Bikiiiiiiniiiiiiis!! A selection I have bought. =p

So I booked up a last minute holiday, and of course this means BIKINIS. Now, I used to be a wee stick when I was younger and the bikini posed no threat - however now I am a 'curvy woman' (haha trying to justify becoming fat) the mere thought of one fills me with fear. I am pear shaped, so I set out to try and buy some figure flattering two pieces.

Don't worry, I am obv not going to post photos of myself in the bikinis on the internet - I am all too aware how that could end up! So here they are all by themselves (you'll just have to imagine them on).

These are my selection from Primark:

Top to Bottom Prices:

Multicoloured Bikini - £5 top, £3 bottoms

Floral Bikini - £7 set

And my selection from New Look:

These are all Kelly Brook bikinis, I love her designs in New Look, I love the pin-up style! I think they're perfect for curvier girls and luckily a lot of them were in the sale!

Top to Bottom Prices:

White Travel Print Bikini - top: £16.99 but in sale for £12.99; bottoms: £9.99 but in sale for £7.75

Blue Floral Bikini - top: £16.99 but in sale for £6.00; bottoms: ££8.99 but in sale for £3.00,

Pink Bottoms (couldn't get a top, just gonna get a wee cheap pink or white one!) - £8.99 but in sale for £4.00


And Tesco (yes, really):

They are both a bit sparkly which makes me happy. :)

Top to Bottom Prices:
Orange Striped Bikini - Top: £7; bottoms: £5
Floral Bikini - Top: £9; bottoms: £5

What is your favourite? Do you have any tips for figure flattering bikinis? Or any quick weight loss ideas haha?!

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Winner of Naked2 Giveaway!

Thank you so much for all your entries into my competition and a big hello to all my new followers! Thank you all for reading my blog, whether you're a loyal reader or brand new. It's made me so happy!!

So, without further ado, the winner is:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS! :)

I'm going on holiday tomorrow (Friday 13th, eek!) so my new two weeks of posts will be scheduled. But please continue to leave comments and I'll check them as often as I can!

See you when I'm a bronzed goddess (haha)!!

~ Lauren ♥

Nail Sponging, New Hair and Naked2 Giveaway! :)

Remember you can still enter my 'back to blogging giveaway' HERE to win a Naked2 Palette!

Today is the last day!

Just a quick post to let you know about a new blog I am contributing to. The lovely Karris (check out her blog and her YouTube channel) has created a collaborative blog for Scottish bloggers and I am the first post! There's not a whole lot of opportunity for us up here, so this is a great idea.

My first post is on nail sponging! So if you want to know how to do this:

(please ignore my horrible sausage fingers)

...then check out Scottish Bloggers. Please comment and follow, I would LOVE your support and I know there are many amazing bloggers going to be contributing soon and I will be contributing regularly also.

I am also featured in Sarah from FashionismyH2O's Project Perfect - check that out here.

And lastly, I am no longer a blondie!! Well, I feel that way anyways. I got my hair toned darker and I think I like it! Here's what it looked like last week:

And now!

Sorry for poor quality phone pics. :)

Twitter and Instagram response was so lovely, but do you think I suit it better? Also, what do you think of my new blogging project?

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

Collection Goodies Review :)

Thank you all so much for your sweet 'welcome back' messages and also for the congratulations on my job! I'm super excited and lucky in this economy to get one, so thank you!! :)

Remember you can still enter my 'back to blogging giveaway' HERE to win a Naked2 Palette!

Obviously I have a lot of things to catch up on since my break, but first I want to share with you some bargain products that I'm actually pretty impressed with! I recently went into Boots and was distracted by Collection (2000)'s 3 for 2 offer on some of their new goodies.

Now I loved this because it's actually three products I genuinely wanted and needed! I've needed a new primer for a while, and I've been wanting to try gel liner for aaaaages and the finishing spray just seemed like a good idea as I wasn't too impressed by ELF's but I am not forking out for Urban Decay's.

Primer on my hand. :)

The primer has the exact consistancy you'd be looking for, soft and velvety, and goes on like a dream. A little goes a long way and I do feel like my makeup stays looking nicer for that little bit longer. It costs £5.99 when not on offer.

I'm a bit scared of gel liner, not got my application perfect yet, but it goes on smoothly and easily and is lovely and dark initially. The only problem with it is that even with primer, after a day's wear it fades a bit. However, it's been a good trial product for me! I really like it and it's only £4.99.

Lastly, the finishing spray makes my face feel wet for a few seconds obviously, but it dries quickly and I did notice that when combined with the primer my makeup stayed on all night on a night out. I wouldn't use this product for day to day wear, but it seems to be decent for a night out! It costs £5.99 when not on offer.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with these products, which with the offer cost me the grand total of £12 for all three - not bad! Have any of you tried these products? Or any other bargain Collection products I should know about (obv except the famous concealer!!)

Let me know!

ALSO I've been featured in Sarah from FashionismyH2O's recent 'Project Perfect' post, along with some other gorgeous bloggers. If you don't know what Project Perfect is, or you want to see more of me (haha) then go HERE.

~ Lauren ♥

I'M BACK! Naked2 Giveaway. :)

I'M BAAAAAAAACK!!

Ohmigosh, I know I haven't posted regularly in MONTHS and again I'm sorry, but finally I'm back! I have been mega mega busy but the awesome news is I finally have a full time permanent teaching job starting in August and I'm off on my summer holidays now so life is GOOD!

My cheesorama face to show you my joy.

Thank you so much if you are reading this, I know I lost a few followers through my absence and I totally understand that, but if you're checking this out now it might mean you're giving me a second chance so THANK YOU.

I will have a proper post up in a few days giving you a quick catch up of some things I've been up to, and then I'll be back to OOTDs, nail art and reviews like normal! I have lots of posts to write, eeEeeeEE! I'm excited. :)

Buuuut giveaway time! In order to celebrate my return (and to encourage people to visit my blog again haha) I'm giving away an Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I know loads of people already have this, but it's awesome and everyone needs a back up. =p

You can read my review of Naked 2 here (don't worry, this one is brand new obv).

Enter below, UK only please. Comment below if you have entered. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, since it's been so long, I have tons of blogs to catch up on - please leave me a link if you'd like me to catch up on yours! Have you posted something I have to read??

Let me know!

~ Lauren ♥

An Apology :(

Hey guys! Long time, no post. I know recently I've been awful at posting regularly, and I have no real excuse except I am completely bogged down with work. In the last two weeks, I have worked three 11 hour shifts, two 13 hour shifts and five 9 hour shifts. And then I do work at home too. I have just had NO time to blog and I miss it and I hope there are still readers who haven't given up on me.  :(

I'm also off Twitter just now, so you probably haven't seen me around there either!!

LUCKILY, I finish up for the summer in less than two weeks so after that be prepared for an onslaught of posts from me haha!

Here's some wee photos to enjoy:

My new Claireabella bag specifically for work! Lovelovelove.

My cat Dana enjoying the sun. <3

My new NOTD obsession - my 'kids' have called it a glitter waterfall, where I have a lot of glitter at the tip and then pull it down a little bit.

(Sorry it's Instagram filtered - wasn't in the blogging frame of mind!)

Hope you're all having a more relaxing time than me, and have enjoyed any sunny weather you got!!

~ Lauren ♥