the life of a twenty-something millenial

Did you ever hear your parents say "I wish I could go back to school, I wish id done enough" and think NAH, no you don't, and then hobble back to your bedroom with MSN nudges chiming in the background with a little giggle under your breath?

Well fast forward about 13 years later, sitting in living room of the flat I share with my wonderful fiancé & life partner of 9 years, the world at my feet & here I am saying those exact words my Mum mentioned to me when I was that aggy teenager and think "DAMN GIRL you were fucking right"!

My twenties have been a constant slur of feeling like *that girl* who's on a constant merry go round, waking up in the morning feeling like i'm going to own the world & be the next #GIRLBOSS, to then crying into my bubble bath, being a complete sap of life.
Its been a constant slur of emotions of negativity, positivity, frustration and pure un-adultness and not knowing exactly where I want to take my life, I have career aspirations, personal life goals and also the odd occasion of wanting to divulge an entire galaxy caramel bar and ngaf!

For those of you who follow my blog, you'll maybe also know that I make YouTube videos & this is something that is a HUGE passion of mine, I absolutely love it, but that also doesn't go without saying that is really bloody hard to feel a part of a community that you are equally so distant from, having a conversation with my mum the other day made me realise how much we have come to depend on instant gratification from the likes of social media 'influencers' alike and how we thrive off of a world we have absolutely no true understanding of!

I lay awake till sometimes 3am at night, scrolling my feeds & pulling my screen down numerous times every ten minutes, with the hopes of a new subscriber, a few more instagram followers and tweets in my notification box, realising i don't quite live the life of the other girls on my feeds, a holiday to the Maldives? YEP hand me the ticket please, Gucci Dionysus, i'll have one of those to make my outfit posts trend!

Life as a Millennial is a constant battle of trying to live your normal life and do you, whilst living your life through a lens of other peoples and constantly measuring yourself up with the hopes of living that life one day!
Now I'm totally not knocking this life, its the life I want, of course it is, I'm blogging for fun and I make videos for the love of doing so, but u wanna hand me a paycheque for that too so I can go shopping for some new Haul content, sure!

Its a constant battle of fear of never being good enough, even re-reading this blog post right now, I'm worrying is this content good enough?
Never matching up to those you aspire and follow every day of your life, never feeling quite like your content reaches that level like those bloggers you see in the hammocks on beaches on insta, but thats ok! thats really fucking ok!

We are human, we are normal everyday people, who live everyday normal lives and thats ok!
I want this post to be motivation for your day, motivation to get up and hug your partners, hug your cats/dogs, tell your parents you love them & love your damn self, love yourself so hard.
You are good enough, you will always be good enough, have your dreams & push them, push those boundaries so hard they might break, but know when to take a back seat and chill with that galaxy bar, in the bath if you really fancy and realise there is more to life then relishing in the lives of others achievements!
Realise how far you've come in life and how much more potential you have,  do you & do it well!

a cult blogger fav?

 

I almost cant quite believe I've never written a post about this, seeing as I am now onto my third jar and cant see anything changing in my cleansing routine anytime soon, I thought it was about time that I graced my blog with this beauty and tell you all about it (although pretty sure the majority will have already read about this somewhere previously as its just too goddamn amazing). 

Having been a long time sufferer of teenage/adult acne & acne scarring, I had tried numerous and i mean numerous different products that claimed to be the cure to acne, Having spent a small fortune along the way (I could've had a deposit for a house with the amount I've spent) and many products thrown away, gifted to others or battled through with the hopes that one day they  *might* just work, I finally stumbled across this beauty! 

Hallelujah!!!! 

The Moringa Balm has not only saved my skin, but has saved my confidence, or lack of.. Too! 

The most beautifully soft, smooth balm, literally glides onto the skin like butter, is so lightweight and delicate it almost feels as if it couldn't really be doing anything to cleanse, then you look in the mirror and see every trace of makeup, dirt and the days grime just melting away.

Once adding water to the balm it emulsifies into a delicate milk that just gently washes away everything with ease, its such a concentrated balm that you could get away with one cleanse easily and feel pretty secure that your skin is freshly cleaned!

I can honestly say this product has single handedly cleared every trace of acne on my face, dramatically reduced the appearance of those blooming ugly scars and overall improved the clarity of my skin, its so much more radiant these days and I almost feel OK with leaving the house makeup free, I can't say I feel the overwhelming urge to slap on a full face of makeup anymore, a dab of lip balm is enough to make me feel put together these days!

