BARCELONA! WE WENT, WE SAW, WE CONQUERED, WE GOT PRETTY DRUNK...!

So we made it! Four, 18 year olds on their first holiday on their own, away for 1 week, Barcelona. Sun, Sea, Walking, Drinks, Food, trying to find our way, Metro, Lost. FUN! I cannot think of anyone else the holiday would've worked with apart from Annie, Andy & Ed :)

First things first, Ryanair were not half as bad as everyone makes out! One piece of hand luggage fitting into their guidelines permitted, was enough for our week! On time both there & back. Very pleased with them.

Our hotel: http://www.barcelonarooms.es/
Clean, very pretty rooms, nice communal areas, nice bathrooms (we shared and had absolutely no problems) Very Very pleased & all the staff were very pleasant and happy to help :)

Now the little tiny restaurant/bar we found to eat from: It was one block away from our hotel (opposite a very posh looking Hostel!) and was by far the best value for money place we found. We went every single day for breakfast at least! Some days we went for dinner too! (The pizza was pretty damn tasty ;)).

 Here's a pic of the Patatas Bravas we we became ADDICTED too! haha! And below that is Ed carrying our 6euro each delicious chicken & ham, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms (pretty much everything) pizzas!

Second Day headed out to the Gaudi Parks: http://www.parkguell.es/en/portada
Lots of lovely architecture to see, very crowded though :( Lots of buskers and musicians playing! I bought La Mananers CD I liked them so much! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IvihpKNAxs
Here's a pic we took of them :D I am not sure where else you could buy their album but iTunes had it on their gracenotes database so I am assuming it is available/you could download it somewhere :)

Here's a few of the places we went to eat/drink:
http://www.lavacapaca.com/ LA VACA PACA! OMG 11Euros of all you can EAT DELICIOUSNESS! <<NGL it was amazing XD Picture of Ed trying to struggle a massive spoonful :P

Origens: http://www.lallavordelsorigens.com/ we had a lovely time here! It had such a beautiful decor and the food was really, really tasty (a bit small portions for my liking but nice!)

Margarita Blue: http://www.margaritablue.com/en/ This place was so quaint! So Spanish! So Gorgeous! We had lots of very tasty cocktails and enjoyed the live music from the band! We had two rounds of Chilli Nachos and a massive bowl of Patatas Bravas. We even had a free magician come round and entertain us too! (very, very nice place :3).

 http://www.museocerabcn.com/en/bosc.html
The Fairytale Bar! This bar is part of the wax museum and is a fairy's wood and cave inside! with a little river/pond thing and it's so atmospheric it's lush! The drinks were by far THE most expensive of anywhere we went, but you're paying to sit in the fantastic surroundings more than anything!

7Sins: This was the bar we went too more than once! http://www.7sinsbar.com/
It's got such a GORGEOUS interior, very sexy, very comfortable. Reasonably priced tapas and nice cocktails/shots. Very very nice service and just a place we had an awful lot of fun ;)

On our third day we went to the Basilica de la sagrada Familia We didn't go inside as it was 20euros to get in! But we got a good look from the outside and walked all the way around, looking at it in great detail in the sweltering heat! It was enjoyable and a sight definitely worth seeing, we ate the most delicious peaches on the way back to the hotel too! XD

You can see how busy it was!

On our 4th day we went to this Science museum (very similar to Intech, but on a much larger scale)
http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/cosmocaixabarcelona/cosmocaixabarcelona_ca.html
And it was truly AMAZING. They have this massive indoor swamp/jungle thing in which they can make it rain and it has the most beautiful huge fish! A Crocodile and turtles and things :3 Ahh! I loved it so much I could've spent all day easily just watching the fish! Plus! It was only 4euros entry each! Very cheap!

All down La Rambla (the main strip/street with everything on it) there are loads of people dressed as statues/weird things to try and make money. This one was actually outside of the Gaudi Parks but was by far the most weird. He was not sat on anything! He was crouched like that! And kept waving at us! D:
Very impressive. Fun but if you want your picture taken with one, be careful! It'll cost ya!











The market just off of La Rambla Street:

Thousands and thousands of Chilli's and Spices all stacked and bundled on top of each other :')

A SIGHT YOU HAVE TO SEE. So much variety, sweet as anything fruit pots and smoothies to eat there and then and beautiful rows and rows of meat, fish, veg, nuts, chocolates and more all laid out in this square market!

Another fantastic place Andy found for us, was this Massive Beautiful fountain!

It was quite a way out compared to other attractions (near the zoo) but was totally worth the walk and sweltering heat to get too!

