to not enjoy what other people enjoy, and happiness doesn’t have to manifest itself in the same way. Your definition of what it is to be happy is defined by you and you alone – you can choose to be happy, to see the beauty in every day. It is not always easy, I know that, but when you achieve this it is one of the best feelings in the world.

So, I haven’t got it all figured out yet, I think that is a life-long project, but I think I am on the right path and I plan to keep striving to be happy.

Final word of advice: You should not regret the past, nor fear the future but simply enjoy the present.

What makes you happy? What is your meaning of happiness?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

17Mar2014

Manuka Doctor // Purified Bee Venom & Manuka Honey Skincare First Impressions

Posted in Beauty by Hannah Conway

Hello my darlings!

The other day I stumbled across Manuka Doctor while I was searching for new beauty products. As I had never tried this brand before I was slightly apprehensive, especially because the products contain bee venom which I was worried would be too harsh for my skin, so I was so excited when I saw that Manuka Doctor were offering a free ApiNourish starter kit (click here to be linked to offer). I don’t know why I don’t order samples more often as it is such a good idea. I have, over the years, wasted so much money on products which end up not working for me … So why not try before you buy?

They even throw in with your free sample 25% off your next order, which I may just have to make use of very soon!

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Rejuvenating Face Mask // £49.99

Like the other two products, the rejuvenating face mask doesn’t have any scent. I usually prefer my beauty products to be fragrance-free as they are more sensitive on the skin, but I do prefer my face masks to smell good so I was slightly disappointed. The face mask is more like the consistency of a moisturiser than your typical facial mask, and as a result it is soothing and doesn’t feel tight on your skin for the 30 minutes you have to leave it on. Due to its consistency, it is really easy to rinse off and it doesn’t feel caked on your face. My skin didn’t feel as soft afterwards as it usually does after using other facial masks, and I think it is too soon to tell if helped to restore my skin, but on first impressions I think that I don’t think I will be purchasing this product because it is quite expensive and I didn’t feel that I saw noticeable results.

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Restoring Night Cream // £24.99

I am not a fan of the night cream. When I first applied it all seemed well, it felt soothing and nourishing, but as the night went on it felt increasingly tight on my skin and it even started to sting my skin slightly. I ended up washing the night cream off halfway through the night as I was aware of the product on my skin, which I do not like as a product should be lightweight enough that I am unaware that I am even wearing it. I think that my skin is just too sensitive for the Manuka Doctor Night Cream and I won’t be purchasing this item.

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Age Defying Serum // £24.99

This product is meant to nourish and hydrate your skin to leave you with a youthful complexion. I can’t testify that it does this but on first impressions it did seem to make make skin look smoother and brighter. Although, I feel this is a product which would only yield results after a longer period of usage which makes it not the best choice for a sample product.

I don’t think I will be purchasing any of these three products but I am still keen to try some of the other ranges that Manuka Doctor skincare offer as I feel that ApiNourish was not the range for me. I really want to try the ApiClear and the ApiRefine ranges from Manuka Doctor, especially the Manuka Doctor ApiClear 3-in-1 Purifying Facial Wipes and the Manuka Doctor ApiRefine Flawless Primer.

Have you ever tried any Manuka Doctor products? Which is your favourite Manuka Doctor product?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

16Mar2014

Lazy Sundays #1

Posted in Life by Hannah Conway

Hello my darlings!

Kick-back and relax – it’s Sunday! I have had quite an uneventful weekend this week – great week to start a Sunday post Hannah! I have been so busy with essay deadlines and dissertation research that I have practically been a recluse, sat around in-house comfies, and drinking unnecessary amounts of tea.

I have spent my Sunday morning enjoying a cup of tea in my favourite art-deco style mug, gorging myself on a delicious slice of home-made cake, and checking out the latest from The Kooples. The rest of my day is going to be, in all likely-hood, consumed with even more work – yahh! – but I will be tucking into a roast dinner soon so silver linings and all that.

I will be making this post a weekly deal, telling you what I have been up to at the weekend and throughout the previous week. This week is pretty boring but I promise I do usually spend some of my time in something other than my pyjamas and out of the house, so check back next Sunday to see what I have been doing …

What have you been up to this weekend?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

15Mar2014

High-Street Beauty Haul #1

Posted in Beauty by Hannah Conway

Hello my darlings!

Here is a round-up of the high-street beauty items that I have purchased lately. It is quite a mismatch; there are some new purchases and some re-purchases purchased from either Boots, The Body Shop or Superdrug. I was planning on posting this on Thursday but life got in the way as it has a tendency to do. But here it is – we got there eventually! This is quite a long post – it was meant to be a video but again life got in the way – so hope you like it …

New Purchases

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser // This is the one if you love lazy perfect beauty products. You just simply use it like a body wash – apply it in the shower, rinse it off and then get dry – easy! I love this product as it saves time and energy, whilst the almond oil leaves your skin beautiful soft.

