While i'll admit i'm no great lover of the rain, there's nothing I enjoy more than popping the kettle on, brewing the world's strongest black coffee and fetching last years onesie out from under the bed so I snuggle up on the sofa for a good few hours. Today is certainly one of those days (yes it is July, but it is England i'm talking about). What better way to spend a dull, dreary day than loading Expedia up on my iPad and searching for a last-minute, three-day break somewhere hot and exotic.

After hours of trawling the web comparing hotels and flight prices I feel i've made headway into actually booking somewhere during October, yippee! Many of you probably already know that I work in a shoe shop, and the weeks leading up to when the children go back to school is a NIGHTMARE let me tell you. Think walking upstairs into a vibrant, shoe-filled room where you're greeted by screaming infants and groups of families impatiently waving tickets in the air hoping to be the next ones that are served. I do like my job and my shifts soon whizz by when it's busy, but when you're continuously serving one family after the next for hours on end it can feel a little bit like you're working behind a till in a supermarket - the families are the groceries on the conveyor belt and i'm the cashier trying to scan everything through the till at 100mph... see what I mean?! On top of that you have every single type of foot to contend with: wide, narrow, small, big, young, old, bunioned, smelly... the list is endless and quite frankly i've had to stop before I start thinking up excuses as to why I can't possibly work tomorrow. 

Anyway, back to holidays. I've been fortunate enough to visit many of Spain's provinces while I was growing up as the country has always been a family favourite. My parents were always jetting off to Spain long before I was even born so I guess it's just been instilled in me to love travelling there too. While i'm not too fussed about which area to visit, Mallorca has caught my eye as Palma airport has plenty of hotels nearby - perfect for when you're only holidaying for a few days. This is always a factor I take into consideration as there'd be nothing worse than going on a short break only to spend a large proportion of time (and euros) travelling to and from the airport. I'll be sure to update this post to let you know if this goes ahead or not, but for now i'd like everybody to keep their fingers crossed so I can be up, up and away from the UK!

UPDATE: The (much needed) short break went ahead, hurrah! Although, the original plan of visiting Mallorca went completely out the window and I actually ended up in Barcelona for four days! You can read more about that here.

Today I thought it would be a bit of fun to step away from my camera and delicately-arranged pieces of makeup and trawl the web in search of a 'questions' tag, so that's what i've done. I came across a set of questions on Zoella's blog (you can view her answers here) and thought I'd have a go at answering them myself - so here we go!

What is your current fashion obsession?
I'm really loving striped T-shirts at the moment. Whether they're navy and white or red and white, i'm really into the stripes right now.


What is your current makeup obsession?
I'm getting really into using The Balm's 'Mary-Lou Manizer' highlighter at the moment - It's amazing!


What are you wearing today?
Unfortunately I'm still lazing around in my work uniform, so I'll have to go with a navy cardigan, a magenta-pink blouse and navy trousers. Nice.


Hair?
Curled... I'm all about that volume.


Do you nap a lot?
Rarely... I've discovered that I can't have a nap for just a few minutes and bounce straight back up again. I either nap and end up sleeping for hours on end or just fight through the tiredness!


Why is today special?
Because the Morrisons delivery is due later..


What would you like to learn to do?
I'd love to learn to speak Spanish and I could do with brushing up on my French too.


What's for dinner today?
Gluten-free spaghetti so I can beat the bloat!


What are you listening to right now?
The kettle is boiling if that counts?!


What is your favourite weather?
When the sun is shining and it's warm enough/socially acceptable to wear shorts in public!


What's the last thing you bought?
Some brown hair dye to cover over my ombré.


What are your essentials when traveling?
Mainly beauty-related bits like make-up wipes, a good cleanser, moisturiser etc. on top of a mirror, hairbrush and a toothbrush.. with toothpaste.


What's your style?
Classy not trashy, ha!


What is your most challenging goal right now?
Deciding what I should do with my life - hmph.


If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Somewhere super sunny, lively and exotic like Barcelona :)


Favourite vacation spot?
España!!

So there you have it! Feel free to answer these questions on your own blog - I'd love to read your answers!

Chloe

x

So far this month I haven't been all that adventurous regarding my makeup. Usually in the summer, I like to mix up my routine by swapping foundations for BB creams, lip glosses for lip balms and bronzers for highlighters, but so far I'm still in 'Winter' mode and find myself reaching for the same foundation that I was using waaay back in November. Besides from that, however, I have found a few new little gems that I thought were worthy of a mention - and better still, they are all pretty darn affordable!