Another thing I have noted is that I suffer with a very awkward patch of dry skin on the entirity of my toplip/ under my nose area and this has seriously helped in making it more moisturised and soothed, don't get me wrong if I don't moisturise for a day or so it does flare up ever so slightly but nothing like it ever did before, so this is a huge bonus for me regarding my skincare, as again I just couldn't find anything that didn't aggravate that area or help soothe it either! 

Another use I have found with helping soothe my dry skin is leaving the balm on overnight as an intensive mask treatment, or slathering it on whilst in the bath and allowaing the warm steamy air penetrate those pores, its a fabulous way of deeply moisturising the skin and also looks like I've had a facial the next day when I've done this.

I can honestly say if you are one of the minority that haven't ever picked up Emma Hardies cult classic Moringa Balm then what are you doing... Please please pick a tub of this up, if you are sufferers of acne, rosacea, scarring, dry or general dull skin, you really do need this in your life! 

I cant rave about this product anymore than I already have, unless I somehow manage to bag a job with Emma herself #dreamjob, it really is my all time cult fav cleansing product and I can fully expect to be using this years and years down the line, this better never be discontinued, I would cry rivers of tears haha!

Have any of you tried/not tried Moringa Balm, let me know your thoughts on it below, id love to hear your opinion and if you have any tips for products that would work well with it?

Lots of love, 

Frankie xo

diptyque - figuier | the candle editions

           

Ever the candle obsessive, I have added a new scent to the stash!

With a *mild* Diptyque obsession developing I felt the urge to pick up something fresh and summery, this fell in the form of Figuier!

On first sniff of this I must admit I really wasn't keen, it smells almost nettle like, something I wasnt drawn to, I considered exchanging it for a different scent, but persevered and decided to burn it anyway as I am a lover of fig scents and thought I'd see what it smelled like once it was burning.. Im so glad I did! 

The scent is very warming almost like baked figs and summer rolled into one, which isnt too over powering, for me I prefer this as there's just a subtle hint in the room i've lit it in once you walk into it, it almost leaves you wanting to know where the fragrance is coming from.

Diptyque describes this as: "The warmth of fig wood, the freshness of fig leaves and light milky sap all blend  to create a candle that is a glorious ode to the fig tree, with its light and delicious fresh fruit fragrance, figuier encapsulates the essence of summer" 

Figuier really is the scent you wish for at this time of the year, light and fresh but with a warming sence to the air, it almost reminds me of cosying up on a warm summers evening in the garden, eating salad and drinking pina coladas, I almost wish they would make this in a perfume, it would make the most  perfect summer fragrance!

Im so happy I picked Figuier up, and will definitely repurchase this in the larger size very soon, next on my list is the blogger cult classic Baies & my favourite perfume scent Roses, im desperate to try the candle version as I just adore the scent.

Have any of you tried Diptyque candles, know of any I should add to my wishlist?

Let me know in the comments below!

Frankie xo

ren - exfoliating body balm

Seeing as summer has fast approached us, we all need to amp up on our skincare throughout the warmer season as theres a whole lot more body on show these days and dry skin is a definite no-no!

Rens exfoliating body balm is the product of choice for me, exfoliating the skin is a key part to keeping your skin smooth, supple and flake free.

The body balm is full of beautiful oils which for starters smell heavenly but adorn the skin in rich moisture, its grainy texture removes dead skin cells allowing the oils to penetrate deeply for perfectly nourished skin.

Basil, peppermint and olive oil along with guarande sea salt make this the perfect combination for dry skin, they gently exfoliate, moisturise and nourish the skin, apply to dry skin before your bath/shower or for a gentler treatment apply to wet skin and rinse off.

I've been literally loving this the past few weeks and can't see myself putting it down anytime soon, I can imagine this being a lovely winter product too as the scent is very refreshing and uplifiting, so its large size tub will keep you going for a long while!

Have any of you tried Rens body products, I'd love to hear your opinions on them!

Lots of love, Frankie xxx

foundation favourite

As some of you may know, i previously worked for Clarins, during this time i discovered a few firm favourites and one of them is the True Radiance foundation.

True Radiance is literally the most beautiful, flawless-inducing foundation i have ever used, and believe me i have tried ALOT.

The formula is very lightweight but incredibly dewy, i would say a little powder is neccesary with this product just on the T zone, im someone who is more on the drier side and even this is a little

too dewy for me, as i said having drier skin makes this foundation a god send for me as it has some really fantastic skincare properties, shea butter nourishes the skin feeding it some well needed moisture, whilst moringa seed makes the skin luminous and bright.

The photo above just shows the product lightly buffed with my fingers, personally i use a duo fibre or stippling brush to give the most natural effect, the pigmentation is very high considering it feels so sheer and lightweight on the face.

