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Hayley - Strangeness & Charm 

I started Strangeness & Charm at the end of 2010, as a distraction from my uni work. I didn't think I would keep up with it and it would end up being forgotten about but almost four years later, I'm still writing it! What started off as a hobby has now become an important part of my life and I've met some amazing people through blogging from all over the country.

One of my favourite products this month has been the Makeup Revolution I <3 Chocolate eye shadow palette. For something that costs so little (£8!), it's surprising how brilliant the quality is and you can do a hell of a lot of looks with it! I've been reaching for it everyday, whether its for work or for my friend's wedding and I'll be using it so much over the autumn/winter too. 
          Dream. Love. Live. Fashion ♥

Eleanor - Dream Love Live Fashion 

I am a 19 year old fashion and beauty blogger based in Durham and Leeds, and I am also a marketing student at university. My blog is mainly fashion based and features personal style, although I also do regular beauty and lifestyle posts! A product I'm loving this month is Pantene Pro V dry oil with Argan oil, I'd never tried Argan oil but it has transformed my frizzy hair it's amazing and totally lives up to the 
hype! 

drainedbeauty

Emily - Drained Beauty


I never wore make up til I was nearly 19 and started going out, I found a love for it and putting together a whole outfit from just finding one piece. It helped make me feel more confident and I love making different looks. I started a blog to share my ideas and passion for lifestyle, beauty and fashion. The blogging community are so friendly and supportive and helped me keep motivated to blog, I now am a lipstick hoarder, Instagram addict and I love spending my spare time reading through everyone else's blogs, thoughts and ideas. I have been loving the Elizabeth Arden flawless finish foundation this month, paired with my real techniques buffing brush. My skin has been breaking out a lot, so this has been a life saver with the amazing coverage I need. 

Lauraemie 

Laura - Laura Emie


My name is Laura and I'm 24 years old, I live on the boarder of North shropshire and Wales with my partner and our four year old son. I have finished a degree in education this year which was a huge challenge but well worth doing. I am currently working as a Mentor in a high school. I love animals and currently have 2 rabbits, 2 guinea pigs and 2 clownfish!
I see my blog as somewhere I can show my creative side and share all parts of my life with you. So as well as being a place to share new beauty finds like my Zoeva brushes, I have posted about decorating our spare room and getting my G-plan dressing table- which I am very please with! I hope to do some more lifestlye type posts soon and share with you what we get up to. Our son is staring school soon which will be a huge new chapter so I will be sharing my feelings on that. 
I am also working on bringing out a small range of sweatshirts and t-shirts with my own designs on, this will take me sometime but I want them to be perfect before I put them out there. I'm really excited to be designing them and I can't wait to show them to you all! I just hope you'll like them, haha! 
Choosing a favourite product this month is tricky, I am loving quite a few beauty products as well as the Zoeva brushes, but as I have written a blog post on those I went with a hair product. I always have battles with my hair, it will look nice the first half a day after it's been washed then it will go frizzy and it just won't grow past a certain point before I get split ends. So I went to Boots in search of a miracle! I came home with Lee Stafford shampoo, conditioner and 'Hair Growth, leave in conditioner' - they were £12 all together as they were on offer. I knew Lee Stafford shampoo and conditioner were lovely to use and smelt amazing but some how I had forgotten how good they are. They make my hair behave and really smooth it down. I have a sentive scalp and sometimes product can irritate it and in turn make my hair look dull, so to have a lovely shampoo and conditioner that works with my hair and scalp is great. The 'hair growth leave in treatment' is easy to use as I just spray it on to my scalp when my hair is towel dried and brush through. I then blow dry it and it does exactly what it promises! My hair feels healthier already just after using it for 2 weeks. The best thing about this product is that it has helped my scalp recover, so hopefully my hair will grow longer soon! I just can't get enought of the smell! 

