Lifestyle | "A Cupcake is Happiness with Icing on Top"*

I'm a self-confessed cupcake addict. Although I may not be a fan of most other cake, for some reason as soon as you pipe pretty coloured icing on the top and decorate it to your hearts content, I'm a fan.

Back in August, for the Teen Bloggers Meet Up, we were lucky enough to be gifted some beautiful cupcake goodie bags from the ever so lovely people at MyChelle's Baketique, and let me tell you, they were as delicious as they look. Describing just how scrumptious these cakes were is going to be a bit of a tricky task but I'll give it my best shot.

I received two baby-sized beauties in the flavours of chocolate and carrot cake. Now I'm not normally one for a bit of carrot cake but it really was rather lovey. Each cupcake had gorgeous butter cream icing, and the carrot cake was even topped with crushed walnuts, which was a really lovely touch. The sponge was as light as air, and so flavoursome; I really was disappointed when I'd munched my way through them both as I just wanted to be able to eat them forever and ever.

MyChelle's Baketique specialise in mouthwatering custom cupcakes and cake treats. They also create insanely beautiful celebration cakes, perfect for celebrating that special event or just to treat yourself (go on; you deserve it).

*Disclaimer: This product was kindly gifted by Mychelle's Baketique as part of a goodie bag from the #tbloggers meet up. All views and opinions shared on realityleaveslotstoimagination are always honest and unbiased.

Beauty | Dream Dots For Spots*

As someone with acne-prone skin, I have tried product after product that claims to clear spots. I know different products work best for different people with different skin types, but I am yet to find a spot-treatment that completely floats my boat... that was until Dream Dots entered my life.

Dream Dots are a simple unique overnight treatment for any pesky spots and are specifically designed for overnight use (they recommend 6-10 hours) so they won't cause a disturbance with your every day makeup routine.

I applied the dot to a small forming spot after completing my normal night time routine (it's oh so important to ensure your skin is completely clean and dry before application) and just left the product to work it's magic whilst I got my beauty sleep.

When morning arrived, I removed the dot and was simply amazed at how good a job it had done in so little time. It had pretty much completely removed the colour and the affected area was nowhere near as inflamed as it had been the night before. Although it hadn't completely cleared the spot, it did make the spot much more manageable so it only took a wave of concealer to hide it during the day. After applying a dream dot in the same place for another one or two nights, the ever so pesky spot was a gonner. It didn't even leave a scar of any sorts, which is rather fab.

It does take slightly longer to tackle any 'monster spots' but it does still do the trick if you're prepared to play the waiting game.

Another plus point definitely has to be how discreet the dots are. Once you're applied the dots, they're virtually undetectable, which makes the just perfect for those no-makeup days.

The only downside to the product has to be the price, as they are a little pricy for a spot-treatment. I've found myself getting through a sheet of the dots (6 dots in total) in a few nights, so a pack of 24 doesn't really go very far. But, the results definitely make up for this little issue. 

Overall I'm highly impressed with this product and it's definitely something I know I'll be repurchasing rather a lot. Although they are a little bit pricy, I'd definitely recommend Dream Dots to anyone who is prone to getting a pesky spot or two

Dream Dots cost €14.95/£11.91 for 24 dots or €24.95/£19.64 for 48 dots, and are available at www.dreamdotsforspots.com

*Disclaimer: This product was kindly gifted by Dream Dots for the purpose of this review. All views and opinions shared on realityleaveslotstoimagination are always honest and unbiased.

Style | Out Come The Autumn Coats

Although it only seems like yesterday that summer was on our doorstep, the sight of dark mornings and a slight cold breeze in the air show that autumn is indeed on its way. Doesn't this year seem to be just whizzing by?

Oversized blazers are my go-to coat for the autumn months. They're great for those transition months where it's too cold to go without but still too warm to be digging out your winter coats just yet. I actually picked up this snazzy little number from my local vintage charity shop for a couple of pounds at most; it really was a fantastic find and I'm as proud as punch if truth be told.

