You've Gotta Love Duty Free ♥

To celebrate the end of mine and Ellie's exams, my Mum decided that it was needed to take us away for a small holiday - how kind?! Originally, we were going to keep it in the UK. With my Mum wanting to head off to Wales, and my ache for a trip to Brighton, we thought it would be best to do so. However, with different things which went on (family weddings, etc) we were unable to make our UK holiday, and decided to take it to France!
We took a ferry crossing from Dover to Calais, stayed in Calais for a night, we then headed to Brugge for a night, and then Gent for a night. We have an absolutely amazing time, and ended up being accompanied by my younger brother who definitely made the trip as fun as it was!
You can see images of Brugge and Gent on my Instagram - @domowen97.
Of course, you cannot go on a trip to France/Belgium, without buying a few goodies...

Stocking up!

Available at Boots for £3.19. I got mine for £1.80 at duty free.

I now realise this was made for children, however, it comes with a pretty packaging, and it's pink!

This retails at £6.20 on the Denman website, and I got mine for £4.90 at duty free. I have definitely seen this in Boots, so keep an eye out :)

I have been wanting this foundation since summer last year! On the boat, I was aiming to buy YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat foundation, however, unfortunately they did not stock my shade :(

This retails at £25.50 at Boots. I got mine for £21.65 at duty free, and I am so happy! I just love this product so much!

My first chubby stick! This day has been waiting a long time...

Mine cost me £12.80, and they are £16 at Boots. Definitely worth paying full price for, though!

I think this jar is adorable! Maybe I'll put flowers in it for decoration :)

These perfumes were 2 for 7euros. They both smell absolutely delicious, and are perfect for a refreshing scent during the summer :)

I am so pleased with all of my buys! Honestly, I thought I was going to buy more, but I am glad that I reined myself in :)
Duty free alone, is definitely worth going away for, but France and Belgium were just absolutely beautiful!
Are you going on any summer holidays/weekends away this year?
-Dom ♥

Dotcomgiftshop Buys ♥

I had heard about Dotcomgiftshop on various occasions, but never really took much interest in the sight. This was until I was browsing Instagram, and found a really pretty cake stand. Automatically, I took to the website, and fell in love with the stand. Ordered it, along with another item, and two days later(I was/still am very impressed with how fast delivery was!) my delivery had arrived.

This only cost me £8.95 as it was in the sale! I think it originally cost around £23.

As well as it being gorgeous and handy, it is also multi-use. I think decorating it with my latest Polaroids look gorgeous!

This cost £5.95.

I love the way it looks in my room. With my room being mainly light colours -creams, whites, lots of florals!- the black frame really attracts the eyes as you walk in :)

Dotcomgiftshop offer many gorgeous and unique buys. I am constantly browsing their site, making mental lists of things I just need to buy!
Are you a Dotcomgiftshop fan?

- Dom ♥

Rod Stewart - Inspiration? ♥

When seeking inspiration, like many others, I often turn to the likes of Instagram, where I find many motivating, slightly cheesy, and most of all, inspiring quotes or images. (Such as...)

However, sat at a Rod Stewart concert with my Mum (she loves him. Always has, and always will!) I found it pretty shocking that I was gaining inspiration from him...

Watching him flirtatiously dance across the stage, singing songs such as 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' at the matured age of 68, I thought to myself, wow.

I wouldn't say his music/style is my favourite - I know most of his songs, purely due to my Mum - but going through throat cancer, clearly a huge amount of heartbreak (if you listen to his songs) and still rocking that same hair style, I'd say he's a pretty cool guy, and someone who maybe we could look to -as an example- when we are stuck with what we want to get out of life, and need a touch of encouragement and motivation.

The green suit he wore was inexcusable, however, his passion, persistence and advertisement he gives to 'Help For Heroes' is definitely something that I think such be recognised when we are all aching for inspiration.

If you can see where I coming from at all, the main gist of this is that I believe that everywhere and anywhere we go, we can find inspiration. Whether we are looking for it or not.

I would love to know what motivates you! Instagram: @domowen97

-Dom ♥

The Lovely Alannah ♥

Returning home from a ridiculously boring revision session, you can imagine my excitement a couple of weeks ago, when I discovered this lovely package from Alannah (Keddie's Closet).

We have already done a huge beauty swap, which you can read here. So, we decided that until we next do a big swap, we will send each other little parcels, to keep our aches for cosmetics from over the pond, satisfied :)

 I am so grateful for everything that Alannah sent me! I said it before, and I will say it again! Alannah genuinely is such an amazing, and lovely person, who I one day would love to meet in person, and someone who I have made a beautiful friendship with :)

I have already used, and become familiar with some of these products, so you can definitely expect some reviews soon!

-Dom ♥

NOTD ♥

I had this look on my nails a few weeks ago, after having been inspired by seeing Demi Lovato's nails on instagram. I am so in love with them, and as soon as I took them off, I wanted to re-paint my nails like this!

Demi's look.



My look, I posted on instagram - domowen97

In order to achieve this look, I used a base coat, and then applied two coats of O.P.I Lady in Black. Once this had dried, I used silver nail tape to create the slight shattered effect. I then sealed it with a top coat. If I'm going to be honest with you, I was pretty impressed with myself that I actually did this all by myself - first time round! :) Personally, I think that these nails can be worn for various occasions, and although spring/summer are mainly about brighter or pastel shades, this can be worn for the foreseeable summer too!
How do you feel about these nails?
-Dom ♥

Vegas Baby! ♥

You will have to excuse the title of this post. I don't know why, but every time someone says 'Vegas', I always feel the need to put 'baby' on the end ...
My sister, L'amour Josie, ventured out to Las Vegas last week, in order to attend my cousins wedding. Unfortunately, due to exams, I wasn't able to go and see the wedding, but Josie took loads of amazing pictures for me to gaze at :)
Also, we all know what a trip to America means...DRUGSTORE!
Yes. My amazing sister did take a pretty big lost from me, to Vegas with her, and very kindly brought me lots of lovely items back:)

Each and every one of us UK beauty lovers, understand that warm, fuzzy, feeling we all get inside, simply by holding a sephora bag...

I am so, incredibly, thankful to Josie for taking the time to buy me these beautiful gifts :) You can expect many reviews to be coming soon (as soon as these damn exams finish! Two more to go...).

After having heard all of the stories, seen all of the pictures, watch all of the videos, my urge to journey to America is stronger than ever. So, I have begun to organize my trip to the golden land, which will be happenning in two years time (hopefully enough time to save up!) for my eighteenth birthday. I want to go all over, but obviously I can't go all in one trip, so if you do have any recommendations of where I should go for my first trip, please let me know!

-Dom ♥



NOTD ♥

Considering the amount of times I paint my nails (on average, once a day) you'd expect me to post more NOTDs! Therefore, I have made the decision to actually do more NOTD posts. Personally, I find them very inspiring, so I hope you enjoy! ...

 

I also posted them on my instagram account - domowen97

In order to achieve this look, I simply used a clear base coat to cover the nail. Once that had dried I used 'smile for the glam-era' for the curtain tips, and then sealed them with a second coat of the nail base/top coat. I am so in love with this look, I have worn it a few times now. Glancing down at my nails and seeing this design genuinely makes me so happy!
What do you think of this look?

-Dom ♥