I would even go as far as saying this is my holy grail foundation, it lasts all day, is natural, yet flawless without feeling cakey on the skin and just gives everyone ive ever applied it to the most perfect looking skin whilst remain soft and dewy!

What are you favourite foundations and are there any that you reccomend i give a try, and have any of you tried this particular foundation, what are you thoughts on it?

See you all soon, Frankie ♥

P.s

I have created a group for all you fellow bloggers/vloggers out there, its a group where you can share your links for your current content and meet like minded people, feel free to join and add your work!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/507521156065289/

Life Update, Birthday, Kittens & More..

Hey guys!
So I know its been a very long time since I last blogged and I do have my reasons this time!

Life has been very manic, I started a new job with a luxury skincare and cosmetics company (I wont name them as they have no affiliation with my blogging) its been fantastic and have enjoyed many weeks in London training, with the odd luxury dinner and hotel thrown in there for good measure.

We've had four little extra babies join our household, in kitten form of course ;)

 

 

They are all absolutely adorable, the final two are leaving home tomorrow and im super sad, I've been in tears this evening at the thought of them all being gone now, but very happy as they all have really lovely homes to go to with lots of new places to explore!

 

Aside from all the mania at home Myself and Samuel finalllyyyyy went on holiday this year for the first time in over 3 years, it was extremely well overdue, we actually went with his parents as we had never been away with them before.

 

 

We stayed in Matagorda in Lanzarote (where me and Sam had our first ever holiday together 7 years ago) and it was actually a really lovely time, we ate delicious food, visited beautiful underground caves and visited the old town where we first went all those years ago, of course there was a little shopping involved which I will be filming a haul video of very soon :)

 

The past few months have been a whirlwind, as my readers will know I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks and have previously been on medication for this which I can say after a manic few months of being all over the place I am finally medication free and have been for almost 8 weeks now and I feel so free and happy to finally be rid of the awful things, don't get me wrong I do still have all the same problems as before, I just manage them a lot better now with the added bonus of feeling like ME again!

 

See.. I told you I had my reasons ;)

Im really glad to be back to blogging again, I've been wanting to write a post for a while now but just needed the right time to come for me to get back into the swing of things and finally feel ready with myself to do so!

 

There are some huge things coming my way for 2015 and I literally cannot wait to share my journey with all you lovely readers, for now lets concentrate on Christmas and what the festive season brings us!

 

Lots of love, Frankie xXx

 

 

 

 

HD Brows - Pro Eyebrow Palette

Evening my lovelies, so today im coming to you with a product which is new to me and that is the HD Brows - Pro Eyebrow Palette!

I picked this up after seeing a fellow blogger had written about it being a really good price on Ebay at the moment, the reason for this being that HD Brows have rebranded and redesigned all there packaging so the older packaged bits were being sold off via online stores so I instantly knew I had to buy this, and after just having come back from a Wedding I had done I realised quite how many different brow shades there really are and I wasn't quite catering to everyone's needs I had to make up!

I really like the older style packaging to be quite honest, its very sleek and shiny with the HDB logo on the front of the palette and comes with a HUGE mirror inside, I don't think I've ever seen a palette with such a big mirror inside, I find this super handy as you can see everything your doing and wont need to carry an extra one around with you!

The shades inside the palette are super versatile, you can cater pretty much any brow shade with these six shades, even though im mainly a mixture between the first and second shades I can see I will get a lot of use out of this as I mentioned before I will use it on my clients who majority of people I have come across have significantly darker brows than myself!

Another great use for this kit is that you could double up the use of the product and use them for matte shadows, all over the lids or for defining in the crease.

The pigmentation of the shadows are amazing, I was quite sceptical of the fact that I had purchased this from an Ebay store that it wouldn't be a genuine product and the quality would be rubbish but I for one definitely believe this to be a genuine HDB product as comparing it to other peoples palettes it is identical and the quality of the shadows is outstanding!

The shades in the palette are as below, you get some really great shades and they blend into the brows seamlessly, you cant see the visible lines like a pencil would give you and personally im a huge lover of shadow for the brows over any other product as it gives the most natural and flawless finish.

Overall im very happy I purchased this product and will definitely have to invest in some more HBD as the quality is seriously amazing, you can purchase the palette from the Ebay store here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HD-BROWS-Professional-Eye-Brow-Palette-6-Colour-Pro-High-Definition-Eyebrows-/390774113257?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Make_Up_Cosmetics_Eyeliner_PP&hash=item5afbf3c3e9
and it is priced at £13 with free delivery which is such a good deal!

