A Healthy Breakfast

Being a slight breakfast virgin, fifteen extra minutes in bed was always given more priority, I am genuinely surprised to be writing this post about my new love affair with porridge. Nevertheless, I have been currently tucking into a bowl of porridge every morning, made with almond milk, sliced up banana and a swirl of honey. It is ridiculously easy to make, super healthy and keeps me full until lunchtime. I am a serious porridge convert ... how dull. 

Kathleen x

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush

The excitement surrounding the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders never massively sucked me in, being a huge fun of Chanel Les Beiges, I didn't have a yearning to envelope myself in the Hourglass hype. Yes, they looked beautiful and the packaging was reason in itself to run to Space NK clutching £38 to seal the deal but I resisted. Hourglass then released the Ambient Lighting Blushes and I crumbled. 

The gorgeously individual, almost personalised, marbleised effect on the blush consisting of a beautiful fuchsia pink and champagne highlight had me on the first glance. When brushed onto the cheeks, it appears slightly coral and so, so radiant. No need for extra highlight, this has enough glow to make even Kim K proud. The pigmentation and creamy texture of this blush is incredible and makes application a breeze. Can you tell that I am slightly obsessed? I am so close to running to Space NK clutching £28 to buy another shade!

Available from Space NK 

Kathleen x

Dove Refresh + Care Dry Shampoo

An obsession with volume and texture has infected the beauty industry and blogger-sphere in recent months and I have definitely become a victim to big hair. Being a fairly fine-haired girl, I do struggle to get that instant oomph and lift to my hair and I do need a little product help. After just finishing my third can of the Dove Refresh + Care Dry Shampoo, I have concluded that it is my SOS product for flat hair. 

Although it is described as a 'Dry Shampoo', I personally use it as a texturising spray on a daily basis, however, when I am having a greasy/'can't-be-bothered-washing-my-hair' day it is a shower in aerosol form. Another massive gold star to Dove is down to the addition of starch in its ingredients, whilst still absorbing oil, it does not leave any white residue in the hair. This is obviously a Godsend for darker hair and prevents the mortification of revealing the lack of shower that morning. 

Before 

After

I find this product amazing for adding serious volume and texture to my hair in seconds and being super affordable at under £5, it's a beaut. 

Available at Boots

Kathleen x

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Overnight Facial

Possibly the most hyped skincare product to frequent most bloggers beauty shelves in recent months is now firmly in my stash too. Forgetting about the price momentarily - deep breaths whilst entering pin number were needed - this is truly a miracle product. An instant wow. A new face overnight. Perfect skin in a bottle. Maybe I am being rather OTT but honestly I don't think I have ever been so instantly impressed with a skincare product. The first night of application sealed the deal with its silky texture and wonderfully intoxicating scent. I immediately in the morning touched my face to test the results and soft, plump and moisturised skin greeted me. After looking in the mirror and noticing that my skin looked radiant and generally happy, I then thanked the skincare Gods for Sarah Chapman and Space NK N.dulge points.

Although it says to be applied every night, I personally don't think it's necessary and I tend to use it around three times a week. I don't want to go through it too quickly! This oil/serum is composed of vitamins, peptides, omega oils, skin brighteners, jasmine and rose which all play a huge role in maintaining the skins plumpness, health and glow. Overnight Facial has fast become my favourite part of my skincare routine due to the luxurious nature of the whole experience. Okay fine, 'prefect skin in a bottle' may be a bit of an exaggeration but it's not far off. 

Available from Space NK

Kathleen x

New Video: My Current Beauty Favourites!

Yay! My 'Current Beauty Favourites' video is finally uploaded onto Beautiful Notions and it was rather stressful getting there! Hope you all enjoy first video back on YouTube and there may be a TAG involving lip products coming very soon after ...

Kathleen x

My Week #1

I've decided to start posting weekly photos of what I have been up to recently, I say weekly but quite often I am doing very little so it may be sometimes less frequent depending on the Scottish weather and how many items of makeup I want to review!

Last week was super busy, involving going home to look after my dog whilst my parents went to Ireland - I am actually obsessed with my dog, hence the stalker-esque photo below. Back in Edinburgh I enjoyed two lovely meals at 56 North, a steak sandwich and a chicken satay flatbread, I would seriously recommend this place if you live/are visiting Edinburgh! These meals were surrounded by several cocktails at Vodka Revolution Bar which is one of my favourite places for cocktails in Edinburgh - the selection is amazing and there are many branches around the UK. Last and by no means least is a little visit to a graveyard which inspired JK Rowling to create some of her very famous characters. I am standing next to Thomas Riddle and I am clearly far too excited by this prospect! 

I am obviously still a tourist in the city that I live in ... and evidently a major Harry Potter fan. Who knew?

Kathleen x

  

I'm The Worst Youtuber Ever.

This post is going to involve a lot of apologies about todays video that was meant to be uploaded today. There were some major issues with the audio and I could not manage to fix them, I'm so annoyed that my 'come-back' to Youtube has now been delayed by technology and my lack of iMovie knowledge! I am planning to re-film 'My Current Favourites' video this week and try and get it edited and uploaded ASAP. So sorry that todays post has been a bit of a disaster but look out for a new video coming soon! 

For a laugh, I thought I would put in one of my first videos ever on Youtube: 'What's in my bag'. Lets all just remember that this was a while ago!

