Beauty haulin'

Hey Beauts, 

So today I've got all the  beauty bits of the haul from yesterday's post. Seen as how I'm quite new to this blogging sphere I thought I would pick up a few cult favourites that I've seen quite a few reviews on! So first up, I headed to the best place to have fun - Boots! 

I went in specifically to get the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. I think I've only ever read one bad review about this product and that was because it made their skin dry, but she had dry skin anyway so this cleanser wouldn't be useful for her. Every other review has been fantastic, so why not pick it up? It came with two muslin cloths all in a cute little bag which could easily be used as a travel make-up bag (RRP: £14.75). Whilst there I needed some heat spray so I picked up the one I always buy, the TRESemme heat defence! I Love this stuff. After using is, my hair is always so soft and protected from all the heat tools I put my hair through. It was on offer 'Two TRESemme products for £7' I would have got another heat defence spray excepft this was the last one and there wasn't much choice left on the shelve, so I just picked up this mousse. I've used it once already and to be honest with you, I'm not really a fan of it. So following this, I went to check out the make-up.

The reason I picked up the Telescopic mascara (RRP: £10.99) was pretty much for nostalgic purposes. This was the first ever mascara I 'borrowed' off of my mummabear on a daily basis before school. I absolutely loved this stuff, so I bought it again to see if it is still as good as I remember it being.

I then decided to jump on the bandwagon (very late I might add) and purchase a few Revlon lip butters. These are great! On offer at 2 for £10 I bought the shades 080 - Strawberry Shortcake which is a beautiful soft pink shade and 053 - Sorbet which is a bright pink shade. The best thing about these is because they are so creamy they don't go on as bright as they look. If you are a little timid towards brighter shades, you think you're wearing a brighter shade than what it looks like on your lips, slowly helping you on your way to brighter lip confidence! As for the nail polishes, they were £5.99 on offer for buy one get one half price. The beige one is in the shade 60 - Midnight Bronze and the pink one is in the shade 105 - Dusky Rose. I haven't tried these out yet so I can't give a proper review, but the shades are stunning in the bottle and I really hope the colour transfers well to the nail.

Next up; Superdrug

I went in specifically to pick up a sleek blush. Doing just that, I picked up 923 - Pomegranate (RRP: £4.49), A beautiful dusky rose colour which would be perfect for the Autumn/Winter months. It's a bit late now so hopefully I can get some use out of it before winters over. Whilst in Boots I was suppose to pick up a nail buffer but forgot so I just picked this one up instead. And lastly I thought I'd try the BeautyUK eye liner and shadow in black and white because I'm on the hunt for some drugstore eye liners that work really well! 

Here are some swatches from left to right;

BeautyUK eye liner in Black

BeautyUK eye shadow in White

Revlon lip butter in 053 Sorbet

Revlon lip butter in 080 Strawberry Shortcake

Sleek blush in 923 Pomegranate

Following this I thought I'd check out the Victoria's Secret body Sprays. 3 for £24 or 5 for £30. Being a sucker for scents I chose the 5 for £30 option! 

Pure Seduction! 

A fruity, floral fragrance. Entice in Pure Seduction, a passionate romance of succulent red plum and sweet freesia.

Vanilla Lace! 

A seductive warm fragrance. Feel sensual in Vanilla Lace, a seductive veil of warm vanilla and sultry musk

Midnight Dare! 

Be bold in Midnight Dare, A vivacious blend of juicy raspberry and tempting sandalwood. 

Coconut Passion! 

A seductive warm fragrance. Seduce with Coconut Passion, a rendezvous of rich vanilla and warm coconut.

Mango Temptation! 

Now this fragrance is by far my favourite scent.

A tempting, fuity fragrance. Tease in Mango Temptation, an exotic kiss of mango nectar and sexy hibiscus.

Some little treats there if I do say so myself. I recommenced these fully based on the wide range on scents Victoria's Secret do, there is something for everyone! 

I went into TK MAXX next to see if I could stumble upon any little treasures and I think I did! I picked up the staple Agadir Argan oil hair treatment for £10 and a pot of Korres Pomegranate Moisturising Cream-Gel for £9.99! 

Now for my favourite part of the trip (After lunch at Nando's) I went into LUSH! I love LUSH, the scent, the products, the scent (and did I mention the scent?). I Picked up these four things after originally only going in to pick up Ocean Salt. The people in the shop weren't that helpful for once so I just sauntered around picking up everything and trying it out for myself. The bee (Named Fred) was the first thing I picked up. He was £8.55 and contains a bar of Honey I Washed the Kids soap (the best soap) and a Honey Bee Bath Ballstic which I've never tried before but only heard good things about! I then went over and picked up the Ocean Salt seen as though that's what I went in for when a sales assistant tried to talk me into something cheaper! Following the salty theme I picked up BIG. My hair is quite limp at the moment and doesn't really hold much volume so I thought why not? And popped it into my basket. On the way to the till I picked up Whoosh, smelt it and popped that to into my basket without knowing how much it was. Afterwards I was thinking 'why did I pay £6,95 for some shower gel' But I used it last night and hardly any was used, so I think that will take ages to use up and will definatly be worth the money, especially with the beautiful citrusy scent it gives off! 

