What's In My Primark Handbag? My Daily Essentials.

I have seen a lot of these posts flying about on YouTube and seeing as I haven't got a new camera yet, I thought I would do a written version instead. 

I hope you don't mind? :) 

The above bag is from Primark and this was featured in my Primark haul which you can find here.

I love this bag, it looks a lot more expensive than it was (well I think it does anyway) and it doesn't really look like a Primark creation either. It literally goes with everything I wear. I have a teeny obsession with bags and purses. If I buy a new bag I have to find a purse that goes with it and visa versa. 

Today ladies you will see what I carry around on a daily basis and what I call my 'essentials'. It can get pretty heavy in there, let me tell you. 

So here we goooooooo!!! 

Oooohh!! Sneak peak of what's inside! 

Can you tell I just chuck it in?! Whoops. 

The most important thing in my bag is my purse for obvious reasons. It has everything in there. The whole of the contents in my bag is highly important but where would we be without our purses 'aye? 

I have had this purse sat on my dressing table for like a year now because I had used my last one to death. And I love this one even more so. It's so girly and sparkly and the patent effect really brings out the glitter. It was from Claire's Accessories at around £12-£14. 

I Love how my account number and sort code are showing. I didn't see that!! Ha, feel free to put some money in guys! JOKES. 

The layout of the inside. I rarely carry money on me because I spend it. 

This is my new little notebook & pen that I brought the other week as I go through my notebooks more than I brush my hair. I am constantly writing notes. I love it... Writing notes that is. This picture makes the notebook look more red than it is. It is actually a burgundy colour but Blogger seems to change the colours and exposure quite a bit on upload and I don't know why. Anyway this little book comes everywhere with me so I can write my blogging notes down on ideas for my next posts. 

Ha ha, yes what you see before your eyes is a bunch of snotty tissue!!! (Not really this lot hasn't been used... Yet) 

Due to having reeeeeeeaaaallly bad hay fever I have to carry A LOT of tissue around because I am constantly sneezing and my nose just pours out like Niagara Falls. It is so not attractive, and it really bugs me because I end up wiping half of my make up off. *sobs*

So this is definitely an essential for me to have in my bag, I just never know when I am going to be caught out.

Mother Nature is a pure bitch. Fact. 

  

To coincide with the tissue here are my 'meds', bloody hay fever meds and currently they are doing jack to help me. I used to really rate the tablets as they are like 180mg which are strong and I used to be on 10mg and they used to work. This year, not so much. And they have changed the steroid nasal spray too. The only thing that actually works is the eye drops for my hay fever eyes, but they god damn sting. Anywho, they are locked to my bag I will always need these in the summer. 

 Yup, next we have my sunnies and my car keys. I got a new car (a 10 plate, practically brand new black Corsa Energy) and then I got made redundant. Ha. That will serve me right for getting rid of Rusty (my old car, this one is called Brian after the lead singer of my FAVOURITE BAND EVER Placebo. If you haven't heard of them, go check them out. They are amazing). Nonetheless I love my shiny car and you will find both of these swimming amongst my crap in my handbag. 

Floating around are my 13' Christmas vouchers and some money from my nan, I haven't spent it yet. Well the voucher I did. I brought an awesome pineapple cup (which you can see on my Instagram account: anythingbutordinaryleya) from New Look but it was broken when I inspected it properly at home, and they didn't have another one in store. So it currently has like £6 on the card. 

I carry these around in case I need them. :) 

Here she is... My makeup bag. Again I have written a blog post about this and you can find that here.

I obviously carry this beaut around as I constantly need to touch up my makeup thanks to my hay fever face. I swap and change what I carry around day to day but this is another permanent to my handbag.

I love my Ipod and I love music. This is an essential! Excuse the dirty headphones, my makeup constantly transfers onto them. I have had this Ipod for like 10 years I swear, I had it free with a mobile phone contract I took out. You don't get that these days. But yeah, I need this for journeys, or for blocking people and the world out for a while.

I don't really need to explain these. 

My back-combing combs. The pink one from Primark £1 and the black one is a hairdressing one. Simple, must-haves in my bag.

Yup, I have carex, who doesn't in their handbag? You don't know what you're touching out there guys. Keep clean! I use this stuff to death because I handle my hamsters, then my guinea pig and then my dog. I use it after touching each one so not to spread germs. And before I eat obvz. Then Vaseline for dry lips and my roll on deodorant for those 'hot' times. I don't use sprays any more as my animals inhale it. 

I always carry a mirror. I am not amazingly vain but I do have to check everything is tip top with my face. My mum and dad brought me this from H M Samuel a few Christmases ago and I use this one on special occasions. As I am clumsy and will probably break it. It's super pretty.  

