Fave Five: July 2014

Nude Lips

The first of my favourites for this month isn't so much a product but more of a 'look' that I've loved wearing. If you've read my last Fave Five (click here if you haven't!), you'll know that I hav ealways been quite shy of wearing colour on my lips and am always trying reaching to just a boring lip balm over a lip stick. I must say I've made a lot of progress with this and have often sported my new Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter down the town or out with friends. Although I have been wearing colour on my lips a lot more often, it hasn't meant that every outfit or every occasion suits the limited lipsticks in my make-up collection. I recently retrieved a palette that I haven't really used at all yet which included this nude lip gloss above. I instantly feel in love as soon as a put it on. It also sent me back to my mid teens when all my friends and I were obsessed with lip gloss like this one because, of course, we weren't allowed to wear make-up. What I love the most about this is the subtle shine and shimmer it gives to your lips without adding a colour too intense. It's perfect for not only everyday but also much more dressy occasion when you have perhaps much more dark or dramatic eye make-up, something you don't want to lose behind a bright lipstick. Overall, I have been wearing this beautiful nude lip gloss so much over the last month, this specific one from a limited edition palette I received as a gift from Marks & Spencers so I do believe it isn't available any more! There are so many gorgeous nude lip glosses and lip sticks available for a range of prices from Boots or Superdrug however which I will definitely seek to discover once this has run out!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Having read both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire last year, I couldn't wait to read the final conclusion to the trilogy - Mockingjay. With the reading I have been doing for my school courses, I had been too busy to start this until now. I'm only about half way through the book so far but I am really enjoying the storyline. I love Suzanne Collins' writing and the depth of description she portrays in each novel. The character of Katniss is also an aspect which encourages me to pick up the book each day and it's so interesting reading how the events unfold from her perspective. I can't wait to read further and discover how the book, and the events built in the previous books, end! 

NYC Nail Varnish in Midtown

Painting my nails is something I have very much missed since becoming so occupied with my studies. I find it so relaxing and love spending time choosing colours and creating cute little designs. I've recently been redesigning my nail varnish storage and sorting through the many nail polishes I own that are way past their expiration date! While my nail polishes were away as I created their new home, I borrowed this shimmery pink from my Mum. I instantly fell in love with the colour and knew this would most definitely be one of my favourite things to wear on my nails over the summer. Clothes wise, I wear alot of monochrome but also a lot of pink, so this colour could compliment nearly any outfit. This nail polish, by New York Color, is a stunning bright pink with shimmer running through it to give it a glossy and glamorous edge. I'm known to go bold with my nail colours so this colour was right up my street and steered away from the plain, block colours I have opted for recently. This exact shade is Midtown and as it was purchased a while ago I'm not sure it is still available. I must say however, that I am rather impressed by the brand NYC, as the quality is rather decent for the really cheap price at which these polishes can be purchased. If this colour isn't still available, I would definitely recommend exploring the NYC collection for similar colours or just others that scream summer like this one does (and for half the price of most other brands)!  

Nivea Moisturising After Sun Lotion

My skin is fair, very fair in fact, so sun burn is always something I seem to struggle with as the summer months begin and the sun starts to make an appearance. Therefore, I often seem to strongly rely on an 'after sun' to apply after I have spent long periods of time outside. I had been using this one by Nivea prior to my holiday and to that point, it has soothed and calmed the little sunburn I had attracted. When it came to my camping trip in mid-July, I was fairly confident that either I wouldn't need 'after sun', what with all the sun cream I would be a applying, or that Hannah would bring it instead. I was soon to find out she didn't bring any either. Yet, on the second day of our holiday, having gone kayaking at midday, our legs exposed by our shorts and soaked from the sea, we soon came to realise how sunburnt we had become on our legs. I must say this was probably the worst sunburn I have ever experienced, it literally felt like our legs were physically burning. We were quick to run to the local store and buy some of this, Nivea's Moisturising After Sun Lotion, to apply. I was so pleased at how quickly it seemed to cool the burning sensation and although we were still experiencing pain, it was a lot more bearable and the next morning, we could already notice how much of a difference the lotion had made at soothing and fading the burn. After the week or so of using the product, the burn had completely faded into a lovely tan without any peeling. This is quite an odd product to feature in my Fave Five but I had to give it a place after having saved us while on holiday and benefited my skin greatly since!

Camping Holiday with Han

Finally, my favourite thing for the month of July was the holiday I spent with my best friend Hannah. We ventured to The New Forest for 4 days, to camp and explore the surroundings all by ourselves. It wasn't exactly the crazy clubbing experience most teenagers dream of when they finish their exams but I wouldn't have changed a single thing! It was the most fun I've had and we spent the whole trip being silly and laughing. I have written a whole blog post on my holiday: CLICK HERE to read it! Above is a collection of photos from the trip which I love! 

That's all for this month! I can't wait to see what things will be in my top 5 next month, so, until then!

- Becca x

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - RRP £7.99 

New York Color Nail Varnish in Midtown - RRP £1.79 (For the NYC Minute Nail Varnish Collection) 

Nivea Moisturising After Sun Lotion - RRP £10.00 (For 400ml)

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Camping Holiday in The New Forest

Between the 14th and 17th of July, my best friend Hannah and I travelled to the New Forest, a National Park located in southern England, where we were set to camp and explore. It was amazing experience to travel without our parents and families, doing everything on our own and escaping just us two. As I mentioned in my 'This Summer' blog post, we literally had nothing planned, the whole trip would be one big spontaneous idea each day, which I guess didn't really hit home until the night before as I tried to scrape together a bag full of necessities not sure what I might be lacking or not even need.  

