August through Instagram

It's only really since I've been putting together a summary of each month on here that I realise how quickly we are powering towards the tail end of 2015! Shit! Help me, I want to get off! 

I hold my hand up, I got all festive a few days ago and had to listen to some Christmas music just to slap it out of my system. And then The Holiday was on ITV so naturally my efforts to not feel Christmassy were completely futile. Literally inches away from putting up the tre-...snap out of it! 

1. Outside the Shaftsbury Theatre with Laura and Helen after seeing Memphis! It was such an amazing day and the show was like nothing I've seen on stage before. I have a cheeky blog post coming up for you later this week. 

2. This one's a bit dark but I took this while me and my friend Nikki were on a little late night road trip. While she popped out to put something in the bin (living the high life right there), I decided to strap the 4ft long white tiger that was across the back seats into the driver's seat. I would like to just confirm that no, Percival (the tiger) does not have a driving license, and therefore didn't actually drive us home.

3. Note: this is not my onesie! My family went to Italy and left me at home to my own devices. Here I am spending my day as only I know best...in my sister's pug onesie. It's so freaking comfy! 

4. The family are in Italy, so I decided to treat myself to some fresh pasta. Who needs 10 days in Naples...?

5. My friend posted this on Instagram  and it just spoke to my heart. Story of my god damn life. But it's definitely a good lesson to bare in mind, if someone can't spare a bit of their time to make an effort with you, then they sure as hell shouldn't expect any of your time and energy. You deserve more than that sister. Cyber high five right there! 

6. I love getting free things from work. I was sent on a skincare training course and came away with these goodies so that I could put into context all of the things I had learned. They have certainly helped me to figure it all out but they've also been fantastic on my skin. Winning. 

7. And from one lush training bundle to a proper little haul. I have a blog post coming up on these so I won't go into any detail in them. But basically I really wanted to pick up some more of the Lush Summer goodies...so basically I did. No shame. 

8. I'm increasingly becoming more of a selfie person. This one is actually from last night, as Holly and I decided to celebrate bank holiday Sunday (again). I never wear this much make up or make up that's this bold, but I actually love it. I just switched up my everyday look with some Urban Decay lipstick in Shame and the dark end of my Naked palette (somewhere that I have never before wandered into). 

9. And finally, a pre-taxi selfie! Aren't we cuties? We had a fab night, there wasn't too much trouble out in town so it wasn't too bad and we had a good night. Despite the rain. Bah-humbug. 

A Few Empties #2

My family doesn't understand why I keep a large brown paper bag at the bottom of my bed to throw used up products in. The answer is simple...so that I can share with you my empties, of course! So here we are, 9 items that I've recently used up and whether they are worth spending your precise time and money on. 

Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Hair Conditioner (£1)

I get through a lot of conditioner...like really. A LOT. So because my long hair, especially the ends, desperately needs some serious conditioning on a regular basis, I prefer to buy a cheaper conditioner so that I don't have to worry about how much I use. And this really hits the spot. At literally £1 a bottle, you really can't go wrong. It's super moisturising and has a gorgeous coconut smell. 

Boots Botanics All Bright Hydrating Day Cream (£2.49 on offer)

In my last empties post you might have seen that I have already made my way through a pot of the Radiant Youth protecting day cream, and I actually picked this one up at the same time. I was drawn to both creams because of having SPF 15 and their low preservative content, however I was a little put off this one as it contains hibiscus, which naturally contains AHAs, meaning that I would still need to apply a sunscreen anyway. What's the point in having an SPF then?! But actually, having worked my way through the pot, it wasn't too heavy and was super brightening (that's the AHAs I guess) so I did actually go out and repurchase. 

The Body Shop Satsuma Body Butter (£14 for 200ml)

We all love a good body butter and The Body Shop never disappoint! This had a beautiful consistency and left my skin feeling super soft. Although these seem to go a long way, I always manage to finish a pot really quickly, which can be an expensive habit at £14 a throw. Oopsie. I would definitely pick up more of these, however probably in the different scent, as although it was a lovely orange smell, I personally am not an orange person. Says the girl with an orange car, but you get where I'm coming from...

CoLAB Dry Shampoo in Paris (£1.99 for 50ml)

I really enjoy CoLAB dry shampoos. I'm not going to lie, I prefer other brands, however if you're looking for something effective but not too expensive then this is a pretty good choice. I didn't leave my hair with that ashy look, that you quite often find with dry shampoos, but it did help to sort out any slightly greasy patches of hair and also helped give a little bit of a volume injection too. Winning. In my opinion, the sweet but floral Paris scent is one of the nicest of the Co LAB range.

