What's in my Bag?

Being an incredibly nosey person, and with society deeming it inappropriate to raid through people's bags, I absolutely LOVE a "What's in my Bag?" post because I get a sneaky peak into what people like to cart around with them all day! So I thought I would share with you what I have in my bag today!

This lil cutie backpack is from Topshop. It was £30, but it is about 2 years old so you won't be able to get it from there anymore I'm afraid. I like to use this bag almost every day, as I like to walk to work which takes around 20 minutes, and carrying a tote or having a shoulder bag flap about your side can get quite a bit annoying. And hey, IT'S JUST SO CUTE. The drawstring is almost completely destroyed on the inside, but no one wants to look at that!

Now I have to say, and I'm not sure if this is weird or not, I empty my bag every day when I get back home. I'll put my purse on the side table, I'll put my perfume back into it's position on the dresser etc. I just like organisation, really. So there's very rarely any junk in my bag. Usually it's my purse that's full of receipts and nonsense!

Anyway, here are the contents of my bag!

1. Cath Kidston purse. This was a gift from my cousin about 2 Christmases ago, and it will be my purse until it literally falls apart. I love anything Cath Kidston, and it is very similar to the very first proper purse I bought when I was 16 and got a job in TK Maxx. I found the little gem in the accessories dept and I had it until I lost it about 3 years later :( But now I have this beautiful purse and am hoping it will last me a long time, it's so pretty and I love it!!

2. iPhone 5. My trusty iPhone which I couldn't live without! Days when I forget it feels like I'm missing a limb, which probably isn't a good thing but I can't help it! Although these days, the most notifications I get are from Snapchat.

3. Dove roll-on deodorant. I like to take a roll-on deodorant out with me because it doesn't take up too much room in my bag, and you get more use than with a travel size spray. I used to be a huge fan of Soft & Gentle deodorants until I started taking an allergic reaction to them. Things got pretty ugly, and with a swift trip to the doctors I parted ways with Soft & Gentle forever. Thankfully, I have never had such a reaction with Dove, and am not quite willing to take a chance with trying out a new brand.

4. Make-up bag. Working as a visual merchandiser, my mornings can be pretty hectic, and I usually feel like I've done a full gym workout by lunchtime! So I always have my make-up bag with me to top up after a particularly mental morning. This one was from Primark, and I think it was around £5/6.

5. Cherry Chapstick. Pretty much don't go anywhere without this. Gets transferred from my bag to my pocket every day when I arrive wherever I'm going. I get seriously dry lips, especially when I'm at work, so I like to keep it on me all the time. And it just smells divine.

6. Purple iPod Nano & Apple earphones. This iPod was also a Christmas gift about 3 Christmases ago and his name is Jeff Jr! My iPod before this one was called Jeff, so it seemed fitting, none of your 'Marie's iPod'...yawn. It's a 16GB Nano, and it doesn't even hold half of my iTunes library, but as my MacBook has sadly died it is all the music I have for on the go and it's very handy on my walks to and from work. I actually do quite a lot of walking, so I do love sticking my iPod on and getting lost in my thoughts while I walk. And of course, my earphones. I lost the new ones that came with my iPhone(you will notice as posts go on, that I lose a lot of things -oop), and so have reverted back to the older version. I'm not a huge fan of Apple earphones though, I don't find them very comfortable or very good at blocking out background noise. I'm much more of an in-ear earphone type of gal.

7. Zara Woman Rollerball Eau de Toilette in Shanghai. I love the scents that Zara have, and this one came in a pack of 3(the other 2 being Paris and Milan) for only £7.99! Cute and compact to fit easily into my bag instead of a big bottle.

And there you have it. My portable life.

...thiscosmiclove.

Festival essentials.

Festival season is truly upon us, and shops are heaving with everything you'll need to survive that weekend! I've been to T in the Park the last 3 years, although I won't be attending this year(boohoo), and being in sunny Scotland it's an extra effort to look good when the weather is just not doing you any favours! So here is my festival essentials to carry around with you during the day to keep you looking purty and feeling clean(or as clean as possible -porta loos eurgh).

1. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - Anyone who's been to a festival knows that by half way through the day, you're face has totally melted off! Whether it be by sweat, rain, thrown beverages and other thrown liquids(ahem, we all know what I mean, eurgh). So to keep your complexion as even as possible with a touch up of concealer when needed. This one has very good coverage, so if you're wanting to let your skin breathe a little the. I'd suggest Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer instead.

2. Carmex Lip Balm - For most of us who are of age, half of your time at a festival is spent cradling a ridiculously expensive cider/beer from the bar tent. And as you know, alcohol is very dehydrating for you. I would obviously suggest drinking water between each alcoholic beverage, but in reality that's probably never going to happen! SO, keep those lips soft and well hydrated with a lip balm in your bag!  Cracked lips are painful, and no one wants that.

3. Batiste Dry Shampoo - The ultimate festival beauty saviour. Any girl off to a festival usually has dry shampoo at the top of the list of things to get! 3 days without properly washing is tough, so you have to keep that hair from looking greasy, and it helps you get the voluminous boho chic look that's standard for festivals. Just add a daisy garland on top and you'll look the part!

4. Soap & Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths - As I'd previously mentioned, it gets a bit sweaty at festivals sometimes, or you somehow managed to find yourself covered in neon face paint/mud/beer etc. So it's good to keep a little packet of wipes for when it all gets a bit too messy!

