Home Ideas // Decorative Hangings

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

Welcome to the second instalment of my decorative home ideas mini series. (That sounds rather grand, doesn't it?! If you'd like to check out part one, I wrote about my favourite tin storage.)

When you move into a flat/house with a boyfriend/girlfriend there's a lot you have to learn in order to accommodate the tastes of both parties, or so I've found out. Despite J saying that he'd give me free reign over the decorating I've recently been told that 'there's too much pink, Louise'. Naturally I protest, saying that he let me decorate and that is what I will continue to do. You subject me to FIFA all the time, I subject you to floral...comprende?

Anyway, I love having little knick knacks around me, yet hate clutter. I think these little decorative hangings are a perfect way to add a little something to a door handle, to hang on the wall or to place delicately on a shelf without a room looking too cluttered. I've chosen three rectangular hangings and 3 heart shaped ones (there are so many heart shaped hangings in the world, they should have probably had a post all by themselves!).

Number one is from Next and I, just as the sign says have fallen in love with it. It encompasses my personality really well, I'm in love with the idea of love and this would look amazing hanging from the end of mine and J's bed -  so cute. The second sign is from Dotcomgiftshop and I thought it'd fit perfectly in the kitchen. Who doesn't love chocolate? The third rectangular sign is from Sass and Belle and again this one encompasses me entirely. Follow my dreams? Challenge accepted.

The first of the heart shaped decorations, number four, is also from Sass and Belle and I thought that it is so cute and vintage looking - I love the pretty little hummingbird. Number 5 comes from a shop called Athena and I absolutely adore the beaded heart detailing on this little hanging decoration. I love one of these to hang on my wardrobe doors. Finally, number 6 is again from Sass and Belle, what a lovely way to welcome someone into your home...!

There are, of course, a multitude of other decorative hangings available and these are just a few of my favourites. Now all I need to do is to find lots of door knobs to hang them on...!

Which of these do you like the look of?

Tag // The One & Only

I was recently tagged by Laura to complete the 'One & Only Tag'. Although I like the sound of this tag, it makes me feel like the products I mention below are really the only ones I need in my life considering they're my one and only of each category. Makes everything else in my makeup stash look redundant! It'll be interesting to look back in a year or so and see if any of these items are still the same for me...

So, the question being asked here is: If you could only have one_____what would it be and why? 

Primer
Benefit's latest primer, the Stay Flawless 15 hour one, is a recent addition to my makeup stash and I adore it. Full review soon!

Concealer
I adore my YSL Touche Eclat for under eye concealment and brightening, but another firm favourite of mine is Benefit's Fake Up. 

Powder 
I love the Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder. It's lightweight, gives me perfect coverage and suits my pale skin beautifully.

Blush
Such a hard category because I adore blush so much...but I'm going to go with MAC's mineralize blush in Dainty, it's such a perfect pink. 

Bronzer
I'm not that much into bronzer to be honest. I'm so pale that anything bronze scares me a little bit! I need to experiment with more bronzers before I can commit to one being my one & only.

Highlighter
Benefit's Watt's Up for the win here, such a gorgeous champagne colour. 

Make-Up Brush
I'm in love with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. It's perfect for foundation, buffing in blush and highligher and seems pretty much multi-purpose to me!

Eyebrow Product
I'd definitely have to say my HD Brows kit here. It has 4 colours and they can double up as eyeshadows. Love it, love it, love it. 

Eyeshadow (Single)
I absolutely adore the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On & On Bronze. It goes so perfectly with my blue eyes, and my little pot is lasting ages ages. Well worth the money!

Eyeliner
If we're talking liquid liner, it's L'Oreal Superliner all the way. In fact I think I'll do a long overdue review soon about how much I adore this product. For pencil liner I love the colours by Topshop and my black one by Inika which I received in a beauty box a while ago and absolutely love.

Mascara
I'm absolutely loving Maybelline The Rocket mascara at the moment. I'm going to pick up the waterproof version next.

Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Stain
MAC's Creme Cup wins here hands down. It literally looks good with anything in my opinion.

Lip Liner 
I don't wear lipliner so there's not a single one that I can think of! 