FAMILY TIME | WEST MIDLANDS SAFARI PARK



















Hello lovelies, on Wednesday me and my boys went out for the day, if you have been to West Midlands Safari Park you will know if you go you get a free return ticket, so we found that out and headed of to Dudley. We regretted it so much when we got there, forgetting it was still summer holidays and everyone must of had there free return ticket, the que was humongous! We didn't even bother going around where you see the animals because we would of being in a que for hours so abit gutted we just went straight inside the main bit. Thank god we didn't have to pay for this ticket we would of been really miffed, we knew Oscar loved the goats last time so at least we knew he would enjoy something there. 

Oscar is a massive animal lover, if he sees a dog in the street he will wave it at he waves to the birds in the garden and if an animal is next to him he will stroke it instantly, it melts my heart. When we first got into the park we headed to the discovery part, I couldn't really picture the bats but Oscar wasn't keen on the dark room anyhow, then we saw the ants and the fishes, Oscar always say's wowww at fishes, no idea why but there we go. We found nemo anyhow and these lovely glittery fishes I can't remember what there called now, woops. After the discovery part we headed to the meerkats, I love meerkats they are adorable, I love the picture I got of one posing on a stump. After the meerkats we saw the penguins, one was showing of whizzing around the pool doing jumps and all sorts and the rest where huddling together for warmth I presume unless it was nearly dinner time. Then we went and saw the lemurs, Oscar tried to stroke one but the woman shouted at Dan and Oscar for touching so we got out of there pronto and went to Oscar's favorite part of the safari park, the goats! Oscar kept saying ahh and laughing when he fed and petted the goats, it was so sweet to watch I must of took 50 photo's and a little video! Check my facebook for the video it is so sweet, he could have stayed in there for hours he wasn't happy when we ran out of food.

After the goats we took Oscar around the fair rides, he hated them all! He cried on every rise bless him he doesn't mind rides when were on them with him but these were dinky rides I don't think it would of held mine and Dan's weight aha. At least we tried, after a lot of tears and a little tantrum we thought it was time for a picnic, so we got out dinner and sat at a nice bench, Oscar wolfed his pasta and snacks down and it was time to go before we knew it. As you can tell by the last picture he wasn't happy we had to leave but after the safari we were going to Merry Hill shopping centre, before you get to Merry Hill there is a soft play, it wasn't really the best but Oscar got half an hour play before they closed just to break the day up a bit and get a quick coffee in then we did some shopping.

Dan couldn't wait any longer after only going in one shop and demanded we go to Nando's I wasn't going to argue with him was I, so we all had a yummy Nando's and me and Oscar even did some colouring there with the crayons and picture they gave us then it was time to shop till we dropped, the best thing about Merry Hill is there awesome car you can go shopping with and basket! It is so perfect for kids, Oscar didn't moan once whilst we shopped, I need one of these for everywhere I go seriously. We got some bits from Lush, Next, H&M, Tkmaxx, Yankee and got some Millies cookies for the journey home, we didn't have a mad shopping trip it was just nice to have a whole day as a family out in the week, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am sure we will be back there soon to do our Christmas shop, I want to try and be a bit more organised this year yet I say that every year, we shall see. 

Hope you enjoyed my very long lifestyle post, let me know in the comments below what day you loved this week and what you got up to. 


FRIDAYS FAVORITE BLOG OF THE WEEK #8


Annabel - Mascara & Maltesers

Hello lovelies, I am on 8th of my fave Friday's blog of the week and I am only going to do ten, I have loved reading new blogs or re-reading and discovering old blogs and getting stuck in to all there content but sometimes I just don't get time to have a good read and share with you my favorites so I will stop at ten, ten being all my fave bloggers I keep in touch with and blogs I love so hope you enjoy Annabels blog and the last two posts.

Back to Annabel, Beautiful lady with an equally beautiful blog. Her blog pictures are stunning, very easy on the eye and I love her content, she posts great reviews which make me want to go out and buy it instantly and great lifestyle posts. I enjoyed her most recent 'underused make-up' post, It's good to know what bloggers are reaching for most or not reaching for so much and her review of the 'Bourjois volume 1 second mascara' although I have over twenty mascaras Annabel has made me want this one too now! Who doesn't love mascara and maltesers? No make-up look is complete without mascara and maltesers are scrummy, her content is very informative yet creative and oozes personality which I love. Her layout is simple yet pretty and very easy on the eye to navigate you places. If you're looking for fab beauty reviews or looking to be a tourist for the day check out Annabel's most recent posts I am sure you will love her blog as much as I do.

