The Summer Transition: Work Out Routine & Kit

 

I'm not sure about anywhere else, but in the UK our summer (and sunshine) is nothing if not unpredictable. Meaning my very shaky willpower has needed something to root for before it fully commits - but, finally, the sun has come through.

 

I started up The Summer Transition quite a while a go, promising that I'd write posts featuring the changes I'd made to prepare myself for summer. But after publishing my favourite products and lip colours, the sun disappeared and with it my summery determination. However, I'm getting re-involved with my work outs and with it re-vamped my work out bag to show you all!

 

 

This is my current 'work out' bag. It's basically a large make-up bag from Primark, but it's length and width are the perfect size to fit all my essentials (even my trainers!) without bulking up my handbag too much. I think Primark still stocks make-up bags in this style but not necessarily in this colour (mine was in the sale in January). 

 

I switch up the contents of this bag depending on my work out. My scheduled work-outs include Zumba three times a week and swimming once a fortnight. My more impromptu exercise is usually associated with my litter sister or my dog, which I don't need a gym bag for!

 

Generally the components of the bag stay the same, but when it comes to Zumba I like to switch it up when it comes to clothing and make-up. For those of you who haven't heard of Zumba it's basically exaggerated dancing of a range of different styles (my instructor's routines include street dance, ballroom and salsa). My classes are all an hour long, and you can choose how hard you want to push yourself depending on the amount of effort you put in. For example, if I want to tone up my legs a little more then I'll stretch them even further during a lunge move. It's so fun I almost forget I'm working out.

 

 

But for now I'll show you the basic essentials that I keep in the bag.

 

 

Aztec & Leopard Print Bikini - Primark, £7. Purple Sports Bra - Primark, £4. Grey Trainers - Primark, £2.50.

 

As you can probably tell, I had a bit of a fitness haul in Primark recently. The purchase I love the most is that bikini - it's amazing! The top is strapless with a little triangle cut out on the cleavage area. I got a size 6 in the top and size 8 in the bottoms. I also picked up a cute purple sports bra for £4! I'd had my eye on a gorgeous sky blue one from Sports Direct which was £22, but when I saw this bargain I couldn't resist! I would have liked to get it in a size 6 but all they had left was one size 8 so I grabbed it in that size instead.

 

 

Make-up wise, I like to wear a slick of tinted lip balm and a tiny hint of waterproof mascara. I'm currently using Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara and The Body Shop's Born Lippy in Raspberry. I also like to pencil in my eyebrows - it helps to frame the face despite the lack of eye make-up. Other than that, I try to keep my face completely clear. I mean, what's the point in spending time perfecting eye liner and blending foundation if it's going to sweat off anyway? It's also a hell of a lot healthier to let your skin breathe when working out. Sometimes, I also like to keep a little spray bottle of water to spritz on my face, neck and chest post-work out as a little pick me up.

 

Also in my bag are Batiste Dry Shampoo (coconut scented), Dove Go Fresh Roll On Deodorant in Lemon Fresh, a pair of tweezers, bobby pins, a few hair bands and a comb.

 

So there you have it!

 

What are your favourite workout essentials for the summer?

 

xo

 

 



 

 

Nivea Double Effect Eye Make-Up Remover Review

 

 

Following a recent shake-up in my facial routine comes this eye make-up remover from Nivea (£1.60 on sale currently in Superdrug). Up until recently I was bleeding the last few drops of my L'Oreal Plentitude Eye Make-Up Remover dry but sadly it's time's passed and has now been dumped into my Empties box (post coming soon).

 

Personally, I can't live without eye make-up remover. Similar to my sensitive skin, my eyes are always at war with whatever other products I try and use on them, meaning that they become red, itchy and irritated but clinging on to the mascara.

 

To be perfectly honest, when I rushed out to purchase a replacement, I didn't think I'd come home with this one - and now I kind of know why.

 

I can't say I hate it exactly, but we certainly don't have the friendliest relationship. The product itself is basically moisturising oil and soothing water sharing a bottle - something that is actually really cool to look at, but not necessarily to use. I personally prefer using oil-free make-up removers and I wouldn't go for this one under different circumstances, but I got distracted by how unique it looked! 

My first issue with this product is that in order to blend the two parts together to create the full make-up remover, you have to shake the bottle. A LOT. I mean literally, this requires at least two minutes of vigorous shaking before it's suitable to use - resulting in me quite often skipping using this in favour of warm water on cotton pads (shame on me!)
 

