Hello Again! | I'm Back

Well, well, well. Would you look who's back on the blogging scene. Don't worry, I know exactly what you're thinking: who is this Lavender Moon girl? You probably know me better as Mollie from Mollie Jess Blog. That's right, after a (little too long) break from bloggity blogging, I have decided it is time to slide back onto the scene, with a brand new name and blog layout to accompany. For many reasons, I decided that it was time to wave goodbye to my old blog name, and say hello to a new one. After all, there's nothing quite like a fresh start, ey?

So, why exactly have I decided to pick up my blogging habits again, you might ask. Well my friends, the extended break was exactly what I needed to re-discover the adoration I have for blogging. The idea of taking a break sparked from simply feeling uninspired - unmotivated, if you will. I felt as though I was blogging for the sake of it, as opposed to because I love photographing and writing about the things that I love, which is the sole reason that I created this little corner of the internet. But alas, it's time to get going again. I can't deny the fact that even typing this short little update has got me excited to start producing content for you lovely readers once again. I definitely have missed good ol' blogging.

I hate to say it, but that's all for now folks. Short and sweet, I know. But never fear - I'll be back soon (for real this time). I hope you're all as excited as I am to move forward with my blog. Apologies for the short and somewhat boring post, but you can expect a slightly more interesting post from me very soon.

Thanks for reading!

Spring Nails

With Spring already upon us (despite British weather showing otherwise) and shops lining their shelves with an abundancy of pastel nail polishes, I thought it would be appropriate to put together a post dedicated to Spring nails. Spring is my personal favouriteseason for   nail polishes; just an excuse to go crazy on pastels and brights if you ask me, which, obviously, are my faves. There's nothing quite better than an eye-catching nail in Spring, so, today, I thought I would show you a few nail polishes that make it into my top lineup for Spring.

I figured a pastel peach colour wasn't really negotiable - everyone loves a bit of orange. This particular colour is from Rimmel, thus being very affordable (hurray!) and has been a personal favourite colour of mine for a while now. It goes by the name of 'Tangy Tangerine', which, to me, is enough to sell a nail polish without even seeing the colour. Such a catchy name! Its what I would class as a muted peach, I guess. (You will soon come to realise my lack of talent within the field of colour description haha). I particularly love sporting this shade on my nails when I have a bit of a tan, making it the perfect holiday/vacation companion.

Next up is an Essie classic, that has certainly well and truly earned a name for itself amongst beauty lovers far and wide. Its 'Mint Candy Apple'. This mint green/blue shade is favoured by pretty much the entire beauty community; myself being no exception. It really does liven up your nails to suit the season of Spring. To me, this polish is like a breath of fresh air on the nails; it really does spruce up any outfit and helps you to, well, spring into Spring! Not to mention its possession of the classic Essie formula that we all know and love. 

And we're back to Essie again! What a surprise. This time, I am sharing with you an orange shade. Yet again, such a big surprise. We all know I love a bit of of orange. My favourite orange shade for my nails is Essie's 'Fear & Desire'. This isn't the first time this vibrant and fiery polish has made an appearance on my blog, as it earned a whole post to itself back in October; which you can read here. I simply love how bright and bold this colour is, and, if all the pastels of Spring are sometimes a little too much for you, then this vibrant beauty is a perfect alternative if you feel like switching it up a bit.

If you know me, you will know that my all time favourite colour to wear on my nails is pastel pink. I can guarantee that pretty much all the time, I will be sporting a pale pink nail. Usually, I go with my UV gel nail manicure (which, I do myself at home) which is always pastel pink. But, if I am looking for a regular pastel pink nail polish to satisfy all my pastel pink needs, then I always reach for this one; Topshop's 'Milkshake'. Its a lovely pale pink colour that gives your nails a very classy, very girly, very cute edge. I love it.

