Olivia Burton Watches | Review

I have been obsessing over Olivia Burton watches for some time now, I first discovered them one afternoon when I was scrolling through ASOS hunting down a new Michael Kors watch but the elegant simple design of the Olivia Burton watches really stood out and since then I have been in love. So when I finally made the purchase from the Olivia Burton website I was left thinking why didn't I just buy it sooner.

The brand is inspired by vintage and catwalk style and the collection is distinctive, contemporary and fun. Olivia Burton aim to be affordable and very wearable bursting of British Style. You can buy them from a number of stockists which include; ASOS, Topshop, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. However I purchased my watches direct from the Olivia Burton page.

I must admit I found it very hard to pick my watch as I loved all of the designs but in the end I managed to narrow it down to two watches (technically three) that I know I will get loads of wear from.

The packaging of the watches features a sketch style design which is beautiful and goes with the brand perfect.

The first watch that I went for was the Big dial interchangeable strap gift set which includes a black and grey lilac strap. I originally wanted to go for a black strapped watch so when I saw that Olivia Burton had a gift set that you could change the straps I knew this was perfect for me and that I would get so much wear from this. What I also love about this style of watch is the big watch face and this one features a sun ray effect silver dial.

It is so easy to change the straps as I was worried it would be quite tricky but all you do is slide the special mechanism along with your finger nail and it unclips and to put it back on is the same thing, very easy.

This set was priced at £98.00 and I honestly do think that it is worth the extra bit of money as you are really getting two watches for that price... well that is what I keep telling myself.

I also couldn't resist buying a second watch as I really couldn't decide between the two. As I am very into Rose Gold at the moment along with everyone else I had to have this Big dial tan and rose gold watch. Just like the other set the face of the watch is in this beautiful rose gold sun ray effect, this is a real stand out watch.

All the straps from Olivia Burton are soft genuine Leather and the branding is etched on the back of the case as well as it being embossed on the underside of the strap.

The price of this watch was £80.00

There certainly is a watch to suit everyones style and preferences at Olivia Burton as there is a range of designs inspired by many different beautiful things including a woodland collection, an English Rose, Winter garden as well as an enchanted garden collection.

I have my eye on my next purchase from Olivia Burton already which is from the Animal Motifs collection, I think this could lead to a very expensive hobby.

The new Zoella beauty range

Being a fan of the original Zoella Beauty range I was very much excited about the launch of the new Tutti fruity collection. The collection is a range of seven new products ranging from lip balm to shower gel. I had to buy all items as I just couldn't decide on what to try first.

I have been using the products for a week or so now and I couldn't wait to finish work on Sunday to enjoy my pamper night with a few of the items.

I love the fresh and fruity scent that these products have and they leave your skin smelly gorgeous. They are packed with extracts of Acai and Blueberry so they are also good for the skin. But what I like most of all is that none of the products have been tested on animals.

My favourite from the collection has definitely got to be the body mist called "Lets Spritz" I love to spray this all over my body after a shower and the fragrance is so fresh it makes me feel ready for the day.

Closely followed by the body lotion called "Candy Cream" And I must say that I love all the cute names Zoe has given each product as it makes them more interesting. The body lotion has bursting beads in so when rubbed into the body they leave a very moisturised finish.

My pamper night started off with my bath being ran and a chunk of "Fresh Fizz" being dropped into the running water. This bath fizzer left my bath smelling fruity but the fragrance wasn't too over powering. Once in the bath I used the body scrub called "Scrubbing me softly" This is a sugar based scrub so its not too harsh on the skin, it also has cocoa butter added. This left my skin feeling very soft and smooth. Then I finished up in the bath by using the shower gel "Foam sweet foam" A shower gel was definitely what the last collection was missing so when I saw this in the new range I was very excited to use it as for me this will be my most used item.

The collection has also branched out into cosmetics by introducing a Lip balm called "Kissy Missy" I love the colour of the lip balm as it gives lips a subtle hind of a bubble gum pink colour however I am not overly impressed with the way it makes my lips feel, this is as for me it is not as moisturising as I want a lip balm product to be.

And finally a new smaller cosmetic bag has been added to the collection. I love the illustrations on the front and I think its the perfect size to carry a few products in your handbag with.

Superdrug currently have an offer on the new Zoella Beauty range, and thats if your like me and you want the full collection you can get this for the price of £35, saving you £2.50!!

July's Birchbag!

Well July's birchbox or should I say Birchbag is finally here and I must say it was definitely worth the wait.

For the first time ever the classic Birchbox has been replaced with a splash-proof clutch and I am totally loving the idea of the bag as I will definitely be taking this on my holidays next week where I will be storing all my poolside essentials. The bags come in four different colours each representing favourite holiday destinations chosen by the editors of the most elite magazines in the Uk. The editions are; Coral representing St.tropez, Turquoise representing Hydra, Neon Pink being Ibiza of course and lastly my yellow bag which is representing Somerset.

For the first time this month I actually like all of the products sent and I will be taking them on my vacation with me, as they are a handy size, and unfortunately for my mam none of the products will be going in the box that I have been collecting for her full of the items that I don't like.