Connect with Annabel - Bloglovin, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram.

Let me know in the comments below what you think of Annabels blog lovelies.

WHAT'S ON MY NAILS WEDNESDAY #20




OPI - Cute little vixen £11.50*

Hello lovelies, firstly apologies for the pictures, I have only just got back from Merry Hill and really didn't want to leave this weeks post so literally quickly just took them with the flash on, but to be honest with the flash on you can actually see the colour better than you can in natural lighting as I took a quick snap before we left for the day today. You can see the gorgeous shimmers, the shade is like a burgundy purple with red and brown undertones, it is so stunning. I could not resist this in TKMaxx yesterday it was only £3.99* it was practically begging me to pick it up. I thought this was a stunning autumn shade and wanted to add it into my collection but couldn't resist showing you all before autumn actually begins. I think the name shade is so cute too, I literally can't stop looking at it in my nail stand, I am not usually keen on darker shades on my fingers contrasted with my pale skin but the shimmer just makes it less harsh I think. 

What are your thoughts on cute little vixen?

MUMMY MONDAY | NURSERY PICNIC





Hello lovelies, so as you wonder why it looks like I am sucking on a sandwhich, let me tell you what me and Oscar got up to today, as you may or may not know, the weather has not been the best most recently so means no more picnics in the park, well you could if you wrapped up and like eating outside in the cold and wet - soggy sarnies, but I prefer being all snug ans cosy indoors! So I thought I would grab a mish mash of things I had in the kitchen and do a little picnic in Oscar's nursery.

I don't have a TV in Oscar's nursery yet so I put Peppa Pig on the iPad as that is his favorite at the moment and we tucked into our mini picnic, no rules in our picnic you can eat a frube first if you want, you can take the chicken of the bread and eat it that way if you wish, you can even sneak in the last malteser. I love picnics, probably because I am a serial snacker, I don't like eating proper meals I would be much more happier if I could just snack all day, I know that saying 'pickers wear big knickers' but who cares?

Me and Oscar enjoyed our little picnic and it's lovely spending time together, we read books afterwards and played with some of his toys, I thought for my next Mummy Monday I could show you around his nursery through blog pictures and start doing some posts on his most played with toys of the week etc, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also in-case you was wondering Oscar was just wearing some sweat pants from Tesco's and a Mickey Mouse jumper from H&M. 

What do you do with your little ones when the weather is just not that great?


HEARTS & HOME CANDLE REVIEW




Heart & Home Selection of sampler candles £1.99* each.

Hello lovelies, back to review week posts. If you know me you will know I adore candles, Yankee has always broke my bank balance but recently I have been trying from various different brands, I was very kindly given this set of four samples the other day and I couldn't wait to start burning them, as the weather is miserable right now I feel a lit candle lifts my mood immediately, the scent and the pretty flame flickering away just does that, even better surrounded in a warm bubble bath. I have a confession though, there are two I love and two I have not so much love for.

The two I love French Vanilla* and Fresh Linen*, I absolutely love the smell of fresh washing and always loved fresh linen in candle form, it is really strong scented which I like, I have no time for subtle smelling candles, what is the point right? Then French Vanilla is really sweet smelling of cakes, smells good enough to eat. Also do you find with some candles they smell gorgeous then as soon as you burn them you can't smell a thing? Well with these candles you can still smell the gorgeous scent! My beauty room smells like a bakery at the moment, that's all good and everything but now I'm craving vanilla cake. 

The two I am not so keen on is Lily of the valley* and Jasmine daydream*, I have never been that keen on jasmine and lily of the valley smells to me like an old fashioned perfume, obviously that's personal preferences though, those two are just not up my street. But there is nothing better than kicking up your feet after a long day, reading a book or watching your favorite trashy TV programme and lighting some candles right? Even better if you like to help save the world and everything, or you are just environmentally friendly they are made from renewable and sustainable soy wax. 

