This Beauty Blogger Loves...

Big earrings!

I'm not in the most fab of moods today for a mixture of reasons so instead of writing a moany, mopey post I thought I'd share a few photos of something that does make me very happy indeed. Bold lips and big earrings are how I role these days so here's a little look at one of my favourite collections of mine :)

Doesn't the shiny, sparkleyness just make you smile? It does me.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a happier day.
Annie x

ps. come find me on instagram and shopcade, I'm addicted to both and always follow back :)

Finkleberry Candles = Yum

Today has been lovely. I spent some quality time with Daniel (and owned him at bowling), ate delicious food and managed to do some productive stuff too! Good all round I would say.

Today I wanted to tell you about a relatively new brand on my radar but one that has excited me rather a lot.
Finkleberry Candles is a company who make beautiful scented candles. They're based in Virginia but ship worldwide so us peeps in the UK are able to take advantage of the lovely smells too. Every month they also donate 5% of the money made from their their candle sales to a worthy cause which is something that really made me smile.

However, what drew me to Finkleberry candles is their fabulous create your own service. You are given the option to choose your scent (there are 144 to select from!), double up the strength of the scent, choose your colour (13 options!), select the lid style and even name your creation and all for $16.99 (+$1.75 for double shot) which with the current conversion rate is £10.53 :)

When I got in touch with Finkeberry to check that they were happy for me to write this post they were also extra lovely and offered me an exclusive code to share with all my lovely Three Little Buhos readers. All you have to do is type "Annie" in at the checkout to receive 30% off your order.

I really do recommend giving Finkleberry Candles a try. The staff are lovely, the candles are beautiful both in looks and scent and even with international delivery the large create your own cost less than a large Yankee jar so its worth giving a go. Treat yourself.

Annie xx
ps. I thought I should mention that whilst I sound a bit like a fan girl, I wasn't asked to write this post or try the products for review, I just really like them <3

Resolutions

I've never been one for making new years resolutions. If I haven't wanted it badly enough to achieve it for the rest of the year, why would I magically be able to because it's 2013 rather than 2012?
I have a lot of admiration for people who decide that this is the year I will give up smoking, or lose that 2 stone and manage it, but the way I see things is that if I was that unhappy with something then I will change it asap rather than waiting for January to roll round.
For that reason I haven't made any resolutions as such this new year. Not that I don't think there are some aspects of my life that I could do with working on, but over all I think I'm a pretty nice, and contented person.
One thing that I am constantly battling though is my fight with depression which has been going on for nearly 5 years now. It isn't that I can't be happy, but when I'm on a downer I find it near impossible to see it. That is where this little book that my lovely auntie bought me for christmas comes in, and I guess, to an extent, my one small resolution.

Like I say, it isn't that I am an unhappy person in general, but due to my depression, if I am having a rough time I find it very hard to find anything to smile about. So in my pretty little book, I resolve to write down one thing each day that has made me smile. Simple things. The little things that I forget about when everything seems to be full of doom and gloom. Hopefully this way I will remember to appreciate the small things that brighten life up and learn to worry less about the things that do get me down :)

This is the first three days worth of my Making Me Smile book :) Happy things in a pretty little book, definitely one of happy little pleasures on its own!

What resolutions have you made this January? How are they going so far? Good luck with them all!
Annie xx

Reviewed: Bohemia by Veronika Carnaby

During December I was approached by the very friendly Veronika Carnaby and asked whether I would be interested in writing a review of her debut novel, Bohemia (*). Being someone who loves to have my nose in a book constantly I was more than happy to oblige :)

"In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the “ideals” of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, all the while depicting the challenges faced by youth in the decade that changed the world."  book description as found on amazon.com.

From the very start the book is fast paced and really draws you in to the constantly evolving world of the characters. Written in a style reminiscent to a memoir of the main character "V" you easily become very involved with the plot, and I found that I almost felt like part of the group.
One of my favourite parts of reading is being able to build up an image of the setting where the story is taking place. There is a lot of description given in this book, perhaps a little much for some peoples liking, however I found it great for building up that picture in the way I like to do.
The main characters have all been clearly developed and have a clear personality and identity however my one slight criticism would be that as so many sideline characters come into the plot along the way, at times it took a little while to re-grasp who they are. Maybe this is more down to my habit of reading at bedtime though when my mind is a little slow hehe :)

Over all, I really enjoyed reading Bohemia. It is very well written, and carried me away to "V"'s lifestyle of dancing, art and traveling the world. If you're someone interested in history, culture and are after a bit of nostalgia then definitely give it a read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to friends and I'm definitely going to prod Daniel into reading it :)

Annie xx

(*)I was sent this book for review purposes but have as always been totally honest in my review.

...And the Winner Issss

Phew, kept you waiting a while didn't I?

Using the magical "pick winner" button on rafflecoptor who powers its results using random.org I can tell you that the winner of £250 to spend on a new wardrobe for the new year is..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well done Ami, I hope you enjoy your prize and let me know what you buy!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and to boohoo.com for giving me the chance to host such a fabby giveaway :)
I've decided to hold another giveaway very soon for Valentines day and whilst I can't afford £250 I will make sure its another ultra special prize.

Happy New Year!

Annie xxx

NOTD-New Years Eve Sparkle

Happy New Year guys :) So yeah, tomorrow is 2013, scary eh.

Yesterday I did a spot of sales shopping at TK Maxx and found this gorgeous Butter London set for just £5 and simply had to bring it home. Rude not to I say.

Butter London is one of those brands that I spend a lot of time lusting over but have never really splashed out on, but being pink and sparkly, this stole my heart.

The shade of both the lippy and the nail varnish is Fiddlesticks and as a nail varnish it comes out as a lovely, opaque, one coat coverage fuschia pink. I have to say though that whilst the nail varnish is amazing, I was really disappointed by the lippy; there was hardly any colour pay off and its pretty sticky as well. I might try it over a lipstick next time as a sort of glittery top layer but alone, I found it pretty useless.
But back to the nail varnish!

Isn't it gorgeous? In the photo above I have used two coats of the varnish however I could have easily gotten away with just the one. The colour is completely me and I cannot believe that I haven't come across it before. If you're a fan of Girl About Town by MAC then Fiddlesticks goes with it perfectly for that fun matchy matchy look and thats what I'll be wearing to our party this evening (god knows what with though, the outfit is still a mystery!)

Over all, I think if I had paid £21.00 for this set then I would have been disappointed due to the lippy, but I could totally justify paying the £12 RRP for the nail varnish alone and it is even one of my new top polishes :)

Do you own any Butter London products? Have you had the same experience with the lippys as I have? What's your favourite shade from them?
Annie xx

ps. Have you entered my £250 Boohoo giveaway yet? If not then why?! Enter *here* it closes tomorrow!

£250 Boohoo Voucher Christmas Giveaway!

Sorry to say that I've been rather absent the last few days, there's been an awful lot going on, what with all the festive fun of Christmas.
Butttt, I think I can more than make up for it now.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this post *here* where I put together an outfit for the Boohoo #partypose blogger competition. Well last night I found out that I was a winner and my prize was £100 for myself to spend on the website and a very generous £250 to give to one of my followers in a giveaway :D Yay much?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The competition is gong to run from now until 1st January so that the lucky winner will be able to treat their self to a whole new wardrobe in the new year.


The giveaway is open to everyone, including international followers, just be aware that postage will cost you a bit more!

Good Luck everyone :) And Happy Christmas!

Annie xx