Let me know if any of you purchase this and if you have any other HBD products you recommend?

Lots of love, Frankie x

Avene - Eau Thermale Spring Water

So in the few years I have been blogging, I never thought I would writing posts about 'water' but I am, strangely I have developed a little obsessing with the Avene - Eau Thermale Spring Water!

This product had been collecting dust on the top of my makeup stash for ages when I decided to chuck it in my handbag so that I actually got some use out of it, and considering the only reason I purchased it was because id seen a few bloggers with it in there bags also I thought there must be a reason for it.
I had been using this product as a makeup setting spray, which personally I don't think it does much for your face other than make powders look less cakey and considering I don't wear powder it pretty much was a dud for me, until the ever careful Samuel came back home with delightful sunburn all over his face back and shoulders that I whipped it out of the handbag and sprayed it all over him before bed, I have no idea what possessed me to think this would work, I just assumed it would cool him down but no, he awoke the next morning near enough pain free and a whole lot less sunburnt, couldn't be down to the Avene could it?
Well yes it indeed was as he continued to use it over the next day or so and it literally transformed his sunburn into a lovely golden tan, no peeling in sight!

I hadn't ever read the back of the bottle before but on doing so I was surprised to see what exactly the product is aimed at, as you can see from the photo below it has a whole host of things it works on and I couldn't believe a 'water' product could work wonders on everything from nappy rash to facial redness, luckily I do not suffer from nappy rash but facial redness I do and have used on makeup free days to calm down the clown cheeks just a tad!

Another little thing I have used this for is a little TMI but im afraid there's no boundaries where im concerned on this blog, I actually sprayed it 'down there' yes you can guess where I mean, I had a little sore shaving rash and it was seriously irritating me and I was finding it rather uncomfortable to wear underwear so I pulled out the trusty little can and sprayed away, left it overnight and woke to feeling literally no pain whatsoever, I know for many of us out there the bikini line pain can be abit of a problem and nothing has ever solved the problem like this before!

Im so impressed by this wonder water in a can that im 100% heading straight out the door to buy the larger bottle (or 2) if theres one product you invest your money into this year this must be one of them, I cant stress enough how much this has saved my life for some of those really inconvenient problems we all suffer from time to time!

Have any of you tried this and if you have let me know your thoughts!

Eau Thermale spring Water - £3.15 

Lots of love, Frankie x

Mac Playland - Sweet Experience

Happy Sunday everyone :)
As i said in my previous post i recently had a little shopping trip in London, and i picked up a few beauty bits from Selfridges, this beautiful creation being one of them, i was instantly drawn to the MAC stand for obvious reasons, but this time they had an extra little area where they were advetising there new Playland collection, i knew straight away this was going to be a collection for me!
Bright candy pinks, candy floss, pastel unicorns, carousels and pink flamingos, you name it they had it there!
I picked up the amplified creme lipstick in Sweet Experience..

Candy pink, check!
Literally, this is the lipstick i have been searching for pretty much my entire life, the perfect baby pink, think of that pink your barbies wore when you were 10 in a subtler form, i love!

The formula is so lovely, creamy soft but incredibly pigmented, it doesn't dry out the lips, lasts a long time and actually feels quite nourishing on the lips, as far as lipstick goes this is a gooden!
You only need one swipe on the lips for this to be incredibly pigmented, i quite like either dabbing it on the lips or applying in one swipe but blotting off the excess, meaning this will last you a long time, especially good as it is limited edition, although heads up MAC you need to add this to the permanent line, pretty please :)

I hope you agree with me just how pretty this lipstick is, i do believe you cant pick this up online anymore, i have checked MAC & Selfridges and they dont have it online, but always check your local stores as they will still carry some of the shades :)

Frankie x

Mac Lipstick £15

Chanel - Soleil Tan De Chanel

Evening my lovelies. Hope your all well, the past few days have been busy ones, shopping in London over the weekend and back to work after a long and lovely 8 days off!

My recent shopping trip found me adding some new beauties to my collection, I've actually just uploaded a haul on my YouTube channel of the bits I picked up, but today I'm bringing you one of the special pieces I picked up, a product I've been lusting after for a long time now, that being the Chanel - Soleil Tan De Chanel! 

The beautiful packaging is just where the love for this product begins, housed in a gorgeous solid tub with the classic black lid and chanel gold engravings, this looks beautiful on show on my makeup table! 

The product inside is just a dream to use, lightweight but pigmented, this glides into the skin effortlessly, while you do need to buff this in thoroughly, once blended its creates the perfect faux glow, perfect for a pale skinned girl like me.