All the bright colours of Spring are fine and dandy, but sometimes, I'm after something a little more 'chic', so to say. This is where Essie's 'Blanc' comes in. Quite simply, a plain white nail polish. After seeing many photos of Ariana Grande sporting classic white nails, I decided I had to give the look a go myself. To me, it oozes elegance and, quoting Coco Chanel herself, 'Simplicity is the keynote to all true elegance'. I love how simple it looks, yet how eye catching and bold it looks. It also matches pretty much every outfit under the sun, which is definitely a handy quality for a nail polish to possess. I have been wearing this nail polish a lot lately, and am loving it.

Next is Barry M's Gelly nail polish in the shade 'Papaya'. Now, I have a bit of a love-hate relationship going on with this polish. I love the colour of it, and love how long lasting and shiny it is on the nails. But, my only problem with this muted-orange beauty is that it takes so long to dry. I am not particularly impatient when it comes to waiting for nail polish to dry, but this polish really does take advantage of any woman's patience. I have never read any other reviews from owners of these polishes stating that they suffer with the same probelmo, and have heard only glowing reports of their amazing-ness. This leads to me to believe I perhaps have a faulty one... Who knows. Any-hoo, I love the colour of this polish, and find it a lovely mix between a pastel and a bright orange. I also love the gel-nail effect is gives to the nails once it has dried... Even if it does take a good half an hour. Please do let me know if any of you have the same problem!

(Starting with the top left orange shade & moving clockwise)

Essie's Fear & Desire

Topshop's Milkshake

Barry M's Papaya

Essie's Blanc

Rimmel's Tangy Tangerine

Essie's Mint Candy Appple

There we have it. A rather rambly summary of my must-have Spring polishes. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this post - let me know in the comments what your fave Spring polishes are! Thanks for reading!

Ps - So sorry that I haven't been posting a lot lately. School has been ever so demanding lately and I have had to dedicate myself to revision etc for tests I have coming up. I am trying my best to post as much as I can... Hope you all understand! Lots of love and thank you for all your support!

Glitter Fairy | Hand Decorated Glitter Glassware & Bottles

Today's post is slightly different from the norm, however an important and rather exciting one nonetheless. My mother recently launched a new online business; Glitter Fairy, for which she hand decorates a variety of glassware and bottles. With an aray of glittered glasses and bottles on offer, Glitter Fairy is the place to go for all your gifting needs; be it for a birthday, anniversary, wedding - the list is endless. My Mum spends endless hourse carefully and delicately glittering glasses and bottles to perfection, and ensures each product is made to the best quality possible. Using non-toxic and food safe materials, the stunning glassware on offer is not to be missed. The wide scope of products available provide something for everyone; be you a wine lover, champagne fanatic, spirit obsessed, or simply long to own a set of 6 sparkling beauties to surprise your dinner guests with.

The list of wonders on offer is endless when it comes to Glitter Fairy. I simply cannot express how beautiful these products truly are, and from seeing them in the flesh, I am able to confirm that they look simply stunning. High quality, holographic glitter is used, making them super glitzy and glam. I would encourage you to check out the website to see what wonders are available to purchase (for very reasonable prices, may I add). 

www.glitterfairy.co.uk

Like the Glitter Fairy Facebook page here

Follow Glitter Fairy on Twitter here

There are frequent giveaway competitions running on the Glitter Fairy Facebook page, so be sure to give the page a like and watch out for future competitions to be in with a chance of winning a glitzy gift for yourself.

Thank you so much for reading everyone. Let me know in the comments what your fave thing on the Glitter Fairy website is, and, of course, let me know what you decide to order! ;)

Note: Sorry for the lack of content recently - been busy with school work and all that jazz. New beauty post very soon!

Lush-tastic Friday #8 | Yuzu & Cocoa Bubble Bar

Well, after a somewhat rather large break in the Lush-tastic Friday's feature, its finally back. Hurray! I can't say I feel particularly proud of the fact I have let my beloved Lush blog series slack a little over the past few weeks, and I don't have too much of an excuse either. I have had a fair amount of work to get through recently, what with exams and tests and other nonsense around the corner; thus not having heaps of time to write about my love for Lush products. As much as I would have preferred to do, of course. Anyway, on with the exciting bit. Today's feautured product is the Yuzu & Cocoa Bubble Bar.

