July Wishlist #1 ❤

So, I thought doing a wishlist or two (maybe even three!) each month would be a fun thing to do, just to show you guys what I'm loving and what I want to buy - a bit like a shopping list but more exciting! :) Mostly they'll be like a particular outfit, with most pieces that can be worn with other outfits. I love looking at people's wishlist's because it gives me SO many ideas!

The Homies hat here is a Brian Lichtenberg Homiés embroidered knitted beanie which is €40 (£34) from net-a-porter.com and I love, love, looove it so much after seeing Cara Delevingne wearing one! Still not too sure if I could pull it off but I'm determined to try.

The next thing on my wishlist is a lace bralette, this one is from American Eagle and it's €12, I think this lace bralette trend is the cutest thing ever, they would look nice under a sheer top of you had the confidence to pull that off - unfortunately I don't, yet! But just knowing it's there is fine :)

The grey tshirt top is from H&M and it's €8, I think a top like this is a must have and a staple for anyone's wardrobe in summer or winter because you can wear it on it's own or with a leather jacket over for those colder days. I love oversized tshirts like this and I'll definitely be getting one soon.

The black platform wedges are from boohoo.com and they are €39, I think black wedges are another staple for any wardrobe as they can be wore casual or dressy depending on what you pair them with; also in black they tend to last longer as they don't show up all the little scuff marks that other colours might.

Boyfriend Jeans are something that I've always been slightly wary of as I thought they would look a bit manly, hence the name "boyfriend" but I think with the right accessories and shoes they can look really nice. Personally I would pair them with the wedges and a heel of any kind will give you that extra length in your legs which is needed with these jeans. The ones on my wishlist are from styligion.com and cost around €89, but I could find ones quite similar in any clothes shop in town for a fraction of the price!

The bag is from H&M and it's €17; I already have a black H&M bag but I think personally a girl can never have too many bags of the same colour! I like this one because it's spacious and looks quite expensive, which is always a plus!

Now, the necklace is from an online shop, ylang23.com and apparently it's over €1,000. So although I do think it's absolutely fabulous because I love the hamsa hand jewellery trend I think this particular one may have to remain a wish!

For perfume, I really like the smell of all ck fragrances, particularly ck shock perfume. This one is from Boots or most pharmacies for around €40. It smells yummy and summery!

Another thing I forgot to put on this wishlist is a Penny board! For the real thing, it costs around €130 as they are custom made in America, but a "fake" one that looks just the same is €18 from Smyths, which is a toy store but I wouldn't complain as the boards are nearly the exact same but one is €112 euro CHEAPER! Now that's a bargain if I ever saw one :)

Hope you enjoyed this wishlist post, there'll be more coming soon! If you make a board like this I'd love to see them :)

Have an amazing day lovelies

x

DIY: MakeUp Brush Holder ❤

Want to make your own makeup brush holder? Then read on! This doesn't even have to be for makeup brushes you can put anything you like in it; I just think it's a nice way to brighten up your dressing table this summer!

What you're going to need:

• a jar
• old wrapping paper with a cute pattern
• scissors
• glue/sellotape
• ruler and pencil
• nail varnish
• anything else you'd like to decorate with like stickers, etc. 

If you don't have any spare wrapping paper or nothing quite takes your fancy you can print off a pattern from the world wide web - sometimes it's actually good for something other than social networks! :)

Grab your jar first (check that your brushes will fit in it before you do anything else.) Then make sure its all cleaned out! We don't want any jam or anything on our brushes now do we! When your jar is all clean and dry measure how much paper you're going to need. I did this by fitting the paper into the jar and marking off with a pencil where to cut, then using a ruler draw a line to make sure its straight across.

When you have it all measured out, stick it on to the inside of the jar. I used sellotape which was quite difficult to get into the jar so glue would be a lot easier if you have it!

Then when the paper is stuck inside you can decorate the outside! I used coloured nail varnishes that matched the colours on the paper inside, pink, yellow and mint green, to paint around the top of the jar just to make it a bit more interesting :)

After the nail varnish has dried and you're happy with how it turned out you can run and grab your makeup brushes and pop them in there! Et voilá! :) I just think it's a nice change from putting them in a makeup bag or  brush pouch and the brush holder is a nice ornament for summer!