Café de Bain Bath Creme in Cherry and Almond (£2.99 at full price)

I was recommended this by my gorgeous friend Leanne, who ranks the smell of cherry bakewells just as highly as I do in the chart of best smells in the world. I had to get one. It was a complete bargain as I picked it up for only £1.99 as they had a promotion on in Superdrug. I think I got about 5 0r 6 bubble baths out of the bottle and it really does smell as beautiful as you want it to. 

Lush Rehab Shampoo (£5.50 for 100ml)

I use this as a clarifying shampoo whenever I need a bit of help reducing any product build up. I used to really struggle with greasy roots and this is a really great for sorting it out! You expect it to be really fruity, however this is actually a peppermint oil filled shampoo and has that cool minty tingle on your scalp. One word: Amazing!

Lush Gorgeous Moisturiser (£42.50 for 45g full sized pot) 

This is exactly what it says on the tin- gorgeous. I only had a tiny sample pot of this but it lasted me about 2 weeks, and I moisturise at least twice daily, so this really does go a long way. I have never encountered a better face cream and I'm waiting for payday to purchase myself a full sized pot. Really moisturising but not too heavy, I would probably compare this to angels licking your face...I joke of course, but it is beautiful.

Lush Life's A Beach Body Scrub Powder (£12.50 for 400g box)

A Lush newbie here, the vanilla scented sea salt and sand scrub powder, actually comes in a box (so don't expect a black pot) and was one of the Oxford Street exclusives that has been dished out nationwide. It's very very bizarre using a scrub powder rather than a scrub in a cream or a gel but it was super exfoliating and fantastic for preparing skin for fake tan! It's difficult at first to gauge how much to use but after a few go's I had it sussed (mega achievement there Sian). 

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Eau De Parfum (£49 for 50ml)

For the past 2 or 3 years, this has been my go to daytime perfume. It's sweet but still a light fragrance and always makes me feel ready to take on the day. I'm trying something else since this one has run out, but I shall definitely be picking up another bottle soon. 

On feeling inadequate yet uninspired...

It's been a ghost town on A Little Space for Elphie recently, but over the past few weeks my life has been anything but. I've been one busy bunny. And now I am one very tired not-so-busy bunny. Naturally, having nothing to do right now, I thought that I should reconnect with my very neglected blog...this is proving to be difficult.

I'll fill you in on the situation...I currently have 4 unfinished posts just waiting to be completed and let out onto the big scary world wide wed but I can't bring myself to finish a single one of them. Seriously, I add a line and then click save and close. Help.

I just can't help it and I don't know what to do about it. On one hand I want my blog to be humorous yet interesting, with a gorgeous clean blog design and healthy traffic figures, on the other hand I just feel like packing it all in and abandoning ship. I look back at my previous posts and some of them are good, but most are mediocre at best. Then I look at my page view figures and I'm lucky to get 40 views on a post...it feels like, what's the point in talking when no one is listening?

It feels hopeless, I have zero motivation to post anything on here at all, let alone post the sort of material that I aspire to produce. So it feels like any efforts to continue would be futile. I look at, my friend, Milly's blog and I envy her gorgeous layout and signature. I hear about my friend, Leanne's successes with her blog and see her brand new fabulous YouTube channel. And then I'm just sat here with my 3 subscribers.

This post is very VERY woe is me (for that I apologise), and yet life is not bad: my family is good, I start a new job in a week and I had a chocolate muffin today. Life is not bad. At all. But still I can't help but feel low and like I'm severly lacking in anything to shout about.

So, as you have definitely gathered by now, there is no point to this post at all (except at least it is a completed post), the rut that I am in is that I feel inadequate but have no motivation or will-power to do anything about it. At this moment in time I only see the negatives, the fact that I've gained 9 pounds since being single despite having lost 2 stone beforehand, the fact that my last blog post only had 22 page views despite bumping into an old friend in town a few days ago who told me how she religiously follows my posts, and many other personal limitations that are figments of my imagination, including: my fake blonde hair complete with shocking roots and lack of personal achievement even though last night my charity concert raised over £700...

For now, I am not having fun. But normal service will be resumed ASAP and I promise that I shall try not to post depressive posts like this again...

