Ariana Grande: Sweet Like Candy Perfume Review...

Hey everybody!

So I recently picked up Ariana's new perfume 'Sweet Like Candy' after waiting for ages for it to be released in the Uk. I already have her other perfume, 'Ari', which I love, so I had high hopes for this one too. I got the 50ml bottle which retails for £30 at Boots.

I think the packaging for this product is really cute! She is still following the same theme with all her perfume bottles which I think brings the brand together nicely. I like that you can take the pom pom off of the bottles, this makes it easier for travelling and allows you to put the pom pom on other things if you wish too. The only downfall which the packaging for 'Sweet Like Candy', is that you cannot see into the bottle. Therefore you have no idea when you are running out, so you just have to guess. This is an inconvenience but it wouldn't put me off buying the product.

The scent is a lot sweeter compared to her first perfume and again is quite hard to describe. I find that this perfume also lasts a lot longer on your skin compared to her other one. This is better as you are getting more for your money because you are not wasting as much product. I don't know whether Ariana has changed the formula to make it more long lasting or if it is due to the scent being a lot sweeter and stronger.

When you buy the 50ml or 100ml 'Sweet Like Candy' perfume from Boots, you also get a free gift. You get some super cosy pyjama shorts, they are so fluffy and warm I'm obsessed! You also get a water bottle that says 'Team Ariana' on the side. The gift is subject to availability so you have to be quick if you want it!

Overall, I love this new perfume and would definitely would recommend it. 

Ellie xxx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie/videos
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart

The Liebster Award...

Hi everyone!

So I was recently nominated by Leonie for the Liebster award, which is basically a tag where you share 11 facts about yourself and then you answer 11 questions that the previous blogger has left you. So thank you Leonie for nominating me!

The rules for the tag are:

1. Post 11 facts about yourself
2. Answer 11 questions that the nominator has asked
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers
4. Give them 11 questions to answer
5. Let the blogger know that you have nominated them

So lets get started!

11 facts about me:

1. I have green/blue eyes and medium length light brown hair, I'm actually growing my hair because I want to cut it and send it to a charity that make wigs for poorly children!
2. I love photography and am always taking pictures wherever I go.
3. I would love to travel more and I would love to go back to America again soon.
4. I love the whole Ballinger family and I met Colleen, Rachel, Gwen, Tim and Kory in London exactly one month ago, which made me very happy!
5. My favourite tv shows are Dance Moms, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Made in Chelsea.
6. I love Ariana Grande and I hope to get tickets to see her on her European tour.
7. I am constantly singing and I love to belt out Disney songs when I'm home alone.
8. People used to think that Leonie and I were twins, even our teachers would get us muddled, so we played along to confuse everyone.
9. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with, it makes me so happy.
10. I love to cook and bake in my spare time.
11. I am a huge animal fan and I am convinced that I am going to be a crazy dog lady when I'm older.

11 questions for me:

1. Who is someone that inspires you?

Okay so you probably know the answer to this one...Colleen Ballinger-Evans. She is always so positive and spreads happiness all the time which I think is so important. She takes time out of her day to interact with fans which not a lot of people do. When I met her, she was the exact same person you see in videos, there is nothing fake about her at all. However, I also get inspired by the people around me. I like to surround myself with positive people that make me a better person.

2. If you were to create another blog, what do you think it would mainly be about?

That is a difficult one because I don't think it would be any different to this one. I would probably write some more posts that were inspiring or gave some more life advice as I personally love reading those types of posts.

3. What is one thing you aspire to be?

Happy.

4. Where is your phone right now?

Right next to me, charging. I am currently snapchatting Leonie.

5. When was the last time you proved yourself wrong?

I'm not too sure! I love when I get really nervous about something, or worry about about it a lot and then I do it and it's not as bad as I think. I like when I step out of my comfort zone and get over my shyness.

6. How many concerts have you been too?

5, soon to be 6. I have been too; Jessie J, One Direction, Radio 2 Festival in a day, Lily Allen and Capital Summertime Ball. I am seeing Shawn Mendes in June as well.

7. Which one are you? A pen writer or pencil writer?

Pen! I hate writing in pencil!

8. Are you excited or worried to see what the future will bring, why?

A bit of both. I'm worried because I have no clue what I want to do with my life but I am excited to travel, educate myself, laugh, love, work etc.

9. Would you describe yourself as a brave being or a fearful fella?
Again, I would say a bit of both. If you read my post about my fears, then you will know that I get scared easily. However, I can be quite brave when I want to be, when I'm in the right mindset, I love stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something that I wouldn't normally do.