If you guys try this I'd love to see how they turn out! Hope you enjoyed this little DIY, I'll definitely be doing more soon! Any suggestions are welcome, even if I fail it'll make a good blog post of how NOT to make something :)

Have an amazing day lovelies

x

Dog-sitting ❤

For the longest time ever I've wanted a dog. To be precise, I wanted a miniature Yorkshire terrier; preferably a girl. I was lucky enough to get a little puppy for a few months a few years ago but she didn't stay with us long :( her name was Roxy and she was a little bit of a mutt but nonetheless she was adorable! We even got her a little pink jumper to wear when it got a bit chilly outside - I don't think she was a fan!

This week though I got to experience life with a doggy again! Her name is Lola and she's the cutest thing ever, puppy dog eyes does not even come close to describing how this little thing looks at you! I say "little" not in the literal sense, as she's actually quite big for a puppy. The thing that makes Lola even sweeter is the fact she's a rescue dog. She wasn't looked after very well when she was tiny and has been rehomed lots of times, but even after all of that she is so sweet and good tempered. She hardly ever barks (unless the cat's around - sneaky little thing!) but even then she just wants to play!

Here's a picture of her outside wearing some sunglasses and "reading" a magazine :) She looks fabulous don't you think? :)

Spending the week with Lola has made me want to get a dog even more. She's brilliant to take out for walks and is actually quite motivating to run with - mostly because she always speeds on ahead and I have to keep up with her. She must be part cheetah because everyone always comments on how fast she can run! In the dog park earlier in the week every single dog there was chasing her, and she outran them all! Such a cutie :) 

She loves to be around people and we've been letting her up on the sofa all week - such a bad habit! But we're just spoiling her while her family is away :) 

Well I just thought I'd share that with you guys! If any of you have doggies that you absolutely adore leave a comment or send a picture in! I love all little pooches :)

Hope you enjoyed!

Have an awesome day lovelies

x

What am I listening to this Month ❤

I'm terrible for hearing a song on the radio or online somewhere and becoming completely obsessed and listening to that song repeatedly for a full week, then suddenly it becomes unbearable to listen to because I've heard it so many times. I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this, am I? So, I thought you guys might like to know what kind of music I listen to. I always like to know people's favourite songs so then I can find new ones and become obsessed all over again ;)

Strangely enough I'm quite into country music this month, I love two songs by Florida Georgia Line, Cruise (the remix one) and Get Your Shine On.

There's a cover of Miley Cyrus' We Can't Stop that I found on Youtube and it's amaaazing! I love when people take fast, pop or rock sounds and make them acoustic, and the guy who sings this cover, Hobbie Stuart, is British and sounds so good!

Another song I'm loving is Panic Chord by Gabrielle Alpin. It's completely different to The Power of Love which I'd say is what she's best known for, which I will always love, but it's still a really nice song.

In my Top 25 Most Played playlist there's a bit of Miranda Lambert (from the Pistol Annies) Mama's Broken Heart, I looove to sing along to this one. Also, there's a few from The Script, I love these guys mainly because they're Irish, and also become they make pretty awesome music; the lead singer Danny is also a bit of a looker!

One I found recently is By Now by the band Marina's Trench, I'm not sure how long it's been around but I've just discovered it so it's new to me! Another one is Midnight City by M83, it's the song from the theme tune for Made in Chelsea (the most recent season) and I finally found it on Youtube and was pleasantly surprised it was an actual song with words! :)

I have to admit now a guilty pleasure of mine is Michael Bublé, I think he's absolutely amazing and his songs never get old for me. My favourites are 'Beautiful Day', 'Young at Heart' and 'Home'. I could listen to his voice for hours!