Foundation

Aaaaand here it is, the foundation I've been using for months on end. It's Rimmel's 'Lasting Finish 25 hour' foundation in the shade 'True Ivory'. First off, I LOVE THIS STUFF. I've been through bottles and bottles of foundations desperately searching for 'the one' for so long and having no such luck. I find that a lot of foundations tend to look lovely when first applied but begin to leave your skin looking patchy after only a couple of hours, however this one does not. I do have to powder around my nose after a few hours or so but the rest of my face looks exactly the same as it did when I first applied it. It also has SPF 20 which makes it perfect in the summer as it will protect your skin from any harmful UV rays and the coverage is amazing - I'd say it gives a medium coverage at very least and can easily be built up (without looking heavy) if you need to cover any problem areas.

Powder

When it comes to powder, I usually always buy them in the 'translucent' shades so it doesn't alter the colour of my foundation, but recently, with it being Summer and all, I tried out Revlon's 'Nearly Naked' powder in the shade 'Light'. I was pleasantly surprised by the colour of this; I thought it'd be too warm and turn my face orange but it actually seemed to even out my skintone and make my skin look healthier. I was also impressed to find a mirror and a powder puff inside of the compact, something that my trusty Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder doesn't offer. This is ideal if you're looking for a powder you can take with you if you're on the move, as thanks to its packaging, it's a lot less likely to open itself and crumble to bits in the bottom of your bag!

Lips

I'll be honest here, if it wasn't for my Cherry Chapstick finally running out after 7 years, I probably would have never bothered looking for another lip balm. I'd only bought a Cherry Chapstick in the first place after I'd heard Katy Perry's infamous 'I Kissed a Girl' song on the radio a trillion times... aaah the memories. Anyway, the time had come for me to buy a replacement. I'd seen so many people all over the internet raving about these 'Baby Lips' lip balms that I just had to hop on the bandwagon to see what all the fuss was about. I bought the blue one at random which turns out to be the 'hydrating' one of the range, promising to keep your lips moisturised for 8 hours. I took this to Spain with me as it also has SPF 20 which was perfect for when I was spending hours outside in the sun! I did think it left my lips feeling softer and a lot smoother than other lip balms I've used it the past, and it has a slight lemon-y scent to it which smells lovely and fresh.

Cheeks

I'm pretty sure I've written about this in a blog post before, but I've been using it so much recently I thought it was worthy of another mention. It's the 'Instant Glow' Shimmer Brick by Seventeen; a compact made up of 4 different shades that you swirl together and apply to the tops of your cheekbones for a gorgeous, healthy glow. Mine is in the shade 'Gold Bronze' but there is also a 'Pink Bronze' compact available which I feel you could also use as a blusher. Personally I like that this product isn't too strongly pigmented as it allows you to build up the glow very subtly and what's more, it's just a fraction of the cost of the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks!

Eyes

Ok, I'm going to start by saying I freaking love this mascara. I love the packaging, I love the wand, and most importantly, I love the volume it gives to my lashes. The wand has a slight curve to it which allows it to grasp hold of every single eyelash and immediately turns them all long and fluttery - without any of those dreaded big clumps. Oh, and another thing, it's not a disaster to remove either; you can literally wipe it off and it doesn't leave your lashes feeling like they've been coated in

cement!

Fragrance

Last but by no means least, I've really been loving this Chloé perfume this month. I usually go for fresh scents, but this one has notes of rose, lychee and honey and is beautifully light and floral. I haven't come across many perfumes that have good staying power but I have to say, this one does seem to last for hours on end and really is such a classy and sophisticated scent.

What have you been loving so far this month? I'd love to hear any recommendations!

Chloë

If you've read my previous blog post you will know that I've had a reason to celebrate recently. Now before you all turn up on my doorstep clutching glasses of champagne and party poppers, I'll let you in on a secret. I'm not a mahoosive fan of drinking. There, I said it. Call me boring if you like, I'm just yet to find an alcoholic beverage that I actually enjoy (although I did have a glass of Prosecco the other night and I was pleasantly surprised). Anyway, instead of getting completely bungalowed on a bottle of bubbly, I decided to treat myself with a bit of online retail therapy. First stop, Harvey Nichols. You might not think it, but I'm actually pretty clued up with shopping and I'd say I buy the majority of the things I own in the sale or at a discounted price. Part of me doesn't believe in spending hundreds of pounds on a handbag as I really don't think I could justify it - I'm only a sales assistant in a shoe shop after all! So after browsing on Harvey Nicks, I came across what must have been the cutest Marc by Marc Jacobs bag I've ever laid eyes on but my heart sank when I saw the price. What does a girl do in this situation? Do you guiltily click "add to basket" and dread the moment you check your bank account or do you think sensibly and exit the tab ASAP vowing to never tempt yourself like that again? Well, I did neither... I simply opened a new tab and went straight onto eBay.

