BURKATRON

i figured i'd start off the week with a super simple DIY. i love making soaps, they make great gifts and you get to melt stuff (which is always high on my agenda.) in the past i've generally stuck to novelty ones like this but today i'm sharing a more grown up version- detox charcoal soap!

as we inch closer towards october i'm starting to get excited about autumnal nights, i've always looked forward the time of year when our days become shorter and our evenings get darker! i find autumn a magical time of year, although i miss the balmy days of summer i adore the change in season and the giant mugs of hot chocolate it brings.  with our summer drawing to a close i thought it was the perfect time to talk pampering! i've been meaning to put together a post about my perfect night in for a while. james and i are creatures of habit- we both love to spend a sunday night relaxing together. here are five things i think you need for the perfect night in! unleash your pamper products. i start the night off with a long bubble bath (essential right?) i throw in my favourite products, give my skin a good polish with lush exfoliator or my molten brown bar and finish up with a healthy lather of moisturiser. i'm still using this DIY cream minus the aloe vera. during the...

when i got home from santorini i wanted to avoid post holiday skin peeling at all costs! after a week of sun worshipping i decided to make my own aftersun lotion and it's worked miracles- this is my second batch and i'll definitely make more as its a great all round moisturiser!

gosh I've been so distracted moving house this week I only realised it was halloween today.. fail! I had planned a spooky nail art for you guys but I think I've missed the boat! I do have this winter floral pattern that I'd though I'd show you; it was inspired by the dress I wore to the cosmo blog awards but I''ve switched up the colours slightly! I was recently sent these two butter london polishes to review cotton buds and pimms; I'm new to butter polishes so I was excited to try them!  my verdict.. I love them both! rich and creamy to apply the colours are beautiful and the finish is lovely. I'm a huge fan of white nails in particular this year and these both have a good formula.  white is a great all rounder to have in your collection; even if you don't want to wear white nails it's the perfect undercoat to pale shades. I find a lick of white under bright polishes makes them 'pop' (top tip: neon's in particular really benefit fro...

drumroll... today I've teamed up with urban outfitters  to bring you my latest outfit post* EXCITING! I'm a happy bunny this week; the summer has finally arrived and top of my agenda was to wear my new summer dress in the hope of catching that elusive tan (yep still living in hope!)   I found it tricky to pick out a dress as there's so many I liked! the cut and details on the back finally swayed me to pick out this little beauty from pins & needles . I though the strap details were a nice nod to the camisole trend and it's just darn cute (it also comes in  pink ) I've always been a massive fan of UO which is why I was so excited about this post, it's full of independent and quirky labels and it's one of my favourite places to shop. if you're a vintage lover their urban renewal section is a dream (I'm still trying to find the perfect vintage levi cut off's so will no doubt be hopping about one legged trying on endless pairs shortly)  pins ...

I really enjoyed writing my last currently lovin' post! I have some new little bits that wouldn't usually make it into a post so I decided to make it a regular feature! so here's my latest crushes: 1.  river island light wash denim skirt:  I walked past river island three times in the last week every time this skirt caught my eye.. on walk by number four I gave in, introduced myself and we made our way to the till. it's my ideal summer basic, light comfortable and versatile. 2.  cath kidston button factory:  a present from my absolutely gorgeous best friend (she knows cath kidston is the way to my heart!) a box of fun with all the ingredients to create your own fabric coated buttons! including their iconic floral fabric and instructions on how to get started (its really easy!) I'm going to be busy making buttons for all my cushions thanks to this super cute kit! 3. topshop nail polishes : I've pulled out two neglected colours from my collection this week. milks...

hello comfy dress! that's right it's another asos smock dress (send help)  I just can't get enough of these over sized swishy numbers. this one is a little more subdued than my usual colour scheme but the stripes won me over and I love any item of clothing that I can literally throw on! I'm not sure what happened but I managed to colour coordinate an outfit head to toe for the first time ever.. hurrah! (ok I'll admit it was a pure accident but I'm glad I managed to get a picture of this special occasion) the satchel is from primark, one day I will upgrade cambridge one (I've been saying this for at least a year) the pineapple hair was simply down to me being lazy 'cause it's the weekend! grey marl smock dress:  asos bag: primark sandals & lace trim socks: topshop necklace: urban outfitters nails: nails inc queen victoria street sunglasses: h&m come find me on  bloglovin'  |  twitter  |  pinterest  and say hi! ps. don't forget to ...