What do you burn your sampler candles in? I have this gorgeous candle holder from Yankee that my mum got me for my birthday last year and the really pretty tea cup and saucer I picked up from a local vintage shop for £2! I have one that stores my left over lipstick and glosses and one for my candles. You can pic up a mish mash of tea cup and saucers from charity shops, they haven't got to match adds to the vintage look right? I think it's a super cute way to burn your candles though but you could always just use an old plate or something. You can purchase these candles on the Hut.com very soon, if you're a candle lover like my self I would recommend these if you like a strong smelling candle that burns for a while and smells amazing whilst they burn!


ELIZABETH ARDEN EVENT



Hello lovelies, last week I was very fortunate to be invited to the Elizabeth Arden event hosted at Debenhams in Birmingham, I attended this event with my blogging friend Hayley and got the chance to meet some other lovely bloggers too but I am so rubbish with remembering names, sorry! We was greeted by some lovely ladies who worked there with a table full of goodies including my favorite bucks fizz! I once used Elizabeth Arden when I was about 17/18 when I finally started to look after my skin I bought my first night cream I have no idea what it was but it was the best darn cream I had ever used no idea why I never repurchased it back then, probably lack of funds but now I'm a blogger its like what price tag? Any way this isn't a walk down memory lane back to the event...

                                 



I was checking out someone getting a massage at first and couldn't wait for my turn, I luckily got a shoulder and neck massage using the Ceramide gold ultra restorative capsules, I was surprised as she knew the water retention I had in my neck and the massage was just so lovely I wanted her to do my back aha.

I then had a skin consultation, very exciting looking at the technology they had to offer, that little machine there hovered over my face and told me what was right and wrong potentially, I was super impressed that I got an A in elasticity, I finally got an A in something aha, but no that really made me happy. A B in brightness, texture and pigmentation which I'm also pretty pleased with then I got a C in moisture, my biggest down fall but that week I was neglecting my skin care due to being poorly so ever since I have been upping my serum and moisturiser. They did offer us products that would be ideal to help our problem areas which was lovely.

Then lastly I had a colour consultation to get my perfect foundation shade, like the skin scanner it worked in the same sort of way placing over the skin then the lovely lady told showed us the foundations which we preferred due to finish etc, the one chosen for me was Intervene SPF 15 , a medium to full coverage with vitamins, sun protection and known to smooth imperfections and even out skin tone, it sounded right up my street.




After our lovely treatments and consultations we got to have a look at the new colours in the make-up range, there is an image of Hayley doing some swatching also, one palette stood out to me, the quad in chic browns being of-course a serial brown smokey eye lover. The lipglosses didn't look so appealing to me, until I swatched them! I thought a purple and gold shimmery gloss? No way ho-say, but after some brain cap time I thought, as the gold shimmer is quite subtle I think this would look stunning over any lip colour for a Christmas party or birthday outing for some added sass to your look, even the purple too! I was impressed with everything on show and had a lovely time at the event, so thank you very much ladies at Elizabeth Arden in Debenhams putting in some great work for us and to top it off we had one awesome goodie bag! 




Before I leave the blog post there, I did pinch the group photo from the lovely Emma's facebook page after asking over at Fashion Mommy, she had a beautiful outfit on, I want her skirt! Also take full advantage of the amazing Joseph Hernandez being in Debenhams at the Elizabeth Arden counter on Thursday the 9th of October it is only £10 which is fully redeemable on the day/night. He has done Catherine Zita Jones make-up, Models and other celebrities, ten pounds is an absolute bargain, imagine the price he charges to do celeb makeovers aha? If I don't get the chance to have a makeover I might just go along to get some tips! 

Huge thanks again for having us all and was so lovely to meet some new faces, becoming a blogger has really bought me out my shell sharing my love with other people with similar interests and helping massively with my anxiety, I will pretty much talk to anyone now with the occasional awkward shyness. The blogger events are the best way to make new friends and find out more about a brand, I am loving all the opportunities lately *not a brag just very grateful*. 