(Even that last promise feels pointless, who am I promising it to? Is anyone even there?)

Summer Holiday Saviours

We all love a good week in the sun, and I am no exception! I've been back from my Tenerife holiday for just over a week now so I thought I would share with you some of my holiday saviours! You may notice that pretty much everything in the photo above is in miniature, and that's purely because I travelled with only hand luggage, so everything needed to fit in my liquid allowance- it also meant that I had to be VERY selective on what I took with me! But thank goodness for these little cuties!

Charles Worthington Sunshine Protector Leave In Spray- Where would I have been without this? I spritzed this onto my damp hair after a shower and brushed it through using my tangle teaser. It worked fabulously as a replacement hair serum (as my hair gets so knotty and frizzy) but also really did protect my hair from the effects of the heat and UVA exposure. And a bonus is that I honestly believe that it's this that stopped by very blonde hair from turning green in the chlorine!

Vosene Shampoo- This shampoo was there for me when I needed something strong and powerful to cleanse my hair. Thank you! The bottle I was using is actually the head lice repellant for kids, which might not sound that attractive, however it worked wonders for clearing my hair of holiday build up.

American Cream Hair Conditioner- I got through a whole bottle of this in the week I was on holiday. Normally I would use something cheap but super moisturising for the ends of my hair as they get very dry and vile looking, so that I can use as much product as I want/need to. However I thought I'd treat myself to a bottle of this for the sake of my holiday because it smells amazing, like strawberry and vanilla milkshake! Winning!

MUA Mega Volume Waterproof Mascara-Right...with this one, I absolutely hated the formula, it needed about 5 coats just to look like you were wearing mascara, which for me is just too much effort. However once it was on (all 5 coats of it), it looked really good and was great for swimming as it didn't budge! Nothing worse than a waterproof mascara that ends up swimming down your face. 

Palmer's Cocoa Butter- This is the solid one. Like it comes in the pot as a solid piece of cocoa butter. Strange and awkward to use at first but actually I love it! It smells of chocolate, is super moisturising and was fantastic on sunburn. I used SO much of this while away and it's been fantastic since coming home for keeping up the tan (what little of one I have). I would just give the heads up to anyone who suffers from really bad prickly heat rash (like me), this can be really heavy and seemed to make my prickly heat worse (although was fantastic on my skin in general).

Lush Sesame Suntan Lotion- I was addicted to this last summer when it was first released, and I love it just as much this year too! It's SPF 10 and as well as protecting against the sun, it also contains aloe vera so is really soothing on any patches of skin that are feeling a bit over sun kissed (yeah, I mean burned). 

Malin+Goetz Grapefruit Cleanser- I got this in the Capital FM beauty box from Latest in Beauty and took it to Tenerife purely based on the tiny size of the bottle. But I was pleasantly surprised, I left my skin feeling clean, but not tight, and was great for using as part of a 'hot cloth' cleansing routine! Love it!

What are your summer holiday essentials? Have a happy holiday!

Mini Lush Summer 2015 haul!

When Lush say that they are bringing out new and exciting things, they never fail to disappoint! As soon as I heard that some of the Lush Oxford Street exclusives would be heading into stores nationwide I literally couldn't contain my excitement! And today was the day...

So I spent some money...just a bit...and I now have some goodies to show for it. I picked up 5 new bathing treats: 3 bath bombs and 2 bubble bars (admittedly two of the same kind, but I really liked it so...). 

Firstly, I picked up another of The Experimentor bath bombs. I'd had this some colourful glitter-filled ballistic before and couldn't resist picking up another! 

Next I chose the light blue Frozen bath bomb. Another glittery bath- of course. But this time a relaxing grapefruit and neroli scented treat. I love how this one isn't too sweet or floral, it just has a really gentle soothing sort of scent, perfect for just before bed.

I was drawn to Intergalactic 1) because of it's peppermint scent, and 2) because this looks freaking amazing in the water with its blue, green and purple colours and the glitter floating through it (notice a glitter theme forming here). 

Lastly, I picked up two Milky Bath bubble bars. This one contains skimmed milk and Fair Trade organic cocoa butter from the Dominican Republic. I love the scent of this one and after a friend told me how much she enjoyed it, I had to get it. And then after further consideration, I made that two! 

Have you looked at the Lush Summer 2015 collection? What are your favourites?