I picked up this little macaron-shaped cutie a few weeks back upon browsing through Lush, not expecting much. Its a rather plain looking product in fairness, when compared to some of Lush's more extravagant numbers. But, as the sayinng goes - 'never judge a book by its cover'. I tell you, this somewhat over-used expression couldn't be more true in this situation. This bubble bar smells like heaven. With scents of coconut and underlying bursts of citrussy goodness, this little peachy wonder has me all in a daze. It simply smells so warming and cosy. Considering coconut is one of my all time favourite scents, it can only be expected that I had a love-at-first-bath kind of moment. The coconut oil extracts not only smell amazing, but also do wonders for your skin; along side the shea butter that is also mixed into the equation. Even upon touching this product, you can feel how silky soft and luxurious it feels; my skin definitely felt it too! 

I must say, this little bar of coconut goodness didnt't put on much of an extravaganza upon meeting the water, however, its yummy aroma did manage to conquer my whole bathroom, reminding me why I loved this product so much in the first place. Since it is a bubble bar, it produces an abundancy of bubbles, and must be crumbled under running water in order to achieve these bubbles. It created oodles of soft and bouncy bubbles, that proceeded to disperse throughout my bath. It turned the water peachy-orangey colour, which, considering orange is one of my fave colours, made me rather happy. All in all, this little charm made for an indulgent and relaxing bath, and left my skin reaping the benefits afterwards. 

You will find this bubble bar should last you for two baths, too (simply separate the top from the bottom), which is a brucy bonus. Definitely give this product a sniff next time you're in Lush, and maybe give one a go yourself. Thanks for reading!

Ps - I did more Lush shopping on Saturday (oops) and picked up a few cuties from their Spring/Easter range; so look out for those appearing on my blog over the next few weeks

February Favourites

It may come as a surprise to you, but I have never before done a monthly favourites post. Ever. Not because I haven't been raving and obsessig about enough products each month (trust me - I definitely have!) but because I always leave it too late to upload. So, for the first time in my blogging history; here is my first ever monthly favourites. Enjoy!

The eyeliner pen appears to be a little hidden in this photo. Haha. Lets play a little game of 'spot the eyeliner pen'!

I have fallen in love with lots of beauty goodies this February - new products and old. The first thing I have been loving is the Sleek blusher in the shade Rose Gold. Sleek blushers are just amazing; sophisticated and compact packaging, super pigmented product, amazing colour pay off & all for under £5, too. (£4.49 to be precise) This particular blush is such a pretty fuchsia pink colour, with very finely milled specks of golden shimmer dispersed throughout. It gives the cheeks such a gorgeous, healthy glow, and doubles up as a higlighter, too!  

I have also been loving the Chanel Glossier Lipstick in the shade 166 Amour. Its a pretty coralish peach with mild pink unsertones. It has lots of light-reflecting shimmer dispersed throughout, which makes your teeth look oh so pearly white; which is definitely a brucy bonus to this lovely lip gloss. I also love the formula; not too thin but not too sticky. It lasts forever on the lips, too. Although the nose-wrinkling price tag of £21 does seem a little excessive for a lip gloss, I do think it is a lovely, luxurious product to have in your collection

MAC are well known for their extensive and rather wonderful range of eyeshadows, which every girl and their mother seem to love. I am no exception from this craze, and seek great pleasure in purchasing new MAC eyeshadows to fill up my palette. There are many shades that I obtain a rather high level of adoration for, but today's spotlight is owned by the shade 'Cork'. Cork is what I would class as a staple eyeshadow that deserves a place in every girl's MAC palette. It just works with so many different eye looks; be it soft, smokey, neutral... the list is endless. It is quite simply a matte brown eyeshadow, with very warm undertones. In true MAC eyeshadow form, it's formula is wonderful, and applies and blends like a dream. 