Lip Balm
This is hard because I have so many lip balms and not enough pairs of lips to go through them. I adore the little Nivea Lip Butters in Vanilla, Raspberry and Caramel though. They smell delicious and make my lips feel divine. 

Nail Polish 
Ciate's Cupcake Queen. No doubt about it!

Perfume (this category wasn't on the original tag but I thought it'd fit in quite nicely)
This is such a hard pick for me beacause I adore so many scents...but I think I'm going to go with Jack Wills' English Velvet. It's so feminine and gorgeous and is perfect for day or night. Jack Wills describe it as 'Seductive, sumptuous velvet in a bottle. The English Velvet eau de toilette is a sparkling potion of Mediterranean fig and pink grapefruit with a heart of delicate pink rose petals, neroli and freesia and base notes of amber, sandalwood and musk. Truly magnetic.' 

So those are my picks of the best. Do you agree with any of my choices? Let me know your favourite products.

Review // Illamasqua Underworld Lipstick

"Why do you always wear such dodgy lipstick?" asks Joseph when I emerge from my room all made up for the day, having popped on my new Illamasqua 'Underworld' lipstick. Admittedly the colour is a little bit out there for want of a better phrase but it's gorgeous, perfect for turning heads and an all round impressive colour. "It's just nice and different," I replied to him defiantly. "I love it!"

Clearly the boy has no taste, for can you not agree this is the most perfect electric violet you've ever set your eyes upon? Illamasqua are a brand I'm becoming more and more familiar with thanks to their gorgeous colours I constantly dream about on their website. When I was in Liverpool back in June for my Grandad's funeral I stumbled across an actual Illamasqua store and came home with this, a lipstick in the shade Underworld.

Illamasqua describe this colour as an iridescent blueberry violet with a shimmer finish - I absolutely love it. I was slightly worried about the shimmer being too in your face when I first swatched this in store but it's not too in your face at all, there's just a simple subtle sheen when the light hits your lips, perfect.

My biggest disappointment with Underworld though was it's lack of moisturisation. I initially found it quite difficult to get a decent colour payoff on my lips but once on there you can't tell as it's quite a build able colour. I do suffer from dry lips as a result of my dry skin so the lack of moisture in the formula affects my lips a lot and Underworld feels somewhat drying. It does have a good staying power though, I've been out for dinner and eaten my meal with it remaining in place - bonus!

All in all a lovely lipstick that makes up for a lacking formula (in my opinion) with an amazing colour. It looks amazing paired with my lipgloss in Boost (see my review here), i've had so many complements, thanks Illamasqua!

Priced at £16.50 Underworld is definitely not your Saturday pocket money pick up but it's such a unique colour that I didn't mind paying that. I'm still falling in love with the rest of the Illamasqua products so please do another sale soon!

Are you an Illamasqua fan? What's your favourite colour to wear on your lips?

Home Ideas // Tin Storage

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 

Seeing as I'm a self confessed shopaholic, and feel like I'm a long way off having the perfectly decorate flat that I envisioned when Joseph and I were house hunting, I'm constantly on the look out for decorative storage ideas for all the bits and bobs I like to buy.

I was recently browsing in a lovely little gift shop called Athena (do any of you have it near you?) which sells the cutest little trinkets and gifts (I'm all for self gifting!). I espied three of the above tins in Athena (numbers 2, 3, and 5) and think they're amazing. I'm of the idea that cake is for life and not just for birthdays and tins that look like cake really, really appeal to me. I'm aware that some people may think they're so bad they're great, but I'm in love with these cake slice tins.

The retro Cadbury tin was also something I wanted to pick up, but saved myself from doing so at the time. It would be a fab goodie tin, or to keep crackers/biscuits in. Yummy. The retro tin theme also extends to number 4, a nostalgic blast from the past with a few well loved Walls ice-cream van treats. I haven't had a Funny Foot in years!

Finally, I couldn't mention my love for storage tins without a nod to a few florals, how pretty do these square tins look all stacked up...! So dainty and adorable.