Superdrug Style Expertise products // These are so cheap – less than £2.00 each – you can’t argue with that! I really like the the straightening cream, it isn’t as effective as similar products that I have tried in the past but it does the job and for that price it is the perfect budget buy. I wasn’t as impressed with the curl cream but I will give it another whirl …

Una Brennan Products// I had missed feelings about these but I feel that the Una Brennan range is a high-street gem. I have reviewed these two products for this blog previously – links can be found at the bottom of this post.

N07 products // I haven’t had a chance yet to try the hot cloth cleanser but I will be writing a review of it soon so keep an eye out for that. The eye make-up remover is one of those products that does what it says on the tin – it removes all of your eye make-up, even stubborn waterproof mascara and heaps of eye liner. I find a lot of products I have tried overly harsh on my eyes but this was so sensitive and soothing – it definitely gets a thumbs up from me!

Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing Balm // I absolutely love this product – read my review via the link at the bottom of this post.

Botanics All Bright Hydrating Night Cream // This was another budget buy. I am not sure how I feel about this product yet – sometimes I like it, others I am like errmm! It does leave your skin moisturised but I do not think it as effective as the moisturiser from Clinique. Anyway the jury is still out on this one so I will keep you posted.

Lips // The Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Mulberry has a lovely vibrant colour and is luscious on your lips – I will be returning to Boots very soon to invest in a few more. I wasn’t as keen on the Body Shop Lip Gloss as although I liked the colour, it was too sticky and too shiny!

Benefit Gimme Brow // This is my new go to product for my brows – read the review via the link at the bottom of this post!

Re-Purchases

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser + // I love this moisturiser! Although I occasionally experiment with other products, this is one product that I cannot be without. It moisturises and hydrates your skin without leaving it feeling oily, and that soft-skin feeling lasts all day. If you are looking to buy a new moisturiser I would definitely recommend this.

Clinique All About Lips // I have been purchasing this product for around a year now and I do not know what I did without it. It is a kind of exfoliater for your lips, buffing away any dry skin (sorry I know that sounds slightly disgusting) and leaves your lips feeling beautifully soft. To achieve the best results, apply this product before bed with a cotton bud, then moisturise and add a layer of vaseline. The moisturiser will absorb into your lips now all that nasty chapness has gone and the vaseline will seal in this moisture.

Fragrance // I am quite boring when it comes to fragrance and I really should branch out. But I just can’t help loving my old faithful scents – Daisy by Marc Jacobs and the Madagascar Vanilla Fragrance Body Spray from The Body Shop. I just feel that both smell divine and are perfect for spring/summer!

Maurice decided to help me with photographing or just get in the way – it is hard to tell!

I have already reviewed a few of the items listed here – all the links for which are below:

Superfacialist by Una Brennan // Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask & Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil Review

Clinique // take the day off cleansing balm

Benefit Gimme Brow // Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

14Mar2014

Friday Favourites // #4

Posted in Beauty by Hannah Conway

Happy Friday my darlings!

So here we are again, another week done and dusted (that means over by the way – my friend read this post before I posted it and had no-idea what that meant- oops!). As always here is my weekly favourites of the things that I have been loving this week. It is a slightly mismatched selection today but – hey – you can’t help what you like!

New Clinique Cheek Pop // £16.50

The New Clinique Cheek Pop comes in four colours; Ginger Pop, Plum Pop, Peach Pop & Berry Pop – all of which look amazing! I think what drew me to these Cheek Pops is the flower design but I also read many favourable reviews, so they are not just unbelievably pretty but a beautiful natural-looking blush. I haven’t decided which colour it is I want yet – I may just have to get them all!

MAC 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush // £27.00

MAC 116 Blush Brush // £27.00

MAC 193 Angled Foundation Brush // £27.00

Real Techniques Foundation Brush // £7.99

Real Techniques Stippling Brush // £9.99

Real Techniques Blush Brush // £7.99

I have had a major dilemma lately! All of my make-up brushes seem to have decided to fall apart at the same time – thanks for that guys! I have been looking into replacing them and I am seriously torn. I was all set to purchase these three MAC brushes as MAC never disappoints, but then the sensible side of my brain kicked in. I am trying lately to not spend so much as my recent transaction history is a tad over the top. So, I paid a visit to All Beauty because they over a wide range of brands at discounted prices which keeps a few pennies in your purse. They had quite a lot of make-up brushes to choose from but I have settled on the ones from Real Techniques. Although they are probably not as good as those from MAC, all three only come in at a grand total of £25.97 (less than what one brush costs at MAC) compared to the total of the three MAC brushes which comes to £81! So … I am torn between quality and price!

Hope you enjoyed my weekly favourites even though has turned into my endless mutterings about my brush choices. I think I will have to do a brush review soon as I want to see if the more expensive a make-up brush is the more effective, or whether there are more budget ones out there that can do the job just as well.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

11Mar2014

Superfacialist by Una Brennan // Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask & Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil Review

Posted in Beauty by Hannah Conway

Super Facialist Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask 125ml // £8.99

Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil 200ml // £10.99

Hello my darlings!

