The Wanderlust Tag!

I actually don't know if I've ever written a 'tag' post on my blog before, but after stumbling across Abby's tag here (make sure you check out her blog, it's awesome) I knew that I had to do it! I haven't done too much travelling in my lifetime, but I've done a fair bit including some amazing holidays. I also intend to do lots more traveling and ticking off my Bucket List over the next few years so I thought this would be a fun thing to do!

Top of the mountain selfies with Joe!

Q: Where have you travelled to that you would love to visit again?

A: I went to Singapore when I was in Year 7 and my cousins lived out there and it was incredible, I'd love to go there again. I went to Canada to see the same cousins when they lived there but I was about 7 years old and can't remember much from it and I'd love to go to Canada again one day! Just last month I went to Amsterdam and I'm literally itching already to go back!

Q: Where was your first plane to?

A: I actually just had to text my mum to find the answer to this question as I've forgotten. Apparently it was to Majorca when I was three years old :)

Q: You're leaving tomorrow, money is no object, where are you going?

A: If money was no option, I'd love to go on a worldwide trip for as long as I could hack it! Hopefully that would be at least a year, and I would literally go all over! Some of the main places I'd like to go are India, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Iceland, Japan and America.

Q: Preferred method of travel: planes, trains or car?

A: I don't really like long car journeys (way too many going to and from university), and trains are pretty boring so I'd have to go with planes as they're the most exciting because I don't go on many planes. Saying that though, planes are definitely the most scary!

Q: Top three travel items? 

A: 1 - A camera! You need to document those memories :) I have my own but if it's somewhere wet or crowded definitely Joe's GoPro!

    2 - Sunglasses, if it's somewhere sunny of course! I love an excuse to wear my sunglasses!

    3 -  Passport & money?! That's just me saying the essentials and being boring but this question is quite hard haha! I'd also like to say Joe, I like having him around!

Q: Favourite travel website?
A: I absolutely love watching Fun for Louis on YouTube and following him on instagram as he is literally always doing the most amazing things! He's basically on a permanent gap year and I'm very jealous! 
Since reading Abby's tag also, I came across her favourite travel blog which is Traveling Triplets and I have since followed them and become slightly obsessed! They're super cool triplets who travel together and blog about their adventures!

Q: Where would you travel to just to eat the food?

A: Definitely Italy. My dad has just come back from Rome and I was literally drooling over the sound of the meals they had when they were out there. Lots of pizza, pasta and wine? Yes please!
I'd also like to go to France for the croissants and macaroons, as well as trying frogs legs and snails! 

Q: Is there a place you would never go again?

A: I'm not sure. I wouldn't necessarily go on a girly drinking holiday again. Kavos was fun at the time but I definitely don't intend on going back there!

Q: Can you recite your passport number from memory if asked?

A: No way. I barely use my passport unfortunately! Hopefully I can change that this year :)

Q: Do you prefer window, aisle or middle seat?

A: Without even thinking about it, the window seat. Even though you might have to nudge a sleeping stranger so that you can hop over and go to the toilet, I would much rather be the one looking out over the sea, or mountains, or clouds!

Q: How do you pass the time on the airplane?

A: I'll usually watch the movie they provide if it's quite a short flight, chat to whoever I'm on the plane with, look out of the window and have a little read :) oh and eat... I always eat to pass the time!


Thanks for reading :)
Where would you like to travel to next?
Should I do some more tags on my blog?
Let me know if you do this tag also!
Love Dani :)
x

Wednesday wishlist #23 - Now that I have a new job!

It's been a busy January this year, and even though I haven't actually 'done' much, there's been lots of things for me to do! I've been Spring cleaning my bedroom of clutter including clothes, university gear, old make up etc and it's time for a total overhaul. I've also been job hunting and I'm determined to get myself a full time job so that I can have some structure back in my life, as well as a decent pay check at the end of the month (I've had a couple of interviews for a job I really like)! To motivate myself, I've created a little wishlist of things I'd like to treat myself to when that first Payday does come, including some slightly higher-end and expensive items which I'll finally be able to afford!

