Mid-week mini haul!

Hi everyone. If you follow my blog or Youtube channel you'll know I love a good haul (a haul being where you reveal what you've been buying) and here's another! All be it mini.

Like many, I love to shop and will often take myself on random retail therapy sessions! It still feels a bit naughty to be out and about on say a Monday afternoon or a Thursday morning enjoying myself whilst others are at work. My typical week has so drastically changed since I left teaching full-time.

Anyhow, sometimes, just sometimes, I get bored of my own company (sarcasm detected) so I was thrilled when one of my best friends said that she had this week off work. YES! Someone to shop with me! 

So on Wednesday me and Gina naturally decided to indulge in a bit of retail therapy in Nottingham. We of course started our shopping trip with a Nando's. You just have to! :) Standard. 

Here's me literally bursting with excitement over anticipated chicken!!! :D

After demolishing our Nando's and adjusting my waistbelt...we hit the shops!

I cannot remember a running order so I'll just talk about my purchases from left to right of the haul picture...

Katie Piper's Beautiful Ever after. I have so so much admiration for this girl! She is truly one of the bravest people I've ever witnessed and I find her very inspirational. I loved her first book, despite it being a true tear-jerker and I'm sure this one will be just as great. WHSmith's were doing a offer where if you bought any magazine you could get the book for £2.99. Gina was buying a magazine anyway and so I simply couldn't resist :) 

Cotton pads and wash cloths. I actually bought 3x cotton pads and 2 wash cloths (pink and cream) for the above reason. I'm giving friends/family/local people the chance to try some of our great skincare products for a few days in the form of this Pamper Box. <3

Elemis Tan Accelerator. I've talked about this product many times and it's been a favourite of mine for around 5 years now. It does as it says and accelerates a tan like nobodies business! Also helps prevent prickly heat and sunburn. And have I mentioned it's scent?! Wow does this smell good! I purchased mine from John Lewis and a offer in store meant it was £20.70. It's usually not far off that pricemark anyway.

Plasters. How exciting! I've been trying to get my feet used to dolly shoes and the likes again now that summer's approaching. They do the job. Boots £1.79. Bargain.

White pumps. I wasn't actually planning to buy any shoes but whilst at the till in Select I happened to see these on the side. My feet are pretty delicate so the first thing I do when looking at shoes is feel the back of the heel to see if they are soft. These particular pumps felt amazing and I could tell they'd be a comfy wear. As luck would have it they had my size out of the only two pairs left in the store...I took this as a sign. They were also only £10.99.

Black leggings. You can never have too many black leggings right? Well recently my collection had dwindled down to one pair! So I had this purchase in mind from the start. I find Select ones really good value for money at 2 pairs for £8. 

The Veronica's new album. Although not pictured, I also bought this CD. This purchase was actually for my Dad. He loves the song 'You ruin me', as do I actually, and I planned to get him the album for his birthday way back in January! It was only recently released so it's been quite a wait...but finally got it! :)

As I said, it was just a mini haul! Hope you've all been having a great week too!

x

2 months, 2 promotions!

As I'm sat writing this, I'm realising that I need to start back posting regularly again. Each day in my business we hear all too often how being consistent is so very important and I believe the same goes for blogging. 

I love how therapeutic it is to write your thoughts down.

So in my last post I talked about how things don't always go as planned but how important it is to remain positive and focus on the things that make you happy. This is what I've done.

Rewind to the end of February and I got my second promotion in my FLP business...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, but I've never known recognition like what this business offers. The congratulations and well dones are endless and I had a great day being recognised at the Success Day event at the NEC in Birmingham on the 28th Feb...

But why stop at Assistant Manager?....

7 months ago I signed up to an opportunity. An opportunity that everyone around me was skeptical about and said wouldn't work. Even I wasn't sure. In my first planning meeting I chose Supervisor level to aim to get to. Not so ambitious! But I didn't believe I could get to Manager level. 

14th March 2015 I HIT MANAGER!!! 

I am still so overwhelmed by what this actually means to me!!! I'm learning everyday that anything you put your mind to is achievable. There are no short cuts. Hard work, self-discipline and motivation. A positive mindset. Whatever you think you can, you will! 

In all honesty though...I could not have done it without my AMAZING TEAM! Everyday they make me smile. I cannot thank them enough!

Now, I better get dress shopping (for the next recognition day!)... Your recommendations on sites/places that sells beaut dresses? :P

Clothes Show Live, Promotion, My Birthday, Last Day At Work!