Patterned shorts are something I fell in love with in the summer months so I'm rather excited that they are now making the transition into Autumn. This little pair is from Forever 21 and the gorgeous floral pattern makes them perfect for this time of year. At this time of year, I'm all about pairing a statement piece on my bottom half with a dark plain top so, to complete todays look, I popped on a simple black long sleeved top from Primark, and some black tights.

Footwear wise, I'm wearing my Primark Chelsea Boots. I'm a bit of a chelsea boot addict, so when I set eyes on these little heeled beauties, they very quickly made their way into my basket.

I'm also wearing three of my favourite rings to complete the look. On my left hand there is my little black stone ring from Forever 21 (a pack of three different colours for just under £3: bargain), and on my right I have my turquoise stone ring from Topshop and my River Island midi ring.

Coat: Vintage Charity Shop

Top: Primark

Shorts: Forever 21

Tights: M&S

Boots: Primark

Turquoise Stone Ring: Topshop

Black Stone Ring: Forever 21

Midi Ring: River Island

Bring on autumn!

Event | The Summer Teen Bloggers Meet Up

On August 30th, after months and months of planning, the first ever teen bloggers meet up rolled around. The meet up was arranged by myself and the ever so lovely Georgie, and was the first meet up exclusively for the teen blogging community (we think!), which was ever so exciting.

I travelled down to London-town (armed with a huge collection of goodies for our guests) the night before the meet up and - not wanting to waste a beautiful night in London - popped over to see a fabulous play in the Leicester Square Theatre.

When Saturday morning arrived, I made a quick trip to my favourite spot in London: Bar Italia in Soho for a spot of coffee before heading on over to Speakers Corner (our meeting place of choice) to meet Georgie. After half an hour or so of nervously counting down until 12:30, waiting around with our fingers crossed that people would actually turn up, we were joined by six lovely bloggers. I'd been reading some of their blogs for a fair while so it was rather nice to be able to meet the girls behind the blogs!

After a lovely long chat about all things blogging, we headed on over to Zizzi's to fill our stomachs. I went for the 'Rigatoni Pollo Funghi' which was a delicious pasta dish with chicken, mushrooms, tomato and onion. Yum.

Ottilie and I

Once everyone had had sufficient, we ventured over to Oxford Street for some retail therapy. It was at this point that we realised that our time-management for the meal hadn't been all that fab (we'd spent rather too long chatting after we'd eaten) so a majority of our 'guests' only had ten or so minutes shopping time before they had to head their separate ways in order to catch their respective trains.

Ottilie, Becca, Neriah and Jess

After everyone else had departed, Georgie and I did spend rather a long time exploring the heaven that is Forever 21, and I did pick up some gorgeous autumnal pieces that I'm sure will be making an appearance on my blog at some point soon.

Ottilie and Georgie

All in all, we all had a fab day; It was so lovely to be able to meet some many lovely girls. The time did go rather quickly though and I didn't get the chance to have a proper chat to everyone, so fingers crossed we'll all get to meet up at some point in the not so distant future. I do want to say a huge thank you to all the bloggers who joined us for the meet up, it was lovely meeting you!

Georgie and I

Georgie and I are currently chatting about the possibility of organising another Teen Bloggers Meet Up, this time on a slightly bigger scale. We're looking into holding it in London again, but in December so we can have a bit of a christmas party. If this sounds like something that you'd like to join us for, let me know.

Beauty | L'Oreal Super Liner Brow Artist

I'm fairly new to the "brow game". I was always sceptical about filling in my eyebrow in, but after a few goes I was hooked. Good brows can really make such a difference to how your face looks. My brow routine varies from day to day depending on the makeup look I'm going for with the rest of my face, but at the moment I'm going through a bit of a phase of pencilling them in. Since I've been doing this most days, I've been looking far and wide for a brow pencil that helps me to achieve a more natural look rather than a scouse-brow style horror. My go-to products at the moment are the "Topshop Brow Pencil" and the "Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil" but - in true beauty blogger style - I'm always up for trying something new, and that's where the L'Oreal Super Liner Brow Artist came in.

The pencil itself is double ended. At one end, you'll find the coloured pencil to fill in your brows, along with a handy brow-tamer, and the other end is home to a clear wax to fix your brows in place.