Edit: This post was called 'The one for when I get a new job', but I've just had a phonecall to offer me the job I've been interviewing for! So yay, I'm now employed full time and starting Monday, I cant wait! :)

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara - £19.50

Benefit are launching a new mascara and I'm so excited about it! I'm in love with their They're Real mascara, although sometimes it is just a bit too much for a normal day, and it's really hard to get off in the evening! This mascara is launched in March and is based around hair curlers, so it curls your lashes without the need for eyelash curlers, and is less thick than They're Real. I've heard that you can pick up a free sample size of this in Elle's March issue so I will definitely be doing that! :)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion 6ml - £8.00

I've been meaning to try this little magical product for a while now. Ever since I treated myself to the Naked 3 Palette I've wanted to buy some sort of eyelid primer to keep it in place all day and I've heard such good things about this particular one. I've managed to find the sample size on sale at Feel Unique for just £8 so I'm going to order that and see how well I get on with it!

Real Techniques 301 Flat Contour Brush - £22.00

Right so this product I'm literally 50/50 with. 50% absolutely love it and want to buy it, but 50% thinking 'Oh hell no, that price is ridiculous!' It's part of the Real Techniques new Bold Metals Collection which is a new luxury range created by Sam & Nic Chapman. I literally swear by the original Real Techniques brushes and they're basically all that I use. I just don't like the idea of spending so much on just one brush. Either way though, I know that this brush would be good, and the design of the new brushes is so gorgeous, so I'll have to think about whether or not I want to take the plunge! :)

Mac 'Velvet Teddy' Lipstick - £15.50

Okaaaaay, I know that every man and his dog has this lipstick, but that doesn't stop me from wanting it also! I've been a lover of Mac lipsticks for years, and have built up a nice little collection, but nothing too ridiculous as no two colours are similar. My mum recently bought me back Faux from her trip to New York which is similar to Velvet Teddy, but I'm IN LOVE and have been using it every day. I want to get Velvet Teddy to see the difference between the two and decide on my favourite for future purchases :)

Calvin Klein Modern Cotton Bralette - £28.00

Right I actually need to ask one thing about this, can it be worn as a sports bra?! I absolutely love it either way and would definitely buy it as a bra for a lounge-y day (including the matching panties to go with it!) but I've just realised I'm actually not sure whether it's sportswear or not! When I eventually get a job, I'm hopping straight back over to the gym and signing up again. And obviously I'll need to buy myself some new gym-wear to motivate myself! :)

Asos Arachnid Peep Toe Ankle Boots - £45.00

I have such a weakness for black shoes. In the past few years I've collected many black shoes, boots and sandals but no two are the same! I've never bought any black peep-toe boots before and I really love these. They're just a bit quirky and different to anything I own. You can't see properly in the picture but they have a chunky zip down the side too, and I'm in love!

H&M Small Wire Basket - £7.99

Do I really need a small copper wire basket? The answer to that is probably no. Do I really want a small copper wire basket? The answer to that is definitely yes! I've been so inspired by Pinterest recently when it comes to home decor, and rooms with simplistic designs and a pop of rose gold or copper just do it for me! This is quite a bargain for what it is, and I'm just loving H&M homeware at the moment, thank goodness there isn't one near me or I'd have no money! You can follow me on Pinterest here if you're a pin-a-holic like me! :)

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - £31.00

This would actually be the first ever high end foundation that I've purchased. Apart from a Mac foundation that my mum gave me once as it was too pale for her haha! I've heard nothing but good things about this foundation and I need to give it a go for myself. Have you tried it before, is it worth the hype would you say?

Pandora Windmill Charm - £25.00

Ever since I went to Amsterdam this January as a Christmas present from my lovely boyfriend Joe, I've wanted to get the Pandora windmill charm to add to my bracelet. I don't have many charms on there as I like to get them when it's a really special occasion, and I feel like this was as we had such a fun time and we'd been planning the trip for over 5 years! Luckily for me, this charm is one of the cheaper ones as it's plain silver :)

Macbook Pro - £899.00 - £1399.00
What a very scary price range! I'm in need of a new laptop and I'm deciding to take the plunge and get a Macbook Pro. Obviously I wouldn't do it until I have a secure job and have been earning for a few months, but I've been thinking about this for so long. As I've mentioned in previous posts, my current laptop just can't handle Final Cut Pro, and I need to be able to edit my YouTube videos! Can anyone suggest which one I should purchase? I'd be using it for editing on Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, streaming and general laptop purposes. I'm very new to all of this!