Next up is another product from MAC; the Studio Tech foundation. What I love about this foundation is that it is a pleasant alternative to the traditional 'bottle & pump' style foundation. Rather, it comes in the form of a cream foundation, packaged conveniently into a little compact. Personally, I much prefer a matte finish to the face, as opposed to a dewy one, and so this cream to powder foundation is right up my street. As aforementioned, this foundation appears as a cream formula in the compact, but when applied to the face, finishes as more of a powder. It gives exceptionally good coverage, but feels light as a feather on the skin, leaving a flawless yet not cakey finish. I love it a lot, and will be rather upset when it runs out. One thing that does bother me is the hefty price tag, and for some reason, I just feel like the product to price ratio isn't really allowing you to get your moneys worth. So, if anyone knows any drugstore dupes to this little wonder of a product, then please do let me know!

Now for a product that is what I would probably say is my biggest beauty bargain in a long while. For those of you who are unaware, Primark recently launched their own beauty range; 'PS Love Beauty'. Upon browsing through Primark the other week, I came across this new beauty range, and decided to have a gander and see if there was anything of any decency on offer. One thing amongst all stood out to me; the liquid eyeliner pen. Since I wear liquid eyeliner almost everyday, I go through the felt eyeliner pens like you wouldn't believe. And, whilst the general drugstore prices aren't too excessive (mostly around £7.99 from the likes of Bourjois or Maybelline), after a while, it all mounts up. So, when I laid eyes on this little beauty, I was rather happy, as I knew it would be only a fraction of the price I would normally pay. £1.50. Boom. I was half expecting to get home and for it not to work, being so cheap and all. But no, in fact, I much prefer this eyeliner pen to any other I have ever owned, for which I payed a heck of a lot more for. It is amazing. So easy to use and is a good, solid black colour. Plus, I won't begrudge having to purchase a new one when it runs out - a definite winner of a product. 

And finally, another product from MAC. I have definitely re-discovered my love for MAC this past month, and now remember why I went so crazy on it in the first place. This particular product is a brush; the 130 small stippling brush. Firstly, you will notice it is of a smaller size than the regular brushes. This is because it is from the Christmas range last year; just to clear up any confused faces about the strangely small brush handle. I have been loving using this brush for blending in concealer; its dense yet sot bristles make the job a dream, in fact. I simply hate it when brushes take a lot of the product into their bristles and leave a minimal amount on your skin, therefore, this brush is my saviour. It buffs in product seamlessly, and doesn't absorb any into its bristles, meaning full coverage  can be easily achieved. I simply love it. Whilst I own the smaller size, the regular size is still available to buy at MAC, and is all year round, unlike the smaller version. 

And there we have it. My (rather long) February favourites post. Ah, there's nothing quite like a good beauty babble, is there? Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this post, and, if you did, let me know in the comments! Hopefully this will be the first of many monthly favourites posts in 2014. 

Thanks for reading!

  

A Dream Come True | Beyoncé Concert

I seem to be maintaining a somewhat rather permanent grin on my face recently, after a rather enthralling and amazing night, seeing a certain somebody live in concert, on her Mrs Carter World Tour. That's right; after many years of admiring and idolising Beyoncé, I was finally lucky enough to see her in concert last Wednesday night. The love I obtain for Beyoncé is rather excessive, and to see her in the flesh was incredible. I'll probably be doing the whole 'I've breathed the same air as Beyoncé!' thing for the rest of my life, and, who can blame me? My best friends and I all hold a special place in out hearts for Beyoncé, and love her a lot. So, together, seeing her perform the songs we hold so dearly live made for a special night that I am sure none of us will ever forget. 

