Best Places to Buy Books Cheap| It's Carenza B

Hello!
So today I have another book themed post but today I thought I'd share some advice I have learnt from being a book hoarder. I feel that I have learnt were to buy good cheap books and I thought I'd share it with you guys. Also when this post goes live, my blog will have been viewed more than 1000 times which is insane. I couldn't believe it when I checked it this morning! It would mean so much to me if you guys followed my blog so you can be notified when I post, but without further a do here is the post! Enjoy!

The first place to buy good cheap books are Charity Shops and Second hand book shops, this may seem obvious but seriously you get some epic book deals. The best time to get books is sadly when the shop is shutting down and they are trying to get rid of there stock. Before Christmas, my mum and I went to a charity shop that was closing down, and we got 4 books for £1. I do feel sorry that these shops were shutting but the money goes to a good cause and you get books for donating money. I would also recommend giving any old books to charity shops as you don't know who could get joy out of them.

The next place to buy good cheap books is the Works, now I know that this is a thing in the UK but I'm not sure were else it is. The Works is amazing for book deals, I got the Maze Runner series reduced to £9.99 for £34.99! I saved £25, which is insane. You can also get some good 2 for £10 deals as well, but these tend to be for trilogy's. If you live in the UK and are on a book budget, hit The Works and you will walk away with some series deals that won't damage your bank balance!

Finally, we have Amazon. Amazon is great for buying books as once the book has been out for a while, they will take the price down to get it to sell. I bought The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire direct from the Dan and Phil shop and is cost me £18 but on Amazon it cost around £10! If you are wanting to buy a Youtube/ Blogger book don't buy through there website as it will cost a fortune. Amazon often have sales and books are often reduced in them, I got the new Harry Potter illustrated book for £15, which was half price!

So that is the post for today, sorry it's a bit short and different, I've  had a very long week! I hope you liked it and leave a comment saying were you get good cheap books, don't forget to follow my Instagram and Twitter (@itscarenzab). If you have any requests, please email me on my Business Email- itscarenzab@gmail.com. I hope you have enjoyed the posts I have uploaded this month, I have really enjoyed it and have had so much fun writing them. I have lots of fun posts planned for February!
Carenza x   

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass Review| It's Carenza B

Hello!
So if you didn't read my birthday book haul, then you won't know that I bought Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. Anyway, 2 months later I finally got round to picking it up and reading it. I instantly fell in love, it was a brilliant read and had me hooked from the start. I think I finished it about a month ago*, which isn't as fast as I would usually read a book. I have even pushed Harry Potter to one side so I can read this series, and I'm glad I did. If you haven't read it, then I urge you to do so as it is a bloody good read! So without further a do, here is my review!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then you'll know I want to start a book review series, this post is kind of a trial post to see if you guys like it. Also I want to clarify that this review will be as spoil free as I can make it.

* I read this in October and planned to put it up in November/December, but I became super busy so I had to push it back to January so in real fact when this goes up it will have been around 3 months since I read it*

Cover Design

So it seems only right to start with the cover as that is the first thing you see when picking up a book, now I know it's wrong to judge a book by its cover but this cover is beautiful! Just look at it! The title is embossed with silver lettering, and the blue glow around the girl on the cover. I love how it is on a white background as it makes the title stand out and go "look at me!". Overall, I rate the cover 5/5.

Blurb

Not only is the front cover beyond beautiful, the blurb is too! It's the same girl as the front but from the back. Instead of being dressed in combat gear she is dressed in this beautiful dress. I love the pale blue tint to the image and how it makes her look like she is glowing.

Plot

OMG, the plot. How do I even began to describe the plot without ruining it?? The plot follows the life of Celaena Sardothien, an 18 year old assassin in the fictional kingdom of Adarlan. After a year in a slave camp, Celaena finds herself in front of the prince who offers her freedom by competing to become the Kings assassin. As the only female in the competition, she finds herself up against an assortment of criminals. During her time in the palace Celaena becomes close with the Captain of the royal Guard, Chaol and the crown prince, Dorian. As she makes her way through the competition, several fellow criminals are mysteriously wind up being killed in the most brutal way. Celaena must now survive the attacks and the competition. Not only must she survive being attacked, she must figure out who her heart belongs to and pick one of two dashing men who care about her deeply.