drum roll... this weeks nail crush goes to  illamasqua noble ! you may have noticed I have a soft spot for blue nail polishes so I was excited to receive this one as it had been on my wish list for quite a while! similar to the shade 'pique blue' that I bought in & other stories recently this turquoise blue has a more radiant finish and is 10x more glossy! the formula is gorgeous, it's light to apply (not heavy and sticky) and the pigment is as always brilliant. I love illamasqua polishes because they dry quickly and you never need more than two coats for full effect.  this is two coats swatched above.  illamasqua nobel* £14.50 I adore this colour it's really vibrant (this would look great against darker skin) definitely a contender for my top 5 summer polish colours. I'll be wearing this one with white tee's, denim cut offs (...and a slathering of st tropez aha!) what do you think? I'm a big fan of their polishes- have you tried them yet? caroline x

wow wee! exciting news gang, illamasqua's  latest collection is about the hit the shelves! I was lucky enough to go to the paranormal launch this week (I even got to chat with the awesome alex box the beauty and the brains behind the creative process eeeeek!) so today I can show you some of the new range before it lands april 30th.. HURRAH! the launch was a true illamasqua event! tarot cards and smoke machines with a haunted house vibe (luckily there's nothing scary about the make up) it's actually pretty damn cool. illamasqua are quite rightly a huge cult brand; always at the front of innovation (remember the speckled nails from their imperfection range?) and known for their fantastic pigments this collection is a little more punk meets 90's which would always be a winner for me. cue a photo of my other half getting his nails 'illamasqued' sorry james I couldn't resist aha! so here's a few of the new additions...  first up there's a few new lipstick...

do any of you guys remember this little invention?  yep.. it was the one from dragons den!! (god I love that show) I've been meaning to give it a mention for a few weeks... finally I've got round to giving you the low down on the tangle teezer  detangling brush.  I was sent it a while back from look fantastic  and I've been using it religiously since! firstly I have to say it's a strange looking brush; resembling a giant jelly bean it's not exactly sophisticated but it actually does the job.  I have long hair prone to tangling (not helped that I backcomb like a woman possessed) and I generally avoid brushing it out until I absolutely have too aha! I think that's why I like this product so much; the rubber bristles on this are different lengths and designed to flex and flick so it minimises breaking and damage to hair.  so is it a good detangler? yes and it's also as good on wet hair. I brush through my shampoo and conditioner with it in the shower and ...

I always get excited by new brands (hmmmm ...did someone say geek?) red carpet queen is a new brand to me so I wasn't sure what to expect; I was sent these awesome looking nail polishes by the hut  to test drive and I'm pretty impressed with them.  firstly I'll say they're far too much fun, the packaging is a brilliant novelty! (probably the closest I'll get to holding actual bullets- probably a good thing considering the amount of serial killer documentaries I watch!)  I've been wearing controversy for 4 days now- I'm beginning to see very small chips beginning on my right index finger & thumb but the others and my left hand remains chip free (I have a special skill for chipping polish so I'm always impressed by anything that lasts longer than 3-4 days!) they've been formulated with an extra high dose of nitrocellulose to keep them strong and long lasting so this is probably why! the colours of the polishes are really something...

wow. that was my initial reaction when I opened these nail polishes for the first time. illamasqua  seem to have finely tuned the knack of creating shades more unique than others out there on the market (and almost always better quality too)  I wanted to review these separately but they're so damn good I had to do them all together because I'm so impatient to show you them on!  if you're looking for the perfect spring/summer nail colours these may just be for you: superstition is a knockout hot pink coming soon to their collection!! (I'm super excited to swatch this one for you!) this is one crazy, vibrant, beautiful shade!  this is how it looks on: the varnish is rich, bright and long lasting. I find it really hard to critise the formula of illamasqua polishes because all the ones I've used have been pretty darn perfect.  for full intensity I'd apply two coats (it's almost a one coat polish because the pigment is so good) next up is my favourite out of the ...