Hoppy Easter!

Hi all! Hope you had a good Easter and enjoyed the break. I've been really busy with various things, but found time to consume a ridiculous amount of Cadbury's chocolate and Easter themed cakes. I'm paying for it now though; weighed myself this morning and the scales appear to be slightly jumbled and keep creeping up instead of down(!) Joking aside, I have to watch because I've put on 5lbs in recent months and I don't want all my hard work of losing weight last year to go to waste. It's hard though especially around this time of year, when we have lots of birthdays and things in our family. Once the Easter goodies are finished (shouldn't be too long at this rate), I'm getting back on the horse...or bike or whatever! If you're interested in my 'scoff your face diet' and are wondering how to put on several pounds just like me then my Mum is available to bake you this lot...(did I mention she bakes with Dairy Milk?)

or you can go to Bibi's bakery where they have hot-cross bun and creme egg cupcakes. I kid you not! I had half of each...yes that's 'goooo' in the centre. Oh and don't even get me started on cookie dough ice-cream which I could literally eat a tub at a time. Why did someone even invent this? Just to torture me I think.

So what have I been up to over the past few days? Nothing very glamorous is the answer. I spent 3 days in my jammies; unwashed, hair unbrushed, no makeup...gross really. I took charge today and showered, got dressed, took the scissors to my hair in a moment of boredom/frustration (resulting in half my hair going bye-byes! why???) and then it's rained all day, so I won't be venturing out! I've been busy with eBay for a good few weeks now as that's becoming a valuable source of revenue for me, especially as my income is set to be drastically reduced starting next week (don't even get me started on that depressing story).  I've been sourcing out all kinds of shoes and bits and bobs in the hope of some cash.

Anyway...my skin has suffered these past few months. I had hideous dry, flaky patches, mainly around my lower cheeks, chin and jawline area. My skin is rarely dry and dehydrated and it was a nightmare to disguise as makeup only emphasised it. My absolute saviour though has been Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief which is best described as 'a drink for the skin'. It's a smooth, gel like cream which I applied under my moisturiser morning and night. My skin immediately felt revived and the tightness and redness disappeared. Within a week my skin was 'saved' (no redness or dry, flaky patches) although I continued to use it for another week just to be sure.

On top of that, for the past few months I've had some terrible break-outs. I thought I was over all that and had my skin under control, so it's felt like a bit of a set-back. I thought the culprit could be my new Lancome Teint Idole Ultra foundation which I was completely distressed about because I'd come to really love the formula and shade match and was wearing it every day. I stopped using it a few weeks back to see if this was the case and reverted back to only using items I could guarantee didn't cause break-outs (currently Dr Nick Lowe Oil Control Day Cream (Anti Blemish) and Soap & Glory Night in Shining Armour Cream with Differin Gel (prescribed by my doctor) at night on problem areas).

I also bought this fab little Yves Saint Laurent Forever Youth Liberator 'starter pack' as my skin had looked clearer last year when I trialled it. The set is exclusive to Debenhams and contains the 15ml serum I tested along with a small eye cream and moisturiser. I'd definitely recommend it if you are a bit apprehensive about forking out £60 for the 30ml serum with no proof it'll work for you. The pack is priced at £35 and I bought it during one of their events with 10% off (£31.50) and a bonus £5 on my beauty card because I was spending over £40 at the time. I've found this size of serum used day and night lasts 4 weeks. That all said, my skin hasn't improved over the past few weeks. I still have older blemishes and new ones appearing all the time! It's also in areas that weren't necessarily my problem before which is further disconcerting. If it definitely isn't something I'm putting on my skin, it could just be down to stress and too much chocolate! Either way it's getting me down a little.

Onto shopping and I've been avoiding Dorothy Perkins for a few months now. Not because I don't like them, but because they usually take a large chunk of my bank account in exchange for a few dresses especially during these "% off" events which they seem to permanently have. I've managed not to crumble thus far, however I now have a rather large list of items I like and there's currently 25% off (DPVIPD) everything (which has been the biggest discount on my chosen items to date). I've whittled the list down to these 8 (yes 8 is actually a shortlist), but can't get them all (after all I did just mention a lack of funds in this post). I love the midi-lengths of the polka dot two and have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the lilac one after spotting it in a magazine. Then there's the other lilac spotty one, technically more a tunic than dress but still totally wearable with leggings. The black one is the type I'll wear time and time again. then we have bird prints, correction absolutely adorable bird prints! The first one is a tunic, the other print is absolutely cute as pie, then there's the bird print dip hem dress. I'm obsessed with dip hems just now and really need this. Then the last one is a super cute shape and a little different to my other choices. I'm struggling to narrow it down, anyone have nays and yays?