The Worst Youtuber x

Current Favourites

I decided to put together a quick post on my favourite products of the moment, there will be a video to follow this post tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled for that! 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B10 - it's such an old favourite of mine and for a good reason! It's super light, watery texture and dewy finish make it an absolute essential for summer. 

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush - the perfect combination of colour and glow. This blush has firmly made it into my summer makeup essentials. 

Chanel Rouge Coco in 117 Magnolia - my go to nude at the moment, amazing for casual days or jazz it up with a gloss - Tanya Burr's Afternoon Tea in particular - oh so beautiful.

Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist - the nude theme continues with this super glossy and wonderfully pigmented lip crayon from one of my favourite drugstore brands. Just buy it. Please.

Soap and Glory's Scrubatomic - the best dual-action scrub I have ever used, those fruit acids are dreamy! Smells face licking-ly good ... Full review here.

La Roche-Posay Toleraine Riche - my current daily moisturiser. No fuss, just simple, moisturising and lovely. 

Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial - I cannot possibly fit in my gushing raves for this product into a couple of sentences. A full lament of this bottle of new skin is on its way!

Dove Refresh and Care Dry Shampoo - an incredible texturising dry shampoo that leaves absolutely no white residue and makes hair look super bouncy instantly.

Bed Head Dumb Blonde Toning Protection Spray - a new concoction of conditioning, protecting and toning properties to create a fabulous all-in-one spray for all dumb blondes. Such a stereotype. 

Just a quick summary of all my current favourites, there will be full reviews of these products coming soon! 

Kathleen x

The Only Hairbrushes You'll Ever Need

When it comes to hair, I am fairly fuss free. The quicker and least painful option is always preferred, most days I just give it a quick brush through and run out the door ... or spend more time on my makeup. Priorities. Recently, I have finally narrowed it down to two hairbrushes that, for me, are completely necessary in my sparse hair-tool collection. 

The first 'tool', lets just accept that they are hairbrushes and move on, is the infamous Tangle Teezer. The epitome of pain-free, post-shower moments, the elation of no teary eyes and fewer split ends are all down to this, what can only be called, a miracle. Its flexible plastic bristles glide through wet and dry hair making early mornings a breeze and even backcombing less of a chore. It is a must have in anyones collection who is in the possession of disobedient locks. 

The second number in this ode to hairbrushes, comes in the form of the rather snazzy GHD Paddle Brush. Now it may seem a bit OTT and could intimidate any a Denmen brush, but it is so worth it. The quality of this brush is incredible and the almost NARS-like packaging makes it even more gorgeous. Yes, it may be a bit pretentious but it will last for years and that's a girls justification for any purchase - is it not? 

I never knew I could be such a hairbrush enthusiast, Tangle Teezer and GDH Paddle Brush both available from feelunique. 

Kathleen x

Scrubatomic by Soap and Glory

Soap and Glory is fast becoming one of my favourite drugstore brands with most of their makeup and skincare range failing to disappoint. My most recent purchase from them is absolutely no exception and it comes in the form of Scrubatomic. Soap and Glory states that it is a daily face scrub that is suitable for all skin types, personally I only use it around three times a week due to it being quite abrasive because of its dual exfoliant properties. It almost lathers up when massaged into the skin, which is really lovely and I tend to leave it on the skin for a couple of minutes to allow the fruit acids to breakdown the dead skin. After I rinse it off, I am left with super soft skin that does not feel overly scrubbed!

This scrub has really impressed me for many reasons. It containes fruit acids to act as a gentle chemical exfoliant and also, very small exfoliating particles that buff away dead skin cells. Fruit acids, such as AHAs, have become massively popular in the skincare industry as an alternative to manual exfoliating beads, they have been proven to be much more effective at eating away the dead skin that clogs pores and dulls our complexion. Also, they are much less damaging to the skin due to the absence of abrasive ingredients. I have found it extremely difficult to find fruit acids present in skincare products in the drug store and at an extremely affordable price of £9, it is a serious bargain. Compared to similar products from Clarins and Zelens, Soap and Glory has really outdone itself on its Srubatomic. 

Available at Boots for £9

Kathleen x

Update

It has been a ridiculously long time since I last wrote a blog post, but after many months, I am officially back! My absence from Beautiful Notions has mainly been down to starting university and struggling to find the time, lighting and appropriate 'blogger' background - which usually consists of a candle, flowers and some soft furnishings - to blog/film. It has been really frustrating because I've missed my blog and channel so much but I have now finished my first year at university and I can't wait to immerse myself in the world of Beautiful Notions again! 

As I am back home now, you will again see the familiar background of my videos and blog posts but you will notice some changes. I am planning to post very regularly on my blog, roughly three times a week to begin with, and upload a video over on my Youtube channel at least once a week on a Sunday. There could be the potential for another video every Wednesday but I don't want to get to ahead of myself! 

Another change in the next few months will be where I live! I am moving into a flat with a couple of friends from uni and I can't wait to start filming there! I will be uploading home decor videos and blog posts and there may be a 'Before and After Flat Tour' in the works!! 

I really want to start posting not only beauty content, but also fashion and lifestyle - maybe even some food posts! I can't wait to develop Beautiful Notions into a blog brimming with readable, entertaining and diverse posts!

Sneak peak of an upcoming post!

Kathleen x