Now for the final part of the trip. MAC.

This for me was an absolute achievement. I actually asked one of the ladies to match my skin to a foundation shade (Hallelujah!) I'm always so nervous in MAC. I ended up being NC15 in the mineralize foundation (RRP: £27) and NC20 in the pro longwear concealer (RRP: £15.50).

I'm so happy with the purchases I made, as I never go out and shop like this. My student loan came in this day and that's how I managed to pay for all this. Living at home has it's advantages sometimes!

In the next few weeks I will bring you reviews of some of these products if I discover that there worth mentioning! Untill next time,

Be happy, Be beautiful and Be YOU!

Ellie, xx

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A little tiny fashion haul!

So the other day I popped in the car and went up to Sheffield to go shopping at Meadowhall. For those of you out of the UK, Meadowhall is an out of town shopping centre and it is huge! When I went it was absolutely heaving which wasn't really that fun as it felt quite claustrophobic and tight, but nonetheless, my boyfriend and I had a great day out! 

To begin with, I looked around New Look, H&M, River Island and Topshop but didn't really find anything that I like, nothing stood out to me as 'I MUST HAVE THAT NOW' and the stuff I did try on just made me feel fat and disgusting. Following this, I went into Victoria's Secret not expecting much. With their angels looking so stunning in their promotional images, I didn't have high hopes for anything making me feel great in my size. I found a pair of black yoga pants with an coral band around the waist and went to the dressing room. (Side note: The dressing rooms are BEAUTIFUL) I slipped a leg in and my heart skipped a beat. They were comfy and slid on easily! I pulled them up all the way and thought 'Maybe I could try the next size DOWN!' Although I didn't want to knock my confidence any more so I just bought them! (RRP:£30 Sale:£14.50) Bargin!

Following this I took a trip into Cheapio Primarni (Primark) they had aisle after aisle of sale items and certain corners where they were bringing out new stock for the new year. Now I went in to primarily buy some black cami tops (£2 ea) as the best ones are from here. I have quite a long body, so they fit really well, although when I got there there was only one black one left in my size (gutted) but there were lots and lots of colours in comparison to the last time I was there, so I picked up a beautiful blue shade too! I then discovered some waist high burgundy jazzy pant leggings and picked them up. They fit really well for how long my legs are. I needed some new black shorts and discover these beauties, the detailing is gorgeous for the price tag (£12) and the fabric is thick and the same quality as you would see in River Island.

I then took a glance at the new stock, finding this dress! (£10)

There is a short story behind this dress. I tried it on in a size one too small and loved it so much I walked around the shop for no joke; 40 minutes trying to find the rack of them to find the last one in my size. I absolutely love this dress! I'm in love with how it pulls in at my waist and flows over my tummy. I really like how the arms flick out too, bonus! I then stumbled upon this cardigan (£10), it's just a basic, creamy white coloured cardigan, super soft, which I could throw on under a coat or wear about the house when it's chilly.

Now you can't leave Primarni without looking through the Jewellery / Accessories aisle. The only jewellery piece I unearthed were these earrings, really simple yet distinctive. I know some people have a problem of wearing crosses if you aren't religious, however I am Christened and that is good enough for me! 

I really just love how long chains look mixed in with hair! So I'm really pleased with this purchase, especially as they were down from £3 to a single £1. 

As for accessories I was in the middle of queuing to pay and that's where they always catch you out! I saw this pup and couldn't leave him there being all on his own. He is now keeping my phone warm, look how cute he is! His name is Harold!

Anyways, that's all for the fashion picks of this trip! Tomorrow I will post the beauty products of this trip that I picked up!

Be happy, Be beautiful and Be YOU!

Ellie, xx

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Fun, Fun, Fun!

Recently I've been going in and out of lush and always seeing these products called "fun" (RRP: £5). They're always in these strong "Crayola" colours of red, green, yellow, pink and blue. But the colours are always putting me off looking at them, so I continue to keep walking past. I got home one night and looked up what this "fun" stuff is. They're suppose to be used as a shampoo, a shower gel, a bubble bath and a plasticine?! What? Yes! It's like a mouldable safe clay for children to play with in or out of the bath. Now I understand the colour choices, children are drawn to these colours!

However, for Christmas I was given a box set from Lush which included The Olive Branch shower gel, Dream cream, Snowcake soap and some GOLD fun. Yes, that's right GOLD! It looks absolutely b-e-a-utiful and it's the first thing I tried from the box. I pinched a bit off, smelt it and MMM, It smells of "Honey I washed the kids" soap, even better! So far I've only used it twice, both as shower gel and I must say it gets a huge thumbs up from me! It lathers up so well, the scent it give off is powerful yet mouth watering and it definatly does it's job! My skin was left smelling wonderful and I felt fresh. 