 This is pure jokes. It's a fluffy monster phone protector!!! I love this! When I worked at Claire's Accessories I wanted this so much as it was cute. So my brother got it me as one of my gifts for Christmas last year!!! He has to go in now and then.

And that's it guys. The tour is over. My handbag is completely empty.

If you enjoyed scrolling through this post leave me a cheeky comment or give me a subscribe. I am pretty scarce on both of those. 

What do you carry in your handbag? 

♥

My "Holy Grail" Eyeshadow Palette // The Ultimate Box of Tricks for Your Eyes!

Helloooooo!!

I have decided to do a not so long (written) blog post like I usually do today, just to mix it up a little. I don't want to become too predictable now do I?! ;) 

I touched upon this product in my previous post which you can link to HERE. 
And I spoke about this product favourably in the 'eye' section, and how I am currently using it to create my smoky eye look. It is my holy grail of shadows at the mo.

It is a product made by the 'Front Cover' Brand and it is an awesome box full of super cool tools to make your eyes stand out beautifully. The box of tricks is called 'A Billion Stars' and after doing some research I cannot find this box anywhere on their website (www.frontcovercosmetics.com) as when you click the 'shop' button it comes up with an error message. 
Odd...
But you can pick it up on places like Ebay until the site is back up and running again. I did purchase mine a few years back now and it is still my favourite eyeshadow palette to use to date. 

This is what you get. 

As you can see there is no palette in there. 
Well, that's because I am using it and it's in my hand bag as I type. AND the palette has a mirror inside. Score! 

The box contains.

. 4 shot silk effect eyeshadows.
. 4 domed twinkle baked powder eyeshadows.
4 satin pressed eyeshadows.
. 4 domed baked powder eyeshadows.
. Pot of silver stars. (Which I LOVE)
. Holographic glitter.
. 2 Iridescent pigments.
. Shadow base.
.Shadowline.
. Eye effects glue.
.Double ended eye applicator. 
. Front Cover to go compact. 

Some of the shadows are missing from the box, but here they are in my compact. 

I have been using these pots the most to create my smoky eye effect. I will do a tutorial soon on this look. Let me know what you think? 

I love the little pot of stars and the glitters too! 

It also comes with a makeup artists tips and  step by step photographic instructions to "let you achieve studio finish make-up". This is such a good idea, especially for beginners who are just starting out and experimenting with eye makeup. 
Well played... Well played.  

If you love makeup in general or you are wanting to experiment with different styles on your eyes and want a good quality product, then check this out. I love it and I think you would too. 

♥

MUA Luxe Matte Lip Lacquer Review // Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Hey guys!

Today I have decided to review a product out of the MUA Luxe Range!

 They have not long brought this new range out in their collection, which you can find in Supedrug (UK) and I want to give you my honest opinion on one of their lip products. 

The said product is the 'Velvet Lip Lacquer' in the colour 'Criminal'.

I find MUA as a brand can be a little hit and miss at times. Some of their products I really love, whilst others can be a little disappointing. If you don't have this makeup brand available to you across the pond, then I will give you the low down. 

In short, they are a 'budget brand' a lot of their products such as the nail varnishes, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and lipsticks are like £1 which is super cheap. And to be honest, even though their products are a steal some of them are actually really good. 

How I see it, is why spend a lot of money on a high end product when a budget brand can give you the same results? 

It is total logic. 

Now, this new 'Luxe' range, is a little more expensive than their usual £1 bracket. And most of this range start off at £3 which is still a good deal. I have brought a couple of products from this range, one of which I am yet to try out. 

The packaging is a lot more fancy and I would say kind of expensive looking. They have really put a lot of effort into the appearance of this range and I suppose that is what caught my eye. And I LOVE the frosted glass packaging the product is encased in. Very original. 

This lip lacquer comes in 9 different 'vampy' colours ranging from neutrals to popping bright's, you can see for yourself here. I couldn't decide between 'Kooky' or the 'Criminal' but went for the bright pink because I like my lip colour to stand out. The purple would just make me look like a goth, which I will repeat I am not. :)

This is what the product claims to do. 

A lot of lip products claim to do the whole "kiss proof" thaaang but very few come out of it alive. This lip lacquer however survived the test of fate. Now, when I say "survived the test" I don't mean I have been going around kissing boys, because lets be honest, I have been a lone ranger when it comes to guys for a few years. So of course I had to do the 'blotting' test on my hand for signs of transfer. Nada, zilch.

"Awesome" you say?

Not so much! 

The product may not transfer easily off the mouth but it dries on horrifically!

Urrgghh, even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable, and that is the correct adjective I will use for this product. Uncomfortable. 

Yes, like the company say's it "glides on effortlessly" which in fact it does. I will give it that, it is one of the best lip products I have used for that side of thing. The initial application is brilliant, but where it states that it quickly dries into the matte finish, I think that is where the problem lies. 