Characters 

 In a Throne of Glass there are lots of lovable characters that you meet and get to know as the books go on. I am going to tell you some of my favourites and some I think you need to know about. Obviously, I have to talk about Celaena. Celaena, in my opinion, is the queen of bad-asses. I absolutely love her, in a competition dominated by men she manages to shine and overcome them. There have been lots of traumas in her past that have made her who she is and this adds to her personality. Although she finds the competition hard and hates the idea of working for the king, she manages to persevere in order to gain her freedom. I love books with strong female characters and this has easily become one of my fave book series ever. She doesn't let anything stop her and works for what she wants not what others want.

The next character I want to talk about is Chaol Westfall, he is the Captain of the Kings guard and is really young for his position. Throughout the book you learn reasons why he is the Captain and things about his past. At first I wasn't to keen on him and saw him as a bit of a thug, but you soon come to realise that he cares deeply for Celaena and Dorian, who I will talk about next. You also learn that he works well with Celaena even though they fight a lot at first, he takes great interest in her training throughout the competition.

Next we have Dorian Havilliard, Crown Prince of Ardalan. Again, like Chaol I wasn't wowed over by him, seeing him as an arrogant prince. At the beginning of the book you learn that Dorian is a bit of a player with the ladies and has a reputation for it.But as you get to know him, you discover that he's actually a kind person. Unlike his little brother, he is a lot more docile and also takes part in Official Court based things. Like Chaol, he also cares for Celaena and does have romantic feelings for her.

Finally I am going to talk about Princess Nehemia from Ellywe. Nehemia is a strong-willed person who refuses to let people look down on her. While staying in the castle, she pretends she can't speak the native language and speaks in her own native language. Luckily Celaena speaks Nehemia's natural language and the two become friends. I love Nehemia as she supports Celaena and speaks her mind openly.

Opinion

As you can probably tell, I love this book and am currently reading the fourth one in the series. I am actually sad that I have caught up with the series as now I have to wait ages to read the last two books and the prequel novellas. The reason I love this story is that Celaena started of bad and chose to take part in the competition for her own benefits rather than others. I feel that a lot of books like this start with something happening to the protagonist and this forces them to become involved in the magical/ dystopian world they live in. I love the idea behind the series as well, which is basically a retelling of Cinderella but instead of being sweet and innocent, Cinderella is an assassin. Also you have some truly vile characters in this book who are out for their own gain.

I highly recommend that you guys read this series as I think it's amazing and I wouldn't be reviewing it if I didn't like it. Please let me know if you like this type of post and want more like this for my Book Review Monday series. As I said at the beginning this is a trial post so I would find it super helpful if I was given some critical/ constructive feedback. Don't forget to follow my blog and follow me on Twitter and Instagram (@itscarenzab), I have started posting daily book themed posts which need some love. If you have any post requests or business inquires please email me at itscarenzab@gmail.com
Carenza x     

New Look Haul 2016| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So I have another haul for you guys but unlike my previous post, this one is about clothing. On Boxing Day (the day after Christmas in the UK) I went shopping to New Look and picked up quite a few pieces. I will say that there is a theme of Jumpers and Burgundy.

The first thing I picked up was this over-sized checkered shirt. It's in this really nice black and red combo, and has the weird things that can keep your sleeves up so they don't fall down. Although this item wasn't in the sale, safe to say I am in love.

Next I picked up this Burgundy and Black checkered shirt dress. Again this item wasn't in the sale, but I love it so much. It comes down to just above the knee and I love the belt that comes with it. 

I also picked up this over-sized Burgundy cardigan which was in the sale. It is a really deep purple-red and is so massive. I really rate New Look cardigans as they are so soft and just amazing quality.