Unfortunatly though, this is a Christmas only Fun from Lush (boo hoo). But I can't wait until Christmas for this and will however be stocking up next year as it lasts for 14 months. For now though I guess I will have to be brave and try the others out, even if the colours aren't exactly my choice, the scents are! Vanilla, Lavender and lime, I can't wait! 

Be happy, Be beautiful and Be YOU!

Ellie, xx

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Get to know me! - TAG Thursday

Hey beauts!

I thought I would let you get to know me better to start things off! Now there are a bunch of different 'tags' out there on the world wide web, so I closed my eyes and picked one and this was the result!

1) How do you prnounce your blog name?

Just how it's written, Elephant Stories and more.

I named it this because elephants are my favourite animal and I am an elephant. This blog will be all about my stories in life and more! Thought, opinions, etc, etc...

2) How old are you?
I am 20! I was born 15th February 1993! So a day after Valentines day! I never needed to cry for being lonely because the next day would be awesome!

3) What Nationality are you?
I am British & a quarter Irish.

4) What grade year are you in?
In Britain it is called year not grade! Haha, silly languages! I'm technically in year 16, I think! Which is my third and final year at University.

5) Do you have a job?
I do and I don't. It's a job where I work roughly February-October and then I'm jobless and have to apply for the job back. I absolutely love my job, working on the rides and recommend it highly. It's very social! I work at the theme park, Alton Towers! Such a fun job!

6) What is your eye colour?
My eye colour is blue!

7) What is your natural hair colour?
When I was younger it was blonde like in this image and slowly as I've grown up it's gone more of a mousy brown shade.

8) What type of skin do you have?
Normal to combination. My T-zone can never make up it's mind on whether it wants to be oily, normal or dry.

9) Do you have freckles?
I always say no to this question, but they randomly appear every summer without me knowing and disappear again in the winter months!

10) Do you/did you have braces?
Yep, for a whole 18 months. Painful they are.

11) What is your favourite perfume to wear?
Lovely by Sarah Jessica-Parker
Cherish by Ghost
Juicy Coture by Juicy Coture
Turquatic by MAC
Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift
Wonderstruck Enchanted by Taylor Swift

I absolutely LOVE perfumes. These are a few of my favourites as I really can't just pick one >.<

12) How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 
That depends on what I'm doing! Anywhere from 5minutes+

5 minutes if I shower the night before and get everything ready the night before
15 minutes if I'm doing minimal make-up and got things ready the night before + snooze alarm once
1 hour if I need to shower
1 hour 30 minutes if I need to shower, do make-up and get things ready

13) Whats your favourite colour?
Aqua/Turquoise/Blue

14) Heels or Flats?
Flats, Flats, Flats with the occasional heel on a night out. I'm already 5ft9 so I wear heels when towering above everyone else seems fun!

15) Gold or Silver
White gold / silver

16) Do you have a boyfriend?
Yep, I do and I love him to bits! We've been together 3 years come April 4th 2014.

17) Do you have any siblings?
A brother named Peter, he's a year younger than me.

18) Do you have any pets? 
Yeah! The cutest dog ever! He's a mongrel, but we love him.
Here is Spence!

19) Have you ever been out of the country?
I've been to a few places,
America, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Majorca & a couple others. Travelling is fuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

20) What is something that makes you nervous?
I really hate being in crowded places. I'm also really nervous about losing the person/people I'm with in busy areas too.

So now you know me better, let me get to know you better! I tag you! Once you're done, write your blog name/link/thing down in the comments and I'll come and check your blog out! :)

Be happy, Be beautiful and Be YOU!

Ellie, xx

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A start to start all starts!

Hello 2014, my names Ellie and this is my blog! 

At this time I don't exactly know where this journey will take me but I do know one thing and that is that it will be fun. My one and only new year resolution is to have fun! If something is getting me down, making be cry or upsetting me, I will forget about it, do something that makes me happy and just be happy! 

Now when I said I only had one new year resolution I kind of lied. It has little sub categories like all the little individual fishes in a school of fish. I love to travel and this year I want to travel more be it in Britain or Europe. It's just fun to travel, explore new places and discover it's little treasures so that's that! Secondly, I would quite like to enjoy running. The thought of running right now just brings with it the idea that everyone will look at me a think 'gosh that fat chick shouldn't be running' but I'm trying not to let what others think invade my life, which bring us to number three, not to let what others think ruin what I want and enjoy to do. It's my life and if I continue to let what others think of me get me down, It won't be much fun. Fourthly, I'd like to read more. I've completely neglected reading the past two years and I miss the adventures books used to take me on and the creations and images they would create in this little brain of mine, and finally, I'd like life to be a little more organised, clean and tidy. As much of a mess my life is, if my bedroom floor is too messy for too long I will freak out, scream, shout and panic until it's cleaned up. So no more shouting from me please!

There you have it, my one new year resolution! 

Have an absolutely amazing 2014 beauts and make it one to remember! 

Be happy, Be beautiful and Be YOU!

Ellie, xx

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