Hey! Apologies that I've been a bit quiet recently. Life has been mental. But 100% in the BEST way! So here's a combined post of lots of brilliant things all rolled into one. 

7th December: Clothes Show Live. I love this event at NEC Birmingham and try to go each year. This year I went with my sister. Fabulous fashion show!

And really amazing shopping experience this year. Below are my purchases :D

13th December: Telford Internationale Business Center. Phenomenal day of training and hearing from the top people in the business. I also got recognised for my promotion to Supervisor. 

Later that evening I attended a champagne reception, before getting ready for a Glam Rock Party. A yummy 3 course meal, fantastic party and a nice stay in a nearby hotel. I do love this business lots! 

And at 12:01 that night I turned 25! 

14th December: Happy birthday to me. 

I awoke in the lovely hotel, untangled my back combed hair and headed off for a full English breakfast with some of my favourite people in the business!

At lunch time I met my ex Uni housemates for Xmas dinner. 

I really appreciated the comfy slippers 2 of them bought me, after such a fun weekend in heels! ;)

I also received lots of other nice birthday gifts but have failed on the photo front!

19th December: My last day at work!

It was difficult to say goodbye to the little cuties I've come to care about very much. But I know they'll be fine and it's the right thing for me to be moving on. 

I've never been quite so excited about January before. "New year fresh start" often gets banted about but this time it's true. Things aren't going to the same. I wanted change so badly and now I've made that happen. Here's to celebrating. 

Me and my best friend Gina last night at a Christmas party :) <3

BLACK FRIDAY SALES!!!

Happy BLACK FRIDAY everyone!!! I don't know about you but I love a good excuse to go shopping! :P

Some great deals in my business for TODAY only.

You can contact me at ellie.cooper@flp.com
or visit my business page:

Health, Beauty & Lifestyle- Ellie Cooper

Have a great day!!! And it's Friday! :)

x

A perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

Hey... Can I just say how nice it was to have the clocks go back and gain an hour. Sure many would have spent it in bed but I got up early and got a few jobs done. I also woke up thinking wow, what a great week! :)

In case you missed it, see earlier post, I got a new job last week and I'm still beaming about it. As you can see I did have some celebratory chocolates (from my lovely mum) but I've devoured the lot as they're my absolute faves!

So Sunday was a great way to end a great week. I headed off to sunny or not so sunny Skegness to visit one of my best friends. It was a pretty steady drive down. I've loved driving ever since I got my Mini Cooper Automatic and I love singing along to my iPod :)

Arriving at Abi's, we decided to hit the shops...After my retail therapy the day before, I wasn't quite done with the spending it seemed! I picked up the above shoe/boots and considered them a bargain! Very comfy!

Later we went to the cinema to see the very long titled PG comedy film. It was actually really good. Worth a watch for sure! Of course no cinema trip is complete for me without popcorn and an ice blast. YUM.

We got back to the best Sunday roast :D Her mum is a great cook! And then chilled with a film- 'The Heat'. The more I watch that film, the more I love it.

As the title suggests, it really was a perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

x

Bank Holiday Haul!

Hey guys. So this post is a little later than I had planned but better late than never right?! So, last Bank Holiday (25th August I believe) I took advantage of the rare moment that I actually had free time and hit the shops.

First on my agenda was Topshop. I love their clothes and in particular their jeans or jeggings. 

Whilst browsing the store I came across these black and white patterned leggings. I liked the detail in the design and I thought the zip at the back was a nice addition. In the changing room they fit really nicely and were super soft and comfortable. I am all about comfort and this sold them to me. They cost £28. I've since worn them and they look great teamed with a plain white or black top and leather jacket.

Also from Topshop, I bought these skinny cut ripped style jeans. They were the usual Topshop 'jean price' at £40 and they are again so soft and comfy! I hadn't got any jeans in this shade of denim and the ripped detailing seems to be all the fashion at the moment! :) One thing I will say is Topshop jeans always wash really well and last for a long time.

I then decided to head over to River Island. Whilst browsing I noticed these black trousers. Always on the look out for some good 'school' trousers I thought I'd give them a try on. I sometimes struggle to get formal trousers to fit me, hence I opt for leggings quite often. A lot of the time they're simply too big around my waist and they do that horrible gaping thing at the back. However I found the size 8 fit perfectly and I loved how nice the material felt (sensing a pattern here when it comes to soft and comfortable clothes ey?!) They were £30 which I didn't think was too bad. I wore them one day last week for school and I have a feeling I'll be going back to buy another pair as they wash well and they actually fit me! Love them. Oh, and I like the little RI detailing.