 

 

 My second annoyance is the cap of the bottle, where the product gets dispensed. It's a tiny hole in the long white cap that requires even more shaking to get any out, and when it does come out it released in irregular squirts which I always manage to get everywhere.

 

On the upside, the oil is very moisturising which usually means I don't have to use an eye cream and it's not too harsh on my sensitive skin. But, despite it's superficial beauty, if I were to need an eye make-up remover again, I wouldn't reach for this one.

 

I'm sorry that this review was a bit of a negative one, but I feel that I show so often the products that I'm loving and don't really give an insight to ones that I'm not getting on with!



Hope you're all feeling well xo



If I had £50 Tag...

Hey everyone! I was tagged to do this post by the lovely Bea from Beatrice Sapphire (you can see her post here!). I've never done a post like this before, but thought it sounded like fun so thought I'd give it a go :)

Here are the rules:

1. Pick a shop any shop. Whatever that shop is you have £50 to spend. Pick whatever you want. (Clothing shops may not work as well because sometimes it costs £50 for one thing)

2. The title of the post must be " "If I had £50" TAG " so people know what the post is about.

3. You must state that this post was created by me AlexRocksXO

4. Thank who tagged you. It's just polite :-)

5. Tag at least one person.

6. Copy and paste the rules onto the top of your post.

The shop I decided to choose is Superdrug, because I'd rather show a lot of different things than I would just one or two things from say Miss Selfridge!

1. Taylor Swift Wonderstruck Enchanted. £19.00 for 30ml.

Personally, I hate the idea of celebrity perfumes but I can't help but love this one! Everytime I'm near a Boots/Superdrug I always go in and smell it. I am going to get the 50ml one, but it's £28.00 so for this post I'm gonna down grade so I can 'buy' more stuff!

2. Barry M Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint in Key Lime. £3.99.

Oh my Gosh, guys. This colour is actually amazing. I don't actually own any Barry M Gellys (yet) but this is first on my list!

3. MUA Undress Me Too Palette, £4.00.

Since I don't own a Urban Decay Naked palette I figure this is the next best thing! 

4. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Translucent, £3.99.

5. Barry M Lip Paint in Vicious Violet, £4.49.

I've only tried one other Barry M Lipstick (Palest Lavender) but the shade really didn't suit me so I'm looking for a perfect shade so that Barry M can regain it's honor in my mind. I think this is the shade! It's amazing.

6. Barry M Concealer Brush, £2.99.

With my college kit, I received every kind of brush except a concealer brush. This is high on my 'reality list'!

7. FashionistA Blush in Coral, £2.00

8. MUA Eyeshadow Trio in Innocence, £2.50.

Recently I went to a wedding party and the key colour of my outfit was gold, but I actually don't own any gold eyeshadows! This is also on my 'reality list'.

9. Johnson's Daily Essentials Night Cream, £4.05.

I absolutely adore this night cream! It sorts out my dry skin easily and leaves my skin feeling super soft.

So there's my list! This post might seem kind of long because I posted them individually but never mind :) I tag anyone who reads this! Also if you end up joining in, please comment with the link to your post because I love reading these!

xx

Step By Step Minion Nail Art! (Despicable Me)

Hey everyone!

I am so excited to show you this Nail Art! It's really simple, but looks so cute and quirky and is definitely a conversation starter.

Basically, a few weeks ago I watched a film in the cinema with my little sister Leigh and the advert for Despicable Me 2 came on. And for some reason, ever since I saw the trailer I've been calling her 'minion'. So this Nail Art is a shout out to my little sister!

This nail art is so far away from perfect (I don't have a dotting tool large enough to create the eyes, so they're a little off shape, and also in my excitement I managed to smudge the little finger nail AWH!) but they're so adorable I can't stop looking at them. 

To create this Nail Art I used a bright sunshine yellow nail varnish plus three nail art pens in white, black and navy blue. If you're not feeling so confident at doing the minions on all of your nails, I've also wore this with just my index finger as a minion and the others with blue or white French tips.

Step One: Paint all of your nails yellow. Once dry, use the long thin brush from the blue nail art pen to create the minion's little clothing by sweeping it along the tip of your nail just like you would with French tips. This line can be as thick or as thin as you want, and the thickness doesn't have to match on each nail, messy lines are okay here!

