My skin essentials haul/ Lush, Simple and Rimmel

I needed to pick up some skincare products to take with me when I move, so this haul really is the basic bare bones of my skincare routine. If you read my empties posts, you'll know how loyal I am to these products. You know when you try something new and it doesn't fit your skin well? I hate that disappointing feeling, and I don't have enough money to splurge on things that aren't going to work, so when it comes to skincare and base makeup (finding things that match my pale skin is surprisingly difficult even though pale skin is definitely better catered for than others in the UK) especially I tend to stick with things that I know work. I'm not a beauty blogger, so I have no obligation to try anything new ahah ;)

Simple Purifying cleansing lotion// Cream cleanser, does what it says on the tin, doesn't irritate my skin, I've been using it for years and I'm really happy with it.

Simple Soothing Facial Toner// Again, does what it says on the tin. It's soothing and gets of the remains of any makeup on my face.

Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturiser// I've been using a different moisturiser at the moment, (the Ordinary's moisturising factors) but this is the one I keep coming back to.

Rimmel Stay Matte powder in 01 porcelain// Another staple product, Rimmel's pressed powder. The packaging is ugly but the product is legit, and I keep coming back to this one even after trying more expensive ones. 

Lush Charity Pot// This is another tried and tested favourite. I picked up the teeny one and the small one to take with me so I know I'll be silky smooth. I really like the small metal container of this, and I have kept a few as they're convenient to refill with skincare or moisturiser if you're going somewhere for one or two nights. 

None of these products will be new or surprising to anyone, but they are what I use regularly and I do really like them. Do you have any products that you just keep coming back to? Or do you like to mix things up?

-Amy xoxo

Empties #14: Bleach London, Simple, The Ordinary// How to settle in/back to uni asap// New Youtube Video: How to dye your hair pastel pink with Directions Carnation Pink//

I graduated University!! ♡ What I wore for Graduation

So I graduated from University this summer! I went to Leeds University in Leeds, UK, a.k.a. one of my favourite places in the whole world. I had such an amazing time, and I'm really sad to be leaving somewhere that I felt I really belonged. Luckily I have some exciting things planned, but still, the feeling that I'm actually not going back in a couple of weeks to a new term is a little terrifying. Hence me putting off this post. Buut, I graduated with a BA Hons in Japanese with a good grade and I am bloody proud of myself! 

Long time no #OOTD// Double Denim

This blog started off as mostly a fashion blog- the first hundred or so posts are mainly outfits and fashion hauls. And now, six years later, I've been slacking a bit on that front. Recently I've been uploading a few of my outfits to an app called WEAR (follow me at @candyflossoverkill ofc) which is like instagram but only for outfits! I really like it for fashion inspiration. But the problem with using multiple platforms is that somehow my OOTD pics have ended up there and on my instagram and not here! I've decided to try a little harder to update my outfits on here too :)

This particular look is from April, before I cut my hair (I miss my long hair) and I wore it for a Leeds coffee date, then I slapped some red lipstick on for a house party later (student life...)
It's from spring, but actually it's perfect for autumn too, especially with a red lip. Double denim is kind of a staple look- and although it's been a bit dissed in the past, I actually think it's a really easy way to make an outfit look immediately more stylish and decisive.

Glasses// Bought from somewhere in Shinsaibashi 

Jacket// SPINNS

Top// Uniqlo

Bag// WEGO

Shoes// Vans

We went to one of my favourite coffee shops in Leeds- Kapow

I'm definitely going to post a 'my favourite coffees in Leeds' post soon, dw. What's your favourite thing to do on a day off? That day was pretty perfect for me tbh- I hung out with my boyfriend, went shopping and had coffee, then we cooked together and went to a party~ 

Thanks for reading! -Amy xoxo

Silver shampoos reviewed: Bleach London silver shampoo and smoky shampoo vs provoke touch of silver vs lee stafford bleach blondes // New Youtube video: how to dye your hair pink with directions carnation pink// 

How to settle in/ back in to Uni ASAP

Soo the new academic year has rolled around once again, and for a lot of people this means a new start and potentially a new house too! I've done my fair share of carting my stuff across the country, and here are the things I do to make sure I'm settled back into uni and back into a new place as soon as possible.

'Osaka' things I miss so much

Osaka is the best city in Japan. Just saying. And I know I'm being a cliché year abroad student who won't shut up about their year abroad, but I honestly think I left a teeny piece of my heart back in Osaka. So here are a couple of thing I miss about Japan, and particularly Osaka.

Guitar Wolf @Brudenell Social Club 21.03.18

So in March I saw a band that completely blew me away- Guitar Wolf. They are a punk band from Nagasaki, Japan and they were absolutely crazy! So high energy and mad. We were really lucky to have them in Leeds as they only played three dates in the UK- London, Brighton and Leeds.
They played soo many great songs, like Jet Generation (which is my fave), yajyuu vibrator and Fujiyama attack. Their songs and music videos are slightly mad, and I hyped it up for myself quite a bit and was wondering if they'd live up to it: yes, yes they did.

New Youtube Video// My uni room tour/plant tour

After my plant tips post last week, I finally got round to editing my uni room tour <3

You can see how I made my room in an old Leeds terraced house as cozy and aesthetic as possible (mostly by filling it with plants). It's super real and I was just making the best of what I had, so although it's not the most pinterest worthy, hopefully it will be actual real life inspiration for how to decorate on a student budget.

Silver shampoos Reviewed: Bleach London Silver shampoo and Smoky Shampoo vs Pro:voke touch of silver vs Lush Daddy O vs Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes

I've been bleaching my hair for years now so I've tried my fair share of silver shampoos, as well as making my own DIY silver shampoo, to help maintain the colour. A good silver shampoo is an important tool in your arsenal if you have grey hair (notorious for washing out quickly), or if you want to keep blonde or white hair from going brassy. So here's a roundup and comparison of the ones I've used so far:

Why plants are the best & my tips on how not to kill them

A lot of you might know that I'm a teeny bit obsessed with house plants. I've had a crazy couple of years at uni, and one thing that's kept me sane is having my room full to the brim with cute house plants (I called my fourth year room "the plant cave" and it was a pretty accurate name tbh. I've been meaning to make a proper post about plants for a while, and I got a comment asking for some plant tips recently (hi!) so here goes nothing:

my minimal (ish) uni makeup collection

I made a post of my minimal makeup collection on my year abroad in Japan, and it's been a couple of years so I thought I'd make an updated version. I'm trying to keep it minimal (kind of succeeding, although I've definitely collected more since I got back to the UK, oops)0 and I'm pretty happy with the little collection I've got here.

Empties #14// Bleach London, Simple, The Ordinary

It's been a month, so it's empties time again. This one has a few products that I've featured in a few blog posts before which are solid faves, along with some more fancy things I got as gifts <3