OK, so you won't always be able to find what you're looking for on eBay, but more often than not there will be someone out there selling that very item you've been pining for. You probably know what's coming next... I FOUND THE CUTE MARC JACOBS BAG!! It was brand new and still had its tags intact with zero bids and only two hours left, so I spent the rest of my Saturday night glued to my laptop screen refreshing the page every few seconds like a madwoman. Judging by the following photos it's fairly obvious that victory was mine and I won the auction, and I saved around £120 just by shopping around!

What do you think? I love that it's both black and off-white as it can be worn for both smart and casual occasions. It's currently still on the Harvey Nichols website here for those of you who might fancy having a little nosey!

Chloë

x

Way back in January I wrote a blog post called New Year Update where I revealed I had finally applied for my provisional driving license so I could officially get myself on the road. It seems like SO much has happened since then, and believe me, it hasn't all gone swimmingly. First off, I had the job of picking a decent driving instructor. Being completely honest I had no idea who to go for; all driving instructors offer different packages and deals, some are more qualified than others and they all have different cars that they use to teach you in. With all of this in mind, I decided to go onto Facebook and look on one of those community pages.. you know, where people in your area post anonymous messages about everything from who they fancy to reccomending places where you can expect a top quality three-course meal (I wish I was joking).

So after scrolling through what seemed like thousands of pointless posts, I came across somebody who was looking for driving instructor recommendations. I looked through the list of everybody's recommendations and checked out the instructors' websites until I finally thought I'd found THE ONE. Now, everything went smoothly on the first lesson, the instructor turned up on time, (more about that later) he seemed friendly and most importantly he was very patient. However somewhere along the line all of this changed; he became consistently late, he hardly spoke to me during lessons and we spent hours on end driving around a teeny tiny housing estate doing the same thing again and again. To cut a long story short I felt I wasn't progressing as I should, but only did I realise this when I'd gone through 30 hours worth of lessons with him. All in all it was a complete nightmare but at the time I was still trying to convince myself that he was the professional and perhaps I wasn't where I should have been because I was a dodgy driver. Anyway, he did absolutely nothing for my confidence and would often use his brakes without even letting me deal with the hazards that were thrown my way. I decided to go ahead and book a test as the waiting list can be up to six weeks long and he didn't seem to have a problem with me doing that at all until I seemed reluctant when he mentioned that I needed to book at least another 10 hours with him (at this point I think I internally LOL'd and was like "dream on, mate.") So after all that, I talked it through with my mum and my brother and they both told me I should ditch him. I basically just sent him a text explaining that I need to take a break from driving (first lie) and that I'll be in touch when I'm ready for more lessons (second lie). I honestly felt AWFUL saying that, but it's not in my nature to be all open and honest and I would have hated for it to be awkward if I actually did come clean and tell him what I thought of the whole experience.

Anyway, the search was then back on to find another instructor who wasn't going to rip me off and would actually teach me everything I need so I could become a safe and confident driver. This time I took a recommendation from one of my English teachers I had at college who said this man was "the best instructor EVER" and he was SO RIGHT. Even after one lesson with him my mum said she noticed the difference in my confidence and he just made me feel so much more at ease. I decided to book twelve hours with him and save two hours back for the day of my driving test so I could get some last minute practice in. We had to pretty much start from scratch and go over everything as I had so many gaps in my knowledge which, yes - I am going to blame solely on my previous instructor. He was honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met and with his help, I was able to pass my driving test FIRST TIME with only three minors... YAY!

I guess the moral of the story is to never put up with something just because it's the easiest option. Remember, you are the one paying for a service and you have every right to be treated with respect. I found it most unprofessional when my first instructor would turn up nearly fifteen to twenty minutes late every single lesson and it just felt like he was taking the absolute mick. In some ways I do regret letting him treat me like that and of course I regret paying for thirty hours of lessons with him, but on the other hand, I'm so glad I changed instructors when I did because I highly doubt I would have passed so soon without being roped into having more and more lessons!

My super-cute little toot toot mobile!!