Similar to the Burgundy checkered shirt dress, I picked one up in a green and blue pattern. This one is slightly softer than the other one and slightly shorter. This was also in the sale. 

Next I picked up this black mock neck ribbed jumper. It has a front that is shorter than the back, I really like this, but the sleeves are really tight but that could be because it needs to be washed before it is worn, this was also in the sale. 

I also picked up this long grey mock neck jumper, I love jumpers. I just love wearing them on lazy days and they just go with everything. New Look does amazing jumpers and they last for so long. This was also in the sale. 

Similar to the previous item, I bought this thick mock neck burgundy jumper. As you guys can probably tell I that I am loving jumpers. This jumper is slightly  shorter than the previous one and a lot thicker, as you can probably guess this item was in the sale.

Next I got this thin mock neck burgundy jumper, I would say that this one is more of a "I've put this on because I can't decide  what to wear". It has three quarter length sleeves and is slightly longer than the previous one, again this item was in the sale.  

Next I bought this thick mock new jumper in burgundy and black, you can probably tell that my favourite colour is burgundy. It is super thick and cosy, I love paring this with jeans or leggings, yet again this item was in the sale,  

Next I got this jumper dress with a massive turtle neck in Navy. This is such a comfy thing to wear and I love the idea that it's a jumper and a dress. I really like the neck on this jumper as it keeps your neck super warm, again it's a sale item.

The last thing I have a photo of is this jumper dress style thing in burgundy. I wore this on New Years Eve and it is super comfy. I just love everything about it and just want one in every colour possible, again a sale item.

I also bought a black A-Line corduroy skirt, but completely forgot to take a photo of it! I have worn it loads and saw one in burgundy in the sale but they didn't have it in my size, this item was not in the sale but I love it and can't wait to wear it loads.

So those were the items I bought in the Christmas sales, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a comment if you bought anything in the sales. Don't forget to follow my blog and my Instagram and Twitter (@itscarenzab), as I have started posted more often and about books. In case you haven't noticed I am moving away from beauty blogging to book blogging and hope to start a new series were I review books every other Monday starting Monday 1st February. If you have any inquires or requests email me on my business email itscarenzab@gmail.com

Carenza x   

Book Haul 2016| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So while I was on holiday over the Christmas Break, there were lots of sales in lots of book shops and this means I spent more money on more books. Its got to the point were I have had to ban myself from buying any new books for a while because my bookshelf is full. This is going to be so hard as there are loads of new books coming out that I am going to have to get myself, but anyway I bought too many books and I thought I'd share it with you.

The first series I picked up is the Percy Jackson series which consists of 5 books but as I already had the first book I plan to give the brand new copy to a charity shop at some point. I loved the first book and have had it for about 2 years. The series follows a boy called Percy Jackson who has had a troubled upbringing. When his maths teacher attacks him and turns into a strange creature it is revealed that he is the son of Poseidon Greek God of the Sea. The series follows his various adventures and dangers he encounters with his friends. This set should have cost me £34.95 from the Works but in their sale it cost me £10.00!   

The next series I picked up from the Works is a series I had never heard of but it had a sticker on saying perfect for fans of Divergent and the Hunger Games. It is the Legend series by Marie Lu, the series follows a boy called Day and a girl called June. Day is 15 years old and is the country's most wanted criminal and June is a prodigy who scored a perfect 1500 on the Trial to see who can enter the army. June's first mission is to track down Day after he killed her brother. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal at the Works.

The next Series I picked up was The Maze Runner series, now if you have read my Birthday Book Haul, which you can read here, you will know that I already have the first book in this series but when I saw that the series had been reduced from £31.96 to £9.99 I couldn't resist. Now many of you will probably have seen the movies but this is what I have gathered the series is about. The series follows a boy called Thomas who wakes up in a mysterious place called The Glade with no memory other than his name, he then meets some other people in this mysterious place and they have to try and escape. I want to read the series before I see the movies so this series is very high on my growing TBR pile.