Step Two: Mid-way up/down the nail, using the thin brush from the black nail art pen, draw a thick/thin black line. This is going to be the strap from the minion's goggles. Wait to dry.

Step Three: Create the white of the minions eye with a white nail art pen/dotting tool dipped in white nail varnish. You can either choose to do one or two eyes. Wait to dry.

Step Four: Whilst your waiting for the eye to dry, using the pen tip of the black nail art pen, draw your minion a mouth. I drew a mix of big smiles, normal smiles and half smiles but it's up to you what you want to draw!

Step Five: Using the tip of the black nail art pen, draw your minion a pupil in the middle of the white eye. Wait to dry, and apply a top coat!

So that's it guys! I have received so many comments on this nail art already, and it definitely brightens up any outfit! I'm planning on painting my sister's nails to match when I take her to watch Despicable Me 2!

xo

Cheap Make-Up Storage Solutions #1

I'm nothing if not resourceful when it comes to storage solutions, and I'm also a crazy organisational freak, so whilst me and my family were eating our tea a few nights ago and I watched my brother chomp down on his Chicken Fried Rice straight from the plastic box it came in, inspiration hit me!

This is one of the drawers that I stash all of my under-used make-up in. I had been pondering for a while how best to store all of this make-up in such a way that it didn't take me five minutes to find the eyeshadow I was after, but every storage solution I looked at online/in store was always more than I was willing to pay.

So what you see here are three Chicken Fried Rice cartons that I've put through my dishwasher twice and hand washed once just to be thorough. The length and width of the boxes are perfect for mascaras and eyeliners as well as compact powders and lipsticks.

In this box I keep most of my blushers, bronzers, foundations and other round shaped products like highlighters and shaders. On the left I have my compact foundations and a highlight & shade duo, on the right I have my blushers and bronzers. I just tucked a few foundation shades into the front where there was room.

In this box I keep my lip products. I haven't had time to organise this properly yet, so it looks a bit thrown together, but I want to take time to arrange each product seperately so it all fits. I have lip glosses, lipsticks, lip liners, compact lipsticks and glosses and a lip palette in here. 

In this box I have my mascaras and a few liquid eyeliners. This was the smallest of the three boxes, but it's the perfect length for most of my mascaras. I also have a few palettes tucked down the side (Collection, MUA and an Acessorize one), and a little concealer set.

The bigger box at the back is actually a sweet box. You know, what corner shops have their pic 'n' mix in? Well, I discussed it with my local shop keeper and he's agreed to keep back all the boxes once the sweets have been sold. 

In this bigger box I have my single eyeshadows, plus my extra-length eyeliners as they literally didn't fit anywhere else!

Altogether I've finally arranged my make-up in a way that I'm really happy with, and it hardly cost me a thing! 

Fashion Face-Off Card Game

Hey everyone!

So this post is a little bit different than anything I've posted before, but the illustrations on these cards are so stunning I had to share them with you! A definite fun must-have for any fashion lover, or even a cute gift for a birthday.

They are essentially Top Trumps trading cards (most 90's kids should know what I'm talking about), which is basically a card game where you pick a topic from the card and whoever has a highest score wins their opponents card. With me so far?

But instead of football players and cars, the features of these cards are The Most Iconic Fashion Designs. Designers include Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood.

The topics include: Day-to-Day Practicality, Top eBay Bid, Timeless Appeal, Mainstream Imitations, Red Carpet Wow-Factor and Trend-Setting Potential.

The illustrations on these cards are the most exquisite things I've ever seen! My favourite definitely has to be the Vivienne Westwood SATC dress though :)

These cards are avaliable online (amazon, ebay ect), for around £6 - 8.

x

Mini Haul! | Primark & Poundland

Hey everyone!

So I've been doing a little bit of shopping recently (and by little I literally mean everything in this Haul came to a grand total of £19!) and thought I'd show you some of the things I've picked up.

I worked at Primark as a Christmas Temp last year and during my induction they taught us about how Primark advertises - and it literally is through all of us. Bloggers, Youtubers and general fashion gossips are the way that they advertise their new ranges as they don't spend money on any flashy campaigns (tv ads or otherwise) which is essentially why their clothes is so cheap.

Anyway, here's what I bought at Primark! 