It dries onto your lips far too quickly leaving you with an extra dry texture, where your lips feel really tight and you end up with that annoying dried lipstick rim on the inside of your mouth. 

Girls, you should know what I mean when I explain that,where you have to scrape it off with your nail (well I do anyway)and it hasn't blended in. It just dries into the ring of lipstick death.

LIKE THIS!!! 

  

When you apply the lip lacquer initially it seems on application to glide on evenly and you think "la lala leeeelaaa" I am liking this product. 

But then it dries. 

And it is patchy.

And I am like "FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!"

I am sorry MUA but this is not I wanted as an end result. It applied thick in some places and thin in others. 

This is obviously a close up and doesn't look as bad from a distance, but please, this is a tad nasty on the finale!

So basically if you are wanting a flawless looking end result from your lip lacquer, this isn't the product to go for. 

It was £3, what was I expecting really?! 

Ha, I will just edit the photo to show you how I kind of thought it would turn out. 

The overall turn out isn't super bad for this product as the colour is highly pigmented and doesn't change in tone when applied. But it isn't the greatest lip lacquer I have tried to date, it makes the 'Rimmel Apocalypse' lip lacquers look amazing compared. 

Oh, hello ye old dead hand...We meet again!! I am going to stop doing swatches if this is what happens every time.

I really do have normal hands with blood running through it!!  

I am sorry if this swatch offends you. It does me. Ha. 

Someone please enlighten me to why it does this?!

All in all, for me, it's a 'slate' not 'rate' product I am afraid. Yes it does most of the things it claims to do, but by'eck does it leave you with a gross feeling mouth, "velvety texture" nope, more of a "I need to get this off instantly" feel! Oh, and another thing, when removing it, it leaves you with a non-budge stain AND it crumbles and falls off your lips. What the?! 

I am glad I didn't get another shade from this collection as it turns out this product is quite disappointing. It would be okay left on for an hour or so, but throughout the day. No way hosay. 

The packaging is deceptive. It is still a cheap product!

 I suppose you get what you pay for in this instance.

I don't know if any of you ladies have tried this product and liked it? But let me know what you think if you have. 

I will leave you with a few 'selfie' snaps to have a look through.

 ♥

After the colour wore off. Not so vibrant. :(

I am loving the no eye makeup & lipstick look at the moment.

Guinea Pig Attachment.

My fluffy monkey Cody.

This is a LONG one...

Okay guys, I know I haven't done a blog post for a few days now, but there has been a genuine reason. 

And this reason is pictured above,

and this is my Cody.

I write about and photograph all things fashion and beauty related right?! But I also have 'life' attached to the end of that little heading. And this right here is part of my life, it's real.

I wanted to take the time to write a post about something that effects my every day life in the most stressful ways, but also in the best ways. 

To most people, yes, he is "just a guinea pig", but to me he is regarded in the same manner as if he were a dog or a cat. He is still a living creature, he has feelings and he has the most awesome personality.

Cody hasn't been an easy ride, let me tell you! You would think just by going into a pet store to buy an animal it would be easy as pie, yeah? 

No. No it wasn't.

What was about to hit me like a tonne of bricks was something I had NEVER anticipated when homing this monkey. In a way this post is telling you my story (in short as it is majorly long) but also advising you readers out there that are animal lovers. 

I got Cody at around 8 weeks old. He was teeny, alert and most of all he was cute and already had a quirky personality. 

I fell in love instantly.

Unfortunately, after this picture was taken (the day I got him home) I noticed something wasn't quite right with him. He was sneezing constantly and scratching like a maniac. 

I love to research, especially when it is to do with animals as I have a major passion for them and their care, and I concluded by his symptoms that he had a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection) and Ringworm. Now, the URI needed to be dealt with straight away, as guinea pigs go down hill very rapidly and they hide their illnesses well until the last minute. And well, the ringworm was contagious as hell and it must have been hurting him.

Ha, no word of a lie my mum was cleaning everything like a dog on heat, she wouldn't leave anything untouched.

Bleach became our new best friend!!

The next day, he went back to the vets and this is where my hell began. He stayed in their care for months, it was horrible. I didn't really get to see him and I felt so helpless. I was even suggested that I "swap" him for another one or "given back". These remarks made me furious. He isn't a mobile phone that you can just send back because it's faulty. He is a living creature. Just imagine if I had given him back, I would have never of forgiven myself. 

I believed in Cody and I knew he would make it. He was strong.

He was however in a bad way. He was on antibiotics for months and even to this day he is still on them. My knowledge on guinea pigs, their care, medicines, diet, warning signs and illness is above average and most of the time I have diagnosed him before the vets have even figured out what is wrong. 