The next series I got was The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by by Maggie Stiefvater. The series follows two people. a human girl called Grace and a wolf boy called Sam. After Sam saves Grace from the Wolves, Grace begins to watch out for "Her Wolf". One day Sam turns up at Grace's house after being shot. Grace nurses him back to health and allows him to stay in her room. The two soon fall in love and begin to search for a cure for Sam. I got this as part of a 2 for £10 deal along with the Legend Series from the Works.

The next two books I got are Harry Potter themed. I saw both of these in WH Smiths and bought one and waited to get the other.

The first book I got was the official Harry Potter Colouring Book. After seeing this book all over Bookstagram, I knew I had to pick it up. You guys know I love Harry Potter so this book was a self explanatory purchase.

The other book I got was the new Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Holy crap, these illustrations are amazing. I posted on my Instagram that I love this book and included a snippet of some of the images. I got this on Amazon after seeing that it would cost half the amount that they were selling it in WH Smiths.

The next two books were books that I got for Christmas from my parents.

The first book I got was called Street Photography Now. If you haven't read my Best of Bits'n'Bobs 2015, which you can read here, then you won't know that I have been loving Photography. I have been enjoying picking this up and flicking through it. I love taking quirky photos and this has really opened my eye.

The next book I got is a book I have got every year for the last 10 years, and this is the Doctor Who annual. I come from a family of Doctor Who lovers and am not gonna deny that I love the show. I have a huge section of my bookshelves but to be honest I don't mind as I love the show so much. My favourite Doctor (from the revival) is David Tennant and my favourite companion is Catherine Tate who played Donna Noble.

Finally the last two books I got are from the Throne of Glass Series.

The first book is the 4th book in the series and is called Queen of Shadows. As I plan to review the series in my new feature called Book Review Monday, I will not be going in to detail about the series. My Throne of Glass Review should be going up on the 22nd January, so keep your eyes peeled.

The next book is the prequel to the series and is a series of novellas. It is called The Assassins Blade and features 5 stories pre- Throne of Glass. I am really looking forward to it and have been informed that I will cry while reading it. I love the cover for this series and can't wait for the other two books to come out.

I would also like to add that I got Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) and I posted a photo of it on my Instagram, but when I was getting it down to move some books near it I damaged it. It isn't major but it is annoying as I have only had it for 5 days. But hey ho, I can still read it. If you would like me to review it please let me know.

So those were the books I got at the end of last year/ the beginning of this year. If you enjoyed this post, let me know by leaving me a comment. In case you hadn't noticed I am moving away from beauty blogging to book blogging. I will still be posting beauty related posts but from now on expect more book themed posts. Don't forget to follow my blog by clicking the follow button and you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram @itscarenzab. If you have any post requests or business based questions, please feel free to email me at itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x   

Best of Bits'n'Bobs 2015| It's Carenza B

Hello!

Welcome to the final post in my "best of" series, in my last two posts I discussed beauty and books, and today I am going to talk about bits'n'bobs. This post is about the random things I loved in 2015 and I hope you enjoy!

First I want to talk about things I haven't got photos for and they are the new Star Wars Movie and Photography.

Let's start with Star Wars. When it was announced that there was going to be a new Star Wars movie, the world went crazy. I have been brought up by Star Wars lovers and have seen all of the 6 movies. I was very excited to see the new movies and it lived up to my hope. I will not say anything about the plot as I don't want to spoil it for you as someone spoiled it for me. If you love sci-fi and even if you don't this was my favourite movie of 2015, even though I saw it in the last week of 2015.

Next I want to talk about Photography. I have found that over the year I have become more and more interested in photography. I love taking photos and I have found that since I started blogging I have been thinking more about how to make the photos more natural looking and to make sure that they are set out in a nice way. I just love the fact that I can capture a moment in time forever and be able to look back and see what I saw when I took the photo all those years ago.

I want to talk about scarfs. 2015 saw my love for scarfs grow and made me realise that I can't go a day without wearing scarfs. Not only do they look nice, they keep your neck warm. A fashion item with a purpose. My two favourites have been my grey snood from New Look and my massive checkered one from Miss Selfridges. The Miss Selfridges definitely got more love than the New Look one as it's slightly warmer and can also double up as a blanket in car/ train journeys.   