10. Do you believe in Ghosts? If so, any spooky stories to tell?
Yes I do! I once saw a ghost in my bathroom, it didn't look like anything in particular, but it was almost like a cloud. It wasn't steam either as it was during the day and the shower hadn't been on. I also feel a presence looking over me and the candles flicker really weirdly in my room. I find ghosts and spirits quite interesting and I really want to do a Ouija board!

11. Have you ever overcame one of your fears?
There isn't a moment that really sticks out for me no, but I have got a lot braver when it comes to swimming in the sea. I can swim a bit more and don't feel quite as nervous, unless I'm on a pedalo or kayak away from the shore.

The 11 bloggers I nominate are:

Amy's Life
Geraldine's Wonderful World
Amy
Sarah Goswell
Lily Lea
Kirsty Angela
Charlotte
Laura
Izzy
Lauryn
Lexi

My 11 questions for you:
1. What is your dream job?
2. What is your biggest fear?
3. What is one song that makes you happy and that you can play over and over again?
4. Favourite memory during school/college/university?
5. Where in the world would you most like to travel too? Why?
6. Are there any bloggers that you love to read and inspire you?
7. If you could have dinner with any famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
8. Favourite social media?
9. Who/what inspires you the most?
10. Favourite ice cream flavour?
11. What is one thing that you wish you could tell your younger self?

If I didn't tag you but you still want to do the tag, then you are more than welcome to use my questions.

Ellie xxx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie/videos
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart

Things that made me happy this week...

Hi Everyone!

For me, I find being happy quite hard, and although I may always seem smiley and bubbly, the majority of time I'm not feeling like that on the inside. However, over the past 6 months, my happiness and confidence has improved so much which I think is mostly due to my job and the people I surround myself with. So I thought I would do a weekly blog post on things that have made me happy during the week to remind myself of things that have happened whenever I am feeling a bit down. I have found this week a bit difficult and I was fed up of feeling sad. So with that said, here are the things that made me happy this week...

• My Dad came home from America. He went away for a week to do a charity event in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I know he was only gone for a week, but my Dad and I are very close so I missed him a lot! He also bought home a tonne of crazy flavoured Oreos so that is a huge plus too! 

• I managed to get tickets to see Shawn Mendes in June at the O2. I'm going with Leonie and Annabel from work and 2 of her friends. I can't wait!

• Colleen Evans liked two of my tweets of me shading her and it made me laugh! I miss her a lot!

• Rachel Ballinger followed, liked my tweet and Dm'ed me four times on twitter and I couldn't stop shaking, she made me so happy!

• My manager at work was really impressed with some things I did at work and said some really nice things to me. She is always lovely but when your manager says that you're doing a good job then it kinda means a lot and made me very happy! So thanks Amy :)

• My Nan got some great news on her house which means she can now move closer to us. I'm so happy to see her more than I do now. I will most likely be round every other day for tea (sorry Nan!)

What has made you happy this week?

Ellie xx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie/featured

Instagram: cottoncxndyheart

Sharing my fears...

Hi everyone!

Today I want to discuss some of my fears as I think it would be interesting to see if any of you share the same. My best friend Leonie, actually wrote this blog post during her 31 day blog post challenge. I really enjoyed her post and it got me thinking about some of my fears so I thought I would share mine with you. I always think fear itself is quite an unusual concept if you think about it. Some of these fears we have may never happen to us or hurt us, but our mind makes us believe that they are scary and horrible. 

My first fear which is probably my biggest fear and is something that affects me almost everyday and it is the fear of getting locked in or trapped somewhere. I don't mean getting locked in your house, but getting locked into places that are very difficult to get out of. For example, I really don't like using public bathrooms as I am terrified that I will get locked in the toilet cubicle. Whenever I use a toilet cubicle, I always have to work out how I will escape if the lock gets stuck and I cant get out. I also hate using elevators and will only use them if I really have too. The fear of the elevator breaking and getting trapped freaks me out so much. I do get claustrophobic in these situations which can make me feel very overwhelmed.

My second fear is of bugs. This is a pretty common fear and is not something that affects me too much, I also use the term 'bugs' very lightly. I actually mean Spiders and Moths. I hate spiders and I hate it when you get those really big fast moving ones. I have had many a heart attack while trying to get rid of a spider using a glass and the spider has fallen out onto me. However, to an extent I can deal with a couple of spiders. Moths, on the other hand, I cannot! I am terrified of Moths and I do believe that they are the spawn of satan. If there is a moth in a room, chances are that I am not in the room either as I would have run out screaming a couple of seconds earlier. I dislike Moths as I feel like they don't have their life together, they can never make their mind up over which direction they want to fly in. Instead they just fly in multiple directions and end up flying into you in the process. No thank you!

