Instagram Diary #1

                                                                                                    Add me on Instagram @laurenkatebrown

♥♥My boyfriend Luke at the BBC new comedy award final a while ago.♥♥Froot Loops fail!♥♥Went strawberry picking, but there was no fruit left, so we just bought some!♥♥At my friends baby shower♥♥Canada tickets arrived!!!♥♥Mika chocolate Happy cows edition mooooo♥♥Me (very sweaty) after a gig in Blackpool♥♥My nephew on his 2nd birthday♥♥Aunty and nephews converse♥♥

Since I got my new phone I have be obsessed with Instagram. Its rudy brilliant! So why not introduce Instgram to my blog. I hope they get on well together! 

Is any up in Edinburgh this month for the Fringe Festival?! Im on my way next Saturday for a whole week to see the boyfriend. If you are up that way go and see Luke's show..ITS FREE! What more could you ask for. Its a stand up comedy show called A Degree of Comedy  and its at The Dragonfly Lounge (Venue 63) at 4.20pm everyday :) 

Lauren x

The Liebster Blog Award

Becca from Pretty Little Peggy told me on twitter that she had nominated me for the Liebster Award! Thank you Becca!!

Liebster Award is an award given to small and up coming bloggers. I have been blogging less than a year and I do it because it is fun. The fact that people read my nonsense is a bonus ;)  This award is a great way of finding new blogs and meeting new people (well... online people!)

Liebster is German and it means sweetest, kindest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

Here are the rules for the award:

#1 Each persong must post eleven things about themselves

#2 Answer the eleven questions the tagger has sent for you

#3 Choose eleven people and tag the in the post

#4 Follow the tagger and visit at least three of the nominees

So..here goes..

11 facts about myslef...

#1 I work in my parents coffee shop but my main job is singing which I do all over the North West at the moment

#2 I am quartre chinese from my dads side. My grandad is from Hong Kong (although I never met him before he passed)

#3 When I was a kid I wanted to be a mechanic! Yehhh!

#4 Im a tad obsessed with penguins! Oh wait.. if you have seen my blog name you may realise this! (The cows comes from my boyfriend being besotted with cows! Weird couple 'ey!) 

#5 I usually only like girly chick flicks or comedies but I LOVED The Hunger Games. The books are amazing!

#6 I lived in Cyprus for 4 years singing.

#7 My brother once pulled my arm out of my socket! Yeh you wanted to know that didnt ya! :S I was about 5.

#8 I think about things way too much

#9 I dont drink...used to..dont anymore.

#10  I CAN NOT STAND TOMATOES! I hate the texture, the smell and if someone bites into one next to me I shiver!  its making me shiver just typing this. yukky yukky things!

#11 I have a phobia of being sick! 

My  11 questions are..

1. What hair product could you not live without?

L'oreal Studio Silk and Gloss Hot straight cream. Leaves me hair feeling SO soft.

2. Straight or Curled hair? 

I have naturally wavy hair but always end up wearing it straight.

 3.If you could only shop at one clothes store for the rest of your life what one would it be?

H&M

4. Heels or flats?

Flats all the way!

5. Prefer nights in or nights out?

Night in.. with lots of popcorn!

6.What was the last movie you saw?

Ted..was brilliant.

7. What is your favourite restaurant?
Thats a tough one. Its either Tai Pan in Liverpool or pizza express..I'll get back to you...

8.What is your current favourite song?

Maroon 5 - One More Night

9. Which celebrities style do you wish you could steal?

Lauren Conrad

10. What is your favourite make up brand?

High end ~ M.A.C. - High street ~ L'oreal

11. What is your favourire magazine?

Cosmopolitan 

My 11 questions for bloogers..

#1 What is one make up item you couldn't live without?

#2 Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

#3 Where do you want to travel to that you havent been to yet?

#4 What is your favourite animal?

#5 What is the most played song on your ipod?

#6 Do you prefer time alone or with friends and family?

#7 Most memorable childhood memory?

#8 Favourite movie?

#9 What would your last meal be?

#10 What olypic sport would you like to do if you could?

#11 Do you like penguins?! (say yes say yes!)

11 bloggers I nominate..

Laura Blogs Beauty

Secret Diary of a Haul Girl

Style So Coy

Tea and Toast

The Pampered Sparrow

Totally Baked Cakes

Discovery Clothing 

Emilyx0

The Secret Beauty Blogger

B for Becki

Beauty Spot

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me more! :) come say hi again soon!

Lauren x

V05 Plump Me Up Dry Shampoo

Now I can see this isn't the most excited post in the world but when something works you NEED to tell people! Dry shampoo was an awesome invention! Fact! For those days where you haven't got time to wash, dry and straighten your hair or just when you feel it is getting a tad greasy this product is amazing. 

I have tried many dry shampoos in the past such as Tressemme and Batiste which I think are  very good but when I tried this one it took them to a whole different level! First of all the packaging..bright shiny pink?! How can you turn your face at that? I originally bought it because I was staying at my boyfriends and forgot to take some with me. When I nipped out to Boots this was on offer and I am so glad it was other wise I probably would have gone for one I have already tried before.

I have brown hair so the dry shampoos that come out like a white powder are never good... I tried a Superdrug own brand one once that was specifically for dark hair but it made my hair so greasy and looked awful! This V05 one comes out pretty much invisible and the scent it gorgeous! Very fruity but not over powering at all. 

I highly recommend this product and think I may go and buy a few back ups :)

You can buy it HERE

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!!

