Homeware Haul - Part 2

This post is probably not what you were expecting today as it isn't a reflection of 2017 and my hopes and dreams for 2018 but instead a part 2 to my homeware haul. The biggest change for me in 2017 was buying a flat and moving out and so I feel it's only right to finish what I'd started with the hauls before the year is over. 

Following on from this post here, where I shared a haul with what I got for my new flats kitchen and bedroom, I thought I would now shared the second part to my homeware haul. 

This includes items for the living room and bathrooms and gives the first sneak peak of my flat! Click the link below to go straight over to the video or search TheLittleLassies on YouTube to find my channel and see all my other videos too.

Let me know what you think of everything I got and if you have any idea's on ways I can use things in my flat then please leave them in the comments below.

Oh and.....HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Homeware Haul - Part 1

One of the things I was most excited about when buying a flat was going shopping to furnish it. Having spent hours as a kid furnishing houses on the Sims, I’ve always looked forward to doing it for real in my own place.

To help show everything I got I filmed a homeware haul for my YouTube channel which you can watch by clicking the link below! 

Let me know what you think of what I got and I you have any good ideas on what I can use those baskets for! There's another homeware haul coming, as mentioned, so make sure you're subscribed to my channel so you don't miss out on the next one.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Flat Update

As I mentioned in my previous post I have been a bit quiet over here. If you watch my Youtube videos then you'll know that I recently bought a new flat - which is beyond exciting and exhausting at the same time. They say buying a place and moving is the most stressful thing you do in your life and I cannot agree more. 

Not only am I dealing with getting the flat ready but it's also the busiest time of year for my work AND we're understaffed so everything is just that little bit more hectic.

Of course, I'm not really complaining as I'm extremely lucky to be in this situation but the fact I've spent more time at Homebase than my own bed is starting to ware me down. I'm going in to work early, leaving hours late and spending all evenings at the new flat trying to get everything sorted on time. 

The hardest bit I think is the fact that I'm doing this on my own and there's just so many more things to do/pay for/deal with than anyone has ever mentioned! I feel very clueless about the whole thing and do wonder how I managed to get this far all right.

I can't wait until it's all sorted and I'm finally in! Then my posts will be back to their regular uploads and I can finally breathe...

Apologies if this sounded like I'm moaning but sometimes you just gotta let it out!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Room Improvements

Some of you may now know that I not only have this blog but I've also got a YouTube channel which you can check out here. I recently put up a new video all about the changes which I've made in my room to help make it more of a grown-up bedroom rather than the bedroom which I've had since I was 6! 

There's also some news at the end of a big life update so click below to find out what it is!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Life Update

So recently I got some very exciting life changing news which has taken up a lot of my time and maybe been the result in the lack of time I've spent on here. Basically, I've been cheating on beauty with homeware becayse...I bought a flat!!!

I have finally bought my own place and I couldn't be more excited! All the years of living with my parents to save money have paid off and I'm officially a home owner. The flat is still being built so I've got until September to prepare myself and get everything I need. This means that there'll probably be a few homeware hauls coming on here soon which I'm really looking forward too...and hopefully you are too?! 

If you have any homeware posts/recommendations then please leave them below. As I go through the process of buying a place I realise I don't have a clue what I'm doing which can make it very daunting so any advice would be very appreciated. 

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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April's Birchbox and Glossybox

For this months beauty box subscriptions from Glossybox and Birchbox I thought I would do an unboxing video for my Youtube channel. If you want to see what items I got and my first thoughts/initial excitement then click below and make sure to subscribe for all future posts as I do a lot of unboxing!

Or, if you prefer to read then I've done a post on the items that I got in the Birchbox. You can read this post here.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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No New Make-Up March

 

This year is set to be an expensive one for me; buying a flat, sisters hen do, sisters wedding and a couple of potential stay-cations. So I thought, to help me save the pennies, I would challenge myself to 'No New Make-up March'! Never heard of it?! Well that because I made it up!

I know how tempted I always am to pick up a couple of new items from the make-up stands, especially when there's new releases, and literally find myself spending so much money on beautiful new make-up which in reality, I don't really need. I have boxes of make-up in my room just waiting to be used so I thought, to help use them up - and to stop me spending so much money - I would challenge myself to not buy any new make-up this month.

This also stretches to new cleansers that I don't need or yet another tangle teezer which is a different colour to the one I have so obviously I NEED it...

It is actually proving a lot more difficult than I thought...I was in a massive Boots at the weekend and left with a hand full of swatches and a list of products which I can't wait to try! One being the new liquid lipsticks by L'Oreal...anyone tried these yet?! I'm hoping that by reading other blogs and reviews it might help calm my addition so please link any below!!