Last but not least, I had a little wander in Primark. I only picked up this one top, not because I didn't find anything else I liked but because I forgot the store was closing early and I ran out of time! I literally got to the till about 10 minutes before it shut! Anyway, I picked out this summery top in the hope that we still get a bit of sun in September! I think it was either £4 or £6 and it was a nice top to wear for school last week...quite 'teachery'! 

So there we go, my mini haul for you! 

Have you bought anything nice recently?!

x

#NottsBBMeet Daytime Shopping & Kiehls Visit

Wow. What a day!

This was my first blogger's meetup so I wasn't sure what to expect but I assumed it would be fun to meet people with similar interests. Safe to say it far exceeded any expectations and I had one of the best days in ages! :)

I thought the name badge idea was brill and super cute!

Everyone was so friendly and it was great to meet so many of you!! For once it wasn't weird to obsess over beauty items in shops...very refreshing from the usual blank looks or raised eyebrows!! :P

I enjoyed having a browse through New Look, H&M and grabbing a Greggs with these lovely girls:

(Left to right: Sammy @ Bellini Beauty, Gemma @ Gemma Means Jewel, Me, Sally @ Rainy Day Faces & Joanna @ Minty  Essence)

Thanks for the photo Joanna! Not going to lie, very envious of your fab camera!! :D

I enjoyed speaking to everyone I met! It's impossible to remember everyone, so sorry if I miss you, but it was lovely to meet Katy @ Sirens and Bells, Natalie @ Floral Republic, Megan @ Megan's Beauty Blog, Charlotte @ Lil Miss Chickas and of course the lovely Sophia @ Tattooed Tea Lady. A massive thank you to her and the other organizers for arranging this brill day!!! Some serious kudos to you!

The shopping continued with visits to Mac, L'Occitane and Space NK. I was seriously eye-ing up one of the Archie's girl's eye shadow quads but was able to self-restrain and save the approx £40. It was so pretty though...

Photo from makeupandbeautyblog.com :)

I was looking forward to checking out Space NK and despite not buying anything I was able to closely admire the Nars products! I've decided that I prefer the Orgasm blush to the Super Orgasm...I've corrected my wishlist! :)

Also popped into Ark...I found I really liked a lot of the clothing in here so may have to head back in soon!

Group 4! :)

And then for the Kiehls' Visit. Despite being a Notts girl, I hadn't actually been to the store before and so I was excited to hear more about their products and see what they would personally recommend for me.

Safe to say my oily skin was noted and I was interested in their products geared towards this! I really liked the Powerful Strength Serum. It was like velvet on the skin and the science behind the product made me sure it would help my troubled skin. However with a hefty £49 price tag I've added it to my wishlist!

Another product to catch my eye was Kielhs' BB Cream. I like the idea of swapping my heavy duty liquid foundation for something a little lighter every now and again and although I find bareMinerals works well for this I've always wanted to try a BB cream. Luckily I found the Kiehls' BB Cream tucked away in my huge goody bag when I got home, so stay tuned for my thoughts on the product in a little while! (I will do a separate post about the evening part of the meetup shortly!)

I thought this was such a lovely little piece of motivation!

I found the whole Kiehls' experience really lovely. The staff were friendly and having a glass of Bucks Fizz along with a cupcake made it even more welcoming, not to mention refreshing after a hectic morning of shopping! :) I enjoyed getting to know all of you Group 4 bloggers and it was great to meet Rhiannon @ The Barbelle who like me, shares her interest in fitness in her blog too!

One of the last stops had to be Boots. Gosh I love this shop and I love it even more when it has 3 for 2 deals on! As always it's a shame not to take advantage of their offers...

This is everything I bought during the meetup. I'm very happy to finally have the Origins Super Spot Remover...it seems to be well worth the £13 already!

As for the Lush stuff, I got a bit excited that I now have a bath (now I'm home and not at my Uni house) so I had to grab a few bubble bars! I'm giving The Comforter to my mum though.

As I said, it was great to be able to get excited about something in a shop and this to be totally acceptable because everyone shared your enthusiasm! A fab day...and evening...post soon to follow!

Ellie
x