My third fear is of the sea. I don't mind paddling in the sea but I don't like swimming in the sea. I don't like the fact I cant see where I am putting my feet and I never know what I could be stepping on. I always tend to injure myself in one way or another when I am at the beach too which also doesn't help. I have a huge fear of drowning or of boats sinking. Whenever I go on a boat trip, I always make sure I am outside so that I can easily escape if anything does happen. I'm scared of kayaking and canoeing on the sea too as I am scared I will capsize and drown. If there is someone else in my kayak with me then I feel a lot safer. For some reason, doing all of the above activities on a lake or river feels completely different and I love it!

My fourth fear is of Bears. I never knew this was a fear of mine until I was put into a situation where I could become vulnerable to it. When I went too America last year, one of the places we travelled too were the White Mountains near North Conway aka the prettiest place I have ever been! We wanted to go hiking and I was so excited to explore and do some exercise. However, before we started the hike, we had to read lots of information on Bears and how we must act if we are ever approached by one. This made me really nervous and I became incredibly paranoid of my surroundings as we started our hike. I got myself overly worked up and I started to panic. We couldn't finish the hike as I convinced myself that I was going to get eaten so I refused to go any further. I didn't see a Bear during my whole holiday but the thought and fear was still just as strong.

My fifth fear is of tablets. I hate taking tablets and I won't take medicine unless I really feel I have too or I am in a lot of pain. I am so scared that a tablet will get stuck in my throat so it takes me ages to actually swallow them. I have so much difficulty that I usually end up chewing them - which tastes disgusting!

My sixth fear is of clowns. I hate that everything about them is so fake, you don't know who the actual person underneath is. They are just all round creepy.

My final fear is a bit deep, but I have a fear of failure. I am scared about not succeeding in education, in work and life in general. I always fear that I am going to let other people down if I fail at something.

So those are my fears, what are yours?

Ellie xxx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges Review...

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to review the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges. I know I am quite late to this product as they have been around for ages, but I have never used sponges for my makeup before so I was curious to try them.

These retail at Boots for £5.99 for one or you can get a pack of two for £9.99. I got the pack of two as I knew I needed more than one and it works out cheaper if you buy the multipack. 

The first thing I noticed when I got them out of the packet was how soft they were. I knew instantly that these would be good as they weren't rough or harsh on your skin. They don't hurt your skin or irritate it when you're applying makeup.

The sponges are angled in a way that makes them multi-purpose which is perfect for blending foundation and concealer into every angle of your face. I personally prefer how my makeup looks when I blend it with the sponges as I feel it gives a more flawless finish and doesn't leave streak marks like some brushes do. I also feels it give you higher coverage as the makeup is blended directly to the part of the face that you want it and not spread all over. However, the only downfall to this is that sometimes when you sweat it can make your foundation look a bit odd and slide down your face which doesn't look nice. You can reduce this though by making sure you use a primer and setting spray. I recommend the Max Factor FaceFinity Primer.

A lot of product also gets stuck in the sponge so you have to be careful about what you use else you could be wasting a lot of foundation, hence why in my photo, they are dirty. They are also hard to clean, being a sponge that absorbs water, you are going to have some difficulty. Due to this, the packet actually states that you should replace your sponges every month. This makes the overall cost of the product way more expensive compared to your regular makeup brush that you can wash and reuse. I try and use a mix of my brush and sponge on alternating days, this helps me get better use out of it. 

Overall, I would repurchase the sponges as I think they blend your makeup so well and I love how my makeup looks when I use the sponge. However I will buy them as more of a treat product every other month to save money and either use brushes or other cheaper sponges instead.

Ellie xxx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie/featured
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart 

Get To Know Me Tag!

Hi everyone!

I was nominated by prettyrainclouds to do the 'get to know me tag' so thank you Leonie for nominating me! Make sure you all go check out her blog. I have done a similar post to this before on my blog, in fact it was my first ever post over 2 years ago! So I guess it is time I do an updated version so you can all get to know me a bit better, especially for all my new readers.

1. How old are you?
I am 18 years old and my birthday is the 3rd January. 

2. Tea or Coffee?
Neither, I'm definitely not your typical Brit! The only hot drink I really like is Hot Chocolate with lots of mini marshmallows!

3. Are you allergic to anything?
I'm allergic to Cats and I can have quite a bad reaction if I am around them for a long time, but it doesn't really bother me as I am much more of a Dog person! I am also allergic to face masks so I have to be really careful about what creams and skincare items I use.

4.Favourite social media?
This is a difficult one, I guess I probably should say YouTube as I post videos every Sunday. However, I am super obsessed with Instagram and Snapchat.

5. Best thing to eat for breakfast?
I'm not a huge breakfast lover so I'm going to be basic and say Granola! 

6. Favourite YouTubers?
How can I pick just one! I love Colleen Evans, Miranda Sings, Rachel Ballinger, Kory DeSoto, Rebecca Zamolo and Joshua Evans.