Next we have my trusty Q and A book that I got in August. I love it. I have found that I can reflect on my day and I really enjoy going back and reading old ones.  The premise of the book is you get one question for every day and you answer that question 5 times over 5 years. The only time it's a negative is in the new year and you're still writing last years date and making it messy, but that's not the books fault. I can't wait to finish it and look back on 5+ years worth of change.

Finally, we have my favourite Bits'n'Bobs of the year and these are Disney's Tsum Tsum. Originating in Japan, they took Disney lovers by storm. They have there generic collection, which are sold all year round and then twice every month they release limited addition collections. So far collections have included The Nightmare Before Christmas, Avengers, Cinderella, Aladdin, Snow White, Toy Story, Big Hero Six, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and many more. You tend to get more collections if you live somewhere like the US or Japan. This months collections are Lion King and Guardians of the Galaxy. I just love them because they're so cute and you can play with them. Not gonna lie, I buy these for the inner 4 year old within me who loves Disney and all things cute.

So those were my 2015 Bits'n'Bobs favourites and thus concludes my Best of Series for this year. If you would like to see another one of these, please let me know and also let me know which out of the three was your favourite. I think mine was the books. Don't forget to follow my blog and also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @itscarenzab. If you have any business inquires please email me on my business email itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x 

Best of Books 2015| It's Carenza B

Hello!
Welcome to the second post in a series I'm calling "Best of", in which I look back at things that I loved in 2015. This one is all about books and which were my favourite books of this year. Since the start of this year I have read so many new books and re-read old favourites, but somehow I managed narrow it down to my top 5 books/ series of 2015. Enjoy!

These books are in no particular order other than when I grabbed them of my shelf to take there photos.

First we have Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, I read this in July after seeing so many book-tubers hype it and it rightly deserves the hype. The story takes place in a fictional world of Norta, were the people are divided by class- your either a common Red like Mare or a powerful Silver like Prince Tiberias (who is called Cal). Without giving too much away, in the society the Silvers have special powers and when pressured it is revealed that Mare has powers. The book follows her journey about learning to control her powers and surviving in the royal palace. I can't wait to read the second book, Glass Sword when it comes out this year.

 Next we have a classic, around the end of  July I started to re-read the Harry Potter series. I don't think I need to explain the plot of Harry Potter and if you don't know it, go read it. I grew up reading and listening to the books and waiting for the films to come out. We had this rule in my house hold that I wasn't allowed to watch the movie until I had read the book, I ended up seeing the last three movies in the cinema and having to watch the rest on DVD. I love Harry Potter and I have lots of fond memories about it. I tend to re-read it at least once a year to refresh my mind and I find that every time I read it I learn something new.

Next we have a very hyped up book and that is The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester aka danisnotonfire and amazingphil. This book was massively hyped up in the YouTube world and in my opinion, the hype was unnecessary. Don't get me wrong I liked the book but it wasn't my favourite book I read in 2015. There are bits that are funny and there are loads of pictures, it is basically another part of the world of Dan and Phil.

The next series I want to talk about is the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Sthol, this was the first series I started book blogging about. I love it, it follows the story of Ethan Wate, a seemingly normal boy and a girl called Lena Duchannes. Lena is the niece of the towns reclusive and when she arrives at Gatlin School, things start going weird. It turns out that she is a witch (Caster) and on her 16th birthday she will claimed for the light or the dark. The series follows their relationship and how they overcome everything in their path. This is probably my second favourite series of the year.   

And finally we have my favourite series of the year which was the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J Mass. This is beyond superb. The series follows an assassin called Celaena Sardothien in the Kingdom of Adarlan. She is summoned to the palace to take place in a competition to become the Royal Assassin. The story follows her journey through the competition and her getting used to her freedom. I don't want to give too much away as I plan to review the book, which should be going up at the end of this month.    