Are you a storage fan like myself? Comment and tell me your favourite type of cake :)

Review // Treacle Moon 'The Candy Jar' Shower Gel

When the time comes for a new shower gel or body wash I usually dive straight into my stash and pick out the first one I can find, as more often than not there's a multitude of different brands and smells to choose from. But, shock horror, what happens when you realise that you've got none left? That you've managed to wade through your shower gel stash and actually need to buy a new one?! Well, I say, if you're like me and love sickly sweet just-been-sprayed-with-candy-floss type scents head straight for your nearest Tesco megastore and feast your eyes on a new Treacle Moon Co collection: The Candy Jar.

I picked up the marshmallow hearts scent, but there was also a cream soda, lime and toffee bon bon and they all smell equally delicious, not too sickly, but definitely sweet as candy. I love the packaging on the bottles, the colours are bright and fun, and remind me of a Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe, the ones with the massive jars of sweets they'd weigh out for you and the explosion of colours everywhere you look. The product itself lathers well and does precisely what it's supposed to do, I feel clean and refreshed with each use and find myself looking forward to the next shower I take so that I can use this again. My only upset is that I didn't pick up any of the other scents available, so perhaps the next weekly shop will see another Treacle Moon product placed into the trolley...!

Priced at £2.99 a piece for 500ml of product, you're definitely getting your money's worth here, this bottle looks like it's going to last me for ages and it's incredibly affordable too!

What kind of scents to you go for in a shower gel? Are you like me and enjoy sweet things, or are you more of a floral person?

Books Galore! // A New Monthly Post

If ever I'm feeling down, or lonely I always like to pick up a book and dive right in amongst the pages, the words and the fantasy lives of the characters. I'm such a bookworm and I'm surprised actually that I don't feature my love of reading more here on Confetti Letters. Well, that's about to change. I have decided to begin a new monthly feature where I showcase all of the books I have read for that month, like a monthly empties post. I will say now that I read just about anything so you can guarantee it'll be a mixed bag of books...!

I'm always shocked when I ask someone if they read and they say no and explain to me that they think books are 'boring' or that they haven't got the time to get lost inside someone else's thoughts. I would say to them that they haven't found the right genre of book for them yet and that you can always make time for a story. I carry around a book or my Kindle with me in my handbag as a given, snatching a few pages on my break at work, on the bus, waiting for a doctor's appointment, anywhere that I have to just stop for 5 minutes or more is devoted to reading.

I admit that I have an addiction to buying books, and that since I've finished University it's got a whole lot worse because I simply have more time on my hands now. My most recent discovery for cheaper books is Tesco, they often have 3 for £5 on certain paperbacks, or 2 for £7 on more recently published paperbacks. I even managed to score a bit of chick lit that's just been published for £1.95 last week, bargain.

So this post is just a bit of literature admin to say keep your eyes peeled for my August reads at the end of the month. I'm of the belief that you can literally read yourself happy, try it sometime :)

Are you a fellow bookworm?
Tell me your favourite book, I'm always eager to find more!

Make-Up For Work

I spend a good 20% of my working day wishing that I didn't have to work with food, and that I could swan around my workplace with my beautifully painted nails and my hair sleek and straight. Instead I have to improvise, placing more emphasis on perfecting my eyebrows, or getting my double winged eyeliner neat and tidy than my entire outer appearance. For when you wear a uniform that makes you look like you've been lifted from the pages of the Where's Wally? Annual 2013 your face matters to you, it's the only bit of self identity worth beautifying. Well, it feels like this to me anyway. 

Whether it's a 4:45 AM wakeup call for a 6 AM start, or a 3 PM date with my mirror before a graveyard slot shift from 4 PM until 1AM I will, without fail, apply some sort of 'face'. This is just my thing, a getting ready for work ritual that, all things considered, I take far too seriously. After all, it's just burgers and chips, right?

Knowing that I have, in my opinion, a perfectly applied face for work makes me feel better about myself, which in turn, I believe, makes me do my job better. I always feel naked without my wings (thank goodness for L'Oreal Superliner!), my cheeks are pale and bare without a hint of highlight and blush (I'm thanking Benefit's Fine One One for an all round fabulous cheek pick me up where work is concerned), and my lips always look like they're crying out for a bit of attention unless they've got a wash of colour on them (thanks be to Rimmel here).