1. Benefit Dream Screen £25 
The first product is from one of my favourite brands Benefit and this is an ultra lightweight, matte-finish sunscreen for your face with a SPF of 45!! This will keep your complexion hydrated while soaking up the sun. Since being prescribed face cream from my doctor my face needs extra protection from the sun so this little handy 6ml bottle will be great to carry around and top up throughout the day.

2. UNANI Aloe Vera Gel £15 
I don't think I have heard of this brand before but I was very excited to use this Aloe Vera Gel. I have heard that aloe vera is very good for soothing burned skin so after a day in the sun this will come in great for when I am abit sore and it is also great for blemishes which is also very good.

3. POP Beauty Eyeshadow Trio In Peach Parfait £15.50 
This is the perfect little trio of eyeshadows the peach colours will really compliment a summer glowing complexion. The pigmentation is really good and the colours blend nicely. The first eyeshadow is great for highlighting the inner corner of your eyes.

4. Cowshed Cow Pat Hand Cream £18 
I'm really starting to get into this brand, all their products smell amazing!! So when I saw this sitting in the bag I grabbed it straight away to try and smell of course and I was not disappointed. This hand cream is packed with essential oils of grapefruit to uplift and coriander to soothe. This will be coming in my hand luggage with me as I always feel like I need a bit of a pamper whilst on a flight.

5. Balance Me Congested Skin Serum £16 
I will be using this product on the run up to my holidays to prevent my skin from further breakouts as this serum restores the balance. It's loaded with chamomile, lavender and aloe vera to pinpoint the breakout and to soothe.

6. Barely Prep, Blot & Blend Sponge £5.99 
This being the only full size product this month I was not as excited to use this product as I prefer to use brushes to apply my make up. However this sponge is for perfecting your base, such as to smooth on your daily skincare or primer to prep the skin for make-up.


This month's Birchbox has got me even more excited and prepared for my holiday so Thanks Birchbox!

Love Francesca

Inside May's Birchbox

Its that time of the month again when I am awaiting the arrival of my little box of goodies from Birchbox, and May's box did not disappoint.

The theme of this months box was "FREE YOUR MIND". Starting with the box itself you can see that its not the usual birchbox design. Infant for a Birchbox first you can make your box totally unique to you by customising the design of the lid, (depending if you've got loads of time to spend colouring in the lines). Ive only done a little bit of my lid but once I started colouring in it really felt therapeutic and it really took my back to when I was young and I would sit on a saturday afternoon colouring in with my nanna.

Another change to May's Box was that instead of getting loads of different cards about what was in the box to tutorials, this was now in a very handy booklet format. I really like this as I felt myself reading the full booklet where as in the past I would of just put them bits to one side.

Now lets talk about what was inside May's box...

     CAUDALIE - A vinoperfect radiance tinted moisturiser.

I was sent the shade 01 Light. Having tried a number of tinted moisturisers I was    not overly excited about trying out this product as I am not a huge fan of tinted moisturisers, as I prefer to use a full coverage base. This tinted moisturiser is very lightweight and it does add a little bit of coverage as well as brighting the skin. Overall I think this will be great to take on holiday with me and to also use in the summer but I will not be purchasing the full size product.





                            WAH LONDON - Nail Polish in shade "Love My Team

 I am totally in love with this nail polish. Not only is this is my perfect shade (a classic red but not too red) but this was also a full size product which is also great. This nail polish goes on brilliant after only one coat but to give it that extra oomph I would apply two coats. This is another great product that I will be putting away for my holiday.


 


        PARLOR - Sea Salt spray

I have never really used a sea salt in my hair before so when I saw this product lying in my box I didn't really know what to think about it. This is a salty sea spray smelling of ripe peaches promising to give you that textured beachy waves look. After one spray into my dry hair it did really give me that messed up look, but i don't think ill be going for this look any time soon.




                         WHISH - Body butter in almond

This is your average body butter with organic shea butter, raspberry butter and aloe along with extracts of seaweed. This is very hydrating and it also smells great too.

JELLY PONG PONG- Sun bronzer duo 

This bronzer duo has to be my favourite item from the May box. Not only is this product crulty- free but the lightweight formula is infused with argan and mango butter which gives  

you a natural pop of colour. 

NUMBER 4- Reconstructing Masque 

I'm not going to lie here but I am still yet to try out this sample. I am all for reconstructing masque's as I use a lot of heat on my hair so a product that promises to transform my hair from lacklustre to luscious is a winner for me. However this product does smell lovely 

and I can't wait to try it out on my next pamper night. 

The other item in the box was a little set of colouring in pencils to use on the lid which I think is a nice little touch. 

Overall I am very pleased with this month's box and it has got me in the mood for the hopefully a very hot summer and I can't wait for next month's box. 

Love Francesca. 

A Little about myself

So if you haven't already guessed by now my name is Francesca, I'm 24 years old from Sunderland in the North East of England. I graduated from university in 2012 where i studied Fashion and since then I have continued to have a great passion for fashion and beauty.

I have been wanting to set up my own fashion and beauty blog for some time now but I have never got round to actually doing it. However for my 24th birthday in April I was surprised with a Mac Book Pro by my crazy fiance, now there really was no excuse to start my blog.

I will be writing about all things fashion and beauty related as well as a few lifestyle things thrown in along the way. I am doing this as a hobby and I really don't expect many people to read or enjoy what I write, All opinions are my own and i don't expect everyone to agree with my reviews or statements.

Love Francesca