Marc By Marc Jacobs Baker Rose Gold Watch - £209.00

Well I'm going to need a new watch to keep me on time aren't I?! I've never treated myself to a proper watch before and I'm toying between this gorgeous Marc Jacobs one and the Daniel Wellington one with a rose gold edging! Both are gorgeous with big round faces and simplistic detailing. Rose gold watches are so popular at the moment that there are loads of other options including this lovely one by Emporio Armani, but they're not the cheapest so I'm gonna need to do some proper thinking before I make the decision!

Ikea White Alex Drawer Unit - £90.00

Although this seems like quite a lot of money for what looks like quite a thin unit, this is exactly what I need in my bedroom to just give it that final bit of organisation. I've been really good at sorting out things I need and don't need, but I have so many beauty products hidden in random places, and this would just fit them all together in organised shelves and drawers. It would fit the white theme in my bedroom perfectly and just tidy up the last few messy spaces!

Thanks for reading :)
What's currently on your wishlist?
Do you already own anything that's on my wishlist?
Love Dani :)

x

This is a sponsored post*

Pinspiration #2 - Studio & Sewing room decor!

Pinterest has become my obsession recently. I've used it on and off for years now, pinning my future onto online boards, but recently my addiction has come back and every spare second I have, I'm adding another pin to another board. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, as I've come across some lovely home decor inspiration and it's really motivated me to get my sister's old room/my studio and sewing room into shape and decorated nicely! I'm going to try and start writing these posts more regularly as I do love writing about something different on my blog, and although I write a lot of wishlists including homeware, I don't post much about home decor styling! You can follow me on Pinterest here :)

(Image sources: Pinterest & Pinterest)

I don't know if you can tell already, but my plan for the room is to be white and clear. You need things to be uncluttered when you're working, and a bright white workspace sounds so lovely to me. In the first image, I love the bulldog clips being used to hold up the images. I also love the Muji acrylic storage being used for stationary, and the white wire chair covered by a nice furry throw. In the second image, I love the simple copper pot. I'd like the room to be majority white with small pops of black and copper.

(Image sources: Pinterest & Pinterest)

Keeping with the clinically white theme, I'd also want everything to be coordinated in a way so that if I wanted to find something, I'd know exactly where it was. I love these simple shelves with black and white files in the first image. Somewhere to file my clothing patterns, my important documents etc. The second image is just so cool. I have hundreds of fashion magazines so they'd probably be piled up on the floor, but this would be fab to have this month's issues on, or my absolute favourites.

(Image sources: Pinterest & Pinterest)

I've seen these wire panels being used in quite a few Pinterest photographs now and I've decided that I need one in my life. They're such a quirky alternative to pinboards and you can use cute little pegs and bulldog clips to attach photographs, magazine clippings and important notes to them. I think the black and white versions both look really nice against the white background and would be lovely in any studio or bedroom.

(Image sources: Pinterest & Tumblr)

The wire house in the first image is so unusual but would just look nice on a shelf. It's a bit like those white tealight houses that I like so they'd all look cute lined up next to one another. I also really like the piled up fashion books with a little pot of flowers on top, and the big framed images. I'd probably rather have inspirational quotes instead, but the layout of this image is so lovely. Lastly, I also really like these peculiar little copper lightbulbs on a long cord and would love something like this above my desk. In the second image, I really like the contrast of the white mannequin to the wooden desk and the images on the wall. My mannequin takes up quite a bit of space so it's nice to have it dressed in an outfit.

Thanks for reading :)
Do you like this studio decor inspiration?

Which was your favourite idea?
Follow me on Pinterest here :) And send me your Pinterest links below!