As you will now if you have read some of my recent posts I have been trying to perfect a new skincare regime as my skin has not been playing ball lately. I have the really annoying combination type of skin which means that it gets both dry and oily, and to top this all off it is hyper-sensitive with most products causing me great irritation. So, while I was recently prowling the aisles of Boots trying to find some new products to save my current skin disaster, I discovered the Superfacialist range by Una Brennan, which promises to provide you with ‘healthy, beautiful, youthful looking skin.’ As I haven’t tried this range before I decided to just purchase two items just in case I didn’t like it. After some thoughtful deliberation I decided on the Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask and the Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil.

The Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask

Claims to: “Boost skin moisture levels and radiance with Superfacialist thirst-quenching Intense Moisture Mask developed even for the most sensitive skins. It expertly blends White Willow extract, known to enhance skin cell turnover, Vitamin E and Urea with soothing Marshmallow extract to effectively hydrate, plump and replenish skin. Complexion appears calmer and visibly renewed, glowing with a healthier radiance.”

I really like the packaging of the Una Brennan range as it simplistic and looks a lot more high-end than it’s price tag. On application the Rose Intense Moisture Mask seems more like a moistouriser than a facial mask, you simply apply a generous layer to your face, leave for five minutes and then wash off with a warm muslin cloth. After I had washed off the mask my skin felt incredibly soft and moiturised. I preferred this mask to other facial masks I have tried, especially the clay ones, as it didn’t feel tight on my skin and it was also a lot easier to wash off as it becomes a milk-like consistency when you apply water. I usually try to stick to fragrance-free products and I wasn’t 100% keen on the rose scent of the mask as it reminded me of the drawer liners that you would find in an outdated B&B. But on the bright side the fragrance isn’t long-lasting and I couldn’t smell it once I had washed it off. As this is an intense moisture mask it is best to only use this product once or twice a week, I use mine on a Sunday night so that I am ready to face the week ahead!

Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

Claims to: “The ultimate cleansing experience for fresher, more revived skin starts with this unique lightweight cleansing oil. Infused with Vitamin C and nourishing Olive, Grapeseed and Rosehip oils, this highly soluble oil transforms itself, upon contact with water, into a light milky texture. Boosted with Rosemary oil, Vitamin E and soothing Cucumber oil it gently dissolves face and eye make-up and removes daily impurities.Skin is left cleansed, refreshed and softer to the touch.”

The cleansing oil ‘does what it says on the tin’ – it effortlessly dissolves and removes your make-up and feels soothing as you massage it into your skin. Unlike the Intense Moisture Mask I quite like this product’s scent as it is quite subtle with only slight hints of cucumber and rosemary. I did like this product as it leaves your skin cleansed, refreshed and considerably softer, but I found it irritated my eyes (even though it said it was suitable to remove eye make-up) and caused me to break out.

I think that I will repurchase the Superfacialist Rose Intense Moisture Mask as I was pleasantly surprised, but I I won’t be re-purchasing the cleansing oil. I will be returning to Boots soon to pick up some other Una Brennan products as I feel they are great budget gems that do exactly what they set out to do.

Have you tried any Superfacialist products by Una Brennan? What is your favourite product in the range?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

10Mar2014

Percy & Reid // Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Balm Review

Posted in Beauty by Hannah Conway

Hello my darlings!

My boyfriend’s mum generously got me an Elle subscription for Christmas and it is always a treat when it arrives at my student house in Leeds. This month there was an added bonus – a free sample of Percy & Reed’s latest product addition, Perfectly Perfecting Wonder Balm. Elle hosted the cover launch for this new product on the Wednesday 5th March 2014 (this was the first time they have done a cover launch for a beauty product) and I am so glad they did!

The Wonder Balm is a hair primer and works much like a face primer. It helps to seal your cuticles on your head and give you a great base with which to style your hair. There are two options with the balm; you can either apply it to towel-dried hair to prep it for styling or you can apply it once your hair is dry to, according to Percy & Reid, ‘maximize definition.’

I firstly applied a small dollop of the balm to towel-dried hair and worked it through my hair, roots to ends. Once dried it was noticeably softer and there was no frizz, plus it added natural volume so that my hair didn’t look limp and lifeless. After I styled my hair I also added a small squeeze of the balm to add extra smoothness and definition. The balm is incredibly light-weight and doesn’t weigh your hair down when you apply it to dry hair, nor does it make it look greasy. It simply gives your hair a beautiful shine and keeps it looking smooth, no-matter the style.

Once I have worked my way through this lovely helping of the Wonder Balm I shall definitely be purchasing a replacement. To sum up this product, it is an affordable, no-fuss hair treatment that delivers wonderful results – what more could you want!

P.S. excuse all the flowers! I suddenly seem to have really gotten into the Spring spirit and I just can’t keep away from fresh flowers – I think you may be seeing a lot more in upcoming posts very soon!

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

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