7. Favourite Bloggers?
I have so many, but I really love Prettyrainclouds, Amy's Life, and Geraldine's Wonderful World.

8. Do you play any instruments?
I do! I can play the Keyboard and I am teaching myself how to play the Ukulele - I love it!

9. Are you a righty or a lefty?
I am a righty.

10. Do you remember your dreams?
I usually remember my scary dreams even if I had them years ago!

11. City Girl or Country Girl?
This is a hard one! I love going out for long walks in the country but I also love being in the hustle and bustle of the city so I would probably say city!

12. Do you have any siblings?
I have one older brother,

13. Can you whistle?
Not really, sometimes if I am looking after a dog I can whistle for them to come to me but I can't whistle a tune.

14. Lush vs Bath and Body Works?
I would say Lush purely because we don't have Bath and Body Works in the Uk. However, every time I go too America, I pretty much buy the whole store so I think Bath and Body Works comes out on top!

15. Favourite Season?
Autumn/Fall. I love everything about it! The colours are so pretty and I love going for long walks with all the leaves on the ground. I also love being able to wear cosy jumpers but it still being warm enough to go outside without a coat.

16. What was your least favourite subject at school?
I actually really enjoyed School but my least favourite subjects were Maths and Science. I found Science interesting but I was just never very good at it. I have always been much more of an English and History girl!

17. Do you sing in the shower?
I sometimes put on my music while I shower and sing along but I am always singing, regardless of what I am doing I will be singing! I'm not a good singer, I just enjoy it!

18. Favourite food?
Any Mexican food I will devour! I also really love Pizza and Pasta!

19. How do you vent your anger?
I usually write it down, I keep a journal where if I feel really mad or sad I just write about it and it really helps. I rarely tell people how I feel so it is a lot better to write it down than just keep it in. I rarely get angry, I get annoyed but never angry.

20. Converse or Vans?
Vans 100%! I have some Disney Vans with Minnie Mouse on them and they are my favourite shoes, I wear them everywhere!

That is the end of this tag, I hope you all enjoyed! I am not going to tag anyone specifically, instead I tag anyone who is reading this. Let me know if you do do the tag, I would love to get to know you all more!

Ellie xxx

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart

Spain: Calpe Travel Diary...

Hi everyone!

For our summer holiday this year, we decided to go to Spain for a week. This was a bit of a last minute booking due to various personal reasons but it worked out okay! I have only been to Spain a couple of times when I was a lot younger so I don't really remember any of it. The specific area we travelled too was Calpe, which is located in the south of Spain, about an hours drive from Alicante. Spain has never been a top travel destination for me but I was excited about going somewhere different and I had a really good time.

We flew from Gatwick to Alicante at 17:30, I don't really like flying too much but the plane journey went really quickly especially as I have been used to flying too and from America for the past 3 years! When we landed it was already dark so I didn't see much of my surroundings but it was still super warm! We picked up our hire car and drove to my Gran's house where we would be staying for the night.

Our holiday mostly consisted of going swimming in the pool and going to the beach, mainly because it was far too hot to do anything else! It was nice to have a week to relax and chill out but I did miss doing lots of activities!

One evening after dinner, we decided to walk back to our apartment along the promenade by the beach. It took us about an hour as we kept on stopping and looking in all the little shops. The one great thing about Calpe is that the majority of the shops along the seafront are open really late due to it being too hot during the day, I ended up doing a bit of shopping at 1am - oops! We also stumbled across a place that do fish pedicures so we decided to have a go. I have had a fish pedicure before, so I knew what to expect, my parents on the other hand, didn't. It was so funny watching them squirm as the fish tickled their feet. It is a weird experience I'm not going to lie but your feet do feel quite soft afterwards.

Whenever I travel somewhere, I love to explore and discover lots of new places. One day, we were out and found a huge lake that was filled with pink Flamingos! I have never seen a Flamingo in the wild before so it was really cool to see! My Gran told us that during the summer months, the Flamingos move to Spain from Africa as it is slightly cooler for them.

We also walked through the old town of Calpe. This was very pretty as all the roads were cobbled with narrow alleyways and the houses were almost on top of each other. It was very aesthetically pleasing especially if you're a bit of a photography nerd like me!

Throughout the course of the trip, I probably consumed my weight in vegetable Paella and chocolate covered Oreos, so I guess you could say it was a pretty good holiday!

The only downfall was on our way home, our flight was delayed by 2 and a half hours so I had to entertain myself in an empty airport at midnight!

Where did you go on holiday this year?

Ellie xxx

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HeartbeatEllie
Instagram: cottoncxndyheart