DAY 1

We arrived at the campsite in the morning of the 14th. We'd chosen to stay next to the little village of Ashurst, where there were plenty of services in case we needed anything and was a mere 2 miles from Lyndhurst, deemed to be the 'capital' of the New Forest. The campsite was really nice, luckily we'd picked to visit out of peak season so it wasn't too crowded and the staff were very friendly and welcomed us onto the site. The New Forest is famous for its animals that roam freely through the National Park, especially the beautiful New Forest Ponies, many of which wandered happily through the campsite, as Hannah shows in the picture above. We pitched the tent before adventuring off for our first insight into the New Forest environment for a picnic. We came across a stunning woodland which featured not only the famous ponies but also deer and cattle, enjoying the summer weather just as much as we were. The afternoon was very relaxed as we continued on exploring further into the woods. We came across wonderful fields full of life, igniting our excitement to further explore the New Forest over the coming days. We headed back, enjoyed dinner at the local pub 'The Happy Cheese' before settling in for an early night in preparation for the following day.

DAY 2

The night before our second day, Hannah and I had picked up as many leaflets as we could carry to see what we could plan for the next day. After discovering a 'New Forest Tour Bus' with 3 different routes, we settled on seeing where that could take us and what we could do. We caught it early morning, travelling via the 'Green Route' stopping in Brockenhurst, Lymington and Beaulieu. When stopped off in Brockenhurst, we phoned through to a place where you could hire kayaks in Lymington to find out the prices. We then decided we should go for it, without having ever kayaked before or wearing any of the right clothing to do so. We arrived in Lymington and made our way to the quay, where we were set to kayak, or at least try to! After being suited up in our life jackets and mistaking 'dry bag' to be some sort of sophisticated jargon (but literally meaning a bag for our belongings) - the man who helped and served us was most probably awfully worried for us by this point -  we made our way to the water, filled with excitement and nerves. We were both surprised how easy kayaking was and after a little practice we became more and more confident and our two hour adventure began. I am so glad we chose to do kayaking. I must admit, I was nervous and knowing we had no knowledge or experience with kayaking, I was terrified we'd fall out or something, especially knowing our luck! It was so much fun though and I would really recommend it to anyone up for a laugh and adventure with their friends or family! After this, we were quite happy to relax by the river in Beaulieu Village. This was a nice conclusion to a packed day, along with a nice meal at 'The Forest Inn' after which we fell asleep, pretty worn out and sunburnt from all our activities!

*Disclaimer* The animals we petted and took pictures with in the New Forest, we approached with caution and as soon as we saw they were comfortable, went on to pet them. They did not react negatively or appear unhappy when we did so. We didn't do this for every animal we came across and are well aware that some of the animals in the New Forest aren't as comfortable with human interaction as others. Also, although it looks like it in the picture above, I assure you I was not feeding the donkey!

DAY 3

On our third day, we decided to hire bikes locally in Ashurst, something we were certain we wanted to do from first planning the holiday. We cycled the two mile trip to Lyndhurst, the unofficial 'capital' of the New Forest, and upon arrival, were eager to explore the town and environment around. We first greeted a few animals that relaxed by the gates, who gave us a warm welcome into the surrounding land, filled with nature and beauty as far as the eye could see. Shortly after, we made our way down the high street. Lyndhurst boasts lots of cute and quirky shops, as well as a large variety of cafés selling delicious 'New Forest Ice Cream', an absolute must when you visit of course! After enjoying a short exploration of the local shops, a peaceful lunch in the solitude of the open countryside and befriending a couple of adorable donkeys, we headed off for what would be the longest bike ride I've ever experienced. We'd bought a cycle map in the morning and chose a route near Lyndhurst, but also with lots of different options for where to go. We cycled along the path through the woods, our eyes constantly scanning the surroundings for any wildlife. It was so peaceful to cycle through this part of the New Forest, away from the roads and busy tourist spots to simply enjoy the area and beauty within it. We caught sight of buzzards and deer on our adventure while having fun cycling up and down hills - although we are guilty of walking up most of the hills, especially towards the end! - and along the paths under the summer sun. Four hours later, at about 9pm, we finally made it back to Ashurst to return our bikes and placed a rather large order at the local Fish and Chips shop, hungry and thoroughly worn out from our trip in and around Lyndhurst.

DAY 4

We woke bright and early on our final day to give us enough time to put the tent down, pack all our things away as well as get ready for the day we still had planned. Once we'd cleared everything, we said our final goodbyes to the campsite, that had treated us well for the past couple nights, and the ponies, that had kept us company - one even poked their head into our tent that morning! We planned to visit 'Longdown Activity Farm' for the day, where you have the chance to feed and hold lots of different farm animals. The farm was quite small but there was so much to do. We got to see so many cute animals that were roaming around in the lush weather. It was quite funny how we were seemingly the oldest people there that didn't have children! It was such a fun experience though; I love animals and it was so nice to just spend a day watching all the cute pigs, little ducklings and adorable donkeys happy and doing what they do best. We also saw the smallest and sweetest baby guinea pigs, something I've never seen before, running around in their little pen - trust me, it was far more exciting than it sounds. All in all, the day was much more relaxed and not as jam-packed as the rest, which was definitely for the best as we were quite worn out by this point. We still had a lot of fun at the farm, feeding the animals, bouncing on the trampolines and just acting like big kids for the day! We the made our final trip to the local pub for a refreshing cold drink to cool us down before making our way back home, having had one of the best times ever. 

This little holiday was one I won't forget. If I had to choose one word to sum it up, it would be hilarious! I had so much fun with my best friend and it was a great experience to not only have the chance to choose whatever we wanted to do but also decide it all spontaneously! I really hope I get the opportunity to do something like this again and would recommend each and every thing we did to anyone wanting to get away and explore the New Forest!  

- Becca x

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