FRIDAYS FAVORITE BLOG OF THE WEEK #7


Rebecca - Autumn Leaves

Hello lovelies, today on the blog I have the lovely Rebecca who I have had the pleasure of meeting before, I very kindly gave her one of my free tickets to the gadget show and was lovely to meet her. I love Rebecca's blog, she posts daily and I always look forward to what is on the agenda. Its a complete mix of reviews, what she has been loving, lots of tips, dupes, wishlists, playlists, you name it! She has wonderful content, very easy to read with out turning it into a huge essay it is full of her knowledge and advice. She has also started YouTube videos which are lovely to watch, I am getting a bit obsessed with YouTube at the moment and love watching everyone's new videos. My current favorite posts of hers are the 'a bunch of beauty reviews' and 'useful free apps for bloggers' both very useful posts, I love reading reviews as it helps twist my arm that bit more into buying things I had my eye on or delving into something I wouldn't dream of buying just because a beauty blogger recommends it aha. One last post that will help you all out as I know we can suffer from bloggers block from time to time... 'post ideas for when you have bloggers block' but these are all just tasters, I am sure you will love Rebecca's blog as much as I do, go check her out and let me know in the comments below what you thought.

Connect with Rebecca - Bloglovin, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram





ILLAMASQUA LIPSTICK REVIEW





Illamasqua Glamour Lipstick Rosepout £18.50

Hello lovelies, I hope you're enjoying review week. I know a lot of people get sick of reviews but I thought I would dedicate a week to them as I love reading reviews, it really helps me when I am on the search for a product or a product I would never think of buying creeps on my bloglovin timeline and usually always makes me want to go out and buy it. When I am in Selfridges I am always perusing around the make-up aisles and Illamasqua is one brand I never even think to go near, I am being honest here... being a lipstick lover I do love a good package too (take that as you please) and there simple black packaging with white writing never lured me in, but I recently purchased the Glamour beauty box from Latest in beauty with a review soon to come and I saw that they had an Illamasqua lipstick inside and as the lipstick itself is worth £18.50 and the box was only £16.95 I was all over that. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the shade, I have been wanting to build my nude collection up for a while and picking ones suited to my pale skin tone can be quite challenging but this shade is perfect. It is a muted pink nude with a hint of brown that doesn't make me look dead or ill and they feel like butter on your lips! They glide on so effortlessly, they don't drag or dry your lips out at all and leaves a lovely satin finish. It is quite long lasting with the exception of drinking and eating but that's the case with most lipsticks, it feels really hydrating and nothing goes better with a nude lip than a killer smokey eye right? 

Since I have been loving this so much I headed straight to the Illamasqua website and noticed they had a sale on! Lipsticks for £7.50 insane priced for the amazing quality of them, I have just bagged fable after watching a YouTube video on 'Inthefrow' channel, a beautiful pink in a matte finish so I am looking forward to seeing how that finish works for me. I would recommend you all go check out the sale now before all the best shades go and an absolute bargain for £7.50! I am sure you won't regret it and if you have casper like skin for myself I believe this is a perfect nude and my favorite nude at the moment hands down. 

Are you a fan of Illamasqua lipsticks or wanting to try them?


WHAT'S ON MY NAILS WEDNESDAY #19




Revlon Parfumerie - China Flower £6.49

Hello lovelies, I have wanted to get my hands on one of these polishes for ages, I just think the bottle is adorable and I was very curious to trying a scented nail polish. I don't have many red nail varnishes so this was the first one I picked up, china flowers is a pretty shade name too, it was most definitely floral scented with a hint of sweetness, don't go sniffing your nails whilst there still wet though as you don't get the nice floral notes until it is bone dry. The colour is exquisite too, a beautiful post box red that makes me think of London as soon as I look at them, the buses and the telephone boxes with a touch of elegance. I love red next my pale skin but I also think it looks divine on darker skin also an all rounder which I think would look personally fab with a lbd on. 

Have you tried these polishes yet or have your eye on any?