I hope you guys enjoyed, and comment some of your favourites! I could always do with more songs :)

Have an amazing day lovelies

x

Healthy Eating ❤

It's just that simple! After eating a huge meal full of saturated fats and salt I usually don't feel so good - don't get me wrong, when I'm wolfing down a plate of spicy chicken and fried rice from the Chinese it tastes really yummy but when it gets to my stomach, that's when my body starts to ask "Why did you put that nasty stuff inside me! I don't know what to do with it!"

The reason why all those dishes from the Chinese or Indian takeaways taste nice is because they are packed with MSG's to give them that taste! If you're not sure what MSG's are you can look it up here.

For breakfast, instead of a sugary cereal with full fat milk, try granola with low fat yoghurt. You still get the cereal and dairy but it's just got less calories! And if you do really need a bit of sweetness you can pour a bit of honey on top - which has 0g of fat!

Instead of frying eggs, poach them. They'll taste the exact same but you won't have to worry about that oil that you fried them in, because poached eggs only need to cook in water. To add a bit more flavour to them, try a sprinkle of pepper as a substitute for salt - I barely notice the difference!

As well as eating healthy foods, you'll be able to digest and use the nutrients in the foods SO much better if you exercise as well. It doesn't have to be a whole day at the gym; just a simple walk for around half an hour, or more if you feel like it, will be enough at first! Then, as you start to feel better, you'll actually want to walk for longer, go further and maybe even try a few minutes of jogging here and there!

If you are going to eat before exercising, you should eat at least half an hour to an hour in advance, depending on its the size of your meal, what you're eating, etc. Some good things to eat before you start pumping iron are:

• a bowl of low fat yogurt with half a cup whole grain cereal and half a cup fresh strawberries
• 1 - 2 poached or hard-boiled eggs with a slice of wholegrain toast
• peanut butter on sliced apple or banana, or spread on wholegrain toast.
• whey protein shakes - these are great if you haven't got the time to cook or make a meal, there's a really wide range of them online too on sites such as Discount Supplements.
• dried fruits are also really good to have as some of them are high in carbohydrates, which you need for energy, my favourite are Forest Feast Dried Mango slices which I buy from the supermarket, read the nutrition information here.

Afterwards, when you've pushed yourself to the limit make sure you rehydrate with loads of water, I'll usually have 2 bottles. If you want to make your water even better, try popping in a Berocca tablet, which are water soluble. They come in orange flavour and tropical and are full of vitamins and minerals. Check them out here. 

I hope you guys found this helpful, if you have anything that you like to make that's healthy and would be a good substitute for a fatty meal feel free to leave a comment!
I'll do a post soon of a full day meal plan with exercises etc. :)

Have an amazing day lovelies

x

Learning the Guitar ❤

For the longest time I wanted to learn the guitar and finally in 2011 I got one for my birthday - one of the best presents I've ever got. Not only because it's what I really wanted but I think something like a guitar, well, you can have it forever really. It isn't something that's in fashion one year and out the next. Personally I've always found people who can play an instrument to be pretty interesting and cool. :)

First song I was able to play was Summer of 69, granted it was slow and only contained about 3 chords and no particular strumming pattern I thought I was absolutely amazing! I even won an award for it at the end of the year :)
I'd love to be able to play any song on the guitar, just listen to the tune a few times then strum away!

It's a lot more difficult than I imagined. People make it look so easy in music videos and things like that. I just expected to pick it up and be able to play anything - I was very wrong!
The thing that I find most difficult is bar chords and chords that use all four fingers! Sometimes they just don't reach, haha!

And bar chords are super difficult especially when you're weak like me because you have to hold down all six strings with one finger as well as placing the rest on others to make a chord! I checked good old wikipedia for a proper definition which told me that "a barre chord (also known as bar chord or rarely barr chord) is a type of guitar chord, where one or more fingers are used to press down multiple strings across the guitar fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the strings), enabling the guitarist to play a chord not restricted by the tones of the guitar's open strings." That's very fancy altogether eh?

There have been times where I get frustrated because a chord just doesn't sound like it should which is soooo annoying, but when it does its like the best thing ever!

Now I've finally gotten to the stage where I can put chords together to make them sound like an actual song! Very fancy altogether! I think my family will soon get tired of hearing the same three songs over and over again but you know what they say 'Practice makes perfect!'