Love Dani :)

x

Benefit's new Puff Off undereye gel! :)

Recently, in general life, I had been looking for the perfect under-eye gel as I suffer quite badly from dark circles and puffiness in the mornings. So when I heard that Benefit were bringing out their own product that claimed to reduce puffy eyes as well as smooth fine lines, I was very excited. This morning I was awoken to the sound of the postman at the door and a mystery pink parcel was placed into my hands. I hadn't ordered anything so I was really intrigued as to what it was, and much to my delight it was a brand new Benefit product to try out! As I had just woken up, it was the perfect time to try out my new Puff Off, so here is how I got on :)

 Benefit 'Puff Off' Eye Gel - £22.50*

As per usual, the Benefit packaging is as cute as pie, meaning that I never want to throw away the outer packaging on any of their products! I've only tried out this product once, and I can already tell that I love it. It's perfect for someone like me who aims to get to bed by 11pm but is still scrolling through blogs and YouTube at gone 2am, as it totally masks your dark circles and reduces the puffiness under your eyes. It's a blending primer (a bit like Porefessional but less thick) which helps reduce the look of puffy eyes. It also contains light-diffusing particles which help smooth away the appearance of fine lines. 

Puff Off is literally perfect for these January blues we all seem to be feeling, when there's no Christmas left to look forward to but it's still freezing cold! I put the product on in the morning, then went to eat my breakfast before getting ready to do my make up, and when I went back to the mirror to check how it was looking I was pleasantly surprised. It hadn't made my dark circles totally disappear, but it had definitely masked them. It had left a lovely matte finish, but is so thin that you can't notice it and no product is left to be seen. It worked as an amazing primer for my foundation and under-eye concealer, and I'm very happy to say that this product works perfectly for me! You do only get 10ml of product in the tube (it's a little bit smaller than the Porefessional), so I'll use it on days when my eyes are looking a little more puffy or tired. It can be used first thing in the morning under your make up to help with morning under-eye situations, but it can also be used throughout the day over your make up to touch up.

My favourite bit about the whole product is the custom tip which is shaped like a miniature iron to literally 'iron out' your fine lines! It is shaped for the perfect gliding performance and is cool on contact which is lovely for puffy morning eyes. I actually found the shape to be perfect as it gets right into the corners of your eyes unlike the usual rollerball eye gels. It really does feel lovely to use as it's so cold and glides on without tugging on the skin at all, and it's quite hydrating as it sinks into the skin so well.

Thanks for reading :)
And thank you so much Benefit for sending me this product!

As an avid Benefit lover for years it's so nice to be working with you! :)

Do you like the sound of this product and would you buy it yourself?

It launches in stores and online on 31st January!

Love Dani :)

x

Photo round-up of my year in 2014! :)

Sorry this post is a little late, as some of you may know I've just been on the best trip ever to Amsterdam with my boyfriend Joe, and I shall be getting a YouTube video of our fun times up sometime soon. I started doing this round-up of the year blog post last year, and I'm gonna keep on doing them each year as they're such a good way to remember everything that happened in the past year! Yet again 2014 has been a crazy year - I started the year finishing off my dissertation and now I've graduated and moved onto interning and the real world! :) The first half of the year was definitely more boring than the second half, as it was spent slaving away in my uni bedroom and the classroom studio, but the second half I got to do some super fun things! I definitely forgot how long these blog posts take to create too... I might try and do it per month during 2015 so that it's all ready to publish in December haha! :)

January

January was such a random one this year. We had an awesome New Years Eve at university and everyone was there together for the last time! I then shopped in the sales a bit and the rest of it was spent slaving away at uni, on Photoshop and buying fabrics for my final collection, as well as finishing off my dissertation.

February

February obviously included Valentine's Day, and this year it was actually mine and Joe's 5th year anniversary! February was another month of slaving away at univeristy but I also got my hair dyed a little bit lighter (looking back I actually really like the slightly ginger tone here), treated myself to lots of Models Own nail polishes, discovered the sweet flavoured Carex soaps (strawberry laces, chocolate orange and cola bottles, yum!) and went to Biddy's Tearoom in Norwich for the first time, which was so yummy! :)

March

March was pretty sunny in Norwich which was nice! I feel like all these first few months of 2014 were such a blur of uni work and stress! We had some fun times procrastinating on the balcony together though and I had my hair dyed even blonder. You can really see the difference in colour from February til March.