I adore the finish on the skin this product gives me, a few days in the sun is now no longer needed as this gives the appearance of having been on holiday, you know those first few days where your just starting to tan and everything you put on seems as if it looks much better, yea that does this! 

The first time I applied this I had a few compliments on how healthy my skin looked and the old "have you been on holiday" was snuck in there too! 

I actually used this as a base for my foundation to sit on top off and it works like a dream, my makeup actually lasted a whole lot longer than usual so I would go as far as saying you could use this as your daily primer too! 

To proclaim my love to this once more. I'm actually obsessed with this product, I rarely throw that out there so for me that's a big deal. I thought I loved my Boujouis dupe but hell no, compared to this I'll quite happily ditch any bronzer for this any day! 

I really hope you enjoyed this post, and don't forget to take a peak at my London Haul video over on YouTube search Frankie Boo for my channel and I'd love for you too subscribe and leave me a comment saying your popping over from the blog! 

Lots of love, Frankie x 

Chanel - Soleil Tan De Chanel £32.00

Clinique - Anti Blemish Solutions Foundation

Afternoon my lovely friends, hope your midweek Wednesday is going well?

Today I'm blogging to you about a wonderful new find I stumbled across recently, that being the Clinique - Anti Blemish Solutions foundation, I have the shade 01 Fresh Alabaster which is the lightest shade in the range, seeing as I am SUPER pale and even this can be slightly dark on me so a warning to anyone who is on the fairer side, get colour matched before you buy this, something I didn't do.. that being said I quite like the colour of this on me, gives me a little hint of colour!

 

The formula to this foundation isn't too heavy, its gives good coverage whilst still being light on the skin which is definitely something you need when you suffer from acne as I do (I have previous posts that are more in depth about this).

 

You can just see where my hairline is that the colour is slightly dark for me but it blends well into my neck which is where i generally tend to worry more as I hate the obvious foundation lines that I coveted back when i was 13!

 

I wanted to actually test this foundation out before I popped it up on the blog as I feel this is a product people will want to know more in-depth about before the go out and purchase it, although I do feel this is worth the money.. I believe this has actively cleared up numerous current outbreaks I have had, my skin has been much smoother in appearance and overall it looks much brighter and healthier.

The oil free foundation is aimed at actively controlling breakouts, neutralizes redness (definitely a problem I suffer with) whilst preventing future blemishes, I really feel Clinique have got this formula and testament bang on, I feel much more confident with my skin makeup free now than before as combining this with there skincare (post coming up on this soon) i have clearer fresher skin!

The finish of the foundation is quite matte, I would almost say you could get away without using a powder on top of this, unless you are more on the oilier side, it smoothes out perfectly using a buffing brush and is almost invisible once dried - beware though this is a very fast drying formula so you will need to work quickly!

Another feature I find fantastic about this foundation is the bottle, especially the little nib where the product is dispersed from, it controls the amount of product you use by only allowing you to squeeze what you need out from it, I would say a 10p piece on the back of your hand is the perfect amount for a full face meaning this will you last you a long time and no wastage!

Overall I've enjoyed using this foundation and think I'll be sticking with it until something else catches my wandering eye #beautybloggerproblems, keep your eyes peeled for the skincare instalment from Clinique coming up soon!

Do let me know if you have any questions about this or anything else skincare related as i love to hear from you!

Frankie x

 

 

 

Diptyque - Eau Rose

After recently purchasing Verveine candle from the luxurious brand diptyque I have been sold on there scents, ever the opulent brand that diptyque are, there perfumes don't disappoint, housed in there typical classic packaging, Eau rose has become a firm favourite in my collection!

I purchased the roll on version of this scent as I was keen to add a perfume to my hand bag that wouldn't weigh it down or risk of it leaking, the 20ml bottle is the perfect size to pop into any size bag making it easy to take from day to night, popping it into your clutch.

Eau rose is a sophisticated scent which lingers on the body, I place it on my pulse points on the wrist and neck to allow my body heat to disperse the scent, you literally only need a swipe of this for it to get to work, it has gorgeous ingredients, light crispness from blackcurrants, lychee and bergamot layered upon damask and centifelia roses with a touch of cedar and honey make this scent the perfect spring companion! 

I definitely plan on creating a little collection of diptyque perfumes and candles as the brand definitely know how to produce grown up products without the typical old lady smell to them, they're fresh and warm and I've grown to love this traditional style! 

Have you tried anything from Diptyque I'd love to hear your suggestions on what to add to my collation! 

Eau Rose 

20ml rollerball £32

100ml bottle £68 

Frankie xxx