So those were my top 5 books of 2015, leave a comment saying what your favourite books are and maybe we can all get some good recommendations. Don't forget to follow me on instagram and twitter @itscarenzab. You can also follow my blog by clicking follow, if you have any post requests please feel free to email me on my business email itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x 

Best of Beauty 2015| It's Carenza B

Hello!

So this post is going to be part of a series where I look back at my favourite things from 2015, and in this one I am going to be discussing beauty. 2015 was the year I discovered a lot of new brands in the beauty world and branched out into different elements of the beauty world. I discovered products I loved and products I didn't, I found out what type of makeup I like to wear on the rare occasions I do wear makeup. To sum up 2015 was a year of new discoveries and I would like to share with you my favourites.

Makeup

My first favourite of 2015 is the Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation in Chelsea Porcelain. If you struggle to find a pale foundation then this is the one for you, on the slightly pricey side of makeup at £15 this foundation changed my life. A medium to high coverage, a little goes a long way and when applied with a beauty blender looks flawless. I would say it looks better when you don't prime first, but then it might just be the primer I am using. I love this foundation for the colour, as someone who is stupidly pale this matches my skin-tone to the point where it's almost too pale and washes me out! I would highly recommend you get this as it is an amazing foundation and there are heck tone of shades to pick from. 

The beauty blender has also changed my life, it came in the September edition of Glossybox and at first I thought nothing of it but now it's the only thing I use to apply foundation and concealer. It just makes it look more natural, and you don't get any marks from applying it like you can with some brushes. I use the flat bottom to apply foundation to larger areas of my face i.e. forehead, cheeks and chin and the round pointed end to apply foundation around my nose and mouth. I also use the pointed ended to apply concealer under my eyes.

Next we have my three trusty palettes of the year, which are Urban Decay's Naked Three, Sleek's Vintage Romance and Collection's Eyes Uncovered Nudes. These pallets range from costing over £30 to costing £5, which is insane.

The Naked 3 ended up being the only palette I used in the summer when I went on holiday, I found that a bronze eye suited me a lot in the summer and wore that look to death. My favourite shades from the Naked 3 are Trick (6 from the left), Liar (8 from the left), Mugshot (10 from the left) and Darkside (11 from the left). Together they create a bronze eye fit for the summer and the darker shades add definition to the look. With this pallet you are paying for what you get, which is high end good quality shadows.

The Sleek Vintage Romance Palette was a love of mine this winter and in particular the three gold shades on the top row received a lot of love. I have raved about this palette already so I won't go into too much detail but I will link the posts here and here so you can read them. Again these three shadows are a dream team and the pigmentation is amazing, I feel like Sleek is such an underrated brand and deserves more love.  

Finally (Palette wise) we have the Collection Eyes Uncovered Nudes palette. At only £5, this palette is amazing and I would say a dupe for the Naked basics and you get very similar shades in it. Although not as long lasting as the other two palettes, it is a great palette and you can create so many versatile looks. My favourite shadows are Biscuit (3rd shadow), Chocolate Milk (4th shadow) and Brown Sugar( 5th shadow). Together they create a subtle everyday look and a perfect for lazy days. 

Next we have my two lip favourites of the year and guess what? They are both berry toned purples! I recently discovered that dark lipsticks suit me more than light lipsticks and these two have been my go to colours. The first one is the Revlon 477 Black Cherry which I got in the November Glossybox and the other is the Sleek Dare.

Black Cherry is a lot darker than Dare and also is a creme finish rather than a matte, I will admit it is a bit scary the first time you put it on but you'll soon fall in love. I have to say that Dare received more love than Black Cherry simply because I had it longer. I also think that Dare suits me better as its a matte finish.  

Top Swatch- Black Cherry
Bottom Swatch- Dare

Finally in the makeup category we have my favourite Mascara of the year which has been Urban Decays Perversion. I got this with the Naked on the Run Palette, which I still need to use, but I am in love and will be repurchasing when it runs out. I also love that it's a travel size version, which makes it great for travelling.

