NOTD: Color Club | Reign in Spain |

The Wanderlust Collection // 4 mini pack //

As soon as I saw this colour in this month's Birchbox I fell in love. A mix of peach and coral with a neon/pastel finish make this perfect for summer and a bit different to the typical neons you get around this time of year. I've been obsessed with all things peach and coral at the moment, so this varnish will go really well with some new pieces I have recently bought for my wardrobe. This colour is so nice that a stranger on the tube asked me to write down the name of it for her - if you've ever been to London you will know people barely even look at each other on the tube so this is a massive credit to the polish! The pictures unfortunately don't do the colour justice, I think the best representation is the bottom one from my instagram.

'Reign in Spain' is part of another collaboration between Birchbox and Color Club (see this NOTD for the other) named the Wanderlust collection, consisting of 4 special summer shades in mini bottles. The formula is just as good as Insta-This - only 2 layers of colour needed for an opaque finish, tip wear by about day 3 and no major chips to be seen at all. 

The only pain is that to get one of these polishes on the Birchbox site you have to get the whole set - and considering I got two in my Birchbox I don't really want two duplicates to get my hands on the other half of the shades (although the green 'London Calling' is literally calling my name!)

What do you think of this colour? What are your favourite summer polishes? xxx

Review: Soap and Glory | The Daily Smooth Body Butter |

£9.00 // 250ml

Like many other people, I love Soap and Glory and have sung their praises a number of times over on this part of the internet. Their body care range is my favourite as the products are effective and smell gorgeous all while looking very pretty in your bathroom.

This particular body butter is from the Mist You Madly scent range, which is floral and decadent. It is quite thick which means it takes a while to sink into the skin, so I normally reserve this for after baths in the evening or if I am not in a rush in the morning. The scent lasts a long time and the mix of rosehip seed oil and cocoa butter really penetrate the skin and help to tackle stubborn dry patches. The only gripe I have with this product is the packaging. Although it is very pretty, the formula inside is thicker than their other body butters in the tubs and yet they have put it in a tube. This makes it really difficult to squeeze product out and also when you have slippery hands from applying the product, it makes it even harder to squeeze the bottle.

Despite the tube, the actual product does the job and is an affordable luxury. Have you tried this product before? What are your favourite dry skin fixers? xxx

Review: Nuxe | Reve de Miel Lip Balm |

15g // £9.50

Like nearly every other girl I have a million and one various branded lip balms floating around various handbags/drawers/make up bags... so why did I feel the need to buy another? Well, this one is different and definitely the best I've ever tried.

Housed in a heavy glass pot, this lip balm automatically feels more luxurious than the others. It is quite thick and feels more nourishing and like a balm than any other stick or pot varieties that I've tried. While the formula may be thick it doesn't feel too heavy or cloying on the lips and sinks in really well to a matte finish. I've also found the texture results in it lasting a lot longer than the average balm does too. Lots of reviews recommend this only as a night time balm but on days when you need something extra this has been perfect for the day too. An amalgamation of honey, plant oils, shea butter and grapefruit enable this balm to repair as well as protect from the elements. One of my favourite things about this is the smell - not like honey at all (I would say the texture is more like thick pale honey), instead rather citrusy and sweet like Seville orange cake (specific as always!) I find this pairs really well with my Lush lip scrub too as a nice treatment to follow up with.

This product is a delight to use and it really works - an all round winner! xxx

City Break in Barcelona

Hey guys, I haven't posted in around a week as I've been super busy! Last Thursday I had my Graduation Ball, the Friday I finished moving all my things out of my Uni house and on the Saturday Matt and I went on our trip to Barcelona! From my previous lifestyle post you may remember he surprised me with this trip to cheer me up as things  have been a bit hectic and rubbish for me these last few months. We went for 3 nights which was plenty as city breaks are actually really tiring! I've been to Spain loads of times as my family own a villa out there but I had never visited Barcelona so it was really fun to spend time exploring the city. There is still a lot more to discover and I would love to go back again some time in the future. 

 Our flight was very early in the morning but we managed to get some shut eye on the plane, only to wake up to a rainy Barcelona! Once we got to our hotel, Rey Juan Carlos I, we managed to get into our room pretty quickly and had a quick nap so we could spend the rest of the day exploring and the sun had come out too. We paid for two consecutive days for the open top bus as this was cheaper - I would highly recommend using the bus as a way to explore the city as not only is it way cheaper than a taxi but there are audio points where you can listen to the recorded guide and there are loads of stops to get on and off when you please. There are buses every 5 to 10 minutes and they make the whole sight seeing process really easy! On the first day we took the opportunity to shop and explore Las Ramblas and the Gothic quarter as all shops are closed on a Sunday. I really enjoyed the Gothic quarter as it has loads of little streets to explore, with performers and interesting places to eat and drink. I wasn't as keen on Las Ramblas as it felt a bit too touristy but it was still a good experience to check it out. Once we got back to the room Matt had organised a surprise of champagne to be delivered which was such a cute touch and just what we needed after a long day!

The next day was pure sight seeing and we managed to see pretty much all of Barcelona from the bus, from the main part of the city to the beach. We stopped off at the MNAC art gallery which was so beautiful and had amazing views of the city, in Montjuic where we got a cable car overlooking the whole of Barcelona and finally onto La Sagrada Familia which is really famous. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside the last place because there was an event going on, but I will definitley be visiting it next time!

The final day we spent chilling by the pool and we ended up getting really sunburnt :(! After spending two days on the bus we knew the nicer areas to visit which were out of the tourist trap areas and so we got a taxi to drop us off an a nice street and went into a random restaurant for dinner. It was a lovely place with amazing food! We had a jug of Sangria, seafood paella and Catalan creme brulee all of which was delicious! Our flight was early the next morning, however we got delayed for over 4 hours due to the French industrial strikes. 

That is a quick summary of my time away but if you have any questions just leave a comment! Barcelona was an amazing experience and we definitely packed in as much as possible into the few days we had. I would keep in mind that city breaks are quite expensive though as we found out the hard way - we had three different types of taxes on our bill at the end of the holiday, including city tax for each night we stayed in a hotel, so its important to keep that in mind! I would highly recommend the city as it has the beach, history and culture all wrapped up in one place so there is something for everyone. 

I don't think we are going on a relaxing holiday this year like Turkey last year as we can't afford it - instead we are saving up for two weeks in Mexico next year when we are going to a wedding! I think it is definitley worth saving the money for :) Are you going on holiday this summer? xxx