Overall, we had such a good fun holiday and I really want to thank Annie, Andy & Ed for being the nicest people to travel with. LOVE YOU GUYS! xxx

If you want to see the outfits I wore you can here: http://tinyurl.com/lbeusvp
If you want to see the makeup I took with me you can here: http://tinyurl.com/publvhp
Please like my Facebook page (Januarybeautyful) if you haven't already! 

Quick Biology Trip to Leeson House :) -Left Today! +52WODN added in :)

So today (I've written this post a week in advance for today and scheduled-cos' I am so organised ;) ) I am off with the Biology Department from College to Leeson House (near Swanage) and fingers crossed the weather's really nice and held out for us! We're going to be carrying out a River Study, A Heath Land Study & a Sand Dune Study. I am not sure about you, but to me-that all sounds pretty GO! haha >.<

Apparently the accomodation is of a very high standard with lounges, games room and coffee bar-woah, when can we move in? haha! But the thing that's really excited me is the food....(of course!) The letter says, and I quote- "The centre provides a cooked breakfast, packed lunch and a 3-course evening meal." Omg, I am so looking forward to that! Especially considering this only cost us £90 for 3 days!

Now moving on to the bit I was really interested in...what we're advised to pack:
Trainers/shoes and wellies, Shirts/Tshirts, Trousers/Shorts, Underwear, Sock, Swimming Costume, Large Towel, Waterproof Coat, Warm hat, Gloves, Suncream, Sunglasses, Lip Salve, Sun Hat, Towel, Washcloth, Toothbrush/Paste, Soap/Shampoo, Hairbrush, Scrunches, pen, paper, book to read-?, disposable camera, notebook, small bag/backpack, water bottle, large plastic bag, bed linen: 2 pillowcases, undercover, sheet, duvet cover.

To be honest. This probably is around the right amount for stuff I would take! As we have no idea what the weather's going to be like/it can change pretty quick down here in the south, so, I kinda agree with the list. Although, I kinda wish we didn't have to take our own bedding :/ BUT at least I know its clean!


So, here's just some pictures of my makeup I've decided on taking (bareminerals and tinted moisturiser kind of took hold here) and pictures of my general other stuff....



My Makeup Bag I've just whacked everything in :D



Flipped over makeup bag :P

Everything I am taking laid out on my Aerosmith towel I am taking!



The LONG list of items and reasons for having them Claire sent out to all of us!

 I am pleased with my Large see through makeup bag though! (got this at Superdrug with 2 others inside it and this features in my Barcelona Posts too http://tinyurl.com/lbeusvp :)) It's just so big I can throw pretty much anything in it and it all fits! yippee! :P See y'all when I get back! I have other posts lined up so please check my blog as I may not have the wifi to link them all in on twitter and facebook :)



Now for my 52 weeks of delicious nails bit:

My Left Hand

My Left Hand & The Bottle :)

Cap etc & my Left Thumb :P x

Hope you guys liked it! xxx

Barcelona! Pt. 2 Makeup, Accessories and What I'll be taking with me!

So here we go for Part 2! I am just gonna jump straight in with Accessories (this includes Jewellery, sunglasses, things like that :P).

Sunglasses & Waterproof Bag :D

I have a lot of different pairs of sunnies but I think that these 3 are all so different they can rise to every style and occasion :) It just so happens that all of these are from Primark, as is the Waterproof Bag-Which I am so in love with!
It's made out of that weird soft jelly material (not like the weird kids' shoes :L) and I simply love the colour and everything, think it'll be great for holding my phone etc in when we go to the beach :)

Various Hair Clips, Necklaces etc.

 I think this is, like the sunglasses, a good mix of different styles and finishes. Yes most of it is Pink, but hey! What's wrong with adding touches of pink through your life?? :P

My Rings :)

 Here's a close up of the rings I was thinking of taking. I know Ed won't be overly happy of me taking more than one ring (the one we're promised to each other with) but I feel like these aren't fussy nor will they get caught or snag on anything. He should be proud as I normally have MASSIVE rings with me :P




 Now, for some bags...


Seeing as we're only taking Hand Luggage any bags I take need to be able to roll and fit into my carry-on (shown below). I think the Gaga Canvas bag (also from Primark, omg D:) will be easily stored away in my flight bag and also will be able to fit quite a bit in it, if needed!

I was also pondering on taking this Ed Hardy Bag (I can always shove knickers or something in it in my luggage) as I have actually taken this on practically every holiday I go on, it's useful as it's actually made of that cool lunch box type material and therefore you can shove a bottle of water in it and it won't go warm (well...too quickly anyway :P).