This makes your lashes look amazing and open, like it says on the tube "Bigger, Blacker, Better". It is amazing and just opens up your eye. I'm not sure how to describe it but I love it and it makes my eyelashes look amazing.

Skincare

Next we have skincare. The first thing I want to rave about is the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. This was a late discovery in 2015, but none the less I love it! It is a cleanser that removes makeup with one swipe. This was hyped up  in the beauty world a few years ago and rightly so, I have the travel size one which I bought from feelunique.com in there sale for £8.50. I will be repurchasing a full size one and when my travel size one runs out, I'll get another one of that as well. It is amazing and when used with the cloth it comes with, your makeup comes of instantly. I prefer this to my Body Shop Vitamin E cleanser as it takes two rounds of cleansing to remove makeup. I use the Emma Hardie one to remove makeup and then my Body Shop one to cleanse everyday.    

 Next we have the Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Exfoliator and this is my holy grail when it comes to exfoliators. Due to the fact that it's a cream product, it isn't as harsh as a normal exfoliator. As I am someone who suffers with sensitive skin, this product is amazing. It does the job and doesn't make me bright red like other exfoliators. As you can see, I have loved mine to death and have used over half of it. I would recommend Body Shop Skincare to anyone who isn't sure as to what skin type they have and are starting out in buying skincare products. They have great value packs for all there ranges. This was the first set of skincare products I bought, you get 5 or 6 products for about £30 which can seem expensive but is worth it when you add up how much each product is by itself.

 My go to face mask of 2015 was the Sanctuary Spa 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask. This is amazing. It feels like its doing something while its on and warms up lots, but not so it burns you. I always use it when I breakout and it helps get everything down drastically, it also leaves your skin  feeling silky smooth afterwards. I have had this bottle for a year and I would say I have used 3/4 of the product, it retails at £10.50 which is quite expensive for a drugstore face mask but you get what you pay for.

 Finally we have my what I like to call "Lazy day Skincare" routine. These two together combat blemishes so well. They are the Lush Tea Tree Toner Water and Grease Lighting. Both of these products contain tea tree which helps reduce blemishes. I said I call this my Lazy day Skincare as if I'm in a rush or I can't be bothered to do a full routine, I will use these two. I will apply Grease Lighting to any blemish directly then wait a minute for it to dry then spray the Tea Tree Toner all over. This takes a few minutes to sink in but then your good to go, both of these bottles together cost me £16.50 which is very expensive for what they are, but they are just so good I don't mind spending that much money.

Hair Care

My go to Shampoo and Conditioner of the year have been the Tresemme Moisture Rich Luxurious Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner. They have improved the conditioner of my hair dramatically, as someone who has dry hair this has made my hair easier to manage. I find that my hair stays shiny and silky for up to three days and then starts to get knots whereas before I could only go a day without getting knots in my hair. I love that these bottles are so large, which means I won't have to buy it as often.

Next I want to talk about the L'Oreal Elvie Anti Frizz Hair Oil. This is my third bottle of the year and I have nearly used it all up. I put this on after I have washed my hair and let it soak in, if you have dry hair you will know that using a hair oil/ serum is the only way to be able to manage your hair. I use around 4-6 pumps for each side of my head and leave it to sink in overnight.

For a while I have struggled to find a hairbrush that will go through my hair and this year I found it. It is from a brand called Denman and it is incredible. I don't know what it is about it but it works for me. With all my other hair brushes I tried the bristles were attached by this rubber thing so you could pull it out, anyway I use to spend half my time putting the bristles back into  the handle and it really annoyed me. But with this Denman Brush I haven't had to do that at all and that's why I am putting it into my Beauty Favourites of 2015.

Top Row- Tresemme Moisture Rich Luxurious Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner
Bottom Row- L'Oreal Elvie Anti Frizz Hair Oil and Denman Hair Brush  

Finally we have something that I loved so much, I used it all up. This is the Maria Nilla Luminous Colour Masque and I am gutted my one ran out. I got this in the September Glossybox and used every time I washed my hair right up until the beginning of December. The masque is designed to bring out your natural hair colour and make it look better. As someone who has been dying their hair for years, I can say it does work. Apart from where the dye is in my hair, my natural colour got brighter every time I used it. It wasn't unnaturally bright, but it put more emphasis on my natural hair colour.