April

Despite all the stress, April was a really good month for me. It was my 23rd birthday (ahh I feel so old, but I loved everyone singing the Blink 182 song 'What's my age again?' at me because the lyrics are "nobody likes you when you're 23"), the new series of Game of Thrones came out, I got some awesome birthday presents and got to spend time with my loved ones. I also had my hair dyed even blonder and I was eventually happy with the colour :)

May

The month of May this year might've been the most stressful month of my whole life. It was the countdown to my final ever hand-in, my final collection being finished and the catwalk fashion show. This month I managed to finish everything on time, have a photoshoot of my collection and had an awesome catwalk fashion show, so as you can imagine we all went out and got very drunk! I also won Jim Chapman's giveaway to win the full collection of Tanya Burr's lips and nail collection, and he actually turned up at my uni house to deliver them as he lived so close!

June

June was so lovely as all the stress had finally been taken away from us and we got to spend time together as friends rather than occasionally swooping past each other in the kitchen area. We went for plenty of nights out, had many BBQs and also went to the beach. I popped home to surprise my dad for Father's Day which was lovely and I also helped man the uni stand at Graduate Fashion Week. I eventually had time to do some blogging this month after putting blogging on hold for several months. June was also sad though as it was the month we all tidied and packed up our rooms to move back home!

July

July was the month of my graduation, the day I never thought would come! So many times throughout uni I wanted to give up but I managed to stick it out, get a good grade and graduate with all my friends! I had a nice (orange) fake tan and it was lovely and sunny that day. My sister gave me the funniest graduation card which read 'Congratulations on finally wearing a tassel on something other than your nipples' hahaha! I wrote a full blog post about my graduation here if you'd like to read it! It was also Joe's 23rd birthday and I got him a rather fitting Heisenberg card! :)

August

During August I went to quite a few carboot sales and managed to get some lovely bargains! I also went to Reading Festival with my best friend and some uni friends, and saw some of my favourite bands ever! I did a full blog post on Reading Festival if you'd like to read it here :) I was also working in Costa Coffee during this Summer full time so I didn't have too much time for fun!

September

September was a really fun month this year and I got to do lots of fun things! I went to Alton Towers for the first time ever with my best friend, my mum moved into her new house with her boyfriend so we had a fun, champagne-filled evening celebrating, the steam fair came to town and we went on lots of rides and my blog turned 2 years old. I also went to LFW, had an Ikea makeover in my bedroom, went to a Primark A/W Preview and Blogger Masterclass with Victoria from Inthefrow and spent some fun days in London with my best friend :)

October

October started off very exciting, as me and Joe went to Scotland for a few weeks! It was amazing and I loved every minute of it! We camped in some amazing places, climbed up some mountains, saw some lovely waterfalls and stayed in a little wooden wigwam! I still need to edit and upload my YouTube videos from Scotland so keep an eye out for them! The new series of American Horror Story came out which made me super happy as it's one of my favourite series, I went to the Oh My Love A/W Preview Day and I did some fun pumpkin carving for Halloween! :)

November

November was another fun month this year. Everyone starts to get a little bit excited for Christmas and the festive season (even though not everyone likes to admit it!), the Lush Christmas bath bombs started coming out and the crazy Christmas shopping starts! I got to see some family friends that I hadn't seen in years which was lovely, I treated myself to the Naked 3 Palette and most definitely haven't looked back! I had a fun day in London with my sister going to a few blogger press days and I eventually upgraded my phone to an iPhone 5! :)

December

December started off really fun as I got to intern at one of my favourite clothing brands, Oh My Love! :) I wrote a full blog post about it here which you can read, but it consisted of everything from photoshoots to returns and helping out on the website. I also visited Winter Wonderland with some uni friends, had some fun times in London and ended up having a lovely Christmas with my friends and family :) and to top it all off, Joe treated me with a trip to Amsterdam as my Christmas present!

Wow I've eventually finished this blog post, it felt like it took forever! But yet again, I'm so glad I wrote it, even just for myself to look back over the years and see how much has changed! :)

A video posted by Dani Mason (@floraldanielle) on Dec 29, 2014 at 4:21pm PST

  

 

Thanks for reading :)

Which was your favourite month this year?

Follow me on instagram @floraldanielle :)

Hope you all have a happy and healthy 2015!

Love Dani :)

x