Lauren x

Haul - Bobbi Brown, Illamasqua, Pull and Bear, TKMaxx

After my not so happy last post this proves that shopping can make you happy! At least a little bit right?

I decided to take myself to Liverpool and this is what I came home with. I will link where you can get everything at the bottom :)

So impressed with this so far! I have always had dark under eye circles and this product is the best I have found for hiding them!

Very creamy product and was a tad worried it would crease a lot which it does unless I put a translucent powder on.

2 Blushes, 2 Eyeshadows and a pallet for it all to go in for a tenner! Yes please!

Top left Bella, Bottom left, Berry Brown, Top right Flush, Bottom right Rose Shine

Love this colour! And the fabric is soooo soft!

I couldn't resist getting this tank top!

My first every 'collar' purchases! I know.. where have I been right!

Bobbi Brown Corrector  in shade Bisque

Illamsqua concealer in shade 200

Fashionista Make your own pallete

Pull and Bear Cardigan

H&M Tank top

Primark Black sleeveless shirt (no website)

TKMaxx sleeveless snakeskin shirt

Back to normal blogging this week :)

Hope you are all well and are enjoy your 'summer'..

Lauren x

I lost my best friend...Alfie the Beagle

If you have or have had a dog you will know where Im coming from! Some may say 'it's just a dog' but I say he was my best mate!

Our dog Alfie was only 8 years old and so suddenly he passed away on the 19th June 2012. It all happened so quickly and noone was expecting it. It is hard to say what was wrong with him because even the vets were baffled but it was likely he drank some sort of toxin or had eaten something that had been put down in public that was not doggy friend! As much as your cant watch every little thing your dog does PLEASE be aware of what they are eating or drinking when out and about! 

I knew I would be upset by losing him but didnt think it would hurt this much. He was part of our day to day life and now the routine has changed.

This blog post is mainly for my family..to remember the good times we had with Alf and to share a few nice and silly pictures of him. (This is only a pinch of them!) He was a well loved dog and had the best life a dog could have! 

Name: Alfie (Alfie Mac)

Age: 8

Occupation: Secuirty man..unless sleeping

Hobbies: Running free at the Sand quarry and golf course

Favourite person: His Dad Ian (my stepdad)

Favourite place: Under someones duvet

Favourite food: Anything that humans eat!!

Bath Time

Protecting his garden

Hmmm.. that wasnt your ball Alf!

Bra head!

Treats are the best thing on the planet!!

Do they really have to dress me in this crap?!

Ian and Alf..Pals for life!

NOM NOM NOM

Stay still...they wont see me

Pancake day!!!

Im freeeeeeeee

Im gonna beat you Lauren!

KISSES!

Sleep time!

I will give you a kiss if you give me a treat

1st class dog

Buggar off! Im not on duty

JUST GIVE ME A TREAT!!!

Ahhh this is the life..

Far too spoilt!

WRESTLE TIME!!

go away go away!

Snnoooozzze

Breakfast in bed,.. Tidy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Miss you Alfie! x

DIY Father's Day Cards

I have been making cards for a few months now and selling them in our coffee shop and always do themed cards for different times of year. Christmas, Mothers day, Easter etc.

I was not so thrilled about doing fathers day cards simply because I had NO idea what to make. Men are too hard to make cards for I tell ya! All I could think of was hammers and cars! typical! So when the Martha Stewart team emailed me with a little fathers day card idea I thought they had read my mind. It is a cute design using origami to make a shirt which you can then stick onto your card. I thought I would share it with you so if you are wanting to make your Dad a nice hand-made card you could give this one a whirl.

Click HERE to go and check out the Martha Stewart tutorial.

I also had a look on YouTube to see if there was a video showing you how to make the shirts and I found one! yay.. for me it is easier to follow. You have got to love her accent!!

I've made a start on mine... What do you think??

Lauren x

The Konjac Sponge

 I had never heard of a Konjac sponge until an old school friend mentioned it on Facebook.. and thank god she did because i love it!

It is basically 100% natural sponge that is a plant grown in places such as Japan, China, India and Korea. 

The Konjac Sponge company website says:

"A naturally moisture rich plant fibre which is by nature alkaline, and thus balances the acidity of the skins impurities and oils.

The unique net like structure of the sponge, gently massages the skin and stimulates blood flow and new growth of skin cells. Leaving the skin extremely clean and refreshed…..naturally! No need for additional cleansers or soaps unless you really want. Should you chose to use additional cleansers or soap, you can use a fraction of your usual amount, as the sponge will generate more bubbles and spread the cleaner further than usual. Better for your skin, better on the environment and your finances!"

I got mine from eBay for a few pounds as I found this company after I had already purchased it. However they do recommend to change it every 3 months so next time I buy one I will be buying from their website as I like the shape of theirs better (and it come in a range of colours at £5.99)

When it is dry it is like a hard brick (not that I know of any bricks that aren't hard) so you need to soak it under warm/hot water for a few seconds before use. I do circular motions with it all over my face after i have cleansed and it make my skin feel EXTRA clean and OOBER soft! Because of its grainy texture it is a light exfoliant but great for all skin types.

I highly reccomend this product as its natural, makes your skin feel soft and is cheap!

Have you tried it before?

RANDOM FACT: The Konjac sponge is also known as  devil's tongue, vodoo lily, snake palm or elephant yam. Something you have always wanted to know!


Edit - Since posting this post The Konjac Sponge company have contacted me saying that these ones from eBay are not tested for EU & may not be free from bacteria and mould. Therefore I DO NO recommend getting them from eBay..get the real deal from their website :)


Lauren x