Odds'n'Sods

This category might seem a bit weird but these are some of things I wanted to include but wouldn't fit under those three categories I had chosen to talk about.

My favourite nail colour of the year was from Bourjois and is called colour 34 violine hypnotique. It's this deep purple with a gold shimmer running through it and is perfect for the Autumn and Winter months. I love this deep purple colour and have gotten lots of uses out of it. I love the shape of the brush as it's slightly squared which makes it great at applying the colour. I would say you could get away with two coats, but I like to put on three to make it opaque. 

Next we have my winter scent which is the Body Shop's Glazed Apple. I love this scent so much, it's a really tart apple scent and stays all day. As you can see I have the travel size products which I took on holiday with me, to me they aren't as strong a scent as the perfume but I still love to use them. 

Finally we have my all year round scent which is again from the Body Shop and it's from there Mango Range. This was the first scent I smelled in the Body Shop and I have fallen in love. I have one of there massive 1 liter shower gel bottles and I have used about half of it last year. It is just a nice, sweet, fruity scent which isn't too strong.

I would also like to add that my favourite Summer scent was also from the Body Shop and it was from there Virgin Mojito Range. It was just a divine mint and lime scent which was really fresh.

So those were my beauty favourites of the year 2015 and I have two more posts like this planned to go up later this week. I hope you liked it and leave a comment saying what your favourite beauty thing was this year. Don't forget to follow my blog and follow me on Twitter and Instagram @itscarenzab. If you have any post requests email me on my business email itscarenzab@gmail.com.

Carenza x   

New Years Resolutions 2016| It's Carenza B

Hello again!

Firstly I would like to say sorry for the lack of posts in December, December ended up being a very stressful and busy month for me and I wanted to spend time with my family during the winter break. This may happen every now and then as I am still in full time education. But I'm back blogging and I hope I can get back to the swing of blogging. Secondly I would like to say Happy New Year! It's officially 2016, which seems insane but it's the truth! This year I have come up with 6 things I wish to achieve in the year 2016, I had planned on doing 16 but I feel like that would be too much pressure. Without further ado, here are my New Years Resolutions!

In no particular order here are the 6 things I want to do in 2016:

1) Be more organised i.e be more tidy

At times I am a very organised person, but the majority of the time I'm not. So I want to be more organised to make 2016 a less stressed year. This involves packing my bag the night before and keeping my room and desk tidy at all times.

2) Be more confident 

I want to be more confident in 2016 as I feel like at times my lack of self-confidence holds me back and I care too much about what others think about me. I want to make 2016 as stress free as possible.

3) To get fit and feel happy with my body i.e drink more water 

For a long time I have felt unhappy with the way I look and I want that to change. I want to be healthier and drink more water now so that it doesn't affect me when I'm older.

4) Study more often 

I want to start studying more often instead of cramming and panicking. I want to manage my time better and revise at least 4 times a week to start with for at least an hour. Cramming is not the best to revise and I realise it works for some but not for me.

5) Do more of what makes ME happy 

I want to make 2016 a year to remember and I want to make it a happy year, I'm not saying that I'm not happy, I'm saying I want it to be happier than previous years. I want to blog about things I love not things I think people want to read. I want to blog about books and culture more, take a step away from beauty posts (though I probably still will be posting some).

6) Write and read more

I want to do more reading this year and make time for more reading. At the moment I am only reading before I go to bed but I want to make more time for it. I also want to write more, whether it's stories or songs or blog posts, I love writing and want to do more.

So those are my New Years resolutions for this year and I will update you at some point as to how they are going. Thank you for sticking with me for the last 6 months and I hope there is more to come. Don't forget to follow me on my Instagram and Twitter @itscarenzab.

Happy New Years!

Carenza x