I'm embarrassed to admit this is only half of it...

If you think you're similar to me in the way that you have so much make-up and yet continue to buy more then I would recommend joining in this no new make-up month. I'm hoping to re-discover a couple of favourites from my stash that I've forgotten about!

Also, if we don't succeed this month then there's soon another month beginning with 'M' so we can always try again...

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Birchbox Unboxing

As you will have seen from my last post I got a great Glossybox this month so was very excited to see what I got in my Birchbox. Not only did I get my monthly subscription but I also paid extra to get a box purely dedicated to skincare. Click the photo below to see what I got in the two Birchbox boxes and my first impressions of them.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Weekend Vlog

My new vlog is up! Last weekend I decided to pick up the camera and vlog since it'd been a while and quite frankly I missed it. There wasn't much going on but everything seemed such a rush. Click the video above to see what I got up to, or head over to my YouTube channel to see what else I've posted. If you want to like and subscribe that would be great!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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How To Get Free Samples

 

Nothing annoys me more than 'Clickbait' blog titles so I would never use one. Some of you may think that I have on this occasion but trust me, this is legit!

I recently read a blog post (which annoyingly I can't link as I read so many that I absolutely can't remember which one it was!) which was telling us about a new service from Feel Unique called Pick 'n' Mix. This is where once a month you have the opportunity to pick up to 5 samples from an amazing range of brands such as Keihls, Nars, Bioderma, Burt's Bees, Caudalie and so many more. The samples themselves are free and the only cost is £3.95 for postage and packing. However, once you've made your order of samples you will then receive a voucher for £3.95 of postage and packaging to use on a future order...making the whole thing 100% free!!

It's sounds too good to be true and it almost is! Above are the items that I decided to go for which are all products which I've really wanted to try but are all quite costly so I've never risked it incase I don't like them. Now I'm finally getting to try them out without spending a small fortune and I couldn't wait to tell you about it!

If you want to select your own 5 samples then head over to Feel Unique and head over to the sample section.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Liz Earle Skincare

As mentioned in a previous post about Liz Earle, found here, I have been putting to the test a whole skincare routine using her products. After two months the first product has run out so I have now put together a video to show how I got on and what results I saw in my skin.

If you want to see how I got on just click on the picture below and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future videos!

Liz Earle Skincare Routine

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Favourite Christmas Candle

I love a scented candle but rarely love one so much that I buy it. However, on a recently Christmas girls weekend we stumbled across the scented candles on offer from Next and couldn't put them down. They not only smelt incredible but I loved the simple yet festive designs. 

Each candle is a different metallic colour which matches it's scent and would fit in with and festive fireplace. The scent I eventually settled on was the Gingerbread one and it is hands down one of my favourite scented candles I've ever smelt! They are only £7 and I think I'll need to buy some back up to last me through until next year!

The other scents available are Figgy Pudding, Under the Mistletoe, Roasted Chestnuts and Cream Liqueur. If you find yourself passing a Next store anytime soon I would definitely recommend popping in for a quite sniff but be prepared to leave with a new candle as it's impossible to leave these behind!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Empties #14

For this bonus post during the week I was going to do a post on this month's empties. However, having just looked in my box of empties products I realised there was just too much and this post would be the longest post ever! 

So instead, I decided to add another video to my YouTube channel talking you through the items as  for me it's easier to listen to a long video than read an overly long video.

Click here if you would like to see what I've used up recently (and there's a lot!) and find out what I thought of them.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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4 Nights in Barcelona

Last weekend I got back from 4 nights in Barcelona. I had been before for one day so was very excited to get away and explore even more and my word, there's a lot to explore! We spent most of the time getting lost as it's impossible to keep up with all the little lanes and alleys but it is the best city to get lost in. I've never seen such beautiful buildings and around every turn we ended up gasping at another beautiful sight.

With numerous trips to the beach, ice-cream shops, churros shop and cathedrals I have to say the best thing to do, and what I would recommend to anyone who is planning a trip, is to go on a bus tour. We did 2 in one day, straight after each other, as we literally just couldn't get enough. The buses go around all the major attractions as well as through more 'authentic' Barcelona streets. 

There are not enough words for me to express just how much I enjoyed the brief trip so hopefully these pictures will help show why.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Zoella's Reed Diffuser - Lazy Days

I was just as excited as everyone else when Zoe Sugg brought out her lifestyle range and gave a sigh of "finally!!" as it was a direction I was certainly hoping she would go in. Literally everything in the range is just beautiful and you can really see how much work she has put into every single item.