Let's get started by talking about the shades. L'Oreal offer three shades: Blonde, Brunette and Dark Brunette. Although I normally follow the "choose a colour one shade lighter than your natural hair" technique, the blonde shade was far too light for me to even consider using it, so I opted for the brunette option. The was a bit of a bad decision as instead of the lovely natural brown shade I'd been expecting, my eyebrows ended up looking like I'd drawn them on with a black sharpie. How lovely. Even after a good ten minutes of trying to remove some of the colour (with a tool kit of cotton buds, brow tamers and spooly brushes), the finished look was literally a million miles away from what I was after. Don't get me wrong, if you're one for a bit more of a bold brow then this product would suit you perfectly as it's so pigmented, but colour-wise it doesn't really float my boat. I am curious to see what the blonde shade is like though, so that may be sneaking into my boots basket some time soon.

One key thing I like all of my brow products to do, is last the whole day. I can't be dealing with having to stop whatever I'm doing every two or three hours in order to tend to my brows. I do have to admit, I was pretty darn impressed with how long this product lasted. It's all down to the clear wax that you apply after you've shaped and shaded in your brows. I was slightly apprehensive that the wax may leave my brows looking like I'd coated them in vaseline, but that literally wasn't the case. It left them looking much more natural, and it did really last all day. Just like magic.

Overall, although the colour did disappoint me, I was impressed by the product. It is one of the best drugstore brow products I've used, when it comes to longevity, and I feel like it could potentially rival some of the more professional high-end products on the market.

The L'Oreal Super Liner Brow Artist retails at £5.49.

Lifestyle | Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

Brighton has a special little place in my heart. My aunt and uncle have lived there for a fair few years so I've been able to make many a weekend trip down there, with my latest being for August bank holiday weekend.

We went for the Brighton Mod Weekender, which was rather special this year as 2014 marked the fifty year anniversary of the Mod vs Rockers beach clashes of 1964 (wow that's a mouthful). To mark the occasion, the mod scene returned to it's "spiritual home" and not only was it a really great thing to be part of, but it was the perfect excuse to me to get dolled up in my 60's-style clothes!

Luckily for me, bank holiday weekend fell on the weekend of round two of the #SEBloggers Meet Up. It was lovely to be reunited with some of the girls I met back in April, but just as lovely to be able to meet some new faces. After sitting in costa for an hour or two simply chatting about anything and everything (there was one occasion where a fellow costa goer were asked if we were a mother's group, which was slightly bizarre), we ventured on over to Pizza Express for a lovely meal, where we were greeted by a 'talented' (a.k.a show off) waiter. Following our meal we headed off to do what bloggers to best: shop. I brought some lovely bits and pieces from the likes of Home Sense, Boots and Primark (a rather random selection of shops, I know) so expect to see some of them featured on here at some point in the not so distant future. I want to say a huge thank you to Lottie and Aileen for organising yet another incredible meet up; it was a fabulous day.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the rest of Brighton. My most favourite part of the town has to be the Lanes, a labyrinth of interlinked pedestrian streets filled with independent shops and quirky cafe's. It's just so darn cute! Every little shop I venture into is met with oohs and ahhs on my part and it's virtually impossible to leave without a trinket in hand. There really is something for every man and his dog. And there's also a real "anything goes" feel about that area of the town in particular and that's definitely why I adore it so much.

The Saturday night was one of those rare occasions where I could actually be prised away from the wifi for long enough for me to enjoy a night out. Myself and my dad went to a gig at Brighton centre, where we saw amazing bands such as Secret Affair and From The Jam. Before we ventured on over to the venue, we stopped off at Brighton pier for a quintessentially British fish and chip supper. 

It was lovely to be able to watch the sun set over the beach whilst we ate our food. I do salute the beach goers who braved the cold of the English Channel, but rather you than me. The iconic pier really is gorgeous. I love just sitting there, revelling in the nostalgia of a place that still just screams of the beautiful Victorian era. It's just postcard perfect. 

Have you ever been to Brighton?