As for the content of the show, no attendee could have asked for more. She sang her most loved hits, got the audience involved frequently with clapping, clicking, and repetition of the lyrics she sang, and even mixed some of her hits together to create a gripping and enthralling show for all. From lounging on a piano top belting out 1+1, to re-creating the partition video, Beyoncé had a true wow factor about her. Her rendition of Whitney Houston's 'I will always love you', along with her original song 'Heaven' each brought me to tears. That moment when the curtain dropped made me scream more than I knew I could, the excitement and joy I felt was mesmerising. I will particularly remember her acoustic cover of irreplaceable, where she held the microphone to the audience to sing the whole first verse and chorus. Every voice in the arena sang in unison to create a truly spine-tingling and special moment for all - including Beyoncé, who proceeded to say, and I quote 'Oh my Lord that was so beautiful!' at the sound of the arena singing. Everyone continued to sing the much-loved hit as Beyoncé joined in on the second verse. I will also treausre her performance of 'Love on Top', which, just so happens to be my all time favourite song. She asked the audience to click along with her, before asking everyone to repeat the words 'ba-ba-ba-da, ba-ba-ba-da' continuosly, which was the moment I realised she was about to sing Love on Top. I screamed. I cheered. I sang. A lot. And, of course, I joined in on the whole ba ba ba da malarkey. It was an incredible moment. I also loved her ending song; Halo. Again, a very special song for me, and so it meant a lot to hear it live. The same for 1+1, another special song to me. I also loved her interesting rendition of 'Get me Bodied', which she started by talking to the audience. She then used the opening to the song 'Partition', which, as many of you may know, is her saying 'Let me hear you say "Hey Ms Carter" *audience repeat* "Say hey Ms Carter" *audience repeat*'. She asked each section of the audience to do this, before beginning to sing Get me bodied, with little amount of instrumentation. She did the whole 'Mission 1 I'm a put this on, when he see me in this dress I'mma get me some, hey', before pausing, smirking in a humourous and fun kind of way, and taking in the audience applaud and appreciation. She then did the second 'Mission 2 etc etc' then Mission 3 and 4. She did the same pause for applaud after each line, before proceeding to clap her hands to a beat and asking the audience to join in. She began to say 'Clap, clap, clap them hands, clap, clap, clap them hands' to the beat. Once the clapping got going, she began to sing the verse of the song, line by line, asking the audience to repeat after her on each line. After the first verse, the instrumentation kicked in, and the song got into full swing by the chorus. It was honestly the best audience involvement I have ever experienced at a concert, and flowed so smoothly. As a musician myself, I really did appreciate how well it worked and how amazing the rhythm felt. 

I apologise for the rather blurry photos, but, understandably, I was rather excited and well, dancy, thus resulting in blurred photos. Haha.

I honestly had goosebumps continuously through the concert, and even watching the videos back, I still get goosebumps. I haven't stopped smiling about it since the night, and can't stop gushing to everyone I know about how amazing she was. If it was even possible, I love Beyoncé even more than I did before. She is an astonishing woman - anincredible  vocalist, dancer, and all round performer. I would see her in concert again in a heartbeat, and cannot recommend her enough. 100% worth every penny. 

I am so sorry for this rather extensive post, but I just had to gush to you all about how amazing she was. I didn't manage to get many outstanding photos, but hopefully you enjoyed having a gander at the few goodens I did get. Thanks so much for reading! Speak soon! 

👑🐝

Pancake Day Fun!

In light of the pancake day celebrations, I decided to rumble up a little post for you all, capturing the fun and madness of my Shrove Tuesday celebrations this year. 

It goes without saying that my day consisted of countless pancakes piled high with an abundance of sweetness and joy; thus resulting in a few mouth-water-worthy snaps for you all to enjoy. Sorry this post won't be a long'en, but, there is a very exctiting post heading your way tomorrow. Hurray! Anyway, on with the pancakes!

A pretty good first attempt if I do say so myself!

What's pancake day without a bit of pancake flipping?

This one had ears and a sort of mouth thing which I found very cute. Who knew a pancake could be so adorable!

So, there we have it. An insight into my pancake-crazy evening. I love pancake day - the whole process; from making them, to setting out the toppings, and of course, eating them. Pancake day is a bit of fun for all, whether you wish to partake in Lent or not. Speaking of which; what are you planning on giving up for Lent? (If  you are planning to give up anything at all, that is). I'm still not sure personally, nothing really springs to mind that I desire to give up. Hey ho, I'm sure I'll come up with something. 

Any-hoo, hopefully you enjoyed today's post; how was your pancake day? Thanks for reading!