5. Nivea Pearl Beauty Deodorant - Keep fresh with a little travel size deodorant in your bag, you will need it more than ever as the days without a shower go on!

6. Soap & Glory Hand Maid Sanitising Gel - The one in the photo is purely because its seeeww cayoot, but my hand sanitiser of choose would be Hand Maid. The worst part of the festival experience, porta loos. Pretty much filthy after the first day, and it's doesn't get much better after that! Most porta loos do provide hand sanitiser in the cubicles, but it gets used up pretty quickly so let's not take any chances! To be frankly honest, almost everything is covered in mud at a festival anyway, so you'll be wanting to use it before you eat as well, especially since there's no sinks for you to wash your hands properly.

7. ASOS Pac-a-Parka - Another key festival item! With any British festivals there's just no telling what the weather will be, so a Pac-a-Parka is a handly little thing to have, it's comes packaged inside its pocket with a little string for you to tie onto your day bag as I do, or put inside your bag if it fits. Then when the rain comes, just fold it out and weyhey, weather protection!

I'm sure there's many more things that you'll be thinking Hey! You'd obviously need this. But those are my top items for carrying around during the day to keep you feeling as fresh as possible.

And here's some cheeky photos of me enjoying T in the Park.

So glam, eh?

...thiscosmiclove.

My Favourite Lipsticks!

Now, I'm not such a brave person when it comes to eye make up, no eyeshadow and cat-flick eyeliner usually does it for me. So I do like to be a little more experimental when it comes to lipsticks, and I thought I'd share my favourite 5 with you!

1. Mac Satin Lipstick in Captive.

2. Topshop Lipstick in Beguiled.(This is no longer in stock, but there is a very similar shade here).

3. Topshop Lipstick in Intruiged.(Again, not in stock, but another similar shade here).

4. Avon Colortrend Lipstick in Passion.

5. Rimmel Moisture Renew in Notting Hill.

I've yet to find a bright red that I really love, but I am on the hunt and I will be blogging my findings! For now I shall be sticking to the burgundy red Beguiled from Topshop.

...thiscosmiclove.

Boots SinfulColors Nail Polish Review.

Boots have recently launched an American nail polish brand called SinfulColors, and I've had a few friends rave about the great quality and value of them. SinfulColors boasts 70 shades of nail polish, all for £1.99 each! Now for a 15ml bottle, in comparison with the likes of £2.99 for 10ml bottles from Barry M and £5/6 for 8ml bottles from Topshop, it's quite the bargain! So I decided to purchase a couple and try them out for myself and see exactly how good they are! The shades I bought were a black shimmery one in 933 Secret Admirer and a purple glitter one in 922 Frenzy. And here's what I thought:

Packaging - The bottle is a fairly simple and practical shape, I quite like the chunky handle as it gives you a better grip when applying the polish. As I've purchased darker shades, and the bottle is labelled in black ink, I can't actually read it, but I'm not particularly fussed about that.

Consistency - As a fan of glitter nail polishes, I notice that they can sometimes be very gloopy and clumpy, but these ones are actually pretty smooth. Not too runny however, which you would expect from a cheaper polish.

Application - With the purple one, I applied a different purple nail polish first, because this polish is clear with glitter. The glitter applies pretty evenly, and you don't need about 10 coats to get good coverage! As for the black one, one coat was perfect! Totally opaque, not watery or at all streaky. Drying time for both was about a minute per coat.

As you can see, I'm not very good at applying nail polish haha! However, I'm thoroughly impressed by this collection and will most definitely be purchasing a few more shades to add to my ever growing nail polish collection(well into my 70-odds now). Such great value for money and the quality is amazing, highly recommended by me!

So, Boots SinfulColors Nail Polish collection gets a well deserved 5/5 cosmic hearts!

...thiscosmiclove.

Topshop Summer Sale Haul.

First post, here we go!

Topshop's Summer Sale has now launched WOOHOO! It's that time where I convince myself that I like something now that £20 has been taken off the price and spend more money than I would if I was shopping full price. But in all seriousness, the sale this season has some outstanding products in it and is frankly the most humongous sale I've seen in Topshop for quite some time!  

So here are the things I purchased today in Topshop. I'll include product codes and prices in case you fancy any of these things yourself!

Eyes trio palette in Prism - £7

20T13CSLV

Leigh jeans - £25

02E65DCOB

Khaki rucksack - £3

24J13CKHA

Jersey Andie skirt - £10

27B13DRED

1/2 Sleeve lace crop - £12

04K22DPNK

Mesh panel 1/2 sleeve crop - £10

04D18DBLK

Jersey basic vest - £3

09B01DAUB

I think I got myself a few good bargains there! 7 things for £70. I hope you've enjoyed my first blog post, hopefully the first of many.

...thiscosmiclove.

...and so it begins.

SO.

I've been lurking around the Internet for quite some years now, and only recently realised "Hold on a minute, I'm a girl, I like beauty...things!". Having over the past year taken a huuuge interest in some lovely British beauty/lifestyle bloggers such as Zoella, Tanya Burr, Fleur De Force and Louise(SprinklesOfGlitter, I've decided I WANT TO BE INVOLVED.

Fully aware that I'm currently writing this to absolutely no one, I'm going to give it a go anyway and see what happens! WARNING to anyone who ends up coming across this though, I am no beauty/lifestyle expert! I'm just interested in things like this and thought why not give other equally nosey people an insight to what I like.

SO HERE GOES.

Hopefully I'm not too rubbish and/or boring, and I'll post something soon :)

..thiscosmiclove.