That is the shocking thing, I am untrained yet I spotted all the signs and symptoms! (That is is a WHOLE different story on its own.)

I won't go into major details as this post would be going on for weeks, ha.  But yeah, I eventually got him back like this.

He had grown LOADS and was sooooo long. I was a little shocked. Obviously, now he is quite the chunk but it was still strange and he was so tame too. 

I thought my ordeal was over. 

He was on continuous medication but when I brought him back on this day, I noticed a scabby patch on his right ear and some on his nose before that and it wasn't again picked up. So he had another trip back to the vets. I literally spend most of my time there these days. They suspected ringworm on his ear and took him back in. It was then confirmed a week or so later that it was a bacterial infection.

From the very beginning of me taking Cody to the vets I complained about his ear scratching and head flicking but nothing was really done about it. 

And now, we come to the present day. For over a year Cody has been on various different types of medication; Septrin, Baytril, Metronidazole, Loxicom and Emeprid. It's got to the point now where I indistinctly know when to give him medicine and what type. Oh, and another thing I learnt, just like humans, guinea pigs very much dislike having to take their foul tasting medicine. It is a daily struggle, but I have been doing it for so long now I am a pro. 

I now know all about GI Statis, bloat, rhinitis  when he becomes what the professionals call 'Anoretic' (stops eating and drinking), I have to deal with seizures, him almost dying from poor advice. You name it I have been through it with this guinea. I know A LOT. 

And now chronic middle ear infection. 

I would just like to point out that, I have tried SO hard to save his life because I had a gut instinct and knew he was too healthy to be put to sleep. And that if at any point he was severely suffering I would NOT of kept him alive for my own benefit.

 Cody had gotten over his persistent URI and stubborn Ringworm but was left with Rhinitis (which is rare in guinea pigs) that makes him allergic and sensitive to a lot of things. He cannot have wood shavings as his main bedding so now his cage is made of fleecing, he is allergic to grass (his favourite) and his hay irritates him. 

It's a lot of hard work. I never did think when I brought him that both me and him would be going through all of this stress. 

He is worth it though. :) 

Last week, I had to take Cody to Bristol (UK) for a CT scan. It is a long way from where I live but I needed to know what was going on with his ears. As I mentioned earlier from the beginning he had been constantly irritated by his ears and on Christmas day  13' he developed a 'head tilt' which becomes present when an animal has an ear problem. He lost his balance and began having mini seizures which was so upsetting to watch. Again, I researched and I concluded he had signs of a middle ear infection. He also had green matter being brought up his ear canal which showed he had some sort of infection that just wasn't budging. Cody isn't an ordinary guinea, he is a moody piggy and dislikes being touched and held and is very anti-social that way.

With what he has been through I am not surprised. 

I wouldn't have him any other way though, he isn't boring that's for sure. 

Codes loves to travel and often sleeps. 

So, yeah the results came back yesterday and it wasn't great news. I was told the bone structure in both ears had severely thickened and there was fluid stuck down there. The vet also said that he is almost definitely completely deaf but otherwise he is healthy and happy. And it was confirmed this was all down to the URI he had in the beginning and that it is common knowledge that middle ear infections result from a URI. The first signs were the patch of skin on his ear, that I noticed in the beginning. The bacterial infection. 

Speaks for itself really. 

I was told they wouldn't recommend surgery after all as his ears are so small and to drain the ears could do more harm than good. 

So it is now a case of trying the last few antibiotics to try and alleviate the symptoms but he will at some point become immune to them and the day will come where I will have to make the decision to put him to sleep. 

I was and still am devastated. I have battled so hard, and apart from his ears he is a healthy and happy guinea pig. He has hair that I am jealous of, he popcorns (a jump they do when they are happy) eats like a horse (he costs me so much money) and is so funny I could watch him for hours. 

I have spent months looking after him, a lot of money, so much stress and heartache but I wouldn't change him for the world.

When you fall in love, you fall in love. 

I don't know how much time I have left with him and I am hoping we can defy the odds like we always have and I can make him better. But whatever time we do have I will make sure it's the best time he has. 

He is my little buddy and I will not give up on him. 

I hope you liked this post and at some point I will be doing an advice post on guinea pigs from my own personal experience. 

If anyone would like to ask me anything regarding this post just drop me a comment. :) 

I will now leave you with a few pictures as the vids won't upload so I will put them up at a later date.

Enjoy.

♥

This is a state of total relaxation. 

Love this picture!

What guinea pig even does this?! Look at his little frog legs! Ha ha.

Cuddles ♥

He actually puts his head on the pillow to sleep. He even moves it
to where he wants it. Too cute. 

His favourite place to 'chill'.

All of my babies :)

♥