Lastly, my (ALSO PRIMARK :L) Rucksack-y type bag. I really like this bag as it's cute, made of very thin material so folds to very small and yet can carry and hold so much! -Love this :P




But, I shall have to discuss all of this with Ed...and I am pretty sure he'll just say the first Gaga bag and pool party clutch thingy... >.<







ONTO MAKEUP! (and a bit of skincare...)

Facial Products

Now, one thing that is hindering me slightly here, is that every has to be less than 100ml-due to us being cheapos and not wanting to pay £60 to put luggage in the hold :P I've decided that Tinted Moisturisers, Good Powders and a strong concealing kit are all I need...plus a bit of colorstay for a hot night out ;)
Pictured above (starting from very top and working clockwise) is Aveda's Mineral Tinted Moisturiser (my most favourite tinted moisturiser EVER!), Benefit's You Rebel-for beachy days only as it has a good SPF and little coverage...any pictures will be from far away and I can always mix a tad bit of colorstay to up the coverage if I need. Next up is Tarte's Amazonian BB Cream I WISH I HAD BOUGHT THE BIG ONE!!! I LOVE this :'( May have to see if I can buy one on eBay before I leave :P, Benefit's Perk Up Artist Mini Concealing Kit is up next! (containing a Bright Eyes, Lemon Aid & Boi-ing), Benefit's Hello Flawless Powder (though I'll probably be preferring my Green People Mineral Foundation Powder...). Revlon Colorstay (for oily skin...of course ;) ), M&S' Tinted Moisturiser (this is actually great!) and lastly, Boots' Skin Clear Range's Mattifying Lotion (no oil is escaping with a splodge of this baby :P).
Next up-COLOUR!

Colour Products

As it's going to be a beachy, night timey kind of holiday-I've decided to embrace the glow and go for softer creams that are highly pigmented. So, here we go (working from Top Left) Ted Baker Lip Balms (recieved as gift at Christmas)-these are actually really nicely pigmented and not overly balmy, I like them a lot. With that is sat a Rimmel Apocolips Lip Laquer (in Stellar) -This is obvs a matte lip colour and I thought that if I wanted to switch it up, this would be bright and bold enough to do it with! After that I have a Jordana lipgloss thingy which is just a gorgeous coral-ey orange, L'oreal Glam Shine lipgloss in "everlasting beige" in case I want a more nude lip and then all the Revlon Lip Butters I own (Cotton Candy , Peach Parfait & Candy Apple-I would buy more but I can't see them being used as I already own soo many different lip products :/). Benefit's Fine One One Cheek Color stick (this is such a gorgeous coral-ey peach colour and just Perfect for the beach :') Then we have a Revlon Photoready Cream Blush thing (not totally sure what they call it, nor the name of the colour) but this is just like a MAC Cream Blush-just a lot cheaper! Then, lastly, a Stila convertible colour in Gladiola (a true, bright orange that is very pigmented and lasts all day-really nice and glowey too...but is quite thick and slightly waxey so be warned!).


Moving onto EYE Products...

EYE-type Products

I've literally dreamt of Silver/Ice coloured bases with SPLASHES of Bright colours over the top! I now also have the Sleek Ultra Mattes V1 (Brights-Not Pictured) and plan on taking that too. Above there's the snapshots palette (left) and the Lagoon palette (right). In the middle I have a Maybelline Color Tattoo in the colour - , Benefit's Foiled Creaseless Cream (yes, it's a mini one!) and MAC's Bare Study Paint Pot as a more nudey base. I then have decided on Benefit's They're Real as the BEST mascara to take as not only can I get intense and dramatic looks out of it-but Waterproof ones too! (they say They're Real is "Water Flexible" but, yah, it's waterproof :P). I then also thought that, LOOK's Flirty Flick Liquid Liner is perfect too! This DOES NOT BUDGE!!! It's crazy! Love It XD. Lastly, I added MUA's Undress me too Palette (when packing) as I thought it's just perfect for shimmerey soft nudes if I feel like doing that one day :D

Everything in Bags :')

All my Clothes that fit in my Suitcase just thrown on my bed! haha, it all fits Thank GOD! :D

So that's it! All packed up and ready to rumble!! I am so excited as there's a massive long list of things to do and places to see! If you didn't see part 1 of this post all my clothes you can here:

I hope the weather's nice while we're away but I can't lie I am soooo looking forward to instant sunshine! Keep an eye out for my posts while I am away (as I don't think I can get to a pc) I have lots of random cool things coming up like a make-up artists' bag I found for under a fiver! A Makeup Storage post and of course, my normal 52WODN post :) xx