I'm determined to match Ed Sheeran's guitar skills, I'll let you guys know when I do ;)

Have an amazing day lovelies

x

Review - Catrice Eyeshadow Palette ❤

I said back in my post on "What's My Summer Makeup Routine" that I would do a review of the Catrice Absolute Nude Eyeshadow palette, and here it is!

Surprisingly, I never thought to buy an eyeshadow palette before, I always bought single colours. I picked this up in the chemist for around €4, I wish I could remember the actual price but I'm nearly sure that's what it was! The colours in it are quite pigmented, which I didn't think they would be seeing as its not a well known, high street brand. I haven't seen many places that stock Catrice products.

These eyeshadows aren't matte, but they aren't super shimmery either so they can be worn during the day or on a night out :)

I usually use the lightest shade, which is a sort of sandy colour, as a base all over the eyelid, then depending on the time of day or what sort of look I'm going for, I'll use one of the darker brown shades in the crease. The second and fourth shades are quirte nice to wear on their own if you don't have time for all the blending and different brushes.

This palette did come with a double sided brush to apply the eyeshadows but I've always preferred to use my own. If you're that sort of person, you can check the ingredients in the eyeshadows on the Catrice website here! You can also find other products from this brand on that site.

I'll do a makeup look using this palette soon to show you guys what they look like on and blended :)

Hope you enjoyed!

Have an amazing day lovelies!

x

25 Things About Me ❤

I've seen a lot of people make blog posts and youtube videos like this and I thought it seemed pretty cool! I'm not sure who would want to know anything about me, but for those of you who do - here you go! :)


1. I love writing, whether it's a blog, diary or a draft of a book (believe me I've written the start of a lot of books!) One of my dream careers is a journalist.

2. My favourite movies to watch are horror - I rarely like comedys

3. I love reading or watching TV programmes about crime - I want to go into criminal law when I finish my degree :)

4. I have a tattoo, which nobody ever believes! And I want another one now...

5. I've only read one Harry Potter book - the first one - when I was about 11 years old

6. I was in seven different schools from junior infants up to college

7. I have a secret love for the TV programme Come Dine With Me (I guess it's not a secret anymore!)

8. I don't like chocolate icecream/ hot chocolate / chocolate yoghurt

9. I never go to bed early, even if I have to be up early the next morning

10. People sometimes think I'm quite stuck up, but really I'm just shy

11. I love music and singing, if I don't make it in criminal law or journalism I'd love to do something in the music industry (maybe even be a part time singing sensation! haha)

12. Up until the age of 15, I'd never been to a foreign country on holiday

13. I kept a diary from the age of eleven until I was eighteen

14. I prefer winter to summer

15. I auditioned for a television talent show when I was 12 with three of my friends, we danced to the song 'Hey Mickey!' - we didn't make it on though :(

16. I would love to live in London, New York or California

17. I took a Japanese class for a while in school but can't remember how to say anything other than "I am Hayley"

18. I'm currently trying to teach myself the guitar - not going too badly, I know three songs now!

19. I love playing Xbox - such a boy at heart, haha!

20. My favourite type of food is Chinese, I could live on it if I knew I wouldn't gain 10 stone

21. I was born the day Freddie Mercury died; 24th November 1991

22. I don't like fizzy drinks like 7up and Fanta Orange, and especially not Lucozade - blehh!

23. I know how to rap (ok it's one song from a youtube video "Pale Kid Raps Fast" but I can do it!)

24. My mom wanted to name me Angharad when I was born. But thank god she picked Hayley in the end!

25. I love everyone reading this ❤ 


Hope you enjoyed this!

Have an awesome day lovelies!

x

My Favourite Lipsticks ❤

I was honestly never a huge fan of wearing lipsticks, I thought they were far too "mammy-ish" and wouldn't suit me at all! I can't remember when exactly I decided to be daring and try one out but I found that I really do like them after all! (And I still look my age - phew!)