Perfecting my face makes me feel like, well, me in a sea of green and yellow fellow McWorkers and I continue to pine for the day when someone gives me the go ahead to hang up my McHat and try something new...I've got a nail technician on standby...!

Do you wear makeup to work? What kind of rules does your company have for your appearance? 

Lancôme, L'Absolu Désir Autumn / Fall 2013

I just had to share some snaps of a new Lancome collection set to launch in Autumn/Fall that I found whilst searching the internet for eyeshadow inspiration. The collection, named L'Absolu Désir, pays homage to the very city in which the Lancome brand was born, Paris. Each product is adorned with beautiful decorative packaging with a nod to La Tour Eiffel, and a stunning lace rose design. I can definitely see some of my hard earned pennies flying out of my purse in exchange for these beauties! Aren't they divine? I must agree with Paris Vogue, each product simply is de vrais cartes postales de la capitale...

Images found here and here.

A penny for your thoughts?

I Made A Video!

Cooee...look who made a YouTube video!

I always like to play a little game with myself when I find out that the writer of a blog I read has a YouTube channel. I like to see if I can guess their accent, whether or not they'd be softly spoken or all over the place...and so on. I love being able to put a voice to the posts I read and that's one reason why I decided to sit down and film my own video for YouTube.

Now I know it's not excellent. I have no good lighting, my hair's all over the place and my leg went dead half way through, but here you have 16 minutes of an 'About Me' tag to sink your teeth into.

Let me know what you think, either on YouTube, or comment below. And leave me a link to your YouTube channel if you have one? I'll play the guessing game for you too...!

Empties // July 2013

Another month over. What is this madness? There'll be Christmas trees in Tesco soon if we're not careful...! That said, I've managed to use up a good selection of products again this month and have made a big dent in my bathroom cabinet - hurrah!

Once again I've managed to finish my favourite cotton wool pads (forever repurchasing) and another packet of face wipes (I didn't like these Nivea ones so I won't be buying them again). I've also managed to work through not one, but two, cans of my favourite deodorant this month, the dove pomegranate scent (again I'll be forever repurchasing this).

I've also managed to get through two shower gels this month, a nameless miniature from M&S that I received for Christmas 2012, and an Anatomicals rose scented shower gel from a Glossybox a while back. I enjoyed using both of the products, they did exactly as they said they'd do on the tin and got me clean. I won't be repurchasing these though, the scents weren't quite to my taste.

Three face products made their way into the bin this month. First of all a mini Benefit porefessional primer, a product that I have a hard time getting on with. I really dislike the feel of the primer itself and that really puts me off using it, I was glad to see the back of this miniature to be honest. I was equally glad to see the back of this Elemis moisturiser as towards the end of the tube I felt like I was making myself use it. This really didn't help to reduce the dryness of my skin and it wasn't a joy to use at all. I'm glad I didn't pay for it as I got it free with a magazine a while ago. Lastly, I was on the hunt for a face scrub when I moved into our flat back in April and picked this St Ives scrub up. I thought it was going to be a good as the other St Ives scrubs I've used in the past, but in fact it hardly had any 'scrub' in it at all. It was far too creamy and I didn't feel like it was exfoliating me at all. *Sad face*. I definitely will not be repurchasing any of these three face products.

July also saw me finish a shampoo and conditioner. I absolutely loved these two Organix coconut milk products. Not only did they smell amazing but they cleansed and conditioned my hair beautifully. The only downside for me was that the packaging was quite stiff and towards the end of the bottles they became incredibly difficult to squeeze to let me get the shampoo out. Other than that I'd be tempted to repurchase.

My final empty saw me finish a perfume I've had since Christmas 2011, Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy. This is quite a different scent from what I'd normally wear and I was hesitant to like it at first but found it to be a nice refreshing change from my usual sweet scents. I would repurchase this, but I probably won't as I have so many other perfumes to use up first!

So those were my July empties. What have you finished this month?