Sheer Shirt with Lace Collar, £12

It's a gorgeous sheer shirt with the most beautiful lace detailing on the collar and the cuffs. The colour of the fabric itself is a sort of cream / pale gold tone and is obviously very sheer. I got this in a size 8 and it's a little long on me but the sleeves aren't too bad and the material doesn't bunch up at the cuffs which is good. 

I'm wearing this to a wedding party on the weekend with the skirt that's also featured in this post and a pair of New Look wedges (blog post of my charity shop shoes coming soon!). I'm also planning to dress it down with a pair of boyfriend jeans and converse for a cool date outfit.

Khaki/Grey Crop Top, £3 

&

Black Mini Skirt, £3

These two were such total bargains!

I had originally wanted this crop top in white (I think they also do pink, black and navy) but as is the way with Primark, they didn't have it in my size! So instead I grabbed this one. The colour of it is a sort of grey/khaki shade (if that makes sense?!) which I quite like. It fits perfectly (size 6) and comes down to just below my rib cage. 

Being honest, I'm not really getting any fashion inspiration for this one so if you have any idea what I could pair this with please let me know!

I also got this simple black mini skirt. I got this in a size 8 and I wear it with the band on my waist line and the end of the skirt comes down to my mid-thigh (although it rides up constantly!). I was a little skeptical of the fabric - I always find that with tight Primark clothing you can see what underwear I'm wearing but I don't have that problem with this skirt! 

Perfect to wear with anything. I wore it recently with a white vest top tucked in, a sleeveless denim shirt and a pair of leopard print dolly shoes!

Primark Total: £18

I also took a trip down to my local Poundland recently and picked up another gorgeous Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Cherry-Licious, £1

I must admit, I was a little skeptical when I looked at this. I'm not really one to wear shimmery lip shades, as quite frankly they scare me! But the gorgeous glittery rose pigment in this colour is lovely. It's a sort of 'your lips but better' shade, just with a little more subtle sparkle that is really flattering. 

The lipstick itself had a nice buttery texture that can be applied straight from the bullet onto lips without any mistakes and doesn't even require a lip balm before hand as it's really moisturising. 

Poundland Total: £1

So that's all I've been buying recently! 

If you do have any ideas of what to pair with that crop top please let me know, I have no idea! It was a bit of a spur of the moment buy, mostly because it was so cheap to be honest!

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading!

xo

LUSH Dirty Shaving Cream Review (Mens)

Hello everyone!

Father's Day is just around the corner (depressingly my dad's birthday is as well, sigh!) and I find there is literally nothing worse than shopping for a guy. Well, at least that goes for the guys in my family.

They like what they like, and nothing I or anyone else says will alter that. They don't want anything they don't need, which is universal knowledge, meaning they end up with too much of the stuff they do need, meaning they don't need it anymore. Did you follow that?

Personally, I think I'm going to stick to the basics this Father's Day. A nice coffee, a Toblerone and a card will suit my dad & step dad just fine. However, because of my dad's birthday approaching as well, I thought I'd show you what I'm buying him before Father's Day in case it inspires you for a gift idea!

I actually bought this as a gift for my boyfriend for his birthday back in May (I might upload a post about the other gifts I bought him as well!). He's a secret lover of Lush (especially their bath bombs... but don't tell him I told you that) and so I took a venture into town after college to take a look at their men's products.

I quite liked the idea of buying him a shaving cream, as he gets quite sensitive skin after he shaves and after chatting to one of the sales assistants, I decided on Dirty "a superb shaving cream with oatmilk to cool and calm, safflower oil to moisturise and honey to soothe". 

The scent of this is actually really strong, even after use - I'm literally sat here writing this at the desk with my boyfriend on the sofa across from me and I can smell it from here! The fragrance definitely comes from the addition of Lavender and Sandalwood oils within the ingredients list, and it smells amazing. 

Now, obviously, I can't vouch for the effectiveness of this shaving cream - as opposed to Ambrosia, this cream is much thicker and is strictly for use on the face (not that my boy would let me try it on my legs anyway...). 

I couldn't talk him into giving me full sentences of his opinion of this as he's on his Xbox, so here's a basic summary:

- Feels soft on skin

- Doesn't catch on blade even though it's thick

- Smells good

- Leaves skin soft after use

- Smell lasts for ages, so don't need to wear after shave

- Leaves me with hardly any redness after shaving

Believe me, coming from him, that's a good recommendation!

What gifts have you lined up for your dads this Fathers Day? x