I'd have to say my go-to brand for lipsticks would have to be Rimmel without a doubt. My favourite at the moment is from the Kate Moss Lasting Finish collection in shade 03, as I said in my post on 'What's my Summer Makeup Routine'. It's a pinky nude shade and it just goes really well with my skin tone. I bought this lipstick in Boots not too long ago for around €6 which I think is great for a lipstick. You can find more shades from this collection on the Rimmel London site.

My other favourites are Rimmel Pink Blush and Nude Pink, as you can probably tell they aren't unlike the Kate Moss lipstick but I seem to have a bit of an obsession with buying nude pink lipsticks! :)

Rimmel Asia is more of a dusty pink shade but it still has a nude undertone which fits in quite well with my obsession. All of these Rimmel lipsticks are fairly long lasting, although they don't unrealistically claim to be 16 hour wear like some products do!

Flormar Supershine Lipstick in shade 523 is a  peachy coral colour. They're lipstick collections can be seen here. I bought my lipstick in Awear but I'm not too sure if they still stock it there. I also threw in Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses lip stain as I find its more like a lipstick than a lipgloss and lasts a long time. I have it in the shade 100 Endless Blossom, which is actually quite fitting as it seems to have a flowery smell which I never noticed before! Another thing that took me months to notice was that at the bottom of the lip stain there is a balm stick - next time I should read the label on the back of products and I won't miss out!

And here is a swatch board of the lipsticks I have mentioned - although some are not quite true to shade as the lighting was a bit off! For another look at most of the shades here, they are on the Rimmel website! 

Hope you have an amazing day!

x

Rings and Blings ❤

I always have to be wearing some form of jewellery. Most of the time its the ring I got for my 18th birthday which I just never take off! I think everyone needs one piece of jewellery that goes with everything and is always in style :)

Crazy, big rings were never really my style, I've always liked small, dainty rings. And silver - always silver! It isn't that I hate gold, I've just found that silver suits me better. As I said the one ring I never take off is my silver diamond ring which was a present; a set of rings I like to wear every so often are mid finger rings from New Look which I got for around €8. I love the little designs on them of the cross, peace sign and blue stone and they're comfortable to wear. (Although my fingers are quite skinny so they're a bit big for the middle of my ring finger!)

The next thing I'd say I wear the most often is a necklace. I have about 4 that I wear often depending on my outfit, again most of them are silver because it's so easy to pair with an outfit! The one I like the most is the plain cross necklace which is from New Look, I like long length necklaces because I seem to have some strange phobia of things too tight around my neck - crazy lady! Another one I like to wear when there's pink in my outfit is a cross necklace from Topshop which is sort of an ombré silver into pink and I think it looks really different - it has broken on me once but I managed to fix it back together and it's fine now! Yay!

I don't wear bracelets very much but when I do I like to wear pretty simple ones like jesus bracelets or other wooden style bracelets which I usually pick up from Topshop during the sales when they're about €3.

I've had so many watches over the years and they always seem to break or get wet! But now I have a proper "grown-up" watch! Fancy me! It's silver 'Marc Jacobs-style' with small diamonds around the outside and 'The Time Is Now" written around the inner clock face. I try not to wear it every day because I'm terrified it'll break on me and that would just be catastrophic really.

For earrings I usually wear one in the top of my ear (apparently its called a Helix piercing but I was never aware of this!) which is a small silver cross. I have had a few problems with this particular piercing as I think the man who did it was a bit old... pushing 70 I'd say... and he used a piercing gun which I later found out isn't how it's meant to be done - whooopsie! That's the last time I trust OAPs in Georges Street Arcade!
When I do wear them in my lower ear (scientifically known as the 'lobe' haha) I just try to match them with whatever outfit I may be wearing. I did find a really cool set in Topshop which are a mixture of studs and 'hook' types with prints on them but I haven't figured out how to style them without looking like a loony with two mismatching earrings!

And lastly, the one which is never seen, my bellybar is just a plain curve bar with a lilac ball which is apparently glow-in-the-dark. I have yet to see it glow...

:)



Have an amazing day lovelies!

x