I was recently in Boot's looking for some present ideas for my sister when I came across a small selection of Zoella Lifestyle products. Now when I say small, there was a good few shelfs dedicated to the range but they were so empty! All that was left was a backpack, one candle and a choice of 2 reed diffusers. The one candle that was there was the 'seaside' one and although it did smell good it wasn't what I was looking for in my bedroom. So my attention then went to the reed diffusers. In all honestly, I never found out what the second one was as as soon as I read the description of 'Lazy Days' I knew it had to be mine.

'Fill your room with essence of calm. With notes of fresh linen and cotton, it's the perfect scent for a lazy day'

Considering my favourite Yankee Candle is Fresh Cotton (which I have in my car) this diffuser seemed right up my street and my word it is. This is spot on. It's such a subtle but fresh and comforting scent that I'm so glad I got the diffuser rather than candle so my room will always smell like this. On the box it says to give it a couple of days for the reeds to diffuse but trust me, you smell this after about 10 minutes.

Everything from the box, to the bottle, to the name and description, to the scent...perfection. This definitely makes me want to see what the other items in the range are like and everyone in my life can expect something from in for Christmas!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Vlog - A Weekend In Dundee

My new Youtube video is up and it's my first vlog since being back in the UK! I head through to Dundee to spend the weekend with my sister and introduce you to all her many weird and wonderful pets...seriously, she could open her own reptile zoo!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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My First Sourced Box!

I am a very firm believer that what you put into your body really affects how you look on the outside of your body. People always go on about how good water is for you but I couldn't believe the different I noticed in my skin when I made a conscious effort to drink more. My skin was literally glowing and people kept commenting on it. 

This then made me think how much more beneficial eating well could be for my body but I had no idea where to begin, which is why I recently bought a one-off Sourced Box.

Just look at how many goodies you get in this box. It's brilliant! I've tried a couple of bits so far and really enjoyed them all so can't wait to see what else I love.

A box like this is such a genius idea to try new brands and foods which I wouldn't even know where to find. It's also extremely handy as I usually get peckish around 11am at work and these are perfect to take along for a healthy mid-morning snack.

I literally love this box so much that I think I'm going to subscribe to make sure I get a box every single month. 

Did anyone else get one this month? If so, let me know what you favourite snack was!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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I've Got Some Explaining To Do

Hello, remember me? Well I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. It has been a rather long time since I've been doing my regular blogs and I thought I should explain why.

I had got into a really good habit of getting two posts up a week, a Wednesday and a Sunday seemed to work well for me. However, recently I've been finding I just have no spare time for anything. I use to never really go out in the evenings during the week but have found that recently I rarely stay in.

Of course, it's a good thing as I got far too comfortable sitting in my house all the time, which is a rather lonely habit to have, so getting myself out and about was a conscious effort. But it has meant that I'm struggling to find any spare time to myself and to blog. I've been feeling really overwhelmed by just about everything and just feeling exhausted by the end of everyday so all I've been wanting to do is curl up in bed with some Modern Family. (I'm not wanting to sound as if I'm depressed, as I'm not, I'm far from it. I'm probably the happiest I've been with life ever, but it's still exhausting!)

I've also started my YouTube channel again, TheLittleLassies,  and found myself focusing on that more than here but I really do miss blogging. Tomorrow afternoon I am jetting away to Greece for a week's holiday and I think it's exactly what I need. I'm hoping I will be able to completely recharge and come back inspired and ready to take everything on.

Thanks for sticking around and I'll be back soon!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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Neal's Yard, The Body Shop and Boots Haul

Although I've been trying to be good and not buy too much recently I've somehow managed to purchase quite a few items...so much so that there was enough for a haul! I've already done a post on the Neal's Yard products which you can find here but if you would rather watch then click above.

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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I'm Moving To YouTube

So I've posted on here before mentioning my YouTube channel but for those of you who don't know I started the channel a couple of years ago when I went to Australia with my friends to show my friends and family back home what I was getting up to.

However, since being back I've really been wanting to continue with YouTube as I found I really enjoyed the filming and editing aspect of it but wasn't sure what to upload. But then I realised that the video's I like to watch the most are the type of videos which are similar to what I talk about here so that's what I'm going to be doing.

It's taken me quite a while to build up the courage to actually upload again so be patient as I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to upload but please do subscribe as this will make sure you don't miss it when I do.

I'll still be posting on here too but, along with a full-time job and attempting a social life, things have gotten quite busy so please bare with me while I get the hang of juggling everything!

Thanks for reading

Iona x

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